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Post by Sprow on Jul 20, 2014 2:01:46 GMT -5
Hades didn't like the interference. As soon as Amaya had blocked the fire ball, he glared over at her, flaring up more. Flying back, hovering in the air, Hades fired two more fireballs in her direction. Amaya was forced to dodge them by rolling out of the way. She wasn't keen on getting burnt to a crisp. Her armor protected her for the most part but not well when it came to flames. In response to her dodging, the god of death didn't let up as he continued to toss fire balls down at her from on high.
In the meantime, Dante could only block so many attacks. All of the ones the keyblader used on him were with the intent to remove his head. The real Dante hoped that he could achieve it soon. He hated killing others and hated what he had become, against his will. As for the entity controlling him, the movements it made were jerky. Nothing at all like the real Dante when he fought. It was inevitable that soon, the head would come clean off. The entity clearly couldn't move as well in a different body that it possessed like a strange, wireless puppet.
Of course, Dante's head remained on until Arin transformed into his darker self. As he spoke directly to the Dark God controlling Dante, the real Dante looked out at him. Whatever Arin had become, he became something stronger and darker. Huh, fighting fire with fire? Wise decision. Then, it ended in an instant. Dante welcomed the darkness as the hold on him was released the moment his head left his shoulders after a series of attacks.
Amaya seemed to sense that moment as well. She dropped down to one knee as she felt a sudden jolt, her mind immediately going to Dante. It was then that she knew another one of her friends was dead. Amaya felt tears welling up again but she couldn't mourn yet. Hades was bearing down on her.
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Post by Raphael on Jul 21, 2014 15:59:41 GMT -5
Arin hadn't expected to finish the battle so quickly, but given the puppeteer was trying to force Dante to act, with more resistance from the fire Dragoon impeding his reactions, it was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened. Sighing, he lowered his head briefly, looking at Dante's corpse.
"I hope you're still watching this, Puppeteer…We are going to destroy you…No matter what it takes…"
Hades towered over Amaya as she dropped to one knee, forming another large fireball to finish Amaya off. When he looked over to see that Dante had been slain, his presence only grew hotter, and the fireball grew larger "You two brats made the biggest mistake of your lives! I'm going to turn you both into ash! And then I'm going to finish Hercules off myself!"
He looked back and saw Amaya falling to one knee, eyes narrowing as Hades slowly approached Amaya as she was vulnerable. He hurled his keyblade at Hades, which collided with the fireball and exploded in his hand. Hades roared out in anger, but Arin was on the scene before the lord of the underworld could even make a move. Swinging with both hands, he swung with one hand at Hades, striking the god's midsection before the keyblade moved to his left hand to use the momentum of his first strike for a strong follow up strike to Hade's hand as he tried to burn Arin. He repeated this each time Hades tried to attack, and his movements were much faster, and far more aggressive than Dante's dual scimitar style, and he was pushing Hades further and further away from Amaya, pure rage in his glowing yellow eyes.
"Don't! You! Ever! Threaten! My! Friends!"
Arin felt the light in his heart buried deep in his darkness trying to force itself back out again, and Arin tried to channel that buried power, his body emitting a slight pulse that grew in frequency and strength. As Arin brought his keyblade down in a powerful double handed strike, his body exploded in a burst of light, the hood on his coat flying back and revealing his black hair and black and yellow eyes. But that was only for a brief moment, as the burst of light had returned balance to his heart, and his blonde hair and teal eyes had returned as well. Redemption was in his right hand again, and his chaos aura had formed around his body once more.
The blast caught Hades off guard, and sent him flying out of the arena, falling into the pit in the far back of the arena. This would keep Hades busy for a while, and Arin had time to make sure Amaya was alright, walking over to her and kneeling down in front of her "Are you alright, Amaya?" While this was happening, Herc had forced Cerberus onto his back, and had thrown it into the pit where Hades had fallen into. Checking the arena for any other hostiles "I think that's the end of that. Lets get back to the surface, you two."
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Post by Sprow on Jul 22, 2014 14:28:15 GMT -5
Dante, although he couldn't rebel, had gone limp again. He hoped that Arin would make it happen quick. He didn't want to suffer from pain. He didn't want to suffer anymore being controlled by that dark monstrosity. Dante knew there was no other alternative. Honestly, even if there was a way to save him, Dante didn't think he would be the same anymore. The thing had too strong of a grip on him. It would take a piece of him along with it.
The fact that Dante went limp and resisted the entity that way made things hard for it as it fought against Arin. The movements were odd and jerky. Eventually, Arin had finally removed Dante's head. Oddly enough, it happened so fast that Dante didn't even feel it. As Arin spoke, the spirit of Dante could hear it.
Thank you. Take care of Amaya for me.
There was nothing in sight, just a voice that only Arin would have heard at that time.
Amaya was just pushing herself up back onto her feet as Hades charged up a large fireball he was intending to use on her. A keyblade went whizzing over Amaya's head. An explosion took place, startling her enough to turn toward the sound. Arin had just prevented Hades from burning her to a crisp. Hades was hit so hard he was sent flying. He wouldn't be getting up anytime soon and would be busy with that.
Arin bent before her, asking if she was alright. Amaya looked beyond Arin and saw Dante's decapitated form. She dropped her gaze. "Y-Yeah...I'm...fine..." She got up as Hercules mentioned that now was time to go to the surface. Amaya agreed and went over and picked up the head of her now deceased friend. Then would follow who picked up the body and out of the arena and Underworld.
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Post by Raphael on Jul 22, 2014 17:11:46 GMT -5
Lifting the use of his chaos form, Arin grabbed Dante's body and carried it out of the arena, taking the place in the middle of the boat behind Amaya while Herc steered it from the back. As they crossed the river, Arin was looking at Amaya as she sat there with Dante's head. She claimed to be fine, but knew that was all a lie to try and keep him from worrying about her. She was a battle hardened warrior, sure, but Arin wasn't so sure if she had it in her to kill another Dragoon warrior, her resolve just didn't seem like it was stronger than her emotions. For the remainder of the trip back from the underworld, everything was silent.
As they emerged from the gateway to the underworld, a large winged horse had trotted up and started nuzzling Herc "Hey there boy! Did you miss me?"
Meg and Phil weren't too far from the Pegasus, coming over to welcome the trio back "He was worried sick about you, you weren't around when he returned from his flight." Phil hobbled over and got a look at Dante's headless form, whistling softly as he inspected the clean slice along both halves of the body, noting how they were cleanly severed "That aint no ordinary sword cut, Herc, that one there's a magical decapitation. So, where's the young hero with the keyblade?"
Herc laughed and patted Arin on the back, forcing him to stumble forward a bit, but he managed to keep a firm hold of Dante's body "Sora wasn't the one who did that, Phil, that was Arin's doing. I think you might have been wrong about this one, he certainly seems like hero material from what I saw."
Arin smiled softly when Herc praised him. But when he looked down at Dante's headless body, his smile quickly faded "…Thank you for the vote of confidence, Hercules…but I'm no hero…" He looked over at Amaya, and for the first time, she could see the remorse in his eyes without his armor blocking her view "…We should get going…"
Phil, Meg, and Herc looked at each other, then to Amaya and Arin "Now wait just a minute. You two are leaving? Without letting us send you off with a proper farewell?" "If you two weren't here, who knows what this boy and Hades could have been capable of. Wonderboy might not have been able to handle it alone. At least let us thank you somehow."
Arin looked down, breaking eye contact with the others, as they tried to convince them to stay and let them show Amaya and Arin their gratitude "…I don't know if that would be a good idea…"
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Post by Sprow on Jul 23, 2014 0:59:39 GMT -5
Amaya was silent the whole way to the boat. As they all got in, she sat in the front so that she didn't have to face the other two. It's not that she was upset with any of them. It's just that she didn't want them to see her crying. Tears fell from her eyes as she gazed down at the helmeted decapitated head of her fallen comrade. Now, Stella and Dante were gone. They were free, yes, but now they were gone. That left the hardest two for Amaya to even consider fighting. Reiko and Asami were the remaining two warriors. How was she going to handle that? Reiko was Amaya's best friend and Asami was Amaya's older sister. This journey was just too hard. How did anyone expect her to do these things? Why did she have to be the last one left? She felt so guilty about being the sole survivor.
As Amaya sat there, she could feel someone's gaze on her from behind. Determined to not let them know how she felt, Amaya kept her gaze pointed directly ahead. She hadn't even let her armor down so that her face would be hidden by the shadow of her helmet. She didn't want them to worry about her. She also wanted to keep her feelings hidden as best she could right now. She hated being vulnerable.
When they neared the shore, Amaya waited for them to turn away while they climbed ashore. As they did so, she wiped at her eyes and face so that no one would know. She still couldn't hide the fact that her eyes were red as she made her armor go away. She made it a point to not look over at the others so that she wasn't forced into a discussion of some kind. The entire way back had been nothing but silence.
Once they reached the surface, a winged horse had appeared. It trotted right over to Hercules and nuzzled him. Hercules greeted it. No doubt, it was a pet of his or something. Amaya had looked at it with curiosity before drifting back into sorrow. The arrival of the other two didn't make her look up. She could barely hear Phil talking to Hercules making a comment about the cut. Amaya knew who did it. It had been Arin with his keyblade. Sure enough, Hercules mentioned this and was happy about it. Well, Amaya couldn't blame them for acting that way. Amaya's friend had been corrupted at the time and a danger to everyone. She was certain that he had caused a lot of suffering. Yet, there was that part of her that remembered her friends for who they used to be. What had happened back there, it had been something controlling him. They wouldn't understand this though.
Then, Arin spoke. He had thanked Hercules for the vote of confidence but claimed to be no hero. It was then that he turned toward her and Amaya looked up. It was then that Arin suggested that they should go. Phil and Meg spoke up then. They wanted to thank them properly before they left for helping put a stop to Hades's plan and defeating Dante. Arin had turned to Amaya, not sure if that was something they needed to do. What should they do? Already, two friends had been killed and now two more were left. Yet, Amaya felt terrible. How was she going to manage to keep pushing herself? Already, there was a lot of pain for her. She felt like she was going to break. Amaya couldn't be emotionless but she needed to be strong. With what happened back in the arena below, Amaya wasn't so sure of herself. Besides, the next two would be the hardest for her to get over. Maybe she should take a short break? It wasn't like the other two would be going anywhere anytime soon.
"...Why not?" Amaya said, lifting her gaze from the helmeted head of her deceased friend. She didn't meet Arin's gaze. She knew that he felt remorse for killing Dante. Amaya wasn't upset with him. She just wanted him to stop fretting over her. Besides, it would be a good distraction for the time being. She needed to get her mind off of things before she broke down. Yet, her heart really wasn't up for it. Still, she remained poised and did her best to conceal how she really felt then.
"We will need to take my...deceased friend with us when we leave...do you have anywhere that we can let him rest for the time being until we head out?"
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Post by Raphael on Jul 25, 2014 22:48:37 GMT -5
Arin was caught off guard when Amaya decided that they should stay. He was going to say something, but Hercules beat him to it "Excellent! We'll make sure to prepare a big feast for you two, after such a hard fight, I'm sure you could use the food, and we can have a cleric look at any wounds that you've gotten from the battle."
The wheels were moving too fast for Arin to respond at this point, Herc picking up Dante's body without much resistance, he certainly was stronger than he looked "If you'll come with me, Amaya, we can place your friend somewhere safe, close to the dining hall. I'll personally watch over him until it's time to eat."
Arin just stood there and watched things progress, but decided to step outside once Amaya was out of view, he needed some fresh air. The large doors opened and shut behind him, and he sat on the stone steps of the entrance, looking up at the darkening sky with a gloomy air about him.
"…Killing someone's friends…Mercy or not, it's torture on the emotions…Can we really make it through this in one piece?"
"That's something ya gotta decide for yourself kid." Phil hobbled out of the lobby, crossing his arms as he stood there, looking at Arin "You gotta learn to try and shield your heart from painful feelings like this, heroes have to make tough decisions like this every single day. I may have misjudged your skill with a weapon kid, but your heart, as strong as it is, is still ruled by your emotions."
Arin Looked back at Phil when he was speaking, and chuckled weakly when he said Arin's heart was still ruled by his emotions "…Yeah…That's an understatement…" Phil sighed and shook his head "Listen Blondie. I don't know the full story behind you two, but if you ask me, you have a lot of toughening up to do. Especially if this isn't the last time you have to go through with something this intense. Having to kill someone close to you is hard enough if you aren't ready to go through with it, but if you're doing this just for the girl, that's got to stop now. If you're doing this for her, and you're not 100% focused, you'll be putting both of you in danger, because you'll be worrying too much about her."
Arin glared at Phil when he started lecturing him "And what makes you think this is for Amaya? I'm helping her to prove to myself I'm worthy of the gifts I was given, and she can't do this all on her own, not without risking losing who she is."
Phil propped his hands on his hips, meeting Arin's gaze calmly "Kid, I've got two words to respond to that; you ain't fooling anyone." Arin rolled his eyes and looked away, facing the underworld gate "Believe what you want, but this isn't about her…This is for the worlds at danger by the Dragoons' wild attacks from whatever's controlling them."
Not convinced, Phil turned and walked towards the exit, hobbling on his short goat legs "I should say the same to you, Blondie. Make sure you know why you're fighting, or you won't be at your strongest, physically or otherwise." He walked back into the lobby to help prepare their farewell party
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Post by Sprow on Jul 26, 2014 22:14:21 GMT -5
In the corner of her eye, Amaya could see Arin look her way but she didn't look in his direction. They both needed the break. Where she did it to give herself a break, she also wondered how it felt for Arin. He had just killed Dante, after all. It probably bothered him to some extent. Neither of them, after all, were cold blooded killers. So, this was for the two of them. As Hercules spoke, Amaya gave a nod. Yes, Arin and Amaya certainly needed a break.
Before long, Hercules had picked up Dante's body and Amaya walked over as Hercules explained that he would show her to where they could leave him for the time being. He would personally watch over Dante until it was time to eat. Amaya gave a nod and a small smile. "Thank you, Hercules."
With that, Hercules had lead Amaya out. She glanced back at Arin before stepping out of the room with Hercules. He was probably puzzled. Amaya would go and see him later. Right now, she wanted to take care of Dante's body before doing anything else. Once that was done, she might find herself in a separate room to get a hold of herself, or let out her emotions without anyone seeing her. It was a struggle enough to try and conceal how she felt as she followed the much larger hero out toward the room close to the dining hall. It looked to be a good spot to put him for now. With Hercules to watch over it, Amaya felt a bit better knowing that they weren't just simply dumping Dante's body somewhere for a break.
Hercules instructed Amaya to set down Dante's head in its appropriate place. As she did so, it almost seemed for a moment that her friend hadn't been decapitated. It simply looked as if he were just asleep in his armor. Her eyes had even played a trick on her but she knew that he wasn't breathing. Dante was dead.
"Thank you, Hercules."
"No problem. Now, you just take a break and I'll watch over Dante. See you in a bit!" Amaya gave a nod, thanking him again before exiting the room. As she did so, it finally washed over her the reality of what had been done. Just like Stella, Dante was now dead. Now, there were two more Dragoons left. Reiko, her best friend, and Asami, her sister. If killing friends wasn't easy, just think how it would be when it came time to kill one's own flesh and blood! How was she going to handle it all? Amaya found a room that wasn't occupied and stepped inside briefly as tears welled up in her eyes.
'How could I be so weak? I need to be able to reel my emotions in when it comes to the other battles or it might cost us!' Amaya thought sadly. She wiped away at her tears, trying to get a hold of herself before she would go and face any of the others. What had ultimately made her pull herself together in the end was the thought of how Arin was doing. He had just killed Dante. She was fairly certain he hadn't mercy killed someone before. Just what toll had it taken on him? If he was bothered just as badly, she needed to be there for him as a friend like he had been for her.
Once she was certain the tears wouldn't keep coming, and that she had wiped them free from her face, Amaya stepped out of the room and went to find Arin. After looking around the building, she finally figured out that he had to be somewhere outside. No doubt, he needed some fresh air. Amaya guessed it was a good idea for her as well. As she stepped outside, it took her a moment before finally finding him. Amaya walked over to where he was.
"...Arin?"
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Post by Raphael on Jul 27, 2014 22:14:56 GMT -5
Arin was silent for the longest time after Phil walked back into the lobby, reflecting on what had happened in the underworld, and what it truly meant to him. He didn't know Dante, not in the slightest, but that boy had more honor in him than anyone he knew, a rare thing in most worlds nowadays. He honestly was saddened by what he had to do, under different circumstances, they could have been friends, rivals even. But would that have been such a good thing? It may have made him unable to do what needed to be done.
…What needed to be done…What an ironic thing to think about. He didn't NEED to do anything, before they met in hollow bastion, he felt no obligation to risk his life for someone else's sake. So why, of all times, did he suddenly feel like he had to do so now?
"…Arin?"
He was broken out of his train of thought, lifting his head as he could hear Amaya's voice calling him. He turned his head slightly, acknowledging her words, before facing forward again and sighing heavily "…It's only going to get harder from here on out…isn't it?"
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Post by Sprow on Jul 28, 2014 7:30:50 GMT -5
As Amaya happened upon him, she could see that Arin was deep in thought. When she had called out to him, Arin had turned his head before facing forward again. There was the sound of a heavy sigh before Arin finally spoke. It was a question about it getting harder from here on out. Amaya let out a sigh of her own. Even if he couldn't see the nod, she did out of habit before answering.
"Unfortunately...yes..." Amaya trailed off. She crossed her arms before walking over to where he was to stand off to the side of him.
"...Are you...going to be...alright?" Amaya questioned him slowly. "I'm sorry that I faltered back there...that you had to be the one to kill Dante..." Amaya closed her eyes then. She truly was frustrated with herself. Ai prepared them for everything but emotional training. Things like this, she couldn't possibly be well prepared for. This was all new to her, facing such extremes. Why did they have to go through this? Now, it was down to two more Dragoons.
"Thank you though...for making it swift and...painless for him." Amaya finally opened her eyes and looked back over at Arin.
"Now...there are just two more left. Reiko, my former best friend...and Asami, my sister." Amaya let out a sigh again at that. Neither of those two options was going to be easy on her. Those two had been much closer to her than Dante or Stella had been. Even still, despite how she hadn't been as close to Dante and Stella, it still didn't feel any better knowing that they had killed them.
"That's why I'm having us take this break...things are going to get harder from here. Asami, we may even have to fight together since she is or was the strongest out of all of us." Amaya shook her head. "Anyway...if you don't want to go along with me for the last two...that's fine, this whole thing is going to be...tough. One might even lose themselves in this." Already, Amaya felt like she was losing herself but she tried to hide it as best she could.
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Post by Raphael on Jul 30, 2014 19:07:52 GMT -5
Arin sighed as Amaya confirmed his worries about their mission getting harder. When she asked him if he would be alright, he took a deep breath "I think so…That was my first time having to make a mercy kill…" He then heard her apologizing for her performance in the underworld coliseum, and that he was forced to kill Dante in her stead "Don't apologize. I said I was going to help you through this when it became too much for you, and I never go back on my word."
She thanked him for making sure his death was quick and painless, Arin looking at her softly "…He was your friend, Amaya, I'm not going to make someone's friend suffer any more than they already are." She then started tailing about the remaining two: Reiko, Amaya's former best friend, and her sister Asami, who he had already met on Hollow Bastion. She then started explaining why she wanted to take this break. Then, she did what anyone in her position would do, try and give Arin a cop-out to leave Amaya if he didn't want to, which annoyed him, and he got to his feet to face Amaya directly.
"…You're giving me the choice to leave, and basically condemn you to losing who you once were, just to save my own skin? After what we've gone through together so far, do you honestly expect me to do something so heartless?"
Without even thinking of the consequences, he pulled Amaya into a tight hug "That is the exact reason why I'm not abandoning you to do this alone, no matter how much you may think you have to. I gave my word to your grandparents, to Dante, and now I'm giving it to you. You and I are seeing this through to the very end…together."
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Post by Sprow on Jul 30, 2014 20:53:57 GMT -5
Amaya didn't blame Arin for sighing when she had confirmed that their journey and their task was going to get harder. Then, she had followed up with asking him if he was going to be alright. Amaya was worried how hard he took what he had to do. When he said that he thought that he was going to be alright and that it had been his first time to ever have to do a mercy kill, she gave an understanding, slow nod.
Of course, Amaya felt bad about being so weak. She felt the need to apologize to Arin for him having to step in because she was too weak at the time. It had forced his hand during that moment and he wound up having to be the one to kill Dante. Arin dismissed it by telling her that she didn't need to apologize since he had meant what he said and he never went back on his word. After she had thanked him for making Dante's passing quick and painless, Arin had said that he wouldn't have made a friend's friend suffer.
"...Yeah...I...thank you."
Then, Amaya explained why she had them take a break and then gave him the option to opt out again. She always made it a point, it seemed, to let him know that if he didn't want to anymore that he didn't have to go through this with her. After all, it was originally her problem. Arin, she felt, got dragged into it because of her. For that, she felt guilty. What she said though, she immediately regretted it soon after as Arin got to his feet and turned to her with an annoyed expression on his face. Now she had done it.
What Arin was saying, it made her feel all the more guilty. It wasn't like she was trying to make him go away but she was trying to let him know that if he did leave in the end that she wouldn't blame him. However, how she had intended it to come out had been taken in a way that she hadn't intended for it to sound. Amaya dropped her gaze, feeling worse.
"I-I...I'm sorry...I didn't mean-" Amaya went to apologize again. It seemed like she was apologizing a lot lately. Now she made matters worse by insulting Arin and triggering his anger. At least, she had thought she had triggered his anger. That is, until she was suddenly pulled into a tight embrace that caught her completely off guard. Her surprise was written all over her now blazing face. Amaya did not expect to be suddenly hugged so tightly as Arin told her that he wouldn't let her lose herself and that he gave his word. They would do this together. Amaya wasn't sure why but her heart was hammering against her chest. With her face warm, she knew that she had to be blushing badly. Why? It was an innocent hug.
'Thank the heavens that he can't see my red face in this position,' Amaya thought. She was struggling with herself to keep from showing her awkwardness being this close again to Arin. Hoping he couldn't hear her heart beating so loudly, at least it sounded loud to her, or even notice the wild heart beat she had, Amaya tried to think of a response before he suspected something was wrong. It took a lot of willpower and inner turmoil for her to finally lift her arms to awkwardly wrap around Arin in return. It was hard to fight her flaring face when she did so.
"I...thank you, Arin..." Amaya said softly. "Heh, all I seem to be doing a lot lately is either apologizing or thanking you." She felt tears welling up in her eyes but they weren't ones of sorrow, they were happy tears. She wasn't sure why it moved her so much but it did. "Really...I'm...so very grateful for your help...it...it means a lot to me. I just...feel bad that you got dragged into this..."
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Post by Raphael on Jul 30, 2014 21:20:18 GMT -5
Arin held onto Amaya tightly, he didn't see the redness in her face. But he could feel her heartbeat and the slightly warmer body heat she was giving out from her embarrassment. When Amaya pointed out that she was doing a lot of apologizing or thanking him, he chuckled softly
"Yes, well that was because you were doing this on your own for 18 months straight, it feels good to have someone watching your back, doesn't it?"
He kept embracing Amaya until she decided to pull away, looking into Amaya's eyes as she thanked him again, chuckling softly as she thanked him, but rubbing her arm when she said she felt guilty for dragging him into this "I distinctly remember offering to help you, never being asked. So stop feeling guilty for something you didn't do, alright?"
Turning to face the coliseum entrance, his posture indirectly offered her his hand to take "Let's go, they're probably waiting for us in there."
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Post by Sprow on Jul 30, 2014 21:46:02 GMT -5
Amaya heard the light chuckle that Arin gave when she mentioned that she had been thanking him and apologizing a lot lately. What he said had a very good point. She had been doing everything on her own until recently. Arin had helped her out a great deal. At first, she had been aggressive toward him but she had mellowed out a lot since they traveled together. Granted, she was still stubborn at times but compared to how they were when they first met, Amaya had mellowed out significantly.
"Yeah, you're right. It does feel good to have someone else there, watching my back...and I, them."
Amaya, out of awkwardness, didn't immediately release Arin as she fought to calm herself down. He had hugged her so suddenly that her face had reddened. As it started to finally go down, Amaya only then released Arin. She didn't expect the sudden eye contact. Amaya felt her face redden a little bit, her face turning a little pink when her eyes met Arin's right after their hug. Arin had let out another chuckle when she thanked him before rubbing her arm in a reassuring manner when she had mentioned feeling guilty about him getting dragged into the situation. As he did so, he told her that he had chosen to get involved and that she needed to stop blaming herself.
"Alright, I'll try," Amaya replied with a bit of a chuckle of her own.
Then, Arin faced the Coliseum's entrance. As he did so, he extended a hand for Amaya to take. Not realizing what she was doing, Amaya took his hand as he spoke. "Alright then, let's go." She didn't realize what they were doing as they would enter the building hand in hand and how it would be perceived by others that would see them as they went.
Hercules would already be leaving the room Dante was kept in and Meg and Phil would be out in the hall waiting for them. Probably on their way to find them.
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Post by Raphael on Aug 1, 2014 0:50:33 GMT -5
Arin blushed softly when Amaya took his hand, not even realizing that he had unintentionally did so until just now. He didn't pull his hand away, and even tightened his grip slightly to comfort Amaya if possible as they walked into the lobby
"Look at these two lovebirds, walking hand-in-hand."
Arin instantly grew beet red, and released Amaya's hand just as quickly as she did, rubbing his neck softly in embarrassment "…So…How were you guys planning on on thanking us?"
"With a feast, of course. and a toast to the next generation of junior heroes." Arin looked at Phil curiously, raising an eyebrow "Junior heroes? I know I said I wasn't a hero because of what I did, but what the heck is a junior hero?" "Someone who has the potential, but doesn't know what it means to be a true hero yet, we had a visit from one of the gods, he delivered this to us not too long after you two were both outside. It's pretty long, but the important bits state as follows: 'Thus I do hereby dub thee; junior heroes, and confer upon thee full rights to participate in the games. Simply put, your actions have been noticed by some very important people, and you two are welcome to come back here anytime when you need a place to train."
Arin rubbed his neck, a little taken aback by the sudden recognition as junior heroes "Wow…I don't know what to say…"
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Post by Sprow on Aug 1, 2014 1:14:59 GMT -5
When Amaya had joined hands with Arin, taking his hand as she did, she noticed something. She wasn't quite sure why but holding onto Arin's hand at that moment seemed to have triggered something. Amaya wasn't sure what it was but she was certain that, at that moment, she had felt something. For some reason, as he had tightened his grip and the pair of them walked into the lobby holding hands, it just seemed...normal. The way he had tightened his grip too had oddly enough felt not just reassuring but...was she feeling safe because of it? Amaya wasn't sure what to make of it. It was an odd feeling for her to be feeling like this. It had brought a slight coloring to her face.
As the two of them finally reached where the others were, Phil had been the one to speak first and his first choice of words was to mention the fact that Amaya and Arin were holding hands. Once again, he had called them lovebirds. Amaya's reaction was just as swift as Arin's. Turning several shades of red, Amaya had released Arin's hand abruptly out of embarrassment. Regardless of their embarrassment, neither one of them seemed able to deny Phil's remark.
Arin had immediately changed the subject, asking them how they planned on thanking the two of them. Amaya was able to get over her embarrassment to peer back over at Phil, Meg and Hercules as Phil answered Arin. There was the mention of junior heroes. Amaya looked around, as if she expected someone else to be here that would be joining them but she found no one. Instead, Arin asked about it. Amaya looked back to the Satyr and he explained what a junior hero was before also mentioning that the two of them had gotten attention from the gods. They were welcome to return and participate in the games and train any time. It brought a smile to Amaya's face. Once things were done and over with, once Amaya got time to recover, she could see her returning to the worlds they had visited and made friends with on.
As Arin spoke, unsure what to say, Amaya decided to speak for him. "This is...a great honor...thank you."
"It's the least we could do and someone up there believed you deserved a version of their own thanks. Really, you two can come back any time. I look forward to training with you."
"Alright, enough chat, Wonder Boy. Let's go and have that feast before the food gets as cold as a corpse on us." With that, they all went down into a private dining hall. There, food was already set at the table.
"Whoa!"
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Post by Raphael on Aug 2, 2014 0:14:13 GMT -5
Arin followed the group into the dining hall, his jaw dropping as he looked at the amazing dinner spread that was laid out on the table. Just looking at all the different types of foods there was making his mouth water slightly. He composed himself and looked at Amaya, grinning like the cat who ate the canary. He stood next to a seat and waited for everyone else to sit and start filling plates before doing so himself. The moment he saw Herc or one of the others begin eating, he did the same, Since the choices were between water and some weird smelling juice for beverages, he just took a goblet of water and washed what he ate down with the spring-purified water.
Phil stood up on one of the chairs, not really gaining much height, but still drawing attention to himself by his distinctive voice "A toast, to our new junior heroes! May their travels lead them to the path of true heroism!" Arin looked over at Amaya, picking up his goblet and holding it up in the air
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Post by Sprow on Aug 2, 2014 15:01:38 GMT -5
When they all got into the dining hall, Amaya got a good look at the food that was already set for them on the table. Indeed, it was a feast. There was a large assortment of foods from what the others could do for them at the time. Seeing how much was made for them, Amaya wondered if they would be able to finish it all. It all looked delicious. Only just now did Amaya realize how hungry she was. Taking her eyes off of the table adorned with the food, Amaya turned her attention toward Arin. He had a grin on his face and she returned it with a smile.
The lot of them made their way toward the seats. Amaya picked a random one and seated herself around the same time the others had. They all started to eat and drink. Eager to at least try everything, Amaya took a piece of everything near her. Even that was enough to pile onto her plate which surprised her. She didn't think taking small pieces would have results in the plate almost piling over itself. 'Wow,' she thought to herself.
Then, during the feast, Phil stood up on one of the chairs. He didn't go much higher than his own height. Despite that, his voice was enough to draw everyone's attention. Amaya looked over as Phil said this was a toast to their new junior heroes. Looking down at the table, Amaya picked up what she mistook for juice. She didn't realize it was wine. She rose the goblet in the air, oblivious to what her drink truly was, and looked around before looking back over at Arin and smiling again. Once Phil was finished, Amaya drank what was in the goblet. Of course, she didn't down it all at once. However, as she drank, she did notice some sort of odd taste to it. It was sweet, like juice, but there was something in it that was different. She couldn't quite place what it was. Also, there was a tingling sensation that was coming over her. It started at her finger tips and began to work its way up through her arms.
"Huh, this juice is something."
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Post by Raphael on Aug 2, 2014 23:55:14 GMT -5
Arin was oblivious to the fact that Amaya was drinking. Hercules, Meg and Phil looked at each other, then to Amaya "Um, Amaya, that wasn't juice. That was grape wine." But it was too late. By the time they had warned her, she had already consumed an entire goblet of wine, enough to make even an experienced drinker a little buzzed.
Arin kept eating from his plate, listening to the three correct Amaya on what her beverage really was "Grape? It doesn't smell like grapes." He took a nearby empty goblet a poured a cup. Before anyone was even aware enough of his actions to notice, he had already drank at least a third of the cup "Wait kid!"
Arin set the goblet down and looked around, his vision slightly disoriented. He looked at Amaya and she could instantly see the flushing of his skin from the amount he had drank, his inexperience dulling his senses somewhat "That was actually not half bad…What about' you, Maya?" His eyes her slightly lidded, a mild stupor overtaking him from the alcohol he had consumed so far. And Amaya was probably worse off than he was.
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Post by Sprow on Aug 3, 2014 0:12:39 GMT -5
Before anyone could tell her what she had just taken a full goblet of, Amaya had downed a full goblet of wine. As she heard Hercules speaking to her, she looked over at him. "Grape wine?" Amaya repeated. As she did this, her vision became blurry. Things around her were also getting distorted. Phil looked thinner and his neck seemed awfully long all of a sudden. It made her let out a bit of a giggle.
Amaya never drank in her life. So, she wasn't an experienced drinker. What did this mean for Amaya? She was totally wasted, that's what that meant. Already, the room started to spin on her. It caused her to teeter a bit in her seat. She heard Arin somewhere making a comment about the grapes. What grapes? She wasn't aware that Arin was drinking the same beverage that she took a goblet of. Before anyone could stop him, Arin had also drank an amount of the wine too. Well, this would certainly be a story to leave out.
Completely drunk, Amaya slowly turned her gaze on Arin. She had to blink a few times to properly see him. When she did so, he spoke to her. "Heeheehee! Yer turnin' bred!" she said to him. Already, her speech was getting slurred. When he had asked her about the drink, she gave a goofy grin in response. "I theel never 'etter!" she replied. Amaya squinted at him a bit more.
"How come dere's five of 'ou?" Amaya questioned him. It really did look like there were five Arin's looking back at her. For some reason, this made her smile and let out a giggle. "The more da merrier!"
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Post by Raphael on Aug 3, 2014 0:57:21 GMT -5
Arin looked at the blurry Amaya as she started slurring her words and was giggling like a giddy little girl. letting out a drunken laugh as well "Haaaaaaah~ you said BRED!"
He started laughing again, wrapping his arm around Amaya's shoulder when she said there were five of him in a drunken slur of words "Hah~ You're Crazy M-Maya!~" Then she said the more the merrier, his inebriated mind interpreting it in a way that likely wasn't meant for. And given his less than reserved state, he was going to be bold
"What? One of me ain't enough, Maya?~ Ya gotta have more of me around now?~" His body unintentionally added a bit of weight on Amaya's shoulders, his body leaning slightly off of his chair and over to Amaya's, his center of balance way off from the alcohol.
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