Just A Small Town Girl (Open)

[Pride]

"It's fine, he's been with me as long as I can remember. We fight, but we love each other."

He couldn't imagine living without the voice in his head. He was never alone, and he had comfort in that. More now than ever that new voices were creeping in, chattering and murmuring along the edge of his mind. He could feel their presence, always watching and waiting. But his partner was there with him, even in the dark.

"Hope. Though I think you people refer to our land as territory 64."

[Brianna Valdyr]

"Sounds like a brother." She chuckled as she shook her head, the explanation saying a lot without needing to go into detail.

"Hope, huh." The territory helped more than the name, her gaze growing distant for a moment as she mentally marked where the territory was compared to the academy. It was surprising; no one really claimed them, last she knew.

"It's probably different than back home for you, then." Nodding at the assumption, she continued. "What do you think of this place then/ Despite the big buildings and food? Have you met a lot of people here?" What should she be prepared for?!

[Pride]

"It's a soft land for soft people. They cling to the vestiges of a fallen past, huddled around them in great numbers for power. Rather than look to the past and see where things went wrong they look only to the future. Marching confidently in the footsteps of the failures before them."

He thought back to the two gathering records. Or the man with the metal arm telling them how to act.

"Everyone has an agenda and is quick to try to impose their will upon you. Conformity is rewarded and individuality is stamped out under the guise of cooperation. It's a poison for the soul."

[Brianna Valdyr]

"We're not all soft." She frowned for a moment, the smile disappearing as she tried not to feel insulted at Pride's assessment. "And people do look to the past to learn. We can't make a better future otherwise." Like her! How could she make change if she wasn't willing to see what went wrong?

Even if she was still a bit in denial about what all that would mean.

"Guess it's a good thing I'm not not into conformity then."

[Pride]

"Maybe, but I've yet to meet one that's not."

Her included.

"If you weren't you wouldn't feel insulted when I said this is a soft land for soft people. You're lying to yourself."

[Brianna Valdyr]

"My family's from here, too, you know." She huffed. "If I wanted to be the same, I would still be there. And I won't deny what they did gave me the chance to be here." But soft....okay, she didn't want to get into that.

"You saying you wouldn't be insulted if they said the same things of your territory after being there?"

[Pride]

"I don't honestly believe that someone could live a few months in my village and see them as soft. The soft die."

[Brianna Valdyr]

She didn't know much about the place other than it was some backwater neutral territory that tended to be at war with its neighbors. Heck, she hadn't even known its name until now. But there was something in the matter of fact way he spoke, no swagger or boasting, that was unsettling. Like, goosebumps levels of unsettling.

"If you hate it so much, why are you still here?"

[Pride]

He actually smiled at her question.

"Because my happiness isn't important. I have an opportunity to build a home for my little sister and provide for her what we lost. I would die for her, I can stand to live here a bit for her."

[Brianna Valdyr]

"A little sister," she echoed, expression softening. Well, that explained a lot. She'd do anything for her brothers; it was close enough. Though it did make her wonder what else was under that smile he showed. For a short moment, her heart warmed as she thought of home, even if it was a long ways away for now. Not that she didn't have family here anyway, but it wasn't the same.

"I can understand that." Nodding, she looked him over, assessing what she could of him even as she kept on talking.

"Hey, Pride, do me a favor?"

[Pride]

He tilted his head.

"Can't really agree to one without knowing what it is."

Why did people ask that here and wait for an answer first? What a weird society.

[Brianna Valdyr]

"Fight me."

If he really thought the people here were soft and weak, she needed to see what sort of measures he went by so she could exceed them.

[Pride]

He snorted.

"Not much of a favor. All you had to do was come swinging."

So fucking weird.

[Brianna Valdyr]

Don't have to tell her twice.

"Some people like playing fair." She would charge at him, assuming he'd be fine with it after that sort of reaction, and aim to land a punch at his face!

____________

Inner Strength - Brianna can add 75% of her ENG to her ATK stat and 75% of her PER to her DEF for one post.


Atk 47
Def 55
Qi Use 1/12

[Pride]

"Life isn't fair."

He'd say shifting his face to let her fist go right past him before sending a palm strike for her chest.

"No, I already told you, I'm not gonna let you out until you apologize. I don't care if it's a fight."