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 Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 8:06 pm
Back alleys had become a hunting ground, of sorts. Carminite was sure that was the case for most other agents. Particularly in the seedier areas of Destiny City, back alleys often meant easy targets, and Carminite wasn’t beyond taking advantage of some peoples’ misfortunes. At least not for meeting his quota. There was a part of him that thought it was a bit below the belt, but…well.
Too bad, so sad, boo-hoo for whoever he managed to find.
Carminite raised a brow at the older gentleman who was passed out in the back alley of a bar. From the smell of him he could guess he’d been chasing the bottom of a bottle for most of the day. He wasn’t one to judge; everyone had their demons. Besides, him being passed out from the drink made things a bit easier.
Where the man had been sitting upright while he napped just a moment ago, he was now lying on his side and breathing quite a bit slower. Not dangerously so–Carminite made sure to check–it was just a sign that he was probably sleeping deeper now compared to earlier. Carminite grinned at the purple orb floating in his palm, and was just dismissing it into subspace when he sensed the prickle of an Order signature nearby.
He pursed his lips, clearly annoyed. So much for an easy night.
“Great.”
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Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2023 5:45 pm
Sometimes, when Connie felt the signature of someone in the Negaverse, her heart fluttered with hope and wonder. Could it be anyone she knew? Would they try to scare her away if she didn’t know them? Or worse? She’d been warned by her friends (or at least those she considered her friends, even if it was one sided) that she should be careful and not as trusting, but even when she was in dangerous situations, she wanted to make sure everyone got the chance they deserved.
She didn’t recognize the man in the alley, but that didn’t stop her from offering a friendly smile. She wasn’t oblivious to the man slumped over in the alley. She knew what the Negaverse was capable of doing. What they were required to do.
“If you promise not to take all of it, and you leave that guy alone, you can have some of my energy,” she offered. She had her little sapling tucked under her arm (she was really going to have to make a little bag to carry it in to make things easier), but held up her other hand to show she meant no harm.
“I’m Connie!”
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Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2023 7:48 pm
Well that was a first.
Carminite raised a brow at her offer, and honestly also at the tree she was carrying because it was a bit random. He was considering it, but then also began turning over the possibility that this might be some kind of trap or a way to lure him closer enough to her to do some damage while he was concentrating on draining her of some energy.
He leaned toward the latter and stepped backwards instead, then raised his hand palm up as he began focusing on draining the man of just a little bit more of his energy. Just a little. He had no reason to trust her, and he was curious what she would do if he didn’t take her bait.
“Carminite, good to meet you.” He returned her greeting with a grin, the purple glow from the orb now forming in his hand casting it in a slightly more sinister light.
“Y’know, it’s funny. I thought I was done with him, but now that you’re here…” he shrugged, “maybe not so much.”
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Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2023 8:58 pm
Connie’s smile faltered.
“What are you doing?” she gasped in alarm as he went back to continue taking energy from the unconscious man. “Wait, no, you don’t have to do that! That’s not funny at all!”
What was she supposed to do now? She couldn’t just let him keep taking energy! That wasn’t very nice!
“Oh, please don’t do that. He’s not even hurting you!” she squeaked in distress as she hopped from one foot to the other in anxious indecision.
Finally she held out her little potted plant and channeled her magic to try and force a barrier of sudden plant growth between Carminite and the unconscious man.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It’s not going to hurt, just don’t do that to him, please!” Squire Magic Channeling her magic causes a rush of floral growth from under her target’s feet. Roots and grass and saplings grow up and around where the magic is channeled, which she can use to either push her targets back, or to focus on building up a barrier. The plants can be cut down and are capable of burning with some effort. She can also use already existing flora to grow rapidly, such as low hanging branches sprouting an abundance of leaves. Total magic pool lasts for 40 seconds.
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Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2023 9:38 pm
The plant was her weapon?!
The purple orb dissipated as he stumbled back and away from his target, and he clicked his tongue. It hadn’t been much, thankfully, so he didn’t feel too bad for the loss.
Narrowing his eyes, he turned his attention to the magic first, briefly debating his options before ultimately looking over at the knight. The longer he looked, the more irritated he felt. Between the wasted energy and the failed expectation of having a relatively smooth, easygoing night...
These days his mood flipped at the drop of a hat, and considering all that and she attacked first?
Carminite focused, his face contorting into a menacing glare as he summoned a crystallized blade to his left bracer. She wasn't too far off but he teleported anyway, wanting to quickly close the gap between them. And he swept his blade up, aiming first to knock the little plant out of her grasp.
Captain's Weapon Bracers to which he can summon an arm blade that extends out from the middle of his forearm to 9in from the tips of fingers. The blade can be transferred from one bracer to the other at will, but can never be on both bracers simultaneously. Magic: A perpetual steam is always rising from the blade, and anyone besides Carminite that comes in contact with it will experience a moderate burning sensation (uncomfortable--think burnt tongue with a hot drink type discomfort) that disappears once contact has stopped.
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Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2023 1:23 pm
Oh. Oh. Did he think she was attacking him? She was just trying to protect the civilian! But she supposed using her magic was kind of like attacking, so she couldn’t really blame him for attacking her in retaliation.
Wait. No, she could blame him, because he was actually trying to hurt her! Maybe?
She stared with wide, terrified eyes as he dropped the purple orb and then glared at her. She could have cried just because of that! But what was worse was that he--
Disappeared?? Where did he-- Oh, he was right in front of her.
Connie shrieked and gasped as her poor little plant was knocked from her hands. She tried to catch it, but there was a scary and very hot looking blade that was slashing too close to her. She tried taking a step away, but tripped over a broken part of the sidewalk and toppled backwards with a yelp.
"Wait, wait, stop!" she cried with tears in her eyes as she rubbed her hurt ankle. "You don't have to do this! You're better than this. I know you are. You don't want to hurt people. The Negaverse is making you do this!"
She wasn't sure how much was actually heard over her sudden sobs, but she really didn't want to die, and she felt so bad for Carminite and everyone in the Negaverse because no one really wanted to hurt others, did they??
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Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2023 12:25 am
It was hard not to feel sorry, watching her deflate into a tearful mess after tripping over a bit of broken sidewalk. The captain was poised to strike, and he would have. He would have. If she’d said just about anything else. But she didn’t, and despite the sobbing he did hear most of it. If his general saw him now he might have stepped in to stab some sense back into him, but for the moment he was on his own.
So Carminite dismissed the blade instead, and took a few steps back.
He wasn’t sure what to say, what he ought to say in response. She wasn’t exactly right, but she wasn’t wrong, either. It was hard to put a finger on what was going through his mind. It was foggy, a bit, and got foggier still the more he thought about it.
'It's a privilege to serve Metallia, after all. I should enjoy the work and be proud that I've been given this opportunity.
But do I enjoy it? Probably not, but…maybe?
I do want to do this. It's also my duty as an agent to get rid of anyone that stands in my way.
But it feels wrong, she didn’t do anything wrong.
She ruined what was supposed to be an easy, my fun.
But it wasn’t fun. I wasn’t having fun.
Was I? I... how could I be? I'm not a violent person...I don't hurt people. I...'
His glare was steady on Connie, but his gaze looked far-off, too lost in his own thoughts to really see her. The more he thought about it, the more pain shot through his head, the more irritated his expression became. And the more he thought he ought, at the very least, not to stop here. Still, the blade remained unsummoned as he tried to think up some excuse to justify picking up where he'd just left off.
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Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2023 7:49 am
Connie braced herself for pain. Braced herself to be stabbed or worse. But then… there was nothing.
She tried holding her breath so she wouldn’t cry so loudly, but had to quickly scrub at her face so she could see what was happening.
He… didn’t have his weapon any more? He was just… standing there?
She felt horrible. She wanted to reach out to him, to tell him that it was okay, that he didn’t have to listen to the Negaverse and whatever they were telling him. She knew how painful it was. She knew of others who’d suffered similar fates. She didn’t blame Carminite for any of this, just the Negaverse as a whole. Just Metallia.
Carefully, her chest still heaving as she sniffled and quietly sobbed, she pushed herself back up to her feet. And, while she definitely wanted to make sure he was okay, she knew she needed to get away before he changed his mind.
So she ran.
Later, she would send him a message with her ring. An apology for startling him. A promise that things will be okay. And an offer to chat if he ever needed someone to listen. She knew he wouldn't likely be able to respond to her, but she could at least stop by this same area every so often to see if he was around.
Hopefully next time, there wouldn’t be any reason to attack each other.
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