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 Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2024 9:07 pm
Evening was probably her favorite time of day during the summer. The hour or so just before the sun fully dipped below the horizon wasn’t particularly hot anymore, there was usually plenty of shade no matter where you were, and the sky gradually shifted into those pretty sunset hues. Mel was often out for a walk with Lulu at this time, though today they weren’t alone. It was a pleasant surprise to hear from Aiden, actually, and she invited him to join her before she realized. It’d been a while since they last spoke–probably the end of the school year, if she had to guess?
“It’s weird to think that we’re already a month into summer,” she laughed lightly. “It doesn’t feel like I’ve done anything productive at all.”
At least as far as work was concerned. Her Knight life, along with other aspects of her life that she’d been actively avoiding in order to try and regain a bit of perspective, had been plenty eventful. But work felt very routine at this point; various things about her job were still interesting, sure, but the day-to-day of it was something she’d gotten so used to. “Is this all there is to it?” had been crossing her mind more and more often in recent weeks. Not that she was contemplating a complete career change, but she did wonder sometimes if she could be doing something more.
Though that’s probably why she was in grad school. So she could eventually find what that something is.
Turning her thoughts back to the present, she glanced up at her friend. "What about you? How’s the summer been?”
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Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2024 3:26 pm
“Busy,” Aiden was happy to report, cracking a smile. “I thought I’d try to get ahead and take an extra class over the summer, so I’ve got that going on. But I guess it’s my extracurriculars that are taking up most of my attention.”
He wasn't exactly sure how to categorize ‘fighting evil and hunting monsters’ but he wasn’t sure that she was going to analyze the answer. Mel might have already known about his affinity for robotics given the course load they’d already talked about so there was plenty to fall back on if she decided to start asking questions. He figured he could probably avoid any risky subject material by just diving into some of his other hobbies, anyway.
“I crashed my bike a few weeks ago, that was kind of disappointing. I’m fine. The bike’s–well, it’s okay. It’ll be good as new by next week but I’m waiting for a part to come in the mail. It was my fault, I was pushing it too hard. I knew better. But, you know. Live and move on.” He shrugged; he’d crashed bikes before so this wasn’t anything new. “You don’t have to be productive during the summer, though. You work hard enough when the school year’s on. You can just rest and recharge, you know. Take it easy, enjoy the city. There’s plenty to do. Have you managed anything fun at least?”
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Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2024 12:30 am
Her expression ran the gamut as Aiden went over the events, so far, of his Summer. From glad because he looked happy to be busy, to horrified and concerned because of the crash, to relieved because he said he was fine, to slightly concerned because his bike was now under repairs. Considering his love for the sport, she imagined it meant a lot to him.
“I mean, yeah, live and move on, but also learn. Maybe try not to push too hard next time.” There was worry there more than anything else. Not that she wanted to get in the way of his fun, but she hated the idea of her friends getting hurt for any reason, particularly if the reason was an avoidable one. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re okay.” The smile she gave was small but genuine. She wasn’t usually the lecturing type; hopefully he wouldn’t mind too much that she offered her two cents on it without being asked.
Going back to her unproductive summer stripped her smile away somewhat, and she glanced down and fidgeted with the leash in her hands. “I know, but I can’t help it. The last thing I wanna do is fall into one of my funks, so I try to keep busy, too.” In that sense, it was nice that she had other responsibilities outside of just school and work now, so she never had too much downtime.
“As for fun…” She didn’t consider a lot of her knightly activities in recent weeks fun, so she shook her head. “I’ve met a lot of new people and made some new friends, so I guess it’s been nice, but I don’t know about fun.” Parsing words, maybe, but it was honest. “I have a few days off coming up, though, so maybe I’ll try the rest and recharge thing for once. I could visit a theme park, maybe, or just spend a lazy day by the pool or at the beach.”
Glancing up at him again, she smirked. “If you’re free, you can tag along if any of those sound fun to you.”
Kyuseisha no Hikari I can bring in the youma in another post or two if that works for you. c:
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Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2024 11:44 am
Aiden groaned a bit, obviously teasing, when she suggested he try not to push too hard next time.
He would try! Probably. It depended on the circumstances.
Had he learned his lesson? A little. But maybe next time he could control things a bit better, and–
He shook his head; he’d have time to daydream later.
“I haven’t been to the reservoir in a while, I’d like to see what they’re doing. I mean, I know it’s not the beach, but it’s a much shorter drive time. I could use some sun, though. Hit me up if you’re heading out there, I can make time for that.”
He hadn’t had the chance to get out of town in a while, and while he’d grown to love the bustling city, he still missed being able to just disappear into nature.
“Besides, someone should hold you to it when you say you’ll take a lazy day. I’d be happy to volunteer."
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Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2024 9:19 pm
She giggled at the groan, and was relieved to see that he wasn’t upset about the advice.
Lulu was sniffing around a peculiar stone on the path they were walking on, so Mel stopped walking for a moment while she considered the suggestion for the reservoir. It was a good one. The reservoir was nearby so no long drives or any extra expenses for traveling of any kind, and it was easy to get home if there was some kind of emergency at work…
Mel blinked at the thought, and then quickly shook her head.
“Yeah, I could do the reservoir!” she said, probably louder than she needed to. She was determined, after the thought about bailing on her day off–and they were already few and far between–to tend to a work emergency, to take a lazy day. “If you came to keep me in check, maybe guard my cell so no one from work decides to call me in or something, that’d be great.”
She smiled up at him before continuing. “My first day off is the Monday after next. Think you’ll be free?”
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Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2024 6:25 pm
Aiden slowed when Mel and Lulu did, but judging by the way he planted his hands on his hips, it was clear that he was putting in a great amount of effort to stop himself from bending over to pet the dog. He was grinning at Mel’s enthusiasm and nodded approvingly.
“I’ll be free for that. And I’ll be happy to guard your phone and keep you safe from any coworkers.”
Aiden always appreciated the dipping temperature once the sun went down; summer was rough this year, but there was a nice breeze carrying through. It tousled his hair and danced through the trees.
He didn’t think it was responsible for the rustling in the bushes. He might have missed it if he wasn’t always on high alert; one of his patrol routes wasn’t too far from here, and while it wasn’t the worst place for youma to show up, he’d had his fair share of run ins with Negaverse pawns.
Still, it seemed too early for anything to show up looking for too much trouble.
He kept his eyes on the shadows anyway and did his best to be nonchalant.
“The weather’s supposed to be good next week. I think they’ve got food trucks out there on Monday, too. If you can keep yourself from thinking about work, I’ll treat you to lunch there, too. But if you slip up, the bill’s on you,” he teased. Aiden rarely made bets and cashed out on a win, so it was probably safe to assume he’d foot the bill no matter what.
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Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2024 7:20 pm
Mel raised her brows and made a little ‘o’ with her mouth when Aiden offered lunch if she focused on just relaxing for a day. “You’re on!” she grinned, determined to make the most of that day. For the first time in a while she was actually looking forward to something that was unrelated to her being Ekstrom. Not that she didn’t love that part of her life, because it was so much fun (when her life wasn’t at risk) and there was so much to learn of that world still, but she had a life outside of it, too. Being excited for something as just her, as Mel...
“Thanks,” she started to say, and then she saw it.
A shape flickered in the shadow of the bushes just behind Aiden. She tensed immediately. She could have sworn it was the wind that was making that rustling sound, but maybe not. Mel did her best to look calm and keep the smile on her face, though how convincing that was she wasn’t sure. Lulu, at least, sensed a change in her mood and wandered back to her side, and they started walking again.
“Mm…” she was trying to think of some way to excuse herself so she could look into it when a scream suddenly cut through the air. A horrendous gurgling roar followed next, and when Mel turned around there it was–an oil-slick looking creature had slinked out from behind the bushes they just passed. It was going for the playground, where a child was frozen on the ground, staring right at it.
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2024 5:36 pm
Aiden knew something was wrong immediately. It wasn’t just the way Mel tensed, but something in the air shifted, too. It could have been his imagination but he liked to think he had good instinct.
Dogs usually had better instinct, and something seemed a little bit off even before the scream.
Aiden didn’t know what Mel had seen, or what made Lulu so anxious, but as soon as the shriek pierced the air, he spun to face it.
A youma, probably. He couldn’t think of anything else that could look like that.
If he’d been alone, he’d have powered up right there. He trusted Mel! But he didn’t want her to get involved in this. She probably wasn’t with the Negaverse; he couldn’t imagine her trying to hurt anyone.
…And she looked way too spooked by that thing.
“Hey, you should get out of here. Get Lulu somewhere safe,” he said. He had enough time to give her shoulder a little squeeze before he was bolting towards the creature. Maybe he could distract it for long enough for Mel to leave, and when she was gone he could power up and actually take care of it.
He didn’t have a plan right now, but he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing–especially not when there was a terrified kid already in danger. Aiden grabbed a fallen tree branch; it wasn’t anything substantial, barely more than a switch, and he hurled it at the thing, hoping to at least buy a few seconds for everyone else to get away.
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2024 8:33 pm
She managed a small smile when he squeezed her shoulder and watched him bolt off in the direction of the youma. She would have said something, tried to convince him not to go, if she thought she had any time to explain why he didn’t have to.
As soon as he was gone she picked up Lulu and bolted to the nearest cluster of trees and brush that looked like it was big enough to fully hide her and jumped in. Setting down her pup, she tied her leash around a nearby trunk and gave her a quick kiss on the head before powering up and heading out. Not that she needed it to know that it was a youma, but the aura was unmistakable.
They always felt so…gross.
Panicked civilians were running from the youma, which now had a branch sticking out of it. Aiden was the only one running toward it. A quiet worry crept up on her but she ignored it for the moment, forcing herself to focus on what needed to be done. She would find a way to protect him, and everyone else here, if she had to.
“Get the kid to safety!” she called out, holding her shield as she eyeballed the distance between her and the youma. It was still heading straight for the child, but it wasn’t lightning fast. If she could stop it in its tracks, maybe…
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Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2024 8:41 pm
There were too many people here. No one had cameras, no phones out. Maybe the news would report this as some teenagers playing a prank or something, but that would only work if no one got hurt. Aiden didn’t want to be seen here, didn’t want to be associated with youma. Or–
Oh, another Knight was already here? How had she gotten here so quickly?
Aiden let instinct take over.
Get the kid to safety made a lot more sense than ‘try to fight a youma’, and it would be more intimidated by a Squire than some guy with a stick.
He stopped trying to distract the youma and bolted towards the kid. He was fast enough to hook his arms around the kid and run across the playground. “Hey,” he said, “You gotta run, okay?” The child didn’t seem like they understood but how could anyone who wasn’t used to this? The kid’s feet were on the ground, and Aiden gave a little push. It was enough. The kid took off. A woman in the distance seemed like she recognized the kid and they ran towards each other.
Aiden didn’t stick around. With everyone scattering, it gave him a chance to bolt into the trees and power up. He’d never really timed how long it took to go from Aiden to Belmont, but he felt his weapon in his hand and felt the energy signature of a Squire so he figured that had to be good enough. He ran towards her but by now she was still between him and the youma.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked.
He hadn’t seen Mel anywhere so he hoped she’d gotten away, but he’d have to go looking or text her just to make sure.
…Hopefully this youma went down easy.
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Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2024 11:15 pm
Another gurgling roar erupted from the creature at the sight of its target getting whisked away to safety. Ekstrom gave a smirk of satisfaction but was still at a loss on how to fight the thing. It looked confused for the moment, and then quickly set its eyes–or the empty black holes that probably served as its eyes–on her.
She felt the energy signature of another Squire pop up nearby, which bolstered her some. Two was always better than one, after all, and when he joined her she glanced in his direction with a grateful smile.
“Mhmm. It’s slow, mentally and physically, so we have some time to figure out how to get rid of it.” She nodded toward it before continuing. “There’s a stick or something sticking out of it, so I feel like it’ll just absorb any physical hits the way tar slowly sucks in whatever falls into it. I’m not sure what I’ll be able to do to it, but I can at least keep people from wanting to get closer.”
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Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2024 4:00 pm
Belmont nodded but he wasn’t sure she could see. He hadn’t taken his eyes off the youma just in case it had some hidden abilities up its metaphorical sleeve. That stick looked pretty firmly stuck and he suspected their weapons might not fare much better if they went into this with a brutish mentality.
He didn’t want to risk using his weapon and losing it in that goop unless it was the only option they had.
“What type of magic do you have? I don’t recognize your symbols,” he said apologetically. “I’m Belmont. Of Jupiter. I can hit it with a storm, I don’t know if wind and rain can do much damage to it but I’m willing to try.”
It was just a youma, they weren’t invulnerable. There had to be some way to dust it.
…And if they needed to go back to bashing it with sticks, at least they were in a park full of them.
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Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2024 8:10 pm
”Ekstrom of Mercury,” she said, eyes now fixed on the youma as it took its sweet old time making its way over. She certainly wasn’t going to complain about that; the slower it was, the more they could plan out exactly how to dust it.
“My magic’s static related, I think?” It was still pretty new to her so she wasn’t too sure how to describe it, though she doubted he cared about the specific details right now and just continued. “It’s a forcefield. It could potentially make someone stop moving for a few seconds if they touch it. I don’t think we really need it for the youma but it could keep curious civilians from getting too close while we get rid of it.”
The squire was mid-thought in wondering how they could possibly do that when it suddenly roared again. She took her eyes off for one second to glance over and see Belmont had for a weapon if he could call storms with it, and when she looked back she saw two civilians sprinting over, hurling rocks and things. Properly pissing off the youma, as it were.
Worry marred her expression, and all manner of worst case scenarios zoomed through her mind, but she did her best to focus. She still wasn’t great with stress, and she felt her confidence dwindling by the second as the civilians got closer, but this wasn’t exactly small stakes. She couldn’t afford to shrink into herself now. It helped that Belmont was there, to know that she wasn’t alone and didn’t have to figure out how to do this on her own.
“Looks like we’re outta time. Your storm’s probably our best bet at getting rid of it. Wait for my forcefield, though? If you go too soon some of your magic might not get through.”
She pulled her focus as she ran toward the youma, stopping several feet away before she held her shield out and started to focus on channeling her magic. A forcefield materialized from her shield, quickly expanding and ultimately enclosing the three of them but stopping several feet ahead of the civilians. It brought them to a halt, thankfully. Hopefully for long enough that they could dust the youma and be gone before her magic ran out.
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Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2024 3:37 pm
Well, at least those civilians were doing their best. They didn’t stand much of a chance against the youma, but Belmont had to admire the fact that they were trying. They needed to get out of here, though. He didn’t know if this youma had an Agent nearby, and he didn’t know what the Negaverse would do if they thought youma reports were getting out of hand.
Ekstrom made the first move and she had a good plan. Belmont followed close and waited until she’d begun channeling her magic to tap into his own.
“Hold on,” he warned. He drew his weapon back and hit the ground with his flail. Immediately, the sound of thunder rumbled, and winds aggressively picked up to whip around the three of them. His hair and Ekstrom’s were tousled by it, but they were spared the chill and wetness of the rain that seemed to fall only on the youma. The winds grew in strength, like a mighty tornado, but it felt like a simple gust for the two Squires.
The youma was less fortunate, and water and wind violently assaulted it. He couldn’t tell if the magic alone was doing enough, but while he had the chance he drew his flail back and struck at the youma. He had half a minute of magic; he was going to make every last second count.
Quote: Squire Magic: When channeling, the metal ball at the end of his weapon must strike any surface (such as the ground, a wall, or a target). When it makes contact, a fierce storm erupts in a six foot radius around him. Wind and rain buffet all of those in the area, excluding himself and allies. The wind is strong enough to knock people off balance and the rain is cold and can make it difficult to see. The sound of faint thunder can be heard. The effects exist only within the stationary radius however players can choose to remain wet for some time after the magic ends.
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Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2024 10:07 pm
Ekstrom braced herself at Belmont’s warning, and watched in quiet fascination as a raging storm beat and battered against the youma. She held onto her hat because a gust had kicked in, but that was the extent of what she felt of his storm.
The youma’s gurgling cry rang out amidst the wind and the rain, and while it continued to try and move toward them it seemed to be having a much more difficult time. Perhaps her eyes were deceiving her, but it looked to be getting shorter, gradually, as it approached. The Squire flickered her eyes to the ground beneath it and saw that it was leaving more and more residue where it…walked? Glided?
It moved like a snail, so whatever that movement was.
As if to try and make itself larger and more intimidating now that it was close enough, it opened its great mouth and poised to attack when Belmont swung his flail. With the sound like a wave crashing on the rocks, his flail cut through its main body and it immediately went silent. The youma was frozen in time for all of a second, before its body, now severed in two, went to dust, and the storm made quick work of its remains.
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