RWBYFanon v5
RPG World of Remnant => The Vale Region => Beacon Academy => Topic started by: DEXES on September 11, 2018, 01:40:46 PM
-
(For the sake of clarification)
(http://i64.tinypic.com/s2adcg.png)
The water splashed softly against the cliffs, reflecting the light of the rising, shattered Moon.
Kisha lay with her back on the wooden jetty, to which some small wooden boats were docked, and watched how the first stars in the sky light up. A real dreamy view. Fortunately, Beacon wasn't overly controlling that everyone was in their rooms at the late night hours, and even if they were, it would still be another two hours before she had to return to her room. Kisha closed her eyes and continued to listen to the sound of the waves as they collided with the stony walls of the cliffs.
Sometimes she wondered why no one was here. It was such a wonderful place to have some peace and enjoy the beautiful view. And it wasn't even greatly hidden. Anyone could come down here pretty much anytime, but Kisha was always alone. She plucked in her earphones and began to listen to the music on her scroll, and after only a short while, she started to hum and sing along to it quietly.
-
Calen’s insistence on only eating the food he cooks himself can end up being quite an expensive endeavour. Calen’s medical poultices keep him with enough supplied with lien to survive particularly now he had gotten a bit of a name for himself as a Huntsman-in-Training but all the high-end clothing and weapon maintenance products add up. As dusk started to settle around the harbour Calen decided to try his hand at a bit of fishing, it was supposed to be the best time to do so or at least that was what his father said. As the sun dips below the horizon the air cools faster than the water which in turn leeches more warmth out of the air, which makes the fish hungry. As well as making the water more attractive. Calen mused to himself as he made Kisha out on the jetty.
Leaping down off the cliff above Calen flew down at a blitzing speed and would have gone crashing through the wooden jetty if it wasn’t for his semblance which cancelled out his downward momentum. Straightening out his black suit and green tie Calen then goes out to set up his fishing equipment, bait, the rod and a bucket of water to keep the fish fresh. ’Good evening young Miss, hope I’m not being too disruptive.’ Calen calls out to Kisha, he was now close enough to recognise her as a student as well as having earphones in. Which may mean his greeting would be missed but it would be impolite not to.
Regardless of Kisha’s reaction Calen started throwing out some practice casts, testing where the rocks are, where the drops are or other bits of debris could snag the fishing line. Food for the small fish would be growing around the rocks and sunken would which although not what Calen was looking for but would attract those he was. This meant that Calen would need to get his casts close to these rocks but not close enough the line would get trapped, it was more difficult than Calen was expecting but after a few casts he had found a few good spots. Now confident Calen started using bait to actually start fishing.
-
Kisha slowly opened her eyes as she felt the vibrations of footsteps through the jetty and looked up.
"Ah, no, no you don't disturb at all!" she said and took out the headphones, wrapped them around her scroll and then packed it away. She watched him quietly for a while. It seemed like she'd seen him before, several times actually, but she couldn't think of a place or name. And judging by his greeting, he probably doesn't seem to know her either. She stared at him for a little longer, thinking about all sorts of people she meet, but no one matched. Finally, she gave up and decided to do the best thing in this situation. Start a conversation.
"Sooooo," she watched as he threw the bait into the water "What are you hoping to catch?"
Kisha was relatively calm for her hyperactive and excitable nature and watched silently as circles shaped around the bait as it breaks through the surface of the water. Normally, a rain of questions would have already rained down on the young, pale man, but the countless questions confined to this one.
"I'm Kisha, Kisha Miles. And you are?"
-
Calen did always like to be watched. It was a strange contradiction of always wanting to be the centre of attention but never wanting anyone to know anything about him. It’s one of the reasons why dance so appealed to him, on stage he wasn’t Calen Shrike son of mass murderers or Calen Shrike up and coming huntsman, he was simply the dancer and that dance was all that mattered. As such he felt very comfortable under Kisha’s gaze and in turn studied his fellow student out of the corner of his eye. ’Anything eatable honestly, but hoping for some mackerel or some blue. But let’s see what the sea gives us. And it’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Miles, my name is Calen.’ Calen responds pleasantly.
’So what brings you down to the pier? Although it may be awkward, silence is a perfectly acceptable answer, I can be quiet.’ Calen joked as he started to slowly reel in his first baited cast. He did seem to be getting any bits but he would never attract catch worth fish with a still lure so he would have to keep everything moving. Or at least that is what the book said. As Calen set up for another cast he took a deep breath of the sea air into his lungs, he had never spent much time by the sea but enjoyed it now he was at Beacon. Although some might consider the raw power of the sea to be humbling Calen saw it instead as vast wilderness which had been harnessed and enslaved by man.
’So, what type of music were you listening to? I used to be quite the audiophile but I don’t have the time to take in many albums outside of when I’m training.’ Calen asked gesturing at Kisha’s earphones as the line flew back out into the sea. For something that played such a significant part in his life, Calen did very rarely actually listen to music, instead using the beat or rhythm to direct his movement, resulting in a pretty wide collection much to the dismay of his teammates.
-
Calen...
Kisha still couldn't get rid of the feeling of having seen him somewhere before, but even the name didn't mean anything to her.
"Silence is one part of the reason," Kisha replied, looking into the distance, "But don't hold back, I love a good conversation, and no reason to be so polite, just call me Kisha."
Interested, she continued to watch Calem. Personally, she was fascinated by the art of fishing, but she never, and probably will never go fishing herself. Fishing was a hobby that needed patience, something she didn't possess. But watching others was something different. It was more appealing, more interesting. And then you had someone to talk to.
"Oh, a little bit of everything," she said, waving the question off. She often listened to music, actually, no day passes without the headphones in her ears, but that was probably a too far-reaching topic to incorporate this in their small talk. Instead, she leaned back and looked further into the distance, toward the horizon. "And this is the second reason why I'm here," she pointed with her hand over the sea "You just can't skip this view."
-
’Red sky in the morning sailor’s warning, red sky at night sailor’s delight.’ Calen responded as his eyes followed Kisha’s fingers. And she was right, the sunset and the rising moon bathed the bay in a glorious red-orange-yellow light, not unlike Calen’s own glaive meant to be a far darker sunset of its own. ’A nice phrase but not particularly apt, storms aren’t what sailors fear anymore.’ Calen continued darkly before looking over to Kisha with a razor-thin smile. But only for a moment and then it was gone. ’Sorry about that, kind of killed the mood didn’t I, Kisha?’ Calen apologised, playing it off like a joke that didn’t land. It was a lie, of course, Calen rarely if ever gets a reaction he doesn’t intend and at this point it’s unease.
’To make up for it there is some food in the pack if you a feeling peckish, a simple ploughman’s lunch which you are more than welcome to partake in.’ Calen remarked gesturing to the small backpack by the rest of his fishing kit. Fresh sourdough, rich cheese and full flavoured pickles the meal was anything but simple. Calen kept throwing casts out into the bay but he wasn’t having any luck. It was getting increasingly frustrating considering he could see some fish beneath him through the water. Maybe I would have better luck with my glaive. Calen thought to himself. Not finding himself with the patience for fishing Calen was about to put the rod down before he finally got his first bite. A tiny thing, barely enough on it to stew came rushing out of the water as Calen reeled in the line before looking disappointedly at his catch. Chuckling to himself at the misfortune of it all Calen freed the fish and threw it back in.
’Maybe it will come back when it is a bit bigger.’ Calen explained mostly to himself but also to Kisha, although the catch didn’t amount to anything it was still enough to keep Calen going for a little bit longer, clearly he was doing something right. ’So how has everything been going for you at school? It’s a tough world and we aren’t exactly making it much easier for ourselves. How are you holding up?’ Calen asked always eager to get an inside look into another person’s mind, finding out any problems he could exploit would be a welcome bonus.
-
"Nahh, keep it. I'm not really hungry right now" She replied. It wasn’t as if she was not hungry, but after a full day of standing and spending her time in the academy's kitchen, just to finish the three-story tall cake, including garnishing it with all the trimmings, she could no longer see any food. Whether pastry or not. On the other hand, during the baking, she has eaten roughly half of the ingredients, a bad habit that she regrets every day anew, especially when it comes to raw dough. Maybe it would be a good idea to avoid the kitchen from time to time, after all, she stood there almost every day and made all kinds of god-like pastry.
...
...
Kitchen.
Kisha paused for a moment as she repeated the word in her thoughts, "Say," she started out of the blue and moved a bit closer to Calen, "Can it be that you are often in the kitchen?"
She didn’t really wait for an answer and instead started answering his last question, "Oh, school here school there. Just pay attention in class and look at your notes in the last hour before the exam. That at least works for me." She said with a grin. "You remember the important things naturally and you probably won’t need the rest of the stuff ever again."
After Kisha finished, she first looked at the rod and bait, then at Calem, then at the water, befor starring back at Calem again.
"OHMYGAWD!" Kisha said loudly and jumped up "I have an idea!" She walkes to the beginning of the jetty, where a few small, wooden boats were docked. All alone. Nobody used them. Nobody needed them. Until now.
She quickly started to loose the rope that was tied to one of the post so that the boats wouldn’t swim away, and then looked
back at Calem. "What are you waiting for, you never catch something bis like this, let's expand our reach! Come on, or would you like me to call you Mood Killer from now on? Come on now!" she called to him as she jumped excitedly from side to side, still with the rope in her hands.
-
Not even the smallest of reactions.’ Calen thought to himself almost impressed. Although not taking things seriously seemed to be Kisha’s style given her following comments the fact that Calen was unable to disturb his fellow student did erk him somewhat. ’If you are sure.’ Calen responded packing the food away again, looking longingly at it while he was doing so. ’I avoid the school kitchens mostly on principle, I have all the equipment I need in my team’s room and my apartment. I know what that equipment has been used for, who used it last and more important my ingredients no longer go ‘missing.’’ Calen continued chuckling away slightly. It had been a hard lesson to learn, very expensive and very hard to utilise ingredients being ‘borrowed’ and wasted maybe amusing now was infuriating at the time, particularly when there was someone Calen was trying to impress.
’You want to go sailing? I must say I would very much enjoy that, successful fishing attempts or not.’ Calen remarked walking on to the small boat Kisha had freed. It floated and although the planks creaked loudly under Calen’s insignificant weight the boat did seem seaworthy and worst case scenario what are the chances Grimm lay in weight beneath the waves. Just then there was a sharp rush of movement came up from the water, a fish going after an insect. Probably. Nevertheless, Calen’s eyes were locked on the water for a few moments before the gaunt boy turned away and used his semblance to load there new claimed boat with his fishing gear. ’Now I’m Captain Mood Killer am I?’ Calen joked as the boat rocked beneath his rapid movements, remain upright of course but may be upsetting the balance of those not expecting it. Motorised or sailboat Calen had spent many long weeks on ships with his family, unbeknownst to him laying low when the authorities or the white fang was closing in on them, and it had prepared him with a decent knowledge of the operation of the ship which Calen would happily explain as they went along unless Kisha was already aware.
’So if you don’t take the academic side seriously what about the more physical? Teamwork and combat exercises, can’t exactly rely on your notes there. How does your, with all due respect, lackadaisical outlook deal with that?’ Calen asked keeping his voice upbeat and carefree. Kisha’s response before had surprised him, there would always be people who took things less seriously or less conventional than he did but Kisha was still around so it clearly worked for her. This did make Calen rather curious, maybe there was a method behind the madness after all.
-
"Ooooooohhhhhh," Kisha replied, "Yes, that happens from time to time, you just have to know how to deal with it." She shrugs her shoulders as if that was the most normal thing in the world and continued, "I do store my stuff in the school kitchen. Well, you only try to steal something from me once. Equipment was a different matter, but it worked out at the end of the day. To each his own I guess."
While talking and after she stopped, she watched as Calem 'rushed' back and forth to the boat to carry everything onto it. Most likely his semblance, quite impressive, but without a doubt would have hers been more practical. A portal here and there and everything would be in its right place, however, before she could offer her help, he already loaded everything onto the boat and they were almost ready to go.
"Ai Ai Captain, the crew is here and ready to go," she joked as she jumped into the boat after him. The wavering of Calem made her landing look a little less elegant than she had planned, but she was able to catch herself again after wobbling around a few seconds and stood straight. Embarrassed by her little fidgeting dance, she scratched the back of her head, laughing delighted, as if she was making fun of herself.
"Believe me or not, but I'm a fighting machine! The Grimm start to shiver when they see me!" she said, continuing to laugh, "Alright, jokes side, but I'm really a good fighter, though I'm more useful as a backing person, you know? But don't underestimate me in a one on one. Anyway, with a team of mainly Scrappers, this is a rather minor problem. Oh yes, by the way, I'm from Team INKK, but maybe the name doesn't say much to you, heh~ Let me put it this way, we have a reputation for not being able to keep our team composition. Oh-Uh- I mean, that's not bad, our newest member is unbelievably nice and nothing bad happened with our last one, she just had to return to her homeland, you know, don't worry, I- Uh- Tell me a little bit about your team!"
'Smooth Kisha, really smooth...' She was talking faster and faster towards the end, to the point where she fused the words together to get through the sentence quicker, she didn't even know if Calem was able to understand what she said.
In order to avoid a most likely awkward silence between the two, she turned around with the words "Okay, enough of that, out to the sea! Wuuh!" and turned to the mast to which the sail was tied. And there it already began. She was reluctant to admit that she didn't have the slightest idea what she was doing when she jumped on the boat. She had never done such a thing! Never! She continued to stare at the mast and then started to release the sail from the ropes. How hard could that be?
The answer came as soon as the sail was released and hung flat to the ground. "Uuhhhhh," she stammered as she looked to the side, looking for anything that could help her. It ended with her trying to hold up the sail, hoping something would happen. Somehow. Nothing happened. With a embarrassed laughter, she turned her head to Calem, still holding up the sail. "Uhm, Captain? Help?"
-
Only once huh? Calen thought to himself, he never had any luck ‘encouraging’ others to leave his ingredients alone so he was definitely curious as to how Kisha achieved that. It’s hard to imagine a cheerful, perhaps overly so, goofball threatening but then again Calen had been wrong about people before. Very wrong. Shaking his head as if it would unstick his dark thoughts Calen nodded along as Kisha explained herself. ’I am familiar with INKK; Ismael, Nathan, Kin and yourself right? I try to keep track of the other students in case we ever have to work together…. or against one another. But they seem like a capable bunch, scrappy is a good term for them and I wish you the best of luck moving forward with your new teammate.’ Calen responded, a genuine grin hopefully robbed any severity from the phrase ‘or against one another.’ ’My team also lost a member recently, Taro was knocked unconscious in our initation and he still hasn’t woken up, on the plus side we got a new teddy bear to tide us over but it’s difficult to fully replace somebody. As for the ASTC we have Anna, blind as a bat but she gets by somehow, Setsuna is our leader and he tries his hardest to keep us in line, fails of course but tries. And then we have our teddy bear Theodore, quiet kid but he has a surprising amount of spirit although I suppose you would need it in a place like this.’ Calen remarked trying to at least be a little comforting, it was clear Kisha was a bit nervous and that wasn’t what you wanted in a small boat. Unfortunately providing comfort wasn’t exactly a strength of Calen’s but it was better than nothing, maybe.
Calen was busy storing away their backs and making sure nothing would spill in the probably bumpy ride to where ever they were going, keeping to boat balanced would be an important part of getting back mostly dry. As he turned back around he found Kisha cradling the sail quite unsure of what to do next, chuckling along with his crew for a few moments before picking up a near by piece of rope and started walking Kisha through some simple knots she could use if she ever decided to go sailing again. ’So this is your bowline, it never slips or jams and is used all over the boat like connecting the sails to the mast. Although it looks complex you can get quick with it with enough practice, my brother could do four in three seconds. And this is figure eight, it stops ropes slipping through these little holes. And this is the reef knot it connects two ropes together…..’ Calen slowly and thoughtfully explained how to tie each important knots they would be using to sail around as well as what they did. It brought back pleasant memories for Calen of his father do the same for him, seeing them in action and knowing you were the one who had brought the winds to kneel was a powerful feeling which brought Calen joy even now. It took a while, some of the knots definitely were meant to be tied at dock but they managing it in the end get the boat ready for the sea which was lucky considering they were already pretty far from the coastline. ’The wheel is yours if you like First Mate Kisha.’ Calen called out although ‘wheel’ was putting it a little too proudly. A lever to control the rudder and a piece of rope attached the sail, a little unwieldy and definitely not a wheel it would not be an easy task but Calen would be close by ready to spring into action hopefully before anything went awry
’I feel I must ask why you suggesting going out into a boat if you didn’t know how to sail? As fun as it can be, like anything not knowing what you are doing is going to make an awful time of it.’ Calen added still remaining close by. Although Calen definitely wasn’t upset about this turn of events it still didn’t make much sense to him and things being out of his understanding was never something Calen enjoyed.
-
For a fraction of a second Kisha froze in her motion. "Oh, he... So he is in a coma? I'm so sorry," she said after hearing about Taro's condition. That was the first time she heard about it, normally tidings like these spread like a wildfire in the deciduous forest. Then again, compared to the other students in Beacon, she was basically new herself. It hadn't been that long since Blair and her arrived as the replacement of team ROSE. Then it became BSEK, than INKK. Now that she fought about it, it had been only 2 months... Maybe she was just too late and the discussion about the incident had already calmed down.
"But..." she began after a short silence "You have to expect something like this We are trained here to become the protectors of the world after all. That's our decision and we have to live with the consequences" Her voice took on a slightly bitter tone at these words if you looked closely you could even see a glimmer of despair in her eyes.
What else should she feel? The world they live in is unfair and unpredictable. To deny that would be a grievous mistake. Her jump in personality went as fast as it came and she turned her head to Calen with another, benevolent grin.
"Sounds like an interesting team. I can't wait for us to introduce them to each other. Hehe~ That sure will be a funny encounter "
When Calem finally came to her aid she finally let go of the sail and watched attentively as he formed the individual nodes. W-Was she expected to memorize all of them by the end? How was the first one he showed her tied again? Kisha was so busy repeating and sorting the usage and formations of the knots in her head that she almost missed Calen's statement.
"Huh?- Oh Sure, Ai Ai Captain Mood killer!" she finally answered with a salute and turned to the not so obvious steering wheel. Relatively sure with what she was doing, even though she didn't even know what exactly this was supposed to be, she grabbed the lever with both hands, ready to change the direction of the boat, in case they would threaten to drive into something.
"Awful!?" You're calling this an awful thing!? Are you even aware of what's happening here? " she asked in disbelief, the grin on her face just widening "It's wonderful! You have no idea what's going to happen and that's what makes it all that much more interesting! Where is the fun and the thirst for adventure in something you already know? After all, it's not as if we were in great danger. Should something happen we can still swim to the shore or... Well, I would have a way that would bring us there directly. Just- Just enjoy being haphazardly for a change. These are the memories that stay with you the best."
She gave him one last, big, joyful smile and then turned back to steer the boat. She didn't want to lie, she had already forgotten half of the things Calem had explained to her, and the next time she gets on a boat, she would be as haphazardly as she is now, but that only made the situation better.
As more of the stars light up in the night sky, the cool wind pulled in, filling the now taut sails with air and blowing her hair in the wind. Dreamily, she stared ahead and the light on the stars reflected in her eyes. Without even noticing it, she began to softly hum a song, "Nenene ne ne, we'll always be this young, nenene ne ne, you'll never have to run..."
-
’Yea that’s the word. But I try not to expect bad things to happen, always feels like I am jinxing myself.’ Calen responded with a small grin. Although it did appear Kisha had calmed down somewhat Calen could still see their current topic was distressing for her. Teasing would have to come later but for now, it wasn’t a topic that Calen was enjoying lingering on, Taro is only in the condition he is because of he threw himself in front of an attack meant for himself. That definitely makes it Taro’s decision but not Calen's but isn't that how it always is with choices? Still, the gaunt boy mirrored Kisha's return to mood as the topic changed, or at least as well as he could. 'Definately, can't wait to run circles around you.' Calen joked good-humouredly.
In hindsight, it should have been pretty obvious that he would end up overwhelming Kisha with all the different types of knots but then again it wasn't really about teaching. It was about mirroring something from Calen's past, assuming the mentor role to play out the scenario from another perspective. Still, it was likely something stuck regardless and as Kisha settled in steering the boat Calen went about tying up the last few loose ends. Fastening the sail still as well as setting up a bright torch at the head of the boat as well as another in the ship itself. Vision would get increasingly important as night fell and despite the theoretical possibility of swimming back to shore it wasn't one which Calen was looking forward to, the Vytal festival had kept Calen submerged for longer than he wanted throughout his entire life.
'I'm having fun, and I'm glad you are but it's not always this easy. I remember when I first tried my hand at sailing by myself and it did not end well. I'd been out with my family a few times before so I knew what I was supposed to do but doing it in the newly melted snow water proved a lot harder than I was expected. So yes the memory has definitely stuck with me but only because I almost drowned, would have drowned if I didn't discover my semblance, and lost a prized boat.' Calen responded with a wide, for him, smile. It was a fun memory now but the punishment was severe. In many ways, it was the start of Calen's second life because here was when his family realised he was useful.
Now finally the ship was stable; Kisha seemed comfortable directing the craft, they weren't taking on water and all the knots where holding. Now it was time to test how well Kisha deals with the unexpected in a real situation. 'Holding on tight.' Calen called back and it would be all the warning that Kisha gets as he grabs tight to the boat and uses his semblance to launch the boat forward. A few seconds gliding freely in the air brought a brilliant rush to Calen and even as it came to a crashing end as they came back to the water his heart was still beating hard. Water splashing everywhere, including inside the boat and Calen let out a loud burst of laughter. 'That unexpected enough for you?' Calen remarked still chuckling away.
As fun as the exercise was it did take a bit out of Calen but now the ship was further out he was in a good position to start fishing. Setting up his fishing gear again Calen went straight for the live bait, out this far the only thing they would be getting would be larger fish. Definitely, an improvement for Calen and he still had a small smile as he started casting out the line.
-
Quietly, Kisha listened to his story, but when he finished, she couldn't help but chuckle, "Sure, there are always risks, but I've got you, right?" she said, not taking her eyes off the water. She took a deep breath before continuing, "You were alone then, right? Who knows, two people might have been better off? A backup, an early warning system, call it what you want, but he or she would have helped you with the difficulties or would have tried to stop you from doing what you in the first place. We are not perfect after all, but you can get close to with someone else on your side."
Still half dreamy, her eyes focused on the water in front of her and she barely heard Calen's warning. As she turned around to ask if he could repeat that, it was already too late. "Wha-IIIHhhhppp!" she exclaimed in a high-pitched voice as the thrust of the boat caused her to lose her balance. She waved her arms panicly in the air to keep up the slight bit of balance and to prevent herself from falling. Vainly. Usually, she had an excellent sense of balance, this was also crucial for her semblance, but she hadn't expected it, nor did something like this ever happened to her before. At least not on a boat.
She fell backward and landed with a dull thud on the wooden surface of the boat where she immediately got welcomed by the full load of water as it was splashed up and into the boat. "OuchOuchOuch," Kisha murmured to herself as she rubbed the pelvis on which she was loaded. Even without her aura, it wouldn't have been bad, and the pain of the bruise wasn't worth much attention either.
"You! Do that-" I began with a threatening voice and turned around with a scowly expression, but this brightened up in a matter of seconds, "Do that again! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! PLEASE!"
During her onslaught of pleads, Kisha unknowingly moved closer to Calen, her hands folded together as if she was praying. "Please!" she implored again, ignoring the fact that he had already begun to fish.
-
’That’s admirable outlook, Miss Miles, perhaps you are right. Another pair of helping hands or voice of reason could have saved me a great deal of strife. Of course, just as likely the opposite would occur, if they couldn’t save themselves maybe I try fruitlessly to save them and lose myself in the process. Or maybe they aren’t a voice of reason after all and in fact push us further to oblivion which we can’t escape.’ Calen responded a slight grin remaining despite his grim words. ’It worked out, just as I’m sure this will work out in turn. I realise I might be being a mood killer again but I’m not trying to be, things work out. For better or worse.’ Calen continued before looking back over to Kisha. Initially, a bit worried his little stunt with his semblance and seriously injured his companion Calen was relieved if a bit overwhelmed that rather than being upset Kisha was eager to try it again, overly eager.
Making more of a show of mulling the idea over than he actually needed Calen gave Kisha a shrug and a nod, singling he would try to launch the boat again. It was hard to say no, despite his cold exterior and skeletal appearance Calen was nevertheless human and although he hated the weakness that entailed he was still a victim to it. ’Well I guess I’m not going to catch anything with you making so much noise. Hold tighter this time and the stern of the boat might be a good place to stand, if you don’t mind getting wet.’ Calen remarked as he moved to get the rudder and sail under control. Despite his declaration of intent it still took a while for Calen to actually try to launch the boat again, stowing away his gear, turning the ship so they wouldn’t shoot themselves too far out to sea as well as simply giving himself some time to catch his breath took time. He probably only had another one or two of this after which he would collapse but then again did he really need to eat? His stomach growled as to answer the question but Calen ignored it to focus on what’s coming ahead.
Waiting until the boat was at the high point of a wave Calen launched the boat forward again getting a little bit more air and distance this time as there were fewer waves directly in the way. Of course, this meant that although the sensations of flight and falling and the view was even more spectacular, the crashing back into the sea was even harder. The entire craft seemed to groan under the weight of impact as well as the deck becoming awash with sea water, the latter was more an inconvenience but the former did remain Calen that this boat was of questionable seaworthiness, to begin with, and all this flying around couldn’t be helping it. A good excuse for Calen who slumped forward, just barely keeping a loose grip on the rudder and sail. Looking up at Kisha Calen rather slyly remarked. ’See sometimes knowing... what’s going to happen ...means you can properly appreciate it when it... does.’ Calen teased still clearly very short of breath.
Hoping the turn their interaction into something a little less physically exerting Calen tried to start a more passive conversation. Unfortunately, in his exhausted state it was difficult for Calen to think about a good conversation starter. ’So Miss Miles…. What’s your favourite colour?’ Calen asked hoping his starter was closer to humorously bad than embarrassingly bad, even in this state Calen still cared a lot about how he was perceived by others.
-
"Hey, being a mood killer is your job now, Captain!" Kisha replied with a big grin on her face, then continued to beg for another presentation of his semblance. And her wish was granted. Overexcited, Kisha happily clapped her hands together, like a small child that had just seen a magic show for the first time. Hopping, almost jumping, she made her way to the boat's rear, just as Calen advised her to, "Don't hold anything back, kay?" she called to him as she held on patiently and waited for the push. The patience gnawed at her as it took a little longer than before. Well, it didn't take THAT long, but with the excitement going on inside Kisha, it felt like an eternity. She swayed from foot to foot as she just stood there and waited for the boat to be turned and ready. Just before the launch, something flashed in Kisha's eyes and her grin turned into a smirk. This will be great!
When the boat finally launched forward Kisha did the unthinkable. She lets go. Just a shrill "WWwhhhiiiii~!" echoed through the air as she swiftly bypassed gravity and flew through the air and out of the boat. She stretched her limbs out, enjoying the wind and the water coming towards her and completely embraced the feeling of weightlessness. For the short time she had. Barely a second after she left the boat's airspace, she opened her eyes, which she had closed during her 'flight', forming one circle each with her two hands, one facing the boat, and the other centered under her. The second she made contact with the portal underneath her, she came out of the other and straightened up directly, arms stretched out to both sides as if she just finished an acrobatic performance. She even bowed at the end of her presentation and let the portals behind her disappear shortly after.
Kisha looked up from her bow, "Again!" she called out, but this time with a silly laugh. That was just as great as she had imagined it, but she didn't miss the obvious exhaustion on Calen's face, which is why she quickly added, "just kidding!"
She trudged through the half-submerged surface of the boat to Calen, soaking everything down to her ankles. Yep, she's going to have a cold tomorrow. "Augh, Captain!" Kisha began with a faked indignant voice, "I've already told you to refrain from politeness, Miss Miles sounds so important, Kisha is totally fine!" With that, she turned away from Calen again, but didn't stop talking, "Ever heard of the word 'Yolo'? Personally, I don't like to use it, but the meaning describes me quite well. You only live once, Damn it! I knew what you do with the boat the second time, but I still made it exciting. Knowing what's going to happen is not bad, don't get me wrong here, but let me tell it to you again, live a bit riskier. Besides, you're here in Beacon, you can't get through this if you're planning everything." She paused for a moment to take a deep breath, that topic was going on long enough, "But okay. Either way he wants." She finally finished. As she spoke, she had crouched down and looked at the water inside the boat. She reached out her index finger and stuck it in the water, marking a small circle on its surface. Like the portals before, a blue disc-like creation appeared where she had painted the circle in the water, but nothing happened yet. Kisha straightened up and walked to the edge of the boat, repeating the process, placing the second portal well out of the boat's reach. As soon as the second portal appeared, the water inside the boat drained. The boat was not completely freed from the water and the entire surface was still slippery and damp, but it was better than nothing.
"Black." Kisha said out of nowhere as she watched the water drain, "I always liked this color," she added. Her clothes were about 95% brown and beige. The only black on her were the gloves and pants. Well, maybe her brown hair looked black in the darkness of the night. With the water largely back in the ocean, Kisha closed the portals with a quick wave and turned back to Calen, "What about you? My money is on gray," she said as her eyes scanned his clothes from top to bottom. "Well, if we're already on a question-and-answer session, favorite animal? Oh, no, wait! Favorite mythical creatures!?"
-
’Did you? I’m sorry Kisha, must have slipped my mind. It won’t happen again.’ Calen frowned, he genuinely had forgotten their previous discussion. Not exactly an encouraging signal but Calen was never one to pay much attention to warning signs. Slumping down on a relatively dry bit of the deck the gaunt boy sort to get a little more rest and closed his eyes. Their boat was reasonably clear of obstacles so it could drift harmlessly for a short while and Calen was keep to take as much advantage as he could from that. ’Perhaps I just take a different approach to ‘you only live once’ but how about after we both complete our schooling we see which one of our approach worked out best.’ Calen responded still not opening his eyes, at least partially as a joke. He would have been interested in continuing this discussion but it was rather clear the Kisha didn’t feel the same. Finding out Kisha’s semblance would have to do and hopeful Calen may be able to trick his first mate into thinking he didn’t see the portals.
’I’ll try not to read too much into that Kisha, my favourite colour is green actually not grey. I somewhat understand the confusion, I don’t wear much green while wearing almost entirely black and white but that is just to always look my best. I suppose you have a similar decision wearing more brown than black, although I suppose the latter fits more with your team’s colour.’ Calen remarked smiling slightly beneath his closed eyes. Calen held a lot of importance in seemingly meaningless pieces of information like favour colour or meals as he thought he could use it to find out a lot about a person. In reality what each colour ‘means’ is so wide that you could easily twist anything to fit but Calen found it a relatively interesting thought experiment nevertheless.
’I always like the tales of the Fae, creatures of phenomenal beauty, grace and cunning so the similarities with myself are obvious. Horribly monstrous through and through but they had their own rules and societies which develop aside our own.’ Calen answered smiling even wider at his not-so-humble brag. ’What about you? Can’t go wrong with the classics I guess; dragons, sphinxes, and the like?’ Calen offered as he leant his head back finding something to support himself before he tumbled over. It was rather relaxing, reasonably dark all around with the steady lapping of waves on the hull was very soothing and lulled Calen into a conscious but mostly asleep state.
’I suppose it is a rather uninspired way of getting to know each other. Would you like to try something a little different, feel free to lie if you don’t feel like sharing of course. We could tell stories or play a game of two lies and a truth.’ Calen offered, his voice finally regaining some enthusiasm although his eyes remained shut. It had been a long day and all Calen had wanted was to catch some fish.
-
"Calen, aka, Captain Moodkiller the fairy lover, try to say that 10 times in a row" Kisha joked as she leaned back and stared into the distance. How far away the shore looked was in some weird way really incredible.
Here they were, floating aimlessly on the water and nobody cared. Wonderful! "But yes, fairies are pretty cool, even though personally I don't esteem them as much as other mythical creatures... Wings and magic are really great and... Well, charming, but they're always posed as peaceful and playful folks who would like to plant flowers all day long. At least that's the way it is in most stories." She averted her gaze from the shore and turned to Calen, "Dragons and Sphinxes? Close but not quite right, I love phoenixes, beautiful birds, which, when their lives come to an end, they go up in flames and are reborn out of their own ashes. An eternal life with infinite beauty, so dreamy and at the same time so sad" She swarmed as she went more and more into the narrative. Phoenixes were always their number one and there was probably no book under the sun about these mysterious creatures that she hasn't read.
Kisha sat down next to a pile of fishing gear and held her arms up in the air "I love two lies a truth! I played the game almost daily with my friends, but after a while, we couldn't remember any truths that were not completely obvious" she took a short break and her gaze swept across the water "Do you mind if I start?" She asked, but without waiting for an answer, she already began to enumerate facts.
"Well, first of all, I'm a huge fan of fireworks, secondly, a friend has kinda stabbed me in the eye once and, thirdly, I have a cat allergy, what's the truth?" She gave Calen a confident grin. Admittedly, the answer was more or less obvious, but nevertheless, she was very interested in what Calen would say and gave him an intense stare.
-
’They weren’t always so friendly in the tales I was told.’ Calen responded with a cruel grin. ’The Queen of Air and Darkness whose fury and overwhelming power is made only crueller by the strict laws she must follow. Temptresses whose unfathomable beauty only matched by their hunger for flesh. Or simple murderers obeying unknowable signs and inflicting mass death with their strange powers. The horror of the unknown combined with barely contain maliciousness is what I think about when I hear the word Fae.’ Calen continued in his best dramatic storytelling voice. They were strangely pleasant memories, huddled around a campfire listening to increasing graphic stories of misfortune, cruelty and woe. It was terrifying but there was always the reassurance that protection from his family was all around him and no matter what came after him they would protect him. 'But phoenixes are cool, well hot I guess but yea. Birds are cool.' Calen continued his smile softening considerably, now looking quite content laying down with his eyes closed.
Calen was glad Kisha seemed to be enjoying herself, although he obviously couldn't see her flailing her arms around but could feel it through the boat and the intent was clear. Happy people are more careless meaning more likely to make mistakes and less likely to realise his own. Although Kisha has surprised him before. 'I think you are a fan of fireworks. Although, and I mean this as nicely as possible, I don't think I'd like to be around when you are setting them off. Still not a big fan of surprises.' Calen explained. Going to a combat school did mean the eye stabbing wasn't impossible and most people are allergic to something but Kisha didn't seem to Calen like the kind of person who didn't like fireworks.
Regardless Calen went about his turn. 'I never attended a combat school, I only have brothers, I never left my home until I was 15?' Calen asked. The lie was Calen doesn't only have brothers and although isn't immediately obvious the gaunt boy does talk about his family often so it's not impossible Kisha simply knows that to be false.
-
Kisha's wide grin twisted in disgust as she heard Calen answer, "I. Hate. Fireworks." she said disgusted.
There is a part of her own weapon that has a fireworks-like function, it didn't change the fact that she hated the loud rockets though. Some of them did look nice but this weird feeling of discomfort whenever they were fired constantly came over her. "These things with their NNEEEEUUUU and WSHHIII when they go up to the sky is so... Gwaah!" she said, shaking herself as if she were freezing. "But I see why you think that. I manage to mislead most people with this." she started again, a slight grin returning to her face. People often take the most obvious answer and think that something like a firework, where it is loud and colorful, is something a cheerful person like Kisha would never miss. But it was also too obvious to be true. Oftentimes the obvious option is the wrong thing in such questions, but people know that, and that's exactly why it could be the right thing in the first place. These mind games can go on forever, but in the end, it is more a question of luck and how the person formulated the answers. It's generally just guessing.
"My friend once stabbed me in the eye. Well, above the eye, but it had hit the eye itself. Kinda." She pushed a few strands of hair aside and showed a small scar over her right eye. It wasn't long and it already half faded. "We were really young back then, maybe 7 or 8 years old, it happened when we played doctor and patient. I was the patient," she told him, unable to hold back a silly laugh. Good old times.
She frowned at Calen's facts. All three could be the lie. There were quite a few students who didn't attend combat school and were trained in other ways, so this didn't necessarily have to be a lie. Did he only have brothers? Did he even have siblings? They haven't talked much about their families, or she just had already forgotten that information. So maybe the last one? He isn't a fan of the unknown so it could well be that he never went out a lot and preferred to stay home. But something bothered her at the last fact, "I say the last one is a lie, that you never left your house before you turned 15."
-
’Truly? All about those new experiences but not fireworks, although I guess getting stabbed in the eye is a new experience but to clarify it’s not one I hope to experience. No scar though must have healed well and I hope they have gotten better at doctoring. Or you have gotten better at staying still as the patient.’ Calen joked. He was honestly surprised that it wasn’t fireworks but then again Calen knows more than anyone else that everyone has their complexes. Although the stabbing story sounded like there could be something more underneath but then again all sorts of crazy stuff happened with kids. Not that Calen had much of a childhood but it was what he had heard.
’It seems neither of us are particularly good at this game. I have plenty of sisters, four in total. My family have a large property, a lake, forest and a mansion almost the size half the size of Beacon. But they are overprotective, no combat school, no outside friends didn’t take a step outside until I was 15. Always thought I came across as a little bit sheltered but I suppose I should take it as a compliment you don’t think so.’ Calen responded happily, at least both Kisha and himself failed their first exchange. And last exchange it may seem as Kisha didn’t give another two lies and on truth.
By now Calen had been resting for long enough to have recovered some of his strength and stood up moving towards the mast to get control back over the boat. There wasn’t any immediate danger but in the same vein as his dislike of surprises, Calen always prefered to be in control. ’But I take it you aren’t the type to hold a grudge?’ Calen asked referring to the accident which left Kisha with a wound above her eye.
-
"Yeah, I mean, what are fireworks good for? A waste of dust, lien, time, and the animals go crazy with the noise, so do I. And with the eye I would- Hey, I'm an absolutely great Patient!" She interrupted herself in the middle of the sentence, "Generally this just happened because my friend wanted to be a Ninja during the operation and started swinging the stethoscope around. I... just thought it would be smart to get up in the exact same second. Yeah... you can imagine the rest."
Kisha was a little disappointed that she was wrong, but didn't let that spoil the mood. She admired and at the same time pitied Calen for his life. He never seems to need something, at least it seems that way but wasn't this life monotonous and lonely?
"A grudge? Why would you think that? Ohhh, no, no, not for a very long time at least. I remember a few cases where I didn't talk to someone for a day or two, but that's all in the past. Being angry is too much of an effort to be there for a long time, don't you agree?" she asked, but less to Calen and more to herself. Then she was silent, her eyes wandering over the water. "Do you want another round, or are we going to do something else? We don't necessarily have to lie to find out a little about each other, my interest has already been awakened enough. How is it to live with so many siblings? I never had any, but I wanted to always have a big sister or something like that."
-
’I saw someone take out a small Nevermore with a firework, it’s not much but its something. And I’m sure it’s only the truly great patients that end up in worse shape than when they first lay down on the operating table. Even a ninja doctor couldn’t keep you safe from yourself’ Calen continued to tease Kisha lightheartedly. The combination of Kisha’s earnestness, absentmindedness and seriousness made her an amusing target for such taunts although she had proven herself to be more than what the gaunt boy expected so he didn’t push too hard. ’Honestly I think people are too quick to give up on anger, it can be a powerful motivating force if you know how to control it but I agree in most cases it is a waste of energy. Cutting someone else off from your life can often feel like you are punishing yourself as much as them.’ Calen responded his expression darkening. Calen very much didn’t hold grudges for the same reason that Kisha mentions but he still hated and he still remembered. It might be a fine line fair play or retribution are never in Calen’s mind.
Luckily his sisters were a happier topic and only small hints of Calen previous dark mood hid in the corners of his smiling face. ’I have nine siblings and I’m the youngest by around seven years, the baby of the family and I can’t imagine life without them. We lived in a small town and were one of the families responsible for its defence so my parents were often out on patrol so they basically raised me. Although any flaws in my person are entirely my doing. In my experience, a big sister is like a mother who isn’t under as many obligations to keep you safe, least of all from themselves. It can end up being a bit rough and tumble when you are all training to be hunters but they are less of the imposing impossible challenges than older brothers are and instead try to eke out every little bit of potential you have. That doesn’t mean it was easy but I wouldn’t have traded it away for anything.’ Calen responded happily looking dreamingly off into the distance.
After a short pause Calen turned back to face Kisha. ’If you would like to go another round it is your turn but if you are simply curious about something, feel free to ask. I’ll promise I won’t lie … too much. Although likewise, I’m curious about being an only child. It must have been lonely at times?’ Calen asked cocking his head to the side as if the different perspective would give him a more detailed view on Kisha. It’s an odd habit that he had picked up from one of his brothers and only really served to make Calen look even more overconfident than he did already.
-
"You- You- Tssk, I think you don't see what makes a truly great patient, patients want to be treated, and that's exactly what I achieved! Twice in one row, that requires skill!" Kisha countered, pushing her hair out of her face. The conversation, or the evening in general, had taken an interesting turn. After the day started boring, she never expected that it would end in her sitting in a boat with a more or less stranger talking about fairies and ninja Doctors. Anger seemed to be a topic that didn't really appeal to either of them, but Kisha started talking about it anyway, "I'm not saying that you should give on up your anger, as you said it can be helpful, most just don't know how to deal with it and let it gain the upper hand."
The change of subject to Calen's siblings was relieving. Immediately after he started talking, you could see Kisha's eyes widening in amazement, "Nine?" she asked in disbelief, "Wow, and then they are all older than you? How did you survive that? As I said, I never had any, but I knew some who did, and they always complained about how annoying it is." Kisha laughed heartedly, but stopped abruptly when she noticed something, "Wow, wow, wow, wait a minute, You all have been training to become a Hunter? Uhm, what was your last name again? I'm sure your family must be known or something!" At that point, Kisha's curiosity had taken full control, and the questions in her mind were building up more and more. His life sounded so interesting and she was so invested in finding out everything about it.
"Uhm, let's just leave out the lying. Being an only child is not as lonely as you think, because if you never had siblings, you don't know how it feels like not to have them around I guess.And I had friends to do stuff with me. It's something different than having nine siblings, but there are still some interesting stories to tell. Like the one with the eye, for example, and of course, there was that one time we got into this haunted house. Believe me, that was an event I'll never forget." She said and couldn't help but laugh aloud as she thought back to that time. "And when my friends weren't there, I usually helped my grandparents in their shop, so no, it was never really lonely." After she had finished, she was silent for a short while. It was her turn to ask a question, what would she want to ask? "Hm, okay, next question, tell me a little bit about... your weapon."
-
’Very technically you are right but most people don’t get up from the surgeon's table with more injuries than when they lie down. In a way that’s impressive, in another, it’s a little sad.’ Calen continued to tease Kisha about the whole situation with a wide smile on his face. He shrugged away Kisha’s comments about anger, they seemed to be on the same page about the whole thing and the only conflict was a misunderstanding. Furthermore, it didn’t seem like a topic that interested Kisha and there was plenty of other topics for them to deal with. On the more manipulative side, the more interested Kisha was the more likely she would overlook things and make the game he was playing more interesting.
’You know what they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. It’s not really true, my knee has never quite recovered and some mornings it feels like I have between three to six hundred scars but it feels good. Have you ever set yourself a challenge that you can’t beat, no matter how hard you try you can’t lift that weight or run that distance or time? But after applying yourself, after pushing yourself and improving you accomplish it. That’s what having siblings is like, every one of them set a benchmark and every one of them helped push yourself through each obstacle so that after nine variations all of their wisdom and skill can be compressed into a single person.’ Calen responded aiming to give plenty of information so that Kisha didn’t notice that he didn’t respond to the question about his last name. It was something he was open about, using that openness as its own type of cover, even if people recognized his last name from the murders his family committed connecting a hunter-in-training to that. But that is what made it part of the game.
’Don’t get me wrong, the only thing I love more in this world than myself are my parents but we aren’t friends. Then again I’ve always been told I far too in love with other people’s opinion of myself so maybe I just needed siblings. I like to think we are all given our burdens to bare because we can carry them, different obstacles for different people with different experiences and different skills. I’m glad you weren’t lonely often though.’ Calen remarked. Calen had a strange relationship with loneliness, he had never been short of social relationships, even mostly positive ones, only the quality. Never letting people close to you tended to do that so although Calen would never call what he felt loneliness there was still definitely an emptiness inside of him which made him sympathetic.
’My weapons? Well I have a glaive that turns into a two handed sword and a brace of throwing knives. Not the most exciting combination of weapons but I wouldn’t trade them for the world. I never understood why people name their weapons and even if I did I could never think of a good one. I forged them myself with my mother and some of my sisters, there was a lot of ideas flown around and to be honest few were mine but eventually they decided what my weapon would look like. A weave of gold, red, yellow and oranges, some of my teammates have said it looks more like a piece of art. I’m starting to remember some of your Vytal Festival fights, you use a bow and blades right? How did you choose those?’ Calen answered. Calen cared greatly for his weapons on a mostly material level, his throwing knives were one of the few things he had left from his family so they meant a lot but the glaive was just a tool. ’What’s the best compliment you have ever received?’ Calen asked, responding with a question of his own.
-
Kisha gave him a slightly confused look. Knee? Did she miss something? As the question wandered through her mind, she missed almost half of what Calen had said. "Huh?" she squeaked as he came to an end. She only got half of the part with the hurdles and how they represent his siblings, so she stayed silent and focused for the rest, trying to get the most out of the individual features he will mention about him and his weapon.
"Interesting, interesting, sounds like you're quite a fan of blades, but now I'm a bit disappointed that you didn't name it. The weapon is one of your best and most important friends on the battlefield, so don't you wanna name it? I can help you if you want to! Let me think, red, orange, yellow and gold? Something blazing- and it's a sword. How about Sunburst?" she asked with an enthusiastic grin. She didn't really wait for an answer or approval from Calen and already began to blurt out other names, "Or Phoenix, or Dawnbreak, or Celestial, or-" she stopped before she threatened to go completely overboard. There was still time for that later. Quite literally.
"My weapon? Oh, that's easy, you see, my parents were Hunters and had those weapons. So my dad had a bow-blade mix. You should have seen that! It was a dual bladed scythe that he could extend and turn and it was awesome! And my mother had had those twin daggers-Katana that she had flung back and forth with Gravity Dust! She had bracelets with which she could always retrieve them and it was unbelievable!" During her narration, she wagged her hands wildly in the air to imitate some motions that she described. It probably looked quite questionable from the outside
Kisha's eyes gained a joyful sparked, which was all the more apparent combined with her big grin, "These weapons were so incredible and those few times when I saw them in action were so-so- breathtaking! I would have taken over all of their functions and forms, but that didn't work out so much. I really wanted to have a weapon that represents my parents', and after thinking about it a long time this came out. I've always liked bows and a sword was handy, Even though I would have loved to take the dual bladed scythe. There were some complications when I did Cocoa, part of was the transformation, but it worked and I wouldn't want to change it for anything. Well, I would have like to change or rather add some Dust features. The gravity feature my mother used sounded so great, but when I tried to make my bow a boomerang Hybrid... Let's just say, it's not for everyone. I decided to build the Dust in my arrows, but it's pretty limited how much I can infuse before the arrows get too heavy or unstable. I already have to make sure that when I reload I don't accidentally hit the arrowheads together and trigger the dust. But yeah, all in all, the reason for Cocoa are my parents. But to be honest, I wouldn't think of many other weapons I would have like to fight with."
Kisha leaned back and took a deep breath before continuing, "It would be sad if I couldn't remember any names but every compliment I've ever received," she said with a chuckle, "Hm, I can remember that somebody once said, 'You have such a positive charisma.' That was pretty nice."
Her eyes had once again turned to the water as she thought about a new question. Then a thought crossed her mind and she looked at Calen with a slightly sinister grin, "How about relationships? Did you had a girlfriend yet?"
-
’I’m afraid I am going to have to be stubborn on this point Kisha, I do like swords as they are the weapons of kings but they are not my friends. A friend is someone you can share companionship with. Striving for each other's dreams and hopes as well as keeping at bay each other’s fears. A weapon doesn’t have any dreams, hopes or fears of its own, even if one could be friends with an inanimate object it wouldn’t make a particularly compelling one.’ Calen responded finding very little sense in Kisha’s words. A weapon is a tool, a valuable tool that should be maintained as much as possible but the moment it becomes more hindrance than benefit it should be discarded. ’Although I appreciate the array of names you have suggested, I particularly like Dawnbreak but I still don’t see the point. Heroes of Legend have their named blades but they are magical constructs with powers and sometimes minds far beyond their steel casing, my weapon is well made but it is simply not on that level.’ Calen shrugged, he was kind of used to arguing this point with a lot of other hunters-in-training and perhaps that means he should reexamine his position but that wouldn’t happen for a while with pride like Calen’s.
Were. Calen thought to himself, past tense and implying that Kisha’s parents were no longer Huntsmen. They could have retired but judging by Kisha’s age they wouldn’t be reaching retiree age for a while yet and Huntsman work is extremely deadly. Calen was willing to take the risk but thought to soften the blow somewhat, Kisha seemed to enjoy talking about her parent’s weapons maybe she would like to hear about his. ’My father never used a weapon, not when he wasn’t training one of us anyway. He instead had these rings that helped him channel his semblance each filled with a different kind of dust. I only saw him fight seriously once but I understand your awe, I couldn’t have imagined movements like those let alone attempting them. He would disarm a fighter and then while wielding their weapon far better than they could ever hope for he would end them. My mother preferred a simple spear, a few so some could be thrown. To me, the most engaging part of learning to fight is that there is always more to learn and that even in the most simple weapons there are infinite complexities... Your parent’s weapon’s sound impressive, I’m sure they were great Huntsmen and the world is poorer for their loss.’ Calen remarked with genuine sorrow in his voice, very likely his own family where dead or worse but at least Calen had hope, a false hope perhaps but hope nevertheless, and still their loss weighed on Calen so he struggled to imagine what Kisha must have to deal with every day.
After a slight pause, Calen continued. ’I’m sure it’s because you get so many compliments it’s hard to keep track of who gives you which ones. Although ‘positive charisma’ is definitely unique, can’t say that was ever said about me.’ While Kisha thought of her next question Calen made a quick loop around the boat to make sure nothing was coming loose, it didn’t look like they were in any danger whatsoever but it never hurt to be careful. ’Checking if there are any openings are you Kisha? Is it personal curiosity or general?’ Calen teased before inevitable answering Kisha’s question. ’I was… close to a girl when I first arrived in Beacon. We were both dancers and had performed a few duets together and…. Well…. Yea. Dancer’s don’t have a huge amount of free time with all the early mornings and strict diets are helpful in courting others with less controlled lives. It was nice while it lasted. Her name is Briannan if you are curious.’ Calen answered with no small amount of awkwardness, not because he was embarrassed by his past relationships more because the specifics of the questions meant that there was a possibility for confusion in the future. As fun as it was to string someone along with a hopeless romance, it could very well get tedious if Calen had to explain to everyone that he didn’t like girls in that way. Calen responded with his own question quickly after answering his own. ’Keeping on the topic of romance, what would you name your firstborn child?’ Calen asked.
-
Kisha crossed her arms over her chest. She accepted that Calen didn't share her views, but she didn't like the reason why he's not. One should see the weapon as a friend. You don't have to love your weapon, but a certain fondness needs to be there. But different people have different opinions. However, she still felt the need to comment on his last statement, "Hunter are also heroes and their named weapons are not necessarily magical, they can only act with their owner and the only magic-like power would be Dust."
Rings that help with your Semblance? Even though Kisha's imagination of it is most likely not accurate, the idea of fighting like this was very fascinating. The spear sounded interesting too though. Even though these weapons sounded simpler than those of her parents, she was still interested in them. After all, a good weapon does not come from the modifications, but from how and who uses them. She was relieved that Calen didn't digged deeper in the whole 'dead parents' topic. She hadn't tried to hide it and even if he asked, she would have no problem with answering to anything. It is a sad reminder that she is confronted with again and again, but she didn't necessarily feel sad when she talked to others about it. On the contrary, it even gave her a sense of relief. "But your parents don't sound too bad either. That reminds me, you still haven't told me your family name, I don't want to force you to tell me, but I can't help that I can't think of any known Huntsman with your description. I don't know every halfway known hunter, but you said your complete family are hunters. It's just weird that I never heard of anything like this before" Kisha said, tilting her head as she went through the information Calen revealed to her. Something as unusual as fighting with the rings would have to be somewhere in the big information-rich the internet, right? Apparently, she just hadn't found it yet.
A somewhat-scornful grin scurried across her face at Calen's next remark, "I didn't get that many compliments. Surely you've already received one or two positive comments yourself." After lying most of the conversation flat on her back, on the still damp floor of the boat, she sat up and stared directly at Calen, "Nope, don't worry, love is still a long way coming."
"Well, the name doesn't ring a bell and I'm sorry that it didn't work out, but don't give up hope yet, you'll find someone someday," Kisha said with an exhilarating tone and went straight to answering the next question. "To name a child I would first need one. To be honest, I don't plan to ever become a mother, at least not a biological one. I don't know why, but I like something about the idea of adopting a child. Why give birth to someone when there are enough kids out there who need a loving family way more? All I have to do is think of the oodles of children who have lost their parents through some cruel event, or been taken away from them by other reasons. They deserve a second chance much more than an unborn child which can't complain. But to come back to the question, my first choice would be on Amaris. I once read this name in a book- comic book and found it very beautiful. In this story, a piece of the moon has fallen to earth and the main character, Amaris, finds the stone and that leads to a huge adventure later on." Towards the end, her voice got quieter as she was slightly embarrassed by the story of the comic. It was a very cliché-rich story with flat humor and a story in which the characters eventually all get those magical powers. "And for a boy... Hm, I never really thought about it... Let me think for a minute... I like the name Lyon, but Ace sounds good too."Shortly after she gave her answer, she came up with the next question, "What's your opinion on the current Faunus situation, and how do you feel about Faunus in general?"
-
Dust isn’t magic. Calen thought to himself as he tried in vain to point out an issue with Kisha’s logic. In reality, there wasn’t one and Calen was simply trying to justify one of his many complexes and impose his world view on others. At least in the former Kisha seemed to let Calen continue his rather boneheaded conviction and as a mutual show of acceptance, the gaunt boy commented. ’It seems we will have to agree to disagree, it’s too nice a night to get into anything heated.’ It wasn’t a sentiment that Calen would normally support but it got him out of the situation and he was right about the second thing. The gentle rocking of the boat as the water lapped against the boat was the only noise from the outside world and stars which had now fully come out in force began to light up the night sky around them.
’Thank you Kisha and you were right, Mr and Mrs Shrike, they might have slipped under the radar a bit. None of them, my siblings included and myself I supposed was planned not to, attend the combat academies and instead we where all meant to train and take the huntsman exam on our own. It means there aren’t any Vytal festival performances from when they where all students or profiles about up and coming Hunters and Huntresses, they were in the thick of it from the beginning and you can hardly expect the newspapers to keep up with every Grimm or bandit skirmish.An imposing task so in some ways, I’m happy that events unfolded in the way the did which meant I had to go to Beacon but being gone from them doesn’t get easier.’ Calen responded keeping a neutral tone. It was clear something had attracted Kisha’s interest and the last thing he wanted was for her to be curious, curious people want answers. As such Calen tried to give some half-truth responses, nothing he said was a lie, in the hope that Kisha would lose interest, as despite what Calen said there was definitely plenty written about the Shrike family.
’Or maybe it’s the maid life for both of us, we are both getting on and Hunters and Huntresses don’t always live too long. Adoption is a nice compromise and that way you don’t have to go through the whole birth thing seems like a bit of a mess to me.’ Calen joked trying to inject so levity into the situation after all the talk about murdered parents. ’But those names are nice and who knows, you could always give them to your pets if they aren’t being used for anything else. Amaris sounds like a great name for a cat.’ Calen continued his half-good natured teasing, smiling widely although it dropped when he heard Kisha’s question. Opening his mouth but stopping himself before uttering a word a few times but finally, Calen managed to choose an approach to the question. ’Love then politics, always the big questions but OK.’ Calen began.
’I think the Faunus are right to be angry at the way they have been treated throughout history, not only in the past as slaves but still to this day as disposable workers labouring away at Atlas’s mines. Honestly, I can’t imagine a worse fate; miles underground, the air thick with dust and the smells of exertion, the cries of pain and the sense of fear whenever an overseer walks past which is to say nothing of if the ground starts shaking. I understand that could, and I believe it should drive more, to violently oppose the system that oppresses them which is a system we all participate in. But not many Faunus agree, or if they do they are focused instead on building a stable life for them and their families. A noble goal, perhaps the noblest but I find it hard to have sympathy for people who are willing to endure such injustice. Abuse does funny things to the mind, makes you accepting of things you would have never accepted before and I understand that logically but it doesn’t change how I feel.’ Calen responds in a soft emotional tone hoping to soften the bluntness of his views or at least the ones he felt like sharing. ’Turn about seems fair play, what is your opinion on the current human situation, and how do you feel about humans in general?’ Calen asked in some way as a joke but in another to make a point. Very often the issue is focused on the Faunus because they are the ones being impacted rather than the Humans who are doing the impacting.
-
Shrike? The name sounded uncomfortably familiar to her. She must have read something about it, but the memory was blurry. All she could remember was that it was bad. But Calen doesn't seem to be a bad person, on the contrary, even. So his family couldn't be all that bad, right? Kisha decided to leave the topic at that.
"Well, you don't have to be concerned about the 'birth thing', but yes, that's one of the reasons I prefer adopting," she said with a soft grin, "but I don't have to worry about that now. I don't plan on suddenly show up with a kid in the classroom, though, now that I think about it, I'd like to see Professor Nox's face when I do." And that changed her grin again to a loud laugh. The image alone was hilarious, no matter how unlikely it was. Maybe it was that funny because it was so unlikely to happen. It took a while until she caught herself again and rubbed a laugh-tear from the eye. "Well, I always wanted to have a pet, but I think I'm more of a dog person. However, I think pets are not allowed on the campus, even though I've already seen a bear walking around here."
Calen's inaudible muttering earned him a confused and slightly worried look, but since he seemed to have snapped out of it, Kisha decided not to ask. For now, that is. She agreed with a nod at Calen's statements. It was always nice to meet someone with the same views. Especially on such a sensitive topic.
"Tit for tat, huh?" Well then. The current human situation... how should I phrase it? Needs some improvement. It has already gotten better in the last few years, at least in some places of Remnant, but there are still too many humans putting others down just because they are different. I did a lot of sightseeing back in Atlas during the Vital Festival. Anyway. In any case, you already notice at the atmosphere that something is wrong. I met there with a Faunus friend of mine... Let's say it like this, For Humans, people behave very inhumane. There are just as many human criminals as there are Faunus criminals. I even heard there is a person going around, giving firearms to people. Just obnoxious. Sometimes I can advocate the actions of White Fang. Not that I want to endorse the terrorist attacks. It's just that they didn't turn out like this on their own. The white fang were the peaceful ones, not us. And still, we blame all on them as soon as they attack a 'no Faunus allowed' Café. We humans should start to accept the Faunus as they are. There are bad ones too, yes, but most of them are only misunderstood and led astray."
As she finished she leaned back and looked up at the sky. There was one more thing she wanted to do. Kisha stood up again and took off her coat. "It's getting late, maybe we should turn back soon." She looked at the shore where they started. They were pretty far away and it would take quite some time before they came back. Well, here was the best time and place. The water under the boat was calm and nicely reflected the starlight. Perfect. Kisha turned her back to the water and looked at Calen with another grin, "I'm definitely sick tomorrow!"
All that was heard after was a loud splash as she let herself fall backwards into the water. The boat wobbled with the unruly movement it needed to get into the water, but the wobbling stopped soon. After a short while, Kisha stuck her head out of the water and looked up giggling, "Prrrrr, Okay, colder than expected." She slowly began to swim around the boat to heat her body a bit, "Otherwise it's great! No regrets!"
-
Calen was happy that conversation seemed to be moving away from his family, the truth would have to come out eventually but for now, Calen was happy to live in the relative freedom of his past. 'Still might have to cut the umbilical cord, never dealt well with the sight of blood and they wouldn't even have the decency to doll me up with painkillers.' Calen joked smiling widely at the ridiculousness of it all. 'I’m sure it can’t hurt to ask for permission to bring a pet to your dorms, pretend it’s a guide dog or something and if you think Nox’s face would be funny with a baby, what about having one of those purse-sized dogs just sitting in your bag.’ Calen continued joking as he raised an eyebrow at the mention of a bear on campus. Because Calen didn’t use dust he never had a reason to visit Waffles and his dust shop so the entire concept was foreign to him.
The gaunt boy was silent for a while after Kisha had finished her answer about what should be done about how she felt about humans in general. It was an interesting response, not one that Calen fully agreed with but he could see where she was coming from which is more than he could for most people. He was about to respond before Kisha began stripping down and jumped out of the boat. Almost subconsciously Calen’s hand moved to the buttons on his jacket as if to join her, there was something in Kisha’s carefree nature that was influencing him, drawing him in. Infecting him Calen may have thought if his mind was clearer but all the laughter and starlight had made Calen lose himself a bit in the wonder of it all. Stripping down to his dress pants Calen dove into the water after Kisha, plunging deep below before finally coming up for air.
The dark did a good job of hiding Calen’s scars but the moon/starlight was enough to see each other by as such Kisha could rather easily make out the odd texture of Calen’s skin. Calen, on the other hand, wasn’t terribly thrilled about his choices at that moment and as Kisha started to swim around the boat Calen simply floated grumpy as he drifted further and further away from the moving boat. If the water was cold for Kisha it was positively icy for Calen’s emaciated bones and it was difficult for the gaunt boy to keep is breathing steady but eventually, he succeeded and could continue on with the at least pretence of composure. 'I really wish you warned me about how cold the water was before you jumped in, you may have no regrets but I can positively feel myself turning blue.’ Calen remarked as he finally started moving, using his semblance to help catch up to Kisha and the boat.
'It is beautiful out though.’ Calen murmured dreamily. 'I’m glad you managed to convince me to come out with you Kisha, although it has likely ended with both of us catching a cold and me not catching any fish I like to think I have caught something more special.’ Calen continued, his teeth chattering as the cold still soaked into his bones. Both Kisha and Calen had movement based semblances so the later wasn’t worried about the boat slipping away out from under them so he was content to drift alongside the boat on his back staring up at the sky. Now his body had mostly gotten numb to the cold, not a good sign medically but it did make the experience more comfortable, Calen wasn’t in as much rush to get out. 'You should swing by later, I think we will both need a couple warm bowls of soup after this.’ Calen added as he gazed up at the stars.
-
Kisha was quite surprised when Calen jumped after her. She had prepared for a variety of reactions, but that was unexpected even to her. Well, not to say that it bothered her. She had even thought about the possibility of pulling him into the water with some trick or otherwise persuade him to follow her, but here he was, jumping into the water himself! By now her body heated up and made the water around her having a pleasant feeling of warmth, so she let herself float on the water surface while staring into the sky. "Well, you didn't give me any time to warn you, but it's nothing a little movement can't fix!" she said in her usual cheerful voice. Her gaze didn't turn away from the starry sky, admiring it in all its beauty, at least not until she heard a certain phrase, "Ha! That sounds good on my list of 'compliments I've gotten'; I'm more special than the fish you can catch here. Well, anyway, sorry for screwing up your dish. Let me make it up to you by replacing it. I don't think I have any fish left in stock but given the cold we both have tomorrow, I suppose something else will work too." Soup wasn't a bad start, but a simple soup would be way too simple and boring.
"I hope you don't mind spicy curry, if I recall correctly I have some ghost peppers left. Trust me, you breathe fire after a bowl of that! How did the saying go again? 'Feed a cold, starve a fever.' "
-
'We'll see.' Calen responded as he slowly swam his way over to Kisha in a slow but deliberate breaststroke, never submerging his head. What Kisha said was partially correct, Calen did slightly warm up as he started to move but it wasn't enough to be called anything close to warm. Still, Calen had always found something strangely pleasant about being cold; it was calming, it sharpened his senses and kept him focused on the present. 'Perhaps we should have a bit of a cook-off, see who can make the spiciest curry which people are actually willing to eat.' Calen remarked wistfully as he thought to the hot meal to come. Spicy food had always been one of those things that Calen was initially ambivalent to but has become rather experienced in since coming to Beacon as a way to ensure other people don't eat his food.
'My father would always use teas whenever we got sick. Chamomile tea for fevers, Echinacea tea for colds, Peppermint tea for stomach aches and so on. At the time I thought it was normal but since coming to Beacon I have thrown myself completely into modern medicine, even get that common cold vaccine which seems to help as long as I don't jump into cold water.' Calen joked as he reached Kisha and started swimming in wide arcs around his classmate. As much as he was whining the water wasn't actually that cold and Calen was almost enjoying the swim. 'So do you cook spicy food often? Have to confess most of my team aren't that into significant spice so I don't get many opportunities to try it out.' Calen asks watching the shoreline as the last of the light starts to fade away.
-
"Cook-off?" Kisha laughed out loud. The idea was great, but there was only one, tiny, problem, "Gladly, but I should warn you that I have a tongue out of steel! When I say spicy I mean really spicy damn hot" And those words are a byproduct of the experiences she made in Beacon. At home, it had never been a problem, her family had the same resistance to spiciness as she had; her mother was the only exception, but since she knew of the family's preferences, she mostly held back when it came to spicy dishes. It was not until Kisha started cooking her dishes in Beacon's kitchen that she realized that maybe not everyone had the same attitude to her taste. Nevertheless, it was funny to see how their faces twisted after the first bite and how the cutlery was frantically thrown to the other side of the room in the following seconds, in search of something to suppress the burning. The thought alone made Kisha laugh loudly. "When I cook anything remotely spicy now, I have to be careful not to overdo it too much and have to put the extra flavor on my separate plate."
Slowly, the scratchy feeling in her throat announces the coming cold growing worse, but she ignored it as she floated on the water. "Tea doesn't sound bad, although I honestly don't drink it that much, at least not green or black tea. I heard that there is a teashop in Vale, so maybe we can go there sometimes, but I think it's too late for tea to save us now"she said, the steady grin never leaving her face."Well, my teammates are not exactly... tolerant when it comes to spices, they eat it- to a certain degree- but usually with a huge amount of rice or bread, but hey, if I need somebody to eat my devil stuff now, I can come to you!" Kisha joked at the end. She lingered for a few more moments in her relaxed position on the water's surface, then turned and swam closer to the boat again, "I hate to say it, but I think we should maybe go back. It's nothing new for my team that I'm out longer than I should be, but I don't want your team worrying about you. We also have to see how we get back into the building as I'm pretty sure all the doors are locked again."
-
'I happen to know that team CASA always leaves their window open, I'm sure they won't mind all being woken up if its for a good cause.' Calen responded finding it quite interesting that lock doors could be any kind of obstacle for someone with a semblance like Kisha's. Maybe the semblance required line of sight or maybe she couldn't actually teleport through things. Regardless of the specifics of Kisha's semblance Calen was feeling rather envious of the idea of having a movement semblance that meant that you didn't have to actually move and therefore deal with the wind to use. As the moment he heard the Kisha was planning on heading in Calen used his semblance to quickly shoot himself as close as he could get to the shore in an effort to warm himself up as much as possible. It didn't work as well as he was hoping as the before mentioned wind bit hard but it also left Calen stranded without any of his clothes which weren't soaked from his swing as well as all his fishing gear.
I'll come back for it later I guess, it's not like the boat will be lost at sea with the anchor nor will anyone steal my fishing gear.' Calen thought to himself as he shivered on the beach. 'Yea it's funny what families do, everyone is so sure of their way of doing everything that everything different looks so strange. Anyway, it's a date then for the cook-off, we will find a time which works for both of us and move forward from there.' Calen called out jokingly as his teeth chattered from the cold. Honestly, there was little more that Calen wanted at that moment than a hot spicy meal but that would likely have to wait for a bit.