Fandom Soul Eater: F.A.T.E

[RedArmyShogun]

Maria Mayer - DWMA HQ Library
​

With her mind focused on her craft, Maria found herself a bit perplexed as questions and remarks sound out for her attention, wood was being carved, debris left behind the cutting motion of her wires and the blade in her hands witling and cutting away at the shards, taking in the questions what bit she dared, or rather the lack of them. Fortunately it was a small trinket, the details being shallow and the object could fit in one's palm, or closed hand to be more accurate. The object in question being a carved Koi fish a wave formation at it's base as it dived vertically into the water. It was then that her mind seemed to catch up with her other senses, or vise-versa.

Of important note was the fact Koiya had changed, a witch with shapeshifting was not unheard of, though there was something else about this one, something she could not quite place. But the earlier question registered with her. "Ah. A trinket for you, as thanks for the food, a gift for a gift yes? Though.. I've been told a few times now to not make things for people, but I always wish to make some- oh.. Yes, the poor girl and her dear brother, yes, why I was here to start- Oh, never mind that it doesn't need concern you! But ah yes!"

Watching as Koiya seemed to watch her craft and to have the same spark to her eyes as a child, or the children that did not call her weird, truly made Maria happy as she presented the gift to the other. "How curious though, I wonder how many more forms you have.. Yes, in line with the masks you have? Hmm.. Very likely indeed, but ah, a Koi fish for Koiya. I have never seen one in person but know of them from books, I hope you like it." Sitting it in Koiya's hands she caught the displeased look of a librarian and hurriedly went to clean up her mess as she heard the boy known as Raph and heard Ark speaking as well, barely second having passed between the two.

Nodding at Raph that she had indeed gotten the message her attention shifted to Ark, it seemed he had finished studying her work and she went to put them back into the suitcase as she nodded. "Ah yes, I do think I could learn a thing or two about demon tools from you as you offered, I'm a very attentive student. As to the hmm, controlling more.." Pausing for a bit at that she tilts her head to the side, looking up at him as she sat the 2nd doll into the suitcase, the blade kept next to it.

"...I might should show you how I make them, I don't use the traditional manner of glyphs or symbology, rather the life of the wood and the effigy of humanity. Though that is for another time."

As he offered his own magic for viewing, she nodded. "I can do that yes. I will also take up the Rune book for here and now, though the demon tools may have use as well." Taking the two tomes from where she had left them upon opening her suitcase, closing the later, she dumps the wooden debris into a pouch on her belt and lifts the books and suitcase up, sitting the three options on a table she then lifts the sides of her dress and performs a curtsy bow towards Koiya. "Do be well... Till we meet again, I do hope we can be Friends."

And with that she releases her dress, grabs the books and suitcase, turning on her heel with mechanical precession, Koiya was now left with her gift, the nearby Raph and the Mushroom witch.

Putting the book on demon tools away for the time being, Maria makes her way back to instructor Rand and mostly keeps silent as she watched the others with a forced smile upon her face that looked a bit unnatural. She had decided it would be best to just wait here in place of worrying if she ran across the instructor later for whatever she was needed for.

Interactions: Kyuubey The Regal Rper Merciless Medic Sir Les Paul

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Daniella Ethalyn - DWMA Crescent Moon Classroom
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
​

Dani gave the map a few glances over as the other teams murmured amongst themselves, seemingly having calmed just enough to think forward. At least, she was acknowledging that they would be more fucked if she didn't at least give the floorplans a serious once over. It wasn't as if there was much for the pink-haired girl to do aside from it. Besides, if they couldn't resonate yet and the Ruskie was just going to cleave her around, the least she could do is know generally where the hell they were going.

Her eyes darted across the board a few times before the aptly-dubbed "monochrome girl" crossed Dani's vision while heading to the front of the class. While the Demon Sword would've chosen a far less charming nickname, Nadia was right in that it seemingly presented an exit cue. It wasn't as if anyone else was asking anything or the teachers had anything more to tell them.

With a grunt of acknowledgement, Dani followed her partner's cue and stood up, growling a bit at to add to the woman's sociability. "Sounds fucking fun. Whoopie..."

The pink girl's excitement was palpable, as always, more so referring to the bar idea than training. The booze was fine. The interaction, less so.

Picking up the bag she entered the room with, Dani then noticed the lunch prepared by the wolf, still sitting untouched on her table. Grabbing it before she forgot it again, it gave her pause to look back at the cook and her partner. They spent practically the whole meeting coddling each other. Sure, Dani had almost attempted murder, but she wondered just slightly what their whole deal was. At least, before Nadia's hand gripped her shoulder and brought her back from thoughts.

"Ha. Great. You gonna call me bear from now on or... whatever the fuck it is in Russian," Dani grumbled moving with her, the circus bit was fitting for what she had seen thus far. Turning her gaze, she huffed. "...I ain't worried about nothin'."

Mentions: @EveryoneGenerally
Interactions: RedArmyShogun

 

[Merciless Medic]

​

Zelda Zemo
Crescent Moon Class | March 8th, 2067 | 1327

As each student filed in with their answers, not having any questions of the objective at hand, Zelda walked back around the desk and sat down. She felt like a ton of weights slid off her shoulders. While she could handle public speaking, the tension in the room - even after Emmett had come in to cut right through it - still had forced her shoulders to scrunch. She popped open the lid of the food the werewolf had given and smiled at the contents. One taste and she realized just how hungry she was.

However, she was not wholly unaware of the faces and words softly spoken by others in the room. Nadia didn't seem at all pleased. The conversation between Nadia and herself earlier undoubtedly put a wedge between the two and Zelda wasn't exactly too pleased about that. She'd rather have the students not trust her by default of being a F.A.T.E. mentor rather than from something personal. Gaining their trust and respect was far easier than going through personal emotional baggage, especially when one's tenants and behaviors were built off of years of conflict and strife.

Dani, judging by her face, didn't seem too willing to cooperate with the others, and why would she? She was just insulted by two of the other students, something that Zelda was a little irate about. However, Zelda's choice in being passive had to be the best course of action, as she knew she would have been a bit too harsh and didn't have the skill in de-escalating situations like Emmett had.

She was at least thankful that Gauss dropped the paranoia, now that he had something to do and put his energy and thoughts toward the objective. He even tried to shape some bridges for better cooperation down the line, regardless of the tension they all had. Smart. Though, his earlier theatrics and both partners not staying quiet may lead to more issues later. At least he had taken the role of leader with his partners.

The student's best course of action would be to train on their resonance, find their strengths, and understand how the others fight. The look Nadia gave she and Emmett wasn't particularly unwarranted, but she looked back with a raised eyebrow. When Nadia turned back to talk to the two mentors, Zelda nodded silently, understanding that they will need to delegate between themselves as those two didn't have a fully functioning resonance. Dani shared the same sentiment it seemed and Gauss was ready.

Looking over at Suzu and Sara, it seemed that the bell was trying to come out of something, probably more of a depressive episode. She hoped the cheery werewolf could give her some light. Whether Suzu was shy or didn't show it on her face, it didn't seem like she had any questions, and the simple ones Sara could answer herself. Sara didn't have any questions either before going to help Suzu, wanting to lead her out of the classroom.

Ah, that was the one thing she forgot to say.

Moving her attention back to the trio, she watched as Noah still looked marginally upset, and it was only a matter of time before he got up and joined Prudence, who had given that she couldn't do any strategy talk after explaining how she should be used and left to join the mentors at the front of the class. Zelda watched as Prudence did an attempt at trying to have small talk, which she was doing rather well at. She wondered just how long she had to keep up this facade of acting like she cared, though. Must not have been a good life, but given her history, she couldn't blame her.

Seeing as Noah and Prudence should hear what Emmett had to say alone and seeing that Nadia and Dani were getting ready to leave, Zelda stood up and spoke up after Nadia spoke to the room. "Ah, thank you, Nadia, for reminding me. That is a good point. You don't have to be kept in this room. It would do you all good to train yourselves and observe each other for how you all fight for tomorrow. That is all."

She sat back down, waiting for the others to leave the room so Noah and Prudence may get their talking to.

Interactions: Emmett, Gauss, Prudence, Noah, Suzu, Sara, Nadia, Dani
Mentions: N/A
Prizzy Kriyze Sir Les Paul Mqueserasera EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun

 

[Merciless Medic]

Noah Wiley​

March 8th, 2067
Location: Crescent Moon Classroom, DWMA
Interactions: Gauss ( Sir Les Paul ), Prudence ( Mqueserasera ), Emmett ( Prizzy Kriyze )
Mentions: Zelda, Dani, Nadia, Suzu, Sara

Peering at the monochrome girl from the corner of his eye, Noah watched her. Listened. Mission came first, but judgment wasn't good. So it was going to be just the boys thinking then. She really was holding herself like a tool. No pride in what she was, nothing. Just "use me as you wish" kind of weapon. Noah didn't know if he should feel pity or be irritated. His father would be turning in his grave if he still held a body and wasn't possibly incinerated.

The next line of words that came from Prudence sounded irritated. Did she mean to convey this, as she seemed so careful up until her spat with Dani (if that was at all coordinated) about how she conveyed herself, or did she not realize this? His suspicions of her viewing herself like a tool was realized as she explained her self-perspective. That can't be healthy. Then again, arguments happen in missions. But he didn't say that. He'll bring it up later. When she got up and left to the front, that's when he noticed Nadia and Dani weren't staying long either. Looking over, it seemed like Sara and Suzu were about to leave, as well. Nadia was correct in that this classroom wasn't conducive for strategy when it was just easier to watch. But that also meant that "talk" with Emmett was going to be happening now, especially as Zelda agreed at Nadia's logic and encouraged them to all leave. Groaning, he got up and grabbed his empty bento, looking over at Gauss. "I think it's best if you wait outside the class. It'd probably be a good idea to train while we're at it. I don't think this talk should take too long."

Still, he was rather grumpy. Going down the classroom, he threw the empty bento away and leaned against the desk with his backside next to his weapon partner as Prudence tried to do some weird philosophical small talk with Emmett. He just stayed silent, waiting as Thaddeus left the room and waiting for the others to file out, as well.

Death, I hate this...

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov - DWMA Classrooms
​

"Medved. Medved is Russian for Bear. Though you shall learn hmm, who among us is more like bear, or maybe why the tamer should be more feared than the animal."

While a little ominous, Nadia didn't seem any different than usual, as she collected her own meal in the same manner as Dani, looking at the container she was not sure if this was to be thrown away or returned, was that something to ask here and now? Also, how would she repay this favor. It was not a nice thing, being in debt to another. As Dani said she worried about nothing, Nadia smiles a bit, a smirk or grin. "Good, worrying is for those who are powerless or not willing to face the hand of fate. Those who wish to fight it or would scream at it." Leading her partner along and out of the room, she would continue this train of thought as they gained distance in the halls.

"Worrying is time best spent acting or preparing... Venting eh, for some has uses, but not me, I rather hate when things like that come out. But being ready, yes, a healthy Paranoia. It is like that little plan of theirs, a so-called field operation. Just things we fought in ending up here, minus that one girl that was collapsed in her own tears.. See Dani, or rather Bear or Medved? A person who was neither wary nor accepting of dark tidings would go, "Oh how sweet!" But you see Dani, relationships should be built up strength, of knowing your Tovarisch, your Comrade will be able to stand back to back with you through the worst, do what it takes. But that? That is just the weakness of two that they think will heal wounds they have by licking them for the other. You see Dani and I think you know this too."

With that she stopped, gaze locked upon the girl; "What has been lost is nearly always lost and attempts to get some of them back will only betray you more or lead to the betrayal of others. No good comes from looking into the, hmm, yes, the "Heart" of the matter. They shall get close then something will twist that against them. I have plans for the two of us, but the only tears will be of pain. As I said Dani, I value you as a person, worth taking notice of. You have your madness to worry about, or rather not to. I shall prove I am strong enough to stand before it."

With that she lays a reassuring hand on the others shoulder.

"You see Dani, I lost a great many things given the virus, I know I can't get them back, but I also know this. Only those with pride and strength will stand tall. Unless you have somewhere else to be. I wish to show how we each battle and then to try using one another. To show you how a Meister and a Weapon should act in conjunction to brutalize and trip down the foe."

With that said Nadia points out to one of the old fields. "Some trees around, we eat now or later and show what the other can do, see if we should keep calling you a bear. What say you?"

Intereaction EmperorsChosen

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Daniella Ethalyn - DWMA Crescent Moon Classroom
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Hearing their dear mentor speak as they left, Dani's brows furrowed almost instinctively. Just what she wanted, an invitation for the others to follow or drop by. Given they wanted cooperation among each other, Dani predicted the supervisors would push them to do so. This was just one of those moments. It was also a moment that made Dani glad that she could transform into a sword and flip a metaphorical bird to that whole plan.

"I thought bears were supposed to be skittish normally. You run right at shit," The Demon Sword remarked, reminiscing about the first day.

As the two further increased their distance from the classroom, Nadia expanded on her heart-to-heart. She spoke of the others, the wolf and the bell in particular, and of strength. It was sweet, those two's relationship. However, the Russian was right as well. Whatever Suzu's issues, she would need to get over them enough to where breaking down mid-mission wouldn't be a worry.

"...I'll withhold judgement until I see'em in action. I dunno what the hell's going on in either of their heads or why they're here." That, and she wasn't going to prejudge them for it.

She didn't fully agree with Nadia's seeming strength or trash mentality. Then again, she also didn't feel like she could fully rely on any of the others. Dani could expect Suzu to calm her down in the case of a jolt and Sara to be a giant angry wolf, but that's all she was expecting. Then there was the other trio, one of whom made it very clear that an untamed bear was one better put down. Needless to say, Dani wasn't prepared to rely on any of them for much. Truth be told, she wasn't expecting that much from this partnership either aside from Nadia breaking down a wall and cleaving something with Dani's body.

"Venting is remembering... I'd rather not," Dani said simply with a slightly lower tone.

However, then the woman stopped and Dani with her a few moments after. Looking back at the taller girl, Dani didn't expect the added philosophy, though it didn't sit well with her.

...Don't you think I fucking know that...?

Of course it wouldn't come back. She wasn't that naive. As if she would wake up one day and everything would be there again. Her parents, her life--her brother...

Dani's gaze cast down as her jaw clenched and her hand holding the bento box gripped it a bit too tight.

We thought we were strong enough too...

As dark thoughts and memories started to take over, Dani was brought out of it when she felt a sturdy grasp on her shoulder. Her eyes rose back up to meet Nadia's. She listened to the woman's statements before the pink-haired girl inhaled deeply through her nose before exhaling the same way and turning to walk towards the trees.

"Eat before it gets fuckin' cold. I was going to go back to the gym anyway to work off all the anger... so, as long as we hit something so I'm not pissed the whole damn day." As Dani reached one of the trees, she dropped her pack with obvious irritation and slid down the side of the trunk into a sitting position before digging into the lunchbox. "If Dani isn't enough of a nickname for you, go ahead and use Medved. Sounds less like I'm your pet."

Mentions: @Classroom
Interactions: RedArmyShogun

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Thaddeus Thales​

"Gauss"​

Species Human
Partner Noah Wiley, Prudence Montgomery
Rank Fate Agent

Location Death City, DWMA Classroom
Mission Crescent Class
Status Focused

​

Mentions: Merciless Medic Mqueserasera

"The man of knowledge must be able not only to love his enemies but also to hate his friends,” Gauss said aloud, quoting the passage in a histrionic phrasing. As if he was attempting to read a line of poetry, or recite it in a less drab manner than merely reading prose. "Nietzsche is brilliant, if not a bit overused. I prefer his less common quotations," Gauss added, following up with an explanation onto his quote. “'All things are subject to interpretation. Whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth' also comes to mind, given how much everyone here seems unsettled by my lack of faith--a sentiment that Nietzche would share," Gauss continued, demonstrating a clear understanding of more than the superficial knowledge of the philosopher.

"But given we're not bound to this classroom any longer, I have a quote I care far more about. 'All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking', and I do believe we should get to thinking," Gauss said, taking this entire interruption between the exchange of Prudence and Emmett regardless of how one-sided it may be. "We do need to train, and quite frankly I don't know all there is to either of you as weapons yet. You know of my Magnetic Wavelength, but you don't know my fighting style or training, either. All three of us still have plenty to learn before attempting to function as an actual team," Gauss explained, giving some actual ambition and direction to just why he wanted to leave. Zelda permitted it, almost suggested it really, and the shift in environment as well as his new focus had put him in a position where he just wanted to get shit done. Standing around with this tension and more so with Prudence being so seemingly fickle yet still somehow cold was just perturbing at this point.

Though, his eyes did shoot over to Emmett. With a calm face and calmer tone, he spouted out another quote: “It is hard enough to remember my opinions, without also remembering my reasons for them--more words by our favorite philosopher." He didn't think Emmett would care. Not in the slightest, really, as Emmett seemed more worried about his fun than the previous mental state of Gauss a moment ago, and Gauss was aware. "My suspicions are not without reason, nor are they without experience. If you find that difficult to deal with, perhaps lab work is truly what suits you best," he added, having absolutely no qualms with taking a direct shot at Emmett now that his dynamic entrance was over.

Without really caring about the response this might illicit, Gauss opted to leave the room. He looked back to Noah who just seemed to be patiently waiting at his desk, then back to Prudence. Again, he had little consideration for how these words might affect either of them. Instead, he let his previous comment about what needed to be done ring true. "I'll be at my place when you two are ready; plenty of room, but no distractions," he said with a fair amount of finality in his now distance attitude before proceeding to leave the room.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

March 9th, 2067 | 1402

A predator. Per Oxford, an animal that kills and eats others. Animals, however, had far more reasons to kill than mere hunger. The murderous intent that hung in the air presently was one such example. Even without Soul Perception active, the foreboding pressure of being stalked created an atmosphere unlike that felt by the others.

Zari and Jarvis were in danger, whether they realized it or not. Within the shadows peered bright, reflective eyes. Attracted to the smell of death, defensive due to its natural instinct. A creature such as the Weapon in this scenario did not only raised alarms, it made itself a target. The superficial research on the species of Shuumie did not tell the full story. Docile as it may be under normal circumstances, there were situations where that changed--greatly. More importantly, it's inherent fear and aggression to the undead. That which contradicted the nature it was so closely bound to, and being directly from the jungles of South America where it was essentially feral only worsened this.

Silence is what it made, despite the act of stalking. The absolute intent to kill was present as it hid within the damp shadows of the alleyways, but like the animal was--the predator it had become--it did not sacrifice its greatest asset: the element of surprise. Not until it had pounced. The cute, innocent picture provided of Shuumie was a facade. A mask for the fearsome, feral creature beneath.

Within only a few blocks of meeting Adrian, Zosar, and Adra, Shuumie made its pounce. Out from the shadows of one of the gloomy alleys, hidden inside the darkness created under a fire escape and dented, grimy trashcans. Its speed was not blinding, for it was not flashy. It's pounce was not like thunder, for it did not roar. With a supernatural speed only well-equipped agents could contend with, the beast shot out directly at Jarvis, fangs bared and claws ready to pin him and down and gnash at his pretty, vampiric face. This dull, barren street of broken wills and the hopeless became the jungle for this aquatic feline, and its prey was right in front of it.

These streets, for now, were its home. It's refuge. And this abomination with a name it would never comprehend dared step foot here. It's sacred ground, its safe space that it would defend with its very life.

They need not find Shuumie. Shuumie found them.​

​

Tags: QuirkyAngel Prizzy Kriyze

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Jarvis Briseis

Location: Death City (South District...a couple blocks from South Oak Street
Date: March 9th, 2067
Time: 2:30pm​

Late. It was already nearing 2:30 pm when Jarvis could be seen strolling down the southeast district of Death City, still a couple blocks from the meeting spot. A line of blood trailed upward from a small cut on the tip of his pointer finger, expanding outward at the top to form a hardened canopy that shielded him from the afternoon drizzle. Rushing out the door meant that he’d forgotten his umbrella…though “rushing” wasn’t exactly the right word. It was more accurate to say that in his dazed, just woken-up state, Jarvis had simply forgotten it.

The young vampire yawned. He had no excuse. After leaving the coffee shop, Jarvis had gone straight back to his coffin and dozed off. Didn’t research the creature they were supposed to hunt. Didn’t prepare anything. In fact, if not for Zari dragging him out of bed, Jarvis might’ve forgotten all about the afternoon mission. Glancing at the boy that had waited for him, Jarvis sighed and scratched his head, feeling a little guilty for being the cause of their tardiness.

However, a little guilt wasn’t enough to fix old habits. Returning back to school-schedule after 10 years of NEET life was no easy task. Nor was walking around in the current dismal weather...but at least the pesky sun was being blocked. His one saving grace.

Slipping his free hand in the pocket of his raincoat, Jarvis occupied his mind by running through possible excuses to give to the other members of Team Arrow when he felt a murderous intent directed at them. His senses might not be that of an animal’s, but the heightened senses of a vampire was no joke either. In fact, it was hard not to notice the predatory eyes that tracked them. Whatever stalked them clearly wasn’t much of a hunter if it couldn’t even mask that much.

Still, other than the hand he’d removed from his pocket to place briefly on Zari’s shoulder in warning–in case the meister didn’t notice–, Jarvis gave no indication that he was aware of their stalker behind the trash cans. It wasn’t until they passed the alley it hid in that it pounced and Jarvis moved.

Stepping backwards, Jarvis narrowly avoided the claws that came at him, his red eyes following the ferocious feline as it moved. “That…doesn’t look like the picture.” Still, it was very much a magical cat--with glowing eyes--in the area they were sent searching for a magical cat. A magical cat that didn’t seem to mind getting its fur wet (unlike Blackie). Putting two and two together wasn’t very hard. Maybe. Jarvis tilted his head. For some reason, it seemed to especially like him, given the way it was growling at him and all. Was the hungry creature drawn to the smell of his blood?

No. If anything, it looked frightened. Defensive? Jarvis looked to Zari. “What do you think-–?”

Forced to jump back as the creature came at him again, Jarvis considered his options. If it was Shumie, then they shouldn’t kill it. Even if it weren’t, killing such a majestic-looking creature would be a downright shame. Should he try to put it to sleep? Lure it to where the others are? Or...as foot touched the ground, Jarvis, who was distracted by his thoughts, slipped on a puddle at the same time the claws came down. However, instead of rending flesh, the paw passed through a glowing, shimmering body as Jarvis transformed, a beam of blue light shooting past the raging feline to encase Zari’s hand.

Wasn’t it the meister’s task to make all the hard decisions?

Within the void of his weapon space, the soul of Jarvis Bresis slumped over and yawned. Whichever the case, they now had a big, dangerous, cat to deal with and it wouldn't do to leave meister weaponless in such a situation. "Tagging you in. I think that might be Shumie so try not to harm it before we can confirm."

Prizzy Kriyze Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper Sybil

 

[Sybil]

Adrasteia Chandrice

After her outburst at her peer she remained silent during the deliberations, even ignoring her partner’s request to do something with their free time. Fear of slipping up or just aggravated at people in general could have been the culprit, but regardless the result was the same. She got up once the meeting place and time was discussed, finishing her coffee bought for her before putting on her yellow poncho and leaving. She needed the time to clear her head, her hand tracing the collar on her neck as she contemplated her current situation.

Despite all the turmoil inside, she arrived to the meeting spot a few moments after the agreed-upon time, still in her yellow poncho. The only thing to change in the few hours was her expression, back to a more neutral rather than anxious or irritated. She just silently joined Zosar, verbal greeting skipped on her end. It seemed the search was on, but Zosar had some input.

Is he really doing a fucking icebreaker?

She raised an eyebrow but obliged, once again the suggestions to be more amendable. She almost clicked her tongue, but instead she calmly answered. “Most anything. Search and destroy, elimination, capture dead or alive.”

Samsen did love covering a wide area to inflate his ego.

Looking around she found herself still having minimal luck, cursing her own luck for having three missions she could not solve as easy as normal. Sure tracking was important, but past capture missions she was more useful due to her ability to poison a foe. Now with her collar she sighed, knowing she couldn’t use her innate ability due to the risk of overdoing it with her forceful empath ability.

This collar might be a fucking issue today…I need to find a work around to give me an edge….

Her eyes curiously scanned and passed over Adrian, her mind lingering on him as a topic. For what reason? She couldn’t say…. But she felt like she had an answer right in front of her…

coded by: @s e v e n

Interacts: The Regal Rper Sir Les Paul

 

[Merciless Medic]

Sara Middleton​

March 8th, 2067
Location: Crescent Moon Classroom, DWMA -> Training Room
Interactions: Suzu
Mentions: Emmett, Zelda, Noah, Prudence

Sara nodded at Suzu's agreement, having packed up her things and held Suzu's hand as she lead the two out of the classroom and away from the mentors and the two students who were told to stay. She gave Noah and Prudence a wary look before giving Emmett and Zelda a smile, tail wagging as she took her partner away from the classroom.

After a small travel period of Sara looking to find a place to train when there wasn't anybody inside (for Suzu's sake), she finally found an empty training room. Staircase-style, wall-bolted bleachers had been pushed flat against the wall at the other end of the room, while the room held a stack of mats along the walls and a few had been left out on the floor. In a cabinet next to some doors were training equipment.

But they didn't need to use those. Sara just needed to know the mechanics of her partner's form.

While Sara had found the path to the training room, she pulled out her phone and went on her video service app, looking up "Rope Dart Training". One of the first videos she pressed on and, with her phone on mute, she studied the man swing around a ribbon with a heavy ball at the end of what seemed to be like a slingshot until she realized it was similar to Suzu's form. She watched the momentum-based style of fighting and found similarities between the bo-staff and Suzu's weapon form. While it was very much obvious that they were different weapons, learning how to train with Noah's form led her to realize that, while you have to stay resolute and firm in your style of fighting, the bo-staff's best use was when you were fluid with its momentum and are only steadfast when you need to be.

With Suzu's bell form, she had to be completely fluid. Like a dancer. She wondered if she could breakdance with Suzu's form, but she'd rather not do anything too complicated. Baby steps.

Locking her phone with a button press, she slipped it into her jacket, and began to take it off as she beamed at Suzu.

"Alright, ready when you are. Let's resonate and see how this works. Don't be afraid to give me pointers if I'm screwing it up." She gave her an encouraging smile as she awaited for Suzu's transformation, her hand extended to hold the rope as she did.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Collab Special: A Russian and her Bear

Spoiler: A Game

“Medved is a bit too masculine, even for you. As to hitting things, oh, worry not.” Nadia says in response to the other not bothering to explain into more detail as she looked at her own lunch. “I am unsure if we should return these or throw them away, though the wolf did not strike me as Japanese. Much too sentimental for my liking, being that way with her partner will come back to bite her. I was worried a little about her, being stronger than I, but she has weakness all of her own. But ah..”

Trailing off at that she leads them down the halls, heading to the field as she proclaimed, or at least outside of the building.

“Tell me, what sort of training do you normally do, one to like breaking things as well?”

“I ain’t gonna turn down free food,” Dani remarked simply, though as she opened the box and procured a pair of chopsticks, the girl looked at them as if they were a piece of alien technology. Shortly thereafter, she would scowl and begrudgingly attempt use of them whilst Nadia spoke of the others. By the time the woman finished, the pink-haired one was handling the sticks poorly, but functionally to an extent. “We all have our weaknesses… The hell would you do, drill her until she has a mental breakdown and freezes up in the middle of a fight? Not everyone’s unfortunate enough to be a pit of rage like me.”

Scooping some of the contents of her lunch, it was surprisingly good. Dani didn’t know how authentic it was, but who gave a shit?

“Mainly at the gym… I can transform partially, but I was never aiming to go it alone, so I never trained that much with it either…” Dani commented with a slight grumble. “...I guess… resonance training would probably be best. I wouldn’t be surprised if the cuddle pair or the simp club can already do it to an extent. Unless, you just want me to transform and let you swing me into shit?”

“Indeed. We all do have our weaknesses, even I.” She said and mayhap uncharacteristically. Listening to the rest of what Dani had said she scoffs a bit. “I cannot say I would go that far or would not, but the way the wolf was acting made it seem like a relationship that is a crutch. And what does the one-legged man do when you kick away the crutch? And if a little training froze her up, then what use does the bell have here? Will some great evil just smile and sit there, allowing it to be destroyed?”

A bemused smile crept across her face as she listened and watched Dani going on about the training and the food, nodding as she did so.

“Hmm.. I think when we are out there you may find the name bear misplaced.. Or that the bear tamer may be something else. You wished to see how I fight and why I turned down the Gauntlet Vampire, so, we do what we wish to warm up.. As to resonance, or swinging you about, there is no reason to not do both, though the test may be more useful for that, some amount of danger to force our interest to align.”

Opening her own box, she looks at the chop sticks and scoffs. Using them as makeshift spears she stabs one of the chicken pieces and pauses. “I wonder if the other helped her make these, I would not think it to be the case, but her name is Japanese. As to what you said, I suspect all of them can, more so if I am correct on the nature of that Thaddeus fellow. We are the weakest link and till we can overcome that we must work harder than they, or if you will not, then I shall.”

Taking a bite she continues on and pauses. “Hmm.. We should have something to drink, I think there is a vending machine nearby.”

“Eh, you heard them. They’re sending us against the fuckin’ bots. Like hell they’re going to send us to deal with anything half-important–Well, the suit might want to get us offed, but those two don’t seem like the type…” Dani mused, narrowing her gaze as she recalled the words of the so-called suit on the first day. “As for the Medved, that all depends if something or someone pisses me off there… The board talked some shit, but that wasn’t a fight. But eh, you got the feel of my wavelength already.”

It was a bear, or something else inside of her. Whatever it was, when it woke up Dani predicted Nadia would be the lesser evil.

“I may not give a shit about climbing rank in the DWMA, but I ain’t lazy. Bonus if we can one-up those dicks. Maybe then they’ll leave me the hell alone,” Dani stated with bitter gusto.

At Nadia’s comment of a drink, the other shrugged a bit and tugged her pack closer. Setting the box of food down to dig in the bag, she pulled out a small canteen and pointed it toward the woman. “You can if you want. Otherwise, I have water.”

“Hmm..” Pondering those words she heads out down the halls and down some stairs to the main floor, unfortunately the school was a bit too prestigious for a vending machine to be out front. Looking at the Canteen and listening to the rest she had to say, she gives a nod as if to approve.

“I would not assume it so simple, if it is then I shall tear through it like a hot knife through butter. And as I said for now Dani, I have your back with them. Insulting you is the same as insulting me, there will be some comeuppance for what happened. And good that you think such. Rank for me is an affirmation of my results and I will not forget what that bastard said, maybe it is true for some, that we all will not pass, but he must learn the error of his words..” A bit of determination could be seen in her eyes and a hardening of expression, the smirk gone.

She snorts a little; “Well, I do have Vodka, but I do prefer Tea. I do not wish to go to the lounge to get a can of the iced tea they sell however, so I shall make do.”

The pink-haired woman stared at her partner in a deadpan, still holding the thermos. “Do they have sharing where you’re from?” She remarked sarcastically, making her offer of the water a bit more obvious before shrugging.

“I ain’t expecting much. Then again, I haven’t really from the beginning,” Dani admitted, rolling her eyes a bit at her words of the ‘suit’, her sarcasm remaining. “Oh, is that what he said? I only heard the part where we’re a waste of resources.”

Dani herself didn’t believe in the program all that much, but still. It wasn’t exactly a morale boost when the big cheese of the whole thing thought it was the equivalent to burning money. Then again, if not this, then what the hell would they be doing? More so for those like her. Would they just trust the collars and therapy to keep them in check? There weren’t many other options.

Shaking that from her mind, the girl turns her attention back to her food. “Do you ever not have vodka?”

“No, but he might as well have said it. In his eyes we all are trash.” Looking at the water, her jaw twitched a little at the question, playing it back in her mind.

“No, I cannot say we did much of that.”

With the question of the Vodka she grins a little before speaking. “Hmm, I do use it for more than just drinking. You are starting to sound like the doll, maybe she replaced something inside of you. You do look a little rigid in your movements.”

Next was the descent down the stairs, she wondered why they built the whole damn structure so comically large, but they had their reasons. “I think where we all met will be good enough to train a little then we head back once tired or enough time has passed.”

“Right…” Dani mused in agreement.

Shrugging, she popped the cover of the thermos and took a drink from it before stuffing it back in the gym bag. However, as she moved to continue eating, she stiffened a bit as a crawling feeling climbed up her back. Dani shot a glare at the Russian.

“Fuck off. You wake up next to that shit and see how tough a bitch you are,” Dani remarked with a huff. “That’s fine. Doubt the others will bug us there.”

“She is not so bad, though I am surprised she let you in her workshop so readily. Either way eat up, as when we get there it will be better if enough time passes to keep the food down.” With that said Nadia turns her attention to her own meal eating it on the long trip down the stairs.

~~~

Spoiler: Conflict Resolution

With that all said and done the pair would arrive at the field they had met on just a couple of days ago, it was in the shape it was before, the car was gone and not much else could be said.

“So, shall we do a bit of warm ups?”

Tossing her bag on the ground, Dani raised her arms above her head with one hand grasping the other wrist. Stretching both limbs toward the sky for a moment before responding. “Depends if you have something special in mind. I was already at the gym this morning.”

“Oh, did you now?” The Russian says with her ever present accent. Looking out at the field she lets out a slow exhale, almost like a sigh. “Ahh..” Her fingers twitch back and forth as her hands make their way to the sides of the short skirt, lifting the fabric part of the way as she grabs the hilts of her two 10 inch DWMA issued knives, drawing the left in a backhand grip and the right more conventionally.

“Well, let us see if you can keep up then. Oh don’t worry, I won’t fight you, though it may be fun.. No, I think we’ll have a bit of a race, if I can find… Ah yes.. Here it is.” Not saying what, ‘it’ was, Nadia makes way to where they left, where her wooden football was left, courtesy of the Autonomous Weapon. Zari wasn’t it? Kicking the ball into the trees, she smiles thinly. “A race. I know we Meisters have an overwhelming advantage over our weapons in matters of the physical, well, with a couple exceptions. So I will give you as much of a head start as you like. Or we could compare times and means of doing this.”

Glancing over to the Russian at her question, Dani’s gaze lowered a bit to follow the movement. She appeared somewhat taken aback at the woman’s actions given the short jump and tinge of pink. However, her expression soon replaced itself with one of confusion as some knives appeared from under the cloth.

“...That the best fuckin’ place you could think to put those…?” Dani wondered aloud as she followed the other with her eyes. “...Huh?”

So she wanted a race. Great, the carnie was trying to teach her bear to fetch. There was absolutely no way that Dani could compete with Nadia in physique, that much was obvious. So it begged the question what the girl thought a race would accomplish. The creepy smile didn’t help.

“You know there’s no way in hell that I’m beating you at something like this right?” Dani said, moving her hands to sit on her hips.

“Oh it is not about the race. I just want to see how much of a bear you really are. To see if you can keep up. As to where I keep my knives, the thigh holsters suit me well. Now would you rather you just follow my run or something else?”

“You’re not gonna see that unless the ball did something to piss me off, but fine, race,” Dani remarked with a light sigh, bouncing a bit in place to loosen up. “You might want to lower them, but if you want to put on a show every time you reach for a shiv…”

Rolling her eyes at that, Nadia stares at Dani for a brief moment, turning her attention back to where they had to go, or rather where she had set for them to go. “I don’t see anywhere else I can keep them, and you act as if I show off my underwear, though if it bothers you so much I could lower the mounting points an inch or two. Or is it that you are jealous and rather I hold you? Hmm? I could just take you in hand and see what sort of Damage I can do if you feel that neglected.”

“It’s your underwear,” Dani replied simply and with a shrug, though narrowed her eyes at the accusation of jealousy. “I ain’t jealous of no fuckin’ knives! I don’t need to be held by anyone”

Rejecting the claim with some bitterness, the pink-haired woman huffed and turned toward the forest with folded arms. “We going or what?”

“Heh.” Looking back at the other she crouches a bit and loosens her shoulders and neck with a bit of a stretch. “If you get tired just ask for me to pick you up in that weapon form of yours. Though there’s one speed. Mine.”

And with that the woman’s wavelength raged, for those sensitive or trained well enough to notice, stepping off in a leaping jump with her left foot, Nadia headed right into the thick of the forest, seemingly not watching or caring all too much about what Dani would do.

“Tch… If I get tired…” Dani grumbled in response, lowering her body posture as well. She rolled her eyes as well to the woman’s intolerance for compromise, though Dani understood a bit more how far the Russian was willing to go when she zoomed off. The Demon Sword was taken aback a bit at first before gritting her teeth and sprinting off after her.

Dani was just a weapon, and one that wasn’t all that trained to go it alone. Still though, she was a two-star and she kept herself in good shape even by a DWMA Agent’s standards. While it was improbable for her to best Nadia or likely come close, the pink-haired sword wasn’t going to be left in the dust completely either–at least not at first. “How the hell is this a warm up?!”

“Oh, I thought you didn’t need another warm up.” Making use of her enhanced performance, though she does something a bit, well, one could not say unexpected, it fits what she had shown up till now. Digging one of the DWMA blades into a tree she cleaves through it horizontally, digging the 10 inch blade into the side and bringing it around, the fine crafted steel seemed to go through the material all too easily as the tree starts to topple and fall, towards where Dani was running, be it intentional or on accident was another matter in general.

Growling a bit at that remark, Dani had been wondering why the woman even procured a knife to begin with. Now she understood the purpose as the tree toppled toward her. The damn meister was taking this way too seriously. Nonetheless, Dani wasn’t going to die to some greenery. “You’re throwing fuckin’ trees now?!” She hissed as her arms raised. With fingers pointed, Dani’s arm sharpened and with a wave of her arm she cleaved the impending debris to be rid of it.

“If a tree was enough to be rid of you, then you weren’t worth keeping around.” The woman says in response, halting her movements as she gazes at the partial transformation.

“You lack spirit. You should have used this time to take the prize.” As if a bit disappointed or to have triggered something in her, Nadia stands there, tossing the knife up and down in her hands, catching it at the handle.

“Would you like to continue the game or do I just tell you the point in all this and in my choice?”

As the other turned to her, Dani’s run slowly came to a stop as her hand returned to normal. The woman was speaking in riddles again, much to Dani’s chagrin. “What prize?” She asked, holding her arms out in a questioning fashion. “Should I have spirit running around in the woods? What’s up with you?”

“The Ball. It’s somewhere out here and I planned to level it all to find it. One of us will find it. You wanted to know why you over the claw, yes?” Nadia says with a bored expression to her face.

Dani’s expression drained, staring at her partner with a deadpan expression that showcased her disappointment. She was going to just cut every tree until she found the ball. Was she trying to act like a bear or a bulldozer, Dani wondered. “Cause he just wanted to sleep?”

“Well, yes that too counts. His laziness would have irked me sooner than later. However fundamentally he may have been too fun as it were. I prefer blades over fists as there is a bit of a refinement there, something not like the old days.” Looking at Dani she smiled a bit thinly, halting her knife on the next catch.

“Battle, conquest, glory. I fight from the front and bash through what I can. The nature of your madness is not so alien to my soul, and I see it as a challenge in a manner to deal with you. I will not have my will broken so easily. So why you, over him? The challenge of it. That and I actually am good with a blade in my hands and care not to regress to what I once was.”

“Fun?” Dani repeated quizzically. She knew the woman did probably have a screw loose, as did they all. Still, it seemed she was showing the extent of it now. The weapon wasn’t sure if she should be wary or insulted that the meister was taking her condition as some sort of game.

She scoffed in displeasure. “So it’s a fucking game for you, huh? That this is fun? I’m so fucking glad that you’re enjoying yourself… but I hope for your sake that you aren’t full of shit.”

“Hmm.” Looking at the other she smirks at the response. “As if I want to be here. And don’t speak so high and mighty to me about enjoyment. You and I have little use, purpose or future outside of being weapons. You physically and I metaphorically. The DWMA has lost its senses and cares only for amassing its fortunes. Nevermind the question on how the virus came to be only at the end of the so-called hunt. But at the end of the day we are what we are. As I said before, maybe you should be more concerned with what is able or willing to tame a bear than the bear itself. Or do you care to prove me wrong?”

Dani scowled at the other’s smirk, staring for a few moments before another scoff was elicited and she began moving forward again. “Maybe you should. We thought we had this shit down pat and Mikey died for it. It ain’t a game or fun for me.” Pausing as she reached her side, Dani shot her a slight glare. “And if you say it was cause he was weak, I’ll smack the shit out of you.”

With that warning levied, Dani ran ahead again, presumably continuing on with the prior objective. Though it seemed as though her mood had degraded somewhat, given away by her wavelength and, more obviously, the chopping of a tree paired with a verbal grunt. Whether she was taking after Nadia or simply blowing off steam as she wanted to originally remained to be seen.

“And that is where you failed. I am not strong enough for anything and everything, not yet. The fun is in the victory, in holding the banner high.” She says to Dani’s own response. “You are not the only one here to have lost something.” She says with a serious look to her face.

“As to if he was weak or not, well, it seems I know how to get what I want out of you at least.”

“If you want the answer to that and my judgment upon the two of you, then prove yourself.” And with that she steps off at once, heading back into the maze of the small forest with a loud roaring of the air in her wake sounding off with a mighty WOOOOSH!

“Fuck off. I’m not making a fucking joke of it.” Dani didn’t really want the answer or the woman’s judgment. She felt that it would just result in the pink-haired weapon decking her and an ensuing tussle and the spiking wavelength insinuated that as well. “Take the advice I gave trio and don’t poke the fucking bear. Fuck, none of you fucking get it!”

Cleaving another tree, it definitely seemed more at this point that the girl was just relieving stress than looking for the ball.

“Ah yes, your method of coping has gone so much better than mine.” She says with a snarky tone to her voice. It seemed her attention was not on the ball so much as the girl as she darted in to drop another tree on top of her, a laugh echoing as the air around them seemed to chill, the woman going full out.

“Always running aren’t you? Do you think you are the first or the last of your kind?”

Growling, it seemed that between the earlier antagonization and now, that she had had enough. Suddenly changing in her pathing, Dani ducked low while bringing her arm back in an arc to cut the falling tree. Her arm half cocked back, the Demon Weapon bent her elbow and thrust her bladed forearm towards the taller woman. “Quit running your FUCKING MOUTH!”

It was in that reaction that Nadia swung out with her own blade, knocking the improvised strike up and away as she stepped in, dropping the knife as she reached out, grasping the blade bare handed, a look of, love? Hate? Enjoyment? Thrilling? It was hard to say, though the woman seemed pleased, like a person that had a solid sense of Self and purpose, she bore in, her blood trickling down the blade, the rage and might of the Meister meeting the indestructible bear. “Hahahaha!” She then pulled Dani by the limb towards herself and spoke;

“Your Brother brought you to where you are. You know what it is to lose everything, you know what it is to wander aimlessly, you who claim to be a bear, aye, I’ll give you that. Your brother wasn’t weak, but you are. You’ve forgotten your purpose as a weapon. Not in the same way as that fool Klaus, I didn’t say I couldn’t replace your brother as I suspected you would want that, but to set it clear that neither of us can replace what is lost. No one can. It’s gone. And for it I survive.”

Releasing her grip she then shoves the blade and the girl away. “You may be a Bear, Dani, but I am a Conqueror. It is not bravado when I say I shall not fall, for those that are lost, for those that survive and for those who do not need to survive I crawl forward! Hatred, Enjoyment, A joke as you called it… I will continue forward, the question is if the Bear is strong enough to keep up with the circus I plan to make?!”

Through grit teeth, the weapon didn’t seem all that receptive. Her expression best expressing that of almost ferality, Dani appeared to have let whatever monster in her soul take the reins to an extent. There wasn’t but a few grunts or growls as any sign of acknowledgement. Though, when Nadia finished speaking and pushed her away, the weapon grabbed her by the collar of her blouse and yanked her forward as she jutted her forehead out to meet the Russian’s lower face.

“That answer your fucking question?! Talking so much fucking shit that’s obvious. I. Do not need you. To tell me that everything that’s gone is fucking gone!” She shouted furiously. “I remember every fucking second! This isn’t fun. This isn’t a fucking game. I don’t give a crap about your victory or satisfaction. All I want–all I can do and this shit makes me want to do, is hurt. Hurt you, that fucking threesome, those corrupt-fucking-humans and death-damned rogues. And you fucking ask if I can keep up–BITCH THIS IS ALL I KNOW HOW TO DO!”

Exhaling deeply after the fit of screaming, it was clear how Dani’s madness worked. It wasn’t sadistic or manic. It was just raw anger–mostly centered on that which she attributed to having taken her family away.

“I ain’t no bitch like your fucking Klaus, and I don’t care why you do this. As long as you use me to kill those fucking animals, fucking use me, but don’t talk shit about my family, treat this collar like it’s a joke, or fuck with me. I’m constantly pissed enough with you and those other pricks egging me.”

Though the headbutt had done very little to the powered up Meister other than superficial damage, it had sent it’s message and for a brief moment Nadia allowed some of her past to leak through, the weak parts as she viewed them, the parts that actually made her care or be invested in another.

“Dani, I do understand, more than you know, more than I wish. My parents vanished one by one and my brother was separated from me with the force of the Americans who then sent me here. My home city is a ruin and I aided other children who were the same.. We fought, bleed, stole, did whatever to survive. I do not fear or mind your anger. In these times, these times of all, why should we not be angry? My last partner was a leash meant to control me, he infuriated me and made me feel weak. But he pushed too far, he does not understand that lingering hate, that rage that never goes away and for it I broke him. Or tried, the other Agents stopped me. And I would do it again. I Am Right.”

With that she laid her hand upon Dani’s shoulder and nodded. “It is all alright… Well it is not, but I think we may be able to walk to a point where it is all getting alright, or at least where I, no, we can show we are not wrong. Maybe there will be a cure for you one day, or maybe we will have to fight all of those here. I cannot say, but I will not run. I never have. If you want to see some of those things get broken or dead, then sticking with me is for the best.” With that she offered a hand, scuff marks and damage aside on the pair.

“It may be a game to me, but I take my games very seriously and I mean to see that a few things lose. Permanently when able.”

Dani’s breathing steadied slowly as did her wavelength. Seemingly she was processing it a bit or perhaps just giving her nerves time to settle. Hesitantly, she released the collar of the taller woman and stepped back. “...I’m not an optimist,” She finally replied before reaching a hand out to take the other.

Her form enveloped in a pink light as the rest of Dani’s body morphed into the blade, the hilt replacing the hand the grasped Nadia’s. Her visage peeked from the sheen of the sword. “I don’t have anywhere to run and there’s enough anger that you don’t need to worry about it not coming out. It’ll come out. You better not lose when that happens.”

“Hmph, I’ve dealt with worse.” Accepting the blade, she swings it towards a couple of the smaller trees as she dashed forwards, looking at the spirit reflection of Dani in kind. “As I said tomorrow, we will not be the cause of failure. They can look down on us all they want.. Time is on our side.”

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Rand Mabason​

"Soundwave Sorcerer"​

Species Witch
Partner N/A
Rank Two Star

Location Death City, DWMA Library
Mission A sidestep with Maria
Status Calm

​

Mentions: RedArmyShogun

March 9th, 2067 | 1100​

Rand noticed Maria had finally returned, and that was about it for what he cared to do here. Everyone had their introductions, he had a plan for Iris that he would inform Edie of later, and he had a good idea of what to do next, although he did intend on conferring with Edie on it later. At present, they just needed to check out their books and hopefully get along as well as their happy little hearts would allow. It seemed they were far more stable than Rand had initially expected, meaning that the bulk of this endeavor was likely unneeded, as were the back-up plans he had made in the event of hostility. It was probably for the better, although it did leave a bittersweet taste in his mouth given the preparations he had made.

"I believe we can make our exit now, Maria," Rand told her, offering her a gentle nod of acknowledgement as she seemed to patiently wait. He intended on just leaving the device where it was; a librarian would secure it later should he leave them a message, and the automated system should there be an issue or anything nefarious in terms of books would prevent anything less than desirable be checked out under his parent account. In short, no reason to baby sit.

With that, Rand distance himself from the table he was at and made a leisurely stroll for the door. He looked over to Edie briefly, considering reminding her that they needed to convene later that day, but decided against he. He already said something about it earlier, and he recalled she wasn't a fan of someone repeating themselves. This let mind wander, wondering if that was truly a distaste for repetition and redundancy, or likely how often she heard the same comments from her abundance of unwanted suitors. Wandering, however, was not something his mind ever did long before he returned to the current focus of his efforts.

"Very rarely," Rand said out loud, reverting back to Maria, "do I believe there's something that can change our perception." Rand was basically giving a bit of a monologue here, but he had good reason to believe this excursion he had planned out would benefit the mage behind him. He couldn't unfortunately do this for everyone, but then again, everyone was unique and different. The help they required would thus be different. "What I have in mind might give you some clarity on your situation beyond what I can do with any book here," he added, hovering at the door for her to follow before proceeding.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Midori☆Hoshi​

"Dark Star"​

Species Death Golem
Partner Various / Autonomous Weapon
Rank Two-Star

Location Death City, Southeast Side, Easter Chapel Rooftop
Mission Finding Shuumie
Status Focused

​

Mentions: Kyuubey

"That's a good question with a few answers..." Midori replied to her, letting out a sigh as he did so. While Emira was up pressed against the railing, Midori took a more relaxed stance against the stone wall behind them. He could only vaguely feel the flaring of the Souls in front of them, but he was quite certain the group would be fine. He knew precisely what Shuumie was, what it was capable of, and was of the firm opinion that the group could survive the creature just fine. Capturing it might prove an entirely different story.

He noticed her eyes bounce back to him. He was always a fan, but he was quite sure she was antsy.

"I don't exactly have eyes everywhere, but based on the search histories and library access I found... I believe our little group needs a lesson on how to actually research a target," he explained. There was a clear hint of disappointment in his tone. This didn't exactly apply to everyone, but Midori was a former Monster Hunter. Knowledge was power. Especially when dealing with these foreign creatures. This group decided to go into the mission with a hand tied behind their back. The only consolation he had was that the only individual that seemed to take an actual decent amount of time reading and use multiple sources was also directly involved with the initial encounter. Still, one of out of five was hardly a good ratio.

"Had each of them done even half the research I did as a hunter... well, they would have probably known what to prepare, and this whole mission would probably have been easy enough that we wouldn't need to waste our times watching. We could have been back at your place doing far more engaging things, but alas... here we are," Midori went on, although his somewhat sardonic tone did misconstrue things. Even if they had all researched this to a more satisfactory degree, chances are he would still be there watching for the sole sake of assessing them in the field. This fact probably wasn't lost on Emira.

"Aside from the things I always have on my mind when you're around," Midori continued with a more implicative tone. He found himself kicking off the wall he was on to move forward to the rails beside Emira, his offset eyes not quite as bright in the dull cloud front but still ever present nonetheless. "I think you should take that offer Cyrus provided. You might see me less, but I think you'll get more out of it than a thousand hours of Calm Mind training," he told her. As flirtatious as he was, he had a way of cutting right to the point and changing the tone faster than Cyrus could on that fancy ass Magitech motorcycle of his.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Collab Special: Rand & Maria

​

Spoiler: A change in perspective.

Nodding her head in response to Rand’s instructions she paused briefly to give a nod to Koiya, there would be more time to speak with her and the rest and for now her attention needed to be on whatever Instructor Rand had decided to show her, wondering what exactly it was that would change her perspective, or rather perception, what was she meant to look at differently? Either way there was little to do, gathering her things she followed him unsure of where they were going or how far.

“Umm, if we are traveling a bit far away I can put up my things.. Though you said thirty minutes or so.. That would mean here, yes? Here and near..”

”It will neither be long nor far,” Rand responded, answering her question still without providing much more information regarding what they were even doing. ”We won’t be entering the city, but we won’t be staying on campus, either, per se,” he explained, intentionally being quite cryptic in how he responded.

That seemed to be enough to satiate her curiosity, or at the very least from what it seemed Rand was willing to divulge. Luckily, it was as he had explained. Not much of a wait to figure out more. Rand led her out of the academy itself, but remained on grounds to the nearby hospital to the east of the academy. Again, not technically within the city, but also not technically on campus. These facilities were a bit of a gray area ever since installed. Nonetheless, it was fairly clear to the young mage just where her instructor was leading her. The pristine, ivory walls of the dedicated hospital for the agents of the DWMA.

Narrowing her gaze at that, she hums to herself and follows along, it wasn’t as if she had much choice in the matter, or rather not much of a reason to deny this trip. As they wandered around her expression seemed to go sullen, she knew the building they seemed to be heading for, rather well in fact, it was the hospital the DWMA made use of. Minus her own health checkup, she had tried to work up the nerve to enter here with her old team but couldn’t do it, turning around and leaving. She was unsure what this was meant to teach her. “Huh.. A small world or a world that is smaller, either way you lead and I follow..though.. Never mind.”

”Don’t worry about anything that happened before this point,” Rand told her. He stopped in front of the dual stone pillars over the archways; the ones that guarded the emergency lane. This was one of the rare times he attempted to be reassuring. His tone was quite sincere. Even the cold onyx stones he had for eyes seemed to soften, like erosion in the waters of a rapid stream.

”You aren’t here to relive anything. This is a new memory you and I shall make together, Maria. To get over the past, we must look toward the future,” he went on, adding to his attempt at offering her some type of consolation. It was again seemingly out of character for him based on how he had acted previously, but given no one knew much about his actual character, it was possible her new mentor had a kinder side.

Listening to his words she was a bit apprehensive at them given her own upbringing in the Magic Guild and of Isolation, though she also looked forward to the future, in improving her craft and being more useful to the DWMI, however his words reminded her more of the past as she mumbles and says in quick order.. “It’s all bodies under the bridge… Water under the bridge. Yes, haha.. I, well let's go, I’ll.. take you at your word instructor.”

”Just call me Rand,” he responded to her, specifically on her last phrasing of calling him instructor. He marched forward into the building, the glass doors sliding open automatically for him upon approach. ”The Witch Realm is full of titles and I have a mouthful. When I can, I just prefer my name, if you don’t mind,” he explained to her. That, in of itself, was understandable. The world of Witches was full of titles like Russia was full of “old money”; it all held deeper meaning, but was annoying to memorize regardless.

Rand needed only show his ID to guide her through the hospital. Whether it was his rank, paperwork that was pushed, or something about those titles he referred to, he was seemingly given access that even normal Agents weren’t typically granted in the medical side of things. While it was true that higher ranking Agents had access to plenty that the lower echelons did not, normally anything even remotely associated with medicine still retained a large amount of privacy restrictions and federal guidelines. Being let in this easily was odd, even for a DWMA Agent.

Up the elevator to the sixth floor. There wasn’t a clear indicator nor signage as to what floor was what, at least not where they were. As the elevator continued up, Rand let out a sigh. ”I suppose I should finally tell you where exactly we are headed so you have some modicum of what to expect. The sixth floor is maternity, and specifically we’re going to a viewing area for the nurses to see the nursery and visiting center,” he told her. His words were quite flat, mostly because he didn’t quite know how she would respond.

Pausing at the request for his name, she gives a nod of her head; “If that is what you wish.. Though, well, I guess titles and the like never stopped me before, why should it now. Rand.” Gazing at the walls and rooms they went by it was a quick trip more or less via elevator and up to the 6th floor. She had never been up here, or well anywhere other than the first floor. Well that was not fully true, she had also attempted to go up to the floors that held her old teammates before she lost nerve and turned back. In truth she wanted to turn back now, but knew Rand would likely stop her or it would be used against her standing in the class, though she was still mystified as to why here.

“The visiting center? I did not assume you to be the one with a family here, unless we are just here to see strangers..” A bit guarded in her response, some of her awkwardness started to leak through, though the candid nature of her speech was more limited, though still strange in its own way. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a baby before, at least never at the guild. My understanding of the motor system of the human body is well drawn into detail, infants also have less bones and articulation points than an Adult or even a child. I am unsure how this will help with anything..”

”While I do have an extensive family, I do not have any children, nor really the desire for them,” Rand responded to her, answering her question at the very least to try and give her some type of conversational distraction. ”We are not here to review the anatomy of infants, and honestly, I probably know about as much as you. My specialty is in academic magics, as I’m sure you’ve pieced together,” he continued, still answering her questions and providing her more information as if it were a normal conversation.

They arrived. The elevator dinged. Steel doors opened. Rand passed through the threshold and to the floor. The open area here was a lot like a large foyer, clearly divided into areas for the medical staff and the parents and/or visitors. Not every floor was like this, but given the nature of maternity, this was quite important. Rand led them to the left where he yet again had to scan his ID over the door before a light on it turned green and he could push the door open and through. From there, he was met by a nurse, smiling at him and telling him ‘right this way’ as to follow her. He looked back to Maria to make sure she was as well.

What they were taken too was a relatively small viewing station for the nurses to watch as parents interacted with their newborns and the nursery itself. Inside were many, many monitors and controls for each of the cribs. There were exactly twelve, so by far not the largest, and not all of them were even full. Presently, there was only one set of parents interacting with an infant now, hovering over their dome-covered crib.

”This, Maria, is the miracle of life. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but this hospital is almost entirely reserved for DWMA Agents. Both of those people there are likely agents, or at least one of them. Every child in here is more than likely that of an agent. But, that doesn’t matter. These children aren’t agents, they’re not destined to join the DWMA. And, inside these walls, those people aren’t agents. They’re parents,” Rand went on to explain. This is when he shifted from his conversational tone trying to comfort her to more of a lecture, talking at her to explain their purpose there.

”This is the heart of what every Agent in the DWMA strives to protect. Life itself. Your file states you view your dolls as your children, and I can sympathize with your creations being dear to you. But I want you to see firsthand what real parents with their real infants are like,” he explained. He nodded to the parents with the child currently in the dome. ”I have no idea who they are, but I am privy to this. That child was born quite early, and will spend a fair amount of time in that unit. I am no medical expert, but I know that child has already been there a few days. Its parents haven’t left it long since then, the father in fact has skipped out on a mission to stay. Not a moment has gone by that those two have not dedicated themselves to their child; the mother should likely be in bed getting rest. Yet here they are, disregarding their career and well-being just to watch that infant. You see them smile, use the gloved hands to caress it through the dome, but despite that joy, the nurses here tell me many parents find it agonizing not to be able to hold their babies.”

Rand stopped talking. He had more to say. A longer speech. More to emphasize. But it struck him that right now, he needed to see how well Maria was taking this. If it at all registered in her brain why she was here. If she understood. If she agreed. If she cared. If she had the capacity to truly differentiate life from her creations.

As he explained it all Maria mostly watched in silence, a hand rising up to position under her nose and fingers aligned over her eyes, or left eye to be more precise. Gazing out of the window she was unsure if she could be seen or not, but hoped for the later as her still face showed the faintest signs of contortion, as if to be relaying all sorts of emotions in her head, as logic and something else battered one another in her mind, unseen.

“...That is not always so Instr…no, Rand. What of the Orphans, what of me? Where are my parents? I know the answer to that, bits and pieces, flashes. Madness took hold of both and though they spared me, so many others would vanish, never to be seen again, frowns forevermore, if even that. Even now when I think of them I cannot place a face to it. There is only one I think of as family.. As my mother even. Would I allow my creations to outlast or out survive her?” Lowering her hand she gazes forward and continues speaking.

“The DWMA killed my parents. The Truth is not hidden from me, and I know full well they needed to die and that I was likely somewhat tainted, my workshop is all that I know, it is my first friend, my quiet place, my center.”

“Most of those children will become agents, of that I am sure… The organic is so weak and frail.. But even so, I, while hesitant to use it, have my most damaged doll inscribed with a self destruct.. I doubt any of those would do the same to their children.. For that reason alone this may have value.”

Rand listened to her. Every word she said. Every stumble. His sensitive ears even picked up the changes in her heart beat, the pacing of her body. Nothing escaped him as he evaluated her, and that’s exactly what he was doing. Evaluating her reaction. She may have served good points, but there were better ones. And Rand, Rand with every fiber of his body poured out the most daunting presence he could, the pinnacle of confidence and absolution.

”Maria, what happened to you is a tragedy. We are of the Witch Realm and it may be true that parentage there is not the same as it is here; in fact, it is true that in human history, bloodlines were tools for aristocracy. These are immutable facts. But, look at what you see before you. Look at true parental love. See that while we know different, something better and more beautiful exists in front of you,” he told her, his voice carrying as much weight as a white dwarf star.

”In this human world, there are those that cannot bear children, yet they yearn for a family. It does not matter the reason why, gender or medical conditions. And, they make a family all their own, blood or not. In this world, what you see before you here is the miracle of life,” he explained to her. His head lifted, and despite his short stature, this was a moment where even this man could look down on you.

”This is what the DWMA protects. This is what agents strive to protect. What happened to you was a tragedy, and as an agent of the DWMA it is our goal to make sure that does not happen. We put our lives on the line, we fight forces of evil beyond our capabilities, we wage a never-ending struggle so that this doesn’t happen. So that some little girl doesn’t go without her parents. So that they don’t have to clutch to their dolls for the affection they can’t get otherwise,” he went on with growing momentum.

”And you should know better than most what it is that can be lost. You can choose to question these feelings, or you can acknowledge them with your very eyes. Right now. You can see what it is that can be lost, and why it is paramount that we protect it. We cannot save your parents, but you can help make sure not another little girl goes without,” he finished, no lack of intensity from him, yet a certain powerful finality.

Listening to Rand’s words once more, it was interesting the contrast of him now, and the he of before. If he were more like this, well, she was sure some would laugh at him, more so with what it meant to be with the DWMA. She had seen the meanness of most often enough from within the guild, but she would not be one of those to laugh.

“The DWMA was just something I did as my… Master encouraged it with the Accord between Witches and Man, or the DWMA. What was my purpose in being here? To be useful, to have some praise…”

”Your purpose? Maria, you choose your purpose. It does not matter why you came here, it only matters why you choose to stay. Many people join the DWMA for the wrong reasons, I will concede that, but the true point of being here no matter who you are is to protect life. You shouldn’t ask me or anyone else. You decide,” he explained to her, cutting her off in a jarring way with his wordplay obviously showing he jumped at the opportunity to answer her rhetorical question with an actual answer.

Listening to him she shook her head a little, side to side as if to say no, though it didn’t seem hostile at all. “I am a creator, such is my pull. I much rather make things and then just follow through with that. You must learn to take things more slowly with me, lest I grow too hectic. For now one reflection upon life is enough…” Pausing at that to gather her thoughts she continues.

“In a manner however if all were to perish then I would have no one to make things for. To make things just to make them without reason and purpose would be too sad of an existence. Earlier today I talked with another of the class to decide upon what magic to learn, and I do not think one magic will be enough for me, but there is something I am building that will be truly grand, the finest work yet.. Till I do another.”

“My works will outlast most of those in this building, I might as well, given my nature. But maybe, or no, because of its weakness and lack of longevity there is a reason to care for the spectators over the display. Even the grandest of art exists to be seen. I..” Pausing at that she grabs at her dress, balling the fabric before letting it go. “..do not wish to repeat what I did before. But there are things about you all I will likely never understand. And not all needs to be understood.”

Rand listened to her, but there was much he disagreed with. Particularly about understanding. In that regard, communication was key to comprehension. It seemed she at least grasped the concepts of what he said earlier, but her nature stood in contrast to some things. That, Rand could work with. And, with that, he asked but a simple question, ”Maria, who do you consider to be the great creator that you know of?”

“The great, or worthy of the title, the greatest. In that essence no one. To admit there is a great means to admit there is a standard I cannot reach, works I cannot challenge. I am not content with being of the fourth tier.” Thinking on his question more, she tilts her head a bit, as if lost in thought.

“There are craftsmen and masters, here now and long gone, that have things of note, points of inspiration. There is the famous quad of Italy, the painters of chapels and the architects of this city that varies from middle ages castles to steel and glass blocks not worthy of note. I am not focused on painting, nor am I a professional blacksmith or leatherworker. And if I had to name the one that influenced me the most, then she has never made anything in her life besides her meals and demon tools. For they gave me the push to look out and to grasp tools. She is known simply as Mirai.”

Showing a surprisingly human display behind her doll-like features, she smiles briefly. “The best creator was the one that encouraged me to find other Creators in the Great Library. They created nothing but empowered an Idea. That is where all art and craft comes from.”

”That is an interesting twist on the idea of creation, but a valid one. A creator that inspires. I would have expected an answer like Da Vinci, Edison, Tesla, maybe even Eibon or Professor Davis. Inspiration to create is a little more pure in its sole focus on the arts, but I was to make a point. Most of those that are considered great creators, artists, engineers, so on and so forth did so for a reason or had them within their lives. Da Vinci created the bulk of his inventions to push humanity further, Tesla wanted to share electricity with the world, Edison was a fraud, Eibon is the father of Demon Weapons as he wanted to give humanity a fighting chance against Witches of the era, and Davis helped save the world from MIBVI to avoid the losses of the virus. What I mean to tell you is that many of the greatest minds were driven with noble ambition. I know little of this Mirai aside from what was mentioned in your files, but perhaps you should see what drove her. What was her inspiration,” Rand replied, going on in a fair amount of explanation as to his thought process and seemingly calming down from his previous point.

”It is my experience that the most brilliant minds and innovators, those that ultimately inspired others most often, did so for one of two reasons. To better mankind, or for the sake of war. War is fought for many reasons, but it is counter-intuitive to those of the DWMA. You know my opinions on the purpose of agents of the DWMA, and you know why you’re in FATE, but what it seems you haven’t done is trace the true origins of your own inspiration. Perhaps knowing the reason behind your calling, the purpose of your Pull, would enlighten you as to why you should create. There are many inventors, engineers, and creators in the DWMA, many that work for Davis. You need not be on the battlefield to help others, and you need not be a warrior-witch to do good,” Rand went on, still providing his insight and explaining a touch more of his perspective and how it broke down. ”Do you understand the point I am making?” he asked, as if there was some underlying logic to his question.

Listening to his words she nods. “Those all are among those I would consider more respected. I will say however most of my inventions are more geared towards war. As to her pull, I’m afraid you won’t find much inspiration there.” A bit of an exasperated expression, or what small facial features gave away to Rand would allow for it, she continues.

“She is primarily motivated by curiosity, my mother was also an artist, actually it seems she may have been how I got to be what I am, unknown to her as well. My instructor encouraged me to see what would happen. If I would be a problem or an asset. I think it is for the best, no matter the respect I have for her, that I not just do things to see what happens or as it was a good idea at the time.”

With his question however she gave a nod. “Truthfully, I would be much better off in a lab, maybe even under Davis or those under him. However silly as it may sound, and while I understand your points, I must make up for what I did. Once that has been done, I would be happy to consider moving off the agent lines. I wasn’t blind to that fact at all, Rand.”

Rand listened to her, but he began piecing together a picture that perhaps she did not see. Perhaps one that was overlooked, something Mirai never quite mentioned. ”It sounds to me like your mother did you an unspoken kindness. Many a great mind, human and Witch alike, have gone mad inside the confines of a lab, fixating on their work and losing touch with reality. With their humanity. Perhaps your mentor did not want that fate for you, as it perhaps is hers” he told her.

”But, that aside, I believe you see the purpose of this venture. It may not weigh heavily on you now, but the best ideas take time to grow roots. A seed is just a seed until it grows,” Rand added, noting that this wasn’t something he expected immediate results with. ”Are you ready to leave, or did you have further questions?” he asked.

“I always have questions. Many of them unasked. And I think for now some of these will remain that way too.” Turning her head to look back out the window. Letting her gaze linger for a bit, she turns away.

“I’ve gotten in the way of the Nurses work enough for now, as I am wont to do, I wish to return to my workshop where I can reflect on things. I may have questions for you later however. I would ask to be left here to go back on my own, but I’m sure the hospital would not like that.. You however have others that need to speak with you, so we can head out now. Though I will be seeing you again Instru.. Rand. Of that I am sure.”

“My work is never done, it seems. I do miss the days where I leisurely read my books in silence,” Rand said, responding primarily to her comment about the others. ”But, I believe if I can reach one of you, the payoff would be greater than the knowledge from anything I might read,” he added. He then turned to lead her out. She was quite correct in that his clearance was needed to traverse the hospital, although it was likely she could get out on her own from here. ”Do as you wish once we leave, you should have my number for any questions later. You will all receive a text once I confer with Edie on how to proceed,” he told her, then guiding her back to the elevator to end their encounter.

 

[Prizzy Kriyze]

Azariah "Zari" Vasher

Jarvis beelined for his coffin as soon as they were excused. It never failed to confound Zari how much sleep his partner could get without ever having quite enough, but in this particular circumstance it did not matter all that much. Zari was already headed for the library, and so tagged along with him for part of the way. It was a habit he couldn't and wouldn't shake, to gather as much information as possible about a target. Luckily, when your target was a well documented supernatural sub-Saharan feline species, most of the interesting parts were front and center in whatever entries you could find.

In fact, as he licked his finger and turned another page, Zari was surprised to find how much the mission dossier omitted about the species. Things like sonic roars and bright flashes feels like they'd be important to know, but the mission details didn't seem to imply that there should be a fight more than a chase. Though, as he gathered from these papers, the Shuumie's watery composition and regenerative capabilities made it so they didn't have to rule out a violent approach without retrieving it 'safetly'. Hunting it down would probably be the hardest part. Zari knew he didn't have the kind of charisma that attracted animals. It was like they sensed the blood on his hands.

He paused and stared at the page he was about to flip out of boredom. It was an entry about their natural predators. His eyes grew wide. "Jarvis."

-----

In his naïve good faith, Zari repeated that morning's mistake and stood in the rain for a good twenty minutes waiting for Jarvis before he remembered the poor soul's sleeping patterns and instead nearly physically wrestled him from his coffin - but then quickly grew comfortable in the silence the two shared on their trip back downtown. With the short time span before mission start, he let his imagination run wild with possible approaches to the Shuumie. Adrian's prison seemed the natural solution to countering its semi-permeable form and cutting off any escape, and with what he'd learned about their behaviour they might be able to force it into some sort of trap, probably utilizing Jarvis' nature as a deterrent. His eyes lit up, and he turned to speak to Jarvis, but he was quickly cut off. "You should know, Jarvis-" A hand on his shoulder. Jarvis had noticed something Zari's preoccupied mind had not, but it wasn't long before the threat presented itself.

Just before it attacked, the ringing of its soul registered in Zari's hearing, and he quickly slid out of the way as the Shuumie swatted with its long claws. His suspicions were quickly confirmed as as quickly as they broke away from each other, the Shuumie continued to pursue Jarvis rather than himself, and quite ferociously so. He heard Jarvis speak, but didn't respond. His mind was occupied the trajectory of the creature's claws, coming towards Jarvis with killing intent. He pushed his feet hard into the pavement, aiming to strike at the exposed side of the creature with the full brunt of his soul - but he wasn't going to make it on time. For a brief moment his heart dropped, before he saw the light of Jarvis' transformation and gave a small smile at his partner's competence.

The gauntlet encased his hand, and the pain of his soulfire wavelength and soul rejection seemed to loom over him; yet they never fully interfered. There was still that thin tightrope bridging the gap between their souls. Hardly a powerful resonation, but just enough to make the partnership function - albeit poorly. He changed his trajectory, kicked off from the ground and into the air, briefly achieving a second leap from a second story windowsill and landed, perched, at the edge of a nearby roof. He made a series of short decisions, suppressing his supernatural hearing to protect himself from the Shuumie's sonic roars, gaining distance and height as not to provoke it further while still being able to observe it, and putting a muzzle on the tiny spark of madness that reared its ugly head when Jarvis was about to be struck.

"That's the Shuumie, alright." echoed through their shared link. Zari crouched down with his now-clawed hand gripping the edge of the roof as he stared daggers into the monstrosity. With his unfiltered and unbroken thoughts flowing freely his sentences made more sense, just like last time. "That's it's maternal phase. It's got a litter to protect. Explains why it ran from home." Slowly, attempting not to provoke a reaction from the Shuumie, he reached for the communicator in his pocket to press speed dial, set up to call Midori. "And undead are the only natural predators of Shuumie in Africa, Jarvis. It despises you." He made no attempts to pick up or speak into the communicator, figuring the call itself might cause enough distress.

Then, hopefully, they could locate them with soul perception.

Interacted: Sir Les Paul QuirkyAngel

 

[Sir Les Paul]

March 9th, 1422 | 0900

All members of Team Arrow will receive a text notification with the follow voice message attached:

14:19 ⏯ "Team Arrow, approximately three blocks North of the designated location, Zari and Jarvis have encountered Shuumie. Meet him and begin the hunt. I will not intervene unless one of you are bleeding out, dying, or encounter more targets. Midori, out."​

​

Midori☆Hoshi​

"Dark Star"​

Species Death Golem
Partner Various / Autonomous Weapon
Rank Two-Star

Location Death City, Southeast Side, Easter Chapel Rooftop
Mission Finding Shuumie
Status Entertained

​

Mentions: The Regal Rper Sybil Kyuubey Prizzy Kriyze QuirkyAngel Angel

All questions seemed to go that way with him, despite how straight forward of a man he was. A man who was more enigmatic than man. Yet in the grand scheme of things, how much ‘man’ really remained of the person who had come to stand beside her. If one got into the finer details, it could be argued that there was very little, whilst others like Emira could stand their ground and vouch for the soul she’d felt and grown to know firsthand. Maybe she didn’t quite know whom he was before but that mattered little now. Just like he knew only what was on paper when it came to the girl she’d once been.

“ I can’t say I blame some of them. Some of us just prefer to get our hands dirty instead of sticking our face in a book. I prefer hands-on experience and learning as I go. “ She admitted with a wry smile, that curvaceous body of hers turning so that she was facing him. The streets below them remained in her peripherals, something she was actually paying attention to despite the look she’d cast Midori’s way.

“ Here we are.. “ She echoed, albeit under her breath as she glanced back towards the group. She was still listening, intently at that, but her thoughts were wandering with each little quip he threw in. A genuine smile tugged at her lips when he mentioned the kind of things he had on his mind. She could only assume what some of those things were and to claim she didn’t share in those sentiments would be a downright lie. So remain silent she did, until he brought up Cyrus’s offer.

As much as she appreciated Midori’s cutthroat honesty, it truly did sour the mood this time. Assassin by heart, assassin in the mind. There was the most minuscule change on her face, those eyes narrowing just the slightest as she turned to let her body hug the railing once more. It became obvious she was holding her breath as it finally erupted as a loud audible sigh. What could she even say there? She’d just feel like a record player on repeat. It had been years since she’d put herself into that position and while she had been willing to do it, now it was less desired. Well no. It was highly desired. It was just something she wanted to throw on the backburner until she could chase this other option.

Truthfully she wasn’t sure what made this offer more viable than any of the others. If anything, she’d only be doing it to humor Cyrus. For Midori to also be bringing it up just made her suspicious. She’d finally set her eyes on the road she wished to travel and both her mentor, basically dad, and now … whatever the heck Midori was to her, she still hadn’t put a label on that and genuinely was still trying to figure that out, were both trying to sway her down a different path. What a conundrum.

So as the voices began to chime up, laughing maniacally at the turmoil racking her brain, she didn’t hear Midori’s phone going off and instead parted her lips to respond. “ Midori, you know me. “ She started off, still staring off to the winding roads that spanned out below their current perch. A sound of disgust and defeat left her mouth as she turned to stare at him, those eyes readable and worth more than a thousand words in this moment. “ If you think I should, then I will. “ There was only one thing to take from that; growth.

Midori was a man. That much was an immutable truth. He was a man of often split trains of thought. His mind often went faster than his attention could even hope to keep up with. Only moments ago, he had answered Emira with a string of replies that all were appropriate to her question. That is how he worked. If it was any proof that he was truly a man, it was not truly in what made those trains of thought leave the station. Instead, it was what made them come to a grinding halt.

Emira, the woman before him, for all of her questions, curiosity, and sometimes perhaps even insecurities, was without a doubt the thing that did exactly that. While she mused over complex thoughts, Midori caught himself enthralled just in watching her. The sleek curves of her body, like backroads he had been down a million times and could still get lost in. The way her clothes fit around her, her skin that peeked out from them, the way her body contoured to whatever it was against. The sound of her voice when she responded to him, in whatever tone it was, regardless of what it was hiding. Even when she released her breath, forming her long sigh. Every little detail, whether she knew it or not, even the ones that others might not find inherently attractive, they all aided in bringing the gears of his head to a grinding halt.

The pink-haired vixen in front of him would likely never know just how smitten Midori was, but it was the most human thing about him. His greatest weakness, just as it was for most in his position.

At the very least, Midori was still able to compose himself. He let her go on for a tad bit longer than perhaps was necessary for the conversation, but it wasn’t just her words that had him so captured. Like a scarecrow coming to life, his face animated with a smile that shifted into a slight chuckle. His eyes peering at her from his corners, his body turning against the rail to face hers. His didn’t conform to the same degree. No, he was lean, not the most muscular Agent in the DWMA, but what he had was conditioned to radical measures. His clothing darker, more muted. His face, at least when speaking with Emira, was the most animated thing about him.

”The Hoshi Clan are renowned for their abilities, but it’s not just our bloodline. The Star and Hoshino share the same genes, but don’t possess the same abilities. That is because of countless generations of knowledge passed down to us. Our fathers and fathers before them showing us what they learned when they got their hands dirty. In that same vein, the we cannot hope to achieve the knowledge others have accumulated for us over so many topics in just one lifetime,” Midori responded, his tone calm, his face just as serene. It was one of his more mature moments. It also avoided the topic that seemed to bring Emira more distress.

”But… I don’t deny that there are some things,” he said, shifting his tone right back to his more wry, flirtatious one. His eyes obviously climbing up and down Emira in this moment in a way that was obviously meant to send a message. ”that are best with a hands on approach, and most certainly not ones I would want to share with my fa–” he would continue, but his speech was cut off. From his phone was a buzzing that came from Zari. It seemed that in this entire exchange, he hadn’t noticed the leap from Shuumie. It only took a moment for him to notice what it was, then more attentively turn himself to the streets to scour for him. He spotted them, and from what he could make out, Jarvis dodged the first pounce. If that he accomplished that, then the most dangerous part of the encounter was already over.

Of all things, Zari decided to call him. It took Midori a moment to process this. He had not considered one of them calling him as an option. He let out a chuckle at this thought, though an entirely different one than the one he offered Emira a moment ago. He couldn’t piece together why, but the thought of one of his students calling him instead of contacting their teammates seemed humorous. It had some merit. Midori was obviously their leader, if this were the field it would make sense to contact the superior, but he simply couldn’t shake finding it funny he was called. He humored the idea, at least, that Zari called him thinking he was the only one competent enough to put together what the call would mean. Hopefully he didn’t think so lowly of the others, but they were admittedly all here for a reason.

With raised eyebrows, he looked back to Emira with a more mischievous smirk on his face. The humor he found in this moment was plain and obvious, whether it was merited or not. He pulled up the group chat he had for his team and pressed his thumb to his phone for a voice recording. ”Team Arrow, approximately three blocks North of the designated location, Zari and Jarvis have encountered Shuumie. Meet him and begin the hunt. I will not intervene unless one of you are bleeding out, dying, or encounter more targets. Midori, out.”

That was that. What he opted to do about their whole little situation. That quick update was what would likely happen in the field anyway. Distribution of information. A decent simulation of events, and minimally impactful on his part. At the very least, the scene in front of them was about to get interesting.

That still left the last half of his conversation with Emira, and that wasn’t something he wanted to leave untouched.

”We dance around things a lot, Emira. I’m sure you tell yourself that you have no idea what I am to you still, and I’m fine with that. What I’m not fine with is leaving this air of mystery about my side of things,” he told her, again shifting tones but not quite his overly serious, cutting one. He was serious here, but he was also sincere. Softer, even. ”It is a selfish desire on my part. I can’t leave my team and I don’t want you to become a void in my life again. You take that offer, you stick around. Whether it's training, dating, or whatever else, I can make time for you here. I will make time for you here, that much I promise,” he explained with every ounce of honesty he had in his soul. Had her perception been present, the bleeding heart pouring out of him would have been as obvious as the daylight in the Mojave.

”I think you should. I don’t think getting a partner is going to be an easy transition for you, and I’m a source of reliable familiarity. You get into an argument? You have me to vent to. Your wavelength gets wonky? You have me on speed dial for some silence. You want to work on your Seal? I’ll make time to train you, and your new partner. And, if you want to work on clearing up what I am to you, I’ll make time for whatever date or discussion you want,” he explained to her, pinpointing her exact words to match with his own. It was clear he didn’t want to leave unanswered questions or room for interpretation. ”The way I see it, his offer has more options and flexibility. Not to mention, your old man also told me he wanted me to drop the Autonomous act and get a partner,” he added, then shifting to a clearly mocking tone, ”in his words, ’to be a good influence.’”

 

[Sir Les Paul]

DEATH CITY

Famous for its role in the Death Festival held every year on Halloween, the Colosseum is a historical landmark of Death City. Used rarely outside of these events, the area is typically used for tourism, but can be reserved for use upon request. It is one of the few places within Death City that has remained markedly unchanged by MIBVI. Renovations have only been made in the past to accommodate larger crowds, preserving the unique architecture of the area hand-chosen by Lord Death himself. While Magitech systems have been integrated into the area, they are minimally invasive and are entirely unseen.

COLOSSEUM

Team Stitches

->

NADIA

Meister

☆

DANI

Weapon

☆

SARA

Meister

☆

SUZU

Weapon

☆

GAUSS

Meister

☆

NOAH

Weapon

☆

PRUDENCE

Weapon

☆

Fate Mages

->

MARIA

Sorcerer

☆

RAPHAEL

Sorcerer

☆

CHANTERELLE

Witch

☆

ARK

Sorcerer

☆

KOIYA

Witch

☆

Prologue to the Tournament

March 11th, 2067​

A tournament of any kind outside of the Death Festival was a rare occurrence, no matter how small. Even rarer, one between such distinctively different groups. Fate Agents pit against each other by their mentors of entirely different origins and sporting entirely different skillsets. On one side, a fresh set of Meisters and Weapons; the other, various Mages of assorted fields of Magic. All now with the privilege of dueling in the famous Death City Colosseum. Setting this up was no small feat. Strings pulled by influential Agents, alongside the curiosity of Lord Kidd himself seeing his pet project put into action. Regardless of the size and frivolity of this exercise, it was enough to draw a crowd.

Agents on their leave, facilitators of the Project itself, and even a few lower level DWMA employees that were privy to the matches would be there to spectate. The rows could hold tens of thousands, and while today there would only be a fraction of that, the audience for these matches was far from what one might consider small. More importantly, invitations were given and accepted to individuals within the crowd closer to the combatants than the people simply responsible for the program. A handful of veterans from the Russia campaign, both success stories and failures from Paean, the siblings to a former Meister, Muriel--also agents within the DWMA, a small pack of werewolves of the Mojave Biome, one Atticus Thales, a Witch by the name of Mirai, Magnolia of House Dubois, a certain storeowner of the Valerias line, another notable Witch in Ella Craullith, and another with even greater connections in Basila. Aside from them were familiar faces of family and former partners, some less important than others. Most impressive of all, arguably, was the fact Cyrus was there beside Lord Kidd, who would be personally overseeing these skirmishes.

It was still early. The crowd was forming. The morning was hot, but far from miserable. Even then, with another twenty degrees in this dry heat, most of those in attendance would be difficult to dissuade from seeing the upcoming rounds, short though they may be. Unlike the larger rounds of the Death Festival, this tournament was a simple set of three matches, with the best of three taking victory. If anything, the entire event might be over before the worst part of the laughing sun poured its intense rays down onto them. The reality was that few were really here for the combat, although undoubtedly they would cheer on those close to them.

This represented more. This represented the direction of FATE, the futures of these students, and the growing relations between the DWMA and Guild. Even a decade ago, the idea of pitting nothing but mages against a set of duos would have sparked commotion among their representatives. Even now, had these been elite three stars, that might even ring true. Fate Agents, on the other hand, were not typical Agents. Probationary, at best. Those that needed looked after, those whose messes needed cleaned up. What happened here in the arena, win or lose, wouldn't have the ripple effect that others might, and seeing just what impact it could have held a deep intrinsic value for those concerned. There were representatives in the crowd from both the Guild of Magic and the Council that oversaw the DWMA, all waiting with attentive eyes to see just how this played out.

On his side, the left half of the Arena, was Rand with his five. He had a more difficult task than Zelda and Emmett. As his team was technically outnumbered, he was permitted to structure the fights as to who fought who. This was a decision he put into the hands of his agents. He explained to them that there would be three consecutive fights, and each would be one-on-one. They could choose who would fight and when. For two matches, they would be allowed a tag partner, but only allowed to tag in once. In those rounds, once the tag partner was defeated, the Meister and Weapon would win. Otherwise, they had to win a single one on one. Aside from that, he went over basics for their adversaries: Gauss with two weapons, a Shield and Staff; Nadia with Magic Resistance and a Sword, and a Werewolf with a Bell whose wavelength was potent enough that sonic dampeners had to be installed in the arena. It was their decision who fought who.

Meanwhile, Zelda and Emmett had this time to prepare. No new Magitech items was a stipulation. While this was ongoing, there were several requests from members of the stands to talk with the agents they knew, and this was permitted. With the time afforded to them before the first round, which had still yet to be decided by Rand's team, this would allow any of the seven a chance to talk to those they hadn't seen in some time, or introduce their new partners to those that had more profound impacts on their life. Each Agent was allowed to chose who they spoke to and who they brought with them in the reception area of their right side of the arena, but what came of those conversations was up to them, and Zelda oversaw the interactions hopefully to avoid stirring up feelings that would distract them from the match.

There was no award for the winner here. That much was made clear. This match was purely for exhibition, and it had put on pause all of the previous plans made that week. It was explained to them that they were yet again there to test of this style of interaction could be maintained in the future, to see if they could continue to improve relations. This was a chance for Fate Agents, those seeking redemption, to give back to the DWMA by helping to build yet another bridge for improved relations amongst the races. This was an opportunity afforded to few. Victory was not achieved by defeating the opponents, but proving to all those in the audience that the old grudges of the past had been buried. If such could be done, the Fate Project may even be allowed more resources, thus providing those in the tournament and those also in the Project more potential in their training and personal growth.

Should things go well, this might be the first of many exhibition matches like this. Chances for iron to sharpen iron and test skills in a contained system. Should things go wrong, relationships could between factions could be set back years, if not decades. This was the first chance for these Fate Agents to make a name for themselves beyond the tarnished ones they already wore. And, now, it was time for the Rounds to be selected, long overdue conversations to be had.

Merciless Medic EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun Mqueserasera Prizzy Kriyze Mineczka Kyuubey The Regal Rper Meredith

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Rand Mabason​

"Soundwave Sorcerer"​

Species Witch
Partner N/A
Rank Two Star

Location Death City, The Colosseum
Mission The Exhibition Tournament
Status Stressed, anticipation

​

Mentions: RedArmyShogun Merciless Medic Kyuubey Mineczka The Regal Rper Meredith

March 11th, 2067 | 1015​

I'll go over this again, since I'm throwing a lot of information out. And this time, I'll just give the information, then the choices," Rand said, his tone a little more serious and far more focused than their previous encounters. The interior of the room they were in was a solid, almost sand-colored stone, yet polished to a very impressive degree. It was reminiscent of what one might have imagined an ancient Roman palace to be, although with the off-colored palette instead of the stark white marble. In front of him was another portable holo-projector that displayed images he swiped through, creating a vast juxtaposition between the technology and the precise cut stone around. The tables were made of an incredibly thick, hardy wood, darkened by stain, but without a sealant like those in the library. The chairs were the same. The lightning was almost all natural, primarily coming in through slits in the domed structure around them over the archways, although there was in more dim places some lit torches. Creatively made with Magitech as opposed to actual burning fire, making for more uniform light and less general heat. The general atmosphere of this area was definitely historic, almost to a satirical degree. This was what the Colosseum was famous for, though, so its effort to preserve everything down to the exact bevels the stones were cut at and the slight flaws in masonry that existed only added to the ambiance.

"There are three rounds and three unique Meisters. Each could present problems, but from what I've gathered, they're not terribly experience with their weapon partners yet. How much you will struggle will heavily depend on what they've learned in this brief time--they've only been paired a few days longer than you five have been under me. The first of the Meisters is this girl, Nadia," Rand continued on, swiping through a picture of Nadia and then another of her and Dani taken within the classroom. "Her weapon partner is a sword. She has a fair amount of combat experience, but most notably, she possesses Ice Blood. She will have a natural resistance to any Magic you use on her. Spells won't hit as hard, you'll feel your Mana drained faster trying to channel anything onto her, any long-lasting effects you attempt to use will have a shorter duration if not entirely fizzle out. Ice Blood isn't an immunity and its effectiveness varies from user to user. Direct spell casting will be less effective against her, and she has a natural increase to strength and durability, but otherwise she's just as prone to physical damage as anyone else. Secondary effects like concussion or electricity may be more useful here. She may also possess some affinity for Ice in the close range. Her Weapon has a wavelength that makes her both aggressive and resistant to sound-based abilities. I imagine Nadia will want to get up close and personal as soon as possible, and will likely fight without relent. These are things to consider," Rand explained. This was a different side of him. Strategic. Analytical. Yet, still making assumptions. It was fact and opinion intertwined. He wasn't their mentor, so he didn't have full access to their information.

He then swiped over to Sara. "The next is Sara. She is a werewolf. MIBVI has put her into a half-transformed state, it seems. Likely a little stronger, but probably the most agile and dexterous of the Meisters. She will have some increased physical traits, like healing, but more so, her Clan is about tracking. Smell, sight, touch, taste, even. Werewolves are also typically aggressive fighters, but her parenter," Rand went on, swiping to a picture of her and Suzu, "is arguably the most unique weapon of the lot. She is a bell with what seems to be an absurdly potent sound-based Wavelength. She can suppress other Wavelengths and cause great discomfort. This may even cause interruptions in your spell casting and mana flow, but her Wavelength itself is not inherently directed at Magic. It will only affect you as much as you let it, either physically with the soundwave or in general with your focus. The combination of werewolf and weapon makes this pair the biggest wildcard. The only way they can do outward damage is blunt force, relying on Sara's speed, but the utility from Suzu gives them options and cannot be ignored. In theory, as long as you can dodge or prevent their attacks, you should be fine, but it is unwise to under estimate an opponent, especially one with feral tendencies," he explained to his five.

He then swiped over to Gauss, although unlike the others, this was a picture of three individuals. "Stage name Gauss, proper name Thaddeus. He is a Utility Meister with two weapons and what appears to be a mean streak. Apparently, a black belt in karate of at least one degree, highly manipulative, and in possession of a unique Wavelength. He can control the magnetic fields around him and is a Utility Meister, so he can wield two weapons. His two are Noah, a staff, and Prudence, a shield. Noah possesses the ability to generate electricity, and a Healing Wavelength. Prudence has a particularly tough soul with a resistance to Madness, and can absorb kinetic energy. A staff and and shield don't mesh together well, but there are a lot of variables with this group. Sara and Suzu may be the wildcard, but this trio covers so much ground, you virtually have to cover your bases everywhere. The only benefit is that they have known each other less than a week, and it's highly likely they have yet to even remotely master or learn how to utilize so many abilities. With potential like this comes the drawback of the investment of time. Unlike the others, I don't necessarily know of a strategy to consider going in. You will have to assess their weaknesses and exploit what it seems they have not trained for, and with the limited amount of time present, there should be plenty to exploit," Rand told them. He didn't miss a beat with them despite his slight lack of direction in his coverage of them.

Leaving the projector the last trio, he then scanned the group to make sure they were all paying attention, and continued on. "This match is three rounds. Best of three, and all three matches will occur even if there are two victories. As there are three sets of them with seven total combatants, but only five of us, the compromise we came to was in our favor. We are allowed to choose who fights who and in what order, but once selected, cannot be undone. Furthermore, two matches will be as a tag team. You will fight one at a time, but be able to tag out at any time or if deemed unfit to fight. The pair in that scenario then must defeat the next partner, if there is one, to proceed. If they defeat one partner, but not the other, they are awarded half a point and we are awarded a full point. If the first of us to go against a pair wins without their partner tagging it, it's a full point for us, but we cannot reassign them as a tag partner. What this means for us is that we will have two rounds that are two of you against one pair, then one that is truly one-on-one," Rand explained, going over the more finite details of what was to occur, and the choices that were to be made.

"I can choose this for you, if you want, but I would prefer you five decide the order and who to fight. I want to see what you all think you can do. I have a fair amount of faith that you can pull out a victory here with the correct selections. That said, I would highly suggest you five determine which pair you think should fight the one-on-one, then who you would prefer to face. If one of you is bold enough to fight the one-on-one, that will eliminate a third of the decision-making right there. If you disagree on something, you can either debate it out or vote on it, I don't care, but I won't have everyone waiting on pointless squabbling. This isn't about proving how strong you are to anyone; it's about making the best decisions for your group when you're outnumbered. Remember that. The needs of the whole outweigh the needs of one," he told them all before returning back to his holo projector, then swiping over to a blank board that could be drawn on by touching the empty space--they were quite common in classrooms, so anyone that had spent time at the DWMA would likely be aware of how they worked.

"Once you have decided on what you want to do, or just opted to make me decide, I'll turn in our brackets and the arena will be prepared. We may also get some time for you to see some of your visitors, before or between matches. A lot of people have came here just for you. Iris, however, could not make it. She's actually in class without a fight, go figure," Rand said, before finally trailing off in a touch of sarcasm about their former teammate.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

March 9th, 2067 | 1404

The flash of red light was not new to Shuumie as she had seen weapon transformations in the past. Despite that, it was still startling. Enough to make the bestial feline jerk itself away while it occurred. Her eyes followed the light onto the hand of the otherwise unremarkable target above her. Shuumie was an intelligent animal. Capable of object permanence. Jarvis, the humanoid, disappeared, but his scent lingered. His soul was still around. It was impossible to rid the air of the odor of the undead to such a sensitive creature. The only outcome that the beast could come up with was that now Zari was her new target.

A new, and different target. While she could reach him if she wanted, subjecting herself to that climb was not within her first instinct. Her pounce had failed. Her target out of reach. The instincts she had now were different. Intimidation. To prevent prey from running. What happened in the wild. She reared back, her body outstretch, the stripes on her form glowing brighter, before she let out a tiger's roar unlike anything within the Indian wilderness. The thunderous roar described in the books didn't quite capture what it really was. It was not just a sonic boom with some outward spherical explosion. It was targeted force in front of her with an actual impact, enough to shake the foundation of the building Zari clung to. Enough to loosen the wooden supports, make it rumble. knock loose stones to the ground. A blast that was as fast as sound, but felt like a punch to the face. A blast loud enough to overload the senses of most common people an animals. It's goal was to stun, not necessarily inflict damage, but it was not without some element of danger.

Had his call done nothing, that roar most certainly would have.

Shuumie, however, was a prude predator. Watching closely, seeing what impact her roar would have on her prey. Were they stunned? Confused? Hurt? Would they fall? Was there an opening? Her nature was not outright aggressive, not like the scorpions they could have been fighting. She was a smart creature, and she was waiting for her opening to truly be lethal.

​

Tags: QuirkyAngel Prizzy Kriyze

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Maria Mayer - Death City the Colosseum

​

The following days went smoothly, Maria even had become friends with Dani and learned to leave an Invoice for Nadia, to get a more reasonable fee for her furniture, even if she still did so at a discount, the trip with Rand had given her much to think on. She had even resolved to make use of her trump card. She couldn't say this tournament interested her all that much. That was until a cat with a letter had made its way down to her basement, meowing incessantly till she paid it attention, a letter carried on its back in a little satchel. Upon retrieving the letter and giving the cat a single stroke, it bolted and made its way back upstairs before vanishing, no doubt a Familiar.

The questions now were, who's and why?

Opening the letter, it quickly solved itself and left Maria a bit nervous. "Dearest Maria, my star pupil, I have journeyed to Death City to watch you and your fellow Magus in the tournament, to see how far you have come of note. I would like to speak with you when all is said and done if the time allows. I do hope you still have the drive to move on and to not be limited just to the fate program. Do be well till then.

Witch of the Black Workshop, Mirai."

Putting the letter away Maria would spend the rest of her time working on her dolls and weapons, avoiding all else as much as possible to focus on this task, only coming out to attend her class and occasional speaking to some others she knew till the big day finally arrived. Maria however was unable to relax, a cloaked figure had joined her, standing with rigid posture, looking eerily like the girl herself, but with long flowing hair that peaked out of a cloak just a bit here and there, marks of battle clear upon its surface. Two suitcases were also laid on the great wood table. However, Maria herself had spent the whole-time pacing, mumbling to herself as she did so. And only now did she just stop to observe the briefing that Rand had to give.


Listening to him in full she waits till the end to speak, doing so before her classmates as she seemed to take on a calmer air to herself, now that she had answers.

"I cannot speak for who should fight whom, but I can make my own request and point out how I would be best used, how I would wish to be used. My creations are not as fragile as one would think, given they are made from a dense hardwood that flows with magic, given the nature of my spells and puppetry I could indeed fight Dani and Nadia, though she may disrupt magic I can override and provide mana to keep my constructs powered with a minor loss in efficiency.

However, both are my friends, though it is the spirit that this should be a friendly competition, an exhibition, I do not think I could will myself to fight them very seriously. Nor do I think they would go after me so hard. It would be a good exhibition fight but I cannot promise to win. In fact regardless of who our choice is the one on one fight should be seen as a likely loss regardless of whom.

If I fought the Werewolf and Bell I should theoretically be able to tie them down and keep them busy with my numbers, and the Bell's manner of attack would be limited in effectiveness against me given I control via puppetry. She could rattle me as I too have the ability to hear, but I do not possess madness nor a wavelength that stands out or offers something unique. I however do not think I could ultimately win least I play most skillfully.

If I fight the team of three, my creations will not fall so easily to a shield bash and lightning is of little concern to them. However this team and the fact it would be a three on one would ultimately push me back past a point. There is also the indirect effect of the Magnetism. So once more I do not think I could ultimately win."

Shrugging her shoulders at that, Maria points to the display and continues to speak. "I however must fight. I will tag myself in if I must, but I can be the sacrifice for the one battle or I can team with another with the goal of tiring out the opponent till my beloved dolls are too damaged or my mana is low then tagging in for another. I have no illussions on my ability to come out on top but I still must take my place in the sun. My.." Pausing for a bit she twitches her jaw a little bit before continuing;

"...instructor and caretaker for the last decade and some years is here to watch and wishes to see what I have learned. I wish to show as much. She is very much like a mother to me.. I am not one to ask things of others, but in our plan I must forcefully request I be in the Vanguard. I will not risk our team or victory past tiring the enemy out."

It was a selfish request, but the woman seemed rather insistent and serious, her awkward demeanor partially broken. "The spirit of this is a friendly fight, but considering the ranks of all involved if the ground is not cratered and blood upon the ground in some manner then I'll say scarecrows dance. Though I do know to not hurt anyone too bad and to expect the same of them. With that all said do any of you have a preference in who you fight or if you wish to partner with another?"

Interactions: Merciless Medic Kyuubey Mineczka The Regal Rper Sir Les Paul Meredith

 

[Prizzy Kriyze]

Emmett James

Sir Les Paul Merciless Medic Mineczka Mqueserasera EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun​

Emmett threw up a hand to communicate that he wasn't about to grace Nadia's banter with a response, but she earned herself a sly grin. For such a dramatic backstory, Emmett was pleasantly surprised she was happy to joke around. Her and Dani were a good match, if they hadn't matched each others resolve then one would've been torn to shreds. If it weren't for their inherent danger to society, Emmett would be quite happy to have them under no supervision. Stubbornness wasn't necessarily a flaw - in fact, Emmett could contribute a lot of his success to it - but their story was one of a coming of age. They were robbed of their entire lives, scarred in one of the darkest ages of man. They would've had to have been mad in the first place not to be violently affected by it.

His eyes wandered the room. Conversation was flowing. Good, it was far harder to resolve shut downs than emotional disturbance as far as he was concerned. Easier to fix something broken than to create something out of nothing. He glanced at Prudence, and even she was present-minded enough to engage in conversation. He wondered, briefly, how she perceived the words she exchanged. Slipping at the edge of total ego suicide was a peculiar place to exist, and he'd only ever achieved it with substance abuse. Calm, but... meaningless.

His attention shifted instead towards the more primary concern. Suzu had barely made a noise throughout the entire ordeal, shying away from attention and socializing like it burned her. He did not know at which end to begin untying that knot, but it seemed Sara was already hard at work doing just that. He smiled, genuinely. Support was oftentimes hard to find in a cold, bureaucratic environment like the DWMA. A little splash of color and emotion would do this place nicely.

As conversation began to settle, Prudence was first to approach the desk. Emmett offered a welcoming smile in response to her concise statement. In the short time it took him to switch from his analysis gear to his social one, she'd continued about Nietzsche - definitely because of that quote he googled on his way to the classroom. Oh no, he didn't want to dismiss her vague attempt to socialize with him! Nor did he actually have any real wisdom to spill regarding philosophy. He was more of a behaviour-pattern and hands-on kind of guy. His emotional turmoil was invisible on the outside as he tried to recover from this curve ball.

"If you enjoy philosophy, perhaps-" His speech was cut short by an unlikely saving grace. As everyone was beginning to pack up and head out, Noah was coming up to Prudence with no one but Thaddeus in tow - and HE. WAS. ACTIVATED. Emmett looked on in silent amazement as he continued spouting Nietzsche, astounded by how masterfully he wove a patronizing implication into nearly every sentence. Clearly he knew how to speak, but Emmett wondered momentarily if he possessed the self-distance to truly appreciate how well he managed to present himself as a megalomaniac. He snorted and shook his head as Thaddeus began making his way past, aiming for the door out. "Ah, but you'll find them unfounded, Mr. Thales. See you tomorrow!"

Then, it was but a moment before the room rang empty, save for himself, Zelda, Prudence and Noah. He let the silence hang in the air for a moment longer as he took another sip of coffee, then exhaled heavily to gather his thoughts. The cup hit the desk as he stood up from it, towering over the two students. His face was dark, but not filled with animosity. Suddenly, he bowed forward, deep enough to obscure his face to the two. "I'd like to apologize on behalf of the DWMA." He let the word linger, before standing back up and leaning back towards the desk again. He looked dejected almost, but definitely more serious than they'd seen him before. "It should not be the responsibility of students to tread lightly, but Lord Death decided to go ahead with Project F.A.T.E and here we are. I don't blame you for getting upset with one another, nor do I blame you for what you've said - but I have to ask you not to do that again." He seemed solemn to have to say it at all, before he turned towards Prudence. "Madness is a disease. It does not mature away." As he continued, he turned to Noah as well. "And returning fire aimlessly will hurt the innocent. We aren't here to learn to deny part of the human experience, quite the opposite - but you can not agitate the madness. It is losing yourself wholly, it is unwilling perversion of your morality, and it is some of the worst pain a person can feel. You'd be afraid of it too, and since Dani is unable to try to ask you to lay off it without agitating the problem in the first place, this needed to be said."

He then made another pause. He wasn't sure how what he'd said would register with the two of them, and he didn't try to be very pedagogical. This was something he wanted to tell them as an equal, not as a mentor. Both him and Zelda had been through so many missions on madness suppression together, and the sentiment came from his heart. Madness was hell.

"That's all." A small, mildly apologetic smile returned to his lips. "Good luck practicing, and I'll see you tomorrow."

Emmett tugged uncomfortably at the collar of his dress shirt as he raised his coffee cup to his mouth. He looked very out of the ordinary for himself; not only was there an annoyed crease between his eyebrows, but the suit he came dressed in was ironed and clean. His hair was brushed and sculpted, and there wasn't a hint of his usual calm. Apparently, an exhibition tournament was appropriate for a group of Meisters and Weapons who barely knew how to resonate with one another. APPARENTLY that took precedence over their TRAINING MISSION that he spent A LOT OF FAVORS trying to get together. Against spellcasters, no less? He choked on his coffee and launched into a coughing fit, enough to earn a concerned glance from Zelda.

Worst of all, he was too sober for this bullshit.

He broke from coughing with a very sudden "ALRIGHT, LISTEN UP!" to the room full of his FATE agents. The only furniture in this piece of DWMA history was - and he hesitated to use the word - rustic at best, which only further served to annoy him. It's the twenty first century. Pad your God damn chairs. Instead he found himself with one leg folded over the other on a wooden stool that perpetually threatened to impale his behind with wood splinters, tapping away at his communicator until it finally projected a 3D render of the arena grounds into the air. He placed it at the center of the only circular wooden table he'd found, and motioned for the class to gather around. "In theme with this tournament I should just toss y'all into the arena, completely unprepared, and call it showing you the real witch-fighting experience, but since this is an EXHIBITION tournament in the sign of FRIENDSHIP, I will not."

The 3D render turned into a slowly rotating collection of photos depicting the five spellcasters in Rand's team. "Prepare for uneven match ups and excruciating combat. Due to our numerical advantage, the opposing side has received the honor of picking the fights, and if they're in their right minds they'll use that to stack the tournament in their favor. Honestly, as Meisters and Weapons, this is the most true to life DWMA experience." He almost laughed at the end of his sentence. Almost. "But I sympathize with you, and so we're going to go over the other FATE agents so you don't have to figure them out as you go."

The holographic projection expanded the photo of the blonde, and the name Maria Mayer manifested and began rotating along with the photo. "First up is The Marionette, sorcerer. Most of her expertise is in the creation and manipulation of puppets that she controls by way of feeding Mana and Wavelength into them using thin Demon Tool strands - but like any sorcerer with a Grimoire, she's hardly defenseless without them. She can summon blades from within it and surround herself with plates of Mana to defend from attacks, but you won't win by beating up her dolls alone. You might be able to exploit her demon tool strands since it uses her wavelength as well, maybe scramble the commands she gives to her dolls if you inject some of your own into it. Since two out of the three fights are going to have a second spell caster to tag in if the first gets too worn out, I'd place her as highly likely to be introduced as a bruiser to wear you down before tagging in another fighter to take you out."

Emmett was slowly starting to pace himself and calm down. Reiterating facts often had that effect on him. He looked over to Zelda as the 3D render changed to portray Raphael Valerias instead. He was, and had been, noticeably annoyed by this very sudden decision passed down to him, and needed to regularly ground himself so he didn't lose his shit. His vision of stability and positive reinforcement didn't seem to align with Lord Death's wishes for the F.A.T.E program. It almost seemed like a cruel joke at times, but he still half-heartedly believed that there was some greater narrative that he with his little monkey brain could not perceive.

"Next is Whiplash, also sorcerer. He too uses a Grimoire, but primarily focuses on physical attacks with chains." He bends 'em, breaks 'em, puts 'em back together and spins them. This kid really knows his chains. Emmett thought to himself, but quickly prevented himself from saying. Quickly realizing that he could not figure out a single way to speak about Raphael's powers without making himself laugh, he cleared his throat and turned to Zelda. "Zelda, I believe you're more familiar with his file?"
​

 

[The Regal Rper]

Ark | DWMA | Colosseum

"Are you alright Sir?"

Ifechi blinked. He'd been staring absentmindedly at the letter the insignia he'd ripped off the letter that currently sat in one of his gigantic, bear sized hands; silent where he'd normally be talkative.

Leo, the head of his uncle's estate, his father's younger brother, was driving the car they currently sat in. A silver striped pale lime green Lamborghini that was one of the older and more cherished cars his uncle owned. While his uncle personally wouldn't be attending- Leo had informed he would. Hence the reason he currently wasn't using his bike to meet the rest of the team. With Leo's insistence to drop him off- Ark couldn't help but think it had been good he had. He'd been distracted the whole ride- and the worst thing that could happen to someone while driving on the road, was being distracted.

Looking up at the reflection of the butler, Ifechi noticed Leo's greying brow raised in silent question.

Ark sighed.

"It's--"

"--the letter, isn't it?

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "At least I'll have some comfort knowing Grangran and you will be there."

The mage could imagine the smile even behind closed eyes as the butler responded: "Wouldn't miss it for the world, Master Ifechi. I wish you the best of luck."

The colosseum came to a view ahead. And Ifechi couldn't help but look back down at the letter.

I'll be seeing your match today. Do put on a show, child.

~Warmly,
Noir, Matron of Astraeus

Out of the two, this was the one that filled Ifechi with a sense of dread. He hadn't talked to Noir since that fateful day weeks ago when he'd first brought up the name of his supposed sister. It was obvious she'd been avoiding him. It was odd to say the least to know she would be among the spectators today watching but at the same time, it didn't surprise him in the slightest. Out of any important House that showered him with compliments on his return to America, if the leader of his House didn't show it would look terrible for not just him but them as well.

Take it easy. He told himself. No reason to be this wound up. Just relax, the duels are just that. Duels. Remember that in the heat of the moment. Got it?

He nodded to himself. A little pep talk. Something to keep his head on straight. Get that antsy energy settled down.

"Yeah" he muttered to himself, barely an audible whisper. "Just a duel."

He had to remember that.

After all, wasn't long ago that he fought the duo troublemakers and kept a cool head. If he could do that with those two- then being nervous about this was childish even if Noir was showing up. It wasn't often Noir made herself present for these kinds of things. She embodied the aristocratic concept of: time was best spent towards things worthy of one's attention, and even if their House was only among the better known common houses in the hierarchy, Noir Astraeus was a name most would generally be familiar with from her actions on the Second Witch Hunt. Her choosing to make a surprise visit here and inform him of it said something. Of what, he couldn't be sure but if Grangran acting as a representative of the house since she'd been given an Honorary Status wasn't enough- then it certainly meant something more considering there were other faces showing up from all parts of the hierarchal ladder.

The fact Grangran and Leo would be there would be the ice cubes to his lukewarm beverage. He just had to keep it calm, keep in mind he wasn't fighting a serious fight- just like his therapist had reminded him to use as a little mantra any time he got into a matches outside of missions. The icebreakers after his fallout, had helped a lot. He just had to keep it up. Progress, slow but steady. This would be no different.

With a calmer sigh, Ifechi relaxed back into the cushions of the backseat. Just a few minutes and they'd be there.

---

Right down to business, and that's honestly just the way Ark preferred.

From the rounds that both Rand and he had gone through together, it did good knowing that all their information gathering had been fruitful. The confirmation Rand provided, going into each Meister and their respective Weapon partners only did Ark good by diminishing more and more of the nervous energy he had been feeling from the letter he had received just this morning. And now with all the facts out, any major concerns he had been feeling about having his aunt Noir present among the crowd and watching alongside his Grangran and favored caretaker- were replaced with concerns on the subject matter at hand; their opponents.

When given a problem or a challenge, Ark liked to analyze what he had available, what was known and unknown- in the same way both Raphael and he had done their rounds for a majority of the time digging information available on each and every member of Team Stiches after the notification about the tournament had been set. To prepare for this very event he'd done a mock run-through of the things he knew about Giants. He was already well familiar with the details of the Race, the history, the historically documented abilities- before he'd moved to Africa in his mid teens, he'd spent much of his time his time researching other Races when his studies on The Natures of Racial Magic began. Like Mistress Noir had always said 'Understanding the capabilities of one's opponent was an important part of knowing how to fight; if you ever want to be good mage, you'll do your research and be well prepared.'

So before Rand had really said it- he already had a understanding that magic against the half-blood was going to be difficult, at least direct magic would be a problem. Not something he personally minded.

The possibility that he could experiment, test out his own magic against two races he'd never fought before... or even being able to witness them in action was more than a treat already. Not to mention he would get to observe how his own peers used their own magic in general.

Ifechi didn't even realize he was grinning joyfully at the prospect of it all.

"I cannot speak for who should fight whom, but I can make my own request and point out how I would be best used, how I would wish to be used..."

He hummed in thought. "I see. Well if you want to go first that's fine, Maria, but before that I have something I wanted to bring up. It's merely a suggestion." He dropped the duffel bag he'd been holding in one hand, and crouched down to open it- and then removed materials from it. The first was a case that he opened, revealing his gloves that he then placed on the table.

"I came up with a list of suggestions" Ark explained as he pulled out his Grimoire from his open shirt and set it on the table.

But before he began, he took off his shirt- and donned his gloves, stuck a hand into his duffel bag- pulled out leather gauntlets that he clicked over his arms, and then tossed the container for his gloves, as well as his shirt into the duffel bag.

Now ready- though shirtless, Ark began his spiel.

A gloved finger tapped his upper lip, Ark's eyes stared at the hard wood of the table, "This fight is more than just a fun duel for both our teams, we all know that on some level. Death himself is here, people from the Guild and DWMA are coming. Crowd out there probably won't be as large as normal, but we'll have an audience. One thing I've learned in all my time at the Witch Realm, is the Art of Showmanship; learning to put on a good show."

He expanded/ "Now, Rand and Edie here" he gestured at their mentors, "could pick out for us, but I'd rather we not resort to having them do that personally. If you don't like my suggestions we can work something else out and if we really can't decide then I'd be willing to accept them helping us out after. So here's my thoughts: I don't really care that much about winning- frankly, all we really need to do is make sure things don't go under in any of the fights to where it stops being a tournament duel and starts being a fight. But" and he rose a finger here.

"But... let's be honest here, Guild and DWMA members will be watching. We've--" he glanced at the Toadstool, "most of us, have had the chance to work with DWMA Agents so we all have a general idea of how good they can be. We want to show off what reject Mages can do against reject Meisters and Weapons especially when
its unlikely either side is going to be pulling punches unless they have a bigger ego than Raph-- no offense buddy." He flashed him a grin, before returning to his spiel: "Chant, Maria, you two are the best options against Gauss. None of us here would be able to fight him effectively" and then he chuckled, "well, okay, I would be able to- but" he tapped the metal collar on his neck, "our collars are the main reason I'm ruling all of us out from fighting Gauss. Raph said it himself yesterday even. So between the two of you, decide who faces him. Or go together in a tag team. That's my suggestion to you two. I don't care who goes as long as it's not me, Koiya, or Raph, and I'll challenge anyone of you here who thinks I'm wrong on it."

He moved on.

"Raph, Koiya- you both have active Madness, I have no idea how Suzu will affect you and frankly speaking, I have no idea how your Madness will affect Sara. I did some more digging before I came here- and she's a former MBIVI case also. I have no idea if that could affect her also but I'd frankly suggest neither of you fight her, but maybe Koiya has a different case given her circumstances."

"Maria doesn't want to fight Nadia- and Raph already has her in his sight's so that's already set up. I'm frankly fine fighting anyone except Gauss, I won't budge on that one unless I have to. Chant, you seem like you'd be most effective against Gauss or Sara- Koiya, I assume given your House, from my experiences, you could take Nadia or Sara in a physical match, provided Sara didn't transform. Though from what I heard, she can't, so that could work to your advantage if you end up going but I already explained why I thought Sara might not be the best match for you. With that all said, I'm done. Anyone else got something to say, say it- let's pick who goes, and get this thing started."

Mentions: N/A

Interactions: Prizzy Kriyze Merciless Medic Kyuubey Sir Les Paul Mineczka RedArmyShogun Meredith

 

[Merciless Medic]

​

Zelda Zemo
The Colosseum | March 11th, 2067 | 1015

Damn. It was harsh, wasn’t it? She wanted to have a word with Noah after his outburst towards Emmett a couple days ago, but it would have to wait. Not now, but Noah needed a stern talking to that she wanted to handle herself. People like that needed someone firm and structured. She felt sorry for Prudence, but a part of her even wondered if she even cared. She was also just as upset with Gauss’ rambling about Nietzsche. Of course, he wanted to make himself the most important person wherever he went. Of course.

But that was two days ago. This was now.

So many people have arrived for this very moment and it made her a little nervous. Yet, filled with determination. This was only four days since the fateful debut on Lot C, and she was proud to see that the team had trained with their partners the past couple of days since they last spoke. Of course, that also meant their little lab experiment, while a bit infuriating with what they had achieved to get that scheduled, but this would help. Throwing them from the frying pan onto the blazing fires of expectant gazes and against a magic-user no less, this was going to test their mettle, their determination, and their perseverance, combat aside.

Her musings were interrupted when Emmett choked and had a coughing fit, enough to make her glance at him with a concerned furrow of her brow. Which was an interesting segue into what they’ll be talking about as he shouted and explained the tournament. She had to contain herself from snorting when he explained it was an exhibition tournament for friendship, the way he emphasized it made her roll her eyes, but it was obvious she found amusement from it.

She just about snickered as he continued on about the ‘true DWMA experience’ as weapons and meisters, feeling in a much lighter mood despite everything weighing on them to show their teams have learned what they did in the past few days. Emmett explained Maria, the marionette sorcerer who had dolls and used them to fight. She shot him a look when he began to explain a way to screw up Maria’s spellcasting, wondering if that was even allowed in the first place. He was certainly competitive, but she knew why. He looked like he was about to lose himself, and she squared her shoulders in preparation to take the reins once again as Emmett needed her.

The halberd wasn’t going to give the same courtesy Emmett gave their team about Maria, however. Putting a firm, yet comforting hand on Emmett’s shoulder, she let it slip back to behind her back to hold her wirst and explained the other opponents they’ll be talking about, sensing that Emmett couldn’t quite contain himself with Raphael’s fighting style.

“Yes, as Emmett said, he uses and manipulates his chains to attack. He can control their movements, link them to solid surfaces, make more, and break them apart. However, he, along with one other mage, has madness. Be wary when you fight him, as he may try to provoke you when he becomes upset. He also has a magic disruptor, but don’t let that fool you. Most of his magic relies on small spells that he can chain together to make it harder on you.” She smirked at her own pun before continuing, the display moving on to a witch with a mushroom for a hat.

“Next, we have the Mushroom Witch. Toxic to the touch like an actual mushroom, her blood is just as toxic and she uses it entwined with her magic to create mushrooms and spores. She can also cause organic material to decay, so be very careful when fighting her, as she is dangerous no matter where you are.” Zelda concluded, the picture moving onto a red-haired tall man with yellow eyes, gauntlets, and a gem on his forehead.

“Ark. You may have seen him before on television, as he’s made quite the name for what had happened in Africa. Don’t think for a second he’s gotten weaker from then however. He's a far more dangerous sorcerer. He has use of earthen and fire magic, and the gem on his forehead gives him a radar of his surroundings that touch the earth. He can manipulate the very ground you’re standing on and he’s one of the more adept sorcerers in terms of elemental magic. He does not have madness, but the collar around his neck is to knock him out if the Pull causes him to lose himself and he becomes irrationally violent.” Her face had fallen talking about Ark, her eyes hardening as she had a flashback of her own little battles before continuing on, the next mage being a girl with horns on her head, shark teeth, and concentric circles in her eyes.

“Miko, the Shrine Maiden. She’s an Oni Witch, and a strong one at that. She has two other appearances she can transform into. She is also the other mage with madness. Her madness is tied to her magic. Without her masks, her madness isn’t an issue and she isn’t as strong magically. She has three masks, each mask giving her different magical abilities but also manifesting her madness in different ways. The one she is most commonly seen in is her Warding Mask, the Onigawara. However, the other two are far more combat oriented. Plus, she likes to bite. Watch out.” She seemed to smirk at that.

She then sighed and relaxed a bit. “There will only be three fights, and it’s a one-on-one fight with a duo - or a trio -” She glanced at Gauss’ team. “- against one mage. However, the mages can have tag-in partners, whom they can only tag in once in a fight. If one of the two mages falls, we win. However, if one of you falls in your team, they win.” She then looked off to the side at the stands before returning her gaze to her team. “If you want to see any family or friends as they file in before the battles are decided, you may do so now. Remember however, winning isn’t the goal. Consider this more training and as a point of growth.”

With that, she oversaw her team until it was time for the battles to take place. She stationed herself next to Emmett and sighed. “You need to vent again?” It was in a matter-of-fact tone, as if she was expecting him to blast his gripes in a few moments.

Interactions: Emmett, Gauss, Prudence, Noah, Suzu, Sara, Nadia, Dani
Mentions: Maria, Raphael, Koiya, Ark, Chanterelle
Prizzy Kriyze Sir Les Paul Mqueserasera EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Daniella Ethalyn - Apartments (March 8, 2067) ---> The Colosseum (March 11, 2067)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
​

Spoiler: A Bad Day Turned (March 8, 2067)

After a particularly shit day, Dani wanted nothing more than to retreat to her room. Fairly exhausted, physically, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally, the pink-haired Demon Weapon was excited to slam the door shut and try to forget everything that happened the day of, at least until she had to deal with it all again tomorrow.

The gym, then the trio of jerks in the classroom, then her own fucking partner. Dani was all around still pissed off, though given she had spent the latter hour hitting things herself or being used to do so, she no longer had the stores to want to hit anything or anyone. She was just—angry.

As she approached the door to her apartment, Dani dug for her keys, taking solace that once inside, she would be free from anyone else’s nonsense for at least some hours.

At the food of the door sat a box, tucked into the corner, roughly the size of a lunch box, made of cardboard with a note taped to the top, a smiley face with stitches for the mouth was drawn on it and a simple note in red ink attached, immaculate handwriting that read; “A gift from me to you, I hope to see you again. What was two and now was one, I give a keepsake to make two again.”

Looking down to search for the key, Dani’s tired, scowling face laid eyes on the box that sat at the base of the door. She hadn’t noticed it before, though it didn’t give her a good feeling. Seemingly, the day’s bullshit hadn’t run its course with her yet.

She let out a gruff, yet weak exhale, hardly holding enough energy to even visualize her displeasure as she bent down to pick it up. The Demon Sword read the note, narrowing her eyes a bit at the prose and lettering. There were very few she knew, let alone ones that wrote in poems like this. She contemplated just setting it aside and not dealing with it for now, but then it would just be sitting there, mocking her, telling her that eventually, she would have to open it and deal with whatever was inside. Better to get it over with, there were hardly ways the day could get worse.

Setting the note back on the lid of the box, Dani popped the top open and removed it to peer inside.

Inside of the box with a parchment lining was a set of plushie dolls, made to look a bit like a chibi form of Dani and her departed brother, with clothing and spikey hair in the case of she the dolls looked mostly normal though they had button eyes and stitched mouths with differing designs, Dani looked a bit angry with her button eyes staring off to the side, her mouth being triangles pointing out horizontally in a scowl, her brother on the other hand had a softer stitching smile and white shiny eyes as if to be smiling, happy as it were as his arm connected to Dani by the shoulder as if to side hug the gruff bear, a reminder of times before.

Unknown to Dani, Maria had just dropped the package off and was peering from a hallway leading out from this part of the apartments, while she had intended to leave, she could not but help have a creator’s drive to see if her gift made Dani happy as her earlier one had for Koiya, having spent the last couple hours working on it she hoped it was for nothing.

As the contents of the container became more obvious, Dani’s irritated expression softened into one of confusion, then surprise. She fit the top to the rear of the box and reached in to slowly pull the pair out. She studied the features carefully, giving it more interest than the map for tomorrow’s mission. The girl let the box drop from her hand to the ground to grip doll at both its sides.

Dani wasn’t sure if it was due to the charged nature of the day’s events or her exhaustion or bother, but as the item processed more and more, it hit her especially hard. Her head cast down slightly, her hair blocking clear view of her face and her misty eyes. Her jaw clenched and she fell forward a bit, leaning against the door with her forehead as her grip on the dolls visible tightened.

After a short while, Dani inhaled a shuddering breath and an audible sniffle could be heard as one arm raised to rub her eyes with the back of her hand.

Oh no… She’s crying…I did it again didn’t I? I meant well but I made another person hate me.. I.. I shouldn’t be here.

Maria thought to herself as her heart sank, it seemed her present had not made the girl happy after all, but in place had made her breakdown and cry. She had not intended this, turning on her heels she bolted but had to slow down to go down the steps, she would just go to her workshop and stay, forget this all even happened.

Even while trying to steady herself, Dani caught ear of the noise, which brought her out momentarily. Turning to look in the direction, the girl spotted movement suddenly disappear around the corner whilst the sound of shoes rapidly tapping against the hallways in the opposite direction.

Dashing after the source, Dani spotted a familiar figure as it tried to descend the stairs. She wasn’t even completely sure why she was giving chase, but she couldn’t let the witch leave like this. Not without–something.

“W-Wait!”

“Ah!” With the callout Maria almost tripped over her own feet basically falling down a couple of the steps but catching herself before she went down more, her face as placid as ever though there was a bead of sweat forming on the right side of her forehead, picking herself up Dani would have gained the time to catch up at least.

Dani flinched seeing the girl stumble down a few steps, though it allowed her to reach the fleeing woman. Standing atop the stairwell, the Demon Weapon looked down at the dollmaker with some concern. “Are you… okay?”

“For now.” She says in a sharp reply as she gets back up to her feet. Straightening her dress, her book was clamped to her side as she stared. “I had.. Well you know what I have done, I did not expect you to come after me, but here I am.. There is no point in trying to outrun you here and I rather not fight..”

Dani’s posture softened a bit at that, though her brows furrowed a bit in confusion. “Well I didn’t really know you were there until you ran… A-anyway, why would I be trying to fight you?”

“You were crying.. That means you didn’t like the gift I made.. Doesn’t it?” Being a bit guarded with her words, Maria could not conceive any other reason it could be for. “I had spent the day wondering what to make for you as a sign of friendship and I looked into your history, not all the details are in the archives, that was when I saw your brother and the notice of his death.. I assumed that led to you being here. Not many like when I observe them or tailor a gift to their uses… Still my drive is to create and I do not understand people, that is part of why I am here.”

Hearing the other’s word’s, Dani’s grip on the doll tightened a bit. “I-I wasn’t–” Pausing to wipe her eyes of any remnants of evidence, the weapon let out a sharp huff before moving on. “That–It’s… been a shit day…” She responded somewhat downcast.

Turning her gaze to her “brother”, Dani seemed to examine it once again as the dollmaker explained how she learned of the information. “So that’s how you knew… Look, after today it just… it hit me harder than it normally would’ve.” Dani let out a somewhat shaky breath as she attempted to keep composure. How should she even take that, someone going to such lengths just to make her something? “Well… your assumption is right… Either way, I don’t hate you… I don’t even know if anyone’s ever given enough of a fuck to do anything like this for me… No, they definitely fucking didn’t.”

“I..” Pausing a bit to hear the words, ro process them she was at least a bit more relaxed. “I see. I felt that was for the best to make it, you seemed much more happy in those few photos. It is painful to lose something important to you.. I am no Necromancer, but at least this way I hope at least in some way your brother is with you, though I think after something I’ve seen today he was never fully gone.. I did not know people could cry from being happy. Either way maybe we should not talk here on these stairs? I did fall down on them once after all.”

“...It’s not from being happy. It’s just… I don’t know. Like I said, shit day. You didn’t do anything wrong though,” Dani clarified, clutching the pair of dolls to her chest. “...Thank you… Uh… Did you want to come in?”

Pondering that for a bit she tilts her head and thinks for a bit before nodding. “If you would have me for a visit I do not mine, maybe I can think of more practical things to make for you, I can assure you I’m a very capable craftsman. Plus you have seen my place, even if only briefly.” Maria says with a nod of her head.

“No, no… It doesn’t need to be practical… Anyway, yeah. Come on.” Saying that, Dani leads the other back to the door she fled from, struggling less to find the key and open it. Allowing Maria to go inside, Dani picked up the dropped box and followed before shutting the door. It was a simple enough apartment with the basic amenities and nothing too extravagant. At least, it was simple compared to Nadia’s higher-class apartment. However, there was a sofa, table, a couple chairs, TV, bed, and an open kitchen. Dani set the box on the kitchen counter and moved to the refrigerator. “...Uh, did you want anything?”

“Hmm..” Looking around the room but not touching anything, she didn’t feel like anything old world would really fit in here. “You are much cheaper to build for than Nadia. Hot Tea of any sort if you have it, if not then…hmm.. I am not sure, maybe some water?”

“Ah… only tea I got is to help you sleep, if you want it,” Dani offered sheepishly. Tea wasn’t her first choice and the sleep aid variant wasn’t as effective as she liked. Digging through the cabinets a bit, she searched for a kettle in the case the girl did want it. “How much does it cost to make her stuff?”

“Hmm.. I’m not a merchant or in the habit of making furniture so I just charge her the cost of the materials and a little for my time.” Maria says and shakes her head no to the tea. “I would say I’ve done most of it for a few hundred.”

Staring at the girl in a deadpan expression, Dani wasn’t sure if she should be irritated that Nadia was taking advantage of the girl or disappointed that the girl was this dense. “I think you’re undercharging her,” Dani stated simply as she closed the cabinet after procuring a cup and moving to the refrigerator to fill it with ice and water. Then, she opened the door briefly to remove a soda from within. “Do you know how fucking expensive furniture is? My shit is probably a few hundred,” She said, returning to the girl to hand her the water.

“Nadia has been cheating me?” She seemed a bit shocked or confused about that, more so with her furniture being worth much more. “I’ve always just made my own, what would you say it was all worth.. Should I really charge a friend more?”

Sitting down in the chair, Dani cracked the can of soda open as she watched the craftswoman’s reaction. “So give them a discount or a good deal, not a friggin’ steal. Are you made of money? Isn’t that time you could’ve spent doing something else?” Sighing a bit, what the girl said about being here made more sense now. Dani took a sip from her drink before digging for her phone, tapping on it a bit before sliding it over, showing a shopping list of various furniture items. “If you knocked even a hundred off you’d be doing her a favor. You’re basically fucking courting her with what you’re giving out, and anyone else for that matter.”

“Hmm I see.. So I should send her an invoice.. I don’t think I’ll charge her too much though, same for you if I make something at your request, but at least a bit more. I have learned a great deal today.” Watching her drink the Soda her face frowned a little as she looked about the room. “This is very much unlike my own. Is this how most people.. Well no, that could not be so, Nadia lives very different from this.. Do all rooms differ?”

“I ain’t rich, so for the most part I just get what I need. Most people have different rooms… Do either of ours look like yours?” Dani posed the question with a raised brow. Nadia likely would take issue with the bill but—well, fair was fair and the Russian had pissed her off more than a little earlier in the day, so the Demon Sword could live with it.

“I guess they do not… though I must ask all this space and one person it is strange. Do you have company over a lot? You have seats for multiple people.”

“I lived with Mikey… er… my brother…” Dani replied a bit solemnly. “Nadia hasn’t even been over. Do I look like a people person to you?”

“People person? No, you have one head, two hands and two feet. And ah I see. I do not recall my own family and I did not really make friends in the Magic Guild. So I see you are attached to what is here… Hmm.. In magic study we all have a pull, a driving nature or attachment that guides all we do at a level. But outside of driving it can control us.”

Dani stared at the other once again. So expressions were not a go-to with this girl. Lifting the can up to sip from it again, the weapon decided to simply move on from that. “You made friends with Nadia, so I don’t see why not… Either way, I never really understood witch stuff all that much. What do you mean pull?”

“Pull of Magic, it is a compulsion, who we are at a level in our magic, in our souls. It compels us, calls to us, is euphoric to listen to and act upon, but can also be blinding and limiting. It is in some ways an addiction, but also a purpose.. It aids and opens the door to magic but can also limit one's vision of the wider world and possibility.” Turning her head to the side and smiling, she did so at an odd angle which was unnatural to some degree as she continued on, keeping her eyes fixed as she straightened her head.

“Destruction is the call to most witches, to the Vampires, or bloodsuckers as you know them it is the thirst, for the werewolves it is battle. But for me it is Creation!” Holding her arms wide she smiles a bit. “Though Nadia pays me too little, I am not mad, for I am allowed to create, calling my magic to my hands, to my tome. It is to feel alive… But too much of that can lead one astray or shut the path of the eye, the path of the seerer, to greater magic and potential… You remind me of the lost animals I feed at times, when they stay near me, especially the cats.. Your brother in some ways was your pull I think, I can tell from what I’ve seen here and there, and as one with a strong pull, I must say.. I will not say to get rid of this and him, that is cruel and stupid, but I think I will visit you more if you like, let this place see more use so that maybe a bit you can see the path too.”

Dani stared at her neutrally. That was a lot, and she wasn’t going to pretend she fully understood it. She was, after all, fairly simple-minded in her thinking and never took to such concepts. The pull for destruction sounded similar to her madness, but Dani didn’t believe that was quite what the girl meant.

“Like a… cat?” Dani repeated, still not fully understanding the girl’s mannerisms. Still, she seemed happy at least. “I dunno about this path you’re talking about, but I won’t kick you out if you want to come by. Just don’t scare the hell out of me with your dolls… the big ones at least.”

“My lovelies aren’t scary, you just frighten too easily. You will understand my words in time.. Nadia has the same problem you know. She is much more kind than she seems, I doubt she will not pay for my new draft.” The girl says in response, before pausing a bit. “Indeed in some ways, even some cats have a bit of pride.”

“Uh huh…” Dani wasn’t going to try to argue on her “lovelies”. That ship had sailed clearly. Still, she huffed a bit at that. “Sure she can be, but she has some things ass-backwards and it pisses me off, though that’s not all that exclusive… I’m still lost on the cat though.”

It was then that Maria seemed to take on a more somber and darker expression. “I looked into her too, you know. Bits here and there, some say it is too far, but I will always tell a friend all there is about me. Little photos here, little files there, a new paper clipping. All people but an unfortunate few leave traces, especially in this work.”

“Maybe but… I don’t think most would give enough of a shit to go through the trouble,” Dani commented. It was probably too far, but it was also thoughtful, so long as she didn’t go crazy with it. “Yeah, they do… And he always wanted to be in the fuckin’ limelight… Either way, I won’t make you tell me stuff, but you can if you want. Otherwise… I dunno… you wanna, play something?”

“I’m afraid my story is not so interesting. The DWMA killed my parents for good reason and I was confined to a workshop with only one witch to keep me company till the cure was made and by then I.. Well I could not deal with people. And play something?” Tilting her head she wasn’t sure. “Maybe? We can see what happens.”

“Probably the same. My family tried evacuating a few times but at one point it was just Mikey and I holed up until the DWMA came in,” Dani said, looking at her with a raised brow. “Yeah, like a game…” She repeated, pointing over to the couch, television and the stand it sat upon. Underneath it lay an older console and some controllers. “Video games?”

“The only games I ever played were keep away and to stop a terrible runaway workshop accident.” Running her hand under her face and letting her palm rest under her nose and around her eye, Maria sat there for a bit, such a thing was alien to her. “It may be useful to understand this technology should I transfer to the Magitech division.”

“...What,” Dani commented aloud without hesitation. She stared at the girl with a deadpan expression. “Nevermind… anyway, go sit on the couch. You’ll see.”

What followed was Maria showcasing that her craftwoman's hand-eye coordination did not transfer to video games. The two spent some time together before the dollmaker departed for her own abode, seemingly having acquired a new friend. The Demon Weapon held mixed feelings about the relationship. The gesture was kind and thoughtful, though it presented new anxieties for the future, even if Dani did not outwardly dub her a "friend". The worry was still there. At least for tonight however, between everything else that occurred, she could sleep with minimal upset.

The day of the tournament, Dani was regretfully awake bright and early again to get ready before heading to the colosseum. Their former exercise had been cancelled in place for this, likely bureaucratic show. The girl predicted that her brother would be right at home, eager to fight in such an arena. For her, however, she wanted not the attention, nor the effort that would have to be put into it.

It was important enough that the less than punctual Emmett was all spiffy. Zelda was always dressed like she was going to court marshal someone. The former seemed stressed out, yet both were running through the potential opponents.

In a way, Dani supposed this activity was for the best as opposed to the original. Though some time had passed, she still had little interest in teamwork with her pod. At least here, all she had to do is let Nadia go ham. Though, she didn't really want to fight Maria, but that wasn't her choice. Hopefully, the dollmaker felt the same way. Though, there were a surprising amount of males. She thought witches were pretty much all female.

Regardless, they had a doll army, chains, toxic flora, an apparent celebrity, and a demon—Wait.

"The fuck you mean she bites?" It less a legitimate question and more a reactionary exclamation. Still, it made her wonder why the dollmaker sounded as one of the most normal her her "lovelies".

Dani let out a light scoff at the dismissal. It wasn't as if there was anyone here to see her or that she wanted to see, so she would just be waiting until the time was up. She shoved her hands in her jacket pockets and side-eyed Nadia, wondering if she had anyone to visit. Not that it mattered. She would probably just go take a walk until they had to start. The Demon Sword wasn't all that confident even if Zelda hadn't told them not to consider this as a real tournament. She knew mages could and had taken on in-sync meister-weapon pairs, and everyone in the room save for their mentors was inexperienced in their teams. Hell, Dani and Nadia couldn't even achieve a resonance yet, and then there was the complex resonance that Nadia would have to learn.

"...Fuckin dog 'n pony show."