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 Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 2:28 pm
Virtus was feeling confident now. He had some great help from some friends in figuring out what he could do to better serve his Court, and that just made him the happiest Dark Senshi in the world. He desperately wanted to pull his weight, but fighting just wasn't working out for him.
More often than not, he just ended up talking to people. And when he did try to fight them it did not go very well. Even the one time that he had won. In fact, that was probably the worst of all.
He did not like hurting people. Seeing them bleed. Even on the other team, he just wanted to heal them and make the pain go away from them. It was just how he was wired!
But Bazz and Mimi had both put better ideas in his head. Ideas of being a healer, of helping others while they were on patrol, or while they were training. It would allow them to do more with less cost to energy or to their own bodies: they could have him heal them.
Now he just had to make sure his magic was good enough for it.
He was out on patrol, looking for energy to drain and trying to avoid any white moon auras he felt, for now, until he had a better idea of how to handle interactions with them one on one. But he still had a job to do!
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Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2012 4:33 pm
If ever Remarque felt the aura of a Dark Mirror Senshi in the area, it was a given that he was going to direct himself to it. This evening was no different, and while his attempts at gathering energy had been a bit of a bust, he wasn't going to let that put a damper on his mood.
Traversing through Destiny City, he'd first picked up the aura for only a brief moment before losing it. He wasn't figuring he'd make that mistake, and thanks to a few shortcuts, quickly managed to locate and approach the source.
While he hadn't exactly imagined anything to expect, Virtus certainly wasn't who he imagined he'd find. "Virtus," he greeted when he came near to the senshi. "That's a nice look for you. Super, now?"
He hadn't been aware that the senshi had upgraded, though it was obvious that he was pleased to see such. A smile, albeit tinted with the same smugness that was always there, crossed his face. "Congratulations, how did that happen?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 1:11 pm
"Hi Remarque!" Virtus all but intoned, bouncing happily at the sight of his friend. He smiled brightly and stood a bit taller. It was to help Remarque get a better look at him, more than it was pride. But then, maybe there was a little of that in there as well.
Virtus didn't think he subscribed to pride, but some things were human nature and even he could not deny them.
"I guess I just got good enough for it! Probably from your training, which has been really helpful! I've decided that I'm going to try to fight less and focus more on healing. Which I wanted to tell you about! If you have any use for a healer, let me know, and I'll be there! I think I want to help people with their patrols and missions, and team up with others more."
It all came out at once, almost with the words falling on top of each other in a way that should not be allowed.
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Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 11:54 pm
The words came quickly, but Remarque processed them all the same. He was understanding, though not necessarily happy. It certainly seemed in Virtus' best interest to travel with another at all given times—but if he was intent on completely abandoning fighting?
"Glad you've found something you're happy with," he said, biting the inside of his cheek. Not one to spare feelings, there was still a tactful way to say 'but that's a terrible plan'. Remarque found it in the form of, "But your enemies won't be kinder to you just because you're a healer. They'll treat you the same as any one of the fighters. You have a unique skill, healing, though you can't let that be the only aspect you train. You need to make sure you can defend yourself at the very least. You don't want to be a liability to whomever you're working with, do you?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2013 11:29 am
Virtus looked surprised. So far, everyone had told him that it was a great plan, and help him come up with it even, and it was a bit of a surprise to hear that Remarque didn't agree. But then, not everyone always thought in the same ways, so maybe a dissenting opinion would help open him up to perfecting his idea further.
It certainly wasn't a bad thing!
"Oh, I know they won't. I'm still trying to be a strong enough fighter to help if I need to, but only if I need to. I'm just... I don't think I'm built that way, you know? I can't really get my arms to swing the right way, and when I did, and I hurt someone, I just felt... I've never felt that before! I mean."
He was having a hard enough time saying it, it was so foreign to him.
"I just felt so bad."
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 2:49 pm
It was difficult not to release an exasperated sigh, though Remarque succeeded in keeping it to himself—for now, at least. He couldn't, for the life of him, figure out how Ares thought it would be a good idea to awaken Virtus. The healing was a neat touch, but if, for whatever reason, Virtus was caught alone? If he didn't have a partner who could fight with him?
He was screwed.
As a healer, Remarque figured the Court needed him—preferably alive and in one piece.
"Do you kill bugs?" he prompted, though realized he wouldn't be surprised if Virtus didn't even do that. "Or would you stand up to a bully, picking on your friend? If you saw a man hit his girlfriend, would you intervene and defend her? Or would it 'feel bad' to do that, too?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 3:30 pm
Virtus tilted his head in wonder.
He didn't kill bugs, if he could help it, though some just had unfortunate timing or he reacted too quickly to a bug bite and managed to squish the bug responsible.
"I would protect Navi," he said. He would but he would probably get his butt kicked. "I have been trying to practice and get stronger, I have. I know I have to keep myself alive so I can heal others, but it's just not something... I want to focus on. It's not the part of the job that I feel I'm the best at! I feel my best skill is helping, is healing.
I feel bad because I don't want to hurt people I know we can have on our side if we just convince them. I'd rather see them be Dark Mirror senshi, and they won't do that if they think we're just out to beat them up all the time, right?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 4:22 pm
Unfortunately, Remarque had to agree with Virtus. A long time ago he'd realized that he couldn't lunge into things with his fists. Winning the senshi over to their side was a priority, and not one he could afford to sacrifice for a good fight.
"True," he conceded, "But what about knights? You remember what happened to Leto, don't you?" Or hadn't he been around then? "Or all those times a knight's busted up Navi? I understand trying to win over the opposing side—all of them—but the fact of the matter is that it doesn't matter how nice you are to them, some of them just can't be won over. I've had all sorts of them attack me—and if they're dumb enough to pick a fight with me, you know they'll pick a fight with you. So do me a favor, all right?" Remarque didn't sound mad, just exasperated. "Help me sleep a little better tonight, won't you?" He gestured for the male to come closer. "Spar with me. Quick, painless. If you can handle yourself all right, I'll get off your back. If you're totally useless, I'm dragging you to the gym with me. Is that fair?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 4:29 pm
Virtus had never had a bad encounter with a knight. In fact, he had met a knight and gained a new quest from one. He was going to learn how to be a knight himself, for the Dark Mirror, and find one of their little bottles of power.
In reality, the bottle had been the knight in question's item, and it had awakened that particular knight. He had been very new and couldn't say no when Virtus asked if that was how all knights awakened, and if he could find a bottle of his own.
And if he had been, it was unlikely that it would have dissuaded Virtus until he found out for himself.
He smiled and nodded. Well, if it would help Remarque sleep better he would certainly spar. Maybe sparring helped wear him out and that way he got to bed quicker? Or maybe he was not being literal, but that thought was very distant. Figures of speech were sometimes lost on him.
"That's fair!" He brought up his hands as he had been practicing with Bazzite and some others, as well as on his own. He knew, at least, how to hold himself now and didn't look completely useless.
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 4:45 pm
Rather pleased that Virtus was an enthusiastic as ever, Remarque held up his own hands. He hadn't boxed in the ring in some time, and though it was just about second nature of him, his form was a little sloppy. It took him a few seconds to realize, and while he allowed himself to be upset with such, he figured Virtus' wouldn't have recognized anything amiss. He had to make a mental note to find someone experienced to spar with—soon.
"Good, good. I'm not going to go easy on you," he warned—though really, he couldn’t imagine unleashing his full power on Virtus. It didn't stop him from throwing the first punch, though. He aimed a quick jab at Virtus' stomach, keeping his right arm up to block. He wasn't sure how much Virtus had improved, and even if he still thought of the senshi as new to battle, he had no intention of lowering his guard—just in case. Getting beaten up by Virtus was absolutely not on his list of things to do before he kicked the bucket.
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 5:01 pm
Virtus nodded his head and imagined he was about to get his butt kicked and that was totally okay! He didn't mind that at all, because he always learned a lot about things through direct lessons and he knew he wasn't being attacked out of malice.
That made it okay.
To be punched in the face. Or in this case his stomach.
Virtus did manage to stay on his feet though, and took the hit like a trooper. Or like a guy that was used to getting hit. Maybe that was what he was really getting good at. In any case, he moved to attack when he saw what he thought was an opening, swinging for Remarque with one hand and following with the next as fast as he could. It had worked against that senshi, after all.
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 5:31 pm
The first punch, Remarque blocked with ease. The second made nice, solid contact with Remarque's chest. It wasn't enough to take his breath away, but it was enough to send an awkward burst of pain down his spine. Remarque almost would have preferred a blow to the face to avoid the cold shiver he always seemed to get after a good blow to the chest.
Of course, if Virtus had damaged his face he might not have been able to forgive him, so instead he offered a quick, "Nice," before he was swinging again. This time he lowered his hand and aimed for the side of Virtus' head; he had no intention of actually hitting him—at least not somewhere so visible—but he still wanted to gauge reaction time. And see how well he did with two fists coming his way; with his right hand shooting to the side of Virtus' face, he aimed his left towards the senshi's shoulder.
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 5:43 pm
A nice!
Whoo!
Virtus had little time to celebrate though, before he was pulling himself backwards to avoid getting smacked in the face. He managed to do that pretty well. He was a Super now, and he had a lot of punches thrown at his face to at least be able to gauge the speed of the swing.
Most of the time he didn't make it back far enough in time, but he'd been getting better.
He did not dodge the one to his shoulder though, stumbling backwards from the hit and reeling a bit. He winced, bending forward on instinct because of the pain and to catch his balance. Then he just used that position to charge at Remarque like a bull, leading shoulder first.
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 8:24 pm
With Virtus charging towards him, instinct kicked in—and Remarque shifted positions to prepare for the blow. When Virtus collided with him—as, Remarque made no attempt to move—he braced himself to stop the male, and gripped the senshi's upper arms to try and minimize the damage. Though he was grounded, Virtus' shoulder caught him in a soft spot and for the briefest second, black flickered at the corner of his vision.
Virtus had gotten in a good move. Not Remarque's preferred method, as it left the stomach wide open (which he emphasized when he brought he knee up to Virtus' stomach when he had stopped skidding backwards). That seemed to be the only damage he was intent on doing; after that he just pat Virtus' back and strained to catch his own breath.
He seriously didn't want to admit to Virtus that the attack had left him near winded, so forcing the wheeze out of his breath he finally said, "All right. You did better than I thought. Good move, that last one. You all right?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:32 pm
Virtus nodded his head and squeaked when he was pat on the back, though he couldn't exactly say anything just yet. He was trying to get air back into his lungs without making it look like that was what he was doing. Also, there was bile in his throat that he needed to swallow down.
He cleared his throat and grinned.
"I'm okay," he managed to eep out, though he grinned broadly after that. He laughed, which sounded suspiciously like a wheeze.
"Thank you for sparring with me," he said, after a longer pause and when he was sure he'd be able to get it out without sounding like Mickey Mouse. "You're just as good as ever! Probably better, since I still can't do any damage to you," he laughed but he seemed genuinely good natured and impressed by that.
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