#team CRDM

[sustraiii]

TEAM KWTZ CHAPTER 4: ONWARD

KWTZ begins their journey to the town of Silbern, but it quickly becomes apparent that their journey won’t be without difficulty.

TILIA

Two days after discussions had taken place, Team KWTZ found themselves ready to head to the town of Silbern. They had been waiting for Lin's response on the matter and Tilia was relieved to hear she would be coming with them. Of course, she wouldn't have faulted her teammate for wanting to return to her own home, but she was pleased to see Lin would be tagging along.

With everyone on board, Kieran chartered an airship to carry them to Silbern. Transport in and out of Vale was still slow following the events at Beacon but with the Grimm number slowly getting under control things had started to pick up again.

That morning, KWTZ, along with Perry and Roisin, arrived at the airship ready to head off. They were met by a rather frazzled looking pilot, who stopped them from boarding by coming out to speak with them. He was smoking a cigarette, and let out a puff of smoke before speaking.

"Are you the party heading to Silbern today?" He asked.

"That's us," Kieran nodded in confirmation. He pulled out the passes from a back pocket and flashed them at the pilot for further proof. "Is there a problem at all?"

"A little, yeah," He admitted, before flicking the butt of the cigarette to the floor and stamping it out with his foot. "Apparently there's a no-fly zone in effect around Silbern."

"Why?" Roisin asked, stepping forward to stand beside her twin. "Is this due to what happened in Vale?"

The pilot shrugged. "Not sure but it means I wouldn't be able to fly you directly into the town."

Like Tilia, Kieran seemed to pick up on his tone. "But could you get us close?" He prompted.

"I can drop you a few miles out," The pilot responded after considering his answer for a moment. "You'd have to trek through the woods though which could be a bit risky based on the reports of Grimm overrunning the place lately.”

“We’ve dealt with worse,” Roisin tells him flatly. Her tone did not go unnoticed by Kieran, who Tilia caught side-eyeing his sister.

The pilot also noticed the look and raised a quizzical brow. "You weren't in Vale when all this went down were you?" He asked. Kieran nodded reluctantly and the pilot shook his head. "Sorry to hear that. What happened there was awful, truly awful. My daughter worked at the CCT in the city and barely made it out herself. She lost some good people that night."

"So did we," Perry muttered quietly from somewhere behind the group.

"Listen, if you are still set on going to Silbern I can get you there. As I said, I won't be able to get you straight into the town, but I'll get as close as I can, within reason of course," The pilot said, steering the conversation back on track. "If you're ready to go, we can set off now. I don't have any more flights booked today so I can go at any time but I suspect you wouldn't appreciate having to trek through the woods at night."

Kieran gave a small nod in confirmation and the pilot gestured for them to get into the airship. After a few quick safety checks and a stuttering start, they were up in the skies above Vale. The pilot kept a good speed and in just under two hours they were within sight of their destination. They passed over a small farm before the airship began to descend, landing near the border of the dense woodlands that hid Silbern. Once they were safely touching the ground, the pilot informed them they were safe to get out.

The pilot wished them all good luck before he flew away, the winds generated by his airship, buffering the nearby trees and making them sway in response. They would watch until the airship disappeared in the distance before Kieran urged them forward, explaining it would only be a short trek until they reached Silbern.

Lin and Perry led the group forward, with Wyn and Roisin following close after, and Tilia and Kieran falling in at the rear.

As they walked, Tilia couldn't help but be reminded of the Emerald Forest or Forever Fall. However, it didn't seem as densely packed as its counterparts, nor did it appear to encompass such a large area. What it did seem to have over them was its exceptionally large trees, which extended so far into the sky Tilia thought she would have to lie on her back to understand the full scale of them.

Up ahead Wyn was currently sharing stories of his home with Roisin. He had made a comment about how the woods reminded him of home and Roisin had asked him to tell her more, admitting with a rueful tone that she knew little of Midge's home.  

Turning away from those in front, Tilia glanced towards Kieran who walked at her side. "So," she began, "are you sure your old man is going to be happy about the six of us turning up out of the blue?"

"Well, he wouldn't turn us away if that's what you're implying," Kieran chuckled.

"Neither would mine," Tilia laughed in response. "But I also doubt my parents would be impressed if I just showed up at our house without warning." Especially her mother. Reseda Bosco was not a cruel woman by any stretch of the means but she didn't handle surprises very well.

"We have more than enough room," Kieran assured her, giving her a small smile as he did. "Just don't mind some of the clutter."

“Can’t be any worse than all of my brother's textbooks taking up the room in our house,” Tilia laughed loudly. “I swear it seems as though we only sent Dante to Astrolabe so he could gather more books.”

It looked as though Kieran was going to say something more, but before he had the chance to do so, Wyn’s voice cut through the air.

“Did anyone else hear that?”

“Hear what?” Perry asked.

“I’m not sure…” Wyn frowned a little as his voice trailed off. 

The group paused for a moment and waited to see if they heard any noises. When nothing happened, Tilia put her hands on her hip and gave her teammate a stern look. “Are you pulling our leg or something, Wyn?”

He shook his head and just as he was about to further plead his case, the strangest sound reached their ears. At first, it sounded like barking but as the sound continued to repeat more and more it began to sound almost like laughter. 

"Is that laughter?" Perry asked, looking around curiously. At the mention of the word 'laughter', Roisin and Kieran both tensed, sharing a worried look between them. They know what this is, Tilia realised with a sudden jolt. 

Even without prompting from Kieran, she was reaching for the hilt of her sword, knowing a battle was imminent.

"What are we dealing with here?" Tilia asked, glancing at Kieran for an answer.

"It's-"

But before Kieran had the opportunity to give an answer, a Grimm broke through the bushes, mouth agape as it tried to latch onto an arm. It was a good job the group were alert of something going on around them as Kieran could have wound up with a Grimm hanging onto his arm had he not ducked out of the way in time. Having missed its target, the Grimm continued moving forward, only coming to a stop as it bumped into a tree. The Grimm gave a shake before turning to the group, its mouth drawn back into a snarl. Looking at it face on, Tilia could see it was vaguely canine in appearance, more so in its head than anywhere else, with a long muzzle and pointed ears. It was around the same size as a Sabyr, though its body was more on the compact side. The Grimm lacked a tail and had minimal bone plating, which could be found on its shoulders, rump, and the joints of its hind legs. Its most dangerous weapon appeared to be its jagged teeth, until Tilia was aware of sharp claws on its front paws, which extended and retracted eerily as it moved forward until it settled on leaving them exposed.

The Grimm raised its head in the air and started to make the laughter noise again, which to Tilia's displeasure was echoed by more Grimm hidden in the overgrowth. After a moment, more began to appear, until they were surrounded by at least nine of them, maybe more if the shuffling that could still be heard all around them was anything to go by.

Whilst the rest of her teammates hurried to draw their weapons, Tilia made quick work of the Grimm that was focused on Kieran. As it was distracted, Tilia was able to sneak up closer to it, using her shield to hold it off before she plunged her sword into its gaping maw.

"One down!" She yelled confidently. A lot more to go.

"Keep your guard up everyone!" Kieran instructed, moving backwards until he was back to back with Tilia. He gripped his claymore with both hands, watching two of the Grimm carefully, waiting for them to dive. "Do not let the Prowlers get you on your own. This is what they do best - surround an opponent and overwhelm them into submission."

With six of them against the Grimm, Tilia was sure they'd have been able to hold them off. However, it was still unclear just how many Prowlers there actually were hiding in the bushes.

Split into three pairs, they made a valiant attempt to make a stand against the Grimm. It was going well until more Prowlers creeped out, replacing their fallen comrades almost as fast as they could kill them. The Grimm hadn't caused any physical damage to them but the sheer number of them against the six of them was beginning to exhaust them. Not only that but it was beginning to get difficult to attack them without leaving themselves vulnerable to another. Staying close together was working in their favour but there was no telling how long they could keep it up.

Another Prowler dared to get close to Kieran and Tilia. Tilia pushed it backwards with a heavy shove from her shield and Kieran finished it off with a clean swing of his sword. It didn't take long for a second to try its luck but it never even made it close. There was a high pitched whistling sound, and instinctively, Tilia glanced in Lin's direction thinking it was one of her arrows. However, Lin was preoccupied fending off her own Prowler, shooting an arrow into its eye.

So what made the noise?

Tilia soon got her answer when out of nowhere a spinning shield appeared and sliced the head clean off the Prowler before getting lodged in the bark of the tree closest to them. Tilia blinked in surprise but before she could say anything regarding what had happened the shield began to move. A purple glow emanated within it, gravity dust inside activating and dislodging it from the tree before it got pulled back upwards and back to the arm of its owner, a shadowy figure who waited perched on a tree branch above them.

“Who is that?” Tilia asked, which drew everyone’s attention upwards. She heard a small noise from Roisin and turned her head to see her smiling.

“It’s the help we need to get out of here,” Roisin answered.

The figure swept the cloak they were wearing out of the way, revealing a concealed weapon they had been holding in their hand. It was a hatchet of some variety, with what looked to be some gun functionality if the shots that soon followed were anything to go by. A quick spray of bullets took out two of the Prowlers close to the group and drew the attention of the Grimm in their direction. The figure dived off the branch, twisting their body mid-air just before they hit the ground so that they were able to perfectly time the moment they drove the blade of their hatchet into the body of a Prowler.

The cloaked figure did not wait to see the Grimm dissipate before continuing to move towards them, taking out another four Prowlers before they reached the six of them. Tilia watched in awe as they swapped between their shield and hatchet, slicing through the Grimm with frightening ease.

With the Prowlers now at a more manageable number, the rest of the group were able to get through the rest of them with little difficulty. Tilia carved through one of the Grimm with her semblance, unleashing a build up of energy that she had been steadily storing up with her prior attacks. She straightened her posture and suddenly twist her head, aware of a presence she could see out of the corner of her. The cloaked figure was standing close to her, watching her silently. Suddenly, they tensed and pulled up their hatchet so it almost looked as though they were aiming at Tilia. 

"Duck." A masculine voice calmly instructed.

She raised a brow, almost about to snap something back at him, and then she heard a shuffling sound behind her and the familiar laughter of one of the Prowlers. Tilia crouched swiftly, narrowly avoiding a Prowler taking her out from behind. The man who had been helping them fired off two shots in quick succession and the Prowler was gone. He twirled the hatchet in his hand and slid it back into a side holster.

He took a moment to survey the area before turning back to the group. "I think we're safe for now."

The man reached back and pulled down the hood of his cloak revealing his face. He had a surprisingly youthful face overall, though it was hard to put an exact age on him, Tilia found. Faint wrinkles at the corner of his hazel eyes, and a long scar that ran from his cheek and down below his collar worked against the youthful air about him. His dark hair was slicked back neatly, a few strands sat out of place now following his battle against the Prowlers. Looking at him fully, Tilia could see a vague resemblance to Kieran in him, but only in the way they dressed and the way they carried themselves. He also had the same intense stare, though the older man’s expression softened with recognition once a moment had passed.

“What are you two doing here?” He asked, directing his question at Kieran and Roisin.

Kieran looked uncharacteristically sheepish following the question and waved a hand nervously. "Uh, h-hi uncle Colin," He stammered.

"Hello," The man grunted, scarcely acknowledging the greeting. He crossed his arms. "I'll ask again - what are you doing here?"

"We were coming home," Kieran explained. "We needed to get away from Vale after everything that happened. I thought it would be a good idea to recuperate here for a while."

The mention of Vale made their uncle ease his stance. He let out a small sigh and uncrossed his arms. "You know we didn't know what happened in Vale for about a week after we lost signal," Colin began to explain. "The last images we saw were from the festival just as it appeared as though Atlas had attacked. Your father was beside himself with worry when we couldn't get ahold of either of you. I haven't seen him like that for years, not since we lost our dad or...your mother." There was a moment of silence before Colin stepped forward, hugging Kieran first, before moving to his niece. “I’m glad you’re both safe.”

He let his niece go and took a step back. "Make no doubt about it, Daragh will be delighted to see you both again but you chose a hell of a time to come home.”

"Because of the Prowlers?" Wyn asked.

"Because of all of the Grimm," Colin corrected.

"I'm surprised Silbern was so badly affected by what happened in Vale," Roisin said. "It's not like we live that close to the city."

"Well, matters there probably won't have helped to be honest," Colin conceded, "but things were looking bad before the fall."

"How so?" Lin inquired.

Colin looked around and made a vague gesture to the woods. "The past three months the Grimm activity around Silbern has practically exploded for lack of a better word. Nearly every day, more and more Grimm get drawn to the town and I'm none the wiser as to why," Colin explained. He shook his head in visible frustration. "You saw how many Prowlers there were just now. An average pack size is around six or seven. What attacked you was closer to twenty."

"That does seem a lot when you put it like that," Wyn admitted with a mumble.

"It is but Prowlers are relative small fry compared to some of the Grimm we've had in recent weeks," Colin told them. "Usually I'd be able to handle them pretty well on my own but that amount of them and my own fatigue from the past few days definitely would have caught me out if the six of you weren't here."

"What about the other Silbern huntsmen?" Roisin asked, her voice surprisingly sharp as she asked this. "Haven't they been helping?"

"Oh, Ruka and Esmerelda have been pulling their weight here and there at least. Can't say so much for the other two," Colin answered with a sneer.

"Cheren and Datura?" Kieran queried.

"Cheren is getting on in age now so I'm willing to give him some benefit of the doubt but Datura has no excuse. He's just a lazy bas-AHEM!" Colin forced a loud cough to clear his throat. "Enough of that, you kids didn't come here to listen to my grievances. Kee, Ros, are you going to introduce me?"

"Uncle Colin these are my teammates Wyn, Tilia, and Lin," Kieran introduced the team in turn, giving a moment between each name for Colin to shake their hands.

The next introduction was Perry's, which to no surprise from Tilia was done so rather awkwardly. For a long moment, Roisin said and did nothing, a nervous expression playing on her features. 

"This is my teammate Perry Estrada," Roisin finally said, gesturing towards Perry. The Vacuan man tilted the brim of his hat before stepping forward and shaking his hand as the three of them had done priorly.

It was a small mercy that Colin did not pry too much into Roisin's use of "teammate" instead of "teammate's". Perhaps he had an idea why two of PEWT were not present, or perhaps he just had the decency not to ask until they were somewhere more private.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet all of you in person," Colin said, flashing them a small smile, the first Tilia had seen from the man. "Kieran and Roisin have spoken a lot about you."

"I hope we live up to the hype!" Wyn boasted with a hearty laugh. Tilia nudged him gently to be quiet.

"Well, you've made a good impression so far," Colin informed them. "Though I doubt any of us planned for a Prowler fight to be how we all first met."

"I don't think we were expecting such a fight at all, to be honest," Perry quipped.

"Really?” Colin raised his brows in surprise. “Were you not warned prior to flying here?”

It was Tilia who answered for the group, “We had an idea but I doubt any of us realised it would be as bad as you described.”

“I guess that makes some sense,” Colin conceded after a moment. “Mayor Lavendin was trying to keep things controlled about what was happening here but it’s just been getting worse. Unfortunately with both the CCT tower down and our own relay tower needing repairs, it hasn’t exactly been easy getting any updates out.”

“How’s da holding up?” Roisin asked.

“Besides being worried about you two? Fine,” Colin answered quickly. “He’s kept himself busy with his garden and helping out at the Fleece when he can.”

“That’s…good,” Roisin said with a weak smile. “It will be nice to see him again. I’ve missed him.”

“Well, let's not keep you both waiting, hm? I can accompany you all back to town if you like?” Colin offered.

“That would be great thank you,” Kieran responded with a nod. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Not at all,” Colin said. “It would be remiss of me if I just left you all out here alone after that situation with the Prowlers.”

“Then, please, lead on,” Kieran said, gesturing for his uncle to take the lead. “It will be good to finally see home again after so long.”

[sustraiii]

TEAM KWTZ CHAPTER 8: I HEARD A RUMOUR (PART 1)

Silbern celebrates a victory. 

TILIA

Three days after their defeat of the Gashadokuro, Tilia and the rest of her team found themselves drawn into a celebration at the Golden Fleece. 

When they had returned to Silbern, it hadn't taken long for a story about the fight that had occurred to travel around the town. Most Grimm attacks wouldn't have drawn such attention, but a Grimm such as a Gashadokuro was bound to draw some attention.

Many of the citizens of Silbern believed that with the Gashadokuro gone their Grimm problems were solved. A Grimm of such size would have certainly accounted for the spike in activity. For a little while, Tilia was almost inclined to share those beliefs. However, by how busy Colin continued to be, it seemed as though the defeat of the Gashadokuro did little to alter the number of Grimm, if at all. Despite the lack of change, it didn't stop the people of Silbern from wanting to celebrate.

As part of the group who defeated the Grimm, KWTZ and Colin had been invited to the celebrations as guests of honour at the Golden Fleece. Daragh, Roisin, and Perry were all invited along as well and gladly accepted the invitation. Only Colin was less eager to attend, though after some prompting from his brother he finally agreed to join them.

Although they had been invited as guests of honour, it was near impossible for them to get a seat inside the Golden Fleece on the day of the party. To Tilia, it seemed as though the whole town had turned out to celebrate. When they finally got inside, they found the restaurant was almost fit to bursting, though much of the room had been given over to serve as a makeshift dancefloor. The lack of room inside meant that many people were crowding outside of the restaurant and spilling out onto the square.

Tilia enjoyed some of the buffet food with the others before spending most of her time on the dancefloor. Other than Daragh and Colin, all of the group enjoyed their time dancing. Even Roisin joined in, albeit for the slower songs, before retiring and sitting with her father and uncle.

After two hours, only Tilia and Wyn were still dancing, briefly pausing to rest when a romantic song came on. Kieran and Lin had gone to sit with Kieran's family. Perry had been with them too but had since been dragged into several couples dances and group dances by the young people of Silbern.

Tilia could see him now, laughing with three people, before joining back in the dance. It was a lively positive number, with several enthusiastic whoops coming from the dancers and rhythmic clapping from those watching them. Tilia had never heard the music before, but it was hard not to get caught up with the enthusiasm of the people of Silbern. She and Wyn joined in with the dance, trying their best to keep up with the jumps and spins it seemed to entail. They definitely misstepped in places but no one held it against them, only laughing or shaking their heads in amusement when Wyn or Tilia bumped into them or linked arms with the wrong partner.

When they finally left the dancefloor, arms hooked together, hunched over in a fit of giggles, Wyn leaned over to ask her a question. "Where did you learn to dance like that?"

"Do you not think Neela dragged me to every ball or formal party she could?" Tilia responded with a smirk. She could remember those dances fondly, with the two of them getting lost in the music or just having fun by themselves. Tilia had never been very good at the more formal dances such as the waltz, despite her girlfriend's many attempts to teach her the steps, but she had always enjoyed the quickstep and the jive.

"Where did you learn to dance like that?" She asked Wyn, echoing his own question.

"Oh, these sorts of celebrations are fairly common in Benibara," Wyn explained. "We always hold big gatherings like this on the summer and winter equinoxes."

As the two of them reached the table where Kieran, Lin, and the rest of the Peredur family were sitting their teammates gave them a nod of acknowledgement.

Tilia took a seat between Lin and Roisin, whilst Wyn sat next to Colin Peredur.

"Did you two have a fun time?" Kieran asked politely.

Tilia and Wyn both nodded their heads. It was then that Tilia noted that Daragh Peredur was no longer sitting with them.

"Where'd Daragh go?" She inquired.

"Da got called away by some of his friends," Roisin answered. She gestured to where Daragh was laughing with a group of people. "Is Perry still getting pulled into dances by everyone?"

"Oh yeah that redheaded woman pulled him into a dance again," Tilia responded, pointing out where Perry was still dancing. Next to him was the woman in question and two boys a little younger, who were closer to Perry's own age.

Roisin followed Tilia's gesture and nodded her head when she spotted him. "Ah, I see Ruby Atley has dragged him into a dance. Don't think we'll see him again for a while now, not unless Ascelin Rutland comes over and steals her away."

"Who's that?"

"Her fiancé," Roisin responded. "But he's not one for dancing so he probably won't. Then again his younger brothers are the ones dancing with the two of them so who knows maybe he might get encouraged to join.”

The musicians switched to a different uptempo song, and the group watched as Perry and the other dancers got into the swing of things. It was a catchy song, Tilia had to admit, and found herself swaying along to the rhythm. Even Colin - who had been sitting quietly in his chair for most of the party - started tapping his foot in time with the beat of the music.

“Any room for me at this table?”

They were so lost in the music, that none of them heard or saw anyone approach. At the sound of the voice, Tilia turned her head to see a young woman with shockingly blue hair standing next to them. Although they had never met in person, Tilia knew her as Ruka Aoki, who Colin had informed them was one of his other teammates a few days priorly after they had arrived.

She was holding a young toddler in her arms too, though the young boy seemed more interested in dribbling on her shoulder and staring at the dancers behind them at that moment. When Colin saw the woman, he stood up quickly and moved to give her a hug.

“I didn’t think you were coming, Ruka,” He said, as he stepped away.

“I could do with the change of scenery,” Ruka answered. “Especially with this one running rampant at home.” She shifted the young boy in her arms ever so slightly, making it so he was facing the group. 

Colin crouched slightly so he was closer to the young boy’s line of sight, and waggled a finger in front of him. “Oh, I don’t believe someone this cute could be that much trouble,” He cooed in a high-pitched voice.

Ruka made a ‘hrmph’ sound. “You don’t have to live with him.”

Colin straightened up and then held out his arms. “May I?” He asked, indicating he wanted to hold him. With a nod, Ruka gave away her son to Colin, who quite literally welcomed the boy with open arms, whilst she proceeded to sit down in Daragh’s unoccupied seat. As he sat back down Tilia noted how he lit up in the presence of the child, appearing the happiest he had been for days. 

Lin and Wyn were quick to start fussing over the boy, making silly noises and speaking to him in an effort to get him to smile. “What’s his name?” Lin asked, without looking over at Ruka.

“Kaijin,” Ruka answered. “But we all call him Kai for short.”

“He’s gotten so big since I last saw him,” Kieran remarked, watching Lin and Wyn for a moment, before speaking to Ruka.

Ruka chuckled. “To be fair the last time you saw him he was only a few days old. They grow fast when they’re that age.”

"He'll be a regular little huntsman soon then," Tilia joked.

"Maybe," Ruka said, considering the words for a moment. "His father would prefer him not to follow in my footsteps, but we're keeping an open mind to whatever path he decides to take when the time comes."

"Well, if he's anything like his mother, he'll have a fine example to live up to," Colin smiled at Ruka. "And of course, he has his godparents too." There was a teasing tone to his voice as he said that, and Tilia couldn't help but note he winked at Ruka as he spoke, who in turn rolled her eyes playfully in response.

"You sound just like Philippa, you know," Ruka told him. This in turn earned a hearty laugh from Colin, which caused Kaijin to join in as well, even though he didn't understand what the laughter was for. "I've missed this," Ruka said after a moment. "It feels like ages since we've just sat down like this and caught up."

Colin mustered a half-smile. "Yeah, it's nice," He agreed with a nod. "Feels good to take my mind off of things for a little while at least."

"How are you holding up with it all?"

Colin's features dropped a little, though he tried his best not to let the toddler in his lap pick up on his change in mood. "To be quite frank, I'm tired, Roo. I'm running myself ragged trying to keep up with things. Even with the Gashadokuro gone, it feels as though nothing has changed."

Ruka touched her teammate's arm comfortingly. "I'm sorry, Colin. I wish there was more that I could do."

Colin brushed her off gently, but gave her a grateful smile regardless. "No, no, don't think like that Roo. I know you have your reasons for why you can't pick up as many jobs. Likewise for Esmerelda too." He paused for a moment and Tilia watched as his expression shifted into a frown. "The same can't be said for Cheren and Datura. Neither have any excuse for why they're not picking up any jobs right now."

Ruka shifted in her seat. "Well, that might not be strictly true."

Colin arched a brow. "How so?"

Tilia looked at the other woman, watching as she looked around quickly before encouraging the group to huddle closer so she could speak with them. "Now before I tell you, you might want to take this in with a grain of salt. This all comes from Esmerelda and not me so I can't hundred percent vouch for how accurate this all is, though she wouldn't have any reason to lie to me," Ruka began. "Around five weeks ago, Esmerelda was approached by a drunken Cheren, who wanted to know if she'd be interested in a job he and Datura were working on. Security work or something along those lines. I don't think Cheren was able to explain the job fully without stumbling over his words. Naturally, she was a bit suspicious about the offer and came to me asking if I'd heard anything about it. I told her that as far as I was aware neither of them were listed as being on any active jobs, nor had they been for some time. Do you want to know what the real kicker was? Apparently, the job was at Pyre."

Only the members of the Peredur family seemed to understand the relevance of the word 'Pyre', so Tilia and the rest of her teammates wound up just looking around at each other with confused expressions. 

"What's Pyre?" Tilia asked.

"Pyre Academy," Kieran answered simply. "It used to be a preparatory academy in the town but it was destroyed many years ago."

"I thought it was strange myself," Ruka admitted. "I pressed Esmerelda for more information but she seemed none the wiser. Apparently, she did ask her mother about it but Mayor Lavendin was very insistent that no such mission had been authorised. Thanks to my husband I was able to dig through some of the old mission records - thank goodness we keep paper copies of everything - but I couldn't find anything regarding a mission in or around Pyre, at least not in the last decade."

Colin seemed to ponder this information for a moment before speaking again. “Well given Lavendin’s protectiveness over her daughter, I could possibly see her wanting to protect her from the truth. But I do not believe Lavendin would not inform anyone else of some off the books mission around Pyre. She of all people knows how important that place is to people in Silbern given what happened to Vesa.”

“Do you think there’s something else going on?”

“Oh, I know there’s something else going on,” Colin said with a more determined tone. 

Ruka pulled a face. “I don’t like that look you have in your eyes, Col. You look like you’re up to something,” She said.

"I think I should go and check out the academy," He said, quickly revealing his intentions.

"Couldn't you wait until after?" Ruka asked. "Seems a shame to cut the celebrations short to run off on a job."

"True but the sooner we find out what's going on there the better. Plus, I'd rather scope out the area whilst Cheren nor Datura are there," Colin explained. "At least I know they're unlikely to trouble me then."

"Sounds like a wise choice to me," Tilia said, an opinion which didn't seem to be shared by her teammates."I'm assuming they're here enjoying the celebration?"

"Well, Cheren is at least," Ruka told her, gesturing to a group of people watching the dancers. Tilia was quick to note the older man in the group, and the striking similarity he shared with the Rutland twins that Roisin had pointed out earlier.

"Datura not one for dancing?" Tilia asked, struggling to conceal the joking tone of her voice.

"I don't think I've ever seen him at any celebration like this. He tends to just keep to himself," Colin responded. "I haven't seen him here so I'm assuming - no, hoping - he isn't around Pyre."

"What will you do if he is?" Kieran asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

"I'll handle him, don't worry," Colin assured his nephew. "Datura and I have never gotten along so if he does show his face I'm expecting a fight."

"Can you handle him alone? And what if Cheren appeared too?" Kieran pressed.

"Why are you asking me this, Kieran?" Colin asked, raising a brow.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't doubt your skill uncle. But you said yourself not so long ago that you're tired and we can all see that you are exhausted at home," Kieran began. “Both men have their faults but they are both still huntsmen. I worry if they caught you out, that they’d defeat you.”

“So what are you saying - you want to come with me?”

“No! I don’t know…maybe. Just as a precaution.” Kieran stammered.

“You know they might not even turn up, Kee,” Colin pointed out. “Your concerns are appreciated but I think you’re worrying too much.”

"Perhaps I am," Kieran conceded, bowing his head in defeat.

Tilia could see Colin studying his nephew carefully, the man himself looking as though he were deep in thought. After a moment he looked towards Ruka, and though they spoke no words, it seemed to Tilia that they were having a conversation of sorts, their changing expressions serving as questions and answers. The conversation appeared to come to a conclusion when Ruka gave a shrug.

"If it would make you feel better, you can come with me," Colin told his nephew gently. "But don't feel as though you have to put yourself out for me."

"Thank you, uncle," Kieran smiled.

"And what about us?" Wyn asked. "What are we supposed to do whilst you two run off?"

"Stay here," Kieran responded. "You don't need to come with us if you don't want to."

"Hey, we're a team!" Wyn protested. "Your problems are our problems. Where you go, we follow. I mean what's the worst that could happen if the five of us show up anyway? You never know Cheren and Datura might get scared off or surrender straight away. And I don't know about you but I'd consider that a victory."

“Aren’t you both tired out from all the dancing you did?” Kieran asked, earning a chuckle from Lin.

“Oh I’m raring to go,” Wyn smirked. “We’ll leave all the detective work to you and your uncle and we’ll just be there if you need us. And if Cheren or Datura show up we’ll scare them off.”

Ruka grinned and shook her head in amusement. “Kids these days…you’re all so very gung ho about things.”

“Fine. If you want to come, you can come,” Colin said. He proceeded to shoot Ruka a look, which only made her smile even more. When he proceeded to hand back Kaijin to her she pouted a little but did not fully lose the grin that had been on her face. 

"We should leave now," Colin addressed the group. "If we leave now it'll give us time to get changed and reduce the risk of Cheren or Datura potentially showing up."

Tilia and her teammates looked around each other and exchanged a few nods. Along with Colin, they stood up from their seats and began to step away from the table.

"I'll stay here and let da know where you're going when he comes back," Roisin said as they stepped aside. "I can't say he'll be very impressed, but he still deserves to know."

"Thanks, Ros," Colin smiled, giving an appreciative nod to his niece.

"Think nothing of it," Roisin said, returning the smile. "Good luck!" She would call after them as the group made their departure from the Golden Fleece.

***

Datura Oleander rarely attended public events such as these. Under normal circumstances, he would have stayed home, but given the nature of this celebration, it seemed like a bad form not to attend. He made some attempts at polite small talk and mingling with the people of Silbern, but ultimately kept to himself, nursing a glass of tequila in the corner.

After he had finished his drink, Datura made an effort to walk around again, making it appear as though he was interested in the festivities. As he walked, he passed by a table where Colin Peredur, Ruka Aoki, and Colin's family and friends were sitting around. He didn't intend to listen in on the conversation, but couldn't help but linger to hear some more of the conversation after hearing them mention his name. When he heard the mention of Pyre Academy he tensed and backed away, scurrying into a corner to hide, before pulling out his scroll and making a call.

If Colin Peredur knew about things at Pyre Academy then that wasn't good at all.

His call was answered after the first ring.

"You were told not to call me at work," the voice at the other end of the line scolded.

"We have a problem." Datura saw no point in beating around the bush about his reasoning for calling, especially given the potential urgency of the situation.

"You mean to say you have a problem," The voice corrected. "Best get out with it then. I still have work to finish."

"Colin Peredur knows."

There was a long beat of silence before Datura heard a long sigh from the other end. "How?"

Datura pursed his lips together, suddenly grateful not to be speaking to his employer in person so that they couldn't see his sudden awkwardness. "Well, Cheren got drunk a few weeks back and suggested to Esmerelda that if she was looking for work she could maybe help us. When I found out he had said that to her, I did my best to do some damage control I assure you. However, it seems I was not quick enough and she told Ruka, who just told Colin."

"Why did the two of you feel the need to ask for help?" The voice snapped, clearly more angry at this fact rather than what Colin knew.

"Well, I wasn't the one who-"

"Do not try to lie to me, Datura Oleander," The voice warned. "You might not have asked the question yourself, but I recall it was only recently that the two of you came to me asking for additional help, which I firmly declined." A long exhale followed this scolding. "You should have been watching Cheren more carefully. You are well aware of his tendency to talk once he's more than a little inebriated."

"I cannot be expected to watch him all the time," Datura protested.

"Perhaps I ought to tweak the terms of your contract so you should then, hm?" The voice countered. "Regardless, you two now have a new job on your hands. Go find Cheren and put a stop to Colin sniffing around. I pay you for security after all, so do your job."

Datura was about to give a snide response to the first remark but a 'click' from the other end of the line told him that the call was already over.

Terrific.

With a sigh, Datura slid his scroll away and then began to look around for Cheren Rutland. Whilst he hadn't seen the man in question, the majority of the Rutland clan were in attendance at the celebration, so no doubt Cheren and his wife would be too. 

Sure enough, he spotted Cheren watching the dancing. His wife, Amalthea, was standing next to him and he had an arm around her shoulder.

It was Amalthea who spotted him first, turning and looking at him with such a fierce gaze that Datura had half a mind to back away from her. Cheren might have been the more well known of the two, but Amalthea could be more terrifying than her husband on occasion.

"Sorry to intrude, but could I borrow your husband for a moment?" He asked, mustering up his most polite tone.

Amalthea raised a brow at him. Next to her, Cheren was aware of his presence, and looked at him with a similar expression, though he looked less suspicious than his wife did.

"Why?" She asked sharply.

"Private matter," Datura responded hastily, casting a glance at Cheren, silently asking for help. "I promise I won't keep him long."

"It's okay, love, I won't be long," Cheren assured her, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Why don't you go and join in with the dances? I'll be back before you know it."

Before his wife could say anything else, Cheren was already moving away from her, gesturing for Datura to follow him before they got caught up any longer. As they walked, Cheren turned back to give his wife a reassuring wave. Datura on the other hand saw no point looking back, knowing full well she'd still be looking at him with that same suspicious glare.

Cheren guided them outside, and quickly pulled Datura out of earshot so they could speak.

"What's the meaning of this, Datura?" He asked, looking at him with a mix of curiosity and confusion. "I thought you didn't want to speak outside of work."

He was right of course. When the two men had started working together, Datura had been insistent they hardly speak to each other outside of work. Datura hadn't wanted anyone to mistake the two for friends.

"Colin knows about Pyre." Datura told him simply.

The colour seemed to drain from Cheren's face as he heard that. "How?"

"Well, we have you and your drunken ramblings to thank for that," Datura said sarcastically. "Seems the information finally made its way down to Colin. Honestly, you should consider yourself lucky he didn't find out sooner."

"Did you tell the boss?"

"Of course I did." What kind of fool did he take him for? "And you should know they're not happy. We've been told to deal with this promptly."

"As in now?" Cheren asked. "Couldn't we wait until after the celebration or even tomorrow? Tea won't like it if I leave right now."

"You don't understand, Cheren," Datura said coldly.  "You know what the ‘Wraith’  is like. Do you think he’s just going to just wait around? No. Colin is likely on his way there right now, along with his nephew's little team. They might not find anything right away but with five of them snooping around the place...well I doubt it'll take them long to find out what's really hiding there would it?"

Cheren shook his head. "No I suppose it would not," He conceded, sighing a little as he did so. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Make sure they don't find what they're looking for. Clearly." Datura rolled his eyes. "I'll leave the children to you and I'll take Colin for myself."

"As you wish." Cheren said slowly, almost a little reluctantly even. He proceeded to  bow his head "Do I have time to tell my wife I'll be a bit longer?"

"No," Datura rebuked him sharply. "Let's grab our weapons and deal with the problem. The sooner this is resolved the better. For us and the boss."

[sustraiii]

A younger Team CRDM (Cardamom) as drawn by @sthefbooh a while back. 

From L-R we have: Colin Peredur, Ruka Aoki, Philippa Dalton, and Meredith Chartreuse.

Three of these characters will show up again during the events of the KWTZ story so keep an eye out 👀

[sustraiii]

do crdm have allusions?

They do!

Colin: I'm not hugely fond of his but he was supposed to allude to Lynette from Arthurian Legend as per fitting the theme of the Peredur family and KWTZ having allusions from there. Looking back, I'd honestly probably change it now, especially given that I didn't follow the opposite gender rule with PEWT.

Ruka: Ruka alludes the Crane(s) from the Aesop fable "The Geese and The Cranes".

Philippa: Philippa alludes to Pippi Longstocking.

Meredith: Meredith alludes to Elizabeth Lavenza from 'Frankenstein'.

[sustraiii]

Semblances and Weapons for CRDM?

Colin

Colin arms himself with 'The Baron & Baronet' a throwable shield and hatchet-gun hybrid.

His semblance, 'Synchronise' allows him to synchronise with the movements of his opponents, allowing him to better counter them.

Ruka

Ruka arms herself with a tonfa gun (maybe even two) named 'Augury'.

Her semblance is 'Plume' which is basically just a speed semblance in which she leaves aural feather in her wake.

Philippa

I don't actually have anything specific for her weapon but it is called 'Bifröst'.

I don't have anything for her semblance at the moment though I toyed with the idea of her having a strength-based semblance.

Meredith

Meredith wields a rapier named 'Damselfly'.

I don't really have a semblance for her either though it used to be called 'Glide' and would allow her to, well, glide across surfaces. She was going to use it in the fic but that never happened plus I wasn't particularly fond of it when it came to the point where she would use it.