God Yet Lives

Whether Kira's strike was successful or not he continued past Noah and away from this ring.

Astarte looked for a chair, feeling more tired than usual.

Enkidu straightened his back and closed his eyes. He tried his best to find the spiritual pressure of Senthose and Mortal, but could not. Either they had gone far away or had left Hueco Mundo. But then there remained a chance that they were simply hiding their spiritual pressure, in which case Enkidu would have to remain on guard.

*He looks over at Aera.*

Iris: <Hmm?>

Mortal goes back to eating her food, hunched over it as if she were in prison or something.

--

Noctis furrows her eyebrows and turns around, No, there is no god damned way-- It is her, what is she doing? Noct walked up to Euryale's side, the one the man wasn't one, and politely asked, "So, who is your new friend, Euryale?" Her voice was abnormally chipper, but her face was as dark and brooding as ever. In fact, it bore a scowl that would make even her flinch, and it was aimed directly at the guy. She was doing her best to try and burn directly into his skull through sheer willpower, and was probably on the verge of a cero.

L"Thanks, Sab. It feels like a month since I've eaten anything."
====================================
*Euryale jumps a little.*

"Oh...you startled me, Noct. This is Jim. I could swear I told you that in my message, though."

<I think she likes my shirt.>

"No one likes your shirt."
===================================
*As Kira escapes Noah, he hears a yell & a loud thunderclap coming from that direction.*
===================================
V"I guess not."

"Perhaps more, but who is keeping count really?" Mortal added.

--

"No one likes your shirt," Noctis agreed. She then checks her phone, "I must have not gotten it." With a small shrug, she adds, "So, where are you going?"

"Odd."

<Hey, if you aren't wearing a tacky shirt, you're doing this "tourism" thing all wrong.>

"Right...anyway, we met in the bar, & he told me about some underwater rock formations. I didn't think you'd be interested, but I texted you anyway."

<I'm not even interested. I was down there looking for pottery. But, hey, who needs an excuse to go diving?>
=================================
"Well, whenever you're ready, I'll be outside."

*Senthose gets up & strides out of the room.*

"Would you like me to come?" Noct asked. She knew full well that Euryale took subtle cues about as well as... something that was shitty with subtlety, but that just meant her answer would be even more sincere. Noct looked at Euryale with hopeful eyes.

--

"Ready for what?"

"I honestly cannot remember..."

OOC: Noctis is shitty with subtlety, just in the opposite way.

L"You guys were going to show me how to do Hollow things."
===============================
"Absolutely not."

*She ruffles Noctis's hair.*

"Of course I want you to come. Why else would I have asked? We're going to be eating first, so you know."

*Jim holds out a hand.*

<So, I'm guessing you must be Noctis? Euryale here mentioned you a few times. Maybe one or two. Hundred.>

Noctis furrowed her eyebrows and could feel her eyes turning silver with rage, until Euryale completely disarms her with a ruffle of her hair. It was slightly embarrassing, and left her cheeks rosy, but it does make Noct do a mental happy dance. So happy and amazing is this dance that everyone who has ever danced, or felt happiness should instantly feel like the world is a better place. Noct takes Jim's hand and shakes it, speaking casually, "Nice to meet you. And yes, I am Noctis."

--

"Oh, right, lets get going then," Mortal said, finishing her food.

*Outside, Senthose is staring down the mountain with his arms folded. He makes no effort to turn around.*

S"Start with the basics. Aroma, would you mind demonstrating a Cero?"

*Aroma points a finger at a rock the size of a small chair & blows it apart with a green beam. She blows smoke from her fingertip, smiling. Looking kind of bored, Lilith dons her Hollow mask. Her wings unfurl & start to glow before a thin, red beam blasts down the mountain, exploding every tree that gets in its way. Aroma's face droops.*
==================================
*At the resturaunt, Euryale orders a steak with a glass of orange juice & Jim orders a plain cheeseburger & a diet Coke.*

<You know, it's much nicer here than it is in Canada.>

Sab gives Aroma a small hug, "Its okay, I thought your cero was very pretty."

Mortal seems a bit annoyed, "You already knew she could fire a cero. Did you have Aroma do that just to make her feel bad?" Not really caring enough for an answer, Mortal says, "Alright, so you can Cero, can you use a hierro?"

--

Noct orders what she had previously, "I hear it is nothing but snow up there."

*Aroma smiles & hugs her back.*

L"I don't think so. My plants aren't particularly hard either. But they have good tensile strength. I'd say about--"

S"Go for it, Mortal."
===============================
<We cobble our meager shelters together from the jaws of mooses.>

Mortal cocked back and punched Lilith in the face, "You see, hierro isn't really our skin. It is skin plus our reitsu, so it stands to reason you should be able to do it too." Mortal cracked her knuckles, the ones that didn't already crack when punching Lilith in the face, "I just punched you, so use that as a control run. I'm going to continue punching you, when it stops hurting we'll know you can do it. If it still feels like I'm punching you in the face... then I guess you can't."

--

"So I've heard," Noctis said, "Honestly, it sounds absolutely terrible." Noct begrudgingly had to admit she was starting to like this Jim, sarcasm was always an easy way to win her over.

<Probably. So, if I might be so forward, where are you from?>
===================================
*A tentacle wraps around Mortal's arm while Lilith is trying to get up, falling over with each attempt.*

S"Alright, walk it off, then we'll try again."

L"I doike iz rainin'."

S"Don't worry, I brought a first aid kit."

A"...That was referring to me, wasn't it?"

"I was born in the US, but raised most of my life in Japan," Noct replied.

--

Sab walked over to Mortal, who was rubbing her knuckles, and began to rub them as well, "Perhaps punches to the head without explaining how it even works wasn't the best method."

"Nonsense, it is more or less inherent for us. She probably just lacks the natural talent for it."

Sab just let out a small sigh, and wandered over to Lilith to see if she was brain dead.

S"You're both correct. It is necessary to improve her constitution, but beating her senseless will accomplish nothing but--"

*Lilith rolls on her back & starts laughing.*

S"--Beating her senseless."

*Aroma walks over & starts prodding her in the head with a needle.*

L"Uhh...wh--what 'appen'?"
===================================
E"Born & raised in Japan."

Jim<Ah. I never would have guessed. So, you 2 met in Japan, then?>

E"...Yes. We met in the country of Japan. Doing...stuff in Japan."

Jim<Ah--yes. Yes, that is logical. We can...talk about something else...if you'd like...?>

"Oh, I've read something about this. I think she is going to lay eggs in your brain."

"Quit making things up, Mortal."

--

Noct held back a small giggle, "Yea, stuff, nothing short of saving the world with magical powers. What else are two Japanese girls to do?"

<I don't much know what Canadian girls do. Believe it or not, not many women want to go digging for old chunks of pottery.>

"Not many women want to look at rocks. Or men, for that matter."
==================================
S"I don't know. She is a Hollow. And something like a wasp, I think."

A"Inchworm."

S"I care not."

A"I'm just reducing the swelling...she takes hits about as well as I do."

Mortal snickered a bit to herself.

--

Noct just ate her food.

Aera: <Thank you.>

S"She is something of a glass cannon. But I don't think hitting her is going to be fruitful."

L"Hey, don't talk about me like I'm not here! I'll have you know, I'm tougher with my Mask on!"
=====================================
OOC: When in doubt, timeskip!

*At a nearby dock, Jim points to a boat.*

<I had to rent this to get to the spot I was interested in. I have the scuba stuff inside.>

Mortal cracks her knuckles, "Then what are we waiting for, put it on and lets continue this."

Sab shook her head, "Why don't you just explain how it works first, then punch her... somewhere that won't leave her concuss."

Mortal shrugged, "I'm not sure how much of it is technique and how much of it is unique to ever arrancar, but the way mine works is pretty simple. It is more or less a tight weave of reitsu overlaid atop my skin. Perhaps trying to visualize something like that will help you in constructing one."

--

"You have three sets of scuba gear?" Noct asked, wondering why he would have more than one.

<I have five. There are others on the team, you know.>

"Are you sure they'll be okay with us using their suits?"

<They'd better be, I'm the one who paid for everything.>
==============================
*Lilith stands up, puts a hand in front of her face, & swipes it away, generating the Mask.*

S"I have an idea. Why don't you try punching through her Hierro, as well?"

*Lilith punches Mortal in the face.*

S"I...wow. Wasn't expecting you to jump on that like you did. That's the spirit...I suppose."

Mortal takes a step back from the hit, then smiles, "My turn." She then uppercuts Lilith in the gut.

Sab is slightly annoyed that the training has regressed, once again, into punching each other, but she is happy Mortal avoided the face.

--

Noctis shrugged, "Well, alright then."