005 [Voice/Action]

[swordprincess]

[Karla is...confused, to say the least. She didn't know who she was...but she hasn't thought about it either. She only thought of herself as just a girl, looking for her big brother. Others saw her as the Princess of Swords, a devastating warrior whose skill and beauty was talked about all over Elibe. She didn't care too much for that reputation, because she didn't care about fighting. The only thing on her mind was finding her brother.]

[But Zompano's recent takeover allowed her to become something else entirely. A wife and a mother with a family. She had to admit that she liked it while it lasted.]

[Her voice is filled with sadness and disappointment as she casually speaks into her journal.]

To be a wife and a mother, even for a short time, was...quite an illuminating experience. That's a kind of life I would have liked to live.

[At some point during the day, the Sword Princess can be found at the Battle Dome in yet another "bandits raiding the village" scenario. There are three bandits facing her now. They move in to attack, mercilessly swinging their axes at her. Karla dodges their attacks easily, as if they were moving in slow motion. And then three strokes from her sword led to three fallen bandits. The setting fades back into the usual empty room. Karla sighs as she sheaths her sword. Asch had shown her how to use the Battle Dome, but now she needs to learn how to make the scenarios more challenging.]

[Later on, she takes a break, sitting on the edge of the fountain in the plaza. She cradles her sword in her lap, stroking the smooth blade with her fingers. It's strange, having to get used to the sword all over again after temporarily forgetting her skill. As usual, she remains oblivious to the world around her. Approach her anyway?]

Comments

[winds_voice]

[Someone might be watching her for a while as she rests by the fountain. Eley knew there were weapons in Luceti and, after recent events, knows they are widely used. At the time he was too confused and hurt to pay much attention to the fighting... he just wanted it to stop.

He watches as she caresses the blade as if it was an old friend. There were weapons in Agkelos too, but they were really only used as a last resort... particularly when the Silver Dragons were too stubborn to back down.

Was that right though? The Agkelons were peaceful for the most part... but were they safe?

Eley comes a little closer.]

May I join you?

[swordprincess]

[Karla glances up at him, trying to put on a little more cheerful face, but isn't quite successful. She pauses for a moment. What does he want?]

Oh...I remember you.

[The last time she saw him, she thought he was her brother. She thought everyone was her brother. She looks away slightly, embarrassed by the memory.]

[winds_voice]

[Yes, their last meeting was rather awkward... no matter what Eley did he couldn't shake her belief that he was her brother. He's glad that it seems to have passed now though and shows no sign of repeating itself.

He gives a nod.]

I know that things were rather... strange in the past. Perhaps we can begin again. Could you tell me more about that sword?

[swordprincess]

[She brings the sword out to view.]

This is the Wo Dao. It’s a rare sword where I come from. Only my brother and I carry it...until I had one person duplicate it for me here.

[winds_voice]

[Eley comes to sit beside her now and takes a closer look. It's probably obvious that he looks a little wary of it, even when it's not in use.]

Why did you and your brother have to carry such a weapon? How did you come to possess it?

[voice/text]

[trinkett]

Karla.

[It is so costly for Effie to speak. Her throat is still so raw and damaged. She switches to writing:]

Karla, I did not know you were a mother. I hope nothing bad happened.

[written]

[swordprincess]

[Karla doesn’t quite know how to use the text function, so she’ll settle for writing in response.]

...I wasn’t really a mother. I had been...changed. We only thought we were family, but we were really not. I had even forgotten how to wield a sword.

But then our real memories started coming back. We remembered who we really were, and we remembered our skills. We fought the invaders who caused all this, and we won.

...But how are you doing, Effie?

[She still feels guilty, having volunteered to be a bodyguard and then failing to protect her.]

[written]

[onlyeffie]

Better! I am mending.

[Things are actually not that great, but that's not the face that Effie wants to show to the world right now. It's much better to PRETEND that things are fine.]

In some ways, I think I thought I had a family before I was taken. But that's over, now.

[written]

[swordprincess]

[Karla would disagree if only she knew what was really happening.]

I am glad. Were you affected by this incident as well? Or were you really a mother?

[written]

[onlyeffie]

NO NO NO. [Just in case you needed convincing about that.] I lived in a house with three other people, that's all.


Now I live in a house with two people. Different people. [And it didn't feel much like a family at all, in spite of how hard she tried to pretend it was.]

[Voice]

[godbent]

It seriously made you want it?

[She throws this out more defensively than anything. Because maybe she liked it more than she'd like to admit, and she doesn't want to have]

[Voice]

[swordprincess]

What, is that a bad thing?

[She blinks at the journal, but honestly, there's more to it.]

No...it's something that I've...kind of always wanted...

[Voice]

[godbent]

Oh. Well, that makes sense, I guess.

voice

[skaterbrain]

?

[Beat was relatively unfazed by the invasion, other than the fighting part. He managed to keep Rhyme out of it, but he doesn't quite get why people are so mad about the false lives part.]

So...why can't you?

voice

[swordprincess]

[...Why can't she become a wife and a mother? That's a good question. Technically nothing is stopping her. But she only thought about one thing. She's far too single-minded to be a wife and a mother.]

...I'm on a journey.

voice

[skaterbrain]

[Uh...he does not understand this logic and it shows in the slow way he talks and the confusion laced in his words.]

...So... You... Don't meet guys?

voice

[swordprincess]

...Not really. The people I do meet, I don't see them for very long.

[So she just...forgets their existence.]

[action]

[uccellodifuoco]

[If a challenge is what she wants, she may be getting one now, because as her little scenario ends and she sheathes her sword, someone is going to activate a pre-programed scenario. Would be enough challenging to stand in the middle of a vast frozen land, surrounded by eighty men clad in dark armors ready to attack her?

She's not alone, though, as Ikki actually walks past her, clad in his own armor... And almost acting as if she's not there until he turns to look at her.]

If you're done training I'll take this place now. Unless you think you can make use of this scenario.

[That's the closest to an invitation he can dare to make to the woman who he considered his mother for several days, for a whole "fake" live, because even now some memories of that fake past still linger in him. Out of all his "fake" family, Karla is actually the one he has more troubles daring to talk to, because he barely remembers his real mother and has never had a motherly figure either. The idea of having had one even in a fake live, is too alien and strange for him, not something he can really confront directly. He doesn't even know if she would want to confront that or just ignore it and forget it all.]

[action]

[swordprincess]

[Karla instantly cringes as the frigid winds suddenly cuts through her entire body. While most of her body was covered by her clothing, it wasn't particularly thick, or really meant to repel the cold. She looks up, making out the armored figures surrounding her, and reaches for the hilt of her sheathed sword again.]

[Then the movement of another man walking past her catches her eye. She didn't get to see his face, but the voice and the hair are familiar.]

...Ikki...?

[She's still hunched over from the cold for a moment longer. In this position, one might mistake her for a damsel in distress. She glances at the eighty men again. This could be an interesting challenge. She can overcome the cold if she can just move. So she straightens herself, drawing her sword and bringing it down to her side, still trembling slightly. She just hopes that she won't catch a death of cold after this.]

[action]

[uccellodifuoco]

[The programed Specters creep closer on them, surrounding them slowly like a dark sea. Ikki never got the chance to really see up close all the Specters and he didn't care either so many of them are actually repeated several times, but for training purposes that doesn't matter. The armors are all different, some of them are covered from head to toe, others have parts of their bodies uncovered and not protected, tempting invitation for an attack directed there.

Ikki barely glances at them before looking at Karla over his shoulder, watching her unsheathing her sword with no apparent intention to ask to leave. That and seeing her recognize him calm the small part of him that was nervous and troubled. Unfortunately,that doesn't make it much easier to actually talk to her, not that it matters at the moment in the middle of a scenario. He positions himself in fighting stance, ready to charge towards one of the flanks, burning his Cosmo and letting it manifest in the form of flames raising from his body, a heat that burns those of tainted hearts while leaves unaffected those who aren't of evil nature.]

The big shots aren't in this scenario, most of those are just flashy scum that only idiots would have trouble with. Be careful though, none of them plays fair and they will probably be surprising opponents for you if that sword is all you have.

[Even so their Cosmo attacks are few and with patterns easy to notice by those used to combat, Ikki isn't sure about how good she really is, the previous scenario wasn't much of a challenge and in that fake life she had never hold a sword as far as he knew. It doesn't worry him, though, should it be needed he can cancel the simulation or just take care of everything and protect her, he left the really dangerous enemies outside of the simulation after all.]

[action]

[swordprincess]

[Karla finds herself speechless, but she takes heed of his warning. She studies the Specters, noticing how some of them were fully armored while others had exposed parts of their bodies. She'd slash at the exposed bodies, and then strike down the full armored ones with her full strength.]

[However, she decides to let Ikki lead the battle, curious to see what kind of "surprises" they held.]

[Action]

[crimsonblade]

[Nel caught the girl's statement on the journal, but she had nothing to add to it, but when she ran into her at the Battle Dome, she felt the need to say something to her then.]

That scenario hardly seems as if it was challenging you at all.

[Action]

[swordprincess]

[Karla sheaths her sword as she exits the room, disappointed.]

It wasn't... [She admits it.]

[Action]

[crimsonblade]

I never understood the fascination with these pre-programmed enemies. They aren't a challenge because enemies aren't going to act the same way every time.

Perhaps a live person would be better for you?

[Action]

[swordprincess]

I heard there was a way to make it more challenging, though. I just don't know how to do it.

A live person? It probably would be better...but I don't have anyone to practice with...