GambolMuse

A Grimm War [Vena Sera & Scout]

He had dispatched the first Beowulf easily enough, yet that wasn't reason to be cocky. One misstep could mean the end of him, he had to keep his wits about him even now that the numbers were even. Once he had pulled his weapon free from the corpse, he held the sword out in one hand at the ready, waiting for the Grimm to attack. His focus was stolen temporarily at the sound of twigs snapping and leaves being stepped on, expecting yet another Beowulf to appear. What he spotted couldn't have been further from that though, as a small Faunus girl came barging out of the forests, seeming relieved to have found him. She was alone then? He supposed that made them partners, and it looked like they would be getting an early exercise for their teamwork. Nodding in response to her greeting, the pair quickly refocused themselves, preparing for the Beowulf's attack.

Soren didn't even make the first move as the Beowulf went on the attack, instead watching as the Faunus had a leg impaled by an ice arrow, effectively rendering it immobile as it floundered to the ground helplessly. It was a pitiful look for such a vicious creature, though he supposed it made their jobs of killing it all the easier. "Two on one is unfair. Besides, I can kill it on my own," Soren answered simply, slowly approaching the hobbled beast with a casual stride. Unflinching as it howled at him furiously, he raised his sword up and deflected one of its massive paws with ease, causing the Beowulf to stumble as it fought to retain its footing. A second claw came his way, yet this time Soren reached up with his free hand and caught it, sliding somewhat but managing to stop the limb from striking him. With a grunt of effort he began pushing back, his body seeming to tense all at once as veins protruded on his neck.

"Nothing personal, you're just in my way," he said, throwing the Beowulf's arm aside and causing it to fall over as a result, "At least you get to see your friend now." Bouncing the blade slightly in his hand he repositioned it, then with a shout he swung it high up in an arch, bringing the blade down on the Beowulf's neck and cleanly severing its head. Needless to say the beast didn't last terribly long after that fact, only a guttural snarl escaping its lips before its entire being went limp. Five minutes in the forest and he'd already had to fight two Grimm, today was going to be an interesting one. Slicing his blade through the air to rid it of blood, Soren laid it back over his shoulder, glancing back at the Faunus girl. "Nice shot, by the way. Made killing it a lot easier."

---

Ulyssa was glad she hadn't actually attacked, otherwise she'd have a difficult time tending to Owyn and his wounds. Easing out of her stance, she smiled at the other student and nodded in agreement with what he had to say on partners. "I've been worried about who I might meet, I can't handle being with any slackers. There's a lot riding on my being here, I have to do well," she explained, keeping her story short and sweet, "You look like you know how to carry yourself though, so we should be in luck." Still, they needed to find two more team members now, even before they could imagine doing anything else. What would happen if there were not enough students? Surely some were going to find Grimm, and while she loathed to think it, some very well might die too.

"Do we even know which way the temple is though? I never saw it on my way down," Ulyssa remarked, frowning as she looked around cluelessly, "And you need sleep? We only just started! We have to work a little before we rest!" She was never going to get anywhere if she started worrying about sleep, or eating, any of that. She had to keep busy and continue working, not taking part in those sorts of things. "Let's go find some more teammates, and maybe then we can find the temple. We should try and do this as quickly as possible too, time wasted looking around is time we could spend doing something else."

A Grimm War [Vena Sera & Scout]

Now came the matter of finding some teammates, not quite as easy as it might sound. The possibility of ending up with a bad team was quite high, and Ulyssa couldn't settle for anything then the best group; she had to impress and appease her parents, that wouldn't be possible if she ended up with the lowest rung of students. Finding those who would make her team was utterly random chance, yet she'd try her best to avoid contact until she ran across someone who seemed to fit her idea of a "good student". Gathering herself from her fall, she dusted herself down before surveying the area, wondering in which direction to go. This tree at her back made an excellent landmark, towering over the others in the area, so maybe she should remain here and just let someone come to her. That might take a while however, and she really didn't want to be a sitting duck for a wandering group of Grimm.

"Owyn".

Eh? What was that? Jumping slightly at hearing someone's voice, Ulyssa spun on her heel and held her sword out in a threatening manner, realizing thereafter it was simply another student behind her. Recognizing her foolishness she quickly dropped her stance, face growing a slight pink as she sputtered incoherently, offering a small bow in turn. "Uh... Ulyssa! Ulyssa Jove, pleasure to meet you Owyn!" she belted out quickly, mentally damning herself for being such an idiot. After all those worries about first impressions and she'd drawn her sword on this boy, great way to make a teammate. Glancing up at Owyn she tried to get some idea of what he was like, noting immediately his expensive clothing and the way which he carried himself. From money then, proud? Definitely, she could see as much just by glancing at him. That was all fine and well, but was he capable?

"Sorry for drawing my weapon on you, I was taken by surprise," Ulyssa explained meekly, offering a smile in apology as she held her sword at her hip, "I suppose this is good though, it means we've each found a teammate." Was he the right fit though? Hard to say just yet, but if he was as affluent as she assumed then he should do just fine. She had one member of her team now, just two more and her Initiation would be complete. Of course with the Emerald Forest being as large as it was, finding another person, let alone two, is easier said than done. "I... Don't suppose you saw anyone else on your way down, did you?"

---

What route offered the least possible work? Soren wasn't lazy persay, he just didn't want to be wandering these woods for hours in search of teammates. Though firing off his gun had probably alerted some people on the way down, chances were he hadn't landed near enough another student for them to come to him. "Best get moving then..." Retrieving his rifle off his back once more, he grabbed hold of the barrel and snapped it loose, swinging the rifle out to the side and opening up the weapon, extending it onto a blade. Then, with a press of a button a thin strip of plasma extended from one conductor to another, giving him a small yet incredibly effective blade. Resting the sword then over his left shoulder, Soren placed his hand in his pocket and began trudging through the woods.

Despite knowing Grimm were here, the Emerald Forest was deceptively pleasant. Sure, it lacked the sound of birds singing, and sometimes it was so dense there was no sunlight, but it was a change of atmosphere and one that he enjoyed. He'd rather like to just sit down and relax, yet he wasn't going to accomplish anything if he did so. At any rate he couldn't well rest, not when he was beginning to hear other students, and Grimm as well. Not too far off in the distance he swore he heard a Boarbatusk roaring, yet the sound died away within a few moments. Either the student it had found had killed it, or it killed them, hard to say which. Either way though he should make his way over there, just to make certain they were alright. Who knows, he might get a teammate out of doing this.

Before ever making it to the battle however, Soren found himself in a predicament of his own. Ever get that sensation that you were being watched? He did, and though he was almost positive what it was, he continued walking as though unaware. He made it a good few dozen meters before a throaty growling prompted him to stop, letting out a sigh of reluctance before glancing over his shoulder at a pair of Beowolves. Just two? He might be able to handle that, though it was annoying to have to fight so soon. Watching them carefully as they began to circle him, he spread his feet apart somewhat but remained otherwise at ease, his sword still at rest on his shoulder. "Do we really have to do this now...?" he complained, sighing as one of the wolves growled at him, "I've got people to meet, can't this wait?"

Evidently not. As though taking his complaint as a sign to start, the Beowulf at his rear howled loudly then lunged at him first, right claw raised high in the air to strike him down. Raising his sword up over his head, Soren caught the Beowulf's claw on the back of his sword, straining somewhat to keep it back but managing to stay its sharp appendages. The second Beowulf lunged at him then, trying probably to capitalize on him being preoccupied with the first. "Come on... Two on one isn't fair..." he complained, easing up his grip and dropping to the ground, rolling under the second as it lunged across and slammed into the first, the pair tumbling away in the process. Getting back to his feet, Soren dashed over as they were beginning to gather themselves up, dropping the sword slightly before twisting his body and lifting his weapon, bringing it down in a hefty, diagonal slash that caught one of the Beowulves along its right shoulder, slicing open from the point of impact all the way to its stomach. Then, taking the flat of his blade he slammed it down on the Grimm's back, pummeling it back into the ground and finishing it off by driving his sword into its neck, a single weak growl coming from its lips before it was permanently silenced. One down, one to go.

A Grimm War [Vena Sera & Scout]

Plenty of anxious murmuring surrounded Soren right now, yet he himself felt relatively calm. This would, in theory, be a lot like the base jumping he used to do back at home. Granted, base jumping included water with which to break your fall, as opposed to say... Solid ground. Yet he'd already begun to think of a few ways which to land safely, it would all just depend on how he was thrown. Taking his place on his pad he glanced out over the canopy of the Emerald Forest, enraptured for a moment by how dense it was. A few forests were here and there back at home, yet nothing compared to this. It was just another reason why Vale was so vastly different to Vacuo, and why adapting to the drastic changes would take a bit of time. He couldn't worry about that right now though, as he was about to find himself launched into the air any second now.

"Okay... You've got this... It'll be easy." Ulyssa repeated this mantra to herself several times, yet her heart would not cease racing. Something didn't seem terribly fun about being launched hundreds of feet in the air, yet it would be absolutely necessary should she wish to enter Beacon. What did she have in her repertoire that might help? One card could do the trick, yet her chances of pulling the exact card she wanted, at this very moment, were slim to none. So what was her other option? Aim for the softest spot and hope she didn't end up a pancake, that seemed reasonable. Swallowing back her nerves she forced a smile to her face, crouching down and bracing for the sudden push. What felt like an insufferably long time, the sound of metal clicking alerted her that her flight was just about to begin; not a second later the platform sprung up beneath her, launching Ulyssa's petite form through the air at high speeds. With the whistling of the wind filling her ears and her lungs struggling to catch breath, she did her best to find some semblance of direction while in flight.

It wasn't easy, but she eventually managed to spot something that seemed reasonable just as her descent began. A large tree, perhaps a few dozen feet taller than the rest, loomed nearby. If she could manage to slow herself by falling through there, then maybe she could lose enough speed and land safely on the forest floor. This was of course a big if, she had no idea what the limbs of the tree were like, or if they could support her. Angling her body she managed to direct her flight in the direction she wanted, soaring down like a bullet across the sky. The treetops came up rather quickly, and Ulyssa had to pull herself over and flip to go through the canopy feet first, sliding along the trunk of the tree after passing through. Pulling her sword free from its sheath she dug it into the trunk, giving it a pull and managing to direct herself around a branch, before sliding into another and managing to lose some speed. With her sword acting like a rudder through the water, she managed to avoid any collisions and bring her velocity down to a manageable level, eventually hitting the ground and coming out none the worse for wear.

Breathing a deep sigh of relief upon landing, Ulyssa dusted off some wood chips from her outfit and checked her sword, glad to find it wasn't damaged at all from that trick. "Oh thank goodness I survived that..." she mumbled, leaning over for a moment as she tried to calm her racing heart, breathing in deeply through her nose. And that was just to start, goodness knows what more she was going to face in here. Well, she had a relatively good guess, and it didn't quite instill her with optimism. "And I still have to find three partners, lovely," she added to herself, standing upright and surveying her surroundings. No one here, she mused, which meant time to explore.

Soren had gone into this assuming it would be familiar, only to find it was completely different than expected. Simply jumping off a platform was easy compared to being thrown, and for a moment he completely blanked on what to do. Simply being tossed through the air, it wasn't until he began to plummet that his brain kicked into high gear, trying to come up with a solution to his problem. He had to slow down somehow, and he'd rather not do so by falling through trees. There was one thing he could do, though it was a bit risky to anyone potentially on the ground. He'd not seen anyone else land really however, and he'd gotten thrown away from the others, so it should be safe enough. Reaching onto his back he pulled his rifle free, aiming it downward and firing off a shot. The concussive force of his blast slowed him marginally, yet nowhere near enough to keep him from ending up six feet under. Quickly priming his weapon he fired off a second blast, then a third, and continued to do so on his entire way down.

By using his rifle's concussive recoil, and bouncing off of some trees, Soren made a less than graceful landing upon the forest floor. Somehow ending up on his feet, he first and foremost made certain he'd not accidentally shot anyone in the area, relieved to find bullets buried in trees, but not people. Turning the safety back on his weapon he slid it into the holster strapped to his back, hopping on each leg then to make certain nothing was broken; everything felt like it was in order, and aside from the small fright of being thrown off a cliff he was relatively okay right now. "But I can't take a break... I have to find someone," he said to himself, letting out a reluctant sigh as he started walking, "Or some Grimm... Maybe if I shoot something then people will come to me." Sounded like less work, he kind of liked that idea.

A Grimm War [Vena Sera & Scout]

Vale was so vastly different from Vacuo in so many ways, from its towering structures to the dense green foliage, and the crowds of people on every street. Being in such a busy place was a new experience for Soren, yet it was one he took in stride. The noise might take some getting used to, as would just being in such dense crowds, yet he'd adapt soon enough. Already he had made a friend too since coming here, albeit friend may not be the correct word for it. Acquaintance? Maybe not that either, in fact he still wasn't entirely certain why this girl was following him really. She had offered him directions upon his arrival, and then as if thinking he was helpless, began showing him everywhere. Soren might have said something if he cared enough to, willing more so than not to just have a guide for the time being.

"And here we are, Beacon Academy! This is where we will be spending the next four years of our lives," Ulyssa explained, smiling proudly as she placed one hand on her hip, gesturing up at the towering buildings before them, "Some of Remnant's most prolific Huntsmen, like my parents, came here to train. We'll come out of this with the skills necessary to defeat the Grimm, and make the world a safer place for it!" And she absolutely would, it was what her parents expected of her and she intended to meet said expectations. Her happiness at being essentially their doll to order about may be a fallacy, yet the smile on her face now seemed the genuine article. Beginning to walk along again, she glanced back as if to make certain Soren was in tow, folding her hands at the small of her back, "You're excited too, aren't you? I mean you came all the way here to Vale, it has to be exciting for you."

"Yeah... I guess I'm excited," Soren replied indifferently, rubbing at his head as he glanced around, "I don't feel a whole lot right now to be honest, still sort of taking it all in." His senses were pretty well overloaded with all these sensations, the sights and sounds that came with being in a totally new culture. He hoped he didn't stand out too terribly much here; wearing a plain black yukata top with grey flames along the sleeves, a red sash holding it at his waist, coupled with black samurai styled pants and sandals, he was hardly as preened as many other hopefuls here. When combined with his appearance, half-lidded eyes and a slouched posture, he seemed more like some street urchin who had wandered their way into the upper echelon of society. And in reality that wasn't too far from the truth.

Ulyssa sighed at her companion's comment, shaking her head before frowning in displeasure at his attitude. "You could at least pretend to be. With your getup and the way you're walking, you seem like you're waiting for a funeral or something. Pep up a little, it won't kill you!" Appearances meant a lot, especially for first impressions. In hopes of making herself well known, she had dressed as nicely as she possibly could for the orientation. While she didn't have untold sums of money, she had managed to scrap together enough to buy a new long-sleeved blouse, a fashionable dark blue jacket, a new skirt of the same shade with a baby blue hem, and a pair of tall boots. She'd certainly make an impression in more way than one, if the looks from some of the males wasn't telling enough. That wasn't the sort of attention she was after though, and plenty of angry glances were shot in their direction, sending the horndogs away with their tail between their legs. "What do you think of initiation? Are you excited for that at least?" she asked, expecting a prompt answer from Soren. When she got nothing from him she stopped and glanced back, her eyes widening in shock seeing no one behind her. "That slippery jerk!"

Soren really just wanted to get to the Initiation already and get that over with. This would be where they met their team, and hopefully he'd get partnered with someone not so chatty. Maybe Ulyssa was just trying to be social, but he didn't quite have a desire to talk with someone right now, more focusing on getting where he had to be and preparing for Initiation itself. It wasn't terribly difficult to guess where to go, just follow the swarms of students and you'd find your way there. "Jeez... This is going to be such a mess though..." he lamented, hanging his head slightly as he moved along, "So many people... And I probably have to fight some Grimm, what a pain..."

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Vegeta took a seat beside Viral as he more or less collapsed, trying his best not to raise alarms over anything. If he started worrying then the Beastman may cease training, and he wanted this to try and instill some sense of accomplishment in his brother. "There's a difference between giving up and having a change of plans though. We could revisit the running aspect and do something else," he suggested, shrugging as he leaned back against the wall, "Or we can modify the current exercise. Instead of running vertically along the room, we could try laterally. Speed and distance is not the point here, it's going through the motions and working muscles that may have been unused recently." They could run in a tight circle if they so chose to, all that mattered was they ran. One thing this workout was bringing to light was Viral's increasing need for nutrition, some kind of food, any food. But he was having issue eating still, wasn't he? "Viral... How do you feel about nutrition shakes?" Vegeta asked suddenly, glancing over at the Beastman, "Or nutrition bars? Think you could eat something similar to a granola bar?"

The little girl wanted to give Kiton a friend, and she had plenty of friends! Her stuffed animals were all really nice and she loved spending time with them, but she had many, he had none. Maybe then this one could be his first friend? Smiling brightly when the Frost Demon accepted her gift, the girl placed her hands behind her back and swung a bit on the spot, watching him expectantly as he looked over the stuffed animal. "It's a present silly, you don't need to give me anything," she replied happily, giggling before pointing up at the animal, "And you pretend! And sometimes, when I'm upset, I give them a hug and it makes me feel all better! They can be fun to play with too! I like to make believe all my animals are friends, so maybe you should get some more!" Maybe if he had a whole lot of stuffed animals then he'd be happier, he'd have a ton of friends then! Hearing one of the adults calling for her, the little girl glanced back and waved before giving Kiton one last passing smile. "I hope you like it mister!" she added, giggling before running back to join her family.

"Yeah, the Uuonians seem like really awful people, don't they?" Sasha quipped sarcastically, smiling as she glanced at Kiton, "And before you say it was just a kid, everyone here would do something like that. It just happens most of the adults are busy right now. They would do something for you too if you needed it." That had been really unexpected, yet she hoped it showed the Frost Demon a little bit of what these people were all about. For someone to be so friendly to a stranger, after potentially losing their home and maybe even loved ones, it didn't speak enough about their generosity. Certain it did something to change his outlook though, Sasha placed her hands on her hips smugly and looked at him expectantly for an answer, though she was briefly distracted as Leto was once again sniffling. "So was I wrong? Or are the people here still fake and only trying to earn our trust?"

Maybe Shu just needed to really watch someone to learn to fight, then he'd be able to fight Krom better. With the way things were going right now the little guy was never going to get anywhere. Takeshi figured he'd go ahead and put himself in the session then, relieve his brother and give him a chance to relax; perhaps something he did during his turn would inspire the younger boy, or something like that. "Hey, don't be sorry buddy, you tried. And you can try again later too, you know? You'll get it," he responded, giving his sibling a hug before letting him go off. Poor kid looked crestfallen from that, he'd probably tried pretty hard to make it work too. Feeling rather badly for Shu, Takeshi turned to look at Krom, displeasure written all over his face from having to do this. "No, I don't," he replied curtly, taking his stance as he got himself ready, "But what's scarier pops? Someone gone berserk, or someone cool and collected that wants your head?" Okay so he wasn't going to kill Krom, but he sure wanted to make the guy hurt for upsetting his brother. Slowly shifting his feet as he tried to decide on how to start this, Takeshi made a dash for the left before vanishing, coming in then on the opposite side of Krom, his left, and throwing a kick around at his arm.

Shu had been put to the sidelines rather quickly, too quickly in fact. There was no chance of the boy ever making progress if he was sent away every time he began sparring, he'd never have a chance to build confidence that way. Aito wasn't going to keep Takeshi from training, yet he also wasn't going to leave Shu to just sit there and sulk. "Shu...? I have a proposal..." the doctor spoke aloud, smiling across the way at the young child, "While Takeshi spars with him, why not practice with me? If you would like to of course. I'd be more than happy to help instruct you." The chances of his doing something to trigger a transformation were far less than Krom, and he had some theories on how to either prevent or reverse a change, should it happen. Walking over to join Shu where he was, Aito smiled and extended a hand to help Shu to his feet. "I can offer advice as we train too, maybe we can find a different way for you to fight? Or how to make your style more effective. What do you say?"

Avatar: The Price of Freedom

Whichever way they decided to travel it was going to take some time, Katsu knew that much. They had a destination, getting there was another matter entirely; shame he didn't have something like a flying bison, they could make the trip in no time at all. Koinu couldn't even carry him, let alone the three of them, so riding an animal was out of the question. The fact they were going to have to rely on public transit, a boat of all things, hardly thrilled him. What Siku said about it made sense, that being in a crowd might help obscure them. Yet the opposite might be true too, they could stand out in a crowd like a sore thumb. Not only that, but being in a mass of people it would be almost impossible to tell who might mean them harm; if they chose the sneakier route, then anyone they came across would more likely than not be against them.

"However we do it, we should do it soon. Nothing worse than sitting around while someone's searching for you," Katsu said aloud, frowning as he rose to his feet, "So we'll head to Gung-Li, and worry about getting to Iwa when we get there." If he'd learned anything in life, it was to be flexible. Even the best laid plans could be ruined by just one instance, so better to prepare to change than to stick to some routine. Improvising was something he was particularly good at, yet goodness knows if the same might be said for Siku or Asha. Giving Koinu's head a gentle rubbing, the Avatar began following alongside the Water Bender, smirking somewhat amused when she brought up food. "You'd never survive in the kind of life I've lived, you're too spoiled," Katsu teased, placing a hand on his stomach, "I can go for a while without eating, I guess it pays to be poor sometimes." Not that he was particularly poor now, but he had been for a while.

He would be fine without food, but Katsu did worry about Koinu. Still being a pup he really should eat regularly, and without any food really packed for travel, there wasn't much for his furry friend. Worst case he supposed he could go and hunt something, it wouldn't be the first time he'd done so. Glancing over to Siku when she started to question him, the Avatar's cheeks flushed slightly at what she had asked, looking away abashed and clearing his throat. "Well... Uh... No... Not really," he admitted, scratching at his nose casually with his index finger, "Never really had a chance to learn, or a teacher. Most of what I know now is self-taught too." He didn't really bend all that often, there was typically no reason to do so. It wouldn't be totally unfair to say he was out of practice, not that he'd ever admit such a thing.

"But hey, I can get on just fine without those two! I mean there's no big apocalyptic event going on, or some war threatening the world, it's just me running from some oppressive jerks. I don't see a reason to need all four elements for that," Katsu continued, grinning as he reached over and put an arm around both Siku's and Asha's shoulders, "That's what I've got you two for, right? My water princess and my little air nomad, you can make up for what I didn't learn." More than anything he just really had no desire to learn. Learning another element was difficult, that went without saying, and also immensely time consuming. It could take up to a few weeks to even grasp the basics, depending on his teacher, and longer still to have some semblance of a mastery. Much as he'd like to think they could teach him, Katsu had serious doubts about his companions being good teachers.

Uchiha Reborn

Of all the people Sasuke did not want to see right now, Naruto was pretty close to the top of the list. The blond had an obnoxious way of being cheerful even though his own situation sucked, and seeing the other boy like that made him feel even worse. Before this he might not have been so reluctant to see Naruto, now he just wanted to get away. With Yura at his side however he knew he wasn't going to get out of this, and so the Uchiha boy simply stood at her side, trying to avoid the other boy's gaze as he shifted uncomfortably on the spot. Of course he'd be completely oblivious to his discomfort, and now he was trying to get him to talk?

Sasuke was about to respond until Naruto dropped a bombshell of a question. The second it left his mouth he could feel the tension in the air, and nervously he glanced up in Yura's direction. She was angry, no doubt about that, leave it to Naruto to pull something like that. Sighing to himself, the Uchiha boy reached up and put a hand on Yura's to try and keep her from snapping, giving the blond a somewhat annoyed glance in turn. "She's Yura, and she's taking care of me. That's all you need to know," he responded curtly, grabbing Yura's hand then and leading her away. That probably confused Naruto more than it helped him, but Sasuke didn't much care. He had to take his new caretaker away before he killed the idiot for asking a question like that, so this was doing him a favor.

Surprisingly the blond dolt didn't follow, and Sasuke was able to get Yura a safe distance before letting her go. Releasing her hand as soon as he was sure it was safe he placed both hands in his pockets, casting his gaze downwards once more. He'd wanted to actually chat with his classmate, but that was difficult when he was pissing off the only person Sasuke had left. That aside and it was pretty tense when around Naruto, with all the villagers treating him like he was diseased or something. He still had no idea why they did that, he'd never seen anyone be shunned so much as Naruto was. Sure he was a trouble maker, but then so were a lot of kids their age, so what did he do to earn that?

"Yura...? Why does everyone hate Naruto?" Sasuke asked, voicing his confusion. Looking back up at his caretaker he frowned, furrowing his brow as he tried to make sense of it in his mind. "He's never done anything that bad, has he? And it's not like he's old enough to hurt anyone, he's my age. I don't get why everyone looks at him that way..." In a way it wasn't fair, how both he and Naruto were treated. Neither of them had much of anything, yet Sasuke was never shunned or treated like a stray animal. He even lucked out and found someone in Yura to take care of him, yet Naruto was wholly alone. Even though he didn't know the word for it, the hypocrisy absolutely disgusted him. Tightening his hands into fists, the raven-haired boy wrinkled his face in discontent and gave a shake of his head. "I hate that everyone does that... They're all wrong..."

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Should they put Cecil on a horse? It might be easier for him to have his own, but then again he may not know how to ride one. It wasn't so much a question of funds either, what with Nymira having a small fortune and all; whether the Machina could even ride a horse was the problem here. Amuné had a good solution though, having their mechanical friend ride along in the cart rather than on horseback. Ethan couldn't see any problems with that, and if they only got two horses then it might be easier for them to avoid being spotted, and easier to run. "Yeah, horses are usually really big Cecil. Taller than I am, wider, longer and tons of muscle. They're amazing for traveling which is why so many people have them." Well, he had seen a lot of people on the roads with them, but he doubted many residents of Galloway personally owned a horse. Now that they had the money for it though they could count themselves among the lucky few.

"It's my pleasure Cecil, just remember to record your data for me. I'll try developing some parts for you too, to help your systems run more efficiently. I can't do that, of course, without your help though." Norman needed reports quite in depth, probably more so than he could hope to get from Cecil; energy consumption, individual component conditions, a thorough, well sorted list of his various functions... Just slightly more in depth than he'd probably get. Still though he ought to be able to make it work, it would just take some insight on his part. Smiling as Amuné thanked him, the engineer gave a small nod of his head and waved them off, "Not a problem, I'll see you all back here later," he answered, watching as they left for the stables. Well this was an eventful day, and he still had to get Cecil's package prepared. Sighing in exasperation he rubbed at his head, glancing about at the clutter in his shop. "Jeez... I should have charged them something, that could have been a big sale..."

Ethan was eager to get horses now, not having had the luxury up to this point. While this meant they would have to constantly care for and maintain their horses it was hard to argue with the benefits; traveling faster, less wear on themselves, a means of pulling a cart full of supplies, all big benefits. "Yeah, kind of like I said before. You'll know them when you see them, I bet you've seen one before," the Magi replied, already moving along quickly to the stables. The Machina had some very unusual fears about riding a horse, but they already had a solution to his problem. "No problem, you can ride in the cart! I'll try getting a bigger, stronger horse to do that, or Nymira can get a horse to pull the cart and I'll ride with Amuné." He didn't want to make one do too much work, it wouldn't be very nice to the animal. Hopefully this place even had horses large enough for what they needed, since if all they could find were basically ponies then they weren't quite pulling any carts along, now were they? "Hey Amuné... Before we go too, we should get some kind of coat in case it rains, don't you think? I can probably find one with a few coppers..."

"If you need anything to do your jobs, just ask. I'm not above paying for my help," Nymira interjected, placing a hand on the coin purse at her hip, "I expect you have something to sleep in as well? A tent or something of the sort?" Ethan's meek smile said not, annoying the Dimuran slightly. Shaking her head in displeasure she folded her arms in annoyance, though once again refrained from snapping, if only for Amuné's sake. "We'll buy our horses, then I demand we stop somewhere to buy some proper equipment. I'm not a barbarian like others of my kind, I have no wish to sleep on the ground, especially if it should rain." Besides, if they were left exposed to the weather then they might become sick, and if they became sick then they may not be able to travel. Nymira would absolutely not have anything keeping them from moving along, and if that meant spending some gold here and there then fine.

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Vegeta stopped rather quickly when Viral ran into the wall, frowning at how sloppy he had become. Was he already tired? 100 meters, yet Viral looked like he was about to collapse. Extending an arm out to keep the Beastman from moving on, the Saiyan sighed before giving his brother a careful look over. "Maybe you can, but not all at once. Sit down and catch your breath, I'm going to get you some water. Wait here for a moment." That was no good, he should not have tired out that quickly. Given that Viral could fight relatively well still it was somewhat expected he could do a short distance run, yet obviously that wasn't the case. Perhaps they could try getting him to eat something now? No, they should exercise before he tried that, build up more of an appetite. Vegeta didn't have to go too far to find some water for Viral, stopping in a nearby room and finding himself a glass which he filled, hurrying it back to the Beastman's side. "Here, slowly sip this," he said, crouching down and handing it over to Viral, "We'll take a two minute break then try the second lap. In the mean time... How do your legs feel? Did they almost give out on the run?"

"If they have a reason for it then they've never come forward and told us. As far as I can tell they're just tyrants, and tyrants have no business here. And even if they do have their reasons, is this the best way to do it? To do anything? I don't care what their reasoning is, conscripting people and attacking planets isn't a solution." Like Kiton said, they were better off having some sort of conference to solve whatever the Saiyans were doing, but that would never happen. Saiyans weren't exactly known for their diplomacy, with Sayomi being a rare exception to that rule; Korian tried, but more often than not he reverted back to the usual 'I'll beat you up to make you agree', typical of Saiyans. Becoming slightly testy, both with Kiton questioning the rebels and the Uuonians, Sasha decided to make him see firsthand just how friendly the locals were. Pulling him along forcibly, she brought him to a nearby family, expecting children to be especially kind and friendly to him. A little girl came over rather quickly upon their arrival, and she seemed happy for their presence.

She had never seen someone like Kiton before, but he was with the rebels, so he had to be a good person, right? The bad people were put in jails, but this one was walking around with them. He didn't seem to be very happy to be out here though and she wondered why that might be; was it because the city was a mess? They were trying to fix it, it was just taking a little time was all. "Not anyone's friend? But mister... Everyone has friends!" the girl replied cheerfully, beaming as she gave Kiton's hand a squeeze before it slipped from her grasp, "Here, I'll show you my friend!" Racing back to her family as quick as her legs would carry her, the girl spoke with one of the adults briefly before retrieving a stuffed animal from a box. Bringing it back to the trio she looked up at Kiton happily as she held her toy up for him, a yellow creature that somewhat resembled a hippopotamus. "See? I have him, and I have a lot of other friends too! And I have friends I see in the city, and friends I go to school with!" she announced proudly. Then, in hoping to cheer Kiton up she tried to put her toy in his hand, the smile never quite leaving her face. "If you don't have friends, then take this! He can be your first friend!"

Aito hadn't exactly aimed to demean Shu, yet Krom was making it out as such. That man really was good at missing his point on these things, though at least it prompted Shu to act once more. It was hard to say that the young boy was really fighting though, only occasionally leaping at the Elite and throwing some half-hearted punches his way. It must be a serious lack of confidence, as Shu hardly seemed like he was going into this session with a lot of reservation. In a way it was almost sad to watch, knowing the boy must be trying yet not getting anywhere. The way he fought too... Why did he constantly back off and attack again? If he kept the pressure up then maybe he could get somewhere, yet he appeared to telegraph his moves as much as he possibly could. Watching as Shu was slapped aside casually by Krom, the doctor sighed silently and met Shu's uneasy gaze, not giving him anything to work off of. It pained him to just watch, but if he hoped to improve then he'd need to try and get some confidence of his own. They could say anything they wanted, but at the end of the day it fell to Shu himself to be up to the task.

"Come on Shu, kick his ass! You know you can!" Takeshi shouted, clearly not in agreement with Aito's ideas. "I know my kid brother is a fighter, now he's just gotta show me what I already know!" The little guy just really seemed like he didn't want to be here right now, even less so now that he'd gotten batted away like that. He had rarely seen Shu so utterly dejected and hopeless, it was a little too much for his liking. Frowning when his brother didn't seem to perk up any, the older boy walked over despite the doctor's protests, grabbing Shu and pulling him in for a quick hug. "Hey, why don't you take a seat and watch me buddy? I can spar for a bit, then maybe you can try what I did, you know? Get a little inspiration or something." Though if his fighting style was half as lousy as Krom made it out to be, maybe Shu ought not be copying it. Letting go of his brother, Takeshi frowned at Krom and stepped in front of Shu, determined to do as he'd sad and fight the guy now. "Give Shu a break, maybe he just needs to get ready. Train me for now old man, unless you don't want to fight me?"

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

The fact Viral was willing to do these exercises showed he was willing to work, now it was just a matter of seeing if his body could do it. Muscle atrophy and fatigue would be plaguing him by now, there was a fair chance that he'd tire even from the most mundane of tasks. "Good, I'm glad you realize as much. Whenever you're ready we'll begin." Poised to take off, Vegeta waited patiently for the Beastman to begin the run. Once they began moving he kept pace easily enough, finding they were moving at a relatively slow pace. As he'd worried, it appeared like the simple act of running was proving to take an unusually high toll on Viral; it was maybe a 50 meter run one way, 100 both ways, hardly an extremely demanding exercise. "Slow your pace then, do what feels manageable for you," Vegeta responded, not wanting the Beastman to give up already. "Even walk if that's what you feel you must do. This isn't a timed trial or anything, we're simply moving from one side of the room to the other, it doesn't matter how." If they walked now, they would run later. If they ran now, they would sprint later. Regardless they were going to improve, and however they started now was not an issue.

"Well... If 'random genocide' isn't reason enough to fight, then I don't know what is," Sasha retorted dryly, resisting the urge to snap at Kiton for that. Yes, people killed one another all the time, it was an unfortunate fact of life. But most people didn't systematically kill a whole different group, or conscript entire worlds, or destroy civilizations for getting in their way. The Saiyans took what was awful about people and amplified it a hundred times over, that was why she fought them. And again they were going on about whether the Uuonians were genuinely nice or not. Why was this even a thing? They celebrated whenever rebels came home safely, helped them willingly, helped ANYONE willingly, and took huge risks by doing so with nothing really to gain for themselves. The fact Kiton couldn't see all that for genuine kindness annoyed Sasha, and she was past her point with him. Stopping in her tracks she turned around and stared at the Frost Demon for a moment, then reached out and grabbed hold of his wrist. "Okay, you don't believe me? Fine. I'll just prove it to you!" Tugging him along with Leto following behind, she dragged Kiton over to the nearest group of Uuonians, smiling as they approached. "I'll show you these people are nice yet, just watch."

Without saying anything herself, Sasha was betting on one of the Uuonians to come over and greet them. As she'd hoped one of them did come over, though it was one of the children, not what she had expected. Toddling over to the unusual trio, the young girl immediately recognized Leto and Sasha as rebels, a wide smile crossing her face at noticing that. "Hi mister, hi miss!" she said bubbly, waving as she stood before them, "We're helping rebuild some houses, it's a lot of fun! I get to plant all the pretty flowers!" Her father, an older Uuonian, noticed the group and waved to them cheerfully before returning to his work, helping to put up a frame for a building. Seeing Kiton and not recognizing him, the girl folded her hands behind her back and skipped a bit until she stood before him, tilting her head to the side curiously. "Hi mister, who are you? Are you a friend of theirs?" she asked, and before even getting an answer she smiled again, reaching up and grabbing hold of his free hand, "Nice to meet you mister! Mommy says that we should be nice, even if things are bad right now. So I try to say hi to everyone we see, so everyone is happy!"

"Fright can lead to anger, be careful! You don't want to trigger a change!" Blasted man, he was completely missing the point. Anger was a normal response when faced with fear, to try and threaten whatever danger you faced or overcome it. If Shu were to become angry over being threatened, there was a real chance he might transform. That aside, Takeshi might not transform but there was still a risk of his going berserk, and goodness knows what might happen if that were to pass. The reality was they were dealing with two very volatile children here, and there was no knowing when or if either might be set off. Frowning as Shu was thrown aside like a doll, Aito glanced over to Takeshi and shook his head, making sure the other boy stayed put. If there was real danger to Shu then they would act, but right now this was barely a game for Krom. "Shu, you're sparring, this isn't a fight for your life. If you continue to avoid every little danger, you'll never learn," the doctor called out, loathing to be the one to try and instigate Shu into fighting. "To overcome a fear sometimes you must face it. Prove to Krom that you can handle whatever he's trying to deal to you. Show him you're stronger than he thinks you are." Show all of them that, because right now Shu was equivalent to a toddler hiding under their sheets during a thunderstorm.