misterbrief | 9th Taunt

[He'd thought a lot about this, long and hard. But even with all the evidence presented to him over the past year and a half, that still was never enough for him. He didn't want to rely on anything else to fight, he had his own power and his own strength. But being caught like he did so many times on the draft by shifters, relying solely on his own natural strength to survive- there had just been too many close calls.

And he had needed help more than once. How much that ate at his mind was unfathomable except to a few. One day no one was going to be there to help him, even if he hated the very idea of needing help. And if he wasn't ready, where would he be? Put into a position that he allowed for himself to be in, to die. To be sacrificed, like he was already by that bomb the cultists used on them. And next time, he wouldn't be so lucky and he knew it. He still had his reservations about contacting the spirits. But, he felt as if he couldn't avoid it much longer.

Too many what ifs. What if even something so small from the spirits would have helped him? He was sick of it, sick of knowing that might be the only thing he could rely on against their enemy. The only thing that worked when all his other powers were disabled. But even so, there's still more he wanted to know. Because if there's anything he hates, it's wasting time on things that are pointless.]

Video:

[The video feed flickers on, revealing the face of the prince, looking as serious as ever. He gets straight to the point.]

I must know. For those of you who are in contact with the spirits here, what use do you find in their power? Especially in combat. I might even have the patience to listen to a story or two regarding that, as I find it incredibly important in this matter. [He glances off to the side, knowing how this goes in Luceti.]

I know some of you would prefer to speak in person about such things. I'll be at Mythoria Café later tonight. But I won't stay long.

Action:

[As always, he's easily found. During the day, either at House 29 or the Battle Dome training, with both his sword or with his abilities. He does keep his word, appearing at Mythoria Café after he's done training and showered for the day.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You and your hunches. I'd rather have proof before I go relying on something like that.

Then why not include that in your search and ask around? I'm sure one of the magic users here have tried things like that, and can tell you all about it.

Hmmmm. [It's not a bad idea.]

Alright. But I'm willing to bet I'm right on this one.

Maybe, but the idea of it ain't so bad even if you aren't stuck as a dog.

...If you want, I've got a friend who does a lot of this magic stuff. Want me to ask her a few questions the next time we talk?

If you wish. I've got some of my own magic users I can speak with, but more input couldn't hurt.

[And if he can get any kind of good, straight answers around here, he'll be a lot more happy.]

Yeah, I'll see what I can get together. [Between hunkering down in the battle dome in the evenings to practice those techniques that Vegeta had shown him and trying to compensate for his vision, he needed another distraction. Besides, the information couldn't hurt him, either.]

You'll share with me what you find too, right?

I didn't know you were that interested. We can barely get you to train, let alone learn anything new.

Hey-- didn't I already tell ya? Vacations' over.

[He holds his hands out open in front of him, grinning.]

If you say so. I suppose I can pass along whatever I find.

[Hey, so long as he was having trouble aiming his throws and dodging blasts from that set-up Vegeta had showed him last winter, there was no time for a break. He needed to get a handle of where his blindspots were before they faced another invasion situation.]

Awesome. All this should pan out to something interesting, at least. I hope it's useful too.

I expect it to be. If not, then I don't see why so many bother to waste their time.

[Except with Nala.]

With the magic? Who knows-- they think differently than you and I do.

[Magic. Symbology. While they represented two fundamentally different ways of reaching the same outcome, they both amounted to the same thing in Cliff's mind-- a horribly complicated wall that he had never bothered trying to surmount before.

But, it was far past the time to let the status quo remain the same. Cliff knew that he was going to give it a try one way or another.]

Of course they do. A good portion of them don't know what it is to stare death in the face. [He knows plenty have seen their share of battle too around here, but a lot of them were just kids to him- and certainly don't act like they fight and kill often.]

That may be...but, the ones we fought with back there have.

[Zompania. Cliff didn't think he needed to clarify-- the very thought of that entire affair put a bad taste in his mouth.]

Then maybe they'll wise up and start to look into other options as well. [Not saying some don't do that already, but he's seen the contentment over the last eight months or so from the residents. It was sickening.]

The last thing we need is everyone sitting around waiting around for the next attack.

What, and end up like we did last summer?

[His tone was unnecessarily sharp-- he didn't regret what he had gained from that incident at all, but the notion that they could be controlled so easily still burned him.]

I don't think anyone's gonna be that dumb, Vegeta. Upping the ante seems to be on everyone's mind lately.

[He scowls back, because he didn't want to be reminded of that incident again. It also burns him beyond belief.]

Good. I do hope that draft served as a wake up call for the rest of those slackers around here. But I won't sit here and worry about them all day. If they truly want to do something, then they'll do it.

I'm going to see what I can dig up. You're planning on using this magic too, aren't you.

I'm thinking about it.

[Cliff placed extra emphasis on the adverb, beause the notion of magic still was a gray area for him.]

I've got a hard time with Symbology, so I dunno if I'll do anything with it or not. But, it's stupid to ignore it anymore, yanno?

Perhaps. [He looks away for a second, because he was still contemplating ignoring it, but...he didn't know. The man is torn on the subject.] I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

9th Taunt | Video/Action

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