Plans and Past Fights

It is hard to find a boat that takes you exactly where you want to go, these days. Thus, they had to make a stop over at Carmina Gadelica Marina on the way to Ninetails to investigate the strange occurances there. Cyrus had excused himself for a while to do... something or other. Mikage rarely questions anything that the others do, it doesn't seem like her place.

Instead, she is sitting in the tavern, which is relatively quiet, all things considered. It isn't evening, and most people are out working or traveling. She sits at one of the tables, lightly moving a strange object in her hand. It looks to be metal, but it has a strange, pulsating glow within it that radiates blue.

She yawns, reaches down with one hand and scratches Rama on the head, then sips some tea. There's a tired quality to her eyes, perhaps just because of the long journey and the longer one that is to come.

Cyrus had a bit of a rough trip going over to Ezzo. He got paid, but... he's not really sure he /deserved/ getting paid for what little work he ended up being succesful at. Luckily, he was surrounded by Adventurers with a bit more luck than him. When he steps into the Tavern, he's looking like... something the cat dragged in.

His hair's more messy than usual, and his tail is a bit on the droopy side. He's no longer wet, but it's not as if there's just shampoo laying around to clean his fur-parts with. His clothing is also dry, but it looks all wrinkled. The youth makes his way over, pulling that small cart in, and puts it down next to the table as he sits down looking exhausted.

There's an exasperbated sound as he kind of lays his upper body on the table while sitting, arms out on the table towards Mikage. "Today suuuuucked." He tells Mikage.

Rama is the first one to notice Cyrus. The feline rushes forward, racing around his legs and nuzzling his head and back up against the Cait Sith. It isn't until he speaks that Mikage looks up, blinking as if she were coming around from her own internal thoughts. The Were Fang lightly moves her fingers through the air, stowing the strange stone back into her inventory.

"Do I even want to ask what happened?" Mikage tilts her head, looking at him quizzically. "You look like someone tossed you into the wash and then left you out to drip dry." Which wouldn't be all that far from the truth of the matter.

She reaches out a hand, laying warm fingers over one of his. A moment later, a rush of warm air washes over him, as if she were trying to help his wrinkled, disheveled look by giving him a blow dry using her magic. The touch doesn't linger long, though, her hand drawing back away again.

"Want to talk about it?"

Cyrus lazily droops one arm to the side of the chair he's seated on and rubs his hand along Rama's head. "Good... Rama." He mumbles, groaning for a bit, before sitting back up. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just back from a Hunter's Guild quest to help more Ezzo People out of the Ezzo region. Things just didn't go my way." The youth smiles a little at the momentary warm touch between the two of them. He doesn't turn his hand, but at least he moves his thumb up to touch the side of her fingers.

"I'll be fine after a shower..." Pause. "Well, a bath I suppose." He then looks at the table for a moment, creasing his brow. "Wasn't there something else out on the table a moment ago." He quickly looks around for anyone trying to sneak away with potential goods.

    Throughout it all, Sassaral will have been a rather faithful travelling companion, if not //quite// behind-the-scenes. She's just one of those steadfast sorts who doesn't rock the boat often, opting instead to support quietly and sweetly in those 'down' times. During the tourneys she will have cheered herself raw (lots of hot tea was had for THAT repercussion) and honestly? That was //that//. As the party alighted upon different locations, even when she deigned to wander, Sassaral always returned to her friends when the 'day' was done. (She takes Support Roles //seriously//!)

    That backstory aside, Sassy wanders into the tavern with intent to get her mitts onto something //warm// to drink. Maybe some manner of mulled cider?! Even if the taste doesn't quite approach 'cider' it's still comforting. Of course on her arrival, Sassy will spy Cyrus, Mikage and Rama... with one of that trio looking quite drawn-out. Brow knitting with concern and one cocked ear twitching, Sassaral makes toward their table. "Is something the matter?" The little wolf asks with earnest worry. She looks sweet, radiant and colorful as always.

"Ahh, that would explain it." Mikage replies, a soft laugh on her lips. "I did that quest with Xander a while ago. I'm surprised none of the boats have been wrecked by that Leviathan, yet." At least, not any that she knows of.

Sassral's comment of concern has her smiling though, "Just tired. It's been a long journey and I've never been that comfortable at sea." It's true enough. The various attempts to help Ezzo had been some of her first sea voyages, and the Were Fang always seemed a little uneasy on her feet after they arrived at port.

Of course, Cyrus has to be keen-eyed, and Miki shrugs, "Something strange that I got from the tournament. I can't really make any sense of what it is." She seems uncertain, then, "I think it might be able to be used for making something, maybe a weapon or armor, but I haven't a clue." Since he went and asked, she does flick her fingers in the air and return the glowing stone to the table.

"I think the Fourland Dukedom is remarkably good at building ships to last, and to get repaired." Cyrus admits. "That wave - I thought it would just crush the entire ship. But it held up just fine." Cyrus admits, He ruffles his own hair for a bit with his other hand, only to quiet a bit as Sassaral joins them.

"Hey Sass." The youth notes warmly, "Join us." He offers, motioning to a seat. "Just a rough day is all." He explains, before looking back to Mikage. "Yeah... travel is rough in this world. I'm starting to get used to it a bit, but I miss modern day comfort."

He then motions for his inventory, and pulls out his own gift, placing down a baggie. "I got Wyvern pieces." He remarks to her. "Scales... bones..." He prods the bag. The youth then offers out his hand. "Want me to Appraise it?" He asks her while looking at the glowing stone - which is getting her some looks from some of the Landers present.

"By the way... I never expected you to get all the way to second place. I mean - not to say I don't think you are an awesome combattant - but man... second place. I thought you were a /bit/ more newbie than that."

A pause. "What I mean to say is - how'd you get that good?"

    The crazy-full brush of the Cait Sith's tail sways ponderously, kept low so as to not bump against tables to anyone too close. One ear flicks as she listens to the pair as they answer her query, while another pivots gently toward something going on in another part of the tavern. She does not move to sit unless bid to, as it is not in her nature to intrude upon something potentially personal. "I won't linger too long.. I need some fortification before I go out to plump up my inventory." Sassy's own warm smile beams right on back to the pair. But her golden gaze softens, "I'm really sorry it's been a rough day.. is there anything I can do to help?" She asks... this is a common question on her part. Sassaral hates seeing others having a tough time. However Cyrus, up close, looks //tired//.

    She turns to Miki next, reddish-brown hair swaying in the motion, "The sea isn't for everyone. I am always a bit mystified by the vastness... but I don't get to look at it long because I was always one to get seasick easily..." Her tail slows as she seats herself, setting her satchel down. She silences to observe the examination of spoils, looking intrigued and more than a little proud of both Werefang and fellow Cait Sith.

"Sturdy boats are a good thing." Mikage agrees with a nod of her head, "But I have to wonder if the Leviathan is there more as deterrant than an actual threat. I've yet to see it actually attack a ship. Maybe they are there to keep us contained here." She shrugs, uncertain if that's the case or not.

Offering a smile to Sassaral, Miki adds, "You don't have to rush off, you know we're fond of your company."

Cyrus' offer to examine the rock is met with a slight motion of her fingers towards it, "By all means. I'm not really certain what it even /is/ to be honest." She does, however, flush a bit when he makes the commentary on her performance in the tournament.

"Yeah, about that..." She lifts her blue eyes back towards him, "I probably should have warned you that I'm not new to tournaments. Tournaments in Elder Tale yes, but..." The Were Fang clears her throat, "I competed in tournaments for Angelic Layer." She hesitates, then adds, "At the national level." This last part sounds as if it is something she rarely tells anyone.

"I'd take a good snack." He answers Sassaral at the offer of anything she could do to help. It'd be all too easy to refuse the offer, but he's just not that kind of person. And Cyrus is pretty food driven at times... even though his waistline does not CHONK, MIKAGE. His ears lazily shift between Mikage and Sassy's location with the tiniest twitches as he listens to them.

"Hmm? The Leviathans? Yeah, I suppose they don't really attack small lines of people to begin with. I suppose it makes sense if they are a deterrant... but a deterrant from /what/?" He asks her, giving a bit of a confused and wry look. "Stupid giant way too high level enemies. Guess they're 'World Raid Content'." He motions his fingers as he says this.

He then takes the rock and takes a little monocle from his jacket, and starts looking closer - activating his Appraisal skill. "Huh... neat. It's Elemental Machine parts." He tells her. "Pretty high level stuff. You can either make it super sturdy, like a sword or armor, or make it do elemental things." He explains, before leaning back up. "That statue they erected in Alne was made from Elemental Machine parts. It's why it keeps looking all shiny and glowy."

The youth then leans back in his seat as she explains the whole tournament matter... and laughs. Bemused, more than anything. "I remember us talking about Angelic Layer when we barely even met." He remarks to her. "I guess that makes sense then. I was thinking you looked a bit familiar. There was a white haired girl who made it to Nationals, wasn't there? I didn't think you'd have gone Bodyscan mode." He suggests to her. "Man... that was a good tournament. Made me wish I'd gotten into the hobby when it was just getting popular."

"Sassy, it seems we're actually with someone a little bit famous." He explains to the wolfie girl.

    The wolf girl gives a quick shiver at mention of the Leviathan and what could come-to-pass, should it decide to cozy up with a ship. Sassaral switches over to Better Thoughts and once again, that warmth in her expression beams upon her friends. "Absolutely, we are." Sassaral agrees with Cyrus's 'famous' remark, her golden eyes flitting over to observe Miki for a moment. "Utterly brilliant. I thought my voice never would've returned by the time everything was said and done." Sassy admits, smoothing down her periwinkle-colored skirts and cocking an ear. She doesn't seem bothered in the //least// to be in the 'cheering squad' because honestly, that is what Sassy just loves to do. She knows she is //not// a fighter, despite the lupine beast that her form is modeled after.

    "Snacks? Snacks.. okay, //that// I can do. I'm going to get some hot ciders, too! Would anyone like any?" Sassaral looks between her friend, and down at Rama. "I have some raw ingredients in my bag.. maybe they'll let me borrow their hearth here for a bit to throw something together..." Yes, where meals are concerned Sassy is brazen enough to ask tavern staff to use their hearth! She smiles sweetly and pushes to stand, going to do //just// that. Something in those big earnest eyes and her manner grants Sassy entry.

    Eventually, some manner of freshly-made 'apple crumble' will come to Miki and Cyrus's table once Sassaral is through, of course made with the wee wolf's love.

"I don't know. Wasn't there rumors that the expansion would allow travel to the other servers? I've heard of games making invisible walls by putting monsters you can't beat in certain places." It isn't exactly a pleasant way of handling barriers in an MMORPG, but there were other games that utilized it. She shrugs then, not seeming to really be all that sure about it.

"What's... an Elemental Machine?" For all her knowledge about the game, there is still a lot that Mikage doesn't know. "Hmm. I mean, maybe I could use it to upgrade my sword. I'm sure Miho would have a field day trying to design something around it." She looks a little confused at the mention of a statue in Alne, perhaps because she hasn't had the chance to get back there, as of yet.

As Sassaral scurries off with ideas for snacks, she looks across at Cyrus, "We take too much advantage of her cooking, you know that, right?" They really should do something nice for her at some point, in return.

Then, Cyrus starts talking about his own memories of Angelic Layer. When he mentions having seen a white-haired girl at nationals, Miki just shakes her head, "Not me, I'm afraid." She admits, reaching back to rub at her neck, just over where the Were Fang tattoo is. "I tried to make sure not to be seen, if I could help it. Only during introductions, really. And... I don't have white hair in the real world."

She hesitates then, "My angel does, but not me." Miki laughs at the idea that she is 'a little bit famous'. "Yeah, famous for being good at a game for little girls."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. But then... I suppose we could get a ship out. But it'd need to be darned sturdy. And we don't really know what direction to travel to find land." Cyrus offers. "Though if it's anything like this world, we'd find... what, Korea?" Pause. "Sure hope you don't land on the wrong side of that place."

The youth then proceeds to explain Elemental Machines, "Raid bosses, basically. These enormous things that protect various old caves and workshops. There's usually good loot over there. But beating them is really hard. A big team must have worked together to get that." He motions at the rock.

He then suddenly watches Sassaral scurry off, and glances back aside to Mikage. "Yeah, we really should get her something. But her cooking is too on key. And she's such a sweetheart." He notes. "She shouted her voice hoarse during your final battle." He can't help but smile a bit at that.

A smile that disappears slightly when he mistakes the bodyscan comment. "Ah, no white hair huh? That's alright." He chuckles. "Still think it looks good on you though." He adds, before quieting at the comment on white haired angels. She can see the wheels turning, but the hamster is having a tough time. He's tired.

"Hey, that game took skill. It's basically martial arts... but with your mind." He motions his hand wide. "I thought it was awesome. But then, being the boy I am, I think it'd been awesome if they'd made a Mecha variant too. It'd be neat to see Gundam or Getter Robo on that field, you know?" Showing he does have a young spirit in there after all.

"Can't say that's a place I'd ever hoped to visit, though I've always wondered a little about what it's like to play in the Land of Dragons." Though not as restrictive as Korea, the Chinese servers had a lot of information that just wasn't known behind the great firewall. "Though I'd be more fascinated by FM World, or Dark Water..."

That idea trails off when he starts to explain about Elemental Machines. There is fascination in her expression, "Huh... I wonder how they got a hold of them? I wasn't aware that Scale Emblem was strong enough to fight raid bosses like that, yet. Unless there were some left over as artifacts that were given to them by Landers or something..."

There is a shy sort of look that follows as Mikage realizes just how much their friend had cheered her on. "I'm sorry I couldn't win. Yuuki lives up to her reputation. I fought as hard as I could manage but... it wasn't enough."

That hint of color remains on her cheeks when he compliments her hair, but she looks away, trying not to focus on him too much. "I look pretty ordinary in the real world, at least I think so. A little thin, and kind of plain, but nothing that makes me stand out. Which is probably good. I never wanted people to connect me as a person, to me as a Deus."

For someone who had physical disabilities, that might be understandable. "I knew some people who were working on designing their Angel to look like a mech. Most of them were more into modeling than fighting, but you could. People had all sorts of Angels."

"There's some lower level Elemental Machines that served as introduction bosses. But - it could also have been the Lander Heroes. They're rediculously strong." Cyrus explains to Mikage, motioning his hand. "And yeah - honestly, I would love to see the FM World. I think I could look really nice with a Gun and a Longcoat. It's the American server, it's gotta have Guns. Maybe a hat too." He taps his hand on the hat she gave him.

"And yeah - Yuuki is crazy strong. Those sword moves, I could barely follow them honestly." He continues to remark, as he glances at her hair with a smile. He liked seeing that cute shy look on her face. "Pfft, I've got black hair, a slightly darker complexion than typical Tokyo folk, and... somewhat athletic? Not much to really say there - but I look quite ordinary myself. I look good in a business suit though!" He points out.

The youth then nods at her mentioning the modeling and designing angels to look like mechs. "Yeah, I suppose I did see some models out there. But I largely watched it on TV. I never had time to stop by a Piffle Princess."

"I'm sure you could ask Gwen to craft you a long-coat. It shouldn't be that hard." Mikage starts to scroll through her inventory, "Hell, I might even have enough leather for it." She stops mid-scroll, though. "You want to be a cat-boy cowboy, huh?" She teases lightly.

She shifts, letting her hands drop back to the table, wrapping them slightly around herself. "When you start Angelic Layer, you can choose the name you compete under. So I never fought under my real name. When I qualified for nationals the first time, I asked if they would help arrange things so that my physical issues weren't obvious to those watching." She admits quietly, "Apparently, I wasn't the only one they arranged that sort of thing, for."

While she had learned to be in the spotlight, it wasn't a place that Mikage was comfortable. She certainly didn't want people judging her fighting skill on the Layer based on her real world issues. "It's hard to imagine you in a suit, going off to work as a salaryman."

Cyrus laughs bemusedly. "Gwen huh?" He thinks he remembers her. "I just figured it'd be fun to stroll around like that. I don't think it's my permanent Aesthetic. But it's one of the freedoms we have in this world. We can reinvent our look whenever we want." He explains to Mikage.

He then nods his head as she mentions chosing the name to compete under. "That makes sense. People don't usually use their real name for this place either." He motions at their reality. Their situation. "It's nice that they managed to arrange things for that." He pauses for just a flash before he goes, "Oh yeah - the top player is like that too, right? I remember reading an article about it. It's easy to forget when you see people compete on the Layer." He explains.

The youth then raises his both hands and tugs on his current long-coat like suit. It's not a duster, but it's got its own style. "Not a salary man. Not that kind of suit. A nice overshirt, black pants. Just enough that it doesn't get in the way when you wear a labcoat. The bulky salary-man business suits are too big to wear under a labcoat, so I never bothered with those."

"Yeah, but don't be surprised if she wants to give you a whole new aesthetic that you may or may not be fond of." Mikage chuckles to herself. "The woman is a design fanatic. I haven't really worked with her much, but she's got that shop in Alne. Chainmail Bikini + 1." As a ranger, fashion is usually considered secondary to basic, utilitarian clothing and armor.

"Mmhmm." The sound confirms his words. "Athena. I fought her once. She kicked my ass. So hard." The laughter returns to her voice. It's obvious that the woman from that article is not the one sitting before him. "They kept that a secret for years. Honestly, I think my boss' work with her was likely why they recruited me. The more people with high level layer skills and physical issues, the better the chance of developing new technology as a work-around."

Her blue eyes look across towards him, as if she were still trying to picture it. It is likely hard, because the cait sith doesn't actually /look/ like he does in the real world. "Well, I'm sure you're just as dashing as a plain, ordinary human. Just... probably a bit less fluffy."

"Chainmail... Bikini.... Plus One." He gives Mikage that /look/ of 'are you kidding me right now?'. "Maaaybe I'll hold off on contacting her. I am not sure I am comfortable with someone deciding my fashion for me. I've grown out of that phase a bit." There's a bit to his tone that suggests there's something to his words. No doubt Mikage could rather easily guess at the situation there. He'd talked about that part of his past with her.

"As for Athena - that's right - that was her name - yeah. She's crazy strong. Super quick and with those powerful kicks." He nods. He doesn't know the fighting move names for what happened on that layer, but he remembers Athena being overwhelming of a presence.

He then snickers at her remarking about him being dashing. "Well, I'm not bad looking. But definitely less fluffy. I have to maintain shorter hair - what with working in a lab and all."

"Well... It's no more strange than Hifumi and his Isekai Ryokan?" Mikage explains, raising her brows. "You're giving a bunch of nerds the chance to name shops and stores and inns with whatever crazy names come to mind."

She can certainly understand why someone might not want to be used as a dress-up doll by someone else. "Well, you are wearing a silly hat that I made for you." She admits, reaching out to poke at one of the feline-like ears she'd sewn into it. "But I don't really care what you wear. But if you want a longcoat, I can always commission one for you? That way you don't have to worry that she'll come up with something else more... eccentric."

Reaching up, she runs a hand through her white hair. "I think mine's a little longer than this in the real world, but I keep it pretty short. It's... easier." It would be hard to maintain long hair with the sort of muscular issues she'd described.

"So..." Seeming to want to deflect conversation away from herself, she offers, "Plans are to investigate the undead infestation in Ninetails, then head on to Eastal, right?"

"I suppose it's not." Cyrus chuckles, "I guess nerds are going to nerd." He doesn't seem to mind, but it's still one of those 'are you kidding me' kind of things.

"And I like the hat you made for me." He adds to that, plucking his fingers at the feline-like ears that are sewn into it. "Think you could design a longcoat though? I mean, you've seen my combat style up close and personal now. These D-Rings are not just for show." He motions at the various pieces of metal on his garb.

He then puts his hand to the table again as she talks about her hair. "I mean, I imagine all of our hair is longer than that in the real world now." He points out. Assuming there's still a real world. It's still up in the air. "Short hair is just so much easier to maintain than... this mess." He motions at that mane he's got.

"Hmm? Ah, yes. Check out the Undead thing, then head to Eastal. I think with Eastal down, we'll have seen all the islands. I want to check out both Shibuya and Fort Ouph."

Mikage shakes her head, raising her hands up slightly, "I'm not a tailor, Cyrus. I made the hat because..." She hesitates then, and that flush returns to her cheeks. "Because you're my friend, and I don't have many of those. It seemed like the right thing to do." She explains, seeming a little frustrated with her own embarrassment. "But I have no idea how to make real clothes."

She seems uncertain, "I mean, I could suggest things, maybe, but someone who actually knows what they are doing would have to actually take care of the design aspects of it." She shakes her head, trying to dismiss the idea of working on something like that. It seems way behind her skill.

Latching on to the comment about hair, she looks away then, grabbing the strange stone and sending it back into her inventory, "For all we know, they might have given us all buzz cuts. Would make it a heck of a lot easier to maintain." It's a thought.

Still looking away, she adds, "We haven't been to Fourland, yet. So far, I've been trying to follow the hourglasses, making sure we're there to defend the Landers." It takes a minute for the color to get under control again, "I think Eastal might be the next place that the Calamity hits, so we may end up there sooner rather than later, either way."

The youth smiles at that sweet blush on Mikage's face. "And I appreciate the hat. It was made with a lot of love." He taps the thing. Cyrus tilts his head a bit to the side while looking at her, considering her as she explains that she has no idea how to make real clothes.

"Yeah, I don't know anything when it comes to making clothing either, really. This is all I know." He takes out a potion and lazily flicks the slim flask across the table towards her. It's a healing potion. "Can't even make them taste good." He adds to that.

The young man then looks to the strange stone as it dutifully disappears into her inventory. "Buzz cut huh? I don't think I'd look good with a buzzcut." He mumbles. "But easier to maintain, I suppose."

His gaze goes back up. "Think that Eastal is next huh? I mean, I suppose we'll get over there in time regardless. The timers seem to be consistently seven days so far."

"You're welcome." Is all Mikage says in regards to the hat. She does /not/ need another fit of blushing right now, so she looks out into the inn rather than at Cyrus in that moment, though her hand does reach up to fiddle with her earrings, as if it were a nervous gesture.

"There has to be some way for us to develop new skills in the game. I mean... we level up, right?" She offers, "So it only makes sense that we should be able to not only progress the skills we have, but invest into other skills, too." Her brows furrow as she finally does look back at him.

"So far..." Miki repeats his words, but there is a tone there that suggests she isn't so sure it will stay that way. "But let's check out the undead problem in Ninetails first, see what we can find. If Scale Emblem does another floor, we can always... ugh... get on another boat." It seems that the Were Fang would like to /not/ have to suffer through sea-sickness for a while, though.

"Hrrm, there used to be these hidden quests throughout the land that could given you further skills. I'm not sure if they still exist." Cyrus offers to her, while glancing up at her fiddling with her earrings. "What are you looking to invest in?" He then asks. "Are you looking to take up cooking as well, or are you more looking towards something like... say - Hunting."

The youth leans on the tail, his tail lazily swaying beneath him, ears perked - his attention fully on her. "Hmm?" He tilts his head. "Ah, yeah, so far on the whole seven days thing huh? We'll see what happens. But you're right, the Undead thing is important. For all we know, Zombies can now infect people. Didn't used to - but when there's that big of an undead horde..." He grimaces.

"By the way, if you want, I could get you something for your sea-sickness. I can probably cook something up. I didn't realize it was this bad until recently."

"I don't really know." Mikage replies, looking a bit uncertain, "But maybe you could look for the ability to make your potions not taste like death." She chuckles softly, then shrugs her shoulders. "I already have ranks in hunting, but sometimes I feel like all I do for our group is just kill things."

"I don't remember running into undead all that often with my old guild. Probably because they weren't very common on the surface." Usually, they were in ruins, old tombs, or other hidden, out of the way places. The fact that groups are so brazenly attacking, out in the open, seems quite suspect.

It seems that Miki hadn't really thought of asking for something that would help with the sea-sickness, "If you think you could?" She hesitates, "I don't know why it bothers me so much. Maybe because I've got a strong affinity for water and I can just... feel it everywhere."

"Well, if you figure out what you might want to do - other than being really awesome at killing things and hunting prey - let me know. I can reach out to some of my old contacts and maybe figure something out." He offers to Mikage, continueing to lean forward on the table. Sassaral having brought them food, he eventually starts to dig in.

He mumbles; "Cooking skill is unfair." He grunts. It seemed like such a useless skill before this expansion, other than the stat-buffs high level cooking could give. So unfair. "And yeah, the Undead behavior is weird. It's almost like there was a Wave there, and we didn't know about it."

The youth continues to slowly eat of the food, thinking to himself. "Strong affinity to water... hmm." He must be thinking about something. "Yeah, I should be able to do something. I've got some ranks in Herbology and Alchemy. Though I may want to hit up someone in town with Pharmacy." He notes. "Since without that - I can't make the higher level stuff."

"We were worried that our party wouldn't be able to hold their own, and yet... between the two of us, we do pretty well." Mikage had settled well into her role as DPS for the party, and though they lack a true tank, both Cyrus and Miki somewhat shared that role between them. "We should figure out how to train Sassaral up, though. I feel bad that she's usually just cooking and cleaning for us."

Perhaps because of all the sea voyaging as of late, Miki doesn't seem remotely hungry. Instead, she pushes herself back from the table. "I'm actually going to get some fresh air. The boat is going to depart in a couple of hours and I'd rather go on an empty stomach." She murmurs, sheepishly. "I'll see you guys there, okay?"

"Hmm, yeah. I suppose we are doing pretty darn awesomely." Cyrus admits to Mikage, tapping his hat. "I suppose that's to be expected, of a few finalists to that tournament hmm?" He teases with a wink. "Anyhow, I agree. We should help her get some levels up. She'll probably enjoy being able to go to higher level areas in a safe manner and being able to cook more interesting things regardless." He expresses.

As she gets up, he raises his hand slightly. "I'll finish eating, and then I'll join you. I won't be long. See you there."