Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was not that Ekanite was purposefully trying to go against Painite's orders. Quite the opposite: he adored his overly protective General and knew that she had been in this whole war game for a very long time. She had a wealth of information to share with him, but she also was very keen not to let him get hurt. It meant she limited what he had access to, or what he could try to do on his own, as much as she could. Basically, she instilled a level cap on him, and he was stuck under it until he achieved whatever secret requirements she had locked him down with.

As a gamer, though, he was determined to reach that level no matter what. He would prove to his General that he would be the best soldier she ever recruited, and maybe even take the whole place over some day! If this were a ninja village, perhaps hidden in the leaves, he would one day be the kage.

Sensing that strange pulse of nauseating goodness like before, Ekanite once again made the decision to move toward it. If it meant sparking a fight with one of those dreaded White Moon-ers, then so be it. Maybe it would not be so bad? Not as bad as Painite implied, anyway. He heard so many stories already about all the ones she beat and messed with, and he knew he could not avoid it for too long.

"Alright, game face, Ekans," he mumbled to himself, calling his 'weapons' to his hands. He did get two of them, which was neat, but they were just drumsticks. Low quality ones at that, from the feel of them, but he had yet to try to hit anyone with them. Maybe they were magic, like the rest of the costume?

Ekanite felt a little doubt creeping into his mostly feigned determination as a voice called out to him. So she was just as aware of him as he was of her. Good! He didn't want some kind of unfair advantage, after all. That would be like drawing an extra card at the start of his turn: total cheating, and not something he was down for. He liked to win his duels by strategy and sheer force of will: not unfairly.

Of course, that was a lot easier to do with collectible trading cards. Fists were another matter.

Drumsticks, too.

"I am here! Way to ruin my sweet entrance! I mean, if I had one planned. It would have been sweet, with the chance, but uh. Hey! I'm Ekanite and I'm ready to ruin your night!"

Hey! That rhymed. He was hyping himself up with how awesome that sounded to his own ears, grinning to himself as he approached her. He almost waved like they were friends but caught himself before he managed that, instead awkwardly swinging his sticks at an invisible drum set. Not that he had any idea how to play the drums.

"You lookin for a fight?" He asked, with a hint of honesty in the question, rather than just bravado.

Band Kid?

That hurt. Maybe? He wasn't sure, but he supposed it was meant to be an insult, and that was enough to carry the weight of the words through. He grinned, pointing a drumstick, backwards, at her eagerly.

"Joke's on you! I have no idea how to play the drums!"

Wincing, Ekanite was not sure that was really what he wanted to say, either. Being witty was not as easy as it looked on the TV or in his comic books. He would have to keep practicing. That was, of course, if he managed to get out of this possible fight without getting his teeth kicked in.

"Alright! I'm not going to tell you this is my first fight, so let's go!" He heard Painite yelling at him already, though she wasn't there. Actually, could he sense her aura? Maybe he was just being paranoid. Ignoring his nerves, he charged forward to try and attack. He only realized a few steps into it that he had no idea what he was doing.

It was not an unfair assessment of his abilities, but it was still rather RUDE, Ekanite decided.

"You suck, too!" he countered almost immediately, without really thinking about it. He missed the fact that he was basically admitting that yes, she was right, but at least he managed to fire a shot back. He would get better at the battle banter at some point, he was sure of it. He just needed more practice.

Embarrassing, awkward practice.

Stuck in his run, he saw the red glow and immediately thought danger. What was that? Was it bad for him? It was too late to really back down now though, only steps away from her and ready to swing his thin, frail drumsticks at her for her insult. He was easily within range of her fist, not realizing she had given herself a boost and thinking he could take a hit from her if it meant landing his own.

OW.

Ekanite was sent sprawling, sliding on his butt when he hit the floor and covering his face with his hands. He had gotten hit hard in the jaw, and he was just making sure it was all still attached and not shattered into a million pieces. So far, though very tender and immediately red, it did not seem broken. But how was he supposed to know for sure? He wasn't a doctor!

Painite was going to be so furious with him when she saw it.

"Aw man! That's just mean! Sheesh! Where's the draw pile? I've got my hand on it!" He was just going to not tell his boss that he was punched once and then gave up. There was no way she would ever let him live it down. As he was thinking about her, an aura flared to life nearby, though almost at the limits of his aura feeling abilities. Then it vanished and appeared slightly closer. Searching.

Uh oh. Had he accidentally summoned her somehow?