The Forgotten Zodiac

"We can't leave any spot unchecked." Verolen nodded, frowning a bit still. "So whether or not he's there is beside the point; we have to look everywhere until we find him."

"Right," L'arc said. "Should we split up, then?"

"Sure. You can check the eating areas, I'll start towards the town hall." Verolen nodded, starting off at a quick pace. He called Bermuda's name here and there, frowning as he tried to find his friend.

Finally, Verolen got a response. Bermuda emerged from around one of the new buildings, pulling Allie along by the hand. "You called?" Bermuda asked, smiling slightly at Verolen.

"Bermuda! There you are." Verolen sighed. "We were worried about you. You wandered off without telling anyone where you were going, and...what are you doing with Allie, exactly? She's in shock, you can't just...walk off with her."

"She came to me," Bermuda said, somewhat defensively. "What was I supposed to do? Have you seen her father?"

"I haven't." Verolen frowned, then knelt next to Allie. "Hey, you should be resting in Bershee's tent..." Allie just stared at him, looking sullen and withdrawn. "Alright," Verolen stood with a small sigh. "Let's try and find her father, I guess. Where have you looked so far?"

"We just came back from town hall, isn't that right, Allie?" Bermuda said, kneeling slightly and smiling at the small girl. He then straightened back up, looking around. "What was his name again, Verolen?"

"Tobias." Verolen answered easily, turning on heel and looking in the other direction. "So, he's not at the town hall. L'arc went this way, maybe he saw him." He suggested.

"Right, Tobias," Bermuda said, nodding. He glanced down at Allie. "Who is she, again?" he asked, a bit quieter as if he hoped Allie wouldn't hear him ask.

Verolen smiled. "She's the daughter of Tobias, who is the town leader. They were the ones caught up in the centaur mess." He replied quietly. Allie just stared at them, as though she didn't understand them one way or another. She tugged on Bermuda's arm pleadingly, hoping they could find her father quickly.

Bermuda knelt and picked the little girl up, though it seemed to cause him some physical strain. He smiled gently at her, then looked back to Verolen. "Well, let's find her dad, then," he said.

"By all means, lets." Verolen nodded. "But don't hurt yourself in the process, understand?" He didn't really need an answer, instead turning on heel and starting towards the other side of the town.

"I'm fine," Bermuda muttered at Verolen's back with a sigh. "Really, stop worrying about me, I've caused enough grief," he said quietly.

"Caused enough--darn it, Bermuda, don't you start this too. L'arc has been on a borderline self-harming streak because of this business with Dark Chaos or Serris or whatever. We don't need you upset too," Verolen frowned at his friend. Allie did not take kindly to his words, pressing her face against Bermuda's shirt and whimpering.

"Self-harming? L'arc?" Bermuda asked, his expression immediately shifting to one of concern. He bounced Allie slightly in his arms to reassure her, but his frown now matched Verolen's. "That... doesn't seem like L'arc. Where is he, anyway?"

"He was helping me look for you!" Verolen chortled. "Sylas has been doing a good job of keeping an eye on him, but we can't leave him alone for too long. No, it doesn't seem like L'arc, but that's what's going on. He already cut his hand. I don't want to think about the next time he thinks to cut himself up. Even if it was to attract the enemy, he basically made himself bait, and I don't like it."

((Also, Manny didn't make L'arc cough up the Dark Matter. Dunno if you want to do something with that or not.))

((I completely forgot about that.))

"Me either," Bermuda agreed, looking around for either Tobias or L'arc. He grunted softly, then looked to Verolen. "You mind carrying her for a little while?" he asked.

"Sure." Verolen took Allie, who wiggled around unhappily, but settled down after realizing that Verolen wasn't hurting her. She clung to his shirt, frowning away, but as silent as ever. "Let's go this way." He turned towards Bershee's tent, where he had split up with L'arc in the first place. He continued toward the druid tents.

Soon enough, they found L'arc, weaving between the tents of the druid encampment and calling Bermuda's name. When he saw the others, he smiled in a relieved way and hurried over. "You found him, I see," he said to Verolen, before looking at Allie. "And Allie too?"