The wind rustles through the leafy canopy gently. The forest was a mixture of dark and foreboding patches and light meadows where the shadows of fruits and leaves flickered. The wind was unfortunately going south, the direction of an unfriendly boarabtusk skulking in the shadows. Normally you'd be able to smell such a creature, but the wind prevented any chance of that. It sat in a large bush watching the two strangers talk as they walked right past it. It sat there for a long moment.
The two would be able to see several scratch marks, and beowolf paw prints in the mud. Several grimm clearly roamed the area. It wouldn't be safe to sleep this far into the outskirts. Then again, with the right shelter one might be able to remain hidden if they could keep calm. Most of the prints were beowolf prints though, and they were all over the place. This area must be a highway of sorts of beowolf packs making their rounds in the area. The boarbatusk knew it had the advantage with the confusing prints and started its charge silently.
SQUEERRRRROORRR!!! From directly behind the boarbatusk charged with a shriek of victory just as it slammed Kai into a tree. The force knocking the hair out of him entirely. Its tusks pinning him to the hard bark and making escape impossible.
[Kai cannot escape on his own, Garret must roll a d10 to save him. Add 1/10 of your post count to the roll. It must be above 15 to successfully free Kai]
[Free your companion & defeat the boarbatusk to win!]
✘ Profile ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ 'This one seems to be interesting, all business, focus and determination with little room for much else. I wonder if he is like most others from Vacuo or the exception.' Garret would ponder to himself as they had traveled with one another. His words seemed meant to cut, to compete with him, which Garret found oddly enjoyable. It was not often he had someone like himself who would not be bested. With his own claims of Vacuo being reclaimed, the loner was truly curious on what the man was capable of. 'So many potential opponents in this land, but still needing to tap into their potential.' He thought to himself silently. While many others probably would not enjoy the persons company, from what he has seen so far, Garret felt relatively content and his spirit uplifting. Competition always did that for him, and so many people did not have that spark in them to be stronger through seeking opposition. He idly wondered if it was perhaps a show like how Garret sometimes did to push others away, but he had no way to judge that. He found it unlikely though, and the man seemed to desire silence...or at the very least they continue with their task. Which Garret was content to do himself. Words were good for provoking others, or learning. But action was better in this situation and mission. The more they spoke, the more Grimm were born. The more the grimm could kill. But Garret wasn't about to let that happen. He was the hunter, and they his prey. 'And I may get to see this man in action. Though if he is so worried about getting dirty, it makes me wonder how we would react to the filth common in actual combat.' He thought to himself with an internal smile. "My plans have kept me alive thus far, and I am unafraid to get dirty to achieve my goals." Garret would retort with a smile before falling into silence again.
When garret had found the tracks and asked for Kai's help, he would receive it in a manner he was starting to expect of the person. He would claim that it was obvious that it was fresh tracks, and even called Garret a fool for not realizing it. 'So certain are we.' Garret thought to himself as he himself further studied the tracks too. Besides freshness, as revealed by Kai, Garret would note there were far too many tracks to just be from the ones that attacked him. The path seemed far too traveled by them now that he was looking. 'A common hunting path...I need to report this.' He thought to himself silently as his eyes scanned around for more of them. It seems they stumbled upon a common hunting ground for the Grimm, which they could use to their advantage if they reported this in future. Turn the hunters into the prey, by hunting them on their own track. That was where Garret's mind had headed upon figuring that out. He had no illusions about camping anywhere here, it would be far too dangerous and risky. But somewhere more defensible and secluded would be a good choice for the future if he were to hunt, and if others were to come to kill more Grimm. It was also good to know to make sure civilians did not travel to this section of the outskirts.
Looking over to Kai and seeing his weapon drawn, having missed that with his own focus on the tracks, Garret's grip on his spear would tighten a bit. He was on his guard before Kai mentioned it, as his own instinct from the start of this adventure was to have his guard up. Especially after his earlier encounters with the grimm. While Kai seemed to not know where the girmm went, and claimed it didn't matter, Garret would rise up himself. "To let ones guard down here or anywhere would be foolish, and you should worry about your fate over mine. I do not have the choice of death till my goal is complete." Garret would say as he rose from his crouched position, and calmly began to follow after him. He disagreed on him about the rest not mattering, but chose to keep it to himself for the time being. He would keep such things in mind if Kai would not at the very least. Kai would then ask if Garret could go any faster, only causing Garret to smirk. He was partially tempted to use his semblance just to outpace them man entirely. "There is a way I can, but if I did so you would have no way to keep up." Garret would say with a slightly arrogant smile. He would not use it unless challenged to a competition, but Garret wasn't about to let the man remain uncontested. However, before any real challenge could be made they were ambushed. Again. With only a sound of warning at the last minute, a boarbatusk charged out of seemingly nowhere and pinned Kai to a tree from behind. 'Damn it, how do they know to hide so well!' Garret thought in agitation as he readied Heir and charged the beast, trying to build momentum to strike deep into the Grimm with his spear. In his mind, killing it as quickly as possible would be a faster of way of trying to get it to release Kai than any other method. While there were some quips and retorts that sprang to Garret's mind in regards to Kai, he was more focused on killing the grimm for now. After the charge, and however Kai chose to respond to the situation, that could change though.
✘ Post count: 85 ✘Semblance timer: 0/5 ✘ Recharge: 0/5
❝Be Prepared, or expect Death's hand to grab you ❞
Was this guy an idiot or did he have to spell everything out to him? Does this guy really think I am unwilling to get dirty to achieve my goals or is he just not the smartest person in the land? It's not about scared of getting dirty. It's about being prepared. If you are prepared, unless planned, most likely than not you will be able to achieve one's goal quick and easy without such unnecessary nuisances. I rather kill grim, and if need be have a dirt stain or two than to do your foolish s**t and look like I got mugged by some heathens Kai thought, his face showing just how unamused he was with the assumption that was laced in Garret's retort. Of course, he could have not meant it that way but Kai was going to take it as so. Blade in hand, he grew curious. It had to be around somewhere. .Where was it?
Garret was almost becoming a side thought in the blonde's mind. Even when he rose up and commented, Kai was thinking about the next thing which ended up with the want to go faster and faster. The mental block broke and Kai would address his partner once he said Kai couldn't keep up if he did. ******** he means he wouldn't be able to keep up? Did he think he wasn't fast enough? Didn't have enough stamina?! The ********?! But Kai didn't stop there. In fact, he came up with a theory. A major theory that he was certain would be correct. 75% certain "What gave you the impression that my guard was ever down?" He questioned in an almost Aizen like tone. Whether there was any truth to this or was just a bluff would be put to the side. Kai would soon find himself being smacked and pinned against a tree. What was more important? Air? Or talking s**t. Talking s**t.
Gasping for air as he spoke, he sounded like J Lemoine from Monica Rial and Ron Toye's legal team. It was only a hard hit and knocked the air out of him but he sounded like he was surviving with one operational lung. If these metaphors and similes aren't making sense then that's big sad feels. "Go....oot..Da..a..m..nnit. you ....H......EATHE N.... GET... ME... OUT....OF ... THIS .s**t" Kai stated with a struggle as he regained his breath. How was he going to get out of this shitty situation? He couldn't move as he wanted and there was no way he could get himself out of this, but his arms were free.
What was he going to do? Smack the grim? It was tough. It was smart. Kai wasn't going to be able to just smack it and get out and even so his arms probably wouldn't have that much reach. However, he was able to reach his shuriken. Infusing Aura into the shuriken, he would flick his wrist and let his skill at projectiles take over. He aimed it straight towards the charging male of Vacuo royalty. Long as Garret didn't stop his charge, it would be fine. He needed to trust Kai. The shuriken would hit the tip of the spear at a certain angle designed by Kai's launch. That projectile angle would deflect the Shuriken to cause it to ricochet back towards the Grim that had him pinned. On it's way towards the grim, the semblance of Kai would activate and create 10 replicas of the shuriken . With this, a flurry of shuriken would now be heading straight for the side of the grim. Add that with Garret's strike, that should do some damage. This was, of course, assuming everything went perfectly as he planned. Kai figured it wouldn't be completely perfect and that there was variability to it but he hoped that if it did vary that it be more location the shuriken be aimed at the grim. Like maybe more the head or the hide. He hoped it didn't go to the other possibilities like Garret ended up knocking the shuriken away and wasting Kai's oh so perfect semblance use.
occ: Have any questions or issues with the post. lemme know. If you need help visualizing the action of the shuriken I think I got vid that'll help.
Post Count: 18 Semblance: Active MP: 55/75 Profile:
The beast pushed Kai against the tree even harder. Any normal person would have a few ribs broken, but Kai's endurance was helping. The beast would squeel with glee at Kai's pain in the situation. Normally this would be a success, but the creature wasn't aware of the power of its opponents.
Kai's weapon toss would hit Garret's spear dead on, but unfortunately they wouldn't bounce off in any way that Kai had intended. Instead the blow knocked Garret's spear off course causing it to miss the boarbatusk's torso completely and stabbing into its right front foot. Pinning the boar to the ground. The creature would yelp in pain as it pushed harder into the tree which creaked under the force. A crack in the trunk splitting into view.
The creature's eyes would widen as the tree rocked back and forth, and then suddenly started to lean towards Kai and the boar. It was going to fall!
Roll again!
[Kai cannot escape on his own, Garret must roll a d10 to save him. Add 1/10 of your post count to the roll. It must be above 15 to successfully free Kai]
[Free your companion & defeat the boarbatusk to win!]
✘ Profile ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ Garret had noticed something very quickly headed to his spear from Kai, but what it exactly was he was unsure. Even in the heat of the moment, he doubted the man would try to sabotage him when his own life was on the line. It was for that reason that Garret did not try to deflect his weapon, along with the fact that he was more focused on building as much speed as possible. So with that in mind...it all went wrong. He knew not what the other man had planned, but it was clearly ill thought out. As the projectile collided with Garret's spear, it moved it out of his intended trajectory. Garret had prepared for the weapon to strike it to a degree, but the man had managed to hit it in just the right way to set his weapon off course. Garret frowned in annoyance as his charge continued and concluded...though not as intended. Because of the weapon intervention, his spear had not gone into the beast's side as he had planned. Instead, it had been sent into a much lower angle than desired and rather than lose all effectiveness to the strike Garret just barely redirected it into the creatures front leg. 'Fool!' Garret thought to himself but did not vocalize. He had trusted the guy to not do something to hamper his own rescue efforts, but instead screw up Garret's charge. It was not the fatal wound he was intending, but it did seem to have an effect on the boar at least. The creature would, as a result, yelp in pain before it would push harder against Kai into the tree...and a loud crack would be heard. Garret would pause a moment, hands still on his spear, as he looked to the tree.
'That does not bode well.' Garret thought to himself as even the boarbatusk seemed worried. The tree would then begin to lean...towards them! While Garret could get away safely...the Vacuo survivor was still pinned to the tree. Letting go of Heir to keep the boarbatusk pinned in place, Garret would activate his semblance as a red aura would briefly light up around him. He had no time to waste for thoughts or words as his left hand would reach over his back to grab Virtue and draw it in front of him. If Kai were looking, he would see Garret's movements were going extremely fast. Where he got the speed from was something he would have to infer or ask later. Garret would bring the spear down from the top, aimed at a gap between it's armored back. The spear would impale deeply into the beast in an almost satisfying manner, as Garret would quickly yank it out the now dying beast. As it was just starting to turn to dust, Garret's right hand would grab at Kai's shoulder and pull him out rather roughly yet quickly. Not particularly focused on if the guy would be able to keep his balance after, but just to get him away from the falling path of the tree. As it fully turned to dust, Garret would grab Heir before it could fall or be crushed by the tree and turned to look to Kai. "It seems that is one grimm for me, despite your efforts to stop me." He would say with an arrogant grin, enjoying the feeling of competition after this event. His words referring to the mans claim to prove who the best product of Vacuo was, along with Kai's attack that made Garret's spear miss initially. Perhaps he should have been more humble, focus on if the guy was alright or not, but far as Garret could tell he was fine. While part of him felt like calling him out on his attempt with his weapon directly, he much preferred this route. Perhaps he should have been more concerned, since this could have ended with one of them further wounded. With the rush of battle over, and both of them alive as much as he could tell, he wanted the simple joy of competition to celebrate that they lived and won. As strange as it was even to him. For whatever reason, this man sparked a rivalry in Garret as well as kept his sense of competition going. He was a bit disappointed he had not seen the man in action yet, as the ambushing boarbatusk ensured he hadn't much chance to show his own ability.
✘ Post count: 86 ✘Semblance timer: 1/5 ✘ Recharge: 0/5
Out Of Challenges: Let me know if I need to fix anything. Had permission from Narx to kill it, and to grab/ pull Kai. Total of 16 for roll.
Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2019 5:16 pm
❝Be Prepared, or expect Death's hand to grab you ❞
Whenever Garret wanted to get off his a** and go and get things done. He wasn't sure what was worse. The fact that he was being pressed against the tree harder or the fact that Garret ******** up his shot!!! Considering yes Kai was in danger and his body was in tremendous pain in which only his endurance was keeping him from being crushed like a graham cracker, that wasn't distracting from the fact that instead of worrying about his health he was more berating Garret in his head due to not being able to speak. GOT DAMN YOU SON OF A b***h!!! ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS KEEP YOUR CONVICTION. HOW YOU SO WEAK A SIMPLE TOSS OF A PROJECTILE MADE YOU CHANGE PROJECTORY OF YOUR CHARGE?! AM I IN PSYCHOTIC DAY DREAM?! HOW DARE YOU...MR VACUO. MESS UP. PERFECTION!!!! Even though he wasn't saying anything audible, his face was having stress veins that were appearing like he was an anime character. Was Kai really this upset? Yes. He expected perfection!! He actually internally had some set expectations for Garret and he ******** it up. Expectations lowered!
The stab made the grim pin Kai hard into the tree. REALLY?! If Kai had his weapon.....boy!! Feeling balance starting to become distorted, he got a bad feeling about this. What..What did he do? He didn't know what, but he felt things were starting to become more, dangerous. Luckily, within a few moments, he would find himself flying. The speed plus the not so gently grab would send Kai's body out of the way and make him tumble into the ground. Luckily, he would roll into recovery before going to his blade and picking it up. His body felt bruised beyond relief. He was pissed.
"My efforts were to finish it quickly and you couldn't even get that done without ******** it up? How a simple tool knocks you off course?! It's like you have all those muscles for nothing but for show." Yes Kai was not giving any type of praise or thank you. Quite the opposite to be honest. Moving and stretching, he could feel he was a little bruised but nothing he couldn't fight and press on without dealing with. This was good. This meant he didn't have to heal yet. While valuable, it used up a big source of his Aura and he rather not do it unless necessary. It was also good to see Garret wasn't in need either. For now. "Don't get so cocky Mr. Garrot. I just allowed you to get a head start. Without my distraction, you wouldn't have stood a chance against that grim" Taking the shine and downplaying what was happen. Yes, this was truly happening here. At least, it seemed Garret could take it. Others are too emotional.
occ:
Post Count: 25 Semblance: Active MP: 55/75 Profile:
✘ Profile ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ Garret had barely turned from retrieving his weapons to seeing Kai with his own, and a none too pleasant expression on his face. It seemed the man had a poor sense of humor, and did not know how to take joy in the little victories. There was no word of thanks for saving his life, no apology for his weapon messing with Garret's own attack. Quite the opposite in fact. The first words out of his mouth were criticizing him for his weapon deflecting Garret's trajectory, saying his muscles were for nothing. 'Perhaps it should be reversed next time.' Garret silently thought to himself but chose not to comment on. While the blow itself may not have been strong, keeping the tip of his spear exactly as needed mid charge was no easy feat. Especially for something so sudden. Further, in Garret's mind, in order to have enough speed to bounce off his spear into the grimm like Garret was expecting...It would need to be moving at significant speed and force in the first place. All these reasonings Garret kept to himself for the time being though. He saw no need to justify what happened to the mans bruised ego or anything. Instead he found it rather amusing how much the man loved to criticize others, yet was the one found in the unfortunate situation just moments ago. With the tree fallen behind him, he wondered if he would have been so mouthy if Garret had left him beneath it.
In response to Garret's own words, the man would mispronounce his name and claim it was him giving him a head start by acting as a distraction. At that, Garret couldn't help but give a hearty laugh. 'So quick to blame others but so full of fire. I wonder if you truly shall be able to back up your words.' Garret thought to himself with amusement and mild interest. He needed no such edge, and he hoped to show the man just how wrong he was. He did hope the guy could back up his words though. It'd be pretty boring if the man was only bark, and wouldn't even feel like a competition to Garret at that point. Looking from him to the forest ahead, Garret would bring up his signature arrogant grin. "I believe I would have been fine, but I thank you for the unnecessary head start. You may regret giving it to me as our time continues. From this point forth, no interference with another's quarry. With that in mind...Let the hunt begin." Garret would say confidently, before taking off in a sprint into the forest at full speed. It was not a graceful sprint or perfect one, his body not yet entirely healed so he did stumble a bit. But for the most part he did keep onto his feet. He wondered what the man would think of his sudden speed boost, that mentality allowing him to ignore the pain from pushing himself for now. He wanted to waste no time while his semblance was active, and decided if this man wanted to prove himself, he would have to do so while Garret was as close to full strength as he could be at this time. So with arrogant grin on his face, the hunter went to find his prey.
Garret's hunt was not a clean one, but it was a successful one. He had managed to find six more grimm in the forest, of varying types. The first beasts he killed were the beowolves, giving him a bit of trouble and a few scratches but nothing he couldn't handle. Once he managed to strike them with his spears, they faded into dust as it was meant to be. He had learned a bit from his earlier encounter, and this time had both his spears to aid him. He had charged the first to impale it, and the next died by trying to jump him...only to end up impaled on Virtue. The last two had been more skittish and tried to attack in sync, but Garret managed to kill one while taking a hit from the other...before quickly finishing the final one off. Minor wounds sustained, but he was fine with that. His goal was to kill as many as he could until he couldn't anymore. Grimm were creatures he did not tolerate, not after what happened to those close to him. He gave a rose to each kill, and would move on. The next he came against was another boarbatusk, which nearly got him with its rolling attack. He had to dodge away from it a few times, and had ended up tripping on a branch, The boarbatusk had moved into for the killing blow...but ended up running into Garret's spear at the last moment. Not the most graceful or best showing for the spear-man, but it ended with the Grimms death at the very least. Even after all this time of killing and travelling, Garret could see no sign of the area. In this large forest it could take him days to find his goal, even if he felt he was near he couldn't be sure what near meant. At the same time he would encounter an Ursa. The Ursa was much tougher to kill than the rest, as he recalled the first he had ever met when he first started working for beacon. Acrobatics and speed were key to staying alive, as the creature was very strong. And Garret had no wish to be disarmed after earlier. This fight made Garret used his final round in Virtue to finish it off, after sustaining a bit more in terms of injury. Namely more blood from his side as the wound had been hit again, but he was still standing. For now at the very least. After being slammed into a tree. Leaving one final rose for the grimm, and having one hand on his side, Garret would look back to the area around him one last time. He had failed in finding his desired fight, though knew regardless he wasn't in the best shape for it. He could need to recover and come back another time for it, as disappointing as that was.
His eyes would turn to Kai at that moment if he was there. If not he would seek the man out. Despite his wounds, Garret still had that smile on his face as he spoke. "That...marks seven for me. How many...have you managed to slay?" Garret would ask, voice serious if curious and a little labored. He had not been focused on Kai at all as he hunted, more so focused on his own prey as he had said no interference at the start. While there was no way to take grimm trophies, Garret would trust this man not to lie about his number of kills. There would be little for Garret to do or say to prove otherwise, and the man would only be dishonoring himself if he did. And now that battle was over...Garret was beginning to feel his wounds a bit more. He may have pushed himself more than he should have, and hoped his semblance would be enough for him to make it back to the city on his own.
✘ Post count: 87 ✘Semblance timer: 2/5 ✘ Recharge: 0/5
Out Of Challenges: Let me know if I need to fix anything. Asked narx if it cool if I roll dice to kill that many grimm and he said yeah. 7 total killed (with boar Kai "acted as distraction" for).
❝Be Prepared, or expect Death's hand to grab you ❞
"A head start won't change the fact that this will result in a loss for you" Kai stated simply before splitting off. He didn't have much luck finding grim ironically enough. Instead, he just simply was taking a stroll through the outskirts. He could hear the sound of fighting off in the distance but he wasn't going to go and check. Time would pass and luck would not be on his side. Maybe he was too strong for them. He would soon come into the view of the male, his face looking as if he was disapproving of what he saw. Garret seemed broken. Crippled. Was this really his limit? "Well... Don't you look like s**t High amounts of s**t" he stated as he would walk closer towards Garret. Before he was able to get within 5 feet, a loud cry of a beowulf would dominate the area. "Seems my luck turned around. Unfortunately, I ran into none. Until now"
Kai's words would ring true as 3 Beowulf appeared into the view of the two huntsmen. Turning around, he would look to see the 3 in front of him. "Guess you will win by 4" He explained before looking at the 3 grim in front of him. Precision. Perfection. That was part of his style. His way. Loading dust into the hilt, he waited for them to charge at him. Ironically enough, they came at the same time. Something predictable. Making 5 slashes in a flurry, the 5 slashes were empowered by fire dust in which ended up hitting all 3 grim head-on and turned them into ash like paper in a raging bonfire. Maybe was easier due to the empowered dust slash. Maybe it was due to the grim that were attacking were weaker than what they were facing. Many factors played into Kai's quick disposal. Either way, it did look graceful, impactful, and calculating. Seeing the grim being disposed of, he would sheath his blade and would turn back to look at Garret. His disapproving face still showing. "SINCE YOU WON...there has to be some type of potential there. For this, I will go ahead and make sure you don't die from the walk back to town"
Moving over to Garret, he would hold out a hand and smack it straight into Garret's chest. Hard enough it probably feels more like he was trying to hurt Garret but it was only, at worse, probably be able to bruise him. Highly unlikely though. "Stand the ******** still. I rather you not die here". It was an over-exaggeration. He was sure Garret wasn't going to die but to look like complete and utter crap like this was something Kai couldn't relate to. He would understand being in the position but he would hate every second of it. Glowing blue from his aura, he would begin to heal Garret as long as he didn't reject the healing. He wouldn't say what he was doing. It would be up to him to trust Kai or not. Either way, if he did, then he would feel his wounds closing and his body healing. Skin cells would multiply and grow along with blood turning around his misfortune as if he was almost good as new. If he rejected it. Well, he would just continue to be injured. Can't help everyone.
occ:
Post Count: 26 Semblance: Active MP: 05/75 Profile:
✘ Profile ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ As Garret would look to Kai, he would find the man to be in much much better shape than himself. To the point he was unsure if the man had fought at all, or truly knew how to fight without getting a scratch on him. Garret was honestly curious to know the answer after giving his own, but the hound chose to bark. 'Hound...that is a suitable nickname for him.' Garret thought to himself, his subconscious mind finally managing to find one for him. He had an internal smile at the nickname, wondering how the man would respond to it. But that would be later, as Garret focused on the man's words. As the man seemed to take the time to comment on Garret's appearance, to which he could only smile and shrug as he looked down at himself. Even he had to admit he had seen better days physically, but such was the price of battle and a successful hunt. He was a bit too willing to trade wounds to kill his foes at times, that much he could admit. As the hound approached and Garret was about to respond, they would be interrupted by the loud cry of a beowolf. The hound took the chance to say he ran into no grimm until this point, as it seemed Garret had encountered or attracted most of them to himself. But now three more would appear in front of the hound, which still left him short as he admitted himself. 'It seems he was not granted a fair hunt...but I can now see him in action.' Garret thought to himself as he made no move to intervene. He was relaxed but ready in case the man failed or got in over his head, but otherwise made no moves to help. This was the hounds test to prove how good of a fighter he truly was.
Garret's eyes would study the man more so than the grimm, watching his moves to learn what he could. He saw him load dust into his weapon, and all the beowolves decide to pounce him at once. The hound though seemed resolute and did not try to dodge, whether that was wise or fool hardy would be seen soon enough. The man quickly and deftly moved his blade to create a flurry of strikes as fire seemed to be imbued to the weapon, and just like that all three beowolfs were gone. While Garret had been questioning his combat capability before, he had to admit to himself he was slightly impressed by the man. Wondering now how much closer their tally would've been if he had encountered more grimm during his own hunt. At the very least, the man proved he could fight and have little in wounds or anything to show for it on his person. Which was a slight pity, as there was no way to show proof of battle then with these creatures that faded so fast. Before Garret could congratulate the man for the fight, the hound would turn to look at him with his disapproving face. 'Still so negative and stiff.' Garret thought to himself in amusement. He would seem to, in Garret's mind, reluctantly admit he won...before admitting Garret had potential, and that he would make sure he wouldn't die on the walk back to town. To which Garret just simply smiled and nodded gratefully. While part of him wanted to act like he didn't need it, he knew he would and would not be foolish enough to throw away help. "I thank you for the assistance." Would be all the words Garret would have to say at this point.
The hound would then walk over to him, holding out his hand, and smack it straight into Garret's chest. The force of which seemed unnecessarily strong, but Garret held fast to the blow despite his state and did not flinch or move. The man hadn't seen the dishonorable sort so far, even with his disappointed disposition, so Garret had trusted him when he said he was going to help. He would resort to vulgarity, for whatever reason as the man seemed to lack a more sophisticated vocabulary, and order him to stand still. Which, while Garret normally would feel inclined to disobey, he would follow the hounds order and remain perfectly still. And, in even more of a show of trust, Garret would end his semblance use. Garret would see a blue aura surround the hound, and then begin to feel much better if mildly uncomfortable. He could feel his wounds heal, flesh stitch back together, the blood begin to dry across his skin and new life flow through him. He had not thought the hound to be capable of healing, as from what he knew semblances reflected a persons soul, but it seemed the man was full of surprises. Feeling like giving the guy a little slack since he had healed Garret when Garret would not have asked for it, he would speak in a confident and approving tone. "Perhaps, had you more time, you may have yet had a chance to beat me in this hunt hound." He would finish with a slight smile crossing his lips, revealing his nickname for the man. Curious to see how he would take it, as Garret's guess is that he may take it as an insult. But Garret would not change it even if he did. He would wait for Kai to finish healing him before he would turn to look back the way they had come, then back to Kai. While not back to full strength before he had started this mission, Garret did greatly improved from earlier. More than enough to make it back on his own if needed. "I would not mind the company if you are headed back as well? I need to report the result of this mission, and what I discovered inside a grimm." Garret would say rather seriously, smile vacant from his face as he looked towards the object recovered from inside a grimm which Kai would be able to see as well.
It was in a canister of sorts. Cylindrical and about one foot in widths with sharp edges. It must have been implanted in the grimm somehow. The canister had a hand print in the middle of it that wrapped around it with a single sharp needle where the palm would be. Other then that the surface was polished and bare. It didn't seem to have any obvious way of opening.
Garret had seen no reason to hide or lie to the man at this point, probably due to him being from Vacuo and helping him out after their competition. There was a safely in numbers, even if Garret usually preferred travel alone, but with the nature of the grimm and this unknown objects it seemed unwise. Something was going on but Garret had little clue of what it could possibly be. He also felt it wise to warn the man things weren't as they should be, especially if this device was having an effect on the grimm it was inside. He would await the mans response to his offer before deciding to head off or anything.
✘ Post count: 88 ✘Semblance timer: 0/5 ✘ Recharge: 1/5
Out Of Challenges: Let me know if I need to fix anything.
Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2020 9:36 pm
❝Be Prepared, or expect Death's hand to grab you ❞
"Yeah yeah yeah. Don't rub it in. I only don't want you to die. If I didn't care about the potential, then I wouldn't be healing you. You are a formidable person. Something that will be needed once Vacuo is being brought back. If Vale ever gets off its a** and works on it" Kai stated as he would continue to heal Garret without showing any type of niceness or remorse. Yes, one's semblance was a reflection of the soul which made things a little bit of a mystery when it came to Kai. Kai was someone who was a little bit hard to figure out. No one knew his feelings or what he was truly thinking on the inside. "Don't call me a hound. My name is Kai. Get it correct or don't say it at all. As for the hunt. Of course, with more time I would have beaten you. I am the more dominate hunter. This task just didn't allow for it to shine." Kai stated simply before the healing stopped. He couldn't do more for now because he didn't want to. Too much time in a dangerous place. Looking at Garret who seemed to be in better shape, Kai shook his head as Garret offered acquaintance back to town.
The item would grab his attention for a moment. It didn't look like anything that intrigued him that much. He especially didn't want to be around Garret any longer for now. He wanted to just be alone with his thoughts. It was interesting though that this man seemed to be working for someone. It wasn't just huntsman work but he was on a mission. Beacon? Or somebody else? Could he actually be trusted? His love for Vacuo seemed to be in the right place so who knows. Time would tell. Starting to head off, it would be made apparent that he wasn't trying to be with Garret on his return back to his master. Or the person who made the mission. However, before he could get a good 10 feet from Garret, Kai would collapse onto one knee. His sword stabbed into the ground to make him stabilize. His emerald eyes wide as a memory came back playing through his head.
"Those eyes...." he commented as he continued with the vision. "No.....I can do it....I got it.........No, I only saw her... I didn't see anyone else....she....no there were more? ...." The words were skipping. Of course, it wasn't a successive conversation but something was going on and it would become apparent that he was not psychologically okay. "I couldn't stay on the ship.... I needed to help... I...I saved one... that's...all I could do." Why exactly was he blaming himself? He was only 6. He did more than what would be expected for a 6-year-old boy to do. He felt that he had more responsibility. He felt he had the weight of an adult even though he was nowhere close to it. He sulked with the adults. He felt remorse with them. He felt like he couldn't do enough. He wasn't just feeling scared of the unknown about going to a different place and leaving Vacuo. He felt upset because everyone wasn't saved. This was his true taste of loss and savior. He saved the blue-haired girl but in the grand scheme did it matter? Was she even still alive? Was it unwise to save her? Should he go to save someone else? Would he had been able to save the 2 brothers that were lost and back up get the blue-haired girl instead? It all was a question. Each question he couldn't answer. He wanted to apologize to that girl he saved. Now she had to grow up separated from her love ones. She too had to experience loss. BUT why only focus on her? Maybe it was because he was directly responsible. He felt remorse for the others of Vacuo as well, but for the blue-haired maiden.....it was on a whole different scale.
After moments passed, he would finally find strength. Getting up, he would grab his blade. "I must get stronger... It won't happen again. I swear." He stated before taking off. Quickly, he would disappear. Drops of salty rivers stained pieces of the ground. The dirt patches more apparently that water dropped onto it but there was no precipitation in sight. The swordsman was upset. The swordsman was determined. The swordsman was broken, walking the earth trying to find a way to repair himself. Repair himself from the infliction of the mental kind that occurred just when he was only 6 years old.
occ:
Post Count: 27 Semblance: Active MP: 05/75 Profile:
✘ Profile ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ Garret could only smirk to himself as the man explained his reasoning for healing him was that he didn't want to waste the potential, and that he was a formidable person. It was a strange compliment to hear from the Hound, one that Garret was honestly not expecting to hear in his time with him. 'Such a strange individual.' Garret thought to himself silently as he chose not to potentially ignite some rebuke from the man. One thing he said in particular was why he chose not to do so. He spoke of Vacuo being brought back, assuming Vale would put in the effort for it. It legitimately caused Garret to pause in thought. From what he had gleaned in his time as courier, everyone seemed tunnel visioned on Atlas. He had seen no such efforts made for his own homeland, or indeed even an interest in reclaiming it. Then again, Garret's mission had been to exterminate all Grimm and push back the tide when he first joined. With the goal of pushing them back to Vacuo and further, reclaiming his homeland after many grimm lay dead and ashed. But...in all his time here he had come no closer to his goal. No closer to his homeland. He knew not how successful efforts were for Atlas but... 'Am I wasting my time serving Aurtrox?' he genuinely questioned to himself.
Garret was broken by his internal musings shortly after Hound would respond to his nickname, seeming sensitive about it as he stated Garret could call him by his name or nothing at all. Which made a smile grace Garret's lips at the reaction. 'How frail is this ones pride?' Garret wondered to himself, remembering how he mispronounced his own name. And for a man who talked of perfection and boasted himself so much, Garret felt if it was a mistake he would not admit it. It may have even been on purpose, though Garret knew not if he would admit that if asked. He would also assert very confidently that with time he would have won. Garret wondered if he found someone more arrogant than even himself, and if he truly would be a good rival to defeat. Or even for a sparring match to determine who was the greater combatant between the two of them. "I may grant that request, assuming you follow it in turn by calling me by mine own name. If not, then I see nothing binding me to not do so." Garret would respond simply. While he had been compliant for the mans healing, he was in no way going to let the man think he could order him around without question. If the man showed him respect, he would receive it. If not, he would be addressed as Hound for the rest of their encounters. Though he would always have that nickname with Garret, if not always spoken.
The Hound would shake his head to Garret's offer, as it seemed this would be the point that the two Vacuo survivors parted ways. He wasted no time either, as the Hound had already begun to move in wherever he desired to spend the rest of his day. He scarcely made it ten feet though before something seemed to occur. He would collapse, only saving himself by having his sword impale the ground before him to act as a stabilizer. Garret was going to go and help him but paused he the Hound spoke. He seemed to be...reliving something? Garret was unsure at first, as it was all broken up nonsense with no context. But then it also felt like Kai was not even acknowledging Garret for the moment. He spoke of seeing a girl, no one else, then seeming to be told by someone else there were more...still making no sense to Garret until he continued as he mentioned not being able to stay on a ship as he needed to save people but only saving one. Garret was genuinely perplexed...but recalled his earlier trance like behavior when they had revealed they were both Vacuo survivors. He knew not exactly what was occurring...but felt they may be related. As if he pieced the two together...He had mentioned red eyes then for a girl, and blue hair, while not being able to save everyone. 'Perhaps guilt...wait...did he abandon one of the evacuation transports to try and help?' Garret pondered then perhaps came to a realization, though it was honestly just guessing so he was unsure. If he had done so at that age...well, he would have been a braver child than Garret himself. Before Garret could try or think to say anything, the Hound seemed to regain some internal strength as he vowed to get stronger to prevent such a thing from happening again. And he would take off. Garret would remain where he was, looking in the direction the guy ran, even after he was out of sight. Questions in his mind, his past feeling like it were resurfacing...but one question above all. 'Have I failed all those who sacrificed themselves for me?' He thought to himself, seeing that he was no closer to getting back his homeland after so long. He clenched his fist...before looking at the item to his side. Things would change...he swore it. But for now, he needed to report this. He wasn't about to let Vale fall while he was here. Even if it wasn't Vacuo, he couldn't save his homeland if he couldn't defend this place. With that in mind, Garret would slowly turn and head back towards beacon.
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