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 Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 6:24 pm
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“Katanari” Hope you don't mind that I went and started it.
Keionx did not live in the quickly refurbished city, nor would she have been able to if she wanted to. After sending Beastdad home, she quickly ended up, however, with all the other lowbloods in the run-down rubbly parts of the city.
But of course, she was not among them. She was above them, if not in blood color than in word and deed and the new, shiny medals proudly displayed on her training swordbelt. She was part of the Alternian reclaimation project. She was military. She was official... sort of.
She had sent Beastdad home, in part to protect Zariah while she was away and in part because she knew what she needed to be doing:
The Right Thing.
And right now was using the fact that she had experience and training to help the disadvantaged trolls – because that was honorable and it was right and it was the knightly thing to do. Just because she was above them did not mean that she should trod upon them and look down on them: it meant she had a chivalrous obligation to them, one that she would not shy away from.
Tonight she was going down to the voucher line to assist the lowblooded trolls in finding and making new housing, but she needed her friend to help her with blueprints and complicated things like that. She knocked at Ephias Sagine's Respitetent and waited for him to come out into the evening. |
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 4:53 am
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Just what exactly defined ‘good’?
Ephias sat on the floor, holding his face with his hands. The rebel leader's words echoed in his thinkpan. He had known from the start that things were not as clear cut as they seemed. No matter what choice he made he was bound to hurt someone. Yet knowing that did not make the truth any less painful. Thanks to the reconstruction project people had lost their homes and worse their lives. Ephias had played a part in that—albeit a minor one—but a part nonetheless. He wondered if any good came of it. It hardly seemed like it.
Even so, there was a chance to do some good now. With so many of Old Hemisect's former residents being displaced, there was a need for volunteers to help in relocating them. Of course, after the completion of the reconstruction project most of the work force had vanished. Some deserted even earlier. Ephias did not blame them. Unfortunately, there was still so much to do.
Really, he was too young for this kind of thing.
Wolly was the first to detect Keionx's arrival. He suddenly lifted his shaggy head off the floor, ears pricked forward. Then, with an excited bleat, he bounded out through the tent flap. Sighing, Ephias followed after him. He stopped only to disentangle a clump of wool from the zipper.
When he stepped outside, he saw Keionx on the ground, having been bowled over by the delighted sheep. Or at least he saw her head. The rest of her was buried beneath all of Wolly's thick wool. The sheep was busy nuzzling her face affectionately, and snuffling about her hair.
“Wolly...” Ephias chid. After one more happy snuff, the lusus stepped off the troll girl. Ephias rubbed at his temples. He looked worse for wear. Red was beginning to show beneath his eyes, and his hair looked scruffier than usual. Only one side of his shirt had been tucked in. Grudgingly he offered a hand to help Keionx up. Wolly beamed at him. Most likely he had planned that from the get to. The lusus could prove surprisingly crafty.
“You're early,” Ephias remarked flatly. He scratched at his hair, messing it further. “Th-though I suppose being early for something like this isn't really a bad thing... What was the plan?”
DraconicFeline I was assuming that Ephias knew Keionx was coming. Let me know if otherwise! |
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 6:30 am
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Katanari I figured he would XD I can't stop plotting for these two, I swear... but lets see how it goes here?
Keionx was a big strong knight. The Lusus's charge should not have been able to displace her. Clearly, she had allowed it to happen. Clearly.
She laughed, not a common sound in this region of Hemisect at the moment, and rubbed the sheep's available fluff. “And a good evening to ye as well!” she boomed, as energetic as ever.
She was still grinning as Wolly left her person and, though she definitely could have stood up herself, she took the offered hand as was chivalrous and let Ephias help her up.
“I always rise early!” she said proudly, not bothering to dust off her clothing, “For them that rise early, rise well.” or something like that. It was more that Beastdad had always woken her early for her training and it had just become a thing. “Grandest apologies, Ephias, if I woke thee before thou wer't ready!” she said belatedly, remembering how Zariah disliked being woken up at the times that Keionx considered reasonable. She did not notice Ephia's disheveled hair or his bruised eyes, and some self-concious trolls would consider that was a good thing. Plus, he had been like that the whole 'reclaimation'.
“But there is much to be done! So many trolls, forsaken from thy homes, exposed to the sun...” she gave Ephias a confident, enthusiastic smile. Plan? Yes plan. She had one, she totally did. “Let us go forth and aid them!” |
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Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2014 10:03 pm
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Keionx was relieved that she hadn't woken Ephias too early. She had to admit, all those times that she had dragged Zariah out of his recouparoon to take him adventuring, she had felt a little bad.
”Ephias, we will do well here. Vouchers or no...” she said, putting a hand firmly on his shoulder, ”Hath we not built fortresses?” Well, more like fortified shacks with a few wooden gargoyles and accessories on top of it, but who really cared? They'd held, and they'd held well. ”We can do more than mere vouchers! Between thou and I, we can buildith for them a place to call home!” She smiled at him, animated, “Thou art skilled with...” she struggled to find a old timey word for blueprints and gave up, settling instead for the next best thing, “Designs” It wasn't a fancy word, but it would do.
“And if we cannot garner drones to our aid, I will work myself bloody 'til the balmy break of dawn if thou needst, building and carrying materials.”
She nodded encouragingly at his aquiesence. “Onward, then! To the coordinator!” she said, pointing towards the tents in her usual melodramatic style. With that she started towards the growing line of displaced trolls and the voucher tents beyond. |
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 3:39 pm
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Ephias took a slight step back to dodge Keionx's descending hand. True, he had helped her up earlier, but that was an attempt to be polite. Besides, he was hoping that she would refuse the offer. She hadn't. With that, he had filled his daily quota for physical contact. Any more was unnecessary. He planned to avoid it if he could.
“Let's assume it won't have to come to that,” Ephias remarked dully when Keionx had finished. Despite Keionx's enthusiasm, Ephias could not bring himself to share it. He was too deeply sunk in the bowels of depression. Anything they did seemed pointless. The only reason he chose to go along with her was because he hoped the physical labour might distract him from the dark thoughts generated in his thinkpan.
The three trudged along, or at least Ephias trudged—Keionx marched and Wolly shuffled. As they drew closer to the project management centre, trolls pressed in around them. Ephias squeezed his shoulders together to avoid bumping arms with anyone, while Keionx pressed forward like she was leading a valiant charge. Wolly took up the rear, as content as could be even admist the jostling bodies. Perhaps especially among them. Sheep liked to travel in herds. It was impossible to tell but his little stump tail was wagging.
At one of the many booths, an older tealblood sat behind the desk. She appeared tired but composed. As Keionx and Ephias approached she offered a fleeting smile. It was accompanied by a look of scepticism.
“Looking for vouchers?” she ventured. She leaned out over the desk to point to her left down the row of tents. “Follow the path to your right and they'll be the last couple of booths. There are signs around in case you miss it. You'll have to wait in line though.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 9:02 pm
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Katanari If you have a plan... I'm sorry if i just screwed it up. I can edit if need be. Let me know.
Keionx was not phased by being dodged – if she was phased by silly relevant things like that, she wouldn't be the insane knight-in-training that she was today. In her opinion, the crowd parted before her, although her purposeful steps were just very good at shoving past the other lowbloods around her and her 'party'.
”No my good lady!” Keionx spoke up, bold, ”We are here to assist thee in thy task!” she bowed. Whether it was relief or annoyance that showed on the hard-working tealblood's face, it was hard to tell, but they were soon directed and – with Keionx's enthusiasm – funneled to where their skills were useful.
It was soon plain for even the oblivious Keionx to see that they were inadequate: there were not enough vouchers to serve all the ones that needed them, and not enough drones and working robots to handle even that.
Something had to be done.
It was after mid night when the fight broke out in the line, a simple pushing turned into a brawl that made the crowd move and shake. Keionx immediately intervened, bravely going into the fray and doing her part – not without a few bright orange bruises, cuts, and a split lip.
But she had done her job, and the brawl was broken up, and there weren't even any bodies on the ground to clean up. Kei considered it a job well done... but something about it bothered her.
”Ephias...” she said, as she returned to their post. She was frustrated by the lack of progress – she could handle drudgery fairly well, but this was... sad. So, she would do something about it. ”What say thou that we take matters to our own hands?” she asked him, her face flushed from her recent excitement and her fervent confidence, ”You said that part of Chittentown ist submerged by water? What if we removed the water? What if we built above the water?” She looked down at him, at the blueprints and scant vouchers nearby, ”We, together, hath great experience in construction. What say thou? Shall we build?” |
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Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 4:58 am
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This was important work, right? They were doing some good to make up for all the bad. Yet it seemed like such a small, insignificant gesture. Promises of a new home for those whose worlds had been destroyed; promises that might not even be honoured. Ephias gazed down the long winding line, expression blank and emotions dead. As much as he tried to convince himself there was some value in what they were doing, he could not find it. Things continued to progress in an ever downward spiral.
When the fighting broke out, Ephias could do little more than duck behind the desk and cover his hear ducts with his hands. More conflict. He had known it would happen. He had known it would happen yet knowing did not make any more bearable. Shooting Keionx a fleeting, desperate glance before she leapt over the desk and into the fray, he wished she would stay. But with a fearsome war cry, she was gone. Ephias closed his eyes.
He was not sure how long it was before she returned. It could have been anywhere from five minutes to a half an hour. When he heard her voice though, he jumped. He had somehow managed to detach himself from the sounds of anger and pain. Opening his eyes, he looked up at the orangeblood.
Fresh cuts marred her skin and her knuckles were bruised. Ephias jumped to his feet, momentarily jolted out of his apathy. “Are you alr-right?” he stammered. “Y-your lip...” He reached towards her and then recoiled.
Keionx seemed not to mind it. She began to propose a construction plan independent from the empire's efforts. As Keionx spoke, Ephias' face remained blank, devoid of expression. His mind was hard at work though, processing her words, their implications, and their consequences.
“What about materials?” he asked. “We could salvage s-some of them maybe, but there won't be an abundance of materials like there was here.”
DraconicFeline Holy s**t. A post that is not a month later? Somebody fetch me a gold star sticker. Anyway, that was fine. It moves things forward nicely. This is the right direction! |
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 5:05 pm
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Her lip? Keionx put her hand to it and blinked as her fingers came away orange. Oh. How had she gotten that injury? Fights were a blur and she honestly couldn't remember – there had been many angry trolls and she'd gotten right in the middle of them like some insane auspice. Who – and how – she had gotten her injuries would be impossible to tell and not important, but she'd had to break up the fight.
”I'm fine.” she said, smiling reassuringly. Another troll might not have asked the question and assumed she was and would be just fine. It was nice to know that Ephias was concerned.
”Ah! We can salvage, yes! And I doth not believe the city would mindeth if we took the resources and trolls here.” she replied, unusually not-oblivious for once, ”Didst thou not say building twas restricted here?” she grinned, ”Then they will encourageth us to move, will they not? And we shall, but we shall build so that these trolls miss naught but the place they wert raised within...” she thought about it. Yes. They could do it. She had faith.
Still in a noticing mood, however, she saw the blank expression on his face, definitely not mirroring her own enthusiasm. She frowned. He had been concerned for her but, she realized now, she had failed to consider him. ”Ephias?” sh asked, ”Art thou all right? The plan... doth it bother thee?” |
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Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 8:45 pm
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It was hard to say whether he was more surprised or relieved when Keionx finally asked if he was all right. Now that she had asked, though he found he was unsure of what to say.
Ephias averted his eyes. He almost felt guilty for stifling her enthusiasm but the fact of the matter was, it was not their place to act. More precisely, it was not their place to make decisions. Even if he hated the path laid out before him, what choice was there but to go along with it and hope for the best? In a totalitarian government, the only way to safely induce change was through compromise. “It doesn't b-bother me...” he stammered, shuffling his feet. He kept his eyes on the ground. “It just...
“There are a lot of problems. Unless we could g-g-get such a construction project officially sanctioned, government resources would be off limits. And the chance that someone would sanction it is... w-well. The whole reason trolls are being forced to relocate is because the empire does not want to dedicate the funds or materials for lowbloods. The vouchers are proof of that. With the overcrowding in Chittentown, they have almost no value. But they're not sup-supposed to. Their basic function is to make it look like the empire is putting forth an effort to care for the lower class, while in fact doing very little. So the possibility of materials being set aside for private c-construction in Chittentown is next to nil. It has nothing to do with location and everything to do upper class privilege.
“Even if we were to somehow able gather the materials we needed, there are still only two of us. While we accomplished a lot during the p-the past week we had outside help. Not to mention we were only fortifying existing structures. To build something entirely from scratch... That's d-different.”
Somehow, despite all that he said, Ephias felt that he had not really gotten through to Keionx. Nor had he said what was really on his mind. He let out a breath, rubbing at his temples. His thoughts were a jumble and trying to organise them only gave him a headache. “I mean...” he began slowly. “I guess what I w-wanted to say is that... you and me... we're just kids, Keionx. How are we expected to do anything?”
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 9:16 am
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Ephias was making a lot of valid points, points that Keionx didn't want to hear. So she didn't. She got the gist of it, though – obstacles. Lots of obstacles.
Obstacles were meant to be overcome. That was what heroes did. And she knew Ephias had it in him to be a hero. Not a hacky-slashy hero like herself, obviously, but... well... there were many types of heroes.
The point was, her enthusiasm was not dampened at all. ”By doing it, of course!” she said proudly, ”We can do anything, if we bringeth ourselves to it! Will and courage shalt conquer all obstacles!” she said, ”Thou shalt see! If we put our minds to it...” well his. He was a lot smarter than her and the actual plan part of it would be best left to him. ”We shalt prevail in our endeavors, no matter how it seemith at first!” |
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 5:03 pm
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Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 1:36 pm
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It was a clear night over Chittentown. Stars glittered like diamonds high above the desert sands while Alternia's twin moons slept near the horizon. Ephias noticed neither of those things.
He was hunched over a a makeshift table, studying an spread of blueprints. Scattered around him was a variety of instruments: pens, pencils, a calculator, two rulers, a measuring stick, a protractor... He held a drawing compass limply in his hand. He had not done anything with it for several minutes now. Instead he stared at the schematics, expression blank, as his soul wandered elsewhere. The compass spun idly around his fingers. A mosquito buzzed near his face, then settled on his forehead. He had no mind to brush it away.
Three days. That was how long they had been working. It had been a relief to return to his hive, to get away from the battle zone and return to something familiar. It felt as though a large weight had come off his shoulders. In fact, on the dawn of the first day back in Chittentown, Ephias had even managed to get a good day's sleep; the first in a long while. There was nothing that beat the comfort of home.
After that, it was straight to work. Keionx's construction mission had not been approved. Not exactly. It was too much to ask for, of course. However, they had found a happy compromise. Ever since the flooding of Chittentown, reconstruction had been a constant, ongoing ordeal. While the empire could not afford to allocate more materials to the desert city at the present, Keionx and Ephias were given the go ahead (after reviewing their war efforts) to use those provided for reconstruction, bearing in mind that they were to use them for nothing else than the sole purpose proposed. Realising that this was as generous an offer as he could hope for, Ephias immediately signed the forms and off they went. Good luck, kids.
Suddenly Ephias jolted, as though coming out of a dream. He had zoned out. Again. Studying the blueprints in front of him, he tried to remember what it was he was working on. Everything looked just about complete. He must have been double-checking his dimensions but then... why the compass?
Ephias rubbed at his face. Three days and three nights. Already he felt like crap again. There was no time for that though. They had finally been given the opportunity to do something important, something right to make up for all that had happened and he could not squander it.
“Keionx,” he called, rising to his feet. “I've got the next blueprint ready.” Rolling the paper under one arm and grabbing the measuring tape, Ephias left the work table. The construction zone was a flurry of activity and noise. A few construction drones had been designated to help them with their efforts as well as to make sure the children did not stray from their purpose. The workers were tireless, never seeming to pause or question.
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