#swordsmanoftranquility

[arcelerity]

"Rat, eh Tormod? I almost couldn't tell from the uh..." Zihark gestures at his own bare forehead, making a motion to mimic the headband the redhead wore. Almost the same green as the regular one, but different enough. His own blue band is obvious atop his wetsuit, tied around his upper arm.

"Well, anyway. Looks like we're competing against each other then. May the best man win, kiddo- er man." Yeah. Great talking Zihark. Great talking.

"Oh, Zihark! People have been saying that, hahah." Zihark is, as always, sharper with his appearance and abilities than his words. It's really funny, a bonus once you get to know him. "It's too bad we aren't on the same team. I hope you're prepared to lose!"

"Geez, going senile already, old man?" Tormod poses in an exaggerated fashion, flashing Zihark a cocky grin. It's fun making new friends, but he's glad to have someone he knows well here. Even if it's someone who's known him since he was a kid. "It's too bad. Guess Team Rat has already won!"

[justices-blade]

”Edward!!” Zihark ruffles the little guys hair, before giving him a solid slap on the back. They grew up so fast.

“Happy birthday, little man. Enjoy it to its fullest; alright?”

"Hgwah—" Edward wriggles a little at the contact, but he's laughing all the same, returning the hearty slap with a one-armed, sideways squeeze.

"Zihark!!" he exclaims, beaming. "I will!"

Then, a light quip as he's swaying them both side-to side: "I'll be able to enjoy it a lot more if you if you treat me to a spar, though!"

[willowitxh]

The end of another week of competition brings a new group of eliminated contestants to the so called "Sadland". Zihark still wasn't exactly happy with the situation himself, but best to make the most of a bad situation than to just sit around. (He'd gotten most of his moping out on the first few days here anywhere. He was over it. Mostly.)

And with that group, comes familiar faces. One, the most intriguing to him. Thrasir, that was her name, if he remembered correctly - and of course he did, he never forgot a name or the face attached to it once he learned them. It was a blessing, and a curse at times.

"Thrasir; right?" He asks as he walks over to her, just to be absolutely sure, "I know this place doesn't look like much, but I've been here a whole week already and it's not so bad. Just uh... not as nice as their Happyland. And there's not much to do. But if you need someone to show you around," What little there was to see, "then I'm your guy! Not sure if you remember me from the Weasels, but the name's Zihark. It's a pleasure."

Ever since Thrasir had arrived at this "Sadland", she couldn't seem to stop searching for some hidden trap. Surely there was something, after all. When approached though, Thrasir did have to pause. Zihark. She did vaguely remember him.

"I did take note of who my teammates where when we first got to Happyland," Thrasir hummed. "I see you did the same."

Someone who had been here for a week already, freely offering the lich free information? What was this place? No one ever offered her anything after she had become this monstrosity. Still, she wouldn't pass it up.

"I might take you up on that offer to be shown around," she commented blandly. "What do you know of this place anyway?"

Best not let this chance go to waste.

[justices-blade]

"Eddddddddddddddddddd-ward! That's my man! It's been a while; how you been little guy?" Zihark flings his arm around the younger swordman's shoulders, ruffling up his mop of brown hair with his free hand. Wasn't exactly the kind of place where he would have expected to reunite with Edward, but Zihark certainly wasn't going to complain.

If there was something more going on than a fun beach vacation and a bunch of games, then Zihark didn't want to think about it. At least not in the moment. For now, he just wanted to enjoy the atmosphere with those that he already knew amongst his teammates. And get to know the new ones too, of course!

"You know, you must have gotten stronger since we saw each other last. I'm not usually the type for sparring, but I want to see what you can do. What do you say to a little scuffle here on the sand?"

"Zi-haaark?!!!" A surprised yelp turns into more yawping as he's pulled in for a ruffling, wiggling just a little to fling his own arm around Zihark's shoulders and lightly knock their skulls together with a laugh.

"Zihark!" he repeats, without yelping this time. With that, Edward throws his head back, eyes crescenting with delight as he sways them just a little, just a hair's breadth away from dancing a little jig. "Too long! I've been good. You look good too!!"

Preening a little on the fact it has to be obvious he's been good, even, gotten stronger, faster, Edward accepts the challenge the second it's given with the pump of a fist. An invitation like this is a real treat from the older trueblade, and he knows better than to squander it!

"Absolutely! I'll show you how much I've learned!!! How does best of three sound?"

[princessmacedon]

Zihark stares at the (probably) youngest member of their little weasel squad, gently patting her head. (At least he was pretty sure of that. He wasn't entirely certain how old Edward was.)

"Hey kiddo," He says with a smile, "do you need anything? If you do, don't hestiate to ask your new friend, Zihark. That's uh. That's me, by the way."

It's hard to imagine a warmer greeting than this! Maria's head tips back slightly as she turns to look at the man. Zihark, he introduces himself as -- one of their boogle (that's one of the words for a group of weasels, she's learned!).

"Hi Zihark!" Not one to displace his hand nor mind it, the cleric giggles from beneath a head of still-kempt hair, a fact she can only attribute to the blue bandana keeping it in place -- the selfsame one that brought her this new ally and friend! "It's really nice to meet you!"

Fingers brushing her chin, the young girl's gaze darts to the side in thought. "Hmm... I'm okay right now! But-- hee hee-- I'll make sure to let you know! And you can do the same for me!"

Turning around in full, she saddles him with the full weight of a beaming grin.

"That's because your new friend Maria is a cleric! I made sure to bring some extra salves and stuff with me, so tell me if you're ever feeling bad, okay?"

[gentlenekomata]

[ Sweet Bun Trio ] - A selection of traditional Faerghus pastries, all small enough to be eaten in one delicious bite! The first bun is filled with sweet cream and topped with icing and a candied cherry. The second is a sweet roll filled with almonds, pecans, and dried cranberries and glazed with honey. The third is a bun sliced in half, filled with almond paste and whipped cream, dusted with powdered sugar on top.

Zihark had grabbed the plate of pastries without thinking, instinctually turning to give them to a girl who wasn't there. And now he was left with the buns held in his hands with nothing to do with them. He certainly wasn't going to eat them, that was for sure.

He glances desperately around the ballroom, spotting a young woman with a pink bob. Good enough, he thinks, walking over to her with the pastries.

He probably looked like a server, trying to offer them to her. But he smiles politely and holds out the plate, "Care to take these off my hand? I grabbed them and then remembered I don't really like sweets. The name's Zihark, by the way."

While searching for something new to try and to eat, the petite priestess was gently approached by a young man who presented himself as Zihark; yet, the thing that caught the attention of the pink-haired girl wasn’t the stranger introducing himself, but rather the good-looking pastries he was holding in his palm, offering them all (apparently) to the young lady.

“For me?” she sounded a bit incredulous, but the radiant smile that always accompanied her immediately appeared on her lips as she realized he was pretty serious about his suggestion. “You’re so kind, Sir Zihark!” she greeted him with a bow of her head, “I’m Sakura, a pleasure meeting you!” and with her right hand, she gently picked up one of the sweet, tasting it with a small bite. D E L I C I O U S.

Her eyes were clearly dreaming as she tasted another bite, but then she remembered she wasn’t alone in that suggestive moment. “Care to join me?” she offered, knowing that they needed to find something else to eat, “Maybe we can find something to your liking together!” and she lay a hand in sign of opening.