(( Aah, jetbridge?! Thanks, Whales. ))
(( Red, yupperz, they are. Although not like last time. ))
(( Stoic, yes, we have just arrived. ))
After the jetbridge retracted back into the airship, the group was all finally down on the ground, officially in Sakura.
Arion proceeded to speak to the boy which had stood there to greet them all. "My apologies if we kept you waiting, Laz," Arion said, placing a gentle hand on the boy's messy blonde hair.
"No worries, sir," Laz assured him with a tone that almost sounded like a desperate attempt to be polite. "We are here to search for CoreCapsules, right?"
"That is correct."
"I informed the town mayor of our activity, and of the permission given to us by the Queen."
"Very well. Then I suppose I have no further task for you," Arion said, giving the boy a friendly smile. He gestured up to the airship with an extended arm. "Wait for us all on the airship."
The boy nodded, then began to distance himself from the group. As he crouched low to the ground, the collar around his neck began to flash, and it spun slowly. Then suddenly, a pair of wings flowed from his back. They were very long and narrow, and gold with white tipped feathers. He leaped up into the air, and his strong wings carried him up into the AX-07.
That boy must be a Theo...He has to be younger than me, and he has his wings already... Nimbus wondered, watching the boy in awe. On top of that, he looked like a natural flyer too.
"That young boy was Laz," Arion explained, as he began to walk further into the port. "He is a Tsunami insider."
As the group began to shift out of the port and up into the market strip, Arion turned around to speak once more. "Once we reach the joint-sector, we will split up into our groups. Let us proceed."
Solius spoke to Ian, who was only several feet ahead of him, "Excuse me, sir. I don't believe I have spoken to you. What is your name?"
"Listen up, you," Mizu said to Nimbus, her voice suprisingly fiery and vicious. "Don't mess up anything, okay? Don't let your your temper take over you, understood?"
"I'll do what I do, alright?" Nimbus snapped back at her. "If you're referring to Din, don't worry your pretty little face, okay? I'm not stupid enough to try and attack him in the middle of a mission."
"Good boy," Mizu said, then added a little giggle which she intended to irritate Nimbus. He ignored her, however, and maintained a confident pace.
+++
Nemo and Reios, who, since their exit from the AX-07, had been traveling the lands of the Spring Nation, arrived in Sakura shortly after the Tsunami airship landed. They entered from the east entrance, however, and found themselves in the streets of the East District of the town.
"This is Sakura...I have read tales about this town, back at the palace," Reios explained to his partner, whose heavy eyelids suggested that he was growing tired.
"Listen, I don't wanna rain on your parade or anything, but why the hell are we here?" Nemo groaned, dragging his feet along the petal-covered street.
"I said I wanted to explore the world," Reios answered, somewhat impatiently. "We talked about this already. I'm so sick of being held in one place. I...just want to keep moving..."
Nemo eyed his friend worriedly, unintentionally slowing his pace so that he was no longer beside him. He said quietly, "That's not healthy. Human beings need to settle down somewhere."
However, Nemo's comment was heard, and Reios whirled around to bark at him, "Quit calling me a human, dammit! I'm a half-breed, unlike you. Theos are meant to move around, wandering the endless skies. That's why we were originally the ones with wings!"
Nemo stopped walking. He stared pitifully at his disturbed ally.
"And besides, I can't stop moving around. With the Autumn Nation hunting me down, I have to constantly change location," Reios grieved. He also continued walking, even as Nemo stood still. "I don't want to be found. I don't want to go back to the Autumn Empire."