- Location
- Outrealms
I was thinking more about the making her think she was going to be a big sister, but yes I guess that too.
Halkegenia Online Thread 24 : WE NOW RETURN YOU TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM
- Thread starter Triggerhappy
- Start date
Triggerhappy
Stick with Trigger and You'll Make it Through
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- SoCal
Asuna : "I don't understand. That just makes sense! Of course she's related to us!"
KIrito : -opens mouth to say something, thinks better of it, closes mouth-
7734
Trust and verify.
- Location
- Philmont
Anyway, on an unrelated tangent, whatever strength enhancement Gnomes have is hellaciously broken. Going by earlier descriptions, they're lugging around literal tons of artillery, and this is before we take into account the weight of the rest of their kit!
Source: The Project Gutenberg eBook of Artillery through the Ages - A. Manucy
From the table on English Guns in "Smoothbores of the Later Period"
| Length of Gun | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caliber (inches) | Ft. | In. | Weight of gun (pounds) | Weight of Shot (pounds) | Powder charge (pounds) | |
| Rabinet | 1.0 | 300 | 0.3 | 0.18 | ||
| Serpentine | 1.5 | 400 | .5 | 0.3 | ||
| Falconet | 2.0 | 3 | 9 | 500 | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Falcon | 2.5 | 6 | 0 | 680 | 2.0 | 1.2 |
| Minion | 3.5 | 6 | 6 | 1,050 | 5.2 | 3 |
| Saker | 3.65 | 6 | 11 | 1,400 | 6 | 4 |
| Culverin bastard | 4.56 | 8 | 6 | 3,000 | 11 | 5.7 |
| Demiculverin | 4.0 | 3,400 | 8 | 6 | ||
| Basilisk | 5.0 | 4,000 | 14 | 9 | ||
| Culverin | 5.2 | 10 | 11 | 4,840 | 18 | 12 |
| Pedrero | 6.0 | 3,800 | 26 | 14 | ||
| Demicannon | 6.4 | 11 | 0 | 4,000 | 32 | 18 |
| Bastard cannon | 7.0 | 4,500 | 42 | 20 | ||
| Cannon serpentine | 7.0 | 5,500 | 42 | 25 | ||
| Cannon | 8.0 | 6,000 | 60 | 27 | ||
| Cannon royal | 8.54 | 8 | 6 | 8,000 | 74 | 30 |
From the table on English Guns in "Smoothbores of the Later Period"
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Anzer'ke
Anarchism Ho!
They have superhuman strength combined with the kind of giant body where your strength has been scaled up to match. It's hardly surprising.
Kirito can swing around his black iron great sword with one hand, albeit with the issues that real physics causes him. If he can do that with a mostly normal mid-to-late-teens sized body, a full grown and strength specced gnome being able to heft a couple tons seems pretty normal.
Triggerhappy
Stick with Trigger and You'll Make it Through
- Location
- SoCal
Plus I think I've mostly described them hefting swivel guns as improvised weapons rather than it being a prolonged strategy. Less walking cannoneer and more that thing you do in FPS where you dismount the turret gun to use briefly as a mobile weapon.
I also imagine a team of Gnomes could pretty readily help heft a field cannon into an awkward spot before running to do battle while the commoner cannon crew takes over manning and firing the gun.
7734
Trust and verify.
- Location
- Philmont
I probably want to check the text, but iirc my last readthrough it was 'light cannons' and they were used appropriately sparingly. Most of it comes up during the bit in Dunkirk where the Gnomes are manning the wall to buy time for the evacuation. For my thinking they're probably swinging around minions at the heaviest; the 5.2pdr gun since that's where you're actually seeing enough payload downrange to pull off the absolute bullshit they were getting away with.
STR builds can be a little broken when you have the tools to make them land their hits after all, and a cannon double shotted with grape and canister can't really miss.
Icipall
Don't worry, we can fanfix that!
- Location
- Cold snow fields of Finland
Gnomes never miss and arm day. Or leg day. Or any body part day.
"This here here 3.5 inch caliber Minion cannon. It weights over thousand pounds and can fire a shot of 5.2 pounds over 800 yards. And right now I have it loaded with double shot of grape and canister. So you gotta ask yourself... *Brings the ignition stick closer.*"
"Feeling lucky, punk?"
7734
Trust and verify.
- Location
- Philmont
It's a bit small for that, unless your minions are pixies. The real 'fun' ones to distinguish are things like the bastard/reinforced culverins, and the various grades of cannon. They make no sense, until you get to the annoying technical pictures like this one.
They themselves make no damn sense either, until you look at the following table, and realize that the rings are how wide the cannon is at various points- the muzzle, trunnions, and vent (where you light the cannon from) respectively.
| Wall thickness in 8ths of caliber | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Vent | Trunnion | Chase | |
| Bastard culverin | 7 | 5 | 3 |
| Legitimate culverin | 8 | 5-1/2 | 3-1/2 |
| Double-fortified | 9 | 6-1/2 | 4 |
So a bastard culverin has 7/8th the caliber of metal around the vent, 5/8 at the trunnion, and 3/8 at the chase (which is the narrowest part, since you need to reinforce the muzzle). Now add in that the culverin of most classes had about 5.2" of caliber, and we can math that out to 4.55" at the vent, 3.25" at the trunnion, and 1.95" at the chase. Double that and add in the caliber itself, and you get the actual size of the guns.
Which all comes out to these guns being about a foot and a third at the arse end and three quarters a foot at the buisness end, and we only needed to consult one table, a frustrating graphic, and a frankly frustrating ammount of math for this insignificant detail!
then ten minutes later you find out historically Henrietta's OTL equivalent threw that shit in the garbage when Louises' OTL grandkid said 'hey this is all trash, use my version instead' and you want to throw this damn book into a trash compactor
Truck-kun will do you dirty and drop you off in front of Cart-chan. Getting reborn back into your original world has its pros and cons, but as you had no time to amass magical knowledge and were allotted no cheat skills it's pretty much all cons for you. But hey, you'll at least have a super easy time up through middle school... provided you return to roughly the same time and culture you were first born to.
Arrun Paralle Story : Maid in Arrun 17
Triggerhappy
Stick with Trigger and You'll Make it Through
- Location
- SoCal
The next day, the Watch had descended on the Miura compound in force. A dozen officers cordoning off the hastily erected collection of saw-roofed warehouses before going over the insides with a fine toothed comb. No stone was left unturned and everything from the Miuras' operating books to their <<Dinomoebas>> were placed under Watch supervision.
Edo and Osaka watched at a remove while being questioned by Captain Itettsu. They weren't under arrest, but they were suspects and possible accomplices to their brother's crimes.
His alleged crimes.
"Can we hurry this up." Leafa heard Edo grumbling, the man looked wretched, as if he hadn't slept the night before. "You can't keep us shut down when there's a whole city accumulating trash to deal with."
"I can keep you shut down as long as I want." Ittetsu had growled. How that much presence could project from his wiry body was a mystery, but Miura the eldest was cowed into silence. "If need be we'll assign an escort to you and your work details." He nodded across the grounds to where the Miura's commoner employees sat in the shade of one of the slug stables. They weren't being held under the same suspicion as their employers, but they were potential witnesses. "Kirigaya!"
"Sir!" The Sylph answered smartly.
"Go help Kuwata question the men. Then see if GiNo and that Wolf of hers need any help sniffing around."
"Yes, Sir!"
"What a dull fellow he turns out to be." The Sylph's ears twitched as what appeared to be a reasonably handsome, in a very vague way, Salamander with wild red hair fell in beside her. He was dressed in casual black slacks and white dress shirt and a carried a watch coat hung over his shoulder. Over his shoulder because, so long as he wasn't wearing it, he wasn't technically impersonating a Watch Officer and Leafa wasn't, technically, participating in a crime.
"He's doing his job." Leafa snapped, annoyed, "Like I'm trying to do. And you . . . couldn't you have cast <<Hollow Body>>?"
"Hmm?" Brenhen frowned. "It would make helping you rather inconvenient. I could not speak to anyone or touch anything to examine it without drawing attention."
"A mysterious new watch officer is going to draw attention." The Sylph answered.
"And you speaking to empty air would not?"
She tried to think of a comeback and got nowhere.
"It will be fine. You will see."
When Brenhen had offered his help, Suguha had first thought he was becoming cooperative. But if anything the Sionach Sidhe was even more infuriatingly difficult than as a chained prisoner. For instance, following her out of the house in her brother's, never worn, dress clothes and insisting on joining the investigation. Yet despite Leafa's protests, despite threatening to rat him out if he didn't return home, here he was.
"Hey, Kirigaya!" Kuwata waved as they grew closer, she held her breath waiting for the inevitable question 'who's the new guy, pal?' but it never came. The big friendly gnome went back to speaking to the Miura's men, scribbling down their statements while listening with a thoughtful ear.
Okay, well, that was just Kuwata . . . But the longer things went, the more people seemed to hardly notice the stranger in their midst. Leafa's heart near came to a stop as Brenhen walked right up to a distracted Salamander officer, Blaze, and politely asked if he had a spare piece of pencil . . . Blaze had muttered something about remembering next time and handed him the one behind his ear.
"But how?" Leafa didn't believe it.
"It's not magic if that's what you're thinking. It's simply looking like you belong." When the Sylph didn't look convinced he raised a finger. "Think about how busy you and all of your friends are. They can't possibly spare the attention to look closely as something that doesn't seem out of place."
Suguha thought about it. "This is like the Second Sight you were talking about."
"Indeed." The 'Salamander' nodded. "It is exhausting to remain in such a state for long. Even one such as you does not do it all of the time. You must choose to be mindful, which is what I suggest you choose now." Leafa had nodded and they had begun the questioning.
The Miura's employed dozens of laborers on round the clock shifts performing the vital custodial tasks that kept the city streets and public spaces liveable. Out of those nearly hundred men, surely somebody would have seen or heard something that would put Suguha's suspicions to rest. Instead, what she found only left her more conscious of how . . . off . . . this all felt.
"So your names is Jaques?" Leafa questioned a long faced youth, skin tanned and hair faded to a uniform leather brown by long days under the sun. He'd been coralled in the middle of his work sorting work, and stood bare chested with his coveralls stripped down to the waist.
"Y-Yes Madame." The man, more of a boy, answered anxiously.
True to his word, Edo had voiced no protest when Osaka had ordered the men to cooperate fully. Even so, the look on his face was like he believed he was caught between a fearsome dragon and tiger.
"And you've been working for the Miuras for . . ."
"Four months, Madame, since they comissioned this place."
Leafa looked around. Well it certainly wasn't a natural feature of ALfheim. "And what is your job, exactly?"
"I'm a muck raker, Madame." He actually sounded a little proud saying that, though Leafa's stomach churned at what the name implied. But it was important work. Filthy, but important work. So she smiled and nodded her agreement.
"So I guess you job is manning the compost piles?"
"Yes, Madame. And also dredging the separating pools."
"So you pretty much have a view of the entire compound every day. Ever notice anything odd?"
"I cannot say, Madame." The young man began to sweat
"Why not?" Leafa looked at him quizically.
"I spend my shifts concentrated on my work. That keeps me much too busy for my attention to wonder elsewhere. I am sorry, Madame."
"Alright. One more question." The boy seized up and then relaxed as he heard her say;
"Do you know about any relationship between Miura Edo and an Undine named Loch?"
"No, Madame." He shook his head vigorously.
"I see . . . well . . . Thank you for your time Jacues-san."
And that wouldn't have been too strange except the answer from the next man was almost the same. And the next. And the next. For people who worked in the Miura's compound every day they all seemed to be practically blind.
It began to occur to Suguha that she recognized this behavior. It was becoming a depressing sort of background music to her job. The Miura's men were all making the exact same calculation. To them, commoners, all Faeries were nobility. But there were different ranks of noble, a Baron was outranked by a Count, and vastly outranked by a Duke. To these men, while the Watch were all nobles, they were 'petty' nobility. The Miuras on the other hand, were there employers, and whatever the rest of the city thought of the three brothers, that meant something in the minds of these men.
They really were caught, between a dragon called the Watch and the Tiger that was the Miuras.
"I don't think we're going to get'm to crack." Leafa sighed.
"But we did learn something, didn't we?" Brenhen murmured.
"Yeah." The Sylph nodded. "They really don't know anything about Edo and Loch."
"Because?"
"Because when Loch's name came up, they were relieved. They don't know anything at all about him so they didn't have to worry about hiding anything." Or at least they didn't think they did.
"When one is keeping tight lipped, be careful what you show, either way." Brenhen agreed.
Leafa frowned. "But then they are hiding something . . . That means there is something suspicious going on here." At least the workers thought there was. But she suspected whatever it was, they had tried their hardest not to notice anything. That was how a commoner survived in this world.
"Hey, Leafa!" The Sylph turned to find Brenhen disappeared and GiNo approaching with Akela in tow. It was a wise choice by the Sionach judging by the way the wolf perked and scented the air. "What's gotten into you, boy?"
"This is probably a difficult place for A-kun." Leafa suggested quickly, hoping that Akela understood well enough to also be convinced. "I mean think how bad it stinks for us."
"Yeah, but wolves don't have our revulsion to scents." The Salamander frowned.
"What about the sewers?" Akela hadn't looked the least bit eager when they'd had to go under the streets.
"That was more about it being overpowering." GiNo scratched behind her ear. "But I guess you're probably right. All the city's stink collects here. Probably traces of every scent that's been in the city for a month in those composting piles."
"Anyways . . ." Leafa tried to redicted the conversation naturally. "I guess that means A-kun's nose hasn't found anything." Akela's tail sagged as he clearly got the gist of what was being said. "Oh, nobody's blaming you A-kun!"
"A-kun's nose is the best." GiNo agreed, instigating a proud wag. "But we don't really know what we're looking for. We haven't found any more of those TRIST canisters at least."
"That's still over half of them missing." Leafa observed. "Maybe they're still inside of some of the other slugs . . ." Though she was worried suggesting it to Captain would see Ittetsu order them to gut the gentle giants.
"That shouldn't be a problem." GiNo answered.
"Oh? Did you find something?"
The Salamander produced a weighty log book. The pages were filled with numbers, intermitant names, dates, and times. Why were the names only used some times?
"Ako, Susi, Lotte . . ."
"They're nicknames for the slugs." GiNo explained. "And those are their numbers. "And these are the dates and times that they were checked out and when they were brought back. Seems like they go to the bathroom like clockwork about eight hours after they start feeding."
"Osaka said it's a huge mess when . . . erm . . . Well . . ." Leafa nodded seriously. "So it's probably important to keep track."
"Well, judging by this, we can guess at an eight hour window for Kobe could have picked up those canisters. At the earliest it would have been . . . Early morning."
"The Faerie Fog!" Leafa blurted.
"Yeah, I thought so too. Sure, you can smuggle things out in the <<Dinomoeba's>> gut. Assuming you have to some way to protect the cargo from melting. But they're not exactly ninjas, you know, and eating a bunch of canisters in the middle of the warehouse district would definitely get noticed. So when's the best time? Early morning as the fog rolls in. Everything is in deep shadow thanks to Yggdrasil. Everyone awake is dead tired. Everyone rested is just waking up. And the street lamps are all exhausted from shining all night. The Miura's even clean the warehouse premises, which means they know the layout. And guess who leads the cleaning detail most nights."
"Kobe?"
"Afraid so."
Leafa bit her lip. As a criminal enterprise went, it was organized like clockwork and perfectly camouflaged in a way that was completely innocent. The only problem was that the clock had broken.
"If he had it all planned down to the minute, how could we have ever caught Kobe the way we did?" The Sylph wondered aloud. He'd practically tripped and fallen on his face, not much of a criminal master mind.
"Yeah that's the weird part." GiNo admitted. "Maybe he got the slug mixed up? Took out the same one he'd just used by mistake? I mean, the Miuras work long shifts, and they use their slugs to help sort and process materials here at the compound, they have like a dozen and they all kinda look the same." Big, lumpy, and purplish pink. "Or made it ate something that gave it sudden indigestion."
Leafa frowned. "What could give a <<Dinomoeba>> indigestion? They can eat almost anything."
"Well, how often do they eat rare mats? Maybe one of the canisters cracked in its stomach."
"Maybe."
GiNo looked at her. "Sorry if this isn't what you want to hear."
"A lot of people have been saying that to me lately. 'Sorry that's not what you wanted to hear.'" Leafa said, distracted. "What I want, is to hear the truth. The whole truth." That was her job as a watch officer. She had to doubt everything. Even the things that would make her job easy. Especially the things that would make her job easy.
Because when you didn't, you got lazy. And when you got lazy, you got people like Count Moette, or punished a thief far worse than even they deserved, and maybe an innocent girl in the process.
"So thanks GiNo. It's another piece of the truth. Another piece of the puzzle."
"Well then, you're welcome, I guess." The Salamander shrugged as they headed to report to the Captain. Leafa gave Ittetsu everything she'd learned from the interviews and stated her suspicions, as usual the Captain had accepted everything but promised nothing without more than her vague hunches.
As she'd walked away from her report the Sylph's brain was racing.
"Kirigaya?"
The Miuras, Edo, Osaka, Kobe, they had access to almost the entire city.
"Leafa?"
The Undine Loch, he was a 'merchant's merchant', he must have lots of connections.
"Sugu?"
Was it a business connection linking Edo and Loch? Would it be something that simple?
Suddenly a feeling overcame the Sylph. It had nothing to do with her intuition and everything to do with the sensation of something delicately stroking across the tops of her ears simultaneously, building up like a static charge until releasing from the tips. The sensation like an electrical current came together at the base of her skull and raced down her spine illiciting a sudden eye widening shiver before she spun about and . . .
-SLAP-
"Why would you ever touch a girl's ears like that?!"
"I was simply trying to get your attention." Brenhen informed her calmly as a welt began to form on his cheek.
"Well you did!" Leafa glared.
"Lighten up on the Rookie, Kirigaya!" Blaze snickered as he walked past. The Sylph looked at the Salamander like she still didn't believe it.
"So what was so important you felt you needed to do that." The Sylph grimaced.
"While you were talking with that the Ember Wolf and his pet I happened to be minding my business and wondered when you will be questioning the last of the Miuras."
"What do you mean? The Captain's questioning them."
"Well then, what about that one?" The 'Salamander' pointed to a young woman standing just outside the Watch perimeter, a hand on her swollen stomach.
__________________________________________________________________________________
"Here you go. Lemon herb tea." Leafa placed the cup in front of the Cait girl before taking a seat. She would have preferred a more familiar venue, like the Cafe Yggdrasil, or even the Watch House, but the little tea shop just off of Arrun's main gate would have to do.
Konoka accepted gratefully and took a sip before she began to speak. "Thank you for agreeing to hear me out, Officer Kirigaya. The watch questioned me earlier, but, once your Captain learned I don't know much about the business, they weren't really interested in hearing the rest of what I had to say."
"You are a biased witness." Leafa admitted.
"I'm the only one who thinks Kobe is innocent, you mean." The girl said sharply. There was fire in her eyes when she said it, fire and Cait prey drive. "And before you ask, no, it's not because Kobe's my 'meal ticket'."
"But . . . There's a kernel of truth to that." The third person seated at the table murmured. "Isn't there?"
At some point, Brenhen had slipped away and changed yet again. She was in her Cait form now, still dressed approximately like a watch officer, and still ambiguously playing the part as she smiled kindly.
"And how would you know?" Konoka glared.
"Because of the way you slapped Osaka the other day." Brenhen nodded sagely. "You wanted him to feel the same sting his words made you feel. Only the truth can hurt that much, even if it's only a tiny piece of the truth. That doesn't mean it's the whole truth though."
"I . . ." Konoka looked between them then she swallowed and nodded. "It's true . . . I guess. But like you said, only a little bit. The truth is . . . My first day playing a full dive game was the day of the Transition. I bought an Amusphere as a birthday present to myself. I . . . wanted to try petting all the fantasy animals . . ." Leafa nodded seriously, it had certainly been a temptation before she'd learned that Sylphs were the best fliers.
"I was scared witless. I didn't have any skills or any friends logged in with me. So I just sort of fell in with whoever. Lady Alicia had her attention split between Freelia and Arrun, so thing were a little . . . unstable . . . Kobe seemed strong though, and he seemed to know at least a little bit of what was going on . . . I may have used certain facts to get into his good graces . . ."
"You were just trying to protect yourself." Brenhen said gently.
"Konoka-san, we're not here to judge you for anything you've done." Leafa agreed.
"Thankyou. And the truth is, I don't regret it." She shook her head. "Maybe if you knew Kobe like I do. When we first met, he was a completely different person. Distant, cold, and . . . hungry . . ."
"Hungry?" Leafa frowned.
"Like nothing could fill him up." Konoka shook her head. "It's hard to describe. Like there was a void inside of him that swallowed up everything. Positive emotions. Anger. Nothing was ever enough to fill it. He could have drunk the whole sea and still been thirsty. He'd get . . . frustrated at times . . . violent . . . Oh, but never at me or anyone else really! He'd, break things, and sulk, but he never ever hurt anyone. He slept fitfully."
"So what changed?" The Sylph asked. The Kobe she'd glimpsed was hard working, brash, and full to the brim with powerful emotions.
"Well . . . This happened." Konoka stroked her stomach gently.
And it was almost like Leafa could magnetically sense the eyes all around that were drawn to the Cait Girl. Almost an unspoken agreement by everyone around them that this girl was something special, almost sacred. She was a mother to be. That was something powerful among the Fae. Because . . . No Faerie had ever born a child before. Konoka would be one of the first. And doing so was evidence that they were complete, that life could go on for all of them, no matter what else might happen.
Even Brenhen seemed to sense it, though maybe it was just her acuity for the people around her.
"When I found out I was pregnant, I was scared to tell Kobe. I actually kept it from him for a week before deciding what to do. But when I did tell him . . . It was like, this cold brooding person I'd met just melted off of him. He seemed a decade younger and," she smiled, "A lifetime kinder. He cried, you know? When he found out it was going to be twins."
Konoka shook her head. "After he found out, we came to Arrun, because he knew his brother lived here. I knew they had a grudge, but he took me to meet him, and right in front of me he sank to the ground and begged Osaka for a job. He swallowed his pride for me and our children. I can't believe he would risk that just for more money. Even a lot more money. And I can't believe that there is anything in his past that could make his brothers think that. Whatever mistakes Kobe has made, he's a good a man."
"That's all wonderful Konoka-san, it really is. But it doesn't help to prove Kobe's innocence." Leafa smiled gently.
"I know. I wish that I'd paid more attention to the business." She smiled wanly. "I . . . admit I'm not proud of the work Kobe does. If I hadn't been so ashamed, maybe I would know enough to help him now. But I'm nothing like Kobe. He'll do any job and take enough pride in it for the both of us. He comes home dead tired every day, collapses into bed, and sleeps so soundly." She started to laugh. "He even started giving the Dinomoeba's nicknames. I think he likes them even better than Osaka and . . . well . . . I guess they're kind of cute."
"So Kobe's the one who named them." Leafa mused. "I saw one of the log books today and the names weren't always used."
"Oh, that's probably just Edo being Edo." The Cait girl's sweetness turned sour as her thought turned from Kobe to his brother. "Honestly I don't even think he can tell the poor things apart."
"Can you?" Leafa asked.
"A little." She sounded embarassed admitting it. "I know it's caused arguments between the three. Edo uses the numbers and keeps them organized in their stables to tell them apart. But Osaka and Kobe can tell them at a glance. The confusion has meant trouble a few times."
"Trouble like a slug passing in the middle of the city?"
"That only happened once! In the middle of the night!" Konoka said wide eyed. "And you didn't hear it from me!"
"But I'm afraid that's all I really know. Just the things Kobe says to blow off steam at night. It's not much for evidence, I know."
"Actually, this could be useful." Leafa nodded.
"What? Really?! You're not just saying that right?"
She didn't want to get Konoka's hopes up so she just said, carefully, "It opens a possibility. But just a possibility." And she wasn't really sure what it meant just yet.
"I understand." Konoka smiled, the faint facial markings of her heart shaped face giving her the impression of a contented tabby. "Either way, thank you, for listening.
Leafa had offered the girl an escort back home but she'd said she'd wanted to wait a while and finish her tea. Instead, Leafa set off on a walk.
What she really wanted was to fly, to be high up in the air with just her own thoughts, and the wind, and the world, at least her little piece of the world, spreading out beneath her. When she saw it from high up above the floating isles, close to the barrier around Yggdrasil's crest, when nearly the whole city could fit in the palms of her hands, she felt almost like there was a clarity of distance. But now, with a rather mangie Sionach stocking after her, she had to do her thinking closer to the ground.
"Well?" Brenhen asked. "What do you think?"
"I think that there's a possibility, but I don't know what it means . . . And also that I told you to pick one. Boy or girl." At some point he'd changed again to his Salamander guise while nobody was looking. She didnt' really mind either, but she thought he changed so much specifically because he knew it was confusing.
"I just thought a feminine touch would be more appropriate." The Sionach supplied. "Imagine if I'd said some of those things as a man."
"You would have been slapped." The Sylph agreed. "Again." But he wasn't wrong. "You have a good a grasp for people Brenhen."
"Thank you!" Brenhen smiled. "I have had little to pass the time but watching and listening to people. I find everyone, especially the strangelings, to be most amusing. Almost as amusing as imitating them."
"Strangelings?"
"Ah yes. The funny ones who are not Fae or Sidhe. The ones with and without magic." He explained. "Like Siesta."
"You know that they're people, right?" Leafa sighed.
"Of course they're people. That's why they are interesting!"
"I mean they're people, they don't just exist for your entertainment, Brenhen. You can't treat them like toys." She turned and stared at him sharply.
The Sionach looked startled, tilting his head. "Have I offended in some way?"
"You still haven't apologized to Siesta-san."
"Apologized?"
"For hitting her. And for taking her things. You know that the wallet you stole had her life savings in it right?" She shook her head. "Of course you wouldn't know, the only thing you care about is Flatha. Why did you even keep the things you stole if you didn't have any use for them?"
"I suppose because." He tilted his head and shrugged. "It would have been more difficult to put them back."
"But you could have." Leafa accused.
"Even now." Brenhen agreed. "I remember where each is and where each must go."
"Then why?" He seemed confused. "Why don't you put them back. You've hurt those people." Sometimes in little ways and some times in big ones.
"It is because I am not tamed . . ."
"But I tamed you, didn't I?!" Suguha realized she'd raised her voice, but nobody was around to hear. She glared at Brenhen as if it were his fault. He was so . . . Infuriating!
"I am tamed by you." The Sionach agreed. "I have a bond with you. There is no such bond between me and other people."
"But there is!" Leafa snapped watching Brenhen look confused. "It's simple. You're connected to me. And I'm connected to everyone in this city. Maybe not directly, but through the people I know. Through Agil, and GiNo, and Kuwata, and Lady Sakuya. The people I've tamed and who have tamed me. You're connected to them through me Brenhen. You've hurt me by hurting them. Or do you think hurting Siesta doesn't hurt me?"
She felt angry for even explaining this. "You know, for a while I thought you reminded me of someone. But now I realize the two of your are nothing alike. And I'm glad. He might be a huge idiot, but he treats strangers like people even when they haven't done something for him."
Suguha realized that Brenhen had grown quiet and withdrawn. There was no mischief in his eyes, he seemed entirely to be looking inward. She wondered what he saw.
"I'm . . . sorry." She shook her head. "You have hurt a lot of people though. So I wish you'd hurry and make it right like you promised."
"I see." Was all Brenhen said and then, very quielty as they continued, Suguha swore she heard, "I had not thought of it that way before. I see."
Edo and Osaka watched at a remove while being questioned by Captain Itettsu. They weren't under arrest, but they were suspects and possible accomplices to their brother's crimes.
His alleged crimes.
"Can we hurry this up." Leafa heard Edo grumbling, the man looked wretched, as if he hadn't slept the night before. "You can't keep us shut down when there's a whole city accumulating trash to deal with."
"I can keep you shut down as long as I want." Ittetsu had growled. How that much presence could project from his wiry body was a mystery, but Miura the eldest was cowed into silence. "If need be we'll assign an escort to you and your work details." He nodded across the grounds to where the Miura's commoner employees sat in the shade of one of the slug stables. They weren't being held under the same suspicion as their employers, but they were potential witnesses. "Kirigaya!"
"Sir!" The Sylph answered smartly.
"Go help Kuwata question the men. Then see if GiNo and that Wolf of hers need any help sniffing around."
"Yes, Sir!"
"What a dull fellow he turns out to be." The Sylph's ears twitched as what appeared to be a reasonably handsome, in a very vague way, Salamander with wild red hair fell in beside her. He was dressed in casual black slacks and white dress shirt and a carried a watch coat hung over his shoulder. Over his shoulder because, so long as he wasn't wearing it, he wasn't technically impersonating a Watch Officer and Leafa wasn't, technically, participating in a crime.
"He's doing his job." Leafa snapped, annoyed, "Like I'm trying to do. And you . . . couldn't you have cast <<Hollow Body>>?"
"Hmm?" Brenhen frowned. "It would make helping you rather inconvenient. I could not speak to anyone or touch anything to examine it without drawing attention."
"A mysterious new watch officer is going to draw attention." The Sylph answered.
"And you speaking to empty air would not?"
She tried to think of a comeback and got nowhere.
"It will be fine. You will see."
When Brenhen had offered his help, Suguha had first thought he was becoming cooperative. But if anything the Sionach Sidhe was even more infuriatingly difficult than as a chained prisoner. For instance, following her out of the house in her brother's, never worn, dress clothes and insisting on joining the investigation. Yet despite Leafa's protests, despite threatening to rat him out if he didn't return home, here he was.
"Hey, Kirigaya!" Kuwata waved as they grew closer, she held her breath waiting for the inevitable question 'who's the new guy, pal?' but it never came. The big friendly gnome went back to speaking to the Miura's men, scribbling down their statements while listening with a thoughtful ear.
Okay, well, that was just Kuwata . . . But the longer things went, the more people seemed to hardly notice the stranger in their midst. Leafa's heart near came to a stop as Brenhen walked right up to a distracted Salamander officer, Blaze, and politely asked if he had a spare piece of pencil . . . Blaze had muttered something about remembering next time and handed him the one behind his ear.
"But how?" Leafa didn't believe it.
"It's not magic if that's what you're thinking. It's simply looking like you belong." When the Sylph didn't look convinced he raised a finger. "Think about how busy you and all of your friends are. They can't possibly spare the attention to look closely as something that doesn't seem out of place."
Suguha thought about it. "This is like the Second Sight you were talking about."
"Indeed." The 'Salamander' nodded. "It is exhausting to remain in such a state for long. Even one such as you does not do it all of the time. You must choose to be mindful, which is what I suggest you choose now." Leafa had nodded and they had begun the questioning.
The Miura's employed dozens of laborers on round the clock shifts performing the vital custodial tasks that kept the city streets and public spaces liveable. Out of those nearly hundred men, surely somebody would have seen or heard something that would put Suguha's suspicions to rest. Instead, what she found only left her more conscious of how . . . off . . . this all felt.
"So your names is Jaques?" Leafa questioned a long faced youth, skin tanned and hair faded to a uniform leather brown by long days under the sun. He'd been coralled in the middle of his work sorting work, and stood bare chested with his coveralls stripped down to the waist.
"Y-Yes Madame." The man, more of a boy, answered anxiously.
True to his word, Edo had voiced no protest when Osaka had ordered the men to cooperate fully. Even so, the look on his face was like he believed he was caught between a fearsome dragon and tiger.
"And you've been working for the Miuras for . . ."
"Four months, Madame, since they comissioned this place."
Leafa looked around. Well it certainly wasn't a natural feature of ALfheim. "And what is your job, exactly?"
"I'm a muck raker, Madame." He actually sounded a little proud saying that, though Leafa's stomach churned at what the name implied. But it was important work. Filthy, but important work. So she smiled and nodded her agreement.
"So I guess you job is manning the compost piles?"
"Yes, Madame. And also dredging the separating pools."
"So you pretty much have a view of the entire compound every day. Ever notice anything odd?"
"I cannot say, Madame." The young man began to sweat
"Why not?" Leafa looked at him quizically.
"I spend my shifts concentrated on my work. That keeps me much too busy for my attention to wonder elsewhere. I am sorry, Madame."
"Alright. One more question." The boy seized up and then relaxed as he heard her say;
"Do you know about any relationship between Miura Edo and an Undine named Loch?"
"No, Madame." He shook his head vigorously.
"I see . . . well . . . Thank you for your time Jacues-san."
And that wouldn't have been too strange except the answer from the next man was almost the same. And the next. And the next. For people who worked in the Miura's compound every day they all seemed to be practically blind.
It began to occur to Suguha that she recognized this behavior. It was becoming a depressing sort of background music to her job. The Miura's men were all making the exact same calculation. To them, commoners, all Faeries were nobility. But there were different ranks of noble, a Baron was outranked by a Count, and vastly outranked by a Duke. To these men, while the Watch were all nobles, they were 'petty' nobility. The Miuras on the other hand, were there employers, and whatever the rest of the city thought of the three brothers, that meant something in the minds of these men.
They really were caught, between a dragon called the Watch and the Tiger that was the Miuras.
"I don't think we're going to get'm to crack." Leafa sighed.
"But we did learn something, didn't we?" Brenhen murmured.
"Yeah." The Sylph nodded. "They really don't know anything about Edo and Loch."
"Because?"
"Because when Loch's name came up, they were relieved. They don't know anything at all about him so they didn't have to worry about hiding anything." Or at least they didn't think they did.
"When one is keeping tight lipped, be careful what you show, either way." Brenhen agreed.
Leafa frowned. "But then they are hiding something . . . That means there is something suspicious going on here." At least the workers thought there was. But she suspected whatever it was, they had tried their hardest not to notice anything. That was how a commoner survived in this world.
"Hey, Leafa!" The Sylph turned to find Brenhen disappeared and GiNo approaching with Akela in tow. It was a wise choice by the Sionach judging by the way the wolf perked and scented the air. "What's gotten into you, boy?"
"This is probably a difficult place for A-kun." Leafa suggested quickly, hoping that Akela understood well enough to also be convinced. "I mean think how bad it stinks for us."
"Yeah, but wolves don't have our revulsion to scents." The Salamander frowned.
"What about the sewers?" Akela hadn't looked the least bit eager when they'd had to go under the streets.
"That was more about it being overpowering." GiNo scratched behind her ear. "But I guess you're probably right. All the city's stink collects here. Probably traces of every scent that's been in the city for a month in those composting piles."
"Anyways . . ." Leafa tried to redicted the conversation naturally. "I guess that means A-kun's nose hasn't found anything." Akela's tail sagged as he clearly got the gist of what was being said. "Oh, nobody's blaming you A-kun!"
"A-kun's nose is the best." GiNo agreed, instigating a proud wag. "But we don't really know what we're looking for. We haven't found any more of those TRIST canisters at least."
"That's still over half of them missing." Leafa observed. "Maybe they're still inside of some of the other slugs . . ." Though she was worried suggesting it to Captain would see Ittetsu order them to gut the gentle giants.
"That shouldn't be a problem." GiNo answered.
"Oh? Did you find something?"
The Salamander produced a weighty log book. The pages were filled with numbers, intermitant names, dates, and times. Why were the names only used some times?
"Ako, Susi, Lotte . . ."
"They're nicknames for the slugs." GiNo explained. "And those are their numbers. "And these are the dates and times that they were checked out and when they were brought back. Seems like they go to the bathroom like clockwork about eight hours after they start feeding."
"Osaka said it's a huge mess when . . . erm . . . Well . . ." Leafa nodded seriously. "So it's probably important to keep track."
"Well, judging by this, we can guess at an eight hour window for Kobe could have picked up those canisters. At the earliest it would have been . . . Early morning."
"The Faerie Fog!" Leafa blurted.
"Yeah, I thought so too. Sure, you can smuggle things out in the <<Dinomoeba's>> gut. Assuming you have to some way to protect the cargo from melting. But they're not exactly ninjas, you know, and eating a bunch of canisters in the middle of the warehouse district would definitely get noticed. So when's the best time? Early morning as the fog rolls in. Everything is in deep shadow thanks to Yggdrasil. Everyone awake is dead tired. Everyone rested is just waking up. And the street lamps are all exhausted from shining all night. The Miura's even clean the warehouse premises, which means they know the layout. And guess who leads the cleaning detail most nights."
"Kobe?"
"Afraid so."
Leafa bit her lip. As a criminal enterprise went, it was organized like clockwork and perfectly camouflaged in a way that was completely innocent. The only problem was that the clock had broken.
"If he had it all planned down to the minute, how could we have ever caught Kobe the way we did?" The Sylph wondered aloud. He'd practically tripped and fallen on his face, not much of a criminal master mind.
"Yeah that's the weird part." GiNo admitted. "Maybe he got the slug mixed up? Took out the same one he'd just used by mistake? I mean, the Miuras work long shifts, and they use their slugs to help sort and process materials here at the compound, they have like a dozen and they all kinda look the same." Big, lumpy, and purplish pink. "Or made it ate something that gave it sudden indigestion."
Leafa frowned. "What could give a <<Dinomoeba>> indigestion? They can eat almost anything."
"Well, how often do they eat rare mats? Maybe one of the canisters cracked in its stomach."
"Maybe."
GiNo looked at her. "Sorry if this isn't what you want to hear."
"A lot of people have been saying that to me lately. 'Sorry that's not what you wanted to hear.'" Leafa said, distracted. "What I want, is to hear the truth. The whole truth." That was her job as a watch officer. She had to doubt everything. Even the things that would make her job easy. Especially the things that would make her job easy.
Because when you didn't, you got lazy. And when you got lazy, you got people like Count Moette, or punished a thief far worse than even they deserved, and maybe an innocent girl in the process.
"So thanks GiNo. It's another piece of the truth. Another piece of the puzzle."
"Well then, you're welcome, I guess." The Salamander shrugged as they headed to report to the Captain. Leafa gave Ittetsu everything she'd learned from the interviews and stated her suspicions, as usual the Captain had accepted everything but promised nothing without more than her vague hunches.
As she'd walked away from her report the Sylph's brain was racing.
"Kirigaya?"
The Miuras, Edo, Osaka, Kobe, they had access to almost the entire city.
"Leafa?"
The Undine Loch, he was a 'merchant's merchant', he must have lots of connections.
"Sugu?"
Was it a business connection linking Edo and Loch? Would it be something that simple?
Suddenly a feeling overcame the Sylph. It had nothing to do with her intuition and everything to do with the sensation of something delicately stroking across the tops of her ears simultaneously, building up like a static charge until releasing from the tips. The sensation like an electrical current came together at the base of her skull and raced down her spine illiciting a sudden eye widening shiver before she spun about and . . .
-SLAP-
"Why would you ever touch a girl's ears like that?!"
"I was simply trying to get your attention." Brenhen informed her calmly as a welt began to form on his cheek.
"Well you did!" Leafa glared.
"Lighten up on the Rookie, Kirigaya!" Blaze snickered as he walked past. The Sylph looked at the Salamander like she still didn't believe it.
"So what was so important you felt you needed to do that." The Sylph grimaced.
"While you were talking with that the Ember Wolf and his pet I happened to be minding my business and wondered when you will be questioning the last of the Miuras."
"What do you mean? The Captain's questioning them."
"Well then, what about that one?" The 'Salamander' pointed to a young woman standing just outside the Watch perimeter, a hand on her swollen stomach.
__________________________________________________________________________________
"Here you go. Lemon herb tea." Leafa placed the cup in front of the Cait girl before taking a seat. She would have preferred a more familiar venue, like the Cafe Yggdrasil, or even the Watch House, but the little tea shop just off of Arrun's main gate would have to do.
Konoka accepted gratefully and took a sip before she began to speak. "Thank you for agreeing to hear me out, Officer Kirigaya. The watch questioned me earlier, but, once your Captain learned I don't know much about the business, they weren't really interested in hearing the rest of what I had to say."
"You are a biased witness." Leafa admitted.
"I'm the only one who thinks Kobe is innocent, you mean." The girl said sharply. There was fire in her eyes when she said it, fire and Cait prey drive. "And before you ask, no, it's not because Kobe's my 'meal ticket'."
"But . . . There's a kernel of truth to that." The third person seated at the table murmured. "Isn't there?"
At some point, Brenhen had slipped away and changed yet again. She was in her Cait form now, still dressed approximately like a watch officer, and still ambiguously playing the part as she smiled kindly.
"And how would you know?" Konoka glared.
"Because of the way you slapped Osaka the other day." Brenhen nodded sagely. "You wanted him to feel the same sting his words made you feel. Only the truth can hurt that much, even if it's only a tiny piece of the truth. That doesn't mean it's the whole truth though."
"I . . ." Konoka looked between them then she swallowed and nodded. "It's true . . . I guess. But like you said, only a little bit. The truth is . . . My first day playing a full dive game was the day of the Transition. I bought an Amusphere as a birthday present to myself. I . . . wanted to try petting all the fantasy animals . . ." Leafa nodded seriously, it had certainly been a temptation before she'd learned that Sylphs were the best fliers.
"I was scared witless. I didn't have any skills or any friends logged in with me. So I just sort of fell in with whoever. Lady Alicia had her attention split between Freelia and Arrun, so thing were a little . . . unstable . . . Kobe seemed strong though, and he seemed to know at least a little bit of what was going on . . . I may have used certain facts to get into his good graces . . ."
"You were just trying to protect yourself." Brenhen said gently.
"Konoka-san, we're not here to judge you for anything you've done." Leafa agreed.
"Thankyou. And the truth is, I don't regret it." She shook her head. "Maybe if you knew Kobe like I do. When we first met, he was a completely different person. Distant, cold, and . . . hungry . . ."
"Hungry?" Leafa frowned.
"Like nothing could fill him up." Konoka shook her head. "It's hard to describe. Like there was a void inside of him that swallowed up everything. Positive emotions. Anger. Nothing was ever enough to fill it. He could have drunk the whole sea and still been thirsty. He'd get . . . frustrated at times . . . violent . . . Oh, but never at me or anyone else really! He'd, break things, and sulk, but he never ever hurt anyone. He slept fitfully."
"So what changed?" The Sylph asked. The Kobe she'd glimpsed was hard working, brash, and full to the brim with powerful emotions.
"Well . . . This happened." Konoka stroked her stomach gently.
And it was almost like Leafa could magnetically sense the eyes all around that were drawn to the Cait Girl. Almost an unspoken agreement by everyone around them that this girl was something special, almost sacred. She was a mother to be. That was something powerful among the Fae. Because . . . No Faerie had ever born a child before. Konoka would be one of the first. And doing so was evidence that they were complete, that life could go on for all of them, no matter what else might happen.
Even Brenhen seemed to sense it, though maybe it was just her acuity for the people around her.
"When I found out I was pregnant, I was scared to tell Kobe. I actually kept it from him for a week before deciding what to do. But when I did tell him . . . It was like, this cold brooding person I'd met just melted off of him. He seemed a decade younger and," she smiled, "A lifetime kinder. He cried, you know? When he found out it was going to be twins."
Konoka shook her head. "After he found out, we came to Arrun, because he knew his brother lived here. I knew they had a grudge, but he took me to meet him, and right in front of me he sank to the ground and begged Osaka for a job. He swallowed his pride for me and our children. I can't believe he would risk that just for more money. Even a lot more money. And I can't believe that there is anything in his past that could make his brothers think that. Whatever mistakes Kobe has made, he's a good a man."
"That's all wonderful Konoka-san, it really is. But it doesn't help to prove Kobe's innocence." Leafa smiled gently.
"I know. I wish that I'd paid more attention to the business." She smiled wanly. "I . . . admit I'm not proud of the work Kobe does. If I hadn't been so ashamed, maybe I would know enough to help him now. But I'm nothing like Kobe. He'll do any job and take enough pride in it for the both of us. He comes home dead tired every day, collapses into bed, and sleeps so soundly." She started to laugh. "He even started giving the Dinomoeba's nicknames. I think he likes them even better than Osaka and . . . well . . . I guess they're kind of cute."
"So Kobe's the one who named them." Leafa mused. "I saw one of the log books today and the names weren't always used."
"Oh, that's probably just Edo being Edo." The Cait girl's sweetness turned sour as her thought turned from Kobe to his brother. "Honestly I don't even think he can tell the poor things apart."
"Can you?" Leafa asked.
"A little." She sounded embarassed admitting it. "I know it's caused arguments between the three. Edo uses the numbers and keeps them organized in their stables to tell them apart. But Osaka and Kobe can tell them at a glance. The confusion has meant trouble a few times."
"Trouble like a slug passing in the middle of the city?"
"That only happened once! In the middle of the night!" Konoka said wide eyed. "And you didn't hear it from me!"
"But I'm afraid that's all I really know. Just the things Kobe says to blow off steam at night. It's not much for evidence, I know."
"Actually, this could be useful." Leafa nodded.
"What? Really?! You're not just saying that right?"
She didn't want to get Konoka's hopes up so she just said, carefully, "It opens a possibility. But just a possibility." And she wasn't really sure what it meant just yet.
"I understand." Konoka smiled, the faint facial markings of her heart shaped face giving her the impression of a contented tabby. "Either way, thank you, for listening.
Leafa had offered the girl an escort back home but she'd said she'd wanted to wait a while and finish her tea. Instead, Leafa set off on a walk.
What she really wanted was to fly, to be high up in the air with just her own thoughts, and the wind, and the world, at least her little piece of the world, spreading out beneath her. When she saw it from high up above the floating isles, close to the barrier around Yggdrasil's crest, when nearly the whole city could fit in the palms of her hands, she felt almost like there was a clarity of distance. But now, with a rather mangie Sionach stocking after her, she had to do her thinking closer to the ground.
"Well?" Brenhen asked. "What do you think?"
"I think that there's a possibility, but I don't know what it means . . . And also that I told you to pick one. Boy or girl." At some point he'd changed again to his Salamander guise while nobody was looking. She didnt' really mind either, but she thought he changed so much specifically because he knew it was confusing.
"I just thought a feminine touch would be more appropriate." The Sionach supplied. "Imagine if I'd said some of those things as a man."
"You would have been slapped." The Sylph agreed. "Again." But he wasn't wrong. "You have a good a grasp for people Brenhen."
"Thank you!" Brenhen smiled. "I have had little to pass the time but watching and listening to people. I find everyone, especially the strangelings, to be most amusing. Almost as amusing as imitating them."
"Strangelings?"
"Ah yes. The funny ones who are not Fae or Sidhe. The ones with and without magic." He explained. "Like Siesta."
"You know that they're people, right?" Leafa sighed.
"Of course they're people. That's why they are interesting!"
"I mean they're people, they don't just exist for your entertainment, Brenhen. You can't treat them like toys." She turned and stared at him sharply.
The Sionach looked startled, tilting his head. "Have I offended in some way?"
"You still haven't apologized to Siesta-san."
"Apologized?"
"For hitting her. And for taking her things. You know that the wallet you stole had her life savings in it right?" She shook her head. "Of course you wouldn't know, the only thing you care about is Flatha. Why did you even keep the things you stole if you didn't have any use for them?"
"I suppose because." He tilted his head and shrugged. "It would have been more difficult to put them back."
"But you could have." Leafa accused.
"Even now." Brenhen agreed. "I remember where each is and where each must go."
"Then why?" He seemed confused. "Why don't you put them back. You've hurt those people." Sometimes in little ways and some times in big ones.
"It is because I am not tamed . . ."
"But I tamed you, didn't I?!" Suguha realized she'd raised her voice, but nobody was around to hear. She glared at Brenhen as if it were his fault. He was so . . . Infuriating!
"I am tamed by you." The Sionach agreed. "I have a bond with you. There is no such bond between me and other people."
"But there is!" Leafa snapped watching Brenhen look confused. "It's simple. You're connected to me. And I'm connected to everyone in this city. Maybe not directly, but through the people I know. Through Agil, and GiNo, and Kuwata, and Lady Sakuya. The people I've tamed and who have tamed me. You're connected to them through me Brenhen. You've hurt me by hurting them. Or do you think hurting Siesta doesn't hurt me?"
She felt angry for even explaining this. "You know, for a while I thought you reminded me of someone. But now I realize the two of your are nothing alike. And I'm glad. He might be a huge idiot, but he treats strangers like people even when they haven't done something for him."
Suguha realized that Brenhen had grown quiet and withdrawn. There was no mischief in his eyes, he seemed entirely to be looking inward. She wondered what he saw.
"I'm . . . sorry." She shook her head. "You have hurt a lot of people though. So I wish you'd hurry and make it right like you promised."
"I see." Was all Brenhen said and then, very quielty as they continued, Suguha swore she heard, "I had not thought of it that way before. I see."
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Humm... I definitely think Kobe is innocent and the reason he got caught is because there was a mix-up with the name vs number of the slugs and he took the wrong on by mistake and went in town.
It sweet how Kobe becoming a father changed him. His bout of anger are worrying and he should learn how to focus it into something constructive instead.
And I love how Leafa is slowly turning into a good detective or perhaps we should say a good cop.
And the sensitive ear thing was cute.
It sweet how Kobe becoming a father changed him. His bout of anger are worrying and he should learn how to focus it into something constructive instead.
And I love how Leafa is slowly turning into a good detective or perhaps we should say a good cop.
And the sensitive ear thing was cute.
Triggerhappy
Stick with Trigger and You'll Make it Through
- Location
- SoCal
Leafa tells Brenhen off for how he treats others :
"Brenhen will remember that"
Leafa : "Why do I feel like a cockatoo?"
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- Location
- Somewhere amongst the stars...
Actually, it's the opposite. Edo messed up and thought the number for the Dinomoeba was another one other than the one Kobe was riding. The Dinomoeba needs to pass the goods somewhere no one can see them, like the sanitation facility for the smuggling plan to work. The smugglers need to wait for the goods to pass before they can move them, so the Dinomoeba needs to be stabled until this happens.
This left Osaka and Loch little time to coordinate their stories and prepare for the Watch investigation. Kobe's framing would be an unfortunate mishap, but given how the other two brothers treated him, I have to wonder if he would have been set up anyways given that the Watch had captured Kurotsune and any further thefts would not be his fault.
Triggerhappy
Stick with Trigger and You'll Make it Through
- Location
- SoCal
You're 25% correct.
Edit : How I calculate that metric will remain a complete mystery.
- Location
- Somewhere amongst the stars...
Lies. How you calculate the metric will be revealed when the mystery is resolved!
Still, I didn't think I was that far off unless I mixed up some of the who's and how's in this.
Icipall
Don't worry, we can fanfix that!
- Location
- Cold snow fields of Finland
Very nifty ting for a spy, thief or an assassin.
Well, they're being interrogated by people who to them are nobles about their bosses who too are nobles to them.
Basically, keep your ears and eyes out of your noble lords' business.
Leafa is really getting good at her job.
That is the contradiction.
Brenhen, you deserved that.
One hell of a way to start your new game. Now a wonder she wanted to latch into someone who knew the game better.
Missing a space.
Family is important, especially the next generation.
Sounds like someone get their dinomoebas mixed, which led to this situation. And FTFY.
You tell him, Leafa.
Brenhen, and other former sapient mobs, still hava lot to learn about what it means to be part of a larger world and what it means to be alive.
Triggerhappy
Stick with Trigger and You'll Make it Through
- Location
- SoCal
He literally did. Agil even said as much. He works his ass off even harder whenever Edo pisses him off. At worst, he goes to a bar after work to blow off steam. But even then he's not drinking to excess.
It has to do with his relationship withh is brothers. Edo and Osaka, Osaka especially, meant well but fucked up in the past and it screwed with Kobe's head really, really badly.
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- Location
- Somewhere amongst the stars...
Ok, now I see where I am wrong in my guesses as to the plot. Looking forward to the reveal!
Triggerhappy
Stick with Trigger and You'll Make it Through
- Location
- SoCal
The Second Sight is lifted pretty much whole cloth from Terry Pratchett. HalkO Suguha would make a good witch . . .
If ever wonder why that whole 'completely ignores the servants' trope works for most nobles. It's because most of their servants don't know and don't want to know.
Almost reminds you of another idiot who thought it was would be cute to stick a girl's hand in his mouth, don't it?
Leafa : "My nieces and nephews are all miracles."
Kirito : "Because life is a miracle?"
Leafa : "Because you somehow managed not to scare Asuna off before she fell in love with you."
All she wanted was pet the cute fantasy animals.
And like I said before, it's a collective psychological anchor for a lot of the Fae.
This arose from coments about it being really fucked up for the intelligent mobs to be more or less 'programmed' into certain behaviors. The best way to describe what I'm going for here is that the intelligent mobs start with their scripts but then begin to veer as they start to experience and learn for themselves.
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- Location
- Queensland, Australia
Really interested in finding out just what the problems were. Because if I had to guess, it's somehow connected to family legacy.
I do love how Kobe was just so thrilled at having a child, and willing to make up with his brothers to ensure that child would have a better life. It indicates that he'd be a good dad I think.
I do love how Kobe was just so thrilled at having a child, and willing to make up with his brothers to ensure that child would have a better life. It indicates that he'd be a good dad I think.
Anzer'ke
Anarchism Ho!
All she wanted was pet the cute fantasy animals.
She can still do that part. Even better really.
Of course she will want to be a bit more careful about it now...
- Location
- Outrealms
Ahem. The mistake is entirely Edo's. He took out the wrong dinomoeba for the pickup and Kobe was actually out on his scheduled mount. Osaka may or may not be in on the smuggling, I'm up in the air (no pun intended) on if he started the business as a front or if he started it as a necessity and Edo saw an opportunity. Meaning Loch could be either partner to both or just Edo.Lies. How you calculate the metric will be revealed when the mystery is resolved!
Still, I didn't think I was that far off unless I mixed up some of the who's and how's in this.
Edit; a later post makes me pretty sure Osaka knows nothing.
And so begins Leafa's journey to become Sylph Roy Mustang and Lady of Sylvaine.
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