Misplaced arrivals.

[Nayt]

It wasn't long until Z returned to the small room. Just a few minutes, really. She wheeled in with clothes folded up in her lap. They were her clothes, and were at least clean. Also they were clothes she was willing to be rid of--a requirement for anything she brought from home, actually. Especially in this sand pit. That was why they were the blandest, most throwaway clothes ever. She didn't bring any dresses or formal wear or even any of her favorite PJ's. She knew for a fact that she'd either lose them or, worse, ruin them. What she'd brought, in any case, was a spaghetti strap blouse, short shorts, and two different kinds of sandals that didn't at all match in any way, shape, or form. They were great clothes for hot weather, at least, and Z had about a dozen of each in her pack.

"Here ya go," she said as she tossed the collection of fabric Myrria's way.

. . . Oddly enough, she had the most impeccable throwing arm. She looked so weak and frail, yet no matter how fast or how slow Myrria moved to catch the thrown clothes, or even how unprepared she was to catch them, she was going to catch them perfectly.

Z flashed a smile and backed her chair up, spun, and proceeded down the hall.

[Zach Kaiser]

Fortunately, Myrria was perfectly prepared, and the reflexes of Circe's body was up to the task. She caught the clothes with ease. At first they seemed like they would be too small, before she realized that Circe was quite a bit younger than her and a bit smaller. That would take some getting used to.

Though she hoped they'd find a way to correct this problem before she had to get used to it.

She glanced at Circe for a moment, but privacy wasn't much of a concern. After all, it was her body--it was nothing she wasn't already very familiar with.

After quickly changing into the new clothes, she pulled the trenchcoat back on; it would serve as a good protection from the heat, and now at least she could ditch the bulky garment if she needed to fight. Thinking also along those lines, she "set" her swords, not having a good way to carry them as her belt was being used Circe.

[Paroxysm]

It would actually take a few moments for Circe to properly comprehend what was about to occur. Seeing her own body was one thing, seeing her own body while it was being inhabited by another person was something else entirely, and then there was 'the other person' seeing her body ... Well, the last bit was not so much bothering as it was embarrassing and a bit awkward.

"I-I'll just go on ahead," she stammered and began slinking away, after Z; she would stop just long enough to add: “I should see if Talis has any spare weapons I can borrow."

Although not particularly sound, Circe's idea was that maybe Talis had picked up a few toys since he came to Xexoria, or maybe he had commandeered something from someone, somewhere. In all honesty, it didn't matter what it was--she'd make do with a knife, if she had to. She wasn't going to hold her breath for an exotic weapon, at any rate. There probably wasn't much a market in the desert for scythes, with or without chain.

[Nayt]

When Circe decided to go out and ask Talis if he had a weapon she could borrow, she'd soon be treated to a veritable museum in one traveling pack.

There were a few knives, a few swords, a few guns, and a crossbow. Each of them had something unique and special about them--the blades usually coming from different parts of the world, the first firearm being a flintlock pistol, the second firearm looking like a four foot portable cannon with telescope attached to it, and they all had intricate designs and engravings carved into them. Lastly, though, there was the crossbow. Any weapon aficionado would have wet themselves to see it. It was one of the rarest crossbows in the world, one of Ulsterian make, that happened to be the most powerful in the known world: a yew crossbow. It even had the characteristic engravings of an ancient Ulsterian religion . . .

Talis McCarthy was a veritable party of adventurers bulked up into a single human being.

"Here," he said as he laid them all out across a table in the main room, "You can borrow whatever ya want. I ain't too concerned; they're sturdy old gals. Just give 'em back when yer done."

[Zach Kaiser]

Myrria was a little surprised by the way Circe quickly left the room, but far from put off. It was too strange of a situation for their to be any normal way to react to it, after all.

Once she was ready, she found her with McCarthy, who was showing off a collection of weapons. It was difficult for her to understand this kind of collection as practical; mastery of one weapon (or one set of dual weapons, as they case happened to be) was certainly preferable over adequacy in many, wasn't it?

At least it meant Circe wasn't going into a potential combat situation unarmed.

[Paroxysm]

Circe was ... surprised, she had thought he would have a personal collection, but this? And he just carried this stuff with him, all the time? Either he was a maniac or expecting war, she reasoned in thought.

“Impressive.” she admitted, whistling in admiration. Looking at the collection, picking a piece up, getting a feel for it, and then gently putting it back in place. Formally, she was trained to use three weapons: two were connected to one another and the third was an occupational perk; however, weapon theory was not all that hard a thing for her to grasp. She would fair better with a foreign weapon than an amateur, at least...

"Must be some story with these things, h-uh?

She made her way through the collection until she came across the particularly awesome looking crossbow, running a finger up and down the symbol engraved on its surface; she did not recognize it, but it was curious none-the-less.

Hm, Circe pursed her lips and looked further through the weapons. They were all breathtaking, to be sure: it was also confusing, because without a doubt, Talis had the inventory of several seasoned adventurers. Most guys, if they stuck around long enough, could count themselves lucky to end up with just one end-quality weapon, but this was ridiculous! Personally, she had only ever seen one weapon that even compared to these...

"What do ya' think, Myrria?"

[Nayt]

"S'true," Talis rolled his shoulders.

"Just don't get him started on 'em," Z said, announcing her arrival into the main room.

"Aw, Z. They're good stories, though."

"Yeeeeaaaah? And I've heard 'em a billion times!"

Well, okay, that was true. No matter, though. Circe wound up taking the crossbow, which prompted a story within Talis's mind. But alas, Z had already forbid him from telling the story. Nevertheless, he could at least tell her about that crossbow. Best to know your weapon and all.

"That's a yew crossbow," Talis stated, "Made from the yew trees of Ulster, ja? Second strongest wood in the world. That ol' gal won't break, and she'll take a man's head clean off from 'bout six hundred meters. Keep 'er steady and ya've got a death machine in yer hands.

[Zach Kaiser]

Myrria thought about this for a moment; while she didn't know much about craftsmanship and only a little about how Circe fought, the crossbow seemed like a good choice. She was primarily a melee fighter herself, and her style didn't lend itself well to having someone else in melee alongside her. Using the crossbow would compliment her style rather than conflict with it.

She nodded. "The crossbow seems fine. You should grab a sword or dagger as well," she added; there was no guarantee an enemy wouldn't get in close, so having both options was preferable to an adaptable person like Circe.

[Paroxysm]

Circe nodded in agreement. At the very least, ranged support would add a level of synergy that was presumably missing from their previous setup.

“Alright,” she said and grabbed a hold of the crossbow yet again, “and do you have a suggestion for a side-arm,” her focus shifted to Talis McCarthy, “maybe a short blade or knife, yeah?”

Myrria’s body was no doubt stronger, more capable than her own, but if someone was close enough to render the crossbow ineffective, Circe would definitely prefer something short of being a true sword. In the worst case scenario, the crossbow could probably bludgeon a man to death if used properly...

[Nayt]

"A short sword, huh?" Talis asked rhetorically before moving to the end of the table, where he'd laid out the blades.

He plucked a particular knife from the table. It was long for a knife, but not so long that it breached the territory of a short sword. Myrria, at the very least, would be able to recognize its Xexorian design; the blade had a thin, almost sickle like curve, with varying ritualistic etchings carved into each side. Myrria would likely recognize many of the symbols; they were old, definitely dating back to ancient Xexorian script, but she'd likely be able to pick apart the words "Weaver of the Trade Winds" etched upon the blade.

"How 'bout this'un?" he held it by the blade and handed it hilt first towards Circe, "Light as a feather an' when someone gets too close fer comfort, ya can draw 'er like a Cizok sword."

[Zach Kaiser]

"Hmmm." While she recognized the blade McCarthy was offering Circe as Xexorian, it did not strike her as familiar in anyway. The inscription suggested it had once belonged to a merchant, which made it unlikely it originated from any of the desert tribes, let alone hers.

It seemed like a high-quality blade, in any case. Circe could do far worse than that, though admittedly it seemed that all of the weapons McCarthy had in his collection were of high quality.

[Paroxysm]

"That looks interestin'," Circe said as she took the blade from Talis and looked it over. A good weight to it, she thought to herself; It was also a weapon that seemed pretty easy for her to use, too. "I'll try'n return 'em in the same condition, McCarthy."

With weapon selection over and Circe satisfied with her choice, she would put aside some time, before they left, to familiarize herself with them, and maybe even shoot some darts into targets. Learning to use the weapon in live-combat would have been silly, after all. Before that, though, hopefully there would be breakfast: she was starving!

[Nayt]

"Countin' on ya," Talis replied. His sunglasses made it impossible to see that he winked, but either way, if he hadn't broke these weapons yet, then no one could.

And there was a breakfast to be had. It was a breakfast of champions. Talis had rations with him and a means to cook them. These rations? Foods that Circe and Myrria had never even heard of in their life. Which was saying something, because Reapers had a habit of traveling all around the world to do their job (well, at least before last year; now they actually stuck to a single place). Talis made a breakfast for all of them-- himself, Myrria, Circe, and Z --out of sliced steak from some prehistoric (yet still living) South Continental beast and massive, yet terrifyingly sweet, yellow fruits from the same region.

"Dad went on a safari recently," Z explained once they were all given their paper plates of god-knows-what steaks and fruit (a mixture of which they'd soon find was the sweetest, most delicious combination of foods ever).

"Week and a half in the Covenant wilderness," Talis replied as he sat next to Z, "I got a metric boat-load of this stuff back home."

"And he was a huge dick-bag and didn't bring me, by the way," Z added.