EliteCommander

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

You don't have to change your character to accommodate others, but wouldn't it be just as unfair to me to make me change the way Ssarak would react to accommodate Alaira? As you said, it would be metagaming.

As for the failures Alaira has had, some actions just have certain consequences. For example, with that amorphous demon in the demon attack, you knew what would happen if Alaira did what she did. I believe I remember a conversation where you discussed it and were given some alternatives. You chose to have her overexert herself, which is perfectly fine. It was the choice Alaira would make, and it showed something about her character. That was all great, but it still came with the consequences. The same is true for the present mission. Her choices are perfectly in line with her character, and you don't have to change anything about them. But you can't just have someone make bad choices without any sort of consequence. That wouldn't make for a good story.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

I'm just saying, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Everyone is free to make their characters act in whatever manner they choose. Those choices are what makes your character yours. But in making them, you have to accept the consequences that come with them. There is simply no way I can think of that it would make sense for Ssarak to accept fighting with someone who poses such a danger to himself and their allies.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

So far, all Ssarak has seen is that she has been more of a danger to her allies than her enemies. Honestly, he is more likely to want to send her away than to continue fighting with her, though that isn't an option. As you said, he is a soldier, so he has many years of training behind him. He would see her style of fighting as more dangerous than helpful (because, well...it is). Ultimately, there is a reason that people in history were not encouraged to fight in that way, as it isn't as effective as approaching combat tactically. Good tactics are what win wars, so Ssarak would judge her approach very harshly. Your character can make the choices you want her to and act however you feel like she should, but that doesn't mean all the other characters will accept it. It would not make sense for Ssarak to accept fighting with someone so reckless. If she does not undergo any kind of change in that regard, he will do everything he can to avoid fighting with her in the future.

The Aesteria Chronicles

'Owwwwww' was the most prevalent thought going through Ignis' mind as he essentially tackled the ice spirit, eventually passing straight through it and ending up on the other side once the icy beast started to tip over. Ignis had two types of energy; one kind was excess heat that he pulled in and amplified from the environment. This was energy he could easily absorb or release with no real issue. The other kind of energy was heat that was incorporated into his very being; essentially, it was him. He could replenish it over time, but not near as quickly as he could draw in excess energy. A lot of the heat he forced into the spirit was simply excess energy he had amplified for his attack, but since the ice spirit's magic was quick to bite back through his attack, he could not avoid losing some energy from himself. It was painful sensation which was stretched across his entire "body," but he had been through worse. For now, he had to focus; the ice spirit wouldn't give up that easily.

As Ignis started to turn around, he floated himself up closer to the ceiling so he could get a quick look at the situation. The whole pub was in chaos, with bullets flying and spirits fighting, but from the moment Ignis had to watch, he saw one of the children get shot, and the other being dragged away. Eli looked to be going for the girl, and in different situations, Ignis might have helped, but he did not doubt for a moment how Helen would react. She would go straight for the boy, not really concerned with the threats around her. Of course, that was what he was for.

The ice spirit was probably the greatest danger to Helen, so his target had not changed. Just as Ignis was starting to figure out how to react, he felt a pleasant warmth radiating from the ice spirit's direction. Nahor, the steam horse, had hit the frozen beast with a nice blast of steaming water. 'Ah, that's what I needed. Got to love that boiling equine.' Ignis thought with a smile crossing his flame-covered face.

Although Ignis could not immediately heal himself from the excess heat, he could draw it in to help fuel his fire. He wanted to engulf the ice spirit in a stream of fire, but he had to remember where he was. This was a pub, and a crowded one. Helen would probably be upset if he burned it down, so he had to be a bit more precise. "Freeze this you overgrown icicle!" He shouted as he started to launch small, but intense balls of fire at the spirit. Now that Helen was not moments from being impaled, he could afford to keep his distance. He did not know how much it would take to knock the ice spirit out of the fight completely, but at the very least, it could not just ignore him.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

The unfortunate part is they are handling her very, very badly. She's sick, angry, tired, and paranoid, even moreso with the threat of Lyn's demise constantly looming over her head. The fact that because of her actions Lyn nearly died twice is causing her extreme anguish, especially since the second one would have been by her own hand. Meanwhile, the knowledge that Lyn thinks it's all her fault is hurting her greatly. Add to that the massive Psychic shock throwing her already questionable sanity into more chaos than usual. To be called out on her failings before they are out of danger will probably deepen her despair to such a level that she effectively cracks under the pressure, leaving her compliant, sure, but useless and worst of all, suicidal.

Not that she shouldn't be made to account for her shitty decisions. There just might be a better time.

@Freeshooter92

Perhaps that is the case, but you also have to consider the perspective of the others. She acted rashly and nearly got them all killed at the first bridge. Afterwards, Meirin and Darius confronted her, and she had a long conversation with Meirin about the problem and how to get past it. Then, at the second bridge, she forgot everything they had talked about and did the exact same thing again, endangering everyone's lives once more. To the others, she has proven herself untrustworthy to make good decisions. In Ssarak's eyes at least, Alaira either does not care if she endangers Lyn, or she doesn't understand how her actions could hurt her. Ssarak is a patient person, but even he won't be cordial after she has endangered them all for a second time. It just wouldn't make sense IC for him to be patient with her when patience has been proven ineffective. In Ssarak's eyes, Alaira is not going to stop putting them in danger, so he needs to act sooner rather than later.

Star Wars - Outlaws

I think sep said he disliked druids because of the lack of potential character development and personality?

Idk, maybe you can make it work, I could ditch my characters droid and you could make your character my characters droid partner?

@vietmyke

Lack of development? No way, artificial beings have amazing potential. Advanced enough A.I and you get a whole host of possibilities. Diverging personalities from the original programming, the concept of what constitutes life, all kinds of things can be done. Last time I made a Geth character, it was amazing.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Don't worry, our plans aren't quite intricate. Mostly, it's just "yell at Alaira, then talk about ambushing some bandits."

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

I believe we will have a bit of an intervention with Alaira in the morning on the caravan mission. We also need to have our characters discuss the ambush ahead.

And hello Luna

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose and Meirin Kurenai

---

After a few hours travel beyond the bridge, the group settled down for the night and, instead of camping out in the elements, they even managed to find an old abandoned building to act as shelter. Normally, that would make for a fairly comfortable night, but the attitude of the group was nowhere close to comfortable. Apart from the caravan master giving his instructions, most of the team was uneasily silent. There was a great deal of tension in the air, mostly directed at Alaira, and while Ssarak shared that sentiment as well, he also had other thoughts on his mind. While eating dinner, most of his time was spent mentally looping through the same worries. This was his first real mission for the college, and it just happened to be something he had done many times back in his homeland. When he first accepted the escort, he assumed that fact would make him more comfortable out in the field, but now it was just serving to remind him of the danger they were in. He had lost friends and acquaintances during escort missions in his homeland, something that could easily happen again.
Like most of the others, Ssarak was obviously worried about working with Alaira. She had proved in case after case that she was a danger to her allies and, right now, was the most likely cause of the failure of the mission. However, there was also something else on his mind which, strangely enough, seemed to take more of his attention. At the river, he had noticed Meirin was injured, and even though it was a minor, simple wound, he could not stop his own worry. Even now, it was nagging at his mind. Blood loss was not the only way one could die from a wound; infection was perhaps the deadliest killer on any battlefield. Rationally, he knew that she had taken care of her injury and was almost certainly going to be fine, but the very fact that he was worrying about it hours after the event, when he did not even give his own wounds such concern, gave him...confusing thoughts. Just after the caravan master retired for the night, Meirin was standing watch outside and, for whatever reason, Ssarak felt the urge to check on her. He did not know what he hoped to accomplish, but nevertheless, he stood up from his bedroll and stepped outside.

After a brief look around, Ssarak found Meirin near the caravan's horse, though he was not quite sure why he did not look there to begin with. It was, after all, the entire reason any of them needed to stand guard. It was when he was walking up to her that he suddenly realized he had no idea what he even wanted to say. "I...hello. Is everything alright out here?" He asked.
Meirin turned to face the familiar voice. She had heard someone coming out and figured it might have been Ssarak. Of course it could have been anyone, but somehow Meirin was expecting him. It was hard not to, as of late.

Despite everything that has happened so far Meirin had just realized that this was her first mission with Ssarak, not including the demon incident. They worked fairly well together but something else was nagging Meirin's thoughts. As strange as it was, Meirin felt that she needed to protect Ssarak. The odd thing came from the fact that, in combat, Ssarak is more than capable of holding his own. He was likely a better fighter than Meirin, at least when it came to warfare. She was no stranger to violence but the worse she ever fought was soldiers who turned to banditry. And yet she sensed a certain weakness in Ssarak that she felt that she needed to protect. She couldn't place what exactly she wanted to guard however.

Meirin's thoughts returned to her when Ssarak asked his question. It had barely been an hour and he was already concerned. Though it's hard not to considering what the captain had told them a while ago. "Everything is fine. The horses are still restless but give them another hour and I'm sure even they'll be asleep. What about you? Your shift isn't until much later Ssarak. Do you need to use the bathroom?" Mostly a joke to lighten the otherwise dark mood that loomed over everyone, though if Ssarak really did need to relieve himself Meirin already took the time to dig them a hole on the other side of the cabin.

"No, I...do not know, honestly." Ssarak began as he leaned against the wall near Meirin. "I suppose I am just feeling tense, worried. No one inside is in a mood to speak, and I do not like being left alone with my thoughts at the moment. I feel I will worry myself into an early grave if I do."

Ssarak was not sure what else he could say about his reason for stepping outside, especially since he was not even certain what it was. Thinking about it, passing the time seemed like just as good of a reason as any, but there were still those nagging worries at the back of his mind; those unreasonably paranoid fears about Meirin's safety that he was trying not to dwell upon. He worried that it would seem strange if he showed such concern, but eventually, he brought himself to ask regardless. "So...are you sure you were able to clean your wound properly? Infection can be terribly dangerous." He asked.

Meirin couldn't help buy smile at Ssarak's concern. It was rather endearing that he would care so much, but surely even he saw her clean out her cut. Meirin was certain because when she saw Ssarak looking at her she even made a point to apply some ointment to help mend the skin and block out infection. "Yes, I'm quite certain. I even used my poultice to make sure the cut heals and no infection settles in. You can see for yourself!" Meirin turned her shoulder for Ssarak to see in the dim moon light, and sure enough where she had been cut by the captain's blade was now nothing more than a thin red line.

And yet from the sound of Ssarak's voice and the look in his eyes, Meirin's cut was the least of his worries. Meirin understood that he was concerned about their safety. Even if Meirin doesn't know Darius very well and doesn't have the best impression of Alaira, it was normal to be concerned about their livelihood. But Meirin couldn't shake there there was something else that Ssarak was concerned about. And she suspects that it had to do something with Meirin herself. Ssarak.

Meirin pushed herself off the wagon and walked closer to Ssarak. She was trying to look friendly, but the concern on her face was as clear as day. "Remember when I told you that, if you ever want my help, or even just want to talk, you can always come to me?" Meirin opened her mouth to say more, but no words came out. She felt that she had said all she needed to. Now Ssarak needed to anwser her question.

Ssarak was silent for a few, long moments, his head lowered and looking slightly away from her. She had picked up on his fears, though he had to admit, he had not been hiding them very well. However, he was still not even certain in his own intentions. He came outside because he felt compelled to check on her, but his reason for that confused him more than he would like. Worrying about friends was normal, but it seemed like any time he had a reason to worry, she was the first person he thought about. It was like a part of him had dedicated itself to making sure she was safe, which only served to confuse him further. Similar thoughts about her had crossed his mind before, but now that they were facing danger regularly, they were stronger than ever.

By this point, Ssarak had been staring awkwardly for long enough that he had to force himself to speak up after letting out a deep sigh. "My worries are justified, are they not? We know we are heading into danger. Anything can happen and...I worry about losing friends." He finally said, though his quick answer did not explain why so much of his attention was focused solely on Meirin. Even Lyn did not seem to recieve quite the same kind of concern from him.

Meirin shook her head. Ssarak was trying to avoid the subject, so she'll have to press on. "That's understandable Ssarak. I... I know how you feel about losing those who are close to you. And is that why you came out here?" Meirin's heart began to flutter. While she isn't exactly reserved, she typically does her best to be humble and not think too highly of herself. But part of her wanted to think that she was important to someone, to Ssarak. She had always felt this attraction to him. Admiration for his skills, empathy for his past, and respect for who he is. Something about Ssarak drew Meirin to him, but she always held these feelings in check. These feelings could cause pain and hurt her and Ssarak, and that was the last thing she wanted to do to someone so close to her. And most of all, she couldn't bare to imagine would what happen if it turns out that these feelings were one sided.

The fact that Ssarak was here opened Meirin's mind to the idea that perhaps he could return her feelings. She couldn't hesitate now. "Out of everyone here, I care about you the most Ssarak. I will gladly give my life to save everyone here if they're in danger, but I would be happier to live for you."

Ssarak had not expected Meirin's response, and it quite obviously caught him off guard. Her tone, the way she was speaking, it all seemed like...there was something she wanted to say. Before he realized it, his heart was starting to beat faster as he thought about what she could mean by 'happier to live for him.' They had been close for the past few months, that much was undeniable. He thought of her more fondly than any friend he had ever had, but he would be lying to himself if he did not admit there was more to it. The thoughts of how he might want to become...closer than friends had certainly crossed his mind over the last few months, but he had always found way to push them aside. Now, however, with the way she was speaking...he did not want to ignore them. Even if he had been consciously rejecting the idea, he could not hide from his own emotions.

"I...do not think I could agree more. You are a friend closer than any I have had, but...it is more than that, is it not? The thoughts I have had, the...paranoia about your safety..." He said, giving a slight, if nervous chuckle. [color=f7941d]"Do you feel..." He began, though he could not find the words to continue.

There were only a few words that Meirin could say in responds to Ssarak. Just a few words that could clear up this entire conversation. They were simple words, and yet they carry so much weight. Meirin stepped forward to Ssarak and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. She squeezed him tightly, to show Ssarak the strength of her conviction.
"I love you."

Ssarak was speechless, though there was perhaps no way he could adequately respond. At first, he was motionless as well, but after she wrapper her arms around him, he did the same. He stopped himself from squeezing her too tightly, given his strength, but he easily showed through action he felt the same. Even with the cold steel of his armor separating them, he felt closer to her at that moment than he had ever been to another.

"And...I love you." He responded with complete honesty, something he had not thought he would ever be able to do again. "You are...sure about this? With you Human and me being Esyire...do you think this can work? Do you think people..." He began, but stopped himself when his nerves gave way to a sudden wave of conviction. "Actually, no, to the Pit with what others think. All that matters is you and me."

Meirin could only smile warmly as Ssarak admitted his feelings for her. Even more so when he said so resolutely that he wouldn't care what others thought about them, despite being human and Esyire. Meirin buried her face into Ssarak's chestplate. She could feel his heart beating through the steel.

"I loved you for a long time Ssarak, and I will continue to for the rest of my life. Now..."
Meirin slipped out from Ssarak's grasp, leaning up to tap him on his nose and snap him out of any fantasies he might be having. "You need to rest! Your shift is next... And I'd like it if you could keep me warm tonight."

Ssarak's eyes had been closed as he hugged her, so he was actually somewhat surprised when she tapped his nose. In any case, he did not exactly want to go to sleep so soon. With this revelation, there was much he wanted to talk with her about: how they had felt about one another over the past few months, how they were going to tell their friends, or even just casual small talk with her. No matter the topic, he just wanted to spend time with her, but as much as he hated to admit it, she was right. He did need to rest if he wanted to be ready for the next day. They were, after all, still on a mission.

"I...would like that. In the cold air of Djarkel, I believe I could use the warmth just as much as you." Ssarak said, his expression shifting to a smile. "Tomorrow...well, tomorrow we still have more to do. We need to confront Alaira before we go any further, and we still need to discuss that map with the caravan master. What that guard captain told us was troubling. But, perhaps soon we can have the opportunity to just...take time together. Come and wake me when you are done out here."

As unnatural as it seemed to part from Meirin so soon after revealing their feelings to one another, Ssarak moved to head back inside, albeit reluctantly.

Waving goodbye at Ssarak Meirin's heart and mind were fluttering with emotions. Her confession with Ssarak combined with the worry about the mission mixed together, but she let happier thoughts prevail. She had felt this attraction to Ssarak ever since they first met on the opening day. It was minor back than, just a whim, but over time as she became more familiar with the college she grew to like Ssarak more. Even with his dark past she found a troubled soul who still remained strong, but also someone who wouldn't deny her help. Meirin held many people at the college near and dear to her, but Ssarak was always the one who held a special place in her heart.

When Ssarak went back inside Meirin went back to the wagon. The horses were asleep by now she she softly positioned herself back to where she was guarding. She had to focus on keeping watch, but still allowed herself to think about her new relationship with Ssarak. How would they live now that they confessed to one another? Would it be too much if Meirin offered to let Ssarak move into her room? How would Meirin's friends react to this knowledge? Her teachers? While she didn't care for it if they only had negative things to say, she did want to brag about Ssarak. She couldn't help but feel a surge of pride for both herself and him. And while she had no doubts there will be those who would contest their relationship, she wouldn't let them break what she and Ssarak had with each other. If anything, it'll only strengthen their bonds as they stand side-by-side to face whatever challenge comes their way. It'll certainly be needed for what's to come. Gossip and harsh words are easier to deal with than cut-thoats and demons, which Meirin thinks takes a bit more precedence right now.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Upon Onyx's request, Tarentek began to follow her out of the "den," as they called it. Overall, the meeting with the leader went as well as he could have hoped. He still did not feel welcome, but at least he was there with their leader's blessing.

"I would not worry too much about treating me. My race heals quickly, and thoroughly. Mostly, I am malnourished and dehydrated. All I need is food, water, and a few days of rest. If I could have a meal now, I would be grateful. As for not knowing anything about my race...I suppose I could answer any questions, if you have any." Tarentek offered.