Ragnarök-RP Thread

[Oliver_de_jesus]

"......"Jack perfectly understood how Road felt, after all he felt uncomfortable when this happened even when it was other people and not Ragnarok's Crew, he always saw himself unable to help in the emotional problems of others

 

[azontr]

The group entered the door and it closed behind them, instantly disappearing from sight.

The area within the door seemed to be some sort of pocket dimension akin to the place they'd fought the Poison Dragon, with multiple doors leading to unknown places. Otherwise, it seemed to be a rather rough safe-house lacking in luxury or comfort, but that didn't matter, it had bedrooms, kitchens, and training areas and that was all the group probably needed, anyway, with most of the place being made from the wood that comprised Fantasy Tree; Eden.

Kiara grumbled in her sleep, not having the best dream and clearly so, while Rory stayed close, trying to comfort her as she breathed a bit heavy.

Gabriel sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. She planned to get some training in and then consult with Road about their strategy, thinking silently to herself.

Okita stuck close with Ythala, her eyes running across the structure as she expanded her senses to see the entire thing in bulk. Realizing there were training areas, she made training for a while a part of her schedule while a plan was formed by the "smarter" individuals.

Tokugawa was silent and simply looked around. He didn't know what to do to contribute to the group, and was constantly pondering over it...

Kinzer grunted, seeming to also plan to train, but whether or not he'd say anything about it was up in the air.

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

David glanced at Kiara, her eyes lingering on the women for a moment, before breathing out.

"...Gonna go get some workouts in. Holler if you need anything, Rory." David said quietly. Like Okita, he figured he'd leave the planning to the others.

Masayoshi slowly floated around the safehouse, examining the wood.

"...Didn't think you could build with something like this..." She murmured. She was tempted to try her Plant Magic on the tree, but decided against it, unsure what would happen if she attempted to manipulate such a powerful plant.

Ythala clung close to Okita, gripping the women's arm as she looked around the base.

 

[azontr]

"Alright, dude... I'll join you when Kiara wakes up..." Rory murmured, gently running her hand through Kiara's soft, but messy hair as Rio struggled in the young hero's sleeping grip, unharmed, obviously, but clearly desiring to break away from his mother regardless, the young boy letting out a gentle cry/roar.

"I'll join you, David..." Okita murmured, glancing down at Ythala and breathing out softly.

"Same here..." Gabriel murmured, her wings gently flapping as she retracted them for the first time in a while. There'd be no point in training if she just absorbed all the damage she took, after all. She chuckled lightly at hearing Rio's immature cry, before just shaking her head and going back to her usual demeanor.

 

[Oliver_de_jesus]

Griffin decided to eat a little like Jack, the first one made a quadruple sandwich while the second one made a skewer with a C5 sword where he placed various foods, both had a Glass full of orange juice.

"i'll probably go to training after eating this and resting for a few minutes" Griffin said to Jack.

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

Ythala looked up at Okita for a moment, before gently pulling away.

"...I'll...I'll stay here. D-don't push yourself too hard, Okita..." Ythala said softly.

“Alright. Take care…” David said. He glanced at Okita and Gabriel for a moment, before nodding. He turned away, walking towards where he thought the training areas were.

 

[azontr]

Road glanced at the trio as they left to train, simply sighing. The crosses on her forehead pulsated and gently bled, as did the crosses that had recently formed on Gabriel's forehead, but she swiftly wiped away the blood and ignored them.

Okita nodded, "I won't be long..." She said to Ythala, moving away.

The training areas were, as most of the facilities were, pocket dimensions connected to the roots and branches of Fantasy Tree; Eden. Some displayed themselves as large generic gladiatorial arenas, while some were more urban, modern places. Some were forests, some were volcanoes or were located near a hefty heat source, and more. There seemed to be nigh-infinite doors that could be opened, and yet, a large portion of them seemed to be blocked off from access entirely..

 

[DaReaperMan]

"Can you handle it Gabriel?" Terevion asked as he walked, staying to the side of Gabriel while Raviathon's breathing quickened

 

[azontr]

(I forgor.)

"I'll be fine.." Gabriel murmured, expanding her senses and trying to pick out an optimal training arena, seeming to consider a prehistoric rainforest setting, since it seemed rather calming, and she performed spells best when calm.

Meanwhile...

Spoiler: Rory being a mom

Rio eventually broke free from Kiara's grip, or well, Rory pried Kiara's arms off the child and the swordswoman held him up, chuckling. "Your way more active than I thought you'd be, little guy..." She murmured to herself as Kiara slept, with Rio's tension and thrashing seeming to lessen in Rory's grip.

"Heh, do you like me more than Kiara? I'll tell her that your playing favorites..." Rory said jokingly, before shaking her head. "What am I doing... You can't even talk yet..." She murmured, pulling the child into her chest as she sighed, gently holding him.

"I've got no idea how to raise a kid either, honey..." Rory thought to herself, sighing once more. In the back of her mind lingered the thought;

"Maybe we went into this to fast..." She thought. Kiara was so young. Probably only 20, and she didn't have much life experience, especially not with this stuff. Well, neither did Rory, but, she could feel Kiara's burden, after so long of thinking this was going to be an amazing thing, realizing how hard it would be seemed so obvious now...

Rio bit Rory's right breast as she thought, causing her to gently yelp in discomfort as she raised him into the air once again. "Hey, you little ******... No biting..." She murmured, looking up at the young boy. Rio gave Rory a shit-eating glare.

"Your pretty self-aware for a kid, you know that?" Rory said, upset, but, she couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's violent antics. She just sighed and smiled, looking into his deep, blue-eyes.

"I guess you got the blue from me... Though my eyes are only partially blue... Heh... You look beautiful regardless, baby..." Rory murmured, lowering Rio down. It was almost as if on instinct, holding this boy in her hands made her feel at ease for some reason.

She gave Rio a gentle kiss on the cheek, just softly smiling at him. "Thank you for being alive, Rio... Like, seriously... We both love you it's just... stressful, yknow...? Raising a kid... I think me and Kiara both know we rushed into our relationship and the pregnancy..."

Rio responded with a head-tilt. He clearly didn't know what she was talking about. He was very self-aware, yes, but he was still a baby, and he was still dumb.

"I know you've got no idea what I'm saying, kid.. Just... I'll try and do my best for you, alright...? Both of us will... Our lives are filled with... a lot of pain... and suffering, so..." Rory choked on her words a bit, "I don't know how... I'm supposed to raise you properly, Rio... I just don't..."

Rio kept his head tilt, moving to press his cheek against Rory's. If they had anything in common besides eye-color, it was that their skin was extremely cold.

"Heh... Alright, I get the memo, kid... Try not to grow up to be a delinquent, alright...?" She said with a chuckle, gently setting the child next to Kiara, who instinctively softly wrapped her arms around him, breathing against his cheek. Rio's tension slowly dissipated as he allowed this to happen.

Rory just smiled at this, standing up and breathing out. "I love you both..." She thought to herself.

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

David glanced at the doors for a few moments, before breathing out. Holding out his hands, he forcefully mutated his body, various strange feelers sprouting along his skin, the tips covered in small, open eyes. He was purposely extending his senses, not really caring to open every door in the facility to find the right one. Eventually, located in a more urban location behind one of the doors, which resembled a type of modern gym.

"...You two alright training by yourself?" David asked, looking back at Okita and Gabriel. While saying this, he put his hands down, the strange appendages disappearing from his arms.

 

[DaReaperMan]

"...I think we could use a desert, might be personal preference, but they usually let you see anything coming a long way off and give you plenty of room to do things without trashing the place." Terevion suggested to Gabriel

 

[azontr]

"I don't really care where we train so long as I can keep my head on straight..." Gabriel murmured to Terevion and David, just shrugging. She clearly didn't care if David went off on his own.

"I have not seen 90% of the places here ever..." Okita murmured to herself, not really caring if she trained alone as she looked at one of the more modern settings through coincidence, examining the buildings and facilities through the dimensional door. Okita didn't seem to mind David training on his own if he so desired, but didn't really take the time to consider whether or not she wanted to go with him as she examined the buildings curiously.

"I wish Ythala could see this..." She thought to herself.

 

[DaReaperMan]

"I don't really care where we train so long as I can keep my head on straight..." Gabriel murmured to Terevion and David, just shrugging. She clearly didn't care if David went off on his own.

"I have not seen 90% of the places here ever..." Okita murmured to herself, not really caring if she trained alone as she looked at one of the more modern settings through coincidence, examining the buildings and facilities through the dimensional door. Okita didn't seem to mind David training on his own if he so desired, but didn't really take the time to consider whether or not she wanted to go with him as she examined the buildings curiously.

"I wish Ythala could see this..." She thought to herself.

"Sure..." Terevion said thoughtfully, shrugging

"Masayoshi." Cullthane spoke to his student telepathically

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

“…Just wanted to check. I’ll be around if anything comes up.” David said. Shrugging, he turned away from the group, walking towards the door he had located earlier.

Masayoshi, who had begun meditating near the entrance of the safe house, slowly opened her eyes.

“Yes? Do you need something, Cullthane?” Masayoshi asked.

 

[DaReaperMan]

"Report to this training room, you should see a line pointing you to the right direction." Cullthane said

 

[azontr]

Gabriel just went to a desert like Terevion suggested, sitting down in the blistering sun as she began meditating. She breathed in and out, calming herself and controlling the mana flow throughout her body. Meditation allowed her to quell her stress, quelling her stress allowed the mana to flow better and as such allowed her to cast more powerful spells. Gabriel tried to continuously maintain a state of focus and calm without meditation many times before, but, she had always failed due to her emotional issues, the thought of her previous failures causing her to breath out.

Okita went to a gym, similar to David. She tried to lift some of the weights, her lack of physical strength making it hard to lift some of the heavier ones without using her Qi. She also didn't know anything about proper exercising form outside of things like push-ups and sit-ups and basic sword swings, so things like bench-pressing or curls or anything involving actual weight-lifting would usually result in the weights falling onto her, which didn't harm her, or her getting unnecessary muscle cramps, which didn't really bother her. All in all, Okita just focused on her normal training, since the art of weight-lifting escaped her.

 

[DaReaperMan]

Terevion began to work, specifically going out of his way to hit some ridiculous targets, while it was low for him, it was training on his aim, but Raviathon on the other hand made a grunt as she tried to focus her magical energy, just ending up failing each time due to her extreme mental anguish here

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

David walked into his gym, before slowly moving toward the barbells. In truth, he hadn't expected either of the two to care if he went off alone. He doubted Gabriel cared what he did, so long as it didn't bother her, and figured Okita was used to training alone from her time as a samurai. He was curious about where she went off to, though, considering he noticed her peering at some of the more modern areas.

"...I can ask her about it when I get back..." David thought. His thoughts shifted towards Gabriel for a moment, before shaking his head. He wasn’t sure he’d have wanted to train with her anyway. It would’ve been…awkward, at best.

“…Ought to just leave her alone. We have a better relationship now, no doubt, but it ain’t like we’ll ever be friends again.” David thought. He breathed out, scratching his neck.

“She’s got the…Gun dude now. And Shalor. Long as she’s got those two, she won’t need me to stick my neck out. Don’t think she likes when I do that, anyway.” He murmured. His mind lingered on Shalor for a moment, remembering the promise he had made to him and Belial.

“The…relationships about as fixed as it can be…after what I’ve done to her. She doesn’t hate me anymore…I don’t think. And we’re on speaking terms. Unless I **** up again, I shouldn’t stress her further…” He thought.

He shook his head dispelling the thoughts from his mind. He looked around, checking to see if anyone was nearby, before starting his full body workout. He didn't put any weight on the bar, rather, he simply used his gravity control to make it heavier or lighter, depending on the exercise. He doubted any normal gym had weights heavy enough for him at this point…though, admittedly, he wouldn't call this place normal.

"…." David said nothing, breathing quietly as he continued to exercise, his muscles expanding and contracting. His head was nearly devoid of thoughts, simply lifting the bar as if on reflex alone. The reason he wanted to get away from the others was, partially, so that he wouldn't have to think. So that he could immerse himself in his strength training without having to remember what happened in the Lostbelts, or deal with the myriad of emotions, he felt bubbling beneath the surface.


He racked the weight for a moment, breathing a small sight.

"...Almost home." David said quietly. He repeated that phrase in his mind, grabbing the bar again as he prepared for his next set.

"Report to this training room, you should see a line pointing you to the right direction." Cullthane said

Masayoshi cocked her head.

“I suppose we haven’t had a lesson in a while, have we…” She said softly. Floating a few feet off the ground, she gradually made her way to the training room.

 

[Oliver_de_jesus]

Griffin moved after eating and resting for a few minutes and found a room that caught his attention, it had several weights, Gym stuff and things like that, but he was also outside there were some trees and a river outside, he took a weight in his arm human, it was useless to try to exercise his right arm construct, so he placed various weights on various areas of the body and began a jog.


Jack was going to train but he stopped for a moment, then he sighed and went to check on Ythala, he wanted to apologize for making things... awkward.

 

[azontr]

Spoiler: Kiara and Rory contemplating their life choices

Kiara fumbled around in her sleep, breathing heavily. Her face contorted gently in her sleep, something Rio, who was still in her arms, took notice of. The child flipped over a bit, looking at his mother's shut eyes directly. The young boy took the liberty to wake his mother from her slumber, realizing that she wasn't much enjoying being asleep.

He moved to poke her in the nose in an attempt to wake her, to no effect. It seemed to only make her face contort even more as she gently thrashed around. Her grip was becoming tighter. Rio didn't much like that. He then decided to pinch her nose. This seemed to work more at waking her up, at least, but, she still wasn't completely awake.

Rio decided to then pull on her nose. Now, that was working. Kiara's eyes gently opened, the woman letting out a confused grumble. "Mr..g..?"

Rio continued to pull her nose. A few moments later, she completely woke up, and realized what he was doing.

"R-Rio...? St-Stop pulling my nose..." Kiara grumbled, gripping Rio's tiny wrist softly and gently removing his hand from her nose. Regardless of her pain tolerance, it still hurt.

"I'm glad to see your both up and lively..." Rory said jokingly as she noticed Kiara was awake, with Rio letting out an incoherent babble. Kiara chuckled as well, slowly sitting up and holding Rio in her arms.

"Anything happen while I was out...?" Kiara asked, the young boy in her arms just looking up at the rainbow-colored wooden ceiling.

"Well, our son here bit me in the tit and acted like a little ********... But it was cute, so I let it slide." Rory said, chuckling as Kiara smiled, running her hand gently through Rio's brown hair.

"Yeah... He is cute... I don't know where he gets all these violent tendencies, though..." Kiara murmured, her smile slowly but surely disappearing.

"Neither do I..." Rory murmured, before just gently shaking her head, looking up at Kiara. "Are you... alright, babe?"

"I-" Kiara choked on her words for a moment, "I... uh... I'm..."

"You don't have to answer if you don't feel comfortable..." Rory said, just breathing out.

"No No- No... No No... It's fine, Rory... I'm..." Kiara's voice was shaky, and so was the rest of her body as she spoke.

"I'm not fine, Rory... I'm... I'm not fine, not at all..." Kiara said as honestly as she could, looking down at Rio. "All these... Lostbelts... and all this death... And.. now that Rio is born I... I just feel so nervous..." Kiara said, with Rory breathing out.

"I-I'm... I'm scared, Rory..." Kiara said, just holding Rio close.

"I..." Rory sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I... I get that, Kiara... I'm scared to... I mean..."

"I... I know what your gonna say, Rory..." Kiara said, breathing out. "Neither of us have any experience raising a kid..."

"Y-Yeah..." Rory said, just looking down a bit.

Both of them stayed silent for a few minutes after that, just awkwardly looking at the ground, not even meeting the other's gaze. Kiara opened her mouth first, but no words came out, instead, she didn't know how to phrase what she wanted to say, and simply choked up on her words. Rory was the same as she opened her mouth, shaking her head as she didn't really know how to say what she wanted to say either. After a while, though...

"D-Do you..." Kiara spoke up.

"Do you..." And so did Rory.

"Y-You can go first..." Kiara murmured.

"N-No, you can go first. What I wanted to say isn't that important anyway..." Rory murmured, awkwardly scratching her neck.

"H-How about we say what we wanna say at the same time...?" Kiara suggested, breathing out.

"Alright... That sounds good..." Rory said, nodding as she breathed out. They both trembled lightly, preparing to release their words. A sharp cold ran down their spines, hesitation burning within the two women's chests. They spoke simultaneously.

"Do you think that we rushed into our marriage?"

Both of them froze as the words escaped their lips. Rory's skin, which was already pale, went paler. Kiara's eyes widened, and she began to tremble more intensely, heaving out a breath.

"....."

"....."

Neither knew how to respond.

"I..." Kiara breathed out, shaking her head. She trembled in her clothing.

"I... I think we may have... moved really fast, yeah..." Kiara said, just turning away from Rory.

Rory clenched her fists, breathing out. "I... Yeah... I was..."

"I was... young." Kiara said, "And naive..."

"I was... broken. And desperate for some sort of connection." Rory said, closing her eyes.

"I... You seemed so endearing... and strong..." Kiara said, chuckling.

"And you seemed so... kind and... hopeful..." Rory said, heaving out a hollow breath.

"....."

"....."

"Do you still love me, Rory...?" Kiara asked, and Rory immediately shot up.

"Of course I do...! I think your amazing, Kiara... I could never stop loving you..." Rory said, breathing heavily. She was truthful in her words.

"And I could never stop loving you either, Rory...!" Kiara said, heaving out a sigh of relief. "We rushed into this but I... I still love you so much, Rory... I just... I didn't..."

"Expect it to be so difficult...?" Rory asked.

"E-Exactly...! Like... I thought this whole marriage thing and child thing would be so easy... You could do it in a breeze, yknow...? But now I feel so... uncertain... I feel like my entire world is falling apart around me..." Kiara said, her eyes beginning to tear up. She let out a shaky breath, holding Rio close as the child's eyes flickered.

"I... I guess I never expected us to... get this far... I thought we'd get killed before we could ever start a family, to be honest..." Rory murmured.

"N-Not in front of Rio, Rory..." Kiara murmured, just breathing out as she trembled.

"R-Right... S-Sorry... Kiara..." Rory murmured, breathing out as well. She clasped her hands together, her fingers, clad in iron intertwining as she fumbled around, not knowing what to say after that. Kiara trembled as Rio's consciousness slowly drifted away, the boy once again falling into slumber in Kiara's arms.

"R-Rory...?" Kiara called out Rory's name, looking up at her.

The swordswoman looked up, their gazes meeting. Kiara's crimson eyes dilated, her sclera red from previous crying. She sniffled, letting out a tiny hiccup.

"Yeah...?" Rory responded, just closing her eyes for a moment and breathing out before opening them once more and looking at Kiara.

"...Things are just going to get even worse, aren't they...?" Kiara asked, her voice hollow.

"..." Rory was just silent, not knowing how to respond. How should she respond? Should she lie? She knew things were only going to get harder. That things were only going to get worse as time went on. She knew they couldn't have their happy family. They never could. Not with the world they lived in... Not with what Rory was.

She said nothing.

Kiara let out a hiccup once more, tears pouring from her eyes. She couldn't hold it in, no matter how much she tried. Her arms nearly gave out as she was holding Rio, causing her to set him to the side gently as she constantly let out uncontrollable hiccups, unable to hide her anxiety. She was having an anxiety attack, and it was happening fast.

Rory immediately went to hug Kiara, not knowing what to say. She could see it in Kiara's eyes. She wanted Rory to say something. Anything. Even if it was a lie. She needed something, an answer, an affirmation, just- Anything.

But Rory didn't have anything. She didn't know what to say to make the situation better, or to make it worse, or to do anything. She couldn't conjure the thoughts, the words necessary to change anything. She hated herself for that.

Kiara clenched her eyes shut so tightly they hurt, unable to conjure coherent sentences. Her mind was in disarray, unable to comprehend what she felt herself, unable to process the crippling anxiety that surrounded her soul. Scared, she was... So, so scared. So hopeless. It was a sinking feeling that she'd never experienced before, not even during her time in the Real World when she was young. She felt like her entire world was falling apart around her, and she didn't even know how to begin picking up the pieces.

Everything hurt.

She wasn't a hero.

"...." Rory pushed Kiara away, and got up and she moved away. Kiara was left to fall backward, scrunching up against the wall and crying constantly as her son slept next to her.

Rory went to the fridge, and dug through it's contents. She threw many things out of it, just breathing out. She didn't want everybody to see her and Kiara in a position like this, but, there was no time to move to a more private location. This was all she knew how to do. Rory pulled out a large container of strawberry ice cream, and brought it over to Kiara with a large spoon.

Kiara glanced at the container, and simply continued crying for a few moments.

Rory looked at her, and breathed out, holding back her own wave of tears. "Eat..." She requested of her beloved.

Kiara turned over, her squinted eyes looking at the container. Slowly, she moved her hands towards the lid, and effortlessly pried it off. Gripping the spoon in hand, she began to shovel strawberry ice cream into her face, her tears wetting the creamy goodness.

Rory figured this was the best way to at least keep her coherent. She knew Kiara liked sweets.

Kiara just continued shoveling ice cream down her throat, letting the cold sting her tongue and give her brain freeze. She didn't care, though. She didn't care about anything right now.

She just wanted an escape.

Ice cream was that escape.

And Rory simply let her escape for as long as she needed.

(Did a thing.)

 

[DaReaperMan]

The large expansive forest was clear, pine trees as the line led Masayoshi onward, to where Cullthane was making potions in a large Alchemy station, so complex it'd make Masayoshi's mind whirl at first glance, going down into a River

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

Jack was going to train but he stopped for a moment, then he sighed and went to check on Ythala, he wanted to apologize for making things... awkward.

Ythala had moved away from the main room once Okita had left, her wings fluttering gently as she took a seat on top of one of the doors within the base. She had summoned her harp, gently strumming a few notes while humming softly to herself. She had clearly lost herself within the music, her eyes closed as she gently moved back and forth. It's likely he wouldn't notice Jack approach unless he announced himself.

The large expansive forest was clear, pine trees as the line led Masayoshi onward, to where Cullthane was making potions in a large Alchemy station, so complex it'd make Masayoshi's mind whirl at first glance, going down into a River

"...if I didn't know any better, I'd think he was showing off..." Masayoshi murmured, chuckling to herself. She floated through the line of trees, eventually reaching Cullthane a few minutes later. Gently, she landed on her feet, standing behind the angel as she marveled at the alchemy station.

"...I didn't know they could be so...complicated..." Masayoshi said. Her gaze lingered on the station for a moment, before looking up at Cullthane.

"...Will you teach me how to use one?"

 

[DaReaperMan]

"In time, currently However, show me what you've learned in Plant Magic." Cullthane said, turning as he extracted a potion and poured it on the ground, which caused unknown plants to begin sprouting up

 

[Oliver_de_jesus]

after looking at her for 3 seconds and thinking about what to say

"Hello, Ythala ...." Jack would say in an attempt to get her attention although his voice was soft so as not to scare her too much or something.

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

"In time, currently However, show me what you've learned in Plant Magic." Cullthane said, turning as he extracted a potion and poured it on the ground, which caused unknown plants to begin sprouting up

Masayoshi nodded.

"I've been studying the scrolls you gave me a while back...I think I have a good grasp of it now." Masayoshi said. Gently, she held her hands in front of her, magic beginning to flow from her palms. Immediately, a large, thick shoot of bamboo spouted from the ground, the plant rapidly growing until the top eclipsed even the surrounding trees. Gesturing her hand a bit, the bamboo suddenly split in half vertically, before reforming as two sturdy shoots that continued to grow into the air. Moving her other hand slightly, long, green vines began to rapidly grow out of the twin bamboo shoots, wrapping themselves tightly around the nearby trees, some branches snapping from the grip of the vines alone. Finally, she waved her hand, the bamboo immediately returning to a single, small stalk on the ground.

"...That's a gist of the type of spells I can perform..." Masayoshi said, glancing back at Cullthane.

after looking at her for 3 seconds and thinking about what to say

"Hello, Ythala ...." Jack would say in an attempt to get her attention although his voice was soft so as not to scare her too much or something.

Ythala gently opened her eyes, hearing a soft voice call her name. Looking around for a moment, her eyes eventually landed on Jack. She tensed up slightly, her wings beginning to flap anxiously on her back as she stared down at the man.

"O...oh...." Ythala said quietly. She said nothing for a moment, her harp slowly disappearing in her hand.

"....H-hey..." She said softly.

 

[Oliver_de_jesus]

"...Ythala, how have you been?.." Jack would say to start with the basics, wanting to go for the low

 

[DaReaperMan]

Masayoshi nodded.

"I've been studying the scrolls you gave me a while back...I think I have a good grasp of it now." Masayoshi said. Gently, she held her hands in front of her, magic beginning to flow from her palms. Immediately, a large, thick shoot of bamboo spouted from the ground, the plant rapidly growing until the top eclipsed even the surrounding trees. Gesturing her hand a bit, the bamboo suddenly split in half vertically, before reforming as two sturdy shoots that continued to grow into the air. Moving her other hand slightly, long, green vines began to rapidly grow out of the twin bamboo shoots, wrapping themselves tightly around the nearby trees, some branches snapping from the grip of the vines alone. Finally, she waved her hand, the bamboo immediately returning to a single, small stalk on the ground.

"...That's a gist of the type of spells I can perform..." Masayoshi said, glancing back at Cullthane.


Ythala gently opened her eyes, hearing a soft voice call her name. Looking around for a moment, her eyes eventually landed on Jack. She tensed up slightly, her wings beginning to flap anxiously on her back as she stared down at the man.

"O...oh...." Ythala said quietly. She said nothing for a moment, her harp slowly disappearing in her hand.

"....H-hey..." She said softly.

"Good, now then, let's move on to something a little more Esoteric now that you have the basics of plant magic." Cullthane said, holding his hands out and forminG a small creature, which one could recognize as a squirrel, near instantly, a powerful show of life magic

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

"...Ythala, how have you been?.." Jack would say to start with the basics, wanting to go for the low

Ythala looked at the man for a moment, unsure what he wanted. Hesitantly, she responded.

"...I...I've been a-alright. I...I'm a bit worried about...Okita..." Ythala said softly.

"Good, now then, let's move on to something a little more Esoteric now that you have the basics of plant magic." Cullthane said, holding his hands out and forminG a small creature, which one could recognize as a squirrel, near instantly, a powerful show of life magic

Masayoshi stared at the squirrel for a moment, raising an eyebrow.

"...Creating...living beings out of magic...?" Masayoshi murmured. She took a step closer to Cullthane, examining the squirrel closely. She had seen such magic before, but had never possessed the skill to do so herself. Not without Towa, anyway.

"...How did you do it?" Masayoshi said, glancing up at Cullthane.

 

[Oliver_de_jesus]

"I guess there are two of us... you know something funny is that I thought Okita was going to stay like this, so monotonous without showing her emotions so often but then you came" the user of Adam's power began

 

[DaReaperMan]

Ythala looked at the man for a moment, unsure what he wanted. Hesitantly, she responded.

"...I...I've been a-alright. I...I'm a bit worried about...Okita..." Ythala said softly.


Masayoshi stared at the squirrel for a moment, raising an eyebrow.

"...Creating...living beings out of magic...?" Masayoshi murmured. She took a step closer to Cullthane, examining the squirrel closely. She had seen such magic before, but had never possessed the skill to do so herself. Not without Towa, anyway.

"...How did you do it?" Masayoshi said, glancing up at Cullthane.

"I Simply used the area around me, Life Magic by happen stance is close to Dark Magic, for just as easily as you can make life..." Cullthane tapped the squirrel and instantly obliterated all of it's flesh and leaving only bone, to which it jumped onto Masayoshi "you can take it away just as easily. I want to see you using your plant magic for combative and utility purposes now before I start teaching you life magic we must see what you can really do..." Cullthane said, vanishing and leaving the rustling of undead and living animals all around Masayoshi, clearly a test

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

"I guess there are two of us... you know something funny is that I thought Okita was going to stay like this, so monotonous without showing her emotions so often but then you came" the user of Adam's power began

A small smile crept onto Ythala's face, despite her anxiousness.

"R-really? S-she...doesn't act t-that way around me..." Ythala said softly.

"...I-I'm glad...she's comfortable enough to...e-express herself when I'm around..." She said, a soft blush appearing on her face.

"I Simply used the area around me, Life Magic by happen stance is close to Dark Magic, for just as easily as you can make life..." Cullthane tapped the squirrel and instantly obliterated all of it's flesh and leaving only bone, to which it jumped onto Masayoshi "you can take it away just as easily. I want to see you using your plant magic for combative and utility purposes now before I start teaching you life magic we must see what you can really do..." Cullthane said, vanishing and leaving the rustling of undead and living animals all around Masayoshi, clearly a test

Masayoshi gently brushed her shoulder, pushing the skeletal squirrel off of her.

"...Dark and Life magic huh..." Masayoshi thought. she considered Cullthanes words for a moment, until she heard the rustling of animals and undead nearby.

"I see you're throwing me to the wolves already..." Masayoshi said. She breathed out, beginning to focus.

"...I'm ready, Cullthane" She called out. Hold out both hands, she grew a dozen thick, tentacle-like vines around herself, the plant appendages curling and waving in the air as she prepared to defend herself against the incoming attack.

 

[DaReaperMan]

A small smile crept onto Ythala's face, despite her anxiousness.

"R-really? S-she...doesn't act t-that way around me..." Ythala said softly.

"...I-I'm glad...she's comfortable enough to...e-express herself when I'm around..." She said, a soft blush appearing on her face.


Masayoshi gently brushed her shoulder, pushing the skeletal squirrel off of her.

"...Dark and Light magic huh..." Masayoshi thought. she considered Cullthanes words for a moment, until she heard the rustling of animals and undead nearby.

"I see you're throwing me to the wolves already..." Masayoshi said. She breathed out, beginning to focus.

"...I'm ready, Cullthane" She called out. Hold out both hands, she grew a dozen thick, tentacle-like vines around herself, the plant appendages curling and waving in the air as she prepared to defend herself against the incoming attack.

(Life Magic is seperate from Light Magic lol)

A skeletal wheel rushed forth at Masayoshi, instantly killing any plant it came in contact with, clearly something Masayoshi would have to think outside the box to handle

(Get creative midas!)

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

( I meant Life lol, mistyped)

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

A skeletal wheel rushed forth at Masayoshi, instantly killing any plant it came in contact with, clearly something Masayoshi would have to think outside the box to handle

Masayoshi's eyes widened as she saw the monstrous wheel barrel towards her. Immediately, she noticed the plant life, seeing how it was instantly killed as soon as it came in contact with the creature.

"...Guess I can't beat it that easily..." Masayoshi thought. Immediately, she flew to the side, barely dodging the wheel's initial charge as it rolled through the forest.

"...Alright...if it isn't killing the ground...that means its powers may only work on living beings..." Masayoshi thought. Assuming she could dodge the initial charge, Masayoshi gestured her arms towards her remaining vines. Responding to her motions, the vines immediately dug themselves into the ground...before picking up massive portions of the surrounding landmass, large pieces of rubble being trapped within their tentacle-like grasp. With another gesture, the vines began to pull back, before slamming massive chunks of land on top of the wheel, attempting to smash it to pieces with the mass of rock and soil they had lifted. The plants themselves only worked to carry the debris, carefully avoiding touching the monster directly.

 

[DaReaperMan]

It spun deftly around what was launched, but it was a bit damaged by a smaller chunk, suddenly moving faster to get at Masayoshi

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

Masayoshi breathed out, gritting her teeth.

"...It's more agile than I thought..." Masayoshi thought. Focusing her magic onto the ground, she took control of the tree roots underneath the field. pushing her hands outwards, the roots began to writhe and grow under the earth, responding to her magic as they rapidly came to life. Suddenly, a massive hole appeared underneath the wheel, Masayoshi using the roots to quickly collapse the ground around the monster.

Should this be successful, the tree roots would immediately rush towards the now trapped wheel. Altering the genetic makeup of the plants, dozens of thick, sharp thorns began to multiply from the roots, stabbing into the wheel in an attempt to damage it further. She knew the roots would quickly die should they touch the roots themselves, and thus focused on multiplying and lengthening the thorns themselves, hoping to damage the wheel before it killed them.

 

[DaReaperMan]

It was a mutual destruction, but a loud howl said that there was a wolf coming from behind, the bitter pattering growing louder and louder, seeming to come from all angles

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

"...I guess he really IS throwing me to the wolves..." Masayoshi said, chuckling. Raising both arms, a massive wall made of wood and moss began to grow all around her, forming an omnidirectional barrier several meters tall. Standing on top of one of the walls, Masayoshi waved her hands over the surrounding ground, a multitude of thick, genetically altered mushrooms sprouting all along the ground. Should a wolf step too close to the fungi, they would explode, firing a mass of paralyzing spores that would heavily hamper the wolves' moments, causing them to collapse onto the ground.

 

[DaReaperMan]

A massive wolf lept right at Masayoshi, it had ten legs and six eyes, each glowing blue from its leaf green fur, barreling through the wall and leaping to grab Masayoshi

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

Spoiler: Kiara and Rory contemplating their life choices

Kiara fumbled around in her sleep, breathing heavily. Her face contorted gently in her sleep, something Rio, who was still in her arms, took notice of. The child flipped over a bit, looking at his mother's shut eyes directly. The young boy took the liberty to wake his mother from her slumber, realizing that she wasn't much enjoying being asleep.

He moved to poke her in the nose in an attempt to wake her, to no effect. It seemed to only make her face contort even more as she gently thrashed around. Her grip was becoming tighter. Rio didn't much like that. He then decided to pinch her nose. This seemed to work more at waking her up, at least, but, she still wasn't completely awake.

Rio decided to then pull on her nose. Now, that was working. Kiara's eyes gently opened, the woman letting out a confused grumble. "Mr..g..?"

Rio continued to pull her nose. A few moments later, she completely woke up, and realized what he was doing.

"R-Rio...? St-Stop pulling my nose..." Kiara grumbled, gripping Rio's tiny wrist softly and gently removing his hand from her nose. Regardless of her pain tolerance, it still hurt.

"I'm glad to see your both up and lively..." Rory said jokingly as she noticed Kiara was awake, with Rio letting out an incoherent babble. Kiara chuckled as well, slowly sitting up and holding Rio in her arms.

"Anything happen while I was out...?" Kiara asked, the young boy in her arms just looking up at the rainbow-colored wooden ceiling.

"Well, our son here bit me in the tit and acted like a little ********... But it was cute, so I let it slide." Rory said, chuckling as Kiara smiled, running her hand gently through Rio's brown hair.

"Yeah... He is cute... I don't know where he gets all these violent tendencies, though..." Kiara murmured, her smile slowly but surely disappearing.

"Neither do I..." Rory murmured, before just gently shaking her head, looking up at Kiara. "Are you... alright, babe?"

"I-" Kiara choked on her words for a moment, "I... uh... I'm..."

"You don't have to answer if you don't feel comfortable..." Rory said, just breathing out.

"No No- No... No No... It's fine, Rory... I'm..." Kiara's voice was shaky, and so was the rest of her body as she spoke.

"I'm not fine, Rory... I'm... I'm not fine, not at all..." Kiara said as honestly as she could, looking down at Rio. "All these... Lostbelts... and all this death... And.. now that Rio is born I... I just feel so nervous..." Kiara said, with Rory breathing out.

"I-I'm... I'm scared, Rory..." Kiara said, just holding Rio close.

"I..." Rory sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I... I get that, Kiara... I'm scared to... I mean..."

"I... I know what your gonna say, Rory..." Kiara said, breathing out. "Neither of us have any experience raising a kid..."

"Y-Yeah..." Rory said, just looking down a bit.

Both of them stayed silent for a few minutes after that, just awkwardly looking at the ground, not even meeting the other's gaze. Kiara opened her mouth first, but no words came out, instead, she didn't know how to phrase what she wanted to say, and simply choked up on her words. Rory was the same as she opened her mouth, shaking her head as she didn't really know how to say what she wanted to say either. After a while, though...

"D-Do you..." Kiara spoke up.

"Do you..." And so did Rory.

"Y-You can go first..." Kiara murmured.

"N-No, you can go first. What I wanted to say isn't that important anyway..." Rory murmured, awkwardly scratching her neck.

"H-How about we say what we wanna say at the same time...?" Kiara suggested, breathing out.

"Alright... That sounds good..." Rory said, nodding as she breathed out. They both trembled lightly, preparing to release their words. A sharp cold ran down their spines, hesitation burning within the two women's chests. They spoke simultaneously.

"Do you think that we rushed into our marriage?"

Both of them froze as the words escaped their lips. Rory's skin, which was already pale, went paler. Kiara's eyes widened, and she began to tremble more intensely, heaving out a breath.

"....."

"....."

Neither knew how to respond.

"I..." Kiara breathed out, shaking her head. She trembled in her clothing.

"I... I think we may have... moved really fast, yeah..." Kiara said, just turning away from Rory.

Rory clenched her fists, breathing out. "I... Yeah... I was..."

"I was... young." Kiara said, "And naive..."

"I was... broken. And desperate for some sort of connection." Rory said, closing her eyes.

"I... You seemed so endearing... and strong..." Kiara said, chuckling.

"And you seemed so... kind and... hopeful..." Rory said, heaving out a hollow breath.

"....."

"....."

"Do you still love me, Rory...?" Kiara asked, and Rory immediately shot up.

"Of course I do...! I think your amazing, Kiara... I could never stop loving you..." Rory said, breathing heavily. She was truthful in her words.

"And I could never stop loving you either, Rory...!" Kiara said, heaving out a sigh of relief. "We rushed into this but I... I still love you so much, Rory... I just... I didn't..."

"Expect it to be so difficult...?" Rory asked.

"E-Exactly...! Like... I thought this whole marriage thing and child thing would be so easy... You could do it in a breeze, yknow...? But now I feel so... uncertain... I feel like my entire world is falling apart around me..." Kiara said, her eyes beginning to tear up. She let out a shaky breath, holding Rio close as the child's eyes flickered.

"I... I guess I never expected us to... get this far... I thought we'd get killed before we could ever start a family, to be honest..." Rory murmured.

"N-Not in front of Rio, Rory..." Kiara murmured, just breathing out as she trembled.

"R-Right... S-Sorry... Kiara..." Rory murmured, breathing out as well. She clasped her hands together, her fingers, clad in iron intertwining as she fumbled around, not knowing what to say after that. Kiara trembled as Rio's consciousness slowly drifted away, the boy once again falling into slumber in Kiara's arms.

"R-Rory...?" Kiara called out Rory's name, looking up at her.

The swordswoman looked up, their gazes meeting. Kiara's crimson eyes dilated, her sclera red from previous crying. She sniffled, letting out a tiny hiccup.

"Yeah...?" Rory responded, just closing her eyes for a moment and breathing out before opening them once more and looking at Kiara.

"...Things are just going to get even worse, aren't they...?" Kiara asked, her voice hollow.

"..." Rory was just silent, not knowing how to respond. How should she respond? Should she lie? She knew things were only going to get harder. That things were only going to get worse as time went on. She knew they couldn't have their happy family. They never could. Not with the world they lived in... Not with what Rory was.

She said nothing.

Kiara let out a hiccup once more, tears pouring from her eyes. She couldn't hold it in, no matter how much she tried. Her arms nearly gave out as she was holding Rio, causing her to set him to the side gently as she constantly let out uncontrollable hiccups, unable to hide her anxiety. She was having an anxiety attack, and it was happening fast.

Rory immediately went to hug Kiara, not knowing what to say. She could see it in Kiara's eyes. She wanted Rory to say something. Anything. Even if it was a lie. She needed something, an answer, an affirmation, just- Anything.

But Rory didn't have anything. She didn't know what to say to make the situation better, or to make it worse, or to do anything. She couldn't conjure the thoughts, the words necessary to change anything. She hated herself for that.

Kiara clenched her eyes shut so tightly they hurt, unable to conjure coherent sentences. Her mind was in disarray, unable to comprehend what she felt herself, unable to process the crippling anxiety that surrounded her soul. Scared, she was... So, so scared. So hopeless. It was a sinking feeling that she'd never experienced before, not even during her time in the Real World when she was young. She felt like her entire world was falling apart around her, and she didn't even know how to begin picking up the pieces.

Everything hurt.

She wasn't a hero.

"...." Rory pushed Kiara away, and got up and she moved away. Kiara was left to fall backward, scrunching up against the wall and crying constantly as her son slept next to her.

Rory went to the fridge, and dug through it's contents. She threw many things out of it, just breathing out. She didn't want everybody to see her and Kiara in a position like this, but, there was no time to move to a more private location. This was all she knew how to do. Rory pulled out a large container of strawberry ice cream, and brought it over to Kiara with a large spoon.

Kiara glanced at the container, and simply continued crying for a few moments.

Rory looked at her, and breathed out, holding back her own wave of tears. "Eat..." She requested of her beloved.

Kiara turned over, her squinted eyes looking at the container. Slowly, she moved her hands towards the lid, and effortlessly pried it off. Gripping the spoon in hand, she began to shovel strawberry ice cream into her face, her tears wetting the creamy goodness.

Rory figured this was the best way to at least keep her coherent. She knew Kiara liked sweets.

Kiara just continued shoveling ice cream down her throat, letting the cold sting her tongue and give her brain freeze. She didn't care, though. She didn't care about anything right now.

She just wanted an escape.

Ice cream was that escape.

And Rory simply let her escape for as long as she needed.

(Did a thing.)

Lance, who had been idly smoking in the other room, slowly peeked his head into the main room, having heard Kiara's sobs from where he had been standing. Gingerly, he began to walk towards the couple, leaning down next to Kiara.

"...If...you want sweets, I can conjure up a strawberry cake for you, my friend." Lance said gingerly. He didn't know how to comfort her, but could at least offer to cheer her up, if nothing else.

"...Would you like that...?" He asked quietly. He tried to flash her a reassuring smile.

A massive wolf lept right at Masayoshi, it had ten legs and six eyes, each glowing blue from its leaf green fur, barreling through the wall and leaping to grab Masayoshi

Masayoshi's eyes widened as she saw the wolf smash through her wall. Thinking quickly, she leaped into the air, barely avoiding the monstrous creature as it passed below her. Taking control of the fragments of the wall he had destroyed, she lifted the splinters with telekinesis, aiming them at the wolf, before rapidly increasing their size with life magic. The wooden splinters turned into massive stakes and spears as they rapidly stabbed into the beast, aiming toward its neck.