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Wardens of the Glade: A Light Fantasy RP

T O M A & A S H R A F
T O M A & A S H R A F

Collab with @Eisenhorn

Mentioned: Ynga @Asura

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Toma was going through the motions of the drills he was trained on, every evening, during the escorted trip when someone finally seemed willing to take him up on his open offer, though one could be forgiven for calling it a challenge, which brought the young man to a pause. A calculating once over, and no doubt his soon to be sparring opponent would get the feeling of being not just sized up, but analyzed. Not only shorter than him, but shorter than many men around their age, but the only thing that meant was a difference in reach. Loose fitting attire, ideal for warmer climates, and practically radiating confidence, likely well trained with his weapon of choice at the least. A spear, compensating for any innate difference in reach, and deceptively fast, something he had drilled into his head, but he wore a confident, though much more reserved, smirk as he squared off with the fellow seeking to become an initiate.

”I was going to be immensely disappointed if no one felt confident enough to join me in the ring.”

The minor noble, in comparison to Ashraf, was incredibly overdressed for anything approaching a warm climate. It was safe to say that even in a mild place like this, one might suspect his clothing would restrict his movement, though enough drills and training had proven otherwise to Toma himself. He fixed his sparring partner with a calculated, guarded look, gleaming cyan eyes continuing to take his measure in every way that could matter. He was about to offer to begin when they were interrupted, causing him to glance at the newcomer with an expression that was a mix of confusion and, more significantly, agitation that was quickly replaced with a briefly baffled one. Did she... genuinely question not only the smaller man’s appearance down to the skin but behave as if it was completely natural? All the years of training and instruction on the political maneuvering back home had not prepared him for this in the slightest, and he gave the man a glance before speaking up.

”...I must say I would not know how to even begin to respond to that.”

To be fair, Ashraf was nearly at a loss himself. When the girl had first approached with starry eyes and open curiosity, he had assumed she was interested in watching a spar. She was small, about the same age as the twins if he were to guess. On the younger side of warden initiates, with a sword on her hip and an intonation to her speech that Ashraf had never heard before. It was easy to think she wanted a look at how other, older, initiate hopefuls fought, especially if she'd never seen fighting styles outside of wherever she was from... but that didn't quite seem to be the case. Like many girls her age, aesthetics appeared to catch her eye instead.

His skin- was there something strange about it? It had yet to develop sun spots under the desert's harsh daylight, and likely wouldn't for many more years. He also didn't have any noticeable scars; all of the cuts he'd suffered in the past were either small or covered up, and burns were never bad enough to leave permanent marks even when he was a novice.

Pretty- ah, yes. He'd been called that before, especially when he was young. Some combination of the mole high on his cheek, citrine eyes and sapphire hair he imagined, which stood out against his warm brown skin. Skin that his younger sisters liked to test topical ointments on, which made his face clear and smooth. Ashraf could certainly forgive the girl for calling him pretty, though he would have much preferred 'handsome,' or at the very least 'beautiful.'

And then she finished speaking.

"Did what hurt?" Ashraf asked with some exasperation. His bright eyes narrowed at the girl, flicking from her head to her boots and back again. What sort of backwater region of the world was she from that she'd never seen someone with dark skin before? Among this year's initiates there were certainly many more light skinned people, but the populace of the other realms of the world outside of Hahral, including up north in the more central Atutania and Itenaire, were not uniformly pale - just as the peoples of the desert were not all bronze and brown. Even Ashraf, who had only left Hahral once before in his life, knew this.

He then held his free hand up, palm open and facing the newcomer. "Never mind, do not answer. I have something more important to attend to."

And if the girl did happen to stay and watch, he would deal with her afterward.

Ashraf turned to face the other man in the ring once more. He drew in a breath through his nose and then refocused. Just earlier he had felt the noble's assessing gaze, pleased that he was being taken seriously even for a practice match. Hopefully the distraction wouldn't change things. As for Ashraf, he would better learn what his opponent was made of by engaging him, rather than trying to suss it out from staring alone.

"When you're ready."

Toma could hear the exasperation in his opponent's voice as he questioned the girl in what she meant about something hurting before second guessing and asking her not to explain, not now. All for the better, as far as the minor noble was concerned, he hadn't come here to gawk at social faux paus between people from vastly different regions. If he wanted to gawk at high society he would have stayed at home and been an ever so loyal second fiddle to the family lineage, no he was here to show his worth and earn his place. As a gesture of good will he allowed his sparring partner to regather himself, and then he was given the duty of carrying out the first blow. A shame that, Toma considered, he would have preferred his foe take up the offensive so he could begin to gather some further idea of the details of his method of a spear. No shield meant he probably was far more aggressive than a rank and file man-at-arms, but there was only one way to confirm that.

"Very well, let us begin."

Toma dropped into a low, neutral stance as he lunged forward, a right to left swing aimed not for his opponent, but for his weapon in particular. Spears had reach, so naturally his ideal would be to get in as close as he could and not allow the distance to open up, and a safe way to open up the advance was to strike the weapon aside. He kept his off hand close in, ready to brace his mace should the need arise, whether on the defense or offense as the situation dictated. His movement was pragmatism manifest, his teacher having thoroughly drilled and beaten any showmanship or needless tricking out of his initial thinking. To an attentive opponent he betrayed his training had not come from a duelist or noble, something that could possibly be taken advantage of.

Fortunately for Toma, his impromptu sparring partner was not the type of man who could easily distinguish such things. Unfortunately, his previous experience in the grueling trials that awaited them had given him a sharper eye and a willingness to rely on more than just his weapon in combat.

An opponent with a low stance was just perfect to catch with a kick. Ashraf stepped forward to meet Toma with his left (proving his thought that the Hahral native was the more aggressive type), and with his right flung his leg out in an attempt to send the minor noble to the ground. His spear he swept in the same direction as Toma's mace, passing it from one hand to the other to avoid having it knocked from his grip. Then, with a flick at his elbow, lashed it back overhead at Toma himself, using it more like a staff rather than trying to strike with the piercing spearhead.

Toma's mind raced ahead of the trading of blows, quick to analyze while reacting to what was coming. Fast, aggressive, and showed a level of experience and familiarity that said more than enough as far as the minor noble was concerned. He was to be outclassed in a fair fight, if he had the measure of the Hahral native correct. The kick threw out his right leg, fortunately (and it was only luck he suspected) he was already shifting his weight to the left so he kept from being thrown to the ground fully. It robbed him of his ability to follow up on the offensive, and the overhead forced him to come from left to right with his mace, intercepting the downward strike with a blow to throw it off course as he kept his forward momentum going, springing upwards into the defensive strike, recognizing the low stance was more a hazard than a boon at the moment.

More importantly, he could use the natural momentum of both swing and kicked out leg to throw a left hook for his partner's side, aiming to knock the wind out of him with a body blow, or at least throw off the offensive footing to give him an opening. He didn't look like he was wearing much armor, so if he was lucky it would buy him a moment to reset his stance and approach fresh. If not, he would have to keep improvising.

As milliseconds passed, it was looking to be the latter scenario. A break away and chance to regroup would surely have been beneficial to the dark skinned man as much as it would have been for Toma - but instead of stepping back or blocking Ashraf swiftly pressed in even closer, and the body strike became only a glancing blow caught in his ribs; painful, but not debilitating.

"Interesting!" Ashraf said through a grin. He felt fortunate that this noble wasn't the foppish, cowardly kind, despite how he may have looked at first. His opponent had the look of a highborn man, what with the stuffy tailored clothes. Even the ribbon that tied his hair back looked like quality fabric. And yet, he wielded a brutish mace and even struck out with his bare fist! And Ashraf could already tell that he was smart, too. This was going to be a proper match, one that would give Ashraf the chance to really see where he stood among his peers.

But where he physically stood was nearly chest to chest with Toma, intending to show the other man -and any onlookers- that even with a longer weapon, he would not be outdone in close combat. So close it would be an awkward angle for either of them to attack from, but if the nobleman retreated as Ashraf assumed he would, then he would be met with the shaft of a spear at his ankles that threatened to send him stumbling.

"Took the words out of my mouth..."

Toma was not nearly as loud as the skilled opponent who, rather than create space, only pressed in closer. He felt the fist glance off the ribs, which stung more than he would admit, and did less than he would have hoped. Clever, and left little room to properly strike with weapons. Another, more seasoned soldier might have resorted to grappling, but Toma was far from being able to claim as such. Instead a brisk upwards knee was aimed to create space between them, pushing himself backwards while trying to buy himself time to reset his position and stance, expecting another shift to blunt the worst of the strike. Close in grappling was a skill he had not been drilled on, and his instinct was to create a short gap between them. Unfortunately the haft swing would not be visible from his position, and he gritted his teeth from the shock of the strike taking his left ankle clean out from underneath him. The good news was the knee strike had brought his right leg out of the swing's path, meaning he could catch himself and not go down fully, but he would waste precious moments recovering.

Toma gritted his teeth, and exaggerated the stumble rather than try to force himself to recover as quickly as he could. He was feinting to bait a proper strike from his opponent, because it was quite apparent that martial skill alone would not carry the day. He had not wanted to bring any magic to play, but that was not a luxury he could keep from showing the rest of those observing the sparring duel. He deliberately guarded low again, practically inviting another strike to follow up on the successful leg sweep, in line with how someone who might not be the most skilled fighter would act. He knew it was a dangerous gambit, but he had a feeling his opponent was out to prove something. Strictly smart fighting would have broken away from the closing mace, and instead he pressed in to show off. If he had a read on the situation right, he could take advantage of that. If he didn't, well, he'd have to rely on a backup plan.

With the noble off balance and the power behind his knee lessened, Ashraf was able to catch the strike with his free palm in a block. He did not even need to shove before his opponent slipped. At the very least Toma had succeeded in creating a little gap between the two of them. All the better for the shorter man to capitalize on though.

There was a glint in Ashraf's eyes, the kind of tell that a veteran warrior would have been able to disguise. It said one thing and one thing clearly: he was going for it. A decisive strike. Oblivious to the feint. With practiced fluidity Ashraf flicked the spear's position with just his fingers, and suddenly he was holding the shaft much closer to the weapons' head. He thrust the spear forward, his other hand taking position to steady the weapon as it drove towards Toma's shoulder.

Toma kept his expression guarded as he watched his sparring partner take the bait, metaphorically speaking. The knee strike hadn't accomplished much, but he was able to break away a little bit, which only opened the advantage further in his opponent's favor. Seeing the spear strike finally come in, he only allowed himself a low, telling grin after the thrust was too committed to be pulled back. Rather than bring his mace into a guard, he simply thrust his hand towards the spear. In that instant, the temperature in the sparring ring plummeted, absolutely frigid in comparison to the previous ambient temperature, and hoarfrost crept across his left arm as he flash froze as large of a chunk of ice onto the head of his opponent's spear as he could muster in that moment. Clenching his fist, he intensified the frost into a layer of ice, deflecting away the frozen spear with his now ice guarded arm.

To say Ashraf fell for the set up would be a bit of an understatement. His eyes widened as goosebumps rose all across his skin at the sudden chill, and though he kept a tight hold on the spear it -and he- were thrown off center.

From his low position, Toma followed up with a heavy handed swing towards his opponent's side, though deliberately aiming to hit with the shaft of his mace rather than the flanged head. Much like how a spear strike would have only been a relatively minor wound to the shoulder, hitting with the shaft would be painful and leave a lingering bruise, but it would not have any long term consequences like the flanged mace head would leave. Pushing off his foot, he put speed and force behind the swing. Unfortunately his position did leave his torso exposed, but he was banking on the frozen spear being enough of a shock that it would create an opening he could keep following up on. The low grin was still on his face, despite the rapidly sinking cold into his arm.

The handle cracked against Ashraf's side, drawing a sharp exhale from him. It was immediately followed up by a harder inhale, and then, "tsk." A quick and quiet click of Ashraf's tongue signaled his dissatisfaction.

The noble had gotten him. It had been a foolish move not to anticipate that the man would have something up his sleeve. Many Warden hopefuls had already awakened to their magic, even if he had yet to - he should have expected it. And now the weight of his weapon was all wrong and his stance was broken!

Ashraf was not in a good position, but when he saw that sly smirk and met his opponent's gaze, his own mouth spread into a toothy grin. Toma may have gotten a leg up on him, but if the man thought that he had the match in hand he would be sorely mistaken. There was a loud splintering noise as Ashraf slammed the head of his spear against the makeshift arena's floor, shattering off a chunk of the ice at the same time that he shifted away from Toma. Though there was still frost encasing the spearhead it was good enough for now. Ashraf turned, flipped his grip on his weapon so that one hand held it reversed, and then bodily swung it back at Toma's center mass.

Whether the minor noble drew back or gave chase, blocked or ducked, it wouldn't matter; Ashraf spun with the spear after his attack and pulled it back in close, shifting into a more traditional Hahral stance for spear fighting. The distance between them wasn't quite mid-range, but Ashraf could work with it. He had practiced hard over the last two years, sometimes with a trainer and many times not, and had found that adaptability was an important trait. One that he fortunately had.

He struck out, and struck out again, straight, swift, and manifold. The ice that still clung to the spear made each strike a little less accurate, but with the benefit of blunting the tip Ashraf could aim at more vital areas to wear his opponent down.

There it was, however slight, the quiet click of the tongue, that Toma had been looking for. He'd gotten in, however slightly, against a more skilled martial opponent, and the blow with the shaft of his mace had struck true. Part of him wondered how much damage he could have done with the flanged mace, but this was neither the time nor place. Rather, his opponent did a commendable job at recovering, the hard crack of a strike breaking the heaviest of the ice off the spear tip signaled his foe didn't plan on bending the knee, not by a long shot yet. Good, if he was going to have to work with other hopeful selects he would want them to be at least competent. The reverse strike was aimed for his core, though his low stance let him duck it, the momentum of his duck forced him to open the space back up to something that would inevitably suit the spear wielder more. The spearhead being freed enough to use again meant the advantage of an off balanced weapon was less applicable, and during the shift he focused more ice into his arm, pooling into a large sized block to give him a better means of defense against thrusting attacks, taking a defensive stance while sizing up his opponent once more.

Different stance, still off center from the unaccustomed balance and weight, but deceptively fast. Toma blocked, deflecting but unable to get a counter strike in as the follow ups were faster than he could close the distance or strike. A slight narrowing of the eyes as he could feel the ice in his shield chipping away slowly, the ambient temperature steadily recovering from the sudden onset of ice magic, and each deflection wore down his arm, and his ice shield, steadily. He couldn't stay on the defensive, then, and with the next impact he willingly shattered the shield, throwing the mix of ice and mist from the parts that had melted into water at the point of breaking, directly towards his foe's face. He felt the frozen spear slam against his arm in the process, sending a sharp pain through his arm that was met with a quiet hiss, though he didn't think any blood had been drawn. Rather, he lunged and swung low and hard, aiming to sweep one of his opponent's legs out from underneath him to throw him off balance or at least out of stance for a follow up.

When it came to the magic, this time Ashraf was more prepared. The combination of feint, expression, and fighting style so far implied to Ashraf that his sparring partner was guileful, and so he thought there was no way he would stick to the shield alone. He was looking forward to whatever the ice user would try to throw at him next, he just didn't know when it would come - which gave him precious little time to react when the block of ice all but exploded. Ashraf released the spear with one of his hands and raised his arm, and couldn't help but sweep it outward dramatically and surge forward after he felt the shard spray cease. In the moment he'd been blind he still struck out again at where he expected Toma would be, but when the spearhead met no resistance he knew his opponent had started his counter attack.

Golden eyes flicked downward just before he felt the mace make contact with his leg. He let it, lessening the blow by moving with it instead of bracing against it, having grounded himself for just long enough to push off the floor with his other foot. Ashraf twisted around left while Toma swung right, another spin not for flourish but necessity to stay on his feet. The move was not as graceful as he would have liked (the art he practiced was not dance after all), but it served its purpose. With the spear swung around with him for counter balance, Ashraf ended up just to the side of Toma. He raised his eyebrows at the man in a cheeky, silent challenge, and wasted no time at all in trying to punish the low stance and pin the noble to the ground with a hard strike to his back.

Toma could feel the relative lack of resistance in his strike, giving him a moment to note his opponent had chosen to spin with the strike rather than evade or block outright. Realizing the danger of his low position, given the spinning speed of the spear, he chose not to try and arrest the mace's momentum, instead letting it twist him into a roll, feeling the blunt end of the spear glance painfully off his back as he turned his momentum into a roll, springing to his feet with a modest distance between the two of them. He didn't want to overexert himself with magic too quickly, too soon, and his arm was still relatively numb from being encased in ice for as long as it had been. Still functioning but, fortunately, not needed as he flourished the mace and a flick of his arm throwing the remaining bits of ice and frost off his arm and onto the ground of the sparring ring. The roll had been a mix of impromptu evade and chance to reset, and he met the cheeky expression with a slight smirk, not so easily baited into staying and fighting in an un-ideal position. He could feel where he would be bruising later, and they would be incredibly sore, but they were hardly done yet. Making to advance again, one of the observing Wardens who had taken to monitoring the sparring match called out since the two were untangled.

"You two have had your fun, don't hog the sparring ring. Other hopefuls are looking to make names for themselves."

Ashraf had twirled his spear in his hand, shucking the last of the melting ice from it, and already taken steps to close in on Toma again when they were interrupted the second time. He paused, glanced sideways at the warden and the small gathering of future initiates now emboldened by the first pair to cross blades, took in a deep breath... and then released it, loosening up easily. "Ah! Of course, you're right," he said, smilingly at the woman in a way he hoped was disarming, or maybe even charming.

Now that the spar was over, even if it hadn't ended with a victory for either participant, Ashraf let himself catch his breath. He exited the ring, scooped up his bag and slung it over his shoulder, and then rounded the arena. He approached Toma with his spear still in one hand, though his open body language made it clear he held no more aggression.

"That was good. There was much more to you than meets the eye," he told the nobleman, and held a calloused hand out towards him.

Toma fixed the Warden who had chimed in with a guarded, outwardly neutral expression before exhaling, letting the combat tension drain from him as he noted the growing group waiting to take turns in the training ring as well. So be it, he supposed he would have to leave things at a stalemate, though he was confident that they were both putting in a good showing. Lowering from the combat stance and looping the flanged mace back into his belt, turning from the arena without a word to the Warden and stepping down, vacating the ring for the other's to begin fighting. However, his sparring partner seemed interested in continuing to speak, which was fine enough he supposed. A compliment and extended hand, and he saw no harm in playing nice with someone who was martially capable, doubly so should they have to rely on one another in the future.

"All the better to surprise with, though you performed quite well to say the least."

Toma accepted the offered hand, lacking the callouses but having a firm grip, shaking as an equal. For what it was worth, this individual had earned it, though he didn't let the handshake linger needlessly. There was no fight or grudge that was apparent, as far as the minor noble could tell, which suited him fine. The more open, the more he could learn, which would help him in the future when dealing with others he might be working with. He glanced at the onlookers, whoever they were, as well as whether or not the one who questioned his sparring partner on their skin color, of all things, and made an off hand remark, sounding slightly amused as he commented back towards the start of the whole sparring match they had.

"Going to go entertain your adoring fan's intrusive questions further, now?"

Ashraf blinked and then groaned, having nearly forgotten about the girl. Had she even stayed to watch the spar? He'd find out soon enough when he made his way back to the other side of the ring, if she didn't find him first. It was just as likely that something or someone else had caught her eye, though.

"We'll see..." he said, playfully feigning trepidation. He would leave the other man to his own devices either way, but first, "Your opponent today was Ashraf, from Akoth. Make sure to remember that, if you're chosen for a training squad!"

"I don't envy you at all, there, Ashraf of Akoth. Would be poor form not to introduce myself in kind, Toma, of House Morriss. It should be interesting to see how you proceed."

Toma turned from his sparring partner at that point, choosing to head towards the archery targets rather than electing to strain himself further in a brawl. There was much to do to demonstrate the full capabilities of his skill set, and he wasn't able to perform fully to his satisfaction during the sparring match. Ashraf had proven a skilled opponent, dangerously so, and if he was fortunate that would be the extreme of what his competition would be capable of. For now though, he had a few more tricks to show off prior to the inevitable point of no return, where hopefuls were selected and the rest sent home, though for him he would not be going home no matter what, he did not have that luxury to crawl home in defeat.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Ace & Nadia & Sakura

Word Count: 3818 (+4 exp)

After parting with Edward, Ace made a beeline for his room. He needed to de-stress. It wasn't the company (he liked the dreadnought), but the venue that had left him still feeling a little high strung. When he got back to his bunk he stripped off the armor he'd still been walking around in, pushing it away to one side of the room as if ambient magic still clung to it. For all he knew, maybe it did.

When the Cadet reemerged a little while later, he was dressed much more casually in red sweatpants and a white tee. He could have headed for a more mundane workshop, but nah - he'd just use his alchemy barrel in the morning for some quick restocking before shipping out to the Frozen Highlands once more. At the moment he would much rather seek out a certain someone... and, maybe, stop by the kitchen to see if there were still any of those carapaceon leftovers.

Though the hour was getting late, Ace certainly wasn’t the only one out and about. Just about everyone had something to do or someone to talk to before tomorrow’s deployments split the Seekers up and left them missing the airship’s varied facilities. Only after dinner concluded did the memory of the conversation between Sandalphon and Edward about newly-gained firearms lead Nadia to realize that she needed his help, too. Although the organic handguns she obtained in the Qliphoth were hardly good-quality, and she lost them during the brawl with D, something clicked about them that made her want to try dual-wielding once more.

Unfortunately, she failed to track Edward down, but after remembering other misplaced items she made her way to the hangar from which she departed that morning. There she found her shipcase, a fusion of her shipgirl rigging and the blade case for Kagari Rokushikisouken, the special boxcutters picked up from Seam’s Seap in the Home of Tears. While she left them behind for the Qliphoth raid, they might come in handy on the road ahead, so she donned her pack and headed across the ship toward her room.

As Nadia headed across the ship from the vehicle bay, she had to pass by the armory, the workshop, and then the training center. On one of the treadmills was a young woman dressed in what one might consider ‘cool street fashion’. She had a big pastel blue and yellow jacket on, though it was currently tied around her waist. Other than that, she had a black sports bra and a white off shoulder top that spelled out her own name in red letters: ‘Sakura’.

The treadmill was going very fast, and she was seemingly zoned out as she sprinted on the machine, having not noticed Nadia yet even though she was pretty much in her field of view. Her sneakers pounded against the black canvas spinning beneath her, she had run for about three miles on the machine and was showing no signs of slowing down from her full power run.

Though weary from the day’s events and ready to go to bed, Nadia was not so tired that she missed the sounds of treadmill motors or pounding feet. When she glanced into the training center, it took a second to recognize the lone runner she was looking at, but when it clicked her face lit up in excitement. A huge, joyful smile spread across her face as she slipped off her shipcase as quietly as possible. After setting it down, she tiptoed across the training center, then crouched down a couple yards away from her target. Her tail wiggled back and forth as she fought to hold in her anticipatory giggling. Then she sprang, launching herself into the air toward the oblivious young woman.

“SAKURAAAAAAA!”

If everything went to plan, she’d latch onto the martial artist in a full-body hug, her arms clasped around Sakura’s back and her legs around her middle, squeezing the girl tight. The two had become fire-forged friends during the Deep Blue Seaside campaign, only to split up between the Underground and Midgar and not meet up afterward. In fact, Nadia had forgotten if anyone mentioned what had become of Sakura in particular, so part of her had been afraid that her pure-hearted pal was no more. A couple weeks in the World of Light could feel like an eternity, and it seemed like Nadia meant to make up for all that lost time in this one hug. Of course, the feral was a lot heavier than she looked, but Sakura was a lot stronger than she looked, too. “I MISSED YOUUUUUUUUU!”

”WAAAH?!” Sakura lost her balance, struggling to stay upright in her surprise. Her foot lost purchase on the treadmill, and it was taken out from under her by the machine. She fell prone onto the track and with Nadia on top of her, and the two toppled onto the training room floor. Or, at least, Sakura did.

She rolled over onto her back to get a good look at her assailant, though she already had a good idea. ”Nadia-san!” She exclaimed. ”You scared me!” She said with a laugh, sitting up, her arms open for a proper reciprocated hug if Nadia wanted it.

Also not harmed by the tumble, Nadia embraced her friend properly, laughing. “Sorry, sorry! Couldn’t resist.” Thanks to almost a half-dozen fusions, the feral had changed a lot since the two last met, from her hair style and eye color to skin tone and body type. There wasn’t a thing about her that wasn’t at least a little different, and yet, her essence was the same. Meanwhile, Sakura’s time in Midgar had barely changed her, though maybe Nadia just didn’t remember her original form well enough to know the subtle differences. It relieved her that Sakura still recognized her, and that she didn’t seem put off by the feral’s aggressive friendliness.

After a good squeeze, Nadia pulled away and crossed her arms. “Man, you’re a sight for sore eyes after a day like today. How you been? After all that exercising, I betcha feel like a treadmillion bucks!”

Sakura rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, and stood up to turn off the raging treadmill. ”What, you mean my running? I just needed to think for a little while.” She said. ”I’ve been good though! I spent two weeks/ a million years in and around Midgar. I’m not sure which.” She said.
”But, y’know. I took a break but I guess I couldn’t stay away from the big fight forever. Got restless pretty quick. What about you, Nadia-san?” She asked.

Nadia took a deep breath, her eyes widening as if to see the full scope of all that she’d experienced, then let out a heavy sigh. “Well, it was purr-etty good for a while. Me and some other guys hung around a place called Mafia Town for a bit, layin’ low. I worked for a sushi joint catchin’ fish for a few ‘dace’, just for the ‘halibut’. Went divin’ every day and saw all kinds of stuff, even these crazy sea monsters–those things really had me ‘kraken’ jokes.” Now that Sakura had gotten her started, the catgirl’s motor mouth was in full swing. “But Sandalphon -she’s our new boss, by the way- rounded us up last night, and this morning all of us flew down to the Dead Zone to sort the damn place out once and for all. It was a wild ride, start to finish. First we had to hike through this muddy wasteland through rain that ages you, and lemme tell ya, that gets old fast. There were these ghosts that would - I mean, if they caught you, they’d blow up like atomic bombs, and we had to use these babies just to see ‘em…I know, weird, right? There were, like, so many close calls, I nearly had a heart attack.”

She shuddered, trying to shake off the memory. “Anyway, we finally reached the Qliphoth. The instant we get in, bam, zombies and awful flesh monsters everywhere. We qli-fought them off and used these blood veins to get up the tree, but we kept runnin’ into all sorts of monsters, like this nightmare bird that would fake-kill people and this huge fiery cat girl. If only I packed a giant-size spray bottle–woulda really helped meowt.” Nadia grinned. “Finally, we reached the guardian, way up at the top, and whaddya know, it’s a giant alien flesh pile. Not just that, either; there were THREE consuls waitin’ there for us. It was the biggest, messiest fight of my life, and considerin’ our stay on Carcass Isle, that’s really sayin’ somethin’.” She shook her head wearily. “We won, but…we lost a couple friends on the way.” After a moment, we shrugged. “Then we took the afternoon off, screwin’ around in the Paved Wilderness. Turned my arm into a cheeseburger for a couple hours. Made some money. It was fun.” Realizing that she’d been talking for a while now, she gave Sakura an apologetic glance. “Sorry, didn’t mean to be a chatty cat-thy. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Sakura scratched her head, taking all of that in, her face blank. ”...Yeah, I hate punching and kicking gross things. At least they turn into dust when you beat them. But I still have to make sure to trim my nails because I don’t want them getting dirty with dust. I think it’d be even worse if your hands were cheeseburgers. Because then you’d have dirty cheeseburgers for hands, like you just dropped them on the floor twenty times.” She said flatly, and held up her clenched fist for emphasis.

”I did babysit for a couple summer jobs so I think I would have been pretty good with the babies, though,” She hypothesized.

”One time, I met a ninja that could turn into a grandpa. I wonder what that rain would have done to him?” Sakura said.

Nadia snickered with a raised eyebrow, putting her hands on her hips. “That sounds like a crappy power. Could he turn back, at least?” She tried to wrap her head around the ability. Did the ability make him a set number of years older, or did it just set him to an age? Was the ninja old or young by default? “Uh…I dunno. If it caught him in grandpa mode it might age him to death.” Unfortunately, the feral couldn’t think of a relevant pun right now. She scratched her head in the hopes of getting both neurons firing.

”Yeah, of course he could turn back!” Sakura said. ”His name’s Zeku. He seemed nice. When we were fighting he was just going back and forth between old and young. His techniques changed and everything. I thought about asking him to teach me but then I thought I didn’t really wanna turn into a grandpa that badly.” Sakura said.

“No kitten,” Nadia replied. She imagined Sakura bald and started cracking up.

Sakura was already lively, but her face suddenly lit up even more so. ”Hey! Speaking of fighting! You wanna fight?” Sakura clenched her fists and pushed her face eagerly towards Nadia’s. ”I bet you’ve gotten even stronger!”

“Uh….yeah, totally. Super strong.” Now it was Nadia’s turn to look sheepish, rubbing her neck and all. She wasn’t one to sell herself short, but it was hard to feel great about her performance in the Final Hollow today. “Well…honestly? I’m pretty tired right now. Qliphoth beat me halfway to hell, and then I spent the afternoon drivin’ around the desert on a scavenger hunt…and I’m gettin’ sent to Esaka tomorrow, which is all about fightin’. Could probably use some rest.” She winked. “Plus, I wouldn’t wanna scratch that sweet li’l face of yours,” she joked.

Sakura’s shoulders slumped. ”That’s totally fair. The tired thing, not the other thing.” Sakura was annoyed when people wanted to go easy on her on account of her apparent cuteness. But she perked up quickly. ”That’s true. There’s going to be a lot of fighting in Esaka. It’s literally 100% fighting, all day, all the time. That’s where I first appeared in the world, you know! I’ll tell everyone all about it, uh…gee, I dunno. Probably before we get there, huh?” She said, eyes widening.

“Oh!” That was big news. Sandalphon made it sound like some of the Seekers had heard that the Forbidden Kingdom guardian might be in in Esaka, but that was where the team’s knowledge about the city ended. If she’d actually lived there, Sakura’s return was fortuitously timed. “Yeah! You’ve gotta give us the whole scoop so we know what we’re dealin’ with! Maybe at breakfast tomorrow? Y’know, food for thought.”

Sakura wiggled her hands and grinned wide, not helping the problem she had already about the alleged sweetness of her face. ”It’s my favorite place in the whole world!”

Then she nodded. ”I’ll get my thoughts together about it. Hey!” Sakura switched tracks again. ”Look at this.” She unzipped the yellow backpack on the floor and took out a boxy camera. ”Say cheese!” She looped an arm around Nadia’s shoulders and held the camera out reversed, to take a picture of both of them. As soon as she did, the photo slid out of a gap in the camera.

“Oh, I- cheese!” Rather than object, Nadia obliged, smiling wide into the camera. Such technology was neither advanced nor wide-spread in her world, so she didn’t know quite where to look nor expect the flash, but seeing the picture pop out immediately amazed her. “Wow!” Of course, she wasn’t looking her best right now, wearing just an oversized t-shirt and some shorts in place of her special outfit, but as someone not used to seeing herself, Nadia had to admit that she looked pretty damn good. “If Esaka is all about KOs, I’ll fit right in–a real knockout, huh?” Her tail waved behind her, tall and fluffed-up with happiness.

”Yeah! Though in Esaka the goal is to not be a knockout.” Sakura said. ”I think I’m going to start scrapbooking again. I lost my picture of Ryu-san, so I hope we run into him so I can get a new one.” She said, holding the picture of the two of them between her fingers, though as she thought of Ryu, her eyes drifted into the middle distance.

As though summoned by her thoughts, the broad shouldered silhouette of a man passed by the training center's doorway. Of course it wasn't actually Ryu, the mop of bright scarlet hair made that pretty clear. Not a moment later the man backtracked, poking his head inside after glimpsing the calico bob and felyne ears.

"Oh, Nadia! Purr-fect, I was looking for-" Ace paused when his eyes caught the room's other occupant, a friend he hadn't seen for a while. "Sakura?"

There could be no mistaking the girl's identity. She looked like Sakura, and her shirt even spelled it out for the unsure. Ace had been under the impression she and Karin had remained in Midgar, or what was left of it (he only knew a little of what had actually happened), so seeing her now was a welcome surprise. "Sakura!"

“Hey handsome~” Nadia chimed in with a wave.

A wide grin split the Cadet's face as he properly stepped into the room, wasting no time making his way over to the two girls. He did not go for a flying tackle like Nadia had, but he did open his arms to offer Sakura a hug all the same before coming to stand close to Ms. Fortune.

Sakura felt the impulse to go for an especially manly hug, and slapped her hand into one of Ace’s before bringing it in for a pat on the back.

"When did you get here? Did they pick you up at some point or did you use that balloon thing?"

”Hello Cadet-san! I just got here today. Those balloons are like, totally insane, huh?!” She recalled the experience.
”Just- fwoosh! Up into the sky. I didn’t know balloons could go that fast. Usually they go very slowly.” Sakura said.

"I know! Kut-kurazy, but pretty convenient, right?" he chuckled, then looked between Sakura and Nadia. "Were you two catching up?"

And then once more back to Sakura when another question occurred to him. "Did Karin come with you too?"

”Nah, she stayed behind.” Sakura said. ”She’s way busier in Midgar than me. So, uh, I dunno, I decided to come back! And we’re headed to Esaka, too, which is exciting.” Sakura said. Then she looked between the two of them, almost expectantly.

Nadia shrugged, then laid a hand on the monster hunter’s shoulder. “Well, half of us. Sadly Ace here’s gonna be chillin’ with the other half for a bit. Literally, considerin’ they’re headed to the Frozen Highlands. Wanderin’ through the snow sounded cool and all, but I’ve been dyin’ to actually fight people my size and not giant monsters for once. With all my new powers, I bet I could cook up one hell of a combo. Tag ‘em once, and by the time they hit the ground, they ain’t gettin’ up!” Of course, talking a big game was one thing–actually putting in the practice for the hours it took to get a long combo down was another. Nadia then blinked at Sakura, not quite sure what the girl was expecting.

Considering that earlier that same day the Cadet had said something along the lines of not planning to split up from the feral again for a while, he did look a little sheepish when it was brought up. Naturally he wanted the opposite type of opponents that Nadia did, and like he'd mentioned he wanted to finish what he, Band, and the others had started there, so it only made sense for the both of them to play to their respective strengths.

”So… you’re sad? About gettin’ split up?” Sakura asked, trying to be subtle about something.

"Well sure," Ace started, leaning into Nadia while he spoke. She pressed back into him, unable to suppress an almost giddy grin. "I only got back to everyone a day ago, and now we're gonna be ice-solated from each other. I was hoping to spend some more time together before the next quests started."

If only there was a convenient way to keep up with someone over long distances. Oblivious to Sakura's indirect inquiry, Ace looked down slightly at the woman next to him, a fond smile in place. "Which was the reason I came looking for you. Can't believe we found Sakura too!"

“Yep, blue team’s back together! First time since Rush Hour.” Hopefully if the others hadn’t already adopted that term for the mad scramble through Nyakuza Metro that separated them all, they’d be able to intuit what she meant. “Well, sorta back together,” she corrected herself. Junior and Rika were off doing their own thing, Geralt was probably keeping them out of trouble, Bowser and Kamek were who-knows-where with Consul P. Then there were the others. Delsin she scarcely remembered, he came and went so fast, but the split with Link and especially Mirage was a bummer even now. Of course it was for the best they didn’t die, and she could guess why after the Maw, but still. Their unceremonious exit was a sore spot.

All the more reason to focus on the people with her now. Nadia stood on her tiptoes, extending her leg muscles to boost her height so that she could rub her cheek against Ace’s like an affectionate cat. “It is a shame we’re partin’ ways already. Honestly, I’m havin’ second thoughts. Big monsters are fun in their own way. And I wouldn’t mind all the cold, with you around to warm me up~” Maybe hoping to embarrass him in front of Sakura, she teased him by saying it as cheesily as possible. She wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed her legs to retract, then dangle over the floor.

"I did want to take you to Grammeowster's fur some really good food," he mused to play along, "but then again, I could go to Esaka. It’s guaranteed to have at least one better view if you'll be there." His cheeks heated up at Nadia's open affection, but he'd never actually be embarrassed about it; her forwardness one of the many things he liked about her.

Sakura bounced on her heels, excited. ”Cuuute! I knew it!”

”We’ll all be back together in no time flat, I’m sure. The Avenger is so totally cool. When this is all over we’ll just get picked up, easy peasy!” Sakura said. ”But if you wanna go with him, Nadia-san, I’m sure no one’s stopping you!”

“Hmm…” Nadia looked very tempted. “I’ll mull it over. See what the boss thinks. If nothin’ else, can can cat-ch up every day usin’ the Sandal-phone, eh?” It occurred to her that using the archangel as an middleman meant that her conversations wouldn’t be private. Maybe those magic beads Primrose got from the Home of Tears would be better?

After a moment, she dropped back down and returned to Ace’s side. Her fingers slipped in between his, and her tail encircled his leg. “So, you said you were lookin’ for me? For what purr-pose?”

Ace generally shared Sakura's optimistic outlook, though he'd been having some misgivings about the immediate next leg of the Seekers' journey - but her confidentially cheerful comment lifted his spirits (further, since running into her and Nadia already had). She was right, even if they all split up they would end up together again soon enough. That was proven by Sakura here now, and even himself after his group was found in Edinburgh Magicapolis.

He squeezed Nadia's hand. "Just to spend some time with you," he said. "I was working on something with Edward and it just stressed meowt a little."

On top of everything else that had happened that day. Ace moved past the mention, not finding it something to delve into too much at the moment.

"So I figured I'd see if you wanted to hang out, before tomorrow."

After squeezing back, the feral nodded, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Ab-so-lutely!” She glanced over at Sakura, apologetic. “Sorry to cut the grand reunion short, but the two of us could definitely use some qual-kitty time together.” Hopefully the martial artist wouldn’t mind doing her own thing for now and getting together again later, once she and Nadia reached the Forbidden Kingdom.

Sakura raised her hands. ”Hey, it’s like totally no problem. Don’t let me get in the way.” She said with a big smile. ”...You’re not kicking me out of the training room, though, right?” She added.

“Nope! I’ve had more than enough exercise for today,” Nadia replied cheerfully, gesturing to the treadmill as if to say all yours. She then nudged Ace. “Lead the way!”

After Era Mythos

^{____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________}

^{Location: A Dazzlingly Brilliant Concert}

The siblings had arrived at the venue early in order to beat most of the crowd as they piled into the auditorium. Their spots were on the edge of the orchestra level - that is, on the floor instead of a balcony. Neat maybe if you were big fans of the performer, but far from optimal viewing.

"They couldn't have sprung for better seats?" Gianna grumbled lightly. As far as both heroes and idols went, "Kirara" was still a budding Talent. How expensive could her concerts actually be?

"Aw c'mon, it'll still be fun. Where we're sitting isn't gonna change what we're hearing anyway, right?" Cas said, patting his sister on the head. She sighed, leaning away from the reach of his hand. Then she tipped her head back against her wheelchair, looking up at him.

"Aren't you supposed to be doing research... or something? You'd think they'd set you up with a much better view of her."

Cas rubbed at the back of his neck. "You're kind of making it sound weird."

"It is weird," Gianna pointed out. "An idol-hero for a rival... do they expect you to sing and dance, too?"

'Maybe I should stop telling her everything that goes on,' Cas thought to himself. He did agree with her, though. A hero's rival should be their nemesis, both striving for victory over the other, and not a fellow hero competing to see who could become more famous. On that front, Kirara already had him beat anyway. It was the kind of cheap publicity stunt that Astraeus wanted to steer away from. Unfortunately that wasn't an option at the moment, if he didn't want to be dropped from his agency.

Truth be told, he didn't want to think about work right now. The fact that he even considered it to be work was telling enough. Before he'd needed to join up with a talent agency in the first place he'd been content, happy even, to just take the time to help people. Now before and after every time he aided someone, he had to sit in on meetings about image, promotion, reach, timing, brand focus, and numbers.

God, it sucked.

But this was where he was at. This is what it took, or so he'd been told.

"Hey, have you listened to any of her songs before?" Cas asked his sister, leading the conversation away from scouting out a peer and towards general chatter about the concert itself. It worked, though whether Gianna read the thoughts on Cas' face or just wanted a change of subject herself, Cas couldn't say. They talked until there was movement on stage, and the swell of the audience grew into excited cheering.

---

"She's so cute!" both siblings said at the same time once the encore had concluded. It had been the first time Cas had actually heard any of Kirara's music, and though it had that stereotypical pop-fare sound the earnest enthusiasm with which it was performed gave it a little something extra. It had been an enjoyable hour or so.

...which made Cas think it was sort of a shame that she was splitting her time between heroics and music. If she focused her all on the latter, maybe she could develop her own musical style and really take off, especially when combined with her light powers. He had to wonder why she'd decided to to become a hero in the first place. He wanted to ask her.

"...you think they'll let us backstage?"

It was a rhetorical question; he was going to try it regardless of Gianna's answer. Cas gripped the handles of her chair and steered the both of them out into the aisle, then whizzed by the growing queue that was forming for the idol's handshake event. Maybe being part of such a storied agency had its perks beyond just free concert tickets, and he could drop a couple names to open a few venue doors? If he could talk with the 'Dazzling Brilliance' for longer than the few seconds that a handshake would take, well that would be the best type of scouting there was now wouldn't it?

_@Crowvette

^{____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________}

Shoujo⁴: Hatsukoi Reunion

@Yankee do you want to run into ryuu with me? Get the boys interacting with each other (so they can be best friends)?

@OliveYou

That works for me! I'll see about trying to post this weekend, but it might have to be during the next week sometime - but whoever gets to it first can be the one in danger of toppling over while the other stumbles upon the scene (or really just whatever works!).

Hi! I'm new!

Welcome! There is a tabletop section for DnD and the like, and there are usually a couple of DC/comics RPs going on in the other sections.

Hello!

Welcome to the guild!

Reksew here.

Welcome to the guild!

After Era Mythos

I assume it's fine to still write for NPCs you wanted to 'adopt' but just wanted to double check ('cause the other option would be jump straight to collab which would be fine).