An unfamiliar voice came from behind the pair who were talking. Camilla turned her head slightly and gave the eavesdropper a quick look. She smiled at the sight of this pouting girl and let out a short and quick bubbly laugh.
"That would be my question, too, hah! But, I think the lady means 'cute' like, say...a little dog. Not the same kinda 'cute' I'd use for, say, a pretty face. Am I right...cutie?"
Again, Camilla let out another quick laugh at the short, smoking, casanova-of-a-dwarf's words.
"Listen to this one, such a smooth operator." She said, a warm and friendly smile on her face, cheeks slightly tinged pink and eyes half-closed in a relaxed fashion. "But I think you both might be mistaken. It's not him, but the little chicks flitting about and chirping around him who're cute." The busty bluette explained, giving another glance over at where the fan-girls were still squeeing for their Alwin-sama. "Oh, to be young again..." She said this as if she was some kind of middle-aged, world-weary woman or something... Even though she was still plenty young, fresh and still firm herself.
"You shouldn't listen in on when others're talking though, sweetie." Young Baroness Azurios turned to the girl - who was Parin - again. "It's a bad habit that could land you in all sorts of trouble if you get caught by the wrong person." Although it was a warning or perhaps a scolding, there was no hint or sound of animosity or irritation, no signs of indignation or being upset, in either Camilla's tone of voice, choice of words or body-language. Rather, it was more like she was just giving the girl some generic advise, just like how to look both ways before crossing a street, or how not try and drink sea water when thirsty.
Then, things and stuff started to happen, and much noise began to sweep through the coliseum... So, it was finally starting...
-- Post-Captain Introductions --
so.... Those're the captains of the Magic Knights, huh? Hm... Hmm.... Hmhm... I see, I see...
There was a cacaphony of noise and turmoil during this time. Shouts and cheers and applause and fanfare. Nine of the Clover Kingdom's most important people were now standing on a balcony above, looking down upon the masses who had gathered to earn their favor, their approval and their acknowledgement as potentially beneficial underlings to their respective squad of knights. Camilla's face was... Hard to read... Though, unlike many of the others who had respect, admiration, hopefulness or reverence in their eyes, Camilla's seemed so... Blank. She was looking at them, but at the same time she wasn't? But this only lasted for a mere moment, before her eyes and head then turned back to both Gunnar and Parin.
"Well then, it looks like we're finally about to get started. Good luck to both of you." She gave them a friendly and warm smile, as well as a light wave of the hand, before turning around and facing the direction in which all the action was taking place.
Soon enough, official exam staff started to arrive on the arena floor as well, and quickly after that, things were both set up and explained. This was the first leg of the exam. The part where all the try-hards would do everything in their powerless hands to show off and make an impression, trying to wow their prospective future masters with whatever limited and meagre skill and magic they possessed.
... How foolish...
Then, it began. One by one, names and numbers were called, and individuals approached the various stations which had been set up. To be honest, Camilla didn't even seem interested in the other applicants or what they could do. Her eyes were constatnly fixed on the balcony where the captains were sitting. Although she wasn't necessarily facing that way, she seemed to be eyeing them for some reason, though it wasn't exactly like she was glaring or showing signs of ... Well, anything to be frank. Her face was casual and relaxed, showing no trace of any particular or subtle emotion. Whatever was going on inside that blue head of hers, the girl was real good at keeping it herself.
"Number 184, Camilla Azurios!
An official called her name. Her body began to move and her eyes relinquished the captains. She strode towards the one who had called her name, her walk the usual effortless hip-swaying, thighrubbing stride as always. A few voices called out from the audience above.
"WOAH! CHECK HER OUT!" "HOLY CRAP, ARE THOSE REAL!?""PLEASE MARRY ME!!!" "HOO-WEE, THEM CITY GIRLS SURE ARE SOMETHIN' ELSE, HUH?"
The bluette smiled prettily, raising an arm and waving in a leisurely fashion... After all, when people called out to you, you shouldn't just ignore and keep on walking... Yes... Even if the voices that called out didn't belong to someone you knew, or someone you cared for... So many voices... Hundreds, maybe thousands of them... Yet... Not a single one were the voices she wanted to hear. A sea of noise, a storm of hollow, empty, meaningless sound.
She arrived. Stopping next to the man who'd called her over. A middle-aged kermudgen, with thin glasses and a bald head, clean clothes and straight posture. The very epitomy of beaurocracy. If you looked up 'stick-in-the-mud', this guy's face would surely be on the adjacent picture. His voice began to drone, explaining the exam once agian, even though the elderly announcer had already done so earlier. But perhaps it was necessary for those too awe-struck by their idols to have heard the rules prior. The young Azurios girl merely nodded and took up the position as instructed.
She looked forward as the target tiles began to swivel and move, floating up and into the air, beginning their purpose as things who only existed to be destroyed. She took a quick but deep breath in preparation... How long, how many years had been since she'd done this...? "Milla, listen up." "Yes, mother. "When you use your magic, you need to focus your mind, calm your breathing and feel the magic circulate through your body." "I-I know! But... I'm not sure how to feel it..." "Don't worry, there's no need to rush. Look, like this, see?" "Wow, that's... That's amazing, mother. How did you--" "Like I told you, close your eyes, focus your mind, take a deep breath and relax. Then, try to feel the magic." "O-Okay... Hmngh... Mmn... Mnnnh..." "Relax, Milla." "... ..." "Just breathe and focus your mind, and just stay calm." "... ... ..." "Oh~? Well, my oh my, would you look at that." "Wh- Ah! I... I did it! Mother look, I did it! I made magic come out, just like you!" "YOu sure did, mhmhm~ That's my clever girl." "Mother, I did it! I really did it! Ahaha~! I want to learn more, show me more, please?" "Mhmhm~ Patience sweetie, patience. There's no need to rush. Mother's gonna teach you everything in good time. So don't fret, I'll always be here for you, sweetie." ... Liar...
The targets were floating around up ahead now. The official had already givven the signal to start. Yet, Camilla wasn't moving. At least not for a little while. Then she slowly raised an arm, made a finger-gun, and took aim. To anyone versed in magic or who could see and sense such forces, their view of Camilla's performance here wouldn't exactly be... Impressive. The girl's mana control was, rough, to say the least. It was like watching a child who had learned to ride a bicycle once, but then never do so for a decade, try to suddenly get back on the saddle and take a ride. It was... Crude, and not entirely efficient.
Nontheless, soon a magic bullet took shape infront of her outstretched fingers. Without a noise or a motion, the projectile then suddenly took off, fired at the mental command of its caster. Her magic wasn't really suited for this sort of thing. The Jet Bomb didn't have enough range, and while the Bowling Bomb certainly could work, the girl doubted she ahd the pitcher's arm or the accuracy to actually hit anything if she atempted to throw one of those. Thus, she had to rely on this magic. This old, old magic she'd been taught back when she was still a child.
The first bullet hit one of the tiles. Although, it wasn't a bullseye. The bluette continued to fire off bullets, of which the majority hit, but there was never a ring-a-ding-ding shot that hit the center. What was noticeable, to anyone with a careful and observant eye though, was that while Camilla's shots weren't carfully aimed or particularly accurate, there was a certain pace, or rhytmn to her shots. She could likely have been firing off attacks far more frequently, at a much higher speed to try and hit many more of these targets to rack up points... And yet, she wasn't. It was almost like she was holding back or being conservative.
Eventually, her minute was up and the official called her turn at the firing range to a close. He then directed her to the next part of the exam. The pillars. There were no big cheers, no wild hooting or thundering applause at her performance. In fact, most of those who had been keeping an eye on her had probably gotten bored of her rather mundane performance and opted to look at more showy, flashy or impressive candidates. Those who aimed to score the highest and do their absolute best to be the cream of the crop.
Once at the pillar station, the official there once again gave the run-down on how this test would work. She merely nodded and smiled politely. She then urged him to perhaps keep others at a bit of a distance, as the spell she wanted to demonstrate wasn't exactly good for crowds... The official nodded and set about warning others to stay clear of the area in which the blue haired baroness was now occupying.
She closed her eyes. Took a deep breath. Focused on her mind... The mana began to pump and flow through her veins. She could feel it. Sense it. Taste it. That nostalgic tingling. Ah, ho wlong has it been...?
Her eyes opened, magenta gems glittering slightly from the light above. her face still a warm smile. She leanned slightly forward, and reached her right arm up towards the sky.
"Bowling Bomb."
Her voice rung out clear and confident. Evne if it wasn't loud, or boisterous or anything else remarkable, it was at least that. Clear and focused. Almost instantly, a round black sphere appeared in her right hand, grasped inbetween delicate fingers clad in purest white. She stepped forward, tehn again, and again, and again... Until she made a fluid, well-practiced motion, sending her right arm in a circular motion, and gently unleashing the black ball when her arm reached just infront of her body.
The small sable orb leapt gracefully out of her hands, and gently landed on the coliseum floor. It rolled. And rolled. And rolled... On and on towards the great big pillar before it...
"WAIT?! IS THAT THING GETTING BIGGER!?!"
Somebody from the stands called out. And indeed they were right. As the little ball of black rolled along its path, it kept growing in size. Growing and growing, first becoming as big as pumpkin, then a wagon's wheel, and finally, as big as awhole god-damned wheelbarrow!
... ANd then it struck the pillar.
KABOOM!
With a loud and satisfying explosion, the tiny black orb that had grown into a full-sized sphere blew up, in rather spectacular fashion. When the smoke of the blast eventually cleared, a not insignificant portion of the pillar it had hit was now gone. It hadn't been enough to cause the thing to collapse or anything, nor enough to send cracks and veins through the entire thing either. But, it was enough to seriously call into question the structural stability of the construct now. Camilla rose up, her skirt having been dangerously tight on her buttocks and in even more dangerous terriotries of showing off just what she was wearing underneath said skirt.
This time however, there was a bit of cheers and calls from the audience, along with a bit of applause. Nothing major, nothing impressive, but it was there. Camilla just kept smiling, and gave them another friendly wave.
Now, there was nothing left to but to wait and let the rest finish...
Actions & Interactions: - Camilla talked a bit with Parin and Gunnar, then wished them both luck. - She observed the Captains and had secretive thoughts and opinions which weren't shared or shown. - Camilla had a brief flashback to her childhood, when doing basic magic training with her mother. - She performed unimpressively, but methodically, for the target-tile test. - She used Bowling Bomb to blow up a decent chunk of her pillar during the second part of her test.
Beeg post is beeg! And very fun too. I rather enjoyed it. Those sneaky revolutionairies though... How sneaky and EVIL they are! Now to start work on Camilla's performance~ ... Which... Won't be very dramatic or spectacular. xD
@SilverPaw In case it wasn't obvious, those're all "joke" theme songs. :P I've got a lot of free time on my hands after I get home from work, so I got time to spend on silly stuff like that. xD
@Agunimon Yaaay, another friend to play with! Welcome... Back(?)... Anywaddles, good to hav you back with us. :)
@Expllo Fun excersise, though I don't think I'll partake in it. Don't wanna risk making commentary or forming opinions on characters with my toon outside the IC. Never know if it'll spill over and lead to unintentional meta-gaming.
Poor Milla, she doesn't even get sympathy for surving through her entire family and household being massacred. That Hikari such a heroic guy~ ;)
I do enjoy Hikari's hypocrisy when commenting on Kreszenz. Just goes to show that Camilla's opinion on the ambitious is correct. 8D
"Oh\ Oh, my." There was a gentuine sound of surprise to Vanessa's voice when the foreigner-knight slammed his paper slip onto the ground and dispelled all magic in the area. The dark mage hadn't expected these Zipanguese 'scrolls' to have that sort of power, but now she somehow felt a even more pleased about having bought some of them from that little tanuki earlier. Still, now wasn't the time to concerned about whether she had buter's regret or not, because there was a man charging at her with a friggin' katana in his hands!
Also, that cowled knight was gonna get it for daring to cheer on this guy on! What sort of man doesn't cheer for the heroine!?
Still, while she could've chosent o use offensive magic to blast the fellow awy, or to at least make him back off or change direction, Vanessa still didn't want to actually hurt the poor sod. Nor did she want to cause any actual, lasting damage to the keep itself. Thus, there was only one option left. With a smarmy smile, she aimed her free palm down towards the ground infront of her.
"Grease."
A strange, brown-ish phere gathered infront of her hand, before flying off down at the floor... And exploding! .. In a wet... splattery... kinda gooey way... An equally brownish ... Oil? Sludge? ... Demi-liquid, started to spread from the point of impact, coating the floor and any neartby furniture that hadn't been knocked away by the gale earlier. If this man wanted to reach the sorceress, he'd have to either make a really, really, really long leap, or hope his footwear had some kind of anti-magic or friction-retaining enchantment. 'Cuz if they did't, stepping on grease was almost worse than stepping on ice.
... But, just in case he soemhow did manage to traverse the field of slippery goop, she made sure to stay on the ready. Ready to side-step or jump either left or right, should she absolutely need to.
Also, for everyones sake, Vanessa really hoped none of the other knights would have the bright idea of using fire, or shooting one of their guns or something like that. Because they last thing anyone wanted was for this oily substance to get ignited by a random spark and set the whole room ablaze!
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, @imia i in da house! :D I also really enjoyed that post. Was worth the wait. :) And look, a cute girl came to talk to Camilla! I bet she'll be happy to swap her dwarf smoking conversational partner for this new, shiny and substantiually better-smelling one!
[list][*]I don't use social media, discord or google docs.
[*]I suffer from Retinitis Pigmentosa and use a text-reading software to get through other peoples' posts.
[*]I'm rude, short-tempered and unserious. I'll likely say things that'll upset, offend and/or infuriate you.
[*]I consider roleplaying a hobby and a pass-time, not art.
[*]I do anime-roleplay and [b]only[/b] anime-roleplay.[/list]
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><ul class="bb-list" style="white-space: normal;"><li>I don't use social media, discord or google docs.</li><li>I suffer from Retinitis Pigmentosa and use a text-reading software to get through other peoples' posts.</li><li>I'm rude, short-tempered and unserious. I'll likely say things that'll upset, offend and/or infuriate you.</li><li>I consider roleplaying a hobby and a pass-time, not art.</li><li>I do anime-roleplay and <span class="bb-b">only</span> anime-roleplay.</li></ul></div>
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