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| Storming the Tower; [Reserved for Sphynx] | |
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| Topic Started: Jul 6 2009, 12:34 PM (117 Views) | |
| Tsuki | Jul 6 2009, 12:34 PM Post #1 |
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The Undeadophile
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Hand over hand. That's all he focued on: one hand over the other. From time to time those same hands, with their long, bony fingers, would slip and he would find himself catching his breath in his throat, heart pounding, clinging to the rock face as if it would save him. Climbing wasn't for the physically weak or ill, but he was determined. His abdomen, protesting every strained movement, burned with pain. Swearing up a storm - he'd been doing that for days now, cursing more than he had in years - he slung the small bag from his shoulder upon reaching a rocky shelf. Digging through it with feverish desperation, the necromancer found the small bottle he was looking for; the contents were tipped into his mouth and swallowed. Soon the aching, burning sensation would ease. It had been well over a month since he had left the healer's hut in Rurakanara. In the eight or so weeks since he'd been run through with a lance, Tsuki had managed to recover. After being saved by Liron, a stranger who had been kind enough to rescue a dying person in need, he had spent a mere two weeks there - the remaining six had been spent walking the countryside, passing from Soto into Morrim via the Erth'netora. He hadn't stumbled upon the Do'suul mountains accidentally, or had a desire to get himself killed some other way. During that long and arduous journey, Tsuki's thoughts had been running a mile a minute, until his entire being had been consumed. For the first time in over fifty years, the emotionaless facade he had worn finally cracked. Anger flared beneath it, hot and thick. To say that Tsuki was frustrated or vexed was a massive understatement: he was enraged, furious, pissed. That he should be the target of some lunatic because Sphynx had decided to dabble her fingers in some other plot that would no doubt lead her to further her own gains in life, and he was being dragged into it and being nearly killed for it, infuriated him. He had done nothing - nothing - to warrant Andromalius' unexpected and brutal attack on him, and, if not for Liron, he would have been walking the path that his summons did. Sphynx... If he could have, if he had not been cursed with his disease, would have stabbed her a hundred times over. It was if the fury of over a century had finally bubbled to the surface. Face set in a permanent scowl, Tsuki stood the moment he felt the pain ebb. Above, Taiyo scouted, searching for the one who had nearly murdered her master. He pushed his navy hair out of his eyes and began to resume his climbing, trying to still the whirling thoughts in his head. He hated this feeling, of having emotion. It was true that he felt some emotion and often simply chose not to show it, but never did he allow himself to feel the full force of them, the full brunt. Even now, as he continued his ascent with curses intermixed with laboured breathing, the elf was trying to stuff them back into the box he'd locked so long ago. But that incident, that one small agonizing incident, had opened Pandora's box, and try as he might, he could not lock it again. At the bottom of Her box, however, was not Hope; at the bottom, there was nothing at all. A cry from Taiyo alerted the necromancer to his destination: the entrance to Andromalius' lair and, no doubt, where Sphynx was. He had spoken to some locals in the nearest town, to the ones who looked particularly shady, and they had told him all he needed to know, mentioning the cave and the darkness that seemed to emanate from it, the fact that there was something wicked there and that they wanted to be a part of it. Tsuki slipped inside, walking briskly, the whisper of wings across his cheek telling him that Taiyo was flying ahead, to scout. He followed the path down, down, down, reaching a throneroom, continuing beyond it, following the spiral stairs upward, upward, upward. His cursing had stopped and he had become silent in an attempt to avoid any unwanted attention from Sphynx's new 'love' interest. The room he found himself in was clearly a banquet hall. Where or how far he would have to go to find Sphynx he didn't know, but he would find her and, when he did, he would demand and receive the answers he sought. Calling down Taiyo with a flick of his crimson gaze, the necromancer unsheathed his dagger and went on the prowl, raven on one arm, knife in the hand of the other. |
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| Sphynx | Jul 8 2009, 12:56 AM Post #2 |
All-Knowing Mod of Elly
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The tower’s library was quickly becoming one of her favorite locations within the tower to spend her time, at least when she actually visited the structure and had spare time. And it seemed like all Sphynx had was free time these days. Her part in the plot for now involved a lot of waiting while Andromalius paraded around Kinaldi doing whatever the hell he pleased. She’d been told to wait, that her time would come, soon she would get everything her heart desired…bullshit. Sphynx was not the type to simply wait around until someone else decided that the moment was right; not the kind to let someone else direct her action or inaction. She was beginning to feel less like an accomplice and more like a puppet; a thing to be used with strings to be pulled. If she was forced to wait too much longer, Andromalius might one day return to find this puppet had cut her own strings. In the mean time she spent her days away from her home in the library. The books there were older and far more extensive on certain dark magic than any she was likely to find elsewhere. Several of them she owned or had read in the past, but there were plenty unfamiliar tomes to keep her satisfied for the time being. Many of the books she had already gone through simply told of techniques or spells that she had already learned from other sources, but she was picking up a few new tricks. One spell in particular caught her eye. It forced your adversary to suddenly see the thing which frightened them the most. Interesting enough, though she wasn’t too fond of illusion magic herself. They were merely tricks, and nothing more. An unexpected sound travelled up the spiral staircase and met her ears. Inwardly she sighed, as she had thought that the banshee would have had more business to attend to in the capitol; he always seemed to have business to attend to in the capitol. Was he back early so that he could gloat about all the work that he had done advancing his plans while leaving her on the sidelines to rot? Well she didn’t plan on letting him get that far. If he wanted to brag about all of the progress that he had made then he was going to have to find someone else to share his stories with. Sphynx would just tell him to go find his pet; Erim hung on to his every word. Minutes passed slowly as she waited for the telltale footstep outside of the door that would precede his entrance…but the sound never came. Her fingers began to absently drum along the leather surface of the book that she was only pretending to read now, but the steady thrumming was the only thing that she could hear. An impatient sigh escaped her lips, and she snapped the book shut, leaving it on a small circular table before crossing the room. The fact that he wasn’t coming to seek her out meant that she wouldn’t be able to tell him off, and that she found irritating. Now he was making her do work. Her own footsteps were light and barely audible as made her way down the staircase. The floor below was a large, open, formal dining room that she had never once seen used, and at this point, she was beginning to think that she never would. She did not expect to see anyone inside of that room, but the part of her that was paranoid felt the need to examine to location anyway. Stepping off of the staircase and into the banquet wall brought her so close to a certain elf that she almost ran right into him. To say that she was shocked would have been an understatement. The last time she had spoken with Tsuki she had actually let her guard down, if only for a moment. She had admitted to something that she hadn’t fully been able to admit to herself at one point in time. And yet here he was, actually showing some semblance of emotion. Her features, which had momentarily gained a widened look to them, grew impassive once again as she recovered from the initial astonishment. She still could not believe, or even understand, why he had come here. Even if Tsuki had learned of what Andromalius was planning she doubted that he was here to sign up for the fun. She had never seen in Tsuki the ambition or lust for power that the owner of the tower had in spades. She couldn’t think of any other reason as to why he would come. “What the hell are you doing here?” Her voice was softer than she had meant it to be, but not the softness that sometimes accompanied anger or malice. It was gentle, calm, almost tired sounding. Then she took the time to actually look him over. His complexion was pale, even by his usual standards, and at the same time he seemed flushed or maybe feverish. Of course the effect could have well been from the exertion of the climb up the mountain, but she somehow doubted that was it. “You look terrible.” She was beginning to get the feeling that this was not a social call. |
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| Tsuki | Jul 8 2009, 02:36 PM Post #3 |
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The Undeadophile
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"How... kind... of you to notice, Sphynx. You can thank your new boyfriend-" Tsuki's voice was filled with venom "-for kindly burying a lance into my abdomen. I was very appreciative of his most valiant effort to murder me. I've decided to come and shower you with my utmost and undying gratitude." He hadn't seen her coming down the stairs, but he had noticed her the moment she appeared beside him. He had whirled around, the knife raised defensively, before he had retreated several steps, his back to the table, the rim pressing against his spine. What did it matter, anyway? She could have killed him if she wanted to, and so could her new plaything. Cornered or not, it didn't matter, because if he walked out of here alive it would be a miracle and the elf was beyond believing in such petty things. The knife remained in the air, in front of his face, just below his eyes - both of them; he hadn't pulled his hair from behind his ear, and only the shortest strands now fell across his forehead and nose - where they glowered. It was easy to discern how he felt as he let it all go: fury, hatred, bloodlust, pain. Death was within the far reaches of his mind, a realm that he had shut out for the time being. The aura remained, however, as did the stench, but it was definitively less than was normal. Rather than being able to retreat into the coolness that was another plane, a parallel universe where the spirits roamed and the Dead walked, on a whim, he had closed himself off, bringing with its loss an awareness that he had forgotten existed. With it had come the flood of emotion as the numbing cold receded, leaving behind the warmth of a world that Tsuki was all but dead to. Life, as opposed to Death, was a strange and mysterious place, but a place that he could not bring himself to care for any longer. "Explain to me, Sphynx," he spat her name in his eternal rage, "what I have ever done to you. Besides exist, for apparently existence is a sin, a sin which I cannot help but commit since I did not choose to walk this world's path. What is your new little game, Sphynx? You tell me something oh so sacred to your life and your being and then you command your newest pet to assault me? Would you like to finish the deed? Here. I will provide the murder weapon." Tsuki held it out to her, his eyes daring her to take it. The curved and jagged silver blade gleamed in the torchlight of the dining hall, menacing from its tip to the silver crescent moon pommel at the hilt's end. "I am here," he said finally, answering the question that she had asked so gently, in a way that she never had before with him, but that had been glazed over quickly, trampled by his flaring fury, "because I was nearly killed by a lunatic they call 'Andromalius'. And this Andromalius decided that I was a nuisance on the foundations that I knew you. Of course, the logical conclusion that one comes to is to kill the opposing force. Who, on this forsaken earth, is the easiest to kill? Why me, of course! But why would that be? Because the moment a wound is inflicted, my life is endangered. I would have thought that I would be too easy a target for you - that that is perhaps why you leave me be when you could just as easily slaughter me as you did Winx." The torrent of words came thick and fast. There was such loathing inside him that he could not suppress. You are like all creatures... Petulant and petty, a woman who would stab her kin in the back - a fellow necromancer who deals in the arts of the dead - for the sake of your own gain. But just what is that gain, Sphynx? What do you hope to gain by removing me from the picture? Power? I do not need to be in the picture for you to attain that. "I want answers Sphynx, and I want them now. Craft as many lies as you please - I have as long as I need. If your precious Andromalius decides to show himself, I shall have to let him take my life. What else am I to do?" The dagger remained suspended, aching for her to take it. |
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| Sphynx | Jul 9 2009, 10:43 PM Post #4 |
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All-Knowing Mod of Elly
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So…the elf had balls after all. His voice was filled with sarcasm, which wasn’t unusual, but also incredible anger on a scale that she had never before heard from him. In face she wasn’t sure if she could ever remember a time when he was vexed; irritated of course, displeased sure. But an outburst such as this was completely out of character for him. She was surprised, but at the same time curious as to what could create such powerful rage in one who normally didn’t even have to work at showing a blank palette of emotion. At the word ‘boyfriend’ her eyes visibly narrowed, and yet she had no problem knowing at once whom he was talking about. Where the elf got that idea from she couldn’t even fathom. Sure they danced together at a recent soiree, but that was just business as usual, though from an outside perspective she supposed it could have looked like something more. But she didn’t remember seeing Tsuki at that event, so where else could he have gotten such a ridiculous idea? The problem with that crazy idea was that it was lie. She would rather gouge her own eyes out than have the misconception out there that she had a significant other when that was so far from truth. Sure there had been men in her past, even one whom she had thought that she’d loved, but lies were intolerable. She let him ramble on, her own thoughts drifting as she kept one ear tuned into his words while the rest of her mind turned them over. Andromalius had attempted to kill him simply because he knew her? And she had been getting along so well with the banshee of late; though this might have explained part of the reason why he had been in such a good mood. She of all people understood the enjoyment one could get out of attempted murder. But now all she felt was anger; held in check only by the fact that the person with whom her anger laid was not present. Tsuki had every right to be upset, if what he said was accurate, but she directed her own irritation at the source of this entire conversation. Andromalius had gone much too far if he thought that he could get away with attempting to murder someone simply because they were…what exactly was Tsuki was to him? Competition? For what; the title of ruler of the world? As good a necromancer as the elf was, he never had seemed to want that. Her closed off heart? That idea was laughable…wasn’t it? The very thought caused her to sigh as her attention returned more fully to the problem at hand. “Tsuki…sit down…please.” Her own voice retained the cool tone with which she had spoken before but a hint of exasperation. From the look of him, he might pass out if he didn’t stop shouting and carrying on like he was. She completely ignored the dagger in his hand, as she had no intention of harming him even more than he apparently already had been. Without waiting to see if he was even calm enough to take a seat, she pulled a chair out for herself and sat down. Sphynx was unusually calm considering the circumstances; generally she had no problem killing someone when they offered like this, and it was so rare for that to happen. “This may come as a surprise to you, but I have never wanted you dead. Well, maybe once or twice, if you really want the truth, but that is actually less than most people I meet. And yes, I told you something that I have never actually admitted to anyone else since…well, since the last time that I saw him before it ended. But believe it or not I most certainly did not order an attack on your life. If I had wanted you dead simply because I was fool enough to let my guard down don’t you think that I would have killed you then and there?” For a moment her anger flared though the calm as the memory of her own weakness flashed back through her mind. She gritted her teeth a moment and took a deep breath, returning to the unnatural coolness. “I would apologize, but I really didn’t have anything to do with it, and I doubt that it would really help you feel any better.” Her left hand rose to her face, and she rested her chin on a back of her hand while one finger rose to her cheek as her mind turned to calculation. Her voice lowered to barely a whisper as if even she didn’t realize that she was still speaking. “I am…sorry.” |
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| Tsuki | Jul 10 2009, 02:03 PM Post #5 |
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The Undeadophile
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He watched her sit, shaking his head at her request; he didn't want to sit on these foul chairs. In fact, for all the weakness that seemed to radiate from him, he was holding himself up well with his back against the rim of the table. Folding his arms across his chest, Tsuki's head tilted so that he could stare at her, listening to her patiently. His eyebrows fluttered briefly when she apologized. That was a response he hadn't been expecting. Still, though, he'd be damned if he was going to sit down. Stopped in his tracks - what was he supposed to say to her, when she had just apologized for something that wasn't her fault, an action that was so unlike her? - Tsuki's mouth twisted into a variety of different expressions before it settled on nothing. That emotion, or lack thereof, rather, he knew all too well at least, and he was quite comfortable with it. The necromancer allowed the silence to stretch between them, his eyes scanning the room. He had been expecting more of a fight, an actual confrontation between them that would have allowed him to vent all of his frustrations at her in one fell swoop. Now, however, he felt cheated: the anger was subsiding, leaving in its place more emotion that he didn't really want to feel: a sort of pity, and, dare he say it, frienship. "You are..." he struggled with the words. Tsuki's eyes were on the floor now, as if that would absolve him of all his sins and allow the words to come easier than they were. "... Forgiven." More awkward silence. "I..." Damnit, Sphynx. I could have argued with you for hours, and yet now I cannot. What is it now I am supposed to do? The elf blew out a heavy sigh. Finally, stubbornly, he pulled out the chair beside her and seated himself. The dagger was sheathed away and Taiyo, with small clicks of her talons against the polished surface, hopped onto the table. She moved towards its centre, regarding Sphynx with her beady black eyes. "I am aware that you could kill me of your own accord if you so chose to, but I also would not put it past you to find a minion. Whatever he is to you, whatever you may think of him as, he assaulted me because I knew you. He asked me how I knew you, how well I knew you, what our relationship to one another was. Apparently he saw me as a threat, because my answers were not the answers that he had hoped to hear. I do not know what you said to him, but I do know that whatever it was, I have now become his target. And I do not appreciate it. At all." The tiredness in his voice was evident. His eyes narrowed as his head tilted back, listening for a moment, wondering if Andromalius wasn't somewhere inside now. If Sphynx had not already gathered - and Tsuki was sure she must have, if Andromalius had had anything to do with it - her newest 'friend' wanted to be more than just a friend. He was truly at a loss for words. The silence stretched until he finally broke it, first with the quiet drum of his long fingers against the table, then his voice. "That does not explain why you are here, or what new game you are playing now. Or why I happen to be a target, when I have not done a thing." He knew, of course, why this conversation was becoming so damned difficult: feelings were not one of Tsuki's fortes, and if he did actually feel something for someone, it was buried beneath his apathetic exterior. Not that he would have told them anyway. It made him wonder, then, what Sphynx had done or said that had led Andromalius to the conclusion that the woman's acquaintance was somehow more than just that. It was a new mystery, and one, at least, that he could focus his raw energy into. If he couldn't have his fight, he would put it into something else. |
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| Sphynx | Jul 12 2009, 10:14 PM Post #6 |
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All-Knowing Mod of Elly
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The fingers of her free hand began to drum slowly against the tabletop as she waited to see if he was going to actually take her up on the offer for a seat or not. Her eyes did not stray far from his features, even if she had to turn her head to see them from where she was sitting. The return of his usual blank expression was almost comforting, simply for the fact that it was an expression that she was used to seeing. He seemed disappointed almost that she hadn’t taken him up on the offer to kill him, or at least start something more physical. As it was she didn’t feel it was fair to draw her own blades when he was in such a state…but since when did she start to care about what was fair or not when it came to war? She did nothing to break the silence that stretched before he actually uttered out the words of forgiveness. It gave them both time to think. Sphynx knew that he would eventually ask her own association with Andromalius, but even she wasn’t entirely sure what that was. They had a splendid time at a ball that was supposed to be just business, and he did have certain pet names for her when he was in an exceptionally good mood. Just when she was beginning to wonder exactly what he thought of her, he suddenly grew awfully busy. She was growing tired of having nothing to do, and she rarely even saw him anymore now that he had taken the throne in Kinaldi. She didn’t know what to make of him, and the confusion was beginning to vex her. Her hands came together on the smooth surface as he sat. She listened carefully to Tsuki’s words, for this now involved her just as much as it did him. One question jumped out at her, a glaring oversight; a loose thread without an end. Before answering any of his questions, she voiced her own, even though she knew he wouldn’t have the answer. “How did he find you in the first place? I don’t believe that I’ve ever even mentioned your name in his presence, let alone had a conversation about you with him.” It simply didn’t add up. How would Andromalius even know that Tsuki was one of her acquaintances? She knew that she was going to have to answer at least some of his questions, and she found that she didn’t really mind him taking up her time. It wasn’t as though she had anything else to do at the moment. “Even I do not know why you have become a target of his, though I suppose I could conjure a guess.” The narrow set of her eyes and silent clenching of her jaw betrayed a bit of her anger. It wasn’t difficult to see what type of competition the banshee was worried about having from Tsuki. She supposed that had it been anyone except the elf, she might have even been flattered. As it was, the only emotion she felt at learning that her new companion attempted to kill an old acquaintance in some twisted hope of gaining her heart, was fury. In the stillness of the large room, it wasn’t difficult to reign in her emotion and bring back a plain façade. She could not tell him everything about what was being planned, as that would only ruin the surprise. Yet when she spoke, she found herself letting slip a few extra details that she hadn’t originally meant to give out; basically, the truth. “We met in Kinaldi, and right away he offered an alliance of sorts. He could smell the death that saturates my soul, and I knew him to be no passing magician. His plan is to attempt to take over rule of every country in the world until his rule is the only rule. He’s already declared himself emperor of Morrim.” As the memoires of their meetings came back, she moved her gaze from the elf to her hands, once more wrapped around each other on the table. “I first came here to hear him out; listen to his plan for basically taking over the world. But he is only a tool for me to get what I want, which you at least should know considering how long you’ve known me. He is a centuries old banshee with a plan that is actually working. He’s offered me power, of course. There had to be something in it for me, right?” She tried to smile, even if it would have been fake, but she found that she simply didn’t want to even pretend. The unanswered questions were growing, which only fed the flames. Unanswered questions meant that she didn’t know something, and when she didn’t know something, then she didn’t have any way to control it. “I’m here now to study the texts in his library until the time comes for me to take what I want.” If I even know what that is anymore. She was losing trust and faith in her so called ally, and with a necromancer such as herself, there usually isn’t much there to begin with. |
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| Tsuki | Jul 13 2009, 10:36 PM Post #7 |
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The Undeadophile
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"He knew, Sphynx. He knew more about myself than I have told most people, or that most people, knowing of me, know. And he knew where I was, in the middle of the bloody Erth'netora forest. He. Knew." The question may have been a rhetorical one, but it was answered regardless. The black circles under the elf's eyes from the extreme lack of sleep these past few weeks looked darker as the flickering torchlight wove back and forth across his visage. There was a certain sincerity to her words that he believed; she was better than that, to send someone to kill him when she could have done the deed herself. Her fury, too, proved that. Staring at her through crimson eyes, he wondered how to classify their relationship. Confusion had beat down much of his anger, and now weariness replaced much of the emotion he was feeling. The world was not such a simple place, and as he listened to her, Tsuki realized that things would only worsen from here on in. One elbow made its way to the table and, with that elbow, half a face being rested against the gloved hand. The wound in his abdomen had not reopened, thankfully, but it ached, reminding him that he had strained it and his body. The feeling of being so close to Death, that which filled and replaced the void of his heart with a newer, colder, numb void, had been an exhilarating feeling, one that he had reached for with aching fingers. Yet Fate, ever watchful Fate, had descended from the heavens like an angel, a divine being who had whispered, "It is not your fate yet to die, my child, so live, and continue your journey; you have not yet learned all that I plan for you" before kissing his feverish forehead, that forehead which was matted in sweat as he came back from the nothingness to a feverish dream. He had stood on the brink of what was his life's work, had been still in the bed for a few moments, heart struggling to keep going, internal organs shutting down, before the healer had rescued him, before Fate had whispered her sweet words and ascended again, a beautiful angel, naked, white feather wings brushing against his pale face. When she had gone he had lain in fever for a time, a feather upon his chest and, in the nightmare that had been his dream, had held it before it too vanished, and he was left alone. It had been a horror to awaken to blood-soaked bandages and a blood-soaked bed and the notion that, if Liron had not found him when he did, the necromancer would have perished. Was it Fate, then, or a physical being who had rescued him? He would never know. Now, as he stared at her with eyes that were looking beyond her, into the void, he was aware that things were not going well; a growing addiction to painkillers was becoming a vague awareness in the back of his mind. I will need to be careful, he thought with a frown, lest they take over my life as other concoctions have the guttersluts, whores, and fools of our time. It took everything he had not to reach into the sack to remove another vial of the stuff, to tip it back with water and feel the soothing relief flood through his body. No, he would not do it; rest was the best cure for this wound. "And why would that be?" Tsuki asked quietly, with regards to her comment about why Andromalius would target an 'innoncent' such as himself. If Sphynx had no feelings for the necromancer - not even a smidgeon, not even enough to even be called a feeling - then there was no reason for Andromalius to come after him; they were just 'friends'. Not to mention that Tsuki had not said a word on his own feelings, if those feelings even existed in himself. He found the entire situation frustrating. With half his face still hidden behind his hand, Sphynx could hear the grinding of the elf's teeth. "Of course," he murmured quietly, "there is always some sort of gain for you, Sphynx. And now, because of this entire situation, I have been pulled into it inadvertently, and must now suffer the consequences. Excellent." Now knowing that the banshee was off doing what he needed to in Kinaldi and the other nations, it was only a matter of time before the other returned, and Tsuki's luck certainly wasn't the best - in fact, as far as he was concerned, it didn't exist at all. Whether he returns or not, however... It will not matter anyway; as soon as he finds me, we will repeat that night over again, although this time he will make certain that I am dead. "What shall I do now...?" The question was muttered into his hand. The thought of offering himself to Andromalius instead of trying to run and failing was almost appealing, if not for the fact that he didn't think he'd been given another lease on life just to give it away. A thousand tired thoughts pressed through his mind, all begging to be heard, most being ignored. With the loss of his anger had been the loss of the adrenaline, and now he realized just how taxing it had been, to walk from Rurakanara all the way to the Do'suul mountains. To put it simply: Tsuki was exhausted, physically, mentally, and soon emotionally. |
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| Sphynx | Jul 22 2009, 12:01 PM Post #8 |
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All-Knowing Mod of Elly
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“Well don’t ask me how he knew, because I haven’t a clue. As I said before, I have never spoken of you in his presence.” That was the truth, though she wasn’t sure he would believe it. She probably wouldn’t, had the situation been reversed. The facts simply didn’t add up, but she would likely only increase her anger and frustration trying to figure it all out without any additional information. She would be sure to question Andromalius later; in fact, she was looking forward to it. Her gaze turned to the elf’s face as he asked her opinions about why he had been targeted. She had a couple of ideas, though she wasn’t sure that she wanted to share all of them. She considered that perhaps he saw the elf as a threat to his own plans, yet that wouldn’t explain why Andromalius had even mentioned her name during their encounter. The threat that the banshee seemed to be concerned with had to be something else entirely. She was not an idiot; she had seen the way that he looked at her, listened carefully to his tone when he spoke. Thoughts of the dream that she had, in which she found herself and Andi alone together, returned to her mind. She still didn’t know what to make of that vision; why would her mind dream up an event such as that? With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, a gesture that seemed to be reserved for the elf’s presence, she gave her thoughts on the situation. “If you must make me say it, then I believe that he attempted to kill you to increase his own chances with me. When he becomes King he is going to need a Queen, and I believe he sees you as competition towards that goal.” She said all of this in a very straight, matter of fact tone, as odd as it was for her to admit such a thing. But there was no point in beating around the bush when she could be blunt. Tsuki would demand the truth anyway, so why waste their time with lies. It was the first time that she had admitted to her suspicions of Andromalius’ intentions out loud, though they had been lingering in her mind for quite some time now. Well the attack in a way solidified her suspicions about the banshee’s feelings, yet it still doesn’t make sense why he saw Tsuki as the competition or how he even knew of the elf’s relationship to her when she didn’t even know what type of relationship they had. Friend was a term that she rarely used, but was this a case deserving of the word? She supposed that it was, yet she was beginning to wonder if that was all that was there. He did come all this way to find her and demand answers, and he didn’t even attempt to kill her…yet. “I already apologized to you once for drawing you into the mess that is my life; don’t expect it to happen again.” She paused for a moment as she looked him over once more. He really did look on the edge of death, literally this time. Tsuki had always spent a great deal of time at least partially in death, but this was different. She guessed that he still needed a great deal of rest to fully recover from his ordeal. She fixed her gaze once more upon him, a look of acquiescence in her eyes. “However…I suppose that since it is indirectly my fault that you were nearly killed, the least I can do now is…I don’t know…offer to help? I will of course be having a conversation with Andromalius about his actions, but in the mean time you are welcome to stay at my house in Soto. You look as though you could use the sleep, and he wouldn’t dare think of setting a finger on your pretty, little head whilst under my obvious protection.” It was a most generous offer, coming from her. Whether he would take her up on it, and admit that he might actually need the time to get his strength back, was questionable. |
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| Tsuki | Jul 24 2009, 11:55 AM Post #9 |
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The Undeadophile
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Much of what Sphynx had to say was met with silence, although his head did lift from his hand. It was difficult, painting his expression with apathy when, under normal circumstances, he was quite used to it coming naturally, finding the reverse to be difficult. But, he knew what the consequences were for spending more than half his time in Death, and for keeping a part of his mind in its realm constantly - he just hadn't been prepared for the emotional storm that had come of it. "I did not ask you to apologize again," he replied to her cutting comment, mildly irked because she had made it sound as if he had wanted her to drop to her knees and beg for his forgiveness. Apologies weren't going to change the situation and he had to deal with it as was. Knowing now that she was going to discuss what had happened with Andromalius, he almost made an attempt at protest but quieted the thought; Sphynx would do whatever she pleased, and the fact that she was going to, in a sense, defend him brought some measure of comfort, but not the kind that he wanted. It seemed only a matter of time before her cohort reappeared in his life, furious, enraged. And that meant that, at all costs, the necromancer wanted to refine and hone those skills of his that he'd had for over a century. The offer that Sphynx proposed to him startled the elf, causing him to glance towards her instead of at the table. "I..." Tsuki allowed himself to trail off, pondering the offer. It was generous of her, he knew, especially given some of her facial actions and expressions that she used with him, suggesting otherwise. Perhaps what she didn't understand was that he wanted to hear from her the reasons behind the unwarranted assult, though he had already guessed the answer. And whether he believed that she hadn't said a word to her ally didn't matter - there was a definitive outrage in her, and even if she was fabricating some sort of cruel lie, it was only a matter of time anyway. It wasn't that Tsuki was willing to trust her - though, in truth, he did on some level, either by virtue of the fact that they shared the same love for the Dead, or because he had known her for some time - but that, when he weighed his options, there weren't very many left. Besides that, while not too many children had gone missing in the past while, there were still enraged parents hunting for his blood. Even if her shack was in the middle of a populous city like Madrid, at least people would know better than to bother him. "Yes, I think I will accept your offer..." He could think of nothing else to say. Goosebumps, which had formed the moment he had entered Andromalius' tower, were becoming more and more noticeable to him the longer he lingered, and the sooner he was able to leave, the better. Standing, the elf nodded his head to Sphynx and said, "If you would, please leave directions or a location with Taiyo - I would like to leave here sooner rather than later, now that I have acquired that which I sought. I am sure you understand and, if not... Rarely do we understand the intentions of others." The chair was replaced, the raven glancing at her master before she hop-skipped to Sphynx. The bird, now no longer sensing the raw rage of the elf, regarded Sphynx, drawing closer to her, until she could easily have fluttered to the woman's shoulder. It wasn't that she had ever disliked Sphynx, but that, when it came to certain situations, she would sooner side with her master than those who opposed or distressed him. Tsuki, pausing at the staircase, glanced back at them. His hair had fallen over his one eye again, the relief in his face nearly gone, leaving behind it an expression that Sphynx knew well. His mind, still working like clock-work, was no where near thoughts of Death or immersing himself in its sweet embrace, but, with the loss of all his frustrations was the loss of most expression. For a moment a smidgeon of gratitude passed across those lips but it was gone, as if it had only been a passing illusion. "I suposse that I shall see you in the future, however distant, when you decide to return home. That is, if this has not already become your new home." He paused, eyes searching the floor before they lifted to meet hers. "Thank you." And then he was gone, descending down the staircase. He would sleep the night on the mountain face, a ways away from the tower, before making the return trip to Soto. With any luck he would find a caravan, thereby reducing the physical strain. |
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