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 Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 9:46 am
"....?"
The plot thickens.
But, not a particular enthusiast to watch soap-like operas or dramas, he gave a sideways glance to the building before leaving the man to deal with the fairy named Sakura.
Alone.
At least Sakura is just a fairy - if it were a human, Snow has the faint impression that Kingdom life would've been in immiment danger when her temper blows. Feisty little fellas, that he'll sympathize with. But taking a stroll down the building, he unholstered the weapons off of his hips and followed Kingdom's instruction on putting it in front of the building, the eyes softening and glancing at his own hands a bit.
A bit rough, but still showing signs of self inflicted injury after the ordeal. Clenching both hands together, the bracers fell off by itself with a silent thud, releasing his arms from the shackles chaining the dead demon within him. It might be quieted, but nonetheless, it was still inside his body. Sleeping, perhaps. Dying, perhaps.
But the power...
A deep breath was exhaled out of his mouth, and he winced as he tried to summon ice out of his hands forcefully, trying just again to awaken the powers sealed off, but not the demon itself.
To no avail, the hands began to bleed again through the pores and the palm as nothing more than pain crept up to his arms, forcing the man to lurch over a bit to bite down on the wound.
"...!!"
Dammit.
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Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 10:12 am
=Sakura sticks her tongue out and is about to retort when her eyes go wide. She cranes her neck to look over Gayt's shoulder...rather than just flying a little higher. He was always so fortunate her temper never flared above 'mildly perturbed' as this case is, but she'd sensed something. To her, it felt like danger. Gayt glances over his shoulder to see what she's looking at and notices Snow. Neither saw what happened, but Sakura doesn't have that same sensation after only a moment. With a sigh, he lightly grasps her hand to motion for her to follow. She falls silent and blushes, but she keeps up the 'angry' look by crossing her arms and following with her cheeks puffed up and head turned to one side; though, she looks more childish than angry.=
=As they approach Snow, Gayt reaches into his bag and begins shuffling around the bag for something... With a nod of his head, he pulls out that something. It's a simple short sword which is, oddly enough, earthen green in color. He spins it around a few times for good measure, making sure it's well conditioned. When they stop in front of Snow, Gayt holds the sword out in a simple fashion, allowing the former to take hold of it. The latter has some instructions.=
While I'm repairing your swords, it might be a good idea to keep up your form with this.
=He doesn't mention why. It's going to take Gayt a few days to repair the weapons, especially as he isn't going to be using Sakura's aid in that process. He has other plans for her. When Snow does pick up the particular blade he's being offered, he'll immediately notice its weight. For a short sword, it's heavy. Snow might even take notice of the element as the sword seems infused with earth. Of the four 'basic' elements, only fire would be less conductive to Snow. Then Gayt turns his attention to Sakura.=
While I'm repairing his weapons, I need you to observe his progress.
=To this statement, Sakura's eyes go wide. It's obvious that 'mildly perturbed' state is very much gone, and she turns her full attention to him.=
But Master! You need my help!
Yes. I do. I need you at full strength if and when we enhance his weapons. I need you to observe his progress.
=The way he emphasizes 'progress' causes her to give this curious look. When realization washes over her, she nods her head. She still has a saddened expression, but she knows what he means. With that settled, he turns back to Snow.=
When we spar, I'll check your technique with this blade.
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Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:14 am
The pain was diminishing, but blood continued to flow freely through the opened wounds occuring on his palms. He absentmindedly smeared the blood off of his palm with his tattered cloak before clenching his hands again, testing just how painful it is with each attempted use.
"...."
At best, just a small cold wind. Anything beyond it, and the seal locks the power away and wears down the user's body - relatively, his.
He sighed, just at the same time Gayt walked up to him, and handed him an odd looking short sword....
...And it's green in color.
"What's this for?" He asked, picking up the blade and blinking in surprise at its...cumbersome weight. The hilt was oddly fashioned and ridiculously simple - swinging it around, much of the stress was placed on Snow's upper elbow as he tried to practice with the weight a bit.
He was more familiar with long range weapons, yet the oddity of using the sword was more unfamiliar to his use of equipment, he tries some light techniques of swinging the blade about while having his arm loop around his head; a classic attack pattern especially for Big swords, providing a variable defensive and offensive capability at the same time.
Damn. This thing IS heavy.
Snow turned back to look at Gayt in question. "What do you mean by technique, if I ask?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 11:05 am
=Gayt sighs as he walks up to the entrance to the building. He looks to see what kind of door there is. He's not ignoring Snow, but it might feel like it as he speaks to him with his back facing him.=
I told you what it's for. To keep your form up.
=He pauses as he bends down to pick up Snow's weapons. With a quick glance, Gayt makes sure to appraise them once more. They're worn, but it's nothing somebody with his skills can't fix. He runs a finger over the metal of the blade, listening to the scrape his gauntlet makes as it moves over it. With a nod of his head, he can easily tell what its condition really is. He barely glances over his shoulder to answer the next part.=
As for what I mean by 'technique'... It's exactly how it sounds. You said you had power over the wintery elements. I think that's what Sakura felt just a moment ago.
=He side-glances her, and she nods in agreement.=
Which means you haven't lost it. I know there's a story there, but I won't hear it yet. It won't matter on the repairs. However...
=He pauses with a sigh. He doesn't know how to best explain this.=
I don't how much you notice your movements. You're fluid, like water. You're quick, like fire. However, ice is rigid and firm.
=Gayt then indicates the blade Snow now holds and tries to put attention onto it. The blade doesn't seem to gleam in the sunlight, and, though it may appear dull, it is quite ready to use.=
If you cannot master that sword, there is no point in enhancing your current weapons. Your 'technique' with the blade reflects how much damage you can do with it, how quickly you can weild it, and, in your case...
=He pauses to ensure this next part is heard.=
...in your case, how well you can force your element through it.
=The bandages under his helmet ripple as Gayt forms a smile.=
You should have noticed the blade's element by now. Short of fire, earth should be the hardest element to force ice through. At the same time, it represents the same rigid nature.
=Sakura nearly rolls her eyes. That was Gayt's plan? She looks at Snow's hands. It's obvious where things stand now. She can smell both the blood and magic in the air. She doesn't know what it means, and she certainly doesn't have a sense for what Gayt suspects and barely made mention of earlier. Still. She sighs.=
It'll take him a day, give or take, to repair each item without my help. Maybe it would be easier to gather money to pay a blacksmith?
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Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:18 pm
What Gayt just said to Snow was something in which Snow'll blink with silence...
Either because of confusion, or just downright absurdity. What fluid? Quick? Rigid and firm? Water was part of the foundation which formed the basis of his style. So how the hell does ice play its 'rigid and firm' part out when he supposedly combines the style together?
He hauled the sword into the air again, unable to help but wonder whether or not the weapon is supposedly configured to resist against most elements, and whether or not Gayt is telling Snow to go in circles.
But first things first.
Ignoring Sakura's question for a minute, he tries to repeat the usual method he uses to use the weapon as a focus device, gathering it around the edges, the hilts, the blade and the tip itself. Again his hand began to bleed with vigorous fever, and in less than a minute the sword fell out of his hands when the pain became too intense to ignore.
"....!"
Blood flowed freely onto the ground, forming a small puddle where Snow still had his hand poised.
"...The amount of money needed to pay a blacksmith is more than I can manage to gather in three months. That is, if you're planning to do things legally around here. In my condition...legal things are perhaps safer to dwell on than....illicit methods."
The bleeding stopped once more, showing only the remnant of the scar etched on both hands of his. Vexed, Snow returned his gaze onto the weapon with a glare. Like any past incidents attempted before, most attempts on bringing out the element of ice causes too much stress for his body to handle. The lack of conditioned control over the demonic blood would unbearably put strain on his muscles, and hence the bleeding occurs because of over-strain, to put it simply.
Previously before the seal, the basic method to unleash ice was merely to use the demonic blood as a carrier instead of his human blood in general, so all the stress is nulled during wield, and the magic could be stimulated and used at will regardless of the situation.
In this case, as the demon is undoubtfully quieted under the previous match, the connection between his ability to use the blood was completely disrupted, so all the viable attempts were tried in human standards...and voila, the bleeding.
"..."
He bent down to pick up the weapon again, rolling his wrist around while some of the blood dripped down the weapon and tainted a portion of it lightly red.
There his mind went on overkill as he sat down, staring at the sword with a dull expression. How can he force the element through when his ability to control that very same element is severely limited?
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 4:17 pm
=Gayt lightly thumps Sakura on the forehead and shakes his head. She lets out a light displeasure at that sounds like an 'ow' or something. With a shake of his head and a roll of his eyes, he turns his attention to Snow. First he watches the latest attempt at conjuring ice. He listens to the words that are said. With a chuckle, he walks past Snow and Sakura and hefts the weapons he has a repair job on. He doesn't mind this kind of work. The fact is that repairs are so easy he'd never take money for it. He also knows Snow could never afford the enhancements through normal means, so he came up with his own method. Gayt thinks it's fair enough.=
Sakura. I leave the magic stuff to you.
=With that and before either of them can respond, he enters the building and closes the door. He almost has to sigh at the disrepair and lack of supplies. Oh well. That's why he left Sakura to remain at full strength while watching that Snow fellow. As he lays each weapon down, he makes his closest inspection of them yet. He looses his hammer on them. The loud clank of metal against metal might be heard even outside. He's doing this to hear how each piece responds, so he knows how best to approach the repairs of each on as individual pieces.=
=Meanwhile. Outside. Sakura lands on the ground and walks over to Snow. She looks over him, craning her neck to see exactly how he's generating that magical air. She can smell the blood and saw where it came from, so she asks directly.=
Let me see your hands.
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 6:05 pm
">_>!"
The loud clanging of metal against metal jolted Snow's senses to alert. Sure, it's just Gayt hammering away at his weapons, but on the sheer sudden imagination spreading in Snow's mind, the worst case scenario was envisioned --
..............
Imagination
..............
"Gee, Sorry fella. But..."
Gayt holds up what looks like the remains of Snow's bracers and weapons, all bashed and molded into one giant...
Clump...
Of object.
"Sorry for the situation. Well! Gotta go, so I'll...er..."
And with it, Gayt scrams along with Sakura, leaving Snow with that clump of object in his hands, now trembling in anger.
...........
End of imagination
...........
"Ah?" Snow shifted his attention away from the repeated bangings, looking at the petite form of Sakura staring at him with...
"..."
He slowly opened his hands, revealing faint traces of scar-like wounds that branched off like blood vessels.
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 6:34 pm
=Grasping his right hand with both of hers, Sakura peers at the scars and traces the scars with her eyes. She has this overly curious look to her face. After a moment, she hops up a little and takes a position that makes it look like she's seated. Except she's not sitting on anything. It, more or less, looks like she's just floating while in a semi-seated position. She looks over Snow and listens to Gayt working. She wished she could help him, but he wants her at one hundred percent if and when enhancements are made. If she'd known what Snow was just thinking, he might have a very angry fairy to deal with.=
Are you physically trying to push the element?
=Sakura begins twirling her finger near her face in kind of an idle, bored, and still seated posture. She easily begins forming ice crystals from latent water particles in the air. As soon as they're formed, they fall to the ground while melting and evaporate. She's either showing off or trying to make a point.=
=Meanwhile. Gayt is still performing his preliminary examination. It might take a few minutes.=
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 11:49 pm
"Push the element?"
Snow more or less had a perplexed look on his face. Sure, he wasn't up to studies in magical abilities - frankly, no one teached him how to create an element or shape an element. All he was good at was merely imagining, focusing, and then elaborating what he felt into a physical form on his hand, limbs, or his entire body.
How he discovered the ability to use the element of ice and water was perhaps merely a coincidence a long time ago. Even the exact details were hazy, so he'll leave it at that.
"Isn't that what you're supposed to do?" He questioned. Raising a hand with the palm facing up, he continued with his sentence. "To focus on a part or parts on your body - the sensations of what you're trying to summon, the feeling of how it would be created, and to literally let it grow out of your hand or body like a separate entity -- if, perhaps, it is merely on strengthening a viable object, then to imagine the sensation enveloping the thing and hardening it under the element itself."
He closed his eyes, taking a lungful of air as if drawing in the necessary water into his lungs, letting it travel throughout his entire body and then 'grow' out of his hand, having it kept in a liquid format.
Immediately the hand began to twitch, and a negative backfire caused his hand to jolt up into the air without conscious response as blood spurted from the old wounds before, his expression wincing at the pain.
"I used to be able to conjure it up at will...be it internally, or externally. Yet..."
His eyes opened, watching a bit of flaky red ice covered in his blood and rolling down his palm through all that effort.
"....No use, is it..?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 5:53 am
=Sakura stops as she watches Snow's latest effort. The way he talks seems to indicate he was born with the power innate, much as her. There's a difference, though. She may have learned her abilities as if it were perfectly natural, but she's never had to use physical force. To her, that seems to be what he's doing. Tilting her head, she thinks about it. It wasn't like they had any real differences. Neither had any 'formal' education in magical abilities. She just seems to call upon her abilities differently.=
I suppose you've just never learned to sense the magical energies around you... I don't know how you did it before.
=Sakura looks to where Gayt is working. She can still hear him hammering away. She can only guess what he's doing. With a light sigh, she looks at the sword he left Snow to practice with. That's still a curious point. She still points at it, and her next statement has a half-question ring to it.=
I suppose that was left for you to learn an external focus... It might seperate that 'entity' from you a bit more.
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 7:37 am
(( Might not have internet connection for a few days starting now. Expect me to be absent for four days at least. xP ))
"Magical...energies? I'm only favorable with ice...since it isn't hard to manipulate, like fire for example. The heat, the intensity of the flames, and just how much fuel you're giving it...
Or, as another example, water. All I need to imagine..."
He paused, bringing both his hands together as if clasping something in the air.
"Is just the chaotic motion...the sensation of water, and all the motion interwoven into one, continuous movement..."
Slowly, water began to dribble down his arms as he magically cupped a small amount in his palms. The pain wasn't that intense, but nonetheless it's much more malleable than the process of creating ice on the spot.
"And what 'entity' might you be referring to?" He asked back, still not catching up to Sakura's point on the weapon's main use. Sure, talking about magic stuff got Snow in the learning mood, but he didn't really find that weapon any different than a short sword filled with heavy metal, or something similar to that element.
Since his ability to detect and sense the magical energy around him is close to impossible, hell, even if he is wielding a sword that's able to conjure up any element possible, all it was in Snow's hand would only be something physical, like ice or water for example.
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 10:34 pm
A cautious bird picking at tender berries turned her head just slightly, before flying off through the outer brush. Not a single feather fell ill. It was none other than a nearby figure, that gently shooed the bird away; a figure standing upon a thick tree's branch in the foliage yonder, leaning back just enough, folded arms could support his head against the oak bark. It was recently defeated Barton Branch Round IV participant Omi Barsait, gazing forward with a rather odd look. Full of thought; his expression was neither disappointed, nor grim, nor did it hold even anger. Just undertones of regret. Understandable, certainly, given his circumstances. His eyelids only occasionally blinked, the swordsman's vision not truly on what lay ahead. The wild locks of dark hair, little order to them, matted against the gauntlet-encovered palms supporting them calmly. It was a scene with mild serenity to it; he was reflecting on his defeat, as Omi had been since coursed hours ago; light glimpsing through holes in the lush vegetation above.
Silence was all his lips gave. Not even his mind vocalized words; it was a complicated feeling, the one he had at the moment. No one adjective gave it substance, in truth. The seconds were always gradually fading into the minutes of hours he stood there, lacquer & leather sword sheath just laying idly down below amidst the obscured grass. Leather boot treads dug securely upon the weighty branch surface. Then finally, his mouth formed the words, just barely audible: ".. I'll be damned."
A match ended early. A judging. This was, to Barsait, a bout not finished; something he'd grown to feel unrest with. "Such a short, yet long time I've spent here.. hn. Eushisu, Shilon, Yuff', Jigen, 'n all those other bastards.. and then those I've met 'ere. How.." Finally leaning forward an inch, the branch groaning only slightly but keeping stout - the swordsman smirked lightly, the most bizarrely calm expression he had ever shown in his entire time at the grounds. "An armor crafted by Fasumbra, a blade created by Tokomoko, and a huge sea of gold entrusted to my pockets by those I sent away.." Finally bowing his head, bangs overshadowing his eyes - the mercenary began uncharacteristically giving out a snicker. Then, a full blown, heavy weighted laugh - all the while, shifting off the branch and onto the grounds below, a several foot drop he connected from to the grounds with a resounding 'thud'. Gazing on towards the path ahead, his left hand scooped up the sheath below, and merely slung it over that respective side's shoulder; his teeth, four of which resembling fangs as always, in a grin.
"Sorry guys." He once again spoke to seemingly no one, already stepping off towards the paths ahead. Finishing off the open-ended sentence with a humorous, under his breath comment: "I really ******** up.. Not next time." - the swordsman trudged on ahead, slipping into the brush, and towards whatever horizon his feet took him.
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Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 12:10 pm
Nightsnow (( Might not have internet connection for a few days starting now. Expect me to be absent for four days at least. xP ))
=The sound of a hard, metal hammer striking against metallic weapons stops. Gayt picks up one piece and begins examining it. It's one of the gauntlets. He examines how his hammer affected it. He didn't do anything to permanently deform the piece. The whole process is meant to give him an understanding of the material and craftsmanship. He can tell, as he examines it, how to best approach the repairs. When he puts it down, he moves ontot he next piece. Each get an individual inspection.==Sakura looks over to the building Gayt's working in. The fact that the "sound of work" has stopped indicates the first step in the process is done. She's watched him plenty of times to be able to tell where he is based on, simply, what she hears. She's used to working with him though. At the same time, she's not neglecting her duties of watching and helping Snow. Then he asks her a rather unusual question.=
You're the one who said that magic felt like a separate entity from your self! I was just commenting that maybe it needs to be more separate...
=Inwardly. She also thinks the magic might need to become more inwardly focused...or more unified. Sakura notes that Snow's main problem appears to be coming from losing something similar to her own innate sense of magic. With that though, she tilts her head and looks to the sky, as if for inspiration.=
How did it feel when you could use water and ice? As in, how did it feel when you used those abilities?
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2007 3:43 am
(( Praise be to Air Conditioning. gonk heart I'll tell ya, four days without much AC in a blistering weather of 31C....
Mind your sanity - it boils down quite quickly. xP ))
(( And Omi....damnation indeed. *Pats* ))
"Separate...what now?"
Obviously, the logic behind Sakura's method in teaching him magic isn't getting much boost into his blank expression. Frankly, magic is an element so alien to him, that even the slightest exposure to such maliculous substance would incite the third Big Bang into his head of curiosity.
That is, of course, greatly exaggerating the subject, but let's get back to topic now.
He wasn't a fool in magic. Certainly manipulating the feeling and the control of water and ice to a fine degree took effort and coordination. As for Sakura's question once more...
"It felt...great." He muttered, spreading his arms out and stretching his body a bit. "Like something is swirling around me, building up within the depths of my body and transforming into a physical object which I can grasp, control, and wield at will. It's like...the feeling of elation, as if wielding and using an extension of control that your body normally didn't have..."
He paused, recalling faint bits of memories which something else which awoke from being explored, within the confinements of his body.
The Alter Demon lurking within, before.
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 6:04 pm
((Air Conditioning, good. Sidewalk Oven, bad.))
=Gayt makes a quick inspection of each item after initially hammering away at them. There is a method to his madness; though, any other might just think the methodology insane anyway. He doesn't need any fancy equipment to tell what type of material he's working with, its malleability, or even melting point. He only needed his very close and careful inspection. At the moment, he's thoroughly going over each and every piece.=
=Sakura huffs as she places fisted hands on her hips and scowls at Snow. She obviously looks mad.=
You're the one who said it felt like a separate entity! I'm just trying to use that to help you.
=She crosses her arms over her chest and huffs again before she turns her head to one side, almost as if refusing to look at him. All the while, she listens and makes sure to note anything of importance. She also glances at him to make sure to catch eye movements and facial expressions. She may never have had a formal teacher in magics, as it's all natural where she comes from, but she's also observed how anybody using magic reacts to it. Snow's explanation would make her giggle if she didn't want to keep up the apparent angry expression. She fully turns to face him with a nod.=
Good. Now just remember all those feelings and memories. Maybe you should practice with that sword a bit. It might help to start by focusing your emotions through that.
=Sakura catches herself almost fall into a smirk. She's starting to sound like Gayt, not that she minded per say. It just sounds funny to think about focusing emotions through a weapon. Of course...she sort of does that when she adds an element to the blade Gayt happens to be fighting with. She only hopes a day to a day and a half per item to repair will be enough to see what dormant powers this Snow has.=
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