|
|
Post by Zaffre on Jan 27, 2017 23:11:38 GMT -6
The courtyard was always a lively place. Students, faculty, and even civilians who helped maintain the island would gather to relax and enjoy their time outside of classes and duties. There were stores selling anything from dust to hotdogs, and grassy areas with some trees for those who liked nature. At the moment, Zaffre found himself walking through a less dense area of the courtyard that had a few nice trees and lush grass that certainly would welcome a tired person into a nap if it weren't for the fact that someone would pull a practical joke on them. As he walked he got a few sideways glances from small groups that were chatting amongst themselves, but that sort of treatment was normal for him. True, he was a Faunus, but there was really only a select few who really thought of them as second class these days, and regardless he didn't have his trait readily visible. Instead, he had worked up a bit of a bad reputation with other students, usually being indifferent towards them or straight up cold hearted. On top of that, there was the incident a few months back, which was probably the biggest deterrent for most.
Regardless, he wasn't out on a walk for just no reason in particular, but he didn't exactly have a solid goal either. He was bored of studying, bored of training, and just wanted to relax a bit. He didn't really have anyone to talk to, nor was he a particular fan of small chat with a stranger just to pass time, so he was in a bit of a rough spot. So, he just walked about without aim, hoping something or someone would catch his eye. He hardly knew what kind of thing or person would entertain him, it often shifted from day to day. He was hardly an instinctual man as well, so even if something did get his attention it'd have to be something big to draw him in. After about an hour of just wandering, he decided to take a break and relax under a small tree that was out of the way. It was a much quieter place than where he had been walking, but that was probably due to it being a little closer to evening, so people were either heading indoors or grabbing an early dinner.
Letting out a sigh, Zaffre slumped against the tree, letting his tentacles sneak out through the tiny holes on the back of his shirt, the holes being designed to be extremely small so they wouldn't expose anything. The tentacles themselves were thin strands, almost like hairs. His Faunus animal was a jellyfish, box jellyfish to be exact, but unlike an octopus, his tentacles were very thin but still not without their merits. As he relaxed, they danced around him in the air, sometimes catching the sun's rays in such a way that they shimmered for just a split second. He gazed around the area to see what was around, and to his surprise, he was almost entirely alone.
The only person there he could see was a slightly younger girl, couldn't possibly be more than a second year. He noted how plainly she dressed, something that was uncommon for a huntress. Perhaps she's just a civilian? No, look what she's reading, He thought to himself, noticing the stack of books about aura next to her. Sure, an average person might show an interest in it as more of a party trick, but no one but a student or huntress would have that many books on the subject and read them so intently. Another point of interest was her hair, which wasn't uniformly coloured as the parts that were hit by sunlight were more green and the parts in the shade were blue which matched her eyes, those being framed by red glasses. Now he certainly wouldn't say he was attracted, but he was intrigued. Most people had gone back by now, and surely indoor light would be much better for reading, so why was she here? Was she simply just captivated by the book or was it just habit? Either way, Zaffre decided that the best way to get an answer would be to talk with her directly. He didn't care all too much, but he was bored beyond all means and needed something to do.
Slowly, he got up from where he sat, briskly walking towards the girl in a rather direct manner. Upon reaching her, he tapped her shoulder to get her attention, the tap certainly not being light but not meant to hurt. "You look pretty invested in that book, what's it about?" He asked, knowing full well what it was about based on the cover and the pages it was open too. He held a friendly tone in his voice, though it was mostly artificial. He had gotten good at faking that kind off stuff, helped him get people to talk when he wanted to talk to them.
|
|
|
|
Post by Vanessa Santaroza on Jan 28, 2017 0:19:44 GMT -6
It was a nice, bright day for Vanessa. She finally managed to grab the whole collection of "Aura 101 and it's uses." written by a fellow hunter. It was a heavily-seeked after collection, since it had so much content on it and the writer's way of describing things made it an enjoyable read. The collection had 10 books or so, and there was two piles of books around the bench she was. Since the book she was reading had a big number three on it, the smaller pile would probably be of the books she has already read, and the bigger one was the ones that she still needed to read.Her clothing was something than awarded her with many stares, laughs, or jokes. And that made her feel a bit uncomfortable on them, even if the shirt alone seemed like it could be used as a blanket if she laid on the right position. She sighed, fixing the position of her glasses, which were slipping from her nose as her head was facing the book. A smell of coffee was let out with every breath that she took, and her eyelids were starting to close.Until Zaffre touched her in the shoulder, making her whole body jump as the touch scared her, making her blue eyes open wide. She turned around to see who was talking to her. After a quick scan which consisted of looking him up and down several times, a smile showed up in her face, as she bookmarked the page she was on before closing it."Well... Its a book about Aura usage. The book i was just reading talked about the offensive uses of it. It's pretty good, and it will help me lots. But... What are you doing here that late? People will call you a weirdo for being here at such a time, you know..."AA WORDS: 314 TAGS: GresianNOTES: Yay, first thread using this post template. |
|
|
|
|
Post by Zaffre on Jan 28, 2017 0:50:13 GMT -6
The startled jump she gave invoked a slight flinch on his part, he wasn't expecting such an animated response. Then again, he guessed he should have expected that considering she had seemed lost in her own world at the time. As he suspected, she was really into this aura research, something he kept note of for future reference. Taking a seat on the bench, leaving at least enough space for another person to sit comfortably between them as to not make Vanessa uncomfortable, he listened to her talk about the book and its contents.
"Trust me, being considered a weirdo isn't much of a concern of mine at this point," He replied, shifting his tentacles to the side opposite of Vanessa, didn't want to needlessly sting her and cause a scene. "I take it you're a student here, I'm a senior myself. The name's Zaffre by the way." With the introduction out of the way, he took a more relaxed sitting position on the bench, looking up at the sky as it slowly got darker, the sun shining only a few rays by this point. it wasn't quite sunset just yet, but given a few minutes it probably would be. "As for why I'm out at a time like this, I was honestly just bored of studying and training, needed something to break the schedule a bit. After four years of the student lifestyle, these kinds of breaks just get more and more frequent." His words were hardly for the point of small talk, simply throwing around worthless pieces of information to make him seem like he was being open. It all boiled down to getting her trust, he wasn't sure why exactly he would need it, but better to have someone he could call on than not. He wasn't the most savory individual, but he certainly did his best not to let others know that.
Further interested to see what she was like, he activated his aura. He gave no warning to it, but with how he acted he didn't give any signs of being hostile with it. He merely wanted to see what her response to it would be, and maybe get her to share some stuff about hers, possibly her semblance even. However, his main reason was to see which half of it's feel she would experience. While most aura's had a singular emotion tied to it, his was binary in what it portrayed. To those who are feeling positively, it brought tranquility and joy along with the pleasant smell of the sea, but to those who feel negatively, it brings feelings of unease and fear accompanied by the smell of venom. Regardless of the feelings, it was coloured a deep shade of blue with small white streaks that danced across it like sunlight on the water's surface. In his own admittance, it was a crude way to check how she was reacting to this, but he hoped the fact that it was something caused by an aura would keep her intrigued enough to dismiss that fact.
|
|
|
|
Post by Vanessa Santaroza on Jan 28, 2017 14:53:41 GMT -6
Vanessa giggled, feeling the sudden bolt of joy go through her body due to Zaffre's Aura. She closed her eyes, letting out a relaxed sigh as she laid back on the bench, staring at the now orange sky. She was approved into the school two years ago, and as a Sophomore, she still had a long way to go until she finall became the huntress she dreamed to be.
She then noticed the color of Zaffre's Aura, and smirked, before activating her own. A shade of turquoise glow covered her body, before spreading nearby. A feeling of victory, hope and somewhat confetti could be felt, alongside a taste of champagne. And as a more remarkable effect, one could fell a faint crowd chanting for his name.
She smiled, noticing his reaction. "That's what my Aura does. Like it?" |
|
|
|
Post by Zaffre on Jan 28, 2017 15:16:12 GMT -6
Positive, huh? Well, looks like I've come across a softy this time. Probably a bit naive then, this might be interesting... As he watched her reaction, he noticed her activate her own aura. It gave him a feeling that he had forgotten long ago, though at the same time gave him the sense of victory he had become rather accustomed too. The taste of champagne was a nice treat and the soft cheers of a crowd certainly boosted his ego. It was nice, to say the least, but that feeling of hope in imbued was the most interesting part about it all. It was out of place for him, he believed it to be a childish ideal but nonetheless, he was experiencing it. It was a nice feeling, but one he didn't fully want to welcome. "Well, it certainly does bring a lot of positivity, that much is certain." He purposely left his comment at that, making sure to omit the part about how he felt about the hope it brought. She seemed like someone who would take that a little too hard, and since he just met her he could hardly just crush her like that if he wanted to continue interactions. Then again, that meant her personality wasn't very calloused compared to his own, something he planned on changing if he could.
"Anyways, you seem to be pretty interested in aura and the stuff it can do, that collection seems to be rather advanced compared to what I'd expect you to be reading in your year. Then again, I'm just assuming you're in the youngers years so I may be a bit off base with that guess," He remarked with a relaxed attitude, making sure not to come across as being too rude in the case she had been older than he guessed. On top of that, he didn't really get the best look at the book's content, so saying it was advanced was just a bluff that he wasn't certain would work. That was one of the reasons he wasn't a fan of hope, made people reckless and unpredictable, though that mindset of logical thought might just be from his upbringing in Legion. "Also, I don't think I caught your name, it would be awfully rude of me to have to resort to using some sort of nickname based off your looks."
|
|
|
|
Post by Vanessa Santaroza on Jan 29, 2017 0:20:43 GMT -6
As he asked about her name, she let out sigh of relief. At least he wasn't going to be calling her the blue-haired girl for the rest of the year. But, since she was a girl, she tried to play a bit of sass, by unbinding the ribbon that kept her pony tail together, letting her hair go free. She then rapidly shook it from one side to the other, and turned to him, forcing a more sassy voice, but the smirk that was on her face quickly revealed that she herself couldn't bear to act like that for much longer."Pardon, but i believe that a true gentleman introduces himself first... Bwuahaha!"She tried to hold the laughter as much as she could, but it eventually came out. She laughed out loud, before the laughter fade out, a giggle taking it's place."If i ever actually talk like that, grab me by the collar and ask who i am and what i did to Vanessa. The name's Vanessa Santaroza. And about the books... Well, i just want to learn how to empower my attacks with my aura faster. I don't want to wait three years to learn that."WORDS: 200 TAGS: Gresian NOTES: Sass is never bad, but one can't sass properly. |
|
|
|
|
Post by Zaffre on Jan 29, 2017 12:06:24 GMT -6
She's warming up to this pretty quickly. She really doesn't understand how dangerous people can be, does she? He thought to himself, paying attention to the way she acted along with her words. The smile on her face was a dead giveaway that she wasn't fully committed to putting on that facade much longer, so he assumed that he would probably see similar tells if she tried shifting her outward attitude like that. He, on the other hand, wasn't quite as telling with how he acted, slipping into an attitude of personality was something he did frequently. In fact, most people who know him would give a different description of his personality, very few knowing what he was truly like. It was an anonymity that he enjoyed carrying around, made it easy to get along with the people he wanted to get along with.
"I could have sworn I had introduced myself earlier, but I guess it slipped my mind for a bit. My name's Zaffre Duke, I'm a senior here at the school, born in Legion." He decided to give her a bit of additional information, he guessed that he could learn some opinions or catch her interest with something, but didn't want to bank on it. Normally, he wouldn't really open up much about himself, but if he was looking for trust is was important for her to know a little about him at the very least. It also served to be a nice little personality test, see if she would react with something more about herself, or if she would respond with something that was more like a question.
"Using aura along with attacks certainly can be a useful thing to do, especially if done in the proper way. One of the things you need to be careful about is that you do more damage to their aura than you are to your own. If you use up more aura to attack than your enemy uses to defend, it can be a bit problematic." What he was saying was really just common sense, but she seemed invested in the subject so he figured showing some knowledge in the area would be beneficial for him in the long run.
|
|
|
|
Post by Vanessa Santaroza on Jan 30, 2017 8:28:24 GMT -6
The giggle eventually faded out, and she relaxed in the bench,, before laying her head on Zaffre's shoulder by accident, but that was enough to make her drift to sleep for a few seconds. She quickly noticed what she had just did, and woke up with haste, looking at him with a notable look of embarassment, and a shade of red covering her cheeks, she was blushing. She tried to talk, but words had a hard time coming from her mind. In the end, she decided to just forget about it, and answer his statement about his origins."I-I was born in Setek, daughter of merchants. I have a sister that decided to not follow my path and pursue her mechant career. Can't blame her though, she seems to have so much fun screaming at the top of her lungs to catch the attention of the people passing by... Also, i didn't understand crap about you've just said about Aura damage. Coukd you please explain more. Ah, and if you were wondering, i'm a Sophomore. , WORDS: 176 TAGS: Gresian NOTES: DERP |
|
|
|
|
Post by Zaffre on Jan 30, 2017 10:11:41 GMT -6
As far as Zaffre was concerned, things were going pretty smoothly so far, but the moment Vanessa rested her head on his shoulder, he couldn't help but be a little surprised. He had guessed she was a bit more relaxed when it came to social interaction, but that was a bit much even for what he had assumed. Wait, is she asleep? What the hell is she doing? Alright, there's probably a logical reason for this, she must be tired and this was just an accident. Yeah, there we go, Occam's razor. He relaxed himself a bit after having worked the situation out in his head. Sure, the whole thing caught him off guard, but it wasn't anything to keep him phased too long.
His suspicion was basically confirmed when Vanessa woke up from her few seconds of sleep. He kept himself from laughing at it, he felt she'd probably take it a bit rougher than most. However, he still found her reaction very amusing, especially how she tried to speak but just couldn't get the words out. He didn't comment on any of it, though, he just kept silent and gave a humored smile. He listened as she talked about her upbringing, it seemed her life was a bit smoother than his own, not like his was a sob story or anything. However, he guessed she was the sympathetic type, so he thought he'd see how he could play that card.
"Sounds like you grew up in a nice place. Legion wasn't really the best, born into a military family and all. Dad was never home, parents got into a few fights because of that, eventually, it took its toll and I just had to leave, come here to escape it." His real story wasn't really that bad, but he had only stretched the truth with his account, not make up a completely fake one. It was easier to make it sound real if it was partly true, and he didn't need to worry about contradicting himself later. "Oh, sorry, didn't mean to ramble like that, it just slips out sometimes."
"Anyways, with the offensive aura thing, think about it this way. If you use two percent of your aura to make an attack, but your opponent only uses one percent of their's to block, who uses more aura? In this case, you would. Basically, you need to be careful about when you use aura attacks. If you use more aura than your opponent during an attack, you're just hurting yourself more than you're hurting them. So, you generally want to throw that extra strength into an attack you know they have to block with aura, make them use up more than you did. I hope that makes sense." It was an impromptu lecture, so it wasn't nearly as good as a teacher would have put it, but then again he wasn't a teacher. He was only really sharing the information to get Vanessa to think he could possibly teach her some stuff, then he could work on his end game more.
|
|
|
|
Post by Vanessa Santaroza on Jan 31, 2017 19:47:30 GMT -6
As she heard him talking about his harsh childhood, she couldn't help but think at her own. Hers wasn't that good either, especially on the final four years. She had to give so much fun and time to gather the money, she didn't enjoy it that much. Of course it paid off in the end, but at what cost? She just realized that, and her smile died off as she looked at her knees. She would've stayed there for some time, but she lit up when he explained the Aura deal."Ah, now i understood it... That makes sense. But hey, can i see your weapon? Here's mineee..."She pulled a sheath from behind the bench, before pulling the weapon out of it. A rapier, in seemingly good shape, merged with a rapid-fire pistol. On the hilt, a trigger, for easier use of the pistol. She smiled, branding the sword around.WORDS: Whatevs, not going to count TAGS: Gresian NOTES: .3. |
|
|
