Y.Z. [PG-16]

"You really know how to impress a girl, I'll give you that much." Ailia cheekily commented at her older brother when she finally stumbled upon him, atop their roof. He was sitting their quietly, thinking, as the morning began to draw later. People were beginning to emerge from their houses to wander the streets towards their jobs, and a police team was directly down below investigating the scene of the earlier battle. Law enforcement was about as intelligent as a moth flying towards a bug zapper, however. Chances of them cluing in on the origin of the mess was unlikely. When the girl spoke, Reid almost fell down the shingled stage out of surprise. However, he didn't make contact with her, and just pretended she wasn't there. That is, until the small girl crept up beside him and jumped onto his lap, rending him unable to move. "You know, the reason you keep people far away from you is because you're afraid of getting like this, isn't it? You just can't seem to shake what happened that night and move on. Wanna know how I know? I'm going to be a psychi-eye-ah-triste when I get older!" It was obvious that she couldn't properly pronounce the real career name.

Reid couldn't help but give a little smile at his sister as she spoke. She meant well, but it wasn't really working. "It's been a long time since I've talked to you, isn't it? I mean, I could easily write to you guys or something, but I never want to... I'm a horrible big brother." He let out a deep sigh as he readjusted his goggles, and motioned for his younger sister to get off. "Well, I'm going to take a nap. Tell the others they should do the same, we're going to leaving tomorrow morning, and we're exhausted still." Ailia nodded as she got up and climbed a small ladder down to a porch, before rushing back downstairs. Reid just fell asleep on the roof in the morning sun.

"I know it's not my fault... but still. I can't sit here and let my sister be killed because I ran away!" Rose argued, still crying despite Faewyn's attempts to comfort her. She wasn't mad at Reid or anything, she figured he had his own reasons, but her sister concerned her more.

"Princess Juliet's birthday isn't for another month. If they're going to sacrifice her, they'll do it then in an attempt to uphold some degree of tradition." Rod said just as Ailia entered the room.

"Uhh, guys~?" Aila chimed into the fairly serious discussion. "Reid says you should get some sleep 'cause you're leaving in the morning. Though if you want, you should check out the shopping in town. Azern is famous for it's many jewelry shops, and wing ornaments are very popular here! But... Reid won't be able to go with you, he'd probably be beaten down, stripped naked, and thrown into the desert."

"Ailia!"

"Sorry mom!"

Faewyn would have argued right back at Rosaline, but before she was given the chance, Aila had cut into the conversation, bringing up the prospect of shopping.

"Ohh...I'd love to do that!" Faewyn exclaimed, seemingly oblivious to the fact that it was almost daybreak and that they were all in serious need of rest and recovery. When it came to the prospect of seeing a lot of shiny and pretty things she had all the self-restraint of a magpie...and about as much common sense too. A slight jolt of pain in her hand brought her a bit closer to reality, though, "But...I think that maybe I should find a shower and a towel first." she cast a contemplative glance at the bloodied mess in her right hand, "And maybe a bandage too." she conceded at last, but her glance was still hopeful as she turned back to Aila, "Did Reid say anything about when we'd go, though? I mean...maybe we could squeeze in a quick round in the morning before we leave?" she paused, finally having a faint moment of epiphany and realizing that maybe this wasn't exactly sensitive towards Rosaline's plight.

"Cheer up, Rose." she added in the girl's direction, "You heard what Rod said; they want to make the sacrifice at the right time, so she's not in danger yet. If Reid got you out of there I'm sure he can do the same for your sister. And if he can't then we will." Faewyn said this without the faintest trace of doubt in her voice, giving the younger girl a small pat on the head, "One thing I do know is that brooding won't help anyone. I think the best you can do is try not to think about it for now, get a good night's sleep and gather your strength so you'll be in shape to help Juliet out when the time comes."

This she deemed to be the end of the matter, turning back to Aila and her mother, "Do you mind if I use your bathroom for a while?" she added, "I'm probably a bit of a mess at the moment and I wouldn't want to get the bedsheets dirty.". Though she hadn't even properly realized it herself, Faewyn had just about reverted to her usual cheerful persona. To the others this sudden change might have seemed odd, but the girl had always been like that: she could get angry and, yes, even depressed, but only if there was very good and immediate cause for it. Everyone was safe for the moment, the bad person was gone, and Alicel was back, so she saw no reason to act down; brooding had never been Faewyn's strong suit anyway.

The sunlight that beat against Alicel's eyelids was incredibly uncomfortable. Surely, opening her eyes would be simply inviting more stinging pain. Lifting her hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight, she flinched when a sharp pain shot up her arm. Opening her eyes as her hand dropped back onto the bed, she found that she couldn't open her left eye, or at least, couldn't see much other then black. Finding that it was a bit awkward to breathe through her nose, Alicel was about to furrow her brow, but that hurt just as much as moving her arm. It took Alicel a good five minutes of thought to figure out just why everything hurt as much as it did. Remembering every detail of the exploding necklace, she rolled her eyes a little, wondering how she'd forgotten something like that.

"Hnnn..." Alicel mumbled in an clearly irritated tone, pissed that she couldn't move without everything hurting like hell. Feeling like a hopeless invalid, and a useless pile of flesh, Alicel let her unobscured eye roam the room. Two people she recognized. Thankfully, Rosaline and Faewyn, and not Aertan and his buddy. Satisfied with the fact that she wasn't with Aertan at the moment, Alicel began the grueling task of sitting up. Swallowing any sort of sound that might indicate that Alicel was in extreme pain, she successfully propped herself up [her legs seemed to be fine, thank goodness] on her pillow though with quite the extra amount of effort.

"I need a mirror." Alicel said, wanting to see the damage that stupid bomb had done, "Please." She added with difficulty. Please always made it sound like a request. And this was not a request. Alicel NEEDED a mirror, "Where am I?" The question as to her location, of course, was second to the question of what had been done to her face, perhaps her hair, and the rest of her once perfect skin, which was undoubtedly no longer perfect.

"Er...." Alicel stared at the lady and the little girl, unable to say much more. She was not accustomed to addressing people when she was in a state of such apparent lack of preparation.

"Actually, Reid's facing enough hard time in prison as it is, I doubt he'd be able to accommodate your rescue mission." Rod said gloomily, different from his usual persona, as he looked at the group, specifically Rose. "The Tealian forces are very strict when it comes to operations, and he's already two days past the deadline. And for some reason, Tealia REALLY wants to get a hold of Rosaline. Why else would they risk sparking the imminent war by snatching up their sacrifice? The way I look at, Reid is most likely a goner when we get back. Yup, they'll probably have him locked away for life, or worse." Rod shot a glance at Rose, who looked away with the knowledge that Rod was blaming her for the fate of his friend.

"What? That's horrible! And here I thought Tealia was better than Carn!" Lila chimed in once more at the mention of her son's fate. "Though I guess when it comes down to it, no nation is perfect. But still, you guys won't let him get locked up, will you?"

Rose remained quiet. So this wasn't essentially a rescue mission? There was a chance Tealia could want to use her for something as well? Was the world truly against her staying as a living, breathing person? She wasn't really sure, but she supposed pushing forward was the only way to push forward. "Don't worry Fae... Is it okay if I call you Fae?" She said to Faewyn, her first attempt to form some sort of friendship pact with a person. "I'll be okay, despite your suggestion, I just need to think... I think. But- OH, I think I can heal wounds if we have problems later. I practiced a trick a lot in my cell when I'd fall and cut myself. I couldn't allow them to remain, or else chances were almost certain they'd become infected." She pulled out her flute, and began to play a song that reminded one of the fluttering of a butterfly. Despite the fact that she was playing, her attention was focused on a large gash in her right arm that she had acquired on her right arm. Lionus began focusing around the area, and as the song ended, it dispersed. In the place of the wound was the flawless skin Rose had owned prior to the conflict.

"One mirror!" Ailia chimed as she came back into the room after disappearing, carrying I small hand mirror. Thoughtlessly, she chucked it onto Faewyn's stomach. "You're at my brother, Reid's house~ Oh, and Faewyn, there's a washroom down the hall, and to the right that you can use~"

"But...that's unfair!" Faewyn exclaimed as Rod mentioned imprisonment, her eyes wide, "I mean, he didn't plan to fall down from the sky, get chased by that creepy guy or anything else. They've got to see that he couldn't help it. If we come and tell them about everything that happened they'll understand, right? I'll get it all written down." she brandished the fresh - and still unfinished - journal, "They can't argue with the facts, can they?" alright, so maybe she wasn't exactly well-versed in the ways of government institutions. Faewyn's parents had always emphasized the value of collecting and preserving knowledge, not all the complex political games revolving around its use, and as such she couldn't quite fathom the concept of punishing someone who did their job as best they could...or that this mission could be about something besides saving Rosaline. To her mind, government's were meant to punish bad people and reward good people, not the other way around, "Don't you worry one bit." she replied to Lila, "I'll make sure they understand what happened." one of these days she would have to get back in touch with reality...she really would.

Just then, Rosaline spoke up, apparently feeling a little bit better and timidly requesting the right to call her by a nickname, "Fae is fine." she trilled merrily, "Fay works too, it means 'fairy' you know; both are a lot nicer than most of the things people call me." she followed the healing spell in fascination, watching curiously as the gash on Rosaline's arm vanished, "That's almost like the stuff uncle Kain does." she remarked, "Except...well, he doesn't do any music. Maybe you could use that do something about those big gashes on Alicel's-" she paused in mid-sentence as the girl sprang to life, demanding a mirror. Ailia was quick to oblige, although her aim left something to desire.

"Here you go." she replied, beaming at Alicel as she held the mirror in front the girl's face, "It's really not so bad. Well..." she conceded - hopeless optimist though she was, she wasn't much of a liar - "...considering the circumstances, anyway." Then again, Faewyn's own face was currently covered in dirt and her hair was a complete mess as a result of the blast and consequent emergency dive. Maybe Alicel would at least be happy to know that she wasn't the only one not looking her best at the moment.

If Alicel was delicate, she would've fainted. If Alicel's face wasn't stinging in pain with every movement other then her mouth, she would've screamed with a full expression of anguish. Instead, she took a sharp breath and looked determinedly away. Indeed, there were bandages across her left eye, as she could've assumed, and indeed, she did have a gauze on her face, indicating that there was most certainly a cut there. She stared at Rosaline's spotless arm and resisted the urge to squeeze some air out of her to play her flute and heal her face and eye. Instead, she sat gloomily and brooded over how she would make sure the cut looked nice in the future. Perhaps she could simply readjust her bangs so that they covered the left portion of her face. At least she'd turned the right side of her face away from the explosion... a very wise move.

"Well..." Alicel began stiffly, trying to keep calm, even if she couldn't keep pretty, "I suppose your right." She deflated, glancing at the mirror Faewyn held up, "Either way, it sounds like everyone's headed for Tealia. I think that's a bad idea, from what I've heard. I mean, it's a lose-lose situation, right? Tealia can't have anything good in store with a Princess of Carn, even if she's er..." Alicel searched for a less blunt way to state it, "...A religious icon." She cursed herself mentally, "And if Reid's going to get locked up, I say you should head for a different country. One that isn't looking for Rosaline."

She looked around as best as her neck, which refused to move at the moment, would allowed, and assessed Reid's home. It wasn't horribly shabby, like she'd imagined, but it certainly wasn't quite as luxurious as the Florinen household. Sure, the chandeliers there weren't exactly made of diamonds, but everything there seemed to gleam. Here, not so much. Perhaps it was the sandy storms outside that gave Alicel a feeling that there might be more dust in the bedroom then met the eye. But perhaps not.

"You're naive, Faewyn, you really are. Facts won't justify anything, especially when the facts are coming from a group of random teenagers." Rod replied to the immature ramblings of Faewyn, the serious tone to his voice still present. "Tealia isn't full of people who'd resign they're bias opinions to a bunch of kids claiming they have proof, but no way of displaying it other than in a book. I know Reid, I've known him since we were kids. If you have an intent of taking Rose away, he won't let you. He'll end up taking her Tealia with him anyways, whether he truly wants to or not."

"I'm going there." Rose spoke up again, apparently her mind set. "I need to reason with the Queen, even if I'm risking my life. It's the only way I'll have a chance of saving my sister. Besides, even if something happens to Reid, you guys will be there to help me bail him out, right? I know you guys are worried about my safety, and I'm flattered, but this is something I need to do. OH. SORRY ALICEL!" She had finally realized that Alicel was wounder, and that she could heal her. Major brain fart on her part. She walked over to Alicel's side, and concentrated on the head wounds, her flute in her hands. She played the same song as earlier, and white lionus energy attached itself to the girl's wounds. When she finished, the energy dispersed, leaving non-punctured and healthy skin in it's place. "I'm sorry if that stung a little... So, are we going shopping after you two get cleaned up?"

"But that's not right!" Faewyn protested, staring in disbelief at Rod, "What good does locking Reid away do for anyone?! And I've seen Tealian people pay huge amounts of money for facts in books, why wouldn't they value mine? I write these just like mama, you know, and none of those military people ever argued with her books."

Just then, Alicel dropped the second bombshell: namely, her own suspicions as to what the Tealians wanted with Rosaline. The girl in question seemed adamant about going, however, and Faewyn eventually consented, nodding, "You can count on me." she replied, "I'll talk to them too, and maybe visit my uncle as well." the last point seemed largely irrelevant to the whole issue, a fact which apparently only dawned to the girl a few minutes later as she added, "He's a doctor, you know, and he said that a couple of people there owe him favors. Maybe if I ask him he could...umm...pull some ropes?" nope, idioms weren't really her strong suit either, "Nothing to lose, right?"

Somewhat gloomy though the discussion might have been, Faewyn was quick to perk up at Rosaline's final suggestion.

"Oh, I'm in!" she trilled, clapping her hands and receiving a sting in the cut to remind her that she still had other issues to address. Mindfully placing the mirror well within Alicel's reach, she gave both of her newfound friends a smile, "I'm going to go take a shower then." she announced, "I'll be right back."

With that, the girl proceeded down the hall and to the right, as she had been instructed to do earlier, soon disappearing out of view.

OoC// My posts are getting shorter. :x

Alicel IC// Alicel grinned a genuine smile, examining her skin that was once again perfect and flawless. What a wonderful mahstion, lionus. Much more useful then wation. Snatching up the mirror, Alicel took her time to examine her face, and slowly pulled the bandages and medical tape off. She was quite satisfied.

"Thank you Rosaline!" Alicel chirped, as she pulled the bandage off her left eye. She frowned slightly when she closed her right eye. Things were slightly blurry. Maybe she'd have to change her hair anyway. Because there was no way she was wearing a monocle or glasses. Or anything to that extent. They were tacky. Putting down the mirror, she tapped her lips with her now healed index finger. She'd have to repay Rosaline. So, Alicel decided, she would go with, for company. She was an excellent cook, and quite organized anyway. They'd have no trouble if they ended up having to run from Tealia, a premonition Alicel had already decided was unavoidable, based on her own reasons. To repay Reid's family for taking care of her... Alicel bit her lip.

"It didn't sting at all." Alicel added, remembering suddenly what Rosaline had last said, "And shopping sounds quite fun. I'll need a new dress... after all, this one is sort of..." She looked down at the once white sundress, the straps torn and barely clinging to the rest of the dress, "Dead?" Alicel laughed, before trying to fix up her hair in the mirror, so that it covered her left, blurry eye.

Aertan IC// "Her birthday isn't for another month." Kirden said quietly, her hands clasped in her lap, her face concealed with a veil, "You have plenty of time Aertan. Do not fret. I'm sure there is a way to console yourself. Princess Juliet should be proud that she's going to be sacrificed for Tylonstus. It is a great privilege."

Haeon't and Geote slapped themselves over Aertan's ears as his temperature rose, his cheeks coloring. Kirden was never graceful with words, and this was a situation that certainly proved it. Sighing, Aertan commanded Haeon't and Geote to remove themselves, which they did, obviously against their will. Kirden's flat emotionless violet eyes pierced through the veil attatched to her coif, as though she hadn't even noticed that Haeon't and Geote did not approve of her words. She was an avid believer in Tylonstus. To the extreme point where a curse of Tylonstus was not worth even noticing. She sat stock still, and Aertan did as well.

"I see. Thank you." Aertan said stiffly, with difficulty, seeing that Kirden wasn't about to go anywhere until she was sure Aertan wouldn't attempt to capture Rosaline simply for Juliet's sake, but instead, for Tylonstus', "This eases my mind. In my shock, I did not take her feelings into consideration." Aertan blinked. No. He hadn't. He'd lied about the ease of mind. But he hadn't lied about the last sentence. Juliet... was not the type to praise for killing to save. She would approve of protecting to save. But, sometimes, protecting included killing. Juliet had always been rumored to rather like Rosaline. How would Princess Juliet react, if Aertan sent Rosaline to her death for Juliet? What would Aertan do, if Juliet hated him for it? Aertan's clenched fists began to tremble, but he kept his face equally blank as Kirden's. She stared, and yet, she wasn't truly looking at Aertan. This was Kirden, a pitiful shell of an existence, who dedicated her life to Tylonstus, gave her soul and emotions to Tylonstus, and gave her grace and beauty to Tylonstus. Aertan had never particularly disliked her. She was quite an idol, such an avid follower. But, at the moment, Aertan felt both great hatred toward Kirden for lack of consideration towards the people around her, thinking only of Tylonstus and shunning everyone else. And also a surge of thankfulness. Kirden, by opening his eyes to the fact that he had spent no time considering Juliet, and only his own goals, showed him that he might've lost a very important relationship.

"Very well then." Kirden finally said in a bored voice, "Shall we return?"

"No." Aertan replied, "I must capture Rosaline. It is impudent to keep Tylonstus waiting."

"Your curse. The tattoo's of purification have been destroyed. They must be retraced or bad luck will certainly befall you. Tis the will of the might Tylonstus." Kirden retorted stubbornly.

"I have something to do. I will simply bear with bad luck in the meantime." Aertan stood and bowed, "I shall return in due time. I expect that Rosaline will be in my company the next time we meet, Kirden."

Kirden stared silently for many minutes before finally saying, "You tread in dangerous waters. Tylonstus does not forgive the reckless."

"Svartel's were never favored children of Tylonstus."

OOC: Sorry it's short, not a lot to do with Reid sleeping and Rose waiting on you two. XD

Despite the ludicrousy of it all, Rose still had one last hope in mind for helping her sister. Aertan. Unless it was a rather harsh ploy to get Rose to come with him, it was Aertan who had made her aware of the truth, which meant he may actually care. If she could somehow reason with him, convince him to cooperate, then perhaps there was a way they could save the princess. Rose's thought were cut short when she overheard Ailia ask her mother about a small green dot she had somehow received on her forehead. "I've been wondering about those dots too... I have one, Reid has one, and so do Faewyn and Alicel. Come to think of it, so did that Aertan person..." Upon reflection, it's noteworthy at this point to came to the realization that Rosaline wasn't afraid of speaking to people like she was back when she met Alicel and Faewyn. "Ah well, I guess we'll find out later. I'll meet you guys outside!" The sacrifice girl made her way to the front hall of the house, and stepped outside, patiently waiting for the others to hurry up.

'...and then we decided to go shopping, Reid didn't join us out of fear that the townspeople would beat him up, strip him naked and throw him out into the desert (it is apparently a local custom) so he took a nap instead.'

Faewyn placed down the final full stop with a measure of satisfaction, carefully re-reading what she had just written. Yup, it was all there: the escape from the Florinen house, the trek across Alta, the confrontation at Reid's parents' house, the aftermath...everything. This day's bizarre little story had now been successfully recorded. Reid's name would be cleared and Rod would see how wrong he had been. And now...now she had earned herself a shower. Mindfully double-checking that the door was locked - for she had been told that this was what you did with a no-good dirty lecher in the house - before slipping out of her dust-covered attire and into the shower, cranking up the temperature of the water to help rinse the dirt.

This day had been quite...eventful, she had to concede, what with having teamed up with a hunted sacrifice and a secret agent and having been chased across Alta - and come close to being killed by - a man with an additional pair of hands sprouting out of his wings and everything, but when all was said and done it had turned out well. She had made new friends, all of them were safe for the moment, and they were about to go shopping. Having come close to accidentally maiming herself, now probably being blacklisted by a country of religious fanatics, or having a deep cut on her hand did nothing to change any of those things. A wide grin dominated Faewyn's face as she stepped out of the shower, pulling on the discarded outfit again. This had been a good day, and the evening was going to be a turn for the better.


"Over here!"

As she approached the front hall, Faewyn gave a cheerful wave to Rosaline as she spotted her, skipping over to the younger girl. Faewyn's hair was still dripping wet, but she had scrubbed the dirt away and the cut on her hand now bore a neat bandage on it.

"Sorry if I made you wait." the girl continued, "Soo...are we ready to go?"

"Definitely." Alicel said, sliding off of the bed and brushing off the skirt of her dress. It didn't do much, but at this point, Alicel was just happy that no permanent damage had been done. Dresses were easily replaced. She marched out of the house, and tried to quell the feeling of impending doom that Aertan would suddenly pop out of nowhere. Placing her hands on her hips she looked around, turning her entire torso as she tried to find a proper store. First things first, she needed a new dress. Not bothering to wait for Faewyn or Rosaline, Alicel made a beeline for the first clothing shop she spotted, and expertly flit through the selections, varied as much as the colors of the rainbow. But that was just the way things worked.

Alicel need only look at the colors. Stopping at the first black dress she saw, she whipped it out. Immediately putting it back where she'd found it, she decided against dressed with too much lace on them. Or any lace at all, for that matter. Alicel had decided that she'd choose a black dress when Rosaline mentioned that they'd be out shopping. It was easier to hide stains, dust, and dirt on black clothing. It didn't take Alicel long. She was one of those people who would pick out the perfect thing within minutes. But putting her hand at her side she frowned. She hadn't exactly taken her purse with her when she'd been kidnapped. Did Rosaline or Faewyn have money? It was a rare instance, but Alicel actually looked at the price. It wasn't incredibly painful. She'd pay them back later.

After picking out a pair of belted black boots and a pair of white tights, Alicel was satisfied with her new outfit. With no qualms about mooching off of Rosaline and Faewyn, she brushed off the tad bit of black soot on her silver bracelets before waiting for the other two girls to arrive. Faewyn needed some new clothes too. They were so dirty! Rosaline could do with a new outfit too. New clothes were good! It gave a taste of variety. Sitting down on one of the chairs next to the door, Alicel ignored that stares that she received for her tattered dress. It wasn't as if anyone else was wearing something made of satin, even if their clothes weren't ripped. Just meant that Alicel had more backbone then they did.

OoC// Not sure how clothing stores work, but, you know. Whatever.

"Wait up!"

Faewyn's call effectively fit into the category of too little, too late. By the time she had found her voice, Alicel was already halfway inside the closest clothing store. Oh well, at least she had perked up, which was never wrong.

"Come on, Rose." Faewyn called cheerfully, grasping the younger girl's hand and towing her along as she followed Alicel's lead. The moment they stepped inside the store and Faewyn caught sight of the colorful abundance of clothes within, she released her grip, however, her eyes glowing covetously. She always reacted like this when confronted with a store more impressive than her local supermarket. The family shopping trips had always been about the purely practical, obtaining the necessities and absolutely nothing beyond that save for a few tastier food items, 'superfluous' had always been a bad word in the Ayre household, so getting to enter a store that seemed to be all about being superfluous was a rare treat for the girl. She had done it once before, and walked out with an empty purse, looking like a clothing rack had imploded on her arms. Since then, her mother had taken over shopping for the clothes.

"So many pretty things..." Faewyn mumbled, a dreamer's look still etched on her face as she examined the rows of colorful clothes in front of her, "Alicel, which one of these do you think would-"

"Ahem." the discreet but suitably noticeable, and slightly reproachful, little cough re-directed the girl's attention to a nearby woman who seemed to be in her mid-twenties, her dark blue hair tied up in a tight bun and her uniform and the length of measuring tape she held identifying her as a store clerk, a pair of greyish white, dove's wings at her back twitching slightly as she gave their little group critically, quite clearly not approving of their dirtied attires, "I certainly hope you can pay for that." she remarked dryly, focusing a pair of gray eyes at Alicel and, specifically, the wares she was holding. Well, as far as one could speak of focus when one was as badly cross-eyed as the clerk was. To top it all, the right eye seemed to have sunken a bit lower on the face than the left, distorting her otherwise rather attractive appearance, and...well, that frown of hers wasn't doing her any favors in that department either, "This is a store after all; if you break or dirty anything you'll have to buy it."

Despite being the one who suggested the idea in the first place, Rosaline was basically dragged to the shop by Faewyn, who seemed scarily enthusiastic about the excursion. Rod followed after them, fully knowing that they probably had no money. If any of them were expecting Rose to have money, at least, they'd be pretty dumb. How would a girl locked away for her whole life have money?

When they arrived at the store, Rose was overwhelmed. She had never seen such a place before, with clothes and jewelry everywhere. The girls split up quickly and efficiently, looking at various things, though with strange looks from the store clerk who seemed a little less than pleased with the current state of their appearances, and commenting as such. Surprisingly, Rod stepped up to the plate. "Excuse me, ma'am? These fine women are with me. I ensure you anything they break or "dirty", I can pay for. Though I'd prefer you don't through such inappropriate comments while you aren't the most civil of people yourself. Judging based on appearance. How immature." In the meantime, Rose was busy looking at all of the clothing. She really had to return the outfit she was wearing to Alicel, so it wouldn't hurt to get something else. In the end, she retrieved a long sleeved, light blue traveling gown that would go down to cover her feet. The gown would be tight enough that it would show off her feminine curves, and it had a gold chain located around the wait on an angle. The style was really old, but she still liked it. She also picked up some white stockings and a pair of brown sandals to go with it, along with a pair of earrings with light blue jewel studs. She also purchased a dark blue cloak that tied just below her so she could easily remove it if she ever needed to fly while wearing it. To top it all off, she purchased some silver chain jewelry designed to run from the tip of each wing to the shoulder along the top. Of course, she'd need help getting dressed into all this later.

Just as Rose had finished picking out a fortune's worth of clothing, Rod spoke up in the middle of the store, addressing the girls. "Tonight, I have a special treat for you guys. So, I need you guys to get swimsuits or whatever." Rose cocked her head in confusion. She wasn't exactly sure what a swimsuit was...

OoC// HAHAHA, I'm such a girl. D: I end up posting a super long post when it involves shopping, naturally. *shot*

IC// Pointedly ignoring that woman's words and blatantly showing that Alicel felt that she wasn't worth her attention, Alicel examined the dress and didn't even flinch when the lady directly addressed her. It was similar to hers, before it'd been torn up. With a square collar and extremely geometrical style around the straps and neckline, it looked like a plain black dress. Though, the hem of the skirt seemed to be punctured with holes to look like it was lace. Thankfully, it wasn't lace. Alicel had strictly refused anything with lace; it was too itchy. Standing up and putting her items on the chair, she decided she needed something to pep up the monotone outfit. Really bright accessories, of course.

Alicel was just searching through a hanger of brightly colored necklaces when Rod announced that they needed to pick out swimsuits. She straightened and put her hands on her hips, "I'm not going to say no to a free outfit and swimsuit." Of course, it was never an innocent treat when a guy requested that three girls picked out swimsuits. But, still, shopping was no sin. However, she ended up moving away from the necklaces and over to the hair accessories. Plucking a bright neon blue scarf headband out of the row, she puckered her lips in thought, then nodded. But wait. Alicel paused, glancing over at Rod. He was paying for everything, wasn't he? No need to hold back.

Thus, her completed outfit consisted of a dress, white stockings, her belted boots which were laced together with belts all the way up to her knees, while the other boot was belted only up to her mid shin. The blue neon scarf headband, whose tail would sit on her right shoulder, was accompanied by three silver rings on her left hand, one on her index finger, another on her middle finger, and the last on her pinky, while a two thick silver bangles sat next to each other on her right wrist. A white cropped mantle that was cut to the small of her back and held together at the base of her left shoulder with a ring styled brooch would be what she wore when it got cold. It'd be easy to stuff it into a bag when it wasn't cold.

"Well, my outfit is done." Alicel turned to Rosaline with a smile and said, "Swimsuits are things you wear when you swim! Basically you can move around in a big body of water or you just sit there. Trust me, it's good exercise, and it also feels really nice when it's hot outside." She grabbed the ex-sacrifice's wrist and said, "Who knows, maybe Rod has a nice treat for us, like he said. But we have to look our best, because it'll be tough going from here on out, right?"

She picked out a two piece for herself, a bold cobalt blue, black, and white suit, with a bottom piece designed like shorts, while the top was a cropped halter top, striped three times diagonally with the three respective colors, the bottom striped in the opposite direction.

"See this material? It doesn't get see-through when you go swimming, and it's light weight, so you don't get weighed down when it absorbs the water!" Alicel said, not realizing that Rosaline probably didn't understand a single word of it. But when it came to shopping, Alicel was an expert, and a dreadfully excited person, cheerful and peppy.

OOC: Lawl, I'm being a stereotypical guy and having a fashion emergency here. Faewyn needs some advice, she really does. So, uh...please? xD

IC:

"I've got some money..." Faewyn began innocently at the clerk's inquiry, but before she could finish Rod had stepped in, informing them that he was paying this time around and adding in a few choice words about the clerk's behavior.

"Well suit yourselves, then." she snapped indignantly, "But if I get any trouble from your lot you'll be out on your ears!" with that, she stalked off in a huff of righteous indignation.

Faewyn stared curiously after the departing woman for a moment, but then her mind was brought back to the more pressing concern: shopping. She didn't have that much money, but if Rod was shouldering part of the cost it was still something. Okay, so she needed something to wear while traveling - seeing as how she had ditsily forgotten her satchel of spare clothes back at the Florinen household - and according to their benefactor she also needed a swimsuit.

"Okay..." the girl mumbled, gently searching through the seemingly endless lines of clothing and accessories, at times picking something up to examine it closer or get a feel of the fabric, "Let's see...". Very soon, however, Faewyn realized that she had a problem. It wasn't like she couldn't find anything she wanted. To the contrary; she had trouble finding anything she didn't want. She had to restrain herself, though; she wasn't on an infinite money supply, and neither was Rod, but still...the girl gave a slightly melancholy sigh as she had to put back her latest find, a beautiful crafted silver bracelet which was far too large to ever fit her thin arm. The purse with her savings was practically burning a hole through her pocket; she needed to pick something that would look good on her but wouldn't be too much of a bother when traveling. It had to be durable, at least somewhat resistant to dirt, and she needed some kind of opening for her wings too. By the sound of it, she needed a whole wardrobe, but with the current budget she had to make every choice count, and to do that she probably needed help. She could have asked Rod, of course, but him being a guy and a dirty no-good lecher - if a pretty generous one - ...well, even Faewyn realized that there was a conflict of interests in there somewhere. Alicel seemed to be completely at home in the store, however, currently engaged in explaining the intricacies of her swimsuit to Rosaline. When in doubt, consult the expert - this piece of advice from mama had held true on numerous occasions and Faewyn saw no reason to doubt it now. The others seemed to be finished too, and she hadn't even gotten started.

"Umm...Alicel?" Faewyn inquired, walking over to the other girl, "Could you help me a little? I...well, I'm not very good at picking clothes." she conceded, "And I don't want this to get too expensive for Rod, so could you help pick something that looks nice but doesn't cost too much?" she procured one of her trusty notebooks and a pencil to accompany it, "Oh, and maybe tell me a bit about clothes too?" she added hopefully, ready to write down notes.

Alicel spun about to face Faewyn with a grin.

"Of course!" Alicel said, "A few tips on clothes... well, even the BEST outfit looks horrible if it doesn't fit. Clothes have to compliment your figure! Conform to your curves! And the colors don't have to match. They have to go. If you wear green and purple together, that sounds icky, right? No no no, you have to open your mind to the possiblities!" Alicel rambled excitedly, "If the green and purple are worn in a proper way, they can flow and look quite appealing, and it pops out more then a match-y match-y outfit. And when it comes to prices, if the man is paying, he can't tell you no." She winked at Faewyn, "But to control that, check the price, and hang onto it, look around, and see if you can find something similar, but cheaper. It's also a good idea to hang out in the sales rack, so your never even tempted to buy something expensive."

And these were the words of the shopping guru. Indeed, she'd probably spewed out a little more then Faewyn was expecting, but turned back to the clothing racks, "I couldn't exactly help you pick an outfit, because I don't know your preferences. But, judging by what you're wearing right now, let's get you a pair of nice fitting cargo pants. One pieces don't look good unless they're jumper dresses. They should fall straight to the floor from your hips, no flares or anything. As for shirts... Well, that depends on what kind of cleavage you're comfortable with. I think a printed tank-top would work fine, although a shoulder collared shirt over it would always be a fashionable if not logical sweater."

Shaking her head, Alicel flit through the racks at mach speed, hardly even glancing at each, and pausing only a second longer when she found a pair of cargo pants.

OoC// Yes I know it sucks, but from now on, I'll be really busy on Tuesdays, so I only barely managed to crank out a post today.

OOC: I know it doesn't make sense, but for the sake of speeding this day along, let's say they've been shopping a while. We can get rolling with the main plot once we get to Tealia, so I want to get to the night as soon as possible. XD

"Okay, ladies~ <3" Rod finally spoke up once more, tapping the new watch present around his left wrist. "We really should be heading back now, it's one already. You guys haven't slept in forever now, so we should hurry back so you can nap before tonight~" Rose let out a sigh in response. Was he now so cheery because of his watch, or because of thoughts of seeing them in swimsuits? "So I'll just go up and start paying~ Bring up whatever swimwear you're getting~" With that, he took the ever growing loads of items from the three teens and made his way to the front counter.

"What's cleavage? Do boys like it?" The white winged wonder asked in a very sheepishly naive manner. At this question, a few women who were also around the area began s giving the girl weird looks, causing her face to brighten dramatically. "W-what? What did I say!?" To save herself anymore embarrassment, the confused sacrifice hid herself behind the opposite side of the swimsuit rack, browsing nervously. This was probably one of the first times in her life she was embarrassed, and apparently too much attention triggered it. Eventually, after a few more moments of looking, she found a light blue bikini that matched the other clothing she had just purchased. Rejoining the other two, she handed them the bikini. "Can you guys bring that up to Rod? I need to step outside." she said abruptly before running out, her face still bright red.

OOC: One of you two can just have Rod finishing ringing them through and start the walk back.

OOC: Ehh...it's taken me forever and a day to make a post here, hasn't it? Sorry about that, I've just been in a bit of a writing slump lately. It seems to have passed now, though. I would have gotten this up yesterday night, but I ran out of time because another IC post of mine turned out far longer than expected. >.< Anyways...

IC:

"Really?" Faewyn's eyes widened in awe at the lecture, her pencil dancing across the notebook as she followed the other girl's words. Okay, so fitting above all, matching colors weren't a must (This was good news, seeing as how she wasn't quite clear on what did and didn't match in the first place), look for similar clothes, keep prices in mind...yeah, she had all of this written and memorized. Too bad she could only give guidelines, but...Faewyn's smile widened, the cargo pants were certainly a hit. Anything with that many roomy pockets was a sure winner in her eyes. She kept Alicel's advice in mind, though, and shuffled through a number of them - albeit not nearly as quickly and efficiently as the fashion guru herself - eventually settling on a dark green pair, and - just to put the color theory to a test - a dark purple tank top to go with them. Dark was good; it hid dirt, even Faewyn knew this much.

It was then that Rod spoke up, suggesting that they call it a day.

"Oh, just one minute!" Faewyn called, rushing off to the swimsuit rack and cycling through it, eventually settling on a simple dark blue one-piece. Most of the others seemed to be made for people with a bit more to show off, anyway; she had never been particularly gifted in the most coveted area of female anatomy. Rosaline soon posed a question about the meaning of 'cleavage', but before the older girl could even open her mouth, her younger complement had darted out in embarrassment, requesting that they take her purchases to Rod. Oh well, this could be explained later; not that Faewyn realized why Rosaline had been so embarrassed, but she was sure the young princess had her reasons.

"Okay, I'm done!" the girl trilled, rushing off after Rod. Just as she approached the counter, however, something caught her eye. Standing on one of the nearby shelves was a sizable, brown messenger bag, made of an unknown lightweight yet durable material, which - according to a sign next to it - was also designed to minimize impact to the items inside. Faewyn's eyes gleamed as she picked it up, trying it on and noticing - much to her delight - that the strap fit neatly between her wings, the bag settling against her lower back as if it had been meant to be there all along. It might not have been the greatest of fashion statements, but the girl was experiencing a strong and acute case of impulse buying, quickly adding the bag to the counter just as Rod was about to pay, "Oh, and this too." she added sweetly, "Don't worry; I'll pay for this one." with that, she placed a small pile of crumpled notes in front of the cashier before proceeding onward, picking up her own share of the purchases and skipping contentedly towards the exit, her newest purchase swinging back and forth against her back.

"Alright, let's go-o-o!" Faewyn could not have been more cheerful and hyper, or more annoying to those fully aware that it was the middle of the night and wanting to sleep through it like decent people.

OOC: Okay, so I just sort of shuttled Rod along since I didn't know how to play him properly. Is this sort of what you were looking for? :3

OoC// Blocks are no fun. DD:

IC// Taking a quick sweeping glance inside the bag she held, Alicel made sure that she hadn't forgotten anything, and counted the rings and bracelets on her fingers and wrists. She'd change into her clothes after she'd taken a shower or bath. Healed or not, she was still sort of sooty and dust-ridden from the explosion and encounter from the morning, and she didn't want any of that on her new outfit. Looking up when Faewyn called to leave, Alicel nodded, before catching sight of her swimsuit. Glancing back at Rod, she was suddenly curious as to why they'd been asked to buy swimsuits. He certainly seemed okay. After all, he'd bought a new outfit, put out that clerk's fire for Alicel, and well... paid for her new outfit. Alicel nodded to herself again deciding he was okay.

"Why do we need these swimsuits Rod?" Alicel asked, standing in the middle between Rosaline and Rod at the cashier, and Faewyn at the door.

~~

The city about him bustled about as if it weren't there. People practically saw right through it, while for him, he could see nothing else. For awhile, he'd envisioned Juliet standing up there, with a blade pressed to her throat, while he simply stood here, where the crowd would be, watching with a flat gaze as she'd barely even notice him. But after thinking of ways he could stop the blade without branding himself as a traitor all over again, the scene suddenly shifted to something more familiar. But only slightly. Instead of Juliet it was Rosaline, and he stood to her left, holding an open holy book and watching with eyes that could care less about the fate of the girl before him.

Aertan's eyes opened. With a great sigh, he pulled himself up and sat with one leg dangling off the edge of his bed. Speedily standing up, Aertan stormed out of the small room he'd rented for the night, and out into the small town that was nestled smack dab between the town where he'd taken Alicel captive, and the town in which he'd last seen Rosaline. If he set out now, he'd get there by the morning. What an advantage of having heavy powerful wings. Even if they were impossible to hide.

So this was it. This time, he'd save Juliet for sure. He had a month. More then enough time.