Finally, the time had arrived, despite the fact she had trained diligently for the upcoming battle, Esperia couldn't help but feel nervous about the upcoming conflict, and understandable. This was the first time she would fight in a war, and even if she had the reassuring company of her lover and her best friend, Esperia still felt somewhat restless.

While it was still a while till the expected summoning, the crown had already sent out a call for aid for those loyal to the crown to come and prepare the defenses of the city, and as a result, the three of them had decided to go to Crocus. Esperia obviously was for the idea, in the end, it would help them try to prepare more ways to protect the citizen of Crocus against the invading army of Grimoire Heart, and so she stood at the outskirts of Baska's town, holding what appeared to be a simple map of sorts in her hands. It was a map with the route she had planned for them to take to Crocus, all in the hope that they would arrive in time to aid in the preparations for the defense of the city.

"I guess this is the first time I'll be traveling together with someone..." Esperia mused softly as she leaned against a nearby tree and briefly closed her eyes. She had prepared everything she could, tried to master as much of Asmodeus' power as possible within the limited time she was given, while at the same time also preparing the recruitment of an additional ally, who came in the form of the humble butler who stood at her side awaiting the arrival of her traveling companions.

"Do not despair Master Esperia, although the enemy might be daunting, you have some powerful allies at your side. As long as you remain careful we should be fine."

It was true, even Lilith had told her that as long as she remained careful they would be able to survive this conflict, and she intended to keep Fia and Liana safe as much as possible at the same time also!

"I wonder how Lia is holding up... I bet she is just as nervous as I am..." The girl mused softly as she turned her gaze toward the road leading into town. To think of all the things that had happened during her stay in Baska...

She had initially arrived here as the result of a mistake, gotten herself lost along the way and ended up being recruited into the Blue Pegasus guild thanks to Snowflake's introduction. Reunited with her childhood friend Liana and met a senior member of the guild Alisa, had that eventful encounter with Agni and Hyouen and the mysterious Arisa. She even met a Rune Knight called Alice and a Lycan who didn't want to kill her! Baron really had been a fascinating person~ And what about that elf Christian?

And of course, she couldn't forget 'her'. A hand trailed lightly toward the bullet-shaped pendant around her neck, leading her to smile sheepishly as she thought back to how helping Doctor Gerard had led her to meet her lover Fia. Just the thought of her already made her cheeks flush up with a healthy tint of excitement while a smile lingered on her lips.

So much had happened since she had arrived, and now she was about to prepare the next step of her adventure!

"I guess they will be arriving any moment now~ Did you make sure we have everything Sebastian?" The butler nodded his head lightly while gesturing at the large, somewhat oversized backpack that was resting next to his feet. "Everything has been prepared Master. Food rations, drinks, camping utilities and even spare clothes."

A nod of approval came from the girl as she turned back toward the town, finally seeing the first of the two girls arrive, causing her to happily raise an arm to wave into the girl's direction. "Oooooy~ Over here Fia~~~" Esperia shouted with a sheepish grin on her lips. Clearly, she was excited to get this journey started, even if the events at their destination would be less pleasant...

703/700

"I trust everything is in order, then?" The blue-haired maid inquired as she delicately sipped her tea from a comfortable little chair. Across from her sat a certain hazel-eyed steam punk, whose eyes were fixated outside a nearby window. It was early, far too early for any of the other orphans to be awake, especially not after the tearful good-luck wishing and farewells of the previous night. In light of the upcoming battles Fia would be facing, she'd decided to spend a night with her family, in order to assure them that she'd be fine, even if she herself didn't entirely believe that.

"Yeah, yeah, got everythin' sorted. Gear packed, goodbyes said, trainin' done, all that shit." Fia groaned in response to the acting head of the Barone household. Truthfully, even though she'd done all that preparation, Fiammetta didn't feel at all ready for the war she was summoned to fight. The girl may have fought all manner of thugs and animals, even Lycans at a point, but to go to combat with the skilled mages of a powerful dark guild was something else entirely.

"Very good. In ordeals like this, being prepared is vital." As flat as ever, Claramond continued to lecture Fia without a hint of fear or urgency in her tone. There was, however, one key emotion that lied not in her voice, but in her gaze, as she looked back up to Fia. Concern.

"Do be careful, Fiammetta." A soft utterance was suddenly let out, Claramond looking into Fia with a serious yet caring expression. "As of late, I've felt like the world itself is attempting to crush this place under it. Please do not prove me right." An equally stern look met Clara's gaze, as Fia stood up from her seat and slung her pack over her shouder, and a lovely red scarf around her neck.

"Oi, oi, don't need yer frosty ass worryin' 'bout me too, Clara." She scolded with a slight grin, as she cracked her knuckles for extra effect. "Us Barones are tough as hell. Gonna take more 'an some Grims to take one o' us down." Fia reassured, smiling with all the fake confidence she could muster. A glance at the clock in the room told her she ought to get leaving soon, she didn't want to keep Esperia waiting, after all.

Starting for the door, Fia left Claramond with some final parting words before she set off for war. "When I get back... Ya better be ready to celebrate. Cause I'll have stories o' my victory." Claramond was smiling, nodding in affirmation as Fia left the room to head off and meet her travelling partners. It was fortunate, that Claramond did not see Fia's expression the moment she left, for once all was said in done, all she could wear was a frown at having lied to her caretaker. Truthfully, she wasn't confident at all in what was approaching...

The fiery young lass set off for where she'd meet Liana and Esperia, the point from which they'd live the busy little town of Baska. Now that she really thought about, Fia realised she was probably going to miss Baska, in spite of it all. Sure, she'd had some bad encounters with thugs, delinquents, lycans, and one particular man... But she'd also met people she'd never forgot. Liana, Chelvaric, Snow, LeeAnn, Baron, Gerard, and more... Including, perhaps most of all, a certain black haired trickster who'd came out of nowhere and irreversibly changed Fia's life for the better.

Even if it was also the town in which she'd learned troubling truths of her past and first encountered some of her greatest threats, it was also the town in which she, the rough and tough eldest daughter of the career criminal Baldo Barone, had first truly fell in love. And she wouldn't soon forgot it for that.

As she approached the meeting point, it wasn't hard to spot her lover there, waving enthusiastically. A smile was painted on Fia's face as she gazed over to the one person who made her think everything might turn out OK, even in the face of this threat, as she uttered those all too familiar words, the ones she hoped to say a thousand times more over her life.

"Hey there, Princess."

WC: 716/700