Munetsuchi

[Apollymi]

Sakura heard out several different things in the mental processes of Charlemagne. Much to her own understanding and a bit outside of it he had several smaller goals in his approach. He didn't want to let himself die. He didn't want his group being hurt, he didn't want the other group thinking they were the enemy or that they had anything to do with Jeanne's disappearance. He hopped up immediately, claiming that he thought he had it. That was strange, did humans have good ideas without sparks of wisdom? "I don't think I understand how your mind works at all..." she said aloud. Was there some sort of insight being human would offer in this case? Well... she had to find out. As such, she stood as well, keen to accompany him and hear out what this idea was, seemingly confused but also interested.

Speaking of misunderstood things, Anais was suffering from a set of conflicted interests. She needed to catch her breath, but her legs had also settled around her mentor after she'd released him, both of them relaxed a bit but he seemed quite curious about how her mind was working. Ah, so this sort of contradiction was obvious not just to Anais but to Ailen as well. She took a deep breath and seemed to sink a bit as he sank into her and tried to think of a reasonable way to explain things. "Iia, it isn't a change of plans, I am definitely going to get up, have a quick shower... and go help Charlie," she said knowing how she and their other friends felt about the lad. "But I get a weird sensation from the extra urgency which makes it harder to be urgent? Does this make sense?" she asked not knowing if this was at all a normal thing to feel. On the one had she definitely had somewhere to be, but she was also already enjoying herself. Going wasn't an option, but immediately vacating her own activities also wasn't healthy. Besides that, letting her body do what it naturally wished seemed to keep her internal self from going to extremes to exert itself so... allowing it seemed like the best possible outcome. And so Ailen would remain locked in for at least a couple of extra moments while her breathing returned to normal... 'Oh? We're learning so many things, the road to Slut Hell will be paved in great experiences~' Sinais was something else, but at least she wasn't being overly forceful in the moment. Perhaps indulgence was just the nature of the beast, so to speak. All the while Anais was soon to learn what it was like to be tardy to a meeting.

[Bloodedge]

For the most part, Charlemagne managed to make a decision. Sakura expressed an ignorance of how his mind worked, for whatever reason. What was there to be confused about? He'd done a bit of brainstorming and reached a conclusion, as one would in any normal situation. Ah. What was he thinking? With these people, his normal was their unusual, just as their normal was his outlandish. "I want to say normally, but... we've still got different upbringings. There's no seeing eye-to-eye like that; not yet," he stated. With that said, he vacated the pavilion and began a proper descent into the throne room.

All the while, Ailen was trying to figure out his apprentice's unexpected reactions. She should have been moving, but her motions had them even more entangled. According to the lass herself, urgency made it more difficult to be urgent. Did that make sense? Well... no, it didn't make sense at all. "Honestly, no. That's all part of the experience though, isn't it? I have no idea what you're talking about, but I am now more interested in finding out what it means for myself," Ailen declared. Since she hadn't changed her mind at all, he decided to enable her mind's desire a bit. Ailen lifted his upper body to grant a bit of space ─ though he couldn't do much else with her legs wrapped around him as they were. Oh well; he'd surely be allowed more freedom of movement in a matter of moments. Once that time came, Ailen would accompany the girl on her showering journey before discovering the purpose behind that summoning.

[Apollymi]

Charles seemed to at least be understanding of the differences in their upbringings. According to him, it would be a while before they could see eye to eye on those sorts of things. This was rather true as far as Sakura understood things, it was why certain things went without explanation by her and others. Even so, this random conclusion reaching was something almost mystical by thought process alone. It seemed to be something that didn't rely on logic and information to fully reach a conclusion and thus it was something outside of her normal realm of understanding. "I don't think I understand the actual process though... it's so strange," she found herself murmuring. Still, that was something rather exciting. "I think that's rather exciting though..." she finished seemingly pleased as they made their way down to the throne room. Perhaps she could figure out how he came to this conclusion when he gave it. Or perhaps there was something more to learn about how the conclusion was reached. Maybe logic and information weren't as important in making decisions like these. She'd find out and be pleased by the knowledge.

At the same time, Anais found that her explanation didn't make any sense outside of her own head. Perhaps she could find the right way to phrase it. Whatever the case, Ailen seemed keen enough to enable her quite a bit, whether she immediately wanted to get up, or she wanted to stay in her mostly relaxed position. "I suppose it is just part of the experience," she said carefully. "Though I know this sort of feeling from something else..." she said but she wasn't sure how to quantify it yet, not in this context. Ah, but he'd risen from her fore and though he was still locked in by the hips that was mostly her doing wasn't it. She had to do it, she had to start separating them... so she did. Her legs loosening from around his core gently at first. And then her hips scooting backward, bit by bit. Strangely, her internal voice wouldn't stop her, because she felt it was important for Anais to fully understand her own emotional status. And she felt the fullness of her body becoming emptiness, and as she did she realized what that lack of urgency to move forward in this case was, and she managed to be understanding of it. Just the same she eventually freed both herself and her mentor and gave herself a moment or two to figure out how to explain the whole thing. "Sou ka, that's an odd one..." she said as she eventually found her toes on the floor once more. She'd head to the shower on shaky legs but she wouldn't mind explaining while they got cleaned up.

[Bloodedge]

Perhaps Sakura would eventually come to understand the human mind. Perhaps, along the way, Charlemagne would understand the minds of people like her and Angelica. One would hope for some understanding across the board. Proper unity could only be accomplished as such, and as he, Angelica and Sakura were on their way to a very interesting three-way connection, that would be considered the minimum-level advancement. Charlemagne hoped the day would soon come, but first was the journey immediately ahead. It didn't take long to reach the throne room where Astolfo and... his horse, were waiting. "There you are! What happened?! Are you done exploding?" the pink-haired lad asked. Immediately taken aback, Charlemagne held up both hands. "Woah, relax! I'm already surprised enough to see you here before Annie! No more exploding from me; just wait around for her to show before I share the plan with you guys."

It seemed they would be 'waiting around' for some time yet. Anais had only just released her mentor, allowing their bodies to separate fully. She'd soon be washing herself under the waterfall after considering whatever she mentally compared that strange feeling to. As he followed along, Ailen did not expect an answer ─ he wished only to accompany his apprentice along her way. Apparently though, there would be a comparison given while they each worked toward physical cleanliness. . .

[Apollymi]

Sakura needed to understand the human mind a bit more. Admittedly though, she and Angelica were already on the same page as existences and about Charles, it was simply him who needed to make his mind conform to the truth rather than his ideations. Oh well, maybe somewhere between learning about human minds and rescuing Angelica, Sakura might figure out a way to keep nudging him to the right direction. Soon enough they were confronted by Astolfo and a horse within the throne room. This brought a list of questions to Sakura's mind but it would seem the lad himself had more pressing questions. From Sakura's perspective he was genuinely worried about Charles's well-being. "He was really worried about you... hm, that is what I thought it was," she mentioned seemingly pleased that she'd pegged the personalities present properly. Moving on, apparently Charles maintained some level of surprise that Anais was the one not appearing. "She's Otou-chan's apprentice, those lessons have to be fairly in depth, given how much he has to share with her. Assuming she woke up in a timely manner..." she mused knowing the truth of her father's room as well as how complicated a matter Alchemy could be. She also gave a bit of leeway in her explanation, having figured out humans didn't know how to discuss sexual endeavors among each other. Moving on it seemed the plan wouldn't be shared until Anais showed up, so these three would be left to talk.

At the same time, Anais managed to separate herself and her mentor and even begin showering though she found her legs a bit shaky. She was balanced on tip-toe while giving her body a thorough but quick cleansing beneath the waters, admittedly a bit sad she wouldn't get to have a nice soak this time. As for the feeling she now understood she wondered if it would be clear given the difference in life experience. "It's probably a bit weird to explain but it's like... starting your summer course work near the end of the summer break. You've been having a good time and it's just looming in the corner. And you know once you start it, you'll be moving towards something else. And it might be new or even exciting, but it's still not something you want to do, because you're still having more fun with just the part of summer you find fun... " she explained. "I don't know if that makes sense without the extra knowledge about how school years work, but that is the feeling," she said. She didn't know if he'd understand what she meant, but she could always elaborate a bit more later. Maybe she could share that extra information with him, so her references for attending school made more sense. Yes, that would be a great idea! Ah, but she wasn't exactly sure how to broach that, nor was she even sure he'd be legitimately interested in the extra information. Regardless she'd eventually be clean and stepping out of the water flow to redress herself, once again reaching into the depths of her bag to find out what kind of lingerie her friend had given her.

[Bloodedge]

"Yeah... he's always like that, whenever he's not... y'know... being him," Charlemagne said regarding Astolfo. In response, the other male offered a ditzy expression, both eyes closing as his tongue protruded and a set of knuckles tapped the top of his own head. "Pehhh!" he uttered. To that, Charlemagne had only one additional thing to say. "Yeah, that. He's great to have around, though. You'll hardly find a better friend out there," Charlemagne added. In that very moment, Astolfo's demeanor changed entirely. He felt such a surge of pride and satisfaction, he was almost literally glowing with eyes overtaken by massive sparkles. This was the meaning of triumph over one's own life!

Mentor and apprentice both took steps toward cleansing their bodies. In that time, the latter of the two gave an odd explanation that may not have been understood by the other. Alas, it wasn't so foreign a concept as the girl thought. There were nuances to address, but her entire description of the school experience was somewhat similar to his own time spent learning. When Anais claimed she didn't know if it all made sense with that description, Ailen could only laugh. "It makes more sense than you may believe. The place I grew up? It's called the Alinor, or the Isle of Sumurset. More colloquially, it is called the Summerset Isles. There are so many alchemical ingredients of unknown value there, I was given what you might call 'summer breaks' with 'course work' many times. In letting myself be consumed with personal study, I may have procrastinated quite frequently to acquire the things I was instructed to bring back to my mentor. In that case, I do understand your problem."

[Apollymi]

The thought that Astolfo was always a specific kind of person when he wasn't just being him was odd. Well, his behavior defied normal human logic in most cases, but Sakura understood that better than human logic in the first place. As such, she found him to be a perfectly acceptable individual. His reactions and friendly demeanor around Charles made her feel quite happy. Their bond wasn't romantic in the slightest but it was still quite strong. Nothing made this more apparent than the reaction to the compliment given by Charles. "Oh? That's such an honest reaction. He's really proud of himself..." she said in an almost completely observational way. They'd come quite far from the people who'd fallen out of the sky less than forty-eight hours ago. She was pleased to see them capable of recovering from their mental stresses in each others presence, perhaps this was a secret of friendship. She'd have to observe it further.

Moving on from this, there was now Anais well on her way to joining the others. Of course, while she had her bath she'd explained herself and apparently it wasn't completely misunderstood. In fact, Ailen went on to explain a bit of his 'younger' years in the interim. In so doing, he claimed to understanding the feeling of procrastination of one's assignments whilst having their own sort of fun. "Waah? Really? That's great. I thought it'd be a bit weird to explain but... I'm glad. It's good to get into things for yourself, I think. I had a few solo hobbies that had me with similar kinds of procrastination but the school thing was always the biggest showing of it," she said. Well, that was pretty true she was sure that this particular kind of study would be the sort of thing she'd abandon anything else to do. But that didn't matter either. Now she was out of the water, cleaned up and searching into her bag. Out of which she'd pull, a pair of forest green lace cheeky type underwear. They had more coverage than thongs, but they had quite the different shape while still not disturbing the lines of her figure. Her cheeks were still mostly visible, but they seemed to be almost more decorative on purpose, while still being comfortable. She slid them up her thighs and into to place and gave herself a quick looking over. "I'm going to have to ask Ness why she thought I needed so many different ones, but I am pretty sure I like these..." she said seeming to have gotten quite used to having her cheeks be a bit exposed. Dressing would continue until she was all done, and then eventually she'd be popping out of that door to Ailen's room as they headed for the throne room where they were meant to gather.

[Bloodedge]

True enough, Astolfo was well beyond proud of himself. He wanted nothing more than to be of use to those he decided to pledge himself to. Of course, there had only been two of said pledges made. He was once sworn to the service of Jeanne d'Arc, but had since been the dedicated servant of Charlemagne. Frankly, he preferred the current situation, even whilst remaining loyal to Jeanne d'Arc in any given scenario. The one situation that would result in Astolfo being lost for answers, would be one that saw those two pitted against one another. Surely that sort of thing could never happen, though. . .

Meanwhile, Anais and Ailen were making some actual headway toward rejoining the others. Along their miniature journey, there was a bit of commiseration shared between former procrastinating students. "Our stories are very similar. Nothing is wrong with taking time to explore your own hobbies and urges. Though... you may receive some strange looks if you're caught foraging for rare plants as if they're something you've become addicted to. Perhaps that one wasn't the best decision on my part," Ailen mused as they exited the room. Ah, but there was one more thing to be addressed: the additional pair of new undergarments sported by the girl. Apparently, she had quite the unexpected wardrobe due to that friend of hers. "Perhaps she's clairvoyant enough to have seen your development? They seem to be one big statement after the next. I'm also fond of those," he said while donning his own garments with marked accuracy and swiftness. Soon enough, they'd be seeing the others all standing in wait for Anais's arrival. Charlemagne finally sensed the lass, but it was as if she'd suddenly appeared out of thin air. "Eh? Did Annie learn how to teleport or something?"

[Apollymi]

Strange, that little hypothetical issue that Astolfo thought of was one which technically existed. Of course, it was not anyone's general knowledge of what would happen when Jeanne encountered someone who felt like Anu, but most didn't know how wronged she'd felt nor about her change in disposition. Moving right along, Anais and Ailen were actually making progress and the lass would appear mostly dressed outside that bedroom, sans her hood to avoid undue scrutiny from someone she was trying not to think of directly. Yes, and she'd easily find herself moving towards answeirng Charles's summons though not without a few more words shared between herself and her mentor. His past was apparently one full of strangeness which made the girl chuckle just a tad. "I think I can avoid it if I need to," she said with a giggle. "Besides, the looks can't be any worse than the worried ones from friends or family who may be worried if you only come up for food every few days," she said knowing her habits were likely just as strange in their own contexts. In the meantime, it seemed her newest choices in undergarments were appreciated by Ailen as well, which was rather comforting. She looked and found the man dressing with extreme speed and accuracy and that was interesting too. "If she's clairvoyant she needs to focus on more important things... but it's okay. In exchange for this sort of thing I guess I can help her out a bit too~" she mused. Such was the nature of their friendship.

As for Charles's question, Sakura technically had an answer, "She was both inside this building and outside of it, some of the rooms here are... odd," she offered. "Though she could have learned to teleport I suppose, it isn't necessarily completely outside the realm of possibility." Sakura mentioned. Easily enough Anais's movements would take her towards the throne room where she would see, Charles, Sakura and Astolfo. Her eyes widened as she took in this sight and she seemed almost aghast. Her face would redden intensely as she looked upon this group. "Waah, how am I the one that's late?!" she interjected as if completely surprised by this outcome. Still she looked rather happy and immediately radiant. From what Sakura could tell, she'd definitely been taking her studies seriously at least, and maybe more than that considering the closeness between her father and the lass. Good. And as Anais entered this room and came into the senses of most people she also caught the attention of someone else. A girl with black hair who'd been exploring since a while ago began walking towards the throne room again, if only to investigate what she was feeling.

[Bloodedge]

Finally, all three peers were in the same room again. There was still the surprise of Anais's lateness compared to the others. Charlemagne fully expected her, in any normal circumstance, to be among the first of twelve on the scene. There was also the matter of her instantaneous appearance within the building, which Sakura claimed was unlikely teleportation. That was understandable. If there were rooms in the tenshukaku that counted as subspaces, he doubted his senses would ever reach them. Even so, teleportation wasn't completely discredited due to how possible it actually was. "Damn. I should learn teleportation. It sucks having to use gates all the time," he said, knowing true space-related magecraft to be regarded as an impossibility by most people.

Moving on, Anais's appearance was shocking to more than just Charlemagne. Her personal first order of business was to wonder aloud how she was late. Charlemagne would have responded, but the ever-hyperactive Astolfo beat him to it. "I had a horse!" he said. To that, Charlemagne sighed. "Why say it aloud? I've been trying to ignore the horse in the room. I know it's not yours. I doubt there was a conversation about a horse before you wound up with one. Just... don't talk about having a horse, alright?" the more responsible male pleaded, even rubbing the bridge of his nose over Astolfo's... 'Astolfoisms'. "Anyway... no worries, Annie. We haven't been here too long, and you're doing student stuff. Just to be clear, though ─ can you teleport? You having that might change the entire thing I'm about to tell you guys, so I really need to know if that appearance was teleportation or weird subspace-isms."