[video, backdated to 9/7]

[welikeike]

[HELLO, it is Ike. Long time no see.]

Well, I'm back. I know I've never been much good at keeping up with the network, but I figured I'd make a post to say so. I haven't been gone for long, but it still feels like it's been a while. It's been... Two months, more or less. But now that I'm back...

[Ike's not as keyed up as when he arrived the first time. He's calm, if not a tad exhausted. After that, a new emotion worms its way onto his face, one of mild irritation. He sighs.]

The headmasters re-enrolled me as a senior again. To be honest, the past year feels like a dream to me somehow. ...That doesn't make much sense, does it? You all saw me graduate, right? I don't know what went wrong with the headmasters, but there was no getting through to them. It's like they couldn't remember it at all. So this is where I'm at.

It's... not so bad. I came to terms with a few things that have been bothering me when I went back home. Now, I feel like I can focus on what I'm doing while I'm here much better than before.

[He cuts narrating his thoughts short by dragging his eyes back to the lens of the camera quite deliberately, then focusing back on his computer screen.]

...Right. Anyway, I'm back, and I'm ready to start the year. Again. That's all I really have to say. [Time to... shut this off. Yeah.]

Comments

[heartofarapier]

[Already Ike has her laughing a little. What sort of person does she take him for? "I fight for my friends." A good person, really. Considerate and polite, and determined. All things she likes.]

I'd like it if I never forgot you, honestly. Good friends can be hard to come by, and I suppose I'd want to covet the ones I make. And all the same, I'm so pleased to have you back.

Let's make up for the time you were away and do something simple.

[welikeike]

[Her laughter's a bit contagious, and Ike smiles to it. He tilts his head a bit, forward and to the side.]

Something simple? What do you have in mind?

[heartofarapier]

Hm...

[It's a good question and part of her wasn't expecting him to be so on the up and up about accepting. Consequently, she didn't have a strict plan to follow.]

Something you like. We should go do something you like. Although I suppose mercenaries usually like sparring and gold.

[welikeike]

Sparring and gold. That's a simplistic view, but I can't argue with it. I've met plenty of folks who have their eye trained on nothing but that.

[He pauses and nods slowly.] And I do spend a lot of my time sparring, so maybe you're onto something... Not that it's all I do.

[Just don't listen to what anybody else says. He totally does other things!]

[heartofarapier]

["I fight for my friends. That's what I do."]

So what else do you do, then? I only know a little about you and I'll admit that I don't know much about mercenaries. I knew of a few back in Renais, but I couldn't say I was particularly close to them.

[She just merely respected them, at the very least.]

If you enlighten me, I won't sound so uninformed.

[welikeike]

Well, we do... Regular people things. Like getting together and having a good time over a nice meal, or spending a day out in town. I don't think any of us enjoy the fighting we do, but we do what needs to be done. Everybody I know usually has something they enjoy doing on the side.

[From there, he thinks for a second. Does he have anything readily available as a hobby aside from sparring anymore?]

If we're talking about me... I like relaxing when I have the chance. Or spending time with good company.

[heartofarapier]

Like me.

[She's teasing. Mostly. Kind of. Maybe not. Sign this!]

I see... Then we are not so different, after all. In that case, we should do something relaxing. Do you like horseback riding, Ike? Or archery, perhaps.

[welikeike]

Hmm... Not particularly. I don't do archery at all, and it's been years since I've ridden a horse. But I wouldn't mind giving it a try if it's what you want to do.

[heartofarapier]

Well, if it helps, I am not very good at archery, but I practise from time to time. And I'm somewhat acquainted with riding, though I've not done it since I've been here. I think a leisurely ride could be just what each of us needs.

[welikeike]

Alright. That sounds good to me.

...Wait. Do we have horses around here that I don't know about? Otherwise, I'm not sure how we'd do this.

[heartofarapier]

There are stables on the academy grounds. I wasn't aware of them until I made my own return. We once had a hair dresser here and he actually guided mine there.

[Why yes. She has her own horse here too. Jealous yet, Ike.]