The Endless Spiral of Despair (World: Spira)

OOC: I CAN'T DO OPENING THREADS WORTH CRAAAAAAAAAAP....but I really wanna RP this again soooo...

"Hah.....So noisy this early? Can't a girl get some shut eye?"

It's been a day since the group's ship has touched down in the bustling city of Luca. The blitzball tournament all of Spira has been waiting for has been pushed off to tomorrow due to the nearby presense of Sin causing concern amongst the people as well as causing Yuna's group and the Besaid Aurochs to arrive late. Most importantly, it seems the Maesters of Yevon have yet to arrive on time for unknown reasons...but it sounds like they'll be arriving to the city later this afternoon. This latest news has the citizens excited and made the ever large city even busier than when they first arrived. Looking out from the inn Zora was staying at, it was hard to tell what part of the city was a road and what wasn't. Even with a good full day of rest and relaxation, she was nowhere rested or relaxed with what's been going on these past few days.

To recap, she along with Takato and Ima were dragged into the world of Spira after being nearly killed by a giant dragon of sorts. From there, they met up with Lady Yuna and her faithful guardians who were more than happy to tell them about the world here. Under Takato's suggestion, they've been traveling alongside the group in order to find a way back to their own world. Unfortunately, things started to get a bit heated and awkward between the two groups with Takato laughing off their so called beliefs and Zora's cursed body along with her sore attitude towards the young summoner. Thank god Ima didn't seem to have ill will with either of them....well...Ima just wants everyone to get along in general. Along the way, they came across Raven during the first Sin fin attack between Besaid and Kilika Island as well as Isaac during the second attack from Kilika to Luca.

In the midst of all this traveling, they've had more than enough of their fair share of battles...One after another, day in and day out. It hardly seem like the group could relax for even a day without getitng into a fight with someone or something. The giant dragon, Quetzalcoatl, Sin, Leviathan, Lysandr, Cerberus, Kisame, and Sin again...All within the span of a few days, some battles happening in the same day. It's taken the the toll on everyone....Ima's "death", Takato's near death and fatigue, Zora's rebound from her accursed arm, and Raven's sudden change after their latest battle before Luca. They finally had a day or two to rest and relax to their heart's content before the big tournament day.

Unsure of the rest of the group, Zora was already awake and staring out into the streets of Luca from the main lobby of the inn. Now that they werne't in constant danger, she had time to recovery from everything including her strange bloodthirst and lull right after the Sin fight. Even now, her memories of that battle were nonexistant....Just that they were fighting Sin again and she attacked Yuna. In fact, she hasn't seem them since they disembarked from the boat. She got bored watching outside from her window, glancing at the doors that held her companions. The last she knew about them, Ima was incredibly sleepy, Takato was all right but concerned about her, and Raven was....Well, she hasn't seen Raven for a while. Maybe he was holed up in his room? She distinctly remembered him feeling immensive fear of himself after the Cerberus battle.

Now becoming bored, she gets up and walks over to the door that held everyone's favorite Magi, knocking on the door to see if he was awake. "Hey Takato...you up? I'm thinking about grabbing some food and wanted to know if you could help me bring some back for Ima and Raven." That was half the reason why she asked him to come along....In fruth, she really didn't want to be alone especially since Kuro was nowhere in sight. Not only that, Takato was very much a pillar of strength for the young girl. "....Takato?"

It was never too early for Raven. In fact, he had been up for hours.

His fear had turned into determination, and determination into a plan. Meeting up with the strange and aloof Isaac, he asked for a favor; help him forge new weapons to keep his ... powers in-check. He expected it to be a week's affair ....

Isaac did it in moments. The metal from his weapons, the sword and his guns, liquefied before his eyes and forged into something new, like the metal bent to the near-silent man's will. His new sword was beautiful. In fact, he tried not to cry, but it was the other item forged for him that meant the most.

A gauntlet. In truth, a full-sleeve of light armor that pulsed with a sky blue light as soon as he placed it on. While strange looking, Raven could feel its purpose immediately. The taint of his blood, which felt the to cold center of a swamp coursing through his veins ... felt warm. A lovely, comfortable warmth like a hug or a fireplace. He let his energy flow, and a light fire encompassed his hand .... and with a switch, his flames turned to a blue, glowing aura.

He had done it ..... a way to purify, if needed.

Before he could thank the mysterious man, he was gone like a whisper. Confused, Raven took to the city, looking for some new clothes. He never forgot his oath to Yuna; he was a Guardian now, and if this culture was to accept him, he would accept the culture. He found a clothing store, an armorer, and in a moment the "Crimson Beast" returned to his traveling party's makeshift home with some more blue, a new hood .... and a smile.

Ima was gone.

She'd woken mere moments after the ship had docked in Luca, and crawled out the empty room's window like a cat in search of a sunbeam. The blankets on the bed were soft and nice, but while it was a kind gesture it was ultimately one of no use to a person who couldn't produce body heat. So Ima wormed her way out of the covers, wiggled through the porthole, flopped down onto the boardwalk, and waddled through the crowds of people in search of someplace sunny and warm. In the end she'd settled on the top of some tall building, and was content to doze there and watch the sun fall and the moon rise and its reverse and all the things inbetween.

She wasn't exactly sure how the chocobo chick had gotten its way up after her, but she was too sleepy to question it.

"Kweh!" It kwehed insistently, running in precarious circles along the roof's edge. It paused for a moment to peek down at the sleepyhead, her one eye just cracked open enough to watch through the veil of her hair. "Kweh!"

"Kweh." Ima kwehed back, because that was a lot easier than talking and the chick seemed to get very worried if she didn't respond.

"Kweh!" The chocobo kwehed again, and the cycle repeated.

Said cycle had been repeating for the past couple of hours...as it would probably continue to until Ima's friends or Yuna's group realized they were missing a child.

Everything still hurt.

Yet, he could feel his magic. A hand extended upwards and Takato looked up to the ceiling as he lazed on his back on the bed. The flesh that singed his metal arm and real shoulder together positively throbbing with wonder. His metal fingers flexing with his every breath. It had been quite some time since he had been back at a hundred percent. Or rather, what could be considered a hundred percent now. A persuasive price was still but a price, after all.

Huh...?

Oh, Zora. Her...? Odd, but pleasant.

Food did sound good to him and it would give them more time to explore the city...

"I'm up!"

A ruffling sound was heard beyond the door, as if someone had thrown aside covers. Two fingers rubbed along the bridge of a nose before the door opened the reveal the rather messy and half-dressed Magi. Tired amber eyes met her before a yawn followed the sleepy look. "Good morning to you too, Zora?" His hair appeared like a bird nest, strung up in a mock of his usual pigtail attempt. It certainly didn't help that it looked like he had just simply tossed on his clothes in a hurry. Yet he didn't seem to mind his almost shaggy appearance, even though he wouldn't win any beauty shows.

Still, his fingers (both flesh and metal) slid into his usual white gloves and he stepped out of his room to her with nary a reach of his pocket watch.

"What time is it anyhow?"

Coming from a man staring at a watch, that probably sounded a bit strange. Except to them. After all, his watch didn't exactly matter (or work with their system) within this world, but it was almost instinct to reach for the thing. It clicked shut sharply and the short Magi stretched up his arms to the air with a loud yawn, as if taking in the day. The height he possessed making this look more humorous than it should have.

All in all, he looked the same spitting image as the day they had all met. Without his foxy companion. Speaking of which, where the hell was she? Was she still on that mission he sent her on? Takato pondered as he rubbed his chin. No matter. 'Getting food would probably be a good break from my research'

Yawn. Takato stumbled and rapidly blinked his eyes, folding his arms. A sigh that only one of stress could be made breaking from his lips. These beds were far from what he expected from such a comfortable looking place. Looking her in the eyes, a small smile formed.

"Lead the way."

She could hear the noises coming from his room, blinking in surprise when the door flew open and showed the young Magi in such a tired and unkempt state - something she wasn't too accustom to as she's usually the late riser of the group. It was almost amusing to see his clothes and hair in such disarray I guess amidst all of the things they've encountered, some things don't ever change...for better or worse. The girl couldn't help but smile for a moment, feeling like all the stress and hardship they've had since entering Spira was nothing more than a bad dream...at least for today.

"It's time for you to wake up and eat, that's what. I'm surprised you slept in so late." Zora said, ruffling the young man's hair in an attempt to make it less of a bird's nest. "Sheesh...Just look at you, Takato. You might want to fix yourself up a bit. Nevermind people staring at us for being so different and strange, I'm sure everyone in Luca would recognize you as being the little lady's guardian now. If you're seen looking like such a slob, you're just going to make her look bad." She nags a bit at him, turning around and waving her hand as she starts heading out the door.

"By the by, I think your fly's down. Miiiight want to fix that."

Stepping outside, they were greeted with the sight of Luca's main plaza. Compared to Besaid and Kilika, it was far much bigger and definitely had a big town or city sense around it despite the difference in culture. It reminded her of Magnolia town - the streets bustling with life and excitement from people of all ages going about their every day lives. Across the city, lines of flags have been string up around the area and hot air balloons scattered all around the skies. Zora wasn't entirely sure what they were for...probably advertising the different Blitzball teams that were going to participate? It doesn't help that the Spiran text was a bit different from their own language, making it nigh impossible for her to read. Her gaze focused in on the tall pillar at the center of the plaza...which no one could tell her what it was really there for. Maybe it was there just to look nice?

"Cafe's just over there." she mumbles, trying to remember what the inn keeper was telling her as she glances over the area. As she was looking around, her gaze seems to settle on a familiar white haired man. "....Raven?" She walks up to him, concern painted all over her face where her usual permanent scowl was. He seemed much different than how he was acting on the boatride. "Are you all right? I'm surprised to see you up and about..." No snarky comment...no snappy remarks...not even a death glare from the blue haired girl - Much different than how she's treated the demon hunter before. "We're going to get food....did you want to join us?" Maybe this was a chance for them to mend their relationship between each other (Though most of that was her own fault).

...Then again, she might just be crazy...Especially since she keeps hearing strange 'kweh' sounds softly echoing around her. It almost sounded familiar...Oh well.

"Oh, hey!" Raven waved as he responded in feigned surprise. In truth, he had spotted her before she had made her way over, but he didn't know how to explain his new .... armor. It wasn't that he was embarrassed, but more so that the gauntlet resembled that wicked arm which Zora carried with her, though it emanated a far more pure aura. He gave a quick, conservative chuckle before motioning with his unarmored hand to his new clothing with their influences of home and Spira.

"I couldn't sleep, so I went out to, well, take some chances," He adjusted the long blue cot over the short, red hooded shirt underneath. "The first risk was wearing blue. Figured I had to let Takato keep the red coat look. Otherwise, I mean ...." he passed a playful grin to the magi, "There wouldn't be enough room for the "cool guy in red" department on the team."

He laughed at his bad joke. He laughed a lot; partially true, mostly forced, turning his body to hide the arm. He realized how stupid he was being. These people, his companions ... his friends, they weren't your average folk. They had seen battle, lived off of their abilities to survive and perceive. He couldn't hide it for long.

"But in truth, I went out to find that red-haired guy that fought with us. After our fight with the shark guy, when I ....." he trailed off, his grin dimming for a tick before he took a breath and brought it right back, "I wanted to see if I could do something more with that power; if I could control it. We worked on the design for a while but I came up with this beauty," he said, motioning to the new sword strapped to his back right next to the ragged and bandaged Samehada. Where his original sword, Azrael, was gothic in design and ghastly in function, this new blade seemed brighter, sleeker, with a strange contraption built into the hilt that made it more of a modern masterpiece than a butcher's blade.

"And, well .... " he revealed his right arm like a child revealing a treat he wasn't supposed to take. The gauntlet covered his entire arm in deep red metals of no discernible origins, leaving space for a soft, blue light to pulse out from open segments across it. The nails were slightly sharper on the fingertips than his uncovered hand, and it seemed to move seamlessly with his natural arm underneath. "This thing changes the power ... purifies it. Don't ask me how; it was his idea, but .... it works. I really, really works."

His smile was far more genuine now, mixing apology and pride all in one. He was truly happy, and free, and was he ever so glad to see his friends again.

Then, his stomach growled. He placed the armored hand onto his belly, chuckling. "As for food ... yeah, that'd be great."

He started on his way to follow them, before stopping with an expression like he had forgotten something he had been waiting all morning to do. He looked over his shoulder to the rooftops above.

"Hey, Ima? If you're awake, come and join us."

There was no use in asking how he knew she was there.

Raven always knew.

From far above, the kwehs of child and chocobo continued unchanged; while it was unclear if the other bird's cry went ignored or unheard, the result seemed much the same.

For a man who was knocking on death's door not a day before, he sure knew how to talk. She couldn't tell if he was doing it to stall himself from revealing his new toy or out of actual glee...or both. The girl rolled her eyes, hearing Raven's normal tone returning to him. In the back of her mind, she felt a bit dumb to think he was really out of commission after the Cerberus fight in Kilika.

Once he revealed his right arm, her attention snapped back and focused on the strange red gauntlet. Now it made sense why he was acting a bit strange...well....stranger than he normally was to her. Her eyes glanced over the strange metal and blue light seamlessly spilling out from the core. This was made in one night? Both this AND his new-found sword? Zora wondered what kind of guy this red haired fellow was...She vaguely recalled some passenger on the boat with him matching his description, but nothing more.

Without a single word, she walks closer to Raven, reaching out with her left hand to take a closer look at his arm. IT felt....strange. Almost cool to the touch. Whatever it was, it seemed sturdy enough and definitely had a sense of calm energy quite opposite to anything demonic or negative. She listened to his description of what the arm did, frowning as she moved her right arm up and over the blue light. It was bandaged up, most likely to cover it from passerbying eyes Wrapped in a white bandage with crude drawings akin to prayer and sealing markings, even Raven would have noticed how dirty it seemed....some parts of the bandages seem to bleed grey if not dried blood, but otherwise her arm seemed unharmed.

"Do you really think hiding this like a little kid was going to stop me from noticing?" She scoffs, slightly glaring at him. Zora wasn't sure of what to feel...Relief that he was all right? Annoyance that he tried to hide his arm? Concern of how it felt on him? There were a flurry of emotions running through her mind though one stuck out like an annoying gnat.

Jealousy.

To have am arm like this....an arm whose purpose was to purify and cleanse instead of wreak and destroy...an arm that although people would stare at would not fear as much...Her right hand twitched a bit as her grip got slightly tighter around his hand, not ehough to cause harm but briefly noticeable. She should be happy that he didn't need to feel afraid...she should and yet...

"Well, so long as your precious summoner is all right with you having this." she huffs, letting go of him as she walks past and starts to head into a nearby restaurant. "Leave the girl be...I'm not sure what aliens eat anyways, but we'll bring her some food back. Oh...." It just hit her that she did want to talk with Raven off to the side, but he probably has forgotten about that since he was...down in the slumps when she asked if not outright tired.

"At any rate, stop standing around. You can play with your new toy however you want later. Food comes first."

Had he done something wrong?

It wasn't uncommon for Zora to lose her temper. If anything, Raven had expected it, but for a moment he had thought ... maybe it was different? Could it have been ...

It was the arm.

He looked down at it, not in shame, but in acknowledgment. She had so many reasons to be upset with him.He moved each of his fingers, inspecting the gauntlet. It would take time, but hopefully she would understand.

"Y-yeah ... I'm coming."

And so he did.

Without waiting for an answer from the blonde mage, Zora leads the way and opens the door to the cafe just at the bottom of the steps. The inside of the cafe was just as cheerful and spectacular as the rest of Luca, though with a bit less white and a lot more green along the walls. The inside of the cafe was littered with flags everywhere. Ceilings, flag poles, streamers...It was hard to tell what WASN'T a flag at this point. The blue haired girl was never a fan of sports so the site of all of these flags representing blitzball teams boggles her. Along with the many flags, there were screens everywhere in the Cafe and the bar attached to the left, reminding her much like a sports bar back in their world. As backwater as this place was, the site of seeing a familiar object akin to an every day item definitely put her at ease a bit.

Despite being busy and pretty packed, it wasn't hard for the gang to find a seat of their own....Well, it seemed like Takato had some other plans in mind, leaving the demon cursed girl and the demon slayer boy all by themselves. That alone was awkward enough, but the moment they stepped into the cafe itself, the awkwardness nearly skyrocket. By now, the group of four have already made a name of themselves, what with three of the four being guardians to the daughter of Lord Braska. Didn't help that all of their powers and skills were not something anyone in Spira has seen at all. Whispers and chatters about them could be heard throughout the cafe, but some of them have toned down and glares were set in the two of them...mainly Zora.

'Of course...' She rolls her eyes, knowing full well what was running in their minds. Never mind her bound up arm covering her blackened curse...The news about what she did on the boatride to Luca probably spread like wildfire. Granted, it didn't seem like Raven was getting away scotch free from some stories she heard about Kilika island. It didn't seem as bad since he did try to come between her and Yuna, mending the tainted image people had of him at the time. If looks could kill, Zora wonders how many times they would have died right now.

"...So...? How are you feeling?"

They'd just ordered their food and were waiting for it to be brought to them. Having the two of them sit eerily quiet was too awkward even for the young girl herself. She had to break the silence one way or another...and seeing him back to old self-ish didn't completely convince her that Raven was completely fine. It was a hint of compassion and concern that neither of them would think would come out of the girl's mouth.

"Think this is the first time the two of us were alone like this...Hope I'm not being too much of a raincloud in your happiest day."

Well ... this was happening.

"I'm ... I'm fine ... I'm good! I'm ..."

With a sigh, Raven slumped down in his sea, his eyes nearly closing as his eyelids grew heavy like stone. Charisma and adrenaline can make up for a lot in a person, but there are times when the body has been beaten and the soul has been bruised and sometimes, you just gotta take a near-nap in a public place.

"That shark guy kicked my ass, Sin kicked my ass ... aaaaannnnd I'm pretty sure I kicked my own ass more. Guess it's just part of the job ... yeah ... thanks."

He shook his head to loosen the cobwebs, giving him just enough wherewithal to keep one eye opened and kept on Zora. He just wanted to pass out, but this conversation was ... important. Despite the grin he held up like one trying to hold up a weight rack, he was obviously worn.

"Rainclouds ain't a bad thing, either. Make things grow. We all need water, you know?"

He rest his eyes for just one more moment.

"I'd be a pretty garbage friend if I couldn't sit down and have a conversation with you, anyway."

He chuckled.

"How about you?"

It wasn't hard to see how tired and worn out this man was. She was surprised he wasn't outright passed out right now. In fact, she was even more surprised from the words spilling out of his mouth right now. After all of the insults and ignoring she's thrown at him, how could he still think of her as a friend...as something else aside from an annoying bitch? Sometimes she can't really understand other people, and this was one of those times.

"Heh." She couldn't help but chuckle a little from his raincloud comment...still the same old Raven they've come to know. At least he wasn't down in the dark depths like he was on the boat to Luca.

"I don't know. I really don't...I'm not in such a depressed slump like I was before...but...." Her eyes trailed off, glancing over to one of the many screens nearby and seeing the blitzball commercials littered around. "I...don't remember what happened during our fight with Sin. Takato said I attacked the summon....said that I snapped....but I don't remember a blasted thing. Ever since, I've been....off." Her voice trails off, falling silent for a moment before turning back to the white haired man.

"Hey...If I ever asked...or if it ever came to this....would you be willing to kill me?"

Well, that was quite a change of topic. Judging from her look, she was nowhere being suicidal nor joking...more like a bit realistic. "This....isn't the first time it's happened.....and I think I'm running out of time."

"No."

You ever see someone respond to something horrible like they've just been used to it? In Raven Blair's line of work, people asking to die wasn't new. In fact, it was par for the course. However, his nonchalant answer to Zora's question had to be odd, even to her.

"I'm not in the game of killing things that don't deserve it. Killing people. Half of my job is figuring out how to get rid of the problem while not hurting the people it's looming over. If I went around stabbing every possessed person I came across, I think they'd be hiring someone to come take me out right about now."

He took up a cup of water placed before him, downing it in a ravenous fashion. The water poured down slightly from the corners of his mouth but he didn't mind. The cool sensation was nice.

"Zora, this is some scary shit right here, I ain't gonna lie. Believe me ... " he wriggled the fingers on his now gauntlet-clad arm, which clinged and clanged like wind chimes, "I get it, but you don't get better by ending it. You don't get stronger or happier, hell death might not even help you. I've seen some gnarly curses that taint the soul, not the body."

He placed the cup down, and for the first time, he gave Zora a look of compassion. A look of caring.

"I'm willing to stop you. I'll joke around, call you names, ruffle your hair, hell, I'll punch you in the face about a thousand times ... but I'm not killing you ... and as long as I'm around, no one else is either. I know how serious this is, but dealing with stuff like that is what I've trained my whole life for. I'm not gonna let you fade out."

"Of course you'd say that." She huffs, almost pouting that he rejected it so quickly. "You think I want to ask something like that out of my own free will? Trust me, I'm not that suicidal...Maybe at one point, I was..."

She shakes her head at him downing his water like a thirsty beast, not caring about the water spilling off his face. She takes her own water and swirls it around, staring at it a bit before taking a sip. "Had we met under different circumstances...had you just stop fooling around and got annoyed at my words, maybe your answer would have been different." She pauses for a moment before drinking some more water. "I just don't want to kill anymore...I don't want to lose myself again....I think i will soon if not already. Even then, would you be able to stop me?"

This was the last thing she wanted to happen...She didn't want to make these bonds...these relationships...with the three of them. Now that they've come this far, Zora couldn't even imagine a life without them...or a life with their bloods on her hands. While she was still 'herself', she had to make sure she'd pick up the slack...that she'd be able to protect them like they've done to her these past few days.

"Look at you...You're just as much of a slob as my brother was." She grumbles, grabbing a napkin and using it to wipe the water off his face. "Just how old are you again?" The waiter comes over to refill Raven's water as Zora drops the napkin, drinking her water and staring off to the side.

"....You ruffle my hair, I'll take your arm off..."

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" Raven looked off to nowhere in particular, narrowing his eyes in thought. While he kept his hands under the table, anyone who could see below would see him counting out his fingers, "twenty-something? I stopped counting awhile ago."

He shrugged. It was smarter not to count the years. People in his line of work never did, They tend to not live long enough for the years to matter.

"As for you? I can handle a lot. Not sure what your deal is or the details behind this specific ... mark you have, but don't worry about the physical stuff. I got this!"

He chuckled, before slipping back into a slightly more somber tone.

"I can always ... break out my special trick if I have to. It kind of hurts, but it'd be worth it."

Zora rolls her eyes, seeing how much he cared about counting his age. Then again, she could never understand why people made a big deal about remembering how old they were. Heck...she was like...around 20 or something? Can't really judge a man when she can't even remember her own age.

"If you're willing to listen later, I guess I can tell you more..." Even though it was only about 2 days or so since the events of Kilika, especially with her yelling at him about talking about the past, it seems she's really changed within that small time frame. "Obviously not here. I'm not keen to letting everyone know about my woes, you know. Assuming I wouldn't take their heads off from their glaring and muttering." She glances over to some people who quickly turned their heads back to each other or the table, tyring to hide the fact they were essentially eavesdropping.

"At any rate, I have no intentions of making you do anything to stop me anytime soon. Knowing our luck, we'll probably be attacked sometime today or tomorrow....before we leave Luca. I don't think I'll go 'insane' like before....At least I hope." As she drank the rest of her water, she was a bit concerned with how dead tired Raven seemed like. Then again, he probably didn't get a lot of sleep getting his new arm. "Just....make sure you get some sleep, all right? You look deader than dead...As long as you eat something first, I don't mind dragging you back to the inn."

Some people are good at covering up how tired they are. Raven would be one of those people, if it hadn't been for the increasingly growing bags under his eyes. He chuckled just a little more until the rumbling in his stomach forced him back to his slump.

"Learning more is always good ... and I could always use some food ... and some sleep ... "

He caught himself half-way through nodding off, snapping back up in a state of pseudo-shock.

"Yeah, definitely sleep."