GambolMuse

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Ethan was pleasantly surprised how easy it had been to find some information, and it thrilled him they could get on with their search. Sure, he was in debt yet again, and there was no absolute guarantee this was legitimate, but it was more of a lead than they had moments ago. To the western part of Galloway, easy enough. At least... It would be, if not for some small issue: Which way was west? He really ought to consider buying a compass at some point, then he might not end up so haplessly lost. Cecil appeared to know the way, yet he ran into a wholly unique problem, one even the directionally challenged Ethan wouldn't have. "Er... We just walk around them..." the Magi responded, tilting his head confused, "I mean, we can't just walk through them! Or... I mean we could, but that would mean going into a stranger's house, which would be rude..." he mumbled, starting to follow after Amuné as she took the lead. "If we asked then I guess it wouldn't be rude, but then we'd waste time asking. But if we talked to someone, maybe we'd find more information. I suppose that's not a total waste of time then..."

Reaching just the western half of town took a little while, and that was only the start of their search. There were a cluster of buildings every which direction, mostly ramshackle and thrown together structures, with a few tightly sealed warehouses every few hundred meters. It didn't seem like the most welcoming of places, though if someone had kidnapped a person then this was just the sort of place to hide them. Hoping they didn't end up in a fight, he kept his ears open and eyes moving about for any signs of shady people. Not that he'd likely know a shady person if he saw one, he'd probably greet them all the same and find out whether they were nice or not after the fact. More focused on watching out for bad people, Ethan jumped a little when Amuné gave a little shout, looking off in the direction she pointed before blinking in surprise.

"Huh... It does sorta look like a place they'd hide someone, I guess," he mused, walking towards the building slowly. Unlike many around it this one wasn't sealed, and the front door was even somewhat ajar, like someone had either just left or gone in. Slowing his pace even further as he got to the doorway, Ethan pressed up against the wall and listened for any sounds inside, not picking up anything after listening intently for a few seconds. Turning his head to face the other he placed his fingers to his lips then, easing the door open and slowly stepping inside. Crates, a table, a few turned over chairs, but no people. A staircase went down at the far end of the room though, maybe that was where they needed to check? Creeping towards the stairs he peered down over the railing to see if anyone was there before leaping over it, dropping down into the basement and readying a wind spell, just in case. To his slight disappointment however, there was no one here.

"Uh... Seems empty..." Ethan called up, frowning as he rubbed at his head. Huh, and Amuné had seemed certain about this place too, weird. Glancing about the room as the others came down, he noticed something crammed up against the wall, hidden by a couple of sloppily stacked boxes. Tilting his head briefly he walked over and began moving them, picking up the pace when he spotted what he thought to be blood on a few. Once he had slid every container over he was unnerved to find fresh blood on the pipes along the wall and the floor, as well as a pair of restraints still fastened to it. "No way... Was she just here...?" he wondered aloud, frowning as he looked around the room again. They hadn't seen anyone on the way in, so had they kept going out of town?

"I think we just missed her guys, look." That was definitely fresh blood, and if he had to make a guess it was likely Nymira's. Why had they moved her though? Did the people holding her somehow know they were coming? Or was it a coincidence? Furrowing his brow, Ethan cupped his chin as he mulled it over, deciding ultimately it didn't matter; Nymira was still in danger, and they now knew she was hurt and bleeding, they had to find her. "I guess... I don't know, head further towards the edge of town? I can't imagine they just put her in another building..." Ethan spoke, not sounding terribly certain. He'd never dealt with something like this before, yet it made more sense to move her than to just stick her in an adjacent shack, to him anyways. "What do you two think? Should we keep going?"

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Aito wasn't sure if this was going to work, but he hoped to hell it would. They needed Viral to rest again, it was part of the greater scheme of things that would see him recover from his illnesses. Was it easy? No, but then nothing on this agenda would be. The easiest part of all of this was taking his injections periodically, and even that he seemed to have issue with. If he could only sleep, then maybe his recovery would be more promising. Remaining silent, a good many moments passed by before he finally glanced down, curious to see how Viral was getting on. Delightfully, the Beastman's eyes were closed and he appeared to be breathing steadily and rhythmically: was he really asleep though? Watching for a moment longer it appeared to be the case, as normally he would probably notice himself being stared at and glance up. A wide smile crossed Aito's face then, and with a silent clap he settled back down, not wanting to so much as move at risk of waking up his son. Excellent, he'd actually gone to sleep, now hopefully it was a restful one and not just him passing out. They could remain out here as long as needed, and he'd try to gently question Viral once he came to.

Vegeta didn't know what the likelihood of Shu recognizing even one other letter was, but he figured it was worth a try. There would be more pride in figuring it out on his own, or something like that, so why not let him give it a go? Watching the kid silently, there was a slight air of disappointment when he didn't appear to recognize much beyond one or two letters, and even then he couldn't sound them out. He had hoped to let T'charrl help his friend and have them learn together, yet the Kaesstrian seemed to be stumped as well. Letting out a sigh, Vegeta pointed first to 'the' on Shu's sheet, pointing to the three letters in order. He explained what each letter was, the various sounds each could make given the word they were used in, and the sounds they made when paired with one another. Since this seemed to be a bit more challenging than he'd anticipated, Vegeta meticulously went over every letter, sound, and even some very brief punctuation to check and see if they could wrap their minds around that. Perhaps he'd been a little ambitious in going right to sentences, they still hadn't quite the knowledge of just letters yet. "Maybe it's best to get back to square one..." he mumbled, sighing as he rubbed at the side of his head.

"It's kind of crazy to think of how strong you might be able to get. Or how strong the Saiyans can get..." Sasha said thoughtfully, glancing at her own hands with a small smile, "My people aren't known for being especially powerful, Ricken and I are probably already some of the strongest of our kind. It would be insane to have even your power that you have now." Hopefully he wasn't mistaking that for envy, because she wasn't at all envious; what she was feeling was more comparable to wonderment, she was living a fantasy more than anything else. Shaking her head at the mention of the Galactic Police, she smiled at Kiton and gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "I've got an idea to keep them off your back, but I'll have to speak to Korian first. After this let me go see him, we might be able to catch you a break yet." It wasn't the best situation for him, and her solution might not be what he wanted, but then it was going to be more of a cover really. He could travel with whoever he wanted, the only thing would be he'd have to remain under someone's watch fairly regularly. Heading for the door now that she figured they were finished, Sasha glanced back curiously when Takeshi and the others were brought up in conversation. "Well they have been recovering in the hospital to be fair, but... I can take you to them if you want. I know what Korian said, but this is my decision to do this, and I'll take the blame if he gets mad. So... Want to go say hi? I mean... You should probably be there anyways to recover... Right?" she asked, winking knowingly at the Frost Demon.

Uchiha Reborn

Given the choice between joining Yura and staying here alone, the decision was an obvious one. Sasuke had spent plenty of time by himself as of late, and the opportunity to change that was too good to pass up. Yet as he approached the woman she stopped him for some reason, etching a look of confusion on the young Uchiha's face. Had he done something wrong? For a second it looked like she might not let him tag along after all, yet a smile soon after quickly relinquished him of that fear.

"Oh... Okay, I can do that," Sasuke responded, giving a nod before glancing back at his quiver. The arrows certainly were a bit worn, even the better ones were showing sign of wear and tear. It had been quite some time since he'd worked on them, Itachi usually had been the one to do so and, well, he wasn't now. If Yura was willing to help him in that regard, then all the better.

Watching as Yura returned to the house, Sasuke let out a sigh and stepped back onto the grass, placing himself before the far right target this time. He was going to be sore by the end of this, and tomorrow at the academy was likely going to be tough, but he was keen on getting down this technique. Though he already excelled compared to other students he didn't take nearly as much pride in that as he did this; using a bow was something wholly his own, and sentimental value aside he felt it made him stand out.

Notching one of the good arrows and placing it on the drawstring, Sasuke let his shots go off in steady succession, doing so mechanically. That was another thing that was nice about archery, he could do it and almost go to his own world for a little while. While he was shooting there was little else but him and his target, now if only he could just hit the darn thing...

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

"Don't get frustrated over it Viral, it's okay to feel frustrated, but don't let it consume you," Aito spoke, glancing down at Viral from his new perch, "Nothing that you're feeling now is to be ashamed of either, it's all natural given what's occurred. It's like I said before, take note of everything, and then bring yourself back down to your breathing. Accept the moment for what it is, rather than damning every second of it." It was easier said than done in Viral's position; people who were stressed or depressed might not be able to appreciate the good even when it was staring them in the face. All of their energy and attention was focused on the negatives, the 'what-ifs' and 'maybes' of what could go wrong. "Just look at where we are... We're on a friendly world, in the middle of a beautiful forest away from other people and hassles. There are no demands on either of us right now, aside from relax. Look at things through that lens, and maybe you can settle down. Close your eyes, listen to the sounds around you, not the voice in your head. Maybe then you can find some peace." The sound of the wind, of the occasional animal calling out or some kind of bird singing, there were plenty of ambient noises if you just listened. Closing his own eyes again, the doctor leaned back against the trunk of the branch, smiling as he stretched out one leg and folded his arms across his chest, "Just take it all in... The outside world, let it calm the tumult within."

This lesson would be terribly remedial for T'charrl, and more likely than not even Takeshi, but Shu needed this. They could not hope to educate him any further if he had no solid foundation, it would be moot; luckily for the kid, lessons were already in place and could be adjusted to fit him accordingly. Starting very simply he asked Shu to find the letter 'A', and to no one's surprise he was able to pick them out. "Well done, now let's take it one step further. Can you recognize them on the board?" Vegeta asked, tapping his knuckles against the whiteboard to draw Shu's attention, "I want you to come up and point out every letter you've written down. Then, after that, I want you to try your best at sounding the word out. Since you have some grasp of speech, I'd imagine you can figure out what the letters sound like." Maybe, it all depended on how phonetically aware he was, and whether he could sound out the words enough to make a guess. Looking over to T'charrl for a moment he smiled slightly, nodding his head towards Shu. "I want you to try and help him if he struggles, okay? You'll know this easily, see if you can help him figure it out." This would be a good exercise for both of them this way, to test Shu's recognition and T'charrl's retention. Between the two of them, Vegeta was tentatively hopeful Shu would figure it out.

"Okay, so you were born with it, but you have to maintain it too. If you don't train or keep active then your body will weaken, everyone knows that," Sasha stated matter-of-factly, "But obviousness aside, I really am impressed. I'm also glad you're not an enemy, fighting you might be a real nightmare for us." Someone in their ranks was bound to be able to defeat Kiton in a fight, or one of the Princes and their group, yet she was glad that wasn't likely going to come to pass. They had accepted people of shady origin before and they'd turned out fine, she could see no reason to scrutinize Kiton then; his being a Frost Demon had no bearing either, and anyone who tried rejecting him, like Ricken, was frankly a bigot. Hearing the description of his previous opponent, Sasha groaned and smacked her own forehead, immediately placing a name to that. "Takeshi... I'll apologize on his behalf, he's.... What's a nice way to put this... Pig-headed? Don't take it personally, he'd fight his own shadow if he could," she joked, smiling slightly, "Can't blame them for being cautious, they didn't know you. I'm sure now though they've begun trusting you. They are good people, I can personally vouch for that much. Sure, maybe they're rough around the edges, but get to know them and they're not so bad."

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Was Viral asleep yet? The silence had only gone on for a mere few moments, and tired as the Beastman might be... Could he fall asleep? Aito opened one eye and peered over at the Beastman, somewhat disappointed to see him lying on his front, staring out into the forest. Well he might not be asleep, but was he at the very least at peace? From here it was difficult to read his expression, but the way in which Viral scrunched his shoulders up told him that wasn't the case. Letting out a silent sigh, the doctor rubbed at his face before getting up and giving a small yawn. "You won't attack me out here, and nothing will attack you," Aito said, venturing that Viral was tense for one of those two reasons, "I'm not going to sleep while you rest, I'll be watching your back the entire time. Should you change I can subdue you too, so there's no threat from that. Relax, you're in good hands here." Nothing at all was of threat out here, the locals had assured them as much. Sure, there were predators within the forests, but none were out in this area typically, and even those that were tended to be of the smaller variety. Unless Viral was afraid of something equivocal to a house cat then he'd be fine. Figuring he'd give the Beastman a little extra insurance, Aito rose up into the air and eased his way to a tree nearby, setting down on one branch carefully. "I'll be right up here, out of your reach the whole time," he said, smiling as he waved, "And I'll watch for anything in the area, you're completely safe, as am I. So please, relax."

Clearly sarcasm wasn't something Shu was accustomed to, otherwise he'd have realized that remark was totally made in jest. Resisting the urge to further taunt them, and mostly due to his mother's intervention, he changed his tone and praised their efforts, meaning them sincerely enough. Were they exactly literate? Not by a long shot, but at least they were beginning to grasp the basics, that was good. "Very well, we'll go over the alphabet then for Shu's sake, then we can continue with our lesson," Vegeta decided, flipping the board he'd been using over to a clean side, but not beginning to write yet. Walking over to the bed he peered between the two sheets T'charrl and Shu were using, curious to see how their handwriting was. Either were hardly works of art, and they certainly showed their inexperience, but it was legible. "You're doing well, but you have a ways to go, both of you. Everyone starts at the basics, don't feel disheartened for that." Returning then to the board, Vegeta went about writing down the letters one by one, both uppercase and lowercase. "I'm just writing it all out for you to see them Shu, and I'll say what each one is as we go along," he explained, quickly going through right to the end. Placing down the marker he then stood to the side of the board, pointing to the first letter. "This is 'A'. There are uppercase and lowercase versions of every letter, as you can see here. It makes the 'ay', 'ah' and 'aah' sounds. Look at what you've written and tell me if you recognize any."

Sasha felt a bit daft for attacking Kiton, having gotten excited and forgotten he was injured for a moment. Thankfully she didn't seem to do any real harm, though it was still a call to stop the fighting. After making it abundantly clear she was apologetic, she straightened herself out and gave Kiton his fair praise, rather impressed with how he held up in his current state. "Don't be ridiculous, I appreciate you even agreeing to train with me in the first place. Most of my comrades aren't that powerful, and the ones who are, like Korian or Sayomi, are far too busy working to train with us. So it's nice to get an able partner for a change," she replied, smiling as she rubbed at her bruised side. That tail strike sure had been quick and powerful, and to think he was injured too. "What guy? Who did you train with before now?" Sasha asked in confusion, not at all aware that Kiton had done this before. "And zombie-doctor...? You mean that Saiyan? Aito, I think..." she mused, "He seems like a good man, if strange. He's been helping everyone since he showed up hasn't he? I'm just glad he didn't turn out to be against our cause."

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

We're taking people, if anyone is interested :) Just let me know and we'll work you into the current story.

Uchiha Reborn

Sasuke wasn't too sure if he'd done a good job, it looked to him like it was the same as always. Yura's praise surprised him a little then, and he allowed himself a faint smile at being told he'd done well. He supposed he had really, given he'd done about the same as usual even with a new technique. Sure, it would be some time until he was on target all the time, if ever, but the fact he had a chance to improve made working for it exciting. Maybe a bow wouldn't ever be considered a ninja tool either, yet that wasn't going to stop him from practicing.

"That all sounds complicated..." Sasuke mumbled in regards to the other factors. Air currents? He wasn't even sure what that was, it sounded like something that was way above him though. He'd always figured you just aimed an arrow and fired it, so hearing the fact there were more aspects to it made archery a bit more daunting. Simple target practice would be fine however, that didn't take much other than a steady hand, and the know how, both of which he now possessed. Firing at a moving target? Particularly, a target that was another person? He wasn't prepared for that just yet, and thankfully Yura was sympathetic to his concerns.

Nodding his head at the directions to keep going, the young Uchiha hurried over and fetched all of his arrows, noting that two had become dulled. Yura was more than happy to offer to help with that, but she wanted him to continue with what he had left. His arm might be sore from the strain, but he knew that pain was all a part of training, and if you weren't sore then you weren't training hard enough.

Notching another arrow as Yura began to leave, Sasuke was ready to resume his training until she mentioned leaving, lowering his arms and glancing back at her with a slight bit of worry. What if she didn't come back? There was no way of knowing where Itachi was right now, and while he couldn't exactly fend off his older brother, he felt a little better knowing where Yura was. Worried this might be goodbye, he tried not to jump at the offer of joining her, though a small smile of relief washed over his face. "Um... Okay! I'll come!" he answered, placing his arrow back before setting both the quiver and bow down, hurrying over to join her. Slowing as she addressed him with another question, Sasuke frowned in thought and gave a small shrug, not sure honestly of when it had been. A few days? Maybe longer? It was difficult to answer when you'd lost track of time, he wasn't even certain of how long it had been since the massacre.

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Now that conversation between the two had finally subsided, a pleasant silence set over the forest. With exception of the occasional ruffling of leaves from the wind there wasn't a single sound to disturb them, and that was precisely what Aito had been hoping for. Nothing but the sounds of their own breathing, something he was betting on Viral to be able to use as a point to focus on. In, and out, that was all that the Beastman needed to do. Where his son might normally complain or bemoan this method, there was no such sound, giving him hope that it was working. Without actually glancing over however there was no way of knowing, and the doctor didn't want to disturb Viral and check. Instead, Aito focused on himself, pouring over every little detail that had occurred since his and June's revival. Like the world's most complex jigsaw puzzle he could see all of the pieces, it was only a matter of figuring out how they went together. The recovery of some of the children, the war, the situation back on Earth, there was a lot he had to solve, and potentially not a lot of time to do it. A small smirk crept to his lips at that, it was just like when he was alive before; deadlines were always such a pain and came up far too quickly, yet he'd always managed to meet them. This time would be no different, he'd be certain of that.

"If you don't remember then that's fine, we can go over them after this. For now I want to just check if you've the motor skills to even write." Shu was certainly physically capable of holding the pencil, whether he could use something that required precision was another matter entirely. If the kid couldn't even manage to use the writing utensil then trying to teach him how to write would be a moot effort. Watching as Shu and T'charrl went about trying it out, he was somewhat relieved to find they were both capable of copying what he'd written; so they could recognize it, even if only as shapes, and mimic what he had done. That was good, now it was a question as to whether they understood any of the words or not. T'charrl likely had no grasp of what a "cat" was, but Shu may have some idea. "Excellent, your ability to write at a second grade level will prove to be our saving grace," Vegeta joked, hardly trying to contain the sarcasm in his tone. Hearing his mother clear her throat loudly he flushed just slightly, clearing his own throat before nodding. "Well done, both of you. T'charrl? Since we don't know if Shu is familiar with the alphabet, I'm going to go over it quickly for his sake. You don't mind, do you?"

Sasha knew she wasn't physically that imposing, and she also knew she wasn't the fastest of fighters. That was fine though, not everyone had to have those to be a capable fighter. What she did excel in, something most people might not consider a skill, was dodging. To be more exact, she was rather adept at predicting movements based on how the body was positioned; she studied an opponent meticulously during a fight, and by seeing how they moved she could react, usually quite well, and avoid being struck. It was difficult the faster an opponent was, but an injured Kiton was proving to be right within her range. Being hit by his tail didn't stop her from coming back, and after using his own limb against him she managed to even knock him to the ground with a shoulder charge. Seeing him get up and grab at his ribs, Sasha immediately was reminded that Kiton was injured, and dropped right out of her fighting stance. Very embarrassed by getting carried away, she placed her hands on her thighs and bowed to the Frost Demon in a show of apology, her face burning albeit hidden by her hanging hair. "Sorry! I got carried away, my mistake!" she responded, composing herself just enough to look at him, managing a small smile, "For someone injured though you're still very good. I figured you'd be able to hit me easily, and I'm surprised I could get even the two hits in that I did. If you were healthy then I'm positive this would have been one sided for you." No amount of fancy dodging on her part would help if she'd been struck, and while it was unfortunate there was such a gap she wasn't resentful. That was simply how it was, she could work to try and remedy that or not, but she'd not ruminate over it.

Uchiha Reborn

Archery wasn't something Sasuke had mastered by any stretch, but he found it to be enjoyable. Even now when things were so dim he was able to appreciate it some, even if he had missed his mark. Sharpshooting it was not, he'd have to practice a fair lot more if he hoped to be as accurate as he wished. Looking to Yura for feedback, he stood still while she came over and began moving his body into position, finding the way she left him feeling rather unusual. According to her though this was how he ought to fire, and it was certainly different from the relaxed stance he generally took.

"Just relax my fingers...? Um... Okay then." He was used to letting go and dropping his arms, but apparently that wasn't right either. He might do better just now if Itachi had ever instructed him properly, as much of what he knew now was self taught. Yura knew better than he did though, he'd do as he was told and hopefully see results for it. Aiming again at the target's neck, Sasuke took a moment to ensure he was on target, exhaling silently and letting his first shot fly. By reflex he'd pulled his arm down again while firing, causing the arrow to sail up slightly and slash across the dummy's jaw instead, slamming again into the wall behind it. Not willing to give up, he readied another, and another, letting every last one fire off in how he'd been told.

When the quiver was empty and all arrows exhausted, Sasuke could definitely tell the difference in technique. He'd not hit any more targets than he normally would, probably due to the different style, but the few he did were far more spot on. There was no arguing that Yura's technique was better, and more taxing; he'd only fired off a handful of arrows, yet his arm was burning from keeping the stance and straining to hold the string back. It was going to take a lot of practice without a doubt, yet he'd manage it, he had to. Archery was one of the few things he still considered to survive from his family, and doing it in some ways helped to relieve some of those memories, and he never wanted to forget those.

"That... Wasn't so bad..." Sasuke said, trying to dismiss his sore arm despite giving it an obvious rubbing. Carrying the bow in one hand he went to the wall and began fetching his arrows, having to either get on his toes or jump to get the higher ones. Two of the heads were somewhat dulled from hitting the wall, but otherwise they were unscathed. With every arrow placed in the sheath he returned to Yura's side, again giving her a curious look. "Uh... I don't think target practice would be a good idea..." he mumbled, his eyes looking away as he frowned, "I might miss and hurt you..."

Uchiha Reborn

There wasn't terribly much that Sasuke was exceptional in just yet, but he felt his bowmanship was fairly decent. Perhaps the only thing he might be grateful for from Itachi was that, and he was somewhat eager to show it to Yura. He was a bit hesitant about shooting at her, yet if she asked for it then surely she must be prepared, right? Even so... He'd barely even hunted with it, let alone shot at another person, and the notion of doing so unnerved him. Maybe they could just practice with dummies instead, to begin with at least, and then work their way up to it. Maybe she'd forget all about it too, he'd be okay with that.

She wanted to see his bow? Being one of the few things he owned he was a bit hesitant to hand it over, but after briefly considering it he did as he was asked. Watching as she scrutinized it he was satisfied that she found it to be good, and the arrows as well. He had always been told to be careful about the arrowheads, as firing them into too many things would dull them and make them ineffective. So far he seemed to be okay, but it was hard to say for how long that might last. Would Yura know? He hoped so, because he hadn't a clue how to sharpen arrows.

"Just... Pick a target?" Sasuke repeated, not exactly sounding overly certain. Glancing at a few striking dummies set up in the yard he eventually settled for the middle one, a few holes and slashes from his and Itachi's days of practicing out here. He was a bit nervous to put his ability on display, worrying maybe irrationally that it wouldn't be good enough. That was pushed aside quickly at the reminder that he was the last of his family, and in that he ought to have more confidence in himself. Father had always gone on about doing him and the others proud, and the little Uchiha wasn't doing that by standing here worrying. Maybe he was inexperienced, but he had to try showing Yura his best.

Taking aim, Sasuke aimed right at the throat of the dummy, hoping to get a "kill" shot on his first go, show off a little. After pulling the string taught he let the arrow fly, watching with baited breath as it went on target... And then missed. It skimmed the shoulder of the dummy and hit the wall behind it, embedding itself in the wood with a dull thud. Embarrassed and somewhat annoyed, he notched a second arrow and tried again, aiming for the same spot and letting his shot fly. This time around it landed, albeit more in the upper chest than the neck, but he still hit his mark. Letting out a soft sigh after the fact he glanced up at Yura curiously, wondering what she had to say for that.