A Job Well Done.....Kind Of(Ruka, open)

[Ellie who has 0%]

"If you must know knight, I am not trying to scare her. Also if you watch her body language, she's is quite frightful of you. I don't remember her correcting me of earlier inquiry. She even tattered her scarf at the truth of her nervousness with you." Jadis didn't even acknowledged the glare knowing she could easily freeze him into a statue, but that wouldn't soothe the poor child behind him.

"I am merely emphasizing the dangers of this town. There's enough oblivious children in this world, and with how the universe is going, ignorance is far from bliss. Actually this district is the least safest out of the four; the second is where they gather more in numbers, but like I've said before those near me would be protected; they don't see me as prey."

Jadis started to walk towards the stairs leading to the second district. She held back a chuckle at his words knowing well that heartless lingered in the First District. Just because it's the safest doesn't mean it's entirely safe. Also this just prove how new the boy was. The high class nobodies and the inferno sorceress were far stronger than a shadow heartless, and they also roamed Traverse Town.

"No matter your choice dear it is ultimately up to you. Also I must say that some of his words are fallacies. Like I've said before, the children of darkness aren't the only ones who lingered this world. Take the advice of an elder empress if you will. My invitation is still open for the taking. I wouldn't want a lamb to wander in the forest of wolves without the upmost sherpherd to guard it."

Looking back, her eyes looked down at the knight, "If she comes with me and if you're so concerned, you can come along as well. I doubt your protection would soothe all of her fears. I would advise you both to make your decision soon. Although I may be a repellant for heartless, I don't controll them."

[mizujakkaru]

Ruka took a sudden step back as Creel neared her, flinching from the proximity. She pursed her lips a bit at all the talk going on around, soaking it up like a thirsty sponge. She was frightened to the state of turning white, but Torq had always drilled her about how important every scrap of information was.

She blinked violently when Creel turned on her once more, and took another hurried shuffle back, fixing her eyes on his chest instead of his face as she listened timidly to his offer. S-stay at his place...? She shook her head and grasped once more at her scarf, wearing down the already ruined threads. It wouldn't be proper to impose...

But what, then, was the difference in following the witch? Ruka's eyes locked onto her feet as she weighed the two people. Creel knew some sort of mage craft, and so, too, did the woman from what Ruka could gather of her appearance. So that point was moot.

Creel could dispatch Heartless as easily as he could swing his blades. She had seen as much. But the witch had said... the woman had said that the Heartless didn't even begin to come near her. Which meant the woman was by far stronger than Creel, did it not? It did, in some way, because not a single Shadow has appeared during their conversation. So the woman would be, in any case, the best choice in ally.

But again, it wouldn't be proper to impose on either of them. Any of her old wing and commander would have scolded her for even considering it. To show such weakness as to cower under the cloak of a stronger warrior. It was not the Drasil warrior's way.

...But Ruka was not in Drasil any longer and much less in Beo-Midgart. She blinked harshly as the thought surfaced, and she bit down hard on her lip to keep from crying in dismay as she had before. But the fact stood. Perhaps it would indeed be best to band with someone. After all, she was a distance fighter, and she needed to have someone to keep the Heartless at bay so she could pick them off from afar to begin with.

With that in mind, she grew flustered, realizing the woman was walking away now. Glancing at the shadows of the Third District in fear, as if the witch disappearing might recall the Heartless once more. She took a few hurried steps towards her.

"A-ah! W-wait..."

But... Creel... She paused and glanced once more to the knight. She chewed on her lip, already raw from so much worrying this eve. He had saved her already... she ground her teeth. Who... who to go with? She blinked rapidly, thinking just as fast.

"M-maybe we all c-could..." but bravery abandoned her, and she clasped at her scarf once more.

[sumdood]

Creel felt his jaw clench as the woman spoke. He hadn't forgotten Ruka's reaction to the witch's question. Shades, he didn't even need to have seen it to know she was scared of him. But, then again, Ruka seemed to, quite literally, be scared of everything around her. It wasn't surprising that a man almost 10 years older than her with a flaming sword would scare her. He'd like to think, however, that she'd be a little more willing to trust him than the woman, since he had just saved her from the Heartless.

Of course, that was just wishful thinking on his part. He should know better. After seeing men kill almost their entire family just to gain the power of a throne and crown, It really wouldn't be that surprising if she didn't.

However, he still didn't trust the woman. Granted, his initial distrust had now become more of a dislike, due in no small part to her apparent assuredness that she was untouchable. People like that always irked Creel, because they always ended up sticking their foot in their mouth, biting off more than they could chew, and getting themselves killed because of their overconfidence. Yet, even to the end, they were assured of their strength and invincibility.

Doubtlessly this woman would be the same way. Eventually, something would happen, and this woman would be gone in the blink of an eye. It had never failed to happen before, so there was no reason to doubt its truth.

Creel suddenly realized that this woman had just come in, essentially challenging the core of who he was, and they didn't even know a thing about her. She was asking Ruka, and him if he so chose, to just simply trust her with absolutely no reason to do so, and no proof that she was even worthy of trust at all. Creel admitted his reservations about her were unfounded.

Well, if you discounted the fact that she came in, telling Ruka she could trust her without even giving so much as her name. His instincts screamed at him again that this woman was nobody to trust. He tried to silence them, their volume making it hard to think. But he couldn't.

"I just have one question," Creel said, walking over to stand next to Ruka,"Why should either of us trust someone who hasn't even offered us her name? That usually comes before telling someone to trust you, except in the most dire of life and death situations. And, this isn't quite one of those. It's somewhat hard to trust a person who won't even offer their name."

[Ellie who has 0%]

"A-ah! W-wait..."

Jadis stopped in her tracks, and her head partially turned to look at her. Her brow arched at the sight of contemplating. The shy girl was going to make a decision, but her proposal died with the whispers of her lips.

They would only see her face from a side profile and her back as she heard the knight's questions. Her lids lowered with a small smile before exhaling a cool breeze from her nose. "I could ask the same towards you, a nameless Sytranian Knight. You would tell me of your military status versus your name, but you'll toss this girl's name around with a second thought. Ruka is it? From my impeccible memory, you didn't give your name either. Also in this twisted world, you'll have to rely on other things to justify trust. Anyone can just simply give you a name; that doesn't necessarily makes them trustworthy. Ruka perhaps knows your name, but I doubt she trusts her life in your hands."

"See? If my name put you at ease, it's Jadis. If you wanted it all you have to do is simply ask. Also I know of this world better than you, because of my long stay here. I know for sure that there's other children far stronger than the shadows that roam here. If you wish to challenge that knowledge, feel free, but don't drag the girl about for vanity. You two are fairly young in this world and shouldn't roam in a naive manner."

"So you can either put trust in your limited knowledge, or trust in someone who have absorbed many years and sights of the danger and unbalance of this world. I am not pressuring or challenging you; after all, we have free will. Like I said, if you're concerned you can come along. I'm only producing oppurtunites."

[mizujakkaru]

Ruka inhaled in a gust. While not fully schooled in the rules of word, she was no simpleton. Jadis had just thoroughly pounded Creel's logic. Yes, it was true that Jadis had not given her name, but Ruka had hardly given her real name to anyone until this very night.

Ruke ran herself in circles. More of her leaned towards Creel. But the woman produced a shield against all her nightmares. And even if she went with Creel, they would still come.

Who... would Torq have chosen? Ruka knew the answer. Torq would have gone with Creel. Her brother had always found a certain solace in being around fellow knights. But Ruka had found a sanctity of her own with her own gender, as the Rook units were composed of mostly girls.

She studied the scarf in her hand, unweaving it's threads deftly in her nervous musings. She... wanted them to all go together. She liked Creel, more than she liked this woman, but Jadis made her, in a particular way, feel safer. She was scared witless of both of them, Jadis more so, but the witch was the one that drove Heartless away completely.

Finding that thread of bravery that had ghosted from her lips, she opened her mouth once more. "M-maybe w-we could all... go t-t-together... S-safety c-comes in n-numbers, T-Torq always s-said..."

She did not look up while she talked. She half expected them to laugh, and so she continued to study the scarf in her fingers. Ruka might've worn holes in the article with her eyes, if she had the fire in her gaze.

[sumdood]

Creel just raised an eyebrow at Jadis as she spoke about how he hadn't given her name. He waited until she was through, and then shrugged.

"Maybe I didn't give you my name, but neither am I the one who came forward to you first. It's common courtesy and a sign of good intent to give your name to those you approach, most especially before giving promises of protection and safety," Creel said, gazing at the witch with eyes that could have bored holes into steel,"Don't take me for an idiot. You still should have introduced yourself before approaching us, simplyl as a sign of goodwill. In my encounters, those who haven't introduced themselves first were always an enemy to cut down first and questions later."

Creel rolled his right shoulder once as he spoke, the joint popping. He looked over to Ruka as she spoke, playing with her scarf again. She had a point. There was always safety in numbers. He still didnt' think the witch trustworthy, but what choice did he have? He couldn't live with himself if he left Ruka alone with the witch and somethign happened to the poor girl, but Ruka seemed determined to stick with Jadis. That meant he had to go with them.

"She has a point," Creel said, shrugging,"Now, let's get out of this district. And I'm no longer a nameless Sytraean Knight, Jadis. My name is Creel."

After giving the witch his name, Creel turned and pushed open the gates to the second district. As the large, wood and iron doors swung open, a sight greeted the trio. A large, armor-like heartless, purple in color, stood before them. Its pieces were disjointed and floating around in the air around the main body of the armor, and yet it all seemed to be a part of the same whole.

"Shades," Creel muttered, drawing Eiroch and activating its magic,"You two get out of here. I'll handle this guy. I'll meet you back here in the second district. Go through the first."

Then, without waiting for a reply, Creel ran forward, sending Eiroch's flaming blade into the heartless' body to draw its attention and then rolling straight past it, drawing Glaeding and acitvating its magic as the heartless sent a punch his way, Glaeding's defensive magic deflecting what would have been a glancing blow.

[Ellie who has 0%]

"M-maybe w-we could all... go t-t-together... S-safety c-comes in n-numbers, T-Torq always s-said..."

It was about bloody time that someone agreed to Jadis' terms. Hopefully her words would make the tense soldier rational.

"Well my dear, it seems that this would be the first encounter that would be a contradiction to your previous experiences...especially when my sign of good intent was simply warning you before."

Seriously if the witch wanted them dead, she wouldn't have said a word; she hardly wasted her breathe on mere victims. Still for this on to shut it and accept it, Ruka had to speak.

Jadis silently rolled her eyes in annoyance. For how long had she suggested for them to leave with her together? It was hard to comply with Creel's wishes to not take him for an idiot. How much time was wasted of defensive demeanor when they were going back to square one? After all she repeated enough time that he can come as well if he had a problem with the idea of Ruka tagging along with her. Mortals are quite the unstable creatures.

"Well Ruka dear, it's time for us to take our leave..." Jadis replied turning on her toes towards an exit.

[mizujakkaru]

As the doors swung open and the sight of the beat behind them greeted the trio, Ruka felt herself grow pale and cold. Her fingers froze, tightened into closed fists of fear. It was larger than any monster she had seen before. For a soldier used to fighting humans, and from a distance at that, the creature behind the door scared her to her very core.

She did not need Creel's or Jadis's insitance to leave, but a few hurried steps after the woman cleared her mind a moment. Creel had stayed behind. Like Torq, the other man had put himself into the fray, without a second thought.

Ruka paused, shaking as she was, she found it in herself to turn and look back at the knight. She reached out of nature for her crossbow, but in sluggishness due to her body-freeze.

"B-but... w-what about...?"

She turned once more, trying to keep an eye on both Jadis and Creel through the door way. It proved difficult, and she knew that in a few more steps, the knight would be lost from her sight. She bit her lip. It wasn't right to abandon him, was it?

Ruka's eyes were keen, and her shots sure and true, but she was no leader. It was second nature to follow. She grasped at the bolts strapped to her waist. She looked at Jadis, lost.

[sumdood]

Creel shot forward, lightning quick, Eiroch's blade flaming in his hand. He extended the blade, sending it shooting towards the Heartless, piercing through its armored body just a little. Creel then retracted the blade and kept ran between the creature's legs as he sheathed his swords, and leapt up, grabbing onto one of the metallic edges of its torso and hauling himself up onto its body so he could look into the small hole the head floated over.

This might end up being a weak spot. He needed to stab it with Eiroch. That might take it down. However, this was made difficult by the fact that the heartless was now attempting to shake Creel off by spinning its body. Creel gripped at the edges of the hole, holding on for dear life until it stopped so he could jam Eiroch into the hole where the head was.

It didn't stop, though. It just kept spinning, and spinning, and spinning. Creel was beginning to feel his grip on it slip. He couldn't hold on for much longer, so he needed to act now.

He reached around and pulled Eiroch back free of its sheath and activated its magic, the blade turning to flames at his call. Then, he brought it up, angling it down under the head, and extended the blade, the force of the extension sending the blade deep into the heartless' body.

As he stood there, clutching it, the creature shuddered, and quit spinning. The sudden deceleration finally broke Creel's grip, and as he landed on his back ont he ground, the heartless and its parts began to fall backward on top of him. He had just a moment of panic, realizing this was finally it. After years and years of fighting and narrow escapes, he was going to die here?

NO! He wouldn't give in! He began to try and scramble out of the way. He needed to get somewhere safe. Somewhere this thing wouldn't kill him. Anywhere!

Just before he should have felt the impact of the heartless falling on top of him, he felt a sudden, burning heat in his pocket, where the stone his father had gven him was. It was glowing bright hot, and as the Guard Armor fell down, turning slowly to mist, a bright flash of light engulfed him, and he was gone, the fact of his disappearance masked by the black mist that the Guard Armor was turning into...

[Ellie who has 0%]

The Ice Witch sighed softly, "I know dear you don't want to leave him, but he wishes to stubbornly handle it alone."

Her mossy green eyes turned up to watch the boy attack the Guard Armor. It wasn't long ago when she had frosted one of its kinds heart in the palm of her hand. She still saved it waiting for the oppurtune moment to revive the heartless from its deep slumber. She looked to Ruka, who seemed lost and uncertain.

"Do what you must, but remember he had done this so no harm would come to you." Flexing her finger, a chilling breeze swooped through the district knocking the doors open. "Also I promised you safe-"

A bright light consumed the district, and the witch narrowed at the source. The Guard Armor laid limply on the floor with darkness retching from it. A heart lifted from it, but with a wave of her arm it was frostbitten before being sent into a dark portal. Creel was nowhere to be found.

"We better be going now. Once in the Second District and in the hotel, I will scry for your friend if he doesn't appear soon."

[mizujakkaru]

Wincing at the bright flash, Ruka nodded mutely at Jadis's words. Releasing her grip on her crossbow, and letting her fingers flutter from her bolts. She pursed her lips, attempting to find her voice, but could not in the end. She shivered at the sudden chill that swept through the District.

Ruka glanced at the Guard Armor behind them once more, watching it fade to black. She tipped her head down, hoping Creel was okay, and then followed after the witch, mulling over it all.

"S-scry...?" She glanced up at Jadis, as timid as a doe, in question.

( Bah. Sorry for a shorter post, Ellie, I didn't know what to have her do. >: )

[Ellie who has 0%]

(o-o thread exit, and Maxy is off for a long while)