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The Deciever and the Black Feathered Weaver (Azure;Copper)


Re: Competition (Azure;Copper)

"Yeah," Ragna nodded. "But everyone thinks it will begin and end with putting us men under lock and chain. Right now, there's a lot going on with the Magi, that group of humans that dabble with magical technology. If we keep to ourselves, we won't be involved in that fight, because it's the Magi who have a beef with the angels as it stands." Ragna explained. "Heaven doesn't appreciate humans coming close to mamono, and the Magi always loved to tread that thin line."
 
Re: Competition (Azure;Copper)

"Well, I can see how wanting to put men under lock and key would start problems." Her lips twist into a little bit of a smile. "I certainly can't imagine you going quietly. Unless you're into that sort of thing," she tacks on with a chuckle.

At the rest of Ragna's words, she nods. While there was a chance he was right, the thought of any sort of fighting didn't set well with Azure, at least not on the scale of all out war. If Claire felt that bringing troops in might help, then helping her seemed like the way to go.

"Since we don't want to keep Claire waiting too long, we should probably see about getting supplies ready for the road. Food. Bedding, if you want it. Finding Zidane and telling him when to meet up with us..."
 
Re: Competition (Azure;Copper)

Ragna shook his head at Azure for suggesting such a thing. "I don't like the idea of chains and imprisonment, even in jest." Ragna said, seeming to be a bad topic for him.

At the mention of Zidine, there were perhaps surprisingly few takers.

"I've got to organize my books... And I likely won't be able to reach wherever he is." Marth declared, looking to the other, more athletic men.

"It's not my job to chase cats. It's his loss if he misses out on this." Ragna stated firmly.

That left Zwei, who seemed to think for a moment. "I feel it is the captain's duty to rally her troops." he stated with a slight grin, as if intending more than he said. "Zidane does not often go out on his own, so I think that story begins and ends with you." he offered, though looked ready to fetch the cat himself if Azure refused.
 
Re: Competition (Azure;Copper)

Azure gave a slight incline of her head, her only outward indication of taking in his distaste at the notion.

"That's fine. In the meantime, you lot can handle the shopping." Azure will unsling her bag from across her shoulder and pass it to Capri, feeling safe enough in leaving him with the other three. Before she passes it over, she'll take out a small pouch and drape that around her neck, it containing a few coins so she could get the rain-garb she'd been thinking of. This would, at least, be a good opportunity for her to surprise them.

She'll regard Zwei for a moment, head cocking to the side slightly. "Not often, but you seem to have an idea on where he might go?" She'll arch a brow slightly. She's willing to go after him, but the temple's plenty big and at least having a starting point other than "up" might be good.
 
Re: Competition (Azure;Copper)

Capri accepted the pouch, while Zwei nodded at Azure. "The pathway outside just above Undine's temple leads to a nice view over the ocean. It's his favorite place to go when frustrated since he can find a quiet spot. Many people go to the spot just outside, but you'll have to go up the mountain a bit to find him. He will be in a tree." Zwei said rather specifically.

"I love shopping!" Marth suddenly declared. "While I'm at the store, I think I'll buy a new robe! Nothing wrong with casting magic in fashion!" he said with excitement.

"I could use some new shoes..." Ragna hummed.

Meanwhile, Capri laughed nervously. "... Guys, we only have so much money..."
 
Re: Competition (Azure;Copper)

"Thank you." Zwei also gets a nod and then she'll put her attention on the others. "Those are well and good, but the priority is supplies for the trip first. Nothing wrong with treating ourselves for a job well done when we get back, or get there, for that matter, but let's not put the cart before the centaur, hmm?" As she speaks, though, she will glance over the aforementioned items--Marth's robes and Ragna's shoes--to see the state that they're in. Shoes, she could see. They were going to be traveling, after all, and on foot. And Marth would need something to keep him protected, though substance was more what she was checking on rather than style.

"Use your judgment," she tells Capri quietly, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Get what we need and if there's money left over, don't be afraid to get what we could use. Just remember to set some aside for an emergency." Granted, Capri wasn't getting all of her money. She still had some of it, herself, but that was for the rain gear, not to mention travel expenses outside of the trip.

As long as she was sure they understood that, she'll leave them to handle the shopping, heading out first to slip off and see about the gear. If it's reasonable, she'll get something for herself and the boys, just enough to keep the rain off the skin and clothes and them from getting too miserable. If delivery is possible, she'll do that, otherwise making arrangements to pick them up later. After that, she seeks out the trail that Zwei spoke of, taking a breath and working her way up, not bothering to look for him until she's at the point where she can see the ocean. After that, it's more of a casual pace, taking in the view for herself. She's also trying to spot Zidane, but if what Ragna said was true, letting him get the "upper hand" in their meeting might be the better way to go, at least for now.
 
Re: Competition (Azure;Copper)

It was all entirely for fashion. Neither of them needed an upgrade for an important reason that Azure could see. Men were notorious shoppers in the mamono world though. Many married woman would complain about how much of a hole in their pockets their husbands end up to be.

Meanwhile, being from perhaps a world of more responsible men, Capri nodded. "I planned no different." he said, kissing her on the cheek as well.

Heading off, Azure would find the market area, a little off the beaten track, and discover various sizes of coats that could block the rain and prevent those wearing it from becoming soaked. It'd cost all the money she brought with her though, if such was her intention.

No matter what she decided on that, Azure would be on her way to the cliffside above outside the caverns. Enjoying the view for a while, Azure would find a great deal of quiet to grace her. The time was in the afternoon, the hour growing late, meaning sleep would come before they'd set out on their trip with Claire. Nevertheless, the dusk sky gave an orange tint that made the ocean look quite beautiful. Something Zidane was no doubt looking at as well. And on the topic of Zidane, not actively looking for him left Azure standing outside for a good fifteen minutes with no results. Her eyes searched around but lacked the aggressive appeal anyone searching would have. Though with that aside, Azure would feel a pebble bounce off of her back, apparently thrown at her from above. If she looked, she'd see a blond tail vanishing just over a cliff in retreat.
 
Re: Competition (Azure;Copper)

Capri's response would get a smile out of her, it growing just a little bit at the feel of the kiss. She leaves them to handle the shopping, outside of the purchases she planned to make herself. And while such a thing would leave her temporarily penniless, it would be better than listening to Ragna complain about being wet, not to mention it would be something nice for the rest of the boys. If the shop delivers, she'll have them sent to the house. Otherwise, she'll pick them up on her way back, claiming other shopping to do, but heading for the spot Zwei mentioned instead, of course.

The view more than makes up for the time spent not looking for Zidane. Small wonder he made it an conscious choice to come up here. The hour really didn't bother her, even if setting out early was an unspoken goal. At the feel of the pebble, she twists around, circling fully as she catches sight of Zidane's tail. Narrowing her eyes a little, she sinks close to the ground and starts slithering over to the cliff as quietly as possible.
 
Re: Competition (Azure;Copper)

Slithering up the cliff, Azure was silent to all but the most perceptive of ears. Zidane possessed such things in theory, but there was both the factor of his lessened ability via being born a male and the factor of his own noises drowning out all the others. Granted that, Azure would round up over the cliff of the hill, and find herself face-to-face with the pebble-tosser himself.

With Azure suddenly popping up, Zidane gave a start, nearly leaping out of his skin, likely in fear of retribution of his pebble tossing. That didn't stop him from talking though. "A-Azure!" he cried out. "Who told you about my favorite spot!? I want names!" he demanded.
 
Re: Competition (Azure;Copper)

Azure starts a little herself, not quite expecting Zidane to be so close. "Easy, easy." She pushes herself up, leaning back a little, holding up her hands. "I just came to tell you that we're setting out tomorrow morning for the job. If there's anything you need for the trip, let me know. I just didn't want you getting left behind." She's clearly not going to give up the snitch, not without proper motivation.
 
Re: Competition (Azure;Copper)

"We're heading out tomorrow? What's the deal with that?" he questioned her as if Azure did something wrong. "A-and that's another thing!" he announced, pointing a finger at her. "Don't pretend like what happened before didn't happen!" he demanded. "I can't even look at your face without recalling that!" he said with a mixture of a blush and an expression of distaste on his face. "You're a maneater!" he accused her further of being that which makes a life goal out of consuming men whole, a term reserved for the most insatiable of women. It didn't quite mean unattractive. Rather, it was a term assuming the opposite; that the maneater was attractive, and used that as a lure to devour helpless men.
 
Re: Competition (Azure;Copper)

"Apparently we're working for Crystal Claire. She doesn't want to delay leaving for Waymeet too much longer," she informs him, seeming to recall the reaction the others had to the crystal slime. At his accusation, her lips curl up slightly into a smile. "And if I am?" The question seems more of a challenge. "I won't do anything like that again, Zidane. I'm sorry to've put you in a spot like that." She pauses, cocking her head to the side. "I'm certainly not pretending it didn't happen but I'm not about to let it get in the way of getting our job done." One brow arches. "Are you going to be too distracted to join us?"
 
Re: Competition (Azure;Copper)

"Crystal Claire...?" Zidane said in surprise. "That supposedly famous see-through woman, huh?" he hummed at the mention of the indestructible crystal woman.

Azure's follow-up to his accusation left him taking a step back, as if Azure took off the mask and revealed herself to be exactly what he said. He even seemed to have an inclination to look up a bit, as if she were bigger than she really was. Silent for a moment, Zidane seemed to have a bit of inner thoughts juggling about inside of his head, before giving his answer. Finally, he looked up at Azure. "I'm not about to let the other guys go on without me just because someone like you showed up." he stated that he was indeed coming along. "But just to be clear... I still don't approve of you at all." he announced. Having said that, he seemed to look far more calm and confident having turned down Azure.

With that, he turned, and walked over to a cutoff in the ground just over a hole that lead down into Undine's Temple below, which acted as the main skylight for the entire temple for those who dwell there. "One wrong move, and you're out!" he declared, which at first would sound like Zidane couldn't wait to get rid of her. But after the words hung in the air for a bit, it'd be clear that it was a challenge. Down the line, if Azure made no mistakes, Zidane could say nothing about her presence. With the last look he gave her, it wasn't clear if he wanted her to fail or not. Then, he made a leap off of the edge, falling to the temple grounds below. If Azure chose to look over and watch him, a jet of water would erupt from below, which would catch him as he fell. Using it's lift, he'd fly upwards, and land on a wide space of land. While risky at first, it seemed there were various sea slimes below, jellyfish that were waiting to catch accidental fallers who might get injured from hitting the water too hard. Others were also using Zidane's method of traveling about, even using the sea slimes to their advantage. A werecat woman falling towards a seaslime, who proceeded to act like a spring, and bounce the feline to another island in the air, held up by the pillar of tough rock.

If Azure felt a little adventurous, she could also fly around the temple to go somewhere. She may get wet, but it seemed most clothes provided by the shops within the temple were fairly water resistant. That, and the moisture was thick enough that just standing above water would cause you to end up getting damp anyway.
 
Re: Competition (Azure;Copper)

Azure will simply incline her head in answer to his question about Claire. As for the rest, well, her statement had been something of a challenge and she wasn’t going to get upset with him for answering it. Like Zidane himself had said, she wouldn’t want someone who simply capitulated to the whims of others and it was clear that just about all of the boys were pretty headstrong, even Marth, with his easy-going personality.

Climbing and racing about were one thing, jumping around to land on the sprays of water was something else entirely. While the jets may have been a faster method of transportation, they weren't exactly her cup of tea. Instead, she let Zidane go, trusting him to be ready to leave in the morning. Turning and heading back down the way that she came, her first order of business was to check in again, seeing if the boys were around to receive the raincloaks and if they were finished with their shopping.
 
Re: Competition (Azure;Copper)

When Azure went back down, she'd recall the shop not having delivery services. Should she go shopping for everyone's raincloaks at that point, she'd find that she had enough coin to purchase one cloak for everyone, but she also apparently had a choice of flare. The cloaks came in various different basic colors, and some further back had unique designs to them. There was even a sign over the cashier's head that read, 'We offer unique designs to fit your needs, on the spot!' and with subtitles that instructed the customer to ask for a custom design.

"If you're buying something for your boyfriend, make sure to get their favorite color!" advised the mermaid over the counter, her lower half transformed to function like human feet so she could run a shop for land dwellers.
 
Re: Competition (Azure;Copper)

Cut was pretty much assured her, though color was another choice altogether. She did her best to thing which might compliment them the best, not having had much interaction with them, nor really a chance to examine their other tastes in clothing.

Zidane favored blue, but layering the color didn't quite seem right. The same with Marth and Ragna, who looked to favor white and red respectively. Zwei was a bit more difficult, his clothes rather utilitarian but at the same time conservative on the fabric side of things. And then there was Capri. While they'd conversed the most, it hadn't exactly been on personal preferences.

Browsing through the cloaks, she sought out something white with blue highlights for Zidane and maybe a touch of gold. It would compliment not only him but his preferred style. And then the opposite for Marth, who seemed to favor white. A little color would do him good and she opts, actually for an aqua-blue with white trim. She's a little hesitant to get anything that seems to be in an arcane design, not knowing enough about magic to make a choice like that. If the mermaid has any suggestions on that front, she's happy to listen to them.

For Ragna, getting something other than red seems pointless, though she wonders if too much red might be a bad thing. Something with silver or white highlights might be good, to break up the shade, not to mention going with a deep red, almost a maroon, rather than a bright blood red. Zwei would get a paler color, something that complimented his reflective nature, either silver or grey, though leaning more on the pale side of both colors, possibly with darker accents.

Lastly was Capri. Thinking about it for a time, she decided to go with a darker shade of green with cream highlights. Though she wasn't entirely sure it was a favored color of his, the shade would compliment him very well, at least in her opinion.

And technically, finding one for herself was the last order of business, given she really had no desire to wander around soaking wet in the woods either. Simple white for herself, since she was rather particular about colors matching with her scales, at least in situations like this, though she did go for something with a red trim, trying to match as closely to her own coloring as she could manage.

Cloaks purchased, it was time to head back and see how well a job she did in selecting her gifts.
 
Re: Competition (Azure;Copper)

"Something with an arcane style might go well with swirls and rune-like designs!" the mermaid declared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Then, Azure would eventually make it back to the shabby home to hand out the cloaks, and would get their reactions back.

"I see you tried to play a guessing game at our preferences." Ragna noted when he first saw her. "Gotta give you credit for trying. My favorite color wasn't hard to guess, was it?" he chuckled, accepting the red raincloak with white trim. It seemed he liked it a lot, given his wide smile.

Zwei accepted his raincloak with less enthusiasm, but still was brimming with respect. "If it was my favorite color you sought, you needed merely ask. Purple appeals to me." Zwei declared, though accepted his cloak graciously. "I'm happy to receive this regardless. Thank you." he said.

Marth looked the most pleased with his gift. "It's such a nice design! I'll try it on right now." Marth declared. The blue with white trim seemed to really hit the spot, and Marth seemed to adore the various designs on the cloak as well. He looked very happy with Azure. Making good on his words, he wore the raincloak, looking at himself in it, and showing it off to the others.

Zidane accepted his cloak wordlessly, and with a blush. "... I guess picking out a good rain cloak would be the least we could expect from you." he said, seemingly trying to downplay her efforts. He seemed in no hurry to refuse his cloak though. If anything, he lined up as quickly as Marth and Ragna to acquire it, his actions and words showing two faces.

"I'd be happy with anything, but this looks great." Capri said humbly, smiling at his own gift. In general it seemed Azure was mostly successful, Zwei being the odd one out who didn't quite get his favorite or at least something he could smile and grin over like the others.
 
Re: Competition (Azure;Copper)

"Part guessing game, partly my own thoughts on the matter, too." While she had guessed at favorites, a lot of her choice had been influenced simply by the image she had of each in her mind's eye.

"Mmm, you're almost as transparent as Claire in that regard," she teases the half-demon. At Zwei's remark, she nods. "I thought about it," she'll admit, tacking on, "and I'm not just saying that. This just seemed a little more...reflective, though I can see both on you. We've a little time, so I might be able to exchange it, if you'd prefer the darker one." It seemed only fair he get something that he liked, same as the others.

Marth's actions make her smile, the lamia finding his actions rather adorable, actually, especially as he models it for the others. Zidane, in contrast, gets a little bit of a smirk. “So, you’re admitting I’ve got good taste then?” she teases, turning it around on him a little.

“Yes, it does,” she compliments Capri, giving him a little peck on the cheek. “Though you’ll have to tell me how close to the mark I got with regard to a favorite color at some point. For future reference,” she adds with a wink.
 
Re: Competition (Azure;Copper)

Zwei didn't look like he was ready to hand back his gift. "It would be bad form to give a gift back." he said politely. "I shall wear it."

Zidane meanwhile, looked as ready as ever to deny Azure any steps forward. "I'm saying you got lucky." he stated.

"Aren't you being a little too harsh on her for something so small?" inquired Marth, who still looked rather pleased with his cloak, still wearing it despite the lack of rain.

"We need to be critical." Zidane lectured Marth in return.

"You can't be critical forever," Marth lectured back, making Zidane shift his posture as he came to find Marth taking Azure's side slightly.

"Just wait." was all Zidane said in return, still waiting for Azure to foul up somewhere.

"But these are just rain cloaks." Ragna contributed. "This will tide you over, but we're gonna want more gifts in the future." the white haired half-demon declared with a grin, before leaning towards Azure to whisper. "I want a whetstone." he said, indicating towards his sword, so he can sharpen it.

"I'd like a good book!" Marth followed up, a bit greedy for more presents after being so satisfied with his first.

"Feed one bird and more flock to you..." Capri murmured next to Azure, commenting on the situation she found herself in, where the various men of their company were already excited for their next presents after having gotten their first. "Marth seemed easy enough to win over..." he said, though he glanced at Azure as if about to ask, "Gonna kiss him next?" but withheld the desire. Instead, he seemed decided that the adorable mage would be kissed. Capri adopted a stoic expression at that. Not something he enjoyed knowing, but something he must tolerate.

Marth looked ignorant of all this however, as he couldn't seem to be any less happy about his cloak. Meanwhile, Zwei didn't seem as ready to jump in and claim what he wanted. If Azure inquired, any of them would give an answer.
 
Re: Competition (Azure;Copper)

"Well, the offer stands, Zwei, given, well, I offered." She gives him a smile but she's not about to push the issue.

The argument between Zidane and Marth gets her attention and she's amused, and pleased, that Ragna is the one to break it up, not wanting to quite jump into the middle of it. "Mmm, do you now?" is her reply to the white-haired man, a little smile playing on her lips. As Marth continues, she shakes her head a little bit.

"Well, provided we get this job done, we'll have reason to celebrate and presents are a good part of celebrations." No good would come of spoiling them now, especially not with a job looming on the horizon. Still, a reward for a job well done would certainly be a welcome treat for all of them.

She'll slide her arm around Capri's back while the two of them speak, leaning her head on his shoulder, though that also brings her close enough to hear his murmurs. "He's still a young man, probably the youngest of you all. That might have something to do with it." Just by her tone, Azure does seem fond of the wizard, but as for acting on it, given how she's seen Marth react to certain types of women, impulse and, well, just being aggressive in general doesn't quite seem like a good tactic with him.

"It's fine to ask, Zwei," she encourages him. Whether or not he's going to answer is another story or if one of the others is going to chime in. "I think a simple request from you might be a little easier to remember than the list Zidane is no doubt concocting," she teases, blowing a kiss in the werecat's direction.

"And what about you?" Capri would feel her arm giving him a slight squeeze. "Books? Something to help in your research? Or something fun and frivolous?"
 
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