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Castlevania: Now with 100% less backtracking [OPEN] [Action]
Ted donned his ill-used thinking cap. Where to find the madman's lab, with the prized elixir of life?
The skeletons might narrow it down to two fifths of Genessia: Fayren, and Everglade. And, Ted found, no matter how he mentally hemmed and hawed, he could not logically choose between them. Alchemy, necromancy, healing potions...either place could house them comfortably.
But if not mentally, perhaps emotionally? The laboratory he saw was, to make poor use of his vocabulary, creepy. A dirge from an organ would not be out of place. Put that way, it seemed right at home in Everglade. Fayren knew its share of the fantastic, true. But it seemed a sunnier, earthy, more wholesome thing. His journey's destination resonated most strongly with the dark, the old, and the spirits of Dickens.
So much for deduction. Now, Ted set upon Everglade, beating pavement, asking obvious questions. Have any witch brews made themselves especially pungent? Any mad scientist cackles roiling through the air? Did they know of a man with clothing as ornate as his heart was black? The night wore on, moon watching ominously overhead.
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"Your nose is on the nose, I am most definitely a human, though we're probably talking about different sorts." Oh goodness. If Ted had thought sooner, this conversation might go towards his carry-on, and that would be a mess to untangle out of. He'd take the larva over that.
So he climbed slowly, not wanting to get its attention. Luckily, the larva didn't give it. "Locked", he said, tugging at the door. True, Koishi might try bombing it, but would Dracula be such a jerk that he'd lock them out of the thing they're supposed to be seeing? He dropped down, and tried the other one.
This room was unusually calming. Ted felt as though nothing would intrude on them here. In a way, it also felt foreboding, just as the calm before the storm. "Let's rest here; something tells me we're very close now." He plopped down his bag, stretched, sighed mightily, and sat down. "So, was seeing a laboratory as fun as you hoped?"
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"Magic has always been used by humans for all sorts of things. Good and ill. From burning homes to bringing rain to dry crops to summoning or banishing spirits both malevolent and benevolent... To fighting youkai! The world probably would have been taken over by youkai if not for humans learning magic. That would have been really bad!"
She knelt down next to him, siting back on her heels in a practiced motion. There weren't any cushions to kneel on but this would suffice for now. "What makes you think we're close? Are you an oracle Mister?" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a draw string bag, opening it and removing a piece of taffy wrapped in wax paper. She offered it to him. "Here. Sis made these. You can have some if you like."
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War? Hard to imagine, between humans and fairies—youkai, rather. That pet name was seeming less and less appropriate.
"Mm. Magic was always 'ill' in my world. A few exceptions, I suppose. Merlin was a decent enough sort. But as for your everyday, garden variety man? Out of the question."
He laughed. "Well, no one has definitively tested me not to be an oracle. Instinct, I suppose." He took some taffy. He found it funny that her solemn sister did seem to live up, now and again, to Koishi's lauds, but only where none could see. "Thank you."
He chewed thoughtfully. For all Ted knew, this might be his last supper. Dracula didn't seem the type to let his prized possession go without some sort of explosive climax. This was all for his amusement, after all. It's too bad; this room seemed ideal for a nap, if he could only chance it in an evil castle. Still, Ted wouldn't mind waiting for a while. Somehow, he knew that the right time to depart would come to him. Probably through the explicit prodding of his partner.
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"That just shows how little you understand magic. And humans fear and shun what they don't understand. I should know!" Her third eye drifted over, nudging his shoulder gently. "There aren't many magics that are bad by nature. And even 'bad' magics can be used for good purposes. Like using blood magic, which is a magic that almost always hurts people when practiced, to drain some life-force from one human to save another. I mean, there are better ways to save a life with magic but the point still stands."
She brightened a little. "It's the will of the user that is good or bad. Not the magic. And it sounds like Merlin was a good person. If good people are allowed to have magic in your world too, then why not you? You're a very good person. I can see the shape of your mind and personality and intentions Mister. You can't tell me that you're not."
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"Oh, yes I can. I'm flattered, nonetheless." He chuckled, particularly at the way in which his partner seemed to drift between incomprehensible whimsy, and dialectic dialogue. It was all he could not to laugh at 'the point still stands'. Ted thoroughly gave up trying to explain the finer points on things like humanity & the occult, Mark 10:18, or Merlin's unique parentage. This particular fairy either knew these things already, or was too innocent to ever know them. Certainly too stubborn; it'd be a strange day indeed for someone however many centuries old to learn from a twenty-something.
He swallowed, satisfied. "My compliments to the chef. When this is all over, you should get her recipe, if only to stop me from stealing it." He dusted himself off and stretched. "Indeed, I should rather keep the aftertaste than eat crow should someone overtake our lazy selves. Ready to go?"
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"And why are only special people allowed to have magic and power? Wouldn't it make more sense that people who would be best suited to use it be allowed to have it? Even if they aren't special. Even the most basic and mundane magic user can do some good. Even if its just making a child smile with pretty lights and sounds. They really like the magic that makes crackly noises."
She tilted her head as she stood, tapping her chin. "It's like saying only special people can use technology. That's a human creation too. And even if not every human can create new technology any human can pick up existing technology and use it. It takes hard work and study to learn it in its basic form and then more to become good at it. And then magicians can create things so that regular people can use magic. Isn't that the same as technology?"
As for the comment about the candy, Koishi shrugged. "Sis can teach you to make it, but you'll need oni sake. Be sure not to drink it on its own or it will make you sick because its so strong, okay? Most humans can't handle pure oni sake."
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Ted sighed in good nature. "My, you're tenacious. I suppose I had better appease your curiosity, if only to regain your much-needed focus for the trials ahead.
Merlin's a legendary wizard where I'm from. Dead, of course, for almost a millennium. Born from an incubus, a most unfortunate siring. Hence his connection with the supernatural. I imagine he's under a different set of rules." And thus, Ted's reluctance to get into the nitty-gritty. He'd relent easily enough to some prying, but no way Jose is he going to explain what an incubus is.
"Which brings us to its verboten nature. Indeed, the main reason I cannot, should not, must not use it is simply because I was instructed not to, by one whom it behooves me to obey. There are reasons, naturally. Preventatives against an array of darkness probably too dark for polite conversation. But the obedience comes first; that's the important thing. Will that do?"
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She tilted her head to the other side. "Instructed you... not to? Are you sure?" Her brow furrowed a little bit. "I'm not sure... OH! Like a religion! Why didn't you just say so?" Koishi had brightened considerably. "I understand now. At home in Gensokyo, a nice lady with pretty hair has me help out at her Buddhist temple. She likes it when I talk about how my head is empty. I think she thinks it means something but I'm just a broken satori youkai but she doesn't want to listen. She says a lot of strange things about it that are difficult to understand, but I suppose that's what they want so I don't mind helping. Even if I don't get it myself."
She shrugged her shoulders, tipping her hat up. "Mister Spades." It seemed she finally had given him a formal nickname. "Be sure to look to make sure you understand exactly what is being said, okay? It's easy to get confused and misunderstand things. Especially with some of the lessons religions teach. Deities especially. They speak in vagueness and riddles and it can be hard to understand them, but don't give up, okay?"
She drifted up, looking at the door. "You're really restless, so let's go. We can talk more about it later over a warm cup of tea. Rose is my favorite, and I bet you'd like it too." She gestured to the door. "Shall we be off?"
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"Yes, exactly like one. You catch on quick." Goodness, if Buddhism perplexed, the faith from the other side of the world would probably be nigh-imperceptible. "No worries about deity; he's typically very lucid, especially about that. Strange; you're not the first lady whose urged me to dig deeper into things. And here I thought I knew it fairly well! Suppose I'll have to puzzle over that and my relation to spades."
He agreed, and went through. Whoa! That Larva almost got a bite in. Ted backed off, waiting for it to pass by. "That's one way to jump-start a heart...easy does it." He waited for it to pass by, then quickly dropped by, sneaking underneath to the west.
Another large room, eerily silent. They came in from the ground floor, seeing two pathways: upper-left, and upper-right. The room itself has the usual hodge-podge of alchemic materials. And one curious thing under a drape. Ted couldn't help himself, but whoever uncovered it first would find a choco souffle. This made Ted laugh a great deal.
"Oh, it's too absurd! Clearly, this is the reason this castle was built. This was why so much equipment, both arcane and scientific, was necessary, and why it needed to be guarded by scores of undead. Oh, that man, he thought he could trick us by making some red tincture. A literally red herring. I've seen through it! I can see it now; his brow, heavy with sweat, as his best and brightest labor to find the perfect ratio of filling-to-shell. The ingredients measured with the utmost precision, chocolate extracted from a diabolical cocoa bean plant. We shall find a greenhouse with the bedeviled tree just next door, I expect. But lo, his heart grew as dark and opulent as his dessert, having sacrificed humanity and sanity to produce it. And with most delicious irony, even what he has shall be taken away." Assuming Koishi hadn't already scarfed it, he'd stow it away. Perhaps the chaos of the castle had gotten to him.
Whether through infectious insanity, or just being Ted, he climbed towards the upper right, merrily inviting Koishi to attend. "Oh, what a place. What a loon!"
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She drifted closer to Ted, recasting the shield over him. "And it's always good to question things. Otherwise you do things blindly and that's never good." She didn't comment on the spades thing. Trying to figure out Koishi's logic was a fool's endeavor half the time.
She avoided the larva easily, following Ted into the new room. She paused at the sight of the chocolate treat, the heart over her shoulder twisting around once as she drifted closer to examine it. She only stole a small taste of it, her eyes brightening significantly, her third eye drifting over to nudge Ted... but stopped short. She remained still throughout Ted's entire rant, staring at him with a perplexed expression.
At the end of it all something cold seemed to reach out, wrapping around his mind and taking the edge off of his emotions. All of them, pulling him a little bit more forcefully toward a calm state. It only held for a few moments before relaxing its grip, hopefully cooling his momentary hysteria. "Is that better Mister...? Your mind went looped up and through and I don't know what I'm supposed to do about that. You need to be careful though. We can leave if it's too stressful a place..." The emotion had reminded her of panic, but it had been different in tone. It was not one she sensed often.
Regardless, she followed him as he pressed on, her normal calming aura settling gently over his mind.
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"Ah, that was you doing that Koishi. I thought it was queer how see-saw my passions were in here." Truthfully "Ted talks" like those weren't uncommon, but they were usually inflicted upon worthier targets than desserts, however out of place. "Just trying to make fun of something so unusual." Ted was sheepish, mostly due to relativity. When one like Koishi gives you funny looks, you've probably gone too far. "Still, please ask permission before administering your peculiar brand of calm-down juice. It's unsettling, being forcefully settled. If that makes any sense." He took a look around. "Not much does in this place. But no, let's continue. Leaving now would be just as bad as defeat, and we'll have none of it."
The next room might prove Ted to have spoken too soon.
There it was. The potion. A long, lavish hallway, with it sitting on the grandest pedestal so far. There could be no mistake. It was the elixir of life. Naturally, it was guarded by two fearsome monsters. Slogra, a seven-foot bony bird creature with a sharper beak, wielding a sharper spear, and Gaibon, the equally large but thicker fire-breathing gargoyle. It was technically a 2-on-2, but somehow Ted was less than comfortable with those odds. Worst of all, Ted had gone through the entire castle without once consuming any of his supplies from the Rabbit's Foot. Alas, these monsters were too many and varied for him.
"Shall we seperate, or be as one? If the former, I suggest the bird thing. Flying's more your specialty."
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Koishi visibly tensed as they stepped into the next room. Yes she could see their prize on the far end, but the creatures guarding it were not like the things they had previously fought. These things had a mind and a degree of cunning. She would have to be on her guard. But... what about...? She glanced at Ted, swallowing, a little nervous. The shield would only take a hit or two before breaking. To dedicate more of her power to it would compromise her own safety and if she was hurt or knocked out... Well then Ted would be unprotected.
"... Separating might work Mister Spades..." She was opening and closing her hands, sleeves shifting as she readied her tendrils. As much as it would be harder to protect Ted if they were separate, being together would mean she would have to protect two fronts simultaneously. "They are smarter than the others, so be really careful, okay?" Already she was drifting up into the air. It was a bit different this time, the little youkai sporting a very unsettling aura. It was clear she was more serious about this fight than the others.
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He'd try to heed Koishi's advice again, and keep his guard up. The electric skeleton had taught him that there's more to these creatures than meets the eye. Who knew what they were capable of? Thankfully they were fairly large, and Ted wouldn't have a hard time landing his shots with one hand. While wielding his bag in the other, he filled the gargoyle with a few bits of holy lead. "It would seem their tactics are already decided." They were tough creatures, unrelenting in their assault. And what an assault! The gargoyle picked up Slogra in its talons, the bird-beast with its spear pointed below, ready to strike. Ted got a good impression of what was coming, eyes fixated as he ran along the room. Gaibon flapped its imposing wings before releasing Slogra, its spear embedding itself in the ground. Just the ground, luckily; Ted had rolled out of the way and avoided an unpleasant skewering. He fired another shot at the grounded Slogra, actually causing it to flinch this time. No matter; Gaibon picked it up to begin the cycle anew.
Ted took a breath, unsure if their combination boded well or ill. How long could he keep this up?
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Koishi huffed and waved her hand, dispelling the thorns, actually panicking a little when Slogra was thrown at Ted. She turned to reinforce the shield, though, fortunately, Ted managed to roll away in time. This... wasn't going to work. She wanted to keep at a range, but Ted was not mobile enough to do that. Especially if one of these creatures was intent on throwing the other. And using reliable magic or psionic abilities while maintaining Ted's shield was out of the question. Her third eye closed. It was time to get her hands dirty.
The tendrils slid from her sleeves, Koishi drifting back far enough to place one toe on the far wall, her entire body coiling. She focused her full magic on Ted, hardening his shield as she waited for Gaibon to throw... She kicked off of the wall the moment Slogra had left Gaibon's talons, her tentacles lashing out ahead of her, one winding around the gargoyle's throat, the others spreading, trying to cage its body, wings included. She pulled hard, further accelerating herself, half crashing into, half shooting past the monster at quite a speed. She was trying to swing it to one side, hoping to knock it out of the air and pin its wings all while ending up behind the gargoyle. Unfortunately, Koishi didn't have a lot of mass, but her speed more than made up for it.
Hopefully the speed and ferocity of her attack would distract Slogra some to let Ted get in a few extra hits. Beyond that, you're on your own for now. Sorry Ted! Hopefully the shield will help!
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Ted had managed more distance from the pogo-stick attempt, now that he knew what to expect. Then he saw Gaibon get tackled by one much smaller than he, somehow, as Slogra was robbed of his air support. Earthling to earthling, flier to flier, as Ted thought things might go. He stole a glance at how on earth Koishi had managed it, shuddering a bit at how visceral things had gotten for her.
But there wasn't time for more than a quick threat scan. However she had done it, she had, and the important thing was to watch out for Slogra, whose spear was glowing at present. Ted would soon find out what that forebode, as it shot a triangular wave of energy at him. Ted panicked, and jumped, clearing the shot a few feet. Safe!
Or so he thought. Gaibon struggled, using its only weapon: balls of fire. Its neck was controlled, meaning it could only shoot one way, much as it might try to immolate its immediate surroundings. That meant the balls of flame were heading straight for Ted as he shot upwards. He raised his legs, the hellfire walkers deflecting a few of them. There were too many, however, and the last of them destroyed the shield. He was gonna have to start a tab for how many times Koishi saved his life.
Ted landed on his back, but softly thanks to the flight pin. His aerial adventure had allowed Slogra to catch to close the distance. Ted didn't fancy a swordfight with a weapon, or a monster, that massive. One day, he wished, he might be able to use such a chivalrous and romantic weapon. But for now, the much safer, much more efficient revolver. One, two, three, four five body shots. And still it approached. Just how much punishment could he take? It was a gamble, whether Ted had enough time to reload.
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She tensed visibly, shifting her grip as quickly as she could as the gargoyle turned to spit fire at Ted. It only got off three shots before a clawed hand wrapped around the creature's snout, stifling the fire. It burned her hand a little bit, but it wasn't hellfire. She could endure it for a awhile. She flinched as she felt Ted's shield break, but she wasn't in a position to remake it. Even with her magic no longer being tapped, she was in no position to focus, and lashing out psychically would hurt Ted too. She grunted, having to tuck her head as the Gargoyle rolled again to avoid hitting her head, putting her face unpleasantly close to the beast's neck...
Well that could certainly work.
Her jaw ached as her teeth sharpened the younger satori biting into the creature's spine, where the neck met the upper back. Considering how tough the creature's hide was and how thick its bones were at this location it would take considerable effort to chew through to the beast's nervous system. Especially since Koishi's jaw couldn't unhinge and wasn't big enough to bite through the vertebrate and muscle in one go. Well that just meant she had to take more than one bite!
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Ted barely scooted away as the spear plunged where his shins used to be. He was getting backed into a corner, nearing Koishi's struggle. He stole a glance, and was horrified. His partner's name was all he could yell before re-attending to his more present threat. He couldn't gamble taking out his speed loader and applying it in the time it would take Slogra to breach the gap.
Second verse, same as the first. He jumped with all his might, leaping over Slogra. At that exact moment, Gaibon entered a berserker rage. When either of these creatures neared the end of their mortality, their colors grew red, and their powers increased. In the gargoyle's case, his flames became thrice as large and intense. With the last of his breath. he ushered out alchemical flame, either launching at Ted's jump, or else at the hand that even now gripped him.
Ted dropped all of the things he'd bought from the Rabbit's Foot at once onto the beast's head. Surely one of them had to work. Indeed, it seemed to. As Ted alighted on the other side, he saw the beast flinch, its spear having disintegrated. Ted's adrenaline surged as he relished his enemy's disarmament. He took the time to arm his gun. One shot, two shots, then the beast lunged with its beak, increasing it's reach dramatically, and stabbed Ted's thigh. He howled in pain, nearly becoming disarmed himself. He hopped away with the strength of one leg, reflexively trying to create distance. He tried to focus on his aim through the pain, hopefully having enough impact to put the beast down for good.
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Her teeth met muscle again, this time scraping bone. She wasted no time, ripping out next layer of flesh to get at her target. Unlike the muscle, made tough by the gargoyle's ability to fly, the disks of its spine would give far more easily. Digging the elbow of her burned arm into the base of Gaibon's skull she she bit down twice at odd angles, breaking the disks, and once more to rip one of the vertebrae clean out of its neck.
She flinched visibly as the creature died, the psychic feedback providing a sobering shock, Ted's sudden pain compounding upon that. Pulling her claws free she struggled to untangle herself, finding some of the tendrils pinned under the large creature... And Ted needed help. Giving up on freeing herself for now, she took a breath, narrowing her focus on Slogra, her third eye opening wide enough for the corners to split. She promised to protect Ted. And that was exactly what she was going to do. Though it would not be easy seeing as Ted was also within her line of sight.
Focusing her power as best she could, she loosed a psychic lance at the beaked creature. Madness. Nightmares. Pain, sadness, fear. Everything that made up the darkest parts of the psyche were in that blast. Not as powerful as it could have been, she didn't dare risk more. Even after she put so much effort into focusing, Ted would undoubtedly feel the far edge of that strike.
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A wave of fear overcame Ted from without. By now, Ted was getting a feel for Koishi's compulsive mood swings, and he reasoned that that might explain why the creature had given up the offense, merely standing there, quivering. Being Death's minions, their capacity for feeling of any kind was blunted. But it was enough. Ted steeled his resolve, limping towards the creature. He wrested the gun into the creature's eye, and fired.
It was dead, as made evident by the way it's flesh immediately encased itself in flame, leaving only bones that swiftly faded into dust. Ted purposefully looked down, concentrating on what needed no further notice.
The violence done to Gaibon was too much as well, and it followed suit in self-cremation. The struggle was at an end, at least against them. Ted continued to stare at the floor, until he knew for certain that whatever madness gripped Koishi had passed.
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She remained silent, even when Gaibon's immolation scorched several of her tendrils. She simply shifted, readjusting and retracting fully her uninjured ones, drawing in the burned ones just short of the injury and allowing them to wind delicately up her arms. The burns needed to be treated and to dry out some before she could put them away properly. Though overall she wasn't seriously hurt.
Stepping forward, nearly tripping on the gargoyle's skeleton, the little youkai made her way over to Ted, not bothering to take to the air. She was too agitated. "Mister Spades?" Koishi had lost her frightening aura and some of her more monstrous features, her teeth and nails were still a little sharp. It didn't help that her mouth and hands were quite bloody and the sclera of her left eye was still completely black. The lid twitched a little. She reached up with a wrist, nursing the scar above her temple, the darker eye closing as her hat slipped off and to the floor. At least meeting the satori's gaze no longer felt like staring into empty sockets.
"Mm..." A deep breath. She had a migraine already. "Do... Should I cauterize that? Or do you have bandages..." A pause. "Do you need to be carried?" Her third eye drifted up as she made a half-hearted attempt to recreate her calming aura with little success. She was silent for another moment. She wanted to help, but she did't try to touch him yet.
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"I'll be fine". Not his most convincing voice, and not his most dignified moment. He took out the dessert he had mocked a short while ago. Every foodstuff till now had had a mild restorative effect. Perhaps this...? It was worth a shot. He took a bite, and could feel his wounds closing, without pain. "Positively miraculous...Koishi, you should eat something we found. The cheese might do." He felt idiotic, like a sous chef who mistakenly walked into an ER.
Mostly, though, he wanted Koishi to remove herself. This, he felt, was why fairies let their chosen ones do the dirty work. Because they're the ones who can wear the dirt. This was brutally ugly, like a Fairy Godmother taking part in a World War. Ted still wanted to hope that this world might be a fairy tail, if only for a few hours. But then, hope always was Ted's weakest virtue.
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"Well I don't have that horrid taste in my mouth anymore." A weak attempt to break the tension. "I guess youkai don't make good fairy companions after all. I'm sorry you got hurt..." Another pause. "Please don't be scared of me." Perhaps a foolish request at this point, but sincere none the less.
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Ted shook his head. "You're sorry for my state, I'm sorry for having induced it, as well as taking us on this fool's errand to begin with." It was a potentially scary thing when Ted, of all people, came to regret adventures. "Let's not bandy apologies till we have the energy."
'Scared' was an emotion, certainly, along with a host of others. It made for a cocktail Ted wasn't in the mood for sorting. At least his emotions weren't forcefully subsiding, this time. Ted got up, found that he was well enough to walk, and claimed the potion: genesis of the night's troubles. Into the bag it went.
"We've got what we came for. No reason to stay in this wicked place any longer. If you're good to go, by all means, let's go. If not, I have a few amenities in the bag. First aid, things to wash up with: a bath, if you can believe it." He was hoping for something more celebratory, but then Dracula wasn't the type to toss confetti. It's a wonder Ted didn't toss cookies. The violence, the adrenaline, the food, and Koishi's grisly sight all combined to make one roiling stomach. Queasiness, at least, was a feeling Ted had no doubts on.
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"I do want to apologize though. I made the adventure a little bit less fun." Her voice was almost completely normal. "I get over protective of my friends when there is danger around. I underestimated you and focused so much magic on protecting you I didn't save any to attack with. I should have trusted your skill more and stayed by your side. I'll remember that for next time. I promise."
She hesitated a moment, drifting a bit closer, looking down at her hands. "I... um... wouldn't mind a little water to wash my hands and face though." Gaibon's blood did not smell good.
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"Ask and ye shall receive." He took out a bottle of water and tossed it to her. There was much to respond to, listening to Koishi's progress report. True, most humans would have stayed away. Proverbs 22:3 "A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished." Boy had that one come true. Had he learned things? Yes, though he would have remained ignorant if he could've. Had fun? Yes, but that was a bit outweighed by most everything else. As usual, Ted couldn't comment on applied magic, and hardly more on battle strategies. He didn't wanna think how things would've gone had he been using more traditional weaponry.
But, above all else, he was too tired to articulate or argue any of it. The night bore on him, running out even his motor mouth. Ted sighed, adopting his usual pose with Koishi. "I'll trust in your account." His eyes were averse as much as they were able; maybe after the wash.
Once she had finished, Ted would wordlessly make his exit, bypassing the lazy Larva once again, and referencing the map he'd been recording.
I do not apologize for the reference.
Re: I do not apologize for the reference.
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