PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mako9890
N/A
quirk Cryokinesis
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N/A
alias Hailstorm
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Post by Ren Wolff on Jan 26, 2020 4:59:18 GMT
The frozen landscape drifted by as Ren stared out the window. Even as the car occasionally struggled to find grip on the slick surface, he just continued to gaze out at the white hills and pine forests. It had been a long time since he'd seen so much snow, a very long time. The sights stirred a distant sense of nostalgia within him, but his brain was too muddled to actually enjoy the feeling. He didn't know how long they'd been on the road, since they'd left the airport the sun had set and cloaked the mountain side in darkness, with the only illumination for what seemed like miles coming from the car's headlights. All that time and the man sitting in the driver's seat, his uncle Matthias Wolff, known by most as the Rank 9 hero Siegfried, hadn't said a word. No, a few minutes after leaving the parking lot, the rough-looking man had just flipped on the radio and had been humming along to some classic rock as he drove. Maybe he just knew that Ren didn't feel much like talking himself. Either way, the relative quiet left the boy to his thoughts, which unfortunately weren't exactly productive.
The entire week had been blur. School, packing, the trip to the airport, the flight to Germany, he'd just kinda floated through all of it on autopilot while his brain occupied itself. For some reason he just couldn't get that fight out of his head. Why on earth did it bother him so much? He lost, so what? It wasn't the first time, and it almost definitely wouldn't be the last. He didn't have any ill will toward his classmate or anything like that, but for some reason the memory just kept on gnawing at his mind, replaying over and over again...
***
Ren let out a grunt as he ground to a halt, his feet digging in as ice sprouted up to slow his momentum. Coming to a complete stop, his body started to sway slightly before he caught himself and forced himself to stand tall, ignoring the slight tingling in his left arm. That had been a close call, but luckily his armor had taken brunt of the damage and his arm only had a light burn, although the sleeve of his uniform had been singed off by the blast. In any case, he was still on his feet, and as he breathed out a cloud of white frigid air, the ice that coated his body once again expanded to cover the limb. The fight had been going on for awhile now, with both sides keeping things at a near stalemate. Jun was a powerful opponent, and their quirks seemed like they were practically made to fight each other. An overwhelming offense and an unyielding defense. Even the arena itself seemed to reflect this balance, almost perfectly divided with the area around Ren covered in frost and crystalline shapes, while the field around Jun was largely clear, most of the ice having melted away.
As even as things had been up to that point however, Ren could tell that he was beginning to reach his limit. He'd only taken a handful of relatively light hits, but the heavy usage of his quirk was already beginning to make him lose feeling in his limbs. While he had done an admirable job of holding off his classmate's attacks, he hadn't had much of a chance to actually land hits himself. If he wanted to have any hope of moving on to the final round, that was going to have to change very soon. With a deep breath in and out, Ren shifted into a draw stance and formed a blade at his side. As fresh ice radiated out across the ground from his feet, he locked eyes with his opponent and grinned. "C'mon Jun, let's end this show right. Give me everything you've got!" No sooner had the words left his mouth when four fresh trails out ice snaked out across the ground, racing toward Jun before erupting upward in the shape of halberd blades.
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jun
N/A
quirk Sparky Flames
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N/A
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Post by Jun Tomoshibi on Jan 26, 2020 19:47:02 GMT
So far, Jun had been holding off the ice pretty well. His fire half was about the best way to counteract it, since ice wasn't exactly effected by lightning. Still, he had offensive strength, while Ren had defensive strength. Things have been pretty even so far, only right foot was drenched in water after he had melted the ice from a close call, but that was about the only one, in part due to his better mobility. Ren taunted him, and no sooner than the words left his mouth did the ice user make his move. He let out a small fire wave before using both hands to make a double flamethrower at the halberd ice blades, destroying them instantly.
Putting his hands behind him, the blond blasted flames for a boost in speed, closing the distance rapidly. With the stance that Ren was in, he was easy to predict. As soon as the swing came, he ducked down underneath it, and moved to that side, grabbing the sword arm and kicking hard at the shin. Swinging around, he grabbed the back of Ren's neck in an attempt to slam him face first into the ground. Just as he was about to start electrocuting the other elementalist, Jun saw the ice start up again. The natural blond jumped away, focused completely on his opponent. But he'd forgotten a favorite trick his brother adored using.
Upon landing, he slipped and fell backwards, eyes wide with shock. This was an embarrassing way to lose. He was wide open, ripe for Ren to freeze him in place or push him out of the arena. Looking at Ren, he noticed the guy was hesitating. Why? Now was his chance! Fine, if he wasn't going to go for the win...well, that was his choice.
Reaching his hands above his head, he blasted with all the flames he had. Making him burst towards Ren feet first, he was ready to kick the boy right out of the arena, particularly considering the force the boost would give him.
Panting...Jun had won. Though a bit disappointingly. Still, he'd take it. Either way, if Ren was still conscious, he'd help him up. He wasn't going to be a bad sportsman over it.
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mako9890
N/A
quirk Cryokinesis
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N/A
alias Hailstorm
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Post by Ren Wolff on Jan 26, 2020 22:16:00 GMT
A sharp hiss filled the air as fire met ice and Ren's attacks burst into clouds of steam. It was a pretty familiar result by now, so he'd been expecting that much, as well as the charge that came immediately after. The plan was a rather simple one; his swordsmanship had a few rather obvious tells when he was in full defense mode, so he knew that Jun would be anticipating his strike. The idea was to use that anticipation against his classmate and use his ice to launch forward, throwing off the timing at the last second and hopefully catching him off balance. Unfortunately when Jun rushed him, he came in fast, far faster than Ren could account for. Even knowing it wouldn't work, his body reflexively struck out anyway. Jun easily ducked the slash and Ren could feel the boy grab hold of his arm.
An instant later, Ren felt his whole world spin as the ground rushed up to meet his face. Was that it then? 'No, not like this...' He flared his ice outward, Encapsulating his head in a visor and thickening his frozen shell as much as he could. As his head slammed into the ground, impact blunted by the extra armor but still making his brain swim, the ice continued to expand outward with a hunger. Jun jumped away before it could claim his arm, but it coated the rest of the arena in an instant. It wouldn't be enough though, he needed more... More! Ren reached deeper, and as he lifted his head and rose to one knee, an unnatural glow filled the golden irises that peeked out through the shattered front of his helmet. As Jun hit the ground and lost his balance, Ren stood up and the whole arena seemed to lurch a fraction of an inch toward the fallen student before....
Ren froze, realizing at the last second what was happening. He'd almost shown the entire world what he'd spent months trying to keep hidden, a fact that the roaring crowd only served to drive home. He tentatively released his mental grasp on the ice and the glow in his eyes faded again. Just in time for Jun's feet to slam into his chest. As he felt himself falling backward, Ren tried to raise up a wall to stop himself, but it was too little too late; nothing could form fast enough and his body sailed over the edge of the arena.
For several long seconds he just lay there unmoving. He hadn't really felt the impact and his body was feeling the exertion enough that staying down was a rather appealing prospect. But that wouldn't do, now would it? As Jun approached, Ren's armor shattered into a cloud of snow and he forced an embarrassed smile as he looked up at his classmate. "Guess I uh... ran out of gas." He muttered as a half-hearted excuse, reaching out a shaky hand to accept the help up. He did actually need it, since the adrenaline was starting to wear off and the numbness from his quirk was setting in. He swayed slightly as he rose but used his fellow student as a support to steady himself. He wasn't really much of a sore loser, but he had to admit that this one stung a bit more than usual... even still, he patted Jun on the shoulder and grinned. "You're moving on to the finals then, yeah? Heh, good luck. We both you're going to need it with who you're up against."
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mako9890
N/A
quirk Cryokinesis
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N/A
alias Hailstorm
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Post by Ren Wolff on Apr 4, 2020 3:29:15 GMT
Five minutes later, Ren was making his way down the corridor that lead away from the arena on shaky legs, bracing against the wall to keep himself from falling. His movements were sluggish and his eyes cast down, as though it was more than just the fatigue of his battle that weighed on him. The entire length of the tunnel was nearly silent, with only the sound of his own slow footsteps echoing above the dulled roar of the crowd. All the better that he seemed to be alone, since his mind was in the midst of working itself into a pretzel, trying to play back the fight and figure out what he could have done better... and why he felt so.... odd about the whole thing. That feeling of disappointment at the end of the bout had changed into something more akin to bitterness, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out why such an emotion would be aimed towards one of his friends. A part of him understood how out of place it was, but even still he found his jaw clenched, almost as if-
"You know, if you're gonna wear that name, you damn well better act the part properly."
Ren stopped dead in his tracks, a chill running up his spine that he couldn't attribute to his quirk. Slowly, his eyes began to trace up toward the source of the voice as it continued. "I mean, what the hell was that? You had that kid dead to rights but you just stood there and let him hit you." Because of the quiet he had assumed that the corridor was empty, but a man stood leaning against the wall a mere ten feet ahead. A man in his late thirties with messy blonde hair and golden eyes. A man that Ren recognized in an instant. "W-what are you d-doing here U-unc-"
"Oi, is that any way to be talking to your father?" Matthias cut the stammering boy off with a sharp bark before he could finish the world. In an instant Ren snapped up straight to attention and the temperature of the air around him plummeted several degrees. "S-s-sorry s-sir!" This was one of the absolute last people he wanted to see here. As his heart pounded in his chest, the Hero just stared at him for several long seconds with a difficult expression, all the while Ren did his best to avoid meeting his gaze. Finally though, Matthias broke the stare and let out an exasperated sigh. "...I swear sis, why are your kids such pains in my ass?" He shook his head with a roll of the eyes and continued. "Seriously though, did you think that someone would claim to be my kid and I wouldn't look into it? That look of yours might fool those Yamaki Idiots, pup, but not me." The fact that Ren's goal had never been to hide from his uncle did nothing to lessen his flinch at the accusation.
"I didn't-" The boy started, but was immediately cut off again as Matthias continued. "-Now don't get me wrong, I don't really care about any of that. I've known for a long time, was perfectly content to just let you carry on the charade, at least until I saw that." He gestured back toward the arena, causing Ren to look down again and bite his lip. "You start screwing up like that and you cause way more trouble than your worth, not just on your name but mine too.... Which is why you're going to be coming back with me."
Back? Away from the school and his friends? The thought instantly made Ren's heart sink in his chest. "But.... What about..." He managed to force out a few syllables, but no more before hanging his head low. Matthias just raised an eyebrow at the motion, pausing a moment before speaking. "...and here I thought you might like a trip back home after all these years, or can you not stand to be away from your precious UA for a few weeks?" Wait, just a few weeks, not forever? Just as quickly as the weight came down, it lifted again. The boy quickly glanced up again at the comment to see his uncle turning away, the relief plainly visible on his face. "Well, too bad, you don't get a choice in this one. Now come on, pup, you've got some paperwork to fill out." And with that, he waved for Ren to follow and started walking down the hall.
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mako9890
N/A
quirk Cryokinesis
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N/A
alias Hailstorm
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Post by Ren Wolff on Jun 21, 2021 3:42:11 GMT
"You're still thinking about it, aren't you?"
"Wha-?"
Ren blinked out of his trance as Matthias broke the relative silence of the cabin, turning to face his uncle with mild confusion. The man shot him a sceptical look through the corner of his eye and then gave an exasperated sigh when the boy didn't seem to understand. "Seriously? Look pup, I was perfectly fine giving you your space, but the sulking is starting to get ridiculous. You've had the same damn look plastered on your face since you stepped out of the ring. You trying to tell me that you still haven't figured it out?" The blank stare that Matthias got in return didn't inspire any particular confidence and his expression quickly turned incredulous. "....You're really gonna make me spell it out? Fine, whatever. Just going to be wasting time if we don't get this out of the way now." He concluded with a shake of his head.
"I know for a fact that you've lost your fair share of fights, been beaten plenty of times before. But this one feels different, doesn't it?" Ren didn't respond immediately, turning his gaze back out the window as the silence hung for several seconds before finally nodding. "...Yeah, it does."
"Stings, right? So what was different about this time?" Again, the boy didn't answer right away as he turned the question over in his mind. What was different? His uncle was right, he'd lost plenty of times before, so it wasn't the simple fact that he'd lost. He'd lost to Jun several times during their sparring matches in class, so it wasn't that either. He'd been beaten in the school's kendo tournaments, so it also probably wasn't the crowd or the setting. His brain kept sifting through the possibilities, but... he already knew the answer inside, he just didn't want to admit it.
"...I could have won." No, not could have; should have won. The chance had been there, right in his grasp, but he'd held himself back in the moment and let it slip right by. He wasn't angry at his friend for stealing the victory, he was irritated at himself for just giving it up. Would winning have drawn more unwanted attention? Yes. Had throwing the match been the right call? Probably. But neither of those consolations made him feel much better about it. Even if he wasn't a particularly competitive person, it just felt wrong. Matthias glanced in Ren's direction again as the boy sat with clenched jaw, his own softening again. "So you do recognize then. Good. So what are you going to do about it?"
"Huh?" Ren turned to face his uncle again, not quite understanding. "You feel that way because you're unsatisfied. And it's going to stay that way until you settle things properly. Trust me, it's just in our blood. But if you recognize where it's coming from and plan to fix it, it'll stop eating at you as much. Hell, might even give you something to work toward." The boy nodded. It made enough sense; if the fight with Jun was bothering him so much, they'd just have to have a rematch when he got back to the school.... only this time he'd do things right. And strangely enough, his uncle was right. Even just coming to that simple decision seemed to make the knot that had been sitting in his stomach loosen, as if the conviction itself was some sort of odd antidote. Although Ren didn't really answer the question, Matthias seemed to notice the change of mood easily enough and nodded to himself while muttering, just soft enough that the boy couldn't quite make out the words.
"...Well that's one problem down, only about fifty others to go, right?"
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mako9890
N/A
quirk Cryokinesis
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N/A
alias Hailstorm
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Post by Ren Wolff on Jun 21, 2021 3:43:57 GMT
Apparently satisfied for the time being, Matthias turned the radio back up and the rest of the journey proved to be largely uneventful. Roughly 15 minutes later the long winding road through the mountains finally came to an end. As they entered a driveway, a row of lamps along the side flicked on to reveal a cozy looking house tucked away within a grove of pine trees. Even in the dimness of the evening Ren could easily recognize the structure. The distant memories of the winters spent here in his childhood began to well the the surface, no longer being overpowered by his sour mood. He'd spent hours playing in these woods with his cousins, and at least on the outside it seemed like nothing had really changed.
As the car approached, a garage door slowly pulled open and Matthias pulled in before switching off the engine. "Whelp, welcome home, pup." The man said dryly as he pushed open he hit the locks and climbed out of the car. "Place hasn't changed all that much, you still know your way around?" He asked, leaning over the roof as Ren got out as well and moved to grab his luggage from the trunk. The boy nodded, slinging a pair of duffle bags over his shoulders and looking out across the room. The front of garage was pretty normal, if a bit empty. His uncle tended to keep most of his snow clearing-equipment outside, so there were just a few bins with spare parts, a rack of snow suits, and a line of boots by the door. The back of the room was a bit more interesting however, with a divider pulled back to reveal a full machine shop that his uncle used to maintain his equipment. This far out in the middle of nowhere it was basically a requirement to know how to do your own repairs, but Ren could remember the man frequently taking on side projects whenever he was visiting. At the moment however... it didn't look like the machinery had been touched recently, with the counters largely clear of the random odds in ends that he was used to.
Following after Matthias, Ren slipped off his shoes and then ducked down a short stairway off to the side of the room. At the bottom they passed through a door and the concrete floor gave way to hardwood as they stepped into a dinning room. Although the building looked fairly small on the outside, it was actually much larger than it appeared, with a fair amount fo the structure beneath the surface. Off to the one side of the dinning room was a rather spacious kitchen with an island counter in the center, a room whose facilities Ren was already well acquainted with. The other side lead into a den, with a hallway on the far end connecting to the bath and bedrooms. The whole thing was adorned with some rather high quality furniture, mostly hand-carved wood but with some splashes of more modern technology thrown in. Being such a high ranking hero, Ren's uncle certainly had the money to live in luxury, but his own sense of décor tended to give off a more homely vibe than anything particularly posh. It really did just feel like a cabin in the woods... albeit a rather large one.
"Go ahead an put your stuff in the guest room." Matthias called as he tossed his keys on the table and made for the kitchen. With a nod, Ren went in the opposite direction, making for the hallway beyond the den. Recalling the layout of the house as he moved, he made his way around the corner and through the second door on the right. The bedroom beyond was a rather simple affair, although it looked like nothing in there had been touched outside of regular cleaning in years. Hell, there was a decent enough chance that no one had stayed in the room since the last time him and his sister visited. After Unloading his bags at the foot of the bed, Ren paused for a moment, just taking a chance to soak in the familiar sights for the first time in over half a decade. Just like the exterior of the building, the inside appeared largely as Ren remembered it... but with one notable exception.
It was far too quiet.
"Where are Ellie and Evie?" Ren called back out into the main room. Given how energetic his cousins always were, it was hard to imagine the house ever being so calm with them in it. "Huh? Oh, right. The girls are off on a school trip in Italy, some sort of quirk study exhibition. Honestly couldn't wrap my head around it when they tried to explain. Either way, they'll be gone for a week or two."
"Oh..." Ren trailed off. With how close they'd been before his family moved away, he'd been looking forward to seeing the twins again. Evidently he wouldn't be getting the chance. "They might be back before you leave, but trust me, you've got other things to worry about, pup." Matthias continued, appearing in the doorway behind the boy. "Here, take this." Ren turned to see his uncle holding out what appeared to be a small leather-bound book. There were no words on the cover, and when he took it and started to flip through the pages he found that they were all blank. "You know what a journal is, don't you? You're going to write in that every day starting tomorrow." Ren glanced up at the man as he closed the book. What exactly was this about? Sensing the question on his face, Matthias rolled his eyes before going on to explain. "It's something I picked up when I was younger, a lesson I learned from one of my earliest teachers. Just write something down at the end of the day, doesn't have to be particularly long or detailed. It's going to help with your training."
That answer didn't exactly clear much up, but Ren doubted he was going to get much else so he just nodded and set the book aside for now. That seemed to be good enough for Matthias, because he proceeded to step back into the hallway and turn for main room again. "I'll see if I can throw together something for us to eat while you get set up in here. I suggest turning in early tonight though. We're going to be getting started first thing in the morning and I don't want to hear any excuses about jetlag." As his uncle's voice faded down the hallway, Ren once again found himself alone in the all too familiar room. Matthias was right of course, he wasn't here to reminisce or play around. Catching up with his family would have been nice, but he was there to get stronger and that's what he needed to focus on. Closing his eyes, he let out a deep breath as he tried to push away all the thoughts that we buzzing around his head.
"Whatever it takes..." He mumbled to himself as he moved to start unpacking his bags.
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mako9890
N/A
quirk Cryokinesis
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N/A
alias Hailstorm
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Post by Ren Wolff on Jun 21, 2021 3:51:13 GMT
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mako9890
N/A
quirk Cryokinesis
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N/A
alias Hailstorm
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Post by Ren Wolff on Jun 21, 2021 3:56:46 GMT
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mako9890
N/A
quirk Cryokinesis
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N/A
alias Hailstorm
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Post by Ren Wolff on Jun 21, 2021 3:58:49 GMT
Day 3
"Pick it up and do it again."
Sweat dripped from Ren's face as his breaths came in gasps. He was bent over, his hands on his knees for support as he did his best to stay standing. His whole body ached, a dull pain coming in pulses with each breath he took and chasing away any hope of collecting himself. Looking down at himself he could see that the skin on his arms was red and raw, with tiny crystals clinging to the surface near his hands. The limbs felt like massive weights on body, almost completely numb to him apart from the steady thrum of pain that coursed through them. He was exhausted to the point of barely even being able to think, and yet...
"I said pick it up."
He still had to move. Reaching down with a strained grunt, his callused hands found the hilt of his shinai. It took a notable amount of effect just to summon the strength to tighten his fingers, but somehow he still managed to pick it up and enter his ready stance. Immediately the three other people in the dojo raised their own weapons and started moving again. It was the same dance again. The same movements, the same patterns. His body protested with another wave of pain, but he moved forward to meet the first attack with his blade anyway, barely managing to parry and slide out of the way. How long had they been running these drills? Couldn't they see how tired he was? The only reason he was even still standing at all was because he knew what would happen if he fell.
He could see it in their eyes as he deflected another swing and turned to face the next; this wasn't about practice anymore, it was about pushing as much as possible. They wanted to see how far he could go. They wanted him to break. He didn't know why, didn't know what he possibly could have done to draw so much of their ire, but it was obvious from they way they looked at him that they viewed him as something lesser. They wanted him broken so that they could rebuild him as something that they could use. A tool, nothing more. Well, soon enough they'd have their wish.
All three of the figures advanced at once, rushing Ren from different directions. He knew the dance by now, knew what he was expected to do. He parried the one in front of him and then retreated backwards, raising his hand toward one of the others as he moved. The ice at his feet quivered as he felt a cold hand squeeze at his insides. But it wasn't enough this time. As a wall began to rise up behind him, the man behind him smashed their shinai right through it, shattering the too-thin barrier. Ren was in position to block the attacker in front of him when he felt the blow connect on the back of his ankle. Instantly his stance crumpled and he fell to one knee, his guard dropping just in time for the foe in front to come down on his shoulder. The whole world lurched. Ren didn't even register the fall, finding himself face down on the icy floor, his numb body finally giving out.
"That's it then?" Said one of the voices.
"Looks like that's all he's got in him. Pathetic." Said another.
"How could they have wasted so much time?" Said the third.
"It's that stupid woman's fault. If not for her meddling they'd both be ready by now." The first replied. The world around Ren twisted and bent as he lay there, unable to even muster the energy to move as the three spoke. All he could do was lay there and listen.
"If only we could have been rid of her sooner, that whole family ended up being far more trouble than they were worth."
"And this is all we have to show for it at the end. Practically useless."
"It is a shame to so much potential so thoroughly wasted..."
"Don't worry, there's still time. We'll make it work. And if this one isn't up to the task, then we'll just use the other instead. At least one of them seems to be worth something. I think we should disc..."
---
The conversation faded away as Ren's eyes fluttered open. He was in his room in Matthias' cabin, early morning sunlight streaming in through the window and casting light directly on his face. With a groan he rolled over and sat up on the edge of the bed. Cradling his head in one hand he felt a shiver go down his spine as a stream of white breath escaped his lips. It had been a long time since he'd had one of those dreams. His time at the UA among his friends had done him a world of good, but the shadow of those days with the Yamaki family was still there in his memories. The verbal abuse, the brutal training, the strange hatred that he always saw in their eyes... He never understood it before, still didn't understand it. The very thought those days made him want to retreat back into his shell again, back to who he was before. Just shut himself away, keep quiet, and do as he was told. That's what was expected of him, that's what was safe...
A loud banging knock at the door practically made Ren jump out of his skin, shaking him back to reality. "Time to get moving Pup, meet me outside in ten minutes." Matthias called from the other side of the door, accompanied by the sound of boots clomping down the hallway outside. With a deep breath in, Ren slapped his cheeks a few times and forced himself to his feet, shoving those poisonous thoughts down as deep as he possibly could.
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mako9890
N/A
quirk Cryokinesis
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N/A
alias Hailstorm
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Post by Ren Wolff on Jun 25, 2021 5:33:57 GMT
When he told his uncle that they needed to get some more food, this wasn't quite the result that he had had in mind. The soft snow beneath Ren's feet crunched with each step he took. He followed along behind his uncle as they picked their way through the forest of pines, constantly glancing down at his feet to try and match the spots where Matthias' footsteps had already packed down the snow. Although over the past three days his body had started to remember how to move around in the sea of white powder, he knew he still had no chance of keeping up with his uncle if he started moving at any meaningful pace. Ren wasn't sure how he did it, but the man seemed to almost glide over the drifts, smooth strides disturbing as little of the surface as possible.
They been walking for what must have been about an hour, moving in a largely straight line down the valley and away from the cabin. In all the time they'd been moving, Matthias had barely spoken a word, instead communicating largely through gestures and simple hand signals. Hell, he had barely even explained what they were doing in the first place. When Ren met him in the garage he'd simply announced that they were going to get food, threw on coat, grabbed his bow, and then walked out the door. Given that fact, and the way that the man was acting, Ren assumed that they were out hunting, but that was honestly just a guess on his part.
A guess that was only reinforced when Matthias stopped a few moments later, holding up a hand to signal Ren to hold for a moment before waving him in closer. The boy did as he was instructed, moving up beside his uncle and joining him as he knelt down to examine the ground. There in the snow Ren could make out the shape of an animal's footprint. He wasn't exactly on expert on the subject, but if he had to guess, he'd say it belonged to some type of deer. A few feet away there was another, and another, forming a set of tracks that lead further down the path that the pair had been following through the forest. So they were hunting. Ren couldn't think of any other reason that Matthias would take the time to point out the trail, they'd passed plenty of tracks like these on their previous trips out without mention.
"...Well? Lead the way pup." Matthias spoke in a whisper after a few moments. Ren's head immediately snapped up toward his uncle, confusion spreading across his face. "Me!?" The Man shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure, why not? You've been out here with me before, you should know how this works."
"When I was five." Ren shot back incredulously, earning him another half-hearted shrug. "It's not that complicated. Follow the tracks, keep quiet, and wait your your moment when you get close enough." He stared blankly at his uncle for a long moment. Did this man really expect him to just suddenly know how to hunt after living in a city most his life, like it was just something in his blood? Blinking several times, Ren shook his head clear before continuing; Matthias had to know how ridiculous this was. "...Even if I can track it down, how am I supposed to 'find my moment'? I didn't bring anything with me to hunt with." His uncle just raised his eyebrow at that one, looking as though Ren had just asked one of the stupidest questions in the world. The boy wasn't really sure what to make of that reaction, so he just held the man's gaze as best he could. As the seconds passed Matthias eventually sighed, shaking his head before reaching to unhook the bow from his back. "...Fine, you can use this. Have I ever walked you through this one?" Ren shook his head. "Alright then, pay attention, need to be quick about this so we don't miss our chance..."
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