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Post by Zeke Omoihake on Mar 3, 2013 23:19:31 GMT -5
(Takes place between the thread "Fight Night" and "Days before the Fall)
As the wafting winds blow through the sunny skies of the Dioses Piscina, the turbulent seas had calmed for a day as the ancient Undian warship took the Heroes south to their next objective. Now more than ever urgency seemed key as only the night before had they witnessed the outgoing warships of Duo's invasion, yet the winds bow to no man, and so our Heroes could only wait and watch as the ocean inched them closer to Unda.
Slumped against the side of the churning ship, Zeke watched the far off horizon, featureless and all the more hypnotic because of it. Dark circles swallowed his eyelids, a clear result of his lack of sleep over the last few days.
I can't believe we weren't able to do anything against those ship. We must have seen dozens of them. Are they all going to Santo-Luce? Zeke fidgeted with his amulet as he remembered his outburst against Mark.
"What do you mean we let them pass? We have an ancient warship. You have wings! One of you is a God, and you're going to let them pass? They'll crush Santo Luce! Let's take them out first!"
They'd needed to stow Zeke to shut him up so they didn't get found out last night, and as he turned to look at the others he couldn't help but glower at them, resentment still lingering in his bloodshot eyes. Not just for them mind you, but for himself as he'd come to acknowledge they were right. It had come after stewing by himself for a couple hours, but he'd recognized it eventually.
Now, as he stood and let the seconds tick by, boredom firmly set in after so many days, he realized that there was almost no one that he really even knew from among the people on the ship. Mark had been an ally from the old days, but at most the others he'd met once, maybe twice before in passing. He'd always made a point of meeting the new soldiers under his command when he was Captain, so why not meet the people he was going to be stuck with for the next week or beyond? Pulling himself off from the deck railing, Zeke took to the hold to find someone to chat with.
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Post by shanira on Mar 4, 2013 2:12:46 GMT -5
Shanira busied herself by pacing, probably highly uncomfortably for the crew to watch, around the deck of the ship, hands locked together behind her back as she lost herself deep in thought. To her, it was a leisurely stroll. To the crew, it was probably a wicked power-walk.
At home, Alexander was jittery, nervous. Scared in general, but fine otherwise. Enough so that she probably didn't need to worry herself too much but she did and focused her attention on him quite frequently, impatiently waiting for that moment that she was needed. She was ready at any moment and it was starting to make her shake a little as she paced about. If her thoughts weren't on Alexander, then her thoughts went back to Mark.
Solaris.
'Lavio te-sa...'
That night, and how her stupid infatuation took control of her. It was a mistake, and it was awesome.
NO. NO IT WASN'T IT WAS A BAD IDEA. In the heat of things it seemed so good, though it didn't make any damn sense.
Even now, her footsteps quickened as she saw herself snuggled up with him after the fact, his head resting peacefully on her chest and there it was--the damn letter opener right there over his shoulder and conveniently within her reach. It was when her eyes had locked on it that she had the plan, a hand that would scratch his scalp peacefully and one swift motion with the other with blade to the neck and there, the Solaris problem was taken care of.
And then dawn would come and the crew would want some serious answers for why the commander was dead. Because Commander Mark Fri was an alright man, this Shanira saw. Solaris on the other hand...she was stuck. Find a way to kill him and not only risk having him destroy her, but having the crew pissed off with her as well. Don't and...well, remind herself that she just let Solaris live, among other things.
Her pacing stopped abruptly, her head shaking as she felt a headache coming on from her morals being torn to shreds. And what was worse was when he walked by her heart pounded again. She sighed, not knowing what she was supposed to feel anymore.
Zeke caught Shanira's gaze, the tired-looking man disappearing and instinctively Shanira bounded after him as though they were still at home in the castle.
"Zeke!" her voice enthusiastic as per usual, "Zeke, Zeke, Zeke, Zeke!"
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Post by Zeke Omoihake on Mar 8, 2013 7:38:07 GMT -5
Zeke winced at the familiar call, turning with tense anticipation towards Shanira, half-expecting her to bowl him over as she sprang towards him.
"Hi, yes hello there Shanira." He gave her a warm and slightly pandering pat to the head. On anyone else of her height and build it would have felt weird, but for the speedy angel it seemed like the right thing to do. Zeke muttered something to himself about how he'd wished Alexander had told him about her sooner before breaking away from the pet-like pat he was giving her.
"So I don't suppose you've seen many of the others recently? I...could use someone to chat with. Maybe even learn a thing or two about everyone here." Zeke gave her his full attention, mostly because his short time with her had taught him that their language barrier required that he make the most of her body language if he hoped to get anything from Shanira at all.
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Post by shanira on Mar 11, 2013 1:50:21 GMT -5
Despite Shanira's own drama-filled thoughts clouding her mind, Zeke's patting on her head put her in an irresistible state of bliss that was obvious as in that brief moment it existed she instantly relaxed half of her body and leaned into dark-haired man. For that little bit of pure happiness, nothing outside of this ship mattered to her...and then Zeke stopped and instantly broke her heart, showing only for a short moment in her pouting eyes before she realized he was talking to her and expecting an answer.
She shook excitedly, hands flapping about as she thought quickly how to eloquently word her every thought into words he may be able to understand.
"No!" she blurted with a grin, highly pleased with herself up until she realized that 'no' was a bad word that usually meant things someone didn't want to hear. It was what Alexander always told her when she got bored and started playing with the trinkets on his writing desk, and she hated that. In a quick attempt to remedy the situation before Zeke got frustrated with her, she threw her hands on her own shoulders and grinned at him as though he should be somehow impressed with her, moving to continue on the conversation.
"Shanira! Shanira say to Zeke," her hands moved to her chin, pawing at it like she had a patch of hair on it and then moving to show against her body a height just shorter than Zeke's, hands frantically moving about trying to describe a person to him, "him say to me...him! Amai brii vat em...w-with Master! This one [by this point Zeke would have either realized she meant Holmes or he'd be probably forever clueless]...say to Shanira 'say words. you know'. Shanira get hivtieah when she say good." She was referring to treats when she legitimately tried using the common language, something that in a brief visit back home she learned was something that motivated her to actually start giving a damn to try talking to people.
Zeke wanting to talk to someone was the perfect opportunity for practice considering how everyone else seemed to just avoid her! Now if only she could just slow down so she could properly word a coherent sentence.
"Zeke say to Shanira!" she spouted, nodding her head to show how enthusiastic and willing to have a conversation with him she really was.
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Post by Zeke Omoihake on Mar 13, 2013 2:02:03 GMT -5
The somewhat spastic and clearly earnest attempt of Shanira brought a charmed smile to Zeke, and realized that indeed sharing a few words back and forth with her wouldn't be the worst idea. After all, she did seem to be picking up the language quickly enough. Zeke scratched his briskly chin as he put together enough of her words to get that she had much the same idea.
"Okay Shanira okay, I understand." He gave a slightly exaggerated nod. "Well, I guess we should start with the most basic questions. Uhh, let's see." Zeke crossed his arms while he looked around with an aimless pattern. "Oh, hey I know. How long have you been with Alexander? I've seen him summon you lots, but you always were Fox- I mean, your animal form before. Did he even know you could do....this?" He gestured up and down the length of her body, hinting at the shapely form she was taking presently.
As they chatted Zeke slowed his pace slightly, taking his time to move along the length of the hold and towards the common quarters. Not that he imagined to find anyone around this part, as the smell of dried seaweed and stagnant water still hadn't been scrubbed out of that part of the ship. Granted most of the ship stank, or at least smelled like a boat that had somehow survived a thousand years of water damage, but around here it was especially pungent. Zeke lifted his hand to his nose and winced slightly.
"Ugh, how in the world can everyone sleep on this thing anyways? I swear if it's not one thing it's another... Doesn't it bother you Shanira? Or I suppose you probably don't sleep at all do you?"
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Post by shanira on Mar 13, 2013 14:56:20 GMT -5
Shanira giggled, an obvious bout of excitement taking hold of her as Zeke asked about Alexander, like he'd just paid some attention to her idol or something.
"Master! Me! All time!" she threw her hands up as she explained it to Zeke, "Him and me small to start. Get big, Shanira and Master both. Every time. Master need Shanira, Shanira come. This..."
Shanira like Zeke had gestured to her physical form she currently stood in and gave Zeke a frown.
"Master not know. Him not to know. Shanira have to, Zeke go here this one," she said as she pointed to the ship as they walked and then pointed out over the sea, "Master and Shanira go there, this one. Zeke not there, bad man there. Grab Master, try take him."
She looked highly disappointed as she stopped and put her hands on her chest and continued quickly, "Fox weak. Shanira strong. Shanira kill for Master, Zeke and Master happy, Master safe."
She threw her hands back up in the air ecstatically as she started chanting, "Good Shanira! Shanira stay this one, no fox. Fox weak. Fox need sleep, Shanira..."
"...Shanira need sleep. Not much. Zeke need lots sleep."
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Post by Zaria DeGantz on Mar 13, 2013 15:26:35 GMT -5
Suddenly footsteps approached from the far corridor. The bluehaired Undian Captian Zaria entered the Common quarters. She walked straight in, and began to inspect the area.
"Don't mind me." She said, glancing in Zeke and Shanira's direction. "I hope I'm not intruding on the conversation, I just came to do a quick inspection."
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Post by Zeke Omoihake on Mar 14, 2013 3:35:14 GMT -5
"What?!" Zeke barked angrily, his entire body snapping to attention when Shanira mentioned a 'bad man' trying to take Alexander. "Why aren't you with him? Oh gods I should have known I screwed up this whole thing." The persistent odour seemed muted as the more pressing issue took hold of Zeke's senses. He paced back and forth, his hands pressed tightly to his forehead as a stressed look took hold of his bloodshot eyes.
"You have to go back Shanira. I'll be fine, but if anything happens to Alexander, I, I..." All the anger in his eyes softened, melting away into a weak trembling stare that looked past Shanira into the wide expanse of the ocean. He couldn't bring himself to say anymore, the words were stifled by the unease that seized his heart.
Zaria's sudden entrance did little to change his mood or bring his attention towards her. He only continued to peer out towards the boundless depths, as if he could see original hopes for this quest of his dashed about the waves.
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Post by shanira on Mar 14, 2013 11:59:32 GMT -5
Shanira tilted her head to the side, trying to resist the heavy urge to roll her eyes or clap a hand to her forehead at Zeke's non-surprisingly bad reaction to her story. Had it been anyone else she probably would have, but seeing as how Zeke was Alexander's special someone and she hadn't ever had the opportunity to explain it to him, she took a brief moment of silence to instead shake her head before approaching the asian man and grabbing him firmly by the shoulders.
"Zeke! Be calm! Master safe," her tone was surprisingly serious and she made sure to really emphasize the 'safe' in attempts to reassure Zeke that currently, Alexander really was fine. She let go of him right away afterward, placing both of her hands gently over her heart and hoping she'd calm him down enough so she could properly explain herself.
"See! Shanira is...make...for Master. Felios make Shanira," she blinked as she tried to remember the words to actually explain this in the easiest way she could for him, "Shanira know all Master feels. Sad, mad, fear. She know, she feels, every time and every there she go. All time Shanira know if Master need Shanira."
Her head tilted to the side again as she tried to gauge whether or not Zeke was picking up on what she was saying.
"Master good now. Him safe. Sad Zeke not there. Fearing but not need help. Shanira feels when Master need, and she is most fast!" she also made sure to emphasize this last point, her hands gesturing widely to Zeke, "no one, all Shanira. Fast, the most!"
Shanira's own gaze switched to Zaria for a moment, her hands still outstretched as she also directed it to Zaria with a quick added in, "Me Shanira! Most fast!"
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Post by Zeke Omoihake on Mar 16, 2013 5:13:17 GMT -5
Relief hit Zeke like a surging wave against their warship, and took with it all of his anxiety. Well, nearly all of it as his self-doubt lingered on and festered in the back of his mind. He let out a sigh of relief and slumped his head against the window port.
"I wish I could have that Shanira. I wish I could close me eyes and know what he was feeling. It's not the things you know that are scary. I know we're suppose to fight this Duo guy right? He's suppose to be the strongest guy we've faced yet and even now...I don't know, it doesn't seem like much. No, it's the unknowns that scare me, and nothing right now is less known to me than whether or not I'm gonna come back home and see Alexander again." A splash of warm salty water trickled down Zeke's eyes, and feeling ashamed he wiped it away quickly in hopes Shanira wouldn't see.
"I've, I've never done something like this before. The people that mattered to me were always close. When I was home I could always call my parents after I moved out, and before Alexander...well, someday I'll have to tell you about Don, but no one messed with him." Zeke chuckled a little, reminiscing about his old hotshot ally in arms. "If Don was here, he'd probably tell me to stop being a bitch and just keep doing what I thought was right. He go, 'Alexander is a freaking king, and he got on just fine before you came along. Stop your worrying and let's go kick some ass.'" Zeke adopted his best impression of Donovan he could, throwing out a bad American accent to try and capture his old friend's mannerisms. He stopped and looked at Shanira, grinning like an idiot and confused as all hell that he still couldn't stop himself from crying a little.
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Post by shanira on Mar 17, 2013 5:10:10 GMT -5
Shanira sat on the mucky floor of the ship as Zeke spilled out all of his woes to her, all very understandable considering she was overly confident in always being able to see Alexander, and knowing that she was what kept him safe because she was aware of him at nearly any point. For a mortal who cared so much for him it clearly wasn't that easy.
She could see the distress in his face, and she picked up enough from his speech to mostly understand it. She couldn't empathize with him as well as she could with Alexander, though at least her listening to Zeke's problems didn't cause her physical strain or distract her horribly as her king would.
Zeke's imitations of the man he'd mentioned made her chuckle, thinking that the person he spoke of must have had little for feelings unlike most mortals or just didn't care in general to not let things get him down when there was work to be done. She didn't know, she couldn't judge, but she liked the sound of him all the same herself.
"Go kick ass!" she repeated, a little too enthusiastically, "no worry, Zeke. Master fine, Master happy to see Zeke when he go there. Zeke fine! No be bitch!"
She didn't really get that last bit, but it was a shiny new phrase and that's all that meant.
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Post by Zaria DeGantz on Mar 18, 2013 20:05:15 GMT -5
The blue haired undian raised an eyebrow at Shanira and nodded in a slightly uncomfortable manner.
"Shanira, was it? I'm sure being fast comes in quite handy." She smirked slightly to herself. Although Shanira was still a bit difficult to understand, Zaria was a bit relieved to see that she had started to learn the common language. It was certainly much more effective than being lost as to what the blonde haired warrior was saying all the time.
Zaria walked to the opposite end of the room as though not to disturb Zeke and Shanira. She carried on with the inspection, and despite her knowing she shouldn't get involved with the affairs of others: being in the same vicinity, she couldn't help but overhear Zeke's distress over Alexander. Zaria had heard of his highness before, and she could understand. She thought about how upset she'd be if something happened to her leader, Benjamin. She didn't bond on a personal level with him, but she had so much respect and admiration for him.
She glanced over, trying to be casual about it. Seeing how upset Zeke was, she felt like she should do something. Her inner voice told her to keep quiet and mind her own business, but there was still that nagging feeling. Against her better judgement, she walked over.
"I know this is not my place to step in, and I request your forgiveness in advance, Sir." She began. "However; I can't help but notice how upset you seem. It's always been a personal goal of mine to see that the morale on the ship is high, and as such- I feel it necessary to offer what I can to help." She smiled a little.
Truth be told, She didn't know exactly HOW she could help, but perhaps there were some strings she could pull.
"We're all in this war together, so if there's anything I can do for a fellow team member, (namely yourself.) let me know."
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Post by Zeke Omoihake on Mar 21, 2013 4:41:18 GMT -5
"Thanks Shanira." Zeke was tempted to throw his arms around her, only to feel like it might be weird to do so and instead opted to give her a warm rub on the head. "I guess I just miss the guy a lot sometimes. He always had a way of pulling me out of these little moods when I got too wrapped up in things."
Suddenly interrupted by Zaria, Zeke paused only to dry the suddenly noticeable tears from his eyes before turning to face their azure haired captain. "D-don't worry about it ma'am. I'm, I guess I'm just more than a little homesick right now."He said sheepishly, hoping that he hadn't been obvious enough in his outpouring to Shanira that Zaria had become aware of his...unique relationship with his king. Thinking quickly he decided to move the conversation off of him for now. "Hey, I think I overheard that you work under the Undian President. It was Ben right? You know on Earth most of the rulers of kingdoms eventually gave way to governments too. Guess I never thought it'd happen on Allorum, you know?"
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Post by shanira on Mar 22, 2013 1:16:41 GMT -5
Shanira looked back and forth from both Zeke and Zaria, a satisifed grin on her face and her hands on her hips.
"Shanira helps. What is 'mood'?" her head tilted again in curiosity as she stared at Zeke, understanding the general context of what the word usually meant but in the way Zeke said it she had no clue what to make of it. Her gaze slowly turned to Zaria as she continued, "she know? Zarya? Mood is sad one, no little."
'Zarya' being Shanira's way of pronouncing Zaria's name, of which she was still slurring sounds together and assuming she was right. She gave them a bit of a distressed look as she tried to word her thoughts to them but feeling like they weren't going to understand, it was probably the most frustrating thing about learning to speak their language.
Dammit, why didn't they just learn to speak her language?! Her mortal master learned it, it only took him like, ten years. Just a little bit of their personal time was all they'd need.
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