Lost angel

[fatherlineface]

Who: Kratos Aurion and Vatheon!
When: RIGHT NOW
Where: Nostalgia Nook
Style: I'll follow
Status: Open

[Kratos considers himself to be a fairly level-headed person. Showing up in a strange city and being denounced by his son only phased him for a few days at best - outwardly, at least. He does his best to avoid the boy for his sake, and he's kept to himself since his arrival until today.

Today, he's decided to see what the Nostalgia Nook has to offer. It's not as if he needs anything in particular, but looking at items from other worlds could be a nice distraction. He feels lost here in Vatheon, lacking any real purpose other than living day to day. It's a nightmare.]

Comments

[fatherlineface]

[Why... is this man taking note of his musculature? Well, it does make sense to note a potential opponent's structure, but mentioning the feel of it is strange.]

Hmm. I don't have any interest in a relationship of that sort, so I wouldn't know.

[Kratos essentially considers himself "still married" - despite the fact that his wife has been dead for over a decade.]

[kivaember]

Eh? Oh, sorry... [Gilbert drifted off. Don't worry, he wasn't checking you out. He just had a funny thought of Kratos and Ludwig working out at the gym together. Gilbert had weird thoughts]

That's fair though. Relationships can be a bit troublesome anyways.

[fatherlineface]

[He does spend a great deal of time each day conditioning his body, so Gilbert isn't exactly wrong. What else is someone to do when they can't sleep? Rather than answer the statement about relationships, he changes the subject. His eyes betray how he feels about it just a bit, but only to someone as old as he himself is. The nation might be able to tell, too.]

Are there any weapons stores around here?

[kivaember]

[Gilbert allowed the change of topic with little complaint. He knew how troublesome and painful relationships got sometimes, and it looked like this guy knew it too]

Mm, I think you can only get weapons from here - I haven't really looked for a weapon shop properly though. Most stores are like, furniture or food or shit like that. Ah, but your body is the best weapon to have! [He slid into a boxing stance, throwing some quick punches out at thin air, before looking over at Kratos with a grin] Can't rely on the blade all the time, no matter how brilliant it is.

[fatherlineface]

Hmm. A proper blade can be used as a casting tool as well.

[Slowly enough so that the other man can read his peaceful intentions, he unsheathes his Flamberge. It's made of a magical material of some sort, one that's certainly not native to Earth.]

[kivaember]

Oh. Mein Gott. Das ist wunderschön!

[It was beautiful indeed. Gilbert had never seen anything so...so awesome, before!] A flamberge? Well, I suppose this is an actual one, rather than imitating flames for stylistic purposes...

[fatherlineface]

Indeed. The burns inflicted make it quite difficult for wounds to heal, even magically. As such, I think it might be best to find another blade for practice matches.

[The way he speaks, it's like magic is a given!]

[kivaember]

[Gilbert was all but starry-eyed as he examined the blade, but snapped out of it quickly enough] Ah, right, yeah. Yours would go through mine like it was butter. Not much of a spar then, huh.

[fatherlineface]

No, it would not be. I would prefer that we have a chance to test our skills rather than our blades.

[And at that, he starts to walk again, seeing if any of these shops sells swords. Gilbert might like fighting hand to hand, but Kratos does not.]

[kivaember]

[Gilbert hurries after the man, walking abreast of him] Mm, it'd seem like a good, self-imposed challenge. Hah, have a swordfight without connecting your swords.

[fatherlineface]

[He sheaths his sword again, shooting an odd look at the man.]

That sounds more like a coordinated training sequence. They have their place, I suppose.

[Ah, this place looks like it has something at least. He steps into a shop that has walls of colored tunics, picking up a simple blade and inspecting it. Is it elven?]

[kivaember]

Oh, sweet! [Excuse Gilbert while he hurries off] They have Zweihanders!

[fatherlineface]

What is a Zweihander?

[Chances are he's familiar with the type of blade, but the name is a new one to him. Kratos peers over at Gilbert curiously.]

[kivaember]

Wha- what is a Zweihander? [Gilbert looks mildly affronted that you even asked that question] A zweihander is a bitch ass sword that requires two hands to wield. Heavy as fuck, and they were developed from the langschwert - er, longsword I guess.

[Gilbert turns back to the large blades, happily getting into lecture mode. Get him onto the topic of weapons and he'd talk for ages] We had these babies in service for fifty years back home, but by the 16th century they got too impractical for use, so they're mostly for, y'know ceremonial shit now. I mean, nothing looks cooler than someone doing tricks with a fuck off big sword, right?

[fatherlineface]

Ah, I think I've seen blades like that before. I simply had not heard the name.

[Kratos hefts the plain, one-handed sword he's considering getting. He doesn't need anything fancy.]

Why do you curse so casually?

[kivaember]

Mm? Oh, I dunno [Gilbert laughed] I used to be the avatar of this religious group when I was born - er, well, came to being I guess. Our duty was to destroy all and any heathens, and to spread the word of The Lord. Religious crusades were pretty bloody considering the religions involved all toted against violence. Feeeh...

Uh, but, yeah, anyway...my duty was to kill and destroy and to fight, even as a child nation, so I spent my time with the soldiers. Even when I became Prussia, I stayed with the soldiers. Always. And let me tell you, soldiers are not the most politically correct bastards around. It's 'fuck' this, or 'fuck' that, or 'shiiiit' and crap like that.

[strength_of_tomorrow]

Religion is a tool, nothing more.

[He quiets and listens to the rest of the story, frowning deeply. Just what sort of soldiers did Gilbert associate with? That isn't how a military man should act at all!]

A proper soldier is disciplined. He does not waste his words, he does not complain about his duty.

[kivaember]

Yeah, but it only got like that when the Prussian Virtues were hammered in. My army was the most disciplined and brilliant army in Europe. 'Course, before that, though...well it was just a bunch of knights sent off to this god forsaken land to cull some pagans, then off to their like a group of mindless attack dogs.

[Despite Gilbert's words, he did view those days with fondness. Because of those days he managed to become a nation, and not just some avatar of a crusade organisation]

Thankfully none of that, any more. I don't particularly mind the fighting, but it's hard to fight for a God you don't really care about any more.

[strength_of_tomorrow]

Fighting for the sake of a god is rarely worthwhile. It is good that your people have moved beyond that.

[As far as Kratos is concerned, gods are likely not even real. If they are, then they're even more of a failure at their jobs than he is. He picks up the sword and heads to the counter quietly, having made his selection.]

[kivaember]

[Ohhh, sounds like Kratos had a bit of a grudge with a God - or religion in general] Hah! Well, government wise, we're beyond religion influences the decisions, but God is still a big deal in the whole world. I don't really care. S'long as fundamentalist don't commit terrorist acts against my Bruder's country, then I really don't care what people believe in any more.

[strength_of_tomorrow]

That is for the best. Beliefs should be personal, there's no need to institutionalize them. It only causes trouble.

[Kratos stands near to the head of an organized religion himself, he knows how twisted they are. Such a dirty way to make people fall in line...]

[kivaember]

[Gilbert gives Kratos a curious side glance] Mmhmm, that sounded personal. You had difficulty with religion back in your home?

[strength_of_tomorrow]

[He huffs quietly, moving to pay for his sword without comment. The card that his tokens are stored on is located without too much trouble, though where he's keeping it in pants that tight is a mystery indeed.]

Were you getting anything?

[kivaember]

[Gilbert wasn't insulted by the lack of reply - hell Ludwig communicated only in aggravated huffs and glares at times - and instead grinned lazily] Mmm, nah. I have my blade. It's at home though.

[strength_of_tomorrow]

[Kratos nods and hefts the new sword before heading outside. Time to practice with it a bit. This place is somewhat crowded, though... he'll head to the park. Unless spoken to, he walks the entire distance in silence.]