Re: The Haunted Dragonslayer?

[Kasimir Sewik]

Kaz was honestly torn with his dealings with Kotone. In some ways she seemed pretty cute, in other ways they seemed completely incompatible. If he could just figure out what she wanted or liked, that would make it so much easier. Kaz sighed, his future with Kotone was still going downhill. Kotone might have forgiven him, but she clearly didn't trust him. Or at least trust any of his flattering words. After their last scene, he wasn't about to tell her that he still thought he had a chance. "Owch, you don't pull any punches, do you?" Kaz mock flinched. "I just poured my heart out, and now you're making fun of me!" ...But really, he was starting to wonder just how much confidence this girl had. He had met a few girls who considered him out of their league, but he'd never heard one say there was no one like them. Did that have to do with Kotone believing that she was a dragonslayer? ...That didn't seem very romantic. But maybe that was a better alternative option than what Kaz thought she was trying to say.

"Wait... you are interested in guys, right?!" He blurted out his realization. Maybe she hadn't meant it as an insult at all. Maybe Kotone had meant that no guy could have her. It wasn't exactly something he should ask, but he had said it without thinking. The realization had been too shocking. If that was true, then he really did stand no chance, and there was little reason to plot Kotone's fall for him. He had never met a girl like that in person, although he supposed maybe he had without realizing it. Most people didn't wear their sexual preference on their shirts.

[Kotone]

Kotone opened her mouth to retort that she wasn’t making fun of him, but she was interrupted by Kasimir’s sudden blurting out of a rather random and awkward question. She blushed a deep red the moment his words sank in, actually taking a step back as her demeanor went from overly self-confident to awkward teenage girl. “I- I’m not that kind of girl! Of course I’m interested in guys!” she protested. Those were probably the wrong words, but this was not a subject Kotone was used to, nor was she the best at handling matters of love, or even talking about them. The fact that she was stammering meant she was telling the truth instead of being difficult, at least. The fact that she was surprised helped contribute to her shift.

“What kind of question is that?!” Kotone demanded, trying to hide her awkwardness, but failing at this point. “Just b-because I don’t instantly fall in love with you doesn’t mean I don’t like guys, you know!” Her body language was defensive, mostly because when she was made to feel awkward she felt defensive. For all of her bravado, even after her beating, she was still awkward about certain subjects, and true or not, she did like to think of herself as a ‘proper young lady.’ When something poked at that and made her feel the need to defend herself… well, people usually got to see her act like this.

[Kasimir Sewik]

Now they both were in an awkward situation. Kaz's earlier shock had apparently shocked Kotone. Understandable, but completely not Kaz's intention. Then again, the result had made Kotone flush and she was stammering again. So apparently she did have a weakness, although Kaz had taken her by surprise. He ran his fingers through his hair, sighing quietly in relief. In truth he was glad at Kotone's answer - it meant he still had a chance... even if that chance was in the single digit percents. Kotone's answer had been so rushed and earnest, how could it not be the truth?

"Sorry," he apologized truthfully. He hadn't been trying to offend her, and he knew his question had probably been offensive. "I was thinking about what you said earlier, and sometimes I just say out loud what I'm thinking." That much was genuine. He had the awful habit of still talking even when he should stop. To make it worse, he often realized it while he was talking too much of saying something awkward, which only made it all the more painful. "But hey, at least now I know!" He grinned cheerfully, happy with at least that one part. It might've been at Kotone's expense, but at least he had confirmed that she was, in fact, interested in guys. So if there was something she didn't like about him, he'd just have to figure out what and change his approach.

[Kotone]

Kotone didn’t really acknowledge Kasimir’s apology. She was too busy trying to beat down her own awkward reactions before he decided that was a weakness through which he could pounce. She couldn’t help but feel like for some reason he was obsessing over her, at least until he found someone to distract him from her. Unfortunately, there was no one else around for her to point him at. Not to mention she would have probably felt bad for doing so.

Kotone fought her blush from her earlier stammering, glancing away from him yet again while she retorted. “Yeah, now you know.” She told him simply, her tone suggesting something between embarrassment and being unhappy with him despite his apology. Sure, she wanted to be less secretive, but not necessarily if they were going to take advantage of it and annoy her or worse.

“So what?” She asked him pointedly, wondering why it was so important that he find out details about her life. He was hardly doing a good job of wooing a normal girl, much less one who had never once considered themselves the type to have any sort of relationship, including friendship, until a couple of days ago.

[Kasimir Sewik]

The joy was once again cut short by Kotone's response. Awkwardly Kaz scratched his chin, looking away from her pointed glare. How was he supposed to answer her; that he still thought he had a chance despite her words? That she had more or less told him that indirectly? He decided explaining that would only get her more mad, so best to avoid it for now. "It wasn't important," he tried to dismiss her direct question. Now that the dust had settled, he was reminded again of the awkward atmosphere between them still. He sure wasn't making any progress there yet.

He sighed, debating about whether to follow her silently, or keep trying. Maybe just some normal conversation would benefit both of them. "Sooo got any hobbies or things you like?" He asked, figuring that would be a good place to start. Surely wandering around in this strange jungle couldn't be her idea of fun. Plus he was discovering more about things she didn't like, rather than what she did like. That seemed like it was in reverse or something. They kind of were like water and oil - just couldn't mix no matter what. Every time he thought they were getting somewhere, they weren't.

[Kotone]

Now Kasimir was switching to random, awkward, casual conversation. Kotone almost chuckled. Either this guy was desperate to get to know her, or he was trying to distract her from being cross with him, as far as she could tell. She guessed she didn’t mind as long as he behaved. Kotone thought for a moment. Stuffed  animals. She adored stuffed animals. She also enjoyed being around children. Not to mention the thrill of beating up a few bad guys who had it coming. Was she really wanting to say that? Kotone did not feel like being vulnerable, and whatever attempt she had made to allow herself to be more so had ended after Kasimir making her feel so awkward.

"Hero things,” she answered vaguely. “And ice sculptures.” Kotone created a large, clear, beautiful snowflake made completely of ice, and tossed it to Kasimir. It wasn’t really a hobby. It was more something she did that was a bit like other people twiddling their thumbs. Using her magic was second-nature, and even the more complicated things weren’t that hard, as long as she had the magic left to do it, and she’d discovered how previously. She looked back at him, forcing a grin. This one did not have the cocky, fang-bearing attitude attached to it that her other grins had before. “Don’t let the cute skirt fool you. I’m not really into most girly things, including romance. Us dragon slayers have more important things than ourselves to worry about. I’m a little sparse on the hobbies, unless they’re someone else’s and I actually do something with them.”

Despite being hot and sweaty from the island climate, it was obvious Kotone took better care of herself than she was admitting to. Though she hadn’t started out that way when she’d emerged into the human world from her childhood isolation, she had picked up the need to groom and make herself look presentable. Even with the casual ponytail and lack of makeup, it was pretty obvious. If Kotone were as vain as she sometimes acted when she boasted about being ‘hot,’ she probably wouldn’t blame him for finding her attractive. She just didn’t actually think about it, since it wasn’t all that important beyond some hidden wish to be at least a little bit normal that she wouldn’t even admit to herself.

[Kasimir Sewik]

Kaz caught the miniature snowflake sculpture. "Wow, that's pretty amazing. Not bad, Snowflake," he admired. It was true - using magic to do more than just destruction was quite the feat. Especially without the use of any kind of tools. Kotone must have possessed a level of control in order to sculpt something like that. Although Kaz could dig through the earth easily enough, forming sculptures or anything like that instantly was beyond him. He wouldn't be surprised if Kotone was a better wizard than him, dragon slayer or not.

The ice was cool in his hands, unlike how Kotone had described the magic for herself. How unfortunate. In this sweltering jungle, the little block of ice in his hands felt quite refreshing. All too soon, the magic dissipated though, and he was left with nothing. He wished it would have lasted a bit longer. "Hmm....." He wasn't sure what to make of her next words. So she was into 'hero stuff', not into cute things like the skirt she was wearing, or romance like what Kaz had tried to jump into. She had elaborated more on what she disliked than what she actually liked ... which was starting to make Kaz wonder just what she was actually passionate about.

He was actually... probably more into 'hero stuff' too, although he hadn't thought of it like that. Normally he thought of the guilds as trying to play the part of hero; they were always helping out people, at least. Maybe for money... but Kaz had a lot more respect for the guilds than the Magic Council. Actually... there was that one time where Kaz had helped defend some people against those bank robbers. That was certainly hero-like material, even though he'd technically been dragged into the conflict by chance. But he figured Kotone wouldn't want to hear that from him - those things were much better in action than story anyway.

"What kind of important things - like that 'hero stuff'? Don't tell me you're trying to save the world or something, Snowflake," he grinned back. Now that would be quite the thought. "So what guild are you in?" He wondered. With her magic, 'dragon slayer' status, friends she got in a fight with, and 'hero things', he figured she must be in a guild. After all, it would be hard to be a 'hero' without other people around to recognize her as such. Maybe she was yet another Lamia Scale member - he seemed to be meeting quite a few of those fellows lately.

[Kotone]

Kotone chuckled when Kasimir asked what guild she was in. The grin she was wearing earlier didn’t exactly dissipate, nor did it actually become cockier. For now she was holding herself in check. “Yeah, like that hero stuff. And saving the world is a bit extreme for anyone. I just do what I can to keep people safe.” Well that was certainly much tamer than she normally answered. Normally she would have annoyed people by boasting that yes, she was out to save the world, and she would do it too, no problem. Not this time.

She couldn’t exactly show him her lack of guild symbol. People had those in the weirdest places sometimes, and she wasn’t about to get that in-detail for him… or anyone, really. So instead she settled on “I’m not in any guild, Sandy,” She seemed almost proud of the fact. Like she was strong without other people. Part of her was proud of it. Part of her knew she could learn from other people at this point. Even Sandy, here.

“Guilds are too much commitment. And if you haven’t noticed by now, I’ve got commitment issues.” Well, that was the first time she’d said that out loud. She’d always known it. She showed it in the way she avoided both friends and potential lovers most of the time. Knowing it didn’t make her want to stop and make friends. It was more… allowing people to try. And she had to have a certain degree of respect for those people. Not one of them were anywhere near close enough for the more intimate of the two relationship types.

[Kasimir Sewik]

Do what she could to help keep people safe... Kaz was only more curious about Kotone now. It was impressive. It was one thing to have that kind of ideal. It was another for it to be Kotone's first thing to mention on her 'like' list. If she had named it first, then it must be important. In truth, the ideal was one that Kaz also held. Wandering around to help people. Well also to see the world too of course. But he did enjoy meeting new people, seeing what their lives were like, helping out where he could. Most of the work he did was trivial, but even the small parts made him happy.

He only blinked when she mentioned not being in a guild. Wait, then... "Why are you showing your magic off then?" He couldn't help it. "Er...!" He realized rather quickly that she might take his words out of context again. "Not that I mind. I just figured, if you're showing off your ice magic like this, you'd want to hide your guild-less status." What with, you know, the Magic Council prowling around for guild-less mages. They had caused Kaz a bit of trouble in the past too. But Kotone... she had just announced it to him. Like she didn't care if the word got out and she was hunted. Surely she couldn't be in his same situation - where joining a guild would likely harm its members more than help. He was tempted to think she didn't realize how dangerous it was to say that...

"I'm also wandering the world, both to gain experience, and help out those I can," he related. "But I tend to stay away from anything too dangerous. Despite the sword on my back... I'm not that great at fighting," he shrugged. He thought he was good once. That had been a long time ago. His world had expanded a lot since then, and he knew he was very small in the grand scheme of things. "So I end up helping in other more boring ways. Probably not as dramatic as you." Except for that bank incident... he'd leave that out for now still.

[Kotone]

Kotone blinked when he asked why she was showing off her magic so readily. It wasn’t that she’d forgotten. Kotone Hoshino, the invincible ice dragon slayer, had never cared. Even the less invincible one cared very little, though. Her grin turned cocky again. She couldn’t help it this time. At least she was grinning. It was a pretty good sign after how he’d made her act, all things considered. “I’m not hiding who or what I am just because some pompous ass and his cowardly council members think they can threaten me if I don’t conform,” she told him, her yellowish eyes practically glimmering with her classic ‘bring it on,’ look she tended to adopt. She still wasn’t afraid of the Magic Council… especially not after meeting Charlotte.

"I don't bow to anyone. Not even dragons. Why should I pay more respect to some old guy who thinks he can order me around?" Kotone looked and sounded completely serious. She was completely serious, too. She’d learned to respect individual people lately, not any kind of authority. She didn’t really comment on Kasimir’s claim about not being that good at fighting. Frankly she believed him. He could and would get stronger if she or some other girl didn’t kill him first.

[Kasimir Sewik]

Kaz went momentarily silent. It was a brave declaration to be sure. Actually not brave, it was completely reckless. Kaz didn't see hiding magic as a form of respect to rules - it was more about fearing the consequences. Bowing or submitting to the rules would mean registering to the guild. But she was doing more than just refusing that - she showing off. "Oh?" Kaz thought she was forgetting an extremely part of her rebellion. "But I thought you were into that hero stuff. You're just inviting trouble if you keep showing off your magic without a guild. And then you'll need to fight a battle you could have avoided," he pointed out. "Surely hero stuff doesn't need to involve fighting against people just doing their jobs."

He thought that violence could and should be avoided whenever possible. It was more than just healthy fear, although he supposed many underground wizards hid solely out of fear. That, or they had reasons to avoid the guilds like he did. "Defying one person can sometimes affect many people." It wasn't very hero-like to just go smashing through every problem. And unfortunately, Kaz could completely see Kotone doing just that. If she really was strong, that would only make the problems worse. While Kaz doubted Kotone was the kind of person to go around killing, more violence would only increase the odds of a tragedy happening to either side.

[Kotone]

Kotone hadn’t expected Kasimir to tell her she was being reckless. He hadn’t been that direct, but she knew what he was trying to say. She’d heard it all before. She crossed her arms. “First off, reckless or not, I’m proud of my magic. If anyone causes trouble it’s on them. I rarely attack someone who’s not completely asking for it,” she informed him. “Besides, someone needs to stand up if no one else will, right?” She had a tone that said she wasn’t so much justifying herself as explaining herself. She knew she got into fights too much. Fortunately, most of her fights ended up verbal rather than physical. Most of them. Less in the past couple of days, even with the two people she found herself wanting to hit most lately. Not including Kasimir.

“Standing up to one person can affect many people, you’re right. And that’s why it has to be done. Do you really think even I would refuse if it would save a lot more people? Because I feel like you have enough of a brain to tell, this accomplishes nothing. It’s a reaction out of fear. It’s stupid, and it’s temporary. If enough people realize this, maybe it will be over even more quickly, and fewer people will get punished for wanting to live their own lives.”

Kotone had killed people. She’d been quite young for it, yes, but she’d never liked it and never wanted to. Still, she was raised by a dragon and knew these things were necessary sometimes. She was always very careful about these decisions, and it hadn’t happened since she got herself caught up protecting people in the war. Despite having done so, no. She wasn’t a killer, and now more than ever she knew to not be quite so rash and get into things she would regret if it could be helped.

[Kasimir Sewik]

Kaz didn't think there was a clear way to tell whether standing up would cause more trouble or saving people. But if he had to guess, he would usually assume the former. The Magic Council was all about stepping in, and look where that got them. They were notorious for overly involving themselves instead and escalating the situation, instead of making it better. He still thought Kotone's decision was reckless. There had to be a better way to fight against the law than simply plunging into battle. Fear was healthy; fear stopped people from doing stupid things.

"If that's what you think, Snowflake." He wasn't about to argue with her reasoning. He already could tell he wouldn't change her mind on the matter. "I just hope you don't get caught in a fight that you or those around you can't handle." It was something she was going to have to learn through experience. The Magic Council had periods of time where they cracked down harder on the guildless than other times. Until Kotone was caught in an impossible situation, she was going to keep doing what she was doing. He just hoped she would survive long enough to learn from it.

"So what's the average day and life of a guild-less dragon slayer like?" Kaz changed the subject. "Do you just wander around, taking up the odd job? I suppose since you're not trying to hide your ice magic, and you're pretty confident in your abilities, you're taking on some dangerous hero stuff." He was starting to suspect that they were more similar than he thought at first. Both guild-less, both mages, both wandering around. If she wasn't a wanderer, he doubted she would have found herself on this island... with others, trying to take on some godforsaken mission.

[Kotone]

“Of course that’s what I think! And I know what I’m doing!” she insisted to Kasimir. He didn’t understand. Of course fear was healthy! Kotone never claimed to be healthy, she just hated to be told otherwise. He also didn’t understand that to her, bowing to the council would only give them reason to order them around unfairly. If things went smoothly they would be justified. Escalation needed to happen if anyone was going to realized how mistaken the Magic Council was. “I know what I can and can’t handle, and your average Council goon or five don’t stand a chance,” she informed him. With Atrum, she had taken on quite a few more than that. It had been an exciting experience, despite her only doing it to save a little mage boy.

“The average day? There’s no such thing as an average day. I take things as they come to me. I guess the main thing is traveling. Yeah, lots of that, until I come across someone who needs me for something,” Kotone decided, her cat mewing as he poked his head out of her bag, awake again. He seemed to enjoy the traveling lifestyle, for some reason. “I don’t hide my magic because it’s who I am. It’s what I am. If the council is so intimidated by me, then they need to go and rethink their defense plan, because contrary to popular belief,” there was no popular belief about her next statement, “I am just one cute girl, no matter how impressive.”

[Kasimir Sewik]

Kaz unconsciously sighed. Kotone was even more childish than he initially thought. The past never guaranteed a win in the future, nor that things would go as smoothly. "One impressive cute girl," he agreed, sounding more sarcastic than he'd intended. Kotone was impressive on how reckless she was. That and she seemed to have a warped sense of how others perceived her, and how her life went. But it wasn't his place to cast judgements, especially since they had just met. Perhaps he was reading too much into this.

He visibly jumped back when a cat mewed and poked its head out of Kotone's bag. "What the-?! A cat?" Kotone was just full of surprises. "You travel the world... with a cat?" He asked incredulously. How did the cat manage to stay in that pack? He thought it would've jumped off and ran away the first chance it got, to get away from Kotone. Plus, the pack was probably even more hot in this crazy heat. "I travel around the world too, been doing so for two years. It can be pretty lonely, facing the entire world by yourself...." If it seemed like he was trying to get Kotone to say something, it was because he was. "I suppose you don't have that problem though, considering you've got a... cat.... to keep you company," he stared at the pack, skeptical about whether it was even a real cat or not.

[Kotone]

Kotone’s eye visibly twitched when Kasimir’s sarcastic tone reached her ears. She’d been at least partially joking, and that response was not helping anything. Kasimir didn’t understand. He couldn’t understand. He was one of the people who laid low and did nothing hoping it would help somehow. There were plenty of people for that. As of yet, her methods had yet to punish anyone but herself, and had saved at least one guildless mage who hadn’t even been thirteen years old. Had she done nothing… he would have been locked away as a mere child who was probably too afraid to do as the Magic Council asked him to. The very thought made Kotone’s blood boil.

Kasimir was rather surprised when Sidney made an appearance. She’d nearly forgotten he’d come with her today. Lately he’d been staying in the hotel room, but he’d been sound asleep in her bag, so she’d just picked it up and brought it with her. She didn’t mind his company, after all, and he was completely immune to the bag bouncing around as she traveled at this point, so he didn’t mind. He was an odd cat. Not many would be travel companions. Kotone knew she was rather lucky in that regard. “Yeah, I travel the world with a cat. Sid’s the cutest little companion ever,” she told the cat as he climbed onto her shoulder and rubbed her face. She scratched his head in return. Sid was basically a monkey in cat form, the way he could navigate Kotone on the move.

“I haven’t needed anyone for nine years,” she told Kasimir, her face turning a bit serious when he talked about how lonely it must be facing the world by herself. She still didn’t need anyone, but she wasn’t actively pushing them away at this time, as evidenced by the fact that Kasimir wasn’t frozen to a tree right now. “What’s that supposed to mean, Sandy?” she asked, crossing her arms as it dawned on her that he was talking about himself more than her. She had a cat, he didn’t. He was the more alone one. “You sure you would enjoy traveling with a loud-mouthed dragon slayer who pokes her head up too much and gets into fights she can’t handle?”

[Kasimir Sewik]

The straight call-out again. Kaz had implied something, and Snowflake here rushed to ask him if that was exactly what he meant. Being subtle around her only gave her more motive to be blunt. When he'd been trying to get a reaction from her... this was not exactly what he intended. Somehow Kotone had even taken his words and twisted them into an insult. Well, at least they could agree on one point: the cat was pretty cute. As they walked and Kotone pet it... Kaz wondered if he could do the same. Hesitantly he reached to pet the cat, wondering if it would even let him... or if it would share its master's strange temperament.

"Not entirely sure, no," Kaz admitted. He didn't even bother refuting Kotone's own description of herself. Those wouldn't be the first things he'd say to her, but he had other thoughts in mind that could describe her along similar means. "But I'm hopelessly in enamored by you, remember? It might be painful to hopelessly chase after you, but even just being at your side is comforting." He was still technically flirting, but it felt a lot different than before. His earlier determination was wearing off. Not because he doubted his ability to eventually get through to Kotone, but because Kaz was starting to lose interest himself. The two of them clearly didn't mesh; their earlier conversation had pretty much proven that. "Ah, sorry, I'm doing it again, aren't I? It's not on purpose," he told her. Actually, he wasn't sure if it was on purpose or not. Words just came out of his mouth. That's probably how he ended up saying a lot of awkward things at times. "Even though I enjoy your company, I'm far from a stalker. If you tell me to get lost, I'll have no choice but to willingly comply," he sighed. Actually, that last sentence didn't quite perfect sense. But it more or less summed up what he was thinking. ...Even though it would probably be really bad to separate from Kotone now, and not because of his self-proclaimed desperation. He had no idea where they were, let alone finding his own boat, or getting a ride back with Kotone's crew.

[Kotone]

Kotone behaved oddly, and her behavior could change at the drop of a hat, or the stating of a sentence. She seemed to drop the attitude a bit at Kaz reminding her of his initial crush on her. It was weird, and she wasn’t actually sure how to handle the whole crush thing. She didn’t have people fall in love with her, and she didn’t fall in love with people. That was a simple fact of life. Why he would still claim to be ‘enamored’ by her after all of this… even with her trying her best to behave… “… Why would you have any sort of crush on someone like me?” she asked honestly, her expression turning to a glare that faced off to the side opposite of Kasimir.

It didn’t make sense. Of course, the fact that he actually started to listen and apologized just meant she was right. Even if he started off meaning what he’d just said, he was probably still insisting these things so she wouldn’t suddenly wonder what was wrong with herself. She’d wondered that for a little while now, though. Not so much when it came to romance… but in general. She was such an idiot when she tried to talk to people. All attitude and intimidation, even now.

[Kasimir Sewik]

The surprisingly honest question made Kaz pause. This was different than her other pointed questions or comments. What had just happened? One moment, Kaz thought she was completely confident in herself. Now she was wondering why he was interested in 'someone like her'. When he looked, she had her head turned away. Kaz's original poker grin softened a bit to a more neutral expression. "What are you trying to say?" He wondered at first. Before realizing that a question to Kotone's answer... wasn't what she needed right now.

"Well I admit, you're pretty blunt," he began. "But there's a certain admirable trait to honesty, saying what's needed rather than what's wanted. I think you and I are closer than you think... You know I actually want to be a hero too, although our methods are completely different. I can respect that you want to take care of others, that you've been taking care of yourself and traveling alone for nine years. You could've ditched me a long time ago, but I think you've figured out that I'm completely lost and probably couldn't find my way back myself, which shows a certain amount of care," he explained the first things that came to mind. All of it was true. There were small things about her that he picked up on... he could tell that she was a good person. "You're tough and can handle yourself, but you haven't forgotten how to be kind." Instead of his normal raving ecstatic nature, there was a certain calmness probably because he was quickly descending into melancholy. Kotone had sounded different there, and he was starting to feel a little trapped between honesty and making her feel better.

He didn't know if he could help any. But he'd listed off traits and examples that he thought were admirable. ...He found that specific examples of what someone did well meant far more than simply saying one was 'kind-hearted'. Despite his somewhat idiotic routine, Kaz was actually listening and paying attention. Part of the reason he could flirt with so many girls was because he honestly found them interesting, at least to a certain degree. But to be honest, after meeting Astra... Kaz was having a hard time replicating the same ties he'd shared with her.

[Kotone]

“What? Of course I’m not going to just let you go get yourself lost and die,” Kotone told Kasimir as she walked, staring at the ground. She really needed to find a skirt with pockets or something, because she missed having pockets on this island to stick her hands in. She hadn’t realized it was a habit until her hands kept brushing up against her legs and there were no pockets. “I’m a girl, not a monster.”

Kotone appreciated the kind words Kasimir told her, though she wasn’t entirely sure if he actually admired those things or not. She’d spent a long time not thinking there was much admirable about herself except for perhaps her hero routine, which was only admirable beause it was what she’d been taught to do. She talked like she was amazing. Most of the time she even thought she was one of the strongest people around. But she rarely liked herself. It had taken Tatsuma kicking her butt right here on this island to get her to actually try to change at least a little bit. She still disliked herself, but she did feel better that she was trying to learn to let people in just a little bit. Still not close enough to break her, but certainly close enough to actually be a decent person to go along with being a hero.


Kotone didn’t fail to notice Kasimir acting more serious. She could practically feel the melancholy setting in. “What’s up?” she asked simply, figuring if he would answer her stupid question she could probably try to help with whatever was suddenly wrong with him. Assuming she hadn’t been the one to cause it, anyway.

[Kasimir Sewik]

In Kaz's experience, there were few people who were willing to go the extra yard to help someone. Especially if that person didn't particularly like the person that needed help. If Kotone had said 'get lost', Kaz would've taken it as just another normal part of life. Not a very pleasant and happy part of life, but something that could happen to him. He was still thinking melancholy thoughts and depressing thoughts, when Kotone actually noticed. Although Kaz hadn't pegged her as the observant type, apparently she was proving him wrong.

He just smiled at her. Honestly he was surprised that she had not only noticed, but actually said something. Even if it was as simple as asking 'what's up'. "Oh, nothing important. There's rarely anything important going on in my mind," he dismissed her worry. It was kind of her to offer, but once again, she didn't really need to help someone she disliked. "I was just thinking, for someone who acts so confident, you seem to be missing a lot of confidence," he explained partially. His own idiotic thoughts were best left to himself. No reason to bring up another girl when he was already trying to flirt with Kotone. "Are you saying you've never met someone with a crush on you before? You seem like you'd be beating them off the streets," he said playfully, still trying to make her feel at least a little better.

[Kotone]

Kotone didn’t lack confidence where it mattered. At least not in her opinion. She didn’t need confidence where nothing was going to happen, right? That’s why she didn’t need confidence in people liking her. Then again… Kasimir seemed to be proving her wrong about that. “No one I’m aware of,” she answered Kasimir quietly. If anyone did admire her, they certainly hadn’t been as forward as Kasimir about it. She hadn’t exactly been approachable in the past few years. She had as a child, but not in a while.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not the most approachable person,” she echoed her thoughts after a moment. She wasn’t sure what she thought about what he was saying, despite often claiming to be highly desirable and whatnot. Mostly to Raven when she was feigning confidence or screwing with him. She blushed slightly, looking down at the ground. “Thanks though. I guess that might have been true if I weren’t me.” Kotone stopped their trek for now, reaching up and climbing into a tree and sitting on the bottom branch.

Kasimir hadn’t exactly made her feel better. Confused, perhaps. Maybe slightly hopeful on some level. But not better. She was starting to think of just how effective she’d been at pushing people away.

[Kasimir Sewik]

Somehow this had happened. Instead of cheering her up, Kaz's joke seemed to be making Kotone even more depressed. That, in turn, was only causing Kaz to grow more and more alarmed. Kotone's tone had gone far too quiet, her words far too thoughtful for the little firecracker he'd just met moments ago. "Not everyone is quite as bold as me," he spoke quickly, too quickly. He wasn't so great at hiding his emotions. In higher-pressure conversations, or even just slightly awkward ones, he had the bad tendency to make things worse. His conversation with Kotone was still relatively in control, not having spiraled out completely yet, but he could feel the precarious balance.

He took a deep breath, slowing himself down. "I'm sure there are those that are too shy, or maybe unwilling to admit it," Kaz managed to say more normally. He stopped when Kotone did. Curiously he watched her approach a tree... before she began to scale it. For a second he watched, not really thinking, until he realized her short mini-skirt, combined with the climb, gave him a rather direct view. Instinctively he looked away, only to wonder why he was missing such an opportunity. By the time he looked again though, Kotone had already stopped. She sat on a bottom branch, so the climb hadn't taken very long. Already Kotone was tucked in a more reserved position.

Sighing, Kaz leaned against a tree across from Kotone's own. "Break time?" He guessed, already sitting down. Of course, he still had no idea what would be their destination. At this point, he was beginning to doubt that Kotone knew, either. They had barely rested for a few seconds, when...

"OoOoooOoooo..."

The strange sound seemed to echo all around them. The light was beginning to fade, but the sun was still out. A tree branch in the distance made a sound; but when Kaz looked, it swayed... and no trace of what had hit it. A snicker sounded from somewhere behind him, nowhere near where he'd caught the tree's movement. "What the..." Kaz rose back to his feet. Was this a 'ghost' that he'd heard so much about? Hesitantly he looked back at Kotone, wondering what she thought of the situation. Kaz wasn't sure if he was scared or not yet... but perhaps... this was what Kotone was looking for. Or maybe she'd really taken his suggestion of finding a ghost seriously.

[Kotone]

Kotone hadn't thought about the view a guy like Kasimir might get when she leapt onto the tree, but thankfully, he didn’t mention it. That was probably good as much for his sake as for hers. He insisted that perhaps people were too shy to tell her what they thought of her. Kotone wasn’t sure if she believed him, but she couldn’t help but appreciate the thought, even from Kasimir. Maybe he wasn’t so bad, she decided as she sat up in the tree.  She knew she could be annoying as well. Especially when she was acting all tough and aloof.

Suddenly, Kasimir heard the same thing she did. An “Ooooo” noise, just like one would think of a ghost. Making. Kotone might have thought it was creepy had she not smelled the scent of this ‘ghost’ just after it happened. A small smile crept across her face while Kasimir looked around for the noise. His senses were nowhere near as good as hers. She could distract them both by having a little fun. “That didn’t sound like any noise an animal would make,” she told him in as surprised a tone as she could manage, more for the “ghost’s” benefit, than his, though she wouldn’t complain if she could trick him as well. Kotone enjoyed her own childish games sometimes.

[Kasimir Sewik]

Kaz jumped up from his position when Kotone mentioned that it didn't sound like an animal. She was right; it certainly was unlike anything he expected in the wild. Maybe it really was a ghost. Instead of being terrified, however, Kaz's face was positively beaming. "You really were leading me towards a ghost?!" The excitement in his voice would have been impossible to miss. He had heard ghosts were extremely rare. They were something that people only whispered about, usually stories passed down by friends and family; rarely by the actual storyteller.

He knew that most people were scared of ghosts, but Kaz had never really understood why. Never had he heard a story about a ghost that attacked or caused harm, outside of perhaps knocking down a few objects. Kaz took a few steps forward where he'd heard the snicker come from. Their surroundings and gone unusually quiet, and Kaz was hoping his last little outburst hadn't convinced the ghost to go away. "I didn't think you'd actually take me somewhere haunted," Kaz was wary of delving straight into the brush, in case he scared the ghost away. ...Maybe he was overthinking this; wouldn't the ghost want to scare him? "Wh-what should I do? Or say? I'm not sure how to talk to a ghost..." The indecision racked his brain. He bit his lip lightly, wondering what the best course of action would be, and hoping he wouldn't mess it up.

[Kotone]

Kotone raised an eyebrow when Kasimir wholeheartedly bought into her playing along with him, the amused grin apparent on her face. She was having fun now rather than worrying about whether or not she was doing a very good job of not being a jerk. She hopped back down from the tree, landing in a crouch and standing up with the impressive speed her honed reflexes allowed for. She stood up, looking towards where the sound had come from.

"You're in a place as haunted as anywhere else in the world," she told him with a shrug. "Although you should probably ask it why its trying to scare two strangers so far away from her home," Kotone told him as she reached out and pulled the bush away, revealing a girl and a boy who looked to be about twelve, probably from the nearby village. "It's dangerous for ghosts to mess with strangers, you know," she told the kids, crouching down to their level.

The kids shrank away, apologizing and begging for Kotone not to hurt them. She only chuckled a surprisingly gentle chuckle and reached into her pouch, pulling out a bit of jerky. "You're fine, kids," she told them, a more pleasant look on her face than before. She had a rather big weakness for children. She offered them the jerky, which they took and started nibbling on hungrily. "We're here to help you and your village," she told them in a gentle voice. it was probably surprising how gentle she was with kids. She didn't care at the moment. She had her reasons.

[Kasimir Sewik]

Kaz was about to ask what Kotone meant, when she reached into the bushes and pulled out two kids. Now the meaning was all too clear. "Aw man..." He was honestly let down that the ghosts had turned out to be just kids. They looked a little crestfallen, or... well, maybe scared of Kotone. "I-I mean, I was scared for my life. That was a pretty convincing ghost act," he immediately tried to cheer them up. But really, it was quite depressing. And somewhat amazing at how quickly Kotone had deduced the outcome.

Kaz watched suspiciously how Kotone handled the two. She was already acting far nicer to them than how she had treated him. "A weak spot for kids, huh...?" He slapped his mouth shut and had to hope Kotone hadn't heard his last out loud thought. It was interesting, though. 'We're here to help your village,' she'd said. This was the first Kaz had heard about helping a village. Maybe she thought that highly of him, trusting that he would help too...? No, of course not. Kotone must have meant herself and her other companions.

"You still need to find your friends, right?" Kaz asked her. As fun as it was having her babysit him, he supposed she had better things to do. She certainly seemed reluctant to work with him around. "I can take care of these two. Why don't you go and make up with your friends?" He offered. Finding his way to a civilization didn't sound half bad, either. "Besides, I'm sure fate wouldn't be cruel enough to keep us separated forever. We'll meet again in a more civilized part of the world. I'm sure of it."

[Kotone]

“A weak spot for kids,” Kotone nodded her affirmative as she turned and grinned at Kasimir. She was acting completely different, even to him. Kids were special in her mind, and she wasn’t about to do anything to intimidate or scare them without provocation. She stood up, putting her hands behind her head for a moment before taking down her ponytail. She felt so hot and sticky, and she felt the need to mess with her hair a bit in the hope she could make it feel a bit less so.

Kaz surprised her with his next statement, volunteering to take care of the children and let her go find her friends. Technically she just needed to continue her search properly for now, but he understood she was technically busy, at least. “Okay,” she nodded, her brown hair falling over her shoulders. “Take care of them,” she told him as she started to turn around again. As she did, he went on again about fate and them meeting again. In front of the kids she wasn’t about to give him a snippy answer. “I’m sure we will. You aren’t so bad, Kaz,” she decided as she considered him volunteering to make sure the children were safe in this dangerous place. “Sorry for earlier,” she said, looking him in the eyes for a moment as she turned. She was sorry for trying to chase him away and being aggressive, and had decided to tell him.

As she did, she leapt into the trees, taking off quickly as she hopped from tree branch to tree branch. She wanted a better view of the forest if she was going to be resuming her search. She said a prayer to whatever fates were watching and wished Kaz and the children a safe trip as their scent faded in the distance.

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