Free City, Truce - Fountain
A tiered fountain marks the center of Truce, water gushing from its
summit and trickling into a deep, wide basin, wrapped by a ring of benches.
Roads flow like rivers away from the fountain, and houses sprout like weeds
all around them. Not far to the east, the ocean roars in the harbor.

It's a busy evening in the City of Truce! A light snow falls from a thin bastion of clouds overhead, and the beginnings of the Holiday season are being felt here AND elsewhere. People are bundled up in their winter attire as they scurry to and fro, making and receiving plans with and from another as the month of joyful tidings is kicked off into high gear.

Mogwai wanders into the fountain, looking a tad ridiculous. Her winter coat has started to come in, making her look more dressed in the parts of her that aren't covered than the ones that are.

In the immediate vicinity of the fountain, a young girl is seen attaching what appears to one out of a large handful of flyers to the wooden notice board, happily pushing in a tack to help it stick. This girl seems a bit out of place given the weather around her, in the fact that she's wearing nothing but a leather band around her chest and a worn-out looking teal long skirt. Snow collects lightly on either of her shoulders as she puts up this and another flyer on a wooden post nearby, completely oblivious to the cold weather she's apparently basking in. A pair of oversized white wings, protruding from her back, sparkle beautifully from the snow that sticks to the composed feathers, but she seems not to notice.

Demeter walked to the fountain straining her eyes at a book in here hand, while she idly works a yoyo with her other hand. The yoyo spun out and rattled on the ground as Demeter snagged a quill from her sash and jotted a few things into her book. She returned the quill to the sash and flicked her wrists and got the yoyo going again *Thonk!* Demter closed the book forcefully and tucked it into her sash.

Demeter scowled here eyes, trying to readjust them and view her surroundings. "Hmm. I'm pretty sure I've been here before." she said turning in place scoping everything in Truce's center. She settles, looking at the fountain in a questionable way and says "Oh, no. Its hard to tell. These things are in almost every town.". Demeter turned about the area to ask someone what this place is called.

Tears rest at the edges of Kalin's eyes as the cold air buffets his face. Not far south of Truce, Sylphideon glides northward as fast as he can. His journey has shown him his limits in these forms, and he was certainly pressing it. Still, he was confident he wouldn't need to make a crash landing. He didn't expect the faces he wished to see to be conveniently placed, but his hopes would not be dashed.

Even though it's mostly unnecessary now, given her change, Vinyl Scratch enters the festively-decorated square, wearing a jacket and scarf. She's, as usual, pushing heavy equipment along with her forehooves.

The winged girl, complacent in her task, finds a few more unobstructed locations with which to put up flyers, which seem to advocate some sort of large-scale event to take place at some point, but the finer details are too small to deduce without actually reading it. Large three-toed (and one back toe) footprints are left in the snow as she moves from place to place, not minding the small crowd converging on the fountain. People were everywhere today, and it wasn't just here, either. Viorar, Tonoe, Arlia... she hadn't seen many people at the Monastery as she passed, though, unfortunately. Ah well.

There's a faint shimmer from Vinyl Scratch's metallic skin as it catches what little light is available, even as the robotic DJ continues setting up her turntable to entertain the gathering crowd. "Hope you folks're havin' some good times! If not, then let yours truly, DJ Pon-3, remix the freshest beats in Guardia!"

Demeter looked at Mogwai and thought about how she resembled a moogle but not quite like the onles she has seen. Demeter then wondered where it was she saw them. She glanced at her book and assumed she wrote it down in there, somewhere. Demeter came back to reality, no longer seeming so far away. She lightly cleared her throat. "Hey, fuzzy. Could you please tell me where I am?" she said to Mogwai smiling.

Mogwai fearfully glances up at the sky, breathing a sigh of relief when it's not on fire. However, she does see something to the south. She's momentarily distracted by Demeter's question "Hmm? Oh, you're in Truce, prime trading center of the Guardia continent."

The familiar sights of Truce flow beneath Kalin until he spots the fountain ahead. On the verge of deforming, his priority on landing trumps his desire to get a good look around first. He first dips downward a little before raising his altitude slightly to perform a reverse drop. With mastery over the manipulation of winds as Sylphideon, Kalin races towards the snow covered ground at an extreme speed.

Using wind manipulation, Kalin breaks his fall just above the ground and hovers for a second before landing gently. At the same time, the speedy landing caused a cloud of snow to rise up and stretch out. As the snow cloud dies down, Kalin can be seen as Eevee rather than Sylphideon. His fur is slightly thicker than it was before he left, and a yellow ribbon with a shard of a pokeball attached to it is wrapped around his neck.

Kimen didn't want to take any chances getting sick again so he was playing in the snow bundled up rather heavily to keep himself warm-- So much that the child looked almost like a walking purple marshmallow as he went about his games of tossing snow into the air and catching snowflakes on his tongue. Most adults didn't like the winter, but to a kid like Kimen the snow turned the world into a playground.

After a short time, and seeing no real empty spaces left with which to put flyers up and around, the not-dressed-for-winter girl turns around to give the small crowd a brief surveyance, tucking the rest of the flyers under her arm and smilingly brightly. A bit of water has formed on her shoulders where the snow had landed and subsequently melted, and it just kind of runs off down her collarbone and down her chest. "Hi guys! In case you all did not know yet, there is gonna be a festival in Viorar! You all should go, if you are not doing anything else that week!" She speaks the the pitch and enthusiasm of a real barker, perhaps oddly so; given her small frame, her voice does resonate a bit loudly through the middle of Truce.

Mogwai notices Eevee landing and runs over to give him a big fluffy hug "Eevee, you're back! I knew you'd be fine!"

Demeter thought about what Mogwai said. "Truce?" she asked as she refered to her book. She rapidly flipped through the pages and shook her head. She returned the book to her sash again and looked back to Mogwai. "Oh. WRONG turn back there, I think." she said with and awkward laugh that halted quickly. She didn't know if that was funny or not. Demeter blinked her eyes and said "Thank you very much!"

Demeter whipped her head to the girl who announced festivities in Viorar and gasped. "That's where I'm trying to go!" she said as if it wasn't halfway across the world. "I might have to take the Red Rose this time." she said tapping a pouch that hangs from her sash, thinking it feels a little light. Demeter sighed. "Or not." she murmured to herslef with a disappointed gaze.

"So, who wants to hear some rockin' holiday rhythms? Let's get AMPED!" Simultaneously, Vinyl Scratch flicks the switch to turn her equipment on, resting her metallic forehooves atop the records and grinning as she starts her work.

The child scooped up a pile of snow from the fountain's edge and began packing it into a ball, all the while looking at the lady who adressed the group gathered there with interest. Festivals could be fun... depending on what the theme was and what there was to do. "What kind of festival is it?" Kimen asked, approaching the bird-girl with a tightly packed snowball in her hand.

Kalin's ears drop a little as the snow sends a sharp cold feeling through his legs. He wasn't expecting Truce to be experiencing the same weather conditions he had to deal with while he was gone. He hoped his sister Julexa was keeping warm somewhere and wasn't letting rabites push her around. Before he can stop to get a look around, Kalin is assaulted via a fluffy hug.

"Eevee! (Mogwai!)" exlaims Kalin as he nudges his face against the moogle's fur. "Vee! (I'm so glad you're here, I've missed you so much!)" says the Eevee heartily as he pulls back and observes the exotic dancer's exotic change in fur. "Vee? (You look different! When did it get so cold here? It was so cold in the mountains and in the Beast Kingdom, I was hoping to come back to a warm Truce..)" says Kalin as he briefly looks around the snowy plaza before looking back at Mogwai.

The 'bird-girl' glances between the people gathered to see who all had seemed interested in her proclamation, and seemed like she was going to explain further, but halts herself when she is approached by Kimen, offering a smile at the ball of snow being formed in their hands. "It is going to have something for everyone, honey. There will be games, prizes, fireworks, maybe even a concert or two!" There seems to be a proud edge in her voice during this last admission. "It should be something that everyone, young and old, can experience and enjoy. That is what this time of year is supposed to be about!"

The winged girl seems to acknowledge the music being fired up from nearby. A musical creature herself, she could appreciate this at most times, but she was here on business for now. Maybe next time.

Seemingly lost in her music, and working her turntable, Vinyl Scratch expertly runs her metallic forehooves over the records sitting atop her equipment, listening to the heavy beats blaring out of the large speakers.

Mogwai smiles at Eevee "Oh, just over the past few weeks. Just means we'll have to stay somewhere nice and warm. By the way, Julexa's doing fine. We read your letter together last week." She looks over at the bird-person giving the proclamation "Or we could check out that festival."

Kimen tossed the snowball a little ways up into the air and caught it with his small gloved hands "What kind of games and prizes? and what is the festival for?" He asked, smiling lightly.

That one pony who's friends with his fellow bodyguard Finn. He'd have to go say 'Eevee!' to her as soon as he could, which is to say, he would say hello. Her cybernetic appearance still sends a chill down his spine.

Kalin's ears perk up as the DJ's music flows through them. Before visiting Hypno, he would have considered the sound something strange and undesirable. But in his previous life, music was one of the few things that brought joy to a hopeless existance. Brought to Kalin by a familiar face, nonetheless. He was glad to see..er..Val? Yes, he was glad to see Val again.

That one pony who's friends with his fellow bodyguard Finn. He'd have to go say 'Eevee!' to her as soon as he could, which is to say, he would say hello. Her cybernetic appearance still sends a chill down his spine.

"Eevee! (I'm glad to hear that! Sorry it arrived so late..the only courier I could ask was this winged koopa who seems to have had problems dropping letters all over the world in the past.)" says Kalin as he turns his gaze towards the bird lady. What kind of pokemon was that? At least, that would be a thought he would have had weeks ago. He knows better now. "Vee? (A festival? What's that?)" Sadly, Kalin's way of life never had room for such events.

"Oh, it is not for anything specific. Sometimes you do not need to have a reason for a celebration. Also, it helps with tourism, or so I hear." The winged girl thinks about this for a moment, and shrugs. "But this time, the people in Viorar are just putting on a festival to celebrate the end of the year, and it brings people closer together. From what I remember, there is a fishing pond, and a roulette wheel, and..." She eyes the snowball briefly. "A game involving those, too! I cannot say I know much about what you can win, though. I am helping promote it for other reasons, but it helps overall. You should go see and find out yourself!"

Demeter thought there was no time like the present to start making her journey to Viorar then now. She thought it may be a good idea to get some jerky for the road. Demeter started to the west but fell slowed down to a stop, watching a child having fun with the snow. Demeter smiled and tried to remember a time she was like that but nothing came to mind, just a lot of grey areas.

Demeter sat down in the snow, close to where Kimen had been playing and ran her fingers through the snow. She picked some up and started to pack it into a ball as she seen Kimen do it. Demeter examined her ball and it probably wasn't as good as Kimen's snowball but it was a first attempt. Demeter stared at the snowball in her hand. Her fingers, that clutched the snow, were starting to turn blue...

Mogwai chuckles "A festival, a celebration, a holiday! They're lots of fun. Back in Vana'diel, me and the other moogles used to organize big celebrations for all of Altana's children. It might be nice to be a participant this time around."

A slight shimmer in the air enters the fountain area from the north, dissolving to reveal Helios after a moment. He glances around the area, noting the familliar faces. He hovers over to Vinyl and Mogwai second later. "How are you doing, you two? And what's all this about a celebration?"

A small group of creatures made their way in from the south... or rather, a decent sized group of small creatures, perhaps a small colony of beings, none of which appeared to be much more than a foot in height. Each one wore a greenish-brown robe with very little trim or actual decoration, and varying masks covering their faces made mostly out of twigs, mud, and dyed feathers. Their hands and feet were covered by gloves made from either leather or hide. (Ira)

One of them traveled at the front of the group, motes of red light shimmering through the back of her robe, much like the different motes of color falling from the backs of each robe the beings wore, giving easy difference between a few of them, though some were only a shade or two off from one another. Winding their way through the snow covered streets, they barely left prints on top of the light powder on their way to the fountain. They weren't unarmed, or even unburdened, by any stretch.

The leader stopped at the foot of the fountain, "Alright, all of you, on your best behavior! her voice was plenty loud enough for her small group to hear, and probably a few ohers besides, obviously feminine but slightly rough, and having a small ring behind it like rain across a metal bowl "We rest here for an hour at most, and then move on." half of the beings were already moving about, climbing the edge of the fountain and building a small pile of their luggage and equipment.

Despite being focused on providing the best of her genre of music for the crowd, Vinyl Scratch lifts her gaze - and goggles, as well - to regard everyone else present with a smile. "Enjoyin' my beats, folks? And hey there, Helios."

Kimen looked down at the ball in her hand and then back at the girl. It really sounded like a lot of fun, though Viorar was pretty far away for the child. They had made the trip before on their own though so Kimen was sure she could do it again if she had to. Though she wondered if she should tell Kent she was going. He was supposed to be training her after all... then there was the fact that Mr. Kent couldn't seem to keep himself out of trouble. Leaving him to his own devices really didn't seem like a good idea. "I'll see if I can check it out. I might be busy babysitting but it seems like it could be fun." The child tossed the snowball into the air again and caught it, a little chunk of snow at one side crumbling off. "Thank you very much miss!"

A celebration! Kalin remembered a few times when the people of the underground village got together to celebrate Caleb's accomplishments in their plight against Dialga. "Eevee! (That sounds like fun, we should go!)" says Kalin as Helios approaches. Helios was a matter of Kalin's newfound curiousity; he never understood anything about the mechon before.

At least its pet skyscraper wasn't anywhere about. Kalin would probably find some way to forgive the monstrosity at some point, but it would take a lot. It was then that the Eevee turned his eyes towards the approaching group of midgets. Since they were only slightly smaller than Kalin, he found them to be more intimidating than taller individuals would have.

The fact that Kalin dislikes being around so many individuals at once hasn't changed, but they didn't seem to be upsetting anything. Kalin takes a second to slip away from Mogwai and Helios to give a nod towards Vinyl, "Eevee! (Hey there, um..Val! I love the music!)"

The winged girl smiles. "You are most welcome, honey. There are lots of ways to get to Viorar other than walking, too. You should see what works best for you, and if you can, come visit! If not, though, I understand. Sometimes things just come up." She takes a moment to wipe the water off her shoulders, tiny rivulets running down the sides of her torso and down into the recesses of her cleavage. It didn't seem to bother her at all, standing out here in the cold with minimal attire on. She brushed the hair out of her face, nodding to both Kimen and the others. "But anyway, I need to get back to Viorar and continue setting things up. We are scheduled to open in a few weeks, so you still have time to make plans! Hopefully we'll see you there!"

Demeter seemed lost and even slightly angered as her smile faded into a frown. The action of making the snowball didnt do anything. Not a flashback, a vague memory nothing. Demeter sighed. "Oh well." she said and faked a smile. The snowball started to melt in her blue, frost-bitten hand. Demeter's smile somehow seemed unforced by this point. The snow in her hand instantly turned into water and ran into the snow, putting holes into it.

Mogwai nods, making a mental note to talk with Julexa about having Eevee's "welcome back" party at the festival. "We can head out there with Julexa, it'll be great. I'll get us some hot cocoa, maybe see about getting some nice prizes for..." she pauses as she realizes the line of thought she's going down "...just participating is going to be hard."

Demeter stood up. Her hand instantly caught fire. Demeter looked down at it and said "Oh, that again." She rapidly shook her as she made her way to the fountain. She looked ath the army of small people as she made her way. *Tssss* Demeter dipped her hand into the freezing water of the fountain.

Demeter removed her hand from the fountain's water and sat down next to the army of...Whatever the little things were. "So, what are you guys doing?" she asked smiling at all the little things. She reached out and gently poked one as she looked about them.

Finally, Vinyl Scratch steps away from the turntable after switching it to auto-play mode so she can mingle - music, after all, isn't the only thing she's known for.

Kimen waved to the woman and skipped back to the fountain to continue what he was doing earlier. The child started scraping up more snow and packing it down to make an even bigger snowball than before, all the while humming a little tune to himself that he made up on the spot. Too busy to pay attention to anything else that was going on around the fountain at the moment.

Helios notices the Eevee's unusually malice-free interest in him before it's interest was drawn torwards the traveling group of creatures. As he looked at Eevee, Helios noticed that it seemed a lot more self-assured. "Say, Eevee, how was your journey? Did you find whatever you were looking for?"

Helios looks back at the robotic DJ. "And how have the 'gigs' been, Vinyl?"

Memories began to flood through Kalin's mind as he thought back about the times he spent with Val traveling with Mogwai to meet the mana spirits. Val sure was good at controlling those discs, and he loved how Val went after the Jerk85 after it tried to blow up Mogwai. He still doesn't quite remember how Val's body changed so drastically, since he was extremely confused at the time.

Yes, Val was a good fellow and Kalin enjoyed the music. These thoughts were soon interrupted though as he could hear a mechanical voice saying his name. Or rather, the name of his species. He should probably start telling those who understand him that he has a name. Kaliin couldn't remember whether or not the metal ball could understand him before, so he shot a glance towards Mogwai before looking at Helios. (Eevee)

"...V.." started Kalin before he stuttered and stopped. No, he had no reason to be afraid. "..Vee. (Um..most of it..and..my name is Kalin.)"

The bird-girl smiles at everyone doing their own thing, happy to be amidst the peacefulness that was felt here. It was a decent change of events from scouring the coast for corruption with the Twins for the last three weeks, after their home had been obliterated. She could only hope that the week of the festival would prove uneventful in that case. To that end, though, she had to get back home, herself; taking this note to do so, she spreads her wings wide, and with one last smile, pushes herself off the cobbles, flapping heavily and carrying herself into the sky, catching a current and sailing smoothly off toward the west.

The snowball started getting bigger and bigger as Kimen rolled it along and piled on the snow around it. Soon there wasn't much snow left in the immediate area to add to it so the child moved to the other side of the fountain, running past the adults gathered there to find a fresh area to make another ball of snow. Not much had piled up yet on the ground to make a big snowman, but Kimen could make a small one!

"My raves, Helios? You KNOW they're always somethin' I like hostin'. 'sides, if I wasn't about all that partyin', would my name still be Vinyl Scratch, or DJ Pon-3?" Amusedly, the DJ shakes her head, horn flaring for a moment as she lowers the volume on her turntable. "'til the day I bite the big one, I'm goin' to be a rocker."

Mogwai heads on over to Vinyl "Hey, I was wondering. This festival coming up, are you planning to play for it?"

"Oh right, you need a special translator... Hold on a moment." Helios falls silent as he searches his sub-directories for a pokemon translator system. After a moment, he finds the one that he had had one of the M32s working. It wasn't perfect, but it worked. Sorta. "Vileplume. (Ah, there we go. Could you repeat that?)"

"That sounds like a good dream, Vinyl." Helios nods as he listens to the beat coming from the turntable system while he waits for the translator to work.

The creature fell over with a yell, most of the beings stopping what they were doing and looking up at Demeter, one of which walked out in front of the one that got poked, spreading out its arms "Hey! Be careful with my brother! her voice resonating with the sound of a sheet of bells.

The one that was poked stood, dusting itself off a little "No worries, no harm done... simply a bit of curiosity I guess. As for your question, we're resting and making merry on our way to a new home." his voice rang with the sound of low-toned sleighbells. Most of the other creatures grew bored of the conflict by this point and began doing whatever they were before: taking inventory, dancing about, or playing in the snow.

Ira climbed the fountain to stand before the woman "Please do refrain from poking my people... We're making our way to a place called 'wutai', and I happen to want to get them there in one piece."

Snow continues to fall throughout the night, remaining steady and even increasing in amount every now and then. The stars are completely blotted out from the clouds high above, origin of the snow now lightly blanketing the city.

"Definitely, Moggers. As long as there are people who appreciate REALLY good music, you can count on me to be there to provide the best beats!" Vinyl Scratch pulls her goggles off, revealing her ruby-colored optics as she regards her teammate and friend. "Music, for me and 'Tavi, is our gift to the world, and this is the best time to give it." With a surprisingly genuine smile, the robotic DJ is looking skyward to watch the falling snow.

Kalin's ears drop depressingly as he watches the bird girl take off. He would have liked to have tried to say hello, if only to see if she could understand him. After spending some time in the Beast Kingdom, the Eevee didn't feel the need to be as reserved as he used to be. As she began to disappear from his sight, Kalin snapped to attention, only hearing the last part of the pony's statement.

It was then that he heard Helios speaking to him as a Vileplume, which had the Eevee completely baffled. "Vee.. (Erm..um..my name is Kalin.)" he says again, leaving out the detail that there is still more to search for. In fact, he hasn't talked to Mogwai yet about his desire to look for Caleb, or anything about his trip really. He supposes there would be time for that later.

The Eevee's curiousity persisted as he glanced around at others around the fountain. Maybe the little marshmellow girl? Doubtful. And the lady on the bench? Probably not. What about the midgets? Kalin would hate to get in their way. Rather than stay for a response from Helios, Kalin's natorious short attention span kicks in as he runs over to the snow stealing ball. What manner of object was this to consume the snow he began to dislike on his feet?

Demeter held up her hands, trying to come across as disarming. "Sorry, I didn't mean to uh...Ya know." she said trying to withdraw. She followed the one little thing make its way to her by climbing the fountain. She leaned in to listen to what would strike her as the leader. "Wutai, huh? You need a lift?..And it wont happen again."

Helios looks up at the snow as it falls. "We certantly hope the M85 is finishing that panel. Snow is one thing that dosen't need to be in the engine..."

Meanwhile, at the transport: The M85 sighed as its pincer crushed the tube of caulk. Again. It had been trying to seal the gap aroung the number three engine with little to no success for the past week now, much to it's chagrin. It tossed the smooshed tube on top of a pile of similarly destroyed tubes and questioned Helios' sanity for assigning it this difficcult task.

"Plume. Vile... Plume. (Well, that's a nice name. We are glad you, er... Ok then.)" Helios trails off as the Eevee runs off after Kimen and her snowball thing.

Mogwai pants a little, stowing her shawl away in her inventory. Despite the snowfall... or in a way, due to it, she's actually feeling rather warm. She heads over to see what Eevee's doing with the snowball

Kimen continues piling up the snow until he had a second ball, this one being a little bit smaller than the first. Grinning, the child carried it over to the other, stacking it ontop, pausing to brush away the layer of snow that seemed to be piling on his shoulders now. Kimen stepped back and admired his work, "Ah! Mr. Frostbottom! How are you today? Bit nippy out without clothes, isn't it?" The child tilted his head to one side, "What do you mean you thought you were wearing clothes!? Ah! I get it!

You couldn't tell because you have no eyes! Well lets see here.." Kimen looked around, trying to find eyes for the snowman.

Ira stood about and gave serious thought to the question, taking a few moments in thought as the other two made their way down off the fountain. She gave a small nod "That is a gracious offer, considering it would have taken us at least another day to get there as is... and if the weather turns, I might wind up losing some of my people... though I need to ask, what do you get out of it?"

Now that things seem to be calming down somewhat, Vinyl Scratch starts packing up her DJ equipment, using bursts of magic from her horn to load each part of the turntable into its respective case. "Guess I'll be seein' you cool people around, yea? And if you need someone to host your next rave... Just ask around for DJ Pon-3! Peace!"

Kalin glances back and forth between the little human and the snowman. Was that thing sentient, too? Words could not express the Eevee's fascination with the magical creature the little human boy conjured. Kalin had no doubt that, while the boy would probably not understand him, this fascinating creature of snow surely would.

"Eevee! Vee! (Um..hello! You're Mr. Frostbottom, right? I watched you take out all of that white junk. I'm very impressed! It was bothering my feet. So thanks for that! Could you thank the human for me, too? I was amazed how he conjured you like that. It was like being a pokemon trainer, but without a pokeball! My name's Kalin, by the way. I just got back from a long trip. You would have been great to have around up in those mountains!)" says the Eevee with excitement.

Mogwai giggles "I don't think he can hear you. He's a snowman, a construct made out of the snow on the ground. He's still missing a few things." She searches around her inventory for a carrot. She ponders his waist, before changing her mind and making it his nose.

"Alright then, bye Vinyl." Helios watches her go for a moment before turning to look at the snow construct. "What is this thing, exactly? We have never seen anything like it."

Demeter crossed her arms and thought about it. Nothing was coming to mind. "Just consider it an apologetic act. It will only set me back about a half hour, I'd imagine. So, yeah!" *Bing!* Demeter beamed a smile at the leader. "When ever you are ready." she said resting her head onto her clasped hands, watching the little people do their thing.

Kimen looked around for something to use as a pair of eyes hoping to stumble upon some pebbles, or a button, or some coins, but the task was a little difficult with the snow blanketing the area like this. When Kimen actually did find a small stone she smiled, "Looks like you'll just have one eye Mr. Frostbottom! But thats okay, because you are a pirate, and a good pirate only needs one eye..." She turned back to the fountain where her snowman sat and looked a little surprised as she saw a catlike creature and a fuzzy one with a pom pom taking interest in her creation, "Oh! Friends of Mr. Frostbottom?"

Ira nodded again and turned toward her troops "Alright, looks like we're cutting this rest short, we have attained transportation, get your bony butts in gear and gather your equipment together." she shouted down at the other creatures before turning to look at the woman again "We'll be ready within a few minutes." and indeed, the cretures were running about, grabbing their stuff and clustering up near the base of the fountain.

"Vee? (Why not? That human was talking to him, so why can't I? Oh..he must not understand me..)" mumbles Kalin as his excitement instantaneously turned into sorrow. The depressed Eevee glanced off to the side a little as he thought about his curse and whether or not he would always be bound by it. Still, Kalin had persistance. Caleb didn't speak pokemon, yet he always knew what was on Kalin's mind. He couldn't allow this to make him give up hope.

"Eevee! (Don't worry, Mr. Frostbottom! As long as you take my words to heart, someday you will able to understand me! You have my respect. I hope you're able to consume more snow and make the world a better place for us all! Thanks for the inspiration, Mr. Frostbottom. You've reminded me of what I need to do. You're a hero!)" says Kalin fierecly. The snowman certainly seemed to have gained the Eevee's respect.

Mogwai tries her best not to giggle. She's not very successful. "Well... sure." she says to Eevee. She notices Kimen's comment "Never seen him before, but he seemed like a cool guy."

Kimen hurries over back to his snowman and the two paying attention to it, smiling at the moogle as he shoves the small stone into the snow where an eye would normally be located. "He's been known to be a bit cold to others. I am glad he has made some friends!" He then addresses the snowman, "There! Now you can see for yourself that you are in need of some clothes! You really should be more careful to not to go around naked. Its sort of frowned upon in public. "

Demeter places her hands into the snow at an angle, like a ramp."I didnt really think this though but some can ride on my arms, I have some space in my pouches, if any of you are okay with athat, and then if you are feeling up to it, I have a sash some of you might find it warm to tuck yourselves into. Any thing you want really. Whatever you choose wont bother me." Demeter said, smirking.

Indeed, Kalin's task wasn't much different than Mr. Frostbottom's...ok, so it was totally different. But the idea behind it wasn't. The world was an enormous place, and there was lots of snow for the heroic snowman to consume. Likewise, Kalin had a duty to fulfill as well. Ultimately, their fates would meet a similar end. Someday, the snowman would melt despite his sacrifices. And someday, Kalin would have never existed.

And just what was wrong with being naked? That was a thing that only humans had to worry about. Kalin thought that Mr. Frostbottom looked just fine and hoped that the others weren't bothering him. A Hero is dignified, and not to be touched so much by lowly commoners.

Mogwai pats Eevee on the head "Well, I have some things to take care of. Plans to make, people to meet. I'll see you around later ok?"

"Oh well, whatever the case, we must head back and help the M85 finish up the weatherproofing before snow gets everywhere in the engine." Helios nods before vanishing into a haze in the air. The haze moves north until it dissappears into the canyons.

"By Ms. Moogle! Thank you for the carrot!" Kimen waves to her then turns back to the snowman. The little cat creature seemed to have taken a liking to it, so that was all the more reason for the child to finish it. She removed her hat and scarf and shook them free of the snow that had collected there. "Here. Maybe this will help you some Mr. Fro--" No sooner than the child had reached out to put the hat on the snowman, its head rolled backards, toppling from its shoulders and landing into the into the fountain with a splash, despite Kimen's best efforts to save it.

Demeter removed her sash flagged it about into the air and laid it onto the snow. She removed her book from it and flipped through a few pages. "Weird..." she said leaning back to her sash. She went through a few pouches and removed a Nemesis Owl feather, after quite a bit of sifting. Demeter drew a symbol into the air and recited an incantation that she was reading from her book. The feather dematerialized and collapsed into dust.

Demeter moved the hand, that held the feather, over the mass of little people. Her hand rocked back and forth as she waved it over them, sprinkling a dust over them. Their weight would have reduced quite a bit, but as a failure of proper recital, they would all have a new skin color. "Oops! I'm sorry but it will go away in a less then a day...I think." she said gritting her teeth. She went on...

Demeter took one end of the sash and bunched it up into her hand, tugging it backwards. The book still sitting on the sash and not digging into the snow. This would be a make-shift-ghetto-sled. "Its not the best but it should work if you want to get on." she said looking at her creation proudly.

The small creatures piled on the makeshift sled, bunched in close and holding onto each other somewhat as Ira simply started to climb, making her way up to Demeter's shoulder "If you don't mind, I'm going to be up here."

Kalin smiled at Mogwai and even Helios as both headed off. He would have to find her later and tell her more about his trip to the Beast Kingdom. As Kalin turned his attention back towards the snowman, he witnesses a sight he could never possibly hope to recover from. As the snowman's head lands into the fountain, Kalin's heart sinks as he runs up to a bench and peers inside. What remained of the valiant snowman's head was a despicable glob of slush.

"EEVEE! (Mr. Frostbottom! NOO!)" cried out Kalin as he watches the slush spread. Never had he felt so powerless! What the hell happened? Kalin glanced towards the snowman's conjurer with mixed thoughts. Could she have done it? And even if so, would there be justice in torching the human? No, that's not what Mr. Frostbottom would have wanted. "Ve..Eevee..? (Why?)" barked Kalin, failing to fight the tears. "Eevee?! (Why! You didn't deserve this! What about your mission?!)" cried Kalin.

"Vee! (You had a duty! Who's going to save us all from the snow now?!)" growled Eevee as his body temperature began to rise. "Eevee! (I suppose..I'll carry on where you left off. I won't let you be forgotten like this!)" shouted the Eevee passionately as his body erupted into flames! As the flames died down, Kalin could be seen in his Salamandeon form.

"Salamandeon! (I can't promise to do much, as I have a mission of my own that I must do. But I promise you, Mr. Frostbottom..I -will- carry on. Your sacrifice will not be in vain!)" growled Kalin as he gave Kimen a fierce nod, implying the idea that they shared the desire to do the snowman right. Kalin then proceeded westward, using his fiery powers to melt whatever snow he saw.

Kimen pouted as the snowman's head turned to slush before his eyes, "Guess he lost his head a bit there when he noticed he forgot to dress himself today." Kimen removed one of his gloves fished out the carrot from the water as well as the the little stone he had used for the snowman's eye, hand turning red from coming in contact with the freezing water. "Guess I should make a new head for him, huh little guy?" Kimen looked at the creature, blinking at its change as it darted off towards the west, melting whatever snow had fallen in its wake. The child scratched her head with her cold hand, not entirely sure what had just happened here.

Demeter nodded and started to walk north, tugging the sash behind her as it would glide along on top of the snow. "Not at all!" she said nodding to the leader. "Seeing as how we're traveling together, it might be a good to exchange names. I'm...Oh, gimme a second." Demeter looked off into the direction she was headed, in a long silence. "Demeter!" she squealed explosively as it came to her. "Yep, I'm Demeter."

Kent entered the town square holding a match to a cigar in his mouth. His iron armor was a bit too brittle and cold to wear at times like this, so instead he wore a long-sleeved woolen tunic. His sword was naturally still by his side, and his singed cloak was wrapped tightly around his body. He seemed to be smoking more for warmth than for pleasure. "The winter be damned!" He mumbled to himself. Kent had been around heat and hellfire so much, he had grown near immune to the effects of heat. Still, the cold got to him.

Kimen returned the glove to her hand and looked around the fountain for any remaining snow to use to replace Mr. Frostbottom's head. Currently there wasn't much for the child to use that wasn't slush or dirty from being trampled on. Still, Kimen tried to remake it with what she could find.

Ira jumped a little at the exclaiming of Demeter's name, giving a small sigh "I'm Ira. Ira Regina, and these are my... troops, and my generals." she said, much quieter than any of her previous statements. Staying up on Demeter's shoulder as they started to travel again.

"Kimen!" Kent said, noticing his squire, "We're do for a mission tomorrow." Kent pointed his face to the sky and let out a puf of smoke before breathing in anoter from his cigar. He really hated the cold. But it had it's advantages. Demons hated the cold even more, and that was something Kent could appreciate. "What are you doing out in the cold? Weren't you sick last week?"

Kimen spun around upon hearing Kent's voice, nearly dropping the snowball he managed to make. "Oh! Mr. Kent!" He smiled guiltily feeling like his hand had just been caught in the cookie jar. "I am feeling a lot better now, so I figured if I bundled up maybe I could play a little..." Kimen's eyes shifted about the area, as he tried to figure out something to change the subject, "So the mission is going to be tomorrow?" He really didn't want to think about it too much.

Kent smiled when he noticed Kimen's hesitation to the plan. "My mission is tomorrow, Kimen," He said with a chuckle, "You just wanted to come along." The knight shifted his weight a bit to be more comfortable. At least his feet were warm. He liked these boots. "You can stay home, it's getting cold. I'd hate to put you in danger, esspecially this close to a holiday." Kent lowered his eyes. "It...You folks DO have a winter holiday, right?"

"I'll come." Kimen said firmly, packing the snow in her hands, "And yeah, we used to back home. I am not familiar with all the holidays in this world too, but it sounds like there is going to be a festival in Viorar soon." She tossed the ball of snow into the air and caught it, much like she had while she spoke to the winged woman. The only difference this time was that the child was making a game of it, "One," Again, "Two," And again this time higher. She spun around, clapped her hands and caught it. "Three O'leary"

Kent frowned. The kid was determined to come on the mission. And that meant Kent had to look out for him and make sure he didn't get hurt. Nothing too much to worry about though, just a bunny. But, if the vampire thought it was an issue, it might be dangerous. "Yes, well dress warmly tomorrow then. And bring a wand or a staff or a corpse or whatever it is you mages do in case things get ugly."

"I don't have any of those, Mr. Kent." Kimen said, once again letting the comment slide. "Kind of hard to prepare for it when you don't know anything about it. I mean, we know its a rabite but little else." he repeated the process with the snowball, tossing it in the air, and spinning and clapping before catching it when he reached the end, "Four, Five... Six O'leary" he had seen other kids play this game with balls that bounced. he didn't think it would hurt to change a few things to the game to work with a snowball.

Kent let out another puff of smoke and a quick shiver. He wasn't going to stand this weather much longer. "Alright, if you say so. I got my hands on a dagger you could use anyway. You should be able to actually hold this one." Whether or not that was meant as an insult wasn't clear, but it was obvious Kent was uncomfortable. "I'm heading back to the inn. I'll get you tomorrow when the sun's up and it's warmer."

"Alright, Mr. Kent." Kimen said, continuing with her game "Seven, eight, nine O'leary." this time when she caught the snowball she grinned and threw it at Kent. He may have wanted to return indoors but Kimen still wanted to play in the snow. And she didn't really want to play alone anymore either. She stood there for a moment, waiting to see what the knight would do about the snowy attack.

Kent turned around and prepared to leave. As he did, he felt the tinge of ice hit his back, aimed, forceful. Kent grabbed his sword in a twitch-like motion and turned around. There, Kimen stood with a smile. Kent quickly sheathed the sword on realization what happened. Was this a snowball fight? He'd heard about them, but never participated. "...What was that for?" He asked confusedly, cocking his head to one side.

Kimen jumped a little as Kents drew his sword. Wondering if maybe throwing the snowball had been a bad idea. He kept smiling though, hoping to convey that he didn't mean any harm. The child's smile widened though as the knight sheathed his weapon and acted confused. Kimen bent down, scooping up another handful of snow, giggling as he quickly packed it into a ball. "Ten O'leary!" He yelled, throwing it, sticking his tongue out, and making a run for it, "Catch me!"

Kent was dumbfounded. "I...uhh..." Kimen threw another snowball. Kent ducked and it flew over his head. He could hear it as it hit the groub behind him. Kent looked at Kimen as the child began the game. They had a mission tomorrow. Kimen didn't seem to care. The knight was about to object, but he saw the child having a good time. Just because Kent didn't get a childhood like this didn't mean he should take it away from his friend. "Alright alright. But you'll need to be fast!" Kent spat out his cigar and chased after the child, laughing.