The Search For Mana

[Vosur Aekira]

"Then let's go." he speaks to the others with his back to them, pulling his waterskin from off the back of his belt and taking a sip from it before re-securing it, looking down at his stomach just in time to hear it growl at him. "Either we get a move on or I go hunting to bag us something to eat. None of you would deny yourselves a free meal, or would you?" he said with a slight smirk as he turned back to the rest, adjusting the gear he was wearing for a more comfortable fit before his eyes went to Dante's. "Oh, and Padre? Mind if I have my overshirt back since you don't need it anymore?"

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Lazaryos smirked at Vosur's mention of a free meal as they headed out and held up a large bag that he had been carrying on his back until they had went to bed the night prior. "You mean like the salted pork and fruits that they had last night? I managed to steal some off their tables not too long after Chrono and I got off the ropes with my brother. One of the Guild's members was trying to run off with it, so I kind of snatched it from him after Chrono killed him."

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Ember followed after Lazaryos as they set out again and reached behind her into her bag. She pulled out an apple, her last one. Taking a bite, she surveyed their surroundings as they walked. She kept an eye out for the sand pits and others who were journeying for the Mana who might try to kill them. When she had spoken to Lazaryos and told him not to worry about the chameleon's threat, she hadn't thought she was being nice to him. In her eyes, she was just being sincere about a fighter's strength. It was a completely different thing to her.

[Chrono Blackwyng]

Chrono sniffed the air as Lazaryos mentioned 'salted pork', and was right behind him as he finished the sentence. "I call the biggest piece since I helped you get the pork, and for all the times I hefted your heavy butt around!" He was almost hopping in place with anticipation of actually getting real meat after a journey of nothing but fruit and steamed insect.

[Srgntcuddles]

Dante looked up and over to Lazaryos when he mentioned the salted pork which he stole. He remembered having a similar dish with him in which the guild had relieved from him the night before the group had woken him up just outside their encampment. He thought it wasn't possible to be his very same pork with the side of his favorite homemade spicy curry and sweetened honey rolls. The thought had made him more hungry then what he already was and pushed him passed the point of curiosity. "...What else is in that sack of yours...?" He said with almost a scowl as he tried to sniff the air to get an idea.

[Vosur Aekira]

"Keep the pork. Next time we stop to set up camp, I'm going hunting. There probably won't be too many more hunting grounds from here on out, but I intend on making full use of them. Your food probably will last a long time anyways." he said as he shrugged his shoulders, pulling his waterskin off his belt again to take another sip, shaking it to get a feel on how much he had left. "We may need to consider stopping somewhere for drink as well, and don't tell me you have that in there too..." he spoke in a slightly joking tone. His nose twitched out of instinct, maybe due to seeing Dante sniff the air, but still he caught a fragrance that he thought he recognized only to shrug it off.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Lazaryos chuckled and continued to walk on. He pulled out a pear and tossed it to Vosur, "Here, Knave. At least take something to keep your stomach at bay. As for you, white one, I only stole fruits and the salted pork. The fruits won't last long, so we're eating those first. The pork will last, by far, longer. So you don't get any, hatchling, not yet." The day wore on, all of them except Vosur eating fruits from his stolen sack.

9 more days until Blue Crimson.

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Ember continued to walk on with the group and stayed silent. Her eyes kept roaming the landscape, watching out for sand pits and other dangers as she walked. She took occasional bites from her apple as her eyes surveyed the area. When she was finished with the apple, she tossed the core into the sand then sucked on her fingers to get the sticky juices off of her fur or else it would irritate her.

[Srgntcuddles]

Dante ate a bundle of grapes from the stolen sack of goodies as he walked closest to Lazaryos. "So, are you the leader of this little band of merry men and woman?" he said eating another grape. He looked about at the others taking in a particular "Sight" as he was slightly behind Ember. Though only for a moment, it made him uncomfortable considering he didn't particularly enjoy this woman, or the rest of this seemingly blood thirsty pack...

[Vosur Aekira]

Vosur caught the pear in his right hand, tapping his index finger from his left hand on it. "Cooking pear..." he muttered before he tried to take a bite, the pear being a bit tough to take a big bite out it. He managed to sink his canine-teeth into it, but it was too hard to bite completely through it. After a bit of struggling to get his teeth out from the fruit, he runs his tongue along his teeth while keeping his mouth closed. "Sweet, definitely will need to figure out where this was grown and get a few to cook up a cobbler from this. Man, this reminds me of when I was a kid." he said with a slight laugh. "I'd always win at bobbing for apples."

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Lazaryos continued to stroll with the others, with very little incident, only fighting a few bugs for the next 2 days. Near the end of the 2nd day, they were out of fruit and moved on to the salted pork. Lazaryos rationed it as much as he could so that it would last more than just the night. While the others sat by the fire that night, he walked off on his own. There was a familiar feline shadow near the treeline that they followed and he didn't bother to turn to it. "I'm surprised you haven't attacked me again. You know that the scythe controlled me in battle, and that it'll probably take over my consciousness like the other lightning user. You're from the Order, aren't you? Those who hunt the people unworthy enough to become mere vessels to their weapons?" The scythe shot to Lazaryos' hand by sliding down his arm, but it didn't budge as Lazaryos kept his cool and waited for a response.

"I'm merely an observer, a scout, if you will. The only reason I intervened was because of the skirmish. Your will and your heart are far from being taken over for the time-being so you are not a threat to life. However, the other one was. Those full possessed are now hunting other users to take their weapons as their own." "Yes, I've heard the rumor that the Tear will be granted to those who collect the other 15 Cursed Items. But that's merely a hare-brained rumor, nothing more. There are no records in history of such a thing being true. It's always been 1 weapon, 1 user. Any more than 1 will kill the one who obtains it, lest they be strong enough to have dominion over their first weapon." "Yes, it is true, but I am assigned to make sure you don't succumb, and to deal with it if you do. We of the Sakura Order are not participants of the Search for Mana. We merely maintain the order of life."

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Ember didn't talk during those next two days. All she did was eat the food given to her, keep walking, and look out for threats. After they had made camp for the night, she sat Indian-style and close to the fire, her legs only a few inches from the base of the fire. When Lazaryos had walked off, she watched him, wondering what he was doing but not very concerned about it. Directing her eyes back to the fire in front of her and eating her piece of salted pork, she seemed to go into a trance as the fire in her eyes seemed to dance along with the campfire.

[Srgntcuddles]

Dante laid on his side facing the fire with his head propped up with his hand. He was slowly nibbling on his piece of pork when Lazaryos had gotten up and walked away. He didn't really care so he went back to his food. He looked at his hand which was where a baby scorpion had pinched straight through it. It was already healed but he was a bit bored and no one really seemed to be talking. To him or in general.

[Vosur Aekira]

During the first of the two following days, he tried to cook up the bugs they killed along the way, but the taste of it was so horrid that he went back to his idea of hunting at night, only two desert sparrows was all he could manage before going back. The second night however, he caught a familiar scent again, a little torn between following it or going on the hunt. After a mental struggle on this decision, he went on the hunt and fortunately had caught sight of a small group of savanna gazelles. He wasn't within range of his cards where he was currently, but he wanted to remain within ear-shot distance. Using just two of his cards, he took aim at the two of the largest in the herd and threw them. The first card hit high on the back of the neck of its target, causing the gazelle to fall into a spasm. The second one hit deeper into the neck from the side, causing its target to fall over completely paralyzed. The rest of the herd scattered when the two he hit went down, so he rushed in to kill and retrieve his prey before grabbing up his cards and then returning back to the camp. Upon his return, he caught sight of the source of the 'familiar scent', the feline with the naginata. "Next time we have guests, I'll be sure to bag a couple more." he spoke in a semi-playful tone to the group, venturing nearby to Dante before he starts setting up for a fire. "Padre, you and I are going to need a long talk... guess you could say it's been a while since I had a confession."

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Lazaryos continued conversations with the cat for a few more minutes before she left and vanished. Though she was probably not too far away, Lazaryos took the time to relax a little. That wench probably won't protect them, but he was more afraid of her than the wildlife out here in the desert. The Order apparently was made of 6 members, almost governing and keeping track of the Cursed Items. There's still no word on what's to happen, but Lazaryos can only guess what will happen down the road. He trudged back over to the campsite and laid in the sand, but a bit closer to Ember, hoping she wouldn't mind. But no sooner did he do that did his mind remind him of what Ember had said to him, and his thoughts wandered into the perverse side of his mind, which had laid dormant his whole life.