Charles Patricius

[Bloodedge]

The floating fortress and construct of Charlemagne, acting as the base of operations for the Twelve Paladins. All constructs have the potential to hold miraculous power, but Charlemagne’s is particularly amazing. This is a flying fortress packed with supplies that can be used both as a base of operations, and to attack enemies. This is a fortress the likes humanity never heard of in even Chaldea. [REDACTED] states that this construct is evidence that the old warrior kings and Holy Grail-holders are on a whole other scale.

[Apollymi]

Within the carriage, Yume seemed to be sinking into further and further comfort... even throwing a leg upwards and stretching herself out fully. In fact, one would find that unlike most people of Japanese descent, Yume always seemed a bit less inhibited than most. "I'm just gonna stretch out then. You don't mind, right Yuuya-kun? Us Yu people gotta stick together~" she teased gently more than willing to use the lad for her added comfort. In this case, without waiting for his answer, she extended her legs across his lap so she could lie in a more flat manner. "Invasive." Anais said immediately, looking to her friend with furrowed brows. "And you love me, wake me up later..." was the only reply. As those eyes of hers closed and she seemed content. Just the same, Anais was sure this girl was still very much herself, it was kind of comforting to see her so relaxed in such a situation. She looked at her body all stretched out and wondered how she expected to be woken up... and immediately thought of a few ways to do so. None of which she would be speaking, but the thoughts in her head of molesting her friend within this closed in space, led to more thoughts of molesting her mentor similarly. Enough of this happened that she found herself giving the elf a bit of a side eye as if it was a legitimate consideration if not for present company.

At the same time, Sakura seemed to be rather comfortable with the arm thrown around her midsection. She even seemed to relax into Charles more to give them a more relaxed travel posture. "Every one is so interesting," Sakura made the absent commentary. All the while, Martha was being treated to... Astolfo'isms. In this case, he was now behind her and using her breasts as part of his reigns. If they'd not already been on the move, she might have taken to harming him. Right at the moment though, with his manhood pressed against her rear and his current actions she only had this to offer, "When we land, I'm going to beat the shit out of you," yes, that was right. So, they could go on... and continue their travels.

[Bloodedge]

Yuuya was addressed very directly by Yume as their journey began. She seemed to be moving about with an amount of comfort he'd never expect of someone obviously sharing his nationality, but... it would only become stranger. She spoke of stretching out, and immediately did so over his lap. This girl had quite the pair of legs on her, he thought embarrassingly before his flushed face turned away. "Ah? Uhm... sure, that's fine," he muttered. He had no idea how she could be so open, but there couldn't be much reservation in that much exposed skin. All Yuuya had to do was avoid thinking about the legs in his lap.

Just the same, Charlemagne was trying to avoid thinking of things. Three of the five people within this carriage were running from deviant thoughts. Of those three, Charlemagne's thoughts were almost completely unprovoked. He'd been involved in a lot of sexual acts of late, and simply seeing the spacious interior of the carriage while in Sakura's company had his mind racing. Had this been a journey of two, or even if the carriage had some sort of partition, things would probably be very different already. "Yep... interesting. Sounds like a group of random travelers to me," Charlemagne said without much understanding of Sakura's original statement. Actually, he was mostly trying to distract himself. "Much like that response, no?" said Ailen, who quickly looked in Anais's direction to find... that she was already glancing his way. Interesting indeed.

Meanwhile, Astolfo was at the receiving end of a threat. Well... he was still Astolfo, so perhaps it couldn't be called such. "Promise~?♥" he asked in a more upbeat manner than previous speeches. A beating or twelve would be perfectly fine as repayment for several dozen squeezes and grinds. "You think it'll finish me off? I feel like I've been trying to finish all day~♥"

[Apollymi]

Yume seemed to be aware of Yuuya's embarrassed response to her openness without ever opening her eyes. In fact just a little smirk crossed her face as she allowed herself to drift off towards a peaceful sleep. "Good good... oyasumi~" she murmured as she began her peaceful descent. Just the same Anais never argued against being fond of her friend. She did love the girl, but she fully acknowledged her weird character quirks, like taking up so much space and being invasive to others regardless of their comfort levels.

Just the same, Sakura seemed to think this group of people was interesting. Charles might have been spaced out thinking inappropriate things, but Anais wouldn't judge anyone based on their thoughts alone considering how easily she'd jumped from accosting her friend at wake up to molesting her mentor and even something much more quiet that she'd immediately buried in the bottom of the deepest box she could imagine. If anything, she'd blame this carriage. The enclosed space was obviously keeping all of her dirty thoughts floating closer to the surface of her brain. 'You know we were thinking all of this long before now!~' her internal dark voice claimed. She was right, 'Hell yeah, Slut Train!~' she mused as she noted that she'd caught the attention of her mentor. "Yep, something like that..." Anais managed as her own face flushed gently. She should just disappear right now... her own head turning to the side as she waited for a blush to fade. 'At least I'm focused.' she thought making sure not to look in the other corner of her vision. That one place she didn't want to look didn't want her line of sight followed to. A smirk would come to Sakura's face as she gave consideration to why she thought this group was interesting. And it was because to her, it felt a bit like being around one of her father's specifically the one who was demonic and tied to forbidden knowledge. "So... what do you normally do on rides like this?" Sakura asked, maybe she was missing context for why this felt this way. Or maybe the feeling of it, wasn't related at all to the individual feelings floating around?

At the same time, Astolfo seemed quite excited by the prospect of getting beaten up later. Strangely, unlike most people, his obvious interest in physical harm wouldn't stop Martha from delivering her ultimate punishment. "I am absolutely going to beat the shit out of you!" Martha exclaimed. "That being said, anything you take from it is between, you, your body and whatever weird god you pray to," she stated. It wasn't as if she hated the lad, she did think it was a bit too forward for his own good, but he was still a good natured kid as far as Martha was concerned. Their course was taking them down into the lower world, so for quite a while, they would simply be descending and correcting course for the descent.

[Bloodedge]

And so, Yume fell asleep. It was almost as if a small cat had jumped into Yuuya's lap, as he suddenly felt moving even an inch would be a terrible idea. He would have preferred avoiding one of the least-clothed girls in this group having her legs stretched over him. As a man, he had his natural reactions to be concerned about. As one who tried to remain polite, however, he almost wanted to escape... almost. "Oyasuminasai," was all he said in the end. It was only a carriage ride. There couldn't be too much to worry about, right?

Charlemagne's mental state was all over the place as well. He had no reason to think the way he did, but he had just as much reason to never think differently again. At least there was conversation to keep him occupied, though Sakura couldn't have chosen a worse topic. What did one normally do on these trips? Normally, they were a group of comrades who already knew one another quite well. In this case, each person among eight was acquainted with only a few others at best. "Normally? We'd just chat or play a game. There's planning if it's necessary, but I don't think it's worth doing that just yet. In any other situation, there would at least be some sights to see. This might be one of the more boring trips," he said. Oh, if only it could be boring. Charlemagne couldn't consider it boring at all, considering how many angles he was seeing himself and Sakura in within this carriage. "Is there something anyone wants to do?" he asked. Yuuya remained silent. No way was he going to say whatever the first thing in his mind was, just as Charlemagne was avoiding the topic of his own actual thoughts. For some, this was probably going to be a very long trip.

Martha was certainly going to assault Astolfo after their landing. Good. He could probably get the exact results he'd been looking for if she did, though she seemed to be refusing any blame for his satisfaction. That wouldn't work. She had to remember, he was Astolfo. The moment she didn't actively stop him, she guaranteed additional strangeness for a long time to come. "Today, I pray to the goddess!" he insisted. What goddess? Well, his more pointed groping and hip-oscillating implied that Martha was the alleged goddess. She was built like one, so why not? She could easily have the worship of Astolfo, and indeed she would! They were even descending from the heavens, as the lower world would see in due time. What could possibly be more fitting?

[Apollymi]

Yume went to sleep without much provocation and Yuuya, poor lad, was left to deal with the lass being stretched out across his lap. 'Gambareyo,' Anais mentioned within her own mind space. She expected her pushy friend to be pushy, her being this way with literally everyone was surprising, but it seemed she'd gotten over what few inhibitions she had left. Given the sorts of things they'd both been through already, she likely wasn't capable of feeling anything but sure of herself, well all of that was fine.

In the meantime, Charles was answering the questions of Sakura about trips. There were usually more sights to see he claimed. And beyond that they were usually a group traveling that knew each other... so they joked, played games and the like. "Sou ka," Sakura curious about the activities mentioned, and also wondered if they had anything to do with the other feelings. He asked if anyone had anything they wanted to do... and Anais couldn't really think of anything in particular. "I don't have anything in particular in mind. I could play something to avoid the deafening silence. Oh and warn you and everyone else that if we're going back to our world you might have to pry my corpse away from a piano later..." she murmured. Actually, all the oddities of their trip back aside, she was quite looking forward to laying hands on her favorite instrument. It would definitely take the edge off everything else. Classical would do... "I also still have your playing cards, if you wanted them back..." Anais mentioned, even without looking up. She'd been going through her bag earlier and had seen the small box of playing cards. She'd reach into her bag and hold out the lad's box which was pretty elaborate all the while she was fishing out an instrument which was like a small harp... which she thought would sound good inside of this space.

Apparently Astolfo planned to pray to a goddess. It took no real leaps to understand he meant Martha. She knew he carried that reference for her, and though she wasn't one who would have compared herself to a goddess, it was still nice to hear. She also wasn't particularly naive, but she also never really felt like stopping Astolfo from his fun most of the time. "I don't need worship... I need to make sure we don't crash... it's like you forget we have jobs to do," she claimed knowing that reason wasn't something the lad had a lot of to start with. Oh well, he wasn't really getting in the way and if nothing else he would be receiving quite the beating when this carriage landed.

[Bloodedge]

Anais had a couple of suggestions for their activity as a group. Beyond having instruments she could play, she was in possession of Charlemagne's playing cards. That was enough to drag his hand away from Sakura, as Charlemagne was quick to take those cards and begin rapidly shuffling the deck with the ease of a sword master performing practice swings. "Oh, awesome! I thought I left these behind in a village somewhere!" he exclaimed. As for peeling Anais's corpse away from a piano, Charlemagne had no negatives to say about her attachment. "I probably won't do it. I've got AoE cards to find," he stated. Just then, while playing around with the cards he had, Charlemagne had a wonderful idea. "Y'know, I've got the grail, and it fills with holy wine or something like that. We could play Kings. . ."

Charlemagne's suggestion had an obvious implication to Ailen, who was not particularly interested based on said implication. "A drinking game, I assume. I will refrain, but... is that a miniature harp you have there? If you would like to play some game that requires your hands, I am a capable harpist. You could entrust music to me," the elf suggested. In truth, he was being quite modest. Harps were a staple of elven society, and he had thousands of years' practice.

One person who enjoyed the game of Kings was Astolfo. Sadly, he was not in the cabin. Well... his situation couldn't be very sad at all with two hands full of flesh bags and a plump rear to rub his cock against once he wedged himself into the space well enough. "Blah blah, crash into what?! A hard cloud?!" he offered as a counterpoint. "It is the solemn duty of Astolfo to give a body like this the attention it deserves! C'mon, loosen up a little! These rides are so boring and so loooong!" he griped. Just at the end there, it seemed Astolfo was aiming for some sort of double entendre. While he was complaining about the length of a trip, he decided to show a very physical example of his own ridiculous length ─ the same length that would leave many questioning how he kept it under a skirt of any sort. That length, he chose to showcase by working it between Martha's buttocks ─ a favorite pastime of Astolfo's.

[Apollymi]

Charles was happy to see his playing cards. Apparently, he thought he'd left them behind in a village they'd visited. "You had... admittedly Bradie is way worse about keeping up with things than anyone, but... no big deal," Anais mentioned as she held that little harp within her hands. She'd planned to play it a bit, and get a feel for it after developing something of an odd desire about the instrument. 'Don't look at him while he's shuffling cards. Don't look. Don't. Look.' Anais thought hearing the precision of those flickering cards and knowing exactly how his hands were working. She had to stop, keeping her eyes closed and trying to concentrate on something else, anything else, like... the sound of Yume's heartbeat. Yes, that would suffice. At the same time, Sakura was watching as Charles shuffled cards. She found the showing of dexterity to be fairly interesting. It would appear that the lad had quite a few skills which had gone unseen to this point. And she'd be keeping an eye on him. He suggested for their activity, a game which made Anais's brow raise and blanked her panic. "Kings..." she said giving it a bit of thought, she'd seen this game played quite a few times. She understood its mechanics but she hadn't ever participated herself. She did, say earlier she wished to have a drinking experience among her friends and she had none better presently than Charles and Yume. Beyond that, it would seem her harp would be taken from her... or rather Ailen wouldn't be participating in the game and would opt playing the instrument instead. 'Accept the distraction. Do it!~' her inner voice was excited about the idea.

For just a moment, Anais thought she should worry about the fact that her internal voice wanted something. But... it seemed to be less worth the effort of worrying about. She handed over that harp after giving herself a bit of gentle contemplation. "Fine. I'll leave my little harp in capable hands~" she said slightly teasing. Though her mentor had used a rather bland descriptor for his ability... she was almost certain it was misleading at best. "Drinking game?" this was the question of Sakura. She could understand there was some sort of game that could be played with cards. She could piece together that the name of such a game was Kings... and several other things. But she couldn't imagine how drinking would be a game.

While those in the back seemed to be moving towards a game, Martha seemed to be, moving towards more avid molestation at Astolfo's hands. If nothing else, the lad's persistence was something she didn't really understand. He seemed to be quite enjoying the act of wedging himself between her cheeks. "Yeah a hard cloud, other flying objects, animals... I mean... there are a lot of things... that could happen," Martha's words were spaced. Why this lad had taken up molesting the person driving she didn't know. He claimed he wished to worship her body but for someone like Martha this almost didn't make sense, she wasn't exactly living up to her full body or anything, nor was she the kind of person who needed extra physical reassurance. In truth, she knew that Astolfo was like this, but it was quite a distraction to deal with while trying to make sure none of them died today. Moveover the lad had some very pointed words, including the hint at his rather, admittedly impressive manhood. "Look that is... admittedly impressive. But I'm still just going to kick your ass... " she said, nothing about her body could truly relax at a time like this. It was going to be a long ride, until they made ground fall and she could beat up Astolfo without it being a potential end to the lives of multiple people.

[Bloodedge]

"... True," he agreed. Bradamante was far from the best in terms of keeping possessions in order, though she remained leagues better than Astolfo in terms of trustworthiness in that regard. With the two of them handy previously, Anais was most likely the savior of the journey. They would have otherwise returned with... probably nothing they left with or collected. Whatever the case, Charlemagne continued his absentminded card-shuffling. The full deck was being sent from one hand to the other, each card fluttering through the air until the full stack was collected on the opposite end. Each time that occurred, he returned it the other way and went back to shuffling for a moment. Sakura had questioned the game of Kings... or rather drinking games in general, so he took the time to explain. "Drinking games are just fun ways to pass the time in groups. It's a social activity where individual losses throughout the game result in taking a drink, and the game goes... in this case, until there are no cards left. Kings works like this: everybody gets a normal cup to drink from. In the center, there's a large cup... which I guess would be the full grail since it's our source of alcohol anyway. That one is for the King's Cup, which will come up later. Each player takes turns to draw a card, and each card has a criteria for players to meet. The Ace is 'Waterfall', which... by a house rule I refuse to ignore, just means everyone takes a drink. Two is for you, which means the turn player makes two selections to drink, even if it's the same person twice. Three is for me ─ the turn player drinks. Four is whores ─ women drink. Five is Thumb Master, which normally means any time you put your thumb on the table, everyone has to, and the last person to do it has to drink. That rule applies until someone else becomes the 'thumb master' buuuut... since we're not at a table, we should decide another gesture to take its place. Six is dicks ─ men drink. Seventh Heaven ─ the last player to raise their hand has to drink. Eight is mate ─ friends drink, as in the player and one person they select normally. Nine is rhyme ─ The turn player starts with a word, and everyone goes in order to say a word that rhymes with it. The first to fail, drinks. Ten is... categories. Weird one. The turn player names a category, and everyone lists a thing that fits that category. Same as the previous card, but with a different topic. With new players, Never have I ever is usually attributed to the Jack card. Each player claims a thing they've never done, and anyone who has done the thing in question, has to drink. It's a good way to get to know people while playing. Queen is Questions ─ the turn player starts by asking a question. The point is to not answer, but ask someone else a question instead. Whomever fails to ask a question, drinks. Lastly, King's Cup. When you draw a King, you add to the King's Cup. Whichever player draws the fourth King has to do the same... and then drink the entire King's Cup. For fun, we could also add in King's Rule, which involves each person who draws a King creating a rule to be followed until the next King. The rule can be anything you think of."

While Charlemagne's long explanation of a social game was going on, Ailen laid claim to Anais's instrument. A few plucks of a few strings followed as he adjusted to a far smaller harp than he'd ever made use of before. With nineteen strings, it was quite different from the lyres he'd seen many bards use. He realized it could be played in a very familiar way. Ah, there was a piece he'd once composed for the high council of Sumurset. It was a piece originally played at dusk as the first star of night became visible. That very same star was a symbol of a new era ─ the end of a starless sky. Ailen dedicated his song to that very star which heralded the dawn of Sumurset. It was only fitting, given the situation of many within this carriage, that he play it once again. "Hmm. Evenstar may not be fit for such rambunctiousness, but... I suppose that is what new eras are like," he mused to none other than himself. With that thought in mind, the elf closed his eyes and began to play. . .

All the while, Astolfo was making progress that seemed dubious, but... he firmly believed that if it didn't fall under the umbrella of non-consentual, it was only consent in the making. Besides, Martha's words were becoming spaced while she listed things they were realistically unlikely to encounter on this arduous journey to the lower world. "There are a lot of things that could happen, a lot of things that won't happen... a lot of things that should happen~♥" he countered during an uplifting squeeze to the saint's bosom and an opposing grind against her backside. By now, he had become the back of her chair, and his groin was well-placed for his own satisfaction. Martha thought to continue threatening him; he didn't care. Such things were beyond the realm of risk, having already become certainty. If she was going to assault him anyway, why would he not make the most of things before that came to be? "Yeah yeah, you said that already! If you're going to kick mine anyway..." Astolfo paused there, taking the time to shift himself a bit more. Doing so landed him next to Martha's ear, where he had some choice words to whisper before his teeth sank into her helix. "Then why don't I fuck yours first~♥"

[Apollymi]

Rules. Apparently this drinking game was used for the sake of people getting to know each other and for fun but it was full of rules. Each card's numerical value had a specific sentence and phrasing associated with it. Sakura took in all this information with a great deal of ease, while, Anais was already familiar with it. The elafia wondered quite a few things. Where had Charles picked up this game? Given his Japanese descent she wanted to assume it was on this world and not their home. But.... she couldn't be certain given the lad seemed to make friends with such a varied group of people. Still specifically the reference for the number four had a very negative connotation on the world they were from and less of one here. Whatever the case, she wasn't about to argue semantics of a game, she wasn't that sort of person. All the same, Sakura was watching the lad shuffle cards with a fixed gaze. That amount of dexterity and the special touch it had to take to get the cards to move so fluidly from one hand to another had some very serious implications. "Those are a lot of rules..." Sakura said calmly still her eyes hadn't shifted at all. Anais looked at the lass and followed the line of her sight to Charles hands and understood what she was doing. 'Oh no. I got caught up and looked! But... she's watching too, maybe I shouldn't feel so odd about it. I'm not the only one watching like this.' thought the girl. 'Of course you aren't the only one. Why shouldn't you take note of something that could be useful~' her internal voice mentioned.

As if to punctuate her thoughts and draw attention to it. Ailen began to play that little harp. Her hands empty she sank from her seat into the floor of the carriage knowing a card game was on the table and fully feeling it would be better in general for their playing. Still her eyes would be trained upon the nimble movements of fingers across those strings and her ears would be twitching to the gentle melody. According to Ailen the sound wasn't meant for something so rambunctious as their drinking game initially, but given its slow and melodic start up, Anais could think of a few evolutions to it which could make it so... "Eh? It's really great...I could see using a few of those chord progressions as part of something else. But this is really nice on its own~" she mused seemingly enjoying the sound. Of course, Sakura would continue observe the movements of Charles hands but she also hadn't missed the movements of Anais's eyes either mostly due to the gentle shift in her desires initially.

Meanwhile, the drivers of the carriage were a bit busy themselves. At the very least, Martha was being treated to the rowdy behavior of Astolfo and his lack of human logic. He was rather dubiously pursuing her and she was... for all she could do, trying her best to avoid something odd happening. Of course, this seemed less and less likely as the lad basically worked himself into being her seat in a way which was leading to something almost sexual in nature. Why this had gotten so far she didn't know but his words implied that he didn't fully realize her potential issues with this sort of thing. "Look, I get that you're already wound up this far, but you already admitted to being like this to start with... it doesn't really have anything to do with me..." she wouldn't get all the way through that. He was still molesting her and it was admittedly quite hard to concentrate. Why this lad chose such a time as this to sexually harass her she didn't know. Surely he should realize his attention was better off elsewhere. She wasn't some goddess nor some kind of epic hero gamer person. She was just a history teacher who did a bit of professional fighting when she was young. There was literally nothing that should have been gaining her this much interest from anyone at all. Life taught her that a long time ago and yet here Astolfo was, throwing himself right at her. In fact it was more than that as he continued shifting himself in such a way as to leave him the ability to technically be her chair for the duration of this trip. He even claimed if she was going to beat him up, then he might as well. Did he really think like that? Yes, well if his erection wasn't proof enough that bite to her ear seemed to be disarming in someway. Enough to make her body relax quite a bit, was she really about to end up having sex for the first time, in two lifetimes with... Astolfo? Could she even remember the last time a man hit on her and she took it in a friendly way... and seriously?

[Bloodedge]

According to Sakura, the list of rules for the game of Kings was quite long. He was sure she had no issue retaining them, and equally sure that it wasn't so long a list after all. "It's really not that many. Even the simpler trading card games have way more rules than this," he claimed. Charlemagne failed to realize there were eyes on him for any reason, but he did take note of the music played by Anais's elven mentor. It really wasn't a song suitable to drinking games, but for some reason, Charlemagne couldn't truly claim it was inappropriate for anything. "I like it too. I could drink to it," he said. Ailen had no comment for the appreciation; he would accept it from both parties in silence. For Anais's observation about chord changes, however, he had some choice words. "If you see fit to modify this piece, I would love to hear what you make of it. I, however, cannot change a thing. This melody has great cultural significance; I could not personally bring myself to make changes."

While Ailen continued to play, Charlemagne took note of Anais's new position. He supposed Yuuya wouldn't be moving about very easily, so she must have been placing herself in a better position for the group as a whole. Whether her reason was that or a simple seeking of comfort, he respected the choice. The end of mindless shuffling heralded the summoning of Charlemagne's grail. He needed only one thing, and they could begin. "Annie, cups?" he requested. Placing the deck in his own lap, Charlemagne also took the liberty of drawing and flipping the first card. What he drew was... the four of spades. "Aaaand first round goes to not me! Let's go!" he exclaimed immediately. With that, he'd hold up the grail and prepare to pour two cups right away.

Astolfo was making some headway for what felt... strangely like the umpteenth time today. He wasn't exactly sure where that feeling came from, but it didn't matter; he was having a grand time at present. On the other hand, Martha offered more naysaying. Ah, but something about her statement seemed incomplete. A bit of groping, grinding and nibbling seemed all it took to remove the saint's built-up tension. Glorious progress! Astolfo's lips curled upward around her ear, and he spoke with that ear still between his teeth. "Aha! Looks like something matters!" he stated. If he had his way, Astolfo would soon be in the middle of some juicy scandalous behavior in the middle of the sky. As if to celebrate the chance alone, he let the tongue protrude from his mouth and travel directly into the purple-haired woman's upper ear. "Oooh, but what is it? Something made a difference~♥"

[Apollymi]

Sakura had eyes for only Charles, this much was obvious to some. Why she was looking? Well, that was something Anais understood the same way she understood her own wandering gazes. Still the lad seemed to be curiously unknowing about the effect he was having on the girls thought pattern. He claimed that there were more rules in trading card games, "I can't say I understand the concept but you seem to have a good understanding of it, explain it to me sometime..." Sakura said as she watched the lad further. It really was quite interesting, seeing his hands move with such dexterity. Did he know he could apply his skills across numerous activities? She could assume not, but maybe he simply hadn't given it thought. As they spoke of Ailen's playing it seemed that only music was truly being discussed. The shift in position of the elafia put her as a go between for the space. "Hai hai, if I was to make those kinds of edits... it would have to be on the other side. But I'd play it for you, Shishou..." Anais mentioned. As for the call for cups that was a matter which would garner her attention.

"Hai hai," she murmured reaching into her bag. "I still haven't made cups for this group. Remind me to make cups for this group..." she murmured. Doing so now, she'd use the cups she'd already made, much like offering one to Yume the previous night. She removed her own, with the little stag head carved into the side. She removed Charles's with it's fleur de luer. One was needed for Yuuya and she saw... the cross and shield, the cup that belonged to Turpin. After talking with Yuuya for a while... she got that kind of feeling from him and handed it to him, without having to reach too far. She found herself looking at Sakura for a few seconds.... as she gave it some thought, and then she settled in her thoughts, and pulled the cup which belonged to Janessa, one with a pictogram of a pair of lips with fangs... and handed that one to her. Yes this was the group she thought, and apparently there would be cup filling. Sakura looked at her cup for a moment and then back at Anais. "What do the symbols mean?" she asked as she held her cup to be filled but inspected it just the same. "You know when we decided to play a drinking game I didn't expect to have to drink first..." Anais mentioned. "They are ownership marks. I made these for our group, so they have symbols on them which relate to each of them..." she explained. Waiting for her cup to be filled and Sakura's supposing that they would be drinking first. And whenever both were filled she'd raise her cup to Sakura and tap them together gently, "Kampai~" she'd murmur before taking that first drink.

While a drinking game started with some interesting music in the back. In the front Martha was having all her resistance worn down by Astolfo. This lad was truly a problematic individual. Astolfo had made Martha his desired target and she was unused to the attention and even less used to the seriousness of his offer. That little manuever with her ear had her practically squirming against him. She knew that sex and the like wouldn't affect her Sainthood or anything like that, she wasn't worried about it as a matter of a simple action, it just seemed so... unnecessary. Well, that was kind of Astolfo in a nutshell, "Look you can't... ha..." she wasn't making sense and she knew it. The longer this contact remained the less she seemed likely to remove herself. Now there was a tongue protruding and touching her ear and a question being asked, "You really don't make sense you know? This isn't something you should be doing with me..." Well, there was this last ditch effort. Perhaps he'd come to his senses and realize how very normal she was... and how little his actions needed to be directed at her. She really didn't seek this sort of thing, and the offer while flattering wasn't necessary, she wasn't bothered by his antics but she also didn't really understand why they were being directed towards her.

[Bloodedge]

Charlemagne would certainly ─ happily, even ─ explain the nuances of trading cards to Sakura. In fact, he'd explain them to anyone who had an interest in learning the games. In that regard, he could understand Sakura and the people of Munetsuchi for their knowledge-sharing propensity. "Yeah, I'll show you! If you want to play when we get to our world, we can!" he said chipperly. Speaking of the other side, Anais claimed any rewriting of Ailen's song would have to be done there. He wasn't quite sure why, but he supposed he'd be finding out eventually. "And I will gladly listen. This is already quite different to its original version due to the instrument alone. It's almost lyre-sized, but not quite the same sound I recall from them. Though it is also far from a traditional harp," he mused absently.

Anais produced four cups, excluding only the elf and the sleeping demoness from her offering. Yuuya tentatively reached out only when handed one. "Eh? Do you really want me involved?" the lad wondered, a lack of steadiness to his hand that just barely touched the offered cup. Meanwhile, Charlemagne was tilting the grail over each of the four cups. Ah, but he'd soon have to pour the rounds Anais and Sakura would need for later. "Of course, dude! We're only excluding him because he wants to be, and her because she decided to sleep," Charlemagne said as he considered a bit of deviousness when mentioning Yume. "... Huh. I wonder if we should draw on her for the party foul." Whatever the case, two drinks would be drank, and two refills would be offered for later. Charlemagne would also be sliding that flipped four of spades onto the bottom of the deck, upside-down to mark the end of their game when it reappeared. With that, he handed the deck to Anais.

Meanwhile, Astolfo kept himself busy by trying to hand himself to the illustrious Saint Martha. Unnecessary was a description that could be applied to most things Astolfo did, but he saw them differently. Exploring the saint's interior was a necessity. Masterpieces were to be appreciated as nature intended, and he considered himself quite the appraiser. Despite Martha's words of caution, nothing about his approach even slowed. "Wroooong! Why shouldn't I do it?" he inquired. She was here, she was physically receptive to his actions, and she was undoubtedly worth pursuing. Adding to that the other benefits of fooling around here and now, Astolfo saw no negatives. "Look, look, we're in the sky at the front of a carriage! Isn't it exciting to think about being bent over the rail? Or using the rail as support, frontside or backside? Or using me as support? Or taking the safe route and doing something with this awesome rack?"

[Apollymi]

There was a cementing of a future plan in order. Apparently, some time during their escapades on Gaia, Sakura would learn the nature of trading card games and it would be Charles to teach her. He seemed so very excited in a way she understood that she smiled softly given his words. "Hai, Char-kun~" she seemed quite pleased beyond the norm. And this seemed to be a familial trait as Ailen would be told of any edits being made to his song being on the other side of the world as well. He claimed the song he played was already quite different because of the lack of a full-sized harp to play on. "Hai, I had to make a few adjustments, I can't carry around a standard harp. Though I do own one," she mentioned. "The instruments have a bit more... technological development to them, so their sounds are a bit different on our side too..." she said not getting into too many details. She could talk music for hours but this was a drinking game and eventually Yuuya would accept that cup from Anais's hands before she was able to drink her own.

There was the issue of the potential party foul on the demoness who laid sleeping almost immediately after the start of their flight. Anais began to deviously wonder something as she drank that first drink as dictated by the four numbered card. And she twsted it just a bit as she downed that first drink in its entirety. It didn't burn and it tasted so sweet and almost indescribable. It was delicious and... "Dangerous... how do we know when to stop if it tastes that good?" she questioned aloud. "Also you are definitely welcome to join us, you're part of this group with us now..." Anais offered Yuuya, as if the sleeping girl stretched over his lap was proof enough. Moving on... she watched as a gentle color change came to the face of the girl now sleeping. "Sou ka, I don't think she'll be asleep for very long... though if she does, I do have some of Ivy's pens..." Anais mentioned almost ominously. It was ridiculous that she kept that link active across the avatars. More ridiculous that she fell asleep so easily. Well, being impulsive would leave her a bit behind in the moments to come but it didn't matter. Sakura had taken the cheering and drank her own as well. And then both cups were filled again. It would be the deck of cards in her hands next. She pulled from the top the six of diamonds and took pause. 'Dicks! DRINK UP!' these were the words of Sinais. 'Not saying that...' she commented as a point of absolution, her eyes closed for the sake of quieting her inside voice. She could swear in the same moment that the other version of herself was sticking her tongue out at her. "Guys it's your turn, drink up." She said showing the card before also putting hers face up on the bottom. Whenever he was ready to take it the deck would be offered to Yuuya.

Ah, and while a casual drinking game began in earnest within, a different sort of game was unfolding outside. Astolfo made no sense to most people but in very rare situations he seemed to have a better hold on logic than some. In this case, Martha had told him she wasn't one he should be doing this sort of thing with and he claimed she was wrong and wanted to know why. "Look, I'm just me... it's nothing to it. I am sure there are plenty of other people who'd be more worth the time and effort," she managed. She also still fully intended to beat him to a pulp. It would be badly received if he actually managed anything this was the logical thought pattern. Ah, but he'd put a lot of thought into this, it was exciting to him, potentially to take her many ways. To make use of her body... "It's not that sort of thing I think about, you know. This kind of thought is better used on someone who would really understand it and who could... reciprocate it," she said. Yes, she was still trying to be responsible, but this was also somehow flattering. She'd not felt such a confusing set of emotions since before she transferred worlds.

[Bloodedge]

Two original members of this party offered their invitations. With that being the case, he could hardly refuse. That was a first for involvement in his case, and he seemed just slightly emotional about it under the surface. Regardless, he was taking that cup. "H-hai! Onegaishimasu!" he blurted out almost instinctively. Perhaps he could make some actual friends? It was... possible, if implausible.

While the game was beginning, Ailen had a few more comments to share with his apprentice. There was of course the acknowledgement of instruments, but also something else noteworthy regarding her response to the first drink. "You could always grow one. When I have an urge to play again, I form one from wood. Also, you need not worry about drinking. I have just the potion to either cure heavy intoxication, or ensure there is no sickness because of it," he declared most casually.

Moving on, Anais drew her first card. Her words shortly after flipping it implied that the males were to drink next, and indeed she had a six of diamonds in hand. "Oh, that's weird. Everyone doesn't normally end up drinking so soon. It's usually me, then me... then me," Charlemagne said. Both he and Yuuya shared a glance, then drank in unison. Charlemagne gulped the contents of his own cup and reached out to pour three total refills while Yuuya stared into his freshly-emptied cup with a reddened face. "Huh? Is this what alcohol tastes like? It's... it's good," he commented. His was the next draw, and possibly his worst. Yuuya flipped the top card of the deck, showing a seven of diamonds. Charlemagne's hand rose without hesitation, nearly slapping the carriage roof. Yuuya, however, hesitated. He had a cup and a deck of cards in hand, and the legs of a sleeping girl in his lap. He couldn't just move so suddenly, so instead... he nervously downed another cup as if to take an immediate loss.

All the while, Martha was insisting upon her own mediocrity. Poppycock, Astolfo thought. More naysaying wasn't going to do much for her cause. "... Where?" Astolfo asked, his tone implying a certain amount of disgust for the suggestion. Martha's lack of belief in her physical self was probably some sort of saintly quality; Astolfo shunned those. "And who said anything about reciprocating? I didn't ask you on a date!" he added. There was one ultimate truth to this discussion, and that truth was still being ground against the saint's backside. Astolfo didn't give himself a raging erection. "But I am saying you should take responsibility. Hard Astolfo is sad Astolfo if you're not gonna do anything with this! And your body wants it like it wants you. Take it~♥"