It was a different nightfall that encompassed the city of Viorar during the afternoon hours than that which cloaked it by night, and the state of the city was a testament to this. Coming and going as they sought to complete their daily tasks before too much of the day had passed, a good many people kept the streets busy as Ambience arrived at the north gate, taking a moment to scan the area through the darkness of his blindfold and assess the immediate situation before going too much further. A brief wind caught the ratty red scarf around his neck and blew it up into his face, which he pulled back down in very minor annoyance. Twin swords were strapped across the back of the short cloak that overlayed his tunic, with a backpack swung over the sheathes of them. A traveler in all respects, he was, but the expression on his face would make anyone believe that he'd rather be doing anything else but that.

"Felt like that took awhile longer than I remember it needing to be," he said, glancing up at the hylian bodyguard who stood over him.

The Hylian in question gives a chuckle as he adjusts his own light backpack straps, apparently fighting to keep the plated armor on his right arm from cutting through one of the straps.
"I've been told trips always take longer when you're in a hurry, but its never made much sense to me."
Apparently satisfied with his efforts, he tugs his sky-blue cloak back around to only lightly obscure his arms and give some relief from the chill of Viorar's sunless sky.
"Then again, Time's always had a wierd relationship with me; so I'm probably not the best judge of it's workings. Speaking of time, I'd wager we've got a good chunk of it left before Mollianne's workplace opens. Did you have a plan in mind?"
He spoke with a very light smile to his face, clearly not as bothered by the status of traveler as his ward was.

Ambience had seemingly either forgotten or not been aware of the fact that their arrival might not have meshed fully with the siren's plans, and he was more-or-less flying by the seat of his pants on everything he did since outing himself at the festival, anyway. His plan was just to get the dumb Sword off his back and put back with the Mana Tree like it was supposed to be, but of course there had to be many more steps along the way.

He considers Sunflash's query for a moment, his covered eyes scanning the premises at all the various Mana Signatures coming and going, as if maybe attempting to find one he recognized. "I don't," he eventually admits. "I would have blamed my lack of time-awareness on the fact that it's always dark and I wouldn't have a real concept of time, but since I can't exactly tell whether it is dark or not, that would just be a cop-out." The cynical tone sounds like he's trying to at least be funny, even if his expression still appears to be unamused. "And I'm not really hungry, either. My stomach's been all sorts of weird since we left Lyll's house." He knew why, too, but that wasn't going to come out anytime soon.

Instead, he brings up another topic. "You spend a lot of time outside, don't you?" he asked. "Do you just go to town for supplies and stuff, then just hit the trail again?"

If the sorcerer was thrown off by Ambience's candid admittance, it wasn't really visible. He does, however, pause for a moment before responding with a shrug.
"Well, I usually tried to do more than just resupply while in town. Get some more comfortable rest, get lost in the library, check in some people about things that need doing, maybe do some odd-jobs for those that need the help."
He lightly pats Ambience on the shoulder before stepping forward.
"Since we don't have anything else on the agenda at the moment, how about we head to the warf? There's a tavern there with some folks I probably should check on. That, or we could go swing by the library for a while. Would let me do some quick digging into a few things. You got a preference?" He levers a grin over, probably forgetting just how hard it'd be to see him all things considered.

Ambience takes a moment to consider. Both of those were probably good ideas, especially since they didn't know anything about that.. whatever that was that Sunflash picked up. Ambience had relented from letting Sunflash know that he detected his own Mana Signature within it, however faint it was, partially because all of those shadows had that Signature, and it didn't really phase him that something they'd drop would carry it along as well. The fact that his own mana Signature was being duplicated to here, there and all points in-between was unsettling enough, and he didn't really feel like raising more hackles than were already on end, at this point. He was probably causing Sunflash enough grief as it was.

"We could do both," he eventually compromises on. "If we go check in with those friends of yours, it doesn't have to be for a long period of time, and we can stop by the library afterward. Even if it's still early yet by then, I'd wager we'll find Molly somewhere even if the club itself hasn't opened yet by then. She's kind of hard to miss, even if you're not actually looking for her." This was spoken like he knew from experience.
March 26, 2024

Sunny gives a nod. "Makes as much sense as anything. We probably won't be at the tavern for long, but the Manager there will have any messages for me as well as let me know where I can find someone in particular at this time of day." With his explanation, he steps off at a moderate pace to the southwest with the confidence of someone who has been down this path a little too often in recent memory.

The trip was fairly uneventful, at least as far as Sunflash was concerned. He stopped for a moment here and there, exchanging niceties with some of the other townsfolk or a guardsman; nothing to speak of except clearly attempting to keep up an appearance of some sort. The sorcerer never let himself stay in one place for too long, giving excuses of being late to an appointment to those whom clearly tried to engage in slightly longer conversations than he desired. Ambience's presence was never brought up; although it's hard to say if that was due to not letting it come up in the little conversations, or simply happenstance.

As they passed near the Library on their way south, Sunny sends a mournful look its way before sighing and continuing onwards. "Work before fun, I suppose." The look was clearly in jest, but the shrug afterwards sealed the deal.
Nearing the docks, his pace slowed somewhat as he threw his gaze in most directions. "Was half-hoping I'd run into someone here, but they're probably still out at this time." he explained before continuing on into the tavern Mischievous Spirit, just south of the pier.

Ambience doesn't say a whole lot while Sunflash is reminiscing with colleagues, not having a lot to say even if he had been asked to be involved in any of the conversations. His head was full of plenty-enough things without having to figure out how to throw words around about topics he'd just forget about in a half hour. So he's more than happy to let Sunflash take the lead and do what he needs to do.

He does, however, pause when come to the pier, and even as Sunflash steps on ahead of him, Ambience comes to a stop and peers out over the water beyond the wooden landing. His bodyguard's words were lost on him in whatever-it-was he'd said, and he seems taken by something that physically captures him for a moment, completely blotting out everything else in that timeframe. It paints a weird picture, honestly, from an outsider's perspective, since he's literally a blind guy looking out over the ocean.

The Hylian doesn't make it very far at all, as watchful as he is, before noticing the lack of his charge. Turning somewhat quickly, he raises an eyebrow briefly before stepping quietly back to stand beside the lad and peering out himself. "Ambience? Ya notice something?" His tone was devoid of concern, apparently simply curious rather than alarmed at this point.

He starts just a little when Sunflash's voice permeates his thoughts, and he looks up. "Oh, nah," he said, not sounding concerned either. "It sounds kinda backwards, but my memories are triggered a lot more easily with one of my major senses missing." He diverts his gaze, looking back out across the pier. "Da used to take me fishing a lot, when we were little. He didn't leave the cabin very often, but he knew that keeping me cooped up wasn't really healthy, so he'd find reasons to go out." He pauses, then adds, as an afterthought, "Just for my sake."

It hangs there for a minute or two as Sunny rolls the words around in his head before giving a soft 'hmm' effect. "It's good that he tried, at least. I know of those who wouldn't attempt beyond the barest efforts for that which they didn't want." Ambience probably would miss it, but a frown creases its way into the Hylian's face. "And those that wouldn't even care that much. Hrmph."

He sighs. "Yeah," he agrees. "I know my childhood wasn't the best for either of us. I wonder sometimes how things could've been different if I'd been able to grow up with a normal family, you know? And not just for me, but for Da, too. And mom." He frowns slightly, still looking over the ocean. "None of us wanted this. And I'm sure this sounds way too broken-record by now, so I'm not gonna go any further than that, but it's no less frustrating." He turns away, backing up a few steps before turning to Sunflash. "Anyway, I'm good. Sorry about that, I'm just not myself lately." Just like before, though his expression says otherwise, there is at least a trace of teasing in his speech, if not his tone.

"I've wondered that at times myself, but I always come back to the thought that I probably would've still had major problems. Just different ones." Sunflash shrugs half-heartedly before nodding in return with a faint smile.
"There's a joke here about being a new person after such a long walk, but I can't quite pull the pieces together just yet. Ah well, I suppose that'll have to do."

With another glance about the area, Sunny pops his head towards the south and takes off walking again towards their first destination.

Ambience follows along, not overly familiar with Viorar as compared to some places, and far less viable when he only has peoples' outlines and other organic implements to go on. He pretty much follows in Sunflash's shadow along the way, which is a pretty decent-sized one to follow, considering the night-time arrangement coupled with illuminated streetlights pretty much all around. "Do you actually have a 'hometown', Sunflash?" he asks, at some point along the way.

The question wasn't entirely expected, but clearly wasn't unwelcome based on Sunny's lack of hesitation in replying.
"Probably not by most usages of the word, no. I'm not a native Cleftian, so my original hometown doesn't really matter here. Not that I'd care for those...punks anyway."
The Hylian's head is partly turned as they walk, allowing him to both project his voice behind to his companion and still keep an eye forward.

"I did end up near Viorar when I arrived, so that probably counts. Then again, I've spent more time than I want to count over at Truce, so that might be a contender for the hometown title as well."

Ambience considers these statements as the advance toward the intended tavern location, casting a glance skyward for only a brief moment. "So you just prefer the wilderness, then, 'cause there's no other real attachments otherwise" he surmises. "I've heard plenty of stories about people being misplaced here, and the nature of the Cleft and how it works isn't super lost on me, despite me being a little oblivious at times. If you don't take into consideration how I was born, I can't pretend to know what it's like to have a normal life and then have it taken from you, and then have to start over again. It's a different kind of 'difficult,' I'd guess."

A chuckle makes it way from Sunny before he delivers a shrug. "That's one way to look at it, I suppose. I can't say I had anything like a normal life before the Cleft, but it was still quite the jarring transition, I'll agree."

The Hylian seemed to hesitate for a moment, but didn't offer much else beyond that, apparently having reached the end of that train of thought.

Before long, the pair come across the patio of the tavern in question. Being the midafternoon, there were only a smattering of people sitting here in the street-side section, clearly on some sort of late lunch or something.
Sunflash doesn't really pause, giving a short nod to one or two people as he weaved his way through the tables. Making their way into the more sheltered back section of the tavern, Sunny approached the very blocky proprietor sitting beneath a canopy.

As the Hylian got close, the owner gave a short wave and what clearly was an attempt at a smile.
"Ah, Mister Sunflash! It has been some time since your last visit! I presume things went well during your, ah, holiday break I believe you called it?"

He stopped not too far into the tavern, kind of adopting a stand-offish posture as he scanned the area and everyone in it through the confines of his blindfold, in his standard practice of attempting to see if anything or anyone stood out to him. They didn't, of course, because he didn't know anybody except a select few people, not including those who probably still thought he was dead. Ambience looks up and aside at the host calling out to Sunflash, though, his expression quiet as though he were simply along for the ride. Spoilers: he was.

An inclined head was given to the other before Sunny speaks. "As well as they ever do, good Manager. I'm afraid I'll have to regale you with the tale at another time however, as I'm only here for a short time." A quick glance is given towards Ambience before he looks back with a small smile. "Pressing business, you understand."

The Manager simply lets an "Ah, of course" escape before turning to dig into some part of the collection of bottles behind their stand. "Well in that case, I'll skip the small talk for now. You've got a note here from someone from Shrike. Said it was expected?" They withdraw a small envelope and pass it to the sorcerer, who takes it with a raised eyebrow.

As the Hylian opens the note and begins to read, the Manager clears their throat. The noise causes Sunny to pause and look up. "One other thing. Tamin has been in several times over the last week and change, asking for you. Something about some weird creatures being spotted out in the fishing haunts. Felt it was important."

Another frown makes its way onto Sunny's face, causing the Manager to nod. "Felt it was important, considering what I hear tell of similar odd critters out near the Highway and the Swamp. Tamin may be in late tonight, if you so desire to speak with him."

Sunflash considers his options. On the one hand, it wasn't really that surprising to hear of; but on the flipside, it was the first reports he'd received of things out in the water. After a few moments, he shakes his head. "I can't commit to being here at that time, but let him know I got his message. Just don't let him wait up for me."

Ambience is listening, but doesn't have the intent to interrupt on someone else's business, and in his current frame of mind, probably wouldn't, anyway, even if he could have an opinion that mattered. He at least manages to make his way indoors a little further as Sunflash continues his discussion, trying to keep a decent distance from everyone else just so he has room to react, in whatever capacity it required, in case something happened. Almost like a mild case of claustrophobia.

Sunflash gives another deep nod to the Manager before turning and reading his note while slowly walking towards Ambience. He pauses just nearby, clearly still reading; before shaking his head with defeated sigh and returning the note into the envelope and then into a trouser pocket.

"Well, this does mean I may have to ask we take a detour out to Shrike, later. I don't know how I'd forgotten it, but I am kinda overdue for a checkup. You ready to head to the library?"

He starts a little, apparently not having expected Sunflash to be done that soon (or, really, not really knowing when he was going to be done at all, but getting lost in himself was just kind of a given if left alone for any length of time). He turns and looks up, though, and offers a nod. "Was everything okay?" he asked. "The tone of some of that felt like it might have been less-than-encouraging."

A kind of resigned shrug is given in response. "Okay enough. I helped a few people in the last few years, and in exchange they've been funneling me reports of things that might need doing or looking into. Not too surprising to hear that message from Tamin, considering what you and I just saw near Hikari's and up by Lyll's. I had held out some small hope that the seas would be immune, considering what that entails, but I should've known better."

Sunflash makes a non-descript grumbling sound, something about moles, before shaking his head. "Regardless, it doesn't change the short term plans. We've got a puzzle to spend a bit of time on before we hit up the Evening Star."

Ambience frowned slightly at the mention of the situations they'd engaged at those two aforementioned locations, but nods. "Yeah," he said, "there's not exactly a lot we can do about it right now, and it wouldn't stop it from happening, anyway, I don't guess. Since we're already here, I guess we might as well focus on what we can do, rather than worry about what we can't."

"Indeed. Just gotta remember to not let ourselves lose track of the other out of control wildfires while we deal with this one." Sunflash smirks by the end of his comment, letting his own brand of teasing be felt before gesturing vaguely back towards the middle of town.

"Library is middle of town, of course, right by the fountain. Shall we?" Without further ado, he'd take off back north and east through the streets.

"Yeah," he agrees, following in step relatively close behind. "Is there a specific premise you think would help with... whatever that was?" He seems to assume that Sunflash's intent regarding the library might be to seek information on whatever it was that happened to them out in the woods, but he could also just be making conversation to pass the time, too. He didn't actually get a good look at what it was before Sunflash had nabbed it and stowed it away, just that he had detected his own Mana Signature upon it, and that was pretty much it. The uncertain oddity of it yet prevented him from revealing this information to Sunflash, though, as if he were afraid of what additional problems may result from it.

A circling motion is given by one of Sunflash's hands as he walked and talked. "Well, I'm a little out of my element here; but I figure starting with forms of magical possession or manipulation is a good start. There's a couple of reasons why that I'll get into more detail when we're there, but to sum up; between the nature of the attacks, what I saw, how everything reacted, and what we grabbed after the last one? It feels like a pretty obvious start."

Here he pauses in his conversation to chuckle. "Which of course probably means I'm wrong, but that's the nature of research. Gotta start somewhere."

Ambience's brow furrowed slightly, as Sunflash's words forced him to try and recount what all they'd engaged in up to that point, too. But the main thing that screamed at Ambience, more than anything else, was 'why now?'. He'd stayed with Lyll and her family for over a year, and hadn't seen a single thing happen up until he decided to leave. Had he unintentionally unsealed something when he decided to take Lyll to the Festival of Lights? Sunflash had mentioned that the displacements weren't a new thing, but he hadn't mentioned anything about the shadows, so that had to be on him. But without having any inclination as to 'why,' there wasn't any straws or strings to grab onto, which was probably why they were going to the library in the first place. A brief flash of irony didn't escape him at the thought of a blind kid walking into a library, of all places, but again, he was just a follower for the time being.

"I'd probably be up a creek and back if you weren't around, so I do appreciate it," he eventually said, his eyes everywhere except Sunflash, which he didn't need to be able to still follow in step behind him. "I feel like we probably deserve a breakthrough of some kind, at this point. But if we don't find it here, there's a whole other country yet to check in on, too. Hesitant as I am to admit it."

There was a lot of responses that flashed to the front of Sunny's brain, but most of it doesn't pass inspection. He eventually settles for one far less bitter overall. "Eh, if we got breaks when we deserved them, there'd be a lot more different throughout the place, huh?"

As they approached the fountain, the Hylian paused for several moments to look at the statues thereon, his face fairly unreadable. Well, aside from the scowling eyebrows. Okay, maybe decently readable. He eventually breaks himself out it, rolling his shoulders. "Sorry, lost in thought. Let's go."

"I guess so," he admits. "Still..." Ambience decides not to push the thought any further, and merely follows along. At the fountain point, he, too, attempts to find some sort of read on the statues that might have gotten Sunflash's goat, but since he's not overly-familiar with Viorar or its architecture (not even counting what they may or may not mean to Sunflash, specifically), he just remains quiet about it until it's time to press on. At one point he actually reaches up to run his fingers idly along the pearlescent hilt of the mana Sword still strapped across his back, which brings a frown to his face that he doesn't speak of.

Climbing the steps up into the base of the Library, Sunflash holds the door open for Ambience before confidently making his way to the desk in the lobby, where an individual of nearly flawless neatness stood at the ready.

"Good day Mr. Vincent. I have need of the Library's works on the study of magical possession and similar subjects."

The librarian, spotless black vest and all, turns towards the Hylian to give him a very blatant look up and down with one pristinely raised eyebrow.

"I see. Unfortunately Mr. Sunflash, access to such tomes is strictly limited as I am sure you are well aware. I presume you are prepared to offer some sort of proof for meeting those limitations?"

There is a moment hesitation in Sunflash's actions. Was he sure he should do this here, now? Sure, he was used to having a target on his own back; but it ran the risk of planting a target on those he was accompanying. His head turns slightly to lock eyes on Ambience's cloth-covered face for a split second before his eyes slid back off and narrowed at nothing in particular, head still turned.

Then again, at least one of them was already being targeted by something, weren't they? The logic held.

Ambience stood in the doorway for a second, holding it open with one hand as Sunflash passed ahead of him. Libraries weren't really his thing when he was younger, and there was arguably a lot of reasons for that, but he'd always preferred going outside and doing things rather than reading books. Seikou hadn't exactly had an expansive collection, anyway, but that was kind of beside the point. Beyond that, it didn't do him a whole lot of good right now, anyway.

Sunflash's face returns to face Vincent's eyebrow with a steely look. Drawing himself upwards slightly, he releases a breath before answering somewhat quietly.

"Yes. From our conversations prior, you are familiar with the Immortals of the Cleft, correct? And more importantly, their Champions?"

Ever so slowly, Vincent's other immaculately manicured eyebrow raises. His head tilts down ever so slightly as he answers. "...Correct on both counts."

The Hylian nods slowly. "Second to last question: Are you familiar with the legends of their various weapons? The tools the Immortals grant said Champions, that are said to be extensions of their will and power?"

A ever so slight frown creases the librarian's face. "I...am aware of those legends, to a mild degree. It has not been a subject of any of my idle studies, but I know we have some stories of them mixed in with the Origin stories. Your point?"

A smile begins to form on Sunflash's face.

Sunflash turns his head towards Ambience, "Ambience, you should probably avert your eyes for a few moments. I don't know what this'll do to your vision."

Ambience frowns somewhat at that comment, and is about to speak on the tastelessness of such a remark when he also picks up on Sunflash's change in demeanor, as triggered by the subtle changes in his Mana Signature, accordingly. Realizing that he probably meant something beyond the literal words being said, Ambience kind of stands off to one side, turning his head entirely away and sort of.. bracing himself, for whatever is or isn't about to happen. "Just let me know when you're good," he said, with maybe a slight amount of apprehension.

A short and probably unseen nod is given in return before Sunny turns back to the now very curious librarian and takes a single step back.

"Very well. As the Champion of Tenor, Immortal of Sunlight, I request access to the aforementioned restricted tomes." As he spoke, Sunflash's tone and cadence of speech seemed to fall into an old and well practiced style. It was still clearly his voice, but only just, as if years of routinely practicing certain rituals of speech was once again coming to the fore.

"As proof of my claim, I present the Halberd of the Sun as my badge of office." The Hylian's voice almost rang around the ancient lobby as the sound of Leene's Bell in Truce echoed through it's square.

Ambience is curious, but avoids looking over as instructed, despite all the new rhetoric being afforded him in this.

As a very wide-eyed Vincent looks on (along with some small number of confused and curious onlookers from the balconies above), an incredibly bright speck of light forms in the air above Sunflash's outstretched hand and hovers there.

For only a moment. Just long enough for people to process what they're seeing.

The sensation coming from this light is not lost upon Ambience's innate senses, but again, he keeps his eyes averted, remembering what happened last time.

A particular man, tall but unassuming in bearing, has joined the curious onlookers, looking quite fascinated by the proceedings. He's wearing a green cardigan over a white shirt, khakis and some plain-looking sneakers. In his arms is an impressive collection of thick tomes, the foremost one bearing the title of 'Magical Maladies and Medicine'. He has a bit of a disheveled look about him, with his hair looking like he maybe has run his fingers through it in frustration repeatedly over the past several hours. He was in the process of approaching the front desk, but it seems the goings-on have put that on hold, for the time being.

Sunflash's hand snaps closed around the speck, concealing it from view for an instant before his very hand starts to glow with the brightness of the engulfed speck. A squeeze of his hand occurs, and then Sunny releases the speck.

Instantly, it expands outward into a roughly eight foot rod of hard-to-look-at light. An instant later and it has developed an intricate halberd head at one end, complete with spear point affixed between a large axe head and the opposing hammer's end opposite the shaft.

After the shapes have formed, the light manages to tone it's brightness down to a more bearable level; however it is clearly still lighting up the massive lobby area single-handedly.

Ambience raises one hand to the side of his face, as if the fact that he wasn't looking directly at it was still too much for him. At the same time, under that blindfold, his eyes are wide. Where had Sunflash been keeping all this power from, this whole time? This was number two, now, and Ambience didn't really have any explanation for any of it. Something capable of doing that should've been more obvious on the outset.

The nearby onlooker can be seen pressing his lips tightly together, his eyebrows lifting until they disappear under the hair falling over his forehead. He's, naturally, forced to avert his eyes somewhat, head turned slightly to the side since he doesn't currently have a hand free to shield his eyes, but he's invested enough that he's still carefully observing the proceedings as much as he can.

"Can't say as I've ever seen that before," he comments, his tone hinting at a bit of humorous understatement.

To say Sunflash wasn't enjoying the excuse to show off at least somewhat would be a lie, so he wouldn't deny that. Managing to keep the grin from his face was a feat he almost enjoyed as much. Maybe he wasn't as out of practice with his old teachings as he had thought.

Sunny twisted his wrist, bringing the halberd from a horizontal position to a vertical one before effortlessly lifting it to slide the butt of the weapon off to his left. His hand slid up the haft as it moved across the tiles, effectively bringing the weapon's bladed head from several feet above him to chest level between himself and Vincent.

There were clear etched designs along the edge of the axe and hammer heads, even on the spear's blade. How exactly one etches visible designs into what appears to be solid light is a matter for more learned sages than Sunflash was.

"I am aware one could discount this as mere illusionary magic, but as one who knows of the Weapons; you may know that a Champion cannot be harmed by a weapon of a Champion, either their own or another's?"

Something in the far back end of the library lobby seems to distort the air around it, almost... pixelizing, sort of. The air wavers briefly as something apparently tries to manifest therein, and after only a second or two of this indication, a shadowy silhouette forms, taking the shape of what would appear to be some kind of humanoid teenager. Its shape is distinct and defined, but the shadowed factor dispensed with a lot of detailed features, including a face and other things. This shadow merely stands in the corner on the opposite side from the group, arms folded, a short and equally-shadowed cloak waving lightly about its silhouetted self. The shape of two swords, strapped perpendicularly across its back, is barely seen beyond the cloak's shape.

Without waiting for Vincent to formulate a response, Sunflash reaches into his trouser pocket and removes the envelope from earlier. "This is a simple paper envelope containing a note. Would you so kind as to remove the note and examine the envelope to confirm my claim?"

A small 'ah' escapes the librarian as he accepts the envelope and does as requested, turning the simple paper in his hands a few times and even sniffing it before nodding. "I believe I see where this is going. Yes, I will agree this is an unremarkable piece of folded paper. I presume you would have me test the edge of your Weapon?"

At Sunflash's short nod, Vincent reaches out and presses the envelope against the bladed edge. The ease with which it is sheared almost causes the librarian to stumble before he catches himself. A finger is placed against the edge as well, before an approving nod is given. "Quite sharp. I believe it is your turn?"

In the midst of all this, between Sunflash going on and other things, the shadow's emergence does not escape Ambience's notice at all. The fact that his own Mana Signature just suddenly appeared in the same room as them draws his attention immediately, and he pushes off the edge of the wall he was facing toward, the light of Sunflash's weapon apparently no longer registering to him.

Instead, he steps around the small gathering without paying them any mind, raising his eyes in the direction of the silhouette in the back, and advancing toward it at a slow but deliberate pace. His expression is divested of most any feature, except for maybe a small vestige of apprehension.

As interested as Dugar is in this flashy Champion display, his situational awareness doesn't completely disappear. Something strikes him as odd, at first on a more instinctual level, and he turns towards movement that he might otherwise have disregarded. His brows knit together as he watches Ambience move away from the gathering, which in itself seems like a bit of an irregular behavior, since it's pretty hard to ignore what's going on. He has no reason to interrupt as of yet, but it sparks curiosity. Being the cautious sort, he continues to watch and wait, for the moment.

Sunflash's right and armored hand came over to grasp the pole, freeing his unarmored hand to press against the axeblade. As he pressed his hand against the edge, his attention is grabbed by something happening behind him. His hand slides down the edge, pressing hard enough to indent his skin and yet doesn't draw blood. His attention however, was clearly not on this display.

He ignored it for a moment. Then another. As his hand reached the end of the blade's curve, he rolled his hand over to reveal a complete lack of a cut.

It was still there, that doubled presence of his ward. Not a misinterpretation from anxiety if he could still feel it.
His left hand flew up to the spearhead as he released it with his right, using it to toss the entire weapon up and over so it was almost straight up and beside himself before grasping it with his offhand. Before Vincent could speak, the sorcerer half turns in place to locate Ambience and whatever was feeling like him as well.

Ambience continues to advance toward the shadowed version of what looks very much like he does, albeit with far-less deep-distinguishing features due to the flickering shadows that make up its form. It merely stands there, not unfolding its arms, 'looking' out over the group, and then pointedly at Ambience as he draws near, all without moving.

A very faint frown forms on Ambience's face as he gets within roughly three feet or so, and then stops, feet slightly apart. He just... looks at the shadow, blinking maybe once or twice. His expression is really hard to pin down with that blindfold over his eyes. He doesn't say a word, the two of them seemingly just having some kind of staredown standoff of some manner or another.

With the distinct sense that his day has suddenly taken a turn for the weird, Dugar notices the shadow as the teenager approaches it. He's not sure what to make of it. With a perplexed frown crossing his face, he exchanges a glance with Vincent, shrugs exaggeratedly, and crosses over to the desk, where he sets down his stack of books before looking over at the Hylian, and again at the other pair at the far end.

Sunflash's gaze locks on Ambience and his doppelganger about the time the real deal comes to a stop. Vincent, Dugar, and anyone else nearby might hear the actual hiss the claws its way out of Sunny's mouth. The existence of anyone else fades into a presence but an obscure one, buzzing on the edges of his existence as all of his concern is focused on the thing that is ?again? threating the kid.

Collateral, collateral, too many, wrong place, DAMNIT

Realizing it wasn't quite a clear shot, and being unwilling to risk either Ambience or the building itself getting caught in the crossfire, the sorcerer does the next best thing and simply launches himself forward by means of tractoring himself towards the side of Ambience . Halberd swings down and forward, bringing the spear and axeheads not quite to bear but into a readied position even as he is hurtled across the tiled floor.

The shadow does not budge, even as Sunflash suddenly and abruptly propels himself into position directly before it, alongside Ambience; its attention is focused solely on the latter, and despite the aggressiveness now being shown by the former, this does not cause it to move. The edges of its form flicker ominously with residual shadowed material that continues to dissolve and re-emerge.

Ambience, himself, doesn't respond right away, either; something seems to to have either enthralled him, or he's seeing/hearing/sensing something that isn't immediately obvious to everyone else; he seems indeterminably focused on this shadow, but he doesn't move either; only the sound of his breathing is heard, and the tension is likely to be something beyond palpable, at the moment.

Eventually, though, he speaks; a simple word, but strangely calm and collected, without the same fear that had been instilled in him during their last encounter. "Wait," is all he said.

Dugar isn't exactly a battlefield veteran, and in different circumstances he might have assumed all of this was just a part of whatever display was going on when he approached, but the hiss from the Hylian sounded a bit like an actual response to something or other, even if he doesn't know what. He, very gently, taps at the shoulder of a library patron who is paying absolutely no attention and had started to head in that direction to stop them. "Sorry. You might want to stay clear of this section for now. I think something's going down."

The landed Hylian let his breath out in another low hiss, the air seeming to have to carve its way through his teeth to get out.

This was a bad idea. A very bad idea. Yes, they needed answers. Yes, often the best place to find them is from the adversary. But like this? The last time...

"The last time, they attacked your emotions very successfully." The reminder from Sunflash came even as he kept eyes locked on the shadow.
He knew he was opening both of them up to something, and even a dead rabite could tell Sunflash was not happy about it.

Ambience doesn't stifle a response. "I know," he said. "I know. You're not wrong, and I'm probably being foolish." His tone is strangely un-meek, kind of a flip-over from how he'd been almost this entire time, up until now. There's a bit of determination in his voice that hasn't been present lately. "I just need a minute. I don't think... this is the same, as the others. But I can't put my finger on 'why,' yet. That's why I need a minute." He pauses, to actually look up at Sunflash with something akin to hope, which is not something he's had much of, lately. "Please?"


The shadow remains unresponsive in all this, merely a brooding figure set in the back end of the library lobby, fixated solely on Ambience's presence.

As Ambience looks up toward Sunflash, there's a flicker of something in his expression, and for a fractional second his eyes dart toward Dugar's presence nearby, but it's extremely brief, and Sunflash has his attention otherwise.

Dugar doesn't seem to have done anything to bring this attention upon himself, unless 'being nosy' counts. He has, wisely, not approached any further than where he stands near the front desk, since he doesn't appear to be armed.

Sunflash risks pulling his eyes off the shadow long enough to look at Ambience as he speaks his request. The words done, his gaze zips back to the shadow and his hands tighten ever so around his weapons pole.

Too many questions. Not enough ways to get answers. Nevermind the kid had a literal different viewpoint, he had an actual point as well.

"Say what you want to try before you attempt it, then. If you or it starts to act unexpectedly, my safest action may overwhelm your senses." Sunny's words were quiet but clear, directed as Ambiencd without even a glance away from the shadow.

They were taking a risk, but something had to give, right?

Sunflash's words seem to hit on something with regards to the shadow, such that it actually unfolds its arms and lets them hang loose at its sides, all the while still never looking away from Ambience. Its head declines slightly, and then also gives a very slight tilt, almost as if it were questioning something without words being spoken.

At the shadow's motion, Sunflash twitches, hard, but manages to restrain himself with a growl

Ambience, himself, looks away from Sunflash and back to the shadowed version of himself, his frown still very much in place. "I don't..." he starts to say, but then cuts himself off. His expression flickers, and the frown on his face seems to go from concern and confusion to one of subtle sadness. A second's hesitation, then he reaches up and removes his blindfold, holding it loosely in his hands as he gazes upon the shadow with his own bright red irises. The brilliant pearl hilt of one of the two swords strapped to his back gleams, and through the silhouetted versions of those swords on the back of the shadow itself, a faint light also shines from the same pommel that it carries. "I can't," he said, after a moment. It's not clear whether he is speaking to the shadow or Sunflash. "I'm not ready yet. Please wait a little longer, okay?" As these words are spoken, the gleam on the hilt of his sword abruptly fades, as does the shine on the shadow's version. He looks rather unhappy about something, but just holds his ground.

The shadow, seeming to understand whatever it was in what Ambience said or asked, raises its head again. Then, just as easily as it arrived, the flickering darkness that composes it begins to fade, gradually removing its presence from the library and leaving no trace it was ever there to begin with.

Sunflash stands at the ready for a moment yet, and then another still; eyes and all senses casting about with minimal bodily movement. Finally satisifed that the threat was in fact no longer there, at least phyiscally, the guardian slowly lets his guard relax.

Eventually coming to a standing rest, Halberd resting to his right and held with one hand, Sunny lets a slow breath in and then out. Turning to Ambience, he finally raises one eyebrow.

"...Are you okay?"

The details could wait a bit yet.

He is silent for a moment, his frown still lingering. He continues to watch the space where the shadow just was, now devoid of his blindfold at the moment. "I think so," he eventually said. "I don't know what that was. It wasn't the same as the one that you took care of in the woods, but it also... was." He sounds confused, like he knows how to explain it, but also doesn't. "It was still me. I could still feel it. But there wasn't any malice. I don't... I don't know what it was."

He hesitates, but then reaches up, behind himself... and slowly, but methodically withdraws the Sword of Mana from the sheath on his back, the leathery sound of metal being pulled punctuating the otherwise-quiet interior of the library lobby. The simple act of taking this weapon out brings a certain ambiance (ha!) to the immediate area, almost as if the holy aura surrounding the weapon were radiating itself outward, invisibly, to encompass everything around it in a short radius. Ambience looks down, simply holding the weapon in his right hand, and his blindfold in the other, looking very confused, but also regaining that look of hesitant determination that he had when addressing Sunflash earlier. "It wanted something, but wouldn't tell me what. Something inside told me we weren't ready. It screamed at me not to agree, so I asked for more time." He looks down at the weapon held loosely in his hand; the grip is awkward, almost like someone who's never actually held a sword before, and then sighs. "I'm okay, though. I'm sorry about that, and I appreciate that you were there as quick as you were. I'm pretty lucky to have you around."

Seeing that the whatever-that-shadow-was has disappeared for the moment, and that the two who were engaged with it seem to be conversing as if the threat is no longer there, Dugar takes the opportunity to approach.

"Gentlemen," is the first word out of his mouth when he draws near, and he gives a polite, if slightly reserved smile. "Sorry to be a bother. I'm not usually one to stick my nose in other folks' business, but you two did come in here with your flashy weapons and interrupt a quiet afternoon's research." In spite of the accusation in that statement, he doesn't sound particularly upset by it. "I don't suppose either of you fine gentlemen would be willing to tell me what all that was about?"

A sudden realization makes him stop and smack his forehead in mild dismay. "Ach, I'm getting ahead of myself again. Dugar. Dugar Ward is the name."

The hylian absorbs the answers given with his eyebrow still raised. Now convinced that the kid is actually okay enough, he straightens and takes another breath with his eyes closed before opening them to a small smirk. "Hey, you're the one getting us some answers out here. I'm the blindman being led by his nose, it feels like." Straight faced and everything.

As they are addressed, Sunflash turns to face the inquirer. "Well then, Dugar; in fairness to the disruption I will admit to our having to fend off, let's say, attempted attacks by unknown assailants." His smile is perhaps somewhat strained, but his tone is still level and calm. Just another afternoon, right?
He turns head slightly to look back towards Ambience. "Will you be okay the moment? I should talk with Vincent again, see if I can smooth over any problems at least."

He still looks down at the Sword, and kind of hefts it a little bit, like he's trying to remember what it feels like to be wielding it again. His brow furrows, but he raises the weapon back up and pokes around at his back with it, eventually finding the entrance to the sheath where it belongs and sliding it back into place with a short clap of metal-on-leather. With another glance at where the shadow once stood, he realizes he's being rude by not saying his piece toward whomever is reaching out to them, and turns partways around, still holding the blindfold in his left hand. He allows Sunflash to speak first, and as said bodyguard does, Ambience's expression turns... weird, which is all-the-more apparent when he's not wearing that piece of cloth over his eyes. The teen looks over Dugar with an odd mix of curiosity and uncertainty, but he doesn't verbalize any of this. Of course, he also realizes pretty quick just how rude he's being, a second time in less than half a minute, and frowns to himself. "We're... sorry about all that," he says, his voice a little low. "Problems seem to keep following us around lately, and I'm pretty sure I know who's at fault." He glances down at the blindfold, then at Dugar again, not having as much difficulty seeing him at a closer proximity like this. "Ambience Sermons," he said, gesturing loosely first to himself, and then Sunflash. "This is my babysitter friend, Sunflash. We're traveling, at the moment." He probably could've done a better job than that, but something still appears to be nagging at him, just a little bit.

"He won't be too angry, I don't think. No real harm done, and less disturbance than that mad old drunk who was in here the other day." This is stated casually to the Hylian, then his attention turns to Ambience. "Had a run of bad luck, have you? I know the feeling. Pleasure to meet you all the same, Ambience -- and Sunflash." He opens his mouth, glances at Sunflash briefly, and seems to have some sort of a change of mind on what he's going to say. "Are you traveling far, then?" He seems to have swapped to smalltalk-mode, giving Sunflash a moment to handle things before he pries any further.

The apparent bodyguard/friend/babbysitterofmana gives a nod to Ambience and Dugar before heading back over to Vincent, clearly engaging in some amount of conversation that may or may not involve apologies and possibly questions. Hard to say with Sunflash.

Ambience doesn't seem to notice Dugar's intent to wait for Sunflash, and gives him a small glance to see if he actually needed anything further before he takes up the conversation, himself. Of course, though, he takes a moment to lift the blindfold back up over his face and resituate it over his eyes, returning himself to the darkness from whence he came. Dugar himself might not have been hard to see from that up-close of range, but it didn't mean the rest of the room wasn't disorienting to various degrees. "I don't know if 'bad luck' is the right word," he said, still adjusting the edges of the band a bit to get the best fit, and also so it doesn't look stupid. "I just tend to always have something going on, even when I try not to. It's a long story." He pauses, 'looking' up at Dugar with a faint smirk. "A very long story. But, uh, I'm not sure just how far we're going, yet. I feel like we'll probably find our way at least as far as Truce, at some point, but it's hard to say when. Things are proceeding an hour at a time, sorta." There's a hesitation, then, "Are you from around here, Dugar?"

These two have already said a number of very curious things, and he's finding it takes a fair amount of effort not to be terribly rude and ask the more direct questions popping into his head. The social niceties are important, he reminds himself. "Aye, and a library's no place for a long story at all." He allows room for a small smile that makes it clear that was an attempt at humor, though he himself feels that it fell a bit flat. Maybe he's gone a bit too long without having a serious conversation. He doesn't push on any of that, though, choosing to follow the flow of conversation instead. "Ah, not exactly, though lately I find myself here more often than not. Been needing the resources for my research. Suppose I am something of a semi-permanent visitor."

A small smirk forms on his face. "That's fair," he said. "We're actually here to hopefully look up some information regarding... whatever that was." He partial-turns, just enough to be able to turn his head and look back toward the corner where the shadow was, before re-pivoting and facing Dugar fully again. "I unfortunately can't offer more of an input than that, not 'cause I don't want to, but because we're scarce of information as much as anyone else. Again, kind of why we're here." His eyes continue to regard Dugar in a semi-curious way, like there's something he can't quite pin down, but given that they're secluded behind that blindfold, it isn't too obvious to the fact. "I'm just glad nothing came of it."

Despite the fact that Ambience is in what could be considered pretty standard traveler's attire, what with the leather tunic, leggings, a ratty-looking scarf and a semi-frayed cloak with two swords latched across his back, some of his less-obvious equipment seems to stand out a little bit, such as the single glove on his right hand that bears a bright green leaf insignia on it.
March 31, 2024

"Curious. You sound as if you know that this trouble's following you around, but you don't really know why." It's a simple putting one-and-one together, really. The leaf insignia does manage to catch his eye, and he tilts his head a bit when he looks back at Ambience's eyes -- or, where they would be if he could see them. He's still going through the motions of making a well-mannered amount of eye contact as well as he can. "Are you with the Mana Tribe? Don't see your sort out this way often."

Seeming to think of something suddenly, he turns and -- well, he doesn't shout, seeing as this is a library, but he does raise his voice exactly the requisite amount so that it will carry and be heard by Sunflash, and Vincent by extension. "If he makes any fuss jus' tell 'im I promised I'd keep you out of trouble." A little bit of sheepishness crosses his expression after speaking, as he realizes, as the others likely will, that noticeably more of his regional accent crept in. It's been present the entire time, but he's been putting an effort in to sound more polite.

He turns back to Ambience, smiling apologetically. He seems more than a little distractible, but maybe that has something to do with the deep circles under his eyes that seem to indicate he's not slept well in maybe a week, if not longer.

Ambience doesn't.. actually look as troubled by the combination of that comment and that question as one might expect him to be, possibly under the pretense of being called out. Then again, even without seeing his eyes, one could tell just by the consistent expression that Ambience looks perpetually troubled in the first place, like one corner of his mouth was just frozen into a partial downward-turn. 'Resting anxiety face,' or something to that effect. "Unfortunately, that's pretty much dead on," he said, shifting his weight loosely. When the comment about his heritage hits, that little frown briefly upturns, as if he were expecting something like that analysis not to be left in the dark for too long. He starts to give a response, but then catches himself when Dugar raises his voice to speak elsewhere, and assumes he isn't the one being spoken to in that moment, such that he waits until Dugar returns his attention to himself before he picks back up on what he was going to say. "Actually, I think it might be easier to invoke some of that 'long story' at this point, if you have a few minutes." He glances aside at where he assumes maybe a table and some chairs may be. "It would clarify a few things, at least."

The scholar brightens at information being offered willingly without his having to ask the prying questions he was holding back on. "By all means, I'd love to hear it. You've more than piqued my interest by this point." Dugar takes a step towards a chair, then pauses, looking over at Ambience again as another thought interrupts him. Briefly, he looks a bit confused. The teen is clearly wearing a blindfold, but he also looked directly at the table, as if he were aware it was there. It takes him a moment to decide what the least-rude thing to do in this situation is. He doesn't want to make a wrong assumption, so in the end he settles for approaching the chair and making sure that he makes a reasonable amount of noise when he drags it along the ground to sit, but not actually sitting, yet. He's giving Ambience a moment, since he's not clear on whether he'll have any trouble navigating there or not.

He does, actually, take the noise being made as a further benefit to knowing where an actual chair is to be seated at; he'd caught a glimpse of things earlier when his blindfold was off so he had a general idea, but his sense of touch wasn't gone and he had a good feel for the distance of things beyond his Signature sight, and he manages to find a seat with relative ease and set himself into it, semi-perching closer to the edge because of the extra back space being taken up by the two weapons. He squirms briefly, and while he is aware of Dugar's confusion due to the shift in his Signature, he doesn't address it; peoples' emotions were changing frequently and if he called out everyone in every little bit of confusion they showed, he'd never get anything else done. For as much of a 'blessing' as that sight was, it was also a little unnerving at times, constantly being so aware of everyone else. And he couldn't really turn it off, either.

After a moment, he puts one hand on the table in front of himself, as if testing the distance between himself and the edge. "Okay, so it looks like you know where I came from, at least," he said. "How much do you know about the Tribe? Just so I know how much I do or don't have to say that won't be repetitive."

Sitting once he's certain that Ambience has found his own chair, Dugar sets his elbows on the table and clasps his hands in front of him, leaning forward with interest. "Well... as much as you could learn in a book, or a long chat with a historian. I've never met any of the Tribe before, myself, so I don't know if there's any inaccuracies in my understanding. You have a village in the Mana Holyland and protect the Mana Tree, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Yep," he said, taking his conversational tone into a bit of informal territory. He was still technically a kid, after all. "That's where I was born. The Mana Tree is kind of a big deal, to put it bluntly, and the Mana Tribe protects it at all costs. Every realm would be in trouble if something compromised it." He shifts again in his seat, loosely, his 'gaze' glancing downward toward the top of the table. "We have ways and means to get around between the Holyland and the Middle Realm, here. Usually." There's another pause, as he seems to try and consider which direction this should go so that he doesn't double-back on himself. "Were you around and aware when the Fortress went up in the sky, five years or so ago?"

Sunflash's return is heralded by the sudden placement of a stack of books besides Ambience, and the Hylian sliding into a chair with a small groan. The Halberd is nowhere to be seen, apparently de-summoned since its presence was no longer needed. Dugar's presence is afforded a short nod before Sunny shoots a curious glance towards Ambience. "What are we talking about, now? Something about the damned Fortress?" His tone was one of morbid curiosity, as if he was simply interested in the knowledge of the topic as opposed to the details.

The books under Sunflash's hand were three in total, two with encouraging titles about 'Darkness Within' and 'The Darkest Hour', with the third simply titled 'The Machina Principia', whatever in the three realms that was. The books themselves weren't overly threating appearing, no chains or mouths or anything. Just books that clearly held knowledge considered dangerous, but weren't themselves dangerous. For once.

He appears a little startled as first the books and then Sunflash suddenly show up, and its clear the sound of the books hitting the table is the biggest culprit. "Er, yeah," he said, needing a second as he cast a hidden glance at Dugar. "Dugar had a few questions and I didn't see the harm in indulging him." He has no idea what the books are, obviously, for pretty plain reasons.

Dugar listens intently while Ambience is speaking, and winds up looking only slightly less startled by the books being placed on the table. With a curious glance, he makes a quick mental note of which ones Sunflash brought, before returning to the conversation. "Aye. It was a ways from here, but I knew about it."

"Yeah," he said again. "Considering the fact that it destroyed Crysta and almost Monstro Town, if you were around at the time, it'd be pretty hard to miss. I just wasn't sure how long you'd actually been here, so I didn't want to imply awareness." He straightens somewhat, then continues. "Only someone with the Sword of Mana can bring down the Fortress when it rises. When it showed up five years ago, a group of us infiltrated the Fortress to bring it, and the Sinistrals controlling it, down." He offers a small glance at Sunflash. "Sunflash and I were part of that group." He doesn't bring it right up, but leaves the implication there that, as a Mana Tribe representative, it was very likely that he carried the Sword needed.

And if that wasn't implicative enough, the fact that he's carrying it on his back does very little to alleviate any uncertainty as to that presumptiveness, too. He also leaves behind the notion that, if this happened 5 years ago, and he looks fifteen or so now...

A sigh comes from Sunflash as he just nods in response to Ambience, and leans back with a small speculative frown on his face. Listening, since he was pretty sure he wasn't going to be able to focus on the studying for a little bit yet anyway. His eyes kept bouncing around the room at people and things, sometimes at the air in front as he clearly focused on things not in his field of vision in some manner.

As Ambience gets to the part involving the Hylian, another short sigh is issued. "Can't wait to talk with your mom about that one."

In the end it seems like he can't seem to bring himself to ignore the elephant in the room. The more is said, the more time he's spending squinting at Ambience uncertainly. "Er." He looks at Sunflash for a beat when he speaks, and then frowns lightly at the teen. "And how old are you again?" Maybe he's one of those long-lived races and actually significantly older than he looks?

He doesn't look... as uncomfortable with that question as maybe he should be. It's possible that he gets that a lot. "That's kind of an ongoing issue for me," he explains, lifting up his gaze from the table so he can peer back toward Dugar through the confines of his blindfold. Sunflash's comment about his mom's eventual response to all of this is either ignored or stowed away for later consideration, considering he has no way to see or contact her right now, anyway. "I was born under very unnatural circumstances, and if you want the literal and technical details, I'm probably what you'd consider a 'late teenager,' at least by what I see in the mirror. But truthfully? I've only been around for thirteen years. My mom could explain the intricacies a little better, but that will have to wait." There's no smugness in his tone to imply that he was enjoying the oddity surrounding his own existence. All of this was spoken as if it were just a regular, explanatory conversation.

Sunflash is clearly trying to just keep his face netural and attention.

Dugar's face seems to cycle through all the stages of grief in the course of a couple of seconds. Afterwards, his hand raises and he rubs at his exhaustion-tinged eyes before dragging said hand down his face. "... Right." He's decided to compartmentalize that information for now and possibly circle back to it later, choosing instead to try and nudge the story towards its conclusion. "So the Mana Fortress, and Sinistrals... does this come back around to that thing that popped up? Or the 'attacks' you mentioned?" He nods at Sunflash.

"We don't know yet," he responds rather quickly, but then pauses, almost surprised at himself for speaking up like that. "I've lost... a lot of things I had, from five years ago, that allowed me to do such a thing as bring down the Mana Fortress. Things are much harder for me, now, than they were back then, and part of the travels that Sunflash and I are on, are in the hopes that we might find some answers to those losses. My sight, as you can probably well-guess by now, is arguably the most poignant of them." He also casts a backwards glance at Sunflash, but it's done out of the corner of his eye without actually moving his head, so to the normal eye, such an action is non-obvious. "These... 'shadows' seem to be showing up at random, and while I know they are related to me in... some way... we're not exactly sure why, yet. I also apologize, again, for disturbing the sanctity of this place with such an incident, just now." Omitting the fact that he was actually dead for the first four of those five years, on top of all this, wasn't quite a logic puzzle Ambience wanted to drop just yet, so he figured he'd just let that one slide for now.

The man hums thoughtfully and leans back in his chair after Ambience stops thinking for the moment, crossing his arms over his chest. He looks away, eyes distancing for a moment while he mulls it over. He blinks himself out of a daze after a handful of seconds, turning back to them. "Aye, don't worry about it," he says, rather belatedly, with a dismissive hand wave towards Ambience. "Well, seeing as it's information you're after, it may be as I'm in a position to help you gentlemen," he states with a bright smile. "Just, er, leave me out of the fighting. Not the best idea for anyone involved." He leaves that rather vague thought hanging and reaches for a nice-looking leather satchel slung over his shoulder, from which he withdraws a pen alongside a notepad that seems to be well-used, and flips it open to an empty page. On that page, he starts to scribble in some extremely chicken-scratchy handwritings, though with a little squinting the sorcerer can probably make out their names and the makings of a flow chart summarizing the details of the story so far.

Behind the dark, one eyebrow raises slightly at the implication of receiving outside help, informational or otherwise. "That's just as well; I'm not too keen on having to let Sunflash fight my battles for me, as it is, and I'd feel worse having someone I've only just met suddenly decide to take up arms on my behalf, as well," he said. The tonal inflection in that statement heavily implies that is, actually, very unhappy about the prospect of not being able to take care of himself, perhaps reaching a personal viewpoint as being burdensome, as such. "I'm used to being the one protecting people, and I'm still getting used to the fact that it may be awhile before I can get back into that saddle, yet. But, uh..." He does turn his head to look at Sunflash for a minute to see if he has any input, then back at Dugar. "How do you mean?"

The sorcerer just gives a sympathic nod at Dugar during his realization of the whole child solider nonsense, but otherwise remains noncommental for a while yet.

As the conversation progresses to Dugar's offer of help and subsequent sketch-booking, a curious look is sent towards the pages. Sunflash was a practiced scholar of sorts himself, but he also knew his ways of processing information were going to be fairly different so sneaking some other styles never hurt.

This is derailed by Ambience's comment about fighting battles, which earns a raised eyebrow followed by a dismissive snort. "I don't know who taught you that getting help from others when you need it is such a bad thing, but they were wrong. Also I dare say you've done more than your share of fighting as it is, you deserve a chunk of a break and easier breathing." His gaze returns back to Dugar. "Suffice to say, it seems the events of the Fortress battle led to several of us having knock-off aftereffects. Ambience lost most of his vision and several, I don't know, Tribe-abilities lets call them; and something has recently changed to cause some wild shadow-figures to start stalking him. The one earlier was the most peaceful yet, at least." He shifts in his seat. "Meanwhile, I had my memory mostly scrambled. Not quite aware of anything else with me yet, other than I just still haven't quite recovered all of it yet." A shrug of 'what can ya do' spirit is given. His information being given was clearly slightly more reserved, yet also still unconcerned.

"Ah, so it had effects on you, too? And others... I'll have to make a note of that, too." He's still writing frantically as he answers Sunflash. "Sorry, you said something?" He looks up, once again with a substantial delay when he finally processes Ambience's question, some time later. "Oh, yes. Well, I've made every house of learning in this realm that would open its doors to me a second home for near on a decade, now," he says, vaguely indicating himself with a gesture using the pen in one hand. "And a second set of eyes is always helpful when you've got a problem you don't know the answer to, or so I'm told." He pauses as just how presumptuous he's being seems to hit him all at once. "That is, if that's something you'd be interested in. I have something of a personal interest in trying to find answers to questions that don't seem to have one, and a break from banging my head against a particular wall would be welcome."

"Well, if we have a considerable amount of anything at all, it's definitely 'unanswered questions'," Ambience said, with at least a trace of humor. He can hear the sound of the writing well enough, but that's about it, and given the scholarly rhetoric, he makes the easy assumption that notes, plans, ideas, or any combination of the three are being scripturally processed. "The Fortress' destruction was definitely a turning point for a lot of people, yeah..."

The prospect of this 'turning point' seemed to bother him a little, as the good humor fell quickly off his face and formed into a small frown, instead. What all had happened to everybody else he hadn't gotten to see, yet? Did they even still remember him? Did his mom even know he was alive? Not having any connection with the Holyland or the mana spirits really made this whole 'uncertain future' situation that much worse, and though he tried to ignore it for the sake of Sunflash's patience in dealing with everything else, it was still very much a needle constantly being poked into his ribs. And before that, recent things kept blending together with those uncertainties, too, in how they could still play out. Lyll's hidden words still wouldn't leave his head, and his frown deepened slightly under consideration of how he was even supposed to deal with that. Molly would probably have a better way to handle that than he would, but...

Sunflash can't help but laugh for a moment. "I understand that completely, sir Dugar. A reasonable excuse to take a break from a riddle is always welcome. I for one havn't any objections to the second viewpoint of a scholar." The Hylian does contain his chuckle and turn towards Ambience as he processes the words, and proceeds to...poke the young man. In the arm. Gently, of course.

"Before we get much further, you said something earlier about having an idea who is at fault with these damnable shadows. Can you share with the rest of the class?" His tone is calm and steady, although should Dugar look up he'd probably notice that Sunny's face is set in a 'someone give me a name, I got a rock for them' kinda way.

Ambience turns his hidden attention to the poking being registered upon his arm, then raises his eyes toward Sunflash in time to be afforded the question. His frown doesn't diminish, but his tone is at least not quite as downtrodden as the look on his face might imply it could be. "Oh," he said, "I just meant me. Obviously if they all carry the same Mana Signature that I do, I'm obviously of some kind of involvement, direct or indirect, right?" He's completely unaware of the fact that, not once, did he ever actually mention anything about Mana Signatures to Dugar, but doesn't seem to pay this any mind as he converses with his guardian. "It was more of a self-deprecation than anything else. I've been doing that a lot, as I'm sure you've noticed." His attention turns elsewhere, somewhere between Sunflash and Dugar. "I don't actually know anything more than you do. I didn't mean to imply otherwise."

Dugar takes a break from going back to his notes to observe the interaction between guardian and ward. Sunflash's question makes him blink when he realizes he might have missed a rather-obvious thing to follow up on, though his shoulders relax a bit when he realizes why he didn't ask in the first place -- he'd actually intuited Ambience's meaning from the start. His tone when he mentioned it had been, in a distant sort of way, familiar. "Well, I'd say you do know something, you just don't know what it is you know, as of yet," he says, lightly. "... And how likely is that? These Mana Signatures, are they as distinctive as, say, a fingerprint? And something you're completely confident in your ability to distinguish?"

Sunflash's gaze is directed skywards before a slow deep breath in is taken. It's held for a heartbeat or three, as Dugar speaks, before he lets out slow and steady. A finger of the Hylian's comes up, posing an interruption to the scholar's line of questioning as Sunflash fixes his eyes on Ambience's blindfold and speaks.

"You are the victim, not the problem; and I will not tolerate you speaking of yourself as a problem going forward. We can argue in more detail later." He then lowers his finger and nods towards Dugar before speaking for Ambience's benifit. "Please continue, I'm also curious in the details on the Mana Signatures. I do not have anything close to his level of detail." By now his face is....not quite tired, but certainly strained.

There's a recognition in Ambience's eye that isn't obvious, of course, like he knew Sunflash was going to call him out on it and had spoken anyway. His expression doesn't change, though, as he glances between the two of them. "'Not knowing what I know, yet' is probably the best description of everything that's happened in the last several weeks I've heard so far, to be fair," he said. "You have a pretty astute grasp of phrases, and I can see pretty well how versed you are in things, by that measure. But, uh..." He pauses for a second, trying to figure out how best to explain what he has that sets him apart from the others. He's not worried about saying too much, really, he just isn't sure how best to explain it in a way that makes the most sense to people who aren't him. A 'fingerprint' is...

"Mana Signatures are..." he starts to say, but then stops again, getting a few concepts together in his head. "Okay, so, I guess, if you know what 'infrared vision' is, you'd have a pretty close idea to what I see when I'm looking at someone's 'Mana Signature'." He looks up at Dugar, pointedly. "I'll explain it like this. Since you know a bit about the Mana Tribe and the Tree, I'm going to assume you also know, at least, the basics of how mana functions. Every living thing has a 'Mana Signature,' and this is basically a readout of the mana that flows through them at any given time; different forms of mana are attributed to different, uhm... well, lots of things, but let's go the easy route and say 'emotions,' because that's a big one."

He pauses for another second, but continues to look at Dugar, as if gauging, or... maybe seeing something else, but convincing himself of what verbal track to stay on. "'Fire-aligned,' or as I see it, 'red'' mana, for example, is attributed to strong responses like aggression and anger, and I can see this mana increase in a person when they are under these thought processes. Likewise, people being sad or depressed take on more 'water-aligned,' or 'blue' mana, because it is a more subdued element. Everyone's 'signature' is changing based on constant shifts in things like emotions and other factors, and..." He comes to a very quick stop, very obviously about to say something he didn't intend to, and hastily turns his direction around. "Er.. well, it's kind of like.. just a second sight, really. Everyone from the Mana Tribe has it, but mine is significantly sharper than most because of... well, probably something to do with how I was conceived. I'm still trying to figure that part out, this far along. Even mom didn't have all the answers when I asked her, way back when." He ceases his discussion from here, not wanting to overwhelm either of them too much with too many details all-at-once, and he actually averts his 'gaze' from Dugar just slightly, as if to avoid concern about blatant staring.

Actually, he does speak up again after a moment, in spite of his predetermination to give himself some breathing room. "Even though everyone's signature is constantly changing, there are certain... aspects, we'll call them, of an individual's signature that I can use to differentiate between one and another, too. The way mana flows through people is a big key part of that, because everyone accepts and dispenses with mana in different ways; still other people are internally void, and have very little of a mana draw at all. But I reference these key differences in people and can use it to tell them apart, even if I can't physically see them with my own eyes."

The 'scolding' from Sunflash brings a very slight smile to Dugar's face, though he attempts to not be too obvious about it. A brief ways into Ambience's explanation, the pen is on paper again, making notes in some kind of shorthand on a different page. He finishes not long after the teen finishes speaking, this time. "I appreciate the detailed explanation. I am not... particularly sensitive to mana in that way. I've studied it, as part of my curiosity about the world around me, but I couldn't magic my way out of a paper bag. Not for a lack of the attempt on my part, mind you." Briefly, he sounds rueful about this disclosure, but he doesn't linger on it. "So... is that a yes, then? Completely confident? Eighty percent? Ninety-nine percent sure that that's your mana signature you're looking at? I apologize for going on about it, but it's an important detail."

Dugar's comment about not being sensitive to mana and not being able to magic his way out of a paper bag kind of needle at the back of his thoughts for a brief moment, but instead of letting 'I can see that...' fall out of his mouth, he instead retains his silence, waiting to see if Sunflash had anything to add before he indulged Dugar further.

There is a noise akin to a bumblebee that escapes Sunflash's throat from his leaned-back position he'd assumed during the longer explanation. Arms are crossed, but his general posture is simply one of someone processing information as opposed to being frustrated.
"The 'ell do I show up as then, some sorta pit or something?" His question is spoken with a raised eyebrow, as if it was a question that made perfect sense and wasn't at all self-deprecating (okay maybe a LITTLE, old habits and all that), before he realizes Dugar's question. "I'm sure he'll clarify in a moment, but from what little magic-sense I have they've been perfect copies. I say that with the caveat that I've not tried to focus on differences." A small frown has appeared as he answered, clearly somewhat unhappy that said thought hadn't occurred to him till now.

He'd never been so dumb as to assume his natural gift at spell-casting would allow him to simply overcome any problem by just forcing things, but he also couldn't help but be frustrated that he keeps finding himself in situations where he was just out of his depth. This close to being able to pick up on clearly obvious details, and still falling short for one reason or another. This trip just seemed to get longer and longer for reasons that weren't related to distance or time.

Ambience actually... frowns a little bit at Sunflash's initial question, like he was put out that Sunflash would think of himself in that way. He got kind of an idea, then, of why Sunflash got frustrated when Ambience downplayed himself. He doesn't completely ignore Dugar's question, but he feels inclined to address Sunflash's commentary first, on a priority basis. "Your Mana Signature is still there and it's as prominent as anyone else's," he said, a bit defensively. "Just because you don't utilize mana through the spirits in the same way others do, doesn't mean you're devoid of it. As long as you live and breathe, you have a Mana Signature. Mana is the source of life as much as it is magic, which is also why the Tree being in danger is such a huge deal for the Tribe when it gets to that point. If the Mana Tree withers and does not have a replacement in the Goddess' lineage, all the realms will wither with it. Trees will die, the air will grow stale, the oceans will grow still. Mana is about more than just casting spells. It's literally everything." He doesn't mean for it to turn out that way, but he would have made his mother proud with that sort of zealous preaching, just now.

He catches himself, though, blinking in surprise from under the darkness of his blindfold. "Uh.. anyway, yeah. It's not really as simple as a lot of people might make it seem. The major difference, too, that separates me from the other members of the Tribe is that I can see the flow of mana, and how it connects to everything and everyone else. Lifelines, I guess, if you wanted to use another term for it; this is probably the main reason I can get around so easily without being able to see, because traces of mana are left in everything that everyone interacts with, even if it is inorganic and gives off no Signature of its own. I see the world in a realm of color that is still 'alive', it just doesn't have the same distinctive shape that normal eyes perceive." He pauses for a second, reaching up to rub idly at the side of his head, and wondering what the hell kind of kick he got going on, all of a sudden.

He turns slightly, letting Dugar know that he was changing attention at that point. "But yeah, if there's one thing I know better than anyone's, for obvious reasons, it's my own Signature. Mom always said that mine was like a flower blooming from the Mana Tree itself, and she's not... wrong, if you pardon the dramatization of such a visual. I still don't know why, really, But if you think of looking at a light bulb, which I don't recommend, for pretty-plain reasons, and know how it forms a light-based silhouette at the edges of your vision around the source of the light itself, that's how my Signature looks to other people. It is... really intense. And that is what I see in all of these shadow-things that we've encountered, so far."

Naturally, this spiel leads to a bit more scratching on the paper. There's no sign of any of Dugar's interest or enthusiasm for the topic dying down, that's for sure. It's almost like he's invested in this as much for knowledge for knowledge's sake as he is for the sake of solving a riddle. He looks up and he seems to have some sort of mild revelation judging by the way his eyes widen at around the time Ambience says something about 'blooming from the Mana Tree', but it passes quickly. When he's finished he doesn't comment on it, either, instead leaning back in his chair and turning in Sunflash's direction. "Thank you for that," he says, aimed at Ambience even though he's looking at the Hylian at the moment, and then addresses the sorcerer. "I could dip into a few more questions, but first... are there any thoughts you're having about this that you haven't shared? Theories?"

The sorcerer's expression during Ambience's counter-preaching is fairly flat, probably more akin to suffering from a lecture to Dugar's eyes than anything else. As the commentary transitions however, Sunflash's eyes go out of focus as he listens. Something elsewhere clearly acquired his attention, although what isn't clear. At first, anyway.

Just as Dugar turns towards the Hylian, he'd notice his eyes are closed tight; almost squinting, complete with a small frown . This is less than alarming than the lines of blue-teal electric light tracing paths across Sunflash's forehead, down the side of his face, and vanishing into his hair behind his ears. His breathing seems okay for all intents and purposes, at least?

Shadows and emotions? Tethers and rituals. A tower crumbled into dust merging with a flying fortress. Two figures, a boy and a girl, both too young and too adult in the same breath.
Swirling images collided upon themselves, a bubble of shielding collapsing under a column of mana, a library in flames, noise noise noISE NOISE
A voice cracking across the chaos, old and young and hated and comforting all at the same, in two tones at once, "FOCUS, MANIN!"

Something grabs Ambience's attention, and he is taken by Sunflash's silence and the strange mana activities traipsing about his cranium. He frowns slightly, but not overly-so. Instead, like so many times he'd been on the receiving end of such treatments, he reaches out and just... pokes Sunflash. Lightly, but insistently, in the arm, not removing his blindfolded gaze from the hylian's face.

Dugar notices fairly quickly as his questions hang that Sunflash doesn't seem to be all there at the moment. He'd taken it for deep concentration or thought at first, but the odd lightshow throws off that initial assumption a bit. His brow knitting, he looks uncertainly at Ambience as he pokes the Hylian. "Is he okay?"

"Hard to tell, really," Ambience said amidst the poke, "but I think so. It's not the first time, at least. Or the second."

The snoot is booped, and with it nothing happens. For a moment. Then, Sunny's eyes snap open and the lightshow vanishes just as suddenly as it appeared. He looks down at his arm, at the assaulting finger, then back up to Ambience. "...Er, sorry. Was trying to remember...a few things?" A frown crosses his face before he lightly shakes his head as if to clear a tiny etch-a-sketch, turning his gaze back to Dugar.

"....Sorry, I've been occasionally having...issues, i guess you can call it, with my memory since the Fortress. Takes a lot of focus to work through the fog or whatever you want to call it. Did you, ask something; or is it just my turn to report on observations and I missed the handover? " A quizzical flavor was added to his tone of voice, but nothing acknowledging that what actually happened was anything odd.

"He asked if you had anything you wanted to bring up," Ambience offered, helpfully. "Your insight on these things is just as important as mine, and we both know I could go on for hours about the Tribe, but people's ears do get tired, eventually." His expression remains fairly neutral, but it's clear that his tone sounds like his mood's picked up a bit.

Dugar makes no secret of the way he's studying Sunflash, for a moment. He seems to be assessing something-or-another, or at least trying to. "... Right, you did mention that," he says, finally. "Let me know if you need a break. This sort of chat can certainly be taxing in its own way."

"...Yes, I did say that, didn't I? Hrmph. Case in point I suppose." He shrugs in some variety

Sunflash drums a hand across the stack of still-unopened books for almost a solid thirty seconds before straightening in his seat. A quick breath in and out, then...
"So. The Fortress ended with Ambience, I don't know, probably dead by his account; and woke up, what, some years later in the woods a chunk north of here. Nayru alone knows what happened to me, but I woke up south of here, almost right after the Fortress went down." Yeah, Ambience probably intentionally didn't mention that bit, but from what he was remembering it was important enough. Also it was as much for making sure he and Ambi were on the same page, as much as feeding information to the living sounding board that was Dugar.

As for the rest, well...

It's pretty hard to see, but Ambience winces at the mention of his demise at that point in Sunflash's story. He doesn't speak, though.

"Flash forward in time to a few weeks ago, where Ambience and I actually stumble into each other again. I end up catching a ride back here with him and some of his friends, then travel back to the family in the woods that he'd been staying with. While we were there-" Here he pauses, looking down with a slight frown and narrowed eyes as he concentrates on his words.
"-Ambience and I encountered the damned shadow figures for the first time." A spark of light travels across the side of his face, but he apparently doesn't notice this.

"I forget how many. Six? Eight? Had just appeared, glaring at Ambience. They just up and vanished pretty quickly after scaring the hell outta the poor guy, but I remember him saying something about them feeling like 'his anger', 'his sadness', and so forth." He looks up as a spark courses across his forehead, now actively disengaging the narrowed brows. "As we start to travel back here yesttttterrrrday?" There is some confusion in his voice, but only minorly.

"We get jumped by a pair of the shadows. A unicorn and a horse, I think? As they show up---no, just before they show up? Or maybe I don't notice them until then..." There is now a good chunk of frustration cutting into his words, leading to him shaking his head. "Ambience was talking about how rough things had been growing up, and then pretty abruptly changed to talking about how sick of it he was. About then I noticed the shadows, and had to deal with those while trying to talk through what is now safe to say was a magical assault on someone's emotions."

Sunflash pauses for another breath, and then carries on as if he was terrified of forgetting if he let anyone else get a word in.

"Ten," Ambience interjects, but that's all. At least Sunflash left out the part where he tried to slit his own throat in the process, that was probably best left off the table in the long run.

"I wasn't in a good position to really examine the damned things, as they were actively attacking Ambience and I wouldn't risk his safety for the sake of answering my own curiosity. They DID go away when I drowned them with a large enough Dispel effect, which suggests they didn't really have a physical component. Probably still hurt if they punched us, but I didn't give them the chance." Sunflash has the slightest of smirks here, as if he'd dared to allow himself some self-satisfaction over it.

"However, when they vanished two things happened. One, was they left some sort of...I don't know, gem of mana holding, behind? I haven't gotten to a safe enough spot to examine it again, I've got it sealed up somewhat tight at the moment. The other one, that I know you don't know about Ambience, is what I saw after I got the shadows dispelled." Here he looks at Ambience with a weary, almost resigned smile.

"There was some sort of, I don't know, string? Tendril? Of the same shadowy magic as the actual shadows, around your back. Like they'd latched onto you almost physically or something. Which, I'm guessing, is probably how they were able to affect you so quickly."

Here he pauses for a moment before sighing and nodding to Dugar. "Sorry for all of that at once, I was worried I'd forget something if I didn't keep going. Think that's all I have just yet."

Ambience's expression is lost under his blindfold, as ever it usually is. He didn't know about that, actually, but then again, it made as much sense as anything else. He just wanted to go home, put the Mana Sword back where it belonged, and maybe actually get to know his mom a little more outside of the whole year he'd actually been with her, in the thirteen years he'd been around. He remembered the despair and the lack of energy to even bother anymore. In truth, he didn't feel like it was all gone, either, but he had enough awareness and self-preservation left at the moment to know that being gone again would just hurt other people. Again. And he didn't really want to put anyone through that a second time. Especially not...

"That's a pretty good summary of things, yeah," he said, letting his thoughts fall by the way. Thinking about Mollianne just flummoxed him in ways he didn't really understand all that well right now, and it wasn't what he needed to be focusing on, anyway. "Our plan was to reach Viorar and see if we could find some information that could help us along the way, and I also have a friend I'm meeting with in a few hours from now, so for the time being, we're just mostly passing time to see what we can dredge up before then."

Poor Dugar's writing hand is getting a hell of a workout trying to keep up with all this exposition. He might not have memory issues anything to the degree of Sunflash's, but he really doesn't want to miss anything important, or forget something when he comes back to it later, so he's treating it as he would a formal lecture.

When he gets a chance to take a break from note-taking, he sets the pen down for a moment, and takes a moment to stretch his shoulders out from how long he's been hunching over in the past while. After a brief pause, he says "From my learning it's not exactly unusual for magic gifts to respond to emotions, but..."

The scholar glances between the two of them, then apparently decides to take a different track, not picking up on the end of that sentence. "It's good that Sunflash had your back. That's a lot of excitement in a very short span of time."

He falls silent for a moment, elbows set on the table, hands folding as he leans forward, and eyes growing distant. He's clearly thinking about something, but his expression is pretty inscrutable otherwise. Abruptly, he asks, "Have either of you ever seen the Mana Tree?"

The silence Ambience surrounds himself in seems to imply that he's waiting to see if Sunflash was going to speak up, first. But, then again, he did just pretty much spill several weeks' worth of events in one big expositional tidal wave, so maybe it was his turn to speak. It was... his field, actually, but remembering the Holyland and the things about it gave him that painful nostalgic ping that just made him want to go the fuck home. Eventually, though, he speaks up. "Yeah," he said, openingly. "My mom is from the Goddess' lineage, and she may have to become the new Mana Tree if anything happens to its current incarnation. There was... a really big thing about that, a long time ago, right when I was born. She told me that the Tree had been destroyed right after she gave birth to me, and that she was next in line to become the new Tree. But someone took her place..."

The strain in his voice is becoming a little apparent at this point, the recollection of certain events rolling over him and threatening to overtake his ability to speak clearly. "The Tree is every bit as beautiful as the stories say of it." He lifts his head, looking pointedly at Dugar. "It reminds me of... a mother, always there, with arms outstretched, beckoning her family to come and sit beside her, and knowing that everything will be alright while in her care. Everything will.. it will be alright..." He goes quiet at that point and turns slightly away from Dugar, and out from under a loose corner of the blindfold, a droplet slowly makes its way down the side of his face. Through all this, he's somehow managing to keep a straight face on the outside, and he's thankful for that, because his eyes would indicate a completely different story.

Behind him, the pearlescent pommel of the fancier-of-the-two swords strapped to his back gleams gently.

Sunflash doesn't bother responding for a few moments, simply quietly and carefully reaching over to pat the poor lad on his close shoulder. His hand lingers for a moment or two afterwards as he eyes the sword, before he turns to Dugar and speaks somewhat loudly in response as he removes his hand.

"As for me, I have not had the opportunity, no."

Dugar's fascinated expression rapidly sobers when he realizes his question is treading on some sore spots. His eyes round out with sympathy as he watches Ambience, a slight frown tugging at the corners of his lips. He politely looks away from his face when the teen trails off, noting the glow coming from the sword at his back, and then pointedly looks down at his hands instead, letting the silence rest for a few seconds.

There's an obvious sniff, accompanied by a small frown as he shakes himself free of that clingy emotional stuff. "The village sits at the fore of the Tree," he said, a continuation of what he'd not meant to leave off on. "It makes sense that, if we want to protect it, we should be close. It grows behind the Sanctuary, in the heart of the village. Everyone there has everything they need simply because of its proximity; all of the crops grow swift and without rot, the ocean on the east side is always clean, and, on occasion, gifts are left for us at the base of the Tree; metals and such, since there aren't exactly mineshafts or other things anywhere nearby. That way we can provide construction applications without having to travel too far, or to the Middle Realm, though some prefer to do so. The Goddess gives our Tribe everything we need, and in return, we keep her and the Tree safe." He thinks for a moment. "I did not travel beyond the village, and I know the Holyland is a much bigger place than that. But the consensus for the Tribe tends to be that if there's no reason to travel, there's no point in doing so. As far as I'm aware, a majority of the Holyland is probably unexplored, for that reason. There's not a lot of people that are the, uh... 'adventurous types,' I guess."

"Oh," he said, remembering, "and I'm sure this is obvious, but travel there and back is not exactly a public road, either. Someone from the Tribe may bring people with them on their return trip if they choose, but outside of physical accompaniment with someone from the Holyland, there's no actual way to get there, outside of very specific and very extreme circumstances."

"Right. Wasn't exactly planning my next vacation there, as lovely as it sounds," he quips, trying to bring a touch of levity into the conversation after such a serious subject.

He hesitates, looking off at nothing in particular. Somehow it feels insensitive after that moment, but it will nag at him until he asks the question. "But... ah... sorry, this is probably a dense question... it's not like looking in a mirror, is it? When you saw the Tree. Earlier, you said your ma described your Signature like 'a flower blooming from the Mana Tree itself'. You'd be able to tell it apart from your own, wouldn't you?"

A blatant smirk crosses Ambience's dumb face when Dugar phrases it that way, noting the implication that he was basically being asked if he came from the Tree itself. Or, at least, that was the way he took it to sound. "Mom meant it semantically, I think," he said. "The Tree has its own Signature, of course, in a manner of speaking, but it is intentionally subdued, because that much sheer mana condensed into a single area would blind anyone from the Mana Tribe just from being in relatively-close proximity to it. But in the way that I think you're trying to determine, the Tree is the source of all of our Mana Signatures, which means that the Tree could be considered 'all of us,' if you were to try and separate one single part of it away from any of the rest of it. If we didn't have the Tree, among other problems, I would be completely blind with this thing over my eyes. There'd be no Mana Signatures to detect, from anyone."

Sunflash has leaned back into his chair again, whether catching his breath or simply processing (or both) is hard to say. Of course, he also had little to nothing to add to the discussion about the Tree, Tribe, or Signatures anyway, so his input would only be minimal at best. Still...

"Huh. Ambience, does....hrmph. Sorry, phrasing. Are there any legends or stories or etc in the Tribe about people from the Tribe getting resurrected?" He pauses with a slight wince. "Feels like there's a better way to ask that, but..."

Sure, he had a general idea how the whole dying thing was supposed to work in the Cleft, thanks to all the studying and the rare poking at Tenor about it back when he was actually around, but...that was all middle realm stuff. Did starting in the upper reaches give you a different result, or something?

Yeah, the whole 'resurrection' concept doesn't sit too well with him, either, but that's okay. It didn't change the fact that it happened, anyway. "Not that I know of," he said, a bit cautiously. He isn't really sure where to look, so he just settles on a spot upon the table between the both of them. "There might be stories or legends or things passed down that I don't know about, though. I spent most of my life here in the Middle Realm, and I didn't have a lot of time to learn all the things I probably should have from my mom and the elders, before we had to bring down the Fortress. I don't disbelieve that there are lots of accounts of the Holyland and the Tribe here in the library and other places of information, but I'm willing to bet that the accounts written up in the Holyland and kept in their archives are probably a lot more detailed. But..." He trails off, exhaling through his nose. "As far as I know, I'm an outlier. 'Death' doesn't play favorites, and the realm doesn't matter. When you die, you go to the Underworld, and they determine where you go from there. I'm guessing that most of the Tribe probably go on to be with the Goddess in whatever their afterlife looks like, but I don't know for sure. For me..."

He stops, and his face looks... blank. Like he didn't ever anticipate himself talking about what comes next. "When I... died... I don't really know how to explain what it felt like. It was like I went to sleep, but there were no dreams. I felt like I could still sense things around me, but I don't know what they were. Maybe I was being prepped for wherever I was supposed to go to next? I don't know. I didn't figure it should take four years to determine where I was supposed to go, and... you know, I screwed up on some things. I wasn't the best person I could have been, and I hurt people. And I could easily play the victim card, with what happened leading up to it. But I accept that whatever was going to happen was going to happen. But then, I just... came back. Suddenly I woke up, lying in Lyll's bed, in her family's house at the north end of Faron Woods. Her dad told me that he found me out in the woods, and I was still breathing, so he brought me back to recover. But I don't know what happened at all during that time period, nor do I know why I suddenly couldn't see any longer, afterward. It actually took me a close to a month to feel strong enough to get up and move around, much more to do normal daily things. It was like my body was having to remember what it was like to be alive again, or something, I don't know. This is all weird to talk about."

He glances aside, but only at another part of the same tabletop. "When I think about it, though, the likeliness of why they couldn't determine what to do with me after I died is probably because of how I was born. Mom didn't..." He thinks for a second before continuing, trying to determine how he feels about the topic. "Mom didn't... have me, in the normal way. Da is reploid, which.. you know.. they don't work that way. She had a dream, and when she came out of that dream, she was pregnant with me. That's really all I know about it, but it could be relevant. I don't know."

"My eye color is kind of what gives it away, too," Ambience adds, after a moment. "My mom has purple eyes and most people I met from the Holyland have a lot of different colors, but mostly brown. Nobody has ever had red eyes to their knowledge, and they're sure it's because of my Da. His are red."

Dugar seems significantly less surprised or unsettled by all this talk of coming back to life than one might expect, for unclear reasons. Sitting here with these two makes him feel like he's in the midst of the kinds of heroes that storybooks -- or history books -- are written about. Only the underaged, intrepid adventuring types seem a lot more appealing to read about in books. In the flesh, it's honestly kind of disturbing.

During a lull he flips through the notes he's taken so far, scratching just below his ear in what seems more like an idle tic than an actual response to an itch. Finally, he looks up at the two again. "We've covered a lot, but I still don't really know... what exactly happened at the Mana Fortress. Who was with you, and what happened to them? How did you bring it down?"

He's not above letting Sunflash have his piece, if only because he can get self-conscious if he realizes he's been droning on about something for too long, but his guardian did say that his memory was pretty shot over those events, so it would probably be up to Ambience, himself, to set the register straight. Maybe it would help Sunflash out, too. Or..

He actively glances over at Sunflash. Or he would start shooting off residual mana flares again. There really wasn't any way to tell, really.

"Mom and miss Lillian told me that the Sinistrals found the Mana Fortress while they were looking for Doom Island," Ambience explains, looking again back toward Dugar. "But I guess that's not here or there. Anyway, there were three of us to begin with: me, Sunflash, and another person named 'Haut.' He..." Ambience stops, whatever memory coming to mind not being a pleasant one. "...No. Anyway, I'm sorry. The three of us took miss Lillian's Manabeast to the Fortress, and I remember when she dropped us off, I told her to get as far away as possible; the Goddess has some kind of 'switch' in a Manabeast's brain that turns them hyper-aggressive when the Mana Fortress rises, and they will go out of their way to destroy it once that switch is flipped, regardless of who gets in the way. I didn't know how much time we had, but I knew it wasn't a lot." There was someone else there, too, waiting for them, but that part could be left out easily enough. It gave him pause for a second, though, nevertheless. "Anyway, there were a few obstacles inside and a lot of... really weird things that I never knew about, regarding the Fortress and how, or why, it was what it was. I remember... the questions Haut asked about my Limiter, too." There's a beat. "But we pushed through it all, and it ended up in a standoff between the three of us and the Sinistrals."

"I can't really say I helped a whole lot in that one, actually," he continues, after taking a moment to catch a breath. "And I don't remember a whole lot about the fight. I do remember that miss Jillian came to help, and I remember seeing Dual Blade activate, which was the only chance we had of beating them. But right as things got heated, the Manabeast came back, and I was the only one who could hold it off while the others dealt with the Sinistrals. I really... don't actually remember a lot after that. The scream is what stays with me the most."

He actually offered a short laugh, but there's very little humor in it. "You haven't lived until you've been shrieked at, point-blank, by a Manabeast. Absolutely out of this world. But, anyway... at some point, the others were able to get rid of the Sinistrals, and I was taken for a ride on the Manabeast's back in an effort to try and keep it away from the Fortress long enough for the Sinistrals to be taken care of. When we eventually crashed back into the Fortress, everyone was gone. I kind of remember the realization that I got left behind at that point, and the sort of, I don't know... 'hollow,' almost?... feeling of knowing that you're probably not coming back from this. And if that wasn't bad enough, my Limiter was ripped off."

His eyes lower back toward the table, and he's silent for a couple of lingering moments. "Without being too big on the details, I basically... I pretty much had to kill myself, at that point, because if I didn't, I was going to end up being the next threat to the Middle Realm, and possibly any of the other ones. So I blew both of us up, and the rest of the Fortress in the process. And that was the last thing I remember."
April 5, 2024

Well, that kinda helped answered a few things at least.

Sunflash's face is one of minor frustration by the end of Ambience's answer, tinged with what is probably confusion. "I've had flashbacks of fighting the Sinistrals, but they're mixed up with others that I KNOW are ancient history...I've also had memories of after the fight? Of Haut and the lady trying to figure out a way to get to Ambience, and if I was going to be okay? But those also felt really weird, like I wasn't there but somehow still listening. So I'm not convinced my mind didn't almost make those up, or something."

The hylian shakes his head with a sigh. "But yeah, I haven't had much luck actually remembering anything inside the Fortress, sooo..." He shrugs. That was clearly where the train of thought's station was at, sadly.
April 7, 2024

Dugar bears a soft frown that lingers as Ambience speaks further on the details of the Mana Fortress. There are clearly a lot of unpleasant memories tied up in it, and he feels like a bit of an ass for asking; but if no one ever asked about unpleasant events, they'd go undocumented and be forgotten to time, and there's too much to learn from things like this. Sometimes, it's necessary. Still, he thinks he'll pass on prying any further about Ambience ending his own life for the moment. He'd need to have a seriously good reason, or a great deal more trust to justify that.

"So... your third -- Haut -- what happened to him?" He once again has the distinct feeling he may be opening a can of worms, but it feels too important not to ask.

"I don't know," Ambience said openly. "I don't actually know what happened to anyone afterward. Given how much of a self-assertive asshole he was, it wouldn't surprise me if he 'went down with the ship' too, but I somehow doubt that." Ambience's tone, surprisingly, is not bitter; it's more like he's just speaking plainly. He stops short of mentioning that Haut was the primary reason a lot of their problems surfaced in the first place, because he wasn't the type to just throw people under the bus. "When I came to, a beastman family took care of me for a year. When the Festival of Lights took place last year, their youngest, Lyll, wanted to go, and I took up the escort role to see her there safely. That was when I met up with Sunflash, and some pieces of the puzzle were filled in for me, and probably him, too, at that time." He pauses for brief consideration. "I didn't actually know if I was ready to leave at that time, since I still didn't feel 'right,' but Lyll's one of those people you can't really say 'no' to, which I'm sure Sunflash will attest to. It probably turned out for the best, I think."

There is a short chuckle from Sunflash with nod towards Ambience's comment about Lyll before he answers Dugar. "As for Haut, I've only those weird memories to go off of." A confused shrug is had here.

"If we can trust those, then it seems likely they escaped the destruction of the Fortress as well. Beyond that, I've no real idea where or how they are. I haven't heard of them near Viorar, but I've also not really gone looking."

He looks off to the side for a few moments before turning back to Dugar. "Having met Haut just a handful of times before the Fortress trip, I suspect he's probably fine. Guy was really good at surviving in places he probably shouldn't have any business being in."

Though silent on Sunflash's commentary, he does frown internally, since 'places he probably shouldn't have any business being in' basically summed up a lot of that whole episode they were involved in. But, again, it was what it was.

"Seems like he'd have some interesting things to say, were you able to find him," he says, idly. Dugar hums thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest, head falling back a little as he lets his eyes fall on the ceiling with various thoughts rolling around his head. He kinda gets stuck like that for a bit, fading into his own mind and apparently forgetting to continue the conversation.

Sunflash simply raises a hand with a wobbly upraised palm. "Perhaps, perhaps not. I know he was the type of person most people could only barely tolerate, most days; but I did have to admire his insistence on refusing to accept that things couldn't be done differently. Even in the Fortress, he kept doing things that were surprising."

He pauses, recalling everyone else's comments on him throughout the last few weeks. "Still don't think I could handle hanging out with him, but we don't often get to pick tutors that are amicable, do we?" A grim smile ends that line of thinking.

A thought occurs to him, then, basing itself around some of what he said, and some of what Sunflash said, as it organized itself for him in his head. "I can't say I know what happened to Haut," he said, looking aside at Sunflash. "But I'm willing to almost guarantee that miss Jillian would know. I don't... know where she is, either, but I'm sure she survived. Maybe we'll run into her along the way, somewhere, and she can fill us in on some of the things we're missing. As much..." he trails off, lowering his eyes through his blindfold. "As much as I'm not extremely keen on the idea, Viorar is only a very small part of the Cleft, and I don't think we're going to just find everything we need, here. We're probably going to have to push on towards Truce, at some point."

"I was able to bring Lyll to the Festival of Lights while bypassing most of Guardia, because of the waypoints I still remembered that allowed me to transport us there and save time and distance," he said, recollectively. "I wasn't going to touch Truce with a ten-foot pole at that point, not until I'd determined a few other things, first."

With a blink, the scholar comes back to reality, actually physically shaking his head to dismiss his zoned-out state. "Ah... sorry about that. I'm afraid it's been a bit of a long week for me." He rubs at his exhausted-looking eyes, then forces a polite smile back onto his face, though it looks a touch strained. He probably missed a good chunk of what was just said, but then, it didn't seem like it pertained to him much if at all, so that was probably fine.

"Yeah, I get that feeling. I'm sure I'll sleep for a month when I get around to it." Sunflash pauses just long enough for a frown to cross his face before he nods at Ambience.

"As much as I'd prefer to skirt around Truce these days, things and people do tend to gravitate there eventually. We can make it our destination after we visit Shrike and Orbonne."

"Yeah, that much I recall from years before, too," Ambience admitted. "I hope Agrias and Lady Ovelia are doing well, after all this time. I'm actually kind of looking forward to seeing them again." His gaze lifts, and he fixates on Dugar for a long moment, without saying anything. Without seeing his eyes, it's kind of difficult to discern any sort of intent or preoccupation he'd have, but then, he was a weird kid, so maybe it could just be assumed. "Speaking of meeting people, Molly will probably be waiting for us pretty soon, too." He looks once more at Sunflash. "But I can go and meet with her, first, if you want to continue discussing things with Dugar, here. If we're still looking for information, I don't want to break anything off, but you know she'll come find me if we don't find her, first." His tone doesn't leave any impression on how he actually feels about any of this, keeping a pretty mellow and even demeanor.

Dugar just quietly sits through that moment of Ambience staring at him without questioning it. Now that the initial adrenaline of filling his noggin with fascinating knowledge has worn off he seems a bit subdued, really. "Ah, don't let me get in the way of anything... is what I would say but I think I've already managed that. You've not even cracked these titles open," he says, indicating the books Sunflash brought with a wry grin.
April 8, 2024

Damnit. Had he really lost track of time that badly? You get to talking, thinking, and suddenly it's time to go. This does bring up a critical point, however..

Sunflash's frown is pretty deep as he looks at Ambience. "You do need to meet her, yes. But after that shadow showed up here...." He lets it sit for a moment before shaking head at Dugar absently.

"I've no concern, the books will be here regardless."

Damnit, what was the right option here.... The hylian turns back to Ambience with less of a frown. "What do you feel comfortable with? I don't want to intrude on your little get together, but I've not near the kind of sense-tracking you're capable of...."

He, personally, doesn't seem to understand what the hangup is. It could be that he's not reading into the possible issues at hand with as much paranoia as Sunflash was, or there could be something obvious that's just going over his head entirely. Either of those things are equally-likely. "I don't think there's that much of an issue while we're in town," he said. "But then again, if the shadows are showing up here, too, I guess there's reason for concern. Also, I don't have an issue with you coming with me, either."

Ambience didn't seem to really understand why people kept thinking he needed to be alone with Molly, lately. Was there something else that he wasn't aware of? Or was he just being oblivious, there, too? It felt like there was probably a reason for it, and he did enjoy her company a lot, but people's insistence lately was a little off-putting in a way that he couldn't quite figure out. He was still trying to sort out his own feelings on the matter, especially after Lyll's little note, and that sort of pressure wasn't going to help him at all.

"I just didn't want to take away from Dugar's research, that's all," he said, with a glance back at said scholar. "He seemed to be really invested in it, and I just thought that if we didn't both have to go, yet, you could still fill him in on whatever details he was still looking for. But I'm not opposed to whatever decision you think is best, of course."

Dugar scratches at the rough stubble on his chin as he looks between the two, listening to their exchange, and ultimately deciding to ask for clarification before adding too much input. "Is it that you don't have a way to get ahold of each other, or is it just the worry about something happening and not being there?" He can't exactly say that it's irrational to worry about it. He saw the shadow with his own eyes, even though it didn't seem aggressive at the time, and the Cleft was never fully predictable, though most people didn't go around constantly worrying about ending up in some sort of fall in-based freak accident for their own sanity. "Obviously, safety's more important than anything. I won't be too put out if you need to go, of course."

Different reasons for the same end result, man adulting is weird. Sunflash rubs his chin for a few moments, clearly waffling on some options before nodding at Dugar.
"I can move around pretty quickly when I need too, but we don't really have a way to communicate quickly at a distance." He pauses for a moment, "I probably should ask the folks at Shrike when I go if they've got any techy solution we can use, actually..."

That answer seems to result in a thought coming together. Dugar reaches for his leather satchel again and starts to dig through it. At a glance it looks like a lot of that space is taken up by more notebooks, and there's at least one hefty tome in there as well with a title reading 'Surviving L--', with the remainder of it unreadable due to the angle and his arm blocking it. He pulls out a couple of very plain looking plastic devices, one being a small cube with a screen and only a few buttons, the other being even smaller and only having one red button on it. "It's not much, but if you already know the general area he's going to be... these are already paired, and if this button is pressed --" he waves the smaller one, "-- it'll page whoever's carrying this."

After a small pause, he shrugs slightly. "I was, er, in the course of a medical internship at one point, and we always carried these. I'm a creature of habit."

Ambience, unfortunately, has no idea what Dugar is talking about since he can't detect or see the devices in question, but he only assumes it to be some kind of digital tech, given the descriptions being discussed. He just lowers his blindfolded gaze toward the table, trying to discern their use and coming up with the notion that he would essentially be on a digital tether, as such. Which, actually, might not be a terrible idea, given how random things had been lately. Or was it Sunflash that would be on the tether? "That doesn't sound like a bad idea," he said, but his tone heavily implies that he's talking without any real intent and may not actually know whether it's a good idea or not. "Is it okay for us to have them, though? We might not get them back to you in any real hurry, depending on anything that may or may not happen."

"I wouldn't lose sleep over it," Dugar says with a small chuckle. "This is... considered dated tech, to be honest. It's reliable, but only when used within a fairly small distance. The signal would likely not reach far if one of you left city limits, for example." He runs a hand through his already-mussed hair. "It wouldn't be terribly costly for me to replace, in other words."

The fact that Sunflash's eyebrows were raised was probably due to the unexpectedness of the plan, as opposed to the idea of its existence. Probably.

"That...is actually fairly handy. I've seen similar things in use at the robotics facility, now that I think on it." He purses his lips briefly before looking back up at Dugar. "Well good sir, borrowing these for a perhaps extended period of time would be wonderful. Not only because it would allow me to return this evening and spend more time digging into this research. Is there something I can do in exchange? Aside from the stories we've shared, of course." A faint grin appears, as if he already knows the stories themselves were what the scholar really wanted. Never hurts to offer regardless.

Ambience still doesn't actually know much about what's going on, here, just that it seems like the visit's nearing its end, in some capacity or another. He'd have to just rely on Sunflash to know what's going on and what to do about it, as... has kind of been the case more than a couple of times, so far. At least it was just expected, at this point. So he just kind of sits there and minds his own, until Sunflash decides to yay or nay on keeping together or splitting up.

"It's no bother at all. Ah, let me just..." He leans towards Sunflash with the objects in hand and indicates the button with the power symbol on the bigger one. "This powers it on, the battery will last for weeks without replacement, so it at least has that over a standard cell phone." He points to a second button on it, "This stops it when the beeping is active. How you acknowledge you've been alerted, basically." He wiggles the smaller device, "And there's only the one button on this one so it's obvious enough what it does. Only really works one way because of the purpose it was made for, but eh, here's hoping by the time you need a more complicated solution you've had time to make a trip to Shrike, or put in for a delivery."

He smiles, offering the paired devices to the Hylian. "I don't have patients anymore, so chances are I won't miss it. Really, I'm just happy you took the time to stop and chew the fat with me. It was a much needed break. Get stuck on one problem for too long and you start to feel like you're going mad, I'm sure you know the feeling."

Something in Dugar's explanation struck him, probably because he's likely focused on listening to things that don't involve him needing to be able to see it to know how it works, and leaving the device and its specifics to Sunflash. "Patients?" he echoed, looking up at Dugar. "You're a clinician?" Now that he actually said it out loud, something jarred his memory of Dugar mentioning a medical history, he thought, but he also could be misremembering.

Dugar's smile doesn't falter, but subtly, there's a bit of internal strain when the question arises. He turns towards Ambience, nodding. "Studied to be one, yes, was practicing under someone in the final stages of being certified, but it didn't work out." He says it so casually, but the tension in his shoulders and the tightness in his throat tell a different story. It's not a lie, but it's an obvious attempt to avoid dredging up something that clearly has an unpleasant memory attached.

Sunflash absorbs the instructions with a gracious smile before accepting the dedicated pagers and examining them firsthand. "Well, I am quite thankful for your generosity and pleased to have provided a break."

Ambience's question and its answer is only minorly paid attention to, as he occupies himself with the pagers and trying to conjure up a detailed plan for the evening.

He is silent for a moment. And then another moment. And then, like, two more moments after that. His expression is really hard to read because of that blindfold and his mouth doesn't really change shape, up or down. Eventually, though, he speaks. "I see," he said. "I was just curious, the friend I'm going to meet shortly also opens a clinic in Viorar a few times a month, if my memory isn't faded. She does it to help those less-fortunate who can't afford medical practice from more-established venues." His attention goes to Sunflash briefly, then back to Dugar. "I share Sunflash's sentiment, though. Our situation is kind of complex at the moment, and any help we receive is more than we were planning on, so you have my thanks as well as his, in this." His tone is pretty even and leveled-out, like there was no real inflection in anything he said.

In spite of the long pause, Dugar seems to not really notice anything unusual about the silence. It's not hard for him to presume Ambience is being introspective, or was reminded of something. He's certainly got a lot of things that could possibly be on his mind, after all. A flicker of recognition crosses his face at the moment when Ambience mentions his friend. "Ah, we've never met but I've heard mention of that pop-up clinic, actually. Good on her." He hangs with his mouth open for a beat there as if he'd thought to say something more, but in the end doesn't continue with that train of thought. Instead when he speaks again it's to offer pleasantries. The politeness seems like a very ingrained habit, but his intent is genuine, all the same. "Well then, I'll wish the both of you good health and good luck, in the case that we don't meet again soon."

Sunflash manages to zone back in at the tail end of Ambience's comment about the clinic, and looks up to nod in agreement.

The extra beat doesnt slip past him, however; leading to a hylian turning his head between Ambience and Dugar before he speaks.

"....oh! I don't know how short Mollianne is in terms of having any kind of help with that clinic, but if you want I'd be happy to mention your name, should you be remotely interested?" His tone is an eththusatic one, clearly believing he has guessed correctly at some sort of unspoken going ons.

And damn leaving things unsaid, so far as he is concerned.

Ambience forces a smile of appreciation in Dugar's direction at the well-wishing, but it definitely looks at least marginally-forced, like the kind where someone doesn't really feel like they have a lot to smile about. He opts to scoot his chair back, then, at that point, and rise to his feet, still not fully aware of what 'devices' it was that Dugar or Sunflash were discussing. "Okay," he said, looking up at Sunflash, "do you have a plan on what you want to do from here, then? It's pretty clear where I'm going by now, but we need to make sure that whatever we came here to do gets done, on both of our accounts."

Dugar looks mildly startled as Sunflash makes the offer to speak to Mollianne on his behalf. Had he been that transparent? What had gone unsaid was the fact that he'd once had the ambition of doing something similar with his life. "I, er..." Displaying a sudden onset of timidness, his smile widens but seems tinged with nervousness, becoming less of a smile and instead distantly resembling an animal baring its teeth. He does his best to shake it off, though he stammers a bit when he gives his reply. "I-If you, I mean, if she could use a set of helping hands I -- well, I could speak to her about it at the least, if she has any interest."

Ambience wasn't exactly blowing Sunflash's prospect off for the potential of Dugar giving Molly a helping hand, but he did seem surprised when Dugar sounded like it was something he was interested in. He apparently assumed wrong in whatever it was he was thinking, seemingly. "Oh, yeah," he said, scooting his chair back in against the table. "As far as I know, she's the only one running it. Kind of a solo operation, I guess. As bubbly as she is, I bet she wouldn't turn down an assistant. I'll pitch for you, too, then, Dugar."

A grin splits Sunflash's face as he too stands and collects his borrowed books before giving a short bow. "Consider it done! Mayhaps we'll see you again before too long, but we must get going. "

With that, the hylian steps aside to deliver the books back to Vincent before heading to the doors to meet Ambience.

Dugar briefly seems to struggle with eye contact, looking down at the page his notebook is open to instead. This was... not a turn he was expecting this encounter to take. Blinking and shaking his head slightly when he realizes he's bordering on being rude, he looks back up to the two with a firm nod. "Of course! Take care, you two."

He watches them go for a few moments, shooting only a slightly worried look in Ambience's direction. A thought nags at him that he should have tried to do more for them, especially given the poor kid has had a whole lot thrust upon him at a very young age, but he shelves it quickly. He's not the adventuring or diving-into-danger sort, and with good reason. He'll do what he can with the strengths he has. That'll have to be enough.

"Alright," Ambience said as Sunflash approached and their business here had more-or-less concluded, "what are your plans from here, Sunflash? I could hear you and Dugar talking about some kind of devices that he gave you for communication, but I couldn't see any of it. I'm going to see if I can find that nightclub Molly was talking about, and you can come with me if you want, as well, but I don't know what other things you wanted to look into or get done while we're in town." He glanced toward the library's exit, considering. "And after we're done here, depending on what does or doesn't come out of it, we can head east and make for Orbonne Monastery."
April 14, 2024

With a careful poke of Ambience's hand, Sunflash would pass over the small box for inspection. "I figure, we'll make our way to that nightclub together. That way if I'm needed I'll know for sure where it is, and can at least start looking for ya there. We can test the little alarm pager there on the way."

As they step outside, Sunny pauses long enough to do a little stretch of his shoulders before continuing. "I told Vincent I'd be back this evening to do some actual digging into those tomes, so once we've met Mollianne and got her caught up on what's been happening I will probably come back to the library for a couple hours."

"And I know you're very eager to head to Orbonne, but I really would like us to take a quick trip to Shrike tomorrow. That way I can get this damned mechanical arm of mine looked at by some experts and make sure it's not going to fall apart on me while we're walking, or worse during a fight."

He glances down at the small device at it is placed in his hand, and picking up nothing from it, he takes a moment to pull up on the corner of his blindfold far enough to expose one eye and hold it up close, scutinizingly. "So basically," he said, recalling what the two were discussing earlier, "I activate this and it sends a... something to the other one? Like an alarm, sorta?" He had thought it more of a tracking device, at first, but when he actually stop and thought about what was said, that concept didn't seem as drastic. His eye shifts elsewhere, but the immediate barrage of meshed color forces him to frown, and he replaces the edge of his eyewear. "And yeah, that's fine. I'm... not exactly in a hurry for anything, I guess. I was just voicing opinions so that I know nothing's being left out. It wouldn't do either of us any good if you became invalidated when I needed your help the most, right?"

"Exactly like an alarm, yeah. It should set off an alarm noise at the one I'll be carrying when you press and hold that recessed button for a few seconds." Sunflash paused. "The security at the place I get my arm worked on have similar things, is how I know."

A grim chuckle is expressed at Ambience's observation. "No, it wouldn't. Good news at least is having lost the original years ago, I doubt it'll be as jarring to me if I lose the current stand-in. We should get moving, if Mollianne's club draws anything like the crowds at the Festival then we'll be hard pressed to see her without causing issues before too long, I'm afraid."

Sunflash would, after confirming if Ambience was actually ready to be, start off at their previous pace.

The prospect of a crowd doesn't exactly instill confidence in Ambience by any degree, but Sunflash's assurance as to his own situation not being as bad as it sounds was a vote in that direction, at least. "Yeah, good point," he said. "Molly said that it was a building tucked in the back, in the northeast part of the city. If we can't find it, I suppose we could ask, too. She made it sound like it was a pretty popular place, which makes it a bit surprising that it wouldn't be more front-and-center in the city." Spoken like one who had no idea what kind of premise this nightclub actually had in the later evenings, which he did not. He stowed the device in a small pocket of his coat, and set off along with Sunflash to find this fabled establishment.

Sunflash lets another chuckle out as they walk, this one far less borderline evil sounding. "Considering the kinds of shows she put on at the Festival and what I've heard of the Evening Star, I'm not surprised it's tucked away. Nightclubs and the like tend to be pushed out of easy sight for one reason or another."

It had in fact occurred to the Hylian that Ambience may not have a real idea what Mollianne had been talking about, but as far as Sunny was concerned that was a barrel of details for Mollianne to explain her literal job anyway.

The two of them set on a short ways and for a short time, and true to form, the Evening Star Nightclub did stand out in its own way, if some of the neon signage did for it any favors. The fact that it was definitely set apart from any of the other businesses and establishments further toward the main streets of the city made it difficult to miss for those who were actively looking for it, and even such that Ambience and Sunflash weren't the only ones, either, as indicating by a young-ish couple who went in ahead of them.

Ambience stopped just outside, not really able to see anything, obviously, but fully aware of all the presences not too far ahead of them. From his stoppage, he is silent for a moment, but his head turning in various directions indicates that he is, at least, not merely standing there. "Well," he said after a handful of moments, "she's definitely in there. It's hard to pick her out among everyone else, though. It's every bit as lively as she made it sound." His tone of voice sounds... apprehensive, sort of. But excessively, but noticeable.

A noise not unlike a bumblebee might be heard before Sunflash turns towards Ambience. "A quick question: It's likely to be loud in there, not to mention as physically crowded as you've noticed. Can you think of something I can do to make myself standout easier to you in there? I don't think we'd get separated just walking to a manager, but having a point of reference might keep it from being too overwhelming for you..."

Sunny hadn't quite decided what would be the best solution to find Mollianne, but he figured with his usual luck he'll end up making an ass of himself enough that she'd find her way to them.

Ambience considers Sunflash's point, looking up toward his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but there was a second or so before any words came out, as he gave a quick thought on an appropriate wording that wouldn't come off as offensive. Then again, Sunflash pretty much took everything in stride, so it was probably fine. "Your Mana Signature is unique enough to where I could pick you out of a fully-seated auditorium or arena, Sunflash," he admitted, with just a bit of amusement. "Within range, I'll have no trouble knowing where you are, at virtually all times."

He returned his attention toward the establishment before them. "As for Molly, I'm equally not-worried about that. If she hasn't changed much in the last four years, I know that she likes to talk, and word of my arrival at the Festival of Lights has probably reached enough ears that I don't think it will be an issue. For better or for worse." His earlier apprehension seems to have dissipated, at least, in favor of humor.

"Oh, well that solves that. Probably...answers a few things I didn't know I had questions too, now that I consider it. Anyway." Sunflash literally shrugs something off before nodding.

"I figure you're right. Lets go find an employee and see if I can make a fool of myself, shall we?" Ambience couldn't see it, but the amusement in his voice was accompanied by a pretty wide shit-eating grin. Almost like he was used to playing the idiot just to get things done.

Without any further ado, the Hylian turned and walked his hide into the place, pausing only long enough to let his eyes adjust to any light changes and catch his bearings.

He follows Sunflash inside to the lobby, just in time to see someone being let into the showroom proper by a pretty sturdy-looking, dark-skinned bouncer at the door. He stops at this, not really familiar enough with this kind of establishment to know why they'd need a 'guard' for a place that was supposed to be for entertainement purposes. Was there a side-hustle going on that he didn't know about? Was it actually a hideout? Molly hadn't mentioned anything of the sort.

The bouncer, for his part, eyes the two of them like he would any other newcomers. There's no real sense of 'I'm just waiting for someone to start shit so I can throw them out' in his eyes or anything, but he definitely looks like the non-humorous type. "Welcome to the Evening Star Nightclub. You look new, so I'll give you the rundown," he said in a very baritone voice. "This is a special kind of place for special kinds of people, and by that, I mean adults." His gaze shifts very briefly to Ambience, then back to Sunflash before continuing. "Plenty of stuff going on in the later hours that probably isn't meant for kids, if you catch my drift. We also aren't in the racism business here. You go through those doors..." He gestures behind him. "...and you're gonna see different kinds of people. They're all still people, even if they don't look like you or me. The girls here work hard for what they have, and they don't put their pride on the line so some slack-jawed halfwit can come along and decry them for having wings or different ears or any of that nonsense." His tone, again, is not aggressive, but borderline-formal and very matter-of-fact, as if reciting a passage for the hundred-thousandth time. "That being said, if you aren't of age or mind for that kind of stuff, then you need to turn around and go somewhere else. Understand?" Again, he half-glances at Ambience.

Sunflash stands at what is clearly a well practiced 'just barely there' form of attention during the spiel, letting the comments slide right back off. As the bouncer finished, the Hylian grins that shit-eating grin of 'oh I'm about to have a day' again.

"Crystal clear mate. Now, who do I need to talk to about being expected by Mollianne? You or someone else?" Blunt, simple, avoid any tip-toeing around reasons and the like, just like Sunflash likes. He might not be a fan of the club's contents, but he at least can appreciate the bluntness of the staff.

He looks fairly uneasy at this rhetoric being afforded him, as certain realizations suddenly begin to manifest in his teenage brain. He does, however, allow Sunflash to do the talking, since anything he, himself, could say might not help either of their cases.

The bouncer looks between the two of them, his facial expression not budging even remotely. "Lots of people come here to see miss Mollianne," he said, either disregarding the 'expected by' part or not hearing it. His tone seems to imply it might be the former. "A provided name might do well for both of us, and I can check with the manager to see if exceptions can be made."

A battle of eyebrow levels, then.

"Ambience and Sunflash." His hand motions briefly towards the owners of the names as they are spoken evenly. Honestly he'll just be happy if he doesn't have to pull the damn Halberd out again to prove his name.

"It's something of an urgent matter involving my friend here, but we can wait until the manager delivers their judgement. Would you prefer we wait here, or perhaps at a table?" Sunny's eye flicker briefly towards the showroom before returning to the bouncer. Can't make it too noisy yet, if only for Mollianne's sake...

The bouncer hears the names, but neither of them seem to spark anything in him; his lack of reaction to, really, anything coming out of Sunflash might give the impression that he's seen a lot of shit and had a lot of wool attemptedly pulled over his eyes, such that he probably just-plain doesn't believe a thing that comes out of anyone's mouth at face value. The fact that there is an obvious younger person with him probably doesn't harbor any favors, either. "Please wait here," he said. "I will confirm and then return." And he does so, pulling open one of the doors and allowing himself through, before it closes behind him. It doesn't appear to be locked or anything.

Ambience frowns slightly. "Not feeling too great about this place, if I can be a hundred percent honest, Sunflash," he said, with no small amount of apprehension.

"Being a hundred percent honest is often good, at least." Sunflash lets out something of a chuckle as he steps just out of the middle of the pathway just to be sure. Not that anyone else was going to get past without a bouncer check, but ya know.

"I won't admit to being a fan, but I've been around a few places like these back before I fell into the Cleft. They're just making sure people understand that if they get too drunk, they won't be welcome here again."

Okay it was an oversimplifcation, but it wasnt wrong. Also kept most of the barrel lid on for now, maybe.

"I figure we'll try being polite, then decide how grumpy we have to make the place in order to get you to Mollianne."

The look he gives Sunflash, even without the visual of his eyes, strongly implies that he hopes to high hell that it doesn't come to that.

It takes a minute or two, but eventually the bouncer does return, but when he does, he stands aside and holds the door open for the two of them. "I apologize for any misunderstandings that may have been incurred," he said, glancing between the two of them. "It is the nature of the business. As you have said, both of you are being expected. Please mind yourself and enjoy your stay."

There actually isn't that much of a pause between the bouncer's offer of admission and what happens next, when a fair-skinned and dark-haired woman, possibly from some sort of demon-oriented heritage if the vertical irises were any indication, pokes her head around the corner of the door and gives the three of them a fang-prominent grin. "Hey!" she said, cheerily. "Get in here, we've been waiting for you guys for, like, almost a week!"

Sunflash gives a grin and short wave to the Bouncer. "No problem at all, thanks for being thorough!"
An equally prominent(sans fangs) grin is returned to the woman as he nudged Ambience before stepping forward.

"Has it been that long already? Sorry, it's been a weird time for us lately." Trusting Ambience to follow, Sunny would pop through the offered door.

Ambience regards the new arrival (face?) with a curious expression, wondering just how much Molly talked about them in their absence. But he guessed they'd find out soon enough. "Depending on when she got back," he said, "yeah, I'd say it's been roughly a week, give or take a day." He follows Sunflash inside, pointedly not looking at the bouncer as he passes by because of a subtle 'you're not really supposed to be here' vibe he's still getting. Lots of times he kind of wishes he could turn off the Signature detection, and this was one of those times.

The Evening Star Nightclub is, actually, not as busy as one might expect from all the rhetoric given to it by both Mollianne and others who have mentioned it in their discussion. There are definitely a few tables filled and a couple of people down near the front of the stage idling around and simply being part of the setting, but whether because it was slower in the afternoon hours or it was just not a busy day in general, there wasn't quite as big of a crowd as Ambience had initially implied, but it's also possible that a number of those signals were not immediately present, too. At the entrance to the main showroom where they'd come in, a higher landing overlooks the rest of the fairly-large room, with a short flight of stairs leading down to the main floor where most of the seating and stageside accommodations are present. A few smaller two-person tables are here upon said landing for those who don't want to be quite as close to the action (when applicable), and a concession stand-style counter is built into the wall just off to one side of the entryway doors. Signs indicating bathrooms lay oppositely on the other side of the landing.

Among the patrons currently present, a handful of female staff are seen weaving around and between them, occasionally stopping to chat idly while business is slow, but generally doing well at keeping the place running smoothly. Of note, and as the bouncer seemed to indicate, none of the employees here are of what some might consider even 'mostly human'; There are a pair of lamia, the demon girl nearby from just moments before, at least three or four siren, a woren, and a couple of beastmen girls, as well. All of them appear to be dressed in what could be assumed as the 'uniform' of the establishment, a sparkling blue bikini top with a black pareo-style skirt and apron. Against a banister overlooking the lower floor, a separate siren, a bit older than the others, is wearing one such uniform but also has a lanyard hung around her neck with an ID card attached to it, implying upon herself to likely be someone in charge. Thumping, techno-centric music pumps through the speakers overhead, giving the whole place a very energetic and upbeat sort of vibe that appears to jive well with the customerbase at present.

As soon as Sunflash and Ambience arrive through the main doors, the demon-girl from earlier offers a cheerful wave from one side, in the direction of the concession counter. "We were all wondering if you guys were even gonna show up or not," she said, showcasing the place's energy in her own style. "But we're also impatient, too, so, you know. But hey, welcome to the Evening Star!"

He wouldn't admit, but Sunny was somewhat impressed at the scale of the place. Certainly a higher production value venue than he had feared, although that was a good thing. The siren with the ID card is noted as their probable target, before he takes a few steps towards the lady that's initiated the conversation already.

"Thank you. Might I presume we need to go speak to the lady over yonder" He motions somewhat obscurely towards the one by the banister "about seeing Mollianne? Or are we to wait at a table until we are fetched?"

Having already witnessed the depth of security at the front door, he had a suspicion as to exactly how tightly controlled movement through the rest of the building might be. Best not to tip any scales until required, for the sake of Ambience's blood pressure at the least.

Given that he can't physically see anything, his depth of awareness is limited to the immediate presences in the vicinity and the voices he hears, so he doesn't offer any sort of assessment on anything at the time. More or less, he seems to be simply scanning the place, as if trying to pick out individual Signatures within it, but does so without words. Most of his attentions eems to be toward the far back, where the stage (and possibly beyond) lies.

The demoness grins, giving a dismissive wave. "Ah yeah, that's Thyrenne," she stated. "She runs the place, but you won't need her approval. I already sent Millie and Sori to go get Molls, she'll be here in two shakes, I bet. She's probably just in her dressing room, or back there talking to Cecille." She turns, then, putting one hand on her hip. "So, which of you is which? Not to be rude or anything, but we've definitely been waiting to meet one of you more than the other. Who was it that crashed the party and escaped with the lady of the evening?"

This comment makes Ambience wince, noticeably. He no longer had to wonder to what depth Molly had talked, at least.

There it was. Poor kid finally getting a proper inkling as to the depths he was now in.

"I'm just plain simple Sunflash, ma'am. My young friend here is the one named Ambience. No offence taken, either; I'm not one who tries to be known often." He seems to stress the word 'friend' ever so slightly, as if wanting to ensure it was heard for one person's benefit or another.

He glances about afterwards, trying to keep an eye out for incoming sirens for the sake of not getting caught in the line of fire probably.

The demon woman looks... surprised, actually. She looks from Sunflash to Ambience, and does kind of a squint, almost, sorta. "For real?" she asks. She seems to suddenly realize her tone, then, and kind of recomposes herself. "Ah, sorry! I didn't mean it like that, I just... you're barely old enough to even be here, let alone... all..." She then just stops, altogether, apparently realizing she's just cramming her own foot further down her throat with each attempt. "Ah, well... it's good to meet'cha, at any rate. Hopefully the bouncer didn't ruffle anyone's feathers too badly, he can be pretty intimidating to newcomers."

He frowns, but its one of resignation more than offense-taking. "No, it's fine," he said. "I get that a lot. I can at least assure you that whatever it is Mollianne told you is probably greatly exaggerated, anyway. It was... just a matter of being in the right place at the right time, I guess you could say." He spares a side glance at something, then looks back at the demoness. "I will say, though, that I appreciate that she is being taken care of. It sounds as though she has friends who care about her safety and well being in the way that she needs, consdering everything she's gone through, up to this point."

The demoness still glances between Sunflash and Ambience, and her expression is basically screaming, 'How do I ask him about that blindfold without coming off as an insensitive bitch?', but she says nothing at the moment.

Sunflash can't help but giggle somewhat as the revelation of name-ownership strikes the demoness. "It's all fine, I assure you."
At the repeated glance between them, Sunny makes an 'Oh' face.

"I think we may go ahead and make our way to a seat shortly, I think I'd feel better about being in a new place with his limited vision if we're sitting. Not to rush the other two, mind you."

Okay probably not the best way to segue there, but he wasn't hired for his smoothness. Or at all, honestly. Probably for the best, less expectations that way. Hopefully.

As it turned out, Sunflash wouldn't really get the chance to make it that far, because no sooner do the words leave his mouth than the sound of a familiar female voice calls out from nearby in an elongated tone. "Heeeeeeeeeeey~! You made it!" The sound of her voice is just-as-quickly accompanied by a just-as-familiar winged female body throwing itself at Ambience, apparently heedless of whether he is actually aware and ready for it or not.

Behind her is a red-scaled lamia coming up the stairs a little ways afterward, an all-knowing grin plastered on her face as she regards the events currently taking place. "Ssso that's him, huh?" she asked, upon joining the company.

The demoness backs up a step as the siren comes flying (almost literally) in at the group, knowing better than to stand in the way of such a reunion; it gave the impression that she knew full-well that this was coming, and like the lamia, all she does is grin at the happenings.

The manager, Thyrenne by given name, turns to regard the group behind her, but remains where she is, only offering a gentle smirk as she regards the proceedings as well.

As it so happens, Ambience's current sense of hypervigilance did alert him to the siren's incoming presence, and while he didn't know what she was planning, he's apparently known her well enough to not be surprised by this act, and turns at just the right time to catch her out of the air as she comes flying toward him; however, the momentum she brought with her was a bit more than he bargained for in his current state, and he ends up pitching backward onto the floor from the force of it all.

She does nothing in the way of relent, going down with Ambience and embracing him like he was a long-lost stuffed animal that was recently discovered behind a bedpost. "I knew you would not forget!" she chirps, way-too-happily.

Between the direction of the feathered missle and the nearly dopplar-effect of the call, Sunny is caught completely off-guard. His attention was elsewhere at the time, expecting her arrival from back toward Thyrenne for some reason.

As Ambience is tackled, Sunflash flicks a hand out. Just too slow to prevent the fall, but there's a sudden short and strong updraft at Ambience's back. Not enough to stop his greeting the floor, but hopefully lessen the impact to some degree.

With a sigh, Sunflash just lets a rueful grin at the pair before giving a resigned shrug at the lamia and demoness.

"Yeah, that's about what I expected," the demoness mused, folding her arms over her chest as she watched situation unfold. As the red-scaled lamia approaches, though, she leans over and whispers something into the ear(?) of the serpentine woman, which is acknowledged and responded to with another whisper of her own, that of which results in both of them giggling childishly to themselves.

Thyrenne moves from her post to join the group at this time, as well, but makes no moves to salvage the situation Ambience has found himself in, instead putting a hand on one of her hips. "I'm not really sure what I was expecting," she said, "but I don't think this was it." She looks across the pair on the floor, at Sunflash. "'Ambience' and... 'Sunflash,' was it? I would welcome you to our establishment, but it seems like those greetings have already been applied in other ways." She considers for a moment, then adds, "And you have my thanks, as well, for whatever emotional aid you provided Mollianne during the week she was away at the Festival of Lights. Typically she requires a significant recovery period that follows a specific performance that, I am told, she provided on the final day, but she seemed less-scarred and more-enthused than I expected. I can only assume that the two of you may have had something to do with this."

Mollianne's personal-projectile method of greetings weren't anything new to him, and if anything, reminded him of those initial times they'd gotten to know each other several years ago, and even as he was tackled backward onto the floor, he didn't think ill of it; instead, he braced for inevitable impact against the lightly-carpeted floor, but the slight updraft against him gave him a quick sense of relief as his fall was resultingly-cushioned.

Realizing, then, that there wasn't really a lot he could do about the situation and that Mollianne wasn't really someone who took 'no' or 'get off me' for an answer, he didn't pursue that route, and instead just kind of... patted her on the head, from the ground where he lay, with only a slightly uncomfortable smirk showing on his face. "I'm happy to see you, too," he said. "Glad to see things haven't changed at all, I guess."

His face didn't show it at the time, but something nagged at him as her Mana Signature registered, then, at that close of a proximity that something felt... off. Mollianne felt very warm, as it was, at such closeness, and he felt like he should've known why. But there were too many other pieces to try and piece together among other things right now, and figuring out a siren's body temperature fluctuations wasn't really high on his list at the moment.

Mollianne squeezes Ambience fondly one last time before she sits herself up, proudly seated upon his abdomen. She seems completely in her own world at that moment, heedless of the group gathered around her as her fang-laden grin lights up the room with its own brand of personal charm. "I got you something!" she stated triumphantly. "Just like I said I would! Do you want to see it? Do you know why I got you something? Do you even know what day it is, today?" This barrage of questions asked, of course, without making a move to actually get off of him in any way.

"Damn, girl, give him a minute," the demoness butted in, but not for further lack of amusement. "You're gonna scare him away before any of the rest of us even get to meet him."

Sunflash gives one of his short half-bows towards Thyrenne as she addresses them. "I'm pretty sure my part, at least, was sheer dumb luck. But you are welcome for it regardless." He flashes a quick smile before turning towards the others and chuckling at the exchange.

"Can you even breath, Ambience? I know she's light, but still."

"I, uhm..." he starts to say, a bit surprised by the sudden influx of questions and keenly aware of all the bodies around them in his given predicament. "Actually, I don't think I know the answers to any of those questions, including whether I want to see it or not. Should I be worried?" It was meant as a joke, in what most people would obviously see, but his tone and general demeanor he's had going for himself this whole time might make it comes off as not-so-much, which he didn't really think about until after it came out of his mouth. He squirmed a little, though, indicating his desire to get up without utilizing verbal language.

Mollianne looks up, then, at the notion that there's a lot of eyes around them, and she makes what could best be described as a 'half-pout,' but does opt to swing her avian legs around to rise to her feet, reaching down to help Ambience up in the process. "The correct answer was 'of course I do!' just in case you were wondering," she told Ambience, with some offhanded nonchalance. She looks at him as she helps him to his feet, though, a bit concerned. "Did you actually forget that today was your birthday, though? Really?" She clasps her hands behind her back, just underneath her oversized wings.

There is a moment of silence between the lamia, the demoness, and Thyrenne, which is broken by the foremost of those three. "This just keeps getting better and better," she said with an unabashed grin. "Happy birthday, kiddo!"

The lamia glances over at Thyrenne for a moment. "Sssomething tells me that today is going to be one for the books," she said, looking back at the rest of the group. "But I think we probably owe ourssselves some introduction, don't we? I can't imagine you even bothered to do any such thing, did you, Cassie?" She gave her demonic friend a false, half-lidded glare of accusation.

'Cassie' shrugs whimsically. "Nah, got too caught up in the moment, I guess," she said. "I'm Casameena, and this is Sori." She waves a hand across the way, where the older siren is standing apart. "Already told'ja about Thyrenne over there, she's the boss of the place. Not as hard on us as she probably ought to be, though, to be honest."

Thyrenne gives Casameena a bland look. "You think you'd still have a job if I did, then?" she asked, with a small amount of invoked sternness. "Either of you, for that matter?" She glances toward Mollianne, but opts... not to add anything further, perhaps afraid of spoiling her moment, but the implication is pretty heavy there, too.

As each staff member offically introduced themselves, Sunflash gives a polite nod toward them from his position on the sidelines.

He does semi-interrupt with a light cough by the end, peering towards Mollianne. "In all fairness to Ambience, it has been something of a painful last couple of days. Not my place to go into details, but he's earned his share of slack." A chuckle punctuates the end. "Besides, time tends to be somewhat weird when you're hanging around me, I tend to distract everyone at the wrong times."

The Hylian's gaze moves over towards Threnne and hangs for a moment or two, as if he was contemplating saying something, before he looks back towards Mollianne and Ambience's interactions.

Sunflash's comment about cutting Ambience some slack seems to perk everyone there who isn't Ambience, with Sori and Casameena exchanging glances between one another and Thyrenne, too, looking a mite concerned, but opting not to speak of it, since it wasn't really her place. "Well," she said, after a moment, "I'll leave you all to your reunion, I have a few things that I need to take care of before things pick up in a few hours." She casts another glance at Mollianne. "Remember that you're under watch. No funny business." She doesn't elaborate at all, and simply turns around and heads down the short stairs to the bottom deck of the showroom, heading off toward some area that is likely backstage.

At Thyrenne's comment, Casameena just grins a probably-knows-too-much grin, but also doesn't elaborate on anything.

"Well," Sori spoke up, "from the sssound of things, it's also not the first stint of trouble you've been in, if Molly's stories are anything to go on. Holyland? Mana Fortress? You could probably write a book, and this is just coming from what ssshe's told us." She takes a second to actually set a tray she was carrying down on a nearby table, apparently still in waitress mode.

Casameena nods in agreement. "See, that's why I was so surprised when he showed up," she said, generally and not specifically to Ambience. "And that was... how many years ago? Like, he had to've been just a little tyke! How's that even work?"

Ambience actually does look perplexed at the mention of his birthday after he's brought to his feet, like he had actually forgotten. "Oh," he oh'd. "Actually, this is going to sound weird, but I have not actually ever known when my birthday was. Da never talked about it much, nor was a specific date ever pointed out to me. Mom mentioned it once, I think, during that sole year I actually got to see her, but it didn't register enough for me to commit to memory, and I'd gone so long without thinking about it that it's never been that big of a deal. I only know how old I am by the number of times all of the seasons have come and gone." He doesn't look put out at all by any of this. "So wait, how did you know?" He regards Mollianne quizzically, the realization apparently just now dawning on him.

Mollianne grins a too-big grin. If Thyrenne's remark/threat bothered her at all, she didn't show it. Maybe she was just used to it. "I asked, too!" she said. "I got to meet your mom once, remember? I know how to ask all the important questions. That was why I said not to come before three days had passed, because it would have been weird to give you a birthday present before or after it happened." She seems to disregard Ambience's prospect of not knowing his own birthday as something not outside the realm of normal, for him. "Here!" She reaches over, then, and picks up a small, unadorned box off the tray Sori was carrying, it apparently having been there the whole time but was inconspicuous enough to not have really noticed or stood out. Mollianne offers this box to Ambience. "Happy birthday, Ambi!"

There is a half-mumbled series of comments, something about at least this one not being his fault. As Mollianne offers her gift he does go ahead and take a step or two off towards the other two onlookers to stand near them during the exchange and hopefully make a bit less of an encompassing swarm.

The fact that this angle (probably) lets him keep a better eye on the rest of the room is probably an accident. Or not.

Casameena watches Sunflash as he resituates himself to avoid flanking Ambience from all sides, and offers him one of those fang-prominent grins that says she's about to start shit. "So," she said. "Babysitter? Or..?"

Sori abruptly laughs. She covers her mouth immediately following, but the hissing sound of it is very hard to mask.

He frowns with a glance toward the three of them, but accepts the box from Mollianne, his frown not leaving but at least lessening slightly. "I actually kind of appreciate this, honestly," he said. "Sunflash wasn't lying, it's been a rough couple of days and I could use a reason to not worry about things so much, for at least a day or so." He spares any of the details that moment, and instead doesn't hesitate to open the lid off the box, which is hinged and flips over.

Ambience looks surprised at what he sees, then. Like, of all the things he thought it might've been, this wasn't on his list. He reaches in and pulls out... another blindfold. Dark green in color, embroidered with red trim around the edges, and sporting a very small white feather fastened at the lefthand corner, right where his temple would be while wearing it. In the center of it, right near the top edge is a small, but very carefully-designed depiction of the Mana Tree, with an amount of detail that someone could only have done with either extremely tiny fingers, or just an extraordinary eye for said detail and an equally-extraordinary amount of patience. A thin but sturdy black elastic band is fastened to it, to hold it securely against the back of one's head.

Of course, Ambience pushes up on the blindfold he's currently wearing so that he can actually see it with his own eyes, but this happens only after he looks with it through his blindfold for several seconds, like he was seeing something else beforehand. He then spends several seconds more looking it over, and he can't keep a smirk from forming on his face as he does.

She watches and waits, clasping her hands behind her back again and that grin returning to her face. "I hope that is a good sign," she said in a low voice, at the notion of Ambience's smirk showing up. "There were a lot of hands that went into it. We had to make sure it was really special."

An equally shit-eating grin and a wink is directed back towards the pair. "I think I qualify more as a guardian than anything else, but whatever floats your boat I suppose."

As the gift is revealed, a short low whistle of appreciation escapes Sunflash's lips as he nods in approval. Not that his was needed, but ya know.

"Yeah, we probably shoulda figured," Casameena said, watching the two but keeping the conversation local. It was possible that she'd seen it already, anyway, given her lack of reaction. "Heard there was a few other details, too, but actually seeing him in person feels like it doesn't add up to the stories." She looks aside at Sunflash. "Did you guys really go up there and smack the Sinistrals around and all that? Molls said you were part of it, too."

Sori seems inclined to stay, too, but happens to look up and remember that she's actually on the clock. She inclines her head toward the group as a whole. "I'll catch up with you guys later, okay?" she said, picking up her tray off the table. "Gotta sssee if anyone needs anything, since there's not a lot of us until the later hours." She doesn't stick around for a response, slithering off back down the stairs to go tend to patrons like a good waitress should.

"You really put all this together in three days?" Ambience asked, not hiding his astonishment over the gift. He turns it around in his hands a few times, checking out all the details where he can actually see them, this close to his face. "I didn't... know you did crafting like this. Who all else was involved?" His curiosity grew a bit, wondering just who else was involved in things he didn't know about, and/or was in on his and Sunflash's situation. He wasn't worried, really, but it felt like a thing he didn't exactly want to just be shouting to the whole world.

"More than three!" Mollianne said happily, taking it upon herself to reach up and remove Ambience's current blindfold the rest of the way, and setting it aside on a table. "I did not know what happened, but when I first saw that you were wearing a blindfold and it registered to me that your sight was compromised, I decided that would be where I came in at. I drew up some plans that night before I went to bed, which was probably not the best idea, considering how exhausted I was after the performance, but I guess you are right; I did not actually do any work on it until you left to take Lyll home. But, uhm..." She thinks for a sec, counting on her fingers. "It was me, Cassie, Mr. Fukawa, Cecille, and a couple of other friends in town. I told them all what I wanted and they were all happy to help out. Kouichi, especially, did some amazing things with it. Hikari wanted to, too, but she said that if her dad was working on it, anything she could do would pale by comparison, so she held off. Try it on and see, there is more to it than what is on the outside!"

Sunflash makes sure he is out of Sori's way, returning the nod before continuing the small conversation. "At the risk of sounding too nonchalant about the whole event, I'll simply settle for saying we all our parts to play during it. I might have to hear Mollianne's interpretation of the events sometime, just for giggles."

As Molly begins to explain the idea behind the blindfold, she manages to grab his attention just as she begins to list the names of assistants. As that list grew, Sunny's eyebrow raise a small amount. Casameena might catch a quick glow become infused on his eyes for a moment before it just as quickly fades away, followed by a low "Oh-ho, that's certainly something." being muttered.

Casameena considers briefly before responding. "Well," she said, "Molls was just kinda... I don't know. 'Stories' aren't really the right word, she just made him seem like a really big deal. Goes back to how surprised I was to see that he's basically just a kid. Like, all that? Really? She made it sound like he could blow up the Cleft if he ever got up on the wrong side of the bed one morning. Kinda, like, not that bad, but she said he's definitely packing some kinda power in there, somewhere." Her voice actually got kinda quiet as her assessment went on, like she didn't really want to be overheard too much while still talking to Sunflash on the side about it, hoping the other two's enamorment with one another would dissuade them from listening in.

Ambience chuckles. "Okay, okay, hang on..." he said, situating the new eye-cover appropriately so that he could slip it on over his face. He adjusted and pulled on the band a bit, but otherwise, it was actually a really good fit. Someone really got their specifications down pat, which surprised him a little bit since the only thing Molly knew about the size and shape of his head was... Oh. Right. The amount of clutching she'd done when they'd retired to the onsen after the performance and her penchant for having an uncannily-good memory suddenly put things into perspective for him. "This is pretty comfortable," he said after a moemnt, glancing around and noting that, beyond the comfort factor, everything felt the same as the other one. Everyone's Mana Signatures still showed up as they always did, so there was no interference there, either. "Thanks! I like it a lot, I'll have to have you give my thanks to everyone else, next time you see them, too.

She smiles. "But wait, there is more!" she suddenly said, sounding like she was doing an impersonation of a television salesman. "You saw the Mana Tree symbol on the front of it, right? It is a button!" She reaches over and taps on it, and immediately following, there's a thin line of light that flows through the embroidered stitching across the top and bottom of the blindfold as something is activated, but it isn't immediately obvious to anyone (except maybe Ambience) as to what it is.

He starts to say something when he feels Mollianne push against a spot right between his eyes, but then stops... like, cold. And he remains that way for a few seconds, before his head tilts loosely to one side, and he peers around the room, then turns and looks back at Sunflash, specifically. "...How is..? What..?" he stammered, apparently in shock.

Sunflash's voice is equally low as he responds to Casameena. "He certainly has a lot of potential packed in there, but he's no more dangerous than anyone else with lots of ability in the Cleft." He pauses, "Could have done with less of a screwed up early childhood tho." There is an almost physical amount of disdain audible even at his low volume as he says his piece.

As Ambience's new blindfold is activated, Sunny raises one eyebrow with a faint grin. As Ambience turns to look at him and makes his comments, he quickly raises a hand to his face in mock concern. "Oh no, is there something on my face? There is, isn't there?" He turns towards Casameena, "Tell me, how bad is it?" The grin on his face as he does this is eerily similar to Casa's original 'oh I'm starting shit' grin, for some odd reason.

"Huh," Casameena huffed, still watching the pair. "Can't say I know anyone like that on a personal level, so it's weird to actually hear of someone who does. But I'll take your word for it." Her expression changes to a smirk when Ambience suddenly realizes what that mask is actually capable of, but keeps her peace to not spoil any of it to anyone else.

"It's..." he calms down a little bit, realizing the whole shock factor isn't really helping anyone else out. "I can see you," he said, though no less in awe. He actually paused for a moment to pull the blindfold up above his eyes, then back over them again. "The real you. It's... it's kind of weird. Like everything is black outside of what I normally see through it, but all your details are there. But..." He turns slightly, looking up toward Casameena. "But she's not..." He pivots again, facing Mollianne this time. "Molly's there. I can see her, too. But nobody else, out there," he gestures toward the front of the showroom, "they're all just Mana Signatures." He stops talking, apparently letting the gears run for a minute. "What's... going on? I don't really understand how this works."

Mollianne giggles softly, backing up a step so that Ambience can have full reign of his current predicament and see what there is to see. There was still one last thing about it that she wasn't quite sure of, for what Ambience's inherent 'gifts' allowed, but she was guessing that it was an overall success, judging by his reaction. "You can thank Kouichi for that one," she said after a moment of amusement. "There is a bit of tech in the blindfold that associates with your memories of a person while you are wearing it. I wondered how that was going to pair with the fact that you can see the aura of a person, or whatever you call it, but it looks like there are no conflicts. I am glad for that, since I had no way to be able to test that until you wore it, yourself." She straightens, looking proud of herself. "Basically, if you have ever seen a person enough to remember what they look like, and can associate that recollection by picking them out through whatever-that-method-is-you-can-still-see-people-with, it applies a 'visual cover' over it that tells your brain what they looked like, the last time you saw them. It is probably not perfect, but I felt like it would make a really nice stand-in until we can see if there are better ways to fix your eyes, down the road." She glances at Sunflash. "I only actually understand about half of what I just said, by the way. I spent too much time with Hikari and her dad while they were working on the tech for it, so I just kind of 'absorbed' a lot of it so I would know how to explain it when the time came."

Sunflash drops his act as Ambience gives a serious response, his face shifting deeper into studying mode as he describes his vision and Mollianne gives her best explanation.

"Huh. If I understood even half as much as I think I do, I need to make a big note to visit the Fukawa's again; if only to see what they may be able to do for replacing my old arm." His tone is one of someone distracted by thinking, and made more evident by his eventually shaking his head briefly.

"So it basically has a togglable mode to apply selective illusions, but does it with a mix of tech and enchantments, eh? Quite the neat little setup!"

"You said it better than I ever could," Casameena said, with a shorthand backwards glance toward the concession counter that she was supposed to be manning. technically she was on the clock, too, but since all the attendees were down on the bottom level, she knew when she would be needed or not and could get away with socializing more than Sori or the others could. "Technology isn't really my thing, neither. I'm just good at sewing, so I helped a little with the design and making sure all the threads were secured. The little red ziggy-zaggies on the top and bottom were my idea."

Mollianne's explanation sank in a bit for him, too, as well as he could manage to understand it. "Huh," he said, after a few moments. "I had no idea something like that was even possible." A thought occurred to him, actually, after the description came of the way it was handled, and he briefly wondered if he should actually be in possession of something like this. But, he guessed, if it wasn't hurting anything, it was probably okay. He looked again toward Mollianne. "This was really, really great of you, Molly. I appreciate it a lot. It's... actually pretty nice to be able to see your face without having to play proximity games over it."

If her cheeks weren't already tinged pretty-well pink by this time, she'd be blushing at the compliment. "Well, I mean..." she said, not really one for being embarrassed that often. "I was not going to just let you run around blind everywhere, you know? I am just glad to have you back. It was..." She hesitates, avoiding eye contact with pretty much everyone. "It was a really long five years. I think I am still finding it hard to believe that you are actually back, and this is not just some dream I am going to wake up from, in the morning. So.. yeah. You are welcome!" She looks up again with attempted cheer, but the emotions are still pretty prevalent on her face.

Something flickers across his face as he regards Mollianne after her statements, but it is mostly hidden due to his blindfold. Something still felt... different, but he could not, for the life of him, figure out what was still nagging at him. What was different about her? She wasn't this way back at the end of the Festival, or even at the Fukawas' house. Maybe he was just being oversensitive about things. She arguably wouldn't have been the first person he'd been over-scrutinizing about, especially not after talking with Dugar. Mollianne's Mana Signature just seemed like it had a strange tilt to it that he couldn't place, but it was... probably fine. Right?

"Well it certainly looks good, so props for your contribution." Sunflash nods his approval towards Casameena before shooting another glance out towards the room at large. After a moment of consideration, he takes a step or two towards the younger pair.

"Well, happy birthday ya scamp. I'll have to see about getting ya a walking stick, since you've come into your elder years." A broad wink, attempting to convey the utter nonsense of his joke, is sent before he continues.

"Am I correct in presuming you two will be hanging out here most of the evening? If so, I will go talk with Miss Thyrenne..." Here he pauses briefly to look back at Casa, "Is it Miss? Does she prefer a different, uh, title?" before turning back to Ambience. "About the situation we've be dealing with. No deep details, just making sure she'll be aware in case you have cause to push your alarm."

Not that he had any expectations to be concerned, but it only seemed right to let them know he might have cause to come barreling in.

"Thanks!" the demoness said, not denying her appreciation for the compliment. She watches the proceedings for a moment with a certain smugness to her features, and when Sunflash steps away, she uses that to actually take her leave, as well, and return to the concession counter to resume her duties.

She looks up at Sunflash as he approaches, his questions and assumptions breaking through her demureness a bit. "Oh, yeah," she said. "'Miss Thyrenne' seems to be the going title for a lot of people, but she does not care a whole lot, really. She is really nice as long as you are courteous, which probably explains why she comes down on me a lot." The siren grins, like she knew it was her own damn fault.

"And, actually," she casts a side glance back at Ambience, "I did have a few other things I wanted to show you while you were still in town." She looks a little somber, almost, but that grin still doesn't manage to escape entirely. "Five years is a long time and a lot has happened since then." She seems to realize something, then, her head perking upright. "Oh, and you need to meet the rest of the girls, too! It is just me and Milfeuille at the moment, the others have the night off. But you will definitely want to meet Cecille, she is super awesome at, like, everything!"

She looks from Ambience to Sunflash. "You will not miss him too much if I do the whole 'tour guide' thing, right?" Her tone seems to think she knows the answer already, and is asking more out of courtesy than anything else.

Ambience smirks faintly at Sunflash's wishing of happy birthdays, but waits to respond until he's heard all the bits that were there to be said. "Ah, thanks," he said, with an exchange of glances between Mollianne and Sunflash. A walking stick might be more applicable than the joke entailed, given the way he felt, physically, lately. "I guess if you wanted to go discuss things with miss Thyrenne while Molly shows me around, that would be fine. I have the thing that you gave me if I need it." Which, hopefully, he wouldn't.

A half-bow is given towards Mollianne and her 'request', such as it were. "I suspect I will find a way to endure his absence. I will probably retire to the library shortly. Make sure you two have fun and try to stay out of too much trouble." Sunflash pauses to fix his face at Ambience. "Also, make sure to find the time to catch her up on what we've had to deal with. No sense not being honest to each other, considering where we had an encounter this afternoon."

Another half-bow is given to the pair before the Hylian turns to go find Miss Thyrenne for a quick chat.

Mollianne's grin retains itself at Sunflash's quip about enduring Ambience's loss of company, but this quickly fades at his secondary comment regarding other dealings, and she simply holds her silence as Sunflash heads off to go find the manager and discuss their own things. She watches him tread off for a moment before turning her attention back to Ambience. "And here I thought you were actually going to be able to relax for at least a little while before you went off and found more trouble," she said, with a trace of humor despite picking up on the seriousness of Sunflash's erstwhile tone. "Or is trouble finding you, this time?"

Ambience hears Sunflash's words, and manages a small sigh of resignation. "Yeah," he said. "Anyone already involved probably needs to know what to expect. I'll let her know." Along with Molly, he also watches Sunflash head off deeper into the nightclub venue, but he doesn't specifically look at Mollianne as he is addressed afterward. "It's probably more the latter than the former," he admits, "but it is likely we will have to track these 'problems' down at some point, because of what they are." He glances around at his immediate surroundings. "Let's find a place to sit down for a minute, and I'll let you know what's been going on." He pauses, then adds, "There's also... something I needed to ask you about, regarding Lyll. Something happened before I left her house, too, and I think it might be more of a 'you and her need to talk' thing." He can't help but chuckle, at the end of this. "I'm feeling like there's too many messes I'm in right now, and just can't figure out how to sort through any of them, let alone all of them. I'm extremely lucky Sunflash is around, otherwise I'd be in deep trouble. Deeper trouble, anyway."

Mollianne glances off in the direction Sunflash left. "He seems pretty reliable," she said. "I met with him a few times during the Festival of Lights before you showed up. He got my hopes up that maybe you might actually be back, even though he did not confirm anything. I would suffice to say that he was the kindling and you were the spark, in that sort of analogy." She smiles, looking back toward Ambience with something maybe a trace fiendish in that same smile. "Lyll and I already talked, by the way. Chatter happens a lot in the locker room, and I was too tired to really make as much sense out of everything as I should have, but I got the general idea. I knew before we even left the festival grounds."

Under that blindfold of his, one eyebrow shot up. "You... did? So you knew, already, this whole time?" Ambience asked, taken aback.

Mollianne giggles. "Yep," she said, reaching out to poke Ambience's nose. "But I am not surprised that you did not pick up on it. She is the same age you are, you know. Did you expect anything different, living there for over a year? I only knew her for those few days at the end of and following the Festival, and I knew she was glued to your leg."

His nose is poked, but he doesn't sound amused. "It almost sounded like you called me 'dense,' just now," he said flatly.

"Not dense," she said, her eyes squinting into little crescents. "Just thick."

He huffed out a sigh. "Well, all of that aside," Ambience said, "I'm not really sure where that puts me. I'm not really sure where any of this puts me. I feel like there's too much going on for me to try and figure out... that, right now."

Something changes in that smile of Mollianne's, like she were coming up with the finale of an idea that had been swimming around in her head for awhile. "Actually," she said, "there was something else I wanted to talk to you about, too, somewhere along those same lines." She glances, again, in the direction Sunflash left, then back at Ambience. "It sounded like Sunflash was okay with leaving you in my care for awhile, so we should go meet Cecille backstage, first. I kinda need helping hands to go certain places these last few days 'cause I am a bit of a troublemaker, but she can help us out." The word 'troublemaker' comes out of her mouth in a frame that makes it sound not-at-all negative. "You could call it the 'second half' of your birthday present, if you wanted to think of it that way."

Ambience opens his mouth to speak, but stops himself as something else crosses his mind. He'd heard something like this before... but where? 'These last few days' echoed back to him from somewhere prior, but he still couldn't make heads or tails out of it. He was having a Sunflash moment, he presumed, and did not like it at all. Still, he could just chalk it up to being paranoid; relaxing was really what he needed to be doing right now, and he still had to get Molly up to speed on everything that had happened recently, in case she became involved in it, too. Well, more involved. "Alright, that's fine," he eventually said, letting his thoughts roll in and then roll out. "Are you working tonight, by the way?"

Mollianne reaches out to take Ambience's hand, shaking her head slightly. "Not tonight," she said. "I have the better part of the rest of the week off, actually. Which is probably fine, I steal the spotlight way too often as it is, and some of the other girls probably deserve some room to shine." She grins real big, leading Ambience down the steps and toward the backstage area around the left side of the main stage. "It cannot be all about me, all the time, after all. Just most of the time."

This actually gets a laugh out of Ambience, as Mollianne's personality comes back to him, ever-unchanged. He did miss this too, actually; the combination of her ego and open-heartedness was unique, he felt. He followed Mollianne backstage, seemingly unaware as a couple of waitstaff look up and wave to them as they pass by.

On the other side of the showroom, the siren manager, Thyrenne, is seen finishing off a conversation with a woren female who has paused in her waitressing to be addressed on something, but the smirk on her face implies that she isn't being chastised for any low efforts or wrongdoing, at least. Thyrenne offers a finalizing nod as the woren girl picks up her tray and heads back off to find other patrons that need waiting on.

As the waitress heads off, Sunflash walks over with the air of someone chewing on some highly uncomfortable thoughts. Which, to be fair, wasn't exactly wrong. Hoping that Ambi and Molly would stay out of trouble was probably a fool's errand, but if the Festival was anything to go by they should be fine.

Too bad he didn't trust that s-word.

"Ah, Miss Thyrenne? May I interrupt for a few minutes of your time?"

Thyrenne turns like she were about to march off somewhere else after dismissing her employee, but stops short at Sunflash's arrival, offering him an incline of her head as greeting before turning to face him entirely. "My time?" she asked, sounding a little surprised. "This isn't a problem, but I hadn't expected anything suchlike. How may I be of assistance to one such as yourself?"

There is an ever so brief blink from the Hylian before he clears his head to respond.

"Well, less assistance as much as making sure you're aware of a few things. Considering what miss Casameena mentioned about it, I presume you're aware to some degree of Ambience's unique situation?" Here he half-glances over his shoulder, as if expecting one of the two to be right behind him.

"There's been an event or two that I feel someone who is in close contact with Mollianne, such as yourself, should probably be made aware of. Would you like to converse here, or should we step aside somewhere?" Sunflash clearly isn't bothered about the publicness of the conversation, or at least is clearly not showing it if he is. Either or is good enough, right?

Thyrenne looks a mite confused at first, but as a general manager of a nightclub designed for entertainment purposes, the concept of serious, outside-the-club matters that she is required to be aware of might set someone up for such confusion. As she hears Sunflash out, though, that confusion dissolves into better understanding. "Ah, I see," she said, folding her arms together over her chest in an attentive stance. "If it is information that you'd rather not others hear, my office is available for such discussion. Otherwise the ears here are few toward anything but the music and those on stage, and eavesdropping is not a major concern." She casts a side-eyed glance toward the main entrance, back toward the front of the building. "Business is due to pick up as the evening hours approach, but that is not for a few hours yet. As needed, I am listening to whatever it is you feel is necessary to speak of, ah..." She hesitates. "Forgive me. 'Sunflash,' was it?"

"With regards to your young companion's 'situation,' I've not been kept abreast of the details as much as, likely, Sori and Casameena have been. I don't dabble in the gossip and drama as they do, you see. I'm here for the business and its patronage; the other girls can handle the in-between, as it were." She offers a faint smirk.

The smirk is returned in kind. "Yes, Sunflash is what I go by these days." He does take a short step to the side, angled such that he was mostly facing the Siren but not quite as obstructive of the view towards the main entrance or the room at large for her.

"That makes good sense to me. I'll be brief then." He pauses for a moment, gathering his tongue into line before continuing.

"Ambience has a heritage, or perhaps upbringing might be a better word, that has led him to unfortunately be at the center of some...disruptive events a few years ago." Here Sunny purses his lips, working hard to stay as polite as he felt was proper.

Thyrenne raises an eyebrow. "We are in danger, then?" she asks, pointedly.

Sunflash sighs and spreads his hands out in a short shrug manner before crossing them. "It's possible, but I wish to stress the large amount of unknowns. Simply put, Ambience was recently and suddenly accosted by some...sprits or something, that took the form of what I presume to be those he has had some history with in his past."

His eyes narrow somewhat as he continues, looking at nothing in particular to start with. "From what I saw, I presume some of them were his parents, some where friends I've not met; but at least one was a short lass with a large set of wings." At the ending bit, he looks over to Thyrenne with an eyebrow raised and paused to get her a moment to process.

She considers this for a moment, her eyes flitting across the various patrons of the showroom and her own staff meandering between them. "And they are a direct result of your companion, then?" she asked, looking back toward the hylian. "Do we have reason to believe that these... 'spirits' will find their way here? Insofar as I understand what you're saying, if he were the catalyst, he ought not to be here if there is any risk involved that may follow in his wake." Her tone is... implicative, but not harsh. The mention of one such shadow looking like her star performer isn't lost on her, but seems minor in scope compared to the overarching premise.

"If I had any reason to believe his presence alone would bring risk to others, especially those he is fond of, I assure you I would be doing things much differently." Sunflash's tone is not one of flippancy, but more akin to one having already considered it.

"As of yet I have no reason to believe this spirits can even consider someone besides the boy. They only really reacted to me when I got between them and him, much to their detriment."
The accusation of a brief, slightly-flippant, shark-toothed smirk at the end of that sentence was probably accurate, but one shouldn't judge.

"No, I mention it simply because I don't know that there's no risk of something happening towards the lass ever. Something to keep an eye out for, and be aware of." His face is back to somber and serious by now. "They attacked him by means of directly manipulating his emotions, but I was attacked in much more conventional ways. If they do reach out at her in the same way as they did him, you at least have an idea what might be happening."

"Hm," Thyrenne mumbles, her eyes settling on some elsewhere spot away from any specific person. "That's fair, I suppose. Given what little I do know, such that you, he and at least one other were part of the assault on that cursed Fortress that arose some half-decade past, I am willing to believe your words at face value. Despite my nose not being as long as some of my employees', I've been made aware of your 'adventures' involving the events of those years ago, to at least a moderate extent, just not an intimate one. Though we are not warriors here at the Evening Star, my girls look out for one another, and Mollianne, specifically, despite her devil-may-care attitude about... er, arguably-more-important things, is more zealous than most in her protectiveness over her friends and co-workers." She pivots slightly, turning to look back at Sunflash. "If it is a concern, we will be aware and on watch; Mollianne's attitude is pretty easy to detect changes in, especially in the last few days of the month." She waves a hand, a bit dismissively. "Any such dire changes we will be sure to notice immediately, but therein lies the problem; what, exactly, are we to expect or even do, if such an event occurs? This is a nightclub, not a barracks."

Here Sunny nods. "Yes, that was a question I was chewing on. Obviously The first thing would be to simply get as many people clear as you can, but that doesn't solve the actual event."
He glances at the ground for a moment before looking back to her.

"I have instead a two-fold solution. First, there is an individual by the name of Tamin here in town. Often works around the docks. He's not what'd I call a fighter, but he is quite clever and quick on his feet; and more importantly he owes me a favor. He's one of the few people in town that I suspect may be able to solve a wildcard situation like this without outside help."

At this point, Sunflash rummages into one of the pouches at his belt and pulls out a small glass-looking orb, about the diameter of a gold coin. This is handed to Thyrenne.

"I know of a method to infuse certain types of objects with various supplies of Mana. Got the idea during the Fortress trip, of all things. Come tomorrow morning I will have a small collection of these to leave with you and Tamin, and anyone else deem appropriate. They will be infused with the same type of anti-magic I used to good effect against the spirits in our last encounter."

He shrugs. "They will work akin to a single-use wand, simply throwing them at your feet or the ground near the foe will release the effect. They may require more than one, but I intend to work through the night to leave a good supply."

Thyrenne looks upon the orb as it is offered to her, taking it tentatively and peering at it from various angles, her deep brown wings twitching slightly at Sunflash's continued proposal. "Truly?" she asks. "This is an interesting preparatory conclusion you've arrived at, I must say. I'm not as familiar with the townsfolk as some others, but I have eyes and ears when needed, and I'm sure someone will be able to locate this 'Tamin' if we have need of him." She muses over the translucent bauble for a moment, then stows it away in a pocket of her apron. "I already know of a few that would be perfect in being armed with these sort of devices. Milfeuille, particularly, is probably the closest we have to an actual combat-capable individual, if only because of her upbringing, and she is on good terms with Mollianne, which may help matters, should it come to that. If you believe these provisions will provide a means for us to handle ourselves better in the event of such a calamity, then I will not deny your efforts or offers."

Thyrenne pauses a second, regarding Sunflash with a hair of scrutiny. "Admittedly, and I am wont to do so, I had considered you irresponsible for bringing someone with such a potentially-disastrous wake of problems into my nightclub and then telling me about it, but I see now that you are more prepared and, perhaps, available than I gave you credit for. I am appreciative, then, that you brought this to my attention before any such situations could arise, rather than us being caught off guard without said knowledge."

A resigned shrug and smile is given in return for the scrutiny. "You are welcome. I won't deny the inherent responsibility problem, as it is certainly a risk when I can't account for all the possibilities. He does have a method to alert of me of a situation, so if something does happen while I'm away tonight I'll be here to assist as quickly as I can; but it would be foolish of me to not admit the existence of the risk....and yet...."

Sunflash trails off for a moment as he diverts his gaze towards the main doors before continuing in a softer tone. "I've...seen what can happen to someone in his position. A group decided to weigh a young boy with a massive responsibility for whatever reason, and their support has been less than lacking. I felt the risk small enough, and his chance of at least getting to pretend to be a mere kid high enough, that it was worth it."

He shakes his head sadly before straightening up and turning back towards Thyrenne, arms uncrossing from his chest to clasp his hands behind his back instead. "I at least am willing to take responsibility for my actions, so don't hesitate to let me know if something goes wrong; or at least leave a message with Tamin."

Thyrenne seems to be trying to pick through Sunflash's words and apply meaning to some of them. The slightest of frowns crosses her face as some sort of implication, misinterpreted or otherwise, is registered in her brain. "'Away tonight'?" she repeats. "Is he not staying with you? That seems fairly dangerous, given what we've literally just discussed." If she heard everything else Sunflash said, it isn't apparent, since she seems pretty fixated on the one thing.

At this same indication, Thyrenne's eyes travel back to the spot on the upper landing where Mollianne and Ambience had been, and her frown deepens just slightly as she notices them no longer there, but she chooses to say nothing and allow Sunflash her attention so that she doesn't appear rude.

A look of amusement flashes onto Sunflash's face. "Oh, Mollianne expressed a desire to do a some kind of 'tour guide' thing. I didn't catch if they were intending to just hang out here, or perhaps visit other parts of the town. I presumed they had a lot to catch up on after five-odd years, and didn't give them a cut off time or anything like that."

He pauses, cocking his head to one side with a more quizzical look on his face. "I do intend to be back after some hours, to see if he's ready to retire for the night; but I'm only going to be at the Library so even if they take to wandering Viorar they won't be far from my reach if needed. I didn't mean to make you this concerned, I really do only have a worry about once we've left town tomorrow." There is clearly a slight bit of confusion in his tone at this point.

Thyrenne is visibly concerned, but the level of concern is not exactly what one could call 'alarming.' "I see," she said, eventually. "I will go and confirm this myself, then. Mollianne is not allowed to leave the establishment for certain reason I'm not at liberty to discuss, and I'm hoping that this 'tour' is of an extremely-local nature, but I will find out. That being said, I misunderstood and I apologize, I was left to an impression that he was to stay with Mollianne for the night in some respect, which is highly inadvisable for similar reasons. If you are coming back to retrieve him within a few hours, that is perfectly fine and acceptable." She, too, unfolds her arms and gestures loosely with one of them, changing the topic slightly. "I'm sure there is nothing to worry about, but what I will do is go and inform Milfeuille of what we discussed so she can be aware of such a possibility, and she will be my siren, if you'll pardon the pun, in the event that something happens to Mollianne when I am not immediately available."

She glances aside, then. "To that end, if you are comfortable with our conversation thus far and need nothing further, I would go and take my leave to attend to other matters. Is this okay with you, Sunflash?"

"Ah. Well, somehow I'm not surprised. And of course, yes. Thank you for your time, Miss Thyrenne." Sunflash, and his eyebrows, manage a shortened bow before stepping away towards the doors. He'd noticed several hints throughout the previous couple of conversations, including something about the days of the month. He might not be the cleverest of wizards, but he certainly wasn't on the bottom of the rungs.

His face is pasted over with a rueful grin as he escapes to the streets, muttering under his breath "Well, half credit I guess. Happy birthday?" Shrugging to himself, he continues onward to his destinations. He still had several jobs to do, after all.

Thyrenne watches Sunflash go, and sighs, a bit wearily, before glancing toward the far backstage door. "That girl is going to turn me gray sooner rather than later, and I'm not even twice her age..." she mumbles under her breath, heading in that same direction after a moment's contemplation.