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 Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:05 pm
Walking through the halls of the Castle, Stichtite took note of each of the training rooms until he reached the one that Benitoite had told him of. Luckily he’d taken some time during the week to pick up a small set of weights to work on getting a bit more strength to aid with his punches. It was good to be in good health anyway and it was something he could take just ten minutes here and there working on. Another little thing he could add to his schedule to keep himself busy and focused.
Stepping inside the room, he saw a senshi. One with a long brown braid and glasses, pouring over some sort of paperwork and listening to music. “Hello?” Didn’t they know this room was scheduled for use, it was rude to overstay when there was a schedule posted for a reason.
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Aoede had been listening to some of the music she intended to teach at her next lesson, focusing on that while waiting for her General to arrive so she could work on getting a bit of training done. Things were going a lot smoother now that her magic was under control and she had been given more power. It had been a nice change of pace, even if she had to deal with her brother to have the whole matter settled.
“Oh hello.” Turning towards the voice she paused, noticing what looked like a similarity towards Benitoite. She narrowed her eyes as she watched them, they looked bothered by her being there. “I’m waiting for my general, if you need to use a training room there are plenty of others.”
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:08 pm
Not too far behind his cousin, not that either knew this, the doors opened again and he held up a hand. “That won’t be necessary, Aoede, Stichtite. You both are here because you should be and you are both on my team.” Looking from one to the other while he unclasped his cape and let it fall to the floor, he really didn’t care for the thing. It was an easy way to get snagged and grabbed by something or someone.
“For tonight, at the very least, try and play nice. I want to keep an eye on Stichtite while I also want to see just how strong your magic has become Aoede.” Even if he knew he was going to regret letting her use her magic on him, it was why he pulled a bottle of excedrin from subspace. It wasn’t a good idea to take on an empty stomach but he really didn’t care, fighting with food in his stomach also wasn’t a good idea.
Tossing them to the side, because he knew he’d need them, he stepped further into the room while stretching and rolling his shoulders. “Preparing for the next music lesson, Aoede?” Taking note of what she’d brought with her, he was glad to see it all though. No doubt his cousin would also connect the dots…he was a smart person.
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:09 pm
“Aoede?” Looking at the senshi and then closer at the papers she had, he started to think about what his cousin had told him. One was a general and one a senshi but both were music tutors. Ah… the one who wanted to put her brother six feet under. “Ah, yes I remember.” Taking a seat, he looked her over a bit. Something with sound was what he’d been told, though the fact that it had been acting up until recently.
“So magic training for her and then hand-to-hand for me? Or we could both do hand to hand given that you would have the advantage due to being a general.” Looking up at his cousin for a moment as he settled in and pulled out his keys. Rusty things that they were, they still had a decent weight to them.
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“Ah, so this is the newest addition. Stichtite was it? I hope you have earphones or earplugs, otherwise, I recommend you step out of the room to avoid the range. Can’t bang up the newest agent on accident since I’m not sure how things will go.” She’d been used to things acting all wonky, causing variations and damage to everyone including herself when she cast her magic.
Putting the papers away into her folder and shutting off the small speaker, she nodded to Benitoite. “Yes, nothing too difficult but things that my students had requested.” She wouldn’t confirm more than that around someone she didn’t know, even if they shared similar traits to Beni. “I would be up for gaining a bit of fighting experience though I really don’t ever intend on getting close enough to another order member to have to use it.”
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:10 pm
“I can handle hand to hand against you both.” Nodding his head to his cousin's suggestion, his trailing to the braided senshi. “I figured you’d say that but in a battle it might be hard to avoid people. They do tend to get out of hand with people all over the place, it becomes hard to keep track of people.” Plus while you might be fighting someone a friend of theirs might jump in from behind, or from the wings, it was all possible in such events.
“It’s best to be prepared for the possibility. I won’t have either of you unconscious on the ground if I can help it.” Not only could he not pick up his cousin but he wasn’t dragging either of them out and putting himself and them at risk due to being slowed down.
“Especially considering the injuries you’ve already sustained once from order, I’d like you to be able to manage hand to hand in case they jump you in a battle. You’re brother and I are still hunting for the senshi every night we go out. If I find them I’ll bring you their starseed…I’m not dragging a body back with me.” He’d leave the bloody remains somewhere for order to find, or whoever else might be so unlucky. Cold and calm as he took off his coat and let it fall as he readied himself to deal with them both.
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:11 pm
Standing up, she pulled something out of her subspace and handed it to Stichtite. “These should work for later if you need them, they’re from a shooting range.” Frowning she moved away from the table towards the open part of the room where Beni stood at the ready. “Getting too close was exactly why that happened, even more reason to keep away.” Glaring a bit at the mention of the senshi who had burned her, she traced a hand over her stomach for a moment where the patch of burn scars lay hidden beneath her uniform. “I trust you more to find them than him but he would make good bait, with that hair of his they might mistake him for me anyway.” Two birds one stone, she could be rid of him and the senshi in one go if it came down to it.
Waiting until the taller blond put the shooting muff on, she stepped a bit closer and swung at Benitoite. It was a bit clumsy, not really something she’d done a lot but she kept aware of where her braid and other grabable things were since that would probably be what they went for.
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Following Aoede, he popped the muff around his neck so they were easily available to put over his ears when the time came. His cousin’s words confirmed their identity though as did her reaction to the mention of her sibling. It bothered him that she seemed to want her brother to die, family was family in his mind and it was important. After all, it was why he was here.
It was a bit funny watching her swing at his cousin, there was no form or skill to it. Not that his would be much better but at least he had studied a bit in the time since his last outing. He had a bit more size and strength compared to her as well, a foot at least from what he could tell. He’d never seen someone shorter than Beni other than their cousin Fiona.
Taking up a boxer’s pose he moved in and swung from the other side, focusing down towards his cousin’s side with his right hook. He’d practice more on the weekends, maybe looking into a punching bag for the other room down in the basement of his home.
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:12 pm
Bending back to avoid the swing he couldn’t help tsking at her. “You would enjoy baiting that senshi with your brother - wouldn’t you.” It wasn’t a question, he knew the answer, she would very much enjoy it and not just because she’d earn all the money he had access to. “You’d have to explain his death to the boyfriend I hear he has…and that might not go over so well.” Never mind the funeral with an already burnt up body being laid in a coffin - how terrible. He was of the same mind as Lorcan when it came to family, and he was certain Lorcan didn’t like hearing her speak of a sibling like that.
Whereas he had no siblings he knew Lorcan had a sibling so such words likely bothered him more, but he had warned the other about the Sharp siblings and their relationship. Straightening himself the smaller blond caught his cousin moving and allowed it, for now, as he took a swing at Aoede instead. Aiming for the face while he sucked in a breath as his cousin hit him in the side. The gasping sound he’d let out as flesh struck flesh and he could feel it, harder than he’d expected, but he knew he could hit harder. It wasn’t because he was generally stronger but it was the boost from being a general.
For a moment he pressed his hand to his side, instinct perhaps, before turning on Lorcan fully and kicking out with one leg of his.
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:14 pm
Aoede pulled her arms up as quickly as she could when they swung at her and it sent her back a step or two. She forgot about the boost agents got even though Beni wasn’t much bigger than she was. Righting herself, she circled towards their other side. “I’m sure I could find a decent enough explanation for them.” She’d keep Liam close and make sure they were ok if something happened. She’d need an accountant and she still preferred them over her brother.
Shooting a glance at Stichtite she waited just long enough for them to pull the muffs up before she pulled her hands in and cast out her new magic.
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Stichtite felt his hit connect and already started moving to swing again as his cousin kicked out at him. He tried stepping back but not quickly enough and ended up stumbling back, nearly falling. Noticing the look Aoede gave him though, he managed to pull the muffs up to cover his ears as he shuffled back and regained his balance.
Even with them on, the explosion of sound still got through. “Jesus.” Shaking it off, he kicked out at Benitoite, taking advantage of the height he had. His opinion of her wasn’t very good but at least she had some sense to try disabling her opponent. She really seemed heartless, to not only wish her brother dead but to sweep their partner under the rug after the fact as well. The scary part was that she wanted into his family, the Evans family.
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:15 pm
It seemed like he was going to get a breather, enough room to move and strike back at either of them, rather than defending himself, but that wasn’t the case as a blast of loud noise filled the air. Staggering his hands flew up to cover his ears and he closed his eyes. “********.” That was loud, far too loud, he knew it was going to happen at some point but damn it he didn’t like it. The pills he’d brought would no doubt be needed.
His cousin kicking at him sent him to the ground, as his hands did not leave his hands in time to try and catch himself, he landed and had to pull himself up slowly. If this was a knight and a senshi he’d be going right for his weapon but they were neither thing, so he didn’t summon it, instead he teleported.
Away from them both he staggered as he landed on his feet behind them. That noise was still bad - so loud and enough to leave his vision seemingly to swim a bit. But he could manage, because he’d learned to deal with injuries and unpleasantness and still fight on. Taking a moment to focus himself the ashen blond rushed in on the two of them, ignoring Aoede for the moment, as he dropped down into a sweep aiming to take his cousin down as quickly as he could. If nothing else he considered him, though the lowest in rank, to be the bigger risk here. The other had him in height and weight where as Melody had neither of those things.
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:15 pm
At least her ears weren’t ringing this time, that was a plus. The problem was Beni teleporting, she bristled and stepped forward towards where they had been because she knew he’d go after them both from the back. An idea started to brew though, that she could maybe use her scarf to try and wrap them up with the other’s help. Could she teleport now? Was that something she had read as a possibility now?
Watching as they struck out against Stichtite, she took her chance to teleport behind them and wrap her scarf around their chest to try and bind them up. It was clumsy but she pulled them back with her scarf as best she could so Stichtite could get up. “Help please when you can?”
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And like that his cousin was gone, that oppressive aura appearing behind him after a second more. There wasn’t enough time to react and he went down on his knee as one of his legs was swept out from beneath him. He’d be feeling that at work for the week, if not a bit longer. Taking the momentum he had, he threw the ring of keys behind him towards where he figured his cousin’s face was until he noticed that the senshi had blinked away as well for a moment. <******** magic.
Grunting as he pushed himself up, he heard Aoede’s voice calling for help. Looking over his shoulder, he saw them trying to wrap up his cousin with a scarf. Okay, so he could appreciate her methods. That was a pretty smart idea to make up for her lack of fighting skills.
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:16 pm
Chuckling as he stayed where he was, bound in a scarf, he looked back towards the corrupt senshi. “You did forget I can teleport…didn’t you?” Even though she had as well he knew she would be limited far more than he was, she’d feel it soon. The drain on one's magic and strength it wore on a person, especially someone new to it. He never used teleporting to escape a fight or avoid attacks but rather to reposition himself so he could attack from a better place. He used it in an offensive rather than defensive manner, unlike some, it was his preference when it came to the skill and its use.
Now then, how to use her scarf against her. Because really he had no intentions of remaining like this for long, even if it was a good use for the fabric. It at least meant she wouldn’t get strangled with it, it was also something others might not expect. He’d praise her for it later, because this deserved it.
Ducking the damn keys, which still pinged him in the head, he glared up at his cousin. “Those keys are very cute cousin…almost like a childs, pretty sure we have little cousins with those.” Why not work his cousin up a bit while he was at it? He knew he’d get something better soon - they all did. But damn it if it wasn’t like a more mature version of a child's teething ring.
“Did you have one like that Aoede?” Turning to look over his shoulder at her. Yup, he was aiming for them both tonight. “Or maybe you did and your brother took it from you? Is that why you want to bury him six feet under? I’d offer some help, I rather like killing, but I’d rather see your brother back to what he once was. It was rather impressive.” Musing as he hoped he could at least get one of them riled up, likely Aoede more than Lorcan, his cousin would be harder to work up. Though he might just enjoy that far more.
Finally he had an idea. Seeing as Lorcan hadn’t yet decided to lend a helping hand, though he would likely soon, Benitoite decided she was close enough to him that he could reach back and wrap his hands about her ankles to hold her in place while he stood up and tried to heft her onto his back. She was holding onto him and he was holding onto her after all. He had to be able to lift her - right? And then he could just swing her…or well he could turn and that would mean he’d be swinging her. Well, he’d find out in a moment as he did just what he was thinking of doing - he spun.
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:18 pm
No she hadn’t forgotten but she figured if she was touching him he couldn’t get too far. Pulling the scarf tighter as she tried to get a better hold of them, she hesitated as they mentioned her brother. Her skin prickled as a look of disgust spread across her face. Digging her nails into his face as he picked her up, she went for blood and forgot all about the scarf for the moment as she struggled to break free while doing damage. “He deserves to be six feet under, it’d be a better place for him” And she deserved more access to the money if she was already running all the things she had been running since he’d dumped it all on her.
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Oh that was… something to see. Stepping back and willing the keyring back to his hand, he made a bit of distance between himself and the pair. His cousin really knew how to piss people off it seemed, at least for this senshi. Grabbing the scarf, he moved in and worked to try and slide it over and between the two to immobilize his cousin just as she had. With a bit more focus and speed, he worked the scarf into a tight knot around their arms and kicked them in the knee to try and down them.
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:18 pm
Lucky for his cousin, but not so much for Aoede, he did go down. Toppling onto his side with Aoede on his back, he brought her down as well. “If you were a normal senshi I’d have bitten your fingers off.” Wriggling he rolled and made sure to roll her under himself as he laid on top of her like a turtle stuck on his back. But it also meant he could wriggle around on top of Aoede who was stuck under himself and against the ground. “This is a rather interesting position.” Staring up at his cousin.
“Was this because I called your keys toys best suited for teething toddlers?” Smirking up at the other, he was still aiming to rile people up, it did keep most people from thinking properly. As he wriggled he tried to dig in whatever, and wherever, he could in order to make this really unpleasant and perhaps painful for Aoede who was under him.
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:19 pm
The comments rolled off him as he sighed and grabbed his cousin by the tight scarf that he’d tied around them. Lifting them like a sack of potatoes as he worked Aoede free from them, letting her fall freely to the ground. Once that was done he moved over one of the chairs and slid his cousin down onto it, moving the back of the chair between the scarf and their back so they would be stuck there as he pulled everything tighter until he could hear the wood creaking from the strain of things. “Okay, that’s enough for now. I have some ideas on where to improve already but we both know that the keys weren’t something I chose.” Speaking like an adult scolding their child he frowned down at his cousin before moving back over to the downed senshi. Finally pulling the shooting muffs down as the magic had subsided.
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Wiggling as best she could to break free, the whole room shifted as she went down to the ground with Beni. She tried getting out from underneath him but he was too heavy and kept squishing her as they wriggled. “Get him off me.” Looking up at Stichtite when she managed to peek her head out from under the smaller blond.
Luckily not long after, she was freed and fell to the floor unceremoniously. Making a small little hurt groan, she scrambled up as the other got Beni tied to a chair. She was glad that the scarf had worked out, she’d have to remember that in the future.
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:21 pm
“No, you didn’t. I do wonder which would win…your keys or my old paint brush.” He stated, not at all pleased with where he was at the moment. He gave a tug and a pull, seeing if he couldn’t get free. He was willing to even break the damn chair if he must. It wasn’t something he’d worry a bit about, it was just a simple wooden chair.
“Though I suppose I should also say that I hope you’ve both learned something from this. One, use that scarf don’t let them use it against you. And expect dirty play, I don’t play fair nor will they. Expect anything and everything to be turned against you - so long as the one you're facing isn’t a complete moron.” Because how many would just piggy back you and then do as he’d done when they fell over? He’d turned the situation to his favor as best he could. If not for his cousin he’d have kept Aoede down under him for a good while.
“Now, let me up cousin and we can continue if you both want.”
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:21 pm
“I can see that and I have a few less-than-conventional ideas on how to use these keys. They may not be sharp but I expect they would work quite well against one’s teeth.” He’d just have to punch hard enough without hurting himself in the process.
Pulling up a chair, he sat and faced his cousin as they struggled. “I think I am alright for the day, I need to avoid you getting me in the legs again otherwise I’ll be limping at my clinic and I would like to avoid rumors starting.” Rolling his eyes as he pulled the end of the scarf, it came free with a bit of effort and slid to the floor. He handed it back to Aoede as he did a quick once over to see if she was fine after getting crushed under his cousin.
“I know that in a fight there aren’t any breaks but to be fair I don’t intend on jumping into things like you do either. I’m here to work as a medic, anything other than that comes at my own pace without interfering with my priorities.” His skills would be appreciated here just as much as they were during the daytime.
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Taking up another seat, she took back her scarf and wrapped it back around herself. “I think I would like a break too to be honest.” Leaning back in the chair she looked at them both. “So you’re a doctor like Arseno, that’s good.” And especially if they were related to Beni and single. It would be a nice way to slide into things if she could play nice though it would be hard to swing things after the looks they had both given her over Aloysius. She had her reasons, though things had changed a bit. She still didn’t like him but she would play nice when it mattered, especially around Liam. She didn’t care about how she made her brother feel but she didn’t want to push Liam away either. Having an accountant, and a loyal one at that, was something she needed to keep a handle on.
“So how’d it feel? This was the first time my own ears didn’t ring when I used my magic. Seems like everything turned out well with our excursion.” She’d had her magic stabilized as well as a promotion given to her. It felt a lot more real now, there weren’t as many doubts about things now that she knew there was one less thing that could hit her back.
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