Re: Road to Magnolia[Open]

by **Anubis** Thu Jul 31, 2014 6:56 am

He continues to stare, his lips quivering before he blurts out her cheeky response and he burst out into laughter a few moments after her his grin returning to his face upon her words, his laughter dies down into snickers and he answers with a "I tried my hardest though!" He counters with his grin widening as he attempts to get his sudden case of uncontrollable laughter under actual control. He wipes a laughter induced tear from his eye whilst grinning, he waves off her apology and responds with a simple "Everyone needs to laugh once in awhile." he says whilst shrugging his shoulders, even in times of hardship, children need to play once in awhile, even in times of grief, you should gaze up at the sky and think of something that can make one smile...
Even when alone in this world, people can give you a reason to make friends.

Even harsh words can inspire something good, they can motivate someone..Even when trying to break someone down, you can build them up...Make them try harder, even if it's to show you up or something..
Something good from something bad, hope from pain....Pain is good, pain means you're still alive.
Human beings are evil, that is something the existence known as Anubis Blake firmly believes in, but he also believes that have the potential to be good..really good. Athest trusted him as his son, Anubis can make sure he at least spreads some of that good around...
He'd think about a guild, but he can't be tied down to one place and still help people all over can he? He's heading to Magnolia to find Athest, but who knows how long he's gonna be there!

He'll definitely have to head out first thing tomorrow.
The waiter arrives and Anubis's eyes light up with joy again as he eagerly returns to searching the menu, he then points out a steak that is served charred and rare, to preserve the flavor and the texture of the beef, he also orders a small plate of chocolate squares, kinda like cookies...and they have a minty flavor too!
He likes mint. Glancing up he blinks and speaks in slight confusion "Ehhh? That all you're ordering??" He asks tilting his head slightly and leaning down "You're hungry right? Might as well eat good while ya can you know!" He exclaims with his grin returning to his face.

by **Marianne Greire** Sat Aug 02, 2014 12:28 am

Mari was glad that Anubis started laughing with her. Mainly because if he didn't, she'd be laughing by herself which she thought could get awkward fast. Not for her but for him. She didn't care whether she was ever in an 'awkward' situation. People would only think it was an awkward situation if she thought she was in one and she loved those kinds of things so most of the time, she didn't think it was. Mari's giggles only magnified when he said he tried his hardest. This prevented her from saying anything else. She had calmed down around the same time as Anubis and smiled without conviction at his response. "Yeah, that's true," she said, her voice trailing off. It was nice to laugh with a friend, if she could even let herself call him one that is.

Nowadays people became friends with anyone but most weren't true friendships. Most people she knew viewed them as conveniences and ways to get more power through connection. Plenty of people in Shadow Heart was like that. At least on the positive side, they were talking to others, never getting lonely. They'd have to tolerate all the backstabbing. Now that she thought about it, besides wanting to rebel, she probably also had her act to prevent others from bothering to be her friend because she appeared to know a high ranking person in the guild.

Mari watched Anubis order his food after while these thoughts were running through her head. She thought she was an optimistic person. She saw the pluses in life. She heard him order steak and chocolate and dryly thought he was an optimistic person too. Who could eat steak AND chocolate without vomiting? She shuddered. She wasn't a sweet tooth nor was she someone who liked eating that heavy meat. If she had her way, she'd be a vegetarian. As it was, wilderness survival often involved the targeting of edible animals and she needed to be able to survive out there.

Suddenly a big ehhhh? popped her mini bubble of thought. She laughed at his surprise, doing a wave gesture with her hand. "Don't be shocked! I like what I'm ordering," What she ordered was a toasted sandwich. Yup, she goes to some nice restaurant and she orders breakfast. It was still gourmet though! She was about to shoo the waiter off when she had a better idea stemming from Anubis's statement of enjoying food while she could. "Hey, can I change my order to a kid's meal so like, I get the sorbet and drink for like, cheaper?" she asked in an innocent voice. The waiter looked at her as if she'd asked whether she could jump off the roof. "Kid's meals are for kids and the meal becomes smaller," he said plaintively. She snorted and adopted her character more. "B-but I am a kid! I'm four! And a half! The half's very very very important," she said, pouting. He still stared at her weirdly. She didn't look four. "My birthdays on the 29th of February so it has only come four times so far," she added. When she acted like this, it wasn't hard to believe she was a really mature (body wise) twelve year old with the mentality of a seven year old. Her face looked young which helped. Finally the waiter relented. "O--okay," Mari didn't believe ever seeing someone run off that quickly.

She turned back to face Anubis and hoped he wasn't scared off. "There! I'm gonna enjoy my food more," She sat back into her chair with a grin on her face and folded her arms. Mission accomplished.

by **Anubis** Sat Aug 02, 2014 1:48 am

Anubis hums before shrugging, looking a bit unconvinced before he pauses and watches the interaction between Anna and the Waiter, his grin returns before vanishing and he blinks at the 'reveal' of her age and he blinks with a slight frown wondering about that statement and if it was true or not...He's naive but not exactly gullible, logically he can see maybe a younger pre-teen but she's actually fairly...well...ahem..well developed, so he can't say for sure.
Then she brings up her date of birth causing him to blink and look even more confused, then she speaks and he blinks before snickering again his grin returning to his face as he realizes what the exchange really entailed.

It was kind of mean, but not exactly unappreciated...there prices are fairly high, still he'll make sure to give that waiter a larger tip, he knows it's wrong but the grin on his face tells he did think it was pretty funny "F-four and a half?" He asks trying to keep from laughing as he glances towards where the waiter ran off to his eyes twinkling in amusement from the entire exchange that she just had, also the fact that the man went along with it..either that or went to go get the manager...He hopes it's the former, he's having a nice time with his new friend, it'd be a shame to be thrown out of the restaurant and have there time cut short.

by **Marianne Greire** Sun Aug 03, 2014 3:27 am

Mari knew what she did was kind of mean but she accepted that as a fact of life. She thought of being mean as a survival instinct. People wanted to feel safe. Being mean sent others into submission. Submissive people equated to no danger thus safe. Her kind of mean was so that Anubis had to pay less. It was a bit unsettling to see him not running away from her and instead laughing. She was used to people giving her disapproving looks or asking why she had done it. Her previous action had been a bit on the impulsive side and had she thought it through, she might not have. She decided to put her thoughts in a musty old corner though. "Yep, four and a half. I'm actually 18 thus the half being important. Well I think I am 18, possibly older, possibly younger. I had amnesia so I'm not too sure." she affirmed. She was telling the truth on that one. She kept silent for a moment before she decided to ask how old he was. "How old are you?"

A minute later the waiter came back and put her drink down. "There you are Miss," he said politely before backing away. Acting on an impulse, she grabbed the waiter's arm and smiled. "Thank you," she said, letting him go soon after. To anyone else besides her, she appeared to be just thanking him. What she had done whilst thanking him was put some extra change in his pocket because it wasn't his fault she was cheating the restaurant of some money. He could decide whatever he wanted to do with it. Give it to the manager, keep it, she didn't care. As long as he didn't lost it. That would be a waste of money.

by **Anubis** Sun Aug 03, 2014 1:00 pm

He blinks leaning up as she explains the 'half' and he finds himself tilting his head to the left thoughtfully as she mentions being an amnesiac, he nods in some understanding but he doesn't wish too delve too deeply into that. She brought it up as an explanation, but he does allow himself to simply smile instead of grin his eyes lidding as he allows a slightly melancholy look to spread across his face. He feels a bit of sadness for this fact, he'd hate to lose the memories he has, of Kariya, of Zoukens final months...Of Athest and what it's like to have a Father..

He blinks out of his revery looking slightly started, he then tilts his head to the left and furrows his eyebrows in thought at the question, tilting his head downwards he raises his hands and ticks down onto his fingers, counting backwards whilst his lips mouth the sequence before chewing on it softly in thought.. "Ummm..." He begins with an awkward grin and a nervous chuckle "Eighteen?" He says in a manner that can be construed as unsure if that's correct or not..
It appears he's lost track, but he figures he's pretty close! Maybe only off by one year or two!
Still he awkwardly scratches the back of his neck as he ponders this dilemma which is actually fairly embarrassing considering his own apparent age..Birthdays are weird too, Athest gave him a few but he couldn't remember when they were..

Glancing towards the waiter as he comes over he grins politely, his eyes flicking down as Anna grasps at his arm, he blinks in surprise at the action, he grins at her when she thanks him unaware of what just occurred if he did become aware..he'd probably buy her more food, since that was pretty nice. Still he grins at her "That was nice of you." He comments offhandedly, realizing that he didn't order a drink in the back of his mind..
He'll wait for the waiter to come back.

by **Marianne Greire** Mon Aug 04, 2014 8:51 am

It was a good thing Anubis didn’t realise she had slipped the waiter money. The main purpose of doing her whole act had been to let him pay less. She noticed when she had said she was an amnesiac his face changed as if he was reminiscing. If she had known what he was thinking she would have disagreed greatly. While the memories she had lost were important, they were things she’d rather not know about. She always had that burning curiosity to find out what happened during those four years but yet, whenever she actually had those dreaded flashes, there was nothing more she wanted besides escaping the memory. She couldn’t escape it once it came. It was like seeing herself from outside her head. She could see what she was doing and she would try and yell at herself to stop. But she never would. She never could. However, she didn’t know that so instead, was wondering what he was thinking about.

A pang of jealousy hit her. He must have had some kind of good life unlike her. She turned her head to the side to hide her emotions, appearing to be gazing out of the window. She shouldn’t be jealous. She had her own family. One that loved her yet one she couldn’t be with for fear of letting them get involved in her affairs. She looked back shortly after, a smile still on her face and chuckled slightly at Anubis’s struggle to figure out his age. “Okay, we’ll just say you’re eighteen,” she agreed. Even for someone in the countryside to not know how to calculate their age easy was strange.

After Mari had thanked the waiter, she heard the boy across from her say that was nice. She looked down, not meeting his gaze. She had an ulterior motive in doing so. She didn’t think she deserved praise. She chose not to respond. She looked up and decided to change the topic. She recalled him wanting to go to Magnolia to find his father. “So, you’re going to Magnolia to find your father right? What happened?” she asked in a friendly tone, unconsciously placing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She didn’t mean to offend him.

by **Anubis** Mon Aug 04, 2014 12:27 pm

The young mans cheeks manage to fill with color slightly in slight embarrassment as she agrees with him, how many years was he in chains...? How many years was he with Athest? How many years has he been searching now..? He misses his Father, he was all he had left to form a true bond with after Kariya and Zouken passed..He hasn't had much of a reprieve, he's got some friends sure..
But his family is gone, his only family left is gone...This is the only lead he's gotten in years, he hopes against hope that it yields results..
A Dragon in Magnolia, if that's Athest then he'll ask him to come home..He misses his Father.

Time flew by so quick, seasons passed him by and he grew taller..got stronger, how long has it really been? This question has caught him off guard a bit, not because it's startling but because he's been searching for such a long time now..
No need to worry his friend though, his thoughts are hidden behind a grin that looks a bit strained with these thoughts..
And it shrinks when she asks her question about his Father. He allows a small sad smile to cross his face "I'm not sure, one day we were talking...I went out to hunt..came back and he was gone..At first I thought he was just out to stretch his wings but..he never came back.." He says not even noticing the strangeness of that comment, Dragons had wings after all, he'd fly all the time if he could! Still...He doesn't like to think that he was abandoned...but sometimes the thought crosses his mind before he squashes it fiercely..
Athest taught him everything, this has to be some kind of...something! Maybe he's lost? Trying to look for him just as Anubis is searching for his Father..
He grins wide and says with a bit more excitement returning to his face saying "But I hear he might be in Magnolia!" He chuckles once leaning back in his seat in a manner that looks excited at the concept of reuniting with his father..

by **Marianne Greire** Tue Aug 05, 2014 4:58 am

When Mari heard his response to her question, some of the blood drained out of her face. Wait...out to stretch his wings? Depending on the way she took that, she could either think Anubis was some kind of half beast or that he was one of the...fabled dragon slayers. Her thoughts raced around frantically. Did they really exist? It would make sense if he was. He had trouble calculating his age, he had never been to the city before...his curiosity at everything...he HAD to be a dragon slayer. She shook her head brusquely and closed her eyes. "Excuse me for a moment, I'm going to...the restroom," she said with a weak smile, pushing out her chair and walking in a daze towards her supposed destination.

Once inside, she entered a cubicle and leaned against the door. If what Anubis had heard was right, and what she figured out was true, then there was a dragon in Magnolia. A giant freaking dragon. Wouldn't Shadow Heart have been notified?...oh right. She didn't hold much of a great status. She wouldn't have been told even if they knew about it. She bit her lip. What was she going to do? She knew of her guild wanting to track down the dragon slayers and learn more about them but she didn't know why. It seemed a little dangerous to be spilling out that kind of information about one's self. She guessed Anubis could probably hold his own in a fight but from his previous actions, she didn't think he even knew what he said could sound suspicious.

The young woman gathered her thoughts and exited out of the restroom and back to the table where she hoped Anubis was. However, she remained standing by the side. "Can you come outside for a moment?" she asked softly, her gaze serious. She held out her hand for him to take.

by **Anubis** Tue Aug 05, 2014 12:04 pm

His friends face loses some color and he frowns with a bit of worry at the sudden change in her demeanor, she seems to shake something off before standing and leaving abruptly towards the bathroom. He blinks and uses a single digit to lightly scratch his cheek in worry and a bit of confusion. Is she sick? Did he say something to upset her?
He sighs as the food arrives casting a polite smile towards the waiter, handing the man a slightly generous tip for his work...Also other reasons involving his guest but let's forget that.

The Shadow Dragon Slayer pouts slightly before he frowns and instead of focusing on his sadness..
Takes his emotions out on his steak devouring it at a rather fast pace, his fork and knife cutting a path of destruction across the plate, no morsel left untouched, no small amount of green bean or piece of corn left to live, complete food genocide occurs by the maw of the Dragon Slayer..!
He pauses mid-bite as his friend makes her reappearance, he raises an eyebrow and swallows as she asks him to step outside.

He nods, slowly looking a bit wary of the sudden serious expression on the woman's face, standing he plops down some money on the table before taking the woman's hand still looking a bit confused asking simply "What's going on?" He follows regardless but suddenly starts taking glances at the shadows around them, most would view this as a fear that something would jump out at them and Anubis simply being paranoid..
Unless they knew what type of Dragon Slayer he actually was.

by **Marianne Greire** Wed Aug 06, 2014 9:56 am

As soon as Anubis took her hand she started to drag him to the back of the restaurant. She ignored his question and brushed past several customers giving them curious looks. Once, she glanced back at the boy behind her to see his expression. He seemed confused. She wasn't surprised. Once there were in a place where she deemed it safe to communicate without being heard she stopped walking and turned around to face him. "Are you a dragon slayer?" she asked, her eyes serious.

She wasn't sure what she expected his response would be. From what she had overheard, they were generally secretive...unless they were the Ice Dragon Slayer - the rumours surrounding them were many in number. While she looked at him in the eye, she gave a quick scan of the area through her peripheral vision. She was probably paranoid but she didn't want any Shadow Heart members or shifty people around. They'd probably attack him or something. She wasn't planning on attacking him so she hoped he wouldn't attack her. She noticed his gaze kept on darting to the shadows and wondered if he was paranoid as well. He didn't seem like the paranoid type if she went by his previous actions. Maybe...She shifted her gaze to the shadows, suddenly wary. He wasn't planning on...attacking her was he? Shadows. It made sense. There was the possibility she was completely wrong but she couldn't shake off her suspicion.

Mari really didn't know what she'd do if he said yes. Tell him to not go to Magnolia? Tell him to be less liberal with his descriptions? Tell him that a dark guild was investigating Dragon Slayers? She brushed off her concerns. There was always something she could do.

by **Anubis** Wed Aug 06, 2014 3:07 pm

He's dragged along by the woman wondering what all this is about, his eyes still flicking around cautiously as she leads him into a rather secluded alleyway behind the restaurant, pushing past customers and annoyed looking patrons. However due to the strangeness of the situation he doesn't pay them much mind, this is troubling..

What's happened? What could have possibly brought up this strange reaction and sudden very serious shift in mood..? They stop and she turns and he waits for a declaration of some kind of trouble in any form, like a villain he has to fight or something..
Then a simple question pops out and he blinks in surprise at it, he tilts his head to the left looking a bit confused simply saying "Yes..?" He answering while raising an eyebrow in a bit of confusion over the strange reaction to this information being brought to light. He's confused about why this would matter to anyone, sure his magic is particularly powerful but his particular usage of his magic is less about overwhelming force and is a bit...
Shadier..Not much use or a threat to someone of overwhelming power..although his managing of bandits and certain crooks might sit bad with some people...But what can he do?

He had to help. That's all there is to it.

by **Marianne Greire** Thu Aug 07, 2014 8:49 am

Okay so he said yes. Honestly Mari had no idea why she was even bothering so much. She practically met him only about an hour or so ago (or longer if being on the same train counted). Mari relaxed in her intensity level from about an 8 to a 4. She slumped her shoulders slightly. "Okay," she said on an instinct. If only she knew what her guild really wanted with Dragon Slayers then she'd be able to really know what to do. She hated being in the dark. She sighed and straightened up again, looking at the young man before her again. "You realise that being a Dragon Slayer is a big deal right?" she decided to say "And usually people don't mention having fathers out to stretch their wings?" She was about to continue on and say that many people would want having such a legendary mage on their side when she hesitated.

It struck her then why she was being a bit paranoid about him leaking his dragon slayer status to everyone. It was because of what happened to her. She didn't want him to conk out for who knows how long and then wake up to a living hell. She wanted him to stay as he was, all happy-go-lucky, and not turn all dark and twisted like she. She didn't want him to become wanted in a dark guild. She bet he didn't have allegiances to anyone and so if her guild found out about him they would most likely try and recruit him. She sighed. She was hardly going to tell him any of that. She didn't plan on spilling her secrets to protect someone else. She almost hated herself for having that thought. Almost.

Mari guessed she was probably undermining his strength by thinking thoughts like that. "I'm sorry for being overly paranoid, it's just..." she gestured helplessly, unsure of what she could say next.

by **Anubis** Thu Aug 07, 2014 4:14 pm

Her shoulders slump as he gives his answer causing his eyebrows to furrow slightly in more confusion, his own frame loses it's tension slowly as no threat seems to be coming as she begins speaking still staring at him. His face returns to it's confused look with a small pouting frown his eyebrow raised in questioning and confusion as she simply begins explaining that being a Dragon Slayer is a big deal. He knew his type of magic was rare, that it was also very powerful...But isn't that also true for all sorts of magic?

He frowns a bit at the mention of his Father crossing his arms over his chest slightly before she pauses, his gaze softens and she apologizes...
He sighs slightly before smiling sincerely "You're a good person." He says simply before his grin returns full force "So why is being a Dragon Slayer a big deal?" He asks looking enthusiastic again while awaiting an answer from his friend, besides he'd like to know what it is he'd have to keep an eye out for. His Father, Athest always taught him to gather information when possible. Information is a weapon that can win a confrontation. It's a good idea to know why he should hide his particular brand of Magic. Not to mention Anna looks a bit sad, so making sure she's forgiven for whatever it is she thinks she did wrong and then pressing on with something that..well might actually be very important, is another good idea of his.

by **Marianne Greire** Fri Aug 08, 2014 10:31 am

She watched his facial expression and her already wavering confidence faltered even more. It completely stopped when he said she was a good person. She cast her gaze to the floor and twitched uncomfortably. If only he knew. While she had promised herself to never regret, she had never made a promise to ever forgive. It was her own fault and she had to face the facts - even if all the things she'd done unconsciously in the war didn't count, she still was in a dark guild...and dark guilds were called dark for a reason. She took a breath and dispersed her thoughts. She took a moment more to recover scraps of her happy self.

She was prepared to look up and suggest to drop the topic altogether when he asked a question that no matter the state of her mind, she would be truly, 100% shocked. She jerked her head up and dropped her jaw. For a couple of seconds she stayed like that before she buried her face in her arm and started to laugh. She looked up again and broke into a big smile, her eyes alight once more. "I can't believe you don't know why." she said, her voice full of amused disbelief "Dragon Slayers are a big deal because you can only learn the magic...from dragons! Dragons are pretty rare, around 7 or 8? And from what I've heard, they've disappeared altogether. That's only a rumour though; it's the best kind of information I ever get. Not to mention the only." She laughed slightly at the end and decided to stop talking then. She mentally hit herself. It was a bit suspicious saying rumours were her only source of information. If she went further that would defeat the purpose of her keeping secrets.

In order to avoid questions, she swallowed her saliva as if she had stopped because of the inner workings of her mouth and continued on. "Do you get it? Basically, dragon slayers have the magic of dragons and dragons, being the strange mythical creatures they are, have legendary strength." She paused 'yet again' to see if he got it.

by **Anubis** Fri Aug 08, 2014 9:20 pm

He frowns with his cheeks coloring in embarrassment his friend laughing quite plainly at his lack of information, her amused look making him pout a bit in a dejected manner. It's not his fault he doesn't know any of this, he's only been traveling around the outer region since Athest hates humans, he doubted that he'd go to populated areas...
That is until he heard about one in Magnolia, Athest is the only Dragon he's ever met so he hoped it would be him.
His frame stiffens a bit and his head inclines downward a bit at the next part of her words, his hair shading his eyes and he clenches his fists tight, he allows himself to relax as he sighs out..as if deflating "Disappeared..? All of them..? No ones seen any dragons??" He asks looking much less happy with this situation, in fact his eyes seem a bit colder now a frown on his face showing straight disappointment.

He nods his head after a moment whilst shrugging his shoulders, looking frustrated for the first time in awhile "My strength doesn't feel legendary to me, I mean sure..I think I'm kinda strong but everybody likes to think that." He says with a small chuckle his smile returning in a very small shadow of it's former self.

Running his hand through his hair in an annoyed manner he glances upwards towards the sky "Well, I can't just stop looking.." He admits to himself rather then to her, but still he says it out loud "Maybe he flew over Magnolia, it's still my best bet even if it isn't him..Or even if it's just a lie." He says his grin returning "I'll be sure to be careful, thanks Anna!" He exclaims with a chuckle.
His eyes don't sparkle this time, he's frustrated, sad and hurt. All the Dragons have vanished...?
All of them...So either those guys lied to him as he briefly asked them about it..
Or a Dragon is in Magnolia..According to what she said It's a one in eight chance for it to be Athest..
He'll just have to take the chance, he can't believe that they just left...
There has to be a reason..

by **Marianne Greire** Sun Aug 10, 2014 12:59 am

Mari noticed his mood die down a little more when she mentioned that all the dragons disappeared. She could only guess that his dragon father must have been important in his life. She didn't have the heart to verbally confirm his question about the dragons so she simply shook her head, avoiding his gaze. She began to feel that slicing envy make a reappearance and struggled to maintain control. The best thing she could do was dream. And so her mind began to flutter away from the conversation and floated in the clouds, daydreaming. She was still listening though. He was saying something about not feeling that his strength was legendary. She wondered if he had fought a serious fight before.

"Do you want to try out your so-called legendary strength on me and let me be the judge of that?" she found herself asking in a playful tone. Wait. Did she just suggest they spar? Okay, she was beginning to creep herself out. She liked peace. She was a pacifist. Well she said she was one. The girl exited out of her thoughts and returned to the moment. Maybe he'd just consider her asking him as a joke. Yeah, that would work...although some part of Mari did want to see how strong he was. She shook her head. That was an absurb thought.

She returned her full attention to his dialogue and did her best to avoid thinking about her previous thoughts. She felt a pang of sadness for him when he said he couldn't stop looking. She wondered if it was like what Pieter and Sabby wanted to do for her. Her gaze grew distant. When she told them she had joined it was like the floodgates opening. She had been met with a torrent of tears. Sabby in particular pained her. Pieter accepted her decision eventually but Sabby never came to terms. She vowed to find a way to get her out of Shadow Heart. She tried to avoid her sister since then, not being able to bear the sight of her.

It didn't take long for her to snap out of it though. "Wait...lies?" she asked him cautiously "Where did you hear this information from?" If he was trying to make her feel assured he was definitely failing.

by **Anubis** Sun Aug 10, 2014 5:51 am

He blinks in surprise at the sudden challenge, before he realizes it his muscles tighten again, his body returning to it's coiled state..Draconic instincts settling in with the urge to fight and dominate. He idly realizes he's never fought another Mage before, his grin turns a bit more excited, before it vanishes as she shakes her head..
He finds a pout forming at the sudden shift his excitement turning into a bit of disappointment at being offered a new exciting challenge and having it retracted..
Still, she looked as if she regretted asking, so he won't press the issue..

He ignores the burning sensation of his fighting spirit and simply focuses on the more important matter at hand, he frowns now. Thinking back he's fairly sure he was being tricked by those people..But even now he can't help but want to follow that lie...

Call him weak if you will, but he doesn't think he can handle the cold harsh half-truth that he's been abandoned..The lie is something he..at least for now...Is choosing to believe in, despite even his doubts to the truth of the matter..
Sighing out in one of the more audible sounds of discontent he's made he states "A group of passer-by's who heard I was looking for Athest...My Father." He clarifies a moment later before crossing his arms, his frown looking more frustrated now then sad, however he'd much prefer to be happy...he can't focus on that right now so the frown mars his usually rather happy face..the frown looks quite unnatural one would think after seeing him smile for so long.
He shakes his head his raven locks swaying with the motion as he shrugs his shoulders "Told me there are Dragons in Magnolia." he finishes, he was near the borders, into the countryside far from the cities and more heavily populated areas.
Farming communities..Places like that, he's been traveling for awhile to get here...

He hates trains. And Boats. He hates being sick period, that feeling of helplessness is something he can't stand even to this day...
It reminds him too much of the shackles.

by **Marianne Greire** Sun Aug 10, 2014 8:11 am

For Mari, it was quite frankly, unnatural to see a genuinely unhappy facial expression on Anubis Blake's better than your average face. It made her want to make him smile again. He seemed pained by the simple action of frowning and she didn't like that. But...

It was suspicious. It was deeply suspicious. It was more than the average suspicion that the shifty guy from across the road was ripping you off. And the dragon whom was his father was called Athest. She didn't know who Athest was but if someone was telling someone else looking for a dragon called Athest told that someone that they could find one in Magnolia, she was reluctant to believe the amount of truth in that statement. If anything she would believe it to be a trap. Most people after hearing that would shake their head and frown at you like you were a lunatic for believing dragons existed. She was about to tell him that when a thought occurred to her...maybe by dragons, they meant dragon slayers? She heard rumours about that more often than actual dragons. She would want to investigate if that were so. Less for Shadow Heart and more because she wanted to. Still...it could be a trap. Lines of concern appeared on her forehead.

She wanted to forget about this whole dragon thing for the moment. She could always come back to it. It was doing her head in. Besides his general frowniness about the subject was too distracting, not to mention uncomfortable. She took a deep breath and looked back up at him, smiling dazzlingly. "You know what? I think I need a distraction. Want to actually take me up on my previous offer?" she said. While half of her couldn't believe she was actually asking for a fight, the other part of her wanted to. She usually tried to restrain that part that raged feral on missions but at the moment, the urge was too strong. She just needed to control it later. Besides, she had a feeling Anubis would like it. She got the notion that he was looking forward to a fight when she brought it up.

by **Anubis** Sun Aug 10, 2014 5:59 pm

He blinks again and his eyes light up with a hungry sort of excitement, the urge for direct combat between himself and a strong opponent rearing it's head as he grins and with a quick shift in his weight begins bouncing on the balls of his feet from left to right building up a slight rhythm in his growing excitement. It'd be unfair in his eyes if she called it off a second time after getting him so worked up so with a simple eager nod he accepts, pushing back all the sadness in favor of the excitement of a new challenge.

This will be the first time he's ever fought another Mage one on one, the others simply came from him beating up on hordes of bandits, which taught him hit and run tactics and maneuverability but he's heard fighting Mages is something on a whole different level. His eyes flick towards his surroundings briefly, fifteen crates, three chairs, pipes along the walls and no windows in the dark alleyway, sunlight peaking over the southern wall creating a wide area of black which they used for the privacy of there conversation..it's a bit narrow for a real fight..But if she insists...he can't help but oblige her, especially right now. The shadows surrounding them seem to quiver in tune with his excitement, his stance shifting to only show her the left profile of his body, his fists raising upwards as he shifts his weight from one foot to another...
A Boxing stance, his knee's slightly bent as he bounces lightly on the balls of his feet, keeping him agile while his stance stays grounded, the rhythmic tapping of his shoes hitting the pavement creating a strange atmosphere as shadows seem to flow from his frame, his eyes glowing a dim red making his friendly grin unintentionally seem a bit more ominous as his features become a bit obscured..the white of his grin, the red of his eyes and the silhouette of his hair making a rather strange sight. A Black Dragon spreading it's wings, he wants this spar, really really bad. The slightly childish excitement burns inside of him and his chuckle breaks the image of horror like a rock hitting glass. No killing intent, just pure excitement for a fight between friends.

It's also worth noting that he's a feminist at heart...and as such he has no problem punching his pretty friend right in the face if the opportunity presents itself, he won't go easy on her as his current view on her is quite high as a person as such it reflects on her fighting capabilities...however he's never seen her fight and has no idea what kind of magic she'll use..

Another reason for not holding back..which is surprisingly pragmatic for him.

by **Marianne Greire** Mon Aug 11, 2014 8:40 am

((I switched back to my very initial present tense…I think it’d suit better if we’re in the same tense if they’re sparring and all :) ))

Mari knows she was right in thinking he wanted a fight. She can tell that in the way his eyes lit up, the way he is bouncing. She can’t back down now. She calmly takes a breath. Her reservations must be stored if she was to fight properly. She guesses that wold be fine as long as she didn’t use that. While she assumes he wouldn’t have heard of her epithet during possession, her control became reduced. If she lost control and caused damage, she would never forgive herself. She stands perfectly still and simply smiles at him. She has already observed the area around and the tiniest sliver of a plan has begun to form. She knows it is slightly cramped but cramped places are her favourite area to fight in. They gave her a perfect opportunity to exercise her magic well.

All around Anubis, the shadows begin to create an atmosphere about him that appears ominous to Mari. The edges of her mouth quirks up further. She was right before in thinking that he was the Shadow Dragon Slayer. It was slightly creepy but then she could be slightly creepy too. Before she attacks though, she decides to analyse her clothing. She is wearing a skirt and a blouse - definitely not her ideal clothes for battle. At least they allow for movement. It makes her wonder why she even bothered wearing that for missions before she remembers that she usually changed to prevent recognition. They’d probably rip easy. For his clothing, she guesses that would work in her favour; provided he doesn’t take off any.

After her quick analysis, the first thing she does is rush towards him. Just before she reaches him, she averts her body to one side. If he attacks her by punching or kicking, she would grab the arm or leg and twist it. If he tried grappling her, she’d move further to avoid. If he does anything else, she would improvise there and then. She is doing this more to see how fast he is rather than to attack him. She guesses he will be faster than her like most people but she prefers to have a direct measure to go by.

by **Anubis** Tue Aug 12, 2014 12:04 am

(No problem, also I don't know if this is a big deal or not but since the side bar level thingy hasn't appeared yet I'm just gonna post my stats here for reference lol XD

Spoiler:

Hidden in the spoiler! O.O]

Knuckles pop as his fists tense, his eyes narrow but his grin remains as Anna rushes forward and he pushes forward to meet her, her frame curves in an attempt to dash past him, his eyes analyzing her own method of movement. With a quick push from his right foot and a pivot of his hips he moves away adjacent to her own frame as she flies past, simultaneously turning his body to keep himself facing her. His back foot stops him before he utilizes it to push forward his right fist drawing back very wide over his shoulder to attempt a punch, if caught his left fist would attempt to curve inwards aiming for the side of his friends head in order to loosen the grip. If avoided he utilizes his forward foot to step backwards out of melee range.

His own clothing is actually quite nonrestrictive, but not completely un-hindering, the long coat-tails being a prime example of the slightly unneeded addition..He got these clothes from a butler who he saved who noted the clothes he wore before were becoming rather small on him..
So he gave him some of his suits, the vest is an addition by a nice old woman in a working community that he befriended. She gave him the vest so he'd stay a bit warmer in the cooler climates of the more snowy mountain ranges..
His grin is still in place, his eyes shimmering with excitement behind the crimson glow, would it be okay to use some of his magic?? Should he use his magic? He has some smaller spells suited for this kind of thing...Is that okay? This is fun. This is fun. This is fun. This is really fun! Is a mantra he's starting to repeat to himself with a small chuckle his eyes watching her cautiously...but also with a bit of..impatience.
He wants her to attack, he wants to counter-attack. He really loves this, he realizes in the back of his mind, fighting for fun...Not to save someone, just two people mutually deciding to test there mettle...for recreational purposes! No nasty bloodshed or some kind of ulterior motive..

Kinda like dancing or a sport or something...
This is fun. This is fun. This is really fun!
Continues forth in his mind and his palms become visible as he unclenches his fists shifting his stance to something a bit wider, his fingers curled slightly as the rhythm becomes a bit more pronounced, his legs making wider sweeps from side to side crouching slightly.
His arms curl from side to side in time with his step. One more style he's not a master of, but knows enough for use in combat, Boxing potentially holds the strongest punches. This style though an abrupt shift, might just be the one with the strongest kicks.

It's also famous as a counter-style if one were to do the necessary research into it, Anubis's Ginga is still a bit off, but well balanced in it's execution.

by **Marianne Greire** Tue Aug 12, 2014 6:36 am

((Ahaha okay, I will look into the spoiler for reference for now :) I suggest PMing a staff member to add in the attributes in the side profile *nods*))

Anubis meets her rush with an attempt to punch her with his right fist. As predetermined, she tries to catch it. She does this by making herself fall towards his right side, feet first, and reaching for his arm. This ensures her body weight falls on it. Once she clasps her hands over it firmly, she lets herself swing to the ground behind him in an attempt to cause some strain in his arm. On the way down, she shifts her head to the right causing his following hook to miss. Once she hits the ground with her feet in position to spring back up, she lets go of his arm to instead let her gain extra balance. She’s aware that he’s in prime position to kick her if he chose to and so she puts her weight on her left leg before springing back up and moving some distance away.

Once she is safe, her mind goes into her analysis. From her rush she deduces that he is very fast and about as strong as her. She decides that to handle his faster agility it is best to let him attack her rather than vice versa. She also thinks she could use that tail coat of his to her advantage. All the while during her deduction, she keeps an eye on Anubis. He has shifted into a more dance-like stance unlike his previous boxer stance. This tells her he plans on using more kicks. She recognises the stance as a Capoeira movement. It places him in a good position for a number of movements and she decides that due to her slowness she would have to use a spell in order to attack him rather than directly engaging in physical combat. This isn’t much to her liking since she prefers counter-attack much more to attack. However, she thinks waiting for him to attack would be put her at a disadvantage.

She’s a bit on an actress and so she fakes running at him again. Her true intention is to divert his attention from the crates and piping surrounding him. They are beginning to glow faintly gold and start to shake violently. Soon enough Mari skids to a halt and flings her arms forwards. A haze of crates and broken pipes fly towards Anubis. If they miss they would crash into one another, creating an unpleasant crunching noise while an array of splinters, bent pipes and contents inside the boxes fell to the ground.

190/200 MP:

by **Anubis** Tue Aug 12, 2014 12:35 pm

The grip on his arm only causes a strange pleased spark to enter his eye and he lashes out with a punch, a simple hook, which misses, causing his grin to widen even as he slightly winces from the pressure put upon his arm. He prepares to go with her weight and overpower her using her own weight against her by driving his elbow into her chest with the momentum she's created, when she abruptly dashes away and a low kick misses it's mark as she nimbly steps away.

His earlier actions simply continue after a roll of his shoulder and his grin remains, he's made of tougher stuff then most, strange. He's never had someone to compare himself too in terms of strength, Dragon Slayers...Are we really all that special in comparison..?
He decides to find out minutely, as the sound of crates rattling are picked up by his higher then average senses. He chances a quick glance towards the source of the noise as she dashes at him, and his eyes widen slightly as crates and other assorted objects are flung towards him...
His eyes glow a deeper red and just before the first crate would slam into his frame with crushing force...
He vanishes downwards, in a strange blur of motion his visage seeming to simply fall downwards into the black of the dark alleyway...

Rocketing through the shade Anubis suddenly shoots from the black void at Anna's left flank, black coalescing together to form a solid construct...
A Bo, an ebony staff, swung like a baseball bat at a upper diagnol angle, aiming to slam it into her mid-back. His grin is more determined as his feet appear his hips turned with his swing his left leg extended behind him with his right knee bent slightly. She might not even notice him swinging unless she picks up the whistling through the air or the taps of his feet hitting the pavement as he appears like a wraith prepared to 'Bring the Pain' with a strange kind of excitement.

One could say he's pretty fired up. If his swing misses he bends his right elbow and spins the Bo in-between his fingers before catching the upper part of the shaft with his left, drawing back and preparing to make a stab forward with the business end of the staff his hips drawing back before they twist forward again to add to the force of the blow, aiming for her midsection.
He's enjoying the reach of this weapon, if more crates fly at him he'll simply bat them away...or prepare to surf again.

130/150 MP::

by **Marianne Greire** Thu Aug 14, 2014 10:54 am

From her position, she sees Anubis smile and figures he’s enjoying the fight. As far as she is concerned, she is not sure what she is thinking. She admits there is something fun about fighting another mage who does not go down easily. It awakens a dull burning of excitement somewhere within her. More importantly to her, it isn’t even close to the thrill spilling blood gave her despite her hate for it. Maybe she’s actually…enjoying the fight? It seems like a farfetched idea but it was true. Slowly her face muscles relax until she finds herself grinning for the first time since they started fighting. Along with her face, her body starts to loosen too. Good, she guesses as being tense never works in anyone’s favour when a duel is concerned.

She watches him carefully once her feet gracefully land one after another on the ground. Hopefully the attack would hit. She watches the flying objects get closer and closer…and then he disappears. She stiffens, on the alert once more. Suddenly she hears a whistling behind her and realises Anubis is attacking. She doesn’t turn around.

Mari decides she has two options to evade any his sudden attack: get a speed boost or activate her shield. She ends up using her shield. A circle of golden orange psychic energy envelopes her barely in the nick of time to stop the attack by Anubis. She is hesitant on using her boost since sustained spells easily lead to running out of mana and thus her decision. Upon contact with the rod, the shield bends slightly but stays put. Since she is not facing him, she takes advantage of her protected state and attempts to elbow him in the stomach. If she succeeds she would try and grab hold of his arm again, this time trying to flip him over in one fluid motion. If he returns to the shadows or dodges, she’d stop and pivot on her foot and sling herself on top of the bare roof where there is more of a lack of shadows.

180/200 MP:

Cool down List
Chaos – 1/2 posts

by **Anubis** Thu Aug 14, 2014 12:46 pm

The weightless feeling of becoming a shadow was a novelty at first, but now he curses it, realizing one fatal flaw in the weightlessness. He can't judge his momentum properly, the swing of the Bo is much too strong and when it impacts the shield his eyes narrow in concentration, his feet barely making the shove he needs to roll away from the elbow strike. Rolling over his shoulder and landing on his feet.

As his head raises he notes her body leaping upwards towards the sun covered roof, the Bo morphs then, and his right arm whips out the new whip construct aiming to wrap around her extended legs ankle before he yanks downwards with a shout of exertion. He can't allow her to reach a roof, it wouldn't hinder him too much but then he'd have to use a few spells he'd rather not have too in order to keep the fight..well fun. A nice one he is, but as shown before...he is a bit of a pragmatist in combat. If successful with his snaring move and his attempt to forcefully reverse her momentum, he dives forward in a sprint where he guesses her trajectory will take her, matching her pace of falling he uses his left hand to slap his right fist, a grin forming as he does, before he draws it back over his shoulder and with a yell of exertion attempts to punch his friend in her midsection to knock the air from her.

This is getting really intense, he never would have expected this was what fighting a mage would be like..So many options, so much skill utilized in every single motion so much planning put into the spells he uses. She uses and what they would use against each other, he doesn't think he wants this to end anytime soon...But at the same time he really wants to win. Being raised by a Dragon leaves a few...instincts to bare, one example being the intense urge to fight strong opponents and overcome them..Or perhaps that's simply something Anubis has that he assumes other Dragon Slayers have as well?

What kind of mental stipulation does being raised by a Dragon leave anyway?
(125/150 MP; Sustaining Shadow Dragon Concealed Weapon.)

by **Marianne Greire** Sun Aug 17, 2014 5:53 am

Mari is midway to jumping to the roof when she feels something wrap around her ankle. She curses as she realises he is trying to yank her away from the roof. She needs to break free and so breaks the first of her rules when fighting; she uses a spell and intends on sustaining it. Using her telekinesis, the young woman forms a sword made out of telekinetic energy. She then uses it to cut away her restraint. After she is free, she transforms the energy into a wall between herself and Anubis. She doesn't fall where he is expecting to fall and instead finds herself needing to create a cushion of sorts with the energy she has under her control. This enables her to roll away easily and without getting injured. However she does not expect to see crates in front of her face. She rolls accidentally into the crates cursing at her back luck. This may have worked more in her favour than she thinks. From her momentum, the crates tumble down one another. Recognising this as for her benefit. Mari regains her position on the floor and creates telekinetic barriers with her telekinesis to direct the direction of the crates towards Anubis.

While she assumes Anubis is distracted, she again decides to try making her way to the roof top. She begins her ascent more slowly as she has accidentally injured herself from rolling into crates. She hopes he isn't able to bring her down again - if she is on the roof she has the advantage. Mari is capable of short distance fighting but it is the longer distances that she can really excel in.

245/250 WP (from rolling into the crate)

165/200 MP:

Cooldown List:
Psychic Shield - 1/2
Chaos - Complete

by **Anubis** Mon Aug 18, 2014 11:00 am

A blade is formed in his friends hand in a manner similar to his own spell and his eyes narrow and he quickens his pace in his run as he feels the shadow whip lose it's cohesion earlier then he wished, he continues his sprint towards her in order to salvage his shift in her momentum before a wall is created between them, causing him to skid to a stop his shoulder ramming into the wall causing him to growl his discomfort, it might bruise later but it's negligible. Instead he focuses his gaze on his opponent, before glowing causes his attention to shift momentarily elsewhere. Crates begin floating towards him and he quickly backsteps away, towards the wall of the alley, he catches his friend leaping upwards again from the corner of his eye and he softly clicks his tongue in some semblance of frustration at her attempts to lure him from the shadows and make this fight more difficult for him...

Fading into the blackness of the shadow of a pipe running along the wall he quickly travels to intercept her jumping path once more and this time instead of from below, he meets her head on shooting from an angle to her right directly towards her black constructs looking rather large and blunt forming over his fists as he draws his right arm back his eyes gleaming with energy and enthusiasm. While the long range stuff is a bit grating on his preferred style he is truly enjoying himself with there bout. He'll have to be more prepared in order to avoid further strikes or fumbles like earlier. He swings with all his might to strike with the momentum he's gained from being shot from the shadows similar to an iron ball being fired from a canon. This is less of a matter of technique and more about pure force, as in his experience being in the air like this is rather a dangerous game. It leaves you with no control over your momentum and likely defenseless unless you have something to off center it, or block for you.

This mindset also comes from most of his fighting styles being based on ground based momentum, firm stances and wide sweeps to maximize force. Flying like a missile towards an opponent is something he wouldn't usually do unless in this very circumstance..He also has THAT spell if something were to go terribly terribly wrong with this...which he half expects to..Anna is pretty crafty when it comes to this so far..

(115/150 MP "Shadow Surf", 195/200 WP for the bruised shoulder)

by **Marianne Greire** Tue Aug 19, 2014 8:21 am

She's so close to getting on that roof...and then Anubis appears in front of her. He's fast. Really fast. It's daunting to see someone so close to her. She can almost feel his contact with her face. She freezes. Her hands reach out to whatever was closes to stop her from moving upwards, anything from... Mari realises she is being ridiculous. Quickly, she shifts her hand last minute to touch the pipes near her. Once she succeeds, she swings around to avoid his attack. To aid her she also used her telekinesis to create a cushion of psychic energy to further push her away. She misjudges her momentum and finds she cannot hold onto the pipes. She lets go and plummets back to the ground. On her descent, she tries to grab Anubis in an attempt to either bring him down to the ground with her or stop her fall. He is playing a dangerous game sure, but she is too. If she failed in catching him, she would use her already there psychic energy to catch herself. It was risky landing on the floor the first time, she didn't intend on doing so again. It would cost her some injuries but it was better than leaving herself open.

While this occurs, she curses herself. He had left himself wide open for an attack yet she'd be too engrossed in her own fears to bother. It nearly cost her. In fact it was costing her right now. Despite what she said, she prided herself on her ability to think during battles. Telekinesis itself was not a particularly offensive spell. Her version was more so. However, compared to other magics, the key thing in hers was subtlety. She was not being subtle. She was going for broke, using somewhat suicidal strategies that would do her no good if she was to achieve her goal.

245/250 WP

157/200 MP (Sustained, Telekinesis)

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