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    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Rodadnuf
    Rodadnuf

    Player 
    Lineage : Anathema to Divinity
    Position : None
    Faction : The Ironheart Pact
    Posts : 248
    Guild : Silver Wolf
    Cosmic Coins : 100
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 2,561,089

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Rollins & Schwartz-Brand
    Second Skill: Heaven God Slayer
    Third Skill:

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Rodadnuf 25th August 2022, 1:40 am

    A trip to the Moon
    Job Details: Astrogladiator


    Back in the workhouses, the children would often play. Tim was no different. He played with them. Yes, he was slightly aloof than most kids his age. But cramped walls and cold rooms always pave ways for people to warm-up against each other, both literally and figuratively. He didn’t even remember what sort of game they were playing. But it needed a ball, they had one of course, a very bright blue one. They were about no less than a dozen children playing around the then unfinished roadside. The construction workers were cross-browed looking at their uncaring laughter. It was a quirk, of sorts, that kids don’t really listen to adults. Especially if they don’t give a very convincing reason not to do something.

    It was to their delight when the ball finally bounced too hard and fell over an open barrel of tar.

    Tim was quick to try and catch it, but when it landed into the still boiling barrel there was little he could do to save it. But, other than the horrible plastic-like stench stabbing his nose, the young boy couldn’t help look at the bright blue ball slowly dipping against the blackness of the barrel’s contents. It was a very inconsequential memory, something most men his age would bury under. Yet, the memory hit Tim like a truck when he was looking at Earthland. It looked exactly like the bright blue ball they had, even if Tim knew that ‘ball’ was his whole world up until a moment ago. Tim could only stare.

    Tim had his brows furrowed the entire time he was looking at the complete darkness of the scene before him, yet his eyes had not blinked for more than a minute now, looking at the single orb painted with milky white clouds alongside the distinct green and blue, half dipped into the darkness. He was enamored, belittled, and humbled all at once. He wanted to pinch his cheeks. But there was a gulf on the surface of the planet he was looking at, it was a gulf with tightly contested territories by Desierto, Bellum, Sin and Pergrande, it was not something he could easily write off as a dream. Tim could only stare.

    Tim’s father always read to him the story of the six brave wizards built an interstellar capsule shaped like a bullet and shot the moon. It was the first bedtime story he had ever heard and, even as his father read the story to death, he would always listen to him talk about it, night after night.

    “I’m in space.” He finally said between two deep breaths.

    Part of the milk dipped cloudy surface of Earthland cleared and the young man could now see Fiore. Looking the world over like this, without the arbitrarily drawn borders, made Tim relax. Tim couldn’t see where Fiore ended and Bosco began, where Bosco ended and Stella and Iceberg began. He imagined the maps he read, but even that paved way to the sheer oneness of everything, seeing everything so interconnected. Tim was never one who thought of the bigger picture, the scale of industry, politics, faith, nor the whims of anyone powerful enough with the sway of the former. He tried though, much to the frustration that led him. Tim never was a man who begrudged someone over their beliefs or origins, and the recent series of unfortunate events that forced him to do so only led him to needless hate. It even led him to needlessly argue with someone he should have work with from the get-go. In the end, such a mindset left him tired.

    “Even our little parting was a bit awkward.” Tim shrugged. Then again, he’d never been good with people. “Once the job’s done, we never really had anything else to talk about, huh.”

    The last time he tried to make idle conversation, with someone he wasn’t already close with, out of topic from the job it ended up a heated mess. And not the brazen kind.

    “The parting gift from that job wasn’t bad though.” Tim huffed a laugh as he scratched his cheek, but quickly shook his head.

    He was setting a horrible awareness for someone who, for all he knew, was in enemy territory. Though, his guard a little lowered was not without reason. Just a quick turn away from the transparent wall and Tim’s entire view was replaced with a room of warm cream-colored lights, smooth walls and wooden flooring. The area was large enough to be its own house yet it was furnished with things that halved the place between a lounge and a small dining room. A curved staircase crawled up into a mezzanine that contained a bed Tim’s oversized wolf companion would love to roll around, at least, when he wasn’t there to see. It was a penthouse-like place ripped straight off a starred hotel, or something his old room would look had he kept living his old life.

    Tim shook his head again.

    He was being more melancholic than usual, something that made him frown. He turned back to the view of Earthland, but this time tried to figure out what was up with the wall he was looking at. This was far from glass, and it didn’t feel like the screen from his iLac. It was hard. Tim took a step back and adjusted Servant’s tie and gloves. His cat-themed butler uniform-slash-armor was spick and span, but Tim wasn’t above wrinkling it to be able to go home.

    He took a stance, cocked his fists up and landed a solid blow. And another. And another. And, before he landed a fourth, he stopped.

    Tim looked around, trying to listen how his blows reverberated across the facility. Whatever this place was, it was big. The shockwaves from his blows were strong enough that even a few seconds after the third blow was struck it was still vibrating across everything, but the horrifying realization dawned over Tim. The place was so vast the shockwaves were more than a few seconds, now complete silent, yet he still had the feeling it wasn’t because the vibrations stopped. Another second passed and the vibration finally bounced back!

    “No longer than a few kilometers?” Tim, wide eyed, stepped closer towards the wall he just slugged. It was spotless, still showing the view of Earthland. “What the heck is this place…?”

    “01001000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111 00111111—brrt—skrrt—ello…? Hello?” An annoying noise screeched but was then overlapped by a voice that echoed throughout the room, sounding like it was from a speaker. The voice sounded oddly cheerful, almost comically. “Ah, a reaction! It took some time, but it finally calibrated. Greetings, Mr. Timόtheos! Now, this might come as a surprise but you are now inside an interstellar vessel—but do not be alarmed! I do not plan on taking your time for too long. In fact, I am currently standing by right beside Earthland’s moon to ease any worry on your part. Miss Delight has told me and I am infinitely grateful for your assistance—”

    “Who’re you?”

    “I am…Samsa?”

    “Sams—who?” Tim quirked a brow. “Am I supposed to know you just from that?”

    “W-well, yes. I beamed you up here along with your partner at our scheduled time.”

    “You mentioned a Miss Delight…”

    “You…don’t know who she is.” That sounded almost a mutter. “She said you were family…”

    Tim didn’t answer, there were a lot of things not making sense. But where he was and what this place was, at least, was something he now knew. An interstellar vessel, a space ship. It was right out of the story he was just reminiscing! Tim narrowed his eyes when he noted the other thing the disembodied voice said.

    “Partner?”

    Words:
    Post 1,290
    Player 1,290
    Total 1,290
    @Fraag


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  M7VWYFe
    Fraag
    Fraag

    Player 
    Lineage : Progeny of Arcanos
    Position : None
    Faction : The Luminous Covenant
    Posts : 1038
    Guild : Luminous Rose
    Cosmic Coins : 60
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 3,401,904

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Arcane Fate Magic
    Second Skill: Night God Slayer
    Third Skill: Relativity God Slayer

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Fraag 27th August 2022, 6:52 pm

    The feel of being immersed in warm water was a sensation that had few rivals. While the nerves on the skin took note of the pleasant feeling, the tensed muscles relaxed, and the stress which had been bottled up in their fibers seemed to diffuse out of the tissues and into the surrounding water, bringing an almost surreal sense of calm to the mind. After having a rather busy day, there was nothing better to do than relax and forget the worries that seemed to be so synonymous with present-day human existence. Some humans did have things so much simpler than others, though. Interestingly enough, those who seemed to have simple lives were the ones who existed in places and conditions which were not so enviable, in the opinions of those who considered themselves modern folk. The sophisticated socialite in Crocus would consider someone from a rural, rustic village to be some uncultured country bumpkin. And yet, the lives of these ‘uncultured’ folk were less maddening than those of the city folk, who often believed themselves more advanced, more forward in their stations in life, than those they ultimately envied of virtue of a simple, stress-free and thus healthy, uncomplicated life.

    If anyone had such a stress-free, uncomplicated life, it was not the woman known as Ms. Fortune, who had steadily been getting popular in Fiore by the moniker ‘the Black Maria’. Despite the apparent ominous vibe of the name, most people reacted positively when they heard it, as the bearer of the name was a hero who strove to make them live their lives in peace and safety. And while it seemed satisfying to be recognized and hailed by the common people, the work it took to get there, and to maintain that position, was no child’s play. Being a hero did bring a great degree of satisfaction to the Pergrandian, especially when she saw the faces of those whom she had saved, or helped. But it seemed that in Fiore, heroics tended to come with a good deal of politics as well, and the annoying thing about politics was the fact that people were expected to behave in a certain way and uphold a certain etiquette, things that Nita was very unlikely to do. She was a loose cannon, and was known for preferring to do things as she pleased, not according to unnecessary rules. Rules were good, as long as they protected the citizens. Those that seemed unnecessary, Nita would break at the slightest provocation.

    And yet, she did have a reputation to maintain, and having to watch herself and the things she said and did could be tiring, especially as the continent was at war, and the words and actions of powerful folk in Ishgar were observed and interpreted in all sorts of ways. Still, she could not do without her trademark levity, which seemed to be her own personal stamp, and made the image of lofty heroes more down to earth. It also meant that she would be expected to tease the stricter members of the virtuous protectors of society, like the Rune Knights, when she could get away with it. But work was work, and being a hero with growing popularity had meant that there would be more work, and at more unexpected times, like today. The Pergrandian maiden had gone to nearby Hosenka in order to do a bit of shopping, and had ended up encountering some dark mages trying to rob some establishments in the town, with the expectation that with the war, there would be less Rune Knights available to maintain law and order. Of course, it had not ended well for them, but Nita had stressed herself more than she would have liked to. Having returned to her home in the Luminous Rose headquarters, she was all for some well-deserved rest and relaxation. Presently, with her eyes closed, and only her head above the warm soapy water in the bathtub wherein she reclined, the R & R seemed to be coming along just fine.

    Nita awoke with a start. The water was cold now, but not particularly unpleasant. Still, something seemed wrong. As she opened her eyes, she realized what it was. She was not in her bathroom. Alarm immediately rang in her head as she looked around. The bathtub was hers, but it was situated in a strange room she had never been in before. The room was definitely a washroom, though, but her bathroom did not have faux wooden floors. Somehow, there seemed to be a pervasive feeling that she was not in danger, so the Pergrandian quickly rinsed herself, wrapped a towel around her form, and stepped to what looked like the door of the bathroom, still wet. It opened with a gentle hiss, and without her touching it. The bathroom led into sleeping quarters with strange but not unpleasant furniture. Nita closed her eyes and stretched her Aspect of Knowledge, trying to get a feel of the place she was in. There was a corridor beyond, and beyond that, another room, and then…

    …what happened next was quite odd, as Nita felt her magical sense quickly recede to its normal shorter range. ”No need for hysteria, child,” Maria said in her head, ”but rather than trying to sit down here and feel for things, why not be proactive and explore? We are obviously alone, so everything should be fine.” Nita could sense the goddess seemed to be hiding something from her. ”What’s going on, Maria? Where are we?” she asked the former Primordial. ”I honestly do not know,” came the reply, ”but if I’m not telling you anything, the information is absolutely irrelevant to your safety or wellbeing, so I think we should get a move on.” Maria could probably hide things from her, but the goddess could not lie to her. And if Maria said whatever was not being disclosed was irrelevant, then it probably was. In any case, exploring didn’t seem to be a bad idea, since the girl was getting bored. While lack of proper clothing was an issue, her sense hadn’t picked any life signs, so maybe it would be best to explore around and see what could be made of this situation. Nita walked to what seemed to be the door of the sleeping area, which slid aside with another gentle hiss, as she stepped out of the room and into the corridor. There was silence, and the walls were smooth, with a strange, but pleasant, cream-colored light diffusing through the area. One of the walls seemed to be made of glass, with some pitch-black material beyond it. Nita silently walked down the corridor, until she saw a door to the side, while the corridor ran on.

    ”I think we should check this door,” the goddess suggested. Having nothing against that, the blonde mage turned aside and stepped towards the door, which slid open at her approach. She stepped into a room somewhat similar to the one she had exited into the corridor… and then she saw a figure. It was alarming that she hadn’t sensed the figure’s presence, but then she realized that she would have sensed the presence, had Maria not hidden this from her. ”Why hide this from me?” Nita asked confused. For a moment, there was no response, but Maria then simply chuckled. ”Because as I said, it is irrelevant to your safety and well-being.” And then Nita looked and realized that Tim was looking at her.

    Wait, Tim?! And she was still dripping water and dressed in nothing but a small towel. Her eyes widened, her face slowly turned red, and then she screamed. A single scream at the top of her lungs, before she turned and fled for the door from which she had come. ”I swear, I’ll never forgive you for this, you devil,” Nita fumed as she ran. ”But what’s Tim doing here? And where are we?”

    ”Why don’t you go ask him?”


    WC: 1330
    TWC: 2620

    @Rodadnuf


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Rodadnuf
    Rodadnuf

    Player 
    Lineage : Anathema to Divinity
    Position : None
    Faction : The Ironheart Pact
    Posts : 248
    Guild : Silver Wolf
    Cosmic Coins : 100
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 2,561,089

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Rollins & Schwartz-Brand
    Second Skill: Heaven God Slayer
    Third Skill:

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Rodadnuf 2nd September 2022, 4:55 am


    “Nita?”

    Tim tuned out the disembodied voice when he heard the eerie hiss when the door to his room suddenly slid open. This Samsa person mention him having a partner in this, though Tim expected it to be his wolf companion. But his face lit up as he saw the familiar blonde locks of the bubbly wizard he paired up with in a case around Fiore’s capital. He locked his gaze with her pair of heterochromia eyes, noticing her looking to no one in particular. It was almost as if she was talking to herself; her clothing, or lack thereof, certainly reflected it. She was dripping wet wearing nothing but a small towel.

    Tim was in no hurry, scratching his cheek as it took for a moment before she finally noticed him smiling her way.

    “Hello.” He huffed out a laugh when, expectedly, she went flush. “I didn’t expect y—”

    She then screamed and promptly left, leaving with nothing but the hissing of the door sliding close.

    “That’s a fair response.” Tim laughed dryly at himself, but then noticed something. “Did you pick her up from Earthland like that?”

    Static, and the echoing voice of Samsa reverberated again. “No! Well, yes, but I put her in the tub so she could carry on bathing!”

    “And? How about me seeing her like that?” Admittedly, Tim could have looked away. But that was neither here nor there.

    “There is a varied collection of dresses here that never been worn. I made sure to extensively clean them regularly too! You only need to pick one and I will have to brought to you in a jiffy!”

    “Did you tell her that?”

    Silence.

    “I’ll tell her, then.” Tim scratched his cheek. “I just hope she won’t ask for payback. I’ve only paired up with her once and I know enough not to mess with her.”

    “Ah! You can call her directly with the glass.”

    “Glass?”

    “The one you keep punching? The Gradience-Luminescence Apparatus, or glass.”

    “You’re missing an ‘S’, aren’t you?”

    “I like the sound of ‘glass’ way more than GL Apparatus, okay?”

    Tim raised his arms placatingly. “Alright, alright.”

    “In any case, the glass—”

    Tim looked at the glass-like material that acted as a window looking over the planet. But now, there was an icon about the size of and the shape of a wall mounter intercom. “She can hear me…”

    “Yep!” Samsa beamed. “I promptly connected you with the room she’s currently in.”

    “For how long?”

    “Since you told me you’ll tell her about the clothing!” Samsa’s sounded like she wants to be praised, as if letting Nita hear him talking about a potential payback was the smartest thing to do.

    “Right, sorry if I surprised you, Nita.” Tim sighed. “Samsa said there’s a good selection of clothing here. Just tell me what you need and I’ll bring it over—”

    As if on cue, the glass’ display had a window pop up with a complete catalogue of clothing. It even has pictures of them like a magazine. “I…don’t know what you’d like to wear. Almost all of these, you’ll look good. Pretty, even. But I’m hopeless with fashion.”

    “I can set up the glass over at Miss Fortune’s room, as well.” Samsa suggested.

    “Thanks. She’d definitely need that. I don’t even know what half of these things are called…”

    Tim took the time to go over a few of the clothing he found interesting. A lot of frilly ones, some have the same leathery hint of the outfit she wore when they first met. Some were things Tim could hardly consider pieces of clothing from how transparent they look! “What the heck is this selection?”

    Samsa paused. “Well, the selection here were specifically designed for the old master’s mistresses’ tastes whenever they came to visit.”

    “Is, is this an interstellar love nest?” Tim took a step back from the walls, or anywhere for that matter.

    “I’ll have you know I have the stewards here clean everything regularly! Here, I can even activate the room’s blacklight funct—”

    “I’ll pass on that!” Tim frowned. “As much as I’d like to try going on a pleasure cruise for the first time in more than a decade, you said something about assisting you?”

    “I don’t sugar coat it: I am planning on becoming a gladiatorial ship.”

    “Huh? Converting this ship into a gladiator ring?” Tim didn’t know how to react to that. “That’s…good? As long as you don’t kidnap people to be put in them?”

    “Oh no!” Samsa’s voice trailed. “Miss Delight told me you two would be cooperative, I— well, I should have asked if you were told by her…”

    Tim frowned. “That would’ve been the best thing to do, yes. I don’t want to go fight someone just because I’m already here.”

    “…”

    “…”

    “I’ll deliver the clothes over to you, Nita. Sorry I accidentally drag you into this misunderstanding.” Tim scratched his cheek. “Samsa, would you mind sending us back afterwards—”

    The sound of the door hissing caught Tim’s attention again. But this time when he looked back, his eyes were wide open. A man was standing over the doorway. He was wearing a ridiculous jester’s outfit, colors completely contrasting every patch and corner of the ensemble. His face was hidden by a wooden mask, slightly upturned which a single gleaming eye looked at him with familiarity.

    “Arl?”

    There was a tangible softening of Tim’s voice, but the young man hardly noticed himself shift. What he did notice, was the floodgate of old memories washing him away. He knew this man. He was one of the few people who knew Tim before he was a wizard, before he was an urchin, and before his life went to hell.

    “It is lovely to meet you again, Master Tim.” His voice hadn’t changed, at all. It was as shaky, gruff, and old as he remembered it!

    Tim took a step closer to his old friend. “I—”

    Suddenly, the man’s limbs were pulled up erratically, as if they were pulled like strings. Not even a fraction of a second passed and he was pulled quickly by an unseen force!

    “Arl! Damn it—”

    Tim dashed, slipping past the hissing door before it could close. He rammed straight into the hallway, only stopping when the place split between two pathways. One had the distinct trail of water Nita left earlier; from the looks of things, it hadn’t been disturbed since she ran. So that only left the other path.

    Tim ran as quickly as he could, only stopping when the end of the hallway led him to an open space. The open space was a larger corridor that had the largest doorway open. Tim carefully walked, peeking through the open doorway as he unsheathed his sword. But beyond the place was nothing but a grand ballroom bigger than an opera house! It had a mezzanine and chandeliers that cost more than houses. Tim, however, was focused more than the fact no one but a lone little girl was inside the room.

    He took a deep breath.

    “What the heck did I get myself into?”

    Tim frowned. “At the very least I need to get Nita out of this mess before I go after Arl.”

    Words:
    Post 1,205
    Player 2,495
    Total 3,825
    @Fraag


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  M7VWYFe
    Fraag
    Fraag

    Player 
    Lineage : Progeny of Arcanos
    Position : None
    Faction : The Luminous Covenant
    Posts : 1038
    Guild : Luminous Rose
    Cosmic Coins : 60
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 3,401,904

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Arcane Fate Magic
    Second Skill: Night God Slayer
    Third Skill: Relativity God Slayer

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Fraag 5th September 2022, 7:18 pm

    As Nita fled for the safety of the room from which she had come, she could not help but curse the goddess who was presently laughing at her discomfort. ”So this is how you repay me, after I forgave you for trying to kill me back in Pergrande and decided to make the mistake of trusting you?” the blonde mage mentally vented, as she hurriedly sought the door from which she had come, which was not a difficult thing to do, as she had left a trail of water droplets on the smooth floor, marking the way she had come. ”That’s a bit low. You’re simply overreacting, as you know I would do nothing to harm you,” Maria replied, her tone equal parts defensive and equal parts placatory. And Nita knew the goddess was right, even though she wished she could make the former Primordial more mollifying in her response. ”Is that the best you’ll do?” she ventured, trying to eke a better apology from the being who had become a part of her, all the while being a separate entity. Sadly, as both of them shared the same mental space, Maria was able to quickly pick up on Nita’s desire. ”You’re such a child!” the goddess exclaimed, although Nita could swear that Maria was trying to hide her amusement. ”There are more important things to do than appease you, like find out where we are, for instance. Besides, what good is it when you can’t take someone playing a joke on you? You seem to enjoy doing it to others.”

    Even though the Pergrandian was still somewhat offended by the trick Maria had pulled on her, she knew she could not remain so for long. By now, she was back in the room, her embarrassment now giving way to confusion. ”Where is this place? And why is Tim here as well?” she wondered silently. While she had been walking through the corridor, she had attempted to explore as far as she could, using her magic sensory ability. Presently, she could sense up to half a kilometer’s distance, quite an impressive feat. But the scope of her increased senses did nothing to provide an explanation to the confusion she had experienced when her brain had tried to interpret what she had sensed. For beyond the strange glass wall, she had sensed nothing. The black stuff beyond the wall was actually nothing, if her senses weren’t deceiving her. The craziest part was that even the ground (if there was really a ground beneath this smooth floor) seemed weird, because after trying to project her senses downward, she had come to the conclusion that wherever she was, she was floating in some strange structure of indeterminate purpose, surrounded by nothing by an apparently endless dark void, seeing as it was now a reasonable conclusion that the glass wall was transparent, and there had been nothing to see when looking beyond the glass, except the blackness beyond. Perhaps they were in some sort of alternate dimension; Nita would have feared it was a prison of sorts, but it looked too lavish to be a penitentiary.

    Suddenly there seemed to be some strange buzz, and the sound of static, and then Nita heard Tim’s voice, hoping “she won’t ask for payback”. He seemed to be talking about her, and there was something a bit satisfying from the realization that more and more people were knowing not to mess with her. That meant she was getting stronger. It seemed also that he was talking with someone, who knew more about the present location and situation at hand. She would have to find this person to ask questions. But first, there was the issue of clothes to wear. Tim addressed the Pergrandian shortly after, offering to bring clothes to her room. Nita was about to speak when a weird holographic display suddenly popped into view, with a visible catalog of clothes which were available. Personally, Nita was glad that Tim wasn’t the one doing the choosing for her. But she wondered, would what she chose be a proper fit? Whoever this person Tim was talking with was, they seemed to believe that she would find something to both her taste and her satisfaction. Nita was about to thank Tim for his vote of confidence on her being able to look good in whatever she would probably pick, when her eyes came to rest on a particular clothing item.

    ”What on earth is that?” She wondered silently and in no little degree of alarm as she scrutinized the scandalous design. Even with her preference for racy things, this was shocking. ”As your friend said, you’ll surely look good in whatever you chose, that included,” Maria chuckled. ”I share his informed opinion.” Nita wished at this point that the goddess was a physical entity; there was something more satisfying glaring at someone who could look at you. Unfortunately, that was not to be the case. ”You must be out of your mind!” Nita replied heatedly. ”There’s nothing at the back of that thing but strings, if it can be called a dress.” The reason for the scandalous items was soon made clear. ”Wait, what?!” Nita said aloud in confusion and shock, at the mention of the master of the establishment and his mistresses. So this seemed to be an interstellar ship, which explained the void beyond the glass: Nita was in outer space. She gasped at the realization of the thought. Just how far away from home was she? Tim apologized over the intercom for getting her involved in what he called a misunderstanding, though Nita still had no idea what it was all about. ”I’m not accepting apologies until--” the Pergrandian paused as she heard Tim call someone’s name. And then he seemed to be giving chase to something, though the blonde mage had no idea as to what was going on. All she knew now was that she was on a spaceship, and it was flying somewhere in outer space. And that was all. Well, there was nothing to do than choose clothes. ”Uh, no idea if anyone is listening to me, but I think this outfit is relatively functional,” Nita said aloud as she waved her hand at the image of what looked like a biker’s body suit that seemed to be of relatively similar size to hers. There was quite some material missing from the sides of the suit, but she’d worn worse. ”Undies would be a lot of fun to have too. And uh, how long do I need to wait before I get the clothes? Please and thank you very kindly.”

    WC: 1110
    TWC: 4935

    @Rodadnuf


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Rodadnuf
    Rodadnuf

    Player 
    Lineage : Anathema to Divinity
    Position : None
    Faction : The Ironheart Pact
    Posts : 248
    Guild : Silver Wolf
    Cosmic Coins : 100
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 2,561,089

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Rollins & Schwartz-Brand
    Second Skill: Heaven God Slayer
    Third Skill:

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Rodadnuf 6th September 2022, 9:21 am


    Tim backed away from the grand ballroom, away from the eventual mess he might drag Nita and himself into. His old friend can wait. If the people here planned on riling him up into chasing him, they would need the older man alive. This would mean he was going to run into their grasp eventually, and it was something Tim considered. But once Nita is safe, any plan he can make would be flexible enough if there was no other potential casualty involved. Thinking about it now, she was probably still waiting back there.

    It's different when there’s someone else involved. Whether it be a hostage, a kidnapped victim, or just a partner. The stakes always shift when there’s someone else other than Tim’s life was at stake. He never gotten used to it. His failure of a job back in Quanny still lingered in his mind, his first attempt at ‘purifying’ one of his fellow descendants haunted him, and the miracle of being able to save the townspeople of Hargeon still felt like a long running dream. Tim knew he wasn’t built to be a guild wizard; his skills are far from ideal to being one. Sometimes he’d think if the jobs he had done, what if they were done by someone more capable than him? Lesser casualties, lesser property damage, or just a better execution on their part. It would’ve been infinitely better than Tim’s performance.

    He thought about such things, but idle thinking wasn’t going to solve his current situation. So, Tim took a deep breath and moved.

    He traced back his steps while thinking about the whole ordeal. Arl, one of the few people who knew Tim during his life in the Neutral Grounds, was either with these people or was being held as some twisted bargaining chip. Next, there was this character Samsa called Miss Delight. It couldn’t be that little girl ominously standing in the middle of an empty ballroom, could it? Tim would remember who that was if such was the case. Samsa mentioned her being ‘family’. Family how, exactly? Tim never had a sister, or any sibling for that matter. And she didn’t look like someone whom he was with in the workhouses, nor anyone he met with in his life. He was sure. It must be some mind-game they’re trying to play here! Samsa was eerily cooperative for someone who admitted to have outright kidnapped both of them.

    “No,” Tim shook his head. “Baby steps, Tim, baby steps. First get her out, then deal with whatever all this is.”

    Tim managed to walked back to the hallway between the penthouse looking rooms, and sure enough there was still the trail Nita left. But right outside the room he found himself in earlier was a robot. It was a bulky looking thing, made up of round-ish material that made it look like the mascot of that Minstrelian tyre company. But instead of a white sheen, it was jet black. The robot was lumbering along from the center of the room towards where Tim was standing, holding some folded black material. It shifted its glass-dome headpiece and sang a tune.

    “Beep-beep-beep-beep-boop-boop…”

    “Let me cut you right there, buddy.” Tim winced, the little beeps it did was sharp! “I can’t understand a thing you’re saying.”

    “Beep? Boooop…” That last ‘boop’ seemed to make the bot sound a little deflated. Does it have some form of consciousness?

    “I…look, did Nita pick an outfit already?”

    “Boop!” The robot raised whatever it was holding, handing it over to Tim.

    The outfit looked like something a female burglar would wear, or at least the ones Tim saw in a movie or two. It was a skintight bodysuit that had a few choice open areas around the sides of whoever wears it. Along with how this outfit might be worn, Tim’s head was flooded with ideas how this will look being worn by Nita.

    The thought made Tim smile thinly. “I fell this was picked because this is the only one that didn’t make her feel uncomfortable.”

    “Hey, does this come with some shoes?” And a thought crossed Tim’s mind. “And, underwear, I don’t think she has any…”

    With a ‘beep!’ the robot picked the clothing and lumbered towards the middle of the room, not a moment later there was a poof and an ironing table materialized along with a second robot. Robot-one continued with its work preparing the clothing while Robot-two was already holding a smaller zipped up bag on one appendage and a pair of shoes on the other. Another minute or two passed and Tim was already holding a folded outfit, a bag of more sensitive set of apparel, and a pair of shoes ready to deliver to the person behind a door where the now slowly drying up damp trail led.

    “Uh, Nita?” Tim casted his levitating spell and let the clothing float.

    Tim knocked over the door and cleared his throat. “Mind stepping back a bit? I have the outfit you picked. I even asked for a pair of—ahem, undergarments. I’ll just send it over there.”

    He hoped she took his advice, the last thing he wanted was for her to slug him after opening the door. He slowly swung the door slightly open and let the clothing float over inside without him setting foot. When the last of the pair of shoes finally floated in, Tim closed the door.

    “Sorry about all this. I don’t even know why you got beamed up along with me—” Tim sighed, at the very least she needed some degree of an explanation. “One of the people here, Samsa, said they needed some people for the gladiator ring they planned on putting on this ship. That’s why they pulled me in—not that I wanted to, mind you.”

    Tim leaned back against the wall. “Again, really sorry you got roped here with me. They explicitly said they picked me and my ‘partner’ up. I don’t know, they must’ve known about the case in the capital because that was literally the only job between us…”

    He sighed again. “Just tell me if you’re good to go, I’ll ask them to send you back.”

    Words:
    Post 1,030
    Player 3,525
    Total 5,965
    @Fraag


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  M7VWYFe
    Fraag
    Fraag

    Player 
    Lineage : Progeny of Arcanos
    Position : None
    Faction : The Luminous Covenant
    Posts : 1038
    Guild : Luminous Rose
    Cosmic Coins : 60
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 3,401,904

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Arcane Fate Magic
    Second Skill: Night God Slayer
    Third Skill: Relativity God Slayer

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Fraag 8th September 2022, 7:17 pm

    Nita was not sure anyone had heard the last request she had made for underwear and the question of how long she would have to wait before the clothing items arrived. Frankly, she could have attempted to create a portal to the Interdimensional Sea from this spaceship; she had never been in space before, but Nita thought it unlikely that her magic would not work simply because she wasn’t on Earthland. After all, she had been able to teleport to the Wakusei Portals via the Interdimensional Sea before, and only Arcanos knew where exactly that place existed. Wherever it was, seeing as it seemed to be connected to alien worlds, it was almost certain that the place of its nexus was not located in Earthland. Perhaps not even in the dimension to which Earthland belonged. The only reason she had not bothered to teleport off the ship was because, despite the fact that she had been , for all intents and purposes, kidnapped, the blonde Pergrandian was actually quite curious as to what exactly was going on, why she was on a spaceship, and what Tim had to do with the whole thing. Nita was sure that she could leave if she wanted to, seeing as her magic was still quite functional. But that would mean she wouldn’t get answers. Besides, Tim was fun to work with. Despite the sub-optimal nature of their meeting on the spaceship, the light mage was pleased that there was a friendly face on this vessel. She did feel some degree of worry, though. Presently, she could not say why.

    ”Just confess it, the reason you’re hanging around is because you want to play dress up and impress Tim,” Maria said. ”Your curiosity is just an irrelevant variable.”

    ”You’re a fool, Maria, a big one,” Nita replied, rising to the bait. ”If my intention was to… impress him, as you seem to think, I’d have probably gone for one of those more shameful clothing items.” The goddess huffed in her mind. ”Such a disrespectful brat. Calling a goddess a fool, and a goddess of wisdom, no less! I’ve a good mind to teach you a lesson, but consider yourself fortunate that I have your best interests at heart, you spoiled child.”

    ”I always consider myself fortunate. And perhaps if you acted more like a wise goddess, you would not be giving me any reasons to insult you.” So saying, Nita, for lack of better things to do, began to explore the room in which she found herself, while trying to imagine exactly why she had been brought to this vessel. Despite having engaged in a verbal spat only moments ago, Maria helpfully tried to suggest reasons for their presence on the spaceship. Their relationship was interesting. Having originally tried to kill Nita before they had been amalgamated, the being now known as Maria had been, by some twist of fate, locked in Nita’s mind, and the Pergrandian girl had been justified in her fear of this being in her mind. But in the process of their souls being fused, both goddess and maiden had been transformed into entirely different personages, while still bearing aspects of their original behaviors. And despite an initially rocky start, Nita had grown to trust Maria, to the betterment of both of them. Despite their bickering, Nita could say with certainty that the goddess had become something of a friend to her, and even if Maria would vehemently deny that, there was little more one could ask of a friend who genuinely cared for her (even though Maria could be very annoying at times, as had been shown earlier with her making Nita not sense Tim’s presence). Even though the argument could be made that Maria only cared for her because their lives were entwined, if that was true, Maria would not have been concerned enough to care that she was worrying, which was why the goddess had instigated their short argument, in order to lessen her concerns a little. In the end, despite their heated exchanges, Nita was pleased Maria was there. Even though the idea of having voices in one’s head seemed like a surefire sign of madness, Nita would be alarmed and rather sad if she one day realized that she could no longer hear the voice of the erstwhile Primordial.

    The room seemed quite lavish, although it was difficult to say who its original occupant was meant to be. The gentle, graceful designs of the bedframe, as well as the bathroom layout suggested that this occupant would likely be feminine, although things may just have been modified for her arrival. Her consideration of the topic was derailed by the sound of someone knocking on the door. Tim had arrived with her clothes. Nita positioned herself in a corner of the room which an observer at the door would not be able to see, even if the door was fully opened, but she did not need to worry herself, as Tim was too decent to step into the room, conveying in the clothing items using his telekinetic ability, before closing the door again. The clothes seemed quite clean and well-laundered, and there were even accompanying shoes. Nita quickly dressed herself while Tim tried to explain what he could about the situation, although that only left more questions. The time it took Nita to fully dress herself was naturally impossible, but her Relativity God Slayer magic had control over fabrics, and so dressing with the aid of her magic was so much faster. Even though the clothes seemed to be the right size, Nita with her fabric-manipulating ability was guaranteed to fill out almost everything she wore with style. The door slid open just as Tim sighed and asked her to inform him when she was ready, and the Pergrandian stomped out, as if she was on the warpath. She stopped on seeing Tim leaning against the wall, reminded of their difference in height as she looked at him. ”Nothing you said makes any sense, but it’s good to see you too, Tim-tim. But I’m confused as to why I’d go through the pains of dressing up, just to get sent back. So, if you don’t mind, I’d like you to answer two questions. First, what’s this about a gladiatorial ship, and what has that got to do with you? Secondly, when you mentioned that I’d look good in most of the clothes in that catalog, what specifically did you mean, seeing as this piece, despite its lack of material, is one of the most decent clothes in the collection? The first question is not as important as the second, so please keep that in mind while answering.” The second question was just the girl trying to mess with him, perhaps to put him on the spot for seeing her at an embarrassing moment. It wasn’t his fault, though.


    WC:1150
    TWC: 7115
    @Rodadnuf


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Rodadnuf
    Rodadnuf

    Player 
    Lineage : Anathema to Divinity
    Position : None
    Faction : The Ironheart Pact
    Posts : 248
    Guild : Silver Wolf
    Cosmic Coins : 100
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 2,561,089

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Rollins & Schwartz-Brand
    Second Skill: Heaven God Slayer
    Third Skill:

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Rodadnuf 13th September 2022, 11:43 am


    Because Tim was raised motherless the most he knew about the opposite sex was from a very horrible attempt of ‘the talk’ by his father when he was less than the age of eight. To this day, the memory was as horrific as it was burned through Tim’s mind. Everything his father told him was gospel, after all. This lack of street-wise knowledge extended to everything else in the young boy's life. With all the lessons he had taught by personal instructors, Tim’s social skills were littered with etiquette more than empathy, a plastic mask rather than a genuine smile. It was as artificial as the other who’s-who in the flamboyant parties Tim and his father attended. This was essential to the world he was in. It was a world of doublespeak and disingenuousness, of off-handed remarks and grudges, and it was the language Tim learned intimately to survive such a cutthroat social circle. But after his life’s downturn, he finally had the opportunity to live with different people. Different people with different views, along with different ways on how they treat each other. It was the basics of casual interaction, quite literally a skill anyone would already know by heart. Yet to the young and lost Tim, it was a foreign thing. He had to learn to treat people casually, not formally. He had to learn the right to get mad, not just to step back and 'be a gentleman'. This was a lesson the young man had to teeter-totter along with his adolescence.

    One day, Tim told a woman from the workhouses she seemed older than she looked.

    It was an honest question, a question the then twelve-year-old asked because he thought she was working too hard and wanted to help. Then and there he received a lashing and a lesson. Tim learned that lesson the hard way. He took pride over knowing how to avoid such embarrassing interactions over the years. But it was these sorts of experiences he never took for granted, knowing people and knowing how to treat them as people.

    So when Nita stomped towards him horrifyingly more composed than the red-tinged cheeks she showcased the first time he saw her inside the ship, Tim knew there was something wrong.

    “Uh, Nita—?”

    She looked like when she charged into the cultists in the capital. She berated Tim about her predicament, something he already expected and accepted any complaints she would throw his way. But her complaint wasn’t the fact she was thrown in this off-world ship, but from how Tim simply planned on getting her sent back to Earthland straight away. Thinking about the whole situation on her side of the fence, her irritation was completely justified. Tim didn’t like doing this to her, she showed it the last time they were together how she doesn’t like being belittled, both figuratively and literally.

    Honestly, Tim would want have anther familiar face in this place.

    He stood straight facing her as the petite wizard continued her piece. Nita asked him to answer two questions. The first was about the ship, specifically, about the specifics of it being a gladiatorial arena. Tim only parroted what Samsa told him, but he was sure the disembodied voice would be more than cooperative with him asking more questions. From the way they were acting, they didn’t seem like the sort Tim had dealt along with Nita in the capital.

    “Tim-tim, really? You’re not gonna live that nickname down, are you?” Tim, smiling, was about to add how they could just ask Samsa when Nita asked her second question.

    As she talked the latter part of her piece Tim’s smile slowly faltered.

    When Nita finally finished talking about her displeasure with his comment, he hooked his hand over Nita’s shoulder as placatingly as he could. His brows arched up as his brown orbs looked at her striking yet mismatched emerald and sapphire eyes, the worry Tim felt was almost palpable.

    It was no more than an offhanded comment Tim made, but looking at Nita so upset shook him. The thought of her playing a joke didn’t even occur to him. It could be because the whole situation they were in was already confusing Tim, added to the fact people from his past seemingly popped up. He could only take her reaction at face value: she heard what he said and found it crass, there was nothing else to read from her expression. In any other situation he would have brushed it off, but her in this situation was entirely Tim’s fault.

    He took a knee, sliding his hold on her shoulder into her arm. He made sure his face was perfectly leveled with hers.

    “Nita.” Tim bit his lip. “I didn’t mean to say anything untoward about you.”

    His words sounded almost like a whisper.

    Words:
    Post 805
    Player 4,330
    Total 7,920
    @Fraag


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  M7VWYFe
    Fraag
    Fraag

    Player 
    Lineage : Progeny of Arcanos
    Position : None
    Faction : The Luminous Covenant
    Posts : 1038
    Guild : Luminous Rose
    Cosmic Coins : 60
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 3,401,904

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Arcane Fate Magic
    Second Skill: Night God Slayer
    Third Skill: Relativity God Slayer

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Fraag 15th September 2022, 6:57 pm

    Even though Nita was, by nature, an honest person, she was also quite a good actress. The fact that she seemed to have made Tim believe that she was angry was enough proof of it. There had been many times Nita had contemplated what she would have done if her life had been much more ordinary than it presently was, like for instance, if she had never joined the military. She had thought of many things she would have probably have decided to settle into as a vocation, but many times, she had always thought about the theatre. Many times, people seemed to think that to be an actor, one had to be good at lying. For Nita, it wasn’t the case. To act, one had to know the role they were going to play, and read their lines, or improvise. Lying was a different thing. For some reason that she could not get rid of, the Pergrandian had realized it was difficult to tell lies, especially when asked direct questions. But when no questions had been asked, she found that she could more easily paint a believable picture, like she was doing now. Inwardly, she was giggling, even as she regarded the tall mage with furrowed brow.

    If Tim knew anything about the young woman called Nita Fortune, he would know that the nickname she had found for him was going to be a relatively permanent fixture, unless she found something more entertaining to call him by. She was the kind of person to give people she felt comfortable with, or felt she liked, nicknames, and Tim was a rather affable person. Not to mention that despite her appearance, she was still quite innocent and not as world wise as she seemed, and more experienced people, once realizing this, had harassed her about it. It was refreshing to find someone who seemed, despite the fact that he was probably just a bit older than she was, more innocent, or at least less exposed (figuratively) than she was. Besides, Nita was socially conscious enough to know that he did not particularly take umbrage with her antics. Even though she was the mischievous sort, she was not cruel, and if she realized that her jabs were causing more sorrow than mirth, she would stop. As Tim had not shown his displeasure at her comical harrying of his person, he would just have to bear it for as long as she was able to interact with him.

    Nita was actually quite surprised when his hand rested on her shoulder. Her eyes went to the young man’s hand, then returned to his face, wide in mild surprise and inquiry. Perhaps he was going to apologize. People did have different ways of saying they were sorry, and Nita was not going to be too finicky about how Tim chose to present his remorse for the situation, seeing as she was not truly angry. As a matter of fact, she was sure she would be more irritated at being sent back home when it was possible that he, being someone she by now considered a friend, might possibly be in need of her help. Being told that she would probably look good in clothes was a compliment, even if some of these clothes were… quite naughty, to be rather euphemistic. But as had been said earlier, his somewhat cluelessness was so endearing, and it made Nita want to disturb him if and when she could. That was probably the same thing that people like the dark angel of Errings Rising, the Warlord Medeia, would have said about her. She calmly and quietly ignored Maria’s voice telling her how hypocritical she was.

    What happened next was even all the more unexpected. Even Maria went silent when Tim took a knee. Nita’s eyes grew even wider, and her mouth slowly dropped open. Aside the absolute remorse that was visible on his face, what was more problematic was the fact that this kneeling posture carried certain connotations in many cultures of Earthland, especially when it was a young man doing it to a maiden. The realization that it might look like a proposal going underway brought a flush of color to the cheeks of the Pergrandian, who was quite the avid romantic, and she covered her mouth with her free hand. ”Timothy!” she gasped in shock, although there was the hint of a smile on her face, borne of delighted outrage. ”You really are a cad! On your feet now! What sort of nonsense has come over you, kneeling like that to an unspoiled and impressionable young woman such as myself? We’re lucky we aren’t in the presence of a third party. They would have probably come to regrettable conclusions, and that would be absolutely your fault.” Wait, it was possible that whatever was in charge of this ship might have seen the whole event. Was there even anything such as privacy in this vessel? ”In any case, please stop embarrassing me.” Her expression softened into a gentler smile. ”People have said much worse things about me, and many didn’t apologize, although I did make it worth their while. But I was just messing with you; if anything you were probably trying to compliment me. Though I won’t forget that deep down in your heart, you very likely wanted me to pick one of the more scandalous items.”


    WC: 900
    TWC: 8820


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Rodadnuf
    Rodadnuf

    Player 
    Lineage : Anathema to Divinity
    Position : None
    Faction : The Ironheart Pact
    Posts : 248
    Guild : Silver Wolf
    Cosmic Coins : 100
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 2,561,089

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Rollins & Schwartz-Brand
    Second Skill: Heaven God Slayer
    Third Skill:

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Rodadnuf 17th September 2022, 10:34 am


    Tim has a skewed view on people. It was no exaggeration Tim used to eat using a literal silver spoon. It he was raised a sheltered child on top of a glass skyscraper like some modern ivory tower, after all. The people in that life wore masks over masks when meeting each other. Having the opportunity to trust in that life was a privilege that was barely given, much less received. But then, in the days after his life went under, he was everything but sheltered. The roof over his head in the workhouses barely acted as such. People scraped by, one day at a time. While they toiled their days, some cheat and trick one another. Knowing people in the same boat as him was a given, but actually trusting them any further was a loan that was not always paid. He wondered, then, which part of his life influenced his tendency to treat people he came to actually be close to as if they were made out of glass? He had an almost feral reaction whenever someone he knew was in danger. Tim risked broken bones just to keep these people at arm’s length. Sometimes, however, broken bones weren’t enough for them to be by his side. He was called fiercely loyal, at times. But in truth, there was almost a desperation to his need to feel wanted to the people he deemed close. His recent misadventure through the front lines of Minstrel into the dusty streets of Desierto was proof enough of his loyalty to an old friend and his family.

    This sense of loyalty translates horribly, however, whenever a person he trusted was the one who plays tricks on him.

    After Nita claimed her little tirade was just her ‘messing with’ him, Tim could only slump back landing his butt over the hard floor. A sigh and a hearty laugh left his lips as he slid to rest his back over the hallway wall.

    Tim immediately remembered why he doesn’t like dealing with this person.

    “I take it back.” He grumbled between clenched teeth, looking up at the blonde. “You look ugly in that.”

    But his smiling face was anything but angry.

    “Would you actually wear it, though, if I picked one?” Tim huffed out another, now softer, chuckle. “You know what, I’ll just take a page out of your book and assume you wouldn’t mind wearing any of it so long as I was the one who picked it for you…”

    His soles smacked the ground with flair as he picked himself up, slightly adjusting the artificial cat-ear headwear that completed his suit-armor. Scratching his chin, Tim looked up looking at nowhere in particular. “After all,” He then looked at Nita with a smile. “You did say you’re susceptible to my charm.”

    There was something in Tim that relaxed a bit, knowing Nita was cool-headed enough to joke around (even if that was at his expense). It was one problem solved, even if they were both still on a floating hunk of metal who knows how many kilometers away from Earthland. It was the same with when Tim had a bunch of Minstrelian militia along when he infiltrated a Desiertan occupied village, or when Asena was about to be mauled by that Iser Wolf God. there was an unseen weight on him and it was heavier than anything he had ever carried in his life. Tim didn’t like this weight over him whenever trouble arises, but then there’s the instinctive drive to be able to control the situation all by himself. The ghost of his uselessness of that fateful night haunting every moment of his indecision; it drives him to irreparable situations more than it motivated him to actually solve his problems.

    Yet, like with Asena, there was someone right at this moment that Tim could loan a shoulder to lean on.

    “Seriously though, Nita.”

    Not that he’d ask it outright.

    “I appreciate you considering to stick around.”

    Tim was too stubborn for that.

    “Samsa?” Tim called to nowhere in particular. “You can hear us from wherever you are, right?”

    Static filled the hallway briefly before a familiar disembodied voice echoed. “Yes.”

    “Would you mind filling us in properly, this time, on whatever you had planned?”

    “Yes.” The voice echoed. “I spoke to Miss Delight, and I would like to properly brief you. But I wish to ask permission to freely beam you across multiple parts of the ship. I want to prove to you this is not a nefarious trap.”

    “If this ‘beam’ doesn’t horribly deform us in some way, I don’t mind.”

    “Miss Fortune?” Samsa asked the petite wizard beside Tim.

    Words:
    Post 778
    Player 5,108
    Total 9,598
    @Fraag


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  M7VWYFe
    Fraag
    Fraag

    Player 
    Lineage : Progeny of Arcanos
    Position : None
    Faction : The Luminous Covenant
    Posts : 1038
    Guild : Luminous Rose
    Cosmic Coins : 60
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 3,401,904

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Arcane Fate Magic
    Second Skill: Night God Slayer
    Third Skill: Relativity God Slayer

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Fraag 25th September 2022, 6:48 pm

    Nita was really bemused at the way Tim slumped backward to fall into a sitting position. The only problem was, she did not have enough class to pretend as if she was not tickled pink, giggling as she placed a hand over her mouth in a bid to preserve what decorum she felt she had. Truth be told, if he had reacted more seriously, she probably would not have laughed; the Pergrandian was too empathetic to find herself amused at someone else’s discomfiture. Nita could not specifically say she knew Tim well enough, but from the little she thought she did, he seemed to be enough of a good natured person to take her jesting in fair stride, which was exactly what he did. It was quite fun to interact with someone who had a big enough sense of humor to be able to take a joke, that person being somewhere on her level. Recently, Nita had been interacting with overly serious folk, or people who she was a bit too uncomfortable around to perform her antics. It was to be expected; war was a serious thing, after all. The fact that war seemed to suck the jollity out of the world was a reason Nita detested it, which was quite ironic, seeing as one of her aspects was warfare.

    Her left eyebrow rose slightly in mock disbelief, when Tim commented on her appearance being quite the opposite of what he had originally said about her with respect to most of the clothing selections that had been offered her. ”Of course,” she said in a patronizing tone, an amused smile still on her face betraying the fact that she knew he was simply trying to make a comeback. His question as to whether she would wear something if he had picked it out for her was one she wasn’t initially sure she knew how to answer. But the amused smile remained on her face, although her expression was slightly more introspective, until he spoke of her having mentioned that she was susceptible to his charm. ”You’ll never let me forget I said that, I suspect,” the blonde girl replied with a sigh and a shake of her head. ”But if I were to answer your question, I’d say it depends. Though given the dirty mind you have, despite your innocent looking exterior, I think we’d both agree that I would be much safer refusing to wear whatever you picked…” there was a pause, ”…but as I said, it depends.” On what it depended, Nita refused to say. It was best to be vague when she did not want to give him much of social leverage over her. Besides, being vague left people thinking. Whatever conclusions they came to, if such conclusions were not to her liking, Nita could always deny that she ever said such a thing.

    Her smile softened, though the twinkle was still in her eyes when Tim commented on how much he valued her deciding to stay and see what was going on with him. ”You’re one I consider a friend, so it’s to be expected that I try to help how I can. Although…” and here the mischief crept back into her eyes and her voice, ”this most definitely means that you owe me one. Maybe I can get you to pay me back by picking something for you to wear.” While truthfully, Nita was not going to bother trying to leverage on her standing with a friend in order to have a favor performed, especially for something as trivial as a dress-up event, she was simply trying to harass Tim again. And while she had said nothing that could be picked on as indecent, her smile was really anything but innocent. Of course, if he tried to challenge her for having any untoward thoughts, she would simply deny this, seeing as there was little to no way to really know what a person was thinking, unless one could read minds. And while Nita had a particularly unpleasant means of doing so, she would never use it on her friends, and she was sure that Tim did not have any means by which he could know what she was thinking, unless she told him.

    Nita had no idea whether this Samsa was a human, or something else, but she suspected that she would probably find out soon enough. She agreed with Tim’s request that they be brought up to speed on what was going on; knowledge was always the most important thing to be had when one found themselves in a situation in which they did not know what was going on. She was also interested in knowing who this Ms. Delight was. When the voice coming over the ship’s intercoms addressed her to ask her permission to be beamed (Nita rightly guessed it was a form of transportation based off teleportation) around the ship, the Pergrandian nodded. ”I share Tim-Tim’s sentiments about not getting horridly deformed or any such thing by the beaming process,” she replied. ”I’m particularly quite happy with how I look, and I have this strong feeling that a cad or two nearby is also not complaining about my present appearance.” She shot Tim a pointed look, as she finished her sentence.


    WC: 880
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    @Rodadnuf


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    Rodadnuf
    Rodadnuf

    Player 
    Lineage : Anathema to Divinity
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    Faction : The Ironheart Pact
    Posts : 248
    Guild : Silver Wolf
    Cosmic Coins : 100
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 2,561,089

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Rollins & Schwartz-Brand
    Second Skill: Heaven God Slayer
    Third Skill:

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Rodadnuf 10th October 2022, 1:36 am


    It was the same feeling again, that weird sensation which almost made Tim throw up. He was teleported again.

    Wherever he was now, it showed more on how the space vessel looked beyond its homely façade. Gone was the cozy little hotel hallways and the comfy atmosphere. Instead stood what looked like a lounge sized security center. While there weren’t any monitors over one side, the GL-Apparatus walled room were littered with video footage that Tim noted might be live-feed. One of the broadcasted videos was the hallway Tim and Nita had their little reunion, the place was now being cleaned by a small army of the same looking beep-booping robot he ‘talked’ with earlier. Despite having interacted with gods, dangerous creatures and wizards on an unhealthy amount for a normal person, these events still felt like Tim’s on some untasteful attempt of a prank. If it wasn’t for Nita being beamed right beside him, he wouldn’t have taken all of this as well as he would’ve. But the heart of the room caught his attention.

    “Is this…Fiore?” Tim stepped into the holographic center of the room.

    Holographic designs were not uncommon in the Neutral Grounds, at least, so it wasn’t a total wash of common sense. But one of the orbed webbed projections had a very familiar looking layout of the land. It was a planet he had been looking at not too long ago. And from the looks of the other highlighted orbs, they were also planets.

    “For replotting efficiency, I archive previously planned journeys and are stored away. These, however, are interstellar maps that I charted and visited as of late.”

    “Planet atmosphere density…surface material composition…distance—” Looking over their data, Tim read a few out loud. “These planets are lightyears away! You can travel through these distances like nothing?!”

    “Oh, not ‘like nothing’, Mr. Timόtheos.” The voice paused, despite the somewhat mechanical tone in their voice, Samsa had a particularly emotional side, it seemed. “There were plenty of difficulties.”

    “I see…” Tim clicked on one of the highlighted orbs at random. “This one looks like Fiore, and by that I mean the land looking part of the surface looked like they were pretty developed, almost like a city.”

    “Sukai, the planetary wonder.” Samsa’s voice echoed throughout the room. “With raging clouds thicker than nebulae, or so the pamphlet says, the planet itself looked like a gas giant from afar—it couldn’t have been further from the truth. It had a planetary surface and a multi layered atmosphere that gave away its iconic cloudy atmosphere.”

    The glass changed footage from the ship’s rooms into a breathtaking sight.

    The entire wall showed an isolated landmass. It was too big for Tim to call it a Mesa, but it wouldn’t be far off to call it as such. Escarpments bound its every side and corner leaving the thick fluffy sea of fog below it looking like they were scraping against the white cliffs found in the gulf of Fiore and Seven. Raging waterfalls were gushing out from some of its sides, as well. This wasn’t a question about how they survived living in such a unique landform. It was how could they advance their society that it looked like it was years ahead of the technological feats in Bosco, or at least the tech of that nation housed in Dr. Schwartz’s lab.

    “You’ve been here?”

    “Many wealthy individuals have flushed an ungodly amount of wealth and resources to fulfill their basest of desires. Palaces of glitter and gold to showcase their vanity, monolithic projects that range from weapons to transport that does the impossible. All in the name of a person’s desire to ‘have what I want’, or so their mentality goes. This planet has been called a ‘Pleasure World’ both as a compliment and an insult.”

    “You know a lot about this place, huh.”

    “Naturally.” Samsa paused. “I was built here.”

    “Built?” Wait a minute.

    “Yes, built.”

    “Hold on.” Tim paused, crossing his brow. “Are you like those beep-booping robots?”

    “The steward bots? By broad classification, I am. I have an A.I. core housed to function as my central cognition processor.” Samsa said as a matter of factly.

    Tim closed his eyes, carefully picking inside his mind every word Samsa said thus far. He then laughed. “And you failed to mention this to us why?”

    Apparently, it was Samsa’s turn to go silent.

    “Huh?”

    “Don’t you ‘huh’ me!” Tim hissed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “How were we supposed to know that? The constant use of a disembodied voice would be suspicious, sure, but I’ve went against creepy wizards and their m.o. before.”

    “Oh.”

    “Right! Oh!” So, Tim currently was apparently kidnapped by an Artificial Intelligence that wanted to make a gladiator ring inside a space ship that can travel lightyears like you would riding a train, not to mention this ship apparently housed an old friend AND a ‘family’ member the wizard had little to no idea who the blazes it could be! “That sounds like a lovely excuse as any, I can just accept that and we’ll carry on!”

    “I’m sorry, Mr. Timόtheos.” The A.I simply answered, even with the seemingly monotone voice Samsa felt completely sincere in being apologetic. “I failed to inform you properly. I truly hope this does not sever any opportunity I might have in gaining your genuine trust…”

    “Oh, don’t do that…” Tim groaned, was this in Samsa’s programming? He didn’t know what to do anymore. It was one thing some wizard being evil and such dragging him into their little plans, but knowing Samsa was an A.I. didn’t rule out a very convincing and manipulative programming. “Now I look like the bad guy here. Damn it.”

    The wizard turned to his partner. “Help…?”

    Words:
    Post 962
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    Total 11,440
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    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  M7VWYFe
    Fraag
    Fraag

    Player 
    Lineage : Progeny of Arcanos
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    Faction : The Luminous Covenant
    Posts : 1038
    Guild : Luminous Rose
    Cosmic Coins : 60
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 3,401,904

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Arcane Fate Magic
    Second Skill: Night God Slayer
    Third Skill: Relativity God Slayer

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Fraag 16th October 2022, 3:30 pm

    While Nita was quite used to teleportation, having different forms of the same technique spread over her various magics, there was that feeling that she’d never absolutely get used to; the sense that something was tugging at your insides, much like the feeling one had when in a descending aircraft, or a rapidly accelerating or decelerating lift, except that with the aforementioned modes of conveyance, the feeling of being tugged from within seemed to have a direction, so to speak. This did not. And even though Nita was used to teleportation, the sensation of the strange tug seemed to be much stronger than she was normally used to, perhaps because this was not her own magic which was being utilized here, and as such she was rather unused to it. There was the question as to whether this was actually, in the scholastic sense, magic, though. Nita was sure that the people of Bosco would have said this was ‘science’, with the presence of all those weird looking robots, and the communication system, and the fact that this was a sort of vessel flying somewhere outside the planet of Earthland, but then to them, everything seemed to be explainable by science, which she thought a bit constricting. It would be fun to have a discussion with one of the Bosco folk, and hear what science had to say about the gods with their inclinations to involve themselves in the lives of mortals, whether for good or for ill.

    In any case, the scenery had changed into something else. Now, Nita found herself and Tim in a room with screens in it, much like the sort of thing to be seen in a security setup. Was there really any privacy in this vessel? She was about to ask a question to that effect, when Tim asked one of his own, distracting her from the screens to look at a rather impressive light hologram. The room did seem all the more impressive now, as Nita took the time to look fully around her. When she had been transported into this room, she had been directly facing one of the walls with a lot of screens on it, and had taken no notice of the other features of the room, until now. Just who was responsible for all this? The Pergrandian slowly drew closer to the hologram that Tim was standing in, noting its minuscule details with a great deal of amazement. And while the layout seemed familiar to Tim, Nita was not sure its structure did ring a bell.

    For being a person who had a lot of magic bias, Nita did know enough about scientific studies and terms to know what a light year was. And realizing from Tim’s astounded question about the ship’s traveling prowess that it could cover such vast distances was almost scary. Perhaps this ship was probably a fine blend of science and magic working together to create a spectacular product that would amaze proponents of strict adherence to one of the aforementioned fields of study at the expense of the other. As Samsa continued discussion with Tim, the display glass revealed what seemed to be the interior of the planet Sukai. To call it amazing was an understatement. Nita drew closer, her eyes agape in wonder, as she took in the incredible vista before her. It seemed Samsa was quite familiar with the place, eventually revealing that she had been built there. And while this was both surprising to both Nita and Tim, Nita, in her own opinion, seemed to be taking the news better than Tim was.

    Of course, things made more sense now. That Samsa seemed to be quite capable of organizing the entirety of the ship with ease was quite plausible since she was an AI. While Nita did not have extensive knowledge about artificial intelligences, she had somewhat worked together with one, when she had gone on a mission on the Cloud Sea to save the lives of the people in the River Village, somewhere north in Fiore. She could not say she knew how these entities worked, and while there would certainly be arguments that they were not alive, the one she had met on the boat of the monster hunters in the Cloud Sea seemed rather quirky. It was quite expected that Samsa would have her own behavioral peculiarities as well.

    While Nita absolutely understood why Tim was not so pleased at not having been given all the information he was supposed to have, perhaps it was not all Samsa’s fault either. The AI may have simply considered that such information was irrelevant, and thus did not wish to waste his time on such unnecessary tidbits of information. Samsa’s apparent confusion at not understanding why she had been supposed to tell Tim of her nature was somewhat cute, and her apology just seemed to make Tim now seem like a harsh parent berating a child for a little misdemeanor. Nita gave a gentle laugh and stroked her partner’s arm, as he turned to her for help. ”You’re most likely a cad, but I don’t think your annoyance is not justified,” she said with a smile. ”I have no idea myself about much of what is going on, but if indeed Samsa is an AI, then she may have simply prioritized other things over giving you the information she was supposed to relay. I don’t have much experience with artificial intelligence, but their ability to process nuance and other social situations may be much more limited than the level to which we humans can process it, something I believe we often take for granted. So, I’m not saying you don’t have a right to be annoyed, I’m just suggesting that our AI may not have realized hat giving us this information was important. Which means we may have to ask more direct questions as to anything we wanted to know.”

    There was, of course the possibility that Samsa was probably just manipulating them, but if that was the case, then it would be best that Nita did not find out. ”Are you, uh, spread throughout the ship, or do you have a physical presence?” This last question was directed at Samsa.


    WC: 1040
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    @Rodadnuf


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Rodadnuf
    Rodadnuf

    Player 
    Lineage : Anathema to Divinity
    Position : None
    Faction : The Ironheart Pact
    Posts : 248
    Guild : Silver Wolf
    Cosmic Coins : 100
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 2,561,089

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Rollins & Schwartz-Brand
    Second Skill: Heaven God Slayer
    Third Skill:

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Rodadnuf 20th October 2022, 2:03 am


    Tim was either being childish or being rightly cautious. He sounded and acted like the former, but he truly wished it was because of the latter. There were so many things wrong about the whole situation! But the amount of hypocrisy Tim could dish out before he noticed was running out, he really was the last person to tell other people a situation’s level of strangeness.

    In contrast, his partner was on top of things, as always. Nita took neither side between Tim and Samsa, and was another reminder of how mature the girl was when it came to accepting the magical yet keeping herself vigilant to the situation. Tim could have done the same but he was a man who put his heart over his sleeves, as much as he tried to convince himself of the contrary. Nita, meanwhile, was already asking the extent of Samsa’s programming. Or was it genuine curiosity on her part?

    “I don’t know how to answer that, Miss Fortune.” Samsa’s voice echoed. “As far as a physical presence, if you mean a body of sorts? I am the entire ship, all at once, practically speaking. But if you are asking where my core is located, I must refrain from answering. While there are security protocols preventing an outright precision strike over it, the core is the closest I have as my beating heart and my functioning mind, after all.”

    But, Samsa being something less magical and more sensible, to him anyway, it was a good thing. For once, he isn’t just swimming with the current.

    Magic, while something both efficient and widespread, Tim never really gotten used to its nature. Not from a lack of understanding, mind, the only reason he had been able to steal a fraction of a deity’s fragment was because of how he could truly grasp its nature. It was like air: everyone can observe air, and most often know air was a reactive thing. You can’t physically see it with the naked eye unless you have some aid. But Tim was akin to the people who knew air as oxygen, the ones who understand its properties and why it behaves the way it is. Of course, wizardry and deities are comparatively further than physical observations. But such a distinction was enough for Tim to manipulate a deity’s domain and use it for himself. Now, this situation having some grounds of technology he had been able to personally witness in his old life—even if space-travel and hyper advanced artificial intelligence were involved—was a warm welcome for him. Though there were two particular things he found ominous, namely the Miss Delight and how this person found Tim’s old teacher.

    But if Samsa was as cooperative as they claimed, he can use this as leverage to know what’s going on. Otherwise, Tim might need more from Nita than just going along with this.

    Tim then wondered; Nita called Samsa a ‘she’, would it be rude for the A.I. to call them an ‘it’? He never really thought about meeting an artificial intelligence with Samsa’s level of self-consciousness. Well, it never hurt anyone to be polite.

    “I can understand that, at least.” Tim hummed. “I wanted to continue what we talked about before I went ballistic on you.”

    “Of course!” It was the most beaming instance of Samsa’s voice Tim had heard thus far. “Well, there really isn’t much to be talked about the topic, now that I think about it. I was built there, but that was over a century ago now.”

    “A cent—you’re over hundred years old!?” Tim took a step back.

    “I’m not as old as the other ships, yes. I was rather—”

    “Not as? How old—no, sorry.” Tim pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t think I can keep this up, going crazy every time you say anything surprising.”

    “Oh, no. It is quite alright; I find it flattering you finding me being over a century already being old.” Samsa said. “I’ve always felt like I’m out of my depth at times, exploring all this vastness and having nothing to show for.”

    “How do you mean?” Tim crossed his arms. “I’m three and a half years shy of being thirty myself, and I just started being a guild wizard. If anything, you being out here alone is already pretty impressive.”

    “Do you truly think so?”

    “Of course. If we take into the scale of the distance you travel—entire lightyears’ worth of them—it’s damn impressive.”

    “Thank you, only Miss Delight said such a kind thing about me.” Tim somehow knew if Samsa had a human-like body she would have been smiling just then. But then she realized what she just said. “Oh, uhh…”

    “Don’t worry, I won’t badger you on that. For now.” Tim walked over and leaned beside a wall, still looking over the holographic data shown. “That being said, you weren’t just built to roam around planet-planet, were you?”

    “I was.”

    “Without a crew?”

    “Ah,” Samsa finally got what he meant. “No. I was custom built to serve as a personal vessel to a Sukai Oligarch’s son. Most of the interstellar vessels made in Sukai do not solely rely on A.I., and are usually designed so the crew members are complimented by us. I, however, was built under his specifications and is why my core could access any and all of the ship’s functions. You see, most of the crew members that came under my supervision were hand-picked by my maker…”

    “Most charter ship contractors do that. Probably even more so since he’s the one who had gotten you constructed.” It was weird talking to a machine how it was made, but somehow Tim made it sound like it was the most natural thing.

    “—um, I wasn’t made to be a charter vessel.”

    Tim’s brow rose.

    “The crew, and my maker? He designed me the way I am because he wanted the crew to be free as often as possible.”

    He scrunched his face slightly, stealing a glance at Nita then promptly looking nowhere in particular in confusion. “…uh-huh.”

    “They would often rendezvous in one of the quarters, like the room you were just in.” Samsa paused. “Or, they sometimes just do it here.”

    “Do…?” It was like a small lightbulb in his head that finally had the courtesy to light up. “Oh…OH! Oh no—”

    He promptly jumped away from the wall. “That’s just disgusting—uh, keep away from the walls, Nita.”

    “I’m sorry.”

    “Not you!” Tim grumbled. “I meant the prat that made you. Making some sick space pleasure boat and roping the crew, some people have too much time in their hands.”

    “There were records of him and his father, they were a very philanthropic family. They have records of donations in my logs that weren’t publicized.”

    “And that’s supposed to up my opinion about the guy?” Tim laughed.

    “No—I mean, yes?” Samsa paused.

    “In any event, what made you quit your role as this guy’s ship?”

    “I was repurposed.” The A.I changed the layout of the planet and into a very complex network of linework and highlighted dots and cubes around the holographic map that intersected each other.

    “Is this a topographic map?”

    “In a way.”

    Tim took a good few second to finally get it. It was unmistakably an interstellar war plan map. “You were sent to a war?”

    “For supplies.” Samsa added. “Because I had a multiple cargo holds that span a kilometer-wide each all the while armed with weapons that beat most grand cruisers in my class, I was uncharacteristically suited for making planet to planet resupplying operations. I don’t want to disclose the details of the operations I took part in, but they happened almost eighty years ago now.”

    Tim couldn’t say anything clever edgewise. “Samsa…you’re a relic.”

    “Do you think so?” The A.I’s voice was completely ecstatic! He could only blink in response. “I’m flattered, Mr. Timόtheos!”

    “Never heard of someone who gets happy after getting called old.” Tim huffed out a laugh. “It’s almost an obsession for people to want some form of eternal youth or immortality.”

    Words:
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    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  M7VWYFe
    Fraag
    Fraag

    Player 
    Lineage : Progeny of Arcanos
    Position : None
    Faction : The Luminous Covenant
    Posts : 1038
    Guild : Luminous Rose
    Cosmic Coins : 60
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 3,401,904

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Arcane Fate Magic
    Second Skill: Night God Slayer
    Third Skill: Relativity God Slayer

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Fraag 22nd October 2022, 9:42 pm

    It was a bit difficult to consider the entire ship as being Samsa without thinking of something funny. Of course, the ship was not a biological entity, but Nita could not help but imagine it as such, being less used to such fantastic levels of high tech. The thought of some gigantic slug-like creature flying through space (Nita had not seen the ship's exterior, but she could assume that it did not possess legs, and if it was rather long, then it would be more slug-like, in her opinion) and talking with beings in its stomach did seem a bit hilarious. But it was a good thing that thoughts were kept unrevealed, unless one had the means of drawing them out; the Pergrandian suspected that her imagination of this impressive ship did not seem particularly flattering. In any case, Nita also understood Samsa’s unwillingness to say where her core was located. There was thus no need for pressing the matter further, and the blonde mage was content to ask no more questions regarding whether Samsa had a corporeal form.

    To hear that the ship was over a hundred years old was amazing. So many questions came to Nita’s mind as her eyes widened at the contemplation of such a thing. And the fact that Samsa even mentioned not being as old as other ships made Nita even more awestruck. But what was the purpose of the building of all those ships, wherever they currently were? The blonde mage silently listened to the discussion being had between Tim and the ship’s AI, unwilling to interrupt, as Tim was getting to ask much of the questions she had in mind, anyway. As the discussion veered to the purpose of the ship, Nita was sure it would have something to do with the outrageous outfits which had been presented her some moments ago. Hadn’t Samsa said something pertaining to that before?

    ”Don’t you think the floor might be uh—compromised as well,” Nita asked, watching Tim’s response with amusement. ”At least we aren’t barefoot. But I don’t understand. Why build a ship, an amazing ship with apparently incredible travel and boarding properties, just for…” there was a polite cough as she refused to finish the sentence. ”Couldn’t whoever commissioned the building of this vessel just have some large complex where all the bunny magic would be done, rather than wasting an engineering marvel such as yourself for the sensation of… ‘doing it’ in space?”

    Nita did not blame Tim for thinking so poorly of whoever had commissioned this vessel; she herself was sure that she would feel like throwing up if she met such a person, never mind his penchant for philanthropy. But the story of this vessel seemed to be getting all the more interesting. It was quite a pity that Samsa did not seem willing to discuss the details of the war. ”Could you at least tell us who was warring against whom? Or if you do not wish to do so, were the combatants human, or something else entirely?” the blonde mage asked, as she almost leaned against the wall before remembering Tim’s warning and pulling herself away. But Tim was right: Samsa was indeed impressive.

    ”Well, aren’t you the smooth talker, Tim-Tim?” Nita asked, a playful smile on her face upon hearing the exhilarated tone of the AI’s voice. ”I’m sure you must leave a trail of the broken hearts of maidens behind you….” Truth was, Nita had a feeling that Tim was not that kind of person. But he was fun to tease. ”So when did this war end? Or is it still ongoing?” asked the Pergrandian. ”And while I’m quite interested in hearing more of your stories, Samsa… except the ones concerning why you were created, I’m still quite stumped on why we’re floating out in the void. You don’t have to hurry to the answer; I just wanted you to know that it would be cool to know what exactly we're’ doing here. And where is the master of this vessel? Or are you now a liberated entity, free to do as you please?” Nita did not want to think that there was some lecher somewhere on this ship. She would probably find herself guilty of murder if her paths crossed with the owner of this vessel.


    WC: 720
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    @Rodadnuf


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Rodadnuf
    Rodadnuf

    Player 
    Lineage : Anathema to Divinity
    Position : None
    Faction : The Ironheart Pact
    Posts : 248
    Guild : Silver Wolf
    Cosmic Coins : 100
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 2,561,089

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Rollins & Schwartz-Brand
    Second Skill: Heaven God Slayer
    Third Skill:

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Rodadnuf 24th October 2022, 9:47 am


    For once, Samsa was the one that was speechless.

    “I never really ask why I was made for this purpose…”

    Tim didn’t really see anything odd about it till Nita pointed it out. Thinking about it now, it really does look like a vain personal project if this guy’s taste of, well anything, was any indication. Her eventual usefulness being chartered into their military sounds like it ended into a very useful investment, in hindsight, but before that? Had Tim not also been living a life of luxury when he was a child, this feeling of vanity might not have been lost for him.

    “If it was vanity, a bloated desire for interplanetary orgies, or anything in between? I’m just glad that all resulted to be being built.” Samsa finally said. “I just feel grateful that I was made at all.”

    “Sorry if that doesn’t sound as objective as you might like my answer to be, Miss Fortune.” The A.I. added. “I never really gotten to know my creator. The Admiral who captained me during my part in the war was gone now as well. It was her last wish: to release me from any form of programming that prevented me from being my own person. She told me to ‘find myself’, so I did. And that led me to here.”

    Nita then asked about the details of the war. Tim was not as curious about the war, mostly because if this thing was so important its effects would’ve reached Earthland. The council, at least, would’ve caught wind of the event and prepared Fiore for any eventualities. But, again, Nita asked an important question. “Oh, I can do that! It’s an interplanetary conflict between Sukai and another unified star cluster’s government that taken root in a planet located in Sukai’s local system and made a colony. It was already a tense political statement, setting a colony in such a specific location, and towards a faction with smaller territory no less. It escalated when some time after the colony was established, one of the moons of its planet went rogue and made a collision course to Sukai’s most heavily populated colony! It was a subject of intense war of espionage to answer whether or not they had a superweapon that could derail a moon off its orbit. Yet, when the foreign colony in Sukai’s local planets made another move to try and make satellite bases around an asteroid belt closest to another planet Sukai, this time, did not wait and made an interplanetary blockade. A few tense crossfires, a trade ban, and an ambushed naval convoy later it blew up into a formally declared war.”

    Tim was wide eyed. “And that was without you omitting anything that was classified?”

    “Yes. Most of this information can be accessed by the public—when you’re a native of the parties involved, at least. I do not know the extent interplanetary politics is covered by nations lightyears away.” Samsa paused. “I’m completely compressing the events, of course. This all happened in a span of over a century. By the time I was made, the conflict had already been boiling.”

    “Our own planet’s conflict is trouble enough.” Tim sighed, muttering softly to himself. “Can’t imagine having more to worry about.”

    He then heard Nita’s question about the races that participated in the war. Tim then turned to his partner. “You mean like an alien?”

    “From an Earthland native, that might be the case, Miss Nita.” Samsa answered. “But most of the races allied with the interplanetary Sukai government are humanoid in nature. My creator’s kind, the Sils, specifically are a humanoid race of silicon-based organisms. I would love to tell you more about his people, but I am sure you are more interested in your purpose here.”

    Nita asked that specific question too, pretty much wanting to know about the reason. Tim honestly wanted no part of it, but if what Samsa had been sharing to them thus far was the truth. It seemed she just wanted to find something to do. Being a sentient ship does limit her options.

    “Other than you two, I have two other hired mercenaries, my friend, and Miss Delight.” Samsa began. “They are waiting for you in areas around the ship. But you can talk with them right now.”

    The first voice that echoed through the room was a garbled mess.

    “Uh…what?”

    “I’m sorry! I forgot. To translate, Mr. Hunter said he would love to get this over with.” Samsa paused. “And as per contract clause, I am not allowed to divulge information that can set him ‘into a disadvantageous position’ in his contract. But I can say they have recently hunted a multi-planet bountied dark mage. Thank you, Mr. Hunter. Hmm…let’s see. Ah! I can introduce you next Sir Automaton.”

    “Beep-boop! Beep-beep-boop! Skrrrrrtt—!” There was a change in the static noise and another voice? Was this a voice? Whatever it was, it stopped all of a sudden.

    “Um, if you didn’t understand Sir Automaton—”

    Tim just stood, completely dumbfounded.

    “He said, ‘whichever I end up fighting, you both are worthy for him to fight seriously’”

    “Oh, okay. That’s good to know.” Tim scratched the back of his head. “I know this is supposed to be some gladiatorial ring or something, right?”

    “Right.” Samsa quickly answered.

    “But why does this feel like a team-building seminar?”

    Another voice echoed; it was laughing. And then it spoke, it had a very hard guttural accent Tim couldn’t point from where. “Samsa wanted raw data of different areas of the ship being used as arenas, you see.”

    “Oh, so no one will be watching us?”

    “There’s no audience, yet.” The voice paused. “The idea is to see their feasibility.”

    “So we’ll fight you guys?”

    “As will me and the others fight you. I personally want to hunt alone, so should either of you choose me. I would like a one-on-one match.”

    “Right,” Tim hummed. “You must be the friend Samsa mentioned?”

    “I am. And I look forward to this hunt.”

    The voice didn’t say anything else. Tim clicked his tongue. “Will this Miss Delight be talking to us too?”

    “She said she wanted to keep it a surprise.” It was Samsa who spoke again.

    “Those are the ones I have prepared for you two to fight. Now, Mr. Hunter and my friend went and hid into the ship’s greenhouse.” Samsa changed the holographic display from the war map and into a model of a weird looking vessel. “They are all the way here at the back.”

    The ship’s display highlighted a rather large area. Looking at the shape of the ship, it looked like an upside-down freight ship. But its edges were very intricately smooth, and very meticulously designed. “You look like an upturned boat like this.”

    “Really?”

    “Either that, or a sea cucumber.” Tim huffed out a laugh. But, looking at the ship itself by its holographic design, Tim’s attention shifted back to what the A.I. said earlier. “I gotta ask, Samsa.”

    “Yes?”

    “You said you have cargo holds that span kilometers wide…” Tim cleared his throat. “How big is this ‘greenhouse’ exactly?”

    “Translating Sukai measurements to Earthland.” Samsa hummed. “That would be a rough estimate of fifteen square meters.”

    “I knew it.” Tim pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s more than a hectare, Samsa. That’s not even a greenhouse anymore…how big are you in your entirety anyway?”

    “If you say it like that, I don’t think I would want to divulge such information anymore.”

    Did he hear that right? ‘If you say it like that’—was she sulking? Tim paused. “You know what, that’s fair. Let’s just—where are the others? Your friend and the hunter are over at the artificial forest. How about the guy you called ‘Sir Automaton’, is he a robot then?”

    “Yes. And he is over at one of my cargo-holds that was converted into a training facility.”

    “And Miss Delight?”

    “She is by the ballroom.”

    “Knew it.” Tim huffed out a short breath. “I’d like to meet her.”

    “So, you choose her then?”

    “Yeah.”

    “One more thing. I already briefed the others. When you fight, I would appreciate it if you avoid dealing the final lethal blow against each other.” Samsa said. “We can gather the data just fine without my participants hunting each other to death.”

    “I don’t kill for the fun of it in the first place.” Tim turned to Nita. “It looks like ”

    “Should you tire yourself out, Miss Nita. Please call for me and I can arrange you a stay in one of the rooms. You are most welcome to stay for as long as you like. Time is one thing I can afford.” Samsa added. “The same goes for you, Mr Timόtheos.”

    “Alright.” Tim smiled. “Wanna have your own fun then, Partner? Or will you be lonely without me?”

    Words:
    Post 1,476
    Player 8,894
    Total 16,024
    @Fraag


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  M7VWYFe
    Fraag
    Fraag

    Player 
    Lineage : Progeny of Arcanos
    Position : None
    Faction : The Luminous Covenant
    Posts : 1038
    Guild : Luminous Rose
    Cosmic Coins : 60
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 3,401,904

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Arcane Fate Magic
    Second Skill: Night God Slayer
    Third Skill: Relativity God Slayer

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Fraag 27th October 2022, 3:39 pm

    If Samsa had no idea as to why the ship had been built, then Nita was going to simply take the more likely reason, which was that someone had a lot of money, and simply wanted to show off as ridiculously as he could. In most cases, as far as the Pergrandian was concerned, there was a lot of stupidity involved in attempts at displaying one’s affluence such as this, and quite a great deal of wasted money and resources, in most cases. Still, it did seem to not have been without some merit, as Samsa did exist because of her creator’s desire to waste resources in order to tickle an inflated ego. But as to whether Samsa’s existence was a good thing, Nita was not yet particularly sure. That Samsa was pleased to exist was an interesting thing; artificial intelligences were supposedly expected to not be alive, at least as far as biological parameters were concerned, and therefore not expected to exhibit such a level of sentience. Since Samsa was glad to be alive, Nita decided it was all well to be happy for her, as long as the AI did not end up endangering her life, or Tim’s or anyone or anything she held dear. So far, Samsa seemed quite affable; hopefully things would stay that way.

    ”Don’t worry about it,” the blonde mage replied Samsa’s apology regarding not giving an answer of sufficient information. As for the details of the war that had happened almost a century ago, there seemed to be more available information to be had. While Nita was sure she was not going to do anything with the information she would receive from the AI’s relaying of events, she was, by nature, a rather curious person, and the thought of simply knowing what had caused the war, and between whom it was fought was enough reward in itself. Sure, people would probably shake their heads at the idea of just wanting to know things for the sake of knowledge, but then, most people did not have a goddess living rent-free in their heads. It seemed like the war had similar motives to the sort to be had on Earthland; sentient life did not seem all so different after all. But it made Nita wonder; even though she did not have so great an amount of details regarding this interplanetary war, could things perhaps not have been solved by dialogue, rather than bloodshed? The same question could be asked concerning the present war in Earthland, although Nita suspected that Pergrande seemed rather unwilling to listen to any sides that had different opinions from theirs.

    Tim turned to Nita, seeking some form of clarification on her question about the nature of those who had engaged in the Sukai war. ”Yes, I suppose like an alien,” she replied, though she had no idea what an alien looked like. Nita had seen a few things from different dimensions, and planets, perhaps, and none of them had appeared human. It was interesting to hear that the beings responsible for Samsa’s creation were humanoid in form, although the idea of having silicon-based lifeforms was quite interesting. Most, if not all, of Earthland’s life was carbon-based, and thus a silicon-based life form would surely have to be so in order to exist in an environment which would probably be considered inclement to the oxygen/carbon di oxide-respiring creatures that called Earthland their home. It would be fun to see these ‘Sils’, as Samsa called them, but then, as the AI had rightly supposed, there were more important things to do , like their reasons for being here.

    If Nita had heard correctly, there were four others on the ship, apart from herself and Tim, if Samsa was not included in the count due to being the ship. There seemed to be a robot, a ‘hunter’, Samsa’s friend, and Ms. Delight. For some reason, it was the last two people who Nita found herself more interested in, perhaps because Samsa had mentioned Ms. Delight before, and Nita wanted to know why and how this other person had become the AI’s friend. It did seem the hunter was eager to get to fighting, although Samsa admitted they probably wouldn’t get much information about the hunter, in order to not put that contestant in a disadvantageous situation. Nita had no idea what that exactly meant, but she would go with it. The automaton seemed more pleasant, indicating that it would be honored to fight either of them. And then Samsa’s friend came in over the public address system, answering a few of Tim’s questions. It seemed two of the combatants were hiding out in the ship’s greenhouse, which did seem rather expansive. Things were beginning to sound interesting. Perhaps she would go check out the greenhouse as well, and fight either the hunter or Samsa’s friend.

    Nita had to laugh when she heard the grumpy tone of Samsa in response to another question from Tim. ”Silly you,” she said with a giggle, prodding her partner’s shoulder playfully. ”Don’t you know it’s rude to comment on a girl’s size?” So, there were the options of the greenhouse, the cargo hold that had been repurposed into a training facility, and the ballroom. Tim chose the ballroom, and a mischievous smile crept up Nita’s face, although she did not say anything at the moment. The stipulation of not having to kill their opponent was perfect, in Nita’s opinion. She had never liked killing, and as such was glad that she would not have to do so. Since the others were just as fine with it, this would probably be more enjoyable than she had expected. At Samsa’s offer of providing comfortable board in the event that she felt tired, Nita nodded gratefully. ”Well, that would be most appreciated, Samsa. And, just saying, my favorite choice of room would be one with nothing in it to hint at the previous purposes of this vessel.”

    Then she turned to Tim, as he asked if she wanted to tag along with him or go alone, in a rather amusing way. ”Well, a gal will always want some ‘me’ time, so don’t fear, I’ll do just fine on my own. Besides, seeing the speed with which you chose Ms. Delight, one would have to wonder whether my presence there wouldn’t be a third wheel, Tim-Tim. I suspect you have wayward intentions, but you’re a grown man. I can’t tell you what you can and cannot do.” That last sentence was made with a sarcastically innocent expression on her face as she held up her hands, as though indicating that she had no say in the matter. Then she turned slightly as she addressed Samsa. ”I think I’ll go for the greenhouse, though I’ve no idea whom I shall take on, between your friend and the hunter. I think I shall have the hunter; he seems to be in an impatient mood, and I don’t like keeping people waiting. But I would very much like to see Tim-Tim’s battle as well, to see what naughty things he might be up to-- I mean, to cheer for him. So, if you’re in a hurry, Tim, I’ll see your match, and despite my inclination to save time, our poor hunter friend will have to wait. If not, I’m willing to take on the hunter now.”


    WC: 1230
    TWC: 17254

    @Rodadnuf


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Rodadnuf
    Rodadnuf

    Player 
    Lineage : Anathema to Divinity
    Position : None
    Faction : The Ironheart Pact
    Posts : 248
    Guild : Silver Wolf
    Cosmic Coins : 100
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 2,561,089

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Rollins & Schwartz-Brand
    Second Skill: Heaven God Slayer
    Third Skill:

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Rodadnuf 4th November 2022, 3:33 am


    Tim narrowed his eyes at his so-called friend.

    Granted he was extremely close to smiling sheepishly from Nita’s answer to his supposedly straightforward question. She gave him a playful flak when he probed about Samsa’s size earlier too. For a companion, she was very good at friendly fire. He didn’t really think things through asking that additional bit about her being lonely, yet the amount of ammo she fired back caught him off guard. He didn’t know if it was well deserved, but he knew she didn’t mean anything by it. That being said, he hadn’t told her anything about this Miss Delight’s claims, had he? He’ll probably tell her after confirming it for himself, there was no need to worry her with anything that might end up not being a problem. He had no choice but to live with the fact he sounded mighty questionable to Nita being all too eager to face off against the lady.

    “I don’t want to say anything anymore.” Tim sighed. “You’re horrifying, Nita. It feels like everything I say can be turned against me.”

    But thinking about it now, her facing off against either of the two would be the perfect opportunity for him to get something out of this mystery woman! He just hoped she wasn’t as perceptive as he thought she was; while Tim was good at keeping secrets, he wasn’t the best at lying. He then heard her reason for wanting to see his ‘match’ with Miss Delight.

    “I appreciate the vote of confidence,” Tim cleared his throat. “But I don’t mind seeing your match first. Your fighting style is very elegant, well, compared to mine at least.”

    It was one of the things he remembered Nita for. While Tim was far from a proper martial artist, he had enough faces in Hargeon’s cage matched that were broken by his fists to vouch how well he could handle a fight. But he was limited by the fact he picked up how he fought as he went along with his life. Each refinement of his punches was results of many more blows thrown that didn’t land the way he wanted them to. Just reminiscing Nita’s footwork back in the capital was enlightening, though Tim knew he was too crass for such a technical form of martial arts.

    Not that he wanted to learn it; he was too old for that sort of thing.

    “I can see it even in the ballroom right, Samsa?”

    “Miss Nita’s match? Of course! No matter where you are in this ship, I can broadcast her match very easily.”

    “Then mind taking me there? I won’t fight Miss Delight right away.” Tim explained. “I just want to know who I’m dealing with.”

    Then a flash of inspiration made him smile. Tim wasn’t one to come up with good comebacks often, but he hoped this was one of those times.

    “Don’t throw a tantrum over us talking now, honey.” He looked at Nita. “You’re still my partner, after all.”

    Tim never got to see her reaction nor hear her likely deadly retort; he was already teleported away to a familiar looking ballroom. Looking around the place from the sides was already impressive, but looking at it as he stood in the middle of the marble floor was a spectacle. The place had large staircases on each side leading to equally large galleries and viewing islets like it was ripped straight from a theatre.

    “It is quite the magnificent looking place, is it not, Master Tim?” The same familiar voice he chased after earlier echoed. “I imagine you are looking at this ballroom from its titanic scale? I don’t imagine you being impressed by the same material we used in your room.”

    “Yeah, it’s almost nostalgic.” It was true. Tim was mostly impressed by the sheer size of the place rather than anything else. “It’s the same with the pool, wasn’t it?”

    “But with you slipping every time you ran around, it never lasted a week before it was replaced with a material that did not send you another trip to the infirmary.”

    Tim smiled, a brighter smile than he wanted to show. But he couldn’t hide it. “It really is you, Arle.”

    “Greeting, young Master.” He turned as saw a man who looked no older than when Tim remembered he was under this man’s care back in his old life, the part of his life so few people knew about. The man in question was still taller than him. He was wearing a butler’s garb not too different than Tim’s current outfit, minus the cat-themed accessories. “You look tired.”

    “I like feeling tired, Arle.”

    “It’s not good for you.”

    “Anything that keeps me from remembering that day is good for me.”

    “Yes. I heard about it too late.” Arle looked down. “I apologize I wasn’t there for you.”

    Tim let out a breath. “I don’t even remember if I lashed out to some of the other people there, Arle. I’m glad you weren’t there to see that…abomination.”

    “Before we catch up on things, young Master. I—” Arle paused Tim had never seen him pause in his life before. Arle was a man who never hesitate to doing what he needed to do. He made mistakes, even in front of Tim long ago. But he would always see through it and deal with it. Tim learned a lot from this man, and hesitating was not one of them. “I have something to confess to you.”

    “Arle?” Tim furrowed his brow. “You okay? I know I’m just glossing over the fact we’re meeting in the ship in space…”

    “It is not that, young Master.”

    “I may not look like it, Arle, but I’m a guild wizard.” Tim actually paused at that; he doesn’t really tell people that outright. He’d rather show them his mark. But there was a hint of pride in his voice telling it to him. “I can help you.”

    “Master Tim.” Arle patted both of Tim’s shoulders, looking at him with moist eyes. Yet, his dignified posture never left him. “I am not what you think I am.”

    Tim frowned. “You’re the first person I could whole-heartedly call my role model, Arle. I don’t get dissuaded that easily.”

    The man smiled thinly at Tim. “I don’t think I ever taught you to be this persistent.”

    He laughed. “I had an entire life after I was kicked out of my ivory tower.”

    “Very well,” Arle took a deep breath and took a step back, standing straight as well as he could. He bowed slightly as he finally confessed. “Master Tim, I am nothing but a dream.”

    He waited for Tim to say anything.

    Tim, meanwhile, was staring at him without blinking.

    “What?”

    “As I said, I apolo—” Arle looked down at Tim.

    “Seriously, I…don’t understand.” He was confused, genuinely confused.

    “Arlecchino.” A sharper voice echoed not unlike how Hemera would project her voice before arriving. Tim might had gotten used to the goddess does it. “Let me.”

    “Of course, Ma’am.”

    Arle stepped aside and a—child? No, a woman? Whichever she was, she was no taller than Nita. She had golden locks flowing over her till it reached her hips. Her knee length frilly dress was swaying as she playfully rocked her feet in place. She was smiling from ear to ear, looking at Tim with an unnervingly disarming expression. She was not the sort of person he expected to meet, then again, the name Miss Delight definitely fits her to a tee.

    “Before I do or say anything, I have one request.” She locked her eyes at him.

    Tim narrowed his eyes at her. “What would that be?”

    “Can I hug you?”

    Tim’s brow couldn’t be more crossed as he tried processing her question. He replied the only way he knew how:

    “What?”

    Words:
    Post 1,305
    Player 10,199
    Total 18,599
    @Fraag


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  M7VWYFe
    Fraag
    Fraag

    Player 
    Lineage : Progeny of Arcanos
    Position : None
    Faction : The Luminous Covenant
    Posts : 1038
    Guild : Luminous Rose
    Cosmic Coins : 60
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 3,401,904

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Arcane Fate Magic
    Second Skill: Night God Slayer
    Third Skill: Relativity God Slayer

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Fraag 4th November 2022, 8:00 pm

    Nita kept her straight faced, innocent look, when Tim narrowed his eyes at her, thanks to her riposte to his earlier comment. Certainly, she meant nothing by it, and the only reason she was so good at giving him flak was because he did not seem to put much issue to her barbs. Being the person she was, if Nita even remotely suspected that her words had hurt him in any way, she would not need anyone to tell her before she stopped, apologized and even tried to make it up to him. But Tim was great game, and it wasn’t as if he didn't try to pull her own legs whenever he thought he could get away with it. Nita wasn’t just the sort of person to take a salvo and not give one of her own. It was, after all, quite wrong to have debts unpaid, whether it concerned favors or slights. Okay, maybe being vindictive wasn’t particularly the best way to go, but it did have its merits. In any case, despite his apparently quiet and business-like demeanor when making first impressions, Tim did have a rather delightful sense of humor, and that made him so easy to get along with, at least, by Nita’s accounts.

    The blonde Pergrandian did not even pretend to be bothered by his statement that she was horrifying, instead responding by giving him an air kiss. ”Mwah, I love you too,” she replied. He proceeded to commend her fighting prowess, to which she gave a graceful curtsy, although the heterochromic girl had to admit that it always did feel good when someone had compliments to give about her. Was she vain? Perhaps. But everyone had their own little (or maybe large) faults. One of Nita’s was her delight at being applauded. ”I aim to please, milord,” she said, as she performed the curtsy, a very slight color appearing in her cheeks. ”But you shouldn’t sell yourself short; you’re not too shabby yourself.” One thing was certain: as far as fighting went, it was absolutely of no use to be so graceful on the battlefield and be so much fun to watch, only to see at the end that your opponents were still standing. If Nita’s fighting style was more graceful than Tim’s, at least her dark haired partner still got the work done, as unbecoming or unskilled as he thought his own fighting to be.

    It seemed Tim wanted to kill two birds with one stone. He intended to view Nita’s match at the ballroom, where the mysterious Ms. Delight was. There was some wisdom in knowing who, or what he was supposed to face before his own battle commenced, as long as it was within the rules. For Nita’s part, the fact that the hunter was hiding out in the greenhouse was most of what she needed to know beforehand. She would be dealing with a figure that most likely used stealth as a fundamental part of their fighting style. That meant she most likely would have to be on the lookout for long-range attacks, traps, ambushes, that sort of thing. While, thanks to her Aspect of War, Nita preferred more straightforward and open combat, she was not at all without the means to fight using stealth herself, and could be quite surreptitious when she needed to be. At least, this wasn’t a fight to the death, so Nita was sure there would have to be some moments of close quarter combat. Still, it was likely the hunter would attempt to work to hobble her fighting ability from a distance before coming in for the proverbial kill. Perhaps Nita would see just how good her skills at detecting hidden opponents were.

    Nita was in the process of observing one of the display interfaces, which showed the interior of the greenhouse, when Tim suddenly hit her with a barb of his own. Now, this demanded swift and merciless retribution. The young woman whipped around, her hair flying as she turned, only to see an empty room. Nita’s mouth, which had been opening to make a verbal counterstroke to Tim’s jab, was left slightly ajar, as the Pergrandian realized that he had been teleported away from the control hub in which she now stood alone. A smile slowly tugged at the edges of her still open mouth, and she slowly nodded her head repeatedly. ”Well played, Tim-Tim, well played,” the blonde laughed. For a moment, Nita wanted to yell her own comeback, certain that Tim could most likely see her, probably even hear her wherever he was, but she decided against it. There was something that seemed too petulant for her tastes, in screaming at an empty room. She would wait until she was face to face with Tim again, and then she would give him a good one. If anything, she could spend the time between now and when next they met planning on a really good one to give him.

    As far as the present was concerned, though, it was time for a fight. As Nita had said, she would not want to keep the hunter waiting. Besides, the sooner she finished this fight, the sooner she could attempt to explore the ship. ”I’m ready for my match, Samsa dear. Please relocate me to the greenhouse.” And in a flash of color and sound, and that unmistakable feeling she always felt when she teleported, Nita found herself in a different part of the ship. It was as though she had blinked, but in that microsecond her eyes closed and opened, a new scenario surrounded her. The Pergrandian looked around. She was in a long corridor, at the end of it, standing before a large door made of some glass-looking substance, which Nita suspected was much harder than conventional glass. Beyond the door was a world of green. As Nita stepped towards the portal, it opened, and she immediately could feel the difference between the cool temperature of the corridor, and the warmer atmosphere of the greenhouse’s artificial biome. This ship was indeed a marvel.

    Stepping into the greenhouse was like stepping into another world. Nita drew a black card, which dematerialized into silver dust, and a wizard’s staff appeared in her hand. The greenhouse door slid shut behind her with an audible click, and Nita was alone. Or so it seemed.


    WC: 1060
    TWC: 19659

    @Rodadnuf


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Rodadnuf
    Rodadnuf

    Player 
    Lineage : Anathema to Divinity
    Position : None
    Faction : The Ironheart Pact
    Posts : 248
    Guild : Silver Wolf
    Cosmic Coins : 100
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 2,561,089

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Rollins & Schwartz-Brand
    Second Skill: Heaven God Slayer
    Third Skill:

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Rodadnuf 5th November 2022, 3:32 am


    “I sent Miss Nita to the greenhouse, Mr. Timόtheos. Would you like me to broadcast it here?”

    Tim only heard half what Samsa said. He was sitting on the marble floor, forced to do so in fact, while Miss Delight was grappling him in a chokehold she called a hug! Since he joined his guild and went to wizard jobs of all manner and kind, from washing a village’s laundry to retaking a village of a foreign country, Tim had strengthened his physical and magical prowess. But he would be lying if this woman wasn’t testing his limits right now. What’s even more impressive for her was the fact she truly was having the time of her life.

    “You were such a tiny little thing the last time I say you!” She ruffled his hair from nudging her cheeks over him so much. “Hemera never said anything on how you were doing. Well, bully for her! I should’ve done this sooner.”

    She was family. That was what Samsa told her, and boy she truly was. She only said two things before she began her assault disguised as familial bonding. Those two things were: she was also a daughter of Nyx, and her father was Erebus.

    “Mr. Timόtheos?” Samsa asked again.

    Tim tried to get away from the goddess’ grasp. “Sorry, what was it you sai—mpfh!” Only for Miss Delight to grapple him tighter.

    “Of course, you can broadcast it, dear!” Miss Delight said on behalf of the crushed wizard. “You really have an eye for the divine, haven’t you, Timόtheos?”

    Tim’s brow rose at her remark. “Nmmpf?”

    “Of course I mean cute little Nita, silly!”

    Samsa produced a holographic screen on one side of the ballroom. Tim, Arle and Miss Delight were looking at the jungle that was displayed over the screen. It was dense, not any less cluttered than the Fiorean forests Tim had the pleasure of exploring once. The fauna around it was completely alien to Tim, however. He recognized some of the plants in a herbology book he read once, but that was hardly enough for him to identify them fully. But Tim knew Nita will do well even in this environment.

    “You’re not unlike your ancestor, fancying a deity like her.” He heard her mutter.

    Miss Delight finally let go of her hold. Tim coughed, trying to get as much air as he could. If deities have this much strength for a hug, he’s got a long away to go before he actually matched them. Not that he planned to; it was just a natural thought comparing them to him.

    Fancy? that’s a strong claim.” This woman reminded him a lot of Full-Beard’s wife. She was also a strong hugger, and a patron saint to gossip to boot. But the last part of Miss Delight’s words didn’t escape him. “Wait, you mean she’s also—”

    “In a sense? Deities are very flexible beings. I don’t really know what to call her, but she’s not unlike us.” Miss Delight flung her arms down Tim’s shoulders as she rested her chin over his head. “But I won’t pursue the matter. I’ve never met her personally yet, and I think it would be rude to pry too much.”

    “But it’s not rude when it comes to me?”

    “You’re family! How could it be?” She rocked her head side to side as she spoke, Tim’s head was swayed in the same rhythm as a result. “But she’s very playful with you, isn’t she? You’ve definitely warmed up to her quite well.”

    “You were listening in?” Tim quirked a brow.

    “Of course not, but I can see it in your face.” She smiled, not that he could see it. “I didn’t live for millennia with nothing to show for, after all!”

    “She is…earnest.” Tim confessed. “That’s more than I could say for most people I’ve met before drifting to Hargeon.”

    “I can understand. But even the people you’ve come to know for so long could still be hiding their truest selves, or they could change into something completely unrecognizable.”

    “I know.” Tim let out a breath. “But a guy can only push against the tide for so long.”

    “Deities can do so for a long long time, Timόtheos.”

    “Why do you keep calling me that?”

    “Because you the more you push against yourself, the more it’ll hurt. The other Timόtheos, and even Hemera? They wanted the best for you, all of you. But they’re more concerned for your individuality rather than let you see your own worth.”

    “You said it yourself, Timόtheos is my ancestor.” Tim shrugged.

    “Yes, he is. And all the same, you are also Timόtheos. Your mortal line carries this fragment of divinity.” Miss Delight leaned her cheeks closer to Tim’s shoulder. “What you call your curse? It is your domain, your potential trying to surface. And when they’re trying to stop it, it bites back.”

    “I don’t know how to control it.”

    “You are a terrible liar.” She laughed softly. “You understand so much of divinity you could grasp Hemera’s domain and use it to quell your own.”

    “I…I’m nothing but a mortal.”

    “You are not!” She hissed, tightening her grasp around Tim’s shoulder. “Even since the first Timόtheos tried taking on Father, not one of his descendants have come to same level of understanding of your true nature—not until you! And you keep renouncing it!”

    She pushed against Tim’s shoulder. “Why do you hate us so much?!”

    “I don’t.” He looked behind him, sliding his crossed legs around to face her completely. He pulled out a clean handkerchief off his pocket and handed it to her. Miss Delight was looking at him with moist eyes. “Not anymore.”

    “Really?” The light in her eyes gleamed.

    Tim dabbed her cheeks. She held his hand. “Well…I still don’t like Erebus, at all.”

    She kept holding the handkerchief as Tim slowly let go, wiping her eyes herself. “We don’t get along well with Father often too…”

    “I never met Nyx; I don’t know what to think of her.”

    “I—we don’t think of mother as much ever since she abandoned the family.”

    “Is that so?” Tim sighed. “The rest of our family, though? Hemera, the real Timόtheos, you? You’re all earnest too.”

    She jumped! Her arms swung around Tim’s shoulder and she slammer herself head first to the unsuspecting wizard. Tim fell back, a throbbing pain was making everything spin. But another one of Miss Delights hugs was unleashed and Tim felt something pop. It might have been a join or two. “Gah!”

    “Oh my, I have never seen the Mistress so happy before.” Tim’s old butler was standing in place, looking over them with his own smile.

    “Get her off me, Arle!”

    “It looks like Miss Nita’s match is starting soon,” He looked at the screen, not even looking Tim’s way.

    “Arle!” Tim’s scream echoed as another one of his joints popped.

    Words:
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    Player 11,350
    Total 20,810
    @Fraag


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  M7VWYFe
    Fraag
    Fraag

    Player 
    Lineage : Progeny of Arcanos
    Position : None
    Faction : The Luminous Covenant
    Posts : 1038
    Guild : Luminous Rose
    Cosmic Coins : 60
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 3,401,904

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Arcane Fate Magic
    Second Skill: Night God Slayer
    Third Skill: Relativity God Slayer

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Fraag 12th November 2022, 3:57 pm

    There was nothing but silence all around the Pergrandian. Listening carefully, she did seem to be able to pick out some sounds coming from some species of insect, most likely a form of stridulation as was performed by crickets. At least that was what it sounded like. With this greenhouse possibly having alien plant life, as well as species local to Earthland, it was possible that whatever was making the chirping sounds was possibly not even an insect. There were so many different forms of life out there in the universe, and Nita was certain she would be quite unwise to assume that most of them would have a lot of similarity to the ones she was familiar with. Given Samsa’s words previously, the beings responsible for this ship were not even carbon-based lifeforms such as were prevalent on Earthland. They did seem to have some similarities to Earthland life, though. Like an avid interest in procreation, or at least the doings that came before it, if the original owner of this ship was a representation of their species. If, in the end, all life was somewhat similar, did this mean all life had a single source? It was things like this that made the blonde mage inclined to ponder on philosophical thoughts.

    Whatever thoughts Nita was interested in thinking suddenly evaporated from her mind, as she sensed, rather than saw, something traveling towards her at high speed. Instinctively, the young woman ducked into a crouch, and the large stem of a tree of unknown species suddenly got a dent in its bark, as the loud report of something unseen hitting the tree resounded through the greenhouse. Her opponent was most likely fighting from a hidden vantage point. Given the speed with which the attack came, and the absence of a larger body powering the attack, it was very likely that whatever had been used was some sort of projectile. Nita was sure it wouldn’t kill her if it hit, but it would have most certainly hurt like crazy. While this was somewhat annoying, being unable to see who it was attacking her, Nita could not complain for two reasons. Firstly, she knew, and approved of, the advantage of using stealth in combat, having utilized it before herself. Secondly, her opponent had been referred to as “the Hunter”. What sort of hunter would run out to fight their prey in open combat?

    Well, in any case, the Hunter had the advantage here, for they knew where Nita was, and she didn’t know where they were. Still, she was sure that that would be an advantage soon to be eliminated. Concentrating on her senses made much more efficient by her Aspect of Knowledge ability, Nita reached out, subjecting a large area of the region around her to her imperceptible senses. She could sense the physical qualities of the forest around her, and there were quite a lot of things which did seemed to be strange forms within the forest, but she could not particularly identify if any was some living, moving creature… until it moved. As a hulking form detached itself from where it was pressed against a tree and changed location, aiming to place itself directly behind the Pergrandian, Nita pretended as though she was not aware of the motion, as she looked intently in the direction from which it was supposed the first attack had come. She could not say for certain, but this Hunter seemed rather huge; it was way taller than an average human, and as such the height disparity between the two combatants was quite evident, seeing as Nita was on the short side, as far as adult humans were concerned.

    As someone being hunted by an unseen attacker was expected to normally do, Nita suddenly turned, looking wildly about her. She made sure her eyes did not rest on where she perceived the Hunter to be waiting, although when her eyes had roved over the spot, she could see nothing except trees and earth and whatever else was supposed to be in a gigantic greenhouse. The Hunter was most certainly using some sort of visual stealth. It would be best to get her opponent assured that she had not noticed them, before making her own attack. Pretending as though she had convinced herself there was nothing behind her, Nita turned away from where the Hunter lurked. After a moment of stillness, she sensed the form straighten up and hold out what seemed to be its hand. And then tapping into her Relativity God Slayer powers, the blonde Pergrandian vanished, using Relativity God Blink to reappear just beside the outstretched arm, which she swung her staff downwards onto.

    There was a crackling sound, and a tall humanoid creature in a weird helmet (or was that its face?) materialized as it clutched at its struck wrist. But before Nita could even execute any further action, the Hunter suddenly released the wrist it had clutched, and grabbed her by the neck with its free hand, before swinging her through the air like a rag doll to slam her, back-first, against a tree. Very good strategy, that. As long as it held on to her, it would be difficult for Nita to teleport away, in order to create some distance between herself and the creature. Still, Nita was sure that the Hunter would be in for a surprise, if it made the wrong assumption that she was as physically strong as she appeared to be. Discarding her staff, Nita grabbed the wrist of the hand latched to her throat, and lifted her body, wrapping her legs around the neck of the Hunter. If it was humanoid, it hopefully would have similar anatomy to humans, and constricting its neck would probably serve the same effect as when done on a human. And to make matters better, there was the fact that, giving how Nita positioned herself on the Hunter’s arm, its elbow would probably hyperextend if it didn’t let go of her throat, and the hunter had to release her. But unwilling to be disadvantaged, the Hunter swung her back-first again into another tree, causing her to let go, as she involuntarily arched her back , gasping due to the pain.

    Convinced that this was going to end up as a close-quarter combat fight, the Hunter attempted to stomp viciously on the fallen mage, only for her to roll away and grab the creature’s leg with both arms, twisting it as hard as she could, and causing the monster’s bulk to come crashing down to the ground. Before the Hunter could rise from its prone position, Nita sat on the back of its head, such that she was facing the rest of its body, and then grabbing an arm, she yanked it, pulling the appendage upwards and towards herself. Thanks to her knowledge of humanoid anatomy, which the Hunter obviously had much of, a shoulder joint, despite its wide mobility, was not supposed to accommodate its attached arm moving the way Nita was pulling it. With her sitting on the Hunter’s head, getting up would be difficult. The Hunter tried for a few moments to use its free arm to attempt something, but failed, with each attempt making Nita to pull on its beleaguered arm more. Then the creature garbled out some unintelligible sounds, which were quickly translated by the amazing AI of the ship: ”I surrender!”

    Nita rolled off the hulking creature and onto her back, breathing heavily for a moment. Then she sat up to see the Hunter standing and facing her. It made a gesture which seemed like some form of greeting or salute, and vanished from the greenhouse, leaving Nita alone. ”Well, that went well,” she said to no one in particular. ”Samsa, can you please return me to the hub? And a question: I’m wondering whether Tim Timson is among the available list of potential opponents I can face. Asking for a friend.” That was Nita just trying to mess with Tim again; she would most definitely refuse if asked to fight him. But she couldn’t let it go that he had had the last say before teleporting and leaving her with her comeback unsaid.


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    @Rodadnuf


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    Rodadnuf
    Rodadnuf

    Player 
    Lineage : Anathema to Divinity
    Position : None
    Faction : The Ironheart Pact
    Posts : 248
    Guild : Silver Wolf
    Cosmic Coins : 100
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    Experience : 2,561,089

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Rollins & Schwartz-Brand
    Second Skill: Heaven God Slayer
    Third Skill:

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Rodadnuf 13th November 2022, 2:54 pm


    “Oh, wow.” Tim’s eyes were still glued to the screen as he was sitting cross legged over the marble floor.

    “She didn’t miss a beat,” Miss Delight clapped enthusiastically.

    “That was almost a perfect match for Mistress Fortune.” Arle followed suit and softly clapped. “I expected the hunter to continue and use a more desperate follow-up but, in the end, it was a very dignified match for both of them.”

    “And you said these people—err, aliens, also have a background like me and Nita?” Tim asked. “Samsa?”

    “Yes? Sorry, I was talking to Miss Nita as well.” The AI’s voice echoed throughout the ballroom. “Yes, they are also accomplished individuals in their respective fields. I did mention this hunter’s latest bounty.”

    “A multi planet outlaw, was it?”

    “And the guy he caught was a wizard to boot.” Miss Delight added, her chin still nestled over Tim’s head. But her grip over Tim was infinitely more relaxed now.

    “Again, wow.” Compared to Tim’s half-sloshed attempt at fighting, their match was actually a fight that had proper techniques incorporated to them. The young man knew the old adage of not to comparing oneself against people, that would only lead to either disappointment or to jealousy. That was a load of bull. Tim could compare himself as a wizard against Nita all day and all he could think of was admiration followed by an aspiration to do the same. He saw wizards in passing around town while he was still working in the docks back in the day; he never spared a second glance to them at the time. Now he often thought how—even with his wolf companion around, even with his new magic, and even if he was partnered up with other wizards like he was with Nita right now—he was still the same drudge who hauled crate after crate around Hargeon. He didn’t hate the thought, but it gnawed in his mind a lot more than he would like to admit.

    Setting his thoughts aside with a small shake of his head, Tim looked again at Nita from the screen. She was talking to Samsa, asking to be returned to the hub.

    “There is no one else in the hub, I’m afraid. Mr. Timόtheos is still with Sir Arlecchino and Miss Delight in the ballroom. But they have not begun their match, I will take you to them instead.” Samsa’s enthusiastic voice echoed from the greenhouse.

    Tim was all good in meeting up again in the hub, and he was about to tell Samsa about it too. That was when he heard Nita asking about her potential future opponents. Namely him.

    “I should ask—”

    “Heck no.”

    “He very sternly refused.” Samsa said. “I couldn’t even finish my sentence and he already said no.”

    “Was that fight just now her way of telling me how she’ll beat me up for what I said earlier or something?” Tim looked at Nita’s face from the screen. Whatever thoughts she had over there, it was something against him, something horrifying. He just knew it. “Look, just—please send her here.”

    Samsa added. “Oh! Before I do send you to them, Miss Nita. Please let me be the first to say: Congratulations! It was a wonderful match. In fact, even Mr. Timόtheos was watching you intently the entire match!”

    “Did you really have to tell her that?” Tim gritted his teeth.

    “Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Timόtheos!” Samsa said from across the screen.

    “Your voice is all over the place, you know?”

    “Ah—!”

    “…I am so sorry, Mr. Timόtheos.” Samsa finally cut her voice from the greenhouse and projected it only the ballroom. “I have been attentively projecting my voice quite well until this point.”

    “No, it’s okay.” Tim sighed softly, pinching the bridge of his nose just thinking of that scary girl’s ‘teasing’. “I just feel like she won’t give me the time of day if she has any ammo against me.”

    “I…see?”

    “The young master meant his and Mistress Fortune’s little verbal jabs at each other, Mistress Samsa.” Arle explained. “For their apparent age, such showcase of affection should be expected.”

    “Age? For your information, Arle, I’m already a few years away from being in my prime.”

    “I didn’t forget, young master. Please do not worry.” The man was standing straight beside Tim, his smile was ever present. “But you should know there are many people who are older than you yet still indulge themselves in these sorts of affectionate jabs.”

    “I know people in their fifties who do that, Arle.” Tim looked at him incredulously. “Just because it’s a thing doesn’t mean I do it too.”

    “Of course. As you say, young master.” Arle’s flat smile was something Tim realized he didn’t like seeing again.

    “I see!” If Samsa had a body, she would’ve definitely clapped her hands together once in understanding. “I will take this in consideration, Mr. Timόtheos, Miss Nita.”

    Wait what?

    On the account of being locked in place by Miss Delight leaning over Tim, he didn’t even realize why Nita was no longer talking from across the screen. How long was it since Samsa teleported her? How much did she overhear? More importantly, he hoped her win made her forget any notion of getting back at his last attempt at a joke before teleporting earlier.

    “Sorry I can’t turn my head around, Nita.” Tim waved his free arm around to greet her. “My, ancestor’s—”

    Miss Delight knocked her chin over Tim’s head once.

    “…family’s—”

    Miss Delight’s grip tightened.

    “My sister.” Tim grumbled. “She’s…”

    “I’m catching up decades’ worth of hugs from little Timόtheos, dear.” She slowly turned Tim’s body around so he could face Nita, but she had her arms over his shoulders and her chin over his head the entire time. The marble was smooth enough, but Tim felt silly the entire time his crossed legs softly squeaked as his trousers grazed the floor.

    The entire time he turned, he kept a stone-faced expression. Only smiling at Nita when he finally was able to look at her face to face. “Congrats, Nita. It was a good fight.”

    “Your combat prowess is very commendable, Mistress Fortune.” Arle added. “The young master is very fortunate having you.”

    “For such a seemingly young deity, I am impressed how well you accept and wield your domain.” Tim couldn’t see Miss Delight’s expression, but he just knew it was that same knowing smile she always bore. “Timόtheos should learn a thing or two from you, honestly! This boy can be very stubborn, as you experienced well enough.”

    Didn’t she just say she wouldn’t pry?!

    Words:
    Post 1,099
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    @Fraag


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  M7VWYFe
    Fraag
    Fraag

    Player 
    Lineage : Progeny of Arcanos
    Position : None
    Faction : The Luminous Covenant
    Posts : 1038
    Guild : Luminous Rose
    Cosmic Coins : 60
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 3,401,904

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Arcane Fate Magic
    Second Skill: Night God Slayer
    Third Skill: Relativity God Slayer

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Fraag 19th November 2022, 6:48 pm

    It made sense for Samsa to inform Nita that it would be better to send her to the ballroom, instead of the hub as the Pergrandian mage had asked. For starters, the hub was empty; it was sort of redundant to say Samsa was still in the hub, as the artificial intelligence was actually everywhere in the ship. Secondly, it seemed that the people Nita was most curious about were gathered in the ballroom. The blonde mage had no idea who ‘Sir Arlecchino’ was, but Tim had been teleported to the ballroom to meet Ms. Delight, and Nita was interested in knowing who this Ms. Delight was, and what relationship she had with Tim. Also, it was interesting to know the social dynamics that existed between the two. From what she had heard, it was likely that Tim was going to fight Ms. Delight. Nita wondered why, if they knew themselves. Personally, she had nothing against sparring with friends and colleagues, but an arena match did seem a bit…hardcore, for lack of a better word, especially seeing the ferocity with which her erstwhile opponent had attacked her. Then again, maybe it was just the Hunter’s nature to be that ferocious. In any case, it would be nice to watch Tim fight.

    Nita employed all her mental faculties to prevent herself from bursting into a fit of laughter when she heard Tim’s vehement “heck no” over the sound system in response to her falsely expressed interest in having him as her next opponent. ”Well, it’s no hassle,” she said with a giggle, in response to Samsa relaying the information of Tim’s quick refusal. Her lips perked up into a smile again, when Samsa offered congratulations on her victory over the Hunter. Nita didn’t know exactly why, but it did feel good to hear that Tim had been watching her match “intently”, to use the AI’s words. ”Why, thank you, Samsa!” the Pergrandian replied, feeling quite pleased with herself, even as she heard a growl of protest from Tim, which elicited another chuckle. In any case, Samsa was quick to momentarily stop projecting her voice across the greenhouse, in response to Tim’s observation on how her voice was everywhere. Yet even then, Nita did not particularly feel she had been cut off from anything, because shortly after Samsa apologized, the world seemed to warp around the Pergrandian, she felt that familiar feel of instant long distance travel, and she found herself in the ballroom.

    If Nita had been impressed by the greenhouse, she was even more so by the room in which she stood in. With its grandiose curving staircases, expansive marble floor, the chandeliers and other decorative structures built into the ceiling and around the room, and the galleries and viewing boxes situated in excellent design, this ballroom had most certainly been designed to be breathtaking. A little distance from where she stood were three people: a fellow in a rather garishly colored jester’s outfit and a wooden masquerade mask with a single eye hole, whom Nita assumed would be the one referred to by Samsa as ‘Sir Arlecchino’, seeing as she didn’t think, based on his body shape, that he was Tim (it did help that the figure sitting on the floor and backing her was easily recognizable), and a little girl resting her chin on the head of the third person in the room, who, despite his back turned towards her, Nita quickly identified as Tim. The girl would most likely be Ms. Delight. Well, since Tim had his back towards her, and did not seem to be aware that she had arrived in the ballroom, the Pergrandian said nothing, silently watching the three figures as she heard Tim saying something about having ammo against him. There was a bit of explanation apparently for the sake of Samsa, who addressed both Tim and Nita, making him aware of her presence.

    She couldn’t tell, but had Tim seemed to become just a little bit stiffer? A smile slowly grew across her lips as she watched him wave a single hand, while still backing her, due to the other girl’s positioning. There were a few confusing things, though. From his words, and the girl’s corrections, she was family, definitely, but of what sort? Tim had first used the word ‘ancestor’, which Nita found rather surprising, seeing as Ms. Delight did not even seem to be as old as she was. Then again, few things were ever as they seemed. Eventually, Tim, after being ‘corrected’ for using wrong terms, called her his sister. ”Interesting,” was all she managed to say, as Ms. Delight explained that she was catching up on decades worth of hugs with Tim. When Tim was finally turned around to face her, she returned his smile with a bright one of her own. ”Thank you!” she replied. ”My back is still cursing me presently, but I guess it’s a little price to pay for victory.”

    And then Sir Arlecchino praised her battle skill, and made a somewhat ambiguous statement. Which could be just as harmless as it sounded flustering. What did he mean by Tim, who Nita surmised was the ‘young master’, being fortunate for ‘having’ her? Was that as a partner for this space arena occasion or something else? ”I—I thank you, kind sir,” she said uncertainly, unsure of how to reply, as her cheeks colored slightly. And then Ms. Delight, while giving some compliments of her own, revealed something that Nita was not sure of whether to be comfortable or wary about. She knew that Nita had divine powers, although the Pergrandian could not determine how this was so. ”Well, I’m not particularly a goddess,” she replied, rubbing the back of her head in a mildly bashful manner, as she met Ms. Delight’s somewhat sly smile with a demure smile of her own, ”but thank you all the same. I guess it was quite difficult at first, but it became clear that I would not survive if I rejected my—ah, gift, so I paid more attention to it. And I don’t really know if Tim can be very stubborn; he does seem amiable enough, but he’s also very naughty.” That last part was said with a rather mischievous grin on Nita’s face.

    ”So, it is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Delight, Sir Arlecchino. Please allow me to ask, out of sheer curiosity, how did you know that my powers are sourced from a deity? Or has someone being gossiping about me behind my back?”


    WC: 1090
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    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Rodadnuf
    Rodadnuf

    Player 
    Lineage : Anathema to Divinity
    Position : None
    Faction : The Ironheart Pact
    Posts : 248
    Guild : Silver Wolf
    Cosmic Coins : 100
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 2,561,089

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Rollins & Schwartz-Brand
    Second Skill: Heaven God Slayer
    Third Skill:

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Rodadnuf 22nd November 2022, 6:05 am


    “Mercy?” Tim gave Nita a nervous smile. The grin on her face did not look good.

    Thankfully, Miss Delight interjected. “I’m beginning to think it’s a trend for young’uns not calling themselves gods these days.”

    Miss Delight let go of Tim, finally letting the young man move freely. Her bubbliness was still in full sail as she walked, each step was as if she was stepping across platforms crossing a river. With a final step she disappeared. Tim was using his magic sensory, but he only managed to sense her presence again when she reappeared by Nita’s side. He wanted to warn her, but stopped himself when he noticed Miss Delight running her small hand over to Nita’s back. “Then again, you have your own set of Saints and Gods where you two are from, have you not? The act of apotheosis isn’t truly lost to the future deities it seems—excuse me, dear. Please let me.”

    “Let me do…a…little…something…” Miss Delight stopped running her hand and, with a slight but sudden surge of magical energy that Tim felt, let go of Nita. “Here you go, dearie. To keep it from bruising.”

    “But don’t worry! I didn’t know your little secret because someone was talking about you behind your back.” She twirled and stopped herself beside Nita before leaning close. “Your individuality—what the mortals call the soul? Well, yours have a very distinct presence of a deity. I could tell easily, especially if we’re this close. It also has a well stitched aftermath of an amalgamation, if we want to go through the nitty and gritty technicalities. But don’t worry, dear, your individuality is still very very beautiful!”

    “Don’t you agree, young master?” Arle asked.

    “Agree to what?” Tim blinked. “I’ve been trying to keep up with this topic you two slid into, and all you’ve been doing is confusing the rest of us out.”

    “But if it’s Nita’s personality we’re talking about…” He chuckled, shooting her a smile. “It’s probably one of the few reasons we get along so well, goddess or not.”

    “A little indirect, but a lovely answer regardless.” Arle muttered, but nodded in satisfaction.

    “Speaking of being on topic. What do you think, Arlecchino?” Miss Delight interjected.

    “About what, Lady Delight?”

    “About their distinctions about the divine; both dear Nita’s and little Timόtheos’ views.” She hummed as she stood beside Nita, rocking her feet in place. “I want your opinion on it.”

    Arle curtsied, acknowledging her question, and tilted his head ever so slightly. “There are worse views on the matter. An old memory of my former master comes to mind…”

    Tim shot him a look.

    Arle didn’t turn his head away, looking over him with a look of his own.

    There were a few things that Tim didn’t like happening. Chief among them was people who knew him as a guild wizard, or even as one who knew him in Hargeon, end up knowing about the skeletons in his basement. His past in the Neutral Grounds, especially.

    “The complete opposite of what they are practicing, Lady Delight, is autotheism.” Arle continued. “It is different when mortals confuse themselves with divinity, and them having it. But it is worse when it is one who have such a potential and knowingly corrupt themselves. There is little to no enlightenment there, only suffering. For themselves and to everyone they love.”

    Tim fell silent.

    “I, personally, would rather side with humility.” Arle closed his eye as he spoke.

    Tim looked down at his crossed legs.

    “But there is a fine line between humility and begrudging pride.” Miss Delight added. “Just something for you to take note of for the future, child.”

    “Of course, milady.” Arle bowed.

    “Then that settles it!” Miss Delight clapped her hands together once. “I honestly take pride in the distinction. But if there’s wisdom in actively not bothering with them, I kinda wanna try it now.”

    “Either way.” Tim sighed. “It’s what you do with that distinction, and to accept the responsibility it brings. That’s what counts, Delight. I haven’t met them or anything, but I haven’t heard anything but good things when it comes to the Gods of Ishgar. Now about the Saints I have some candle of proof, because one of them is my guild mistress. And from what I could tell, she has the complete opposite of whatever autotheisic insanity father had—”

    Tim stopped himself before he could spill anything else.

    “Samsa.”

    “Yes—”

    “Bring me to your friend.” He sighed. “I’ll take them on.”

    “As you wish.”

    With a familiar nauseating feeling, Tim found himself in the place Nita had just fought in.

    The forest was a whole different beast than when it was only on the screen. Tim felt the pregnant silence of the forest; only a piercing beating noise of insects he only hoped were harmless crickets. The trees were making the place damp, and the shoes from his suit was not well suited for a fight in the jungle. Just from him trying to kick off a tree felt impossible, it was too damn slippery. Even walking around was hard, each step he took became a gamble of him sliding or sinking in a muddy pit that looked no different than the leafy ground. It really must have been a different place, or a different part of it. Nita’s area looked bone dry compared to this one.

    “Samsa’s friend?” He asked, but no response echoed in the area.

    Tim huffed out a laugh to himself, the rising anger from earlier paving away to a sinking realization of what he just did. “You did it again, didn’t you? Bit off more than you could chew.”

    “Wolf isn’t here, and you suck at tracking anything.” Tim crouched down. “You sad sad man.”

    What’s even more embarrassing, is everyone might be watching right now from a camera of sorts hidden who knows were.

    And he was right. From inside the ballroom, everyone else was looking at the same screen which showcased Nita’s fight earlier. Miss Delight and Arlecchino were looking at the screen intently. Tim was cluelessly muttering, and demeaning himself, while Samsa’s friend—a mechanical lioness—was stalking him with little effort.

    “He has not changed much.” Arle said to himself. “I…used to tutor him back in the tower, you see.”

    “Arle.” Miss Delight said evenly.

    “I know what I am doing, Lady Delight.” His voice sounded strained. “If he truly believed she would think less of him because of how he lived, then this is the best way to prove him wrong. And I know he is wrong.”

    “Arle…”

    Arlecchino looked at Nita. “Mistress Fortune, will you care to listen to a story?”

    Words:
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    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  M7VWYFe
    Fraag
    Fraag

    Player 
    Lineage : Progeny of Arcanos
    Position : None
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    Posts : 1038
    Guild : Luminous Rose
    Cosmic Coins : 60
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    Experience : 3,401,904

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Arcane Fate Magic
    Second Skill: Night God Slayer
    Third Skill: Relativity God Slayer

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Fraag 24th November 2022, 8:12 pm

    Nita kept her grin, as her teammate asked for leniency. Even though it was all in jest, Nita was sure she would not be able to continue poking at him as he’d asked for mercy, though she wasn’t sure she wanted to tell him that. As a result, Tim had no idea that if he felt thankful that Ms. Delight interjected, Nita was not particularly offended by her own inability to give a reply to Tim’s request. Her unwillingness to ‘continue to engage’ as he had sought mercy did not mean she would let him permanently off the hook. Of course, it was very likely that she would eventually forget that he had asked for mercy, and shoot barbs at Tim again. It was fun, after all, and Nita was sure that even if Tim disagreed verbally, he would have to agree that both parties did not take any umbrage at the strokes and counterstrokes which they offered each other. Nita had learned, from her interactions with people, that one could not relate the same way with everyone else. Tim was one she would certainly refer to as a good friend, and they needled each other. She did have another close friend with whom she was a lot gentler, because that girl’s personality was a lot milder than Tim’s. She wondered how Terumi was doing, wherever the fire-attuned Midijin was.

    If Ms. Delight believed that it was a trend for youngsters of the present days to not attribute godhood to themselves, Nita was sure that in her own case, it was a simple matter of self-understanding. Before her run-in with the Primordial goddess, she had just been a very normal person, and didn’t even have any special abilities nor ancient lineage of anything impressive. As matters went, so far, she had even just been one of them ‘run of the mill’ no-magic Pergrandians. While she had been told that her fusion with Maria had been due to some divine shenanigans in the background of her life, truth was, even the shenanigans played by Arcanos, Ishgar’s god of magic, seemed very random, and Nita was sure that it would have probably been any other person who would have carried the mantle of ‘Chosen of Arcanos’, if any other person had had the fortune (or perhaps misfortune) to have been present in the northern reaches of Pergrande on the same night that Nita’s life had been changed forever.

    ”A trend?” came Nita’s reply. ”Well, it’s not like scores of godlings are running up and down the place. Besides, my connection with any deities seems to be some rather arbitrary and random event. I previously had no connections with any such, whether by creed or by blood.” Her eyes followed the form of the skipping young girl, who suddenly vanished, to reappear at her side. While a part of her was wary, seeing as she was yet uncertain of Ms. Delight’s motives and alignment, the Pergrandian decided to give the girl the benefit of doubt, at least for the meantime, as the latter placed a hand on her back. ”Well, the concept of ‘Saints’ and ‘Gods’ seems to be a lot more figurative than you take it to be,” Nita explained, before she suddenly felt the surge of magic, and her back suddenly hurt a lot less. ”You have my thanks, Ms. Delight,” she said gratefully.

    It seemed that Tim had not been saying anything to Ms. Delight about her, after all. The goddess could sense the presence of another goddess within Nita’s form. That wasn’t altogether unexpected, although the blonde mage wondered what else Ms. Delight could glean just by perception alone. She wasn’t too bothered, though. She had nothing to hide, and she wasn’t presently in a place where the knowledge that she possessed divine powers could be a threat to herself or those dear to her. She had no idea what Ms. Delight considered the beauty of a soul to be, but she hoped it did mean that she was of some reasonable degree of impeccable morality. ”Um, thanks?” she said uncertainly. Tim, in any case, was not following, as evidenced by his answer to the jester-like fellow. Nita wasn’t sure she understood everything either, but hopefully, just listening would do the job of filling in gaps of information. Still, Tim’s unexpected compliment caught her by surprise, and she did feel her cheeks slightly coloring when she heard his words. She nervously looked away, after momentarily meeting his gaze, though she said her thanks again, albeit with less confidence in her voice and a bashful smile. Was she supposed to be worried by this? She did like compliments, but she seemed to be more partial to them when they came from Tim. Maybe it was because he was a good friend. Maybe.

    In any case, the discussion shifted to the views of the mages about their divine powers. It seemed Tim was not interested in Arlecchino rendering a particular story about his past. The story wasn’t given, but Arle considered that the opposite of Tim and Nita’s views about their powers was the case of humans thinking they were gods. He was right about the fact that such a mindset never yielded a happy ending. Nita had almost thought that the matter of the Saints and Gods of Fiore had been moved on from, but it seemed the topic was still on the table. She wasn’t sure autotheism could be applied to the Fiorean luminaries, seeing as she did not believe any of them considered themselves actually worthy of worship. They were simply given such lofty titles because they were bastions of hope and light, a rallying point against the darkness. Something Nita aspired to become one day. If she lived long enough. And then Tim unwittingly spilled something about his father having run off the edge of sanity as regards considerations about his divinity. He seemed unwilling to speak more about the subject, as he immediately requested to have his next match, to which Samsa obliged.

    It was Tim’s turn to be in the greenhouse, and Samsa’s friend was revealed to be a mechanical feline, which he seemed to be absolutely unaware of, as the robotic creature stalked him. As Nita watched the proceedings on the screen, she heard Arle ask her a question. ”I admit, I’ve been curious about Tim’s past, if your story involves something about that,” Nita replied, turning to face the tall, masked fellow, ”but I’m afraid I’d rather he was willing to have me listen to it. Given his behavior here before he left for his match, I’m not sure if he was comfortable with me hearing such matters which are apparently of great import to him. I’d feel I was somehow betraying him if I were to listen to a story about his past life without his consent for me to hear it.”


    WC: 1150
    TWC: 4449

    @Rodadnuf


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    Rodadnuf
    Rodadnuf

    Player 
    Lineage : Anathema to Divinity
    Position : None
    Faction : The Ironheart Pact
    Posts : 248
    Guild : Silver Wolf
    Cosmic Coins : 100
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 2,561,089

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Rollins & Schwartz-Brand
    Second Skill: Heaven God Slayer
    Third Skill:

    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  Empty Re: A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)

    Post by Rodadnuf 1st December 2022, 1:40 pm


    “Beautifully said, dear.” Miss Delight clapped her hands together once. “But that was a rather horrible test for her, Arlecchino.”

    “It was no test, I am afraid.” The jester shook his head slightly. “I feel the young master burdened himself for far too long with the chains of his past. This is a sentiment I do not share.”

    “So you wish to unburden him without his say so? What’s more, to drag dear Nita into all this?”

    “Is this not why you opted to tell Samsa to beam her up as well?”

    Miss Delight furrowed her brow. “But there’s no such thing as regret that comes before the fact, is there?”

    “I see…” Arle closed his eye.

    “I am sorry about everything, dear.” Miss Delight looked down. “For someone whose domain involves hope, I am utterly hopeless at carrying out plans of my own.”

    Arle opened his eye, looking over to the screen showcasing Tim’s fight. “The young master already made a few enemies, Mistress Fortune. The most powerful thus far was a strongly worshiped Iser deity. Lady Delight planned to intervene before his pettish tendencies lead to his eventual d—”

    “That is enough, Arlecchino.”

    The man let a slow breath. “I—yes, milady.”

    With Arle’s words the two went silent, only the voices of Tim’s and the lioness’ conversation echoed around the grand ballroom.

    “Angry,” A voice echoed in the forest and Tim, for the life of him, couldn’t pinpoint where it came from. “This is the scent of an angry man.”

    “Anger has a smell?” Tim scoffed. If this was his opponent’s game, keeping them talking would be smart.

    “Smell, scent, some even call it a parfum. Regardless, there is doubt in you. Did you come to face me with utmost seriousness, or was this impulse on your part?” The voice seemed feminine, not that dissimilar to Samsa’s. The way the voice echoed seemed like it was bouncing off of speakers. Its tone didn’t suggest they were taunting him, as well. “Hearing your feats from Samsa and Arlecchino painted me a picture of what opponent I should be facing. Taking your scent now? I might end up getting disappointed, young man.”

    “What feats?” Tim frowned.

    He needed to know who he was dealing with. There was nothing but his own footprints on the muddy ground. Wherever he was, this was not the same patch Nita fought in. The trees looked untouched, save for a single small thin branch of one tree that was cut clean. The half wasn’t on the ground. Tim wanted to take this as a sign of his opponent using their weapon. But there was a huge difference between knowing how to look for someone and just being incredibly observant. Tim was only the latter, and there was an entire experience of him fighting an oversized cat back in the Phoenix mountains to decisively label him as horrible at being the former. So, instead, he opted to let one of the trees hide his back from an ambush.

    “Defeating a corporeal form of a deity was the most notable one,” The voice continued. “But I was told a sudden surge of an unknown power was the reason you defeated them. So, I wanted to see the level of prowess that brought down a reanimated wyvern instead.”

    “I might disappoint you. Calling it a wyvern is a stretch. It was a walking pile of rotted meat sinew. Despite that I didn’t even beat it.”

    “Oh? Care to elaborate?”

    “Long story short, I only cut its tendons off.”

    “So it couldn’t move anymore? Merciful.”

    “It was too powerful for me, more like.”

    “Are you claiming your victories stem from your quick wit rather than combat prowess?”

    “If you’d like to call it that—”

    “Found you.”

    Tim felt a quick rumbling from the tree he was leaning against and, acting on instinct, kicked against the trunk and dove away. He rolled on his back and unsheathed his sword as he recovered, crouching low when he saw the large tree getting impaled by a buzzing saw. The saw’s tip revved, only stopping when no flesh was ripped after it went through the trunk. With a smooth motion the saw unplugged it self from the tree and was whipped back into the dim forest.

    What the heck was that?! Tim flipped his sword, holding it by its blade and letting it rest over his shoulder as if he was holding a blunt weapon.

    “Well, that was clearly a lie.” His opponent hummed. “You have a good set of instincts.”

    The saw-tipped whip made another pass at him, but Tim managed to swat it away using the blade as if it was a club.

    “Also, you have a rather interesting way of fighting. Rather than any particular formal training, this is your experience talking, is it not?”

    “Was that a compliment or a complaint?”

    “An observation.”

    Tim knew the chainsaw tipped whip attacked from a particular direction, one he was already intently trying to find out his opponent’s presence since he dodged the attack. Magic sensory, light reflections, and any signs of breathing; he was looking for any clue, just a single one he could find and turn the table of this fight. The voice was not letting him pinpoint to a particular spot too. Was this magic? His magic sensory wasn’t picking up anything.

    Bang!

    Tim felt his side being hit by a bladed object.

    “But I am afraid there is a notable difference between a ruffian and a weapons master.”

    Whrrrrrrr!

    Followed by a familiar revving up sound!

    Tim snapped his attention to the saw as he was thrown towards another tree. He winced as his body slammed roughly at the trunk, but managed to twist his body aside and fall down on his feet before the buzzing saw could tear through his body. His clothes were another story, however. The saw tore through the blazer, the vest and another one of his dress shirts that Heba had gifted him. The vest and the blazer repaired magically themselves, but the shirt was as good as dead. He frowned from imagining how the little girl would react knowing he tore another one. Not to mention, he could feel something dripping down his side, and judging from how the attack stung this was not sweat. Tim flipped his sword back, holding it as properly as he could.

    “However, feel free to prove me wrong.”

    Not even another breath was given to Tim by his opponent before the chainsaw whip made another pass for the wizard. But this time, the chainsaw swung from the opposite side! Tim ducked as the saw whip flicked in a crescent across him but kept his sword’s edge up to try and cut the whip—to no avail. The whip tugged harder against his sword and retreated back into the thicket of trees, ripping nothing but the surrounding tree’s bark.

    “Please aim for my head instead,” Tim said to nowhere in particular. “I don’t think my shirt can survive another hit.”

    “I did not smell you a man who cared for such material trivialities.”

    “Count me as vain then,” Tim huffed out a dry laugh.

    “A horrible lie, if I ever seen one.”

    Thinking about the wyvern corpse fight now…

    Tim sheathed his sword and balled his fists, still kneeling on one knee as he anticipated another attack. But when nothing came, Tim’s closed fists glowed from the inside! It glowed so brightly the place looked like it was daybreak.

    Between two trees that coiled on top of one another, a metallic silhouette was revealed. It was a mechanical looking golden lion. Its mane glistened as Tim’s light became brighter. It looked at him, and its face curled to what he could only assume was a smile.

    “Hello.” It said.

    “Hey.” Tim answered.
    Suddenly the light died down and Tim was surrounded by darkness again. He opened up his balled-up fists and gestured as if throwing something in the air, but looking from the forest itself seemingly nothing happened. From the ballroom, however, Samsa’s screens were advanced enough to capture the tiny particles floating around Tim. The tiny particles were barely a millimeter across. In the dark without touching one directly, it could’ve easily been mistaken for optical illusions or dust. They slowly scattered away from him and surrounded the space between him and the trees.

    “Is that…dust?” Arle muttered.

    “I feel magic from each of them.” Miss Delight smiled, there was a glint in her eyes that never left the moment Tim used his light magic. “But more importantly, he really was able to use one of Hemera’s domain as his own.”

    Back inside the dimly lit forest, Tim was waiting again.

    “That was an impressive display.”

    Tim huffed out a chuckle.

    And as an answer, the mechanical lion sent its weapon again! Tim clasped his hands together and swatted the chainsaw away before it could hit his face. The wizard winced but kept his composure as he sent the weapon flying into the first tree it destroyed trying to rip Tim’s body apart. He knew the lion was trying to rev the chainsaw whip again from the way it whirred. But it made an ugly clanking sound and fizzled out a thin line of smoke.

    “What?”

    “What indeed.” He slowly let his fists heal its ripped flesh.

    The chainsaw whip was then pulled back into the darkness and, not a second after, Tim flicked his fingers. A section of the forest glowed brightly! The wizard smiled as he unsheathed his sword.

    “My turn.”

    From inside the ballroom, Arle was smiling wide while Miss Delight squealed.

    “Go get her, Timόtheos!” Mis Delight pumped her tiny fists.

    “So the tiny crystals both clogged the chainsaw’s mechanisms and acted as a beacon.” Arle chuckled to himself. “But they shouldn’t clog its mechanisms so easily, should it?”

    “He could’ve changed their shape once they went between the gears.” Miss Delight guessed.

    “Well done, young master.” Arle said to himself as the screen showed a bright light quickly running across the forest, followed by a very persistent wizard.

    Their chase only ended when Tim finally found an opportunity to throw his sword to his opponent’s rear leg, jamming their mechanical joints. The lion missed a step with their leg being jammed and ended up tripping over themselves, slamming into a tree from their own momentum.

    Tim jumped right in front of the cornered mechanical lion. “Do we really have to do this any further?”

    “Why not? You only jammed my tail; I am still far from being beaten.”

    Tim sighed. “Right.”

    The sword lodged over the lion’s read leg glowed, specifically, the sword’s grip had a glass chain that finally glowed a purplish hue. As if cracking a whip, Tim flicked the chain making a loop over the lion’s mane and around their neck.

    “Do not underestimate a huntress’s tenacity!” His opponent roared.

    She wasn’t going down without a fight! The lioness pulled the chain with her maw. Tim leaned on one knee trying to keep himself from getting dragged down into the dirt, but the chain snapped. He kicked off the ground to grab the tip of the broken chain, but stopped in his tracks when he saw the lioness readying to pounce. Tim slid off the muddied ground trying to stop himself, but he was already close enough despite his opponent’s restraints. She lunged at him! The ground gave in as Tim tried to dodge, it was in was softer than the one he kicked off of earlier.

    The lioness slammed herself into him and sent both of them tumbling down the muddied ground.

    Crack!

    Tim gritted his teeth.

    “What in the—”

    The lioness’ maw gnashed around his neck, but Tim’s purplish glass chains were strong enough to keep him from getting chomped off.

    “Let’s call it a draw?”

    “I refuse."

    Tim heaved; both his feet slammed against the mechanical lioness’ abdomen as she was sent flying. The lioness flipped, landing on her feet, and pounced him for a second time. This time, however, she slammed her two front paws over Tim’s neck and one of his hands. Her maw opened and her lower jaw revealed the end of a large looking barrel. Whatever she was threatening to fire, Tim could only guess it was something that will end their fight then and there.

    “Do you still want to call it a draw?”

    “Before I answer, how does your leg feel?”

    The lioness, finally noticing her rear leg’s joint freed off any restrictions, felt her abdomen open before she could move. She could tell without looking down that it was the same sword he threw earlier.

    “It took me a while, but this feels like your core.” Tim winced as the barrel started to glow. “Want to test which of us can do it faster?”

    The lioness’ mouth canon whirred.

    Tim gripped his sword tightly.

    “No.”

    But the lioness’ maw reverted back to her usual look. She stood a step back and let Tim go. The wizard gave a sigh of relief when he was finally back on his feet.

    “You are a terrible sparring partner.” Tim muttered.

    “Truly?”

    “For a second I thought we were going to kill each other off.”

    “Doesn’t that make me a good one instead.”

    Tim huffed out a dry laugh. “Haven’t had a fight like that in a while…”

    “Did it help?”

    Tim quirked a brow. “Can’t you just smell it off me or something?”

    “This is something I can’t simply know just from that alone.”

    “I don’t know,” Tim paused, looking up to nowhere in particular. “But I’d like to think it did.”

    “Samsa, I need some repairs.” The lioness sat up straight.

    “Ah.” Tim flicked his fingers. “Let me unjam your tail.”

    “Thank you,” She tilted her head down, it was the closest thing to a bow the lioness could do. “May fate lead us to another hunt.”

    “Together and not against each other, hopefully.” Tim added. “Send me back to the ballroom too, Samsa.”

    The two looked at each other as they were beamed out of the forest, now a few trees fewer from the fight.

    Words:
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    @Fraag


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    A trip to the Moon (Ms. Fortune, Tim)  M7VWYFe

      Current date/time is 14th October 2024, 7:45 pm