Return of the Emblem Chapter Fourteen: Nine

[Script]

A Man Called Gar (Wow!)

This time I might just disappear~ "You can call me Gar," he answered.  Ah yeah~

[Phoenix]

Training Field

True enough, Leo had the upper body strength to crush people. That's why he preferred an axe most of the time. Play to your strengths. Still, a sword was a sword, and it would only add to his power, not diminish it. "I'll hold back a little," he promised, "but don't forget to parry whenever you can." Leo gave Amalia a few more seconds to prepare herself while he got used to the sword's weight and feel. It seemed he'd have to hold back, for his own sake as much as Amalia's; the weapon was meant for more dexterous hands than his, and full on power blows would leave him wide open if his opponent managed to bat them aside.

"Here I come!" Leo stepped in, his long sword poised from a downward strike.

"So your name is Gar ...? Like Garfield?" Vivian asked. She caught a brief snort from Suzume. "I take it you prefer just 'Gar', then?" The sound of swords clashing nearly made her jump. "What ...?"

Suzume pointed lazily at the sparring pair.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Fuck, it's you I hate the most~ "Nope," he said.   Maybe there's no guarantee~  "Maybe this conversation should be taken inside."  It doesn't matter~

[Snike]

What he thought? Lane turned towards Tonya, and considered the question for a moment.

"Well, if you have no preference, I'd say grab a defender type lance,"  he said, plainly. That lance line would directly help with her duty, and, on top of it, was relatively inexpensive for its utility. As he spoke, he noticed the bows on display. Maybe they should pick up one, as well, depending on the prince of the lance and a set of armour.

***

"Well, you do have emblem powers," Pavel said, with a shrug. "So you can find other alternatives, or learn that spell, if you want."

[Nanami Touko]

"That is likely all of what I'll be doing, Mister Leo. I can't imagine blocking any of your swings would go well for me." Though that... Is a part of this lesson, isn't it? Maybe I should try, just a bit... She grumbled a bit, furrowing her brow, but keeping enough focus to be ready for his first strike. Their blades met, for a moment, as she used his own force, and a step to the side, to guide his sword into the ground.

"Oh! Should I be, striking back? I imagine I wouldn't be since you're not wearing any armor..." A puzzle look moved its way to her face as she waited for his next attempt at a strike.

[scorri]

Erion proudly opened a door, sure that he had finally made his way back to his room, only to find a supply closet. Letting out a deep sigh, he gave up, and turned around to start retracing his steps. Heading back down the hallway, he reached the stairs and made his way back down. "So if that way is the dining room... Well I know she's not there. Maybe she's somewhere else down here." Walking down another hallway, he tried opening a few different doors along his way. Nothing especially interesting yet, but maybe he would find something eventually.

Uri made his way back into the dining room, carrying a small pile of beef. "Seraphine, I have your meal!" The dragon slowly opened an eye from where she had been snoozing, before shaking herself and racing over to the avian. Prancing around him, she nudged his leg until he put the food down at which point she promptly started wolfing the food down. "So, what were we talking about?"

[Phoenix]

Shop

"Defense, huh?" Tonya supposed that would be a good start, at least. Her defensive options had certainly been limited with the loss of her pegasus. "Alright," she nodded her agreement. Tonya wondered how she would fare on foot, and how long she'd be forced to do so. Ordinarily, when a mercenary lost her pegasus, she would have no choice but to rely on a horse from then on. Horses were less expensive than pegasi, easier to replace, and not protected by any special regulations. Tonya could always sidestep the law to acquire one, but training it would be difficult and she'd be in trouble if she got caught using a pegasus that hadn't been blessed by the church.

By the time Tonya had settled on one of two defense purposed lances, she noticed her employer was also glancing at some bows. She had mentioned them before ...

Dining Hall

"The ethics of erasing people's memory," Cassandra answered Uriel, "... versus alternatives like just killing them." She had no doubt Uriel would take plenty of options over killing someone, especially if said options actually existed.

Raquel sighed. "I still can't think of anything less violent than just making someone forget about us," she said irritably, "Maybe bribery ...? That probably wouldn't work on some people, though."

"It'd be a silly power, though," Dominik smirked, "Spawning gold left and right for bribes might work for a little while, but at some point that house of cards will come crashing down."

Hallway

"Excuse me," a young female voice caught Erion from behind, "are you lost, sir?"

Training Field

"There's nothing left to do out here," Suzume shrugged, sparing the two swordsmen a final glance. "Dinner will probably be ready soon, too."

"I should go get changed, then," Vivian said, plucking at the short sleeve on her left. "Maybe a quick bath, too."

The nearby sparring match broke momentarily. "Why wouldn't y-" Leo let his own question die unsaid, remembering that Amalia wasn't anything like the people he'd normally train with. He knew right away that it was probably better to just let her practice her defense since he was protected by nothing more than hard muscle. The guilt from nicking him here and there would only sabotage the lesson, after all. "Sure, just defend for now."

With that, Leo went in for another strike, aiming the next one at a thirty degree angle downward to prevent an easy sidestep. It was difficult for Leo not let down in his own defense now that he believed his partner wouldn't be going for any counters, but he reminded himself constantly, anyway. His attacks would hardly be realistic if he didn't have a mind for survival backing them.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

(Uuh)~ "To dinner, then," said Gar.  This time I might just disappear~

[Nanami Touko]

Amalia gave him a small tilt of her head as he cut off his question, confused as to why he wouldn't finish it, as she did have an answer! But, telling her to simply worry about herself spelled out that she wouldn't be retaliating. And worry about herself she would have to do, his next strike not something simply to deal with. She brought her sword up, a block her only option, catching his sword and cringing, as her footing was pushed back a considerable bit. "B-By Mercy, you have a heavy swing..." The whole thing had sent a nice shock down her arms, the pressure of trying to hold something like that definitely not something she'd be getting used to anytime soon.

"Y-You'll have to tell me, a-a better way than taking that, d-directly... My arms feel like jelly, hah."

[Phoenix]

Dining Hall

"I always get lost in here," Vivian blushed as she took in the empty dining hall.

"Where is everyone?" Suzume winced. This was the staff dining hall, not the guest hall, so while she expected Gar's group wouldn't be in here, she was just as surprised as Vivian not to see anyone at all. "Let's check the kitchen ..." If there was no one in there, well ...

Training Field

Leo smirked. "Had to make sure you couldn't just knock me aside or duck that," he said, stepping closer and preparing to repeat the move from the other side this time. It would undoubtedly be the weaker of the two attacks, but the angle still mirrored the previous. "Remember, how to position yourself and you can soften the hit!"

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Huh," he said.  "Even if they were serving elsewhere, you'd think there'd be someone..."  Ugh, this better not turn out to be some sneak attack...

[Nanami Touko]

"Position my--" no time to question, only time to react. Take a step back? Would that work? It was a sound idea in theory, but would it work? She'd never had a real chance to try it, but that was what practice was for! She tried to mirror Leo's step forward with her own step back, bring her sword up again to block. The impact was still sharp, if a bit less so, but not something she'd ever enjoy having to block continuously. "B-Bit better!" she called after, still cringing, but trying to smile through it. "I... A-At least understand, what you mean."

[Phoenix]

Second Kitchen

"Exactly," Suzume winced as she approached the doorway to the kitchen. She didn't know why but she was treading extremely lightly at the moment. An old sneaking habit, she concluded. She gripped the doorway frame and quietly peeked inside the kitchen. There was no one in the kitchen, but the door leading into the food storage room at the far side was ajar. Stepping upright into the kitchen, she pointed out the door. "Maybe they're in there?"

"Hello?" Vivian called out toward the door, "is anyone in there?"

"Not so loud!" What they got back was something like a failed whisper. A man looking to be in his late twenties stepped out from the food storage room and waved them over. "There's some kind of demon in here!"

Vivian leaped back at the news. Suzume merely squinted. The man's claim just didn't make sense to her. They swept the entire estate looking for demons after that last attack. Had one really been hiding in the food storage closet? Suzume could think of worse places for a hellish animal to take refuge, but still ....

Training Field

"Good!" Leo reared back for another swing, another downward strike. "I'm doing a combination this time," he warned, preparing to follow up his downward swing with a side swipe, and then the same diagonal cut that was giving Amalia trouble.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

What kind of nonsense it was he had to take this idea seriously?  "I take it this one wasn't invited in," said Gar.  "Right, did you send out for help?  Cause I could do with a stabbing before food..."

[Phoenix]

Second Kitchen

"Uh ..." the man looked embarrassed all of a sudden. "Yes and no." He glanced back at the door briefly. "We're not sure what to do with the thing and Ernesta's busy. Why don't you come have a look? But be quiet."

"I'm not going in there," Vivian squeaked. The man immediately shushed her.

"Seriously, if that thing wakes up ..."

Between Gar and herself, Suzume was feeling confident they could handle whatever was in the food storage room. It couldn't be wider than the door ... "Should we take a look?" she asked him.

[scorri]

"Lost? No, not lost. Well... Yes, lost. Though it's as much I've lost someone as I've lost my way. I mean, I've done that too, but it's more the first I'm concerned about." Turning around to face the person the voice belonged to, he shrugged. "I'm looking for one of my companions, Amalia. I looked upstairs. Or, well, tried to. But I couldn't find my room, much less one she might have picked. And then I thought she might have gone to the dining room like most of us, but then I couldn't find that. So I was just... wandering I suppose." He chuckled at himself, realizing how dumb he sounded. "So I guess if you could show me to the dining room, that would be great. Unless you somehow know where Amalia is...?" That was silly, there was no way she'd know where Amalia was.

"Mind wiping vs killing..." Uri shook his head. "Obviously I would want to avoid killing someone, but removing their memory seems almost more cruel to that person. If they die, they go to Zion and live a new life. A life of peace. Whereas removing someone's memories... That violation... You remove their self. The things that make up who they are. An act of deception and treachery such as that has such long lasting effects on the caster and the individual. Death is terrible. But so is such magic."

[-Cynthia-]

Dining Hall

Veronika had been listening to the discussion on mind magic with some interest before deciding to chime in. "I think Uri expressed my feelings on this more eloquently than I could. Perhaps logically altering someone's memories or personality is the least harmful option, but using mind magic to change someone is destroying them as a person. It's not something I'm sure I could ever stand behind."

Kitchen

I wonder how many families there are like Jethro's that have been harmed by Cygnus. I must put an end to this, one way or another... "Well, enough of this grim talk I think, seems as if they're about ready to serve. I'm feeling a bit peckish myself," Lysandra noted, making her way out of the kitchen.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Nothing to be gained for waiting," he said.  He loosed his pouch belt and quietly put it aside.

Xenia

"Makin'em forget a minute or two ain't the end of the world," Xenia chimed in.

[Phoenix]

Zzz

As it turned out, Gar and Suzume had been caught up in a cycle of curiosity that led only to new spectators, and no action. The food storage room was getting a little crowded. With the small and currently harmless demonic hound sleeping beside a badly damaged suit of armor in the northwest corner, the ten spectators prior to Gar and Suzume could watch the slumbering murder hound in relative safety.

"... I don't ..." Suzume couldn't find the words, "I ... this is ... ... shouldn't we do something?"

"I already tried to move closer and finish it off with a knife," a maid turned toward the newcomers, "something pushed me away. I tried one more time and the result was the same, so I gave up."

Memories

"Yeah, sure." Jethro turned to follow. The conversation in the dining hall seemed to involve tampering with memories. Did this have something to do with Raquel? It certainly sounded like her neck of the woods, these days. At the very least she'd been on the receiving end.

"Well my memories of the last three years," Raquel chimed in right on cue, "are gone ... or ... suppressed? Either way, I'm fine ... I think. I don't feel any less like myself or anything like that. I wouldn't take years off a person's life, either, like Xenia said."

"You might be better off without those memories," Cassandra noted with a sigh.

"Knock it off," Jethro said only noticing Serafine when he was close enough to sit down. That of course, delayed him a little.

Guide

"I don't know who in your group goes by that name," the maid admitted, "but the majority of the group is gathered in the main dining hall. There was a woman out in the training field I didn't recognize, though." The maid half turned to lead the way, either to the dining hall or wherever their lost guest decided he wanted to go. "If you'll follow me, I'll take you to the dining hall."

[Nanami Touko]

A combo? Probably everything they'd practiced. She nodded, without time to do anything else. She followed suit on his downward swing, guiding it away from her in a similar fashion as before, as she kept her sword to the side to block the swing that followed. It wasn't as difficult as what followed, there wasn't as much momentum behind it... And really, for such a big man, Leo swung quite fast. Still, Amalia was faster, keeping up with his movements, and taking the same step back as before to soften the blow. She still cried out a small, "owwww..." as his sword collided with hers. The step back helped, but it wasn't enough to stop everything.

With quivering arms, she took a step back from their engagement, shaking her free hand out. "Mercy me... Blocking is awful, haha." She at least had it in herself to chuckle. "I'll have to get quite used to it... This could take some time."

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Like, wind, or some sort of wall?" Gar asked.  If it was some sort of other invisible person like the Great Failure's minion this was bound to be annoying.  But there was bound to be some flour around here...

[Phoenix]

Second Kitchen

"It's difficult to describe," the maid said, putting a hand on her chin, "it didn't have the same sharp push as wind or wind magic would have. It was just impossible for me to get very close."

"That's definitely magic," Suzume concluded, thinking of her own shield. "Do you mind if Gar and I try a few things?"

The maid shrugged. No one was going to go inform Ernesta knowing how she'd feel about their inability to get rid of a single demon on their own, even though there seemed to be good reason as to why they couldn't. The man that had let the two of them in said, "Try not to wake it up ..."

Suzume scowled. "We're going to kill it as soon as we figure out what's causing the push back, so who cares if it wakes up?"

Training Field

"Sorry about that," Leo chuckled, "but at least you're starting to get the hang of it. The last place you want to practice blocking is on the battlefield, right?" About the only alternative Leo could offer was to get a shield or get some full plate armor. "Ready for more?" he asked, drawing back into what looked like a neutral stance.

[Nanami Touko]

"Yes. This is going to be far better for me after we're done, but... I'll definitely be dodging whatever I can, unless I am forced to take the hit. Still, this is a good learning process for my footwork. I can't translate just everything from dancing to fighting, it seems." Ready for more, though... Was she? Her back ached, her arms stung... It wasn't the best situation, was it? But she didn't just want to leave him with just this, she'd asked! And he seemed to be enjoying himself some. As long as she didn't cause Uriel any trouble with healing, it was fine to continue... Probably.

"Of course. I appreciate all the help. Let's go for some more."

[scorri]

"Are you lacking your memories because someone invaded your mind or simply because of some trauma? And do you really feel ok without those memories anymore? They are a part of you. It is still an invasion of your rights and your self." Uri shook  his head. "Neither option is right. There must be a better way."

Meanwhile Serafine glanced up at the newcomer. She had just finished her food and had been planning on taking a nap, but the new person was interesting as well. She walked over to him and started to sniff at his shoes. Maybe he had food too.

 

Erion considered his options before giving a small nod. "Actually, could you take me to the training field? It might be her and I can always go back to the dining hall if it isn't."

[scorri]

"Are you lacking your memories because someone invaded your mind or simply because of some trauma? And do you really feel ok without those memories anymore? They are a part of you. It is still an invasion of your rights and your self." Uri shook  his head. "Neither option is right. There must be a better way."

Meanwhile Serafine glanced up at the newcomer. She had just finished her food and had been planning on taking a nap, but the new person was interesting as well. She walked over to him and started to sniff at his shoes. Maybe he had food too.

 

Erion considered his options before giving a small nod. "Actually, could you take me to the training field? It might be her and I can always go back to the dining hall if it isn't."