As the sun's dusk came, shining a ruby red upon the land, it lit up the slowly falling snow that covered the barren wasteland. Setting the joyful display, Ariana watched as the group returned, laughing and cheering as they carried Noa and Andre, the latter more or less annoyed by the rough ride on Iron's back. She sighed in relief. "Thank god they are all back—I thought we had truly lost them," Ariana murmured, her voice tinged with exhaustion. She quickly got up and turned to Steph, who looked heavily exhausted. "Would you like me to help you up? The others are here now, so we should get going." Steph grunted heavily as she tried to rise. "Yeah, I-I got it... Just give me a sec—" she said, taking one deep breath before joining Ariana back to the cohort. They quickly arrived on the scene, seeing the battered faces of the group, their smiles were oddly fitting to the seemingly grim state they were in. They seemed to laugh off pretty deep wounds here and there, but otherwise, they seemed lively. Iron sighed as he put down Andre and tiredly flopped down, clutching his face. "God, carrying everyone out was...way out of my pay grade. What could have possibly happened for you to survive the inside of that hunk of junk, and tanking an entire explosion without getting hit with another? If I didn't know any better, I would think your luck actually got better." Andre looked at him, insulted, "H-huh, are you trying to say I have shit luck-." As everyone started arriving, they all interjected with Iron, "Yes!" Ariana looked a bit confused by the sudden interruption, "and why do you all say that, is his luck that horrific?" Luke sighed as he lit up a cig, "I robbed 100 bronze off this idiot, and he practically owes everyone here around 10-20 bronze cus of his gambling addiction, and in this economy, that's like forking over your house for a week." Andre gritted his teeth before yelling, "Fuck off! What am I supposed to do in this boring ass town, plus, as they say, 99% of gamblers quit before hitting big." Luke chuckles, "Sure, I'm sure you'll win big soon." As Luke and Andre squabbled a bit by banter, Kirin laid Noa to rest on a rock. Noa was quite injured, bleeding from the head, but he was awake. Ariana quickly rushed over there, "Oh god....how is he doing?" Kirin sighed as Sami started making a glue-like cast, "Mostly fine, he can speak, but he's been on and off of hysteria, talking about some bullshit here and there, but he'll live. "Ariana looked worried. Truth be told, Noa actually looked more like an undead than a human at the moment. He was breathing and muttering a few words, but if those signs weren't there, he would have already been buried. It was a bit more hollow and empty than she had first seen him. She sighed as she looked to Kirin, "Is it okay if you leave him under my care for a little while? I can watch over him." Kirin shrugged, walking away uncaringly as he headed towards the main cohort. Ariana then crouched, looking at Noa with a curious expression, "ummm...I know you're probably concussed and honestly may not hear me right, but are you okay?" Noa only glanced at her for a moment before hoarsely sighing, "I'm...okay...I guess." Ariana could feel the wistfulness seep into the conversation; she had always believed in a higher power since she was little, being thoroughly knowledgeable in theology, in fact. It made her gift strong, and it always felt as if she was pushed in certain directions. This time, there was just something wrong beyond all the injuries Noa had taken, and beyond the blood he had spilled, something deep-rooted in his soul. Ariana sighed as she sat on a large stone beside Noa. "Something else happened on the battlefield, didn't it, besides almost being blown up by the carpet bombing. Did something happen between you and the group?" Noa didn't answer before shaking his head, "not everyone...but I....I guess I'm remembering something that did happen..." Ariana nodded in understanding. "Did this happen recently or was it long back?" Noa took a while again to answer, "It...was long back...." Ariana chuckled, "Well then, why are you worried?" Noa instantly glanced at her "w-...what do you mean, the memory is ....kinda bad though, like I didn't remember it before and I thought things played out differently." Ariana smiled, looking to him, "Yeah, but let's run through the logic. You just went through a concussion, and your brain processes things very differently while concussed. This memory most likely resurfaced from your brain being rattled, so the details are definitely jumbled or distorted. Second, if this memory really happened quite a few years ago, you're a different person in a different place now, so something back then can't define who you are or what you do now. The past is to learn from, not to delve into. Lastly, let's say even if the memory was true, and it really is that traumatic, you are only one person with one set of eyes. Another could have witnessed the same events and have an entirely different story, I mean-" she leaped up excitedly, looking to the cohort, "I've always thought the poor or even middle class kind of had the same thinking and lifestyle. Their lives always seemed somewhat pitiful and boring, which I've always felt was the real travesty behind the cruel treatment of the lower class, but after meeting Cam, I can't say the same thing anymore, and I knew my thinking was rather flawed. It's why I came to Uru in the first place, to see multiple sides to the story, and I'm starting to honestly get answers." She then turned back to Noa, "So even worse comes to worst, the best way to get closure is to just ask and observe, and try to get the full picture. "Noa looked at her coldly, almost as if she were ridiculously naive for a teen, "and?.... Miss, I'm sorry, but if everything were as easy to solve or end with a simple question, I mean, we wouldn't be in this situation now, would we?" Ariana nodded, "Sure, but then again, everything started with a question, didn't it?" Noa looked with a bit of curiosity as he tilted his head a bit, "H-how..." She gave him a cheeky grin before heading toward Cam. "I mean, how do you think your life changed?" Noa sat there a bit stunned as he watched her walk away. He had only been surprised by his friends, which was a big part of why he stood loyally to see what kind of life they would lead. Never would he have thought that another person would fill him with such curiosity. As he sat there, still too tired to move, he thought, "Huh....I don't know if it's moronic or crazy...but she's interesting.".....................................................................Luke looked with a bit of curiosity as he watched Noa interact with the Duke's daughter. She seemed to be getting along with the group well, which didn't bother him, but doubts he previously had were starting to be answered. What made her charismatic wasn't her looks, her status, or even her speech. It was really just two things, two things that anyone needed for devotion. One quality was that she was insanely different, which anyone could tell from a mile away. Her incessant family history of debating against even the greatest of authorities was proof enough, but the strangest, and the second thing that made her so charismatic, was her incessant need to experience and observe. While, of course, it wasn't like she had some insane talent where she learned everything pretty quickly or picked up on social cues, if anything, she was a little lacking on the latter; it somehow allowed her to connect with audiences more than any royal could. Those two qualities alone aren't particularly good, but combined, they enable her to question intricacies that are artificially created by higher-ups. Of course, the world isn't as simple as some overzealous revolutionaries may think, but there were definitely some things the greedy higher-ups didn't necessarily have to do. Luke then saw Cam joining the group, helping everyone pack their stuff with gifts, or at least what supplies or treasures they may have left. He smiled, coming near her with a cig at hand, "So, servant work for the Mayella's may not pay well, but considering the other benefits that come with it, how'd you manage to land yourself with such a cushy job?" Cam looked at him before sighing, "Maybe the grace of Arelia, maybe a simple stroke of luck, I was picked up after well...I left Uru, it's as simple as that." Luke chuckled a bit, "Nah, nah, I was slightly joking with that question, what I really want to know is if their family is really just so generous, or is it a public grace tactic, considering they haven't really spoken out recently other than their esteemed daughter, so.." Cam looked at him sternly before working again "Well...to be honest, even I have been keeping secrets from Miss Mayella." Luke crouched, looking curiously "and that is?" Cam looked at him hesitantly, seemingly caught between a rock and a hard place. "I...I can't say, it was just some rumors from the maids here and there, but apparently, the headmaster has been running into some trouble." Luke sighed, "Cam, what trouble exactly, and don't try dodging it, you know how I am more than anyone when it comes to this." He looked at her sternly, his eyes almost demanding her to speak, something she never thought she would get used to. Sighing, she answered, "political issues....the royals have been putting pressure on the manor and the land he rules, also surveying him. It's actually the only reason why he allowed Miss Mayella on this trip, but I'm sure he'll handle it." She softly smiled as she continued working, "He's the strongest man I know-""He'll get killed," Luke interrupted, puffing out a smoke as he sighed, "he won't last, and he knows it."Cam looked at him with confusion, as another feeling she hadn't ever felt near him arose. It was a brutal answer, but something told her that Luke wasn't speaking out of pure emotion or prediction; it came from a heart of experience. Luke then grinned before looking to her, "But that's just a theory, and who knows maybe I'm completely wrong and everything ends happily ever after." Cam looked at him, bewildered, before landing a furious punch that threw him back five meters. She smirked angrily as she slowly walked towards the horrified Luke. "You know what, fuck this, I'm gonna do what I should have done eight years ago, I'm just gonna kill this motherfucker" she said as everyone watched in a bit of terror. Iron sighed, "Well...Looks like the witch of Hell's Kitchen is back." Ariana asked a bit nervously as she approached the group, "Umm....could you maybe repeat that again, I may note it down for future use."
..................................................................As the cohort arrived back in the town, crowds cheered for their arrival. Miners chanting Andre's name for bravely facing the depths before the rest of the group arrived, Luke, of course, getting numerous rotten roses from the ladies he seemed to naturally charm, which somewhat irritated the group. Noa and Andre were quickly escorted to the medical bay, of course, to tend to their injuries, so Ariana only watched as the cohort reaped the praise they got for defeating the giant. Suddenly, a man in quite some heavy armor, with black hair and brown eyes, grey streaks running through his hair as well, somewhere in his 30s or 40s, approached the group with a relieved expression. "Well, you bastards actually did it, you managed to kill a giant, huh? Back in my day, though, they were actually tough to-" Luke slapped him in the back of the head instantly. "Shut it, old man, a win is a win, alright, even if you did nothing for it." Warren looked a him before frowning, wrapping his head around Luke's, he roughed up Luke's fur, "You little rascal, I ought to beat you as I did before." As they played, they fought with each other. Cam looked in a bit of shock and worry. "Oh crap....this is going to be awkward." Warren then looked up, his eyes instantly locking with Cam's as he dropped Luke. "Holy shit...If it aint Carmella, what the hell are you doing here?" Cam just smiled as she waved, "Hey...uhh, that's a long story, I will explain later."
Kirin snapped, manifesting a bolt of lightning, "All right, all right, let's settle down, come on, we all have one question...where is the party?"