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Post by mrcrazycakes on Jan 1, 2011 21:03:47 GMT -5
"You learn real fast, kid," Yatusatari said, patting Malthus on the shoulder in a congratulatory way. He'd won against her in the tournament about twenty minutes ago, long enough for both of them to bandage themselves up and return to the front of the arena. "You keep getting stronger, you might be able to take on Herc and win. Glad to know I'm still useful in some way. So, you wanted to tell me about that fight with the Prell kid, right?"
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Post by prythian on Jan 1, 2011 21:12:59 GMT -5
"Yeah, she was difficult." Malthus sighed. "Weirdest weapon, too... she had a robe with sharp edges. Can't imagine learning how to use that was easy... she seemed to have cut herself with it near the end of the fight as well. She knew magic AND she was good with a blade. Pretty dangerous combination." He shook his head, wincing as he felt one of the bandages on his arm. "As you can tell, I'm pretty torn up by it." He joked. "You could say she tried to give me the cold shoulder."
He shuddered. "They weren't as difficult, but... one of those fights was the same creatures I saw back in Twilight Town... You have any idea what they are? The black, clawed things?"
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Post by mrcrazycakes on Jan 1, 2011 21:18:28 GMT -5
"The little black ones, right... Shadows is what I think they're called. All I really know is that Phil usually has them in huge supply from somewhere for comers to the coliseum to fight. There's supposed to be more kinds than the little ones, but I couldn't tell you much more than what lookin' at them will tell you," Ari replied, shrugging. Her injuries were hurting a bit as well, but she'd more or less learned to ignore them. "So, you move quick and you like surprise attacks. Whatever works for you works; glad you figured out something. So is that where you're from, Twilight Town? What's it like there?"
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Post by prythian on Jan 1, 2011 21:25:07 GMT -5
"It's..." Malthus thought for a moment. "It's peaceful... There's a beautiful sunset constantly, and this enormous clocktower... I'd say it's more advanced than this place from what I've seen. Trains, electric lights..." He glanced at her and looked sheepish. "No offense meant or anything." He held out his hand, summoning Burning Horizon. "That's the Clocktower, that part in the middle, you see." Burning Horizon vanished again as he lowered his arm. "I don't know, sometimes it seems... just lost." He couldn't describe it better than that.
"No one really learns how to actually fight there... there are mages here and there, but the closest thing we had to that was the Struggle, where you fight with fake weapons. I was an exception, but that was because for a long time I was a thief. You'll find self-taught fighters here and there, or people who know spells for fighting, but it's not important there..."
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Post by mrcrazycakes on Jan 1, 2011 21:31:40 GMT -5
"Hah... Sounds like a nice place. I'm afraid I don't know what a train is, though," Ari replied, imagining what it was like to live in a world of twilight. It was probably peaceful, like he said. "Any heroes or heroes in training there? I honestly can't imagine what things would be like without Herc watching over things. Helps the people in town stay at ease with things. Maybe I'm just being a bit crazy, though; I don't really know anything about your world."
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Post by prythian on Jan 1, 2011 22:13:51 GMT -5
"Well... heroes are usually more the focus of stories found in books or shows..." Malthus said. "I wouldn't know much about that. I've been living outside for a lot of my life, you see. And a train is... hrm. It's basically this big container that moves around and takes people places." He thought for a moment. "Closest thing we have to an actual hero? Well, there's this guy named Seifer a bit younger than me... he's kind of a jerk. He runs this... Disciplinary Committee thing. He can be a bully, and a lot of kids don't like him, but I think his heart MIGHT be in the right place."
Malthus chuckled. "That's a big might, though."
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Post by mrcrazycakes on Jan 1, 2011 22:28:28 GMT -5
"Heh... Tell you what, why don't you take me with you?" Ari commented, waving her hand dismissively. "You probably wouldn't mind the company, and I'm about tired of seeing shades of yellow everywhere. Who knows, you might even find some kind of use for me around on other worlds? All up to you, though, kid; you've earned my respect either way."
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Post by prythian on Jan 1, 2011 22:33:06 GMT -5
Malthus blinked in surprise. "What, you're going to up and leave the firework business?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Don't get me wrong, I'll be glad to take me with you, but you at least have stuff for you here, don't you? I left Twilight Town because I had nothing to really tie me down there." Well, nothing but a few new friends. He mentally corrected himself. But he had made the decision to leave as soon as he could. "I also don't plan on going back to Twilight Town anytime soon, so you know. I need to see a lot of worlds before I'm ready to go back, I think..."
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Post by mrcrazycakes on Jan 1, 2011 22:39:03 GMT -5
Ari laughed, shaking her head. "Kid, I live in a shack on the edge of town and only come in to trade and for the tournaments, and I've made more than enough selling my fireworks to retire for a little while. And I don't really care where we're going; it's your ship after all, you fly it where you want to. So what do you say, want me to come along or not?"
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Post by prythian on Jan 1, 2011 22:52:14 GMT -5
"I'd be honored." Malthus laughed. "Just one thing, though... your name is a bit of mouthful, to be honest. Got a shorter one I can use? Just might be more convenient when we're out there roaming the worlds, after all." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I also have no idea when we're going to leave. I might want to see this amateur tournament Phil mentioned if possible, though I'd have to get a bit stronger before I could even think about doing that. That Prell girl gave me some problems."
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Post by mrcrazycakes on Jan 1, 2011 23:02:23 GMT -5
"Yeah, I get that a good bit. You can just call me Ari if you want," Ari replied, shrugging nonchalantly. "And whatever you want to do; your ship, after all, not mine. I might pop in and see a few matches, maybe think of some other basic sword moves for you to pick up. Just let me know when you're ready to leave so I don't get left behind."
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Post by prythian on Jan 1, 2011 23:15:09 GMT -5
"I'll definitely do that." Malthus said, nodding. "We'll see how things turn out, I think. After all... I don't normally plan things in advance. Who cares what lies beyond today? Things normally don't turn out like you plan, after all." This was pretty similar to his battle strategy. He did come up with plans, but only for his next few actions and possibly setting up a few tricks for later. In general, he was the first to discard a plan, though, making it up as he went along.
Then a thought crossed his mind and he grimaced. "Shadows, huh..." He said almost too softly to hear. They scared him. He couldn't describe but they gave him the frights in a way nothing else ever had before, not even those bullies from long ago.
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Post by mrcrazycakes on Jan 2, 2011 11:45:33 GMT -5
"I think the species they are is called Heartless. Supposedly, when they kill you, they take your heart," Ari said, catching Malthus' uttered statement. "As for how accurate that is, I have no idea. I don't really want to go and test the theory if I can help it. They say if you lose your heart, you'll turn into one of them. And you say they were on your world, too?"
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Post by prythian on Jan 2, 2011 13:58:11 GMT -5
"Yeah, they... appeared and attacked us on the beach. First time I'd ever seen them." Malthus said, shivering at the memory. "I don't know why, but those things... the only things that really have scared me in a long time. They really made me... examine who I was."
He stared into space for a moment. "I didn't really like what I found out." He fell silent after that statement, just shaking his head.
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Post by mrcrazycakes on Jan 2, 2011 17:11:58 GMT -5
Ari bopped Malthus lightly in the back of the head after he commented about being scared of them. "Hah, don't be silly. You could clear through a hundred of those things and not break a sweat. You're probably just worrying about it too much, kid. First monster you ever really fought, you're probably just worked up over it."
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