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RP: 5th Fleet [Chapter Seven] We're Not In Yamatai Anymore...

Though passively listening to the moral lesson on the elven empire Yuzuki had been largely focused on her given task, at least until a wet impact and Coco's laughter pulled her from her task. Blinking Yuzuki cast her gaze about the back of the cartridge in time to catch Adelaide's wounded gaze. Blinking Yuzuki cast aside the response, 'Mud looks good on you~' and instead voiced, "I'm sorry m'lady. I only did as Coco asked of me, she didn't mention anything about flying mud."

That something had happened at all took the Neko by surprise, still she had no way to know whether it was coincidence or if someone was playing a trick on her. To this end she supposed she should try to do something else, but venturing forward blindly seemed a poor choice at the moment. As such she inquired in the direction of Coco's mirth lamed direction, "Should I try again with something else?"
 
Dimiti nodded at Adelaide's explanation it was something he hadn't expected though, an expansion out of fear causing the end of a nation, it was a rather rare occurrence, but not entirely unheard of. Since the information was good he didn't pay much mind to her comments about men, she was of nobility so being raised in such a manner wasn't unexpected. "Don't worry about it." He smiled as he continued driving the carriage.

He had to try hard not to laugh though when Adelaide was struck by the mud though. It'd have been funny to see in person regardless of who it was, but the expression she was making just before hand made it more hilarious. He turned himself back around and faced forward so no one could see that he was holding in a laugh.
 
Aya listened intently. Even if she wasn't a foremost scholar of politics or history, it wasn't too difficult to draw parallels to the present day's problems. I guess some issues are universal... Dimitri certainly had the right idea, asking about magic. They were on a fact finding mission, after all! Alas, Adelaide's explanation was cut short as she was splattered by some mud. Coco seemed to think it was down to Yuzuki trying water magic, but since they had just ridden over a muddy patch of road Aya was inclined to think it was down to that. Aya was a little annoyed; as steeped in religious imagery as Adelaide's explanation seemed to be, it might have offered an opportunity for analysis to find a more mundane explanation.

"Are you alright? Do you want some help?" she blurted out before she could stop herself, concern plain on her face. She didn't like to see anyone upset, after all.
 
"Nawww!~~~~" the little handmaid replied to Yuzuki, her master still looking rather hurt and dirtied.

"Since you picked water, you got the closest bunch of it, and it was in mud. Look." With a shooing motion, most of the mud leaped off of Adelaide and plopped into the road behind them, the young royal herself letting out a small 'Eeep!' of shock as Coco did so. "You still feel dirty though, right Adelaide?" The brunette slowly nodded her still-soiled head, the bits left over now completely dry and crumbly thanks to the complete absence of water. If they looked, the squad would even notice that the moss was utterly dehydrated in an instant in fact. "See, it's because earth and water are two different things!" Pulling out a graceful white wand of power that simply shouldn't have been in a ten year old girl's hands, Coco leveled its tip right at Adelaide, who's eyes went as wide as saucers. "Poof!" With that, all the dirt on her was blown away by a non-existent gust of air.

"N-no. I-I-I-I'll be fine," the brunette replied to Aya. "I-I mean, it's not so bad, everything about my life starting to unravel. I can bear with it, yes." The princess simply sat there there for a moment, utterly stunned with disbelief yet again by what just happened to her. She eventually chose to lay down, subconsciously placing her head in Aya's lap for comfort. This was just too much for her well scheduled routine to bear without breaking and shattering into a million pieces! Already so much was tossed to the wind that she was even going in the wrong direction! It didn't matter now anymore though. Things...things would never be the same again for her.

"Coco." A small, stern woman's voice spoke up. "How much magical potential do you think I have?" Sif asked from beside Dimitri. She had been relatively quiet up until now, letting the eccentric little girl do the babysitting for her, but now she was genuinely curious. The expression on Coco's face told them all they needed to know however.

"Oh! Lots and LOTS!" she exclaimed in delight. "Since you're so small, it's sorta made up for in how much magic you can do!" the little girl explained, hopping around the edge of the open carriage until she plopped down besides Dimitri, and right by the Mini-Neko. "In fact, if you were magical and I picked you up in place of my wand, I could blow stuff up, eeee-zeee! I'd be all like, pow, pow, pow! Kablam!" she exclaimed, pretending to wave a Sif in hand like a pistol. "So, who else wants some magic? You? Maybe you? Or you?"

It was a pretty important question. Though, while they pondered this, the trees along the path began to become more interwoven. Sunlight still poured through the generous gaps, but, somehow? They couldn't help but shake the impression they were in a highway cutting through a mountain.
 
With no further instruction at the moment Yuzuki was left to sit on her hands, a prospect that was only tolerable because she went out of her way to enact it literally. Morale fortified by a plush, heavy Neko bottom (never mind that it was her own) on hand, Yuzuki listened with mild interest to the explanation that was being given in regard to the magic, and eventually to Sif's relation to it.

First and fore most Yuzuki was surprised to learn that the magic had intentionally only moved water nearby rather than create it out of thin air... Like magic. All in all it felt like something that anyone could achieve with the right equipment and some time in the engineering bay, and in the end didn't feel overly magical. Then again, she wasn't exactly skilled in any way when it came to these 'magical arts' so perhaps her results merely reflected the time put in. It would however be a subject worth considering as she progressed.

What was a greater blow to her morale was the assertion that Sif would be a veritable wellspring of magical energies capable of great and amazing things. In some ways Yuzuki supposed it was typical, after all their CO was the only one in the group who had been provided with setting local information, assuming it wasn't a hobby of the CO's. Sure the ever hanging feeling that the CO knew more than she was letting on, and revelling in the knowledge as her subordinates scurried about trying to piece together an unfamiliar culture and time period with little to no resources to draw upon was irritating, and in a way their group was about as well prepared as a squad of soldiers from this era would be had they been dropped on the streets of modern Kyoto. But the revelation that no only was the CO better prepared, but also inherently more capable in this setting than anyone else? It was a little disheartening lending to the feeling that it almost would have been better to just send the Heisho on her lonesome.

Despite her dour thoughts Yuzuki quietly filed away the bit of information wondering what it was about this world that determined magical talent, and why it would favour someone of a diminutive stature such as the Heisho. For the moment she supposed it would be a mystery that would for the moment go unanswered as Yuzuki didn't feel the need to join the fray of the conversation just yet.
 
Dimitri chuckled as he watched the scene unfold, it felt like he was watching a cartoon, and he was finally getting in line with the program. The question of magical potential was a good one,, learning some rules for who can and can't do magic would be nice. "If you used Sif as a wand, would she shoot fire balls from her mouth? Just give her a tiny squeeze and let loose apocalyptic fire?" He chuckled at his own remarks and smiled. "I suppose I'll learn though, I don't think I'll get this opportunity again."
 
The display of magic in the form of cleaning Adelaide with a wand was much harder to explain away than the mud. Quietly, the sceptical part of her mind prepared to admit (grudging) defeat.

"If you say so..." said Aya, both her voice and her face betraying her uncertainty. What she wasn't expecting, however, was for Adelaide to rest her head on the Neko's lap. She sat there for a minute or so, unsure how to respond. Awkwardly, she began to run a hand through Adelaide's hair in what she hoped was a soothing manner. It probably wasn't the ideal response, but Aya hoped it would make the poor woman feel better.

The idea of Sif having great magical potential didn't really surprise Aya. She was, after all, their commander. As such, she was already superior to the rest of the squad in a number of different ways, so why not magic, too? A small part of her wanted to volunteer - it'd be just like all the shows she loved to watch - but she kept quiet for now, shooting a dirty look at Dimitri. She didn't want him to bring the Mini-Neko's wrath down on the squad, either as a whole or even just on him.
 
Staring at him as her mental gears turned, Coco then exploded with excitement at what Dimitri just said.

"Ohmygosh!Kawaiiiiiii!" she squeed. "I so gotta see this!" Before Sif could even protest, let alone say anything, the little girl moved in a blur, her finger darting out to merely touch the Mini-Neko on her nose. All they saw was the tiny brunette blink however. "Well, go on! Give it a go! Show me what you got!" Looking at the little girl in annoyance, the even smaller woman glanced at her hand before producing a burning flame in hand. One that glowed with power as it sat in Sif's palm, yet was peaceful with the world. It also happened to be the size of a flame from the average Nepleslian's cigarette lighter. Coco look dumbfounded as he jaw dropped in silence, while Adelaide pressed her head in closer to Aya, seeking refuge.

"Please, don't tell me of whatever insanity has just occurred," she whined, seeking more of Aya's soft hands for comfort. From here though, it honestly looked like Sif had hardly any magic to her at all, and only gave them so, so many more questions to this world. Realizing this, the Mini-Neko in question simply put her flame out and sat down at the edge of her overly large seat again in silence. With this sharp, sudden turn of events that even left the little girl of their group speechless, it was a little difficult to notice the path slowly bending until they could see great marble walls and armored guards up ahead. Guards that were shining, spic and span in comparison to the slightly rusty, used and dirty guards of the town before. Guards that were well equipped and alert.

As they stood by the gates, the guards waited patiently in their armor for them to approach.
 
Dimitri was not sure how to react to the situation that was unfolding, the way she spoke, he expected that Coco had some ability to sense how much magical energy was inside someone. It looked like that wasn't the case however and Sif had gotten her hopes up only to be let down. The sight of his CO in such a state was a little hard to watch, he did use two fingers to pat her on the head though. He had to slow the cart when he turned the corner and guards were right there. He wanted to wave and show he was friendly but held back wondering if waving was considered rude in their culture. Instead he just made a relaxed approach to them with the cart and stopped in front of them.
 
Rin could not help but smirk when the mud went flying. Still, it was strange to think that a Neko could use...magic. She was rather surprised when Sif tried to use some of this magic.
Upon seeing the tiny Sif produce a tiny ember of fire, Rin raised both of her eyebrows in astonishment.

"Wow Sif. Remind me not to make you angry."

As they approached the settlement, Rin grew more alert once she saw the clean marble and pristine armor of the guards. This was not an "off the map," place; this had to be a place of some importance.
 
As Sif sat in depressed silence, her feline ears downcast, the Mini-Neko didn't even reply to Rin as her eyes stared off into the ground. Meanwhile, Coco simply sat, going,

"Hmmm. Hmmmmmm. HMMMMMMMMMMMM." She was completely stumped by what happened, while Adelaide simply found shelter in Aya's warm lap as she refused to acknowledge whatever insanity had just occurred. Of course, the guards of this marble carved enclave had no clue what was going on and approached. Discouragingly, they looked as well drilled and disciplined as they were shiny; a trio of them approached with their shields in hand, but swords at their belts and hands casually placed on their pommels. Somehow, the Star Army soldiers couldn't help but draw parallels between them, and police officers conducting a regular stop, ready for anything to go wrong.

"Ave," the leading soldier greeted them. Standing his curved, rectangular shield down on the ground, his right hand stretched outwards, palm flat and facing down in some gesture. "What business brings you here? The Graceful Ones have not expressed any interest in trading their goods away in exchange your petty wares, though that most certainly does not look to be your intent." The middle aged man was somewhere in his mid-thirties, but was in excellent physical shape in comparison to the Kingdom's guards back at the town. And, he seemed rather sharp eyed as well.
 
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With things for the moment stalled by way of magical exploits and Yuzuki without an idea as to how to spur the mercurial Coco into divulging more things of interest rather than musing over Sif's whimper rather than boom, the arrival of a challenging guard was strangely comforting. Greeting the man with a smile, Yuzuki spoke up cheerfully, "We are travelling in the footsteps of a companion of ours whom we were tragically separated from. It is our intention to continue after them with the intention of hopefully reuniting."

Still sitting on her hands with a quiet pleasantness painted on her face after giving her explanation, Yuzuki wondered if they had encountered the sort who would take offense to travellers or if they would be wished well and sent on their way. Either way, Yuzuki supposed that she'd be finding out soon enough.
 
Dimitri gave a soft nod to Yuzuki's reply to the guards. "That's how it goes." He spoke up as well. He had been through more than his share of routine traffic stops so he didn't pay the behavior much mind. "She is new to the area, so we figure she'd have just followed the road, and end up here like we did." He sat back and relaxed himself some, figuring they looked like the diligent type, so it might take some time.
 
"I won't," murmured Aya as she absentmindedly continued to stroke her hand through Adelaide's hair. Her attention was occupied by Sif's frankly underwhelming pyrokinetic display. She was genuinely surprised - surely, if anyone had impressive reserves of magical power left untapped, it would be her? Sif didn't seem too happy about the turn of events either. The blue skinned Neko felt kind of bad for her; everyone else seemed to have abilities that at least had the potential to be truly impressive, but Sif had drawn the short straw.

The settlement they arrived at was a far cry from the one they had left. It was almost as though they had entered an entirely different country - which, come to think of it, was entirely possible, since the squad didn't have a map to her recollection. The guards, too, were a cut above the sorry lot that they had left behind. Even if their armour was not of a different type, its meticulous cleanliness and well maintained condition would have tipped her off to their professionalism. The men were as well kept as their equipment - they looked well fed and strong. They conducted themselves professionally, too - less "armed rabble" and more "elite soldier".

Aya wasn't sure who The Graceful Ones were, but she could make a guess: nobles, perhaps, or even a part of this country's ruling power? Nevertheless, she knew that keeping the men waiting would do them no favours.

Yuzuki took the lead, and Aya nodded in affirmation after Dimitri spoke. Hopefully the soldiers would be willing to accept their explanation - it was, after all, the truth!
 
"A companion you say?" The professional soldier picked up his shield and casually came closer, briefly sighing like a parent who had to explain something to a child.

"One so feline eared such as yourself and friends?" He rhetorically asked Yuzuki, now standing besides the horses. Hearing Dimitri speak however, the man quickly corrected him. "Let me tell you this; nobody enters these woods unless they know exactly what they're doing. Fate runs thick here. Coincidence? No such thing. Not here at least." With how his eyes peered over the group, wary and narrowed, it was clear that he felt, perhaps somehow knew, that there was something about them. Something different. "Your 'friend' was no exception." Turning his back to them as he stepped away, the soldier looked back at them over his shoulder, confident they weren't a threat to him. "I will see if you are to be invited. Until then - "

"Let them enter. I will meet them at the Forum," an eternally young man's voice spoke in their ears. Sif immediately perked up, just a bit, but didn't bother to tell them in words. Rather, just a series of mopey ideas and concepts. That whoever it was that had 'Telepathically' contacted them was certainly not Star Army. That the format was simply too old, too archaic for that.

"You heard the Graceful Master." The great wooden doors to the marble walls opened for them with a creaking grunt, welcoming them to the city beyond. "Though, regardless of whether or not you accept, or bombard me with questions of your own...who is that maiden there? The sleeping beauty upon thy lap?" he asked Aya.

The Neko could feel Adelaide stiffen.
 
Oddly Yuzuki found herself chiming in with the truth, if not the full truth, "She's a refugee that we found in a burning town, one of the tragic few survivors we met there. A band of mercenaries led by a spell caster had assaulted the town and slaughtered many of the residents. She desired to leave the place behind, no doubt due to the painful memories. Though her exact reasons are her own. The poor girl hasn't been able to recover fully from the trauma as of yet, so even waking her may prove difficult..." Yuzuki cast a sympathetically sad gaze toward the Lady-in-hiding's reclined form.

She gave an apologetic smile to the guard indicating that the answer she had given was the best she had, and wondered if she would be dealing with more complications, though she had been careful to answer with things that were technically true in a manner that would have made some of her fellow trainees quite proud back on Ronica. With magic being in existence and the lack of knowledge that there might too exist a truth-sense of some sort she supposed it was worth trying to toe the line of fact while avoiding any details that might be offensive.
 
Uh-oh. The dangers of trying to get away with divulging as little information as possible were now becoming clear as the soldier coolly began explaining the improbability of the situation. It seemed as though the squad would have to find another way to catch up with Kuroneko - or worse still, have to turn around entirely. Just then, a telekinetic voice invaded her mind. The "speaker" sounded like a young man, though he "spoke" with authority. In response to Sif, she simply sent the telepathic message, "I'm guessing this must be one of the Graceful Ones. I'm not sure how to feel about them taking an interest..." She also sent the message to the rest of the squad, or at least those who could receive it. There was a real risk that their mission had just gotten a whole lot more complicated.

Aya blinked when the soldier pointed out Adelaide's supine form. Her mind raced to think of a suitable excuse, but Yuzuki beat her to the punch again. She nodded solemnly as the other Neko finished. "We're simply trying to take care of her the best we can. She needs this rest after all she's been through."
 
Dimitri took note of the way the guard spoke, it did sound like Kuro might have indeed stopped by. The extra voice in his head was somewhat surprising though, slowly more and more male voices were ending up inside, and that wasn't as satisfying as with cute girls. However either way he offered a bows from his seat towards the gate, he wasn't sure if they were observing or merely hearing, but whoever was letting them in was showing a margin of favor so they deserved respect. "Thank you for allowing us entrance." He waited for the conversation to finish with the guard however before guiding the carriage in.
 
Rin stiffened slightly at the voice in her head. Telepathy? And furthermore, the exact frequency on which Nekovalkyrja can communicate?

"I have a feeling this place might be more than what it seems," replied Rin telepathically to the squad. She smiled pleasantly at the guards, but she refused to let her guard down; her keen eyes watched the guards very closely as they entered the town.
 
'I fear you are correct Rin,' Sif admitted, her voice surprisingly soft and gentle. It was, perhaps, almost ominous considering her usual demeanor. As their horses followed the guard in, the Mini-Neko stood and paced in thought on the front seat. 'As soon as I saw pictures of this planet's surface, I immediately suspected that this planet was somehow tied to AvaNet. Therefore, also tied to Yamatai's past,' she elaborated, if only a bit. 'That connection to our past seems all the more certain, but...not in the way that I expected. This planet is proving to be surprising.'

Surprise them it did. The moment they laid eyes on what lay beyond the great doors, they immediately knew that they were back in civilization.

Making their way through the outer neighborhoods, the squad set eyes on traffic making its way down paved streets while people went about their daily business. They saw mothers busily shopping in markets for food while their daughters chattered away with their friends, some obviously going shopping for clothes. Young men could be seen eying them - and being eyed back - as they made their way to the nearest game, while businessmen were hurriedly rushing to their next meeting. Except, it was all so old fashioned. Horse pulled carriages, tunics and togas, white marble and Lorica armored soldiers patrolling the streets. It was all so....so...

"Elysian," the Mini-Neko muttered under her breath, flashbacks drawing her sight to some far off place. Sif stood stiff and tense, but just a moment before her feline ears flicked back. 'It's all so Elysian in design. Or perhaps, is it possible it's the other way around?' her voice mused in their minds. Before they could answer though, the Guard replied, unaware of the hidden conversation.

"Do not thank me viator; you only have the good will of the Graceful One. The one who's attention you now have," the Legionnaire told Dimitri. Though the others had spoken first, he didn't address them, at least, not right away. "A village burning down. How queer," he offhandedly remarked, clearly in thought. "I will have you make mention of this to His Grace. However, I advise against lies." He looked first at Yuzuki, then Aya with a stern gaze before turning to look directly at Adelaide. He was no fool. "Her clothing is much too nice for a mere village girl," the Legionnaire pointed out to them. The young woman in question tensed, and, still facing Rin as her head rested in the Neko's lap, opened her eyes to look up at her in terror. Walking up to the still-in-thought Coco however, he peered at her from head to toe. "As is hers. A handmaid perhaps?" he began to reach out at her cloak.

"Nōlī turbāre cogitatio meōs," the little girl promptly slapped his wrist. The soldier's eyes widened in shock the moment she spoke and immediately put a little distance between himself and her. He had let fear show in his eyes, if only for a moment. Despite this, nothing else happened as they continued along. They were yet to find the person that had summoned them however, and an awkward silence fell between them for the moment.
 
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