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Post by Emargine "Azure" Cerola on Aug 21, 2021 0:02:05 GMT -8
"Maybe in another life, I would've been a General," And in another life, she was. But in this one, not quite yet. "In this one though, I was almost." Depending on how you considered the rank of "Brigadier", Colonel Azure was one or two steps away from a Generalship. "There already was a General Blue, yes. He was one of the top leaders of the original Red Ribbon army, from a long time ago. He started a successful chain of steak houses after retiring."Cerola held out a flier for Red Ribbon Roast. "You can find them in the Southern and Central lands. The ribs are to die for." It wasn't that she didn't consider trying for the name blue. Or even that she was concerned about getting sued. But she wanted to be precise about her choice. And the colour of the sky was exactly the kind of precision she wanted. General Gold took after Dr. Gero's son, a special forces operator who also took on the name Gold. These were traditions, of course. Traditions from an Earther armed force, but the kind she felt intent on honouring either way. She returned to shoveling as the numbers on her scouter tacked up. The snow was getting rather thin in this spot, and they were likely to hit dirt soon... Roderick did have more to ask about, though. Understandably, it was a bout the big blue gadget on the left side of her head. "This thing?" Cerola tapped on the portion attached to her ear. "It's called a Scouter. Think of it like a military-grade smartphone. With extra features, like detecting distant enemies, or measuring an enemy's combat power level. Very useful in helping you decide how to fight them."One's power level meant the difference between using a simple assault rifle, a plasma rifle, or heavy artillery. Roderick had a point about choosing your own name being cool. Some might even say it was edgy. Although it really depended on the culture. Red Ribbon remnant units took their pride in their history and traditions, including the choosing of colour-coded names. But as with Tuffle tradition, Emargine Cerola was still Emargine Cerola. Now the most important matter, though, and what made her stop shoveling again, was how Roderick said that he basically wanted to become friends. It was innocent. Kind of like when two kids would meet at school and ask for permission. And well, he was still a kid, if in the later half of that stage. A kid who just wanted someone to talk to. Never mind all the cynical ways you could interpret that. A psychologist was someone you could talk to, for example. But a friend was open for the sake of friendship - ideally - rather than a paycheck. For this sort of thing, her answer was simple. She held out her hand to offer a shake. "Sure. Let's be friends." He didn't need to worry about her dangerous lifestyle either way. If she died, he didn't need to know about it, and depending on the circumstances, ISLET would probably let her get back into action after cloning. A simple matter, right? [525/9701] Roderick
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Post by Roderick on Aug 21, 2021 19:54:54 GMT -8
Roderick was listening to Azure, confused on a certain thing she had said. In another life? Now what did that exactly mean? "Huh? What do you exactly mean ma-" He shook his head before he fully made an error "Azure?" He managed to catch himself. Was that metaphorical, or was she being literal? Most likely metaphorical, but it didn't hurt to ask to make sure.
So there was actually someone named General Blue. He couldn't help but let out a chuckle at that. He was right, and he wasn't even being serious about it. Ha. Furthermore, they still lived on through a chain of steak houses. Quite respectable. If only he could live on somehow like that. "Huh, maybe I'll one day try them out." He then turned away "As a king..." he mumbled under his breath.
Thoughts of being a king swirled through his head. That, however, was quickly shut down in his head. A king? Really? He barely had the motivation to get out of bed. What made him think he could be a king? In a world with warring nations and beings far stronger and more motivated than him? If he couldn't even beat some kid with a tail, then why daydream of such fantasies? His head lowered even further to the ground. Good thing he talked himself out of any stupid ideas, right?
He listened to her explanation of what that hunk of metal was. He managed to turn his head to see her tap it as she explained what it was. A scouter? The first thing that came to his head was it being used for scouting missions. He wasn't entirely wrong, but he wasn't right either. His interest was peaked when he heard what it could do. He turned to fully look over to her. "What? How can it do something like that? Like detecting distant enemy's? What's combat power? Like how much firepower they have? How does it calculate that?" His inner curiosity clearly on display as he asked these questions. This was all new to him. At least as far as he remembered. Perhaps he had heard or read about these before, but just simply forgot.
He hadn't had a friend in a while. None he was sure considered him friends at least. He thought it would be good to make sure they both considered each other friends before he tried to be comfortable around her. He wanted to get out the ambiguity on if they were friends or not out of the way. It was so confusing and difficult later one if they didn't. Sure, she wasn't exactly in his age range, as far as he knew, but he didn't see why they couldn't be friends even despite that.
That's why, when he heard her agree to his proposition of them being friends, he couldn't help but let a small smile grow on his face. With joy growing in his mind. He had been afraid if she had said no. He glanced down at her hand, hesitating for just a moment before moving his hand towards hers, gripping it, and shaking her quickly at first before going at a normal pace of a handshake. "Thank you. Miss! Or should I say Azure?" He wasn't sure what to do now. He let go of her hand and looked down, glancing a couple more times at her before looking at the ground again. Then, he decided to go back to shoveling when he felt his shovel hit something and almost slip out of his hands. He was confused on what just moved from under his shovel. He crouched down and cleared the snow from the object he had just hit, when he pulled out a weird looking action figure that looked like it should belong in one of those fast food restaurant bags. His curiosity forced him to examine the object in his hand, along with him being dramatic. Noting the blue, black, and blue design of the figurine. He had never been one for action figures, so he had no idea who this was or why it was made. What he did piece together, however, was that it seemed to be in a pose of preparing an attack. He finally noticed the button on the back when he accidentally pressed it, hearing the low hum of the sound emitting from the figurine. He chuckled, turning to Azure and showing it off to her. "Hey, guess who's their lucky day? I just found it in the snow." He pulled it back towards his chest. "You know who it's supposed to be?" While he wasn't expecting to receive anything for his charity work, he didn't mind receiving anything either. Well, he more like found his reward, but he still didn't mind. He then brushed off any snow on the action figure before making sure he hadn't accidentally ruined it by hitting it with his shovel.
("821 words. 10,913 words in total.")
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Post by Emargine "Azure" Cerola on Aug 27, 2022 1:43:25 GMT -8
"I was hoping to get promoted to a general rank sooner or later," Azure explained. "Even a one-star general would have been alright." Of course, she already had made it to full General in the Tuffle Armed Services, with all four stars. But it really was something of a sore spot that Azure's Dragoons had to make do with a colonel. If General Gold hadn't been assassinated, then maybe she could have been Brigadier Azure with one star, or even Major General Azure with two. She could have eventually become Gold's successor or something. "But like I said, the Golden Gate Army fell apart. Maybe in another life, things would have been different."She gave him a cheeky smile, like she was making a joke. Although it was a serious statement, it could certainly be seen as a joke if put in a certain way. "Only maniacs promote themselves to General, right? So this silly old lady will remain a Colonel." The only way she was going to become an Earth-recognised general was actually working her way up the military ranks, but that would interfere with her mission. Roderick then asked about the Scouter. Specifically, how it could pick up life signs and what power levels were. "You've probably heard martial artists talk about ki. A kind of life force in living creatures. It lets you do crazy things like fly, or shoot energy wave beams. Saiyans have a naturally strong ki and can use it by instinct, in combination with their super strength and toughness. That's one of their big secrets. Well, the scientists who invented the Scouter figured out a way to detect ki. You might be able to hide behind walls, but a Scouter can pick up your ki like a hot candle even so." The snow was almost gone now, some Baby Blues starting to hit dirt. After this, they could have dinner. "The technology got better, and the Scouter can now measure how much ki you can store up and use. That amount is called your power level. The more you have, the more powerful attacks you can use. And the harder you are to kill. The average human has a power level of about 5. But you can train that to pretty high. If you want, I can check yours, and maybe you can check mine, to see how we compare to normal people!" It was of course a serious offer, but again, the way she said it was in a lighthearted fashion, small chuckle included. They shook hands, and Roderick thanked her, still unsure on how she should be addressed. "Azure is just fine. We're friends now, after all!" They went back to digging. As expected, the snow soon gave way to dirt, and Roderick dug a figurine out of the last snow. From the looks of things, it was still in pretty good condition. Azure smiled after examining it. As a matter of fact, its design did look familiar. "Definitely your lucky day, I'll say. Good quality too... It looks like a... bioandroid. Red Ribbon scientists invented the first one of these hundreds of years ago. It was more of an artificial life form with engineered cells, rather than robots that look like people. Or cyborgs with mechanical parts, for the matter. You don't see them all too often, but they're definitely out there. I think Capsule Corp made one as a mascot a while back. This could be some of his merchandise."She looked over the last slope, and seeing that all the work was winding down, released another broadcast on her Scouter. <<Alright, everybody! Finish up here, and head back to camp! We'll pitch up for the night and finish negotiations with the town!>>The mercenary leader turned back to her new friend, that smile still on her face. "If you don't mind beans and rice for dinner, you're welcome to join us." And if he took her up on the Scouter offer, it would be interesting to see how he reacted to his own reading. She was practising her own psychic means of reading power levels. And Roderick had gotten pretty strong since they last met. What he did for that wasn't clear. But if he could jump so much in power level after just a few days, he might have had a lot more potential than he realised. She honestly could help him out with that potential if he wanted. But just like a Saiyan, someone with his kind of power level was not going to need a minigun and power armour, assuming he learned to fire ki blasts and punch really hard. In that regard he didn't have to join the Dragoons. She wasn't even sure if this life suited him. Roderick was simply too pure, in a way. Given how he tended to react whenever she mentioned killing people. She had become used to that. All the numbers taken together, her mind and memories were over a hundred years old. Many had died by her hand in that time. It all happened out of necessity, and to protect her people, which is why she had no regrets. And in a way, battle was the greater part of her life now. Be it strategic command or direct combat, as an officer or a soldier, this was who she was. Roderick didn't need to kill anyone. His life could easily turn out very differently from hers. And if that different life was what he wanted, she certainly didn't mind helping him get there. That's what friends are for. [935/10636] Roderick
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Post by Roderick on Aug 28, 2022 16:41:19 GMT -8
Roderick would continue to listen, taking in her hopes of wanting to be a general. So she had hopes as well. Even realizing what she meant by another life. "Oh, I get it now. I'm sorry to hear that." Was all he could offer as a form of consolation. Perhaps in the future he could grow to be better at this sort of thing.
Noticing the smile, he wondered if this should be a sight for worry before realizing that maybe she was just trying to make light of what she was saying. It must've been difficult for her. "Ah... Okay. I hope you do well then." Giving some encouragement and smiling back at the upcoming general.
Now this was something he knew about. While he didnt study it extensively, he certainly knew what ki was and its applications. Listening to her explain what it was and how it was used. Then learning that this scouter could detect ki like a flame in the dark. "Oh! That sounds useful. I guess it helps to find them as well. Can't hide behind some cover with that on." Roderick himself was able to see the snow being cleared quite quickly as well but didn't say anything about it just yet.
His listening wasn't done yet as she explained more about the uses of a scouter. However, what intrigued him the most was this thing called power level. It calculated how much you had and could use and, in essence, determined how powerful you were. The average human power level was 5. He must be below that. However, the hope of being way above that did make his heart jump a little. The suggestion of calculating their own power levels did excite him. "I don't know. I mean, I'm excited but... I guess we can if you want." A part of him was hesitant in finding out. He wasn't sure why. He was just nervous about knowing it. Especially compared to someone else. But the other part of him was excited knowing. Especially compared to someone else. He could use that as a goal. Heh, as if he was going to train.
Her happy tone calmed him down as he shook her hand "Heh, okay! Hi then Azure." A new friend... this was nice.
Speaking of nice things, he would stare at the figurine. Or was it an action figure? Either way, it seemed to be a nice find judging by his new friends reaction. Listening to her explanation as to what it was, the word "bioandroid" had him recall of what this was. "Ooooh! Those! Yeah, I think I remember. Cool little thing." He kept his opinions on such a creature to himself. He did remember Capsule Corp having a bioandroid as its mascot. It was hazy though.
He would look up to his friend, Azure, as she spoke through, what he now knew as, the scouter. The idea of having his power checked through the device crossing his mind again. Should he or should he not? That was the question. The offer of joining them for lunch was surprising to him. Even causing him to smile out of shock. "Oh! Really? Ah, I would love to. B-But I don't know if I can. I don't really like beans but the rice I could! Maybe... sorry, I'm just kind of picky." He admitted with a chuckle. The past few days he had to go to fast food restaurants to eat and it was taking its toll on him. He did crave some real food so MAYBE he could stomach some undesirable food. Even if he hadn't done much labor these past few days other than shoveling.
Not like he was even lightly training. Not considering shoveling that hard of a task. He only knew so much in terms of fighting too. He could faintly remember his martial arts class from so long ago. And it's not like he has been keeping up on training himself either. It's only been recently he's been even doing shoveling. This being his first form of physical "exercise" in a long time. At least relative to him. He did think he could be strong but as of right now, he didn't think he was truly strong. Maybe he was above average in strength but to him that was a stretch. He could probably be beaten by someone who could actually fight.
But maybe that could change now. He had the help from someone who looked to have some knowhow about battle. Who could lead trained people. Perhaps she could help him train? Get him to be stronger. He shook the fantasy out of his head. No, it just couldn't happen. He was simply too lazy for it. He couldn't be anything great. He should just get that out of his head. Besides, he could do being less selfish. Always thinking about himself. How about thinking about someone else for once? She did dream of being a general. But how could he help? Perhaps something more mental could help. He did think he was somewhat intelligent. He could try to help her there. But in order to be truly useful, he could join her. That would help. She did offer to join them, right? Or was his memory failing him that badly again? He would try to help her. Staying with them for lunch could lead up to something grander too. He could at least try to help, right? Sure, this whole thing seemed daunting but what didn't at first. If it meant helping his new friend, he'd try. Besides, not like this could get out of hand or anything.
("942 words. 11,855 words in total.")
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Post by Emargine "Azure" Cerola on Aug 29, 2022 7:50:02 GMT -8
Azure smiled, nodding in thanks at Roderick's encouragement. Depending on how things turned out with the present operation to recover Caeruleus she might just have an excuse to promote herself to Brigadier. A silly idea, given a Colonel with her level of seniority would have commanded a Brigade as well, but an entertaining prospect nevertheless. Still, for someone who didn't know much about their lifestyle, it was nice of him. He was her friend now, and perhaps that was the simplest explanation. Azure had subordinates, and she cared for them like any good commander would. But few, even in the command staff, were actually her friends. The closest one to being called that was Carnation, given how she served as her sounding board and confidant. Maxine also had a certain charm about her. Something past Carnation's teasing, and more sincere. Two then. So a third friend, then, was something that should be treasured. Even if it was a new friendship, with enough time and nurturing, it could grow deeper roots. Azure explained the basics about the Scouter. How it could detect ki signatures and measure power levels. She of course left out the most important part, that it was originally developed by the Tuffles on Planet Plant and was used during the war with the Saiyans. How after winning that conflict in a massive upset, the Saiyans took all the remaining Tuffle technology for themselves, and introduced the Scouter to the Cold Force, which then appropriated it for their own use. How did the Scouters arrive on Earth then? Aside from the Tuffle presence, that is. The records don't speak much of it, as it was soon after the destruction of the Moon that they noticed them going around. Nevertheless, not long after their arrival on Earth, Scouters started to appear, eventually becoming widespread among military forces. As its original inventors, it was not surprising then that ISLET Scouters were leagues above what was available to even the Dragoons. As part of their mission parameters, they were always at something of a disadvantage. What was interesting, however, was how the explanations on power levels seemed to both increase both Roderick's enthusiasm, and his anxiety. It probably wasn't visible on the surface given he was completely wrapped up in covers, ski mask and all. But there were more ways to tell, like body language for one, and of course, tone of voice. Similar to how she figured out it was him earlier. "Nothing to worry about, though. I honestly doubt you would just measure at 5. Not with how you've been performing so far." Whether he was out of shape or something else, there was no denying Azure could sense an inner strength. Not the psychological kind either. The shake went well, and they exchanged greetings as more than just acquaintances. "Hello, Roderick. I'm glad we met." It wasn't that Azure was lonely. Two friends was plenty for an honest nerd who spent most of her time studying the art of war. A third would be just fine. No, it was more of, the sort of friendship one could come up with someone whose life was more different. One that had yet to spill blood. What perspectives could she learn? Well, aside from how he didn't enjoy rice and beans. Azure chuckled. "It's fine, you don't need to get too worked up about being picky. My Dragoons have no choice in the matter. You, though, consider yourself a guest. I'll see what else we can get for you, aside from bars, that is. Come on."She turned to head down the hill back to the nearest camp, which by eyeball estimate, was hosting a few hundred Baby Blues, the Auxiliaries supervising them, and a few Dragoons in their power armour. "Oh, don't forget to bring your new little friend now!" the colonel motioned to the bioandroid figure as she started down the slope. It was a bustling camp, with a nice orderly line at the food service trucks and troops of various species and genders either sitting at the designated mess area, or setting up their own little places using rocks of different sizes. Humans, beastmen, androids, and the occasional demon and Namekian, oddly enough. Notably absent were Saiyans. Of course as she explained earlier, Saiyans tended to see the weapons as redundant. What about Namekians and demons then? Well... perhaps they were more open minded about how they fought. Of course, a person was an individual, and they each had their own reasons. Suffice it to say, it was an interesting mixture. People of nearly every shape, and all over the place. Azure lined up just like anyone else, and waited for her turn, beckoning Roderick to follow. "Out here, fair is fair. You wait your turn no matter your rank. I'm often busy doing desk work, so they deliver my portion to my desk directly much of the time, but when I line up here, I'm just like anyone else."Yes, yes, there was the matter of fraternizing with the enlisted, but it was her unit, and part of the whole point of the Dragoons was they were more than an army. They did not salute, address by rank, nor refer to superiors as "Sir". Usually, it was just "Boss". So it wasn't surprising that even Bosses could eat with those below. "Let's see what we can get you aside from rice and beans, okay?"Their turn arrived, and Azure received an identical portion as the rest before her. A single person's serving of rice and beans. A balanced diet of carbs and proteins, to keep the body running. She gestured at Roderick waiting for his turn before asking the cook. "I have a guest here. Got anything he could try out aside from standard issue?""Just what you see, Boss." The cook didn't hesitate at all. Sure, there were alternatives to rice and beans, but they were scheduled for other days, and were raw to begin with. In short, it was simply impractical to get him something else. The colonel smiled. "Wouldn't have taken any other answer." In a way, it was a test. And the cook knew exactly what he was supposed to say in this situation. Of course if Roderick insisted on getting something else, she could always just lead him to a supply truck and let him pick out an MRE. But that was ultimately his call. She turned to Roderick. "We do have other choices, but they're more preserved field rations than something this fresh. The kind of thing you eat while out on a mission rather than at camp. If you're alright with that, we can grab you one."The Scouter could wait until after the meal, at least. [1130/11766] Roderick
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Post by Roderick on Aug 29, 2022 19:22:09 GMT -8
Roderick was many things but helpful could be another. He had to not only grow physically, if that ever happened, but mentally as well. Remembering a quote some time ago about a body made of steel being nothing without a mind made of diamond. Or was he just making that up? He could not recall but if he had to guess, he was making it up.
And similar to Azure, he barely had friends either. He had just thought about this not too long ago. It being one of the myriad of reasons why he was in this alone. He had no companions in his journey like those in tales. He could recount many stories of people of great proportion always having someone to help them along the way or just accompany him. He had no such luxuries. No doubt in his head that he would find others with companions.
What was he thinking?? He wasn't great! And comparing friends like those in tales is a bad thing to do! In his mind at least. He would give a shake of his head to rid his mind of these thoughts. Hadn't he just thought about improving his mind? This could be the first step. This would help in making friends. He didn't want to end this friendship before it was even able to take root.
Speaking of scouters, the idea of being able to just scan a person and find out just how strong they were really interested him. Usually, in his mind, you had to judge how strong an opponent was based on how hard their hits felt or their reactions to your hits. If you were hurting from their blows but yours didn't seem to faze your opponent, that was probably a sign of the other person being physically stronger than you. Heh, funny how he was talking about this in his mind as if he were a fighter. He should know he has little experience in that area.
Thinking about it, how did she acquire such equipment? Well, they were a squadron seeming to have high tech equipment. He couldn't exactly recall what they were but judging off their name and how she was referring to herself, it could be assumed she belonged to an organization. One with lots of resources to acquire such things, no? He could continue this train of thought on how they could get the money to buy such things, if they did so, but he was fairly sure he could simply remember what she had told him earlier in their conversations. And if not, hopefully he wouldn't pester her too much with such questions.
But to humor this train of thought a little, one could assume they acquired such equipment from Capsule Corp or the like. That or they made these themselves. The latter had him think on just how powerful this organization was if that was true. Worry not, it was only a possibility. Not a fact. At the moment. He could ask her about logistics later. Or if his memory improved in the meantime.
His body language was minimal but a keen eye could tell little bits of emotion here and there. The pause in movement, the slowing down after something was said. Even the occasional shake of his head like he was disapproving of something. His tone of voice also indicated whether he was interested in the topic, excited for someone, or just engaged. All appropriate to judge his emotional state. However, there was one flaw to this method... it depended on the person not realizing this and faking some mannerisms.
Hearing her encouragement, he would give a small chuckle. Shaking his head "You're right... I would probably only clock around 1. Maybe 0." He said in a rare case of small wit. Least one he was brave enough to say. And with inner strength, perhaps there was one. He had fantasized about such a thing from time to time. About being stronger than he thought. That he could do great things. But he always managed to reel himself back into reality. He had no such thing. He couldn't be one. Even if he did, he would just squander it. Glad to have a mind ready to keep him to the ground.
After the shake, he would smile under his ski mask, thinking of replying but holding it in so as to not make it awkward.
Perspectives from someone like him? Possibly not much. Sure he had dwelled on philosophy from time to time when he was bored but that was it. But one yet to shed blood could lead to results. Someone uncomfortable with death and who hadn't taken one to court with death could provide insight. Perhaps able to shine light on such matters of life and death. Whether or not a thing like that was right or wrong. Or maybe she was barking up the wrong tree for answers from someone like him.
Her assurance on his picky palate did soothe his slight worries. Her understanding demeanor calms the young human. She surprised the human with the offer of being able to eat something else. Her seeming accommodating nature was a shock to him as he followed behind her. "... thank you." He managed to whisper out, feeling honestly embarrassed about someone going to this length to help him with his appetite. Especially with a new friend which he had done very little, if anything to help so far. Not to mention the fact she seemed to lead this squad. Or was it a battalion? He had forgotten what the proper name of a group like this was.
Turning to look in the same direction, he was able to see the camp. With the troops and the like possibly resting there. The thing catching most of his attention being the power armored Dragoons. He was sure this was the closest he would ever get to one of those and a distance he was willing to respect. Could any amount of training close the gap of power to one in a suit of metal like that? For others, maybe. For himself? Highly unlikely. Glancing up at his new friend, he would realize he didn't really know what she was capable of. Did a leader like herself only lead or was she stronger than the troops she led. In his mind, she was likely experienced in combat. Being trained in some fashion of martial arts is possible. The thought of herself having power armor crossing his mind. Looking back to the camp, he was glad he was friends with her and not enemies. That gave him a chuckle in his mind. He wasn't worth the time of being an enemy to anybody. Especially to someone like her.
Knocked out of his thoughts, he would look to the figurine he now knew as a bioandroid and pocketed it somewhere safe. Her calling of the figurine, his little friend, amusing him. He would spot her going down the slope and realized he had to follow. Making sure to bring the shovel and any other things he might need, he carefully stepped down the slope. Wondering where they were going.
As he followed, he realized they were heading toward the camp. A sense of anxiety filling him. He was actually in a camp. A professional camp in his eyes at that. Wondering how to act, he would make sure he was looking ahead. Not wanting to look down and appear as a nervous wreck. Being out of his element in such a place on how to act. Despite all of this worry, he could still notice the wide color of characters inhabiting the camp. He wondered just how many of races and gender were there. Internally counting which race was there when he noticed the lack of spiky haired people. Where were the Saiyan's? He tried to recall if she mentioned them at all in their conversations. He got a feeling she had. Perhaps mentioning such a life wasn't popular with them. Maybe it was just the culture surrounding a place like this one wasn't inviting to them?
Still, he expected to see at least one. People could be wildly different from what was usual from their race. Demons could be peaceful. Namekians could be battle hungry. Heck, maybe there was even a pacifist Saiyan somewhere out there. Okay, maybe that was stretching the limits of possibility.
He would then notice his new friend waving him over. Feeling heat rising to his cheeks, he would follow her to the line. Standing behind her in the line for their food. Before he could check out what their selection was, he would hear out what she was telling him about the customs of such a place "Oh, that seems fair... do you not even receive a different type of food?" Wondering if she got a special portion? Made specifically for her or if the food was the same for everybody. Even for her. The leader of such a group.
While he hasn't been in a group like this, or any group for that matter, he did expect at least some formality. He would be in for a surprise. "Um, okay! ... thank you again for doing this." He thanked, a bit louder than before. In contrast to his gratitude, a part of him wondered if she was looking down on him. His suspicion started from how she ended that sentence. "Okay?"? Was he in need of guidance from someone like her? Reeling himself in, he would attempt to calm himself. She was just trying to help him. Seeking confirmation in looking for something to eat for him. He didn't need to look too deeply into it. Besides, so what if she was? Not like he was the most mature person. As much as he seemed to think from time to time.
Once their turn arrived, he saw her get the portion everyone else was getting. So there was no special treatment? He didn't know too much about diet but he did know that it would keep them going. Assuming this since he did at least know some things about how to feed soldiers and why they are fed like this. The smell didn't make it better for him though. The mask is somewhat able to help block it. Even if he disliked it, the smell of food did make his mouth water and lead him to realize just how hungry he was. He felt like a child in how she was ordering for him. A younger one to be more specific. The feeling being very rare to him now that he thought about it... it was nice.
But reality set in again. No exceptions. It seemed like that was all there was to eat. This place did really seem to give no exceptions. And he couldn't blame them. Even if a part of him was pretty upset with them for this.
He looked over to Azure, listening to her answer. Wait, did she expect this? Did she want the chef to say no? What was the point of this then? To trick him? To give him hope of eating but taking that away? He stared at her, his eyes peeking out from his ski mask staring at her before back to the chef. He had to stay calm. This could just be a misunderstanding. Perhaps she was just hoping this would be fair for everyone. He just had to stay calm. He was a picky eater. He should have expected this. Just stay calm.
His stewing of emotions was interrupted by Azure speaking to him. At least he thought so? He would focus back into reality and turn to look at her. Blinking a few times as he listened to what she had to say to him "Oh... um... that's okay. I can just not eat if that's too much of a hassle. I don't want to be... like... too different from the others. Even if I'm a guest..." His tone of voice neutral. His heart was heavy with emotion but he tried to keep it in check. He couldn't be too angry. She was just trying to make it fair for everyone, right? He couldn't blame her. This was his decision. He could just not eat. Not like he was that hungry, right? He could go one day without eating. He needed it. It isn't as if he needs to put more pounds on himself. Yeah, he didn't need to. He didn't do too much today. He could handle a day without eating. He's gone without eating for longer periods of time. A day shouldn't be too much of a hassle. Not like shoveling was too hard on the body, right? But what about his body? He wasn't in the greatest shape. Perhaps he needed more. No, he didn't. Stop complaining.
He would attempt to breathe in and out under his mask. Trying to be quiet in his attempt to do so. He didn't want to appear upset. He had to appear calm. He didn't want to be a hassle. Don't appear needy. Don't be a whiner. His chest would barely move as he took his small breath of air. The white gas exited through his ski mask faintly. Could be seen as him just breathing normally. His mind swirls slightly as the emotion, beating of his heart, attempts to calm himself cause his mind to be in confusion on what it should be experiencing right now. Focus on this insecurity. Focus on the emotions. Remember this moment...
("2,264 words. 14,119 words in total.")
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Post by Emargine "Azure" Cerola on Aug 29, 2022 21:56:32 GMT -8
Azure chuckled with Roderick at his little bit of self-depracation of his power level. And then gave him a pat on the shoulder. Well however bad it might end up being, there's no way you'd be at 0. Ki is our life force, so 0 is dead." She winked. "Sometimes, when I'm not feeling it, and there are other sources of food nearby, I decide to just eat out." That could mean anything depending on the circumstances. From checking out a teahouse on the road, a diner in a town, or hunting and cooking some tasty looking animals in the woods. But for the most part, those times were rare. It was part of Azure's discipline to eat like the rest. No special treatment. "And since our bigger contracts come in cash, that means pretty much anyone here can do that, as long as they get back before break time is over." Yes. Some Dragoons were good enough to hunt, butcher, cook, and eat an animal in the span of one hour. Survival skills were important! It wasn't hard to pick up on certain signs, even as people would try to hide them. The change if brief, in Roderick's demeanour on hearing the exchange with the cook, made er pause and think back to what had just happened. To which she sighed and scratched the back of her head. "Sorry if it sounded like I meant for you to disappointed."What was it then? Well of course, she knew what it was. "It's been a while since I asked a question about making exceptions, and my reaction came out without much thought." Sometimes, you just got giddy testing to see if what you've been teaching was correctly passed down to the cooks. "It's not really a hassle for me to get you something from the supply truck.""But Boss, you'd need to fill out a Form 32A for that," the cook pointed out. And yes, even the commanding officer had to fill out the form. No exceptions. It was this equal submission to the code and policies that drove home the message that they were all equally Dragoons. And yes, it was obvious that Azure could just change the rules any time she wanted. It would take iron will to not disregard them for her own convenience. But that was exactly the whole point. When she established this code, she made sure that any unfortunate inconveniences would apply equally to everyone. That was one way you built personnel unity. When an enlisted man would complain about having to fill out a Form 32A for an MRE, an officer who had attempted the same could very sincerely say "I know the feeling", because they had indeed gone through it too. Any empathy concerning the protocol would be honest empathy, unless of course you never tried to get an MRE before. In which case you could just say you could only imagine. "Yes I do, and that's fine with me." She took her plate and tray and handed Roderick another tray. "Thank you for that heads up, Rist." Corporal Rist gave a lazy one-fingered salute. "Right on, Boss." He then got to work on the next person in line. "Come on then, Roderick. I know you said it's fine if you don't eat, but little things like food should never be a hassle between friends." Roderick was not in the outfit. Azure did not expect him to want to join something so bloody. And so there was no need to force him to abide by their strict rules. That was how it should be. The only time he would ever be forced to go find food somewhere else would be if he did enlist. She led the way, giving him a warm smile. Even in a paramilitary outfit, civilian guests should not have to go through the same thing as the troops, especially when it wasn't even a war and supplies were plenty. The ration truck was not far, and the paperwork took much less work than you would normally feel. That is, if you were just getting food for yourself, Form 32A would indeed be quite inconvenient. But for a friend, it wasn't hard. The Supply officer opened up the truck, revealing shelves of stacked boxes of MREs. He handed them a catalogue of all the prepackaged meals. Turkey fillet with potatoes and mixed vegetables. Pork katsudon with crab salad. Roast beef in gravy and mashed potatoes. Some vegan and vegetarian offerings as well. There were probably twenty different packed meals to choose from, each sounding more appetizing than beans and rice. And each pack had a built in reheater, so that the meal was warm when eaten. One would wonder why they didn't just eat these all the time. And the answer was simple. These were for eating in the field, and on deployment. That was why you needed to fill out a form to get some while you weren't out on a mission. Not that you weren't allowed to get them otherwise. Rather, if you did get some, there should at least be some documentation, because otherwise, it might affect the supply chain somehow. Not a lot of folks did this. Not a lot of them ate out either. But nobody would blame them for doing so. Unless you were completely used to these sorts of plain nutrient-based diets, said diets tended to be, well, bland. "It's alright. Nobody cares whether you eat what's in line or not. Like I said, some folks just eat out. Others come here. Some even hunt or fish for their own food. As long as they get back in time to continue working, how they eat isn't an issue."Of course, getting them used to this kind of single meal food system was also important. Up in the Yunzabit Heights, where King Piccolo's Demon Clan frequently patrolled, it would be impossible to find a good teahouse. You also couldn't hunt or fish without catching attention. And so, for the covert excavation to work out, they needed to stick to the assigned meal plans. At least it wasn't going to be beans and rice everyday. But up there, all choice in terms of fresh food would be eliminated. So, while they weren't quite that far up there yet, they would take advantage of that choice. [1065/12831] Roderick
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Post by Roderick on Aug 30, 2022 21:48:40 GMT -8
The pat on his shoulder was shocking to him, moving forward slightly as Azure patted him on the shoulder. He looked up at her as she cleared up what ki, in turn also power levels, exactly were "Oh, that's relieving then!" He said, feeling like he should be happy at this new information but if he was honest to himself? He really wasnt. He wasn't sure why. Maybe it was just because it still didnt change the fact he wasn't really all that strong. The baseline was still being alive. Not all that hard to do... actually, living was hard. Harder than being dead in his eyes. So maybe that did mean something. The wink she gave him putting him off for a second before realizing that she was just trying to lighten the mood or something. Azure seemed friendly so far. He shouldn't doubt her now because of a simple wink. If he was further going to be honest, this military like leader was perhaps the kindest and most understanding person he's met so far in his journey. Heh, "Journey". A more proper description being ever since he's decided to at least attempt to doing something good for the world. Her telling him this really humanized her to him. Not like she wasn't human to him before, probably, but in the sense that he wasn't looking at her in a such a strict military way. He wasn't sure how to describe it. It just changed how he looked at her. It was small, something you could say without too much thought but to him those little details were to be taken note of. For as long as he could anyways. His memory would simply limit just how much he could remember. He'd always try to remember. Sometimes he could remember those little details, sometimes not. Usually, it was subconsciously he could remember. Not really aware of said information in the forefront of his mind but it still subtly judging his actions. Like a sense of what to do. "Oh, that's... understandable." Should he ask what her favorite place to eat out was? Was that too much to ask? They were friends now, right? It shouldn't be too much of a hassle to ask. He hoped. "... What's your favorite place to eat at?" Speaking of places to eat at, where could you eat in a small place like this? Were their diners. Didn't she mention there were diners here? Crud, he had forgotten. Trying to rack his brain for the information before giving up. He could just look around if it came to that. He had been here for some time now, and he still didnt know. But he could always just stay a little longer and check again. That or just ask his new friend. Should he rely on her too much? He wasn't sure how much you could ask from a friend. Was there a limit? Or it was it just a general limit? Wait, General... hehe, he just made an accidental pun. Upon hearing the other options for the others, ones that he could recall called "baby blues", this was great. He didnt know you could have such freedom in a place like this. Or group. Was it just her group that allowed such freedom? Or was this the norm? If the former, then she had to be one of the nicest people he's ever met. Perhaps joining this group wouldn't be that bad. He didnt have much else to go to. Or just do. Before this he really didnt have an obligation to do anything except keep a place clean or just survive. But here, in a group as free as this one, maybe that could change. Maybe he could build something for himself in a place like this. Especially with a friend and someone to help guide him along. He wasn't blind to the fact he wasn't the greatest person in discipline. He had just taken a step or two in improving himself, and he wasn't sure if he could continue in that direction. But maybe with someone's help, as a leader and a friend, he could keep going in his improvements. This could continue being just a dream in his mind or this could become reality. He could be with someone and grow stronger because of it. He would think hard on it. At least he wished to. For his mind wouldn't allow him to dwell on things he couldn't exactly remember. Until it came to haunt him right before he tried to fall asleep. It always seemed to happen around that time to. Every time he tried to relax and enjoy himself, the possibilities of what could be and what he needs to do haunts him until he passes out from exhaustion to his mind. He had hoped he hid his demeanor well enough. He thought he was good at it. Hiding how he felt. Now thinking on it, he really hoped he was good at it. Cause if he wasn't all this time, then that meant people noticed and... just didnt ask about it. Perhaps not caring enough to ask or to help him. That was a sad thought to him that just came to him At this moment of trying to hide his emotions. Being snapped out of his thoughts, he would look back up to her, having heard her sigh and seeing her scratch the back of her head. Had he done something wrong? Did he not hide his emotions well enough, he waited to see as she spoke out to him. "... you didnt mean it." Why did he say that?? "... you were just trying to make things fair. I shouldn't get too angry at something like that." He gave his opinion on the matter. A lot more formal opinion than what he was feeling. He understood that it was supposed to be fair for everyone. He wanted it to be fair for everyone. So why couldn't he just be happy for that? Maybe he was just hungry. Was it different if he was hungry? Did fairness not matter if hunger was in play? Maybe he should stop overthinking this. It was just food. And over food he probably wouldn't like either. Now he had frustrated her over something trivial. Why couldn't he just like or accept the things everyone liked or accepted? He kept thinking on this, feeling like a hassle to deal with. Maybe he didnt deserve friends cause he messed things up. He could get better at it though! Or he could continue to push people away with his very specific perquisites of over something as simple as what he was going to eat that day. Could he change his taste buds? What he liked to eat or didnt? No, just like you can't change what a lion eats. There are some things you just can't change. Perhaps he was just like that. Not only about food, but about just who he was as a per- His thoughts interrupted by Azure speaking out to him again. "... oh... okay... if you can then... please..." He felt awful now. He just made himself look like an idiot being upset over nothing. Causing a scene. Shouldn't he be upset with her? She could've just gave him some food he actually liked. But she was being understanding. She might've not outright apologized, but she was explaining why she acted the way she acted. It was much more mature of her to do that. Heck of a lot nicer and simpler than the type of reactions he's gotten from other people. Especially himself. He had no one to blame but himself... and he knew that... always angry at himself for not being enough. Not doing enough. It made him want to laugh. So much self pitying and for what? So he could keep being the same lazy person that he was. Always in stagnation. The chef speaking out to bring out the logistics of a thing set him back into reality. He always seemed to dream out before being reeled back in by someone talking, huh? He wasn't sure what a Form 32A was, but he could guess what it did. It probably allowed other to get something other than the food given out that day. It would make sense too. Not only in keeping track of what they did and did not have but also to have another option for the people at this camping. He wasn't sure if living was the right word. Did they live in this camp or did they just stay here? Don't those mean the same thing? Was he just complicating things again? Probably the latter. He always seemed to complicate things for himself when the solution was quite simple. Or the cause was simple or the process was simple, but he was just trying to muddy the waters. Like a lake being clear but a swimmer kicking up dirt, causing the crystal clear view of things to become cloudy or murky. If he knew these things, why didn't he stop? Well, lots of things. He just forgets it, realizes this but doesn't change it, or its simply too much of a hassle for him to change it. Yet he expects others to make an exception for him. It was honestly quite funny in retrospect. This whole structure was quite admirable in his eyes. This system of fairness. He couldn't quite remember a time that came close to this fairness. Where the rules affected everyone equally. Usually that wasn't the case. Emotion, grudges, or the like came into the way of that system and not much could be done. Mostly it came down to the person in question and how tough they were in their belief of equality. Was equality the right word? Or was it fairness? Fairness might be the better word to use. Their conviction to fairness. It was usually their emotion that won out in the end and not much could be done about that. He could recall many times when impulsion caused him to act differently. Even when he took the time to stop and think about what he was going to do, he would still act on his emotion or do something that was more convenient. It was hard to control that. It took strong will to deny the urge. And as much as he'd like to think otherwise, he wasn't sure he just had that strength in him. He wanted to be strong of will, he wanted to be better. But could he really? Unless drastic measures were taken, he didnt think he could be. Perhaps not alone. This could be one of a myriad of reasons to join this group. To join her group. Help him grow as a person... no... no he could do this himself, right? He could change himself. He just needed time. Time to think. Time to control. Time to act. He just needed time... This sort of empathy was what Roderick was what he was hoping people would have for each other more. Or was the sympathy. Just some type of understanding between each other would be better than no type of understanding at all. It what was upset him a lot. But that was something he couldn't exactly control. But in a place like this? With rules like this, with customs like this? That could be achieved. Sincere empathy between each other. Of course, that didnt work in other places. Simply because of leaders or traditions or things having always being that way. Were they wrong for that? He wouldn't think so. It's hard to go against what has always has been. It'd be like trying to change the color of a trees leaves overnight. It takes time. Almost all change required time to do. Not like things changed overnight. Which was what he wanted. For things to change for the better. If only he could change things. Did that sound psychotic? Heh, he sure hoped not. He was already enough of a mess as is. He didnt want to add psychotic to that list as well. But going back to the idea of empathy, he's tried to be more emphatic, more understanding, more considerate in his actions for others. And the more he did so, the more he would see how badly he affected others. Was it just in his nature to be a bad person? Maybe, but he didnt want that. He wanted to be a helpful and kind person. It just required time. Possibly lots of it. And he didnt particularly like waiting. He wanted things now. Quick. The dread of time passing was weak at first with him, but he knew it would grow as it passed by him. One of the reasons he started this whole thing. And once again he was knocked out of his train of thought. He was surprised to not fumble in his coordination to grab the plate that was being handed to him. He always feared he would panic and mess up when he needed to act quick. Freeze or just mess up entirely due to not thinking straight. But so far, as far as he could remember, he hasn't messed up in acting quick so far. He looked over to the chef he now knew as Rist. He wondered if he would meet Rist again. Probably not. Even if he did, he wasn't sure if he would recall him... heh, he thought she was referring to himself at first when Azure said Rist. It wouldn't have been the weirdest nickname he's received. It would've actually been on the funnier side. He wouldn't have minded that. He likes funny nicknames. He would wonder if he should give a way goodbye when chef Rist gave a lazy salute back. It wasn't directed at him, but he felt like he should still say goodbye officially. It just felt right to and it didnt feel right if he didnt. However, as they would begin to move away from the chef, he would hesitate in his goodbye as things began to move quickly. He would simply watch in indecision as Rist went on to the next person. He broke the indecision by giving a wave of goodbye before they got any further away. Then looking to Azure, he would smile under the ski mask and nod "Thank you for trying so hard to feed me." He took a small pause before continuing "... I know we're friends but... this still means a lot to me. You're being so kind to me. Even if we're just friends..." It was somewhat muffled by the ski mask he wore. Not to add the fact he was becoming a little more silent the further he talked. Just showing gratitude was hard for him. Even if Azure was telling him it shouldn't be a hassle, he still felt like one. She was going out of her way to make sure he was being fed. He wasn't even her own, and yet she was still going through all this trouble to make sure he could eat something he enjoyed. That was something he was amazed by but also embarrassed by. As much as he wanted someone to help him, when someone did so, it made him feel all squeamish and awkward. Like he was doing something wrong to ask someone for help. Or for someone to go out of their way to help him. He felt like he should do things on his own. He knew asking help wasn't wrong or that others helping him wasn't wrong, but he still couldn't shake off the feeling of inadequacy. He would attempt to keep all these considerate actions from her, his friend, in mind. He wants to repay it back to her someway somehow. He didnt want to be a drag. An anchor to her progress. She could be doing so many other things without him around. Like trying to go up rank, helping her troops out, or simply enjoying her meal without him whining like a needy pet. He just felt like... like a failure. Like someone who couldn't do anything right. He shouldn't feel like this. It was a bad feeling. But yet there it was. Making him feel awful. It caused a heavy weight in not only his mind but his heart. He would try to make it up to her. Giving her a glance, her warm smile did help him relax a little. The chilly weather becoming a little more bearable. For him, being in a military camp, wanting to eat their food while not even offering to help in a meaningful way made him feel worse. Of course the feeling was reduced by the reassuring smiles and pats from Azure but the feeling persisted. If a little less so by her presence. Things were easier with someone. Someone to talk to about things did help with dealing with them. The problem was that he wasn't sure if he could talk to her about this. He would assume it was easy to. Just open your mouth and speak your mind about things. But in the moment? Where your throat seems to tighten up? The words getting stuck in your throat? The weight stopping you from so much as breathing in ease. It was hard to even begin to talk to someone about this. Especially for himself. For someone with, in his opinion, someone without strong will. As much as he wanted to believe otherwise. As they grew closer, he could see the ration truck in the distance. Was this where you signed that paper? That... that... paper? Form 32A? Was it 32A? It was hard to recall. He had been thinking so much in other things that the thought of remembering the form had crossed his mind. Hopefully he got it right. If not, it didnt really matter or amount too much. Not like it was the end of the world. Unless he were to sign it. Then it would be the end of his world. He didnt know how to sign official papers like that! He always did wonder where you sign it or how you sign papers like those. Did you just write your name and date you signed it on the paper? Or was it more complicated than that and involved something? Like address or like a point's system. Like at a store with a reward's system. The thought of it working like that made him smile internally. Humor did help him relax or just be in a better mood. Perhaps he should do it more. Roderick would look at the truck once they arrived, glancing over to the supply officer and pondering on if he should wave before deciding it would probably be best if he didn’t. Not because he thought the supply officer would be rude or anything, but because it would most likely be awkward for both sides if he did so. So, in a case of wisdom on his end, he held back on his action. Watching them open the truck, he would peak inside the truck. Seeing the rows of boxes filled with what he assumed to be bunches of food. Stored and preserved for occasions. Occasions being in the battlefield or something similar. He would look over at Azure once they were handed the catalog of what was available in the truck. He tried to get a peak at what was available. It felt like a restaurant to him with so many different options Turkey fillet with potatoes and mixed vegetables, pork kats-katsudo-katsudon. Wow, that’s a mouthful- with crab salad, and roast beef in gravy and mashed potatoes. And it wasn’t just only that. There even seemed to be vegan and vegetarian options for those less inclined to be a meat eater. The options making his mind come up with vivid images of each of the options. A burning, well done steak with sauce and fancy leaves on top. A huge, shiny, brown turkey ready to be eaten with potato’s to the side. The idea of mixed vegetables conjuring up an image of a bowl or container filled with broccoli, leaves, clearly sticks, slices of unknown veggies, and more plants he did not know the names of. Pink pork with a name he did not know either and cooked crab in the middle of a large salad. Roast beef looking like ribs in his mind with gravy and mashed potato’s. The gravy making the ribs shine like gold and mashed potato’s having him imagine perfectly normal potatoes being smashed into oblivion by a fist. It made the inside of his mouth water and his stomach tighten in hunger. He knew some people would kill for a meal like this. Even if it wasn’t exactly the real thing. He knew how these MREs worked. At least he assumed he did. Just add some water, tilt it to a side, and let it heat up for around 15 minutes. Give or take some time. It wouldn’t look like the real thing but hopefully it tasted like it. If you were real lucky, you could even get some chocolate milk with that too or even a good cookie. The sounds of anything edible that he liked was just making him even hungrier. He would have to contain himself. He also understood the reason of keeping them in storage and not eating them constantly. Even he knew the difference between eating everyday food and having special food for special occasions. You wouldn’t go to the most expensive restaurant to eat at everyday. Not unless you could or such. He didn’t include fast food place in his list because he kinda had to… and also because he couldn’t help himself. Listen, if you’re busy walking and down have time to sit down and eat, fast food restaurants are convenient. Plus, those were one of the few places that had food he liked. Perhaps he should try to stop eating at those places? Probably. Would he? Likely not. Even if he tried to stop, it would be quite difficult for him to do so. Not only because of convenience but because of the simple fact of his preference of food. He liked food that was typically bland in general. No hot sauce, no odd tastes, no odd texture, and definitely no weird juice. Unless the juice was good. Then an exception would be made. Like a burger. Burgers would good. Sweet juicy meat and lettuce. But that was it. No onions, no pickles, no mayonnaise, no tomato, no nothing. Only the sesame buns, the juicy well done meat, and the fresh lettuce. Not even ketchup or mustard. Both were bad sauces. In fact, he didn’t like a lot of sauces. If any. The only sauce he could think of that he even remotely like was… was… he couldn’t think of one. That’s how much he disliked sauces. The texture was too weird and the more you thought about it, at least for him, the worse it tasted. Oh, was he getting off topic? Sorry, had to mention his disdain for odd flavors. What was it? Ah yes, MRE’s. Reason why you wouldn’t eat these so much was because of the documentation needed. You only had so much of it available and it was technically emergency food. You don’t use a fire extinguisher to put out your candle or match. Unless, of course, it had grown out of hand and into a raging flame. Then use the fire extinguisher. It wasn’t that hard to think about. Then there was the paperwork, the wait time, and you possibly like beans more than the MRE’s. All different factors coming into play in the simple decision of what to eat that day before you had to do the same next later on or the next day. Which was his way of eating. Blandness. He couldn’t handle different textures, or at least to him, odd textures. Himself being more comfortable with solid foods than foods that didn’t fit that criteria of being solid. Like semi-solid foods. Soup being an exception or cereal since it had solid food in a liquid that complimented them. The unfortunate part was that usually these types of foods he ate weren’t necessarily rich with nutrients. No, usually they were heavy in one are or heavy in all areas. The foods he ate consistently being heavy in one area. In on nutrient. Usually this would be terrible for the body and it was. However his high metabolism helped negate this problem. For now. Perhaps if he ate more of them or continued down this line it would catch up to him. But for now it was being kept down by his metabolism. He would continue to eat like this until it would show up in any physical exercise or especially running. Feeling in just how he was able to breath. Or trouble there of. He would look up to her once he heard what she had to say. He would look in front of himself, in thought about this. So, you were not judged how or where you ate? So long as you made it back to your duties? That sounded nice. Fair even. Why couldn’t other places be like this? Was it simply too difficult to implement? Or was it tradition? Wait, hasn’t he thought about this before. He was thinking in circles again! He would shake his head, not wanting to end up in the same trap again of thinking in circles. He wanted to find the source of the problem but if he kept thinking like this, he would simply end up trapped in his end. Or maybe he was continually finding the source and mistaking it as a red herring. For someone who considered themselves smart, it would be a pretty dumb move to do that “… That sounds great. It’s fair too. If you do what you’re asked, you can eat wherever or however you want… I mean… within reason of course.” He gave a glance at Azure as if for confirmation. It didn’t hurt to ask someone else if something was right or wrong… right? Or was it wrong? Hehe, he found that funny for some reason. It was an odd experience. Asking someone else for confirmation. It isn’t as if he hadn’t done it before. No, that wasn’t the case. But to ask her. A new friend. Asking Azure for confirmation. It was an odd experience. He wasn’t exactly sure why. He could think of many things on why that could be the case, but he wasn’t sure which one it was. Maybe it was because she’s a new friend and asking them to confirm something was simply odd to him since he hadn’t made a friend in a while. Maybe it was because she was a military leader and asking her for something small like this was surreal to him. Or maybe the fact he was able to speak to someone like her at all, like a friend no less, was messing with his mind in many ways. He was standing in a military camp next to the leader of said camp, going through a list of what he wanted to eat because she wanted to help him eat. Her going out of her way to help him eat. The fact someone like her took the time and effort to do this was just… unreal to him. Like this was a strange dream or a daydream he would have of scenarios that wouldn’t be. Yet here he was. Standing next to someone kind, considerate, and strong. Standing next to someone who was a friend and possibly a new ally. Someone who would take the time to help them get some food they liked in their stomach. Or just someone to be with. To talk to and not have yourself shut down your mind to stop the hurt. To stop the stress from eating away at your mind. To stop the pain… heh, sentimental talk to himself. But… again… maybe he didn’t need to have this conversation to himself. Maybe he could.. Perhaps… just maybe… possibly… confide in this woman named Azure. Who was helping him get something to eat. Because she cared enough to stop him in the forest to ask how he was doing… was that how it went. He couldn’t exactly recall… he hoped he wouldn’t forget her name again… he didn’t want to forget someone else again. Especially not her in the short time he’s known her. Perhaps he should try to take some time and remember then? But how could he do that? How do you remember someone’s name? He could barely remember what he had for lunch a few days ago. How could he remember someone’s name? What could help… Perhaps focus? Then calm. Focus? Calm. Focus. Calm. Remember. Azure. Azure. Azure… Azure…? Azure. Azure? He thinks it’s Azure… well… whether it worked or not… I guess time will tell. (“4,886 words. 19,005 words in total.”) Emargine "Azure" Cerola
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Post by Emargine "Azure" Cerola on Sept 1, 2022 4:20:22 GMT -8
Roderick's reaction to being told that 0 was dead seemed to be rather mixed. On the one hand, his initial reaction was to be sort of happy at being above zero, but that soon went into a certain thoughtfulness echoed by his follow-up on how 0 being dead was... understandable. If her psychic senses were correct, though, he was really just being too hard on himself. There was no way he was merely something as low as two. But, as Azure figured, it was best to let him see for himself once they used the Scouters on each other. She had dropped enough hints on him to give him a good idea. If he was going to keep putting himself down like this, well that wasn't her problem. And soon enough, he would stop thinking so poorly of himself, that was for sure. But first, there was the food! Roderick then asked the colonel what her favourite place to eat was. She stopped for a moment and paused, thinking to herself. The funny thing about the false memories implanted by the TSE is that you knew which ones they were. You knew they were fake. That way, you wouldn't be confused about who you really were. And yet, whenever she recalled the, they were just as vivid as her real ones. If nobody told her that she had implanted fake memories, she wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. The sheer quality of the memory implants served another purpose, of course. While you were never at risk of losing yourself (unless you gave into the delusions of taking those memories as true), you on the other hand, would be able to use such memories with absolute sincerity. To the limits of your own ability to recall things, at any rate. So the smell of wild boar roasting over an open fire, the warmth of the flames despite the autumn chill, on a starry night after a long day of hunting in the Southern Lands with her friends... That felt as real to her as growing up in the frozen tundras of Planet Plant's arctic region. She smiled wistfully as she looked off into the distance, savouring that perfectly fabricated memory. As if she really had done that. "I used to hunt with my friends before leaving my village. Nothing like catching wild boar and having it for dinner while stargazing."The implication of course was there, given why the question was asked. "So as long as there's something to hunt nearby, I don't think I'll have to go hungry in case I can't stand what the 33's - the cooks - have in store." 33 was derived from the Golden Gate's AOS system, wherein certain troops specialised in certain things, arranged into neat little four-digit codes. Soldiers who trained for dealing with food had 33 as the first half of their code, with the last two digits dividing up the Food Service into various specialisations. Cooks, people who served, people who took care of food supplies, that sort of thing. Running an army was no small feat, and division of labour was as important as in any other enterprise. The little misunderstanding along the food line was at least neatly resolved. That said, she could sense how much lower Roderick's self perception was getting, and it just made her all the more determined to do something about it. That was something friends did, after all. Granted, there was a point where some people just want to be allowed to wallow in sadness, if for a time. Something about toxic positivity. And while it was true that it was unnatural for people to be happy all the time, it was probably a good idea to keep that wallowing to just the necessary minimum. The counterpoint was that there was always the risk of it turning into a spiral of depression. And that was definitely unhealthy. She gave those observations nonverbal responses. Be it affirming nods or vocal sounds whose agreement with his words could be understood. And she smiled warmly when she saw Roderick giving a wave farewell to Corporal Rist of the 33s. "Rist is from the Eastlands. Did some time in the Galactic Wrestling Federation, got bored of the spotlight and made his way south for an adventure." As one might imagine, he eventually found his way into the Golden Gate Army, joined up with the Dragoons, and the rest was history. It was honest work, he once said. Fighting and cooking. At least, more honest than letting someone else decide who would win your wrestling match because it would make for an "amazing story". He wanted the freedom to earn his own results, not rely on some hack storywriters running a physically demanding drama series. And now, Roderick gave her thanks for working so hard to feed him. Well, had this happened anywhere else, they could have just gone to a restaurant and called it a day. It really made no difference to her. His comment on her effort despite being "just friends" made her think more about those degrees of friendship. On that proverbial spectrum, they had just met, had some things in common, and decided to commit to work hard on that budding friendship. That... probably wasn't how it worked. At least, from how she pictured things, she never asked anybody to become her friend. Back at the military academy on Planet Plant, she certainly never asked The Charentis Project for permission to be her friend. They kind of just hit it off in a strange kind of... friendly rivalry. The expert at the physical aspects of warfare - the jock you might say - and the expert at the mental aspects - the nerd. A strange coupling that was, but it was there. Though personally she preferred the term "strategist". Charentis might very well have argued that that was exactly what a nerd would say though. Heh. In this case then, well... "That's what friends are for. I'm probably being strangely forward," she admitted. "I doubt most new friends go through so much trouble, but I make it a point to honour my commitments. We might have just met today, but we are friends, and I won't approach this friendship half-baked."They had a little exchange while she went over the menu, about how food preferences weren't an issue so long as you could get back in time to work. "Exactly. It's fair. A lot of the world isn't fair. And while I can't say we're perfectly fair all the time, I try to make it as fair as possible without sacrificing performance."If ever Roderick for some reason decided to try out, well... She wouldn't be in charge of his training. That was where the Drill Instructors came in. It was the fair thing to do. And as friends, hopefully he would understand. The reason she could afford to be this generous for him right now, was because he was still an exception to her rules of fairness. Would they still be friends if he got in? Of course. Like Maxine, she would take time to check up on him when they were both off duty, see how she could help and advise him on this - unlike Maxine, whose prior experiences made this something of a slam dunk for her. But once that morning bugle sounded, he would be treated as fairly as every other Baby Blue. Azure handed over the catalogue to the boy. She was probably twice his age. Over six times, if you counted her past life. So sure, technically, he was a boy. Still a friend, regardless of that difference. "Alright, take your pick, and we can find somewhere to chow down." Maybe throw in some self-depracation of her own. "It's probably not as good as the pictures the names put in your head, but I inspect our rations myself. It's definitely a treat compared to the daily fare."MRE quality was super important. Aside from the ability to survive years of horrible conditions and still be edible, they also had to be palatable after that. What good was a prepacked burrito meal if it sucked in comparison to a good old Southern Island classic Taco King Burrito Blaster? But what about Capsules then? Didn't those make MREs obsolete? Just cook up a steaming hot meal and stuff it in a capsule, ready to eat. Unfortunately, that was where the economics of scale mattered. The freshly cooked steaming hot meals were beans and rice. Or whatever basic setup was available at the time with meaningfully balanced taste and nutrition. They simply could not afford to cook a three-course fancy pants meal for everybody, even though they had enough capsules for everybody. In fact, each Baby Blue had a Capsule kit full of various basic necessities. Azure waited for Roderick to take his pick, so that they could move along. Then maybe, while continuing their nice chat over this meal, they could test out the scouter. She really was interested to know his exact numbers... [1508/14339] Roderick
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Post by Roderick on Sept 2, 2022 18:16:46 GMT -8
It was rather… underwhelming for him. 0 being basically dead didn’t really help his confidence. It was the bare minimum. Not even that now that he thought about it. 1 would be the bare minimum, right? Because 0 is below that and would mean you were dead. He was alive, he at least thought so. So the baseline just went up by 1. Not a big difference in his mind. He was more disappointed at that fact than anything. In his mind at least, he said wanted to be the absolute worst at something or be pretty good at something. It was weird extremes for him. Liking to succeed massively or fail miserably. If he couldn’t do either then it just felt… mediocre. Average. And he still hadn’t decided how he felt about being average. Was it okay? He wanted to be at least decent but another part of him liked those extremes. Gosh, he couldn’t decide what he liked. His mind and feelings were all over the place. Maybe one day he’d have it figured it out. But for now it was difficult to decide what he wanted some numbers on a machine to be. It was funny to think about how worked up he was getting over something as simple as that. The scouter idea was in his head. The number popping into his head. How would it work? What would the number be? Huge? Or small, puny? How long would it take to load? Would it be quick or would it take some time? A few seconds? Minutes? Hours? How did it pick up on ki? So many questions running through his mind with so many emotions running through him in anticipation. Maybe he was just thinking too deeply about this. Besides, what should a number dictate about him? Not like it changed who he was fundamentally, right? Should it change him? He would look to the side, thinking about this before shaking his head to himself. No, whether it was big or small, he didn't think it should change him. If it was big, then he'd be happy. It meant he was tough, resilient, and hard to kill. If it was small? Well, he could always improve, no? Again, not like it was the end of the world. Perhaps he was just so curious about his own was because he wondered what power level she had. She was the leader of this military group so it had to be bigger than his. But by how much? She said the average was 5 so how high did it get if you were trained? Or strong naturally? Was it only a few digits? By 1 or 2? Or by more? By double digits like 10 or 20? Taking a look at her, he would wonder just how strong someone like her was. He honestly didn't know much about her combat capabilities. The saying of "Don't mess with somebody you don't know." popping in his head as he pondered about this. Maybe she was many times stronger than him. More than he already thought so. Heh, who knows. Maybe she has a power level in the thousands. Of course he wasn't being serious but it was amusing to think about. In his mind, that was a dinosaur or machinery type of strength if 5 was the average. Thinking about other things than himself helped him not constantly belittle himself. He had been doing it more often but not much else he could do when you had no one else to talk to but the thoughts in your head... but food also did help! Especially good food from restaurants and such. Gosh, he could go for a good, juicy burger right about now. That or ramen. But not with pork! He didn't like pork. The smell was just disgusting to his nose. He was curious about this. What did a captain of a military group like to eat? Well, more specifically, what restaurant did they enjoy eating at? He saw her pause and ponder on this. Did she have more than 1? Or were they so close in what she liked? Did she even have time to go to places to eat other than what the camp served? If not then did she ever have time before her... time at the military group to eat at restaurants. He would assume so. She must have had a life before her time at the military. His personal favorites usually were about burgers with fries or hot noodles. Those weren't places to eat at but all the places he ate at had those items available. The thought of her past life did cross his mind. Thoughts of fishing or going to school could be the most likely activities, in his mind, of someone like her doing when she was younger. Or just before her life before all this military stuff. He himself could recall snippets of his life. Some vivid in memory but others foggy. Murky in his mind. Like pouring coffee onto a large book directly onto the pages. Each time he tried to recall them, it was like trying to reach for a cloud. It looked like you could just grasp onto it but it slipped through your fingers. Always seeming in reach but never being in your grasp. Maybe it was a sign to focus on the future or present. But without his memories, what was he? Just a blank slate? The memories he could recall was simply idling by and watching. Observing others. For a time, he was okay with that. But now he could do things without someone hurting him. At least without hurting him too much. But now he had some semblance of experiences. Some more wisdom and view on things. There were still some things he wasn't sure what to feel on or just things he didn't know about. But this... he didn't want to call it this but this journey of his could teach him something. Not only about himself but about the wider world. About topics he couldn't dream of just yet. His imagination could expand to frontiers he couldn't just yet begin to imagine. Perhaps he could do something great. He just lacked imagination or motivation to do said thing. But maybe with experience and more knowledge or power, he could do these things. He just had to keep going forward into the unknown. Of course some help wouldn't hurt either. He could gain new memories, new experiences, and new insights on life. Heh, it wasn't a guarantee but sitting some place and contemplating with his little knowledge of the world wouldnt help much. He could only hope he would be able to remember more than he could right now. His ability to recall things would improve and his ability to distinguish between reality and fiction would also be refined. Lately, he's been wondering if some of his memories were real or not. In the thought if they were simply dreams or day dreams he's once had but wished to be true. His mind then acting upon that desire and having him believe them to be real in his wishy washy catalog of aging experiences. He simply couldn't carry water in a bucket riddled with holes now could he? Heh, he was doing good with these metaphors! Maybe he would make a good wise man some day. If everything else he wished to be didnt work out. It was likely it wouldn't with how he was now. But life was full of surprises, so perhaps it would work out. In any case, he would keep trying to improve. A good starting point would be continuing what he has been doing. Observing others for guidance and learning what would help him in his future. If one would be confident in their stride and it would seem to be working out, he too would try to do the same. In his own style and adjusting when he needed to of course. He didn't want to try a "one size fits all" approach to it. He wouldn't make that mistake of assuming it would work. He would improve. Taking things from others to improve himself. It would take some time. He of course had to take time to study others and watch things. He also had to get over some... internal obstacles as well. It wasn't going to be easy but he would still try to improve himself. The most pressing thing for him to improve on at the moment was his recollection. That was going to be the hardest to improve since it was kinda just how he was. Unable to remember things clearly. Some memories connect in ways they shouldn't. A memory that happened a few months ago seeming like it happened just before another memory just a month ago. And that was just today. It would only get worse if he wasn't careful. Maybe as he matured mentally it would grow better. But with how things were going, he wasn't too bright on the prospect of that. He wouldn't give up on it though. Maybe it was his emotions that were holding him back. Emotions were volatile things. It could help him be better as a person. Or it could lead him to his downfall. To his ruin. To act irrationally. Wise men could control their emotions. He was sure he could do the same one day. He just had to be wise in order to do it, right? That's how that worked? Being wise helped to control your emotions? Noticing the look on her face, he would look up to the colonel. Seeing the wistful look on her face as if she was recalling a fond memory, which she confirmed she was when she spoke on what she was recalling. Listening to her story had him imagine the details of such an event. People surrounding them. The image of a stereotypical village in his mind and her and her friends leaving said village. The sight of a boar being slain. The smell of wild boar being roasted over a fire and the canvas painting of the night sky above them while laying out on the green grass. He was able to imagine all of that in the few sentences she described the event. While his mind was rusty in some places, in others he could excel at. One being his imagination of imagining places. He would give a nod after she told him her memory. So she did have some life before this. It sounded good. Much better than what he could recall of his own. Not many friends to hang out with or hunt with. Not like he hunted much. If ever. "Oh, wow! That must've been a nice memory. Do you remember who they were?" Curious to know if she could remember who her friends were. For him? He couldn't remember anybody. Names were difficult to recall for him. Only faces seemed to stick a bit more. The experience of knowing how to hunt was useful. He himself was only able to watch recordings of how to hunt from others. Not having real experience in how to do it. He wanted to learn how to do it. It sounded like a fun thing to learn. Being out in the forest, trying to stay silent as you stalk your next meal. Being in a small tussle in order to successfully take the beast down. Of course, that's if he had the will or courage to do such things. Both he wasn't sure he had. Thinking all of this as he listened to her speak about this to him. About how she could never truly be hungry due to her experience in hunting "Huh, sounds like a useful skill to have. I wish I knew how to hunt." Part of him really wanted to know how to hunt. The other part didn't want to. Maybe because it had to involve killing an animal. Ironic in his mind because of his carnivorous tendencies and his love of burgers. Her calling the chefs "33's" confusing him momentarily due to her word choice. Why did she call them 33's? Was it simply how they were designated in the camp? It was probably that but he wasn't sure and he didn't want to waste her time asking such a small thing. It would've been a simple thing to ask as well. "Why did she call them that?" was all he needed to say and she would probably give him the answer. Of course he still didn't ask. It was small and he could perhaps ask later. He would likely forget but in that case he wouldn't care about it since he couldn't remember it. He would still attempt to remember it so he could ask her. Still, 33. It was odd. Why not just say chef? It was shorter. Less syllables to say, came off the tongue... no... mouth? Air ways. It came out the airways much simpler than a number like 33. At least to him. There was obviously a reason for it. Maybe she just got so used to saying 33 that it just came out without much thought. Like saying a certain word or phrase over and over again since you were used to saying it. At least to him. Not like he would do such a thing. He was pretty spread out in his usage of words. It wasn't like he used "oh" or "ah" all the time. Only... a few times each sentence. Now that wasn't a lot, right? It was reasonable to say those words a lot. Even "like'' was a word that could be used a lot and it was annoying. Maybe to some people but as long as it was mild in its usage, it wouldn't be too much of a hassle. There were some people who just went on huge tangents over something small like that. But he wouldn't waste his time on going off tangents over something small. Let alone think about something as small as this for too long. He would never do that. Speaking of time, he wondered how tiring it must've been to run a group like this. Taking a moment to examine her features, the ones on her face, he wouldn't notice too many signs of age. He could remember the before and after images of politicians or just anybody in great power. They looked so exhausted and aged by the end of it. Of course he did not know how long she had been doing this, at least to which he could recall, but he didn't think she could've been doing this for too long. She didn't look that old to him. Sadness, to him, was almost a natural state to him by this point. The sense of a constant feeling of sadness or just exhaustion being unanimous to being at peace with him. He could hardly remember a time where he didnt feel upset, sad, or just generally stressed or angry. There was always something bugging him. Now thinking about it, he couldn't remember a time where he was genuinely relaxed. Only times where his feeling of being exhausted or the like would simmer down slightly but still always there. Like a shadow behind him. Prowling behind him. And now he had just grown accustomed to it. The spikes of negative emotion were almost expected to him. He always tried to fight it back down when those occurred by some days, he would just let it happen. Too tired to try and put up a fight. Feeling like he was floating on an ocean whose waves would wash him side to side. Sometimes laying him on shore before pulling him back to the darky depths. He was just on the ride now. In rarer times, he felt like he was actually drowning. His heart clenched in shock as he tried to breath through the waves of emotion. Fighting to breathe... Those times were hard but he always got through them. In all his years, those battles to fight his emotions were harder than any physical fight he's had. As few as those physical fights were, they were still much easier to deal with than his own mind and emotion. Perhaps one day, in just like a physical fight, he'd be able to fight back. Learn his own mind's tactics and actually have the energy to dodge and weave through its attacks and win the battle for his own spirit. Positivity was hard to come by nowadays. At least genuine positivity. He has been trying to stay positive for others. Not let them wallow in sorrow by themselves. Trying to give them some hope in the darkness. Sometimes you could forget that you weren't alone in this fight. That someone out there cared... just you wished that person would stop hiding and show up to show you that they did care. He tried to be that person. It was just difficult to be that person when nobody holds you up. Maybe that's why this whole military group seemed appealing. Other people could help you stay on your feet. But he wasn't blind to the fact it could easily backfire. Not everyone would notice or care enough to help. Others deal with their own issues and focus on themselves. He couldn't really blame anyone for those decisions. They had their reasons for doing so and he couldn't change that fact by much. He would still attempt to help others regardless if they wouldn't help him. He couldn't fight the negativity back with negativity. If he did that, this cycle of... of negativity would never end. The cycle continued until someone was able to stop it at least in one place. He wanted to be that person. Even if it was harder to do with each passing day. Thinking back to what he had been pondering, humor could help him deal with the difficulties in such a task. Humor could help him... But taking a small break on the thoughts of negativity, he would take note of her nonverbal responses. Knowing that sometimes you just didn't want to talk too much as either you just weren't feeling up to it that day or it would be awkward if you did. He understood that and tried to realize as many of those nonverbal signs as he could. He even noticed when he waved goodbye to the chef the warm smile she gave him as they left the line. He would be in quite a shock when she began to tell him who this Rist chef was. He hadn't been expecting her to take the time to explain to him who he was but he listened nonetheless. He tried to remember the little details she gave him. Like the fact he actually was some type of wrestler in the galactic wrestling federation before his time in this military group. The reason interested him. "Because he got bored in the spotlight." He wondered how you could get bored of something like that. He could understand being overwhelmed or stressed by the attention but bored? He was confused and wondered how anyone could get bored of being at the center of attention. He could imagine it but trying to understand was a little more difficult "Huh... so... how did he end up here up here?" He would ask, curious on how an adventure to the south led to joining this military group. How big was this group if going south could lead you to joining a group in the north. Or were her and this group just down there at the time. Was she around when this happened or was she still hunting with friends? He was curious. Even if the answer was a simple as "Met up with the group and joined in.". He did want to know how it came to be. Were there fewer members during this time? Was there a certain background you had to have before joining up? Were there certain qualities they were looking for before they allowed you to join the group? He was curious! His mind racing for answers. He could ask. Like he had thought of before, it would be quite simple. Just open his mouth and ask. But he never could make it that simple. He enjoyed the challenge/frustration in not knowing. Besides, it was much better for him to think about this than how much a failure he truly was. Yeah, this was better. But he had to keep thinking about something like this. Otherwise his mind could wander back to those negative thoughts and he would be back to square one. He would tell his mind to focus. Focus on this thought process rather than the negative one he had been doing for so long by now. He wanted to at least have a calmness in this ocean of troubles. So, wrestling things, chef Rist, and Azure telling him the story. What could he think about that in the meantime to hold off these thoughts he had. Taking a moment to himself in his mind, he would ponder on this simple matter, considering the possibilities before coming up with an idea. Perhaps about how even the chefs seemed to have some experience in hand to hand combat. While not martial arts, or some would say "brawling", wrestling was still a form of fighting. Even if some of that wrestling in the galactic wrestling federation wasn't exactly real. It still made for interesting entertainment and stories. Able to recall the times he would watch it on television. Happy to have watched it. Remembering the soaring joys and deep angers he got from such stories in the galaxy of wrestling. Happy to remember a time where he wasn't suffering in some type of way. Any memory, even small ones like that, were much more accepted than the constant negative ones he could recall. The sheer fact she was helping him eat at all was admirable to him. Many, in his mind, wouldn't go to such lengths to do such a thing. Perhaps only asking if they were hungry and it being the end of that. No trip to a restaurant or anything. For him, it was simply going to restaurant by himself to eat. Usually greasy or high in concentration of fat. Sometimes leaving him feeling worse than he did before. Sometimes he just wouldn't eat due to his feelings at the time or because he needed time to get into the mood of eating. He was picky like that. But besides his feelings towards consumption, the more important matter was her doing this at all. Despite them only being friends recently. Usually, in his mind of how friendships worked, it took more time to get up to that point. Talking, getting to know each other, and learning the boundaries of the other until they were able to offer such expenses for the other. Of course he hadn't been in many friendships either. Only getting ideas from it in media or the ones he had when he was much younger than he was now. When he knew less about the world and was still attempting to find out the best approach to his still maturing life. You could say he was still doing the same thing as of now all these years later. Just with more knowledge of the world. There were certain tiers of friendship, the beginning was small chats, the occasional tidbits of information, and similar interests. Then the next tier is the warming up to the other individual. Sharing the occasional worry the other had, hanging out, and small favors sprinkled on. Next being the third tier. With now trust in the other person. Sharing fears with dread of things in their life. Obstacles they had to learn. Perhaps even one great tragedy in their life that they wished to share with another person. Finally the 4th tier. The full confidence in another. Trusting the individual with secrets and relaxation around the other without fear of backlash or fear of being judged too harshly. Someone you could show your full or true self. As close as you could get to it while still being comfortable or maintaining said image about yourself you would like. In his mind, that's how he imagined a friendship going. While it probably wouldn't go like that in reality, he didn't have much base to ground it off of. Like he had remembered earlier, he hadn't had many friendships in his life. Even fewer or if any he had the chance or time to grow really close with to consider the higher tiers. Maybe he was just being paranoid at the time for him to go any higher up them. Thinking back on his past friendships, he wondered if there was even one he could truly consider one as a "friend". Thinking back, he wasn't sure. Only people he talked to but did not consider friends. People he would talk to when there was nothing else to do or they just happened to have had to work or talk together. None where they took the time out of their day to hang out with each other. But... there was that time in his early life where he did consider one a friend... no... not a friend... it was much stronger than that. Not in the romantic way but in emotion. That spiky haired one... they were his... he didn't like the word rival... but someone he wanted to be better than. Someone who he viewed as a goal to reach or maybe surpass. But at the time that was difficult. Everything he could do, they just seemed to be better at. The monkey bars, the stopping of everyone from going down a slide, to even his favorite activity in his younger youth, running. He loved to run. Except the spiky haired one... they had managed to beat him. Managed to beat him in his own favorite game. He always used to win that, if barely. But that spiky haired one managed to beat him in it and in not too long of a time frame as well. He should've known it would have happened eventually since of their incredible knack to improve quickly. He had attempted to improve as well but they always seemed to improve quicker than him. Always seemed to be a step ahead of him. It infuriated him. Still able to remember the burning hatred of his lack of improvement. The fury burned like a hot fire inside him. Able to remember the desire to scream his lungs out, throw things around, just wanting to show just how angry he was. But since of his self control, and fear, at the time, he didn't do any of that. Being forced to be over his boiling point constantly but never able to do much about it. His only recourse being to try harder and to learn quicker. However, it never seemed to work. The spiky haired one always improving quicker and quicker. Until it all showed in that bout... No... No... Forget it. Forget it. Forget it. Forget it. Forget it- His thoughts, his emotions were interrupted by the talking of his considerate friend named Azure. Looking up to her, having been looking slightly to the ground in his blank stare like he usually did when he was deep in thought, he listened to what she had to tell him. All the while, trying to keep his thoughts down that was a storm in his mind. Taking a small moment to wonder if his mind was as hard to make sense of to anyone else but himself. He wouldn't know. Since as far as he knew, he was the only one to make sense of his mind. The only one to judge his thoughts. To decide what to make of them. Then, he was able to process her words. "... huh... thank you for trying... so hard to make this friendship work." He took another moment to collect his thoughts, wanting to improve in how he approached conversations like these. "Not many would take that to heart. I am grateful that you would do that... I want to do the same for you! I want to help you since youve done so much for me! I don't want to be the only one receiving things." He put emotion into those last 3 sentences, having been mostly neutral in his tone in the beginning. Realizing how he was saying his sentences near the end. The sense of image not lost in his cloudy mind. In that small exchange, he was able to go over the possible choices that the menu could offer. Mostly the ones he could recognize or remember from the media on MRE's. Overall? A lot he didn't like. But there were ones where he could possibly tolerate it if he decided to stomach the unsavory tastes. Just maybe. He would likely go for the ones with little taste or just bland in taste in general. He could eat pretty fast in his mind. So he could likely be finished with his meal without much delay if he did join this military group. The thought becomes harder to remember in the sea of other ideas or dreams in his mind. Becoming harder each second to recall. Why couldn't he just remember things clearly?? Once again being interrupted in his own thoughts, he would listen to what she had to say. If he was going to be a friend to her, that was the least he could do for her. Just listening to her for whatever she had to say. Assuming she was doing the same for him. Like she was saying, it had to be somewhat fair, right? Most things in life weren't fair so they could try their best to make things fairer. "That's kind of ya! I like that you try to make things fair for everybody. Even if it's hard to do in a place like this. Even if some things aren't fair in some places, you are trying. And to me... I think that's fair enough to ask from you." He said with a small chuckle, smiling under his mask. Thinking back to that one thought. That thought of joining. How strict would his life be? He of course knew some of his freedom on where to go would be restricted. He wouldn't be able to travel anywhere he wanted to if he joined. Probably wouldn't be able to choose what food he ate either if he did joined without signing that form 32A or something. Whatever it was called. Maybe he could just keep signing them to eat it? But still, he wasn't sure he'd be able to just keep doing that each time he got hungry. Then what about going to restaurants to eat or other places that served foods he liked. But even in that case, there would be times where they weren't near said places. Either too far away or just places with food he did not enjoy. So food could be a problem for him in such a group. But other than that, joining wouldn't be so problematic, right? Well, there was still more to consider than just time and what he could eat. Could he handle such a place? He was well aware on how some militaries handled their soldiers. While he didnt think Azure would run her group as badly as most did, he still wasn't sure he could handle the strict routine. He could barely keep up with his own sleep schedule as is. Well, as much if you could even call it a sleep schedule that was. He know his emotional state so putting himself in a place like that might wouldn't be doing himself any favors. Besides, it wasn't a guarantee he was going to be trained personally by her. And he didn't blame her for that too much. They had just been talking about fairness and if he got special treatment, it would be unfair to the others. And as much as he wanted to do things his way, he also wanted things to be fair to everyone else. On the other hand, think of the benefits it could entail. The training he could receive. The always constant food that was good for him that he could get. Not even mentioning the fact he could actually have a set sleep schedule and things to do throughout the day. He could finally have some structure in his life. He didn't have to keep wandering about. He could have a set goal in his mind. Basically straightening and setting out his life. It would be good for him to have a paved path. But did he really want that? To have his path already set? Other parts of him want to be free and to do as he pleased. Not to be shackled to any one group. But then again, he could ignore that part of himself and continue with his idea on joining. Be a better person because of it, probably, in the end. Even if he had to give up certain privileges in his life in order to achieve it. But wait... that meant he couldn't... couldn't grow on his own. That... that made him upset for some reason. Did it count as growing on his own if he couldn't achieve it by himself? If he had to get help from others to achieve it. It was one thing to take and learn from others by observing. But joining a group to improve said something about him. That he couldn't improve on his own. He... he couldn't accept that... could he? He would notice her offering the catalog to him and accepted it. Moving his hand to grab it and take it. Once he held a hold of it, he would look over it to see what his options were. He had been thinking about what options of MRE's they offered but seeing the actual options in front of him was much more helpful than simply imaging. His eyes went over the options one by one, thinking about the taste of each one to decide/wonder which one he would enjoy and which ones he wouldn't. Sometimes he had to guess for ones he hadn't tasted before. Other times to wonder if the MRE's would even taste like what they said they tasted like. Then the possible impurities of being in a package like that. Could they taste different in a package like that? He had never eaten an MRE before for obvious reasons so he wondered if it would taste different in a package like that. And then if it did, there was the question of how differently it tasted based on how long it was in the package. He could taste the difference between water poured into a glass cup and another in bottle form. Then again, he might just have broken taste buds. As if becoming clockwork, he was once again brought back into reality so he could focus in on what she was telling him. Looking up from his catalog, he would try his best to focus on her and listen to what she had to say to him. "Ah, okay!" He said with sincerity. Looking back at the catalog to see what he would like from it. Still trying to decide if any of them were good or not. He heard her talking about them likely not being as good as the names implied but still being a treat to eat. Heh, treat to eat. That rhymed. But anyways, that cleared one worry from his mind. They were at least good enough to eat. Even good to taste as well. He did wonder, however, how one even inspected an MRE to see if they were good or not. Did one simply check the expiration date on one? Did MREs have expiration dates on them? On the packaging itself to be more specific? He would assume so. Trying to remember what he could about MRE's. If they didn't have expiration dates, then he wasn't sure they would even allow them to be given out. For health concerns about the soldiers. Expiration dates did exist for a reason. It was hard to imagine the military of all places to not have them on food packaging. Especially ones that were apparently supposed to be used in emergencies. Then again, he could be wrong. He didn't know much about them to be honest with himself. He would take her word on it. On it being good to eat and good to the taste buds. Not like he had any reason to mistrust her in the short time he's known her. Not like she could have poisoned the entire supply of MRE's. That would be a waste of money. He wasn't sure how much MRE's cost but a whole bunch of them? For a group like this? Even if they were relatively cheap, a whole bunch like that wasted would just be a waste on one person. Of course, it could be done for someone exceptionally dangerous. But not like he could be dangerous to anyone. He wasn't a monster. At least to the grander world. Maybe to others around him if they knew who he was. But on a grander scale? Eh. Maybe if he was lucky, or unlucky, he could be considered dangerous enough to do that. Heh, maybe that way he could actually be worth something in this world. Who knows! Maybe he'll be some sort of world conqueror. The thought made him internally laugh. He did have those silly thoughts from time to time. Each time amusing him. But he knew he couldn't do that. For many other reasons other than just not being nearly influential or powerful enough to do it. But also because he didn't think he could even have a motive to do it. Or even the will. Continuing to look through the catalog, he would go through each choice, carefully considering what to pick before finally deciding on a choice. He would point down to one of the items and look up to the colonel "I think I'd like this one." He said just loud enough where she could hear him through the mask. It was one of the blandest choices one could pick. Involving bread, some chicken, and other bland food items. "Heh, I'm sorry if my choice is bland..." He felt like saying more but the words just didn't come out. Like he had lost the breath to say them. It wasn't like it was because of fear or because he was too anxious... okay, perhaps the latter. He just thought it would be awkward to say more than he needed to. Like he would be a chatterbox if he did so. This was his first friend in a while so he didn't want to annoy her already. So he just got down to it. Telling her which choice he wanted with some humor and emotion put into it. In his opinion, he thought he was doing pretty good conversation wise so far. He did think he could do better though. Now having looked at her a few times, he started to wonder a few things about her. He had thought about her past life before this. Given her few tidbits of information she had given him. It seemed like she just had a normal life. Nothing too major. Probably a more exciting life than himself. As much as something in himself didn't like even thinking of something like that. But the more he looked at her, the more he couldn't help but just notice something. She did look quite young. Maybe 20's? Early to mid 20's? Maybe being wrong on that estimate and her being in her 30's. But still, even with that 30 age estimate, something seemed off. He couldnt put his finger on it. It just... it just felt like she was much older than she looked. He couldn't tell why he felt like this. Maybe it was the eyes. Or maybe it was just because of her serious military uniform. Or her exuding presence. That or how she phrased her words. The tone of it. Or maybe it was because he seemed to view her as an elder. One to look for in times of guidance. Gosh, if she could hear him think about this, he would be embarrassed. He knew some people didn't like being asked how old they were. Remembering a saying to never ask a woman's age. Was it really rude to ask such a thing? He wondered if she would be upset with him if he did ask that question. It wouldn't be too much of a hassle right? No! Of course it would be a hassle. Out of everything he's been considering, asking his recent friend on how old they were? Especially a young looking lady about her age? That would be reason enough to slap him! He hoped he wouldn't be slapped. Mostly because he wasn't sure if he could contain his rage on such a thing. Maybe he could handle it if he used shock to cover most of it. Not wanting to take the risk, he just remained silent about the matter. Then what could he ask her? He had mostly been the one answering things and not really participating in the conversation. Perhaps he could try posing his own questions or suggesting things? But about what? He couldn't ask her about her age. He knew that could be taboo. Then what? "... so... what's your... favorite time of the day?" He asked, trying to sound confident about the question so he didn't look like a complete fool on asking such a question. It was the best he could come up with on the spot. Hopefully she wouldn’t laugh too hard at him for such a question. Maybe she wouldn't. He assumed she would just give an amused smile. The worst she could say was "What a silly question.". All this thinking about small matters had him totally forget about that scouter thing. It had been pushed back all the way to the back of his mind. Even if the idea had excited him at first, his mind being the leaky bucket it was wouldn't allow him to fully keep it in mind despite his best efforts. Having been more focused on his manners and about what was socially acceptable to ask a woman like her. It was what he had to go off when you didn't have much social experience. He did have others that he watched to go off of but other than that, he was on his own to guess. He would stay on the safe side for now on how to act. He didn't want to be completely ostracized in the first few bits of conversation he decided to initiate himself. If he was going to contribute anything, the least could be this. This small conversation was one thing he offered. ("7,210 words. 26,215 words in total.") Emargine "Azure" Cerola
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Post by Emargine "Azure" Cerola on Sept 3, 2022 6:49:01 GMT -8
Roderick certainly was the introspective type, wasn't he? Which was alright. Though Azure always went out of her way to project confidence and leadership, she was most comfortable by herself in quiet contemplation. Different people led in different ways and different styles that matched their personality. That was true. You didn't have to go out there and act like a total Alpha to get people to do what you wanted. It was beside the point, of course. Leaders didn't get people to do what they wanted. It was more a side-effect of inspiring people to work toward something they all wanted. Especially in a voluntary organisation such as this, where people joined for what they wanted. It could have been any number of things. Rist wanted an adventure, to be on a real journey of his choosing, rather than the storylines written by those pencils behind the GWF. No, he wasn't in charge of where the Dragoons rolled. He didn't get to shoot much outside of keeping his aim in shape, or fighting to defend his concessions truck. But he chose to join the 33s in cooking. He chose to serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner to long lines of hungry troops. It didn't make for exciting GWF storytelling. But it was something he decided on. That was what he wanted for himself. What Azure would want out of him if anyone asked, was for him to keep cooking well. It just happened to coincide with his choice to take up the specialisation of the 33s. Once in a while, like she did with pretty much everyone here, she would put in a good word of encouragement, for example. Nothing bombastic like a speech. Just enough for him to hear over the din of people lining up, but hushed enough that nobody else but him picked up on it. Things like that. It was how she led. And of course, she also led by example, probably more powerful than any good word she could give. Let it never be said that Colonel Azure would send her men to do things she was not willing to do. Quite the contrary. She had to be a model, and be the first to pave the way of where to go. That was why she would go and get herself dirty shoveling snow and dirt, just like the rest of them. It was also why she would be one of the first off the dropship during a deployment, whether in power armour or not. The best part of leading by example, was that you only needed to show people what to do. It would tell its own story, and you could keep the words to a minimum. If Roderick worked hard enough and if he wanted it hard enough, he could certainly live up to his name to be king. Of what? Who was to say. But it was certainly possible with the right dedication. For now, he kept his words to the absolutely necessary, even as he chose his meal, got the MRE pack, and followed her lead to a nice outcropping of four rocks that had been rolled into place earlier. Three for sitting, and a big flat slab to serve as a makeshift table. Azure set her tray down on the slab, and her behind on the sitting rock. It was good to finally sit down after a long... how many hours passed by already digging that snow out of the way? Sure, some might say an airstrike, or even attaching some bulldozing tools to the vehicles might have been faster. But they were training specifically for what was coming up ahead, in demon-infested Yunzabit Heights. Where the vehicles would be kept as quiet and hidden as possible. That was when Azure picked up on the conversation. "My old hunting friends, huh." She pointed in the direction of another camp in the distance, also settling down for their meals. "My second in command chose the name Teal," she started. "He always loved leading the way on the hunt. He might not look it now, but he's really good at picking up tracks. He's a lot better with people than me, and a lot better at telling jokes too." she smirked. There were others she spoke of, of course. Perhaps fittingly, they were the first recruits Cerola handpicked to join her on the mission. Not all of them made it to high enough ranks to earn a coloured name. But They performed their mission well. Pawel was the whiner in Alpha First, Third Squad, who still did great at shooting things even though he never stopped complaining. Tasha enjoyed the butchering part because she was studying to become a doctor, and was now in charge of the infirmary for Bravo Company. And Georg, who took the name Lime, was a funny thing in that he started out mousey and quiet, but somehow ended up being in charge of supervising all the drill instructors. Yes, the stereotypical angry sergeants who'd give you a hundred pushups for just looking at the funny. While they didn't actually hunt together as youngsters while stargazing, they did do some hunting when they arrived in the Southlands and made their way to the Golden Gate base. The trip on foot took a few days after all. In a way, that real experience blended with the fabricated memories to make the latter even more convincing and in a way, nostalgic. Their "last" hunts before taking part in a regimented life. Speaking of people ending up here, the conversation turned back to Rist. "I was just starting to prove myself in the Golden Gate Army back then. We were making a show of how well we could fight demons without losing anyone. As we did that, our reputation grew. I got promotions, and people who saw us perform requested transfers to our unit. Rist was one of them. He knew we would eventually be going places. I interviewed him for the transfer, and found no problems. The transfer went through and he started working with our 33's. Now that the Golden Gate Army is gone, he rolls with us."That was really the story of everyone here who wasn't a Baby Blue. They joined the Golden Gate, saw how Azure's Dragoons were faring, and asked for a transfer there. Of course a number of those were Tuffles who had intended to join the Dragoons from the beginning. They just took the long undercover route of making it look like they were impressed. The ISLET infiltration of the Golden Gate Army to form the core of Azure's Dragoons was something of a complex and drawn-out process. Some recruits would live in the Southlands or nearby regions for years, establishing undercover identities first before finally joining up. And once they were in the Golden Gate, they had to demonstrate that they were worthy of joining the Dragoons. But it all worked out in the end. That core was now in place, and this mercenary unit was now a well-oiled machine. Roderick thanked her deeply. Yes, it was food, but Azure really went out of her way to do this for him. And now, he wanted to pay her back. She took a moment to think about this. She would never ask him to join up for something so trivial. On the other hand, she didn't want to make it seem like she didn't value his gratitude with a flippant request. "Let me think about it, and I'll let you know when I come up with something. What ever I'll ask for, I want it to be something meaningful."Something one friend would ask another... Azure opened up a Capsule. With a pop, it revealed a gallon jug of tap water. She opened it up and passed it across the table for him too mix in with the packaged powdered heater, which would create a hot reaction once mixed with water. Soon, his MRE would be all warmed up and ready to eat. "In just a bit, we'll have your meal all ready. No need to apologise for your choice. It's about what you want, after all. I'm just glad you're eating instead of letting yourself go hungry after that little workout."But on to key matters. She nodded at his comments on her approach to making things fair. "Thank you, Roderick." It was true, of course. There was a lot of unfairness going around. "I probably can't make the whole world fair. But I can start by making sure my Dragoons have that fair culture." Other than being a good way to manage a unit this big, it also demonstrated professionalism and integrity. Clients liked that. So it was inherently good, and benefited the PMC as a whole. They had nothing to hide. Well... at least, nothing that wasn't irrelevant to their work. Yes, at the end of the day, they were doing this for ulterior reasons. But if they could render a useful service along the way, why not? Then out of the blue, he asked an interesting question. Although she wondered if that was what he really wanted to know... Azure would indulge it, of course. "Pre-Dawn. About 0300 Hours. It's quiet, the daytime animals haven't stirred yet, it's still a while to sunrise... That's when I can have some time to peacefully centre myself. Get ready for the day ahead. It wasn't always that way. When I started out, that was when the drill sergeants woke us up and started our day with a bang!"Yes, those were the days. But after the third week, you got used to that new sleeping schedule. Azure pulled the scouter off her ear. There would be a few minutes before the meal was done reheating, so they had some time. "So would you like to see my power level first, or would you rather we start with me reading yours?"[1661/16000] Roderick
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Post by Roderick on Sept 3, 2022 17:00:45 GMT -8
Roderick was very introspective. It's what you had to do when you didn't have a lot of people to talk to. You had to make up for it in deep thinking or else you would be bored out of your mind. He actually had tried to do that. Be bored out of his mind in order to not think but he could only handle that kind of thing for so long. Eventually, he went to think in order to deal with it. He couldn't do his favorite thing which was running since nobody wanted to run with him after a certain point. Or he was just too shy in order to ask. He had also just lost a lot of motivation to do so. The reason being because of nobody wanting to run with him and the time that spiky haired one was faster. It had upset him. With him doing nothing but thinking all day, he had just been left to simmer in rage. Then he noticed he wasn't bored when he was angry or feeling a negative emotion. He hadn't been able to feel much emotion when he was younger but now? During that time when someone beat him in his own game? He was able to feel an emotion inside him. Negative emotions, yes, but an emotion. And those emotions didn't let him feel bored. On the contrary. It helped him think. Help him imagine things he probably shouldn't have been thinking at that time. But he was a smart boy, at least in his mind, and was able to entertain himself with those thoughts. Eventually he got to the point of thinking about others. He could only think about himself for so long. He had begun to wonder how others felt, taking note of their behaviors and emotions. The look on their faces when they played or when they were in class. It was interesting for him to see the boredom he experienced. He had wondered why they would feel those emotions, able to identify the cause most of the time. Sitting crisscrossed next to other young ones on a mat with pretty colors. He was able to realize, even during that young time of his life, that maybe this wasn't normal to think about. Wondering about if others thought like this. He never had the courage to ask or the memory to remember to ask such a thing. Only play with the others when he could or just stand around, watching many of the other children play fun games. Then it was right back to learning which he found very boring. When he finally got back home, he would find ways to entertain himself. Going on the web to find something as not many people lived around him. There he was able to find his interest in martial arts. Having seen someone on tv fighting and performing kung fu moves. He had been enamored but what he saw. He had to do something like that! Not only did he look cool if he could use those fighting skills, but he could also be super strong when he got older. He couldn't recall what age he was when he first saw that movie, or even what movie it was, but he was sure he wasn't even in double digits at the time. He had begged to go to do it and he was able to do just that. Eventually getting to a dojo not too far from where he lived. He was faintly able to recall how exactly he signed up but in the end, he did. Learning how to kick or punch properly. It was quite... disappointing at first. Where was the fun part of them doing super cool moves of kicking and punching quickly and fighting 10 people to one? That was what martial arts showed it was capable of, right? He had thought that maybe he just had to be patient. That cool stuff could come later when he knew how to kick a small punching bag. He stayed there, learning the basics of punching and kicking. Learning how to remain steady on one foot and how to not hurt your fist when punching a wooden board. Oh, that was his exciting part of it. He remembered when they brought out the wooden board, he was worried. He recalled the feeling of anxiety at it being brought out. Did they have to punch that? They were too young in his mind to be doing that so of course they wouldn't have to. That's when his teacher brought out the board to the others and told them to punch it. He was terrified to punch that! It would hurt his hand. Others went before him and he saw most were able to break in one strike. Others took more hits but eventually were able to break it. He was thinking about how he would break it. Others had been able to do it so he could too as well, right? He thought he could. No, he could! He could break the board. As the line was shortening to punch the board, he was imagining how he would do it. He would get into his stance and do the hardest punch he could. Eventually, it got to his turn in line to punch the board. He got into position, expecting for some instruction but he received none. He was on his own to do it. Or did he receive instruction? He couldn't remember. But in either case, he was in his stance, mentally preparing himself to break the board into many pieces. He pulled his fist back, readying himself before sending his fist hurling toward the board to break it. Able to think about in that small window of time that he threw the punch about how the board would break into small pieces. Everyone would be amazed at how he broke it in one punch. How he could be stronger than everyone else in this one display of strength. "Thud." was the sound he remembered when his fist collided with the board. He had looked at the light brown piece of wood his teacher held in his hands. He was able to see his fist on the board. It hadn't even made a mark on it. And it hurts. It hurt his hand. He wasn't sure what to do then. Figuring that he should have been able to break it in one strike. That's when his teacher instructed him to strike again. Having focused back in, he pulled his fist back for another punch despite the pain. "Thud.". It didn't break once again. "Strike again." Was the gist of what his teacher said. He would pull his fist back one more time for a punch, hurling it toward the board. Hoping that he could break it. He couldn't be embarrassed like this in front of everyone. "Thud." Once again rang out to the ears of everyone there. He could see white flecks of dead skin still attached to his hand from having hit it so hard and so many times. It hurts to punch now. He would begin to pull it back and look at it before his teacher then instructed him to hit it again. He hesitated, the pain becoming harsh to his senses before his teacher told him to hit it again. Pulling his fist back, he would send another punch. "Thud." Then another. "Thud." Then another and another and another until his fist was red and the flecks of dead skin were clear enough that, in his opinion, everyone should have seen. His teacher lowered the board, then got to his side, moving his young selfs limbs to be in the right form. He knew he was doing such a bad job, the feeling of crying beginning to take hold in his heart. The teacher, after making sure he was in the right position, moved back in front of him and raised the board back up for him to hit again. He hasn't moved an inch to try and keep his form. He didn't want to upset the teacher more than he already had. Seeing his teacher raise up the board, he would hear them call out to punch it again but to maintain form. Hesitating once again, he would ready himself before hurling the punch to the board. "Thud." Rang out again. This was really hurting his fist. He didn't know if he could keep punching. The pain, the pain was becoming unbearable. He had experienced pain but he usually could avoid it once he realized where it was coming from. But here? He was encouraged, forced in his mind, to keep experiencing the pain in order to achieve his goal of punching a simple wooden board. He had felt so many emotions when this was happening. Should he continue? Should he not listen? Should he just run away? He wanted to break the board but it was hurting him more than he was hurting it! He would whimper in pain and sorrow as he saw the board not break once again for he knew he would have to punch it again. Looking up at his teacher, he knew the words that were going to come up so he would look to the board once again to try. Tightening his hand into a tight, white ball of skin and bone, he would send another punch towards it. He had to break it! Putting more force than he thought possible into it! "Thud." It still didn't break. However, one noticeable effect he had on it was that it now had a large crack running through it. He was able to make a crack into it. He would look to his teacher to see their approval but the look on their face didn't say they were pleased. They told him to punch it again. Still holding it in front of him. He still had to punch it? Taking a small moment to himself, he would frown. Looking to the board and pulling his fist back. This hurt so much. Why couldn't his teacher just let him stop. He wanted to say it hurt but the words would be difficult to even form. "...It hurts..." He would finally be able to manage out. Maybe now that he had said it, he would be able to- "Keep punching.". He had to keep punching until it broke. He would feel dread and fear seep into his heart as he would look back to the board. He had to break it. Taking a deep breath, he would ready himself to punch it once again. Sending his fist flying, he let out a small yell to empower it. Remembering his teacher saying to give a small yell to empower your fist. Or something along those lines. He couldn't remember exactly. "Thud." It made no difference. The only difference was that there was a crack running along it now but his fist looked more hurt than the board itself. He wanted to stop. It hurt too much. But he had to keep punching. He had to break it. He looked at his teacher one last time on what he should do. Able to tell from the look on their face that he had to hit it again. Hit it until it was broken. Taking another breath in, he would pull his fist back. Ready to expect the pain coming once again. He threw his punch to the board, able to see the white specks of dead skin on his knuckles and fingers from having hit it so many times without break. "Snap." In astonishment, he saw he broke the board. He broke the board! Finally, he broke it and now he didn't need to feel the pain any longer. But something was off about how he broke it. It didn't feel like he put more power into that punch than he did with all the others. What caused it to break? Just the consistent punches? Did he punch harder than he thought he did? Did he do the form correctly? What caused it to break? It didn't break into a million pieces but he broke it. It wasn't a clean cut either. What caused it to break? He had to know what caused it to break all of a sudden. He wasn't even happy about having broken it since it took so many tries from himself to even break it. Then he realized what happened. When he went to punch it, he saw his teachers hands and fingers move. When he hit the board, he saw them bend to the wooden board and snap it in half so it seemed like he was able to break it. He didn't break the board. Not at all. His teacher broke it. His teacher just wanted to make it seem like he had been able to break it when in reality, he couldn't. Could it have just been in his head? Maybe. But with how many punches he did with each not even leaving a mark, all except for one, he doubted he was able to break it all of a sudden. There had to be foul play and he thought he caught his culprit. His own teacher helped him break the board. It had nothing to do with his own strength in having broken the flimsy, wooden board. He needed help from his own teacher to break a board many before him were able to do without much trouble. It was time for him to go back to the mat and sit with the others. He wouldn't make a fuss. Walking next to the others, trying to not let his pain and emotion show as he walked to the others. Sitting next to one. Was he really not able to break one wooden board? Was he that weak? Sure he didn't need to feel the pain anymore and he wasn't being embarrassed but he needed help from his teacher in order to make it stop. He didn't even break the board in the end. That was his teacher. They broke the board. They snapped it in half. He was just the one putting on a show for everyone else. He couldn't do that. He was left to sit and watch his teacher then go back to instructing the class. Left them to train in how to punch and kick properly. He could only think about how poorly he performed as he punched and kicked away at the miniature punching bag. His teacher just wanted to help him. He couldn't break it. They could see that so they just wanted to help him stop feeling the pain. That wasn't bad. One thought process of him had. But another was less forgiving. They made him look like an idiot trying over and over to break a stupid board. Leaving his fist to hurt and his skin to die. Not only that, but leaving him unsatisfied. He didn't even have the pleasure of breaking the board himself. How could he ever be a martial artist or strong? That was long ago. At least relative to his age. Some of the details he simply couldn't remember. Maybe his teacher didn't tell him to continue. Maybe he just kept going. Maybe he didn't feel angry. His mind was really letting him down on what was real and what wasn't at this point. One day it would get to the point of being a "Choose your own adventure" in his mind. But anyways, he would see her leading him somewhere. To a place that used rocks as furniture. Looking around, he would sit down and place his MRE on the flat slab. Surprised at how flat it seemed for a rock. "This place is pretty." He wondered how they even moved these. He at first thought they could've used a crane before remembering the power armor they had. They would surely be strong enough to move rocks like these with power like that. "Do you eat here often?" He asked, deciding to try and be slightly more confident in speaking out and asking things. Once he sat down, he felt just how long they had been shoveling. His arms and legs relaxed as soon as he sat down. He knew shoveling snow was at least a bit labor intensive but now that he had a chance to relax? To rest and let his muscles have a break? He could feel just how physically demanding it was. He didn't let out a groan or anything of the sort however. He just could feel how tiring it was. For others, it might have exhausted them. For him? It was just as tiring as doing chores. Besides, he didn't want to seem like that had tuckered him out in front of his new friend. He still had some sort of image to maintain now! He didn't think about how they could have used her resources to shovel snow up. It didn't even come to his mind. Mostly because he didn't even think it was necessary. Why bring out heavy machinery when people would just do fine? Besides, not as if he knew they had such resources at their disposal. Even if he did, he would think it would be overkill to do such a thing over a simple matter such as clearing the roads or ground of snow. He would be looking at the MRE, wondering how to open it when he heard her speak to him. Looking up from his soon to be meal, he would attempt to stare at her and listen. He would set his arm on the table, letting his face rest on his hand that propped it up as she spoke about her friends. He would be listening as she told him to look over to another camp. He would turn his head to look over as she told him about one of her friends. By the sounds of it, it seemed like she was still with them and kept in touch with them. Not only that, she even seemed to be working with them to this day. That was a shocker for him. Most of his "friends'' he knew weren't with him today. It was just how life worked out for him. They talked and played together when they were younger but today? He barely even saw any photos of them. He could still faintly remember who they were and how they acted. Listening to her explaining who her friend was and how they acted made him realize just how alone he was/had been before this. Not only that, but also realizing just how little he could remember them. He was unable to recall their names even. But to be fair to himself, she could still see and talk to this person named "Teal''. Ugh, that made him think about how odd his nickname actually was. Roderick. He didn't mind how odd it was but in comparison to everyone else, it was a strange nickname. He still could recall the times people struggled to pronounce it. It was funny at times but sometimes it made him remember just how much of an oddity it was. It wasn't like he didn't like his nickname. It was just... weird. "Heh, it sounds like you have a good friend! It's hard to find people who are actually funny. I try to be funny but... I don't think I'm good at it." Then looking up from his MRE. "You're sociable enough to me. You haven't wanted me to leave already so I think you're pretty cool." The way he said that made him feel giddy. He was sounding just like a normal kid! Left to think, he would ponder on just how... normal he was in comparison to most kids his age. Most kids his age, in his mind, were pretty sociable, rowdy, and a bit inappropriate. So, that was the standard. Then what of him? What was he? Thinking on it, he would think about how he was around other people. He was mostly quiet, sometimes shy to talk, and tried to be proper around others. Proper in not acting crazy or breaking the rules because of a quick giggle. Was the wrong of him to behave like that? Should he act like how others acted? It wasn't, probably, right of the other kids his age to act like that but it was to be expected for them to act like that somewhat. But he didn't. He wanted to be nice and reasonable to others. But where did that get him? To be sad and timid in front of others? Should he act like the others? Could he even act like the others? He turned to look at another direction, away from the camp. He knew most played video games when they could. He was like that. Was he normal enough then? What counted as normal? Was normal just a word or did it actually signify something for him? Was it just trends of how people in certain ages acted? Did happiness only matter when living out your life? If so, why shouldn't he simply act on what he wanted at that moment. Act violent when someone upsets him, push that one kid down the hill, grab a plate and slam it on someone's head. Act sad when he's feeling down. Frown and weep when he couldn't take it anymore. Show others just how tired and depressed he was. Act crazy and make others fear him. Show them they should be scared of him. Do things that don't make sense. Switch up his personality on a whim... It was all confusing. He scratched the back of his head. This mask was good and kept him warm but dang if it didn't limit his ability to keep places from being itchy. He was sure it just made the itchiness worse at some points. Maybe it was too good at its job and it was making him sweaty. This mask also did limit how easy it was to breathe. But he could handle it. He didn't want to be one of those people who couldn't breathe out of a mask during a festival because it was too hard to breathe. He could handle it. He would prove it wasn't that hard. He had just shoveled snow out for who knows how long and he wasn't struggling to breathe! Speaking of time, how long had he been shoveling? He didn't have a watch on him and even if he did, it would be obscured by the layers of clothes he had on him that covered every inch of his body in this snowy, cold environment. He even had on gloves so he wouldn't freeze his hands when he went to shovel. He was all for handling the extreme temperatures of the world but right now, he thought he deserved a break from that. Just like he decided that yesterday. And the day before that. and the day before that... and the day before that... okay, so maybe he had been taking too many breaks but he would eventually do it. He just needed to enjoy this meal first before considering whether he should do it or not. Everyone needed breaks from hard work. It just so happens he needs a bit longer breaks than what was usual for everyone else. No harm in that, right? ...he wasn't ever going to be great with this mindset, was he? If Roderick could read minds, he would've liked to say he was similar in a way. But he wasn't sure if that would be true. He imagined things, yes, but his experiences being similar to those imaginations? Perhaps. But he didn't think he had experienced enough pain or growth in order to count for that. For example, he had once imagined being the fastest there was. Being quick on his feet and winning the race to be the fasted being. However, despite it being his favorite activity, he didn't think that would count to be similar enough to how she remembered events in her life. Sure, he did run but he was never the fastest. Never the quickest. He wasn't even the fastest in his own neighborhood. Or more specifically school. That spiky haired one had become faster than him. While it was many years ago, the memory was still there and he could remember that as a fact. The closest he could get to anything similar to how she remembered events would be his dreams. He had been lately having trouble distinguishing them from reality. Only able to tell the difference due to the contrast in color he could remember them in. It was just how dreams looked like for him that he was able to tell they weren't real. And also the fact his life wasn't different that the dreams entailed or the fact people didn't react differently to him after having said dreams. Those were the ways he was able to tell the differences between his dreams and his deteriorating ability to recall what was real and what was simply dreams in his mind. For that, he wasn't near her ability to recall different versions of her life. This was all hypothetical of course. What he could've thought and said. Cause as said before, he couldn't read minds. Only have a feeling on what they were thinking. At least for now... Being brought back into focus, he would look over to her. She was an interesting story teller. So the sole reason he listened wasn't only because she was his friend. For him, if that was the sole reason he was listening, it would've been quite sad and disappointing of himself. Everyone deserves to be listened to. If nobody listened to anybody, he wouldn't doubt that that many, and the world, would be a much crazier place than it already was. But besides that, he had to listen to her as she was telling him about this Chef guy. What was his name again? ... Ah yes, it was something along the lines of Rist. See, that was a more normal name for somebody. Listening to her story, it would have him imagine a younger version of her. A younger Azure. It was somewhat strange to him because she looked young to him. Maybe she was just coming of age around that time. It seemed like it with how she was describing the events. She didn't exactly give him a date and that was fair of her. It wasn't like he had asked for an exact date. So he simply listened, imagining the process of this Rist fella joining up with them through this interview. It sounded simple enough. Nothing much happened. Until she mentioned the collapse of this Golden Gate Army. There were many things he was interested in that story. "Huh... you guys fought demons? That's crazy. Without losses too? I think I might have underestimated just how strategical your mind is." He said with a small chuckle "If I'm to be honest with you, it's kind of hard for me to imagine a younger you. You look young to me." A compliment would be nice. He should say those more often to people. Who knows, that might be the first compliment they've heard in awhile. He knew the feeling too well "So, this Rist guy transferred to your unit and you saw no problems. Now he's with yall... that makes sense. If I can ask, how long ago was this? I'm sorry if that's too intrusive, you don't have to answer. But one i would like to know is, if you're able to, the fall of this Golden Gate Army you've been talking about. I keep hearing you talk about them falling but... I don't know how they fell. It sounds like you guys had almost everything under control. I'm not too read up on military history so forgive me on my lack of knowledge." Where did this sudden verboseness come from? Was he just trying to be kind now or seem professional? Or was that just how he talked? In all honesty, he wasn't sure. Maybe it was slightly out of character for him. He had enough trouble trying to decide who he was so thinking about if how he talked was who he was, was making things difficult. While he was knowledgeable about a fair number of things, it wasn't like he was an encyclopedia. Like he has thought of, and shown many times in his own mind, he wasn't the most recollective person. A thinker? He would think so. A person with great capacity to remember things? Not really. The quote "He who thinks all the time, has nothing to think about but thoughts.". He knew many quotes but did he ever take the time to actually listen to them? He would think not. If he did, he wouldn't be the failure he knew himself to be. He would've been someone great for his age. He would be stronger than he was now. Someone perhaps smarter and wiser than he was now. But of course, that wasn't the case. He blamed it on his laziness, his feelings holding him back, and others for making him like this. But there was the thought of discipline. If only he was disciplined, he wouldn't need motivation. He would be able to push through all that and improve himself. Feel comfortable with who and how he was. He wouldn't have to stay awake at nights, tossing and turning because of things he did not do. Choices he didn't make. Or words he didn't say. He could've been happy, successful, and not here. Sitting on a rock and about to eat out of an MRE... but he wouldn't have met her either. Wouldn't have known what it was like to meet a military person. What it would've been like to shovel snow with someone. Or had such an opportunity like this one to join them. To start from scratch as some would say. Everything led him to this moment. So was it better this way? He chose this path, didn't he? With each decision, it led him to this. Every indecision led him to this. If he chose this life for him, then it was fine for him if it led to this. He chose it in one way or another. Even if he regretted the other choices he didnt take. This was his path. The path he had, in one way or another, chosen for himself. In some way, he was happy about that. It wasn't perfect but nothing was. He could still improve his life. Still improving himself most importantly. And by himself too. What was the point of being handed power if it wasn't your own? Did it matter how you got it though? In his opinion, yes... heh, him thinking too much again. Always pondering and dreaming. Especially when he needed to be doing something else. And right now, that something should be eating. Not sitting about, staring off into space. It wasn't those times anymore. He didn't have to do this anymore. Thinking so much as if he was still in constant pain... but it was fun to do. "old habits die hard." Was another saying that popped into his mind. In all honesty, he wasn't sure what that exactly meant. He could only guess its meaning. He was mostly sure it meant that habits you have been doing for a while wouldn't go away so easily in just one day. If it wasn't, he could learn later. He still had time... and that was another habit. Waiting to do things later than he should. It was a problem. Even as he thought about how he should do things. It was his decision still though, no? Ah well. If old habits die hard, he will do it later. He could simply relax for now and just enjoy his meal. His MRE. It would be the first time he would eat one. It was going to be quite a treat to eat. Rhyming once again! He would imagine it would taste what it suggested it tasted like but it might taste totally different. Like how some candies promised to taste like reed raspberry but tasted like watermelon for some odd reason. Was that fair? Hehe, he laughed to himself quietly out loud. He focused quicker this time, having heard her speak out to him. He would turn back over to her, trying to clear his mind as it seemed she was going to answer his question on what he could do for her. It was a simple question that now had him thinking. What could he offer to someone like her? She was a military woman, a military woman leader at that. And he was just some youngster walking around, doing menial tasks for others because he wanted to help. What could he do that the others in this camp couldn't? Then again, it didn't have to be complicated. Perhaps he could just simply get her a water bottle. In all honesty, he didn't mind what she could ask him. Anything he could do to repay her would be good enough in his book. The safe kind of book. Not those book some people his age hid under the bed in a box called "DO NOT OPEN". Then, he would answer her when she gave her answer to his question "Ah, okay. Understood. Just know I don't mind what it is. I'm up for anything. I want to help ya. You could ask me to run from here to another hill and back. I just want to repay ya! I don't like... feeling like a freeloader..." He whispered the last part out "... Just please don't tell me to catch a bunny from a moon or something." He said with a laugh. Humor did go well for friends. He just hoped he was actually funny. Even a pity laugh would suffice. Nothing was more embarrassing than telling a joke you find hilarious but the other person simply dead staring at you as if you had just murdered their entire family... woah, where did that violent thought come from. It shocked him internally but he kept himself composed on the inside. Whatever, he shouldn't mind it too much. People around his age must have some violent thoughts too. Among other things. He thought about them as well but- no, he wasn't going to keep thinking in circles. He didn't want to think about something he had just spent so much time already thinking about. He wasn't going to think in loops like this was a track race. Making sure he was looking at the ground, he wondered about what he could do. He had already shoveled snow along with the other... what did she call them... what did Azure call them... ah yes! Baby blues. Heh, it was a funny title. He wouldn't mind that title. Baby blue... what did she call others higher than baby blues? Staring at the MRE, he would wonder how he could even eat it. He needed water, of course. He knew that. But where could he get any? It was freezing cold out here and it wasn't like he could just find a body of water in a freezing place like this. At least water that hasn't turned from a liquid to a solid by now. He would wonder what he could do before seeing her pull out a capsule. Curiously, he would watch her pop open the capsule and a gallon of water pop out. His eyes would widen in shock. While this wasn't the first time he's seen a capsule, its wonder still surprised him each time. "Huh, capsules. What a wonder they are." He said, reaching over to grab the gallon of water she passed over to him. He would open the MRE, reading the instructions to make sure he was doing this right before going to lift the gallon of water. He grabbed onto it, lifting it up and trying not to show that he was slightly struggling in lifting even a gallon up. Trying his best not to let his struggle show or his shaky hand be seen as he lifted it. Eventually, he was able to pour the water into the packaging that held the food. He would tilt it at an angle so it would be at its most effective time before turning over to look at her. "Mm, that is true. Still, thank you for offering me this choice at all." He would take a moment before speaking again "I have never actually tried an MRE before... if you can believe that." He wasn't sure why he said that. It wasn't outside the realm of possibility that someone like him, who hasn't even joined a club that offered experience in the military, wouldn't have ever tried an MRE. "... I...wouldn't call that a workout. It wasnt even that hard." In truth, it wasn't for him. It was simple. He still felt the stress having left his muscles but it wasn't difficult at all for him. Which was a little confusing due to him having been shaking even trying to lift the gallon of water. However, a case could be made that it wasn't all too confusing. There was a difference between strength and how long one could endure tasks. The difference between strength and endurance. He would be waiting for his meal to heat up, listening to the noises it made before hearing her thank him by name. A little put off by this, mostly due to him never being thanked and especially by name, he would stare in shock at her. He would still listen to her talk but the fact she would thank him at all, particularly because of simple acknowledgment of her fairness, did wrack the mind of the masked friend. "Oh, um, you're welcome..." He was unsure how to go about accepting a thank you from somebody. Even if it was about something as small as this. Listening to her speak more, he would turn to look at his MRE. "...that is true. We can just make small changes in how we behave and in our little groups to make the world a better place." He would wonder what to say next, if anything at all. "... heh, but don't worry!" Then sticking his thumb out and pressing it against his chest "When I become king, I'll make everything fair!" He said in a cartoonish go lucky tone. Obviously joking about how he said it. He would give a chuckle to himself on how he said it. Able to remember all the times from TV or from the media in general of the always optimistic hero, thinking they can take on the world. He did think the same thing but he went a bit differently about it. He wasn't too energetic or optimistic. Once again, in his own head at least. He took a more pessimistic approach, looking at what could go wrong instead of looking at what could go right in endeavors. He did always wonder if there was someone who acted like those energetic heroes in the media. Thinking that no way there could be some sword swinging hero with a go get lucky attitude. But in any case, he would still have to wait for his food to be ready for it to be consumed. He would rest his head on his hand as he waited. Waiting was a pain but there wasn't much he could do about it. Not like he could speed up time or such. He would simply wait, looking at the MRE as he began to day dream once again. King. The word hadn't left his mind. Still not able to forget what she had told him in their very first conversations. Out of everything, why couldn't he forget this one thing she had said. It was such a simple thing. A simple idea. Yet the thought tickled something inside of him. Something he had tried to push deep inside of him. Yet the idea had somehow awakened it back up. The want, the desire of something great. It all connected his wants into one. To make the world better, to have some power, to be great, all of that. That one simple word connected all that. It wasn't as if he hadn't had a thought like this before. In fact, he has thought about this before. But it wasn't until now someone even suggested it to him. It gave him an eccentric feeling. One he thought he could describe as... excited. Excited at the idea of it. He possibly could be that. That family of royalty... no, she couldn't have meant that. He gave a harsh shake of his head, as if trying to shake the idea out of his head before reaching down, picking up some bits of snow and balling it up tightly. His fingers pushed down on the snow into a hard ball of ice. To stop thinking about it. As if something out there was trying to get him to stop thinking about that as well, he would turn to Azure when she answered his earlier question. He had been so focused on that earlier thought that he forgot what she was talking about momentarily. It took him some time before he finally remembered what she was talking about. He stared at her blankly before blinking a few times and focusing back in. Able to listen with less constant buzzing that plagued his thoughts. Listening in, it reminded him of how bad his sleep schedule could get with the alarms waking him. Of course, in his mind, being woken up by drill sergeants had to be worse than a simple alarm waking you up "That does sound peaceful... the quiet night, the stars still visible in the night sky... the cool wind flowing around you... dont you feel sleepy during that?" He asked, curious about the temperature of such a place. He then let out a chuckle when she stated how she was woken up "Hehe, was it with a literal bang or was that metaphorical?" He asked, considering they may have used some explosives to wake her up. He hadn't been in the military so he could only imagine if that was allowed or not. Though, the idea of a cadet or coming of age Azure was interesting in his mind. He wondered how long this Golden Gate Army was around then. And how long it took her to reach the rank she was at right now. It must've been in a short time since, once again, she looked young to him. He didn't doubt she could do a quick rise through the ranks. If her stories were to be believed, she was a capable strategic mind. One that even managed to take care of demons without casualties on her end. That took some real skill. More than those video games which simulated being a military leader. The image of her strategizing out a plan of attack popped into his head. Her pointing and moving chess pieces like generals seen in movies. It probably wasn't totally accurate but it was one of the only references he had to go off. So she was a strategist and a good one at that. No, not good, great one. Speaking of sleeping schedules, his was not very good. It was sort of a blessing that he had this mask on then. He had trouble sleeping at night at times. Busy browsing the web or too busy thinking and imagining to even be able to get some shut eye. Remembering the times where it felt like hours of shutting his eyes with no success in falling asleep. In which case, he had to browse the web to entertain himself. After finishing their talk, he would be surprised to see her pull the scouter from her ear, finally asking him if he wanted to use it to check his or her power level. The thought having passed his mind once again. Looking at the machine that could sense the ki/strength of a person, he would feel some anxiety at being asked who would be the first to have their power level measured. He had been hoping to stall this as long as he could. The scouter gave him some worry. Not at it hurting him or anything, since he was pretty sure it couldn't shoot lasers or anything, but because he wasn't sure how to go about this. Should he go first? What if his power level wasn't that high? Or what if it was? What if it was really high? Either prospect made him worried and he wasn't sure why. For the low power level, it would confirm that he was weak. That he really did not amount to much or anything significant. But it also meant he could grow to incredible heights. Push himself. However, that would assume he would even have the motivation, much less the discipline, to even attempt such a thing. then there was if he had a high power level. Wouldn't that be a good thing? While having a high power level was a thought parts of him wanted, other parts of him weren't so sure. If he did, that meant he had this in him the entire time yet didn't use anything with it. That he could have always been something great or used that immense strength to do something that mattered but didn't due to his ineptitude or laziness. But on the bright side of things, that meant he was strong and could give him the motivation to really focus on his strength. He could do great things and he could always capitalize on it. There would be no excuse for him not to work on it then! However, it just meant that the spiky haired one was just that much stronger than him and he wasn't sure if he could ever close that gap in power between them. But that was ages ago! And when he was still trying to figure out how to divide numbers. Now, he was more grown and could excel! But it landed back to him to do that. And he didn't trust himself. In pause of what to do, he would look over to Azure, glancing at the scouter before back at her. "... I... I think I want you to go first... then I'll go..." Still nervous about this whole thing. ("7,785 words. 34,000 words in total.") Emargine "Azure" Cerola
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Post by Emargine "Azure" Cerola on Sept 7, 2022 6:04:59 GMT -8
Azure relaxed, waiting for Roderick's MRE to warm up. Sure, these rocks turned into makeshift seats didn't have such luxuries as backrests, but anything that would support a sitting position after that little bit of work was a nice change. Around them, snow lay, reflecting orange hues of the afternoon, with hints of green pine tree leaves peaking out from underneath white canopies. Roderick remarked on how nice the surroundings looked, asking if she ate here often. Azure blinked and thought for a moment before answering. "Quite the view, isn't it? But I have to say, it's my first time here. Wouldn't mind stopping by again for a meal though, once we're done with our business up North and head back down to Central, or other parts of the mainland."If the estimates on how the ship was buried underneath a glacier were right, then it would take several months with that full 3000-strong brigade to dig it out completely, while remaining hidden from Great Demon King Piccolo's watchful eyes. In which case things would be cold for quite a while. Which was fine with her. A lifetime ago, little Cerola grew up in a harsh cold northern settlement too. Roderick praised Teal's sense of humour, and cheered her on with a compliment of her sociability. And of course his personal experience with said sociability was a good one. It's true. She was certainly not a shut-in who kicked people out after a relatively short period of time. "Yeah, I'm thankful we've been able to keep alive together this long..."A moment was taken to reminisce all the battles they'd fought since the mission began. It really was something to be alive given those odds. Especially that gung-ho front liner Teal. "I wasn't always at this level of social competence," Certainly not when Cerola was the "nerd" at Yarvind Military Academy, spending less time with other people and more with battle simulations and holobooks detailing the violent histories of neighbouring planets. Learning the art of war... "It took years of practise to get here from what I used to be. A good leader doesn't just know what they're doing. They have to inspire confidence in the troops to follow them to the best of their ability."And even today, she really was more at home with learning the intricacies of war. There was a misconception in their little corner of the galaxy, among the worlds they were in contact with. That Tuffles were all super scientists. No. Tuffles were all super intelligent. They might have been peaceful, and science might have been one of their greater pursuits. But other than physical sciences, natural sciences, medical sciences, there was also culture, the arts... and among those many sciences and arts, lay the wonderfully overlapping fields of military science and the art of war. Upon which she focused her intellect. But the military science and the art of war required leadership. And so as part of that, she studied leadership, and how to be social. It wasn't overnight. It took years. Even though she knew how to make a plan happen, her subordinates often underperformed because they didn't quite trust her enough, presenting herself as reclusive and unconfident. That's where the leadership and social training came in. Azure had told him of the Dragoons' history in the Golden Gate Army, their rise. It wasn't too long a story, but it nevertheless led to some understandable questions. She chuckled with Roderick about how surprisingly good she was. Well, colonel was literally a step below a general grade rank. You didn't earn it for being decent at your job, that was for sure. "There were some close scrapes, but my Dragoons pulled through. It wasn't all me. A good leader becomes great when their men are of good quality." Of course you could turn a rookie unit into a professional one. That was the point of training. "As for how long ago that was... My friends and I joined the Golden Gate Army when I was 18, after we left the village. I'd say its been 14 years since then." While it was certainly a taboo in certain polite societies to refrain from asking certain questions, she didn't worry too much about things like that. After all, when potentially life and death decisions are a regular part of life, more polite matters seem to be rather inconsequential. On serious matters such as the fall of the Golden Gate Army, though, well... Azure stopped and thought for a moment. Didn't she already tell him how it happened while they were digging snow? Was he testing her? Or was this an honest lapse in memory? Whatever the case, there was no reason she couldn't do it again. But this did raise some concerns. Maybe Roderick just wanted some more details. "Well that's the thing. When everything seems under control, that's when you should be most alert. Often times, the simplest of complications can cause a carefully laid plan to crumble. The Golden Gate Army wasn't a world power. It was more of something in the Southlands. So it's not surprising you don't know anything about it. It was an idea put together by some soldiers, descended from the Red Ribbon Army, to create something as great. Of course there are many Red Ribbon successor units, especially in the South, even today. In that way, they weren't unique. But my friends and I liked what they were doing, protecting towns and villages from demons, so we singed up. Sure, they probably did that to increase their recruits too, but as long as the reason isn't too shady, I'd consider it a fair deal."She went on about how she saw it grow from a decent-sized outfit, to perhaps something that could lay claim to the title of the Red Ribbon's greatest successor. But before it could even throw its hat into the ring and compete for that title... "I think I told you this while we were still digging snow. But General Gold was assassinated." Azure retold this part, about investigating what happened and discovering Brigadier Bronze's responsibility. About assaulting his base and executing him on livestream for all the other Golden Gate Commanders to see before taking all of his supplies, equipment, and any of his men who were willing to join her. "General Gold had a good idea, and it was ruined by a selfish dog who wanted the glory for himself. It was only fair that I gave General Gold his due justice. Call me ruthless. But I can't imagine he'd be able to rest in peace if I didn't at least do that for him."Without General Gold's charisma keeping it together, the Golden Gate Army broke apart. It had been two years since then. It was entirely possible the commanders were still fighting each other this day. But Azure didn't care. It was no longer her business. Now, she and her men fought where they could, because it was what they knew. And they knew it very well. That was where the story ended. "So that's the longer story behind the Golden Gate Army."The conversation went to the matter of choosing a meal. Even though it seemed like such an obvious concern, whether or not he was going to eat, Roderick still thanked her for giving him the choice at all. "Then all I can say is it's a pleasure to help. I'm sure most people haven't tried MREs. But you're clearly doing your due diligence with the instructions there. Some folks don't bother to read, and that occasionally gets them in trouble with things like safety precautions or malfunctions." In a way, that was responsible. Azure's eyebrow went up, curiosity piqued at his comment though. It turned into a smile as she leaned into the table, elbows on either side of her tray as she rested her chin on top of the backs of her hands. "Really... then what might you consider a workout then?"She nodded in agreement at his ideas about fairness. And then, he made a big showing of what he would do once he became king. Yes, with enough training in the right things, even someone as unassuming as Roderick could become King. Though what he would become King of was completely up in the air at the moment. He was young, and if given the right direction, could certainly steer that talent into something great, even establishing his own kingdom someday. Azure giggled with him. Yes, it might have been in jest now, but there was nothing stopping him from getting there, other than himself. But what about 0300? What was there to say about that... It was a funny thing, really. Cerola had been used to that regimented upbringing since she was ten. Entering Yarvind Military Academy, where you got up early and went to bed early, or else. That lifestyle continued even as she began her next life, and as Azure, with the drill sergeants waking them up with a bang... Well, one could just say she was able to practise her acting abilities by pretending to be absolutely rattled out of her sleep the first few weeks, even though she really wasn't. "The first few weeks, yes. We were all still sound asleep. And then the drill sergeants would barge into our rooms yelling at us to get up while banging trash can lids together, or hitting them with batons." Azure chuckled. In short, the bangs were very literal. "There's no such thing as sleeping in. And sometimes, you get no sleep at all... But sometime around the fourth week, I started waking up about fifteen minutes before they'd come in. Eventually, they topped banging things... And finally, stopped barging into our rooms. By the time we finished basic training, our body clocks had been trained to be up on time... and even up for as long as we had to stay up."Those were good times, looking back... Roderick gave his answer on the matter of the scouter. Azure nodded in understanding. He was anxious, of course. It was only a matter of paying attention to him. What he said, how he moved, how he sounded... to see that he had a certain degree of confidence issues. Which was fine. He just needed to excel at something enough to earn that confidence back. "Alright, then." She took the scouter off her ear, and fitted it to his. Even through his ski mask, it held on snugly. She held her hand up to her ear, moving it as she spoke to demonstrate the basic use. "You'll feel the button there when you bring it up. Tap it once to check for a power level reading. Right now, I've brought it down to ten metres, so I'm the only one it'll pick up. If there are multiple readings detected, tap it repeatedly to cycle through them and zero in on the one you want. Depending on the settings, it could be by how high it is, or how far, among other settings. An once you have your choice locked in, press it all the way in to check its power level."If he followed these right, Roderick would now be seeing the visible part of Azure's body encased in a sort of stylised box, although the only lines would be along the corners. The numbers would rise with that signature rapid fluttering of beeps, before slowing down and pinging at a level of 6609. It wasn't the strongest in the world by a long shot. It wasn't even over 9000. But she could definitely snap a normal person in two with her bare hands... or even just her mind. Not that she ever did that to someone undeserving, of course. But it was more of that she was always more comfortable using a weapon than any such innate ability. It was simply more natural to her, even though she had been using and training in these psychic powers for decades now. Maybe that was just how she was as a soldier. Perhaps one day, she would have to use these powers in battle. But for now, that was all hypothetical, and all she could do was practise in private during her spare time. "Now give it a try."[2055/18055] Roderick
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Post by Roderick on Sept 18, 2022 20:12:08 GMT -8
Roderick would be slightly uncomfortable with the lack of back rests. While he had sat in seats without them before, it wasn't as if he enjoyed them. Having to straighten out his back once he realized he was hunching over, he would just stare at this MRE. Being as patient as he could as he waited for his meal to prepare itself. His imagination thinking of a warrior powering up before facing another mighty warrior before battle in those stories he could recall. Thinking back on them and wondering if anyone he knew was even remotely as strong as said fabled heroes. Maybe the ones at a tournament could hold a candle. Looking up from his MRE to the military lady, he would ponder if she could do so. He didn't know her full capabilities as a fighter. He could only guess it and her full intellectual might. She couldn't have gone this far up on only her strength. She had to have backed that up with her mind too. As he stared at her in thought, the colorful hues of warmth made its way to the corners of his eyes. Blinking at first, he would turn his gaze over to the snow to see the orange color bounce off the white snow into his eyes. The sun was already turning that color? How much time has passed? It wasn't like he had been keeping track but it seemed to have flown by him. Not only orange was hitting his eyes but also the green undergrowth and white canopies too. It was like a colorful painting in his eyes. Not having seen something beautiful like this often. Unless you counted still images on screens or photos. Maybe even the occasional greeting cards from far away lands. As if in a play, he would hear her answer his question about if she ate here often. Surprisingly, it seemed like this was her first time eating in this place. Had she just found this place or only knew about it before arriving? "Huh, interesting. I thought you would be here more often. At least once." Taking a look around, taking in the beauty "I would imagine anybody would be hard pressed not to eat somewhere like this place." He said aloud, speaking on his thoughts/what he thought someone would say. He had even raised his arms to gesture at the scenery before lowering it back down to his side. "...What do you plan to do in the other parts of the mainland?" He asked, wondering what her group did exactly. He tried to recall and if his memory was accurate, he was sure it was a contract one that helped people. Usually anyhow. They probably weren't always so good to people but that was just how the military, or one group of it, was. Sometimes you just have to do things you wouldn't want to do. Were there contracts she wouldn't accept? He could be getting this all wrong. As stated before, it wasn't like his memory was very good. Laying his head down on the table, he would wonder how she operated this whole group. He could go for a nap right about now. Even with the hunger and cold about. Restless nights and such did have a small effect on him. He wanted to just close his eyes and get some shut eye. Even for just a moment would be nice. However, of course he wouldn't do that. He would just lay his head on his hands, them being a barrier between the rock and him so his head wouldn't be laying on cold, uncomfortable rock. The pretty sight of colors, snow, and the vegetation keeping him awake. Not only that, but the cold also helped deal with the weight growing on his eyelids. He would just look about, able to see just how much snow they were able to clear out even from where they sat to eat. It was quite nice to look at. At the fruits of their labor. Getting something done for once and seeing the effects of said effort was a nice change in his life. Having been used to stagnation and everything being mostly the same. Bringing out a sense of joy and satisfaction inside of himself. It was really quite beautiful. Then raising his head up, he would try to get a better look while also helping stave off any feeling of sleepiness he might still have inside of himself. Had that shoveling tired him out more than he had let on even to himself? Or was he just that tired from his restless nights and poor lifestyle? It was hard to tell. Maybe it was just for the fact he hadn't taken in any energy or nutrients for his body to keep going. Not any that were good for him anyhow. That's what refusing to eat anything he didn't like could do to someone. Low food intake meant low energy outtake, right? The images of his childhood came back. Running with the other kids, always trying to be the quickest among them. Willing his legs to go faster and faster so he wouldn't lose or grow behind anyone! He had to be the best at this. He could still remember the first time he searched up who the fastest person was, remembering the hope of being the fastest person ever. It made a smile want to grow on his face. His attention was pulled back to her, turning his gaze over to her as he heard her answer his question. Her mentioning the fact they managed to stay alive so long together did get him thinking again however. "Oh... you haven't had the best of times together then? Like... not every memory was with the certainty that you would both live?" He had trouble getting the right words out. He wasn't sure if that would be a sensitive topic for her to speak on. It was one thing to slightly hint towards something and another to fully acknowledge it. He himself was familiar on doing something like that. It was just hard sometimes to fully talk about something. His probably didn't come close to her experiences in battle but he was sure it was something like that. If he had to imagine what it would feel like, he would assume it would feel like that. Not mentioning what little he knew of such experiences from media. How much of it was true or not was something he couldn't be too sure about. He still could only guess at what it was like. Imagining the battles those two might've gone through did help him imagine it somewhat but it was still only his imagination. It must've been stressful to actually go through a life or death situation. How did one even begin to survive an ordeal like that? Or even stay composed so you could have a higher chance to survive? He'd be lying if he said he hadn't imagined what it took to survive something like that. It had crossed his mind more than a couple of times. Maybe when he had been pretending to be in a situation like that. Always coming to the question of if he could survive a situation like that. A situation where your life was at stake. Where the certainty of your own life was put at question. How could you survive something where the chances of you dying were high? Did you have to stay composed? Serious and always staying level headed? Or did you have to be instinctual? Trusting your instincts in order to make it out alive? Was it just dumb luck that got you out of a life or death scenario? The odds of a die to determine whether you would see the next day? Or was it the personal relationships between others? Whether the person on the other end who could decide your fate liked you enough to not kill you. Maybe it was a combination of everything he had just thought about? Or maybe it just depended on the situation. Where the odds are so against you that you just have to hope to get lucky or for someone to help change your fate... This time, he was able to focus himself back into reality before she spoke to him. Having been able to realize that thinking about something like this might do him no good. It wasn't as if he would ever be in a situation like that. At least any time soon. "Huh, you weren't?" He would respond to the first thing she would say to him. Not because what she was saying wasn't believable but just because it felt natural to respond back. Even if it didn't provide anything substantial to the conversation. Listening in, he would soon realize this could be great advice. It was coming from someone with actual battle experience, probably, and with years of it too. Not only that, but with troops around the place to back it up. It all could be lies but there was so much evidence that proved it otherwise. Why shouldn't he trust her word on an area she seemed to be very well versed in. Then placing his elbows on the rock, he would prop his head with his hands as he listened in. "Wow, so you have to not only know tactics and what not but also be an inspiring leader? Someone who can inspire confidence in others?" He asked, wanting to clarify. There could always be some confusion if there wasn't some clarification. He didn't want to assume one thing and it be the other. Even if it seemed obvious or a dumb thing to ask. Then again, he had at one point asked so many questions he had annoyed a teacher of his once. Multiple in fact. It did make him internally chuckle. Was he just a slow learner or something who wanted to be absolutely sure about something? Perhaps both? Maybe it wasn't always just one side or the other. Maybe it could be another option entirely. He could just be a very curious person. Which, if he was being honest, would be something he could agree to. He could recall many times where his curiosity had gotten so bad that he would lay awake at night. Unable to sleep because of his mind racing for answers on questions he didn't know the answer to. It had been a problem for him. It was so hard for him to have shaken it off. It took so long to do so. Forcing himself to keep wondering about questions to which he did not have the answers to. It was so difficult to stop. To not keep wondering and wondering. Of course, he still had curiosity inside him. That spark of wondering about the unknown inside of him but now it was much less than it was before. He still had to keep it in check from time to time. Reminding himself of what killed the cat. The saying then, ironically, led him to wonder why that was even a saying to begin with and where the saying had come from. He looked to the side, to the snow as he kept wondering how things were. He could recall his learning. He wasn't just a fast person in his younger youth but also having been, perhaps still being, a quick learner. While he had struggled when he was much younger, it was like he had suddenly gained the ability to learn very quickly at one point. Remembering the time he had gotten perfect scores with each assignment. It was mostly Math to be fair though. Thinking on how he did so well, he thought of a myriad of reasons. He had asked many questions. He did think of many ways as to how to improve his critical thinking. Even changing what words could mean to him. Basically reshaping how his mind would process information. How much of it worked was still a little unclear to even himself, however, the results did not lie. Something had changed him from someone who struggled to add some numbers to someone who could multiply numbers quickly in his mind. Getting to the point where it was quicker to do the math in his head than it was to do it on a calculator. However, there was one more reason that could've been the cause of this. While he didnt like to admit it, so much so he hadn't told anyone if his memory served right, one reason that he had improved so much could be because of his hatred, his utter frustration of his teacher. They annoyed him to no end. Angering him with each annoying remark they would make as to his intelligence. Or was it something else? He could hardly remember. All he could remember was the pure rage he experienced under their tutelage. Able to remember the time he vowed to never allow them to mock him in such a manner again. Remembering the sheer focus he had to be the best student of theirs so they would never have an excuse to ever make fun of him again. In the end, it seemed to have worked. As when the teaching came to an end, he had ranked among the top 1% of all students in terms of scores. The reward was exciting to him. Remembering looking at the score as the other students called out their own. All high in their own right but in comparison to him, just lagging behind him. The excitement in wanting to say it out loud has helped him break out of his shy shell. The other students called out their own rankings among not only each other, but to other students in other schools. All proud of their rankings. He had been waiting his turn to say them aloud. Able to remember the others in a group in the classroom, each giving their ranking. The teacher he had grown to respect listening to each one. Sounding more surprised than the last ranking they heard. It is so frustrating to wait for the others to say their scores. It felt like a ball of anger was building up inside him but unable to escape due to his restraint. He holds on his emotions so he wouldn't have an outburst. It had become so long with each student giving their answer that it was heading to a point where the teacher had to end their calling out for the students to say each of their scores. It was beginning to end and he hadn't even had the chance to say his. As the teacher was going to end the group meet up, he just slightly shouted out to say his number. It was like a movie scene with how it happened. All the other students had looked over to him with the teacher doing so as well. Simply asking what his score was. His shyness having taken over a bit when all eyes were on him, he tried to say it out. Eventually able to do so, giving out his ranking. It was the top place. Being in the top 1% of not only the students in his school, but also in all the neighboring schools as well. It was quite an achievement. And one he felt very proud of. The reaction was... underwhelming in his memory. It wasn't quite the reaction he had been hoping for. The teacher just gave him a nod and gave him congratulations. Nothing much more than that. The other students didn't seem upset either. In fact, they seemed neutral to the fact he had scored higher than them. It was... frustrating. Upsetting to him. Why weren't they upset? Shouldn't they have been upset? Where was the response he had been hoping for? The day went along just how most days went along. With everybody going back to learning. Improving like none of that just happened. He was confused by this and the excitement was still inside him. He tried to bring it up to the others but they seemed just fine with the outcome while he... he the one who had done the best in terms of scores among the others... was still left feeling... a bit unresolved. The memory began to rile up the anger he had felt during that time up once again. the anger and frustration boiling up once again like an ember to dry wood. Luckily, he was able to extinguish the fury that began to build up inside him before it got too out of hand. Then looking over to the military lady once he heard her speak once again. He shook his head to make sure the thoughts were gone before listening to her once again. Her chuckle was quite funny to him so that did help with keeping his rage down as well. "Huh, so I guess all that training paid off, huh?" He asked, realizing he had said "Huh" twice in the same sentence but hoped she wouldn't notice that mistake. The training must've been at least decent if her men were as good as she was letting on. He could only imagine what type of training they received. He had learned about military training in his time of boredom but it wasn't like he knew the ins and outs of it. He could think of a few basic drills. Pull ups, push ups, lots of running. Stuff that he could see a military being tasked to do. Then there were the more outlandish but still probable things the military could be doing. Such as inhaling gas to make sure they knew what it would feel like to be attacked by it, training underwater, and even power armor training. Maybe not every soldier knew how to use power armor but they could know. Again, he could only guess. He did wonder, however, how hard it could be to use power armor? Couldn't you just slip in and use it like it was just... well... armor? He knew medieval armor still needed training to use but it couldn't be that hard to use a hunk of steel around you, right? He would listen to what she had to say, interested in her past life as he didnt get to ask such things usually. Usually keeping to himself before this part of his life for the most part. Having been too shy or afraid to speak out as he thought he would be annoying or do something to embarrass himself if he did so. At least as far as he could recall. It was all foggy in his mind anyways. Hard to recall as to the exact reason to why. "Wow, you have tons of experience then!" He admitted, thinking that was the right thing to say in a conversation like this. He would need this experience in conversation later on. It would help him in making more friends. Not that he didn't enjoy her company as one but just so he could make friends by himself without relying on the person being as sociable or friendly as her. It was going to take actual social skill on his part and he wanted to be ready when he needed it. "I'm guessing all of your friends are around the camp then? Or are they all stationed somewhere else?" He asked, thinking the word "stationed" would be a fancy and possibly accurate word to use in a military group like this. It wouldn't be too out of the ordinary to use or out of character for him to use. In his own head at least. He wondered if in the military you had to use big words like those all the time or if it was more informal. Gosh, didn't she tell him earlier? He scratched his head through the mask as he tried to recall if she had. If she did, he simply couldn't remember. He would have to work on that too. He was thinking in loops again. This was a loop in of itself. He couldn't recall much but he was sure aware of himself. He would give a quiet sigh to himself, shaking his head to get the thoughts out. Normally, this could be taken as a testing question. Perhaps one where someone questioned on if someone's story was true. The type that could be used in interrogations or the like. There could've been an error in someone's story and a perceptive person would have caught onto this and asked for further details. It was hard to come up with a 100% tight knit story without any contradictions without prior careful thought. Even then, there could be other witnesses or people mentioned in the story to confirm or deny details in said story. Such a big lie would be quite hard to prop up for someone quite inquisitive or perceptive. However, Roderick was... somewhat like that, it was mostly an honest lapse in memory. He couldn't quite recall the details of her story and was simply trying to make sure he recalled them in full. While a part of him did suspect something, it wasn't a big thing. Only a tiny nagging feeling but not one he could seriously bring up. He was only asking as his memory was still quite bad. Only keeping it in the darkest corners of his mind. Besides, if there was something off about her story, he could possibly catch on. Key word being possibly. He wouldn't say he was a detective or anything so some things could slip by him. And he wasn't even sure what was off. He didn't have a motive or anything. So maybe it was just his paranoia. He had been losing sleep so that could be factoring in his judgment of character. He simply needed to relax a bit and look around at the scenery. But he couldn't do that right now. He had to listen to his friend! Focusing in, he would listen to her explanation of what had occurred to this Golden Gate Army. Listening in, he would hear her out about how the Golden Gate Army had seemingly everything under control at one point. Or at least she hinted at it, but that should've been where they were to be the more alert. When everything seemed to be going right for them. He would continue to listen on how this Golden Gate Army wasn't really a big power either. It seemed like it had started down South. Which was a surprise to him. The reasons as to why not ones he would like to admit. This group had been created by some soldiers descended from the Red Ribbon Army so another group of theirs except bigger in his eyes. However, this was different since they seemed to be trying to do some good. There were other good remnants of theirs out there but it was just... it was still surprising to see. At least to him. Even with how little he knows about the lands. He did know the most important bits of fact about them but it wasn't as if he knew everything about them. He did think he would learn more if he explored more but as of now, he didn't know much. He would be amused by the fact she acknowledged the fact she was recruited was likely due to the need of more recruits but even so, she still enjoyed working for them since they had been trying to do some good. "... wow, you remembered all that?" He would ask, giving out a chuckle as he leaned back on his rock, using his legs to hold onto the rock so he wouldn't fall off before realizing he could look silly doing this and sitting up right again. "I think I would have trouble remembering all that." He continued to listen to more of her story, deciding to have put in some of his thoughts. It was an interesting story to him. He wondered if she had lived to see this happen or if someone told her all this. Perhaps on the news she saw this happen. Perhaps she didn't even know how she knew all this information. He himself couldn't remember how he knew the word "world" at an early age but he just knew it. He couldn't remember an exact time where he knew he had learned it from. Perhaps it was before he was "conscious" and had picked it up then. He didn't know, he just knew the word. So maybe it was the same for her. She just picked it up through other sources and she didn't recall how she knew it. He wouldn't ask it in any case. It was an odd thing to ask in his mind and something he didn't think was important. Especially in the middle of her telling him this story and information. Besides, he didn't want to ruin the story. He did wonder if those friends she was talking about were the same ones she had been telling him about earlier. The more she talked about them, the more he wanted to see them. They seemed like nice people to meet and make friends with. It would be nice to widen up his circle of trust. He knew he needed to if he wanted to be better at socializing. He kept on listening to her story, how it grew from a sizable group to one that could've been the most successful splinter of the Red Ribbon Army. Until, however, it all came crashing down. Before they had a chance to even try and lay claim to the title, the leader of the Golden Gate Army, General Gold, was assassinated. His eyes would slightly widen at the news, now remembering she had told him this during their shoveling of snow. "Oh, yeah, I'm remembering now. Sorry, I must've forgot." He scratched the back of his head, feeling slightly embarrassed for not remembering such an important detail. How could he have forgotten something as important as that? He wasn't sure but he had just forgotten. Maybe he had been too busy thinking at the time for it to fully realize in his head. "Was this General Gold guy a good leader then? It sounds like it with how he was leading the Army into a big player." He assumed they were. That or because this military lady had helped make them great. She was very capable from the recounts she had given him. Not only that, but the fact she was leading a military group of her own. Gosh, he couldn't remember what they called themselves. Had he been busy thinking once again? Most likely he had or it had slipped his mind. He would really need to work on that harder if it was getting that bad to the point he had forgotten the name of the group he was about to eat with. Then she began to retell about how this led into an investigation on the assassination of General Gold. Eventually, they find out it was by a fellow named "Brigadier Bronze ''. He looked down at his MRE when she mentioned the very public execution of the man on livestream in full view of all the other Golden Gate commanders to see. Then hearing about how she stripped this Brigadier Bronze's assets and even part of his man force who was willing to join her. Then learning the reason behind his betrayal was one of selfishness. Out of a want for glory to himself. So much of a desire for glory that he assassinated the General of possibly the most successful successor of the Red Ribbon Army in order to do so and dooming the idea of said General to end. He kept his gaze down still when she justified her actions because of the justice General Gold would've wanted and since she didn't think he would've been able to rest easy knowing that Brigadier Bronze didn't receive said justice. He was silent for a moment before speaking up "... I don't know much military stuff as I've said before... so maybe he did deserve it." He said, trying not to comment on it too much. He wasn't sure what to say after that, if anything at all. He wasn't sure if he could even relate to that story. Was he supposed to relate to it? She had just been trying to tell him the story of what had happened since he did ask as to what the Golden Gate army was before this. She was just telling him what happened. He then looked at her, staying silent still for a bit more time before looking back to the sides. He felt like he should say something but didn't have the words to say it. Or even an idea of what to say. He let the silent fill the gap between them as he looked to his MRE, listening to the faint sizzling still there. It was something to focus on in the meantime. The silence felt much longer to him than it actually was. Seconds felt like tens of seconds as he stared at his readying meal. Slightly rocking back and forth as his shoes dug into what snow remained. He placed his hand on the makeshift table of a rock and began to feel the coldness of it as he tried to keep his mind busy with thoughts and sensations. Feeling awkward, time felt slowed to a crawl for him. His mind wandered upon a thought it could keep itself busy with. What happened to the other splinters of the Red Ribbon Army? Did they try to fill in the void of power left by the Golden Gate Army? What about the other people in the Golden Gate Army? What happened to them after the leader was assassinated? Did they simply return to their lives before this all happened or did they join another group? Had she used those resources she scrounged up to make this group or did that come later? Was it only Brigadier Bronze who did it or did they have help? It was likely just him given the investigation. It wasn't too long that the Golden Gate Army fell either by the sounds of it. 14 years wasn't long in the grand scheme of things, at least to him. In actuality, it was even a shorter time than he had been alive and that was saying something. He sometimes forgot how old he actually was. He was always thinking about something that he could sometimes forget just how little time he had been around. Then again, it did make sense how he wouldn't really know about this taking into context just how young he was when the Golden Gate Army fell. He had been busy doing other things at the time. Not really preoccupied with the worlds politics. He would focus back in when she said that's where the tory ended. With her having executed the traitor, taking his belongings and men, and then making her own group. He would look back to her once he was done trying to think of ways of what to say before then saying something. "... That was one heck of a story. Heh, so much happened I might've had a hard time following if I didn't remember some of the stuff from earlier. Sorry for asking for stuff you had already told me. I just had trouble remembering." He then looked to his MRE "...do... do you still miss the guy?" He would look up from his MRE back to her "General Gold, I mean. Do you still miss him from time to time? He sounded like a great general. Did you ever talk to him?"
He would be very grateful for her allowing him a choice at all. He wanted to make that clear with her as much as he could without annoying the colonel too much. He didn't want to seem ungrateful to her generosity even if she insisted it wasn't a big deal for her to do. Including if they were friends and that was somewhat expected of friends to do. He had never really received such a thing like this before. Or even such gifts before. He was used to not being given anything and got used to it. So anytime he did receive something without asking for it, it came as a shock to him and would do his best to make sure the person knew he was very grateful for what they gave him. No matter how small said gift was. Especially one where he was offered a meal. Listening to her, he would let out a chuckle when she said some people didn't even take the time to read the instructions on how to properly prepare a MRE. Almost always leading to the MRE coming out wrong and leading to some hazards in eating it. "Hehe, I don't know why they don't. It's not like it's a whole essay. Just read and do it. I'm dumb but I'm not foolish enough to the point I'll just use something that converts... what is it... I don't know, something into food by just pouring water on it and using that to cook it. It still amazes me." He would look to the jug of water then "And that. Um... the capsule technology still surprises me. To be able to fit something big into something small is really cool to me. It's probably silly but it's just so cool to see in person. It's like magic." He let out the tiniest bit of himself that wanted to blabber out and socialize for a moment before looking at the MRE again. It did take awhile for the meal to get ready, huh? It was likely just time slowing down for him again and his nerves getting all worked up but it still felt like such a long time to him for it to get ready. He would be busy staring at the MRE when he felt like he said something that piqued her interest. He would turn to look at her to see her eyebrow arched and a smile grow upon her face. He watched her lean on the table with her two arms supporting her head. The scene reminded him of those cartoons or shows where the villain was playing around with the hero. The thought of her being a villain did amuse him internally though. She seemed like a kind person and though she did just admit having had someone else be executed, it was still hard to imagine her as something else other than a good person. "Well..." He began to bob his head, then bobbing it side to side before looking around. Thinking on what was a hard workout "...mmm... I guess one where...I'm tired? Like... where I have to swim or run around." He did the same thing as her, leaning on the makeshift table using his hands to support him but with his palms instead of the back of his hands. Looking around and avoiding eye contact "Maybe jump, climb... uh... just doing difficult things like lifting weights. Something which would leave me exhausted, you know? Something like that." He admitted, then making eye contact with her then. The idea did get him thinking. It brought out his imaginative side. The part of him where he daydreamed of things that would likely never happen. The thought of being king made him imagine wearing the traditional garbs of one. Crown, purple robe, a gold staff and all. The image of it being too big for him did also amuse him. Maybe she didn't mean it like that. Likely something else less grand. It could be just the king of a town and such. Or something about a sport or art. He could've been just daydreaming or making it bigger than what she had first suggested. Still, the idea was still in his mind. THere were plenty of nations already in the world. Trying to become a king of anything in the world was going to be difficult. Especially the more grand in scale he thought of. It was difficult for many reasons, one being just sheer power. He knew each nation had at least some type of power to stay in power. King Piccolo was supposedly incredibly powerful with demons strong in their own right as well. That's how they were able to keep control of his part of land. But was that it? Just being incredibly powerful was all that was needed? He didn't think so, there were other ways to run a nation. Through money and connections, you could control a part of land. There was also another outside factor involved though. It was if you could defend that land and if people wanted to live in said land. But he was getting ahead of himself. He was still nothing at the moment. He was still trying to learn the basics of interpersonal relations, aka social skills. Not only that but other things such as his train of thought, his focus, his sleep schedule etc. All of it would have to be worked on before he could even attempt such a thing of being something as big or important like being a king of something. Hearing someone else other than him, especially that of a friend, laugh with him made him feel incredibly happy inside. This bit of happiness he received with her laughing with him made his brain release goosebumps throughout his body. His nerves and body became excited again as he began to internally shake in his attempt to not be visibly shaking from excitement. He was able to at least control this part of himself. Controlling his excitement just enough so he wouldn't be visibly shaking even if he was internally so. Having had practice to do so since he had to control his emotions from a young age and not let them show. He was no stranger to waking up so early but it was usually because of his own busted sleep schedule. He was used to waking up too early or too late. Waking up feeling at least some type of exhaustion. It got to the point where he was getting used to feeling like this and why he needed to keep moving. If he tried to relax and rest, he would possibly fall asleep. Then again, he was used to it. So he could probably handle it. He could recall the nights where he would be sleeping before waking up to darkness in his room. Checking the time to see what time he had woken up too and feeling happy to see it was 3:00 in the morning since it meant he could sleep in for a few more hours before having to get up to receive education. However, he felt exhausted when he woke up to get to school. In the beginning, it was awful trying to keep awake. Trying to keep focused throughout the lesson without trying to fall asleep. But at some point, he had become accustomed to feeling exhausted and his body had grown to expect it. He could keep up without too much sleep and whenever he did get the proper amount of sleep he needed, he would be even more tired than he would be if he had just slept less like he had usually done. He had tried to figure out why he was sleeping so late or waking up so early. He had come up with a few ideas. Perhaps his mind was restless. Trying to find answers to questions he shouldn't have been asking or that he could really get no true answer to. Then another reason could be that he was just being stressed out and that was causing him to not be able to sleep properly. He could remember lots of things that stressed him out and made his mind reckless. It could've also been his constant viewing of screens. Having learned that perhaps the bright light coming from the screens would keep him up at night. Or, in likelihood, it was a combination of all of this. All these factors led to the fact he couldn't sleep well. The fact his mind kept racking for answers. The fact he was being stressed out constantly by not only the questions but by outside factors as well. And the fact he was looking at screens to answer his questions and to try and get away from the stress. All of it could have coalesced into a huge problem of him not being able to sleep at night. He would be ready this time around as he focused back in, looking at her as she began explaining how basic training was for her. He listened to how the bangs were, in fact, literal and aggressive to wake them up. Using lids to make as much noise as possible, shouting to get their adrenaline pumping, and even using batons to hit people to get them up and running. This part surprised him the most as he hadn't expected them to actually hit the recruits to just wake them up. He thought they would simply make as much noise as possible. This thought had him thinking if he could take such abuse in simply trying to wake up from one's slumber. He took some time to think about it before concluding he possibly could. He was sure he could become accustomed to it but he would have to check his emotions for such a thing to happen to him. The most difficult part would be the batons hitting him. If that happened to him, it would likely be extremely hard for him to keep his anger in check, especially at a time where he would be waking up. Groggy and tired from being woken up in such a manner. He would listen to how if you didn't get into the habit of sleeping early enough by the time you were supposed to wake up, you wouldn't get no sleep at all and be forced to continue throughout your day without the luxury of getting enough sleep. It made him laugh internally since it reminded him of schooling in a way. Usually without the loud banging and being hit. Usually being the key word. He could imagine some schools using loud banging to wake sleepy children from their desks and parents beating them to wake up. It wasn't unheard of. Continuing to listen, he would hear that eventually their bodies got used to this time of getting up and would be up fifteen minutes before she was supposed to wake up. And because of this, they had stopped the banging of things to wake them up. So at least they did reward behavior that they wanted and did not only punish. They still had to get used to the long days though. Judging by how she stated that they still had to stay awake for the day. He would take all of this in and think about what to say in return. "Huh... Was it hard? It sounded hard. It took you 4 weeks to get accustomed to the new sleep schedule. Did they ever hit you with the baton?" He was curious, if she could handle getting hit with a baton then perhaps he could handle it as well. Then again, she had been properly disciplined even before this and he was just some random civilian from the street that could barely speak to others without worrying about what word they should or shouldn't say. He couldn't imagine someone being able to think of those as good times. He didn't think she did. In his own mind, thinking she viewed it as a bad but necessary part of her training for the army. He, of course, was anxious. This machine could calculate just how strong of a person he or anyone was. Just a simple scan and boom, there was your strength. All in numbers so you could compare. The thought of a device being used on him made him nervous. He was going to be at least a little nervous at the prospect of such a thing. Especially by something with the notion of Ki. Not only that, but the idea that he could be very weak and it being a small number worried him. He had done this song and dance many times, referring to his thought process, so he would just not think about that right now. It was true he was lacking in confidence. She was very perceptive of that. Perhaps all he needed was to excel at something... the memory of being worse than somebody, then that spikey haired one came to his mind again. He would try to not think about that. Would they be stronger than him even now? Would their "power level" be higher than his? The thought made him upset but he didn't want to admit it. It made him want to have a high power level. A high number. Higher than 5. He wasn't sure if that 5 power level was for more mature humans or all the humans in the world power levels averaged. He could only guess if it was either case. He hadn't asked earlier but 5 did seem low to him. Maybe it was high in comparison to other races but he couldn't be sure. Once the answer left his lips, he would immediately start wondering if the answer he gave was the right choice. Should he have given a different answer? Should he have gone first? He hoped it wasn't the wrong choice. He was just nervous to go first. He wanted to see his power level too but at the same time he didn't want to. The idea still made him anxious. He would look up to her, hearing her confirm his choice as he saw her take off her scouter that had been on her ear before she placed it on his. Despite the ski mask, it was able to hold onto his ear and even comfortably so. He was surprised by this but was grateful that there wasn't an issue with it already. He even watched her hand move to next to her ear to demonstrate on how to use the device before then listening to her verbal explanation on how to use the device. He would listen intently, finding this very important as not only he was going to find out just how strong she was, it being important since he had been wondering this not too long ago, but also because he didn't want to be the issue in this whole thing. This wasn't his device and for all he knew, this thing was expensive. He didn't want to mess this up and bust the scouter in the first 10 seconds of it being handed it. He would listen to how he should feel a button if he raised his hand to the scouter. Taking this as a sign to do so, he would hesitantly move his hand to the scouter now on his ear. Very gently feeling around before feeling a button to the side. He listened further to her instructions, tapping the button once as per her instruction which would bring up the power level reading. Maybe he should have waited until she was done with her instructions to do so but he had already done it and needed to continue listening. Once he pressed the button, the scouter would begin scanning the area for power levels within a 10 meter radius. It began to show quickly changing numbers as it looked for a power level. He would stare in amazement as he was actually using a device, an expensive device at that. He would intently wait in anticipation as to what her number would be. What her "power level" would be once it was done scanning the area. It was honestly getting him excited. It was the first time he had ever been using a device like this. He had been wondering for so long, relative to him, how exactly strong she was. He had been only able to speculate as to how strong she was and now he was about to get an exact answer to the question. If the average was 5 and she was a trained military person, one with years of experience and training along with battle experience then he could only imagine how strong she was... until now. There were no other power levels nearby in the area or any significant enough to detect. It made sense since it was a snowy place with lots of people in the area so any creatures that did live out here probably wouldn't be so close to people roaming around here. Especially with any tools at their disposal and such. He had followed her instructions as best he could and managed to not mess the device up and actually got it to work. He was a little proud of himself for not messing it up. He would stare in astonishment as he saw her body become encased in a sort of stylized box. He would notice rapidly increasing numbers begin to beep in his ear. The sound caught him off guard but he didn't mind it too much as he watched the number soar up. He would be internally shocked as this number was in the quadruple digits! Way above the number 5! The only hint of shock being his wide eyes which could be taken as something else. He did have wide eyes usually anyways. He noticed it began to slow down as it began reaching the 6000 threshold before finally stopping at her power level. 6 thousand, 6 hundred, and 9. His ski mask couldn't hide his eyes becoming wide in astonishment at the number. It was incredible. It was a ridiculously high number. If 5 really was the human average then she could snap people like twigs if she wanted to. He assumed she was strong but not this strong! It was crazy! No matter what he got, he didn't think he would come close to her power level. He didn't think he would ever reach a number like that. Just what type of training or battles did she go through to receive such a ridiculous number. If he was being honest to himself, it honestly slightly scared him just how scary strong she was. He didn't have an exact ranking of power in his head since this was the first power level he had seen but if he had to guess, he thought she had to be one of the strongest in the world! Probably not stronger than King Piccolo or the like but still crazy strong. It was honestly monstrous to him. She seemed so normal too. He had been expecting a normal power level just slightly higher. Like 10 or 15. Not in the four digits. He had no chance of being that high. "...WOW! It's insane! You're ridiculous!" He would admit with a chuckle coming out "6,609! That's your power level! What have you been eating?!?!"
He would be in pure shock, the pumping of his heart began to sound off in his ears. He was standing in front of someone this monstrous in power and she was acting completely normal. Even kind. What type of person had he been talking to? It was insane. He felt a wave of heat go through him as he wondered what he should be feeling at the moment. This power level and what it meant had caught him by complete surprise. He, probably, never would've thought of such a high power level being possible. Except for truly demon characters like King Piccolo. It was mind numbing. This completely recontextualized everything she had been saying to him. If only he could remember most of it. He felt woozy in the head as he tried to process this information. He didn't move from his standing position or his hand off the scouter. Did this device malfunction? It had to be. But she had been using it and it couldn't have or else she would have got another scouter, right? He had been assuming his power level would be at least below hers but not by this much. The number of his power level has been in the single digits, below the average of a human. He didn't think even a machine could overpower someone like her. No, the machine couldn't overpower her. A machine could probably output a force a thousand times that of a normal person. Taking five and multiplying it by a thousand, it would be around 5000 and her power level was still higher. But that was a machine and this was ki. Was it different then? No matter the case, he didn't think anyone with power armor here could do anything to her. He was having a hard time imagining her being in any sort of danger in a battle. Unless it was some demon. Then he could imagine it but even then. It was just incredible just how strong she was. It had blown all of his expectations out of the water. He had tried to expect the unexpected, even thinking of impossible things that wouldn't happen, hence his daydreaming. But he never thought something like it could ever happen. Especially for something like this. "I-I...I did..." He would be pretty excited at stuttering in such an exciting moment like this but he was too busy being in pure shock. How would he be able to compare to something like this? It was unrealistic to expect some thing like that of him. She was in a whole other league "You're.. truly incredible... I didn’t ever expect this..."
("9,001 words. 43,001 words in total.") Emargine "Azure" Cerola
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Post by Emargine "Azure" Cerola on Sept 28, 2022 3:33:41 GMT -8
Azure looked again at the scenery as Roderick gestured to it, nodding in agreement. "I'll admit, I haven't been all the way around the world just yet. That's why I'm admiring this scenery for the first time. And on the way back, we're certainly eating here again." As to what was to be done afterward, the answer was simple. We'll do what we've always done. Offer our services to those who want and can afford them."It wasn't always the whole battalion. Depending on the need, anything as small as a single squad would do, and the ones who did it got the pay, with the overhead like spent ammunition or damaged equipment being deducted for maintenance purposes, as well as a small cut taken - a drop in the bucket, really. That was another way things were fair around here. Of course bigger contracts meant bigger returns as well. But despite the for profit nature of this private military company, it also served as a platform for its members to earn their own share, outside of what the company engaged in directly. So long as they followed the Clause, of course. Roderick commented on the matter of how this line of work was life and death. That particular confrontation faced whenever things got bad. "That's the reality in this business. You get into it knowing that the next job could always be your last. You might do everything you can to reduce risk, but combat is unpredictable, no matter how good you are. It always hurts when someone under your command is lost. Especially for someone like Teal, who takes his time to get to know everyone. But at the same time, you learn to accept that fact. When you get started out here, you have to make peace with old Mr. Grim. Do everything you can to keep him away, but when he comes, don't whine about it... or at least, not while you're still on the job. Because if you lose your composure after someone dies, more will follow."Azure seemed pensive, for a moment. Staring into the distance almost wistfully. Perhaps she was remembering the faces of those who were lost... Still, it wasn't hard to get back to jump back on to Roderick's surprise at her sociability. "Oh, yes! It wasn't easy. But to lead an outfit like this, you have to learn to lead. From the front, from behind, from above, from below, and side to side." The fact was, wherever your position was in a hierarchical structure, other people were always connected to you somehow. And whatever your position was, you always had some influence on those your were connected to, be they subordinates, superiors, or peers. Whether you were on the front lines, or rear echelons. "There are people with natural talents. But leadership is a skill. It can be learned. And I'd like to think myself a good student of it."At the end of the day, a good leader could help improve a lacking unit. And a good unit could make up for the shortcomings of a poor leader. But if you had both, then you really could pull through despite all the scrapes and bruises. "Yes, yes it did pay off... and today, we're still here, with that ton of experience to show for it."Roderick asked of her friends' whereabouts. Where were they now? All here, or stationed somewhere else? "They're all here somewhere. One of our camps around the village. For the most part, the Dragoons stick together. And right now, nobody is stationed far. If we weren't all headed north, they probably might find some opportunities to earn a little extra and break off for a while." Props to him for using an appropriate term. Whether he was doing it for the sake of being correct or to impress her, was not really something she had in mind. But it was certainly more comfortable to hear something in her "language". "You could actually check up on them with the Scouter if you want."Of course she would have to teach him how to navigate to that function too, which was fine. It wasn't like there was much else to do right now. In the meantime, though, there were other reactions to address, like the retelling of her history. "It does depend on the person. Assuming one doesn't have memory problems, we still forget things. But some things, like particularly intense experiences, will stick with you for a long time. I'm not surprised you've forgotten parts of such a long story. Digging in the snow to relax while this old lady tells you her war stories doesn't sound like the most memorable time." She laughed again in self-depracation. It was true, after all. "But yes. General Gold had something good in the works. It really was a shame.""That's just how I see it. Maybe when you've seen your share of life and solidified your convictions, you could come up with your own conclusion. There's no need to decide whether or not you agree. Not until you've seen what I've seen." Were it not for her mission objectives under ISLET, she would have continued supporting Gold. Azure had become one of his most trusted officers. She could have easily raised another generation of troops loyal to his principles. And maybe once the Golden Gate had truly come into its own, that was when she would have left, with it able to stand without her, or Gold himself. At least then, assassinated or not, others would have remained to fulfill his vision... "There's no need to apologise for that. I just noticed is all... I won't say something cheesy like 'he was like a father to me' or anything like that," honestly, where were these dumb jokes coming from? "But yes, a lot of his men saw him that way. Especially those of us who were still young back then. He was a great leader. Up close, he was friendly. If he weren't in uniform you would think he was your jolly uncle who always brought three good things to the table: Good advice, good company, and good jokes. I often wonder how different things would be down South if he were still around." Azure laughed along. Yes, why did some people refuse to read such straightforward instructions indeed? She found herself largely agreeing with that point. Maybe they were just lazy. "It is pretty magical, isn't it? I was amazed when I first saw one. Still am to some extent."And it was also quite impressive. That a small number of humans could invent such matter compression that not even the TSE had considered. Well maybe that had to do with how things were run. She was a soldier rather than a scientist, but how much freedom did the young within the scientific caste have to come up with their own ideas? ISLET's adoption of capsule technology had revolutionised their logistics. And looking back at the notes on the reverse engineering, it was a frustratingly simple set of solutions as well. Why did nobody invent something like this before the war, during the Tuffle Kingdom's heyday? Roderick listed down things that he considered hard workouts. It was interesting, really. It all sounded... normal. Although the difference between all these and shoveling snow was that the intensity was arguably higher than slightly straining your back, shoulders, wrists and hips. Compared to those, shoveling snow was just a chore. And that was partly why she chose it, in addition to being the great work they were going to do up north. Shoving, digging, drilling... to get that behemoth out of the ice. "Thinking about it again, I guess I'm not surprised. Shoveling snow isn't really a high intensity workout. But it sounds like you have quite the endurance for low intensity exercise, so none of this bothered you," she gestured at a nearby shovel, sticking out of the snow. Training did start with a bang, and now he wanted to know if it was hard, and whether the baton had been used on yours truly. Azure leaned back and thought about it for a moment, considering her answer. "Just because you're good at shooting things, and sort of organising your friends to go out hunting, doesn't mean you're perfect for a military lifestyle. It was hard, as you've guessed. A soldier's regimented life is more than just those skills. It's how you live 24/7. And until we got used to it, there was always a chance we'd mess up and get the baton."Like that one time she slept in from a little too much to drink. Well she knew what was going to come next, but she wanted to see just how effective the baton was. Azure rubbed her behind in memory of the following morning. "There was this one time I let my guard down with a bottle. My behind hurt all day. Nowadays I only take soda on duty." No alcohol, and the caffeine arguably helped. Story time took a pause as she watched intently, scrutinising how well Roderick followed her instructions. It didn't take long for him to get her power level. And it showed in his eyes, even with his mask on. His words soon followed. Azure chuckled at his question. "Eating is only part of it. I have good balanced meals. Push ups, sit ups, plenty of juice... What's most important, however, is the kind of training you take. It's more than just building muscle or keeping physically fit. Ki is our life energy, after all. So it takes a certain knowledge of how to cultivate it and adding that to your regimen. And I've been training a lot, starting from 5. Anyone can. Sometimes they don't even realise it when they do, although that's a far cry from what happens when you train. I'd wager a martial artist who focused only on training his body could reach over a hundred if he worked hard enough. As far as power levels go, I'm not really all that special. I know quite a number who outclass me. But that's just another reason to train. When you're up against monsters, every little skill comes in handy, especially when bullets stop working.""Our ki is the secret sauce that can inflate power levels above a hundred plus. You need to learn how to train that energy to do something like this..." The colonel pointed her right index finger up in the air. With some slight focus, a small blue point appeared just above her fingertip. It gathered more ki until a little blue marble floated in place. She whistled, and it shot up into the darkening sky, before exploding into a little display of fireworks. Dazzling little patterns of bright blue flash. "I feel like you have the potential to go far once you learn how. Now here's how you scan yourself."Another set of instructions to navigate the Scouter's controls. Not too difficult, and simply just a little extension of the previous instructions. If he followed it correctly, Roderick would pick himself up for measurement, and arrive at what would be his own reading of 384. "You haven't even started training your ki yet. Imagine how far you can go once you do."The question was how to keep him motivated. How to generate a discipline that would lead to that potential going many places. She looked down at the MRE, and her watch. Well... it was probably done by now. "If you'd like, we can talk more about it after dinner. About how you really could become king somehow, once you harness your potential."What would he become king of? Even if they did talk about it all night, it was only as good as where he would go from that point on. Training, and life experience could very well shape a person so that he did not think the same at the end, compared to when he started. Maybe Roderick might want to be king of something other than whatever they would end up talking about. Maybe he would think being king was too small an idea, or irrelevant once one got to certain power levels. It was really hard to tell. But for now, she wanted to see what he thought of himself after this. He was no mere 5. And while he was not over 6600 like her, Azure emphasised how she started from 5. Which was true. Take away that suit of armour, and she was just a squishy Tuffle. But in this new life, she had trained as soon as she could walk. Guarded by ISLET's best combat instructors. By the time she was five years old, she was already playing pranks on the soldiers in the mess hall, psychically flinging her food around when nobody was looking, to see if anyone would notice. It was hard work. But that was where she was now. Roderick wasn't even trying. He could very well be more than just a king, if he applied himself. But would he? She would have to find out... [2193/20248] Roderick
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