010 ♫ (voice)
It appears Mitsuhide and I fell asleep unexpectedly, for an unnatural passage of time.
I've noticed that the number of locals has halved since I was last out in the streets. What happened? Did those beasts turn on us?
I've noticed that the number of locals has halved since I was last out in the streets. What happened? Did those beasts turn on us?
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[And with that all said, he says with interest:]
Come, tell me about your battle.
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[ She makes a sound of excited approval. ]
Are you still in your bedroom? I'll go to you!
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I am.
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Are you sure you're well? [ She enters! ]
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I'm certain of it.
[His answer is wholly confident. He's acquired a soft waterbed since she last paid him visit in his room -- he leans forward, and it moves slightly at the shift of weight.]
So place that thought to rest. I wish to hear of your exploits.
[What he doesn't say is that it's best done while Mitsuhide sleeps -- if only because that is obvious enough to go without saying.]
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Where should I begin, though? That was such a busy week!
[ Gracia hurriedly sat down in front of him, legs crossed on the floor. As he moved though, her gaze shifted from Motochika to the bed he sat on. She blinked curiously. ]
...Is there water inside there?
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[He then answers her first question.]
Begin with your first battle, Gracia. Which beast did you face, and under what circumstances? How did you cope?
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It's so squishy! I've never felt anything like it before!
[ Ah, anyway! Back to the topic. ]
Well, the very first one I can remember is fighting off a dinosaur that's this big, and this tall. [ She makes motions with arms, large ones. ] It had scaly skin and lots of teeth. There were two of them terrorizing some locals in the marketplace. [ Gracia touched the bandages on her hands carefully. ] I was alone when I fought them. The locals managed to get away, but I found out that you can't punch your way to victory when you're up against those kinds of creatures. See? [ She raises her fists up to light, smiling still. It was the worst feeling when she had to pick the scales that embedded into her knuckles. ]
So I used musou! I didn't kill them, though. They ran away. I did that all week, up until the final fight with the three largest dinosaurs. [ She becomes visibly excited ( ... )
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Imposing. So, the group that you joined...
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I didn't know a lot of them, but one of my friends was there. We took on a big dinosaur that had the toughest skin of all, and had something like a fin on its back! They attacked it with all sorts of magic spells and weapons, but the worst injury it got was in its eye. [ She faced him completely, completely enraptured by her own story as the fresh memories returned. ] Somebody stabbed its right eye, Motochika! It was half blind by the time I arrived!
Since you couldn't attack it anywhere else, everybody aimed at its head and its eye. We had to get it to go down, or else we'd never be able to defeat it. So while everybody charged themselves up, I took a chance and climbed up the rooftops. My friend Celes cast a spell that made everybody move faster! It really helped a lot! When I was at the top, I used my musou on the dinosaur and it finally fell to its knees! It didn't kill it, but it gave everybody else a ( ... )
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[Her obvious excitement is infectious; his smirk widens a fraction.]
It must have been an exhilirating fight. One that you will not soon forget.
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Thank you! I wanted to protect everybody, that's all.
[ She shifts her weight on the water bed, intrigued yet again. As proud as she was of her accomplishment then, she was, for now, content to be beside Motochika, occasionally glancing at him from time to time. ]
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Gracia. I have wondered for some time now... do you know how to swim?
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No, I don't. There weren't any seas or oceans near our home, so I never learned.
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Do you want to learn?
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