Hero

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

Once again, the word 'marriage' came up. Funny, she had just broken one engagement and was now apparently slated for another. She couldn't say she was surprised, though she wasn't exactly expecting it, either. Emiri looked away from Jaakuna, instead staring at her hands as she played with the hem of her dress. What should she say? That she had already known because his grandfather had flat out told her that it was her desire? No, that wasn't what she wanted to say. She knew this would come up again someday ever since Jaakuna had fallen into his Mist-induced coma, and the fact that he felt the need to clarify that he had wanted to do it before it had been requested of him made it worse. What was wrong with her? She should have been happy, didn't she always want to be by his side? Gods knew she did, she never wanted to let him go, she wanted him and only him. And yet she hesitated. Why?

She had been silent for much too long and she knew it. She avoided his gaze at all costs. She didn't want him to be disappointed or hurt. But she couldn't. She just couldn't. She didn't know if it was the shock or Jaakuna or Grant or anything, she felt so confused. No, she wasn't confused. She was angry. Once again she didn't have the choice to make, and now she felt trapped. And that thought was terrible to her. Marrying Jaakuna should not feel like this at all, and yet she found her anger stirring within her. But he did it because he, too, had no choice. She held her head in her hands, clearly not taking the news well. Boy, he certainly got the drop on her.

"I know." She found herself saying, what was worse she felt her voice crack, coming out as more of a plea than anything. "We met at the Mosphoran Highwaste, he told me...the same thing. Though it wasn't a demand." So then she had no say in the matter after all? Would she just accept it? She then found herself laughing, though it came off as very forced. "That...I admit that was not what I was expecting. Is that all?"

---

Wesley agreed with her, and then he asked her what she had thought of marriage. It was funny, with all her romance novels and visions of grandeur, Nadeline never really thought about it much. "My father married my mother out of love and nothing more. Though...I was raised to see marriage as a political tool, a way to further strengthen the family bloodline as well as relationships between providences and the like." She admitted half heartedly. She must have sounded very much like a member of the royal family. "It's...as a woman, as a princess, I've always known that at any given moment, I could be given away to any royal man. We women never did have options...until Reia and my father broke the mold. But my grandmother was given to my grandfather. Even Emi...she was brought up expecting to marry Grant...arranged marriages are the norm, I suppose. As for my own personal feelings..." She thought about it carefully. "I hope to be like my father. I hope to marry for love, and not politics."

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

Nadeline should have been giddy with excitement when she watched Emiri and Jaakuna leave, but her father's message got to her. When Wesley asked her if she thought he was going to tell her, she did smile a bit. She looked at him, waving her finger. "Here's hoping it goes well, Emi didn't look like she was in the best of moods when she arrived. It could go either way." She paused for a moment, a thoughtful look on her face. "Their marriage could potentially be one that brings peace, if you think about it. A Rozarrian marrying an Archadian isn't unheard of, but when royalty is involved, it makes all the difference." She said slowly as she considered the possibility. Maybe this was one way of preventing the war. Of course, it would mean that Jaakuna would need to step up and dethrone Vincent.

She then let out a small sigh, looking at Wesley seriously. "My father has asked me to return to Rozarria." She informed him, crossing her arms as she stared at the ceiling. "Something must have happened for him to ask such a thing, especially since he gave me no reason." She had hoped it was not too serious, but there was always the possibility that perhaps she would have to remain there. "Tomorrow, I will ask that...I will ask Jaakuna to leave me in Stigma, so that I may see him. I only pray that Mother is well..."

---

Emiri followed Jaakuna in silence. She said nothing when the got in the elevator, she said nothing in the hallway, and she said nothing once they got in his room. She appreciated the privacy, though she didn't want to admit that it also made her uneasy. What had he been refraining from her? Was it important? Was it nothing? The possibilities went in and out of her head so quickly it made her dizzy. No, she was physically dizzy. Her powers drained her more than usual, it had also been a long day. She let out a sigh and looked at her boyfriend expectantly, waiting for him to talk.

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

She thought she was rusty before, or perhaps her fears of having to hold so many people weighed her down somewhat. Either way, it came as a relief once they were in the clear. Emiri felt her knees buckle underneath her, though she managed to stay standing. She let out a sigh of relief, though as she was about to respond to Jaakuna, she was greeted by a kiss. Boy, he sure had no concerns over public displays of affection, nor did he consider that they needed to get out of here, quick. Plus she was still a little mad at him. Luckily Wesley reminded Jaakuna, and Emiri caught Grant huffing in disapproval as they were beamed up.

Nadeline had been grateful to be on the Ifrit again, though obviously Jaakuna had been much more grateful. As she watched his little display of affection (the Ifrit really was his baby) she felt a nudge. She looked, seeing Grant hold out a note for her. "Vlyn asked that I pass this on to you." He stated, and repeated the gesture to Emiri. Nadeline looked confused for a moment, though she did open it and read it. It was brief, but it only said that Lorenzo wished to see her as soon as possible. She wondered if something had happened at home. He never usually asked her to go back home. Was Mother alright? What could it be?

Emiri took the note from Grant, but did not open it. She needed to address the elephant in the room between them. "We need to talk." She told him plainly, taking his wrist and guiding him to the barracks. It didn't matter the circumstances, anytime any person uttered the words 'we need to talk' it never came out to any good. Emiri was completely serious, however, and so Grant found himself alone with her in what he presumed was her room in the Ifrit. The two stood facing one another, though a silence lingered for a moment. He wondered why she wanted to talk to him; he presumed he would be getting the silence treatment, but he was wrong.

Finally, he decided to speak. "Why did you run away?"

This seemed to throw her off for a moment, as her eyes widened, though they quickly narrowed themselves. "To get away from you and my mother." She snapped.

Clearly he had touched upon a sensitive subject, but he also recognized the look in her eyes. She was lying. "Despite our...rocky relationship, you should be aware that I know you better than that." He reminded her. "How many years has it been? And you...haven't changed."

"I have changed." She corrected him. "If I was the same person from before you and I would not be here right now. So...you're wrong."

"Yet you to me. You never ran from me, did you, Emelia?"

Emiri crossed her arms in response, though she said nothing. She didn't want to admit it, but he was right on both accounts, and she felt guilty. Maybe she had more of a personality, but she did lie. It's funny, that was the lie she kept telling herself, what she kept justifying to herself. "No, you're wrong. If you hadn't lost it that night I might've considered staying...you...really hurt me."

Now it was Grant's turn to feel guilty. "I suppose you're right. You changed. You started looking at me with hatred, and you know I despised that."

"No, you despised that you couldn't control me anymore."

"You act like I had no reason."

"You are a control freak, anytime anything doesn't go your way you throw a temper tantrum! Welcome to the world of Ivalice, Grant, things like that happen all the time! Gods, you drove me crazy with that!" She threw her arms in the air in exasperation. "Because as far as I know I was the only one you subjected to that kind of treatment! Even Nadeline grew concerned when you started...changing."

"How was I supposed to act?! My father had just gotten murdered by my older brother! I didn't know how to cope with it, alright?!" Grant admitted rather angrily, though it seemed he was not angry at her. "My entire world was changing, I couldn't stand losing him and Roland! Gods knew I barely managed to get by when Mother passed away from her illness...my entire world changed and there was nothing I could do about it! What did you expect?!"

"I expected you to be reasonable about it! I expected you to come and--and talk to me! Or, I don't know, I--" Emiri hesitated, unsure what she wanted to say. "Grant I..."

"You what?"

"I wanted you to trust me! We were friends and you never trusted me!"

"And you trusted me? The pot can't call the kettle black."

Emiri placed her hands on her hips. "Don't change the subject."

"And what IS the subject? You say you want to talk and then end up remaining silent, but suddenly I'm the one to blame. You know, you're always blaming me for everything miserable in your life and the truth of the matter is that is NOT how things happened. You act like I'm the source of all your misery!" Now Grant was the one snapping at her.

"Because carving a spell into someone's shoulder is complete alright, right?"

"That was--I--If it wasn't for that, Wesley and I could not have rescued you, it brought Vlyn and Aloa, together we managed to defeat the guard protecting you." Grant shook his head. "That is beside the point."

"Beside the point?! Grant, you have a problem! A serious problem! Gods know you're a psycopath--"

"Don't you DARE call me that!"

Emiri scoffed, crossing her arms. "I forgot, that was what made you attack me in the first place."

"You purposely goaded me, pressing every single one of my buttons--"

"Because I knew that you were crazy!"

He had enough. Grant walked to the door, only for Emiri to grab his hand. "We aren't finished." She told him, anger in her voice.

"There's the problem, isn't it? Maybe this could have all been solved a long time ago if you hadn't run away when you did." Grant told her quietly. "Things could have been different. We--I could have gotten help. You could have gotten help. There is always an option...and you chose to run away. You abandoned me, you abandoned your country, you abandoned Nadeline and that's all you've ever done."

He felt her grip loosen considerably, and after a moment, she let him go. He let out a sigh, turning around to see her staring at the ground. Silence ensued once more, this one bearing ill feelings and unfinished business. Emiri looked up at Grant after some time. "You're right. All I ever did was run. I can't change what's happened...nor could you. No matter how much you apologize, no matter how many times I wish I hadn't left...none of that will change."

"No...it won't."

"Did you even love me? Or did you simply love the idea of me, Grant?."

Grant looked up at the ceiling as she trailed off. Maybe she was right after all. "Loving the idea of you, huh? Maybe...maybe that was it after all."

She was shocked to hear him admit it. Sure, she had been the one to suggest it, but she didn't think it was actually true...and it hurt to hear it. However, they needed to get everything out in the open. They had to. If not for their engagement, for the sake of the friendship they had built. Taking in a deep breath, Emiri went to her bag and went through it, searching for something. Once she found it she approached Grant, looking at him determined. He looked right back at her, his expression unreadable as always.

"We may not have loved one another, but despite everything you did, you are my friend." She admitted slowly. "When I heard...when I saw you in that cell, when you apologized, I saw the old Grant. The one who would help me when I needed it, the one who smiled and told me he enjoyed just being in my company. I saw him. There's also the fact that, technically, if it wasn't for you, none of my friends could have made it out. I have you to thank for saving Jaakuna's life as well--if you hadn't gotten me out, I wouldn't have been able to heal him. She paused for a moment, the two looking at one another. "I'm...I'm willing to forgive and forget if you are."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. No, gods knew he didn't deserve those words. They resonated from within those violet eyes he loved so much, and he realized she was completely serious. Without breaking eye contact, she took his hand and opened it, placing something very small within. He looked down and in that moment, was almost brought to tears. Colored silver and in the elaborate shape of a rose and adorned with diamonds, in his hand sat an engagement ring

"My mother's wedding ring..." He whispered in disbelief, though his expression was mixed between that and amazement. "I...I was so sure you had sold it, or had gotten rid of it..."

"I...I considered it...but I couldn't get rid of something that was not mine." She said somewhat sheepishly, though she did let out a sigh as she returned to her more serious look. "Could we move past this?"

He gripped the ring in his hand, finally tearing his gaze away from it and to Emiri. "I don't deserve this kindness."

"No, you don't." She cheerfully agreed.

"...You weren't supposed to agree with me." He feigned a hurt expression.

"Well, now that I have given you back the ring, kindly inform Ivalice that our engagement is over. Apparently running away and not seeing you for years was not enough to convince the world."

Grant looked at her, somewhat surprised, but then he started laughing. Emiri couldn't help but smile, it had been a very long time since she heard him laugh. He pocketed the ring in his jacket, making sure it was secure before he looked back at Emiri. "That sounds like a fair deal." He agreed, though he paused for a moment. "Thank you, Emelia."

"I don't go by the name my mother gave me anymore." She informed him. "That girl is gone."

"Is that so?" Grant asked curiously. After a moment of thinking, he stepped forward, bringing the two closer."Then farewell, Emelia."He gently placed a very light kiss on her forehead, as he always did. It lasted all of two seconds as he stepped back, extending his hand to her. "My name is Grant Marshall Roselia. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Emiri looked up at him, though she took his hand, firmly shaking it. "Same to you. My name is Emiri Iniko."

Now it was Grant's turn to look down at her. He raised an eyebrow at her, though she only looked back at him in confusion. "That's right, Nadeline told me that you...seriously, 'Emiri'? Really?"

She stared at him, though her look turned into one of embarrassment as she let out a slight chuckle. "Well...I couldn't very well go around being called by my real name, could I?"

"So instead you go by one of the ideas I had if we were to have a daughter?"

She placed her hands on her hips. "A terrible name for a child, that. You just took the first few letters of my first and middle name. It's terribly lazy and unoriginal."

"You're the one using it now, so it can't be that bad."

"Of course. And that little tidbit stays between you and I. A secret of friendship. Now be on your way, I need my privacy."

He shrugged, though he did as she said and left the room. She looked at the note, unfolding it and reading its contents, revealing what looked like a newspaper article. She recognized it as one she used to read back in Rozarria. She read through it, noticing that a skirmish on Rozarrian borders resulted in a nethicite explosion, killing most of the soldiers involved in the battle. Boy, was she glad she sent Grant away when she did. She was in complete disbelief, placing a hand over her mouth as she continued to read it. Her father's squadron was involved in the incident. She stopped at the list of deaths, afraid of what she might read, afraid of the name she would find. After a few seconds of fighting with herself, she forced herself to read it, though to an immense relief, did not see her father's name in the obituary. That was the end of the article. She turned the paper over, finding a scribble that read 'You should go see your father' and nothing more.

Returning to Rozarria was not an option she wanted to take. To her it was like going back to a prison, and she didn't feel she was strong enough to face her past just yet. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, pocketing the note and deciding that would be for later. She exited the room, going to the kitchen and finding Jaakuna there. "Your turn." She told him, crossing her arms.

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

vincent is a poopiehead pass it on

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

That was the second time today that someone had doubted her ability. Ironic, considering it was both Vincent and Jaakuna. And on both occasions, they had every reason to. There were five of them in total; she had never pulled so many people outside of time with her before. Worst case scenario, she could just take them all one by one if she had to. The last thing she wanted was a repeat of the battle with Ixion. Of course, she knew that Levi considered them escaping a possible option. Emiri put away her bow, and nodded at Nadeline. She nudged Grant, and she and him copied Emiri. All the of them extended their hands, each one casting their spells at the same time:

"Stopga!"

"Sleepga!"

"Graviga!"

Without bothering to see if any of them had worked, Emiri turned and grabbed Jaakuna first. Time froze still, the two of them being the only exceptions. "Grab Wesley." She instructed as she reached for Nadeline.

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

Of course.

Another fight, huh? Emiri couldn't help but wonder how strong this Judge was. If Ixion and Hamut were any indication, she would be a challenge. Even with the five of them here, she wondered if they would be able to take her on. She highly doubted they would be spared, either: Ixion had been called back when they had been defeated while Hamut had other intentions (though she did not forget that he nearly killed Savayna). She was more than certain that this fight would have to be fought the entire way. Jaakuna was using an unfamiliar weapon, she was sure Wesley and Grant weren't at full strength, and this woman looked like she meant business.

Grant couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "The gods have graced me with your presence once more, vapid serpent. It would have been an honor, too, alas we have no time for you and your riffraff." Grant replied to Levi.

Nadeline looked at Grant. Obviously, he hadn't the experience they did with Ixion. Still, she doubted Leviathan would let them just walk away. She prepared her sword, though looked back at Wesley. "Brace yourselves, I fear we have a battle ahead of us."

"We could still escape." Emiri said quietly. "My power is at hand."

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

"Enthusiastic bunch, aren't they." Grant commented on Wesley and Jaakuna, though he was slightly amused. He had expected a more difficult trip, but something was bothering him. Mainly the fact that they had managed to literally walk out of both Old Archades and the Sochen Cave Palace. They had caused quite a racket when they defeated the soldiers and mages that had been guarding Emiri's door. He expected that once they left the building, they would have gotten chased, or ambushed, or something. He didn't like it. It was too unlike Vincent. He would go through the trouble to have thirty people stand watch over one girl (albeit a powerful one) and yet sends no forces after them once they reclaimed her?

He lightly pulled Emiri's sleeve, causing her to look at him. "Did you ever get to do Vincent's task?" He asked her quietly. She shook her head. That made the situation even stranger. No, he didn't like this at all. He looked back for a moment, though Nadeline called him to keep up with the rest. He hung back, though it seemed he had caught the attention of Emiri. Ironic, considering he was sure she would never even want to speak to him, much less look at him. "What is it?" He asked her.

"Why would you care about that?" She replied with her own question, referring to his previous inquiry.

"Vincent informed me that once you had completed your task, he would make sure you were slain before me." He stated, still looking over his shoulder.

Emiri's eyes widened, though they narrowed quickly afterwards. She knew Vincent had been lying to her, that pompous idiot. Now she really did owe Grant a big one.

Vocaloid Highschool RP

Oh this looks like fun

Vocaloid Highschool RP

oh look Vocaloid

Friends Through Thick and Thin, That's What We'll Be. (Four to Six Person Group.)

I'd be interested