bloodandblunder | ↯IC Contact

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"H... hello? Um, this is me-- ah, Noire! I'm Noire, and I'm very sorry for missing you somehow... I promise I'm not avoiding you, unless you're scary or you're Mo-- trying to curse me. U-um, so when I can figure out how to-- ( beeps ensue, followed by a shriek of fright ) O-oh, no! What did I push, how do I-- make it-- oh gods, did I break it?! W-why can't we just talk in person?!"

[ BEEP. ]

voicemail; action ; video

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[ That dummy must be breathing a sigh of relief right about now. Noire won't offer advice, simply watching his stance, and correcting where she sees a need for improvement. But-- ]

Did I ever tell you that when I first started out, my aim was completely off, I couldn't hold the bow right, and I shot an arrow into a river, instead of the target? I was so worried about losing it that I tried going in there to find it, and I wound up with a cold for a week.

[ He fires a little more smoothly with each arrow, though his aim still isn't up to par with his usual ability. But he does smile at Noire's story, a bit of the stiffness leaving his shoulders. ]

That does sound like you. Always putting everything else ahead of you.

[ She smiles then, shaking her head. There; he's looking a little more relaxed now. That ought to help. ]

In the end, I was more of an inconvenience than anything. But it really taught me to treasure my weapon more-- and to do that, I had to make myself stronger.

[ Finally, an arrow thunks into one of the dummy's eyes. He fires another arrow smoothly to pierce the other eye (imperfectly, but good enough for today), then aims next for the dummy's heart. ]

And look at how far you've come, huh? Now you've got a pupil of your own.

I'm really honored! [ And she means it. He's definitely improving. ] You're the first I've ever taught before.

[ His exp climbs steadily higher...! ]

The honor is all mine! You're a natural teacher. You make everything so clear and simple, you know?

Well, there's not really any difficult techniques behind it... and you're a very fast learner.

[ guys stop praising each other already. ]

[ it's better than moping, at least?? After he lets fly the last arrow, he taps his head. ]

I guess there's so much empty space up here that there's always room for more. And it's all about the technique! That's the difference between your ability and mine, right?

There's that, yes... I'm just lucky archery doesn't have as many styles as sword users have to deal with.

[ He walks on over to the target board and starts tugging arrows out. ]

But then you have to worry about the wind, ammunition, leading your target... getting whapped in the face by the bowstring. [ yeah ow. ] When it comes to swordplay, all you have to do is be better than the person you're fighting. But when it comes to archery, you have to be perfect every time. And that's pretty impressive!

[ Here, she'll help. Poor Sir ~~Wallop~~ Wallace, he really did a number on you. ]

It's more of a relief when you can put some distance in between you and the enemy... but I'm also impressed by the way all of you can engage them so fearlessly. [ Without resorting to BLOOD AND THUNDER, anyway. ]

Still, it's good to have some experience in several types of fighting, so I'm glad I can help this much. Even if we really need to get you a bow of your own.

That would help. But then I wouldn't have as much excuse to bug you for practice! Ha ha.

[ Dropping a handful of arrows into her quiver... ]

[ She'll look them over later, make sure she doesn't need to sharpen the tips. They can get a bit blunt, with enough practice. For now, she merely blinks at him. ]

I could still... um, offer advice? I don't consider it being bugged at all.

[ Noire, don't take him seriously. ]

Good to hear. Because I'd probably be bugging you for them anyway!

[ Hohoho. And now with all the arrows removed, he hauls the dummy over his shoulder and turns to Noire. ]

All right, so who are we killing?

... Honestly, I was thinking of Kite, but I'm not sure I could get to him without being... er... shot multiple times again.

... Shot...? Multiple times? Again??

[ Noire ]

... Oh, right, you weren't here then. A lot of us went to that store to try and make it through, but our group was the only one who did. Except that when we got out on the other side, there was a very big, spiraling city, and soldiers who weren't all that happy to see us.

[ So she'd died. After a few seconds, she adds-- ]

That might have been where they took you. We only got through because Beast Boy managed to impersonate Kite.

A spiraling city...? I wish I could see it. [ And just through the other side of the store. It's a little mind-boggling... ]

I see... If there's much of anything I've been learning lately, it's that there's not much we can do against those guns.

Not unless you can take out the wielder from a safe distance, but...

[ yeah, that hadn't worked with Sasha. ]

What I'd really like is for us to get our hands on a couple of guns of our own. Something small like Joel's... but I doubt we'll find things like that just lying around.

And I wouldn't want the wrong people finding them, anyway.

Yeah. But it really would be handy in a pinch...

[ He sighs a little and rubs his neck absently. And maybe it's this dying heart dragging him down, but optimism is a bit hard at the moment. Guns... ]

When Masaomi came to take me, all he had to do was point a gun at me and I knew I couldn't win. I could survive an arrow or work past a sword, but how do you begin to fight something that can kill you in a second?

Hit them before they can hit you?

[ And maybe it's just that Noire wasn't captured, or that Noire was the kind of person to ignore things like sense when she got angry, but optimism isn't letting go of her this time. ] I think if we take the time, you could probably find a strategy that would work...

... But I probably would have tackled him.

[ Brilliant strategist, right here. Honestly, after seeing Grima up close in her timeline, and watching Lucina actually wound him... she would face a gun any day. ]

[ That's a happy mental image, at least, so it gets a smile out of him. ]

Ha ha ha. I would've liked to see that. You'd give me a heart attack, but at least you'd give him a sound thrashing!

[ There, that's better. He looks better when he smiles. ]

You give me a heart attack most of the time as it is, so it's only fair. And he'd deserve it.

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