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He wasn't exactly the most intelligent of human beings. Or Genomes, for that matter. Sure, he was not amazing - he couldn't invent a lightbulb, and he sure as hell wasn't able to fly a ship or some such nonsense. But at the same time, he was at least a little more advanced than these guys. Considering the world was literally filled with trades of technology and whatnot, it shouldn't have been so amazing that he had a weapon that could spout bullets and all that.
Or that he had dropped out of the sky without getting hurt.
And of course, the kicker - a tail. No one roaming around here had one of those for some reason. It made him a little pouty - he was hoping desperately to find Ball Brand. But that didn't seem to be the case here on Alexandria, where he'd managed to serve as a bodyguard for a traveling dignity. How did you pay for a SeeD when you couldn't get the modern conveniences like... motors and cars and stuff?
Running fingers through his hair, he leaned forward on the balls of his feet, tail wagging a little bit. Asher was wearing next to nothing over his chest - a simple dark blue vest. A black pair of slacks were belted to his waist only because they were all of a sudden too big - he might have lost a little weight, which sucked when he was already a small individual.
Scratching a little at the back of his head, he yawned. "This place is boring! How come no one does anything in this stupid town?" He grumbled, gently, as he swung his legs back and forth. He was sitting down, in a seat, in a stupid little 'pub' thing. He wrinkled his nose.
It smelled funny in here. Not like the cafeteria in the Garden. In fact, it smelled like he was gonna get sick in here if he stayed much longer. He had to wait here, in the sea-salt air, until the port boat showed up to take him to one of the intermediaries where he'd get picked up by an airship.
He was making faces at his empty glass, which he'd managed to down in mere seconds.
"Oi kid, why you gotta tail?" A gruff, almost irate - and distinctly drunk - voice came from behind him. He yelped, sharply, as his tail was grabbed, and tugged, nearly pulling him out of the chair. There came a whoop and holler, as uproarious laughter came from the table where the guy had no doubt come from. Asher's moves were almost untraceable - he broke his chair across the guy's face.
"PERSONAL. BUBBLE." He yelled, at the top of his lungs, which was actually kind of loud, considering he was so tiny. He almost grabbed another chair to smack him with - distinctly considering grabbing his Spearshot, which was leaning against the bar next to him.
"No. Touching. My. Tail." He said, dropping down, knees bending, so he could poke the distinctly dazed guy in the cheek, punctuating every word with a little jab. Of course, it was completely hypocritical, to be touched and beat him down, then poke him in the face?
Regardless, the situation changed. There was now three guys - his drunk little buddies - were stepping forward, looking particularly unhappy with his particular assault problems. Squeezing his eyes shut he sighed.
"Y'all can back off or you can keep coming forward and then I'm going to have to beat you up. But I really, really don't wanna have to beat you up. It's not nice to beat people up, 'specially when they can't defend themselves! I mean, y'don't even have any weap--"
Oh, and then, there were weapons. Swords. They were lame looking things - not like Squalls. Nothing special in his opinion. Maybe he should have thought beating that guy up soon?
"We're gon' rip your tail right out of it's socket, punk." Which, surprisingly enough didn't make him panic. It made him wonder if he really did have a tail socket. That wasn't something he'd ever gone in to great thought about, though he did love his tail.
"I don' wanna fight you guys. You all smell like bleeegh." He made the sound, rather than describing how they made him feel. Smelling bad, plus salty air, plus the smell of alcohol wafting off them in waves? It was far more than nauseating.
Still, just in case - his tail reached out, wrapping the shaft of his Spearshot. It lifted his weapon, bringing it forward so that he could grab it in one hand. "Aren't there police or somethin' here? Or anyone that can make you not so dumb?" He asked, taking a single - his only - step back.
He didn't really want to kill anyone, and if he fought them with a weapon, that's precisely what would happen. He couldn't disable three guys with swords without, too. Biting his lip, he tried to glance around and spot someone, anyone, who might be able to put a bloodless end to this stupid situation.
Well, at least he wasn't bored any more.
[/blockquote][/blockquote] ( Word count: 910 Thread Word Count: 910 )
Alexandria, the continent lost in time. A civilization flourishing without the help or use of the expanding and amazing technological advances of the world around it, seeking more simple and nostalgic ways to live.
Validor had arrived here only moments ago and was simply passing through, but was tired and opted to stay here a few days to rest. The place was crawling with busy people crossing the cobblestone streets of the ancient city. It was truly a wonder to behold. However such wonderment and crowded spaces were lost on Validor, which lead him to ask himself why was he going into a bar with so many people.
The moment Validor walked in through the doors of the bar, the smell of alcohol nearly overwhelmed him. the place was flooded with low-lives and drunks, all migrating in for some spirits and food. Voix de la Terra was already becoming antsy due to the amount of people inside the bar. Validor and Voix de la Terra had something very much in common. They did not do well with people. Not that they hated humanity, no, but they desired more space and less annoyances in the way. Besides unfortunatly people tended to give into nasty habits like drinking. It was appalling to see someone consume so much a depressant and allow themselves to cloud their minds. Voix de la Terra often acted this way because usually, what came with the amount of the brown amber liquids of beer, ale, and mead, usually came trouble. And niether Validor nor Voix de la Terra enjoyed trouble.
Validor eventually navigated his way through the sea of people, often being pushed or yelled at for simply slightly bumping them. Thats what Validor hated the most. Anything could set these ticking time bombs off. Validor eventually made it up to the bar and took one of the seats.
"Just a water please....thank you...."
The bartender looked at him incredulously. He then proceeded to get him water. Valdior could only guess that not many people ordered water around here. Of course at a bar it was common, it was really a silly thing NOT to ask for alcohol. He chuckled to himself and then recieved the water. he took several sips and then looked around at the crown behind him. There was not much out of the ordinary. Mostly drunk men and women all laughing and having what they thought was a good time, and then there was the quiet reserved types escaping from reality and into their drinks. Then finally Validor's bright blue eyes fell on a tail. His eyes widened as his eye fell on the genome drinking in such a place. Genomes were a rare sight in Alexandria, and it puzzled Validor as to why he would pick a bar to drink in, with so many time bombs just waiting to do something. It was trouble waiting to happen, but it was none of Validor's concern.
All of a sudden Voix de la Terra spoke to him.
Watch the genome......
Now it was Validor's concern. he sighed and took several more sips of water before he turned back around to look at the genome again. The genome seemed fine at the moment, however he noticed a table of men nearby who appeared to be looking and laughing obnoxiously nearby. Validor's eyes narrowed. And just as he expected on of the men walked over to the genome and yanked him out of chair by his tail. This caused quite a ruckus and the genome seemed annoyed. Validor sigh and finished his glass and then stood up.
By the time he stood up the genome had poked the man in the face emphasizing words that Validor couldn't decipher at the distance he was at. Then the situation most defintely changed to unserious and easily solvable to worse. Validor frowned at three other men went to go join their friend in his torture of the genome. Validor slowly made his way through the sea of spectators keeping an eye on the 5. The genome uttered some sort of childish threats and told them to leave him alone. However that just seemed to make them even angrier. Then then pulled out dull, but rusty sword, very weak, but could still cause some damage, especially if one was out numbered.
"We're gon' rip your tail right out of it's socket, punk." one of the men said to the genome.
The genome didn't even look threatened. He instead ignored the threat and came back with a surprisingly funny insult and warning indicating their horrible smell. And now tht Validor noticed they did smell a little bit awful...HHe then proceed to use his tail to draw out a weapon of an interesting design that Validor had never seen before. It stopped Validor in thought for a moment, and then Validor continued almost right next to their little group. The genome actually didn't look like he wanted to hurt them. Validor stopped for a moment pondering on wether to help him or not. He looked like he had experience with figting before, and helping him might dishonor him. However he then looked behind the genome, seeing a man with his sword held high about to possibly cleave the tiny guy in half, even though the swords looked dulled and useless.
A few seconds later the blade was brought down. All it met was an outstretched hand. The dull blade didn't even cut him, even though Validor did have black leather gloves on.
"How dishonorble are you? Attacking somone with their back turned? How disgraceful..."
He yanked the blade out of the man's hands and then punched him in the face. Before the other guys could react they were also on the ground. Their swords all confiscated as well. It seemed Validor's speed was too much for their slow reactions, slowed by their intoxication. He looked over at the genome and gave a hearty smile and then he proceeded to throw the 5 men one by one outside the bar.
"Get out of my sight you useless bums!"
They quickly ran out of site. Validor grimaced unknowing of the reactions of the bar or the genome. His thoughts also wandered onto if these hooligans had friends. Validor frown and then looked back at the genome, and brushed his dark somewhat curly black hair out h his eyes.
"Hello my friend, I'm Validor Illyria.....normally I would let warriors fight their own battles, however I decided to intervine anyway...."
He hoped the genome would forgive him for his intrusion.
Asher, ever brave and strong, yelped audibly as he heard the sound of a blade hitting... something... behind him. There had been a bonus individual that he hadn't anticipated, it seemed, which meant he had been in more danger than he had previously been aware of. He spun sharply, the blade of his spearshot ready to impale the man.
It was just lucky, however, that someone had his back. That someone was currently holding off that blade, dull as it was. He smiled, brightly, and before he had a chance to even respond, he saw the guy move. It was only because he too was used to moving that quickly that he could even keep up with him, visually - he knocked the men around, taking their weapons before they even hit the floor. He couldn't help but chuckle a little bit, as his new friend adequately disposed of the rubbish. He wrinkled his nose again - rubbish in appearance, attitude, and smell.
Leaning forward, excitedly, Asher called after them: "MY TAIL IS PROTECTED, Y'SEE!" Of course, he hadn't known it would be protected by this other good samaritan, nor had he thought he'd need it. In truth, he'd thought he could take care of the situation. Given his training and his heritage it probably wouldn't have been too difficult, but had he been hit before he could take them out? The fight could certainly have taken a turn for the worst. His survivability relied on him not getting hit. He was small, and he knew that it didn't take near as much to put him down as it did a full grown man.
"Is'okay! I appreciate the help!" He had to keep himself from tackling the other guy, and scamper up on him. At least give him a thankful hug! Bowing his head, tail wagging gently as he gave the weapon back to it, he smiled wide to him. "I'm Asher, a SeeD from Balamb Garden! It's nice to meet you, though I'm sorry you had to get your hands all smelly from dealin' with those guys. Me an' my tail both thank you. I didn't really want to kill them, but, I mean, my weapons and stuff aren't really meant to just stop someone."
He tugged himself back up into a chair - one that he hadn't beaten the guy to a pulp with - and reached for his glass. It was empty, but damnit if it wasn't his. "Can I have some more milk please?" He asked, the startled looking barman not really certain how to take all this - whether he should throw the two out for messing with patrons, or whether he should just leave it alone.
Apparently deciding that some coin was better than none, he filled his glass with ice cold milk.
Smacking his lips together in anticipation, he hurriedly guzzled the drink down, apparently parched from all the excitement, completely ignoring the moustache it gave him when he finished. The glass hit the table as though he'd just finished some impressive feat of boozery, worthy of denoting with loud glassware noises.
Tilting his head a little, he spun in the chair so that he could look to Validor. "I don't get why they had to be so rude, though! I mean, it'd be like if I grabbed your ears and pulled you away! It hurts when people pull on my tail." He made a just-shy-of-pouty face, truly confused as to why someone would do something to a complete stranger. Sure, he was a SeeD - a trained mercenary. But when it came to certain interactions, he was just as childish as he really was.
No amount of combat expertise would change that, no matter how hard he practiced.
With a little motion, his tail leaned the weapon against the counter, and then snaked around to the front of him, so he could rub it, gently, where the man had grabbed it. He could all but feel the bits of fur that had no doubt been dislodged in the assault. Bending forward, so he could lay his chin on the table, staring once more at the empty glass, he pondered.
Nothing particular came to mind as he pondered, so intead, he looked back to Validor.
"So are you from here, and stuff? I mean, I'm not - it's why I'm waitin' for the stupid intermediary boat thing to get me to the airship port. I have to be here until that ocean bell thing rings, so I can get out of here. I decided I don't like Alexandria very much - it's pretty, but the people are bricks. In the head." He squinched his nose, and flinched, opening one eye to watch him. "Unless you're from here, 'course, 'cause you're not a head-brick."
"Unless of course you do have a brick brain! Then... then..." He thudded his head on the counter, mostly because he was quite amazing at putting his whoooole foot in his mouth. Normally it didn't bother him, but since this guy had just effectively protected his life, and the lives of a handfull of civilians, no matter how dumb or stinky they were - he should at least be somewhat civil, right?
Tugging slightly on his tail, he tried to smile, though it was a pathetic little grin, instead. "Sorry! I don't usually think about the stuff I say. It's pretty boring when y'do, 'cause then no one else knows what you're thinkin'! Right?"
To him, such logic made perfect sense. To any sane, rational individual, he looked anything but those two qualities. Ah well, it wasn't like he had to make sense to the rest of the world, right? Besides, this kept him at a place away from the rest of them, too.
"Are you human, too?" He added, for good measure. It was just good information to know!
[/blockquote][/blockquote] ( Word count: 1026 Thread word count: 1936 )
Validor was surprised by the persona of the genome. First off, he had the demanor of a small child. Second, he talked like he had emotion, which Validor knew as somethign weird for Genomes to do, considering they were said to have no souls. And finally, this small creature was a SeeD from Balamb Garden. The genome had more combat experience than Validor had orginally thought. Most likely even stronger than he was. It was all a little much to take in, and immediately he knew wh Voix de la Terra had told him to watch him. He was interesting, and for doing him this favor, he would likely pay him back in the future. It was good to have allies.
Asher huh?
He watched as Asher started saying how his weapon and himself weren't use to just stopping anyone. Validor's thought went to Voix de la Terra. It was not used to just stopping others either. He soon followed him to his table as he began talking idly. He smiled a bit, as he ordered some milk and the bartender gave the same incredulous look from before, as if he was actually contemplating on wether they existed or not, and if it would've been better that he'd stayed in bed this morning rather than have to deal with the bar today. The genome inhaled his milk leaving a white mustache and he slammed it down obnoxiously. Validor had thoughts to himself as to who this Asher really was.
Ascher then started complaining on why they would do such a thing, comparing someones ears to that of his tail. The analogy was humorous and caused Validor to chuckle a bit.
"It's simply because they are mindless and intoxicated. They do not understand the nature of things outside Alexandria, hell, even inside their own personal worlds. They are blinded simply by their ignorence."
The genome pondered for a few seconds and asked from where he was from, saying how he was trying to get away from Alexandria and all the mindless "brick-heads who resided here. He then thoughthe would've insulted Validor , however Validor smiled at him trying to be nice, but fumbling over his own words. Validor gave a hearty laugh as the genome banged his head against the table with a loud thud. Validor sat down in the chair right next to him as he apologized. With his apology he came up with some mixed logic that strangely made sense to validor, but was lost to him. He did not do socializing that much so not thinking about what he said was not something he normally had to worry about. And finally he asked what race he was. Validor held a hand up trying to get him to calm down, and that he did listening calmly to what Validor could finally say. Validor sighed and began giving a little background history about himself. Certainly he would not give all of it, but a little information would suffice.
"I'am not from here little one, so do not think that you insulted me. Of course you could give the people here a little more respect, their Queen keeps it this way. They are ignorant to the world around them and are stuck in a time period. So you'l have to excuse their demeanors. Back to me, I'm not a human, I'm a Cetran, a child of Gaia, and speaker of the world. we are for more in-tune with the world than most creatures including yourself. As for where I come from, I was born on the Cetran continent, in the town of Nibelhiem. My family's ancestry could be traced from the Illyria family in the Forgotten City of the Ancients. Anyways I was born there 19 years ago. I left home when I was 13, and never went back. Now I'm just passing through following the whispers of the world, letting it guide me to my unknown fate....." Validor immediately stopped talking, feeling that he had talked too much. It made him uncomfortable to reveal so much information about himself. He liked keeping to himself, only revealing enough information occasionally to work with others on a situation at hand. Never did he really socialize with many. He sighed and then ordered another water from the bar-tender, who without a look poured him some ice water, as Validor slid a couple of gil across the counter. He took the water and took several sips from it before looking at the childish genome again. After a couple more seconds of silence Validor finally decided to ask a few questions of his own.
"So your from Balamb Garden huh? A SeeD? Interesting, normally you don't see many genome SeeDs. What brought you here to Alexandria anyways?" Voix de la Terra hummed contently on his back, unsensing of any danger or trouble yet. Validor was still a little confused on why it had asked it to help Asher. Sure for ally purposes, but could there have been a deeper reason? Validor took several more sips of water and then decided to listen to what he could tell Ascher was about to tell his story excitedly and eagerly.
It took him a second, leaning forward, to contemplate everything he'd said. He remained quiet - a feat that most would count with being as epic as flying to the moon or making Squall smile. Wrinkling his nose at the thought, he banished it quickly, because that just wasn't fair, really. Squall didn't like him, and that was that.
Still, even just those thoughts made him slump his shoulders a little, tail seeming to droop. He wagged it slowly, trying to reorganize his thoughts - what few thoughts he made coherently, at least.
He tilted his head absently, and shook his head. "Nuh-uh. I've seen the world differently than everyone else, I guess. I mean, I haven't been a SeeD too long, but having been one for any length of time, I see resistances and people who were fed up with the oppress... opression... oppressive! rule of their leaders. When someone tells you somethin' that you know is wrong for too long, eventually it's up to you to change it. If they like being this way then... well, I mean, that's why I can't interfere. If they want help, I'll help'em in a heartbeat."
Of course, he thought about it a second, and sighed. "Even those guys." He squinted at the bottom of his glass, almost longingly. He couldn't keep drinking milk - it'd make him sick. But he loved it so! He was tempted to get another glass just because it was his very own right to do so.
"Cetras sound a little stuck up. No offense." He grinned a little bit. "But I am too, when it comes to stuff like climbing. I bounce around in the trees like ya wouldn't believe." The words just sort of fell out - no filter or inhibition. There shouldn't be, lest he be a hypocrite. Well, a hypocrite again. Shrugging his shoulders absently, he sat straight, looking upwards at the ceiling.
He let his tail go, and looked at the bigger guy, tilting his head a little bit. He seemed so sad about his own past, which only made the little Genome feel for him, precisely as Beis had when his new brother told him about his own heritage. He only knew about the Genomes for a while now, and even then, only through secondhand recitation.
Pushing himself away from his table, he stood, though it was a little somber. Without hesitation, he more or less tackled the bigger guy, giving him a large hug, wrapping arms around him from behind.
"We're both lost, I think. A little bit - in our own ways. I'm sorry you left there, and that you're stuck out here." He nodded gently, against his back. The young monkey boy knew it might be a bit weird, but sometimes, one just had to listen to their instincts. It kept them safe, and right, most of the time.
Finally, he allowed himself to get disentangled from the other one, foisting himself back in to his chair. Sniffing at the air, he just shrugged again. "Weeell, that's 'cause right now, there aren't any. I'm the first one that's graduated from Balamb, as far as I know. Might even be the only Genome SeeD, 'cause most of us are weird for some reason. Like zombies. Beis says it's cause we were born different, but he didn't tell me how. I think it's the tail."
He nodded, furiously at this. "And I'm here, in this silly little place, to deliver a message and then beat up the guy who got it. It was a weird mission, 'cause I wasn't supposed to do anything other than that, but whatever, I just do what the Garden tells me to, right?" It didn't bother him in the least to be blindly following their orders, because... well, they were his family. They deserved his fealty, and his loyalty.
He didn't mind one bit, that much was obvious by his speech.
Flicking his tail gently, he added, absently: "It's okay with me, 'cause they trained me to do stuff, right?"
With that, he leaned back. "Where ya headin'? Are you waitin' for the stupid only-drives-on-water-boat, too?" He asked, curiously, licking his lips, and glaring at his empty glass, willing it to fill itself one more time.
After Validor of spoken Asher took no time in replying to his little speech about who he was and other tiny details like that. He listened intently to the little ones words. His opinions varied a little bit from his but Validor did not mind. Variety was the spice of life. He admired Asher's moralistic values...however Validor could not help but shake his head.
"These are not a people of oppression, sure of a strict rule, but they could simply move away if they didn't like it and travel freely if they wanted to. Like us, traveling. No, I believe these people happy to coome to a bar and drink, and hail their Queen*motions to the people around them having fun and laughing*. Those guys are not oppressed....they have gold to spare and are not coerced by guards or anything. But I do see your point. for one so young, you do have quite a bit of insight. Of course...you make look younger than you appear..."
Validor recovered from Ashers comments on Cetrans, but tried to be nice trying to make himself seem arrogant as well. Maybe he did, or didn't know that his kind was a dying race, on the brink of extinction...and it completely caught him off guard when the genome leapedup onto him and gave him a little monkey like hug. His eyes widened but let the genome do it. Somehow Validor felt how the genome felt he should do it, and would not rob him of it. After a couple of minutes the genome finally let go and returned to it seats before telling him about him being possibly the only genome to graduate into a SeeD, and then mentioned a name. Beis. Saying how they were different from others. He could only assume that Beis was a genome, like Asher, and wished not to tell them the truth about them having no souls. Vaidor remained quiet as he said it. He would not tell Asher and ruin his mood, besides Validor felt he wasn't the one to tell him. He would find out one day. He saddened a little bit inside when he innocently said it was the tail. He was so naive and innocent.
Then finally he mentioned his mission and why he was here of all places, saying that it was job to deliver a message and then beat up the man who got it. It confused Validor while Asher proceeded to tell him he didn't really care because the Garden told him to do it. Validor couldn't really argue with the way Asher talked about them, fondly and family like. But then he sort of faltered when he asked Validor's oppinion on the matter of him doing what they want because they trained him.
"You should follow their orders, because that it was you feel is right Asher....something that will make you happy in the long run. If your happy with doing what the Garden says no matter what because your happy with it and it feels right to you, then all the power to you."
He gave an encouraging smile, feeling it was the right thing to say at the moment, and like he just preached, it felt right for him to say it. He then looked at Asher as he leaned back and asked casually where he was heading. Validor took several sips of his water, and then turned back to Asher.
"Well, I'm not really sure where I'm going for now. Usually I follow the path that Gaia has paved for me, but it has been silent lately only murmuring something about the number 26 and something about a gate. I'm usure what its meaning at this point but I'm sure I"ll eventually figure it out...And by only-sails-on-water-boat, you mean the sailboat, then I can only say I'm unsure as well. Like I said... I have no idea where I'm going"
He laughed a little bit at his predicament of wandering around. He had been doing this for several weeks now. Traveling endlessly and stopping at towns before moving on, and trying to decipher what Gaia was whispering about. He then yawned. He then looked at Asher who was looking into his empty milk glass wanting more. Validor smiled and said something to the bartender who looked even more wide eyed at his request, but after Validor rolled a couple more gil in his direction, he nodded and swifty brought a jug of ice cold milk, covered in a bag of ice. Validor then took the jug and gave it to Asher.
"Now don't make yourself sick with the stuff, but I figure after doing your mission you deserve a little reward no? Plus, I figured you could take it on the boat ride to go. However I hope you have a strong stomach. Don't want you getting sick...."
He had never heard the expression 'eyes as big as saucers' before. However, now, he knew that the meaning of the expression was someone just dropped a giant jug of milk in front of him. Eyes wide, a smile broke along his face that threatened to split him open. It wasn't his fault it was so easy to smile!
"Yeah, of course!" He cheered at the idea of getting a reward for his successful mission, especially one that was going to be completely delicious. Of course, the caution to not make himself sick over it was completely disregarded - he was going to more than likely drink it down the second he was settled on the boat, even if he hated himself afterwards.
He rummaged a little bit, uncertainly. He wasn't sure he understood what Val meant. Was it that he got his missions from Gaia? Wandering sounded quite strange to the young Genome, who had little to no frame of reference for being lost. Without access to anything before he gained a soul... well, he was mostly a blank slate. He smiled up at him, tugging the Spearshot with his tail.
"You could come back to Balamb and stay there for a while! It's lots of fun and the Garden is there and we have festivals and stuff! Then you wouldn't have to be lost." He offered, trying his hardest to be both helpful and compassionate at the same time. He was not really the type to actually understand how Val was - having never been in such a circumstance before in his life - that he could remember.
Licking his lips idly, he looked back down at the jug of milk. Had he missed the barge whistle, or the dock bell? It was distinctly possible - he wasn't exactly the most attentive of Genomes when he was distracted. Hopping up, he practically tied the Spearshot to his back, nodding sharply. "Yar! I need ta catch the boat!" He practically rushed out the door, without even hesitating.
It was only the fact that he was far too agile for his own good that saved him from the sword that came down. A man, dressed in full Alexandrian regalia, held the sword down, drawing it from the earth. "You - tailed one. You've been marked for death"
He looked at the man, before putting the jug down, and the ice that was supposed to go with it.
"I promise, then, that I'll get away!" He grinned, full and wide - but his leg muscles tensed.
The man came forward, drawing the sword upwards in a wide arc. In a flash of motion, the Spearshot caught it, and Asher finally managed to display his prowess. He used the strange position to bounce forward, landing on his other side. Before he had even touched the ground, he was turning - the butt end of his Spearshot smashed in to the man's spine. Following it up with a sharp kick, the guy was sent sprawling forward.
Face-first in to the milk jug. It broke, which made Asher cry out, sadly.
"Noooo! That's MY TREAT!" He whined, loudly, all but dropping down to his bottom. The man recovered, after a few seconds, spotting the downed Asher.
"You owe me a milk jug." Asher continued to pout, as the man made another charge, his blade coating itself in flames. Asher didn't even look up, nor did he grab his Spearshot. When the sword came down on him, he simply was no longer there. His body had vanished, and when he reappeared, he did so on the man's head, throwing him off balance, and practically driving him face first in to the ground.
Hopping back off, he picked up his Spearshot, and bonked him on the head with the flat of his blade, careful not to tug the trigger. "You lose. No more games, 'kay?" He said, his voice still quite depressed.
Though, the words were lost on the man - he was out cold.
Drooping, he looked around, for Val. "He broke my milk." He whimpered, pitiably.
Oh lordy, lordy, what was a little genome to do?
[/blockquote][/blockquote] ( Word count: 728 Thread Word Count: 3458 )
He felt a shot of happiness as he saw Asher's widened eyes at the sight of the milk jug. He then got an offer from Asher to come with him to Balamb Garden. Validor considered it for a few moments. Figuring he could just hang around there untill he was able to figure out what Gaia was getting that, and perhaps learn some clues there. He nodded and took him up on his offer.
By that time Asher had his childly lit eyes staring back at the milk and hoping up and down as he said he needed to catch a boat Validor noticed something. His ears picked up the bells ringing sounding the entrance of someone coming in. The next thing he noticed, is that it was unusually quiet, and the bar patrons were either leaving or were completely silent at the arrival of the guests. Validor looked over to see a contingent of guards enter and move towards himself and Asher. 2 of them moved towards Asher and himself. One was shorter but more calm as he drew his sword silently. The other guard seemed more tense and walked briskly and drew his sword expertly as well.
Validor's eyes widened as they got closer, and before he could warn Asher he had to quickly draw Voix de la Terra and block off the soldier's more sharp swords rather than the dull ones he could hold off earlier. The other one tried slashing down on Asher but he quickly dodged it and dealt him a real combo, unfortunately breaking the jug of milk he had bought for him.
Validor, his thoughts reassured by the genome's combat capabilities, swiftly pushed the other guy away, and dealt several vicious slashes towards him before breaking through his defenses with large horizontal slash that sent him flying limply through the air and under a table. Another soldier came swiftly at him, but slightly less experienced than some of them and hesitant of Validor's large sword which seemed to glow brightly even still with the natural lighting from the windows and the small candle light. He struck down hard and true, cleaving the soldier's sword in half and then dealt him a swift kick to the chest sending him stumbing into the other men, causing some of them to fall over in large banging noise of some armor.
Some quickly came at him again, a couple of them shooting Fire spells at him. Validor proped his sword on his shoulder and shot out his right hand.
"Reflect!"
A barrier of hexagonal panels quickly appeared around him reflecting the fire spells right back at them causing them to burn instead of him. Then as the barrier dissapeared the other soldiers quickly came at him with their swords clashing down on his. They then began to attack with great skill against Validor, who was now taking on three soldiers at once right now.
One of them made a stab towards him as he was fending off another one in a sword clash. Validor noticed and quickly side stepped as the soldier missed and stumbled right in front of him. Validor quickly and viciously struck down on his head with the flat of his blade knocking him out, or killing him, he had no time to notice. The other two augmented their blades with glowing flames. and both striked at once, clashing against Voix de la Terra again. He again swiftly swung out pushing them back and then building up power in his arm released another large sword arc this time knocking their swords out of their hands. From there he swiftly finished them off by swinging his blade again and hitting them with the flat of it causing them both to go flying against a wall and even breaking through it.
Validor then looked at Asher and gave him a motion to follow him. They would have to most likely run to thee boat, and may find trouble heading to it. What could of triggered such a release of guards and soldiers. By the time they had beaten a few of them senseless more soldiers arrived at the door. Validor quickly ran to the door in a charge, which one of the guards at the door prepared for by sticking their swords out ready to impale him. Validor again stuck out his right hand but this time shouting out something different.
"Aero!"
A large push of air came from Validor and sent the soldiers flying backwards crashing into other soldiers who had gathered near the door to try and stop them. Validor quickly leapt over their fallen bodies as they tried to, dazed and confused, regain their senses.
"We must hurry to the boat Asher, c'mon lets go!"
He was sure that Asher could keep up, being a SeeD and a genome all at once.
Val handled himself masterfully - Asher, however, took very little notice - he was still in the throes of mourning his spilled milk. The phrase 'no use crying' had never once been presented to this little genome. Despite all of his pouting, though, when he heard one of the people crash through the wall, he finally allowed himself to regain some semblance of self control. He tugged up his weapon, and himself, before peeking in through the door.
He yelped, as another guy was sent flying through the door, just barely avoiding getting clipped in the head by his armoured figure. Asher leaned himself back in, in time for Val to make his way out of there, calling for him to follow.
"Butbutbut..." He pouted, in typical fashion, but his body didn't even show signs of hesitation. Rather, his muscles tensed appropriately, and he headed off, easily catching up to Val. Genomes had that whole 'faster than regular humans' thing going for them... though, Val was apparently not really all that human. It would be interesting to find out if Cetrans were super-dee-duper fast, as well.
The sound of the bell was audible - the boat was several yards off the dock already. He gave out an exasperated yell, ignoring the arrow that made it's new home in the soil just a few scant inches away from where his foot would be.
"Phbbt. Those guys are so mean!" Without even hesitating, he quite literally hopped on to Validor's back, clutching to him as though he were the one that would carry his happy self all the way on to the boat - through the water.
Instead, however, in less than an instant, the duo blurred out of existence where they had been perched, and were now both safely aboard the ship that would take them to the airship midpoint. He let himself down, turning so that he could face the open-mouthed archers - and he stuck his tongue out, bringing both hands to either side of his head.
It was his childish way of celebrating their survival and making the guards look dumb.
Letting out a little noise of contentment, the boy let his knees buckle again, and he thudded rather unceremoniously on the deck. He peered upwards, at the open sky, wondering, vaguely, what they'd done to really warrant getting murdered, or even pursued by a small militia. They hadn't even been vagabonds - they had real military armor on, and all that jazz. In one way, it made Asher feel special. In another, it made him feel confused.
Especially considering he hadn't been the one who started it.
Tilting his head upward, forcing his neck to jut out he looked at Validor. Giving him a thoughtful grin, he finally stuck his tongue out at him, as well. It was accompanied by a soft giggle - one of many responses he could have had.
"Betcha were scared!" He said, continuing to laugh a little bit. He knew that neither of them were scared of anything that had just happened, but Asher hadn't suggested they make for the boat!
But at the same time, they would have missed it, otherwise.
The loud bell rang once more, as Asher yawned. He really should be getting his beauty sleep - or at least, some form of sleep. He'd been going for way more than twenty four hours, and it was starting to show.
But more than that, he really wanted some more milk.
"What... are we gonna do?" he asked, looking at him, uncertainly, as he pulled himself up to a sitting position.
"I have no more milk. I don't think I can go ON!" He pouted, wailing in an unusually quiet tone, considering they were actually out in the open, and loud wouldn't actually be a problem. He gave him his most lonesome gaze - the one that always got him the last of the food in the cafeteria, even on days when he was late - and hoped for just a little bit of compassion on the part of his unusually-gifted-swordsman friend.
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Validor kept running at a pretty fast pace, trying to escape the raging guards that pursued them tirelessly. Validor didn't even look back, but could hear the stacato foot steps of Asher running right behind him. The bells had begun ringing indicaing the departure of the boat leaving the harbor for the the airship check point, a likely place where Asher was going.
Soon he heard the twangs of bowstrings. The sound caused him to look back seeing arrows heading straight toward him. He quickly dove and rolled before recovering his running pace. He swore to himself as he again looked back to see the had brought a small group of longbow archers to try to slay them. Which was annoying all in itself. The bell rung again. Validor grimaced and increased his pace. He knew Asher could keep up. IF they did not hurridly get to the ship they would be stuck in Alexander and likely captured and executed, seen by the Queen of Alexandria herself. She was known thorughout Gaia for her cruelty towards her enemies. Validor was now up to sprint, dodging more arrows as they leapt into the air. He heard one of Asher's childish remarks, before feeling him jump right onto Validor's back. His eyes widened confused at this sudden action. Why would Asher jump onto him when he could easily out run him. But before such thoughts continued....
They were on the boat. The sun set an oragish glow on the sparkling waters as sunset permeated the scene. Validor's eyes remained widened. How did he get here? What happened thought swarned him and made his head hurt. But then he turned to Asher with his eyes wide and thoughtful as Asher was sticking his tongue out and taunting the soldiers. Validor had a companion who could teloport to different places. He guessed they were limited to distance hence why they were taking a boat, and also it probably took up alot of energy. The soldiers were enraged shouting all sorts of curses and swears, giving them the middle finger, and shouting more vulgarity. Validor simply waved it off and sighed. He then looked at Asher who fell right on his but and looked upward obviously thoughtful over what had just occured. Validor was just as confused. Who would send the Queen's army after them? And only them two? They hadn't started anything nor had they done anything worth being killed for. He sighed once again and looked at Asher who was looking up and sticking his tongue out at him as well, and even joking a bit even saying that he was scared.
"I admit, things weren't looking to well, if it wasn't for that power of yours we would've been overwhelmed by the army of Alexandria, a powerful force to be reckoned with...."
He settled back into a silence of thought thinking about the soldiers as they sailed a bit onward towards the airship check point. That was winds of change began to stir in his thoughts. He soon felt a strange alienated feeling in him again. Gaia was no longer whispering of gates and other things. something was wrong, something it did not like. Incomprehensible words swirled around in his head making him a bit dizzy. Voix de la Terra remained silent as the whispers went on. Soon they stopped, clearing Validor's head once more. Voix de la Terra then spoke to him.
You've begun a journey....
Huh..? You've begun the journey on its first step...you are destined child...destined to do great things, along with your friend, and the other allies you shall make upon your journey....
What are you talking about Terra? What journey?
That you will have to decipher yourself child...listen to the planet's whispers you shall hear of what to do.....I will always be with you Validor....but I can only do so much...the only thing I can say now is to build up your strength and your allies. Then when you are ready, you will hear the call bestowed upon you by Gaia, and you will save the world of a great suffering.....
Voix de la Terra then remained silent to all of the questions Validor was asking. Like Gaia, it only revealed so much. But now he knew he had something to do...his fate was finally beginning to unravel. He looked back at Asher who was looking meloncholy over his loss of milk. Unfortunately Validor had taken no milk and the was no bar on-board the ship. Validor frowned slightly at Asher's displeasure. He was like a small child, and Validor felt saddened by his sadness. He then put on a friendlier face.
"Don't worry Asher, next bar we hit up, I'll get you another milk, on me. No strings attatched. And hopefully we won't piss off the guards there as well!"
He gave a hearty laugh and looked onward towards where the boat was headed. They were pretty far out now but the city was still in sight. Though the guards were pesistant, he doubted they would follow them out here. they were nearing the airship docks. Validor looked at them curiously. He had never rode a airship before. They were sort of scary to him. He wasn't much of an flyer. He prefered motor cycles and chocobos over flying. He sighed. They couldn't be too bad. In fact it was exciting to experience different things. He looked back at Asher and gave him a gentle smile.
