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 Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 7:26 pm
It wasn't worth thinking about the implications of what had just happened, not right now, so Ida threw herself into the fight with single minded determination. This was not how she liked to fight, but beating on herself with her fists was a good distraction. It occupied her mind nicely and let her work off some of her frustration.
The pair circled each other, blows traded equally. It made Ida ache as hits scored on her body, but her own blows kept the shade from getting too close. They were at an impasse... they were so equally matched there was no way to get past each other's defenses...
At least, until Titan recovered and decided on a course of action. She saw the hammer swing at her shade, but it was their luck that the shade did not. Foam wasn't much of a threat to something of eternal power level, but it was distracting. The shade's head turned for a fraction of a moment and Ida took the opportunity to plant a foot in her stomach again, sending her falling backwards. The shade cried out as she fell and she rolled as she hit the ground, moving out of their reach. With a quick motion, she was on her feet and staring them down with a black look of frustration. Her decision was made in moments, weighing her opponents and deciding it was too much to face.
Ida sighed as the shade turned and ran, feeling her own frustration as it zipped out of sight. Not again... she needed to bring it down, or she feared it would never stop hunting her. The only saving grace about it was that it had no interest in hurting anyone but her, unlike a certain other faction. Which brought her mind back to her companion and the eternal senshi turned to frown at the Leutenant, flexing the soreness out of her hands from all the blows to her shade.
"Why?" It was the only question she could think to ask him, the only thing she didn't understand.
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Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2013 12:14 pm
Titan heaved a relieved breath when Ida’s hit connected, then smiled when the shadow made the decision to high-tail it. He cradled a hand over his middle, both blows smarting without an active battle to draw his mind off it or his Lord’s presence to encourage strict stoicism. He wasn’t sure if he was allowed to really worry or ask if she was alright- whether by her own pride or their relative allegiances, and then her bearing and question bore out the suspicion. He called the hammer back to his hand and then let it vanish back to Negaspace, hoping that the motion would indicate clearly his intentions after all that. “Lady Ida, I do understand återgälda, gengäld, and gäldenär. You aided me against an enemy that had no part in our war….and one that had no eye for you. The least I could do was the same. You expected me to stand by? “ He shrugged, “That would benefit, I guess. If more of you die, it is less for us to fight. It doesn’t feel right. Maybe fairness on a battlefield is wide opinions, but an enemy unannounced and unknown...I do not like it. Tactics are one thing, and they can get sneaky. But that was just dirty. ” “Warriors should know when they step on a battlefield who they are fighting, if not where, when or how they will trade blows. Otherwise its just random butchery and not war. ”
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Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2013 12:47 pm
The words he spoke didn't mean anything to her, but she inferred that they were some kind of code of honor. How was that possible? The Negaverse didn't have honor... how could you have honor and still do the things that they did? Were there others like him, or was he just unique among them?
Seeing him cradling his stomach, she dropped her defenses and marched up to him.
"Are you okay?" She said with a frown. The pieces in her head were realigning themselves to incorporate this new information and without realizing it, she had made the decision to trust him. Until he gave her a reason, she believed he wouldn't attack her without a reason for it, and he most likely would do it straight forward, face to face. It was weird to trust one of them, but she honestly wondered why he was on that side...
"I'm not a warrior. I'm someone who sees people with power hurting people who are weaker than them. I see monsters attacking little girls. I'm just a girl who can't stand by and just watch... I didn't know how to fight when I started all of this, its only because I had to that I learned. I helped you because I am a good person and I help everyone, no matter who they are." Ida stared at him with all of her emotions plain on her face, all the confusion and mistrust, worry and sadness showing... along with the trust she had, the pity for him, the genuine concern. She couldn't help liking him, and it disturbed her deeply.
"Why do you fight for the Negaverse?" The senshi said suddenly, her hands resting on her hips. She had never asked someone that before... never been able to get this close to one of them before to ask it. Heck, she didn't even know how one joined the Negaverse, or if the whole group just sprang into existence from some other place. Was there even hope that someone like this could find the right path and come up out of the darkness?
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Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2013 1:32 pm
Titan tried to give a reassuring smile, "I don't suggest one of your arrows after one of my kicks anyway. It isn't going to kill me. I just don't think I will want more than a liquid diet this week." "Why do I-" He paused, and took a long breath. He supposed that was a fair enough question, if they were talking anyway. "Well, I guess it is complicated. Maybe?" "I'd been saved by some of your kind before. But they were very clear- I was not welcome to understanding what was happening, or they themselves didn't have the answers. They wouldn't give many answers when they did. Or suggested I stay away from all the strange. " "What good that? As much be a sheep told to be quiet as you are slaughtered, except you don't know if it is for meat or paper or why you must die. You know only that there are shepherds and wolves fighting around you. I met my lord, and he gave me answers. He told me about the Earth Kingdom, and said to prove myself. I have, and they gave me a place, purpose and the strength to have some ..." "Not control, not say...a part at least, better than a sheep. A plain man cannot resist the magic of nobles easily of his own strength, now I am no longer plain. I have a choice. The negaverse gave me that. So I am their sword, to wield as best they see."
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Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2013 2:11 pm
"So you follow them... because they told you what to do? You've been saved before, from them, and because your saviors wanted to protect you... you joined the other side?" There was infinite sadness in Ida's voice as she said this, and a hint of anger. It wasn't much, just a spark, but it was there.
"I think you've made a very poor choice..." She said softly. With her guard down, she looked small in her fuku. Delicate, which was only partly true. "I saw a captain, once... he grabbed a girl right off the street, a girl I knew from school. I begged him to let her go and all he did was reach inside her chest, and crush her starseed. Just like that... she was gone. He didn't collect it, didn't take any energy from her... Another time, back when I was still new, still first level, I distracted a general who was trying to corrupt one of my friends. When she found me alone, she played with me like a cat and mouse. I couldn't hurt her and she only wanted to hurt me. I have a scar from it, right here..."
Her finger traced over the right side of her ribs where the ridge of the scar could still be felt. Why was she even telling him this? Its not like it would do her any good. Did she hope to change his mind? Or was she just... searching for some kind of meaning to it all?
"I almost died, and for what? Helping a friend? I don't understand your choice... Good men, honorable men... don't stand by and watch while others are hurt. They don't help the people who are hurting them..."
Biting her lip, she backed off a little, wondering at herself. She'd never realized how far down the rabbit hole she'd fallen... she could hardly believe that it had been less than a year since she'd started all of this, and there was already so much death and violence in her life. What was she becoming? At least her ideals still shone through... to protect those who couldn't fight back. At least that was one rock in her life, a reason to go on.
"I'm sorry. You could probably care less about what I think. I don't know why I'm even saying it. I probably can't convince you of anything and I'm stupid to try. You fought with me today, tomorrow you'll probably have your hand in my chest, ripping out my starseed..." She felt a hollow ache in her chest when she said it and Ida moved her hands from her sides to the bow over her heart, remembering what it had felt like to have that happen twice. This was all just so messed up. Life wasn't supposed to be like this, she was sure of it.
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Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2013 2:40 pm
"No...I don't think you are listening to what I am saying. " "You are very black and white only from where you stand. I guess that is what we all do naturally. But no, I don't mind hearing your opinion. Life isn't so simple as good people and bad people. There are some of each. There's both in all of us. Sharing isn't always an option for everyone. " "And No, I wasn't saved from soldiers at all." It was a proof of a lot of assumptions on her part that she automatically went to that. "I was saved from youma, which is very different. They are not like people. But you are right that there are many terrible things that many of the soldiers do. They either lost sight, or maybe never had it...of what the purpose was. I worry...how choices are made by some of the Lords, who they pick to raise up. " "Let me ask...say there is only enough bread on a table to feed one family. But there are two families. If it is shared, both will starve. If one takes it, the other starves. Is the family who takes it evil? Should none take it and all starve? Should both take it and starve together? " "Is your only reason for talking to me that you want to convince me? If it is, then yes, it would fail. Each must make their own decisions, but I ...do value yours. You have a better head on your shoulders, probably. It is entirely possible that I am wrong in my choices. But my Lord, I think, has been longer in this war than both of us, and I trust his thoughts and opinions more than yours or mine." " Maybe tomorrow we will have to fight. That is what happens in war, Lady. There has never been a war where something wasn't destroyed. " He said it sombre, and lifted a large hand to hover over her shoulder, but not touching. He wanted to reassure her of something- it was plain she was in pain and had seen a lot. "War is terrible." "At least we can do so while trying to understand each other...? To know that what each fights for was worth their strength and respect that?"
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Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2013 7:35 pm
"Grey areas are not excuses to do evil." Ida said. "And youma are not senshi creatures."
His reasoning sounded like someone who had thought these things through, but she couldn't accept how he blurred the lines. There was a line there, between doing what was right and doing what was wrong. She just didn't understand how he could stand on that other side and claim it was merely a matter of opinion.
"I don't think I will ever understand how you think and I can't accept that what I've seen is right or justified somehow. Do you feed off of the energy you take? What do you even use it for? People make more energy, its not like it runs out... if its really that important, there must be people who would share it willingly... You don't have to steal it, ripping it out of the unwilling without so much as an 'excuse me'." The senshi threw up her arms, and then let them drop. "I don't know what experiences your lord has, what he's told you, but I have no leader, and neither does any senshi. We fight on our own, or in teams if we choose, and we find our own reasons for it. My reason is what I've told you, to protect the people who can't defend themselves."
There was a lot of hurt in her words, a lot of confusion. When he reached for her she flinched without realizing it and slid out from under his hand. She had bad experiences with Negaversers that tried to touch her, and when she opened her senses, she could feel the chaos on him.
"This is pointless. Look, thank you for helping me out." Ida said as she backed away from him, her expressive face closing up. "I'm grateful for that and for you being nice enough to talk to me. I'm going to just mark this night down as out of the normal, because as long as you're on their side, you're an enemy. Hopefully, we won't have to face each other again. Slim chance, but a girl can hope."
Ida jumped then, sailing backwards to put some distance between them, between her and things she wasn't ready or willing to hear. She offered him a mock salute before she turned away, lifting her voice so it would reach him.
"Get stronger, Titan! You're going to need it if you face me in a fight again." She called before she ran off.
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Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2013 9:40 pm
For insisting on saying her piece, she was rude when it came to anyone elses- her words were too quick in reaction for her to have really considered anything he'd said. They she backed away, like he was diseased. Not just from his hand, but calling it all pointless. It came off petulent, and Titan just frowned. The mock salute was even worse. After all, it seems she has had a hard time. Enemies cannot always regard each other well. And we are all young. He didn't offer more words. "Pointless" meant that she didn't want any, anyway. He watched her go, then continued on into the night himself. There was always more. Get stronger, ja. Well...that goes without saying. Fare well, Lady Ida.
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