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December 2023 & January 2024 Test Drive Meme
December 2023 - January 2024 TDM
Introduction
Overflow TDM post found here
[ TDM Questions ★ Jump to Comments ★ Full Navigation ]
Welcome to Folkmore's monthly Test Drive Meme! Please feel free to test drive any and all characters regardless of your intent to apply or whether you have an invite or not.
All TDMs are game canon and work like "mini-events". For new players and characters, you can choose to have your TDM thread be your introduction thread upon acceptance or start fresh. Current players are also allowed to have in-game characters post to the TDM so long as they mark their top levels ‘Current Character.’
TDM threads can be used for spoon spending at any time by characters accepted into the game.
Playing and interacting with the TDMs will allow characters to immediately obtain canon items from homes especially weapons or other things they may have had on their person when they were pulled from their worlds! There will always be a prompt that provides some sort of "reward" to characters who complete certain tasks.
🦊 New Star Children meet the Fox still in their worlds, and she brings them into the new realm of Folkmore. As you follow her, your body begins to change and new characteristics emerge. These may stay for a while, or perhaps they will hide away after. And during all of this, the Fox explains to you where you will be going: to Folkmore.
and then... you fall like a shooting star, falling to the land in a burst of starlight.
🦊 Experienced Star Children are already familiar with this time of the month. There are shooting stars all across the sky, and some fall to the land, which means the Fox has brought new arrivals. These newly arrived Star Children will face some tests, but Thirteen wants the more seasoned residents to participate as well.
Perhaps you follow the falling stars on your own, or perhaps the Fox simply teleports you there, but it appears you too will be part of this.
Content Warnings: School Detention, Time Not Passing, Forced Reflection/Confession, Potential Violence
Welcome to detention. Star Children, whether they're new arrivals to Folkmore or old hands, find themselves sitting at two person desks in a library. Perhaps there's only two Star Children, perhaps up to four or five. Regardless, each Star Child has a slip of paper in their hands which spells out why they are in detention, a secret detention slip no one else can read. Which, whew, because the reason any Star Child is in detention is for something they've never been punished for, something they might reasonably have thought they got away with, something they know was wrong.
The door to the library opens, and Kuma Lisa enters. She explains that Star Children will be in detention for four hours, and by the end of detention, they will need to reflect on what they did and express contrition. The headmistress gives no further guidance before leaving and closing the doors behind her.
Four hours is a notable chunk of time, but it's not so long, is it? Surely it's possible to wait it out without making good on the assignment… Or perhaps it's enough to write about it in one of the notebooks on the table in front of each student, without explaining it to another soul. Star Children are welcome to try whatever they want. However, they may notice an oddity with the clock. Namely, no matter how many times the second hand ticks around a circle to mark a whole minute, the minute and hour hands don't progress. It's the same minute over and over and over—
Detention is four hours, but how long four hours takes is entirely up to the Star Children in detention. Read every book in the library. Throw a dance party. Get high. Pull weapons out of the books. All matter of non-magical weapons. Nothing immediately happens upon pulling those weapons—no monsters to make detention less boring. Unless people make progress reflecting on their transgression, communicating about it with another Star Child, and showing penitence for it, time won't pass. Reality warps to stay in the same minute, minute after minute, hour after hour.
What's it going to be? Never ending detention or personal accountability?
However long it takes, it only takes four hours in the realm of Folkmore.
A word of warning to those who grabbed weapons, they will be attacked on their way home after detention. They will be attacked by creatures out of storybooks. Star Children will need to know the literary weaknesses of these creatures, good luck, or the help of someone else coming along who does know their weaknesses. At least there's some excitement in the day after four long long hours.
Welcome to detention. Star Children, whether they're new arrivals to Folkmore or old hands, find themselves sitting at two person desks in a library. Perhaps there's only two Star Children, perhaps up to four or five. Regardless, each Star Child has a slip of paper in their hands which spells out why they are in detention, a secret detention slip no one else can read. Which, whew, because the reason any Star Child is in detention is for something they've never been punished for, something they might reasonably have thought they got away with, something they know was wrong.
The door to the library opens, and Kuma Lisa enters. She explains that Star Children will be in detention for four hours, and by the end of detention, they will need to reflect on what they did and express contrition. The headmistress gives no further guidance before leaving and closing the doors behind her.
Four hours is a notable chunk of time, but it's not so long, is it? Surely it's possible to wait it out without making good on the assignment… Or perhaps it's enough to write about it in one of the notebooks on the table in front of each student, without explaining it to another soul. Star Children are welcome to try whatever they want. However, they may notice an oddity with the clock. Namely, no matter how many times the second hand ticks around a circle to mark a whole minute, the minute and hour hands don't progress. It's the same minute over and over and over—
Detention is four hours, but how long four hours takes is entirely up to the Star Children in detention. Read every book in the library. Throw a dance party. Get high. Pull weapons out of the books. All matter of non-magical weapons. Nothing immediately happens upon pulling those weapons—no monsters to make detention less boring. Unless people make progress reflecting on their transgression, communicating about it with another Star Child, and showing penitence for it, time won't pass. Reality warps to stay in the same minute, minute after minute, hour after hour.
What's it going to be? Never ending detention or personal accountability?
However long it takes, it only takes four hours in the realm of Folkmore.
A word of warning to those who grabbed weapons, they will be attacked on their way home after detention. They will be attacked by creatures out of storybooks. Star Children will need to know the literary weaknesses of these creatures, good luck, or the help of someone else coming along who does know their weaknesses. At least there's some excitement in the day after four long long hours.
🦊 Star Children, new and old, in groups of 2-5 are in detention for something they did wrong & haven't been punished for.
🦊 Kuma Lisa explains detention lasts four hours, and people have to express regret for what they did by the end.
🦊 Time doesn't pass unless Star Children make progress toward that assignment.
🦊 It always takes four hours in Folkmore time.
🦊 Star Children who draw weapons from books during detention will be attacked on their way home.
🦊 Kuma Lisa explains detention lasts four hours, and people have to express regret for what they did by the end.
🦊 Time doesn't pass unless Star Children make progress toward that assignment.
🦊 It always takes four hours in Folkmore time.
🦊 Star Children who draw weapons from books during detention will be attacked on their way home.
Content Warnings: Theft, Glitter Bombs, Minor Power Nerfing
There's a problem with the nonexistent mail delivery system in Folkmore. Gifts are being delivered to residents' addresses—their correct addresses, even if they live in the woods—but those recipients, written on a fat cream label, cannot pick them up, teleport them, or otherwise move them under their own power. These gifts sit in garish and contrasting colors that make certain to draw attention to themselves. Hello, here they are.
Anyone else can pick these packages up, from the person next door to a stranger walking by. There's so many gifts around it's easy to pick one up, remove the label, and go on one's way. Few people are home all the time, and even if they are, what are they going to do? Pick it up themselves? Ha! It's freereal estate. Star Children with abilities to see inside the packages can see something they want badly within as extra motivation to go for it.
When Star Children open their ill gotten gains, these packages explode in a glitter bomb that coats everyone within a ten foot radius. This glitter is impossible to wash out, magic away, or otherwise remove for twenty-four hours. Walk, swim, fly, or otherwise go about with glittery evidence of the crime committed.
Almost always. If it were guaranteed, where would the fun be in that?
The rare fortunate criminal or the original recipient, helped by another Star Child, will receive an item from home. This may even be a weapon or magical item. Those who receive an item will stop receiving gifts on their doorstep, whether they stole the gift or received it from a package addressed to them. They can keep stealing other people's gifts, but they will only receive a glitter bomb from then on.
Mischievous Star Children can even prank each other by changing the label and redelivering packages to someone else. Should that person get help to bring the gift inside, it still isn't their gift, not really, so it too will explode in glitter.
There's a problem with the nonexistent mail delivery system in Folkmore. Gifts are being delivered to residents' addresses—their correct addresses, even if they live in the woods—but those recipients, written on a fat cream label, cannot pick them up, teleport them, or otherwise move them under their own power. These gifts sit in garish and contrasting colors that make certain to draw attention to themselves. Hello, here they are.
Anyone else can pick these packages up, from the person next door to a stranger walking by. There's so many gifts around it's easy to pick one up, remove the label, and go on one's way. Few people are home all the time, and even if they are, what are they going to do? Pick it up themselves? Ha! It's free
When Star Children open their ill gotten gains, these packages explode in a glitter bomb that coats everyone within a ten foot radius. This glitter is impossible to wash out, magic away, or otherwise remove for twenty-four hours. Walk, swim, fly, or otherwise go about with glittery evidence of the crime committed.
Almost always. If it were guaranteed, where would the fun be in that?
The rare fortunate criminal or the original recipient, helped by another Star Child, will receive an item from home. This may even be a weapon or magical item. Those who receive an item will stop receiving gifts on their doorstep, whether they stole the gift or received it from a package addressed to them. They can keep stealing other people's gifts, but they will only receive a glitter bomb from then on.
Mischievous Star Children can even prank each other by changing the label and redelivering packages to someone else. Should that person get help to bring the gift inside, it still isn't their gift, not really, so it too will explode in glitter.
🦊 Gifts appear outside Star Children's residences, even those without residences.
🦊 Recipients cannot pick up the gift but any other Star Child can.
🦊 Almost all stolen gifts explode in a glitter bomb that leaves glitter for 24 hours.
🦊 Star Children can receive an item from home, even a weapon or magical item.
🦊 Star Children can prank each other by changing the labels/moving the packages.
🦊 Recipients cannot pick up the gift but any other Star Child can.
🦊 Almost all stolen gifts explode in a glitter bomb that leaves glitter for 24 hours.
🦊 Star Children can receive an item from home, even a weapon or magical item.
🦊 Star Children can prank each other by changing the labels/moving the packages.
ring of fire
It would perhaps be a bit wiser to stick with them, of course. He's ultimately in an unknown world with little understanding of the magics that seem woven into the fabric of nearly everything present. Having an ally or two to watch his back would be the wiser choice. But Vergil has spent broader strokes of his life on his own, forging his own way and fending for himself, and he's simply not easily impressed upon to trust the others so far. He'd rather seek out the answers for himself, and if one of the others manages to forge the way ahead? Well, he has nothing against walking a path that's been tread before him if the end results are the same. Regardless, he doesn't buy into the philosophy that more heads will produce better results over spreading out those efforts right now.
Nothing really emerges as the solution to Vergil, however, and so he's found himself a book of poems to more or less meditate over instead of fruitlessly banging his head against the figurative wall for now. (The irony of that decision is not lost upon him, and he's only grateful Dante isn't here to give him grief about it.) He's content to read in his own private corner of the library undisturbed, allowing his mind to wander freely until perhaps a solution can emerge from his various musings when there's the slight commotion. Vergil's attention snaps in the direction of the noise immediately, his hand instinctively reaching for Yamato to only grasp at air. He growls softly and quietly at the loss more so than his own instinct to still reach for it. As a disciplined swordsman, that should be his instinct. As a Son of Sparda, his Devil Arm heirloom should never be beyond his reach. It's a failing on his part to be without, and it chafes at him more than anything else about this situation.
Vergil closes his book, gently tossing it onto the nearby table and rising to his feet to investigate the source of the noise. As he does so, he does the best he can in the absence of Yamato. With his own infernal energy, he manifests Mirage Edge, the spectral sword glowing blue on his back, leaving trails of light like smoke behind him as he approaches. What Vergil was expecting to find, he couldn't say. But he was not anticipating a man that stands shorter than him pressed against one of the shelves in the midst of a moment about something or other that's likely personal. At least, that's what Vergil can quickly surmise has happened. Vergil couldn't care less about a personal matter of a stranger though, and doesn't remark upon it or how quickly the other may or may not shore up that vulnerability in the presence of a stranger.
"Your blade," he remarks, "Where did you find it?"
It's not admiration that Vergil speaks of the blade. He doesn't sense anything particularly special about the blade itself. No underlying ability. No soul within it that's been subdued. It's just a blade. But if it's a blade known to this swordsman, then perhaps the Yamato is not entirely lost to him after all...
no subject
Mizu's gaze lands on the blue glowing sword and stay there long enough to be sure it isn't some cheap trick to make a blade look more fearsome. It's something else, and it doesn't look like steel. A sword made for a man tells a lot about him. If this sword was made for this stranger, Mizu isn't entirely sure what it says, but it suggests an interesting fight if it comes to swords.
Rotating the sheathed sword in her hand, Mizu raises the sword in question. "It came out of this book," Mizu answers. She shuts the book, closing the page about the destruction of Edo, and holds it out to the stranger. An offer. She doesn't want more of the details. It's enough to know she doomed the city and so many of its people.
Mizu didn't care what happened with Fowler's army or the shogun. Guess this is what happens when someone doesn't care. When a devil like her gets in.
no subject
"So you didn't intentionally summon it?" he asks, turning the book over briefly to read its cover before cracking it open. A history book on Japan from the looks of it then. Much as Vergil isn't willing to concern himself with the other man's personal matters, judging by his sartorial choices, there was likely something in here that he found...disturbing. A cause for the mess surrounding them at the very least. Vergil flips through the pages without attempting to read any of it, but scanning it quickly for some sign of how a blade might have been pulled from its pages.
no subject
"No," Mizu confirms. Since no sword comes out of the book for this man, Mizu adds, "I scanned the words with my finger as I read."
Don't ask her for an explanation. Perhaps there's only one sword per book. Perhaps swords only come from books about the person reading them. Perhaps there's some other sword summoning rule Mizu doesn't know. They're in a fox spirit's domain now. The rules have changed.
no subject
Vergil holds the book out, offering to return it to the swordsman. But if he isn't interested in taking it back from Vergil, he places it in a free spot on the shelf regardless of whether it's the correct spot for it or not.
"You have my thanks."
Even if it didn't produce the results he wanted, Vergil is willing to acknowledge the exchange of information.
no subject
But she didn't spoil Fowler's plans for that end. She didn't start the fire to that purpose. Mizu wanted Fowler dead, not run away to find a new hidey hole to build up with even more traps than before, with even more planning and plotting, and with even more delay to her revenge. That's why they died. It's her fault.
"You're welcome," Mizu says with rote manners. She pauses. "What do you seek?"
If she's going to have to confess her terrible crime to a stranger— No, it's not that Mizu prefers to know him better first. She's simply not yet capable of the next step.
no subject
"My blade," he says, his hand lowering back to his side as he half-turns to better face the other. Vergil is aware of the spectral sword on his back and clarifies, "My true blade.
"Given that you did not intentionally summon that sword and have no connection to it, however, this is not a means to that end."
He gestures toward the bookshelf beside him as a reference to what isn't the means to the end he seeks.
A partial truth it is.
no subject
Not that Mizu wants this man's sword, not even if it's somehow more magical than the one on his back. Only her vow to take revenge would motivate her to do that, and unless she's about to die otherwise, there's no reason in this realm to steal someone's weapon. Besides, Mizu has this unknown sword. It may not be as good as hers, but it's good enough to kill a man if they show themselves.
"I hope you find it, but I doubt you'll find it here," Mizu says, "This library is a place of punishment, if a nice one. Until we've completed our due, I wouldn't count on the fox to give you something you want." Possibly something she even took. The fox took the knife Mizu held.
no subject
Much in the same way Vergil himself does not belong to this world, he believes neither do his previous wrongdoings. Vergil carries them with him, of course. In different ways. The blood on his hands will never truly come clean no matter how much time passes or the number of demons he slays. His nightmares are quieter and don't wear at him as failures like they once did, but it's not as though he has suddenly forgotten all that's happened to him in his life. And the time that had been lost for himself. With his brother. ...With his...son. None of that can be returned. But those are things that truly can only be addressed in his world.
Not here. Not with a stranger.
"Nothing I might say would hold any meaning to you, and it's unlikely that anything you might confess will mean anything to me. We're strangers to one another and our wrongs haven't affected the other to my knowledge." He idly folds his arms as he leaves the final conclusion that it's fruitless to pursue contrition with someone who has no stake in the matter to be left unspoken since it was already declared. Vergil looks back at the swordsman once more with a beat of silence. "But I suppose the lack of any meaningful amends matters little when the consequence of not playing along is continuing to remain in this place."
Vergil dismisses Mirage Edge finally, the sword disappearing and leaving no trace of itself behind, not even a wisp of smoke.
"I won't speak for you, but I tire of this spell and I'd much rather have the option to leave. If you wish to also be free of it, you are welcome to join me."
Vergil makes no further overtures of conceding to Kuma Lisa's directive though. As far as he's concerned, that's a decision the other swordsman needs to make for himself and not one Vergil can make for him. And furthermore, he wouldn't fault him for refusing. Vergil himself is immensely reluctant, assuming there's little chance a human could possibly understand. So, it wouldn't be right for him to judge a refusal even if it's ultimately the most sensible thing either one of them could do at this juncture. So, he simply steps away for the ability to sit over continuing to linger in the aisle of books, and allows the other man to decide for himself what he would like to do.
no subject
Normally, the requirement Mizu mean it would be a problem. She's killed many men and hurt more in the pursuit of revenge, and she doesn't regret those actions. The note in her pocket, the great fire, however, is another matter. Not only does an apology for it mean nothing to the strange man who has a sword of magic, it probably wouldn't mean anything to the people of Edo. Why would anyone care that Mizu is sorry their mother, husband, child, neighbor, anyone else died? They're still dead. She still caused it, and no apology will bring them back.
The only one who seems to care is the fox spirit. If the fox spirit really cares at all.
Mizu watches the other man and considers her options. He didn't exactly refuse to apologize for whatever misdeed has been recorded, but he didn't volunteer to go first either. Either of them could apologize and the other person refuse to apologize in turn. That could leave them both trapped but only one having shown their hand. The words are either a fancy way of saying, 'I will if you will' or putting the matter off entirely.
What's the worst that could happen? Mizu has put her life on the line repeatedly, and she doesn't care what he thinks.
Mizu leaves the aisle, pulls a chair around, and sits to face the man across the table. "I threw a candle to trap a man who had a hand in killing my mother in the room with me, so he could not escape," Mizu says without preamble, "The fire spread to the entire city, and according to that book more than a hundred thousand people die as a consequence. I only thought as far as the man in front of me." Mizu pauses. Apologies don't come naturally to her. She's almost never apologized.
"An apology is meaningless to them, but I am sorry. I found him once. I could find him again." Even if it would be so much harder. It's hard, even knowing of the great many dead, to regret the feeling of the knife pressing into his throat. Mizu doesn't regret that. But she will kill Fowler one day. She didn't have to burn Edo for that.
no subject
"Revenge is a costly matter." Simple. Matter-of-fact. Vergil could perhaps leave it there and the man would likely be able to ascertain Vergil speaks from somewhat similar experience if he's astute enough. But that would not get them anywhere and Vergil knows that. His gaze drops contemplatively to where he's folded his hands neatly on the table, one fist curled into the palm of the other. Truly, it's almost enough to make Vergil grimace with a bitter smile at the odds of this that two men driven by selfish desires could have wrought as much destruction as they both did would find themselves seated across from one another. "My pursuit of power was not driven by a need for revenge against my mother's killer, but I certainly would not have minded if it had been a consequence of it. I attempted it regardless when the opportunity presented itself."
He lifts his gaze once more to meet the other's eyes. Vergil isn't a child and isn't about to sheepishly make his own confession about what his self-serving ambitions had cost.
"My father was the demon known as Sparda, the Legendary Dark Knight who betrayed his own kind to protect the human race by defeating the Demon King and his armies. He sealed away the portal to the demon world, but in doing so sealed away his own power. I sought to reclaim it for myself and broke his spell. I don't believe I need to list out every consequence, every loss for you to understand the gravity of that choice."
It's likely difficult to detect any hint of remorse on Vergil's part as he describes in the briefest terms he can what the fox wishes acknowledgement from him over. He speaks of it with the sort of detachment one might recount events as though they happened to someone else. But Vergil's coldness in retelling the bare minimum of what happened really shouldn't be mistaken for a lack of remorse. Vergil simply meets most things like this with a level head rather than giving into passionate fits of emotion.
"I didn't wish to ever feel as I had that day my mother died."
Powerless. Helpless.
He hadn't been able to protect his mother, and she hadn't been able to protect him. And his father? Well, the demon himself hadn't somehow returned from wherever it is he disappeared to long before that day, but Yamato answered Vergil's pleas for protection. The blade came to him and a devil awoke inside Vergil, allowing him to survive. To survive and grow in strength.
"I didn't care what it would cost." Vergil's gaze darts away again very briefly. The first and one of the few times something unspoken belies his true feelings as he purses his lips. Regret tastes bitter in the back of his throat. "I know I was wrong, but I refuse to dwell in my mistakes."
The past has held enough sway over him and his life. Vergil didn't need to sacrifice more for the sake of the past. It's not a stance he believes is lost on the man seated across from him given that he clearly recognizes some things are unable to be taken back. Ultimately, were better ways for both of them to carry forward than trying to set right the wrongs in impossible ways.
no subject
In return, Mizu listens stoically to his confession. His father is a demon, so is hers. Another sort, but demon is demon. Mizu's seen the fallout of some of Fowler's actions, and supposedly the remaining two are worse. Though as far as demon fathers go, the one to betray demons isn't the worst sort.
Not even a blink that the man before her broke that self-same seal for power. All those demons loosed in his realm at his hand. The consequences have to be immense across so many people that even this man doesn't fully know what they mean to each affected person. Same as Mizu. She couldn't have confessed to a better—or worse—person. Similar crimes both committed for selfish reasons, both of them not caring the cost at the time. Mizu could judge him, but on what grounds? Multiple people asked her what about the shogun, about Akemi, about Japan, and time and again Mizu didn't care. Said as much.
Mizu has long sworn her life and her death, if necessary, to revenge and accepted the price of what it does to her as a person, to embrace the demon she's been called all her life. For a moment, reforging the steel from her blade, she thought it might be different. Someday. But she's no different than the man before her.
Mizu gives a nod in understanding. They can only move forward, the only direction Mizu is used to.
After a moment, the due to something admitted of that nature, Mizu looks to the clock. "Do not tell me this is a whole group exercise," Mizu mutters. She hates group exercises. The clock ticks forward. Hours forward.
no subject
"Your revenge," he says, "Has it been sated?"
The question isn't about whether or not the swordsman was successful in exacting his revenge and killing his target. Vergil would have asked directly if that was his inquiry. But there wouldn't be fault on the other's part if he conflated the two as one in the same.
no subject
The question gets Mizu's attention. He could assume she killed Fowler, that he's dead, that her revenge is thus sated. He could wonder whether the deaths in Edo quash the fire for revenge. Abijah Fowler's death wouldn't be enough to satisfy Mizu. Perhaps a hundred thousand deaths should make her reconsider. It doesn't. Even if London is a person, not the city in Europe.
"No," Mizu answers. Firm. She could say she swore an oath, but Mizu doesn't believe in honor. The dead are dead. She won't burn a city down next time. Probably.
If that's what's keeping them in here, they'll never get out. Mizu will return home before she gives up on it. He's not the only demon in the room.
"Are you satisfied with your power?" Mizu asks in return. If not, what else does he want?
cw: mentions of torture and mind control, child endangerment
On the one hand, Vergil recognizes everything that his pursuit of power has cost him. He fought viciously and been at odds with his brother for the majority of their lives. He was tortured by his father's enemy and his mother's murderer, and had his own will twisted by that very same demon. By the end, it very nearly cost him his life. Vergil also lost time with Nero, forcing his son to repeat the cycle of growing up without a father as Vergil had before him. And even if Nero didn't particularly need Vergil as he likely did as a child, Vergil was forced to once again abandon him as a consequence of his choices without really getting a chance to know his son. Not truly.
But on the other hand, Vergil was eight years old when Mundus exacted his revenge on Sparda by attempting to kill the entirety of his family. It was his father's power, his dark blade Yamato, that answered Vergil's pleas as he lay there in his own blood, reaching out and crying for his mother and brother. He had been utterly helpless, unable to save his mother, his brother, or even himself until the sword came to him. Seeking out power has been all Vergil has ever really known as part of his survival since then. The regret for all that he lost has really only begun to settle recently by comparison. It leaves him ultimately with a far more complicated relationship rather than one that's resolved.
"I have no desire to seek more of it."
His body is no longer dying, and he stands equal once again with Dante. There's little other reason for him to seek power now. That's the most he can say to the question honestly and without divulging more than he would care to to this stranger.
"Aside from having Yamato returned to me, of course. But that's because it's a blade that shouldn't be claimed by anyone but a Son of Sparda."
It wouldn't be unfair for the other man to assume it's entitlement rather than pure desire for power that motivates that particular desire. As far as Vergil is concerned, Yamato is his birthright. And it is subsequently Nero's birthright as well. It should be with one of them. But there is also perhaps a degree of wanting that power again, too. Vergil has never been without the Yamato for long, and there's a degree to which he cannot shake a sense of vulnerability to be without it. Especially considering the little time he had been without it throughout his lifetime, Vergil was no longer himself or his body was dying.
no subject
This man, however, was powerless once and sought power at great price in order to keep it. She doesn't know what powers he has without Yamato. Even as a man, Mizu would bet he is a skilled warrior. He summoned a magical blade, so he still has some powers. That's not a bone Mizu feels the need to pick. They both have their secrets and talk because it is required to gain their freedom. That fact cannot be mistaken for anything else. They would remain complete strangers were they not placed here together.
"The fox spirit may not quickly return it to you. Not without a price."
Everything has a price. The loss of their weapons (not that the knife Mizu used had any personal significance) upon coming here. All their worldly belongings back where they came from. It would be no difficulty for someone who can fetch people to fetch objects, except for inclination. Mizu could ask what price he'd be willing to pay, but Mizu very well could end up a part of it.
Though for this exercise, he seems to need her alive. Probably.
no subject
"Yes," he says, his expression smoothing once more even as the truths refuse to settle within him. "If these are the lengths the fox is willing to go to for a group of strangers to have a heart-to-heart with one another, then I am certain there will be a high price for its return to my possession."
Vergil cants his head slightly to one side.
"The fox will not be able to grant you your revenge though. Why agree to come to this place then?"
no subject
At least it is unlikely to be possible within the library. Mizu will keep an eye out for Vergil so long as he is on this quest for reunion with his blade because he's a potential threat. The fact he wants the blade means the fox spirit can get much out of him... for something it probably cares little about itself.
"I do not want the fox to grant my revenge," Mizu says, "I will take it for myself. I came here for information, so that I can track down the men I need to kill. It seemed likely easier to get here than where I was, so here I am."
Plus, if she gets the information she needs, Mizu doesn't need Fowler alive. She can kill him and be done with it. Two down, two more to go.
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Vergil bows his head slightly, expression thoughtful as he mulls it over alongside his own reasons. The swordsman seeks an easier path and there's not necessarily any fault in that. Especially given what blood has already been shed if what he says is true about his pursuit thus far. But Vergil did not accept the fox's offer with the notion that it would be easier to attain his goal. Finding a way out of the demonic realm for both Dante and himself was never going to be an easy matter. The seal closing behind them was quite a final matter, and it would take a great deal of energy and effort to find a way back to the human world again. Thus, Vergil has not deluded himself into thinking the path to be found in this realm is going to be any different than any of the potential paths afforded to him there. It's more a matter of it being a path worth exploring when nothing else has presented itself immediately.
He lifts his gaze back toward his companion.
"Easier," he reflects back, the skepticism apparent in his tone. "You are no doubt a skilled and presumably intelligent swordsman to have both survived for as long as you have and to have come so close to your target." Vergil doesn't need to bear witness to actual prowess with a blade to come to that conclusion. Knowing that his man has persisted and sought revenge for his mother's murder is enough evidence to assume competency of varied kinds. "But seeking an easier path may not expedite your path as you hoped."
Vergil fully lifts his head back up.
"As far as I can tell, you are human. I will grant that despite your kind's inherent fragility and weaknesses, humans have the tendency to persevere and it is easy for those who aren't human to underestimate them, but it is potentially a dangerous thing to find this fox your bedfellow.
"So, do you still think the same as when you agreed to come here? Or has this little exercise begun to change your mind?"
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Her kind's inherent fragility and weaknesses usually means half-white stock in Japan. From Fowler's own lips, once he realized, it meant woman. Everyone has an opinion on her inherent fragility and weaknesses, whatever those are perceived to be, and the generous estimation this half-demon grants her is no less patronizing or insulting for the way he qualifies the statement. Go on, consider her fragile and weak. She doesn't care. If it comes to combat, Mizu will tear through him for the sole reason he stands between her and her revenge.
"A fox spirit will be a fox spirit," Mizu says, "Neither friend nor foe. It wants to use me in its tricks, and I want to use its knowledge. I already know more than when I arrived. I'm here, so the only way out is forward."
She shrugs. What's the point in ruminating on that choice when it has already been made and the fox spirit hasn't made it part of this exercise? When the thousand claw army came to Madame Kaji's, the only way to achieve her revenge was to defeat them, to kill all of them. It wasn't a question of ease or desire. It was a fact.
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He opts not to dwell upon it. The end result appears to be the same in the end regardless of intention, as he clearly is not to be deterred from placing his stock in this...trade with the fox. With any luck for the rest of Folkmore, the fox will not see to it that the two of them find their goals at odds with one another because it would seem Vergil isn't the only one who perhaps struggles with relinquishing old ways of thinking. Folkmore would likely not left be standing in the wake of that conflict based upon sheer determination alone.
"Well, if you wish to keep your skills with a blade honed in the interim," he says, "you have at least one person willing to spar with you."
It's not an entirely selfless offer, of course. In the absence of Dante, there are few that Vergil would ever say he derives any sort of pleasure in sparring with. Even if Dante is inarguably slower and less disciplined, he matches Vergil in strength at the very least and he is clever despite what Vergil might otherwise say aloud. This swordsman although human is likely as close to a worthy opponent as Vergil is liable to find in this place, and thus, can make for at least some form of substitute. In addition to satisfying that need to keep his own skill sharp and demonstrably strong, it also provides the opportunity to know this swordsman's strengths and weaknesses, and his overall technique.
It wouldn't be wise for the fox to pit them against one another, but in the event that were to happen, he'd rather chance revealing too much of his own hand than be completely ignorant to what this other man is capable of doing.
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It is what it is. The way through is forward, and Mizu will go forward.
"I appreciate it," Mizu says. "We shall see how long we are here, but that may be called upon."
It would serve Mizu well to see how this man, this half-demon, fights so that she can master his techniques as well. They can strengthen her skills and make her more likely to succeed in the future. It won't only be sparring but practicing what she sees of him in the meantime. Yes, that too can serve her quest for vengeance. If they wind up at arms against each other, Mizu can adapt her fighting to meet his better once she knows what it is.
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"I won't take it easy on you because you're a human."
From a certain perspective, Vergil's response could be seen to be arrogance. As he acknowledged himself but a few moments ago, those that are not human often tend to perceive themselves as the superior. Thus, there's perhaps some merit to that. Especially given that Vergil is more than confident when it comes to his own skills and abilities. But less than a boast or assertion of prowess, he means it more as a promise that if the swordsman ever does call upon Vergil for practice, Vergil won't try to kill the other man or grievously injure him, but Vergil won't disrespect the other man by patronizing him.
"I'll expect the same in return if I still do not possess Yamato once again by the time we cross blades."
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"Good," Mizu says. She wouldn't respect anything less. Vergil doesn't have her respect exactly, from this conversation, but there's been a level of honesty (if fox spirit motivated) that she appreciates. Seeing her as weak because she's human is simply another form of arrogance. She'll show him, should they be here long enough.
Vergil hasn't done anything to Mizu. She has no reason to want him dead. He has nothing to do with her quest, and unlike Taigen, he's not asking for a duel to the death. Sparring. Mizu has rarely had a sparring partner. Usually it's simply trees. They don't offer the same resistance as someone wielding a sword. She smiles with teeth.
"Yamato, no Yamato, I won't hold back."
It's not like she has her sword either. Mizu doesn't deserve it. They may both fight with other weapons. The clock ticks closer to the final moments they're in this place.
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A smile doesn't quite manifest itself on Vergil's face, but there's something that sparks and brightens in his own blue eyes that speaks of his approval and perhaps even a bit of anticipatory excitement. This man isn't Dante and he won't put up nearly as much of an opposition to Vergil as Dante would, but he's... He's far more than Vergil would have anticipated he might find after his run-ins with the others also trapped in this library at any rate. Hopefully, he thinks, he won't find himself disappointed. The swordsman hopefully will apply a bit of that tenacity and doggedness he uses in seeking out his revenge to not give up too easily once he realizes just what it is to fight against a Son of Sparda even in the context of sparring.
The clock strikes its fourth and final hour. Vergil gives no signs of outward relief when he sees the clock carry on with its movements as though nothing out of the ordinary about the passage of time it was meant to track ever occurred, but even as an avid reader, he's had enough of this library.
"I believe we are finally permitted to part ways," he says, rising to his feet. He lingers only for a moment longer to say, "My name is Vergil."