training; [After spending the last few months in a constant fight for his life, training is the last thing he wants to do. He just wants to relax, but he supposes relaxing isn't really allowed when it's a fight for all universes you're dealing with - which is a shame, because he's also still getting used to seeing the sun again.
Regardless, the dummies aren't much of a match for him. It's immediately apparent to anyone watching him that he's not a stranger to combat. His moves are fast, efficient, and he rends the dummies to shreds. What isn't apparent is whatever his Semblance is - whatever it is is a mystery.]
grimm hunting; [He can see them out in the distance - the night is dark, sure, but he can see their shadowy forms out in the distance clear as day. That's one good thing, he supposes.
He's hesitating, though. He's tangled with his fair share of monsters, but most of the time he had someone there to support him. Someone who could take a hit and keep on going, but now he's alone with just a bunch of strangers to keep him company.
He looks over, seeing he's not alone, and opens his mouth to speak. His tail flicks nervously behind him, before he sighs.]
We should...probably do something about them, huh?
R&R [Finally, finally, he gets the relaxation he wants. Around a campfire, even. It's just like being home, but with less tarot cards and less boisterous laughter. It's kind of lonely, in a way, even though he knows he's doing the right thing. Or he hopes he's doing the right thing. It's hard to say, when everything is so foreign and strange and they're talking about the fate of everyone's home.
But, whatever. No time to dwell on that.
He settles himself down near the fire, tucking his hands under his arms and draping his wings over his shoulders. His tail curls around himself, and he looks off into the distance for a moment before looking up at his companions.]
So, what kind of places are you from?
[He can do this! He can make conversation! He just has to remember what Driss and Sansabard would do and do the opposite of that.]
[In the firelight, the woman's pink hair seems to almost glow. The sword in her hand gleams; she holds it like she knows how to use it, though she doesn't seem really built to take a hit. More like avoid them entirely, but still. Her eyes flick to Hieke's tail, then back up to his face.]
[He pauses at the question, looking back at her. He...doesn't look much like he can handle a fight. There are the horns, and the wings, and the tail, but asides from that he's even shorter than she is and looks like a stiff breeze would blow him over.]
Of course I can.
[Or else he wouldn't be saying something about it!]
[He's no wall of muscle like Snow, that's for sure, but she knows better than to judge by appearance alone. It just means a different sort of approach, that's all.]
Right.
[She inhales, lets it go. In the darkness the Grimm growls, low and rumbling like thunder. She shifts her grip on the hilt of her sword.]
I'll take it from the front, get its attention. You flank it and attack it from the side. [Her eyes flick to him again, completely unafraid.] Try and stay out of its range if you can.
[He's lucky he didn't have to deal with Snow instead of her. Now there was someone who charged right in without thinking.
Still, the big guy might have been useful here. Lightning's strategy consists entirely of pretty much rushing into the Grimm's line of sight, getting its attention with a few bolts to the face, and then darting around it like the proverbial laser pointer in front of a cat, harrying it with quick slashes of her blade all while trying to keep its back to where she thinks Heike has gone. As far as strategies go, it's not all that bad.
It just can't hold out for long. He'd better make his move quick!]
He doesn't leave her to deal with the Grimm for very long - he slips into the shadows, then dashes out once its attention has been grabbed. He drives his blade into its side, drawing on his Semblance to make the attack even more vicious as he draws the Grimm's life from it.
He pulls his blade free, weighing whether he should go for another attack before jumping out of the way as the Grimm thrashes, trying to attack him.]
[It doesn't get far before Lightning's back on it, hounding from the other side with quick flashes of her blade. It roars, turns with flashing claws and she's--
She's outta there, backflipping up and over the attack, cape streaming in her wake. Another handful of crimson bolts fly from her free hand as she sticks her landing, hitting the Grimm in the face, but she has to quickly leap out of the way again as it takes another swing at her.
Stubborn thing, this one! At least it hasn't hit them yet.]
[He's thankful they haven't been hit yet - it wouldn't do to die here and now - and he's quick to jump back in for another attack.
He's not sure how many more he can get in, having to quickly duck back out of the Grimm's range, but he's confident that they're going to take it out quickly. There's only one of it, after all, and there's two of them.]
[They outnumber it and it's weakening. If they can't take out one weakened Grimm, they've got bigger problems.
Thankfully, however, they don't. Not yet, anyway; when the Grimm turns on Heike to try and slice him to ribbons, Lightning seizes her chance and leaps into the air, twisting around mid-flight to get her blade into position. As gravity takes hold once more, she comes down with a shout, driving her blade point first into the Grimm's skull. Very little can survive this move, and it's no Behemoth King. With one final roar, it falls and does not rise again.
Still perched on its head, Lightning snorts. One down, however many more to go. She turns her head.]
[ he absolutely demolishes those training dummies -- not one, but several of them, and ann looks on, feeling almost embarrassed. she's not panther outside of the metaverse. here, she's just ann takamaki, with absolutely no combat experience whatsoever.
it's why she's just watching from the sidelines, not bothering to ask if he can save some of those dummies for her to practice on, too. still, she can't help but speak up once he's finished. ]
Whoa...
[ that was...something, alright. ]
Hey! [ she walks on over to him. he seems like he knows a lot about combat, but then again, it doesn't take an expert to be better than ann. ] Nice moves. Was that your Semblance? Or just you being a total badass?
He blinks a bit at that, looking back at the dummies that are reforming themselves. He doesn't see anything about how what he did would qualify as being badass - he's not nearly as graceful as somebody like Meriele or as strong as somebody like Sansabard - but he shrugs.]
It was mostly me, I guess? Though it wasn't anything special.
Are you kidding me?! You took out all of those in record time!!
[ that's kind of an exaggeration, but she's just really impressed. she's sure she could have done it too as panther, but as ann? no way. she grins at him. ]
I'd love to learn some of that, if you're not busy or anything?
[When she had her first and only son, he accidentally turned into a wolf while she was trying to teach him how to walk. Her husband has a giant teleporting castle through sciences and magics she can hardly struggle to keep up with. So while some in her home country might have panicked at the sight of a man with red skin, horns, and wings, Lisa simply smiles to him as she would any other.]
[When one has a husband who people mistake for Satan, well, some things cease to be surprising. The appearance of others is one of those things.]
Oh, myself? I was from a tiny little village known as Lupu, although I've long since moved away from there. My country is Wallachia, although I don't expect anyone here to have heard of it.
It's funny to think that not long ago I was practicing as a simple doctor in a little town, and now I'm here. Do you feel the same, or do you have more exciting tales under your belt?
[There's more humans here than Hieke's seen in a long, long while. He knows that that alone isn't reason enough to feel on edge, but he can't help it. Humans...don't like his people. It's as simple as that. The fact that nobody here seems all that bothered by his existence is...taking some getting used to.]
Wallachia? [Yeah, he's definitely unfamiliar with that.]
I...don't know that I'd consider any of my tales exciting. Eventful, maybe. Not that I imagine being a doctor is anything all that simple.
Oh, I found it to all be very exciting! I was trying to break new grounds with my husband, you see- although perhaps I was the only one who found them to be truly new.
[In terms of medicine, at any rate. For her husband, it was all seeing people as being worthy of such medicine that was the new part. For a moment, her heart pangs a little bit- in worry, in loneliness, in anxiety that she can't help him where she is right now- and she curls a hand over her heart before laughing a little.]
[She can't worry about it right now. Not with the task set in front of all of them.]
I'm worried I might bore some of the people here if I go on about medicine!
I don't know, I think it's something that's pretty important.
[They're going to need people who can patch others up and keep them going, after all. Hieke's own skills will only take him so far - and with his connection to Kelemvor severed, they're even more limited than they were before.]
Even if it's boring, it's still worth learning about.
It's the reason that I was brought here, I'm certain of it.
[Considering the circumstances that were happening back in her home... Well, she supposes she should be grateful that she managed to make any sort of similar name to herself enough that beings of another world were able to become interested.]
[Stretching her arms out in front of her, fingers entwined, she hums.]
I'd like to teach everyone some basic first aid skills if they don't already know them, before anything else. There's only so much of myself that can go around, so it's good if people can help mitigate what they can, even if it only seems like a little bit.
After that... There's a lot more we can look into, especially to help the people here.
[The only hesitation that comes before her next sentence is one of habit, used to hiding her husband's background, before she forges along. Vlad by far isn't the weirdest thing in this situation.]
My husband isn't human either- well, I suppose not anymore- so I'm used to having to adjust my medical practices. But it's better to know things ahead of time.
[That's...an odd choice of wording. There's a few things that image conjures up, and none of them are very good.]
Well - I'm obviously not human. [Obviously.] Tieflings and humans are pretty different, in most ways, and I learned most of my first aid for tieflings.
[He makes no mention of the ragtag group he was travelling with - he took care of them, sure, and none of them were human. But that's just...private.]
It was rather before we met, you see, so I'm not entirely sure on the specifics. Not that you would ever think he was anything otherwise... besides being probably some eight feet tall... Having fangs... A tendency for dramatics...
[She loves Vlad dearly, she really does, but sometimes he's just A Lot, and her fond tone says as much. Apparently it's genetic because their son is the same way.]
Would it be rude if I asked what a tiefling is, exactly? And any of the major differences to keep an eye out for.
[Sounds like a vampire to him! Not that he's ever met one himself. He just knows they exist.]
Ah...it's hard to explain. There's a few different ways someone could be a tiefling - either they have devilish ancestry or their ancestors made a pact with Asmodeus. The biggest difference would probably be the inborn magic a tiefling has, but...That magic seems to be gone, here.
[Hopefully he doesn't have to explain who Asmodeus is. He already feels like he's said too much.]
hieke | oc
[After spending the last few months in a constant fight for his life, training is the last thing he wants to do. He just wants to relax, but he supposes relaxing isn't really allowed when it's a fight for all universes you're dealing with - which is a shame, because he's also still getting used to seeing the sun again.
Regardless, the dummies aren't much of a match for him. It's immediately apparent to anyone watching him that he's not a stranger to combat. His moves are fast, efficient, and he rends the dummies to shreds. What isn't apparent is whatever his Semblance is - whatever it is is a mystery.]
grimm hunting;
[He can see them out in the distance - the night is dark, sure, but he can see their shadowy forms out in the distance clear as day. That's one good thing, he supposes.
He's hesitating, though. He's tangled with his fair share of monsters, but most of the time he had someone there to support him. Someone who could take a hit and keep on going, but now he's alone with just a bunch of strangers to keep him company.
He looks over, seeing he's not alone, and opens his mouth to speak. His tail flicks nervously behind him, before he sighs.]
We should...probably do something about them, huh?
R&R
[Finally, finally, he gets the relaxation he wants. Around a campfire, even. It's just like being home, but with less tarot cards and less boisterous laughter. It's kind of lonely, in a way, even though he knows he's doing the right thing. Or he hopes he's doing the right thing. It's hard to say, when everything is so foreign and strange and they're talking about the fate of everyone's home.
But, whatever. No time to dwell on that.
He settles himself down near the fire, tucking his hands under his arms and draping his wings over his shoulders. His tail curls around himself, and he looks off into the distance for a moment before looking up at his companions.]
So, what kind of places are you from?
[He can do this! He can make conversation! He just has to remember what Driss and Sansabard would do and do the opposite of that.]
hunting!
[In the firelight, the woman's pink hair seems to almost glow. The sword in her hand gleams; she holds it like she knows how to use it, though she doesn't seem really built to take a hit. More like avoid them entirely, but still. Her eyes flick to Hieke's tail, then back up to his face.]
Can you handle a fight?
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Of course I can.
[Or else he wouldn't be saying something about it!]
It's just strength in numbers, you know?
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Right.
[She inhales, lets it go. In the darkness the Grimm growls, low and rumbling like thunder. She shifts her grip on the hilt of her sword.]
I'll take it from the front, get its attention. You flank it and attack it from the side. [Her eyes flick to him again, completely unafraid.] Try and stay out of its range if you can.
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But this entire situation is different. He can't keep thinking about home.
So, all he does is nod, reaching for one of the daggers that had been given to him.]
Alright.
[And with that, he slips off into the shadows, trusting Lightning to do her part.]
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Still, the big guy might have been useful here. Lightning's strategy consists entirely of pretty much rushing into the Grimm's line of sight, getting its attention with a few bolts to the face, and then darting around it like the proverbial laser pointer in front of a cat, harrying it with quick slashes of her blade all while trying to keep its back to where she thinks Heike has gone. As far as strategies go, it's not all that bad.
It just can't hold out for long. He'd better make his move quick!]
no subject
He doesn't leave her to deal with the Grimm for very long - he slips into the shadows, then dashes out once its attention has been grabbed. He drives his blade into its side, drawing on his Semblance to make the attack even more vicious as he draws the Grimm's life from it.
He pulls his blade free, weighing whether he should go for another attack before jumping out of the way as the Grimm thrashes, trying to attack him.]
no subject
She's outta there, backflipping up and over the attack, cape streaming in her wake. Another handful of crimson bolts fly from her free hand as she sticks her landing, hitting the Grimm in the face, but she has to quickly leap out of the way again as it takes another swing at her.
Stubborn thing, this one! At least it hasn't hit them yet.]
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He's not sure how many more he can get in, having to quickly duck back out of the Grimm's range, but he's confident that they're going to take it out quickly. There's only one of it, after all, and there's two of them.]
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Thankfully, however, they don't. Not yet, anyway; when the Grimm turns on Heike to try and slice him to ribbons, Lightning seizes her chance and leaps into the air, twisting around mid-flight to get her blade into position. As gravity takes hold once more, she comes down with a shout, driving her blade point first into the Grimm's skull. Very little can survive this move, and it's no Behemoth King. With one final roar, it falls and does not rise again.
Still perched on its head, Lightning snorts. One down, however many more to go. She turns her head.]
You good?
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That was impressive.
[He brushes his hair away from his face.]
And I'm good. It couldn't hit me.
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training
it's why she's just watching from the sidelines, not bothering to ask if he can save some of those dummies for her to practice on, too. still, she can't help but speak up once he's finished. ]
Whoa...
[ that was...something, alright. ]
Hey! [ she walks on over to him. he seems like he knows a lot about combat, but then again, it doesn't take an expert to be better than ann. ] Nice moves. Was that your Semblance? Or just you being a total badass?
no subject
He blinks a bit at that, looking back at the dummies that are reforming themselves. He doesn't see anything about how what he did would qualify as being badass - he's not nearly as graceful as somebody like Meriele or as strong as somebody like Sansabard - but he shrugs.]
It was mostly me, I guess? Though it wasn't anything special.
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[ that's kind of an exaggeration, but she's just really impressed. she's sure she could have done it too as panther, but as ann? no way. she grins at him. ]
I'd love to learn some of that, if you're not busy or anything?
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[He's pretty sure it's not a contest! They're all just here to do their best.
He scratches the back of his head, before shrugging.]
I mean, I don't know if I'd be a very good teacher, but I guess I could help? Are you not used to combat?
r&r
[When one has a husband who people mistake for Satan, well, some things cease to be surprising. The appearance of others is one of those things.]
Oh, myself? I was from a tiny little village known as Lupu, although I've long since moved away from there. My country is Wallachia, although I don't expect anyone here to have heard of it.
It's funny to think that not long ago I was practicing as a simple doctor in a little town, and now I'm here. Do you feel the same, or do you have more exciting tales under your belt?
[A slight teasing curl forms along her smile.]
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Wallachia? [Yeah, he's definitely unfamiliar with that.]
I...don't know that I'd consider any of my tales exciting. Eventful, maybe. Not that I imagine being a doctor is anything all that simple.
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[In terms of medicine, at any rate. For her husband, it was all seeing people as being worthy of such medicine that was the new part. For a moment, her heart pangs a little bit- in worry, in loneliness, in anxiety that she can't help him where she is right now- and she curls a hand over her heart before laughing a little.]
[She can't worry about it right now. Not with the task set in front of all of them.]
I'm worried I might bore some of the people here if I go on about medicine!
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[They're going to need people who can patch others up and keep them going, after all. Hieke's own skills will only take him so far - and with his connection to Kelemvor severed, they're even more limited than they were before.]
Even if it's boring, it's still worth learning about.
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[Considering the circumstances that were happening back in her home... Well, she supposes she should be grateful that she managed to make any sort of similar name to herself enough that beings of another world were able to become interested.]
[Stretching her arms out in front of her, fingers entwined, she hums.]
I'd like to teach everyone some basic first aid skills if they don't already know them, before anything else. There's only so much of myself that can go around, so it's good if people can help mitigate what they can, even if it only seems like a little bit.
After that... There's a lot more we can look into, especially to help the people here.
no subject
[His head bobs at that, and he looks into the fire.]
I...know a bit of first aid already, so there's one person you won't have to worry about. Don't usually work with humans, though.
[Despite that, the principle is still the same.]
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[The only hesitation that comes before her next sentence is one of habit, used to hiding her husband's background, before she forges along. Vlad by far isn't the weirdest thing in this situation.]
My husband isn't human either- well, I suppose not anymore- so I'm used to having to adjust my medical practices. But it's better to know things ahead of time.
no subject
[That's...an odd choice of wording. There's a few things that image conjures up, and none of them are very good.]
Well - I'm obviously not human. [Obviously.] Tieflings and humans are pretty different, in most ways, and I learned most of my first aid for tieflings.
[He makes no mention of the ragtag group he was travelling with - he took care of them, sure, and none of them were human. But that's just...private.]
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[She loves Vlad dearly, she really does, but sometimes he's just A Lot, and her fond tone says as much. Apparently it's genetic because their son is the same way.]
Would it be rude if I asked what a tiefling is, exactly? And any of the major differences to keep an eye out for.
no subject
[Sounds like a vampire to him! Not that he's ever met one himself. He just knows they exist.]
Ah...it's hard to explain. There's a few different ways someone could be a tiefling - either they have devilish ancestry or their ancestors made a pact with Asmodeus. The biggest difference would probably be the inborn magic a tiefling has, but...That magic seems to be gone, here.
[Hopefully he doesn't have to explain who Asmodeus is. He already feels like he's said too much.]
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