clxpsydra:
It was reassuring, seeing the redhead up and moving. Granted, the young man probably shouldn’t have scaled the temple given his currently shaky health. Adlet was quite the lucky bastard—hardier than the ASSASSIN would have given him credit for at first glance. Then again, he’d undergone an apprenticeship under Atro Spiker, and he was the only pupil who’d managed to complete the fiend hunter’s rigorous training. That alone said a number about his abilities.
His luck was also something to be admired. Had the catlike man shown up even a moment later, it was quite likely that they would have come to the wrong conclusion and killed one of their own rather than the IMPOSTER. Good thing he and Chamo seemed to get along alright when push came to shove.
Hans chuckled at the redhead’s comment. ❝ I’ve found that’s true, nyaa~ It’s a trait I do my best to live up to, ❞ he added, head tilting as he watched the other settle onto the temple’s roof.
It was ironic, the two of them resting here, side by side. This was where the assassin had first ambushed the young man, their battle intensifying as Adlet did his best to convince the other of his innocence. However, Hans preferred to let their CLASHING BLADES do the talking, and that was something the redhead had eventually caught onto. ( What a terrifyingly wonderful opponent Adlet had turned out to be! No one had ever had an opening in which to kill Hans—it had taken him by surprise, and the assassin could feel himself itching for a proper rematch someday… )
❝ S’not an easy trick to learn, nyaa~ ❞ Hans teased, a catlike smile pulling at his lips. ❝ Maneuvering midair isn’t simple. ❞ Adlet could probably figure it out though. He’d already shown PROMISE for such a skill. He might not have been as flexible or acrobatic as the assassin, but he had no doubt the other man could manage.
As though he was sharing a secret, Hans placed a single finger to his own lips while grinning teasingly, ❝ Having a tail helps, though. ❞ ( Not that there were many enchanted items in the form a tail out there. The assassin simply happened to have some rather… special connections. )
Life was full of twists and turns – honestly, never in a million years would he have guessed that one of his companions would end up being an assassin. Nor would he have guessed that one of the obvious choices for one of them would end up being an imposture.
( An ASSASSIN was one of the properly chosen BRAVES && yet the warrior/SAINT had been their traitor. )
L u c k really was on his side. If he had followed through with some of his initial decisions – he might have ended up trying to side with the PRINCESS, as she’d been one of his original companions. However, her behavior had lead her to a small amount of suspicion. And also: Hans had seemed like a safe bet. He had the most unusual title out of the lot of them, he wasn’t renown or well known. Well, not to most. Infamous, maybe. But one wouldn’t likely be the traitor when you already had the most suspicious title…
“What other traits do you live up to?” Adlet finds himself asking, a laugh on his lips. He couldn’t help himself – having watched Hans battle, and even being an opponent of his himself, he was fascinated with how the man moved. Frankly speaking, he was a NATURAL genius of b a t t l e. One might even be able to mistake him as a WAR GOD with the ferocity in his eyes. “I know I can list a few… I mean, you’re sneaky, you always land on your feet… I suspect that you have nine lives.” He was literally counting them out on his fingers, and though that last one was a joke, he also wouldn’t be surprised if it was true. “How about your hearing and eye-sight? Are they like a cats?”
I mean, he had cat-like eyes, so it was a fair question, right?
Adlet laughs a little though at the others comment. Yeah, that was true enough. Midair maneuvers were incredibly difficult, but? Having watched him a little – he’d come up with a bit of a battle plan. Just in case: ( maybe it wasn’t the best idea – but minor explosions would have similar results, in changing trajectory. ) “Yeah, that seems to be a Hans specific trademarked technique.” He laughs, smiling at the other – though? When the older male mentions his tail, Adlet couldn’t help but shift his molten-colored eyes to look at it. It really was a fascinating tool. As a craftsman, he couldn’t even begin to imagine how it was made.
To create a large CAT-LIKE tail, the materials would be complicated – it didn’t appear to be DEAD/STIFF, so he was fairly certain it couldn’t have come from a living creature. And yet, what would go into making something as flexible and twitchy as a real cats’ tail? It could be a very complex machine / device, or? It could come down to the enchantment and likely, whichever SAINT had blessed it.
Honestly – these were the sort of thoughts that got him puzzled. As the STRONGEST MAN in the WORLD, and a CRAFTSMAN of weapons – it was really easy to lose him to these sort of thoughts. In fact, he was so puzzled by it… now that attention had been pointed its way? That he entirely forgets to say anything back. Adlet is a potato.
@carnifcx