InnocentSerenity

You know how Dancers don't have a promotion that lets them use bows? This is why.

"Alright." No time for sarcastic inner thoughts. Need to focus. Luka brought the bow up to a firing position, trying his best to mimic Hoshiko's posture. Shouldn't be too hard, though. What's the worse that could happen? -------- "How... did this happen?" Luka's memory of the past few minutes was foggy. Last thing he remembered was pointing the bow towards the tree, and now he was laying on the ground, with an arrow in his shoulder. Why couldn't it at least hit Klaren?! Looking up towards Hoshiko, he tried to speak to the girl standing next to his body. "Okay... Bow training might take awhile, I guess... Oh gosh, someone get a Heal staff! I don't think I can dance this off."

"Well, no." Luka's eyes drifted away, not wanting to look Hoshiko in the eye as he spoke. "But I have used many false ones in plays back in my time as a performer." Sure, they weren't exactly real, but that's enough for now, right? "Just one try, okay? I'm sure you can help me out a bit, though." Besides, do you even have anything better to do? All you're doing is practicing probably impractical shooting maneuvers.

Luka let out a laugh as the boy spoke, still strangely mistaking the Dancer for a girl. "Don't worry, Miss Luka will make sure Miss Maya knows." Now how the heck are you mistaking me for a girl, though? I know I'm cute, but I look like a perfectly ordinary boy, after all. Luka ruffled the boy's hair, forgetting the kerchief tied on his head. "Now, go back to playing with the kids. I'm gonna go now." Letting go of Dash, Luka walked off towards the rather ill-treated tree. Luka's chat with Dash had reminded him of something. Three years younger than me, and he can wield a knife as if he was a master chef with a dangerous demeanor. Meanwhile, I've never picked up a weapon in my life. Though that was technically a lie. Luka had wielded many false weapons in his career as a performer. Though, none of those swords were probably any use on a battlefield. He watched the Archer shoot into the tree in all kinds of different manners. I know you're meant to be practicing, but when are you going to need to shoot an arrow during a back flip? "Hey, Hoshiko." Stop doing cartwheels and let me talk to you. Without pointing a knife to me this time. "Do you mind if I try practicing with your bow for a bit?"

"Nothing I can do about it, then." Luka stood up, trying to look Dash in the eye. "But you better promise me something." Luka gave himself a deep breath as he spoke to the little kid. "First sign of danger, you're not staying in harm's way. I may not be able to protect you, but we've got plenty of fighters to keep you safe." Luka gave the boy a smile, hoping to see him smile back. "If you get badly injured, you get out. Because if you die on me, these kids are going to figure it out eventually." Luka pulled Dash close, bringing him in for a hug. "Neither of us want to see them sad, so you're gonna live just to make sure they can smile when this all over." Just like him... He's still out there, I know it.

"She´s an orphan." "Oh..." Karol took her hand off her pistol, her eyes falling to the ground to avoid having to look towards Haze. "Really sorry, then." Karol watched the little girl run off to the man. "Guess you weren't lying, then." Maybe. "Sorry about snapping at ya like that."Karol scratched the back of her head, embarrassed slightly. "The name's Karol. Like he said, Bargus is my bodyguard." Karol looked towards the Sniper Rifle still in her hands. "This thing isn't enough protection, usually." "'Central Hotel', huh? Guess that means we'll be seeing more of each other, since we're staying there tonight."

"We were going back to ou hotel for her to take a bath, but the little miss hates water. Then she just ran away when we got distracted." "You do realize that does not sound convincing to me at all, right?" Karol spoke to the man with an almost bored tone to mock him. She stood up straight, relaxing her body from her usual combat posture. She trusted the man to a degree, but he still looked Human to Karol. Trying to be civilized enough to have conversation, Karol continued. "Look, as much as I'd love to just hand the little girl off to ya and be done with this, you don't exactly come off as a very trustworthy person." Dual pistols may seem cool, but they don't inspire a lot of faithfulness in strangers. Karol shot a glance toward the girl standing by Misara. Cara was her name? Kana? Carrie? Whatever. "Why does the little kid even need a bodyguard? Surely her parents or something are more than enough."

Did he just call me 'Miss Luka'? Luka looked over himself, wondering what Dash meant by that. I look like a perfectly ordinary boy, so I don't know how he'd mistake me for a girl. Probably a slip of the tongue or something. Pretty easy to forget the second syllable of Mister. Ignoring his thoughts, Luka continued talking to Dash. "Being here for them is protection enough." Luka looked to the little ball game, marveling at the energy of the little kids. "Playing with them, being a strong family member, making sure they're not alone or sad. Don't you think they're happy to have someone like that?" Luka closed his eyes, memories of his time with his father coming back to him. "If you were gone, I can't imagine they'd be happy to hear the news."

I try my best. That also means all of the PCs have portraits now, which is really nice.

"Fighting doesn't really sound like all it's cracked up to be, really." Luka looked at Dash, a concerned look on his face. The boy seemed determined to fight, despite his young age. He's probably faster than me, but there's no way he could survive well in a fight. "Once you get on that battle field, you either die, or you kill the other side. And doing the latter is pretty difficult." I don't want to see you getting a bad injury. Or worse, dying. Luka let out a sigh, shaking his head to get rid of the dark feelings in his head. "A kid your age shouldn't be out there, in danger of dying." Besides, you're like three years younger than me, and I can barely fight.

Luka was sitting down, dressed in his casual clothes, watching Dash play with some of the younger members of the Misguided Children. They were certainly Children, but whether or not they were Misguided was another thing.. "Heh, they must love you." I bet they'd love me better, though... Petty inner thoughts aside, Luka did enjoy seeing the happy faces on the younger members. Watching them just put a smile on the Dancer's face. "Say, Dash." What was his real name, again? Luka looked towards the blonde-haired Thief, hoping to get an answer. "Who are these kids, anyway? I heard they were part of the Misguided Children, but I doubt any of them really know how to fight." And I doubt any of us have the heart to send them to battle.

"Alone, huh?" That must hurt... Luka shook his head, trying to get all of the memories out of his mind. "Don't worry about being lonely." You sure know how to hit some soft spots. "You got some allies around. I bet they're certainly some good company." Luka's smile felt a bit more genuine as he spoke. Talking to the boy made him feel a bit more cheerful, as if Klaren's smile was affecting him. "Just don't die on us any time soon. You'll be a bit less lonely alive than dead."

It's Luka! It's just one more syllable! Luka held back a sigh, trying to act nice for the Monk. Luka looked at the bright smile on his face, almost feeling his own smile growing a bit more genuine as they spoke. Luka almost felt jealous of the Klaren's cheerful grin, when his wasn't exactly real. "Journal, huh? Must be some pretty secretive stuff." You've got me curious to know what's in that darn thing. "Want to walk back together, by the way? We're probably going to need to get moving soon." Not like anyone else is gonna walk with you.

Looking towards his allies, Luka noticed Klarenfilia, the boy watching Ecquis and Mayanna off somewhere else. Guy's just standing there on his own. Luka had caught glimpses of some of his actions on the field, very curious about the boy's... interest in pain, so to speak. As much as Luka would ignore him, something about the boy was familiar. Standing there on his own, no one wanting to talk with him. Luka gave a sigh, annoyed of his memories. Eh, fine. I'd hate for him to end up like that, too. Luka approached the Monk, putting a smile on his face as he approached him. "Hey, Klaren." Hoping to find some reason to talk to him, Luka's eyes fell on the notebook in the Monk's hands. "What are you writing?" Better not be some weird fantasies or something.

Karol "By the way you´re acting, it seems to me you´re actually just trying to protect the kids from the bad guys, right?" "Nah, I was just doing some shopping and thought I'd show off what a Sniper Rifle can do." Karol's tone was sarcastic as she glared at the white haired man. "Bargus wanted to put on a light show and Missy wanted to show off her fancy toothpick." A smirk appeared on her face as she spoke. Deciding to listen to the man's words, she lowered her gun. Not wanting to leave herself unprepared, she put her hand to her pistol, putting trust in her reflexes. At a moment's notice, she could react to any bullets.

Meredith beat you to Luka's Second C rank, man, sorry.

Royalty, huh? Luka had an inkling the girl was important in some way. Keagan's armor reminded him of the ones he saw some Dragao soldiers wearing. Not only that, while not rare, having a Pegasus certainly meant you weren't a poor kid. Maybe I can get more than a few bucks in thanks. Putting on his best smile, Luka gave a bow to the princess. Better act nice for a royal. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess of Dragao."

"No problem." Luka said to the strangers. They seemed to be safe. Though, a bit of gold or something would be a nice show of thanks. Probably can spare a few bucks when you got a Pegasus on ya. Looking at his allies, Luka was glad to see they were all alive and well. "So, what brings you to a battlefield like this?"

Luka's eyes darted to see his friend, nearly collapsing as the Sister healed her bad wounds. What the heck are you doing?! You're supposed to be protecting us! If you fall, what are we gonna do?! I'm not gonna lose someone again! Luka's expression began to darken. "I can't have you abandoning me now!" Luka's inner thoughts began to come out, angered at the prospect of losing another friend. Ignoring the pain from the earlier attack, Luka darted forward, making sure Hoshiko and Terrin were able to watch him. "Hoshiko, Terrin, you better take down the enemy Leader, or I'm haunting you in the afterlife!" Luka calmed himself down, making sure he doesn't mess up his dance. Looking in Hoshiko's direction, Luka gave her a smile, hoping to convey his thoughts. You have my Support, Hoshiko. You won't miss. You can't miss! Looking to Terrin, Luka gave him a small nod, hoping to that he could feel the trust Luka had in the Mage. Concentrating his mind, Luka gave his allies a dance, hoping to give them the final boost of motivation needed. Move to R6 and dances for Hoshiko and Terrin, begrudgingly ending with a heroic pose to boost morale.

"Adequate growths, I'll say." Better than some others, at least.

Alright, if we calm down, we can form a plan to get through this safely. It might be possible to get the Javelin from the Troubadour, as well as beat the boss in one turn. First, Terrin and Hoshiko move forward to close in on the boss. Luka can dance for both of them. Hoshiko can attack the Troubadour to take their Javelin. If Terrin, Klaren, and Ecquis all attack the boss together, they can defeat her in one turn. Defeating the boss is enough to end the chapter, getting us out safely.

"Hey, Klaren." Luka called out to the Monk, trying to ask him for a bit of help. Stop enjoying your pain and listen to me for a bit. "Can you and Terrin take care of that Cavalier soon? He looks pretty scary, really." And I'd rather not have my clothes damaged from any swords. Trusting the magic users to take down the Cavalier, Luka rushed towards his allies, grabbing the attention of Meredith and Ecquis. "Don't stop yet, we're almost done!" Nothing better hit me or you'll be in trouble. With a short hop, Luka gave a dance to his allies. Moves to U4 and dances for Ecquis and Meredith

Karol Catching one of the thug's movement, Karol quickly moved her aim in his direction, adjusting her her sights towards one of the thug's legs. Trying to react quickly, she pulled the trigger, shooting a magic bullet straight towards the man. She was aiming to incapacitate the attackers, not to kill them. Not looking back to see if she hit her mark, she put her aim back towards the rest of the thugs, trusting Bargus to handle any attackers coming towards them.

"Oh, um, thanks." Luka's speech began to stutter a bit from Meredith's words, trying to compose himself. Darn it, I can't have you embarrassing me on a battlefield of all things! "Hey, can we maybe talk about this another time?" Luka tried his best not to stutter as he spoke. "Maybe when we're not in danger of getting hit by arrows, such as from that Bow Knight over there?" Luka pointed at the Bow Knight west of their position, hoping Meredith would distract herself with the battle. "Yeah, it's a pretty busy time, and that bow looks like it might hurt if you don't focus." Please get distracted, before I end up making a fool of myself.