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Entry tags:

c: marcello

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Character: Marcello.
Fandom: Dragon Quest 8.
Player Name: Lisa

[Marcello's body quietly lay amongst the rubble for some time. The bits of rocks made him feel woefully uncomfortable. And the one lying beneath his elbow did indeed jab into his arm and make him move. And he was soaking. Even if he wasn't lying amongst the rubble back on Neos - he thought he was - he was still rubbing the back of his head and feeling wamrth run to the side of it. While it felt strange, for he was soaked through. He swung over his arm and rose to his feet as slowly and clumsily as he could force his body to move.]

[He took the time to orient himself. It was strange. Night had spread like a dark veil across the sky. He saw beyond his pile a clean city. He stropped then and waited for his mind to catch up with his eyes, with a hand gripped over his amulet like a talisman. His free hand pushed his sword down stiffly, like it was struggling against some unseen force.]

"It seems fate got the first word in after all."

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I'm sure it's very important if you call it home, Sir.

[ Hilda wasn't going to pry much further than that, but she had to put in her own two cents on the matter. In a polite manner, of course. Marcello was obviously older than her, and people older than her should be treated with respect.

... Unless they do something to be undeserving of it. But she didn't know Marcello very well (or at all, really), so he was respected until proven unworthy of it.

It's at this point though that she realizes they hadn't exchanged names at all. She holds out a hand for a handshake. ]

I'm Hilda, by the way. It's nice to meet you, Sir.

[Marcello's face became somewhat confused. He saw no weapon in Hilda's hand, and had never seen a female knight.]

[Watching her for a moment, he began to plan his future. He had not expected to have to play the game again so soon. He raised his left hand and snapped his fingers. There was a pleasant smile on his face.]

A pleasure to meet you as well, Hilda. Tell me, are you alone in this place?

[ Oh ... okay, so no handshakes. And no name exchange. Hilda's hand fell to her side. Well, that was up to him to begin with, so she shouldn't be disappointed at all. At least he was smiling?

Hilda returned that smile, then shook her head, continuing to be polite at the least. ]

No, sir. A few friends from my world are here already.

[And what a strange world they were all from, Marcello thought.]

[Hilda's information made him worry, though. What if his brother's friends came along - after him? It was doubtful they would see eye to eye.]

What the... I doubt such a thing is possible. Yes, I would say I'm quite shocked. Are you all gifted in magic?

~~[Back on his world, some talented magic-users use teleportation spells. He's assuming that's the case here.]~~

[ Uhhh ... Magic? Hilda blinks at him a few times, confused. ]

Magic? No Sir, nobody I know really well is a magician ...

[ This is like, pull the Buneary out of the hat tricks magic, right? ]

I might have met a Magician a while ago? But if I had, they didn't show me magic tricks, they just asked me for a battle.

[Here Marcello fell into contemplative silence. Not a magician, eh? Then it was odd she seemed to be unarmed.]

A battle. That is... How on earth can any country permit a wizard to duel an unarmed girl?

Huh? O-Oh, no, he didn't fight me with magic tricks or anything ... It was a Pokemon battle. Here, let me show you ...

[ She takes one of her Pokeballs from her belt. ]

Frillish!

[ From the ball, there is a light. And when the light fades, there is a blue jellyfish-like creature hovering in front of Hilda. He makes a sound that vaguely resembles the name Hilda spoke, then zoomed over to Hilda's side, nuzzling her face a little. Hilda giggled and pet the creature on his head. ]

I was warned that some people in this place don't know what Pokemon are ... it's a little weird for me to have to explain it, since they're everywhere in my own world. This is Frillish. He's one of my Pokemon. In my own world, it's common for people who train Pokemon like him to have their Pokemon battle each other.

[Marcello seized the hilt of his sword. That way, he could move even more quickly were the monster hostile. He stared at the creature, hardly able to believe he was really seeing it. He was more surprised, rather, that it was showing affection, as some animals do to the master looking after them.]

[Warily he let go. It was a very strange situation. This was not surprising, given the nature of this place. The problem, however, became a simple one when he treated 'Frillish' like a monster - because it was one. A whole crowd of roaring, blood-baying nobility came to mind, which he stamped out by telling himself it would be unwise to accuse the girl of heresy. He had tortured people for consorting with monsters. But that was no longer his concern.]

[He hesitated to speak. It sounded strange to say, but he knew what he had seen and now he had to cope with it. He brushed himself down and, to make amends, bowed his head with his left hand over his chest.]

Forgive me. Such pastimes where I hail from are nothing more than the preserve of the rich. The concern of most people is to not get killed by such things.

Edited 2013-05-27 15:07 (UTC)

Ah ... well, I can tell you for sure, Frillish won't hurt you at all. He's very gentle with people.

[ To emphasize, the Frillish made his sound and nuzzled his trainer's cheek again, then hovered over to Marcello and floated around happily in front of him. ]

He's a rather picky eater, though ...

[ Frillish turned and made a face at Hilda at that, as if he were exasperated that she wouldn't let it go. It made the young girl smile. ]

[Marcello hesitated. The creature seemed sincere. But he still didn't trust it. He pulled his gloves tighter up his arms. And the monster, as it spun around, didn't fill him with warmth much.]

You should train him better, then.

[ Frillish seems rather insulted. He makes a few sounds, then returns to his trainer. ]

That's not the sort of thing that he can be trained for ... besides, Frillish is my friend. I don't want to force my friend to eat something he doesn't like.

[ Petpetpet the Frillish. ]

[Seeing that Marcello lived in a world where there was plague, famine and hunger, he seemed to have a hard time understanding how both were ungrateful about food. The monster had no sense of self-preservation, then? As Frillish drew over to Hilda, he thought it was being rewarded with admiration for acting like a spoiled child.]

Then let him go hungry, by all means. A spell of hunger and I hardly think he would object to eating anything at all.

[ We're more fortunate than that, Marcello. And yeah, we might just take it for granted. A lot.

... And Frillish is a spoiled child, we'll give him that. ]

I couldn't do that to him! And it's not that big of a deal ... I have the means to provide for what he needs, so ...

~~[The similarity here is that both seem spoiled by leniency - Francisco's in his case.]~~

[Marcello looked unmoved. He was the sort of man who starved his own brother on the pretense of discipline. He was not the sort to show sympathy any more, and he waved a hand to make an interruption.]

Then how he will learn anything I do not know. Though, I suppose it is no business of mine.

Edited 2013-05-30 23:44 (UTC)

[ She's not exactly happy for the knock to her Pokemon, but she's going to just continue to pet Frillish. ]

He'll get by.

[Marcello seemed to give in. As quietly as he could, he gave a little laugh.]

Yes, yes. You both will survive, I dare say.

[And in came the problem he had with scraping by.]

Or would you rather enjoy living?

Edited 2013-05-31 22:45 (UTC)

[ blink. blink. from both the girl and her Frillish. ]

I'm not sure I understand, sir?

[Marcello made the issue clearer, greatly.]

How can you not?

I question your acceptance of this creature 'getting by'.

[He believed life was not for 'getting by'. Living was to get ahead. To achieve. To conquer. Even if you met with some kind of misfortune...]

You seem like a good person, but your complacency is shocking to me. What if he never learns? Are you satisfied with that?

[ Yep, staring forever. ]

What else is he supposed to learn? He battles, and he gains experience through that ... and he gets along with my team really well. So he doesn't need to learn how to be friendlier at all. He's a picky eater, but does that really matter if I have the means to provide for his needs?

[Marcello hesitated. Hilda's leniency had impressed on him that the monster would get away with more. But, importantly, that the two were friends. He recalled that he had made plenty of those too, but that none of them were trustworthy.]

Of course! I cannot even imagine how by being permissive, whether it be for kindness or weakness, you actually help him. After all, it doesn't set a good example. Though, in truth I know nothing about raising a monster. Are you some sort of hunter?

[ His assumption on them being friends was right on target. Her Pokemon may be considered pets to many people, but she always saw them as friends and tried to consider their feelings and their needs above all else. ]

A Pokemon Trainer, Sir.

[ The former champion of her region's Pokemon league, in fact. She gave that all up when she went to find someone important to her. She wouldn't exactly advertise that even if she hadn't given it up, though. ]

If I may, though, my Pokemon are probably not anything like the monsters you know back in your world. I form bonds with them. They're my friends. Some of my best friends, actually. A lot of people consider them pets, but they're very special creatures, all with their own likes, dislikes, and minds of their own. If there's something that just absolutely can't be tolerated that needs fixing, then sure, I'll do what I can to set a good example and prevent the same sort of behavior from happening so that my team and I can get along better. Otherwise though, as long as I have the means to make my friends happy, I'm okay with it.

[ Frillish nods and makes a sound, to agree with his trainer. He then hides in her ponytail and pokes his head out occasionally, playfully. ]

It's okay, really. I appreciate the advice, because I think I do understand where you're coming from with that ... but I also think that we come from two very different worlds.

[ She looks to the side, sheepishly. ]

I'm still getting used to the concept of there being different worlds to begin with ... I'm still new here.

[Here Marcello, in the way he was getting used to, was able to put his faith behind him. It amused him how she was able to love her creatures the way he had loved the Abbot: as a person with quirks, habits and dislikes. Such connections were easy to understand.]

[Still, probably nothing would have stopped him from being surprised. He looked a little lost by the different-world concept himself.]

I do my best to not think about it. Be assured every stranger here was new at one time.

[ She nods. ]

I'm pretty lucky in that I have a couple of friends here who can show me around. Do you have anyone like that, Sir?

[Perhaps there was his brother.]

No. All my friends are far away from here.

[And that was the end of that discussion.]

I'm sorry ... I'll do what I can to show you around then, if you don't mind that.