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Chains of Argus • RP Thread
- Thread starter azontr
- Start date
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- Tags
- fantasy role playing roleplay
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(I'm pretty sure she's asking how he came to meet the party)
Siglos chuckled as well, shifting his cheek slightly to press a soft kiss onto Sylvia’s flesh.
“…You…you don't need to w-worry, my love. As long as the sun shines above…I too…will love you. No matter how scary…no matter how k-kind. I…am yours.” He whispered. It was a line that was…awkwardly delivered, as were many of the things the young Everian said…but his voice was soft…and sincere.
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"Crossed paths when I was exploring, joined them since I was lost, had friends, and here I am..."
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“Heh…I'm trying my best, my love!” The Everian said, chuckling softly. Gingerly…laid back on the mattress, shifting so that his back was pressed against the woman's side. He snuggled as close as he could…savoring the warmth of her body.
“…Your…so comfy…” He murmured.
azontr
He/Him- 40,423
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"I suppose if this body of mine is good for anything, being a pillow would be it..." Sylvia chuckled. She wrapped her arm around Siglos, pulling the man into her warm, but somewhat rough embrace.
"Yknow... usually you stutter a bit when you talk. But you didn't trip on your words this time." She pointed out.
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Siglos wiggled softly in her embrace, his back pressed firmly into her stomach and chest...so close he could feel the beating of her heart against his flesh. He let out a long...soft sigh, feeling truly comfortable for the first time in what felt like ages. Not even the lingering fatigue and pain of their prior hardships bothered him...not anymore. His feelings...his fears...his worries...completely calmed by the rough...strong embrace of the woman behind him.
"...I...stutter more when I'm nervous or scared...It's an...anxiety t-thing...mostly..." Siglos said He chuckled ever so slightly, leaning his head back against her body.
"...You don't make me anxious, my love. That's all. I...." He trailed off, letting out a soft yawn.
"...I feel at ease...with you. More...at ease...than I ever have..."
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"Makes sense," Duine answered, "Didnae think coming here to take a kip and get some rest would turn into me helping ye try and stop a zany skyrocket."
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Siglos blushed, his ears twitching against his dirty, ashen locks. Gingerly, he took a soft breath, letting his body fully...completely relax within her grip.
"...You spoil me...my darling Emerald..." Siglos said softly. He let out a soft yawn, slowly closing his eyes.
"...I...love you...so much..." He whispered.
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"You speak funny you know that?..." he replied, pointing a finger and giving her a thumbs up. "But yeah, so many coincidences led us here..."
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Siglos chuckled softly, almost melting into her embrace. A shower could wait, he decided…right now…all he wanted to do, was spend the night in his lover's arms. Sylvia could feel the sleep settle within his body…the noise of his breathing…slowly growing even, his heart rate settling on a steady, rhythmic pace…his flesh becoming still in her arms.
And soon…she was holding the sleeping body of her mate, a soft smile stretched across his unconscious features.
azontr
He/Him- 40,423
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Jeanne slowly traversed up the stairs of Alexia's inn, with a slight limp at most. After gaining this... curse... her stamina recovered exceptionally quickly, and minor wounds healed in seconds. Though, it was less healing and more so that the wounds were simply being burned shut. Fire, sewing closed any injuries.
It hurt like hell... but that wasn't what she felt right now. She felt confused. She felt... disillusioned with everything. They had fought, and by all intents and purposes, they had won. But they didnt achieve what she wanted to achieve... not what she needed them to achieve.
"....." She let out a sigh, "What in the heck am I thinking... we saved lives... gained new info about our enemy. I should be happy... I want to be happy, but..."
The fire burned within her all the same. She needed to know what it was, and how to control it... how to tame it. She couldn't rest knowing that the truth could have almost been within her reach... nor could she rest at the risk of once again experiencing that horrible dream as before.
Jeanne looked down at her sword, broken, battered, and covered in char of her own creation. There was one thing that worked best when she desired to take her mind off of things. At that was swinging a sword. There was nothing that eased her more in this world... than that action.
"....maybe I should sneak out? I don't want Alexia... or Erebus... to stop me..." She thought to herself. It soon became evident how idiotic that was, though. She doubted they'd be unable to hear her even if she was as quiet as she could be, moving while miles away.
"I'll just go through the back or something... there has to be another entrance... maybe for staff...? But Alexia is the only staff member..." Jeanne thought. She hadn't exactly spent much, if any time at all, memorizing the layout of the inn.
"Jeanne? Is something wrong?" Jeanne was jolted from suddenly being addressed, nearly tripping and falling down the stairs. She pressed her armored palm against the railing to regain balance, before looking down at who had addressed her.
"Oh... Alexia...? Why are you still up...?" Jeanne began quietly stumbling down the stairs, tip-toeing as best she could in heavy armor.
"I could... ask you the same thing? I assumed that you would be resting like everyone else. You've just participated in a battle..." Alexia took a step back from the staircase so Jeanne could have some space as she spoke, her gaze uncannily locked with Jeanne's.
"Oh!... Well, I can't sleep. And I... didn't want to take up a room somebody else could be using." Jeanne smiled awkwardly, "So I figured I'd use this time to go train elsewhere... yknow."
"...You're... training?" Alexia asked, raising an eyebrow. "At this hour...? In your condition?"
"Uh... is that weird?" Jeanne asked, "Well- I guess that was a stupid question... I admit it's strange, but training helps me... calm down, honest." Jeanne sighed, "Call it a... pass time?"
"Well... I suppose you are free to do whatever makes you happy." Alexia said, "I just don't think any of your friends will be the same if you push yourself to hard. Strength is important... especially for a young cadet, but..."
"Wait-" Jeanne paused, "How did you know I was a knight-in-training? I've never told you that... and we've only spoken briefly."
Alexia smiled, "Well, many things, but most importantly, you smell of Light Magic. That must mean you have been at least given a blessing, although not fully..."
All Knights were the limbs of the Sun Goddess. And to execute her will and the will of the world, a blessing would be granted, even to humans. For cadets, a minor blessing that allowed for basic support spells... For fully-fledged Knights and Paladins, they would be given a Stigma. Like Siglos's, this would link one with an outside source of Magic, allowing even humans to access spells and powers never before seen. Jeanne had yet to receive her own Stigma... but as a knight-in-training, she possessed a minor blessing which allowed her to utilize Light Magic.
"Ah... I suppose I do? I can't exactly... sense Magic, even when it's coming from my own body." Jeanne chuckled, "I suppose I'm just not that strong yet..."
"You will eventually learn the way to do it with your Aura. Most cadets will learn to, that is..." Alexia explained.
"Most of them will... but I'm not most. I don't have any talent." Jeanne muttered, "Which is why I would like you to let me train, ma'am. I'd like to use your... backdoor, so that I can avoid contact with my comrades."
Alexia sighed, "I... suppose that is fine. If that is what you desire. I advise that you learn to take care of yourself more thoroughly, Jeanne. Your body is trained for your age... but all things have limits."
"I will... keep this in mind, ma'am." Jeanne nodded, bowing ever so slightly. "Your wisdom is appreciated... if I may ask, were you previously an affiliate of the Church...? Since you seem to know much of standard procedure..."
Alexia glanced away ever so slightly, "That was... a long time ago, but yes. I was affiliated with them... in a way. So I have knowledge of administrative ways, outside of mutual religious practices."
"Ah! Yes, you're also a follower." Jeanne smiled, "I've been so focused on my duties... I had so little time to focus on prayer..."
Alexia shook her head, smiling. "It is great that you devote yourself so much. But I am sure the Goddess would forgive you, given your circumstances and your duties."
Jeanne would chuckle awkwardly, scratching the back of her head with her non-clawed hand. "Well... I hope that she may find it in her boundless heart, to forgive me for my laziness."
"I have no doubt she would." Alexia said, before turning away. "For now... I'll let you use the backdoor. It's in the kitchen. But I would please advise that in the future, you take the time to inform your friends of where you're going before you wander off in the night... worrying the people who care about you does nobody favors."
"I will keep that in mind... my apologies for the inconvenience, Alexia. You have been very kind." Jeanne, bowing ever so slightly in thanks, before straightening her posture as she followed Alexia into the kitchen, being lead to the backdoor where Alexia would keep locked most of the time.
"I keep saying there is no need for thanks... but it is appreciated." Alexia said as she opened the door, "Please... don't push yourself to hard, Jeanne."
Jeanne merely nodded, not wanting to repeat herself over and over again... not wanting to lie over and over again. With another courteous bow to the Everian woman, she would step out into the night, letting the warm air bask over her... as Alexia closed and locked the door behind her a few moments later.
"....." Jeanne glanced back for a moment, but shook her head to clear her mind, and then began moving. Last time she went out on her own she was on the brink of death, unable to take the burning pain... but now, she was alive. In pain... but alive.
"Snowfall..." She couldn't forget the moment that they had met each other once again. She couldn't explain it herself... she'd never seen a spirit before. It may have just been an illusion, but it felt to vivid to just be that... everything felt so real.
"She... she couldn't have been... real." Jeanne murmured as she made her way across the city. At the open plaza Siglos had lead the group to prior, she hadn't taken the chance to train because of the pain... but now, she could freely swing her sword with one goal in mind.
Her metal boots creaked against the fine cobblestone of Aegis. Her memory of where the place was became fuzzy... probably due to fatigue and not having slept for days. But, she was able to barely find it.
"This is the place, right...?" She murmured to herself. It seemed like it... well, it didn't matter. It was an open area with nobody in it, so it was the perfect spot to train.
"....." Jeanne drew her sword, examining the blade. It had taken a bit of damage from the battle, but... her new technique, which she had dubbed the Aura Cleaver, served to protect the blade from damage. It seemed that there truly were more ways to utilize her inner energy than she had realized...
Jeanne let out a breath as she got into her basic stance. She closed her eyes... and drew from the memory of the battle she had just fought, and the opponents she'd faced. Specifically... at the beginning of the battle, before Siglos's explosion. The grotesque, demonic soldiers that they had faced when they were in perfect condition.
She remember... everything. The way they walked. The way they breathed. The way they gazed through their cloaks. The way their muscles moved and contracted with each step... everything she could. There was no use in blindly swinging her sword.
"I need... a goal." And in front of her was that goal. A specialized opponent, from the information she had taken from the soldiers... recreated in front of her as best she could. For someone with such a hazy mind... the mental recreation of her ideal opponent was better than it should've been. Jeanne impressed herself for a moment. Maybe enough to brag... just a little bit. Just a... tiny bit.
Her opponent moved as if it had a mind of its own- And took up weapon accordingly. It's right arm morphed itself into a greatsword, emulating the uncanny ability of the immortal soldiers to control their body. And took its stance... and charged.
Jeanne was immediately caught off guard. It was much faster than she had anticipated... much faster than it was when injured. Appearing in the corner of her eye in an instant, it launched a blow from above... having lept into the air and striking from a seemingly coiled angle, as if the blade had morphed into a snake and wrapped itself around Jeanne. Before she could counter...
...dead.
Her eyes widened. "Haaa... haa..."
Before she could even counter, she would've been sliced into fine pieces, and her body would've collapsed into bits.
"...Again."
She got into her stance once again, forming another mental image of her opponent immediately. Bracing herself this time... they launched themselves forward. Their blade was only a few inches away from Jeanne's own, and it was a more... easily readable first attack... however...
...dead.
Holes would've been blown into her body as the seemingly straight-forward split into dozens of other patterns, and instantly overwhelmed her ability to predict them.
"Again...!"
So she tried again. Dead in 3 seconds, bisected. Again. Dead in 2 seconds, hole blown through her chest and armor. Again. Dead in 5 seconds, limbs severed and decapitated. Again. Dead in 3 seconds, spinal cord severed... split down the middle... skull cracked open... again... and again... and again... and again... and again.
...dead, every time.
"Haa... haa... d-damn it..." Strong. These enemies were stronger than her in every way imaginable. Speed, power, endurance, foresight, and skill... it became evident that Siglos's explosion had played a huge role in allowing her to match and defeat so many of them. The injuries had seemingly removed most of their motor skills... limiting them just enough that Jeanne could kill them.
But these battles were not the case. They would charge at her with blinding speed... which wasn't the problem. Avoiding an attack she couldn't see wasn't the issue... it was the way they attacked.. always a new attack pattern, a new stance, a new weapon, a new branch of footwork, always something she couldn't see coming...
"Monsters..." She saw just how powerful her seniors in the group were. Erebus, Kargath, Sylvia... they were all monsters in their own right, to tear through enemies like that with no effort whatsoever. How they did it went beyond Jeanne's comprehension... and how she could do it herself was even more incomprehensible.
"There has to be a way..." But she tried again, knowing this. She got into her stance... her vision was fuzzy from mental fatigue. But she kept going. She had a goal... and this was her goal.
"Again... again... again!" And she fought. This time, she made the first move, getting in close range with this mental apparition. The fights weren't meaningless... every theoretical death was an opportunity for growth, and she capitalized on this.
"Duck."
She heard a voice in her head. Or was it in her head...? It sounded real. But her mind was so hazy, she couldn't tell. Well, it didn't matter. Barely conscious, barely thinking... she followed the instructions of the voice, an attack she hadn't seen coming zooming over her vision.
"Huh...?" She didn't even know that attack was coming. She thought she had eliminated all her blind spots... countering an attack from behind wasn't difficult. But this opponent created new blind spots she couldn't comprehend... created openings that she could scarcely visualize.
"Jump to the right. Regain your footing and tilt your head to the left."
Without thinking, Jeanne did just that. She kicked off the ground and leaped to the right. Immediately after executing this action, like some sort of puppet... her head bent to the left. Two blurs of black zoomed past her in that imperceptible sequence, not even being able to keep up with her own actions.
"You have an opening to attack. Downward slash, now."
An opening? What opening? She couldn't see any openings... but she could barely see anything. It went beyond her capacity to see, beyond her capacity to think. And like a puppet on strings, she charged forward with all her might....
...the blade going through, despite the opponent not being real, felt so vivid. She sliced right through the imaginary enemy, falling to the ground due to not being able to stop the force of her own charge. "H-Huh...!?"
Jeanne landed face-first onto the cobblestone. "O-Owwww...."
"You really suck at this, kid."
"W-Who are you...!? Reveal yourself...!" Jeanne immediately got up as best she could, her sword still in hand. There was a bit of blood trickling from her nose from the fall...
"Uh, sup." Cain crossed her arms as Jeanne pointed her sword at her... wait, Cain?
"C-Cain... Cain!?" Jeanne nearly shouted, "W-What... what are you doing here...? D-Did you follow me!? Are others here?!"
"First of all, chill out. I came alone to train." Cain backed up a bit, "Looks like you beat me to it, though..."
"T-Train... You're here to train?" Jeanne asked, slowly lowering her sword as she tilted her head.
"Just like you." Cain shrugged, "Didn't wanna interrupt you while you were in the zone, though... but you suck so much it would've been an insult to just let you keep doing... whatever the hell you were doing."
Jeanne blushed ever so slightly, "A-Are you insulting my swordsmanship...?"
"I am. Duh." Cain said, "If you can even call it swordsmanship... was that last fight your first real battle? You really don't understand what you're doing at all, do you?"
"W-Well... I have fought before. But..." Jeanne stumbled on her words a bit, "That was only training... a battle with my life on the line... where I could die any moment... that was... my first..."
"Of course..." Cain sighed, "Give me that sword."
"H-Huh!? No!" Jeanne immediately rejected, backing up.
"Come on, don't be a wuss. I'm gonna show you what you really should be doing. If I have to watch anymore of that garbage you call sword-skills, I might just barf out my organs..." Cain held out her large hand, expecting Jeanne to obey.
"I s-said no..." Jeanne shook her head, "I don't know what you're trying to pull... but this sword is precious to me. You can create weapons... so make yourself a weapon, Cain."
"....." Cain let out a low growl, glaring at Jeanne. "Look here, human... I'm going out of my way to help you here..."
"B-Back off!" Jeanne exclaimed, immediately getting into a stance. Cain's growling became evermore loud, the woman's annoyance slowly boiling over the edge. Her glare was enough to strike terror and fear into even the most powerful of warriors... yet Jeanne did not back down. She trembled... but she did not step back.
"....." Cain spat onto the ground, "F*cking human... when someone offers you goodwill, isn't it customary to accept it?"
"That may be so... b-but not only is this sword important to me... I doubt you're doing this out of goodwill." Jeanne sighed, remaining her stance, her guard as high as it could be.
"And what exactly makes you think that...?" Cain groaned, crossing her arms.
"...don't think I don't see how you treat Siglos... no, not just him. Everybody around you. You talk down on people... look down on them. You think you can force your will onto others like you're some kind of queen..." Jeanne grunted, "You don't do anything out of goodwill. You just hate, and look down on people..."
"Wasn't I the one who saved Siglos's life? Hm? Remember that?" Cain said, sarcasm and indifference thick in her tone.
"That! It's that tone again! You don't think of anybody as an equal unless their strong!" Jeanne declared, "You have no respect... no honor! You may have saved Siglos's life... and I appreciate you saving my friend more than you can know... but you don't care about Siglos. You saved him to benefit yourself. You don't see him for anything more than... cannon fodder. Or meat. Like you all do..."
"......." Cain remained silent, her gaze narrowing at Jeanne... and the young knight froze in place. Her trembling increased evermore... she could die right here. Cain could kill her in a million different ways... before she could blink. But she did not falter. Did not back down. If a fight was necessary... then she would fight.
"....." Cain clenched her fists, and breathed out. She did not attack, "You speak as if you know honor, human..."
"More than you..." Jeanne grunted, hiding her surprise that Cain didn't cut her down right there. "Honor isn't picking on the weak."
"Is that what you think I do?" Cain asked, "Really?"
"If that's not what you do... then what is it that you do...?" Jeanne murmured.
"NOT that. I don't... I'm not... f*ck..." Cain turned around, her giant halo spinning slightly faster. She tried to find the right words... and tried to hold her rage back. "Look... I'm not... I'm not an asshole."
"Fooled me..." Jeanne murmured.
"I'm not!" Cain nearly shouted, "I'm not here to **** around with you, or insult you, or whatever you think I do! And I don't hate Siglos just because he's weak..."
"Then..." Jeanne slowly lowered her guard, and her stance... and displayed a look of confusion. "Why do you hate Siglos...?"
"That's... private." Cain groaned, "Private information... but we have actual, personal beef. Though... I'll... damn... I'll admit the fact that he's a pussy waste of space does make me hate him. A lot."
"Don't call my friend a... p-p... p.... that! Don't call him that?" Jeanne stuttered for a moment, before stepping up to Cain with rage in her tone.
"I'm sorry that offends you, but it's what he is. I don't take back shit." Cain shrugged, "Do you admit he's weak??"
"Well... yeah. He's not physically inclined... at all." Jeanne muttered.
"Do you admit he's usually kinda useless?" Cain asked.
"No! I do not!" Jeanne declared confidently, "He proved himself back there... he saved us all!"
"A fluke." Cain said with a dismissive tone, "I doubt he could do something like that in the future without adrenaline pumping through him like a waterfall..."
"I disagree." Jeanne said firmly, "Siglos may not be able to fight... but he is strong. With injuries like his... he overcame the odds and saved us all. He's stronger than me... and stronger than you."
"What did you just say to me, human?" Cain's neck snapped back at Jeanne, "Huh? Repeat that? To my face...?"
"I said what I said." Jeanne declared, "...and I won't take it back."
"...I could f*cking turn you into paste with a finger flick." Cain threatened, veins pulsating through her flesh, her sclera turning a deep black... thick with bloodlust, and desire to kill.
"...You're not going to, though. You'd never escape persecution..." Jeanne clenched her fists... mostly to mitigate the fear. She was barely standing... barely conscious, Cain's pressure weighing on her from every direction... her pure, unadulterated force threatening to kill her outright. But... "I'm.. I'm not..."
"Go on. Say what you want to say. Cain muttered, "Keep. F*cking. Talking..."
"...I'm not afraid of you, Cain." Jeanne declared, "I'm going to call you out on your... c-crap. And I'm going to stand up for my friend. No matter what."
"......" Cain went silent.
"Go on. You're gonna kill me, right?" Jeanne murmured, "If death is what I get for this... then kill me. I dare you. I DOUBLE dare you."
"...what?" Cain questioned, "...that's... what?"
"....." Jeanne blushed ever so slightly, ".....I uh... suppose that was... a bit childish of me."
"......." Cain's bloodlust slowly, but surely dissipated. "...You're so stupid, Jeanne."
"...m-maybe I am." Jeanne murmured, "...but still... I won't let you bully me."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Cain sighed, "For the love of... look, idiot. Believe whatever you want... but I have no conflict with you. I came here to train, and I offered help. If you don't want help just say you don't want help..."
"....." Jeanne remained silent for a few moments, "You... you really want to help me...?"
"I do." Cain said bluntly, "Maybe not of the goodness of whatever is left of my heart... but you being stronger is beneficial. To me, and you. Can you agree with that?"
"...I... yes, I can." Jeanne murmured, slowly lowering her stance. "I suppose..."
"Good, maybe you do have sense." Cain sighed, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "And since you agree with that... that means you'll help me help you, right? I won't break your sword, and I sure as hell don't want to keep it... so you don't have anything to worry about."
Jeanne by this point had completely lowered her guard, staring blankly at Cain. She doubted with Cain's skill the sword would break... and she doubted even more that Cain would want to steal such a rusted, shoddy blade. She was suspicious, but...
"...you promise you won't break it?" Jeanne asked quietly.
"If you can swing it without breaking it then I can to." Cain grunted, Jeanne clearly testing her patience once again.
"...and you'll give it back?" Jeanne said, a bit louder this time.
"For the love of- Why in the shit would I want that thing!? It's covered in rust and littered with cracks!" Cain exclaimed, "I. Do. Not. Want. It."
"Okay...! Okay... I get you. No need to shout..." Jeanne murmured, her grip around the blade tightening ever sp slightly. Begrudgingly... she lifted the blade up and handed it to Cain, forcefully loosening her grip on the weapon.
"Thank you so very much..." Cain said sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she snatched the blade from Jeanne.
"Careful!" Jeanne exclaimed, nearly leaping to grab it back.
"Get your panties out of a twist, kid! I'm not gonna break it..." Cain said, swiping the broken blade through the air a few times. The swings were... rough, but they possessed grace. Immense amounts of fluidity, to the point it seemed as if the blade was passing through the air... there was no wind resistance at all.
"F-Fine..." Jeanne stepped back, as she allowed Cain to do her work. As she regained her calmness, she became somewhat enamored with Cain's basic swings... they had no power, but they were perfect in a way Jeanne could not describe. Jeanne felt instinctively... that even those weak, gentle swipes at the air would pass through her flesh like butter, as if she didn't even exist at all.
"It would be a good blade, if you took care of it..." Cain murmured.
"My teacher ordered me to never let anybody touch it..." Jeanne said, "So do what I can with my limited abilities... but obviously that doesn't do much. But I won't stop using it."
"I never said you should. This suits your physique. Whoever your teacher was had you in mind when giving you this blade." Cain explained, "Now, if only they weren't so cheap... and have you that weird order..."
"Just get on with whatever you're about to do, Cain..." Jeanne murmured, clenching her fists ever so slightly.
"Fine, fine. Watch closely. Look away for even a second and you won't learn jack shit." Cain said flatly, "Got it?"
"Alright... I'll keep my eyes peeled." Jeanne nodded, doing just that. Her eyes were focused completely on Cain... on the pulsation of her muscles, on her posture, on her gaze... she drew all of her focus on Cain, to the point the entire world besides Cain went completely dark around her.
"That's good. Focus just like that... look what's in front of me." Cain got into her stance... a custom stance... no, it was Jeanne's stance. Perfectly replicated, perfectly executed... down to the way her muscles twitched and the way she held the blade. But that was not important... in that void of Supreme focus, something manifested in front of Cain...
...a soldier. The same soldier Jeanne had fought dozens of times over, and had been killed by dozens of times over. Jeanne could not decipher how Cain was making her see this... but she could hypothesize, at least. The way Cain prepared herself to strike guided Jeanne's vision... gave her insight into a purpose, a higher vision of sorts.
"H-How... you... are making me see things...? M-Magic...?" Jeanne murmured, her eyes gone wide.
"It's not Magic, I'm just gearing my stance based on what you want to see. It's a training method." Cain explained, "You were using image training, right?"
"I was- But- HOW are you making me see this...??" Jeanne said, exasperated by what she was seeing.
"I just told you- Yknow what, whatever. Just follow this." Cain ordered, and Jeanne immediately immediately straightened herself out... and so she simply watched, and learned.
She remained silent, not even moving a muscle. Cain's foot slid forward ever so slightly... then the soldier's did. They approached each other millimeter by millimeter, their movements imperceptible to the naked eye.
And then they struck. It happened faster... and sharper then Jeanne could fathom. All she could see was the opponent... and their sliced pieces flying through the imaginary space, falling into the darkened floor. And Cain standing triumphant, having easily annihilated her opponent in an instant.
"Ho... I... wh..." Jeanne stumbled on her words, failing to find a way to describe what she had just seen.
"Did you get that?" Cain asked, turning to Jeanne as the imaginary space around them collapsed, and the dead soldier dissipated into nothing. "Cause I'm only showing it once."
"I... I saw... it..." Jeanne murmured.
"Good. And what did you learn?" Cain asked.
"N...Nothing... I can... I can't even fathom... what... what did you do?" Jeanne asked. Jeanne was completely helpless against the thing. But not only did Cain counter its incomprehensible attacks at every front... she crushed it into bits. She had no blind spots Jeanne could see... no openings.
"Figure it out yourself." Cain shrugged, "I did what I said I would."
"W-Wait! Please!" Jeanne exclaimed, stepping forward. Just as she did so, Cain tossed Jeanne her sword, and with wide eyes and surprise Jeanne stumbled back and caught it by the handle. "H-How... how do I do that!?"
"Train harder, I guess?" Cain said, shrugging once more.
"You... it..." Jeanne breathed out, "When I fought it... it was like it could create blind spots I didn't even know where there. Like it could hit me from places that didn't exist."
"They exist, you just can't see them cause you have the eyes of a blind dog." Cain said bluntly, "Blind spots you thought were either microscopic, or didn't exist to begin with, can be easily seen by skilled fighters... You're just seeing the world in 1-Dimension. Or whatever smart people call it..."
"1-Dimension...? Then... how do I get the ability to see in... 2-Dimensions?" Jeanne asked, her eyes wide. "Or 3!? How many Dimensions can you see!?"
"I don't know, God! I was just using a term!" Cain exclaimed, groaning in annoyance.
"S-Sorry! This is all just new to me..." Jeanne murmured, blushing ever so slightly as she took a step back.
Cain sighed, "Of course it is... You're predispositioned to limit your thought and vision to a single path. Thought is linear, and vision is focused through either the central or peripheral areas... so of course your brain can't comprehend a higher string of movement."
"I... understand that." Jeanne murmured, "But... how are you able to do that? What kind of training did you have to do... to see like that?"
"......" Cain shrugged lightly, "Hard training. Really, really hard training."
"....." Jeanne remained silent. "Can... you teach me how to see like you? Maybe?"
"No." Cain said bluntly.
"Please?" Jeanne asked again.
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Please?"
"NO!"
"PLEASE!?"
"I said no!" Cain groaned out, "I'm not a teacher! You know about the concept now, so figure out how to do it yourself!"
"B-But... it could go much faster if I had a teacher, wouldn't it? Didn't you talk about what was most beneficial for both of us? You being my teacher helps me grow! And it might even help you grow!" Jeanne tried to reason..
"I'm not a babysitter, and I don't teach." Cain said flatly, "If you really wanna grow, find your own way."
"....alright, fine. I'll show you." Jeanne gripped her blade, "I'll show you! I'll get stronger on my own!"
"...I never said you couldn't. You don't have to prove anything to me, Jeanne." Cain sighed, "So don't declare yourself to me like you're a novel protagonist... it's really annoying."
"O-Oh! Right! S-Sorry, again... I just uh... get excited?" Jeanne murmured with acute embarrassment.
"...cool." Cain said sarcastically, before turning away from Jeanne. Right... she had to do her own training, after all.
"....." Jeanne looked down a bit, thinking. Cain's movements were... transcendental. She doubted she'd be able to grasp them on her own, without outside help. However...
Cain moved to stand next to Jeanne, getting in her stance.
"What are you doing?" Cain groaned, glancing at Jeanne. "I already said that I wasn't going to teach you."
"I know. But you never said I couldn't learn from you." Jeanne said bluntly, "If you won't teach me... I'll just observe you, and steal your skills."
"....hah." Cain nearly almost laughed, "You're insane."
"I am completely sane!" Jeanne declared, breathing out. "Let's start practicing! I want to grow asap!"
"...nice attitude, kid." Cain smirked, "But don't expect to learn anything from just watching..."
Jeanne nodded like a student receiving an order from their teacher, preparing herself to move as Cain moved. Time seemed to stand still as both of them dissociated with the world around them, and immersed themselves completely in their practice...
...for the rest of the night, until one of them collapsed.
It hurt like hell... but that wasn't what she felt right now. She felt confused. She felt... disillusioned with everything. They had fought, and by all intents and purposes, they had won. But they didnt achieve what she wanted to achieve... not what she needed them to achieve.
"....." She let out a sigh, "What in the heck am I thinking... we saved lives... gained new info about our enemy. I should be happy... I want to be happy, but..."
The fire burned within her all the same. She needed to know what it was, and how to control it... how to tame it. She couldn't rest knowing that the truth could have almost been within her reach... nor could she rest at the risk of once again experiencing that horrible dream as before.
Jeanne looked down at her sword, broken, battered, and covered in char of her own creation. There was one thing that worked best when she desired to take her mind off of things. At that was swinging a sword. There was nothing that eased her more in this world... than that action.
"....maybe I should sneak out? I don't want Alexia... or Erebus... to stop me..." She thought to herself. It soon became evident how idiotic that was, though. She doubted they'd be unable to hear her even if she was as quiet as she could be, moving while miles away.
"I'll just go through the back or something... there has to be another entrance... maybe for staff...? But Alexia is the only staff member..." Jeanne thought. She hadn't exactly spent much, if any time at all, memorizing the layout of the inn.
"Jeanne? Is something wrong?" Jeanne was jolted from suddenly being addressed, nearly tripping and falling down the stairs. She pressed her armored palm against the railing to regain balance, before looking down at who had addressed her.
"Oh... Alexia...? Why are you still up...?" Jeanne began quietly stumbling down the stairs, tip-toeing as best she could in heavy armor.
"I could... ask you the same thing? I assumed that you would be resting like everyone else. You've just participated in a battle..." Alexia took a step back from the staircase so Jeanne could have some space as she spoke, her gaze uncannily locked with Jeanne's.
"Oh!... Well, I can't sleep. And I... didn't want to take up a room somebody else could be using." Jeanne smiled awkwardly, "So I figured I'd use this time to go train elsewhere... yknow."
"...You're... training?" Alexia asked, raising an eyebrow. "At this hour...? In your condition?"
"Uh... is that weird?" Jeanne asked, "Well- I guess that was a stupid question... I admit it's strange, but training helps me... calm down, honest." Jeanne sighed, "Call it a... pass time?"
"Well... I suppose you are free to do whatever makes you happy." Alexia said, "I just don't think any of your friends will be the same if you push yourself to hard. Strength is important... especially for a young cadet, but..."
"Wait-" Jeanne paused, "How did you know I was a knight-in-training? I've never told you that... and we've only spoken briefly."
Alexia smiled, "Well, many things, but most importantly, you smell of Light Magic. That must mean you have been at least given a blessing, although not fully..."
All Knights were the limbs of the Sun Goddess. And to execute her will and the will of the world, a blessing would be granted, even to humans. For cadets, a minor blessing that allowed for basic support spells... For fully-fledged Knights and Paladins, they would be given a Stigma. Like Siglos's, this would link one with an outside source of Magic, allowing even humans to access spells and powers never before seen. Jeanne had yet to receive her own Stigma... but as a knight-in-training, she possessed a minor blessing which allowed her to utilize Light Magic.
"Ah... I suppose I do? I can't exactly... sense Magic, even when it's coming from my own body." Jeanne chuckled, "I suppose I'm just not that strong yet..."
"You will eventually learn the way to do it with your Aura. Most cadets will learn to, that is..." Alexia explained.
"Most of them will... but I'm not most. I don't have any talent." Jeanne muttered, "Which is why I would like you to let me train, ma'am. I'd like to use your... backdoor, so that I can avoid contact with my comrades."
Alexia sighed, "I... suppose that is fine. If that is what you desire. I advise that you learn to take care of yourself more thoroughly, Jeanne. Your body is trained for your age... but all things have limits."
"I will... keep this in mind, ma'am." Jeanne nodded, bowing ever so slightly. "Your wisdom is appreciated... if I may ask, were you previously an affiliate of the Church...? Since you seem to know much of standard procedure..."
Alexia glanced away ever so slightly, "That was... a long time ago, but yes. I was affiliated with them... in a way. So I have knowledge of administrative ways, outside of mutual religious practices."
"Ah! Yes, you're also a follower." Jeanne smiled, "I've been so focused on my duties... I had so little time to focus on prayer..."
Alexia shook her head, smiling. "It is great that you devote yourself so much. But I am sure the Goddess would forgive you, given your circumstances and your duties."
Jeanne would chuckle awkwardly, scratching the back of her head with her non-clawed hand. "Well... I hope that she may find it in her boundless heart, to forgive me for my laziness."
"I have no doubt she would." Alexia said, before turning away. "For now... I'll let you use the backdoor. It's in the kitchen. But I would please advise that in the future, you take the time to inform your friends of where you're going before you wander off in the night... worrying the people who care about you does nobody favors."
"I will keep that in mind... my apologies for the inconvenience, Alexia. You have been very kind." Jeanne, bowing ever so slightly in thanks, before straightening her posture as she followed Alexia into the kitchen, being lead to the backdoor where Alexia would keep locked most of the time.
"I keep saying there is no need for thanks... but it is appreciated." Alexia said as she opened the door, "Please... don't push yourself to hard, Jeanne."
Jeanne merely nodded, not wanting to repeat herself over and over again... not wanting to lie over and over again. With another courteous bow to the Everian woman, she would step out into the night, letting the warm air bask over her... as Alexia closed and locked the door behind her a few moments later.
"....." Jeanne glanced back for a moment, but shook her head to clear her mind, and then began moving. Last time she went out on her own she was on the brink of death, unable to take the burning pain... but now, she was alive. In pain... but alive.
"Snowfall..." She couldn't forget the moment that they had met each other once again. She couldn't explain it herself... she'd never seen a spirit before. It may have just been an illusion, but it felt to vivid to just be that... everything felt so real.
"She... she couldn't have been... real." Jeanne murmured as she made her way across the city. At the open plaza Siglos had lead the group to prior, she hadn't taken the chance to train because of the pain... but now, she could freely swing her sword with one goal in mind.
Her metal boots creaked against the fine cobblestone of Aegis. Her memory of where the place was became fuzzy... probably due to fatigue and not having slept for days. But, she was able to barely find it.
"This is the place, right...?" She murmured to herself. It seemed like it... well, it didn't matter. It was an open area with nobody in it, so it was the perfect spot to train.
"....." Jeanne drew her sword, examining the blade. It had taken a bit of damage from the battle, but... her new technique, which she had dubbed the Aura Cleaver, served to protect the blade from damage. It seemed that there truly were more ways to utilize her inner energy than she had realized...
Jeanne let out a breath as she got into her basic stance. She closed her eyes... and drew from the memory of the battle she had just fought, and the opponents she'd faced. Specifically... at the beginning of the battle, before Siglos's explosion. The grotesque, demonic soldiers that they had faced when they were in perfect condition.
She remember... everything. The way they walked. The way they breathed. The way they gazed through their cloaks. The way their muscles moved and contracted with each step... everything she could. There was no use in blindly swinging her sword.
"I need... a goal." And in front of her was that goal. A specialized opponent, from the information she had taken from the soldiers... recreated in front of her as best she could. For someone with such a hazy mind... the mental recreation of her ideal opponent was better than it should've been. Jeanne impressed herself for a moment. Maybe enough to brag... just a little bit. Just a... tiny bit.
Her opponent moved as if it had a mind of its own- And took up weapon accordingly. It's right arm morphed itself into a greatsword, emulating the uncanny ability of the immortal soldiers to control their body. And took its stance... and charged.
Jeanne was immediately caught off guard. It was much faster than she had anticipated... much faster than it was when injured. Appearing in the corner of her eye in an instant, it launched a blow from above... having lept into the air and striking from a seemingly coiled angle, as if the blade had morphed into a snake and wrapped itself around Jeanne. Before she could counter...
...dead.
Her eyes widened. "Haaa... haa..."
Before she could even counter, she would've been sliced into fine pieces, and her body would've collapsed into bits.
"...Again."
She got into her stance once again, forming another mental image of her opponent immediately. Bracing herself this time... they launched themselves forward. Their blade was only a few inches away from Jeanne's own, and it was a more... easily readable first attack... however...
...dead.
Holes would've been blown into her body as the seemingly straight-forward split into dozens of other patterns, and instantly overwhelmed her ability to predict them.
"Again...!"
So she tried again. Dead in 3 seconds, bisected. Again. Dead in 2 seconds, hole blown through her chest and armor. Again. Dead in 5 seconds, limbs severed and decapitated. Again. Dead in 3 seconds, spinal cord severed... split down the middle... skull cracked open... again... and again... and again... and again... and again.
...dead, every time.
"Haa... haa... d-damn it..." Strong. These enemies were stronger than her in every way imaginable. Speed, power, endurance, foresight, and skill... it became evident that Siglos's explosion had played a huge role in allowing her to match and defeat so many of them. The injuries had seemingly removed most of their motor skills... limiting them just enough that Jeanne could kill them.
But these battles were not the case. They would charge at her with blinding speed... which wasn't the problem. Avoiding an attack she couldn't see wasn't the issue... it was the way they attacked.. always a new attack pattern, a new stance, a new weapon, a new branch of footwork, always something she couldn't see coming...
"Monsters..." She saw just how powerful her seniors in the group were. Erebus, Kargath, Sylvia... they were all monsters in their own right, to tear through enemies like that with no effort whatsoever. How they did it went beyond Jeanne's comprehension... and how she could do it herself was even more incomprehensible.
"There has to be a way..." But she tried again, knowing this. She got into her stance... her vision was fuzzy from mental fatigue. But she kept going. She had a goal... and this was her goal.
"Again... again... again!" And she fought. This time, she made the first move, getting in close range with this mental apparition. The fights weren't meaningless... every theoretical death was an opportunity for growth, and she capitalized on this.
"Duck."
She heard a voice in her head. Or was it in her head...? It sounded real. But her mind was so hazy, she couldn't tell. Well, it didn't matter. Barely conscious, barely thinking... she followed the instructions of the voice, an attack she hadn't seen coming zooming over her vision.
"Huh...?" She didn't even know that attack was coming. She thought she had eliminated all her blind spots... countering an attack from behind wasn't difficult. But this opponent created new blind spots she couldn't comprehend... created openings that she could scarcely visualize.
"Jump to the right. Regain your footing and tilt your head to the left."
Without thinking, Jeanne did just that. She kicked off the ground and leaped to the right. Immediately after executing this action, like some sort of puppet... her head bent to the left. Two blurs of black zoomed past her in that imperceptible sequence, not even being able to keep up with her own actions.
"You have an opening to attack. Downward slash, now."
An opening? What opening? She couldn't see any openings... but she could barely see anything. It went beyond her capacity to see, beyond her capacity to think. And like a puppet on strings, she charged forward with all her might....
...the blade going through, despite the opponent not being real, felt so vivid. She sliced right through the imaginary enemy, falling to the ground due to not being able to stop the force of her own charge. "H-Huh...!?"
Jeanne landed face-first onto the cobblestone. "O-Owwww...."
"You really suck at this, kid."
"W-Who are you...!? Reveal yourself...!" Jeanne immediately got up as best she could, her sword still in hand. There was a bit of blood trickling from her nose from the fall...
"Uh, sup." Cain crossed her arms as Jeanne pointed her sword at her... wait, Cain?
"C-Cain... Cain!?" Jeanne nearly shouted, "W-What... what are you doing here...? D-Did you follow me!? Are others here?!"
"First of all, chill out. I came alone to train." Cain backed up a bit, "Looks like you beat me to it, though..."
"T-Train... You're here to train?" Jeanne asked, slowly lowering her sword as she tilted her head.
"Just like you." Cain shrugged, "Didn't wanna interrupt you while you were in the zone, though... but you suck so much it would've been an insult to just let you keep doing... whatever the hell you were doing."
Jeanne blushed ever so slightly, "A-Are you insulting my swordsmanship...?"
"I am. Duh." Cain said, "If you can even call it swordsmanship... was that last fight your first real battle? You really don't understand what you're doing at all, do you?"
"W-Well... I have fought before. But..." Jeanne stumbled on her words a bit, "That was only training... a battle with my life on the line... where I could die any moment... that was... my first..."
"Of course..." Cain sighed, "Give me that sword."
"H-Huh!? No!" Jeanne immediately rejected, backing up.
"Come on, don't be a wuss. I'm gonna show you what you really should be doing. If I have to watch anymore of that garbage you call sword-skills, I might just barf out my organs..." Cain held out her large hand, expecting Jeanne to obey.
"I s-said no..." Jeanne shook her head, "I don't know what you're trying to pull... but this sword is precious to me. You can create weapons... so make yourself a weapon, Cain."
"....." Cain let out a low growl, glaring at Jeanne. "Look here, human... I'm going out of my way to help you here..."
"B-Back off!" Jeanne exclaimed, immediately getting into a stance. Cain's growling became evermore loud, the woman's annoyance slowly boiling over the edge. Her glare was enough to strike terror and fear into even the most powerful of warriors... yet Jeanne did not back down. She trembled... but she did not step back.
"....." Cain spat onto the ground, "F*cking human... when someone offers you goodwill, isn't it customary to accept it?"
"That may be so... b-but not only is this sword important to me... I doubt you're doing this out of goodwill." Jeanne sighed, remaining her stance, her guard as high as it could be.
"And what exactly makes you think that...?" Cain groaned, crossing her arms.
"...don't think I don't see how you treat Siglos... no, not just him. Everybody around you. You talk down on people... look down on them. You think you can force your will onto others like you're some kind of queen..." Jeanne grunted, "You don't do anything out of goodwill. You just hate, and look down on people..."
"Wasn't I the one who saved Siglos's life? Hm? Remember that?" Cain said, sarcasm and indifference thick in her tone.
"That! It's that tone again! You don't think of anybody as an equal unless their strong!" Jeanne declared, "You have no respect... no honor! You may have saved Siglos's life... and I appreciate you saving my friend more than you can know... but you don't care about Siglos. You saved him to benefit yourself. You don't see him for anything more than... cannon fodder. Or meat. Like you all do..."
"......." Cain remained silent, her gaze narrowing at Jeanne... and the young knight froze in place. Her trembling increased evermore... she could die right here. Cain could kill her in a million different ways... before she could blink. But she did not falter. Did not back down. If a fight was necessary... then she would fight.
"....." Cain clenched her fists, and breathed out. She did not attack, "You speak as if you know honor, human..."
"More than you..." Jeanne grunted, hiding her surprise that Cain didn't cut her down right there. "Honor isn't picking on the weak."
"Is that what you think I do?" Cain asked, "Really?"
"If that's not what you do... then what is it that you do...?" Jeanne murmured.
"NOT that. I don't... I'm not... f*ck..." Cain turned around, her giant halo spinning slightly faster. She tried to find the right words... and tried to hold her rage back. "Look... I'm not... I'm not an asshole."
"Fooled me..." Jeanne murmured.
"I'm not!" Cain nearly shouted, "I'm not here to **** around with you, or insult you, or whatever you think I do! And I don't hate Siglos just because he's weak..."
"Then..." Jeanne slowly lowered her guard, and her stance... and displayed a look of confusion. "Why do you hate Siglos...?"
"That's... private." Cain groaned, "Private information... but we have actual, personal beef. Though... I'll... damn... I'll admit the fact that he's a pussy waste of space does make me hate him. A lot."
"Don't call my friend a... p-p... p.... that! Don't call him that?" Jeanne stuttered for a moment, before stepping up to Cain with rage in her tone.
"I'm sorry that offends you, but it's what he is. I don't take back shit." Cain shrugged, "Do you admit he's weak??"
"Well... yeah. He's not physically inclined... at all." Jeanne muttered.
"Do you admit he's usually kinda useless?" Cain asked.
"No! I do not!" Jeanne declared confidently, "He proved himself back there... he saved us all!"
"A fluke." Cain said with a dismissive tone, "I doubt he could do something like that in the future without adrenaline pumping through him like a waterfall..."
"I disagree." Jeanne said firmly, "Siglos may not be able to fight... but he is strong. With injuries like his... he overcame the odds and saved us all. He's stronger than me... and stronger than you."
"What did you just say to me, human?" Cain's neck snapped back at Jeanne, "Huh? Repeat that? To my face...?"
"I said what I said." Jeanne declared, "...and I won't take it back."
"...I could f*cking turn you into paste with a finger flick." Cain threatened, veins pulsating through her flesh, her sclera turning a deep black... thick with bloodlust, and desire to kill.
"...You're not going to, though. You'd never escape persecution..." Jeanne clenched her fists... mostly to mitigate the fear. She was barely standing... barely conscious, Cain's pressure weighing on her from every direction... her pure, unadulterated force threatening to kill her outright. But... "I'm.. I'm not..."
"Go on. Say what you want to say. Cain muttered, "Keep. F*cking. Talking..."
"...I'm not afraid of you, Cain." Jeanne declared, "I'm going to call you out on your... c-crap. And I'm going to stand up for my friend. No matter what."
"......" Cain went silent.
"Go on. You're gonna kill me, right?" Jeanne murmured, "If death is what I get for this... then kill me. I dare you. I DOUBLE dare you."
"...what?" Cain questioned, "...that's... what?"
"....." Jeanne blushed ever so slightly, ".....I uh... suppose that was... a bit childish of me."
"......." Cain's bloodlust slowly, but surely dissipated. "...You're so stupid, Jeanne."
"...m-maybe I am." Jeanne murmured, "...but still... I won't let you bully me."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Cain sighed, "For the love of... look, idiot. Believe whatever you want... but I have no conflict with you. I came here to train, and I offered help. If you don't want help just say you don't want help..."
"....." Jeanne remained silent for a few moments, "You... you really want to help me...?"
"I do." Cain said bluntly, "Maybe not of the goodness of whatever is left of my heart... but you being stronger is beneficial. To me, and you. Can you agree with that?"
"...I... yes, I can." Jeanne murmured, slowly lowering her stance. "I suppose..."
"Good, maybe you do have sense." Cain sighed, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "And since you agree with that... that means you'll help me help you, right? I won't break your sword, and I sure as hell don't want to keep it... so you don't have anything to worry about."
Jeanne by this point had completely lowered her guard, staring blankly at Cain. She doubted with Cain's skill the sword would break... and she doubted even more that Cain would want to steal such a rusted, shoddy blade. She was suspicious, but...
"...you promise you won't break it?" Jeanne asked quietly.
"If you can swing it without breaking it then I can to." Cain grunted, Jeanne clearly testing her patience once again.
"...and you'll give it back?" Jeanne said, a bit louder this time.
"For the love of- Why in the shit would I want that thing!? It's covered in rust and littered with cracks!" Cain exclaimed, "I. Do. Not. Want. It."
"Okay...! Okay... I get you. No need to shout..." Jeanne murmured, her grip around the blade tightening ever sp slightly. Begrudgingly... she lifted the blade up and handed it to Cain, forcefully loosening her grip on the weapon.
"Thank you so very much..." Cain said sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she snatched the blade from Jeanne.
"Careful!" Jeanne exclaimed, nearly leaping to grab it back.
"Get your panties out of a twist, kid! I'm not gonna break it..." Cain said, swiping the broken blade through the air a few times. The swings were... rough, but they possessed grace. Immense amounts of fluidity, to the point it seemed as if the blade was passing through the air... there was no wind resistance at all.
"F-Fine..." Jeanne stepped back, as she allowed Cain to do her work. As she regained her calmness, she became somewhat enamored with Cain's basic swings... they had no power, but they were perfect in a way Jeanne could not describe. Jeanne felt instinctively... that even those weak, gentle swipes at the air would pass through her flesh like butter, as if she didn't even exist at all.
"It would be a good blade, if you took care of it..." Cain murmured.
"My teacher ordered me to never let anybody touch it..." Jeanne said, "So do what I can with my limited abilities... but obviously that doesn't do much. But I won't stop using it."
"I never said you should. This suits your physique. Whoever your teacher was had you in mind when giving you this blade." Cain explained, "Now, if only they weren't so cheap... and have you that weird order..."
"Just get on with whatever you're about to do, Cain..." Jeanne murmured, clenching her fists ever so slightly.
"Fine, fine. Watch closely. Look away for even a second and you won't learn jack shit." Cain said flatly, "Got it?"
"Alright... I'll keep my eyes peeled." Jeanne nodded, doing just that. Her eyes were focused completely on Cain... on the pulsation of her muscles, on her posture, on her gaze... she drew all of her focus on Cain, to the point the entire world besides Cain went completely dark around her.
"That's good. Focus just like that... look what's in front of me." Cain got into her stance... a custom stance... no, it was Jeanne's stance. Perfectly replicated, perfectly executed... down to the way her muscles twitched and the way she held the blade. But that was not important... in that void of Supreme focus, something manifested in front of Cain...
...a soldier. The same soldier Jeanne had fought dozens of times over, and had been killed by dozens of times over. Jeanne could not decipher how Cain was making her see this... but she could hypothesize, at least. The way Cain prepared herself to strike guided Jeanne's vision... gave her insight into a purpose, a higher vision of sorts.
"H-How... you... are making me see things...? M-Magic...?" Jeanne murmured, her eyes gone wide.
"It's not Magic, I'm just gearing my stance based on what you want to see. It's a training method." Cain explained, "You were using image training, right?"
"I was- But- HOW are you making me see this...??" Jeanne said, exasperated by what she was seeing.
"I just told you- Yknow what, whatever. Just follow this." Cain ordered, and Jeanne immediately immediately straightened herself out... and so she simply watched, and learned.
She remained silent, not even moving a muscle. Cain's foot slid forward ever so slightly... then the soldier's did. They approached each other millimeter by millimeter, their movements imperceptible to the naked eye.
And then they struck. It happened faster... and sharper then Jeanne could fathom. All she could see was the opponent... and their sliced pieces flying through the imaginary space, falling into the darkened floor. And Cain standing triumphant, having easily annihilated her opponent in an instant.
"Ho... I... wh..." Jeanne stumbled on her words, failing to find a way to describe what she had just seen.
"Did you get that?" Cain asked, turning to Jeanne as the imaginary space around them collapsed, and the dead soldier dissipated into nothing. "Cause I'm only showing it once."
"I... I saw... it..." Jeanne murmured.
"Good. And what did you learn?" Cain asked.
"N...Nothing... I can... I can't even fathom... what... what did you do?" Jeanne asked. Jeanne was completely helpless against the thing. But not only did Cain counter its incomprehensible attacks at every front... she crushed it into bits. She had no blind spots Jeanne could see... no openings.
"Figure it out yourself." Cain shrugged, "I did what I said I would."
"W-Wait! Please!" Jeanne exclaimed, stepping forward. Just as she did so, Cain tossed Jeanne her sword, and with wide eyes and surprise Jeanne stumbled back and caught it by the handle. "H-How... how do I do that!?"
"Train harder, I guess?" Cain said, shrugging once more.
"You... it..." Jeanne breathed out, "When I fought it... it was like it could create blind spots I didn't even know where there. Like it could hit me from places that didn't exist."
"They exist, you just can't see them cause you have the eyes of a blind dog." Cain said bluntly, "Blind spots you thought were either microscopic, or didn't exist to begin with, can be easily seen by skilled fighters... You're just seeing the world in 1-Dimension. Or whatever smart people call it..."
"1-Dimension...? Then... how do I get the ability to see in... 2-Dimensions?" Jeanne asked, her eyes wide. "Or 3!? How many Dimensions can you see!?"
"I don't know, God! I was just using a term!" Cain exclaimed, groaning in annoyance.
"S-Sorry! This is all just new to me..." Jeanne murmured, blushing ever so slightly as she took a step back.
Cain sighed, "Of course it is... You're predispositioned to limit your thought and vision to a single path. Thought is linear, and vision is focused through either the central or peripheral areas... so of course your brain can't comprehend a higher string of movement."
"I... understand that." Jeanne murmured, "But... how are you able to do that? What kind of training did you have to do... to see like that?"
"......" Cain shrugged lightly, "Hard training. Really, really hard training."
"....." Jeanne remained silent. "Can... you teach me how to see like you? Maybe?"
"No." Cain said bluntly.
"Please?" Jeanne asked again.
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Please?"
"NO!"
"PLEASE!?"
"I said no!" Cain groaned out, "I'm not a teacher! You know about the concept now, so figure out how to do it yourself!"
"B-But... it could go much faster if I had a teacher, wouldn't it? Didn't you talk about what was most beneficial for both of us? You being my teacher helps me grow! And it might even help you grow!" Jeanne tried to reason..
"I'm not a babysitter, and I don't teach." Cain said flatly, "If you really wanna grow, find your own way."
"....alright, fine. I'll show you." Jeanne gripped her blade, "I'll show you! I'll get stronger on my own!"
"...I never said you couldn't. You don't have to prove anything to me, Jeanne." Cain sighed, "So don't declare yourself to me like you're a novel protagonist... it's really annoying."
"O-Oh! Right! S-Sorry, again... I just uh... get excited?" Jeanne murmured with acute embarrassment.
"...cool." Cain said sarcastically, before turning away from Jeanne. Right... she had to do her own training, after all.
"....." Jeanne looked down a bit, thinking. Cain's movements were... transcendental. She doubted she'd be able to grasp them on her own, without outside help. However...
Cain moved to stand next to Jeanne, getting in her stance.
"What are you doing?" Cain groaned, glancing at Jeanne. "I already said that I wasn't going to teach you."
"I know. But you never said I couldn't learn from you." Jeanne said bluntly, "If you won't teach me... I'll just observe you, and steal your skills."
"....hah." Cain nearly almost laughed, "You're insane."
"I am completely sane!" Jeanne declared, breathing out. "Let's start practicing! I want to grow asap!"
"...nice attitude, kid." Cain smirked, "But don't expect to learn anything from just watching..."
Jeanne nodded like a student receiving an order from their teacher, preparing herself to move as Cain moved. Time seemed to stand still as both of them dissociated with the world around them, and immersed themselves completely in their practice...
...for the rest of the night, until one of them collapsed.
(Jeanne slop above. Read if want.)
"Hehe... haha..." Sylvia looked over Siglos as he fell into deep sleep... simply looking at him. The way he breathed, the way he moved... everything about him. She moved his hair to the side to reveal his pointed ears beneath the ashen locks, smiling down at him.
And then... she closed her eyes. Let her body relax... let the tension she had built up melt into nothing. All that existed right now, to Sylvia, was him... and her. And in only a few moments...
...she drifted away, into peaceful, happy dreams.
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"Aye, worked in a scheme where lads and lasses talked like this," Duine said, "Guess chumming with them made me pick it up. Proper thick dialect, and but."
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"You don't say.." he shrugged, "But hiding you're true self would be detrimental in some way or another... Scheme you can on others, but not on those who you hold close.."
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"Another dialect issue, lad. Whit ah mean by 'scheme' is where the area I lived in for a time. My stay, you know?" She elaborated, "Besides, ah dinnae see myself as someone giving the script, ah see myself more as the lass that would take a div in a square go."
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"Oh, guess this is the old age coming through..." he joked.
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"Maybe just a wee bit."
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Erebus lets out a bemused dark chuckle, giving her a thumbs up.
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"So, big yin, yuptae out here?" Duine asked, "Training? Keeping watch? Trying to get some alone time or clear your napper?"
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"Just... watching the stars..." he replied, looking up.
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"Picked a braw night for it," She said, looking up at the stars, "That view is Pedro..."
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"Yeah... very beautiful isn't it?" he asked, looking at her.
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"Aye, it is proper gorgeous...." She answered.
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"Of course..." he nods, just staring at the night sky.
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(I think so)
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(I say go for it.)
azontr
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The next Morning...
The day greets our heroes without any... unwanted surprises, like last time. No public executions... no kidnappings... no nothing. The day was tranquil. Birds sung as the sun rose above the horizon, dancing within the air. People strolled the streets, young Everian children running around and deviously playing with spells their parents wouldn't let them use... salesmen and saleswomen advertised their shops boldly and loudly, hoping to drag in new customers from all around
For the first time in days... Aegis, the Golden City, truly lived up to its name and history... and the world was tranquil.
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As the new dawn rises, Erebus got up from his nap at the wall and stood up. Getting a stretch or two, the armored Rakshashin took a deep breath.
Soon, he had his sword be on his back and began to walk the town, looking for a shop to buy flowers.
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Shalor woke up and sprinted downstairs, he was still quite energetic, though the city didn't hold the same grandeur to him as it did before... and that was okay to him, he still smiled at the light and looked for Alexia in the inn
"Hopefully that stupid vaewolf man doesn't pull something again!" He thought to himself
"Hopefully that stupid vaewolf man doesn't pull something again!" He thought to himself
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As the rising sun of the goddess slowly took its place in the morning sky…shining its rays across the kingdom…the small Everian stirred from his slumber. His eyes slowly opened, his mouth opening into a soft, light yawn. It was the best sleep he had had in…well…he couldn't quite remember the last time he had a truly restful night. Free of nightmares. Free of the lingering anxieties of the day. For a brief moment…he wondered why that was…
Until he felt the warmth of flesh against his own. Of two, powerful arms wrapped across his lithe body…pressing him into the pillowy surface at his back. He blushed…his cheeks flashing a rosy red as he remembered what had happened last night. Despite having already shared more…intimate moments, with the woman at his side…the fact that she stayed with him during the night…that small act of kindness and protection after all the horrors they had faced together….caused his heart to race like a galloping stallion.
He lingered in her embrace for a long while...savoring the comfort, before slowly breathing a sigh. He couldn't stay in bed forever...no matter how tempting it was to melt into her arms until she awoke. Carefully…he tried to slip his way out of her embrace, hoping not to wake her.
Until he felt the warmth of flesh against his own. Of two, powerful arms wrapped across his lithe body…pressing him into the pillowy surface at his back. He blushed…his cheeks flashing a rosy red as he remembered what had happened last night. Despite having already shared more…intimate moments, with the woman at his side…the fact that she stayed with him during the night…that small act of kindness and protection after all the horrors they had faced together….caused his heart to race like a galloping stallion.
He lingered in her embrace for a long while...savoring the comfort, before slowly breathing a sigh. He couldn't stay in bed forever...no matter how tempting it was to melt into her arms until she awoke. Carefully…he tried to slip his way out of her embrace, hoping not to wake her.
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(Oh right)
But seeing the current racial view, Erebus tilted his head and sighed, beginning to go on a grassy field— finding flowers through there.
Oliver_de_jesus
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Noah left her bed, yawning, the dragon girl went to bathe and change, after that she went downstairs to say hello to Alexia and her friends, and see what she could have breakfast.
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Plucking out only the white flowers, he soon collected enough to be a bouquet. Erebus would then gently wrap it in some black paper made of his magic as a way to temporarily hold them together, before walking out of town and elsewhere, though kept an eye on whomever may be following him.
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Duine was outside still, having left Erebus after he had fallen asleep. She figured it would be as good a time as any with the night to do some light training. A little conditioning, and a little shadow boxing. However, the Rakshashin's magic allowed her to do so in the most literal sense.
The spar of hers lasted until the break of dawn, where her shadows would weaken. At this point, she figured she might as well take the rest of the time she had desired for a spar and channel it into a simplistic workout. Heading back to the rest of the group, she decided to see if there was anything new going on, and also finish her workout when she got there.
"Oi, Ah miss anything?" Duine asked.
Duine conjured a shadow. The energy they possessed was superior to her own, hence her using it to augment her own capabilities. Her foe was faster, stronger, larger, and more resilient than her.
Just like she desired.
Taking a stance, and the conjured shadow doing the same, she stepped toward it, closing the distance between the two in an effort to reach a favorable range. As she did so, a brief exchange of jabs ensued. They would both feel out openings, moving around and trying to get their foe into disadvantageous positions. Hooks, uppercuts, and cross punches would be thrown.
The shadow swung a combination of jabs and crosses. Jab, left, jab, jab, right, left. Duine reacted in kind. She would use head movement and weaving from side to side to evade. However, some strikes were a little too fast for her to move her entire upper body to evade, forcing her into a situation where she would need to block. Blocking the final strike of the combination, she would swiftly attempt to rotate her torso and launch a counter attack.
The only sound from the blow was the sound of her fist splitting the wind. She missed.
Good. It would be a challenge.
Closing in to punish the missed strike, the shadow took a long and swift stride forward, carrying the momentum through the torso as the left arm came around to deliver a haymaker, one with such devastating power that Duine was sent back by even when blocking. She was knocked off balance, and swiftly tried to regain her footing. Placing her other foot down, she leaned back and avoided the follow up strike the shadow attempted.
The Rakshashin quickly catapulted her body forward, now preparing to respond with the same ferocity as the imaginary opponent she had conjured. Also rotating her body in a similar manner, gathering momentum for a haymaker that only served to barely stagger the shadow.
This was going to be a long battle: a somewhat brutal chess game, one where moves have only milliseconds to be decided, and execution is far more complex than maneuvering a piece on a board and waiting for the response of an intellectual opponent. The strategies, the quick thinking, the learning of the opponents were all moves, just as much as the physical discipline, homed reaction time, and balancing act of instinctual action and calculated reactions in the midst of combat...
And this game was just getting started.
Just like she desired.
Taking a stance, and the conjured shadow doing the same, she stepped toward it, closing the distance between the two in an effort to reach a favorable range. As she did so, a brief exchange of jabs ensued. They would both feel out openings, moving around and trying to get their foe into disadvantageous positions. Hooks, uppercuts, and cross punches would be thrown.
The shadow swung a combination of jabs and crosses. Jab, left, jab, jab, right, left. Duine reacted in kind. She would use head movement and weaving from side to side to evade. However, some strikes were a little too fast for her to move her entire upper body to evade, forcing her into a situation where she would need to block. Blocking the final strike of the combination, she would swiftly attempt to rotate her torso and launch a counter attack.
The only sound from the blow was the sound of her fist splitting the wind. She missed.
Good. It would be a challenge.
Closing in to punish the missed strike, the shadow took a long and swift stride forward, carrying the momentum through the torso as the left arm came around to deliver a haymaker, one with such devastating power that Duine was sent back by even when blocking. She was knocked off balance, and swiftly tried to regain her footing. Placing her other foot down, she leaned back and avoided the follow up strike the shadow attempted.
The Rakshashin quickly catapulted her body forward, now preparing to respond with the same ferocity as the imaginary opponent she had conjured. Also rotating her body in a similar manner, gathering momentum for a haymaker that only served to barely stagger the shadow.
This was going to be a long battle: a somewhat brutal chess game, one where moves have only milliseconds to be decided, and execution is far more complex than maneuvering a piece on a board and waiting for the response of an intellectual opponent. The strategies, the quick thinking, the learning of the opponents were all moves, just as much as the physical discipline, homed reaction time, and balancing act of instinctual action and calculated reactions in the midst of combat...
And this game was just getting started.
The spar of hers lasted until the break of dawn, where her shadows would weaken. At this point, she figured she might as well take the rest of the time she had desired for a spar and channel it into a simplistic workout. Heading back to the rest of the group, she decided to see if there was anything new going on, and also finish her workout when she got there.
"Oi, Ah miss anything?" Duine asked.
azontr
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(The lock down is still in place, Back, he can't leave 
)
)"Mm... r... shimimimimi..." Sylvia snores lightly as she shifts in her sleep, rolling her arm over Siglos, inadvertently pinning him to the bed. Her tail gently wagged back and forth in her slumber, kicking up dust and debris.
