Kaida heard Hikaru's surprise and raised an eyebrow before nudging him, "Of course she's a princess, come on I know you paid more attention in class than me." then Kaida realized that this might not have been something she learned through the Academy, it may have been something through the Order. Kaida shifted her hand towards her chin to think for a minute before mumbling under her breath, "Actually... you might not have known that... it might have been an Order thing, my bad." she dropped her hand and looked to him, "Yeah, she's a princess of heart... with uh..." Kaida stared for a moment before holding up her hands and counting, "Luna, Eilonwy, Kida, Snow White... wait... no she wasn't on that list. Okay back to the top." Kaida reset her fingers and counted again, "Luna, Eilonwy, Kida, Merida, Elsa, Pocahontas, and...." Kaida paused for a minute to remember who it was on her list, on the list of princesses for that time and she remembered and beamed a bit, snapping her fingers, "Minnie. Like... Minnie Mouse, the one from Disneytown?"
Takehiko took the apology fine, he wasn't exactly sure if he was even angry at that little bit anymore, but he must have been since he knew what she was talking about. If it was genuinely something he didn't care about, being reminded of it would have made him not feel anything. But it didn't matter. She kept mentioning looks on his face and he touched his own face thinking about it, he didn't exactly think himself an extrovert. Not by choice, but by necessity. He only recently started giving polite smiles to people he trusted, he never laughed, he knew his anger got out without him liking it, he never cried, he tried not to worry... but concern on his face was apparently very easy to spot and he never could quite get over it. Take thought about her question and said out loud, with his voice cracking slightly as he attempted to break the monotone, "Who... are you?" Take paused for a minute and he realized what exactly he asked and he waved his hands slightly as he said, "Like... not the basic hello my name's Illiana I mean like, who are you?" Take realized that might not have gone through and he rubbed his head in frustration over himself, "Like... where are you from? Why do you want to be a keyblade master? Um..." Take seemed to kind of stare off at the city for a moment trying to think of another question and asked painfully, like it was question he didn't exactly go out of his way to ask, but was trying to get into the conversation, "What... do you do for... fun?" He almost asked it more like he was trying to figure out of the word 'fun' was the correct word to use there and his eyes shifted awkwardly as he heard a little mewl and Nini hopped on up from their hiding space onto Take's lap and he gave her some scritches, "I uh... I'm not good at asking questions... Master has been trying to help with that... I've always kind of just... done things without question... so... it's very new to me."
Take turned his head towards Illiana when she had walked out into the area. When she mentioned his sleeping he thought about it, he didn't think he had too little sleep, he was used to getting up this early and he would have felt weird sleeping in. When she mentioned speaking about yesterday, he thought about it for a second before saying, "I don't have time to 'spare', I consider a conversation like this essential time." he spoke with a rather flatly monotone voice, one he was rather used to speaking around those he considered strangers. He shifted a bit so if she wanted to sit near him, or just lean back against the wall that she was able to and he asked, "So whaddya wanna say about yesterday?" he was not sure how this conversation was going to go exactly, so he'd rather sit back at let her have the reigns on this one.
Takehiko was up just before what would have normally been sunrise. That was normal for him, and he pretty much never changed that. The boy sat outside staring up at the castle trying to finally take in just how beautiful this place was. The way the homes were built and how softly everything just seemed to glow a bluish color. He didn't exactly see a lot of blues in his homeworld, perhaps the sky if he dared to look up at it in the day when dragons weren't constantly coming at him. Take took in a deep breath to let the fresh air into his lungs before the cold turned into warm, and he reached into his pocket to pull out a small stone that was carved into and dyed to look like a red swirl. It was not a perfect swirl, in fact the corners of it seemed to be slightly off and the swirl jutted out to make a tiny tail towards the end. He tossed the stone around in his hands a little before unconsciously bringing it up towards his heart. He held it there for just a bit before he put it away and stared at the scenery once more. Waiting for their orders to leave, or for someone else to interrupt the quiet.
Takehiko listened to Illiana speak. Listening to her attempt to lecture him on a "divide and conquer" strategy bothered him immensely. If there was anyone who knew the benefits and losses to that kind of tactic, it was Take. But what bothered her the most was when she said he 'can't hide behind Torrin and Atmos forever'. The boy paused for a minute to make sure he didn't just go and start getting irrational. But before he could even speak, Illiana had left the room. And that pissed him off even more. Take crossed his arms and murmured to himself, "I am not, nor have I ever hid behind anyone..." Maybe the stranger who jumped in to ask Atmos for training literally a day ago should try to get to know her peers first before she runs off to do whatever she does alone. Mope to herself? Meditate? Arson? I don't know, but her walking away after trying to act like she's some wise sage is annoying, and unhelpful. Take looked between the rest of them, he wasn't getting the impression anyone else felt the same way. It... made him feel weak. He didn't like that. Take straightened himself up, and his face went back to it's normal blank slate state and Take spoke in a distant monotone, one he had been hoping to abandon for quite some time, "Alright, whatever you say, Master. Can't make any promises you'll come back with all of us though but-" Take shrugged and turned around saying, "-guess there was never that guarantee anyway." and Take left the living room before anyone else could say a thing.
At even the slightest mention of food, especially what was pretty much free food, Aalis immediately ran on over towards Arian saying, "Me me me me me me me!" she was starving probably as much as anyone else here, and she was a food lover anyway. Why would she pass up a good meal? She was basically trailing Arian like some sort of puppy excited for his meal to be given, which was ironic to her considering Arian by all accounts was the puppy here but hey, she didn't mind a bit of role reversal. But as she walked close, she felt a tickling sensation and suddenly clung to Arian and started whispering, "Watermelon watermelon watermelo-" but her sneezing didn't stop and Aalis let out a sneeze. She looked around to see if there was an area of effect and was grateful nothing happened and she let out a sigh of relief. Unbeknownst to Aalis though, she was glowing a very bright blue color. Like, the aura just radiated off of her for no discernible reason. But she couldn't see it since to her she looked absolutely normal. But her next sneeze didn't seem to be happening yet. Aalis looked at Arian and said, "Hey, this time nothing major happened. This is a good sign!"
Take listened to Atmos mention going to find Tinarah and the Princess of Heart. Take kind of paused at that and thought about it for a moment and recalled Atmos telling them about Princesses of Heart briefly. They were ones with hearts of pure light, which... made an awful lot of sense at to why the Light Chaser would want them. But why? Take was not entirely sure, not could he really figure it out but when Atmos mentioned splitting up with Torrin, Takehiko stepped forward and said, "Wait, Master, is that the best idea? Wouldn't splitting us up cause us more danger, especially with less people?" the boy paused a moment and looked over at everyone else and felt his hand move up towards his chest and said, "We might not be ready but... wouldn't we be stronger together than apart? We all want to help Tinarah and the princess, I don't see why it's a bad idea for us to go there?" Take's face betrayed him more than he would like, his concern was showing more now than it had been previously and he said, "I don't want something to happen to all of us again... I don't want to run to find the new princess if we can't even protect our own partners."
-raises hand-
Thank you Ams! lol my drinking gif won't work editing it out kill me
Take accepted the gift from the King graciously and took a moment to process the request. He figured this was perhaps the only thing he could do to atone for his failures in this world. He couldn't save his friends, he couldn't save the princess here. It really struck him to the core, as far as he was aware this was the equivalent of failing to protect his village in his homeworld. The boy closed his eyes a minute and tried to hold back his pain as a memory seeped into him. Spoiler: Flashback It was only a few months before. Takehiko's hair was pretty much shaved to the point there were no hairs on his head. This was so the fire would not catch onto his hair. His clothes were designed to protect himself from that fire, he was dressed more in a military style. Except, he was covered in ash all over his face and his clothes were torn and Take seemed to be panicked as he held his keyblade out in his hands and stared at it. This weapon... it was not foreign to him. He had seen one look similar to it years ago. As he held it out, Take heard a voice muffled before it came clearly to his ears,"So tell me, Takehiko... the fourth son of Noboru. How did you come to acquire a keyblade?" the boy seemed to look down at it a little longer before looking up towards the speaker. Sat on a throne in front of him were five men, all in chairs of varying sizes. The one sat in the middle was the largest throne, and happened to be the one who directly addressed him. Take lowered his hands as he looked to the man and said firmly, "I was gifted it years ago, sir." "Who authorized such a procedure?" "I... do not know his name, sir." The man looked annoyed as his voice became more angered, "Lying to me will not change your fate, Takehiko." "I am not lying." Takehiko asserted more before he backed away and added meekly, "..sir." There was a pause before one of the other men spoke, "The boy is hopeless, he always has been..." "Perhaps this is the best way to deal with the situation. We send him offworld for training and he comes back more disciplined and a benefit to our village." another replied, more amused by the situation than the others. "So he can become more of an outcast?" the youngest of the five men spoke up with concern coating their voice, "The boy needs more basic training, he can't go running around in the outer worlds and come back and be a danger to us. I say we place him into more intensive training." "I still think the boy would be more of a benefit to us as a healer than as a warrior." the final man spoke up, with a softer and more afraid voice than the rest. Takehiko stood silently, listening to all of their words as they gathered their decision. Finally one spoke up and said, "Shoji... what do you have to say about your brother's situation?" Take tensed up and turned his head to his right. He had forgotten his brother was even here. Shoji looked almost identical to Take except that he was older and his eyes were blue rather than a deep green. Shoji stepped forward and said, "Masters, my brother has always had a bit of a hero complex ever since he was young. I think if you banish him offworld it will only further upset that. I say keep him here, and forbid him from using the keyblade." Take immediately turned fully towards his brother and in a pained voice spoke, "Shoji... I didn't-" "You don't want to protect the village. You just want to show off, Takehiko. I think it's best for the village if you don't know how to wield this weapon." Shoji asserted and Take broke out of his calm to yell angrily, "This weapon saved your life! You would have died if I hadn't-" The commander of the guard, who was required to be there for this incident, immediately walked forward and grabbed Take by the shoulder. A wave of fear immediately washed through him as his anger subsided while the commander spoke, "What are the words we live by, Takehiko?" Take spoke up, almost automatically, "I am a guardian of the peaks, I am of the armor of this village. I protect and serve to my dying breath. I am a soldier of our truths and strengths. Good soldiers follow orders. Good soldier put their feelings last. Good soldiers forget their worth of self. Good soldiers protect the village before themselves." as he spoke the words, Take felt his keyblade fall out of his hands and disappear into specks of light. He stared down at the floor and the commander let go of his shoulder. The man in the middle spoke up, "You, Takehiko, have always been quite the troublemaker. When you were little, we often found you sneaking in places you did not belong. But there is something I will not deny you have. You have a compassion for those you love that is strong. Unfortunately, that is your biggest weakness. You ran in front of your brother to protect him, not knowing the keyblade would appear to protect you. You both would have died, but your death would have been avoidable. There is no pride to be had in that, despite the fact you shouldn't feel pride at all." Take finally looked up at the man and said, "Master Hotaka. Please... if you let me go and train with the keyblade, I'll come back stronger and more of an asset to the village than as I am without it... if you let me go and train... I..." Take tried to think up something he could offer up. But if did not matter. Hokata held up his hand to cut him off and said, "I will let you train offworld. But the concern the other councilmen have must be heard. As a result... you will be subjected to one more month of training before you may go. The hours will be rigorous, but it will be only a starting point to what you will endure as a keyblade wielder. Do you understand." Take's eyes looked towards Shoji, who was clearly doing his best to hold back rage, Take couldn't look at him anymore and looked down to say, "Yes, Master." Hotaka clapped his hands together and said, "Bring the little key wielder Takehiko to Jeral's Point and have him started immediately. Let your family know what his fate is, Shoji." "Jeral's Point? You cannot be serious Hotaka he is just a boy." "Nah, he placed himself on the fast track. He's gonna need to learn." Hotaka replied with a smirk as he turned around and Take felt his shoulder grabbed again and Hotaka said, "By the way, if you fail the training... you've failed our village.... Don't come back." Take opened his eyes and looked at the King and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. We'll bring your daughter back. We won't let you down." and he paused a bit before he turned around and left the room. At that point, he was honestly more interested in finding Atmos and explaining what was going on. He figured this time it would be best to get guidance from a master. He also just wanted to hear her say she was alright rather than hearing Torrin say it.
Take is gonna take 2 AP boosts and 1 HP boost AND I WANT ME SOME BLIZZARD BAAAABY (also defender)
The best part about this is that we all know plums isn't sorry. But that's okay. I am happy my union-hopping philosophy lives on in another.
"You see. I said don't trust her. Here we are. Why the hell am I with you people." Melus stood up shakily from the ground and pulled back her arrow and said with cold, dead eyes, "I'll kill all five of you. I have no care for any of you. And I'm not gonna let any of you be the end of me." Then Melus pulled back her bow and aimed it towards the boys, before back stepping as far as she could and plucking the strings on her heart to cause the most amount of clones she could summon at the time: five, to appear around her in a formation protecting Melus. Then she stepped back even further and shot with her clones, shooting everyone with her blast of arrows. Casting Aero on everyone, except Krista, Arctus Luther, Lea, and Vallus, who were all treated to a rain of actual attacks before Melus started playing the harp and paused for a moment to let out a bit of a smirk, "Shall we dance, girls?" and she began playing a song that indicated she was preparing her limit to use on the others, while trying to keep her clones around her just in case anyone wanted to cut off her buffs again. If anyone wishes, on Melus' side, they can have Wind's A Round affect their attack.
Take had been a little... surprised at how quickly and aggressively Torrin had reacted all of a sudden, particularly towards the Rourke situation. But he was grateful at least, he didn't think this group could handle another fight yet. When he mentioned the King, Take nodded and he handed the violin and bow specifically to Chrono and said, "It's your sisters, you should be the one who holds onto it. I don't think if we find her she'd like to see anyone else with it." then he clicked his tongue for Nini who ran on back and Take held open the bag for Nini to hop into it and he started making his way back up towards the King without another word.
Takehiko was still in recovery when Torrin had told them Atmos was awake, there was a bit of relief on his face while he settled his breathing. The boy heard a little meow appear from his bag and Nini hopped out of it and Take winced, "Right... um, before we... keep going..." he straightened himself off and the pain from his face disappeared and he took a deep breath and said, "Mika.... Mika is gone... a guard said she sacrificed herself to save him and Tinarah..." Take's couldn't keep up the stoic expression for long before he said, "Which... brings me to..." Take moved his bag around to reach into it, Nini was nuzzling up against Take's legs before she took a turn and ran over to Torrin and started rubbing up against his legs. The boy pulled the bright blue violin from his bag with the bow and held it out to Chrono and said bluntly, "Someone took Tinarah. I think they worked with the man who just left with the other girl... the.... one that was glowing? I, know that's not the point but, Tinarah was taken. By a boy with brown hair and green eyes and a keyblade." Take's face turned back into that of a straight one, but his body language disagreed, his hands were shaking as he held out the violin, but he was trying to hide how much it hurt him to be the messenger, "I'm sorry.... if I had been there... I..." his voice trailed before he just decided to stop and not say anything, and he took charge of the shakiness and fell back into his neutral expressions once more.
When Take had not guarded this time, he had assumed it was because Dentro was going to finish things this round, but it didn't take long for Take to realize that this man really did have his own agenda. Take quickly got up and tried to get up to run after Dentro but he was too unstable in his movement to make it halfway up before the man was gone. He must have been involved with Tinarah's disappearance, he must have. And possibly Mika's death too. Take balled up his fist and his coolness shook off as he ran over towards the Leviathan screaming and leaped at it. He stabbed his keyblade straight into it's head and pushed it in, holding it there and screaming, "JUST FINISH IT, GUYS!" HP: 12/30 AP: 0/10
Mora listened to the group and raised her shoulders, "Even if you did need weapons, we don't exactly have any around here. I... am not completely sure why. There's a couple of staves for magic users, and some swords as well but... nothing that would be better than a keyblade." then when Alder called her out on her telling them to leave, the girl tensed up and said, "I'm... worried about this only getting worse... I'd rather you guys make it out to get help... or prepare to protect nearer worlds if this one is lost... I..." Mora looked between all of them and then her nerves finally just seemed to cool off as she said with a fully certain tone, "I didn't help your situation. Now there's only five of you. I want you five to at least make it out of here."
Take watched Dentro go flying and sighed, "Jeez this guy is gonna knock out Illiana on his own..." Take ran around the Leviathan and tried slashing at his legs, going more for trying to get as much damage down as he could rather than tanking anything. He had a good feeling it was gonna go down. But before he did. Take pointed his keyblade over in Chrono's direction and gave him a heal just in case. He figured Illiana might be okay. Take used cure on Chrono HP: 22/30 AP: 0/10
Melus was not having any benefit to this battle, since everything that she could theoretically attack with was at a distance. She was not equipped for close combat and Luther was too well equipped for close combat. She pretty much fell for all of the illusion tricks until Melus was doing her best to stand firm. Melus took a deep breath and quickly stepped to the side and whispered something incoherent to herself before behind Luther as another blip of him appeared, appeared a wind clone of Melus. It aimed a bow at him and shot in his direction. Melus plucked a few strings in order to summon out three more clones. But after a bit, Melus was still losing balance and she quickly aimed her bow one more time, in Kiara's direction. And got in the best shot she could. It hit Kiara with the duration of aero before she knew her balance was gone and tried her best not to fall down.
Melus at this point had seen the fight break out and looked over, conflicted about the fact that Arctus hit first, but... Kiara had thrown the element first. She wasn't sure if it was going to just be a quick squabble but while she was still thinking about it she faintly heard a noise and then the words "i'm sorry to do this, but..." Melus finally turned her head to see Luther looking straight at her, and she quickly turned before re-actively she knew exactly what was going to happen here. Melus raised up her hand and her harp fell gently into her hands and she backed away a few steps. Luther began running at her, and an illusion began to kick in and Melus began doing the only thing she could do. As soon as the plucking of strings kicked up, a large gust of wind came at Luther. Pushing him back against the wind. But as the illusion continued running at her Melus quickly tried backing up as quickly as she could. The gust kept going with the movement but the illusion did not and she soon had to brace herself. She stopped playing the music with the gust and pulled back her strings quickly as arrows flashed in quickly. Melus flung arrows straight at the illusion and braced herself. She dodged out of the way when she was stabbed at and the illusion was gone. Melus took a pause, cause she couldn't help it and she asked out loud, "Why?"
