From Shadows [Tobin/Closed]

[Chain]

We'll chase the dawn that waits for us beyond the darkest sky Without care or self-awareness for her surroundings, a girl in a dull white starter gear was kneeling down with her pleated skirt, using a slender finger to draw in the dirt. Her armor wasn't particularly dirty, but it did look rather worn. It's durability was probably reaching its limit and in need of replacement. The ground around her was originally some moist grass, but had since been torn up from the constant walking over it. It wasn't muddy but was more like tilled soil. In this patch of soil, scattered lines, dots and combinations of the two were strewn about in circles. To the observer, these would seem to have a pattern and yet be complete nonsense at the same time, whereas to a certain person, it was a language. A language made up in order to escape reality and communicate with only themselves. But it was not exactly the person writing it. Chain, a recent addition to the countless others trapped in Elder Tale, had lost her mind soon after and since reverted to a childlike mentality. With an expressionless, absent-minded face, the girl with pure white hair continued writing in the soil with a finger, making strings of lines and dots. She herself knew nothing of that they meant, or even how she could draw them, but simply let her hands move themselves. It was quite possible that it was making a message, but without anyone capable of reading it, the lines were merely scribbles. After what appeared to be three circles of these 'letters', each circle containing about three circles of letters inside them, the girl stopped and stared at them. Regretfully, she could not read them, but she had an understanding of the emotion they were trying to portray. Sitting there on her knees like that, she looked quite sad. The weather was currently cloudy, looking to rain possibly quite soon, and Chain was located in an opening within the forest. The humidity was low so it wasn't muggy or feeling thick to breathe, and the temperature remained around 22 degrees Celsius, about a comfortable temperature for humans. Still, rain would likely cool it down quickly. There were no monsters around her but signs of fighting remained by means of cut marks on the trees and the metal scythe laying beside her. It was a rather unfitting weapon for both the appearance of the girl and the class she had chosen. As a bard, one would expect them to be using a bow or sword combined with their instrument. However, this girl who no longer remembered why she chose anything has picked items and classes which are mismatched to each other. Of note, Chain has no memory of interacting with the user interface. She has no idea it exists or how to activate it. The initial options that were chosen before logging on were to have all interfaces and displays turned off, save a few necessities. No names and health bars were displayed, but the mini-status bars of her own and party members were turned on. That was about all, so it was almost identical to real life. Because she could not turn them on, she has to learn everyone's names and cannot differentiate between Adventurers and People of the Land. This may also be part of the reason why she has trouble jump-starting her memory, but most adventurers do not think of helping someone with their interface. Lacking any understanding of words and written language, she probably would not be able to use the menu anyway. It took her a good amount of time to speak someone's name earlier in Londinium. Giving a yawn, the girl swayed on the spot where she sat, watching as a boar respawned. The ones from earlier were defeated by her when she began slashing it to pieces with her scythe. Her mind may have reverted to that of an infant, but her prowess was still burned into the core of her body, on the level of muscle memory. Thankfully, it was helping her survive in this cruel fantasy world, but was also detrimental in a team as she was unable to differentiate between friend and foe during combat. Her mind had a switch which changed her mindset into basic primal thoughts and instinct rather than rational decisions. With that absent-mindedness, she stared at the boar, wondering if she should attack it since she had no reason to other than that it was in front of her. And so, she reached for her scythe, not yet grabbing it. never forget that the promise of tomorrow lies in your heart

[/font][/font] WORD COUNT; 750
| PARTY; Chain, Tobin
| NOTES; ---
| made by lafayel ♡ btn edited by Tarry[/ul][/td][/tr][/tbody][/table][/div]

[Tobin]

(OOC: Green is the animal tongue)

Word Count: 587

"Are we there yet?"

"No"

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"DWARF, you still need to pay me back you fiend. Shutup and keep looking. I HUNGER FOR MOAR!”

The Dwarf sighed as his he lay back on the shivering mass of Mountain Boar beneath him. The desire for witty retorts had long left his consciousness, instead replaced by a sense of regret. The mission’s he had picked up for today wasn't that difficult difficult one. Go collect berries; explore caves, all that fun stuff. Just the issue was that the Dwarf had promised the boar a mission of his own to for fill for covering on his last night shift, to repopulate a dwindling boar population one pig at a time. It was a immensely boaring task, since really he was only along for the ride as a extra pair of eyes. but then it needed since other adventurers tend to attempted to steal or kill unattended swagtusks. Unlike a certain cartoon there was no handy ball to stuff him back into and this would have been fine, if he wasn't looking for the 6th mate for this boar today.

-Surely he's going to run out of stamina soon.-

The dwarf rose to stand on the boars back as he cast a sweeping gaze around in all directions from the vantage point provided by the noble steed. A glimmer of white and the mass of a broad pig stood out among the foliage, his lazy blues eyes widened as he thrust his long hairy arm out.

"Swagtusk, turn right, there be booty yonda!"

The dwarf bounded off the boar with a long leap before, as fast as his pumping stubby legs could carry him, he thundered off ahead with a speed greater then the broad squares shape would indicate. The target boar had only just become interested in the girl when was hoisted up in the air by the muscular biped, a quick glance of the Steve Erwin method gave him the data as the pig squealed and ran on the air.

"It is a girl! Run while you can lassie!!"

With a gibbled squeal Tobin lobbed the female away from himself into a distant bust followed by a rumbling as the car sized boar raced passed him. The dwarf gave a humoured chuckle, animal taming wasn't as easy as he thought it would be, especially an alpha male. Though by giving her a head start, at the very least he would have about 20 minutes respite before Gerald came back.

"Can you feel, the pork tonight! It makes my tender loin sin-"

The dwarf gave a shudder as he turned natures tongue off to block out the noble singing, instead the dwarf rotated his frame to gaze upon the other person he had ignored up to this point, a tentative eyebrow rose as he examined the letters and began to notice the obvious signs of battle around him. Only now was he aware that he had come charging in the middle of a grinding ground, how awkward. A hand stroked through his manly beard as the silence lingered, one that he would break with his jolly, rough tone.

"Oh, howdeh lassie, sorreh fa stealin' ya kill, just been walkin' da pet ya see."

Of course he wasn't obvious to the fact that the lass was a bit mucky, but then it wasn't really a big concern of his. White was a bugger to keep clean, so the fact it was dirty wasn't all that alarming.

[Chain]

We'll chase the dawn that waits for us beyond the darkest sky Just before picking up her scythe so that she could stand up, Chain saw the boar near her suddenly get assaulted by a short person and then chased after by a second rather overly sized boar. Bewildered, Chain watched the entire thing with a blank stare, hand still outstretched to her weapon as her head turned around to view the spectacle. Eventually, her head was tilted sideways since she neglected to turn her body as well to look. She could hear some squealing noises from the both of them, and figured it was a language, but couldn't understand it. Or rather, she didn't know the meaning of language in either case. She could not consciously recognize something as a language but could subconsciously translate what she had previously learned. As for how she interprets it, that is all up to her current mind to decide. Bringing her mind, and head, back to 'normal' was the sound of someone's voice. Looking in the direction, Chain saw a short person standing there with a lot of hair on his head and face. Probably about the same amount as she herself had flowing to her side right now. Tilting her head slightly, she did not hear anything the dwarf said as she stared at his facial hair, wanting to touch it. Was it smooth? Was it fluffy? Or was it really rough and tough? Sitting back up straight in Seiza style posture, she kept one hand on her lap, the other with a finger in her mouth, head tilted. Her eyes looked to be sparkling, her face saying simply that she was curious. After a few moments, she finally decided to act as she got on all fours and crawled over to the man, staring at him. Once up close, she reached out a hand, now covered in dirt from crawling, and fully gripped the beard. Not stopping there, she tugged and tugged at it, fascinated as this was the first person she had come across since being 'reborn' that had facial hair, and of such an amount. Lightly tugging it at first, her fourth tug became a full power yank as she tried to see what would happen. Still with a bit of a blank face, she stroked it, tilted her head, then stroked her own. Her own was nice and smooth, but the beard was rough. Putting some of her own hair in her mouth, it tasted alright and felt silky. So, she did the same with some of the beard. Opening her mouth and then attaching it to the lock of beard she held. Instantly, her eyes went watery and she spat it out, sticking out her tongue and licking her shirt to get rid of the taste. No voice or sound came out of her mouth during this time, until finally she tried to talk. ｢Tay... Tay... stee... Taystee... n-... no... no no...｣ It took her a while to say as she still hasn't learned to speak very well. Still sitting there on the ground in her skirt, Chain remained clueless as to her current situation. Or rather, there was no situation as she was acting purely on whims, letting her feet take her wherever without thought. With a look of displeasure on her face, the pale skinned, white haired bard looked at her rather dirty clothing, not paying it much attention as she next observed her dirty hands. With a pout, she clapped them together to clear the dusty dirt from them, making sure they looked alright before grabbing her own hair. With that, she began running her fingers through it, stroking her hair and feeling refreshed. A look of satisfaction spread across that innocent face as she did so, continuing to do so without reserve, completely ignoring the person now in front of her. Remembering what she was doing, she looked at the scythe, her weapon, to her side. With her face still visible to the adventurer before her, Chain reached for her weapon and grabbed it while sitting on the ground. The moment her hand firmly gripped the scythe, her eyes instantly turned menacing, her face drained of all emotion, thrown aside, and her entire demeanor changed. As if the person from before was no longer there. Standing up slowly like that, she looked around her for any opponents to find no mobs or players in an aggressive stance. With that confirmed, she returned the weapon to her inventory without manipulating a user interface. The moment it left her hands, her demeanor returned to that of earlier, to that innocent girl who was absent-minded as she looked at the dwarf in front of her with a tilted head. never forget that the promise of tomorrow lies in your heart

[/font][/font] WORD COUNT; 750
| PARTY; Chain, Tobin
| NOTES; ---
| made by lafayel ♡ btn edited by Tarry[/ul][/td][/tr][/tbody][/table][/div]

[Tobin]

(Sorry, I rushed this one out, this will likely be my last post for 7 days)

Word Count: 494
The dwarf first offered only a raised eyebrow as he attempted to identify the lassie's mannerisms, the void of any emotion aside from the overpowering appearance of innocence and curiosity. Perhaps because of this the dwarf was quite unsure how to respond, as he had people find amusement, scream in joy, toss or otherwise engage in passive aggressive discriminatory policies against the squared biped. So instead a safe smile was opted for, I mean, one couldn't go wrong with a smile right? At least, that was what he thought before she had crawled up to him like a infant on all fours and grabbed his beard with those grubby, dusty palms. The eyebrow rose higher as she tugged, his smile flickered out as the first tug came.

-Well, this is new-

"Ehh? Lassie, wha ya- Gah! Yes, it is really real lassie, vareh funneh- GAHHHHHHhhhhHLETGOTHAHURRTS."

The response to the harder and harder tugs was immediate, arms flailed ineffectively around the lass as he tried to pull away, likely lifting the lass as he stumbled around. Thankfully his beard was made of brimstone, the tears of orphans and alcohol from that time he found he could turn off the brewer detox and swam in the holy water. Needless to say it was tough and tasted horrible, his beard only released from her vice like grip when she tasted it and gagged. The dwarf paused and, after a tentative smell of his beard his features creased.

“Well, I guess I ned ta take better care of it- Hmm?”

Afterwards, for the next couple of moments the figure took on a more menacing demenior as she examined her surrounding, before settling. Needless to say, he had no bloody idea what he was dealing with. He spoke again, slower this time and without the pretentious dwarfen accent that he typically adopted to solidify his identity, instead the softer tone of a strong English accent that carried hints of sing song Irish and his scouse heritage. It had always been a defensive behavioural pattern that Tobin had adopted to protect his core identity as many people knew Dwarf, but few knew Tobin beyond that.

“English, do you speak it girl?”

The thought was that she was foreign, perhaps very young also. It was all entertaining from a reader perspective but the dwarf had yet to see the funny side of this situation, the idea of an infant trapped in an adult in this world was a terrifying prospect. A memory of Vee flickered through his mind and he tried his only other tongue, admit one he wasn’t well trained in.

“Bonjour, peut-être Google Translate français de mieux?”

As he spoke he began to stroll around the clearing and picked up berries, herbs and other items. Though he smiled, Tobin was slightly tense. I mean, who wouldn’t be when confronted by a utterly confounding enigma, or a child in the shell.

No, this isn’t a job for Jimmy to fix.

[Chain]

We'll chase the dawn that waits for us beyond the darkest sky Chain looked at the dwarf inquisitively as he spoke to her. She heard both English and French languages being spoken to her, and her subconscious mind was translating it all automatically, so the infantile state of her mind was only receiving the end result. As such, she had no way to differentiate the language, be they spoken to her, or speaking it to others. As she had done so before with the blonde girl Mab, Chain would mix different words of different languages when trying to speak. This was not by choice. Still, perhaps she could be taught to speak normally eventually. After a delay, she finally opened her mouth again and said something audible. Chain. It was spoken in plain English without any hassle. She had practiced it before, so that was probably why. Other words she knew how to speak were cheesecake and water. And Mab. Seeing the dwarf, whose name she did not know, bend down and start picking things, Chain smiled as she bent her knees to start doing the same. At first, one would think it was a child imitating an adult and grabbing random things such as grass. But she seemed to understand without realizing it. Avoiding the dirt clearing she had made earlier, she moved around and picked some berries and herbs that would be useful for crafting, maybe for a chef. Her own crafting class was a woodcrafter, or carpenter in real world terms. As some of her white locks fell in front of her face as she looked down, she used a hand to tuck it behind her ear. In that moment, she still looked innocent but the more social-psychologically one was with body language, they would see that mature look about her. The subtle movements and postures she used were still those of someone in their late teens, or at least experienced in life. Doing something like this, albeit with a stranger, is something that Chain had not experienced in real life. There was never any time for having fun, or wasting time. She never got to experience nature like this. It was always studying, both physically and mentally. Learning languages forced upon her by her father, learning different martial arts by her mother, forced to do schoolwork to a high degree and never being allowed to be less than the best. To be less than perfect. Those physical and mental shackles placed on her. That was what decided her avatar's name in the first place. She would probably cry tears of joy if she was her true self at this moment, living life freely without restrictions. But until she regained her memories, her sense of self, she would not know this. With her mind wandering as she picked things, Chain tucked her skirt to her knees as she knelt on the ground to rest her feet while looking around. Usually she would have no sense of shame due to a lack of morality and plop down however, ignoring however her skirt ended up. In these rare occasions where her mind wandered, her body's 'autopilot' followed the muscle memory, copying the actions they had always done. And then, she began humming a tone as she scavenged through the foliage. The song seemed rather peaceful since she was only humming it, if a bit melancholic. As she continued, she began to sing a few of the words, around the part of roses colored red, yellow and blue. But she didn't sing any more than that. Satisfied with what she found, she stopped humming and grabbed her armful of materials, walking over to Tobin with a smile. ｢Mab! Good? Good? Mab?｣ Chain seemed excited. She seemed to be asking if what she grabbed was alright and if she did good, similar to a child asking for praise. The two Mab's, however, were just added in since she didn't know what else to say. And so, quite often now, she said the name of the person who taught her words. That was Mab. Holding out the items for Tobin to take, Chain looked overjoyed as she did so. With no user interface showing at all for her, she was immersed in this world as it was now her reality, through and through. Without knowledge of how to manipulate the UI, she simply used her personal judgement to find items, but could not identify them. She only learned some simple tricks such as putting her weapon away in the inventory using a quick slot. Giving a yawn, she rubbed an eye with her wrist. What time was it? never forget that the promise of tomorrow lies in your heart

[/font][/font] WORD COUNT; 750
| PARTY; Chain, Tobin
| NOTES; Had me stumped this time. She understands the language, but she can't respond either way.
| made by lafayel ♡ btn edited by Tarry[/ul][/td][/tr][/tbody][/table][/div]

[Tobin]

(OOC: Aye, as was I. It's difficult to respond to a character that doesn't speak, since the speech offers privotal points. I am fine to go questing for something more interesting, just pm me what you wanna do from here. A tad rusty)

Word Count: 830

The dwarf smiled and nodded as he craned his hearing to catch the gentle lilt of her character name in the high tongue. It hadn't been what he had asked but it occurred to the dwarf that perhaps his accent might have been confusing, especially if one was American. The dwarf settled down to picking, interrupted only by a gentle cough as he slowly gestured toward her an outstretched arm.

"You" he stated calmly with his finger directed towards her, a statement of confirmation followed. "are Chain?"

The diaect was spoken in the high Tongue of English without the heaviness of his dwarfen accent. Normally that honour would come later but the circumstance was anything but usual, the dwarf didn't find the enigma uncomfortable to be with. In contrast, his features were creased with a slight gentle smile as he scoured the grass and brushes with his broad bulk as shovel hands plucked notable items out of the foliage, namely for black berries, nightshade and red herbs. Apparently the farmer in the large mansion wanted them for a Treatment project. So residential. Yet every time he glanced back the girl seemed to behave in a manner that betrayed a maturity that was beyond the infant state he had initially thought, a young lady that was beautiful yet had little capability for socialisation. A chuckle emitted from his stomach as he turned away and strolled out into out into the thicker, less ravaged bramble with a broad striding swagger, now was not the time for that running gag.

-I do like a good enigma, though this one seems a tad complex.-

In a sense the dwarf could synthesise with that, in life he had always done the right thing. Went to school, got decent grades, went to uni and got a decent job. Yet socially he had been unsatisfied in his previous life, he made few friends and had largely felt isolated due to his mental conditions. The key difference was, since walking into that great pub all those months ago with Caer, Kumori, Elk, Soricra and other memorable faces that he chose to become someone else. A persona unlike himself, yet someone he could enjoy being without being eyed wearingly for his eccentrics. However, even the Dwarf was somewhat away that there were key differences between them that he had yet to grasp.

The dwarf frowned briefly as his lazy eyes scanned the greenery; his hands flirted with the bushes and the ground as he prized the riches from nature’s womb. Now and again the interphase flickered on, a colourful display of gold letters and bold red outlines as he deposited the quest items within his inventory. His gaze soon became distant as he settled into a routine and became lost in his imagination, a blank slate that seemed to spring with colour and abstract thought the routines blended into one. It was only a minute later that dwarf felt a sharp jerk back to reality as he heard a gentle, if methodical song penetrated the silence. A curious frown creased his features as he paused and listened quietly, his eyes closed over as strained his ears to hear, blissfully unaware of its more morbid undertones.

-Wow. So she does have a voice.-

As sudden as it came it stopped, the dwarf opened his eyes as he saw the dirty white dart through the treeline, the girl was before him with a simple joy as she presented her findings, to his surprise the items were mostly relevant, a surprise considering he hadn’t mentioned what he were searching for. Her observation skills were intact, at least.

“Mab? Ya met her? Tall lass?” For a moment he had forgot that she only spoke in scrambled sentences. “Yes, this is good, thank you! Good Girl”

The broad biped exclaimed with a chuckle as he took the gathers from her in a up turned palm and ruffled her hair gently in simple praise (no mean feat, thankfully she was sitting otherwise the short arse would have to reach up) He briefly examined the items before he extracted the herbs from her and examined them briefly, before a few of the times were deposited within a flickering interphase and he passed the herbs and berries back as a gift as that “T-treatment” quest line checked out. Well, with the exclusion of the nightshade. Even he thought it wasn’t the best choice to let Chain keep that. With that done the dwarf gestured to himself with a thumb, an introduction in order!

“I am Tobin.” He spoke confidently in the high English has he finally introduced himself, he then spread his arms out as he took a step back and pointed in to himself, in particular his unusually squat, muscular body shape. “My race is Dwarf”

He would then lower his arms. Flinching briefly as he felt grunting through the telepathic link and disconnected that. He liked pulled pork, but he didn’t like it THAT much.

[Chain]

We'll chase the dawn that waits for us beyond the darkest sky Chain showed a bit of a flushed face with a wide smile as she was praised with a pat on the head. She was extremely happy to be rewarded for her deeds, something she was not given in reality. Her subconscious mind which was still partly aware of her past caused a tear to run down her cheek. She didn't know she let one out, but the remnant of what she once was could only do this much to express herself. Those many, many years spent doing things without praise, given negative reinforcement, never being rewarded. To the fact she had been given praise now brought a single tear out of those moist eyes. Oh, how she wished she had received praise more often when she was younger. Like this, reminiscent, her mind slipped into a more lucid state as she was spoken to by the dwarf in front of her. ｢Mab! Mab, tall! Mab sweet! Good! Chain!｣ Her voice was starting to lack the same high-strung sound as earlier, but it was still expressive and raw. As she said her own name, she pointed to herself and repeated it a few times. Listening to the dwarf state his name and race within the game, Chain furrowed her brows for a moment as her face scrunched up in thought. She sat there on her knees, thinking, trying to process it. There was more information flowing through her mind at the moment thanks to that slight 'lucid memory' of hers, so she had a problem processing what to say. In the end, the result speech was as follows. Gesturing with a pointing finger as needed, she responded in a translational mess. ｢Too... Toh... Toe.. Bee... Bean, Buh, bih, bih... bin. Toe, bin. Tobin! Tobin! Mab! Chain, Tobin! Du, dw, dwarf! Chain, Ningen, les Humain, der Mensch! Fun!｣ English, French, Japanese and German were spoken in that jumble, but ultimately meant the same thing. It was at least referring to her own race. She was catching on quickly, so her learning and adaptability functions were at least intact. Her expression reset itself to rest on a calm expression with lips lightly upturned at the ends to form a slight smile, but her expression was hiding a maturity to it. It contained a blend of melancholy, torment and darkness to it. As she sat there doing nothing, her lips straightened out and her eyes began to droop, increasing this mysterious look to her as she sat on the ground with hands between her legs, propping her up. It could be easily confused with getting sleepy, but either one was a hassle to deal with in the current environment. Just then, she had a puzzled look as she moved only her eyes to look at something. Maybe a pop-up on her screen? pointing at something invisible in front of her, Chain narrowed her eyes as she tried to read it, mouthing it out as she went without making a mistake. Said slowly, the sentence was: ｢Daily Quest: A Crag Cow has wandered into the forest. Defeat it before it wreaks havoc.｣ After speaking that, she tilts her head and stands up. She seems to understand what she has to do. That was how she got out here in the first place. Since she never accepted quests or rarely did anything besides wander around, she mindlessly followed the instructions of pop-ups like this. Dusting off her clothes, she had that familiar smile on her face as she held a hand out to Tobin. ｢Tobin! Come! Fun! Fun! Mab!｣ Like that, she grabbed the hand of the dwarf and began walking off in the direction indicated on her HUD. Since most of her HUD was turned off, only quest indicators showed up to her since it was an automatic acceptance sort of thing. Beginning to walk in the direction the arrow pointed her, she looked merry as she strolled through the woods. That was how she appeared for now. However, once she entered combat, she would become a different person. The dwarf would see how that patch of clearing in the forest had turned into a barren dirt terrain. While walking along, Chain selected something from a quick slot and equipped it onto her back, alongside her scythe which appeared on her back protruding from the opposite side of her head. With a violin ready, her combat class was apparent. But why would a bard be on the front line and alone? There were many mysteries surrounding her, but for better or worse, this was the setup for Chain's avatar. Just hopefully no one would get in her way. never forget that the promise of tomorrow lies in your heart

[/font][/font] WORD COUNT; 750
| PARTY; Chain, Tobin
| NOTES; So plan was to quest, then maybe head to town and meet mab?
| made by lafayel ♡ btn edited by Tarry[/ul][/td][/tr][/tbody][/table][/div]

[Tobin]

(OOC: Sorry, i am really tired and drained today)


hp: 73 mp: 88 word count: 526

"Oh fa gods sake, p-please don't be cryin' on me lassie. I j-just- Never mind. Glad ya happy."

The reply from the dwarf came out somewhat stammered as a hand scratched at the back of his head and he sighed. For a moment the idea of giving the lass a friendly hug sounded a good idea, but the absence of height and her unpredictability made him think again. There was a pause as she began to speak, began to processing of various words and he was patient and quiet. The only outward shows of his internal thoughts was the raising of his eyebrows when he processed the same words into multiple other languages, some he was vaguely familar with, others not so. It was only when she completed her train of thought and digested his name and the scientifically important phenomenon of "Dwarf", that the dwarf sought to positively reward the disjointed lass with a bit of confidence as he gave his biggest, simplest grin. taking the piss and witty one liners wasn't really the way to go with this one. Though her observations would soon lead to him being dragged off.

"Ahhh yes! You are human! I knew ya could do it! Ya do know a lot, when ya put your mind to it. Oh? A quest, ya want me to me to come with ya? Sure! I come. Then we see Mab, yes?" -Besides, with just starter gear it just wouldn't be right ta leave her out here.-

With that he was half followed, half dragged to where the magnificent creature lay, chewing grass with it's lazy bovine stare.

- A cragie Cow? I had caught a boar, so this will be no challenge for a level 36 like me, but if I did that, I would probably ruin the fun for the little one. I can always unsync.- The dwarf gave a sigh as he lowered his level to match that of the creature, a cold shiver accompanied the feeling of exposure, of weakness. As an instinctive response, the dwarf's body took a metallic hue (-Iron Body-) as he strode over, a course chuckle escaped his lips as the dwarf's leg took on a red hued heatwave. The docile, yet strong bovine seen in the stocky midget , he spun into a blazing outstretched -Wyvern Kick-.

"It's morphin' time!"

With that he sprang into action and with a firm clash the two stocky creatures collided with a firm crack, the leg held firm as the creature pushed the dwarf back with its charge, leg twisted under the pressure of the charge.

"Gah, son of a-"

With a sudden aerial twist the dwarf delivered a -summersault kick- as he tumbled over the creature and landed heavy, the kicked up dust pushed away as the dwarf hand sprung back onto his feet. The dwarf felt, quite quickly the dwarf favoured one leg over with a grimace, he had sustained serious damage to his right leg in that first trade off, the cow however seemed momentarily dazed as both attacks had connected firmly. Not that the dwarf was in any position to really capitalise on it.

[Chain]

We'll chase the dawn that waits for us beyond the darkest sky Upon finding the crag cow, Chain stopped in her tracks now that her target was in sight. While the dwarf was quick to rush into battle, Chain was stationary as her mind switched gears. Within a few seconds, her mindset adjusted into that cold-hearted player killer she was when she first started the game. That experience and muscle memory she had from real life. Even a wooden spoon could be a deadly weapon in the hands of an expert. She may not be at that level, but all the wooden weaponry she trained with was close enough. The air around her seemed to turn cold as the feeling one gets when looking at her was no longer that of a cute and innocent girl, but a dark and cold person, mysterious and bloodthirsty. Battling was just part of the stress relief her previous self used to vent. But now she had no restrictions or rules. Pulling out the violin from her back, Chain stood in the proper stance for playing a string instrument and began bowing the strings with a simple melody. With that song now solidified in her mind, she continued playing until the dwarf had left an opening. With the two of them now imbued with an attack speed bonus, she could perform better. Her mind was clear of all thoughts except for the fight, and would prove to be resourceful. Using only her starting gear? That means nothing to her. She simply has to attack more often in that case. With ｢Speed Sword Etude｣ now in effect, Chain saw the opening she was looking for. As Tobin left the crag cow stunned at the cost of leaving himself vulnerable, the white-clad bard used her second skill as she ended the song she was playing. Increasing the strength applied to the strings, she released a pressure wave, ｢Sonic Cutter｣, at the boar. The pressure wave shot forward and struck the flank of the cow, sending it flying away a couple of meters. Since it was used within five meters, it dealt an extra punch to the cow's health. With that used, Chain put her violin away and pulled out her scythe. Without delay or hesitation, she struck true as she rushed past the target, slicing it with her slice along the way. Having kicked off rather quickly, she wouldn't slow down in time to be effective, and so put the tip of the scythe into the ground to slow her movement and turn around. The song was still playing in her head, giving her a beat in which to attack with. Just as the cow came out of its daze, Chain renewed her attacks as she activated her next skill. As long as she was using a skill before the cow, her attacks would have priority. ｢Elegant Act｣. Standing in close proximity, Chain began swinging her scythe around, spinning it with both hands as the blade began cutting into the cow multiple times. With the attack speed boost, it was a dazzling sight. The rapid spinning of the scythe left circular blurs around the bard as she swung it side to side, overhead and behind her between strikes. The final hit of the skill was an upward strike which sliced vertically and had Chain doing a backflip during it, landing on her feet a meter back. Thanks to her bangs, her eyes weren't quite visible at this time. With that short delay after using a skill, the cow took full advantage of it and charged into her, tossing her back a few more meters as she staggered to remain on her feet upon landing. Thanks to the short cooldown of Sonic Cutter, she didn't wait to recover and took a deep breath in, releasing a howl as her instrument, causing the skill to activate again. This time, the cow wasn't knocked back but it at least sustained some more damage. Regaining her footing, Chain took her stance with lowered hips and torso, leaning forward slightly. In no way did she look like a child any more. As a breeze blew by, the bangs covering her eyes shifted. What was shown were stone cold, emotionless magenta orbs which did not express youth but hardship and experience. A glimpse into who she really was. Her current positioning left the crag cow and Tobin a meter apart with the dwarf diagonally in front of the target. Without consideration for her ally, Chain dashed forward while the attack speed boost was in effect, slashing horizontally at the cow. The scythe's traveling path was set to skim through the dwarf if he neglected to duck shorter than he already was. 87% | HP 54% | MP never forget that the promise of tomorrow lies in your heart

[/font][/font] WORD COUNT; 750
| PARTY; Chain, Tobin
| NOTES; Hopefully that gives you enough to work with.
| made by lafayel ♡ btn
| edited by Tarry ♡ LH[/ul][/td][/tr][/tbody][/table][/div]

[Tobin]

Word Count: 869 HP: 56%    MP: 51%

The bearded Halfling hardened his expression as he locked his arm back in a tightly drawn fist, waiting. It was then that he became truly aware of the music. Aware of a liquid strength that permitted his muscles, a liquid fluidity that had occupied his movements and gifted his attacks with the graceful swiftness of an autumns breeze, the Dwarf had been surprised how quickly he had struck out, despite having only become aware of the tune now. This had been the first time, despite having fought alongside the class before, that he had experienced the enchantment of the bards song.

-So, this is bard magic. It feels, wonderful. Still, no rest for the wicked-

The thunder of hooves held his gaze steadfast the dwarf was braced in the -Zoom Attack position-, his intend was to strike the creature in its mouth to break eye contact with the beast. Yet again the stunted biped found the animal disappeared as a shock wave blasted the creature from off his feet, his eyes widened as the lass darted past him and started hacking at the creature in a blurred flurry, the dolice creature beset by a flashing of steel. Tobin was content to hold his ground as the girl- no, woman danced with the prey, flirting with its bulk with the blade as the gentle echoes of the violin song reverberated with every swing. Despite himself, the Dwarf found himself quietly capitated by the display.

-I never knew Bards could actually fight that well.-

When the creature finally struck out against the bard, the dwarf shimmered with the heat wave as he pounced up and delivered a solid drop kick (-Wyvern Kick-), a light jump send the mass into a corkscrew, wind rippled around his bulky frame as the aerial punch from the -summersault- connected to drive the bovine to crash against the firm ground. Then there was a brief reprieve as he landed there was a momentary pause, a respite that allowed the creature to glance up, senseless as the Dwarf's fists thundered out in a blur as the pounded the downed creature, dust kicked up as the ground to vibrate with the frequency of the blows that only cleared as the second shockwave knocked it senseless, truth be told, under this relentless beating there was little opportunity for the clumsy bovine to intervene. In comparison to the Bard, there was a certain, raw elegance in the way the dwarf fought, even his aerial attacks had a certain restrained furiosity, comparable like a rolling landslide from above, the punches like boulders-

Dwarf, you are fighting, now is not the time for inappropriate visual metaphors. There’s a scythe coming for you.

-Oh than... WAIT WHAT?-

As Tobin's final combo continued, a flicker of his sharp blue gaze flicked towards the bard, only to to see her intense stare at the creature, before the white clad woman sprang fourth, the magenta eyes fixed on the target, though the scythe seemed fixed on the dwarf.

-Crap, I can't dodge-

"Lassie! Watch the fu-"

The following actions were a blur, as soon as the -bullet punch- animation ended, the dwarf jerked his body and head back and as a reflex swung his knuckle duster upwards as a defence, skimming the metal of the scythe to jerk it up away from his neck, though the last thing his right eye saw was the point she was trying to make. No pun intended. The biped toppled backwards as the scythe tore across his face, the Dwarf skidded across the floor and as he drew tensed his right arm and fist into a ball, he lashed out with a -zoom punch-, striking the back of the scythe and driving it all away through, the cow was now an ex-cow, though the air had yet to fall silent.

"GAHHH, BASTARD!"

The Halfling sprung back up to his feet with a roll, dropping the brass knuckle duster from his right hand to clutch at the bleeding socket. Evading the attack at such short notice had cost him his right eye, a minor inconvenience, but the dwarf would have rather not had tested his regenerative properties in this manner. He howled, Tobin face turned a deeper crimson as he fought against the dark rage that boiled within his very being, yet by great force of will he kept it in check, though his rash and emotional peculiarities had been one of the reason why he had distanced himself from others willingly in the real world.

"Ya should watch where you are swinging that thing! Ya tryin'a kill me or something!"

The dwarf's remaining eye gleamed as he focused his gaze on the lass, his face furrowed into a stoic frown. Though she was sweet outside of battle, her abrupt nature in it was detrimental to the party style, which frustrated the dwarf into re-evaluating Chain once more. Perhaps more pressingly, with his depth perception lost, he would be an easy target if she so chose to see him as one. Both her prior good nature and his disadvantage had dissuaded him from simply lashing out at her in blind fury, as he otherwise might have done at a perceived betrayal.

[Chain]

We'll chase the dawn that waits for us beyond the darkest sky Angel was never good at relating to others. She never really had any friends in school. The girls would pull her down, cause her grief, avoid her. The guys would flock, but all ultimately looking for the same thing. And so she stopped caring. But after that dreadful ordeal, she feared them. The females she could deal with. All she had to do was relate them to her mother during training. A target to kill. She never won, but the girls could never stand up. But the guys. Being overpowered so easily, taken advantage of. She hated the touch of men. The persona of Chain was carefree, lacking the knowledge and fear of her true self. However, the trauma remained deep within her. If she was to be approached by a male she hadn't conversed with, then she would snap. It was unpredictable. Which leads to the next problem. Angel had a lot of pent up frustration and anger, enough to kill someone with. And quite literally, she did that. In fact, if not for her outburst during the start of the apocalypse, she probably would be worse off now. There were a couple of times in school when she lashed out, sending a student to hospital. Combined with being raised as a weapon specialist, it wasn't exactly a pretty picture. That muscle memory passed on to Chain. The sensation of a weapon in her hands reminded her of her sparring as a child which brought her so much pain and suffering. It was being vented each time, and the experience was remembered by her body, allowing her to exert outside system skills as much as her stats allowed. Her mindset was greatly altered too. Thus, her uncaring way of fighting an opponent, slicing down even her allies if they got in the way. But what was her mind truly saying? Her real self, hidden under that innocent face, behind the mask of a warrior? The one that retreated into the depths of her mind, shutting off all input to her. Would she be feeling great, that she could kill so many people and get away with it? Would she be angry to see herself acting like this? Or perhaps feeling ashamed of what she had turned in to? Who knows. That side of her was now gone, and who knows if it would ever come back. In fact, who knows if it would ever be the same should it come back. When current and previous minds meld, what will happen? How will her traumas and experiences guide her in her current decision? Before her stood a male, acting passive-aggressive towards her, who was holding a weapon. Which side would win? Fear, rage, or something else? Chain's head was lowered, causing her bangs to cover her eyes. There were a few drops of blood on her cheek, and some remnants of blood on the tip of her scythe which was still in a position to be swung with force at the dwarf. However, she wasn't moving. It was like her mind had stopped, undecided on what she was going to do next. After some time, her weapon, still in hand, touched the ground and was dragged behind her as she approached the monk. With the grass being disturbed as she went, and still not a word from her, it was hard to tell what she was going to do. When she was within three meters, her grip loosened until the scythe fell to the ground. With that, Chain seemed to have a sort of clarity in her eyes as they seemed mature yet distant. Standing under a meter from the bearded character, Chain's temporary clarity caused her to reach out with her white sleeve and wipe the blood on his face. Kneeling down, her eyes could now be seen. They were distant, lacking life, but full of experience and maturity. Eyes that had seen a lot in their lifetime. Or it could just be a trick in the system, a detail error. And then, she was back to the innocent girl who did not know how to fight, since her weapon was not in her hands any more. With a soft expression again, the innocent look returned and turned into a worried face. ｢Tobin, itai? Kurushii? Tobin? Mab? Tobin?｣ Back to that broken speaking, she tried to say what she was thinking, mixing in some Japanese. Using her now red sleeve, she kept wiping the blood. It seems she did not remember fighting that crag cow just now. Either she had no recollection of it, or she simply pushed it to the back of her mind. never forget that the promise of tomorrow lies in your heart

[/font][/font] WORD COUNT; 750
| PARTY; Chain, Tobin
| NOTES; Hard choice =P To kill, or not to kill.
| made by lafayel ♡ btn
| edited by Tarry ♡ LH[/ul][/td][/tr][/tbody][/table][/div]

[Tobin]

Word Count: 539

There was a certain fear in confronting a fact that couldn’t be understood. Perhaps it was simply because if you didn't understand the problem, there was no answer that was likely to fix it. A unpredictability in an otherwise tranquil and steady existence. The Dwarf's remained eye glinted with a sense of trepidation, a queasy sensation he had only felt once before when the strongest player on the server had struck him. The experience had left him in a ditch with his body almost completely shattered and even today he hadn’t quite experienced anything with that same kind of killing pressure. Just unlike that time this wasn't a school girl that punched him because her naptime had been disturbed, but someone that genuinely considered killing him. Sure, losing a eye wasn't comparable to being broken in a single half arsed attack, but he hadn't lost something quite that personal to anyone before. Well, aside from perhaps his pride that he shed in spades.

-Shit, she's coming.-

The silence was the worst part though, a voice could reassure him, or at the very least spark angry, yet a silence gave him little to interact with. Unconsciously the squat shifted back a step with a light hop before the male caught himself as a soft crunch accompanied his last back step. His remaining eye regarded her wearyingly as he regained his composure. His hud flicked before him as the option -Desync- lingered as a reminder before it petered out with a click., though he didn't have the kind of past she might have experienced in the real world, his experience in this game was a firm reassurance.

-This is ridiculous; I've dealt with worse than this before- Hmm?-

A loud clang drew his gaze to the weapon, then back to her as a frown crested his brow. Once again something unexpected had occurred and the dwarf eyed her dumb struck as she approached him, a brief exchange of gazes paralyzed Tobin momentarily, before an unsteady chuckle erupted from his throat. For a brief moment the Dwarf could have sworn that perhaps he had saw something else in that gaze, a deeper intelligence perhaps.

"A honest mistake, I guess. Ya hav' a queer sense of humour, ya know that kid?"

He winced from the pain of having his eye patted and to that he pulled a metal flask from his pocket, uncorked the stopper and downed its contents, coughing lightly from the power of the distilled spirts as he felt the pain fade into a numb throb. Alcohol had many medical applications that helped take the edge off, before Tobin gave a nod at the gibberish as opened up the privet message interphase and spoke the message.

"Hey Mab, I hav' a friend fa ya 'ere, Chain, she keeps repeatin' ya name n' she's a bit much fa me ta handle, ya mind comin' ta meet me 'alf way?"

With that he gave a glance towards the lass with a great, if somewhat tired grin and gestured for her to follow him, his boar could catch up to him at its convenience.

"Come on Chain, time ta take ya to ya Maddy daycare."

-Why do I always bring the crazy ones home?-

[Chain]

We'll chase the dawn that waits for us beyond the darkest sky Looking confused, Chain kept tilting her head side to side, seemingly cheerful and upbeat again. One might mistake her for having mood swings, or being on her phase of the moon. Watching short and tubby grab something and start downing it, Chain tilted her head once again, wondering what it was. Sniffing the lingering scent, she stuck her tongue out in disgust, but it only seemed to look cute as her face scrunched up slightly. Looking at her attire now, she gave everything a glance over. She was covered in dirt and blood, so she was in desperate need of a wash. Hearing a familiar name from the dwarf's mouth, Chain's attention was instantly pulled over. ｢Mab? Mab?! Mab!! Mab!! Talk! Mab~?｣ Jumping up and down lightly, she was overjoyed, but pouted as the dwarf ended the call, puffing up her cheeks. She had not added Mab to her friend's list, so she couldn't contact her whenever, because she did not know how to. Listening to Tobin instruct her, Chain nodded enthusiastically as she began walking behind him towards Londinium. After several minutes, she did stop and think for a bit with a finger to her forehead, elbow rested atop her other arm resting under her (somewhat pitiful) cleavage. She was also standing with her weight to one side on a single leg. This stance alone didn't seem like something a kid would do, so that was a bit of a hint on her real age. Maddy... Daycare...? Putting the thought and confusion aside, she continued walking with a beaming smile. After all, she would be seeing someone again whom had treated her well and given her something really nice to eat. How much longer. How much more pain. The being inside of Chain that was Angel was void of life, hidden deep away inside of her mind, her own soul. The visual representation would be akin to her bare body, clad in wounds and scars, engulfed in chain and restricting her from moving. Not even allowed to be in the fetal position. All while bad memories replayed on screens around her, never being able to close her eyes. A screen every now and then would be showing her alter ego, Chain, adventuring, but only when she could see through all the torture and chains obstructing her view. How much longer would she have to endure this? How can she break those chains? She does not know. She can merely endure to the best her fragile mind and heart can. If only there was a trigger. Something to bring her back. A happy memory to cling to. But did such a thing exist for her? What was there to live for? After all, she was now just an observer of her own self, not controlling her actions, watching how easily her alter ego could be influenced. Her fragile, newborn alter ego born from her desire to fit in, to be normal, exposed to a world that would either build her up and corrupt her dazzling white existence. Her true self was already gray, tainted with the black of her upbringing. No more... never forget that the promise of tomorrow lies in your heart

[/font][/font] WORD COUNT; 500
| PARTY; Chain, Tobin
| NOTES; And this concludes the thread. Now to find Eevee
| made by lafayel ♡ btn
| edited by Tarry ♡ LH[/ul][/td][/tr][/tbody][/table][/div]