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 Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 7:50 pm
Danna flicked a glance at her sketchbook and smiled bashfully. "I haven't been able to settle on the design and skill set just yet... but it's the Fallout Energy Shard. It has so much potential...but I want to find the perfect balance between offence and Defence." She returned her gaze to him in time to see him adjusting his bangs and smiled in spite of herself. "I want to design it to be able to protect Empyreans from Monsters and Outsiders, as oppose to use in Duelling." She added quietly.
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Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 8:34 pm
"Can't say I disagree with you." He nodded, "I don't particularly enjoy duels - or the idea at least. It's a mark against the duelers if they're fighting over something that can just as easily be resolved through thinking and discussion." He paused, "Are you going to attend Professor Dameron's and Professor Elias' duel? I don't know if I will... I'm of the classes they teach but I find the idea of dueling unappealing." He frowned, thought and knowledge was such a powerful tool. He didn't understand why people would prefer physical attacks. They could at least try something with more finesse, like magic for example.
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Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 8:46 pm
Danna blinked at that. "I was hoping to attend the duel. I was under the impression that they would use a mix of magic, physical skills, and familiars to assist them. So it was a matter of tactics more than anything. Afterall, they're both Academics, I'm sure their forethought will be breath-taking to see." Danna smiled hopefully at her friend, hoping to convince him to attend with her. "A well-rounded attack works best, does it not? Magic on its own has it's short-comings too. My hope is to be able to use such a myriad of skills when I'm a Three..."
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Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 9:13 pm
"Oh? It's not a match based solely on strong one is?" His gaze levelled on her, "Until I see a reason to embrace hitting someone, I'd much prefer to rely on my wits and magic, thank-you. Forethought is indeed important, especially for an Academic like myself." He nodded, thinking, "Still, I don't know very many people and those I have seen seem rather tightly knit. I'd feel out of place." He sighed, admitting his worry to Danna and hoping no one else was around to hear it.
((Astaroth: gonk I could break a nail fighting with a sword!
*smacked several times over* xD))
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Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 9:55 pm
"'Taroth..." Danna murmured softly, coaxing gently. "I'll be with you... What does it matter if other people have their groups? You're enough for me, and besides, they both have such amazing Abberations! Wouldn't you like to see them in action?" Danna smiled at him with as much reassurance as she could muster, which was, surprisingly, a great deal after all.
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Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 10:16 pm
He watched her for a moment, blinking slowly and feeling entirely as though he were an animal being tamed. Laughing at the thought, he glanced down for a moment only to meet that astoundingly reassuring smile. His resolve crumbled then, sped by her comments. At length he nodded, "Fine. But I'm not guaranteeing that I'll stay the entire time. It will be an opportunity to learn."
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Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 11:50 pm
Danna nodded, both happy and relieved. She didn't really know many other people, and certainly no noe else as well as she knew him; she really hoped he'd decide to come. "It will be an excellent opportunity! I only hope I remember everything. Since they're both Academics, I suspect it will be really fast-paced. I hope I can keep up." Danna paused and then asked, with a bit of a playful tone in her voice. "Should I meet you somewhere for the Duel, or will I just have to scour the crowd and find you?" She made it sound as if there was no obstacle she would not face to meet with him.
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Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 12:03 am
Nodding, he rested his elbow on the table and set his chin on the palm of his hand, a sly expression on his face, "Oooh? Is that a challenge?" His tone was much the same as hers. He watched her, a wry smile lighting up his features. "Shall we make a game of it?"
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Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 12:20 pm
She laughed at that. "'Taroth, I have a distinct suspicion that if you wished to not be found, there's no power on earth that could reveal you. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if you possessed the knowledge to make yourself invisible!" Her eyes parkled with mirth and she could not help but smile, even as she spoke. "But, yes, let's... I vow I won't rest until I find you and secure a seat beside you for the Duel." She vowed, one hand upon her heart, quite seriously. "I only hope you don't make it too much of a chase, or I will miss the Duel itself!" She added, breaking the sobriety of the moment and relaxing her chin into both upturned curled hands, her elbows firmly propped on the table bewteen them.
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Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 12:40 pm
His eyes sparkled with mischief as he nodded slowly, neither confirming nor denying that statement. That would be an interesting feat indeed - one he might like to try at some point. As she made her vow he couldn't help but laugh - that she would be so serious about meeting him for the duel seemed so very silly. And yet, he found himself somewhat flattered. He'd have to dress the part then, a dashing young man awaiting the lady for the duel. Of course, he wouldn't be standing right out in open, that would be an insult to them both.
"If the duel is that important to you, I'll make sure we get good seats and that you don't miss too much of it." He replied wryly, emphasizing the 'too'. "This shall be quite amusing, I think."
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Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 4:24 pm
Danna smiled happily. "Thank you, 'Taroth. I'm so very glad you'll come. It...it wouldn't be the same without you. You're sure to catch things I miss." She didn't add that she would like to spend as much time with him as she could possibly muster, but the words would have been superfluous compared to the tone and lilt of her voice. "How have you been doing with your Tarot studies?" She asked at length, genuinely interested in the subject and looking forward to her some-day reading.
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Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 2:03 pm
He smiled, appreciative of the compliments, "Thank-you Danna." He remained quiet though, thinking as he watched her from across the table. It was a comfortable distance not so far as to appear cold or disinterested but close enough to reach out and take her hand. Astaroth sighed, but she wouldn't want that. Danna was a physical person, enjoying the joy of contact with another person while he didn't. He enjoyed the sharing of minds far more.
Perhaps the duel would be an opportunity for both, he thought. A chance to further their friendship. He believed they were already close friends and denying Danna the thing she greatly enjoyed would be cruel. He'd just have to learn enjoy touch... or her touch anyways. He had no obligation to accommodate any one else, at least for the time being.
He looked up as she spoke, brought out of his thoughts by her question. "My Tarot studies? Oh, they're going well. It's fascinating how the cards embody so much and how complex their meaning can become. Each person would end up seeing different things in them - especially since they mean one thing upright and something different upside down." He smiled, "I'm experimenting with the different ways of laying out the cards right now. The configuration changes depending on what you're looking for or how complex you want the reading to be. I'm rather excited, I must admit. I hope to be able to do a reading for you soon." He nodded, the rise and fall of his voice full of intensity. He wanted not only to do this perfectly for himself but perfectly for Danna as well. She was putting so much effort into the things she did for him that he felt it only right to reciprocate in kind.
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 11:13 pm
As Astaroth spoke empassioned of the Tarot, Danna's mouth gaped a little bit more and more and her eyes widened so far, she feared they'd fall out of her head. But she simply couldn't help it. She was in awe. Not only of the words he spoke - the precision and detail a reading could give, the immense wealth of knowledge they could bring to the forebear, the many subjects they could adress... All of this, yes, awed her...
But the boy speaking the words was what took her breath away. Astaroth, always so reserved, so focussed, so distant... And now, here he was, speaking of something he felt passion for, the timbre in his voice alive like liquid metal. His potency and his potential so powerful Danna felt her heart hammering out a rhythm that seemed to count down the moments until Astaroth had perfected his every aspect. Seeing him thus fired, she felt faith in him, reverence and a smattering of idol worship. And from her lips seven little words escaped her:
"I believe you are capable of anything."
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 11:39 pm
He paused, cutting off the breath he'd taken to continue speaking and blinked, looking at Danna as though she'd suddenly proclaimed undying love for him. "Come again?" It wasn't so much what she said but the way she said it. He caught the strange... cadence in her voice and it both baffled and encouraged him. The fire in her eyes and those simple words made him feel as though he was indeed capable of anything. If someone believed in him so strongly it had to be true didn't it?
The startled look fled quickly however, to be replaced by a glowing smile as his gaze focused only on her, "Why thank-you Danna. Thank-you for your support." He sat a little straighter, his chest pushed out a little; over all he looked a little more prideful and a little more confident with her encouragement. He wouldn't admit it, but he was basking in her faith in him and it was obvious.
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 7:40 am
Danna regained a little of her wits when he responded to her, and only partially aware of what she was saying began to murmur. "'Taroth...when you've perfected every flaw, exemplified every skill....what then? What Outsider will be able to stand against you? Will even the City Empyrean be able to hold you? Or will your essence spread out beyond its walls, and into the veins of the world until you are merely a part of Mephistophiles? What goal could be great enough for your purpose; what goal could be greater than joining to the Metatron...?" Her eyes swept down from his face as she mumbled, following the clean lines of his clothing, the varied straps, the sharp seams, the contrast of black against silvery skin. Her eyes paused over his chest. For Astaroth it swelled with pride, but in Danna's eyes it was the Academic body, long and lithe like a swan, lifting, taking flight. And then her gaze trickled down to his hands, those pale, delicate hands with the slender fingers, the soft palms. With a dawning realization, Danna realized why she ought not to touch this boy. It wasn't fit, it wasn't proper that she, a mediocre Empyrean try to contact one who would someday be so great, and empower the City to much. Now she understood. She tightened her grip on her own hand and brought her gaze as boldly as she could to his face.
"I think I understand, now... Why you dislike being touched." She said, smiling appologetically for all the times she had touched him, and not understood why he'd recoiled. "I'm sorry it has taken me so long to understand... But I won't touch you, now. I didn't realize how inappropriate it was for someone like me to touch someone like you. But I understand now, and I'll make sure not to lose control of myself around you. I'll strive to be better for you." Danna didn't go so far as to vow, as she feared she might still slip up now and then. But she felt as though, if she refrained and did not sully their friendship with touching him, that he might allow her to get closer...in the ways that mattered to him. And afterall, with all the great things in store for Astaroth, what was important to him really mattered that much more. Danna would do her best to serve.
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