RP: 5th Fleet [Chapter Eight] Castles and Catgirls

Yuukito smiled at Tahariel, but widened her eyes and was in the process of moving a finger to her lips before her friend managed to stop herself from saying 'chan' in time. Instead, the minkan gave her Elysian friend a silly grin, munching on her own half of the orange and smirking as she watched Tomiko scoot up to the kitsune.

Watching, waiting for them to do their business, Adelaide had plenty to watch. Crossing her arms to support her heavy bust a little bit more, the princess had to admit that though they were very friendly, they also constantly threw her expectations into disarray.

"Oh, why thank you! I'm quite flattered," the red haired Kitsune blushed at Tomiko, her three tails waiving with glee. Take this one for an example. With the appearance and figure of an almost otherworldly goddess, coupled with elvish ears and snow white skin, one expected her to act like an elf. Except, that just wasn't the case. Humming to herself, Adelaide couldn't quite place her finger on it. "You're quite cute yourself you know~" Aiko added, a more seductive and mischievous ring in her voice. It didn't make sense. The elf was acting like a - the brunette watching this unfold almost choked as the realization hit her. This one, she was probably in her late teens, just like her! And the blacksmith obviously wanted to do unspeakable acts of h-h-heresy with her! "I'd hate for you to get hurt, so if you can't get your hands on a stave or staff, a crossbow works wonders for self defense - anyone can send a thick, heavy bolt into someone with ease," the Kitsune suggested .

Adelaide turned away, unable to bear watching! Though...maybe she should? For posterity of course!

"Hey, hey! Give me one too!" Coco suddenly spoke up, tugging at Yuukito's sleeve. Her attention wandering from the daydreaming Mioshi, the little girl's attention was quickly caught by the promise of sweet, succulent fruit. "You're a funny looking one too!" she quickly added, all to observant in her own innocent way.

'Just in case any of you haven't figured it out yet, unless you've got years of experience or have a ballistic targeting system like Nekovalkyrja, do us all a favor and just grab a crossbow instead if you want to shoot things,' Sif reminded them all, still munching on her own share of fruit.

The mousey minkan scientist jumped when Coco tugged on her sleeve, squeaking in surprise, before blushing in embarrassment. "O-of course!" she blurted, fumbling in her basket for another of the orange-like fruit before offering it to Coco with a smile. "Yeah... Not the first time I've heard that, heh." The slightly pained smile on Yuukito's face made her words sound quite sincere, though it faltered briefly as her attention was drawn away by Sif's message. She cast a bemused glance at the crossbows being sold, furrowing her brow. Sure it functioned a lot like a gun in basic operation, and Yuukito knew how to use one, but... it just felt odd to her.

Like Adelaide, Werner had stayed put and watched the people before him conduct their business, but the way they were going about it was painstakingly slow. It was going to be a long time before the group got their mess all sorted out and for them to get going on a basic plan to catch their quarry. They only had one lead so far, and that was going south-west towards the Oricinian Mountains. A place where Orcs supposedly inhabited. The fact that Werner and the party were gathering combat gear did not indicate that this journey south-west was going to be relatively peaceful one when they first meet some of the locals.

Secretly, Werner hoped that would be the case, but at the same time Werner did not want to end up dead prematurely because he did not know anything about the Orcish locals. So to sate his curiosity, Werner walked towards the only man wise enough to avoid any issues besides which enemy to kill and who to serve. The young man dressed in a soldier's garments, and who currently tended the horses.

"Hey... you're Titus right? Since it seems we are going to the Oricinian Mountains, could you tell me anything you know about the area? For example, these Orcs, could you describe them? Like, do you know anything about their language, culture, their combat strength? Anything like that would be very useful for another warrior like yourself."

Mioshi finally returned her attention to Coco, after having dealt with most of the important things that she had been required to deal with. She was, although admittedly with some slight trepidation, holding the reins of the group's horses now, along with Titus, whom Mioshi hoped to steal. Although Mioshi had read about horses, and these looked a lot like the horses of yore, she had never been given the opportunity to meet one, much less ride one. They were a remnant of some bygone era of humanity that hadn't quite survived into the modern era, and now here they were, snickering at her. Or... whickering.

She peered one of them in its big, black, doe-like eyes, and imagined for a moment what might happen if she pissed this creature off. She decided she didn't want to find out.

"Coco," she said, "I am ready as soon as you are, and I want to start as soon as my companions are finished with their shopping. There will be plenty of time on the road, and hopefully plenty of time in an inn on the way."

Mioshi, holding most of the group's actual venture capital, would pay for whatever they bought, naturally. That's why she had taken it; although she hadn't specifically spoken to Sif about the group's finances, she suspected that the little nekovalkyrja would prefer her handle them anyway.

Tahariel had finished her orange by then. Which meant it was time to decide on what she was going to do. "Hm..." the Elysian pondered to herself quietly on the matter. Sif being in her head was not helping either. Whether she would be able to heft a crossbow such a long distance was one thing, but using magic was something else altogether. Her brow scrunched up a bit as her white eyes passed between the crossbow on the table and the little Coco.

Decision finally made, she turned to Coco and asked, "W-would you mind teaching me how to use m-magic as well, Miss Coco?" She had been toying with the ends of her ash blonde hair while her question was born from her mouth. Before Coco could respond she also called out to the lewd Kitsune, "M-miss Aiko! I would also take this crossbow... I-I will be careful with it, I promise!" Tahariel had committed then, and she direly wished to be helpful to the party. If she couldn't wield the crossbow effectively, at least her bolts could be of use to the rest of the group.

Tomiko leaned forward excitedly, the crossbow innuendo getting her attention. She seemed to suddenly catch herself and straightened up. "I was so excited to see you I almost forgot why I was here," she said, pouting. At the moment she really wanted to be alone with Aiko.

"Getting to know you better will have to come later." She said sadly. "What I really need is a weapon that will stop an enemy instead of killing them. I am going to be a... I think it's called a cleric around here." The Neko explained, looking around the shop. "I know! What about a pair of armored gloves and a mace, Miss Aiko?" She asked.

The feeling of eyes on her came from Adelaide's direction. She turned to look at the young woman and gave her a big smile.

Giggling, the little girl gleefully took her orange from Yuukito and started peeling hers as well, however, Mioshi and Tahariel had her attention.

"Hai, hai~," Coco replied, "We can practice as we're going along on the carriage - it'll be really fun! You'll see! Do both of you know what you want to do yet?" she asked, looking towards the few shadows and hiding places in the market. If they followed her gaze, they'd see what she was looking at too. The Kobolds. The little girl couldn't remember if either of the two women said what type of magic they wanted in particular since she wanted to feed the critters with her orange. But...she had to lure them out somehow! That was always the hard part, but they did appreciate it, always! They sometimes even told her things. Meanwhile though, Titus turned to look at Werner for a moment and considered what to say.

"I'm surprised you ask traveler, since their reputation precedes them," the young legionnaire explained. Dealing with someone unethereal like those ladies was something he was more comfortable and familiar with, and so, he went back to his usual demeanor. "Tall, large, brutish things. They regularly mount raids from their home up in the mountains," he began to explain. "These raiders carry lighter cloth and leather armor, with swords and shields being their preferred arms." Gesturing to Adelaide, he added, "The Germanic Kingdoms, including her highness's, rarely pay attention to these due to their preoccupation with their 'little wars' with one another, and rely on Freelancer's Guilds who employ adventurers and mercenaries alike."

He stopped there and gulped however, and it was soon clear why.

"Oh, I know, I know. If only there were more time in the world - your friend seems interested too!" Aiko replied, much to Adelaide's red-blushing embarrassment. Heresy! Complete and utter heresy! Huffing and puffing, the princess turned away from them as the blacksmith went back to business. "So the standard cleric fare? No problem~" the Kitsune replied, happily procuring both for Tomiko. "The gloves aren't special, but the mace, I made after a 'newer' pattern that started becoming more popular in recent years," she explained. As she said, the gauntlets weren't anything particularly special, made of leather and overlapping scales of steel to protect the fingers, but the flanged mace looked like it could dish out pain in a hurry. Glancing over at Tahariel however, she gave a little advice, "Just be sure to know where to touch the crossbow just right."

Seductively running her finger down the length of the upturned crossbow's tickler, she gently pushed it down with a click and a knowing smile.

Off in the background however, a woman in a black dress with an abnormally large skirt began restocking her displays with several dresses, shirts and so forth made out of exquisite silk. However, perhaps the most important things she put up were the padded jacks, made for combat, and the variety of strange looking staffs and staves. It was a very strange combination worth asking about, that was for certain. However, despite the superior finery, she seemed to receive less customers than her peers.

That might have had something to do with the fact that she had pale white hair and multiple red eyes however.

Yuukito stood quietly off to one side as the others interacted and acquired their equipment, musing to herself with a furrowed brow on what she ought to procure for herself. Turning away from the congregation, she scanned her eyes across the market with a thoughtful hum. A crossbow would be something to fall-back on if she failed to get any better ideas. She paused with a gasp when she saw a stall stocked with delightfully comfortable-looking silks, scooting over to it impulsively and examining the finery up close. "These are really pretty, miss!" she blurted out loud with a smile, raising her eyes to get a proper look at the proprietor for the first time. Her eyes widened comically as they met with the multiple, red eyes. "O-oh...! Um, hi!" Yuukito blurted again, stiffening awkwardly whilst inwardly trying to contain her terror: Just because the locals look horrifying, doesn't mean they want to eat your face!

"How interesting..." Werner spoke as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Light Armor, Shields, Large, Brutish, Raiders, and prone to civil wars. Well, these so called Orcs seemed like the epitome of savage warriors indeed. Unlike these elves, and the Germanic Kingdoms, the Orcs sounded extremely decentralized. Now Werner was no expert in politics, but he was forced to learn a little bit while he was in school just like everyone else. The constant presence of violence and war would make the Orcish lands filled and brimming with warbands, or at least that's how his sister would phrase it. Their journey through their lands will not be peaceful at all it would seem, and to this Werner smiled. These being sounded like some people who needed to be taken down a notch. Since Werner presumed these Orcs to be savages, he assumed that no one would care if he grew a little violent with the local populace. Maybe Werner could finally build a positive reputation among the Elves, and perhaps the Kingdoms for challenging mighty warriors? Is that not what great warriors of old used to do to gain fame? Could he even get some positive attention from his party for once?

Werner had visualized the people around him patting his back, and bowing in gratitude as he stood over a large Orc body, That'd be nice.

"Hmmm?" Werner had become a bit found himself in his own thoughts,at the change of the Elf's demeanor.

Well, he was done with his questions anyway. Still, it pissed Werner off a little that he couldn't hold a conversation with anyone. What the hell was going on? He wasn't socially awkward, nothing had changed, everyone just seemed to be focused on something else. In the one second that Werner had to look around, there were two things that immediately grabbed his attention. The first was the crossbow being.... "handled" in a way that wasn't very common for weapons. The other was the lady putting up the leather jacks, of course there were some other oddities, but by this point Werner assumed TItus was forced to get used to them, and pined all of his attention to the poly-eyed woman.

Titus must have already have met this woman before, as a native who no doubt walked the market when he was off duty or when he was off patrolling the city. So Titus himself should not be as surprised as Werner himself was when he saw the woman. There must be a another reason why Titus held his tongue the way he did.

What the hell is this? Some badly written Eroge? Werner solemnly thought.

Well, even if it was badly written it still had great art, and Werner was honestly not surprised when a cat had caught Titus's tongue when he saw both the Wares, and the Vendor. The situation over there certainty looked much less chaotic than the Kitsune's storefront, plus it had some really nice leather jacks that the Kitsune did not have. All in all, it looked like a much more appealing storefront, and Werner had already ordered the gear from the Kitsune, he just needed the leather jack. So with the allure from the silk, Werner wandered towards her, away from the crowd, and beckoned Titus with a simple motion of his hand.

"Come Titus, spider-woman got your tongue? You know, from the land I come from, it is rude to stare without saying hello. Now, help me look for the last piece of equipment I need as a fellow warrior in need, besides there is nothing to lose by chatting up a pretty lady now is there?"

Tahariel covered her blushing face with her hands slightly at the Kitsune's suggestive comment. "O-oh... Umm... I will take that into consideration. T-thank you, Miss Aiko!" However, mimicking the motion on the crossbow at this time was definitely out of the question. She fidgeted a little while looking between the lewd crossbow and Coco. She had to pick what kind of magic to use now? Ugg... is there ever an end? The Santo Hei-turned-Adventurer turned to ask Yuukito about her opinion on the matter but could not find her.

Realizing that her friend had disappeared, she looked around frantically for a moment. She eventually saw Yuukito at another store and relief fell over the Elysian as she excused herself from the smithy shop to catch up. "Yuu, what are you doi-eeeeekk!" Her question became a small shriek at the site of the multi-eyed woman. Clamping her hands on her mouth to silence herself, Tahariel scooted behind the Minkan girl in an effort to hide herself a bit from those red orbs.

As several red eyes stared down at her, Yuukito suddenly had the feeling in her gut - a primal instinct - that she made a mistake. Standing so close to the silk merchant, with only the counter top between them, she quickly realize that the red orbs adorning the woman's face were in fact eyes. Eyes that shined like polished jewels. And the long, black gloves that covered her entire arms weren't gloves at all. No. They were her arms. Black plated and hard, they were simply decorated with a little bit of black cloth to give that impression. This close, the Yamataian woman could even hear the faint, subtle click-click-clicking of several insectoid feet against the marble as the merchant turned to better face her. Worse still? The pair of human eyes were also red, and they looked down upon the woman.

"Oh, thank you. I made them myself," the silk merchant replied, her voice soft and gentle like a mother's hand. "Please, tell me if there's anything you like," she sweetly smiled, human eyes closing for a moment. Now that they were speaking however, there was something else that Yuukito noticed; this merchant was, in her own way, beautiful. As Aiko giggled in the background as Tahariel retreated, the merchant turned her crimson gaze on the Elysian instead, first watching her approach, then hide behind her friend. "Comme c'est joli," the woman smiled, the foreign words on her tongue seductively exotic despite her gentle disposition.

Meanwhile, Titus abruptly turned his face away from The Maiden, The 'Bakeneko' and The Kitsune and coughed in embarrassment.

"It is not the lady Drider that caught my tongue," the young man replied, adjusting his armor just a bit. Following Werner, he asked voice lower, "By Iovi, are Far Easterners always so profligate?" He almost sounded exasperated - it was simply a bit much for him to take in this day and age! "Save for fair Mioshi, I am under the impression they are most wanton. Especially considering what your 'Kuroneko' did in order to steal from us." The human auxiliary legionnaire shook his head as though to clear a foul thought. "Ave Soie," he greeted the Spider-woman sternly. Soie gracefully raised a hand and waved at him in greeting, and as she did so, they could see that even her hand was plated, and even clawed.

She was a Drider indeed, the dress most likely hiding the rest of her sizable body. Not far off though, Coco snorted.

"Someone can't pay attention for long!" she giggled. Looking at Mioshi though, she asked again. "Seriously, what was it again? I can't remember if you asked for a type or something!"

Yuukito hardly noticed her friend behind her, only continuing to widen her eyes to the size of dinner plates as the drider made eye contact. "Aah~ Haha..." she wheezed nervously, both terrified and entranced by the woman in front of her. "I-I couldn't help but come and see them up close! They're very beautiful!" Although she worded it like a compliment, Yuukito's tone made it sound more like she was scolding herself for being so distracted by the clothes. "Um... me and my friends are looking for equipment to bring with us on our journey," the minkan stammered, trying to ease her nerves by getting to business. "Do the garments you sell serve some sort of purpose besides being pretty?"

Sure, the purpose of each item of clothing might be obvious if Yuukito could look away from those red eyes and examine them, but that was easier said than done.

Tahariel flushed a bit more, if that were possible at this point. The drider lady was super scary-looking, but.. at least she sounded nice? The Plebeian didn't understand the words directed at her, but for some reason, they made her feel warm inside. Was that normal? She wasn't sure, but she managed to stammer out, "W-what? U-um... W-what she said..." Good Lord, this was embarrassing for her. Who knew that joining the Star Army would be so difficult for the young Elysian.

Tearing her eyes from the spidertaur's red gaze was no mean feat, but Tahariel managed to glance at some of the padded jackets for sale. "Th-those look nice and c-com-comf-- cozy," she fidgeted with the ends of her hair as her speech deteriorated out of discomfort. The mechanic was definitely out of her element but trying her best to carry on.

Titus had brought up an interesting question. What did Kuroneko do to steal from them? There were still so many questions that Werner did not know the answer to, and it frankly drove him mad. Once he gets the answer for one his questions, many more questions spring up. For example, is Iovi the God of this world, or just a member of a religious pantheon? Was there a common religion that everyone worshiped? Or was religion just a concept that is locally developed and radically different from other countries and villages? Were religious beliefs enforced by governments? Was forced conversion a thing in this world? What was the language that the Drider spoke earlier, and what country did it belong to? What exactly caught TItus's tongue when Werner was too busy secluded in his own thoughts to figure out what it was. Werner's eye twitched with this constant spiral of answers, and even more questions that floated throughout his mind. One one hand, Werner was just a regular trooper, he shouldn't be bothered by these questions, after all, his job was the kill the enemy. The problem was that Werner prepared to face and enemy he didn't know anything about, or WHO for that matter. He just had to keep asking.

Werner waved his hand disspelling his constant internal monologue. Instead Werner focused on awkwardly copying Titus's hand gesture with a smile to the Drider, and to the two schmucks who seemed to struggle on how to speak. They were in the military weren't they not? How could these two even act cute?! Werner silently hoped that this was all a ruse, and that both his kin and the seraph were capable of combat,

"Ah, Ave! I see you two have already met! " Werner exclaimed, it seemed that his initial suspicion was correct. That was good, considering now that his words were no doubt closely monitored by captain short stack. "So Soie is your name right? Deus is my own, it is good to meet you, and like these two... lovable... girls." Werner sternly spoke to the two. They were military were they not? Why were they so jumpy about? It might not been in his place to say anything about it, but he couldn't stop himself from opening his trap. "Titus and I were interested in you and what you have to offer. Currently I am looking for something to compliment my chain mail that I have purchased from that foxy vendor over there." Werner nodded to the rest of the group and the kistune vendor.

Aiko's seductive motions held Tomiko's attention. She quivered with barely concealed excitement. This is just straight out of a yuri eroge, she thought. Transported to the past by a magical power! The beautiful kitsune blacksmith seducing the protagonist... Her cheeks were dark red.

She gulped and tried to focus. Equipment! Think about the equipment. Tomiko said to herself. Your dreams may be coming true, but you're here to do a job.

"Th-thank you, Aiko." She stammered, trying on the gloves. They seemed to fit well enough. She moved over to an open area and took a few practice swings. "Yes, this will do nicely! Do you have a small shield I can strap to my arm? What do you call it..." Tomiko trailed off as if thinking. "Ah! A buckler." She said triumphantly.

Silk Merchant

Her laughter was like the peal of a wonderful bell.

"Je vous remercie," the tall Drider smiled. Bowing her head forward, eyes closed, she curtsied to the two Star Army soldiers. This also meant, for better or worse, the woman was lifting her skirt up ever so slightly for just a moment, and just enough that they could see a few of her spindly spider feet from under the table. Lacquered black, they looked pointy and dangerous. "Thank you. This is rare I get compleements," Soie spoke, her words silky smooth with an elegant, exotic accent. As the two approached however, Titus did a double take at Werner as he introduced himself, and gave him the stink eye the moment he understood what he just said.

Soie saw this and simply tilted her head to the side, a single finger running through her long white hair in curiosity. Though it was only a glance, the incognito Star Army soldiers could see that even her fingers ended in hard plates and sharp points. She naturally decided to speak about her wares instead of course.

"My cloth is both soft and strong, so I am sure you will be delighted to wrap yourselves up in this," the insectoid woman began without the faintest hesitation. "As for excelluhnt protection, ze gambesons I sell provide, and at an affordable price," she began, gesturing to one of the padded garments. She had ones thick enough to be stand alone armor, as well as ones clearly meant to be worn under mail or plates. "I am quite proud of my silk," Soie began to tell them a story. "Once, a wizard wove threads of steel as thick as my silk, hoping to see which was stronggair." Smiling, her hidden spider legs brought her down lower so that she could more easily meet their eyes.

"My silk wahn," the Drider proudly smiled at them. Somehow, it gave the sense that she was going to gobble them all up.

Blacksmith

The Kitsune simply seemed to relish how far down the rabbit hole Tomiko found herself falling. Relaxed and pleased, she gently smiled at the Neko, knowing what she was thinking, and knowing that she knew that she knew. They had the exact same thoughts in mind, and lying was now utterly impossible.

"Of course, let me go get one of the bucklers for you." With that, the foxy blacksmith made her way over to a container on the floor, and bending over began scrounging around, her trio of tails held high in the air. Along with her rear.

'She's really making us feel at home,' Sif remarked in their heads. When the view finally ended far too soon, she presented Tomiko with just what she was looking for. The buckler was simple in construction, but she could see that it was well finished with a polish, and no rough edges or markings that indicated sloppy or rushed workmanship.

"I hope what you see is to your liking~~" Aiko sweetly remarked.

Silky Spider Merchant

"R-really? Wow!" Yuukito laughed, trying not to sound hysterical. "Well, I'd love to try on one of these dresses! They look lovely!" The minkan smiled, blushing a bright red and squirming nervously in place in front of Tahariel.

Silk Merchant

Tahariel meanwhile was starting to get over her initial fear of the spider lady. She might seem ravenous to an extent, but it was doubtful that she would actually attack them in open daylight. "I... I wouldn't mind trying on one of those jackets... They look warm and safe," she said delicately, but still hiding behind her friend a bit. Her long, ash blonde hair spilled over Yuukito's shoulder as she leaned in to look at the padded jackets a bit more closely while trying to maintain some distance from the drider.

The Plebeian gave Werner a small frown in return at his comment. It's not like they were trying to bring the mission down. At least, the two girls were making an effort to protect themselves and help the party. However, now his latest comment brought her to believe that he was not only a big-mouthed meaniehead but a lecher as well! Tahariel would have to be extra careful around him now, lest her purity be tainted by his foul Yamataian urges!

Werner took a moment to gaze upon and inspect the Drider. An entire body was covered in both armor and weaponry, Soie was an amazing specimen, and Werner's eyes did not forsake his interest. Questions like, how much damage could her exterior take, did her species molt, if she did, would she be all weak and mushy after, and did they compose? Werner swore under his breath, he should have been a scientist to answer all of these questions! Just think of all the "ethical" experiments he could have done now that he was on this planet, or to more... unsuspecting and equally deserving individuals!

He gave out an aggravated sigh when he finished examining the foreign body. Werner had begun to feel an unwelcoming gaze from the soldier. Titus seemed to be genuinely peeved, he must have some kind of negative history with Soie, that or Titus simply didn't like him. So for now, Werner ignored Titus as he looked for a crimson silk jack to be worn underneath his armor, but his eyes caught the furrowed brow of bird brain who just gave him a nasty stare.

"You know, if keep looking at me like that I'll jump, and when I land it's going to hurt. And yes, it's exactly what your thinking about" Werner said bluntly, locking unto Tahariel's eyes. It was a perfectly vague threat that really didn't mean anything, one that would hopefully not further jeopardize his position with her or Werner's kin that was standing right next to her.

"Anywaaayy.... " Werner moved on to Drider " That's a very interesting story! I've never heard of any sort of fabric that was stronger than steel!" Well, it was true for this planet, but back at home, there was no doubt that there was a plethora of silks and fabrics that no doubt proved to be more resilient, " Tell me, where do you get your silk from? Or do you.... um...."

Produce it was what Werner wanted to ask, but that might be a bit personal for the Drider if they were merely human-spiders.