GambolMuse

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

If Nymira had to explain herself to Amuné then she wouldn't waste her breath. She was not being mean or even berating the Machina, it was more like imploring him not to be so ready to throw himself in harm's way. Machine or no he was still among them as an equal, as one of her unofficial retainers and she'd be damned if they just threw themselves in front of her. Nor did she wish for it, though she tried not to put too much stock into it there was a matter of her pride to attend to and it had already been partly shattered by the Varuna. How could she be a proud warrior if she was needing to be saved every day? She would train to become stronger and not need saving, no self respecting leader should need to be rescued like some helpless child.

"We all have training to do Cecil but a meal won't delay that too terribly much. If you want to join us you're more than welcome, even if you don't eat." Nymira was trying to be nice to the Machina and instead he was turning away at every offer. It was so much easier when you could just order people to do things and they'd obey, but without actually being in her service such a thing wasn't going to happen. Raising a hand to make another point the Dimuran frowned at a knock of the door and turned expecting to see Kensen or Gage come to fetch them. Ah... That man from before, what was his name again? Watching the boy address them uncertainly then go silent she rolled her eyes and looked back at Cecil, shrugging her shoulders and rubbing at her forehead. Whether they were off to eat or train she just wished to get moving, daylight was being wasted and so too was time to forward their journey.

No clear objective or plan had been laid out but they'd have time for that yet, Mutebo would probably be their home for a few days if not a week. And though both her and Ethan were still weary from their trial training and improving themselves was much too enticing a proposition to pass up, fatigue be damned. Cecil and Amuné were the first out of the room and a perturbed Gage was hot on their heels, clearly annoyed at having to spend his day with a child. If that man didn't learn to breath he was going to stress himself to death. Nodding for Ethan to leave as well Nymira stepped out herself and closed the door behind her, hardly giving Adrianna a passing glance as the two of them headed towards the doors with Kensen in tow. Much to her chagrin Adrianna wasn't finished with them yet and had a question for them as well, one she would much prefer not to answer right now. Yet if she didn't speak up Ethan certainly would and that clown would readily accept another member no matter what.

The name Midkemia meant nothing to the Dimuran and Ethan's bewildered echo of the name said he didn't either. So another crime ridden place like so many others it seemed, it was a wonder the kingdom didn't tear itself apart with how rampant criminals seemed to be. If a Dimuran acted out in the way many criminals here did they'd be thrown in a pit, lose a hand or be killed, there was little tolerance for criminal activity when simply surviving some days could be challenge enough. So it had been that woman Taliya who had planted the absurd idea in this man's head, she'd have to remember to thank her for that "pleasantry". As if trying to give them an incentive to accept Adrianna's help he offered to act as their healer, to which Nymira promptly turned up her nose and grit her teeth in distaste. While it wouldn't be a terrible thing to have someone who could bandage them and provide traditional treatment she was certain Adrianna had every intent to use magic, something which she'd more than made her position on clear already.

"We all have our own business to see to. Are you asking us to postpone our own travels simply because it would be convenient for you?" Pleasantries be damned if Adrianna thought asking nicely was enough to get them to oblige her. Stopping in her tracks and standing before the healer she crossed her arms, looking up at Adrianna defiantly as she scowled. "We have had trouble with the Church, yes, and I understand you're from it as well. Whether you're still their ally or not doesn't concern me, but if someone is after you too then we will not protect you, that is not our job. Nor can we help you with whatever it is you're after, we're busy enough as it is."

Ethan had come to a halt when he'd realized it was only him and Kensen still walking, asking the Dimuran to wait as he hurried back to Nymira and Adrianna. Whatever the two were talking about Nymira didn't seem at all pleased with, and he'd only just caught the tail end of the conversation when he'd arrived. Adrianna was wanting to travel with them too then was it? He could understand and respect Nymira's problem with a healer even if he thought it was a bit counter-intuitive but that aside what reason did they have to deny him? If Adrianna was willing to do the work and could be helpful there wasn't any reason to deny them their request.

"Oh come on Nymira, it's not like we didn't have other people with us before," Ethan urged gently, smiling as the Dimuran shot him an angry glance. Counting off on his fingers he continued, "Let's see... We had Asta, and then Zander and Geoffrey too. This is the smallest our group's been even so what's the problem with one more? Besides if Adrian is from the cities then he'll know how to get there and back, something none of us know how to do," Ethan pointed out, grinning as he gestured to himself, "Unless you want me to handle that?" For once his ineptitude at finding directions paid off, the very idea of him leading them to the cities and through them was enough to make Nymira roll her eyes and turn away, muttering something about "incompetence" under her breath. Ethan hardly cared though as she seemed to fold to his argument, and with a smile he extended a hand towards Adrianna cheerfully. "I think that means you're one of us now! But uh... You do know we're not leaving right away, yeah? We have training to do and that's going to take a few days at least. So long as you're okay with that..."

"If he means to travel with us then he has no choice, he can wait," Nymira interrupted curtly, looking over at Kensen before grabbing the back of Ethan's shirt and pulling him along, "Come now, we're going to make our dear instructor angry. Let's be done with this so we can eat."

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

T'charrl had been nervous enough about his training before arriving at the valley. The howling of the winds as they slipped through the chasms and the shadows cast by jagged rocks and trees high above did little to make the scene any more welcoming. For the style of training they were to undergo there was no better place to carry it out and precautions had been made to protect the young Prince; safety nets lined particularly dangerous spots along the walls and Haku would be present the entire time to catch T'charrl if he should fly off course. A doctor was nearby as well should anything happen to him, and of course Yusef was present on top of everything else, ready to lend a hand at a moment's notice. All the assurances in the world wasn't going to take the nerves out of what they were doing though and the Prince was probably a bundle of worry as they stood at the mouth of the chasm, staring down its dimly lit maw as a gentle gust brushed past them.

"It's a lot easier than it looks, and I know it looks awful," Yusef reassured, smiling as he placed a hand on T'charrl's back. Lifting his head and looking to the top of the chasm he waved appreciatively at a pair of workers who lowered another net down, the final preparations still underway. Raising his other claw to shield his face as another gust bellowed out of the rocks he walked towards the mouth of the chasm and spread his wings, giving them a single powerful stroke as he took off into the air. "I've tried it myself and it's certainly doable. Difficult, but manageable. The trick is going to be to make yourself as narrow as possible so the air passes around you. Of course that's easier said than done when the winds trying to blow you around like a leaf in a storm. But if you can beat a man like Garesh and travel to other worlds I'm sure you can do this."

They really could have picked a nicer looking place for T'charrl to train in. Haku had some awfully nasty flashbacks to his training on Kortal from this place, his time spent in raggedy, isolated plateaus and ravines for the "survival" training. He really hoped none of T'charrl's was going to consist of sleeping in cracks in the rocks or hunting for food late at night, if it did he would probably head back to the castle. Watching Yusef fly up into the air and explain how to go about the training Haku looked to his friend, gauging his reaction and smiling uneasily as the general mentioned a gust coming. So he was going to show them what to do then? They heard the wind long before it ever hit them and Haku had to shield his face when it did, barely able to see Yusef in the air. The Kaesstrian had laid himself out horizontally and his wings were beating rapidly as he seemed to hover in place against the powerful gale, slowly inching forward and slowing down as the wind petered off. "Wow... Your dad's r-really amazing huh?" Haku asked with a smile, clapping as Yusef returned to them triumphantly, "You're going to do it t-too, I know y-you are!"

----------

Takeshi still didn't understand why Krom of all people had to train them. Why not Korian? The guy was plenty strong on his own and the leader of the whole rebellion, he was perfectly suited for it. Or hell Aito could work too, the guy might be flaky as a biscuit and more wishy-washy than a bar of soap, but he was strong, apparently a Super Saiyan, and would be the perfect tutor for them. Instead of any of that here they were with the same bastard who had tried to kill them not once but twice, the creep who had stolen Viral away and was pretty much responsible for all of the shitty stuff that had happened to them since his first appearance on Earth. The adults insisted that Krom was harmless now and he was a good instructor but that was probably just their way of keeping him in line, force him to babysit him and Shu so he couldn't get into trouble. Problem there was they didn't need babysitting and they didn't want the enemy instructing them either! But no matter how much Takeshi had protested they were stuck with the man.

"Man... Do you think they'd be pissed if we just kicked Krom's ass? I figure if we can beat him up then we don't need his training right?" Made sense to Takeshi anyways: if you beat your teacher then you were stronger than they were and there was no reason for them to teach you. He wasn't going to worry about semantics like it being two on one or anything, all he wanted to do was find a way out of this mess. Shu was probably having a really lousy time between this and Aito's sessions too, though at least the latter of which he seemed to be making some progress with. "I mean seriously... We've gotta be stronger than Krom by now, you know? What's the reason for training with him then other than to annoy us?" Takeshi let out a groan as he sank back down into a padded chair and draped his arms over the sides, laying his head back. Rubbing at his face he slouched down and looked at Shu curiously, wondering if they should skip their training today and go do something else. "Hey... Wanna go into the city and find something to do? We can ditch Krom and go have fun instead," he suggested with a grin, "I mean what's the guy gonna do, come after us? He can't leave the building you know so we're fine, he'll just have to sit there and be angry about it. Whadda ya say?"

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

"It won't hurt the spirit, that I promise you! It's like the Arcia fruit, its a muscle relaxant but for some reason it seems to affect spirits as well. And we never imagined the spirit was evil my boy, if it was evil you'd probably be on a rampage right now!" Nema said with a slight laugh as he closed the book with a heavy thud of the pages. Grunting as he wrestled it off the table the King carefully handed it to a pair of servants who had to each grab an end and carry it, it was much heavier when one tried to carry it! "I'm certain the spirit can hear us yes? It must be able to hear and see all that you do, since you and it are one. Then hear my words spirit: we mean you no harm. We are working to find a way for both you and T'charrl to work together, that is all. I'm sure you don't wish for our young friend here to suffer any more than we do." Very few spirits were actually malevolent and most were warriors or sages who had become bound to Kaesstra, acting as an eternal guardian to its bountiful wilds. Some took the form of trees, others as great beasts, all had begun as a humble Kaesstrian and had gained an eternal oath to protect their beloved world. "Once we teach you two how to work together and you can control your power I think you'll both be quite happy with your partnership."

----------

Fighting. That was the only thing Viral defined himself by and the only thing he valued, that much was apparent. It was such a one dimensional way of thinking that led to much of what was troubling the Beastman now, having nothing else to be proud of made one's confidence very easily shattered if your sole source of pride was threatened. Logic said then to find Viral something else to be proud of, teach him another skill or perhaps another trade, anything he could derive a feeling of achievement from. Of course with his mood as poor as it was they couldn't do any of that, not until he at least began looking on the better side of things. "Well if I recall I had shirked my duty as you put it and neglected you, so it doesn't seem like a sense of duty binds me," Aito pointed out with an apologetic smile, "Which means I want to be doing this. As for my analogy you're not wrong, but swords can be tempered and they can be refined, even if the original edge has dulled. To put it more plainly we can get you back to your prime with some work, its far from implausible to think you can't achieve the same level of strength." In fact in all likelihood Viral possessed the same power he'd had before, it was merely dulled by his injuries and marred by his lack of confidence. "So answer this question for me, Viral. Would sparring with others help at all? I could easily arrange to have someone here to spar with you if that's what you want. You just tell me what you want and I'll make it happen."

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Like it or not Adrianna was going to need his information, and help from someone else. Lionel might be so inclined to lend a hand if he wasn't busy himself so her best bet then were the kids who had wandered in here the day before. Hardly a group that inspired confidence but better than nothing, right? After Taliya so eloquently dismissed them he followed hot on Adrianna's heels out of the building, stifling a laughter as he could just feel her bristling in annoyance at him. How much was she wanting to maintain this cover of hers? Enough that he could poke and prod without her breaking character? And really she was a healer, what was she going to do to him? Fight him?

As it happened a quick right hook was exactly what Adrianna had in mind. Getting sucker punched Lionel stumbled back and blinked in surprise, his smile returning promptly as he let out a laugh. "I'll not be needing a healer for that, hate to disappoint you. But thanks for the love tap!" Lionel teased, turning his head and spitting out blood before wiping his mouth. So that was definitely a no on his helping her then, her funeral. Snarky comments aside he did have information on Midkemia that was imperative to her getting in, and out, of that place alive. Maybe he'd be nice and leave it with Taliya before he went off again, just as a show of good faith to Adrianna. Didn't want her thinking he was a complete jerk! Watching as she walked off Lionel sighed and headed back into the building to fetch his things before leaving, figuring he'd be gone at least a few days. On his way in he happened by Gage and Kensen who were stood outside of some room for who knows what reason, and flashing them a smile he waved, trying to pass and being halted as Gage reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt.

"The hell happened to your face, pretty boy? Piss off the wrong person again?" Gage questioned as he narrowed his eyes at Lionel, "And where do you think you're going? We have people coming in that need tending to, get your ass to the infirmary and do your job."

"I am doing my job boss, and you're getting in the way of that. Or do you think I'm being allowed to stay here and just slack off all the time?" Lionel smiled innocently as Gage removed his grasp from his shirt, fixing it before chuckling to himself. "I brought back everything they need and restocked all of our herbs, they might be understaffed but they'll manage. Taliya wanted me to pick something else up so I'm leaving Mutebo for a bit. If you have a problem with that take it up with Tali." He didn't always try to intentionally get under people's skin but with Gage it was just too much fun. The best part too was no matter how angry the man got with him he'd never do anything, not unless Gage wanted Taliya coming down on him like a hammer on brick. Smiling then at Kensen he winked, reached out and patted the Dimuran's shoulder before continuing on his way. "Good luck with the training by the way, should be loads of fun! I've got to go hunting for some materials, wish I could be having as much fun as you two!"

----------

"It's not the money that concerns me, its the way you fight," Nymira spoke lowly as she shook her head. Placing one hand on the back of her neck she frowned and looked over at Ethan and Amuné for a moment as she wondered what they were chatting about, dismissing it as nothing as she glanced back at Cecil. "I understand you're a Machina, not flesh, but don't fight so recklessly. Just because you can take the damage doesn't mean you should, understand?" Reckless abandon or so selflessly using oneself as a shield was about as idiotic a thing as anyone could do. Heroics meant nothing if you were dead, it left good fighters in the dirt and those who survived with a heavy, consuming sense of guilt. Nymira's eyes clouded over slightly as she lowered her gaze to the floor and ground her teeth together, closing her eyes before reaching out and grabbing Cecil's shoulder.

"Listen, if you are to act as my retainer then you take orders from me, understood? That means starting today no more of those foolish heroics, no more sacrificing yourself the way you did. If you are injured in battle that's unavoidable, but don't risk yourself like that. Maybe ask Norman about some... Defensive measures, something you can protect with without having to use your body," the Dimuran suggested as she stepped back, "Like warriors and their shields, find some other way to block damage and prevent injury. Do that for me and I'll forgive you." She would not allow someone to die for her sake again if it could be helped, she'd already enough lives on her hands and she had barely begun to gather support for her clan. The entire point of this journey was to prevent further needless death and so there was no way Nymira would allow the path to be littered with bodies, it would defeat the entire purpose. Their enemies were forfeit, they didn't count, but she'd be dragged to the deepest depths of Ralthor's Kiln before she allowed anyone else to sacrifice themselves.

So Cedric had known about creatures like that, what else about his mentor didn't he know? It still seemed impossible that the kindly old man from Kinsgrove had once been a warrior, or that he'd done things bad enough to warrant the Church capturing and executing him. If Taliya had a book like Amuné said though they really should try and get it, such a thing would be invaluable while they traveled. Then again it wasn't like they could pop open a book in the middle of a fight or ask a wild animal for a moment to read about how best to kill it. "Maybe we'll ask her if we can borrow it, might come in handy some time," Ethan suggested hopefully, "Could save us a lot of trouble in the future!"

There was more that needed to be said and Ethan didn't know how to say it besides directly. Days ago during the Vazra attack he'd seen things, things which he couldn't possibly ever have without some kind of magic influencing him. He knew full well he was no Seer and didn't possess Sight or anything of the sort, in fact he only knew of one person to have such an ability: Amuné. When he mentioned the vision to her she looked confused and doubtful even, like it wasn't at all possible for him to have experienced the episode. When a wave of recognition washed over her face and she recalled the event more clearly however that sold it, somehow he'd had a vision that day. It was a complete accident from the looks of things and like Amuné he hadn't the foggiest idea how she'd managed such a trick.

"Angry? Not at all! I'm just glad I know what the heck happened now, I thought maybe I was hallucinating. Bad food or something," Ethan laughed, smiling reassuringly as he reached out and pat Amuné's head, "Now we know that you can do that though we should probably mention it to your teacher when we find one, yeah? I don't know if that's something seers usually do or not." Actually he knew absolutely nothing about Amuné's magic other than it let her have visions from time to time. It was a strange magic too, one which she apparently had no control over. He couldn't imagine having magic like that, it would be insane if his wind magic just went off whenever it felt like it! "We can talk about it more later if you want, okay? Right now there's only thing I really want to do..." Ethan said before smiling sheepishly as his stomach spoke out of turn, placing a hand on it with a chuckle, "My belly wants food, hey Nymira? Can we go get something to eat? I'll buy!"

Nymira glanced over her shoulder at the closed door before shrugging, "If we can get away from them long enough to I wouldn't mind. It's been a while since we last ate," she agreed as her stomach growled as well, making her scowl slightly as she tried to ignore it, "Why don't we have a meal together before we go off our separate ways? That is of course assuming you don't mind joining us," she added in respects to Cecil. He didn't eat but that didn't mean he had to be excluded from their company when they did.

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

That was probably enough teasing of T'charrl for one day, they didn't want the poor boy fainting from blushing so much. Tala certainly was interested in him but forcing it wasn't going to help anything and that wasn't why they were here, they were here to help T'charrl train. "We'll start slow with the training and work our way up, you'd be surprised what can change in a month," Yusef reassured as he peeled another fruit, "We will be careful my son, we know there's some risk involved with this. But we're not going to treat you like a monster and cage you up either, you're still T'charrl, understand? Unless something happens we'll treat you no differently." Truth be told Yusef didn't know if they even could restrain his son if anything should happen. He'd seen what had happened with Garesh and knew that was well beyond his own power to handle, a lot of it would depend on how capable Haku was.

"Y-You'll be fine T'charrl, you're really good at not ch-changing on us," Haku chimed in with a meek smile, tapping his fork on the table nervously when Nema gave him an expectant look. The King probably wanted to hear more about his friend to know what he was like, and what to expect if anything should happen. Probably a good idea to leave out their very first meeting unless he wanted T'charrl's dad to be terribly cross with him. "Wh-when T'charrl changes he gets a lot b-bigger and stronger, b-but he seems to uh... W-Well he seems to still k-kind of know what he's doing... Usually." It wasn't a complete blind rage from what Haku recalled, certainly nothing like an untrained Oozaru going on a rampage. It was scary to be on the receiving end of T'charrl's power but he didn't think his friend would randomly lash out at anyone if he changed. Haku's sentiment however appeared to be his and his alone; King Nema looked a bit troubled by the idea and had something quite different to say to the matter.

"Would it make you feel easier if you knew we could restrain you? Would that help?" Most people wanted nothing to do with restraints or being locked up yet for T'charrl that might be the only thing to put him at ease. Nema pushed his plate aside and again placed the large book on the table, grunting as he peeled the pages apart and opened it, flipping through them searching for a particular entry. "Since the spirit is part of the natural world there are ways you can weaken it, which weakens its host in turn. It'd feel a lot like you've exerted too much energy and your whole body would go numb, I'd imagine. And doing it is easy... Aha!" Having to stand on his seat due to his smaller size Nema turned the book around and pointed to an illustration and passage on one of the pages. "There are plants that can be used as a sedative, powerful enough to effect spirits even. In the past it was used for surgery but it would work for us too. And luckily for us they grow here in our kingdom, I could send for some to be gathered now if you'd like. We'd have them for tomorrow for your training."

-----------

"Hm... Well here's something to think about perhaps, Viral: I rejected my original purpose too. I wasn't expected to take up Capsule Corporation from my father, in fact I was far more like grandfather when I was younger. Like you I was given a purpose and yet found another, one I didn't think I would ever have. My point is this: just because you are given a job initially doesn't mean it can't change, you aren't made to hold a single role all your life. Now I'm not saying that you cannot be a warrior, or even that you can't only be a warrior. All I'm saying is if you feel your purpose is lost either reinforce it or explore your options. Which I can help with the latter, if you'd like." As Viral was so apt to put himself he'd only ever been given orders and while he did in fact possess free will he'd never if ever been allowed to express it. Part of that certainly had to do with how Vegeta, and perhaps on a larger scale how the Board of Directors had treated Viral after his passing. Aito had ever intention of allowing Viral to be autonomous but after the incident it seemed like he'd been allowed to be anything but. "Say for the sake of argument yes, you're become broken and obsolete. You're a sword that has lost its cutting edge. But can't a sword be refined and sharpened again? Or once a sword dulls do you throw it away? If you feel like you've fallen out of your prime then we can work on returning you to it, don't you agree? What was once can be again if we attack the matter directly."

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

"Well I certainly wasn't born strong, that's thanks to years of training. And my coat isn't as nice as some others but then that shouldn't matter anyways. Love is a strange thing, T'charrl, you'll love whoever you love, regardless of how they might look. I know it seems complicated now but when you're older you'll understand I'm sure." There were far more important things to be preoccupied with than one's appearance but then for someone of T'charrl's age that was perfectly normal, he'd grow out of it. Perhaps if they had the time Yusef would bring his son home and seek out Tala just to prove a point to him, whether he changed back or not the general was hopeful his son would be shown how she felt. "We do have pictures in the palace if you don't remember, though you probably don't want to see the baby pictures now do you?" he chuckled at the question, stripping skin off of a thick blue fruit before eating it, "Mmm... Things will work out fine so long as you put the effort in, T'charrl. Maybe not immediately but things will work out, just you wait. You'll be back to normal before you leave Kaesstra again, mark my words."

----------

It was terribly difficult speaking to Viral like this, and even more so to be impartial. This was why you weren't supposed to work with family members in this field, it was nigh impossible to be objective and not be emotionally attached to your patient. He'd of course considered this well before today but there wasn't exactly anyone else around certified to do this kind of work, nor did Aito have the faintest expectation for Viral to speak to anyone else. "I suppose it would be more fair to say you weren't created specifically to be a 'babysitter' as you called it. You needed a way to acclimate to human culture, and technically you were still a child yourself so... Naturally we placed you with the children when they came around. It was more a... Byproduct of training that you needed, and it seemed better than placing you in different locations hoping you'd pick up on norms and behaviors." Which admittedly was more or less what was done with regular children. The difference with Viral was normal children weren't born with an adult body, nor the power to level a 10 story building if they so chose. Saiyans might have the latter but typically were just as small and hapless as any other newborn.

"Auctioned off... That was Vegeta as well I assume? Because I know for a fact we never tried anything of the sorts with you." Aito had sworn he'd heard that before too, if there was some truth to that then Vegeta had quite a lot of answering to do for himself. Viral was not a commodity to be traded and sold on a whim nor was he meant for anyone else to use for their own ends. He had been developed by Capsule Corporation, mostly by Aito and a small team, and done so to help protect the Earth. Everything else, the babysitting, education, that came later when the connection of a parent and child developed. "Viral, let me make something abundantly clear here and now: I'll be assuming my position as head of Capsule Corporation again when we return home. That means, if you wish to have it back, you can resume fighting for Earth. Or you're more than welcome to do whatever it is you see fit for yourself too, it's not as if we'll be having any shortage of fighters by the looks of things. And goodness knows what the state of everything will be with this war going on, those beasts appearing, and whatever in the hell else happens between now and then." Though Viral himself didn't appear at all clear on his purpose or what to do with himself, instead of asking himself what he might do he continually looked to others for orders. A product of being raised that way to be sure and something they desperately needed to change. "Is that all you see yourself as? A weapon to be used by someone for some means? Do you think you're able to decide for yourself?"

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

"Have more confidence in yourself T'charrl, even a sweaty old soldier like me found a companion! If I can do it anyone can. And you saw how much that has benefited everyone hadn't you? Yes when it happened it was a problem but now? Now people are better off than ever before because of it! Even your supposed mistakes have worked out for the best, now what reason would people dislike you again? Nothing a bath can't solve I'm sure!" His son deserately needed some more time with the opposite sex if he thought himself so unappealing. T'charrl had never been a bad looking boy and he was royalty, and all that aside he was sweet and had a good heart, surely some woman would like that! In fact that was probably why Tala fancied him to begin with, now if only he'd see that. Nema brought the conversation back to the food on the table and Yusef didn't need to be told twice to begin eating. He was starving as he hadn't eaten all day and, like T'charrl, he had no desire to begin eating until their host had. "You're scary no matter what from the sounds of it! I think you'll be just fine once you change back though," Yusef insisted as he reached across and took a platter of seared fruits, taking some for himself before passing the plate down to Haku, "It can only get better so don't be so worried. Starting tomorrow you'll see."

------------

It didn't seem like much of anything was a comfortable topic for Viral right now. Perhaps instead of all of the questioning he'd simply focus on calming down his son for the time being, a little meditation or some breathing exercises could do the trick. Then again getting Viral to even relax enough to attempt anything was probably outside the realm of possibility at the moment too, so should they just continue along this line of conversation? The topic of Yumi was brushed aside as quickly as could be and Aito let it stay that way, lest he agitate Viral any further. "I never said you're not a warrior, I only said that you're not limited to that role. Just as I'm defined as more than just a warrior so too can you be. No one is any one single thing, its a conglomerate of identities that make us who we are. Expanding and learning other skills doesn't take away from what we are, it adds to it. And as I said before too, losses don't change who you are. Failure is as important as success you know, even if it isn't as pleasant."

"Listen Viral, I want to make this clear right now so there are no surprises. I think we should include Vegeta in a session, there's a lot that I feel you need to say to him and even more he needs to hear. It may not be the very next session or even the one after that, but I feel like quite a lot of this leads back to him. And... Myself. Let me explain my intentions to you and perhaps that will clear the air a little?" His direction in life was clearly absent and he expected far too much of himself, both of which were directly caused by other people. The perfectionist was either attributed to Vegeta or someone else within Capsule Corporation and the lack of direction was very clearly a failure on his own part. "You were created initially with two goals in mind: To fight and to help with the children. Both of which you have accomplished quite admirably, whether you remember it or not. And perhaps recent events might tell you otherwise but you did a splendid job before and I know you're capable of doing so. So tell me this: If the words from the man who created aren't enough to sway your opinion of yourself what would it take? Does a victory in battle mean that much that it's the only way to convince yourself you're worthy?"

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Yusef let out a cheery laugh at his son's expense, smiling as he watched T'charrl become flustered. "Don't tell me you've never noticed her, T'charrl. You remember Tala don't you? The young girl whose mother is one of your mother's attendants, the girl with the honey hair? She's certainly taken a liking to you!" Both Yusef and Nema had a laugh at that, each man recalling their own love interests and flings of days long since passed. There was nothing wrong with having a little love in your life and T'charrl could certainly use more people in his life to help cheer him up. Unfortunately they hardly had the time for such things this visit and Tala was in another kingdom entirely, they wouldn't send for her either since it would distract from the reason they were here. "There are probably other young girls who would love to know you too, don't forget that," Yusef continued to tease with a wink, "After all you're the hero who stopped Garesh, that's what many people call you. It's no surprise you get attention even after so long."

"If you get the power under control then you'll return to your original state. That's how it has always been for our kind," Nema answered as he placed a claw atop the large book, "There are records of people shifting at will, becoming giant, powerful beings and returning to normal when the battle had ended. Where you are now..." The King had to take a pause as he thought about it, stroking one of his antennae as he studied T'charrl. "I would say you're somewhere in between. You're strong enough to hold back the energy and not change entirely, but not strong enough to hide it completely. Which is good for us! You already have some command over it even if you don't realize that, we may only have to work a little to reach our goal." It wasn't only a matter of helping T'charrl to revert to his original form though, they also needed to help him learn how to shift his power at will. If he was going to keep the spirit as he insisted he would it only made sense to learn to wield it like any other weapon. If he didn't overdo it then it would take care of him in turn too, it was a symbiotic relationship. "I believe that is all we need to discuss on the matter. Now come, there's plenty of food here and we've hardly touched any, let us eat!"

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"No, that is not true. Yes you have the power to battle but you have the capability to do almost anything you wish. A Saiyan is not merely a warrior, are we? Or if that were the case you'd not be here right now. Just as I am not simply a fighter neither are you, we are what we deem ourselves to be. Heh... Sorry," Aito apologized with a smile as he rubbed his neck, "Getting a bit philosophical there. But let's talk about Yumi for a moment, hm? You mentioned that she's said before... What has she said before exactly? Now obviously you only have to tell me as much as you're comfortable with but the more the better." Not that he didn't know, he'd been present at the reservoir and seen exactly what she thought of Viral firsthand. The fact that such a blatant display though was still missed by Viral was curious, why wasn't he aware of that? Was he pushing the idea of being loved away or was he thinking perhaps she was simply saying that to be nice? "Also, and I may just be looking too deeply into this, but in Takeshi's case wouldn't that be a compliment? If he seeks to beat you then that means he's acknowledging you're better than he is, which last I checked he doesn't exactly do openly. Perhaps it's not the most... Direct way of doing so, but its a case of someone acknowledging your ability."

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Ki? Ah yes, that strange energy that T'charrl's friends seemed to use. Could T'charrl use it now as well? The things he must be learning off world! Yusef opened his mouth to ask about it and went silent when his son mentioned being burned, looking over at Haku accusingly. What happened now? It had to have been an accident when they were training together, yet watching Haku look away nervously left him curious. Whatever had happened clearly wasn't affecting their friendship any and it wasn't his job to bring up the past... Hopefully Eslaria never heard about it for Haku's sake. Sipping from his glass Yusef peered over the brim when T'charrl said something about his being forgotten, frowning and setting his drink down before placing a claw on his son's shoulder. "People don't forget you, my son. They may not recognize you as you are but no one has forgotten you. There have been many people who have asked after you since you'd left. Your little female friend has been asking for you quite a bit too, she's been terribly worried," the General teased with a small laugh, "Speaking of her you may want to say hello before you leave again, you missed her last time and I think she was upset for it."

"Oh, you h-have a girlfriend, T'charrl?" Haku asked, partly surprised by the news. Not that he didn't think T'charrl could have a girlfriend, more just... Well... What did his people even do? They didn't exactly look built to do the sort of things Saiyans could do so... How did they show affection? Glancing at Yusef and getting onto the unfortunate train of thought of reproduction his stomach did a flip and he hastily looked at the table again, trying to think of anything else other than that. "Y-You're going to do great tomorrow... And I'll have your b-b-back while you practice, so you don't h-have to worry about a thing," Haku reassured, smiling as he looked at T'charrl eagerly, "And when we go h-home everyone's going to s-see the real you again! Because you're g-going to get this!" He still had to repay them somehow for giving him a new life away from the stress and general terribleness that came with being one of Yamate's soldiers. Their initial meeting might have been awful but he'd tried to make up for it since then, and helping T'charrl return to normal would be the best thing he could do for that.

----------

"I am certainly not trying to frustrate you. I'm just trying to help you think about matters in a different light, that's all." Perhaps it was a bit too soon to be delving into that type of questioning, maybe he should focus more on weeding out the idea of perfectionism that seemed to weigh so heavily on Viral's mind. "I made you to battle, that's true, but I did not expect you to be a perfect, unbeatable warrior. I of course have hopes you are always victorious but I'm not naive, I know there are some battles we just cannot win. And you're right, perfection is not how nature works, or how anything works really. So then why-" Before Aito could finish his sentence Viral dropped a massive hint as to why his mind was the way it was: Vegeta. So his own son, Viral's brother, was the source of this? He'd caught glimpses of them during his time in Otherworld and to be sure Vegeta seemed more distant and too busy to spend time with Viral, but what exactly had he done to cause this? So they had a timeline for whatever triggered this change then, something in between the span of near twenty years to cover. It might be a little easier to sort this out if Aito had actually been present for any of it but clearly that wasn't the case.

"Let's change pace for a second, hm? We can come back to this a little later." That was perhaps the source of the issue entirely yet with how irate and agitated Viral was becoming over the questions pushing him further would be nothing but detrimental. That was fine, there were other matters for them to attend to as well. "If you don't mind could we talk about your relationships with your friends? I'm of course talking about Yumi, Vegeta, Shu and Takeshi, and anyone else who you might be on friendly terms with. How do you view yourself with them? And how do you imagine they see you?"

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

"Excellent! We'll begin tomorrow then if you're ready, no reason to wait any longer than we have to," Nema declared excitably as he rubbed his claws together, "And remember, my dear boy, this is not something you are to do alone. In the history of our people those with this power all had to learn to use it, no one was naturally gifted, and countless others have walked the same path as you. So do remember that this is not only your efforts but ours as well! Together we will master this new strength of yours and make it your own." They had but a month's time to do so and depending on how much they had to work on it could be quite a pressed timeline for them. It was perhaps for the best that T'charrl leave at the end of the sessions whether he was successful or not, there would be others who might seek him out for his power. War between kingdoms was fading fast but there would still be some who sought to make his strength into a weapon, as many had done in the past. But saying such a thing would really crush the mood right now and today was not meant to be somber, but to celebrate and prepare!

Did T'charrl trust him enough to help? Haku hadn't exactly shown much strength since he'd joined this group, though it wasn't like he'd had much of a chance when their only real fight were against some freakish monsters on New Namek. He'd been asked to help and he'd do so but it would be nice to think that his friend could trust his ability to do so. "Y-You'll do great. Besides, you have Ki too, d-don't you? So you can use that to help f-fly," Haku suggested hopefully, smiling as he pressed his fingers together uncertainly. "If just using your w-wings is too h-hard you can always use Ki t-too," he continued as he looked down at the table nervously, "You probably w-won't even need my help, I'm sure you'll do fine! B-But I'll be there if you do need it!" Yusef had been excited about having him play a role and said it would be a good thing to have a friend there. He'd learned all about how T'charrl hadn't really had friends growing up and that was exactly the same for Haku, neither had been terribly popular it seemed. Now that they did have friends neither of them really seemed to know what to do about it. Just perfect. Smiling to himself Haku rubbed his thumbs together and leaned forward, closing his eyes as he let out a sigh. "And when we go back you're going to be all better and s-surprise everyone, then they'll all know how a-awesome you are, right?"

----------

"Is it a soldier's job to fight, or is a soldier's job only to win? If a soldier is meant to protect and they do so, even if it means losing the fight, then have they failed? Or have they succeeded?" It seemed like Viral was far more preoccupied with the notion that he should be utterly infallible, that no matter what the odds he should win. It was a dangerous mindset as no one was invincible, not even the mightiest of fighters like Son Goku or his grandfather had been. One only had to look to the recent past to see how faulty such a mindset was, perhaps that was the first thing they would rectify. "You're right that I'm not a soldier, but that doesn't mean I haven't fought. Look at my predecessors, my own family, none of them were soldiers. Yet would you call them failures?" Would Viral consider him a failure. He seemed to either forget or repress that he had in fact won a battle against a Saiyan before, granted Aito hadn't exactly fought to kill or even harm back then. At best that was semantics and at worst it was only going to further Viral's depression, best not to bring it up then.

"Tell me something Viral... Does everything that is done have to be perfect? Anything less than that is considered failure?" Perfection was impossible, failure was absolute, his years of study and work had shown him that. Not all failures were catastrophic and certainly most were beneficial, it was how one learned and improved over the course of time. Deciding to redirect the questioning slightly Aito folded an arm over the arm of his chair and rested his chin in his palm, studying Viral thoughtfully as he tapped a foot against the padded floor. "Do you believe that everything everyone else does is flawless? Or does everyone make mistakes and have shortcomings? Yes, failure for certain professions have grander consequences than others, a doctor's failure is vastly more detrimental than that of the teenager flipping your hamburger. But the fact remains no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes, everyone fails. So if everyone fails no one is perfect, yet failing occasionally does not make a failure, does it?"