In the Mood for Stealth

After the fall of Shibuya, Mikage had initially seemed averse to making her way anywhere close to the Palace Lander controlled city. However... after Yeowang had requested her help in getting some stealth training, something had shifted. It was subtle at first, but it soon became obvious that Miki was not acting like her usual self.

The fact that they are currely quite so close to the game reserve is a sign of that. The Were Fang has been fiddling with using a number of spells to help her blend into the turrain. In this case... the turrain near their camp. Every time Cyrus starts to do anything, Miki is off trying to hide by changing something in the environment to obscure herself.

Rocks that weren't there a moment ago. Plants that she summons up as ground cover. Darkness that helps to hide movement. Unfortunately, Cyrus seems to be stuck as the 'test subject', seeing if he can pick out her her various attempts at utilizing magic to hide herself.

Rama, on the other hand, looks confused, and perhaps a bit bored of the whole thing.

When Mikage started changing, Cyrus was the first to notice. spending so much time in close proximity with her certainly seemed to make him a keen candidate to be the first to come out and tell Mikage herself that she was acting like some of the others. His Pharmacy investigation soon told him that she is indeed stricken by a Strange Mood, as others have come to call it.

Cyrus, who is hardly the pinacle of sneaking, is a bit wary about being this close to Shibuya however. He's heard of some fools who thought they could solo raid the place, and got annihilated the moment they got a bit too close. Still, it seems that Mikage is handling this better than others. Sleeking along the terrain, Cyrus is in charge with testing out her magics.

Turning his head back to the terrain, having turned away for just a few moments, manages to miss the rock that absolutely Did Not Used To Be There. Were he more aware of her true form as a Gargoyle - though he might figure it out from this - he might have guessed at the penchant to use rock and dirt to hide herself. But instead, his head tilts, looking more in the trees and along bushes to try and find any movement, getting closer. He knows he'd heard something, which ends up bringing him quite close to Mikage. But she can hear that his footsteps are taking him ever so slightly away from her.

Even if Cyrus hadn't had that skill to be able to detect strange moods, he would have likely picked up on it. The fact that she barely sleeps, is up at unusual hours, and seems to be constantly obsessed with trying out her techniques against different backdrops is a sure sign.

If nothing else, Mikage is remarkably good at hiding, but not really 'good enough' when there are many eyes keeping watch around Shibuya. She hadn't gone anywhere directly close to the city yet, knowing that it would be difficult to escape unnoticed.

"Didn't see me this time, huh?" Miki asks, her voice coming from behind the mysterious rock. Then, she peeks her head up over it. "I think plantlife and shadows work better here, but... if someone isn't paying attention, the rocks still work pretty well. There just aren't as many rocks here as say... the Holy Empire or the mountains in Fourland."

Cyrus startles a bit. His tail going 'POOF' upon the revelation of her hiding spot, and turns quickly. He's a bit on edge, but at least he doesn't grab for any weapons. Instead, he just kind of touches sat his chest and lets out a huff of breath.

"I didn't see you." He admits to her and finally puts his hands at his hips, looking at the rock itself. As with most earth magic, it likely will eventually return back into the previous shape it was in. "Hmm, within the Holy Empire and Fourlands, you'd have a good shot with sands or dirt, and hiding beneath it if you tunneled. There's lots of oddly shapen hills and the likes there." He proposes to her. "Especially the dunes in Westelande." He adds.

The young man steps closer and then stuffs a Riceball into her hands. "Now eat." He reminds her.

There is a small laugh that follows the sight of him puffing up, which is, at least, more similar of her usual personality. "Didn't mean to scare you." She admits, standing up and stretching. "I think if I go closer to Shibuya with Yeowang, we'll probably use the plant and shadow spells. There's a lot more of those naturally around here."

She starts, and then seems thoughtful, as if her mind were about to take up a new tangent just about the time he shoves a riceball into her hands. "Oh, huh." Miki almost seems surprised at how it got there, then blinks. "Right, thanks."

Taking a huge bite, she is already on to the next thought in the stream, "If it were winter, then water magic would help. Snow drifts, ice formations, but... it's summer so it really won't due right now. I'm pretty sure I can apply just about any element to sneaking, but some are just better than others, situationally."

Cyrus can practically hear the gears in Mikage's head spinning, quickly jumping from gear to gear as she switches between ideas. In a ways, it's an interesting bit of insight on how Mikage's mind can work at times. He puts his hands to his hips and looks to the rock however for a little while. He bites his upper lip and glances at her neck for a moment.

"Gargoyle." He then suddenly declares. "It took me a while to remember. And what you said back at Dol Dona kind of tugged at my memories. But... the weather magic. The earth techniques. It's... Gargoyle, isn't it?" He finally asks her, putting his hands at his hips, wondering if she will even know what he is talking about while she's stuck going from thought to thought.

"Just can't bloody remember the Angel's name. But I remember them being in Regionals."

Thankfully, Mikage doesn't need another reminder to eat once the food is in her hand, but she may very well not remember to stop talking after each bite. It makes it a bit of a strange conversation, since food is obviously not her priority in that instant.

"I was thinking of trying to sneak around closer to the city once the sun goes down, see how that goes. Probably a bad idea, but what better chance to see how the effect of dark-element spells has, right?"

Then, he goes and changes the topic and you can almost see her brain do a jump as her eyes momentarily seem to 'clear' as if she were waking up. It doesn't last too long, though. Instead, Miki's brows furrow. "Rei. Her name was Rei." She answers, those 'gears' obviously grinding unusually in her head as her brain tries to go in two directions.

Rei, however, isn't a far leap from Yurei, the name that she uses as her surname within the game. The translation system may very well have given insight that both are a sort of spirit, though the one she uses now is more of a 'lost soul'. As if without her Angel she had lost a part of herself, perhaps?

"Y... yeah. Gargoyles were my favorite creature in the old Elder Tale. It's kind of funny because my Were Fang form looks so much like Rei that I thought too many people would recognize her, you know?" The strange mood seems to have lowered that self-defense compulsion when it comes to that part of herself.

"Right, that was it." He pats a fist onto a flat hand, in that typical exagerated Japanese way when they remember something. "Rei." He nods his head somewhat excitedly, glad he had not forgotten the name, but had simply not been able to recall it. He sees her 'wake up' a bit from her reverie about sneaking.

"It certainly explains the techniques you have been using. That Spirit Force technique especially." He points out to her before quieting so she can talk. Nodding along as she explains Gargoyles being her favorite creatures. "What made you think of them as your favorite creature?" He asks her. "I never really played the old Elder Tale as much, so that has be curious." The youth notes, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and stepping just a bit closer so they are at a more appropiate conversational distance.

"And it wouldn't really be that big of a deal if people recognized you as Rei's Deus, would it? I mean, it's your Angel. And it's not like you /chose/ that form in this world."

Behind her, the rock formation she had made seems to finally fade. Yet, Miki doesn't seem to quite be able to keep herself from toying with other spells even as they talk. She starts to play with some light magic, forming an illusion with it, the sort of thing that draws the eye away rather than helping to hide, directly.

"I guess... it was because they stood perfectly still." Which might sound like something strange, but Cyrus knew all too well that the girl behind the Were Fang likely didn't have many moments where her body was completely under her own control. The idea of just being still seems... like a wonder to her. "And the whole flying thing."

Her eyes look over towards Rama, who seems to be staring at the light distraction. Like any good cat, it is working well on him. "Force of habit, I guess. I never wanted people to know who was the Deus behind Rei. People looked up to me and I didn't want to let them down by ... well, being me." When her eyes flick back to him, they still seem distracted and unfocused.

Cyrus can't help but be a bit distracted by the play of lights. It's like someone pointing a laser pointer away from a cat, while the cat is trying their best to pay attention. His gaze slipping to the side from time to time, before he shakes his head to focus.

"Being you is a lot more awesome than you give yourself credit for." He expresses to Mikage. "I mean, even ignoring the fact that people likely would not recognize you for being you. Just because you don't live as easy a life as the rest of the outside population doesn't make you somehow lesser. In fact, a lot of people might look up to you for that. Plenty of girls have pretty idols to look up to. But after the Flash of Death..." He shakes his head.

"There's plenty of others who need rolemodels too." Cyrus expresses to her. "Not saying you have to be that rolemodel, but I really don't think you are going to let anyone important down." You certainly have never let /me/ down.

"Maybe." Mikage seems, at least, able to admit this much. Rama begins pouncing at the light distraction, proving the point that it is effective at drawing attention, especially when used against certain types of individuals. "I guess... I never really thought of it that way." She adds.

Lowering her hand, Mikage looks at him, her head tilted slightly. "When I was the White Storm, I was powerful. Capable. Strong in ways I couldn't be elsewhere. On the layer, I was free." This is exactly how she has described herself in Elder Tale Online as well. "I guess I worried that stepping back into my real body, having people see that this was what was behind that... that it would make me lose that freedom."

She shrugs then, "Even here, I'm trying to do my best. All of his. Figuring this out. So we can get more intel. So I can train Yeowang. So we can do something against an enemy we know nothing about. Every day, I manage to exceed what anyone ever dreamed I could accomplish in the real world." She summons up a rock, hops up onto it, and perches there in a very Gargoyle like fashion.

Then, for the first time before him, she lets herself shift. A monstrous tail behind her, clawed digits digging into the stone, wings emerging from her back, her face taking on harsh fangs and nose ridges. "So... what do you think?"

Cyrus watches her as she talks and moves. Moving his hands forward for a moment, and touching beneath her hands while she's talking. A soft and gentle gesture, meant to support. Stepping in a bit closer as she starts to step back. "Just be careful that you don't exhaust yourself trying to exceed those dreams." Cyrus expresses to her. "It's okay to let others carry some of that weight. We need you fresh for the fight after all."

He then lets her go as she settles onto the stone, and watches as she begins to shift. The wings, the tail. Moving his body about a bit so he can get a better view of the whole thing. "Were Fang transformations still dazzle me each time." He expresses. "Where does all that mass come from?" He then looks her in the eyes. Harsh fangs and nose ridges.

"Badass." He then tells her firmly.

"I think you look badass." With a smile.

Mikage's response is a toothy grin that would look fierce to most anyone else. Her tail snaps, swatting at the rock beneath her. "I wonder if my Were Fang form could be used as camouflage too. Since most people haven't seen a one like me, before, they might mistake me as a monster." And there goes her brain again, back into that strange mood. "Probably not a good idea, though."

Hopping down off of the rock, Mikage gives herself a little shake, her form shifting back into her more comfortable human body. "Well, right now, I'm the only one that can figure out this spell camoflauge. And I'm going to make sure I do it."

She nudges him in the side in a light, companionable way. "Your job is to make sure I eat, sleep, and don't get myself caught doing something stupid." Because she isn't always making the smartest decisions just now. Thankfully Mikage has him to depend on.

"I'm going to go hide again. Close your eyes and count to sixty." And off she goes...

"Unless it starts allowing you to swim through rocks, it's probably not a good idea." Cyrus admits to Mikage as she immediately jumps back on the topic of stealth. He then takes her hand as she hops off of the rock and shakes herself back into that human form of hers. Ever the gentleman.

"At least there are some Gargoyles in Eastal, so it's not like you wouldn't be native. But they are rediculously rare here." He points out to Mikage. As she nudges him in the side, he leans in and uses that moment to sneak her cheek a quick kiss.

"Right. Camofluage away. And I will make sure you stay safe in every single way." He remarks and then sighs as she decides she wants to hide again.

"Alright." He remarks, closing his eyes... and starts to count.