[Still suffering from the slight weariness that always comes over her and her fellow Knights after using a rather powerful spell, Umi surveys November's work with nothing short of horror-filled awe.
Now... there's one way to use ice magic.
As horrific as it is, and as much as she's certain she'd be passing dinner tonight (truly, look at that huge frozen bug), the Knight of Water almost wishes to backtrack on that jesting remark she made and ask Jack to seriously teach her how to do this.]
I never thought... BOY.
[She turns her eyes toward the older man, still doing little to hide her morbid fascination with his fighting abilities.]
Back then in the forest... you never really had anything to worry about, did you.
[It's just as well that she doesn't. He almost certainly couldn't teach it, and even if he could, he wouldn't. The thought of someone else being able to use his power the way he can? Not one he cares for.]
Why not?
[His tone is pleasant.]
There's a lot of water in living bodies.
No, I probably didn't. But I couldn't be sure. I haven't done anything quite like this before.
[At least, not to a giant spider. To humans? Plenty of times.]
[Turning from the spider's corpse at last, Umi covers her nose and mouth with a hand. Maybe it's just her, being easily influenced by the sight in front of her, but she'd readily swear it's beginning to get rather stinky in there very fast.]
First time experience, huh? [Her tone may reveal a little skepticism. He did hold back information about his abilities before.] Good that it was a success...
[He pauses a moment to prod with one foot at one of the spider's legs, assuring himself that it's really dead. Then he turns only so he can watch her reaction--the sight of the spider's corpse doesn't bother him at all. It's more amusing to see how Umi reacts, though.
He's in the process of lighting a cigarette when she speaks again, and another flash of amusement crosses his face. Amusement with a dash of appreciation this time. She's learning to question how much he tells her. That isn't necessarily a good thing for him--it might make using her harder--but it raises his opinion of her. Well, since she already suspects, he might as well confirm...]
[Umi sends a flash of a glare up at him, then almost immediately turns as that gains her a gratuitous glimpse of their frozen trophy. Ugh. She better not end up losing her appetite to this forever... One thing this man will never learn if she can help it is that she has a horrible bug phobia.]
...That's pretty vague, don't you think? What exactly do you fight at home.
[But forget it. Now the job is done it's time to deal with the aftermath.] And where to, from here?
[She's gesturing back at their fallen foe at "here", only, without turning around.] Are you taking any mementos with you, like the last time?
[He doesn't answer that first question; he only smiles and keeps smoking. The second one, though, is less invasive, and he turns again to glance back over the cave.]
I'm leaving the body, now that it's dead. But I'd like to see if it kept anything of interest in its lair.
[...Don't think that goes unnoticed. But she'll let it go for now.
It's not like the monsters Umi used to slay in Cephiro (it's funny how she used to slice those in half and now she's getting all nauseated over this, really) weren't vertebrates, so to speak. But she sends Jack a look that very much says she believes he's leaving that unanswered for a reason.]
What for. Do you think it stole things? Kept prisoners?
[November 11 notices the look, of course, and he realizes that eventually, he's going to have to tell her that he killed people on a regular basis. But not just yet. He'll plan for it first.]
Or perhaps it spun magical webs.
[A grin. He's joking. But he is curious about what might lie deeper in the lair.]
[This pause here? The moment Umi's taking to go through her by now large mental record of jokes Jack's tried on her to decide if this one will become the latest addition to it.
...The following shrug of shoulders indicates she may be getting better at telling when he's serious or not. Perhaps. Unless the fact this IS The City makes it feasible to believe they may find something like magical webs inside that hole.]
I'm quite sure the spider's dead, so just avert your eyes and pretend it's a pile of rocks.
[And he puts out his first cigarette and lights another one (taking down the spider was enough of a task to warrant at least two), the flame from his lighter doing nothing to make the sight of the giant spider corpse less ghastly.]
I'm NOT--- [...Not going to explain that sudden pause or the hiccup that comes with it, either. Umi inhales sharply as she starts for the cave's deeper areas and finishes, hopefully before this implies ANYTHING AT ALL.] ---bothered by it.
Let's check this out!
[Oh no, the smoke isn't making things any less icky either, so she mumbles under her still uneasy breath.] Gee, this place's enclosed. You're turning me into a passive smoker...
[Fortunately, he doesn't ask her to elaborate. That would be because he's already drawn his conclusions about her fear of the spider. No need to torment her with them, though; that would just be rude. Dealing with such irrational fears is the price of working with humans.
He starts deeper into the cave, pausing at Umi's admonishing mutters.]
I ought to have left the spider alive, then?
[But he smiles and puts the cigarette out.]
I can wait until we're outside again.
[It's difficult to make out what lies in the back of the cave; there certainly doesn't seem to be any massive hoard of treasure, though.]
We still have to wait and see if this place doesn't bring it back anyway! [Even if he asked Umi wouldn't elaborate. She doesn't need to think about the giant iced bug more than to feel glad it's dead and out of everyone's hair at least for a while. But she ends up feeling a bit bad at her previous snark when November obliges and puts his cigarette out. Maybe her sidelong glance gives this away.]
...Thanks. [He really dislikes it too, doesn't he.] It wouldn't bother me too much if we were outside. But it's a really icky price to pay for one's power.
[Let them focus on the matter at hand. She puts her hands on her hips as they reach the cave's back and shakes her head.] Pretty dull, if you ask me. We should've brought flashlights too.
I don't think I'll be waiting and seeing for that, as a matter of fact. I'll be well away from here by then.
[As dry as ever.]
...there are worse. Few contractors like their price.
[Getting to the back of the cave, he reaches out to touch the wall.]
Yes, let's keep that in mind the next time we slay cave-dwelling monsters, shall we?
[He doesn't turn to go, though, and after a moment of glancing around:]
Wait.
[He reaches behind a rock and picks something up: an old piece of paper.]
There's writing on it.
[In truth, he was tempted to let it go for now and come back later to get it alone, but Umi has been in the City for longer than he has and is more likely to be able to provide some perspective on whatever turns out to be written on it.]
[Certainly the last thing she expected to find in a monster's lair was a piece of aged writing. Umi gets closer to have a better look, poor as the light is.]
It looks so old! And... just a page.
[She frowns after reading through what she can make of the text.]
It sounds like someone chronicling a disaster, if you ask me. It could've been a really bad curse, or...
Now... there's one way to use ice magic.
As horrific as it is, and as much as she's certain she'd be passing dinner tonight (truly, look at that huge frozen bug), the Knight of Water almost wishes to backtrack on that jesting remark she made and ask Jack to seriously teach her how to do this.]
I never thought... BOY.
[She turns her eyes toward the older man, still doing little to hide her morbid fascination with his fighting abilities.]
Back then in the forest... you never really had anything to worry about, did you.
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Why not?
[His tone is pleasant.]
There's a lot of water in living bodies.
No, I probably didn't. But I couldn't be sure. I haven't done anything quite like this before.
[At least, not to a giant spider. To humans? Plenty of times.]
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[Turning from the spider's corpse at last, Umi covers her nose and mouth with a hand. Maybe it's just her, being easily influenced by the sight in front of her, but she'd readily swear it's beginning to get rather stinky in there very fast.]
First time experience, huh? [Her tone may reveal a little skepticism. He did hold back information about his abilities before.] Good that it was a success...
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He's in the process of lighting a cigarette when she speaks again, and another flash of amusement crosses his face. Amusement with a dash of appreciation this time. She's learning to question how much he tells her. That isn't necessarily a good thing for him--it might make using her harder--but it raises his opinion of her. Well, since she already suspects, he might as well confirm...]
First time with an invertebrate.
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...That's pretty vague, don't you think? What exactly do you fight at home.
[But forget it. Now the job is done it's time to deal with the aftermath.] And where to, from here?
[She's gesturing back at their fallen foe at "here", only, without turning around.] Are you taking any mementos with you, like the last time?
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I'm leaving the body, now that it's dead. But I'd like to see if it kept anything of interest in its lair.
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It's not like the monsters Umi used to slay in Cephiro (it's funny how she used to slice those in half and now she's getting all nauseated over this, really) weren't vertebrates, so to speak. But she sends Jack a look that very much says she believes he's leaving that unanswered for a reason.]
What for. Do you think it stole things? Kept prisoners?
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Or perhaps it spun magical webs.
[A grin. He's joking. But he is curious about what might lie deeper in the lair.]
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...The following shrug of shoulders indicates she may be getting better at telling when he's serious or not. Perhaps. Unless the fact this IS The City makes it feasible to believe they may find something like magical webs inside that hole.]
I'm going too.
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[Adding pleasantly:]
I'm quite sure the spider's dead, so just avert your eyes and pretend it's a pile of rocks.
[And he puts out his first cigarette and lights another one (taking down the spider was enough of a task to warrant at least two), the flame from his lighter doing nothing to make the sight of the giant spider corpse less ghastly.]
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Let's check this out!
[Oh no, the smoke isn't making things any less icky either, so she mumbles under her still uneasy breath.] Gee, this place's enclosed. You're turning me into a passive smoker...
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He starts deeper into the cave, pausing at Umi's admonishing mutters.]
I ought to have left the spider alive, then?
[But he smiles and puts the cigarette out.]
I can wait until we're outside again.
[It's difficult to make out what lies in the back of the cave; there certainly doesn't seem to be any massive hoard of treasure, though.]
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...Thanks. [He really dislikes it too, doesn't he.] It wouldn't bother me too much if we were outside. But it's a really icky price to pay for one's power.
[Let them focus on the matter at hand. She puts her hands on her hips as they reach the cave's back and shakes her head.] Pretty dull, if you ask me. We should've brought flashlights too.
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[As dry as ever.]
...there are worse. Few contractors like their price.
[Getting to the back of the cave, he reaches out to touch the wall.]
Yes, let's keep that in mind the next time we slay cave-dwelling monsters, shall we?
[He doesn't turn to go, though, and after a moment of glancing around:]
Wait.
[He reaches behind a rock and picks something up: an old piece of paper.]
There's writing on it.
[In truth, he was tempted to let it go for now and come back later to get it alone, but Umi has been in the City for longer than he has and is more likely to be able to provide some perspective on whatever turns out to be written on it.]
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[Certainly the last thing she expected to find in a monster's lair was a piece of aged writing. Umi gets closer to have a better look, poor as the light is.]
It looks so old! And... just a page.
[She frowns after reading through what she can make of the text.]
It sounds like someone chronicling a disaster, if you ask me. It could've been a really bad curse, or...
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[A beat, and then he turns and heads for the entrance.]
I'm joking. I can't make out enough of it to tell. Let's get some light.
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