Dante Giovanni
Weapon
Demon Rapier
Among thorns grow roses.
Posts: 122
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Post by Dante Giovanni on Oct 16, 2014 14:47:55 GMT -5
The bitterness in James’ laugh threw him off but his reaction to the tale of how he and Tori had met distracted him. That was about what he expected, but thankfully the more he explained the more at peace he seemed to be with it. A bit of relief showed on Dante’s face. Good to know James hadn’t completely freaked out. It wasn’t like Dante had a habit of breaking into houses, just potentially fun places to climb that also happened to be potentially hazardous to his health. He tried to laugh along with James but sounded so nervous he could have kicked himself. “Yeah, I guess. A very unintentional and very, very embarrassing entrance.” And dangerous, but he left that out to save James from another potentially shrill reaction.
At least he was smiling now, an action Dante mimicked even if he still looked a little bashful. His next question was a good one, too, and one Dante was all too happy to answer for the sake of clarification. “For a challenge,” he said initially before realizing how vague that was and clarifying, “I do parkour. It’s like free-running but a little more dangerous and flashy.” Emphasis on the dangerous in his case. His curse of falling had gotten better over the years, particularly recently, but he was beginning to notice a pattern. Hopefully it wouldn’t end up putting him in the hospital again. “A clock tower has all sorts of things to climb and run and jump on, and it’s always moving and difficult to get around. It seemed like good practice up until I wound up hanging off a gear that was rolling right to another,” he paused to smile a laugh some at the memory of his own foolishness, glancing at James again as he told him, “It was either let go or get my hand crushed, so I let go and landed on one of the flat rotating gears. I called for help and Tori thankfully heard me over the noise.”
A rather distressing tale to be fair, but Dante was more embarrassed by it than anything. He’d learned from the experience and hadn’t ended up crushed between any gears or fallen to his death so he wasn’t terribly troubled by it anymore. Obvious, considering how he looked so relaxed and spoke as though it were nothing, like he was talking about the weather.
At his comment, James began thinking so loud Dante could almost hear it even after turning his head to look at the water. The thinking pause could be several things. He was being too pushy and had put James on the spot. James was completely uninterested and was figuring out how to let him down easy. He actually was interested but was hesitant since he was still new. Dante could think of more but put the breaks on that thought train. He was already expecting to probably be turned down if only because, to be honest, James seemed a little unsure of the situation.
James’ eventually answer could be taken two ways but the way he said it caught Dante a little off guard. He looked at James again when he spoke and the amount of honesty in the words threw him. Dante looked a little surprised, but not in a bad way. Dante returned the small grin James wore with a lazy, rather lopsided one of his own. “I’m glad to have met you too.” A clear truth of an answer. He liked James; he could tell he was a good person with a good heart, even if he seemed a little unsure of things. He just had a good feeling about him. Even if they wound up not partnering, Dante would still be glad to have James as a friend.
But he that decision to make: press a little more or let the subject drop. Dante was pulled in both directions equally. That was a good note to end on, but he also didn’t want that to be the end. He felt a connection to James, but that came with meeting knew people and wanting to be their friend regardless. It happened all the time. He couldn’t know if that connection could potentially be strong enough to warrant compatibility.
And he would never know unless they tried.
Dante leaned back on his hands, looked thoughtfully up to the ceiling. “I feel lucky too, if not maybe a little opportunistic.” Being vague before hadn’t gotten him very far. Go for it, just ask. Worst case scenario: James said no and they could just move past it. Maybe a little bit of embarrassment and disappointment, but nothing Dante hadn’t gotten over before in the past in other situations. “Tell me if I’m being too pushy,” he said gently, “But do you want to find out just how lucky we are and see if we’re compatible?”
Dante kept his eyes trained on the ceiling for a moment before glancing briefly at James and then back out to the water as he made to sit up properly. He didn’t really want to see the look on James’ face if he was against the idea and hated the hint of hesitance he’d spoken with. Hopefully James wouldn’t get the wrong idea about why it was there.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2014 15:42:16 GMT -5
Every time this boy opened his mouth, James got a deeper glimpse into his character. This little fun fact was a little troubling, though. For a challenge? James thought that most people grew out of the taking dares phase by high school, but he had never been on the adventurous side so he wouldn't know. It worried him a little, though, so he was thankful that Dante was quick to clear things up and reveal that it was less of a dare and more of a personal challenge; James at least knew of parkour, though many small details of it were lost to him. It didn't lessen the worry any, because with the next story came evidence supporting the fact that Dante was an extremely clumsy person, so perhaps such a dangerous activity wasn't suited for him. But James wasn't one to discourage others from doing things they liked. He knew it wasn't fun to give up something you were passionate about.
Besides, Dante's happiness was infectious, and James couldn't help but laugh as well, even though it wasn't really a story that warranted laughter. "Good thing she was there." It was actually kind of amazing; he supposed that if two people are supposed to meet, they'll definitely meet. Even in a clock tower that theoretically shouldn't have anyone living in it. Dante was probably the only one who could get himself into that kind of mess, but at least it sounded like Tori was probably one of the only people who could have gotten him out of it. So even though she sounded a little scary, James wished he could have met her. It was a little depressing, though. How could Dante recover from something like that? Not being with Tori anymore? And how could anyone else live up to her? James shifted a little, one of his legs having started to fall asleep, and pushed a puff of air through his nose. "Tori...she sounds like an amazing friend, though." Not that he'd know; he never had a friend like her before.
He couldn't really say that he had ever had a friend like Dante before, either. It was a bit easier to imagine with Dante, though, because it seemed as though they would end up as friends after all. And even though Dante had merely been echoing his own words back to him, he still felt a little warm inside about the sentiment. No one had ever been happy about meeting him before. And there really wasn't a reason for Dante to be happy about their meeting--James hadn't done anything but sit and listen. But he couldn't pick up on any insincerity from the other boy, so he let himself have this moment of warmth.
The warmth turned to hope, a slight jolt in the pulse as Dante started speaking again. James had a vague feeling that he knew where this was going, but he tried to keep himself calm just on the off chance that he was wrong. He soon realized that he wasn't breathing, noticing only after he let it all out. It was like all those chains of worry had been lifted off of him, and he found himself snickering a little to himself. The elephant in the room had finally been addressed, and he was so happy he didn't have to be the one to point it out. And he didn't know if Dante had picked up on that or not, but he was so thankful that the other mentioned it.
Speaking of Dante, he wasn't looking at him. So it was safe for James to rub at his eyes real quick. As he pulled his fist away from his face, he noticed how much his face hurt from smiling. He couldn't really bring himself to care, and kept the expression up with a tiny nod. "That would be awesome," he replied, meek sounding despite his pleasure. It was like all the relief he had been feeling had been stitching into the words.
There was a tiny voice, reminding him that things probably wouldn't work out. That Dante would leave soon, after realizing how useless he was. But James fought it back, shoving it to the back of his mind. He could deal with that when the time comes, but for now he'd be happy. Though, the discouraging thoughts did drain his smile a little, and he found himself gazing absently at the pool. His eyes would flicker back to Dante on occasion, but other than that he tried to stay focused on the water's surface. "If you're okay with it, anyway...I mean..." He had just recently been separated from Tori, right? Sure, he was going to move on anyway. But had enough time passed? Not to mention James could never live up to her legacy.
But he was working hard to make his own, a kinder voice reminded him. And that was what was important, wasn't it?
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Dante Giovanni
Weapon
Demon Rapier
Among thorns grow roses.
Posts: 122
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Post by Dante Giovanni on Oct 30, 2014 15:08:43 GMT -5
Tori was a great friend. And a great Meister, but Dante remembered her more as the former now that they were separate. She was intense and prickly and a definitely quick to scold, but there was a lot more to her than that. He could tell after the time they’d spent together that there was a lot more going on underneath all of her sharp words. She was confident, but she could be nervous. Dante remembered their performance for their second mission, the unexpected information that she had terrible stage fright. He had needed to lead instead, and the show of trust he took that as wound up resulting in the best possible outcome of a huge round of applause. Dante smiled at the memory. But now was not the time to be nostalgic. He would obviously keep the memories of the missions he and Tori had experienced together, however simple they had been as NOT missions. He needed to focus on making new memories now, one involving real monsters he had yet to face and new teamwork he would have to work back up to and strengthen to move up and keep getting better. Dante didn’t know if James would be the key to that happening or not, but he could hope that he was. Progress demanded taking chances sometimes, and James seemed like a good one. With the confirmation that James was on board for testing out their compatibility Dante was able to face him again, turning his head and smiling. He did look a little confused at the follow-up, though not in a bad way. Maybe a little surprised, but in a way that showed he found James’ words humorous. “I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t okay with it,” he assured the other boy. His voice was even and gentle, nothing new but definitely more deliberate. He was nervous himself, but he at least had done this before. James was completely new to the experience. Which was why Dante intended to simply transform in a way that left his Weapon form lying next to James so he could pick him up. In the past he’d just taken Tori’s hand, but that seemed a little familiar for the situation. Dante picked his legs up out of the water and scooted back a bit. He’d already fallen into the pool once; he didn’t want to do it again. Changing into a rapier too close to the edge and sliding back in on accident would suck. Sitting cross-legged for a moment, he sent James another smile. “Alright, let’s try our luck!”A sky blue light enveloped Dante as he changed into his Weapon form, a Demon Rapier taking his place lying beside James safely away from the pool’s edge. The thin blade reached just over three feet long, the ricasso at the base leading into the guard. It was an array of arching silver bands that curved up and then around to encircle the base of the blade at the top. They curved delicately back and over the handle at well to shift into the knuckle guard that would protect his Meister’s hand. They attached at the crossbar where the handle started before they split in their separate directions. The handle was textured differently to allow for an easier grip, the pommel at the bottom being nothing special like most rapiers but a pommel nonetheless, just wider than the handle and rounded in the event that knocking someone around was necessary if they got too close. The entirety of the Demon Rapier was bright and gleaming silver. The darkness around him was familiar, as was the feeling of cold, smooth stone beneath his feet as he stopped drifting and became more stationary. How long has it been? Not too long but long enough that he’d almost missed it. Looking out through the black for a moment, he remembered why he was there in the first place and spoke again to James. “Go ahead and pick me up when you’re ready.”
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2014 16:19:20 GMT -5
This Dante character was weird, but not by the literal definition of the word. More like, it was really weird how nice he was being. It made James anxious; what if the kindness was fake, or worse yet what if he was the one to make that kindness finally snap? Everyone had limits, right? And that thought alone was enough to make James reconsider, just for a second.
But Dante had moved back a little and sent him a smile, much like every other smile he had given to James today, and despite his hesitation from only mere seconds ago James found himself feeling a little more at ease. He felt a little silly, too, because it wasn't fair to just assume those things about a person he just met. So with that firmly in mind, he attempted to push those thoughts from his mind and just trust the blonde sitting before him. And it took a little bit of effort, but he was able to completely remove them from his memory. And once that was done, his chest and mind felt a lot lighter. (Though in only moments his mind would fill again with thoughts of weapons and transformations and Oh God he should have done more research on this partner thing because he had no idea what was going on.)
The whole ordeal was quite short, surprisingly, and before James could really process what had happened there was a beautiful sword resting beside him. He blinked, shifting a little to get a better look at the rapier. He didn't know much about swords at all--in fact, he didn't know anything about swords at all, except which end was the pointy end. But he could appreciate the detail put into this one, at least, and admire it.
Dante's voice lured him out of his state of awe, and he was visibly surprised to hear the boy's voice. He was relieved, though, because things would have been pretty awkward if suddenly he was just by himself. At least Dante could still communicate with him. "O-okay," he replied, not sure of where to look but giving a very small, half-smile in the general vicinity of Dante's weapon form. But that brought on a whole new wave of thoughts. For one thing, the rapier looked so delicate, he felt like it would break. Not to mention that this wasn't just any other piece of metal; this was a person. If he gripped the handle too hard, would it hurt Dante? Did using the weapon hurt the person who changed into it? That was something he hadn't thought of before, but now it was the only thought he could process. Maybe because now there was a face and a name with the weapon.
With that idea firmly lodged into his brain, James leaned over and carefully picked up his new friend, holding the handle just tight enough to feel secure that it wouldn't slip from his hand or be dropped. Once he was sure that he wouldn't be dropping it, or that lighting wouldn't come from the sky and strike him, he gave a cheeky little smile. "Now what?" he asked, a bit of his excitement seeping through. His heart started to flutter, and he felt like a little kid who was just told that they could become a real-life pirate.
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Dante Giovanni
Weapon
Demon Rapier
Among thorns grow roses.
Posts: 122
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Post by Dante Giovanni on Jan 14, 2015 15:32:23 GMT -5
The thought of anyone other than Tori holding him had felt entirely strange immediately after her leaving. The actual feeling of someone other than Tori holding him now let Dante know just how strange. The grip was there, but it wasn’t as certain, and her wavelength was missing. A different one reached him instead, his becoming aware of it being surprisingly delayed. Tori had only wielded him three or four times and never in a way meant for combat. Then again those bees may count now that he thought about it, but on the other hand they were just hitting the hives and he’d kicked one of them down himself so maybe not. But he still hadn’t expected the shift. It was strange, stranger than he’d expected.
But not unpleasant. What’s more, James could pick him up and hold him. Dante wasn’t too heavy for him or anything else that screamed “incompatible”. Dante breathed a sigh of relief, letting it lessen the odd feeling of a foreign wavelength and a foreign hand. Excitement was what he should be feeling, hope, not pessimism. It wasn’t like him, after all. James could hold him and Dante’s awareness of him wasn’t such a change that he couldn’t stand it. It was weird, not feeling the pushiness he was used to. But again, it was far from unpleasant. It would take a little getting used to, but Dante was relieved that it would be easier to let his wavelength reach out, calm and steady. He could do this. They could do this, potentially.
What now? That…was an excellent question. Drifting in the dark had let Dante get carried away inside of his own head. “Well…” he started poorly. What now? Going by experience, the fact that James could pick him up was all the sign they needed that they could work together. But then again, the first thing Tori had done when they had partnered was attempt to fence, and poorly at that. Remembering her panic at nearly knocking over her violin made Dante smile. Maybe a repeat was in order.
Dante let anxieties go with confirmation that this could work. “The fact that you can pick me up so easily and I’m not too heavy for you is a good sign in terms of compatibility. If you can wield me, we can work together,” Dante explained, a clear bit of cheer in his voice that matched the subtle excitement he heard in James’. “But if you want you can try swinging me around a bit. That’s what Tori and I did when we first partnered, kind of just to test things.” Dante added to that thought after a moment though. “Well, maybe not swing. Rapiers are technically more slash and jab than hack and swing.”
That and it would test how compatible they were again, no matter how badly Dante had butchered the saying at the end. He’d learned in classes and conversation that if there was particularly exceptional compatibility between two team members that a Meister could wield their Weapon perfectly with very little training. Dante wasn’t really expecting that. He only wanted to see what James could do and try to figure out how much work they would have ahead of them. Either way, if James decided he truly did want a Demon Rapier as his Weapon, they would be training anyway for certain before taking on any missions.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2015 2:11:20 GMT -5
Dante was quiet for a little bit, which worried James a little bit. He wondered if something was wrong; he’d never held a weapon before, so he didn’t know if he’d feel anything strange when picking the sword up. But Dante actually was the sword, so James could imagine that it was an entirely different experience. Though, it seemed odd that Dante would feel a whole lot, considering weapons were predominantly used for combat and it would be very strange for someone to willingly volunteer themselves for that kind of pain.
But that didn’t mean that something wasn’t going wrong. Maybe they weren’t compatible after all? Though James was sure he would have felt that, too. So maybe it wasn’t a compatibility thing, and more like Dante had secretly been hoping it wouldn’t work.
Or maybe, a gentler voice in his head pointed out, getting a new partner was weird. He could imagine that it felt strange, being held by someone who wasn’t your partner.
Dante spoke up again, easing some of the earlier doubts by declaring that they were indeed compatible. That was good, at least. But a new problem had arisen: now he had to actually wield it. James, though he’d never admit it, really didn’t know what the difference between a rapier and any other sword—he could tell they were different, though if you asked him to describe how he would not be able to. So he didn’t have much confidence in actually using the weapon, but he didn’t speak out against Dante’s suggestion. At the very least, he could understand what slash and jab entailed. He wouldn’t have any of the proper form, and he wasn’t so sure if he’d be able to do those simple sounding motions with a sword in his hand. But it was worth trying, at least.
He slowly got to his feet, being mindful of the rather slippery surface. Slipping now would be a huge problem, on so many different levels. Thankfully, he made it up without any ado, and he gave a cheeky little smile without even realizing it. Things must have been going well, because he hadn’t messed up yet.
He paused a little bit once he realized he actually had to move the sword now. He lightly wondered what the difference between slash and swing was—probably something minor, right? He kind of imagined slashing to be a more quick movement, with more wrist than arm. Of course, he’d learn through trial and error, but he didn’t get that luxury of practicing privately just yet. So he decided to just test his theory, extending his arm and making a flicking motion with his wrist. Trying to imagine a target helped a little, but the motion still felt a little silly. He turned a little red, shrinking a little into himself. “Ah…sorry…”
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Dante Giovanni
Weapon
Demon Rapier
Among thorns grow roses.
Posts: 122
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Post by Dante Giovanni on Apr 26, 2015 20:46:08 GMT -5
Dante felt a might guilty bracing himself to change back as James got to his feet, but if he was dropped he would rather hit the water with the ability to swim rather than sink to the bottom first. He’d already proven the footing not to be the best by slipping himself, although he doubted any stumble or slide would top that disaster today. He watched James thankfully manage to stand without any further embarrassment for either of them and relaxed as the fear of being dropped dimmed. Not that the fear had been huge to begin with since James had so far proven capable of not royally screwing up introductions. Besides, falling back into the water wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. It wasn’t like he couldn’t swim.
The thought did remind him of how he’d embarrassed himself earlier, though, so Dante shook his head to get rid of the memory. He would likely dwell on it for the rest of the week, but for the moment he didn’t need it making him nervous. He had a good feeling about this and things were going well. He wasn’t about to let that slip make him backtrack into hesitance.
Watching James, he truly seemed to have no idea what to do. Dante wasn’t surprised but still couldn’t help but smile a little watching James think. He was curious as to what he would come up with, and to how he would handle having a Weapon in his hand in general if this was his first attempt at partnering. What he did come up with was cautious. An extended arm and a flick of the wrist. Not a lot but enough to test the waters. Dante felt better again knowing he wasn’t the only one still a little nervous about the whole thing. James had been smiling a bit earlier but now Dante was watching him turn red. It was difficult not to start snickering, so Dante bit the inside of his lip until the urge to do so passed.
“It’s fine,” he assured James, “You don’t have to do anything spectacular.” Or anything at all, technically. But that was up to James in the end considering he was the Meister and the one currently wielding him. Granted he could change back, but that would be sudden and unnecessary and generally not how to end these things. If it was ending, that is. Dante watched the water from where he could see it reflecting on the rapier’s blade. “Technically you don’t have to do anything right now if you don’t want to,” he suggested gently. “If you feel like you could wield a rapier and like this could work, we could do this later as a team.” Dante felt like he could be pushing too hard, but he’d already said it. In truth, actual practice would be a better tell of capability, but in terms of compatibility they at least had the potential to work if they both wanted that. Dante hoped that was the case.
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