~Armonia Chronicles~ .:Abyss of the Seas:.

"Welp, this blows," Patrice snarled, giving the barrel in front of her a sharp kick before turning on her heel to take in the grand view of what they had done to the pirates. It looked like a crime scene, but the dead guys were obviously pirates. Then again, Patrice was a pirate as well. Pffft, I'm a much more graceful pirate than those poor saps, she thought to herself before her eyes rested upon the girl that was being chased by them. She was thanking them, but it was hard to take her seriously when she was so wounded as she was. The girl even fell over due to the damage she had sustained. Patrice tapped her foot impatiently against the ground.

"Move aside people. Let me try my hand at this," Patrice sighed as she moved through the crowd of fighters that had helped defeat the pirates until she was right next to the young girl. There was a lot of blood--some of it the girl's while the rest of it was pirate blood. "Hopefully, she's salvageable," Patrice stated flatly as the green aura surged to life around her short form. "Gentle words spoken...flown into thine air...the heart of the Earth is grand and and Her power is absolute," the girl chanted, her eyes closed as she channeled the magic, focusing on the other girl's wounds intently. "Nature's Breath." The aura surrounding Patrice now surged into the young girl that she and the others had saved, the very essence of nature itself using its remedial properties to mend together the torn skin and tissue while making her whole again. Patrice stood up and admired her work, wiping some sweat from her brow.

"Did that do it? If it didn't, I blame lack of mana," Patrice said, waving a hand about flippantly. She was still a bit drained from the battle, but she managed to speedily cycle enough mana to cast her healing magic. She just hoped that it would be enough.

Violet raised her scarlet eyebrows at the being of ice. It was actually yelling at her. The nerve of this spirit...was really starting to piss her off. "Now listen here," Violet growled, pointing one of her flaming knives at the ice being. "The only reason you're not dead right now is because I have yet to start killing you. But if you truly want to know who I am, I'll tell you. Though you've probably guessed already."

The flames on Violet's knives went out, but a fire started on the large, bushy ponytail she had, making her look insane. And beautiful. "My name is Violet. I'm a spirit of fire, a Firewalker if you will. You're a spirit of ice. I don't like you." Violet reached out with her hand, as if to grab the woman, when she heard something collapse behind her. Whirling around, Violet finally saw what happened. The girl she protected before had fallen to the ground and was bleeding badly.

Oh. Whatever. Violet still had things to do, and this little scene actually got her closer to another one of those tasks. But she couldn't heal people, so there was nothing for her to do. That was, until one of the others came over to attempt to heal the girl. So there was a skilled person in the group, how exciting. The only thing Violet could care about right now was laying waste to the damned frost spirit that kept up with her aura.

As the last pirate fell to the apparent fire spirit's knives, a green flash of light enveloped the soloist's weapon. Instantly he went over to one of the less mangled bodies and ripped the jade pendant from the fallen man's neck. He proceeded to pocket it, after all it was stolen anyway, no need to let it go to waste with the pathetic corpse. Terra hardly paid the girl the group had saved any mind, though he did glance in her direction when she fell forward. He sighed.

"Good thing she didn't do that earlier." he thought to himself as he crossed his arms over his chest. He had no healing abilities and as such he did not rush in to help her. However, one of the other members of their strange group apparently did and as such proceeded to help. The soloist smirked, if he was not more used to traveling alone, she might be the most useful person to consider asking to join him.

The fire girl, who had introduced herself as Violet, was now speaking to her. Of course she wouldn't like her, she was a snow fairy while Violet was a fire spirit, as she said, a Firewalker. And when she made herself appear rather intimidating by setting fire to her hair (usually a pretty dumb idea but she suppose the girl could get away with it) Anivia backed off for a moment, floating back for a foot or two before regaining her composure and returned her look.

"You're not the only one who can do that sort of thing." Anivia spoke as eight icicles protruded out of her back, four on each side. They grew larger with each passing moment, reaching the length of at least her arm-span if not longer before transforming. More ice formed around the icicles and they began to bend and smooth out their surfaces until they were perfect. When the transformation was complete Anivia appeared as if she was some sort of angel, with beautiful crystal wings that reflected the sunlight, shining and producing an aura of light around her.

Gerard continued to futilely attack the crate until stopping and turning away. "I'm too old for this," he scoffed in agitation. He faced the three pirates who laid dead in the alley. "It's a shame those angsty teens had to kill them. I was really looking forward to the feedback surveys. Oh well, time to pick up my things," Gerard muttered. Gerard wandered the alley to retrieve his Cicada Forager and disassembled his Landraker, placing the parts neatly back in his carrying box.

Looking up, Gerard noticed the girl that had been pursued was now unconscious on the floor. Holding his chin in thought, Gerard had an idea as he walked towards her to examine the damage. If he could invent various contraptions of destructive purposes, perhaps he could use his inventive mind to create one that could help mend injuries as well. It was definitely worth a shot, and if it didn't work, he might as well move on and go back to minding his own business like he originally intended.

When the young girl they just saved returned to consciousness and asked for their help, Anivia was delighted. Completely ignoring the fire spirit who had just made it clear she wanted to kill her. Anivia could worry about what the fire girl would do some other time, after all it's not like she'd be sticking around after the fight, right?

Anivia floated toward the girl, her crystal wings flapping as if helping her stay in the air. But in truth the wings were actually weighing her down, though not by much. As she approached the girl that just fell on her face Anivia began to descend a bit, until she was only hovering mere inches above the ground. "Of course, what do you need help with?" Anivia asked while extending a hand out to help her up.

Gerard removed the mana storage compartment of the Cicada Forager and extracted the contents with a small syringe. "This may sting a bit, but it should soothe your tendons and muscles. Hopefully your blood circulation should stabilize for a while. I'm afraid that's all I can do." Gerard informed as he carefully administered the injection and bandaged her arm. "And to think those months I spent as a physician's apprentice would come in handy. Hm." Removing his goggles, Gerard took out a small pocket watch and checked the time of day. Since testing the Landraker was a moderate success, Gerard wanted to make up for the downtime he spent trying to break open that impossibly sturdy crate by composing a new invention. He took out a sheet of paper and became entranced in brainstorming, distracting himself and becoming once again oblivious to the people around him.

Takaya took the hand of the floating woman, immediately feeling a shiver run down her body. The woman's skin felt cold; maybe not the actual figure, maybe the power itself that she possessed. Either way, she could feel the slight numbness at the touch of cold, pulling away as soon as she was on her feet. She then let out a slight gasp as a small poke prodded her in the arm. When she turned her head, she saw an older man retreat a needle from her arm. Immediately she paled, looking at her arm. "W-What-" she started, then listened to his explanation. She nodded, looking at everyone again. "T-Thank you.." she replied to everyone with a bit of a smile. She leaned slightly on the ice spirit, feeling her strength dwindling slightly as she began. "Every one of you, please come with me to my place and I will treat you all to some satisfying food and a place to rest," she said, smiling sweetly, "And don't you dare say no. You'll all be coming, and that's that. I'll even pay some of you for this."

After saying such she embarrassingly leaned forward toward the icy woman, whispering, "Erm... may I get a ride with you? I don't think I can walk... I'm barely holding myself as it is. I can give you anything extra you'd like if you will." she said, smiling sheepishly but sincerely.

Patrice's eyes seemed to gleam at the mention of money. And who was to say that good deeds didn't pay off? It wasn't exactly pirate-like, but then again, her whole prerogative had been to put the hurt on those other pirates who were being a disgrace to the entirety of pirate-kind, or something like that. The girl shook her head, her eyes rolling around slightly as she tried to get her thoughts in order. By the sounds of it, the girl she had saved wasn't giving her or the others much of a choice. Then again, who on earth would pass up free food and money? Not this pirate sage. Not today. She turned briskly and nodded her head in affirmation.

"If you want to stuff us with food and pay us, then you can count me in," the girl put bluntly, a sly grin plastered upon her youthful visage. "It would be rude to decline such hospitality," she added, trying to sound a bit more sophisticated. If her crew mates had been there with her, they would have gotten a nice laugh out of it. As if Patrice were anything close to be well-mannered. Eh, I'm better than most, she thought as she spared a glance at the corpses of the pirates they had just practically slaughtered. Alas, taken down in their prime. Jackasses. That's what they get for being stupid. She found herself awaiting action, lightly tapping one foot against the ground.

Terra had been very quiet, just silently watching the sequence of events as the girl they saved got to her feet again. He quirked an eyebrow when she mentioned free food and payment; following that pirate mage certainly had been a good idea. Getting to bust some heads, gather some loot, and now get further payment and a place to stay? Even if the soloist was not fond of crowds and other people, he would accept her offer any day. "If you want to offer your home don't expect me to complain." he grunted, uncrossing his arms and moving over to her. She had asked for the ice spirit to give her a ride, but with the fire spirit trying to kill her and the presumed focus on brains over brawn, the soloist figured his taking her would be better. "I believe it would be better to take you myself, however." he added to both the girl and the spirit, going quiet once more to await confirmation.

Violet leaned her posture slightly to the right, her left hand on her hip as she gave the group an unwavering stare. The girl was not only foolhardy and injured, she was weak. Body and mind, weak. Violet began to wonder why she would save someone like this, then reminded herself that it was out of her own pride. She wasn't a selfless or selfish person, Violet saved this girl because she was weak. That's all there was too it. She didn't want any reward, being able to beat up a few thugs - she forgot what kind of thug they actually were - was enough.

Violet was still angry with the ice spirit, her hair was still on fire. That was the way she normally looked anyway. Like a torch. It even gave off a good amount of light in this dark alley, since the sun was disappearing, slowly but surely. She figured she could forget the ice spirit for a little while, at least, since she realized what the spirit was actually doing here.

The moment I catch you alone is the moment that you die, Violet thought to herself, giving the ice spirit a stinging glare.

Anivia continued to smile, even after the girl pulled away from her so quickly. No doubt it was from her near freezing body temperature, as anyone would be feeling uneasy after coming into contact with her. And if Anivia was delighted when the girl asked for her help, she was now ecstatic when she invited the group to her home for food and payment. Of course, neither of which really interested Anivia as she didn't need to eat nor did she have uses for the human's currency. However she wanted to spend more time around this human girl, learn more about her and her kind, and broaden her horizons as they say. "Ah yes, I would love to come visit your home." Anivia said, despite the fact that the fire girl was also invited. However, her expression changed a bit when the girl asked for a ride with her. "Well, it's not that I mind. But I'm a fairy you see. So I tend to get around flying everywhere, which is fine since I can make myself invisible to humans if I wished, but if I was carrying you with me then that could prove some problems." Anivia explained, "Besides, a lot of humans seem to be afraid of heights, but if you don't mind then sure, I can try and see if I can make you invisible as well."

Takaya smiled at the welcoming feeling from the people who had rescued her, delighted at their expressions toward her. She looked at the icy spirit in front of her smiling with most curiosity. "A fairy? Wow, I've never met one like you!" she exclaimed, then looking at the boy who seemed to be silent. His very aura said seclusion, making Takaya soften to his request. "Well..." she said, looking back at the ice spirit, "I don't want to cause any trouble for you. And pardon me, but I don't think I can get used to your cold touch." she chuckled in a light tone, hoping she would not take offense.

Her gaze was easily drawn to the fire girl's blazing her, slightly awed at her magnificent glory. She had been a literal blaze in battle, burning the pirates into nothing. Her attention now focused on the ice spirit and this fire girl, causing her to get anxious. If they fight...

"First rule, however at my place," she stated clearly, holding a finger up to the fire girl, then the ice spirit, "I will not allow any fighting whatsoever while you are in my presence or at my place. Your business can be taken elsewhere once I've given you some hospitality. Understood?" Not paying any mind to a response, she turned to the soloist and nodded, feeling her body simply quiver and collapse toward the man. The sternness toward the two girls was definitely energy-taking.

--------------------- Skip "To Takaya's Abode" ------------------------

As the group traversed through town by Takaya's guidance, the makeshift group stopped at what seemed to be near the edge of town by a small brick cottage. The mostly-straw roof seemed barely-held albeit to the wooden plating, the door in definite need of repairs, and the bricks themselves chipping. In no way was this a well-kept abode. Takaya motioned for the soloist to set her down, feeling her strength slightly regained as she approached the door, opening it and offering those to come in with her. Within the small cottage was a main room, a wooden-planked floor relatively cleaner than the overall outside of the place. There was an old wooden table with three chairs on the right side, and what seemed like a poor-condition straw sofa put up against the wall on the left. The back wall had two doorways, one leading to what looked like a small counter and cabinets. The other was closed off by a much nicer-looking door, obviously preserved by the lack of weather damage.

Takaya pointed to the sofa and table, an offer for them to make themselves at home. "I'll be in the kitchen to make you guys something," she called back as she headed toward the doorway on the left, the sound of rummaging resounding through the area. After a few minutes, she returned from the separated room with a bowl full of fruit and a plate of mysterious meat. The fruit seemed to be a little past their natural expiration, but still good enough to devour. The meat.... well, was questionable on what it exactly was.

Takaya set the bowl of fruit on the table as she quickly skipped over to the seemingly almost unnoticed fireplace near the back part only a few feet from the table and the guests residing there, placing the meat onto some iron rods and placing them in on iron holders which resided near the edges over a bunch of ashes; the sign of a recent fire. Takaya brushed the ashes to reveal some good wood left, grabbing a piece of flint and steel in the corner of the fireplace and beginning to work. Within five tries of trying to make sparks, however, she simply leaned back onto her heels and sighed frustratingly. She was too weak to start the fire. If it weren't for the company she had around her, she could see herself breaking down now. "Why did you leave me with nothing?...." Takaya muttered to no one in particular as she grabbed her head.

Violet had no intentions of starting a fight with so many people watching. That was one of the reasons she didn't attack the ice spirit in the first place. She quietly followed the group, her torchlight lighting the way more and more as the sun fell below the horizon. Soon, they reached the weak girl's home.

That house was just seconds away from collapsing. Being around so much wood made Violet get anxious, she knew what she could do to this house, and there wouldn't be anything left of it if she did. If she was going inside the home, then she would have to lower her body temperature and stop the fires on her head, lest the house go up in flames.

Violet made sure her body would not start any fires before entering. When she saw the food at the table, she merely raised an eyebrow at it. As a spirit, she did not require this kind of food. She could eat, but the source of her energy came directly from the sun. Violet guessed that the ice spirit was similar, not needing this kind of sustenance. However, the ordinary humans would, and looking at the girl trying to start a fire to cook food was rather...pathetic.

Violet walked over and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, gently pushing her aside as she knelt. She put both of her hands to her mouth, creating a small windpipe to direct her breath. Violet took a deep breath, and gently blew out, except instead of air, a small stream of fire shot out, lighting the wood with ease.

Violet looked at the flint and steel and resisted laughing. Human attempts at building fires were always amusing to her, since creating fires was as easy as breathing to her. "You humans are so amusing, with your attempts at creating fire," Violet said with an amused smile.

Terra was careful both in setting the girl down and keeping his initial thoughts of her abode from showing. The soloist was not all that surprised, but to see that her home was in need of several repairs troubled him slightly. It was a very unsettling feeling that. He typically did not care for companionship nor did he find comfort in others, but this girl... there was something about her. Something that made him feel something he had not felt in several years. "Not since..." the soloist murmured, a solemn gleam behind his deep emerald eyes.

He shook his head almost immediately afterwards. Now was not the time for a stroll down memory lane; especially when said memories were nothing but painful. Seeing the girl have trouble starting a fire, Terra began to move in her direction. However the fire spirit, who had thankfully stopped fighting with the ice fairy, cut him off and helped the younger girl light the fire. She said something about humans being amusing, but the soloist paid her little mind. He came over to the two, his gaze focused on the owner of the building. "Would you like some help cooking?"

It seemed like it was time to go. Patrice just sort of meandered along with everyone else, keeping her eyes out for other sorry excuses for pirates. It was a shame there weren't any actual good ones around this place. Then again, the good pirates were probably off doing something productive like plundering booty and discovering new places and such while other dumbass pirates chased little girls around. Fucking perverts. Eventually, Patrice came to a stop when the others did. They were at some ramshackle house that was in dire need of some new carpentry and workmanship. She didn't even know whether or not it would be safe to enter, but she followed the others in anyway. As it turned out, the inside was just as poorly kept as the outside. Patrice watched as the girl scurried about in an effort to give them the food she promised which turned out to cause Patrice to nearly vomit in her mouth. Rotten fruit and mystery meat? That was supposed to be their reward? She regained her composure as the girl and the fire spirit conversed about...well, the fire. Meanwhile, she would seek out to do something productive herself such that maybe they could actually eat something that wasn't bad.

"Okay, this is unacceptable," Patrice said defiantly, pointing at the bowl of expired fruit on the table. "You expect us to eat that? Girl, you are lucky to have someone like me around." Patrice snapped her fingers, a green aura appearing around her. She drew nearer to the bowl and started to blow on the fruit as if to cool it down or something, but the fruit certainly wasn't hot. Her breath came out as a light blue aura, dancing along the surface of the fruit. Patrice focused on the powers of nature, forcing the fruit to remember a time where they were ripe and ready to be eaten--nice and fresh. The fruit seemed to respond positively to her coaxing, and when she withdrew and took a few steps back, the aura surrounding the fruit vanished to reveal that the fruit was all full of vitality again. It was the good stuff--the kind that would be fit for selling at the market.

Patrice crossed her arms confidently with a triumphant smile on her face. "That's much better," the girl said, plucking an apple from amidst the bunch and taking a bite into it. It was cool and crisp and sweet. A light blushed appeared on the girl's face as she enjoyed the flavor. She had to stop herself from squealing in delight. "Yes, that is damn good. Aaaahhh, score one for Patrice, mwahahaha," she said, taking another bite of the red fruit.

Anivia couldn't believe it, the house, the lack of ammenities in it, even the food. A frown came over Anivia's face as she continued looking around the room, humans were strange creatures indeed. She did not understand how someone could even think to live like this, much less put up with it for however long this girl has. Beginning to feel rather bad for the girl, Anivia made her way toward her despite the fire spirit being near as well. Hopefully this fire spirit wouldn't be so rash as to ignore the 'no fighting' rule the girl had made clear before they reached her home.

Placing her hands on the girl's shoulders, Anivia smiled. "Child, are you satisfied with how you're living now?" the snow fairy asked.

Gerard snapped out of his concentrative trance, with the word "food" snapping into his mind. Where did all the others go? Did they go out to eat? Assuming he was invited, Gerard put away his sketch and began looking for the others. Fortunately, one of them must have tracked blood from the dead pirates as they were leaving visible footprints behind. Following the trail, Gerard ended up at a small cottage where he deduced the teenagers must be in. It was about time he formally introduced himself, so he ran at the door crashing through it while yelling, "Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Gerry!"

Takaya sighed, leaning back as she let the fire girl do her work. Her eyes widened in surprise as the girl simply breathed and a plume of fire erupted from her pile of wood, making her smile very slightly. "T-Thank you..." she whispered, simply looking down. The comments by the pirate on what she could deliver only made her feel worse about the situation. Her head snapped back up as the one who had carried her to her cottage had requested he help her. She leaned back slightly, looking at the man with an almost helpless look. "I.. I guess..." she simply muttered, looking back down again. Here she was supposed to be providing for everyone, and yet here they were doing all the work. Not only that, the pirate was obviously displeased with what she could give and simply used her own methods. It made her feel the lowest sense of shame....

A cold shiver ran through her as an immense sensation pressed on her shoulders. "Child, are you satisfied with how you're living now?" the snow fairy asked. Takaya simply sighed, looking away. "I have no choice... I was left with nothing after he left..." she squeaked, lowering her voice even more. She began to feel even more helpless, vulnerable in the utmost sense. She didn't wanna speak his name; it was almost too painful to bear...

Her whole body then flinched as someone barged through the door, causing her to pull away defensively as she attempted to quickly figure out the situation. She then let out her held breath, grabbing her chest as it heaved in relief as she saw the mechanic-like inventor whom had delivered a shot to her and simply nodded off to other things. She quickly attempted to say something, but nothing came. She grabbed her head, cooling down slightly as she replied. "W-Welcome..." she called, feeling slightly light-headed. She was getting too much stress today. She severely hoped this man wouldn't mind the meager rations she could cook up...

Takaya stood up slowly, feeling slightly quivery. Full of guilt. They were expecting much more. She attempted to tell all of them, but it wouldn't come out. Her lip quivered only slightly as she simply slipped back into the back room on the left, rummaging for what else she could find.

Anivia watched the girl make her way out of the room and another frown came on her face. Poor child, having to live like this was unacceptable. But in this world it was most likely the only place this girl could live, considering that she seemed to have no one else, no parents, relatives, nothing. At least from what Anivia had observed in the human world so far, this girl won't have many people, if any at all, to help support her. "Poor child," Anivia said closing her eyes. The others were all helping the girl, with the fire spirit creating the flame, the pirate somehow reversing time for those rotting fruits, and the other man, not sure what he was, offering to help her out. She also had to do something for the girl once she came back.

What was with this atmosphere? Weren't these people just doing whatever they wanted? Violet frowned at the pirate. Sure, the food was spoiled, but that was no reason to be so picky about it. Were all humans like this? A little girl offers food and recompense, and these people just shit all over it? Violet could feel her anger building, if this continued, she might just erupt in a torrent of fire and kill them all. And the only one she wanted to kill was that damned ice spirit! It infuriated Violet, that this other spirit was mere inches away from her, yet she couldn't attack, lest she risk the lives of the humans.

How incredibly irritating it was, to just stand there, wait, and watch. She shouldn't even be here. Hell, she shouldn't even be awake at this hour! Night was not the time for a flame spirit to be roaming around, especially when the moon is shining overhead. The spirits of water are sure to be lurking about by now.

And Violet wasted time walking to this dinky little shit-shack at the furthest point of the city. There's not a chance she could get to her safe haven without being sensed by some enemy spirit and attacked. Then where would she be? Shit outta luck and no infinite source for fire conjuration. There were limits to a fire spirit's abilities during the night.

Now things could only get better though, right? Wrong. The foolish little human that invited them here was reaching the point of tears. How boring. How stupid. The only ones showing the least bit of compassion were the ice spirit and some strange boy who was being too quiet for Violet's liking.

"Yo," Patrice said listlessly, waving a hand dismissively as the odd tinkerer burst into the shack shouting his greetings. He must have been left behind. Now that she thought about it, he had seemed to be a bit distracted back in the alleyway. Ah well, he made it here to receive...his rewards? Rotten fruit which wasn't rotten anymore thanks to Patrice, and mystery meat that wasn't getting anywhere near Patrice's mouth. She would be kind and donate her share to the others who would surely be hungry for it. Yeah, as if that's the reason. Glad I don't have the power of transformation yet, Patrice thought ominously to herself as she continued to munch away at her apple. Things were becoming oddly tense and weird, but the girl paid no mind to it all. However, something had caught her ear that interested her.

"Hey, girl," Patrice stated firmly, turning to the girl who owned this shack and was doing her best to provide hospitality to the ones who saved her. "Who is 'he'? Is 'he' some jackass? You said 'he' left--left you with nothing but...this?" The pirate gestured loosely to the rundown shack, the food, and the decrepit furniture around. "What's the deal? Living like this isn't healthy." She said that rather matter-of-factly, though she knew that life at sea wasn't exactly the healthiest thing around, but on her captain's ship, there was always a good place to sleep and food to eat and drink to, well, drink. The conditions the girl was living in now were inexcusable, especially if someone had caused this.

The edges of Terra's lips tugged downwards for but a moment before becoming resolute once more. On the inside though, he was frowning deeply, grimacing almost. The girl obviously was not keen on their helping out, but considering the state she was living in it was to be expected. Seeing her so troubled by both their want to help and by whatever put her in this condition troubled the soloist. And... he did not really understand why.

But he did not speak his mind, he merely pursed his lips into a thin, tight line and remained silent. He had nothing to add on to what the people around him were asking, and he was strangely... afraid to say anything. He was never afraid. But now.... he felt just so uncertain about everything and it was frankly making him anxious. It was a curious case, and he knew not how was proper to react. So silence.

Only silence.