Milo is... oh, come on. Do I really need to say?

Sunflash is dozing with his back on one of the benches. Not really asleep, but
not really actively listening, either. Just lying there.

Atolla decides to patrol the area today... with Seina. Well, part patrol, part
lessons, trying to get her familiar with the area and what various things are.
Especially trees.

Aile has finally retracted the legs on his now-working-again hoverchair and is
floating around the square, shuffling through papers and mumbling to himself.

Seina sits on Atolla cuddling his lion furryness while listening to his lessons.

Spider is just heading in from the south annex of Truce, swaying slightly,
clearly just a bit drunk.

Milo hops over his counter... most turtles aren't very agile, but having wings
is fun. "So. It seems we're all here."

Aile nods and salutes Milo sharply.

Milo looks over at Atolla and his passenger. "Did she have to come?"

Sunflash opens one eye briefly, head turning enough for his right ear to be in
line with Milo. His bench happens to be one next to Milo's stall. Rawr.

Seina looks at Milo and pouts, "That's mean Milo..."

Spider gives a messy salute before sitting on a bench.

Atolla says 'Do you really think that she'd be a threat to security, Milo? I
can't exactly leave her home alone.'

Milo says 'Point, point.'

Sunflash gives the person in questions a quick once over with his half-open eye
before closing it again, simply listening.

Milo says 'Anyway. Has anyone else heard the news?'

Atolla says 'Which?'

Aile ignores Seina entirely, too busy keeping an eye on his drunken subordinate.
'News?'

Milo says 'There was an armed robbery over in Gigan Hold to the northwest of
here.'

Spider is just listening, smiling faintly, still swaying.

Milo says 'The victims tried to fight, and there were quite a few casualities.'

Atolla nods.

Atolla says 'Bandits, I'm assuming?'

Seina sees a butterfly and gets her attention grabbed by the beautiful insect.

Atolla keeps an eye on Seina, making sure she doesn't wander off too far...

Sunflash shifts against the bench, still listening. Must have been either
idiots, or someone with a punch behind 'em.

Aile sighs. 'My area's been pretty peaceful. I can spare some reinforcements
if you want to root 'em out.'

Milo says 'As far as I can tell, the stolen object has no value besides monetary
sale. As for the perpetrators... I got a few descriptions.'

Milo says 'One of them is an old friend of ours.'

Aile says 'Uh-oh.'

Milo says 'Remember Gforte?'

Aile rolls his eyes.

Sunflash opens his eyes now, turning his head towards Milo. "..."

Aile says 'That's who I thought you were gonna say.'

Spider looks up at Milo, tilting his head. "I tried to throw him in jail..."
He laughs. "Maybe I had the right idea!"

Atolla says '...Who? He must've been before my time.'

Aile grabs a bucket from near the fountain, fills it with water, and DUMPS it
over Spider. 'Serious business time. Sober up, buddy.'

Spider splutters, glaring up at Aile. "Hey! That was uncalled for."

Milo says 'I always recognized he was somewhat short on morals. The idea was to
hire him as a grunt so he can be as bloodthirsty as he wants and die fighting
for OUR side.'

Aile grins.

Milo says 'Making him hate us by imprisoning him seems to have not gone over
well.'

Sunflash sits up, arms crossing as he listens half-heartly. "So Gforte's raided
a village. With who? He's crazy, but he wouldn't be stupid enough to take on
gigantos single-handedly."

Atolla says '...Hm. I seem to remember a certain robot that assaulted the
western garrison a while back...'

Atolla says 'Him, perhaps? I don't trust that he's actually dead, deactivated,
whatever you call it.'

Milo shakes his head. "Not Midnight. Not even close."

Spider blinks. "Midnight?"

Atolla says 'Nasty 'bot that attacked us a while back, as I said.'

Aile nods.

Aile says 'There was something about a dinosaur, too, if I remember...'

Milo says 'Gforte looks like... Hmm. How to describe him.'

Spider gestures around his head in the shape of two large curves. "He has fins
on his head."

Seina yawns wearily as she lies down on Atolla's back, rubbing her face lightly
on his furry back. As she falls asleep, her weight shifts into heavy yet again
on him.

Milo says 'And he's... short. And not only by giganto standards.'

Atolla staggers as she gets heavy, laying down under her weight. "Yergh...
bigods, she's heavy."

Milo sighs and moves over to help unload Seina.

Sunflash shakes his head. "Even if Midnight was with him, I'm pretty sure it
would've taken more than two to rob a giganto stronghold, yes?"

Milo says 'Reports say there were ten people, an equal number of which were
reploids and humans.'

Spider sighs. "Great. So we have a band of nutcases." He looks southwards.
"I need another drink."

Atolla nods.

Milo says 'Four of the humans were slain by the defenders, apparantly in a lucky
hit.'

Atolla says 'Well, this should be interesting. Tell me, are lions common around
the valley there?'

Before Milo could get close to her, Seina rolls off of Atolla's back falling
onto the ground. Upon impact, she makes a small indent of her body within the
ground showing how heavy she is.

Aile grabs Spider by the collar. 'We still need to hear this first, not to
mention giving our reports.'

Spider looks annoyed. "Fine, fine."

Atolla sighs, sitting down next to Seina and wondering if she's a victim of
narcolepsy...

Sunflash hrms softly. "What are you thinking of, Atolla?" He remains sitting
with his arms crossed. Fear.

Atolla says 'I'm wondering if I could try to spy on them. Who really suspects
the wild animals of being spies, after all?'

Milo shuffles through his papers. "Names, names... aha. Hmm, I'm starting to
think I really should've stopped that one guy."

Sunflash glances at Milo. "Well?"

Milo says 'At one point, Gforte called to one of the others to call for
reinfocements. None ever came, but this implies they have more people. The one
sent to do so was apparantly called Nitro.'

Milo says 'And they answer to someone who calls himself... umm...'

Milo says 'Bahamut.'

Milo says 'No, really. That's what it says right here.'

Atolla says 'Bahamut? Odd name.'

Spider begins to idly fiddle with a playing card, distracted.

Aile doesn't recognize the name. 'Go on.'

Milo says 'I can only assume it's some guy who just liked the name and decided
to himself that.'

Sunflash says 'Sorry, is the name supposed to mean something to me?'

Milo says 'You know, self-proclaimed king of dragons. Big scary guy.'

Sunflash says 'Really now? Is that -all-?'

Milo says 'Also an esper or sumtin'.'

Aile shrugs helplessly.

Sunflash says 'Seriously tho, what's the plan people?'

Milo says 'Well, we probably want to track the ones responsible.'

Milo says 'Not sure how we'd go about that. It was a hit-and-run raid.'

Atolla says 'Mm. I'm probably the best one to track them down to their...
hideout.'

Spider looks up. "I could handle tha-" He stops. "Wait. No Copy Chip.
Damn."

Aile sighs.

Sunflash says 'First off, can we really spare a captain?'

Milo says 'Probably not.'

Milo says 'Unless you have a very good idea.'

Sunflash says 'Second off, can you use invisibility?'

Atolla shakes his head.

Sunflash shrugs helplessly.

Atolla says 'But would you be so safe using invisibility? There are quite a few
that can see right through it, and it doesn't hide smell or sound.'

Sunflash grins evilly.

Sunflash says 'Perfectly safe? Of course not. However...'

Milo looks over at the now-sleeping girl. "Besides, someone needs to watch her,
and I'd rather it not be me."

Sunflash looks towards Spider. "I know you can't go invisible anymore... but
how skilled are you at tracking? Better than me, I think."

Atolla says 'Point.'

Spider nods. "I did have to find a few bounties in my time." He grins at Aile.

Spider says '...only...'

Sunflash says 'Hrm?'

Spider says 'I only know about them secondhand now, you realize.'

Aile nods at Spider before turning back to Milo. 'Believe it or not, there
would be no objections to Spider leaving the city right now. We managed to pay
off our bar tab, surprisingly enough.'

Milo says 'I won't ask.'

Aile grins evilly.

Seina wakes up abruptly and sits up rubbing her eyes.

Sunflash says 'Hrm. True. I dunno if my idea'll work then.'

Atolla says 'Hrm.'

Seina looks around wearily before standing up stretching, "Did someone say
something about me...?"

Sunflash says 'Hrm. True. I dunno if my idea'll work then. See, I was
thinking we'd have a tracker, and a back up. The tracker gets invisible-ed, and
then I'd follow along, incase we find them when we didn't expect to, or
something.'

Milo looks innocently about herself.

Milo says 'Well, it's not a bad plan. We just need to find a tracker.'

Spider nods. "I could see if my instincts are still intact, and if Aile could
help teach me..."

Atolla raises an eyebrow.

Aile shrugs helplessly.

Atolla says 'You realize lions are excellent trackers. And I'm sure there's a
person or two in the garrison who can be trusted with command for a day or
two...'

Spider says 'Actually, I have something to say about that.'

Spider says 'Signas is in Truce. He could help.'

Atolla says 'Hrm.'

Sunflash nods "Habits die hard, I believe. When do you want to try it?" He
glances towards Atolla. "I'll let you fight that out with Milo, and probably
Spider."

Spider continues to be bored.

"Signas, huh..." Milo looks displeased.

Atolla says 'Never heard of Signas...'

Atolla shrugs helplessly.

Atolla says 'I'm certainly the newbie here, I suppose.'

Aile shrugs. 'I only met him more or less in passing, when we busted him out of
jail.'

Milo says 'Former Captain of the Southern Garrison. Spider betrayed and
captured him, and when we settled that issue, he was fed up after being locked
up and decided to leave.'

Atolla says '...Sounds like a lovely fellow.'

Milo says 'Can't really say I blame him, even though part of me wants to yell
"coward".'

Sunflash simply sits there, thinking to hisself. Not much happening but
talking. So he just listens.

Spider shrugs. "He's back now."

Atolla says 'Hm. Well, what do you plan to do with the bandits after we find
them? If there's only ten, we could take them out... but it would leave us
weakened for that time.'

Seina dozes off again.

Milo says 'Just try to leave again without being seen and report back. We'll
determine further action afterwards.'

Milo says 'So who are we sending. Two trackers would be counterproductive.'

Sunflash shrugs helplessly.

Spider relaxes again, leaning back. "I don't think there's much I can do."

Sunflash says 'Obviously, it would unwise to send the tracker alone.'

Atolla shrugs helplessly.

Sunflash says 'I still like the idea of someone who can either go invisible, or
hide REALLY darn well.'

Atolla says 'I can hide in plain sight, man. But, well... I don't know most of
your capabilities.'

Sunflash says 'Atolla. Honestly now. How many lions have you seen walking
about in the wild?'

Atolla says 'None, but I haven't been much farther than the forest.'

Sunflash says 'I may not have been everywhere myself, but I've never seen a
lion. The Veldt has these funny colored things called 'Crimson Lionesses', but
that's it.'

Spider shrugs. "I barely know what a lion is any more."

Atolla says '...Well, do they look about the same as I do? I can get painted, I
suppose.'

Sunflash says 'There's an idea. That might work, tho it's been awhile since
I've seen one to compare you.'

Milo says 'Besides, most people, if a large dangerous predator came too close to
their camp, would shoot it even if they don't realize you can talk.'

Atolla says 'Well, if I'm being seen up close, I'm dead anyway.'

Aile says 'Just be sure you know what the paint is made of first. Most of the
paint I've seen is probably toxic to totally organic beings.'

Atolla says 'And I wouldn't even need to get that close to the camp. You people
overlook the other senses far too much.'

Atolla says 'Mm. Berries can make an effective paint, y'know. And I've seen
plenty of those about.'

Milo says 'I would like to point out that the Crimson Lioness's range is due
south of here.'

Spider is, apparently, entirely spaced out now.

Atolla says 'Hrm.'

Milo says 'The attack was northwest.'

Aile shrugs and shuffles through a few chair compartments.

Milo says 'Notice a difference?'

Sunflash mutters distractedly.

Atolla says 'Bugger. This is what I get for not studying geography whenever I
land in an alternate dimension.'

Sunflash says 'You know, this is taking entirely too long. I may not be an
expert on tracking, but I -do- know the longer it's been, the harder it is too
track.'

Atolla says 'Agreed.'

Atolla says 'So. Who do we send?'

Milo says 'True, true, but a few minutes plotting the ideal course of action has
nothing on the time it already took the news to reach me.'

Aile sighs and drags Spider off to the bar to start a new tab. 'If anyone needs
us, they know where to find us...'

Sunflash says 'Yes, but still.'

Atolla sighs.

Atolla says 'Look, who here is an -option- to go? I'm obviously a secondary
option...'

Sunflash raises his hand in response.

Milo says 'It seems you, Signas, or... umm I guess not Spider.'

Atolla nods.

Atolla says 'And there's one or two from the garrison, but I'd put them at
second to my ability.'

Sunflash says 'How about we just pick someone that's good at tracking, and I'll
go with them to keep them invisible? That way, disguised or not, they have a
chance.'

Milo says 'Two-person team sounds good.'

Atolla nods.

Sunflash says 'Therefore, it comes down to who can we spare?'

Sunflash says 'Personally, i'd prefer that it's Atolla that comes.'

Atolla says 'If someone will look after Seina, I think I'd be the fastest to
find them... no offense, but humans aren't the best trackers.'

Milo grumbles. "Oh, fine. I'll keep an eye on her."

Atolla chuckles politely.

Atolla says 'How'd she treat you last time? She just likes to hug people,
mostly...'

Sunflash snickers softly.

Milo says 'We need to get her a plushie or ten.'

Sunflash says 'I'd guess Milo found out what it's like to be a cat bear-hugged
by a turtle?'

Atolla chuckles politely.

Atolla says 'I'll work on that... perhaps she could borrow one of yours.'

Sunflash says 'So, it's Atolla and myself, then?'

Atolla says 'It seems it.'

Milo says 'You'll probably need a starting point, won't you?'

Sunflash looks towards Atolla. He's the tracker.

Atolla says 'Mm-hm. I can likely pick up the scent from there.'

Sunflash stands, rolling his shoulders and stretching out the kinks in his back
and legs. "Alright then. How soon can you be ready?" Rapier and cloak are
adjusted ever so briefly.

Milo says 'Look around for the temple of the... umm... "Holy Guardians of
Textdebaha".'

Milo says 'It seems they were the victims of this raid.'

Atolla nods.

Atolla says '...As soon as someone takes these clothes off me, and I manage to
tell the boys that I'm putting Jay in charge.'

Seina wakes up abruptly yawning as she rubs her eyes. She whines lightly as she
looks around for Atolla.

Atolla is -right- there next to her, sitting on the ground.

Sunflash shrugs. "Sure thing. I guess I'll wait for you outside the forest
path, then?"

Seina turns to see Atolla, she grabs him by the neck and cuddles against his
lion furryness.

Atolla is hugged! And shakes his head a bit. "Seina, I have some work to do...
can you stay here with Milo for a day or so?"

Seina lets go of Atolla and nods. She turns to look at Milo and blinks.

Atolla says 'Alright. We good to go, Sunflash?'

Seina stands up wearily before walking over to Milo. She turns around and waves
Atolla goodbye sadly.

Milo isn't currently under his shell, in fact he didn't even move, but he looks
like he almost might as well be.

Atolla smiles back. "I'll be back soon, Seina. Don't worry."

Seina nods as she hugs onto Milo's turtle arm.

Sunflash nods, starting to walk towards the gate. "I'll pick up a few supplies
while you talk to the guards. Meet ya at the gate."

Milo just stands there, inert while his body is being misused.

Atolla trots off to the western gate, letting Jay and Arc know that they're the
temporary commanders, and WILL be eaten if they screw up majorly. Oh, and he
manages to get his clothes taken off.

Seina looks up to Milo, "What now?"

Sunflash heads off as well, making a brief pause to pick up lunch before
following right behind Atolla. Rawr.

Milo, now left alone with Seina, stands like a statue for half a minute before
deciding on a course of action. He starts to walk (west? dunno, wherever shops
are), the girl in tow.

Milo wriggles his arm a little, until he's merely holding her hand.

Seina gets dragged along as she holds Milo's hand, she pouts lightly.

Seina says 'Milo...?'

Milo wanders through the commercial district, seemingly aimlessly until he
arrives at a certain shop. He quickly rethinks to make sure he wants to do
this.

Seina looks around as she moves in closer to Milo, "Where are we going, Milo?"

Milo is currently looking at a shop window. Specifically, at the many stuffed
animals inside.

Seina looks at Milo, and then through the window to see all the fuzzy things
inside, "Are these the animals Atolla was telling me about?"

Milo says 'These are... well, not exactly.'

Milo says 'They're mostly objects made to resemble animals.'

Seina looks at Milo, "I don't understand..."

Seina says 'If they're not human or animal... what are they?'

Milo says 'So they won't talk to you or eat you, but they're just as fluffy, or
more.'

Seina looks at the "things" and pouts, "But they aren't as big as Atolla..."

Seina starts to get all teary eyed, "I miss Atolla..."

Milo says 'Yeah... but these aren't alive, so they won't need to leave to do
work. You could keep 'em with you all day.'

Seina says 'But they don't talk... Atolla teaches me things about the town and
the world..."'

Seina looks at Milo, "Are you leaving far away too, like Atolla?"

Or not? She really does need more than just cuddles, it seems. Despite all
appearances. "I'm... well, I'll be staying close, but I do have a job to do. I
just figured you're always trying to hug someone, so..." Maybe this was a bad
idea.

Meanwhile, in Rocket Town, Atolla follows many trails... and finds that very,
very strange. "I've never heard of bandits taking refuge in a normal town
before... or coming from them."

Seina shakes her head lightly, "I understand..." She looks at the things in the
window again, "I'm getting in the way."

Sunflash is close by to Atolla, invisible, of course. He speaks softly. "Yeah,
but have you noticed something? The townsfolk seem... on edge. Nervous."

Of course Atolla would be invisible as well. No reason to draw attention.
"Don't think it's threats... unless the ENTIRE town is being threatened, and
that raises the question of by what? Perhaps we should report back to Milo..."

This was bad. Very bad. Most turtles would have escaped by now, but Milo's
mind races as he desparately tries to salvage the situation. Who stuck him with
this daycare job, again?

Seina looks at Milo and smiles lightly, "It's ok, I don't want any of these.
Can I go back home now?"

Seina says 'I'll just stay inside the house and remain quiet to not bother
anyone.'

Milo just starts to walk in that general direction. "Sorry..."

Sunflash hrms softly before responding, quietly again. "I'd at least like to
follow what trails we can, so we'll know who to talk to... can you handle that?"

Seina looks down avoiding eye contact, "Don't be. I understand I'm only getting
in the way..." She looks at the crystal on her gauntlet as she moves her right
hand over it, "I always get in the way..."

Atolla nods.

Atolla says 'Yes... you handle the report, I'll do the fun bit.'

Sunflash says 'Hold hard there, hot-shot. I was meaning we -both- go, making a
note of what houses the trails lead to, then go back to Milo.'

"I didn't mean it that way..." /Okay, what do I say next? Umm... you know, on
second thought, I probably did mean it that way. Umm.../ Milo was digging
himself deeper. He made a note to go lion hunting later.

Atolla says 'Pity. I was going to have fun intimidating people... but you've a
point.'

Sunflash says 'Sorry bud, but we can't risk it, not yet. I'd at least like to
have a few others with us when we start knocking on doors. Let's move.'

Atolla says 'If you can keep up, mage boy...' And with that, Atolla would run
back to Truce at full speed. And boy, could he move...

Sunflash shakes his head, sprinting out of town, then tractor-push-jumping just
about the whole way, managing to stay not too far behind Atolla.

Seina follows Milo from behind, until Atolla's cot is in sight. She increases
her speed to pass by Milo to reach the cot faster. She walks halfway into the
cot and stands still. Without turning around, she says quietly, "Sorry for
being a disturbance,

Milo sighs. "I just don't really know what to do. I've never had to take care
of anyone before..."

Seina walks into the cot and sits in a corner holding her legs close to her
body. She buries her face into her knees as she softly sobs.

/And Atolla is going to be out for a few more hours, probably.../ Milo walks up
and tries to give Seina a hug, after all. Probably going to work against him
somehow.

Seina still has her head buried in her knees, she softly speaks, "I'll be
fine... I'll stay here and remain quiet. You don't have to worry about me."

Milo says 'I... don't cry, please... is there anything I can do to make up?'

Seina shakes her head, still buried, "I just want to be alone..."

Seina hides her face from Milo as she lies on her side, facing the wall, trying
to sleep.

Milo is rather distressed that she's about to sleep, as this will probably
result in things blowing up. But he realizes he's just digging his grave deeper
and scuffles out. He stays near the Rabite Forest gate, keeping a restless eye
out for the return of his scouts.

At the sight of his party returning, Milo sprints out. "Welcome back. Atolla,
go talk to Seina. I messed up badly. Seems she didn't want a plushie after
all. Sunflash, report your findings." Quite a mouthful.

Atolla says '...O-kay then. You realize we'll have to talk later.'

Milo says 'I have no people skills. I know. Whose idea was it to leave her in
my care?'

And with that, Atolla would run off to his room, making sure Seina was alright.

Byakko senses someone coming towards the cot and quickly vanishes back into
Seina's gauntlet.

Atolla quietly nudges Seina to wake her up, and if that fails... he'll just wait
a while.

Milo sighs and looks expectantly at Sunflash, hoping Atolla will be able to deal
with the situation.

Seina wakes up lightly, but then doesn't turn around. She lies there saddened
as she thinks back to the fact that she's "only a disturbance" towards Milo and
Atolla.

Seina closes her eyes and forces herself to go back to sleep.

Sunflash says 'We managed to get to the Canyon without any trouble, and after
abit of poking around and my asking a few annoying questions of the locals, we
managed to find the spot where they broke off and started to fall back.'

Atolla says '...Seina? Are you awake? I'd like to talk with you.'

Seina murmurs quietly, "No, I'm not awake..."

Milo nods and smiles. He's listening, honest.

Sunflash says 'Things weren't that bad, really. Atolla was already invised, and
I followed him out of the town till we got out of sight. I went invisible, and
we set off at a nice pace.'

Atolla says 'Then I'll talk... I'm not the best at that. I'm supposed to just
lead, not teach... but I'll try anyway.'

Atolla says 'Seina... I think I can guess why you left Milo. Let me know if my
guess is right. He said something that offended you?'

Seina shakes her head lightly.

Sunflash says 'Atolla seemed to have an easy time following what humans were
left... I think he mentioned there were only two or so left. He smelt lots of
metal, but it was faint, of course. Couldn't get a count of how many were
leaving.'

Seina says 'He just reminded me something... that's all.'

Atolla says '...Reminded you of what?'

Seina curls into a ball as she speaks softly, "... I'm only an annoyance to
you."

Sunflash says 'Anway, we managed to follow the trail all the way to Waterfall
Caves. Atolla lost them for a moment or two near the streams, but we managed to
pick it back up. The tracks seemed to indicate that whatever it was is heavy,
having been passed about the group often enough.'

Atolla says 'Seina, tell me I misheard you.'

Atolla says 'Otherwise, I'm going to have to tell you exactly how stupid you are
for saying that.'

Seina sighs as she sits up, "Why is it stupid? It's the truth..." She looks
away from Atolla (although that maybe hard), "All I've ever done is been a
disturbance."

Sunflash says 'Came out of the cave, and the trail set off straight south. We
thought that was abit odd, but figured there might be another cave or somesuch
near the border of the forest and fields. We ended up crossing into the fields
just long enough to get into the woods outside Rocket Town, and the trail ended
up -inside- Rocket Town itself.'

Milo says 'Hmm. Another attack there?'

Sunflash shakes his head.

Atolla walks over to the other side of Seina, shaking his head. "Girl, stop
that. You are not a nuisance, and you're not a disturbance. You're a surprise,
yes. And I don't want to leave you alone for a variety of reasons... but you
are more than a nuisance. You think I let just anybody ride on my back?"

Sunflash says 'Still invisible, we followed the main trail to the middle of
town, where the old Magitek factory entrance is. There, the trail broke off
into multiple tracks. We followed those we could, which ended up at individual
houses. We made a note of them, and decided to head back." Here he stops, and
hands Milo a small scrap of paper, with a few street addresses on them.

Seina holds her legs close to her body as she buries her face into her knees, "I
don't know... I just know that I'm a burden upon you and Milo... definitely
Milo."

Sunflash says '...And speaking of Rocket Town...'

Milo says 'I see. Doesn't sound like ordinary bandits... though undercover
hideouts in a city are comfy, if you can keep up the charade.'

Milo takes the paper and files it away.

Atolla nuzzes Seina softly, putting his cold nose -right- on her forehead. "No,
you're not. And no, I don't. I -enjoy- having you around. You definitely make
me think of things more... logically. Yes, you might be a burden... but it's
one we're more than happy to have around. You're more than just dead weight.
You're... well, you're rather like a daughter to me.'

Sunflash says 'I didn't stay around long enough to find out what, but
-something- is wrong. The people just seem too on edge. Like something big has
happened.'

Sunflash says 'I just can't place my finger on it, tho. The townsfolk didn't
seem to like being outside, everyone was hurrying from place to place, almost
acting like you'd expect a bad thief to.'

Seina says 'Then why did Milo want to get me those fuzzy unliving things?'

Atolla says '...To make you feel better. They're a toy, Seina. Something meant
to make another person... uhm... let me rephrase that. They're designed to give
a person a feeling of not being alone, of being watched and protected.'

Atolla says 'Give Milo a break. Koopas aren't... the most charismatic people.'

Milo scratches his head. "I doubt the entire town suddenly became a bandit
front. And it's either that, or whatever secret society this is did something
big there."

Milo says 'We should figure out what, but just poking may result in undesirable
consequences.'

Seina says 'How do toys do that? They aren't living, they can't protect me.'

Seina says '...And I've been alone before, so it won't matter if I am again.'

Sunflash nods slowly. "Indeed... something very big. The folks in Rocket Town
aren't the most chicken-hearted people I've met.

Atolla says 'He was trying to be nice, that's all. I get the feeling he doesn't
like being hugged much.'

Atolla says 'So he was trying to give you a substitute... huggee.'

Milo says 'Very odd, and definitely needs to be investigated further.'

Seina says 'But I don't need substitute. If you're not there, something else is
always there for me to hug.'

Milo says 'Any idea how we could lean something without just asking people?'

Atolla says 'Milo doesn't think the same. He's...odd.'

Seina says 'It's big and furry like you... but whenever I wake up, it's gone.'

Atolla says 'That's Byakko.'

Sunflash nods. "You can learn nearly as much by simply watching and listening,
as you can by asking."

Atolla sighs.

Seina says 'You keep saying that name, but I never see him.'

Milo says 'A good point.'

Atolla says 'This... uhm... could take a while. Mind looking me in the eye? I
hate talking to a pretty headful of hair.'

Seina looks up from her buried position and looks at Atolla. She smiles
slightly.

Milo says 'I guess you or someone should stake the place out for a few days?'

Atolla purrs a bit.

Sunflash nods.

Atolla says 'That's better. Now... when you're awake, your mind is focusing on
a lot of things, agreed?'

Sunflash says 'Unless you had something else planned, I was thinking I could do
it. Nothing like a good stake-out to stay busy.'

Seina nods lightly.

Milo says 'Okay. Well... good luck, I guess.'

Atolla says 'When you're asleep, your mind is focused. Like... like a cup of
water instead of the entire fountain. It goes everywhere, but a cup of water
stays still.'

Milo says 'At any sign of trouble, just get out of there and run back to us.'

Seina says 'Uh huh...'

Sunflash lets a long-suffering sigh release. "Yes, boss. It's not like I'm
planning to take on the entire town single-handed or anything." He smirks, then
heads off. Tally-ho and all that!

Atolla says 'Well, when your mind is clear and you're sleeping... Byakko is able
to take himself out of your crystal and give himself a form. Do you follow?'

Seina says 'So.. when my mind is a cup of water... Byakko can come out? And if
my mind is a fountain then I can't focus enough?'

Atolla nods.

Atolla says 'He's able to take all the water out of a cup and put it into
himself... but he can't do that with the fountain.'

Seina says 'So... my head is filled with water?'

Atolla says 'For the sake of the argument, let's say your thoughts are like
water.'

Seina nods.

Milo waves and once again returns to his booth, because that's where he can most
easily be found if someone needs to report to him. Then after a minute, he
decides he doesn't want to be found and takes the rest of the day off, heading
home. A true turtle, he is.

Atolla says 'Ah... yes. That's Byakko. I'm sure he'd be able to give me a
better description, though.'

Seina says '...Should I go to sleep?'

Atolla shakes his head.

Atolla says 'No, we have other things to talk about than Byakko. Namely, you
have self-esteem issues.'

Seina mutters quietly, "...Do not..." She doesn't even know what self-esteem
means.

Atolla says 'Yes you do Seina... and I'm going to do something I thought I
wouldn't. I'm going to help you find a job so that you don't feel so worthless.
Which you aren't, mind you.'

Seina says '...What's a job?'

Atolla says 'It's... work. Work done to help other people, usually.'

Seina says '...What's work?'

Atolla says '...You're not making this easy. Hm...'

Seina looks down, "Sorry..."

Atolla says 'Work is doing an... action for other people. In exchange for
money.'

Atolla says 'And money is what people exchange for material things, like food
and clothing.'

Seina says 'So... I have to do things for people?'

Atolla says 'Well... not have to. I'm not going to force you to work just yet.
You still have to learn a bit... and... uhm...'

Seina says '...Will I know these people?'

Atolla sits down and thinks deeply.

Atolla says 'I suppose you could do work around the garrison fir-no, that's a
bad idea. A VERY bad idea.'

Atolla says '...I'm sure I could get you a job with the healer from before. She
seemed kind enough.'

Seina nods and hugs Atolla, "If you say so."

Atolla sighs.

Atolla says '...You're not worthless, Seina. You're just in a new place...'

Seina smiles at Atolla, "I'll remember that." She cuddles against his lion
furryness.

Atolla is cuddled, and purrs a bit. "Y'know, I've been wondering... would you
like to try food? Besides water?"

Seina says 'Food? I guess so...'

Atolla nods.

Atolla motions over to his clothes, huddled in a corner, and with a few treats
poking out. "Well, I managed to get some candy...try a piece. Take it out of
the wrapper first, though. That's the flimsy stuff covering it."

Seina stands up and walks over to his clothes, she thinks to herself /Atolla
wears clothes?/. She takes a small round red thing from his pocket and turns
around, "Is this it?"

Atolla nods.

Atolla says 'Take off the flimsy stuff first, and put what's left in your
mouth.'

Seina doesn't know how to take off the flimsy stuff, so she just rips it apart
and puts the red sphere into her mouth.

Atolla just... watches as the cherry-flavored ball goes into her mouth. And
waits for a reaction...

Seina swallows the round sphere without biting or sucking it. She looks at
Atolla, "That was yummy. Can I have another one?"

Atolla says '...Yes, of course. It's better if you don't swallow it right off
the bat-if you don't swallow it immediately, though. Try keeping it in your
mouth until it melts.'

Seina pulls out another sphere ball from Atolla's clothes' pocket and rips off
the wrapper again savagely. She pops the sphere into her mouth and waits.

Atolla makes a mental note of this, and makes another one to gather enough money
to buy food from Fritz. After all, Atolla catches everything he eats...

Atolla says '...Like it? That's artificial cherry.'

Her eyes widen as the sphere melts within her mouth and slips down Seina's
throat, "Wow...!!! This is delicious!"

Atolla smiles happily.

Atolla says 'I'll make a note of that then...feeling better?'

Seina nods and smiles at Atolla.

Atolla says 'Good. Hm... perhaps I should take you into the forest tomorrow.'

Seina says '...What's a forest?'

Atolla says 'It's... I'll show you tomorrow.'

Seina nods as she walks back over to Atolla and sit next to him, "Thanks..."

Seina says '...For everything.'

Atolla smiles happily.

Seina curls up against Atolla and lapses into sleep.