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Whoosh The licking flames of the candles going out, a man with his nose deep in a book pauses. Glancing around the empty library, the wings sprouting from the side of his head flick out as a look of realization cross his face. Calmly looking over his shoulder, the man smiles before speaking to you "Hello, and greetings. Not often I have an 'audience' looking in on my home, at least ones I can notice. I'll admit, I'm unable to discern your exact nature, and quite frankly if you tried shouting nonsense at me here after this moment passes? I would be unable to react, let alone sense you."

From his forearms one black and one white wing peel forth, flexing themselves before holding a steady stance. Brushing back a lock of his white hair, the man's smile doesn't break as he speaks once more "Often its like talking to air due to how uncertain everything is. Sometimes I wonder if I'm just ranting to myself... Though, I suppose some of you would call this a 'fourth wall break' correct? Just some mere 'character' breaking the confines of the 'story', yes?"

Covering his face with his right hand as he begins softly chuckling, the candles suddenly flicker aflame, bathing the room in light... And revealing the glass nature of the room. Upon him are ten stain glass murals, five on each side: A blue haired young man with space itself distorting around him, a golden robed man's whose age is in flux, a young girl with rosy hair and a leafy dress, a whited masked man with black hair & cape, a cruel looking wolf man with yellow fur, an armored angel with wings of darkness, a man with steel hair covered in trinkets, a cloak enshrouding a person, a calm looking man with a monkey's tail, and lastly an elegant icy blue fox girl wearing a dress of white snow.

The man removing his hand to reveal he's now wearing a black mask with golden eyes, he gives a sweeping bow before speaking once more "That was their folly as well, thinking others were nothing more than 'fiction', characters to be played with whose lives meant nothing. You probably wouldn't even believe me if I said all us 'characters', all that 'fiction' were indeed just as real as you. You'll probably just dismiss me as someone's puppet, being made to say these things in order to shame you."

Giving two short but quick claps, the room around the mysterious man crumbles, leaving only a... A void around him, perceptible as perhaps black if only because you can't understand the absence of light and darkness. Looking away from you and gazing out over the abyss, things lazily come into existence as the man walks about, flicking out his arms like a conductor. Finally, as things are underway, he speaks once more.

"Quite the opposite really. You need to understand this world is real, so you treat your actions according. You could get people killed, destroy homes, bring the end of great things... Or you could protect, restore, and save the inhabitants & things within this reality. It was already broken once by people foolishly killing God and his angels, hopefully you extradimensionals will be better sports. So please..."

The mysterious winged man now standing within a mechanical room, a machine pillar in the center with more floors above and below, he turns back to you. "Whilst you make your stay here in Unchained Fate, do act with reason. There are no do overs, there are consequences, and above all there is truth to everything here. Break a heart, defile a life, end a beginning... Would you want someone to so cruelly and arbitrarily ruin everything you knew, that you worked for? Please, treat these people with respect like you would your own."

With that said, the man waves his hand casually- Blacking out the environment from your vision. Yet, before he leaves entirely, the man speaks one last time "Do as you will here, extradimensionals. For the most part I will not stop you, so feel free to do as your heart desires. In truth I am more like a storyteller, so it is not my place to interfere with a story's progression, only acknowledge it and inform others of it. I look forward to your adventures."

Dawn crept over the Citadel of Fate, its citizens stirring as the shadows of night gave way to the light of day. They stirred in the streets, banners lining the bridges and draping over the streets as the crowds grew and became restless. The marketplace, one of many cultures and faces stored underneath the expansive overhang of the Citadel itself, was abuzz with trade, talk towards both good and ill intent, and perhaps a pinch of pickpocketing here or there. Stirring with the masses, though not in the streets but in the comfort of his bed, was a young Griffin Menkho, a White Wolf from the village of Nieva tucked within the brisk, barren taigas of Forever Beast. Having migrated here with his brother, a cheery lad fourteen years his senior by the name of Parker, some time ago, Parker and he have managed through thick and thin, thanks in no small part to their humble emporium of treasures.

However, Griffin wasn't to disturb the shop's inventory at the moment, but was instead quite content with stirring quietly in the doldrums of sleep, the ivory linen covering him as his plain, oak bed creaked and shake as Griffin shifted and twitched. At least until the unforgettable sound of an iron spoon smacking against the backside of a steel pan ravaged the poor pup's ears, and he catapulted out of bed as if he'd had a nightmare.

"Come on, Griffin," their permanent cashier, guest, and resident 'normie', Shinji Atawalla said as he stood in the doorway, his right hand placed firmly on his hip as he held the pan and spoon in his left. "Parker's already up; he's got breakfast goin'."

Griffin already knew that; his keen sense of smell, coming naturally to most anyone from Forever Beast (and something he wished his non-lupine compatriots shared), had already picked up the delectable scent of eggs and venison with a faint whiff of the village in the Snow Wastes where they had bought the meat. Stretching his arms and twisting himself to work out a few noticeable kinks in his back, Griffin hopped out of bed, his mouth opening wide for a yawn only a Beast could muster, then, while wiping the sleep from his eyes, acknowledged Shinji, "Be there in a moment."

"A'right," Shinji muttered, "but you won't want your breakfast to be cold, would you?"

The cashier laughed as he finally stepped out of the doorway and back into the hall, prompting Griffin to walk over and shut the door. It didn't matter that Griffin was covered in a thick coat of snow white fur; he was naked, though any sleepwear that'd fit someone his size would've proven uncomfortable to sleep in unmolested for the regular, solid nine hours. Still, Shinji had barged into his room for the last time. Couldn't the human just get the poor sap one of those alarm clocks like he has? And why does he insist on waking him up with that incessant banging?

"Griffin!"

Parker had just called his name, snapping him back into reality from another small bout of vengeful planning. It was then he realized he was still naked. Immediately, he went to rectify that by pulling out another tunic from a whole drawer filled with them, most of them colored in that same drab maroon he'd left home with a year and a half ago. Finally, getting one more yawn out of his system for good measure as he fastened the ornate, golden buckle on his belt, he managed to step outside of his room, only for his ear to twitch from catching the creak of a door as Shinji went to quietly wake up Faen. Chivalry was a real bitch sometimes. Shinji was always chasing after women — the guy's harem seemed to grow with each passing day — so it was almost expected that he'd treat the only girl in the establishment better off than his own employers. Still, it was loads better than Parker's predicament, which he could only bare to have on his mind for mere moments lest he start the day with a persisting, irrational frustration.

"Griffin, breakfast!"

And there was his brother again. He'd better go down to answer that call for eggs and venison, the slight musk of yeti and snow-clogged dirt not withstanding. With that, he trampled down the steps and greeted the kitchen with a exhalation of relief, one that could only accompany a good feeling for the day to come.

Citadel of Fate

Aicha looked around the Citadel, currently she wore a coat with hood, only her left arm and the Clockwork pistol dangling from her hip could be seen. Her shield was currently attached to Ulysses who was following her. The Kaitan looked around, while the Citadel certainly wasn't what she would call 'bleak' she still preferred the forest, a much better place to hunt, hide... attack from the shadows. Many buildings were lined around the market, it all seemed kinda strange to her. Many people from all races and storybooks could be seen walking past her, even a Kaitan walking along a Steam-powered, metal Centaur wasn't anything out of the ordinary here.

Aicha looked around the countless buildings, there was everything here one could think of, market-stands, Inns, Blacksmiths, Gunsmiths, Jewelers, Enchanters, absolutely everything, in the... less respected parts here one could also find all sorts of... less than legal buildings, from black-market vendors to Inns offering... special... entertainment for chosen (and well paying) clients to Assassin guilds. One shouldn't venture in these parts of the Citadel without being prepared for everything, from what she heard, being abducted and sold was one of the better fates awaiting those, foolish enough to venture there without enough caution. To her own luck, she didn't have to go these places, but still... alone knowing there was something like this made her want to go to the forest, but she couldn't, not now... not after what happend back then...

Aicha shook her head, this wasn't the time for thinking of such things. She looked around the place again, it was quite easy to get lost here, alone in this street were dozends of stores - but there was only one specific building she needed to find. Then she spotted it in the distance, that likely was the store her contact mentioned, Small, wooden building. Wooden porch in front of it, around 1,7 meters above it an overhanging part of the building. Some chairs for customers to sit on said porch and three lanterns hanging from the ceiling above, lighting it. Yes there was no mistake, this was the store she looked for.

The Kaitan got to the building in question, she tried to open the door but failed, it seemed the storeowners weren't present at the time. Deciding to wait she sat down on one of the chairs present, while sitting Aicha got out the compass she wore on her collar. What a useful thing indeed, yet so simple in construction. While looking at it she soon sunk into a light sleep.

Citadel of Fate

-“That looks so good! I want to eat all of them!”

Maggie cheerfully exclaimed as she stared at a small bakery's showcase. Right now, she was so grateful about her decision to travel to the Citadel by hitching a ride inside that cargo-ship. Everywhere around here there were lots of restaurants and stores selling all kinds of delicious food. Everything was absolutely perfect... Except for a little, almost insignificant detail:

-“Hey! Are you gonna buy something, or will you keep staring creepily at my goods while scaring all my clients?”

A burly man with a thick mustache said to her. Looking embarrassed and nervous, Maggie replied:

-“I'm so sorry... I-I'm afraid I don't have any money right now.”

Crossing his arms, as he shook his head from side to side, the man spoke in a somber tone:

-“I hate being rude, but if that's the case, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave. I've got nothing against your kind, but my clients don't feel comfortable around Homunculi.”

Slightly hurt by that commentary, but not wanting to cause any more trouble, she bowed before the man and said:

-“I apologize for the inconvenience. I'll return once I have money.”

...Before walking away without any direction in mind. A little disheartened, but determined to taste all the delicious food she could, Maggie started searching around for some place where she could get a job. Unfortunately, she didn't really have any experience, nor mastery of any particular skill... So, she wasn't sure anyone would even be willing to give her a job.

At least she could read... Somehow. She wasn't sure how she learned to do that in the first place. But that wasn't important right now; what really mattered is that it allowed her to read a nearby bulletin board, which seemed to have all kinds of odd jobs for desperate folks like her...

edited 27th Feb '16 4:17:55 PM by VPhantom

Parker glanced back at his younger brother the moment his thudding steps announced the pup's presence, finally pulling himself away from the blinding steam exuding from their breakfast. He'd always had issues when it came to getting close to heat; his fur coat has always given him warmth, enough to last through the harsh winters with only a thin vest on his back (though the summers sometimes forced him into a simple loincloth), so sticking his face in a thick cloud of steam or, heaven forbid, smoke was never his idea of fun. Griffin then pulled up a chair behind him, the wooden legs scraping against the stone foundation. Now was his cue. He scooped up two eggs, one for him and one for Griffin, and a few strips of venison, tossing an egg and a couple strips onto each plate. Turning around, he walked over and placed one before Griffin, then pulling out his own chair and slumping into it. The others' meals should take a little longer to

"How'd ya sleep," Parker asked to break the ice of sleep's hold on Griffin, meanwhile still half-asleep himself.

"Okay," Griffin replied simply. "Hey, Parker, did you ever get that incubator for those eggs we found?"

Parker nodded. "Y-yea, that was yesterday. I haven't set it up yet." He quickly added, "I'll start on it later today!"

Griffin sighed. Parker's tail, wagging feverishly ever since he woke up, drooped down to touch the floor.

"Sounds," Griffin began, speaking softly, "sounds good."

Parker said not a word, merely smiling. Griffin was growing an odd resentment for that smile. When Parker smiled like that, it was never a gesture for others to receive; it was merely to reassure himself.

Parker hated the smile just as much, but he felt it was necessary. He had to understand what he was doing was right, that he wasn't messing up anything. Griffin was a busy wolf, even if he was only 9 years old; he handled a lot of things for the shop, and he didn't want to step on his own brother's toes for some stupid reason.

"Anything else we need to do?"

Griffin looked up once more. He was thinking of just plainly not giving Parker an answer, but he ultimately decided on, "Food? How about some ice cream? Haven't had that in a while."

"I'll pick some up later for us, okay?"

Another thing Griffin hated; the dangling question, tacked on just so Parker finds a way to keep occupied. If this were from anyone else but his brother, he'd find it pathetic, but Parker had to be helped somehow. If not by anyone else, then by him. Again, he answered with a simple, "Okay."

"Did I hear somethin' about ice cream," a feminine voice called from up the steps. Faen, even while frazzled and at her groggiest, still managed to make merely tiny creaks in the floorboards as she sauntered down the steps. Her elvish dexterities never left her, even if the serenity and white noise of the nighttime forests stayed behind in Deamoria while she absconded with the Menkhos to the bustling Citadel. It was a transition she had yet to get used to. While her employers could easily and routinely navigate their way through the winding streets and crowded plazas tucked under the balcony of the Citadel itself, she would constantly be swept up in the current, and far more often than not, she'd stay within the confines of the shop, tending to whatever treasures the Menkhos' had procured from any excursions.

"Yea," Parker replied, "I'm picking some up later. What flavor would you like?"

"S-strawberry," Faen answered with a yawn, walking over to the stovetop to grab her breakfast and plop herself down at the table soon after. One thing she couldn't shake off was that, barring the chair, everything she had grabbed in the last ten seconds was just shy of burning and, above all else, perfectly smooth. There were no cracks, no imperfections, no indents to trace her fingers through; just smoothness, in the spatula, in the oven's handle, in the panhandle. She promised herself never to say anything about it, but she still couldn't shake that rancid feeling.

"Alright," Parker cheered as he clasped his hands. "Now all we're missing is what Shinji wants."

"Shinji wants what?" Galloping down the steps after hearing someone had called his name, Shinji looked over at Parker, realizing it was him who'd said his name.

"Ice cream," Parker said inquisitively.

"Sure, I'm game." Going through a myriad of flavors in his head, he eventually settled his decision and said, "I'll have Rocky Road, please."

As Shinji scooped up his portion of eggs and venison, Griffin suddenly spoke up. "Actually, make mine a Rocky Road, too."

"Will do," Parker quips before he began to chow down on his breakfast. The others ate in silence. Shinji then remembered, "Oh! Here, I'll go flip the sign! We got a late start, don't wanna drive away any of our customers!"

Shinji grabbed his plate and fork and ran for the door. Holding the fork in his mouth and his plate in one hand, he used the other hand to force open the front door. However, before he turned the sign, he noticed a Beast, a Kaitan to be exact, sleeping in one of the rocking chairs on the porch. Turning his head, he saw some sort of mechanical centaur standing beside her.

"...h-hello?"

Citadel of Fate

Aicha was awakened by a voice coming from the store. She slowly rose, removing the hood as her ears twitched "Sorry, I seem to have arrvied while the store was still closed." She turned to Ulysses "Okay, you stay here, I'm going in." In response mechanical clattering could be heard "Yes, I'll be back soon." Ears still twitching Aicha looked at the figure at the door, though because of her still sleepy eyes she couldn't make out more than a rough silhouette, still she had now her usual light smile on her face. "Is this store open now? I heard I could get what I want here~"

edited 27th Feb '16 5:58:11 PM by Sergey_Smirnov

"It is now."

Shinji flicked the sign, the metal plate clanking against the door as it spun around. The shop was now officially open.

"So who is it," a voice called from behind Shinji, nearly scaring the pants off of him. The boy weakly answered, "It's a Kaitan! She wants to buy something! ...right?"

Citadel of Fate

Aicha smiled, answering in her usual happy tone "Yes~ I heard you sell treasures from the Snow Wastes here~ Also ores... ores I could use for Clockwork parts~" She lifted part of her cloak, revealing a tool belt like those used by the mechanics in the Clockwork Kingdom hanging around her hip. "May I come in~?"

edited 27th Feb '16 6:09:52 PM by Sergey_Smirnov

"S-sure," Shinji said, quickly admiring Aicha's features before heading back inside, accidentally slamming the door behind him. Not a second later, Griffin opened up the door once more.

"Why don't you, um, come inside," he said, pushing open the door for her to come through. Meanwhile, Parker and Faen were peaking their heads from out behind the back wall, and Shinji was sitting at the counter beside the cash register, quickly finishing his breakfast and shoving the plate to the side once he was done.

From out there, Aichi could probably see, there were several shelves filled with treasures of all sorts. Ornate weapons, elaborate necklaces, jewelry, pottery, manuscripts and tablets, and ores, pre-mined or still in the rock, dotted these shelves, and there were even more, smaller treasures along the window as window dressing for passers-by. Hanging from the ceiling were lanterns and banners draped in much the same way that the banners outside hung over the streets.

Citadel of Fate

Aicha noticed Shinji's glance at her, she didn't mind though, she was aware that of her figure, but those who got to know her soon realized that she didn't get so far only becasue she looked good, and she didn't particulary care what the rest thought, not out of selfishness or anything, but she saw no worth in trying to project an image of her to someone she probably would never see again.

She walked into the store and, as she looked around couldn't help but feel amazed (which probably showed). The stores she normally was in maybe had one relic or two, and it was a matter of luck to find the right ores, but here? There was everything she probably needed to modify Ulysses, likely more. She strolled around, looking at some of the weapons. In the end she decided that for now her pistol was enough though. She got to the ores, now that was the interesting part indeed. Most if not all were of a really good quality. As she got a bit ore her eyes fell on a golden armband, likely to be worn on the upper arm, her eyes were glued to it, it really looked beautiful, with elaborate ornaments around it. "May I... try it on?"

edited 27th Feb '16 6:33:34 PM by Sergey_Smirnov

"Careful," Faen joked, "it could be cursed."

"H-hey," Shinji lashed out at her. "Don't mess with the customer!"

"What," Faen playfully pouted. "You always worry about cursed armbands in that game of yours."

"But that's different!"

Griffin, laughing at their antics, brushed up beside Aicha and said, "Go ahead. Actually, I wanna see how it looks." He moves towards Aicha to see her put it on.

Wanting to busy himself with store matters as the business day had now just begun, Parker pushed up a hinged, empty section of the front counter to enter into the store itself. "Need help with anything, ma'am," he shot a question towards Aicha, peeking outside to look for any passers-by interested in the ancient loot and priceless goods the Menkhos' have managed to procure.

The Citadel of Fate

Aster wandered through the Citadel, wearing his casual black leather clothing, with his Mage-Blades in their base hilt-like forms strapped to his belt. As always, the streets were filled with people and buildings that alluded to all differents sorts of origins. People from kinds of races, like elfs, dwarves, harpies, gnomes, dryads etc. In some parts there more modern building reminicient of the Clockwork Empire and Mechanus. Others reminded him more of his home, the Storybook of Albion.

Given both the size of the place and such diversity, it took him some to find the particular place he was looking for. He had heard about a shop run by two brothers from Forever Beast, who sold treasure they hunt in the ancient ruins of Snow Wastes. He didn't know if there was anything sold that wasn't entirely too valuable to be used in his mage-smith work, but it was worth a shot. If there was anywhere where there could find materials with special and powerful properties, it was probably there.

Soon enough, he finally reached the small wooden building that he had been told about. He gave only a passing glance to the Clockwork golem was currently outside the shop. As well as organic beings, many such machines from both the Empire and Mechanus could be found here as well. He certainly had been surprised and awed by their presence when he had first arrived, but a considerable ammount of time had passed since then and by now he was mostly used to their presence.

He the entered the shop, which seemed to have been recently opened for the day. He took in his surroundings, noticing all the impressive weapons and other sorts of ornate equipment that could be found in the store. He didn't have a need for any of that for now though. Ignis, Raiken and his armor were more than enough. He just needed to pick up a few materials to complete a few jobs and maybe make some experimental upgrades to his own gear before he ventured out into any of the other Storybooks that could be found in the universe.

With that in mind, he went straight to a section where he had spotted some ores. He also noticed that there was a Kaitan girl standing next to that exact section. Focusing on the task at hand for now, Aster began to peruse the ores, noticing the incredible ammount of different kinds that were being displayed. Now what to choose ...

edited 27th Feb '16 7:07:12 PM by JamesShields

Citadel of Fate

Aicha giggled at the anthics, she never really feared curses - although more because of her luck so far than anything else. Carefully she put the armband on, with a silent click it closed around her left arm, somewhat 10 centimeters below her shoulder. It indeed looked quite marvellous on her, normally she wasn't even one to care much for jewelry, but somehow this was different, wouldn't hurt to have one single piece of jewelry on her. "I'm taking this~"

As the Kaitan heard Parker's question she nodded "Yes, I'm needing a bit of ore~ The Golem out there has a steam furnace, problem is the funnel is directly in front of me when I ride on him, so I wanted to modify him a bit so the funnel ends somewhere at the side where it doesn't blow the smoke directly at me. I have enough money, don't worry~" From under her cloak she procured a pouch of gold. "Would this suffice?"

Griffin took the bag just as she held it out for Parker, eyeing Aicha suspiciously. After he meticulously counted it, and not without looking back at the band for a few moments to examine it, he took a good amount of coin from the bag and gave the rest back to Aicha.

"Sorry," he said cutely. "Had to make sure you weren't giving us marbles. Someone stuck a bunch of rocks in one of those bags, and we never found out 'til they were way across the Citadel with their shield or whatever."

He then put the gold in Parker's hands and went off to tailor to another customer. From the back counter, Shinji was already slightly miffed at the fact that he, as active cashier, was not given any money to place in the cash register...and maybe a coin or two to line his own pockets.

"Y'know," Parker began, twirling his ponytail with his claw, "I don't think I've ever met a Clockwork Golem before. Seen them, definitely seen them. Just not met one."

Meanwhile, Griffin crept up behind Aster, attempting to spook him with a well-timed, "Hello!"

Citadel of Fate

Aicha waited as Griffin counted the coins, she wasn't minding, from past experiences she knew how it could play out when you trusted someone you didn't know. As she got her pouch back she made another smile "Thanks~"

Aicha looked at Parker "Oh~ you want to meet one? Should warn you though, Ulysses is not much of a talker~" She got the ore, putting it into a small bag she had stored under her cloak. She probably would make the modifications later. "Though I have to say Ulysses is not a real Clockwork golem, while most of him seems to be powered by Clockwork mechanisms as I said he also has a Coal furnace for creating steam~"

edited 27th Feb '16 7:36:36 PM by Sergey_Smirnov

The Citadel of Fate

Aster was still in the middle of the process of carefully looking through the wide selection of ores when suddenly, someone apparently creeped up on him and spoke to him, causing to jump a little.

After he managed to recover, he turned around to look at the person who had done this him. It seemed that they had a lupine appearance, which certainly matched with what he had been told about this place.

" H-Hello there, " he responded. Normally, he would have gotten irritated, but it was probably not a good idea to get into a fight with someone that was very likely to be the one he was trying to do business with, " you are one of the owners of this shop, aren't you?"

edited 27th Feb '16 7:54:33 PM by JamesShields

"Come on Thule! We gotta get going! Come on, come on, come on!"

The ever-stoic Thule was practically being dragged through the Citadel's streets by his sister's firm hand around his arm. If one was paying close enough attention, a small, almost invisible look of annoyance crossed his face for a moment.

"Hurry up, hurry up! We've got places to be, things to see, people to meet! We don't have all day, ya know? Gotta get ready!"

Fawnia was apologizing every few seconds for bumping into people, her feet knowing her destination before her eyes saw it, to the woe of everyone else in her way, and Thule as he could't help but mentally facepalm every time his sibling charged through a person inadvertently, with nothing but a hasty apology afterwards.

Griffin smiled. "Yep!" The pup looked around Aster at the ores and metal pieces on the shelf behind the man. "What kind are you looking for? We got a bunch of metals and some crystals, but they're all from Snow Wastes."

Scratching his chin as Aisha spoke, he then cautiously walked over to Ulysses outside. Looking back at Aisha for a moment, he laughed nervously before turning to face the mechanical centaur.

"Uuh, hi."

He gave Ulysses a pitiful wave as he leaned outside the shop's threshold.

Faen had disappeared behind the back wall, perhaps to work on small-smithing the treasures the Menkhos continued to bring back. Shinji was still staring at Aisha, perpetually having that same nervous look Parker gave Aisha a moment ago as thoughts blazed through his head at a mile a minute.

edited 29th Feb '16 11:35:35 AM by BlackMageAnolis

Citadel of Fate

Ulysses looked at Parker, mechanical noises, clicks and stuff could be heard from his head. Though the Centaur didn't move a centimeter

Inside Aicha looked at Shinji, she had noticed that he was kinda nervous, but couldn't really find out why, from his looks it probably had something to do with her, but what exactly was beyond her, it surely couldn't be his first time seeing a Kaitan. In the end she decided to just ask, getting up she tilted her head, asking in a tone that made it clear she wasn't particulary minding or anything but merely curious "Is there something the matter with me?"

"N-nothing. Just..." The human cashier cleared his throat. "Distracted. You're fine—it's fine."

Shinji tried to laugh it off, but his laughter soon trailed off awkwardly.

"So can I get you something else?" Shinji pointed to the shelf behind him, adorned with small packets of gum and bags of chips and cookies. His idea, obviously. "We got food for the road."

Parker stared into the crowd, then he looked back at Ulysses, claw raised, and asked, "You're not that girl's...pet, are you? I'd heard some things here or there about Clockwork Golems, and one thing was that they're supposed to be...sentient?"

Citadel of Fate

Aicha waited a bit before starting to giggle "Say, you have seen a Kaitan before right? I mean the storeowners here are wolves themsleves." She paused for a short moment "Regarding the food, do you have some dried meat for me and coal for Ulysses?"

Hearing the word 'pet' made Ulysses shake his head, some slightly agitated mechanical clicks following. As he heard what Parker had heard about Golems regarding sentience he uttered some proud(?) sounding clicks and noises, nodding in the process.

edited 29th Feb '16 5:38:34 PM by Sergey_Smirnov

The Citadel of Fate - Menkho's teasure shop

" Well, I'm mostly looking for materials for a few orders on my part job as a mage-smith. It's always good to have a variety of those around, so anything that you can recommend that is both sturdy and conductive to projecting magic would be good, " the black clad young man explained, " though I'm also looking to experiment with my own gear and thus also looking for ores and gems with more special properties. I heard this was the right place to go looking for that."

The Citadel of Fate - Wandering the streets

Lumina roamed aimlessly through the streets. She still didn't feel quite at ease in this place. Much as hervhome village may often bring her bad memories, it was still rather jarring and unsettling most of the time to be in a place so different from what she had always known before she was forced to live.

The effect was as not as bad when she was around a district inspired by say, Albion, which while more technologically advanced than the pure magic focused Mysteria where she came from, nonetheless still had a traditional look due to also using magic. It was when she was around somewhere mostly based on the Clockwork Empire or even worse, Mechanus, that she felt most out of place. Specially when it came to the later, since people from they were particularly fond of magic users like her.

She sighed in dismay and decided for just finding somewhere to acquire some good quality herbs and other ingridients before calling it a day and go back to the small house where lived around here. Comfortable as it may be, it certainly didn't feel like a place that she would be calling 'home' anytime soon.

The elven girl was broken her reverie when she heard loud and fast approaching footsteps moving towards her general direction.

Soon enough, the source of such a noise, a human girl that sermed to be pulling a larger man by the hand, came within her vision. And she was coming too fast at that!

Lumina wouldn't have time to properly transform to be able to put a barrier strong enough to fully absorb the impact, so for now she would have to do with just her rather weak natural magic.

The elf quickly stretch a hand in front of her, chanting a bit and focusing her mana on forming a thin barrier that would hopefully cushion at least a small portion of the inevitable collision between the two, possibly three of them.

edited 1st Mar '16 10:04:04 PM by JamesShields

Shinji laughed some more, saying, "I have, but...never, um, seen any girl Kaitans." Looking back at the shelf, he then walked over and found several small cans of beans or meat sitting atop each other. He grabbed a couple and tossed them Aisha's way.

"Don't know what you'd like, but there, you got tuna, beef, um...beans, sausage. We get a lot of cans for those wolves, I'm just selling you the extras. And...I...I don't think we have any coal. We sell treasures, we don't supply treasure hunters."

Parker breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sorry," he said, "I—"

"...so how'd you two meet, you and that girl?" Parker sat down in one of the rocking chairs on the porch, intent on hearing what Ulysses had to say...or gestured? Whirred? The look on Parker's face after a moment gave the impression he'd just realized what a stupid thing he said.

Griffin thought for a moment.

"Okay, we got some silver pieces over there. Silver works pretty well with magic, that's what Faen's told me. She also said copper's pretty good with magic, and I've read it's good with electricity, too, so you got some options with that one. Hm..." He then picked up a piece of steel. "Faen said if you want something really sturdy, steel isn't super good with magic, but it's better than nothing. Though iron's a no-go; not as strong, not as...conductive."

Putting it down, he then leaned back and eyed the crystals to Aster's left.

"I don't know about those crystals...Faen's a smith, so she didn't have anything for them either. You know a jeweler?"

Citadel of Fate, Menkho's teasure shop

Aicha smiled as she catched a can of beef "Gotcha~" With her other hand and tail she catched the remaining ones "Careful though~ don't want them to get opened." She placed the other cans on the counter "One's enough, and yeah I noticed, probably need to go to the local smith for Ulysses' snack~" She paused before grinning "Do I look that different from male Kaitan for you? I mean you humans on the other hand always seemed kinda funny for me with the fur some of you have in their face - sorry if that's offending you." She giggled.

Outside Ulysses - unfazed by Parker's realization - motioned a bit, his clicks and noises indicating something like thankfulness, for a short time he stopped most of his clockwork parts and the funnel didn't emit any smoke anymore as he lied on the ground. He then pointed in the store and opened the hatch of his furnace, his noises sounded as if explaining something. He made motions with his arms as if shoving something into the furnace before his funnel started smoking again and she stood up. He then pointed in the shop again and after that pointed to himself before he made motions as if walking.

edited 2nd Mar '16 9:27:23 AM by Sergey_Smirnov

Fawnia collided with someone for the umpteenth time, an elf. But the thin barrier was enough to stop her hasty charge.

"Oh! Sorry, sorry, sorry about that! Me and my brother really need to go get ready so we're in a rush and I'm not really noticing anyone in front of me and I'm really sorry for colliding with you Miss I really didn't mean to!"

Fawnia's mouth fires off faster than any machinegun, while Thule facepalms hard behind her. He sends a simple nod of greeting towards the elf, his own apology.