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A Small Step to a Big Leap [Toki] [NPC]
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Post by Alan Pantell on Dec 1, 2018 1:41:19 GMT
Rolling green hills and fields stretched on as far as the eye could see in nearly every direction. There were few landmarks to go by, but they were there, nonetheless: a few Trailmon in the distance, heading into and out of the bustling capital city close by. Standing in the middle of all this was two people: a human boy, barely old enough to be called a "young man," and a Veemon wearing a grey ivy cap.
"You know," spoke the boy, shivering slightly in the breeze, "I never got all much of a look at these plains."
He had considered himself a resident of the digital world since shortly after his first arrival within it, a few months ago in human world time. Since then, he and his digimon partner, Levi, had been calmly exploring the various areas at their own pace, knowing it was foolish to rush headfirst into every location. Every new acquaintance they met along their travels likely had their own stories to tell about this world, and the various perils it held, and so they took their time, staying mostly within the boundaries of cities and towns, or at least close to them. Today they were taking a quick look around the Network Plains, an area of which the two had missed the view provided by the Trailmon ride into Terminus City. They didn't intend to stay for too long, as they were alone, but still made sure to take in the view from where they stood.
"So whaddaya say?" said Levi, "We eat lunch, then head back? There's a tree over there we can sit next to!"
"That's the plan," responded Alan, strolling over to the aforementioned spot as he tried to put his hands in his pockets. One made it in safely, the other was wearing a large digivice cradle on its wrist. "Oh, right. Well, I can't complain when I know it'll come in handy eventually."
"Check this out," said the human, reaching into his infini-store. "Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They're not much, but I used to eat these nearly every day. They were the one lunch I could be sure I'd always feel like eating at the same time of day. For school and similar reasons, you know?"
"Do you miss that?" said Levi, taking a bite of his sandwich, finding it to be decently within his liking.
"What, school? Oh, heck no. Just the sandwiches, and I can have these here like I can anywhere else. Heh, I should tell Mom I still like eating them. She'll probably get a kick out of that."
"Mm-hm."
"Are you doing okay, Levi?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I just like hearing you talk about this stuff, is all. I hope your family does come to visit some time. They seemed nice when I talked to them with you."
"Yeah, and, um... would it be too sappy of me to tell you I'd prefer if you said 'our family?'"
Levi chuckled. "Not at all."
Even after finishing their sandwiches, which didn't take very long, they continued their friendly conversation as minutes ticked by.
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Post by Akemi & Anzu on Dec 4, 2018 19:37:35 GMT
When one referred to the Rail Plains, the term peaceful was generally the consensus on how it was. There were very few, if any, rowdy individuals within this part of the Digital World. The few that were were, well, few and far between. One of these few simply happened to be near a pair of weenies.
And to be perfectly honest? Abaddon was kind of hungry and feeling way too lazy to actually, y'know, work for his own food. Unfortunately he kind of waited a bit too long to actually go over and demand ask politely for sandwiches from these weenies because they had already eaten them. But...The BlackGuilmon had heard a bit of their conversation.
"Family? In this world? Bub...I don't think that's real." The ebony lizard interjected as he made himself visible by climbing up upon a nearby hill.
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Post by Toki Akiyama on Dec 5, 2018 3:20:42 GMT
It's been a while since Toki wandered the plains. Last time he was here it was still in disarray and heavily damaged from some sort of catastrophic event. However, things seemed to have recovered quite nicely out here. The area outside Terminus is once again an awe-inspiring sight, and this was a view that Toki had always wanted to see. He just wanted to relax and breathe it all in.
Despite that wish, it seemed like someone else was here. A few people, in fact. He followed the voices and listened to what they were saying. Something about family? It sounded like a nice conversation, though it seemed the other stranger was being rather rude. He approached the group and casually took a seat near the tamer and Veemon "Family's got a broad definition, friend." he said with a warm smile "Anyone who you care about deeply enough can be considered family, so why not? Humans and Digimon are equal after all."
He extended a hand out to the tamer and his Veemon "Toki Akiyama, self-proclaimed Digital World explorer. How's it going?" he asked. He glanced over at other Digimon before he pulled out a bottle of water from his backpack "Anyone thirsty or hungry? I've got food to share." he looked at the food the tamer and Veemon had "Ah, looks like you guys are covered. What about you?" he asked the other Digimon. BlackGuilmon may have said something a bit rude in a matter-of-fact sort of tone, but that didn't mean Toki was just going to ostracize them for it. "I've got pastries, rice balls, jerky...anything you'd like?" he asked.
Of course if BlackGuilmon continued behaving as they were, he'd have to be careful. If they tried to snatch the backpack, he'd pull it away. But for now he'd attempt to be nice. It would be a shame for a conflict to occur in such a beautiful place.
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Post by Alan Pantell on Dec 5, 2018 13:55:53 GMT
Levi squinted at the sudden entrance of the BlackGuilmon.
"Uhh… listen, I don't know what happened to you in the past, but... I'm pretty sure family is still a concept that exists, whether it consists of actual relatives or not."
"With that said... if you need to talk with anyone, we wouldn't mind company," added Alan.
Soon after, the group was approached by yet another stranger: a human, who offered his own wisdom on the subject. Alan glanced at the ebony digimon nervously following the newcomer's last point. Sure, the young man agreed wholeheartedly that humans and digimon were equal, but he knew that there were some digimon who were quite averse to the notion, and his nature commonly steered him towards letting some things slide in the interest of avoiding conflict.
Nevertheless, Alan and Levi would then turn to shake the other human's hand when he introduced himself.
"Hey there, Toki! I'm Levi!" said the Veemon, vigorously shaking Toki's hand using both of his own.
"And I'm Alan. Alan Pantell. We're self-proclaimed digital world residents, explorer hopefuls, and members of the band Haunted Threnody. We're relatively new to the whole 'partnership' thing, so we've mostly been sticking to exploring cities and towns, taking pleasure in meeting new people."
"So we're delighted to make your acquaintance, even though we're in neither of those things!"
"Oh, and how about you? What's your name?" asked Alan to the BlackGuilmon.
The human and the Veemon were interested by some of the things Toki had to offer, but since they had already eaten, they decided they'd wait and see if there were any leftovers before asking for anything else.
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Post by Akemi & Anzu on Dec 8, 2018 0:47:55 GMT
"Eeeeehhh. Nothing too specific." Why the heck would these guys care if the truth were told? Plus, if there existed equality between man and Digimon then why were the latter capable of blowing stuff up and the former not? He just kind of narrowed his eyes at Toki a little. Like a mocking sorta squint. Uuuup until the guy that just showed up just...
Up and offered him food anyway. To be perfectly honest, this was unprecedented and kind of confusing. The ebony reptile just slowly stalked on over to the two and sniffed at the backpack. The guy didn't seem to be lying...Wait did someone address him? Ask for his name?
"Abaddon." That's really all he said.
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Post by Toki Akiyama on Dec 9, 2018 8:45:25 GMT
Toki seemed to be just fine with the Veemon shaking his hand so quickly. In fact he found it endearing! He gave him a smile and shook Alan's hand as well "Nice to meet all of you, for sure. Digital World...residents, you say? I won't really pry as to the reasoning, but I certainly wouldn't mind lending an ear to listen if there's something you want to talk to somebody about. I can't guarantee I'll have any sound advice, but I'd like to think just having someone to talk to can help." he said. He blushed a bit "I'm rambling again. Sorry." he chuckled.
"So...a band, huh? Funny, I met a musician just recently...maybe the two of you know each other? Does the name Leith mean anything to you two?" he asked them. "In any case, I've been to a lot of places in the Digital World during my time here, so if you need any advice on the matter I'll do what I can. Being a tamer isn't exactly what I do, though..." he said as he took out his Digivice. It looked a little bulkier than the usual Digivices Tamers use "I use the spirits of an ancient Digimon. He's a great friend and mentor, but sadly I have to do all the physical work."
A soft laugh echoed nearby as the faint image of a powerful looking rabbit-like Digimon formed next to him "Sadly? With how well you've taken to it one could say it's as if you've been a Digimon for your entire life." the spirit Digimon said. The monk-like vestments, the calm, closed-eyes expression, and the orbs that floated behind the Digimon made it clear that Toki had been through a lot in the Digital World to make it this far.
Toki smiled "I appreciate that. I just worry I'm still not quite at the level you were, you know?"
"You will one day, I'm sure of it. Ah yes. I'm pleased to meet all of you. May our lives be enriched by our interactions." he said, all the while pressing his hands together and bowing.
If Abaddon would let him, Toki would open the packaging for him and place the food in his clawed hands. "It's nice to meet you, Abaddon. What brings all of you out here today, anyway? It seems like I stumbled upon a picnic in your case." he said as he looked over at Alan and Levi. He returned his focus to Abaddon "Hope you like the food. It's a pretty popular snack back home." he said. He didn't seem guarded at all around Abaddon. He looked genuinely friendly and accepting.
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Post by Alan Pantell on Dec 9, 2018 18:12:02 GMT
"Oh, no, no, you're fine! I like listening to people talk. Not to mention, what you're saying is perfectly sound, from my experience."
"I know I always feel better when I have someone to talk to," added the Veemon.
"And same here," continued the young man. "Though, I admit that now I'm a bit curious what it was about the phrase 'self-proclaimed digital world residents' prompted you to say that. If it's anything about this world's myriad dangers, trust me: we've been remaining cautious. And, not to say something I might regret later, but I think it's been working a bit too well. Heh, someone had to offer us a spar just so we could make sure we wouldn't crumble at the first sign of conflict. In all seriousness, Levi's got himself a good teacher, and it turns out he was already better at this than either of us had assumed. Still, can't be too careful." Three seconds passed, and Alan chuckled. "It's all fine, see? I ramble, too."
"Ah, yeah, we know Leith. I said we're members of Haunted Threnody; that's Leith's band. I'm the drummer, to be exact. He was the one who showed us how to get to the digital world, though I'm not... really in the mood to talk about the first day here. Maybe later; not sure. Nothing too bad. We try to laugh about it now."
The formation of the image of the digimon spirit did not immediately catch the attention of the pair, and merely made them jump slightly when they finally noticed where the voice was coming from, then became a bit embarrassed. "Oh, hello! S...Sorry about that..." Though it was their first time meeting a digimon spirit, that fact mattered less to them than the fact that someone new had entered the conversation, and they hadn't noticed.
"Ohhh..." said Levi, "we've heard the title 'spirit user' being thrown around before, but you're the first one we've had the pleasure of meeting! What's your name? I assume you heard the whole conversation up until now, but I'm still Levi!"
"And I'm still Alan! Nice to meet you!"
Both the human and the dragon returned the bowing gesture to the spirit. "Oh, and nice to meet you, too, Abaddon."
"It's not really a picnic, just a light lunch, and then we were going to head back. Remember how we said we were being cautious? Well, this is us being adventurous, believe it or not. We just wanted to take in the scenery. If you'll excuse the lack of context, I was unconscious on the initial Trailmon ride over."
Levi weakly raised his hand. "And I was on the floor with a splitting headache. It was a..." He glanced over at his partner, who smirked back at him. "...a learning experience."
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Post by Akemi & Anzu on Dec 16, 2018 21:18:01 GMT
It was really kind of...strange to Abaddon that these strangers were being so nice to him. Granted, he was being kind of a dick...Actually, heck, it was perplexing DESPITE that.
In fact...it also felt a little bit uncomfortable. There was also the fact that these were all...strangers, still. Even if he had known their names by now. The BlackGuilmon just...chewed on his food. He looked wary. Super wary.
"...If this is adventurous for you folks, I'm not sure how you being cautious is. Not that I'd...really benefit from knowing that or anything..." The lizard murmured. He seemed alright to just listen in on stuff. For now. Probably.
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Post by Toki Akiyama on Dec 19, 2018 23:45:33 GMT
Toki laughed "Well you guys seem to know about the dangers of this place. But yes...being too cautious in this world can be a double-edged sword. It's good to avoid confrontation here when at all possible because the best battles or those left not fought. That's impossible to achieve all the time though. You have to be ready to defend yourself when things inevitably go wrong. If it's not too rude of me to ask, what stage can you get to, Levi? Depending on your answer, well...I'd like to help the two of you. I may not be a tamer like you two, but I think I'm pretty good at motivating people."
He nodded when they mentioned Leith "Is that so? I'll have to listen to you all play at some point. From what I understand, he stays at Rosewood and plays there a lot of the time, so I'll definitely keep that in mind. If you see him, let him know I hope he's doing okay."
His spirit smiled at Levi's excitement "I've heard the conversation, yes. My name is ZenCherubimon. It's a pleasure to meet you all. And Toki is a far better teacher than he believes. Trust me, if you want to learn more about yourself or become stronger, he can definitely help."
Toki stammered a bit "H-hey now don't put me on such a lofty pedestal! Aw, well...I did say I'd help." he scratched the back of his head. He was still smiling though. He looked over at Abaddon "We all have our own paces we go at. Sometimes it's perfectly okay to approach what the world throws at you with a measure of caution. In any case..." he addressed the whole group "I know this may seem a bit out of no where but...if none of you have plans, then how about an exercise? I'll spirit evolve to an appropriate level for you two and we can figure out how to unlock that potential."
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Post by Alan Pantell on Dec 21, 2018 5:46:13 GMT
Levi's eyes shifted away from Toki, and his head turned downwards, as if embarrassed.
"S...Someone told me a while ago that I was strong enough to reach champion.... but... I'm a r... a r... a r-rookie through-and-through. Even with Royland's training... I mean... only with Royland's training... I've never been in a real fight."
"It looked like a pretty good simulation," replied Alan.
"Yeah, but I knew I could trust him... he wasn't about to..."
"I saw you during that first spar. You went out of your way to fight like your life depended on it."
"I sure did... hey... did you ever read those books he mentioned?'
"...ah, crap. Not yet."
"Looks like we've both got something to work on."
In spite of their moods, the pair couldn't help but smile at ZenCherubimon's words of praise for Toki.
"Aww... You may not be a tamer, but I trust you know far more than we do about being one. Heh!"
"I'd..." Levi gulped. "I'd love for you to help us out, Toki! And ZenCherubimon, too! But, ah," he gave Abaddon a nervous glance. "Maybe later? We have someone else here, after all! Unless you're okay with it, Abaddon! Um... are you okay with it?"
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Post by Akemi & Anzu on Dec 25, 2018 0:31:33 GMT
"...Spars count." Abaddon clicked. He finished chewing his food and swallowed. "Allow me to posit. What counts as a 'real' fight to you?" The BlackGuilmon inquired. His discomfort, while pretty palpable, still, become wonder at ZenCherubimon's input. A ghost? Is this one of the fabled spirits?
And in truth, he was pretty sure the best way to unlock potential in a Digimon was danger. Danger prompts evolution. That's what these guys wanted, right? And they were kind of asking him to spar...
"Yeah. I'm fine with it. But, I'm gonna warn ya--I'm not the best when it comes to holding back." ...Whatever could that mean?
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Post by Toki Akiyama on Dec 25, 2018 9:23:43 GMT
Toki rested his chin in his hand for a moment as he smiled "Excellent! Seems like we're all on board with this then. Though...if I feel like things are getting too out of hand, I'll be forced to do something about it, okay? I don't want it to come to that of course, but this is just to help train you guys up." he said.
He stood up and stretched "Ready?" he glanced back at ZenCherubimon.
"Always." they replied as their form faded away.
He pulled out his Digivice from his coat pocket and his free hand glowed with data streams "If you've never seem a spirit user before...well, you have now!" he brought the data to the scanner and called out "Spirit Evolution!" before the data spiraled around his body, completely obscuring it from view. Eventually, the data would fade and reveal Toki's form as it softly landed back onto the ground, the tall rabbit-like humanoid opening its eyes "Antylamon."
Toki stretched a bit "It's been a little while since I've used Antylamon's form, but this is my equivalent to a Champion as far as strength goes. Now then...Levi, you said you were strong enough to reach champion? I'm not too versed in how tamers and their partners work, but..." he looked over at Alan "What do you think is needed to help him reach that next stage? Levi isn't alone in this and neither are you Alan."
He stepped back and looked at Abaddon, then back at Levi and Alan "If it's alright with you, I want you and Abaddon to spar. I'll watch and give you as much advice as I can and step in if I have to, but the point of this is to see if you can unlock that potential I know you all have within you." he sat down and observed what would happen next. "Though if there's anything I've been taught during my time here, is that confidence and determination are the key. Believe in yourself, and believe in your partner. It's a dangerous world out there, but you're never alone."
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Post by Alan Pantell on Dec 31, 2018 21:29:58 GMT
A human transforming into a digimon. Right before his eyes. It was a breathtaking sight for Alan and Levi, as well as somewhat reassuring to them, for reasons about which they had both agreed to refrain from thinking most of the time. They stared in silent amazement, a single "wow" in unison under their breaths. After the transformation, Alan spoke up. "That... brings a tear to my eye, to be honest."
"Beauteous," added Levi.
Alan wasn't sure what to answer when An-Toki-mon asked him what he thought Levi needed to reach champion. No, that was a lie. He knew exactly what he suspected Levi needed, but he was hesitant to say so. If he was correct, he almost definitely wasn't going to like it.
I can do this. I need to move past my fears eventually, Alan told himself.
The tamer looked at Abaddon, with whom Toki asked Levi and him to spar, thinking about the BlackGuilmon's warning; he had told them that he wasn't the best at holding back. Perhaps it was a good thing, but how strong was this digimon? Should it matter? Toki had said he would step in if things got out of hand. It was a good safety measure, but the fear that was now tearing at Alan was that safety measures might be counterproductive to their goals.
"What do I think we need to reach the next level? Well, if I had to guess, I'd say..."
Alan gulped.
"...absolute necessity."
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Post by Akemi & Anzu on Dec 31, 2018 23:33:01 GMT
So this was the power of a spirit. Huh. To think the incorporeal would lend their aid to a human just like that...It struck the BlackGuilmon as odd. He locked eyes with Alan as the tamer stood pensively, staring a stare that one could presume was judging many things. Character. Bravery. Et cetera. "Absolute necessity." Abaddon repeated. That was tough. Necessity was a broad word. What did -Abaddon- think was necessary? Why, a big dragon for the little dragon to square off with, of course. It was a good thing he had realized some of the potential Toki spoke of before. The BlackGuilmon turned and took a few steps away from the two before he raised a claw and stabbed it into the ground, a large layer of what appeared to be molten rock covering the BlackGuilmon. Much larger than the Guilmon proper. And in a second, the covering seemed to spark and shatter to reveal... A BlackGrowlmon. He turned towards Levi, and let out a deep and reverberating phrase. "To the challenger goes the first blow."
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Post by Toki Akiyama on Jan 4, 2019 3:24:28 GMT
Toki looked at Alan, Levi, and the now Digivolved Abaddon. He stood back and spoke to Alan "It's more than just necessity. It's nothing so rigid and harsh. Willpower. The desire to see your friend safe. To see your friend succeed in their goals. Focus that will into a strength that overcome the hardships together." he stated.
Then, he would look at Levi "And Levi...you fight to protect Alan. Good. You're partners, friends, companions for what is likely the rest of your lives. That bond will blossom into the power you both need to grow and advance. Neither of you are ever alone. Never forget that. Even against the odds, believe that you are both there to support each other and you will go farther than you could possibly imagine."
He smiled softly "The two of you are strong. You're brave. You might be worried or even scared, but bravery and courage is taking that next step despite the obstacles in your path. It's okay to be afraid. What will you do with that fear?"
He then addressed Abaddon and nodded at the more or less honorable approach he took to this battle. "I appreciate you giving them the time they need." he said. He knew there was more to Abaddon than meets the eye, but he would keep watch silently.
Finally, once his little speech was over, Toki raised a hand and, like a referee at a match, said "Ready?" before he waved his hand downwards "Begin!"
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