[CLOSED] Practice Makes Perfect (Athena, Sora)

[Rue]

[

"Never Falter Never Look Back!" ☒ @tagged ✐ 000 ✉ Rue Lv3

The pure white full moon's gaze kisses the long grass of the Great Plains. The wind danced over the tips of the grass stirring the grass into motion. Sounds of crickets fill the area with their small song. Rue's steps were more noticeable as see heard the dirt and rock grind under her feet. Looking around the plains the boars lay sleeping, with snorts deafen the crickets song. Moving over to a boar near her position it woke when the young girl reached it's aggro zone. The boar sleepily rose from it's slumber and chomp it's mouth up and down. Rue put her right foot forward and her left foot back, and slightly bent her knees. Putting her shield in front of her at chest level slightly turn to the left. She drew her sword with her left hand and held it above her waist with the tip pointing towards the boar. The boar finally awake from it sleep squeals and snorts as it drags it's hooves on the drag flicking the dirt around. Lowering it's head the boar pointed the tusk towards their mark and charged forward. Rue's eye and expression were calm and her breathing was rhythmic. As the boar's tusk grew closer and about to touch the small girls right side, The lithe girl slide her left foot to the right and moved to the side of the boar. The boar slammed it's front legs to the ground sliding a bit before turning it's tusks to the right trying to gore the light skinned warrior. Rue's right foot stepped back and the boar's momentum forced it to show it's other side to the slivery blue haired girl. Rue left foot lifted and her foot came down on the boar's neck locking it into position. The boar flop around and tried to wiggle free from the girl, but the girl just put more weight on the boar's neck. As it wiggled Rue pointed her blade at specific points of the boar. Rue's expression carried no emotion as she lightly stabbed into the boar's heart. The boar's body went limp as she pulled it out a damage number of ten showed forming from the boar, " Ten damage in a vital organ area". Rue then poked her blade into the leg of the boar, it lightly squealed and rocked around. A number of four appeared. Rue continued to poke and prod the helpless boar, seven for neck, five for face and six for eye. Rue would of keep going on poking the boar in her twisted experiment but the boar's hp dropped to zero and it pixelated away. Turning to look around for her next test subject. " I'll find all of the weak points for four legged beast monsters". The small girls frame seem to glow as the moon's light hit her, the contrast made the girl look almost ethereal.

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

[Sora]

Sora had been out in the plains for a while. He couldn't help it. Sora was merely trying to get a bit stronger. The boar in this area were excellent sources of xp for those of low level, such as himself, ah wait, he couldn't even go any lower anyways. He was level one already. He only had the basic armor and sword. He really needed new equipment. He figured if he leveled up a bit he'd eventually find some equipment and not need to pay any money. So far, his plan was miserable. Sora didn't mind though. He still got xp from the boar he killed, and each one got him closer to the next level.

Sora set out at dawn, and before he knew it, the moon was already staring down upon him. Though, that just meant the stars were finally out. Sora was always interested with staring at the sky. And as such, he was staring up at it as he traversed throughout the plans rather nonchalantly and at his own pace. There were many stars out tonight, and he enjoyed it. He though it was a beautiful night at that. A tad big, blue eyes gazed up in amusement, almost in a daze as the moon and the stars illuminated his eyes a bit, though not too noticeable.

His peaceful night soon came to an end as he heard the squeals of a pig. More specifically, a boar. Sure he heard plenty of screams this day, from boar and people alike, this one was more.. displeasing. He subconsciously went towards the source. It was then he saw somebody, a girl? Seemed they were torturing a boar, but after a split second his mind clicked. She was testing the damage she does on the boar for future fights. It was a rather good strategy. So, he decided why not speak to this person. Besides, 'twas a quiet night, and so he strode towards her, a rather blank expression portrayed.

" Hey, sorry to disturb, but just wanted to say that's a pretty smart thing to do you just did. The name's Sora, ya' know, like the one with all the clouds 'n' stuff? " As he spoke, he gave a small smile towards her, he was attempting to be friendly, as usual. Though, there was always the chance this person didn't enjoy the presence of nice, optimistic people.

[Athena]

"Do you have a problem for me to solve?" ☒ @rue @sora ✐ 002 ✉ Thanks Rue!!!

Today was just another day to Athena, but for some reason, she felt different. Huh? Why am I feeling optimistic all of a sudden? Something good hasn't happened to me, right? Athena thought about her morning, and nothing specifically good had happened. She walked down the street with her armor on and her rapier by her side. This is odd. I've never been optimistic for no reason... Guess I'm just in a good mood? No. I'm never in a good mood. But I'm not in a bad mood... I don't know. This sensation is strange. Athena decided that she was going to go to the fields today to try and level some more. She usually wanted to do a quest when she went out to kill monsters, but she decided against it today. She wanted to use time wisely, and distracting herself by talking to an NPC to give her a quest seemed kind of wasteful at the time. Plus, it was normally very nice-looking in the plains right now.      Athena made her way towards the plains and made sure that she didn't forget anything. She brought some paper that she found on the street, and had grabbed a writing utensil from the general store that she visited that morning. She always liked to go check the general store to see if there were any sales on items that would be useful to her. Athena didn't find anything useful, but since she had paper, she figured she would take notes of her battles for her own benefit. Now that I think about it, maybe I'm feeling optimistic because I found some paper on the street? I can take notes of my battles, which I don't usually do... That must be it. Athena walked out onto the plains and took the view of the horizon. The white glow of the moon really was beautiful against the yellow grass and tall plants.      After taking in the view for a little bit, Athena had finally noticed that a girl, who was level 3, was attacking a level 1 boar. Athena watched intently as the girl did precise movements and attacks against the boar. When the boar charged toward her, she side-stepped it. Hmm... Her agility must be a decent amount... When the boar tried to inflict her damage, she pinned the boar down with her foot. Then Athena watched closely as she stabbed the boar in different places. Each coming up with a different number. Athena memorized where she hit and the damages that were associated with the places. Athena smirked as she grabbed the paper and writing utensil and began writing. "Heart (Vital Organ) - 10, Leg - 4, Neck - 7, Face - 5, Eye -6" What an interesting girl. I think I could definitely get along with her.      Athena was about to approach the girl, when she saw someone else come up and greet her. He introduced himself as Sora, and his eyes glowed a bright blue under the moonlight. Maybe I was just supposed to have a good day and meet a level 3 girl who would teach me a lot of things I need to do to level up? Athena laughed at her own thought and decided that it was alright to approach the two now that he had introduced himself to her. Athena slowly walked down the hill that she was on and smiled towards the girl that had been stabbing the boar in differing spots. "It's nice to meet you Sora." She expected Sora to be shocked from her sudden entrance, but Athena didn't expect such a reaction from the girl. She didn't seem to be the type who would be surprised by anything at all. She turned to Sora and spoke before she saw his expression. In all honesty, she wasn't interested in Sora at all, she only wanted to speak to the girl. "Sorry, I suddenly barged in on your short conversation. I couldn't help noticing that you had been stabbing the boar in many vital places." Athena suddenly pulled out the piece of paper that she had taken all of the damage amounts on. "I even wrote it down, but I don't think you're the type to forget vital information." Athena smirked at her as she said this. This girl was very similar to her, just more apathetic. And much stronger.

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

[Rue]

"Never Falter Never Look Back!" ☒ @tagged ✐ 000 ✉ Realised it Rue Lv3

Rue sheathed her sword and turned to the boy, he was around her age and taller. Rather slim and had dark hair, made darker by the moonlight. However he had light blue eyes that almost glowed like a high quality sapphire. He was wearing basic, beginner's equipment unsurprising since gear was hard to come by. He introduced himself as Sora like the clouds n stuff, it sounded like a common phase he regularly uses. Rue was about to responded to the boy when another person introduced herself to Rue, this girl was definitely older then Sora and Rue, and was also taller then them as well. Her skin was white but not nearly as much as Rue's who skin almost matched a porcelain dolls. Her eyes were also amber, but more golden then compared to Rue more orangey coloured amber. The girl was thin like Rue as well and had toned muscle. In fact the girl reminded her a lot like herself. The girl spoke to Sora, by name. She must of heard him introduce himself but Rue kept her guard up just in case. They two player both responded in favor of Rue plan to gather information on monster for future use. Rue looked at the two players with a apathetic expression and calm tone of voice. " It's always a good idea to know ones enemy, I am checking damage and defense values of parts of four legged beast types and adapting a fighting style to deal with non humanoid targets". Rue finished talking and start to move to another boar.

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

[Sora]

Opposite to the older girl's expectations, he was actually not surprised at all. There were plenty of people, how would somebody saying hi to him be very surprising? Though, Sora gave a warm smile and merely said hello before turning back to that of the girl, that was more his age. Though, he assumed the new girl just overheard his introduction and then decided he didn't need to introduce himself again, obviously. Though, it also seemed as if she bumped in just to talk to this person he too decided to talk to. Though, she probably had different reasons seeing as how anxious she looked.

Though with his attention gone for a moment, he quickly tuned back in to the shorter girl in front of him. He listened to her speak, ignoring the fact they the older girl completely interrupted her, but the shorter one didn't seem to mind as she continued speaking. Once she finished, he decided he'd then speak as well. " Good strategy, I believe this one dude made some saying of know thine enemy or something like that, whatever, doesn't really matter. So, isn't it right to return your name once somebody has given out theirs? "

[Athena]

"Do you have a problem for me to solve?" ☒ @rue , @sora ✐ 006 ✉ I decided on them not being acquainted Rue, but it's okay because Rue will realize that she made that mistake soon. She just heard Sora say his name to Rue because she was listening to their conversation.

Athena looked over the girl who she was speaking to. It appeared that the girl was looking her over too, which only convinced her that this girl was like herself. The girl was physically different from her, but not very different. She had yellow amber eyes, which were different from her golden amber eyes. She did enjoy the color of the girl's eyes despite the difference. It's very interesting that a girl that appears to have a similar personality and physicality as me exists here. And it's even more interesting that she's younger than me, yet she's surpassed me in latent ability and level. I really must learn from this girl. She's definitely more experienced in combat than I am, and she seems to be on a mission to find useful information for her advantage. Athena noticed also that the girl had gleaming white hair, that would probably make people describe her more as an ethereal being rather than a human being.      Athena heard the girl say to the two of them that it was better to know their own enemy. At that point, she knew, for a fact, that the girl was like herself. She smirked as the girl finished that sentence, and as the girl started to walk away from the two, she explained her plan. She was gathering data to kill non-humanoid enemies with ease. Athena enjoyed this plan quite a bit. She didn't really mind following the girl, since it seemed like she could learn a lot from her just by watching silently.      Athena heard the boy speak to the girl, and she thought the way he phrased his question wasn't going to make her answer. Athena looked over at the boy, saying, "Isn't it rude to demand someone's name from them, when they may have just forgotten to give it to you?" She didn't really mean this question in any particular way, but she was just looking out for the girl. Rudeness did not become a boy of his age. In fact, she thought rudeness didn't become anyone. Athena also didn't enjoy it when he couldn't even properly quote Sun Tzu. "And I believe the quote you're looking for is from Sun Tzu, 'Know thy self, know thine enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.'" Athena continued walking behind the girl and admired her pure white hair.

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

[Rue]

"Never Falter Never Look Back!" ☒ @tagged ✐ 000 ✉ Have Fun Sora Rue Lv3

As Rue walked to the next sleeping boar, the sapphire eyed boy spoke up about Rue's rudeness. Being unfazed by his response and request Rue continued walking as she spoke to him. "I never asked for it, so I have no reason to give you mine". Placing her left hand on the hilt of her blade as she drew closer, she looked through the corner of her eye where the girl was. "You quote the young man on his rudeness but then, speak for my sake when I did not ask it of you". They girl and herself may of had similarity, but they were not the same person. Rue drew her blade at the waking boar, it snorted and charged at Rue. Looking behind herself she could see the boy behind her, slowly stepping to the side the boar run past her and charged at Sora. Not giving the boy a second glance she moved closer to where Athena was. Looking at the rapier at her side and then looking back at her. " Why corrected him on his lack of knowledge on the topic of Sun Tzu? He's not going to remember it anyway your just wasting your breath". Curious to see how knowledgeable the girl was she decided to ask her a few basic questions on the history of war literature. " Since you seemed to have knowledge of one of the Seven Military Classics, what are the others"?

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

[Sora]

" Right, right, apologies, so how about I request that of your name instead? " Sora had completely ignored the older girl. She seemed to be some kind of fan, following the other girl around like she was her role model and always backing her up. Typical fan girl stuff. Though, his thoughts were cut short by a boar just coming at him out of the blue. Seems the girl just let it run past her as she avoided it, causing it to keep charging straight, which then, it seemed to be targeting him now. Oh boy, what fun this is.

This wasn't his first rodeo, so it wasn't anything new to him. He casually pivoted upon the left foot, swinging the right foot around as he spun 90 degrees clockwise, where he near instantly, in one fluid motion of the spinning, pushed back and sprung off the heel of the left foot, taking a quick step back. Simultaneously to stepping backwards, his right hand fell to his hilt which was upon the left hip. Now upon the boar's right as the moment it ran by, he drew, the sword dug into the boar's flesh, leaving a noticeable gash upon the right side of it while it had to keep sprinting by before it would be able to come to a stop, due to it's momentum. He kept a calm and collected mind the whole time, while also keeping his facial expression to that of a rather blank one, near a bored looking expression almost.

" Was this really necessary? "

[Athena]

     Athena continued to follow the girl and heard her tell the boy that she had never asked for his name, so never needed to give her name to him. Athena thought this was a very legitimate point, and then the girl moved onto her. Athena braced herself for something as fierce as what had been done to the boy, but what she had said wasn't as much a thorn in her side as she thought would've affected the boy. Maybe it was because she was more mature? She wasn't exactly sure what it was that numbed the blow. Maybe it was their familiarity in personality? That must've been it. Athena had really never been extremely apathetic, but she had her moments.


     The boy suddenly asked Athena what her name was. Before she turned around to answer, she noticed that the girl had dodged a charging boar and sent it towards the boy. Athena was so entertained by this that she laughed as the boar began charging towards him. It was a very high-pitched laugh, almost that of a cackle. Athena hated her laugh, but she didn't really care at this point because the fact that someone like her would do something so like her was so uncanny. It was so uncanny, she couldn't help but laugh and be amused. As the boy dodged out of the way, the girl asked her a question concerning the Seven Military Classics. "Well... I don't know an extensive amount of knowledge concerning the Seven Military Classics. But I do know the name of a couple of the other books. I only quoted 'The Art of War', which is probably most commonly mistaken as one of the only military classics in the Chinese dynasties. The world doesn't usually take into consideration the books like..." She paused for a moment trying to recall the other three books she had done a little research on. "Oh yes! 'Six Secret Teachings', 'The Methods of The Sima', and I believe the last one I know of is... 'Three Strategies of Huang Shigong'. Other than the names of the books' names, I can't tell you much more about them. Oh. And thank you for taking into account my waste of breath, but knowledge is the one thing I won't stand for being incorrect. Knowledge leads to success, whether in war or in school." She looked the girl in the eye at that point. They were different, but not significantly.

     The boy suddenly asked if sending the charging boar at him was necessary, and she simply smiled at him. "Well... Didn't you want to pass her little test? You took interest in her and she was probably testing you. Just like how she tested me a second ago with the Seven Military Classics." She looked at the girl again, then quickly shifted her gaze to the boy. "Or I could be completely wrong and she's just annoyed. But those are my thoughts. Care to share yours?" She smirked in the direction of Sora.

[Rue]

"Never Falter Never Look Back!" ☒ @tagged ✐ 000 ✉ Sour Herb Of Grace Rue Lv3

Rue looked at the girl her eyes narrowed as she cackled like a witch. Her calm refined nature broke away from her as the amusement over powered her ability to keep calm. She finally stopped herself and gained control back, Rue's eyes opened and waited for her answer. With her sword still held in her left hand she pointed it by her feet as the girl named most of the classics. Rue nods at her surprising amount of knowledge, even if she did not know them all most people have only heard of the art of war do to film or tv. Rue walked towards Sora and the boar. Rue could tell that he had no martial training, he turned his back to the enemy and used his sword like a cleaver. Rue pursed her lips together and sharply whistled, The enrage boar spun around glaring at the small girl. The boar would charge at Rue, however she made no effort to dodge this time. Instead she stood her ground knees bent, right leg forward left back shield in front. As the boar got mere inches away, the small girl smashed her shield into the top of the boar's head. A hollow thunk sound filled the area as the boar's head bounced off of the ground, the boar flop on to the ground it's legs pointing outward from it's body. Rue walked along the stunned boar, as she made small incisions on the boars tendons in it's legs. A small wet sound rang through the area as Rue cut the first tendon, the boar rocked and softly sqeeled. " Your missing the Wei Liaozi which advocates both a civil and military approach to affairs". Rue moved to the next leg in a calm careful manner as another wet sound was made as her blade slices through another tendon. " Wuzi which talks about how to operating a military state and the importance of loyalty, also planning based on your field of battle". Walking around the boar and sliding her blade through a third tendon, the boar's confusing wore off, but it was unable to stand do to it's tendon's being severed. The boar would flop around like a fish out of water." Questions and Replies between Emperor Taizong of Tang and Li Weigong. Talks about deployment and how to keep or army well armed". Rue moved to the final tendon, the boar raised itself by it's last working leg and looked at Rue with... fear. Rue quickly cut it's last leg and it crumpled in a odd position. Rue looked to Sora who requested her name. " You may know my name if you can figure it out". Rue looked to the boar it's state was pathetic, to think that they programed damage to have such a real effect on monsters, was kind of twisted. She swiped her blade across it's neck. The boar's health drained as it's pixelated away. Sheathing her sword Rue closed her eyes and spoke calmly. " Here did she fall a tear, here in this place I'll set a bank of the, sour herb of grace"

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

[Sora]

Sora was smart, but not some guy who went out of his way to learn knowledge of riddles and these Chinese things. Besides, they didn't affect him in anyway at all. Though, Sora was a rather fast learner despite that, and was always open minded to new ideas and things. He figured when she said he'd have to figure it out, and then said some type of phrase afterwards, he'd have to figure out her name by that. Looks like he didn't need to learn her name then, cause he was most likely not gonna figure it out.

What's the big deal about giving out a name anyways? Yeah there are the people that wanna act tough and cool by living in mystery~ Woah~ Spooky! But then have to end up being called, ' Hey you! ' Which Sora didn't like to do. Oh well, he figured the nerd would figure it out anyways, so he didn't have to do any work.

( OOC: I never turned my back to the enemy. Think. If I'm facing it, I pivot using the left foot, turn 90 degrees clockwise. Now I'm standing sideways, it at my left, as I simultaneously backpedaled, putting the boar infront of me, as I then did a draw, attacking using the same motion of the draw. I never turned my back to the enemy nor used my sword as a cleaver. )

[Athena]

"Do you have a problem for me to solve?" ☒ @rue @sora ✐ --- ✉ ---

Athena watched intently as she methodically severed the separate tendons in the boar's legs. The boar was now not able to get up, much less function, without the use of its legs. The girl was very much like her, but much more experimental. Athena did value the lives of the animals at least a small bit, trying to spare them unnecessary pain. Athena never thought her life was in danger too much because boars were never too complex in their fighting styles. The fighting styles of boars usually just consisted of charging and trying to cut their opponent with their tusks. Athena had figured out their fighting patterns at this point because she figured level 1 enemies would be predictable, and she was correct. They had a specific pattern that they would usually follow. Charge, try and catch an enemy if they dodged, then recollect themselves for another charge. A boar would always follow this three-step process. The fact that this girl had just completely dismantled their boar's method of attacking was astonishing, and quite frightening.      Athena heard her name off the rest of the Seven Military Classics, each of which she had heard before. She had never studied the majority of them in-depth, but she really only remembered those she had studied. Athena also heard the girl taunting the boy with her name, through a riddle. A riddle?! How fun! Athena listened intently to the riddle that was given. Athena smirked as she finished because she knew exactly what it was from. Shakespeare was one of the classes that she had to take in her schooling career, and in that class, they had spent a whole unit on 'King Richard The Second'. In this unit, she had looked at this quote a million times over, and the teacher had always explained that the plant that it was referring to was 'Ruta graveolens'. A plant that was bitter in taste and had a large variety of medicinal purposes. Ruta may have been her name, but Athena wanted to be sure before she hinted that she knew what her name was. Shakespeare used the same kind of nouns and verbs as in other plays. Athena ran her mind through other Shakespearian plays and tried to think of something. The only thing that could pop into her head was 'Hamlet'. Athena focused on what could tie in with the idea of plants, and her mind pointed her to a scene where Ophelia was describing different flowers to give to Claudius, Gertrude, and her brother, Laertes. Athena looked at Rue and simply recited part of a line that Ophelia spoke. "There's fennel for you, and columbines: there's rue for you, and some for me." Athena knew that she had to be right. That riddle was again testing her. Or maybe it wasn't, but she convinced herself that it was.

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

[Rue]

"Never Falter Never Look Back!" ☒ @tagged ✐ 000 ✉ Rue Lv3

Rue looked to the boy his ignorance knew no bounds. Sheathing her sword she shook her head at the boy, " I gave you my name in a way I choose to give it, if you are unhappy with the manner of my introduction it would seem to be a personal issue". Sora's displease of Rue's repose fell on deaf ears for the small girl did not care about his wishes. Rue's ears perk up at her other half's comment. She seemed to have figured it out with little effort on her part. The girl also answered with a quote herself. At first Rue just wanted for the two to goo away, now she still wanted them to leave, but the girl was at least someone she could relate to. Turning to the girl her expression was still stagnate, but her eyes and voice showed interest. " Unfortunately there is only one of me, but now that you know mine would it be presumptuous of me to call you Ophelia? For loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not, with all their quantity of love, make up my sum". Rue was having fun playing word games with the girl however they were still out of town at night. Rue sighed as her body sank, Looking to the two of them " As much fun as it is to wax poetic, we are outside at night. Boars are not the issue, packs of wolves appear around night time, they are they reason I am tying to improve against beasts. Their smarter faster and work together. I was not taught to fight against animals, traditional swordsmanship is directed to fighting humans". As Rue spoke, howls could be heard along the plains. " I think it's time for us to say are good byes".

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

[Sora]

Sora closed his eyes and sighed. She was really trying hard to dislike Sora. He could easily tell without the detection skill. It was obvious of how hard she was trying, but, that still didn't bother him. A hand rose up and ran through that of his hair. Yes yes, more word puzzles. That's exactly how you make new friends. Though one thing he disliked about Rue, would be how she just assumes so much. But, it's common for people to be very judgmental.

" Right, because you can read my feelings and just know that I'm unhappy. Of courseth can. "

[Athena]

"Do you have a problem for me to solve?" ☒ @rue @sora ✐ --- ✉ Sorry for making this post so short, but I don't really have a lot of time on my hands today! >.<

Athena watched as Rue replied back to her with a phrase from the scene in Hamlet where Ophelia was being buried. What was the symbolism of the quote that she was trying to convey? Athena wasn't sure how to react because the line could be taken many ways, but she decided not to think about it too hard. She took it as a sign of respect from Rue, which is appreciated very much. Rue had suggested that they turn in for the night, and Athena was not opposed to that idea. Though, she wanted to meet this girl again whenever she could. Athena felt she could learn many things from this mysterious, but brilliant, girl.      Sora seemed to be a bit agitated at the girl for the way that she was addressing him. Athena wanted to laugh at this matter, but for some reason, she did not. Athena looked Sora over and wondered if she did enjoy his company, despite only knowing him for a short amount of time. Athena thought she did enjoy his company, not only because he couldn't keep up with Rue and Athena intellectually, but even after being beaten down by Rue... Sora still seemed to be in a position of indifference, which Athena respected. Someone who could keep control of their emotions was a very strong person indeed.      Athena looked back at Rue, wanting to pose her question of whether they would meet again or not. "Ru- I mean..." Athena almost let Rue's name slip! Rue would probably get a small bit upset because of it, but Athena still wanted to ask her question. "May we meet again on the morrow?" Athena tried to make her own question in old English, but she was sure that it wasn't phrased correctly. At that point, Athena didn't mind because she wanted Rue's answer quickly so that they could depart back into town.

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS