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year 5, quarter 3
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It'd been a hot minute since the last time Caius and Celes had gone on a job together. Not too long, but long enough for it to feel like forever to Caius. The two had started working separately a bit more in order to recruit new members. Caius was... Still working on it, though he had someone in mind that he wanted to ask at some point. Celes though, had sent him a letter claiming there was someone that she wanted him to meet, who was to be the newest member of the Dragonblades. He supposed it figured she would beat him to it - Celes seemed to be the type that would be better with people than he was. Just another skill he was going to have to pick up if Caius was to get this whole operation off the ground. But truthfully, he was really just looking forward to seeing Celes again. He thought very highly of the girl, and held a great deal of respect for her as well. But most of all, she was just someone that Caius was comfortable with, who he felt like he could be himself around. There wasn’t really anyone else that Caius felt safe to just let his hair down around, Celes was that one person.
Of course he was curious about what this new member she touted was like too. As Caius stepped into the inn they would be meeting, he had to wonder what he would find. Another swordsman-mage hybrid like Celes? Maybe a healer, or a pure mage? He was curious about what they would be like... He doubted Celes would ask anyone that was sketchy if they could join. Though judging by Matteus, she did seem to hang out with some sketchy people, he realized... As he entered the inn, he looked around for the familiar long blonde hair that he'd grown accustomed to seeing.
Final Fantasy VI
22
YEARS
Female
Complicated
Heterosexual
429 POSTS
Fin
Use your own eyes and see for yourself whose side I'm on!
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
”Alright, Relm. He’ll likely resist at first, but I think he can be persuaded. If he doesn’t, then I’ll bring you along anyway and he’ll see for himself. It’s that simple, really.”
They walked down the street together -- Celes and Relm -- as though they really were the sisters that Relm claimed her to be. The streets bustled at this time of day, and Celes could just barely smell the musk of the river from their busy walkway. Her boots clicked along wooden planks, and she took care to keep her eyes forward, her shoulders back in confidence even as her armor drew stares from all directions.
Today, she was not a civilian but a mercenary. Today, blending in among the people meant nothing if it couldn’t protect her, and today she’d hung her sword comfortably from her hip no matter what kind of attention it drew.
Today, she was meeting with Caius. And that always meant trouble.
”To be honest he’s wanted me searching for new members for a while now. I haven’t had much luck so far -- not that I’ve tried. You’re the only one I’ve met since then who’s been interesting enough to pay attention to.”
She approached the inn’s door without particularly looking at it. She’d come here often enough to know its layout without a second glance, and she strode in as though the world would part before her. Her eyes scanned the crowds without much interest until she found Caius at their usual corner. She approached with the same air as though there was absolutely nothing unusual about the eleven year old girl tagging along at her side.
Bargaining, she’d found, often came down to nothing more than a matter of confidence. And she refused to falter even slightly when it came to Relm.
“Caius.” She nodded to him. “Sorry we’re a little late. Relm got caught up in painting and then we had to clean it all up and some of it dripped onto the floor and-.” She caught herself. Caius didn’t need to hear that part. ”Anyway, here we are. Caius, meet Relm.” Celes gestured towards her. ”She’s from my world and currently living with me. She knows almost as much magic as I do, and she fought alongside me just as bravely as anyone. You see, she can paint things and…” Celes paused. ”...And they come alive...To fight.”
She stopped and silence overtook her. She opened her mouth and then closed it again, cheeks already warming.
Relm nodded in acknowledgement of what her friend and guardian said. That wss the annoying thing about being so young. People tended to underestimate you. Most of all if they didn't k know you. Celes didn't, but Celes knew her abilities well enough to know she wasn't just a random useless kid to. She had magic! Magic art, magic in general! Sure she couldn't use swords or axes or anything like that but she was plenty useful. She showed that back in their world. She would show it here. She wanted to help Celes. She didn't want t go just sit at home and wait to be taken care of. She did that plenty before the last 'adventure' so not this time!
"Can't I just draw his portrait? People tend to stop doubting when their hitting themself!"
She would giggle at her joke. Well mostly a joke. If Celes approved.
"I understand Celes! I'll just show what I can do, hard to deny a good magic user right? Kid or not!"
He wanted Celes to go on a recruiting drive? Right, sure. Good luck with that guy she doesn't know the name of yet. Celes could be awkard around people she knew, around allies to. Unless Celes had some hidden recruitment skill she was hiding she just coudn't see it. Heck she was pretty sure the time she gathered everyone up last time was kind of a special case. What with the world being blown apart and mad clown gods will sky lasers needing to be taken down.
"Why don't you guys just get a recruiter? Oooh I know I can paint a banner for it! Make it just right and bring the people flying it!"
She struck a confident pose at the inns door, clearly confident she could pull off such a great easily for her teamates. She followed behind Celes, her looks more curious than the former generals. She looked everywhere, and at everyone. The contrast between the twos pattern walking up to Caius likely night and day before Relm stopped and focused on him.
....Forget merceney group, shd was pretty sure people were just gonna assume they were a family that happened to go out snd kill monsters and stuff! They were all blonde, along with other physcal similarities. She coudn't help but chuckle. She let Celes explain the situation aftet that, nodding her confirmation with a light frown at the end. It ended on a more happy note but she still regretting upsetting Celes at the start. She fixed it but... Well she would make up for it by helping here! Celes wanted her to help to so she would! Child or not she was eager to show exactly what she was capable of!
"Hello Caius!"
A cheerful greeting came from the pictomancer as she waved.
Celes was trying to explain her powers. It occurred to her she never really... Told anyone how they work. Mostly because she didn't think about the how to much. It was her magic. She painted and things came to be. She painted life. That was her skill.
"Well I can use normal magic like Celes said. As for my painting well... What I paint comes to life. I guess that's the easiest wsy to put it. Water, trees people... What I meant comes to be if I put magical energy behind it... Oh like this!"
She would take out a small pad and paints she brought with her. For a moment she was comeplty silent as she went to work. When she fiished...
Flash!
Their was another Celes by the original Celes, the appearance, from looks to have stance the exact same. Every detail was there, even the sword at her side, Relm grinned.
"They can use their abilities to! Like this other Celes can use her magic, combat, even that whole hero magic absorbing deal! Course their only gonna last so long in combat to, really effective though!"
Yup yup, the best way was to just show what she could do. After all Celes was backing her up anyway, how could you deny someone who could litterly paint things to life?
Post by Caius Dragelion on Feb 14, 2019 10:01:16 GMT -6
Suppose this world isn't so terra-ble.
@tag Word Count: OOC: Caius needs a strong drink. Dialogue Color: 196fd1 Party Sprites Credit
"Celes!"
Caius would greet his mercenary partner warmly, a bright smile crossing his face as he would get to his feet from the chair. Caius' greetings when the two met up seemed to have increased in energy ever so slowly. Even Caius hadn't fully realized the extent, but he at least realized that he couldn't help but feel joy when she came around. Bonding with one's comrades was something that Caius was familiar with, but... There was something about her that was just... Different. There was the bond he'd held with his teammates, as blunt, simple and apathetic as it was, and then there was Celes. He supposed this was just what it was like to actually have a friend, to actually be close to someone. At least, that was how he interpreted things. So he supposed his mannerisms would change unconsciously too... Even if even he hadn't, again, fully realized just how much he had changed.
Or even changed overall, not just with Celes. He was a far cry from the cold and blunt mercenary that had walked into that haunted mansion some time ago.
Celes would explain that there was some kind of painting incident and they had to clean it up, but Caius just shrugged his shoulders. She was here and there was business to conduct, it was no big deal. Celes would introduce Relm, who had been living with her, and Caius would smile gently as he would bow his head toward her in greeting.
"It's good to meet you, Relm."
But when Celes started talking about how she had fought with her back in her world, and her abilities... That was when Caius' smile faded as he realized this was who Celes intended to bring into the Dragonblades.
Caius' expression went from a joyful one to that serious, stern, blunt expression that Celes was probably more used to. He looked her dead in the face, studying her expression as if he were waiting for it to come out that she was joking. But no, she wasn't joking. So he spoke. Calmly, yet firmly.
"You wish to put a child in harm's way" Caius spoke. His tone was completely neutral, betraying no emotion. "Is that what you're telling me?"
Caius had no doubts that the child had abilities. He had begun learning to use a sword when he was around her age. He had begun fighting for real around the age of 13. But Caius had grown into a young man before he started taking on the things that the Dragonblades took on now... This one was still a child. And if Caius could, he would have gladly reversed the fact he'd gone through what he had at the age he did... This child didn't deserve to see the horrors that Caius and Celes did on a regular basis. Especially when she was clearly even younger than he was when he'd started.
The child, Relm, would introduce herself next as Caius turned his attention to her. His expression remained the same as she would explain her use of magic. He watched with calm interest as she would begin to work to back up her claims. Her drawing would suddenly come alive, and take the form of Celes. Even apparently having the same abilities as the original. Caius couldn't help but shudder at the sight of a doppelgänger to... Pretty much anything at this junction. He'd had enough experience with doppelgängers to last a lifetime.
Caius let out a sigh, before he looked toward Celes again.
"The child's talent is undeniable. I won't pretend that's not the case. But she understands what we do, right? We fight behemoths, undead, everything under the sun. And there's that... Certain someone, that we're hunting. I don't know if someone her age is ready for that. I sure as hell wasn't at her age."
But he knew Celes wouldn't budge on the matter and the Glaive would quickly order a much stronger drink.
"Perhaps we might test her in some fashion? While I have no doubts she can clear a group of monsters with her abilities, especially if you are stating she played a big hand in your adventure... But it's hard to say if she can handle the marathon that is many of our jobs. By the stories you told me, you had a larger group at the time to cover for any possibilities, and who knows when we'll have that, or if we'll always be in situations like that even after we do. She needs to be able to handle herself to the point that we don't have to worry about her while we're fighting. If we're forced to be constantly distracted... It will be the end of both of us, and her" Caius would point out. "There are going to be times we have to give our battles our full focus... And possibly even times that we get separated. I need to know that she's not at risk, and thus not a risk to us as well."
Was he being a little strict about it? Sure. But hopefully Celes would understand that Caius was looking out for all three of them. It would do Relm no good for them to lead her to her death. And it would do them no good for Relm to lead them to their own deaths.
Final Fantasy VI
22
YEARS
Female
Complicated
Heterosexual
429 POSTS
Fin
Use your own eyes and see for yourself whose side I'm on!
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
Caius reacted exactly as Celes feared he would. He’d brightened at the sight of her, introduced himself to Relm with a welcoming fervor, and then paused as he realized what it meant. His smile flickered and then died. If anything, Celes had underestimated his disgust.
”You wish to put a child in harm's way.” His voice was even, his eyes cool. Celes couldn’t help but wince at his tone. ”Is that what you're telling me?"
”Well…” He might have been blunt, but he wasn’t wrong. That was exactly what she was doing, wasn’t it? If it had been anyone else, she would have relented, but when it came to Relm… ”I know how it sounds,” she said. ”I tried to keep her from it, but she insisted, and I honestly couldn’t argue. At the of it all, she was one of our world’s strongest fighters -- man, woman, or child. Certainly stronger than, say, Locke or Setzer. I started at her age so who am I to stop her?”
Relm was more than happy to demonstrate. She pulled out her sketchpad and brought her brush to it excitedly, flicking it about almost faster than Celes could follow. In less than a minute, her sketch was completed, and Celes blinked slowly as her own face reflected from its pages.
Sick realization struck her the moment before it happened. Relm had drawn her. She was about to leap from her sketchpad.
”Relm, don’t-!” She started, but the spell had already been cast. In a flash of light, another figure stood beside her -- herself. Celes stared at her own reflection. It seemed for all the world as thought a full-length mirror had thrust itself before her except the image came clear and unaltered. She felt her stomach twist at the sight of it, felt her cheeks warm in a kind of idle nausea. ”Oh.” It was the only noise she could manage. Did she really look so…harsh?
She hardly noticed Caius relenting -- for a trial run at least. She hardly noticed his attention turn to her, his reservations, his warnings. Because her doppleganger stood there with an oddly dead look to its eyes. It was perfect in every way, but it didn’t move right -- or rather, it didn’t move enough. This magical projection didn’t need air the way she did, didn’t fidget or sway in idle movements that came naturally to everything truly alive. Celes couldn’t shake the subconscious warnings that the thing might attack, that it might replace her in some ghoulish act of rebellion. But of course this was Relm. She’d do nothing of the sort, and Celes had seen her portraits disappear countless times for herself. But still…
The feeling couldn’t be reasoned with. Celes refused to take her eyes off the thing.
”A test…” It came as an echo almost beyond her control. ”Yes, I don’t think she’d...mind.” Celes tore her attention away for half a second, shooting Relm a sharp glance. ”Could you get rid of this thing? It’s distracting.”
With that said, she took breath and tried to steady herself. What had Caius said? Relm wouldn’t be ready to travel and fight dangerous monsters? That they ought to test her to make certain they wouldn’t need to protect her in battle? All reasonable objections, she supposed, and ones that Relm would be more than happy to prove wrong. She hummed to herself.
”Well, she’s fought worse than behemoths before.” A sad statement now that she said it out loud and away from catastrophe, but there it was. ”And she’d just be alone in the city if she couldn’t follow us, and isn’t that more neglectful than letting her fight?” In truth, that wasn’t much of a concern for Celes, but she supposed Relm might get lonely eventually. Or maybe she wouldn’t. What did Celes know about children?
”Back then, we usually fought in groups of four or less so the battlefield wasn’t too crowded. She’ll prove herself flawlessly, and you’ll see for yourself that she’s a valuable asset. If we’re to grow our numbers, she’s an obvious place to start. She’s already living with me, after all.”
Celes crossed her arms. She couldn’t help but imagine the doppleganger doing the same, and the thought chilled her. Was that really what she looked like? So cold and uncompromising? She unfolded them slowly. ”Well, Relm? Do you think you’re up to the challenge?”
At first he was kind, but the man named Caius quickly got on her nerve for two reasons. One was what she was used getting. People underestimated a child, in Caius' case even after seeing his skills. But that was normal, it was annoying but that was it. What bothered her more was Caius' accusation of Celes. His accusation was that Celes wished to put her in harms way. That was wrong on so many levels! She let thrm talk for a moment but then she spoke up, rather seriosly, her hands on her hips which likely gave her a comical look despite what was clear seriosness coming from her.
"Wrong! I'm putting MYSELF in danger Mr.Gloomy! Its my choice! I'm not some weak child!
Celes was fragile enough without this big dummy making her feel guilty. That was partly becsuse of her, twice now. She looked to Celes as she reacted to her painting. She messed up again. And the guilt hit her right away as Celes glared her. She talks about affecting Celes and then immeditly does it herself.
"I'm sorry"
She said it quickly and then right after dispelled the cloned Celes. One could tell in her expression that she was clearly bothered by that expression. She thought that, since they had done this before, many times in combat it would be ok but... She needed to be more careful! She didn't want to keep upsetting Celes like this. She directed her words back to Caius instead, getting back in her stride as she directed her words to his worries. Did he think those monsters worried her? Did Celes NOT tell this guy all the monsters they faced when traveling with the others?
Well she was bringing it up now! That was good. She gave a nod agreeing with Celes. A test? Of course she could handle this test. Celes was right they had fought way worse than thst even BEFORE Kefka's crazy shattered there world.
"Yeah! I can handle anything you can throw at me Mr.Gloomy! Behomoths, undead, magic monsters I can handle whatever you want! Besides... Celes is right, leaving me all alone is waaaay worse"
She tried to play it off as another nail to get her in, but Celes was more on the nose than she knew. Relm did not want to be alone. She hated it, wanted to avoid it at all cost. She didn't like it when everyone was seperated, she didn't like it when she was seperated from Strago.
She defently woudn't like it now.
"Yeah I'll show him exactly what I'm capable of without fail! Bring it on! Whatcha got Mr.Gloom? I'll prove myself right now!"
She was confident in that. She woudn't let Celes down ether! She had... Done that enough already.
She would ace this! She was going to prove herself
The child lambasted him for his reaction to the idea of her joining the Dragonblades, and he supposed he couldn't blame her either. It wasn't like he hadn't been one to jump into things before his age stated he was ready. It was him who had falsified his identification to get into the Hunter's Guild back in Eos, after all. He had been a tall fellow even at that age, so he'd been able to narrowly pass. He noticed Celes seemed more distracted by the doppelganger than anything else, and before it disappeared he stopped to stare at it a few moments. It really was creepily lifelike, wasn't it? He had almost thought to make a joke, but Celes clearly wasn't happy at the sight of the thing. He supposed he could understand how she felt, right? That whole haunted mansion thing was evidence enough of that.
The two weren't budging on the subject, and Caius let out an exasperated exhale. "A test... Hmm..." Caius mused as he would sit back down and open his notebook, going through a few things. "The question is how to see if Relm can handle something that isn't just straight up fighting a few monsters and going home. That whole thing at the mountains would have been perfect for this, but that's done and past" He admitted, before finding something that he had written down.
"Truth be told, I took a job recently soon after I found out about this new recruit you'd talked about. I figured if they were available at the time, they could come with me for it so I could get a chance to see what they can do. Appears some bandits have taken some folks hostage -- probably to sell off --- and one of them happens to be some nobleman's boy. They've given me the location of their camp, and would like them to be rescued as soon as possible. I intend to get them out as well as anyone else they've got holed up there. I'll be leaving in the morning to take care of that. Perhaps that could serve as her test?" He suggested.
"While they're probably not as dangerous as monsters per se, they're human which makes them that much more unpredictable. Makes the whole situation more unpredictable, especially when there are lives at stake. If Relm is as capable as you say, though, then we should be able to handle this no problem, no matter what they do. And if she can do that, then I have absolutely no problem with bringing her on board."
He looked back to Celes, then. "Do you think that's something she would be capable of handling?" He inquired toward her. He looked to Relm after that. "Relm? How about you?"
It was a job that put a lot of pressure on everyone involved to not only deal with the bandits, but also with ensuring the safety of the people they intended to get out. Having lives in your hands carried a lot of weight, far more than just that of dispatching monsters, and that was something that Caius wanted to ensure every member of the Dragonblades could handle going in. It was a huge reason why Caius was always so adamant about the person's strength of character when recruiting as well. The Dragonblades were out to help people, and much of that involved helping people at risk. Understanding the importance of these people's lives was integral to their mission.
Final Fantasy VI
22
YEARS
Female
Complicated
Heterosexual
429 POSTS
Fin
Use your own eyes and see for yourself whose side I'm on!
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
Relm was enthusiastic as always. Celes had almost forgotten her fighting spirit, and it made her stifle a laugh even as she wanted to smack a hand against her forehead. She wasn’t exactly making the best case for her maturity. If Caius noticed, he didn’t seem to mind though. Instead, he mused on exactly how to test her. Celes let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. If Caius was thinking it through then it meant he would at least consider her, and Celes had more riding on this decision than she’d ever let on.
Relm may have been a child, but she was familiar. Dependable. Though she’d never admit it, she longed to have the girl fight by her side.
Caius’ plan certainly was well thought out. If it was up to Celes, she would have just set the girl lose on some monsters and been done with it, but Caius was more discerning than that. Celes crossed her arms and listened, nodding whenever he said anything particularly of interest. Once he’d finished, she hummed her agreement.
”Of course she can. It’s not like she hasn’t fought humans before. The world we left was crawling with bandits, and then there were those cultists. Even before that, we were in the middle of a war -- or something like it. She fought the empire at least.” Saying it outloud made it sound worse than it was for a child her age, but the first two were unavoidable. It was simply the world they’d lived in. If Relm hadn’t been capable of defending herself, Celes shuddered to think what might have happened to her.
Celes glanced at Relm a little too sternly. All this talk of testing had her feeling like a general all over again. ”I want you to stay behind me and focus mostly on magic. I’ll cover you. Without a sword, you’ll be an easy target.” Celes paused. Had Celes ever commanded Relm before? They hadn’t often fought together. Well, there was a first for everything.
”That’s that then. If you know where we’re going then there’s no use wasting time.”
Caius wanted to test more than her fighting skill? Why? Wasn't that what mattered in this kind of group? Well... It didn't matter much! Whatever the test was she would still pass it And prove to this man she could fight and journey alongside them! It seemed the test for her was going to be helping in the rescuing of hostages taken by bandits. Was that all? She could do that! She helped her friends fight bandits, imperiels and among the worse Kefka's cultists. She was able to fight all of them, she was certain she could handle this to. She would cross her arms in response, giving a confident nod and grin.
"Of course I can handle it! Its like Celes said we've all faced way worse than this! I can work with yall and save them... They should be free, I've got this!"
She was confident in herself. She knew she could pass this test because... She had already been through worse. That wasn't to mock Caius' test, of course not! But in their world, speciully after Kefka their was so much worse than this. The spirit that tried to hold Cyan, the monster that attacked Terra's village. Phonix Cave... Even the art house where she was working for the weird old man you could almost mistake for a monster himself. Most of all... Kefka's tower... Kefka himself.
It wasn't an insult, but.. Relm had exprenced world's near end, she was just fairly certain she could handle a group of bandits in comparison. Still she supposed even with Celes vouching for her she would have to show Caius himself she could be a great help to them.
"Their's no need to sorry, I'll just show you all the magic that took down a mad clown god!"
With everyone else of course, but that still meant she could handle herself to. The three of them would save those people. She would psss this test. She hsd no doubts of that. Celes had confidence in her to... She just had to get to approval of Mr. Gloomy. Celes then gave her a stern look. At first she thought Celes might have still been cross with her from the painting, a hestient expression showed that worry for all of a moment before she smiled instead, straghting her posture in response to her. Celes was just taking command, taking the lead like the general she was. She had a feeling that was more confertablr for her. At least it seemed that way when groups were chosen on Setzer's airship. Good, if it made Celes happy she would follow it, it was PROBALY best to listen to the general anyway... Maybe she woudn't mess up and hurt her again.
"Right! Thats what I'm good at after all! I'll support you both with my spells and my art, we'll save em all no problem!"
She then turned to Caius, she was... Clearly fired up to prove herself with this test.
"Yeah let's get going, show us the way Mr. Gloomy!"
Relm seemed to think this was a test of her competence, Caius guessed by her answers. But he didn't doubt her competence if Celes was vouching for her that she had fought alongside her against the Empire. While her maturity was of question, that didn't matter so long as Caius knew she could get the job done. But there was a difference between fighting in a rebellion against a threat and this. And that was something that he wanted Relm to understand. The two wanted to leave right away, which was fine with him and he nodded his head to indicate that he would oblige. Celes and Relm had even figured out a strategy, which was good. He could tell they had experience together and Celes had a good idea of what Relm was capable of. But there was still something he had to take care of before they set out.
Caius let out an exhale as he would kneel down to be at level with Relm. This was not meant to disrespect her of course, this was his way of showing this was something he wanted her to listen to carefully. Something he wanted to tell her eye to eye, without having her need to look up at him. And standing at 6'4, there was a lot of looking up in this instance.
"I don't doubt your competence. I take the word of Celes very seriously, and if she says you're able to handle yourself well in battle then I have no reason to think otherwise" He clarified first in a calm tone as he looked her in the eyes. It said a lot about his respect for Celes that he would accept this about a child with little prior experience in how she operates, just based on the word of Celes. But he did still want her to understand the purpose of this test.
"As a member of the Dragonblades, every job you do carries pressure. Especially if it involves taking the lives of these people in your hands, as yes, their lives are very much in your hands in this instance if we go out there. If you fail, if people under your charge die, then it will reflect on the reputation of the Dragonblades. I won't get into the usual feelings that come with those sorts of casualties, as I'm sure you're familiar with them by now. But if that reputation suffers... That's less of a likelihood that your brothers and sisters in arms will be able to be hired -- which means a more difficult time putting food on theirs and their own family's tables. That includes Celes and I.
The Dragonblades are a family... Even at times we fight apart from each other, we all fight not just to help people here in Zephon, but to support that family. Carrying that burden is a great deal of responsibility, and with it, comes a lot of pressure. Not everyone can handle it, and it can lead them to make mistakes or hurt themselves in the long run. Which obviously, we can't have."
He let out a sigh. "This test is for just that, to see if you can handle that pressure. It feels wrong, almost cruel, to put that kind of pressure on a child. But if Celes will vouch for your capability to carry it, then I won't doubt her. We'll see on the field. If you feel its not something you can bear, of course you can say so. I will not judge if you do, just as I wouldn't if an adult was in that position."
He rose to his full height then, looking to Celes to see if she had changed her mind now that she knew the purpose of the test, and then to Relm. The test was to see if Relm could handle the lives of people in her hands, and the pressure that there was a possibility of failure -- one which if she did, it would effect the entire guild. Managing the pressure while accepting it was possible and doing one's best to prevent it was a big part of the job. It was very much possible that Relm was very familiar with this already, and this would be no problem. He hoped so, honestly. They could use people like her. But he didn't want to put that kind of strain on a child if they couldn't handle it. Or on anyone, for that matter. They typically tested recruits, so this wasn't outside of protocol at all. But it was all the more important now with a child involved.
With that, he began scooping up his things and headed for the door. "Finish what preparations may be necessary if you are still intent on doing this, and meet me at the stables. I'll go prepare our rentals."
