Orpheus

The Legend of Heroes: Tales of the World

He was in Hell, and It froze over.

Lute’s eyes widened in surprise when everything fell to a halt and then completely stopped; even a simple leaf which wafted in from the open window was suspended mid-air, and his mother and father remained unmoving like stiff wax statues. He pushed himself off the counter and rubbed his eyes, feeling more than a healthy amount of confusion and dread as he reached out and touched the floating leaf.
"Ma?" The boy called out, uncertainty ringing in his tone. "Old man-" He didn't want to call the man 'Father' and he felt something vague stir within him; anger at himself for having to talk with this person, "Did you do this? If it isn't enough that you're useless, you even-"

The world suddenly flipped.

“Graaaaaagh!?” Lute shouted as the house rapidly tilted 90 degrees. The door creaked, tore out of the hinges and his father fell through the gap, still frozen with the bottle angling towards his lips. His mother, on the other hand, was pulled downwards along with all the other household objects. She was pinned against the stone wall by the dining table, a blank expression on her face despite the fact that everything was going to hell. Lute hung on to the counter and braced, but his hands kept slipping. “Wait, Ma! J-just hang on, I’m going to get you!” He yelled and inched towards the wall. The boy was almost digging his heels into the earthen floor just to make sure he was stable, but his palms were clammy with sweat. “What do I do, what do I do?” He mumbled to himself and flinched when a pan flew off its hooks and grazed his face. The nearest handhold was an inch out of reach and Lute strained forward, his fingertips brushing on the stone but never really securing a grip.

"Brooother? What's happening?" Ruana's voice wafted in from the bedroom. Was she flung against the wall by the sudden insanity that was happening right now? Shit, maybe she was injured!? Lute shook his head. He had to remain focused. Mom first and then they can save his sister together. Ruana's question rang oddly clear despite the cacophony from furniture being torn apart, and Lute immediately shrieked back at her to stay inside.

As he reared back one more time to try again the house shook and Lute fell, through the very same gap in the very same way his father did.

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

Reminder!
GROUP 1

1. Hakuren
2. Leon
3. Riley
4. Lesley
5. Jasper


You're with me! I'm making a post, but it'll take quite long. My left hand is injured. 8D
My post will be brief. I'll mainly pan out and describe the surroundings (although you guys are really capable enough, so I trust you'll create your own nuances). Tomorrow is the day, of course. ^ o ^
Kimchi, I'll just assume Jasper grabbed hold of Victoria's whip, okay?

EDIT! Posted! I know it's awfully short material to work with, but it's really not needed (basically just a filler so everyone has an idea what the forest looks like) since we're going to dole out the action tomorrow. ^ o ^

The Legend of Heroes: Tales of the World

Hmmm, I'll change his then. Sorry...

The Legend of Heroes: Tales of the World

???

“Someday, we’ll make it through… ” The first thing he heard was her perfect voice.

It was as sweet and clear as ever. Ten-year-old Lute remained in his makeshift bed and let her continue her favorite song he stared up at the bare ceiling, watching dust motes dance through the rays of sunlight that filtered through the shattered window. Man, his head hurt. He had this vaguest dream of a perpetually frowning fish (?) and a little ghost woman who resided inside his brain. “Ruana?” Lute sat up and stared at his sister’s back. She was facing the wall, curled up in a fetal position. He sighed and threw the threadbare blanket over her instead, since she was sick and getting chills wasn’t good for her.

And then Lute could hear her voice no more.

“Ma!?” He shouted and jumped up from the cot without waiting for an answer. “MA!” The virtuoso yelled louder as he ran out the room. They had only two rooms, so if she wasn’t the bedroom it was either she was in here or outside…!

“Oh, you don’t need to shout, sweetheart. Kids today, they think their mothers are deaf,” He heard her laugh and glanced towards the voice, his eyes alighting on the figure of the most important person in the world. “Ma,” Lute muttered limply and strode towards her, staring at his mother as she dried her hands on a rag on the counter then turned to face him. “Can you continue the song for me?” She clasped her weathered hands together and waited; when he continued to stare at her she nodded encouragingly. Lute awkwardly cleared his throat and sung the next line of the song, “Rise from the ashes, the pain, the loss. Free forevermore.”

His mother listened until his voice faded away and smiled. She reached down to cup his face in her hands. He could feel the blisters on her palm, the wounds that almost healed but re-opened because she didn’t have the time to let them be, the welts and the flaking skin, brush against his cheek. “My handsome son! You will grow up to be someone far beyond our station, and when you earn enough riches to last you a lifetime, you will not forget your mother, right? Your plain old mother with her dirty clothes and messy hair. Your peasant mother, who cannot even feed her own children,” She murmured faintly. Lute growled and pulled away, stung once again by the disregard his mother had for herself. “Ma, can you stop that!? It’s not your fault, okay!? None of this is! Gods, I hate it when you do that to yourself!” He cried out.

His voice was drowned out by a loud roar preceded by the rotting door being kicked from the hinges. A distorted noise, at its core a human’s voice warped by memories soured by hate, malice, and terror, filled the house from the smallest corner to the rafters. “dELiLAH! wHEre’S MY fUCKinG-,” He belched loudly and swayed from side to side, then slammed his half-empty bottle on the table, “dINneR!?”

Lute looked away and shrunk back, the ragged stone counter digging into his back as his father sat himself down and placed his hands on the table. Those thick, gnarly woodcutter’s fingers drumming against the grained wood told him where he was.

He was in Hell.

The Legend of Heroes: Tales of the World

Ey guise I (barely) passed my second exam! BUT I PASSED IT. So, posting.

Edit: POSTED!

The Legend of Heroes: Tales of the World

Woooo only a week of summer class left!

Wow those posts though just wow

The Legend of Heroes: Tales of the World

Thaum? - Coliseum

“I’m sorry, Estelle!” The virtuoso cried out as he got up. Delilah’s rapidfire cursing made it impossible for him to think, let alone wallow in drama, so after rolling pathetically to the side and then scrambling back to his feet, Lute faced the wildcat again with his sword at the ready. The feline didn’t opt to have him garner the chance to rest and immediately launched into a quick volley of attacks. Lute, caked in dirt and having far below the necessary stamina to compete in such a speedy manner, could only block the blows as he was forced back against the bars.

Thankfully the other guilders rushed to his aid. Dylan’s arrow didn’t completely stun the raging wildcat, but he paused long enough for Lute to regain his momentum. “Why don’t you give it a rest!?” The virtuoso snarled, turning the cat from mere opponent to his personal rage outlet as he delivered his own set of quick slashes and jabs. His main objective right now was to regain ground.

Xandra veered towards the two when she realized that Dylan had run out of bolts.

“Oh, I get it!” Lute’s voice rose an octave. “So your pride is so important that you’re going to kill people for it!?”
Xandra’s prosthetic reformed into a hammer, and she was about a few feet away from the cat; as she got nearer the metallurgist raised her weapon over her head. Lute heard the crowd reacting to the ambush and deliberately dropped his guard, which resulted with the cat’s daggers tearing down fat gashes his left sleeve. In that split-second that the feline came within a ten-inch proximity to his body, the virtuoso ‘released’ what would most probably be his last wave, except this time there was nothing to hear. The wildcat’s eyes widened in confusion as the noises from the crowd ‘vanished’ completely and he stepped back in alarm, only to have a hammer slam down on his head. K.O, finally.

“Just… give me a second,” Lute dropped to his knees and held up his hand when Xandra approached. “Okay, I’m great. Thanks,” He got back up and the two of them sauntered to where Dylan was. “Thank you for the help earlier, I really needed it. And it’s not the best time to ask this, but can you two tell me your names? When the time’s … appropriate, of course. Next time. Okay, I'm completely messing this up. Again,” He grabbed Bubbles, which had fallen beside the matter artist, and gave the two guilders a grateful stare despite the awkward monologue before glancing towards Estelle and Selan. Ah, fresh feelings of guilt, commence!

“Ugh, I wish I could just-!” Lute outstretched his hand and attempted another attack, except this one ended up (and sounded) like a fart, complete with a small pulse rattling the very air in front of his palm. “Damn it!”

The Legend of Heroes: Tales of the World

Hey guys, I'll be posting really late today because we're going to the hospital (nothing major, hahaha. Mom's just being paranoid)! Hope you all have a great day! ... Well, better than mine, I hope. (T___T)

Get well soon, Pach~

Edit: Finished the wildcat with lots of Michi's help for the move-along. I hope I didn't do something wrong! > < Please tell me if I did!!! Also I just straight up assumed that Estelle and Selan are doing fine by that time Lute and Xan finished, is that okay!? Aekrel;wvrt > <

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

Kimchi.
Jasper is a gem.
Keep that baby safe.

The Legend of Heroes: Tales of the World

Thaum? – Coliseum

Lute relished the short moment his beach ball had afforded him by feeling like a soccer god before moving his sword in an upward jab. Steel against steel rang out, and before he knew it Bubbles had been thrown away and now the feline had twin daggers in his paws, one of which had blocked his attack.
He swore those stilettos weren’t there earlier-

Holy shit, mission abort, mission abort! Lute clearly underestimated the fuck out of this pal! He attempted not to think of the fact that he could’ve chosen the bear or the wolf as he tried to evade a whirlwind of assaults, his breath coming out in labored huffs after a while. The way he was being forced to retreat… Sooner or later the cat was going to hit him, and with those sharp blades it ain’t gon be pretty.

“Lute! Once more?”
“Wha-!?” The slightest rupture in concentration and virtuoso was cut off mid-question when the wildcat headbutted him all the way against the cage bars. The metal rang dully as the hilt of his sword jammed against the cell, but one of the few things that Lute realized was that he was back to the starting point. That and the stars were spinning.

When he saw that the feline was poised to stab him, he raised his hands up instinctively and cringed.

The virtuoso opened his eyes a few seconds later after realizing that he wasn’t dead… But the cat, now rolling on the ground with his paws over his ears, probably has a ruptured eardrum. Lute acted solely on instinct and had released a very concentrated sound wave, leaving him alive (yey!) but suddenly struck by a huge drain in energy. He put his hands down then glanced around wearily, only to see both Estelle and the wolf (Simon? … Whatever) nearby.
“Estelle!” Lute swooped in and held up his blade to meet the wolf’s weapon, wincing and staggering backwards due to the force of the hit. “Thought you might need some help? I can make a distraction. Only a small one, though,” He muttered loud enough for only her to hear, seeing that their opponent had stepped back and was now assessing them with bright, murderous eyes.