knuxieh

Friends in the Void.

Sara giggled towards Rasteva's behavior towards exploring the campus. She was glad that they showed a small interest in wanting to see more of the school she attended. Watching as they had chosen the library to go, she grinned. "A college staple, very interesting choice." Her eyes noticed other classmates looking a little weary in the halls, no doubt on edge about the news this morning. She couldn't blame them though, it seemed liked the attacks could just come out of nowhere and anyone could get caught in the crossfire if they weren't careful..

Her hand pushed the dark oak doors to the library open, the humble door revealing a large library, walls lined with bookshelves. Books of varying topics laid inside, and there were already students inside, some casually reading some of the comics that were provided, others in study room groups. Noticing the slight bouncing on her shoulder that Rasteva did as they made their way inside, she couldn't help giggling to herself as they took off once they had cleared the doorway. "Goodness." She knew that they would get her attention when they had found something that piqued their interest. It didn't take them long, though. Moving towards the bookshelf, she looked up to where the book was kept and grinned. "Physics, hm? Interesting, choice. Mind me asking why this one?" Moving up to retrieve the book they had requested, she got down and moved to an area and sat down with the book, opening it to the table of contents for them to pick a section that they wanted to start on. Once they had, she opened it up to the designated page, and watched them for a time, before moving to get her own book to read. Physics was interesting, but she could only digest so much of it at a time before she got overwhelmed.

She decided to follow a similar suit to the person they had seen on their way in, and went to browse the comic area. Something not heavy on words would be great for her at the moment, especially after all the reading up she had to do for Rasteva's armor. Browsing the titles, she settled on a series, picking up a few to check out and take home with her, before a loud commotion was heard a few shelves over. More than a few students had rushed out of the library, and even less had actually went to see what happened. One of the smaller bookshelves had been pushed over, and was barely being held up by a bright blue figure of a small gorilla. A man was under the bookshelf, and would have been seriously injured if their Daemon hadn't stepped in. She moved over and with the help of a few students, pushed the bookshelf back into its upright position. "Are...Are you alright? What happened?" She kneeled down, and began gathering up the books that had fallen. The young man nodded, a little shaken up, and a bit bruised from the flood of books that had rained down upon him. "I'm...fine. Just...one of those jerks from the news."

Friends in the Void.

Her eyes watched Rasteva carefully as they began moving about in the armor she had made. It wasn't very complicated to make, since it was just overlays of the same pattern, but it was still something. She wondered if she should have loosened the straps a bit more, but looked rather surprised as they began darting about in their newly crafted gear. Hearing that they did in fact enjoy it, she grinned. "Of course, of course! Don't mention it! I'm glad I could help, honestly." She really was glad that they enjoyed her work, even it if was rather plain. They hadn't had much as far as the way of positive experiences, and Sara was glad they were taking steps, even if small ones, towards working better as partners together.

Once they had shifted back, she took care to handle the armor. Waiting until they were back in their raven form, she hummed a small tune as the made her way back through the school, her eyes casting towards Rasteva on her shoulder. "Did you want to check out anywhere in particular on campus now that we have the armor taken care of?" There was still much about her Daemon that she didn't know, so maybe asking about their interests would help open all kinds of conversation possibilities. Stopping at a picture that had the word 'DIRECTORY' printed at the top, she motioned towards the map that held a layout of both this particular building - which held the Arts department, so music, fashion, drama and theater arts were all held here. Other buildings housed the mathematics department, sciences, and all other various programs. In the center was connected to their library, and behind that was the cafeteria.

Friends in the Void.

Sara glanced up to Rasteva as she grabbed the pieces of fabric from yesterday and began work on them again, the rhythmic drumming of the needle making quick work of it. "They're this group that has been popping up every now and again..they weren't so headline news until recently. Just, y'know...People always want to find a way around the rules and regulations. That's pretty much who they are. But, everyone really didn't pay much mind to it. It's expected behavior. But, they've gained more of a following, since people aren't very patient with the frequency of the official matches and battle systems..So, they're more aggressive than they used to be." Sighing softly, she bit her bottom lip gently. "They've been more careless about who they target. So, we should really try not to engage with people." Hearing about their hesitancy to talk with other Daemons, she raised an eyebrow.

Since they were up high talking with the rather chatty Daemon, she didn't hear any of their conversation. "Oh c'mon Rasteva, don't be like that. Others are just more talkative than yourself. I'm not surprised if others want to talk to you. It's like spreading information in a sense if you think about it." She tried reasoning with them. "You might actually want to listen sometimes. They might have information you've yet to gain, or even tips or skills to be aware of."

Smiling to herself and figuring that she had said enough as far as trying to convince them to listen to their own kind, she turned her attention back towards the garment in question. It took her another hour to finish up the sewing, and did a small cheer when that part was over. Standing, she stretched and moved to get small fasteners to attach the peices together, along with stretch material. Sitting back down she pushed the pins into place, making sure they were secured, and checking the measurements she had taken of Rasteva before, hand sewed the stretch material into the leather lining. Once done, she called them over, and after they had changed inot their snake form, she slipped the armor onto their body, taking the larger peice around their larger portion near their head and fastening it with a few buckles. "There, all finished. What do you think? Go ahead and give it a test run. Let me know if anything needs tightening or to be loosensed for the elastic straps." The young woman seemed rather proud of herself getting the armor done for Rasteva, and waited eagerly to see what they thought of it.

Friends in the Void.

The young woman didn't pay Rateva much mind when they tried to sway her into getting a refund of the money she was going to spend, but did in fact find it quite humorous watching them play around with the utensils until their food arrived. Tilting her head as they moved into her bubble, she laughed. "Oh right! Of course, no problem. One second." She pushed her food aside for the moment, and retrieved the bread bowl, taking the knife and fork before carefully cutting the pieces to a more manageable size for Rasteva to be able to grab at and ingest. "There. Sorry about that, I should have remembered to ask for the waitress to have them prepare the pieces to be smaller. It was an oversight on my end." She apologized, moving the bowl back to its prior place, continuing to eat her own meal once Rasteva was taken care of.

Once finished, she groaned, stretching upwards in content. She wasn't sure if she could eat much more, when the waitress offered dessert. Nodding excitedly, she ordered a simple few scoops of vanilla ice cream with a few honey graham crackers. She went through it easily enough, not offering the cold item to Rasteva, unsure how extreme cold would sit on their tongue. They were more than free to take some though, and she did scoot a broken up graham cracker towards them just in case they weren't' already full from their meal. Upon scooping the last of the vanilla dessert, she yawned, looking satisfied. "Alright, alright. I think I should head home before I fall asleep at the table." She laughed, but was so very serious. 'The Itis' waits for no one!

Getting Rasteva onto her shoulder after she paid and left a tip, she made her way back to the house much slower than her journey to get here, feet heavy with the promise of rest soon. "Sometimes, I think I should really bring my car down here. It might make things like this easier. Not that I'm complaining about the nice views, but I would be able to get home quicker to sleep." Giggling, the pair did arrive home, and putting Rasteva down onto her desk, she moved to shower for the evening, and get her dorm all set up for sleeping. Returning back in her pajamas, she stretched again and sat down on her bed, looking towards the Daemon curiously. "Hey, when you start getting more power back, will it become too much for your current form to hold? Will we need to get you additional forms? Maybe it might be like wearing a different outfit or something." She grinned, quite enjoying the idea of Rasteva getting a 'wardrobe' of sorts. Though they didn't really seem to be very needy or particular with visual concepts, she still liked that they had options either way.

Laying back, she drew the sheets up and dozed off for the evening.

--- Morning ---

She had in fact set an alarm this morning, not wanting to keep Ms. Dianne waiting too long on her. She was able to get a lot done on Rasteva's armor the other day, and should be able to finish it by late evening. Glancing at her clock, the time was 11:30AM. "Awesome. I can grab a bite to eat and then head over." Sara moved towards her kitchen, and instead of her usual pizza, opted to just make herself a couple of sandwiches, popping in a piece of bread in the toaster for Rasteva. Once it was ready, she pulled it out, and cut it into six smaller pieces, sitting on a chair nearby and watching them with curious eyes. "Did you know you can put different spreads onto toast? It's pretty cool. I don't know if you wanted to just have it plain or try any spreads." She grinned, pulling out the two that she had. There was blackberry jelly, and a grapefruit spread. If they had opted to try one, she put a small amount on a piece, not wanting it to overtake the bread.

Cleaning up the jars, she moved to the living room to watch the news, since she had time before she needed to head to school. A man on the screen looked rather concerned, and she bit into her second sandwich, curious.

'Local News Today: More sights of aggressive unofficial Daemon Fighting. Yesterday afternoon, a young man on his way home from class was ambushed by a group calling themselves 'Purgers', and nearly lost his Daemon after this exchange. We don't yet know why they keep targeting individuals, but we ask everyone to be alert, and to report any and all suspicious activity. We urge all young people to keep their Daemons close, and to take precautions to help defend yourself if you are indeed approached by one of these individuals. We'll have more updates throughout the day.'

Passing a concerned look to Rasteva, she frowned. "It doesn't sound like people are wanting to go through the process to gain power for their Daemons.." Sighing, she finished off her breakfast, dusting her hands off. "I know it's a little odd to ask, but can you try to be a little more observant today? We still haven't finished your protection and I'd hate to have to engage anyone from that group until we at least have you armored.." Rubbing her arm, she was now more hesitant to leave her dorm. Maybe she should have just brought what she had back here? No, that didn't make any sense. All the fabric was in the workshop. Groaning softly, she stood up and changed into comfortable clothes. "I guess...I can't just sit here. Let's go." Resolving herself to leave, she made her way to the school, a few people seeming to watch everyone who was walking up the school. It wasn't a secret most of the student body had a Daemon, and she made it to the workshop. Waving to Ms. Dianne, she began to get to work.

Friends in the Void.

The young woman couldn't help immediately laughing as they quickly removed themselves from the table. "Hey, hey! I need your measurements first before you start exploring!" She bent down, careful not to step on them and held her arm out, waiting for Rasteva to coil around her extended limb before setting them back down onto the table. "I promise it won't even take that long to get your measurements." Turning to pull out the drawer in a small area with her name labeled on top, she emerged with a bright blue tape measure, and looked at it for a moment, then back to Rasteva. She would need a longer piece of tape... Setting the blue tape down, she moved to the back of the workshop, coming back with a gray tape, coiled around itself many times over. It helped that they would also need to craft things for the drama club that this school also housed, and needed to create a variety of different objects and clothing. Leaning over the table, she got her measurements of their length, and their complete width from their neck, all the way down to their tail, just in case. Helping them back down to the floor with a little effort, she turned towards the spool of cloth, patting it rather confidently at their comment.

"We've got the whole department at our fingertips. And if all else fails, well...there's always the fabric shop." Grinning, she began getting to work. Initially sketching out a design as she watched Rasteva slither about the room to get at a feel of his movements, the young woman drew up quite a few concept sketches, until getting one she seemed satisfied with. Looking at her design, and the leather on hand, she knew it would take her a few days to properly complete it with fittings in between. Grabbing some blank pattern sheets, she began drawing out her pattern so she could begin cutting and getting the leather cut. Her process itself so far had already taken nearly three hours. She was a slow worker, but thorough. Thinking about not wanting to slow down their movements she knew she couldn't put the leather armor in the front, at least with the lower end of their snake form without hindering them. If they would need to cover from any damage, coiling up would be their best option as it was. Getting the leather all cut out and smoothed, she turned to Rasteva. "Did you want this painted or anything like that?" She asked, standing to yawn.

She had been sitting about for a few hours as it was, and her stomach growled as if to remind her she had to attend to her own care. "C'mon Rasteva, it's nearly six thirty in the evening." She expected for them to return back to their Raven, waving towards the older woman as Sara began to gather her leather pieces, putting them into her bin to protect them from dust and all that. As she was turning to leave, Ms. Dianne spoke up.

"I'll be here tomorrow as well if you like m'dear. I know you've got to get that project finished for your friend there. After noon, I'll be in here until late evening."

Smiling, she thanked her and headed out of the room. "So, I think we got a pretty decent amount done. I wasn't able to put any of the fasteners in place just yet, and I'll opt to have some stretchy bind material to go across your front. You'll be covered from the back, so if you need to block something, you can probably just coil up." Sara gave another yawn, turning her attention towards her companion. "So, what did you think of the food earlier, pretty good, right?" It didn't take her long to get through the relatively empty hallways, and opening the door to the outside, the cool evening air greeting the pair. "Let's..hm...I think we'll go to a different place that isn't the cafe. You might be tired of going over there. Besides, there is always more to see of this little city." She smiled, heading in the opposite direction of her dorm. It took about twenty minutes to arrive, most places being within half an hour walking distance from the university. Arriving, the pair were welcomed in, and sitting outside to enjoy the cool air, she looked to Rasteva. "I think you'll really like this bread bowl thing. They like, put soups or stews inside of thick hearty bread and you can eat the bowl afterwards. It soaks up all the flavor you would have otherwise lost! It's pictured right here. I'll order it for you and you can eat it at your leisure. If you don't like it, you can look at the other dishes pictures and pick one that tickles your eye at bit more, okay?"

As the waitress approached them, she ordered a hearty stew with a side of broccoli and halved potatoes, wanting to order her bread separately to dip into the stew after she was done to soak up the juices, ordering the same soup she had, just as a bread bowl for Rasteva. She ordered a small bowl of water for Rasteva, unsure if they would really enjoy the taste of drinks...and ordered a juice for herself as she usually did. Once their food arrived, she happily dug in, thanking the waitress. The stew was warm and filled her to the core. Delightful 'mmms' made their way from her as she made her way through it, not forgetting to put the bread into the dish after, letting it soak up the juices as she ate her steamed vegetables. As she waited, she looked to Rasteva, taking a drink. "So, how is it?" She grinned.

Friends in the Void.

"Awe, what? Waste of resources?!" Sara gasped, staring at them in disbelief. "How can you say such things, Rasteva? Food is so good! Here, you should try some!" She suggested, as she finished up her meal, saving a small bit of her sandwich and holding it up to their beak. "Try it, try it! It's actually really awesome! And this is only one type of food. I really think you would enjoy it. Different cultures have different ways of making the same dish, so depending on where you are, the dish you think you'll be getting is crafted a totally different way with a whole new set of ingredients and preparations methods!" She chimed, doing her best to convince them to try the small bit of breakfast she had. It was nothing in the way of other, more luxurious dishes, but it was a start. Discarding her juice, she picked up the straw, resolving to give it back to Rasteva once she had gotten to the school so they could keep busy once she took their measurements.

Arriving at the school, she was greeted by some students, but mostly faculty. The door she was headed to was open, and she grinned, waving towards the older woman in the room who regarded the woman with a smile.

"I see you've brought your friend back, but in a different shape this time~" She chimed.

Sara simply smiled. "Yes, I'm looking to fit them with something to protect them. Do you know if we have any durable leathers?"

The older woman chuckled. "Of course, of course. They'll need protection with all these fights going on. I think it's wonderful you are working together. I do wish more people put thought into shielding their Daemons so early on." Reaching up and grabbing a roll of semi-thick leather, she put it on a roll so Sara could get how much she would need. "You're more than welcome to use this room for your preparations, along with the rooms across the hall. You practically live here and you've been oh so kind. If you need, let me know and I can see about getting you a key." The older woman grinned. She was obviously aware of Rasteva's presence, but didn't seem to have a Daemon of her own floating about.

"Thank you, Ms. Dianne." Sara gently tucked her fingers under their feet, and placed them down onto the table. "I'm not sure if would do much good to have anything made for you on your vessel, do you?" She asked, curious. "You don't have to worry about how many outfits I'll be making. Am I making something for a snake this time around?" She questioned, pulling out the notebook she had grabbed, leaning down to scribble small notes in a slim cursive.

'Rasteva Forms - Measurements'

Raven Vessel - xx, xx, xx
Snake Form - xx, xx, xx

Once she had them, she approached Rasteva with a sample of the semi-thick leather. "I picked this since I didn't want to weigh you down but still have you able to move. I can easily sew in some stretch material to suit the snake's movements better. Of course, there is no better way to learn than trial and error." She laughed. "Is the fabric alright? I can layer it to reinforce the material, or...put a semi-sturdy lining into it so it doesn't cause you too much abrasion.."

Friends in the Void.

Sara nodded, agreeing that the young man with the guitar was easy to figure since he was literally doing the thing they had in common. "I got that, but the other one...it doesn't seem like there's much to go off of, actually." Apparently Rateva could spot how they actually were on common ground, more than willing to give her the information as well. Once they had, she felt a little silly that she hadn't drawn the parallel before. "I see, I see..." Looking towards them, she nodded at their comment about sleep. She hadn't really been feeling how much the weight of the day had taken on her until it was mentioned, an immediate yawn escaping from her as she stretched. "Y-Yeah, I guess I should really get some shut eye." She smiled, shutting her laptop down and changing into her sleeping clothes and laying down to sleep for the evening.

---------- Skip to Morning -----------

Since it was the weekend, there was no early morning alarm to rouse Sara from her sleep. Granted with everything that happened yesterday, the young woman slept well into the afternoon. Finally stirring, she yawned, sitting up and rubbing at her eyes, checking the time. "Two o'clock? Why didn't you wake me up, Rasteva? I thought you would have wanted to get an early start." She asked, giving another yawn as her body slowly adjusted to being awake. "I...don't feel like making anything." Sara stood up and after showering, got changed into a pair of white-wash skinny jeans, dark knee-high boots and a simple lavender turtleneck with a cute character embroidered on the front. She grabbed a small notebook on her way out and motioned for Rasteva to follow her. Once they had settled on her shoulder which seemed to be their preferred place on her to sit at, she made her way out of the apartment and downstairs. She was on her way to the cafe, most of the fast food places would have stopped serving breakfast by now but she was sure she could still get a ham and cheese croissant, with a cup of juice before sitting. She figured Rasteva would remove themselves from her shoulder as she ate.

"So...you Daemons..Do you eat or anything? I mean, I know the infomercial paints you all as pretty much a no-responsibilities kind of thing, but still." Taking a bite out of the warm sandwich, she smiled, happy for the warmth it brought. "Oh, right...I don't know if it would be odd to do, but maybe after breakfast, we can head to my school? I don't exactly know what you've got in mind for protection, but at least I can get your measurements."

Friends in the Void.

Sara was more than happy to oblige. "Y-You would let me try? Did you...have anything in mind?" She questioned. She wasn't sure if she could actually give them any sort of actual weapon with their current form of a snake for battle. She could try sewing some leather for now to aid in their protection, if only slightly. It would mean she would have to get a fit of their measurements, but that could wait. For now, anyway. Watching as Rasteva's interest appeared to peak as they tilted their head at the sight of the coordinated Human-Daemon duos featured. When Rasteva asked for her assistance, the young woman stood and eyed the raven curiously.

"You want to see one?" She sat down at her desk, powering on the laptop and with a few quick searches, they arrived on the official website. The flashy text read out that their latest live match would be featured tomorrow at around noon. Luckily for them, they already had some battles on their page for them to view. As she hit the play button, it took a moment to fully render before beginning.

A young man, looking to be around eighteen, lazily made his way onto the arena, a guitar in hand. The camera shifted towards his opponent, another young man looking a little older than himself, who held himself with quite a dignified grace, and carried no object. The announcer introduced the humans, along with the submitted names of their registered Daemons. After a small reminder of the rules, and a mention of a time-limit of thirty minutes, a small bell was rung a few times, signaling the start of the match. It appeared the young man would go first, and he turned, plugging in his guitar into an amp that was provided nearby. Putting a set of headphones over his ears, the young man played a rather upbeat tune, causing his guitar to glow a bright blue color, summoning his Daemon onto the floor, who seemed to be dressed in a similar fashion to the human they accompanied. If nothing else, they wore headphones around their neck as they shifted into a slightly humanoid figure. Easily sliding into another melody that echoed through the stage, his Daemon took the vibrations from the guitar, seeming to be getting pumped up. That seemed to be the end of their turn, because the older man had stepped forward.

"Steady On." He simply said, a red light gently emerging from one of the many rings that sat on his fingers. It formed into doe of all things, with a necklace made of ornate materials around its neck. "Dance." The doe's ears twitched slightly, prancing about around its enemy. The hard rock music did almost little to interfere with their rhythm, matching it and at once was circling their opponent in a dizzying tornado, sending them back towards their human.

Grinning, the young man simply stepped aside, and changed keys, opting for something a bit slower but more robust. This time it seemed their Daemon was ready to go, save for the fact they had been knocked back and had to take a moment to gather their bearings. At once they rushed forward, not missing a beat as they elbowed the doe, sending it fumbling back.

Their fight seemed to go on with exchanges, it giving information about the relationship between the two. Obviously the younger man and his Daemon were communicating through music, but...it was harder for Sara to tell just by watching what was the common ground between the older man and his own? The video didn't show the outcome of the match, but did show the two sides afterwards, looking pretty satisfied either way. Was the site trying not to give results here on the website to promote to have fun, regardless of who wins or loses? It wasn't a bad message, after all..

Once it was over, Sara looked to Rasteva. They were the one who wanted to see one of these battles, and she was more than certain they would have something to say about what they just watched.

Friends in the Void.

They were really going to waste no time on this fighting ordeal, were they? Well, she couldn't exactly blame them. If one subject they needed to hurry getting any kind of information in, it would be battles. She nodded, picking it up once they had released it and opened it. "I'm glad that you are well. Yes...I'm sure it can tell us much more than we could learn on our own." If nothing else positive had come out of their interaction with Jenna and Kivash, it was these information pamphlets. She had to wonder why the woman at the department store didn't give her any of these starter packets...But she had them now, and that's what she needed to focus on. It only took them about an hour or so to fully go over the information that was printed onto the paper, and she gently closed it to indicate she was finished looking through it.

"Well, as you say...battles are going to be our quickest way to getting you any closer to your original body. But, we'll have to start with small one on one battles. Even still with all the rules and regulations, we still aren't very in sync. I understand you'll be doing a good bit of the thinking on your own until you're able to take on a more stable form, but...I'm not saying to emulate Jenna and Kivash with their fanfare or anything, but perhaps we could..." She paused, trying to word it correctly. "Find a way to merge both of our interests?" She suggested.

"You, really like fighting. But I'm not really for it. I'm more...moral support? B-But I do like..making things." Sara let her voice trail off to drop a small hint at what she could do to help out. She herself enjoyed making outfits and clothes for the stuffed companions that were in her room. While she wasn't sure what Rasteva's opinion on what they might consider 'dress up', she was trying to find a sort of middle ground. They were quite vulnerable in their current state. Maybe if she could stitch or make something to help fend off at least physical damage to them, that could be her own way to help and contribute to the fight.

She had the skills to sew, and from her classes at school she knew how to weld and make props. She might actually be able to scale them down to benefit one of Rasteva's size. It would take a small amount of work to complete them, but with practice she would only get quicker.

Friends in the Void.

Sara sniffled, shaking her head. "You aren't deserving of any body except for the one you originally had. That's...why it's yours, isn't it? If...If you truly believed yourself deserving, you would have been content when you took it as your vessel." She herself couldn't imagine what other human was waiting for Rasteva out there, but she could only imagine it might be someone with similar intentions of Ethan. The admission of their own faults seemed to quell her nerves, if only slightly. Apologizing didn't seem in their nature, so the fact that they were here meant they had to swallow a bit of pride.

However, as they moved from the bed to the windowsill, Sara stood. "I...can't promise you that I'll get it on my first try. I'll stumble and we will have many losses as I try to find my way. But...I'm not against working with you, Rasteva. If I truly didn't, I wouldn't have left my window open in the small hope that you would come back." Making her way over towards them, she gently shut the window, re-affirming her decision. "I'm already...registered to you." Pulling back the curtains, she tied them shut, and moved to hold her finger out for them to hop onto, but retracted it. Maybe that wasn't the best option...

"You aren't alone in your feelings, Rasteva. I am also weak and lost. Not in the same sense as your own, but lost all the same." Moving back to the bed, she kicked her shoes off and sighed. "The weekend starts tomorrow. I don't know how you're going to feel in the morning, but we should look over the pamphlets. Or, we could try looking over them this evening. I didn't know if you wanted to have the rest to clear your head." Her eyes moved to the desk, then back to their form on the desk. The young woman clapped her hands, suddenly remembering something. "Rasteva! Are you alright? From earlier? I didn't get to ask Jenna what happened, but...well, are you?"