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 Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2023 12:13 pm
“Mmhmm.” Valek replied with amusement before finding a somewhat clean corner and propping himself up against it. “So we’ll have a couple of hours while they make their way to the destination. Care to share some? Neither of us can sneak away this time.” He playfully added with a smirk towards the vigilante. “Do I just keep calling you Moon or do you have a preference?”
[Valek 8]
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Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2023 12:13 pm
Ugh, this was definitely a trap. Xylia let out a long sigh before looking over at the hybrid. “Or we could just spend the time in silence, you know?” She quipped back even though her blades were sheathed now despite earlier wanting to rip into him. “Moon or Lia is fine. What about you, Shadows?”
[Xylia 9]
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Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2023 12:13 pm
“Shadows?” Valek chuckled. “I could go with that, honestly.” He gave a slight shrug before glancing over Moon…no Lia, again. “Valek or Shadows work.” He replied in return with a chuckle. “Since we’re not trying to stab each other for a change what’s wrong with some casual conversation? Do you really want to just focus on the dirty interior for the entire trip? I would rather get to know more about this vigilante and why you’re even here in the first place. You have some Aishan fade, right? Are you an Alkidike hybrid? Why live in Oba when you could enjoy the jungle and…Sisterhood?”
[Valek 9]
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Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2023 12:13 pm
Xylia gave Valek a look of seriously? before simply letting out another sigh. If each sigh cost her a bit of her life then this guy definitely had taken at least a year or two from it already. “It wasn’t for me, Valek.” She tried out the name before deciding that she preferred Shadow more in the moment, it felt better having code names since they were fighting smugglers. “I prefer the cities to the jungle and it didn’t feel right committing to a life only to wander away from it. I also knew that there’s a lot of wrong in the shadows especially in Oba so I decided to do something about it.” She gave a slight shrug. “So I left behind that part of my life to pursue justice here until I ran into some annoying guy that kept messing up my own plans.”
[Xylia 10]
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Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2023 12:13 pm
“Oh how valiant.” Valek replied, a fake swoon before he shook his head. “I suppose I understand not feeling half of your heritage.” He admitted though, a moment of sincerity in his gaze that quickly disappeared with a small smirk. “Don’t know about many deciding that they would rather be vigilantes though. No fancy families to smother you in love or something?”
[Valek 10]
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Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2023 12:13 pm
Okay, so that was a bit of a sore point. Xylia took a deep breath, decided it was best to not kill her only companion in the midst of a mission, and looked at Valek directly. “I could ask you the same question. Why are you always in the shadows, hmm? My family is fine. I just opted to follow a path different from my siblings which sent us in two opposite directions. My mothers are busy with their own work, I’m not the type to stay home and be coddled forever.”
[Xylia 11]
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Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2023 12:13 pm
Okay, touche. Valek raised both of his hands and nodded. “Alright, alright.” He closed his eyes for a moment before deciding, why not? It wasn’t as if they could always be at each other’s throats and so far it looked like they would continue running into each other in Oba. He may as well try to be a bit honest and play nice. “I didn’t really get the option to be coddled. Father was a roaming military man, still is. Mother is kind of missing since she decided to up and leave with my sister following along.” Valek made a face at the thought. “It’s been a bit of a mess and I’m not really ideal for any uniforms, prefer my own style.” He joked lightly with a shrug. “I’m far too handsome for those stuffy Oban outfits.”
[Valek 11]
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Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2023 12:13 pm
“Ah, so family drama equals attitude.” Replied Xylia quietly, trying to be a bit snarky to make up for the fact that she honestly felt a bit bad for the other hybrid. At least she still had her family as distant as they were in the moment. She couldn’t imagine just not being able to go home and find her mothers one day…that was a strange feeling indeed. “I don’t know about the handsome aspect, but the Oban uniforms do look rather stuffy.” Her mothers looked amazing in most things, but the Oban uniform that the commanders wore…well sometimes it did look a bit too much. The pressures and strict guidelines…it felt like it stifled her actual ability to help others, another reason she decided upon this path in the first place.
[Xylia 12]
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Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2023 12:13 pm
Valek glanced towards the ceiling as if praying to the gods he didn’t truly believe in to give him patience with this one. “Ah, yes. You’ve totally figured me out.” He quipped back as he looked towards Xylia finally, a smirk lingering on his lips. “Guess we don’t need any additional discussion, I’m completely open to you.” He teased before shaking his head. “What? Are you insinuating that stuffy uniforms are the reason you also turned down the gig? After all, I don’t see you lining up for military work either.”
[Valek 12]
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Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2023 12:13 pm
“It’s not hard.” Xylia gave a shrug, not even bothered by the sarcastic reaction. “You talk big, love to show-off but at the same time lurk in the shadows to give that air of mystery. Definitely a cry for attention.” She rubbed her fingers together as if studying the grime on them from the ship was more interesting than actually glancing over the other Oban hybrid. That one night they had shared in a tavern together while scouting out the same target had been enough for her to witness his big ego and habit of talking someone’s ear off when given the chance. “As for me? I’m not so good at playing with others and strict guidelines can really hinder actually helping others.” She could never imagine being under a commander, no offense to those in her Oban family who were in the military, but corruption and laziness did exist and being a soldier would probably result in a lot of punishments where Xylia was concerned with her short temper and habit of jumping into things headfirst.
[Xyila 13]
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Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2023 12:14 pm
A hand to his chest, Valek simply stared at Xylia in mock surprise. “I thought we were supposed to be getting along. You may as well take out your blades and stab me now. It might hurt less.” Damn. She was really brutal, wasn’t she? “You're certain you can’t play with others? Your loving and kind countenance truly tells me otherwise.” He smiled ever so sweetly towards her, obviously making fun of the prickly hybrid.
[Valek 13]
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Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2023 12:14 pm
“Mmhmm.” Xylia shook her head. “I’m only here because you insisted upon going along with your plan, not mine.” She pressed her lips into a tight line as she pondered this whole situation. Why had she caved and gone with him in the first place? Being stuck on a smuggler’s ship with a man who drove her insane was definitely not her first choice in handling this matter, that was for certain. “Speaking of which…how are we even supposed to know once we’ve anchored?” She honestly had never been on a ship before, so this would be her first time and already she hated the rolling feeling in her stomach.
[Xylia 14]
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Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2023 12:14 pm
“Well, I can’t help it if mine was the better plan.” Replied Valek with a small smile towards the other hybrid who was glowering at him. The ship suddenly jerked to the side and Valek had to reach out for one of the shelves to maintain his balance. “That is what anchoring can feel like, but it seems a bit unexpected.” He mused before his expression turned somber. “Moon, I think we’re going to have to emerge and fight our way towards the upper decks.”
[Valek 14]
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Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2023 12:14 pm
“What do you mean by that?” Xylia nearly lost the contents of her stomach at the sudden lurching of the ship. “Unexpected?” She hissed in almost a near panic, the realization that they were over deep waters feeling her with dread. “Let’s get out of here then.” She pushed away from the wall, swallowing against the rising feeling in her throat and forcing herself to remain calm as she prepared to venture back out of the storage room.
[Xylia 15]
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Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2023 12:14 pm
“Yeah, let’s get you out of here. Just keep calm and carry on.” Replied Valek with a forced smile as he opened the door and started through. Ah, yep there was water on the floor already. Another loud noise and a lurch of the ship. Something had definitely grabbed hold or there was another ship starting a fight over the precious cargo. “If they sink it then they all lose it.” Valek let out a soft sigh. These damned smugglers never did think things over well when pirating, did they? Ah, speaking of which…he had to bring out his blades and fight off a straggler who had been trying to carry out some cargo from the nearby hull.
[Valek 15]
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