[That's...an interesting offer. Still suspicious, and Miyako finds it rather distasteful as well, but conflict resolution would be the best course of action. And the easiest and fastest way to resolve the conflict would be agree. There was the chance that it may end well for her to think about as well.]
There's no need to go to such extremes, but I will accept your offer. I admit that it would be greatly beneficial for me to have you as an advance guard. It will certainly make my journey easier.
I am Miyako Hotsuin. Well met.
[She would say, "Good to meet you," but, well, that wasn't exactly true at the moment, was it?]
[Meeting this alter-ego in any moment is never a good.]
I'm Cerberus. A pleasure to meet your acquaintance miss Hotsuin.
[Hold on a tick. That was a japanese name.]
Pardon me if I accidentally called you by your first name. I know that it's impolite to do such a thing and I have difficulty getting used to the....pattern of which you introduce yourself.
[Well, at least he's not rude, even if he's suspicious. A small boon, but one she'll accept. His name, on the other hand... Miyako's a demon tamer; she's well aware of what his name is. The question on her mind now is whether he chose that name for himself, or if it was assigned to him by someone else.]
Miss Hotsuin is quite fine, Mr. Cerberus. Thank you for showing concern over what to call me; I greatly appreciate your civility.
[Her voice is sincere. Still stand-offish, but completely sincere. She's not mocking him with her appreciation of his manners.]
Well then, with introductions out of the way, shall we progress? I imagine you also have no desire to remain here for any longer than necessary.
[He turns around and ends up taking point anyway, mostly out of habit and dedication.]
If my compass is correct, we should be facing west right now. You mentioned that you know where you are so assume we should be able to navigate back to this particular point should we need to back track, yes?
[After barely a second of consideration, Miyako cautiously closes her eyes for a moment to regain her focus and to visualize the path she's taken so far.]
...Yes. I should be able to, provided that nothing in the maze is capable of disorienting me. I will follow your lead on this, Mr. Cerebus. Please let me know if you need to be reminded of how we've progressed.
[He's not sure who she really is, but he likes the cut of her jib. Competent, unusually calm but, he's able to determine that she's not an enemy. Why couldn't most civs be like her.]
For now, it would be best to establish some kind of unit of distance. Since we can't exactly measure anything accurately, let me know when we've made five turns so at least we can create some sem-
[His speech is cut off when a large demon patient appears from the corner they were approaching, and rams it's shoulder into him and effectively pinning him to the wall. He growls in pain but at the last minute, managed to summon a bit of his chest plate armor to absorb some of the force. Still hurt like a bitch though.]
[It probably helps that she's not a civilian. Not according to herself and most people, at any rate.
Cerebus getting pinned is cause for concern. She's seen him tear through enemies, so she isn't too concerned for his safety even with the sound of pain, but at the same time, he was taken off guard because of her. Either way, threats must be eliminated. If she had her weapons with her, dispatching the patient would take little effort at all. As she does not, she must resort to using the Dragon Stream.
She begins to channel its power, glowing gold with a visible aura of power, but suddenly stops in shock. She draws the power back into her for a second as her face contorts into an expression of pain and understanding, but then unleashes the power again. This time, it's very controlled, and there's the sense she is using just as much power as she needs, and no more.
It's enough to make the patient stop moving, and the pressure from it eases away.]
[He totally got this, no biggie. But when he sees Miyako suddenly start to glow gold, he starts wondering what she has. When his opponent suddenly lets up and stop moving, he already began to recite one of his staple spells. A pair of green lights glow from under his mask where his eyes would be and both hands are wrapped in jade green lightning.]
Don't have to tell me twice!
[He places both hands on the demon's head, the lightning immediately coursing through him and effectively singeing it. He kicks the demon in the chest and it falls over backwards and out cold.]
That was shocking, but easily dealt with. Thank you for your assistance. Let's processed before it wakes up.
[Though after that, even if it did wake up it wouldn't be able to follow.]
[The pun flies right past her. She's not unfamiliar with lightning spells—she's seen and thrown out her fair share of Ziodynes—but she's never seen a spell incantation in the way he does it. Her main source of magic came from technology and directly from the Dragon Stream, although she's heard of and studied older magical systems before.
But her curiosity about his magic is put on hold. Not being able to access the Dragon Stream made sense. Its source was the Earth, but that's been destroyed. There's nothing she can do about it other than wisely conserving and feeding what little she has stored in her own body. Bah. Planning can wait. She needs to escape.]
[He's just as curious about her magic, or what he thinks was magic. It glowed but with the discovery of multiple worlds, he's not entirely sure if technology from somewhere could replicate magic. No matter, he presses forward contemplating if he should summon his sword now just in case.
His pace doesn't slow down following the attack, but he does signal for her to slow down so he could check the corners for enemies. After about half an hour, he signals for them to stop to rest.]
[That is a lot more accurate than he was hoping for.]
Hmm. We've come pretty far. Let's rest for the time being while the coast seems clear.
[Though he says that, he continues to stand vigilant and the only change in his posture is that he's leaning on one leg and resting his left hand on his hip as if a sword were placed there.]
Dragon Stream...Are those similar to the concept of Ley Lines?
[A beat.]
There's a concept or theory from my world that dictates some kind of spiritual energy that flows beneath the earth. If I'm not mistaken, there's an Asian term for the theory called "Dragon Lines".
[Miyako is startled at how much he knew. True, ley lines and such were common knowledge in her world, but most people believed them to be occult, new age nonsense. The connection between the real deal and the Dragon Stream was kept secret to dissuade people from realizing the truth, but Cerebus... How did he come to learn of it?]
I am...impressed that you know of it. You are correct; the Dragon Stream pulls power from the Earth's ley lines. As Earth is [a beat as she pushes down her feelings] no more, my access to them has been naturally cut off as well.
I have only recently arrived, so I have not had ample opportunity to try anything. Furthermore, I am loathe to expend what remains of my power until I know more. I will not make such a reckless gamble without information. As the Dragon Stream's power is intrinsically tied to that of Earth's, I do not know if I will be capable of tapping into any ley lines found here.
[That, and her power was inherited, and even that was given to her family from others long, long ago. Then again, Saiduq is here with her, and he would hopefully know something about how that power was created in the first place.]
But I thank you for the suggestion. You have opened some new paths of possibility for me.
[Wary does not even begin to describe how she feels about someone else obtaining a power like the Dragon Stream.]
Ah, that certainly is a possibility. You must tell me if anything comes out of your attempts. However, for now, I believe it best to proceed. We have been in this maze for some time, after all.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Richter
[That's...an interesting offer. Still suspicious, and Miyako finds it rather distasteful as well, but conflict resolution would be the best course of action. And the easiest and fastest way to resolve the conflict would be agree. There was the chance that it may end well for her to think about as well.]
There's no need to go to such extremes, but I will accept your offer. I admit that it would be greatly beneficial for me to have you as an advance guard. It will certainly make my journey easier.
I am Miyako Hotsuin. Well met.
[She would say, "Good to meet you," but, well, that wasn't exactly true at the moment, was it?]
no subject
I'm Cerberus. A pleasure to meet your acquaintance miss Hotsuin.
[Hold on a tick. That was a japanese name.]
Pardon me if I accidentally called you by your first name. I know that it's impolite to do such a thing and I have difficulty getting used to the....pattern of which you introduce yourself.
[Cause really Inaba was just way too fussy.]
no subject
Miss Hotsuin is quite fine, Mr. Cerberus. Thank you for showing concern over what to call me; I greatly appreciate your civility.
[Her voice is sincere. Still stand-offish, but completely sincere. She's not mocking him with her appreciation of his manners.]
Well then, with introductions out of the way, shall we progress? I imagine you also have no desire to remain here for any longer than necessary.
no subject
[He turns around and ends up taking point anyway, mostly out of habit and dedication.]
If my compass is correct, we should be facing west right now. You mentioned that you know where you are so assume we should be able to navigate back to this particular point should we need to back track, yes?
no subject
...Yes. I should be able to, provided that nothing in the maze is capable of disorienting me. I will follow your lead on this, Mr. Cerebus. Please let me know if you need to be reminded of how we've progressed.
no subject
For now, it would be best to establish some kind of unit of distance. Since we can't exactly measure anything accurately, let me know when we've made five turns so at least we can create some sem-
[His speech is cut off when a large demon patient appears from the corner they were approaching, and rams it's shoulder into him and effectively pinning him to the wall. He growls in pain but at the last minute, managed to summon a bit of his chest plate armor to absorb some of the force. Still hurt like a bitch though.]
no subject
Cerebus getting pinned is cause for concern. She's seen him tear through enemies, so she isn't too concerned for his safety even with the sound of pain, but at the same time, he was taken off guard because of her. Either way, threats must be eliminated. If she had her weapons with her, dispatching the patient would take little effort at all. As she does not, she must resort to using the Dragon Stream.
She begins to channel its power, glowing gold with a visible aura of power, but suddenly stops in shock. She draws the power back into her for a second as her face contorts into an expression of pain and understanding, but then unleashes the power again. This time, it's very controlled, and there's the sense she is using just as much power as she needs, and no more.
It's enough to make the patient stop moving, and the pressure from it eases away.]
I cannot maintain this! Destroy it!
no subject
Don't have to tell me twice!
[He places both hands on the demon's head, the lightning immediately coursing through him and effectively singeing it. He kicks the demon in the chest and it falls over backwards and out cold.]
That was shocking, but easily dealt with. Thank you for your assistance. Let's processed before it wakes up.
[Though after that, even if it did wake up it wouldn't be able to follow.]
no subject
But her curiosity about his magic is put on hold. Not being able to access the Dragon Stream made sense. Its source was the Earth, but that's been destroyed. There's nothing she can do about it other than wisely conserving and feeding what little she has stored in her own body. Bah. Planning can wait. She needs to escape.]
Agreed. We ought to continue before more appear.
no subject
His pace doesn't slow down following the attack, but he does signal for her to slow down so he could check the corners for enemies. After about half an hour, he signals for them to stop to rest.]
Miss Hotsuin, how many corners have we passed?
no subject
Eleven corners have been passed. Seven turning left, and four turning right.
no subject
Hmm. We've come pretty far. Let's rest for the time being while the coast seems clear.
[Though he says that, he continues to stand vigilant and the only change in his posture is that he's leaning on one leg and resting his left hand on his hip as if a sword were placed there.]
Earlier...was that magic you used?
no subject
[She crosses her arms as she debates how much to let him know.]
The name of my power is the Dragon Stream. I doubt you would have heard of it.
no subject
[A beat.]
There's a concept or theory from my world that dictates some kind of spiritual energy that flows beneath the earth. If I'm not mistaken, there's an Asian term for the theory called "Dragon Lines".
no subject
I am...impressed that you know of it. You are correct; the Dragon Stream pulls power from the Earth's ley lines. As Earth is [a beat as she pushes down her feelings] no more, my access to them has been naturally cut off as well.
no subject
[If he ever gets back home, he has to try if he can do the same with his mana.]
Have you maybe tried connecting to the ley lines of this world? I'm sure this place must have some.
no subject
[That, and her power was inherited, and even that was given to her family from others long, long ago. Then again, Saiduq is here with her, and he would hopefully know something about how that power was created in the first place.]
But I thank you for the suggestion. You have opened some new paths of possibility for me.
no subject
I'm glad to be of service.
[He places a hand to his chin, recollecting the book he read about ley lines.]
Interesting. Perhaps I should explore the idea myself...
no subject
Ah, that certainly is a possibility. You must tell me if anything comes out of your attempts. However, for now, I believe it best to proceed. We have been in this maze for some time, after all.