valiantxunion

[valiantxunion]

He stops and blinks for a moment. He's staring at you, Yuri. Something has entered his thought process and suddenly, a look of realization appears on his face.

"...You're right. I shouldn't have Old Man Hanks bring up embarrassing stories about both you and Flynn. That's not fair."

...

"So I'm gonna go ask Flynn for embarrassing stories instead. I'm sure he has plenty since you guys were inseparable." And with that, he turns to run off, ready to find the new target of his mission. Surely Flynn had some kind of dirt on Yuri.

"Now see, if you do that, any of my embarrassing stories are bound to include Flynn - especially if you ask old man Hanks, so all you're gonna end up doing is embarrassing him, too. You wouldn't wanna get poor Flynn involved when he had nothing to do with it, right?"

It's just a bit of mud, Karol! Mud faceplants make you stronger! For next time you fall face first into the mud! Probably!

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"No-- I mean-- Yes, I--" What does 'falling into the mud like a real leader' even MEAN? How could he get the upper hand here? And now he was laughing even MORE!!

Ugh! Fine! He's going to start (lightly) smacking Yuri's arm with his fists. "C'mon, Yuri, knock it off! Or.... Or else I'm gonna go to Old Man Hanks and tell him to tell me embarrassing stories about you (again)!"

Yeah, like that'll work.

"...Mmmm, nope. Think I'd still be laughing. But you're right that's it funnier when it happens to someone else because I can actually see it happening. I mean, you ever watch someone fall down the stairs? You're worried about them, but it's too funny not to laugh?"

See now, it was already funny, but... Karol pouting about it now just makes it funnier. Boy is determined to keep his muddy dignity, huh? Ah well, must be at that age.

"It's just... did you fall into the mud like a real leader too?"

Maybe he just hadn't laughed enough in recent days for it to be this funny. But. Well. It is.

"I'm s-s-sorry, I just... can't stop picturing it..."

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"BECAUSE I was leading the way! Like a real leader! I fell so no one else had to!"

...Aaaaand now Yuri was laughing. Dammit.

"It was dark and muddy! It could have happened to anyone! Seriously! I bet if it happened to YOU, you wouldn't be laughing so hard!"

"Literally anyone, huh... ...But the only one who did was you, yeah?"

...

...

...

...Did he fall face first? Did he do a Karol Shriek? Did his arms swing in circles wildly as he attempted to rebalance himself, only to fail and plop right into the mud?

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"Literally anyone would slip on mud. Literally anyone. I don't see what's so funny about it." Why was he getting made fun of for something he literally has nothing to do with?

[valiantxunion]

“Falling asleep anywhere is maybe not that unusual. It’s just the fact that once you’re out, nothing can wake you up.” Yuri snickered quietly, an eyebrow raised in her direction. He could only assume that Rita hadn’t just crawled underneath the pile of books back at her home in Aspio. They must have fallen over onto her at some point, right? The image alone was funny enough. “So, yeah, I agree. You were definitely a cat in a past life, if you believe in that kind of thing.”

Did Yuri believe in stuff like that? It was hard to say. He was the type to only believe things that he saw with his own eyes most of the time. But… with everything going on, it wasn’t too hard to believe in the possibilities of a past life. As Rita pointed out him being a dog, Yuri brought a hand to his chin, considering the suggestion.

“I dunno… Flynn can understand Repede too. He’s way more dog-like than I am.” Yuri hummed, eyes drifting towards his blue-furred companion in question. “I’ve been compared to a lot of animals though. Mostly wolves and cats, funny enough.”

As Yuri spoke, he reached over and rested a hand on Repede’s head. The canine opened his eye in acknowledgement before letting out a tiny sigh before falling back asleep. Yuri couldn’t help but smile. “I dunno. I think the reason I can understand Repede so well is just because I’ve known him since he was a puppy. He’s always been attached to me at the hip… so it’s easy to read someone when you’ve been with them their entire lives. Even if they’re not human, you know?”

He remembered how Repede would sprawl out onto his back as a puppy, too lost in sleep to be aware of his surroundings. Nowadays, it seemed like even when he was asleep, Repede was always listening, always guarding. Yuri just couldn’t understand how Repede was able to function sometimes because anytime Yuri would try to do something like that, he would just end up exhausted. He supposed it was a good thing that dogs didn’t really require the same kind of sleep that humans needed.

“I’m sure if you give it some time, you’ll start understanding him too. It’s really not that hard.”

"Oh, really?"

Yuri's tactic was working, at least. Rita already looked a little more relaxed in posture. She shifted a bit, leaning back on her hands a bit and watching Yuri with her head tilted. Then she sat up a little straighter in surprise when he brought up how she could practically fall asleep anywhere.

"H-Hey, it's not that unusual, is it?" Rita tried not to look too flustered. The fact her cheeks had brightened a bit made it pretty hard not to, though. There were stranger places she'd fallen asleep. She had a bed, of course, but sometimes it just was easier to sleep where she happened to be researching. Case in point, the fact she'd been sleeping in that pile of books when they all had met.

"I mean... you could be on to something," she said. "Maybe I was a cat before. The best damn cat." She thought it was a fun mental image, at least. Rita Meowdio? ...Okay, best not to go forward with voicing that part. She'd for sure get made fun of.

"Does that mean you were a dog in a past life, then?"

"Maybe that's why you can understand Repede so well," she said. She wasn't totally serious with the line of thought, but the fact Yuri seemed to practically be able to figure out what Repede was trying to say made her wonder.

In any case, it seemed thoughts of the next day had drifted away. For the moment, if nothing else. Sooner or later, they'd have to come back.

[valiantxunion]

Everything that Yuri said should have been obvious. Yeah, he was a kid. Yeah, kids made mistakes. Yeah, kids needed room to grow. All of that… should have been obvious. So then… Why was Karol treated the way he was? Why was he kicked out of every guild he joined because of simple mistakes? Mistakes that could have been avoided in the future so long as they were willing to teach him how to do better?

Karol fell into silence, staring down at his feet as Yuri’s words slowly began to sink in. Nan was… maybe the closest he had ever gotten to having a friend but she was always rough around the edges. Already scarred by the pain of losing her parents to monsters. She never had time for childish things and always seemed to scold Karol for getting overly excited about things, about being a coward and other things. She was way too grown up for her age and, sometimes, it seemed like she was trying to force Karol to grow up with her.

And… he tried. He tried, he tried, he tried, he tried. But no matter what, no one seemed to take him seriously. They would make fun of him for trying to act bigger than he was. Yell at him for making mistakes. Taunt him for getting kicked out of other guilds. He was always, always, always being criticized, no matter where he went. He was convinced that he was doing something wrong…

But then Yuri and Estelle showed up and actually… treated him like a person. Actually took him seriously about the Eggbear. Actually bothered to listen to his ideas. And when he ran away, they didn’t… yell at him about it. They didn’t kick him out. They, instead, asked if he was okay, despite the fact that he left them to fight that Entelexeia all on their own. Not even Rita gave him a hard time for that.

They defended him in Dahngrest, they took him seriously when he wanted to start his own guild, they listened to him, patiently guided him, protected him– He didn’t really know… how to react to it sometimes. He always felt like he needed to repay the favor but it seemed like everyone never really cared if Karol could repay them for their kindness or not. They accepted him simply because they wanted to.

Karol took a sharp breath, hating how his eyes watered as Yuri’s words hit their mark. “I… I guess so…” He mumbled, quickly wiping at his face. He refused to break down after hearing that. Everything would just feel awkward if he started crying now. “I-It’s just… You know… Most kids live like this around here. They have to grow up really fast in order to survive.”

But most of those kids were usually very quick in finding somewhere to belong. What made Karol so different…? Why were people so awful?

“...Why did they do that?” Karol finally asks, ducking his head to avoid any type of eye contact. “I thought I was the problem. I still think I’m the problem sometimes. Why were people so mean? I don’t get it, I thought I was trying my best–”

"Nah. I guess it doesn't bother me because I'm so used to it and it's sort of second nature." Technically he had to look after Rita and Estelle too for a while. While Rita was more of just a wild card that he wasn't sure about at first, Estelle knew less than Karol did going out into the world. Before Raven started tagging along, it was like looking after a bunch of children. Even if Raven goofed off all the time for a while, Yuri at least knew he could be reliable.

Plus, it didn't help that Karol was just alone. Despite Rita having been alone, she was at least confining herself to her house. All things considered, she was safe. Lonely probably, sure... but Karol was running around outside the barriers, and the Hunting Blades had left him to go off by himself. Yuri knew Karol wanted to prove himself and he had chosen to try to do something on his own, but the way his then-guild members hadn't thought a thing of it when they'd allowed a twelve year old to go off on his own to "prove himself" still sat ill with him.

"I know you don't like to think of yourself as a kid because you've been through a lot, but when I was a kid and had to fight a monster for the first time, it stuck with me that overall, I was pretty helpless. No matter how mature you were when we met, you were still a kid. I couldn't blame you for getting scared sometimes and running off. People who give up on kids and leave them to fend for themselves are the problem. All you needed was someone to be patient with you and help you grow."

Since then he'd proven himself in a lot of ways. Since then he'd grown up a lot. Would he have if Yuri hadn't stuck around? Honestly, probably not... because he wouldn't have had anyone to help him get there. At first with Yuri being the only adult, it was definitely a lot more difficult trying to balance looking after Karol and two unknowns (because at the end of the day, he knew nothing about Estelle ultimately except that she was being chased and was a noble, which complicated his own situation tenfold). Once Judith and Raven were around, things had started to settle and were easier.

Where would Karol be if Yuri hadn't been there for him? If he'd just abandoned the kid the way the Hunting Blades did? As much as he didn't want to think about it, it was entirely possible he could be dead by now. Given how chaotic things got in the world, would he really have been able to make it out there by himself? With no help at all? Nobody deserved not to have a fair shot in the world, and nobody had been giving Karol that.

Yuri paused to poke at the soup. Karol could even make simple things like this, and in a way, that wasn't even fair. What kid should have to cook? The reason Yuri and his brothers had to do it as kids was because they had nobody else who could do it for them on days when the adults were too busy to do it for them. Like Karol they were orphans, and it was wholly unfair that any kid should have to live that way. To have to cook and clean and understand very very quickly that proper care toward themselves could result in death if they couldn't afford a doctor.

"Well, I knew you were trying." Most likely, both of them knew it, but Karol at the time was a lost child, really. Just... trying to survive. Nowhere to go. Not even a small inn room like Yuri had or a community that wouldn't have just let him die. If Karol had died out there all alone, nobody would know, and if anyone did find him, nobody would care. Of course Karol wasn't the only person the world had just abandoned like that, but... Yuri could never have left him out there knowing that was a possible fate for him. "And I knew you just wanted someone to care about you. You deserved a chance like everyone else should have. People run away sometimes. Even adults. Even me. It doesn't mean you don't deserve a chance to grow into being your best self."

[valiantxunion]

“Believe it or not, yes actually.” Karol cringed a little. He didn’t mind rats, honestly. And it wasn’t his first time in an underground cavern like this one with said rats scurrying from place to place. He’s been in plenty of caves, caverns, and more during his travels with Brave Vesperia and this one didn’t seem any different from the ones he had visited in the past. “I don’t mind rats too much. They very rarely bother with you unless they feel cornered. And even then, they’ll go out of their way to avoid you.”

Rationalizing that part made Karol feel a bit better… for a moment. But then the idea of Zombies and Golems being around had been suggested and… well, Karol couldn’t deny that a chill ran up his spine at the thought of it. Golems weren’t scary as they were just a problem. They hit hard, they were hard to take down… With his large mallet, he could maybe manage but if they got overwhelmed, that would be a problem. Zombies on the other hand… those… were scary. Did they really have to talk about what could possibly be lurking within the shadows of this creepy dumb cave?

“W-We’ve… uh…” Karol forced his brain to move away from the images of growling groans of a zombie as he tried to remind himself of how he had survived scarier situations. As his brain jumped from scenario to scenario, he realized that in such a short amount of time, he had truly gone through a lot of scary scenarios, hadn’t he? He just had to remember that he came out of them alive…

“...Oh! Uh… Well, this one time… Everyone else and I had to climb onto this ghost ship.” Had to was a bit of a stretch. Their ship had broken down as the ghost ship drifted up next to their own ship. It was Yuri who suggested they take a look at it. Karol was completely freaked out at the time but at least he wasn’t as scared as Rita. He was lucky that he was too scared at the time to make fun of her for it. She would’ve burned him alive. “There were actual, for real ghosts on it! Like… ghost monsters that you could only see if you were looking through the mirror for them! It was like major creep city on that thing.”

He’s momentarily distracted as he tells the story that he almost forgets to watch his footing as he’s walking. At the mere mention of sinkholes, he jolts back to attention, eyes snapping to the ground in front of him… a bit too late, however, as his foot slips in a puddle. His feet slide out from beneath him as he falls backwards onto his backside. The loud yelp followed by the small ‘oof’ as he hit the ground was the only thing that came out of his mouth as he went down.

Well. At least it was just a muddy puddle and not an actual sinkhole. “...I should probably pay more attention… Ow.”

❛  Really?  ❜ she replies, feigning interest. ❛  Then have you even been to dingy, old ruins sites with lots of huge rats scurrying underground? One is probably the size of your whole hand.  ❜ Well, those weren't really monsters monsters. They were pretty harmless, minding their own business and eating whatever gross stuff they were eating, but they were still pretty disgusting to her and the other girls. ❛  Or places with zombies and golems and even slimes lurking in the shadows... If not the shadows, then the slimes drop from the ceiling behind you... The golems will follow you if you try to run... And the zombies try to suck your life away...  ❜

Following behind, she can tell from the rigid posture and obvious shaking of his legs that he's trying too hard. Leader or not, he's still a kid, and it's natural to be scared. Kids will be kids, right? Even if she's a seraph, she was once a child too. ❛  But I'm sure, as leader, you've experienced worse. Enlighten me a bit, unless you want to walk in eerie silence.  ❜

Listening to his details, she has to wonder why an excavation worker would even bring such an item with him in the first place, but figures he has his reasons. A rag doll with short blonde yarn hair, a red-white dress, and green button eyes... Definitely sounds a bit childish—maybe it's reminiscent of someone or something the client knows—and it shouldn't be that hard to miss with such bright-sounding colors. Edna keeps an eye out more diligently. So far, the path is empty, excluding rocks and rocks and more rocks...

❛  If there was excavation work being done in here, then this path should lead to a large area big enough for it,  ❜ she muses, ❛  which means less work for us, hopefully.  ❜ But of course, work is still work. ( And she didn't know it was excavation work... Hm... ) ❛  Anyway, thanks. These are details I can work with.  ❜

She looks around again, scrutinizing at the upper regions and ceiling of the cave. ❛  Judging from the earth formation in here, the amount of flowstones and stalactites indicates there was once a lot of water in here, so that means we're suspectible to a sinkhole or two if we're not careful. Better hope that doll didn't fall in one either—or yourself, since you're walking in front.  ❜

[valiantxunion]

//apologies for lack of replies here! The only muses that are awake atm are Karol and maybe Yuri, depending on the thread and even then, they're kinda touch and go. I'll try and get some out today if I can get rid of my migraine

[valiantxunion]

Yuri had to admit, it was pretty hilarious seeing just how speechless his younger selves were. Not that he could truly blame them. The way Flynn held himself in comparison to his younger days was definitely different and in some ways, it could even be described as breathtaking. Yuri wouldn’t really admit that out loud though. But between the bright colors and the white armor, it was difficult not to be dazzled by how much of a light Flynn had become for the world around him.

Even Yuri had a hard time tearing his eyes away from his childhood friend, usually finding himself admiring how perfectly the other fit in his current position. He had always known that Flynn was great, and could be something great. He was talented in almost every way (almost, if his cooking skills had anything to say about it) and even if the position was unfairly dumped into Flynn’s lap at such a young age, Yuri couldn’t think of anyone else more fit to be Commandant.

Hearing the smaller Yuri pout and whine caused the adult to force out a quiet snort as he leaned back against the cushion behind him. Yuri didn’t think very highly of himself but he at least knew he wasn’t just some guy anymore, as much as he tried to be sometimes. At this point, he wondered if it was alright to come entirely clean about everything, especially since they revealed Flynn as the commandant to the two. He didn’t really want to do that without Rita’s opinion though… So he could at least raise his younger self’s confidence up a bit.

“Commandant is pretty impressive and everything but don’t discount me just yet. Even though Flynn is the Commandant now, it doesn’t stop me from wiping the floor with him every now and then.” The competitive smirk slowly stretches across his face as he watches Flynn’s head whip up to face him.

The blonde opens his mouth to argue, his own competitive nature coming out before he huffs and turns his face with a pout of his own. “You still have a while to go before you catch up to me on wins though.”

But then the knight seems to remember himself and quickly clears his throat, cheeks flushing in embarrassment over his own competitive nature, and Yuri can’t help but laugh a bit at it as Flynn pushes the topic away in favor of responding to the teen and the child. “In all fairness, I have a hard time wrapping my head around it too. I know it might be a bit of a shock to you but… thank you, I’m happy to hear you say that. I often wondered what our younger selves would say if they could see us now. With that being said, Yuri is far from just some guy living in an inn room. He stays there sometimes when he’s visiting Zaphias but he’s got his own responsibilities lately.”

Flynn looks to the oldest of the three and Yuri couldn’t stop himself from glancing away, uncertain. He was in the same boat as Flynn, some days. He had often wondered what his younger selves would say if they were to see him now and so far, they didn’t exactly look impressed and he couldn’t exactly blame them for that judgment. He hadn’t exactly given them a reason to be impressed so far.

Plus, he always… had a hard time talking up his own accomplishments.

“I stay over in Dahngrest on most days. It’s a guild city. I’ve mostly been doing guild work here and there with a group of mine. I work with a few friends of mine, mostly my friend Judy and a kid named Karol. An old man shows up and helps every so often. And the mage I asked to help us with this issue will sometimes help too, even if she’s technically employed by the empire.” He pauses for a moment, letting his eyes trail over to the teenager Yuri. “Actually, she’s around your age, now that I think about it.”

Seeing Flynn trying to meet him at eye level was... probably the most out of body experience the youngest could say he'd ever had. As he was watched by the now man, he blinked with his mouth half open as if he wanted to say something but couldn't articulate what he was going for. In fact, he didn't really even know what he was going for.

While they were brought into the new room, the youngest could only wish he could bring all his complaints to Flynn. Both of them were familiar with how the knights in their time were, but there was nobody to complain to. They had to simply stand by and bear whatever the knights did, or whatever the even common folk did. Of course he could complain about the knights' behavior in this time if he needed to, but back home it was completely different.

Since Yuri had settled in one of the chairs, the other two followed suit, albeit a bit awkwardly. Even if it was Flynn's office, it was still beyond fancier than anything they'd seen in their lives. Everything was clearly more expensive, right down to the colors. Blues weren't cheap colors, and that had, in some way, perhaps been what originally set the boys off back at the Lower Quarter.

Though Flynn's original attire wasn't any sort of royal blue, even just a baby blue shade was still a blue. Everyone was used to it by the time they were teenagers and he'd opted for a similar outfit like the one he used to wear, but in some way it was still a reminder that something about Flynn was always special. The blue suited him, and even in this room it did, but it still felt like an indicator of a classier status - something he had had in the first place and lost along the way, evidently only to retrieve more than once.

The youngest looked around the room, a small pout forming on his face. "So Flynn is the Commandant and that's... the biggest guy in the knights? And I'm just some guy living at an inn getting stopped in the streets by the most loud and annoying knights? Damn... How am I gonna get better than being a Commandant?"

For the teen it was actually pretty crazy to witness. Generally he wasn't a large presence. Being stopped in the streets by knights at all was pretty uncommon for him. It wasn't like it never happened, but he managed to learn to carry himself in a way that didn't come off as disruptive or "clearly poor". Evidently on his side, he'd gone from a rambunctious kid who dragged attention to himself, to relatively quiet and on the side and only causing trouble if alarm bells went off, to being enough of a presence that the knights saw fit to... make sure everything was going smoothly.

So, what even happened? Did he just decide a regular, quiet life in the Lower Quarter wasn't good enough for him? That he still had to be feisty and loud? He wasn't the most quiet person they had in their town, but he definitely simmered down given a few years. What did he do, just decide to right back to point A again? With the way he lived now and how content he was with it, he... couldn't even really imagine it all that much.

"Well..." The teen shuffled in place a bit, trying to look between his other selves and Flynn, not wanting to stare at any single one of them too long lest they get squirmy about it. "For what it's worth, I think he wears the uniform well." He looked back to Flynn again if only to properly address him as he spoke directly to him. "I know how much you respected knights when you, uh, were a teen? And you're not just one of them now, but you're at the top... I can't really wrap my head around it, but if you're happy with it, I'm happy with it."

[valiantxunion]

Oh, why did she have to say that? There were no monsters yet, but that didn’t mean there were no monsters, period. Monsters like to hang out in dark and creepy places like this, after all. Karol was certain that the deeper that they went, the more likely it was that they would run into monsters ready to strike. As she said, he would have to stay on guard. As much as he wanted to prove himself, he was already regretting not asking Yuri, Judith or Raven for help…

As she questioned his leadership, this seemed to be enough of a push to light the fire back in his chest. “Of course I am!” He huffed, turning to her momentarily to cross his arms. “I’ve been in scarier places than this before!”

He’s been in scarier places like this before … but he had his companions with him. Since he was technically the only member from Brave Vesperia that was here, it made things different. But if there was ever a time to prove himself, it would be now. So, he twisted on his heel and began to march forward, ignoring the shaking of his knees in favor of focusing on his own determination.

Edna didn’t seem very easily impressed though Karol could have pinpointed that the second he met the girl. Despite his own drive to move forward, she still didn’t seem entirely convinced, which meant that Karol had a long way to go in order to be accepted as the leader of his own guild. After all, there were people who were still convinced that Karol was just a kid playing pretend. He hated that more than anything.

“According to our client, it’s supposed to be a rag doll, with short blonde hair made out of yarn. It’s supposed to be wearing a red and white dress. It also has green buttons for eyes.” Karol had never been one for dolls. In fact, he found them to be a little on the creepy side sometimes. There was something about their blank stares that made it feel like they were staring directly into his soul. Eugh…

“He had been in this cave for excavation work and had bodyguards that were hired to protect him and his coworkers at the time but he said he couldn’t ask the bodyguards to guard him long enough to find a doll. So he reached out to us.”

She trails behind him, closing her umbrella to hold in her left hand. Best to leave it closed as to not accidentally bump into him, or the walls for that matter. The walls seem sturdy and solid enough; Edna's just grateful that it isn't another set of underground ruins with water dripping from the ceiling. Those are the worst. ❛  At least there aren't any monsters...  ❜ A deliberate pause of suspense, then, ❛  Yet, anyway.  ❜

Besides, even if there were monsters, they probably wouldn't be that bad, considering the simplicity of this mission... Unless there's some final boss-esque monster waiting at the end of this path. Welp. She wouldn't be surprised, all things considered.

Edna scrutinizes him, then shrugs. It's really none of her business, after all. She's here because she had nothing else better to do today, and this technically counts for her usual walk. ( And maybe a part of her didn't feel right leaving a little boy alone. ) ❛  Toy or not, you're the only one here who knows what it looks like, so stay sharp instead of nervous. A leader should look the part. You are the leader of your guild, right?  ❜

Though, at his show of bravado, she raises an eyebrow. He seems like the type who likes to prove he's capable because he wants to be stronger. Maybe he'll get along with Meebo, if they ever meet. ❛  Says the one who just stuttered at the beginning of his sentence,  ❜ she narrates flatly, but with no real hostility.

Onii-chan always treated her like a kid, even after she's grown up, so it's not like she can't understand this need of self-proving. She's a lady and has dedicated herself to it, but she supposes she'll always be a 'kid' to some people. She can cut Karol some slack. Karol is a human, so there will be a day where he'll grow up and be someone of importance, sort of like Sorey. Edna is still not too fond of humans, but if her journey taught her anything, it's that not all humans are bad. She only dislikes the greedy, truly hopeless ones, and Karol doesn't give off that impression. ❛  But that's more like it. If you're going to talk big, then you need to uphold it. A lady needs a proper bodyguard.  ❜

Looking around, she adds, ❛  Well? What did the item look like? I don't see anything other than rocks. What else did the client tell you?  ❜ ( A roundabout way of her trying to help. )

[valiantxunion]

Duke watches Luke, his red eyes tired from the earlier fight for survival. As the younger one frantically tried to reason with him regarding his injuries, Duke’s gaze drifted past the boy to stare in the direction Duke had come from. There was still no sign of him being pursued just yet but he couldn’t assume that he wasn’t being chased down. He was weak and vulnerable, much to his chagrin, and now would be the perfect opportunity for those humans to strike again and end him and steal Dein Nomos away from his possession.

“Your worries are misplaced, boy.” He tried again, looking back to Luke. He very quickly realized, however, that this boy was intending to be stubborn to the very end.

So, with a bit of reluctance, he takes the Lemon Gel and slips it into his mouth, chewing it slowly as the taste of citrus flooded his taste buds and shot a much needed energy boost through his system. The Lemon Gel was a temporary fix, however. These wounds needed to be patched, and soon. But he simply couldn’t risk it.

“I do not have time to stop and wrap my injuries. Not… here in the open.” Duke explains, his gaze once again drifting behind Luke. “I am being pursued and they are likely closing in on my location as we speak. As thanks for the item, I advise you to leave me be. They would not think twice about taking your life if they believe that you are in the way of what they seek.”

The boy was stubborn but his heart seemed to be in the right place. Duke could at least give him that. But humans like him were rare. And the only thing the human race was good for was rejecting kinder souls and crushing them under their heel. With that in mind, Duke turned again and took a step to continue his escape… but then his knee buckles beneath him, causing him to fall to his knee with a pained hiss.

His hand shoots to his side, where a pretty deep wound had been inflicted earlier. The Lemon Gel had slowed the bleeding but it didn’t seem to do much for the pain that came from it.

@valiantxunion

Luke shifts to the side when Duke pushes past him, but he continues to step after him. How can this guy still walk with injuries like that? The strength he must have is unbelievable… Luke can’t help but think that this man must be in a lot of pain right now. What kind of monster could have done this?

The remark about Luke’s ignorance of the situation rankles in a way that sparks Luke’s temper. He increases his pace after the stranger, reaching out to grab at his wrist. “Just because I don’t know what’s going on, doesn’t mean that I can’t help. If you tell me what’s going on rather than being vague, we might get somewhere.”

All Luke knows is that he’d run into this stranger outside some town and everything had turned into a huge fuss that he didn’t even have the context to begin to understand. It was even worse than when he’d first started his journey because at least he’d known a quarter of the words people had been saying. This time? Not so much. At least now he can recognize that there’s a time and place for blind questions.

Luke pauses briefly when those red eyes look back at him, a disconcerting feeling creeps across his skin. They remind him of Jade, and for a moment, he misses the man terribly, no matter how much Jade likes to yank his chain.

“I might not know any healing artes, but I can still wrap and suture injuries. That’s better than collapsing because of blood loss, isn’t it?” Luke says a bit sardonically, letting go of Duke now and crossing his arms. He wasn’t… particularly skilled at either of those things, but Tear had all but insisted he learn during some of their stays at an inn. She wanted Luke to be all right if he ever found himself in a situation where they were separated. She was pragmatic like that.

“Or, I could give you one of these.” Luke adds, reaching turning to rummage through the item bag draped over his back. He produces a Lemon Gel and holds it out to him. “Here.”

He doesn’t know how much this will heal the guy, but it’s gotta be better than nothing, right?

[valiantxunion]

" i don’t know how else to ask you & i wouldn’t come here for nothing." (@Lloyd)

@iniquitousideals

“I know.” Lloyd let out a heavy sigh as his eyes drifted over the smaller boy warily.

He knew that the other wouldn’t show up like this if he didn’t really, truly need his help like he claimed. Mithos, from what Lloyd could see, was a proud individual. He seemed to be the type that wouldn’t ask for help unless he absolutely needed it. Much less ask for help from Lloyd of all people.

After everything that happened, Lloyd still couldn’t bring himself to forgive Mithos for everything that had happened. He had made the choice to spare Mithos, to let him try again and to live life how it was meant to be lived and he figured between Kratos, Yuan and his friendship with Genis, no one would allow Mithos to fall down that path he had fallen into ever again. But even after all of that, Lloyd couldn’t forget what he had done. Couldn’t forgive his actions against the human race, or against his friends. Against Colette. He just couldn’t.

But he was also never one to turn down someone in need of help. “I’ll help you. Because you really seem like you need it. And because Genis would never let me forget it if I didn’t.” So, with another deep breath to steel himself, he steps closer to Mithos and tilts his head curiously.

“So what’s wrong? Did something happen? How can I help?”

[valiantxunion]

“Yeah, I would really rather not have the cave collapse in on us more than it already has.” Karol eyed the ceiling of the cave anxiously as he toyed with the strap of his bag. Seriously, what were the odds of an earthquake happening out of nowhere and causing the entire entrance of the cave to just fall in like that? Earthquakes weren’t exactly common in the area. Seriously, this was something that would happen to Yuri and his bad luck. Was Yuri’s bad luck rubbing off on him?! Maybe he should invest in some sage for the base when he got home.

If… he got home.

Karol paled slightly as he stared down the dark pathway that Edna suggested that they followed but with a sigh of defeat, he opened the flap of his bag and dug out a small, handheld lantern and a small container of fuel. It wasn’t much fuel at all but after the loss of blastia, he no longer had the convenience of Lux Blastia to emit light. Fuel was the next best thing until Rita could figure out a different way of doing things. As he lit the lantern and allowed the small glow of light spread throughout the area, Karol reluctantly led the way.

“It wasn’t a toy.” Karol argued with a tiny pout. “At least… it wasn’t a toy to the client.”

Yeah, the lost object in general had been a doll, which… yeah, could be classified as a toy. But apparently it held some sort of sentimental value to the client and with the amount he was willing to pay, Karol couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Since it had been a lost object, Karol figured it would be fine to take care of the job himself. But now, here he was. Stuck in a cave (that was probably home to monsters, no doubt) looking for some tiny little figurine in the dark. At the very least, he was glad that someone had come along with him. Someone that both Yuri and Flynn seemed to know and trust? That was good enough for him. As rude as she was.

“B-Besides, I’ve been on tougher jobs than this! This… This is nothing compared to those other jobs!” Karol bumped his fist against his chest, purposely puffing it out to try and seem tougher than he probably seemed. “So… So be sure to stay behind me, okay? If any monsters jump out, I’ll take care of it!”

@valiantxunion : ❝ what do we do? there’s no way out. ❞ - valiantxunion (Adventure with Karol mayhap!! 👀 )

r.esident e.vil: 4 remake starters  /  accepting !

She quietly looks around and scrutinizes the area. The entrance caved in at some point: she knows because she felt the earth shift earlier, and it was hard to miss that loud rumble noise too. She's familiar with earthquakes and being caved in, and so, Edna knows the standard procedure of handling such situations: ❛  It's a cave, so it's not like I can't take care of it by just smashing a hole through the wall with my powers—but I was told once before that I shouldn't do that.  ❜ She rolls her eyes. Stupid Meebo and his stupid nagging. ❛  So unless we want the ceiling to collapse on us, I think we should keep following the path. If we reach the end, there'd be less risk for me to make a way out.  ❜ Unless there's a back entrance. Even better because she doesn't want to waste the energy, to be honest.

Of course, she's been through many sets of ruins before by accompanying Sorey. This place is some unknown cave, not another set of ruins to explore, but she thinks the two are similar enough—and from experience, Edna knows that being caved in only spells Disaster with a capital 'D,' alongside an extra order of migraines. And most importantly, it's not Flynn or Yuri this time, but a little boy. He must be the other guild member Yuri mentioned. She still doesn't know much about guilds, but she's fairly certain there aren't that many brave little kids doing solo guild work in a place as secluded as this. He's either brave or stupid, or both maybe.

❛  You said you were looking for something in here for a client, right?  ❜ She looks at him, face flat and voice monotone, ❛  What was it? A lost toy? That's a pretty fitting request for you, boy.  ❜

[valiantxunion]

//I started playing Destiny recently and I think that a Stahn muse appearing on this blog is inevitable.

[valiantxunion]

i'm not leaving you to die. (For Duke, since you’re testing him out haha)

Such a meddlesome human…

He shouldn’t be so surprised. Humans were always the types to stick their noses in matters that did not personally concern them. This led to matters becoming more complicated more times than none. Still, even if this young man had good intentions, Duke had no intention of accepting his help. Not after he had sworn to cut off any ties he had to the human race, after what they did. All humans were the same, even those with seemingly good intentions.

Duke turned his head and tried to push past Luke, though his wounds made his body feel heavy and tired. He knew he had to escape from the area as soon as he could, else he would be found and attacked once again. Still, he could tell that this boy wasn’t going to let him go so easily and already he could feel an irritation bubble within his chest. He truly did not have the slightest idea of what he was getting involved with.

“You say such a thing and yet, you are not even aware of what is happening. Would you be so insistent on offering your assistance if you knew that you would be placing your own life in danger?”

The boy was young, that much was clear. Young and impulsive, most likely. Duke remembered feeling as if he could take on the world at such an age. But he knew without a doubt that the enemy that Duke faced, the people that had somehow gotten the upper hand against him… they were stronger than a single teenager could handle.

So, while gripping Dein Nomos tightly in his hands, Duke let his eyes dart down to the sword for a moment before finally turning to glance in Luke’s direction. “What do you even intend to do? You will not leave me to die, you say… So, what do you plan to do?”

[valiantxunion]

"I'M GOING TO SAVE YOUR LIFE" PROMPTS * assorted dialogue for near-death scenarios and the dramatic conversations that follow, adjust as necessary

just stay with me, hold on!

we're gonna get you out of here!

stay awake for me, [name]!

look at me! keep your eyes fixed on me!

you're not gonna die here. not on my watch.

it's not over! not yet!

what if i take your place?

let me get you out of here.

squeeze my hand if it hurts.

i'll patch this up for you and we'll be on our way.

i'm not leaving you to die.

if you risk your life for me, i'm coming to get you.

i'll get you out of there one way or another.

don't say that. there's still hope.

this is not your time to die.

you promised me forever.

i came to save your life.

i just risked everything to find you.

you still owe me a drink, remember?

they've got you all wrong.

i'll find a way to free you.

anything you can tell me to help get you out of here?

don't start speaking like that. you're not going to die.

it's gonna be close, but we'll make it.

i thought i lost you.

wait until they see you're alive.

told you i'd come looking for you.

when you didn't show up, i started to worry.

they can't hold you in here without a reason.

they want to execute you?!

i'll get you out of here before the sun rises.

they can't take you away from me.

please don't cry. this isn't the end.

don't give up on me just yet.

i have a plan to get you out of here.

sit tight and wait for my signal.

stay right there! i'll get help!

you've lost a lot of blood, but i'm gonna fix you right up.

this is not how you're meant to die.

you have so much life left to live.

you promised me you'd stay alive.

i thought i told you to be careful!

this is what happens when you don't listen to me.

whatever happens, just know that i love you.

maybe i can take your place.

wrap your arms around me just like that.

i'll carry you out of this mess.

just a few more steps.

take some deep breaths for me.

the doctors are coming. just hang on.

[valiantxunion]

PROMPTS FOR DENIAL, DENIAL, AND MORE DENIAL * assorted dialogue for saying no way! adjust as necessary

it wasn't me.

you must be mistaken.

i didn't do that.

i don't love you.

that wasn't a kiss.

denial is a river in egypt.

please just tell me the truth.

you've got it all wrong.

i don't think you're lying to me.

i never said that.

you're imagining things.

when did i ever tell you that?

that never happened.

i was in the other room when it happened.

i heard everything, but i didn't see it.

that was someone else.

just tell me what you know.

you know what? i believe you.

i didn't lie to you.

are you sure it was me that said that?

i swear, i didn't do anything.

if you didn't do it, you need to tell me who did.

on my mom's life, i didn't do it.

someone is setting me up.

who told you i was here?

the truth will set you free.

i wasn't here to do that.

you're making a big mistake.

they're blaming me for something i didn't do.

i didn't say that to you.

technically it wasn't a lie.

i was fast asleep when it happened.

i didn't hear anything.

you've mistaken me for someone else.

maybe you saw someone, sure, but it wasn't me.

they'll tell you where i was.

i never touched it.

if it's missing, it's not my fault.

i thought someone else was watching it!

i didn't promise you anything!

when did this happen?

you're shitting me.

this is a frame job.

who are you covering up for?

why don't you just tell me the truth?

i never said we were exclusive.

you didn't tell me you were going out.

it slipped my mind.

i didn't mean to lie to you.

i don't know how else to tell you i wasn't here.

they said i did it? when?

when are you going to quit lying to me?

yesterday you told me one thing, and today you're giving me a whole different story.

so what is the truth?

that's never been the case.

you made that up.

this is how you wanted me to find out?