Island coast

[CrimsonKlaw]

Sabriel Thurirl

Leon laughed when she nudged him with her elbow. It seemed like this girl was no threat, and was genuinely trying to be friendly.

"Well, I suppose you could say that, though it wasn't an issue of money. Part of it was that I wanted to get away, I guess. The other part is a little more involved. I'm a martial artist, and I heard people were crazy strong over here, so I spent a lot of my time growing up learning about this place. When my old man interfered, I kinda took matters into my own hands."

He looked up at the moon, smiling a little bit. It was interesting. He had come here expecting creatures of terrifying nature, and all with a lust for blood. But this girl here was simply asking him about why he was here, with the exact opposite attitude than he expected.  

[Sabriel Thurirl]

Callisto Piscis-Piscis
Adventurous Mermaid

Callisto's smile grew a bit when she saw that he was having a good time. There was no need to be concerned at all. She could still pretty easily fight at the drop of a hat if she needed to. But was happy that she didn't need to think about that sort of exchange. He didn't look like a kid either but to have left home without a word was surprising. Were the fighters on this island really that strong? If she'd been warned about that before, she had certainly been distracted by someone which interested her more at the time. "So you left home? Me too! Not recently like you did though." Then she turned towards him, eyes alight with curiousity. "More importantly, what's a martial artist?! Some kind of painter? You look more like a fighter though! What kind of art requires all those muscles?" She rest her small, pointed chin on the palms of her hands as she waited for an answer. She hadn't yet noticed that it was getting dark out and the moon was showing. Most of her was covered up but her face, hands, neck and shoulders were exposed. The simple patterns on her skin which showed even when she was in the form of a dark elf were faintly beginning to glow.

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Knight Of The Dark Void

 

[CrimsonKlaw]

Sabriel Thurirl

"You don't know what that is...? Thats surprising. Well, a martial artist is someone who considers fighting, or their fighting style of choice, to be an art form. It's an exercise in discipline, and honor. When they fight, they fight with great pride, and respect for the opponent's skill."

Leon remembered when he first began taking Taekwondo. It was pretty hard training, but it was worth it in the end. He glanced over at Callisto, and thought something was a little off, but he didn't pay it much attention, due to him not ever meeting a creature like this in the first place. He looked back down at his knife, pulling it out and feeling the engravings before offering it to Callisto to take a look.

"Originally, my parents wanted me to be a hunter, just like them, and the family before me. But...it just...it didn't sit well with me. Something about the idea of killing creatures we considered unnatural, just because we thought they were a threat, seemed unfair, and downright idiotic. Humans can be just as much of a threat. So, I fought with my own style, and my own reasons."  

[Wolfe Garm]

Death or Glory

MzDuchess

the wardens are on the move

The Wardens Protectorate
82nd tracker division

Felix Reilly - Titus Kain
Emilia Cook

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The coastline, it was rather quiet which suited them perfectly, the cliffs that were visible to the boat they were on gave them the cover they needed to get on the islands without attracting to much attention. Just below the cliffs a small beachline where they could land at. The boat rushed forward with all haste, on it three hunter’s whose purpose to purify the abominations that dwelled at these islands. As the boat reached the beach the three individuals rushed off weapons raised as they moved to secure their beach landing each one moving in formation as they swept their sectors before they determined that the beach was secure. The lead motioning for one of them to move ahead and took off in a full run down the beach, Felix lowered his weapon as he looked around Titus ran ahead to make sure the way was clear, they had plenty of intel from the hunters landing which gave them the information they needed to disappear in the general populations after which the hunt would begin. They knew of a village where they could hide, as far as anyone would be aware of they were simply well-prepared mercenaries and they would utilize that to their advantage. Eventually Titus came back “all clear Commander!” his weapon lowered as he approached “we should have no issues getting to where we need to be though if the intel is right we shouldn’t have to go far to get that village” Felix nodded “alright, secure the boat we’re going to be here a while, make sure it can be used, Emilia move on ahead and gather intel on the local population of that village we were told about and secure a place to stay, we’ll be along with everything else once we’ve taken care of things here” Emilia nodded not really looking forward to this “don’t take too longp” was all she said as she ran off towards the interior of the island. Titus started working on scuttling the boat but not so much that they wouldn’t be able to use it again when they were ready to leave, and Felix simply kept an eye out for any trouble.

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either way you're screwed.

 

[Sabriel Thurirl]

Callisto Piscis-Piscis
Adventurous Mermaid

One could practically see question marks popping up over her head as she listened to him speak. She was adamantly paying attention and certainly interested in learning new things. But she didn't understand what he meant. How did one fight someone while respecting their opponents skill and pride? To her fighting was all about survival, or going up in rank. She'd never participated in that sort of competition, but she wondered if she would be able to better understand his explanation if she had. When the knife was drawn her attention shifted to it immediately. It wasn't being held like he was going to use it. But she was still aware of the possibility that he could decide to. If he did she'd have to defend herself, or run away. She didn't know which she would do. So far she liked this stranger, so maybe she'd pick fleeing over fighting to the death with an interesting new person.

She was surprised when he handed the knife over to her. She'd seen him feeling it with his fingers, so she did as well. "I've seen weapons like this before, but never close up like this. Where I come from you have to be skilled to win them or rich enough to buy them. Or skilled enough to craft one yourself. What kind of enchantments are on it?" She turned it in her hands, eyeing the pattern curiously. "But you say your family hunts unnatural creatures? Those kinds of hunters? Humans being the only kind they don't hunt?" She tilted her head as she thought out loud a bit before handing the knife back to him. She thought that smiling at a time like this would make her look less threatening. She also had lots more questions she wanted to ask him but knew from past experiences that it was better to avoid overwhelming anyone with questions. So she forced a smile and told herself to be patient.

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Knight Of The Dark Void

 

[CrimsonKlaw]

Sabriel Thurirl

"Well, I don't think it has any enchantments. The engravings are more for sentimental value. It was a gift from my old man. And, unfortunately, yes, humans are tho only thing the rest of my family doesn't hunt. I refuse to hunt any living person like that, be it vampire, werewolf, or whatever. It's just not right."

Leon carefully took the knife back from her, and put it away. He sat back a little bit, looking at the stars.

"I guess a part of me wanted to come here to see new kinds of people, to meet people I wouldn't normally meet, regardless of race. Was it the same thing for you?"

He turned his head a little bit to look at her, noticing she was almost glowing at this time of night.  

[Sabriel Thurirl]

Callisto Piscis-Piscis
Adventurous Mermaid

"More or less it's the same!" She started with a genuine smile. She brought her knees to her chest and rest her arms upon them. She felt like she was having a deeper talk with this stranger than she'd expected. Quite frankly, she liked it. It was not a wise thing to do, or so she'd been told. But Leon seemed friendly despite first impressions. They were practically friends already! So why not share a bit with him like he was with her? "I wanted to meet new people too! But mainly I wanted to see what the rest of the world was like. The different ways people live and act and the things they create. I left home because I wanted to see all of that for myself! And I was really bad at my job! Oh, I was a hunter too! But for food. I helped out a bit with farm work for a short while as well but I was also really bad at that! So I got permission to go my own way and since then my life has just been wandering around looking for interesting things." She laughed, remembering how frustrated the others she'd been with were every time she'd get distracted. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was asking herself if dark elves were the farming type. Even if she looked like a dark elf mixed with another elf she didn't know much about their culture. She didn't consider that the son of hunters might know more about what she was pretending to be. "I was thinking about leaving the island for a while, but I'm glad I decided to check the coastline first. Oh, that's right! Will you show me your martial arts?" She clapped her hands together and then jumped to her feet. She offered a hand to him to help him stand up. As she held it out she looked from him, to her hand, back to him and then her hand again as she finally realized that her skin was glowing. She looked up to the sky and saw that the moon was out in full view. Then looked back to Leon. Her cheery smile was gone and though she still held her hand out she was anxious about what would happen next. Her earlier thoughts about fighting or fleeing resurfaced. Should she just excuse herself and run away? How had she failed to notice the time? Did he know that dark elves didn't normally glow? Were there dark elves where he came from? Would she be able to make up a lie if he suspected something.

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Knight Of The Dark Void

 

[CrimsonKlaw]

Sabriel Thurirl

Leon looked at her glowing skin for a second, then closed his eyes and laughed.

"Y'know, I know you're not telling me everything about who you are. But to be honest...I don't mind."

He took her hand and got up, still smiling.

"Everyone has something they don't want to tell others for one reason or another, including myself. But I don't really want that to stand in the way of us being friends, as weird as that is to say. If you want me to never mention this again, I understand. I'll still teach you martial arts if you want!"

Leon grinned, putting his hands on his hips, and puffing out his chest a little, in a cocky, yet confident sort of way. He knew all too well that although secrets could be fatal, they were important to a person, and if there was something Callisto wasn't telling him, she slipped up in hiding it. It was easily noticeable now, due to his education on Dark Elves from his family's hunting heritage.  

[Sabriel Thurirl]

Callisto Piscis-Piscis
Adventurous Mermaid

Callisto was completely taken off guard by his response. He knew she was hiding something and didn't care? Even if it was really weird to see someone glow without an explanation? "Really?" She grinned after seeing him grin and imitated him further by putting her hands on her hips. "Yay! Leon, I'm so glad you're not mad!" She laughed happily, completely taken in by his confidence, and rushed forward to give him a big hug. She didn't bother to question things further. Her new friend seemed like a genuinely nice guy so there was no reason to suspect him of anything. She hopped back after a couple seconds and looked up at him excitedly. She clapped her hands together and then proceeded to ball them up into fists in front of her. "Please teach me! How do you do it?! What does it look like?! Is that why you're so buff?! What's it like compared to normal fighting or-or, like, throwing things! I'm really good at that!" In her excitement she hadn't considered other factors like the time of night, what or when he'd meant he'd teach her, their current location, her still missing bag, if they were still alone and more importantly how much time she had left until she needed to get back to water.

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Knight Of The Dark Void

 

[CrimsonKlaw]

Sabriel Thurirl

Leon was flattered that Callisto considered him buff. Not many people paid him real compliments back home. The only reason he had a small group of girls chasing him, was because they considered him a "badass". When in reality, he wasn't interested in them and would rather focus on training, and getting to the island. Leon shook it off, and switched mindsets to teaching.

"Well, there are tons of different martial arts. The one I use is known as Taekwondo. It specializes in kicks, and is very fast paced. Many think we sacrifice power to accomplish that, but..."

Leon found a small rock, and after feeling how heavy it was, tossed it up, and quickly took his stance. He spun around, using his momentum the strengthen his kick further, then let his right foot meet the rock with tremendous force and sent the rock shooting into a nearby tree. It almost sounded like a bullet when it hit. The rock left a deep dent withing the trunk. Leon returned to his stance, took a breath, then relaxed.

"...as you can see, that isn't exactly true. Fighting like this takes exceptional reaction time, and adaptability. Now, match my stance. Put your fists up, one in front of the other, and your body facing me. Make sure to look forward as well."  

[Sabriel Thurirl]

Callisto Piscis-Piscis
Adventurous Mermaid

She watched silently as he searched for a rock, her mind conjuring up images related to a style of kick-fighting. She was so excited to see it in person, but knew from experience when being shown how to do something that she shouldn't speak. Something about her boundless curiosity and energy being distracting. Her eyes followed the rock's ascension for a second. Her eyes caught Leon moving and so she switched to looking at him in time to see his spin finish and the rock connect with his foot. She blinked and stared at his foot as he put it down. She didn't see any blood, or bruising or any sort of damage at all. Where'd the rock go? She looked in the direction she remembered him to be kicking in as he was speaking. When she finally saw the rock imbedded into the trunk of a tree her dark purple eyes widened in amazement. "Wha--How? How is that--Is that the one you kicked? Wow..." She stared at it for a second longer until looking back up at him.

It took her a second to remember she'd been asked to do something. She looked him up and down and first moved her feet to match the position of his. Then shifted her hips to try to match how his were positioned. Then balled her fists up in front of herself and looked up at him. "Like this?" She was still in disbelief but was doing her utmost to stay focused and follow his instructions. She'd often been told that she was easily distracted. She didn't fully understand how he'd been able to kick like that. And such a small target too! Was he human? He had to be, he'd said his parents liked to kill non-humans simply for existing. If someone had told her that a human was capable of doing something like that she wouldn't have believed them. He wasn't even hurt! He didn't look out of breath or anything! He looked fine.

As she recalled it, he was making sort of a calm face when he was kicking. Was this possible because of martial arts? What did he mean by reaction time and adaptability? Did that take a lot of work or did someone have to be gifted? How much time had been spent inventing that sort of technique? She had lots of questions, and was having a bit of a hard time trying to keep focused for that reason. But, still she was trying hard to keep her concentration so as to not be rude to her new friend.

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Knight Of The Dark Void

 

[CrimsonKlaw]

Sabriel Thurirl

Leon examined her stance, and made a face like something wasn't quite right. Her body was facing the right way, her fists were in the ready position, so he wasn't sure why he felt something was off. He walked forward, a little closer, but not enough to make her uncomfortable.

"Here, move your fists a little more toward eye level. We'll work on footwork once your stance looks alright."

Leon checked his watch purely by habit, and realized it was almost midnight.

"Jeez, this late already? How long was I sailing?"  

[Sabriel Thurirl]

Callisto Piscis-Piscis
Adventurous Mermaid

Callisto tilted her head slightly at the peculiar face he'd made. He looked angrier than usual. Was something bothering him? She adjusted her fists as directed but before she could ask him if something was wrong he mentioned the time. She relaxed her stance and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Oh, right." She looked up at the moon and took a guess as to how late it could be. "Humans normally like to be asleep by now don't they... Are you tired? There's a really good inn in the village. Wanna do this some other time?" She wondered briefly how far away from his home this island was if he were this unawares. With it being a place full of hunters she had no interest in ever going there. However getting a general idea of where it was would be a good idea so she could avoid it. As she was now she had no way of making herself look human. She couldn't hide her slender pointed ears or complexion. Also she could only go a few hours without needing to submerge herself in water. How could she keep her identity a secret there? Even Leon had noticed that she wasn't really a dark elf. Her fault, because she should've stayed covered up. But earlier in the evening she'd taken off a few layers because she was just too darn hot. She shrugged those thoughts away. It wasn't really all that urgent right now. She didn't plan on leaving the island for a while. It wasn't like she'd never see him again so she could always ask him later.

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Knight Of The Dark Void

 

[CrimsonKlaw]

Sabriel Thurirl

As she suggested they wait, Leon yawned, a sign he was obviously becoming a little exhausted.

"Yeah, That'd probably be a good idea. Gives me some time to cook up a lesson plan too. Will you be staying at the inn, or do you have a place to stay already?"

Leon hadn't really spent time with girls, so he didn't know if that was an acceptable thing to ask. She seemed nice enough, so Leon thought it would just be courteous. Besides, he wanted to continue learning about her. He wasn't sure if this was the correct way, but how would he find her again if he didn't stay with her? There were so many questions that needed answering, especially with his lack of knowledge on the island.  

[Sabriel Thurirl]

Callisto Piscis-Piscis
Adventurous Mermaid

She was surprised by his question, not expecting him to actually want to know where she'd be spending the night. She'd intended to just spend the rest of her night underwater but she couldn't just tell him that without telling him that she was a mermaid. It was odd that he wanted to know where she'd be while he slept. But then she recalled how he'd arrived on the island. Was he actually short on funds? She was wide awake for now and to go ahead and offer to share a room with him would complicate things. But, why not? Leon was pretty nice. This was probably his first time on this island too so maybe he didn't feel comfortable being alone. "Well, to be honest I don't anymore. I did, this morning, but I checked out thinking I'd be leaving tonight. Do you wanna go halfsies on a room?" In her mind she'd already decided that she wasn't going to use the bed anyway. She'd take a nap in the ocean or sleep in the bathtub.

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Knight Of The Dark Void