At her response, he entered without further hesitation. Surprisingly, she was already awake--he supposed given what was going on it was only natural not to sleep in, but usually she slept later than he did if no one woke her up, and Eld himself had been brought out of sleep early.

He held himself back from the usual morning pleasantries; maybe it was because of their fight, or maybe the nightmare had disrupted him more than he wanted to admit, but he just didn't think it was the time for it. "Sarah just came by with some news...there's been a murder in Galaens. A tax collector was killed."

There was a small pause; he probably didn't have to spell it out for her, but he felt he should say it anyway. "She thinks...it might be Noah."

"Herst-sama?" Etsu asked as she turned her head and looked at Eld.

Truth be told, she didn't know what all happened with that. Really, this was the first indication she had that Noah Herst was even alive. She didn't know what to think about that. From what she knew of him, Noah Herst was not a bad man. He did horrible things, apparently, and that was disappointing, but . . .

Etsu scooted to the side of the bed facing the door. She was perfectly awake and all-- ready and everything. It was just a matter of getting up and out of the house.

"So we are go-ing to Gar-raens, then?" Etsu asked as she stood up.

It was the only reasonable deduction, and completely discounted the possibility that Eld might want to leave her behind. Really, she wasn't even considering that an option. She might have been miffed at him last night, but by the way she stood in front of him, looking up at his face, Eld would probably find that the suggestion was going to fall upon deaf ears, even if he threw it out there . . .

He was a bit surprised; after how she'd been mad yesterday, she was still acting like she wanted to go with him...like the possibility of her not going didn't even exist.

"It...might be dangerous, you know. Handling Noah shouldn't be a problem if it's him, but I have to wonder if it is...if it's the people from yesterday..."

There was no way to know if it was safe, therefore he had to assume it was dangerous; it was possible they'd get attacked, so it was best to go into it thinking they would be.

"Are you sure you want to go?" he asked finally, rather than beat around the bush. Etsu would be much safer here, especially without her powers. Even though she'd proved yesterday she could still be useful in a fight, Eld couldn't help but want to keep the girl he loved safe...

She was almost dumbfounded by that-- the whole notion that Eld thought she might not want to go. It wasn't so much that he was suggesting that she stay behind, either. That, she wouldn't have listened to. No, it was as if he was asking if she really wanted to go, and take the same risk he was taking, if not more.

"Why wour-rd I not go?" Etsu asked, a look of confusion upon her face.

It was a simple question for her, with a very simple answer:

"We are team, no?"

It didn't matter if she was angry at him or whatever. Even if she didn't have feelings for him-- which she might have feelings left unaddressed, just like him --that wouldn't chance the fact that the two of them were Reapers. They were Reapers in the same area. They were unorthodox Reapers-- Eld was off of the map and answered to no one, and she was on probation, but they were both Reapers nonetheless, both living in the same town. For all intents and purposes, when it came to issues of spirits, or even physical confrontations in general, they may as well have been partners.

Again, that answer surprised him. A team? It seemed odd to use that phrase, considering all they'd been through he certainly felt like they were more (even if what, exactly, they were was still a bit muddled), but then he recalled a conversation he'd had with her shortly after she'd arrived, long before they'd become involved.

We'll value eachother's existence, even if no one else does. Watching out for and protecting one another. Yeah, before anything else, I guess we are a team.

It caused him to smile slightly in spite of his weariness. "You're right. I'm sorry that I forgot that." He even bowed to her briefly--after she left, he'd had no one to turn to when it came to these things. Kageko could only be there as a weapon, and as tough as Sarah was she wasn't suited for life and death combat. He'd grown accustomed to needing to do everything on his own. And the last person who called him partner...

He'd forgotten how relieving it could really be, having someone to watch his back, even if it meant worrying every second for their safety. "Thank you for reminding me," he said as he straightened up, and strolled over to the corner where Kageko was, picking up the scythe, still in its holder, and pulling over the strap that kept it on his back.

He also grabbed his kusari-gama and attached it around his waist, just in case. Even if a fight broke out, he wanted to try and avoid using Kageko's power if possible, and it would help keep his options open.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

Etsu was a little curious why Eld bowed to her. It didn't seem necessary-- but it felt nice. There was no doubt about that. It added sincerity to what he was saying. Etsu could appreciate a gesture like that. That was one of Eld's strongest qualities, after all: sincerity. He could talk down Sarah on most days, after all. Reasoning sense into her was perhaps one of the greatest difficulties of all. Etsu nearly had to die to pull that one off.

She moved to the corner of the room, where she retrieved her naginata. Eld was getting his weapons in order-- she might as well have gotten her weapon in order, too. Unfortunately, she lacked a holder for it or anything like that. Generally, she just carried it around. It was easy enough, and she was used to carrying spears around like this.

That didn't mean others were accustomed to her carrying around a Japanese anti-cavalry weapon, but she didn't really care about that . . .

"Hai."

All she needed to do now was to slip her sandals on-- and she could that as they were leaving. Her sandals were over by the door, after all.

The trip to Galaens was relatively short on horse, and with just him and Etsu on a single horse he didn't need to worry about slowing down so a less experienced rider could catch up. With as often as he'd gone to Galaens in the past few months, he'd probably been on a horse more than anyone but the Vaerbonds themselves.

Unfortunately, the problem wasn't getting there so much as what to do once they were there. A tax collector had been killed, but it wasn't as though the police were going to take a boy from Galaens (even one that may have had some stories about him) seriously if he wanted to know about what happened.

Fortunately, he did know one person who lived here, but whether he knew any more than Eld did was another question. Chances are, he'd be working right now.

So their first destination was to the pharmacy, a place that served a double purpose: it was a place where they could tie up their horses, since Eld was known there, and it was also where they'd likely find Davis, who'd been Noah's best friend...

For once, Davis was working alone today. The on staff pharmacist, Alphonse, one who had years and years of experience under his belt, was absent today. He couldn't be expected to be around all the time, though. More often than not, he had to make all the business deals. Emma was still providing, but not enough. She was getting paid still-- but she just wasn't producing enough materials that they needed. Needed quite a lot, for that matter. Without materials, there were no drugs, and slowly but surely, the world was starting spin exclusively with the help of pharmaceuticals.

There was a bell above the door; it rang a soft, pleasant little chime when Eld opened the door.

"I'll be right with you," Davis's voice called out.

He had his back turned to the counter, and by extension, the door. Davis wore his white coat over a pair of slacks and a button down shirt, the general attire for his work. It's what he always wore. Pharmacists actually had their own white coats, even. It wasn't like it was a uniform provided by an employer; upon graduating from pharmacy school, there was always a "white coat ceremony," in which they were provided with such a utility.

Nonetheless, he was working on something a little above his head: synthesis on a molecular level. He had a microscope set upon a table, with its light powered by a crude generator purchased only recently. Davis sighed before giving up temporarily.

He stood up straight and turned, only to practically jump back in surprise, shock, and a little bit of fear.

"Oh-- shit . . ." Davis sighed, "You scared me half to death. Why the hell are you two carrying those around?"

While Eld recognized what Davis was looking through as a microscope, it was looked up to...well, he didn't have the slightest clue what, or why you'd need to hook up a microscope to anything. He was a little wary of it, but ultimately decided he didn't have the time to ask Davis what it was and just assumed that if he was using it in the pharmacy it must be relatively safe.

Davis's reaction surprised for him a moment, as unlike Etsu he didn't need to constantly hold his weapon, so it was easier to forget he had it on him. That, and he'd figured Davis would already know why he was there...had he not heard?

"We ran into a bit of trouble yesterday, so we're being careful," he explained. Unless Davis asked him to, he wouldn't go into more detail; there was no reason for him to get involved in that particular issue.

On the other hand, the main reason they were there very much involved him. "I thought you would have heard already, though. Sarah said some tax collector was killed up here, so...well, I came to see if it's...him..."

There was no love lost between Eld and Noah, but he'd been good friends with Davis; he half expected that Davis would have already looked into it...

Before Eld started talking, Davis seemed at least a little happy. Curious and a little concerned about the necessity in carrying weapons around, but still, he and Eld were friends by extension. Or friends altogether, really. Eld and Emma were some of the only friends he had left, in fact. Beforehand, he had his best friend in the world, Noah Herst around, but all that had changed . . .

"Oh," Davis trailed off.

His features fell to seriousness. That was why Eld and Etsu were here, then. And why they were carrying weapons. Whether or not they really ran into trouble yesterday, Davis didn't know. That didn't even matter, really. They probably had brought them, for fear of running into trouble in Galaens-- but unable to even bring themselves to leave this sort of business untouched.

Sadly, Davis, like Sarah, had a faint hope, deep down inside, that it really was Noah that had killed the tax collector . . .

"No," Davis shook his head, regretfully, "It's not his style. He . . . always did something horrible. Something borderline torturous. From what I've heard, this was quick. Just a large stab wound to the chest. Straight through, I think. Police think it was a Cizokian," Davis motioned towards Etsu-- or, more specifically, her naginata, "They say there's a curve to the wound."

Eld's feelings about Noah weren't as complex as Sarah's or Davis's--while part of him hoped he'd get rehabilitated and eventually come back as a sane man again, he certainly did not want him running around killing people. That wasn't good for anyone, least of all those close to him.

There were two layers of realization that hit Eld based on what Davis said. The first was that he had an idea who the culprit was; while there was certainly no shortage of Cizokians in Galaens, there was one he knew had a violent temper and potential access to a weapon with a curved blade now. A knot began to rise in his stomach. Of course, he had no way of knowing it was Toushikyo, or that he wouldn't have killed if Eld hadn't handed over the scythe, but what if they were testing it? It would be another death on his conscience...

"Are you thinking what...I......am.......Etsu?" he slowed down as the second realization dawned on him, the one Davis had sort of implied himself. He blinked, and suddenly became nervous, turning back to the pharmacist. "Wait, so the police are looking for a murderer...who's Cizokian...and has a weapon with a curved blade?"

It was bad enough trouble was deliberately seeking them out...did they have to stumble right into as well.

"Yeah . . ." Davis replied.

Etsu came to the realization just as Eld did, and leveled a disapproving stare at him. Not quite disapproving of him-- but of the circumstances that had suddenly come up. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. A lot of people had seen them.

Davis was actually a little late to arrive at the same conclusion. Once he did, he felt the same sense of dread as Eld and Etsu. There they were, two Cizokians, both with curved blades. Hell, Eld had two curved blades on him. Davis had no doubt in his mind that Etsu and Eld were innocent. He didn't even need to address a thought like that, nor did they have to even do anything to convince him otherwise. He knew them personally, he knew who they were, he knew what they did. They weren't murderers.

"Oh . . . shit," he muttered.

"What shour-rd we do . . .?" Etsu asked Eld.

This wasn't a situation she had ever been presented with, and as great of an attention to detail she had, there were some things that she couldn't plan out.

"U-Ummm...I'm not really sure..." he was forced to admit. "I...wanted to investigate, but it might be better if we leave...or would that just be more suspicious?"

It would have been simple if Etsu had her powers--they could have still walked around in Purgatory and maybe see if they noticed anything unusual, or at least trekked back to Hillcrest and apologize to Sarah since she and Emma would probably need to go get the horse.

"I suppose since you don't have your powers, bringing you into Purgatory would be a bad idea, huh?" he asked Etsu quietly just to make sure.

Out loud, he turned to Davis. "Umm...what do you think? Should we just leave? Or should we wait and let the police question us?" In theory, he'd just need to talk to them and they could go to Hillcrest and confirm that they were there all day yesterday, but the way things were going he wasn't so hopeful it would be that simple...

"Iie . . ." Etsu replied softly as she shook her head.

Davis was horrible with these sorts of things-- any sort of decision making that put responsibility on him. Eld had already experienced that before. He didn't like taking responsibility for life changing things-- not quite things like this, but still . . . the man just didn't like making decisions. If he could have lived his life just floating on, he'd have been much happier.

But that didn't mean he wasn't going to help his friends out.

North was Hillcrest, south was Rangeki-- going either would have been bad ideas for now. Going towards Rangeki would have implicated them just as much as trying to go back to Hillcrest in a hurry would have. But staying in Galaens might not have been the best of ideas at the moment. It was possible to elude police here, though. Noah Herst and the Law did it, and practically turned it into a form of art-- and they stood out just as much as Eld and Etsu . . .

"You should probably head east," he declared outright, "Towards Feiyan. It's a long way there, so . . . at least until you're out of sight, you could just stay on that road, then cut through the forest to get on the road to Hillcrest. Staying here might not be the best idea right now . . ."

The police didn't want another Noah Herst or The Law incident. It didn't matter of Eld had helped them before. Precautions had to be taken.

"Ah...okay, we'll do that. Thanks Davis...sorry for worrying you," he said meekly. Really, this was...kind of sad. It was nice to know that Noah wasn't back and wreaking havoc, but otherwise it was a wasted trip that could potentially be more trouble than it was worth.

"Let's go," he said to Etsu, motioning for her to follow him to the horse. "Sorry...looks like I dragged you out here for nothing."

He just prayed that they could leave without causing a scene...