The Ashlanders - Chapter 6: The Blind Man's Last Gambit (Closed, Started)

[Evrant-Knight]

Viola was busy brushing her hair when she heard the sounds of Hannibal waking up. It sounded as though he was having trouble reading the instructions on the medicine bottle; either he had trouble reading some of the words, or he was in need of glasses, worse case scenario was both. She was drying her hair, ready to give it another brushing when Viola noticed Hannibal was looking at her, and gave a weak wave in her direction.

"Hi... sorry thought I was the only one in the room. Sorry for the 'she'll kill me', I just have a h-h-h-hard time tt-t-trusting people." Whilst he was saying this, his cheeks began to blush with embarrassment. "Um, Viola? C-Can I call you Viola? Would it be okay if I took a shower?" Viola gave a small yawn after she brushed her hair a second time.

"I see... And yes, you may call me Viola, after all I have been calling you Hannibal this whole time. Feel free to use the shower, I've just had one so the water should still be warm. I mean, why else would I been in such attire?" She remarked, referring to the fact that all she was wearing was a towel.

"After we've both washed, dried and dressed, we'll go downstairs for some breakfast; thought I could smell something cooking earlier. And remember to bring your medicine along with you, I believe it said to take it with food twice a day."

 

[ProtoChimp]

"Ah... yes. Good call." Hannibal spoke awkwardly and walked even more awkwardly into the bathroom. Stepping inside and removing the rags he called clothes he turned on the shower and the heat... oh the heat of a hot shower. It was then he realised, 'Wow I haven't had a warm shower in... ever. And a shower at all in... last month? Before then? Ah I'm tired of washing myself with puddle water.' He sighed and leaned his forehead against the well, the shower head above his own head, water streaming down his back. As the droplets left his body and into the drain it was jet black almost as bad as his teeth. Hannibal noticed this and yelled into the other room, "Viola? I um, I might be a while in here."

Starting with the shampoo he used the whole damn bottle just to rinse his hair clear of the dirt that had plagued him for so annoyingly long. He picked up the bar of soap and ended up using the entire thing as well. Even then he still needed to use half the shower gel just to call himself clean. Then again his idea of clean wasn't what other people would call clean; having spent a childhood in a dirty orphanage falling to pieces and being destroyed by fire damage, mud and termites with almost no running water in a dying dome-

His eyes flashed and suddenly he fell back onto his backside as he stared up at the running shower head, seeing imaginary fists being laid down upon him again and again and again and again and again and-

He had to jump out the shower at that point. He grabbed a towel and thoroughly dried himself off for what seemed like an eternity, rubbing so hard it made the bruises and scars on his legs that much brighter. He whimpered as he did so, trying to forget what he had successfully forgotten for so long.

 

[Fappy]

As Sprout came flying around a bend he could faintly make out a woman's voice over the roaring of the engine.

"Hey! Gonna give that back or what?"

Spotting the woman he was looking for, he gunned the moped to display its renewed vigor before stopping just short of the side of the building. He'd admit he was a bit of a show-off. Dismounting the vehicle, he gave her a stupid grin, "I reckon it'll run better'n ever! I hope, uh..." He blushed. "Hope yer not too cross 'bout yesterday." He giggled nervously as he handed her the keys.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************

"I think we can make there in their estate in the next six hours."

"Thank you." Elizabeth muttered as she turned back around to see the Maiden shrinking on the horizon.

"... But you ain't answered my question, so I'll put it another way. After the body and bad news are delivered, are you coming with me, or staying with them?"

Elizabeth furrowed her brow. It was a good question. What should she do? How was she expected to think logically at a time like this? After all she'd learned of Dio and Pixie... no, she had to return home. If anything, her family was worried sick. She had to go to them. The question of Lord Basilio would have to wait.

"Take me back to Boomhower."

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************

"So how do we find out if they're still alive? Seems like it'd be a matter of nabbing a bandito who's in the know and dragging him off somewhere for a little palaver... Unless the wonder kid over there can find out."

Bennie looked Virgil over, "Do you think you're up to it, kid?"

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************

After a day in a half of sitting in a crawler, Tsubaki's was lucky to have such a well cushioned rump. Sadly, it didn't keep her lower back from cramping up. All four of them had been sore and groggy after making camp the night before. Even a military-grade environmental tent won't keep out the cold, especially this far north. They'd have to adapt, however. This mission would leave no room for errors.

Asad was driving now with Tsubaki in the passenger seat. As they approached one of Frostfall's many access tunnels, Tsubaki turned to address her men, "Okay, this is it. We'll be taking back roads until we reach the inn from here. Everyone ready?"

 

[The Funslinger]

"Take me back to Boomhower."

"Alright, then. First stop, the Tigereye estate, second stop, somewhere we can lay over for the night. We'd be driving quite a way to get to Boomhower, and the Ashlands ain't a pleasant place to be when the sun goes down. I'll have you back with your parents some time tomorrow, Miss Maribel."

========================================================

"Okay, this is it. We'll be taking back roads until we reach the inn from here. Everyone ready?"

"Aye commander," replied Bryan, taking a nip from a hip flask from inside his jacket pocket.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"Viola? I um, I might be a while in here." Hannibal said from inside the bathroom as the sounds of the shower running were playing off in the background.

"Fair enough Hannibal, just don't take too long in there, otherwise we'll miss breakfast." Viola remarked with a cheerful smirk as she finished getting herself dressed and was in the process of braiding her hair when suddenly she could hear the faint sound of someone sobbing coming from the bathroom.

She stood up from the chair, having only done the first braid and walked over to the bathroom door, the sound of the sobbing was getting louder, it had to have been coming from Hannibal. Viola knelt down and gently knocked on the door.

"Hannibal, are you alright in there? Is something the matter? Come on, you can tell me." Viola asked in a calm and caring tone, showing concern for the young man.

 

[ProtoChimp]

Hannibal kept rubbing his thighs as old cuts were showing brightly along with some permanent bruises.

"Hannibal, are you alright in there?

'Oh god... damn damn damn.'

"Is something the matter? Come on, you can tell me."

Hannibal took a deep breath in as he tried to focus back into reality. His entire body shivered as he dropped the towel on the floor before turning off the shower and putting on the rags he wore for clothes. "I-I-I-I-I" He stuttered uncontrollably as he tried to gain composure over himself. He grabbed his wrist trying to stop one arm from shaking, however both shook just as hard as each other. "FINE!" He yelled not meaning to be so loud, he just needed to get his words out. He tried to open the door, but putting his hand to the door knob...

'I can't let them in I can't I can't I can't I can't...' His thoughts repeated this again over and over as his finger shivered looking at the door handle.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Meredith's manner was borderline, and many in such company would have taken deep offence at being questioned such so directly. She had judged Sirus Dickens well however, and the man positively boomed with laughter.

"Hah! You've scored quite the catch with this one, Mr. Matlock."

"She's certainly tenacious." replied The Gentleman.

Sirus laughed again, clapping him on the shoulder, before turning back to Meredith with a mischievous grin of his own.

"Well Miss Hill, I'm afraid I have no comment for you at this time. Later however..."

He grinned, and the hand that was currently resting on the small of Amy's back travelled downward, and gave a quick squeeze. Amy gave a small, innocent giggle, and batted her eyelashes at Sirus.

"You know..." Sirus continued "It must be said that you two are my most honoured guests tonight, even in such grandiose company as this. I'm a man who enjoys the perks of wealth as much as any other, but even on such lavish occasions as these I find that I can never quite resist the chance to talk business with grounded, like-minded fellows like yourselves..." With a whistle and a click of his fingers, Sirus beckoned over a waiter who had been circling with a box of cigars. "Come!" he said, passing the sticks around between the three of them. "Share these with me."

"You're too kind." The Gentleman replied gracefully, accepting a cigar in his private disgust.

"Now," announced Sirus a moment later, the haze of smoke from the first inhale now dispersing between them. "As you know I've had my eye on the Boomhower Gazette for some time now. Boomhower is such a dreary place, between you and me, but it does not lack for interesting news, and I believe you people understand, reporting can be about so much more than the cold regurgitation of facts. Life happens all around us, and within life, their is drama! All the world's a stage, and the reporters and editors of this world provide the direction, the lighting, the fanfare! That is what we do, Mr. Matlock, we take the gems of life out of the mundane of this ashen heap, and we put on a show, and when you return to Boomhower after tonight, you can inform your paymasters that they're being invited to take part in the greatest show on The Rock..."

There was little that needed doing after that, other than to repeatedly smile and nod as Sirus grew ever more animated. Time passed, guests began to tire and disperse, and cigar after cigar was smoked down to the nub.

"Good gracious!" Sirus announced tremendously. "Is that the time? Please, don't let me keep you any longer. The party's almost over, and it's high time I turned in myself."

"You did manage to stay awake through all of that?" The Gentleman asked Meredith, as Sirus departed back up to his private apartments, with Amy still on his arm. "We should move on. It's unwise to loiter here with so many guests departed. I suspect it will not be long before we can move to the next stage of the plan."

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"An uncontrollable stutter, the sobbing, and now this. Something has definitely got you rattled Hannibal." Viola said to herself as she listened to what was going on the other side of the door. The handle for the door rattled slightly every so often, Hannibal must have been really nervous, but for what she wasn't sure.

"Hannibal. Listen to me. You have nothing to fear. Your safe Hannibal, nothing can get you here, they'd have to go through me first. Now then, how about we just sit down, breathe slowly to help get a hold of ourselves, and just relax." Viola said in a clear and concise voice as she sat down with her back against the door, and her legs crossed. She grabbed a couple of hair ties from the dressing table, and carried on with braiding her hair.

"Now then, why don't you tell me what the problem is. Take your time, at the moment we are in no rush."

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Asad had been driving for a few hours now, not that he would complain, he enjoyed the silence of the journey for the most part. As they approached Frostfall, the air grew noticeably more frigid, so much so that Asad had already put on a thicker coat. He didn't deal particularly well with the cold, his people were native to a hotter clime, or so he was told.

"Okay, this is it. We'll be taking back roads until we reach the inn from here. Everyone ready?"

Keeping his eyes on the road, Asad nodded. "Aye ma'am." He glanced to his side, noting the commander's subtle discomfort. "I think we could all do with a soft bed." He said softly, a small smile curling his mouth.

 

[ProtoChimp]

Hannibal tried to focus on the woman's voice but he couldn't. He was torn between the pain he was suddenly remembering and the present. He tried to remember the fear of a vicious man like Noah Gunderson wanting to kill him. Oh how much he preferred that than of....

"I can't tell you what the problem is Viola... I... I can't. I can't. I can never tell, I can't ever. Ever." Hannibal leaned his forehead against the door, closing his eyes and sniffing. "I'm sorry, could you open the door please? I can't... I can't leave..."

 

[Ruedyn]

Vergil

"I say we figure out if our boys are still alive. If they are, well, we can use Slepnir remotely. Create a diversion and split up Santiago's forces. Once they're spread thin we hit them where they live."

"Sounds the best to me." Vergil shrugged, looking at the 'Forces' gathered. Two large men, a techie, a few he hadn't met yet, and himself. Adding whatever was left was still not optimal, but he was working alone on this anyways. And he wanted to do some things in their place anyways, make it even easier. Hell, he could probably make it so a special ed class could take them out with only some difficulty.

"Unless the wonder kid over there can find out."

"I can and I will, hopefully." The Wonder Kid beamed, tapping his foot. He wanted to get this over with, but he'd need directions first. Of course. He should've brought a map, paid more attention to geography...
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Tobin

His was not the best wake up.

He had taken the room and kicked out the woman with the Afro after making sure his drinking buddies weren't going to throw a stool at Dio Basilio or some such shit. He was right, he had a slight bruise on his cheek, and his chest was sporting a bigger one. His knuckles hurt, but nothing noticeably wrong.

Looks like he'd have to go into work a bit grumpy.

He sighed, pushing open the door as a whistling Ogre passed by, his biggest shit eating grin splayed across his features. The look of a man who had sex, and wasn't ashamed he had to pay for it.

"Your night was good then." Tobin said, after clearing his throat. The bigger man did a quick spin, grimacing at his colleague.

"Yikes, bar fight?"

"Bar fight."

"Ah... Get laid-?"

"FUCK OFF, OGRE. I have morals!" Ogre rolled his eyes at this, and the dwarf groaned. "Fuck it, if I show up I'm going to end up shooting a kid. Can you take over for a bit, gotta clear my head." It sounded like a request, but both knew it for what it was. An order, or he would likely knee cap him. Ogre nodded, and the two walked out in silence. As most who visited brothels.

Ogre got picked up in a buggy, that followed close behind an armored Crawler with only a red flag on the side to break away from the black paint. It looked fairly intimidating, but Tobin also thought a bit cliche. Like he was a villain or some shit, rolling down the streets, like maybe the thing ran on orphan tears. He walked to the market place, adjusting the hat to shade his eyes. They weren't crowded, which was nice. Nobody really gawked at him, or were polite enough to do it while his back was turned. He wanted breakfast, so he decided to walk around, see what he could find. He passed by a few cafe's before hearing a growling, he turned to see...

The girl from the brothel.

"... Hi there." He tried to offer, in the way of awkward conversation, looking at her new neck wear. "Doing okay?"

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Lilith's mouth was slightly agape as she looked down at her breakfast, when was the last time she even ate? Must have been breakfast the previous morning, she was dealing with the hunger rather well, up until the point the food was right under her nose.

She could barely contain herself, "Oh god, this going to be so good." almost giddy as the hunger washed over her, she picked up a slice of toast, lifting it to her mouth, she was about to inhale the damn thing when...

"... Hi there."

'Of course...'

"Doing okay?"

Lowering her most buttered saviour, she looked toward the source of her disturbance, ready to reject another would-be suitor. Her apprehension vanished however, when she realised who was addressing her. "It's you! Hi! Yeah, I'm fine, fine, just about to have some breakfast." She quickly kicked the chair opposite her from beneath the table. "Come join me! Sit, sit!" Putting her hunger on the backburner, she smiled as Tobin took her up on her offer.

Waiting until he had made himself comfortable, Lilith slapped her hands gently on the table. "I never got the chance to thank you for last night, so breakfast is on me, my treat." A large grin on her face. Before she waited for his answer, she grabbed the attention of the waitress from earlier, "Excuse me, can I have a rack of toast please, and then whatever this fine gentleman would like." She couldn't pass up the opportunity to order more food for herself.

 

[Fappy]

"Alright, then. First stop, the Tigereye estate, second stop, somewhere we can lay over for the night. We'd be driving quite a way to get to Boomhower, and the Ashlands ain't a pleasant place to be when the sun goes down. I'll have you back with your parents some time tomorrow, Miss Maribel."

Tomorrow...?

Though Elizabeth wasn't quite sure where they were exactly, she was surprised to hear they were so close to her home. Would she get to see her family so soon? Something about it just seemed... unrealistic. Too good to be true.

As she was jostled about by the uneven terrain, Josephine's body flailed like a rag doll into Elizabeth's lap. Her wits having more or less returned, Elizabeth couldn't stand the sight of her friend in such a state. She winced, holding back tears as she looked upon the lifeless form. Josephine wouldn't get to see her family.

It wasn't fair.

Elizabeth removed her shawl and wrapped it around Josephine's head and shoulders before pulling her closer. She sobbed silently as they made their way across the ashen landscape. A long, uneasy silence hung in the cabin as Eddie did little more than look to the path ahead, trying to ignore the girl's despair. Surely he was still on edge himself. Austin had struck a cord in him. He'd violated something Eddie held very dear. It was no surprise he too preferred not to speak up.

Her cheeks stained from hours of crying, Elizabeth gazed up at her "rescuer" and broke the silence, "You're a father, aren't you." It was more a statement than a question.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************

"I can and I will, hopefully."

Bennie grinned and patted the kid on the shoulder, "Good." Putting his mouth to the the mic once more, Bennie shouted in as firm a tone as he could muster. "Parker, do you read me? Over."

"---zzzzttttt---Sure can, over.---zzztttt----"

"Here's the deal, with banditos crawling all up our ass it's just too risky meeting up. We don't want one group leading the whole pack to the other. Two of our boys have been taken captive and we're taking measures to ensure they're still alive. Upon confirmation we're going to mount a rescue." Bennie chugged a beer as Parker replied.

"---zzzttt---You sure about that, Rocksteady? We're, what, six men against the whole of Santiago.---zzzttt---"

Bennie grimaced, "I know the odds aren't in our favor, but we don't have any other options. If one of our boys squeals it can spell big trouble for your Queen. Look, we'll be taking the brunt of their forces. We just need you two to run a diversion. You'll have support in that regard as well once we've confirmed our prisoners aren't in body bags already. Can I count on y'all to deliver?"

There was a long silence before Parker replied, "---zzzztttt---Sure can, Boss. It's good to have you back, over.---zzzttt"

"Yeah, yeah. Good luck, Parker." Bennie tossed the mic back onto the counter and turned to the group. "Let's scope out their HQ while Rags here does his thing. Take a few minutes to gear up." His eyes found their way to Vergil's. "You're up, kid."

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

"She's certainly tenacious."

Pixie rolled her eyes at the Gentleman's remark. There wasn't a hint of dishonesty in that statement, in fact he'd undersold her propensity for aggression by quite a large margin. Pixie was nothing if not relentless. Her lips curled into a genuine smirk.

"Well Miss Hill, I'm afraid I have no comment for you at this time. Later however..."

Oh, please...

Pixie's eye followed his hand down Amy's back, forcing a subconscious wince as he grabbed her. Thankfully he hadn't noticed. Pixie's hand tightened into a fist for the briefest of moments. Hearing Amy giggle reminded her that this was all an act.

Christ girl, get a fuckn' grip. You're losin' yer goddamn mind.

Pixie's thoughts trailed off as Mr. Dickens indulged himself in his own ego. Though she didn't want to admit it, she was... slipping. These past few days had created a maelstrom of conflicting emotions in Pixie's mind. And now, some strange girl spends one night in her bed and has Pixie wrapped around her finger? No, this wasn't like Pixie at all. This wasn't even about the girl. Not really.

Pixie was using her, just like everyone else did. She was no better than the stuck up, narcissistic prick currently talking her ear off. She told herself it was about the mystery. She wanted to help this strange girl, didn't she? Well, maybe, but the ecstasy of physical intimacy had a way of making you forget your problems. Though she'd prefer to see her differently, Pixie had done little to suggest she thought of her as anything more than a simple whore.

"Share these with me."

Her expression lit up at the sight of such masterfully crafted cigars. Snatching hers as soon as it was offered, she brought it under her nose and inhaled sharply across its rough surface. It smelled good, "You're too kind!" This was exactly what Pixie needed to get through the onslaught of words to come. Pixie nodded along to Mr. Dickens as his words went in one ear and out the other. Nothing he said mattered. There was only the tobacco.

"Is that the time? Please, don't let me keep you any longer. The party's almost over, and it's high time I turned in myself."

Oberon's flaccid cock, if that wasn' the most long winded shit I'd ever heard.

"You did manage to stay awake through all of that?"

Pixie shot him a grin, "I'm jus' as surprised as you are, Gents."

"We should move on. It's unwise to loiter here with so many guests departed. I suspect it will not be long before we can move to the next stage of the plan."

Nodding, she took the Gentleman's arm once more, "Good. I reckon the sooner I can get outta these fuckn' heels, the better." The prospect of violence excited her. Perhaps she'd have a chance to vent her troubled thoughts before the night was done.

 

[Ruedyn]

Tobin

"It's you! Hi! Yeah, I'm fine, fine, just about to have some breakfast. Come join me! Sit, sit!"

Tobin smiled slightly, it was good to actually be welcomed somewhere by someone not paid to do so. A nice person, mysterious accent, liked to get into bar fights. Seemed a keeper, he hoped that kid treated her well. Or whatever their relationship was. He took the offered seat, and situated himself after an awkward moment of getting on to the thing. Was not meant for his type, but his type rarely made it out of childhood anyways.

"I never got the chance to thank you for last night, so breakfast is on me, my treat."

"Thank-" She interrupted him in favor of the waitress, making his smirk grow wider; it actually even managed to touch his eyes. He had never heard a person order toast before...

"Excuse me, can I have a rack of toast please, and then whatever this fine gentleman would like."

Tobin smiled at the waitress, "I'll just take some ham and eggs, thank you very much." He turned his attention back to the Accented one, Lilith if he recalled correctly.

"... I'd like to ask how your night went, but I'll let you eat first. Your stomach sounds like a cornered lion."
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Vergil

"Good."

Vergil let himself smile a bit, this would be a bit easier for him though. He listened to the static-y conversation between the reinforcements and the main team. It sounded like... 6 men. And him, maybe. Bennie was big and well known, Warren was a psychopath, the rest were relative unknowns in terms of combat experience. Plus, maybe any prisoners who would be able to fight...

"Grr." He didn't like this too much, this seemed like the best in to the crew, but now that he was here... seemed he could perhaps be welcomed with a fucking medal and a blowjob for all the work he'd have to put in here. Maybe he could see about scrounging up any Shadows that might be lurking around...

"You're up, kid."

"Right. Point me in the direction. Pinpoint, if you can. I'll see what I can do to make this easier, too. Wouldn't that be fuckin nice of me..."

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Lilith waited patiently as her guest ordered his meal, her stomach gnawing away at her insides.

"... I'd like to ask how your night went, but I'll let you eat first. Your stomach sounds like a cornered lion."

Lilith smiled embarrassingly, 'It's bad manners to eat one's food while one's guest is awaiting their's.' The nuns always told her. "Are you sure? I don't mind waiting." The dwarf smiled warmly, nodding his head. "T-thank you." She slowly picked up a slice of toast.

'Just have a few bites, that'll tide you over until his food comes.' She delicately nibbled at the toast, averting her eyes from Tobin's. Taking a small bite, she placed the slice back on her plate and slowly chewed, pouring herself a cup of tea, she grabbed the tiny pitcher of milk and and gently stirred a small amount into the tea, tapping the spoon against the cup, she placed it on the saucer.

Lilith found the idea of a bandit with table manners preposterous, but it was so ingrained into her personality, the very thought of defying them made her squirm. She slowly raised the cup of tea to her lips, fighting the almost uncontrollable urge to stick out her pinky finger. Taking a small sip, she placed the cup back onto the saucer and proceeded to take another small bite of toast, the buttery goodness was a special kind of torture.

'For the love of all that is good and holy, hurry the fuck up with his food already!'

Her stomach let loose another growl, "I-I'm so sorry." She said quietly, colour rising to her cheeks as she failed to contain her embarrassment.

'Please! Hurry! I'm dying over here!'

After a few minutes of agonising and awkward waiting, Tobin's food finally arrived. As soon as his plate touched the table however, all of Lilith's manners died in a horrible frenzy of what could only be described as food murder.

 

[The Funslinger]

"You're a father, aren't you."

Eddie didn't answer right away, merely watching the path ahead and chewing his lip. Then eventually, "yeah, I have a daughter. She'll be five years old now, nearly six. But I ain't seen her in three years." These last few words came out sounding like the admission of guilt that they were.

==================================================================

"Alrighty then, Benjamino," said Ruffles. "What're we doing while the kid works his magic?"

And to Vergil, "is there anything you need? A map, or something?"

================================================================

It was getting late now, and Millie had long since fallen asleep on Whiskey's couch with a comforter pulled up to her neck. Whiskey herself stood out on the balcony, finishing a cigarette. It was more out of habit than anything else. When she was with Millie, she never really gave a thought to cigarettes, but standing out here alone, she'd drawn one out almost automatically.

Smoking it to the filter, she stubbed it out and flicked it over the railing, and headed back inside. Standing in the doorway, she squirted some breath spray into her mouth. She didn't feel like exposing Millie to smoker's breath. Smacking her lips at the taste of cinnamon, she walked over to the sofa, and was surprised to see Millie awake, peering at a photo from the drawer of the cabinet that sat by the sofa.

"Mommy, who's this?" she pushed the wooden framed photo at Whiskey, who took it. The photograph depicted herself in the arms of a man with slightly shaggy brown hair. His hat was jammed on her head over her eyes and the man was laughing as she half-heartedly tried to extricate herself from him to pull it up.

"An old friend of mommy's," she replied softly. Picking up her daughter and bringing her into a hug, she said, "best get your things together, Mil. I reckon your grandma's gonna be back to pick ya up in a few."

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"I can't tell you what the problem is Viola... I... I can't. I can't. I can never tell, I can't ever. Ever." Hannibal said as he continued to sob on the other side of the door. By this point, Viola had no idea as to what to do now. "I'm sorry, could you open the door please? I can't... I can't leave..." Hannibal then added. Viola let out a sigh as she stood up, but turned her head slightly so she could look down at roughly where Hannibal would be.

"You realise your going to have to tell someone eventually, I was giving you the opportunity to do so without someone kicking your head in. But if you don't want to, if you want to keep it bottled up, well, you can't say I didn't try." Viola remarked in a nonchalant fashion as she turned the door handle and pulled the door open whilst walking back to the chair.

 

[ProtoChimp]

"You realise your going to have to tell someone eventually, I was giving you the opportunity to do so without someone kicking your head in. But if you don't want to, if you want to keep it bottled up, well, you can't say I didn't try."

And like that the door was open. Hannibal stood there for a while, his hand hovering in the same position, tears kept falling down his face but he had stopped sobbing. Eventually the shaking stopped and he said to Viola, "I'm sorry." He walked out of the bathroom and wiped his face clean of tears. "I um I... its just something I can't talk about. It-its got n-n-n-n-n-nnnnothing, nothing to do with whats happening now it-it-its just something I want to forget. Its in the pp-p-p-ppast anyway." He looked down at his feet ashamed. "Um, did you want to get t-to bre-breakfast?"

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"I'm sorry." Hannibal said as he shuffled out of the bathroom, wiping away the tears from his face.

"I um I... its just something I can't talk about. It-its got n-n-n-n-n-nnnnothing, nothing to do with whats happening now it-it-its just something I want to forget. Its in the pp-p-p-ppast anyway." Hannibal was staring at his feet as he spoke. Was it out of shame or embarrassment? Viola meanwhile was sitting down at the chair, tying the final few braids, her right leg resting on top of the left.

"Um, did you want to get t-to bre-breakfast?" Viola got up from the chair, and started equipping herself. First came the holster for her revolvers, along with the ammunition belts. Next was the body armour and her duster coat, with it the holster for her rifle. Finally came her poncho and stetson hat. Now she was dressed for business, or rather for breakfast at the moment. She walked past Hannibal on her way to the doorway of the room before turning around and facing him.

"Sure. Otherwise we're just standing here wasting daylight." Viola remarked, her mood having improved a little bit.

 

[Terratina.]

"Hope yer not too cross 'bout yesterday."

Maria shouldn't keep up the semi-angry, half-stern facade up. No sputtering, no stalling, no screeching - the kid had fixed it. Maybe her dream of thundering across the Ashlands at a speed higher than 15 mph could became a reality now. Hell, why she even thinking of them as sort kind of bandits? The guy was only a kid. Then again, it was hard to think of anybody as threatening when they were giggling and blushing. Wait, why was she even questioning this? 'Goddamn Micky, he's taken off and now my mind's been scrambled by both worry and joy. Guess such things can happen. Or it's just waking up early.' Was her attempt to bring her thoughts together. And she realised that she had just been standing there for at least a minute.

Maria suddenly blinked, "Huh, guess I owe you now. But really, thanks for fixing her up."

***​

Spoiler: Sweet Dreams

He looked at the piece of paper again, the creases in his frown mirroring those of the scrunched-up question paper.

[u][b]Question 4[/b][/u] - A strange man approaches you. From the look of him, it is clear that he is not from around here. What do you do as a fellow citizen of Mugunghwa-i?

[b]A.)[/b] Excorise the foreign ghost. 
[b]B.)[/b] Report him to the nearest Imperial Guard.
[b]C.)[/b] Ignore him.
[b]D.)[/b] Alert your Block Manager.

Tiny fingers traced the writing as the boy waited in line. They quivered. The man at the desk had a kind face, and kind eyes hidden behind glasses, and yet that man was the source of the boy's fear. He had built his confidence up just to approach the formidable giant. He knew he needed to ask his teacher a question. If he wasn't able to pass the citizenship test, he would just end up as a menial worker, sentenced to a life of degrading work. No matter how they dressed it up, they couldn't hide the fact that a non-citizen was simply a slave. Not to mention the fact that his future offspring would be condemned to live in F block. No one wanted to live in F block. No one wanted to spend their live as a slave, mining Carbon until death.

Compared to that, this bitter pill almost seemed sweet.

Suddenly, he was the only one in the queue. Well, it had gotten late. The boy breathed in, and approached his bespeckled teacher.

"Having problems?" The teacher asked with a sanguine smile.

The boy's reply was a bit meek, "Yes, sir."

Dr. Gyeong Seok briefly read over the question. The answer was pretty simple, however, the boy was simply a child. He sighed, would he have to go through the methods again?

"What seems to be the problem, Mr. Moon?" He asked, while drumming his fingers.

The boy stammered, "J-just... All of the answers seem to be valid except C, sir."

"I see." The teacher said, "But which one is correct? Do you even have the authority to perform an exorcism?! And where would the 'nearest' Imperial Guard be?!"

"Of course, sir." The boy immediately responded, shrinking a little, "Sorry for wasting your time, sir."

To the boy's surprise, the same sanguine smile the teacher had worn previously had returned to his face. Why was he happy? Well, that could only mean one thing...

"Oh, don't worry about that. It won't even be on your record." Dr. Gyeong Seok beamed, "Just hold out your hand, it'll be over soon..."

"Okay, this is it. We'll be taking back roads until we reach the inn from here. Everyone ready?"

"Yes, Commander." He half-yawned. This was one of the few times it was a blessing to awake to the voice of the Commander. It washed that dredged up memory away. Though Jun was quite sure that there would be such a queue after school had ended. In that sense, it was more of a mixture of the phantasmal and his past. However, it would be pointless to dwell on such things. He wiped the sleep from his eye and the faint memory of the dream from his brain.

'I am a soldier. I do not dream. I do not think. My commander thinks for me. I only shoot.'