Nanami Touko Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 (edited) "You really wanna know?" the cat teased back at her fluffy mage, squeezing her tighter. "And... Maybe they did. We don't have to do anything if you're not up for it, Seila. I truly would be satisfied with some cuddling and petting, but... Y'know. If we're all alone in here, and they're gonna be busy... I'm just saying that getting cozier is an option." She emphasized her words by sneaking hands into Seila's robes, but she didn't get touchy feely with her yet. Still, she was close to it, and if Seila didn't stop her... "Mrowrrhn~" "Are... Are you really sure? I mean... You're way stronger than me." If you won't fight her, I will. "H-Huh!? Kisara--" Syta covered her mouth, having blurted out her responding to Kisara once again, instead of responding in her head. "Rrr... Fine. I guess if you and Kisara are both into it... Go ahead then." Syta gave the fox permission, releasing the hold over her magic. As it always went, the girl's hair shimmered until it was a pale, almost platinum blonde, her eyes turning red, her smile growing wide. Kisara was in control again. "Now, Laniva... It's been a minute since I've had the reins here. Go easy on me, would you~?" Kisara shot fingers into the chain on Syta's fire tome, yanking it up into her hands. "Not that I'll give you the same courtesy~!" "Ah... Geez, you really are one innocent lady, huh?" Cass smirked and shook her head, watching Roxanne's reactions to everything. "Well... If you're this modest because of where you're from, forget about that for now. You know Jeremiah, you know enough how impressive you are... And to an Islexian like me, any magic is impressive. Like what miss gold armor did to Jeremiah, sheesh... We don't have many mages here, so spells of that calibre... It's all a little nuts to me. That someone's body can even process an energy that makes an explosion. Crazy... Anyway. Cute, am I?" Cass grinned, all her teeth on display. "We'll see how cute you think I am later. Maybe we really will just do talking... I'd love to hear what the world is like in other parts of the continent." "Liiiiiiiike this~" Marigold hopped up and walked on over to the cell door, stuck her arm around the bars and then-- "And we're open..." The cell swung open, Marigold presenting the exit to him with a grin, before holding up the key ring. "Dude, the guard down here is the sleepiest fucker I've ever met. I didn't even have to go into the shadows to snatch it from him... He's sleeping like a rock right now. So, we just walk right on out~ After you, Kieran." She bowed, satisfied with her tomfoolery, happy to follow after him and push him along a bit. "Let's go see those mercenaries beat each other up for a bit. Maybe you can even help with the healing and meet a cute monster girl, huh~?" "Then who am I supposed to believe in!? If I can't trust the people I've been raised under, if I can't trust anyone leading the country, if I can't trust the freaks that I was born to mingle with, if I can't, even trust myself... Then what's left!? What's left!?" Sylmaria barked at Tio, frustrations leaking even if she couldn't refute her words. Not after everything Alvira had blown open. She fooled herself into believing that Nicolas, that the Belrose family would have used her better. Used her. No matter who she went to, she was going to be a tool... At the least, she'd thought that if she was a tool that was used rather than a tool that grew rusty, it would mean something. One day that usefulness would make her leave her mark on Islexia, and Monster or not, she could be proud of herself. But that was nothing but a dream. A false dream. Something she'd made to defend herself. The Belrose family would never mark down in their history books that a valiant dragon led the charge in some great battle. That a proud Islexian dragon fought tooth and nail to conquer land to expand their influence. They'd have written her out. Just like Kazran had tried to-- "G-Get off of me!" While she'd been locked in her mind, frustrating, searching, Tio had close the gap and yet again these women were hugging her, the sensation foreign, complicated-- it brought forth anger, frustration, but a warmth and missing comfort that only Giovanna had dared to afford her before. She'd always pushed her away, but sometimes she failed. Too tired from her tasks, too exhausted from Kazran's orders, or just... Not having it in her to keep rejecting the only person she'd called friend. She didn't have it in her to push Tio away, going limp in her embrace. "Why, do you... Do you people care s-so, fucking much... I hate this... I hate, myself, th-this country... Everything, why... Why..." She had too many questions, none of the answers satisfying her. "It's not that easy... It's never, th-that easy. Even... Even if you kill Kazran, so, what? Someone else, takes his land. Someone else, does exactly wh-what he did. Owen won't be overlooked... Nicolas will see him, eventually. He'll become a problem, and then... And then this whole paradise, this whole ideal, it'll crumple under the might of someone so much stronger than Kazran. Even if, I had been born here. Broken in body and mind. Accepted that I'm a freak, and that's fine... It wouldn't matter. Eventually, Eslcas will fall. Owen will die. It doesn't matter. None of it matters..." Alvira took a few steps away from what was happening with Elisa, nodding. "Y-Yeah... I mean... It was too ludicrous to take seriously-- a dragon that, hates others dragons, an actually indoctrinated monster, but... I don't think I helped things. I'll leave her alone for now. Sorry." She sighed, once more, scratching at her head. A difficult person to deal with indeed... "Oh, yeah. I was meaning to tell you two, but, well... You were busy. Still are, but, well... I, spoke with Fomalhaut again the other night. I don't know what's been happening, but... While my link to Mercuria is still... There, it feels like it's... Not, active?" Alvira grumbled a hum and thought harder about it for a moment. "Imagine a locked door, intricately fastened, with no real way to open it save for the owner's key, right? But... There's a hole, in the wall next to the door, with enough space to squeeze yourself through. So you can get in anyway. That's... Kind of what it feels like, right now." Alvira took a deep breath, focused, and a proper, real fire spell appeared in her claw once again. "It felt like I could, push her control out of the way. Even if I couldn't remove it. And, like I said, I spoke with Fomalhaut. He seems more awake and active... I don't know if it's because we're getting closer to Lufiria, where she has him chained up, if it's because we hurt her in that last altercation with the sword... Whatever it is, my fire is back. For real this time... but." She let the spell dissipate, taking another deep breath. "Not, for combat. I'm sure you could tell, Elisa... That, took about five times what an ice spell takes out of me. I can push past her influence, but it's taxing... Still! It's progress, and as you can see from the dummy," she pointed at it, all smiles, "even if it costs me, it's all there, as strong as it was when I was young~ It won't be long now before I can goodbye to this witch and her curse forever." "Huh?" Iris watched Jeremiah turn and leave towards Versaris and Aly... She grumbled and folded her arms, sighing. "Why can he go over there, but I'm not allowed to? Rude..." Her ears twitched towards Syndra as she spoke, turning to face her in quick succession... And then she shrunk a bit, laughing awkwardly. "S-Sure, Syndra... Uhm. Uh. There's, no easy way to say this... Er..." Iris sighed and deflated, shoulders sinking. "I've, got a problem and, th-the tome was making it worse, and... It came to a head in a big argument I got into, a-and I ended up destroying the, tome... I should've just, given it back to you. I'm really sorry... I-I'll get you a new one! Promise... It was just... Impulse. Bad impulse..." "Cinaed, hun," Siorel began, yawning and cutting herself off, shaking her head to get the tiredness away from her. "Mrahhn... Hahh, Cin, hun, I'm a dancer. If I need help, I'll just give someone some pep to help me... And if I get stuck in a situation by myself, well... I think we've got bigger problems. Don't worry about me. Promise." She gave a thumbs up and got out of the way to let the other two go at it, eyeing up Lucretia. She seemed... slow on her feet, but with a decent amount of skill? It would be, interesting. Hopefully... But from the looks of things, Cinaed was definitely going to win. "Remember, don't go easy on me, big guy~" Lucretia took a deep breath... She hadn't fought like this since the time Jeremiah had saved her on her way through Hecatia... Was she going to be okay against Cinaed? Hopefully... "Gean! ... Gean?" Kise was all smiles, until the woman collapsed into Akai, the wolf flinching slightly from the sudden weight against him. Kise snapped her fingers at him, the good boy going back to resting; if she said things were fine, there was nothing to be alarmed by. "Aegean? Are you alright--" Almost as soon as she started speaking with her, some fly came over and began buzzing. Kise gave it an extremely bored look, but Gean was kind enough to answer. Good enough~ With the question answered, she continued, completely ignoring the buzzing fly. "What's wrong, darling? You seem so defeated... But I was watching. You handled Jeremiah quite readily, you know? Are you unsatisfied with your performance? Hmm? Tell me... I'm here, I'm here~" Gean was a very self sufficient woman, most times. It tended to be Renais that needed the support, so Kise was pretty happy to be able to provide herself to Aegean for once. "Come here and tell me everything that's wrong." She gently slid Aegean into a hug, one hand caressing her hair, before an eye shot towards the interloper. "You have your answer. Shoo, fly. This is private time." Edited February 19 by Nanami Touko Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRDRHAWK Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 Mina huffed, a little perturbed by the rudeness, but she wasn’t about to intrude on what was rapidly becoming a bit too intimate. Gods, Ryon would have an absolute field day with this fox’s antics, though. “Right, right. Enjoy your cuddles. Thank you for the help.” Mina moved to leave, but added, “I’d still like to see that magic of yours firsthand, but… well. Not right now, obviously. You’ve got some important business here.” Turning tail — literally — and going off elsewhere, Mina found herself striding over towards the Lord Gaffney and the apparent commander. Oh, if Lord Gaffney was here, this might make things easier. He’d likely vouch for her ability as a medic, if need be. “Excuse me. I, um, hope I’m not interrupting anything too important, Lord Gaffney, but I’d like to have a word with the commander here.” If Mina’s tail was swishing a little bit, it hopefully wasn’t too obvious to seem unprofessional. Nyx smirked, almost knowingly, as she listened to Ullr. “Hah, helluva way t’put tha’, bud. But I like it.” Nyx kinda felt bad for getting distracted during their fight, but really, it was Syn’s fault for having too much of a nice ass. Speaking of Syn, and Iris too, they were chatting a little ways over… huh. Wonder what that was about — nothing too bad, Nyx hoped. ”Why do I fight, eh… S’kinda a toughie, nowadays.” Really, there were a few reasons, now, and Ullr wasn’t exactly close enough for the backstory. But the kid was good, and she didn’t wanna leave him without an answer, so she settled on the ones that wouldn’t get her in trouble. “Family. All’a th’Tigers. An’ ev’ryone we been pickin’ up ‘long the way. I know m’closest t’Gean n’ Synnie, obviously, but yer all family t’me.” Nyx shifted herself a little bit, before continuing on. “An’ a lil’ bitta revenge, too, against them Underground blokes, tha’s certainly helpin’ me push through right now.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy12510 Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 (edited) "A problem made worse by the tome?" Syndra had to think about what it was that Iris was saying. While it was just a standard Flux tome she'd given to Iris, Iris herself wasn't a standard dark mage, most normal people weren't capable of doing things like she could with her eyes, so whatever this issue was had something to do with that more then likely. Well, there wasn't anything to be done about the book Syndra gave Iris now, but there was something Syndra could still do to help. So Syndra knelt down before the little lizard and said. "It's fine Iris, I'm not mad and you don't have to apologize to me. You remember what I told you when I gave you that tome right? That I wanted you to use it to protect your sister? If you felt holding onto it would have endangered her in some way then I can't fault you for what you did. It was just a book, I already have another copy of it in my bag, it's replaceable. Your sister and your love for her aren't. As long as you're still fighting to keep her safe, you don't need some silly book to keep your promise to me, so don't feel bad about it okay?" Edited February 19 by Billy12510 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemask 96 Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 Jesse’s voice got caught in her throat as she listened in on the exchange between Sylmaria and Tio. She wanted to refute the dragon’s claim, but how could she? Nothing Sylmaria said was wholly wrong, even if Jesse believed in the Gaffeny’s vision for Islexia. Nicolas was both a formidable man and a hero to the people, still it didn’t feel right. Her brain was failing to find the right words for the moment, so she moved away from the two embraced in the hug. Not too far away was Alvira and Elisa, she could talk with them instead. “Hello Elisa, Alvira. I hope I’m not barging in, I can tell things are… a lot right now, but I was hoping to speak with you.” As far Jesse knew, neither Evoker was particularly versed in wind magic, but if Koba could pick up on the nature of her armor, surely they would be able to gleam just as much if not more. With the dragon healer gone, Gean fully melted into Kise’s embrace. It was warm, in a different way from the warmth she felt from her necklace. It felt as if Kise was slowly washing away the heat of embarrassment in Gean's cheeks. “Yeah I won, and I'm glad for that. It's just, I was so determined to impress him. I even tied my hair up for this fight, like my mother used to do when she was serious. Then in one exchange of words I was immediately thrown off and made a fool of myself.” Gean sighed. “I'm just mad at myself for how quickly I flubbed my own expectations.” Having vented her frustrations finally, Gean faced her girlfriend, just taking in Kise for a moment. “I've been meaning to ask, but you got another tail. I take it the shop has been doing well?” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ether Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 "I don't know about innocent, so much. Just not used to all that much... interest." Roxanne replied, shaking her head just a bit. It wasn't enough to erase the blush from her cheeks though, the burning continuing as Cass added on to her appraisal. To an Islexian, any proper display of magic would be considered impressive... that was one advantage Roxanne had, she supposed. "Magic really is something... even growing up surrounded by it, seeing applications like Miria's still make me giddy... crazy is definitely a good word." Roxanne replied, mirroring Cass toothy grin, not that hers was anywhere near as impressive a display. "And yes, cute you are. You're probably... definitely out of my league in all this if you're anywhere near skilled as you are confident, but I still think so. Ehehe..." Roxanne flustered a bit, trying to hold her own even if only just a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanami Touko Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 "Good riddance," Kise sneered, turning her attention fully to Aegean. "Oh, sweetie... I'm sure your uncle isn't upset at your performance. You did win, after all, even if he's holding back... Every failure is a lesson to learn going forward. Even if you're expecting to perform the best that you can, sometimes errors or mistakes can happen. It's a part of being alive~" Kise rubbed a hand along Gean's back, nodding at her assessment. "Yes~ The lovely sheep-elf over there decided to bless me with some of her mana... So we're back to five. And that'll make six once I rip the one that was stolen from Luthier's cold, dead hands~" She smiled jovially, despite what she'd said, continuing to stroke along Gean's back. "Hmmmm... Would you like me to teach your uncle a lesson, if you're upset at him for chiding you? I'm sure he could handle a little attack from someone like me, if he stopped holding back... Would that be... Fun to see~?" "... Okay." Iris smiled and looked down, a little bashful after Syndra's extremely kind and understanding words. "That's exactly what it is... But I'll still get you a replacement! I'd feel bad if I didn't, so I'll poke around town before we leave and get you an extra flux! Promise~" She was more than all smiles now, beaming from ear to ear, turning to face Jeremiah with her claws out and ready. "Alrighty, Big J! Prepare for the smack down from Iris town! Ullr's been teaching me a lot about my body recently, so you'd better watch out for these fists~!" "... Really." Cass stared Roxanne up and down, tempted to scoff, but she held back. How someone like you gets ignored... I know that we're in Islexia, but you'd think some other monster would've scooped you up and laid claim by now. Sheesh... I guess diamonds in the rough slip through every now and then. "You can tell me all about how cute you think I am later... For now," Cass turned her attention towards Jeremiah, folding her arms. "I'm real tempted to take a swing at him too, but I do wanna see how the Tigers fare. Try and gauge how much he's holding back... See if I even stand a chance as he is. And I'm sure you're interested, having given him a run for his money, eh? Maybe you can do more than you thought you could~ A round two, once you know his movements better, perhaps..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ether Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 "Heheh... yeah, really." The sheep answered as Cass seemed incredulous. Given her circumstances since leaving Lufiria, romance hadn't really been on the table, but it was tough to explain that with much brevity. Luckily enough for Roxanne's composure, Cass seemed content to move things along towards the idea of sparring with Jeremiah. "I mean, I'm not a Tiger either, so I don't see why he wouldn't go a round with you. Going to help with the assault seemed to be enough to get me in." Roxanne noted, thinking over the shark's idea of a round two for a few moments before shaking her head. "He already has me figured out. Against an opponent on my level, I could maybe brute force, but he's different. I can't catch him by surprise again, so it would only come down to whether he chose to give me enough time to attack before conceding. Given he already told me his evaluation, he probably has better things to do then repeat the same thing over." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemask 96 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Gean blushed slightly at the words of reassurance from Kise. She knew that Kise was right, and her uncle would undoubtedly echo her statements. "You feel soft, Akai feels soft too. Good boy Akai." A slight deflection, but Gean was grateful for the support. Gean was also happy for the sale (of mana) and tail, though a brief puzzled look flashed across her face at Kise’s smile. She dismissed it though, considering Gean also wanted to sever Luther's head from his shoulders. “I'm not upset at him, he was teaching me like he should, and I could tell he was worried about me himself.” That was mostly true, though Gean was a bit peeved by the Luci comment. “Still, I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious about a spar between you too.” If anything, Gean was curious to see Kise go up against someone above the level of the Tigers, she had never seen her girlfriend really fight before, and most of the foes they faced until now Gean believed would not be a fair fight for the kitsune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary on the Winds Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 Kieran just blinked as Marigold wrapped her hand around the door, and just opened the door, with the key from the guard. Kieran nodded his head, "Somehow, I don't know why I didn't just expect that. The guy really doesn't do much beyond sleep, because it's only me down here, and I'm not going anywhere... Except now, I guess." Kieran grabbed his book, and sighed at Marigold's antics, "What can you do when you're faced with an open door? You walk on through... Also, shut up about that. First of all, not interested. Second of all, they'd probably gut me before I ever got that far, and I'd probably deserve it. Circumstances or no, I did just sell them all out." Kieran shrugged, and started making his way upstairs, "Besides, I've got a hell of a lot to do before I'm worth stuff like that. I can help with the healing at least... provided I don't get a weapon in my face; kind of hard to do that when you're fearing for your life, you know?" Tio simply let Sylmaria burn herself out, let her anger, and grief slowly subside as she hurled question, after question, before finally coming to rest on a belief that nothing mattered. Even if she had been born to parents who cared for her, even if she had been born here under Owen's reign... Islexia would eventually come to snuff it out. There was the truth of the matter, the truth of her distance, and her hatred; neither of them were real, they were a defense mechanism, something she'd crafted to protect herself from the crushing weight of knowing that solely because of the scales on her skin, the tail at swishing at her back, and her magic, that she was an eternal target here in Islexia. "...What's left? What's left is Giovanna. If you can't believe in your leaders, or your fellow monsters and clouded, or yourself, why not believe in the one person who has believed in you?" Tio took a deep breath, both to steady herself, and to release the breath that she had been holding that Sylmaria would strike back at her. They weren't exactly on positive terms. "There... isn't one reason why I care so much about this. It's many reasons, some personal, some practical. The most important of them is that I desire a world where people like you aren't seen as a pariah simply because of what you are. Because I've seen what a better world looks like, and know that it can be reach. Because I've seen, felt, lived... things similar to you. I've been both fortunate, and unfortunate enough to see Glacies truly become a place where monsters and humans can live together, and I've seen its difficulties, faults and problems." Tio pulled back to look into Sylmaria's eyes, "But that does exist. Is it something we'll have to fight for? Yes, Islexia, Karavel, Mura, Kansei, and even Hecatia still hold negative sentiment towards monsters and clouded... but for what? Genuinely, Sylmaria. What? What have the monsters of this era done? Why are they reviled and hated? You can't give me that answer. No one can, and no one of this age will ever be able to. Because the world that so many people have been sold no longer exists, and we should stop believing that it does. Owen won't crumple. This paradise, his ideal? That will persist. Because the world he's trying to create is the world as it should be, and it will continue its march towards that ideal. It wasn't so long ago that Owen's forces were going to break under the weight of Kazran, and two days from now, that man is going to die. All because he found people who believed in his world. Of course, I don't expect you to believe me, that's why you should go and rescue Giovanna, and watch what the Tigers do. Watch the allies that Owen has made, and what they do, and then answer for yourself if you really think that none of what we do here matters. I know my answer; I answered this question for me many years ago. You're not broken, and neither is anyone else present here." Tio pulled her back in for another hug, "If you don't trust my words, or anyone else's, then trust in Giovanna and their actions. Make your decision after seeing that." Jeremiah walked back over to see Iris and Syndra finishing up a conversation of their own, and seeing Iris beaming already striking up a combat pose, "...Big J?" Jeremiah blinked for a moment, "I really should be used to nicknames by now, but I really have just been hit with so many on this excursion..." Jeremiah tilted his head looking at Iris's stance, and her claws. Despite the intimidation factor from her claws, she was frail, certainly a lot frailer looking than Alriana, and most of the others he'd dealt with today. "Hmm..." Jeremiah sheathed his dagger, and assumed an unarmed stance, "Yes, I think this will do... Whenever you're ready, Iris." Jeremiah turned to look at the blue wolf, a quick glance, and then a smile, before turning back to focus on Iris. What an interesting group... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcd900 Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 "Amera...! So handsy..." Seila huffed and sighed, though there was more of her smile audible in it than any exasperation. "I know you'd be plenty happy with pets, Amera, don't worry. Mm, still..." The mage let out a little laugh, gazing at the cat through glasses slightly askew. "You make it sound like a sappy novel... 'Sneaking away from prying eyes in broad daylight, the two--', ah...!" As those hands grew more brazen, she blushed, accidentally bumping her book off the armrest where she'd left it, already forgotten. "Mm. I'm sure. Especially if Kisara helps you, because I know what you can do when she does. I've seen it myself, Syta." Laniva smiled, a little sheepish at Syta's slightly-begrudging agreement, in truth a little unable to fully contain her own excitement. Syta's hair turned - growing pale, her eyes changing, until unmistakably it was Kisara; and the tome was already in her hands, thrown wide with the fox's own eagerness for a fight, and in she brought her practice blade into a plow guard. "Don't worry... I didn't think you would...!" Already her feet found the ground in front of her, one after another; there was no time to wait in a battle against a mage - every moment spent not approaching was another moment for a snap of the fingers, a swish of the wrist, such a little thing, truly, to invoke such power. the thought briefly crossed Laniva's mind as she charged forward as to how one went about a practice battle with magic, but sooner than she could dash the thought the fox's words from but moments ago echoed as if to dismiss the thought out of hand - she wouldn't be holding back. Need to strike first-- The blade laid a heavy thud across Syta's - no, Kisara's - arms, the cat having hoped to disarm her before she could respond with a flurry of magic; but her hands yet found purchase upon her tome, and a fireball shot her way. Raising her sword, she attempted to deflect the magic to little avail, coughing under the heat. She set her feet for a powerful swing-- --but her blade met the resistance of naught but plumes of ash and smoke, and through the cut where her blade had passed through it she glimpsed only Kisara's grin at the second cast of flame, the smug smile sending a chill through her despite the radiant blaze. She blinked, and found herself on her back, her blade a few paces away. She sat up, slowly, propping herself up on her hands and looking over towards her all-too-jubilant opponent. "Mrgh... ow. Hahh... magic's... no fun." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursali Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 Once the proverbial dam had been broken there was no stopping her flood of emotions. Tightly, perhaps even a bit painfully, she had wrapped her arms around Versaris and buried her face in his chest; crying into it as she clung to him, almost as if she was afraid to let go. His attempts to reassure her and assuage her emotions only caused her to cling even tighter to the not-elf. "I... I know that...!" She managed between breaths, speaking between the sharp inhales, tears still rolling down her face. "You already promised, wouldn't do again... Believe you. That you, will be with me? So why? Why hurt, not go away?" She knew the promises he had made to her, trusted in him to uphold them, so then why was she crying, why had the tightness not left her chest? She knew that people cried when they were sad or upset, that picturing Versaris dead made her sad, but there was so much more there than just sorrow. Loneliness, even if she would still have Iris, Alvira, the rest of the Tigers. Fear, her life wouldn't be the same, something about her had fundamentally changed. This feeling was wholly unique to Versaris, but... "Don't understand...! Why? Why do I care about you, so much? More than others, even Iris..." Her tears had subsided, but her voice was still soft and had a slight waver to it, still being muffled as she spoke into his chest. "Trust you. Worry about you. Want spend my time with." When had these changes happened? She couldn't pinpoint any one moment, there was no decisive turning point to be found. It felt as though these feelings had snuck up on her; the first time she actively had acknowledged them was now. "But more than that! Don't want, to lose you...! Can't, lose you..." The twinge in her chest had returned, acknowledged with a final quiet, "Why?" She hadn't even heard nor noticed Jeremiah's approach until the man addressed her directly, but that wasn't enough to unglue her face from Versaris' now damp chest. She didn't even know why he had come over, as far as she was concerned their quarrel was still ongoing; he still owed Iris an apology before she would want to be civil with him. Why then was his attitude so different? She hadn't done anything to make amends, just had tolerated his gaze on her. He began to address Versaris, giving her time to mull over his motivations, the possible reason for his shift? Was it because Versaris was now present? The Voice was still silent, but she could feel it latch onto that idea, a sudden influx of vitriol for Jeremiah rising to the surface... She hadn't expected Jeremiah to address her again, actually turning from Versaris to look up at him. The Voice wanted her to growl, to tell him off for even approaching her, but the smile on his face, no matter how faint, left her confused, almost stunned. She didn't know if he was expecting a response, but regardless of that she found herself incapable of giving one, unable to do anything but stare at him as he turned to leave shortly after, walking towards Iris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanami Touko Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 (edited) Versaris gave Jeremiah the briefest of nods. Alriana was the most important thing in the world right now, and nothing else would get more than a sliver of his attention. It didn't help that what he wanted to say was a concept so abstract that, even if he knew she was feeling it, there was no way to form it into an explanation. It made him happy, and sad, all at once, to see her like this. "Aly..." Her hug was tight, it almost hurt. He didn't care. "Aly, I... I don't know how else to say this, but... That's... Just, love. It's cliché to say. It's sappy... It's probably not the answer you're looking for, but... That's... All a part, of love. And it makes me happy, to know you care this much, but it's devastating to see you so hurt." He held her tight and let her weep. This was likely the first time she was going through something like this. Going through something so confusing and heartbreaking... "I'm sorry that I've done this to you," were his first choice of words. Was it worth her suffering for her to understand love? Should I have been more gradual with my feelings...? I'll never regret falling for her, but... If keeping it inside for longer would've made this easier... There was no changing the past, as much as he pondered on it. All he could do now was be here, for her, and never turn back on his promise. Sorry, Luthier. I wanted to kill you, but if we meet again, I'll be turning tail, no matter what you say. I've got something much more important to live for. "I'm here. So let it out. Say everything you're feeling... No matter how much it hurts. It will pass..." While Lani's swings might've hurt Syta's body, Kisara felt nothing, only controlling the vessel; with her magical control it was no issue turning pain off for the moment... And in the swings of combat, that extra bit of focus could decide everything. She let Lani's swing knock her back enough to give her the space to succeed, the fireballs coming from Syta's form so much stronger than her usual magic. As Laniva crumpled, 'Syta' cackled, strutting her way towards the fallen knight, climbing onto her, sitting in her lap... A finger stroked along her cheek, lifting up her chin. "Magic is plenty fun... And not the only kind of fun I could show you--" It was then that the magic wore off and Syta came back into control. It was a roller coaster of emotional reactions: first the panic of hoping Laniva was alright, then the extreme embarrassment of what Kisara had done with her body, THEN the exhaustion of the fox's control... She gasped, squeaked, turned red, and nearly passed out, collapsing against Laniva in a fit of gasping for air. "Hahh... I, uh... Doesn't, f-feel like I won-- I'm SO sorry, for what, she... Ahh... Geez, K-Kisara... Why...?" Iris blinked. "What, no sword? You goin' extra easy on me JayJay? What the heck?" She huffed a little, but her playful indignance did not mirror the severity at which she suddenly struck, legs bending until she was nearly crouching, springing like a missile at Jeremiah! It didn't do much, as he stepped out of the way, but she caught herself in a swift roll, springing at him again, catching him in the shoulder! "Heh! How's-- ghrgmm!" She was immediately walloped for two hits, spinning back onto the ground. It took a moment to catch herself this time, shaking her head. "Ullr hits harder than that!" She swung, missing again, but her fists were flying now, used to their weight, colliding with his shoulder again, then his chest, before another pair of fists went her way... They felt lighter, even if they'd definitely impacted. He's taking is extra easy on me! He really is! I hope you're not feeling pity from before, Jay, I swear-- wait. In a mid fight moment of clarify, taking another hit, Iris realized, He's not taking it easy on me... He's trying to teach me. Duh. DUH! That's what all this training is about, stupid! She spat a small bit of blood out of her mouth, before chuckling a little. Her claws swung, they hit, and a final swipe of her nails across his clothes was the point at which Jeremiah held up his hands for them to stop. Iris flopped to the floor, immediately, panting hard. "Hehhhhhhh...! Ullrrrrr... H-Hits wayyyy harder than, you... Bhghhhn... Butyoustillhithard..." She muttered her final words, glancing towards either healer. "Izzer a white mage in the audience...?" "Maybe... And maybe he'd let me fight him. I don't wanna hurt him by accident, though. I'm actually a pretty bad person to spar with... I get way too into it. The teeth aren't for show... And accidents can happen." She shrugged, then turned her eyes to Iris' match... It was surprising to see the small little thing spring around so easily. Maybe it was due to her size, maybe it was due to her legs. A combo of both, perhaps? Either way, she was swinging her mitts around with relative ease... Wait, are those actually her hands? An... interesting mix of parts. What kind of monster was she, again...? Cass didn't have time to go up and answer, the lizard collapsing after the conflict, asking for a healer in a rather peculiar way. "Errr, Renais, Lucy, you're up." "Busy!" the woman called back. "Welp. Renais-- Oh, wait, duh. Roxanne! You're a healer too, right? Mind fixing up the poor thing?" Kise giggled and kissed Gean on the forehead. "I'm quite pleased to know you aren't upset with him. That will make this a much kinder experience for him~" She slowly slipped out of Gean's embrace and stretched, tails fanning behind her. "Hahhh, you're free to rest here, or come watch... I'll make sure Jeremiah understands how serious I am." The fox made her way over as the fight with the little lizard had finished, bringing her tome out as she walked up next to Syndra. "You're next, yes, Syndra? Best of luck... If you wish to see an example of the high end of dark magic, you should stick around when you're done. Jeremiah~!" Kise called over with the fakest smile. "When you're finished with Syndra, I'd like to take a crack at you. Your niece is curious... Hopefully you won't hold back against someone like me?" "Not interested because they're monsters, not interested because they'd beat your ass... Or not interested because you have your eyes on someone, finally. Ehh? Ehhhhh~?" Some parts of Marigold hadn't changed, ribbing him with her elbow before strolling down the hall ahead of him, whistling. She tossed the keys back on the sleeping guard, who snorted, sniffled, and promptly fell back asleep. "Damn, like a log. Bet he could sleep through an assualt on the fort without stirring..." As they left the dungeons, Marigold shrugged. "Anyone puts a weapon in your face, I'll put one in theirs. They don't have to like you; they don't even have to forgive you, but this is the only way forward... And if they'll try to deny you that much, they'll get a piece of my mind. No ifs ands or buts." She smiled up at him and then returned to her whistling, hands lazily held behind her head. Tio's words were washing over her like a wave. So much of it she'd heard before. So many sympathizers. So many people killed by her hand, Giovanna's hands, Kazran's soldiers, the man himself... It didn't matter. None of it mattered. If she couldn't even be a martyr for the country she loved... But do I truly love it? I was born here. Raised here. Told to fight here... I had talent. A reason to keep growing. And then... It all, just... and it still... She felt her brain going in circles. The only constant she couldn't refute was Giovanna. This mystery piece of an unsolvable puzzle. This peg that didn't fit in any hole. She didn't make any sense. They'd grown up on the same things, the same teachings, the same feelings and knowledge... But she could still look at what Sylm was and smile. Genuinely. It hurt, so much. Every time she smiled, something inside of the dragon cracked; split apart. She'd cover the wound. Fix it every time... And every time, it would split back open, only to be covered again, and again, and again... "See for myself what Owen and these people accomplish..." Was there a chance? Was there a possibility that she was wrong? That Islexia was wrong? That monsters weren't the problem? ... No. Not because this woman says so. Not because Kazran threw me away. Not because Giovanna is kind to me. These are all single things. I am one person. If she wants to make me believe in her inane ideals... "Then we shall see what happens to little lord Owen Gaffney when Kazran is slain. We shall see if his ideals last, and make change, or if Nicolas snuffs him out for becoming a problem... You're smart enough. You know the Belrose family hasn't stepped over here because they don't care to waste the resources. Because Kazran can handle it. So if he can't... Then we will see how true your words really are." She finally shrugged off the woman's embrace, sighing heavily. "I... Will play my part until then. Use this curse. Kill his men. Bring harm to him... What a wonderful dream you have, Tio. But it's still... Just a dream." She shook her head. "Besides. You and yours will be leaving as soon as he has been dealt with~ So whatever Owen achieves with you all... If he can't hold it alone, it will truly not matter. Hold those hopes high. For that is all you can do..." Edited February 23 by Nanami Touko Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ether Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 "Mmm, that's... Jeremiah is probably fast enough to make sure that didn't happen, but I can understand why it would be a... concern. Anything more than a play bite from those teeth would do some damage." Roxanne replied, a quiet, somewhat awkward chuckle escaping her as Cass' attention seemed drawn to Jeremiah's current fight, hopefully the shark didn't take offense at her assessment. Watching his opponent dive and leap around like a spring certainly was interesting and unexpected, and when it was all said and done the odd lizard collapsed, asking for a healer in a rather eccentric, but certainly endearing way. Roxanne had already been about to start walking when Cass asked her, the sheep giving her a salute and a quick flourish of her staff. "Special delivery, one white mage as requested. I'll just need your signature and we can drop off your package." Roxanne cheerily replied as she touched her staff to Iris, letting the healing light flow into the lizard, making some attempt to match her cheek. Looking over at Jeremiah as the challengers continued to line up, including the fox merchant from the other day, Roxanne pointed her staff in his direction, not advancing on him quite yet. "Do you want a pulse, Jeremiah? While I'm certain none of us have really hurt you, small cuts and scrapes can add up." She offered, wondering if the man would accept the new challenger. The fox, Kise, was an odd one. Her ability to intake life force... it was quite strange. Roxanne couldn't help but wonder what sort of mage one would have to be to come up with that sort of ability... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy12510 Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 (edited) "Well done Iris, you really socked it to him." Syndra cheered on Iris' successful bout against Jeremiah. "Perhaps later on after this Kazran business is settled I'll take you up on your offer, but you don't have to worry about it, honestly." As she started digging into her bag to get ready for her own bout, Kise had approached Syndra, 'offering a demonstration' of her talent against Jeremiah. "Well, I suppose it would be rude to turn down such an offer, although I don't know if you could take him if he's going all out." Syndra dug out the Flux tome from her bag, it was a little ironic that she'd be using the thing she just had a discussion with Iris not being that overly important just a few minutes ago, but the whole point of this exercise was to improve, and Syndra wanted to improve more in her Dark Magic usage. It was the best opportunity she was going to get. "Alright then." Syndra said facing Jeremiah. "I'm ready to go when you are Sir Jeremiah." Edited February 23 by Billy12510 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorri Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 Cin watched as Lucy approached, twirling her staff a little, making Cin realize just how different it was from a normal healing staff. Going to have to pay attention. That's going to be tricky. He knew that she had told him not to go easy on her, but at the same time, he couldn't quite bring himself to use his magic here. This was just a training match. Unlike with Jeremiah, the winner here didn't really matter. The goal was to practice, not win. Even as he said that though, he couldn't help remember what Jeremiah had said. He had to remember his speed. The benefit of using his fists was that he could usually get two swings in for an opponent's one, though at the downside of not having as powerful of a weapon boosting his strength. Starting to move forward, he began to wonder. Could I get an extra strike in there? Just one more... He moved in, swinging, two quick connections, but before he could land another, he found himself being struck a solid blow by Lucretia. It was surprising, just how heavy of a hit it was, if he was being honest. He hadn't expected her to swing quite that hard. He found himself falling into a pattern, as he swung and was countered, but he could feel himself starting to speed up. I can do this. Come on... Come on! He took another hit, but charged forward, letting one, two... Come oooon... There! He saw the opening and swung, forcing the rhythm of the fight to change, sneaking in an extra hit. He had it now. He quickly pushed the advantage, pushing through and repeating it, feeling the first, second, and then the third one landing, and ending the match as he sent Lucretia down. "Ha... ah... ahhhh..." He dropped to the ground too, winded as he looked down at his hands for a moment. It wasn't something he was always going to do, he knew that. It was about exploiting the moment where the fight allowed. When an enemy let their guard down, or when he managed to push through with an extra burst of speed, he would be able to slip it in. "Good... good fight. Ha. Gotta catch my breath. You've got a damn solid guard there. Felt like my hits were barely doing anything for a long time there. And you can heal. Impressive." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary on the Winds Posted February 25 Author Share Posted February 25 (edited) Kieran ribbed the Zombie back as, of course, she started teasing him about his words. "I'll leave it up to you to decide. I'm not sure you'd believe me even if I told you honestly. Besides, who's really going to want to interact with a guy who nearly sold one of their friends?" He put his hands out wide, and shrugged, "I fucked up, simple as that." He sighed, and mulled over his words for a second or two, "I'll kill one of the options for you at least... It's not because they're monsters, or Clouded, or whatever. Everything else, you can keep guessing, but I guess I owe you that much." Kieran then raised an eyebrow, and looked over at her, "Thanks, but... I'd appreciate it if you kept that to strong words. If someone puts a weapon in my face... I've gotta own that, and either make them put it down myself, or just do what I gotta. No one's gonna deny me, I've got things to do." The door to the training field was already wide open, and sure enough, there they all were. Two people were going at in, with some other fights going on around, but Kieran's eyes were quickly on Jeremiah, and then... to one of the Evokers embracing... someone. In truth, there were a lot of people around that Kieran didn't remember seeing back when the Tigers first arrived; it was impossible to forget the Evokers, and then the Belrose, the gun toting Tiger... Amongst those he didn't recognize was the very bouncy rose haired woman twirling a staff as she tried her luck against the massive dragon. What she lacked in speed, she was making up for in defensive movements, and striking back with strong strikes. Kieran whistled under his breath, more impressed with her handling of her staff, more than the obvious. "I've been taking it easy on everyone, Iris. Don't take that to mean that I'm not taking you seriously." Iris was in like a shot, her speed was certainly impressive and she knew how to use it... mostly. Her first attempt was lackluster enough that Jeremiah simply side stepped the attack, and waited for her to correct her strike. She immediately did so, and one landed clean, but the 2nd one was reckless, and Jeremiah returned the favor with two well placed blows. However, quickly, it became clear that Iris's claws were as dangerous as they looked. She was doing her best not to wield them to lethal effect, but their sharpness was a point of a concern. Iris came in again, and Jeremiah stepped to the side again. Iris was quick, but she was unrefined in her attacks. What Iris was however was a quick learner, as she adjusted her strikes, to where both connected as she came in this time, bringing a smile to Jeremiah's lips, "You adapt well, Iris." Jeremiah struck back twice, pulling his strikes, now was the time for Iris to strike. Will she see it, or will she hesitate... Iris, went in, and she found her footing, hitting her counter, and then hitting both of her strikes, with the last tearing the man's shirt. "That's more than enough, Iris. Well done." Jeremiah looked over his shirt as Iris flopped to the ground, exhausted, but delighted with her efforts. "Ah Lucreti--" Jeremiah stopped himself as Lucretia was in the midst of dealing with Cinead, and it was clear that he was taking his words to heart. Which made Lucretia's guard that much more impressive. Renais was elsewhere, and then, Roxanne walked up, and revealed that she could also use healing magic. "Hah, aren't you just full of surprises... I wouldn't mind a little pulse t-- Hmm?" Jeremiah looked over towards Syndra--she'd already stated her case to be next in line, but it was the person next to her that his interest. The Kitsune sauntered over with her tome open, a nosferatu tome from the looks of it. "Admittedly, I hadn't expected you to step forward, but..." Jeremiah looked over at Gean, "I suppose that would be a good way to see how high the ceiling is, I can tell just from your tome, that this would be a very different sort of engagement." There was... something behind that smile of hers, and Jeremiah couldn't quite place what it was, but that was something he'd have to deal with after dealing with the Belrose. One glance was all that was necessary to see the resemblance, "I do have to admit a little surprise at one of the Belrose being a mage, but times do in fact change." Jeremiah drew his sword, "At your ready, Miss Belrose." "I am quite aware, or rather, I am becoming more aware day by day." Tio released Sylmaria as she seemed to regain her composure, though, her words weren't as harsh, at least for the moment. "Yes, you're right, Owen will have to hold what we help him to achieve. We can't remain after Kazran falls, but I have a feeling that we won't have to. I can't refute anything that you're saying, not yet. As much as you'll have to see what the Tigers can do, I'll have to see if Owen, and those who support him are strong enough to really make this dream into a reality. It is all I can do, and I will do it proudly." Tio then smiled at Sylmaria, "For now, I'll help in the ways I can to give Owen--and you--the best chances for success." Edited February 25 by Mercenary on the Winds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcd900 Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Laniva let out a groan as Kisara sat Syta right into her lap, tail bristling with surprise as the finger traced her cheek, blushing as her chin was lifted, looking back into those red eyes. "Hwahh... K-Kisara, you--" As Syta came back into control, though, she was cut off by Syta's sudden bout of exhaustion, first blinking momentarily at her gasp and then slumping down to the ground on her back as Syta flopped against her. "A-Ah, um, you definitely did, though..." She tiredly raised her arms around her, giving her a hug, though weakly through her exhaustion. "Mrhh, no, no, it's okay, Syta, I asked for the spar-- oh, you, you mean..." She squirmed a bit; usually she'd have no trouble getting up with Syta's weight on her, but as it happened magic with "no holding back" had a way of putting you in an unusual state. "Um, well... y-you know, she probably wants... um, no, I'll... she can answer that, probably..." Laniva sighed, lazily waving her arm for a healer for the both of them. "Heyyy... does anyone, have a moment..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy12510 Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 "Oh? I assure you I'm not just a Belrose Sir Jeremiah, and I certainly didn't get my magic from him either, but you can find that out yourself, now come on!" Syndra invited the swordsman to strike first, which Jeremiah obliged with by using his Wind Edge. The blast from the sword disrupted Syndra's balance, but it was what she wanted. On her chance to counter, Syndra cast her Flux spell, and the way it came off, she could feel it was heavier then normal. A wild shift like that would have caught anyone by surprise... if Syndra didn't completely whiff her target. "Damnit." The gambit hadn't paid off like Syndra had hoped, but the battle wasn't finished yet, and Syndra immediately prepared to cast again, this one not as powerful, but it at least connected this time. Jeremiah wasted no time with his next set of strikes, these ones almost taking Syndra completely off her feet. "T-this is you holding back?! Good lord..." Syndra couldn't re-find her center of balance on her next cast, and it went wide again. Panting and on the end of her tether, Syndra used the last of her focus on one last cast, and while it had hit, it still didn't have the same weight behind like her first cast had, and she knew it wouldn't be enough to come out on top. Jeremiah's next strike sent the exhausted runaway to the dirt, and Syndra couldn't muster the will or energy to try and get up again. "Heh heh... I guess... pant I guess I'm destined to be second-rate to the Noire family today... I yield." Syndra said before lying down on her back, arms outstretched and panting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ether Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 It seemed Jeremiah was already getting into his next round, so Roxanne took a step back to allow the pair to spar. She could hit them both up after they concluded, after all. Watching them go at it, Roxanne's ears twitched at one particular thing Jeremiah said. Belrose... a Belrose, here? The sheep's eyes trained on the woman wielding dark magic... she seemed amicable enough so far, and if she was cooperating with the Gaffneys and the Tigers, then surely... no need to think on it further. Roxanne was sure she had her reasons, and it seemed her lineage was common enough knowledge. Unless her previous gift of life-force had been sufficient to pick Kise's brain, it would seem the Belrose might be her best bet at speaking of dark magic within this group. Or perhaps not. Unlike the others, the Belrose yielded to Jeremiah, rather than him calling the fight of his own accord. Roxanne had seen what she had been attempting, but the woman's heavy flux spells had gone wide, and the Moonless Arbitrator had summarily dismantled her in short order. Stepping towards the fallen woman, Roxanne pressed her staff into her, filling her with a gentle healing light before turning the implement towards Jeremiah, giving him a smaller but still appreciable pulse of healing magic. "From the looks of her, you'll want to be at your best for the next one, Jeremiah." The sheep winked, noting that Cinead and the other healer seemed to have finished their bout. Best to get her back to health sooner than later then. Turning in their direction with a light bounce, Roxanne wandered over, a small skip in her step as she gently swayed from side to side whilst approaching. Humming somewhat absentmindedly, the sheep pressed her staff against Lucretia, patching her up. She had been about to mend Cinead as well when she spotted another duo not too far off... clearly sharing some sort of intimate moment, but also showing clear signs of battle... the cat almost looked to still be smoldering. "Up you go. Mmm, Cinead, I'll leave you to her since she's back to form, it looks like another match just finished. Good fight, you two." Roxanne bowed, a little awkward at not healing the dragon for a second time, but his opponent was a healer so it was fine, right? Hopefully. Springing back up to standing and launching a silly salute, Roxanne continued her pilgrimage of healing, slightly less bouncy as she didn't want to startle the post-fight lovers. Approaching slowly, the sheep cleared her throat before waving her staff over the both of them, starting with the burning feline. Speaking of burning, seeing the state of the two up close Roxanne's cheeks couldn't help but burn a little, thinking back to Cass just a few moments earlier. "Ahh, sorry to interrupt, I'm a medic. Pay me no mind." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRoon Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 "Jeremiah is certainly in a league of his own, but given how some of the Tigers have surprised him I don't think we're as far from the peak as we thought." The pinkette spoke out to Koba before she turned back to see Iris being taken care of by Roxanne. "I'm sure your fight with Jesse was good either way, lately I've learned more from loss than victories." Losing Mikoto hit Renais fairly hard, though regaining her as Kise did help ease her mind she still blamed herself for her capture in the first place. "Seeing everyone fight and train really makes me want to learn more about my magic, so I can do more than just tend to their wounds." She looked serious for a moment. "But I am grateful I can still contribute in my own way, Koba." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursali Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Any interest the lizard had in watching Iris react to Jeremiah's return was swiftly abandoned as Versaris called her name, turning her full attention back on the not-elf. She stared at him as he told her what she was feeling couldn't be anything other than love, her thoughts drifting back towards her conversation with Alvira. These emotions she felt were unique to Versaris, or in the very least he was first person to make her feel this way; however, she doubted, barring the exception of Iris, that any of the other Tigers would be able to make her feel this way. Was this love, then? Could her reluctance to utter the words also be classified as love, not wanting to hurt Versaris in case she was wrong? "..." She remained silent, readjusting her grip on him to properly cling to him and not crush him to death in her grip, shifting her head some to avoid matching her eyes with him. He'd told her to let everything out, yet there wasn't much more that she had left to say; or least nothing that she had understood enough to express beyond what she already had. Nothing except for one question. "What, does it feel like, to love me?" She nestled her head further against his chest, intentionally hiding her face from him. She didn't know where this sudden bashfulness came from, feeling her face heat up as she struggled to commit to the words that she knew would make Versaris beyond happy. "Think... Might..." She couldn't do it, not until she had his answer to this final question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanami Touko Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 (edited) Marigold stayed quiet until they got outside, thinking about how she wanted to word this. When Kieran whistled in Lucretia's direction, she rolled her eyes, but then stepped in front of him, arms crossed. "Kieran. I want you to listen to what I'm about to say carefully, and really think on it... I... We, nearly lost you to your own decisions. I'm not going to lose you to those decisions again... So, resent me if you want. If someone threatens you with violence, I'm getting in the way." She tensed up a little and looked away; she hadn't wanted to go back here. She'd never been so emotional before that talk between them in the cell, and now that she'd roused these feelings that had been buried since before she 'died', they were stronger than ever. "You hear me? I'm not letting someone take you from me, whether it's because you decided you 'deserve it', or because they want revenge! You can get yelled at all you want, and that's where it ends! I'm not... Nnghn..." She sniffled and suddenly turned around, shaking her head. "You're so fuckin' stupid. How come you couldn't be this honorable and straightforward before!? Ugh... Whatever. Go watch tits mcgee spin her stick around or whatever else gets you stiff." Too embarrassed to remain, Marigold walked for the nearest shadow coming off the fort and faded into it to let her feelings calm down. Speaking of 'tits mcgee'... Lucretia was doing her best to keep up with Cinaed's flurry of fists, handling them for a time, but his paced picked up both rapidly and randomly; all of a sudden it was like she was trying to stop three arms from breaching her guard, leaving her squeaking and focusing hard on defense, but he just kept swinging faster, until...! "Ouch! Ack... G-Geez! That was pretty intense for training, don't you think?" She smiled, ruffled as she was, slowly sitting up. "Goodness... Well, I'm something of a healer, so I suppose I shouldn't have expected to win, but geez, you really picked it up there, big guy!" "Whew~ Go Cinaed!" Siorel smiled and cheered lazily, waving her arms in the air for him. "You're doin' great hun~ Keep up the good practice." Really, it was just nice to see him moving... He was quite the sight to behold~ Lucretia gave Roxanne a nod and a wink, quickly picking herself back up. "Alrighty... Whew. That was fun~ Nice to stretch the muscles properly now and then... Can't let them get lax on me. Here you go, big guy~" She winked his way and tilted her staff to heal him this time, slowly spinning it back against her arm. "Looks like everyone's winding down... Hmmm?" While the fight with the Belrose had run its course, the fox that had been waiting on the sidelines seemed to be... Radiating with magic. Lucretia's eyes went wide, but it was far too late-- Kise had been watching Syndra's paltry attempts at controlling dark magic... She was young, so it made sense. Still, it wasn't much of a show... She wanted to see what a true Lufirian general could really do. There's always the chance I'll be trying to do this for real, later... I have to see how much I can do to him~ Her tome began to lift out of her hand, floating beside her, a crackling aura of black and purple energy sliding out of it. She took slow, light steps towards Jeremiah, grin widening with each motion. "Jeremiah~ Since you're done, it's our turn... You know, you're supposed to be this all powerful, menacing force, yes? 'The Moonless Arbitrator', was it? Jeremiah Noire... I'll admit, I've been away from Lufiria for too long to really do much research into the forces there, but you definitely interest me... What makes you so strong? So powerful? I'm really, really curious... I'd like a taste. So let me have a bite~!" With a sudden flourish of her claws and a wide eyed grin his way, the nosferatu spell surrounded his body and stole his life's energy, Kise slowly giggling as the feeling enveloped her. "My! What a flavor! I'd like to savor more!" Syndra had talent, that much he could be sure of, but whether it was nerves or something else, she could not get her dark magic to land as she wanted it to. Jeremiah opened his mouth to begin giving his remarks to the mage, when, he felt the much stronger pulse of magic approaching. Kise appeared to not be waiting for much, marching to the beat of her own drum as it were. Jeremiah stepped away from Syndra as she was tended to, and switched swords once more. "Yes, the title of Moonless Arbitrator is mine, and I think you're giving me too much credit. Though, maybe that makes sense; the others are far stronger than I am, so I don't see myself as all powerful. But if I've piqued your interest, then I have to say that I'm doing well for myself. The interest is mutual; it's rare to see a Kitsune, I've only met a handful, Tamarinne being the most prominent of those..." Kise wasn't waiting for him to wax poetic as she immediately went into combat, with the spell surrounding his being. It should have been simple to escape, but the Kitsune really was a league above the Tigers. For the first time so far, Jeremiah found himself on one knee from the attack. "...Hah... Okay. I see that I'm not going to have time to talk." Jeremiah stood up slowly, and then, was standing in front of the Kitsune, "So let's dispense with the words." Her smile faded, her eyes growing wider, the man suddenly in front of her. She went to cast another spell, but her tome was knocked aside, his sword coming down. She caught his retort with her hand, the blade cutting into her, but it brought back her smile-- her tails were flaring, her aura was radiating, the magic that made up her being was protecting her to a degree, enough to enjoy this! "Not much of a gentleman, are you!" She swung for him with her claws, but the man dodged, easily. Her eyes darted after him, yellow dots chasing this specter! "You can't escape my eyes, even if you can escape my hands, Jeremiah!" Another claw swung for him, going wide, as they began to dance across the training grounds... His attack was swift, and the Kitsune's retort just as swift, she'd lost her tome, but she'd taken his strike with a smile, and tried to strike at him with a claw. A simple sidestep was all that was necessary, but there was magic radiating from her tails, and it was strengthening her being. Unusual... Magic typically doesn't work like this... "I'd say I've been gentlemanly enough, I did allow you to strike first, no?" Jeremiah kept an eye on her tome as he dodged her attacks; she didn't leave many safe openings with her strikes, they weren't wild, like the feral look in her eyes would have suggested. Her magic was extremely strong, dangerous to take something like that again. Quite the someone you've found, huh, Aegean? Well, I guess we'll see how far that goes in a moment... "Hah! Allowed~! How quaint! Don't overestimate yourself, Jeremiah! I can tell-- I can smell it, you're on your last legs... Just, one, strike~!" Kise kept flinging her claws after him, knowing it wouldn't be safe to go for her tome, eyes chasing the man, fast enough for him, but her body was lagging behind. That damned torturer... The tail he took from me, was it truly too much loss!? Rrrhghnn... I'll have to have my revenge the next time we meet-- No one fucks with my tails! The moment of frustration gave Kise further motivation, rolling out of the way of a swing, lunging at him, dancing between each of their strikes-- "Just... Rrrhhn, stay still!" Jeremiah's eyes narrowed slightly, while it certainly was the case that her spell that nearly laid him flat in his overly lackadaisical state, there was an understatement of his own capabilities. Something that he was going to make very clear as Kise found a space between his attacks, and lunged at him. It had been the first, and only opening she'd given him since he'd taken her tome, and it was going to be the only one. Jeremiah stepped to the side, and his sword moved as if it were hand on a clock, Versaris had seen it only one before--a demonstration of what was possible with enough training. "I think that's enough." Jeremiah closed the gap, first broke her guard, and then, a flurry of meticulously placed slashes, near invisible to the eye, all landed upon Kise. Jeremiah stopped the final one as it came for the side of her neck, "Allowed wasn't the right word, I apologize, that was a mistake on my part. But it was not an overestimation of myself, it was an underestimation of you, and I won't make that mistake again," he returned the sword to his sheathe, and glanced over at Aegean. It was over in a blink, a sudden motion, then a flurry of strikes that her eyes couldn't follow. It all hit her at once, her legs shaking, her magic unable to protect from it all... She glanced at the sword beside her neck, shaking, but still smiling. "Hhahh... Hah, heh. Heheheh... Thank you. Jeremiah~ I'm happy, to know you'll, take me seriously... Should we clash again~" She leaned back to get away from his sword and completly collapsed on her side, tails flopping behind her. "Whoa... G-Goodness, you really, aren't a gentleman... Ngmhn, what a maneuver~" "Jeremiah!" Lucretia hadn't been fast enough, only catching up once the fighting had ended, her staff pouring into him. "Wh-What...?" She had no idea why such a sudden fight had broke out, but it had ended as quickly as it began, with both of them alive, somehow... "Mmghnh, he's just a jerrrrrrk... That really hurt, you know? Gosh, and I barely got to taste you..." Kise whined from the ground, slowly flopping into her tails, staring up at the sky. "Tamarinne, huh... Mikoto would've been plenty curious. I'm just glad to know she's okay... Give her my regards, if you see her, Jeremiah~" "What does it feel like? Mmm..." Versaris Rested his head atop hers as she held close to him, thinking for a long moment. He was distracted for a second by a sudden conflict between Jeremiah and Kise... It almost looked like a serious problem, but after a few seconds and a certain motion from the man, he knew things would be alright. "It's... Scary, sometimes. I'm always thinking about you. About what I can do to make you happy... About how you're feeling. About keeping you safe, and keeping you at my side. I think about the times you're angry, and how cute you look... And the few times you've laughed, and how much it fills up my heart. This... Is the first time I've seen you truly cry, and while a part of me was excited to see you experiencing a new feeling, I, just... I wanted with every fibre of my being to spirit away your concerns, your worries, your pains... I, just..." He let out a sigh and hugged her tight. "I just love you, Alriana. No matter what happens... No matter how tough the future might be, for the both of us, as long as you're there, I know I'll always have a reason to keep trying. To keep pushing. You, are... My everything. My only regret is I didn't meet you sooner... If only I'd known the perfect person was hiding away, with a mercenary company in Glacies. How could I have known? But I still wish I had..." "S, Sorry, Lani, I... Hold on, uh..." Syta struggled, but with a hefty push... Things felt fine? She glanced up at the healer who had fixed her fatigue and flushed crimson, hiding her face behind a gauntlet covered hand. "I-It's fine! It's, uh... You've, you've got the wrong idea, we wouldn't, I'd never... Uhm... Th-Thank you for, healing me, but, er, you should, she'd the one that really needs... The, yeah..." Syta pointed at Laniva and stayed buried behind her hand, unable to face someone having seen them like that. Kisaraaaaa! Khahahahahahah! Hihihihihihi~! Ohhh, you bitch... "Your positivity will not rub off on me." Sylmaria gave Tio a tired stare, shaking her head... It was then she noticed the fighting going on across the field, that man who'd been training all of the mercenaries and some fox, thing, going at each other... It looked like real combat, though, Sylmaria glancing between them and the Evoker at her side. "Is... Are things, fine?" She looked back and things had ended as swiftly as they'd begun, but she could feel the magic that had emanated from the fox, and it wasn't something your average fighter could handle. That would've killed Kazran if he'd been off his guard... Wh-Who are these beasts? What the fuck... How, how do you expect me to believe something like THAT is meant to be natural? Ugh... Frightening. These creatures are so fucking scary! She held her arms and shrunk a bit, shaking her head again. "N-Never mind... I'll... I'm just going to watch whatever fights are left. I guess... If you figure something out about my magic and are still feeling your pity... Feel free to tell me." Sylmaria quickly retreated from Tio, finding a quiet spot against the perimeter wall, planting herself against it and hugging her knees. Please be okay, Gio... Edited February 27 by Nanami Touko Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy12510 Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 After the fight ended, Syndra had gotten healed by Roxanne, but before she could thank her, Syndra immediately felt a surge of magic coming back from where Kise would have been. Oh I need to leave NOW. Jeremiah had already walked off to meet Kise's approaching challenge, and while Syndra wanted to hear what he had to say, she could do that from a safer place then here. So Syndra scrambled from the ground she was laying on and ran off to the side, trying not to get caught up in this scuffle. Once she was safe, she watched on. It didn't look like it was a practice fight from how either of the combatants treated it, with Kise immediately surrounding Jeremiah with her spell, but Jeremiah still seemed composed throughout most of it, taking away the tome and ending the fight after some manner of sword strike Syndra couldn't really follow after Kise had continued going in with her claws. In the end though it seemed as if both were going to be fine. As Lucretia came over to tend to Jeremiah, Syndra re-approached the man. "Well, that certainly happened, my word... so that's the level the two of you are on..." Even in her amazement, Syndra still wanted to know what it was Jeremiah was going to say, and something else had also crept into her mind. "There is something I wanted to ask you now that I've truly seen you in action, that is if you don't mind." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemask 96 Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Gean’s blush deepened as she received a kiss on the forehead, Kise's words and actions soothing Gean. Her fight with Jeremiah was a bit off, Syndra wanted to take a swing first, so Gean took a few to relax on the still resting Akai. Once Syndra had conceded, Gean got up and stretched herself. “Why don't we go and watch Akai, give Kise our support.” Gean jogged over as the spar began in earnest, with Kise immediately firing off magic in his direction. Gean had a look of excitement on her face, before she realized that this was quickly turning into more than just a spar. Her uncle, well, Gean couldn’t tell the exact extent but she knew he wasn't holding back in the same way he had with the rest of the Tigers. Meanwhile Kise had moved from using her tome and was striking with her claws, almost as if she was aiming to truly hurt the man. Gean felt a tinge of worry, scared if her simple desire might cause something she would regret, but at the same time the mermaid was captivated. She had always held her uncle in high esteem, and his movements and strikes were reasons to continue that, however Kise. Her strikes, evasive maneuvers, something about it all captivated Gean. The match then ended in a flash. Gean couldn't track it all, but she could see her uncle take form and then Kise’s guard was broken and she was on the ground. People had begun to flock back to the two, but Gean still stood there, just staring, absorbing what just happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRoon Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Renais watched as Kise approached Jeremiah with a...very devilish look in her eyes. A small part of Renais told her that this wasn't going to be like the other sparring matches, and in another second she was right. A powerful blast of her magic had been a signal of that! For the first time, Jeremiah was staggered and injured significantly, but he wasn't out. He delivered his own attack that injured Kise, and she responded with claws. It really did seem like they were out for each other's lives, which shocked Renais to her core. "KISE!" Despite the crowd starting to gather, the pinkette shouted out. "Space! Give them space! I need to work!" It seemed like Lucretia had Jeremiah handled, which left the fox girlfriend to the cleric. She made her way to her side as fast as she could and lent her as much healing as she could. "What was that?! You two looked like you wanted to..." She stopped herself and huffed. "...don't move, please. He really didn't hold much back did he?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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