zenderael_mmo | EVENT: The Berserker Tournament

[Oh my God thank you for the deflection, Ezra, you are wonderful]

It's a bit terrifying, actually. I've never seen them fight before...

[Rhys hasn't lost yet, thankfully, but she's wondering what happens if he does. Would a berserker just reach right through him for the stomach? Oh that would be disgusting.]

And, you know, I didn't think the King would actually come. I'm worried about the Ahura, if he has to go against him.

[not so thank you for the deflection, ezra, because ravi is not comfortable with having attention called to him by being talked about. he can't even say anything about it because ezra's his boss. he does look kind of uncomfortable, though--that's all the signal you're getting.]

[and now they are talking about the tournament, which he doesn't feel like weighing in on. he's only here to watch virelai and alex compete, basically, and conversation's not close enough to that for him to contribute it.]

[so he is falling back on his habit of staying silent in groups until directly addressed because that's the easiest way not to make a fool of yourself.]

[sorry ravi, but not that sorry]

Yeah, I guess it is. [he's been trying to decide what he thinks about it, and his decision seems to be that he's more concerned about the violence in respect to the consequences if rhys loses than the violence on its own

training with rhys will do that, he supposes]

Yeah, Aervaes is doing surprisingly well. If anyone knew, they downplayed it spectacularly. Savarna, have you ever heard anything about Aervaes being some kind of amazing fighter?

Edited 2012-12-08 07:29 (UTC)

[His attention snaps back to the conversation, almost like he's been startled by suddenly being addressed.]

Ah...

He was always said to be a warrior, but nobody ever said anything about him fighting well enough to beat experienced adventurers.

[ she had looked down at Ezra's comment, then up at Ravi, hoping he might have answer. He does, but it isn't satisfactory at all, and her expression falls again, only to lift hopefully once more. ]

Does he have a weakness? An allergy or a fear, perhaps?

I don't think the Ahura could do something like that if it comes to him fighting the king, Evelyn. He needs to prove he's worthy of being the Ahura, and if he has to exploit a weakness in order to beat someone, then I think that makes him weak to the other berserkers.

[That's right, isn't it? Suddenly, she's wishing she paid a little more attention to the lore of guilds that weren't paladins.]

Eileen's right. [he rubs his chin thoughtfully] I'm more concerned over not having had the knowledge...

[he glances out towards the arena again before finally shaking his head and giving a small shrug] Well, I'm not going to worry about it. The Ahura's got a handle on this. Let Aervaes wear himself out fighting his way to the top.

[doesn't mean he isn't uneasy, though]

Where'd you guys meet, anyway? Don't get out of Bastan much, sorry- Evelyn, you said?

[And he goes right back to not being relevant any more. SORRY GUYS, YOU ARE ALL STRANGERS OR CASUAL ACQUAINTANCES AT BEST, HE IS NOT COMFORTABLE IN THIS CONVERSATION.]

It isn't weak to exploit the weaknesses of others, it's strategic.

[ just kind of says that in tandem with ezra's response because she feels strongly about this ok!! ]

Ah... I met Eileen in Bastan. I was visiting it right after the berserker parade. We were boys. [ she brightens momentarily and plucks the apple from the elemental's mouth ] Eranthis had a bow.

[ and takes a bite out of it. whocurr if it was in the jaws of an earth turtle ]

[Eileen opens her mouth in an attempt to tell Evelyn that fighting is everything to the berserkers, but, before she can, Evelyn's off answering Ezra's question. She should probably stay on that topic, then.]

It was a very cute bow. It had polka dots.

[Eileen smiles a bit at that]

But she was the one I told you about, the one who's been here since February.

[And, just like that, Eileen realizes exactly what just came out of her mouth. Oh God. Oh God Ravi's going to hate her now. He's going to wonder why is a random paladin recruit so familiar with the Spenta and OH GOD

Eileen is now staring at Ravi with wide eyes and bracing herself for potential Ravi explosion]

[even ezra doesn't really notice what eileen said and how it can be taken, nodding at her input and looking back to evelyn and missing any potential weirdness between ravi and her]

February, huh? Uh... [he takes a moment to think about when he came, and it's surprisingly hard to remember] March? I think I came in March... God, I can't remember anymore. Boys... ah! You were here for the prank! Of course. [he grins widely] That was pretty good, right? I thought I was my sister every time I looked in the mirror.

[ahh... turtle. so cute. makes him a little sad again that he didn't get a chance to choose his guild, though he'd have probably gone pally again anyway]

Edited 2012-12-09 05:53 (UTC)

[Wow Evelyn that's gross. (As if he has never continued eating food right after Mittens stole some from his plate.)]

[There's some mild discomfort at the reminder of Vepha's prank, but it fades in exchange for confusion when he sees Eileen's reaction.]

[wh-why is she staring at him like that. did he do something wrong? he's barely even said anything!]

[it completely goes over his head that she's implying familiarity with the Spenta, and he definitely doesn't put it together with her vaguely outsider phrasing from earlier. she is way overestimating his (terrible) ability to thread information together into a conclusion]

[omg eileen stop staring at him stop it]

Is...something the matter, Wallace? [Or should he have called her Eileen again? Shit, he is terrible at casual.]

Yes! I experienced the ability to aim. Very useful in the wild.

[ she doesn't notice Eileen's horror until Ravi calls attention to it; she glances at her, head cocked ]

[Wait, has Ravi seriously not picked up on any of this? Eileen had thought it was all painfully obvious, but apparently not. Ravi, you are apparently not the most observant person in the world.]

No!

[.....that was a little too quick, wasn't it?]

Well, no, that's a lie, but I'm not sure if I can explain, really.

[And now Eileen's kind of kicking herself. Shouldn't she own up to what she is if she's going to slip up around Ravi the longer she's there with Ezra and Evelyn? But what if he hates her if she tells him? THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM, YOU GUYS, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW.]

[he stares at evelyn a moment and then just cracks up, because wow he did not expect that

he can't even comment back on it, and by the time he's stopped he's had to take his glasses off to wipe at his eyes] Y-yeah, I guess it is.

[eileen and ravi's exchange is just barely noticed... and eileen? he's got a small idea actually

he's still holding back some laughs, and he rubs at his nose, trying to compose himself again, eyebrows raised]

Zat so?

[didn't even catch whatever it was Evelyn said that has the Spenta laughing]

[he is fine with ignoring their half of the conversation if eileen needs his attention, at least he knows how to talk to her]

Do you need to talk? [as in, elsewhere, privately]

[ my, what a jolly fellow ezra is! her own smile brightens, and then she takes another bite out of her apple before remembering, unfortunately, as she chews, that she does not actually have an appetite ]

Mmhm. Eileen, you're terribly jumpy right now. [ glances at ezra ] And you are terribly jolly. [ she glances at ravi ] Are you terribly something, too?

[Eileen really doesn't want to have this conversation with Ravi, guys. :( Stop calling attention to her. The worst part about all of this is that she knows she should probably tell Ravi about this; she just didn't want to do it now. She thought she had more time.]

We probably should talk, but...

[Argh, Ezra, stop laughing at her. She knows you are. :( This is a big deal for her.]

This really isn't how I wanted to tell you, Ravi.

Sorry. [he grins at evelyn] You spend all day with a bunch of pallies and see how much laughing you get to do.

[not that it was entirely their fault but paladins + humour was a hard combo to come by

her comment to ravindra earns a bit of a quirk of the mouth but he keeps it to himself, glancing aside a moment before looking back, an eyebrow arched. there's no need to make it sound like a confession of love, eileen, seriously]

[WOW ezra that's a hell of a way to talk about your guild there, respect-- for badmouthing your subordinates to some Earth girl you just met right in front of them]

[there is some stunned indignation on his face that turns into regular indignation when Evelyn addresses him. she probably thinks she's being funny, but he hates that kind of thing.]

[instead of responding to any of it, he sets a hand on Eileen's shoulder and guides her away from the group so they can talk off to the side]

[Eileen's mostly just following Ravi in silence so she doesn't blurt out something incredibly stupid. She's pretty sure Ezra's laughing at her, and now she's about to tell Ravi she's from Earth, probably also that she's a player, too, because, let's face it, if she's going to be telling him the truth, she should probably tell him all of it or he's never going to trust her ever again.

Not that she's sure he trusts her in the first place. She's technically just a student to him, but that's totally not the point.

It's only once they're off to the side that Eileen says anything at all.]

This is going to be hard...

[It's okay, Eileen. You can do this. Deep breaths.]

See, the thing is I'm worried that once I tell you what I'm about to tell you, you're going to hate me or never trust me ever again. I wouldn't blame you for it, by the way, especially since this wasn't how I wanted to tell you anything, but...

[adsfjkwef;kljafds Eileen, you're rambling. Stop it.

Also, that is one awkward case of trailing off and once again not looking at you, Ravi. Sorry.]

[can't say he isn't nervous, she sounds so reluctant to say anything, it must be dire. but he waits (anxiously) for her to explain]

[and...she...doesn't explain... in fact, she just makes him even more anxious about whatever it is she has to tell him]

[he's her instructor, though. he's supposed to be somebody she feels comfortable going to for advice. personal advice, too. so he has to promise himself he won't react harshly, no matter what she has to say]

[and then he has to promise her the same thing]

Tell me what, Wallace?

[wait no he forgot the important part can we do over]

[Okay. Take two. You can do this, Eileen. You just... might not want to look at him. Just to be safe.]

Um... Well, the thing is...

[No, wait, not looking at him is probably a bad plan. Let's... try this again. Looking at him this time. Anais would be so disappointed in you, Eileen, if she knew her player was being a complete wuss about this.]

I haven't exactly been honest with you, or with any of the other paladins. I didn't want them to treat me any differently, so I just omitted a few things and lied about what I couldn't. My name is Eileen. I didn't lie about that, but I'm not from Safta like I've been telling everyone.

[Eileen pauses to take a deep breath and lets it out slowly.]

I'm from Earth.

[There was going to be more that she was going to say after that, but she decides it would probably be better to close her mouth and wait for Ravi's reaction. After all, if he up and snaps at her, he probably wouldn't want to hear the rest.]

[sinking feeling as she keeps talking. he's absolutely certain she's going to say something terrible, like she had to run away from home because she murdered her family, or something--murder doesn't count to kick you out of the paladins unless you do it as a paladin, right?]

[but the actual admission that follows is...]

[well]

[he doesn't quite know how to react to it]

[it's certainly not what he expected to hear, but it does explain why she was so antsy during that conversation. she was afraid ravi would realize it if he had to watch her around two other people he knew were from earth]

[well, being from earth by itself isn't so bad...]

Ah...

[completely lackluster nonreaction but he mostly just seems uncertain. at least he didn't hit her?]

[.....that's it? That was honestly not the sort of reaction she was expecting, but it was infinitely better than him trying to punch her or something. Though if she's being honest with him, she really should tell him the rest of it.]

And when you started training me wasn't exactly the first time we've spoken, though you didn't know it was me. Up until I came here, I played Anais Vallinar.

[Will he believe that? She isn't really sure, but considering she's so different from Anais herself, it might be a little hard for anybody to believe if they didn't know her.]

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