Roberia sat in a relaxed position.
R : (... Right... Who shall be my target today?)
*Cozy's Notes : Reference for Roberia's hair. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dc6c7iZ3KfQ/T9TL20eJHSI/AAAAAAAAAQU/m5m6VHSzcM8/s1600/sakura_kyoko_by_mai14009-d3bilfl.png
I love Sakura Kyoko. I love her story, her tragedy and sadness, I prefer her and Madoka over the others. So yeah. I used her design as a springboard for Roberia. Kannagi Ayano also has a part to play in my love for red hair, but Roberia takes the cake. Great story, great animation, great detail. She seals it!*
Her green irises matched the slightly-mouldy rock she was leaning against. Her brilliant red hair tied into a ponytail, Roberia waited patiently for her next target, her huge sword securely clasped in her hands.
It's not usual for a person to be waiting on a path like that. Rulid wasn't a very well-known town, and there really isn't much in Rulid for merchants and sightseers to stop by for. Rulid is better known as a pit stop, a place to simply spend the night for travelers who wish to travel from Bellpot and Eliasbury.
The mountainous regions in Findel makes it hard for people to travel about, resulting in a reliance of the roads provided by their ancestors. Normally, one would go from Yhorfe to Eliasbury or Bellpot, but because of the mountains, they have to decide between taking a left or right at a specific crossroad from Dermesten, the town next to Yhorfe.
As such, only travelers or merchants whom have stocked up enough for both Eliasbury and Bellpot would use Rulid's route.
*Cozy's Notes : I'll see if I can provide a rough sketch of the map. Don't worry, it'll be up if I manage to do it well.*
Roberia, however, waited on this route, knowing exactly that.
*** ***
Katachi stopped in front of a small straw doll left on the roadside. On the small doll was a rather peculiar sigil tagged onto it.
K : (A straw doll... One with a strange symbol. Where did this one come from? Is this from Ohde or Anik? Or Auser? Qari?...)
Katachi couldn't understand the symbol at all. It was simply in a language he could not understand : حظ. Without the knowledge of foreign languages, Katachi could only scratch his head at the confusing sigil.
K : (... Best not to worry about it. I still have quite a way to go before I reach Rulid... I should hurry.)
Katachi continued walking...
*** ***
R : (... That's it... Keep walking. You're almost there...)
Roberia picked up a small pebble on the ground and was prepared to toss it over the road to the bush on the other side. She held it between two fingers and her thumb, and positioned it such that she could fling it as fast as she could.
The loud, clacking footsteps slowly and gradually got closer and closer...
R : (Now!)
Roberia sent the pebble zipping across the road, but it didn't hit the bush on the other side of the road. Rather, the legs of the traveler had intercepted its trajectory.
R : (Oh-! Oh boy, that's not good! I didn't think the person was still there!)
*** ***
Katachi took a pebble to his shin.
K : "Ow! What-"
Someone had thrown a pebble at his legs. It wasn't just a light throw neither - The pebble slammed its entirety against Katachi's calf impactfully, sending goosebumps up his legs and right half of his body. Katachi placed his hands over the shin, applying pressure over the injured area to numb the stinging pain. He glanced at the ground, only to find a small pebble that wasn't there at first.
K : (What the- A pebble!? Who threw this?) "Who's there?"
Katachi turned to look at the huge rock to his right, and withdrew his wooden dagger out of instinct.
R : (Waah, I attacked a poor, beggar-like traveler... Well, it's better than waiting around pointlessly. I'll take the chance to refine my skills.) "... It doesn't matter. I was hoping for a surprise attack, but I guess I have days where I misguide my throws, too."
From behind the rock, came forth a beautiful girl with red hair and a slender figure, holding a giant sword in her hands. Her eyes reflected a ferocity of a hunter, one whom kills to survive. Her walking stance shows a calm warrior, prepared to intercept any tricks that may be imployed against her.
K : (I'm guessing she threw that pebble... She was hoping for a surprise attack, but she hit my leg instead, so she probably was trying to toss the pebble to distract me instead of actually hitting me...)
The young girl walked towards Katachi slowly, pacing herself, and held the handle with both hands, raising the sword skyward.
R : "I wonder how much money you have on you?"
With a powerful force, she swung the blade down on Katachi hard.
K : (Direct attack when she fails a sneak attack? 恒定! Constant status - Self! Constant status - Dagger!)
A golden 定 formed underneath Katachi's tattered shirt and on the dagger's engraving. Using the dagger, Katachi withstood the full impact of the blow with his body.
R : (! Blocking it head-on?! That strategy should only be for people who can withstand a force like this! Is he a warrior from Rugnud too? He has black hair, though, and his wooden dagger feels a bit weird, like it's way tougher than it looks...) "I'm sorry, are you from Rugnud?"
The girl pulled back her sword, and distanced herself from Katachi. Still in a prepared stance, she held the sword upward, in a striking/stabbing stance. Katachi, too, dropped his belongings spare the 1000-paged book, raised his arms to cover his vitals, and stood in a battle stance, fearing that she might use the sword to impale him.
K : (What? Me, from Rugnud?) "Uh... No, I'm from Mielfeud. I'm Findeli."
R : (Findeli? He's from this country?! That's probably a lie to throw me off, isn't it?! I've never seen a Findeli warrior, let alone one that blocks my blows like this! It's more believable if he were from Ohde, no matter how you look at it!) "That can't be right, you have black hair! That's a hair color exclusively from Ohde, isn't it?"
K : "Well, yeah, I guess, but I don't even know if I'm really from Ohde or not. All I know is that I grew up in Mielfeud."
R : "If that is indeed the case, then state your name!"
K : (? My name? How would knowing my name help anything?... I better say it before she attacks out of suspicion.) "... Kotsuba Katachi."
R : (! His eyes didn't waver at all, his shoulders didn't shake. It's either the truth, or a severely gambled lie. But it doesn't make sense...!) "If you really are from Mielfeud, why is your name of an Ohdean descent?!"
K : "How am I supposed to explain that!? Rather, why should I explain that?!"
*** ***
R : "If you will not answer me, then peacefully fall by my sword, like a warrior should!!"
Roberia increased the grip strength on the blade, and primed the tip of the great sword at the scrawny boy holding a wooden dagger in a purely stabbing stance. With celerity, she kicked off the ground, and plunged the sword downwards, vaulting over the sword-
K : "Wha- !!"
-and in turn letting the sword vault over her in an overhead cleave, holding a momentum far more powerful than her first swing.
Yet the boy took it head-on, without even flinching one bit. He grinded the wooden blade of his tiny dagger against the greatsword's blunt fuller, its durability betraying its wooden appearance.
R : (... He definitely blinked a bit there, but his stance is firm. This is weird... He can block my attacks head-on without having to move or compromise any excessive strength at all. He's got enough strength to overpower me easily, yet he's afraid of taking a hit like that when he could? Is this his way of mocking me?!)
Roberia's motivation fueled from her anger and dignity, and right now both of them are at their highest peak from being physically challenged by the black-haired boy.
R : (So be it then! I've so far forced him downwards, but let's see how he does with an attack from the side!) "Rrrrraaaarrrrgh!!"
Pulling the great sword back slightly, Roberia dug her shoes into the sandy path and threw her body's weight with the sword in a twist, creating a huge, horizontal arc swinging towards Katachi. Even when the sword's unbladed sides was swung, even with the great air resistance similar to fanning a huge fan, it was done quickly - Fast enough for the boy to not react in time. The sword's fuller clapped into Katachi's side, and he was sent flying and tumbling toward a tree toward the roadside.
R : (... That should do it- !!!)
But, after two seconds, Katachi stood back up, as if the attack was nothing.
R : "No way..."
K : "... I don't want to fight you..."
R : "Don't want to fight me?! That is not what an honorable warrior ought to say! Are you a rogue warrior on the loose!?"
Roberia, angered even further by his words, lifted up her sword and vaulted over her sword again, before swinging it overhead to cleave him once more. The swing this time was one used for cleaving, so the bladed edge was used instead of the sword's fuller.
R : (His stance is broken! His dagger will break in half this time, even if he manages to block the attack!)
But, something unthinkable happened.
Katachi cushioned and caught the blade with his bare left hand.
R : "!!!!!" (He... Caught my blade?! At my fullest swing?!)
*** ***
K : "Whoa, that is really dangerous! Be careful how you swing that!"
The girl withdrew herself, and held the sword in a different, lowered position this time - Bending her body down a little, slinging the huge hunk of metal behind her right, and holding it with both hands as if to horizontally cut the person in half with the next attack.
K : (... Her physique is slender, but her attacks are ferocious. Even with Constant Status applied onto me, I felt its true, hammering impact on my palm. She's not using strength to wield that sword - Rather, she's using the momentum of both her body and the sword to swing it about. That explains why she can wield that large cumbersome sword without using much strength - A rather smart strategy for saving stamina, actually. But knowing that alone won't stop her attacks...)
Katachi changed his stance a little, to one that was more assertive. His arms were more relaxed and wider apart, and he was more 'open' - The stance was one that was more focused, one more suitable for intercepting attacks instead of simply blocking and cushioning blows.
The red-haired girl responded exactly the way he wanted her to - A frontal attack.
R : "HAAAAAH!!!!"
She attacked with the pommel first, as Katachi raised his left arm to block it. Withdrawing the attack instantly, the red-haired girl planted the tip of her great sword, now soiled with sand grains, into the road and vaulted backwards. But this time, her grip wasn't as strong on her sword, and her positioning and the way she vaulted over changed - Deliberately causing the blade to claw and dig into the path, sliding its bladed portion to the area between Katachi's legs.
With an immense strength that betrays her slender figure, she forcefully lifted the sword off the ground, hoping to halve the boy, or throw her opponent off balance at least.
Katachi took the opportunity of that perfect window.
K : (固定! Fixate object - Sword!)
As the brunette landed and lowered the sword to ground level for easier lifting, Katachi placed a Word of Power on the sword's underside, effectively sealing the sword low on the ground.
R : (-!! My sword's suddenly way heavier than it should be!? What happened?- What did he do?!)
K : "... I'll take my leave then."
R : "What!?"
Before she could even look up to get a good look at where Katachi went, he had already snagged his items and sprinted off quickly, his wooden sabots clacking loudly as he ran away.
*** ***
Twenty minutes have passed since their little scuffle. Roberia is still trying to move her sword, in utter vain.
R : "... Ilpoh curse that guy!"
Roberia kicked her comfortable boots against the sword's grip, and placed her knuckles on her hips in frustration.
R : (Today's attack is an utter failure! Instead of earning more coin, I'm stuck with this unmoving sword! What did he do, curse my sword or something?! Why is it just floating and suspended on the ground like that?!)
She had been surprisingly close to the answer, even when she didn't realize it - There was indeed a Curse Word, better known as a Word of Power, applied onto the sword which had sealed it in place, completely fixating the sword in that space.
R : (Maybe he's not just a warrior, but a magus as well? In which case, assuming that he somehow made the sword heavier magically... I'm going to have to get a new weapon that renders the magic ineffective... One more powerful than this. One that can use the increased weight against him. One that guy can't defend against.)
She turned around and picked up the medium knapsack she had hidden under a hollow rock.
R : (Cheh... I wasted money instead of earning some today, having to spend it on a new weapon while not even snagging a single coin off him. Still, if he's that powerful, then I just have to beat him, as proof of my increasing strength. His defeat also makes a great gift for my coming-of-age. In the least, now I have a target to work towards rather than wandering about and fighting weak opponents.)
Roberia, now pumped with motivation over a 'tough' opponent, stomped off toward Rulid, in pursuit of the black-haired boy named Kotsuba Katachi.
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