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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2018 20:39:44 GMT -5
Amarant scowled in disgust as he trekked between Lindblum to Alexandria, his massive arms swinging limply at his side as he contemplated his contract. Men in black...? That could almost be anybody... He was assured her would KNOW who the target was once he saw them but regardless... It left the red-headed man feeling more the skeptical. He had been chasing nothing but rumors from here to there and very little had come of it. A bandit here... a rogue there... Nothing at all matching the description he was given. How in the hell was he supposed to do his job if his prey was so.... elusive...?
Monsters of various types witnessed the traveling warrior but very few dared to even get close. It was as if they could sense the strength Amarant always brought with him, detect their chances of survival should they attempt to be bold and flex their muscles. The Mercenary was hardly in a save environment but his own power had made it so. At this point... He was thinking he'd visit the princess... take up his position as a guard again. As much as it PAINED him... Hunting and fighting for pay just wasn't as profitable as it once was two years ago. The threats against a city in peace-time were few and far and with a strong military to back it all up, there was really no call for hired blades... Well... besides the utterly dishonest rabble he would NEVER align himself with.
It was almost depressing... All that a warrior like him would be called to was GUARD DUTY... At least in Treno there was an infinite pile of thieves and hopeless idiots to catch. A test of his ability to run more than fight but still... he had neither of those in Alexandria.
It was his only consistent line of pay, however and one couldn't get by without gil.
With a bitter taste in his mouth, Amarant just went along down the trail, trying to suppress his disappointment.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2018 23:28:04 GMT -5
Traversing the Dark Corridors was process that involved neither time or space, not in the way most thought of it anyway. They were No-where, a non-place, and weren’t pinned down on being any measure of distance from any place in particular, thus their usefulness in traveling what’d otherwise be impossible distances. Likewise, Time was a dimensional relation of physical objects to one another in three dimension space (or maybe that’s what Even’d said?…he’d might’ve dozed off in the middle there). The Corridors were another dimension entirely, and so had their own peculiar rules about what came after what.
For his own metal health, Roxas tried not to think about too hard.
That was the problem really, our brains are built for three dimensional space. There was something that about walking through tenebrous halls, shifting masses of numinous vapor, corridor’s comprised of winding tendrils of prismatic light, and other bizarre phenomena that were hard to even describe, that wore on you. It wasn’t physical exhaustion really, more of a mental thing, spiritual even. Roxas’d heard it said that the Corridors were about as close as you could get to wading through the void between worlds, inches close to the vast emptiness from with the Heartless came. Roxas wasn’t exactly tight on all the metaphysics, but man, when you were in the Corridors, it definitely fell like you were walking on thin ice. It was like if you gave in for a moment, let your attention wander, you’d start falling and never be able to stop.
And so it was that the dappled sunlight that fell on Roxas’ face as he burst into real-space was like a loved one’s touch, a warmth and promise that it was over for now. The stygian vapor of the Corridors poured out in like a rush of black sea-water as he stepped out of the hole in thin air. An absent motion sealed the breach, leaving only slowly dissipating clouds drifting among grass and stones. Roxas pulled the hood of his cloak and just spent a moment breathing in real air, letting sensations of the natural world chase away the gnawing numbness of the Dark beyond.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2018 18:40:49 GMT -5
Well... Roxas' enjoyment of Gaia's sunlight would be cut short as a natural shadow fell over him, the shadow of an abnormally large man looming over him from behind, a man who's eyes were obscured by his long, sanguine locks. Amarant had seen the black cloak step out of the dark portal, here where the ground was flat and one could see for miles... here where something like that was EASILY visible... He had FINALLY caught one of them... after all this time, one of them was STUPID enough to get close... Heh. Now he wasn't going to get away... While he could've easily just beaten him senseless before he had a chance to defend himself, Amarant wasn't that way... His code of honor prevented him from doing something so cowardly and so... Roxas, if he hadn't sensed the mercenary's presence already, would feel a large, heavy hand on his shoulder, large blue-ish fingers digging into the fabric of his black coat.
"So... kid." Amarant growled, his voice deep, flat, cold. "Let's talk about that jacket you're wearing." Should the teen attempt to break away... or even free himself, he would only feel the crushing grip of Amarant threaten to dislocate his arm! He wanted cooperation... not a fight. This black jacket was EXACTLY what he was looking for... It matched the description exactly and better yet... he caught the one wearing it... Now, his orders weren't to defeat and drag in these black-coats... Just discover who they were and to what group they belonged. He would be more than willing to rough this kid up a bit if he got... difficult... But if he was cooperative, then he wouldn't have anything to worry about.
"That coat... Who gave it to you?" Amarant inquired, not an ounce of leniency in his voice. "Talk and you'll walk away in one piece."
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2018 4:13:23 GMT -5
“Holy cra—“ Roxas’ yelped when his shoulder (and sense of feeling in that arm) was almost completely enveloped in fingers whose color evoked the inside of an oyster shell. “C’mon what the big idea with…wooooooah,” the keyblader’s spitfire tenor broke off into a soft held tone as the small wiry boy looked up and up into the harshly angular face of the goliath now holding him fast. Wide eyes were as annular azure mirrors as Roxas took a dazed second to process his assailant’s countenance. He’d never once asked what would happen if Vexen had combined and zombified Lexaeus and Lea together, but now nevertheless knew that the answer was kinna terrifying.
“Hey I’m not…!” Abstractly knew it was kinna stupid to object to being called ‘kid,’ but it never failed to set him off for some reason. Roxas had no idea why, though lets be honest here, there were alot things that did did that. The question came next from the enormous scarlet-maned bandit was so unexpected that it stilled squirming struggles and earned a puzzled narrowing of eyes from the Nobody. Cash, belligerence, Darkness, and other possible motivations he’d kinna been theorizing about. But the Coat? “Yeah what about it,” Roxas asked with slow uncertainty.
The stranger’s following clarification was kinna lacking in the charm department, punch-worthy really.
Sullen pique, the rising steam from the anger bubbling up in Roxas, bid him to not answer. He’d lived a life a bit too chock full of getting jumped by random dudes full of threats and cryptic questions to take this in stride. Yet the more rational part of Number Thirteen noted that however graceless it was while being asked, the question itself was actually a harmless one. That truth only caused for trouble Roxas’ enemies, though that was hard to keep sight of when ginger-locks laid down the ‘in one piece’ line. “Guy I used to work for made them to help us with work,” he compromised the vague truth, but the truth nonetheless. “Get real! Let go’a me or this goes down the hard way,” the teen shot back, seemingly incognizant of his figurative and literal lack of leverage in the situation.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2018 10:30:28 GMT -5
Amarant's expression remained unchanged as the boy thought to threaten him, almost as if he thought the mercenary would be the least bit intimidated by his lanky, weak boy frame. The red-headed man's grip only tightened in response but only slightly, an unspoken warning as to the pain he would feel if he wanted to make this a fight. Amarant knew for a fact that these Black Coats weren't to be taken lightly, especially since they were so easily able to evade him so often... Not many people could escape the clutches of Gaia's greatest bounty-hunter once he has them in his sights... Even if he had the face of a kid, the mercenary wasn't going to let up on him... Not until he got what he wanted, anyway. Roxas seemed to think that his vague explanation would satisfy Amarant... what a fool he was... At least he had spirit... Something to respect at least. The mercenary stared harshly down at the boy in his grasp, he who stared back up at him with a glare of callow outrage and annoyance. "...Hmph."
With a harsh shove, he'd push Roxas forward with the hand that once clamped down on his shoulder, putting some distance between the two of them. Yeah, he figured this kid wouldn't respond to words. He knew that childish look in his eyes from someone he had dealings with in the past, that look that displayed a determination that wouldn't be broken so easily. Amarant raised his large, powerful fists, his feet shifting into a ready stance. "Then fight me." He said without a second thought... Quietly he observed the boy more closely... specifically that look in his eye... He looked like the kind of person who had seen things... Battles. Strife... The look of a warrior. Good. That might make him a worthy opponent after all. He would get his answers one way or another... Whether he had to beat them out of this boy... or take his coat and find out for himself... |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 25, 2018 3:21:02 GMT -5
Well ok, that was more straightforward then he’d been expecting.
Roxas rolled his shoulders a bit, trying to work out the number feeling. He turned to face the red-haired giant of man, even more confused the before despite the clarity of what the next step. “Alright,” an mental call brought Otherkeeper and Oblivion to his hands in a coalescence of light and shade. Mithril filigree caught the sun, the glittering refraction standing in contract with the grim opacity of Oblivion’s spiked length. “I’ll be honest,” the young warrior admitted even as he took a fighting stance, “I’m trying to figure out what the ‘catch’ is.”
What was the deal here? You didn’t just let go of somebody if you wanted a prisoner or a corpse. Ok Marluxia might, but this guy didn’t give off the same ‘cat with mouse’ vibe. It was something in the eyes probably. There were those who fight only when they had to, and others who only felt alive when they were hurting people. He had gut feeling his opponent was neither of these. Well to be fair, Roxas was never one to turn down some rough competition. In this case it might actually be the best way to learn what Braids here was actually after.
“I’m Roxas from Twilight Town,” the keyblader offered even as he charged. His form blurred into a blaze of light across the short distancing between them, becoming merely a len’s errant flare before materializing to sweep both weapons down at his interlocutor. “Who’re you?”
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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2018 10:10:20 GMT -5
Amarant raised an eyebrow beneath his sanguine dreadlocks, somewhat interested by the boy's weapons... Ignoring how they just manifested in his hands out of nowhere, the twin key-like sword things the boy held wasn't like anything he'd ever seen before. They looked more like axes than swords, what with a heavy head and thin neck but had a hand-guard like a rapier or... something. Instantly, the soldier's curiosity was peaked, not least helped along due to how readily the boy accepted his challenge. Clearly he had been in battle before, though his childish-appearance wouldn't suggest it. Whatever this kid's nature, he would discover it in battle... Almost everything about a person can be uncovered through the way they fought.
"No catch." Amarant confirmed roughly, waiting for the boy to attack first. He seemed confused, the boy... It was as if nobody ever called him out to fight before. He was confused that this mercenary would challenge him when he can summon and hold blades like that? Let alone his garb... that must've been infamous to somebody. He should've been expecting a fight. If Roxas was waiting for any further explanation, he would get none... yet. He knew what the soldier wanted, what information he was looking for. If he wanted any more from him, he was going to have to give something first.
...It wasn't what he was looking for, his name, but maybe he could use that... He needed to know which organization this Roxas had come from but he supposed he'd only be willing to reveal it a piece at a time... Patience... He would have his answers in due time. Roxas came high, his movements unnaturally quick for someone like him! His figure blurred with a speed that impressed the red-headed man... impressed but was not surpassed! His emerald eyes tracked the boy's movements as he made a bee-line straight for him, his mouth curling slightly upward... He wasn't expecting such speed! Interesting... This might just be worth his time after all.
"Some call me the Blazing Amarant." He responded sharply as Roxas brought his twin blades down, the large red-head's arms shooting up! His clawed hand deflected the first strike from the black blade, the power of which again succeeded Amarant's expectations! Still, with a tilt of his wrist, the key shifted to the side, the second sword halted as Amarant's wrist shot up to impact with Roxas', interrupting the fall of the sword!
In one swift movement, the soldier raised a leather-covered foot, throwing it out hard to impact with the boy's chest and send him flying back from which he came!... If it connected that was.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2018 1:45:30 GMT -5
Sneakers skidded in an inelegant crunching dusty halt after a hard boot to the solar-plexus had sent flying farther then he’d jumped in the first place. Alright, this Amaranth guy was no joke. Knowing that forthcoming bruise was definitely going to need a potion in the morning, Roxas waiting a few seconds to get actual some air back in
“Alright Amarant,” the mercenary received an appreciative grin and a slow acknowledging nod. A straightforward thinker, Roxas figured that some random thug wouldn’t draw this out to a respectful spar. Lea was taking care stuff elsewhere, leaving Roxas without his ‘plan guy.’ So y’know, time to improvise like usual. It’d gotten him through two years hadn’t it?
“Kay,” a roll of the wrists brought both keyblades into a windup that gained unnatural speed, producing a whisking thrum as the boy blended assault with elaboration. “Deal with this coat is,” one deft motion sent Oathkeeper whirling through air, stained crystal and mithral blurring into an ornate buzzaw pattern. “…it lets you travel through the World of Darkness,” the completion of a discus thrower’s turn sent Oblivion in low hum after its mate, “…without gettin’ corrupted.”
The young warrior watched his weapons arc toward Amarant, watching how his opponent moved in response. He’d come int a bit cocky there (Hey look, he got caught up in the moment sometimes ok?) but quick on the sprint wasn’t going to work on a guy with this kind of reach advantage. “So what I’m wonderin…” A long exhale relaxed the keyblader’s posture, a meditative moment completed by blue eyes closing. For an instant Roxas just let go completely, trusting his Heart to guide his body.
Roxas was standing on a woodland road. Then there was flicker of light, rush of pale cherry blossoms, and he was behind Amarant, drifting petals the only mark of his passing. Oblivion and Oathkeeper faithfully found their keeper’s palms, and were summarily swung in a crossing slash at the Blazing Amarant’s back.
“Is what’s this coat to you?”
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Post by Deleted on Dec 25, 2018 14:11:34 GMT -5
"Hmph..." Amarant gruffly acknowledged as Roxas explained the function of his jacket, noting how it allowed one to travel into the realm of the dark and come out the same way you went in... The Mercenary had his own experience with the darkness, how it would corrupt and change you, play on your inner desires and otherwise "darkest" needs like a piano. If that were true... and Roxas wasn't just toying with him, then it would be the perfect tool he needed to find the rest of the black-hoods and bring them in... well... all but one.
The Mercenary tilted his head slightly in minor surprise that Roxas would so easily abandon his weapons by throwing them at him... Granted, they were now a pair of death-discuses headed straight his way... but once he had dealt with them, the boy would be without a single weapon. Perhaps he was getting desperate... While he didn't look all too harmed or shaken, Amarant knew he was quite the imposing figure... T'was likely whatever didn't appear on the surface was reflected in Roxas' objectively foolish actions.
Still, one of the first rules of combat was to never interrupt an opponent while they were making a mistake... and so, Amarant simply moved to counter. As the blazing buzz-saws neared Amarant's pale flesh, the Mercenary's form would flicker for an instant, almost becoming see-through as the blades passed through his after-image, dispersing it! Suddenly, the red-headed man would appear above the key-blader, rocketing down on him with his claws cocked back in preparation for a punch! However, as he drew in close, a rush of flower-petals seemed to appear out of nowhere, obscuring the boy from Amarant's view!
Readjusting himself with a deft and skillful back-flip, Amarant pushed through the veil of flowers, landing heavily in the spot where Roxas once stood...
"Nothing, huh...?" He muttered to himself, brushing away the remaining fluttering petals with a quick-backhand swipe... "Kid's not bad..."
As if to emphasize Amarant's analysis, a cutting 'X' was slashed into the warrior's back, the force of the cut knocking the red-headed man off his feet! Grimacing in both pain and surprise, the mercenary threw a hand underneath himself as he fell forward, PUSHING himself higher off the ground, just enough space to spin-flip around to face Roxas once again, lowering himself into his battle stance without a hitch!
"...I need it." He answered shortly, reaching into his bracer and withdrawing a Kunai knife. "I have a bounty for the heads of those that wear that jacket. I intend to collect."
With a quick swipe of his hand, Amarant deftly threw the knife RIGHT at Roxas' center of mass, the Mercenary following closely behind, body a blur, his hair almost appearing as flame with his speed!
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