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Apr 25, 2024 22:21:08 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2014 4:09:30 GMT -5
The desert heat would likely drive most people of other worlds crazy. It beat down on you unending in this strange, desert world. Wearing and wearing down until you simply collapsed or fled. Thankfully, that wasn't the case for a certain man-gone-wolf.
Resting on a carpet, surrounded by unfamiliar faces, was Albion. Carrying oddities from other worlds, his caretaker sought to make money by selling them here. The black-haired maiden in charge of caring for Albion was working ceaselessly to sell her various goods to the people who stopped by. Her station was set up just outside of a narrow alley in an area that was provided shade from the sun by the buildings around it. It was also only a short distance away from the busiest street in the city, so it provided an excellent number of potential customers.
Having quite the lazy day indeed, Albion hadn't so much as budged since his caretaker had dragged him here and set up her little shop. He just laid on his side, completely still. Occasionally he opened his eyes long enough to see a customer or two handing over money, or simply walking away in most cases. When enough time had passed and his caretaker grinned and spoke about food, Albion opened his eyes long enough to see the carpet mostly devoid of items, and what little was left was mostly junk. The only exception was a gold bracelet set in a small glass case. The only thing actually of any value...
"Okay, I'm going to go the market to buy something for us to eat. Watch the stuff while I'm gone, pup!"
As the girl with black hair stopped speaking, she rose up and packed the money away into a pocket before racing off. With a submissive sigh, Albion rolled over onto his belly and pushed himself up from the ground. He sat himself as straight as his canine form allowed him to, using his front legs as stands in order to keep himself upright. A few minutes passed by and only one person had come. A younger man, maybe in his mid twenties. Albion's orange-brown eyes saw the look on the man's face---He was coveting that gold bracelet. It didn't take long for him to stare directly back at Albion. "Good dog, good dog..." He slowly reached for the gold bracelet without breaking his eyes from Albion.
"I wouldn't. The person you're stealing from is a lot scarier than I am."
The man froze completely as a look of shock and realization washed over his face. Albion chuckled faintly in response. "Run along now, human. I don't want to snack right after a nap." Albion lied, of course. He'd never even consider eating a person, but scaring unsuspecting people was pretty fun from time to time. Even better when they're low lives and thieves. The man reacted about as well as Albion expected.
He jolted up and darted off, looking back over his shoulder as he sprinted. "A demon dog! A talking demon dog! Monsterrrrr!" Perhaps not the best response someone could have, but as he was running toward the busy street, Albion figured he'd either be drowned out or ignored as an insane person... Regardless, Albion shook his head side to side and laughed quietly to himself.
No one was around to hear me, so no one there is going to believe you. Sorry about that, but you're out of luck. Serves you right though, dirty thief.
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Apr 25, 2024 22:21:08 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2014 18:59:37 GMT -5
There had been two places that were too hot for Strife to bear. The first was Costa Del Sol, the seaside tourist down on the eastern shore of the eastern continent back home on Gaia. It was almost directly opposite Junon across the ocean. Loads of people across the world went their for theit holidays to enjoy the sunshine, food and beverage that was available there. Tifa and Aerith seemed to enjoy it there a lot when the whole group passed through that one time on their past adventures. Red XIII wasn't such a big fan though and insisted that the party moved on before his nose dried on him. The thought caused a small smile to spread across the young man's lips as the old memories returned to him of that time. The other hottest place he had visited was the Corel Desert underneath the tourist attraction, Golden Saucer. This place was a prison though and had both dangerous monsters and unfriendly characters roaming around in the searing heat. It was not a pleasant place and instead more of a giant oven where those who had committed crimes were left to cook under the desert sun. Not such fond memories of being there...
Glad that's all in the best... but a shame to be back in a world with heat as bad as, in not worse then both those places back home... Strife thought to himself as he tugged a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat that was forming upon his forehead. Wearing close to all black in a world like this was a mistake, but so long as the Delivery Boy stuck to the shade and shadows, it was bearable. Just. A nice cool glass of water would go down well right about now, however, if he had to be honest, a cold beer would go down even better. That wasn't an option though. Strife had been whisked to this world when attempting to head through one of those portals that are commonly called 'Corridors of Darkness'. They were foul places that made it feel like the Darkness within Strife's head was desperately trying to burst free, reminding him of times past when he was under Sephiroth's control and when he did Hades' bidding in the Coliseum. The rustle of the Delivery Boy's collar sounded as he shook his head from side to side, as if he were shaking said memories out of his head.
It won't hurt to look around for a gift for Tifa or the kids while I'm here... World doesn't look like it's in any trouble, so might as well take some time off for a bit. The Fake-SOLDIER mused within his mind as he stepped out from the shade of the building beside him and swiftly ventured out into the main street, disappearing into the shade of a merchants stall awning. Taking a moment to peer over some of the wares for a sale, Cloud glanced over his shoulder when hearing a man shouting something about a 'demon dog' before the strange shouty man disappeared from view entirely. Some of the civilians looked between each other before most of them shrugged their shoulders and went back to their own activities. Strife on the other hand, cocked an eyebrow as he moved away from the stall he visited, heading over to where the main road was joined by a side alley. Another one of those merchant stalls could be seen down the path a little ways and curiously, the young Delivery Boy went to investigate.
Not a minute later and the blonde spiky-haired youth found himself standing at a stall whose items for sale were... well, let's be honest... it was all junk. Rusted bits of metal and thin white sticks that resembled bones. There was however a beautiful golden bracelet encased in a glass box sitting in the middle of all the junk, to which Cloud tilted his head at, causing the golden object to sparkle in the sunlight. There was a second thing worthy of note at this stall; the dog on the other side of the stall. At first Cloud had wondered if the man from earlier had just gone a bit loopy from the heat of this world, but the dog in question was certainly... unusual. Thick black fur, red socks, ears and tip of tail. Cloud hadn't seen an animal like this before and the only other one he could think of that closely resembled it, was Nanaki; Red XIII. ”I bet this heat is torture for you with that black coat, eh?” Strife asked unconsciously, as if he were actually talking to Red XIII. Lifting his right hand up from his side, Strife reached out for the golden bracelet and picked the object up without hesitation. Pulling it up to his face, the young man's glowing eyes examined the piece of jewellery through its glass box closely.
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Apr 25, 2024 22:21:08 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2014 23:57:05 GMT -5
As a young man approached the blanket, Albion rolled his eyes, figuring yet another person showed up seeking to pocket something good while his caretaker was away. Unsurprisingly, the man reached down and took the bracelet without so much as a second thought, but he at least didn't rush off with it immediately.
That's refreshing.
Albion's orange-brown eyes studied the blond man. His spiky hair was of a pale gold coloration, and his eyes were a very bright blue. They almost seemed to glow a little, though that wasn't incredibly unique. Albion's eyes took on a ghostly light of their own when his power was exerted, so it wasn't surprising. That's curious, though... My eyes glow when I use my powers. Do his glow because he has power too? Albion decided to simply forget his thoughts when the man asked him a question. The hound knew the question to be rhetorical in nature, due to the fact that the stranger thought he was talking to an ordinary (albeit oddly colored) dog.
Albion let out a quiet, but very noticeably human chuckle. "Haha..." He shook his head and locked his eyes on the stranger's face. "I'm afraid not. I don't feel heat." He straightened his posture, yawning lightly as he shook of the last of his sleepiness with a upward stretch. Once he was safely adjusted, Albion returned to a casual sitting position, his tail tucked snugly under his rear in order to cushion it from the admittedly uncomfortable sand.
The dog gave his jowls a casual lick before speaking to the stranger in black again. "I hope you're not intending to steal that. I'd be very disappointed if you were." Albion offered a toothy, canine grin. His instincts had already alerted him to the fact that this man was no ordinary human, but maybe he'd be able to persuade him from thievery at least. If that were his goal, at least. It was too soon to tell. "As I told the last one, I don't like to snack right after a nap." The wolf highly doubted his fib would work on this one... But there was always a chance, at least.
Albion's ears tingled as he heard a man drop something down the road. A box of fruit. Albion glanced toward it briefly, watching as the apples and oranges rolled down the slight hill toward himself and the stranger. The distressed citizen panicked as he attempted to stop as many from rolling as he could, but missed several that managed to make their way down to Albion's mercantile station. Albion shook his head and sighed...
He sauntered up to all fours and moved over, gently nudging the fruits together into a neat pile before he barked to the man. He had just finished putting the rest of his fruit away when he turned to face Albion. "Oh!" The man came rushing down the street and immediately picked his fruit up, before looking to the blond man. "Thank you! Thank you...!" The man took one of the fruit, an apple, and shoved it at the spiky-haired young man before rushing off. Once he was safely away from them, Albion looked to the apple that had been pushed into the stranger's hand.
".........I'll take that."
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Apr 25, 2024 22:21:08 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2014 16:35:49 GMT -5
A gust of wind blew past but it felt hot and sticky thanks to the temperature of the world that the Delivery Boy was visiting. He couldn't understand how the civilians of this world could live here like he could comfortably live in Seventh Heaven or Merlin's House. It must be that you'd get used to it eventually. No for Cloud. He enjoyed a hot summer's day at the seaside with the kids and Tifa but not have to live in those conditions every single day? No, that was too much for the young man. Thankfully there were ample amounts of shade and shadows to be found to reduce some of the heat, but the areas in which you could grab a cool glass of fresh water appeared to be few and far between. There was gossip of an oasis out in the desert, but the fake-SOLDIER couldn't stand being in Corel's desert and this place was certainly hotter. No, the shorter he kept his time here, the better. Unless he could find a local, reliable source of water, then who knows. Maybe he'd buy a couple of flasks and venture out into the desert to search for this 'magical cave' he had heard a couple of rumours about during his time here.
Keeping his glowing eyes focused on the golden bracelet that sparkled before him, Cloud continued to twist and turn the glass box between his hands, inspecting the piece of jewellery as if he knew what he was doing. He didn't. Not a clue. The only thought going through his mind would be whether Tifa would enjoy such a thing. She was a woman, but he had only ever really saw her wear earrings before, as opposed to a necklace or bracelets. She was a fighter so having things that could get caught or get in her eyes might turn her off wearing such things. Aerith on the other hands, wore a pair of matching bracelets that were simple in design and shape but it was more then what the bar owner wore. He frowned and flatters his lips as he continued to looked the expensive-looking item over a little longer, his thoughts lost between who to buy it for. That was when the pooch on the other side of the stall laughed. Cloud blinked and halted all of his movements and resembled a statue holding the glass box as if he were guarding it or perhaps holding it as an offering for whoever found him.
It was only when the black and red creature spoke did Cloud's eyes and only his eyes move, slowly glancing over towards the dog. Then his right eyebrow raised followed by his head turning to stare at the beast directly. Curiosity was spread across the young man's face over fear or panic. This was the second time he had met an animal that could speak the same was a humans could. Well, technically the third, but Cait Sith was a robot and therefore didn't count. As the creature spoke up once more, the fake-SOLDIER visibly relaxed and glanced to the object of which the animal was speaking; the bracelet in his hands. ”I have no desire to steal this.” To back up his words, the Delivery Boy reached his arm out and returned the object to where he had picked it up. That was when a small smirk appeared on his lips as a small 'heh' left his mouth, the spiky-haired youth glancing over his shoulder back down the way he had walked, staring off towards the main street for a moment before he glanced back to the black dog and looked it up and down.
”I guess that guy shouting about a 'talking dog' earlier wasn't going mad from the heat after all.” Cloud chuckled softly to himself and cupped both his hands behind his back as he continued to watch the animal before him, taking note in turn that the beasts eyes were also glowing, albeit softly and subtly. Due to the more orangey hue though, Cloud determined that this animal did get it's own glowing eyes the same way he did, after all the dog's eyes would be glowing blue like his own if it had. ”But what's a beast like you doing with the ability to speak in the first place? There's only one another creature I know of that can speak in human tongue and you look nothing like him.” Aside from the red socks and ears, mind. Nanaki's fur was similar to that colour but Red resembled more of a feline over the canine that sat before him.
The commotion nearby broke Cloud's attention upon the beast and he glanced over to see a middle-aged man panicking over the fruit he had spilled upon the floor. Most of them seemed to have fallen around him but a handful did manage to find the slope of the path down from the main street and rolled down towards the stall at which Cloud stood. He didn't move though, for he caught sight of a black object in his peripheral vision and turned to see that the red and black dog had gotten up and begun to gather the fruit up into a pile, followed by a bark to alert the fruit seller. After getting an apple shoved into his hand and many thankful words sent his way, Cloud just stood there and blinked as he watched the now delighted fruit seller teeter off with all his goods. Looking at the apple and getting a really weird sense of deja vu, the Delivery Boy's eyes focused upon the dog that was looking up at him and asking for the apple. So he thinks this animal is my pet huh? Cloud smiled a near invisible smile and nodded his head to the beast. After rubbing the apple on his sleeve to clean off some of the sand, the chocobo-haired youth lightly tossed the apple up for the beast to catch within it's chops. ”... Name's Cloud.” He would have asked for the dog's name but to be honest, he had no idea how to ask. So he left it as him offering his own name first in hopes that one would be given back to him.
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Apr 25, 2024 22:21:08 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2014 20:01:25 GMT -5
To see such an earnest but unafraid reaction was a rare sight indeed. When Albion spoke, people often times ran away or attacked him. Occasionally they also reacted similarly to the way Vanille had, and simply stumbled back in shock. Rarely ever was there a solemn stare to be had. Albion kept the man's eyes, unafraid himself, despite what his instincts told him about this young man's strength. Albion certainly didn't think the man a dangerous sort, but his animal instinct was warning him of a bellied power. Something not to be trifled with, at the very least.
So Albion watched peacefully, careful of the young man, studious of his reactions and movements. He seemed relaxed enough... Albion did his best to relax as well, but given his regal nature, that wasn't too easy. As the blond man replaced the box with the bracelet in it, expressing his lacking desire for theft. Albion nodded somberly. "That's good. Thank you." Albion replied quite simply. He was hardly a man for dragging out pleasantries or mannerisms, not at this point in his life. He was either too old or too young for it, but he could never tell. Sure, the caretaker always argued him a pup, but the time Albion spent as a human---He felt so old...
"Mm?" Albion quietly hummed quizzically as Cloud made mention of a man---"Ah, yes. He tried to steal the bracelet, so I scared him off with talk of snacks," Albion tilted his canine head a bit and hummed a thoughtful hum as he paused his sentence for an instant, "strange fellow, that one." He chuckled faintly at the expense of the poor sap he had scared off. He was still a thief, so Albion didn't feel guilty about what he did. Not in the slightest.
That was when Albion noticed Cloud studying his eyes in return. He wondered if his train of thought was similar to Albion's, that they both had glowing eyes because of their abilities---Albion found himself absently pondering what gifts this stranger had been born with or given. The hound wondered if the spiky-haired young man felt the same about his abilities as Albion did for his own; did he look at them with resentment? Or as a gift? Such questions were a bit too personal to voice, so Albion kept them to himself for now.
”But what's a beast like you doing with the ability to speak in the first place? There's only one another creature I know of that can speak in human tongue and you look nothing like him.”
Albion's ears perked up as he heard those words spoken. He shot the man a questioning if not slightly offended look. "Beast? Hmm... Just because I'm an animal doesn't mean I appreciate being spoken down to." Albion spoke candidly, but his tone carried no overpowering tones of positive or negative. "But to answer your question... I can speak because I was once human. And I'm afraid I wouldn't know anything about any other animals that can talk. My kind generally prefer to keep to a human appearance for reasons of safety." After the commotion with the apples, Albion and the man had an opportunity to continue their conversation.
After the man tossed the apple to Albion, careful to wipe it down first, the dog noted thankfully, Albion jerked his head up and caught it in his teeth. Rather than taking his time, Albion quickly crunched it up, rotated it a few times as he chunked it up in his jowls, and swallowed it all in one bite. Normally he'd try to savor it some, but he wanted to introduce himself properly after hearing Cloud speak his name. At the very least Albion thought the man's manners decent enough. After licking his chops clean, Albion sat back and raised a paw to the man with a soft cough to call his attention. "Albion Achelus," he spoke as he waited for an introductory shake.
Inside, Albion had an interesting thought; Thus far, he's thought me a common animal with an uncommon trait. After I confessed that I was once human, I wonder... Will he shake my paw without an outward snicker, like Vanille? Or will he laugh? The dog definitely hated to admit it, but he was far too curious about Cloud's reaction.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2014 15:43:58 GMT -5
The chocobo-haired youth frowned at the animal as he saw the look within the beast's eye after his mentioning of the word 'beast' in regards to addressing what the creature was before him. What else could he have said? Sir and Mister didn't seem appropriate, regardless that the creature spoke with a clear male voice. No, Cloud just stood there and watched the black and red animal speak about how he should not be spoken down to, just because he was an animal over another human being. Equality and all that, huh? It made sense really, since the animal had a good enough intellect to know HOW to speak and to recognize itself as something other then just a dog... Though the longer Cloud looked at the creature, the less it started to look like a dog and more like a wolf. Sure, they're both part of the canine family, but there was just something about this creature that reminded the fake-SOLDIER of himself. Not counting the fact that Strife had a wolf emblem attached to his belts, the Delivery Boy was the loner way back before Tifa helped restore his subconsciousness.
Strife eventually blinked and glanced away from the mutt, tilting his head a fraction as he closed his eyes and brought the right hand up to the back of his head, where his gloved fingers scratched through his hair softly. ”Calling you 'Dog' or 'Creature' sound just as rude if you ask me... At least some people often refer to noble or legendary creatures as 'Beasts'.” Cloud shrugged his shoulders and reopened his eyes, were his arms folded themselves across his chest and his glowing gaze looked back down towards the animal. His words probably weren't going to help his case any, but Cloud was never the best at using words in the first place. Something he needed to work on for certain. The wolf continued and, to no surprise, spoke of know no other animals that could speak human tongue. No, only Bugenhagen and AVLANCHE really knew of Nanaki speaking. Everyone else thought him a massive orange cat. However, the animal's words of him once being a human did cause an eyebrow to perk up slightly upon the Delivery Boy's face. ”... So, you're a werewolf? No... They only show up during a full moon...” Cloud muttered as he glanced skywards with a hand shielding his eyes to observe the near midday sun shining brightly overhead.
”Hm, only other answer could be that it's in your blood from either birth or a virus, such as being bitten from another of your kind.” But the young man shook his head from side to side and brought a hand up to pardon himself as he felt he were pressing too much into the animal's private life. Cloud didn't know this creature and had no intentions of digging up anything about the pooch. Instead he watched the four-legged creature in silence as it devoured the apple in hardly any snaps of it's teeth. After it cleaned up it's maw with a lick of it's tongue, a name was given back to Cloud's own, Albion Achelus. Unusual name, but then again so was Cloud. The wolf offered it's paw, as if it were performing the dog trick 'shake'. The Delivery Boy returned the offer of a 'pawshake' with a tilt of his head and a small smirk. A couple seconds passed but eventually Strife lowered his arms from across his chest and knelt down before the animal, taking hold of the beast's paw within his gloved hand. ”Nice to meet you, Albion.” He said, getting a closer and better look at the animals subtly glowing eyes now that he was the same height as him. After a firm shake of Albion's paw, Cloud pushed himself back up to his feet and nodded his head slightly.
A flick of the left hand revealed Strife to be pointing his thumb towards the merchant stall that was besides them both, the golden bracelet still twinkling within the sunlight, within it's glass case. The other odds and ends of junk were all present as well. ”Business must be difficult for someone who appears to be a wolf yet speaks the words of a human. Customers must be few and far between.” Cloud asked as he got an amusing image of seeing Nanaki attempting to sell wine and spirits at Tifa's Seventh Heaven, but he quickly pushed the thought aside and looked back from the stall down towards Albion. He must have come from a world were sights such as himself were common and several creatures were able to speak as well as humans could, if not better. Plus the fact that a wolf such as Albion were not supposed to be in cities located within the middle of vast deserts to begin with. All evidence pointed to this guy being from another world. The question was, which one?
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Apr 25, 2024 22:21:08 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2014 2:15:49 GMT -5
(Post isn't quite as impressive as it should have been. All my inspiration tonight has gone to Xigbar and the ideas about the Raid, hehe.) "A werewolf?" Albion echoed curiously, taking a few moments to contemplate the idea. It was true, his people had a bit in common with the basic idea of a werewolf. But as Cloud pointed out, they only came out on the night of a full moon. Albion's people could become canine at any point... Plus, the Fafnir-class could become more than just werewolves, though Albion had no experience with anything beyond human and wolf.
She does though... Albion thought of his caretaker, who was the Patron Mother of his people, and her mastery of the shifting arts. Albion found very little frightening, but she was one he never wished to enrage. Albion turned his mind back to reality after realizing how far he'd drifted, coming back just after Cloud interjected about blood and viruses. Albion chuckled faintly. "It's not because of anything like that. My people are...complex. If a bit unstable. I chose to be human and had forsaken my heritage, until it came back to---" Albion stuttered for a moment, as his mind caught up to realize what he was about to say with irony, "bite me." He sighed, shaking his snout back and forth a bit shamefully for a few seconds.
When their introduction had completed and Albion and Cloud shook hands, err...hand and paw, Albion gave the man a polite nod. "Likewise, Cloud." The hound responded simply, his tone formal, rigid, but polite. Even as he took the form of a common animal, the stoic, noble air about him from his days as a man remained. Well, most of his days as a man anyway.
When Cloud drew Albion's attention to the station with a motion of his hand, Albion looked, nodding with the young man as he spoke. "Ahh, indeed it would be," Albion began very matter-of-factly, "if this were my station. It belongs to my caretaker. She stepped away to get something to eat, I'm simply watching it while she's away." Albion's took a moment to channel his hearing away from their immediate area, to check and see if he could hear the woman returning any time soon. Her heartbeat was nowhere in range, leading Albion to surmise she would not be back for at least another 10 to 20 minutes. With an internal nod to himself, he turned his hearing back to the scene before him.
"Heh," Albion let loose a dry chuckle, "Before you jest, my caretaker isn't quite a pet owner, as you might be suspecting. 'Caretaker' is a term my people use to describe the person who takes you in and teaches you the responsibility of your powers." Albion spoke of the term with a bit of care. His tone remained largely as neutral and formal as usual, but it held a hint of the endearing feelings he held toward the black-haired woman who was his caretaker. It also held a more sad meaning, as the caretakers were also, to an extent, an adoptive parent. While Albion gained Arcthuria as his caretaker, he never really got to know his mother... Being born Fafnir-class, it came with too much responsibility to leave to a biased party like the parent.
"It's an honor," Albion spoke, his dry tone making the sadness he had begun to experience a bit more obvious, "And I wouldn't trade her for anything."
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2014 19:05:26 GMT -5
As a warm wind blew through the alley in which the stall both Cloud and his new furry friend stood, the young Delivery Boy brushed a few strands of blonde hair away from his glowing blue eyes. As a rare cloud blew across the unforgiving sun, the glint within the young man's eyes would have been more obvious to view if the creature beside him was paying attention. The fake-SOLDIER's gaze though was still focused upon the stall that the creature called Albion was looking over. A piece of 'junk' sitting amongst the rest of rubbish upon the stall had actually caught his attention. Covered in dirt and what looked like rust, there was a lump of... well, something, that had a spherical edge sticking out slightly. Perfectly spherical at that. The size of said sphere, if it indeed was a sphere embedded within the junk, was about that of a piece of Materia, native to only Cloud's home world of Gaia. If that IS a piece of Materia... what is it doing here? I didn't think it could be formed anywhere else besides Gaia... Cloud did his best to hide his interest in the supposed piece of junk and as a result he glanced back down towards Albion as he spoke up.
”You mean you ignored what was special about you and you lost control over your power to turn to and from a human at will?” The Delivery Boy wanted to at least sound like he was paying attention while he had been distracted with the item upon the merchant stall beside him. The more Cloud looked at Albion though, the more he started to wonder if he had come from Gaia. Obviously Nanaki would be the link between them, but there were not others like Nanaki to grace Gaia. No more of his own kind and no other species either. No, it was impossible. The only other explanation is that someone had gone to Gaia, found a piece of Materia, lost it on their travels and had passed hands until eventually coming into Albion's possession. But who could have done that? The young man with the chocobo hair would not know anything else until he acquired the item and cleaned it up to see if it even WERE a piece of Materia. ”So can I assume you were born with this ability?” Cloud asked the wolf-like creature before him as he folded his arms across his chest, the long sleeve covering his left arm rustling softly as it folded up against his chest and right forearm.
It was interesting to meet someone new like Albion who wasn't out for blood or seeking a fight of sorts. Someone he could actually talk to for once. Many of the worlds that the Delivery Boy had travelled to recently had involved a fight of some sorts. Whether against the winged female 'Artemis' in a spar or alongside 'Artemis' fighting that black armoured stranger, whoever he was. No, the thought of being in a world at peace even from the Heartless, at first glance, allowed a small smile to appear on Cloud's lips and his stance to loosen a fraction. Albion may well have been able to sense that the fake-SOLDIER was clearly on guard still. A life of having to be ready for an attack from ShinRa or Sephiroth or his Remnants at any moment would do that to you. Add on the threats from the Heartless, the Nobodies and goodness knows what else out there among the worlds. Mention of the stall being owned by Albion's 'caretaker' did raise a few questions, but most of them were quenched when the four-legged beast continued speaking, suggesting to Cloud that this 'caretaker' was the creatures master, but more of a teacher then an owner.
”So this 'caretaker' is like, an instructor?” The SOLDIER First Class pretty much repeated what the furry animal had just said, but he wanted to be sure he understood what his four-legged friend was talking about. Cloud didn't miss the chance of tone within the creature's voice though as he mentioned he'd not trade her for anything else in the world. Cloud could relate to that without any effort, as images of Tifa appeared in his mind so strong that he was seeing her standing a few feet behind Albion. She was smiling at him and almost looked like she was going to wave before Strife found himself back in reality, his heart heavy with his own sadness at being all the way out here on his own, instead of being back home with the woman be cared about. ”We all have someone we care about. Don't ever forget that feeling. You'll be surprised how that feeling can pull you out of the darkest depths.” It was an attempt to try and cheer the mutt up, but that really wasn't Cloud's strong point in conversation so it might well backfire. However, Cloud didn't pause to see if it would. Instead he glanced back to the stall beside them both and motioned to the piece of junk he spotted a few minutes ago, finally deciding to being it to Albion's attention. Cloud wasn't worried about Materia being in other persons hands, as they more then likely would have absolutely no idea how to work it, but it wouldn't hurt to be safe. ”How much for this item here?” The SOLDIER asked as he hovered his hand over the supposed Materia, his left index finger pointing down directly at it. Curious that the chocobo-haired youth would be more interested in this piece of junk over the golden bracelet in the middle of the table, especially after suggesting he too had someone he cared deeply for.
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Apr 25, 2024 22:21:08 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2014 5:38:46 GMT -5
Albion's bright, observant eyes spied the flowing cloud above as it floated across the sun for but a brief moment. It was quite rare, at least as far as Albion had experienced in this world so far. The heat didn't bother him, but he could only imagine how much it likely bothered his current companion. Drawing his eyes back down, Albion caught the young man's focus set upon an item on his caretaker's carpet.
As Cloud gave a half attentive response to Albion's admittedly deep confession, he didn't feel any particular negativity regarding it. Some might have considered it disrespectful, but Albion hadn't a care for that kind of thing. Respect was not required, especially when it had not been earned. He was also aware of the difference in social norms among other worlds, so he didn't stress it any longer. He let it slide. "Something like that," he responded in a very couth manner. Albion didn't miss Cloud's fixation on the hunk of junk, not by any stretch of the imagination. But at least he had the decency to continue the conversation and pry his eyes away from it after a few moments. As he interjected about whether or not Albion was born with his abilities, Albion gave a solid nod. His fur ruffled itself lightly as he dipped his head forward, but adjusted itself back in place as he lifted it back up. "That's right. I was born a Fafnir---Something like a reverse werewolf." Albion made mention of the fact that his people, the off-shot werewolves, were not people first and animals second, but the other way around. They were animals that turned human.
Albion turned his attention to the junk on his caretaker's carpet himself, spying an old bone, some metal scraps, a broken crystal, and plenty of less noteworthy things. He had to admit, his eyes drew back to the gold bracelet for an instant, as it remained the only thing of value on display. As he stared at it for a moment, Cloud's voiced pierced his ears and called his mind from the jewelry. "They're more than that, but that isn't entirely inaccurate either." Perhaps he was a bit of a puzzle in the way he answered questions. He gave out far more information than one would think, but never in obvious ways. Perhaps it was a talent of his from his days of leadership. Telling your fellow sailors something they want to know, without telling them anything of value, was a trait of incredible value when you spent up to a year at a time on a boat and away from your family, without losing your head in a mutiny or your job in the event of an information leak. Albion was skilled when it came to speaking---His motives were always clear to himself, and his means even moreso.
But that truly only made him think of his caretaker again... His relationship with her proved to be the undoing of everything he prided himself upon. She was able to break through his collected exterior when it should have been impossible. She was able to get him to open up without saying even a word. She was the one person he could always rely on. Cloud's sentiments didn't fall on deaf ears. Albion turned his snout to look up at the spiky-haired man. "You're right," Albion began, dryly chuckling, "Heh... I think you're too young to talk to me about life lessons though. I'm quite a bit older than you might think," Albion teased Cloud, though one might not know that from the stoic tone he always spoke with. In terms of his age in correlation with the average lifespan of his people, he was technically a puppy still---But he had spent around 20 years with his blood sealed. He had aged like a human for that time, and though his blood was unsealed now, the time had already passed. His age was thrown into a paradox as a result... Numerically, he was quite old for a human though, that remained true.
As Cloud very quickly shifted the subject, Albion obliged. He glanced to where the man gestured, though he hardly needed the motion to figure out which item Cloud was interested in. It was obviously the one he'd stared at so intently before. When asked how much was wanted for it, Albion really didn't have any idea how much his caretaker wanted for it. Or how much it was actually worth, for that matter. He'd spent the entire time he was here with her asleep. If Albion could have shrugged efficiently with his canine shoulders in the position he was sitting in, he probably would have. But that wouldn't have been a suitable enough answer anyway...
"Take it," Albion spoke in a very aloof way. It was almost as if his voice itself shrugged for him. "Whatever it's worth, I'll cover it with my caretaker. It can't be worth much, so feel free to accept it as a gift, little though it might be." Partly, it was a 'thank you' for not immediately attacking upon learning Albion could speak---Or running away. It was always refreshing to find people like that. The hound glanced back up to Cloud to add on to his statements from a moment ago, offering an usual canine smirk, "I insist." As the conversation with Cloud continued on in peace, something unusual began to tickle at Albion's sense of hearing. It was too far away for Cloud to hear, as it was even too far for Albion's keen ears to pick up clearly. It was an unusual level of noise though, and coming from the general direction of the main street... He did his best not to let it bother him, but something was off.
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Apr 25, 2024 22:21:08 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2014 13:26:25 GMT -5
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Powerful blue eyes looked between the golden bracelet and the piece of junk that sat patiently upon the carpet of the merchant stall. The Delivery Boy grew more and more intrigued with this so called 'caretaker' of Albion's that he wanted to meet them more and more. There was something that the four-legging critter said that caused the chocobo-haired youth to raise an eyebrow, and that was the mentioning of Albion being born a 'Fafnir'. Wasn't that more to do with drakes or dragons then wolves and other types of canine animals? Well, the furry creature infront of the SOLDIER First Class obviously knew more about it then he did, so there was little point in questions. The only dragons that Cloud knew were the ones that were sealed away within Materia, waiting to be summoned to attack the enemy of their summoner. Bahamut was obviously the one that came to mind along with his incarnations FURY, SIN, Zero and Neo-Bahamut. There were other forms of the King of Dragons across several other worlds too. Funny coincidence, eh? How was it that several people across several world all decided to name a dragon Bahamut and give it the title of King of Dragons?
It was pointless to think further on the subject and Cloud frowned slightly at the jest Albion made of Strife being too young to give life lessons. The frown only grew darker as the young man glanced away and folded his arms across his chest, as memories of his past returned to haunt him. The time Sephiroth took control of his mind and forced him to attack Aerith. The time he fell into the Lifestream and lost his subconscious. The time he gave up his Light to gain Hades' Darkness and use it to try as defeat Sora. Cloud slowly shook his head from side to side and glanced back towards the dog, fighting to erase the frown from his face and at least return to a more stoic state. ”Shouldn't judge a book by it's cover... I've been through a lot in my life...” It was blunt and to the point and Cloud ended up looking away again and shaking his head once more, albeit more apologetically this time. ”... Sorry. Past memories.” He quickly followed up with a soft wave of his hand, hoping his four-legged friend wasn't offended by his words or body language.
When the substitute owner of the stall said that the item in question was free to be taken, Cloud gave the wolf-like creature a thoughtful look before nodding his head in thanks. Mako-blue eyes glanced over to the object that he desired and glove fingers picked it up off the carpet, a few piece of dirt falling off of it as Cloud brought both his hands up and around the piece of junk. Scraping his thumb across the spherical side, the sound of rough dirt and rust reached the young man's ears as he felt the brashness and thickness of the gunk that was covering it. Whatever this was, it had been buried or submerged for an awful long time. It wasn't a problem though, as when he finally got a firm grip upon the junk within his hands, Cloud managed to use his strength to snap pieces off, one by one. Soon enough he had a good enough grip on the sphere, to which he cracked free of it's prison, revealing a stunning red orb, as smooth as silk and as solid as a diamond. The blood-red orb glistened in the sun like a newly polished jewel and radiated a power far unlike anything else. This was certainly a piece of Materia, but what was it doing here. Why did the Fafnir's caretaker have this in her possession?
After rubbing it through his hands a few times, Cloud blew off the remnants of the junk that had in cased it and held the orb up at arm's length, letting the sunlight glimmer through it. ”... Why do you have this?” Cloud's tone was cold, unintentionally. He knew how dangerous this stuff was in the wrong hands, but as the SOLDIER First Class glanced down at the mutt, he noticed the way the creature's ears were pointing, looking as if he were listening at something else while keeping his visual attention on the Delivery Boy. The chocobo-haired SOLDIER blinked and glanced over his shoulder to peer behind him, only seeing the alley that lead back to the main street, which in itself was still teaming with civilian life. Cloud couldn't hear or see anything out of the ordinary, but something was telling him that the dog could tell something was going on. ”... You okay Albion?” The fake-SOLDIER asked as his grip about the red Materia tightened slightly. It would be better to bury the red orb into one of his pockets over holding out in the open like this. Agrabah was known for it's thieves, it's 'street rats'. Cloud was unaware of this, but someone might easily mistake the glowing, glittering orb as a valuable jewel of some kind. Still, the young man kept a firm grip upon it and continued to watch the mutt before him.
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Apr 25, 2024 22:21:08 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2014 3:35:55 GMT -5
(Sorry for the wait, figured I'd kick it into overdrive as a result. You can feel free to advance us from the end of this as well. Don't worry about making assumptions on what Albion might do or anything, I'm cool with whatever. If you decide the next best move is to run, that works for me. I'll have Albion run with your decisions no problem.) In what most would only be able to describe as a somewhat childish display, Cloud seemed to pout at Albion's joke. While no harm had been meant by the remark, the hound did realize not everyone was as 'at home' with their demons as he himself was. Not all relented to their past and let the regrets overwhelm them... Some accepted them, others fought with them, and Albion couldn't fault them for that. When Cloud jutted back a solemn retort, Albion politely nodded his head.
While it was akin to a child telling an adult they were a grown up, Albion elected to keep that observation to himself. "No apologies necessary," he responded when Cloud apologized, "If anything, I should apologize. My joke was insensitive. Young humans are sensitive. I was no different." Happy that Cloud had moved forward and accepted the gift, Albion studied his motions with half of his attention---The other half remaining focused on the unusual noise coming from the main street. The closer it got, the more clearly it became in his canine ears. Boots, and lots of them, were stamping across the sands in a mad rush. What for, or in what direction, the Fafnir had no idea. But it was concerning.
When Cloud had successfully cleared the object off, it turned out to be an unusual gem. Perfectly circular, and very much shiny, even through the little dirt that remained. When the cold question from Cloud came, Albion blinked his confusion. "I'm afraid I don't have an answer for you. She finds the things, and travels with them to sell. I only tag along from time to time." Albion took a much closer look at the orb. For such a cold reaction, Cloud must have known what it was... Perhaps it was his? A certain level of energy was sensible within it, but Albion didn't think it was dangerous. "However she obtained it, I'm certain it wasn't stolen. And I doubt she knew whether it was dangerous or not... Do you know what it is?"
Albion's attention had been grasped fully just then, as his ears jolted upward and his body tensed. He rose to all fours, only as soon as Cloud asked if he was okay. "The main street," Albion began, his tone not panicked, but very wary. He was grace under pressure, and while the sounds he heard were cause for alarm, he wouldn't let it overwhelm him. "Lots of boots, heavy heartbeats---Haha." The dog chuckled briefly, realizing now that the heartbeat in the lead was a VERY familiar one, "...If you still want your questions regarding that orb answered, you may soon get your chance."
The commotion Albion had picked up on quite a while began to grow far more loud, now likely audible even to Cloud, as it began to rear upon the corner from the main street to the side street Albion and Cloud were on. From around that corner raced a young woman, with hair down to her shoulder blades, frizzed up faintly from an obviously long and frantic run. Glasses meant to be worn over her pale green eyes were instead loosely grasping at the tip of her nose. A creme colored, gold embroidered shortened cloak was wrapped around her shoulders, but waved and whipped itself behind her as she ran. Her balance and speed were impressive, considering she was on sand with short heels on her stylish boots.
"Pup!" She hollered in a voice befitting her slender frame. As she drew upon the Albion and Cloud, the noises behind her grew louder and louder. She took a moment, hunched over, heaving breathes in and out. Albion chuckled at the display, shaking his head faintly. "Hi," the black-haired girl looked to Cloud after catching her breath, offering him a weak wave of her right hand. She then turned her attention to Albion, offering him less of a 'nice to meet you' look, and more of a 'you did this!' glare. "Pup! What did you do?!"
It was then, as Albion glanced between the glare his caretaker gave him, and the main street, that he realized what those boots were running for. "...I may have scared away a thief by talking." He admitted somewhat reluctantly. His caretaker stood up straight and slapped the palm of her hand against her forehead, sighing heavily into it. "That man apparently knew people at the palace. People are in an uproar about the 'demon dog' here!"
Albion promptly released a somewhat pleased 'hmph' from his canine mouth, prompting another heavy sigh from his caretaker, who stood aside. "Help me out, Cloud?" Albion quested as he shifted forward to stand next to the man, giving him a curious look, "Let's block them off." The hound studied the entryway to the side street. A few boxes, a large stack of sand stone bricks piled up neatly by someone or other to repair the worn out building beside it. There was also a string of banisters hanging above some of the buildings leading toward the market stall they were at. With as much of a canine smirk as he could muster, Albion selected his target.
Albion's form suddenly sunk down lower, as if prowling. Each of his legs tensed incredibly, burying his paws into the sand ever so slightly, then he race off as fast as he could toward the entryway! Each of his legs shifted back and forth elegantly as he made full use of his form's natural fitness and capacity for running to reach high speeds in a very short amount of time. Though it was no further than 20 feet away, Albion reached the stack of bricks, jumped atop them, and used them to kick off the wall at greater height with all four legs. With uncanny agility for an animal, Albion flipped backward through the air and landed with the grace of a cat on one of the horizontal poles that held up the long banister.
He then quickly used his teeth to rip the banister off of the pole, and leapt to the ground with it, before ripping it down from the other was well. "Help me hang it up!" Albion hollered as he dragged one end to one side of the entryway. If Cloud didn't help him, his caretaker was poised to move instead, though she failed to understand why they didn't just leave... From the look of it, it'd be just long enough to reach both sides, and thankfully the person who was going to work on the house with the bricks had also left a hammer and some stakes near the pile.
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Apr 25, 2024 22:21:08 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2015 16:38:18 GMT -5
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Even though the Materia was not slotted into either his sword nor his armour, Cloud could feel the power starting to radiant off it through the glove that covered his hand. It had been the longest of times since the Delivery Boy had decided to use a piece of Summon Materia within his arsenal and had almost forgot what it felt like to hold onto one. It was frightening, to tell the truth. The fury of an imprisoned monster was trapped inside this thing, waiting to be released so it in turn could release it's strength upon the enemy of the summoner. But who was within this shiny red crystal? It was impossible to tell without first equipping it, but Strife didn't want to do such a thing without first knowing who or what was inside the Materia. After all, he remembered that you usually got extra benefits from equipping Summons, such as a tad more agility or perhaps a boost to the strength of your spells. The memories of the time before Meteorfall caused the chcocobo-haired youth to glance down at the orb and squeeze it softly between gloved fingers, which creaked subtly with the movement.
Cloud's glowing eyes looked back towards the wolf-like creature as he gave his answer, that being one that the Delivery Boy should have expected. Albion didn't own this stall, so he wouldn't have known where this Materia would have come from. His 'caretaker' though sounded like the one he should ask instead. Of course she won't think it dangerous... it was covered in dirt and rust for starters. And it's a good job that it was. If she had sold this to someone who somehow found a way of using it... who knows what could have happened... The fake-SOLDIER thought to himself as he looked back down from Albion and glanced at the red orb within his grasp. There probably wasn't anything MORE dangerous then Materia. Take the Black Materia for example... that had the power to destroy entire planets. Slowly Cloud glanced back up, after a couple of seconds of kicking Sephiroth back out of his thoughts, where he peered back towards his new wolf friend. Cloud was about to explain what this item was but even before he managed to open his mouth to speak, he caught sight of the creature glance tense up with it's ears pointing fully in the direction of the Main Street.
Albion had even spoke the words of where he was looking and this caused Cloud himself to glance back over his shoulder and peer down the alley, looking back towards where he had come from. Indeed, it was subtle but steadily growing louder. Heavy footsteps of a large group of people running. Even some of the civilians on the Main Street had started to gasp and shout as they started to clear a path for the large group to run through. Were they chasing someone or were they themselves running away from being chased? There didn't sound like there was enough panic and chaos for the latter, so perhaps it was the Palace Guards chasing a thief? A sideways glance was given to Albion as he mentioned that Cloud could get his answers soon enough regarding the orb and as the wolf finished speaking and the Delivery Boy looked back towards the Main Street, turning his body around fully now, Cloud watched a young woman appear from the Main Street and start sprinting towards them. The sounds of the running group were getting louder still. While the young woman caught her breath and got chuckled at by Albion, Cloud had kept his attention on the alley. Only when he caught sight of the 'caretaker' looking his way and offering a greeting, did the fake-SOLDIER turn his head towards her and give a faint nod of the head. ”Hello.” He replied and then went back to looking towards the Main Street.
The gloved fingers of SOLDIER First Class' right hand were flexing back and forth from and into a fist, hesitating whether or not to summon his Fusion Sword. He didn't want to be seen with a supposed thief for worry of being associated with her and him too being chased down by whoever was about to reveal themselves around that corner. He was hesitating because he didn't want to reveal his powers or strength to the wolf or his 'caretaker', not after the time he did such a thing to 'Artemis' in the Coliseum. He had to be more subtle. Give off the image that he only had weird eyes and that he wasn't a superhuman capable of extraordinary feats. Keeping his eyes on the alley ahead of him, Strife tuned his ears to listen in on the conversation happening beside him. So that guy he saw fleeing from this alley had ran straight to the palace and more then likely spoke of his ordeal with the 'talking hound'. Agrabah had been plagued with the Heartless on more then one occasion so this was obviously been taken as an attack from the Darkness on this world. ”..........” The Living Legacy kept his eyesight locked on the entrance to this alley and only broke that focus when Albion mentioned his name, asking for his assistance in blocking off whoever was coming for them.
Watching as the wolf ran forth, with as much grace and elegance and one would expect from a creature as him, Albion clambered the wall on one side of the alley and flipped across the path to the opposite side, tearing down part of an banister awning as he did so. After jumping back down to the ground and tugging the rest of the awning down too the floor, Cloud glanced over his shoulder and looked towards Albion's 'caretaker'. ”I have questions I want to ask you, but you better gather up your items and stall and get ready to run first.” Cloud spoke up before turning his back on the young woman and dashing across the sand covered alley to where the stakes and hammer were kept. Grasping a handful of stakes in one hand and the hammer in the other, the Delivery Boy headed for where Albion was waiting with one side of the awning. Taking a stake and dropping the rest to the floor, Cloud pressed it against the wall with the awning between it and smashed the hammer into the stake, smashing it into thousands of wooden splinters with a single strike. ”... Oops.” It wasn't that Cloud was too strong, but more that he was trying to hammer a wooden stake into a sandstone building. Metal stakes would have worked much better here.
Dropping the hammer to the ground besides the stakes, Cloud shook his head and looked down at Albion. ”If the Palace Guards really are coming, then they'll be brining swords and spears. This awning will not stop them for even a second.” Turning around and walking out into the middle of the alley, Cloud looked up at the arch overhead that spanned the two buildings either side of the alley. It wasn't a bridge or a walkway that connected the two buildings. No, it was more a way of providing shade for the civilians of this world should the temperature get too overwhelming. This gave Cloud more assurance that he wasn't about to harm innocent people of this world. However, it did mean he was going to have to reveal some of the extent of his powers. ”Get back.” Cloud warned from over his shoulder as he tucked the red orb into his pocket and held his right arm out to his side, before a bright flash of light escaped his right hand, summoning his Fusion Sword into his grasp. Without wasting a second, Cloud brought the weapon up over his head and he flexed his knees, crouching himself down. He then launched himself up into the air and brought the Fusion Sword down across the sandstone archway, smashing it to pieces in a single swing with little effort. The rubble collapsed down into the entrance of the alley and piled up high enough so that it would force the Palace Guards to stop and climb over if they wanted to continue though this route. Landing back down in the middle of the cloud of sand and dust, Strife dispelled his Fusion Sword and turned his back on the alley, running out of the dust and back to where Albion and his 'caretaker' were.
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Apr 25, 2024 22:21:08 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2015 15:38:02 GMT -5
(Just for future reference, sandstone that erodes with wind {such as the sandstone the buildings in Agrabah are made from} is very poor quality. Sandstone that isn't noted to erode easily is higher quality. Wooden stakes would actually break through the low quality, easily eroded stone. I'll just keep that technical error outta the focus of my post. XD) Before the canine could even really defend his plan, his orange-brown eyes spied the summoning of a large sword, and watched as Cloud leapt up and smashed the archway overhead. While such a feat was somewhat impressive for a human, it wasn't all that shocking to Albion. He had suspected this man more powerful than he looked from the get-go, but how strong he was remained in question. That aside, the canine groaned dis-pleasantly at Cloud's rash action.
"Why did you do that?!" Albion demanded, though his tone not overly angry. It was a bit displeased, but in check regardless. "That'll cost a lot more money for them to repair than if you'd simply hammered in the stake and let me enchant the awning---" Albion shook his head quickly, quickly moving to pull what he could of the awning out from under the rubble, before dragging it up the side of the steep sandstone pile. Once he'd covered as much as he could, he leapt down from the pile, standing a few feet away. With a mighty inhale, Albion's paws dug into the sand, his back curved, his ribs expanded---And he quickly and powerfully exhaled at the pile of bricks. Flames spewed forth from the canine's mouth, catching the awning on fire. His flames were magical in nature, and as he manipulated them, they burned slower, but powerfully, serving as an even more powerful deterrent.
"Are you boys done?" The young, black-haired woman questioned. Of note, her stall had already vanished, though she didn't carry anything more on her person than she did mere moments ago. "So rowdy..." She teasingly remarked, quickly waving the two to her. Albion didn't hesitate to stroll over, glancing back to look at the mess he and Cloud had made. Well, mostly Cloud. As Albion approached, he caught sight of something that almost made his heart leap out from his chest. From the other direction, another soldier must have rushed in... The way that the fruit seller's incident had occurred. One such soldier didn't hesitate to swing his oddly shaped blade at the black-haired maiden.
"No!" Albion yelped, immediately attempting to rush his legs forward in a mad dash to save his beloved caretaker's life. However, the displayed turned out to be unneeded, as his caretaker grinned wryly, ducking her head under the horizontal slash. She glanced between Cloud and Albion, green eyes flickering through the bright rays of sunlight that reflected off of her glasses. Her right hand shot up in a blur of speed, and with uncharacteristic strength for a woman her size, knocked the turban-wearing soldier clean off of his feet, rendering him unconscious. "See what happens when you spend so much time goofing off? They surround you. Lucky for you boys, I'm here too." While her words were both teasing and meant to lower Albion's temperament, they also hid within them a shot at Albion's lack of focus. If he had been more focused, he would have heard the other man flank them, the same that his caretaker had. He was keenly aware of that fact...
Albion's heart pounded in his chest as he looked between his caretaker and the unconscious man on the ground. If he could sweat, he would have been absolutely unleashing right now... "Yeah..." Albion somberly remarked through manually paced breaths. As Albion glanced to the hand that had struck the soldier, he noticed the truth of how she wielded her strength---Her hand was clawed and covered in snow white fur. Displaying an adept level of skill far beyond Albion's own, she had shifted only her right hand, and key muscles to improving her power up her arm, into that of her own werewolf form. Something Albion was years away from being able to do. Spinning around on her heel, his caretaker charged a ball of ice in that beastly hand. She casually tossed it toward the nearest wall before her.
With the fact that the other alley was clearly in danger of being invaded by more ambushers, and the entrance to the main street blocked off, they had only one recourse---"We're heading up." Albion spoke up as his organge-brown eyes studied the ball of ice grow and change shape exponentially. It took the form of an immaculate spiral staircase, leading right up the roof of the building it was next to, about three stories up. The stairs themselves were covered with a packed, gripping snow, in order to prevent slipping on them. Albion and his caretaker quickly began to ascend them, as they were large and wide enough to allow all three to walk them without feeling cramped.
"You know," the black-haired maiden began, prompting a sigh from Albion as he predicted what was coming; a lecture of sorts, "Ice is quite a valuable commodity here. What the two of you did back there---Destroying property the way you had---Was far from the wisest course. There were more constructive ways to escape. Such as this," she waved her right hand to the staircase she ascended with Albion, and hopefully Cloud as well. Though her lecture was easily more aimed toward her pup than Cloud, it was still important to learn for anyone. "I created a means of escape for us, and in turn, have given them a very valuable resource as a result. Pup, you need to learn that not every problem has to be solved through direct means. Sometimes a light touch or an extra moment's forethought are all you need." Albion only huffed in response as they reached the top of the stairs and stepped off onto the roof.
As the black-haired maiden turned to face her stairway, she waved the beastly hand once again, causing the stairs to shake, crack, and shift in form once more. This time, they broke into numerous blocks of ice, and piled themselves together neatly on the street below, completely readied for transport. Once that was complete, her hand and her muscles returned to those of a human, and she offered a beaming, though haughty smile.
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Apr 25, 2024 22:21:08 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2015 17:05:18 GMT -5
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As the dust and sand started to settle, the sounds of the panic on the other side of the rubble became more clear to the ears of the Delivery Boy. Orders and commands were being issued, obviously from whoever was in charge over there. He had a deep voice, one that would have suited a large man with a commanding presence. Cloud glanced over his shoulder and observed the rubble he had created, blocking the alley off from the Main Street. Several footsteps echoed from over the rooftops once more as the Palace Guards split up and headed in different directions. No sounds came from the rubble itself, meaning no one had stayed behind to clear it out or to climb over it. Good, that means he had bought them a few minutes at least. However, the fake-SOLDIER was not pleased with his actions. He hardly knew this wolf-creature or his 'caretaker' and already he had found himself lending a hand and aiding in their escape of the Guards. While Albion claimed his 'caretaker' had not stolen the Materia, how did the chocobo-haired youth know he was speaking the truth? He didn't trust them, not yet. There wasn't any time to dwell on it either, for the Guards had split up and the three of them were not in the clear just yet.
Turning back to face 'Pup' and the black-haired woman, Cloud's glowing gaze shifted down to watch as Albion headed past him back towards the rubble. Strife walked a few paces away towards the young woman and turned to watch 'Pup' from over his shoulder, about to speak up and urge they move before hearing Albion speak first. He had asked why he did what he had done. Why did he ask that? The awning 'Pup' wanted to use would have been sliced in half next to instantly from the Guards who chased them. Wasn't it obvious? Wait, what? Albion could enchant things? Well, why didn't he say that in the first place?! ”It would have helped if you said that first, dog. You think I didn't put the cost of my actions into effect before I did them?” Cloud retorted as he watched the furry creature pull the awning out from under the rubble and cover up as much of his mess as he could. Then the wolf stepped back and breathed fire upon the awning. This actually took Cloud by surprise, having not expected it and he stepped back with his left leg and brought both his arms up to shield his chest and face from the heat of the fire.
Peeking through his arms, seeing now that the dog was more then a dog that could turn to and from a human, allegedly, but could breath fire too. Well, that explained the Fafnir side of things in the Delivery Boy's mind. But was there any point in that? Cloud had already blocked off the path from the Main Street. Was there need to set it on fire too? However, the only complaint was thought of and not actually spoken, for the black-haired woman had caught the SOLDIER's attention when she took her turn to speak. Cloud looked over his shoulder and lowered his arms back down to his sides, straightening himself up and finally turning his whole body in her direction. That's right, he still had questions he wanted to ask her. Soft padding in the sand beneath Strife made him glance down and watch as Albion strode past back towards his 'caretaker'. Mind you, when the beast on the sand cried out, Cloud snapped his head back towards the black-haired woman noticed the single Guard charging towards her back. Much the same as Albion besides him, Cloud too flexed his knees and pushed his torso forwards, preparing himself to dive forwards to grab the 'caretaker' and evade the Guard as best he could, but instead he found himself standing back up straight and relaxing as the young woman took control of the situation.
”Hm... So it is true.” The fake-SOLDIER spoke as his bright blue eyes flickered for a second, focusing on the right hand of the 'caretaker', seeing as it was now covered in fur and had the claws of a wild animal sprouting from the fingertips... well, paw-tips? The way she had struck the Guard though, the impact and way the Guard flew off his feet from the single strike... There was something else going on here. It wasn't just the appearance of the hand that was different but almost more like she had shifted her muscles into her beastial form too... Was that even possible? She looked the same size as she did when she first sprinted around the corner into this alley... Unless she had shifted her human muscles back into those of her animal form for that too? Cloud glanced down at the woman's feet and eyed her boots, complete with heels. There's no way she'd be able to run as fast as she did through sand wearing those, unless she had the agility of an animal. These creatures were starting to become more and more interesting, though in the good way. Not the Hojo kind of way. Interesting yes, but too complicated for Cloud to fully understand. From where he stood, he could see that these creatures were powerful and that they could use their animal characteristics when in human form. That would be something he'd have to look out for were he ever to bump into a less friendly one.
The SOLDIER First Class didn't say another word and didn't actually move either, as Albion and the black-haired woman exchanged words. He watched as a sphere of ice appeared in the young woman's hand and she cast the orb to create a rather impressive set of stairs, complete with added snow for grip on the ice. As 'Pup' and 'caretaker' made for the rooftops, Cloud raised his head and watched them ascend. She wasn't going to simply leave the stairs here for the Guards to chase them, was she? Cloud frowned and flexed his right hand, wondering if he should re-summon his blade and shatter the stairs when they both reached the top, but after thinking on it, the black-haired woman would not have created these in the first place if she were unable to remove them. As such, Cloud turned to face the large building besides them and walked up beside it, before flexing his knees and jumping up into the air once more. Only this time, he rocketed up past his original jump height and whooshed past both Albion and his lady-friend before they reached the top. Straight up was faster then spiralling upwards anyway. A leather gloved hand 'paffed' against the edge of the rooftop as Cloud tucked his legs in and vaulted onto the flat surface of the roof, his leather boots finding grip easily and bringing him safely to a stop.
Sand crunched underfoot as the SOLDIER turned about and looked over the edge. He couldn't see where either of the two groups of Guards had gone from up here, but they must have been close. The two running up the stairs were pretty close to the top now and Cloud frowned as he listened to the words the young woman spoke. By time she did reach the roof, Cloud turned her way and sent his frown in her direction. ”You claim to have helped these people by giving them ice, but others would call what you've done 'meddling' and it is frowned upon.” Bright blue eyes closed and a sigh escaped the young man's lips as he brought his right hand up, his fingers rubbing his forehead as he shook his head from side to side a couple of times. Lowering his hand back down though, Cloud's eyes flickered brightly from the mako-within his body as he pulled the Materia out from his pocket. The red orb continued to flicker exceptionally within the sunlight and continued to emit that same power from before. He held it out so the young woman would be able to see it clearly enough. ”I want to know why you had this for sale on your stall.” Cloud's tone was as cold as it was when he had asked Albion the same thing. He didn't see it necessary to thank this woman for anything either, since Cloud had demolished the archway and he used his own abilities to reach the rooftops. He owed these two nothing, so therefore, he was cutting straight to the chase.
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Apr 25, 2024 22:21:08 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2015 18:16:24 GMT -5
"You claim to have helped these people by giving them ice, but others would call what you've done 'meddling' and it is frowned upon."
Albion sent a rather annoyed look at the spiky-haired man. "She was paying back what you---" A sharp whistle from his caretaker broke Albion's snappy, bitter response. Her green eyes glanced toward Albion, making the wolf sit back and bow his head. While his people were more than any simple dog could possibly be, they did inherit many instinctual traits from their canine heritage. Listening to and submitting when properly commanded were among such roles, though their intelligent minds did give them to ability to refuse such commands. Albion simply had no reason to refuse---He simply huffed.
"Nevermind the past," his caretaker began, waving away the comments as well as Albion's behavior. She simply let it be for the time being. She watched as Cloud pulled out something she had recognized---"I was wondering what happened to that," she quietly commented, having realized when she 'packed up' earlier that it was missing. "It's squared," Albion responded before Arcthuria could even question why he had it. She simply nodded in response. As Cloud coldly spoke up, demanding an answer for why she had it in the first place, the black-haired maiden curtsied in response. "My name is Arcthuria, it's a pleasure to meet you as well, young human. Might I ask your name?" She was always more for friendly interactions, but this human seemed quite...rude. Even for normal humans, he seemed especially uncouth. Though, she supposed that did explain why he didn't really carry the intimate scents of any other humans on him. His brooding nature must have divided his relationships.
Despite how kindly Arcthuria responded, Albion was not so thrilled with the way Cloud spoke to her. Much like any dog, they would stand mistreatment to themselves, but would always come to the defense of those who earned their affections; he turned his bowed head up, his jowls rising lightly to bare angry fangs. "There's a fine line between direct and disrespectful," he spoke with a slight snarl, "I suggest you find it, and stay on the right side of it." Arcthuria snapped her eyes to him again. It was touching that he defended her so, but it wasn't all that necessary now. "Relax, pup." She spoke gently to ease Albion's tension, immediately prompting him to visibly relax and, lowering his jowls and once again hiding his many sharp teeth.
"I got it from a world known as Gaia. You smell of it, so I assume you know what that is, too." As Arcthuria spoke, she didn't initially take her eyes off of Albion. It took her a few moments, as she looked thoughtfully on her beloved charge, before turning her eyes to Cloud again. She assumed from his scent that he was from there, or at least had been there, and his tone and body language gave clear hints that he didn't like that the object had left Gaia. She crossed her arms over her unimpressive endowment. "Did you know that people who aren't from that world can't use these 'Materia'? Even those capable of magic on other worlds can't use it." While a simple explanation, it would have to do. She doubted Cloud would understand the exact scientific and magical explanations for why that is---After all, it had taken her about 20 years to discern why it was. She uncrossed her arms and reached a hand into her pocket, producing yet another Materia from within it.
As she raised it up to show off, it sparkled in the light. As it was not covered in any dirty substances prior, the beautiful sky blue coloring was far more obvious and prominent than the orange of the one Cloud held. It fit well in the palm of her hands, almost as if it were shaped especially for them. "I can't use this, despite my natural affinity for magic. I also tested it out with others capable of magic on other worlds---Thousands of people over many years. None could wield the power within, barring those from your world." Her eyes drew to it, mystified by the magic buried within it. It was hardly a dangerous or useful spell, only a simple Libra, but it was still something quite intriguing; a set magical spell, held in limitless quantity, within a single physical object. What such a thing could have done to improve the situation of the Endless Sea.
But it was not to be.
Arcthuria replaced the small orb within her pocket, before approaching the side of the building and glancing down. She looked upon the pile of ice she had left, which the guards who pursued them seemed to have found already, and begun attending to. A faint smile formed upon her lips as she viewed their actions, before she turned away and moved toward Albion. The wolf, realizing it, rose back up to all fours and looked up to her. After exchanging a thoughtful look, the two nodded at one another, agreeing on something unseen and unheard to the guest in their mix.
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