It was about a week since she was married to the man whom she considered the love of her live and every day she still thought about it and it brought a smile on her face. She might be considered young but why wait and they raised the twins together, surely her life had gone completely different than she thought about one and a half year ago but that was not something she regretted. Together with Ceres, Jupiter and Hecate all in animal form she walked around the festival. A bit absend minded as she had just bought a small gift for both twins. She was dressed in a pair of dark blue shorts and a white with lace shirt. Her long orange hair in a high ponytail. It was quite a warm day and she was on her way to buy a bottle of water for them and to find a spot in the shade not too much later.

Soon she would have to go back to her house and finish the thank you notes to the people that came to her wedding. She kept delaying that and at this point it would be considered rude. But it would also be a shame to sit inside the manor all the time while it was beautiful weather and the festival around the corner.

The sun shone in all its glory upon the city of Orchidia as the festival bathed in its lights. A light smile lay itself on Asura's visage as she faced the bright expanse of the famous Spring Festival, whose name had people from all over Fiore coming just to take part in it. The blonde had been stuck in Oak till all this time and hence, had missed a good portion of the festival however, unable to take it anymore, she had left Oak, with her companion, Rei and set course towards Orchidia. There was no way she was going to let the first festival she ever had the chance of experiencing be taken away from her.

The Knight roamed around the festival, taking in the scenery with the Umbreon, happily wagging its tail and walking next to her. Asura had worn a pair of light blue skinny jeans along with a white button down shirt that she had tucked in her jeans and had her hair in a ponytail. A light rumble rang through her stomach as she came to the realization that she hadn't anything to eat in such a long time and wondered where would be the best place to get some food from. At the same time, she fleetingly wondered if she would meet any familiar faces today. That certainly would be nice.

There was a queue no matter at what stall she looked so she decided to look around for the most practical one. Either a short queue or one in the shade of the trees which wouldn't make it annoying to wait for a while. She found a combination of that both and stood there with her companions. While three of them looked at the list of drinks, even after she decided that water would still be the best, the fourth ran off. Which was something that had happened before but lately seemed to be going well. As Jupiter and Hecate had offered before was to make sure she was bonding with Ceres. It had helped a little, it was easy noticed that she was a bit childish compared to her other companions.

So the blonde stormed off to find his cousin while Hecate told Alice not to worry and buy the water. It made people look at her with shock in their eyes as the blue creature simply spoke the human tongue. Hecate stood a little away from her to keep an eye out for Jupiter and Ceres, who had spotted another feline like them. That's what she had sprinted off to do: greet this creature. Jupiter spotted the owner and transformed to meet her as he recognized her as Asura. "Hi there, sorry." he apologized in advance if either him or Ceres surprised her.

The sudden splurge of movement towards the duo took Asura a little by surprise especially when she noticed that it was some type of creature that was bouncing towards them. However, behind that creature, she could also spot someone else trudging along. For a second, she was rather confused until she realized that the creature running towards them was aiming for Rei and not her and it seemed as though the Umbreon reciprocated that feeling as he dived in as well to meet the other creature in the middle.

Well, this was certainly a little odd. The other creature behind the first one had suddenly transformed into a human and even though, Asura should have been surprised, she wasn’t particularly due to having seen this type of thing happen twice before. When the man greeted her apologizing, the blonde lightly shook her head as she gazed at the two felines who seemed to be quite excited to see each other. It made her wonder whether Rei knew this each creature already.

“Oh no, it’s quite alright,” Asura replied, “They seem rather fond of each other.” It certainly did seem as though the two creatures had taken a liking to each other and Asura wondered this man was the owner or not.

They had not met before so there was no sign of recognition on the blonde male his face. Jupiter simply apologized for possibly starteling this lady. He wanted to pull Ceres away but she seemed to be so caught up by this pet that he had not noticed before. He noticed that the creature by this blonde her side was like them. An Umbreon. It had been a long time ago since he saw one and he was almost sure it wasn't this one but it seemed that Cered seemed to know this one. He opened his mouth to say something when he heard his girlfriend call out. "Jupiter? What's taking so long. Ali-" the blue haired stepped out of the crowd to show up next to him which surely surprised the blonde male but what more surprised him was how she cut herself off and turned to the lady he had apologized too, the presumed owner of this umbreon. "Oh Asura, how lovely to see you. We missed you last week." which made Jupiter understand nothing of the situation and focused again on Ceres to get her out of here but it seemed that Hecate was better at that than he anticipated.

"You should come along. I bet Alice can't wait to see you again. She is a few feet away from us buying water." the blue haired one said and taking Asura her hand softly to drag her along towards where Alice should be. The knight had just bought the bottle and was looking around to find her companions again until they found her.

At the sudden familiar voice that echoed through the vicinity, Asura's head shot up in curiosity to see who it was. The voice was undoubtedly familiar but she couldn't pinpoint where she'd heard it. It was only when the female approached the two blondes and the two pets who seemed to be highly engrossed in each other that Asura recognized the new comer as Hecate, one of Alice's companions. She had called the other man Jupiter whom Asura remembered being missing last time they met.

Hecate greeted Asura and the blonde shot her light smile. "It's lovely to see you again too, Hecate." At the mention of missing her last week, the blonde's eyebrows scrunched lightly in confusion until she remembered about Alice's wedding. "Oh yes! I feel so bad I couldn't attend the wedding. I was stuck in Oak, unfortunately." It was true that Asura felt incredibly guilty for not being attend the momentous occasion for as soon as she had received the invitation, she had become highly excited but alas, her duty as a Knight ruined her chances of seeing one of her friends get married.

When Hecate grabbed her hand to lead her towards Alice, Asura nodded gleefully while motioning for the Umbreon to follow them. "Rei, come on, we're going." She said and the black furred Umbreon bounced alongside behind them. Asura was quite excited to see Alice and congratulate her and hopefully, apologize for not being able to attend the wedding. However, as they walked towards Alice, she decided to introduce herself to Jupiter. "Hello, my name is Asura, I'm a Rune Knight. You must be Jupiter, I've heard quite a lot about you."

The blonde man looked from his girlfriend, to the blonde that he had never seen before, forgetting he was the one that had been running around and gone for a few days, he totally forgot they could meet other people in that time. He was a bit too protective about his Hecate when it came to such matters so perhaps flabbergasted was a soft expression on how he really felt, they had missed her last week? He hadn't missed anyone if he had to be honest, everything had gone great, okay perhaps.. no he didn't miss anyone, he couldn't even recall any names of people he would miss, he had been totally on his toes to make sure a twin didn't show up though. "Oak of all places, what a shame but I'm sure Alice would understand, after all not long before miss now Sokolov put everything after work as well." Hecate said totally ignoring Jupiter in this situation, as well as Ceres which made her miss the point of Umbreon. She was far too enthusiastic to see Asura right now and thus pulled her along.

So the blonde followed quickly, making sure Ceres and he believed the umbreon was called Rei as Asura said that, would be before he would follow, no one was left behind and he wouldn't lose Ceres again. He looked up to look at the blonde lady, and he looked up with the expression on his face, a bit afraid, a bit shy but surely having enough ego, "Ah yes, well, I mean, when did you all meet?" that little bit of insecurity but well Alice was first, "Asura is that you? Oh how good to see you, it's been a while since Magnolia." Oooh right,t here where he tried to find Ceres, who was walking in front of him.

Asura couldn't help but nod at Hecate's comment on her being in Oak and honestly, it was rather miserable staying there on behalf of the council only to know that her time there was wasted for no reason whatsoever. "Yes, well, some of us had been sent to Phantom Lord for a uh, mission, you could say. I had to stay back because the council requested though, I'm sure the other Knights who had come along with me had already left." From Hecate's words, she hoped that Alice wouldn't be too disappointed or upset that she had skipped the wedding. Oh, how she wished she could have attended, it would have been nice to see one in real life rather than hear in stories.

At Jupiter's question, the blonde looked towards the man as Hecate dragged her along towards Alice however, before she could respond, Alice's voice echoed through the ground and caught Asura's attention which immediately let a small smile frame the blonde's face. "Alice! It's great to see you! Indeed, it has been a while." Asura said, "Congratulations on your wedding, I'm so sorry I couldn't attend. I was in Oak for work. As an apology, let me please, buy you a wedding gift, maybe from the festival? Anything you like, really. It's on me." The blonde was rather serious about her offer as the guilt of not attending was weighing her down even if she knew Alice wouldn't mind.

Remembering Jupiter's question, she turned to him answering, "We met in Crocus first and then Magnolia while you were missing, I guess?" She let her statement turn into a question as she was confused on what had exactly happened to Jupiter and din't want to jump to conclusions.

Hecate looked shortly at Asura as she spoke about Phantom Lord, now she had not been with Alice when she was a Phantom Lord mage but of course they had talked about it, as they were her companions, Alice didn't want to hide anything, but she did to anyone else, except again her husband, they met when she was lost and iddn't know what she should do or what she could do. On one hand Hecate wondered how much Asura improved since they last met, as she was asked to stay back or was it just the council bothering people, she didn't know, mostly she left that to Alice and cared nothing about it. But Alice probably didn't know else she would have mentioned something, the last preparations for her wedding had been too much perhaps? As well as of course taking care of the children.

~

Her companions went out to find and take back Ceres, who happened to jump away from time to time when she found another companion that interested her and in some cases; people. Like with Pyre. She wanted to say that Asura looked worried or tired but before she could her friend already spoke about missing the wedding and it was true, she rather had her friend there but not everything was always possible. "Oh no you don't have to." But she believed Asura would insist, "But if you insist, buy me a drink and we can talk to catch up." she said with a grin, caught up with work, what did the Rune Knights do right before her wedding?

~

Jupiter was glad no one noticed his embarrasment for a while, he fussed over Ceres and within that met with Rei, using their own tongue softly so no human would be bothered by it. As he had hunched down he looked up as Asura seemed to turn to him and quickly stood up again, moving his hand casualy through his own blonde hair; "Right, I was trying to find her." he pointed at Ceres, which had been quite the adventure. Pretty mad Hecate too and a disappointed Alice, although having a good conversation shortly after that how Alice saw them and if they planned to stay, which he had all the intentions for.

For a second, Asura thought the other female was joking when she told her to buy her a drink as her wedding gift but soon enough, the grin that molded itself on Alice’s face let her know that although she was joking, she didn’t want Asura to give her anything. The blonde let out a huff of laughter, “Well, I’ll be down to buy you a drink but, you also need to tell me something else. Perhaps, something for your husband?” The husband that Asura had yet to meet. Her eyes glanced around the vicinity until she could spot a lesser crowded booth nearby that seemed to have an assortment of drinks. She pointed towards it and looked towards Alice, “How about that one? They seem rather, less crowded.” If Alice would agree, Asura would start walking towards the booth and as they were walking, she would decided to ask Alice a question, “So do tell me, how was the wedding? Was it grand? How many people attended?” The blonde was just far too curious especially for something that she was witnessing for the first time ever.

On the other hand, Rei quietly followed behind, a skip in his step due to the fact that he was finally out of the dreaded town of Oak. Prior, he was playing with Ceres, glad to finally have some type of companion with whom he can interact with. Albeit he loved Asura, it was nice to have someone else sometimes. The same went for Jupiter who had tried to communicate with Rei with their own language to which the Umbreon responded enthusiastically by jumping up and down. At Jupiter’s distraction through Asura’s question, the Umbreon was also answered the question on how they met. So, for the time being, he just sauntered behind the two women, one whose name was Alice as he was just glad to be finally outside in the spring.

Alice thought about it, so a drink wasn't good enough that Asura even asked for something for her husband. The word only already brought happy butterflies in her stomach. The whole idea still was going fine. She absolutely regretted nothing. She thought about it more out of what she could answer than really knowing an answer. "Really there is nothing. I am already very glad to see you again. Let us enjoy the festival." finally she noticed Asura her companion, "Oh look at this pretty one. Your companion? clearly a different one from her own companion but it seemed to be the same sort. Now she realized that she had seen one like this with Lee-Ann. Het now cousin. Also not at the wedding. None with their family members but Aleksandr. Which was a happy thing. She nodded when Asura found a booth that was in a bit of a less busy crowd so she joined her.

"Oh it was wonderful. I do have to admit that I only had eyes for Kon. But there were a lot of people." and Hecate giggled a little because she had seen that and taken care of her children. While Jupiter simply distracted Ceres and made contact with Rei.

Asura couldn’t help but nod at the other woman. She really had intended to get the newly wed couple something in order to make up for her lack of absence but it seemed as though Alice was not here for it and so, she hoped that at least, the drink and catching up would enough for the girl. Which, it likely, seemed that it was. “Well, if you insist. And yes, let’s enjoy the festival! I’m already rather upset at the fact that I managed to miss so much of it due to being stuck in Oak so hopefully, I can make up for it.” She lightly laughed and shook her head.

At Alice’s exclamation of her companion, the blonde looked towards the Umbreon while nodding lightly. “Ah, yes. He’s my companion. His name is Rei and he’s an Umbreon.” She said, whole motioning for Rei to come closer towards Alice to which the Umbreon gladly sauntered forward, almost skipping. “I got him a while back when I went to Era. They thought it would be beneficial for him to have him considering my lack of magic and so far, I have to say, he’s been wonderful. I can see why you have so many companions, they’re good company.” And by meeting Alice, Asura was also glad that Rei got to meet more like him. She couldn’t imagine how happy he must be feeling. After all, being stuck with a human 24/7 must get tiring sometimes.

At Alice’s comment about only having eyes for Kon, the blonde giggled lightly. “So, how’s your husband been treating you? Is it really fantasy like?” She was curious after all.

This did remind the red head that she needed to write the thank you notes for all the attendees as well as for the presents that they got and so on. Which was not even a hard job but for some reason she definitely didn't look forward to it. Another reason to why she insisted on not having any presents was because they got many things already. They had a house, enough furniture and most of all they had each other. "Don't blame yourself though. There were other knights but the council is simply not willing to take everything into consideration. Besides we invited lots of knights. Perhaps it was due to thay they had to pick someone to keep an eye on Phantom Lord and you were the one. I hope you didn't have much trouble?"

To which she continued tp stir the conversation to something better; Asura her new companion. Whom she petted as soon as Rei came close enough. "Oh how lovely." as she listened how they met and complimented each other. "I found Jupiter again and he found his cousin, Ceres. She is..." she looked to Asura and leaned a bit closer "Very enthusiastic and well she rans away often as you might have noticed." she felt a bit of a failure with how that happened.

But they continued to talk about their wedding, "Oh yes. He is very romantic, busy but that happens with two knights and he is great with the children."

A nod erupted from Asura at Alice’s words however, her unsure expression seeped through as well. It was clear that she was told to stay back in Oak for a reason and it was to make sure that Phantom Lord would be quiet for a while however, it was hard to pinpoint that condsieerint that after that order, she hadn’t received any word from the council even when she had asked if she could leave. It came to the point where Asura was fed up and decided to heard to Orchidia on her own whim. Whether the council would be angry at that or not, honestly, the blonde didn’t have it in her to care. “Yes, I suppose so. And no, I was actually sitting idle most of the time and patrolling the town mostly so it was nothing that was too difficult to handle.”

At Alice’s cooing of how lovely Rei, Asura couldn’t help but let out a proud smile. She truly was enamored with her Umbreon and at this point, couldn’t imagine endeavors without him. When told about Jupiter and Ceres, the blonde let out a light ‘oh’ at that. Now it seemed to make sense. “Well, Ceres is rather enthusiastic, I’ll agree but I think Rei likes that. He doesn’t really have friends jay are the same as him yet, so he’s quite excited.”

When listening to talks about her husband, the blonde just looked at the red head almost in awe at the fact that her friend now really had a husband. “Well, I’m glad that he’s treating you well. Otherwise, I’m ready to fight him.” She joked, “But yes, I cant imagine how it must be to handle two children at once. I hope I can meet them one day.” Honestly, Asura did want to meet Alice’s children as she still hadn’t had the chance to meet them yet. She could imagine how cute they would be if they adopted their mothers features.

Alice had of course no idea what went through Asura her mind but she didn't seem to be so sure about something and she looked at her friend, "Is there something wrong?" The former lieutenant wondered how the Council was doing now, not entirely sure if it was a set up or if it indeed was the council in a sort of secret message, the red head wasn't their number one fan. She had not been used to the idea of Phantom Lord casing havoc, not while she was a part of it nor really when she wasn't, "To be fair I didn't expect anything bad would happen, never really experienced issues with Phantom Lord."

As the conversation went on about their companions, Alice liking how one of her friends shared the same sort of companion as she had and she petted Rei for a second time, "Ah yea, the sort of minor curse of being a companion. I am lucky to have three that can hang out." Which made Hecate scrunch her nose a little as she wasn't all to happy because of Ceres her enthusiasm, she became the third wheel for her own boyfriend. "Feel free to call upon us if you need any information, I mean we learned to speak human thanks to a herb, but we still speak our own language."

While the conversation turned from her husband to her children, it was rather a satisfying feeling that most of her friends didn't seem to shy away from her children, they were now getting used to Alisa, which was very important to her but Snowflake had asked to visit and now Asura, she truly felt blessed, "Oh that would be wonderful, let's see when it is the best time at the moment they are with their father." Else Hecate wasn't here, perhaps she was so devouted to her nanny job to avoid conflict with Jupiter about.. the need for attention but that didn't cross her mind right now.

For a second, Asura wondered whether she was allowed to tell Alice what had happened previously; about the council's orders to attack Phantom Lord however, remembering that she was a former Knight and the blonde hadn't been really told anything to keep mum about the situation, she supposed it was alright. "Well, everything's alright now but before the Knights came to Orchidia for the festival, we were in Oak for a mission given to us by the council. There were six of us and we were ordered to apprehend the Phantom Lord mages and destroy the guild." She paused for a second remembering the event which left a bitter taste in her mouth before continuing, "They were orders so we couldn't really say anything at that time however, before any serious damage could be done to either us or the Phantom Lord mages, some man named Dante interrupted the fight and we were given the orders to retreat. From what I've gathered, it seemed as though the council had sent us on a suicide mission in order to attain information on their previous guild master." The fact that this had even occurred already caused the blonde to become infuriated. To think that they really were played like pawns. The council was in no way, a beacon of selflessness and humanity but at the very least, she would have expected them to have some respect for their Knights. But, apparently that was far from the case.

At Hecate's mention of them having learned to speak through a herb, Asura perked up in response. It would be good, she thought, if Rei could speak as well. It would make things so much better between the two if they could effectively communicate instead of relying on their guts. "Could you tell me about that herb? I'd like if Rei and I could communicate as well. It would be nice."

When Alice talked of her children being with their father, the blonde merely nodded in understanding. "Well, I hope eventually I'll get the opportunity to meet them." Yes, that would be nice.

Not being number one fan about the council had been a lot of personal things and apart from that she kept her own idea about how her need for justice which she had lacked when being a mage of Phantom Lord. But now as a Holy Knight she was in one way more able to handle it in her own way or that is what it felt like. It probably also had to do with timing, no longer being pregnant of two children worked wonders as well. But she was surprised with how the council had worked on, to destroy Phantom Lord? Where was Yami and Bianca. They were considered criminals but they had been very nice when they were her guild mates it.. It didn't make sense to think about it; Alice knew she was on the opposite line of the invisible battle and as Alisa had mentioned she could be described as the perfect knight so she better did not show. But it did got her angry, her friends could have been very badly wounded or worse. "That sounds horrible. You all managed to get away? she wanted to say a lot of things but the former lieutenant couldn't admit on the idea of being a holy knight. "To be completely honest they have pulled more strange things. I don't know why or what but I keep in mind why I am a knight, to help the people and bring justice. It is a shame the higher ranks sometimes forget that sense."

As to which she wanted to forget the conversation but wouldn't stop speaking to Asura if she had any questions about it. When later Hecate spoke about the herb she and Jupiter had, she leaned a bit back to see how her companions were doing. Hecate gave a perfect description and how come she knew so well: necause she had been looking for it for 3 months after Jupiter had had some. She also told Asura about a herb that made them able to change into a human.

Asura nodded at Alice's question. Luckily, they had managed to get away without harming themselves. In Asura's case, she hadn't even had the chance to fight however, Xandra had charged towards the masked Phantom Lord mage only to retreat in the end because their battle had gotten over as soon as it had started due to Dante. As for the other Knights, from what she had gathered, they had engaged in a fight however, it got over before anyone could get seriously hurt. "Yes. Luckily, Dante's arrival caused the council to ask us to retreat as they hadn't expected him appear. I think they may have even forgotten about his existence. But, we managed to get away without any serious injuries. The causalities were almost none, I think." At Alice's comment about the council having pulled stranger things, Asura frankly, wasn't surprised as knowing the council's reputation, it was to be expected. However, her ideologies were the same as Alice's. She was a Knight, first and foremost, for the reason of protecting the people. "I'm not surprised, to be honest, that they've pulled weirder stuff. I'm only sticking around because the current Knights, especially the ones that I've worked with are there for the same reason as you; justice and to protect others. Even though it seems like a long shot, I'm hoping that one way or another, we'll be able to change the system from within." It was just a plan, who knew whether it would become a reality but as long as they didn't give up hope, it would be alright.

As for the other matter, Asura listened to Hecate intently, making a note to get this potion later on. After all, Rei being able to speak seemed like something he would enjoy as well if the way he was jumping excitedly was anything to go by.

If she sat the way she felt, she would be on the edge of her seat to tell Asura that she had not left her job because of being pregnant but that she joined another part of the knights to do more, to be free from the strange things that they did and considered with the council. If only she could become a part of the council and if it indeed worked from the inside out, she would have stayed but she was now with Kon with an organisation that considered her as a person far more than that she was considered with the council, if that was all true and not a set up from god knows who, because she doubted that Lacie had anything to do with that. She wouldn't have the ability not the patience to set up such a plan no matter how jealous she would become.

She had never heard of a person called Dante, he wasn't there when she was a part of Phantom Lord, or well not that she was much interested in the higher people, she had met Roman, Bianca and Geb she believed his name was, all ranked above her but still, she only really cared about Yami. She bet he was doing fine. Last time she saw him was not in Oak anyway, perhaps he finally got free, that had been their plan all along but she had taken the first step. She felt a soft push from Hecate her elbow as she had started to get lost in her own mind. It was good that there were no injuries or causalties at all, so she nodded when she caught that still. She made a comment about that the council had pulled stranger stuff and listened to what Asura had to say more about it.

She knew quite a few knights, perhaps had not spoken about what they all thought but she believed the same, the reason why they picked this job, perhaps apart from Akira, but she had not seen the girl in so long that it might have been changed right now. Her own patron didn't even know. "I will be there for support but indeed, it asks for patience to be able to either change the mind of the council or change the council." As she was not sure if it was the council that told her to get sort of rid of the then baby, she wasn't willing to share it yet.

"We are looking to find both herbs for Ceres at the moment but they are quite rare, the first time only Lumen and Jupiter had enough to go by and Lumen can't speak so there was even less of that. As for me there was some near Baska but I'm not sure if not someone else had found that. We just don't want Ceres to feel left out because she can't change nor talk to Alice and the rest."

At Alice's reply, the blonde nodded her head. Indeed, it would require numerous bouts of patience which frankly, Asura was unaware of whether she possessed or not. However, her want of changing the council exceeded that doubt and although, at the current moment, she was rather powerless, there was no telling what the future could hold. "Well, it does seem like a long shot," Asura commented, "It seems as though the Council is up to something though currently, none of us are sure of exactly what. It gives me a bad feeling because the attack on Phantom Lord was so sudden and frankly, uncalled for?" There was slight uncertainty in her tone as she was unsure of whether she was even allowed to be challenging the council like this. Surely, if they knew, it wouldn't end well however, truth rears its head eventually. "But, yes, you're right. The change we want to happen will take a very long time to come into effect but, we have hope that we can work for the betterment of this country."

Asura listened to Hecate speak and slowly, she became unsure of whether she would able to find the herbs to get Rei to speak. It would be nice however, it did seem as though they were difficult to obtain and rather, spread out. Asura decided to keep it in mind to research on this later and see whether it would be available anywhere else and in more quantity. As such, she decided to ask the other companions the same as well. "So, there are chances this herb is available in other places? It might be rare but perhaps, we can try finding it together both for Ceres and Rei if you'd be up for it?" Asura posed the suggestion wondering whether they would be up for it or not. Certainly, it could prove to be an adventure, if anything else.

Alice wondered how everything would go in the near future. The thing was that only the future would be able to tell and at this point that was a difficult guess for everyone except perhaps fortune tellers but than again they would probably sometimes have read something differently than how it would happen and no one was to blame for that. She didn't know how else to word it, "If you ever feel troubled though, know that you can always talk to me. I might belong to well a different faction or how you want to see it when I get back, but that doesn't mean I can't be a friend that can give an ear when you need someone to listen."

Because it could be quite tough if she had to believe her own former experience with the Rune Knights and with that mostly the Council, her colleagues had never been a problem. She frowned, at this point she wanted to be honest to Asura but she couldn't, she didn't know if Midas would agree and so on and it was better to not make that risk as she had done with Alisa weeks ago, where she told her best friend about the Holy Knights. "Perhaps it was," she still comment on the uncalled for attack on Phantom Lord, because she agreed with that, "But perhaps the council is afraid, after all their biggest enemy is now the emperor as they did not see that coming, we all have to bow down to the man that killed people to get his throne back." And with that, they had to, or else that would bring war to the nation and wasn't it their job to protect them from harm for the citizen?"As you already speak of a we, means that it will be easier than when it is just you." She said friendly, she wondered who those we were and if she knew them.

As they brought the conversation to how Hecate changed and with that Jupiter of course, she explained the rarity of the herbs as Lumen didn't got the speak herbs either. And they still didn't actually know where Lumen found them although one thing was clear and Alice looked from Hecate to Jupiter who shared a look, "We both found herbs in Baska." Hecate said with a little frown while Alice took the stage, "Yes sounds like a plan. It is possible that they are everywhere in Fiore, they don't require a specific nature to grow, they are simply very rare." And she would find it a lot easier if Ceres was able to walk and talk like Jupiter and Hecate could and both agreed as well, it was good Rei was here, else they were afraid that she might feel left out right now.[/color]

Alice's kindness had never ceased to amaze the blonde. The woman was just unquestionably demure and so filled with an essence of amiability that Asura was glad to have met her. She had met tons of people, all across Fiore, ever since she had joined the Knights and truth be told, along the way, she had met far more good hearted people than those of impure intentions. It gave her some form of reassurance that perhaps, the world had more hope than she had thought. She let a smile eclipse her face at Alice's words and nodded lightly in reply, "Thank you so much. I'm honestly glad to hear that. You have a lot more experience of being in the Knights than me so a little advice here and there would certainly help me go a long way. And I appreciate it so much. I'll definitely be taking you up on that offer sometime in the future."

As the conversation drifted back to the council, the blonde's features turned slightly grave. Talks of the council had always left the bitter taste in her mouth perhaps, due to the residing resentment that she held towards them and their reputation. When Alice brought up the king, Asura couldn't help but form a small 'o' with her mouth. Truth be told, that thought hadn't crossed her mind. She knew what the reactions of the Knights were in regards to the new emperor and in the beginning, she had wondered what the council were thinking however, after that, her mind had gotten absorbed in other important matters. "Yes, you're right." Asura commented, "I don't really know too much about what the council thinks but I'm sure they aren't glad about it. The Knights were vehement against this change at first but I think we've all come around. We're just trying to do our jobs now. What matters to us is whether the people are safe. But, the council cares more of their own wants and whether those coincide with what the emperor wants, well, that's to be seen." It was true. Asura had been angry at first however, slowly, she had come around especially, after talking with Akira. There was nothing to be done after all. And the reminder of Akira also rang with Alice's statement as Asura nodded. "Yeah, I have people with me. I couldn't be more glad about that."

When discussing about the herbs, Asura was glad that they were on board with the idea of hunting for them together for both Rei and Cerus. "Well, let's get a move on after the Festival then. How long will this last anyways?" She was curious, honestly, as to how long the festival was meant to last. It had been going on for a while.

It was difficult, the dishonesty. She didn't mind lying that much, she simply didn't believe in it. Being honest, no matter the painful parts of the conversation saved a lot more pain than the lying. Even if it was something but the origin of the organisation that she belonged to was picking citizens as well, on another level than the Rune Knights did, perhaps on a higher one. But she didn't care about that, all that she cared about was, helping peopel and to be fair even if she had to be judgmental against the darker races as the illumin pointed out; she didn't. And she could still be friends and she could still give advice to her friends if they wanted to. "Experience come in different sorts. Perhaps at some point I will come to ask you." Because what she did learn from being a superiour for some, was that she didn't always like it. It had gone to her head perhaps at some point and she had become rude or driven by the course of action by wanting to be better and feel better than someone that just joined the knights. She didn't know why, she had learned not too long ago.

As she still picked up the conversation about the council and explained that even though she didn't like the council much herself, it could have influence from the emperor. "I do not agree with the council but I do have to admit, if I was one of them, I would be afraid as well. The emperor made sure or I believe so, to get rid of all the guild masters, because suddenly they were all gone. Than who would be next? Perhaps that's why they are irresponsible now, trying to save their breath for one enemy only." It was a long shot but it could explain why they would want to get Phantom Lord out of the way, or why they were not happy to see Dante. She didn't know his name, she had never heard of him while belonging to the guild, and she wanted to forget that part of her past very quickly. "I am glad you say that the people their safety is of utmost importance. Because that it is and as long as there are even a small group that considers that, not everything is lost." The red head spoke and she looked away shortly, it felt too high and mighty to say so, but she couldn't help it. And she nodded shortly, by turning her golden eyes back at Asura, "It is always nice to have people that you can depend on." to have friends.

As Alice agreed to come with Asura to find the herbs in Baska, she had to admit that this question she couldn't answer, "To be honest I have no idea. I wouldn't mind to leave before that, but I have a few things to do with thank you notes for the wedding and so on and I need to make sure Kon is okay with taking care of the children, perhaps on his own or if I look at Hecate sweetly she might stay behind." To which her blue haired friend shook her head and rolled her eyes, yet there was a smile on her lips, there might be possibilities.

Alice's declaration of perhaps, one day, coming to ask the blonde for help had left Asura smiling lightly, reminding her yet again, why she liked the company of the orange haired female. Alice was down-to-earth and immensely kind with a very wide perspective on things. There seemingly, was no sense of arrogance or pride but just a sheer will to love and protect. Which, for Asura, at least, made her hold the other woman in rather, high regard. Not to mention, Alice's position of being a former Captain within the Knights was another aspect to consider. At her statement of the council, the blonde couldn't help but be a little surprised. Truth be told, she had merely heard rumors of the council getting rid of the guild masters floating within the Knights due to the guild master's sudden disappearance however, it seemed as though these rumors turned out to be true. "Well, that does make a lot more sense. It would explain why the council would send us to Phantom Lord to get rid of the guild master. Though we weren't given those exact orders but it does fit the pieces together now." Once Alice had said it, everything made a lot more sense. Yet, it arose the question of why the council would want to do something like. The only reasoning Asura could come to was to control the guilds better. However, with Dante's arrival, perhaps, things may not be going as planned.

Asura nodded when Alice agreed with her statement of the people, crossing her hands over her chest. "Yes, you're right. Even if there are some of us, there's still hope that not everything is lost." At the next mention of the Knights whom Asura was indeed, very glad to have. "Yes, indeed. I'm glad I have them, it feels nice to rely on someone while in difficult situations. Perhaps, you may have met some of them?"

When going back to the topic of the herbs and Alice's prior pre-occupations, Asura nodded before replying, smiling lightly at the other, "Well, if you'd like, I don't mind helping with the thank you cards. As for your husband, well, yeah, that, I can't help with that. But anything else you need, let me know so we can leave whenever possible." This would definitely be a good journey if it ended up in Rei being able to speak. Looking at the Umbreon, he seemed to be listening intently to their conversation and his eyes almost glittered as Asura looked at him. Yes, he was looking forward to this quite a bit.

Alice wondered shortly if what she thought might be a real explanation for everything that was going on with the knights and the council. It only didn't explain the plot that was happening to her, perhaps it had not been true and was it the idea to split her up from the people that did this now? Would she be off too much influence? She actually doubt that and the fact that she could still talk to Asura like this made it also impossible to come to that conclusion. She probably thought too much about it as it didn't stop her now, she never was fired, she left on her own accord, but what was the point? Why did they warn her and where did the guy go that tortured her or practically tried. No, if she had to think about a torturer, that was the man on the left side of the emperor, Theseus had made sure she had a long time to recover, another question was why he didn't kill her but if it was always the plan to take the throne.. that didn't explain the bombs, the explosions before, because that did hurt citizens. She got a massive headache if she would continue to think about this.

"It only won't explain why they were sort of willing to send you guys in there without a real goal." She said and tapped her right cheek with her right index finger as she was thinking, "Did you get any orders to kill the Guild master or just to take the guild down?" Because there was a difference in that, a knight could assume they meant capture and not kill. After all at this point there wasn't a walking warrant on any of the Phantom Lord members, not that she knew. Of course as a Holy Knights it wasn't about particular citizens but about races and that might explain why she wouldn't know either. "I'm sure the council wasn't happy with Dante." It itched her that she didn't know him, perhaps she should have been more in Phantom Lord instead of trying to find her freedom, but than again at that point, she didn't know she was leaving and it could be a good source of information. It meant too with Dante's show, that there was indeed a possible enemy that the council again had to worry about.

As she was relieved to notice that Asura thought the same, she couldn't help but give a perhaps too arrogant answer. She thought about it, as Asura didn't give names, "I know quite a few knights. Some have even be my pupils or consider themselves still." Hatsuharu's name immediately jumped up in her mind and as Akira her words told her that they were still a team, she could imagine that he had dragged her along and to be fair if she considered her well and how she had yelled at her and vice versa, she wouldn't be surprised if Akira would be there out of her free will as well, innocent people needed protection. Perhaps Asura knew Evangeline, and that made her no longer lost. So she tilted her head, wondering if she would get any names.

"I will let you know as soon as possible, right now let's enjoy our drinks and stay here. The festival is of course here to celebrate the season and to take a moment of rest after your hard work in Oak." She held up her glass with drinks, that they had ordered in the mean time, as a short toast, she was glad to see her friend after all.

She talked about a few more things before their ways split and Alice went home.

Exit.