Rynth: Four Beats

| 6th of Teryusin — Year 362 of the Cycle of Synthesis, Grand Cycle ??? |

Strangely enough, Raoul often enjoyed the tune of elevator music. He figured it was the same for most other people, as said music was often put there to lighten up the dull creaking of the cabin. They never went hard enough to incite a full dance fever during a person’s often sub-minute journey, but were still cheerful enough to maybe incite a few head bops or some such.

Krocko was doing exactly that. His feet repeatedly tapped on the floor as he whistled.

“You mentioned that Miss Marrow was a member of your adventuring party. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her myself when you told me to self-reflect and meditate in Westjir. She was the reason I was able to actually focus and get into my Path.”

His whistling didn’t stop as his gaze remained locked on the screen indicating the floors passing them by, each one accompanied with a subtle ‘ding’ every few seconds. He raised an eyebrow at the honorifi. “Yeah, we were part of the same party. Called it “Sunrisae”, as in “Sunrise”. I was the leader.”

“I recall her mentioning you and her not seeing eye to eye.”

A sigh left his lips, no effort made to hide his disdain. “Yeah. A little disagreement we had in the tail end of our party. We had a difference in opinion, and it led to a party member dying. I take you’ve been to Sestine, then? The statue there’s him. She had it constructed.”

“What was his name?”

“Adam. Adam Iloft Andirus. We called him. Aye-ya. His initials were funny like that.”

Raoul didn’t need to call upon Awakening to sense the hurt in his voice at the reminiscence. He made an all too obvious cough to shift the topic of conversation. “I don’t suppose Miss Marrow is going to turn us away, since you two aren’t on the best of terms.”

“Nah,” Krocko replied, oddly confident suddenly. “She may hate my guts, but if there’s one thing Jhestine is, is a woman who sticks to her promises. A little falling out isn’t gonna stop her from repaying a favor. And besides, didn’t you two already meet? Sounds like she took a liking to you.”

A final, much louder chime sounded throughout the entire elevator to signal their arrival at their destination. The polished metal of the cab doors slid open with a low-pitched, slight whoosh, revealing an open office with the entire back part offering a full floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the bustling metropolitan expanse of Cias Buril. Toward the middle was a simple desk of wood, and atop it was a name card with the name ‘Jhestine Marrow’ pasted in Gothic font. Below it, the title “Head of Driving Research” followed in a smaller text size.

Jhestine herself was situated by the windows, clad in the same proper formal suit Raoul had been introduced to when they first met, sipping on a still-steaming cup of tea. At the sound of the chime, she turned, flashing a smile as her gaze landed on Raoul and his friends. As she noticed Krocko, however, her expression darkened slightly.

“Raoul,” she greeted as she approached, taking his hand. “It’s good to see you again. I didn’t know you were acquainted with Krocko.”

He eagerly returned the handshake, offering her a slight incline of his head. “I honestly didn’t know the freelance driver you were referring to was him, Miss Marrow. Nor did I clock it until Krocko mentioned it a short while ago.”

“...What, I’m supposed to lay out my entire life story? I figured it’d come out eventually.”

“Krocko.” Jhestine shot him a look, half filled with disdain and the other mild annoyance. “You look fine. I didn’t think you’d invoke a favor to assist someone other than you. My opinion of you has risen, albeit very slightly.”

“Ouch,” he raised both hands in defeat. “Still biting hard. Anyway, I owe the brat for going above and beyond. I assume you know why we’re here.”

“I get the gist, and it’s very heartening to know the spirit of pioneering still exists nowadays.” she nodded, turning to Idri, Avil, and Cali. “Hello. I don’t believe we’ve been introduced. May I have your names?”

“Idri!” the girl trumpeted, taking Jhestine’s hand and shaking it slightly roughly—subconsciously, of course. “You have a nice voice, Jhestine.”

“Hello, Idri. You do as well.”

“Avil Laertri Genesise. Very pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Marrow.”

“Ah, the son of the Burilan Trading Company head. I’m surprised you’re willing to go on a journey so far from home.”

“Circumstances invited it. Raoul is… very persuasive.”

Idri chuckled. “Say that again!”

Cali embraced a deep bow, her hands pressed to her lower abdomen. “Good evening, Miss Marrow. I belong to the Babelei line. My name is Calliope, and I serve as Master Avil’s personal maid.”

“You must really be willing to go far for your master if you’re willing to accompany him on a journey outside of the city.”

“I invited them all personally,” Raoul interposed. “I figured that if I wanted to go on an adventure, I ought to have my best friends along with me. Luckily, they all accepted. Some with a little more pushback than others.”

Jhestine showered the entirety of the four of them with a gentle look. “I’m sure you all will find whatever it is you seek on your journey. Being a pioneer tends to do that for people. Have you all decided on a party name?”

“Party name?” Idri questioned, tilting her head.

“Every pioneering party has one. It’s used often to refer to you all as a group. For instance, my and Krocko’s was “Sunrisae”, or Sunrise in Common Rynthian. It’s good to decide on one you unanimously agree upon, because it's what the people will be using when talking about you.”

“Yeah,” Krocko nodded along, attempting to hide the fact that he was only paying half of his attention to the conversation at hand. “Gotta get something that flows off the tongue smoothly. No one wants a wordy party name.”

The four of them locked sights, each one in deep thought. Raoul was the first to break the silence. “So… I don’t suppose anyone has any ideas?”

Idri shook her head. “You already know I’m terrible with names! If it were up to me, though, we should call ourselves “Ourus Fairi”. Us Four. Because… there are four of us and we found each other.”

Somehow, it was better than what they had expected of Idri.

“Not a bad suggestion, actually.” Raoul nodded in agreement. “I could see it.”

“It has to look good on a registry,” Avil added. “What does everyone think about “Imbaraeis Futyris”? A bit of a mouthful and pretentious, sure, but Bearers of the Future has a nice ring to it in Common Rynthian.

“A mouthful, indeed. What about you, Cali?”

“If you are asking for my suggestion, then I would propose we prioritize function over grandioseness. Apologies, Master Avil. Does “Mowandris” appeal? The “party” part of Wanderers is implied, and I believe having it be one word will offer it fanfare.”

“Ooh, I like it!” Idri added. “It makes us sound mysterious. What about you, Raoul?”

“Me? Well…” he trailed off, consciousness drifting into the back of his mind slightly. “When I look at all of us, I’m just imagining the endless adventures we could go on. One day we might be sailing an ocean and the next we might be riding wyverns. Endless Futures brings me back to my Path, but I don’t really want to come off as too showy. How about “Futyris Batan”? Endless our futures and opportunities may be, it’s still important to know that it is ours in the end, and we hold all the power to decide what we want to do with them.”

“Our Future!” Idri shot in glee. “I like it a lot. We could be called the Batan!”

“So it'd be 'The Us'? I guess it's not bad.” Avil agreed. “It has the right amount of beauty in the name while still being personal to all four of us. I’m in.”

“It is also functional,” Cali chimed in. “Being referred to as the Batan would be appealing.”

“I suppose we’ve decided, then.” Raoul showered all four of them with one last look. Finding no disapproval in the choice, he turned to Jhestine. “That’s what we’ve decided on, Miss Marrow. We will be referred to as the Futyris Batan party.”

“Futyris Batan… Futyris Batan…” she repeated. “I see no issues with it. It’s a wonderful name. Very well, then. Henceforth, that will be your party name.”