[Interactive Story Mission][Private]An Interesting Package

Lucilla gave a quick nod to the boy's words, they could at least get a jest of how useful he was. However the boy looked a little too young to be quite efficient at such a rare magic so Lucilla could guess that he might not be that efficient at using it. "Ah, well I was just raised as a boy. Plus it's not like my figure does anything for me, how would me taking pride in my gender help change some ignorant fool's thoughts? When money is tough you have to do what you got to do to get by." She said giving a short shrug of her shoulders.

"The Shusen style! The best style there ever is and ever will be. Of course I am the sole user of this amazing fighting style. My father had made the Shusen style after years of studying the human body and deciding to make it. I'm the offspring of the genius who made such a style. I have the utmost respect for my father, I shall make sure that his legacy reaches the ears of everybody who is living or will ever live. I was training everyday as a child trying to get down such complex body movements. 'To be a user of the Shusen style you must make sure your body moves as one!' Those were my father's words of encouragement to me." She said her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm as she spoke about the Shusen style and her father. She had been waiting to tell her new companions about the greatness of her father and the style. Even though her eyes were sparkling with enthusiasm her voice had a hint of sadness for a split second before she changed her tone into a much more brighter sounding tone.

Brie was intrigued by Locke's abilities--she had to wonder though, how practical it could be. For such a young user--surely it must take a toll..she pondered. She was glad Locke wasn't very detail oriented, with her being so analytic and cautious--taking more to intelligence than brute strength or hard-headedness--it was good to have a slew of different perspectives.

Brie listened carefully as Lucilla spoke of the Shusen style. If she's the sole user...her father must have died...so much for the greatest style ever, Brie thought. Still--it sounded like it might be of interest to her--Brie was one of the quicker students when it came time to fight, despite her being less physically strong.

Brie felt a sudden sadness come over her...Its too bad her father passed--he'd probably be a much better teacher, and Lucilla is still young as well...I wonder what happened of my Father....

"Locke, how powerful are these powers of yours? And how much do they deplete of your strength?" Brie raised her voice a little higher, "And Lucilla! I'm very interested in your style--although I hope we don't run into trouble--I hope to see it in action sometime!" Brie shouted, making sure Lucilla could hear.

"They don't deplete my strength when I use them, and like I said - they work on anything and anyone that I come in contact with," Locke answered, scratching the back of his head with his free hand, "The only problem is with me being so young and it being so powerful I can't use them so often. Too much use and they just... short out. Hopefully when I grow older I can be able to use them more often. That or mix it in with some other magic to make it more versatile and devastating. Think of my powers like wine, it gets better with age."

After listening to Lucilla's words, he gave a nod in her direction, "I see, so it's a type of martial arts style - granted a higher caliber kind. Nevertheless, from the way you speak of it it sounds very impressive. I'm sure your father would be proud to see you further master and expand on the Shusen Style," stated the Omega Scion with genuine sincerity

Lucilla felt her lips turning into a bright smile. Most of her traveling companions were arrogant people, some would say that their common fighting style was better than her own Shusen style. "I'll be sure to show the greatest of the Shusen style to you both." She said her chest puffing out her with pride yet again. She listened to Locke talk about his magic, it seemed pretty useful however the only problem was the limited uses. Locke didn't seem to have any extra weapon, Lucilla wondered if he choses to fight barehanded. Lucilla gave a quick shake of her head, why would anybody fight against monsters or people with swords barehanded? A faint sigh escaped her lips when she realized that they might have to defend Locke after his uses are up.

"Oh well, with that said interesting magic Locke. I don't think I ever heard somebody use such a phrase to refer to their powers before, 'think of my power like wine, they get better with age'. So how much battle experience do you two have under your belts?"

OOC: I'm pissed because I posted a reply to this earlier at work but just found out it didn't go through -_-"
BIC:

Hmm...his powers don't drain him...but they're limited to uses...what happens when he runs out..? Brie thought to herself as Lucilla was stating she's show her Shusen style. Then like a grenade with the pin pulled embarassment exploded within Brie. The question echoed inside her head, So how much battle experience do you two have under your belts....how much battle experience do you two have...how much battle experience...battle experience...

Brie's face was almost as red as her hair...luckily she was behind the other two so they hadn't immediately noticed. Do I tell them I've never fought? I don't want them to be worried for our safety--but they should know shouldn't they?

Brie spoke up after a moment.

"I don't actually. Have...any...battle experience. At least--not with monsters. I did well in my training...but that was never under the pressure of real monsters--at least not that I remember what about you two?"

"Well, I've survived the past year now on my own, travelling from the Valkyrie Shoreline through the Shieldlands to Isera. Recently I came in from the Freyja Sea where a hunter stationed there and I tag-teamed a Lavaros. She kept to long range, I got close and personal. One thing I liked about working with her was that she was one of my own kind," Locke chuckled a bit as he patted his own chest, remember when the Lavaros sliced him open in his battle. It was an easy fix thanks to his Mark, but nevertheless he still remembered it.

"Of course it wasn't easy, considering that I didn't know my own strength and I broke the damn thing in half. It's web game was weak, but when it can it hit like a freight train. But, we persevered."

Gave a nod to the boy's words, Lucilla was relived to have him actually have battle experience. Of course she wasn't noticing how the woman hadn't answered since Lucilla had thought that she would definitely have battle experience. "I have been traveling for three years, most of it has been alone. I have fought various types of monsters since that is part of my job. I don't know any magic so I can only fight the monster up close." She said, her ears twitching as Brie's words were heard by Lucilla. Lucilla stopped and turned around staring at Brie with wide eyes.

"What!?" Lucilla said staring at Brie's beet red face. "How could you not have any battle experience? I expected you to have at least some battle experience, it would have been normal for the boy to have no battle experience but you?" She asked taking a moment to let out a sigh. "At any rate I suppose this will be good for you. Your just lucky that you have experienced people to watch your back." She said turning around to continue walking, her tail matching up with her footsteps yet again. "So Brie and Locke where did you two learn magic from?"

Absolute embarassment fell over Brie, her throat felt tight and she felt like letting loose a flurry of tears. Not as much from her lack of experience, so much as her lack of remembrance. She was unaware how to respond. She took a moment to gather her thoughts, looking down out of shame.

"I...I have some battle experience...in a way. I trained the last year at a Hunter's Dojo in the city...in that sense I have experience...and I may have more--but I just...can't remember." Brie breathed in a deep breath of air and exhaled slowly. "I never really learned my magic...at the dojo there was a book on the art of fighting with ones qi--and I tried it. It just came naturally to me. One night I discovered I could even manipulate it to fire--but I don't know how I do it. I don't know much...I just do things and they work. Like I know them subconsciously, but they're latent, unfound pieces of the puzzle that is my life prior to the last three years."

Brie flinched for just a moment, You're doing it again Brie, quit talking so much they're gonna shrug you off as useless....you're not useless....just prove it...stop talking...I talk to myself too much...what am I doing stop, you idiot. Brie shook her head again,

"Um. Sorry. I'm not usually like this--I don't mean to talk so much. Where did you learn your magic, Locke?"

"So what if you have no battle experience," shrugged Locke, "we all started there at some point. You just started later than us is all. Matter of fact, I could say that Lucilla and I started off too young, too early. But hey, we all have our reasons for our cravings for adventure and conquest. For Lucilla its to universalize her martial arts, for me its to gain the knowledge and power from my time in the world in order to become the next leader of my race. For you, I'm sure you have your own reasons."

When asked about how he gained the powers of the Shatter, he laughed heartily, "Learned it? I was born with the power; like literally - I was a c-section baby for a reason! The power came naturally but I couldn't use very few often. When I grew up more and I could use my magic more often, it was pretty obvious that it was linked to my age, not to my energy. The older I get, the more often I use it. But when I use it, crazy things happen."

Gave a nod to Locke's words. It was true that she did start early, however that was just because of her father's death. "You guys are really lucky, I wish magic to me came easy like that. Knowing how to use magic and the naginata would be great, it would give me more versatility. I do have to admit that me and Locke did start early though. At least you have some training done." Lucilla said before she thought of something else to ask. "Hey Brie, what do you mean unfound pieces of your life?"

Lucilla was curious about her two comrades, after all one could use them seemingly all power magic, while the other one could use magic yet didn't know of her life before. More so, the woman learned how to use magic as if it came naturally to her. Lucilla wondered if she started to use magic would it ever come naturally to her? Using some magic would indeed come in handy in battle. However her lack of magic is covered by the Shusen techniques.

Brie felt a wave of relief from the two being so okay with her not having experience, maybe they were right and they started too early. It doesn't matter Brie, just focus on the task at hand...

Brie listened to Locke's explanation, fascinated by how his abilities worked according to his age--it was very unique she thought. "That's quite interesting Locke, tell me, how often can you use it currently?" Brie cleared her thought and continued speaking, this time to Lucilla. "To answer your question, what I meant was, I feel like I have much more power within me. Like I've already lived a life full of fighting, like I've already mastered all kinds of techniques, but. But I can't remember any of it. I like to think the more I learn to do, the more connections to my early life, perhaps I'll remember more. Or maybe I'm just crazy," Brie chuckled a bit, "but that's beside the point. We should focus on the delivery, I think. I'm worried if we get too caught up in ourselves and each other we might overlook something." Brie sighed and looked to the sky, I'll figure things out later--for now, the delivery Brie shifted her gaze forward, glancing at their surroundings, a look of determination on her face.

"Honestly, I haven't went about trying to see how far I can go with my powers. Most days it never crossed my mind and other days I never really needed to use it more than three or four times. Baddies are usually in...some form of shambles when its all said and done," shrugged Locke as he walked, blushing in Lucilla's general direction, staring somewhat hypnotized at Lucilla's tail swaying with each step she took.

Gave a simple nod to Brie's statement. "True, however I like the idea of chatting with people on the way. It makes the trip go faster and it doesn't hurt to know some about your teammates. After all, it would be good to have adventuring friends." Lucilla and glanced down at the datapad to make sure that they were still going on the right pathway. "Oh, you can leave your opponent in shambles? I can't wait till my swordsmanship gets to the point where monster look like slice cheese when I'm finished with them!" Lucilla said, her eyes filling with sparkles at the mere thought of having the Shusen style be known as the greatest style. Lucilla having students by the thousands come to her, begging to learn such a powerful style. Lucilla's tail even started to wiggle faster, ruining the rhythm the tail had with the feet.

After catching calming herself down her tail started to get back in rhythm with her feet. "At least we've covered some distance in the past hour or so. We only have a few more hours to go till we get there."

Brie looked up and sighed inaudibly, A few hours more still? Still? I suppose it's not too bad--it could always be worse, couldn't it? Brie what are you doing? Shut up. Brie looked back down and around. Brie channeled her Qi to her hand and a small flame flared up, then she let it dissipate. Good. I'm ready for whatever... Brie was testing her abilities out of boredom and anxiousness.

"Hey you guys," Brie paused a moment, "Do you really think this will be as simple as delivering this? I might just be being too cautious and careful by nature, but I have no real experience with quests, hunts and the sort. Is this a common occurrence?"

"No, everything is fine. It's a common occurrence that some shady guy was more than willing to have an amnesiac woman and two children deliver a package containing high-profile cybernetic technology," Locke stated, shrugging, "Everything is hunky-dory.

"It's also completely normal that the datapad has a recording device that can hear every word we say. It is also normal for us to to meet our man in what could likely be a strategically disadvantageous location where our powers could be more harm than good. Hold on, this is where it gets good:

"It's also completely normal for our man to have us jumped by skilled hired goons who are, and I'm just spit-balling here, ridiculously flamboyant in nature and can utilize teamwork, which we clearly lack due to our own egos - especially mine; it's horrible and I'm sorry but I can't help myself," stated Locke in an apologetic manner.

And at that moment, Locke stopped in place. His brow furrowed as a frown of discontent formed on his face.

"But you're instincts serve you well, Brie," stated Locke before turning to Lucilla, "This is completely a trap. However, we still got a couple of hours to go before we meet our man. As much as I'd like to abandon this mission, I would also like to turn these guys into glass for thinking they could screw with me. So we should try to talk out some attack combinations and patterns before we get there so we'd be able to do a better job than as we are now. Lucilla, if you have the map memorized, I would strongly suggest you turn off and stifle the datapad."

Lucilla gave a shrug and narrowed her eyes at the datapad. "Okay, I got the map down." Lucilla said and moved her dainty hands over the datapad. After locating the power button she turned the datapad off. "I would've been great if you told me to turn it off earlier if you two had such deep worries about the mission. I would have eagerly turned it off myself. At any rate! Let's hurry up and deliver this package, I can't wait to see how cleanly my blade will cut. After this job I might buy a new mask with a voice modifier... yeah, that does sound like a good idea." Lucilla said to herself, giving a few satisfying nods.

"I have one ranged move, however it isn't really effective to kill. At best it can stun them, however after that I can fend off the person who fights with a weapon." Lucilla said holding up her prized naginata.

Brie was unsure how to react to the high levels of sarcasm that Locke was putting out, she shrugged it off, he's just a child still. No sense to take it further. Brie listened as Lucilla put in her thoughts, So she can hit from a distance too...that's good. And she can hold her own with a weapon up close...Then Locke has his powers, and he's strong from what he said...we're diverse enough...we just need to work together and we should be fine...

Brie looked towards Lucilla, they had all stopped walking to talk for a few moments. "Wait, Lucilla. Let's not rush into this. That's how people get killed. First things first, crush the Datapad. Given what Locke said, I'd be willing to bet there's a back up power supply for the transmitter. We don't need them to know all of our powers. They'll be prepared that way. We can't afford that. Once the Datapad is eliminated, we can talk strategy."

Brie's right hand burst in a ball of flames, and she motioned for Lucilla to throw down and stomp on the Datapad. This way Brie could incinerate it--without knowledge of her fire manipulation spreading like wildfire to the enemy. She remembered her earlier display, Ugh. I hope that guy doesn't say anything to his buddies about seeing that.

Locke looked between the two girls. He wasn't trying to become sarcastic when he stated the scenario earlier, quite the opposite he was being very serious. He knew this was likely how this was going to play out because of how the circumstances were from the start. It was going to be a tough ride so they needed to be cautious. At least now they're getting it.

"Well, at least you guys are taking me seriously," chuckled Locke as he saw Lucilla turning the datapad off, although he leered at Brie when she suggested she destroy it, "How about no. We don't destroy it - despite the current situation, I have a feeling we'll still need it. I'm saying we stifle it by putting it in one of our bags so that way even if there is a backup supply, the transmitter will have a hard time figuring out what we're saying if it's being jumbled around."

Lucilla looked between her two companions who were differing with what to do with the datapad. "Breaking it would be safer, however in case we get lost or something else happens it would be better to have it. Uh, why do I have to make the final choice? She thought to herself, closing her eyes to think of which option she wanted to go with. "I'm not entirely sure what we should do. We could destroy it just to be completely safe, however we might need it in the future. This is a really tough choice to make." Lucilla said, giving a few nods to herself.

With a sigh escaping her lips she handed the datapad to Locke. "I believe that he is right. We might need the datapad for another time, however even if the plan fails we can always think of another one on the spot, we are intelligent beings who can adapt. We seem to have the advantage with Locke's unique magic, as well as your own magic. So I think we can be a little less cautious. This may be me being a little too relaxed or maybe me being too conceited however I just think we should go with this choice."

A feeling we might need it later? That sounds very...conspicuous. Still though he is right...if we muffle it they shouldn't hear much...let's fill the bag with some light debris to muffle it further...and if we shook the bag while speaking...yes...that will work. I can't let me guard down though...and I can't let them know I'm not sure whether to trusty them or not yet...hm. Brie thought to herself as Lucilla spoke her own opinion on the matter. She looked at the two of them, and shrugged.

"If that's how you both feel, then so be it," Brie's Flames died down quickly, "but mix in some light debris--leaves, small sticks, that sort of stuff--in the bag. And shake it when we speak. We may, as Lucilla said, have the abilities to be slightly less cautious, but you can never be too safe. That....orrr I could just incinerate it anyway." Brie chuckled, she wasn't usually like this--so demanding. But she felt with her life also on the line...there needed to be some guidelines...some safety net, so to speak.

"I don't think muddying up my gear with crap lying on the ground is a wise decision," Locke rolled his eyes before stuffing the datapad in his travel pack, "Besides, my bag has a soundproof interior, which helps since I'm carrying around a couple of animal calls in there for hunting... they have a tendency to go off while inside the bag and I can't afford those kinds of distractions."

"Now that is settled, shall we carry on then?"