TRP is a post-Great War AU RWBY RP set in Mistral City and Haven Academy with no canons, no rank claims, no maidens, and no god interference. We offer a progression system and site-wide events that change the setting based on player actions.
Post by Arrats Calanthe on Nov 1, 2019 4:55:13 GMT -5
Peaceful, Forested Ground.
Arrats had been to the forest before, once. It was peaceful then with nary an animal around. Now however it was much akin to the battlefield his father once drew. Creatures stalked the woods, making anyone unlucky enough to find them their prey. Within this miasma of horror it seemed he’d found his way to a peaceful place. If only it could stay this way. That was the thought that occupied Arrats as he perched himself on a sturdy branch. Getting up here was difficult as he’d only a few hours ago left behind the tree he’d aimed for with his backpack in tow. The three vials of Fire dust safely loaded into the Black Dandelion’s chamber. Regardless he’d managed to push himself up to this sturdy branch as a way of maintaining a protective position should any Grimm show up. Which they’d get to do. Good for him as it gave him a moment to pause and observe the forest as he did when sketching. He couldn’t see many people. That wasn’t good for him. As an orchid- which was a great flower to be named after frankly. Although he would’ve liked to be named after something more interesting Orchids were very pretty- he needed to find people to talk to. Five pieces of information were needed. They didn’t need to be from different people but they certainly needed to be unique otherwise they wouldn’t be counted. Annoyingly enough. He couldn’t just copy specific measurements, leaving him with the option of actually interacting. That wasn’t his strong suit. He could barely muster a hello when he was first introduced. Now he could talk but he sounded so odd most people just kept away from him. That suited him well during his schooling years but now it wasn’t an option. It hurt him to even admit he needed the help socially but that’s what he needed. The purple haired boy sighed atop his wooden perch. Wherever would he find this information?
It wasn’t as if it’d just fall into his lap. That’d be ridiculous. Arrats sat in thought again. He wished his notebook had more pages otherwise he’d write some of his thoughts down. He sat quietly until a rather loud noise alerted him. It sounded rather like a pig or perhaps a boar. Then again it could also be Grimm. And where Grimm was, he hoped to find a student. One of his peers. If possible he’d attempt to help them out and then extract information from them that way. He’d hate to have to get it by begging. It’d make him feel lower than he already did. Whatever that noise happened to actually be though. He’d go and find out. Dropping down from his perch with his backpack ready and his Dandelion held outwards. Twisting the wrist is a fundamental property of fencing or so his sister had said. So he’d practice going from Six, to cárte at a moments notice. Though that had caused him his fair share of wrist problems it would most likely help him fighting out in this battlefield for the day he was to be here. The noise was still around though. Which meant something was definitely up. With a slight grimace he began to sneak through the undergrowth. Sword gripped tightly in his left hand. He wasn’t entirely sure what this noise was and after going up against Grimm before he disliked the experience. Far too messy a fight. Easy enough with the small ones, the big ones though. He didn’t know what to do against them. His sword mightn’t Pierce their body. He hoped for his sake the academy hadn’t released any massive beasts within the forest. Especially if any other students were in other places. He wouldn’t have backup against the Grimm. Which was a worse fear of his. Still. He had his goal. Information and if it had to be picked from the body of a Grimm then so be it.
Post by Lily Finnian on Nov 4, 2019 18:05:29 GMT -5
Hunting had always been a chore for Lily, a necessity that she had never been entirely fond of. The first time she'd been made to kill, she had cried for days about the innocent bunny she'd robbed of life. Each successive kill was a little easier, but she never felt truly good about it. If she'd had more time, she could have foraged for food, but this wood was dangerous, and the more time spent on the ground the more danger she was in.
She had been tracking the boar since it had set off her alarm. The tracks had been easy to follow, and the disturbance in the leaves and other forest debris on the ground made it clear the boar was terrified when it fled. She felt bad for this as well, but not bad enough to let it escape with its life in tact. She had taken to the trees to track it, and had found it not too far away, exhausted and panting after it's mad dash to what it perceived to be safety. Another pang of guilt entered her chest as she leveled her blades. She aimed for the base of it's neck, but the slight hiss of her blades was enough to alert the boar to danger, and it attempted to dodge.
It was in some sense successful, and in another it had horrifically failed. The boar had moved, shifting what should have been instant death into agony as it squealed and writhed, trying to escape the prongs embedded in it's back and flank. It wailed for a while, and Lily could feel her heart breaking for it. All she could do now was give it an end to the suffering she had inflicted upon it. She leaped from her position in the trees and embedded her free claw in the base of its neck, silencing the pained squealing and leaving her alone in a forest that had all but gone quiet in response to the boar's shrieking.
She withdrew her claws, and knelt next to the boar. She pet it's head, and watched as the last light fled from it's eyes.
"I am sorry it has come to this, you did not deserve death at the hands of someone like me, but even the weak need to eat. Please forgive me."
She continued petting the head for a while, it was warm, the fur coarse. It would be some time before the cold and stiffness would set in, for now she was able to pretend that the beast was sleeping, and the world didn't revolve around death when all was said and done. She pet it until she realized her hand was sticky with blood, and only then did she stop to inspect her kill. Her heart sank when she realized the boar was a female, it's belly swollen with milk. She understood immediately that she had snuffed out more than one life with this kill, and resolved to not let it go to waste.
She stood, shot her claws out, and began wrapping the expended wire around the boar. The razor wire cut into the flesh as she pulled it taut, but she could wash the dirt from the meat once she got back to her camp and began cleaning the kill. She began dragging the body, at first her arms were pushed forward, and she was leaning into them to pull the boar behind her, but as her journey back to camp dragged on, the muscles in her arms gradually began to ache until she could hold them up no more, and the fell limp at her side. From there she could only rely on the strength of her legs to move forward, her arms pulled behind her and threatening to pull her shoulders out of socket as she labored to pull the overgrown pig behind her.
Post by Arrats Calanthe on Nov 4, 2019 19:39:46 GMT -5
Screaming? No. That most certainly wasn’t a human noise Arrats heard. He’d resolved to keep himself silent. At least until he was absolutely sure he wouldn’t be in danger if he made excessive noise. Though, it seemed that whatever noise that it was- Squealing? No, perhaps wailing would be the best term- was soon silenced, which led him to believe either someone had injured themselves and had quickly kept themselves silent to not reveal their position. A solid idea certainly. Or that was an animal that someone had killed. Or perhaps a Grimm. Though he’d never heard a Grimm wail in pain like that. Perhaps a species he’d not been told about? He wouldn’t put it past the academy to do something like that. Slinking around in the jungle wasn’t exactly his style but to track this noise in some sort of hunting capacity he’d need to keep himself silent. Tracking noises was hard for him. After an incident with his Dandelion going off close to his ears he’d lost a little of his hearing. Still, he was essentially operating at a decent level.
Ah. There it was. Whatever sound he’d heard it must’ve come from what he saw ahead of him. An animal, presumably a pig or perhaps another porcine animal that he didn’t know seemed to be being pulled along by a student. It was dead, that much was clear. Messily done but certainly fatal. He’d have to applaud that. Hunting like that didn’t exactly trouble him. If an animal was weak enough to be caught it would die. Simple. Still. Whatever happened to it had not exactly been instant that much he could tell from observing. Though. Whoever this student happened to be though was having a little trouble moving the large creature. Well. Assistance could provide information and he was nothing if not courteous especially with such an endeavour. To quote his father when they were still in the wilderness: “We have to eat and helping others eat will help us eat in turn.” Though, with how he would have to appear he would have to take measures not to shock this student by appearing out of nowhere as he was prone to do back in combat school. He took his sword and put it back into its position in his hand, not holding it ready but keeping it in his hand just in case. He must’ve looked like quite the oddball. A man with purple hair and a purple suit carrying a sword in a jungle. From an outside perspective he must’ve been the most ridiculous person in this jungle. Regardless, he stepped forward into the open area. No hiding for him now.
He coughed to assert his presence to the other student. Hopefully his appearance wouldn’t scare this new person off. “Ah, hello. Do you need some assistance with that?” Arrats pointed to the boar this student appeared to be lugging somewhere. For what purpose, he didn’t know. Probably for food. Considering the nature of the expedition they appeared to be on. Maybe a camp or some such, he’d be doing the same in a few hours. After all they were stuck here for a night and he’d have to stick around with someone if he wanted to pass. Which while annoying might give him a chance to talk to other students. Though, given the silence in the forest and his sudden appearance he might need to add on to his introduction. “Oh uh, I’m Arrats. I’m another student here and I'm guessing you are too. “ The Forest again was still silent, presumably due to the killing of that animal this student was attempting to bring somewhere. Rather than commenting again he waited for this new student to reply whether in a hostile or friendly manner. Though a good part of him expected a hostile reply considering the sword he carried and his sudden (albeit rather calm) Appearance. He could only hope that this person wasn’t the rash kind. (665/ 1328)
Post by Lily Finnian on Nov 5, 2019 13:49:17 GMT -5
Lily had heard the approach of the warrior before she had heard him cough to announce herself. Her heart had been racing and her stomach had sunk. If there were a potential threat engaging with her now, her weapon was all but useless. She had wound the wires tight around the boar to drag it, but in so doing had made it impossible to reel in quickly. She continued dragging, pretrending she hadn't taken notice, prepared to release the wire drums anchoring her weapon to her wrists, and the accompanying supports on her forearm. She hated the idea of abandoning her weapon, but she could carve a spear if needed and hunt down only weaker grimm to fulfil her dandelion mission requirements. She might even be able to make due with her survival knife against a weak enough beowolf, but didn't particularly like the idea of getting quite that close and personal with one.
While waiting for something, a pounce from the treeline or a sudden movement of some sort, she felt a rush of relief when instead she heard a cough, followed quickly by another flavor of anxiety and fear. He introduced himself as a student, and she breathed a small sigh of relief. Her ears, which had been alert and active, drooped into a slightly more relaxed, if cautious position as she turned to face the student with bulky purple armor and a nice dark shade of purple hair. She'd seen all sorts of interesting hair colors since coming to the city, but she had always been fond of purple. She could not fault him for his heavy use of the color scheme, but did think it was impractical for this particular mission. She eyed him a few more moments warily, before finally acknowledging his question with a response.
"I am. I will trade you some boar meat if you'd care to help me drag this thing back to my camp."
Her eyes darted around the nearby forest, her ears once again rising in alert, before settling down again. If this boy had been drawn to the sound, there was a chance that some nearby grimm may have been as well. The forest was still eerily silent, possibly because they were talking and she hadn't exactly been able to drag the boar quietly along the leaflined forest floor.
"The sooner the better," she said, feeling very vulnerable with her weapon so predisposed.
Post by Arrats Calanthe on Nov 5, 2019 17:50:40 GMT -5
An offer to assist the student with their efforts. For boar meat? Arrats supposed that’d be useful if he were to set up camp by himself. Though he would still need to find a way to invite someone to stay with him until the end. Though considering the time of day he could afford to flit around for more information or dig it out of people he’d already met. Now as for her offer. He nodded his agreement to the plan and moved closer to the boar. Hoping to find his purchase on the boar. “Oh but I’m sure you’ve noticed the band on my leg. I’m an orchid. So information is perhaps more important than meat to me. “ The pink band tightened on his leg was evidence of that. Though he wouldn’t turn down the offer Arrats needed her to pass along something or else this endeavour- at least when used as evidence he had completed his mission- would be absolutely worthless. As much as his sister and even his father when he was around reinforced the idea of making friends in this instance he could justify his reclusivity. If there was no information to be gained he’d stay out of the way. Unfortunately though he still had information to collect and the prying nature of this assignment made him slightly uncomfortable. Even so. For the sake of passing his tests he’d keep going. Perhaps passing conversation would keep his mind from straying off into the recesses and dark corridors of logical process. Arrats rapped his fingers along his sword hilt. What could he possibly say while he tried to find his purchase to move the animal along. “Your weapon. I assume it’s what is snaring this creature?” Eventually with a grunt he found a small area to take hold of. The wires wrapped around this creature would’ve been serrated and could cut him if he actually touched them. Given the amount of small and shallow cuts he’d already found himself on his arms, he didn’t need any more on his palms as well. His original statement was left without a finishing bit as he realised that awkward silence still pervaded the forest. “It’s very impressive, though I quite like the design of it. It must be good for capturing.”
He patted the sword that was currently held in a relaxed position within his hand. It was his pride and joy along with his sketching. Perhaps he should ask? No...given how that ended last time he shouldn’t...but. Well he couldn’t help himself It was such a curious weapon and he liked to be curious if he could. He hoped to bring it up normally but given how it happened before the chances are he’d have to blurt it out fast to avoid getting..well. Getting thrown into a ring then punched straight out of it. Well, he’d signed his own will in his mind he might as well get it over with. “Ah, excuse me. I don’t actually know your name but I was wondering if I could sketch your weapon?” He braced himself for an attack and prayed that something would save him. Though no attack came. So he had to at least add something. “I think your weapon is interesting and ah, I like to sketch things I don’t know.”
Post by Lily Finnian on Nov 6, 2019 16:12:13 GMT -5
When the boy offered the trade of helping her drag the boar back for information, Lily shook her head.
"If you want to progress toward completing your goal, you will have to offer an equally useful service to me." she had learned about the objectives of the orchids from Amelie earlier in the day, and had decided then and there that she would also attempt to fulfil those conditions. She knew deep down that she was much more deficient with other people than she was at hunting grim.
"To that end, I will accept your help with killing a grim, or with equally personal information. Although, don't you think treating it like a transaction kinda defeats the purpose of the exercise?"
He was absorbed in examining her weapon while she spoke, and considering he immediately began talking about said weapon. She wasn't sure if he'd even heard her or not, but she saw that as an opportunity to get him to come along. She did a quick sweep of the nearby area before unfastening her right gauntlet and tossing it his way.
"Help me get this thing back to where I'm going and I'll let you draw whatever you want."
She was anxious about the danger inherent in these woods, overriding her interpersonal anxiety to some extent.
"P-Please just hurry, we're sitting ducks out here." she implored as she rubbed her recently freed right wrist. She'd been constantly wearing her claws since the trial wood had begun and it was nice to feel air on her skin again. It was a small pleasure that she could not enjoy, as the stress and danger were taking their toll on her mental state.
How were so many students this carefree out here? Did they not understand that their lives were on the line? That failure could never be an option? She felt a sinking feeling in her chest at the thought of what failure had cost her, but pushed it down deep into some small recess of her soul where it wouldn't bother her for a while.
She was incredibly proud of her weapon, and was flattered that he thought it was worth drawing, but this was neither the time nor the place, and she didn't know how to properly express the urgency of the situation to this lackadaisical student. She was frustrated, but didn't want to press him too hard for fear of scaring him off. His help would be genuinely useful here, and he seemed nice enough so she didn't want to leave too terrible a first impression.
Post by Arrats Calanthe on Nov 6, 2019 17:23:03 GMT -5
Arrats did in fact hear what his newfound acquaintance had said. She mentioned an equally useful transaction. That he could understand and his opinion where before it was more a neutral blank slate had been slightly coloured by his impression that this one at least knew that they were given tasks and it’d go a lot smoother to simply process it. It was easier that way, though given the personal nature of exactly how this mission of his was he supposed it was to get him to ‘come out of his shell’ so to speak. A funny turn of phrase. He’d have to remember that one. It wasn’t as if he was a species that had a shell so it made him chuckle to think that he might’ve been using it. As for her offer Arrats considered it. It was about as useful as one point and he could most certainly spare the time. A single Grimm would be easily trounced by the two of them. Two against one, odds were most certainly in their favour if it was simply one. Though any more than three or four and he’d start getting worried. For the moment though that offer was perfectly reasonable. The purple haired boy ran a hand across his chin as he often did while in thought before nodding his agreement to the plan. “I’ll be happy to divulge or destroy whatever you wish for your information. It would certainly be fun to practice and giving my information would perhaps give me a better grasp on ...social situations if that is the proper term.” Once he heard the sound of something unfastening he looked up. A Gauntlet was being tossed his way, presumably one of hers. It was what he had wished to sketch. How kind of her. How motivating. He grabbed the Gauntlet and examined it quickly. Easy enough to attach and something she must’ve wanted for him to use. Slipping the gaunt on his arm so he wouldn’t drop it when performing his task. What a coincidence the the people he’d asked to sketch used their hands as weapons. It was certainly interesting, perhaps subconsciously he was interested in hand based weapons? How odd. Regardless, now he would begin to move this creature. His motivations were increased. Perhaps if he were in a video game he would’ve gained his stamina back or somesuch. Ignoring his own subconscious rambling he began the process of moving the boar fitting both his hand and the gauntlet now on it he began to drag it along. Admittedly the effort was exorbitant but he’d do it because he had been promised a sketch. He’d do anything for that, as it added to his knowledge.
His sister would be proud of his Faustian bargain. Knowledge for simply moving something? It was a done deal. “Acknowledged. I’ll begin moving this animal. Point me in a direction and I'll begin my advance.” Arrats waited for directions as he dragged the boar so he could move it. He couldn’t exactly put it on his shoulder but he could easily move it off the ground a couple of inches. “If you’d like to help, we can move this porcine prey in twice the time. “ Arrats considered again the possibility of moving the beast another way. Though it seemed that besides dragging it he wouldn’t wish to lift the thing as the thin edge of the wire would decimate both his suit and his hands to ribbons “Well then. These gauntlets or claws or whatever they might be seem effective enough to drag the creature along but I suppose I was never all that strong, so it might just be a placebo effect I’m feeling as of now.“ Whatever these things were actually called they seemed reminiscent of claws to him and so claws was what he’d call it until given something otherwise. After that little spout of dialogue. he happily moved back into position with the boar readying himself to drag the poor creature along with the weapon he now had. “Shall we get this animal back to...wherever?”
Post by Lily Finnian on Nov 8, 2019 16:41:49 GMT -5
Lily felt relief as the boy resolved to aid her, and no sooner had he asked which direction they were going Lily had begun dragging again. She gave her own length of wire a bit of slack as she moved, so her line would be slightly longer.
"We'll just go this way a while. Once we get a little closer we'll have to take a few turns to avoid my alarms."
She felt somewhat bemused as he deliberated on whether or not her weapons were guantlets or claws, and realized he hadn't yet seen them in their undeployed state.
"They're a little bit of both actually," she said, feeling a small moment of levity in the oppressive forest atmosphere. "Anyway, we've got a bit of a trek ahead of us, ten minutes or s-so." she said, feeling her confidence in speaking to somebody else flagging now that the urgency of getting moving had been addressed. With the pressure reducede somewhat, there was more room for her brain to process the social nature of working with someone out in the wilds, and she suddenly found herself preoccupied with the impression she was making. She still felt pretty bad about killing the boar in such an unclean fashion, and was sure'd heard her mistake as well. Since he'd gotten there she'd been pushy, commanding, and brusque. "W-we could chat some on the way, if you want I mean. I'm Lily. T-thanks for the help."
She was having a little more trouble than usual getting the words out, but had been making a concentrated effort to look back at him whenever she spoke. Having finished saying her piece, she turned her eyes forward, scanning the trees for any signs of danger to take her mind off of the boy at her side and the weight being dragged behind her. She felt like a coward as she avoided looking at him. It was not uncommon for her to feel like a coward, afterall, her semblance was one tailor made for running away and avoiding her problems. How could she not feel that way when the physical manifestation of the nature of her soul proved it as fact? That she was trying to become a huntress at all was a joke. She had no business trying to track her family down or stepping into the world. She heaved a heavy sigh as these all too familiar thoughts plagued her once again, and as per usual, at a terribly inconvenient time.
Post by Arrats Calanthe on Nov 8, 2019 17:43:56 GMT -5
“Perfect then, we shall traverse this area of verdant green. Our destination shouldn’t be far off given the amount of time you’ve allotted.” Arrats began to drag after his business partner did. The gauntlet left his other hand free to brandish his Dandelion and so brandish he did, carrying the monotone onyx blade with his right hand. Unfortunately it wasn’t the hand he usually used but that would be okay. He was decent enough that any ruffians that might happen upon this odd caravan would be shredded. Or at least, decently wounded.
The atmosphere of tense panic was lessened now and as Arrats noted the difference or rather the proposed combination of both within a single glove he took a moment to analyse the person he’d had the pleasure of forming an arrangement with. She was human it seemed, until he noted her ears. They were different. He couldn’t exactly put those as a genetic mutation they looked far too adapted to the person. Which would make her a Faunus. He wouldn’t ask of what type, not yet. Asking stuff like that ended in bad impressions. He resolved himself not to mention it as his eyes tracked the forest they were in. It was peaceful to a degree, much more peaceful than a few moments ago when the atmosphere was akin to some of those terrible horror movies. Now it was more peaceful but...slightly awkward. He was nervous but he always was. Something else was wrong. He didn’t realise what it was until he heard his business partner finally introduced herself. Lily. What a pleasant name. She stuttered. She was nervous around him? That almost never happened. Most people either stayed away from him preemptively. So it wasn’t often someone cared about how they came across towards him as the usual predisposition towards him was one of disparaging fake-happy. So that they could get away from him fast. Arrats resolved to make Lily feel a little less nervous. Usually simply talking made people less nervous. So he decided to speak up.
“Of course we can have a dialogue my hunting comrade, we are of the same kin after all. Both trapped in this deadly forest and both suffering for it. Lily was it? A pretty name that. You already know my name but I recognise it’s rather....odd. “ Arrats chuckled, he’d heard from his sister laughing was a good way to provoke conversation and if Lily wished to talk he’d certainly oblige. More chances for information and allies was a vital step in schooling. Or any information based job really. Now, as for questions. How to provoke a conversation. Social books he’d picked up before mentioned the introduction of a question of statement about your favourite subject or comic. “Ah, hmmm. Tell me, what is your favourite comic book? My favourite happens to be Judgement Seven.” From his reactions when he asked this question before it was usually a disparaging ‘huh?’ or an even more aggravating ‘ew’ so he hoped to some degree Lily was not as...perhaps prejudiced against comics as some people.
Post by Lily Finnian on Nov 9, 2019 16:33:22 GMT -5
Lily quietly trudged forward. Eyes on the path ahead. It was easier to listen when no participation was required, almost fun even, after a fashion. She kept a lookout for one of the familiar landmarks she'd picked out while setting alarms, but none jumped out at her just yet. Thankfully, no grimm jumped out at her either, the forest was mostly quiet, but the optimistic sound of birdsong was once again beginning to play in the trees above. She tried to breathe as she listened to her loquacious companion spoke enough for the both of them. He had a very peculiar manner of speech, much like his style of dress. It was a unique experience to listen to his interesting take on the english language, but one she quite enjoyed for a time. Before long however, her time to listen had come to an end, and it was her turn to talk again.
After the question landed, she found herself walking on in silence for a time. She was embarrassed, another hole in her understanding of the civilized world had prevented itself. She tried to think of where she'd seen that word before. She was sure she'd seen it in a store, or on a store at some point, but couldn't bring a picture of what they were to mind. "I-I'm sorry. I uhm, don't know what that is." she sheepishly admitted, her ears laying down on her head as her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. She always felt like a fool her upbringing made itself apparent. She simply did not have much of the shared culture that other students had grown up with. She lacked that particular binding glue, which alienated her more from her peers. She wondered, not for the first time, how much there was that she didn't know she didn't know.
"Y-You can talk about 'em if you like though," she stuttered, more than happy to let him keep ranting. It was easier than talking herself, and she didn't have to try as hard to think of what she should and shouldn't say. She knew it was lazy on her part as a member of the conversation, but she told herself it was because she needed to keep focus on the task at hand, but in actuality she was simply terrified that it would be painfully odious to endure her as she tried to contribute anything to the conversation. Someone like her would only serve to bring it down, she was sure of it. Her opinion of herself was at an all time low today, and many mistakes over the course of the day had only served to shatter her sense of self worth even more. Every mistake had been compounding, eating away at her, and she just wanted to get back to the relative safety of her camp so she could forget about all of that and instead enjoy a tasty boar meal and warm herself by the fire.
To help that happen quicker, she began pulling harder against her wrist. She was glad that her back was to the complimentary boy, so she couldn't see the uncertainty in her eyes as she trudged forward.
Post by Arrats Calanthe on Nov 10, 2019 4:03:44 GMT -5
“Oh you don’t know of it? Well I’ll be happy to provide my own interlocutory services to provide you with a base understanding of the works of purification. “ Arrats would’ve taken hold of Lily’s hands in a gesture of goodwill had he not been dragging the dead boar with one of said hands. For the moment he said nothing but you could tell from the deeply entrenched grin on his face he was happy to have the chance to talk. He never had anyone wish for him to talk he had simply done it and no one complained. It was a joyous occasion for someone to ask him. Even if it was in the circumstances of something similar to a death trap. He remembered the afternoons lasting infinities as he read Judgment Seven. He’d be happy to share that joy with others, especially new friends. Ooh, that was a tad presumptuous. Maybe she didn’t want to be friends. Ah he could dream. Regardless he’d speak but only after he gave her an in to conversation. After all his saccharine and dulcet tones that were presently being exaggerated even within his own monologue couldn’t be the only thing filling this forest, he wished to hear from his companion as well. It wasn’t dialogue without two after all. He’d just be a lonesome monologuer. With a small nod as a way of indication to his receptiveness Arrats spoke again. “Of course, you are absolutely free to question me about the series or chip in Lily, I’d love to hear what favourite things you harbour.” As he kept walking he realised how odd his own speech patterns were. A small chuckle ensued. He really was his mother’s son. Of course, he was rather oblivious to the discomfort his companion was showing, turning away from him. Pulling had become something of a second nature and now Arrats thoughts were preoccupied by giving a simple explanation to the events of Judgment Seven. “Now, to simplify the story is about a character known as The Batsman. He has a self imposed mission to purify and destroy the ghosts, or ‘impure’ as he refers to them across the seven zones where he resides. Following him is the enigmatic character known as The Judge, who’s omnipresence on matters both corporeal and immaterial is matched only by his dry and notably antiquated wit. The Judge appears to know more about The Batsman than he lets on and is notably coy around information concerning the lords of each zone, colloquially known as the Judgement Seven hence the name. Throughout the story the Batsman eradicates the impure around each zone then faces the lord of the zone. They are tough fights but with each new battle he gains strength and crushes the lords under his bat. Though, what drew me to the story was not this quest of purification on a base level no. What drew me in was great sense of fatalism that colours the comic. Indeed one of the best quotes I think was from the first comic. “ Arrats pauses, allowing his voice to greater mimic the style of what he perceives as the voice of the lord of zone one. The Saint. With a second or so he poses dramatically, contorting his body to mask his face like that of the comic. His voice rings out in a Cheshire- cat like tone. “Batsman, killing me will have no effect on the rabble below. Your journey of self imposed ‘righteousness’ as you say is strewn with the blood of innocents. Why your heroics are nothing more than false ramblings of a madman!” Still dragging along the boar inhibited his ability to pose as he wished but he still attempted to do so, brushing his hair down to showcase the hat that always covered the Batsman’s face. He pointed forwards in a deadly serious stance. “Perhaps my righteousness is false, but it is still a more pure fate than your corrupted protection Saint. “ Stepping out of the little act he’d just put on he gave Lily the most genuine smile he had given since he’d met her. “That sort of thing, if you Ah, get what I mean. “ He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. A little rush of embarrassment colouring his cheeks as he turned to get pulling again. That was rather embarrassing was the first thought that escaped Arrats after a period of inner silence. Still, if she didn’t dislike him after that then she really would be good friend material.
Post by Lily Finnian on Nov 12, 2019 15:31:54 GMT -5
Pulling the boar was an odious chore, but the seemingly insane rambling of her companion helped to take her mind off of the task at hand. She was able to piece together a few things. Comics were stories, fictions no doubt, and they featured combatants so silly as to be comical. Is that why they're called comics?
Each character she'd heard described was bizarre in his own right, but the insane batsman was by far the most intruiging. She wasn't sure how she was meant to respond, partly because his grandiloquent speaking mannerisms made use of a great many words she was only passingly familiar with, or not familiar with at all. Some words she managed to figure out through context, but others left her completely bewildered.
Interlocutory... I have no idea. she thought with serious doubts about his claim.
And fatalism is the uhh.. acknowledging that everything dies? No, that's not right.
The rest of his theatrical presentation she more or less understood, but she still wasn't entirely sure what distinguished comics from a regular fiction story. Even so, it was clear that they were important to her, and his enthusiasm was somewhat infectious.
"I think I get the gist of it, I will have to look into this batsman after I survive this trial wood. she said, scannin the area ahead of her. After quite a bit of walking, they had finally reached the outer layer of her alarm field. She saw the first landmark she'd chosen from this direction, and steered them toward it. A half rotted fallen tree, collapsed from decay in the middle with two red mushrooms and one blue mushroom with white spots growing out of the right chunk of in tact trunk.
"Stay close here, we're getting close to camp now."
As she said that she reached the log, and veered them toward her next landmark from this path, a small bed of wildflowers growing in the shade of a tree with long droopy branches. From there, she would take him to the two trees that had fused halfway up, the mossy rock, and then the streambed path that led to her camp. There would be a bit of walking involved, and she felt bad about not having much to say. She was not a very interesting person. She did little else aside from train and study. She didn't have any outstanding interests or hobbies to speak of. The closest thing she had was this, surviving the wilderness, using every tool at her disposal. She was unfortunately not sure how to talk about that without sounding like she was acting superior, but she also knew her companion would expect her to say something in return.
She was a little panicked by that. Now that they were in her alarm network she didn't have grimm to concern herself with, not that she had done so very much to begin with while talking to this odd student. The closest thing she could think of to what he was talking about was a fiction book she'd read on a whim once, so she figured she'd give that a shot.
"I uhm... I read The Hunter and the Nightmare once. I-it was about a hunter who befriended a horse grimm while marching to war on another kingdom. Together the two charged the walls of their common enemy, and trampled all those who manned the walls into paste. Their grisly deed done, the horse grimm bucks the hunter off of his back onto the stones below the wall.
The felt a small flush rise in her cheeks as she recounted the story. Her voice was nervous, straining to keep the story going. "In the end, the horse came to gloat over the broken hunter. The hunter had been growing increasingly fond of the horse grimm throughout the story, even naming him Nightmare, but as the grimm horse came to gloat, all of that building affection turned to resentment and betrayal. All of humanity's worst emotions filled the dying man, turning him into an imp who ensnared the horse grimm, and forced it to forevermore bend to his will. They became the first Nucklavee, and laid waste to both the kingdom they had just helped invade, as well as the invading army. It was... not the happiest story, but I enjoyed it."
She said this last part as if expecting him to chide her for wasting her time on pointless things, as she had often done to herself when guiltily reading the occasional work of fiction.
Post by Arrats Calanthe on Nov 12, 2019 22:02:56 GMT -5
“I’m glad you’ll look in to it! it’s always good to show new people a good story.” Arrats puffed his chest out, presumably proud to have interested someone in the inane stories he shared. He kept his pace up afterwards, falling silent in contentment. If Lily wanted to see the stories maybe he’d get someone he could discuss his interests with. Comics, sketching. Other stuff like that. It would be a joy to have someone not react like his sister and laugh at him. It was a good natured laugh but regardless it was still a laugh. His interests didn’t seem to reconcile with the public opinion of what good things to do on a free day were. Or at least the people he’d associated with didn’t. Maybe they were just the odd ones. Perhaps but he couldn’t deny his interests were of the odd persuasion. Sketching, such an odd thing to do that only his father really practiced it with any passion. He followed along of course, to try and be a little like him. It didn’t enamour his father more towards him but really what could he expect? He wasn’t the type to do anything but keep himself at bay coldly. He had come to expect it really. After all, he almost couldn’t remember a time when Schwarz wasn’t like that. He wouldn’t change so he gave up. The purple haired boy sighed at the thought. Though his melancholy self talk was purged once he heard Lily again. They were close and so he had to stick to her. To that end Arrats moved closer to Lily, giving her a thumbs up to let her know he understood. As they kept walking Arrats thought of how the area around them had landmarks that were easily distinguishable. A few distinct trees and the stream that ran down from an area ahead were surely things that meant they were making progress. If he was making a camp and soon he’d have to after talking with Lily for an hour or two perhaps he’d be doing the same thing with landmarks. If he could find some more stuff like that then he’d be secured with his camp. For the moment though he kept observing the area around them as they moved in towards the camp.
Though he didn’t expect that Lily would start talking. Since it didn’t happen much as they were walking, he began to listen attentively to her speaking about a story. He hadn’t heard of the story of The Hunter and The Nightmare but it seemed a melancholy and quite sad story even to him. Though it was an interesting way of explaining certain Grimm. He’d not heard the tale though it sounded very Folk story like. Perhaps it was local and that’s why he’d not seen or heard of it in his life. Though he’d have to pick up a copy himself if he could find one. Though as she talked it did appear that she was rather nervous. The colour of her cheeks could attest to that. So instead of commenting on it he simply beamed warmly and gave her a happy little clap. “That certainly sounds like a lovely read. I’ll definitely pick it up someday Lily!” His voice was eager and the cause of it was hearing of a new book he could sink his teeth into. He was fond of reading and while comics are often his main focus, especially the more abstract ones he could be seen often enough dabbling in larger books too and especially loved Hunter in The Rye. It was a classic, and something he was very fond of. Though he’d have to refocus, watching the path ahead and his new companion with a happy smile upon his features. (617/4447)
Post by Lily Finnian on Nov 18, 2019 20:41:47 GMT -5
She was happy in a way she hadn't quite expected when he seemed interested in the book she'd mentioned. She'd never really been one to talk about her interests, or really, to develop interests that didn't relate to her survival, strength, or advancement in some way. It was nice to know that one frivolous indulgance of hers wasn't too wasteful in the eyes of others. She didn't think her parents would approve though, which made her a little uncomfortable all the same. As she led them through her small pockets of the woods she scanned the trees around them and picked out the bowed over saplings that would send up desperate alarm if they strayed too far from her path.
She could see the tree she was looking for ahead, an anomoly but by no means outstanding, where two trees had begun to grow seperately and fused partway up.
Hm. Small problem. She paused as they came to the tree. She had attached trip wires to the base of each side of the tree so going around it would be a small hassle. She judged her options, the boar was about the right size to fit in between the trunks.
It would be annoying if they got it stuck trying to fit it through, but it was worth the try. Worse case scenario they have to push the boar back through and go around her sapling.
It took a bit of struggling, but together they managed to pull the boar through the gap. She breathed a sigh of relief after the laborious task was complete, and resumed leading them to the streambed path. It wasn't a long trip there, and within moments they found themselves on the clay rich soil which had once been a stream. To the left, it could be followed back to the stream it had once been, which had eroded a new path and changed direction. To their right was a straight shot to her camp. It was a humble camp. She had been improving on it slowly through the day. Her campfire was surrounded by stones to keep the camp in. A rope hung down just away from the fire, high from a tree growing on one of the steep twin hills the stream had at some point carved its way through. She also had a small lean-to constructed, but she had intended to sleep up in the trees. She imagined the boar skin would be plenty enough to cushion her from the rough bark.
She reminded herself that she still needed to fashion some chimes to hang in the branches above, as she was still vulnerable to attacks from aerial grimm, but she'd only prepared enough wire braiding to set up her overzealous alarm system.
font color="e97efb"]"W-well, there it is. Welcome to my humble little camp."[/font]
She said self consciously. It wasn't terribly impressive, she'd put much more work into her alarms than amenities at camp. It wasn't her best work, but it got the job done.
Post by Arrats Calanthe on Nov 19, 2019 18:27:39 GMT -5
Carrying the boar in the comfortable silence Arrats began to grow more happy with himself. It was nice to know some people shared his love for books and the stories contained within them. His mother and his love of literature are inspirations that developed his love of sketching and drawing. They both inspired him to create the fantastical images of his youth though now he was mostly focused on people and the environs around him. The fantastical images he used to make were replaced by the fantastical images around him. People, Faunus. They were all so unknown and erratic and wonderful. They could be both dangerous or amazing and that was what made them so interesting to him. Arrats couldn’t quantify them, couldn’t put them into a box. Lily was another such mystery. He couldn’t tell what she’d do next but he felt safe. An odd combination especially with someone he just met but that’s simply the way he felt. Maybe it was naïveté or his lack of people he could trust when he was in combat school but perhaps his grasping to people who’d even showed him a modicum of decency was something he’d have trouble reigning in. It was desperation but for the moment he hadn’t been led astray by it.
As they came up to the tree even Arrats had to notice the wires. From his admittedly basic knowledge of traps it’d make a bad scenario if he was to step on it and given the fact they were carrying a boar on their shoulders something would trip it if they just went through like they were. So pushing it through was the easiest way to avoid tripping any wires and getting straight to Lily’s camp. Pushing the dead creature through the wires was annoying and the small amount of dried blood on his immaculate suit made him groan. He should’ve expected it of course but it still miffed him to some degree that something he worked so hard to combine and fix with his hair and his gloves when he had them on was sullied. It took some doing especially with the size of the creature but soon enough it was pushed through and they were able to slip through themselves. With a grin of triumph Arrats happily followed Lily through as they began to walk through the landmarks to the camp. It was a simple trek following different landmarks to the camp. It was an effective system and eventually Arrats Saw Lily’s camp. It was a modest but exceptionally protective little camp that could effectively keep something or someone protected. As they approached Arrats found it appropriate to speak up again. “This is a wonderful little camp you’ve got, well done Lily!” He extended a hand in a thumbs up as they found their way to the resting place they were to be resting at or at least planting the boar at in his case. Walking closer into it he went fully into his artistic mode pausing and observing minute details around it. “This is an interesting place to be sure and very well defended. “ He put his hands together, like they’d finished a large and tiring task. “Shall we rest and share stories? After all, my goal is information and i’m sure company would do us both good.” (545/4974)