Koga

Koga was about to open mouth and say something extraordinarily stupid like, 'I'm glad its you in here, and not her. That woulda been worse,' but for some reason, the man had a feeling that that wasn't quite socially acceptable. And even if it was, he didn't want to risk it. Instead he went with a safer response. "I hope you see them again." Simple. Honest. And a whole lot less liable to put him on Santa's naughty list. "I grew up pretty distant from my family, if I'm being honest," Koga began to explain, setting the cup of tea down beside him, turning to look across the water. "I wasn't r

Now here...Alkor was clearly an intelligent and learned man. Able to recall not just one, but two important revolutionary conflicts, its important figures and how the two had influenced each other. One might say, Alkor was a renaissance man. Koga on the other hand, was not. He had a hard time remembering if he had put on pants in the morning. And then remembering he was in a game and that he needed to use his HUD to equip them. So when Koga looked back at Alkor, trying to listen, comprehend and categorize all the information being relayed to him, he had to make a conscious effor

Item Name: Panther Claw's Profession: Blacksmith Rank: 7 Roll ID: 203296 Roll Result: 12 Item Type: Claws Tier: 1 Quality: Perfect Enhancements: Bleed/Bleed/DMG Description: A set of hardened claws used for digging into opponent's and causing heavy bleeding. Post Link:

The bell above Koga's door rang, drawing his attention from the sword he'd been polishing. "Welcome in," the man said, as he placed the weapon back in the case and shutting it softly. The man leaned on the wooden counter as he listened to the small girl's request, and then picked up the weapons she placed before him. He gave them a quick examination, before setting them back down. "Yeah, should be simple enough. Gimme a hot second. Okami, watch the store." The wolf let out a short bark of affirmation as Koga turned and went into the back of the store to his forge. A few moments later, Kog

The level of relief Koga felt once NIGHT had revealed the consumables she had brought to the new players was simply immeasurable. "God, I remember doing this quest without that stuff," Koga commented as the two quickly munched on the little bars. "It took...like the whole day to find all our mats. It was awful, I mean there's only so many times you can look beneath boulders and rock before you just start losing your mind." "Cooks are always good to have," Koga commented once learning what their two professions were. "Consumables are huge help to...well, everyone." Although he'd hardly use

"Don't be," Koga told the man, although he appreciated the thought. "It's not on you." Hell it wasn't even entirely on Christelle or Akiara, he had played a part in that play, just as they had. He should have seen through Aki's lies, trusted Christelle more. Mistakes had been made, and now they all had to live with the consequences. But Koga's trials and tribulations didn't discount those of Jomei's either. To learn that the one you thought would be by your side forever just wasn't the one, that hurt no matter how it happened. "I'm sorry for you too, man," Koga told him. "It sucks, no mat

The soft rasping of steel on stone filled the air. Slow, methodical, almost rhythmic. The longer pauses between strokes for the girl to eat a few grains of rice only adding to the beat of the task. "It's not like you can't do both," Koga pointed out to the girl. "And besides, I'm not saying 'force' it. You can't force that kinda stuff anyways, but its not gonna happen if you don't let it either. Its not just about feeling better, its about moving on. Closure." Closure. What a funny concept. The word itself implied closing the door behind you, so as to not open it again, but perhaps for a short

Koga watched as the man shuffled, or rather stumbled away to the food table, before reaching beneath it grabbing another bottle of wine. Koga had to admit, even if it didn't do jackshit to make either of them feel anything, it at least tasted pretty good. Even had that slight alcoholic undertone to it. When the man stumbled his way back and finally answered Koga's question, the man host had the strong urge to slap his hand into his own face. And he thought he was dense. The comment that followed however, Koga paused. An entirely different tone than before. Koga nodded in response, before

Koga couldn't help but chuckle a little at Alkor's comment. As weighty as their words might be, neither man needed to fear judgment or admonishment from the other. Only open and honest discussion. As it should always be. The mean leaned forward again picking up his cup and idly swirling it in his hand as he listened to Alkor. Although Koga didn't say it, he wasn't entirely sure that things worked out that way in practice. In fact, Tala had proven as much time and time again. But, perhaps that was simply how siblings were with each other. "You're not wrong there," Koga said, tilting the cu

The Phoenix dashed in, rapidly closing the distance between himself and the Wolf. Koga swore that the man moved fast enough for flames to trail behind the player if such effects existed within the game. The Wolf raised his guard, steadied his feet, preparing to bound away before baring his fangs. The Phoenix raised his blade as he approached, a downward strike. More than enough time for Koga to react. The Wolf stepped to the side as the blade was brought down, and the air shook as the bamboo blade passed by, striking the ground with a terrifying crack. Now was Koga's chance! The Wolf

Koga's blow staggered backwards, but he was quick to recover. The Wolf should have expected nothing less from his friend. The man darted forward, his bokken leveled to strike, eyes fixed to Koga's own as they rushed towards each other. The spectators around them watching trade blows, but for the two combatants, the world had shrank to just the spaces they occupied. Alkor twisted beneath Koga, narrowly avoiding the man's fist. Koga could have sworn he felt the soft brush of his opponent's hair against his fist. The man had stepped far away enough, at enough of an off-angle that there was n

Koga's gaze drifted from the girl as she gave him her story, as short as it was. He hadn't had the displeasure of having to watch that kind of torment. Their death's had not been swift, but not tortuous either. He couldn't pretend to know what it was like to watch that. Koga tried to put Kasumi, NIGHT, Yukiro, his sister in the place of the girl's loved ones, himself in hers. The kind of scars that would leave behind. He closed his eyes and breathed slowly, reminding himself that those terrors were no more than figments. That whatever facsimile of anguish he'd been able to conjure was but

Koga cocked his head to side, his gaze meeting hers again. "I thought you were trying to make friends," he said simply. A knowing jab at the way her methods conflicted with each other. Willing to don an entirely new personality to gain a new name in her friends list, and yet, unwilling to take baking requests. How interesting. Her answer to his question was curt. Short, and quickly transitioned to making a swift exit. Koga gave the girl a small wave as she turned away and started to head for his door. "I'll see you around, Blue," he bade good bye as the bell hanging above the portal rang

So far this entire conversation had Koga blinking slowly in...disbelief? Concern? Confusion? Honestly, it was all three, this man was...a little strange, even by Koga's standard. "You don't know?" he asked, taking no offense to the admittedly abysmal state of the party. He wasn't good at this kind of stuff. Hell, he normally talked to like, two people over the course of an entire week. On the bright side, those present seemed to be having a good time, at least. "I feel like you should at least know if she's your fiance. Did you or did you not propose, and did she, or did she not say 'yes?

Surprisingly, the girl sat down beside Koga as she slowly began to eat. A shiver crawled up Koga's spine though, the hairs on his neck standing upright as she drew her sword. Apprehension, or an instinctive reaction to the icy fog rolling out of the scabbard, he didn't know. "You look pretty alive to me," Koga said to the girl, ignoring her question, ignoring the true meaning of her words. "You lost someone, right?" he asked bluntly. A rhetorical question. That was what people usually meant when they said everything had been taken from them. The man thought for a moment, resting his hands

Koga bade Astreya farewell as she went to go...do whatever it was that extroverted people did. He was quick to resume his comfortable position, leaning against the wall and relaxing as he oversaw the partygoers. He spotted NIGHT speaking to the girl who had brought the sodas. It almost seemed to fit, neither girl seemed to have a particular penchant for socializing. It was easier to communicate with one's own kind. The door slammed against wall loudly, making Koga nearly jump out of his skin. Another exuberant party-goer. Or coming. Whatever. The man pulled out several bottles of what Kog

A flash of concern crossed his face. Brows furrowed, eyes searching her face for even the slightest sign of some kind of emotion. But there was nothing as she swiped through her menus. Just...a void. She summoned a small bento, nothing but rice. Not even furikake or seaweed flakes. What the poor and homeless ate when they had nothing else, just to sustain themselves. Koga felt guilty, but he suddenly pitied the girl. Alone, and hardened against the world. No one should live like that. "Will you sit with me a moment?" the man inquired lowering himself down to the ground, and crossing

Koga caught Bismuth's response to NIGHT, a stray thought quickly running through his mind. 'Depressed, anxious, afraid. Hollow shells.' He'd been there. Was still there. He didn't like it, but it wasn't so easy when there was more in the world eager to kick you while you were down, rather than pick you back up. Maybe Bismuth would be one of the few to do the latter. Koga followed closely beside NIGHT as they walked towards the Town's outer walls. "Hey Marv, keep up the good work," the Wolf said as they passed the gate guards. Silent and stoic as ever, but that only meant they cared. Well

The girl confirmed Koga's suspicions, that his deductions were correct. But he'd wasted her time with this discussion, the angry screeching coming from her HUD announcing as much. There was little to do about it now, and it appeared there would be another day for it. Maybe the next time she'd take his offer of assistance. At the girl's command, Koga stood as still as he could, hardly moving, aside from the subtle rise and fall of his chest, the only other indication of life aside from the way his head followed the girl's movements. She darned a small hole in the shoulder of his coat, the

"Oh, heh, well I'm..." Koga stopped himself mid-sentence. He had been about to say he wasn't ready to talk about it yet, but then if he said that, wouldn't he be a bit of a hypocrite? Talking about how life needed to move along, relentless in it's march to an unknown end, never fearing, and yet here he was about to retreat into the past once more. No, Koga needed to change. This was a good place to start. The man's gaze softened as he exhaled through his nose, silently reminding himself of his new goal. He didn't have to tell everyone, but Jomei had experienced just as much as he had

"Ya know, you could try sharing it with other too. It's not like you have to share all of it with me," came Koga's reply as he gave the a look that said he was seriously questioning her train of thought. Actually, he'd been questioning it for a while now, but that was besides the point. A curious shift occurred in Blue though, once she started talking about her grandmother and the way she'd used to make her a lot of sweets. Koga tilted his head, and gave the girl a piercing look as he listened to her. He didn't know how much of this was her being a little more honest with him, and how muc

Koga's face darkened as he listened to Alkor's words. So they weren't just talking philosophy, or one's own personal struggles, though they both played a part in this play. No, they were discussing other players, themselves. The world as it currently was for them. "Yeah...I haven't seen it myself, but I've gotten the feeling that things aren't always what they appear. 'Felt the ripples' as you put it." Koga paused as he thought carefully about how to respond. Crossed his arms, eyes drifting away for a moment as he collected his thoughts. "I'm not disagreeing with you here, but ask yoursel

Koga stared with wide eyes as Oji splashed the water, sending both Mina and her familiar shrieking. He wasn't sure if he should have be amused or just plain surprised. It just wasn't something he had expected from either the older gentleman. He seemed kind enough sure, but Koga wouldn't have necessarily described him as playful. But then again, the man did seem to love cute, small creatures, so maybe Koga shouldn't have been that surprised. The swordsman leaned back into the stone walls of the spring-cave as the conversation proceeded, content with listening to Mina's story. He didn't kno

The girl spoke more words in the last five seconds than Koga thought he'd heard her utter in the last five minutes. He was wrong, but surprising nonetheless, not that any trace of that emotion showed on his face as he allowed the girl to say her piece, stepping closer as she did so. "So...you're the mysterious merchant, huh?" Koga said, not bothering to answer her questions quite yet. It made sense for her to be the one selling things out of that small dark building. Made sense that it was unmarked, given how distrustful she appeared to be of others. "If you wanted to kill me, you would h

Koga's first blow missed, but it put Alkor off-balance, on the defensive. He had to keep up the pressure, not give him the opportunity to strike back. Alkor had more range than Koga, if given the opportunity, the man would surely score a point. The Wolf let loose a barrage of strikes and blows. Punches and kicks came at all angles at the man, who dodged and blocked each blow with a familiar alacrity, refusing to back down. Just what he would have expected from his opponent. Though they were friends, comrades, there was no mercy in their blows. They'd spoken at length with words, abou