Getting ready to head out the next morning, Egil found himself annoyed. Tyrea was quite the thorn in his side, he was starting to learn. Maybe that was inevitable, seeing as they both had such strong personalities… But that didn't mean he had to like it.
"Tyrea, stop sulking about and help us pack up camp." He held back the urge to roll his eyes when he caught her just standing there. "I know you don't want to be around the lot of us, but you need to do your share."
She made a face, arms crossed against her chest. "You all seem to be fine without my help, I don't see a reason for you to nag me."
"If you are to make up for what you did, you need to pull your weight with the group." Egil huffed. "You aren't here on a free-ride, young lady."
"Did you just call me young lady?" She scowled, approaching him. "What gives you the right to talk down to me like that?! I am Tyrea, a member of the-"
"Bionite Order, and a brat who doesn't do her share." He rolled his eyes, cutting her off. "If you act like a petulant child, I'll refer to you like one."
"How dare you!"
He rolled his eyes as she sputtered about for a while, going back to packing things up. Let the words simmer, then, if she was going to be so up in arms about it. Maybe she would learn a thing or two! That would be a load off his shoulders-
"Fine, if I am a petulant child to you, I suppose you are an old man." She finally spoke again and he turned to her with a glare.
"Excuse me? I'll have you know that by Machina standards I'm not that old." He placed a hand to his chest, annoyed. Being called an old man just made him think of his father…
"And I am very much an adult by High Entia standards, but that didn't matter to you." Tyrea huffed. "If you act like a crotchety old man, that is how I will treat you!"
"You truly are a child!" He groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You will regret this, Tyrea. I promise you that."
"I'd like to see you try and make me regret it, old man." She gave him a grin. "After all, your creaky old bones may have a hard time keeping up with me."
"I just need to oil my joints, you little brat!" He tried to hide the embarrassment creeping up on him. "It's something all Machina have to do-"
"When they reach a certain age, I'm assuming?" Tyrea snorted. "Try and deny it all you want, but you're an old man to your core!"
And with that, she walked away from the conversation, leaving Egil to watch her in a huff. Oh, she really was a brat! If he was going to have to put up with her for the rest of this journey, he wasn't sure what he would do.
Maybe just ignore her as much as possible. It seemed their personalities did not… mesh well, and it could be for the best to avoid contact when he could. So long as she actually listened during battle, at the very least…
Oh, he hoped she didn't start being a brat during battle.
The air in Satorl Marsh was nice, though all the water was hard for Linada. As they walked along, she made note of everything she may have to fix up for the group should they make too much contact. Ah, the job of a doctor was never done…
Kallian was next to her, glancing at her now and then. Maybe more than she thought, since she was caught up in her own thoughts, but… She still caught him looking! Now what was that about?
"Do you need something, Kallian?" She looked at him, giving him a small smile.
"Ah, I just… had some questions…" He looked around, making sure no one else was in ear shot before speaking quietly. "It's about when you treated my wounds."
"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow, gesturing for him to continue speaking.
"You… made sure to use minimal ether." He wouldn't look her in the eye. "Did you know of…?"
"Of what enough ether can do to a High Entian body?" She chuckled and nodded. "Indeed, all Machina do, and the last thing any of us want is to cause you more grief by jumpstarting that."
"I see." Kallian sighed. "I suppose I should have expected your people to know, if anyone was to. And to think the royal family tried to keep it so close to the chest this entire time."
"Well, you don't want mass panic, I suppose…" She paused for a moment. "Does Melia know of your fate?"
"No, not yet. We… we tell the children of the imperial family at the age of one hundred. It's a close kept secret, few outside our family know the truth." He closed his eyes as if he was feeling guilty. "I doubt Tyrea even knows, unless Mother divulged it to her."
"I see. What a weight to carry…" She frowned a bit. "I'll do my best to ensure we Machina do not let it slip, then. We can carry this weight together."
Kallian gave her quite the bright smile now. "Thank you, Linada. That means… the world to me!"
"It's not a problem." She chuckled, ruffling his hair. "After all, it's the least we can do for a prince that vouched for us when other High Entia kept us locked up."
"Well, that was only because Alvis told me I could trust you! If anything, he deserves the praise!"
She laughed, full-on, now. "Whatever you say, Kallian…"
Out of the marsh now, the group found themselves outside of what seemed to be mines. How interesting… Egil supposed it made sense for the Homs to find ways to survive off the land. Why not start by mining what you could from the Bionis?
"Well, we should-"
He let out a yell, falling to his front as someone slammed into his back. Vanea and Linada quickly joined him on the ground, beings that had to be Homs on their backs. Egil struggled against the two or three on his back to no avail.
Soon enough, more Homs, pointing guns at the entire group, appeared. Their leader seemed to be an old man, eyes narrowed as he looked them over.
"The Mechon are evolving, eh?" He fixed his glasses. "And High Entia of myth… What a group to come to our colony."
"Mechon, but-" Vanea let out a yelp as the Homs on her back slammed her face into the ground.
Egil struggled harder, how dare they hurt Vanea! She was not to be treated like that, by anyone! He still couldn't move, but the anger was radiating off of him, steam coming out of his mouth.
"Look at them, dangerous! The lot of them!" The man turned to the non-Machina. "We'll be taking these dangerous machines off your hands. Stand back if you know what's good for you."
Alvis frowned and held up a hand when Kallian, Tyrea, and Oka fell into a battle stance, once again sharing a look with Egil. A look asking him to trust in him… And this time? Egil felt as if he could.
"Very well, but we will be making our case for you to return them to our care."
The old man huffed. "If you must, fine. Follow me, then. I'll let the others take care of the Mechon."
