Heartless in the Rain

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

It looks like rain, bad weather for repairs.
July 26th 2010

The morning came without any idea when the sun would rise and set, as was traveling in the darkest of space. Losing track of time was easy but Ain never did, today however he failed to wake up at 6 am like he had hoped to do the night before as the clock on the wall read 11:42 am and he was still in bed. The dark room he had slept in didn't help any but he wouldn't blame that on having to sleep in the guest room. It was going to be another day and he had to get up to make sure his navigation system didn't change course again. Sometimes he wondered if the ship was alive or something, he swore it had a mind of it's own.

Ain jumped out of bed and left the room, something didn't feel right- the ship wasn't moving. Straightening his body out he ran to the deck of The Graceful Light to check out what had happened, and arrived at the console to investigate. On all screens a world with church was in front of them, typing in a few key strokes he learned the name, Notre Dame. He had no choice this time, he had to fix the navigation system so he decided to land on this world. He wondered if Caroline would be angry that they were making a pit stop but didn't really pay it much attention as the ship quietly landed in a small graveyard to the east of the city. It was raining and dark so no one could see the ship land he thought.

"That should do."

Returning down stairs he sat in the common area in a chair and grabbed a book to read titled, How to Dance Volume VIII, and lost track of time.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Our first stop!
--

Caroline had risen early, expecting Ain to already be up. He wasn't. She buttoned up the front of her dress and pulled on her shoes. She'd slept better than she had in a few days, and for that she was thankful. Feeling rested, she got right to work- starting with making the huge bed. She went around the ship, cleaning what she could but not moving anything. She would walk past the room she knew Ain was sleeping in and wonder when he was going to be awake... it was well past six in the morning and she wanted to get in there and make it at least inhabitable so he could have his own room back.

She was sweeping the common area when Ain came in and picked up a book. She stood there quietly, waiting to be noticed. She walked over. "I've noticed we've landed, Mr. Ain,[/color]" she said. Swept a little bit. "Where have we stopped?[/color]"

She had been expecting stops along the way. In fact, she'd been counting on it. She really did want to pick up some groceries but she hadn't yet figured out how she was going to go about getting the money. It was something she would have to figure out later.

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

'Yeah that will work, I think." he said quietly to himself as he got up and tossed the book back on the bookcase, even though he heard Caroline talking to him he didn't actively acknowledge her right away.

Ain walked in front of Caroline and looked down on her from above from beyond the strands of hair that obstructed his view. He was actually more well rested but it didn't change his dulled body and expressions. "Sorry, but my ship has had a few problems and we were forced to make a stop at a world called, Notre Dame, it will just be for a few hours while the system self repairs." he stated before walking past Caroline and heading to the left of the stairs that head to the deck. "So let's go to town for now."

The wall opened to reveal a door to the outside, even from where they stood they could see the rain coming down outside but he didn't mind the rain that much. Walking slowly he left the ship, the rain coming down hard on him he zipped up his jacket for like the 5th time ever. It was a small graveyard to the east of the city and a church was visible from every direction in the exact center which probably was a place of great interest. Though he was getting soaked, He liked the rain and looked up to the sky to allow the water to purify his face.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Oh, dear...
--

Caroline was excited at first. They were going to town! This would be a great opportunity. Unfortunately, she didn't think she was dressed to go into town but she decided that since this place was so far away from her homeworld that no one would know her. So, no chance of her being utterly embarrassed.

That was, until Ain opened the door. Her heart sunk a little as she looked out the door. Ain just zipped up his jacket and went on out, obviously not caring. Well, it looked like she had no choice. She took a big step out of the ship and into the rain, and instantly started squealing. It didn't take long for her to get soaked and she just stood there, shivering and dripping.

"Can we p-please f-find a building to go into?[/color]" she asked as they walked. She pushed wet strands of blond hair out of her face. "If it's not too much trouble, that is. I'm just afraid I'm going to get sick is all.[/color]"

Considering her delicate health, it was likely if not inevitable she would get sick from being out in this cold rain.

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

Maybe a bit too much rain, Heh.
Memories of Blue

It wasn't the time to stand there getting drenched, taking a moment to take in the waters he looked back down. Realizing that Caroline wasn't exactly enjoying the rain and looked like she could easily catch a cold out here. For once he thought of Caroline's well being and nodded in agreement that they should find a place to take shelter while they take a tour of town. The church in the center of town was probably the best bet at this point, taking a few steps away from the ship the door shut automatically and locked just in case someone found it all the way out here. The rain was still coming down so he had to work fast before they were completely soaked from top to bottom.

"That big church." he said pointing to the west at the big church that towered over the buildings of Paris. "Let's go there before you catch a cold, I'm sure they will let us in."

Obviously he didn't even consider he would catch a cold in the slightest, in that he was entirely confident. When he was younger he was prone to every little illness but now he just seemed to be immune to everything life threw at him. As he relaxed to go he saw a shadow at the corner of his eye, when he turned to look nothing was there but maybe- just maybe he should stay on his toes in the case that it was Heartless he saw.

Ain moved his now wet hair out of his face, and felt the material of his jacket to check how wet it was already. His eyes unblinking as always, looked on ahead as he obviously wasn't in any kind of hurry but that changed when he looked back at the blond girl beside him. Walking ahead he turned back to make sure Caroline was following, rather then wait for her he instead grabbed her hand and pulled her along down the streets of Paris. "Let's hurry." he stated as in no time fast they reached the open town square and the entrance to the cathedral as the bells rung 12 times.

The streets were vacant but he saw a few poorer folk taking refuge in the alleyways, this place reminded him of home. When the rain stopped he would be sure to look around.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Well, okay, I'll just follow you then, if you insist.
--

"Oh! A church. How nice,[/color]" Caroline exclaimed, running along behind him. He'd grabbed her hand and kind of dragged her along. She'd almost lost a shoe, but managed to keep it on until they made it indoors. Caroline was blind to the details Ain saw. She paid no mind to the people taking refuge in the alleys, not out of callousness. "You can let go of me now,[/color]" she whispered once they were inside the cathedral. "That kind of...hurts.[/color]"

She snatched her hand back, clasping her hands together against her chest and looking around at where they were. She'd never been in a cathedral like this, only in the small church her family attended back home. She felt sort of bad for dripping rainwater all over the floor in a place like this. It was so beautiful.

She wandered a few steps away from Ain, just looking around and taking everything in. She dropped her hands to her sides. "It's so...quiet in here,[/color]" she said, again in a whisper, afraid to break the silence. "Are you sure we're supposed to be in here?[/color]"

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

I was careless, is winning all these enemies possible.
Touhou-Magus Night(Battle theme)
---------------------------------------------------

It took him a second after Caroline pulled her hand away to realize that he must have still been holding her hand even after they arrived, he would have thought that he would let it go on his own. "My apologizes, I didn't realize that I was still holding your hand." he said as he stood like stone, unmoving and unemotional. He blinked slightly as he looked around, this was probably the first time he came to a church without being thrown out like trash but he was now a different person then he was at that time. It didn't change the fact that he had no idea what to do once inside.

"Sort of creepy in here." he stated quietly mostly to himself as walked off to the left side of the main hall that was divided by pillars. It appeared that no one was there right now, and it was quiet as hell. He was sure that no one would have a problem with waiting out the rain inside this big church.

Ain walked slowly around the pillars and back to the middle section that was lit rather beautifully by candles, the question of whether they are suppose to be in here he did not have a answer as the priest was no where to be found and the other residence were probably at home due to the rain. While he was here he had to take the chance to dry his clothing before going back out somehow or he would probably catch a cold even if he hadn't for years. It was better not to take chances even if he wasn't the best dressed for the weather, Caroline was much worse off in a dress.

"We should be fine in here, just relax and try not to get lost."

His unblinking eyes looked around once more, he knew that they probably shouldn't wander around the upper levels. Returning to the center area he walked next to Caroline and stood unmoving for a time, it was quiet, almost too much so. He almost wished something would happen to break the silence.

At that very moment Heartless appeared through waves in darkness around them, many Heartless of different types and strengths. Among them were 10 or so each Soldier heartless, Lance heartless and Gargoyle Knight heartless- their might of been more but the pillar obstructed both Ain and Caroline's sight. Instinctively Ain extended the blade from his gauntlet ready for a serious battle, he looked to Caroline for a second, It was too late to get her out of harms way so she was most certainly stuck in the middle with him.

"Heartless." he stated dully, his eyes narrowing at the sight of them. "Caroline, stay close to me."

[Fate]

Sing the Bells of Notre Dame

Twelve in the afternoon, a not too busy time of day, right? There wasn't a mass for a while, not that she knew off. Still, the bells of Notre Dame sounded to signal the time of day to all around. Lanie looked up from what her knitting, which she wasn't that great at anyway, to look out the window when they sounded. Even though she was used to the sounds by now, and even with all of this rain, the bells still sounded beautiful to her.

"Il est midi." Her youngest brother, Jacque, came and told her this. He looked out the window as well, tilting his head to the side. From their window, they could see the tall bell towers of Notre Dame. Still speaking French, he continued to say, "Mother wants you to go to the bakery for bread-- for dinner." Lanie sighed to this, still looking outside. She couldn't exactly complain about going out in this rain; her mother wouldn't let her stay inside if she needed something. She nodded her head to her brother, grabbed a hooded cloak and her rod, just for safety, to put on, and ran outside.

Lanie went as quickly as possible to get to the bakery. It was summer, so the rain wasn't cold-- still didn't make her want to stay outside though. However, as she started going toward the bakery, she looked toward Notre Dame. There would be no harm in visiting the cathedral today, right? Her mother would not notice if she was gone too long and she hadn't been in the great Notre Dame for some time. She walked past the bakery and set her course for Notre Dame.

What she found peculiar when she got there was that two strange people, at least what she thought were strange, went inside. She had never seen clothes like these ones; never that shade of pink before. They went inside the church too. Curious, like she normally, was, she followed and went inside after they did.

It was dark when she got inside, and quiet. The other people that came in before she did were speaking English, an odd dialect of it. The English she knew came from England and didn't sound anything like this. Just who were they then? And why were they hiding in the church? Unfortunately, she didn't have much time to ask. Those creatures suddenly appeared in the church, about ten of them. Elaine couldn't say she liked the thought of these creatures appearing in this holy place at all. One of the other people looked like they were going to try and fight; though, not of the girl of course.

"I should not be doing this..." she muttered to herself, speaking her native French. But there was no other choice; these creatures had to be expelled from this place. She took out her rod and aimed it at one of the creatures. A fireball hit one of the Soldier Heartless; it didn't get rid of it, but it did something.

[Battle Report
Elaine used Feu
Three post cooldown, four uses left]

[/size]

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Good Lord, what are those things!?
--

Caroline hadn't noticed Ain come stand next to her. Not really, at any rate, she was much too distracted by the architecture. In fact, the Heartless showing up was the only thing that jerked her out of her curious staring. She screamed, stifled the scream (causing a choking sound) and did as she was told and stayed close to Ain. Very close. She hid behind him and grabbed his sleeve in terror, trying not to shout. What were those things? She had not been introduced to the Heartless yet- they weren't common on her homeworld and she didn't venture away from home often enough to come in contact with them. Daddy had very well protected his baby girl from all the dangers in the world.

Part of her wish she'd brought her weapon along. The gun wouldn't have done much good, but it did even less good sitting on the bedside table back at the ship. How stupid of her to leave it, but there it couldn't be helped now. Ain would protect her, though... right? She didn't know what she would do if she was left on her own to defend herself against these creatures... she didn't even know what they were!

Suddenly, a fireball came from thin air. Or so it seemed. She hadn't seen the origin of the spell- magic, too!? This place was a mad house!- so to Caroline it seemed that now, fire was springing from space. The fireball hit one of the smaller creatures, but it didn't go away.

Caroline let go of Ain's sleeve, realizing that was probably going to handicap him somehow and they needed all the help they could get. Still trying very very hard to keep herself under control, she looked for whatever it was that had caused that fireball. The only thing she saw was the candlesticks (unlikely) and... a girl.

This couldn't be good.

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

I hate heartless!!

It was another encounter with heartless after a long wait, they appeared to be different then the normal heartless fair. Was the world that heartless were on effect the form they take, it must have been true, they must have took shapes similar to the life present in the world. When he thought about it his memory immediately recalled a time long before, he was still young and his life on the fishing boat had been going on for about 2 years. Nothing was perfect and they struggled everyday, however they were happy with what they had. Then as if out of no where the heartless attacked, as much as he thought about it he couldn't see them clearly and froze in place as they took his father's heart away. The odds of survival were zero so Ain just gave up and allowed himself to fall- that was all he remembered, that day he should have died but here he stands.

He heard some french words that he could not understand behind him faintly, soon after a ball of fire flew over his shoulder and hit one of the heartless. It was surely magic, it was a rare power to have and heard that only very few in Atlantica were capable of using it at all. His dull unblinking eyes turned to Elaine for a second, not a shred of emotion or judgment before he swiftly turned back. Taking one step forward he slashed the staggered heartless that was hit by the fireball and destroyed it before it could recover.

Ain looked back at the blond girl, thankful the girl with the black magic was on their side or was she. He rather not consider the possibility that she just missed him when she cast, for now he would trust Elaine. He didn't have time to create any strategies as 2 of the Lance heartless were failing the lances they held at Ain and Caroline, stepping in between them he readied himself to stop them- a Gargoyle knight heartless at the same moment snuck in from within the pillars and flew in to slash at Caroline, the remaining Soldier heartless pulled back at little bit for the moment. Activating Aura Rage, what looked to be red flames covered his whole body and turning his eyes red as a result, the blade of his sword also extended by the flame giving him a almost demonic appearance.

"Dammit." he stated almost in a mumble as he matched the lance attacks from both Lance Heartless at once with his increased speed and power from Aura Rage, as he did he saw the Gargoyle heartless but was unable to help while he was engaged to combat with the Lance Heartless.

[Battle Report
Ain used Aura Rage
Three post cooldown, 1 use left]

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Caroline's Epic B!tch Slap Ability
--

Well, shoot. She was on her own. Ain was busy with a different creature- she still didn't know what to call them- so he couldn't come save her from this one coming at her. She stood there frozen for a moment, eyes going wide... and then, as it drew closer, she squealed and shut her eyes and did the only thing she could think of to defend herself.

She slapped it.

Hard.

Her hand connected with stone and pain shot up her arm. The Gargoyle went flying, hit a pillar and exploded... but not before putting a sizable crack in the pillar. Meanwhile, Caroline was doubled over her hand, jumping around a little bit. "Oh, ow, ow, ow, ow,[/color]" she hissed. "Oh, my word, that hurts.[/color]"

She didn't do pain. She was a delicate flower who wept when she got a hangnail. She bit her lip, holding back the tears that were coming now. Come on now, Caroline. Don't cry yet, just wait until later... you can't let them see you weak, now, can you? she told herself, and straightened up. She announced, quite unnecessarily "I got it.[/color]"

And then, she asked herself How in the blazes did I do that?! She didn't know she was that strong...

--
Battle Report:
Caroline used [Why, I Never...!]
3 posts until next use.
2 uses left.

[Fate]

He's Not Truly a Demon... Right?

Oops, she surprised both of them-- hopefully they wouldn't report her magic to anyone nearby. Well, the man didn't seem as surprised as the girl. The man then took on the craziest of appearances, one that made him look like a demon, and attacked the creatures with the lances. The girl attacked the one that looked like one of the gargoyles, but there was another type left. This type looked like a soldier with its helmet and odd attire; there were a few of them too. Maybe she should finish a couple off while the man and the girl took care of the others. The girl, despite her looks, actually could do some good damage with her bare hands.

This wasn't what Elaine was used to at all by any stretch of the means, but she tried. She ran in as fast as she could and whacked the soldier creature as hard as she could. Unfortunately, one hit wasn't going to cut it. She hit it again-- it didn't disappear. She hit it a few more times with her rod, whacking the creature as hard as she could until it disappeared. She smiled, proud of herself. Although, there were still a couple more standing and waiting to attack. One of them was running straight toward her!

She readied her rod and sent it flying into a pillar. It didn't crack, thankfully, but the creature wasn't destroyed either. She'd be able to handle these few creatures, right? Then she would just have to leave the church before the man and girl could say anything to anyone, get the bread, and return home. She didn't want word to get out that she had used magic when she wasn't supposed to, or had gone in the cathedral when she was supposed to be doing something else.

[/size]

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

Crap, I can't move. Give me a second.

The flails of the Lance heartless halted after many attacks leaving a rather large opening between the both of them, he was getting used to fighting heartless by now but a challenge was always present. As his skill rose, he felt like one day he would be strong enough to handle them himself. Moving in close he used Swift Blow that was augmented by his Aura Rage that was still in effect, slashing with unreal speed he slayed both of the heartless and flipped backwards. As he landed he caught sight of Caroline's slap to the Gargoyle knight heartless, it destroyed it outright, what the heck was that- even he couldn't destroy heartless with one hit.

He looked to the side at Elaine beating a heartless to death, why was she helping Caroline and himself? He could not understand the motive.

"Good job." he stated bluntly to Caroline, he had yet to say anything to the other girl but that could wait. As his attention fell on the remaining three soldier heartless, one of which was just sent flying by the new girl, Elaine.

Ain straightened himself out and used Dancing Feint. The ability allowed him to use many intricate dancing motions in combat, moving fast with the most careful and light steps- he spun and arrived next to the two soldier heartless that were next to the candles in the center. Attacking fast he dealt heavy damage to one of them with a punching cut before dancing back only a few steps. Slashing quickly afterwards he used his increased speed(from Aura Rage) to slash several times and destroy the two soldier heartless without much trouble. The remaining heartless soon fell from above from the cracked pillar, without much further thought he jumped up and upper-cutted it with his blade gauntlet- destroying that heartless as well since it was already weakened.

The heartless were gone for now.

Since he didn't think the last action through he fell to the floor, landing on his back. "Ouch." he stated as he just laid there, his Aura Rage ending at that moment causing the flames to disappear and his eyes to turn dark once more. He was tired again from using Aura Rage, it was really taxing to use but it was needed to win. He just wanted to lay there for a little bit, using so much of his skills at once was not something he should have done, yet he did it anyway. Turning his head to Elaine, he stared for a second. "That was black magic, wasn't it?" he asked as he stayed on the ground.

[Battle Report
Ain used Swift blow
Four post cooldown, One use left
-------------------------
Ain used Dancing Feint
Two post coodown, Four uses left]

[Fate]

Time to Flee

That man, what was he? She had never seen men do what he did. With the fire still around him, he moved quickly and destroyed those creatures with a grace she didn't expect. He danced throughout, which Elaine couldn't understand how he did. How was he capable of doing those things? Where did he learn those things? Was he perhaps not from around here? Oh, but she couldn't go back to those thoughts. There weren't other worlds out there; everyone had told her time and time again that there couldn't be and she had finally begun to believe them. These people looked like they were from another world, but Elaine couldn't --wouldn't-- assume that.

Finally, all of the creatures were gone. The man stopped glowing red and became normal once more. Now that the creatures had been finished off, he looked to her, speaking in English. She understood it, but she didn't want to. Black magic? She wanted to shake her head. If anyone heard the words he just said and what he asked, she would be in trouble. That was what her magic was called too: black magic.

"Do not... do not tell anyone," she said, doing her best to speak English but stuttering. She slipped back into French as she decided she needed to go. "J'ai aller." She abruptly turned around and started on her way out. Hopefully, word wouldn't go around...

[/size]

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Is it over?
--

Caroline had watched Ain take care of the rest of the creatures, whatever they were. They were safe again, for the time being. He fell to the ground, exhausted from using whatever powers he had that made him able to pull off those attacks, and Caroline rushed over. "Are you okay?[/color]" she asked, but it was quickly apparent that she was being ignored in favor of something more interesting: the girl. Ain mentioned black magic, and this made Caroline's breath catch in her throat. Where she was from, black magic... witchcraft... those sorts of things? They were extremely negative. Everyone feared people with connections to magic, real magic not just stage magic. They were condemned, cast out as demons and witches.

So it was understandable why Caroline was a bit confused. This girl had used magic... to help them? It made her head spin. But before she got a chance to ask any questions, the girl fled and left Ain and Caroline alone in the sanctuary. To her surprise, Caroline could understand a bit of what the girl had said before leaving. She was speaking French, which she knew a bit of from her schooling back home. Of course, she didn't speak the dialect found in her home town, which was strange she supposed. The blond woman turned her attention to her travelling companion.

"Are you alright?[/color]" she asked again, kneeling down to help him up. "I don't want to sound ignorant, but what were those things?[/color]"