Arriving to the training area, Karina looked like she had just gotten out of the shower, the dark circles under her eyes more visible than she would have liked them to be, but she tried to appear awake and completely with it. "Yeah, yeah 10k. I was up early. Sure." Karina waved Shiro off. "Please tell me no more obstacle courses. There has to be more efficient ways to train." Karina said, also she didn't think her arms would hold onto a bar when she was weighed down by 5 times her weight, not after spending all night swinging a scythe.
I am, thank you. How is the new dad doing?
"*Kupo*" Karina cursed as she wiped sweat from her brow. At this point it was the early hours of the morning and Karina still had refused to return to sleep. After leaving the group to train, she had waited a while, focusing on basic keyblade training until she was sure that everyone had gone to bed and no one was looking for her. Now she held the top heavy weapon in her hand, the blade resting against the ground as she struggled to catch her breath. For the most part her attempts at using a scythe were sloppy when they even hit. Having no experience with such a weapon left Karina having to figure it out on her own. At first she had tried to chop down with the blade, kind of like you would with an axe, but it would throw her off balance. Having the scythe so long and the weight distribution, she had caught her chest on the handle several times stumbling forward. It took well over an hour before Karina decided that it was not the way to use such a weapon. Slowly standing up properly and looking at where the tip of the blade was embedded in the floor beside the striking dummy, Karina knew there had to be another method. Even though her arms were sore and she was tired, she still managed to heave the weapon back up so it rested on her shoulder for a moment. It was becoming clear what it meant when it was said, strength meant nothing if you didn't know how to use it. She had heard that phrase many times back home, but using a keyblade had always come easy. This however didn't. This was strange and even with her vast strength trying to pick up and swing the scythe again was getting hard. She needed a different plan, a different approach. Something more accurate. Adjusting her grip once again, Karina tried a different approach. She wasn't going to stop until she figured it out, no matter how long that would take.
Great new weapons and more training in that stupid arena she had been in before. Karina couldn't say that this was doing much to improve her mood as she stared at the weapons on the wall while Kaida questioned the point of it. In theory Karina knew that she should take up the same weapon that she had been using with the Black Coats, but that didn't sit well with her. Something about taking back anything from there felt wrong. She had failed in so many ways, but also found her way back to this group. In the end it was probably better to keep moving forward rather than looking back and trying to be that again, which she had never been good at. "What is going to do damage fast?" Kasina mostly wondered to herself. When she spotted the scythe, Karina stared and decided that it looked fittingly savage. "I will take this one." Karina stated matter-of-factly. "Anyone care if I go practice?" Because she couldn't say she had ever used a scythe, but she wouldn't be caught dead fumbling around like a novice. She would rather get a good idea of how to use it on her own before she let anyone se her trying.
Karina crossed her arms trying to figure out what to say. "There was a lot of nonsense and some fat guy named Santa that wasn't that helpful. But he gave us stuff. I can't imagine what these gifts might be, but apparently there is one for all the good little girls and boys." Karina said sarcastically with a bitter tone in her voice. "Oh and that ink faced rat was there working with the bug guy." Karina tacked on at the end as well. She seemed impatient, ready to do something else rather than just stand around. The last world she had not found much interest in and now was looking for something else to do.
Karina took her ring back and put it on, twisting it on her finger slightly. "Right. Thanks." She was disappointed that there wasn't really any answers to be had. And she doubted that she would see Santa again either. That didn't matter though, it was a weird concept anyways. "Guess we should meet up with the others and get out of here." Karina said turning away from Santa and Shantotto and heading out of the workshop to continue on their journey.
Spending 90 crowns on 3 Strength 10 crowns on 1 Defense 110 crowns on 11 Resistance 120 crowns on 6 AP 100 crowns on 5 HP 30 crowns on 1 Speed Total Crowns Spent : 460 Crowns remaining: 143 Stat totals: HP: 135 -> 140 MP: 10 Strength: 82 +10 -> 85 (+7) Speed: 54 +10 -> 55 (+4) Defense: 39 -> 40 Magic: 15 Resistance: 29 -> 40 AP: 69 -> 75 (Bracketed numbers to reflect the switch to Pumpkinhead I made last post.
Karina didn't let it show on her face, but in some ways she was in awe at all of this. It was such a foreign concept to her, it all just seemed so strange. Beuce tried to ask about No Heart, but Santa had nothing to say on that matter. Based on what Santa was saying about his job though, she could only assume that no one on her world was considered good. There was never any toys or presents. There was barely a concept of Christmas except the rare mention of it being a point when others were more vulnerable. So when Shantotto brought out the gifts Karina found herself doubting, despite everything, that there would be one in there for her. She touched the necklace Buece gave her, one of very few gifts she had received. With it there was the wooden cat that was in her pocket and a ring that she couldn't quite remember where she got it from. "I know it is a bit far fetched to ask but if you know about all the kids and stuff, you don't happen to have a way of knowing who would have given us these, would you?" Karina spoke up figuring it wouldn't hurt to ask. There was nothing to lose at this point with asking.
Karina will buy Grave Digger for 1,200 munny This will give me the Earth Shaker Achievement Karina will buy Aqua Splash and Tidal Wave for 1,900 munny This will give me the Wave Crasher Achievement Karina will by Crystaline for 600 munny This will give me Light! Give Me Power! Achievement I then gain Auto Aura 2 Finally Karina will buy and Equip Pumpkinhead for 3,500 munny Karina has 19,480 munny left
"That kind of speech is for no one." Karina mumbled under her breath, glad that saving Santa was likely going to be a sufficient distraction sot hat the tiny woman wouldn't throttle her. She looked at the old man they just saved then back at Aux. "I don't think she would have made us go through all this if he was bad. Shantotto nearly burnt us when we arrived because she thought we were bad, Lets just hear this out, see what the old man has to say." Karina stated as she crossed her arms, guarded but not as defensive as Aux seemed to be. "Lead the way I guess." Karina looked towards Santa to bring them where they could have this so called discussion.
"That doesn't even makes sense. Are you all really that dense? Are you ready to give up rat? Because I will squish you at the drop of a hat." Okay this was just getting plain annoying as she was trying to yell back at the bug man and rat that they had just fought but it all still sounded so stupid. "Do we need to rhyme for this buff? I am really getting tired of this stuff." Karina complained towards Shantoto. She doubted that it would get her anywhere but she just needed to ask, it was throwing her off every time and even angry she was sounding childish having to speak like this.
Karina left out a chuckle after a moment. She was annoyed at him calling her soft, but seeing how worked up that Aux made him, made Karina forgive the fact her annoyed her. She found this much more entertaining to watch, even as he tried to make himself more intimidating. "Scare, that you are not. I look forward to leaving your body to rot." Karina stated as she held her keyblade in a defensive position to help block the ink spikes coming her way. "I will look forward to this fight. I bet it won't even take half my might." Karina smirked at him while internally cursing the rhyming scheme that made everything she said sound no where near as intimidating.
"A rhyming what? You must think me some kind of mutt.... No! This can't be so. Damn it all, This is not a ball." Karina raged but couldn't stop the rhyming, which was only making her more red in the face. Why did she have to be stuck rhyming. What did this small lady do to her? To add insult to injury, then there was Mortimer. Oh she was going to kill that rat. "If you think that, you should put your head in a sack. Let me introduce my boyfriend Beuce, He really is a... deuce?" She tried to make a point to get him to lay off but the rhyming just made things so much worse. Instead of trying to defend any of that anymore, she simply summoned her keyblade and held it pointing at Mortimer. "I will kill you myself, and make sure Santa is in good health." She said as she prepared to fight Mortimer.
"Mortimer. He is a giant rat. Leaves tracks of ink cause he was an ink thing at one time. Pain in the butt if you ask me. He is also so full of himself that it isn't even funny." Karina ranted to try and get her point across before glaring at Aux and giving him a slap on the back of his head. "We are not crazy and we didn't take this Santa person. If you don't want our help, that is fine but I am going to find and deal with that rat myself. Anything else you want to do is up to you, I won't stop you as long as you don't stop me." She didn't actually think that Shantatto would take her deal, but she had to at least try to deal with this small woman who was getting on her last nerve. 9/10
Was she stupid or something? Like seriously was this really happening? "Who the hell would just leave a note alluding to who they were just because? Either it would be a ransom note with more specifics on what they want, or they would be covering their tracks. What help would it be stating that we stole this Santa guy, so come beat us up? That literally makes no sense." Karina argued with Shantotto. "It is a stupid giant rat who thinks he is all that, that did it. We were chasing him down and now you are letting him get away by holding us up." Karina continued on as she walked up to knock the staff out of her hand before she could cause more of the damn lightning to rain down on them. She had enough with thunder and lightning from the damn test earlier and wasn't in the mood for this. 7/10
At this point Karina was getting increasingly annoyed. "We are, you stupid hag." Karina said trying to push Aux away from her. While blend was something they didn't really control, she tried to force it to work for her anyways. It did work... to some extent. Karina turned into a mermaid, and smacked Beuce with her tail accidentally, then a tiger thing, then she looked somewhat like a man in some Chinese armour before the blend magic forced itself back into the way it was supposed to be, the dress and reindeer antlers. Karina let out an annoyed sigh as it settled. "See, magic that we can't particularly control the best. We didn't do anything. But if you explained it then maybe we could help!" Karina snapped as she finally broke free of the gravity and moved away from the others to give herself some much needed room. 5/10
"You are also using my talent against me, so I guess we are even." As the flame came towards Karina, instead of striking her, it wrapped around her keyblade. And if there was anything she had learned, was mages weren't good when you could get close to them. With her distracted with Beuce for the time being it gave Karina the opening that she needed to close the distance. She brought her flaming keyblade down at the lalafell. The only problem was, she was so small that she was a harder target to hit. That didn't stop Karina from grazing her with her keyblade but it wasn't quite the same strength of hit as before. "Damn I have to get used to that." Karina mumbled to herself. 3/10
"Oh you have got to be kidding me." Karina cursed. "It is magic, just magic that is supposed to help us fit in in the worlds. We don't choose it." Karina tried to defend them but as a bolt off fire was shot at her, she knew that it was impossible to talk reason to this woman. "Alright shorty, if you aren't going to believe us then fine." Karina stated as she summoned her keyblade, as she leaped towards Shantotto and made a strike down on the mage. They couldn't leave so it was time to fight she supposed. 1/10
Karina was a bit taken aback as she blinked and looked back to Aux. "Did she just call me a wench?" She asked in disgust as she turned her eyes back to the small person in front of her. "No that is not the rat. I don't know who this Santa person is." Karina stated before turning back and looking at Beuce who quickly caught up to them but had a rather large beard for some reason. She couldn't help but stare at it for a few moments before forcing her eyes away. "If you can just point me in the direction of a rat covered in ink, then we will be out of your hair. And he probably made your friend go missing." Last time they met him he locked them in a damn book, she was more than willing to blame him for everything.
"The sooner we find this guy, the sooner I can beat his damn face in." Karina replied. At least there were in deed tracks to follow. While Aux might have started to take lead, Karina quickly picked up pace so that she could take lead. She wasn't going to let someone else get first hit on that rat. But of course Mortimer was hiding in some town, so it wouldn't he as easy as just walking in and catching him, she didn't doubt that he would use some dirty trick involving hiding behind the locals or something that they would have to deal with first. She did not look forward to that.
