Almost As Good As Photoshop [SG]

[Jay]

[atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv181/SojiRem/salemsmithposttable.png);][atrb=width, 497][atrb=height, 297][atrb=style,border:0 blue none,b,Table][scrolly:h(266),w(296),sy,as(padding:4px 0px 5px;margin-top:65px;margin-left:201px;color:#c1c1c1;)]Stupid....stupid ... and they decided now of all times to try and retreat........Who do they think they are? After all this? ....Salem Smith was not irritated. No, of course not. The smile remained on his face, and his entire demeanor cast something of a general light air. Saying that they'd rather just stay with their families and claim neutral... how spineless..... He hummed a little as he walked. After all that had been put to work... after all that focus on bringing down the monarchy.... Everyone just settles down and thinks everything's good now.... Sunglasses slipped, and Salem halted his step to push them back up again. And then when the capital blows to hell unexpectedly, they all get cold feet.... Where is the passion of the revolutionaries? I swear the blood is thinning... He continued walking and crossed the street passing by a few people along the way. They'd been willing to lay down their lives before... even up against the professional guards of the Queen, but one bombing is enough to make them simply want to live quiet lives? How exactly does that even work? Why wouldn't it encourage them to fight harder? Why are they all just dropping away? We need a revival, damn it. We need to prove that the people get the say in the matter.... not some weak nobles that think they can still throw their weight around..... The silvery haired man stopped and stared up at a street sign looking somewhat confused for a brief moment before turning down a different road. Salem Smith might have been walking in large circles among a few key streets, but if asked this, he would deny any allegations. [/scrolly]

[Admiral Striker General]

On a park bench in one of the many beautiful little plazas of Jordrikir, a boy with a oddly-colored Leafeon sat enjoying the scenery. Elisabeth Nykron was.. a little tired, he'd admit. The one thing he could say to the credit of Eran rebels was even the decent ones were hard to track down. It had taken long enough to get a good lead on this one, and now that he was in the right city, he honestly had no idea how to go about finding the man. ...But hey~ How could he stay down on such a perfect day? It was like... This was the sort of weather that wouldn't even have a weather report, because it was too perfect for all the weathermen to miss by going into work today.

So he just sat for now in the shade, enjoying the breeze, and humming a bit to himself. His hands, overshadowed by their too-long sleeves, idly and silently drummed along in his lap. Eli was really content as could be, if curious why he hadn't visited this city sooner; his one orchid eye taking in these lovely---

Hm?

Double-taking, the boy noticed a suited man with silver hair walking on the other side of the street. That wasn't--?? It certainly fit the description!

A bright laugh escaped him, and taking his turtle-themed cane in hand, Eli hopped to his artificial feet. What luck~! Finding his target-- or he was pretty sure that was him; he did still need to check-- when he was taking a break from looking~ Such fun.

"Excuse me!" called the light, somewhat childish voice. With the aid of his cane, he hurried after the man in the fastest gait he could comfortably manage. "Hey Mister! Wait up!"

[Jay]

[atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv181/SojiRem/salemsmithposttable.png);][atrb=width, 497][atrb=height, 297][atrb=style,border:0 blue none,b,Table][scrolly:h(266),w(296),sy,as(padding:4px 0px 5px;margin-top:65px;margin-left:201px;color:#c1c1c1;)]I swear it makes me just want to pay someone to start killing them. If Salem had the money, and if he was sure that it wouldn't stir up noble sympathy in the process. People were finky. Or do it myself. This thought didn't get to be expanded on, for a voice had caught Salem's ears, and the man stopped walking again to turn and look at the -child?- that was walking towards him. Though he hadn't recognized the voice, Salem had assumed it was at least someone he had known- though even then he realized that they would have referred to him with 'Mr. Smith' more likely than not-, but the face he was looking at now didn't even look vaguely familiar. Habitually, two mostly blue -though dashed with purple here and there- spheres looked up and down over the young -man?- Yes, he was pretty sure even with the questionable hair that this was a boy. After this brief glance over was done, Salem pushed up his sunglasses unnecessarily and offered a smile. "Yes? Is there something you need, young man?" he asked putting off his general light demeanor in the face of his thoughts being interrupted by someone. [/scrolly]

[Admiral Striker General]

Eli stopped upon reaching the man, looking up and looking him over. His smile brightened as he took in the man's features. "Heha~ I knew it~ You are Salem, right? Salem Smith?" He bent to one side and back up slowly, as if looking him over more, both hands stacked on the turtle-shaped handle of his cane.

Straightening back up, he gave another little laugh, eye set firmly on Salem's. "You're a hard guy to track down, you know?" Behind Eli, his three-legged Leafeon seemed equally bursting with sunshine. He more or less pranced around back and forth behind his trainer, giving Salem playful little glances as he did.

[Jay]

[atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv181/SojiRem/salemsmithposttable.png);][atrb=width, 497][atrb=height, 297][atrb=style,border:0 blue none,b,Table][scrolly:h(266),w(296),sy,as(padding:4px 0px 5px;margin-top:65px;margin-left:201px;color:#c1c1c1;)]Hm? How does he know my name? A gentle questioning look was given back though Salem's stare had hardened a little as he found himself trying to figure out where he might have seen such a boy. However, Salem was sure he would have --- Track him down? The words only caused Salem to mentally fidget, and several excuses as to who he was came up into the back of Salem's mind. However, he quickly reassured himself that 'track down' could have several meanings outside of the one that had instantly come to mind. There could be various reasons someone was looking for him, and none of those were negative. After a moment, he laughed a little. "So I've heard," he hummed. "...But I'm afraid I don't know your name." Or who exactly you are. Salem didn't say this, of course. "Or why you were trying to track me down for that matter. Care to tell me why?" Though he was at least aware of the Leafeon's presence, Salem's attention remained on its trainer instead. [/scrolly]

[Admiral Striker General]

"Oh heh." He offered a sheepish grin. "Sorry, I'm Eli~" As always, the name came out as 'Elly'; certainly that wasn't likely to help Salem's mild uncertainty over the boy's gender. Both hands moved to clasp behind his back as he rocked back and forth innocently a little. Naturally, this movement came from his hips and upper body rather than his feet.

Never even considering faltering in his upbeat demeanor, he explained, "Well you see, my Mother.." Here his volume dropped a bit, but nothing else. "She always really loved the Rebel cause.. But she's not around anymore, and I really wanna do everything I can to help out in her place." He cocked his head a bit with a little "/_^ Heh.

"So I've been asking around for months now looking for someone who's really supposed to know the ropes to teach me exactly what it is you're hoping to accomplish.. if you wouldn't mind, sir~" His eye became more inquisitive, but still the smile remained. "Assuming I do have the right person? And that you're as respected as it seemed?"

[Jay]

[atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv181/SojiRem/salemsmithposttable.png);][atrb=width, 497][atrb=height, 297][atrb=style,border:0 blue none,b,Table][scrolly:h(266),w(296),sy,as(padding:4px 0px 5px;margin-top:65px;margin-left:201px;color:#c1c1c1;)]Elly? Salem hadn't been corrected when he had said 'young man' earlier, and now he simply found himself more confused than before. Doing his best to distill this from portraying on his features, Salem ended up flashing a bigger smile than usual. As the young man went on, Salem sweat dropped a little. Ah, so he was the child of some sort of rebel then, and... something had happened to her? Sadly the first thing that came to mind was the capital's bombings, and Salem mentally sighed. However, for all of what Salem had thought, Eli seemed to retain a light demeanor that caused Salem to doubt that the woman was dead. As the last explanation was made, Salem couldn't help but adore the stroke of pride at the term 'respected'. Never the less, he was talking to a kid it seemed, and even with such a polite request for information, Salem wasn't ready to just hand out full plans....Then again... It wasn't like the rebel cause -the rebel ideal- should have been hidden. Of course not, it was supposed to be proclaimed on high through the rebels as they washed away the last branches of this filthy monarchy.... But then once more, Salem found himself considering another angle. He didn't know this young man nor did he know anything about his mother......And suspicion gave way to a question in return. "My my," he hummed lightly. "I see... would you mind giving me your mother's name?" he asked avoiding the questions posed to him for the moment, at least. [/scrolly]

[Admiral Striker General]

This, for a moment, did wipe the smile from the boy's face. He wasn't frowning though; more just... thoughtful. There was a brief silence, and then an honest, "I would actually... I'm really sorry though?" he offered sincerely. "She always preferred people not know her name unless she told them herself, so I really just kinda wanna honor that, if that's all right, sir."

This was good though.. Yes, quite. He was neither immediately dismissive nor immediately divulging. It seemed rumors spoke well of this Salem Smith... as Eli supposed they should, considering what a hard time he'd had finding them in the first place. Well-guarded rumors were usually those that held the most truth. But young heir to the rebel empire wasn't through judging him just yet.. The smile returned as he awaited Salem's response.

[Jay]

[atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv181/SojiRem/salemsmithposttable.png);][atrb=width, 497][atrb=height, 297][atrb=style,border:0 blue none,b,Table][scrolly:h(266),w(296),sy,as(padding:4px 0px 5px;margin-top:65px;margin-left:201px;color:#c1c1c1;)]Eli's words drew a bit of skeptical doubt onto Salem's features as his thoughts went over who wouldn't want to have their name handed out. Well... that was a lot of people when one stopped to think about it. He himself didn't like others giving out his name unless for specific reasons, and there were many different reasons names were either replaced by some sort of alias, restricted to a few, and the like. After a moment, he chuckled a little. "I see..." he replied reflecting a bit of sincerity that had been given from Eli. "Alright then... I'm guessing you don't wish to give out your surname either then?" A smile kept its place, and in all honesty, Salem was feeling a bit of a perk up from previous moments. The conversation was putting a few of the irritating thoughts away for the moment and substituting them for more interesting matters- and possibly a new stable rebel if whatever higher being out there deemed it to be so. "...Would you mind walking with me? Standing around feels a bit boring, honestly," the silver haired man asked after a brief moment. There was less of a chance of being overheard when one was on the move, and even if there were only a few people out at the moment, Salem was never one to take such chances when it came to information. "Your cane is quite amusing," he added. Though he had seen it only briefly, the handle had been clear enough to discern what it was even with a hand on it. After a moment, a few steps were taken, and Salem found his form slowly moving down the street. "So your mother is the main reason you wish to join?" he asked. Salem was unsure that parental views of the war would have a big enough impact on someone to cause them to fullheartedly join something that could take away one's life at any moment. There had to be stronger grounds than that. There had to be a passion for full freedom or a push towards equality or.... [/scrolly]

[Admiral Striker General]

The question on Eli's own surname had caused him to pause, considering whether or not he should. Before he managed to get too far, though, Salem shifted with his request to walk. "Hm? Oh sure~ ..'slong as it's not too far," The last bit was mumbled pretty weakly, but he wasn't really all that concerned at the moment. If he started getting uncomfortable, he'd stop and explain.

At the comment on his cane, he looked up to Salem, then gave a little laugh before holding it up a moment to more clearly show off the handle. "I love turtles~" Which was another thing; if he got too tired of walking, he could always bring out Gaia. Most of these streets seemed accommodating enough for her. :3

The cane then went back down and back into use as Eli followed Salem; he tended to use it to help on his right side, since he at least still had his natural knee on his left. At the question, he looked back up to the tall man and cocked his head a little. "Well of course." The answer was given with such a blatant sincerity and clarity that some may have felt out of place for even asking such a question as to warrant it. "No one and nothing means more to me than Mother. ...Why?" Never did he display a hint of anything but calm, curious innocence. "Why do you fight?"

Oh hey hadn't he been-- Right, he'd gotten distracted a moment there. Supposing no one should know Mother by the name, he offered, "It's Nykron, by the way. Eli Nykron, I mean." He did try to be careful giving out his own name.. but he was liking this Salem well enough so far, and hadn't yet seen any indication that rumors spoke him false. He seemed likely the kind of man Eli would want for his plans, and if not then at least the kind of man who'd make little business of spreading relatively trivial facts about children he happened to speak with for an afternoon on the streets.

[Jay]

[atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv181/SojiRem/salemsmithposttable.png);][atrb=width, 497][atrb=height, 297][atrb=style,border:0 blue none,b,Table][scrolly:h(266),w(296),sy,as(padding:4px 0px 5px;margin-top:65px;margin-left:201px;color:#c1c1c1;)]Salem half smiled at the explanation of turtles. "I... prefer cats, I think." he answered. They were certainly softer creatures and much easier to pet. The fact that they also cleared out rodents tended to help the feline cause in Salem's mind. At the reply to his question, Salem mentally fidgeted, and for a brief moment, he did feel quite out of place having asked it. As the boy continued, Salem had to fight off the urge to ask more about this 'Mother'. He wasn't going to be that divulging especially into the lives between a parent and child. One simply didn't do that right after meeting someone, especially a child... As the question was posed back to him, Salem had a different rush of thoughts. Sabrina, of course No, there was no way he was revealing the existence of his daughter to someone he had just met. If Eli turned out to be some sort of- well Salem doubted he was a spy or something, but if he didn't end up joining the rebels in full, he didn't want some kid running around with that information. The last name cut into Salem's thoughts, and he blinked a moment. It didn't ring any bells and instead just won a sort 'I see' nod. "You asked why I fight?" he asked after a moment. "Because I don't believe that a person should be born into a situation and have no way to climb up out of it." In Salem's case, it was poverty, but he didn't add this and found that the ambiguous words. "Nor do I believe someone should just be born into power and think he can rule over everyone. I....simply hate the monarchy system," he finished with a light laugh before looking sideways at Eli. "The price freedom is the dead body of the monarchy....... Ah, sorry... you probably didn't want to hear all of that." [/scrolly]

[Admiral Striker General]

Eli blinked a bit at the response as Salem finished before finally laughing a little awkwardly. His reason for doing so, however, wasn't what was probably expected. "Nah, I asked, right?" The smile came back, softer than before. "That sounds like a really good reason though.."

Stopping, he turned to face Salem more directly. In a perfectly level tone and with no change in expression, he asked, "I guess the better question is... what are you planning to do about it?" There was a brief moment's pause, then he tilted his head again with a little "Hehe. /_^"

[Jay]

[atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv181/SojiRem/salemsmithposttable.png);][atrb=width, 497][atrb=height, 297][atrb=style,border:0 blue none,b,Table][scrolly:h(266),w(296),sy,as(padding:4px 0px 5px;margin-top:65px;margin-left:201px;color:#c1c1c1;)]A cool smirk came to Salem's face as Eli spoke. Wouldn't you like to know? the mental taunt jived, yet these words didn't reach Salem's lips. Instead, he offered a grin and a laugh before allowing his demeanor to fall a little. "Burn a few castles down, strangle a few nobles, and wash the last of these pests out of Era." he stated in a light almost humerus tone that could cause someone to doubt that he was being series. The first two weren't truly serious at the moment, at least. It wasn't his job to strangle or burn. His job was to orchestrate events, make plans, and make it all run smoothly. The less things he could hold his name to the better. However, the last was a bit more truthful. He was going to take them down -or wash them out, heh- if only from behind the scenes. "You're quite inquisitive," Salem noted after a moment. "I hope you aren't some sort of spy or something~" was a light tease that was made shortly after. Salem's expression, however, was very serious. [/scrolly]

[Admiral Striker General]

Eli only laughed softly in return. 'Some' sort may have actually been accurate, but not the sort Salem suspected. Still seeming nothing save sunshine and curiosity, the boy asked simply and plainly, "So why haven't you done it yet?"

[Jay]

[atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv181/SojiRem/salemsmithposttable.png);][atrb=width, 497][atrb=height, 297][atrb=style,border:0 blue none,b,Table][scrolly:h(266),w(296),sy,as(padding:4px 0px 5px;margin-top:65px;margin-left:201px;color:#c1c1c1;)]Though he had fought back the urge to sigh, Salem lost the war of sorts and did so anyways. "People are so......" he broke off rather dryly before shaking his head and starting to walk again as though this somehow helped his thoughts, and indeed it did. "They don't carry enough resolve to keep projects going, and the bulk of the people I had working with me proved to be deserters.... Though I would take up front-line work myself, I'd prefer to have a winning card before trying to play with nobles." Salem probably said a bit -or rather a lot- more than he had planned to, yet once more he found that feeling of loss coming back to him, and his mental gears had begun to churn and chew over his predicament. Though he had some people still, he was unsure how long it was before these numbers shrank again. Damn it, he refused to lose resolve! [/scrolly]

[Admiral Striker General]

Eli's vibrant light dulled a bit. He appeared thoughtful for a few moments, then just gave a little "Huh." It wasn't entirely unexpected; not at all. In fact, the opposite was closer to true; still, the details warranted consideration.

"So... How do you plan to get more people?" His smile slowly returning, he added a little hurriedly, "When they don't come asking like me or anything. Heh~" And he shifted back toward neutrality. "Or.. how do you plan to keep those you find? Do you.. not have any ideas to strengthen or maintain that resolve?" How disappointing it would be if he didn't.

[Jay]

[atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv181/SojiRem/salemsmithposttable.png);][atrb=width, 497][atrb=height, 297][atrb=style,border:0 blue none,b,Table][scrolly:h(266),w(296),sy,as(padding:4px 0px 5px;margin-top:65px;margin-left:201px;color:#c1c1c1;)]A quiet 'tch' sound escaped from Salem, and the silver haired man ended up pushing up his sunglasses a bit higher up the bridge of his nose. It was only after that that he actually realized he was allowing a child to get the better of him, and Salem deflated a little before offering a flat-lined smile back. "I'm currently looking into a few ways to keep things alive," he answered more than just a little ambiguously. In truth, he was boarder-line ready to start using full intimidation factors to force others into keeping their momentum, yet he wasn't willing to admit that to a kid. He was Salem Smith, after all, and he was sure the right amount of pressure would keep the spineless in his grasp. However, that was not what he wanted, and Salem knew it all too well. He wanted people with strength... he wanted those that would actually look him in the face, stare him down, but then resolve to call him 'sir' if only for the rebel cause. Those kinds of people were the ones that were hard to come by, and Salem had no idea of how to round them up..... [/scrolly]

[Admiral Striker General]

Hm? He wasn't starting to break, was he..? That wouldn't be much fun at all.. But then the answer came, and... Hm. Well... "How's that working for you?"

[Jay]

[atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv181/SojiRem/salemsmithposttable.png);][atrb=width, 497][atrb=height, 297][atrb=style,border:0 blue none,b,Table][scrolly:h(266),w(296),sy,as(padding:4px 0px 5px;margin-top:65px;margin-left:201px;color:#c1c1c1;)]Kid.... I'm going to......... Salem's face was a literal flat line for a solid ten seconds. However, after that, something horribly cheesy seemed to slide its way up his features into a distorted smile. "It's going lovely~ thank you for asking." [/scrolly]

[Admiral Striker General]

Honestly, some-- though not all-- of the sarcasm was lost on the boy, and he found himself uncertain whether it was going horribly or if it was actually all right and Salem was just retaliating cynically. Not one to dwell too much, though, he just kept that bright demeanor and responded, "All right, cool." He didn't mean to mock in the event it had been a total lie, but... Well, he should have been prepared for people to occasionally take things at face value, right?

"So how long do you think it might be until we see more real change, then?" Whether that meant a more solid presence and less fear of publicly admitting rebel favor, or another major political or physical blow to upper nobility, it didn't matter.