Expedition to Autunno Keep [PLOT] Day 1 - Hard Landing

Having found a nice dark corridor to sit in, not too far from the sleeping area, Aphelion took out a bottle of cider and started drinking it. As he did, more and more of his idiocy returned to him, until he sighed from happiness.

"This didn't turn out half bad... Considering there are 7 females in here and I already saw two naked it's a pretty decent score for one day." he said to himself while spinning the neck of the bottle between his fingers. "Now I ought to decide on who's the cutest one..." he began meditating over the thought, trying to find an answer.

Nodding slightly, she would start walking to where she saw the mattresses, taking one in the furthest corner, she would drag a second one before lying down, curled into a ball slightly. Taking off her cloak and putting it across her, she would place her weapons by her face, player on top of them, "Well miss Knight, I hope you do a good job." With that she would let her aura glow and emit a small amount of heat, starting to watch 'Blue Vs Red' in a lowered volume.

"Well if you weren't going to look, then why did you insist on staying in here?!"  Isabelle went to say something else, but stopped herself short and sighed.  "I'm going to get dressed now."  She opened her bag and took out a change of clothes.  "Just go, please.  I'll be out there in a minute.  That is, unless you want to continue watching."

"I did not insist... I pointed out the option... implicit in your request that I keep... people away... I then gave more explicit option to have... me go out there, and you said... to stay." Leonius crossed his arms, slow footfalls making their way to the door. "... Though you again... leave option in your instruction... But I will wait... outside to avoid causing... further stress."

Stepping out, he glanced around before going to the opposite wall, leaning against it, and crossing his arms.

Slowly, he closed his eye, sighing. Perhaps I should have kept still my tongue, and kept accidental offense from knowledge. ... Did I used to think like that... or is it the machine's logic? Slowly, his eye opened. "... The answer, for the record... lies in that walk up the cliff... delivering you to safety... and in your voice..."

Again, his eye closed, and this time he didn't fight the memory that came back.

Yin clenched his fists, but said nothing. He had no words, simply because he knew, deep down, that this walking mass of metal and flesh was right. The Faunus civil rights movement existed. There was a whole community of people fighting for the rights of his people, and here he was attacking people who didn't actually do anything. Inadvertently, he was skewing people's opinions about Faunus, and not in a good way.

As he came to this realization, a wave of crushing shame came over him, and he couldn't even bring himself to say anything to the half-man. He walked slowly away from the closet door. He made his way to the main chamber and slumped against the wall. Oh man, He thought, I've messed up.

Isabelle buried her face in her hands and sighed.  I don't know whether or not to believe him...  But he does have a point...  Standing up, she began putting on the clothes she had taken from her bag.  Picking up the dirty ones off of the floor, she put them in a separate pocket of her bag to prevent them from contaminating anything else.  After taking a couple of minutes to calm down, she pushed the curtain aside and walked out of the room, standing next to Leo.  "I suppose one person seeing me naked is a lot better than half a dozen people.  So thanks."

Leonius had been, in his memories, sitting in the hospital, trying to move the arm he no longer had. When Isabelle emerged, the recollection shattered, a welcome reprieve. He took a few moments before he spoke. "... Apologies, again... If it is any consolation... I was telling the truth... about my night vision not being as good... as Faunus with the full gift..." He cleared his throat, averting his gaze for a moment before looking back. She was cute when she was blushing and her life wasn't in danger. "Embarrassment and rage... aside... I trust you feel... better now..."

As a faint mist seeped out from under the curtain, Leonius closed his eye.

"... The way that you phrased questions... is interesting... Why did you ask... if I would prefer to watch?" He tilted his head. "Sarcasm... is a given option... but... in pondering this..." His speaking slowed, and he looked down. "... I begin to question... whether my humanity... has slipped further... without my notice..."

Melissa attempted to stand vigil over Aoife like she said she would, standing guard and watching for any potential threats. For about a minute, she succeeded in keeping the horizon free of threats. Only for a minute though, as after that long, agonizing minute of standing guard, Melissa's pitiful attention span waned and she got bored, deciding to lie down on the other mattress Aoife had brought over to watch whatever she was watching alongside her.

She watched in confusion for a few minutes, unsure what what going on at all, "What's this show? I don't get it!" She asked quietly.

Straightening, Aoife pauses the video and changes it all the way to episode 1, pausing it a few seconds in. Now turning to face her, she would offer the player to her with a smile, stating quietly, "It's beyond my capabilities to explain, but it is pretty funny and has large fight sequences large around seasons nine and ten. Can watch it if you want."

"Ooooh...." Melissa says, taking the player with a look of awe in her eyes, apparently having never seen something like this before. She looked at it from all angles, poking several points of it curiously, completely forgetting about the video. When she accidentally started it, she almost jumped up in shock before realizing it was just the video. She blushed, but became engrossed in it before she could worry too much about looking like a fool.

Smirking slightly, she would say in a rather tired voice, "Don't break it, they are set to go to the next episode automatically. Just relax and wake me if I start burning anything." After that she would close her eyes and start sleeping, a near inaudiable cooing akin to a babies starting being barely heard by Melissa.

After a while of meditating, Aphelion sighed and got up, putting the bottle back into his bag. Insufficient data. he thought as he went to the sleeping areas, moved as far from others as possible and sat down, legs crossed, while starting to scan over the area.

"Yeah, I was being sarcastic.  You think I'd really want you to keep watching after how I reacted?"  As for his comments about his loss of humanity, she didn't really know what to say.  Judging by how he had acted on the cliffs, he must have gone through a lot in his past.  Whatever it was, it must have been horrible if it put him in this sort of state.

"Ha, with the way my luck has been today it will be Uras in toilets." Chiu replied glumly. So far she had been able to the blood off her blades and had moved on to re-honing their edges. Viola had a point though, Chiu had only brought three spare clips of each blade. Nowhere near enough if the hordes of Grimm just outside found a way in. If the rumors were true, and the airship that brought them here was destroyed, there was a very real chance the only way any of them were getting home was in a box. Putting down her whetstone, Chiu turned to Viola.

"V...If this ends up being a one way trip I just want to say that I am glad I met you." Chiu told her. "I really wish you weren't here, but I'm glad you are."

"You never... know... Some people have... strange preferences..." Leonius shrugged softly, sighing. "... Though you are correct... It should have been obvious... but it was processed... without inflection or tone... taken into account..."

He looked down at his left hand, frowning.

"... When I carried you up... that cliff... and I heard that weakness in your voice... it reminded me... of what turned me into... this..."

Slowly, Leonius squeezed that hand into a fist. He felt very little from it.

"... It reminded me... of the tone in my voice... after my accident..." He closed his eye. "I flashed back... to the amputation of this arm... To the feeling of... massive blood loss..." His hand lowered, and his eye opened, his head turning so he could see her with his natural vision. "... You did... what I did not... You remained... intact..." The giant swallowed, not particularly sure he wanted to say this, but he continued, though her looked away. "... I cannot describe... how desperately I hoped for this... outcome... I suppose it is a form... of projection... Surviving vicariously... through the health of another..."

He chuckled sadly, looking again at his hand.

"... It sounds stupid... saying it aloud..." Leo's eyes went back to Isabelle. "... But in a way... I suppose you gave me... an admittedly shallow... but much-needed... hope..."

Once again, she was speechless.  Having someone who actually cared about her...  That hadn't happened in a long, long time.  She desperately wanted to know what had occurred in his past, what had caused him to end up in that suit, but couldn't bring herself to ask.  Bothering him about it would just bring back more bad memories.  Curiosity killed the cat.  After a few moments of silence, she sighed and gestured towards the main room with her hand.  "Maybe I should...  get some sleep.  It's getting late, and it's certainly been a rough day for all of us."

Leonius nodded, biting his lip under his helmet. Idiot... He cursed his openness, wishing he had kept his goddamn mouth shut. But he nodded again. "... Yes... That would perhaps... be best... Though I am... unable to sleep... I remember well the body's need for it..."

He walked to the door to the main hall, pushing it open for her.

"... Apologies... for having... dropped all of that on you... I should have stayed... tongue..." He looked away, the only sound he made for a moment being the steady hiss of his life support. "... I will walk the halls for a time... and keep watch... No threat... born of mortal dirt... will rise over your rest... This I promise."