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Post by Yuki on Feb 7, 2021 22:13:32 GMT -8
It was very clear that Chiyoko didn't wanna listen to him. Taylor sighed unsure what to do now, he just did not want these two to end up fighting. Taylor then however felt Casey place a hand on his shoulder. Taylor blinked as he turned his head to look at Casey,
"Thanks fer vouchin' for me... really. But don't trouble yerself too much," he said. "This is, uh... something I gotta deal with."
Taylor sighed and nodded as Casey then walked past him over to Chiyoko. Taylor just could not help but feel uneasy about this though, Casey then tried to start talking to Chiyoko when she suddenly slapped him.
He was not the one being slapped but Taylor could not help but wince, well this was NOT off to a good start. The two of them went back and forth a bit and Taylor had no idea what they where talking about but it sounded intense. Then Chiyoko called Casey a coward and the man did not like that one bit.
Taylor saw how tense Casey got as he now loomed over Chiyoko, Taylor's eyes grew wide as his heart started to race. Oh no. No no no no no!
" C-Casey... Please calm down." Taylor said in a shaky voice as his nerves where starting to get the better of him now.
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Post by Lepa on Feb 8, 2021 21:03:06 GMT -8
"C-Casey... Please calm down."Casey couldn't help but let out a restrained grunt in response. He really didn't want to lose his temper in front of Taylor and scare him off, but boy was Chiyoko making it difficult. She was angry about a complicated situation that happened under even more complicated circumstances, so only part of Casey felt responsible for what happened. The other part was completely out of his control, but it seemed like Chiyoko was bent on blaming it all on him. She noticed Casey's expression falter slightly, taking it as a cue to continue unloading her pent up anger. "You say you aren't a coward, but you could've fooled me!" She pouted, her cheeks puffing up. "I don't see any other reason why you'd run away!""I didn't run away!" He protested, his fists now clenched. He struggled to hold his composure. "Did Pryce even tell ya why I went off on his ass?!""Why?!" She asked rhetorically, folding her arms. "Because you're a bully?""No, damnit! I thought he was takin' advantage of you, okay?!" He let out a frustrated breath. "Always makin' light of sh*t... Draggin' ya around n' toutin' you around like some kinda wind up doll...!" He leaned back, knitting his brow. "I was just tryin' to look out for ya-""By threatening my closest friend?!" She clenched her fists, hugging them close to her chest. "I knew you had some kinda problem with him, but I asked you guys to talk about it!" She threw her hands up in frustration. "And you couldn't even do that without resorting to violence!" She huffed. The colors of her outfit seemed to fade for a moment, but neither of them noticed. Chiyoko couldn't help but eye Taylor again. "I'm telling you, get away from this jerk while you still can!""HEY!" He barked defensively, shifting his stance as if to shield Taylor. His accent seemed to get thicker. "Yer beef is with me, so leave him outta this! You got no idea what he's been through!""What about Bill, huh?" She frowned, trying to glare at Casey again. "What about me? What about what he and I have been through?! How can I believe you'd care about someone if you're so willing to abandon them without a second thought?"The words stung, but Casey bit back. "What about what I've been through, huh?!" He grit his teeth, his volume slowly escalating. "Maybe yer right, maybe I f*cked up, but I got my reasons! You do not know what I've dealt with!""That's not an excuse, Casey!" She responded sharply. "Even if you were looking out for me, that's not an excuse to threaten people! Just because you thought Bill was trying to "control" me doesn't mean you can do the same thing by threatening him!""Don't ya dare accuse me of controllin' anyone!" He snarled with surprising ferocity. It was Chiyoko's turn to falter, lifting her fists defensively. "You don't know shit about me, Chiyoko!" He hissed at her through grit teeth. "You don't know what it's like to be controlled by someone else!" He curled his fingers into a fist as it ignited into a ferocious blue blaze. Chiyoko's eyes widened; in all the time she knew him, it was the first time she'd seen Casey's powers. Still, she wasn't the same scared rookie she was when they first met. As soon as she saw the flames, she swiftly hopped backwards to make distance between them. Casey himself lunged forward at her movement. The girl struck a ridiculous pose, firing off a magical beam. It was slightly duller than her initial attack, filled with broken hearts. Casey himself circled around the beam, taking a wide approach as he rushed at Chiyoko. As he hurled a flaming punch, she threw her hands up. A translucent shield materialized between the two, blocking his attack. "This is exactly what I'm talking about!" She huffed from behind the barrier. "The violence!""Yer the one who hit me first, dumbass!" He snapped back on the other end, still boring his fist into the shield. The flames only grew as he pressed it forward. "And I tried talkin'! But yer the one who don't wanna listen to me!" He growled. As his flames burned hotter, Chiyoko struggled to keep her shield up. "If ya came all the way out here just to shove words 'n my mouth, then fuck it! I'm done talkin'!"With one last burst of flames, Chiyoko had no choice but to drop her shield. Casey's fist suddenly rocketed forward with all the force he'd built up behind it. Chiyoko barely had a chance to put her arms up in defense. She blocked his attack, but the power of Casey's strike knocked her back on impact. She managed to stay standing, however. As delicate as she looked, she had more than her share of fights before. A fair amount of them had even been against Casey when they trained together, but... he was going easy on her then. She noticed there was a definite spike in his skill level now (especially with the powers and all), but that wouldn't deter her. From that point, the pair continued to fight. The attacks of pink hearts and blue flames were accompanied by them periodically yelling over each other; mostly bits about their history together or flat out name calling. Honestly, both of them were so focused on venting their anger that they'd all but forgotten that Taylor was even there to begin with.
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Post by Yuki on Feb 8, 2021 22:42:42 GMT -8
Taylor just stood there helplessly as it seemed things got more and more heated between Casey and Chiyoko, part of him just wanted to run.. This had nothing to do with him at all.. But his sense of loyalty kept his feet planted. Things just kept getting worse and worse as Chiyoko just kept on accusing Casey, she then at one point looked at him again and Taylor made eye contact with her giving her a pleading look. "I'm telling you, get away from this jerk while you still can!"Awww come on... Taylor would think to himself and took notice that Casey stepped in front of her as if to block her from looking at him. The two went back and forth some more, Taylor just wanted them to stop.. Then she went and said it again, "Even if you were looking out for me, that's not an excuse to threaten people! Just because you thought Bill was trying to "control" me doesn't mean you can do the same thing by threatening him!""No! That's not true!" Taylor cried out. Why was she not listening? Then it seemed Casey lose it he started to use his powers and started to attack Chiyoko. Taylor stood stunned as he watched the fight unfold. "No... Please stop...." Taylor said softly at first, but anger at what was going on started to swell with in him. The wind started to pick up as Taylor's anger grew. He closed his eyes, "STOP IT BOTH OF YOU!!!!!" Taylor screamed at the top of his lungs as now the wind started to whip around harshly and a very powerful gust of wind would suddenly hit Casey and Chiyoko sending them both flying off the dock into the water. Hearing the splash Taylor opened his eyes and gave a look of shock and despair.  (this is the look Taylor is giving xD;; ) What...Did....He...Just...Do.... He looked at Casey and Chiyoko who where now in the water, his anger replaced with fear on how they would react to this! Taylor slowly took a few steps back before turning taking off in a run. Though he did not run far long when he looked up, using his wind powers he then jumped and flew up and landed on a roof of a warehouse. When he landed he turned to look at Casey and Chiyoko's direction what was going to happen now? |
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Post by Lepa on Feb 9, 2021 1:10:38 GMT -8
"STOP IT BOTH OF YOU!!!!!"
Though Casey heard Taylor's plea, the adrenaline was pumping and he knew better than to take his eyes off his opponent during a fight. Chiyoko, however, seemed to make this mistake. She immediately jolted her head in Taylor's direction. Casey would've taken the chance to strike, but the look on Chiyoko's face was enough to convince him to glance Taylor's way, too. Neither of them were prepared for the gale force winds. Chiyoko let out a surprised cry as the violent gusts hurled both her and Casey into the sea.
Several moments passed before the latter emerged from the ocean with another splash.
"Hrah...!" Casey gasped. "Jesus! What the hell was... ugh..." He coughed, sputtering for air. He took several breaths to steady himself, then looked around. "...Chiyoko?" He asked, trying to comb the hair out of his eyes. "...Chiyoko!"
Chiyoko emerged seconds later. "Bwah! Hrack...!" She coughed. Her hair was no longer in a ponytail, instead matted flatly over her face. "Ghh..." She cleared her throat, doing what she could to keep her head above the surface.
"Sh*t... Here," Casey swam over, offering his back to her. Chiyoko curled her arms over his shoulders without a word, still sputtering off to the side. It didn't take long for him to find a ladder back up to the docks and onto the concrete. Once they reached it, Chiyoko lowered herself to the ground. She pressed her palms against the pavement and started coughing again. Casey tried to pat her on the back. "You, uh... you okay?" He asked. Before she answered, his brows raised when he noticed she was wearing a completely different outfit.
"Urk...!" Chiyoko let out a particularly loud cough, then caught her breath. "Y-Yeah..." She sat up, panting. "Wh-what was that...?" She tried to pull aside the hair that draped over her face. "Was it..."
"Taylor?" Casey called out, looking around. He didn't see him. "Damn..." He sighed, resting his hands on his hips. He couldn't help but recall the force of the winds that struck him and Chiyoko. Was that what Taylor was fully capable of...? He shook his head. He'd experienced the evidence first hand, but Casey was still having trouble believing it.
But if the doctor found out...
"Taylor!" Casey tried calling out again, yanking his vest off in the meantime.
God, he hoped he was at least okay.
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Post by Yuki on Feb 9, 2021 6:23:08 GMT -8
Taylor watched as the two of them struggled to get out of the water, Chiyoko seemed to struggle the most. That just made Taylor worry all the more but thankfully Casey was able to help her out of the water. Now Casey and Chiyoko looked more confused then angry, but... At least they stopped fighting.
"Y-Yeah..."
"Wh-what was that...?"
"Was it..."
Chiyoko would ask.
"Taylor?"
Taylor could not help but flinch when Casey called out his name, though it was not out of anger. But the boy did not respond just yet.
"Taylor!"
Again Casey called out again this time a little louder and more urgently. Taylor gave a soft sigh, "I-I'm r-right here!" Taylor called down to them. He was now sitting on his knees and also resting on his hands as he looked off the roof of the warehouse. He was still giving the look of shock and despair, "I-I'm s-sorry I didn't mean to do that!" Taylor apologize but stayed on the roof top. Though flinched when Casey yanked his vest off. Why did he take it off? Was Casey angrier then he had thought? Maaaan....
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Post by Lepa on Feb 9, 2021 20:05:05 GMT -8
"I-I'm r-right here! I-I'm s-sorry, I didn't mean to do that!"
Casey followed the sound of Taylor's voice. He relaxed a bit once he saw him perched on top of one of the warehouses. "Whew..." He let out another sigh, partially out of relief and partially to catch his breath. "Uh... S'okay, Taylor." He scratched at his head. "I think, uh... I think we needed that," he admitted, looking aside in embarrassment.
"W-Wait..." Chiyoko steadily got to her feet. "He did that?" She blinked, looking at Taylor warily.
"Still havin' a hard time believin' it myself," He snerked. If that was the sort of power that got people picking on Taylor, well... Casey could see why. Honestly, it was pretty terrifying, but he couldn't help but feel a small bit of pride for him. "Didn't know ya had that in ya, kid!" He called out again, amused. "I think I can safely say, that, uh... we're done fer the day, though."
Chiyoko stared at Casey for a moment, then hung her head with a sigh. "...S-Sorry..."
"Er... Same." He answered awkwardly. "We'll, uh... talk about it later." Casey tugged at one of his wet sleeves. "...Need to change outta this..." He murmured.
"N-No, really..." Chiyoko started wringing the water out of her hair. "I don't know what came over me..." She looked down, now ringing water out of her dress. "Just, when I saw what you were doing, it... it looked like how Mr. Pryce described it..." She winced.
"...Ah." It was all he could say. The maneuver he'd been practicing with Taylor was the same one he'd used on Chiyoko's manager and friend, Bill.
"...Sorry again. I'm supposed to be a hero now, you know." She glanced back up at Casey. "I'm supposed to fight for love and justice and... uh... wh..." She trailed off, distracted by a now shirtless Casey. He'd been squeezing the water out of one of his sleeves and only noticed Chiyoko's stare when she'd stopped talking.
"...Can't stand 'round too long in wet clothes." He stated simply. "Might catch hy-po-ther-mia," He sounded out the word for emphasis. "...Got a doctor friend who warned me 'bout it." He shrugged. Chiyoko blinked.
"I... I see." She nodded, then snapped her gaze in a different direction. When she failed to continue her earlier thought, Casey did the same.
"Uh... Got any questions, Taylor?" He called out again, though he didn't really expect him to. All he wanted to do was try and stifle the awkwardness between him and Chiyoko.
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Post by Yuki on Feb 9, 2021 21:22:29 GMT -8
Taylor closed his eyes as he braced himself to get yelled at, it never turned out good when he went full blast like that... People always looked at him as if he was some sort of monster..
"Uh... S'okay, Taylor." "I think, uh... I think we needed that,"
Taylor opened his eyes and stared down at Casey, he... He didn't yell at him.
"W-Wait..." "He did that?"
Taylor winced at the tone of Chiyoko's voice and the way she looked at him. Dammit... Was she scared of him now?
Taylor hung his head and sighed, well... He could at lest be happy that Casey was not mad at him.
Casey started speaking again causing Taylor to look up again.
"Still havin' a hard time believin' it myself," "Didn't know ya had that in ya, kid!" He called seemingly amused. "I think I can safely say, that, uh... we're done fer the day, though."
Taylor just gave a small nod but did not say anything. He then watched as Casey and Chiyoko started to apologize to each other. Well looks like they have cooled down from before.. But he still felt bad sending them flying into the sea like that.. He could have hurt them..
"Uh... Got any questions, Taylor?"
Casey's question brought Taylor back out of his thoughts, questions? Taylor sighed.
"No..." He said in a soft tone, well he could not stay on this roof forever. So the young teen stood up summoning his winds again, jumping of the roof he seemed to glide down till he feet touched the pavement. Taylor started to rub his left arm and was looking off to the side as if he could not bring himself to look at ether Casey or Chiyoko. But to help dry them off he summoned a gentle breeze.
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Post by Lepa on Feb 9, 2021 22:25:23 GMT -8
"I figured," Casey shrugged again. He ran his fingers through his hair, flicking specks of water out of it. "S'no problem."
"So, um... Taylor, was it?" Chiyoko asked, removing her soaking cardigan. She tried to shake it out in the small breeze. She was undoubtedly wary of Taylor, but she did her best to hide it under politeness. "That was, um... pretty impressive." She smiled nervously. Her meekness was a stark contrast to her frilly, woman-scorned rage that happened only minutes ago.
"Hell yeah it was," Casey agreed more enthusiastically, taking a boot off. He flipped it upside down and a small bit of seawater splashed out. He let out a small snort and looked back at Taylor to watch his reaction. He frowned when he realized he was being timid about the whole thing. "...Hey, don't worry 'bout it none." Casey assured him. "Trust me, that ain't the worst I've been through... I got a couple of knuckleheaded buddies who subject me to a whole range of stupid stuff." He let out a deep sigh at the thought, rolling his eyes for good measure. "If I can handle their dumb antics 24/7, I can handle a lil' bit of accidental wind. Important thing is bein' able to adapt to a situation." He smiled. "Otherwise, the hell kinda fighter would I be?"
Chiyoko couldn't help but smile, too. She was still too embarrassed to look at Casey, but the sentiment reminded her of the days they'd trained together. She couldn't help but speak up, glancing Casey's way ever so slightly. "Uhm... I'm sorry again for interrupting you two." She frowned, turning her attention back to Taylor. "I... really should've listened to you."
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Post by Yuki on Feb 9, 2021 23:29:48 GMT -8
Taylor just stood there unsure what to say or do... Everything was super awkward now.. He just wanted to leave and lock himself up in his room for several hours. He stiffened when Chiyoko spoke to him.
"So, um... Taylor, was it?" "That was, um... pretty impressive."
Taylor did not look at her, "No it wasn't.. I scared you.." Taylor thought to himself. He could tell Chiyoko was just trying to be polite. How he just wanted to call her out on it.. But he had already made a mess of things and Casey was sure to get mad if he mouthed off at Chiyoko. So the boy just stood there in silence.
It did not take long for Casey to see how quiet he was and tried to cheer him up.
"...Hey, don't worry 'bout it none." "Trust me, that ain't the worst I've been through... I got a couple of knuckleheaded buddies who subject me to a whole range of stupid stuff." "If I can handle their dumb antics 24/7, I can handle a lil' bit of accidental wind. Important thing is bein' able to adapt to a situation." "Otherwise, the hell kinda fighter would I be?"
Taylor did not look at him ether as he stared off to the side, "You may be ok with it... But I'm not... I scared someone again..." Taylor once again thought to himself. How he wanted to say it out loud.. But he just stayed silent.
Chiyoko would speak again,
"Uhm... I'm sorry again for interrupting you two."
Looking at Taylor again she would say,
"I... really should've listened to you."
"Its.... ok..." Taylor replied in a soft tone.
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Post by Lepa on Feb 10, 2021 19:37:03 GMT -8
Chiyoko continued to frown, mentally berating herself. Everything she did past trying to protect Taylor was the exact opposite of how a hero should've acted. She believed she had the right to be some level of angry at Casey, but... to continue attacking instead of listening to reason was just wrong. She couldn't really blame Taylor for what he did, even if it was a bit on the extreme side... But he was supposed to be training with Casey. Judging from Casey's own surprised reaction, it wasn't anything he'd seen before. "I-it's okay! Really!" She tried to insist. "If you're still practicing, um... it happens." She shrugged with a sheepish laugh. The beam attacks she used were simple enough, but she admittedly had trouble steadying them when she was first starting out.
Casey, on the other hand, already assured Taylor not to worry about it; he didn't quite realize why the kid was being so gloomy. Maybe if Chiyoko wasn't there, he'd have picked up on it, though her presence was the very thing that caused Taylor's woe to begin with. "...Well, uh..." He looked about for a second, unsure of how to approach him. Hell, he wasn't sure how he'd talk to Chiyoko later, either.
Boy, relationships sure were hard.
"...I'm gonna head back to my place." Casey finally said, slinging his hoodie over his shoulder. "Chiyo, you..." He hesitated. He couldn't just leave her in soaking clothes, but... bringing her along would mean seeing where he lived, too. It wasn't something he was looking forward to showing off. "...You should come with me," he managed to finish. He then looked to Taylor with a bit of uncertainty. "And, uh... Taylor..." He scratched at the back of his head. "You... gonna be okay, kid?"
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Post by Yuki on Feb 10, 2021 21:28:15 GMT -8
Taylor listened as Chiyoko spoke again but he did not reply still refusing to look at her. He was fighting back tears, at this point he was doing all he could not to break out in tears in front of Casey and Chiyoko. He hated it when others worried about him, but being silent was most likely not helping though.
As Casey spoke to Chiyoko, Taylor just stood there awkwardly till Casey spoke to him again.
"And, uh... Taylor..."
"You... gonna be okay, kid?"
Taylor then finally looked at him giving a small nod,
"Y-yeah... Same time next weekend?" Taylor asked meekly.
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Post by Lepa on Feb 10, 2021 22:00:36 GMT -8
Casey finally saw the weariness and sadness in Taylor's eyes, but the teen's question seemed to indicate he wasn't interested in talking about it. It definitely made Casey concerned, but... it was okay. It was fine if he didn't want to bring it up. Casey didn't really know what he could even say to try and console him anyway, especially since he usually dealt with his emotions by punching things. Maybe he'd ask Riki to check up on him later...
"...Yeah." He nodded back, forcing a small smile. "Same time."
With that, Casey started gathering up his things. Chiyoko waited patiently, still trying her hardest to avoid staring at Casey. In looking around, she accidentally stole a small glance at Taylor. She gave a timid wave before looking elsewhere. It was a lot to take in, to say the least.
"Stay safe on yer way home," Casey added as he hoisted up his belongings. "And if ya deal with any more punks, lemme know. Got that?" He paused. "...I'll see ya 'round, Taylor." He lifted a hand in a small wave before turning to leave. Chiyoko waited a few moments, quickly giving Taylor a similar farewell before scurrying after Casey.
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Post by Yuki on Feb 10, 2021 22:33:00 GMT -8
Taylor nodded when Casey agreed to meet at the same time next weekend , he then walked over to his backpack he had brought him with and slung it over his shoulders. Taylor stole one last glance after at Casey, how he wish he could have kept training just a little longer... He wanted to get stronger, not just for himself but those he cared for. As he looked at Casey, Taylor saw the glance Chiyoko gave him and the wave. Forcing a small smile Taylor gave a small wave back before looking away again. " Am I really that scary?" Taylor thought to himself as he felt his tears starting to come rather he liked it or not.
He quickly turned his back to Casey and Chiyoko so they would not see his tears. But Casey spoke again before he could leave,
"Stay safe on yer way home," "And if ya deal with any more punks, lemme know. Got that?" He would pause. "...I'll see ya 'round, Taylor."
"Y-yeah ok..." was Taylor's meek reply as his voice cracked a little as his emotions where now started to get the better of him.
But before ether Casey and Chiyoko say anything more Taylor took to the sky's but he did not fly home, he flew in the direction of the forest. He could not go home.. Not yet.
Taylor then landed in the lake area in the forest, it was one of his most favorite places in Aster. No one really bothered him here and he could just relax. Now though however it was a place to cry and to be alone. Taylor dropped his backpack to the ground as he walked up to his resting tree. Leaning on it he slumped down till he was sitting, tears now gushing out of his eyes and he covered his face as he cried. He cried loudly just letting all of his bent up emotions out.
"Taylor?" Asked a very familiar and concerned voice.
Taylor removed his hands and gasped, "K-Kit!" He said in surprise.
The Kitsune gave a small smile and nodded as he came up and sat down next to Taylor, Placing a hand on his back and started to give the young teen a back rub. "Yeah buddy, I'm back. Kit had only just come back and had been looking for Taylor so he had been looking in all the places he knew Taylor liked to go and was just lucky to end up here just as Taylor showed up.
Taylor was happy to see his bestfriend again but his tears just would not stop and he went back to crying.
"You just let all out Taylor.. I'll be right here." Kit said as he rubbed Taylor's back and started to hum a song as he stayed by Taylor's side. It seemed they both had many things to talk about, but Kit was willing to wait till Taylor was ready.
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