/Time: During Chapter 2, after the first class change/
/Millick Ravine Way, Aetia Region/
"...it's strange, how it works."
Noah looked at Mio with a curious eye; she was fiddling with the sleeves of his red jacket...well, it was difficult to call it 'his', since he had possessed it for mere days at this point (if even that; it was only the second day since they had become Ouroboros, since their lives had changed). "How what works?"
"This whole...'class change' ability, of ours. It just involves...switching some of our clothes." The young woman's cat ears twitched in a manner evoking confusion and curiosity. "It's useful, but..."
"The whole mechanics behind it are unusual," admitted Noah, guessing at what was bothering her. (Come to think of it, why had they taken to all of the changes as well as they had? The difficulties thus far had been due to the enmity between their nations, and personality clashes more than anything...but the nature of Ouroboros? Of Moebius? Of these new abilities? Why were they adapting so readily?)
(Why are you questioning it?)
(Why aren't you questioning it more?)
Mio's nod broke him out of his introspection. "I mean...it's like they've become a part of our own Blades," she observed, quietly holding his crimson sword aloft. "But you've had this for much longer than the red jacket."
"Ever since my first term," he admitted, looking down at the hilt of her sword: it was seamless in a way his own wasn't. The handle was comprised of the same material as the rest of the Blade, indicating it was truly a sword and not just a sheath for something deadlier. (Lucky Seven, it seemed, would stay with him...but why? Why did Riku's powerful gift remain, when the sheath and the crimson jacket didn't?)
"So...how was it determined what stays and what goes when we switch classes?" asked Mio. "Our weapons, I could understand...but why just a single garment? Why not our entire outfit?"
Noah glanced over towards the others, who were currently on point during their trek towards Eagus Wilderness...
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Eunie nearly tripped on the end of Taion's orange scarf. "Bonkers, man; why the spark did you choose this orange eyesore?!"
Taion huffed, watching quietly as the Mondo responded to Eunie's will and kept her from falling over. (How exactly did control of their Blades transfer so seamlessly? The Mondo were not easy to use.) "I don't have to justify my wardrobe to you. It's not as though you're being forced to wear it."
The winged girl grumbled, wrapping the scarf a couple more times around her neck to shorten its length. "I ain't gonna let your bad taste in fashion defeat me, you'll see."
"Queen preserve me," he muttered under his breath.
xx
"Say Sena, how heavy do you think these weapons actually are?" asked Lanz.
Sena — distracted by the furry collar on the edge of the long jacket she wore — blinked with surprise. "Eh?"
"I mean, between my Shieldblade and your hammer, here," he asked, feeling the hum of his Power Frame as it subtly invigorated his muscles. "Which do you think is heavier?"
Sena frowned, humming thoughtfully. "Oh. Well...does it matter?"
"...not really, I guess."
"...but to answer your question, I think your Shieldblade is heavier."
"Really? This chonker's pretty hefty." To emphasize his point, he did a couple of bicep curls.
"Yeah, but it's a lot easier to compensate for the momentum!" Summoning Lanz's Blade, she made a show of holding it above her head. "But this? The weight distribution on this thing is a lot more unwieldy; it's like holding a big slab of metal."
"Guess that's a fair enough point..."
xxxx
...and wondered if the same thoughts were on their minds. "I'm not sure why," admitted Noah.
"And they even change sizes to accommodate our bodies as well," admitted Mio, looking pointedly at how much bigger her jacket was on his frame. "No offense, but it was a lot slimmer when I was wearing it."
"Ah. Sorry."
Mio shook her head, lightly smiling. "It's not something we can really control for...it's just weird, is all. How seamless it all is. But why is it? I'm...sure it has something to do with our powers as Ouroboros. But how do they work, and why do they work the way they do?"
Noah was privately grateful that Mio was plagued by the same questions he had; it was a side she hadn't quite shown the others, as far as he could recall. (But why was that? She seemed rather composed most of the time...in spite of the pain her memories from the Interlink hinted at. Did it go even deeper?) "Maybe if we make it to Vandham's 'City'...we'll find the answers we're looking for."
"Even for silly questions like why our clothes change?" she asked with a small smile.
Noah returned it, hoping he sounded sincere. "At this point, I don't think any question would be too silly for us."
xxxx
/Time: After the beginning of Chapter 3, upon the completion of Ethel's Hero Quest/
Many days later, after the tumultuous events of the conflict with Colony 4, Ethel, and Consul K...the discussion about class changes came roaring back unexpectedly.
xx
En route to Ribbi Flats, as Noah utilized Ethel's class for the first time, his jacket shifted to her infamous silver coat.
Eunie, now wearing Lanz's own heavy coat, narrowed her eyes with suspicion. "Hey Noah, you feeling a bit tight up there?"
Noah blinked, looking down at his new outfit with confusion. "Um...not particularly? It's just slim against the chest, I suppose?"
Lanz — looking rather comfy in Eunie's black and green jacket — leaned down, looking thoughtfully at Noah's upper torso. "Now that Eunie's pointed it out, it does seem rather snug. You sure it's not suffocating you?"
Taion peered closer, adjusting his glasses; by this point, he himself had temporarily adopted Noah's class as his own. "I think it just comes down to proper fit; given its design, it would emphasize the chest of whoever wore it." To make his point, he brushed at the crimson fabric adorning his upper body. "There's also difference in materials to consider as well..."
Sena, cheerfully cozy in Mio's puffy jacket, leaned in as well. "It does sure emphasize muscle definition, though; did you sneak in some workouts when Lanz and I weren't looking?"
Noah — feeling oddly perturbed by how four of his comrades were staring intently at his chest (and so closely as well; why were they so close?) — looked over their heads at Mio, silently pleading for her assistance.
The catgirl, clad in Sena's collared vest, simply tilted her head, as one detached from the shenanigans on display. "Ethel isn't even a part of Ouroboros, yet we can use her abilities as well..." she muttered to herself.
That...was a fair enough point, inwardly admitted Noah, even as he used the serendipitous opportunity of an incoming band of wild Hoxes to stop everyone from looking at his pectorals. Ethel's Blade is mine to wield, he thought, swinging her dual rapiers as though they had always been his. And her silver coat is a part of it...but why? How do these 'classes' function? Why do they even function at all?
(Such a question could only be answered by something with the ability to manipulate the fabric of the world itself.)
(Does Ouroboros truly possess such power...?)
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It would be a very long time until Noah and Mio realized just how deeply Ouroboros was interwoven with the fabric of the world they lived in.
In another place, and another time, words spoken long ago echoed through the ether, heard by none, yet witnessed by an everlasting memory: "Master the principle of life, and all things will bow to you..."
In this world, the principle of life...was Origin itself.
The Ouroboros Stone: forged from pieces of Origin, the otherworldly engine that Moebius had hijacked to create Aionios...was it any surprise, that the power granted by the Stone had allowed them to do something as simple as switch clothes and weapons?
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Author's Note: Just a bit of headcanoning on my part as to how the whole 'class change' works in terms of the lore.
(If there's a Side Quest somewhere that actually delves into this in detail...then oops oh well, consider this non-canon then! :V )
But no lie, I could easily imagine these naive dorks just staring at Noah wearing Ethel's outfit for the first time and just wondering why it makes his chest look so dang busty.