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Post by Talbot Linsorim on Jun 9, 2006 22:31:21 GMT -5
Having long left Mikon and Zula back at the school, she had come here to gather a few familiar herbs only found on this particular patch of earth she had long claimed as her own. Dressed in deep greens and blues, she had gone here barefoot, no leggings today and no boots either- the feeling of the wind on her legs was enough to make her smile- there was only soft and untained ground here. She had planted the required herbs and spices she had aquired over her years of escape and learning. She closed her eyes, inhaling the familiar scent of rosemary and lavendar, before turning around and pulling a few ginger roots up before looking up- the soft rattle of cans let her know someone was here. She had left her scythe behind with Mikon and Zula, truthfully no one should go anywhere without proper weaponry but she had felt it was alright. Talbot set her basket down, she raised her hands and prepared to attack if necessary, the words 'Ribbon Cut' on her lips, as the rustling in the bushes grew louder.
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Post by Midnight on Jun 9, 2006 22:45:51 GMT -5
"Where in bloody hell is this girl? I thought Mikon said she'd be here." Joseph could be heard complaining as he rustled his way through the bushes. The gunmage had just gotten back from his quest yesterday, and the first thing he wanted to do was to go and take up Talbot's agreement to a walk. Unfortunately, when he'd shown up at her dorm room, clad in his suit, she wasn't home. When he knocked a few times, the bigger of her two familiars poked his head out. The small rodent though defensive at first, finally told Joseph where he could find her once it was said that the gunmage had a present for Talbot. In actuality the winged mouse wanted to see, but Midnight refused. He'd gone through a lot of trouble to retrieve the Astrarian and the only person he intended to see it other than those who assisted him in getting it, was Tal.
Finally emerging into the small clearing, he found the girl standing alone, ready to defend herself. Joseph instentaneously threw up his hands, "Woah, woah, just me. Sorry to surprise you, I just got back and I wanted to see you. Mikon pointed me out here."
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Post by Talbot Linsorim on Jun 10, 2006 2:08:00 GMT -5
Talbot canceled her spell just as eaisily as she had started summoning it. She smiled at Joseph- not her usual tight-lipped one but she showed a little teeth- and scooped up her basket of collected herbs and spices. She set it just outside the border of the large patch of the garden and dusted off her hands, "You look spiffy- did you just get back from your trip?"
She could have kicked herself for that- of course he had, though her expression showed none of the kicking. Brushing a lock of golden hair behind her ear, her gray eyes had met his blue instantly and she fought the uge to blush. She blinked away that emotion quickly enough- waiting for his answer.
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Post by Midnight on Jun 10, 2006 10:46:47 GMT -5
Joseph smiled as he saw a flicker of emotion cross the girls face. Was that...insecurity? In Talbot? He found himself deciding that it was, which only made him smiled wider. "It's nice to see that you're in high spirits." he said strolling towards her, "I did in fact. Late last night we all arrived back at the academy. Would have seen you then, but I knew the both of us could use the sleep."
Talbot was clad in her usual clothing, say for the lack of stockings and boots. Even he had to admit he found the small breeze brought little thrills as it fluttered through her skirt. Still, he was a gentleman of a gunmage and kept his eyes locked on her face. As if it wasn't attention grabbing enough. Her eyes may have been gray, but they shined with something that he found incredibly attractive. He couldn't help the next question that slipped from his lips. "So...did you miss me?" he asked in a light, wistful tone.
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Post by Talbot Linsorim on Jun 11, 2006 0:31:50 GMT -5
She had worried- this was undeniable. She had worried about him and her little sister, but for some odd reason her thoughts had returned to Joseph and those blue eyes- something about them- she blinked again, focusing now on the basket of collected ingredients. She felt silly having to admit something like that- the answer would, in any event, have been 'of course!' but that wasn't- well she couldn't say it- the words froze on her tongue like an icecube from the freezer and her best responce was, "Just worried."
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Post by Midnight on Jun 11, 2006 0:46:23 GMT -5
Joseph suddenly felt a warmth spread across his chest as he took a step closer to the girl, his smile prevailing. She'd been worried about him? Perhaps the night back at the formal affair had meant more than she'd let on. Standing in such close proximity to Talbot, the gunmage could smell a beautiful fragrence. Though it could have easily been the herbs she had gathered, Joseph was utterly convinced the scent was hers.
Reaching out slowly, his hand gently brushed hers. "I must admit I'm extremly flattered to know that you were worried for my welfare." he said in a voice as soft as his touch. His hand remaining atop hers, he peered down at her gray eyes. "Would you," his chest was so warm, "go for a walk with me?"
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Post by Talbot Linsorim on Jun 11, 2006 1:45:42 GMT -5
His hand touched hers and an instant warmth spread across her face and she looked away for a moment. Desperate for a moment to collect herself- realizing it must be the scent of lavendar and rosemary making her act so oddly, making her stomach knot up and settle and knot up again. She exhaled softly, her heart slowing slightly- what was wrong with her? Smiling palely- trying very hard to dodge his blue eyes, "Why not- this can wait."
Something about his eyes- she abandoned her work with the herbs, leaving the basket behind- what was it she was trying to place with his eyes? A thought crossed her mind, "How is it Mikon told you where I was- you can't speak their language without being bound to them?"
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Post by Midnight on Jun 11, 2006 1:57:33 GMT -5
Joseph nodded to her happily, when she accepted. As they began to walk, he took her hand in his, as he led her in a direction. Feeling the smothness of her skin was a heavenly sensation. He hoped he could keep hold of the feeling for the duration of their walk, but if she objected, taking her hand back, he wouldn't mind. Midnight was with her, and that's all that mattered.
As they walked along the grassy clearing onto a gentle path, she asked him about the mouse. The gunmage cocked his head. "Oh really?" he asked looking over at her, "To be honest I had been a little surprised when he spoke to me, since he'd never used English with me before...but I have to have a bond with him in order to interpret his words? I certainly don't think I have a bond with him." Not with how defensive the little fellow was. Joseph didn't think the familiar liked him much, so how could he have a bond with Mikon? Unless...the bond to the mouse wasn't a direct one.
He peered over at Talbot once more, drinking in her beauty. For any trouble he'd gone through for the spice stored in the pouch on his side, seeing her like this now...it was well worth it.
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Post by Talbot Linsorim on Jun 11, 2006 4:00:46 GMT -5
Talbot locked her arm for only a moment, she wasn't uncomfortable only cautious- she had, had her arm broken this way before. But Joseph wouldn't- would he? Her doubt passed away with ease and she slowly unlocked her arm. A soft smile replaced her tence one.
Her mind mulled over his words of Mikon speaking to Joseph in English- had her worrying and daydreaming given Joseph enough of an open link to understand Mikon's native tongue. No that was impossible- by the text she had read that ability could only be obtained by descendents of the bloodline, a crossing star path, a tuned empath or- she wondered if Mikon had even bitten Joseph. Doubt clouded the thought of crossing stars- the thought was quickly snuffed out, as was the bloodline descendent- she could not feel the same pulse, the same gene- he was not of the line she was. As for the empath ability, she could not remember if he had said anything about it before- but it wasn't exactly something you up and asked. Then the thought of Mikon biting Joseph, it had been admitted before but there hadn't been any skin breaking as far as she knew- but then again Yula, a summoner from long ago, had barely been nipped and recieved the ability to understand- but then again Yula was a lying scumbag with nothing but tombstones as a reminder of her and her work. She gripped his hand tightly as the thought of Yula swam through her mine and made her heart ache- quickly she let loose her sudden strong grip, though she didn't let go of his hand.
Somewhere in her mind danced the thought of her little sister- giggling at them, which inspired her new question, "How was your trip to Asia?"
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Post by Midnight on Jun 11, 2006 10:59:06 GMT -5
As they strolled along the path, the gunmage felt her gripping his hand tightly, which caused him to peer over at her, but her eyes were lost in thought. Up until know the emblem on his back had been warm with affection. His revolver really liked Talbot, making the close proximity to her very pleasing. Yet its warmth fluttered for just a moment as her grip loosened. Had it seen something in Probability Sight? Perhaps Talbot had just crossed some sort of line, or broken through some barrier in her...
Giving her a hand an affectionate squeeze, his mind ran over the grand adventure to which she inquired. Joseph smiled, "It, was, amazing. You wouldn't believe how HUGE everything is there. I mean the Monastery itself dwarfs the academy, then it's surrounded by trees as big as redwoods. The students we met there were very skilled in stramge arts, but nice. Well, after we convinced them we weren't Yakuza. Wish you could have seen some of them in action. Ninjas and flying sword masters, it was like watching an anime. I mean they dueled in trees, along the sides of walls, and on water!"
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Post by Talbot Linsorim on Jun 11, 2006 11:53:36 GMT -5
Her heart had paused for a moment, possibly a twinge of panic had struck though her when he had squeezeed her hand, however as soon as she had tensed she relaxed- Stop being silly, Stupid. He's not going to break your arm. As he spoke her heart fluttered, she couldn't control it- mind of it's own. She smiled, genuinely- the tones of excitment as he spoke was enough to let her know these words were more than true and she had missed so much of an adventure as she had stayed at the Academy and cooked. How terrible that would sound in comparison-
It made her hapy to hear someone so amased by the size of something like a Monastery and the nature around it. Ninjas and flying swordmasters- she had not seen any in years but knew it was best to dodge that line of questioning- that had been a dark day. She couldn't openly say she had seen people fight on water- walk, yes, dance, yes but fight-? The concentration and focus required would have been immense- measuring the possiblities with the thought of it was almost too much. Students who were nice yet had great abilities- it was a good thing to hear. Of the beings many she had met and known over time, ego had been a large disturbing factor in many of their downfalls- including her own father's-. She had to fight the urge to shake her head- instead her smile only grew a little bigger and she nodded, "It sounds like I missed a great deal. I am glad you made it back safely."
Her heart jumped as in a small reminder- had she-? She had, she blushed slightly, quickly closing the openess she had offered, "Did anyone else go besides Ziare? I haven't seen her yet- did everything go as you had hoped?"
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Post by Midnight on Jun 11, 2006 13:41:00 GMT -5
As they passed underneath a canopy of trees, scattered beams of light filtered through to shower over them. Joseph nodded, "A friend of mine named Priest came along. He'd been through Asia before so I asked him if he could come. That certainly was interesting. He's a necromancer and well...let's just say he creeped be and Ziare out a little." The gunmage shuddered a little as the images of the zombies came back to mind. Looking back at Talbot, the images were washed away in a sea of purity.
He smiled at her anew. "Also, a couple Monastery students accompanied us on our little quest. A ninja girl named Rei, and a fox man named Kinichi. He was already an interesting fellow when we first met. Was telepathic and had nine tails. Heh, by the time he got back to the school he was even stranger." Midnight explained before coming to a halt and moving around in front of her, "Which reminds me. I have something for you."
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Post by Talbot Linsorim on Jun 11, 2006 15:13:14 GMT -5
A nine tailed fox man? She almost stopped in pure surprise- it took 1000 years of life to become a sacred nine tail- but it was harder than that. There had been so many tests and trials most who wished to be- her train of thought haulted as he moved infront of her. She paused and looked up at him, her tendancy to look at the ground gave her the opportunity to survery him before meeting his eyes- he was dressed more casually than normal and she had noticed he wasn't wearing his gloves. A gunmage without his gloves- a privaledge oft not given. "Oh?"
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Post by Midnight on Jun 11, 2006 19:33:15 GMT -5
Smiling down at Talbot, Joseph nodded. "Yes, I do. You see the whole reason I went to the Monastery was to learn about rare spices. While there we met with the headmaster of their Cooking Arts school, and he told me of a legendary life extending spice. The spice had origins dating back to pre-history as it is comprised from the ashes of a goddess." the gunmage explained as he reached into the pouch on his side with his free hand, "We had to pass a great many obstacles to get it, but that's for another time."
While still holding her hand, Joseph produce a vial of glowing lavender spice. "For now my dear," he said in a theatric voice, "...a vial of the Astrarian."
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Post by Talbot Linsorim on Jun 11, 2006 20:02:59 GMT -5
Talbot's emotinal range flashed quickly- her hands shook and she stared at the vial, sudden tears welled in her eyes and she hugged him tightly. Hesitating, she blushed brightly before letting him go- and gently taking the vial from him, and turning to hold the vial up in the sunlight.
"Joseph, do you know how long I've- how many thing can be- do you know how much this- I can't believe!" She turned back to him, her gray eyes dancing with excitement as she wrapped her arms around him again, hugging him tightly again, "You just can't- you don't know-!"
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