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 Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2010 4:21 am
Potential recruit - Fayte Breaker.
In order to demonstrate your skills to the Senior members of the Shinigami clan all you need to do is respond to a roleplay situation. Once we are satisfied with what you have shown us, we shall end the roleplay here and give your our judgement. If you're accepted you'll be invited to the guild and allowed to post in the Main Thread.
This try-out thread is for the applicant and the Seniors only, unless we specifically request the assistance of other members.
Your scenario begins below:
It's the morning after the night before, so the saying goes. The library's doors are open as usual, bright and early. It's like clockwork. One would easily suspect that at least one librarian never sleeps, for it's always shiny and clean inside as well. How anyone could find the time to clean such a large place so well is a mystery. Though some books are permitted to gather a little dust. Can't have a library without book dust.
This morning is no exception to the rule, though it is common knowledge the library was hosting a large party the previous night. There is no sign of the party left at all. The tables are all back where they should be, the decorations removed, the posters gone from the walls. Though there is one very sleepy author hiding somewhere among the bookshelves. The librarians had been unable to convince him to leave the books and sleep in an actual bed.
As for the librarians, none are in immediate sight of the entrance. The only person visible is a young girl, younger than the age of 11 at a guess, with bright blue eyes and a short mop of blonde hair. She's crouched by a book trolley, examining the contents carefully. Truth be told she's planning the best route to take to reshelf them all easily and quickly. As she leans forward her loose shirt falls open at the neck, exposing a tattoo on her chest. A tattoo at her tender age is unusual, even moreso the fact it's the same symbol dotted around the library itself. If one was trying to learn about the library, it would be safe to assume she would be a good person to ask.
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Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 12:29 am
Live to Fight  Daybreak, he'd seen it a thousand times, no - more than that probably yet despite the unwelcome disturbance it brought to his otherwise peaceful slumber, propped against the steps of a Library that could potentially change the life of relatively young man that had unknowingly rested his head against an establishment and clan that stood far greater than his imagination could encompass.
Still, for all the discomfort it brought him, the hunger and weariness returning to his cold, tired and sore body, Lee never once tired of watching the sun rise.
Naturally a light sleeper, Lee woke several times during the night on a regular basis, and as such his sleeping habits were irregular at best, yet somehow he managed to always gain enough sleep to make it steadfastly through the day, and usually even with a smile upon his face, he would step up to the plate and welcome the day's challenges, whether that was from escaping from a band of street thugs or finding his next meal, Lee never complained, though for one homeless and penniless he had much to complain about. Setting aside his difficulties and simply enjoying the sunrise for a portion of its nearly unparalleled beauty, the young homeless man rose to his feet, stretching his arms above his head, trembling as his muscles exerted and strained in such a position. That done, Lee ran a hand through his short, messy hair ruffling it a little before dropping his arm, the long sleeve of his worn hoodie dropping down over his hand, an unconscious motion of his opposite hand drew the sleeve back up to his elbow before repeating the motion with the other arm. Turning as he completed this action, Lee thought he heard or saw someone behind him, but wasn't surprised when no one was actually there, but his gaze was drawn to the plaque upon the wall. "Shinigami huh?" The young beggar mused quietly to himself before rounding the base of the steps and climbing the few wide platforms to the threshold where the door stood ajar.
Pausing to take in the size of the structure in as best a way someone outside the Library could do so, Lee had no spectacular knowledge of architecture or buildings, but he couldn't help but admire at least the large window and well-maintained status of a "classic" building even this far from the "core" of heavy metal Durem.
As his eyes wandered from the molding around the door to the polished tile floors just within the doorway, he spotted a young woman, no - a girl of no more than twelve or thirteen years at oldest, a smile crossed his gritty and dirty features as he stood momentarily in the doorway, unsure of what to say, though he realized after a moment that he was staring awkwardly, and clapped his hands together rather noisily, though his intention was more apology than inquisition, he seemed to have caught the girl's attention and so began.
"I'm sorry Miss, I didn't mean to stare, but... what is that mark on your neck?" Lee asked, his tone was soft and warm, worn down by the passage of time and hardship, Lee spoke inquisitively, innocent curiosity edging his light tenor voice as he extended one dirty finger in as casual and careful a way as he could towards the mark despite the awkwardness of the area it was stamped into her flesh. Fight to Live
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Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 1:42 am
Ilia flicked her bright eyes across the spines of the books, mentally arranging them by topic, genre, author and title. She had to wonder why such books had been selected to be read by patrons during the party. She could understand wanting to read at such an event, after all she loved every book in here as if they were a part of her very being, but who on earth wanted to take the time to read about steam engines or fly fishing at a social event? There were some more interesting books among the used, some she was even too young to fully absorb yet. As she considered the strangeness of adults she carefully plotted how to best wheel her little book cart through the shelves to reorganise the books in the most efficient fashion. She might have time to finish before they had any patrons.
A clap of hands nearby made her look up and put an end to that plan. She had always been taught by the older librarians that people came before books when it came to service. Books had endless patience, but people did not. It was just polite. Although there were times when she would deliberately favour the books. She couldn't turn away from a direct question though. She stood up to her full height, not even a full five feet, and boldly looked up at the unfamiliar man. Most children of her age would have run for an adult, having been told not to talk to strangers. This child showed no fear or concern. Perhaps she had been raised badly. Perhaps she had good reason not to worry.
"This?" She tugged on her shirt and indicated the symbol on her upper chest. "It's antimony, the alchemical element." She tilted her head a little, golden hair falling over her eyes until she pushed it back with a small hand. She examined the man with obvious curiosity and unmasked intensity. He looked a bit rough, like her daddy in the morning. She blinked for a few moments, reviewing her recorded memory.
"You slept outside. Why did you sleep outside?" She asked openly. It always seemed strange to her that people would choose to sleep outside when there was a perfectly good library here with comfortable seats and warm drinks that was often open to the lost and lonely. "It must have been terribly cold and uncomfortable. I don't think I would like that very much at all." She decided, though the cold didn't really bother her and comfort was just what she was used to, not what she needed. It wasn't as if she slept either, but that was a detail.
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Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 10:07 am
Live to FightUnaware that he'd startled her until she turned somewhat abruptly to face him, Lee was already in mid-apology though the urge to repeat the process struck him, it would likely only come across as more annoying than apologetic, though his abrupt noise-making had caused her to turn she didn't seem the least bit startled or irritated, though she was clearly engrossed in a task she obviously took a great deal of interest in. A wry smile crossed his face as she turned to face him, she was pretty enough and would be a real beauty as she got older, but aside from her external appearance, there was an innocence about her, a trust that he found commonly in children and almost never in adults. It always made him smile to see that unfounded trust so freely given.
Nodding as she tugged down on her shirt to give him an unchallenged view of the symbol, Lee lowered himself to a squatting position that actually put him just below her, though for the most part they were still on eye-level, she still stood taller than he did. However; it did get him closer to the symbol, letting him examine it as she explained its origin and source. "Alchemy huh?" Lee said, perplexed at why a child so young would have an element of alchemy tattooed upon her chest, and though he didn't possess the same natural trust she seemed to carry so easily, his next question was almost preordained. "Why do you have it? I mean, rather why is it marked on your body?" Lee asked, trying to remember what he knew about antimony, though nothing came up in his head, he dismissed it largely as another Element, he'd look it up later if it continued to "bug" him.
Surprised that she was so observant to deduce he'd slept outside, he laughed a little sheepishly and paused when he went to scratch his head, a habit he'd gotten into when explaining himself. "I didn't have anywhere else to stay." The man explained before going on. "And besides, I view it as good penance, it builds character to do things that are uncomfortable you know?" Lee explained, not really expecting the girl to understand or even appreciate his attempt at humility, but extending her that information was as easy a task as he'd done all morning. "Besides a Library, what kind of place is this?" Lee asked, continuing to clarify his question. "That is, the neighborhood around here isn't classy or rich really at all, but this place is, well it's different, like the atmosphere inside this place is totally different from the atmosphere outside, why is that?" Lee said, finishing as he remained in a crouched position, his eyes averting from the symbol to now make a brief look around what parts of the library he could see from the door before returning to look at the girl's face. Fight to Live
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Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 2:17 pm
((Apologies for the wait, life is busy. Also a note; the post formatting you have there with the extra text is acceptable here, but you won't be able to use that in the main roleplaying thread. Just so you're aware about that. Other colours and font sizes are fine, provided they are still comfortable to read, but we like to keep all the posts without the unnecessary fluff.))
Ilia tilted her head as she looked at the man, taking in everything about him as she watched and listened to him. Her head lowered a little as he crouched down to her approximate level. Not many people were considerate enough to do that, though a few would bend over to talk to her. The Shinigami adults would crouch down if they wanted to talk to her often but not usually the patrons. She giggled softly. She raised a small hand to some masonry, carved with the same symbol. Then again she pointed to a bookshelf where the symbol could be found again. All around them in subtle ways that very same symbol marked the entire library.
"I have it marked on me because I am Ilia, and because my daddy was given the symbol by his Mother too." She replied. Though it made perfect sense to her, the fact that such information would be lost on most unfamiliar people passed her by.
"You could have stayed in here. We had a party last night and I think that Mr. Lawson is sleeping around here somewhere too. He's silly!" She said as if it was so simple for a child. It really was, to her. "Penance? Did you do a bad thing? Lots of people here have done bad things, they tell me. I don't know. They all seem nice to me." Ilia gave him a warm smile. She didn't really understand morality yet. It was hard to understand morals when you witnessed your own parents assassinate people now and then, and had participated on rare occasion. But she knew they weren't bad people. So surely they weren't doing bad things. It would take a long time for her to be taught the real differences. "I wouldn't know about being uncomfortable and building character though. Last time my character got built it was very confusing. Though I suppose it was uncomfortable too. Is that normal? Does character building always feel bad?" She hadn't considered it before. All she knew was the Satyr touched her and it hurt and something changed.
"It's a library and it's a home." She looked around, wondering if the atmosphere really did feel different. She supposed it did. When she went to places like the bakery or the department stores they weren't as welcoming as the library was. But the library was so much more than a mere library. She knew other places didn't have hidden bits underground like the library did. The closest was Uncle Jack and Uncle Raven's nightclub, with the private sections away from the dancers. "Daddy has lots of money, so he made it really special. He wanted it to be a... a.. sanctuary I think he said. A sanctuary for books and a sanctuary for the lost, for people like him and mama and my aunts and uncles and cousins and all their friends. it is a good place." She said finally, with a solid and assured nod.
"If you slept outside, I bet you haven't had breakfast. Come on!" She smiled and held out a hand to him, intending to lead him to the vending machines for some free coffee and a little food. Least she could do was use the codes so he didn't have to pay. It was very trusting for a child alone.
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 11:36 pm
Live to FightSmiling and then grinning as her voice broke out in that beautiful and pure sound of laughter, a child's laughter was like the sound of Heaven's Bells to the poverty-stricken young man and as the echos of the sweet chords of her voice faded away and she began pointing out the Element Antimony here and there and as he followed the line of her fingers as she pointed he found truthfully it in a resounding repetition in every direction he looked. Lifting his left hand to scratch at the stubble on his jaw as he re-directed his eyes to rest upon her when she finished displaying the multitude of repetitive symbols marking nearly every book, shelf and tile. "A hereditary mark?" Lee asked, mostly to himself, though he didn't remove his eyes or attention from the small, curious girl before him.
Letting his grin return to a small weary smile he shook his head, even before she'd finished extending her reprimand - no... it was more like an invitation, one that was extended past the point of relevancy, though it was nice of her to do so, Lee waited patiently and politely for her to finish talking to reply. "No, even though it's nice of you to say so, I'm really not the type to stay in other people's homes, even if they're beautiful libraries like this one." Lee responded initially, continuing a moment later. "Yes, you could say that I've done... well a few bad things." Lee admitted with a small, wry laugh before offering her a shrug a moment later when she offered him an explanation as to her reasoning about "good" and "bad". A child's understanding of moralities - what Lee would give for that, but no - for him the world was too complex to accept such simple truths, and he felt that was in and of itself the catalyst of his own downfall, yet he persevered, finding patience in each defeat and though he couldn't read far past the lines the girl spoke to him, relaying her point of view in words and expressions. Taking his turn to laugh next as Ilia touched upon the subject of "Character building" Lee nodded once to affirm her guess. "Usually, building most anything takes time, effort and usually a little discomfort." Lee explained in as simple a way he could himself understand.
"A Home and a Library huh?" Looking around, Lee continued to listen to her and to prove it, his wandering gaze soon returned to her, stopping often on the elemental symbol of Alchemy upon her bosom, it wasn't the symbol any longer that perplexed him, rather it was its purpose upon her being, though he didn't share this concern with her, deciding rather to simply accept it as a personal standard of hereditary preference over something more grandiose. "Well, your Father certainly accomplished his goal, it definitely feels like a sanctuary in here, though..." Letting his voice drift off, his attention snapped back to Ilia as she reached out to take his hand, instinctively drawing his own back, he seemed reserved and though his demeanor didn't change it was almost like he withdrew into himself. "No, that's all right I'd like to sit down though if that's all right and I'll just follow you." He said apologetically as he passively waved her hand away, smiling genuinely but wearily as his stance relaxed again. [[I see, thanks for letting me know.]] Fight to Live
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