middleofsomewhere | The Will to Fight: Conclusion

The Will to Fight: Conclusion

The battles rage loud and ferocious at the gates of the city and off in the ruined wastelands of Erda, and on the walls a struggle of a different kind occurs. The team who stayed behind at the towers are small but determined as they move stoically across the walls to right the stones that have become misaligned, even as their friends battle not too far away.

The city begins to hum. It's a quiet hum, not loud enough to be heard out where the others are fighting but it vibrates even through stone. The recovering monks assure them that it is done, the wards are back up and no demon will be able to enter the city.

Eventually the battle is won, all three battles. The demons fought back and killed, a major blow to their gate system that will keep them back for hopefully a long time. Those waiting in the caverns return to the city and by the time they get there the illusions are gone. Everyone can see the world for what it really is.

But despite the ruins of their world the people are relieved, the adrenaline of the fight coursing through their veins and the mood is one of hope. They will build again, their people will survive.

All Voidtreckers please return to the Voidtrecker Express. Departure will be in a few hours

It has landed not too far from the city, cloaked to make it unnoticeable to the citizens, for all the good that does. No one has been particularly subtle this last week. People can begin regrouping, packing up the camp and getting any wounded not already healed to the train.

However roughly half an hour later another message appears on their SCA.

Passenger Persephone has requested we remain on system System #86525656412355 for an additional day to further assist the people of Erda. The Voidtrecker Express will depart on the morning of Day Fifteen of the month of Kazoo.

The train remains where it is, so the voidtreckers can use its facilities. There is definitely a lot that can be done to assist those of this world and the citizens will welcome any helping hands.

After an extra day they finally depart, returning to the void once more.

(OOC Note: Once the wards are up any characters who are demonic in nature will not be able to enter the city either!)

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[Devero strides over to the 'boulder'-- actually a number of fieldstones cemented together, once part of a sturdy building-- and makes a show of considering it. He walks around it with his chin cupped in his hand, examining it from all possible angles before he pushes at it with a booted foot. It rocks a little in place, grinding discordantly against other stones in the rubble pile.]

Yep, this looks pretty big. [He turns to face the children, Madoka now among them.] How heavy do you think this thing is?

[They call out a whole host of responses in the local measure of weight, although there are a few more interesting guesses peppered in: "As much as a goat! No, two goats!" "As much as Mama's cauldron!" "As much as twenty-seven geese!" Devero lets them speculate for a minute, but when it looks like an argument is about to break out over how much a cow weighs and if the chunk could possibly be that heavy, he puts up his hands.] Good guesses, everyone! I think we can all agree it's pretty heavy, right?

Now-- [He pauses, letting some anticipation build up.] --Whooo wants to see me lift it!?

Edited 2021-04-02 01:42 (UTC)

[ ...

She may be getting a little unsure of this idea. Sure, Devero seems like a really nice person, but nice doesn't directly translate to strong. And Madoka certainly doesn't think he looks like the kind of heavy-things-lifting strongmen she'd see back home. Maybe he has some sort of special power she hasn't seen before? Though she can't recall him using anything that seems like it'd be helpful here back when he helped her with the alpacas...

So even though the kids all start to wildly cheer, wanting to see this spectacle, Madoka instead calls out: ]

U-Um, please be careful!

[ Please.

She doesn't want to have to explain what happened to the healers if this ends up with an injury, okay. ]

[Normally, Devero wouldn't consider doing this kind of lift without a spotter, or even outside of a gym at all. And if it had been just him and Madoka here, he probably wouldn't have tried. He would have made an excuse to use a smaller rock, or found something else entirely to do.

But it's not just the two of them. A certain blond-haired priest has slipped into the courtyard, perching on a piece of rubble back against a wall to watch this spectacle himself. Koumyou Sanzo doesn't say or do anything to bring attention to himself-- Madoka might not even notice he's there-- but when Devero meets his eyes briefly, the priest offers the big guy a thumbs up.

Before getting started, Devero takes a moment to smile reassuringly at Madoka.] I will, I promise. I have excellent form.

[He examines the stone again, determining the best place to get a grip on the thing. Going to one knee beside it, he braces himself and hauls the big chunk up and over his shoulders, the muscles in his arms straining and standing out as he does so.

He actually has to stop there to get used to the weight and catch his breath. Give him a second, kids.]

[ MADOKA IS STILL ENTIRELY UNSURE ABOUT THIS BEING A GOOD IDEA. This reassurance does absolutely nothing when she can quite literally see Devero starting to strain himself when he's lifting that rock. There's a myriad of panicked options already crossing her mind. Should she try to find some other responsible adult ahead of time? She already gave back the Arms Band, so it's not like she can just whip out a potion if something goes wrong. Please, she's fourteen, these are way too big decisions for her to try and make!

So while the kids are definitely all cheering for this display, Madoka is just shoving her hands in front of her face. She's carefully peeking out from behind slightly spread fingers so she can still see how this ends, but still. ]

[Perhaps luckily for Madoka's blood pressure, getting the thing up on the shoulders is the hardest part. Once Devero's got his breath, his comment about 'good form' becomes clear: if Madoka's seen strongmen lifting things for spectacle at home, she may recognize the way he brings his hips and feet in line under his shoulders. He finds just the right balance of mass and center of gravity, and then-- using the powerful muscles in his legs-- he lifts.

He rises to his full height, the mass of stone and mortar balanced across his shoulders.

It's definitely a massive effort, strain visible in the lines of his body as he supports the weight. He locks his and stiffens his spine and he's going to hold it to impress these kids for at least a few solid seconds--!]

[ And impress the children he definitely does.

Especially since it seems they haven't been exposed to things like this. At least not anytime soon, but maybe not ever - it's not exactly like traveling circuses could come out here with the state of the world, after all. So they gasp, and cheer, and scream like this is the best thing they've ever seen.

A few of the kids are even starting to run off, as if they have to tell someone about what they're seeing here right this instant.

And while Madoka does try to go along with it, clapping her hands together for his effort, she's still looking very nervous. This is too much for an antsy girl's heart..!! ]

A-Ah, g.. great job..!

[ Amazing, Madoka. Sounding totally natural there, and not nervous at all. Except she totally is sounding nervous. ]

[Devero has to put the thing down eventually, where 'eventually' means after about five seconds of holding it while the crowd of local kids goes wild. He puts it down carefully, too; with controlled motions he lowers it back to his shoulders, then squats, then goes to one knee, and then tilts to the side so it falls off more than anything. ~~Is that a tendril of paper whipping back to the seated priest once it's on the ground?~~

Devero sits on the stone he just lifted, smiling at the kids who have the confidence to run up to him afterwards. He answers their inevitable spattering of questions cheerfully as his chest heaves for breath, telling them honestly that yes, that was very difficult and yes, it was really heavy. He had to train to get this strong. Someone taught him how to lift heavy things so he doesn't hurt himself. Yes, there's a right way to lift heavy things so you don't hurt yourself. No, he can't teach them, he'll be leaving town soon.

Soon enough, even the chattiest of the kids loses interest, turning back to playing with their friends. He turns his attention to Madoka then.] You okay, kiddo...? [He had not missed her anxiety during his lift.]

Ah! Y-Yes, of course!

[ Madoka is an open book though, so obviously that lie isn't going to fly. It's obvious in just everything about her. Her voice that shakes a little, the awkward smile on her face, the way her hands wave just a bit too fast as she tries to wave away the concern. She was definitely nervous, in a way that's only slowly starting to fade now. (Emphasis on slowly, really.)

But she wouldn't want it to seem like she was doubting him, so it feels better to tell a white lie, rather than to be honest and seem rude. ]

You.. You did a really great job just now..

[Sorry, Madoka, he's on to you. He actually shifts his seat from the stone to the cobbles below, leaning back gingerly against the chunk of rubble. From down here, he has to look up at her.]

Thanks. [Gently, and hopefully aiming this salvo in the right direction:] I was telling those kids the truth, about having to be taught how to perform lifts like that safely. I started lifting seriously when I was a teenager, and I competed in the squad intramurals when I was in basic training for the Guard.

..

[ She stares at him, unmoving. Especially since he got down to her level - or rather, really even a level below that. It would feel unkind to move away or to even look away from him when it feels like he's trying so hard to meet her here.

.. And it'd also be unfair to lie any further in that case, huh? To continue to try and sweep her worry under the rug. ]

But.. didn't it hurt, sir..? I'm pretty sure normal people couldn't do that so easily.. I was so worried about it falling and hitting you really hard. I-I'm not sure I would have been able to help you in that case, all by myself..

[His brow creases and if she's close enough, he'll reach up and touch the back of her hand.] Oh kiddo, I'm sorry for worrying you.

I'm very, very strong, at least for a regular human, but I know my limits. I promise I wouldn't have tried to lift anything above my max. [Not that the promise does much good after the fact.]

And even if I had hurt myself-- [He looks around the court, to point Koumyou out to Madoka, but his Sanzo has slipped off again. Welp. He reorients himself and continues with only a blip of a pause.] --there are enough of us in the city that someone would have come right away to help. You only have to comm if you need someone-- for anything, you know, not just an emergency. We're all here to help each other.

I know, but..

[ But sometimes the adults on the train aren't always the most responsible, and they do things that definitely are beyond their limits, and not just for good reasons. But she wishes she could help too. But--

She can think of so many 'but's here, but doesn't voice any of them. Instead she shakes her head, not wanting to pull down his mood after he pulled off something that made the kids so happy. ]

.. I'm very sorry, sir. I know I should be happier for you. W-What you did was really amazing looking.

And you feel the way you feel about it, regardless of should. You're allowed to have your own reactions to something, and to share them.

You don't ever have to apologize for the way you feel about something, at least not to me. All right?

[ Madoka stares at him, like she's contemplating those words inside of her head, trying to determine what she feels about them.

It's complicated. But if he says she shouldn't do that with him, at least, then.. maybe that's something she can do. Or try to do, maybe? ]

.. okay, sir. [ She says, a little on the quiet side. ] I'll try my best.

Just.. um. As long as you still feel good and proud of what you did..

That's all anyone can ask, kiddo.

[He smiles as her, trying to project reassurance, and reaches up to ruffle her hair if she'll let him.] I feel very good and very proud of what I did, promise.

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The Will to Fight: Conclusion

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