Repaying debts (Vice)

[Tristan Carter]

Tristan had been having a good day. Nothing out of the ordinary, no near-death experiences, no wasted time. He had been having a great day, actually. Still, he had something bothering him...

His thoughts kept going back to that one horrible battle in the school. Some guy had chosen to save him when there was someone far more necessary in the same predicament. What bothered Tristan was that he never even thanked the guy. Heck, he never said a single word to the guy. Tristan sighed. Man... Who the heck is he, anyway?

Sighing again, Tristan kept walking. He walked past a restaurant without looking in, before doubling back. Come to think of it, I am pretty hungry...

[Vice Ysal]

The roar of his motorcycle was a very soothing sound. Not to most of the people if their varied, but all rather negative, reactions said anything but they weren't him and thus could not understand the beauty of how strong the engine was. Zipping through majority of the traffic, the flow of the streets pretty much second nature to him already with how long he'd been doing this, the black haired male had decided to go drop some stuff over at the office in Mimoza for one thing or another. One of his friends had asked for a package that was a bit difficult to get and seeing as he had the means to drive said friend down with more favours, Vice went on ahead and did it.

It didn't the biker long to finish the trip but since he was in the area, he might as well get something to eat since it was already that time between lunch and a snack time. The roar of his engine echoed through the Mimoza Area once more, and it had gathered quite a bit of attention but soon enough was left behind by the people. Parking his motorcycle in front one of the bigger stands, the place selling quite a bit of different things, the business graduate shrugged his shoulders and decided to line up for a burger or two.

[Tristan Carter]

Tristan paid for his food. He had stood in line for a relatively short time before taking his order, and he was able to appreciate that. Sitting down, Tristan looked over as someone entered the store. It's... It's that guy. Erm... Would it be weird if i asked him to sit down over here? Would it be rude if I didn't?

Tristan hated himself at his moment of indecision, but was able to come up with something. If the guy noticed him and sat near him, that's good. If the guy didn't sit by him, then they would eventually run into each other again in less random circumstances. Tristan could thank him then. Either way, he didn't care. So, he continued to eat his food while keeping an eye on the guy. It wouldn't do any good to be caught of guard.

[Vice Ysal]

Thankfully the people behind the counter were pretty fast workers. That and burgers didn't really take that long to cook or else they'd be out done by a lot of the competition by now. The usual exchange happened, with food being traded for money and Vice left the line with a small plastic bag that contained 2 small burgers, a hash brown, and some tissue for him. In his hands were another burger and a large cup for orange juice. Thanking the cashier, the biker turned around and noted that a guy was eying him.

He looked familiar, but familiar things were just that. Shrugging it off, not really seeing the use of approaching someone he didn't even know or remember properly, the young man decided to just go towards the exit and more or less left the premises. Now all he needed to do now is finish this burger by his bike before starting the engine…wait, where the hell was his bike again?

[Tristan Carter]

Tristan was driving himself insane with this and recognized it. Still, he felt bad for never thanking the guy properly. He finished his food and started to go after the guy, when he noticed that he was just standing there. Well, he's wearing biker clothes, and you heard a bike before he showed up... He's probably looking for his bike, dimwit.

He looked out the window and spotted a motorcycle sitting close to the building. He walked up to the guy and pointed to the window. "If looking for your bike, there's one over there." Tristan had no idea how the guy would react, so he decided to be polite. Stepping out the door, he held it open for the man. "So... What are your thoughts on the Shadows?"

[Vice Ysal]

Back tracking his steps from memory, because physically doing so was just going to make him hungrier an he didn't want to buy a fourth burger. It just wasn't worth the effort by this time.

Still, his mind had finally rearranged the map in it and like a blinking dot in the distance, Vice's red eyes finally found where he had parked his vehicle. He was just about to hea to it when some kid approached him and pointed to another bike.

It wasn't his, but it did look pretty good.

He was about to say thanks, for nothing but the good will really, but at the mention of the shadows, Vice just wondered how it was a smart idea to go around talking about sensitive topics where everyone around them could hear it.

"Really. You meet a stranger you might not even know and that's the first topic you talk about?"

Shaking his head, the young man turned around and headed towards his vehicle. His steps were slow, as if he was actually waiting for the kid to follow. When nothing happened, Vice would turn his head around to get the kid to his peripheral and call him over.

"Well? Move your ass kid."

[Tristan Carter]

Tristan held back a smile. Well, at least this is definitely the guy. He responded... Er, well, to me mentioning shadows. This guy may think him stupid for asking him about this, but Tristan felt it was a solid move. Not only was he now sure that this was the guy who had saved him before, but anybody who overheard wouldn't have been able to tell what he was talking about. It could have been a videogame enemy for all they know.

Following after the guy, Tristan realized that he still had yet to introduce himself. "My name's Tristan, by the way. What's yours?"

[Vice Ysal]

The map in his head had been true at least, and that was a little saving grace for the biker. It would suck if he had to go around in circles having some guy tailing him for god knows what exactly. As they were walking, well more of Vice looking for his vehicle and the other kid tagging along, the older of the two tried to jog his memory to try and remember as to who and what this person was to him.

He didn't remember saving anyone lately. He didn't remember humiliating someone to the point that they'd send someone after him lately either. Not a guy from the fight club either, that much he was sure about.

"I'll introduce myself when you tell me what this is all about." Vice offered, his head turning around to look for the wayward motorcycle when the tell tale signs of his ride were finally found. "Did someone tell you to find me? Or were you just one of the newer guys who got caught up in the latest Event?"

[Tristan Carter]

Well, Tristan wasn't sent by anyone and yet he doubted that giant battle was what this guy meant by "Event." Still, the respectful thing to do is answer the man's question. "Nobody sent me. The reason I'm even talking to you is because you saved my life during that battle with the giant-shadow-beastie, and I never had a chance to thank you properly. I just wanted to thank you, and let you know that if I can help in any way that I will. I'm not quite as weak as before, you know?"

Tristan doubted the guy would care, yet he felt as if a weight had been lifted. That was all that really mattered.

[Vice Ysal]

"Looking at you right now, I can probably guess a few things." Vice started when they finally reached his motorcycle. It wasn't that far from where he had bought the burgers but it was secluded enough that there weren't enough people around to start making something out of their discussion. A healthy amount of people to avoid both suspicion and intrigue.

"Awakened not too long ago, learned a few tricks, and you're just itching to be a hero huh? Tell me if I'm wrong." Getting the second burger out, Vice having already finished the first one, the biker then continued to munch on it while thinking of a few things. Apparently the kid wanted to make it up or something, do whatever was needed so he could help.

"But whatever, you can do a quite a few things to help. First? Get to know the others and talk to them. I'm pretty sure you know where I'm getting at. Second? Information is key in surviving. Study what you can about the shadows and explore the places. Share that information with the others to increase all of our chances of surviving. And the third?"

Vice took bite from his burger and spent a moment thinking about the last one. There were quite a few things to take into account but the bottom line was that no one was going to get stronger if they didn't actually get any field experience. Hell, he didn't get to where he was right now by sitting on his ass and twiddling his thumbs.

"Third is you go out there and fight, fight, and fight some more. I'm actually heading there later tonight, so if you're interested tell me now. If you're going, you can also show me what you can do." Vice snorted. "Just don't expect me to babysit you."

[Tristan Carter]

Tristan had been expecting something... Different. Get to know the others? That could be a difficult task, unless someone organized everyone. After all, it would be near impossible if all the others were spread across the city. Gather information? That wouldn't be near as difficult, as he could do that on his own. Sharing the info would be harder to do, but he could figure out a way to do that. And the last thing to do is fight?

Tristan had no issues with that. For him, burning away Shadows was enjoyable, to say the least. As for the guys offer for exploring, he had even less problems. It would be fun to see how others work and learning how to work with them. It would probably help in the future. As for the "babysitting" thing, Tristan couldn't repress a smirk. "I doubt I'm as powerful as you, but I can probably hold my own. So You wouldn't have to worry about that."

[Vice Ysal]

So it looked like Vice's conception of the guy was right for the most part. He'd probably twist and turn some time down the road after a big enough stimuli but for the time being, the boy that the biker was talking to wasn't going to be impressing him for a bit more time. "It doesn't have anything to do with power." The biker replied as he got himself the last burger from his bag of goods. Unwrapping it before taking another bite, the graduate wondered how he was going to phrase this to get the kid to understand."Brute strength isn't going to get you anywhere far. You seem to be the type to just use whatever skills at hand so long as the thing dies."

A sip from his half empty beverage.

"Do you even know the weaknesses that certain opponents hold? Do you even know your own weaknesses and tried to rectify it?" A pretty big bite from his burger this time. "How well do you even know yourself to begin with?"

[Tristan Carter]

Tristan thought about it. He had been in few fights, so nothing popped out at him as an enemy's weakness. And he had never seemed to be extra weak to certain attacks, though he seemed resistant to fire. Which was understandable, considering how Pyro Jack was basically a fire spirit.

As for using whatever skills were at hand, how else was he to fight? If he couldn't use it, it did him no good. On top of that, if the thing dies it dies. "Why does it matter how it dies?" he asked the guy before realizing that he still didn't know the other guy's name. Still, he supposed a name didn't matter. He was still curious as to one thing. "And what do you mean by 'rectifying my weaknesses?'"

[Vice Ysal]

"Because a fight isn't over until everything's cleared."

Goes to show how experienced the other person was in terms of fighting. Vice wasn't exactly holding his breath for some kind of divine sign to show that someone was going to be competent. It was honestly just a waste of time and he could always save himself the annoyance and disappointment from hearing someone brag about how good they are when they can't even back it up when it mattered.

"Ever heard of Modules? A big help if you know how to use them properly."

And there goes the last bit of his burger. And the rest of his drink to go with it. Stuffing the empty wrappers inside the small plastic bag he had with him before stuffing said plastic bag into his paper cup, Vice proceeded to throw it to the nearest trash can with via lobbing it.

"I'll be over at the Terminal by 9 PM tonight. You'll have 3 minutes to show up. If you're not there, then you're not."

[Tristan Carter]

The Terminal? Tristan remembered his first fight there. While the shadows may have been difficult to beat then, he wasn't sure about now. Hey Tristan. Maybe you're just gonna be passing through. I'm not sure about this guy, but I know that the sewers aren't exactly good. Still, the guy was going to be testing him, right? It wouldn't hurt to see where this leads. Besides, Tristan may just learn a thing or two.

"At nine? Sure, I should be able to make it there. As for Modules, I'll look into them for the time being. It never hurts to know everything at one's disposal, right?"