16

[asea]

Who: Walter and anyone
Where: Forest
When: 25th, morning
Style: Either
Status: Open

[He'd woken up and promptly left, leaving the tunic behind in exchange for his shirt.

Walter doesn't quite make it as far in the forest quadrant as usual before he finds a fairly unused clearing (so the undisturbed patches of grass tell him). His march coming to a gradual close, he gives the area a quick once-over. Then he exhales, and pivots on his heel to kick out with his dominant leg in a wide arc.

He's been asleep too long; he can feel it in how his movement is clumsier without his eres than it should be. At the very least, there's little in the way of muscle soreness despite the prolonged period of rest, but he won't consider that an excuse to let his performance deteriorate. A curse must have taken place when he was dormant, and he's not interested in the details: Working out the laziness (among other things) is a priority.

A series of kicks, then a deep right hook, then another kick—then his fingernails flash a dark blue, and the next punch comes even harder than the first. Just as quickly, the light dissipates and his strength falls considerably to a more ordinary level. Soon enough, he's worked up to the familiar sting of climbing exhaustion and takes that moment to stop abruptly.

Assuming a noncombat stance, Walter extends an upturned hand. His nails flash again, and this time a black light gathers together to form a small creature (with a more bat-like appearance) of the same color. It flutters about, shedding dark purple flecks of light. And so everything seems to be in order . . .

Still as the ground beneath him, Walter appraises it in silence, his expression impassive.]

Comments

[asea]

. . . quests?

[He heard of an attack on the barrier. What do quests have to do with that? Come to think of it, the inability to change during the curse seemed off place.]

[shirleyhopeful]

[She nodded. She didn't go on any of them but she thought about going to one. But then again, she couldn't really do much with the outfit she had on.]

There were a lot and one of them involved fighting a giant monster. I didn't go to one but I'm just to see that everything has gone back to normal.

[But it was pretty nice to have a curse where a lot of people seemed to enjoy.]

But nothing has happened outside of that curse.

[asea]

[Then she was safe. That was all that mattered.]

The curse took place last week. [A rhetorical statement. He didn't know that it actually spanned two weeks.] Vatheon was peaceful for nearly a month?

[shirleyhopeful]

Ah...no, not at all!

I'm afraid that this curse was for two weeks so um...

[There was a mumble]

You were in a coma for a while...

[asea]

Two weeks!?

[With that low exclamation of surprise, he shook his head, clearing away the shock. He'd become too content with routine to suspect otherwise. To think, he had to fall asleep in the month when a drastic change had occurred. What did this mean for future curses? Was this one an exception, given its allegedly special nature following Vatheon's pattern?]

. . . A month. It was too long a time to be asleep.

[shirleyhopeful]

Um...yes, two weeks. I don't know why but I certainly do hope that future curses wouldn't be like that.

[It was lucky that this curse wasn't that bad compared to a lot of the others. If future curses such as that dream curse a while ago would be for two weeks...it would create a lot more trouble later on.]

But I don't think it was too long though...

[asea]

[So she thinks. Walter is of a different mind—a day longer is already long enough. Compared to that, a month is far too long, especially when a curse is inevitable every few weeks.]

The next curse will determine whether the length becomes a pattern.

[A pause.]

. . . Merines.

[shirleyhopeful]

Perhaps but I suppose we'll just have to see until then right?

[Walter did have a point. Was this curse just a rare ocuurance or was this going to be a pattern from now on. Either way, they had to wait until then.]

Um...is something wrong, Walter?

[asea]

[A brief stare, then he shook his head.]

It's nothing. [So he diverted the subject, back to the previous topic:] . . . All that's left is more waiting.

[shirleyhopeful]

[Shirley was raising an eyebrow but she'll continue the conversation]

I wonder how much longer we'll have to wait for another curse...

[Hopefully she'll pick up this conversation!]

Maybe because it was so long, we won't have another one anytime soon?

[Still awkward]

[asea]

[The more distance, the better. For that, he nodded curtly.]

Things should be quieting now that it's over. That seems to be the pattern revolving around this time of the year. Unless something were to interfere with the coral's stabilization . . .

[shirleyhopeful]

I just...hope not.

[The last thing she wanted was another curse. The last thing she wanted right now was everyone to get hurt once more.

Speaking of which, she took a small step forward.]

Um...are you going to continue fighting? Because I'm worried about the injury on your head...

[asea]

My head?

[Why was everyone insisting on bringing up his head? Even if he'd hit it, he didn't feel anything anymore.]

There isn't one. It must have healed during the coma.

[shirleyhopeful]

But still...

[Don't mind Shirley motherhening you]

Are you sure you're okay? And um...the injures you might have from hitting the trees...

[asea]

There's nothing to be concerned about.

[Despite their flippancy, the words were said carefully and gently. His hands had some redness to them, but the friction was inevitable, and he was used to the exercise. It was the same as any other training session.]

It doesn't hurt.

[shirleyhopeful]

But...

[There was a mumble before she looked at his hands. Yes, he was use to training but it doesn't mean that she was going to turn a blind eye on it. Despite his words, Shirley's fingernails were glowing.]

Wouldn't they bleed?

[asea]

[Seeing the glow from the corner of his eyes, he vehemently shook his head.]

I've trained for years. They won't bleed from this.

[Not anymore. The skin around his knuckles was testimony to the physical labor; it was hard and leathery rather than soft, easily built to prevent scratches and bleeding.]

[shirleyhopeful]

Oh...I see...

[She said before lowering her arm to the side. There was a small mumble before she was scratching to the side of her face. Well...now what?]

Then...do you need a sparring partner then?

[asea]

[A what?]

No.

[Because clearly she was offering, and he wasn't about to allow that.]

I'm accustomed to doing this on my own.

[shirleyhopeful]

[Here we go again!]

But it seems like you were fighting the trees...so I thought it would be a good way to train together.

[Pause]

And it would be nice to see where our skills have gone right now.

[asea]

[He already knew where his "skills have gone." He was rusty. A whole over year in Vatheon and a month of induced sleep did the damage. The tree was thus a fair enough starting point.

His gut response was to bring up his duty; he clamped down on the word.]

You shouldn't have to fight, Merines.

[Because he was there.

But he couldn't keep the title from slipping out.]

[shirleyhopeful]

[It had been a while since she fought and she does realized her skills weren't as great as they once were. It's been 10 months and she knew that she needed to train some more.

However, as much as she wanted to, she knew what Walter's response was.]

What if I wanted to?

[She remembered Zelos words. She could have the potential to do whatever she wanted but at the same time, she didn't want to abuse her 'powers' onto him either. The last time she did that, it...was not fun.

...And let's not tell him about that quest she went on.]

[asea]

[Walter fell silent for a moment. There was nothing wrong with what she wanted, per se; it was only that she seemed to insist upon doing things that he should be doing, and that threw him a curve. Still, her word was law. Her will was his will. It was not his call to make.]

If you wanted to . . .

If that is what you wish, then of course.

[He supposed that applied to the spar she'd proposed.]

[shirleyhopeful]

[Shirley did not feel happy about this one bit. He had a will of his own, she didn't want to keep on imposing things onto him like this. He had control over his life, not her.]

Um...o-okay then, better get ready?

[With that, there was a small glowing circle forming around her. Better get ready, she's casting some fireballs!]

[asea]

[While he had no doubt that that the Merines' eres hurt, he was caught. He couldn't on a clear conscience attack her directly, and he was far better suited for the offensive than anything else. Even if it was her will, it simply couldn't be done. Moreover her crystal eres was likely several degrees stronger than his; scaling back the potency of crystal eres would take extra effort for him.

Walter didn't dwell much on these thoughts. His instincts bid him as much, however, and bending his knees he only launched his teriques to deflect the fireballs. The black creature met the flames head on and dissipated upon contact, vanquishing the powerful flames with it.

He landed with the slight tap of his boots on dirt, and then awaited the next move.

At the same time, what to do . . . ]