Chapter XXVII: Beneath the Armor
The Black Knight's company continued to make their way through the snow covered lands of Regna Ferox. Now that they'd gotten further into the kingdom the weather had taken a much harsher turn and the wind was howling as the three continued to travel through. Despite her words prior to entering the kingdom, it seemed that the Manakete was struggling to keep up with the others.
'This is the worst storm I've been in,' Tiki thought bitterly as the blurry forms of the Black Knight and Henry continued to fade from her view. 'How was I able to do this with Marth? ...Perhaps I was in my dragon form at the time?' She grabbed out her dragon stone and attempted to activate it, but she lost her footing and the orb escaped her grasp and was lost in the snow. "NO!"
Desperately she dug through the snow in a vain attempt to find it, ignoring the painful frostbite forming on her hands. By now the image of her companions had long since vanished from view leaving her alone in the storm. Her last hope remained on finding the orb, but no matter where she looked she couldn't find it…
"If you don't want to freeze you need to keep moving," came the Black Knight's voice. The knight approached her, making sure he was standing between he and the wind, his cape flapping powerfully in the harsh breeze.
"B-But t-t-the D-D-Dragon St-St-Stone," Tiki said through chattering teeth. The Black Knight said nothing, but reached his right arm out and hovered it just over the snow. Tiki didn't have any idea what he was doing, but when he stuck his arm into the snow he immediately found the large orb. "H-H-How?"
"We should keep moving; I don't want to lose Henry in this blizzard," the knight said as he handed the orb back to Tiki. She tried activating the orb, but with her shaking hands she couldn't muster the energy. "...Stay close."
Standing beside the dragon woman, the enigma draped his cape over Tiki to shelter her from the winds. He didn't have the patience to notice her deep blush as he glanced at a burst of flames off in the distance.
"He's getting impatient; we should go." Tiki shakily nodded to the statement and but the orb away, using her hands now to grab the large cape in order to cover herself while the two walked. It didn't take them long to make it closer to the fire signals and find the Dark Mage casting them. "We're here dammit, what's the problem?"
"The problem's that we don't have any place nearby for shelter!" Henry shouted over the wind. "No offense, but freezing to death was not on my wishlist!"
"I'm surprised by that," the Black Knight told him humorlessly before peering off into the distance. "It looks like there might be a treeline to the north; it's not going to give us the best protection, but it'll be better than staying out here."
"I'll take whatever cover I can get right now," Henry muttered before seeing Tiki shivering beneath the knight's cape. "Speaking of which can I get in on that? I'm having trouble feeling my anything." The Black Knight didn't seem to object so Henry got on the other side of him and bundled the cape around it as best he could. "...And that's a wrap!"
"...Seriously?" both the knight and Tiki muttered at the same time as Henry cackled at his own joke.
Meanwhile on a much warmer side of the continent
The runaway bride Elphelt Valentine sat alone in the castle gardens (the place gets a lot of use), silently mulling over the book in her hands entitled Make Him Fall for you in Fortnight. She'd heard about the book as an off handed remark from one of her fellow Shepherds and had learned that it supposedly carried many secrets about snagging the right man. She'd found out that Cordelia had a copy of it herself and when she'd asked to borrow the tome, the Pegasus knight had only been too happy to be rid of it. Not that she could see why…
"All right, so in order to get a guy for me I need to think about a subject that we can both talk about…" Elphelt said. "Well… that's step one anyways, but I'm sure if I can figure that one out well enough I can get married right then and there!"
...Needless to say. book or not she likely wouldn't be getting hitched anytime soon.
"Hey Elphelt!" Nowi's energetic young voice called as she ran across the garden to the reading woman.
"Oh hi Nowi," Elphelt said happily as she marked the page she'd been reading and but the tome down for the moment. While getting a husband was first in foremost in her life, she was always willing to put her search on hold in order to spend time with her friends. After all, once she was married she'd be spending ALL of her time with her new husband… so she thought.
"Wanna play something?" Nowi asked cheerfully.
"I'd love to, what were you hoping to do?" Elphelt asked with a smile.
"I dunno, hide and seek maybe? Oh! We could play tag!" Nowi suggested. "Or maybe we could play house!"
"House?" Elphelt asked, cocking her head to the side. "...How exactly do you play house?"
"Oh it's really fun! I've started playing with Lon'qu recently!" Nowi said excitedly. "What you do is you pretend to be a family in this make believe home and raise your family. Whenever I play with Lon'qu I'm always the mom and he's the dad. We make food together, take our kids to the school, we even sometimes do these cute high voices when we need to act out as a kid!"
"So… you play with each other…" Elphelt began slowly. "And you're… husband and wife…"
"Yep, so you wanna try it? We can get Lon'qu and you can play at being the mom! I always wanted to try playing the kid anyways..."
Elphelt said nothing for the longest while, leading Nowi to become nervous that the bride had frozen where she'd been standing. Then all at once, a burst of blood spouted from her nose as her face seemed to become overcome by strange ecstasy. The sudden nosebleed was so powerful that Nowi had to take a step back in order to avoid earning a stain. Elphelt then fell to the ground with a dull thud.
"El? El!?" Nowi screamed as ran to her fallen friend. "What's wrong!? Is this something that normally happens to humans!? Do you need me to get a doctor!? Answer me!" Nowi was so fraught with despair that she didn't see the happy look on Elphelt's face… most likely enjoying a stranger version of House inside her fantasy.
"...I refuse to approach that," Lon'qu said bluntly from across the garden.
The Feroxi swordsman had first followed Nowi in order to play House with her, but after seeing her extend an invitation to Elphelt and bride's… energetic response, he decided he'd mind himself for now. He was about to turn before he realized that Nowi hadn't stopped panicking from beside Elphelt's unconscious form.
"That's… a rather large nosebleed…" he bluntly observed aloud as Nowi continued to panic. "Is she going to be alright? Did she lose too much blood?" Giving an old Chonsin swear at the turn of events, Lon'qu hurried away to a healer.
Feroxi Snowland
'I have to admit… This isn't the worst feeling I've had recently,' the Black Knight admitted as his trio continued to walk on. Tiki and Henry were huddled in his cape close to him as they traveled through the trees and continued to seek shelter in the harsh wastelands. 'It takes me back… a little… Is that-?'
"H-hey Kn-night," Henry stuttered through his chattering teeth. "I-is th-that a c-cave?"
"Looks like it," the enigma responded calmly. "We'll take shelter there until this damn blizzard passes by."
"V-very well," Tiki said through her chill caused stutter. "A-As long as we get out of this snow."
Once the three had made their way inside the cave, Tiki and Henry withdrew from the folds of the Black Knight's cape and allowed him to brush the gathered snow off his person. The cave didn't appear to be too large; there wasn't much room above their heads and it only went back around forty feet. Still, it got them out of the snow.
"Fire… we need a fire…" the dark mage said miserably, he couldn't stop shaking from the snow.
Nodding, the Black Knight drew his sword from his side and drove it into the ground. 'I hope this works.' Sending magic into the sword, he caused the blade to ignite, shrouding itself in red hot flames. Letting more flow into his blade for good measure the knight eventually took as hand off the sword and left it in the floor where it stayed lit.
"That should last us for a while at least," the Black Knight said as before he sat near the sword to enjoy that warmth it gave off. "Get comfortable, we don't know how long we're going to be here."
"Warmth…" Henry said, giving a forlorn sigh as he sat near the sword. "I've never been so cold before, even when I was here last time."
"You've been to Ferox before?" the Black Knight questioned as Tiki sat herself as near the sword as she could. "When?"
"Oh just a bit before all hell broke loose with the war," he said with a big smile on his face. "There was someone I was trying to find so that they'd be at the right place at the right time… and to make sure the war didn't end too early."
"That's distressing… Distressing, but expected," the enigmatic knight sighed before turning to Tiki. "So… where exactly are you from? ...Now that I think of it, what exactly is it that you do? Anyone with a message to Ylisse's noble family is probably a person of import, circumstantial or otherwise."
"In my case it's both," the green haired Manakete began as rubbed her frostbitten hands together by the fire. "I've been called the voice of Naga, and as such I'm seen as a rather large figure of religion and spirit." Despite her claims, the knight couldn't help but notice that she wasn't speaking from pride or petty self-importance, merely that she was stating facts. "Unfortunately the continent I hail from has been involved with a rather large war recently."
"A war?"
"A single man has dedicated his life to becoming, and I quote, 'He who embodies the victory and soul of man, he who has the true right to rule, and he who surpasses the gods themselves.' He goes by the title of Conqueror and has spent these few years putting the entire continent under his rule… Progress seemed to slow when I was last there… but I feel as though I have reason to fear for the future."
"We- Ylisse rather, just ended its own war. Maybe it wasn't the most destructive of conflicts, but I don't think they would be in any shape to help you, much as their royal family could sympathize," the knight explained.
"I understand that, but I did not expect to have assistance at present in any case," Tiki told him with a sigh.
"Politics?" both the Black Knight and Henry guessed in unison.
"Politics," Tiki sadly agreed before turning to the knight. "And yourself?"
"Beg pardon?"
"I've answered your questions, I'd very much enjoy your answers," Tiki told him, her gaze now more analytical than previously. "I'd also ask Henry… but quite frankly he seems like an open book."
"Yep, nya ha ha HACHOOO!" Henry's sneeze was loud and broke through his laugh, but he did his best to shrug it off.
"On the other hand you, Sir Knight, seem to be that of a sealed tomb; mysteriously hiding dark secrets and your own unknown agenda… I'd like to better know my guide if he's the type to ask my intentions."
"Yet you've already told me what you intended to do," the Black Knight noted. "What will you do if I don't answer?"
"I can transform into a dragon, you'll figure it out," she said, the tension between the two seeming to rise.
"I don't think the sword's the only thing that's heating up here…" Henry commented glumly.
"...I'm only here to get you the border and destroy any Risen we encounter along the way. As for who I am, I've got sacred armor, I hunt Risen, I can't stand politics, and I've got the two of you for company… That's all there is to me."
"You sound like you're claiming to be an empty husk of your former self," Tiki judged harshly. The Knight said nothing. "I'm sorry, that was far too unreasonable of me. Please forgive me…"
"...You're not wrong though," he admitted.
"I… I see…" she said with a grimace, before hearing Henry harshly sneeze again. "But Sir Knight, surely you-"
"We should sleep while we have the chance," the Black Knight interrupted. "We have a busy day ahead of us, you'll want a full night's sleep." Tiki was experienced enough to know words of finality when she heard them.
Eastern Regna Ferox
The other end of the Feroxi kingdom was in far better weather conditions than the lands the Black Knight traveled, but that didn't mean it was a pleasant experience to travel. For the mysterious female sword woman known as Marth however, any location that wasn't covered in flames and swarming with Risen was always a locale to appreciate in her eyes. Currently Marth was wearing an azure blue traveler's cloak, completed with a hood to keep the snow out of her hair.
Her search for the monstrous Risen had started to become less fruitful as of late, she could only hope that it meant that the Risen numbers were quickly dropping or that the kingdoms were become more capable of handling the demons. Her role leaded her to be a warrior of the shadows shrouded in mystery, but that didn't mean that she couldn't let her actions speak for her purpose. Like the village ahead of her.
"This town… it doesn't look like it's been attacked recently, but there does seem to be some damage done to it," she noted. "I may as well see where they stand and if I can lend them any assistance."
Making her way through the small village she noticed several people giving curious gazes her way, but they didn't seem out of fear at least. She tried to think about who to ask, but thankfully fate gave her a ready answer.
"Hold it," a member of the town militia said, halting Marth's walk. "You're not from around here are you?"
"I'm not, I just wanted to know the situation of this town," she told the soldier. The man eyed over the woman for a few long seconds before relenting.
"We're not perfect right now, but we've been doing much worse," he admitted with a sigh. "Those damned Risen have everyone on edge these days. We've all heard the stories, there's no telling what could happen if those monster show up on our doorstep."
"Meaning you haven't been attacked by them?" Marth questioned. "But then what of the damage to your town."
"Noticed that did you? You've got a keen eye for this sort of thing Miss…"
"Marth," she said simply.
"...So you're the one that fought for the West Kahn in the last tournament," the guard noted before shrugging it off. "Anyways you're right, up until a month or so ago we've been having trouble with bandits. Large group of them would raid us in the dead of night. They didn't carry off any of our women thank Naga, but we're still barely able to make it by."
"You said that this problem stopped a month ago, any idea why?" Marth asked.
"I think they got nervous, too many things to tell what it was though," the guard admitted. "...It could have been that elite fighting force that passed near here not long ago. The ones from Ylisse, been hearing a lot of rumors about them from travelers."
'Was my father supposed to slay these bandits?' Marth thought to herself. 'My Aunt would always tell me the stories about my father saving innocents from the bandits that abused them, but did he ever fight this group in his man travels? ...Even if he did, enough has changed about this world where he might not have been in the place to slay this particular group. There's little I could do now at any rate.'
"I take it you're looking for somewhere to stay?" the guard asked, snapping the swordswoman out of her thoughts. "Ask for Johnson in town, he rents rooms out for cheap and won't ask questions as long as you don't raise trouble."
"Thank you," Marth said with an affirmed nod. "The snow's been harsh on me as of late."
"Yeah, well stay a few years in the north and you'll get used to it," the guard said before chuckling darkly. "That or freeze to death."
"Right," Marth responded with a strained and nervous smile.
The Cave -A few Hours Later-
"...ki...iki...Tiki…TIKI!"
"Mmmm...mmmmm…" the Manakete groaned in her sleep. "Just a few more years…"
"Stay asleep I'm leaving you in snow," the Black Knight harshly threatened. "We've got a problem with Henry…"
"With… with Henry?" Tiki asked as she tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes. She could still hear the howling within the cave as the storm continued outside. Turning her eyes to the pale haired mage, she could see that he was indeed in trouble.
Though he'd curled into his mage's cloak and was laying as close to the burning sword as possible, he was still shivering uncontrollably. Sweat rained down its brow unhealthily and even his face which had that large goofy smile on it was grimacing in his pain.
"It's the cold…" the Black Knight said emotionlessly. "Dammit, I was careless. Of course he wouldn't be used to cold like this, he's from the desert for god's sake!"
"C-can't you heal him…?" Tiki asked in her fear for the young man. "Your arm's a mysterious object, can it possibly cure his sickness?"
"I don't know if it could, but even then I'm no good with healing magic as of right now… That's going to be a problem…" The knight looked down at his first traveling companion for long while, taxing his brain with what he was going to do before finally coming to decision. Hefting his fiery blade out of the ground, he let the flames dissolve before sheathing the sword at his side. "Tiki, follow me and listen closely."
"Y-yes," she said as she bundled herself as best she could in her traveling garment before following her guide out of the cave. Once they were outside, the Black Knight handed her and a waterskin while he examined the trees. "Fill it with snow and warm it until you can give it to Henry. Feed it to him, put it on a rag and wipe his brow with it; just do whatever you need to so he stays alive."
"But how am I supposed to warm it?!" she demanded over the harsh winds. "You took your sword and I can't-!"
In a strange method to answer, the Black Knight stood in from oak a tree before charging his power into one of his arms and smashing his fist into the tree, turning it to splinters before Tiki's very eyes.
"Take the dry wood and put it where the sword was; it'll catch fire…" he told her bluntly. "I'll be back soon with… something…"
"Something!? What are you leaving for!?" she demanded. The knight didn't stop to address her, simply proceeding on his way into the harsh storm. "So… he cares more than he lets on, it reminds me of Navarre… I need to move now."
Tiki hastily followed the Black Knight's instructions gathering the inner dry wood before the weather could turn it too damp to use. Like her guide had said, the moment she put it to the floor it caught ablaze and provided some warmth for Henry. She didn't stop until she was sure she'd gathered all of the wood that she could and created a decent sized fire for her ill friend. There was still a small pile of wood left over for her to add to the fire in case the knight took longer on his errand than she expected… but then again, she didn't have a real idea of how long he'd be to begin with.
Still, she was diligent in her work and tireless apply a warm rag to Henry's forehead in order to warm him, if only slightly. She even went as far as to give up her own personal cloak so that Henry would have slightly more warmth. She was so diligent in fact that when she finally allowed herself to look away, the harsh winds had died down considerably.
"Sounds like the storm's about to finally pass," Tiki sighed as she wiped her brow. Henry had managed to fall asleep through his ordeal and was snoozing peacefully. "Now all that's left is to-" Approaching footsteps… a lot of them. "Oh no…" Dragonstone in hand, Tiki hurried to the cave's entrance, gritting her teeth in ire whence she arrived.
"Well look who's here! A fresh catch!" a filthy man in barbarian furs said with a laugh. He wasn't alone; around 3 dozen men were outside. Rouge swordsmen, fighters, old sellswords: bandits. "Let's grab the girl, maybe we can sell her off for some better coin than usual."
Tiki took a ready stance as the men stepped forward, readying the Dragonstone in her pocket should she need to activate it. She was heavily outnumbered and her power had not yet been fully restored, but with Henry vulnerable inside and her guide still out in the wildlands, she didn't have much choice than to hold them here.
"Hold on boys," a voice sounded in the middle of the mercenary group. A barbarian in purple armor and short cut hair had been the one to speak and was eyeing Tiki in an… odd manner. Not an obviously perverse one, just odd. "Tell me, dearest Victor, do you see what I see?"
"I believe I do, my sweet brother," another barbarian said. This one appeared to be his twin in almost every way, only differing slightly with red armor and a somewhat different hairstyle. "Those ears say that this woman is clearly a Manakete. Did you not catch one before dear Vincent?"
"Oh, so you remember the one that we sold together in Plegia," Vincent said with a smile before snapping his fingers. Some of sword user immediately switched their weapons out for curved blades that were ebbed like wings. "This should take her down a little easier."
'Wyrmslayers,' Tiki thought as her blood grew even colder. Those weapons were the bane of her kind, following only to the Falchion and the mystic Book of Naga; those swords could cut through her scales with the smallest of resistance, able to down a dragon in a single well placed swing.
"Now then little girl…" Victor began. "Why don't you drop that stone in your hands and come quietly, I'd hate to mar your face, it would drop the price considerably."
Clunk...Clunk...Clunk
The bandits took their eyes off of Tiki for a moment and quickly glanced to the noise behind them. The Black Knight was slowly making his way forward towards the group, his cape flowing majestically behind him and a small leather sack in his hands. He made his way forward, not seeming to care about the bandits blocking his way.
"Hold it!" one of the mercenaries shouted. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
"I'm that woman's guide," he said emotionlessly. "If you value your pathetic lives, I suggest you get the hell out of my way."
"Hah! Fat chance! Armor like that will make an even larger fortune," Vincent said happily. "Perhaps we could afford a proper manor with coin like that dearest Victor."
"Oh I agree wholeheartedly agree," the other said with an eager nod. "Large enough for the both of us."
"I don't have time for this…" the knight growled before harshly throwing the sack in his hands over the bandits to Tiki who managed to barely catch it. "Take that to Henry, it won't taste great, but it'll help…"
Nodding Tiki hurried inside the cave right as the Knight put his hand on his Armor Slayer's hilt. As bent his knees and ready himself, the very ground seemed to rumble as the knight's armor gave off a powerful shine. The bandits looked at one another nervously, all of them becoming all the more hesitant to strike.
"D-Don't piss yourselves because of some cheap show!" Victor demanded. "The man's a fool if he thinks he can take us on! He doesn't even see how badly he's outnumbered!?"
"No, I don't…" the knight admitted ominously right before he disappeared from view. There was a burst of snow where he'd been standing as a harsh wind blew over the mercenaries. The knight had drawn his sword and had passed through the bandits in that one instant, now standing at the mouth of the cave. Casually turning to face the bandits again, he heard the gory burst as the leader who'd spoken was cleaved in half.
"I only see dead men."
(Cue BERSERK Hundred Years War)
Vincent stood aghast as he watched the two gory halves of his beloved brother fall dead to the ground. The look on his brother's face was full of surprise and agony, pushing the bandit leader over the edge.
"KILL HIM!" he roared with feral rage causing his men rushed forward without hesitation. "DON'T LEAVE A PIECE OF HIM UNCUT! I WANT HIS HEAD TO DECORATE MY BROTHER'S GRAVE!"
The first man to reach the Black Knight was the first to die, a single powerful slash from the knight's sword cut through weapon, armor, and man, decapitating his foe with ease. The next man followed up immediately and brought his axe down on the knight, only to have his target spin his heavily armored body so the attack missed. Putting all of his weight behind it, the enigmatic warrior then kicked the man with enough force to send him flying back to knock over several other charging warriors.
"I'LL CRACK THAT ARMOR WIDE OPEN!" another warrior shouted as he leapt into the air. Trying to bring down his battle hammer proved foolish as the blow was easily deflected by the knight, sending him stumble back. The Black Knight's attention was then taken by one of the swordsmen wielding a Wyrmslayer who'd come up from behind and had narrowly missed his stab. The Black Knight cleaved through him without difficulty before twirling the sword to a back handed hold at the end of his swing. He then plunged the blade behind him, fatally impaling the warrior he'd sent off balance. "GAH!"
Viciously tearing the blade out, he sent a splash of blood at three warriors charging him a blinded their eyes. Another warrior tried attacking him from afar with his handaxe, but the knight's arm managed to catch the weapon in his free hand before throwing it back and striking the thrower down. A group of enemy archers unleash a volley of arrows, but the knight simply grabbed one of the blinded bandits and used him as a human shield. Powerfully heaving the dead man through the air, he threw the body at another group of warriors caused yet more of them to fall over.
"H-He's a monster!" one the warriors stammered, the snow beneath his feet turning yellow as he lost control in his fear. "I've gotta get out of here!"
"FINE THEN! HE'S MINE!" Vincent shouted as he charged forward with his axe and performed a massive slash. The Black Knight merely stepped back to avoid the blow, but the two he'd blinded with blood where cleaved in half by the bandit leader's ferocity. The second axe swing was easily blocked by the knight's sword before he delivered a powerful punch to Vincent's chest and sent him sprawling back. "DAMN YOUUUUU!"
Vincent rushed forward one final time, twirling his entire body into the final powerful slash. The swing was fierce enough to cause a wave of snow from just the sheer force of the attack. Had he been facing a normal opponent the attack would have severed the man in two right then and there… but the Black Knight was no normal man. With a simple backhanded swing from his sword, the bandit's axe blade shattered to pieces. Vincent could only gape as the knight pulled his he enchanted blade back before running it through his chest.
(End Theme)
Vincent violently coughed up blood as he lost his grip on what remained of his prized axe. He strained his body to look up at the Knight with hate filled eyes. "You… you'd never understand… He was all I had… You don't know…" Another violent cough. "What's it's like… to have your brother... taken from you…"
"...Don't get me started." With those final words, the Black Knight swiftly pulled the blade out of the bandits body and sending out a final spray of blood.
"Victor…" Vincent moaned with his last breath as he fell back into the snow, dying before he'd even hit the floor.
Those bandits that were left standing panicked and ran for the hills. The victor let them go; with their leaders dead and the remainder in disarray, the group was as good as finished. Giving a final swipe of his sword, the Black Knight rid his weapon of what blood remained before sheathing the blade. He then headed into the cave where he found Tiki gently feeding Henry the herbs he'd gathered.
"How's he doing?" he asked as calmly as possible to hide his worry, yet the young Manakete seemed to see through it as he knelt beside her.
"I'm doing okay," Henry said with a small smirk.
"...Don't scare me like that kid," the knight finally admitted.
"Heh, so you were worried about me…" he said weakly. "Maybe I should get sick more often, you're a lot nicer to me when I'm like this."
"Your funeral," the knight told him, but his tone indicated he was close to laughing with him. "The snowstorm will probably blow over soon. We should rest up for when it does; I want to get to a town before the next one hits."
"I agree," Tiki said as she tried to curl up by the fire in her dress. The Black Knight noticed that she'd given Henry the cloak for more warmth and hadn't taken it back, even if the worst of his sickness was likely behind him.
"...You could probably find some branches or something, it'd beat having to lay down on the rocks at least," the knight tried to convince. He saw that he was too late as Tiki had already appeared to have fallen asleep. "She's like a kid…"
He was about to turn and leave her there, but he couldn't convince himself to do so. Trying to give her some extra warmth, the knight removed his cape and gently laid it over the Manakete before sitting by the fire to give himself some warmth… yet the sight of Tiki's content smile escaped him entirely.
'A man who fights so fiercely as a demon, yet shows such caring and gratitude towards those he's sworn to protect… Just who are you really Sir Knight?'
Author's Note
Hey guys, happy late May the Fourth (BIG Star Wars fan). I just want to address a few small things before taking you to the Omake. First and foremost, people have said that they want to move on from the Black Knight and go back to Ragna. To those hoping for that, it WILL happen. Just give me a few more chapters.
Like stated above, PVP CentralFiction is open starting tonight at 8 PM Pacific Standard Time and possibly next Friday at the same time. Come and stop by, all laggy connections are welcome, we'll just all learn to work with it. See you there!
Comradery
"Here ya go, eat it while it's hot," Ragna said as he served a bowl of stew to Kellam who was the last person in line for the Shepherds meals tent as usual. It was dinner for the Ylissean militia and after the day of training that they'd had everyone was looking forward to the meal since it was finally Ragna's turn to cook in the rotation (the even more eager to have his cooking since Sully had been in charge of lunch).
While Ragna was hesitant to admit it, he'd always enjoyed cooking for people who could appreciate the work that went into his meals. It always gave him satisfaction over hearing praise in the feedback from others, occasionally he was even blessed by someone who was completely amazed with his work. Of course…
"Ragna the Bloodedge, I must commend you on this feast you've prepared for us!" Bang Shishigami exclaimed as he approached, not even close to using his indoor voice.
Ragna didn't bother on hiding his groan, this was far from the first time something like this had happened. It hadn't been long since Bang had shown up in the world and had joined the Shepherds, but ever since he had he'd been nothing but his usual loud and obnoxious self. While everyone in the Shepherds seemed to get along fine with him (even Lon'qu oddly enough), the ever irritable Ragna tried to stay his distance. Sure, it'd been fine when Bang had first shown up, but after awhile Ragna was starting to get a little tired of his speeches for love and justice.
"The beef was prepared perfectly! Never before had I enjoyed such a piece of meat with such soul poured into its cooking!"
'The cow it came from probably had plenty of soul too…' Ragna thought bitterly. "L-look Bang, it's no problem. It's just cooking…"
"JUST cooking!?" Bang shouted. "Don't be absurd! That food was the greatest I've eaten since I've come to this world! I feel that should-Nay! I must repay my debt!"
"...You're being serious right now, aren't you?" Ragna questioned, a soft blush on his face as he saw the entirety of the Shepherd's snickering at the display. "Look Bang all I did was cook for the Shepherds, there's seriously no need for you to be all over the moon on this. You'll be doing this yourself before long."
"Mayhaps…" Bang admitted, leading the Reaper to breathe a sigh of relief. "Then I shall use that as my repayment! What is it you'd like me to make?"
"Huh!? That's not what I meant dammit!" Ragna shouted, causing even more of a scene as a few of his fellow Shepherds began laughing at the two. "I dunno, just make whatever you can, anything works really."
"Nay, that is insufficient and a mockery of your good deed! I know! I shall grace the Shepherds with the cooking of my homeland! I must prepare immediately!" With that the Ninja took off.
"Bang! Wait!" Ragna shouted. It was no good as Bang was out of the mess hall faster than a flash of lightning. "Dammit, doesn't he know that we don't have that kind of stuff here? ...Please, what am I worried about? He'll figure it out sooner or later."
"Ho there young madam, would you happen to know where I might find an Ikaruga Pufferfish?" Bang voice was heard from outside the mess hall. "Hm? Well a Pufferfish is a strange and wondrous creature of the deep! It is covered by spines to fearlessly protect it and it can inflate to over thrice its size!"
"...Or not," Ragna deadpanned miserably.
Support Rank C Obtained with BANG SHISHIGAMI!
Heh, I had some fun with that one. Anyways later guys. Ciao!