Fire Emblem On Forums: Mortal Transgressions (IC)

[Shauntaro]

".........."

 

Shin could only just stand in silence, normally he wouldn't be opposed to having more people on the team. But after what had just happened, he could only shudder as he realized there would be more people he'd be burdening. His expression growing increasingly more pained, as if the anguish was burning a hole straight through him.

[RedMageCole]

Kane looked... Rather surprised at everyone's sudden insistence to join. His face turned from genuine surprise... to having his confidence seem to come back to light. Ferdiad's words seem to snap him a little back into reality, as he gave a smile and a nod to Ferdiad, then to Mim.

 

"...Of course, Knight. Everyone's welcome to start anew here in Virtuous. Snowbird is a fine code name, as well as Golden Eye... You're all very welcome here in Virtuous; I'll do my best to make sure you all live comfortably, especially to make up for that awful prison time."

 

Kane turns to Reiko, a small nod after her words.

 

"You're welcome to stay in Virtuous as long as you need or want to. But a code name is necessary; think of it as a secret identity to protect your own and everyone else's. If you used your real name on the field, you can be traced back to others in Virtuous, or people close to you may get hurt as a threat to you. Not to mention, if your names get released to the public as fugitives, that'll just indicate where you all are located and more people might be going for a potential bounty. It's all for safety, I promise."

 

A pause from Kane, before sudden laughter emerges. It's almost unfamiliar, until everyone may realize that Crimson is laughing for the first time; it's not even sarcastic laughter, it's pretty genuine laughter. Kane looks confused for a second before Crimson calms down quickly and looks toward Kane.

 

"Me, being offered a spot in Virtuous? How silly. My father hated all of your guts, wouldn't stop talking about how you were all insignificant, worthless insects ruining everything for him and making life for himself miserable... Naturally, I'm in."

 

Kane's confusion seems to stay.

 

"Not... much of a family man then, are you? Alright, Crimson... you'll need a codename too, then."

 

"Understandable. My codename is going to be King Explosion Murder the Fifth."

 

A quiet pause from both.

 

"...It was a joke. Crimson isn't actually my name, I'll just go by that instead."

 

"Okay... Out of curiosity, then... do you want to share your real name? Dead men tell no tales, after all."

 

Crimson briefly looked at everyone. For once, his face actually looked seriously nervous. He closed his eyes for a brief moment.

 

"...You don't have to share if you don't want to, you know."

 

Crimson took in a deep breath... then exhaled. He shook his head, as if internally debating something. A silence runs heavy from him for a little while, before...

 

 

 

"My name... is Arthur. Arthur... Engarde."

[Blasbo]

...Yeah. That doesn't ring any bells. She doesn't understand what the fuss was about there, but okay, then, 'Arthur'. Meanwhile, she's not quite sure she understands what their leader's talking about with the first one, but all of her loved ones are already dead and to be honest, if they believe that claptrap they threw her in prison for and they won't listen when she tries to explain, then they can die stupid. But she can tell he's going to insist, and she doesn't really want to get into this with him. So, fine, she'll play his mildly embarrassing little game.

"...Fine. Thistle, then." She doesn't explain much further. It's not like they need to know.

[Flannelmagician]

Deciding that now would be a good time to insert herself  into the conversation, Tabitha perks up slightly and makes her way towards the group namely Kane. 

"Code-names, what are we 5? I suppose if it's to "hide our identities" I guess I've got no other choice..." 

 

She ponders for a second, if she'll be joining the group that now she'll have the chance to change the world, do what the selfish gods above cannot. She puts her hand over her mouth in a resting position and thinks for a moment. Immediately something comes to mind, something that'll represent the feeling of justice she felt when she burned down Pud's brothel, the feeling that despite the damage she caused and the lives she ended that she had done the right thing.

"Its going to sound stupid and if you laugh I'll never heal your wounds ever again. But call me Rose."

 

She clutches her staff closely to herself and closes her eyes awaiting a response. 

[Powder Miner]

Lizaveta sighed as Crimson shared his full name -- the guy was to be frank one of the meaner people she'd met but... well, during the battle she'd been worrying that the people in the prison were cruel, and she'd been intending to talk to Ferdiad about his worries potentially being justified. But then the fluffy girl had been incredibly nice and she'd discovered that Baldur was really terrible, so... that judgement had been premature. So, even as she rolled her eyes a little at Tabitha's tone:

"Well, if we're having Crimson there share his name, it's only fair if we do too. My name is Lizaveta Medvedeva, and it's nice to meet all of you."

[Blasbo]

There's a pause from Reiko for a few moments after the two of them speak in which her expression seems imperceptible, before her eyes shift over to look at Tabitha. Rose, hm...?

"...As code names go, Rose is fine. ...I like roses. There's little more beautiful than a rose bush in full bloom."

And, well...if they're sharing names. They're criminals just as much as she is right now, right? Not much harm to it.

"...Reiko Masuda. And just on the off chance, if any of you in Virtuous know anything about the murder of Iori Masuda now would be as good a time as any to mention it." She doesn't really expect that they do, but...hey.

[Zetaark]

"What's wrong with Rose as a name? Sounds perfectly fine to me. A name doesn't have to be long and complicated for it to be effective you know," Fey responds to Tabitha's statement as she moves a bit towards her.

[Flannelmagician]

Tabitha pauses for a second unaware of how to process what's transpiring. She was prepping snarky responses to potential criticism to her codename in her head but is taken off guard by Fey and Reiko's approval.  

 

"Y-Yeah... I guess so, you're right." 

 

She folds her arms and tries not to pay too much attention to Fey drawing closer to her.

 

"Oh and I guess if we're sharing names as well, I'm Tabitha Bellmonte, not that my family name matters or anything."

[RedMageCole]

Kane pauses a little bit.

 

"...Normally I'd prefer to keep my name a secret... but I suppose it's only fair after I did ask Arthur. Just call me Kane for now, but not while we're on missions, of course. Rose is a fine name. And I'm afraid I have not heard of any murder of Iori Masuda, myself." 

 

Arthur, on the other hand, looks wildly uncomfortable the second Tabitha asked to be called Rose. His facial expression looks similar to when he first looked before he yelled at Justine, but instead of following up with rage, he clutched his arm with one hand and buried his face in another hand, as if trying to force himself to not fly into a rage.

 

"Why that one...?" 

He whispered to no one in particular, though keeping his voice low enough to keep Tabitha from hearing, only those who may have been close to him hearing.

[Chevaleresse]

Introductions were happening, and Justine figured she may as well take part. Seeing the others inspired to join anyway inspired her in turn, lifting her mood a bit from where it'd been earlier. She took a breath, then abruptly did a backward handspring, and nearly seemed to fall over - until it became clear that she was simply sweeping back into a classic bow and scrape,

"Justine Wagner, the wandering Minstrel, at your service." She popped back up to a standing position after she finished speaking. "Good to properly meet you all."

[Shauntaro]

Upon the reveal of Crimson's name, a headache snapped Shin out of his trance ...for a little bit anyway.

 

"Ar..thur...?"     
Shin says as he presses his hands against his aching head in response.

[rokubiraijuu]

The mood seems to have lifted with the addition of their new teammates, and Ferdiad looks from one person to the next with a smile on his face as they introduce themselves in turn. He seems to entirely miss both Crimson's reaction to Tabitha's name as well as Shin's reaction.

 

"Ferdiad Domniann, and glad to be of service to you all. Please don't hesitate to ask me if you require anything."

[Swordstar]

Mim narrowed her eyes, staring at Crimson for a few long seconds. Then suddenly she brightened up, and smiled cheerily at the rest of the group.

 

"Mim Rhedan from Ria. Good to meet all of you~"

 

Still smiling cheerfully, she walked over to Crimson, she grabbed him by the sleeve and smiled sickly sweetly up at him.

 

"Crimson~ I was wondering if you might oblige me with a little talk? In private please?"

 

Without waiting for a response, she tugged his sleeve towards a section of the prison well away from the rest of the group, not really leaving him any room to say no.

[Zetaark]

"Fey Rasparola. Merchant trader and woman of the sea. I also do some bodyguard work on the side, but I'm a trader at heart," Fey tells Tabitha, since introductions are going on.

[RedMageCole]

Kane nods a little amidst everyone's introductions, looking at the stairs in the back.

 

"We can finish up introductions on the way out; best not to stick around in one place too long. You all go on ahead, I'm gonna go find a back entrance to hopefully wherever they may keep prison wagons. As decent as Diezel's wagon is, it's gonna be a bit cramped in there with six more people and I would rather everyone have something a bit more spacious, but please try to give Orchid a bit of a wide berth or stick together until I get back to keep him under control, I hopefully won't be longer than a couple minutes... are you two going to catch up too, I hope?"

 

Kane looks at Arthur and Mim. Arthur seems a bit deterred at first due to only just being snapped out of his small funk at Tabitha's codename, but it seems like even he can't resist Mim's sickeningly sweetness as he lets a tiny sigh out, following her.

 

"We'll... try to be back quickly."

 

Kane quietly nods.

 

"Alright. Virtuous, if you could all wait for me in the front, I won't be too long."

 

Kane leaves for the stairs in the back. Simeon gives a shrug.

 

"Better get out there soon, Jules'll probably wanna be hearin' that I'm safe, but I'm gonna have to break the news to him... he's probably not gonna take too well to havin' to take over the shop."

[Swordstar]

After having dragged Crimson a safe distance away from everyone, Mim turned on him, the sweet charming attitude gone as she crossed her arms and stared at him. A few long seconds passed, and then she finally started to talk.

 

"Why did you lie to everyone?  Well... I guess I have an idea why you lied... But you did lie? Didn't you? About your name, I mean. Engarde isn't a last name, and the way you fumbled for it... Who are you? Really, I mean. The warden said he was going to ransom you, which means you're important to someone. And not someone small either. My father would have been willing to pay a lot of money for me, and they weren't even considering ransoming me from what I could gather. So... who are you? I won't tell anyone, you don't need to worry about that. But... I don't like being lied to either. S-so..."

 

She hesitated, almost as if she wasn't sure about saying whatever came next and then seemed to chicken out at the last second.

 

"W-well, I won't be very happy if you continue to lie. So just... tell me! I'm probably going to just keep calling you Crimson anyways, so it isn't like I'll accidentally use your name or anything like that!"

[RedMageCole]

"..."

 

A pause as Arthur listens. His eyes close and a quiet sigh comes out of his nose.

 

"Damned warden... can't keep his yap shut..." He takes a small, deep breath. "...Yes, Engarde... isn't a last name. I refuse to use either last names that were given to me, because I've all but abandoned my previous life. I promise Arthur is my real name... that much I'll keep to myself. But familial ties I do not wish to carry. I'm like Kane in a sense... I don't want to share my real last name, but only because I'd rather have no last name than have that. As for the ransom..."

 

Arthur's face scrunches up, somewhat in pain, struggling to say it.

 

"...Forgive me... but I don't... wish to say who I am or why that warden saw fit to sell me off. It's... it's difficult to, especially when we've just met, though I respect you greatly... I hope you can understand. But... If you must know, I'll tell you the last name I'd rather use of the two... it's Gardner. But if you must use my last name... I insist on Engarde... though I guess again, that doesn't really matter much."

[Aurorix]

Meanwhile back at the cart while everyone was still getting their introductions in the prison,

"DAMMIT!" Baldur flamed as he punched the side of the wood cart indenting the plank inward a slight bit.  "They say I'm just like them huh? It pisses me off that they're right." He kept slamming his fist against the while letting angered yells until he became winded. Then like a creeping dread a myriad of difference voices inched into his head.

 

"It's your fault" 

"You're worthless"

"You're useless"

"Everyone will die"

"Because of you"

"Unreliable"

"Barbaric"

"Monster"

"What a failure"

 

Still furious with himself he reaches for his inner coat pocket to pull out a full canteen and chugs the entire contents of it within seconds. Slowly the voices fade away and he lets out a sigh,  "And here I thought I was going to last the entire day without it." After that he noticed the voices of the group off in the distance. They must finally be leaving huh? Took them long enough. He wonders how many he's scared off. Probably made this mission a failure.

[Swordstar]

Mim hesitated for a second and then flung herself into Crimson, holding onto him tight for a few long seconds before mumbling with her head buried in his chest,

 

"I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed, but I just... I should have known by your reaction to him that it wasn't a comfortable subject but I wanted to know... C-can you forgive me?"

 

She'd been holding the hug for probably longer than was normal and as if realizing this, she suddenly released him and backed up a few paces, her cheeks tinged pink.

[RedMageCole]

Arthur paused as he let his words sink in, his eyes opening slightly, almost somewhat hoping that she wouldn't be angry. It was strange, really, this sense of comfort; he never usually worried about people getting angry at him, normally he would always be the one to get angry. And yet...

 

...Even more strange was the sensation that overtook him. A brief moment of surprise hit Arthur as he felt Mim holding him closely and apologize. This warmth... this sensation... it was very familiar, and something he never thought he'd be able to feel again...

 

"I... I forgive you, Mim."

 

For a brief moment, Arthur felt his own arms raising to hug her back, until she pulled away, causing Arthur to hurriedly retract his arms and look down at the ground, the blush and almost unnatural softness on his own face apparent.

 

"Y... you're a very nice person, Mim. Please... always stay the way you are."

[Swordstar]

Mim smiled, looking up at Arthur as he blushed too.

 

"I'm not planning on changing, don't worry. And... beneath all that bluster, you're a nice person too, ok? So don't convince yourself otherwise."

 

She reached out and tugged his sleeve again, gesturing towards the rest of the group.

 

"Wanna head back to everyone else? That's all I wanted to ask. Unless you have any questions for me! Fair's fair of course~"

 

[RedMageCole]

Arthur bites the insides of his cheeks, muttering a very quiet thank you in response to Mim, and giving a slow nod as she tugged on his sleeve; a gesture which made Arthur perk up just a little bit more.

 

"...no, I... I'm content... yes, let's head back."

 

He doesn't seem to be in very much of a rush when moving.

[Swordstar]

As Crimson slowly walked beside her, she paused, looking up at him, a thoughtful look on her face. Then quickly, she stretched up on her toes and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

 

"Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me that. I'm glad that we ended up meeting and even more glad you decided to stay with the group after all of that."

 

She turned back towards their destination, cheeks bright pink at her own boldness.

[RedMageCole]

Arthur stopped himself to look back at Mim, looking a bit curious as to what she might say next. It was then suddenly that he found himself basically paralyzed the second her lips met his cheek; completely and utterly unable to move as his brain tries to process what just happened; his face goes completely into shock and becomes almost similar to his namesake as he freezes up entirely while listening to Mim.

 

"I.... n-... noproblem... I-I'm... g-...glad too."

 

Arthur takes a little bit to move again, gently caressing the place where it happened and almost forgetting how to use his legs. Did that really just happen? That... That was something he really didn't think would happen in his lifetime. It takes him a few seconds to move again, but his mind seems elsewhere as he keeps gently holding his cheek, face still beet red and completely un-Arthur-like.

[Chevaleresse]

Justine briefly wondered what Kane was up to in the back, but figured it probably wasn't something to concern her with now. She was humming under her breath, partially to actually try and sort out a decent-sounding tune and partially to distract from the lingering feelings of earlier. She didn't plan on letting it keep her down for long. . . but this thing with Baldur had been simmering for a while, and it was still hurtful to find the truth of how he thought of her. It just made her wonder how the rest of the group spoke of her when she wasn't around. . . Justine shook her head. No point dwelling on that. Whether it was happening or not, continuing down that road would only make her feel worse. 

 

The dancer thought of a convenient distraction just as she reached the doors, and she turned to their newly acquired blacksmith.

"You know, it occurs to me, Simeon, I should ask before the rest of the group overwhelms you with even more requests: do you think I could make a request of you?"