Re: Bottom Of The Barrel

Thu Mar 25, 2021 8:46 pm

Saisei | The Vandenreich Frontline

At his core, Saisei was but a child. A fledgling Quincy apprentice hoping to find his way in the world. Though he lived a life of excitement and adventure, moments like these are what grounded him in reality. For all the problems and frustrations he actually dealt with on a day to day basis, all he needed at the end of the day was the ability to view the world in all its glory. Beauty was in the eye of the beholder, in this case, the beholder had no choice.

The sight of the crystal clear ocean and the beating of the rather hot, mid-march sun left the boy without words. He turned towards Loukas, watching as he basked in what Saisei would consider his own little treasure. Sometimes people needed something to ground them, he knew that all too well. Maybe Loukas wasn't like that, but if he were, he would hope to share in the sights of the city and its surroundings rather than sit alone in a dark corner.

"Told ya. When I'm serious, I won't miss."

His childish smile only grew wider, the boy sending out a simple thumbs up as Loukas took in the beauty before him. Saisei knew his stuff when it came to what one would consider pretty. Though the likes of Yugiri and Maria may rival the world in beauty, nothing could contest the deep blues of the sea and the gentle backdrop of the sky. They could only further accent Mother Earth's beauty. Turning away from the sight, Saisei pulled a small note from his pocket and started to do a tad bit of mental math.

"This is our little secret, catch my drift? Don't got mouthin' off to the recruits about the beauty I showed you. She's ours, got it? Now, we actually have a far more busy day than you could imagine ahead of us."

Take a few gentle steps away from Loukas, the boy motioned for him to follow before checking off his mental tasks.

"I wanna head to a clothing store real fast before we actually continue with Vandenreich duties, I'm not sure what your wardrobe situation looks like but given your special circumstances, I think we oughta make sure you're perfectly set for life here in the City."

He turned back, his toothy little smile beaming in brightness, something that may even rival the sun itself.

"Ready to head out?"

END POST | America's Line Of Defense

[/quote]

Sun Mar 28, 2021 10:08 pm

i'm about to drop off,
drift into a deep fog

Loukas huffed out a sound of amusement, finally peeling his gaze away from the view and back towards Saisei. "You can say that again. This kinda gets me excited for whatever else you've got up your sleeve!" For the first time in a few months, at the very least, the turned sueki was genuinely happy and able to get his mind off of his situation. Right now, there was the prospect of a friend, one who he was certain would accept him for what he'd become; one who wouldn't sink back in fear after seeing the physical changes the transformation wrought upon his body.

Ours. The word had a nice ring to it. A secret with a friend, something that wasn't to be shared with just anyone. Loukas' face hurt from all the smiling he'd been doing today, muscles unused to it after months of feeling numb and scared, nervous and alone. A sudden gust of wind flipped his hood off his head and he winced minutely, the blazing sun burning into his skin, but he couldn't bring himself to really care too much. As long as he put it back up in time, there wouldn't be any lasting damage. His neck did feel kind of bare though without the protection of it.

Bringing a hand up to rub at the back of his neck, Loukas hummed while thinking. "Yeah, that makes sense. It's been pretty limited since, well, you know happened. Gotta keep as much of me covered as possible, you know? I can stand small amounts of sun on me for a limited amount of time, at least, but I still had to abandon a lot of my stuff." The stuff he'd had to give up included several of his favorite pieces of clothing. He couldn't even wear ripped jeans anymore, since the holes would let the sun bake into patches of his legs.

It was something Loukas still found incredibly unfortunate, having to get rid of several hundreds of dollars of clothing, if not thousands. But hey, at least he wasn't dead, no matter how much the voice in the back of his head said maybe he'd have been better off dying then instead of becoming something else.

Loukas grinned cheekily at Saisei. He'd had the itch to run for a while, unable to satisfy it for just as long. And he had a perfect idea. "How about we race? Give me the directions to wherever you were gonna take me, and we'll just race there. No stakes, I just..." How was he supposed to explain how much he missed the sun on his face, the wind in his hair, the pulse of his heartbeat in his ears as his feet slammed down on the ground? Cheeks reddening, Loukas averted his gaze. "I miss it," he murmured, gaze once again far away.

LOUKAS.

Mon Mar 29, 2021 9:45 pm

Saisei | The Vandenreich Frontline

Though Saisei found himself ticking off the mental list in his head, he knew all too well that it was actually far more than he could remember. Normally, new recruits had a small amount of work needed in order to live their life in the city. In regards to someone like Loukas, however, they had quite an alternative lifestyle. Said lifestyle left them with far more requirements. It wouldn't be hard to live a more required lifestyle, Saisei couldn't help but think it must be a pain in the ass even so.

"That must be nice, then. Can't lie, I couldn't imagine sittin' indoors all the time, being forced to never see the sun again. I imagine some Sueki really do live that way, sadly."

He looked away from Loukas for a moment, shaking his head thinking of how people like Loukas and Maria may be forced to live a certain life. It would be horrid to him, to ever life that way. Turning back to the new recruit, he smiled at the hint of a race. Loukas was crazy, Saisei was one of the fastest in the City. Not to mention, he was clearly disadvantaged given his current state as a new-breed. He asked for it though, why would he ever deny something so fun?

"Alright, you're on then. Miss it or not, you're in for it kid. I won't go easy on you."

Saisei pulled out a small notebook from his pack and began writing away. Listing the directions in a concise and simple way, he ripped out the page and gave it to Loukas. Retightening the straps to his pack against his chest now, the boy turned towards the exit of the cliff size and looked to his wrist. The watch he wore, rather old fashioned in design, ticked away as he waited.

"Go on now. I'll give you thirty seconds. I'd say if you ran as fast as you can, it'll take you two or so minutes before you get there. Don't hurt yourself in the process, can't have command breathin' down my neck y'know?"

With a final smile, Saisei pointed and began to count down aloud. Loukas was in for quite a treat.

"Thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight..."

END POST | America's Line Of Defense

Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:23 pm

i'm about to drop off,
drift into a deep fog

Loukas shrugged; he couldn't really speak for other sueki and how they might feel about the matter, and he'd already made his own thoughts on it known. But the impromptu race being accepted made a jolt go through his body, a shock of happiness surging through him. It wasn't that he hadn't expected the suggestion to be accepted, or even denied. It was just that he was truly happy to be running against someone again, after all this time. He didn't even care if he won or lost, and either way, Loukas was sure he'd learn something from Saisei.

But the running, the feeling of the wind rushing against his skin... he was near ecstatic to feel the rush of a race again, was all.

Loukas grinned sharply at Saisei. "I'd hope you wouldn't. This might be just for fun, but I could learn something from it, y'know." He looked at the directions hastily scrawled down on the paper his companion had given him, nodding to himself as he memorized them. They were pretty simple, all things considered. Leaning down, Loukas automatically bent himself into a crouch start, took a deep breath, and shot off as soon as Saisei said thirty.

Feet pounding on the pavement, the sueki was a dark blur to most pedestrians, blasting his way within mere seconds to arrive at the shop...

LOUKAS.