Preparing for departure

[Arin]

Aria smiled and couldn't help but giggle when Lance started hopping around, amused by his antics "You're welcome. I also added a durability enchantment to the leather fabrics, they'll be harder to cut through, but they're not arrow-proof."

When Lance brought up the topic of DC, he was silent for a while, looking away nervously, his face grimacing "...My kind of magic...has its drawbacks...I have to maintain a constant balance between the two, or catastrophic things could happen...Mass murder levels of catastrophic..."

The shopkeeper blinked a couple times when he heard Luna request two additional rods, offering to buy the current one as well "Wh-Very well then miss, I'll fetch two more rods right away!" He picked the netw up and set them back on the shelf, sorting through the fishing gear he had to find two good quality rods and picking them out of the bunch. He carried over two rods, one made of a well cared for wood, and one of which looked odd in design to Luna "Here I have a special find. It's a fishing rod that came from the human world. It's made of an unknown material, but it's collapsible and very flexible. You can even attach a bail for fishing string with proper craftsmanship. Normally, I would charge about 5 gold for such a rare piece on its own. But I'll make you a deal. If you buy this rod for 5 gold coins, I'll throw in the extra fishing supplies, the un-enchanted net, and the mistreated rod for free, and this third rod I'll charge you the standard 5 silver coins for that I charged you at the start for the poor quality rod. So...Add in the 5 gold...We're looking at 9 gold coins for the entire lot, including the tent and trapping materials."

[Tetsuya]

Luna had to think on the deal for a small moment, wondering if it was such a good idea to use so much of Aria's money like this. 'If it was my own money, I would at least try to barter the price down a little. And I honestly feel like he's attempting to rip me off here.' she thought to herself, Then again, items from the human realm do tend to be of far better quality than most things here in the nations. He's trying to make the fishing pole sound more special because of that feature. Aria may have built up a sizable amount of wealth during her long years, but I would still feel a little guilty just purchasing things so haphazardly. Let's see if I can bump that price down a little before I decide on paying the full price.'

Handling the worn fishing rod carefully, she leaned on the counter with right arm, her bicep pushing against her bosom to make her bust more noticeable. A simple tactic to try and distract the merchant, if only to test if he was strong willed against such distractions. "I can see why you would price the human realm fishing rod so high. It's far more unique than many wooden made poles, and if what you say is true, it could very well fish up several large fish easily. But 9 gold coins is quite pricey if you ask me. Can you bump that down to 7 gold and 8 silver coins?"

[Lance]

Lance nodded. "I was a member of the Air Force's Capitol air wing, I would be scrambled in the event of a terrorist attack, or an enemy invasion on our soil." Lance's expression grew serious. "A while back, I was scrambled to do a fly over of D.C., my commander thought that there was a major attack going on. Me and my wing-mate Alicia were doing a fly over, when we saw these...I dunno, there were these glowing motes of light, flying from this tiny speck on the ground. the there were this dome, it was the blackest fucking thing I have ever seen, it was like a starless night in the mountains, but even darker, and it was big enough to cover a good 50 yards and swallow a house." Lance closed his eyes as he reminisced about that day, then he looked back at Arin, his expression dead serious. "I nearly fired a pair of laser guided bombs at that speck, if that shit had gone on a second longer, I'd have fired ordinance on an American city, our fucking CAPITAL. But then, nothing. Not a goddamn thing, everything stopped, the domes, the lights, nothing left...I want you to level with me, was that you?" Kross finished with Lance's harness, and the Air Force pilot walked up to Arin. "And if it was, do you have that under control? Because if worst comes to worst, if you go ape and hurt anyone, I'll kill you to keep other people Safe, it's nothing against you personally...but I won't let people who can't defend themselves be helpless if I can do something." Lance's words held no malice, no anger, he was simply speaking a fact.

[Arin]

Arin continued to avoid eye contact as Lance was talking about his experience in the air, seeing light and dark magic being used, one such spell that he doesn't recall knowing how to use, but it seemed to have triggered during a time when he lost control again. Then, Lance started to seek out the truth, probing Arin for answers, and his eyes slowly shifted, his head following suit, until he locked eyes with Lance "Yes...that was me...I have control over it...But it's not perfect...If I use too much of one type more than the other, my entire power balance shifts, and I'm stuck using that power until I have time to regain control, or the mana in the area gets exhausted...I'm normally fine with one type, it makes me more patient, and I don't rush into things...But the other...It's like a veil gets placed over my eyes that dulls my vision and mucks up my self control." His fists clenched as he tried to stay calm while talking about those horrible memories "...It even happens if I'm provoked into it...If I get really angry...it just seems to sense this and fuels my desire to punish those who angered me, and my power shifts balance to my darker side...Even with Aria helping me, I still haven't mastered my powers...All I've managed to do is combine the two, to ensure that I can maintain balance when using my spells...If it wasn't for Luna, you would have had to fire those missiles..."

Aria then stepped in when Arin finished talking, stepping between him and Lance, and glaring at the soldier "...This young man is my legal responsibility...If he loses control, and Luna cannot break him out of his rampage, I will see to dealing with him, your interference is not necessary."

The shopkeeper blushed a bit when Luna started acting provocatively with her body, and tried to sweet talk him into lowering the price down to 7 and a half gold coins. Turning away a bit and clearing his throat, hishe fired back his counter-offer "Miss, this total is for all of your items as a whole, and outside of the first fishing rod, these items have been tested -by myself I may add- and are proven to be of good quality. The most I can go down to is 8 gold, and 3 silver. I cannot go lower or I will lose profit from this deal." Any attempts to sway him further would prove unsuccessful at this point, as the shopkeeper remained firm in his decision.

[Tetsuya]

Managing to bring the price first laid out down by a whole seven silver was victory enough for her. "Right, it's a deal then," Luna said as she fished out the bank pouch. She counted out the coins in her head as she placed them on the counter, putting out the price of eight gold and three silver the shopkeeper had lowered it to. "Alright, thanks for selling your wares to me," she said. She then began attempting to pick up the tent and fishing poles, obviously trying to take everything out of the store in one trip.

[Lance]

Lance didn't back down when Aria got in his face. "I wouldn't take pleasure in doing so, just remember to keep a lid on it, and you'll be fine Arin, I'm sure." Lance walked over to a window at the front of the shop, watching the people on the street go by. "Odd, so many races..."

[Arin]

Aria continued to glare at Lance, as he still stated he would take action if Arin lost control, even if indirectly. She was going to remember that, but right now was not the time or place to discuss that matter. Arin was depressed enough about it as it was.

Arin nodded in response to Lance's comment, his eyes glazed over as he emotionally shut down, the memories of those dead, mangled corpses refreshing themselves in his mind "...Right..." One of the races, a half wolf hybrid with white hair and wearing red garments passed by, accompanied by a younger hybrid that had black hair and was wearing a smaller scaled style of the older hybrid's clothes, clearly father and son. The younger wolf boy noticed Lance staring out of the window and started waving energetically at him, before noticing his father was still walking and ran to catch up.

The shopkeep noticed Luna was having difficulty gathering up all of her supplies and walked around the corner to assist her "Let me help you bring that out. Where is your supply caravan parked?"

[Tetsuya]

Luna hadn't expected the shopkeeper to offer his help, honestly thinking she was going to have move everything herself. "I'd appreciate it, but wouldn't your assistant benefit more if he helped me as a small punishment? He did buy an almost useless fishing rod from someone," she asked. Her stubbornness showed a little as she didn't really mind doing everything herself.

[Lance]

Lance smiled and waved back at the child before crossing his arms and leaning on the windowsill, something seemed to be bothering him, he seemed...uneasy, like everything that had happened was hitting him all at once. his fingers tapped rapidly on the windowsill, creating a *Clack clack clack* sound that was becoming faster and faster.

[Arin]

Arin snapped out of his little stupor when he noticed the clacking of Lance's finger against the glass, looking over as he noticed the man seemed a bit moody. Arin had a good idea why, but he figured the best way to know for sure was to ask "...Everything alright?"

Aria simply stood there, studying Lance as he started to brood, standing on the sidelines as Arin tried to talk Lance down.

The shopkeeper chuckled and grabbed the tent, hefting it up into his arms "I'll just deduct the poor sale from his pay, once I figure out how much he sold. The boy won't be coming back for another half hour while he's on his lunch break."

[Tetsuya]

"That's a shame, he could probably use the discipline," Luna said, admitting defeat for now. The faster to get things done, the better. Keeping the old willow rod in her right hand, she gathered up the net, fishing poles, trapping materials almost easily in her left. Now she didn't have room to carry the bait. "My supply wagon is just outside. With any luck, my boyfriend and I will be departing town today. We were aiming sometime at noon, but something new literally popped up on us."

[Lance]

Lance was silent for a moment. "That woman I mentioned earlier...she's overseas now...airstrikes against a bunch of loonies on the Middle East...every day, I worry that she's going to get shot down, that she'll be killed, or worse, CAPTURED by those bastards." Lance was silent for a moment before continuing. "I'll never see her again, I might never see my family again, I can never ask them why they hid this from me."

Lance grabbed his pendant to show what he was referring to. "I left a life behind, my Mom's probably getting that call right now...you both know the one, even if there wasn't a vet in your family, the one ALL military families dread. She's probably in the kitchen, cooking up some romantic dinner for her and my pops, and then the phone rings...and when she answers it, she hears..." Lance's voice cracked, "She hears that her boy is dead, lost at sea forever...she won't even be able to say goodbye." Lance broke down at this point, sniffling as he began to weep at the thought. "I've caused my family so much pain now...and I can't even let them know that I'm alright."

[Arin]

Arin looked down when Lance started expressing his concerns about the human world. He wished he knew what to say, but he had isolated himself from most of the world. He never had any true friends growing up, and the only family he had was Aria, Luna and her family...As disfunctional as it was. Aria took this upon herself to step forward and speak up "...Lance. I can check on them for you if you'd like. I cannot bring other people with me, but I am one of very few who have the power to travel between the worlds. All I need to do is delve into your memories and I can find the people who you are concerned for...I am also curious as to why they hid this from you, or if they even knew what it was." She walked up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "...If I do this, know that I cannot promise them answers if they ask if you are alright. I can only give them a single clue as to your whereabouts, there is too much of a risk that your world will bleed too much into our own if they tell anyone and look for the gateway. That is something I am sworn to prevent, and I cannot break that vow."

The shopkeeper grabbed the bait when Luna filled all of her hands with the rest of the supplies, following Luna outside as she made her way to the supply wagon "Life is full of unexpected twists and turns. As an elf, I'm sure you'll have many more in your future. The trick is not to let them get to you, everything will work out in the end." He chuckled softly and got the door for Luna as they reached the exit "Take just now for example; My assistand purchased a poor quality rod from a passerby, and I just found someone who can make use of it and restore it to pristine condition again, and I made a profit in the process. Trust me, it will get better." He set the tent beside the other one, tying them tight to the wagon as Luna was storing her carried supplies under the tarp "Have you procured yourself a mount for transport? I recommend the stable down the street, past the blacksmith shop and the tailor."

[Tetsuya]

"Yes, I already have. I'll be going back to stables soon after I finish the rest of my supply shopping. For now, I can lug this thing around with me," Luna said confidently. After she stored the carried supplies away, she felt something brush against her. Turning, she saw a little kid attempting to make a get away. Her hands feeling at her waist, she noticed Aria's bank pouch was pilfered. "Ugh, I don't have time for this... Please watch my wagon, I need to catch a sneak thief." She didn't even wait for a confirmation, she turned on her heel, and tore down the street after the child that stole from her. "Get back here you little street urchin!" she yelled, alerting the kid that she was after her. With a sharp scream, the girl ran as hard as she could away from Luna.

[Lance]

Lance looked at Aria, his eyes a bit red from his crying. He swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded. "Thank you Aria...I would like that, feel free to delve inside, just...don't go too deep, I've been in a plane for all of my combat career, but I've still seen some shit. You shouldn't have to see that too."