Chaos Is MY Theory

"Oh."

Well now she was MUCH more interested in these two strangers. She watched Claes carefully as she examined the first guy. An enchanted mask kept him from death? Huh...WAIT! that gave her an idea! Kiara grew stars in her eyes despite being lectured. "Sure sure, but hey can I see that mask? I'd like to see what they used!"

Sadly, there was no time for such things, as she was asked to search the guy for weapons while Claes did the same to the other. Kiara nodded excitedly, she bet he had other cool stuff too!

She trotted over, placing tulip on the ground near the man's head. If he reacted, it would be a simple task the grab the handle and putt his head far faaarr away from his body. With her own peace of mind secured she went to work stripping him off literally everything he owned. Weapons first, then items, then clothes. She left anything soiled by vomit farther away.

Kiara couldn't help but let out a laugh as the other person seemingly woke up. "Blade to neck and you ask questions." Honestly it made no sense. "My guess is that they wanted you, miss. They were aiming for you the entire fight." If you could call that display a 'fight.'

The young woman continued to appear dazed, not really registering the jeer Kiara had just given. At Kiara's suggestion they were after Claes, the officer narrowed her eyes and placed the tip of her blade closer to the woman's neck. She had no idea why they would be after her, if she were honest. After all, Claes wasn't all that known. She had no money, and to her knowledge, she hadn't offended anyone to make them hunt her. The fact she couldn't pin down a reason made her uneasy.

"Well?" she said. "What's your answer?"

The young woman tried to straighten up, but would notice she was bound by the silvery, ribbon-like light of a binding spell. At this, she gave a rueful smile.

"Oh, you bound me," she said. "I guess that makes sense. Tell me where my partner is, and I'll tell you why."

To this, Claes just jerked her head in the direction of the man Kiara had pummeled not five minutes ago.

"There. He's out cold," she said. "Your turn."

At this, the girl bit her lip. She didn't seem all too apprehensive given the situation, and she was more contemplating what to say.

"Well, it's not you-you we're after, if that's what you wanted to know," she said. "We just knew someone came here often and we wanted to rob them."

"If you wanted to rob someone, why didn't you do the same to this woman right here? She was literally here since earlier and with items to boot," she said. "Now be honest or you can bet you and your friend will be locked up and won't see the light of day."

At this, the girl sighed and rolled her eyes. Her poutful lips pursed.

"Okay, okay," she said. "We knew an officer was coming here. We thought it'd be fun to take you out. Get a little even."

"Even?" she said.

"But of course," the girl said, her eyes now looking determined and a smirk on her face. "You officers killed our sister not too long ago, after all."

At this, Claes froze. She showed the smallest hint of hesitation, and couldn't seem to respond.

Kiara idled over towards Claes as the bound woman went on with lies and the like. Kiara sighed, leaning against her hammer as she went on. Claes of course proved herself a good officer and got right to the heart of the matter without much trouble.

Kiara had been silent for the most part, but once Claes hesitated she finally spoke up.

"Oh poor you." She said with a cold detachment in her tone. "Bandits and assassins tend not to get taken in as easily, I think." She tilted her head as if trying to remember something. "And, I'm pretty sure you can't blame others for your sister's poor decisions." She definitely was making a lot of assumptions, but even if she was wrong her view wouldn't change much.

Claes said nothing, but the carefree captive's expression would turn dark.

"My sister was neither of those things," she spat. Her dark eyes glared hard at Kiara. "She was a Walpurgis who needed help. And what did the Expiate do? They--"

"We shot her," Claes said. Her voice was steady and tried to show no hesitation. Her amber eyes lowered on the girl, but she kept the sword at her neck. "I'm presuming you're talking about the Stray who was shot in market square not too long ago. Red hair. Blue eyes?"

The girl said nothing, as if expecting Claes to give an explanation. At this, Claes sighed.

"She was too far gone," she said. "She was turning into a Moira. The organization couldn't risk that. You Walpurgis of all people should know that."

At this, the girl's body tensed and she let out a yell.

"She wouldn't have turned into a Moira if you had helped her instead of given chase!"

"We didn't!" Claes said harshly. "In fact, one of my friends was trying to save her. She had been beaten by a Free Alchemist and strained her Cantus too much. We tried to atone her, save her, but..."

Claes remembered the image well. The girl's body contorting as black smog engulfed her. The wind picking up and turning into a storm. And then the gunshot. And then the blood.

She exhaled deeply.

"I don't have to explain anything to you," she said. "Your sister committed the crime of roaming free with Cantus and risking the lives of thousands. And like her, you're going to be apprehended . Only this time, you two actually go to jail."

The girl gritted her teeth and struggled some more in her binds, but failed. Claes looked at Kiara.

"I wouldn't ask you if I wasn't desperate, but how would you like to help me bring these two to the Expiate base?"

Oh wow, she didn't even consider Walpurgis. Honestly? That made it all easier. It's a simple fact that people don't understand. A Walpurgis running free is just a disaster waiting to happen. A simple seal fixes all that and yet they're selfish enough to cast all willy nilly rather than submit themselves and save lives.

Honestly? Her sister deserved nothing more than death at that point.

But she kept such opinions to herself, at least in front of the officer. Finding out that they're both Walpurgis didn't win them any favor in Kiara's book though. "So, what's to be done with them? Though I understand if that answer has to wait." An attempted assassination doesn't bode well for either of their lives.

The cold glare she was giving them disappeared the instant she was asked to help move them to the Expiate base. "Even if you weren't desperate I'd help!" She beamed. "You can count on me!"

"What's to be done with them?" Claes said repeating Kiara's question. "Well, aside from being interrogated for more info on that Stray matter, they'll probably be locked up. I don't detect any Cantus usage so I'm assuming these two are sealed. It's very rare for Walpurgis to have Cantus around these parts as Stahlmin is pretty controlled."

"I WON'T let you contain me!" the girl suddenly screamed as she tried to struggle free from her binding.

The female assailant was now squirming about, but the glyph underneath her kept her as still as it could. Kiara would sense the Cartic energy pulsing from the glyph as the girl resisted. It didn't seem to concern Claes, however. If anything, she looked irritated. She raised a finger with several Cartic marks circling around her fingers.

"Sleep," she commanded.

The marks would fly over to the girl's head before making it glow. The girl's eyes widened before closing and her head plopping back on the ground.

She looked back at Kiara who had mentioned she would be more than willing to help out, to which Claes offered the smallest smile. The officer hadn't ever seen anyone so eager to chip into Expiate activities. Walpurgis, of course, avoided the Expiate like the plague, but other humans despite having large respect for the organization, were pretty much just as fearsome.

"Thanks," she said. "Do you think they would fit on your wagon? It would help me if I didn't have to expend any extra Cartic magic. I don't feel easy about having no charge after we'd just been attacked."

Ah, it seemed that the Expiate were a little more forgiving than expected. "I'm surprised that an attempted assassination results in a simple lockup." She thought pensively for a moment. She should study the law just a bit more...As the woman began to struggle though, Kiara idly picked up her hammer. If the woman DID try anything, she wouldn't make it to prison.

Luckily for the assassin, Claes had the patience of a saint. A simple sleep spell and the woman was out. Kiara's grip loosened on her weapon, though she kept it at her side.

Kiara's wide smile returned when she was asked about her wagon."Yup! I reinforced it to carry some heavy weapons. Some scum won't harm it none." She giggled as she cleared off the wagon and tossed her captive on it. While one hand was on her hammer, it was pretty easily done with her other. She honestly loved this strength enhancement. Perhaps she get an extra tattoo sometime..."I wouldn't worry too much." She bent down and collected the roll of weapons, slinging it around her back. "If there were more, they would've attacked already or would've ran I think." She paused a moment and tapped a finger to her chin.

"Honestly it was a dumb place to attack. A wide open space with nowhere to hide? It would've been better to wait on the road and collapse a tree or something. Alternatively they should've just...burned the forest. Smoke inhalation alone would've weakened us considerably. Though it would've drawn some attention. IN FACT! I'm sure they saw the explosion from before, what made them think they even had a chance!?" She sighed, looking almost disappointed. "What a bunch of crappy assassins. A farmer with a pitchfork had a better chance than them."

"It was more of an assault than it was an assassination," Claes said, speaking as if she were reciting her Expiate handbook. "Unless they admit it was an assassination or there was proof of contemplated intent to kill, then they'll just be locked up for violence. A long time, though, however. Besides, the Expiate banned executions of Walpurgis unless it's for extremely severe crimes."

It was a little surprising that an Expiate member didn't seem to share the same sentiments as Kiara. In fact, for an Expiate officer, Claes was surprisingly considerate about the Walpurgis. You'd think someone who was tasked to take Walpurgis down would treat them a little more callously.

As Kiara explained the wagon was fine, Claes gave a brisk nod. The two of them would manage hoisting the bound assailants on the wagon.

"I can handle pulling the wagon," Claes offered. She had been trouble enough to the rather violent blonde girl, and it was the least she could do, right?

Kiara also mentioned the poor tactics that the two Walpurgis had gone through, and at this Claes shrugged.

"You're not wrong," she said with a smile. "It was rather reckless, but I expect that much from a lot of Walpurgis. Not many are educated that well in combat, at least those who are sealed. Many are disorganized and impulsive, and that's what we've dealt with. In fact, perhaps we haven't seen anything close to organized groups of Walpurgis since, well, according to the Chief, since the Cordilleras."

Kiara stared at Claes for quite a long time after she decreed that the attack had simply been an assault. Suddenly, Kiara would let out a giggle and a wide smile would take over her features. "Claes you're quite a funny girl. I doubt they would paper-cut you and be like 'welp, hurt her a little, better go." She let out another giggle and leaned on her hammer. "But if that's what you say, I'll go with it."

Kiara stepped aside to let her handle the wagon. "Lemme know if you'd like to switch at some point. As long as the charge holds on tulip here, I'm plenty strong enough to pull it." She waved around the hammer idly to prove her claim.

"I see..." Kiara muttered, looking back at their unconscious adversaries. "I suppose I gave them too much credit then." While her tone sounded joking, there was a steely look to her gaze that said otherwise. She wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed. "Do you think they'd try to get all organized? What happens then?"

When Kiara suggested the prospect of the Walpurgis getting organized, Claes' own expression darkened.

"Then we'll deal with it," she said vaguely. "The Chief Commander won't have it any other way. There isn't any other way."

Claes' eyes would fall to the ground as she continued to pull along the wagon.

"The last time there was anything close to a threatening organized attack, which was decades ago, the Expiate went all out," she said. "I think that was around the time there was a treaty in the works between Walpurgis rebels and the Expiate forces. But then something happened that caused the Expiate to double-down, and it's why the forces are so strict today. We can't even let the idea of Walpurgis rallying cross their minds. These people here seem different though."

Claes pointed to the two captives of theirs in the wagon.

"Their attire suggest they're not from around here. They could be, for the most part, from the badlands. Dearmad, and all that," she theorized. "And that is sadly where we don't have any dominion over. Luckily, Dearmad takes care of most threats what with the Moira and Incantus there. But I'm rambling..."

She'd look at Kiara and offer a small smile.

"Just know that we'll do our best to keep you and everyone else safe," she said. "And you're free to bop me on the head if I fail to keep that promise."