Raidou

The tiny ping rings out once more in a green circle, seeking out any hostiles, as the man was always first and foremost: cautious. "I am glad to hear that, it seems that determination of yours was well-founded." The simplicity in such a request, an offer and a shared perspective breathing life into her cause. Raidou motions to his lenses, taking solace in the reprieve from activity. He hadn't planned on any fighting this early, and the thought of such brash, unprepared action wasn't to his tastes. Peering back over his shoulder, as he began to mill about. Although he knew this place rathe

A slight murmur as he releases the weapon behind his shoulder, leaving it inside its sheathe. "I do." as he reaches to his glasses and shoves them up, having done their best to work their way down his nose. "Level is only a number, it is how you use what you have. I believe you are more capable than you realize." He glances back to Xena and that aura of tension was all but gone, as it had fallen with the absence of danger. A few somber steps into the clearing, the pair had found themselves in, keeping a watchful eye on and out for Xena. Gesturing out a hand, more of lifting his sleeve to find

He'd keep an eye on the held fast hood, and holding close as multiple triggers of detection rang out. It kept tabs on the second pairing, and equally the nomad on edge. "It should be yes, but perhaps this other pair had simply started first." An array of hasted steps, that start to become more volatile. Small trails of red like sheer being left behind each and every footfall, anticipation. Not too far now. The thought rings behind his eyes, bouncing around as he reaches for the handle of the other blade carried on his back. Leaning low, a tightness wrapped around his chest. He was ready f

The much longer strides matched with more abrupt scampering of heels, speaking out with a soft-spoken tongue. "A good stance to have, it's hard to know who to trust in Aincrad." Brushing a hand along the wall, and making an almost practiced turn around an immediate left. "The NPC you were looking for tends to wander, and although normally we should have encountered him first, I believe the Minos heard us." Finding a clearing of more ripe grass, and kneeling low. Raidou inspects the turf as if he held some expectation. "We are not alone." Raking the grass with his hand, this was where

A slight twist of his wrist offers light into that maze, exposing the long narrows that would lead deeper. The Pillar fragment, held like fire in his hand, waving away the mist's obscurity. "If I could, I would have, I apologize for startling you." Spoken in a gentle and almost too low tone, like a rambling. The truth was, the thing undoubtedly picked up the sounds of metal on the walls and had moved to figure out the source. The girl seemed on edge, and most would be with a sudden crack of thunder after it being silent for so long. That red robe began to disappear into the confines of the maz

Finding himself staring again out of his peripheral, feigning a glance at the large structure that dwarfed them both. Beginning to pass behind her and shuffling past. "Not quite, I live around here." Lifting aloft, the small glowing star causing the mists to disperse and reveal the ground beneath. He'd pass just in front of the mouth of that maze, as a blade pokes out the space. A sharp grinding and a blast sends a scattering of sand that obscures vision, a harsh grinding noise finds its way out of that dust cloud. The sudden sound of an unsheathing blade. A flare of yellow light causes i

A gentle step through brush, the tall walls of tanned stone faintly visible through the clouds of white. Traveling seemingly aimless, and yet wasn't. Slowly bolstering stocks, preparing for the coming tides. He'd needed more than a few different parcels, and the grove near that labyrinth proved to be fruitful. The ripe taste of a strange mixture still muddied his mind, and the bitter crisp air helped to clear it up. The faint glow of blue that permeated that mist, piercing it like a knife. This was his home, and in it, he could never be lost. Soft murmurs in the distance play upon hi

With that plastered smile, heart thrumming to the tune of its own drum. Clutching Violet's waist and moving for his collar, before extending it out for him to accept hers. An almost forceful tug, and yet it was soft in its own way. Something primal, carnal in its delivery. Desire. A heavy pull on violin, as a man perks up, finding a new potential in this strange affair. Gazes begin to focus on the odd couple choosing to dance to music that unfolds around them. The tempo begins to carry heavier, changing rapidly from something somber to a beat. Other musicians in the crowd began to play al

Enjoying the feeling of her playful prodding and accepting her gift. "Yeah, I suppose I did." A smile, gingerly taking it from her hands. Linking eyes with her for a moment, and doing his damned to keep his cool. She really had the way of bringing out the best in him, and for all that he was trying to do, Violet made it so easy. Working his way through the taiyaki, almost ravenously. The man had been stressing so much over this he'd completely skipped lunch, and it was chum in the water. As dancers began to fill the streets, jugglers, the same building on the night. For coin and small ple

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This evening was going rather sideways, maybe. But Violet seemed to be enjoying herself and frankly that was all that really mattered. "I was...you're probably right." He taps the cancel, and lowers the price considerably. Palming the porcelain white queen in his hand, plucking the price tag from the base. Rolling it around in his fingertips for a moment, admiring the smoothness. It was truly well-made. "I'm sorry." he admits with a slink of his shoulders, offering the thing to his pocket. "I haven't a clue what I am supposed to be doing, I had this whole evening planned out. Food and a show,

Violet seemed to be enjoying herself already, and slowly the bundle of nerves was beginning to worm its way apart. "I wonder what they have in stock?" Rubbing his cheek with a fingernail, a single stare causing him to recoil. He was painfully aware that she was a woman, whereas for most it didn't even register. The soft tapping of their footsteps, as the swordsman swooned on the heat gracing his palm. Those entwined tethers linking one heart to another, Raidou finds his grip tighten a bit. To the first stall, some strange unexplained 'thing' skewered on a stick. The hell is this? It

Taking a gander down at his sleeve before basically melting into softened butter from a soft touch. "I uh... I am so nervous." He admitted abruptly. Watching her face light up in response, finds a held breath released. His date was so far beyond his class, watching the joy on her face as she cupped it with both hands. "It suits you." the dropped phrase, as this felt so damn jarring, like looking at an angel. Interlocking his fingers with hers, the warmth did well to stabilize the brain fried egg. "I was thinking we'd hit a couple of the stalls, see what we can pick up. I managed to steal a cou

The girl works to clean up her hands before bowing, and even still the prospect made Raidou uncomfortable. They were equals in how he viewed it. "That path will bend and wind in all manner of strange ways, and I suspect you will find roads that I would have never dreamed of." His hand takes to his brow and begins to clean a smudge off of the lenses. "There is no doubt in my mind that one day soon you will be there fighting with me. Keep fast your goals, your ambitions." as I have. "and you will succeed." Watching the girl head out the gate and gingerly latch it closed, he'd start to rake

Drinking in the serenity and enjoying the quiet reflection, stirring thoughts into mental folders. Nari had proven to be a better focal than simple reflection. "I do not pretend to know, I can only see things through my own point of view. Showing the way down a road is amicable, teaching and understanding the finer points. But it will inevitably backfire." Referring to Nikki & Miaki, who'd quit the frontlines entirely when Miaki almost died for Nikki. Thankfully, they made it out alive, but only by a hair. "I would be lying if I said this hasn't been pleasant. Most don't quite stop to

Another pull of the drawstring and a shift onto the shelf, it was if he was out here alone with his thoughts made audible. "It is lonely, and it is a very long road. Especially for a tank." Recounting the numerous quests he'd had to 'live' in given his damage output. "Relying on others is fine, as perspectives will always vary. Each person sees things in a slightly different light, a spectrum. Every person has something to offer. Sparing them may be self condemning, but isn't it best if we can choose this. Take on this hardship so that others do not have to. There is strength in numbers, in un

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