Scout

Avatar: The Price of Freedom

Siku crossed her arms, "Make it up to yourself, ass. I've known you for years!" She exclaimed, "You think I'd go tell my dad on you? Please, I could have had the Avatar as my friend all this time - could've taught you waterbending myself!" She pointed out in agitation, "But no, that ship sailed! Goodbye, best teacher ever. Hello pain-in-the-ass-friend-you-like-to-lie-to-about-your-entire-life-as-she-knows-it!" The girl took a deep inhale, clearly running out of breath mid-sentence. As she spoke and the next plan was discussed, the girl lifted an orb of water from the sewer line and it began to bubble in the air, giving off a lot of wretched smelling steam. However, it quickly turned to a perfect, clear complexion and formed into a long, curved shape before flashing to ice in the form of a blade which she artfully caught and hooked through the belt of her dress. It didn't look quite so ceremonious as her real one, but it would hold up well and, as she had no waterskin, made a nice substitute for carrying the water.

She turned to Katsu, "You're not going anywhere without guard. How do you know who you can trust apart from the ones that fought with you - whose lives you already put in danger, I might add, without them even knowing who you were." Her arms crossed once more in irritation as she stared daggers at him. She brushed a hand through her hair, fruitlessly shaking it out. Still damp... Ironic how water could make life so much harder than it needed to be, but so much easier.

While Siku was making her blade, Hiresh shook his head at Katsu, "You're a VIP now, at least... while Siku vouches for who you are." The metal bender clearly didn't like it any more than Katsu did, "No, it doesn't make you some perfect guy. It makes you some dude who needs to be protected while he's still a little pipsqueak weakling who can bend on what looked like barely a beginner's level up in the restaurant... So yes, I'm going to work toward helping you, but no, I don't like it. You don't want my help? Too bad, it's my job. You don't want to go to the station? Fine, I can't make you anyway, but until this is sorted out, you're life is my responsibility, Avatar Katsu," He almost physically shuddered at the boy's new title, "I don't work for you, I'm just here to make sure nobody gets the better of you." The man didn't care about the badge that was thrown away anymore either. "You want to risk going back to your hideout? Fine, but I'm going too," He said with absolute certainty.

Siku looked at the small airbender and nodded, "She's not wrong, that'd be a pretty good place to go... Or just outside the city... I don't see how going to a hideout of thieves is going to be a very good idea..." She shrugged and stared at him, "Wherever you wanna go, Bridge Boy." Finally, she turned to her shorter friend with a look of concern, "Asha, are you sure you're okay? Can't believe this night turned into such a disaster..."

Avatar: The Price of Freedom

She was ready to take that guy down... a flurry of shards as well as a large body of sewage rose and formed into two rings which began to rotate with vigor around her, forming a gimbal, just as she had earlier to spar with her father. The feat was rather impressive, but it was more for show if you didn't know how to properly use it. While Katsu moved forward to intercept the other two, Siku was on the other side of the waterway, firing ice discs from the gimbal. Her opponent bobbed and weaved, struggling to match her pace for a moment, until his motive was clear. The discs froze behind and in front of him, shattered, and were fired once more as ice shards. The water bending girl grunted and twisted to intercept them easily in return until Katsu leapt across the hall, vaulting a stone, and raised his own shield in defense. The spinning rings, no longer being focused on, continued with their momentum for a moment before splashing to the ground, dowsing both of them in sewage... AGAIN.

She frowned and stared at the shield for only a moment before the Avatar ripped the ground at their feet and knocked the adversary in the chin. As the floor rumbled, Siku had to step to the side to watch her footing. Having lost concentration at his earth bending, the boy before her claiming to be the Avatar was ironically taking away her balance. She slipped and fell into the water... A. FREAKING. GAIN!

He reached down to pull her out, but Siku just pulled herself up with as much dignity as she could muster, using the disgusting liquid around her to launch lightly into the air and set herself back on the floor. All of the water on, or around her was swept away in one fluid, circular motion before being fed back into the flowing waterway. Only Katsu remained wet and she stared at him blankly for a moment.

"... You just..." She eyed the water, how quickly could she make a blade of ice for herself to lop his head off..? No, better not, she decided, looking to him again. "You earth bended... But... You're a fire... bender..." She muttered, looking to the three unconscious men, then to him, "You're not going any-"

-----

Reaching a manhole after following Asha's strange but accurate intuition, Hiresh planted his feet and raised the manhole cover... Or he tried. It didn't budge... Siku... He cursed silently, shifting his stance and punching downward. There was a lot of cracking and grinding as the cover shattered the ice, which was already beginning to melt, and drove itself to the bottom of the hole. "We'll fix that later," He said with a shrug, letting Asha hop down the hole herself. Just like an airbender to remain graceful and float down; Hiresh, however, had to slide down the ladder. Just as they were arriving, Siku was clearing the floor of the water and the walls of the tunnel looked like they had seen better days. Hiresh sighed and saw the three men, unconscious on the ground. Doing his due diligence, each one was bound with the slips of metal in his uniform used for just such an occasion.

He heard Katsu asked to leave and he stared daggers at the boy, "No. I don't know what's going on, but you're not going anywhere kid. Not all of those guys were actually White Lotus," He said, deducing quickly. "Something happened up there and about half of the squad, if not more, turned on the rest of them, we took as many as we could down, but I had to get out and make sure you guys were okay. The hell's going on?"

Siku pointed a finger childishly at Katsu, "He's the Avatar and didn't tell me!" She exclaimed, stomping her foot in agitation. Hiresh, just as she had, laughed.

"That's funny. No, seriou-"

"He earth bended. And fire bended."

"Oh..." The Metal bender rubbed the back of his neck, "Then you're not really safe, we have to get you to the station, or somewhere safe. Where can you go, Katsu?" Suddenly, Hiresh's attitude had changed from a patronizing ass to a concerned officer - when he was on-duty and not preventing children like Katsu from bogarting badges, the man was a damned good cop.

Far From Home [ Scout & Vena Sera ]

"Likewise... Hey, uh... Thanks," Nero said, stuffing his hands in his pockets, huffing in irritation. "I... really don't know why I held on to that damned thing for so long... Just didn't know when it would be appropriate and... Well, I knew this would happen," He explained quietly, looking over at Suto with a rather unsure smile. The boy didn't regret his decision for a moment, but he wondered where they would be right now had Yari just died... What if he hadn't used it? What if Suto had found out he could have? Or Fitch for that matter. His circle of friends was never large before SAO and even in Aincrad he was often isolated, choosing to fend for himself.

Titus gave him a smirk, "Of course. There's little we can do to avoid that mentality... Believe me, in a few weeks, you'll be old news... People can't stay mad about something they had no business being in in the first place. At least, not a lot, but believe you me: you've made some enemies today. You'll have to be more careful in the future - people aren't going to be out for just your money anymore, yeah?"

This was a new angle, Nero thought, furrowing his brow and staring at Titus, "People are going to... like... hunt me?"

The American shrugged, "I'm saying be careful, kid. Aincrad has a lot more undesirables than one would think. Not everybody wants out, and some people are more than happy to make a fortune like yours from people who aren't thinking right. Like them," He pointed out, jerking his head toward the general group of people at the part. Finally, Titus stood up straight, clapped his hands together, "Now, who's ready to get this started? I've got Minerva on speed dial, anybody want some live music?" The mood instantly did a 180, several players whipping around and grinning - even the ones that had been angry moments before. Players who could play music were a rarity in this world and she was one of the best.

-----

Within the hour, an older girl would show up, much to the enjoyment of the players who could really use the morale boost. She had hair that was tinged a subtle, soft shade of pink. She came with a small group of friends which were presumably members of her band. They'd been together since the beginning of the game and many thought that they were a band in real life too, but she never really confirmed any rumours about herself. She just liked to perform and the crowd was happy to give her the room to do so, letting them set up their own instruments and give the ambiance a little bit more personality than any NPC band could ever do.

After their first couple of songs warming up the crowd, Titus escorted Suto and Nero to the forefront, taking the girl's hand and politely kissing the back of it with a rather regal bow. "Minerva, great to see you again. I'm glad you could come with such short notice."

"Shove off, Titus," She said, giving a small laugh to show she wasn't really being too rude. "You know I love to play the new floors, but the party's always dying when I get here. Maybe if the party-starters would call me earlier..." She pointed out with a bit of heat.

The American put up his hands, "Don't look at me, I never start it. I think most of them either can't contact you or think you'll charge 'em just to show up here."

She shook her head and rolled her eyes, "Well that's stupid. This isn't a private gig, this one's for a good cause and these guys need it. Hey, who're your friends?" She asked, nodding to the boys.

"Ah, sorry. Suto, Nero, this is Minerva. Musician Extraordinaire," He said cinematically, "And one of the prettiest girls in Aincrad, if I do say so."

The girl blushed slightly, "Nice to meet you boys. I'm really not that great, but I'm certainly one of the better looking girls around. We're rather rare, aren't we?" She asked with a playful wink, sticking her tongue out at Titus.

Digital or Real?

BOOOOOMMMMM haha, I love it XD

Digital or Real?

I was counting on it!

Far From Home [ Scout & Vena Sera ]

"Town square, as far as I know. Usually is, let's find out," Nero replied, looking himself over in the mirror to make sure he looked fine. Typically he'd have something to change into, but leaving his battle gear on was just fine. The two made it out to the square, where the party was already underway. The mood was a bit more sombre than the typical floor party, but it was still fairly jovial. They'd lost a lot of people today, but it could have been worse. Floor Fifty would be one they prepared heavily for, of that Nero had no doubt. However, the moment he stepped into public, the mood instantly turned to something more tense. The sound of metal clicking and swords moving was wholly recognizable to the duo. Some people in the crowd had drawn their blades partially from their sheaths and others just rested hands on their hilts.

From the midst of suddenly quiet, watching people, a voice spat, "What makes you think you can walk out here with that kind of dignity?" A few jeers came with it, agreeing whole-heartedly, "The power to revive and we lost a dozen people today!"

Instantly, Nero's eyes were on the ground, Maybe this wasn't such a good idea... He shook his head, fists clenched at his side. "It was fourteen. Fourteen people died today and fourteen people aren't coming back," He snarled under his breath. "I'm not taking your shit, I came here to get a single god-damned minute where I didn't have to think about how I couldn't use that crystal on each and every one of them." It was easy to forget that he was still just a kid and suddenly the weight of every death that happened since the start of the game rested on his shoulders.

"Hey, can't we all just... take a second here?" A bright, orange-haired man in his twenties stepped out of the throngs of younger players, a hand up to signal that he was speaking. "You," He said, pointing the loud-mouth that seemed to have started the day's second mob. "Look to your right. Is that guy your friend?"

The boy looked over and shrugged, "Yeah. Been in a party since we started," He stated, "What of it?"

"You've still got somebody. This kid here didn't do anything to hurt anybody, it was his decision to make, let him live with it. He clearly didn't want to be the one to have to, and a more productive way to spend your time is to better yourself, make sure you can defend your own friends. Maybe you'll get the next revival item - do you want everybody turning on you because you picked that guy next to you over some random guy who might just go and die the next day by taking a wrong turn and getting trapped? Buck up, we've lost people before and we'll never forget them, but we'll carry on. We have to," He explained, giving the guy a thumbs up and turning to Nero. He beamed at Suto.

"Hey! I've seen you before... Don't you spearhead almost every floor's party? Where were you a couple of hours ago when we started here?" He asked cheekily, offering a hand to shake for each of the boys, "I'm Titus." He wore lightly coloured clothing, as opposed to the generally dark stuff that most of the teenage players wore. It was a bit of a 'loud' outfit, but he was certainly one to stand out in a crowd.

The white-haired boy looked curiously to the tall, clearly American man. Taking his hand, he nodded, "Nero."

"I know who you are, rich boy. You'll have to let me in on some of your trade secrets," He teased, looking to Suto again. "I don't know your name though, seems like you're gone the moment the party starts to die, glad I got to catch you before you got lost in the crowd again."

Digital or Real?

To say that High School passed in the blink of an eye would be an understatement. James couldn't believe it on Graduation Day... All of their ups and downs. It was within the week that Sasha suggested they officially break up. Sure, they'd had their separations and the like, but it was mostly because they were so busy with school work or family obligation. He kept every single story she ever wrote for them too; the improvement in her writing was spectacular. It was always cute and well-articulated, sure, but each one was better than the last. Her handwriting had even evolved from the cutesy-teen to a flowing, almost calligraphic style. James always poured over every word, admiring her courage to share them with anybody. He, on the other hand, had kept the same chicken scratch he always had – he just worked so fast with his homework that it was more for himself than anybody else. Teachers grew more furious by the day with his shorthand when they checked his notes or wanted him to show his work, but who were they to judge if he got it right?

He’d be lying if he said that he didn’t see the break-up coming, to be honest. She was pragmatic and he had always loved how grounded she could be. He just didn’t expect her to be going to school all the way in America. Still, to be accepted to the prestigious Johns Hopkins… He couldn’t blame her. He’d be attending his father’s alma mater: Imperial College in London. The campus was lovely and the programs very highly rated. It also allowed him to stay near his family, which would prove essential in the coming years. Shortly after he started staying on-campus for the university, James’ parents decided to get separated. Tension in the house had been growing over the past couple of years and everybody could feel it. The divorce rate in the UK had actually been on the decline, but some just couldn’t be helped. On the other hand, the Delacourts never saw through the divorce. In the summer following James’ junior year in university, his brother was in a car accident on the Audubon while stationed in Germany. He was killed instantly and a newly widowed Anaïs moved in with James’ parents for help raising the young son she had once shared with the English soldier. She spent several months barely speaking to anybody and even the young boy began to see less of his mother. Nobody but Matt in the house had known of Anaïs’ arrhythmia, but she had forgotten to take her medication for a couple of days in her depression and the family lost her too. Needless to say, it was possibly the year for James in which he got the worst grades he’d ever seen, but still he passed.

After securing his job and a new flat in Canterbury, about an hour and a half’s drive from London, James’ parents asked him what he wanted to do about Matt’s son, Nathan. Officially, James was named next of kin and godfather of the young boy… but it was a responsibility he never thought he’d have to take so young. Rachel and Peter had offered to continue taking care of him. In a rather shocking decision, James actually decided to try it – now that he had a secure lifestyle, he wanted to at least see if he could handle it. Matt trusted him, after all, and he knew that his mother’s heart broke seeing her son’s face in the boy every day after only a year without him. Since the implementation of more high-speed rail than in previous decades, it would only take about twenty-five minutes to get to work, covering an immense sixty-five (American) miles in such a short time.

“You’ll be good for Gran, right kiddo?” He asked with a smile, taking a knee in front of his nephew. The boy was six now, it was amazing how quickly time went by. Matt had him when he and Anaïs had gotten married after graduation. They lived so quickly that it was still unreal that he was gone. James supposed most of them still struggled with the realism of that every day.

“Of course, Uncle Jimmy!” The dark-haired boy beamed.

James smiled softly… He had Matt’s everything. How did ma do it for so long without going insane? The engineer could barely stand it every time the little guy opened his mouth, in the best way possible. “Now when did your da tell you to start calling me that?” He asked somberly, ruffling the small boy’s hair. He always hated when Matt called him Jimmy, but he was the only one who got away with it. Just another one of those things.

Once they reached his childhood home, where his parents still lived, James’ mother made sure that he was all proper for seeing Sasha again. The woman spent about five minutes straightening his sports coat and collared shirt. She huffed, “James, I told you to wear a tie, didn’t I? You’ve got this top button all open and… God you couldn’t at least dress up for this?”

“Ma, I did dress up. Ties look dumb. I wear one to work and I’m not going to wear one just to see an old friend, I’m comfortable. Besides, I’m pretty dressed up for ‘just hanging out,’ right?” The woman sighed, shook her head, and ceded. He had a point; at least his shirt was tucked in and he did have the coat on, as well as a nice pair of black jeans and a clean pair of shoes. Peter had already snatched up his grandson and taken him into another room to find something to do, wishing him a hasty ‘have a good time.’

“Fine… You win, now go have fun,” She finally decided, waving her son off. He kissed her cheek and got back into the cab he called, taking it on the last leg of the journey to the pub where Sasha had agreed to meet him. Tipping the driver, he stepped out of the taxi and stuffed his hands into his pockets, stopping outside the doors and pausing for just a couple of minutes to pull out a B&H Silver fag, lighting it between his lips. Did Sasha know he’d picked up smoking..? Probably not. Cigarettes had changed a lot in the past few years and it was still hardly a surprise that most people in Europe still did it, especially considering there had been a big ‘health’ push sometime after the war. To be honest, James couldn’t remember when he’d started doing it, but sometimes he just needed one. No more than one or two in a day, but rarely was it more than four or five in a week depending on how stressed he got.

They’d been in touch, she knew mostly what had been going on, but the two hadn’t seen each other since they left high school. It just never really happened on account of being so busy. Of course, she was fairly aware of the things that had happened in just the past couple of years, but they’d not spoken in depth about it. He already felt nervous as hell and he finally sucked the fag down to its butt, pitching it in a receptacle. Finally entering the bar, he wondered if the girl would recognize him. His hair wasn’t white like it had been in childhood anymore, though he knew it would start to grey out again for him before his mates as they aged. His dark blond was a coloration he was relieved to get into his senior year of high school, it just started to… change itself. Strange, yeah, but his father said he had the same thing.

James went straight for the bar and placed a few bills on the counter, ordering a simple rum and coke before turning around to find his ‘date.’ He couldn’t help but smile when he saw her… There was no way that he went to high school with her. Once he saw Sasha in person, it was hard to say that she was the same girl, now holding a tall glass of Guinness with a plate of chips in front of her.

Head in the game, man… c’mon, it’s no different than anything else. She’s an old friend… Oh, gross, He sighed, wiping his hand on his pants quickly before taking a breath and finally approaching. Once he got to the table, he placed his drink down.

“Sasha?” He asked, looking her over skeptically, “Wow, look at you!” He said with a grin, “Can’t believe it’s been so long.” Of course, he looked a lot different too. Apart from his hair, he’d switched from contact lenses to glasses most of the time. He was a bit less lanky than he used to be. Even when he first started college, he had a pretty awkward build, but he filled out a bit more and had a more ‘normal’ build than he used too. “So, how’s the new job?”

Digital or Real?

I posted his new bio in the Characters tab. I completely revamped "Ambitions" (or History, whatever we want it to be now XD) and changed his real-life image.

Digital or Real?

Name:
James Delacourt

Birthday:
August 23’rd, 2008

Appearance:


Online Alias:
Spectre

Online Join Date:
September 12’th, 2029

Online Appearance as a Mechnic:

Note: Image can be clicked for a link to higher resolution.

Level:
33

Class:
Main - Sabre Soldier
Sub - Rogue
*Has yet to decide whether he wants to have Technician or Rider for his third class at level 50

Personality In-Game:
Outwardly Friendly, Clever, Thoughtful, and Manipulative in order to get ahead

Personality Out-of-Game:
Serious, Careful, Reserved, Blunt, and Distrusting – often misinterpreted as being a bit of a jerk

Ambitions:
After high school, James followed in his father’s footsteps, chasing a degree in Aerospace Engineering. Unlike his long-term girlfriend Sasha, he had no desire to leave London. Travel for him didn’t go out it went up. He always wanted a pilot’s license, but with schooling there was no time to get into school for it. Besides, Engineering fascinated him and maths was so natural for him that there was no question when it came time to pick. His postgraduate studies are being conducted at the Imperial College of London, but he only takes them part-time and in small loads. He’s in no hurry to receive his Master’s Degree because his father was able to get him a job at the same company where he works. Even still, experience weighs far more heavily than just a sum of classes and a slip of paper. James now works full-time for the company headquartered in London, taking most of his classes at-distance and as ‘independent study.’ Apart from this, he spends most of his time in the world of Endless Realms, occupying himself recreationally with the relatively new world of VR. He found his own flat in Canterbury after graduation for a fair price, considering he gets paid more than the average bachelor's graduate.

Digital or Real?

It is not hookers and blackjack XD I get a feeling I've set this up so that you now think James is going to be this back alley gangsta ready to pop a cap up in the hizzous. Nah, he's very normal.

He was more surprised than anything that you approached him. XD Did you find him on your own, or did you stalk me to him? Considering he's in almost every roleplay I'm part of on the Guild.