Bartz Klauser

Soldier in Taejin's Army (26, Synergist/Saboteur) "Never lose your sense of adventure!"

[cloudtaejin]

Ready, Set, KWEH! | Bartz and Cloud

[cloudtaejin]

A smile came across Cloud’s face as he heard the words come out of Bartz’s mouth. Mortal enemy eh? Pretty confident kid, he might be good at this, thought Cloud while looking at his opponent’s chocobo and then looking around. His eyes moved left and right in search of where his own chocobo would be, and then the blonde opened his eyes wide. Darn! I was told to join this race and everyone has their own personal chocobo and I have nothing at the moment, he told himself getting nervous.

"Hey there Spiky, no worries we’ve got quite the beauty for ye" said the man who had first invited Cloud to the race. Behind him was a chocobo that looked eager to begin the race just like the others he previously saw. The ravager wasn’t sure how to react to the villager’s random invitation and chocobo, but he accepted them and got on the chocobo. "Uhh, thanks! I didn’t know people were supposed to bring personal chocobos." Cloud explained to the villager as he made his way next to Bartz.

The villager laughed and just smiled at Cloud, “No worries youngster, just have fun!” he said. The blonde nodded and looked back at Bartz. “So, mortal enemy you say? We’ll just have to see about that” he responded to the other’s previous words. Although Cloud wasn’t familiar with the chocobo, we wasn’t as worried as others might believe, he’s gotten used to riding new chocobos on various missions, so this wouldn’t be too different. He then patted the chocobo and neared its head. “Let’s do this boy, show them what you’ve got” he told the golden bird.

"Oh and goodluck!" Cloud quickly said to Bartz before focusing on the race alone."

[bartztaejin]

While everyone was preparing for the race Bartz glanced over the crowd and his competition. There seemd to be a fair share of able riders as far as his decent knowledge of Chocobos and riding them could tell him. While he was mostly familiar with his own bird, he still judged most of the other animals to be in as good or even better shape. Likely these were thoroughly trained racing specimen while Boco really was more used to amble through the countryside at their leisure pace. And the riders seemed also more used to the professional sport than himself. But it didn't matter to him, he would surely have his fun.

After a while the spiky haired blonde from before rode up next to him and apparently wanted to resume their earlier conversation. "Hehe, yeah, we'll see! Just do your best to keep up, pal!" he grinned. He also felt Boco's muscle anxiously tensing and untensing between his legs and once more patted the bird's head. "We'll do this, right, boy?" Boco happily kweh'd and rubbed against Bartz' hand. Bartz again turned his attention to the rider next to him. He seemed to be quite comfortable in the saddle. Also, he still wondered where he had seen him before.

The brunette was about to ask his would be rival when the other man turned towards him again and wished him luck. "Heh, good luck to you, too. Don't fall off your bird!" Dismissing the issue of their acquaintance Bartz followed his example and turned his attention towards the referee about to start the race.

[baschtaejin]

Taejin Mission 035: Small Steps towards Bigger Dreams.

[baschtaejin]

Basch retracted his hand and listened to the young soldier’s concerns, nodding and listening intently. When Bartz was finished Basch just shrugged, "Listen kid. I understand what you’re saying, and for the most part I can sympathise with what you’re saying. I only came here temporarily, for supplies and mercenary work. This place has a way of making you feel at home, and I think the Army has a lot to do with that."

Staring off into the distance, he continued his monologue, "Going into active service is a big step Bartz, and it’s also a daunting one. One day you could be ordered to clear out a pack of Swoops, the next a horde of Goblins, but there’s one thing you can be certain of in this world,” Turning back to face the soldier, Basch spoke in stoic manner, "The Army will always be there. You will never be alone in the field. You will always have assistance, and the soldiers here are damn good at what they do. If your skills are lacking for a job, your friends will be there to help. They will not falter, and if you fall, they will pick you up so you can try again. The Army is a family, and we protect each other, as family and friend."

Standing, Basch pulled out a cigarette and put it behind his ear; "If you still have qualms with accepting my commendation, then I will not go against your wishes. Speak up now if that’s the case, because we best get back before it gets dark, and I have a lot of paperwork to get through."

[bartztaejin]

Bartz paid close attention to the Captain's words. He swallowed hard when he had finished and turned back towards the recruit. Bartz started blurting out what was still on his mind: "It's not that I don't believe you, sir, but how does this mean I'm ready? I couldn't keep up with you in a sparring match, I could never keep up with you in a real fight, I'm sure! I'd only slow you down! I'd slow everyone down! Not that I think everyone in the army is as skilled as you but still! They should be able to rely on me, they should be able to trust in my skill. I know I'm decent but is that good enough? Am I really an asset to the army the way I am or am I just monster bait? As I said, what if someone gets killed because I screw up somehow, what if I can't do the protecting if a comrade needs me?" He absentmindedly noticed he was wildly gesticulating with his arms and tried to get them back under control while going on: "Don't get me wrong, I'm not afraid of monsters, of getting hurt, of whatever but if someone gets hurt or dies and it's my fault... I absolutely don't want that to happen! I wasn't able to forgive myself! You just said the army is a family! If any part of my family got hurt or worse because of me..." He stopped talking there and took a deep breath before he continued: "And I just don't know if I'm prepared enough to not be a burden to anyone..." The brown haired man looked down and tried to calm down for a moment before he added: "I know: It is your call.. and if you truly think I'm ready for combat, sir, I'm not going to be a wimp and I will accept your decision. But I don't want you to let me pass just because I lucked out in our sparring match just now. I trust your judgement but I want you to think carefully. If you think I'm ready I will follow your orders, sir." He looked up at the taller man uncertaintly and waited anxiously for his reply.

[cloudtaejin]

Ready, Set, KWEH! | Bartz and Cloud

Looking out a window, the silence of the house was very relaxing, but he wasn’t the type to stay home for too long, especially with the recent promotion. He looked away from the window and at the mail stacked up on the table. Nobody was home for a long time, and there wasn’t anything of importance in the letters either, but something did catch Cloud’s eye.

It was a picture of a chocobo with someone on it. “Oerba’s annual Chocobo race! Feel free to join us” Was written on the card, and the date was today. He picked up the card and looked at it for a few seconds. 

I don’t really have anything better to do, and racing on a Chocobo can make some time go by I guess, the captain thought to himself. 

Cloud then turned around with the card in his hand and made his way out the door. There wasn’t anything planned for the day, no new ravagers had enlisted and nothing big has happened for the army to need him. He turned back to face his home, he had forgotten his weapon. The ravager took a step to return home, but then decided to leave the sword. 

I don’t think I’ll need it, if anything DOES happen then I can just use my other skills I guess, he said to comfort himself.

After a few minutes of travel, Cloud had arrived to the center of the village. It seemed that the people had been waiting for this raise seeing the crowd and people looking out of their windows. A man then walked up to him.

"Hey there you’re one of them soldiers right? How about you take a break and join the race. It’ll be ton o’ fun, come on" The man insisted and pulled Cloud towards where the racers were all meeting up.

It seemed that Cloud wouldn’t have had a choice if he did go to town, but it was a good thing that this was his plan for the day. The blonde then looked around to see who would be participating in the competition. There weren’t that many people, which explained why the random guy insisted that Cloud join the race.

One, two, three…. hmmm I’ve seen that one before around HQ, Cloud thought to himself after counting the participants. He kept his eyes on who he thought was an army soldier. He definitely wasn’t from the village, but that could also mean he’s just visiting. 

I’m sure I’ve seen him, well this will be interesting I guess. He thought to himself with his eyes still staring at the man without showing any interest.

[bartztaejin]

"I know, I know, you're eager to get out, just give me a minute to put on your harness, boy," Bartz complained while he was trying to do just that to Boko who seemd very excited by the prospect of finally getting some fresh air again and thus refused to hold still for even a second. The last weeks of basic training had left him with hardly any time to spare for the chocobo. So it was understandable both were happy about the idea of a chocobo race which Bartz learned about thanks to a poster he had seen on a stroll through town.     When he was finally able to equip the bird properly he placed his foot in the stirrup and swung himself onto the saddle. It had been quite some time so he took a momemnt to enjoy the feeling of seat beneath him. Following a cheerful "Yip!" from the man's side the bird started to amble forward and they headed at a slow pace towards where the race was announced to begin.   While he didn't have many occasions to get into town Bartz still got the impression the streets were much more lively today than usual. For that reason he would have had a hard time getting along on the back of his chocobo if Boko wouldn't have been squawking with excitement all the time causing people to move and sometimes jump out of his way. But as it was he got lucky and soon found what seemed to be the starting point where an excited person came already towards him and after a short conversation - he seemed as eager to find participants as both Bartz and Boko were to be such - he led them next to two other people.   He dismounted and shook hands with both of them. They introduced themselves as Sarah and Wedge and the riders wished each other good luck. The hree of them chatted for a while and talked about their respective birds when the man from before - Bartz took him to be an organizer - led another person towards them, a man with with somewhat remarkable blonde hair who he felt he had met before, or seen at least but he couldn't say where or when. With a smile Bartz approached the other man and introduced himself: "Hi, the name's Bartz and it seems I'm going to be your mortal enemy today."

[baschtaejin]

Taejin Mission 035: Small Steps towards Bigger Dreams.

[baschtaejin]

As a medic came to treat him, Basch removed his tunic to allow the man to treat the wound.Acknowledging Bartz, he beckoned the young recruit over and offered him some water. Stretching his neck, he retrieved a potion from a pouch on his belt and imbibed it, recoiling slightly at the bitter taste, "I’ll never get used to the taste of these… You’re a good fighter kid,” nodding, he continued his summary of Bartz abilties, as if talking to himself more than the man in front of him. "For what good my observations are, you’ve got natural skill in magic, but you could certainly use more physical training with your blade. Magic won’t always save you after all, it’s fair to say you learnt that today?"

As the medic was finishing treating him, Basch nodded as he listened to the young woman, and then said softly, "Alright, once I’m finished here I’ll head to the clinic and get this wound treated" Turning back to Bartz he smirked a little, "Looks like you got me pretty good kid. That was a decent strike you landed, even it was by accident." Turning around, he retrieved a stack of paper from his bag.

"I’ve got a lot of paperwork to get through, but I’m going to recommend the commander assigns you immediate field work. You have the aptitude for it, and I’m sure the other active field soldiers will benefit from your magic," writing something down on a scrap of paper, he folded it and stashed it in his pocket, "If you have any problems with that, tell me now." Standing up, he offered his hand to Bartz, "Welcome to the Army of Taejin Bartz."

[bartztaejin]

Shaking his head slowly Bartz refused the offered water. He started to feel a bit more at ease when the Captain pulled out a potion while being examined by the medic. 'Okay, so he is not entirely inhuman. That's a relief... I guess.'

The recruit listened to his superior's evaluation of his performance nodding obediently. There were numerous occasions when he felt like adding something but his early days of training had taught him not to interrupt his instructors and only speak when asked. Also, Basch would probably not take too kindly to being called 'a beast of a man no normal human could keep up with' when he scolded him for his lacking physique. Or how his lucky hit wouldn't help him much in a real confrontation - especially if it meant ending up under his enemy with a knife at his throat. Or claw. Or beak. Or whatever deadly tools the beasts on Pulse employed.

He kept listening to Basch and the medics short conversation in silence. Finally the Captain turned to praise him some more and offered his hand as he congratulated him to a training well completed and welcoming him to the army. Bartz looked at him with a blank expression and was about to accept the hand shake before he decided to speak his mind instead. "Sir, I... thank you for the kind words, but... I don't think I'm ready yet! No disrespect, but I only won by luck," he complained his voice getting more intense. "And you could have still finished me off! I can't go into battle, have my comrades rely on me, if I can't do my share. I could end up dead, and worse: they could as well. Don't you think I still need more preparation before going into actual combat and putting others at risk?"

[faristaejin]

Birds of a Feather | Bartz and Faris

[faristaejin]

"S’fine," she said, waving off his concerns over the quality of the food, "I had to get around to eating that anyway. Besides, ye should always share your best."

Being a pirate had involved a pretty casual approach to money and riches. While she and her crew had certainly hoarded their fair share, piracy entailed indulging every now and then. And they certainly never restrained themselves from making use of and even giving away their money.

The food situation was where this philosophy really stemmed from of course. The crew of a ship was family and when you were out at sea for extended periods of time sharing food between everyone on board was a necessity. Besides, there was no point in holding onto the good stuff.

Faris barked out a short laugh at the questions Bartz then posed.

"A big shot, eh?" she shook her head, "Well I wouldn’t really know."

She picked up a knife and pointed it in his direction menacingly (with a slightly joking tone), “But if ye ever call me ma’am or do any of that other nonsense you’ll be joinin’ this steak over here, ye understand?” She jerked the tip of the knife at the steak which was sizzling away on a pan.

After lowering the knife and shaking her head, she smiled again and continued, “‘Cause of leadership losses and other necessities, the higher ups at the Army decided they needed a Captain in charge of each role. S’how my friends and I got our new positions. That puts me above you and Basch, though I don’t really know his rank. Don’t really care either. He’s a tough guy and reliable, kinda grumpy too but m’sure I could count on him in a fight. That’s what matters.”

She made a face before continuing, “I try to give my orders informally. Not interested in official dictatin’.”

She punctuated her speech by flipping the steak over.

[bartztaejin]

"Ah, so you are not just serving me the meat because it's nearly overdue?" Bartz teased. "Anyway, I guess I'll just have to thank you and think of a way to make up for it soon." He was sure he not be able to hunt another Behemoth for her but he'd have to think of something else tasty to her her as a present. He used to be a decent hunter, after all.

The brunette listened to Faris while chopping more vegetables and kept nodding at her explanations about the army.

"Well, I guess Taejin's is much less strict than I expected. Or maybe that's just you, hehe. We recruits did get quite a bit of discipline taught, especially in the early days," he replied remembering quite a few scoldings he had gotten when he had just arrived. "But then, I'll assume you need to teach us rookies to listen to our superiors properly, so you can later rely on us to do as we are told if necessary."

He took the last of the carrots and began peeling them while going on: "Captain Basch, though... yeah, he definitely is tough. I had quite a rough exercise with him a while ago. And it was... definitely an experience, to say the least. But I'm sure you can rely on him in a mission, you certainly got that right." The image of Basch with his sword stuck in his side came unwanted back to him and he swallowed hard and discarded the image. 'Though, I'm not quite sure what exactly to think of what happened then... but maybe that's just me overthinking stuff again.'

"So, you still make it sound like you are a pretty influential person in the army, even if not among the generals," he thought out loud. "I guess as my roles are not the same as yours, we won't have too much contact during duty, would we? Or would we more often than not, as teams tend to be mixed and they wouldn't send out a pure team of synergists...?" Yeah, that obviously was a pretty bad idea.

Bartz looked down at the pile of diced food and realized he had done his share of work for the moment. Faris meanwhile was keeping close eye on the meat sizzling in the pan. With a mischievous grin he tiptoed over to her and carefully wrapped his arms around her from behind. "I'm all done chopping the veggies," he whispered in her ear and placed a kiss on her neck. Gently pulling the woman close to himself to feel her warmth he asked "What should I do next, not ma'am?" well aware he should put his work in a pot of boiling water. But the idea of teasing his host a little was too tempting to resist.

[baschtaejin]

Taejin Mission 035: Small Steps towards Bigger Dreams.

[baschtaejin]

Upon hearing Bartz’ submission, Basch’s bloodlust began to subside, and he relaxed his muscles. He was suddenly aware of the shocked faces around him, the recruits, the medics, and even Bartz. Rolling off the man, Basch got to his feet and pulled him up off the ground.

He nodded at Bartz, "Sorry kid. I went too far," a sudden pain struck him, and he looked at his side, "Ah shit. I think you lost something there kiddo. Do you think you could get that for me?" He winced as Bartz pulled the sword from his side. Retrieving a cloth from his pouch, he instantly put the cloth to the area to clot the wound and called the medics over. As they approached, he grunted "Treat the recruit first, check for internal injuries around the waist and chest." Turning to face the recruits, he instructed them to organise into formation.

"I hope you were watching recruits. No matter how well trained you are, and how prepared you are, there will always be unexpected situations. It’s up to you how well you handle them." Sheathing Chaos Blade, he continued his lecture, "Your skills, abilities, and weapons will be the closest companions you have on the battlefield. Rely on them first, and on your friends second." Removing the cloth to check the blood flow, he reapplied it, "Bartz here did well. He utilised his strengths and he took the advantage. He’s small and nimble, and he used that against me. Your body is a weapon too, remember that. The one thing he didn’t account for, is the unexpected. For the synergists among you, if you’re in doubt, cast protect to aid in your defence." 

Spinning on his heel, he faced Bartz. With a nod, and a smile, he said "Well done, recruit Klauser. Well done"

With that done, he waved his hand above his head, "You’re all dismissed. Please remember that while this is a military installation, Oerba is still a civilian area. Act accordingly." As a medic scurried to treat him, he pointed at Bartz and grunted "When you’re ready kid, I need to speak with you."

[bartztaejin]

Bartz face went even paler when the bigger man got off him and pulled the brunette along with him. His eyes were still fixed upon the blade which had found it's way into Basch's abdomen. He seemed to finally notice the foreign object as well and Bartz thought he heard a quiet wince form his opponent's side. But rather than show what he thought the adequate amount of pain considering his situation the Captain merely asked him to retrieve his blade in a calm and level voice.

'Is he crazy?' raced through Bartz' mind, and 'I am no medic!' He looked up into the other man's face and opened his mouth to protest but decided not to argue with him. He probably knew what he was doing. So he very carefully grabbed the blade and slowly started to pull. With a little relief he noticed little resistance so it apparently didn't hurt any bones or did otherwise unnecessary damage. Although the term "unnecessary damage" was probably very inappropriate here. When he had removed the sword he still stared at it somewhat in disbelief. It wasn't much comfort but he noticed it was only covered in crimson blood and nothing else, so it was likely the wound was mostly superficial. As superficial as a few inches of metal in man's body can be, at least. 

Still, Bartz experienced another shock when Basch instead of getting the medics to check on him merely pulled out a piece of cloth to press on the wound and only handed the recruit over to the doctors. Before he could protest he was lead a few paces away and one of them began patting him down and asking whether he hurt anywhere. Bartz kept denying her inquiries - ignoring a few bruises he had gotten from being slammed on the ground - and stared only half-listening at the Captain lecturing his comrades. 'Is that what sentinels do? Letting themselves get stabbed like that all the time? Or does he just not care of I spill his guts all over the grass? Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration but---!' He remembered he still held the dirty sword in his hand and carefully wiped it clean using his pants before placing it back in its sheath.

Suddenly he felt a sharp stab and whinced when the medic poked him hard in the ribs. "Oi, pay a little attention here, boy!" "I'm fine," he replied a little embarassed and continued: "Shouldn't you rather check on the Captain than me?" But in reply the woman only chuckled and rolled her eyes. Bartz couldn't make much sense of it but she didn't seem like she wanted to explain further.

Just then Basch had finished his instructions and bellowed in his direction again: "When you’re ready kid, I need to speak with you." He looked at the medic again who just nodded and the brunette started running towards his superior. "Coming, sir!" 'Oh gosh, what now? He knows it was an accident, right? Or is he going to teach me how I could have wounded him more lethally?' He shook his head to focus on what was to come next. 

[bartztaejin]

OOC: Back in Action

It's a bit late but I'm back from my vacation (which was quite relaxing). Though it seems I didn't miss any replies if I owe anybody a response please let me know.

Also, I'm still kind of willing to accept new missions/narratives but I can't quite say how fast I'll be able to respond over the next week. Just in case somebody is looking for another partner. (Cloud?)

[faristaejin]

Birds of a Feather | Bartz and Faris

[faristaejin]

Faris laughed a little self-consciously in response to Bartz’s reply. In all the, ahem, excitement, she had nearly forgotten about dinner altogether herself. Accepting his hand, she stood up as well and put her hands on her hips while surveying the room.

"I’d say s’good enough," she said, "anything cleaner than this and I really wouldn’t recognize the place at all. Least now I can sit on the sofa without bein’ liable to hurt myself."

She waved his concern for the chair away, “Don’t ye worry about that. Those chairs came with th’ place; M’not fussed about them.” 

Faris made her way over to the kitchen, pausing when she heard what Bartz said and grinning. She reached into the cutlery drawer and pulled out a kitchen knife.

"Alright then, ye can handle the knife. We can stir fry some vegetables  once ye cut them up," she moved to the fridge and began pulling out some assorted vegetables and placing them on the counter.

That done, she began burrowing into the freezer, so to speak, and pulled out one large Behemoth steak. She grinned at him.

"I was savin’ this but I think now’s a good time. Looks big enough to split." She grabbed her pan and lit the stove, "This should thaw nicely."

[bartztaejin]

Bartz had to snicker at Faris' remark. "And of course no one here would want your behind or anything else to get hurt when sitting down."   He followed her and listened to the instructions, nodding obediently. Once she had laid out the vegetables he picked up the knife and started cutting up some carrots. The knife proved to be equally good in shape to her other 'cutlery' so he didn't have much trouble.   Hearing his host pick a large piece of meat out of the freezer the brunette turned and commented: "You know you don't have to serve me your best. I'm a simple guy with simple taste." He hesitated for a moment before adding with a grin: "Except when it comes to women. Only the best and most exquisite of you, of course."   He continued with with the leek and resisted the urge to use Haste. There was enough time even if the smell slowly coming from the pan started to make his mouth water already.   Thinking of a topic to pick up he realized something he didn't know yet: "So, are you like some big shot in the army already? Like, should I address you with ma'am or so. Or do I need to stand to attention if we meet on duty?" He snickered at the last remark after he realized it could also be taken for a childish joke. "I mean, I guess since you're here a while longer than me with the house and all you're probably above me in rank but how many guys are in between? Do you know Captain Ronsenburg? Are you in his league when it comes to ordering my kind around?"

[bartztaejin]

OOC: Vacation

Just saying I'll be on vacation for one or two weeks starting this weekend(-ish). I guess it won't have much of an impact on my update schedule but just in case it has I thought I'd tell you guys.

[baschtaejin]

Taejin Mission 035: Small Steps towards Bigger Dreams.

[baschtaejin]

During his renewed charge, Basch was paying close attention to Bartz. He was moving fast, abnormally fast. He noticed a slight pattern in his foes’ movements, his body moved and shifted in his fighting stance, albeit at a much more rapid pace. He flipped his sword in his hand, shifting to an icepick grip, if this doesn’t work I’m going to leave a huge opening… But he shrugged off the thought, he was committed to the attack. He saw Bartz shift into a sword-stance, This is it.

As he approached, he quickly brought his shield up, feigning an attempt at a second shield strike, but just before he reached his target he brought his shield back down to his side and leapt straight at his foe’s torso, landing his attack with his shoulder. It took Bartz by surprise, but it didn’t stop him from striking with his sword. Basch took the blade strike in the side of his chest. His mind screeched at him, the pain was intense. Far more intense than it should’ve been. The momentum from his shoulder charge should’ve unbalanced Bartz and reduced the force of the attack, but it was incredibly powerful.

Using the momentum, Basch forced Bartz into the ground, and he quickly dug his knees into the ground either side of Bartz’ torso, sat up, and brought his blade, still in the icepick grip, straight up to Bartz’ throat, stopping mere centimetres from his foes neck. Even though Basch still had Bartz’ blade embedded in his waist, his blood pumped adrenaline through his veins and he roared ”DO YOU YIELD!?" at Bartz. He could counter this… but he might not have the strength to do so.

[bartztaejin]

Things happened shockingly fast even with Bartz increased speed of perception. He did notice his opponent shift the grip on his sword while both were still charging. 'What is he up to?' raced through his mind but he couldn't make sense of it. 'Maybe I should dodge? No, I shouldn't waste any more time.' He focused and kept going at the taller man. Things seemed to be going according to plan. Basch lowered his shield to block his attack and wouldn't be able to use his shield bash but then suddenly changed his stance and jumped at him. The recruit had no real choice in what to do and kept his sword pointed at his target. Then the Captain's full weight slammed into him and everything vanished in a blinding white flash of pain. 'Should've cast protect...' was the last thing racing through his mind. Somewhere far off he felt his sword connect and in exchange his feet lose contact with the ground as he fell backwards and slammed hard on the ground. When he was able to gather his senses again and realize what had happened it was already too late. If he'd been able to recover faster he might have been able to do something but now the Captain pretty much sat on top of him and had his blade almost pressed to the brunette's throat. As if this wasn't intimidating enough "DO YOU YIELD!?" rang in the younger man's ears. He swallowed hard his eyes wide with fear, tried to speak but somehow no sound escaped his lips. Considering the sweating, heavily breathing person on top of him nodding didn't seem a like option. For a moment he let his eyes wander while taking a deep breath. This was when he realized where the sword he no longer had in his hand was instead: buried rather deeper than it should be in Basch's waist! If at all possible his eyes went even wider in shock but in exchange he somehow manages to croak a "I yield... I yield!" the first barely audible, the second louder and with more than a just hint of panic in it, more due to his recent discovery than due to his situation.

[baschtaejin]

Taejin Mission 035: Small Steps towards Bigger Dreams.

[baschtaejin]

Basch hadn’t had much experience fighting magic users, there hadn’t been much use for them in Landis, and he hadn’t sparred with any in Oerba. He didn’t really have much of a strategy, but he was confident in his abilities, and his plan was to overwhelm Bartz with speed and experience.

During his charge, he kept his sword trailing behind him, leading with his shield with intent to daze his foe with a battering assault. He was slightly surprised when Bartz didn’t make an evasive stance, the recruit simply raise his shield, but Basch dismissed it, already committed to his charge. Getting closer to his target, he brought his shield-arm closer to his body, ready to lash out as soon as he was in range. But then something happened, Bartz appeared to be moving fast, abnormally fast, and in the instant before Basch’s blow connected, Bartz effortlessly shifted his body away from the attack, as if Basch was merely a stray leaf on the wind. 

What?! How the hell did he do that?! Basch’s mind raced, but he kept running forward, in an attempt to deny Bartz the ability to counterattack. After a few more metres of running, he pivoted on his heel, shifting around to face his opponent, he quickly surveyed the situation and resolved to charge again, this time with both shield and sword trailing behind him.

[bartztaejin]

Bartz was relieved when he realized he had managed to evade the Captain's first attack. Apparently his Haste spell had caught the opponent off-guard and he ran a few more paces fom where they had met. When his hearing told him he wasn't imminently followed he turned around to to face Basch again. 'Thirteen chocobos, fourteen chocobos, fifteen chocobos' he counted in his head to keep track how long his spell would last. The surrounding recruits he noticed in a spare moment seemed amazed he even managed to avoid that one attack. This had indeed worked much better than expected but running all the time wouldn't help him. Surely Basch was much more enduring than him so tiring him out wouldn't work and most likely soon he would see through him and simply evading like this wouldn't be an option anymore. He could try some kind of debuff but poisoning his superior didn't seem like a good idea. Even if - and this was a big "if" - he was lucky enough for it to work. No, he would have to face him head-on, somehow. The taller man had already turned to charge again. Bartz decided to cast Bravery as his next step. Whether the increase in strength would be enough to keep up with his opponent he would have to find out. He discarded his first thought to mimic the Captain and instead decided to just try to hold his ground. As Basch closed in Bartz had no idea what manner of attack he was about to use. 'But judging from his last move it might be another shield blow...' So he prepared to attack with his sword at the right moment forcing his opponent to use his shield for defense and block a possible sword strike with his shield as good as possible. Now he'd see how much good the Bravery would do.

[faristaejin]

Birds of a Feather | Bartz and Faris

[faristaejin]

Lady Luck seemed to live on Faris’s side, so many of her gambles turned out for the better. She grinned into the kiss a bit, pleased that he had reciprocated.

Bartz was a gentle kisser, which seemed to suit him, Faris thought to herself. Thoroughly enjoying the warm touch of the other’s lips, she loosened her grip on his collar, allowing Bartz to part from her for the time being. She grinned back at him once they were both sitting up, completely fine with her hair being the way it was.

She chuckled at his comments, “Leave it." She said, though she made no attempt to stop him from fumbling around with her hair to try to get it to return to some semblance of order. When he began ushering their faces back together, she didn’t resist and met his lips again eagerly.

Allowing him to set the tone of this kiss (so much softer than the first), Faris placed her hands on Bartz’s thighs, leaning forward a little. Their noses squished together for a moment as heads tilted, and Faris snickered at the contact. They stayed like that for a while, content to be half sprawled on the floor of her house. The former pirate raised her hand to the other’s brown hair, wrapping her fingers into the shorter messy strands.

The purple haired girl pulled back, smiling at the other and cleared her throat self-consciously, “So, what do ye say about that dinner?"

[bartztaejin]

Bartz couldn't stop himself from blushing slightly when Faris placed her hand on his thigh. When he also felt her fingers toying with his hair he decided to make their kiss a little more intense.   But shortly thereafter she broke the kiss and asked something he didn't quite catch at first. "Huh?" Opening his eyes slowly he looked at her smiling face and still missed the soft pressure on his lips. Then he managed to order his thoughts and realized what she had said. "Oh, right, dinner. We were supposed to have it!" he laughed and carefully backed up a little lest he would be tempted again to delay their meal.   He jumped up hastily and stretched for a moment to check for any possible injury he might have missed while lying down or being otherwise distracted. Luckily everything seemed to be fine. The brown haired man looked around and while lending the woman still sitting on the floor a hand to get up said: "It seems we've done a good enough job, haven't we?." It still didn't look like what he might expect Captain Basch's place to look like - even though he could also be terribly wrong on that account - but it looked like a place you would let your children play without fear of them losing an eye or worse.

But one thing caught his eye that needed fixing. "Well, maybe I should pick that up since it is kind of my fault." He went over to the chair which had suffered from their mock battle and looked for any permanent damage. "Hm, seems to be alright." He placed it back where it had stood earlier. "Lucky me. Imagine I'm coming over to help you clean your place and instead trash your furniture." He grinned at her once more and stuck his tongue out mischievously.   He still felt a little tense when he turned his attention back to his companion - her looking at him with these amazing green eyes didn't help any with that - so he took a long deep breath to calm himself. "Alright, Faris, you know best what you got in store. So, what is on the menu today and how can I help you? I may be not as good with a sword like you but I'm pretty decent with a kitchen knife!"

[faristaejin]

Birds of a Feather | Bartz and Faris

[faristaejin]

They stayed there on the floor like that for a while, laughing till their lungs hurt (it didn’t help that Bartz was largely on top of her). Eventually the laughter died down  It was only now that she had time to regain her breath that Faris realized Bartz had cast some sort of spell on her to soften the blow.

"M’fine," she said, still all smiles and grins from the laughing fit, “you did something though, didn’t ye? That didn’t hurt as much as it should’ve."

She was grateful for that assistance, even though she was fairly confident it would have been fine without the spell. It was a pretty caring thing for Bartz to have done nonetheless. Smiling up at the other (not yet bothered by the weight he was placing on her torso), Faris blew some hair out of her face. The long purple tresses were a true mess now, splayed out all over as a result of the tumble.

With a start, she realized that her hand was still holding his sword hand (although both of their weapons had been released a while ago, probably during their laughing session). She considered releasing it for a moment, but then, still breathless from it all, she glanced back at him through a sheen of purple and decided against it.

That was when Faris felt a sort of swell of emotion she had become unaccustomed to. Running into Bartz today had certainly brought out a lot of emotion in her, and as a result of said meeting, she had found herself here, lying on the floor with Bartz heaped on top of her. It felt like her rib cage was being pushed; she flushed, thought not out of embarrassment anymore.

Faris was generally a largely impulsive individual. She went through life following instinct, and doing what she pleased most of the time. Sometimes that impulsive behavior had gotten her into considerable amounts of trouble. Looking over the other’s face for any signs of discomfort, Faris hoped this wouldn’t be one of those times.

She reached forward with her free hand and  did what she did best, acted on impulse. Grabbing Bartz by the collar of his shirt, she brought their faces closer before tilting her head forward and kissing the brunette firmly on the lips.

[bartztaejin]

Bartz nodded in response to her question. He was about to give a proper answer when Faris grabbed his shirt, pulled him down towards her and sealed his mouth with hers. He was dumbfounded for a moment and his eyes went wide with surprise.   He had no issue with intimacy or showing his feelings and while the brunette had been considering doing the same she had caught the young soldier off-guard by her sudden initiative. Nevertheless, he enjoyed the comforting chill that accompanied the sensation of having her soft lips on his own and closing his eyes he carefully returned the kiss. He also moved his hand to gently squeeze hers still holding onto his sword arm. While he didn't mind a farm, intensive kiss, he wouldn't let her have all the fun.   This was certainly not what he had planned for the day when he had left the baracks this morning but he could not claim it was an unpleasant surprise from any point of view. Not only had he met a person he had fun being around (and who was a pleasure to look at), the meal he was promised had even turned into something that tasted much sweeter than anything he could have expected.   Once the green-eyed girl had loosened her grip on his shirt he slowly broke the kiss and smiled looking at her, still breathing a bit heavily. The brunette pushed himself up and holding her hand pulled the former pirate along so both were sitting upright on the floor. He mustered her and his smile turned into a grin. "Hehe, your hair is kind of a mess," he laughed and added giggling "Well, I guess mine always is, so I'm probably better off. Wait, let me help you fix it."   It was nothing but a poor excuse to get close to her face again but he tried to put the purple strands back into some kind of order. "Just now you got the better of me but now it's my turn," he teased and closed his eyes while guiding her face towards his. He placed his lips on hers and began to kiss her in a more gentle manner than she had done before.

[baschtaejin]

Taejin Mission 035: Small Steps towards Bigger Dreams.

[baschtaejin]

Basch was just about to address the recruits when Bartz’ voice piped up in the crowd. Hearing the young man’s offer, he thought for a second and nodded, "I’ll try, but no promises on your lunch staying inside you kid, that’s up to your nerves."

As the recruits cleared the general area, Basch drew his sword and stared at Bartz, the man was probably not prepared for a true combat situation, not would he be ready for Basch at his full force, I better go easy on him… Basch then shifted his weight to his feet. “In a real battle… your opponent won’t let you know when combat begins. This will be as realistic as possible. I advise you to apply your protective enhancements quickly."

Basch then tapped his sword on his shield slowly. One tap, he eyed the distance between him and Bartz. A second tap, he twisted his feet in the ground. On the third tap, he began sprinting, shield in front of him, aimed directly at Bartz.

[bartztaejin]

Bartz swallowed hard when Basch actually accepted his offer. He certainly wasn't sure he could do any better than his predecessor but he had gotten himself into this so he would do his best to somehow not make a terrible fool out of himself. He stepped up and faced the much taller man with as much courage as he could muster. He wasn't sure whether the Captain's words were supposed to be comforting or intimidating... Probably he was just stating facts in order to teach the recruits what they should know already by now. Bartz tried to get into a proper stance as well and took a few deep, calming breaths and tried to plan his first few moves. Tap. He would start with Haste to give himself and advantage and then maybe try to slow or possibly blind the blonde man. Tap. And then... Far faster than Bartz expected Basch came rushing at him. Bartz reconsidered going for Protect first but as he had little time and it probably would not be that useful against Basch's full strength at this point he stuck with his earlier decision to apply Haste. As this was probably his most used spell he finished casting quite quickly and took a moment to accustom for the well-known feeling of things moving slightly slower around him than before. He feigned a defensive posture with his shield held high in front against an incoming blow with either sword or shield from the captain. But instead, when Basch was only a step away from him, he made a jump to the right away from his opponent's sword arm trying to keep his shield between them to avoid a possible shield bash against his head. His plan was to try for a possible opening if Basch was actually careless (or generous) enough to leave such or if not at least buy some time and get behind the enemy.

[faristaejin]

Birds of a Feather | Bartz and Faris

[faristaejin]

Faris laughed at his retort, surprised that he’d actually held onto the sword. Since he was just joking around, she had expected an entirely loose grip. Still, it was more fun if they got to goof off a bit more before dinner.

"Hope you’re ready to back up those words with some show of strength, Cadet!" she said, using an obviously fake authority voice.

It seemed like things were escalating into an actual play fight. Normally, Faris had no qualms about fooling around like that [in fact it was part of how her house had become the Sea of Decay in the first place]. However, they had just cleaned…

Deciding she was going to end this little scuffle quickly, Faris quickly met his attack and blocked it. Without pause, she proceeded to kick the chair out from under Bartz, effectively toppling the chair and the brunette on top of it.

Moving quickly, Faris grabbed his sword hand, making sure neither of their weapons injured them on accident. She tried to catch Bartz with her free arm but ended up staggering under his weight and falling down along with him.

Pinned beneath Bartz on the floor, Faris paused for a beat before bursting into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

[bartztaejin]

"Cadet?" he laughed, "So do you expect me to call you ma'am now?" Bartz was just about to try a kick when Faris attacked his footing which made her action all the easier. (Not that he could have found a way to get out of this situation otherwise.) He flailed with his arms trying  to somehow keep his balance but failed terribly. Then the much more experienced fighter even got a hold of his arm and he realized he was going to crash right on top of her. Without his arm he couldn't even stop his fall so he hastily used a Protect spell on her to reduce the damage he would cause. With a loud "Ouch!" and awkwardly trying to catch some of his weight he slammed on the floor , or more precisely his hostess who inadvertently served as a cushion for him. Even though, he was dizzy for a moment and only gathered his thought when the woman lying under him started to burst into laughter. Bartz couldn't help joining in either. "Are you hurt?" Bartz asked concerned after a while when both of them had calmed down. He was about to get up but he became aware of the the rather pleasant sensation of the soft, warm body lying underneath him. Also, Faris' green eyes were only a few inches from his and he could hear her still slightly excited breathing from their exercising just now. The brunette wondered considerably longer than a moment whether getting up really was the best option right now.

[bartztaejin]

The Big Catch | Ingus and Bartz

[ingustaejin]

Ingus’ attention was drawn to the clear, pristine lake. Several ripples disturbed the calm flesh of the water, but no fish were in sight. It seemed that the brown-haired soldier before him was having some bad luck. 

"Fishing eh? Any luck?" He inquired, while searching the ground for a stick of sorts. Aside from a few measly twigs, the earth below was barren of tools. Ingus turned his attention back to the man with the rod, and examined him. He had, what some might describe as, god-like hair, which was contained by a thin, and seasoned face. Ingus wasn’t sure, but he figured the man was older than him, and merely kept his wired frame with adventuring and sparring.  "My name is Ingus Lumine, by the way. Fancy to meet you."

[bartztaejin]

Bartz decided to leave the wretched tool on the ground for the moment and resisted the urge to even kick it in anger. He had mostly given up hope on his endeavour to catch anything with it by now, anyway. Standing up he mustered the young blonde who had introduced himself as Ingus. "Pleasure to meet you, too, Ingus. Bartz Klauser's my name, and no, I'm afraid I'm having no luck at all with those accursed fish." he replied with his usual grin, held out a hand to shake and continued, "Though, I guess I shouldn't blame the prey for the hunter's lack of skill." The first impression his new acquaitance gave him was that, even though he appeared to be at least five years younger than Bartz, Ingus seemed very composed and calm, even stern, maybe. But then, he could hardly say he knew the boy and you were not supposed to judge a book by its cover. "So, are you also hoping to try your luck catching something or are you just here to cool of a little?" he wondered considering the hot sun beating down on them.

[faristaejin]

Birds of a Feather | Bartz and Faris

[faristaejin]

Faris laughed at all of Bartz’s shenanigans. She was sincerely pleased with the turn this day had taken. It was always nice getting to know another soldier.  And in the case of Bartz, reuniting with someone from her previous life.

On a professional level, Faris liked knowing the comrades she might end up going into battle with. It saved time when you could go into a mission trusting your partner automatically instead of developing that trust in the middle of a battle or otherwise dangerous situation. On a personal level, making friends around Oerba and slowly settling in was an important part of accepting her new life as a soldier.

Laughing, she grabbed the Brave Blade out from its sheath (that was one weapon that never got put away, being her prized possession) and brandished it, “Ay, ye scurvy scallywag! I won’t be goin’ down that easily!"

That said, she stepped forward swiftly and hit the sword Bartz was holding. Faris didn’t put too much force behind the swing but it was enough to potentially knock the blade out of Bartz’s hand depending on how loose his grip was.

[bartztaejin]

"I'm not quite sure what you just called me, but I certainly won't be easy prey either!" Bartz laughed and prepared for Faris' first attack.

When her blade struck his, though, he almost lost his grip and only with some effort managed to not drop the sword already. He carefully backed off a little to judge the situation. It wasn't that he had underestimated her, he just decided to put maybe a bit more effort into this than he'd originally planned.

The green-eyed woman was clearly at an advantage. Her sword was larger and heavier, she was more skilled than him by far and he could hardly use any of his tricks. Even if he had brought any smoke grenades they would have just messed up the place which would be a shame after the work they had done.

He certainly hadn't planned to spend the day cleaning someone else's house but he'd found nice, fun company, so he didn't mind the bit of work that came along with it. And it was always a good thing to meet new friends. Or old friends, in this case. Well not precisely an 'old friend'...

He went back to the fight and looked around how he could even the odds. He spotted a chair near her and jumped on it, planning to use the higher ground in his favor.

"Take this, ye scurvy dog!" Confident in her ability to parry he made a downward thrust aiming for her shoulder.