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Post by Mathew Amtrum on Oct 30, 2012 14:02:08 GMT -8
The sun was starting to set over the city and once again Mathew found himself in the neutral zone. With no electricity in this sector it wouldn't be long until everything was shrouded by shadows, the only illumination coming from the half moon and stars overhead.
He sat alone in the street, legs folded under him once more. The same street Levi had found him repairing before. It was nice for some privacy away from the apprentices and Dragons. Both the gang and the other named ones. Between all of the patrols and reports, as well as the constant needs of his apprentices and the pregnant Bastille he felt distracted while there. Unable to fully focus on one thing, and that was what he needed to do.
He stretched his power through the stone, feeling for vibrations to indicate that he was being intruded upon. This time he did not continue to repair the stone, but instead held a clump of it in his hands.
The stone in his hand morphed and danced to the touch of his energy. His hands still, his chest barely rising and falling with his breathing. The majority of his attention was on the stone, but not on the shape that it held. Changing the shape was simply a tool to keep him focused on the stone. A catalyst for his true purpose. He was trying to figure out how to imbue the stone with his essence. A lasting presence.
As it was he was able to bend the Earth to his will as long as he touched it, but without his touch it simply became stone. It was true that the shape persisted for stone, but it was just that. Stone. He needed more, he wanted more. He knew how uncertain the future was and this would be his path to immortality, in some form at least. But he knew he needed to be around, even after death.
For his child.
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Oct 30, 2012 14:55:44 GMT -8
Once again, Delilah found herself on her own in the neutral territory, though this time it was for Crows related purposes. Mostly. She was building/finding a decent area that would serve as a parkour obstacle course for her team of seven who had recently come to call themselves the "Tengu". She was proud to have trained them to the point they were at: they all made fine warriors...now she would have to see if they could adapt to a real combat situation. It would only be a simulation, but they didn't have to know that.
She stood on a rooftop as the sun began to set, over looking the scenery around and below her. Yes, this would do just fine. There were hazards everywhere, and having to deal with it on the fly would either make or break them as elite soldiers.
As her eyes passed over the skyline, they came to rest on a silhouette seated on the groundssome ways off. Her sharp blue eyes narrowed and after a moment of intense study,she recognized the person as Mathew Amtrum.
Trying not to disturb him, Delilah would quietly walk along the ledge of the building and hopggracefully over to the next. She would repeat until reached the same point that he was,just a few stories higher.
Still silent as she could be, she sat down on the ledge, watching him and wondering what the Earth Dragon was up to.
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Post by Mathew Amtrum on Oct 30, 2012 23:20:27 GMT -8
He kept his breathing slow, his eyes unfocused as he stared at the stone in his hand. Shifting in between geometric shapes. Pushing energy inside of it, twisting it and trying to build it up. More and more energy pouring in to the stone in a slow but steady trickle. Brute force had not been working, so he was trying something with more finesse.
He cut off his power from the stone and it returned to it's lifeless state, a cube of stone sitting in his hand. Perfectly smooth and balanced. But without his energy. He felt it dissipate away almost instantly. He frowned at the creation in his hand, pressing his lips together as his brows furrowed.
"Hmmm."
He refused to believe that what he was trying was impossible though. Nothing was impossible for him. No, with enough dedication, time, and effort he firmly believed that he could accomplish anything he wanted to. He would find his immortality. He would learn to imbue the stone with a lasting imprint. Something to leave behind when he finally died.
Because Delilah was on the roof and had been good at staying silent Mathew was still unaware of her presence. Enough was between them to block his tremor sense.
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Oct 30, 2012 23:42:02 GMT -8
Delilah continued to watch in silence, her brow burrowing slightly. From what she could gather...or from what she FELT emanating from Mathew as she in reality had no idea what was going on, was that he was trying to meditate inwardly while focusing on the stone in his hand. Which explained in her mind why Mathew hadnt noticed her yet.
It struck her as odd that he was trying to meditate inwardly and outwardly at the same time. Then again, she had no idea what he was doing, so she held onto her patience a while longer and continued to simply observe.
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Post by Mathew Amtrum on Oct 30, 2012 23:53:05 GMT -8
He squeezed the stone cube in his hand causing it to squish between his fingers like clay. He was frustrated, this wasn't working right, and it was frustrating him. But he needed to be patient. He needed to try again. He would figure it out, he knew he would figure it out. Taking a slow calming breath he shut his eyes and would start again.
His hand opened and the stone would start to shift and twist in his grip. Cycling between shapes as he tried to worm and twist his power through the stone. His eyes opening once more to watch the stone twist and turn in his gasp. Pushing his power through the pores of the rock. Trying to make little dams to keep the energy flowing. Trying that idea. Again. Because even if it didn't work the first time, it was possible that he just wasn't doing it right.
One of the drawbacks of being one of the first with Qi was that there was no one around to teach him. Everything was self discovery and experimentation. It was good and bad, it meant his tricks were his own. But it also meant frustrating moments such as the one he found himself in currently.
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Oct 31, 2012 0:43:44 GMT -8
After about ten minutes of nothing but watching, Delilah decided she would probably need to step in soon. It seemed to her that Mathew was getting near the end of his patience. Plus, she was getting curious.
But something told her, just a liiiiittle longer...
He didn't need her. Not yet. So, she would wait.
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Post by Mathew Amtrum on Oct 31, 2012 0:53:03 GMT -8
He felt the energy blocks slide in to place. Modeling them after how he defended Qi from getting through his armor. In theory it would work to keep the Qi in the cube. Once all of the blocks were in place he would stop using his power. And once again he felt the energy just blink out. Like a light switch.
"Alright."
He sighed to himself rolling his shoulders and shifting on the ground. He was feeling like it might be enough of that for the night. He wasn't making any progress, and it might be worth it to him to go and get some sleep. Some new ideas might come to him then.
"I will need to figure out a different approach."
He said as he picked himself up, the cube sliding up his sleeve and wrapping around his body with the rest of the stone he kept there.
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Oct 31, 2012 14:25:51 GMT -8
She didn't have to wait long for Mathew to decide he was through. Seems he wouldn't need her after all. Ah well. If there was anyone who could figure out whatever it was he was trying to do, it would probably be Mathew.
And it was about time for her to introduce her presence anyway. Ever polite, she had waited for the man to not be busy. He was no longer busy. Ergo, it was time to say hi.
Now, most people in Delilah's position would likely have tried to ambush or surprise Mathew, just to give him a start. Not only was Delilah very sure that would be a bad idea, it simply wasn't her style.
So, as Mathew got to his feet, Delilah would emit a soft, attention getting cough to alert Mathew to her presence. If he looked up to where she was on the roof, she'd give him a cheery wave and a small smile.
"'Sup?"
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Post by Mathew Amtrum on Oct 31, 2012 14:32:47 GMT -8
He turned to face the sound of the cough. Her position revealed to him his eyes strained in the moonlight for a second before he saw who it was. He gave her a small now of his head, acknowledging her.
"Practicing."
He said simply, wondering what she was up to, and how long she had been watching him. Hopefully not for long. He cursed himself for being so absorbed in his task that she could even get that close unnoticed.
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Oct 31, 2012 15:02:15 GMT -8
She caught the suspicious tone in his voice and found that her smile widened slightly. It seemed she had come across Mathew doing something he didn't want anyone else to know of. THAT was interesting to her, especially as he had walked in on her playing piano a while back.
She knew he was good at sculpting, so that couldn't be it. But what else would he be doing with that hunk of stone he had in his hand?
Curious indeed.
"What are you practising for~♡?" She chirped, still smiling.
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Post by Mathew Amtrum on Oct 31, 2012 15:04:25 GMT -8
Mathew gazed up at her with a stony expression. Silence hanging in the air as he thought about and picked his words carefully. He didn't want to give away to much, but he would answer her question.
"Obtaining immortality."
In a manner of speaking.
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Oct 31, 2012 15:15:21 GMT -8
She actually giggled a little at his expression. Whereas she tended to get flustered when she did something she didn't want others to know about, he just got....super serious.
"Immortality. Alright, that's cool. Why?" Other than the obvious reasons. But she was enjoying herself a little. It seemed that it wasn't often someone got the upper hand over Mathew. She knew it wouldn't last long, so she relished it while she could.
"I mean, you were looking pretty intense. Can't imagine immortality is easy. Did you at least find your answer?"
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Post by Mathew Amtrum on Oct 31, 2012 15:22:50 GMT -8
"Why do you think I would want immortality?"
Because it was none of her business really why he was doing what he was doing. He would wait for her response before shrugging.
"I'm a step closer."
He hoped at least.
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Oct 31, 2012 15:40:51 GMT -8
Honestly, she had no idea why, which was the reason she had asked him. Apart from the obvious "dude, living forever would be so cool" thing, she had no idea why anyone would even want to be around forever. That seemed immensely boring and potentially painful...watching all the people you loved die, knowing that you would have to live with that grief for the rest of your life. And watching people make the same mistakes over and over? Awful.
Iimmortality in that sense seemed more like a weakness than a strength to her. So maybe he meant it a different way? Delilah tilted her head to the side. "That's what I'm trying to understand...you want to keep part of you alive..."
But how? And why?
"I'm a step closer."
More curiosities! Not his words but the way he said them. He also seemed on edge. Clearly he was holding something back.
Delilah pushed off the ledge, dropping down off her perch to land silently on her feet, she walked slowly up to Mathew, hands up in a surrender position. "Hey man, I'm not attacking you and I know it's really none of my business. I'm just concerned is all. You seem...tense."
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Post by Mathew Amtrum on Oct 31, 2012 21:06:51 GMT -8
"I didn't think you were attacking me."
He said with a slight amused smile.
"I want to have a legacy. I will die someday, so I am trying to learn to imbue the stone with my energy. So a part of me will always be here."
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