Re: The Search for the Berserker Armor (Serio Katsuya)

[Serio Katsuya]

Serio looked at him, and took his hand, thought hesitated at first. "Will this work?" She was doubting that she could do this. Serio didn't think that she was capable of being able to control over the element. She concentrated like she was instructed. She listened for the talking. Serio squeezed Bartimaeus's hand tighter as the tingling grew. She was a little frightened. Her heart rate pulsed more loudly. She felt his hand, and squeezed more, but she was afraid to hurt him, so she started releasing her grip. Serio listened as Bartimaeus had told her to do. Her eyes closed, her mind opened, and she listened. Listened to all the things going through her mind. After two days... Can feelings really grow for someone...??? This is weird, and plus he's a lot older than me, though he does not look like it. He looks in his twenties, and why would he like me as more than just a friend.?? Serio asked herself.

((Mind is elsewhere.))

[Hei]

(No worries!)

He felt her pulse quicken so he put his other hand on top of hers. "Sh... Just relax. I'm here for you." Unbeknown to Serio, Bartimaeus was wondering the same. The intimacy required for teaching such a high level technique made him... excited? Anxious? He couldn't tell. Human emotions were foreign to him. All he knew was that someone special had come into his life, and that changed him. He didn't know how she felt either, and that for some reason made him nervous. He liked being her friend, but perhaps they could be something more...? He closed his eyes and rid himself of that thought. He did not allow himself to grow too attached to someone because he is, after all, a monster. To get close to him is spelling out one's death, and the thought of hurting Serio in any way sent pangs of sadness through his body. "Just... listen." He suddenly was very aware of how close he was to her, and that thought broke his own concentration. His elemental invocation vanished, leaving him standing as a human in front of her.

[Serio Katsuya]

Serio relaxed as Bartimaeus told her, and her heart jumped when he put his other hand on hers. And she felt a sense of change in the atmosphere around them. And after something spiked her curiousity, she opened her eyes to find Bartimaeus, human, in front of her. "What happened?" She asked, seeing as how she couldn't feel anything that was helping her before. Serio didn't move from where she was. The only thing she did do, besides break the silence again, was breathe. From lycan to human in zero seconds flat. "Bartimaeus, is everything okay? What's wrong?" She asked kind of worried about him now. Her body stiffened slightly, as her eyes wander up and down his body, trying to figure it out. But she waited to see if he had a reason for what just happened. Her hand didn't move anywhere. It just stayed between Bartimaeus's hands. She hoped an answer would come from him, but if he didn't know, well, then she'd have to get over it.

((Thanks for understanding))

[Hei]

He almost didn't hear her voice because he was so focused on his own thoughts. When he looked at her, he looked past her until he shook his head. "Y... yes I'm alright. Just confused is all. Human emotions are beyond me and for some reason I cannot decipher exactly what I am feeling." He looked to the side and bit his lip. "I'm actually quite nervous right now, but I am not sure why." He was so aware of her hand between his own that he could feel her pulse. It almost felt as if hers and his were in beat with one another. "I'm... It feels as if my chest is on fire." The corner of his mouth lifted in a small smile. "Odd, yes, but there is no other way for me to describe this. It would seem that I have some strong feelings... toward you." He lifted his eyes to hers. "I don't know what that means. Quite honestly, it's rather frightening for me. But, I think that I'd like to find out what it is exactly that I'm feeling."

[Serio Katsuya]

"Human emotions, huh? Well, seeing as how your chest is on fire..." Serio blushed a little. "And your heart beat and mine seem as one, I think I can diagnosis your issue." She said with a quirky smile. "I think your strong feeling...," she couldn't help it, but giggle a little. "might be the same as mine. I believe your feeling is something to do with you liking me more than just a friend. It's quite possible to call it, the human emotion, 'love'." Serio said with a bigger smile, blushing, and tried to hide the blush, so she turned her head toward the ground. "I think." With her free hand, Serio made a fist hoping she didn't make a fool of herself. Right now she was really nervous too, and if she got it wrong, she would wish she could disappear. Being incredibly embarassed about what she had just said, Serio let her mind slip away into her thoughts, hoping to find out if that was right or wrong. She played with the bottom of her dress. It seemed to entertain her for the moment, but soon growing bored of that. Serio couldn't wait to see whether she was correct or not. She closed her eyes, as if she were waiting to be hit or slapped for her stupid thought.

[Hei]

Bartimaeus blinked. "...Love?" He looked to the side and thought, hard. "I'm not sure what that is. I have never experienced such a thing before." He looked up to see Serio staring at the ground, rather flustered. The corner of his mouth twitched in a semblance of a smile. "But while I'm not sure what that means, I am sure that I want to spend my time with you." He kept her hand in his but used his other to lift her chin so he could look in her eyes. "Don't be so nervous... I won't bite." He smiled fully now, and for the first time his smile reached his eyes. "I want to understand what it is we feel, but I don't want to do it alone. I would like to do it with you." His heart pounded as adrenaline coursed through his body and his gaze moved from her eyes to her lips. He swallowed and leaned forward, his eyes moving once again to meet hers. When their lips connected, his entire body relaxed, and he moved his hand from her chin to her cheek, pulling her forward into the kiss.

[Serio Katsuya]

Serio said, "It's hard to explain. Love is indeed a human emotion." She smiled at him. "I am willing to try if you are. Just promise me that if we do try this, that if anything happens to change it, that we stay friends." Serio was already thinking negatively because of what happened in her last relationship. "I'm only nervous because I thought you would think I was crazy. And I don't mind playful biting." She smiled a sly smile. Then her eyes may have popped out of her head if she didn't close them when Bartimaeus kissed her. Her heart seemed to skip a beat. A slight smile grew as they kissed. She kissed him back. She wasn't sure if this was a dream or what, but right now, she knew that she wanted to try this with him. Serio was still nervous, mostly because this kiss was ten times better than any she recieved before. She didn't know why, but right now was not the time to really worry about that. She was caught in the moment.

[Hei]

Inside, Bartimaeus felt like laughing. Serio certainly was turning out to be quite a few firsts for him. Loathe as he was to do it, he broke the kiss after a few moments had passed. His eyes were still closed, but a genuine smile lingered on his lips. "Serio... don't worry so much." His eyes opened once again only to close as he kissed her another time, more forcefully. His right hand rested on the small of her back while his left lingered on her neck. The influx of emotions confused the lycanthrope, mostly because he had never experienced any of them before. At least, he didn't think he had. It's hard to remember something from over two and a half centuries ago. All he knew was that he was happy, and that was enough for him. After spending almost three lifetimes doing what he hated, he could definitely stay like this for another three. Or four. Whatever.

[Serio Katsuya]

Taken back by the break of the kiss, Serio opened her eyes. "I'm sorry, Bartimaeus. I'm just scared to have my heart broken again." She smiled anyway. She closed her eyes too, and enjoyed the forcefullness, and kissed back. Serio placed her right hand on the side of his face, and her other on his chest. A quick thought popped into her mind. What if it's not love, what we are just really confused about how we feel? I want another relationship, but what if this doesn't work out? Serio stopped letting questions pop into her head, and instead focused on the kissed, and hoped that it lasted. It was nice, relaxing, with a slight edge of fun. She hadn't felt like this in along while. Another smile, tiny but a smile nonetheless, found its way to Serio's lips as they kissed. Her eyes, still closed, Serio's heart rate jumped a little more.

[Hei]

When he finally felt that the kiss had lasted long enough, he lay his forehead against hers. "Don't be afraid. I won't do anything to harm you, or let anything harm you for that matter." His hands rested on her waist now. Then, against all reason, he began to laugh. It was slight at first, but it grew to a deep resonating laugh that resounded through the forest. By the time it died down, he was on the ground, holding his stomach. "Oh dear... I'm sorry. Nothing is funny at all, but my body just did that by itself. I'm not sure why." He just lay there with his hands behind his head, smiling, his eyes closed. "I suppose that this is what it's like to be genuinely happy... I think that I've only felt this a few times before, and most of them involved the elation I felt after completing the training from my masters." He chuckled. "Life, as unbearable as it may be at some times, is certainly good."

[Serio Katsuya]

"Thank you. I don't want anything to happen." Serio said, as they stood with foreheads touching. She watched him as he fell to the ground, laughing. She didn't even know what he was laughing at. Now Serio was rather confused. "Weird. I didn't think I was that bad..." She said with a silly smile on her face. Serio joined Bartimaeus on the ground, but sat next him rather than laying down. "Being happy is fun, and I can make sure you stay happy, though I am not really a people person." She said. "But I am sure this will be a different kind of happy." Serio smiled to herself, wondering what kind of guy he was towards women, though he seemed like a ladies' man. She looked at him out the corner of her eye. Serio couldn't believe that everything went this fast, but she was happy again. "Thank you." She said as she laid on her side. "Haven't been this happy for a few years, though I am not that old." Shapeshifter or not, Serio wasn't that old. She looked seventeen, but she was almost twenty three. She hoped for the best and prepared for the worst.

[Hei]

His illuminated orange eyes gazed at her as she spoke. "No you're not bad at all." He smiled gently. "I'm rather surprised that you would... love... a man like myself." He looked down at his scarred body streaked with the curious black metal of the Berserker armor and back up to her, somewhat embarrassed. "I'm not exactly a perfect specimen with all of these unsightly blemishes which mar my body." He gave a slight smile. "Which brings me to ask... can you remove scars by shapeshifting? I cannot through lycanthropy. Being immortal doesn't mean being invulnerable. All of these scars are permanent for the rest of my life... however long that may be." His brow furrowed. "Forever. No one realizes how long that can be unless one has experienced it..." He thought for a moment and blinked. "I apologize. I talk far too much."

[Serio Katsuya]

"Well, for one, you don't talk too much, and two, how could I not?" She asked, as a partial blush and smile starred through. She giggled slightly. "You're cute, and nice, and you spared my life. I thought you were gonna kill me, but thanks for not." She said. "And no. My shapeshifting doesn't remove scares, though I wish it could because if you saw that scar on my back, you might ask what happened. And forever would suck. I am hoping to live forever if this works out between, because remember. I get the life span of the same being I am shifting into." Serio explained for a second time. She smiled at him, and kissed his chin. "No worries. Scars don't bother me. I have plenty to show for what has all happened to me." Serio said. She sighed a sigh, smiled a smile, and hugged the man in front of her. "Bartimaeus, is there any way to learn to control your armor, or do you think you've finally got it?" She asked because she was a little afraid to be in a situation that could be harmful to her, but she'd stay with him through it. "Well, think we should get going home, or do you want to do something else?"

[Hei]

"I see. I'd like t know about that scar of yours. And as for the berserker armor... I'm not sure. I have yet to have enough experience with it to know exactly how it works, but I can tell that it reacts to my emotions." He smiled, his cheeks slightly red. "Cute... Never been called that before. I wonder i-" Bartimaeus suddenly doubled over and his arms wrapped around his chest. He stared at the ground for a moment before raising his eyes to the sky. "The moon..." His eyes wandered back down to Serio before he fell to the ground on all fours, his body cracking and bulging grotesquely as it shaped itself into his alter form. This was not a normal transformation, though. The metal strands of the Berserker armor wriggled underneath his skin and suddenly burst through his flesh, forming a myriad of spikes which undulated with each heartbeat. They all shifted so that they pointed toward his back. He growled as his body shifted and grew fur. The whites of his eyes turned black, and the only visible part of his body were his pupils which glowed orange; the rest of his body melded so well with the shadows. The beast got up on its hind legs, towering over Serio, and rushed at her. Its jaws were millimeters away from her neck when it stopped. A spark of recognition shone in its eye. With a mournful yowl, the panther stepped backwards and ran westward at lightning speeds.

[Serio Katsuya]

Serio smiled when he asked about her scar. "Well, that is not important." She watched as he doubled over, thinking that he was just going to laugh at her again. She noticed that he looked kind of in pain, and when he said something about the moon, she looked at it. She felt a sense of pain deep inside her. When Bartimaeus turned, and towered over her, Serio was suddenly frieghtened. Bartimaeus almost killed Serio in an instant, but when he backed off and ran away, Serio was left without words. She shifted, and followed his scent. Serio did want to know what this would be like, the power hunger. But she felt the need to follow him simiply because she was scared he wouldn't come back. Bartimaeus, I'm okay. Please don't feel bad. You didn't hurt me. Scared me at most, which is weird because nothing really does that. But please, please don't run away. Serio felt bad that he ran, but she understood that he may have felt bad for almost killing her. Bartimaeus, I am coming to find you. Stop running and stay where you are. Serio ran and ran, kept going, and when she felt she couldn't continue, she pushed herself to keep going. She was rather afraid that he was going to seperate himself from her. She removed that thought from her mind, and pushed on.

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