April
His white hair stood out from most Macens. Walking through the crowd of people, Akuma had noticed that his approach made people scatter. Maybe it was his permanent frown that scared even the biggest of animals. Or at least, he thought it did. His gait was confident and true, his chin up and his posture straight. His muscled body showed that he was a warrior, his scarred face and arms even more so. His arms were covered in strange tattoos depicting a dragon of some sort. Then, it came to him, in the middle of his gait. It was definitely his two significantly protruding horns. They were red in color, both scarred with age, one even cut off into a stump. He looked like a devil, of course he would scare people away. Annoyed, the Oni sighs.
Brandie
Arthur was walking through the city, looking for a place to stay the night. He was tired, as he had spent the entire day practicing his magical skills. He had nothing to eat that morning but a couple of his bread rations, so he was famished beyond belief. The Kitsune had no luck finding an inn thus far, and was about to pass out when he noticed a parting between the crowd of people before him. There was an intimidating oni there, looking tall and daunting to the small Kitsune. Not taking the hint the crowd presented to him, he froze in a state of fear, letting the devil inch closer and closer toward him. If he were to pass out, he hoped that it would be now.
Stanley
*Akiron was sitting on the floor next to the Oni, a horse standing next to him. Could it be his horse? Well, he named him Joergen. Akiron understood Joergen's language due to him being an Elf. "Hey, Aki. I'm hungry." Akiron then looked back at the horse.* ***``"Well, what am I supposed to do? Give you my arm to eat?!"``*** *Joergen bit his arm. Akiron began shouting in the middle of the crowd.* ***``"Wait! Not again! Joergen, let go! Let GO!"``***
April
The Oni takes a look at the man next to him, stopping his confident strides. Beside that, the paralyzed man in front of him was also pretty striking in appearance. Weirded out and slightly shocked that there was a guy looking up at him like he was the devil, Akuma glances from person to person, deciding which one to attempt to talk to. It was probably going to be the one with his hand in the horse's mouth. He opens his mouth, and a gravelly voice exits, low and slightly scratchy. "**Do you require my help, Macen?" Akuma was obviously an Oni, his proud posture and horns giving it all away.
Brandie
Arthur got torn away from his state of fear by the sound of a man yelping in surprise. What he saw was incredibly astonishing; he saw a mans arm in a horse's mouth. What shocked him even more was the fact that this terrifying devil stopped walking, and offered his help to the Macen man. The Kitsune thought to himself, *"What am I doing? I probably need to help this guy too, seeing that this man obviously needed it."* Arthur sighed and looked at his boots. *"Father would be so ashamed right now."* Mustering some if his last reserves of energy left, the Kitsune leaped towards the distressed Macen with a hop. "Hey," He said, "Do ya need a little help over there with your... Beast?"
Stanley
*Akiron then shouted back:* ***``"Joergen, I'll let you into the house if you let go! I'll hook you up with some hot horses if you just let go!"``*** *Joergen let go, giving Akiron a happy expression. Akiron glared back at the horse.* ***``"Damn hors- Oh, it's alright, really. I'm kind of alright right now. He does this alot..."``***
April
Akuma nods, understanding that that could happen, no matter how fast or how strong the horse was. Each horse tended to be quite different from the other. They all had personalities, like sapient creatures. This... Joergen was a creature of stubborn nature, it seemed. He liked that. Putting a smile on his face, which somehow still looked angry, his gaze and attention now goes to the kitsune, his voice less gravelly now, as if he was trying to console the creature. "Are you alright?" He wasn't a heartless warrior, he was quite famous in his tribe for having artistic mind. "I am sorry if I scared you." His speech was well articulated, his gravelly voice not impeding upon his ability to speak rather clearly, and well. Years travelling in the world had changed how he spoke, and how he acted around people.
Brandie
Arthur looked at the Oni with a sense of caution. His intimadtion factor didnt wear off at all even though he just asked if Arthur was alright. "Yeah, im fine," Arthur says to the devil. "Sorry if I startled you by acting that way in the middle of the path. That was my fault, not yours." Arthur made sure to sound as humble as he could, and then took a glance at the horse. The kitsune notices the horse and wonders if the horse is hungry or not. That, or it could just have a very aggressive demeanor. He decides on the former, and takes his backpack off, reaching into the large hole that contained the 5 pounds of bread he stocked up on in the last general store he went to. He held up a single loaf, and held it up to the horse. Ripping a piece off of the load, he holds it up to Joergen, as the horse was called. "Here," He said in a small voice. "You want it?" Arthur then felt a pang of embarrassment, realizing now that he was talking to a horse. His face turned beet red, and in attempt to not look awkward, he quickly swallowed the torn piece, being left with a loaf of bread in his left hand.
Stanley
*Joergen looked at Arthur. Joergen wanted to communicate with Arthur, though he probably wouldn't Understand him. Akiron then patted Joergen. He knew Joergen shouldn't eat from strangers, but the apples had ran out and Akiron just drank beer in the morning, quite unsure. That is why he went to Salvainia. To buy some fruits and possibly gallons of water. Joergen, without hesitation nommed on the loaf of bread, beginning to chew on it. He really needed that today. "Thank you, Human..."Akiron then looked at Arthur.* ***``"He says he is thankful."``***
April
Did he really know what the horse said? That was rather interesting! The Oni looks at the pair, interested as to whether they were telepathically linked or whether the horse was summoned. He had seen one before, and the other didn't sound plausible. He just assumes the horse was summoned, and decides to move on from that train of thought. The smaller man sounded rather cautious with his approach, was he embarrassed? Or was it something else? He did not know. He was not good enough with emotions to know what everyone was feeling from just a look. "That's fine, I had a fault as well. I should have worn a hood." If the horn was a bit too problematic, he planned to do just that. An oversized hood for the horns. He had never regretted having them, nor ever thought of removing them. Oni were a proud race, and they were especially proud of their horns, which grew with age. Akuma didn't even dare to think about removing them, he would be considered a heretic. His cut off one was a mark of battle, he wore it proudly as most Oni did with their scars.
Brandie
Arthur looked back at the horned man, again with caution. "No, you're fine. It was my fault for being scared so easily. Don't worry about it!" He said with feigned enthusiasm. The fatigue he got from the training earlier had caught up to him. Spending 9 hours in the woods constantly practicing magic with nothing but bread and water really drains one of all energy. Arthur looked back at the horse, Joergen, and his master. He was curious on how the horse's master understood what Joergen said when neither had uttered a single word. Also taken aback by the fact that the horse took a bite of the loaf, he now realized that the horse indeed WAS hungry, and his state reflected the state of his master. Handing the rest of the loaf to Joergen, he turned to the man. "Hey", he said. "You look really worn out. Have you been eating or drinking enough? Missing one is bad, but missing both is even worse. If you have a container, I could conjure up some water for you. What's your name?"
Stanley
***``"Oh- Uhh, my name is Akiron."``*** *The horse then looked at Akiron, letting out horse noises. Akiron sighed.* ***``"I know, I know. I promised to get you a Mare. But... I drank enough, I guess. I was just hungry so I came to buy some stuff from the town. I work as a Part-Time Bartender."``*** *He then shuffled through his own hair, moderately long ears being seen now. He either had large ears or he was an Elf.* ***``"I guess I can naturally understand animals' expressions and language since I'm a High Elf. My horse's name is Joergen. And yes, HE picked the name. It's alright though, as I'm gonna go buy some fruits. Possibly cake too."``***
April
Akuma nods, accepting that maybe, he wasn't as scary as he thought he was. His massive body was concealed under a guise of a Macen, his angry, scarred, and monstrous face under the guise of a handsome man. He still hadn't got used to it, and acted as if he was still that size. He was a proud warrior, yes, but Akuma just couldn't think that being under 2 meters was the norm for many other species. As he was pondering the scare-meter of himself, a comment about the one he had assumed was a Macen entered his ears. With a questioning, surprised voice, the Red Oni questioned the very idea of that. "You're a... High elf?" The Oni was evidently confused. High elves tended to be very full of themselves, haughty and considered themselves high above the others. But then, there was this man, sitting on the ground in the middle of a street, getting his hand chomped by a horse. Personalities tended to vary a lot, but not to a degree of... Complete opposites with the race.
Brandie
"A high elf?" Arthur asked. "Whats a high elf doing on the streets of some city?". Arthur's mental image of high elves were, well, high. He envisioned long, white hair with long, pointed ears. He'd never actually seen one prior to Akiron, and this kind of struck him as surprising. He began to wonder if all high elves were like this after all, or if Akiron himself was a rare exception. He took another loaf of bread out and munched on a piece. He began wondering what kind of horse Joergen also had to be to be able to talk telepathically, or if all horses could do that with elves. He had much to learn about this world, as well as magic. One thing was certain; this "High elf" Wasn't high in any form.
Stanley
***``"Shopping, probably. I've lived most of my life in the woods ever since my family was banished, so... I just became an Adventurer and decided to venture places I haven't been able to go before."``*** *He slowly got up, wiping the dust off his clothes. A bag could be seen tied to Joergen's saddle, being open since Akiron had forgotten to close it. Though it was a normal armor, it looked as if it was made out of gold. It was due to it's color, since it was painted. It wasn't meant to look like gold though, he just liked the color. There was a smell of Strawberry from his mouth which was due to the Strawberries he mixed with the alcohol. It gave off a great taste which made him a good Bartender. But he was a Part-Timer so that's that. He seemed to be humble for a high elf due to the enviornment he was raised in.* ***``"So, how about we all go shopping?"``***
April
The Oni was pleased to see that the other man was also as confused as he was. Then, the man gave his explanation of why he was here. That explained most of the story. A race's personality traits came with the living with said race. A macen would resemble an Oni if they were to have been living with the Oni since they had been born, and vice versa. If the family was banished for whatever reason, the man had a valid reason to not be like the other High Elves. Rather, he should be completely different from them. The sensation of getting banned would have changed his view on how they acted, and how they had lived. But still, his darker skin color bothered Akuma. High Elves tended to come in lighter colors, it was a racial thing. Was he really a dark elf? Well, it was too soon to assume that he was from a different race. After all, he had just met this man. "Shopping? Well, I guess I do have time." The Oni wasn't particularly going anywhere. He lived to travel, and earned just enough to live happily.
Brandie
Arthur fended off the urge to question as to why his family got banished, and inquired that it was obviously rude to ask such a personal question. He never had thought twice about issues such as this, seeing that he was more or less sheltered from the outside world from his now-fallen family. He did not want to come off as rude. After all, the three of them had just met a couple minutes ago. "Well, I suppose I could restock on some items. Im not going anywhere either, but before we do all that, you suppose we could all grab a bite at some restaurant in town?" Arthur asked. The lack of a proper meal in days was really getting to him, and the taste of his bread was becoming ever more redundant. He had all the time in the world too, and wasn't in a rush to go anywhere in particular besides a soft bed and the escape that was sleep. He checked his bags: 958 silver. Yep, he was good to go.
Stanley
***``"I stated my name. How about you guys? We could buy whatever we want then split the price equally."``*** *Akiron then looked at his wallet. He was bad at counting.* {One... Two... Three... Seven... Wait, wasn't ten after threee? Nonono, I think ten is the last one. Probably five after three.}
April
Ah, he had forgotten to introduce himself. He tended to do that a lot. His presence was enough of an introduction, it seemed. Yet, he still introduces himself. "It is Akuma. Akuma Fukumoto. I am an Oni, if the horns weren't obvious enough." He rubs his index finger on the stumped horn, highlighting them in front of the two. "This isn't my normal form, my normal form is much scarier, I promise you." He had a slight playful tone in his voice, but he never did sound like he was joking. He reached a hand inside his pocket and counted... About 8 silver. Most of his money was banked away. "It would be great if we could dine together, I wish to know you two better."
Brandie
Finally dropping his cautious act, Arthur became significantly more relaxed. He never had the need to introduce himself to anyone, so he did not know how to do it. His introverted mindset never had, nor felt the need to learn how to introduce himself seeing that he usually spent all of his time alone, practicing magic. "I-er-you-" He began, then stopped. The Kitsune took a deep breath, and began speaking in one exhale : "Hi-my-name-is-Arthur-Dax-and-i'm-a-kitsune-it's-very-nice-to-meet-the-two-of-you!" The end of this sentence was met with an inhale of massive proportions. "I-*Gasp*- I dont usually look like this. I'm-*Gasp*- concealing my three tails.. And my ears." He then bowed towards the two of them. "Pleased to make your acquaintance!"
Stanley
*He chuckled lightly at Arthur's attitude and Akuma's joke.* ***``"Pleased to make your accquaintence too. I'm sure the restaurant isn't that far away, but we'll take Joergen with us. We'll leave him outside then bring him food once we're d-"``*** *Joergen stared at him with a killer intent.* ***``"Fine, Fine..."``*** *He went to a fruit stand, buying a basket of fruits and feeding him a few apples. It took quite some time since Akiron had to place the silver one by one.*
April
His white hair shook as the Oni chuckled. It wasn't done as any sort of disrespect towards the Kitsune nor the human, but he still found the Kitsune's self-introduction funny. It was entertaining how he had to stammer 3 times before forming a sentence, which was as rushed as the initial attempt. Akuma's chuckle was deep and quite rough, but still sounded like a genuine laugh. He could laugh when he wanted to, he never particularly limited himself because he had a certain image to him. "Nice to meet you, Arthur." The Oni wondered if Akiron needed to count out every coin he spends. Those types of people often slowed down lines by quite a lot. Well, every person had their quirks. Akuma waits patiently, wondering if the horse ate everything that he could. He had heard of horses that ate Macen flesh, they were supposedly very, very fast. They were probably just myths, though.
Brandie
"Ni-nice to meet you as well, Akuma. I hope we can get along well." Arthur said. The Oni was becoming increasingly less intimidating as time went on, so Arthur felt like he had judged him way too wrongly for their first time ever meeting. The Kitsune headed over to the Macen, who seemed to struggle with counting. "If you know where the restaurants are, lets get right to it! I'm st-ar-ving." Arthur told Akiron. He noticed in his head quite the coincidence; all of the names in the party began with the letter "A." He wanted to point this out, but wondered if it'd be awkward if he did. Even in hunger, the Kitsune worries about how others perceive him.
Stanley
*Akiron then looked behind him, checking if the coast is clear. He then used his Trump-Card. His moves which he had kept away from the public. Akiron then started with his feet next to eachother. He Raised his right heel so that he's standing on the ball of his right foot. He shifted his weight onto that still raised right foot so that the left one feels weightless. He lowered his right heel slowly while moving his (still weightless) left foot backward until the toes of his left foot are aligned with the heel of his right foot. He felt as if his left foot is floating backward across the floor. After that, he lifted his left heel and shifted his body weight so that he's now standing on the ball of that foot. He began repeating the process, looking as if he was walking forward, though... Walking backwards? It looked Gravity-Breaking and law-defying, though he had trained it in his spare time.*
April
Akuma was confused as to what Akiron was doing. Was he simply doing it to impress the party? Well then, color Akuma impressed, as he was quite awestruck with the amazing moves of the human. "Unfortunately, I am not from around here. I do not know any restaurants that we may be able to go to." Akuma ate anything he could get his hands on, as long as it wasn't contaminated or raw. He could cook moderately well, and he tended to hunt on the road rather then buy things from a store. It tended to be easier, and cheaper. Although he was terrible with handling meat, he still managed to make half decent meals, too. "Are we showing off, now? Well, I suppose I have one to share." Akuma wonders what he could do, then decides to show them his original, undisguised for for about a second or two. He does exactly that, shifting out of his human appearance into his Oni one. He was right. It was much scarier. Then, he turns back.
Brandie
Arthur was about to burst into laughter at what Akiron was doing. It certainly was funny, but to be fair, it was equally cool and impressive. Arthur thought that he must've trained to do that for a long, long time. He wondered, why did he spend his time training to do something so... Useless? Arthur was about to commence trying it out for himself, but was interrupted by a huge, hulking red figure appearing suddenly before him. A devil. It's vicious, savage face was enough to strike fear into the most courageous of men. Instinctively, he dropped his backpack and his disguise, preparing to fight. "AKIRON! I don't know how or where this thing came from, but it looks plenty fucking dangerous! I need your help to put this... Thing down!" Arthur yelled, as Akiron continued to do his walk. Arthur did not want to die here. "WHERE'S AKUMA? WE NEED HIM TO KILL THIS THING!" Arthur was panicking. He was so struck by fear that he couldn't move past an awkward fighting stance. He didn't know how they were to bring this thing down, or where Akuma suddenly disappeared to, but he felt like his life was in immediate danger.
Stanley
*Akiron then stopped, beginning to bow continuosly.* ***``"I'M VERY SORRY, LUCIFER! IF YOU GIVE ME A BIT MORE TIME TO LIVE I WILL BE IN YOUR-"``*** *Akiron then looked up at Akuma once he went back to his human form.* ***``"Oh hey, Akuma. The devil was just right there a second ago. Did you see him?'``***
April
Akuma was a bit surprised on their reactions, so he laughs nervously, hoping that they were joking. "Ahah, yes, the devil. I saw him, Akiron." Did they not know what Oni looked like? From his 6 years of travelling, he had known only a few that had actually known an Oni personally. A bit more had seen them, but they were still very rare. He was a bit hurt, but he didn't get too angry or whatever at the two that had just showed a bit of casual racism without knowing it. "That was me, Arthur. You can stop... Uh, standing that way." It was comical, so he smiles a bit, and shakes his head. "I thought I mentioned that I'm not at my original form when I do this. I can also only change from that form for 2 hours a day, so I tend to stay inside, or leave the city after the 2 hours are up. I'm a pretty misshapen Oni, even for our race."
Brandie
Arthur was ashamed. He was so overrun with fear of Akuma's true form that he had tried to attack him, even though it truly was Akuma himself. Turning bright red in the face, Arthur quickly changed the way he was standing into a low, low bow. "I'm sorry!" He said. "I had no idea thats what Oni truly looked like! It was something terrifying, I let myself get scared out of my wits again! I'm truly ashamed!" Arthur finished, still bowing low. He had never felt such guilt in his 23 years of living. He stood there, bowing low. It wouldn't surprise him if Akuma didn't forgive him, for Arthur most likely wouldn't if he were in his situation.
Stanley
*Akiron had done the same thing Arthur had done, getting on his knees, his forehead touching the floor. He knew he shouldn't have been racist and his dumb nature made him assume so.* ***``"I apologize! I will never criticize your beautiful true face again!"``***
April
Why were they taking it to this degree? He felt fine, and he obviously wasn't too bothers, seeing as how he wasn't breaking any houses or anything. "It is fine, friends, I don't feel discriminated against at all!" He waves his hands, suddenly shocked that they would go to this degree. "Please don't bow, I forgive you!" Akuma was a really well articulated Oni, and he could convey his emotions better than most. "But on a completely unrelated note, it would seem that my guise is starting to lessen. Now, if you would excuse me." The Oni turns, and with a wave, leaves the rp.
Brandie
Arthur watched the Oni walk off, and his posture went back to normal. Suddenly realizing the crowd staring at him and Akiron now, he became quickly flustered at the thought of everyone's eyes on the pair. Quickly walking into the crowd, Arthur went off without a single word to Akiron, realizing this only later before he had fallen asleep, as one of the many social anxieties that kept him up for a good amount of time. However, as Arthur went off into the crowd, he turned to Akiron and waved at him as a gesture of farewell. The Kitsune turned back around, and continued his search for food, an inn, and leaves the rp.