You do not really want to think at the moment. Doing stuff feels like a good idea.
Back in the hallway, you find a rune quite similar to the one within Elisabeth's office; it sits on the ground with a faint glimmer, mostly unassuming. Yet the Demon somehow used it to teleport away.
You crouch and slowly put a finger on the rune, trying to wipe it off. It stays in place like a Brand Craft array. Then you push your hand on it, and nothing happens. When you step on top of it, nothing happens either. It just sits there without doing anything.
You jump when it glows brighter before materialising a tiny form with long, droopy ears and wrinkly skin that looks more like leather; the creature appears right in front of you, looking at the empty corridor for a few moments. Its ear flicks when you take a step back, then it turns around and bows until its nose touches the floor. "Lady Adelheid, me was told to lead you," it says.
So that is an Imp. It does not look like much and you slowly relax; even you can tell this one is more or less harmless on the physical end.
"Okay." You are not sure what else to say, though the Imp keeps his body bowed. "You, uh, can stand normally." It rises back up and takes you in with sharp, beady eyes; when your gazes meet, the Imp immediately looks away.
Ignoring that, you think back to what Elisabeth told you. Between getting your Affinities checked and getting some clothes, you feel that only one of those things can wait a little longer. So you instruct your guide, voice more steady than you feel: "Lead me to Maya in logistics."
"Right so! This way!" The Imp immediately waddles off and you follow, not having to walk faster than a nice walking pace. Your legs are just that much longer.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
The walk through Charon's Keep is mostly just long. You see Demons and a few Dark Stars bustling around, but nobody pays much attention to you; all things considered, you are pretty happy about that.
Some time later, the Imp leads you right past another glimmering rune and through an open door into another office space. This one is much smaller than the one you were in before. It is about as cozy, though; the walls are held in warm reds and gold, another wooden desk... you almost miss the woman sitting behind it on your first once-over. When you do see her however, you pause only two steps into the room.
"I bring Lady Adelheid," your guide helpfully provides and the Demon nods at them. You wait quietly for now, sizing up your surroundings just in case.
Then she speaks and you forget about that. "Thank you very much, I was already informed. You can return to your duties, I will take care of her now." The Imp quickly bows and darts off, leaving you alone with her; she chuckles before offering you a warm smile. "I am Maya, head of the Keep's logistics department. Please take a seat and relax."
You do as told, at least on the first half. Relaxing is not that easy, considering that the woman in front of you has not only a pair of curved horns; a pair of batlike wings is folded behind her back and her crimson dress only emphasizes her traits and unmarred beauty.
You feel inadequate in your femininity just by looking at her.
Though for some reason, she seems to eye you quite closely as well. The silent exchange of glances holds for a while and you have no idea what to say, not to such a smile. It is her who breaks the silence with another warm chuckle. "Such a quiet girl. Are you feeling alright, dear?" Her question gives you pause. You know the answer, but do not want to admit to anything here. So you shrug instead of giving an actual answer.
"I'm fine. This is just... not what I expected is all." Which is a big understatement, but she takes it and does not ask any further.
"That's understandable. I did not expect this meeting when I woke up this morning, either." Instead of getting down to business however, she smiles at you again and rummages in her desk. Then she pushes what looks like a sandwhich your way. "Here, you look hungry." By the time you really understand what just happened, it is already in your hands.
You look down at the soft bread and realise your stomach is empty; still, a Demon just gave you this and acts nothing like Demons are supposed to act. Again.
With that in mind, you look back up at her. "Why are you giving me this?"
She gives you another warm smile in return. "Because I can. There is always time to get some lunch for myself, now eat up while I get some things ready." She rises to her feet with that and a small shower of sparks sprays from her shoulders; they remain in the air and take shape, forming a second pair of arms that quickly reachs through the whole room to grasp for something.
You can not help but watch as you begin to nibble on the food, noting the rather spicy meat amidst some crunchy salad. Maya's movements have a certain softness to them that puts you at ease. She gets some tapes and papers, brings out a stool, closes the door. The air flickers lightly under her ethereal arms' gentle heat and you barely realise you are done eating when she motions for you to stand.
She gives you a soft smile and vanishes through another door for a minute, soon returning with a glass of warm milk that tastes oddly sweet. You like the taste and drink it quickly after a small sip; Maya giggles for some reason, but you pay it no mind for the few moments that you are occupied with your drink. When you put down the glass however, you can not help but ask: "Okay, I... I don't get it. Why are you so nice? Demons aren't supposed to be nice, it's...."
You have no words to finish your explanation, but her expression tells you she understands anyway. However, Maya merely shrugs. "What can I say?" she tells you softly. "I was born this way."
"And Elisabeth?"
Your question earns you a confused look before Maya matches the name to her superior. "She lets you call her by name?" You nod and she frowns for some reason. "That is unusual. The Ashen Maiden usually keeps her distance to everyone." Her gaze falls on you again. "Then again, the situation is far from normal. We will see what happens."
She shrugs it off and leaves you confused; a feeling that only increases when the Demon claps her hands. "Now then, off with your clothes, dear." You can only stare at her until she clarifies with a wave toward the things she gathered together. "I need to take your measurements. One of my subordinates would do that normally, but you are smaller than most and I can use the practice."
Even now, her words only slowly process and you can feel your face burning at the mere idea.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
Twenty minutes later, you are wrapped in a warm blanket and Maya cheerfully copies her notes while you try not to die from embarassment. She somehow talked you into it and stayed professional throughout, though her attention was kept by your bra the moment she saw it. She is eyeing the piece even now, shaking her head.
"Just so you know," the she finally tells you, "not only does that look uncomfortable, we don't have anything like it, either. So you better get used to wearing an undershirt or bind your chest; both are possible at your size." That... makes sense, in a way. You nod slowly and receive another smile.
Maya finishes her notes soon after and nods at your pile of clothes. "You can get dressed now, I have everything. Give me a minute, I might even have a dress in about your size somewhere in the back." She gets up and pauses, then looks your way. "Humans menstruate, right? I should...."
She leaves the room with that, her mumbling quickly fading as you are left to your own devices. After putting your clothes back on as quickly as you can however, you really have nothing to do but sit there.
Maya is an odd one, her open kindness clashes quite viciously with everything you know Demons stand for. She is... like a mother.
You had tried not to think of home, but the thought of parents breaks your walls apart. Five thousand years separate you from your father, your friends, your world, everything you know and love. And all you have to get back is a spell you can not control.
Your eyes prickle as tears roll down your cheeks; no amount of wiping can dry them. You slowly curl up on your chair, trying to at least muffle your sobs as everything crashes down in your mind.
You want to go home.
"What..."
Something thuds on the floor, but you pay it no mind; moments later, four arms wrap around you. It feels much warmer, the sensation driving the cold away from your body but also reminding you of what you lost. A choked sob escapes your throat and one hand softly strokes your head, another on your back.
"Shh, it's fine. You're fine, sweetie." Maya's voice is soft and quiet. You want to push her away but can't, your own arms already wrapped around her as she keeps whispering reassurances to you. "It's okay, let it out. I'm here." She holds you tightly and lets you cry into her chest, not leaving or letting go.
Minutes pass and the warmth slowly calms you down. She keeps holding you tightly and strokes your back, only letting go when you do. Maya's magical hands wipe the tearstains from your eyes, warming your face as the Demon smiles at you. You shily smile back and utter a quiet "Thank you," but have no words otherwise. You do not understand how any of this could have happened.
You have not cried in years, at least not really. A few tears here and there, but nothing like this.
"It's okay, sweetie. We all need some comfort from time to time. You should rest up for now." Maya picks you up and puts you on your feet, a hand on your shoulder while her ethereal appendages gather some things into a bundle. It is only now that you realise she, too, stands a head taller than you. "I have some basic things for you; can you find the way back to your chambers on your own?"
You nod slowly, unsure but wanting to be alone for a while. The way back is a bit of a blur, but you do find the place.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
Two days passed by this point and you still do not feel like doing much. Food mysteriously appeared by your door and you did little aside from looking around and thinking but getting nowhere.
The room Elisabeth gave you is spacious. Sleeping in a queen-sized bed takes some getting used to, there is just so much space.
You sigh and quietly brush your hair one last time; it is vain, but also a good way to pass time. You feel like going out now, but have no place to start; visiting Maya would be an idea, but you are still unsure if she really is as kind as she gives herself. Then you also have places to go and an entire fortress to explore.
Before you can come to a decision however, someone knocks at the door and sends you out of your stupor. You hastily drop behind the bed and stay quiet, hoping that whoever it is leaves.
No such luck, though; the door opens slowly... and much to your relief, it is nothing dangerous. A tiny head pokes in, crowned by two small horns and sporting pointed ears. You rise up from your hiding place and your visitor smiles brightly. "Ah, this is your place!" She happily walks in, then jumps back and grips the door sheepishly. "C-Can I come in?"
You blink at the little girl and nod. "Sure, come in." And your permission brings out the smile again; she darts inside and closes the door, then runs up to you, red hair illuminated by the afternoon sun.
She reaches barely higher than your belly button, wide blue eyes curiously examining your features as you look her over in turn. A more rustic-looking outfit that leaves her belly completely bare, with shorts and a top that only covers her modest chest. She has gloves, though; all about her looks sturdy.
You shake everything off and focus on your tiny visitor; despite your best attempts, you can not help but smile at her. "What's your name?"
"I'm Paoras," she happily volunteers. "What's yours?"
"I'm Heidi," you introduce yourself and give her a little handshake; her hands are small and warm, making you squeal in the safety of your own head. "What are you doing here, Paoras?"
For some reason, your question brings a toothy grin out of her and she pulls you along to the door with surprising strength. "Mama says you have to go out, and she said you're nice. So I'll help you." Now you stare at her, unable to really resist. Neither do you want to, nor are you strong enough while untransformed.
"You mean Maya?"
"Yup!"
She reaches the door and grins up at you innocently, which makes what little resistance you had melt. "Alright, let's go do some stuff."
"Yay!"
-------------
Pick Three:
[] Visit R&D to get your Affinities checked
[] Take a walk around the base; this place is massive and there is much to see
[] The Spires are interesting, perhaps you can see what is up top?
[] Actually, you feel like taking a bath
[]EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it
=====
+5xp Met Maya
+5xp Met Paoras
EXP gained: 10 Total EXP: 155
=====
(Unlocked Level 1 Character Sheet: Maya)
(Unlocked Level 3 Character Sheet: Paoras)
[X] Visit R&D to get your Affinities checked
[X] Take a walk around the base; this place is massive and there is much to see
[X] The Spires are interesting, perhaps you can see what is up top?
The first thing you do notice is something that you had been more or less aware of already: it rains. The sound of heavy droplets hitting the stone and stained glass all around you is almost the same as home.
Paoras cheerfully leads you through several corridors and to one of the runes you did not even know was there. A small trickle of various Demons appears from or vanishes on it, but you pull back to stop the little one. She pauses and looks back, childish curiousity on her face. "What's wrong, Heidi?"
You just point at the rune with a light frown, making her turn her head. "I can't use those." Her intentions were rather obvious after all, considering that she brought you here.
"Why is that?" She looks between you and the large rune when you shake your head, then lets go of your hand and pulls at a wandering grunt's armour. "Excuse me, mister?" He grunts and turns his head at her. You almost transform to protect Paoras, but no violence actually happens; your new friend just looks up at him before pointing at you. "Why can't she use the runes?"
The Demon follows her gesture with what may be a frown... then double-takes upon actually seeing you. His posture, faintly grumpy and aggressive before, turns much more docile for some reason. "Oh, ah." There are some passing glances at the small commotion, but nobody interrupts. He eyes you carefully and quickly gets out an explanation when you raise an eyebrow: "It's probably her alignment. Not an enemy, but only actual allies can use them. She is neither."
Paoras nods in understanding, but you have the feeling she has no idea. His words aside however, the reaction to you is confusing. You consider asking, but think better of it.
Instead, seeing that he is still eyeing you warily, you ask a question of your own: "How do we get to R&D on foot, then?"
You had some time to think, and doing this as soon as possible sounds like a good idea. The Demon helpfully provides directions and explains the way. You listen and try to remember them as best as you can, then decide you can at least be polite. "Okay, thank you."
And when you take Paoras to get going, you leave behind a somewhat confused infernal being. Thank goodness you are away from them, as much as you disliked having to turn your back.
Once you are out of sight and hearing range however, Paoras starts hopping happily and beams at you. "Mama was right, you're strong!"
...what?
"...what?"
The little one tilts her head and looks back to where you came from, then explains sagely: "If people are respectful, that means you are stronger than them. Everyone is talking about you, too! You're a... uh... hyu-man?"
You can not help but snicker at her odd pronunciation, ignoring the previous statements for your own wellbeing. "Human, yes. What do they say about me?"
"Hm..." Paoras thinks that over for a bit as you walk, then brightens again what kind of word went around over the last two days: "You're small like an Elf but much stronger. Papa says its true because he can't beat soldier-Demons on his own."
That gives you something new to ask, but it feels wrong to use this friendly girl to gather information. You can probably talk to Maya sometime, maybe she can give you an explanation. You did not even know Demons could have children, much less cute ones like Paoras.
So instead, you pat her head with a smile. "I see." Not that you believe it yourself. But if it keeps some grunts away from you, you will take it.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
You did not really put much thought into how R&D would look like, but... this would not be it either way. Then again, it fits oh so well.
The entire area is coated in some kind of dark matter that keeps ground, walls, and ceiling uniform like a black void. The only colours in here are outlines of various spaces and more balls of matter, as well as glowing arrays. Though those are almost exclusively in bloody reds. At least they match the dress Maya had for you on short notice, you note with a certain sense of irony.
And of course, the Dark Stars. Forms of alien geometry, weird shapes and forms... you thought Demons were diverse before, but at least they all had forms that made some kind of sense. Here you have an assortment of creatures that do not even have arms or legs in some cases, many lacking an actual face, and... you stop thinking about it.
Paoras steps into the area after you, hiding behind your back and watching the Dark Stars go about their work. Your entrance garners some attention, if the turning of heads is any indication, but none of them actually reacts to you. They are all working on this or that.
Except for one, who quickly floats over to you; several material objects float around it, imbued with Brand Craft that you can not read once again.
The body is pure black, almost like oozing tar, and looks a little djinn-like because it does not end in legs but a kind-of tail. Two long sleeves with no actual arms in them, an iron jaw with no upper half and no mouth, and sickly yellow eyes. You really wish to be elsewhere.
Their voice is a low thrum of echoes that you do not actually understand. You just stare for a moment and slowly begin to tilt your head. The Dark Star says something else, again not making any sense to you. Paoras pulls at your sleeve. "It's asking why you're here."
"Okay, good." You turn your head to her with a frown. "Then tell them I don't understand a word they're saying." You think about that for a moment, consider the fact Paoras can actually understand that creature without annoyance, then hold up a hand before she can relay your words. "Actually, ask him if I can borrow a pendant or something like that."
You start to feel dumb while she does that. The translation array is one of the most useful Brand Craft applications in existence, and also one of the most basic. You completely forgot that not everyone can understand each other.
Demons and Angels have some weirdness going on; they just speak everything as is demanded. Dark Stars, Elves, Humans, and Fairies do not.
Thankfully, the eldritch thing quickly levitates a pendant to you; it is as big as your hand and has a sturdy chain, so you can carry it without trouble. After thinking for a moment, you focus magic into just your fingertip and begin to inscribe a few words while both of them are watching.
Understanding and conversing are not difficult to implement. You triple-check the spelling and arrangement, draw a circle around the entire thing, and nod at yourself before infusing it with mana.
A moment passes in silence, then you turn back to the Dark Star with confidence born of success. "Okay. Ask again."
It eyes you for a moment longer and you notice that others have stopped working to observe the process. Then the one in front of you 'speaks' again, and this time you understand it just fine: "What a pleasant surprise." Though the voice sounds everything but pleased... mostly just cold, though you are not sure whether that is just the way their voices work. "One who comes to this place with actual knowledge instead of seemless ideas. I am called Epsilon Aaron by those not of my kind. Speak, what have you come for?"
How polite, not even asking for your name. You narrow your eyes but bite down on the impulse to snap back. Still, petty revenge and all that, so you ignore the question and ask one of your own instead: "What do you mean, 'by those not of your kind'? Don't you have names of your own?"
The creature pauses for a moment. It's eyes narrow much like your own, though the effect is a little more concerning. "We can identify each other based on our magic. Any names we carry are names others gave us for purposes of identification. Even if you were to stand in a crowd of ten thousand, any of us could still pick you out based on the magic in your body. It roars even while subdued."
...that is new. You think about it for a moment, then push the whole matter back for what you are actually here for. "That's pretty convenient. Can you figure out someone's Affinities that way, too?"
Epsilon Aaron eyes you for a moment and shakes their head. "Not by itself, though magic specialised for doing so comes easily. Is this your purpose here?"
You nod and step back from Paoras. "Yeah, I don't know mine. The Ashen Maiden told me to get them checked here. Give me a moment." They remain floating in the air without a word and you get to speak again, the rush of defiance helping you along and back to your usual demeanor. "As stolen flame sets fate ablaze, I rise as Magical Girl Defiance!"
Light envelops you once more, a glowing comet of power within this dark space. The loaned dress fades and is replaced by your familiar outfit, the Handle appears in your hand and vanishes as you dismiss it; it feels a little different to hold, much easier to swing. Or maybe that is you?
When the light dies down, every Dark Star in the area is watching you. Paoras' eyes are wide and she has a happy smile on her face, babbling about pretty colours. Epsilon Aaron eyes you carefully and, when nothing else happens, speaks: "Now your magic is unchained. I will admit I rarely saw one that burned so brightly. What do you mean with 'Magical Girl', though?"
Weirdly enough, there is honest curiousity there. You can hear it and from the fact everyone waits for a response, it is rather quite obvious even without the audible cue.
You consider staying quiet and refusing to tell them, but... well. You want something from these beings, Paoras is also there and might be sad, and... as far as you know, time can not be altered. So if people in your time had no idea about humanity before they emerged, that means you can tell them and nobody would know anyway. Five thousand years are a long time, even for biologically immortal Demons and Dark Stars.
So you humour them and motion at yourself. "Okay... let's see, you already know that I'm a human. No Elf, no Demon, nope." No reaction, so that part can be dropped. "The first thing you have to know is that not all humans have magic. I think it's because we evolved without any, but we don't need it to survive like you do."
The other Dark Stars begin to mutter amongst themselves, but you ignore them and focus on Epsilon Aaron; they eye you curiously before nodding. "I see. So we are antithetical in our existences, 'humans' who hold not a trace of magic and Dark Stars who consist of it entirely."
That is news to you, but you just nod at him and keep going. "Yeah, I guess. Anyway, those of us who have magic are called Practitioners. Don't ask me why, that's how it is. Rule of thumb is that one in a thousand is a Practitioner." He nods again. "Not exactly like yours, though. Human magic is weak on the output." You consider for a moment. "Kind of."
Nobody interrupts as you try to think of an example, but find nothing, so you figure you have to work with what you know. "It's that our magic works more through loopholes and exploitation than power. My friend grows stronger whenever she eats a flame, no matter how small; she also has a spell that can set several different spots on fire; she can turn it into a feedback-loop and strengthen herself up like that."
You consider adding your father as another example, but the one should be enough. "Most Practitioners have things like these. Now for Magical Girls." You point at yourself with a thumb, curious about the kind of reaction you will get. "Magical Girls are a special case again. There are three requirements that need to be fulfilled, and even then one may still never become one."
You raise your index finger. "First, that person must be female." Then your middle finger. "Second, they must have magic." Then your ring finger. "Third, they must be younger than eighteen years."
Paoras long since lost track and seems to try figuring out what you mean. The Dark Stars continue to converse quietly while Epislon Aaron ponders, but stop once they speak. "I see. Why eighteen years exactly?"
"That's our age of maturity. So then I wouldn't be a girl anymore, but a woman." At least that is how you explained it to yourself. Many people asked themselves how the rules came to be, and it was not because of Gaia being a fan of certain eastern media. However, you just remembered. "Ah, right: remember when I said one in a thousand is a Practitioner? Rule of thumb for Magical Girls is that you get one in a thousand female Practitioners."
So vaguely one in a million. And going by the conversation around you, the Dark Stars understood that as well. The one in front of you nods once more, rippling a little. "So these Magical Girls are the human elite?" Their voice is tinged with curiousity again; you never heard it be phrased like that, but it is more or less true, so you nod. "Fascinating. I will have to think about this for a while, but for now..." His eyes focus on your very being. "Shadow's Insight."
They flicker for a moment, then the Dark Star straightens. All the others wait for their fellow to reveal what they saw.
"This is odd," they note with a surprised hiss. "Your alleged capabilities certainly do not lend themselves to having three Affinities. Is this common for 'Magical Girls'?"
Ah, right. You forgot that part, so you quickly add it after a sigh. "Yes, that's normal. We are... well, our thing is that our powers grow incredibly fast in comparison to everyone else. Most of us start out weaker than most other races, though. You have an indicator with the growth Affinity, that's our third one."
You pause to breath and the Dark Star motions for you to continue; good thing you are almost done, it slowly starts to feel as if they want to dissect you to find out how you work. "It goes Story Maker, Myth Maker, Legend Maker, Story, Myth, Legend, Epic. With Story Makers being the weakest and Epics being the strongest." You heard about another Affinity, but never really believed there was something beyond Epic, so you leave that out. "Though I read that Makers can get some powerful tools in exchange for being overall weaker."
"Hm. No Epic Makers?"
"None that I heard of. It's weird, I know."
The Dark Star mulls that over quietly, then gives you a faint nod. "Very well. Your Affinities are Defiance, Interference, and Story Maker." And there goes your hope for a high growth. Not that you particularly expected it, considering that you are not particularly strong and got a time travel spell to start with.
Still, you nod back at Epsilon Aaron. "Alright, thank you. We will leave now."
You get no response as you lead Paoras out of the area.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
After calming down from the depressing atmosphere in there, Paoras takes you by the hand and begins to lead again. "This way, Heidi!" Her cheer is back now that there are no Dark Stars around, though you can understand why she would be scared of them.
You follow the little Demon curiously, soon finding yourself ascending the stairs again. "You should meet Moku! He's great and warm!" You have to admit that you are a little curious, but also dreading whatever she would call these things out here.
The stairs quickly pass by and soon you no longer see the usual corridors but large open halls. Winged Demons wander them, ranging in size from a little taller than yourself to wagon-sized. No one pays the two of you much attention as Paoras drags you higher and higher, to the point your magically improved stamina begins to become troubled.
Seeing that she does not even seem to sweat however, you soldier on and ignore the light stinging in your sides.
When you reach the top, it is to a breathtaking sight; literally in your case, seeing that you are panting heavily once Paoras lets go and directs her attention elsewhere. In turn, you catch your breath while looking out at the countryside; it stopped raining some time ago, but the rainbow is still there above the mountains. You do not have much time to watch, though.
"Moku!"
Paoras' happy squeal makes you at least look her way... and regret having looked for a moment.
'Moku' is apparently one of the wagon-sized winged Demons. And upon seeing Paoras, he flaps his wings in greeting but does nothing else even when she hugs his snout.
You watch the spectacle for a few long moments and consider running away, but he seems harmless so far. If having claws the size of your forearm can be called harmless in any circumstance.
The vast rooftop is empty except for those two and yourself, which is probably enough space to run away if need be; with all the curveballs thrown at you so far though, you might as well see what happens this time and walk closer. Paoras waves at you cheerfully and points at her apparent friend. "This is Moku. He likes to sleep up here and I often sleep with him. He's really warm."
Then she boops the large Demon on the nose and points at you; his eyes open to become attentive, taking in your appearance. "Moku, this is Heidi. She is a human!" He does not react to it at all and simply takes you in, then sniffs once before closing his eyes and ignoring you once more.
"...I think he doesn't like me."
Your deadpan tone of voice draws a giggle from Paoras, who cheerfully lifts up Moku's wing. "Nah, he just likes to sleep. Come, come! It's cold in spring."
She has a point there; the air this far up is cold and each gust of wind makes you shiver a little despite the sunlight. You follow her reluctantly, but nothing bad happens; only the cold leaves as Moku's wing folds over the two of you, pleasantly warm. Paoras smiles at you and nestles against his body, which the Demon does not react to.
When you slowly make to sit by her side, she whispers in your ear. "Don't tell him, but he's not really smart. He can't even talk." That is... weird, but you take it and nod understandingly anyway. Paoras smiles. "I think he likes when I'm here, though. Napping is more fun together."
With these words, she grabs for your arm and nestles into your side as well. A gesture that makes you feel a little weird due to how close she is, and also a little warmer both due to her body heat and because she seems to trust you that much already. Though it does pose a question.
After pondering it for a moment, you decide to ask. "Say, how old are you?"
Paoras murmurs something and raises her head from Moku's side, then starts to count on her fingers. "Um, eight, nine... ten. I'm ten months old!" She beams while you just blink. Ten years you would get, but ten months? That can not be right.
You really have to talk to Maya.
Half an hour later, you decide you relaxed enough and gently remove the snoring Paoras from your arm. She happily nestles against Moku, neither of them caring that you leave.
On your way to the staircase however, your eyes are drawn by your surroundings again. The view is incredible, reaching far over the plains in one direction and the mountainside in the other. Or rather, two mountains. They look a little weird.
"First time seeing it from up high?" a new voice cuts in; you turn to find another Demon who eyes you with a mixture of interest and curiousity. "Metatron's Divide is what we call the mountains. You can walk through the center between them easily enough."
"I see." You nod and wander off, unwilling to be near that one for long. Paoras and Maya are one thing, but you have to remain on your guard.
That is when a figure further out grabs your attention. They are flying on black wings, almost dancing in the air. And too small for most Demon forms you saw so far. You are not too sure, though; they fly too fast for you to see clearly.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
For the remainder of your day, you figure you should look around. And with how many Demons there are, you rather go alone just in case something happens. Dragging a child into your problems would be wrong, even if she is demonic herself.
Except that your exploration is halted soon after you passed the main gate; despite the constant stream of Demons going in and out, you notice the pair that eyes you. One is one of the soldier types you see everywhere, the other is... not that. He is tall and sharp, and his entire nobleman-getup screams trouble.
Something about the soldier appears familiar to you, too; not that you can say for sure what it is. You have seen hundreds of them so far, and no idea which one that is.
The handsome one steps into your path when you near, making you pause; only some quick thinking stops you from materialising your weapon, seeing that he does not have his drawn either. You stay quiet and hope for the best, or that you are faster than him at least. Though you do glare at the man that once again stands much taller than you. You probably will have to get used to that.
"So you are the rumoured human, young lady?" He smiles almost kindly, were it not for the sharp canines it reveals. You just keep giving him an unimpressed look and crush any hint of panic while the soldier puts a hand to his head.
With no response forthcoming, the faux-noble chuckles and flicks his gaze to whoever his companion is. "How interesting, friend, that you indeed lost to a girl so small."
Oh. That's Orux.
You notice that some people, stopped to watch, but ignore it in favour of giving the man in front of you a better stinkeye. "And what about it?"
"Oh, nothing much." He chuckles and grins at you again... then deftly moves a hand under your chin and pushes it up so you are actually looking into his eyes. Your own hand slaps his away a moment later and you snarl at the Demon. "You want trouble?"
Much to your relief, he does step back with a good-natured yet fanged smile. "I will pass, girl. I rather not risk adding myself to a list holding but one name so far."
There may have been a threat there, but you ignore it. That guy irks you fiercely and you just thought of the perfect retort, which you deliver with a grin of your own: "Well, look at that. Something else seems to be quite small, too."
You admit that you expected a little more than just his smile twitching in a mix of irritation and amusement. You did not expect Orux of all people to snort over your quip. Some others start laughing in the background as well, but he thankfully does not get aggressive.
He eyes you again and huffs in what is mostly amusement. "I can see what would make you so interesting, girl. Do be careful though, else that sharp tongue of yours may be your downfall."
He offers a mocking bow and wanders off, exchanging a nod with Orux on the way out. The soldier does not appear ready to leave, though; he waits until the small crowd disperses and approaches you slowly. You let him, knowing that this is someone you definitely could defeat if need be.
He rubs the back of his head for a moment and offers a bow to you, more respectful than what his friend had done before. "I... apologise for Dragul. He doesn't seem to be convinced of your strength just yet." That is unexpected, though; it throws you off enough for him to continue: "And my compliment on the insult."
You blink at the Demon and try to find any words for what is happening here, but are interrupted by grunts and roars nearby; turning, you find your sight blocked by a wall of people who formed a circle around some kind of commotion, probably a fight. But why are people fighting right there?
Curious, you ask Orux and he merely shrugs. "The place is mostly up to chance, but those two in particular have a brawl every other week."
If only you could actually see what is going on. Unfortunately, the only option you see would be to climb on someone's shoulders. So no, you are not going to find out. Orux eyes the fight a few moments longer, then turns back to you and bows again. "My apologies for taking up your time, I will take my leave now."
He then does just that and moves off, leaving you behind in confusion about what is going on. You do not really get to find much interesting things afterward, though the base is too big to cover in a single afternoon. And you stay away from most parts because there is no stone path and everything is a little muddy after the rain.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
At the end of the day, you find that you enjoyed yourself. Kind of, at least more than you expected you would. Paoras is a sweetheart, you met a few weird characters, got some answers and more questions to ask sooner or later, and the place lends itself well to exploring.
That is the first evening you notice the fluffy pillows and blanket on your bed. They were there before, you know, but it just never registered.
A few days pass like this, which you mostly spend exploring the area either by yourself or with your new friend. People mostly leave you be and you try your best to avoid the rest... though it takes a while to get used to the casual violence; there seems to be at least one brawl in any place, any day. Nobody bats an eye and many even stop to watch and cheer.
It is weird in a way, but you have bigger problems.
Now however, you still have a week to spend. What to do between exploring...
-------------
Pick two:
[] Examine your weapons and practice a little Heidi does not feel like it
[] See if you can spend some more time around Maya, she seems nice
[] Hang out with Paoras, she will probably like the company
[] Even though you did not get to talk to him all that much, Orux appeared... not too bad; maybe you can learn more about him?
[]EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it
=====
+10xp Met Epsilon Aaron
+5xp Met Mokutuuk
+5xp Met Dragul
EXP gained: 20 Total EXP: 175
=====
(Affinities Revealed)
(Unlocked Level 1 Character Sheet: Epsilon Aaron)
(Unlocked Level 1 Character Sheet: Mokutuuk)
(Unlocked Level 1 Character Sheet: Orux)
(Unlocked Level 1 Character Sheet: Dragul)
Adhoc vote count started by Naron on Jun 5, 2019 at 10:04 AM, finished with 147 posts and 7 votes.
[x] Even though you did not get to talk to him all that much, Orux appeared... not too bad; maybe you can learn more about him?
[X] Hang out with Paoras, she will probably like the company
[X] Even though you did not get to talk to him all that much, Orux appeared... not too bad; maybe you can learn more about him?
You know that your decision for this day was right; perhaps not the best, but definitely right. Paoras' eyes shone the moment you asked her to hang out; not like the previous days where you occasionally met her on your way around the Keep or when seeing Maya to get your stuff, but actually doing something together.
"There's not many children here, huh?" You can not help but ask.
The answer is, of course, obvious; Paoras nods sadly. "Yup. Mama says Demons don't have children that often. We're the only family here." She squeezes your hand with surprising force, then looks up at you with a bright smile: "But it's fine! I have lots of little brothers and little sisters already!"
You have the feeling she is just saying that to stop you from worrying. Instead of answering, you pick up the little bundle of joy and have her ride on your shoulders; Paoras squeals happily and locks her legs around your neck, displaying an amount of strength that dwarfs any human despite her small size. At least she is actually as light as she looks. You are stronger while transformed, but not enough to lift someone super heavy.
After a moment, you tap her thigh as you walk. "Ease off a little, that hurts."
"Ah, sorry!" The pressure thankfully lessens, and you keep walking in silence for a bit. The Demons you pass give the procedure curious and confused looks alike, though you try your best to dodge any group larger than two.
Paoras waves at people you pass and hums a nonsensical tune all the way, neither of you having an actual goal at the moment. This base is huge and while you are interested in the marketplace, for what could be called that, you have nothing to trade there. The barracks are an obvious no and you do not feel like building up stamina by scaling one of the spires.
So you and your little friend wander the streets by yourselves, left alone for the most part. She seems to like the elevated position, though carrying her around on your shoulders is not easy; balancing her size and weight is, but you have to ask yourself how your father could carry you around like that when you were little.
Well, Paoras is a bit taller than you were back then.
"What else do you do out here?" You can not help but ask, curious about your friend's regular schedule.
She thinks for a few long moments, one finger on her chin in a gesture that she obviously copied from Maya. "Hmmmmm. I play with my little brothers and little sisters. And I train with Papa, and Mama teaches me stuff, and I play with Moku, and I go exploring and stuff." She thinks a moment longer and nods happily, apparently having covered everything.
Some of it is a little concerning, though. "Aren't you scared?" You can not see her face, but the confused noise she makes is enough to understand the question: "That someone's going to hurt you, I mean?"
"Nah." She actually giggles and pats your head with her dainty fingers. "It's fine, Mama protects me." She does not say any more, but you get the idea. Anyone who crosses Paoras, also crosses Maya.
Then again, she may just be idolising her mother; Maya does not look like the most combative Demon around.
Considering how content the child on your shoulders is, though... you have the feeling that something else is at play here.
"Oh, right!" You glance up at Paoras, but she does not say any more. The girl leans down until you are back to back, wraps her arms behind herself and around your waist, then lets go of your neck and lowers herself down feet-first. She only lets go once her feet are on the ground and grins at you as if that was nothing special. "Mama wants to talk to you later."
You stare at her for a moment longer, then rub your face and pretend this did not just happen. "Sure, we can tour back to her office." Though you quietly wonder whether you could do similar things now.
Oblivious to your thoughts, Paoras thinks for a moment and then perks up. "Oh, and if someone tries to hurt me, I can hurt them right back!" She goes back to the previous topic without much concern, making you raise an eyebrow at her.
"You can? How?" Because sure, there is a surprising amount of strength in her small frame, but certainly not enough to actually injure a Demon.
Paoras, on your prompt, materialises a spiked club out of thin air. It is almost as big as her and getting hit by that looks like a really bad idea. "Tada! My Crusher!" She introduces the weapon with a bright smile, then grabs it two-handed and whacks it onto the ground. Dust flies and you quickly take a step back while your friend pulls the weapon back out. "I made it myself, it's great!"
You regard the sizable hole in the ground, then the beaming child in front of you, and recognise that you were wrong. You also really should have expected that. "...point taken. Should we get going?" Your friend nods cheerfully, so you take her hand and let her lead you around.
Some people sneer at you as you walk past, and you happily leer right back at them; aggressiveness helps a lot, you found. Shying away only emboldened those types, but they could be cowed rather easily by the prospect of being beaten by you.
So far, no one has tried their luck. You hope it will stay that way.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
You see Maya in the evening, back in her office. Paoras went off to see her father, whom you have yet to meet.
For some reason however, the friendly Demon wears no smile today; she motions for you to sit, which you do and wait for whatever bad news she has. Silence reigns for many moments, Maya looking you over and grasping for what to say.
In the end, she asks bluntly: "You avoid socialising with anyone except a few people. Why?"
You blink at her, not sure what to make of the question; being careful is normal in such an environment. Anyone could be out for your hide. "Just being careful is all."
Apparently, that was the wrong answer. Maya's eyes narrow and she leans back in her chair. "That is not being careful," she points out. "You actively avoid as many people as you can and even my little daughter noticed that you appear scared whenever people are near. That, sweetie, is paranoia."
Your eyes narrow in turn, both at the accusation and the attitude. "And that's important why? I like not being clubbed over the head and raped in some alleyway, thank you very much." You only realise what you said when it is already out, your greatest fear revealed just like that.
At least it gives Maya pause; she eyes you with confusion for some reason, thinking for a noticeable amount of time. In the end, she probes a little more cautiously: "Why do you think that might happen?"
"Why wouldn't it? That's what Demons do... right?" You really need to stop your tongue from being faster than your brain. Only in saying it, however, do you realise the kind of reasoning you are using. It is not at all good to put everyone into the same category like that.
Maya exhales and stands before walking around her desk. You watch her expression go from understanding to pained to resigned. Then it all vanishes into a calm mask. She motions for you to stand and cups your cheek with her hand, the two ethereal ones wrapping around your shoulders. "Then let me remind you that I am also a Demon, sweetie."
The atmosphere changes and you stand frozen in a moment of fear; Maya stares at you with a searching look, then strokes your cheek with a single finger. "So tell me, what does stop me from bending you over this table and having my way with you? That we are both women?"
You have no answer. She does not expect one, either.
The Demon sighs and lets go of you; she even takes a step back while you keep standing in place, curious. She has you listening, and she knows it. "I do not know what kind of stories you were told, but this is ridiculous." A hand is thrown out toward where the town is and Maya begins to explain. "The only time you are, quite literally, fucked is if you come in as a prisoner after a battle, because then you count as spoils of war. That is how it is here, and under no other circumstance will some random soldiers try something like this. You came as a guest, not as a prisoner."
Oh.
That makes a certain amount of sense; you know it is still not a good thing, but by far not as bad as you imagined. Though thinking about what might have happened if you lost against Orux back then... the thought is interrupted when Maya continues.
"Of course, some of the stronger people around may come and ask you for sex, or offer it to you, but they won't make a fuss if you're respectful when telling them no. There are enough willing men and women around either way." That is a prospect you could live without, though it makes sense once again. Maya offers you a wink this time. "You need not say yes unless you want to." Aaand you are blushing. How does she do that?
Your blush quickly subsides in the following silence, though. Maya considers you for long moments again, and adds one more thing: "Things are a little different back home in Hell, it's a bit rougher there and you don't always have the option to say no, but even there it is kind of rare. Out here, even the powerful people can not afford to make an enemy of anyone who might be nearby to save their lives later, or in a good position to backstab them at a bad time."
You nod understandingly, quietly noting the difference in culture to yourself. It is weird, in a way. Maya nods as well. "It is based on respect; as long as you respect your betters, they will treat you at least properly as long as you are not an actual slave."
You never thought about it like that, and will have to put some actual thought into it later. Right now, Maya gave you a few good reasons not to jump at every little thing. Respect is an angle you never really considered yourself. Which could be a bit of a problem.
You also do not like the catty smile on the Demon's face. "All that said...."
She does not finish the sentence, but gives you a telling look. You blink and wonder if this is really what she just offered you. "...no?"
Apparently, it was. Maya smiles openly now. "See? It is that easy, though you do have to work on the part about being respectful."
Which could be a bit more than a small problem, you concede to yourself and her. "I, um, have a bit of a problem with authority." You sheepishly avert your gaze from hers, but she simply motions for you to sit and explain, which you do. "I've never been good at taking orders from... well, anyone. I just can't do it without getting angry, or spiteful, or something like that. Then I snap at people, and then I get in trouble most of the time."
You admit it quietly, though Maya hears you anyway. She mulls it over while you continue: "Out here it's... weird. I don't feel like making a fuss with you. You're more like a mom than a boss, and I don't have it with my own father, either. Or any of my friends' parents. And all the others, that's me biting my tongue because they can kill me with a flick of their wrist. It won't hold."
You already know it will not hold from experience. Elisabeth is good at making things appear less like orders and more like suggestions, so you have an easier time interacting with her. But even then you still know she is part of the leadership. Your nature will get out sooner or later.
Maya sighs, though. "I see. My point was that you do not need to think the best of anyone, though. It is not expected that you like them, either. The important part is that you appear respectful, even if you curse them dead in your head at the same time. If you are not good at being dishonest about your feelings, then we can practice. I have a few years of experience with that."
She offers you another wink and leans over to pat your head, her offer making you think. You did try something like that before, but never really in earnest when it did not work on the first few attempts.
That aside however, it is weird to realise that you had your head clouded by propaganda, at least to an extent. Maya never refused the notion that horrible things happen in the Unified Darkness, she just clarified that it is not as wide-spread as people seem to believe.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
After a nice dinner and a good night's rest, followed by mulling over what Maya told you the previous day, you are out and about.
At first you considered to take Paoras along again, but decided against it. You want to give it a try, just wandering the streets amidst all those different forms of people.
Nothing bad happens, much to your relief. There is still a general sense of curiousity about you, but people apparently got used to your presence already. Just another person in the crowd. Hell Beasts circle overhead, of the same kind as Mokutuuk. Dark Stars of many different shapes roam the airspace, going this way and that. You even spot Epsilon Aaron flitting somewhere once.
Then you notice someone else you recognise... somewhat. You can not be entirely sure, but at least something about him does appear familiar. So you step out of the crowd and walk up to where he is standing; a moment later, you see that he examines some kind of writing on the wall. You can not read it.
"What does that say?" Your voice alone makes him stand a little more straight and turn his head to where you are standing next to him.
When you remain silent, obviously waiting for him to respond, he nods quietly and motions for the weird runes. "Nothing particularly special. It says 'Mogreb was here'." You snort at the familiar practice, surprised to find it happening out here as well. He continues afterward: "I was trying to remember if someone of that name is in any of the scouting groups, or if the Imps are up to mischief again."
You make an understanding noise and stare at the runes for a moment longer, then turn to the Demon properly. "Just to make sure, you are Orux, right?"
"I am," he confirms with a hint of confusion while you relax; getting the wrong person would have been more than a little embarassing.
"Good. I'm still not sure how to keep people of the same type apart, so I'd rather ask." He nods understandingly, though even you know his actual question remains unanswered. "Can we talk a little?"
Some people are whispering, but a glare from you quiets them. Orux eyes you with narrowed eyes, warily, but nods after a moment. "Of course."
You nod and motion for him to follow, the two of you walking a little bit away from the more crowded streets. He keeps eyeing you with a certain care, but remains at a respectful distance even while you have your back turned; you can hear it from his steps, much heavier than your own.
"Okay, I will just be blunt here," you tell him after a while of just walking and mulling over what to say. "I don't get it. Sure, you lost that fight we had, but you wouldn't have to be as polite as you are. Aren't you at least a little angry that you lost?" After thinking things over, that is what bothers you the most. Sure, it may be an act like Maya explained to you, but then he would not have apologised for his friend being an ass.
He frowns by the time you turn your head, eyes directed at the ground. "I... it is just how it is, no? I know my own weakness quite well, and the fact you were offered this duel instead of being run down makes it clear my commander guessed at your power." You almost snort at that, knowing that a full assault would have overwhelmed you.
He thinks for a moment and continues thoughtfully, making you feel a little weird. You did not even know Demons could think with that much nuance... at least not the rank and file.
"I was a sacrifice in those moments, and we all knew it." You did not. "You sparing my life when I surrendered was the best I could hope for, and losing to one more powerful than myself is nothing I would be angry about." He closed with a shrug. "So I see no reason for it."
That is... weird. Really weird. You nod slowly and avert your gaze. "I know I'd be mad if I lost, even if my enemy is stronger. I don't like losing."
Your admission coaxes a rumbling chuckle out of the tall Demon; he appears to have relaxed, too. "I can understand that quite well. A lack of power is nothing to be happy about, but you get used to it in time; that is just how it is." And there goes the good mood, as fast as it appeared.
Even you can tell from his tone that he does not like the matter at all, but there is little you can say. At least nothing about this.
So instead, you decide to do something else and reach out to clap his shoulder... or rather his arm, you can not reach that far up from where you stand. "I'm sure it will be fine." The surprise is rather clear on his face, though you have no idea if the empty phrase helped any.
You do not even know if you believe it yourself. But even if you do not believe it, you can at least try.
"Perhaps," Orux allows and eyes you again. Then he nods slowly. "I am afraid I have to meet up with my squad soon, though. If you would excuse me?" And now his tone is carefully void of emotions, though you pay that little mind.
Waving a hand, you offer him a smile. "Sure. See you around?"
He pauses mid-step for a moment, then nods. "Of course."
He walks off after that and leaves you wondering if you just made a friend. It certainly looks that way.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
The second week passes by far too quickly. Between talking to people, exploring, and just lazing around from time to time, you soon find that time is up. An Imp leads you back to Elisabeth's office, the scene in front of you quite familiar; the bastion commander is seated at her desk, reading some kind of report.
Once you enter, she puts it aside and offers you a smile. "Ah, Adelheid. Please have a seat." She motions for the chair in front of her desk. Not the nicer chairs at the table nearby, this one is more sturdy and also less soft to sit on. You can tell this means business.
The Ashen Maiden looks at you from behind her massive desk, a gaze that does not upset you as much as it did the last time you spoke; after two weeks of being relatively free and unharmed, your paranoia lessened into a certain wariness that feels more appropriate to the place. That does not mean you forgot the woman in front of you could kill you with a single slap, though.
"I see you have gotten somewhat used to your situation," the she starts after a few moments of silence. "Did you make any plans for how to proceed in the future?"
You hesitate. With everything that happened, you did not think much about what might yet happen; that was never your strong point and you really have no options, either. You are five thousand years distant from your home and your entire race.
Your silence apparently tells Elisabeth all she needs to know; her smile turns a bit softer and she motions for the room with one hand. "You could join my garrison for the time being. I can at least offer you a place to stay and the opportunity to nurture your powers for whatever is yet to come."
She falls silent and lets you think; her offer is nice and you almost take it without considering, but then think better of it. Demons are not stupid, and this one knows you are in a pinch. "What's the catch?" And there has to be one.
Her smile widens in a way that proves your suspicions right. Elisabeth nods at you. "Smart girl. The catch is that I can tell you don't like us much, so your race is probably more aligned with the Unified Light." You do not deny it in the short pause she gives you to respond; not like you have any reason to. So the Demon continues: "Which means that in staying, you give me the chance to change your mind and bring you on our side."
You have to respect that she is up-front about it. It is honestly not an unreasonable thing, either. Aside from the part where you most likely have to fight for these people later, but... they have not treated you badly so far. That irks you a little, considering everything you were told.
However, Elisabeth is not done; she quietly taps the table to get your attention. "That aside, I am not without compassion; imagining the situation you find yourself in leaves me quite... distressed." The audible pause she left in search for a good word does not go unnoticed. You are not sure whether to believe her, either.
It is in this moment that you realise you simply lack information. You need to learn more about these people and find out what of the things you were told is just propaganda. Especially with what Maya told you before, you are now aware you know too little.
Here is a Demon who just more or less said she wants to help you, for no greater reason than because she can sympathise. Is it true, is it a lie, is it a bit of both? You have no idea and that bothers you more than you like to admit.
You think for a minute, ignoring the woman in front of you in favour of going over your options. You could leave and hope for Voyage to bring you to the Unified Light. It might even do it, but might just as well dump you somewhere you would die. In turn, you were well-received in Charon's Keep, and staying would allow you to make sense of the situation and get used to your powers. Not to mention that there are people here who you want to talk to more.
All is in favour of taking the risk, except for one thing: you hate being ordered around. The people in charge here got around making you mad by not actually giving you any obvious orders so far, but that could change at any time.
So you let out a sigh as you prepare to address the one point that could be troublesome. "I'm fine with that, but I'd like to be an independent agent. I don't do well with authority, and just the idea of 'serving' someone makes me angry." Perhaps being this honest is a mistake, but you could not care less; it is important to you.
Elisabeth frowns for a moment before nodding. "I see. That is acceptable, though you should do your best in conveying respect if not obedience. It would be troublesome for us both if you fail in that." You grit your teeth and nod, unhappy. This is the best you can get, though.
A moment passes and the Demon changes the subject. "Ah, I just remembered." She tilts her head slightly in your way, one hand feeling for a few sheets of paper by her side. "If you would indulge my curiousity, I was wondering how humans adjusted to magic once it became available to them."
Her question makes you think; not about whether you should tell her, though. Elisabeth is offering you a place to stay and she asked nicely. And you are sure enough that it will not matter in the grand scheme of things, not that you even know any details of the matter anyway.
"Let's see... from what I know, our economy took a nearly lethal blow when we suddenly had any quantity of all materials available, tons of people died and we somehow still increased our population in the aftermath, people are trying to unify all the nations but nothing really changed, the world leadership is currently more a war council than anything else... so yeah, it's a mess."
She listens quietly, expression unchanging. You have no idea how the Akashic Pillar did not collapse on itself yet, either; if that is what she is wondering, you can not help her.
"I see," is the only response you get. With the topic thusly concluded, she pulls a small binder from her notes and offers you a nod. "I have put some thought into what I know of you, and made a decision."
She puts the binder down and you can feel her attention focus on you. "While I could make the choice for which of your talents to nurture, it would be best for you to decide yourself. I have a seasoned warrior and a gifted mage prepared, both willing to tutor you. Instead of wasting what little time there is for you, I recommend you only focus on one field instead of trying for everything."
Her explanation makes sense; you are quite surprised that she found willing teachers so quickly, though.
Then you lower your gaze to the desk and think. Being better with your weapons would be useful, but spells are the trump cards of most Magical Girls. You got Conundrum within hours of awakening, so there may be more waiting to be unlocked even if you can not make them yourself like Practitioners do. Being a spellcaster is tempting.
However...
You never had all that much interest in Magical Girls, but that does not mean you never cared. You know a few of the big names. Red Rose, of course, one of the very first and still alive to this day; she used to be high in the top ten, in the days before the juggernauts appeared. She is still among those ten, the last of the Old Guard.
The Goddess Four, who took the places as the four most powerful Magical Girls ever seen. Goddess Gold is the most terrifying spellcaster in existence and far off on the top, being able to vaporise entire armies in minutes.
But your heroine, the one you had always admired most, is number two. The Blacksmith. Magical Girl Goddess Grey, who wields an infinite array of blades into battle. Never matched, not once defeated, but fallen to the dark.
You never stopped admiring her even after she became an enemy of humanity, though; there is no woman more skilled, more graceful in battle. What is more, you heard accounts of survivors from Hope, the once human colony that became a battleground between Light and Dark. You heard of the last hours before the Goddess Four splintered, how each of them went above and beyond to bring more people out of Elysium, the capital.
Grey herself had held the outer wall, fighting alone against an unending tide of invaders and refusing to leave. By the end, bodies had piled as high as the walls she was defending. You never learned why she fell from the Light that day, but that does not matter right now. It never did.
This is your heroine, an ideal you often dreamed of aspiring to be. Now that you are a Magical Girl... now that you have the chance...
"I want the warrior."
The irony of where you are right now is not lost on you, but you could not care less. The words are spoken, and Elisabeth nods. If she is surprised by the determination in your voice, she does not question it.
"Very well."
-------------
Prologue-Arc "A Grand Journey's First Step" is complete.
No story-vote.
[] Spend EXP?
-[] Yes (Write-in what to buy)
-[] No, save it
=====
+5xp Playing with Pao
+5xp Befriended (?) Orux
+25xp Joined the UD, More or Less
+50xp To Be Like The Blacksmith
+100xp Completed the Prologue
EXP gained: 185 Total EXP: 360
=====
(Unlocked Level 4 Character Sheet: Paoras)
(Unlocked Level 2 Character Sheet: Orux)
(Unlocked Level 2 Character Sheet: The Ashen Maiden)
(New Shop Item Unlocked)
Determined Soldier
-Defiance is immune to damaging Presences and Auras; her ApT increase by 1 for every three opponents she is fighting.
170 EXP spent
190 remain
Waking up, you find yourself in 'your' bed, unwilling to get up immediately.
It took a little time beyond the meeting with Elisabeth, but the realisation sunk in by now. Even if it is just technically so, you joined the Unified Darkness. You are a Dark Magical Girl now.
That is not a path you ever thought your life would set for you. Things are different than expected out here, though. Not as bad. Nonetheless, you retain the notion that life is not fair and roll around in your queen-sized bed.
As you do, you find an Imp standing close to the slightly open door; your eyes widen in surprise, focussing on the lesser Demon as he puts a tray with food down on the small table there... which would explain where that came from the past two weeks.
The thought of having an Imp in your room while you were still asleep makes you shiver for a moment, but you quickly push that back down. You still pull your blanket a little closer, though.
The rustling gathers the Imp's attention and he quickly turns to you, kneeling immediately after. "Ah, terribly sorry, didn't mean to wake the young miss!" His high-pitched voice is almost like a squeal, completely different to the dark warble of the first Imp you saw. You blink at him owlishly, trying to make sense of what is happening while sitting up.
When he remains on the floor, you understand he is waiting for your response. After taking a deep breath and calming your nerves, you speak out: "It's fine, I woke up on my own." You can not help but ask, though: "Have you been... bringing my food every day?"
He looks up and nods cheerfully, his beady eyes almost gleaming in the early sunlight. "Indeed, young miss. Was cleaning and washing, too." He notes these things almost eagerly, making you wary again for a moment; someone handling your clothes like that is....
You cut off the thought, remembering what Maya told you. Not to mention that you would have noticed if that Imp did something inappropriate to you. "I see. Thank you very much." Is it just you, or is he actually surprised for a moment? You are not sure you can read Demon-expressions that well yet, though it is easier for humanoids.
With your paranoia reined in however, curiousity takes over. "Could you stay around for a bit? I would like to ask you a few questions."
He tilts his head slightly, but nods. "Of course, young miss. Is there any problem?"
You shake your own head in turn. "No, just curious. I don't know too much about the place or the people." You make to slip out of bed while he mulls that over, then realise your state of being barely dressed. "But turn around for a moment, I need to get dressed first."
That gets the Imp out of his thoughtful state and he takes a step your way. "I can dress you, young miss?" He offers with a weird mix of emotion that you can not put properly, but turns around immediately when you shake your head.
"I prefer to do that myself," you tell him as you quickly hop over to the clothes you laid out the evening before. Not to mention that letting a stranger touch you, Demon or not, feels weird in a situation like this. You have to admit that there is a certain interest in you as well, though; it makes you feel a little like a noble lady, having staff that would even put on your clothes for you if you demanded it.
Once you are dressed and have your food in front of you, the Imp sitting on the chair opposite to you after you prompted him to sit, you get to the conversation... after eyeing the content of the tray. Some spicy bread and a generous helping of meat and vegetables you can not hope to identify are laid out, the portion far too much for yourself.
The scent alone makes your mouth water, even right after waking up. Still too much for you, though. So you motion for the Imp. "Help yourself, I can't eat all of it anyway."
It irked you before that they give you that much food for each meal, wasteful as it is, but now it is a bit of an advantage. You note the new bout of confusion, but pay it little more mind when he slowly grabs for one of the meats.
Now feels like a good time to start. "So I was wondering," you begin with a curious look at the Imp, "I saw and heard about some of you before, but what do you Imps actually do here?"
He is quickly chewing the food at the moment, but swallows immediately once it is clear you are not saying any more. "Ah, yes. We clean and cook and repair the Keep." He thinks for a moment, then eyes you with what appears to be realisation. "Oh, the young miss has to know: we can't fight well, and there are many of us. Many more than anyone else, so we do all of that so everyone else can fight."
You listen curiously as he motions for the surroundings with both hands. "Being on the frontier is an honour, you see. We are all happy to be at such an important place." Though you can not help but find it funny how he says all of this in such a high-pitched voice.
You are curious about his opinion on this, though: "Aren't you afraid of getting attacked?"
He looks at you for a few long moments, eyes narrowing slightly before returning to normal. Then he shrugs. "It happens if it happens." Though he swipes some kind of vegetable from your plate afterward. "I was here for decades, young miss. Heaven rarely raids us. Might be more now that we're in the war, but everyone here always knew that." Then he pops the foodstuff into his mouth, teeth audibly cracking it open.
You sit quietly and think about that; he mentioned something that you remember Elisabeth also talking about. It is a little confusing, you have to admit. "What do you mean with that? Weren't you in the war before?"
The Eternal War has been going for eight thousand years... well, three thousand at this point. As far as you knew, everyone involved joined up in rapid succession. You never really paid much attention to the subject matter, though. You never thought you would ever even see the war up-front.
The Imp considers that question for a moment and swallows, shaking his head afterward. "Nah. Fey and Dark Stars fought each other, but we're jumping in with the Dark Stars now. So Heaven joined up with the Fey. Should be over soon now."
And no Elves. Does that mean the Elvin Empire is still doing its own thing? You almost ask, but figure it would be better to take this one step at a time. If no Elves are mentioned, then you doubt Elves will be around for now.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
You speak to him about some more trivial matters around the Keep, and he leaves a little later with the tray and your laundry.
Once the door closes, you consider slumping back into bed for a while longer. The Imp, you completely forgot to ask his name, was a nice distraction. Now your mind is going back to where it was before, though; then it starts wandering and you sit down on the soft carpet.
It is very much real, same as everything else around you. You are here, in the past.
You are a time traveler, there is no denying it.
You could kill Hitler.
You blink and go over that idea again, wherever it came from. Granted, that is basically the staple idea of time traveling in many cases.
However, it is well-documented how the man died; going back to kill him early would change the timeline fiercely and lead to trouble, or not at all with someone else taking up a similar position. You can not really do it without repercussions. The stories about time travel you read and watched in the past tell you that much.
You also know you are probably changing things with your presence here, but have no idea what you change and how. Everything should roughly work out the same way, though; as far as you know, time is not really changed. Everything leading up to the day you made this step into the past already takes your journey into account.
At least you hope so. Would be really bad if things were different than that.
Anyway, even if it is different and every step you take changes the future, you have no idea how to go around it, you would not know what it does or how to prevent it. You do not know how things would have gone without your interference.
The best you can do is make sure not to try changing things on purpose.
Once you reach that conclusion however, your memory produces those plots where a time traveler tries to save someone from their death. The idea makes you still for long seconds, thoughts immediately refusing your resolution surging to the forefront of your mind.
You could save your mother.
You could give her a warning that an invasion is near, and to leave the army before it happens. Or somehow get her out of the assault where she died, preventing her death. Maybe even pretend it like they do in some of those stories, so events remain consistent.
But that is impossible, and you know it. The attack never reached your home, but her casket did. You saw her before she was put to rest.
It is impossible to trick time like that when you already know this is a constant. And if it is not impossible, you rather not face the consequences.
As much as it hurts, and as much as you want to see her, you can not risk that. Mama is gone, so you have to make it home for Papa; he always took care of you as best as he could, risking yourself like that is not fair to him.
And even though you feel you could rage against fate like that, you lack the knowledge and power to do it. Even if you have both it would be a risk at best.
You flop onto your back and stare at the ceiling for a minute, trying to chase the gloomy mood away. The turquoise dress Maya organised for you is splayed around your form, its colouring reminiscent of your transformed outfit; its prim and proper, thankfully, not sultry like what she is wearing.
You never took to dresses before, but this one is quite lovely in your opinion. It goes down to your calves, is soft and warm but also light. It helps that most humanoid Demon women also wear dresses, though; you do not feel particularly out of place thanks to that, as you normally do when putting on a sundress.
But thinking of your own situation again, you realise you only have a day left before you will receive a teacher. After the fight with Orux however, you did not do so much as look at your weapon, caught up in your own problems as you were.
That is something you feel you should rectify, and also a good idea to get your mind off of the other topic. "As stolen flame sets fate ablaze, I rise as Magical Girl Defiance!"
You intended to mumble it, but the familiar feeling of insurgence and, well, defiance makes you call it out loud and clear, even while lying on the ground. You transform, the Handle manifesting in your outstretched hand. Your dress fades away as a shirt and skirt take its place.
Sighing, you angle your arms and hands until your palms are on the floor, then push out your legs to raise yourself up, lazily going into a handstand.
Personal Abilities can have all kinds of effects. Inhuman Agility is a generic one that many can have, though how it affects specific people depends on the person. For Heidi, that means a much improved flexibility and balance, as well as several times her regular jumping height. Of importance is that this Ability, instead of overriding her body magically each time she transforms, adjusted her permanently to be as flexible as she is now. That is why she has access to it even while untransformed.
From there you shift your balance onto one hand and lift the other to push your cape out of the way.
A moment passes as you remain that way, then you stretch one leg down on the other side and push off, standing straight not much later. Your skirt and cape fall back into place and you pick up your weapon to examine it.
The Handle is the base of Heidi's weapon; its Indestructible-Ability does exactly what the name says, making it impossible to destroy. Priority-1, as a Super Ability, allows her to act immediately even when surprised; she always goes first in combat.
Heidi can summon and dismiss her weapon at will, an ability that only Demons and Angels share. Not all Magical Girls can do so, it is an individual capability.
You know it is more than just a simple metal bar. It can shift its size to accomodate all of its other forms, and even remains present for each of them.
Mode-Shift allows a weapon to have several forms, each of them with separate Abilities. Only one can be active without a special Ability, though.
Normally, Mode-Shift has all modes in a single weapon, allowing to upgrade all modes by spending EXP once. Heidi's weapon in particular exchanged that boon for having one mode always active, and holding five modes in total instead of the usual two or three.
You know it is not much by itself, but it is a solid baseline for all of the others. The Handle shortens on a mental command, turning a size little longer than you can grasp comfortably; a turquoise blade grows out of it, a little longer than your entire arm.
Your Stardust Striker. It is the first time you see it, yet it rests in your hand as if you wielded the blade for years. The blade brings with it a sense of calmness, not directly to yourself but a part of you which you only barely noticed so far.
Stardust Striker's Modifier Save-Ability allows to reuse the last modifier roll. One high roll early on is the best possible result when fighting with this weapon.
It does not have much special going for it so far, but focussing is much easier while holding it. Epsilon Aaron called your magic roaring, and you start to understand what they meant; calmed like this, it is much more docile and flows easily, at least for you.
You take a basic stance, both legs firmly on the ground, and do a few swings; the blade can be comfortably held in one hand, though you could also grab it with both for overhead strikes. You doubt that would do much better, though; it lacks the size or weight to do anything particularly powerful.
Your assessment done, you switch; the sword glimmers and turns to dust as the Handle elongates again, becoming longer than its base form and growing two vicious scythes, one at each side. Stygian Tempest.
You quietly weigh the weapon in your hands, instincts telling you how it is to be used. Seeing that you have enough space, you carefully take a stance and flick the weapon at its center, then flick it again once the first blade came around to keep the motion going.
Stygian Tempest holds the Ray-Ability; this allows it innately to string as many regular attacks into a single attack as Heidi wants. In difference to the Laser-Ability, this one is continuous for the duration and can be spread out over a larger area. In turn, enemies can also step out of it midway instead of taking the full damage.
Armor Pierce, indicating the sharpness of the blades, reduces the enemy's damage reduction by 25%. It triggers on few things beside Base Resilience.
It produces a small breeze as you keep flicking the weapon with deft movements of your fingers, the steady motion almost hypnotic. Somehow, this one feels different. More resolute, in a way. You know it is not meant to fight, but to kill.
You shake off that thought and slowly stop the swing, holding your weapon more steadily once it stops. The blades are sharp and ready to slice life apart. A click of your mind later, they dissipate and make way for something more familiar.
Aetheric Tide, with a bright, diamond-shaped blade and its two long ribbons at the other end. You hold it with one hand toward the flat end and one toward the center, remembering how it boosted your speed the moment you committed to a strike.
Double Hit allows Heidi to hit twice in a single attack, effectively doubling damage, bonuses, and maluses. Meanwhile, Riposte has little use of its own; it grants her a free attack whenever she parries an incoming attack. The latter is an application of the Skilled-Ability, which she does not yet possess.
You make a few careful steps, lashing out against imaginary enemies, and find that it still feels as easy to hold as before. The ribbons flutter with each move you make, and you examine them curiously. They are, however, merely pretty to look at. You will have to be careful that no one pulls on them in battle.
Seeing how you rather not think about that right now, you switch one last time. Blade and ribbons vanish, the Handle shrinking once again. This time in a grip a little bigger than Stardust Striker's, and also somewhat familiar. A buzzing blue blade extends out of it once it formed completely, illuminating the room somewhat.
A lightsaber. You had the notion before, but actually seeing it drives home just how this looks. A metal bar, a longsword, a double scythe, a spear, and a lightsaber.
One of these does not belong, yet it is there and feels as natural as all the others. You give it a few experimental swings, finding the weapon even lighter than all of the others. Testing it on something is tempting, but your instincts tell you it is a really bad idea.
This weapon does not cut like Stygian Tempest, not in the same way.
Reaper's Will holds Vorpal. This is an Intercept-variant that, aside from allowing to initiate an Intercept-conflict, increases Heidi's own damage by 50% and lowers opposing damage during such a conflict by the same. It also allows the blade to cut through nearly everything with ease. Abrade, in turn, lowers the enemy's Resilience by 1% per hit. Which does not sound like much at first glance, but is actually quite powerful in a drawn-out fight.
You can not say why you feel that way, but this weapon... it does not appear like something you should ever use against a friend, similarly to Stygian Tempest. Lightsabers are dangerous at the best of times, using one in a spar feels like a really bad idea.
You push a lever up with your thumb, deactivating the blade and slowly weighing what remains in your hand. It is lighter than all your other weapons after all, the blade weighing basically nothing.
There is a certain irony in the fact you got a Jedi-colour, though. Considering your current alignment, you feel that a red blade would have been much more fitting. The Sith would most likely be UD-aligned, if they actually existed.
You take a deep breath and sigh, then let the weapon snap back to Handle-mode before dematerialising it. You have a free day ahead of you and ideas how to spend it. With that in mind, you leave your room.
-------------
Pick Three:
[] Talk to Maya, she may have an idea how to cheer you up
[] Ask to join Orux' patrol for the day, that is both making yourself useful and getting a better look around
[] Something such as a lazy Hell Beast interests you, time to investigate Mokutuuk
[] Find a secluded spot and play around with Brand Craft
[]EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it
=====
+10xp Daily Life in the UD
+15xp A Time Traveler's Woe
High-Speed Combat (lvl 1)
-Defiance can track and react to opponents moving at up to 90mph
200 EXP spent
15 remain
New Shop Item Unlocked
[X] Ask to join Orux' patrol for the day, that is both making yourself useful and getting a better look around
[X] Talk to Maya, she may have an idea how to cheer you up
[X] Find a secluded spot and play around with Brand Craft
You are technically not obligated to help out, but getting a lay of the land sounds like a good idea. Though you have to hope for the best in finding Orux' group; you rather not go with a squad full of strangers if you can prevent it.
That aside, even considering the early hour, you know the morning patrols will head out soon. You have to run if you want to catch them in time. Or...
Your gaze falls onto the by now familiar rune on the ground. Elisabeth said you could use them now, that they let you teleport to any other rune around the base. It is so easy that even Paoras can easily do it, so you figure you might as well try.
A pair of Demons offers you to go before them with polite nods, which you return with a moment of hesitation. People being all respectful is still new to you. If only they had not and gone away so a potential failure would be without audience.
You close your eyes for a moment as you step onto the rune; a feeling of movement immediately falls onto you, though you stand still. Destinations appear before your mind's eye, faintly bringing with them their names and a glimpse of the surroundings. You pull at the one that leads to the barracks, and then you are there.
You quickly make room for others that trickle in after you; there are some surprised looks from people around you, but no one bothers you. The squad you are looking for is nearby, too; they are still gathering... and Orux is there already, that is good. You walk over to them, aware of the fact they notice you quickly. Their commander turns to face you as well, and you make your way over to him.
"Do you mind if I tag along today?" You almost add a justification, but feel that is unnecessary as long as he does not ask. And as expected, the Demon simply nods after looking you over for a moment. So you nod back, discreetly bite your tongue as Maya taught you, and trot over to wait next to Orux.
He stays quiet until the remaining two Demons are there and everyone got going. Then he asks you the question you already expected: "Is there a particular reason for this?"
You shrug at him, knowing that some others are listening in. "I figured I might as well make myself useful for a bit. Getting a look around the area is a bonus." Your words are mulled over as you slowly leave the township, the Demons with their longer legs making you walk more quickly than you normally would.
"It is the opposite order, is it not?" He asks almost cautiously, having waited until those around you began their own conversations. You figured you did not fool him, but nod slowly in response. No need to lie here.
He simply nods and motions for the mountainside in the distance, the one you are walking away from. "This is Metatron's Divide, the greatest landmark you will find nearby. A valley leads right through its center, allowing troop movements and transportation. Scaling it is... difficult at best."
You nod and listen curiously as he tells you of the vast plains and forests in the direction you are headed, as well as the near lakes and other interesting things. It is nice of him to tell you all that stuff.
"Look how respectful he got," you hear one of the other Demons stage-whisper at the side; it is followed by quiet laughter from the rest. Orux eyes them for a moment, but does not say anything. You feel that there is something bigger at play here, but probably know too little to understand what it is.
Orux ignores the jabs for a while and the others stop them one by one. A single Demon seems to pass the line however, seeing that he punches that one in the face; the other one grumbles and slinks away. The others nod understandingly and you try to figure it out in retrospect.
It says a lot that this did not really affect you much. Not after walking by at least half a dozen fistfights every day for the last week.
After he made his 'statement', Orux is back to explaining things to you without even breaking stride. That is a little impressive by itself. You keep listening for a little longer, the squad scaring off a few small critters as it marched but never really finding anything dangerous.
"So," you use the few moments he is quiet, immediately gaining his attention. "I thought discipline is supposed to be a little higher. This is just..." You point at how most of them are talking and joking with each other. "It feels more like an outing instead of a patrol."
He shrugs at that. "That's how it always was. Everything goes as long as we stay attentive."
You wonder if that is a good or a bad idea, but really do not care much for the answer. Ultimately, once there is no more to learn about the countryside, you become rather bored rather quickly. Nothing happens and, according to Orux, that is a good thing. No encounters means no enemies in their sector.
Though some others complain about not getting anything to fight again, which spawns a discussion about what kind of wildlife is best for letting off steam when encountered. You quietly stay out of that.
The squad returns somewhere around noon, leaving you to say goodbye and head out. Nothing spectacular happened, but you think the monotony and friendly interaction helped clear your head a little.
And for lunch, you already know where to go.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
"Oh, come in, sweetie."
You enter the familiar office to find Maya, just as usual. She is not alone today, though; with her is an Elf, the first one you have ever seen. They really do look a lot like humans, though their features are a little different; not to mention the pointed ears.
You try not to stare too much and get to sit, knowing he is looking you up and down as you walk; there is a friendly smile on his face, though. He nods at you once you are seated.
Maya introduces you while placing a plate of food in front of you without a care. "This is my husband, and Paoras' father."
You give him another look and a friendly nod while he does the same, bowing his head. "It's a pleasure, young lady. My dear speaks of you at length." Maya shoos him playfully and motions for you to dig in while she wanders around the room.
It was a little weird to do this at first, seeing how you are used to eating together; Maya does not seem to mind it, though. She feeds you every time she visits, and there is always a glass of milk waiting for you for some reason; it tastes well enough, so you do not complain.
As you start eating, the couple says their goodbyes and he leaves after receiving a kiss on the cheek, wearing a happy smile on his way out. You admit to yourself that this is weird, and cast a curious look at the Demon while pointing to where he just left. "So... an Elf?"
Maya chuckles sheepishly and wanders back... no, more waddles. You notice something is different about her, and barely believe your eyes when you spot what makes her movements so different. She sits behind her desk. "Well, he used to be a slave for a year or two. The Ashen Maiden procured him for me, and I worked on nursing him back to good health."
"...you know sex doesn't actually heal people?" You can not help but ask, and Maya barks out a laugh as you stuff another peace of juicy meat into your mouth.
"No, sweetie. It can help a little, though." She absently rubs over her swollen belly, which you already spotted earlier, and offers you a weak smile. "He is quite precious to me either way."
"Is that why he made you another kid already?" She really makes this too easy, but does not appear sheepish in the slightest now. You wait for her to speak while chewing.
Maya considers her words a little longer and starts to rub her belly again as she explains: "It's less that. I want as many children as I can have, Heidi. I think it helped him, too; having a gaggle of children to take care of takes his mind off of the past. It gives him something to do while I am at work." She smiles softly, eyes elsewhere. "This will be our seventh baby."
"About that," you chime in there, reminded of the matter. "Paoras said she is ten months old. Elven children don't grow that quickly, do they? How does that work?" The answer is most likely magic, but you are curious nonetheless.
The Demon opens her mouth to answer, but stays quiet for a long moment. Then she relaxes a little more into her chair. "My personal power is to deliver children much faster. They are born within a month, and grow to adulthood much, much faster." The loving smile she has almost makes you feel envious of Paoras. "My darling girl is ten months old, but her body is that of a ten-year-old. She will reach biological maturity soon."
"She doesn't act like it, though," you point out and receive a nod.
"That is true." Maya motions for her unborn child with a faint smile. "Their mental growth is much quicker than that of normal children, but not nearly as fast as their physical growth. If Paoras is any indication, I think she will remain childlike for a few years; everything she needed to function came quickly, but the rest still takes a while. She is not a toddler in an adult's body," Maya cautions you. "She can take care of herself. But please do take care of her for your stay, whenever you find the time."
The plea is delivered more like a gentle request, and you see no reason to decline, so you nod. Maya smiles and thanks you happily. Then however, her expression falls a little. "It was great luck that I had this chance," she mutters more to herself. Once she realises what she said and that you are giving her a curious look however, she sighs and elaborates: "Halfbreeds are... well, not disliked in our society. Before I met my husband, wanting children made me carry three that were fully demonic to term."
Maya frowns and gives you a searching look, then continues: "I came here to protect them, mostly. Hell is not a good place when you are not a 'properly born' Demon. No, scratch that. It's just even worse than usual." She shakes herself and you have a feeling you do not want to imagine the kind of problems that would face.
Demons are not normally born from pregnancies; they are created when a promise is broken. The more powerful the promise, the stronger the Demon. You can see how a 'unnaturally' born Demon would face trouble in such a society.
Though this taught you something new, aside from the fact your friend is a half-Elf. "I had no idea two Demons can get children the... uh, the normal way." She shrugs again and you drop the matter; it is not really something you want to talk about in detail, anyway.
Considering how her powers manifest and what she does, though... "You're a Succubus, aren't you?"
That makes Maya eye you again, one eyebrow rising slowly. "I am. What tipped you off?"
You avert your eyes, blushing a little. "Well, where I'm from a Succubus is a sex-demon, so..."
"Ah." She chuckles and waves you off, apparently having understood what you were meaning to say. "That's not entirely accurate, but close enough. We form from strong promises related to love, such as marriage vows." She does not elaborate, and the way she shakes her head when you make to ask what hers was tells you this is not a good topic to bring up.
Without something else to ask, you quietly eat your food while Maya works; the silence is not even bothersome.
And afterward, the Succubus takes you back to practice holding back the scathing replies; you have to admit, she is good at acting like a bitch.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
It is the late afternoon by the time you leave Maya's office. Your day is almost over and you feel like having some fun for a bit. As much as playing with highly dangerous magical glyphs can be fun.
Which is exactly what you do: get yourself some scrap wood and metal plates before finding a quiet corner where nobody is and writing some arrays. You have one shoot a shower of glittering sparks every time you charge it, another that makes ominous winds blow through the hallway, away from you of course, and so on.
You are careful, meticulously preparing arrays and actualising them only after triple-checking each little exercise of yours, but it is fun.
When you picked up Brand Craft, and Magic Binary by extension, you mainly did it because it is one of your father's passions. You were curious why he liked it so much. Seeing him do magic like this inspired you, and you made array after array to show him back then.
Now that you can make them work yourself, you truly feel what he must feel every day: joy. It is not just work, there is actual joy in composing something that can do anything you want it to, if only you pay good attention to it.
Hours must have passed by the time you realise how many you made; all overall useless, but fun and nice. Though turning your little corner into a winter wonderland complete with snow might have been a little much.
Also, there is a Dark Star floating nearby.
You quickly get up while Epsilon Aaron's eyes wander over the different effects you created; he pays special attention to what you now realise is an arctic wind from the cold being caught in the breeze. Yet, even though this is probably not to regulations, you do not feel like saying sorry. Nobody got hurt and you enjoyed yourself.
"I have been observing you for a while," the Dark Star tells you with a curious note. "While I can not read your script, it is obvious you put much attention into ensuring a proper procedure and array. Who taught you to be so thorough?"
You blink at them, the choice of topic unexpected. "My father did." You have to wait for a bit while Epsilon Aaron looks over the snow-array, expression too alien to be readable.
"I see. Your progenitor is what you call a Practitioner as well, then?" You nod, wondering what the other being is getting at. "Certainly a well-educated one, I can see. Many young fools believe they can cut corners once they achieved a certain experience, then end themselves with a single mistake. It is refreshing to see you are not one of that group."
That is two compliments, at least. You never took Dark Stars for a crowd that was this flattering without a good reason, and you know that this one is not being polite out of fear. He could squish you like a bug.
What they say next is quite telling in that regard: "It is unfortunate that you refused to study under me. I am quite curious which heights of the arcane you could reach." It is still a surprise, though.
"You wanted to be my teacher? I heard you're pretty busy, so I didn't expect that...." You do not speak the part about this one being high up the totem pole; Epsilon Aaron is head of R&D on the frontier, and, as you found out, several hundred years old. He is a powerful Dark Star.
"I could have made time," he deflects your explanation without a care. "Time will tell whether your choice was correct." Then his eyes turn to you in earnest. "Though you may still change your mind."
Your own eyes narrow, but he raises one armless sleeve to stop you. "I am not here to convince you right now. With what I heard of her however, I believe you may wish not to remain under her tutelage for long. Just remember that you have the option."
They leave with those words and you quietly consider scowling at their back, but think better of it. Whoever this person is, you will show them that you do not give up just like that.
...
Though it is only now that you realise they knew who will teach you, and that you let them go without actually asking about it.
That leaves you curious way into the night. Even then however, you feel better and lighter as you fall into a peaceful slumber.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
By the time you wake, the Imp is already back with breakfast. You talk to him a little over your meal and then get going with a slight spring in your step. He gave you a message that another Imp will fetch you once it is time. Your... trainer will be expecting you around noon, on top of the central spire.
Now that you can use the runes, that journey will not even tire you out before you even get there!
With a few hours to spend however, you decide to take a stroll around the base. Even if it is a cold morning in Spring, people are out and about as usual, though no one you recognise. Until you walk by Orux, at least; he notices you a moment later and lowers his head in greeting as you wave.
The two of you soon wander about together, though you are a little confused. "Shouldn't you be on patrol?" It is late enough for that, you are rather sure.
He nods. "Yes, normally I would be." A large hand motions for the direction of the barracks. "Something weird happened further outside, though. The scout commanders are planning who to send and how to change the timetables. Or rather," he adds with a glance at you, "who they can bully into going first."
You raise an eyebrow at that, but he does not correct himself. Well, that is quite telling.
"So all the others are killing time, too?"
"Quite. Were you wishing to join us again?"
He is curious about that, and so are you. It was a nice experience, but ultimately pretty boring in your opinion. Either way, you have an excuse: "I can't, sorry. They start giving me lessons today." He grunts in understanding and does not say any more of the matter. A little weird, but that may just be the demonic thing to do.
Unfortunately, him not knowing that probably means people generally were not told who your teacher is; you still have to wait until you can find out.
"I am sure you will do well," Orux offers after a few moments. This gets a surprised look from you, but his encouragement does manage to bring out a smile as well.
"Thanks, I'll try." And you will, would have done it either way, but it feels nice that he at least appears to care.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
You talk to your friend (?) a while longer until he has to leave; he gives you a slap on the back as he goes. "Good luck." It is meant as encouragement and well-tempered, but you still stumble forward a little. Neither of you acknowledges the matter, though; you just nod and bid Orux goodbye.
You spend the rest of the morning strolling around the place and getting a light lunch; you remember that you are not supposed to eat directly before gym class, so it is probably better not to get started on something similar here.
An Imp fetches you a little later and leads you over a path you admittedly know already; seeing that they already sent someone to bring you there however, you keep quiet about that.
The air warmed a little as morning passed, but it is still cold; being as far up as the top of the central spire means it is even colder; you shiver a little in your dress, quietly thanking Maya for the thick cloth.
The Imp quickly runs off once you step foot on the solid stone floor. No one is up here at the moment, except for a single person.
She stands quietly, her ash-coloured hair floating in the breeze. Her regal features are expressionless; calm eyes take in your entire appearance, age and an inner fire burning in a gaze that almost makes you flinch. She does not speak, the long silver staff in her hands held lightly. Its head is a cross, and tattered black cloth covers her ashen skin.
You never saw an Angel before, but this is most definitely one. She looks nowhere as friendly as those on TV, sizing you up as you think these thoughts; her wings are pitch black and she has three of them.
Only at a second glance do you realise that her third wing is not, in fact, a normal wing. It grows in place of a right arm, a little longer and thinner than the other two; she has no right arm.
A feeling of dissonance rests over you, all goodness forsaken in this being's presence.
You think you have seen her before, a week or so ago. Not that you can say for sure with how fast the person back then was moving in the air.
The Angel steps toward you, making you almost flinch again; then you rein yourself in and step forward as well. She is intimidating, but so are most of the people around here based on looks.
Most others here, however, only have a head or two on you. This one is almost twice your size. You know Angels are normally around three metres tall, but this is the first time you really see the difference. You actually have to look far up to keep seeing her face, your own head about the height of her belly button. If Angels have those, that is.
There is no confusion here; she gives you a single nod once you stand in front of each other. Her voice is deep and cold as she commands: "Display your powers."
For a moment, you feel like being contrarian and just walking away; this instinct is quelled, though you can not help but frown. You need these lessons, and she has to instruct you for them, as much as you hate that. Though the Dark Star's words make a lot more sense now.
Taking a deep breath, you call out your transformation phrase and feel the familiar surge of resistance to all that looms over you, figuratively and literally: "As stolen flame sets fate ablaze, I rise as Magical Girl Defiance!" Light envelops you and you transform. For a moment, you think you see some kind of change on the Angel's face, but it vanishes before you can guess what it is. She is back to the calm expression when the light dies down.
You stare at each other for long moments, long enough for you to realise that she apparently expects something else. Though you are not sure, what. "Uh, am I supposed to do something?"
A dark eyebrow rises slightly, the expression quite reminiscent to what you tend to give others; it makes you even angrier to get that kind of look from someone else. "I asked you to display your powers, not to change your wardrobe." You blink at that, confused how she can be so uncaring for the new experience. "How am I to gauge your current level of skill, strength, and speed if you do not let me experience it?"
That... that makes sense. And if she is already offering to let you hit her? Why not? You allow yourself a feral grin and snap the Handle into its first mode, then dart toward her and swing the sword for her center.
(Stardust Striker: +225 Base Damage, +181 dice = 406 Total Damage
Attack negated.)
She pushes it aside with her arm-wing, a handful of feathers enough to make your momentum carry the strike past her side; you stumble a few steps and turn around, scowling at the nonplussed Angel. Instead of attacking again, considering that she wants to see everything, you call for "Conundrum!"
(Conundrum: +375 Base Boost, +70 dice = 445 Bonus Resilience)
Spiteful magic bubbles from your skin and forms armour, floating calmly as you hold Stardust Striker. Your opponent eyes the defenses curiously, but remains standing where she is. Her cross has not even moved yet, still held right below the head.
You dash in again, flicking your weapon into its next form and spinning it against her in an almost fluid movement.
(Stygian Tempest: +70 Base Damage, +104 dice, +70 Ray Trigger, +112 dice = 356 Total Damage
Attack Negated)
Yet she only takes a step aside and gives your arm a light push with that wing to make you swing past her entirely, the spin's momentum carrying you further without a chance to correct your course.
As you whirl around, you have your weapon switch to Aetheric Tide; it feels like the best fit for such an opponent, but you can already guess how it will go. Your teacher's expression is still the same as when you started; oh, how much you want to punch her right now.
You grind your teeth and charge again, already knowing the outcome.
(Aetheric Tide: +120 Base Damage, +129 dice = 249 Total Damage Aetheric Tide: +120 Base Damage, +129 dice = 249 Total Damage
498 Unified Damage
Attack negated.)
You stab for her twice in rapid succession, and this time she moves her staff; each jab slides off of it and misses her body. This time, you use the second miss to improve your swing and switch forms in the moment it takes to bring the weapon around, a victorious smirk on your lips.
(Reaper's Will: +100 Base Damage, +20 dice, +50 Additional Momentum = 170 Total Damage
Dispel negates damage.
Attack negated.)
You can see her eyes narrow at the sight of your lightsaber, the weapon design obviously foreign to her. This time she moves and parries the weapon with her cross... except that the blade completely vanishes the moment it comes in contact with it. You miss again and move to step back, your weapon returning, but your previous recklessness left the Angel in your guard.
You can see the staff lash out in perfect clarity, but your body moves far too slow to even attempt to dodge...
(Riposte triggers!
Blood Soaked Cross: +5000 Base Damage, dice suppressed, +3333 Horrific Speed Gap, +1000 Exploited Opening, -8500 Trying Not to Kill You = 833 Total Damage
Defiance: +100 Base Resilience, +11 dice, +445 Conundrum Dispelled, -20 Wide Open = 91 Total Damage Reduction
742 Final End Damage
Defiance Health: 300 - 742 = -442
Ouch)
Conundrum's shroud disperses without so much as slowing the polished metal and her staff rams into your stomach, sending you flying back a full metre as pain explodes all through your body; you roll over the ground and curl up, barely able to breathe for a few seconds.
(Blood Soaked Cross: Defiance's Health resets)
But then something soothes the pain, a cold touch snuffing out the burning sensation. You take a shaky breath and keep lying on the ground, unwilling to get up just yet.
That woman barely moved throughout your entire assault; you were outplayed effortlessly, not even able to land a single hit on her. Even that one strike she made herself, you could tell how much she held back.
So this is how someone actually powerful fights.
You can hear her feet tapping softly on the ground and roll over to look up at her as she comes to stand in front of you. Her expression remains as it was, the arm-wing quietly wrapping around her waist while she speaks: "I do hope your heightened potential for growth was not an exaggeration. You have none of what I am to teach you, and it would take decades at least to shape any Demon or Angel from where you are now."
You listen and agree, but scowl at her nonetheless. "Wow, thanks. I suck, tell me something I didn't know." It is both your own frustration about being a Story Maker and just having been beaten so thoroughly speaking. When the Angel frowns however, you clamp down on it; it is really not a good idea to be an ass to someone who wipes the floor with you like that.
"To your feet." You do as told; the floor is cold anyway. Once you are up however, your teacher motions for your weapon; you dropped it earlier. "Run through each weapon's basic stances."
You follow her instructions for now, curious where this is going. As you do, going through each stance on instinct and switching once you have them all, the Angel begins to... muse: "You possess little strength, which I doubt will change. Yet your speed is adequate in comparison... hm. Deflecting and parrying, much like my own style, ought to do well for you."
You frown at that and eye her a little curiously. "And how do I do that without strength?"
She stays quiet until you finished the last set with Reaper's Will, then motions for the lightsaber. "I was told you are quite young; as such, your grasp of the basics is quite formidable." Then she returns to your previous question while motioning for herself. "Either way, you need little strength if the technique is appropriate. Instead of facing stronger opponents head-on, you shall divert the force of their strikes and prevent them from bringing their strength to bear. Return to your sword and strike at me, slowly."
Now you are more than just a little curious and do as told, switching your weapon to Stardust Striker and walk toward her. She remains still and you slowly, oh so slowly, telegraph your attack.
In turn, she also begins to move; you watch as her staff is brought in position to catch your sword. It's obvious at this speed; the way your weapon hits, it will slide down the smooth shaft of hers. She already angled it in a way that will redirect the strike to pass by her without so much as a single touch. "I see it."
You complete your slow swing, finding that it happens exactly as you already thought. The other woman nods at you. "This will be the base of what I am to teach you. Remember it well." You do not respond, but she does not seem to expect an answer anyway. Her weapon returns to its regular position and so does yours.
After that, she has you run through basic combat sequences; sword swings, spinning your scythe, regular swings, stabbing, overhead strikes, and so on. She has you do every single motion ten times, uncaring for the fact most of them are already a part of the set of instincts and muscle memory you got with the transformation.
"These are your basics, that on which everything else is built. Never stop practicing them, never forget their importance; they will see you through many hardships where a more elaborate technique might be your downfall." You nod slowly, not quite understanding what she means with that.
She then goes on to teach you about distance; the way you have to watch your own reach and that of your opponent. Due to your size, she explains, most enemies will have a higher reach than you. That means whenever you attack them, they will also have a means to attack you.
"It is not as much of a problem for you, though," she explains while hoisting up her cross. "Due to the size of most weapons, if you can stay clear of sweeping attacks, it will be difficult to hit you while you are inside their guard. If you grow faster, you can likely dance around most enemies bigger than yourself. Stay alert of those faster than you, though."
She has you run a few basic sequences about that, too. By the time she is done with all the 'basics', the sun is already sinking.
"This late already... very well, one last lesson for today." Your teacher eyes you carefully, but you motion for her to wait and quickly refresh your transformation again. You did that a few times over the afternoon, unwilling to risk whatever happens once it runs out. A flash of light and you are back in your transformation, her expression unchanged... wait.
Your identity protection didn't do anything earlier, did it?
"Is something the matter?"
Apparently, your confusion was noticed. You vaguely motion for yourself. "This, my magic, it should stop people from recognising me and my transformed state as the same person. It didn't work on you earlier." And not on anyone else in the last week, you realise.
The Angel tilts her head slightly, then shakes it. "It did not. However, there is a limit to all magical power, no matter how potent. There is only one... human on this world, in this entire LDC even. A single Magical Girl also. It easily follows that your magic can not prevent the association in such a situation." She puts special emphasis on the unfamiliar terms, and you find yourself agreeing with that assessment.
Humans and Magical Girls are unknown everywhere; you are the only one of your kind. Who else could people think might be Magical Girl Defiance? "That makes sense, I guess..."
It is a little unfortunate, but the whole thing would not really help you anyway. You sigh and nod. "Okay, what's the next lesson?"
Surprisingly, you ended up enjoying this. Even with someone telling you what to do, getting better is something you like even under instructions. Especially under instructions, actually. You took especially to anything about deflection like a fish to water, and really hope it will be more of that kind.
Your teacher eyes you for a moment, then snaps out her weapon. The cross hovers in front of your face, a barely visible energy field coating it. "The last lesson is about your magic. With what I was told about your magical experience, you will make good use of it. Magic, even that with the same effect, can be brought forth in quite different ways."
Not just spells have a way to manifest; every single Ability on every weapon and spell has its own components and actualisation. This is what this system calls Soft Mechanics; they are how the Hard Mechanics, read the numbers and noted effects, work. They are the how.
You wonder what that has to do with her weapon being in your face, but nod and wait for her to continue.
"What you need to learn is to identify how your particular abilities work. How is it that you can stab me twice with that spear of yours where you could only stab once with your sword, how does this 'lightsaber' project its blade, in which way does your protective shroud manifest and what are its specific effects. All of these and more, you need to determine."
You blink at her and try to understand. You fail. "Okay. So... why do I need to find out about that? Isn't it enough that it works?"
Her response is a huff, perhaps the first notion of humour that you got from her so far; even if it is at your expense, you are mostly surprised by it. "Once you find how your magic works, you can get creative with it."
There are different and technically unintended ways to make use of a particular Ability's manifestation. This is commonly called Soft Mechanics Exploits, based on the fact a character learns how to use one effect for another purpose than originally intended. It is completely based on learning and practice and can not be improved by spending EXP.
When you remain unconvinced, she taps her cross and does something that has a wave of weirdness wash over you. "My weapon is covered in a magic-denying field. A single touch undoes all magical effects, barriers and the like. I can also utilise it in a larger surge."
The weapon is pulled back and now held in a guard-position. Your teacher smiles at you from in-between the cross-sections. It is a feral thing. "In this case however, the field is constantly active instead of just when I pulse it. My weapon can catch and undo even actual spells. Spellcasters are normally the most dangerous opponents to the style I teach you, but they have little power against me."
In mechanics, what she just said is that she has Dispel and Inhuman Skill. The latter allows her to negate incoming regular attacks, but not spells; those are too existentially heavy to be caught on a normal weapon. Thanks to her Dispel however, which is a constant anti-magic field on her weapon, she can skill-negate most spells just as easily.
That is incredibly useful; even you can tell as much. Spellcasting is often called a Magical Girl's trump card, and works similarly for most races. Being able to outdo spellcasters like that is a powerful improvement.
You start to see what she is getting at. "So I might have things like that, too?"
The Angel nods. "Yes. It will take meditation and thought, insight and practice, but you too will be able to achieve improvements. We will work these things out as well as I teach you the basics, but anything more outlandish will have to be practiced on your own time.
The exact mechanics of newly unlocked or upgraded parts of Heidi's kit are added after training with your teacher, or an additional practice-session. Either of the two unlocks soft mechanics exploits. Due to the fact your teacher mainly focusses on making you better at fighting, only voting for additional practice will allow Heidi to unlock her more useful exploits. A list of available techniques is now on the front page; not specifying will make Heidi practice whichever she wants to have. Every new exploit requires between one and two such actions, depending on its difficulty. Top-tier exploits will require more, depending on their difficulty and results.
It should be of note that while there is some trial and error involved, I am cutting this part from the mechanics side; Heidi will still be flailing around with ideas narratively, but it would be too much effort and exasperation to make the players trudge through the incredible number of potential ideas that will not work.
If the players believe they found an exploit that is not in the list but should be possible, they may notify the QM; if it is indeed deemed possible, it will be added ot the list.
With that, she sends you to bed.
And this was only the first day.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
For the first week, your teacher has you train from noon to nightfall. You can not really do anything else with how hard she works you; even the two to three hours of meditating on your powers she throws in for you to relax your aching muscles are not enough of a rest. You are exhausted every day, falling into bed once she lets you go and getting up maybe two hours before the whole thing starts again.
On the tenth day, the Angel has you rest in the afternoon sun. Her expression has grown a little less grim and she studies you as you sit on the ground, soaked in sweat. "Quite impressive." When you look at her, still panting, she elaborates with a hint of a smile: "It is quite impressive that you are still at it. It will not get easier and you are quite young; I have to admit I did not expect you to persevere. It is a pleasant surprise."
Your breathing slows as you stare at her; this might be the most veiled compliment you ever got. Deep within you however, you are also pleased; staying the course is what you do, not quitting halfway through. "I made my choice, so I'm going to stay with it."
She nods appreciatively... though as you find out soon enough, that is not enough to make her go a little easier on you.
For the next three weeks, your teacher has you run through a nearly metric ton of what she calls 'basics' and you do not believe really is. Various forms of movement, quick steps, sidesteps, backsteps, when and how to respond to attacks, when and how not to respond, how to feint, and so much more. She only moves on from each after you internalised them, and even then you still have to practice your basics for an hour every day.
You like one technique in particular, taught to you during the third week; it is mainly meant to deal with spear-users and other types of weapons with a long-shaft, but can be used on basically every stabbing weapon. You take a while to get it right at your current speed, stepping sideways of the strike and pushing it down toward the ground with your hand or foot. It sets you up perfectly for a counter.
All in all, you end up falling in love with this type of fighting. It comes to you so easily, each new idea and movement understood and integrated.
An entire month passes before the Angel gives you a nod right before parting. "You are adequate in your capabilities now. Take a few days to recuperate from the strain, then we will move on to the more advanced techniques."
For once in your life, you are happy over being so exhausted; it fits with you so incredibly well that your body and soul sing whenever you learn more, you even have a few ideas for techniques of your own already. The fact your bright smile confuses your teacher is a nice bonus as you thank her.
What are you doing with your free time, though...
-------------
Pick Three:
[] Actually, your teacher seems like the kind of person to stay by herself all the time; you do not even know her name yet... time to remedy that!
[] Catch up with Maya and Paoras; what were they up to?
[] Orux and Dragul are in some kind of competition is what you heard, find out what that is about
[] Practice more, no time to be lying around
(can be taken multiple times, mark with x2 or x3)
[] Go see Mokutuuk
[]EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it
=====
+20xp Met ???
+15xp A Most Demanding Teacher
+15xp Surpassed Her Expectations
EXP gained: 50 Total EXP: 65
=====
(Unlocked Level 3 Character Sheet: Orux)
(Unlocked Level 2 Character Sheet: Maya)
(Unlocked Level 2 Character Sheet: Epsilon Aaron)
(Unlocked Level 2 Character Sheet: ???)
(Soft Mechanics and Exploits unlocked)
New Ability
Skilled
-Sacrifice four actions to nullify an opponent's action.
(New Shop-Items Unlocked)
=====
Unlocked Soft Exploits:
-Attack Spread (Heidi can attack different enemies with each attack from Aetheric Tide's Double Hit)
-Quick-interrupt (Slip attacks in-between enemy movements to interrupt their own attacks)
[X] Actually, your teacher seems like the kind of person to stay by herself all the time; you do not even know her name yet... time to remedy that!
[X] Catch up with Maya and Paoras; what were they up to?
[X] Practice more, no time to be lying around
-[X] -String several attacks together like a multi-hit (each attack still costs an action) [1 Training Action]
When you wake up the next morning, you feel that you have a good plan for what to do. First, you are in need of a break, so you will take the day off.
After that, tomorrow, you will practice a little more; this is the first time in ages you enjoyed yourself that much, and you have something you want to test.
Beyond that, you will see.
Either way, you hear someone almost hammering at the door before even finishing your breakfast. Just like every day, though she is a little more enthusiastic today; you think you told her something about being free yesterday when heading for bed.
Though you can not help but smile, even while 'your' Imp remains obviously unsure what to think of it.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
"This way, just a little further...." You follow Paoras with a hint of amusement and sheepishness alike. She is pulling you around near the parts you know house the logistics department, her grip tight and with a bright smile that makes it rather clear she missed you. Or... it would, if she had not already said as much earlier.
You are not entirely sure how to feel about that yet, but at least she does not blame you for having little time.
The journey ends with another set of doors that lead into a large living room; large by this place's standards, it is at least twenty metres in diameter; various sitting implements and a free center space with a plush carpet, all of it held in warm reds and oranges.
The moment Paoras pulls you inside, ten pairs of eyes are on you immediately. Maya and her husband are there, as are seven other half-Elves and one man that looks more like a Demon-noble but has two toddlers in his arms. His features are softer than Dragul's, though; the only point of reference you have on that matter.
"Big sis!" various voices call and four of the five non-toddlers jump Paoras to wrap her into hugs; two girls, two boys. The fifth girl just watches them with a smile while braiding her father's shoulder-length hair.
You almost get whiplash from how different the atmosphere is in here. Maya is sitting amidst the chaos with a serene smile, her once-again bloated belly barely hidden by a white nightgown. "It was about time you got a break, sweetie. Come, sit." She pats the empty spot next to her on the couch, which you take after a moment.
A moment later, a little boy plops into your lap after getting his hug from Paoras; you blink, but he just beams at you. Maya giggles and pets your head. "Welcome to my home; do not expect the little ones to hold back, they heard a lot about you by now."
Oh.
You do not even have time to brace yourself as, moments later, four children have surrounded you and start chattering; you can not really follow them and give up trying after a moment. Thankfully, your friend gives each of them a little smack on the head and they apologise.
"Your hair's so pretty, miss," one of the twin-girls gushes right after, the other one nodding in agreement and making you a little sheepish. "Can we braid it?" one of the boys asks, and only now do you notice he looks just like the twins. But that is...
"Uh...." You are not sure what to say and look to Maya, who nods with an amused twinkle in her eyes. Considering that you did not have much time for your hair the last month, there is not much they can mess up anyway. "Sure, just be careful."
"'Kay!" And with that, the triplets turn their attention away from you. One more boy remains, and a girl that finishes off her father's braid with a proud hum. Paoras smiles and sits on Maya's other side, quickly drawn into a sidehug.
"Eight children... okay, eleven," you correct when the full-blooded Demon clears his throat; the toddlers blubber at him immediately after, taking up his attention. Good thing that, there are too many people for you to engage them all. Talking to Maya might not be possible if they all wanted to talk to you right now; you give the Succubus a look. "How many more until you are happy?"
Almost as expected, she gives you a wry smile and rubs her belly again, her oldest hybrid-daughter's hands quickly joining her. "I can never have enough children." Paoras squeals at the thought of more little brothers and sisters.
"I was afraid you would say that." Just looking at this large family makes your head spin; Eleven children, and there are only nine here. Human families are big with three. "How can you keep up with that?" you ask the only actual Elf in the room.
He mulls over your question before shrugging, though you can see his smile. "So far, our family is not much larger than an average Elven family." Now there is something else you wonder about, but he keeps going: "I don't mind it; they are all quite receptive for their age, so much that I can actually teach them a few basic things."
When your eyebrow raises, Maya points to the shortsword and shield hanging on hooks near the door. "My dear used to be in the Elven Legions, so he teaches the children some combat techniques whenever they feel restless. They take to it quite well."
All that produces in your head is the picture you saw of a legion phalanx, reaching back to the horizon and obscuring the ground it stood on, just with all the Elves replaced by Maya's spawn. The image is both amusing and horrifying.
Thankfully, he continues and thus diverts your attention: "Though it is a little jarring to see them grow so fast," at which you regard the boy in your lap again; he looks like an eight-year-old, so he is probably four months old or so. Potentially the youngest, though the fact all but him are taller than Paoras tells you this does not mean much. Granted, only her sister is noticeably taller just yet.
"Which reminds me," Maya interjects cheerfully, her daughter crawling on her lap, "that her birthday was last week."
Paoras, however, scowls cutely and crosses her arms. "I don't like getting older anymore. My boobies hurt all the time now." She ignores your raised eyebrow and keeps pouting even when Maya pets her head.
Her younger, non-triplet sister leans over Maya's back to join the petting. "Don't worry, sis," she offers sagely. "That's just your boobies growing. I have it, too." And considering that her chest is quite prominent for a girl that can not be older than a ten-year-old in comparison... wait, Elves grow faster than humans. You do know that much; fifteen is their age of maturity, so at ten... that might work for an early bloomer.
Paoras huffs, but you can tell there is no heat in it; she just wants to keep all the attention, which you do not mind; aside from that, the errant tug on your hair is enough to remind you there are still three half-Elves busy doing something with it, though they are at least skilled enough not to hurt you.
Admittedly, it is eery in a way; except for the twins and the boy in your lap, who have black hair, all the children are redheads. All the children are somewhere on the sliding scale from cute to pretty. All the children look so happy in a place where you never thought you would find even just a family living in the first place.
You say nothing about it, though; Maya seems happy. Paoras, for all her faked pouting, is also happy.
Then the triplets cheer. "Done!" the boy calls and you reach back to feel what they did. your hair is in a single tight braid, you can tell. Not particularly orderly, but that does not matter much. You reach around the braid and pull it over your shoulder to behold.
It does not even look half bad, you have to admit. The children are waiting for your judgement, but they beam anyway; you huff and reach out to ruffle the two girls' hair. "Good job, you three. I like it." They giggle, though their brother moves to pout... until you give him a peck on the forehead, after which he blushes and hides, much to your amusement.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
Playing with so many children tires you out, but it is a completely different kind of exhaustion. Much more pleasant, relaxing. So relaxing that you feel you can get back to practicing some more when you open your eyes the next day.
Which is why, after a nice breakfast and playing with Paoras a little longer, you make your way up the spire once more. The place is deserted as usual, aside from Mokutuuk dozing in the morning sun. You pay the Hell Beast no mind and transform, then take a basic stance; your teacher did say to practice all your stances regularly, which is why you have trouble actually bringing yourself to do so.
At least her explanations make enough sense to justify doing as she says.
An hour passes until you are done 'warming up', but you feel good about yourself. Still not fast or good enough to negate anything without leaving yourself wide open, but you have a good grip on what you can and can not do.
First you bring out Aetheric Tide and stab an imaginary opponent four times in rapid succession. It is... noticeable that there is a delay between the first two and the second two. You can tell why, too. The spear somehow gives you a speed boost when you move to strike, allowing you to stab twice in the time it normally takes to stab once.
You can tell this can not just be replicated; you can not just speed up like that, no matter how useful it would be. Which means bridging the gap with pure speed is not an option, at least not now.
"Hm."
It takes some practicing, trial and error, and a few unworkable ideas, lunch in-between, and more practice, but you do reach something interesting by the time the sun begins to sink. Sword in hand, you focus on your imaginary opponent and stab forward, pull back and turn that motion into a swing.
(Stardust Striker: +225 Base Damage, dice do not matter = 225 Total Damage
Stardust Striker: +225 Base Damage, dice do not matter, -25 Off-Target = 200 Total Damage
425 Unified Damage, no target)
It is still not perfect, but you can say for sure that you have it now. By letting your attacks flow into each other, you can combine them; it is different than just hitting twice, you can tell that much. You hit harder this way.
Still, another half day will probably be needed to get it down entirely. You do not mind that, it is progress nonetheless.
The next day, you find a surprise up top; your teacher is there, going through stances of her own. She pays you no mind for the time being, fluidly flinging her cross like a spear and sword both; cuts, slashes, stabs, she apparently mastered them all.
You take up position a bit away from her and begin your own practice, fully aware that she is watching you. It takes until you are done with your own basics until she speaks up, though: "Your dedication is commendable. What are you practicing today?"
You raise an eyebrow at that, but bite down on your tongue and just think some unpleasant comments. Then you go about explaining your idea, to which the Angel becomes a little thoughtful. She watches your displays and has them run into her cross a few times, eyes narrowed.
"It is a useful technique indeed," she finally tells you. "Though one that depends on speed no matter what. Perhaps you can do it anyway with enough practice, but not soon." Then she eyes you again. "Speed will come in time, then you will be able to do this without any problem."
You raise an eyebrow, but then shrug it off and nod at her. "Sure, but I'm still putting some more time in. This has to work when I need it." She nods in turn and leaves you to it. Though she does not, you notice, leave entirely; your teacher keeps watching.
After a while, you decide to talk to her; she does not look like she is going to leave anytime soon, anyway. "Can I ask you something?" Not that you are against spending some more time with her; with how frosty she behaves, you can imagine that most people keep their distance at best. The Angel nods at you, so you go ahead: "What's your name?"
You still have her in your field of vision and can thus see the puzzled expression your question brings. Despite everything, that makes you smile and you cheerfully repeat the motion you just completed with your spear. She stays silent for a few moments, eyes on you. "You do not know my name?"
There is a certain confusion there, to which you just roll your eyes and follow your first stab with a slash, followed by another slash in the other direction and a fourth stab. That works, too. "You never said it and nobody else told me, so no."
There is a certain risk to talking so familiar with her, but you do not feel particularly threatened; not to mention that you can not bring yourself to actually act respectful right now.
"I see." She ponders that for a moment, and her late introduction has you pause mid-swing: "I am Lucifer."
Your sword lowers and you eye the dark Angel for a few long moments, exasperation quickly bubbling within you. "...Lucifer. Really?" She nods and you almost slap a hand against your forehead, only barely remembering that this hand is holding a sword right now. Clubbing yourself with solid steel... or whatever it is, is not a good idea.
It is still tempting, though.
Lucifer. Because of course you can not meet an Angel with a less known name among humanity. Or one whose name is less... loaded.
Thinking of that, you return to looking over your teacher thoughtfully. With how she looks and now her name... you know not everything in the old scriptures is accurate, but most things humanity knows of the existing races, even if warped over time, is suspected to come from members of that species ending up on earth and passing on knowledge before dying of mana withdrawal.
You can at least ask.
"So you're a fallen Angel?"
Lucifer, and is it not weird to think of her under that name, raises an eyebrow; the chilly air noticeably warms up and you can feel the heat emanating from within her. "Yes." That is the only response you get, aside from how her arm-wing is twitching. She averts her gaze and returns to her own practice, signalling that the conversation is over.
Well, no. Not with you. Though you will drop that particular matter, she obviously does not like to talk about it.
"You haven't asked for my name, either." Silence answers you at first, but you know she heard it. When no response is forthcoming, you shrug and keep talking: "It's Heidi, by the way. Technically Adelheid, but I like the shortened form better."
She remains quiet, and so you continue with your practice for a bit before talking to her again: "What do you do aside from practicing?"
At first you think she is not going to say anything again, but then she does answer: "Meditating." It is just a single word, but that is progress; you probably enjoy alienating her a little too much, though.
"And?" No response. You wonder whether she went back to the same silence as before, but then it occurs to you. "Wait, that's it?" A nod, Lucifer completely unconcerned with the matter. You sigh and lower your weapon into a guard stance for a moment, then go back into a swing from there. "That explains why you're that bad at talking to people."
She pauses, just as you expected. The glare you thought would come does not, though. Her gaze is calm. "I am well aware, and find myself uncaring."
Now you tilt your head, though, curious. "And why did you volunteer to train me if you're not going to talk to me?" No response; you huff and continue moving around, though your movements soon bring you back to back with the Angel; she halts again, as do you. "Just curious about the human?"
Her body is warm, but you feel that there is something dangerous lurking beneath this warmth. Not directed at you, just... there. Lucifer stands quiet for a while, but then she sighs. "You are irritating, Heidi. Which is what drew my curiousity; I could end you in a heartbeat, yet you talk back like you do. Demons do not do this, Dark Stars do not do this, not even most Elven champions dare."
She pushes the butt of her weapon into your back, making you stumble forward and back into practice. You take the dismissal for what it is this time.
Though there is one thing you want to ask her now, and you do after a few minutes of not-quite-comfortable silence: "Do you mind meeting me up here tomorrow? No training, just hanging out."
You do think she is nice enough to spend time with, even though she tries to be all icy. Lucifer's face is not visible from where you stand, so you have to wait a little anxiously for her response. Perhaps it is revenge, then, that she does not speak until the sun begins to dip low.
Her own practice ends by the time yours does; you wave at her and turn around to leave. Only when you reach the stairs does the Angel answer you: "I will see you tomorrow, at noon."
You almost turn around to flip her off. Then you realise she is not even looking at you and do it anyway.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
Breaking awkward silences may be one of your specialties, but your teacher's specialty is apparently making them.
The two of you are on top of the central spire once more. This time however, you are both seated at the edge, feet dangling several hundred metres above ground; you are not worried, though. You were never afraid of heights, and your own balance is superb these days.
That does not solve the problem of Lucifer just not talking, though. You ran through a few things to ask her or to talk about, but none feels right. Either too personal to have a chance of being answered, or too noncommital to get any more than a few words.
Then again, a few words are better than nothing. "So, how old are you?"
As expected, she considers your question for a moment as if to decide whether to answer it. Her response is... also about as expected: "I was young when Dark Star declared war on the Fey."
Not exactly the numbers, but the way she said it. "So about three thousand years?" A nod from her and a grimace from you. "You could have just said that." No response. You sigh and drop the matter.
One could think she is doing it on purpose now.
...
Your eyes narrow at the Angel and you see her lips twitch the slightest bit. She is doing it on purpose. Or at least knows exactly what she is doing.
You bite your tongue again and rub your eyes for a moment, then change the topic and point up to her folded wings: "Assuming it's not some weird taboo to let anyone touch your wings, can I touch them?"
Lucifer thinks about that for a while; her feathers are quite orderly, you notice as you watch them for a bit. They look well-groomed, same as her hair. Considering how tattered her clothes are, you wonder if that is an Angel-thing or just your teacher doing as she pleases.
"If there is such a taboo," she offers after a while, "I forgot about it. I would not care about another's rules either way. I do, however, not want you to touch my wings." Your hands had already risen a little, but you lower them back into your lap over the refusal. They are her wings, that is just fair. You still grumble for a moment.
Then you smirk and eye her. "Can I touch them after I landed a hit on you?"
Bullseye; the Angel snorts and eyes you with something approaching a smirk. "If that motivates you." You both know it will not be soon, but the wager makes it a little more interesting for when it does happen.
However, the silence returns afterward; you continue looking outward, taking bites out of your sandwich once in a while. Maya made them and had Paoras deliver them in the morning; they did that for weeks now, ever since you forgot to save some stuff from breakfast that one time. You are not complaining; it is kind of cute.
After a while of just sitting there, Lucifer speaks up: "Ask." You cast a confused look her way, wondering if she really knows the kind of question on your mind. When she elaborates, you understand that she does: "We both know you are curious what I am doing here. Ask."
You have been wondering about that for a while. Just what would bring an Angel to work with Heaven's natural and mortal enemy? She never appeared like the kind to answer that, but if she offers? "Okay. What brought you here?"
Silence. It holds for a long while as you wait for her to speak. Lucifer does not even look at you and it takes quite a bit until you realise no response will come; that is when you get angry, slapping the back of your hand against her arm; it would be her shoulder, but that is too far up. "Did you just tell me to ask so you can not answer?"
The weak smile she shows you is irritating, to say the least. "Yes. Knowing I won't answer is better than wondering." Her words do not really calm you, but you bite your tongue -perhaps a little too hard, that hurts- and stay quiet.
At least one of you seems to be having fun. And for some reason, you are not as mad as you think you would normally be.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
Your free time dwindles quickly and soon it is the last day. Paoras keeps you company that day, happily chattering about the shenanigans her siblings got up to. Also about how she asked her father to teach her more things. It is relaxing to listen to your little friend; she somehow has a childish innocence about herself even while talking about combat training.
"Oh, and I had my first period yesterday. I'm glad it's gone now." Or that. You eye the girl by your side and shake off the thought, simply glad Maya quietly helps you with your own.
At least she does not dwell on the topic; you feel oddly cheerful while the half-Elf keeps talking about this and that. It has been more than six weeks since you arrived on Sheol and... you got used to it.
There is still a pang of pain whenever you think of home, but things do not look as bleak anymore; you got used to your new environment and are actually enjoying yourself. Thanks to time travel, you will not even be gone for long from everyone else's perspective.
You are pretty happy with how things are turning out, even if you have to go back to practice for a while soon after.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
At least all the basics are covered; Lucifer only has you run through them once to ensure you recall them, then moves on to more advanced combat maneuvers.
All in all, you really feel happy about the things she teaches you; it is interesting and fun, though you do not manage to land a single blow on her yet again. One day you will, though!
She lets you off to rest when your second month is over; little more than a week spent training and you continue soaking up everything like a sponge.
Now that you are free, though... you feel like exploring the Keep. Running around outside is one thing, but you barely looked around inside before. Going alone is lame, though.
Now... who do you ask to tag along?
-------------
Pick two:
[] Maya
[] Paoras
[] Lucifer
[] Orux
[] Dragul
[]EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it
=====
+5xp Played With Lots of Kids
+5xp Talked to Lucifer
+10xp New Perks
+5xp Starting to Settle In
EXP gained: 25
Total EXP: 90
=====
(Unlocked Level 5 (Max) Character Sheet: Paoras)
=====
Unlocked Soft Exploits:
-Flowing strikes (allows to string several attacks together like a multi-hit Ability, though each attack still costs an action)
This is awkward, to the point even Paoras can tell.
Originally, you were looking for Orux and failed to find him. So, seeing his friend, you thought it would be a good idea to get to know the man a little better and asked him to tag along. Even now you wonder why that sounded like a good idea.
Even more so however, you wonder why he agreed.
As it is, you are wandering Charon's Keep with a small and cute half-Elf, and a tall and imposing Demon. Only Lu could have made this more weird a pair. Paoras babbles on happily about things happening at home and shenanigans her siblings got up to, while Dragul keeps his quiet for now. He does seem interested in the babbling, though... or is good at pretending to listen, you would not put it past him.
"So I wonder," he speaks up in the end, having waited for your young friend to pause in thought. "Why exactly did you ask me to accompany you on this venture?"
"Why did you agree?" You ask right back, a reflex more than a concious response. Dragul raises an eyebrow and you shrug. You could at least give him a proper reason, or as much of one as you have. "I have it on good word you're not as much of an ass as you act like, so I got curious how much there is to it."
You count the way his eyes narrow as a win and can not stop yourself from grinning. He lets out a sigh that somehow manages to sound belittling before returning a more fanged grin. "Similarly, I heard you are more capable than your short stature and few years imply." You huff at that, not particularly angry about it. Everyone here is taller and probably older than you, so it is a reality more than an insult.
Which does not mean you do not have to bite your tongue to stop snarking back. Paoras' attention is on your conversation, so you rather keep it civil. Somewhat.
The three of you wander through stone corridors lined with a few small windows and wide carpets, all crimson, quiet for a while. In the end, it is Dragul who speaks up: "How much have you been taught about Sheol, girl?"
"It's Heidi," you correct with a suppressed sigh; you rather be called by name than that. On second thought, though... "No, Adelheid for you."
For some reason however, Dragul smiles over the petty rudeness and folds his hands behind his back. "Adelheid," he tests your name curiously; his deep voice makes it sound more sinister than usual, a chuckle follows before he offers you another fanged grin. "Much preferable to such an uncouth abbreviation." You twitch, but let it pass; now he is doing it on purpose, the damn Dracula-wannabe.
"Don't fight, please?" Paoras' eyes are wide and her hands are folded in front of her chest; she stopped walking and is staring at you. "Friends shouldn't fight, that's wrong."
You blink at her and wonder why she thinks you are friends, but the moment of surprise lets Dragul get the first word in; he bows his head toward her, too. "I disagree on both counts. That one is not my friend, and friends may fight as much as they wish."
You disagree with the second, but leave asking the questions to Pao for now; she somehow manages to get more out of him than you feel you would. Her eyes are wide as she looks at Dragul. "Why?"
"If what you call a friend can not stomach a simple disagreement," he begins with a tone that oozes his opinion of the matter, "or accept suffering a simple defeat by your hands, why, then that can not be called a friend in the first place." Huh. That actually makes a lot of sense, you have to admit. It even fits with your own circle of friends... in a way.
Paoras mulls that over for a moment and nods. "Okay. And why aren't you friends?"
This time, Dragul actually smiles; it does not look nice, though. Mostly belittling, though you doubt your friend actually noticed; you still give him a look for that, which is ignored. "Because I am not like you in that regard, little lady. It takes more than a handful of conversations for me to deem someone a friend."
"Probably why you only have one," you quip; you can not help yourself and the irritated look on Dragul's face is well worth it. Ah well, better change the topic for now. "Anyway, I know basically nothing about the place aside from what I saw myself. Orux told me some more about the lay of the land, but that's it."
The Demon nods thoughtfully before motioning for a window; you can see the plains outside, as well as the clouds hanging overhead. "Sheol is one of Hell's oldest holdings," he starts; both you and Paoras listen curiously. "It has been our main staging ground on Valhalla, the home dimension of the Valkyr Legion, and the only direct connection to Heaven's territories for eons now." Why, hello, norse mythology. Looks like that was influenced by people from the outside, too.
He pauses to wait for questions, but you have none. Paoras' arm shoots up, though. "Oh, what's the Valkyr Legion?"
"Angels," he answers without hesitation. "Masters of all arms and generally more inclined to battle than those born in Heaven proper. Hope that you will grow much stronger before ever encountering one." She nods a little too cheerfully at that, not at all concerned; you have concerns, though. Mainly about him tempting fate like that.
With no other questions, Dragul nods and continues: "Charon's Keep and Naahma's Temple are the main bastions, reinforced and with a powerful garrison each. The entire planet has been systematically bound into a titanic array to ensure it will hold even against counteroffensives from the Valkyries."
You try to keep the other name in mind and doubt you will remember it for longer than a week; not that it matters too much, you can just ask someone if you forget. Dragul squints at the clouds before leading you onward. "The Keep used to be a much less fortified position, but it has been expanded in the recent millennia."
You have the feeling this is going to turn into a boring history lesson. And in difference to what Orux explained to you, this here does not interest you overly much. "Okay, so it's bigger now. Why is that?"
"My knowledge only extends so far." He deflected the question and you both know it. You have half a mind to ask for his opinion, but decide against it.
"Fair enough. Mind if I ask you something else?" He eyes you for a moment, but nods. "Why are you so respectful to Pao?"
Said girl is currently examining a little tunnel the Imps use up ahead, and probably is not listening to you. Dragul closes his eyes and turns away, his voice tinged with something weird. "Because her mother made it quite clear what happens to anyone who mistreats her spawn." There is a certain venom in the last word, which makes you cautious in turn. Dragul elaborates quietly, his eyes on Paoras: "I am not fond of those unnatural, neither do I seek to antagonise them without reason. In this case however, I rather err on the side of caution."
Now you have to raise an eyebrow at him. This works out with what your little friend told you, but it still puzzles you. "And Maya is scaring you why?"
His dark chuckle is a lot more upsetting right now than it was the last time. "One who knows how to heal merely needs time and practice to learn how to use that power for ruin. The previous vice commander of this bastion learned as such when she attempted to torture that Succubus' firstborn son."
"Mama makes people go boom and squish!" Paoras happily calls from right in front of you; you did not even notice how she wandered up, still distraught by what Dragul just told you. Maya is not particularly strong in comparison to others, but this... would explain why she gets so much leeway on some things. And why her children can wander freely without having to fear anything.
You pet your friend's head absent-mindedly, trying to ignore how happy she looks with Maya's take on problems. Dragul smirks at the conflicting feelings you are probably showing freely on your face. "Pop and splatter would be more accurate," he notes while waving you both forward, with Paoras immediately arguing that 'splatter' is not a sound.
A while of strolling through corridors and specific sections later, thankfully without any gory topics after a minute or two, you figure you should ask your last question. The one you are quite curious about.
"Hey, can I ask you something? A little more personal?"
He slows down and stops, half-turning to meet give you a searching look mixed with curiousity. "And what would that be?"
You do not really have anything to lead up to it, so you simply ask: "How did you and Orux become friends?" It bothers you that those two are nothing alike and still seem to get along. From the look of it, Paoras is also curious about the matter... though she probably has no idea who Orux is again.
Dragul, for his part, mulls that over. Then he shakes his head. "An interesting question, but not an answer I will give freely. I would, however, trade it for an answer of your own: how is it that one such as you, such a Magical Girl, is supposed to be powerful?" He speaks the unfamiliar term with a hint of distaste and you almost feel insulted. It does seem to just be curiousity, though. You feel that you can indulge him in return for sating your own. Not like it will help him much.
"Magical Girls are... difficult to explain. I never learned many of the details. Human magic is generally more about exploiting loopholes and making them, or to abuse little things. We don't have many big or powerful things and even most Magical Girls are brittle at best in comparison to Heaven and Hell." You pause to think, then knock the back of your index finger against a window next to you. "Comparing it to the Keep... everyone else doing magic is like breaking through the walls with pure strength. Humans go through one of these windows for the same effect."
He nods slowly; Paoras mimics him, but you are not sure she actually understood. Either way, you continue from there: "Magical Girls take the same concept and turn it up to ridiculous degrees. Each one is completely unique and can have almost every power imaginable. We also grow strong horribly fast in comparison to everyone else." You shrug, basically finished with your explanation. "That's as far as I know; I imagine that the girls up top got really good at making full use of what they have, too."
Dragul nods again and mulls the whole thing over; you let him and stare out the window before Paoras pulls at your sleeve. "Heidi? You're weak in comparison, right?"
She starts staring outside too when you nod confirmation, apparently sad for some reason. She does not say it, though.
Your other companion sighs and folds his hands behind his back again. "Very well, an answer for an answer." You perk up and turn around, though Paoras is not listening this time. Dragul eyes you carefully. "I have always been stronger than Orux, that is a fact. It is not an insurmountable gap, which he taught me when we first met. I am stronger, but he is... clever for his kind. The kind of clever that can bridge the gap."
It takes a moment until you catch his meaning, a grin growing on your face. "He beat you up."
"It was a draw," the Demon clarifies with a sharp look. "And the fight after was a draw as well. To this day, I never won against him. Which is why I am still of the opinion that your victory was more of him underestimating you than of your power." He shakes his head and preempts your response with a raised hand. "Either way, that got him my attention. That was years ago; we have fought and bled together since then, even managed to survive killing an Angel. That time spent is what makes us friends."
You nod slowly, understanding what he means. Standing together through battle, you can imagine that you would treasure someone like that, too.
At this point, you still do not know much more about Dragul, but... it seems he is just a jerk at heart, with no additional aggression toward you than toward anyone else. You can live with that. "Okay. Any idea why he is so nice to me, then? I'm pretty sure that isn't normal."
The Demon shrugs at that. "I have my suspicions, but whether they are true or not, you should find an answer to that question yourself. Orux thinks a lot, and he is careful around you for the power you already displayed. Word around is that you have quite the temper." And the last part is delivered with another fanged smirk; you scowl back and flip him off, to which he merely chuckles.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
You enjoyed the walk quite a bit, even though you did not get as much time to talk to Paoras; she seems to be happy to spend time with you either way. Dragul is at least not being an ass about it and the day soon comes to a close.
It follows another week of training, which passes quickly. Between the movement patterns Lu drills into your head, you even have time to practice a little more with some of your pet projects. Your scythe is easy to spin, which means putting it above your head before doing so gives you a nice bit of reach. The trick only works if your opponents are taller than yourself, though.
You also had an idea during the previous week's training, which you remembered while Lu has you go through several stances in rapid succession. You know switching your weapon does something like a reset of whatever active magic you had on it; after finding a fitting Dark Star to help out, you found out something quite nice: switching removes negative effects lying directly on your weapon.
Lu was quite happy with your intiative, which you could tell from the fact she did not frown at you even once. No smiles either, but she never smiles during practice. Only sometimes when you stay around to talk to her for a few minutes afterward.
You are technically still in a stretch of training, but your body is getting somewhat used to the strain; the sessions are not going as long anymore, either; once she had confirmation that you do grow and grasp things quickly, Lu gave you more time to relax.
Meaning that you actually have the energy to do things like taking a walk right now; it drizzles, but you could not care less. Homemade heat-enchantments keep you warm and dry.
"Look at that, a little Elven girl." You curiously turn your gaze toward where the dark voice came from, only to find a gaggle of Demons staring at you. You raise an eyebrow and then roll your eyes, biting down an answer as you stroll along.
That is, until one of the soldier-types moves to block your way. You stop, glance upward at his blocky form, and turn to find the rest nearby. "You're far from home, little Elf," the Demon in front of you drawls; his tone makes you wary, and at this point it is clear that they are not from here. No one here calls you an Elf.
"Too scared to speak?" another taunts and your patience breaks; you sneer right back.
"No, too bored to care!" Your response gives them pause and you make to walk around the bunch. Then a hand moves to grab your shoulder and you duck away before flicking forward, turning to face the whole group. Their expressions are dark and you are angry now.
"Looks like nobody told you how things go around here," the Demon in front drawls; there are eight of them, six like Orux and two like his commander. They fan out while a circle of onlookers forms already. Great, and people will think you are weak if you retreat. Not that you want to, they earned this.
Your magic surges and you can feel it enhance you; just as your instincts told you when you meditated on the matter. Nonetheless, your anger is reined in after all that combat practice with Lu. You are in control and as the Handle forms in your hands, you know... you need a plan.
Active Effects:
-Determined Soldier (Defiance: +2 ApT)
=====
(Unlocked Level 2 Character Sheet: Dragul)
(Generic troop sheets added to the front page)
=====
Unlocked Soft Exploits:
-spin to win: Use Stygian Tempest in an overhead-spin to attack all enemies within its range in a single attack
-bye-bye debuff: Employ tactical mode-switching to remove debuffs from your weapon; careful, also removes buffs
[X] Plan Taunt
-[X] Taunt the leaders: "You going to try something yourself, or do you need them (indicate the soldiers) to fight your battles for you?". Cast Conundrum while waiting for answer.
--[X] Assuming they fall for it, let the leaders approach while keeping the eye on presumably non-interfering soldiers. Use your speed and Reaper's Will to disarm them (maybe literally).
-[X] Assuming they ignore the taunt, launch yourself at the soldiers to one side of the formation, switch to Stygian Tempest, and spin-to-win. Move past the wounded soldiers to use them as obstacles to enemy approach.
-[X] Attack the enemies approaching you while avoiding encirclement. If opportunity presents itself, get into the demon commander's guard and disarm them with Reaper's Will. Aim to wound your opponents with Stygian Tempest otherwise, and don't stop moving.
In the moment the Demons stop in surprise over the fact you just summoned a weapon to your hand, which Elves can not do, you give the two commanders an amused look. "Last time I checked, it says a lot that you're too cowardly to fight me on your own."
The effect is immediate; both of them growl and their cronies step back as they advance without wasting a moment. You grin as you call for your magic. "Conundrum!"
(Only two enemies left on the field. Additional ApT lost, two actions remain)
(Conundrum: +375 Base Boost, +485 dice = 860 Additional Resilience)
The moment your magic surges forward, you realise you made a mistake; they are on you too fast, you don't have time to do anything fancy other than step back as the first swings at you with an angry snarl. "Assault Blade!" He growls and your eyes widen as the axe in his hand swings around much too fast...
(Assault Blade: +500 Base Damage, +19 dice = 519 Total Damage
Assault Blade: +500 Base Damage, +19 dice = 519 Total Damage
1,038 Unified Damage
Defiance: +100 Base Resilience, +45 dice +860 Conundrum, -20 Fast Attack = 985 Total Damage Reduction
53 Final End Damage
Defiance Health: 300 - 53 = 247
Momentum ho!)
It is two swings, you can tell, but even your perception means nothing because your body does not move. The blurry axe slams into your flank and first slides off, but the second time it comes around and hits the same spot an instant later, it breaks through.
Pain blossoms through your side, screaming as the edge of it rams into your side and sends you tumbling to the ground; Conundrum caught most of the momentum, but it still hurts horribly.
Before you can roll over and get up, a foot stomps down on your arm; it does not penetrate your shroud, but keeps you in place. Your eyes widen and you try desperately to free yourself, but the second Demon sneers and bellows his own spell: "Assault Blade!"
An instant later, the axe comes right for your face.
(Assault Blade: +500 Base Damage, +5 dice, +100 No Aiming, Just Hitting = 605 Total Damage
Assault Blade: +500 Base Damage, +5 dice, +100 No Aiming, Just Hitting = 605 Total Damage
1,210 Unified Damage
Defiance: +100 Base Resilience, +187 dice, +860 Conundrum, -100 Prone = 1,047 Total Damage Reduction
163 Total End Damage
Headshot: +250 damage
413 Final End Damage
Defiance Health: 247 - 413 = -166)
And that is the last you see before your head is split apart...
. . .
Failure States: 0 -----> 1
Death via Hell's Ground Commander
Resetting Scene . . .
Your magic surges and you can feel it enhance you; just as your instincts told you when you meditated on the matter. Nonetheless, your anger is reined in after all that combat practice with Lu. You are in control and know... you need a plan.
Active Effects:
-Determined Soldier (Defiance: +2 ApT)
=====
I recommend to look at Heidi's sheet in detail again. You will not find a miracle solution to all your problems, but perhaps insight into why this went wrong. Lost already provided one reason in the post before this one, though it was neither the only nor the sole deciding factor.
Level 5: Double Hit evolves to Multi-Slash; attack is three hits instead of two Level 6: Vampire unlocked; every attack heals Heidi for 50% of damage dealt, and killing an enemy removes an instance of Body Damage
120 EXP spent
35 remain
[X] Crystalwatcher's Rabbit of Caernabog
-keep one action in reserve for emergency Conundrum casts.
--Aim for the Ground Commander that looks less wary of yourself. Go for the throat. Reaper's Will thirsts for the blood of our enemies, let it feast on what we can get out of his neck.
--At any point if it looks like one of his buddies are going to take a swing at us to knock us off or something, us his face as a spring board and start bouncing around. Use the walls and cieling if we have to. Use his buddies if we have to, just make sure to keep moving.
---Build up as much momentum as we can via jump dodging and start aiming for vital areas. Even if they're different on demons then on humans having their manhoods cut off should still bring them to their knees.
---Switch to Stygien Tempest and start spinning to aid in the above.
--Rince and repeat until they're either begging for their lives or resemble slaughtered cows and are no longer anything even remotely resembling a threat.
Elves can not summon their weapons as you just did. The momentary surprise over that is all you need to charge at the group with a grin. The Handle shortens and becomes a grip, your lightsaber's blade buzzing out a moment later.
You already made it past the first few Demons before one manages to react, grabbing for you, but you easily twist out of the way and do not even have to slow down; your target is one of the bigger two, the guy who mouthed off before.
Before he can do much more than widen his eyes, you have leapt and bent as your hand grasps for his shoulder pauldron. Your weapon swings as you pass by...
(Reaper's Will: +100 Base Damage, +35 dice, +66 Horrific Speed Gap, +100 Strike Fast Strike Last = 301 Total Damage
Ground Commander: +100 Base Resilience, +15 dice, -50 holyshitwhatthefuck, -1500 Off With His Head = 1,435 Extra Damage
...and you barely feel any resistance as you push yourself off, flick over in mid-air, and land on your feet behind the bunch, turning around to make another pass.
Then you pause at the sight, much as everyone else.
The Demon you struck only now finishes dropping to the ground, his head rolling away; your eyes widen gradually as they follow its path, realisation making your limbs freeze.
You just killed a man.
The head keeps rolling until the foot of another enemy blocks its path, softly stopped like a ball. No blood, which makes it so much more surreal; you can see the stump was sealed shut by the heat of your blade, the body having fallen at an angle toward you.
Your gaze lifts to the Demons in front of you, all of them frozen in place just like you; they quickly snap out of it as they behold your widened eyes and step back, even the other commander bowing deeply. "P-Please forgive our transgressions, ma'am," he stutters with what may be fear. You blink incomprehendingly, trying to make sense out of the events.
You killed a man. Why are you not feeling that you just did something horrible? You feel bad, that was not what you wanted, or you kind of wanted, but not like this and not so quick. Why was it so easy, you wonder. You barely even felt any resistance to your swing.
Killing should not feel that easy. Your mind is still mostly blank as you behold the corpse, though you dismiss your weapon after a few moments.
While you are still trying to feel much of anything, the Demons quickly thank you for your generosity, for some reason, and scamper off. The circle of onlookers disperses, though a few remain as a bunch of Imps show up to pull the body away. Two waddle over to lift the removed head and begin passing it back and forth; you say nothing, take a deep breath, and welcome the feeling of horror that finally comes.
"Ah, young miss!" And there is 'your' Imp, at least you think it is; he bows at you happily. "Much obliged, young miss. Made no mess at all, less work cleaning up. Thank you!" He darts off with that, not a word about the fact you just murdered one of his kind. As much as Demons can be called a singular race, at least.
You take another deep breath and clench your fists; it has been long enough after breakfast that your stomach is not revolting, thankfully. Although that does not stop your hands from shaking.
"I take it your race has different views about such matters," a familiar dark voice notes from the side. You turn to look and find not only Dragul, but Orux by your side as well. The two have their eyes on you, but the expressions on their faces are unreadable; the vampire because he keeps a calm facade, the soldier because you are still not sure what to make of his kind's facial expressions when they are not completely obvious.
You eye them for a few moments as they lead you to the side, then admit that the observation was spot-on. "Yes." The remaining people dispersed at this point and the body is carried away by a gaggle of Imps. "It's... I know this happens around here, but I never...."
A large hand clasps your shoulder and squeezes it carefully, making your head turn back to Orux. He keeps quiet for a bit, though the way Dragul raises an eyebrow in his direction tells you this is unusual. When he speaks, it is careful: "You should not think too much about it. What you did here means one thing."
'That I am a horrible person', you do not say but think almost loud enough to project it telepathically. A little anger mixes into your feelings, indignation about him just brushing off a life like that, but he carries on: "That you possess the power to casually kill one of our strength is now clear, though I heard people expect as much already." His words stop you cold and you turn to listen intently. "This means you do deserve to be respected. And this bunch," with which he points back to where you beheaded a man, "did not."
Dragul nods, in agreement with his friend. "And once there is disrespect, punishment is up to you."
"But I... I'm not that strong." You are quietly thankful that Orux keeps his hand there; it does give you some comfort, despite his words being the opposite of your thoughts. "I just hit him in the right spot, I wasn't even thinking...." You trail off and take another deep breath, your heart beating erratically even still.
Dragul's eyes narrow slightly and he sighs. "This has nothing to do with what you intended, child. This is what happened, and what those around saw. Whatever your own race preaches, you were in your right to kill here."
"Friend, you should shut up now," Orux admonishes him quietly and you show him a thankful smile; the vampire frowns at him in turn, but he does not seem to care about that. No, his eyes are on you: "This here is why one should always be cautious and respectful to those they meet, for no matter how unassuming, there may be a being of great power in front of them."
He pauses a moment and waits for you to nod, though you are not sure where he is going with this. "I think this bunch was just transferred here, and they will spread the word among all the other new arrivals. Today, though unintended, you established yourself as a woman that is willing to crush disrespect under her boot, but who is merciful where she can be."
You blink up at him at that, unsure where the mercy was. Then it clicks and you feel another weak surge of anger. "Wait, so... because I didn't kill the rest...."
"You spared them when you could have taken their lives," Orux confirms. "Even if that is only in their perception, it is what they saw. As a silver lining, then: it is unlikely that anyone else will bother you in this manner, at least none of the troops."
After a moment, you have to admit that this is a silver lining. Not one that soothes you overly much, but at least it will spare you more grief.
Yet, as you listened to him talk, you gradually relaxed; your nails are no longer digging into your hand, you almost stopped shaking entirely, and the horror is slowly receding. Though you have the feeling you will not have pleasant dreams for a while.
At least your head is back in something resembling working condition.
"I see. Thank you, both of you." Dragul snorts and Orux just nods, giving your shoulder one last squeeze before letting go; how can such a hulking person be so gentle? You wonder about that for a moment and decide it doesn't matter. "I think I'm going to take a walk now. See you around."
They both accept that and you move to leave, only barely hiding your thankful smile.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
You left the Keep proper hours ago, wandering the countryside in thought; it is still in sight in the distance, you made sure of that, but nobody else is around.
What the two Demons told you is still going around in your mind, making you wonder. You know that killing is bad, but it felt so easy when you did it. No hesitation, no introspection before, just action.
You could have run, but you were angry. You did not care for the consequences... and somehow, nobody else seems to think there even are any. Their culture is different like that, martial and brutal; you can get away with murder in broad daylight just like that. It would be years of prison at home if someone escalated a confrontation like that; you doubt that they were going to kill you, after all.
Yet, moving quickly, striking first and winning in a single stroke... that feels right. Your instincts tell you as much, and a part of you wonders if your moral compass got flipped when you became a Magical Girl. To fight, to kill... that is not glorious.
But here you are, unable to refrain from fighting. With fighting comes killing, and you feel you will get used to it faster than you like.
Hesitation means defeat.
Those three words resonate with you, making it clear how you have to go into battle; if morals hold you down, make it so you can no longer walk forward... you can not afford that. Not if you ever want to make it home.
In your errant thoughts, you only notice her when Lucifer lands right in front of you. There were no wingstrikes and she is almost completely silent, you could not have noticed her coming unless you had looked up; aside from a weak gust of air brushing over your skin, nothing but her form itself heralds her descent.
Her eyes are on you, narrowed; only now do you notice how deep the sun is in the sky.
You forgot your lesson and your teacher is right in front of you, unamused.
Normally, you would cross your arms and stare at her defiantly, but you do not feel like it today. You just wave at her and lower your head again. "Sorry about that, I forgot the time."
You do not see her expression change, not that what was there stays for long; she steps over and around you, examining you from all sides. "What happened?" Her voice is calm, though... you think you hear an undercurrent of concern there. Maybe. You doubt it.
Then again, Lu is an Angel. Maybe she can help you sort out your thoughts?
Before you even made a decision on that, words blubber from your mouth: "I, I just killed someone." She stops and you risk a glance, finding her usual blank expression. So you continue: "and it's... I never killed anyone, I never thought I would kill anyone, I... it's scary that it's so easy. It's not supposed to be, but I just... just killed him." Your voice is quiet and toneless, trailing off several times as you admit what bothers you to her.
Then you hug her waist and hide your face in her tattered dress, uncaring for what she may think. Lu freezes for a moment, but does not push you away.
You remain that way for a few moments, the strong warmth of her body soothing you a little; feathers softly tickle over your shoulder as she moves her wing, but you are not sure if she is meaning to hug you back.
Minutes pass like this until Lucifer actually speaks, though the embrace makes you a little less sad to hear her words: "I... have little advice for you. It has been a long time since I cared about more than taking lives." She falls quiet once more and you squeeze her a little tighter, wondering if it gives her a bit of comfort, too.
"You haven't killed me yet, so that's progress?"
Much to your surprise, the murmur produces a short chuckle from your teacher. She pats your head once and then dislodges you from her form. "Perhaps it does. I have not killed many Demons in recent times, either. Does your problem lie in the fact nobody even believes you did anything wrong?"
You only nod mutely, meeting her thoughtful gaze for a moment before looking away again. She does not seem to care. "I see. Morality is a difficult topic to approach. To infernal society, where tens of thousands of lesser Demons are born every day, a single life means nothing. It is commendable that you feel grief over having taken a life, seeing that few others would spend even a second thought on the matter." Lucifer's wing snakes around and pulls your chin up to meet her eyes once more. "But what is done, is done. I can tell you understand that as well."
She summons her cross, silently beckoning you to do the same. "We will spend until sundown practicing to get your mind off of this matter. You may return to pitying yourself afterward."
Anger flares and you glare at her, only to blink when you see her grin. She did that on purpose and... honestly, you do feel a little better again. Heaving a sigh, you just shake your head. "Alright. Thanks, Lu."
"..." The change is subtle, but you do see the surprise on her face; you tread your feet and try not to look at her. The nickname just slipped out, you were not actually planning to say it. Then she sighs as well. "I will allow you calling me that. Now, start as usual."
You switch your weapon as told, the Handle turning into Aetheric Tide in your hand. Except that before you can actually get into a stance, you notice that the spear's blade is glowing. You blink at that and flick your weapon so you can examine it. "That... wasn't there yesterday."
You can feel that something about it changed at some point. The power in it, it is... faster now. No, you are faster now, if you tap into it. Lu bows down to look at the softly glowing blade, frowning. "Can you adjust the intensity?"
That, you feel, might be a tad more difficult. At least you have an idea what it does, which you explain while trying to adjust how bright your weapon glows: "Not sure. It does something else, though... I think that is supposed to heal me whenever I hit someone."
"Oh?" She holds out her hand a moment later, breaking your focus. "Nick my finger." You blink at Lu, but she gives you this look that tells you to just do it. You are still careful, though; the magic that surges with every strike does not come as you push down on it. It still takes too long to be useful in combat, but you are getting there.
Focussing on your task, you bring the spear up and only deliver a little stab instead of tapping into how it normally speeds you up.
(Aetheric Tide: +240 Base Damage, dice suppressed , -230 Careful = 10 Total Damage
Lucifer: +50 Base Resilience, dice suppressed, -45 Completely Still = 5 Total Damage Reduction
5 Final End Damage
Defiance heals for 2 points, but her Health is at maximum
Lucifer Health: 39,600 - 5 = 39,595)
It is barely enough to nick her skin; a single drop of hissing blood blossoms, but that is all. Nothing happens visibly, though you feel a small trickle of power run through your spear before dispersing. It is a little different to normal magic, though not harmful.
"Hm." Your teacher considers her hand for a moment and shakes her head. "No side effects I can sense, though I do feel the tiniest bit weaker." She shakes her head and folds the hand behind her back. "Your basic stance."
You do as told and start to get into your usual rhythm, though this time on completely different terrain.
. . .
Identified Break Line . . .
The week passes like that; Lu works you harder again, probably to give you some mindless work instead of time to brood. At least you think so, she does seem to care.
Due to the rough schedule, you find yourself utterly exhausted at the end of the training period. With your next day being free however, you consider that there is still time in the day.
-------------
Pick one:
[] Hit the hay
[] Time to bug Maya
[] Perhaps Orux would not mind the company?
[]EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it
=====
+15xp Defeated a Ground Commander
+40xp One-Shot
+45xp Cowed Seven Demons in Two Seconds
+50xp (Kind of) Among the Mighty
EXP gained: 150
Total EXP: 185
=====
(New mechanics and learnable exploits added)
Unlocked Soft Exploit:
-increase the glow of Aetheric Tide's blade to create a light source
-Double Hit spread adjusted to work with Multi-Slash
When you wake up the next day, you indulge yourself and just lie in bed, looking up at the stone ceiling for a few minutes. Your body aches a little, but it got used to Lu's rigorous practice at this point.
You had a good night's sleep and feel ready to tackle the day, energised and content; your feelings about what happened last week have been blunted over time, too; while you still think it was not right, you also understand that things are different in the UD. You will not go out of your way to kill people, but it can not be prevented at times.
The prospect of having to actually go out and fight makes you feel a little nauseous, but you doubt anyone would actually like going to war.
What you also notice is that you stink; not more so than most others, but enough to gather some comments from any humans, if there were any around.
Which means that after you had breakfast and a short conversation with your Imp, you head out to take a bath. You only bathe once a week these days, as most people do around here. That means you have to do it now either way, with your period coming soon.
In difference to the previous times, you do not go to take Maya or Paoras along; having them there is nice, but you want to be clean now.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
What you had to get used to after arriving here is that the UD does not have individual baths. Every last one of them is communal unless you are a particularly vain General or higher on the totem pole than that. Several dozen other women are in the water with you, idly chatting with each other. Some rather sit outside and splash themselves with buckets out of regard for their feathers or fur. Heating arrays at least make it easy to get those dry.
The only thing you really feel unhappy about in here is that basically everyone is taller than you. It was a novelty for a week or two, but by now it is a little grating; nobody says anything though, so you will not make an issue out of it either.
"I tell you," a red-skinned woman whispers to you and another of her kind, that one with clawed fingers and enough teeth to make a shark jealous, "working with the Dark Stars is great. You've met Epsilon Aaron, right?" You both nod and she continues with a grin. "They call him Bane of the Fey for a reason: I was back in Dark Star territory with him half a year ago; they sent me to reinforce his position. We got a few dozen Fairies coming at us, but they just killed them all in two seconds. Except the last one, he was captured alive."
That is news to you, though you heard that the head of R&D is incredibly powerful when fighting Fairies. You rub a washcloth over your arm as you contemplate that, curious. "What happened to the captive?"
She shrugs at you in response. "I didn't ask."
"And we honestly don't want to know," the other one chimes in with a frown. "That Dark Star does all kinds of experiments on their live prisoners. I heard things can get really ugly in R&D whenever they capture a new batch."
And now you are back at things you were better off not knowing; not that you blame those two, it's nice that people don't clam up around you all the time. Nonetheless, you feel that you should ask: "Do you really think it's that bad?"
"Oh, not bad per se," the toothy woman admits. "Just ugly to talk about." She pushes herself out of the water on strong arms and throws you a smile that might be far more malicious than she intends; the other one follows a moment later, both of them done cleaning up. "If you excuse us, though, we need to get back to our unit."
"Sure, stay safe." You wave them goodbye and switch the washcloth to your other hand, pretending not to see the bewildered looks on their faces. You never thought that confusing Demons with niceties could be that much fun.
The two wander off and you consider talking to someone else, but notice a single woman wading over to you; she appears familiar, but you can not say for sure where you met her before. Tall as she is, her greyish black hair does not even pool around her on the water. Her bright blue eyes catch your attention as she considers you; they are bigger than any human's eyes and flames seem to be whirling around on her iris. She has a polite smile is on her lips and aside from the eyes and her rather pale skin, she could go for a human without any trouble. At least from what you see, her lower half might have another obviously nonhuman trait.
The puzzle holds as long as she opens her mouth. "I see you have settled in properly by now, Adelheid. How is your training going?" You would recognise that friendly yet polite alto everywhere. The fact there is still a faint scent of fire hitting your nose a moment later hammers home that yes, this is Elisabeth.
Looks like she is not of the vain sort, seeing that she bathes with everyone else. You manage to smile at her with little trouble.
"Pretty well, I think. Lucifer says I will be ready to progress into using my magic to fight better soon enough." She nods amicably, but the actual sparks in her eyes make the notion appear completely different. You can not help but snort. "Pff, now I get why you wear that mask normally."
She frowns for a moment, then sighs. "Indeed." After all, the look in her eyes is not malicious or horrifying or anything, she just looks overeager and cheerful; it even makes the frown appear barely threatening; you do have to remember that she is far stronger than you, though. Even if those anime eyes make her look silly.
"I took to wearing it for obvious reasons, though I got used to it by now." She runs a finger over her pale skin. "Though it matters little in the end."
Her gaze returns to you, and you in turn get back to cleaning yourself; your flexibility is wonderful for scrubbing your back, as you can now easily reach behind yourself like that. If the Demon thinks anything of that, she does not say it; looking at her, she seems to be clean already. You figure she came over to talk to you, not to soak.
"Either way, I found myself curious about a little detail we have not yet spoken about." You almost roll your eyes over how elaborately she phrased that, but manage to stop yourself and push some of your hair back aside instead. Once she got you nodding, she asks: "How old are you?"
"Fifteen." You carry on a moment longer, then pause as a thought presents itself. With how much happened and how much time passed... "Wait, how long have I been here?"
Your own question makes the Demon lower her head in thought, and you finish with your back in the meantime. Your hair is as clean as it can get here, so you consider that resolved and wring out your cloth. Then you bunch it up and throw it into the bin for used ones further down the room, only narrowly hitting it.
Elisabeth answers only after seeing the cloth land where it was supposed to go: "Mhm, about ten weeks. I take it this is important?" Her curiousity is audible, though a little silly with how her eyes spark.
You ignore it in favour of sighing, though; you already did the mental math. "Yeah, my birthday would have been two weeks ago at home. I'm sixteen now."
Your birthday is the seventh of August, and it is weird to know that if you make it back home, it will probably not have arrived yet. It has already been two and a half months, yet you only feel a little pinch of sadness at the thought. You do not have time to lament being so far from home, anyway.
It is nice of Elisabeth not to mention how your face falls; you can tell she noticed.
Instead of asking however, she continues with a thoughtful expression: "Ah, I heard that the day of one's birth has more significance among mortal races. Most Demons merely keep track of them to roughly guess their age, at least those that are immortal."
That gathers your attention and chases the sullen mood away rather quickly. "Aren't all Demons immortal?" Your thoughts flash to Maya, Orux, and Dragul; then to everyone else you met here.
The other woman shakes her head, the blaze in her eyes weakening. "Many are, but not all. I, ah, met a few of the mortal ones in the past. You could not tell without the passage of time."
"And how old are you?" You can not help but ask; with how she just said that, she has to be old.
Elisabeth ponders the question for a moment and answers slowly: "Four hundred and fourty nine, I believe. I might be a few years off, though; I have... not kept track as well as I should have."
Then she averts her gaze, though none of her other expressions indicate it; if you were not seeing her eyes, you would have no idea anything changed. That makes you curious, though you wait for a while in case she wants to say something.
"I, ah, do recall the significance of one's birthday." You almost point out she said that before, but bite your tongue. "If you so desire, I could have a word with Lucifer about giving you tomorrow off. So you can celebrate today."
The fire in her eyeballs has turned into glimming embers and with her hair not covering her ears this time, you can see the faint blush there. Elisabeth does not meet your astonished gaze, waiting for a response.
You consider her words carefully; this would be a nice change of pace, and a second day off would be nice as well.
Though... what would you spend today on?
-------------
[] Invite the girls to a slumber party
[] Go out and take a loooong walk through the countryside, maybe with someone else
[] Sleep in, have breakfast in bed, and mess around with magic
