Comments | rivelatalogs: How Can I Help You, Sir? [Closed Thread]

technokinetic in rivelatalogs

How Can I Help You, Sir? [Closed Thread]

Mar 30, 2008 09:58

WHO: Naoe Nagi and Jade Curtiss
WHAT: A talk of powers/artes and hackers
WHERE: The market, then a secluded room
WHEN: Day 22, the day after Jade and Nagi spoke in the journals

( Crawford had entrusted Nagi to go alone to meet this Jade man. )

Ω naoe nagi, place - market district, Ω jade curtiss

Comments 14

necroshmancer March 30 2008, 15:12:27 UTC

Jade had managed to sneak out of the room he shared with Peony at the Crimson Dragon without being heard... the Emperor could be quite a sound sleeper sometimes, to his relief. He closed the door soundlessly, stretched on the doorstep then made his way out of the Inn that had become the Malkuth HQ and headed towards the market, where he was to meet the young boy who had not only tracked that "Lucio" through the diaries, but also seemed to be able to use a considerable part of his powers ( ... )

technokinetic March 30 2008, 16:51:48 UTC

Like so many others walking along the streets, Jade had failed to look up.

Perched high in the air, however, Nagi had few interesting things to look at besides the people he walked above. He rather liked appearing as though he was stepping on each and every one of their heads, but eventually one familiar face presented itself - familiar from innumerable times he'd seen the man's picture alongside Schuldig's and Peony's and Farfarello's as they'd bantered in the journals in the early days of Rivelata - before Nagi had recovered even a fraction of his powers, before the Jungle, before the Ball.

Slowly, ever so slowly, so as to not falter and fall, Nagi descended to the street level so that Jade would see him do it, rather than in the plane behind the man's back. Nagi caught quite a few other glances from natives and newcomers alike, but brushed them all aside as he walked towards Jade, arms at side - the casual step of a boy off to yet another boring day at school.

He was not dressed in his school uniform. After the outing with Kuja, ( ... )

necroshmancer March 31 2008, 00:14:34 UTC

Jade turned towards the boyish voice, and wondered at this strange, foreign, but not entirely unpleasant accent. The boy named Nagi was dressed in a suit, well groomed, and looked older than he remembered from their short meeting on the beach. But then, he knew how clothes could make the man... when Peony went jogging, few people recognised him without his state robes, even though his face was minted on every coin in their pockets.

"Malkuth Empire Army’s 3rd Division Colonel, Jade Curtiss", answered the fonist with a small, perfunctory bow.

His right hand slipped out of his pocket and he adjusted his glasses, mechanically, as he always did when he was deep in thought, or simply planning his next move. He then gestured forward, towards a small, dark, and slightly dingy establishment that could pass -if one was indulgent or slightly desperate- for a cafe.

"We should probably find a slightly more secluded location to have our little meeting... if only to attempt to evade the cloying scent of fish."

technokinetic March 31 2008, 01:59:38 UTC

Nagi couldn't help a smirk; Crawford had done that exact same thing a million times before in Nagi's presence - adjusting his glasses. Admittedly, Nagi was also impressed by Jade's outfit - he didn't know fashion, but he could tell a uniform when he saw one.

"Well then, Mr. Curtiss..." Nagi turned and walked towards the "cafe", avoiding people in the street when he could.

The place was just crowded enough to disguise their dialogue, Nagi noted. He found a seat at a table away from any windows, against the far wall where they could speak directly at each other with people on only one side of them. Nagi would have despised that, normally, but right now secrecy was of greater importance and the only place they could have sat side-by-side was at the bar - which was obviously off-limits due to Nagi's age.

He placed his journal on the table and his hands on top of that, then waited for Jade to join him. He turned his head towards the man, following his motions but not speaking. This was, after all, Jade asking things of him, not the ( ... )

necroshmancer March 31 2008, 20:35:55 UTC

Jade sat down in the chair opposite Nagi, gesturing towards a grungy waiter to order a coffee -very hot- before folding his hands on the table, turning towards the boy and fixing his unwavering crimson gaze on him.

"I should start with the basics, since I believe that you and I... understand... each other on some level."

A steaming cup of coffee was deposited in front of him and he reached out for it with his right hand, upturning it in front of Nagi. The cup just sat there, without spilling, for a few seconds, before he lifted the cheap porcelain container and left behind a hard, brown, half-globe of frozen coffee...

"This is but a parlor trick, of course. Offense is where my powers truly shine. Back in my world, I could decimate whole infantry divisions on my own. So I recommend being truthful with me."

Jade deposited his cup back on the frozen lump, turned it right-side up, and set it primly on its saucer.

"Oh bother, did I just threaten you? Old habits do die hard." With that, he sat back in his chair, lifted his cup of ( ... )

technokinetic March 31 2008, 22:26:13 UTC

The threat didn't make Nagi bristle in the slightest. The "parlor trick" solidified his response, though.

"I have no reason nor intention to lie to you. If you find that Lucio, I would like very much to hold him in place for you."

A trick for a trick, then. Nagi's hands were still flat on the table, but his right index finger lifted up ever so slightly. The coffee that Jade was drinking swirled for a bit until a very thin snake-like form ascended above the level of the cup, curled into a circle in front of Jade's nose, and then dipped back into the cup - the hot liquid never once touched Jade's skin, not so much as a splash.

He let the smile that so disturbed Schuldig show on his face; his dexterity really was back to full capacity.

"My powers are extremely versatile." Or the most versatile. "What I wish to see happen in my mind, I can make happen by forcing the physical world into shape even to the extent of lifting my own body off the ground..." As you already saw. "Were I at all full power and found Lucio first, his body would ( ... )

necroshmancer March 31 2008, 22:59:29 UTC

"Back in my world, yes, you name it, I could do it: hurl meteors down from the heavens, split the ground open, summon lightning bolts out of a clear sky... in Rivelata... I am not nearly as efficient." Jade explained to Nagi, "Although it is in part due to a curse that caught me quite by surprise in my world. I was working on breaking it when I got sent here, which as you can imagine only added to my woes."

Jade took another sip of coffee, set his cup down, and poured as much sugar as he could before the cup overflowed. "I was so absorbed pondering this mess, I forgot I really dislike coffee." He picked up his spoon and stirred forcefully.

"When I first arrived in this world, I could barely light a candle, but my powers have been growing by leaps and bounds and I am now... capable... enough", a disdainful expression appeared on Jade's face, making it clear that capable might have been good enough for a run-of-the-mill fonist, but was definitely not good enough for him, "although any use of my powers translates into horrible

technokinetic April 1 2008, 05:29:22 UTC

"You are the literal power behind the throne, then." It was a side comment to fill space so that Nagi could call for a glass of water; he missed Schwarz's standard telepathy-based communication and now his throat was getting dry.

"I'm not familiar with curses, but if they're a form of magic you would think your curse was dampened by this place as well," Nagi mused out loud. "I've been practicing every day since... the Ball." He took a few sips of the water, holding it like a teacup - right hand clasping the cup, left hand underneath. Crawford said I could speak freely with him about Lucio, but best not to mention the Jungle. "I'm at roughly fifty-percent now ( ... )

necroshmancer April 3 2008, 00:09:40 UTC

"My theory", mused Jade, "Mind you it is but a theory, since I know very little about this strange place, is that a curse is magic only while it is being applied. Once it becomes a part of you, it can not be dampened by the environment. But it can be broken by yourself, or by someone else."

He took a sip of his coffee, he enjoyed the warmth, if not the taste. "It seems that our talents work differently... in Auldrant, we let the world permeate us, before using it against itself. Rivelata fought back. It reminded more of... taming... a wild and powerful creature."

Jade went through everything he told that boy, Nagi Naoe, into his mind. None of it was a lie, really, but he had omitted a few nuggets of information which, to him, seemed too delicate to share with someone who, at this moment, was only the enemy of his enemy... a tenuous relationship at best.

"One of my... associates... is quite an engineer in my world, he specialised in what you could call magical machinery and yet he was unable to understand how the diaries work. You ( ... )

technokinetic April 3 2008, 17:40:37 UTC

"How does one break a curse, I wonder... That would be something very interesting to see. I wish I could experiment with you on that, but the curse would have to have some physical component; Schuldig deals with the immaterial - mental, emotional - realm."

It was true. After all the rigorous training Crawford had put Nagi through to improve his creative skills, his ability to adapt to any kind of attack and problem, had created in the boy some love of experimentation.

"Dist the Reaper," Nagi commented, meeting Jade's gaze. Yes, he'd been reading the journals very closely practically since they got here. Anyone who interacted with Schwarz in the journals came under Nagi's watch. "As for my luck ( ... )