A wicked weave of the draconic kind.

[Lance]

Lance grinned and looked over his shoulder as Giovanni walked up the stairs, the former mobster stopping and looking at the two. "I KNOW you Umbra, that's why I don't think yer actually hurt by my assertion. Cause I know that if Lancie boy here wasn't so keen on keeping his other ladies from trying to kill ya, you two would be bumping uglies like a couple of horny rabbits!" The loud little Italian couldn't hide the amused grin on his face as he spoke, shaking his head as he went upstairs.

The airman's grin just widened as he placed his hands on his hips and spoke in a playfully mocking tone "Ah yer just jealous Gio, don't deny it!" Lance chuckled to himself as Giovanni shouted down to him, "I DIDN'T SAY I WAS!"

Florentine opened his mouth to respond to Arin, only for his associate to finally speak himself, his voice a smooth, intimidating baritone. "If you thought just jumping to a different realm would magically make assholes go away, that's your own damn fault. Power and wealth breed inflated egos and deflated brains, no amount of mana will ever make that disappear."

The young man sounded utterly calm as he gave Arin a stern look, something that made Luna cautious. "Why does everyone feel the need to give Arin shit today?"

"Because he's supposed to be the son of the great and wise Aria Delas, and if the little snippets I've overheard are any indication, the king of the twilight kingdom. But all I see is some kid, who's mother sheltered him far too much and made him ignorant of just how people actually are...but then again, I've only had about 10 minutes to read him, maybe I'm wrong." The man just shrugged and sighed, knowing that he was coming off as a colossal asshole. "Look, I'm not his mommy, I'm not his girlfriend, I'm not even his friend. But if HE was ruling my nation, I'd have plenty of reason to be concerned. He has a shiny piece of metal and some magic, but that's it, he needs more than that to lead anything."

Florentine watched silently as his bodyguard bluntly criticized Aria's son, his expression neutral. "Ah, Ryu...you must learn a bit more tact young man, though I cannot exactly disagree with you..." The older gentleman rubbed his chin in thought, looking Arin up and down. "I can only say that it's his youth that lends itself to poor leadership however, with a little polish, he could become a diamond in the rough, so to speak."

[Arin]

Umbra smirked and looked to Lance expectantly "Well now, since our audience has taken his leave, why don't we get to the part where we have some fun.~" Her tone was sultry and playful, almost suggestive in her comments as she gave him a half lidded stare "I am still waiting for my handkerchief, after all.~"

Arin gave Ryu a cold glare as he was lectured about how he acted, calling him a sheltered child who was unfit to lead. At least Florentine was being more tactful in his words, but they still hit him hard "...Look, I didn't go to the ruins to prove myself as a leader. I went there to get answers! Valid proof that I may have some blood ties to the royal family. I have my proof, but I have absolutely no idea what I'm supposed to do with it now. I could have died seeking those answers out, but if I am going to rebuild and lead a kingdom, then I know for a fact that I need help. Ryu's right, I don't know the first thing about being a leader, but there are hundreds of lost souls that are counting on me to restore their home and rebuild the civilization that was taken from them centuries ago...I can't let them all down."

[Lance]

Lance grinned and cracked his neck, raising his hands up and letting his magical aura swirl around him, his eyes taking on a faint glow as his grin widened. "Heh, alright then teacher...let me get that for ya!~" Lance swept his hand out and focused on the scrap of cloth, his mana flaring a bit as it popped up into the air before slowly floating down to Umbra, hovering at about chest level for her to take.

"Hehe...now that my brain isn't all messed up, this magic stuff is pretty intuitive.~ Or maybe it's cause I had to be a quick study as a pilot, not quite sure how that all ties up yet." Lance shrugged a bit, walking up to Umbra with the cloth still levitating for her. "So...all jokin' aside, how serious is it with all the flirting? At first I thought it was a joke, but part of me is wondering if you've taken a fancy to me, not that I'd be complaining mind, just seems like between Nyx and now possibly you, I got this weird thing with the ladies around here."

Lance had a puzzled and slightly concerned expression on his face, as much as he LIKED the attention, he wasn't out to start being a home wrecker, even if it was SOMEHOW by accident.

Florentine smirked a bit, crossing his arms at Arin's declaration. "Well, your first step should be ending this stupid spat with your companions. If they are a wind royal like Aria says, you'll need to learn to cooperate, lest we deal with this cold war shit all over again."

Luna cocked an eyebrow. "How do you know about Lance's royal ties? We've never met you, and I'm certain that Aria would keep that kind of information close to her chest."

The clothier just smirked a bit wider and jerked his head in Aldari's direction. "I'm an accomplished eavesdropper, it comes with being a noble AND a businessman. Aldari speaks to Lady Aria quite frequently about plans regarding the restoration of the kingdoms and I happened to have a meeting with him regarding trade agreements when I overheard one day. Even better, recent events have revealed to us that we've got ANOTHER royal link to deal with as well, but she and her party are well out of the city limits by now...which reminds me, Aldari, I must speak with you privately about possibly lending the men who guard my Duchy to your guardsmen, the bandit problem around here has b-nevermind, as I said it's a private conversation, nothing to trouble the young ones over."

Luna just stared at Florentine, so now they had this half-baked nobleman who seemed to have the attention span of a squirrel who knew about what was going on...just perfect.

[Arin]

Umbra smirked and took the handkerchief in hand, flourishing it playfully when Lance started to question her flirting "Oh, darling, I'm a flirt with everyone.~ I enjoy carnal desires and indulging in life's greatest pleasures every day.~ But no, my flirting isn't serious in the romantic sense, if that's what you meant. You're certainly a cute one, Lance, but my heart stays with the father of dragons.~ I just enjoy sleeping around with others now and then, and he does his thing as well.~" She playfully brushed the handkerchief against Lance's face, giving him a flirty gaze "Did that answer your question?~"

Arin gave a nod when Florentine suggested he end the argument that he and Lance had back on the boat. And listened to how Florentine explained how experienced of an eavesdropper he was, to know so much about them. Aria, however, was not as intrigued, and was even giving the man a stern look "Were it anyone else, I would have considered wiping you from this plane, Florentine. That is sensitive information, and I trust that you will keep it between trusted individuals. The last thing we need is a spy learning about this and possibly targeting any of them."

[Lance]

Lance sighed softly and grinned, nodding at her explanation. "Hehe, that's fine with me milady, and who knows, when I learn to communicate with Nyx and get shit sorted...maaaybe you could teach me some other kinds of tricks as well, eh?~" The airman smirked good naturedly and cracked his neck, showing that he was far more at ease now. "Now then, how about we learn some stuff that can help in a fight too? If I'm gonna be king, I'll need to defend the throne, right?~" (Add in a timeskip if you want Arin, we can rejoin Lance when Mephisto gets back.)

Ryu scowled and started advancing towards Aria, cracking his knuckles and flaring his aura at her remark about wiping Florentine from their plane. It almost looked like a fight was about to break out, only for Florentine to stop it in an instant with a snap of his fingers. There was a flare of Dark Green Aura around him, and suddenly great roots burst from the ground and grabbed Ryu's wrists, tugging him back sharply. "Now, now Ryu...as much as I'm appreciative of the loyalty, we both know that Miss Aria here would slap you aside quite handily. I doubt she'd be dense enough to attack me anyways, given how that earth Royal she's so excited about would retaliate quite nastily if she did so.~"

Florentine looked at Aria and smirked, his tone becoming playful yet mocking. "Also, really Aria? I do something you dislike and you make remarks about ending me...how Cuorum of you.~ It's little surprise that young Arin here has the negotiation skills of a drunken orc with his balls in a table vice, now isn't it?" The clothier's smile turned a bit nasty at the mention of the Castus Cuorum, knowing that it would hit a rather sizable button with the Majin.

Aldari stepped between the two, his own aura flaring now. "That's enough! I've had it with this gods forsaken infighting! I've got enough on my plate without needing you two at each other's throats, so end it NOW, please." Aldari gave Florentine a sharp glare in particular, not appreciating his pot stirring behavior one bit.

Florentine simply chuckled and released Ryu, his mana fading slowly as he looked at Aria over Aldari's shoulder. "Very well, old friend, no more jabs from old Florentine.~"

[Arin]

Umbra chuckled playfully, and blinked out of Lance's arms, appearing in the same pose but levitating in front of him before floating back down onto her two feet "Indeed, we should focus on the basics...You learn best from practical experience, yes? Well, time to return to boot-camp, soldier.~" She lifted her hands and dust particles started to swirl around her hands and feet as she prepared to teach Lance some proper magic combat tricks.

======A few hours later======

Umbra and Lance were both dancing around each other, both using wind magic to properly deflect and enhance their physical abilities, as well as some other, non-physical techniques as well. The tables had been moved to the far walls of the tavern, so that the two had an open sparring circle, and Umbra saw to it that none of the furniture would be at risk of getting damaged, nullifying the wind before it reached any objects in the room, thanks to a barrier spell. While they were trading blows, Umbra sensed something coming and smirked, deflecting one of Lance's strikes and holding him in place, signaling for them to stop "You've made quite a lot of progress, but it appears our practice session is over. Isn't that right, Mephisto?~"

Aria's eye twitched when Florentine accused her of thinking like the Cruorem, people whom she despised. She started to step forward as well, but Aldari got between them, and Arin as well, who was looking Aria dead in the eyes "...Aldari is right, we can't be fighting amongst ourselves, not with so much chaos happening in the kingdom tearing the city in half. So please, Aria, try and refrain from the violent threats..." Aria looked Arin in the eyes and took a deep breath, sighing softly and closing her eyes. She then opened them and glanced Florentine's way "The Castus Cruorem killed because of prejudice, because of what we are. The only reason I would harm another is to preserve what peace we still have. If anyone found out about Arin and the others...If anything were to happen to my son..."

Arin placed a hand on Aria's shoulder, cutting her off "...You can't always be there to protect me, mother. If I'm going to be a king, I have to learn to stand on my own, to defend myself. I can't always have you coming to my rescue, otherwise, I'll never get stronger..." Aria's eyes widened as she stared in Arin's direction, shocked by his words "...That...That's the first time I've ever heard you call me that..." "Yeah, well, it's long overdue, for someone who went through all of the trouble keeping my dark rage under wraps in the human realm. Only a true mother would do that for a child she cared for. Now, let's stop the in-fighting, alright?" Aria nodded softly, and took another, shaky breath "Yes...Of course son." She then turned back to Florentine "...I apologize for my rash words, Florentine, they were out of line. But please understand, they were only the words of a protective mother, wanting to ensure the safety of her child, and the children of this land."

[Lance]

Lance tensed his body, ready to slip free of Umbra's hold when she restrained him, only to relax when she mentioned Mephisto. The airman looked up and saw the man smirking softly as he set a large metal case onto the bar with a thud. "Heh, looks like the kid's learning quick, good to know the future wind king doesn't need too much of a leg up in that regard.~"

Lance grinned and escaped from Umbra's grasp, "Where'd you get an attache case? Pretty sure you can't make them here, at least not like that."

The bartender just smirked and poured himself a tumbler of whiskey, plopping a spherical chunk of ice into the drink before taking a swig. "Aria ain't the only one who knows how to take day trips into the human world kid. I keep a few of 'em on me, they're durable and ya really sell that you mean business when you lay one of these baby's on a table."

Mephisto placed his glass on the bar and opened the case, flipping the lid open and revealing Lance's new armor, which looked completely different than before. "I might have overdone it a bit...~ There was so much spare material that I decided to say "Fuck it" and go all out."

Lance walked over to the case and pulled put the armor's helmet, surprised at how light it was. "I know that alloy is lighter than full metal, but it should still have a decent amount of weight...and how'd you make it all gold and shit? Not that I'm complaining, I think it suits me.~"

"Well, the coloring was due to some good old fashioned alchemy, as for how light it is, I loaded this baby up with enough enchantments to make a member of the mage's college weak in the knees. even better, they're runic enchantments, etched right into the armor with a mana stone and chisel, so it'll take more than just a dispelling charm to kill those babies."


Pagan's smirk became far less smug when Aria apologized to him, and became downright friendly when Arin stepped in and spoke to her, actually calling her "Mother" for the first time. When Aria apologized for her harsh response, he simply nodded and held out his hand, his voice playfully cordial once again. "Of course my dear, what kind of man would I be to hold a grudge? As for your protectiveness regarding your child...well, that's what I came to town to discuss."

The tailor turned to Aldari, his smile not fading even as his tone became more serious. "Rosaline and her entourage were nearly killed by bandits about three days ago during a rainstorm. Their carriage had gotten bogged down in the mud and the sodding bastards thought they could get some revenge for that Oni, Kabuki trouncing them about a month before. Luckily for her AND us, I had guards patrolling the roads once I learned they would pass through my Duchy. They're well on their way now however, freshly clothed and restocked on supplies."

Aldari sighed heavily and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Gods damn it...it feels like my own FUCKING kingdom is falling apart...thank you for sheltering them Florentine, I shall reward you f-" The king was silenced by a finger to his lips, the eccentric noble just smirking at him.

"Think nothing of it, as Aria said...my actions were simply that of a protective parent...and yes, I did inform her of who I was."

[Arin]

Umbra looked at the armor and tipped her glasses a little bit, smiling devilishly "Quite the magnificent piece of work you've made, Mephisto.~ Our future king here will look quite dashing in his new kingly attire.~ And with his newly acquired talents, I believe he will be ready for anything now, even his own emotions.~"

Aria took Florentine's hand and shook it, happy that they had settled their differences. When she heard that Rose and her Oni companion were attacked by rogue bandits seeking revenge, she sighed and shook her head "Even after being nearly wiped out, the remnants of those ruffians continue to cause us trouble. Still, at least they are alright."

[Lance]

Lance picked up one of the gauntlets in the case, his eyes widening as the rest of the armor exploded into a swarm of floating motes of light, the small glittering orbs hovering in place for a moment before flying into the remaining piece of the suit. "Whoa...let me guess, if I take the glove off, the armor comes with it?"

Mephisto smirked and nodded, "Heh, Yep. I've also added some other goodies. Mana channeling runes to help with your spellcasting, the weight reduction enchantments I mentioned...aaaand the granddaddy, an expandable translation rune.~"

Lance quirked an eyebrow, his expression confused. "Expandable? What, you can add new languages onto it? How the hell do you do that?"

The Bartender chuckled, "The Rune is actually a very densely woven string of smaller runes, each one being another language. It's tricky as hell to make, so don't go to anyone but me for it alright? These things are a bitch to undo, let alone RE-do."

The airman nodded and slid the gauntlet onto his right hand, clenching his fist to test it's fit, needless to say it was perfect. "Got it, I'm guessing my weapons are squirreled away in a rune too." Lance looked at Umbra before looking down at his outfit, which was still rather rough looking. "I can deck myself out in some new threads later, time to unfuck our little fellowship, eh?"

Florentine just chuckled, his voice becoming a bit icy again. "Oh don't worry about the bandits...I had their leader's head sent to the rest of them, with a nice little note pinned to his head with a nail. It was on my own home made stationary!~" The tailor's voice snapped back to chipper at the end, his smile brightening up considerably. "Now let's all head on to the Guildhall and get SHITFACED!~"

[Arin]

Umbra nodded and walked over to Lance, placing a hand on his shoulder "Darling, with my tutoring, you'll BE a weapon.~ But yes, we should return to your friends and make amends, it's not wise to dwell on old emotions, especially with your magic.~" She turned and aimed a hand away from the bar, drawing a circle in the air with her hand. In mere moments, the space before them opened up into what appeared to be a city street, before she drew the portal to them and transferred them both without a second thought.

As Florentine suggested the group return to the guild hall and get 'shitfaced', Aria flinched as she sensed -and heard- a familiar voice behind her "Aria, dear.~ You were going to go have a party and you didn't invite me?~ I'm hurt, truly.~" "...Oh by the gods..." She turned and gave Umbra a nervous smile, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly "...Umbra...It's been a while, hasn't it?" "Far too long for me to meet my favorite pupil again.~" She strutted over, hips swaying as the black-clad witch approached her more brightly dressed counterpart "You MUST get me caught up on all of your fun adventures, dear, we haven't talked in CENTURIES!~"

Arin noticed Lance standing behind Umbra as she approached Aria, walking over and giving the airman a neutral expression, but the guilt in his eyes was unmistakable "...Hey..."

[Lance]

Lance smirked at Aria's discomfort, finding it a bit cathartic, if admittedly petty. When Arin walked up to him and spoke, he shifted his attention to the newly confirmed Twilight noble.

The airman nodded at Arin, his expression equally neutral, though he didn't seem to show any guilt on his part. However, given how guarded Lance was with uncomfortable emotions, it was possible that his poker face was just better than Arin's was. "Hey...looks like things have been interesting since I left. I take it Akatosh stormed off too eh?" Lance's eyes flicked up to Luna for a moment, the Dark Elf walking up behind Arin to join him. "Well, at least Luna stuck around, Nyx too."

Lance smiled slightly at that, waving to the Arachne before sighing softly and looking back at Arin, deciding to just bite the bullet. "Alright...enough fuckin' around. Look, I'm...I'm sorry for being such an asshole dude, yeah I was having an episode, but that's no excuse to be an asshole to you, OR to hit Luna like I did...hell I-Well, I meant to hit her but I, shit that sounds worse..."

Luna cut in to save Lance from tripping over his own words, her tone level and non-accusatory. "You lost control of your magic and hit me far harder than you meant to, I understand Lance. I...well, I won't say I deserved a broken nose, but you had every right to be furious with me. Of all the people to mock you for suffering from emotional turmoil, I have the least excuse, given that Arin has been suffering from it because of his magic for so long. I apologize for my insult, and I swear to you that I was only speaking in anger at the time."

Lance nodded, "Yeah...me too. And Arin, Aria's offer was an actual thing that happened, but I shouldn't have used it to piss you off dude, that was a low blow even by my nearly non-existent standards." 

[Arin]

Arin looked back at Aria as she was being embarrassed by her former mentor, his lips curling into a slight half smirk as Lance made his comment about Aria "...To be fair, I've learned far more about my adopted mother than I'd care to admit over the past few months, and I'm still trying to deal with them." He silently held his right hand out, waiting for Lance to take it, but immediately gripped his hand hard and struck Lance with a solid left hook to the jaw.

Once all that was said and done, while still gripping Lance's hand in his own, he reached up with his left hand and healed the spot where he hooked Lance in the face "That was just for your behavior earlier, on the ship. So, we cool?"

[Lance]

Lance's head rocked back a bit when Arin slugged him, a thin trickle of blood leaking from his swollen lip before Arin had the chance to heal him. The airman was silent for a moment, looking back down at Arin and locking eyes with him.

Luna held her breath, her hand instinctively drifting towards her weapon as Lance just stared at her Fiancee, his expression unnervingly emotionless. "Lance?"

There was a sudden flare of mana that swirled around Lance, and a strong gust of air billowed towards Arin, signaling an attack...only for Lance to pull a monogrammed handkerchief out of his pocket and let it go, sending it flying right into Arin's face. "Now we're cool smartass.~ And you hit like a fucking 5 year old by the way." Lance's lips curled into a smirk as he walked past Arin, patting him on the shoulder as he did.

[Arin]

Arin grabbed the handkerchief from his face and smirked as he watched Lance walk off, talking shit and giving Lance a soft slap on the back "Guess I'm going to have to change that, then, won't I?~" He looked over to Luna and smiled reassuringly, before following Nyx and Lance, who were making their way to the guild hall.

As they drew closer to the guild hall, Arin couldn't help but whistle as he saw the number of dragons flying around the castle, swooping into different sections of the castle's interior to hopefully thaw out the building so that the resident nobles could reclaim their home again "Hard to believe there are so many dragons working to fix the damage that has been done here, all at Alduin's command."

"Yes, well he is the father of dragon's.~ How could any of them refuse his command if he gave it?~" Umbra spoke from behind, Aria following close behind, but clearly a bit uncomfortable with Umbra's presence here "And I hear from the grapevine that your son has befriended a child of the dragon king, one of my youngest in fact.~ Well played, young man.~ And I believe you have something of mine, if you would be so kind as to return it to me?~" Arin blinked a couple of times, before realizing what she meant, taking the handkerchief and placing it back in Umbra's hand "Sorry, didn't know who's it was when Lance threw it in my face."

[Lance]

Lance grinned and walked up to Umbra, giving her a small wave and flaring his mana, the gauntlet on his right arm glowing softly. The runes etched into it's surface flared to life, revealing an previously unseen network of intricate carvings that were artfully concealed along it's contours. Then, Lance spoke, but instead of in a human tongue, it sounded like he was speaking in the same harsh series of clicks and otherworldly noises that Umbra had earlier. "Sorry about keeping you waiting Nyx, as you can see a lot...well, a lot kind of happened at once.~"

Lance's words were seeming gibberish to most of the group, but Nyx would be able to understand perfectly, after all, he WAS speaking her mother tongue thanks to those runes.

Luna cocked an eyebrow at Lance's now incomprehensible speech, but simply sighed and shook her head, walking up next to Arin and following Umbra along with everyone else. "Still more interesting company, we seem to have become magnets for the unorthodox, even by this realms standards."