"Took ya long enough!" Lyric broke through the last thickets of the grove, the pair re-emerging at the pathway leading towards Altaire's gate.

Something must have changed about the demographic of visitors, though, as now the majority of approaching wagons were enormous. They looked reminiscent of parade floats— giant painted carvings, sculptures, and statues were toted atop the backs and behind the reins of equally colossal carrier mounts.

A notable few were a creature similar in make and model to a rhinoceros, but 15 feet tall and almost 30 long, with an elephant's tusks and tough, bony plating covering its head, limbs, and back.

Another was a giant ground sloth, a 10-foot-tall, 18-foot-long lumbering beast whose immense physical strength wouldn't be assumed at first sight due to its somewhat sluggish disposition. It stood bipedally, but hunched forward so much so that it used its knuckles to dig into the ground, offering extra traction in pulling a massive cart of jewelry and similar wares.

One particularly unique wagon didn't actually carry much in terms of cargo, but instead had a creature reminiscent of an oversized snow leopard, towing with it a gigantic platform on which an equally large crowd of people stood, presumably used for transportation—and judging by Lyric's sprinting to it's side, Kyoya had to either trust that this was her 'contact,' or get left in the dust.

He didn't waste a second dodging between carts and sliding beneath his target, only to be met with an absence of any presence. It wasn't until he was grabbed by the scruff of his shirt and pulled onto the underside of the platform that the Miscreant got an idea of what was really going on.

After establishing a grip that would at least be moderately comfortable in which to suspend upside down for a while, Kyoya caught sight of Lyric once more, as well as a new face.

"You're new to this, huh?" his newfound accomplice grinned. She, too, was clinging onto the underside, though she did so effortlessly compared to himself. "You can thank her for spotting this joint; otherwise, we'd still be swamped in the grove." Lyric gestured to her right, the aforementioned new face in attendance.

It was another girl, noticeably taller than Lyric, and passing up Kyoya's height at a little over six feet tall. Her skin was on the darker side, a mellowed brown-red tone that complemented maroon hair styled in a comb-over. One side was shortened, and the other flowed freely to her mid-torso, becoming a dark mahogany at the ends.

She wore considerably more eccentric clothing, with a dulled purple, turtle-necked long-sleeve resting under an open, motley black vest. It was adorned with spikes and claws from an unknown species of creature, socketed into slots in the shoulder-blade area that allowed them to point outward. Such ornaments seemed a perfect fit for warding off any would-be attackers with the threat of being impaled.

Her pants were tight, dark brown cargo pants that transitioned into metal greaves fashioned out of whatever materials comprised the spikes on her shoulders. The sharp, jagged metal almost certainly ensured that a kick could easily lead to a ruined day. She had similar pieces of armor on her forearrms and a hairpin of the same claw item holding down the long side of her hair.

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She gave Kyoya a toothy smile, revealing two moderately sharp fangs in place of her canines, nearly making him flinch.

She mouthed something, but from both the roar of gargantuan footsteps all around them and the rumble of hundreds of passengers above, he couldn't hear a thing.

He made some attempt to communicate that he couldn't hear her, to which she appeared to snicker.

"I SAID, THE NAME'S RYDER!" she exclaimed. Ryder's voice caught him on his heels, much sharper than anticipated. It was a kind of tone that would seem terribly effective at intimidating friends or foes alike—at least, if the fangs couldn't have gotten the job done already.

Lyric seemed too preoccupied with feeling around the framework of their little hideaway. The girl practically lit up when her hand reached a particular spot between herself and Kyoya.

Now that the noise had died down, Ryder was able to speak normally. "You find it? My arms are goin' numb over here." An impatience came about her words, although they were more friendly than not.

"You know it," Lyric answered. The Seraph made short work of whatever was preventing her from pushing the wood, eventually making it give way to a sort of hidden compartment. She nimbly swung inside after giving them a hand gesture to follow, with Kyoya and Rider close behind.

Inside, the boy took notice of the appearance of this conveniently placed nook. It was a cargo hold; crates of wares and large tied sacks covered the 80-by-80-foot expanse, and the ceiling rose some 10 feet above them.

Lyric pulled the hatch to a creaky shut as Ryder climbed in. The three of them all seemed to have the same idea in mind: taking a breather.

The amber-eyed girl was the first to break the ice.

"Well, if you couldn't tell, this is our contact. Allison Ryder—but she prefers her last name, for whatever reason..." A smirk crept onto Lyric's face. "Isn't that right, Alley?"

"You're pushin' it," Ryder snarked with crossed arms. She was leaning back against a stack of crates, while Lyric sat on the edge of another exotic-looking box. Kyoya did the same thing parallel to her. "A little bird mentioned you're out of Teleo. That so?" Her question found its way to the Miscreant.

"Yepper. Why d'ya ask?" The Miscreant did his best to shed the thought, instead focusing on the conversation at hand.

"Well, it really ain't all that often you see anybody from there, as of late. Rumor has it, the whole kingdom's shut itself in—the place hasn't gone public with anything in months."

Lyric appeared to have something on her mind, soon following her friend's statement.

"I snuck in to finish a job when I got ahold of that flyer, too. The whole damn joint is stark red now. I was never able to get any names, but it still bugs the hell 'outta me." She kicked back and stared into the ceiling.

"Can't say I'm the most educated on it, myself... I left there a long time before whatever happened. With what's been going on, I'll consider myself lucky that I did."

A pang of regret struck his nerves.

He didn't despise being open about his person, but that tidbit in particular rang him as too confidential to be shared.

Not just yet, at least.