Raidou

The same rhythmic breaking of golden leaves, akin to that of tea leaves in his palm. "Correct" allowing the girl to speak her piece. To the pile, as it seemed, no matter how much they removed, the garden continued to flourish. A trick of a skill the game had forgotten, that was slowly regaining its strength little by little. "But you do, Nari-Lanreth you have made the choice to protect everyone. That takes more than any loved one ever will. It's easy to protect friends or family. The difficulty is choosing to protect those you hate, that hate you." Staring out past the fence post, a ripple in

A raise of his hand, feeling drastically uncomfortable by the sudden gesture. After all, he was just a man, not some hero and not something she wasn't. "I traveled carefully, I tread carefully." He comments moving bits and pieces onto a platform off the side of the fence, piling up sacks that lay flat. It was as if she coined his entire method of fighting, he was riposte tank. Some semblance of difference as she locked her attentions into the soil and kept to her original motives. "The most important thing is remembering why, I focus on that. Knowing that lives hang on the actions I take, one

"We do, but they are easy to lose sight of. Our circumstances have a way of erasing them." Raidou taps his hands together and a small cloud of dust echoes out from them. Milling about in his own space, and raising to his feet before beginning to bag a few materials away in linen sacks. Akin to that of a farmer and potatoes. "This world is beautiful, yes, but it is one designed to lull one into a false sense of security. Behind every doorway is an enemy one has never faced before. It's an unpredictable and ever-changing thing. Keeping one step ahead is how we survive. Remembering your roots, an

About as graceful as a shovel on a bunch of china, the ground gets roughed up something fierce. An interesting approach, but to each their own. The thought raced behind his eyes, at least she was giving it an honest effort and seemed eager. Hands continued to carry from plant to plant, unaware of any attempted stab at him through damaging the garden. He'd offered her to help herself, and this place would restore itself once they were through. It was an excellent mode of practice, one that she could enjoy to her heart's content without the need of travel. "Ambition? Goals?" an attempt to contin

Making motions to some stones within the garden, finding the line that connects them to the dirt. He flips it over, revealing a glimmer and traces of metal lines through the gray. "Try this." he murmurs, tapping it twice with a knock. Most of the stones that 'grew' in this place were laced with some sort of metal, the trick was dividing it from the stone. "Keep a look-out in your quest log, once you get past your first rank you'll receive an entry regarding Challenge of Olympus. The boon it offers is far too useful to ignore." Leaving the girl to inspect the stone, he was rather well vers

The wanderer lifts a latch on a hinged gate standing at about his waist. It croaks as it slides open, squealing a bit from an ungreased hinge. "It does. Help yourself." Sliding a menu open and removing the lock on owned status. Rustling past, he'd turn a spigot and start a trough of water latched to the side. Beginning to wash his hands in the basin. Removing his robe and laying it flat like a tarp, he kneels down and begins to work a patch of what looked like crab grass. The breaking of roots, one after another, sends a small scatter of dirt. Occasionally he passes over one and moves to the n

Lifting a branch as the mists grew denser, the light that was so visible before had become strained and lost. The glow from the stone in his hand, the pillar fragment, providing sight where it shouldn't be. Operating in a vacuum, every step too loud to hide, a sense of isolation and abandonment lingered in the air. Minutes quickly spin to the better part of an hour, and it would have been easy to get turned around in this thicket. On the periphial the occasional silhouette peers out from the darkness, but the moment eyes fall upon them, they didn't seem to exist. The guide was silent, holding

OOC: Imaginary, not legitimate death owo As the beast rose and latched to the ceiling, inverting with ease as it used its claws to hold fast like a spider. It vanishes into the darkness, only a pair of red eyes visible as it scatters quickly. Hissing and growling as it moves. "Leave." Raidou mutters out in the silence before the storm. Shiina jumps to attention and offers a salute, reaching into her pocket and smashing it into her head. A cacophony of laughter as she disappears, unknowing to what was about to transpire. Ayame begins to stand, her health dwindling into the red, and th

He swallows hard, that burning in his chest strengthens itself right back up. "You...look amazing." Raidou remarks, finding a tinge of red dancing across his nose. Drinking in her appearance, he finds himself staring, coughing sharply and twists his head. "Sorry, I wasn't waiting for that long." He was dressed to the hilt, unsure really how to present himself. Now he couldn't help but feel over dressed, out of place. Leaning into his shoulder, sees him list back. Could feel her breath through subtle vibrations under her chin. Warm. "I brought you something." shaking his head, dismissing t

Hands stay for a moment, finding the honesty clean to the palette. It was refreshing when people were so clear, so true in what they felt. The aura of tension on the air, as he unfurls a burlap sack and begins to cast the plants into it. Pulling tight, a cord sees it snap shut, returning it to his hip and reaching for the crimson red robe. One of the red wanderer, the ill omen said to lead players to their demise. It finds itself after of quick jerk around his shoulders. "Truth is stranger than fiction." he remarks as it bends and folds at the space just above his feet, coming to a halt. Begin

Releasing the slip, on it drawn a map with directions back to Aruyt. He turns, having provided what was asked. The intention to return to his chore, his serenity. Another question comes from the girl, causing him to pause. "A fair stance to take." The nomad remarked as he speaks with his back to her, another ring out from him. Checking for the trap that it could have been. The only find was the single solitary female, no players that she was playing lure to. "I can. But are you comfortable with this?" The introspection could tell that she was unsure, a waiver in her tone bled it. Her gaze cut

A feeling of weightlessness, a rushing that turns immediately to heft. Feet feel heavy before they become lighter. White noise, a chatter of a crowd, and as the guy turns to take in his surroundings. Chipper faces, vibrant stalls. Smiles to be had, as pairings of players and NPC's alike dance quickened feet from place to place. Uncomfortable at first as he feels his hand seek out his hair, without a reason as to why. His head was swimming, and his stomach was turning. A look down into his offhand finds a vial and a rose, and his feet start to carry him. Finding himself stop, and check the

Allowing Eruda to speak her piece, she was talking herself in circles. He knew what she was hoping to accomplish, but he simply couldn't allow it. No matter how much he wished he could. Murmuring beneath his breath as he overlooked the piled glassware still boiling away, slowly drawing the flame to close. "Stay out of it, Eruda, live in the world I have built for you. Please." Talking to an unfinished vial, that he couldn't bring himself to finish. "I know what you've gotten yourself into. It is a rogue element, it's something we cannot just trust because it appears worthwhile or beneficial."

Another cascade of moving plants, tapping his hands together to dislodge gunked on muck. "A bit far out for materials but, usually, the untapped nodes are." Raidou remarks, still focused intently on the plants beneath him, speaking but not turning to face her. "Blacksmithing is an honest profession, gear is just as important as those that wield it. Most forget that it has to come from somewhere, credit where credit is due." Paying the girl a cursory glance, she seemed nervous. On edge. Raising to the flats of his feet, he'd recognized that expression, that posture. He's worn it. "Her

Removing his robe and beginning to pace it out, creating a flat platform for him to rest his knees. Another pulse as detect continued to fire, finding a player. A sideways glance, catches a girl peeking through. Shuffling her bangs out of her eyes and squinting. Little far out to be questing. The thought races in his head. Freezing as he breaks the roots of a plant, shuffling it to the top of his robe after dusting it off on his thigh. His gaze shifts back to the sproutlings of bright orange plants staring back at him. "I am not." So she's lost. That makes much more sense. Her cursor is g

The soft crunch of a root beneath footfalls, as weight finds that step. A thick scent on the air, one of a rain still making everything ripe and awake. Blooming flowers unfurl and expose themselves to the sky to soak up sunshine that peeks through the canopy. Another broken bit of wood as passage is sought. The simple sway of a vibrant red robe, exhales as energy is exerted. Hopping up and placing his right hand against a large living spire, the rough texture of bark beneath the touch. Iris flash green as an echo vibrates out, bringing a few little morsels and the absence of hostiles to light

"I'm not?" Raidou remarks as there was a taste of disbelief. "Reasoning, and perspective. As I have said before, to you, I am not like them. You cannot see me that way, but there are those that do. Objectively, my actions can be considered abysmal. I can be doing what I have to, for the right reasons. But right and wrong is not something black and white. It is defined individually by everyone differently. The question is if you are the minority or the majority?" Bubbling and a bit of a whistle interrupts as he tends to the next batch of potions, turning a dial and lowering the heat. Turni

The fire is turned up, and he scrapes the bits of glass out of his hand. Cuts immediately heal as his regeneration kicks in. "Both true, because this place demands sacrifice. Who would you be willing to condemn if not me? It is my choice to make, as it has been for so long. It is better chosen than forced upon you. I do not value mine out of need. I am a monster, you've seen it yourself. The things I have had to do pale Freya's. What she had to do, from what I understand, was forced upon her. I made the active choice to do what I had to, there is a distinguishable difference then necessity out

Lifting his hand as he watched the man's affix to his lips while speaking. His hand starts to move, forming out language without audio. A useful skill, as perhaps this would be easier for the exchange. The Red Wanderer was a learned boy: Feel free to be afraid of what I can do, feel free to worry for Violet's sake. But do not discount my intentions, I have never once lied to you or your people. I intend to protect her as I would any other honest player. Scanning the appearance over, the resemblance to another was uncanny. Give or take, a few discrepancies. A memory stored, and yet th

Adjusting his lenses, "being cautious is how I survive. It is also how others I oversee do." Removing them and beginning to polish them with a clump of that crimson red robe. "My guild dealt with the threat, and it did so in a way that left no loose ends. That thread has been burned off, clean and surgically." Staring at the photo and catching a glimpse of it was all he needed. The woman was clearly troubled, body language portraying it well. "Safer me, than the alternative, to be sure. Understand that although I look your enemy, I am not. That is intentional." A new into the room, one th

Droplets into an awaiting vial, condensing from a vapor to a liquid. A cyan mixture taking to the ground up white flakes at its bottom. He was already nigh a dozen deep, for the inevitable crafting storm that would follow suit. "I know Eruda, and that may work for you. But it doesn't for me, not when I know what it means." He had been on the other side of the spectrum, where everyone was lost due to a lack of preparation, and he could do little to save them. He couldn't take that risk again, not for anything. "Setsuna shouldn't have done that. This world is a terrible place, and it will change

"A window?" Raidou peers back through his glasses. "We are operating on bided time, these frontliner's we cannot put too much stock into. They will leap headlong into the fray without a second thought. Preparations always come after, in an abrupt and frenetic fashion. They are never prepared. Time is what we have so little of, Eruda." Raising from his chair, eyes puffy from a sense of exhaustion still taking hold from the night before. He'd yet to sleep, he just happened home when Eruda was waking up. "I don't get to relax, because when I do. People die." Pushing the chair in slowly, tryi

A pause as the wanderer stared out the window, watching the sun slowly rise. The sweet scent of eggs and morning breakfast waft through the air. "Interesting, not sure if it is what I've found or not." Unsure how to handle this atmosphere, Raidou makes movements for the tea. A sip of the stuff proves it too sweet for his tastes, but even still he keeps working away at it. "Floor 24?" The inquiry tried to keep him stable, out of his own head. There were leagues to do still, and he wasn't trying to ruin the girl's day. Moving to the table, he takes a seat, unsure how to react. "I uh, enjoyed thi

A lift of ginger fingers, reach to the lenses on his brow and remove them. The woman had been honest, the most he could do was reflect that honesty. The guise removed, a boy, not a man. "You wouldn't be the first. But caution is important in the world we live in. The Arbiters should understand my tact." A seat upon that bed, as it gives to the weight. With the same amount of careful, gentle flick of the wrist, Raidou reaches for one of those gilded and long cards. There wasn't even the slightest bit of hesitation, and it looked like a father caressing a child. Lifting it and looking it ov

Eruda was so human, so real, that she was hard to quantify. She had a way of making the swordsman want to be the same, not some manifestation that was necessary. "Don't be." Raidou mutters, knowing full well that the potential for a possible mistake was reciprocated. The time for dancing was through, and the writhing bit of ink wormed beneath his attire. Raising from the bed frame, it croaks as the weight is removed. Taking another scan of the room, he'd never enter without a good reason, before seeking the door. The blonde tank was already fast at work, studious in her attempts toward an