A Woman of Many Parts

    The sun has just crested the horizon and Baroness Wake has arisen to meet it. Figuratively, of course. She's not one to repeat the mistakes of Icarus. She has her own set of errors to make.

    She is standing on the ramparts above the waterfall, midway between the great tower and the main body of the castle. This early, she makes for a lonely figure, though there are guards on the watch, as always.

On the other hand Kauchemar has been up most of the night, being the oft nocturnal sort that she is. Not that anyone would really notice as she's gotten effective at the whole moving like a shadow trick. And while the sun was still rising on the horizon those shadows had not yet receded, allowing the Nightmare to emerge upon the ramparts with little warning. Only to find it not as deserted as she expected. "And here I thought this would still be a lonely spot at this hour. Good morning, Wake."

    Guards, where adventurers are going they don't need guards. With that said the necromancer is out looking for someone at this ungodly hour in the morning and in Eas as well, also it appears he has dragged at least one of his own guards with him. The skeleton warrior tags along, and trudges a little almost as if the poor thing is tired. "YUUKI! Where are you YUUKI!" It would appear Setsuna is looking for Yuuki, and has decided the best approach is to just randomlly shout her name in Olympus territory, yes a good plan.

    "And so it is," replies Wake. Her voice has an unusually gentle quality, and though she does turn her glance to her friend for a moment, she soons find her attention drawn elsewhere. "Though, perhaps it has taken a turn away from the gentle quiet to the raving madman.."

    Since Wake is not Yuuki, she has little cause to shout in response. "I'm not certain I'm up to making so much noise yet. No doubt he'll wander this way, though he may get quite hoarse before he arrives. Setsuna can't possibly have a crush, so I can only assume Yuuki has done something to offend." At least, she imagines it can't be a romantic interest. That would be far more amusing and lately things are far more complicated than amusing.

Kauchemar tilts her head, one ear flicking at the shouting at random. She leans over the rampart a bit to look towards the source. "I know necromancers like to wake the dead, but shouting at this hour is just overdoing it." She however has no conniption about harassing Setsuna. She also has a voice that carries much better, so she can do so without being quite so obnoxious. "Hey Setsuna! Looks like you need to rest your weary bones. And I don't mean your leg!" That skeleton looks like it's dragging even more than the usual undead shamble.

    Setsuna looks at the source of someone yelling at him, who the hell would be yelling at this time of day, don't they know people are still sleeping. Though when he turns to look at what Kacuhemar is talking about he sees the sleepy skeleton knight, "Why are you still moving so slow I poured coffee down your throat beefore... oh." Setsuna realizes that he probably left a puddle of coffee in the inn that he was staying in. Oh well, its not like he came to Eas often enough. Approaching the other two crazy people, as only such crazy people would be up at this time. " So um, have either of you seen Yuuki? I really need to see her."

    "Several times, one recently," says Wake, smirking. "What is so pressing that you have half my guards expecting some kind of pvp showdown at dawn, anyhow, Setsuna? You know there are ordinances against such things. Perhaps even edicts or laws. I'm not sure what I called them." She makes a mental note to pay more attention to terminology.

    She shrugs it off, "In any case, please don't wander around screaming her name. You know how to use chims, yes? Or is she ignoring you?"

Kauchemar's mane swishes as she shakes her head. "You shouldn't give the undead caffiene." A lazy smirk curls her equine lips again. "They don't have the STOMACHE for it."

    Setsuna tilts his head, "Chim her? At this hour? My mom taught me to never call someone at this hour unless it's an emergency. It's rude. " Perhaps Uta is rubbing off on Setsuna a little to much. Taking a moment to look around at the two and at the guards and then back at the two Olympians. " So I am guessing the recently wasn't right this moment was it?" Taking a moment he then looks at Kauchemar, "Oh I get it, sorry I'm not completely awake took me a moment to get the joke. I also have to find a new inn to stay at. Not just because I am sure Demon has devoured that lovely rocking chair they left in my room by now. "

    Wake cannot help but smile at Kauchemar's pun. "If you keep that up the poor thing will have a bone to pick with you, Kauchemar, my dear." There's no law against a Baroness unleashing horrible puns of her own, clearly.

    Wake sighs at Setsuna's comments about the inn. "You will of course reimburse the owner. Or I will, and you can pay me back sometime. In any case, please be gentle, our inns are all temporary, those are actually people's houses."

    Wake draws in a breath, then lets it out. "So.. you felt it was better to scream Yuuki's name while wandering around my castle. I understand we're also the head quarters of the Sleeping Knights and Olympus, but surely you realize Yuuki never stays near her own bed. In fact I don't know if she's even been in her room yet. Our guild headquarters is more.. hmm.. theoretical than real."

"Destroying furniture? That's not what they mean by housebroken, either." It's followed by a sigh and a shake of her head. And a smirk to Wake. "He didn't even come out once during our match. Demon had to carry most of the fight himself." Pause. "Themselves?" Another pause. Then Kauchemar shrugs. "I'm still not sure if you count a cerberus as a singular or plural. And anyways, Yuuki's more likely to be out murdering monsters than she is sleeping in a bed, isn't she?"

    Setsuna shakes his head, " I can't say I know much about Yuuki's sleep patterns or the sleeping arrangements of Olympus. In fact I assumed before Castle Eas all of Olympus slept upstairs from the crescent burger. " Setsuna is feeling kinda guilty, he has like 3 rooms, 4 if you count the desk at the Slime Lab. Looking at Kauchemar he does his best to help, " It depends what you are refering to in regards to a cerberus, in a general term you can go with singular pronouns, for a particular cerberus you probably want to go with plural to capture all their personalities and such. " Looking over at the knight the skeleton has curled up with a rock as a body pillow and appears to be trying t go back to sleep. " So it appears I am not moving here for a bit, what brings you both out at this horrible hour?"

    "Whatever keeps her away from any boring official duties as guild leader," Wake adds, smiling. "It's one of the things I find to wonderful about her, really. It's endearing."

    Wake has always loved her guild boss and always will. Which is why people eventually stopped bothering her about things Yuuki supposely did. The Baroness of the past would simply punish them for the complaint in whatever way struck her as most ironic.

    "Perhaps the skeleton will tell me why you want Yuuki so much," murmurs the Baroness. "And in any case, there is nothing awful about the coming of the sun, Setsuna. I rise to meet it as often as possible, which is nearly every day. I find it a pleasure to simply look over this place and.. soak up the beauty and remind myself of my good fortune. It clears my mind and sets my path for the day. I have several things I need to do, of course, but they won't get started in earnest for an hour or two. Sometimes I ascend the tower and watch my people wake up in the village, or walk the streets there to meet them as they step out their doors. Eas is not just my home, it is a big part of who and what I am."

"I'm more a night person. It's more about to go in and bringing me out," Kauchemar replies with a snort. Even before being a nocturnal monster she was more at home in the evenings as part of the nightclub DJ life. So this is nothing new. A much less elaborate answer than Wake's, but no less true. "That and I had to take my own Nightmare out for feeding. He's grumpy about having to eat animals instead, but there's one less pack of bun-buns to get into things."

    Setsuna lets out a sigh, "Ok I will tell you. Whatever you do though, please don't tell Shiruba. It may break her heart. After fighting with Yuuki in the tournament I have fallen head over heels in love with her and I am going to give her a full monster of bones to prove my love to her." There is a pause, however brief before Setsuna grins like a cheshire cat. " Nah I am kidding, the truth is that I need her to help me get in shape. " Looking over at the lazy bones on the ground, " Did you know that monsters stats and abilities are limited to their owners. So if you have a very physical monster and you aren't physical it locks you out of a lot of their abilities. It's why this guy wasn't used in the tournament. He is there for intimidation factor only really, and handling low level annoyances."
     In response to more monster handling Setsuna can only add, " You should invest in a grunty farm. They reproduce fast enough and have other uses besides feeding monsters. My dire wolf loves grunty, as does my cerberus, but they can't eat a whole one and well saving a half eaten grunty is just not the most viable."

    Wake gives Setsuna a blank look at his false confession of love. "It's a relief that you're kidding. I'm not sure I'm up to throwing you over the waterfall for such silliness. But yes, I'm rather sure she'll be up for training. Just be aware.. well.. you'll find out for yourself."

    Yuuki will be both enthusiastic and.. very focused. On whatever she might think training should entail. Probably soloing monsters.

    "Hmmm, maybe we should look into grunty farming, though I suspect it'll be easier to get pekos going here. I'm far from a farming talent, in any case."

    The Baroness turns her focus back out, over the falls and into the valley that sprawls out to the south. "So how many pets do you have, Setsuna? Or.. friends.. or whatever you prefer to call them."

"And now you understand why I mainly use Elemental and Spirit type monsters," Kauchemar replies as she sits on the edge of the rampart, her tail swishing a bit. "Not that I have that kind of lack of physical capability, they just coincide more with where my specialties are."

    Setssuna answers the question of the Baroness , " My generals for the army I shall one day lead to take over the world, or pets. Pets work too. " Then the monster handler is off mumbling to himself as he counts, " Skull, Roki, Soggy, Demon... Huh I thought I had more." Speaking up he finally says, " I currently have four not counting slimes in the slime lab. Those are really Uta's. I have a spot ready for a fifth one though I have to get all the way to the europe server I think to get that one. I still need to talk to the mayor to find out more about that . " There is a shiver in his voice when he mentions the word 'mayor' in his voice. " Though I try to never use more then two at a time. I can do all four if neccessary but I need to sip on mana potions as it depletes my magic faster then I recharge at the moment. "

    "Well, plans for world domination are kind of my specialty," replies the Baroness, "So let me know when you are ready to consult. But I don't work free, of course." She laughs at the mention of Uta's slimes. "I'm so proud of that woman. She's really made a name for herself. Innocent, sincere, and never one to give up. An admirable person, indeed, and I'm delighted whenever she gives me the chance to contribute."

    She suddenly realizes, "I should be congratulating both of you on your impressive showing in the tournament. All of Eas greatly appreciate the show you put on for us." With a calm smile the Baroness glides into a deep curtsey, settling at the lowest point for a few seconds before rising once more.

Kauchemar mmhmms and nods her head at the mention of needing a mana potion bender after summoning many monsters at once. "Tis why the Binders are the only ones I really keep with me constantly. As they are posessing a physical object they're less of a drain to sustain. The Nightmare I can call as needed, he tends to lurk in shadows much as I do. Elementals tend to not have 'personalities' as we think of it. They are more... well... force of nature." Though even as she's going on she summons her Tabby Slime and pets it. "The zombie rave is just for shits and giggles and what's a rock star without a mosh pit?"

Followed by a soft laugh. "You know me, the show is what I live for. Combat is as much an art as any other performance, especially when it's gladitorial in nature." A nod is given down towards the necromancer. "And dueling Setsuna is always interesting. We have very similar yet widly different techniques as summoners."

    So one concept that Setsuna left in the real world is etiquette, so all he can do is head titlt at the Baroness when she curtsies. " You are welcome, I am glad I was able to participate , even if some other necromancer wanna be does it all wrong . " He side eyes Kauchemar and then grins. " So I was able to create these Kauchemar, " holding up his hand he reveals a set of rings on his hand, " they link to a matching one on the monster making them much more efficent in mana drain. Without them I couldn't use the monsters in combat." Taking a moment he sighs, " I had hoped Demon would be able to learn how to fight beside me without wanting to rip my throat out but as they get older they have been getting more and more aggressive. It appears the hate for adventurers appears in monsters as they age. " Looking back at the Baroness , " It has been an honor working with Uta, she is much smarter then she thinks she is. "

    "That show is a big part of Eas. And will be in a more literal sense as soon as I can manage it." Wake is always looking for the next thing to do.

    "And certainly Uta is gifted. I wish she could visit more often. It is.. growing harder for me to travel, as you might guess. Not that I mind it, of course. This is the best place in the world. It is home. But there is so much going on out there!"

    She does listen to the summoner discussion, though she knows nothing of that kind of magic. "So you are saying that the older they get, the more will they are able to exercise?"

"As any creature, or teenager, does. Strength of will comes with age and experience. Some species are dispositioned more to it than others. Particularly predatory ones. Or have an existence that's almost entirely dedicated to destroying Adventurers. That's why a Boss monster is almost impossible to subdue and control." Kauchemar's eyes flicker as she gazes down at Setsuna's display. "You don't strike me as the type for decorative bling, so it's only natural they serve a purpose." Lifts a hand from petting the Tabby Slime to tap at her chin thoughtfully. "Yet, yes, foci can be useful."

    Setsuna nods and then adds, " However even predators in our world when trained from birth still could go through some basic training and understand it. Sometimes this hate for people from monsters seems a step beyond the normal predator nature. " Setsuna shrugs and doesn't stay with that conversation to long. It's not like there is anyway to do anything about such things. " So then now that the tournament is over what are you two planning to do next?"

    "Well, once the closing ceremonies are out of the way, I will ready the Castle once more. This time for something even more important." The Baroness smiles, turning her attention away to the falls as she explains, "It will be time for the wedding. At last."

"At last, but well worth the wait." Kauchemar sets the Tabby Slime down and stands up from the rampart edge. "And I still have ... other objectives to attend to. The Palace Lands may be the hot topic right now, but there's still many secrets yet to unravel here in Yamato."

    Setsuna nods his head, " I to have some unfinished business here in Yamato so until those are resolved I don't plan to move to the Palace Lands. However once I do I will probably be setting up shop there for a bit. " With a yawn Setsuna walks over and gently kicks at the skeleton knight. " Get up lazy bones. We have a Yuuki to still find. " Looking over at the others he gives a nod of his head, " Congratulation on the wedding Wake. I look forward to hearing how it goes." There was a doubt in his mind that he would be invited to the wedding, it was rare that their social circles overlapped. " I will keep in mind to bring you in to consult when i am at that stage. Kauchemar... see you when I see you." Stopping for another moment before he walks off , " If either of you could let Yuuki know I am seeking her out to profess my undying love for her I'd appreciate it. It will make this for a much more humorous conversation to come." With that he finally gets his bodyguard up and off they go, probably another half hour from now and Wake would get reports of someone screaming Yuuki's name around the village and demon hellhounds devouring buildings.

    The Baroness watches Setsuna leave with a bemused expression. "He's.. unusual, but I think he's a good person under that rather curious facade." She imagines, anyway. It will do little to bolster he confidence when she hears that Setsuna has disturbed the village with yet more shouting.

    Turning her mind back to Kauchemar, Wake nods her agreement. "Indeed it has been worth the wait. And now that it comes to it, I am a mix of excited and shocked. Upon reflection, I find it amazing that I've accepted sso much insanity as a matter of a course. This world, this situation. I've never rejected it or had to adapt in the ways a normal person should. And now I am going to be married here. I wonder.. why is it that I've never thought about returning to the world before."

"Because it's boring, trite, and full of bad memories best left to the past?" Kauchemar gives her mane a idle flick as she tends to, only partially clearing the long locks from her face. "And he's weird, but he's good at what he does. Not many summoners can go toe to hoof with me since I don't rely just on my monsters or magic." The Tabby Slime has started to bump itself against a small crack in the wall, so she walks over and picks it back up. "That's not a rat hole, you silly blob... at least, I hope it isn't. Though with Eas did have rats, they'd probably be the most noble rats there are... which are still rats, but I degress."

She resumes petting the slime as if it were an actual cat and not just a cat eared lump of goop. "Seriously, though, it's more to do with this world can still be made what we want it to be. For ourselves and others like us. It's not so locked in a state we can only endure."

    "There is so much truth in that, isn't there?" murmurs Wake. "Here, I'm me, as I always wanted to be in my heart of hearts. And there are things we can do that are so much cooler than we could in the world before! I mean, I'm sure you were pretty awesome there, too, but I can't imagine anything more cool than you are in this world, my favoritest of nightmares."

    She laughs softly, turning around to take the whole area in with a single spin. "So! You will be the most famous of musicians in this world, and I.. I will be the pain in the butt on one hand and the dream enabler on the other. I wonder, though, just what it will be like, when and if we ever discover boredom in this realm."

"Perish the thought. Boredom is a fate worse than death. Besides," Kauchemar pauses to pull out a small vial. She gives it a little shake, the contents swirling around like someone somehow took the very nature of shadows and liquified it. "who can be bored when there's all the little crooks and crannies of the world to peak into and find such novel trinkets."

    Wake nods slowly, "It's a world of many parts, indeed. She's full of wonder just waiting to be discovered." In the distance, a bell tolls, marking the coming of a new hour.

    "And she calls me now, to do my part. I hope to talk to you soon, my dear. And be ready! Soon the time for celebration will be upon us once more. Hmm, you know I had half a mind to invite Setsuna, but if he hasn't found Yuuki by then he may demand to speak with her in the middle of the ceremony! Ah well, what shall be, shall be."

Kauchemar tucks the vial away again. When she does, her form seems to almost become hard to focus on again. "No offense to Yuuki, but I don't think she's that good at hiding for it to take as long." She smirks. "Oh, you know I will be. Take care, Wake."