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 Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2015 12:17 am
This is a Private RP between Cesc and Xiu The old man observed the training going on in Sports Complex A with a proprietary air. The club had indeed come a long way since its early days. Back when the number of students interested in learning a dying art numbered no more than ten. It was all thanks to the media such as television, comic books and movies. As much as he loathed to admit it, Prof. Estoc could not overlook the impact the media had on these young minds. Much like how several years ago there was a huge influx of hopefuls wanting to learn forensics. And now with all the hype going on about vampires… The Professor allowed himself a small smile; his fangs only just visible to those who were watching. Gone were the days when humankind was hell-bent on killing the undead. Back then one could not close one’s coffin lid for fear of being stabbed in the day. Now, the Professor (as well as several of his brethren) seem to hold some fascination with the young humans. Especially the female of the species. “Prof. Estoc!” “Yes, m’child?” the old vampire murmured as if broken from a reverie. “Do you require assistance?” “Well, the thing is… I have a friend and he is interested in learning sword fighting but he is not a student of the college…,” “Indeed? Well, bring the boy over. If he shows promise, perhaps an exception could be made,” “Yes Prof. Estoc!” the young lady exclaimed before turning away and jogging energetically to join her friend. The lad was probably someone she fancied and the sword fighting lessons were probably just an excuse to be with him thought the old vampire drily. Nevertheless, there exists among the youth a small group that seemed genuinely interested in swords. Those were rare gems indeed but… no matter how good the modern human is at sword fighting, there was just something that they…lacked…
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2015 4:32 am
~Brief Intermission~ Xiu: What does it do? Xiu: It is blinking... Cesc: It's a little spirit from the Lab! For the holidays. Xiu: ... Like the snow angels and cakes... Cesc: (laughs) Yes, like those. Xiu: they disappear after a while though. looks at Cesc Has your friend got back to you? On the instructor? Cesc: Mm--oh, yes! She did. She told me there's a great instructor here, actually; he's apparently quite renowned for his prowess. I have his name here somewhere. He's got a class Tuesday-Thursdays that we could take, but she also said he's kind of... picky about students. (takes out a paper and hands it to Xiu) Xiu: Professor Estoc? I have not heard of him. Cesc: I hadn't either, honestly... but I guess I'm not really up on sword-fighting, either. Xiu: nods You are right but it says here that he is a...vampire Cesc: Oh, right! (looks over) I'd forgotten to mention that--I guess he's like Fathle. Xiu: Are they ...safe? I mean...you hear stories. About open balconies, flowing nightdresses and susceptible women... Cesc: laughing I haven't met him, but there's a Lab Guardian who is one! Shepard and Vivi told me he's quite a charming man, actually. Xiu: wryly Aren't all vampires? Cesc: (scratches his chin) If it makes you feel uncomfortable, we can try to find another instructor... Xiu: *is uncertain but does not want to come off as ungrateful for Cesc's help* Perhaps we could meet him first and proof that my prejudices are unfounded Cesc: (nodding) I think we should meet him first in any case... (laughs) He could be far too harsh or just not want us as students. After all, we don't have legs... Xiu: laughs Well... we could tell him that that would come, eventually Cesc: (grins) Who knows when, but eventually! Xiu: nods It might be an interesting experience Cesc: Well, one way or another, let's try it out. Xiu: Alright. ^^
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2015 9:46 pm
To be honest, Rhedefre wasn't entirely certain about what to expect from the swordsman, the lessons--any of that. He'd told Shepard and Vivi that he meant to take lessons from a vampire swordsman and Shepard had laughed, true and hearty, until he finally managed to tell him, "Rhede, you couldn't make up a more ridiculous story if you tried."
Vivi put in her piece that she thought fencing a lovely art, and inquired if he'd ever even held a sword before. And he had, once, in the Halloween hedge maze some years ago. "The curved ones," he said, motioning with his hand.
"Scimitars?" Vivi supplied, her smile incredulous.
Cesc snapped his fingers. "That's the one."
--
But now, here he stood, with Xiu, at the opening of a rather normal-looking gym on a rather normal-looking campus. Students were sparring with wooden swords, some clumsy, some fair, some excellent. Beyond it, Cesc saw a man, arms folded, pacing slowly as he watched the students' progress. His face was quiet, his skin the deadly pallor of a vampire, but his eyes were bright and intense. He was older--Cesc had no idea of his true age, but he'd at least been turned when he was beyond his fittest years--but he carried himself with a grace and posture that spoke of many years at his craft. That man, thought the stag, was probably the professor they were looking for to meet.
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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2015 7:03 am
He had been expecting them. And to be honest, the professor’s interest was rather piqued when Deborah, the girl who had approached him on behalf of these two, had described them as “weird” floating beings that were nevertheless pretty decent guys. But Deborah’s description had come short in accurately elucidating the bizarre nature of the Raevans. Already several of his students were beginning to lose focus on their lessons and this was something that the Professor would not tolerate. “Alright class, back to your training!” boomed the Professor’s imposing voice. “These chaps are here to see me,” “If you’d come this way,” said the vampire as he brushed past the duo and motioned that they should follow him to a small office space located within the gym itself. As he did so, the vampire detected something…unsettling about them. Or at least one of them. The vampire was not quite sure. The ban on fresh blood drinking had dulled his senses somewhat over the years. But if he had to choose, he’d say that there was an odd vibe coming from the white creature. It looked pretty wary of him too. The pink one, on the other hand, seemed pretty open. When they had moved to the privacy of his office, the Professor turned to regard the two creatures. They were young. Or at least their features were youthful. But the vampire suspected that they were young as well. He’d heard of them if they had been around long enough. “I was informed that you lads were interested in learning the skill of handling a sword. May I ask what for?” the vampire enquired. “Because you are unable to take part in competitions and shows without legs, if I may be so blunt,” --- The thought of meeting a trainer, and one that was reputedly picky about his students made Xiu a little worried. It was as Cesc said, the worst that could happen would be that the trainer would simply reject them. But being rejected meant “failure” and that was not something the white Sigel liked having in his books. But then again, they would be meeting a vampire for sword training prospects. Something about that made him uneasy. So when Cesc identified a figure amongst the rest, Xiu followed the stag’s gaze. The old man was indeed paler than what would have been considered a healthy shade for a human. Apart from that, there seemed to be an underlying smell… Xiu’s rune glowed brightly as the vampire approached them and identified himself as the professor they were supposed to meet. Blue eyes scanned the vampire for signs of hostility but detected none. The vampire had no intention of harming either of them it seemed. When it questioned them of their purpose, Xiu gave Cesc a glance before volunteering an answer. “Our interest lies more towards ..,” Here the Sigel paused for the briefest of moments before continuing “…fitness. Yes, general health and fitness,” That seemed like an appropriate response. One that was generally acceptable by the human population. And it was not a lie. Their earlier discussion on sword fighting had indeed been centered around fitness training practices. But even if it was with a stranger, it felt wrong. Looking away from the vampire’s steely gaze, the Sigel then mumbled…”And … for self-defense as well,”
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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2016 7:38 pm
Cesc couldn't help but look around as they entered the office. There was a window that faced the gym, so that the professor could watch his students even in conference--a safeguard against any slacking, the stag supposed. The room itself was littered with trophies, but Cesc noticed that most of the ones on the shelves were rather old. There were fresher ones that were on the floor, plaques that had never been hung. It was as though accolades had poured in quicker than the professor could keep up, and at some point, he had ceased to care about displaying them.
"Certainly a little bit of self-defense," laughed Cesc in support of Xiu. He had been wearing a ball-cap when he walked in; now, amongst so much proof of excellence, he felt compelled to take it off. His horns shivered as they became light, and Rhedefre was able to pull the hat off with relative ease. He raked his fingers through his hair, loosening his curls. "But we know that being in a sword-fight isn't exactly, ah... something a person usually faces. We'd just like to have the knowledge and the--as Xiu said--fitness."
He paused. "I'm Rhedefre LaCelle-Ryan, by the way--but I'm often called Cesc, since that's a mouthful," said Cesc, smiling. "Thank you for taking the time out to meet with us."
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 5:56 pm
That was the first time that Xiu had heard Cesc mention his full name. It was also the first time the Sigel witnessed Cesc’s horn dematerialize into light. Xiu was amazed. Had Cesc always been able to do that? Or was it something he learned later on during the course of his growth. Xiu realized with some shock that he knew…very little about his friend’s abilities. But it was certainly not the lack of curiousity that held him back from asking. It was courtesy. Because Xiu himself did not relish the thought of being interrogated about his powers; or his feeding habits. But the vampire had no such regard. “Cesc, what was that? “the vampire asked with keen interest. “Your antlers shimmered for a second there and you could pull your cap off easily enough. Is that something everyone in your species can do?” Turning to Xiu (who only shook his head), the vampire turned his attention back to the stag once more. “Fascinating stuff. So am I to understand that you lads possess different capabilities? What about you?” said Prof. Estoc to Xiu. “What can you do?” Xiu was stumped. He had several abilities but none that he was particularly inclined to share with a stranger. The fact that this stranger was a vampire only served to increase his reservations but if he stalled too long, the vampire would be suspicious. “I am able to ah…manipulate one’s blood composition,” said Xiu before mentally kicking himself. Just because the person he was talking to was a vampire his brain had immediately thought of blood and had instantly voiced the first ability that came to mind. It was also the ability the Sigel was most uncomfortable with. “That must be a useful skill,” said the vampire with a smirk. “Unfortunately there’s no blood running through these old veins of mine. Not unless I have recently fed of course,” said the vampire with a laugh (and a glint of fang). “But we are bound by laws nowadays. No more marauding on young women’s balconies at night,” “But you mentioned that ‘sword fighting isn't exactly something a person usually faces’. Allow me to read between the lines and assume you two don’t fit into ‘usually’. So what is it?”
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Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2016 7:03 pm
Cesc smiled a touch self-consciously--he'd always been able to dematerialize his horns or wings to some extent, but after he became Sigel, the trick had become second nature. No more issues with getting shirts on, no more problems with hats. It was tremendously convenient, but he sometimes forgot that it was, regardless, a trick.
"Actually--I don't know," Cesc said, inclining his head and ruffling the hair at the nape of his neck distractedly. "I can make my antlers and wings flicker out like that, which is useful--but I'm not sure if anyone else can do it. Just kind of a habit, I guess."
He smiled then at Xiu's explanation of his own powers. Those he'd seen in action, when Xiu had saved the woman--Margaret and Brutus, the names popped back up in his head with a moment of sudden curiousity--after they'd gone to find his voice. What Xiu's powers had grown into since then, however, he could not say.
Cesc's eyes fluttered down as the vampire made a joke about women's balconies; he'd always assumed all of those stories were nothing but slander, but he'd never actually been in the presence of a vampire, either. Vivi told him one of the Raevans had a vampire guardian, so who was he to make any sort of judgement call? He smiled politely and then nodded at Professor Estoc's next question.
"Well, I haven't had to actually use any swordfighting myself, per se." Cesc paused. "No, wait--once. In a Halloween Hedge Maze. I got given two scimitars to fight with and I pretty much just swung the pointy end at some--er--faked, magic-created zombies." He laughed, thinking of all the undead rights Granny M had been trying to teach him lately. That, certainly, would not have been her favorite activity. "I can't speak for Xiu, though. My life is fairly uneventful. But still, there's... stories of things out there. It's not a bad thing to learn, ah?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2016 11:46 pm
“The Hedge Maze? As in the self-same one we were made to enter during the Garden Party event?” blurted Xiu before he could stop himself. “I thought the magic had been removed…,” But if Cesc had been telling the truth and it was the same Hedge Maze, that would have meant that it was by mere chance that his picnic with Lazarus there did not turn out to be a battle ground. The thought of that was not very comforting and Xiu wondered if Lazarus knew about this. Or (quite possibly) did Lazarus go there ahead of time to clear the Maze of enemies? ------------------- The vampire visibly winced when the pink haired being described his use of swords as merely “swinging the pointy end at zombies,” Even zombies did not deserve such disgrace. “That is the general principle, yes,” said the vampire drily. “In which case a spear or an axe would have sufficed as well. Those require far less skill to wield and are more resilient to damage caused by improper handling. A foot soldier’s weapon as you will,” There was a perceptible sneer as the vampire said this; as though the very thought of encountering foot soldiers were nothing more than a bore. An inconvenient hindrance to be ploughed through as quickly as possible in order to get to the exciting part of dispatching an enemy general; - which would lead to a noticeable drop in morale and an exhilarating rise in despair as the tide of the battle turned… Those were the days… The faint clash of cheap metal against cheap metal rang from the training hall outside and the vampire found himself dragged out of his reverie through the sheer discordant cacophony that made up today’s sword fighters. A horrifying thought indeed. “Well, what about you then? Have you had any experience with physical combat?” asked the Vampire, directing his questions at Xiu. “Your friend here seemed to have grasped the basic principles of fighting. Have you?” While he had anticipated the vampire’s question, it nevertheless still came as a shock when asked directly about his sword fighting prowess. It was akin to having a veteran singer asking someone who sings in the shower if they have had singing experiences. “Technically, yes,” was the reply that Xiu finally found himself mouthing after much internal conflict. “Care to elaborate?” said the Vampire with a raised eyebrow. “Once against a cursed…spirit, once in a fear-possessed jungle and once in a haunted mansion,” said Xiu sheepishly; trying to avoid Cesc’s gaze. “Likewise, I kept the sharp end pointed at the enemy…,” “And survived each encounter?” probed the Vampire with some humour. “Three strikes and you are still alive and unscathed? Next you will be telling me that your sword is magical,” There was an embarrassed silence. “Tell you what, boys. You have me very intrigued,” said the Vampire, finally breaking his gaze away from the white raevan. “More than you would have thought possible. And I have lived through some very interesting times indeed,” “Lessons are three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Bring your swords along next time if you have them. I am curious to see just what kind of "magical" weapons they are,” said the Vampire as he opened a registry. “Payment will be due on the day of the first lesson. Be punctual,”
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