Dextyn the Mage of Hope

"Got it…." He blinked and followed obediently, avoiding any puddles of water on the floor. "So…. Great place for a date right? The place that made you go all cuckoo? I mean, it’s nice down here I guess but I don’t wanna risk you ending up…. Ya know…. Bad…."

"Just don’t...

Dextyn didn't mind the cold air. In fact, he enjoyed feeling cold for once and so left his arms bare, sighing at the chill that ran up his spine. He couldn't deny this cave was beautiful, even in its morbidity. That they were basking in the light of the dead did not go unrealized, and Dex was almost afraid to speek, should doing so be disrespectful in some way. He wondered how many of those souls were incarnations of themselves.

The music was calming and enchanting, luring him deeper after Anna in a surreal sort of haze. He couldn't really explain what drew him on, especially with the knowledge of Anna's experiences in mind. It was just.... Strange.

"Wow…. Kind of depressing…." He frowned, dropping to the ground and watching the water in the pipes as it flowed, keeping one hand on the wall to guide him.

"…Are you sure it’s ok for you to be in here?" He asked, looking to her hesitantly.

"Dextyn, did I ever tell...

"Got it...." He blinked and followed obediently, avoiding any puddles of water on the floor. "So.... Great place for a date right? The place that made you go all cuckoo? I mean, it's nice down here I guess but I don't wanna risk you ending up.... Ya know.... Bad...."

#Dextyn #anna lime

"W-well I mean… Not necessarily here, just… I dunno. Somewhere… Nice?" He blushed and flew after her, staying off the ground and enjoying the air on his bare arms. Hey look! They even had hair on them! And… Wow was he muscular? How’d that happen?

"Maybe we could like,...

"Wow.... Kind of depressing...." He frowned, dropping to the ground and watching the water in the pipes as it flowed, keeping one hand on the wall to guide him.

"...Are you sure it's ok for you to be in here?" He asked, looking to her hesitantly.

#dextyn #anna lime

"Ah! Good point!" And then there were jeans and he held the Hammer of Brontes in his grip, hovering a bit off the ground so the snakes couldn’t get to him. "Geez, I’ll take the electric skinks in my land ANYDAY."

He smashed one of the snakes with his hammer and...

#so cute #dextyn #anna lime #ascend #god tier

"W-well I mean... Not necessarily here, just... I dunno. Somewhere... Nice?" He blushed and flew after her, staying off the ground and enjoying the air on his bare arms. Hey look! They even had hair on them! And... Wow was he muscular? How'd that happen?

"Maybe we could like, find a high up spot where the crazy snakes won't bite us and just.... Hang out? I.... I don't know.... It depends on if you say yes...."

As soon as Dextyn entered her land, the heat reaching him almost instantly. His eyes widened and he coughed in surprise. “Woah! Should’ve been expecting that! Ok, change of clothes.”

A moment later, his god tier was exchanged for a yellowish tank with his aspect symbol...

#Dextyn #anna like #ascend #god tier

"Ah! Good point!" And then there were jeans and he held the Hammer of Brontes in his grip, hovering a bit off the ground so the snakes couldn't get to him. "Geez, I'll take the electric skinks in my land ANYDAY."

He smashed one of the snakes with his hammer and collected the grist he didn't really need. "Hey so.... D-do you think sometime we could like.... Go on... A date or something?"

"Oh. Right. Well…. I mean….. I-if I wasn’t gonna be a bother to you…. I’d take the opportunity to not go back to my land of terror for a bit…" He laughed nervously and wondered how blue his face was.

"I’m not the biggest fan of lightning, ya know. Some caves and rock...

As soon as Dextyn entered her land, the heat reaching him almost instantly. His eyes widened and he coughed in surprise. "Woah! Should've been expecting that! Ok, change of clothes."

A moment later, his god tier was exchanged for a yellowish tank with his aspect symbol and a pair of orangish shorts and no shoes. "Ah, that's better. Great to feel air on my arms again..." He grinned and used his wings to fan him off, getting closer to her so she could benefit as well.

#dextyn #anna lime

"She’s…. doing it alone?" He frowned, scratching his neck at the thought. "Geez…. chick has more guts than I do…." He’d never have been able to do it himself. In the time he spent slowly dying, he could’ve pulled the knife out and finished himself, but… no. No that was...

"Oh. Right. Well.... I mean..... I-if I wasn't gonna be a bother to you.... I'd take the opportunity to not go back to my land of terror for a bit..." He laughed nervously and wondered how blue his face was.

"I'm not the biggest fan of lightning, ya know. Some caves and rock might be a nice change. Th-that is if you're inviting me...." He bit his lip slightly and hoped- since that was apparently all he was good for now- that this would end alright.

Ascend

Anna turned away from Dextyn, retrieving her glasses and setting them on her face. Instantly a light blue world of digits and figures appeared in her sight. The girl placed her hands in front of her on a keyboard just in her vision and began typing away, a chat screen with Lia floating over the landscape of the asteroid.

paleoParadox [PP] began pestering loudOracle [LO].

PP: Lia, Dex and I made it. We’re God Tier. Where are you?

LO: I’ll be there as soon as you leave. I’m doing it alone.

PP: What? Why? Lia, we’ll be here for you. Please get past the thing on the battlefield. Even I have!

LO: It’s something I need to do alone. Can we leave it at that?

LO: Was Dextyn there with you when you died?

PP: Yeah, we killed each other. God, Lia, it was terrible. He snapped my neck, but I stabbed him and it took longer. By the time I had gone God Tier, he was still alive.

PP: He died in my arms. I know he came back and all, but it was still terrifying.

PP: The light leaving those eyes. He has such bright eyes and to see them fade…I couldn’t do it again.

LO: Sounds like you really care for him.

PP: No, can we not talk about this now?

PP: It’s my powers, alright? I can fuckin sense what people are feeling and all I’m feeling is his love me. I’m heartless and there’s no way it can be reciprocated.

LO: Anna Lime, you are in love with that boy. Don’t you dare blame it on going God Tier. I’ve seen the way you act with him. Before the battlefield I thought you might actually get together.

PP: But, Lia. I can’t focus on that now. We have a game to win. I fucked everything up by killing the White Queen. She was supposed to be an Exile and now everything’s going to go to hell.

LO: Just…How about you go back to LOSAM and get some sleep or something. We’ll talk about this after we defeat the denizens.

PP: Good luck on going God Tier.

loudOracle [LO] ceased pestering paleoParadox [PP].

Anna removed the glasses and turned to Dextyn, a frown engraved upon her face. She listened to his own commentary, just shaking her head and offering a Mona Lisa smile. “Lia says she’ll be here as soon as we leave. So…Guess we better leave.”

"She's.... doing it alone?" He frowned, scratching his neck at the thought. "Geez.... chick has more guts than I do...." He'd never have been able to do it himself. In the time he spent slowly dying, he could've pulled the knife out and finished himself, but... no. No that was different. He needed to see Anna alive first.... even if he was a bit too out of it to realize it at the time.

Fuck, he really was pathetically in love with her wasn't he?

Dex shook it off and looked back to Anna. "So.... You heading back to your land? I-I mean... I guess we both should... Go back to our lands, I mean. N-not me to yours... um.... Y-yeah. And I'd bet against you wanting to come to LOCAL, so...."

Ascend

Anna couldn’t think of a proper way to console him, so she just hesitantly hovered in midair and smoothed his hair with one hand. “Just…Just let me get used to this first,” she told him, flashing a nervous smile.

The girl kissed his cheek and then let herself touch down to the ground. “I guess I better get a hold of Lia,” she muttered.

"Right. And... Yeah, I'm sure Scylla's worried. So..." He cleared his throat and turned away, grabbing his communicator mask and going on with contacting the brown blood. But all the while, he couldn't stop thinking about what Anna had said. Did she love him?

She had hesitated to stab him. Would she have hesitated if she didn't love him? When she first saw him dying and told him she loved him, he'd been far too terrified and in pain to think much about his love for her.... And that was when she first said how she felt. So how could that just be a reflection of his own love when it wasn't there at the time?

He didn't really believe it but he didn't say a word.

Finally, he put the mask away and turned back around. "Scylla says congrats on the god tiering.... said something about using that heart of yours to love people to death." He laughed.

Ascend

The whole world seemed to melt before Anna. The wind and the planets and even the game disintegrated before her eyes as Dextyn’s lips became the only thing she could seem to focus on. She exhaled shakily and swallowed, closing her eyes.

It was intoxicating being that close to him. She could smell him, feel the warmth of him on her skin. Tasting…That could be a new sense. Anna brought her lips closer to his and prepared to kiss him, but guilt stopped her and the girl turned her head away.

"I…Dextyn, I’m sorry, I can’t…I don’t know it I’m…It’s confusing…We’re not even…I’m…With the powers…Empathy….I sort of feel things…" Anna stumbled, "I’m not sure if…Well, I don’t know if I’m in love or just feeling your love…But I don’t want to do this if I don’t know. That’s not fair to you. I mean, you’re…You’re so fucking attractive, but love? That’s…Well…" The girl shrugged and looked her toes, her face surely turning the same color as her cape.

"No... No it's fine. I get it." He stepped back, touching the ground again and burying his hands in his pockets. "I mean, that's why I was asking permission. S-so you could stop me if you weren't.... yeah. No it's... fine."

He tried his hardest not to frown. She didn't need to feel guilty for something that wasn't her fault. Dex just shook his head and smiled at her, trying to keep his cool and calm his racing heart.

"And... Hey! Ya know! Heart powers. F-for all I know, you might just be making me l-love you... with.... the powers...." Of course that was a lie. He'd been in love far longer than that. Maybe she wouldn't realize it though.

Ascend

Knowing one second, oblivious the next. That could have been Anna’s motto. She tilted her head to the side, hand going rigid under his touch. His touch. Not the feel of cold metal, but his hand. Skin. Flesh and blood and bone. Slowly, she relaxed and looked him in the eye, one eyebrow raising at his hesitant speech.

He was nervous and happy and most definitely excited. “What’s up, Dextyn?” she asked him calmly, putting a hand on his upper arm. “Are you alright?”

"Can... Can I...?" He leaned closer slightly, he was sure his cheeks must've been dark blue from nervousness and embarrassment, and he worried she'd push him away and he'd look like a fool....

Ah, damn. But he had to do it. He had to try. So taking a deep breath, he leaned a bit closer.

"Can I kiss you?"

#dextyn #anna lime

Ascend

"Bitch, I make an incredible everything," Anna joked, flipping Meurtrier in her hand and sheathing it. Yeah, the leather belt stayed. She liked how much more handy it was than a strife specibus. Maybe she could even keep a sword there…Hmm, she couldn’t captchalogue it, but that wouldn’t matter.

And as for powers, Anna was 50% sure one of those was being an empath. She could sense feelings like scents, and very strong ones wafted from Dextyn like fumes. He totally loved her. A blush crossed Anna’s face despite her trying to calm it and, out of embarrassment, she blushed harder.

The girl wiped her hands on her tunic and looked up toward the planets in the sky. Maybe if she didn’t look at him, she’d be able to stop feeling what he was feeling. Wait a second. Was that what was going on? Did she actually love him or was it the emotions she was feeling from Dextyn? Shit. She didn’t know how much control she had of these powers yet. Fuck, she loved him, didn’t she? That dorky little shit with his jagged grin and straight nose and horsey face and that blonde hair w-. Fuck. Okay, so maybe it was definitely her powers. But Anna had to admit she was pretty well attracted to that boy, both physically and mentally.

#dextyn #anna lime #good boy dex #asking permission is important

Hope. That was his aspect. Seemed appropriate, since that seemed to be all he was doing right now. Hoping she really did feel the same. Hoping they'd make it through this game. Hoping he wasn't acting like a total dweeb and making an idiot of himself. Hoping she'd be ok with what he was thinking of doing.

Dextyn moved closer to her, taking one of his hands in his and looking down at her with a nervous smile. "So..." He licked his dry lips and hoping she couldn't hear how fast his heart was beating. He was going to do this. He was going to do it.... No. Not yet. She wouldn't like that. Not without her say.

"Anna...." He started, lifting his other hand to her curly hair he loved so much. "Can.... Er.... would it be a-acceptable.... Um.... I mean, if you wanted me to, at least.... A-and as long as it wouldn't like, upset you or anything...." He glanced at her lips, and hoped she's say yes.

"Impressive, Mage," Anna nodded, a corner of twitching up as she took full advantage of "inspecting his armor." She wasn’t lying either. Mage was a proper title for him.

Anna closed her eyes and she was back in her normal God Tier clothing, the tunic dress whipping around her thighs. Ah, much more comfortable. “This is nice,” she mused, bringing her hands up into her vision and curling her fingers. “Powerful. In control. I wonder what I can do now…”

"Anything." He gave her a crooked smile. "Anything you want. We’re…. we’re gods now." It was so incredible to think about. Being gods. Having all this power. Being… in control. What a thought.

He blinked and was back to his normal clothes as well… save for one addition. A white lab coat was suddenly there, blowing around like Anna’s cape. He smiled genuinely, looking down at his sleeves and hands. He hadn’t intended to conjure this up…. But when he thought “normal”…. This is what came to mind.

And another thing. He looked back at Anna and his eyes found hers, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. He wasn’t kidding about anything he said. He had fallen for that girl like a bag of bricks over a 500 foot cliff.

"You make an incredible Knight, love."

"You were always you, stupid," Anna smiled, a hand wiping away her tears. "Look at you, spinning away like a demented pixie boy." And look she did. The girl watched quietly as he spun, running her hands over her arms.

Nothing had changed with Anna. Her scars still cut lines across her skin and there was a part of her that was happy for that. It proved that she was playing the game and the game wasn’t playing her, although Anna knew that certainly wasn’t true.

Finally, she looked down at her own clothing to see a pinkish tunic fixed with a green belt at the waist and dark green boots on her feet. A skirt and leggings made of light chain mail swished under the tunic and she could feel a chain mail shirt underneath as well. A dark maroon cape whipped in the wind behind her and gold gauntlets protected her wrists and forearms. Hmm, this wasn’t nearly enough armor for a knight. She wondered if she could…just…

The tendrils of light from her ascension wrapped around her fingertips and climbed up her arms. In their wake, dark brown leather gauntlets and gloves enveloped her hands and arms, her fingers still exposed for maneuverability. The light continued up her arms and left sleeves of chain mail after it, continuing on to bring the armor up to her neck and down her legs into a full dress of the mail. Her tunic changed as well, going from her knees to her shins with a split running up either thigh so she could run. Mail pants protected her legs and her boots turned to hard, dark green leather. A leather belt hung at her waist, positioning a sheath for her dagger and throwing knives at her hip. That was better, more practical. Now, she could actually fight.

Eventually, Dextyn stopped spinning and looked to her again, his eyes widening as he looked at her new armor. "Wooooah.... you look.... totally fucking awesome... How did you...?"

He circled around her, looking her up and down and admiring her new armor, though eventually he figured it out when he thought of a piece of armor on his arm and- poof! Yellow light glowed there and instantly, chrome armor covered his forearm. It looked like his metal arm and he smiled, extending it down to his fingers, though he left the tips free to remind himself that they were no longer metal. He repeated the process on his other arm and legs, then added shoulder plates and a chest plate with the winged hope symbol engraved in it. Knee and elbow pads were next and then he was complete. He was more fond of speed, so hopefully he wouldn't need as much protection as she had.

When he was satisfied, he stopped and looked at her, grinning away.

"It’s ok. It’s fine. I’m just happy to be here and be with you and love you and-and you… And I’m….w-we’re god tier!" He grinned and held her face in his hands, feeling everything he never could before.

His eyes widened and he looked over his shoulder. “And oh my fuck I...