Forum of the Elder Gods (Grave;Cross)

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Where now, Prince? (Grave;Cross)

Club blinked, before jumping up and grabbing Grave's shoulders and hanging onto him like that. "Hey, Gwave's mom! You're in there?" She inquired, looking into Cynder's mouth as if she was going to find her in there. "Since you're okay with me and Gwave, I'm not gonna deck you, okay?" she announced, as if bringing good news to the echidna.

"I'm going to punch her in the cunt." His mother announced calmly.

Roy gave Cynder a small wave as he approached. "Hello. I was just gathering information on the road ahead. We should be fine as we get closer to Fio's territory. Though if we ask, we apparently need to call it Rio's domain." Roy declared. "There's some political issues going on over there, and between family members at that. I doubt it will affect us though."

When Grave said good morning to Valencia, the purple haired woman grabbed one of her extra pillows and threw it at him, though it was poorly aimed and hit the wall.

 

[cross_grave]

Re: Where now, Prince? (Grave;Cross)

'Please don't.' Grave sighed mentally. 'Nothing good will come from this.' He glanced at the pillow that missed him by a wide margin before focusing back on Valencia. 'Yup, she's fine.' It seemed that even a severe hangover did little to temper her rather fierce attitude. Cynder was almost willing to consider it a good thing, but he couldn't quite figure out why. "Political issues, you say." He responded to Roy's short explanation. "Think mother and daughter had a falling out of some sort? Or is it some other relative they have trouble with?" The half-blood wanted to know. After all, he was going there to ask for a favor, and it was likely they'd not give him one for nothing. Besides, there was always a chance he could get swept up unexpectedly in that issue simply because he was around.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Where now, Prince? (Grave;Cross)

"Pretty much. They're not exactly fighting, but they're apparently having issues when it comes to inheriting leadership of their little part of the world." Roy declared her findings. "It's not likely something we'll get swept into, however we will have to accept that they may be bitter as a result of their current bickering. All of us will need to be on our best behavior, so in light of that... I vote we allow Envy and Club to enjoy other activities while we converse with the leaders." Roy suggested being rid of the two troublemakers. Though they were both different, there was no doubt neither of them knew much about showing respect.

"I don't care." Club said indifferently. "As long as Gwave pwomises me good things." Because she'd of course need compensation for not being around her claimed man.

 

[cross_grave]

Re: Where now, Prince? (Grave;Cross)

"Haa... I can see why you're saying that." Grave grimaced. He himself was rather poor at the whole social interaction bit, but at the very least he knew how not to insult people from the get go. However, Club was too blunt and childish and Envy was too belligerent not to cause trouble. "Tell you what Club, if you and Envy play nice and don't cause any trouble while the rest of us is talking with the boss lady, I'll be more than happy to reward you." Cynder had a (probably accurate) suspicion that it'd involve sleeping with the girl, again. But it was hardly the worst thing that could happen to him. Of course, he'd most likely have to sleep with both if it came to that, to show no favoritism. "Well, I suppose that once Envy and Valencia come back we can move out... I got a map from our host as well as some supplies, so we're more or less set up for the road ahead."

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Where now, Prince? (Grave;Cross)

While holding Grave's leg with one arm, and picking her nose with her hand using the other, Club offered a mildly indifferent reply. "'Kay." Such was all she had to say on the matter. Roy spared a moment to look at the goblin for her crude behavior before regarding Cynder again. "Well, Envy isn't doing anything. I saw her just walking around, pretending she had somewhere to go, but was really just making laps around the village. It seems she's fond of giving you trouble because she has nothing better to do, so why not put her to use? Give her a task, she might be happier even if she doesn't want to." Roy suggested. "As for Valencia... She took some medicine, she'll be fine in half an hour or so."

Just then, Envy would be seen walking through the town with her arms folded behind her back. She seemed to be moving with a purpose, but if Roy was to be believed, it was a front to not look like she was doing absolutely nothing.

 

[cross_grave]

Re: Where now, Prince? (Grave;Cross)

"A task, you say." Grave muttered. "Easier said than done, it's not like we have something to do that I can leave her with." It wasn't a matter of him not trusting his sister, too. He just simply couldn't think of anything. "There simply ain't anything to do." Then again, Roy was probably suggesting to just come up with something to keep her occupied. And as if on cue, there she was. Wandering around with a purposeful look on her face. Maybe a test run would be ok? "Well, might as well try I suppose, see if it works... Gonna go and see if she'll listen." With a sigh, Cynder set out, walking up to his sister. "Hey, are you busy at the moment?"

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Where now, Prince? (Grave;Cross)

Envy turned to Grave when he approached, and made an expression as if she was pondering whether to let him take up her time or not, before deciding to allow his trespass. "Yes, but I suppose I can spare a moment." she confirmed his question, while acting as if she had to ponder whether she wanted to give him her time. It looked rehearsed, as if she was an actor. It was played out as if Cynder was being shown a performance with Envy on stage. "I hope it's not too bothersome." She said as if a Royal with a busy schedule, though it was clear that, while she wanted to give him some of her time, she didn't want to do actual work.

 

[cross_grave]

Re: Where now, Prince? (Grave;Cross)

'Much as I'd like to make a comment here, I probably shouldn't...' Grave thought as he watched his sister's attempt at acting nonchalant. It was... A decent attempt, but one not very likely to fool anyone. "Well, it's not that much of a big deal, but with Valencia still recovering, I figured we could go and check if all of our stuff is in order so we're ready to set out once she's better." They probably didn't have to, but this was meant to be an attempt at gauging her reactions anyway. "Plus, we got a bag of supplies from the oni and I was wondering if there was a better way to pack it together with what we have already rather than keeping it all in one large bundle. I'd rather have someone on hand to help so it goes smoothly, or in case I accidentally leave something out." Not a very demanding job, and he'd probably end up doing lion's share of it anyway.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Where now, Prince? (Grave;Cross)

Envy flourished her hair with a sigh, as if Grave was being such a bother. Though she did look honestly annoyed at being told to help with such a task. "I'll probably end up doing the lion's share if it's with you." she revealed herself to have mirrored thoughts to his own. "... I guess you'd mess it up. I'll come help you, but don't make it a habit!" she declared. "... But if it's small favors, and I have time, you can probably ask." Envy added.

 

[cross_grave]

Re: Where now, Prince? (Grave;Cross)

"Right. I'll make sure to keep that in mind." Grave responded, silently wondering if his sister would always remain like this. 'Don't think you can ask me for help, but I guess can allow it after all... It's like she's purposefully thinking in circles or something.' With a shrug, he turned towards the hut where they've spent the night and left the supplies. "Well then, shall we? I've put the bag near the rest of our stuff yesterday." Cynder set out, leading the way. Back in the hut, he'd quickly get to opening and briefly examining the gifts from oni, to determine where they'd be best put. "Roy's probably still waiting for Valencia to get cured, so I guess I'll be handling one of their bags once we're done with stuffing mine. Seeing as she's less likely to stab you than me, I'm hoping you'll take care of her stuff while I deal with Roy's?" He brought his own bag out, opening it and beginning to put in whatever he could fit.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Where now, Prince? (Grave;Cross)

"Kay." Envy agreed flatly, before following Grave to go help him pack. Once they both sat down, Envy helping with Valencia's bag while Cynder took care of his and Roy's. When it came right down to it, between the two doing the lion's share, it quickly became Envy, though only through the fact that she was using a dozen arms to do it. Ten made out of her hair and the final two being her normal arms. Looking over to Grave's progress, she gave him a wide, smug grin and rested her arm horizontally on his shoulder, leaning on him. "You're kinda slow, huh?" she said, looking rather happy to be talking down on him.

 

[cross_grave]

Re: Where now, Prince? (Grave;Cross)

"Oy. Pretty sure that ain't friggin fair... How am I supposed to keep up with that?" Grave complained half-heartedly. He had to admit, he did not consider the possibility of her using her hair for mundane tasks. He was much more used to seeing her use it to threaten him with dismemberment. At this point, he didn't have much of a choice but to sigh and accept defeat. "One of these days, I will figure out how to do something like that too, damn it." He muttered, focusing back on his task. Or... Did he? Cynder paused. "Right. I'm pretty damn sure this is harder than you're making it look, but now I've gotta try it myself."

Grave raised his right hand and focused. He obviously didn't have long enough hair, but conjuring simple objects out of metal wasn't beyond his ability. In theory, he could make several pieces that mimicked bones and joints, and if he managed to summon them together in the shape of a hand and make them move, he'd have a working model. He worked the image he had in his mind carefully, casting only a side glance at Envy's hair to check whether he could catch any sort of image of her magic at work, just like when he realized the danger sex with a demon posed when fighting against the assassins sent by Avarice some time ago.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Where now, Prince? (Grave;Cross)

"Impossible." Envy replied to Grave's promise to learn how to do something like her trick with her hair. "You don't possess nearly as much amazing talent as I do." she flaunted, flourishing her hair as she taunted him. "It's such a bother, having such a useless brother." she sighed as if she were stoically enduring her suffering as the presence of talent and brilliance amidst incompetence.

Casting the image in his mind and feeling for his ability to mimic her work, Grave would note that Envy's hair seemed to have the magic flow right from her source and into the strands. Her magic circulated through her hair like blood through veins. The magic was clumped together to form the hand and fingers, and moved as if they were merely extensions of her body. The process looked so fluid and without error that they might as well have been real hands. If Grave tried, he'd find his metal hand crude looking, and lacking in motor function. It couldn't compare. "Don't start with something like metal, dumbass." Envy scolded him as she noticed what he was doing. "Metal is hard to bend and move around. You'll just spend days of frustration trying to get it to work. Use... Um..." Envy began to look around for an example for him to test. Seeing something, she got on her hands and knees and began to scoop up the ground, her butt with white panties on display for a moment before she returned with a handful of sand. "Use sand. It's easy to manipulate." she said, before her magical threads wove out, and gathered around the sand, and lifted it with her magic, forming an airborne hand in the air, before coming back down to the ground. It was just sand again.

 

[cross_grave]

Re: Where now, Prince? (Grave;Cross)

"Sand, huh." Grave stared at the pile of dust on the floor. He'd definitely have to clean it up later. Nonetheless, he dispelled his crude metal construct - it seemed that his metalcrafting skills would be limited to simple objects or weaponry, for now at least. As he refocused, Cynder couldn't help but note that Envy seemed to perk up considerably whenever she had a chance to flaunt and brag a bit. Especially if she was bragging about being better than he was. 'Really, what a troublesome sister.'

Grave sighed as he went to work. As far as he could tell, the trick involved channeling magic into a suitable material and then using the gathered power to make it move. Shapes were created by gathering the energy - along with the materials infused with it - into a cluster and using finer manipulation to form the desired object. Cynder didn't have as much skill as his sister, but he was determined to try anyway. Using sand instead of metal carried one more advantage - earlier when he was learning to use fire he gained a bit of insight on manipulating wind, using it to throw liquid flame at a distance. If the grains proved difficult to handle, he could attempt to use air to correct imperfections in shape or problems with movement.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Where now, Prince? (Grave;Cross)

"Instead of a hand, try something simple, like a tentacle." she advised. Just like commanding a really long finger. Grave would quickly pick up on it. All it took was weaving threads together in a thin, tight bundle and enchanting the sand with them, solidifying the sand somewhat and making a sand tentacle emerge and wave around or whatever he wished to do with it. "It's really easy because it's simple to weave. Things like balls and straight things with no art or complication to them are easy to use and manipulate. If you want to use a hand, you have to be able to manipulate several things at once. It seems complicated at first, but it's just like learning how to walk, or use your hands as a baby." She explained. "It'll eventually become second nature. Your artificial hands will be like extensions of your body." Envy announced, as three pairs of hands from her hair emerged and began clapping as Cynder mastered the basics. Though because they were made of hair, they made no noise.

However, as an art, it took concentration to manipulate the sand and not lose control of it. A single distraction would no doubt case the sand to return to it's normal form. It was his concentration and focus that kept it acting the way he commanded. His mind commanding the sand as if it were a part of his body that he never knew he had. Without focus, it'd go limp, just as Envy's hair returned to normal when she was not using them to make hands.

 

[cross_grave]

Re: Where now, Prince? (Grave;Cross)

Grave had to admit, sand was much easier to manipulate than iron. He was getting somewhat used to manipulating "threads" of magic, having slowly come to terms with the concept. He watched his new sand tentacle carefully, focusing intently only on moving it around in various ways, testing it's flexibility just as his mind noted the new sensations he was getting used to. It felt like testing out a new set of non-existent muscles he was previously unaware of. A somewhat odd feeling, but not uncanny enough to be disruptive. Cynder didn't doubt that it'd eventually become something natural to him once he was properly accustomed to it, same with his expanded sensory ability.

"Thanks, sis." Grave concluded the exercise. "That was really helpful. Shame we don't have more time to practice right now." He was sincere about it - while he was focused entirely on his task while working his magic, now that he didn't need to concentrate so much Cynder could relocate his energy into thinking up potential applications for his new skills. If he could hone his control and expand the list of materials he was capable of manipulating, maybe even add materials he conjured himself to the list, his capabilities would improve tremendously - it was like a door to a new world, waiting to be pried open. Unfortunately, that'd have to wait until later.

"Well, I imagine that Valencia had just about enough time to get over her hangover by now..." Grave noted dryly with a hint of humor in his voice. "Let's finish packing up and see if the rest is ready to move." He turned back to the two bags he was working on. "And really, thanks for helping me out here. I'm glad to have you around." With that, Cynder set his mind to work once more, this time trying his damn best to use the sand tentacle to help him out. He had few occasions to use his magic in practical situations and he was not going to miss an opportunity. Besides, if it helped him not fall behind Envy so much, he'd gladly take the chance.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Where now, Prince? (Grave;Cross)

Envy's face flushed when he called her 'sis'. She faced the other direction as he went on about his woes of the issues of time that they faced as a result of needing to progress for the sake of his mother not causing him to explode. "Ah... Yeah..." she replied, sounding awkward. "No problem... Bro..." she replied by calling him 'bro'. If it was an attempt to make things less awkward, she failed horribly. If anything, she looked even more awkward than before. "... No... I-I think it's best to do as the Zippangu people do and refer to you like they do..." she declared, before seeming to fish for the right method to refer to him with. Then, standing up tall with her back straight, Envy looked to her brother with her glowing ruby red eyes and said. "You're welcome, Onii-kun." she addressed him with his new title. "And before you ask, onii means brother and kun means you're my disciple. You can call me Onee-sensei if you wish." she offered, though her eyes were filled with expectation, as if she wanting to hear what it sounded like.

 

[cross_grave]

Re: Where now, Prince? (Grave;Cross)

'This is new.'

Grave wasn't entirely unused to seeing Envy act "against herself", so to speak. The moment when she experienced intense arousal came at first to his mind when he noticed the awkward tone in her voice. However, it quickly became evident this was something different. It was as if she was trying to speak to him as casually as he did to her, and struggled with finding a way to express herself? It appeared to be about something more than just a word that'd roll off the tongue right.

Still, Envy seemed to quickly find her solution to whatever she was struggling with. Cynder wasn't entirely sure whether using the Zippangu custom was such a good idea, or whether his sister was even accurate. Still, he saw no reason not to humor her. He had a feeling this could be a step towards getting her to open up and not act as cold as she tended to do. Plus, he felt that he'd be having feelings of guilt if he betrayed that expectant stare. "Sure thing, Onee-sensei."

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Where now, Prince? (Grave;Cross)

When Grave acknowledge, and called her by her self-appointed title, he would see her visibly blush. She then used her hair to take a travel bag full of clothes and throw it at his face, causing him to fall backwards while the clothes remained inside. "Shut up! Don't say it weird!" she insisted. By the time Cynder recovered, Envy was quickly stomping away in retreat. Soon she was standing roughly near Roy and Valencia as they came out of an Oni hut, with Valencia groaning miserably. Upon sight of her, Grave would hear his mother again. "Approach her. Do as I say." his mother commanded. If he did not move his own legs or if he argued, Cynder would find his legs moving on their own as a ghostly force took over.

Valencia glared at Grave as he came up to her, either by his will or not, before his mother controlled his hand to put it onto her forehead. He could feel his mother's mana travel through his arm and into Valencia as the tan woman gestured in shock. "Grave, the fuck are you-!?" Valencia was cut off as his mother did something to her. Valencia seemed to relax as Cynder regained control over his arm. "Oh... My headache's gone..." Valencia gestured, looking far less miserable and more content now, before glaring at him. "Well... Why didn't you do that sooner!?" she accused him of holding such a power back, before letting out a sigh. She adjusted her jaw for a bit, and rubbed her own forehead for a moment before shrugging. "... Thanks anyway." she said reluctantly, before looking to Roy, who was staring directly at Grave with an arched eyebrow and an incredulous expression. Envy's head was cocked to the side, with a similar look. Neither of them seemed able to grasp what he just did, or how he was capable of it.

"Take credit, but be humble about it. This is for the sake of impregnating this woman." His mother declared her intentions shamelessly, but also with command in her voice that echoed throughout his mind that did nothing but allow the royalty in her voice to roar. It was the kind of tone she used no doubt to get people to do as she said, and carried with it a promise that disobedience would be met with punishment.

 

[cross_grave]

Re: Where now, Prince? (Grave;Cross)

'And we're back to the Envy we all know and love.' Grave noted dryly as he removed the bag he got hit with off of himself. He glanced at his retreating sibling before shaking his head and finishing up the task he had been working on thus far. As he worked, Cynder wondered how he should keep approaching his sister. He got the phrase right, he was sure of it - she just used that as an excuse to get away. Was it too awkward for her, being that familiar?

While packing things up and removing the sand he had been practicing his magic on from the hut, he noticed that Envy managed to make her way to Valencia and Roy, the former still looking like shit. The half-blood didn't even manage to get in a comment before his mother pushed him towards the woman, using his body as a medium to heal her. Glancing at his companions, Grave was about to voice his own suprise at the turn of events - though he probably should have at least suspected his mother could cure alcohol poisoning as well as prevent it - before the former queen cut in, commanding him to say what he was told.

Cynder hesitated. He was about to do just that - take the credit for his mother's work - but somehow the words died as soon as he opened his mouth. Sure, he could do that, Hell, he could probably even play it off as something his mother showed him to protect himself from the drinks offered by the oni. But looking at the incredulous faces of Roy and Envy, he felt discomfort about doing so. And hearing his mother declare why she wanted him to do that... He felt a surge of something, an emotion that felt familiar yet different. At first, he merely thought it to be annoyance. But after a short moment of consideration, he realized it was a bit more than that. Something long forgotten, to the point where he felt suprised that this feeling was still there. But after years of virtual non-existence and recent developments, it started to come back, and was rather cranky about the rude wakeup call it got.

'Right then... Fuck it.' Grave sighed, his features settling into a bemused grimace as he spoke. "Can't exactly take credit for that one, actually." He revealed, deciding to be honest. "I'm assuming that after Envy showed me a new magic trick, mother decided to show me something worth learning too. Even pushed my limbs just to show it." Honest, to a degree. Revealing her motives sounded like a bad idea. 'Because I'm thinking that if I'm going to claim credit for something, it'll be something I've done BY MYSELF. Want me to brag about healing, show me how to do it and let me do it on my own. I might be pathetic, but I'm not pathetic enough to tell obvious lies just to get into her pants. You want grandchildren, fine. I'm willing to help with that. But it's going to be MY child, with MY lover, and that means it'll be on MY terms. If you can promise me not to push me or others around, I'll promise to take it seriously.' Having finished his rant, Cynder braced himself for the punishment that'd inevitably follow. That's another thing he'd have to explain to the others...