genessia | [Action/OPEN!]

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[Another day in the life of a girl stranded in some weird interdimensional city. She woke up, ate breakfast, showered and dressed warmly, then sat down with last week's paper to see which places in Genessia were worth visiting. All seemed fairly cold, but the weather was only bad in Attleton it seemed. Nova City was expected to be sunny, and so far, the weather forecasts were never wrong...even if the boy delivering the papers was an annoying miscreant.]

[So there she is, enjoying the sun and markedly warmer weather in the technologically advanced portion of Genessia known as Nova City. Her purse is slung onto her shoulder, her puffy coat unzipped as she strolls past shop windows and holographic advertisements. She stops at a vending machine to get something to drink, and glancing at her wallet, a sour look crosses her face. She's definitely running low on funds, and that means she'll have to get a job soon.]

Brother...

[Raye sighs heavily, and feeds the machine a credit just the same for a can of Neptune Nectar. If she opened up an Archway to the Cherry Hill Temple, she could probably work as a shrine maiden, given how that was what she'd been raised to do. It wouldn't make much money, but she'd have a place to live and food to eat. The only problem was deciding on a cost for such a place, and she couldn't justify it no matter how she tried. There was no memory she would have surrendered, no ability, no piece of herself. This was where she lived now, and she's stuck with it. Maybe she could do some moonlighting as Sailor Mars, but she prefers not to make the scene in her secret identity unless it's absolutely necessary. It's a sacred responsibility, not a means of making a living!]

[Sipping from her can of juice, Raye pauses in front of a holographic billboard advertising the holosuites. That might be kind of fun... She could invite Harry and they'd--!]

[Oh. Wait. Harry didn't exactly mesh with this city all that well, given how his very wizardly presence would short out almost any device of a higher technological level than an electric toaster.]

*sigh*

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[Raye winces for his sake. She heard that grunt, and even if the thing won't kill him...it had BETTER not!...it still seems able to swat him around. It looks like it hurts, too, because there's no way taking a blow like that can feel comfortable.]

Stop saying it's not real and treat it like it is!

[She does not want to have to go Sailor Mars in front of him for a silly hologram, but admittedly, she's a little more paranoid about the tricks this city can pull. Harry's been killed twice, and ever since he told her, it's been eating at her little by little. Hologram or not, she doesn't want to risk seeing Jaune die.]

Show that thing who's boss!

[Cough] Y-Yeah, just gimmie... just gimmie a sec...!

Jeez, the other guys could take this thing out with their eyes closed...! Okay Jaune, Pyrrha said you need to be wider, lower to the ground. Keep your shield up. Defensive strategy.

[Jaune narrows his eyes at the Ursa, and stands ready with his feet firmly planted. He lets it come to him this time.]

[Wait for it, Jaune... just wait for it...]

[As the beast charges towards him, roaring in its angry way, it raises a claw to rear back for a strike.]

... LEFT! [Jaune deeks to the left to be missed by its right-hand claws, and as it tries to follow-up with its left, he winds up and socks the thing across its stupid face with his shield with such a force that its head jerked aside.] I learned that one from Harry!

[It retaliated too quickly, sending its claws down towards Jaune's face. If Raye vaguely sensed that Jaune had some sort of power before, those vibes she felt may have flared up at that moment.]

[Rather than take Jaune's head off, like it was supposed to, the blow struck him like a firm bitch-slapping instead. There was a moment where Jaune's body was glowing, like a nervous reaction, but in the instant he fell to the ground, it was gone.]

[He ignored the pain, and pushed forwards to slam his body into the thing's front. With his shield, he shoved the Ursa's head aside, and he blindly stabbed at its exposed neck. The blade plunged in with the fleshy, stabbing sound one might expect, and the hulking brute was stilled. Jaune stumbled when he tore his sword free, tripping and falling onto his rear as the Ursa, now freshly punctured in the neck, fell forwards. It died a little slowly, bleeding out into the grass.]

O... Oh... Oh, yeah! Hey, go me! [Jaune beamed, but then winced and dropped his sword to rub his jaw.] Oooowwww... DX

Edited 2013-12-09 07:30 (UTC)

[Raye watched closely throughout the entire fight. Admittedly, she's more intent on Jaune's endurance than his fighting skill, more than ready to ask the computer to simulate a bow and arrow for her just in case this thing proves more lethal than they expected. Lucky for her, and for Jaune's pride, this turns out to be unnecessary.]

Geez, that thing really clocked you good, didn't it?

[She winces sympathetically for his sake as she moves to close the distance between them. At least now they knew just how real the program was willing to be with its participants.]

Still, you got him!

[That's something, right? She even offers a faintly encouraging smile. But after a moment, the smile fades as she tilts her head to regard him with curiosity.]

Hey...can I ask you something?

[Of course she can, that question is totally rhetorical!]

When that ursa hit you, you glowed for a second, and I could feel some really odd vibes coming from you. What was that?

[Lifting himself from the ground, Jaune flexes his jaw. Aw, it really hurts! And totally looks bruised. In fact a lot of the left side of his face looks that way.] Yeowch, no kidding...

[Then came her question.] I did? [He looks surprised to hear it.] Huh... Well it's happened a few times... It's my Aura. Pyrrha told me that everyone has an Aura. She used hers to unlock mine... it's kinda like a force field. I think she said I have a lot of it...? I don't really know what that means.

[He shrugs] But sometimes it just happens. It's like, for a while, all the hits I've taken don't even hurt any more. One time Cardin, a guy at school, tried to hit me and instead of hurting me, my Aura happened and... well it looked like it hurt HIM.

[She'd help him up, but her arms are full of shopping bags. Still, he seems like he's okay.]

It's unusual. I haven't run across anything like it before.

[Not that RAYE would, but even as Sailor Mars, a repelling force that instinctively defends the user is new. It's nothing at all like those negative blasts of energy that the Negaverse used against the scouts.]

Sounds like he got what's coming to him.

[Still, Raye wondered...did it activate to protect Jaune, or did it require any consciousness on his behalf? Deciding she'll help him out, Raye shifts the shopping bags to one arm and soundly slaps him. It might mean she gets the recoil, but still, it's good for him to know just what his aura is capable of.]

[Jaune grins and sheaths his sword. The shield, taken off his arm, seems to shut back into a simple sheath he hangs on his belt again.] Yeah, he really did. So--

[WHACK.]

Jaune was totally not prepared for that, and she practically sends his head spinning - in a metaphorical sense. Her slap makes him stumble around a bit, but nothing too bad. Holding his free hand to his face, he looks at her with... well, you know the look.]

What the heck was THAT for?!

[Raye peers at him, then at her hand.]

That's strange. It didn't activate that time. It didn't always work when the ursa was attacking you either.

[She regards him thoughtfully.]

Have you tried using your power consciously?

[Totally forgetting the fact that she just slapped him and he didn't really like it.]

You hit me. [He says this right after her astute observation with how his aura didn't activate.]

... You HIT me. [She didn't even seem to care!]

I... no. I don't even know how. How do you DO something like that?

[Wait, what? He's actually upset about getting slapped! ...Well, she supposes she'd be pretty mad too if their positions were reversed. She looks down at her hand with a blink, and at least has the good decency to get a little red in the face with embarrassment.]

Oh. Sorry about that.

[And she means it.]

It's a really unusual power, and it'll probably protect you a lot better if you know how to use it, or when you can rely on it to help you. ...But why didn't it hit me like it hit that one guy?

["Oh. Sorry about that." And here she seemed so normal before. She did at least look embarrassed, which was better than total indifference.]

... Anyway... Yeah, it is an unusual power. Pyrrha said that only things with souls have an Aura. But I dunno... maybe it just can't work all the time. When Pyrrha activated my Aura with hers, she got all tired... I think it takes strength to do it. I've never seemed to tired though.

Maybe that's what she meant when she said I have a lot of it.

[To be fair, she never expected her slap to hurt him. She thought it would rebound back on her. But for both their sakes, he drops it, and Raye has no reason to blow up at him.]

Maybe you're right. It could be a passive ability...some sort of unlimited endurance that doesn't let you fall.

[Raye ponders this for a moment, then jumps a little.]

Oh! Where's my head... Computer, we need an ice pack!

[One appears at her feet. Raye stoops to pick it up, then holds it out towards Jaune's face. ...Not to hit him with it this time, so there's that.]

Here, this should take down some of the swelling and bruising.

[Jaune never thought of that. Maybe he should ask the computer for a bed so he can sleep off the bruising. Still, he takes the pack and kiiinda smiles at her.] Thanks. [He then presses it to his cheek and takes a deep breath to let out in a sigh.] Maaaaaybe that's enough training for a day... I'll be honest with you Raye, I'm probably the worst fighter that Beacon ever saw. That one Ursa? Ruby could've taken at least two without a scratch.

I'm not a Knight or a hero or anything. I'm barely a student at Beacon. I dunno how to fight, or what to do with my Aura... I barely even know history and suck at math. [And now that he's not at Beacon learning these things anymore, he's not the most confident in himself. Eyeing the Ursa corpse though, he watches it disappear like a hologram ought to.] ... So that one Ursa's a pretty big deal for me. Kinda wish my team was here to see it.

I thought we talked about this.

[She'd fold her arms, but.]

You can't keep comparing yourself to your peers. I don't doubt Ruby's talented, but I'll bet she didn't just wake up one day knowing how to fight monsters flawlessly. I wasn't so hot when I first started karate lessons either. It takes a lot of hard work, and hours and hours of practice.

[Raye blows out her breath, lowering her head for a moment before raising her chin again and smiling.]

So you're not a hero now. If you really want to be, then stick to it. Don't dwell so much on what you can't do, or what other people can. Keep the focus where it belongs.

[He gets a playful poke on his chestplate.]

Trust me, it really does get easier the more you do it.

[Jaune pauses a moment and smiles sheepishly.] Right, I guess we did talk about it. Sorry. It's just tough when there's such an obvious... gap, you know? But you're right. No more dwelling. [He raised his hands in surrender when she poked him, and then reached out to take his bag back.] I think we're done here for now though. Maybe next time we hang out, we can do something less likely to mess up my face?

That sounds fine to me.

[She grins, still a little embarrassed, but she DID say she was sorry so there's nothing more to be done about that.]

Thanks. This was kinda fun! It's not every day I get to see someone wield a sword and shield, you know?

I'm getting that feeling around here, yeah. I'd show you more sometime, but swords are just one of those things, you know... the less you gotta use 'em, right?

[He laughs a little.] Next time, let's just do lunch.

Heh!

[Raye colors, flattered. She's not sure if he just asked her out or not, but she's going to assume that's the case, because it makes her happy.]

Lunch sounds good. I'd like that!

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