[IC] Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

[Mogtaki]

T’charrl gave Haku a nervous smile, not really knowing how to take something like that. It wasn’t really a big accomplish, all he did was manage to find friends who could go into space too. He was luckier to come out of his situation that was happening to himself, he was in it pretty bad when he was found by Shu and Yumi. “I guess…but it’s probably not a big deal to them. I am still the Prince of a Kingdom that was at war with those who are from the surface. I don’t even know what they think of me”. He wish he knew what people thought of him, he was completely oblivious to it all and still didn’t know what he was supposed to do or say to them. They had been named the enemy for so long that it was a little awkward, especially when the colour of his fur was so jarring compared to their colourful sunny shades. “Maybe…maybe before I go back again for a while, I’ll find something I can bring back to them that will make my world a better place…”

Shu was happy to see Yumi but he didn’t know if she was happy to see him as well, seeing how he was quite the smelly fellow just now. He wouldn’t mind getting a wash or finding mud to roll around in, maybe he could do that briefly before he ate. Squeaking as he bounced on his backside he raised his shoulders when he was patted on the head, smiling up at Yumi. “Food! Yes food! Can the maybe of having food be done while smelly Shu? Nobody will wanna sit with Shu!” Food really did sound rather good, especially when it had been so long since they all had any. He was excited, but also tired and well aware that he probably wasn’t pleasant to be near. “In morning we get rid of evil creatures, then they all be happy. Is that good? It should be good!”

Viral could had done without Vegeta doubting these people’s healing skills, it wasn’t as if he was able to do first aid anyway when he had absolutely nothing they might need. Groaning lowly he looked away, flexing his claws. “I might as well had with how much help he gave me”. He was feeling moderately okay for now, it still didn’t mean he wasn’t angry at what Takeshi went and did. He wouldn’t had been stabbed if he had just moved himself, but of course he hesitated and almost had him killed by a stupid overgrown bug. Sighing when Vegeta recognised he had done wrong he looked away, holding his chest briefly. “I’m fine, just…got stabbed a couple times…”

Once the food was prepared after a short time it was time to head out, but it was a lot harder than it looked for Viral. He had been find resting there, but when he had to stand up and stretch his body again he was finding the pain had quickly returned in the form of rather horrendous stinging. Not really having an easy time with that pain on top of experiencing the after effects of blood loss. Groaning briefly he tried to mask it, slowly heading out and even more slowly gradually sitting down with the others. The other Beastmen were here too so showing no weaknesses was important, especially when it was all just flesh wounds. Trying to focus himself he stared downward, keeping his eyes off everyone else as they got stuck into the food.

Shu was quite excited once the food was signalled to be ready, almost getting up in a rush if he wasn’t also tired. Food was more important than sleep, he could sleep for a long time once he was done and then they could go and find those creatures. It was going to be a difficult day tomorrow so he might as well have fun while he could and keep his mind off the nightmares. Rushing over to the food he got himself comfortable, barely managing to take in all the different and strange looking food before he got all excited. So they did have fruit here, that was good even if he didn’t have a clue about how much it actually cost. Smiling happily when the Chieftain spoke he nodded quickly, looking around at all the other natives before nodding as if he understood his little speech fully. “Ooh! Dark Ones…scary name…”

[GambolMuse]

After helping himself to some food Vegeta went to join Viral in his spot, curious as to why he wasn't eating as well. "You should have something, your body will heal faster with some food in it," he pointed out, lowering the wooden plate he had and offering some of it out to his friend. There was a small selection of meats, all of which none of them had ever eaten before and doubtless there might be one or two among them they would hate. Vegeta was somewhat timid to have anything other than the fruits and plant material from this world given who its residents were; some species of insect ate rotten meat as it was easier to digest, he had to wonder what the state of the food they were being served was. "You don't seem to be particularly comfortable right now either, those wounds agitating you more than you're letting on?" Vegeta pushed a bit as he lowered his voice, taking a seat beside Viral and setting the plate across his lap, "I know you don't want me checking on you, but I notice these things. Are you certain there's nothing I can do to help you? Just name it."

Yumi for her part was giving Viral a bit of space for now, figuring perhaps he needed a moment to himself. Instead of sitting with him she had picked to join Haku and T'charrl instead, having not spoken with the latter in forever it seemed. Excusing herself when she came over she sat to the latter's right, sighing contentedly as she relaxed on the log and glanced at the flames before them. "An awful lot has happened, hasn't it? Your head spinning too?" she joked as she grabbed a piece of meat, tearing a chunk off before giving it a taste. Tasted a lot like chicken, only a little more gamey, which made her wonder just what in the heck she was eating. Deciding it wasn't too bad she tore off another piece and tossed it into her mouth, looking up at T'charrl with a smile. "How have you been liking it so far? All of this traveling I mean, getting to see all these worlds. I know they haven't exactly been the most relaxing trips but it's neat, isn't it? Seeing different planets?" She wondered if he was homesick too, it had been a little while now since they had last been on Kaesstra. Would he want to return before long?

"Buddy... We are giving you a damn bath before we go to bed tonight, you're way too stinky," Takeshi grumbled as he pinched his nose again, the wind blowing Shu's newly acquired stink in his direction. Fanning the air as though to alleviate it some the older boy sighed, trying to focus on the food in his lap instead. He'd gotten a plate for Shu as well and, naturally, piled it high with only fruits knowing his brother's tastes. Picking up what looked awfully similar to a leg of chicken he gave it a cautious sniff before prodding it, his brow furrowing in concern at how spongy the meat felt. With a nervous swallow he took a small bite and chewed slowly, pleasantly surprised to find it wasn't half bad actually. Tearing into the meat he glanced over in Viral's direction, seeing him being spoken to by Vegeta, then over to Yumi, and he felt a bit of a sense of guilt wash over him again. "Hey Shu... Are you mad at me too?" Takeshi asked with a frown, lowering his eyes to his plate, "I screwed up earlier, you know? Viral got hurt and that thing nearly ate you because of me. Sorry about that... I really messed up."

[Mogtaki]

Viral had no idea what any of this food was but right now it was simply seen as something that was there rather than something he could touch and eat. It just kind of existed to him and without any real thought other than how to handle the pain he blocked out most of what was happening pretty quickly. Remaining silent and unable to fix the way he was sitting so he could feel comfortable for just a tiny bit he barely took notice of Vegeta coming along and sitting beside him, only when he spoke was his attention taken there. Glancing to Vegeta he simply frowned, watching as food was placed out in front of him at the same time. He didn’t know what any of this was nor did he know if he could eat it, mostly due to feeling like crap because of his injuries. He probably would had been fine if it was one large wound like what he had received before, but this was lots of stab wounds that were deep but not enough to threaten his life. Groaning lowly he quickly looked to Vegeta again when he called him out for trying to hide the pain, narrowing his eyes before looking away again. “Nothing can be done that hasn’t already been done…so what’s the point”, he spoke lowly, “They’re just stab wounds that have already been treated for infection. All that’s lingering is the pain, nothing else…”

T’charrl didn’t know what the food was but he was fairly happy to eat it, finding the way everything looked to not be that big of a problem. He was used to eating many strange looking meals so it wasn’t as if he was going to be grossed out by anything that looked particularly nasty. From what he found from tasting the foods was they were definitely different but they were tasty, he didn’t know why everybody else was being so picky. Quietly eating away he gasped when Yumi decided to sit beside him as well, not expecting her to want to. Giving her a nervous smile before looking down at her plate he gave a quick nod, sighing a little. “I-I don’t know about a lot…but spinning is one way to describe my head…” he smiled, using his upper arms to reach for more food while he held his current food close to him, “I didn’t expect people like mine to be out this far…”

He really didn’t know how to talk to her, but answering her seemed to suffice at least for now. Staring down at his plate he looked to her at the mention of his home, frowning a little before looking away again. “It has really been an experience. I don’t know if I’m getting better, but I really am trying hard. I haven’t really battled recently to know if I really am yet”. He didn’t know how else to describe it. He really did enjoy being with friends and was relieved he finally had some, he just didn’t know if he was disappointing somebody by not being the best that he could be because he might be unknowingly slacking off. “I hope I get to see many more, but maybe in the direction of Kaesstra too. It would be nice to visit again once things calm down”.

Shu squeaked at the accusation Takeshi was giving him, only reassuring his worries that he might be making people feel uncomfortable being near him. “Ooh! Shu hands clean, though! Bath in mud or smelly water?” He didn’t think he could care too much about the smell he was giving off so long as he could eat without getting sick, even if the food was strange looking. Getting all happy when Takeshi brought him back a plate of strange looking fruits he bounced on his seat, looking to Takeshi quickly before eating away at the fruit. There was a lot of strange flavours but they were mostly very pleasing to him, his fussiness not really existing when it came to fruit. Having a generally good time he squeaked when Takeshi asked him how he was feeling about earlier, giving him a brief look. “Ooh? Ohhhh, I be okay, but Mister Viral seem real mad. Why scared of big bug when it evil and try to hurt? What if Shu did get eaten? What do then?”

[GambolMuse]

"Perhaps they have some kind of painkillers available? Your wounds should mend quickly enough thanks to your accelerated healing, though it doesn't help it's late in the evening," Vegeta mused aloud as he edged some food towards Viral again, discretely hinting that his friend should eat, "I apologize we weren't there to help, though it seems like you were ultimately fine. I understand it's largely due to Takeshi as well you were even injured," he added, glancing back at the two boys before shaking his head. "I knew he was incompetent, but this? You and Shu may have been seriously injured where the fight should have been a cakewalk for the three of you. If you haven't slapped him yet I may have to, knock some sense into that thick skull of his." It was always so curious seeing the sorts of fears people had and just how crippling they could be; each of them had quite a lot of power if they were pushed, they could likely level mountains if they were truly made to exert energy. Yet here some of them were, afraid of bugs or the dark or their own shadow, who knows what silly, irrational fears they had.

Having not spent much time with T'charrl as of late Yumi hoped he wouldn't mind her company. "You can't know what to expect out here, and I think that's kind of amazing really," she said as she smiled to herself, glancing up at the fire and watching the flames dance to their invisible tune, "I used to love traveling on Earth, meeting new people and learning new styles of martial arts. This has been kind of like that, only bigger. Haven't learned much in the way of new fighting styles though!" It had been somewhat disappointing up until now that she had never learned anything new since leaving Earth. Many races fought and had their own spins on some of the styles she knew, but not enough to say it was something completely different. Smiling at T'charrl she leaned over and playfully bumped her shoulder into his arm, picking up a piece of fruit and offering it over to him. "I think you've gotten better, you've been better for a while. And I'm sure if you want to go visit your home we could! I mean the war's on hold and this is the only report we have for these monsters, so once this is done we'll be free right? We could always visit then!"

"We'll take a bath after, you need one," Takeshi reiterated as he wrinkled his nose, fanning the air before sniffing at himself, "Ugh... I do too. I got all nasty from running around all day." At least he hadn't crapped himself over that massive bug, that would have him smelling awfully foul. And to be fair Shu did smell but it wasn't enough to keep him from eating, he was far too hungry to really care. Tearing into his food eagerly he glanced over at Viral again, being assailed once more by a massive sense of guilt. He was really ashamed of how he'd acted and couldn't exactly ignore it, not when Shu had been in danger too. Asking about it to his brother he cringed when he mentioned Viral being angry, lowering his food and nodding. "Because... I don't know... I don't like 'em, you know? I... I wouldn't have let you be eaten. I helped right? I said you could rely on me..." After he'd gone and boasted he'd handle the fighting he totally screwed it up, again. Viral and Shu were the reason the thing was dead even with the former getting all cut up, all he'd done is panic and thrown blasts at it to scare it away. "I'm sorry buddy... I should probably go apologize to Viral too huh?"

[Mogtaki]

Viral glanced at Vegeta, groaning lowly before looking down at the plate again. “I highly doubt these people have painkillers that doesn’t involve getting high on drugs…” he grumbled, disliking the rising pressure to eat from Vegeta as well. He would be eating if he could feel hunger through the pain, he would also be eating if he could feel hunger behind all this pain. It was like a constant stinging, certainly unpleasant for anyone to experience after so many flesh wounds. At the mention of Takeshi he let out a low growl, still very bitter about how he handled the fight overall. “Takeshi didn’t jump in until Shu was in danger. I don’t know what he was thinking but it was not about me. Maybe it’s because I am able to heal faster than him or that I’ve had worse, but the most he did was pathetic padding. It wasn’t entirely like a centipede, yet he still treated it like one and coward away…”

T’charrl smiled lightly at Yumi, raising his shoulders as he looked away again. “I guess it is pretty amazing…” He really didn’t know what was out there waiting for him to see in the future and it did make him feel both nervous and excited, especially when he could easily find himself having a hard time adapting to all of it. Feeling the nerves starting to pick up he looked to Yumi when she decided to talk a little more about herself, his antennae twitching as he tried to figure out the meaning behind ‘martial arts’. “New styles…martial arts? I don’t really know martial arts myself so I guess I am the same. I haven’t learned new things apart from normal education”. Contemplating what he might try and learn about when he felt stable enough he looked to Yumi again when she gave him a little nudge, his eyes on her at first before to the fruit. Taking it from her, he stared at it for a moment before looking to Yumi again as his interests peaked. “Really? Back home? Oh wow, that would be a nice visit…” he spoke, smiling a little, “Whatabout you, though? Would you want to visit your home again? I-I mean…we’re both so far away from both our homes so it’s just a matter of how we get to either…”

“Ooh! You always smell funny!” Shu squeaked, giggling soon after, “Maybe smell good sometimes, but that no good smell!” All he needed was to wash himself down and he was completely fine again, only finding his hair and clothing was holding a lot of the smell. He didn’t like having to smell himself after that but it was hard to avoid too when it was all around him. Continuing to eat his food he hummed to himself, only stopping when Takeshi spoke again. Staring at him as he continued to eat he slowly tilted his head, not really understanding what he was getting at with being able to rely on him when he only really helped once. “Shu is still strong by self, right? Even without the nearly eaten, did manage to help Mister Viral when you all scared of big bug”. He was strong without Takeshi as well, he could handle a fight himself or helping someone else, not always requiring the help instead. “You should say sorry to Mister Viral, yes. He got all stabby stab, now he all hurt and looking mad…”

[GambolMuse]

"We may have something back on the ship in our supplies. I could go back and check if you'd like," Vegeta offered, "Or we can hope the pain subsides come morning, which it should. Your healing capabilities should be more than enough to mend those, albeit you may still be a bit sore for it. Your decision." They had packed remarkably light for this mission despite the potential connotations it had, so it was their own fault if they didn't have medicines on hand. To be fair the notice had been relatively short and they hadn't wanted to dawdle and wait for supplies, the sooner this threat was extinguished the better. To be frank too no one should be injured this early, the only reason Viral had sustained any real damage was sitting a few meters away from them. "Can't say I agree with his decisions either, it's careless and unfair to abandon you yet dive into danger for Shu's sake," Vegeta agreed with a nod, "It's a good thing he won't be part of your team come tomorrow, I on the other hand will have to rely on him. All you have to bear with is Yumi and Eris vying for your attention," he added in, smirking teasingly at Viral as he nodded in the direction of the women.

There was certainly a wonderment about traveling to new places, there always was. She wondered if the others shared that sentiment with her or if they just saw these worlds as another job, another place to go and liberate. Once all of this was over she would love to revisit some of the places in peace time, just to get a better look at them. "Martial arts is just a way of saying fighting styles," Yumi explained, her eyes seeming to glow as she began her explanation, "The world is filled with all kinds of styles from all different cultures, there's more than I can name off the top of my head. Plus there's armed combat, unarmed combat, defensive and offensive styles, there are styles purely for display and show, they're all amazing in their own way. I loved learning them..." There could still be more to learn out here too, though if there were other styles she hadn't come across any yet. Picking at her food slowly she offered over a piece of fruit to T'charrl to try, picking at the rest of it herself to try. "Of course, it has been a while hasn't it? We should let you see your parents again," she answered, pausing when he redirected the question back on her. Staring at the food in her hands she turned it over idly, her eyes closing slightly as she shrugged her shoulders. "Oh I don't know... It's been years really since I saw my parents anyways, I've been traveling and training. And I have no siblings so it's not like they have anyone else keeping them company. Maybe a small visit wouldn't hurt."

Haku couldn't say he shared the sentiment of returning home, there wasn't much he'd like to return home to. He was happier here among these people and traveling around, even if it meant getting into battles he wanted no part in. Sampling a slice of one of the steaks he made a funny face at how sweet it was, resisting the urge to spit it out as one of the natives was awfully close to him. "I want to see where you're from, T'charrl. When you go back is it okay if I come...?" he asked hopefully, looking up at his friend with a nervous smile, "I'd um... I'd like to meet your parents too, if that's okay. I mean... I should meet them, right? That's what friends do?" Honestly he didn't know, he'd heard that some people on Earth do that though. Hearing Yumi snickering on the other side of his friend he glanced over at her confused, only growing more so when she shook her head before pretending she'd done nothing and resumed eating. Did he not want to meet T'charrl's parents? Or was he not supposed to? Now he was all confused...

"I smell good! Usually, you're the one who always gets dirty!" Takeshi said defensively, growing red in the face as he bit down into his food, "And you track dirt into the bed 'cuz you walk around barefoot, and you --" The older boy had to stop mid sentence as a chunk of food slid down his throat, coughing as he hit his own chest to try and not choke. Managing to swallow it back he sighed, looking over at Viral and shifting uncomfortably in his seat. He should probably do something about this, he couldn't just keep sitting her pretending everything was cool. "Yeah yeah, I get it, I was scared..." Takeshi grumbled as he set down his food, sighing and rubbing at his head. Before Shu had even told him to apologize he knew he had to do it, and then some if he ever wanted Viral to not completely hate him. "Right... I'm gonna go do it, you uh... Keep eating buddy, I'll be back." Of course he didn't expect his apology to be accepted nor did he expect Viral to think any better of him for apologizing, but he should do it. He'd screwed up and he had to own up to it this time.

Meeting Vegeta's gaze briefly as he came over to the pair he bit his lip, standing before Viral and keeping his eyes away from the man for a moment. How should he even do this? Just come right out and say it? Exhaling to try and settle himself Takeshi finally looked at Viral, seeing the bandages on his person and cringing inwardly. "Viral, about earlier... I really screwed up, and I mean worse than usual. You should never even have gotten hurt, but... I chickened out, you know? I... I didn't want to fight that thing, but I was being a baby and you got hurt because of it. You were right about me, I'm all talk and nothing else, I'm an idiot to even think that I have any right to consider you a rival or anything when I'm always running around screaming like an idiot and you're fighting to keep everyone safe..." He'd like to do what Viral did, just fight and protect everyone, but it was never so easy for him. He was either arrogant and got himself hurt, got angry and became irrational, or like today he was too nervous and couldn't even fight. He had no right to even consider himself a proper fighter considering how scrappy he was, he used next to none of his training and sometimes was even more messy than Shu. Feeling fairly displeased with himself he got down on his knees and leaned forward, prostrating himself with his head down as he had to swallow his normally overwhelming pride. "I'm sorry, I'm not expecting you to forgive me for screwing up so badly... But I'm sorry still."

[Mogtaki]

Viral groaned, seeing no reason to head back to the ship for something when it was just some pain and a little bit of waiting until morning. “I don’t care about pain when it’s not something that means I’m probably going to start bleeding over”, he sighed, slowly rubbing his chest, “I am not going to cause interruptions this evening just because of a little pain. I’ll get over it…” There was worse that he had gone through and this was just not one of these urgent problems that required immediately leaving to get treatment for. It wasn’t something that should had been done in the first place anyway, he was supposed to be fine on a routine hunting trip and yet he was completely destroyed by stab wounds everywhere. Takeshi was lucky he was durable and could take any extreme damage that would otherwise kill a Human. Slowly he decided to reach out for some of the food on his plate, picking up a piece of meat between his claws and giving it a staring at before dropping it again when Vegeta spoke about Yumi and Eris. “I didn’t ask to get stuck between those two and their little obsession of me!” he growled through his teeth, “I don’t particularly want to be harassed by either of them, especially if they decide to try showing off in the middle of battle…”

T’charrl really didn’t understand as much as he wanted to quite yet but didn’t take that as a negative, he instead wanted to learn from it and understand just what the phrase meant and how he could extend his knowledge further about it. Despite what people thought he didn’t spend a lot of time trying to hone his powers, but rather go deep into researching the language and further his reading skills just so he could keep up with everyone. It was extremely difficult and time consuming, but he didn’t need to sleep as much as they did so he had extra time during the night for studying. “Combat! Armed combat…I have many arms combat compared to you”, he smiled, Raising his shoulders momentarily, “I think I understand. I would be pretty bad at teaching something like that when you are not the same body type I am”.

Hearing Yumi’s side of the possibility of revisiting homes he tilted his head at her not particularly understanding why she would be a little less homesick compared to him. He thought anybody would miss their home, but it seemed Yumi was quite happy with the travelling everywhere. “Oh, I don’t have any siblings either, but I was always trouble”. Smiling to himself for a moment he looked to Haku when the question of meeting his parents came up, staring at him curiously for a moment. “Uhh, meet them? I guess but umm, nobody really just ‘meets’ them, I suppose”, he spoke, looking back to his food, “I guess don’t mention how you attacked me first, you’ll probably live if you do want to meet them. My mother and father are very strong and my mother will not be shy about showing how mad she is about certain things”.

Shu squeaked, bouncing on his seat as Takeshi continued to throw insults at him before practically choking on his food. Served him right for calling him dirty, especially when he smelled bad most of the time. “Ooh! Even food think you silly!” Going back to his food he happily chowed down again, not thinking of it much as Takeshi continued to talk about his faults back there, his eyes looking to him briefly as he finally decided to go and talk to Viral. That probably wasn’t a good idea, but then again Viral probably wouldn’t get too mad in front of a crowd like this, maybe. “Ooohh…okay! I wait…and see…” Peering at Takeshi as he wandered over to Viral he kept a close eye on him, slowly tilting his head to get a better view.

Viral was just finishing off on his little rant about Yumi and Eris by the time Takeshi wandered into his sights, an inward groan at the sight of him sounding out before he looked away again. He definitely didn’t have the patience for him, but it didn’t seem like he was going to go away as he started talking about earlier. Looking back to him he narrowed his gaze, growling lowly at the mention of ‘rival’ before looking away again. That was exactly the kid’s problem, all trying to be something he wasn’t while not sorting out his own problems. His brother was braver in a tough situation, even if many times previously Shu showed he was physically shaken by what was happening. As Takeshi continued to try and apologise he soon groaned, tapping his claw on the table. “Here’s the reality of your problems; you try too hard. You’re the typical teenager who talks big but won’t confront his own problems thinking they would never turn up again…except they do and when they do, disaster happens! Would you end up doing that again if another one showed up??” Getting angry at him was only starting to do more harm because of his injuries, even if he deserved his frustration. Growling lowly he rubbed his chest. “…You are too concerned with how everybody sees you rather than looking out for those around you. Nobody cares about how you look other than you…and unless you can get a handle on that, you’re just going to get people hurt. That monster was just like any other monster in a different skin! It shouldn’t matter what they look like so long as they’re a threat that needs to be taken care of…”

[GambolMuse]

"Very well, I won't press the matter any more. Simply figured I would offer." Vegeta assumed Viral was simply being a touch too prideful to accept the medicine, whether he needed it or not. Anyone else would take it if they were in enough pain, they wouldn't be too proud to accept a single painkiller to ease a little discomfort. Ah well, no sense in getting all wound up over it. Tearing apart what looked like a drumstick he slowly picked at it, finding the combination of flavor and texture a touch unusual but not terribly unappealing. There were other matters for Viral to contend with anyways, matters which a simple little pill would not solve. Bringing up the two women vying for his attention Vegeta smirked in amusement, shrugging his shoulders as he kept his eyes trained on his food. "What can I say? They see the alpha and they want his favor, and they will do anything to get it," he continued to press, glancing briefly over from the corner of his eye before chuckling, "I'm only teasing you Viral. You're one of Yumi's closest friends and she cares dearly for you, that's why she does what she does. I'm sure I would get the same reaction were I in your position," he mused, pausing to grab his glass of fermented juice and take a slow sip, "Ah... Now Eris I can't say for sure, we haven't known her long enough. She may legitimately want you though, in which case I can only say good luck."

Having been in the middle of eating her food Yumi had to cover her mouth when T'charrl unwittingly made a joke, trying not to spit her food out as she laughed. She thought he had legitimately understood what she meant yet it seemed like it had completely passed him by still, poor thing. "No, that's not what I meant," she laughed, reaching over and patting one of his shoulders, "Armed combat means with weapons, and unarmed combat means without, understand? If I said you use unarmed combat you wouldn't go and fight without your arms or legs, would you?" she asked rhetorically, giggling again before shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh at you, but it was funny. And you never know, different body types or not we could probably teach each other sometime! I know a lot of styles, and you're bound to know something, considering who your parents are. Maybe we can train together after this?" They hadn't really done much of anything together since Kaesstra, with the bulk of their interaction being on rides between planets or fighting together. Wouldn't it be fun then, just getting to play around, train and maybe chat? Hearing Haku's request on meeting T'charrl's parents Yumi pretended to cough, shaking her head when he looked over before resuming eating when T'charrl looked as well.

"Oh? W-Well then... I'll have to be careful not to make her mad then..." How bad could she be really? He'd dealt with bitter, angry drill instructors and commanders all his life, no one could be as nasty as they were. So maybe she had a little bit of a temper or she had a tendency to shout, that was nothing he wasn't accustomed to. "I'd just like to meet them sometime is all, and uh... Y-Yeah, can we please not tell them that part? I uh... I don't think they'd like me much then," the Saiyan muttered with a nervous laugh, rubbing at his neck awkwardly, "It's not like I could have anyways, I mean... I kind of got the jump on you guys then, you didn't expect me. I uh... I've seen you fight though and you're all a lot s-stronger than me, I was an idiot for even trying that." He had just been following orders back then too, and it was either follow his orders or go back, get thrown in a cell or outright killed for screwing it up. In hindsight he'd been meant to die fighting them but he'd been lucky, they weren't the sort of people to do that. Lucky him?

Takeshi had no idea what to say or how to really apologize, he should just say sorry right? He figured that was how you did it and so that's what he went with, admitting he had screwed up before and throwing in a handful of apologies for good measure. He didn't expect Viral to just suddenly open up and accept his words, sure, but he expected a little more than what he was getting in exchange. Lifting his head as the Beastman spoke he frowned, his hands balling up into fists as he tore into the grass beneath him. When the matter of appearances was brought up he grit his teeth and looked down again, wanting to argue that Viral was completely wrong and he had no idea what he was talking about; Takeshi wanted to tell Viral he had the wrong idea and yet his friend was right on the money, even if he didn't want to admit it, which he didn't. "You're saying it like I'm always looking out for myself, and that's not true! I've helped you guys fight plenty of times!" he argued, looking up and smiling uncertainly, "I helped you when you were still under father's control, and I helped you on Kaesstra, and... I've helped you plenty! And I've helped Shu a lot too, so don't say I don't look out for others!" He probably shouldn't be arguing this but he felt like he was being attacked now, all for trying to apologize. Getting up he looked at Viral uncertainly, unsure of what to say now that his apology hadn't done anything. "We took care of it, didn't we? So... So what's the big deal? You'll be fine, and Shu is fine, and tomorrow we'll go kill those things! Who cares what that thing looked like, if we see another I'll kick its ass!"

[Mogtaki]

T’charrl smiled at Yumi as she laughed, feeling a little prouder that he didn’t confuse instead. It was nice to be able to make somebody more comfortable rather than make them wonder why they were even hanging around you in the first place. Hearing her explanation he gave a little nod, looking to his arms momentarily before smiling back at her. “You really think that’s possible? Your arms are very short and your species is missing a pair of them. I would need to put my arms behind my back or something. You’ve also got funny knees. How do you feel when you land after flying? Does it hurt your knees?” He was probably getting in too deep with these questions but they were all curious ones he didn’t know yet, even after looking through the books he had been given. Things like that weren’t usually covered in those books, probably because the people who wrote them were just like the others.

While he couldn’t really contemplate on that too long he did turn his attention to Haku briefly, staring at him when he displayed some confidence to meet his parents. Probably once he met them he would quickly retreat, but of course it wasn’t as if he wouldn’t see something like that coming either. His parents were larger than him and definitely very intimidating, probably too much to handle for Haku upon first sight. “They don’t really like outsiders much anyway, but so long as they’re my friend they’ll like. I didn’t have friends when I was growing up so they are naturally going to be concerned when I bring over new people. Maybe they just want to protect my feelings”. In his species’ aging cycle he was still barely an adult, closer to a child. He wasn’t fully grown in the slightest, he was still small and skinny with underdeveloped abilities. “My parents are, uhh…very intimidating, even to me. Meeting them would be a good thing, but my mother hits hard”.

Viral wasn’t buying Takeshi’s apology at all, all it did was sound like an excuse for his cowardice rather than trying to apologise for nearly sitting around waiting for him to get killed. He was all upset that his pride had been hurt and was apologising to try and make himself feel better for his guilt. If he did feel concern for his health he would’ve addressed it before heading back to get the others and not waiting this long. Telling him like it is he glared at him when he tried to argue his point back at him. “You make it sound as if I should be indebted to you and not annoyed that your fear nearly had me killed because you had helped me before”, he spoke, looking away again. Just like Takeshi to start getting all annoyed that he wasn’t getting his way again, how everything wasn’t quite working out like he thought it might to relieve the guilt of getting him injured. “The big deal is I won’t be fine. I’m still going to be feeling this tomorrow and you’re probably going to treat your brother like he’s a cowardly fighter again. Of course Shu is fine! He’s not afraid to fight nor is he weak! Maybe next time if another one of those things pop up you’ll learn a thing or two from your brother…”

[GambolMuse]

T'charrl's inability to understand was endearing, and a little funny. Examining a piece of food she tossed it up before catching it in her mouth, humming thoughtfully as he spoke on about their differences. "Well... I don't think it's how a person's body looks that makes them strong, it's how they use it," Yumi pointed out with a smile, lifting her own arms and flexing, "Whether you have two arms, four arms or no arms if you can use your body right then you're as good a fighter as any. So do I think it's unfair that you have more arms than I do? Nope, because that's just how you are, and this is how I am. We both have our own ways of fighting but it doesn't make either of us any worse off, now does it?" Just like she wasn't a Saiyan as most of her friends were but she wouldn't allow that to keep her back. If she had to train 10 hours a day compared to their 2 to keep up then she would, and that was okay. No use in getting upset over something you may or may not have that another did. "Nope, my knees don't hurt, though they kind of did at first," Yumi muttered as she put a finger to her chin, "I've only been able to fly for maybe... Let's see, a year? Almost two? I'm still used to it and when I first started it was rough, I crashed a lot. But you learn and you get better, and now I can do it just fine."

Hearing how well Yumi and T'charrl were getting along made Haku envious, and a little bit jealous. Despite not talking much far as he knew they looked to enjoy each others company quite a lot, smiling and laughing together. So far he hadn't really gotten T'charrl to smile at all despite his best efforts and he certainly hadn't made his friend laugh. Maybe that just wasn't his thing he tried to tell himself, that he was just there for... He didn't know, a different reason. Still it would be nice, it'd feel like he was doing something for his friend then. Wondering aloud about meeting his friend's parents sometime the votes of confidence he got concerning it, or the lack thereof to be more exact weren't terribly reassuring. It sounded odd to him that parents would be so protective of their children in that way; on Kortal once a child was old enough to speak they were put into training, and before long given some kind of job. Parents spent plenty of time preparing their children and making sure they succeeded, but making them happy and watching out for something like their feelings wasn't part of that. "Oh... Well uh... I'm sure they won't mind me? I mean... What am I going to do?" Haku asked, letting out a nervous chuckle as he wrung his hands together, "Maybe uh... Maybe you should introduce me when we go? I want to meet them and all, but now I'm kind of worried I'd say the wrong thing. I don't know what your people are like, I could... Insult them or something and not even know it."

All he had done coming over here was try and apologize to Viral for his screw up earlier. He figured he was being the bigger man here, owning up to his mistake and admitting he'd been wrong, so what gives? Why was he being insulted and doubted instead? "I've helped you plenty before, so what if I screwed up once? I... I got my ass in gear didn't I? And it turned out okay? I mean yeah, you're hurt, but you're alive you know? That's something!" he argued lamely, frowning as Viral continued on. Now he was starting to get angry, though not at the person who was siting before him and chastising him: Takeshi was angry with himself. Both because he knew that Viral was right and because he'd completely deserved all of this. Clenching his hands he bit down on his tongue briefly before reaching up, rubbing at his head before kicking some dirt into the fire angrily. "You've seen him though! He gets all scared when we fight, and he hides, he doesn't like to fight! So of course I have to treat him like that. I fight so he doesn't have to, it's what a big brother does!" Takeshi argued as he looked back at Viral with an uneasy smile, "I'm not here to learn from him... He learns from me! I've been trying to help him this whole time, and he needs me to show him how to do things! You know that as well as I do Viral, he's just a kid!"

[Mogtaki]

T’charrl watched Yumi as she spoke, tilting his head a little at each movement before he looked down at himself. He definitely didn’t look strong at all and he knew he didn’t have much physical strength, just a lot of stabbing strength. He did have other forms that granted him abnormal strength, but it also cut his speed and made him not all mentally there. It was pretty terrible how much his body varied, but that was part of his problem with his abilities. Looking to Yumi he smiled as she explained everything to him, finding it a little easier to understand when she put it that way. “I guess so! I do sometimes wonder how you adapt, but if both Saiyans and Humans look like that then it must work”. He really didn’t know much about other race’s anatomy or how they compensated for doing things that seemed unnatural to them on a daily basis like flying with Ki, but hearing Yumi it sounded like they simply ‘put up with it’ rather than having an anatomical way of dealing with it. “Oh, I used to crash a lot, but my wings were little…but when we’re little our bodies are much softer so we can deal with the impact of being bumped around and falling a lot”, he smiled before he sighed, “Things were weird when you are a child…”

T’charrl was feeling a little overwhelmed, finding it hard to keep up with Yumi and Haku. He wasn’t used to having so much attention being placed on him all at one time so finding it hard to focus was a natural problem he had to face. He didn’t know why everybody wanted to pay attention to him, he was just one guy and not very interesting and very off putting to the general person. It was all a little scary if this was just normal interaction and he didn’t know if he could keep up with it but he had to try, at least. Haku wanting to see his parents was definitely a scary thought, but that was more because his parents were very protective and very strong. “Uhh, I can do that! I just hope I don’t screw it up by mentioning something I shouldn’t too. I’ve never travelled before all this and I don’t know if they’ll think people are taking advantage of me in their eyes, even if I’m not interesting enough for that. They’ll probably get mad at me for not mentioning enough or not working on keeping my powers in check. They’re very bad to have in my kind’s eyes”.

Viral was getting quite annoyed with how Takeshi expected to be praised upon for his actions and his willingness to apologise, especially when he assumed that was all that was wrong. There was so much more that he had to explain himself for that he simply refused to do and that was starting to show as well. As Takeshi simply started getting all annoyed that his lame apology wasn’t being fully accepted he growled lowly in response, slowly standing up himself. As Takeshi started putting down his own brother he couldn’t stand for it any longer, seeing that as just the lowest point of the argument Takeshi could come up with. “Just a kid? He’s only…what, a year younger than you? You think because he’s small and looks and sounds young that he’s an innocent kid who needs his hand held all the way through battle?” he spoke as he moved closer to Takeshi, “Just because he doesn’t act like you or show bravery like some Human or Saiyan might doesn’t mean he’s a coward! He’s a feral Earthling who grew up in an environment that would see you killed if you didn’t learn to fear unknown threats, everything that was bigger than you would see you as prey! He may show fear, but he still knows how to overcome that where you can barely handle fear!”

[GambolMuse]

"See? It's all about making what you have work. I'm only human but I can fight with someone like Vegeta, or Viral, who are much stronger than humans," Yumi continued on, sounding just a little bit proud at that statement, "Just like you should never feel any less because you're not like us, and we never should feel bad because we're different from you. No one can do everything but some people can do some things very well, and that's what we should be proud of." She swore she was talking to T'charrl on this matter yet that sounded oddly like something she should say to Viral as well; he didn't have Ki, he couldn't do what they could and he made a point of it often enough. Yet what about everything he could do that they couldn't? Surely there was some pride in that. Just like she took pride in having learned how to fly like the others, even if initially it had been far from flawless. Thank goodness they had been at the ocean when practicing, otherwise some of those crashes would have likely hurt. "Things were fun too though, don't you think? Life is so... Simple as a kid," Yumi spoke in a dreamy tone, smiling as she glanced up at the night sky, "Nothing mattered and you got to have fun all the time. I miss it sometimes, but then I wasn't friends with all of you, so I'm okay with having grown up, it was worth it."

Haku didn't know what to expect from T'charrl's parents other than maybe being slapped by his mother and chewed out by his father. Was it fortunate for him that wouldn't be anything new for him? He was used to Saiyan commanders being terrible to him, surely these people weren't anything worse than they were. "Why? Your powers are awesome... And I mean, look what you've done with them. Plus uh... You're gonna be helping to kill these monsters, you're saving worlds. They can't be mad about that can they?" He was going to be a hero, traveling around to other planets and saving its people from these things; as if being the first of his kind to travel through space wasn't enough he was going to be doing all of that too, what wasn't there to be proud of? To Haku it seemed awfully obvious yet he didn't know the people, T'charrl could be right and they would only be angry with him. He really didn't get it but he hoped T'charrl might be wrong, everyone else had been nice enough so far and it would be a lousy return to form to be yelled at and smacked around again. Picking silently at his food he wondered if the world was even fit for them to visit too, thinking about how his friend had mentioned there had been a war. There was war everywhere wasn't there?

His original point of coming over to Viral was long gone by now, at this point Takeshi was trying to save face in front of Viral. He was just looking out for Shu, wasn't that admirable? He kept his brother from fighting because he didn't want Shu to get hurt, so he didn't have to fight when he really didn't want to, why wasn't the Beastman getting that? "No, I think because he's always scared of fighting that he needs it! I don't mind fighting, I've done it a lot, but he hasn't! That's what I'm here for, to do things he doesn't want to!" He was so sure of himself and that he was doing what he was supposed to do; he'd never had family until Shu showed up and he'd tried to protect the little guy since then, no one had ever said anything before. How could it be wrong? Again Viral turned on him and started attacking him instead, causing Takeshi's irritation to only grow as he was again called out. Letting out something between a frustrated growl and a huff he ran a hand through his hair before gesturing towards Viral angrily. "I've been fine aside from today, one mistake! If it wasn't for me you two would probably be dead on Kaesstra, but no, I'm just a screw up huh? And I helped you get back from having that collar, and I helped Shu too, but whatever, I'm just a coward and I run from things, right? I've done --"

"Takeshi, that's enough." Vegeta couldn't listen to them bickering anymore, it was exhausting having to endure. Frankly he was tired of listening to Takeshi whine like an impudent child that wasn't getting his way and it was high time to set him straight. "Viral's right, whether you want to acknowledge that fact or not," he continued in a steady voice, picking away at his meal in a casual manner that frustrated the younger Saiyan, "Shu seems helpless because you've made him think he is, that he has to rely on you. If you treat someone as inept they will come to believe it, dependency forms. He is perfectly capable of standing on his own two feet though and your coddling him isn't doing him any favors." Finally looking up at Takeshi he met the angry glare with an uninterested one, coming across himself more as an adult exasperated with a fitful child. "And Viral is right, you're concerned too much with your own appearance. You came over here to apologize didn't you? So why then has this devolved into an argument of your character? Why should it matter?"

[Mogtaki]

“Really? I, uhh…I don’t know how strong they are. I don’t know how strong anybody is. Nobody really fights against me much anymore, but I don’t blame them…” T’charrl felt it would had been best if people didn’t train near him, his absorption of energy definitely went against his favour as it often caused him to change. It was something he was scared of, it held him back but it wasn’t something he wasn’t afraid of expressing his fear of. He didn’t know how much the others knew about how hard it was sometimes, but he preferred not to get them too involved since he knew a lot of them didn’t understand it either. “Oh, some people doing things very well…uhh, I guess I can hold more than you. That’s still something interesting! Maybe.” Feeling a little confused he tried to figure out what that meant, especially for him. He was good at some things, but overall he was very average and only managed to get by only just. He probably had more to him, but right now he remained in the background hoping that he didn’t cause trouble. “Oh, I don’t know about fun all the time. I didn’t have friends and a lot of the time I was learning how to be a good Prince. I did like how I didn’t need to worry about war most of the time, at least not getting involved in it…”

Looking to Haku he tilted his head when he called his powers ‘awesome’, something he didn’t think would be something to describe them. “W-Well, being able to talk to the dead is like…you’re not quite in the world of the living to my people. You’re interfering with the world of the dead by talking to them, I suppose. There’s also the history of those who are able to talk to the dead being able to bring them back to life too which is a really bad thought. People with my power were killed off because we are very close to spirits and will turn into monsters if we merge with them for power, l-like umm…” He wouldn’t say he was using the spirit that was inside him, but it wasn’t like he was actively trying to get rid of it too. He didn’t want to end its existence because he didn’t want it to be a part of him anymore, but he wasn’t exactly rushing to find a new home for it either. He felt rather confused, he didn’t know what he was whether cruel to it or sacrificing his own wellbeing to give it a home. “…Oh, this is awful. I wonder what my parents really think of me…”

Takeshi was being rather cruel to Shu when it came down to it, speaking of him like he was a simple creature who couldn’t look after himself. If Takeshi was thrown into an environment like the one Shu grew up in he would be dead extremely quickly, yet here he was undermining Shu as if he was a baby. Shu had been through much worse than Takeshi could imagine and yet here he was treating the kid like everything was out to kill him. Growling lowly when Takeshi had the nerve to bring up the whole saving thing as if he should be seen as some sort of saviour he looked back to Vegeta when he spoke up, deciding to slowly sit down again, closing his eyes momentarily as Takeshi was told off. “Do you even know your brother? He’s fought his entire life and yet you don’t acknowledge that”, he spoke before he sighed, rubbing his chest, “It’s not fighting he’s afraid of, but that’s what you believe it to be and you’re not helping him with the true problem. Maybe try listening to him for once instead of treating him like a cowardly simpleton…”

[GambolMuse]

"Really, no one trains with you?" Yumi asked in disbelief, unable to understand why that was. Come to think of it though there was a reason wasn't there? It was why T'charrl had trouble in fights sometime, he seemed to pick up on energy left over from the fighting. There had to be a way to not do that though, some way to just... Block it out. If that wasn't possible then she would fight without the use of energy, simple as that, and never give him a chance to use any. "Plus you can use a sword, can't you? I learned how but I'm not very good, it's why I don't use weapons when I fight," Yumi admitted with a sheepish smile, "Plus you can heal people, and you help us speak to the departed, and you can heal worlds. There's a lot you're good at even if you can't name it off of the top of your head!" She might know of other things too but she hadn't had the chance to spend much time around T'charrl and, as a result, she didn't learn too much more about him. It was a shameful thing to admit about one of her friends but she had to hang out with him more, if given the chance. "Well... Now you have friends and you're done with learning about being a prince! So now you can focus on having fun with us!"

Having to talk over Yumi was kind of frustrating, even more when she looked to be making T'charrl awfully happy. Why couldn't he be doing that for his friend too? He should try it, maybe he could get T'charrl to laugh too. "Well I don't think you'll change into a monster... You're not doing those kinds of things, I think you're safe," Haku muttered, putting on a smile as he tried to sound a little more positive on it, "Sure you changed a bit before, but... You haven't in a long time, since we met. So you must be getting better right? And... You have all these people around to help if you need it, so... You won't be one of those people." Just because someone of your kind did something before didn't mean you were destined to repeat it. If that were the case then he'd be a powerful warrior right now! Bringing up his parents didn't appear to be having the effect he'd hoped in trying to make T'charrl happier, in fact it seemed to have the opposite effect completely. Lowering his gaze for a moment Haku shifted his weight uneasily, biting his lip before looking up at his friend. "Well when we visit you can find out! I'm uh... I'm sure they would tell you if you ask," he answered, though he was hardly sure himself. He didn't exactly come from a place where you expected much of your parents, being really close to them was rare, so how should he know?

It was bad enough to have Viral berating him and calling him out, but now Vegeta was doing it too? It was only made worse by the fact that everything he was hearing he knew to be true and yet he couldn't accept that, any of it, for one very important reason. "He hasn't had to fight like this though, I have. I'm better at it, he can rely on me," the Saiyan argued weakly, smiling as he tried to push his case, "And I know what it is... He's afraid of changing! If I fight for him then he doesn't have to worry, he won't change. I don't mind fighting, and I can do it so he doesn't need to, it's simple!"

"You're not fixing the problem then, you're avoiding it. He could still change, especially if something happens to you," Vegeta pointed out, frowning as Takeshi seemed to be verbally slapped by that obvious truth, "His changes are due to emotional triggers, under times of great duress. This could be while under stress in battle, or when faced with a towering decision that he may not be ready to handle... Or watching his brother take a fall on his behalf. Your priorities are completely backwards, stop being a child and face reality and help your brother. What you're doing now is only hurting him." They probably should have told him this before, far sooner given how long it has been going on for. Vegeta had expected his father to but then he had a way of dancing about issues sometimes, wanting to try and get someone to reach a conclusion on their own. Admirable, but if they were too dense to do so then you'd be stuck waiting a very long time.

Damn it... He knew what Shu's problems were, he didn't know how to fix them though! Why were they waiting for him to fix it, he obviously didn't know how! "If it's so easy to fix him then you do it! You're the smart one, you or your dad. Why don't one of you two fix him?!" Takeshi demanded an answer but didn't get one, watching in defeat as Vegeta simply went back to eating his food. Looking across the way at Shu he felt himself deflate slightly, looking away ashamed before walking from the group. Rather than go back to his seat he went towards the edge of the village, feeling too embarrassed and shameful to be with anyone at the moment. A small part of him hoped Shu would come running after him and yet the same part also hoped not, he didn't know what he would tell his brother right now if they had to talk.

"Sooner or later he'll pull his head out of his rear, I just didn't think it would take so long," Vegeta commented, chewing through a terse piece of meat before spitting it out in the dirt, "Hm... I get the impression he did genuinely feel bad for what he had done, to you and Shu, but he's too egotistical to let it be about anyone other than himself. Ah well, no sense in wasting our energy over it, it's his problem." There had been a fair point raised though, he could try putting a little effort into Shu's situation as well. Viral's own condition was in large under control save for his new transformation and then there was T'charrl, the matter of his education and of his own powers being unwieldy still. Still a lot of work to do yet all of it important, and Vegeta had yet to find an answer to all of it. "I meant to ask, come tomorrow, do you have a plan in mind for how we tackle this? Aside from our two groups we haven't much discussed our tactics. I figured as the respective leaders we probably should think of something, hm?"

[Mogtaki]

T’charrl nodded, letting out a sigh. “Nobody, but there’s reasons…and a lot of them aren’t pleasant for both parties”. There was even the added factor that he was ‘bug’-like, so Takeshi didn’t like going near him because it meant having to touch him. It made him feel like he was a gross creature of some kind that some people like Takeshi feared, something that was dangerous if touched or made people feel uneasy. It was hard not getting as much physical attention as he’d like to get all because he was hairy. “Uhh, I guess I can do those things…although they do take a lot out of me…” he spoke, contemplating it for a moment before giving his forearm a rub, “I also have my own blades…although that’s probably more to do with, uhh, my powers advancing unnaturally. Warriors in the past like me probably got them too as theirs grew stronger. Sometimes I wonder just how vicious my people were in the past…” Contemplating he let out a sigh, giving a smile when Yumi tried to be encouraging. “That is true. I wish to have a lot of fun with you guys when I get the chance…”

T’charrl was certainly starting to feel a little overwhelmed, he wasn’t used to so much attention and things were getting a little crazy. It was all so new to him, he had no idea how normal people did it. “Y-You don’t? Oh, I guess I have a lot to live up to in this next battle”, he laughed nervously, hoping he wouldn’t but he couldn’t exactly predict the future, “I think I changed when that Saiyan King showed up, but I got hit pretty hard and a building fell on top of me so I guess I was lucky I did or I would probably be dead”. He certainly didn’t know much about these creatures but he had other weapons that could come in handy against them other than just his claws at least. He hoped he was strong enough to fight against these creatures, especially when he didn’t know how strong he actually was. “Oh, that would be a hard question. I mean…what is stopping them from lying to me and saying they’re happy with just the way I am. Parents tend to lie to their children to make them feel better about bad things”.

Viral was growing annoyed with Takeshi, but shouting at him just caused more pain than it was worth. The way he talked about his brother was like treating him like a pet, as if hiding a problem was going to keep that pet happy under the assumption they would forget they were afflicted by something troublesome. Groaning in annoyance as Takeshi continued on with his odd assumptions over Shu’s problems his attention turned to Vegeta, staring at him for a moment before simply folding his arms and closing his eyes. With all these worries already existing for Shu he did wonder whether Takeshi slacking off was only making things worse. He knew how much Shu went through back when they were both being experimented on, but he didn’t know how much Shu had talked about it to Takeshi; however, from the sounds of it, not at all. Only opening his eyes to glance at Vegeta when asked to fix Shu he expected such an answer. Takeshi was trying to throw all the responsibility to them when there was more on their plate.

Watching as Takeshi eventually decided to go off to sulk for a bit he let out a groaning sigh. “It’s funny that I’ve known the kid for longer than him, counting the time in the facility”, he spoke, looking back at the food as he proceeded to pick up a piece again, staring at it, “Maybe you will have to talk to the kid sometime. That kind of mental isolation can be maddening, after all. Tomorrow it’s probably best to use as little power as we can manage without underestimating them until we know how to shut off their connection. A problem is they managed to take an entire village off this plane of existence and whether the village is on the other side. I just wonder if I can handle being a leader…”

Shu had kept quiet and to himself the entire conversation, not hearing everything from it but knew it was concerning him with how many times he heard his name being announced. He was about done with his food and was just sitting quietly to himself hoping he wasn’t going to get noticed as trying to eavesdrop. Going pretty still he kept his eyes forward before noticing Takeshi had looked to him, squeaking in response and looking away again. He was pretty scared that he had done something wrong with how things seemed to had went, but he had no idea what he was supposed to do about all of that. Right now though he was too tired to think clearly about it, but he knew he would probably be thinking about it for a whole now until he understood what was going on. He shouldn’t ask about it, it was best if he remained where he was and pretend he didn’t hear being mentioned.

[GambolMuse]

By the time the sun was just stretching over the horizon and the village was coated in the soft glow of its rays everyone was gathered up, preparing to set out for the rift. No one knew for certain if it was truly out there or not, all they had to work off of was the disappearance of an entire village; they may be new to this world but vanishing villages couldn't possibly be a regular thing, something clearly was amiss here. A rift appearing seemed like the only plausible explanation and they would find if their assumptions were right nor not before long, the village wasn't too far. Along with their own number four scouts would be accompanying them, people who knew the lay of the land and, more importantly, the best way to approach the village without being seen. If the so called "Dark Ones" were indeed around still then it was in their interest to sneak up and try to remain unseen, at least until they were sure this was where they wanted to be.

"Everyone knows the plan then? Take things slowly at first, wait until we have a proper appraisal of the situation before going all in. We need to know for certain this is where the rift is, otherwise we're wasting our time." Of course rift or no rift they would eliminate the beasts regardless, but no one wanted to waste time on a handful when the source might be just a mile away. Looking at his group he frowned seeing Takeshi was still playing the silent game despite his usually obnoxious self, and though they hadn't even left the village yet Haku appeared nervous already. Sighing to himself he rubbed his forehead and wondered how in the world he'd gotten stuck with this group. "It makes the most sense to send Viral and his team ahead, in case we do encounter the rift. We don't know the nature of it but we'll want to reach it as soon as possible once we do find it, and having them at the front makes that easier." It wouldn't do for his group to stumble through, they had no means of sealing it. Or that wasn't correct, they simply weren't as adept at it as the Beastmen were. A lot of unknowns surrounded the area beyond their own plane and for all they knew they could be on equal footing there, or perhaps the Beastmen might be even worse off, no one would know until they went through.

Takeshi just wanted to get moving at this point, standing around idling was killing him. Since his "conversation" with Viral and Vegeta last night he had been feeling more or less like a pile of crap and, even now standing with Shu he remained silent. No matter how things turned out here he was going to have to try not to treat Shu like a baby and take Viral's words to heart, though the idea of letting his brother fight those monsters was awfully unsettling. He'd seen Shu kill the bug of course but then he had Viral helping him too, so was he really convinced Shu was okay to fight? Sighing to himself he pulled at the handwraps he'd gotten from the locals, really just some taught bandages that he'd managed to turn into some, feeling more comfortable having them on to fight like he used to. Helped with the abrasions or something like that, Takeshi couldn't even remember now why he always used to wear them growing up, he just had. Glancing at Shu he managed a slight smile, looking away when his brother glanced back and watching Vegeta or Viral for some direction. He'd do his best not to screw things up today even if he still wasn't sure what he should be doing; protecting Shu the way he had been was wrong, and trying to do the majority of the fighting himself reflected badly, though he shouldn't care how he looked either. What was he supposed to do?

[Mogtaki]

By the time morning came Shu had already had his bath and was still a little wet, but he was rather tired, not having slept very well and had yet to wake up properly. It was hard to be in his position, not only was he a little bummed out that he was being ignored by Takeshi but he had a pretty terrible time trying to sleep. He still didn’t have his nightmares problem solved and they had been particularly bad that night, even as he woke up throughout the night he didn’t want to bother Takeshi after hearing some of the things he said yesterday. Giving his eye a brief rub he looked down momentarily as he wiped his hand on his clothing after, his eyes soon going up to Takeshi only to spot him looking away. He felt like he was being purposely ignored for whatever reason, as if he had done something wrong. He couldn’t had done something wrong, he had been well behaved all day and didn’t do anything bad or annoying. He thought he did good yesterday by fighting that monster, but it did nothing to please Takeshi, it seemed.

Viral was as ready as he could be but Vegeta deciding to send his group out in front had him wondering about Vegeta’s battle tactics. While it probably played well in his mind that sending him out ahead was ideal due to being unable to fly, but as a battle tactic it was just terrible since two out of four of them had no experience with these creatures. It would have to be him and Yumi leading the way and hoping the other two didn’t end up getting ambushed and being unable to fight because they didn’t know how to handle the monsters immediately. There was also the issue that he was still healing and with the sun only just rising it would be a short while longer before they were healed. If he ended up getting attacked while split up away from the group he may end up in further trouble as he found himself unable to keep up with the creature’s attacks. Whatever though, if Vegeta had confidence that his team could pull that off then he had to go with it, letting out a sigh in reluctant agreement. “I’m just going to point out one thing; either you keep close to us while we go ahead or you’ll lose us. I won’t be at my full potential due to circumstances and only Yumi has encountered them with me before. Stay alert and don’t get cocky against these things”.

T’charrl was feeling refreshed and a little nervous, hoping he wouldn’t end up screwing this up and making a fool of himself. He had a nap during the night just so he could preserve energy, but waking up to some of the natives around him had been a little disturbing. They seemed to like him at least, he wasn’t a danger to them and having a similar body structure meant he could find some way to relate to each other. With the whole getting ready for battle though he felt a little sad that he was leaving so soon, especially to a fight that could result in his powers overwhelming him and making everybody disappointed in him. He didn’t want to disappoint anyone, he had tried hard to keep his powers in control up to this point and to suddenly lose that would make everybody wary about him some more. The less control he had the less time people would want to be around him. Looking to the others he let out a sigh, trying to put on a brave face as they got ready to head out.

[GambolMuse]

"We'll be right behind you to back you up if need be, don't worry. Just because I said you'll be point doesn't mean you're going in alone," Vegeta pointed out, watching as their scouts were outfitted with armor and weapons. They were prepared for battle though it was doubtful they would be fighting: still better to be ready to defend themselves if one of the monsters broke through their ranks. "To be fair we've battled these beasts. They're difficult to kill but we've not seen much that makes them a difficult opponent, that aside," Vegeta continued as he adjusted his battle armor, pulling at his right glove to get it to fit better, "You don't need to worry about my being arrogant, I know the risks and the potential trouble Eris and Orion may have. That being said these are relatively simple beasts, and unless we encounter a new variant like the plant on Namek I don't imagine it will take them too long to get into the pace of things." Come to think of it though Eris seemed to have a penchant for arrogance that rivaled Takeshi's, she may prove to be an issue. Unlike Takeshi however she appeared to have the competence in terms of combat to back up said arrogance, albeit she was still as prone to make a mistake as anyone regardless. "Everyone will have to be on their toes for this, especially your group. We'll do everything we can once you're on the other side, here's to hoping it all goes well."

Should he say something to Shu? He wanted to but he wouldn't even know where to begin with all of that, what he should say or what he even should apologize for. Aw who was he kidding, he had a load of things he ought to be apologizing for: doubting Shu's ability to fight and protect himself, and his brother being an outright coward were just the tip of the iceberg. Feeling Shu's eyes on him he glanced over at his brother, missing his gaze as well and seeing the younger boy looking awfully downtrodden. What was he so upset about now? Frowning to himself Takeshi rubbed the back of his neck before sighing, placing his hands on his hips and glancing up at the sky. "Won't be long now before we get moving, probably going to be one hell of a fight with these things, you know?" he asked as he glanced about at nothing in particular before finally setting his eyes on Shu. He probably should apologize but he couldn't bring himself to do it, not when he didn't know what to say. He'd just try being better then and see where that took them, and maybe after they finished kicking some monster ass he could say sorry. Reaching out he prodded Shu's forehead teasingly, smirking as he folded his hands behind his head. "You and I are going to fight together, right buddy? I mean almost everyone else is going to have a partner, so you'll be mine yeah? I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have."

It won't be that bad, everyone else is here too! You're with the Princes, and a commander, they'll handle it! Haku kept telling himself that but it wasn't doing much good to settle his nerves as he stood beside T'charrl, hands clenched and shaking at his waist. Funny thing too was once he got into the fighting he usually calmed down, or at least he was too focused on the fighting to notice how scared he was, but right now there was nothing keeping him distracted. Clicking his tongue a couple of times he looked up at T'charrl, not terribly relieved to see his friend appeared almost as uneasy about this as he felt. "S-S-So... These things, uh... Think we'll beat them?" he asked timidly, rubbing his hands together as he cast a look down at his feet, "I mean I d-doubt we'll lose, but... It's kinda... Oh I don't know... Scary? Saiyans are strong but, you know what you get with them... And other people too... But these things are just, wrong..." They did come from another world, another universe even, probably would explain why it was so strange and why the creatures just felt wrong being here. All the more reason to kill them, he guessed.

Preparations were finally completed as the scouts were armed, and nerves aside everyone else was ready to go as well. As it had been decided Viral's group would take point, the scouts directly behind him to act as guides and Vegeta's group bringing up the rear. With little combat capability of their own the scouts being in the middle served as much as protection for them, part of the agreement reached with the Chieftain; pride did not exist among these people, or if it did then they weren't so prideful as to be complete fools. Circling around the plateau they began to cut out across the fields again, the grasses shorter than before and broken up by occasional trees or other large fauna. The next village wasn't too far according to the scouts though their distances were unlike anything anyone was familiar with, so judging distance for themselves was impossible. They would simply have to follow the lead of the natives and hope they knew where they were going, otherwise they would be in for a very long day of travel.

[Mogtaki]

Viral stared at Vegeta before looking to the scouts as well, narrowing his gaze before looking away. He didn’t know what Vegeta was thinking by telling them they’ve battled them before as if it would allow them to feel at ease, they didn’t even know what kind of monster they were facing. If it was just all minor creatures like they had faced before then maybe it would be okay, but even then those creatures were tough to beat. If they started thinking those creatures were all the same they would have another Namek on their hands very quickly, so caution had to be given. “’Simple beasts’…you say that and half of us end up dead for believing you”, he grunted, generally disliking the thought that any of the drones were ‘simple’ and could be easily dispatched. “I’ll make sure everything goes well on my side, it’s your side who need to be on their toes the most. Go all out on them until we can figure out how to close the gateway”.

Shu didn’t know whether he should try talking or if he should keep as he was and just carry on with his inability to find words or actions to express himself. He was stuck feeling pretty down and didn’t know how to get out of it again. As he wondered what he was supposed to feel about this he gasped lightly when Takeshi spoke, looking up to him before away again as he pulled at his fingers. “Umm…y-yeah…” He didn’t know how to reply to that, he was probably going to end up struggling to accomplish anything. It’s what his brother thought of him, probably, and was just saying that stuff to try and hide the fact that anything was discussed about his strength in the first place. Closing his eye momentarily when Takeshi pressed his finger into his forehead he gave the spot a quick rub, staring up at Takeshi before looking away as he scratched his side. “Y-Yeah…be good fighting! And, umm…fighting to be winners…” He really wanted to ask what Takeshi thought of him but he would probably only get mad, so it was probably best to keep quiet and hope he wouldn’t screw up like Takeshi assumes would happen if he ended up split from him.

T’charrl did wonder how well he was going to be able to use his powers, whether he would have to heal people or if blasting the creatures with them would work as opposed to using Ki. He hadn’t used his power to attack in a while and if he was able to burn the dummies back home he was curious about his abilities now that they had grown stronger. Hopefully he wouldn’t end up using too much energy, otherwise it would be hard to recover again. Looking to Haku when he decided to speak he frowned, disliking the doubt he was expressing. “I don’t know about scary. They’re pretty average looking when compared to some animals back home”, he spoke, shaking his head, “It’s when they get big is when they get awfully tough. I don’t know if that would come back again, but I really hope it doesn’t…”

With everything and everyone prepared they were heading off, hopefully having less of a terrible time than they did the day before. At least there was progress being made now, even if Viral wasn’t happy with having to lead the way. He felt like his group was just acting as bait for the creatures to bite on. If there was one thing that Vegeta definitely wasn’t and that was a tactical advisor, he just felt his group were out in the open too much with everyone behind them in a bad spot for helping them if things went wrong. If they were going to go with a tactic then the strongest people should be out front and to the sides of the group with the weaker lot in the middle who would be ready to flee the initial danger until they could collect themselves. Right now Viral was feeling anything other than strong, he was just feeling disappointed in himself for getting injured in the first place. He was already healing up as time went on but he still felt slightly drained and did worry that it would affect his ability to fight. Hopefully the other three could compensate for his lack of strength and hopefully he would be able to avoid appearing weak in front of the other Beastmen.

[GambolMuse]

"They're of a hive mind it seems, so yes, individually they are simple creatures," Vegeta reiterated, watching the scouts as they prepared for departure. "I'm simply stating from experience that the drones aren't too terribly difficult to deal with on their own. Of course we'll be approaching a rift and we have no idea what to expect there, so we'll still be cautious. And don't worry, we'll handle our end just fine." Provided no bugs appeared and scared Takeshi or Shu didn't unexpectedly transform, or T'charrl either for that matter. There was plenty that could go awry during this mission yet very little had to do with the beasts themselves and more their own number, or the rift behaving unexpectedly. Worrying about potential outcomes wasn't going to help them any though and they could only forge ahead and take whatever came their way in stride. With the scouts now ready to depart Viral's group took the lead, Vegeta and his team taking up the rear. Sending the Beastmen ahead simply made most sense to the Saiyan as they could easily dispatch the creatures, something that they as Ki users didn't have the luxury of.

Clearly something was bothering Shu and Takeshi's first thought was he was afraid of the fight ahead. Yet he thought back to what Viral and Vegeta had told him before and second guessed himself, becoming lost as he tried to find an alternative. The little guy did his nervous habits while they talked, pulling at his fingers and stammering a bit, so what was bothering him? Without a clue he smiled slightly, watching the others begin moving and patting Shu on the back to get him along as well. "Hey buddy? Uh... Thanks for yesterday, by the way... You were pretty awesome, you know?" Takeshi let out a sigh before smiling again, giving Shu a thumbs up and a nod of approval, "I kinda messed up huge but you helped and saved Viral, so uh... Nice job." He should give credit to his brother for that one, Viral had already gotten pretty cut up before Shu had gone and slammed the thing for the kill. Being afraid of their enemy shouldn't be an issue today, he was used to these things by now and had no problem fighting them, he wouldn't let himself freak out again over anything. More importantly too he'd do whatever he could to make sure no one ended up hurt, though given those in his group he doubted he'd be needed much.

"I mean, the l-last one we fought was that big one... And I haven't really fought any before. F-First experience was really lousy," Haku stammered with an uneasy laugh, rubbing at one of his arms, "I'm sure it will work out okay th-though..." It had to, they had plenty of strong people and this fight shouldn't be anywhere near as bad as the last time. Heck he probably wouldn't even have to do much fighting since he was paired with T'charrl, his friend was very strong and could easily handle the monsters himself. He would be there to help still, for whatever it was worth, and he'd protect the scouts too if he had to. "Uh... Your power by the way... I mean not the Ki stuff, is that good for killing these things?" Haku asked curiously, "Because uh... Ki doesn't do much to them right? S-So... I mean that makes you pretty lucky right?"

Yumi was keeping her head on a swivel as they ran, looking back and forth to make sure nothing was trying to get a jump on them. She doubted the rift would be so close to the village but better to be safe, didn't want to go running blindly into an ambush. With her ears turning to keep alert she looked to her side and to Viral, wondering what his thoughts on this was. "You're feeling okay after yesterday? Not too sore?" she asked in obvious concern, her eyes going to a few spots on his body where he had been struck. Now was hardly the time to be asking anyways, it wasn't like Viral would double back and not fight if he was still in pain. Glancing briefly back at everyone else she refocused her eyes on the space ahead, still not seeing anything that might suggest they were anywhere close. "When we do get through... We should probably stick together, huh? Until we know what we're facing over there. Just an idea, you're the one in charge here."