ElfCollaborator

Q9, perform Bradwr

Gabriel sighs, rubbing the back of his head. Now that she brought it up, it did kinda feel weird not to have Malachi and Diane around. Especially Malachi; Gabriel had befriended the guy when he transferred in, becoming fast friends with him, even faster once the two of them ended up being the first Persona users of their little group. However, Gabriel was always sort of a follower, really preferring to go along with the flow. Malachi was the real leader, the tactician; Gabriel just did what he was told, even if he thought Malachi was a little crazy. "I get what you mean. It's kinda crazy, huh? Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Man.....this would be a whole lot easier to get used to if we got everyone else here, at least. More familiar faces." He musters an easy smile. "But hey, least you aren't alone here, right? You got me."

Johan moves to O-6, Tsidin to I-7 and Winston to L-9

A steady hand gently but firmly yanks Lyssa back towards the group. "Enough, Lyssa! The fight is over. We are beaten!" This should strike both Lyssa and Amber as a surprise; Embla isn't the type to raise her voice very much, if at all. But then, they did just both all but lose to the Grimm, and lost someone else while they were at it. Indeed, Embla, usually standing up straight and still, appears drained by the fight, barely holding Fensalir up, let alone upright, with her other hand holding Lyssa back.

Gabriel chuckles good-naturedly as he takes the thwap, the easygoing smile still on his face. There was the Perlita he knew; a little high-strung, a little repressed, but nice and with no real bite to her bark. At least, when you weren't threatening her life. But then, who wasn't? "Sorry. Couldn't resist."

Embla, Colony 6 Attack, attack, attack on Talking Grimm!

Gabriel Kowalski Gabriel looks a little surprised as Perlita wraps him in a hug, and even more surprised by the giant military vehicle that just fell from the sky. He was, all things considered, taking this better than Perlita was, as far as he could see. After all, he wasn't the type who was easily surprised to begin with; if he could deal with being able to summon superpowered manifestations of what were apparently their own minds to inflict radiation upon their enemies, Gabriel considered he ought to be able to deal with anything. He was the type who went with the flow, rolled with the punches and figured it out later. He prized that quality of his; it was how he could remain so laid-back. Still, it was a little much, even for him. But, well, Perlita needed something a little more stable than that. First, he stands stock still as Perlita hugs him. She may have been just friends with him, and she was hugging him because she felt overwhelmed, but Gabriel was a teenager, after all, and so he was a little caught off guard by the immensely cute girl hugging him out of nowhere suddenly. Of course, the giant vehicle showing up surprised him too, so there was that. Then Perlita started talking, snapping him out of his brief fugue. He just listens, lets her speak, and then hugs her back a little bit. Not a tight, gripping hug, but a friendly one, as comforting as he could make it. When she lets go, he flashes her a smile; not one of his easygoing, casual ones, but a sincere, warm one. At least there'd be one familiar thing. He fixes her with a calm, knowing look, gripping her shoulder gently. "Hey, hey. No need to apologise. You're my friend, Perlita. I'm here if you need me. It's okay to let it all out, once in a while, you know. This may not be our home, but this isn't the strangest thing we've seen, not by far. You got this, and I got your back. It's what I'm here for. " He pauses. An easygoing smirk crawls back onto his face as he rubs the back of his head, chuckling. If nothing else, he wanted to distract her a little, defuse the tension, let her calm herself even at his own expense. It was worth it for his friend. And in any case, it was helping him calm down a little too. Joke a little, have a bit of fun, a bit of levity. "But if you could hug me a little more often, that'd be great."

Johan moves to S-7

U7

Gabriel immeidately spots Perlita in trouble, gesturing him to get over here, help her out, all that sort of thing. Well, he couldn't just stand here, could he? His buddy was looking for help. But the guy was crazy enough to fire off six shots from a revolver to show off. Not that that bothered Gabriel particularly; just meant he had to approach the situation as carefully as possible. Gabriel puts on the most relaxed, confident face he can (not hard, considering it usually consisted of his easy smile), and strolls over, tilting his head in to draw Grant's attention away from Perlita and towards him, get her some time out of the situation. "Sooooooomething I can help you with? Everything all okay over here?"

Embla, Colony 6 "Be still." Thunder Call on Cliffweaver 1

Gabriel is probably stalking nearby Perlita, his eye on her new conversational partner. He tilts his head, hands in his pockets, trying to study him, trying to figure out what he did or who he was. Place was pretty crazy, and he didn't think he'd go from fighting with Perlita and the others to fighting with what looked like an angel lady and, if he wasn't hallucinating, a fairy who apparently didn't like wearing too many clothes. Then the guy starts firing off revolvers into the air, instinctively causing him to cringe for safety. Even after fighting with a Persona for a while, it wasn't like some instincts ever went away.

V-8

-snip-

X-8, perform Shiro

Johan seizes the opportunity to perform. After all, it was about time something happened. And also, this battle called for a song anyway. "Through the gates of hell! As we make our way to heaven, through the Paxi lines!" Perform Bradwr

The harbors? Good place to run, yes. Good place to escape. The Pax would likely capture the town hall first, along with anywhere defensible; cut down resistance before it even begins to take root. The harbors were open, too open; no defense could be mounted there, unless you wanted your backs to the sea. Even easier to set an ambush there for any unfortunate stragglers, too; with the town surrounded on all sides, it wouldn't be too much trouble to send enough soldiers to hold the harbour, wait for people to attempt to flee, and catch them. But where to? The Pax could already have forces out to sea, waiting for anyone to escape that way. If they truly intended to take this town, that would be the prudent move; stop people from leaving, calling in help from Opus or Tyr-knows-where. A complete encirclement. That would be the smart move. Johan knew full well that the Pax were trained soldiers, skilled fighters. But they weren't invincible. In any case, Johan didn't intend on escaping. Not without seeing some Paxi heads be torn asunder. He eyes the group heading to the harbour carefully, trying to gauge their strength. If they wanted to leave so much, they would almost certainly need to fight. And if they were strong? Perfect.

If Johan even remotely cares about being sneered at, he doesn't show it. Except maybe by doubling down on the ham. "Outnumber us? I call that good odds! More glory for everyone! The only fools who talk about dying and throwing their lives away are fools who have already given up."

"No weak mob indeed! And yet they have yet to conquer a few tribes living in the mountains! You think too little of yourself, or too highly of them, if you think them invincible! A trained rat wearing a bucket and wielding a knife is still a rat! And if they're strong? So much more glory to be won!"

A large, imposing man sits by the fireplace, wearing a rugged, robust, dark-blue cloak; beneath would have been the rugged mountain clothes of the men of Kahla, a satchel containing his few belongings and, of course, a small axe. Not remotely good enough for a fight, of course, nothing like a good battleaxe, but good for splitting wood. His mane of red hair was untamed, his right hand plucking a pipe from his mouth. As he overhears the discussion about an army, his interest is piqued, an all-too-familiar smile growing beneath his beard, a bloody-minded glint in his eye. An army? An army meant a battle. A battle meant fun to be had, glory to be won, tales to be sung about. And so battle was where Johan, the Hammerhand, wanted to be. Even- no, especially if it was the Pax. They made good sport; less glory, but more slaughter. Especially if they outnumbered this motley crew. And in any case, he had scores to settle against them. Not that he was angry at them, not particularly; but it was his honor as a warrior at stake. He stands up, looking out the window, slightly slouched to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling; he was accustomed to slouching, lest his massive frame smash into things too easily. "Battle, they say? And they plan to run? While this town is surrounded by soldiers? Nothing to fear from rats armed with the cutlery and plates from their mothers' pantries! They see a lost fight; I see good odds and glory to be won!"

Empi Powderbelle "Matchmaker? Yeah, basically. I'm basically a professional Cyrano, a paid wingwoman, an assistant pick-up artist, if you will. Don't know how I ended up in THIS mess; I didn't exactly sign up to go to war. Then again, I'd like to think I'm a little more qualified than some of the whackjobs I've seen around here. Or the poor kids who somehow ended up here, good grief. Where's Social Services when you need 'em, right?"

Embla, Colony 6 Embla doesn't look visibly angered by the slaughter of Colony 6, for a few moments. She studies the beasts, the talking Grimm, her face not at all changing as she figures out what to do, what must be done, how she could make up for it. The battle begins and her expression has yet to really change. Her eyes, however, tell all the emotion that needs to be told. And within them is a fire unmatched by berserkers the world over. "Be silent." Unstoppable Force on the Talking Grimm.

Empi looks back over at Edmond, smiling and extending a hand, assuming a coy, flirty pose almost by instinct. "So we haven't. The name's Empi Powderbelle, sweetie. I've been here since......well, that weird sword guy showed up and I got sent here while looking for some poor shopkeeper who couldn't muster the guts to confess to his super-hot childhood friend. Always my favourite kinda client. Well, aside from a smart client. Smart clients are always nice and easy to teach."

So Edmond was. Empi doesn't seem bothered by that. Lexiel, however, isn't exactly who she was talking about. Although Lexiel was kinda hot, she muses. Empi checks her out briefly. Slavic-looking chick, big, strong, really hot, dressed like a goth rocker with a giant robot fist (how the hell did she carry that thing around?). Hubba hubba. She'd have words with her sometime, maybe. She turns back to Solomon. "I don't know, buddy, unless I missed something, Lexiel isn't Miss Funbags. Don't see Palm Pilot the Robot Wonder around either, so she's definitely not Isobel."

Empi doesn't seem at all bothered by the axe. Well, she does; more irritated than scared, however. She smiles teasingly. "Has anyone taught you that that's not a way to greet a lady? Don't worry about enemies here; this is safe territory. I think. I don't do 'military'. If you're looking for our leaders, ask around for Edmond or Isobel. If you don't know who those are, look for the most competent-looking guy or the hot botanist chick with the nice honkers."