Yer a Wizard (Rue)

[Okami]

It wasn't often that Okami had the attention span to sit down and read through something more complicated than a picture book. Oh, it wasn't that she couldn't understand the concepts and ideas behind significantly advanced works and philosophies, engineering and sciences of most kinds. In real life, Alana had a fascination with modern sciences. It was more a hobby than anything else, probably due to her near blindness and inability to focus on the words without straining her eyes, but she certainly held the capacity to read higher levels of literature. It's just the 'sitting' part that got her. Anyone who knew Okami understood that the fox-tail did not 'sit' and 'be still'. She was animated, spirited and all around incapable of not being a jittery mess of awkward stumbling and bouncing feet. The ever curious sorcerer did not simply cross the landscape, she darted across it in all directions, examining everything in her path, staring in amazement at the exciting world around her.

So if any of them had seen her sitting by the road, legs crossed and hands holding a rather large tome on assorted alchemy's, they'd have probably been confused.

"Hmm hmm," she hummed in contemplation, glancing over the list of materials and recipes provided by the book. It was a simple enough concept that was provided, being a beginners book and all, but she still frowned at some of the things written. Okami had gained, through routine practice, a certain 'feel' to the alchemy way. The sorcerer had this itch in the back of her mind, as she read through the pages, that some of these recipes were off. Maybe the formula looked calculated wrong, or possibly there was an odd herb that she didn't think belonged in the recipe. But whenever that happened, the fox-tail would shrug her shoulders and remind her-self that she was still an apprentice in the matters of magical science. What did she know? So she sat there, contemplating the contents of the book, trying to make sense of it all.

With a cheeky little smile on her face.

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Word Count: 349
OOC: Wiiiizzaaaarrrrdddssss

[RuetheDay]

face all the pain and take it on

Haru wasn't usually one for mornings. But today, when he opened his eyes, he found himself rather wanting to learn how to fight and improve himself. He wanted to make himself stronger, and Cash too, and if he got a few mana shards out of the deal, he wasn't going to complain about that. Though he would need a source of fire for the Salamander to be able to come and aid him. ... Eh, he'd worry about that later. He gathered up some of his belongings, most noticably his grimoire and the old whip that he kept meaning to get replaced but always forgot to inquire about in Saint Pancras station when he would venture there. From there, he quickly gathered himself up, smoothing his hair free with a single finger, and departed, fully intending to go take on a boar. Instead, he ended up deciding that he was going to sort out the situation with his whip, so with a scowl, he turned on his heel and stalked across London to the station, the scowl turning down his brow more than enough to frighten away more than a few People of the Land that attempted to talk to him. In fact, he likely would have kept right on going if he hadn't seen a familiar splash of pink hair. His steps slowly faltering to a stop, he raised his right hand, hovering it over the figure and then pushing forward with his middle finger, as if he was clicking on her. Okami was here. He remembered the hyper little Fox Tail girl from when he'd gone to try to create a party, and for a moment, he considered turning tail and running. Instead, rather buoyed by the fact that she seemed engrossed in her book, he strode over to her, clearing his throat to make his presence known. "Hello again, Okami," he greeted, crossing his arms over his chest in a subconsciously defensive manner, almost as if to protect himself from her energy. "What are you reading there that's managed to..." he frowned, trailing off for a moment. He may have been in Britain for quite a large part of his life, but he'd spoken Japanese at his home and among his tutors since his parents had insisted upon it, and sometimes his brain struggled to find an English word. "Captivate?" He nodded, confident with the word now that he'd said it aloud. "Captivate your attention enough to have you sitting still for once?" He then leaned his weight back onto one of his hind legs, looking away with his attention elsewhere. “And by chance, do you happen to know if the boars drop leather?” He patted the whip that was curled inside its holder at his waist. “This old thing really needs to be replaced soon, and I keep forgetting to go hunting for the materials.” He then scowled, still rather sour about the way that his brain had changed its intentions. “I was going to train today with Cash, but then I decided to go looking for stuff for a new whip, and well… here we are.”

100% 100% Words;; 521 Tags;; Okami Notes;; Grumpy Rue is grumpy and wary of the hyper girl. He does not like people. He should count himself lucky he doesn't have his dog yet because that thing is derpy as all hell *shot* Lyrics;; "The Only Hope for Me is You" by My Chemical Romance Template by Kuroya

because the only hope for me is you alone!

[Okami]

"Hmmm?" Okami looked up from her recipe index book, and an energetic smile sprung onto her face. "Oi! Ruey~. What brings you over to my side of the station~" She'd asked him out of habit, prodding into the man' personal business. The fox-tail meant no harm from it, of course, she never meant any harm with anything she did. She was just, for lack of better explanation, or maybe because it really was that simple, curious about those around her. Seeing him standing there she scotted over from her spot on the road and patted the place right next to her, toothy grin on display for all to see.

He decided he was going to cross his arms and stand there instead. Okay, sure.

But he was showing an interest in her reading at least. The fox-tail grinned at him, snapping the old tome shut and waving it around for him to get a better look at it...without realizing that her actions weren't helping in the slightest. "It's an old book on alchemy! It's got all kinds of cool recipes for me to try! They're just, you know, a bit off from what I've seen." Okami flicked it back open, amazingly back to the page she'd been to previously. "See this? This recipe's got it's calculations off. You're supposed to carry the five here," her finger trailed it's way down the page. "See see? And this recipe has some ingredients you don't need..." The fox-tail was on the verge of going into a like stride of the importance of proper alchemist recipes.

But she'd been caught off by his question, "Eh? Eh eh? Leather?" Okami tilted her head in confusion, book tilted downward. "Hmm, hmm." She gave it but a moments thought, before shrugging her shoulders helplessly. "Dunno!" She answered honestly.

"Hey hey, if you need some help training, I could go with you~" The fox-tail announced, perfectly fine with bouncing from one topic to another.

---
Word Count: 326
OOC: Uninspired posts hooooo

[RuetheDay]

face all the pain and take it on

RuetheDay shrugged. "Don't know where to find a Tailor, so I'm just wandering," he replied, raising an eyebrow. "And I didn't know there was any one part of the station that someone owned." He could tell that she was hoping to get him to sit down next to her, but that was something he wasn't rather keen on doing. Okami was hyper, and since interacting with others was enough of a pain, he decided that encouraging her would cause him more trouble than it was work. He waited patiently through the Fox Tail waving the tome all around, knowing that he would only have trouble if he attempted to try to read the cover - he blamed his Japanese origins, sometimes it took him a few moments for his brain to click English into place - and instead watched her put it back onto her lap and open it once more. "A book on alchemy?" he replied, brow furrowing as he mulled it over. He hadn't gotten much experience crafting, if only because he wasn't quite sure what he could make, so the prospect of something that would help him figure out what to do with his crafting was an intriguing one. Taking a few steps closer, he looked at the book, his brain making more sense of the upside-down letters than it usually did right-side up, likely because it was reading the same direction his parents would usually have him read. He could see the recipes depicted there, the way that the numbers didn’t seem quite right and the ingredients a tad off, and although he was already thinking up possible ways to shift things, he wasn’t sure if he should do so quite yet, what with his level being so low. "I'll have to borrow that from you at some point. I've not done much leveling on my alchemy, and it would likely be a good place to start." "Yeah, leather," he answered her, patting his hip absent-mindedly. "Can't make a new whip without leather." He raised an eyebrow at her offer. "Why would you want to do that?" he asked. "No offense, but I'm a lot weaker than you are. You probably wouldn't get any drops out of it, and since I'm a Summoner, not to mention that I use a whip, I'd mostly likely be relying on you and Cash to give me the distance I need to work." He didn't really believe people did things out of the goodness of their hearts, and even if Okami seemed nice enough, somehow he doubted that her motives were as altruistic as they might seem.

100% 100% Words;; 437 Tags;; Okami Notes;; Ignore Rue, he just likes being a pessimist. Like his half-brother. Bl Brats the both of them. Lyrics;; "The Only Hope for Me is You" by My Chemical Romance Template by Kuroya

because the only hope for me is you alone!

[Okami]

"Of course~ Of course~ You can borrow it anytime Ruey~" She offered sincerely. 'What's mine is yours, and what's yours is mine.' was a motto she followed fairly often. Ish. Though what she'd define by 'yours' would be a little different from others, some might realize if they bothered to ask. What answer they get would more or less revolve around 'Hug privileges', 'Salamander rides', 'All your time is belong to me'. Material objects, she'd protest, just weren't as important as time spent with others. You only had so much before you moved on to the great light in the sky, you know? Especially when you got older, and all you had left were memories of those precious people.

She nodded in agreement to his statement on leather, watching the man pat his whip. Then he asked her, brow raised, why someone of her amazing, spectacular level would bother with a mongrel like him. "HMM," She hummed in exaggeration, stroking at a non-existent beard. "Why indeed? Why, it's," Okami narrowed her eyes, then widened them in surprise, as if a revelation had struck her. "I-It's" She darted her eyes back and forth, licking her lips. Then, with all the dryness the walking sugarball and fluff could muster, answered him "It's almost like I don't care about things like that at all."

"Lighten up, Ruey." She rolled her eyes. Okami dropped her hands, and bounced to her feet. The fox-tail offered the summoner a grin. "I just want to spend time with you. Is that so wrong~?" She asked innocently, while tossing the tome over her shoulder and back into the waiting infinite space that was her inventory.

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Word Count: 277
OOC: LETS BE FRIENDS ALREADY RUE WHY AREN'T YOU RUNNING INTO MY HUGS GAWD.

[RuetheDay]

face all the pain and take it on

RuetheDay nodded, dipping his head. "Thank you, Okami," he murmured, before shrugging. "I've never even really crafted a mana fragment before. Never quite known how to do it." He resisted the urge to chuckle as he watched Okami stroke the air beneath her chin, shaking his head at his Fox Tail friend. Sure, they may not have had the best first greeting, but in a way, her obliviousness was something that he found... relaxing. He'd never admit to the fact that her hugs and constant, hyper energy was a bit of a constant for him, something that kept him grounded and gave him reason to fight just a little harder to try to catch up to her so that he could give her a bit of a challenge, but well... what he didn't admit couldn't be held against him. Why? Because he knew that, given the slightest indication that he did more than just merely tolerate her and her energy, she would pounce upon it and drag him around London and the surrounding area, and he couldn't have that. Not yet. Not when he was still searching for his friend. He had to find his friend, the sooner the better, if only to ease his own state of mind. Call him selfish, but he really hoped the other had gotten trapped in here, if only so that he could know he was safe. "Don't care about those things at all, eh Okami?" He asked, shaking his head. "You're something special, you know that?" He shook his head. "You shouldn't say things like that, you know. Might give people the wrong sort of idea. They'll think that they can take advantage of you." He shrugged, keeping his arms up to his chest, though it was a slight struggle to keep himself from tightening them reflexively, remembering the way that things would change so quickly back in the real world. Haru Katashi had been the youngest male heir to his father's company, and he'd been rich; his eldest brother ran a successful business as well. He was powerful, and most people thought that he was vulnerable. He'd been taken advantage of - immediately the face of his half-brother appeared in his mind, but he shoved it down just as quickly, not wanting to remember those times when he was happy, innocent, unaware that he had befriended the very reason that his parents never came home to him or his little baby sister Miyako - and people rarely tried to mess with him anymore. The seventeen year old had been quite the force to be reckoned with when he was riled up, and he was protective of his little sister, almost to the point where he rivaled the guarding nature of a mother grizzly bear with her cubs. But that was the real world, and this... this was the Unfounded Kingdom. People could take advantage of everyone, yes, but there wasn't anything to mark one player as too much more of a target than any other person wandering around London. Or at least, there weren't any that he could see. Maybe there were, maybe there weren't. It wasn't as if he was a player killer and actively went out looking for people to take advantage of anyway. He was brought out of his thoughts when she spoke again, orange eyes blinking as she bounced up from where she sat, tossing the book over her shoulder for it to vanish into thin air, or more like into her inventory. He chuckled, the sound a little mocking, though it was aimed at himself rather than at her. "I don't really lighten up, Okami. I'm 'RuetheDay', remember? It's sort of in my job description to rain on parades." He then rolled his eyes, letting his arms relax slightly, obviously a sign of letting his guard down since the tension in the limbs was almost non-existent, an indication of how much he trusted Okami, even if it was an unspoken sentiment. "But I suppose that if you want to spend time with me, I shouldn't argue. Players have to stick together in this world to get ahead." He then blinked, a thought occurring to him. "I should probably get Cash more acquainted to you. After all, he's a little less... volatile than some of the other Followers I've been investigating, and somehow, I doubt you'd want to be attacked by the undead." He strode over a short ways to a brazier, the flames inside it slowly dying but still with a few embers cooling in the depths of the metal. "This will do," he muttered to himself, subconsciously slipping back into Japanese without even noticing the slip, and he reached down, adding a few bits of nearby kindling to coax the fire back to life. Once it was of what he thought was big enough, he closed his eyes, the sharp amber hiding behind lids of pale cream, and he began chanting words that he wasn’t quite sure where they came from or where they went to as soon as they’d darted off his tongue like the bird taking flight that had been tattooed upon it upon his reincarnation as a Half-Alf. He heard a soft whooshing noise as the flames grew bigger, and with a clatter, the metal stand fell over, scattering the embers across the street, a single paw coming out of it. The Salamander seemed bigger than the last time that Rue had summoned it, but it also seemed rather lazy, almost as if it knew that it wasn’t going to have to fight anyone today. The black outside even seemed to reflect that, showing only a few veins of a deep red rather than the usual various colors of orange and yellow depending upon the heat of the limb. He then turned to Okami, nodding his head back towards the Salamander. “Okami, this is Cash,” he stated, watching the Follower yawn and curl its tail up in a slight circle a ways from his feet. “I’m not sure how smart it would be to pet him… but at least let him smell you so he’ll get used to you.” He chuckled. “Somehow, I don’t think you really want to have him burn your tails in the middle of a fight, so try not to startle him too much, okay?”

100% 100% Words;; 1056 Tags;; Okami Notes;; OML Caster I apologize greatly. Rue just wouldn't effing shut up, and I think he wanted to get to level fifteen badly enough that he decided to spam poor Okami with all the words. I apologize. A lot. Especially since this is coming from a thread where I've not posted more than 600 words period and you only put about 300 for a reply and I just spammed you with 1k ;~; Lyrics;; "The Only Hope for Me is You" by My Chemical Romance Template by Kuroya

because the only hope for me is you alone!

[Okami]

"Oho~?" She tilted her head to the side, leaning forward girlishly and giving him a coy smile. Like a rain fall that comes down on other parades eh? The energetic fox-tail could certainly do something about that, now couldn't she~? "Well, well, if you're like a rainy day coming down on the happiness of others, then I'd be the sun wouldn't I? And let me tell you buster, storms come and go, but the sun is always here to keep people warm~" She gave him a wink, a toothy smile making it's way to her features. A single finger rose like an inevitable scolding and wagged defiantly at the man's declaration. "So whenever you feel like you need some sunshine, give me a ring okay? I'll always be here for you, Rue."

Her voice had been something...different. Deeper, smoother, warm. Like something had slipped from the iconic childish play that was Okami. The toy, as it was, had been set aside briefly, and Alana poked her head out into the ray briefly to extend a hand to the little boy whose cracks she could see. She was frail. She was almost blind. but the woman knew people, and more importantly, knew a child that needed someone. If it wasn't her siblings, it was those they brought home, or even those on the street that needed her. The quiet, understanding woman with a solemn experience in the world.

Then she smiled, radiantly, practically glowing with affection for another of the children she'd befriend during her stay in this twisted world.

"And oi! I'm a big girl! I can tie my shoes and everything now! I can take care of my-self!" She huffed, standing straight and crossing her arms, looking away. It had been a strange shift, from experienced woman to childish girl, but she did it naturally, not missing a beat. Then, the fox-tail tilted it back a bit, giving the summoner a looking out of the corner of her eyes. "Though I suppose I could forgive your foolishness, since you're so eager to join me~."

And then he did it. Standing before the flames, with the all the power expected of someone with his class, he brought forth in a twist of firey blaze a beast like which she'd never seen before. Her eye's lit up like a star, glinting with curiosity and awe. Then, when the flames fell, when what stood before them was a blazing beast of power and might, Okami couldn't contain her-self. She squeed.

Just as Rue was turning to talk to her, the ball of energy was on the move, blowing past him and b-lining straight for the creature. She was a woman on a mission, out to accomplish her goals. Running towards the creature as fast as her tiny little legs could carry her, the sorcerer grinned knowingly, looking atop the beast. Most might expect the fox-tail to try jumping or crawling on to the creature, and if she wasn't a super special awesome wizard, they'd be right. No, this little vixen had a better idea.

In a blink of light, she was gone, disappearing before she got within striking distance of the beast.

...and appearing right on top of him, landing on the beasts back and giggling hysterically.

"I love him!" She looked over excitably at the summoner. "Can we keep him? Plllleeaaassseee Ruey!" She whinned childishly, laying down and rubbing her face into the salamander's back.

---
Word Count: 574
OOC: I'M SORRY IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME.

[RuetheDay]

face all the pain and take it on

RuetheDay raised a delicate eyebrow when she stated that she wasn't going to give up on him, but he decided not to argue with the statement. He had weathered his storms before, and although sometimes his body would pay the price for those storms, it was something that he had grown used to, collateral damage that he found himself perfectly fine to accept. It didn't hurt anyone else. It didn't cause him any lasting damage, aside from a small collection of scars, which he was careful to keep hidden from the world, like some socialite hiding water damage behind fancy curtains. "If you say so," he replied, a smile ghosting across his lips before it was gone, retreating again before anyone could be sure that it was there. Let her decide what he was referring to, her offer or her protest or both. It didn't make much difference to him anyway, and besides, he already had a feeling that she'd apply it as she saw fit anyway, so why should he expend effort to change anything? It would be the same kind of foolishness that tempted men to try to change the course of a rushing river - you could do it, perhaps, but you'd be far more likely to get swallowed up by the very thing you interfered with than wring out a noticeable effect from the thing. Though in hindsight, he probably should have known better than to summon Cash. The Salamander may have been the most mellow of his Followers, mostly since Rue rarely called upon it and had treated it with respect and affection, more like a large dog than a giant flaming salamander capable of hurting him horribly should it have truly wished to, but he probably shouldn't have subjected it to hyper Okami quite yet. Give it a chance to get to know him and recognize that he wouldn't do anything to intentionally bring harm to it aside from fighting, which was something that couldn't be helped. Instead, he had basically tossed the thing over to the lions, so to speak; the squeal was indication enough of that. He opened his mouth to tell Okami off, to remind the hyper Fox Tail that the Follower was made of fire, but she had already blown right past him, and as he turned about on his heel to try to grab her and stop her from doing anything stupid, she disappeared right out of existence. It didn't take her long to reappear, and when she did, the Salamander let out a surprised noise, the sound akin to the crackling of flames, and twisted, about to roll to try to get the weight off of its back before Rue put his hands to the Follower's head, hands pressed to the heated black skin that felt like charcoal and had the heat of a granite countertop warmed by the sun. The Salamander let out a questioning noise, this one like a soft whoosh of a flare, when it couldn't roll, and looked at the Summoner in confusion. "Sorry, Cash," he apologized in an undertone, the Half-Alf switching to Japanese so that the Fox Tail wouldn't understand him. "She's a friend. She's just a little hyper. I didn't know she was going to do that." The Salamander nodded then, as if to understand, and it settled down again, calming and nuzzling the Summoner's hand before twisting around to try to greet the woman politely. Rue gave the Follower a grateful pat on the side of the neck, rolling his orange eyes at his fellow Alchemist's behavior. "Of course I'm keeping him, baka, he's my Follower," he replied. "But he's not staying out forever. Tends to sap my mana out like it's nothing." His fingers tapped a staccato beat against his arm, an indication of displeasure, though it was over worry for her, not that he'd ever admit that out loud. "And teleporting on top of Cash was probably the stupidest thing I've seen you do to date. He could have set you on fire, and if I hadn't caught his head, he probably would have rolled to get you off." Maybe he would have been better off summoning his Skeleton. There was no way that Okami could have possibly teleported on top of the undead warrior, not to mention that it was likely more than sufficiently intimidating enough to discourage such ideas in the first place. Though he wouldn't put anything past the Fox Tail. Cash was mellow enough to listen to him, and despite the fact that the skeleton hadn't done anything to hurt him yet, somehow the nature of those glowing red eyes just... disturbed him a little too much for him to want to spend too much time testing that out around someone else quite yet. After all, it was one thing for him to die, but quite another for someone else to die at the hands of his own Follower.

100% 100% Words;; 825 Tags;; Okami Notes;; Wheee have some posts. :3 Lyrics;; "The Only Hope for Me is You" by My Chemical Romance Template by Kuroya

because the only hope for me is you alone!