Gavotte Tenuto
Water manipulation
Location: Forest
Tags: Jen, everyone
Touched by the normally-abrasive firebender's concern, Gavotte looked away as a blush painted his cheeks. Jen rarely expressed such tenderness around others, so these words were like diamonds.
"Ah, thank you..." He murmured, smiling as he gazed up again and met her eyes.
"I'm glad you came with us this mission. It makes me feel safer to have you here."Especially with the son of the tyrant emperor around, Gavotte thought but didn't say. He was reluctant to cast his vote, but it seemed everyone else was okay with the blindfold being removed. Even Jen, the wary archer, voted in favor. Gavotte's reluctantly raised hand soon joined hers. If the rest of the squad was confident in their choice, he would rather trust them than start dissent when he wasn't firm in his own opinions anyway.
Atlanta Hunter
Phoenix Squad Commander
Location: Forest
Tags: Everyone
The vote was almost unanimous, with the choice to remove Alastair's blindfold winning by a landslide. The commander was pleased they were able to decide without descending into more arguments.
"Thank you all - it's decided then. The blindfold comes off," Atlanta said, undoing the gauze tied around the Prince's eyes. She turned to the acrobat who had interjected with a few remarks.
"Very good points, Onyx. This could be helpful for everyone."Their resident werewolf seemed nervous about something. Atlanta herself was a little dense, but she made eye contact with Arys to show she'd heard her. The commander hadn't picked up on anything amiss yet, so she concentrated, tuning her eyes and ears to the unfamiliar forest sounds. What had the werewolf noticed?
Alastair Brungard
Prince of Delra
Location: Edge of Forest
Tags: Phoenix Squad
A smile danced upon the Prince's face as one rebel affixed him a creative nickname. What a quaint and clever sense of humor. Soon, the revolutionaries' commander unfastened the blindfold around Alastair's head. The Prince sent an affable smile in the nicknamer's direction before addressing all their peers.
"Thank you. You shall not regret this choice," Alastair told them, his expression earnest and determined. Green fire flickered in eyes that turned in the werewolf lass's direction.
"I advise you trust Lady Arys' judgement - I too suspect danger at hand. Perhaps you should arm yourselves in preparation."Alastair continued onwards by the commander's side as they travelled the final stretch of the woods. A growing suspicion began to form as the trees thinned, as shrubbery became more scarce, as the sound of faraway trains roared in the distance. They were nearing the edge of the forest now, and what the Prince saw confirmed his intuition. A legion of perhaps twenty Royal Guards, armed with various blades and led by a certain knave.
The Prince exhaled an exasperated sigh. Out of all the ignoble, malodorous tramps that had to jeopardize a potential alliance, of course they encountered Captain Wayne and his undignified crowd of felons. Barbaric despots, the lot of them, representing nothing the Royal Guard stood for by principle.
"This ambush was meant for me," Alastair told the rebels with a disappointed shake of his head. His voice was low, not yet audible by the waiting forces.
"I will speak to them. In the meantime, I ask you arm yourselves if you have not done so already. Ah, and I will not fault you for pointing an arrow at me to discourage my escape." That was a 'friendly' suggestion to reassure the rebels. With this many archers on the team, it was quite foolish for Alastair to run.
Leaving them with those ominous words, the Prince turned and walked forth to face his father's brigade. He was well aware he would not be greeted with open arms by these uncouth heathens.
Ardai Fairchild
Shadow puppets
Location: Streets of Oneta
Tags: Team Omega
Caleb tuned out of the conversation, then returned with a report on their teammates. Sounded like they were unharmed and getting along just peachy. At the summoner's next words, however, Ardai's beaming expression turned thoughtful. Planning was always the difficult part, especially for a dumbass with the brains of a juvenile monkey.
"Uhh... I could use my shadow puppets for the graffiti. Pose them like flat pictures on the wall without actually hurting anything."His shadows would disappear the moment Royal Guards shone their flashlights. However, they could use this to their advantage...
"What if I made a giant shadow-spider for our 'graffiti'? Caleb could summon a real spider, make it look like the little guy caused the shadow. Roy will look so stupid!"They were drawing close to the train station now. The grand, pearly building in the distance was unmistakable. Seeing all this beautiful architecture made Ardai feel guilty about the idea of wrecking it, so fake shadow graffiti might be best for their consciences.
Sycamore Jin
Phoenix
Location: Headquarters
Tags: Aida and Kevin
Back at Headquarters, fresh scars marked the foreheads of three newly-fledged rebels. Now, the trio had time to make preparations before joining the Phoenix Squad.
One feathered friend, in particular, had to take drastic measures to even appear human...After a grueling session of clipping and shaving, Sycamore finally entered the common room to meet her friends. She was wearing a t-shirt that fit normal human arms, now that her wing feathers were cut and plucked away. Her eyebrow crests and peacock-like tail had been trimmed down in a similar manner. The color of her shaved-down eyebrows was still off, though.. white and gold stubble didn't exactly scream 'human". Perhaps Aida could help her later.
"Hey... How do I look?" Sycamore asked a little awkwardly. She slid into one of the raggedy couches, a smile lighting up her gentle features.
"I can't wait to join the squad. I've read so many books about the districts, but I don't think that compares to the real thing."