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 Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2015 1:47 pm
It had taken him a bit longer to get back to Baikal than he'd liked, with their order being called to Olympus so many times lately and all this strangeness with the Code, but Babylon had finally made good on his word and met up with Baikal for patrol. The page seemed like he was doing okay so far, inasmuch as he'd made it a few weeks without dying or being horrifically injured. Really that as much as anyone could hope for. "Hey," called Babylon as he approached Baikal's position. "Ready to get going?" He was going on about four days of ginger scruff, thank you very much, and he was very proud of that. Since he was about eighteen, Babylon had been operation on the assumption that he couldn't grow a full beard. He was finding himself proved delightfully wrong. He was also waiting for someone besides Avalon to notice.
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Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 5:26 pm
Truth be told, Baikal had not powered up nearly as much as he probably should have. He still wasn't sure about all this, still wasn't sure he wanted this, but wasn't sure how to reverse what had been done. And if he could have turned back time to before he'd run into Babylon in the ally, before he'd grabbed that snowball and turned into what he was now, would he? He just didn't know. Not powering up meant he was something of a piss poor page. He hadn't visited his wonder yet, wasn't aware of what had been happening with the Code(and what the ******** was that all about, anyways), and had, more or less, been focusing on his exams and school work. Now, officially on break, he was out of viable excuses to avoid responsibilities. Which meant he was waiting where the other man wanted him to be, grateful for the warmth of his page attire in the chill of the late December air. At the sound of a familiar voice the blonde turned to watch Babylon approach along the sidewalk, pushing up from where he'd been leaning on the wall. "Hey, sure." I guess. Pale eyes flciked to the dark line of stubble along Babs' jawline, and a brow arched, but since he didn't know him well, he didn't say anything.
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Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 8:09 pm
Babylon wasn't about to ask for a Baikal to hand over a homework journal or anything like that. He was just going to take the fact that he wasn't dead yet as a good sign and try to jump into mentoring and supporting the crap out of him. "Cool," he said, falling into step beside the page."So, have you started to get the hang of your powers? I know you haven't got any active magic as of yet, but you know, the running, the jumping, the super strength?" Personally, he thought those were the best part - they took a bit of getting used to, but once you knew your limits, well, that was when the fun started. "It's alright if you haven't," he added. He didn't want to, like, put Baikal on the spot here.
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Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2015 1:55 pm
Mention of powers had Baikal glancing sideways at the other man, lips twitching incredulously before he gave a small shake of his head. What powers? He had a snowball at his disposal, he hardly considered that powerful. It'd been luck, if anything, that had let it be useful against the beast that had attacked them the night he'd been awakened. Baikal didn't voice any of those thoughts though. Instead he shook his head, tried to keep his expression neutral. Tried to keep an open mind. "No." He should have felt guilt about that, maybe. "I've had finals, so I haven't really had much of a chance." Except that he had, and had simply chosen not to. Not merely because his weapon was a joke, but because the entire 'Knight' thing was, quite frankly, a lot to take in, and it was easier in smaller doses, directly from a source that knew(as far as Baikal was aware, at least) what they were talking about. Bai hadn't been in a hurry to run into any more monsters all on his lonesome. Perhaps if he had taken the initiative to get out on his own he'd have figured out the physical perks that came along with being drafted into knightdom. Since he hadn't, this was the first he was hearing about it, and it did, he had to admit, sort of make up for the weapon thing. Sort of.
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Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2015 12:09 am
Babylon smiled. "Understandable," he said. Finals. Right. Those were definitely a thing and he hadn't completely forgotten how college worked just because he'd personally finished with it. "Hope they went well. You're on break now, right? I don't need to get you home before you turn into a pumpkin?" He didn't really expect an answer to that - Babylon was just trying his hardest to be friendly. It was easy to impress nervous teenagers. People his own age were harder - if there was anything he was beyond a shadow of a doubt, it was a massive dweeb. "So yeah," he continued, clapping his gloved hands together. "You get phenomenal magical powers. Like, You can run faster and further than you can as a civilian, you're stronger, you can take harder punches, you heal faster like, all the time... and you can leap tall buildings with a single bound." He frowned. "Well, one story. You can jump like one story. But everyone starts somewhere. So does that sound like something you want to go try out?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2016 3:29 pm
"Yeah, I'm on break." There was a very slight crease between pale brows, but he was coming to realize that Babylon's personal brand of humor was just something he was going to have to get used to. The man thought he was a comedian, alright. "Not sure how I did, but I guess we'll see." What he liked about Babylon was how very forthcoming he was with information. A little too much sometimes, if he were completely honest. Baikal didn't have to go hunting for answers. if he had a question, of if there was something he was going to need to know, Babs was going to tell him. He just had to give the other man a chance to do so, and stop dragging his feet on this Knight thing. "Well that's certainly a perk," he admitted, brows arching in obvious interest. "I guess something got to make up for the joke of a weapon I was landed with." A snowball, really? The prospect of exercising these newly found out powers was actually an alluring one. Baikal actually smiled. "Sure, let's do it."
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Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2016 6:11 pm
"It'll get better," replied Babylon. "The weapon, I mean." He held up his lantern to demonstrate. "This thing started off as a totally dinky glowstick, and now I could take someone's eye out with it, probably?" He hadn't actually seriously tried. "The snowball... you could probably mash it into someone's face if you needed a quick getaway," he said, considering the conundrum they'd been presented with. Page weapons were, by and large, useless. That meant getting creative. "Honestly," Babylon said, "I've seen worse. Rings. Bracelets. I'm sure that someone had a fake flower." Although he'd be incredibly hard-pressed to say who that had been at this point in time. The memory felt ancient. Getting back on topic, he surveyed the buildings around them, looking for one that would be a good stepladder up to the roofline. "There," Babylon said finally, pointing. "Different roof levels, one-story increments. Let's get started." He took a running leap, landing with practiced style on the lowest level of the roof, and turned back to look down at Baikal. "Now you do it."
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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 3:43 pm
Well that was a relief at least. He wouldn't be stuck with a snowball forever, just for a while. A bit of an improvement. It just meant he was going to have to get used to the physical enhancements, and possible enroll in a martial arts or boxing course. He listened as Babylon talked, letting the other knight try to ration out a use for the snowball, as well as comfort him with the knowledge that he wasn't the only Page with a useless weapon. It didn't exactly help, not really, but it felt a little more fair he supposed. So he shrugged, accepting it all without another word of complaint. Tonight wasn't about lamenting what he didn't have, but learning about what he did have. So when Babylon took a running leap, clearing twelve feet in a single bound, the Page have a low, impressed whistle. "Damn." That was pretty awesome. Now he had to duplicate it. Shoulders squaring, Baikal backed up a few steps, then took off running. He jumped...and went considerably higher than he'd been expecting. It meant a sloppy landing, but he did come to a stumbling stop beside the other knight. "Woooh!" What a rush. "Ok, that's pretty sweet."
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 8:26 pm
Babylon held out a hand, ready to steady Baikal, but it turned out to be unnecessary. The page hadn't exactly stuck the landing, but he hadn't completely ******** it up, either. Pretty good for a first try. "Cool, huh?" he asked, lowering his hand like he'd never had it up in the first place. "That was good, but the next one's a bit trickier." He pointed to the next ledge. "No room for a running start up here. It's a bit harder, but you'll get it." Babylon took a few quick, surefooted steps forward and leapt upwards, legs flexing powerfully. He landed on the next level of the roof, turned around, and looked down towards Baikal. "Come on up," he called. "The weather's nice up here."
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 8:40 am
Alright, that was pretty amazing. Baikal steadied himself, gloved hands smoothing down his jacket as his head tipped up to eye the ledge Babylon was pointing out to him. It was a smaller target, a little harder to get to. There wasn't nearly as much room for a running start. Challenge accepted. He watched Babylon make the jump effortlessly, the hint of a smile ticking at his lips as he called down to him. "I find that hard to believe." It was winter, and it was cold. If it hadn't been for the heavy, fur-lined state of his uniform it would have been unbearable. Still smiling, Baikal took a few steps back as well, gearing up. Then, before he had time to think about it too much, he charged forward, leaping upward to land more or less sure footed beside the elder knight. Better then the last time, despite the harder conditions. Chuckling, he glanced sidelong at Babylon. "Nope, cold as ******** up here."
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 8:45 pm
Babylon laughed. "Yeah," he said, "I might've spoken too soon." The wind whipped around them at this higher altitude, and he felt cold even through his thick furs and heavy coat. Babylon gestured to the next rooftop, separated by the width of an alley. "Let's keep moving - we'll warm up," he said. "That way. You can do it." He hoped. Maybe he could make it true just by the sheer force of his encouragement? The gap didn't make him personally nervous. Maybe he should have started with something narrower to get Baikal warmed up, but he'd handled the vertical jumps so well so far. Lateral wasn't too much of a change of pace. "It'll be fine," he said easily. "After me." Babylon took a few steps back, surefooted as a mountain goat on the shingles, got a bit of a running start, and cleared the gap. "Now you!" he called from across the alley.
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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2016 2:21 pm
It was too damn cold to be outside at night, especially up high. Baikal shot the chipper Knight a look, tightening his scarf around neck and the lower half of his face as Babylon gestured across the ally towards the roof on the other side. That seemed easier then heading straight up. Maybe it was a matter of it seeming more reasonable even at human ability, but Baikal didn't seem worried in the last about making it. He'd wait as Babylon made it look effortless, and then fell into a quick run and jump that brought him up and over to land easily on the other side. "I could get used to this." It reminded him of games he'd played. Assassin's Creed in particular. Baikal grinned beneath the cover of his scarf as he looked past Babylon's shoulder towards the other roof tops. Smile widening, pale eyes flicked back to Babs, and the page gave the other man a poke in the arm as he passed him, calling over his shoulder as he jogged towards the opposite ledge. "Tag!" Moving meant staying warm, so they might as well have a little fun with it.
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2016 10:01 am
Baikal seemed like he was really getting the hang of this. Babylon laughed and gave chase. He'd seen too many pages uncertain or even reluctant to lay claim to their title and all the advantages contained therein, so to see someone genuinely having fun was a nice change of pace. Baikal was a knight after his own heart, so to speak. With a final burst of speed, he clapped a hand to Baikal's shoulder, called, "Tag!" and leapt across the next gap. His boots skidded across the roof, and Babylon flailed for balance, finally coming to a stop in an awkward crouch, one hand splayed between his feet. "Careful," he called. "It's icy over here."
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 9:39 am
Babylon was quicker than him, which wasn't actually all that surprising. It only made sense, gaining more of an advantage as you gained more powers. Baikal laughed, pausing only a moment before he gave chase again, launching himself over the gap and landing heavily on the other side. Sliding on the ice for a about a foot, arms out for balance, before slowing to a stop. He was only stationary for a brief moment though, before he gave chance again, sprinting carefully across the icy roof. "I think you should be worrying about you." He was closing in fast.
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 11:57 pm
"About me? Really?" Babylon called over his shoulder. He sounded cocky. Too cocky, probably, because it was that exact moment that he slipped, landed flat on his a**, and slid towards the edge of the roof. "s**t," shouted Babylon, flailing to catch a grip. His feet slid over the edge. Then the rest of him. His fingers found purchase on a storm gutter. "s**t s**t s**t," said Babylon, staring down at his dangling feet. The drop down to the ground wasn't unreasonable or even particularly dangerous for someone of his rank, but it would be... unpleasant. "Uh," he called. "Could I get a hand?"
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