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| Hello Children; Tsuki | |
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| Topic Started: Jun 26 2011, 03:58 PM (603 Views) | |
| Sophia | Jun 26 2011, 03:58 PM Post #1 |
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High Inquisitor of Ashoka
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It began. Wearing robes nearly identical to those she left in all those years ago, her hair flaming red and trailing in the manic winds that swirled around her. The robes were deep red, although very clearly not black and had upon them, in place of the guild's symbol, her own, the spider in a tribal pattern. Dressed such she had got close, not that they would have stopped her, but she had drawn a lot of attention, wearing a design that had stopped being used years back. That was good, she wanted to be seen. For once she was hiding from nobody, she wanted the whole guild to see what she was capable of and tremble before her. When she ran she was a scared little girl, hiding in Angkar to avoid their anger. Now she returned as... She returned. She had got past her ill placed desire for revenge. She wanted now safety, she wanted to be able to sleep safely at night. She was deathly afraid of so many things, and the one way to feel safe was power. And she was going to get herself some more of it. Her face still down beneath a hood, her third eye began to creep open. It was much larger than her real eyes, and dominated her forehead. A purple iris with the pupil having square edges, it looked odd to say the least. The Gorgon Eye. She had used her power over the City of Oracles well. She looked up. "Hello" she called out. She sensed all eyes on her, good. let them turn to stone, and wake up in a shell of what this place was. She was raised her, for much of her life, about eight years all told. She hated it, she knew her experience was not typical, and it was partly her own fault it was so bad, but it still hurt. A small place on the outskirts of Madrid for the orphans and other strays the Assassin's guild took in, those with promise who they trained to be the killers of days to come. The silence was deafening. They stared at her, weapons ready but not making another move until this strange woman did something. Their mercy was their mistake, it did not take long for them to realize what was happening, but it was too late. They began to run, or charge. All that happened was they made some lovely statues, they had been too slowed by their exposure to the eye to be able to make a difference. Sophia strolled forwards, a hand gesture from a few paces away caused the gates to fly of their hinges. They had been opened already to let some out, but she liked the extra touch. As she passed she made sure to grab (usually with telekinesis) all the weapons she saw, tossing them into a blue tear that occasionally appeared behind her just to catch them. Who knew when she would need them? And weapons were not cheap. A few attacked her, and were disposed of quickly. One lunged at her, only to find she had moved. She drew her own blade, the Mistolin, the black sword which contained the soul of Anna Vollney, ripped from her own mind when she became a nuisance, and added to the bundle of melted down Ashokan relics. It did not take long for her to fight through, there were plenty here but they rushed to stop her reaching her obvious target, and came in dribs and drabs, some died, some became statues for the next day. Eventually she got to the dorms, killing the two last guards with a single throwing knife which slit the throat of one, then lodged itself into the spin of the other, before slitting that ones throat also. As she passed it also flew into the blue tear. She kicked down the door. Here it was, her old dorm... The future of the guild, right here before her. So many memories. Her third eye closed as she entered. Getting the kids to follow her was... Difficult. Some wanted out and came willingly, some resisted, some realized what she was capable of and others just blindly followed any authority figure. She took them out the back door and circled back to the front to avoid them seeing the corpses and losing any trust they had for her. The stone clad men did not worry her so much. She began leading them down the road away from the complex, and out of Madrid, when one voice piped up. "Lady, were are we going?" Sophia turned. A little girl, dirty blonde hair over her face, and generally looking like she wanted to go back to sleep. Well, it was late, even though the evening was warm. Her eyes... Sophia could not stand to look at them. So... So... Just Eugh! "Just on a little trip" she replied as she turned away, her voice friendly, but with a definite level of threat underneath it. "Just follow me quietly for now" she added, with more hostility. This had better work, she hated the idea with dealing with the sprogs for nothing. |
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| Tsuki | Jul 10 2011, 10:05 AM Post #2 |
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The Undeadophile
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Tsuki followed the blubbering assassin down towards the guild in question. The man had arrived at the guildhall not fifteen minutes ago gasping for air, shaking, searching for his former guildmaster but unable to find him, not knowing where the current one was, either. He had begun searching for any other Councilors that might be within the building, and except for a few, the rest were off doing whatever it was that they did on a daily basis. Tsuki had thought about alerting Sphynx to the man's claim but had decided to take the matter into his own hands. The murders in Soto had seemed to calm down as of late and he was, after all, an investigator. Moving at nearly a run with a black raven flying overhead, Tsuki tried to piece together what had happened. Supposedly a three-eyed woman had arrived at the guild, murdered a vast number of its members or turned them to stone, taken all of the weapons she had come across, and then proceeded to take the children; this man had barely escaped with his life. The woman was not, Tsuki assumed, connected with the murders because there were children involved now of both sexes and there hadn't been mass genocide. Arriving at the guild's headquarters, it was time to confirm this. The walls were as good as any object within the hall to tell the tale that had played out shortly before their arrival. True to the man's words, the woman had done all he'd accused her of before she'd strode, almost nonchalantly, out of the guild hall with a string of children following behind. The necromancer recognized the woman's shock of red hair and her general features, however, and with a frown he turned towards the man. At least this crime scene was still, for the most part, in tact. "You must return to the Guildhall and inform as many of the Councilors there as you are able about what has taken place here. I am able to follow the children's abductor and perhaps bring them home. Taiyo, my raven, may act as a messenger if necessary." The assassin nodded dumbly, afraid because one of those children happened to be his own. While the distinctions between parent and child, orphan, and assassin were all generally blurred together, he loved his son, even if they didn't possess the same sort of relationship that a traditional family did. Tsuki watched him go for a long moment, the expression in his crimson eyes indiscernible. Finally he glanced down and found a doll lying on the floor. Picking it up, he scryed briefly. She was being led out of the guild, out onto the street, following along with the other children obediently. She was a dirty blonde girl, had been clutching the doll to her chest until she had dropped it and, unable to go back to retrieve it, had continued following. She was tired. There was a sort of dilemma, as he stood there, staring off in the direction towards which the trail led. Once upon a time he had been a child murderer, slitting their throats so that he could participate in a perverse ritual that he could not otherwise. The shedding of blood - something that most did not enjoy but that he could not do - was an aspect of life he felt neglected from and, to compensate, he had focused on the weak, the volatile, the helpless in order to satiate that need. But that was all in the past and the conversation he had had with Sphynx returned to him, about Fate and her hunting him down. Perhaps it was time to atone for that sin so that the dead could rest and the parents of those lost but unforgotten children could rest easy, even if they didn't know that he had, if nothing else, tried to redeem himself. There may have been hope yet, but though he could outwit Fate, he couldn't escape her. One day she would come and he would still have to answer to her. Perhaps the punishment would be less severe. Tsuki moved out into the warm evening, his fingers trailing along buildings, touching objects. Each time a small burst of grey haze would pass over his vision and he'd see the trail and the string of children; he could have asked the people here instead, but he didn't want to alarm them. Murders in the capital and now child-stealing? They'd want to leave Madrid as soon as possible, retire to somewhere safer. In his free hand he carried the doll. Taiyo continued to fly above, close by, crying out every so often as she saw something out of place. Eventually, when the woman made camp - she couldn't continue forever with a group of children at her heels - he would find them. What he'd do then he couldn't say. |
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| Sophia | Jul 16 2011, 09:22 AM Post #3 |
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High Inquisitor of Ashoka
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They had managed to put some distance between themselves and Madrid by the time they had to stop, and for that Sophia was thankful, she would have preffered more, but they were just children, at the end of the day. They had been through a lot of training, they were tougher and faster, but they were just children. She would only have needed to be worried if they had any hidden magical skills, and the guild did not teach that. As soon as it had become evident that they needed to make camp, Sophia had used her mental skill to overwhelm the primitive minds of any insects in the area, who quickly accepted her as their master. They formed a wide perimeter, acting as an effective way of informing her of anyone who approached. Which was good, because although she was not tired, she could do with a rest in case any large group tracked her down. She was using speed as her main asset here, she doubted any force of size enough to worry here could be organised, put on the right track and here quick enough. Beyond that, misdirection. Although it wasn't a solid plan she had left some simple clues that she had taken other routes. Nothing fancy, tracks, the odd dropped child's toy, it wouldn't do much, but it would make things a little more interesting. Beyond that, she just had the guild's usual determination to keep things in house. Deadly Silence applied to their nature as assassins just as much as the guilds interguild policy, it seemed. If they followed standard protocol, they would try and use just their own. And she had immobilized a good number of the ones who were in Madrid already. She was ashamed really, she expected more. Either they had gotten lazy, or she wasn't as hopeless as she thought. The idea of family links was not something that had crossed her mind. Empathy and intelligence never her strong points. As it was, she was sitting in the middle of a circle of dozing children. Sort of. There had been one exception, that little girl with the dirty blonde hair whose head rested on the mass murderess lap, gently breathing in and out. Quite why this one had felt comfortable enough to do this, she had no idea. Sophia ran her hand through the girls hair gently and looked into her sleeping face. She felt many things, but she didn't... Hate was not one of them. She detested children, but someone this one, at this moment, was the exception. As for what happened if someone turned up? Well, it depended. A lone person she would probably let close in, heavily watched by insect eyes, of course, and see what they wanted. If they wanted to try and kill her, then she doubted they could do anything. She was sure there was many better fighters out there, but she did have with her some quite effective hostages, little Stacey was right here curled up against her. If it was a group, then she would have to move. Until then, she would wait. She looked up to the stars for a moment and sighed. What had she gotten into? Nevermind, it would all be worth it. How could the guild ignore when she had shown the capacity to do this with, all considered, surprising ease. |
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| Tsuki | Jul 28 2011, 05:40 PM Post #4 |
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The Undeadophile
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He knew that the group had stopped and that fact hadn't required him to scrye. Until this point he had been using objects of all kinds - from walls to crates to dropped children's toys - in order to pinpoint the direction, location, and speed towards which the woman was headed. It was from these facts while he had been within Madrid and along its outskirts that he had surmised that she was moving far too quickly for those children to maintain her brisk pace and so, by the time he was near their camp, he had already concluded that she was nearby. Crimson eyes scanned the surrounding, treed area carefully, assessing the situation. There was an odd concentration of bugs here but, before he could really contemplate the reasons behind that, found that Taiyo, his raven, was already devouring those that were unable to scurry away. The knife at his waist remained sheathed as he moved towards the camp, not even attempting to mask the sound of his booted feet falling heavily against the soft ground. The group came into view, small at first, growing larger and larger the closer he came. He spotted the woman in question almost immediately, not because the children weren't important to him in some small way, but because she was seated there, almost peacefully, with a child's head laid in her lap. It was a stark contrast to the bloodshed and murder that had characterized Deadly Silence's headquarters. "Why have you taken the children?" His voice came as it always did: devoid of any emotion. He would not be able to handle this situation if bogged down by emotion and so had decided to discard it for the time being, to sink back into old habits and established patterns that he knew and trusted. Though he approached her with no weapons in hand, his magic pulsed through his veins, a reminder that necromancy was, first and foremost, what he was most adept with and what had sustained him for almost his entire life. It was clear, when the necromancer finally stopped, standing above Sophia with his arms at his sides and his crimson eyes trained on her, almost blank, that he wasn't here to start a conflict - at least, not yet. Even he hadn't yet fully decided if he wanted to help or hinder her desires, making conversation and discussion a must. An old calling whispered in his ear, telling him that the blood of such innocents ought to be spilled so that he could enjoy that which he could not have. Tsuki swallowed hard as those thoughts crept seductively through his mind. |
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| Sophia | Jul 29 2011, 02:42 PM Post #5 |
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High Inquisitor of Ashoka
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She knew he was coming before he got there, the disappearance of her sentries giving her a stark warning. She prepared to move, before she was able to discern who it was. One man. She didn't disregard him because he was alone, but one person walking right to her would not be able to drop any surprises on her. She stayed seated, and turned to face Tsuki as he approached, her stare locked on before he even emerged, it was her attempt to send him a message, that she knew about him, hoping to make him wonder what else she knew. Without stroking she continued to run her hand through the child's hair, she didn't know why, she hated kids. Maybe giving this one the kind of attention she had always craved settled something in her. As Tsuki got closer, she turned her attention to the girl, a potent sign as any to how little threat she felt. What Tsuki was less likely to know was just how much magic was already pumping through her, enhancing her senses to the point she could hear his every footstep, added surveillance by the insects she had spawned further meant she had still was examining him intently. She let him speak, hardly showing any sign she noticed him. Slowly, once he finished, she softly moved the girls head from her lap and stood up "We shouldn't wake them" she replied gently as her gaze locked on the elf and hardened. "And what reason do I have to tell you what I am doing her, Investigator? I suppose you will just run back and relay anything I say to the Sotoan's whatever I say, so let them come and ask me themselves, I do not feel the need to employ middlemen". In her magically enhanced ears her voice was loud and booming to the extent she could scarcely believe the kids slept through it, of course she actually had been speaking quite quietly. "Unless your here to stop me?" she raised an eyebrow and looked him over "And I don't mean to be rude, but I don't think you can. After all, if you voluntarily got this close to me you can't have any desire to fight me and survive unless you are very ignorant of what I can do. So, what is it you want, investigator, and why should I tell you anything?" she remembered their earlier meeting. Then it had been a battle of intelligence, and so naturally she had lost. Now, she held more cards. She just wondered what ones she would need to play. The idea that he was anything other than a hurdle did not cross her mind, he worked for the council, and she was pretty sure what she was doing went against anything the council would want, so why would he be anything but? It was interesting that the guild had involved a (presumed) outsider. Unless he was also an assassin. That had to be bore in mind, he could have any number of tricks up his sleeve, and could be a very skillful fighter if it came to it. She needed to keep her guard up. hopefully outside of his notice a variety of spiders, centipedes and other assorted creatures emerged from her clothing at the ankles, and began to fan out incase there was some further trick. |
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| Tsuki | Aug 2 2011, 03:46 PM Post #6 |
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The Undeadophile
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"You are so needlessly paranoid." The approach had gone unmasked and, when he found himself staring into her eyes, he could do little but laugh quietly to himself, that single humorous moment breaking through his blank exterior, through the quiet lull that was Death in his ear, in his head. Let her think what she would. He didn't need to be psychic to know that she was infinitely more powerful than he - his blood disorder made certain of that. All it would take was one nick from a knife and he'd be bleeding out before she'd even manage to flee the scene. Skeletal minions, too, would not prove to be an asset at the moment. "You are not a threat to me, so do not flatter yourself. I already know in whose hands the favours are located." He folded his arms across his chest and stood at ease. The dagger was at his waist, naturally, but it was only useful insofar as it could channel his mana. Since he wasn't planning on using that mana, it served a purpose more aligned with aesthetics than it did productivity. "If you had wished for them to speak to you, I would imagine that you would not have fled Madrid in such haste, evidenced by the children's state of exhaustion. Only those pushed hard by a woman who knows little about the charges she currently ferries would sleep through a voice as loud and as ignorant as your own. In any case, I have no need to relay anything to the Council or the law enforcement guilds within Madrid - no doubt they are on the prowl for you now and considering the information that has been provided them, I assume that they will be on your trail sooner rather than later. I would watch yourself if you hope to take these children away. But forgive me - I assume that you must already realize this or you would not be standing here today." Tsuki chuckled softly, his crimson eyes scanning over the children. He felt the urge again, the quiet little voice that suggested he try to take even one and use it as a means to solace, to that little world within his mind that made him feel at ease about his condition, that gave him what he had craved most in his lifetime. Most people yearned for money, love, stability, or even life's essentials, but not Tsuki. No, Tsuki lusted after blood because blood was the only thing in his life that he could not spill. It was, simply, the fastest gateway to the very realm that he served and if he could not sacrifice his own, another's had to be in his place. Was she trying to sound smarter than she was? He wasn't sure, but he would have guessed as much. "You need not put so much effort forward in trying to impress me with your ability to deduce the obvious - ask and I will respond. I do not care for your intelligence or what you think you know or understand. I never pleaded that I could defeat you in armed combat, nor do I wish to make the endeavour - the outcome has been predetermined and I find that you have been designated the winner. Congratulations. Revel in that feeling of superiority that you will be awash with soon, I am certain." Was he being sarcastic? Needlessly insulting? It was difficult to say. Each word save those he gave emphasis to were said in his level tone, devoid of emotion. Characteristic entirely of the necromancer. "I did not ask you to tell me anything. I have curiosities, indeed, but if you do not plan to sate them, I do not plan to ask. A waste of time that would be and I happen to value my time. I suppose you should ask yourself: are you willing to answer my questions, are you going to lie to me, or are you going to remain silent on the matter and walk away with these children? Really, the decision is yours. I will adapt to whichever one you choose." The elf's eyes dropped briefly to the insects that were fanning away from her, but he wasn't afraid. Taiyo, a black speck, circled above, watching. She would be powerless to do much to the woman in front of him, but it was a comfort to have her there regardless. Not only that, but it was hard to feel fear when you couldn't feel much else to begin with. Edited by Tsuki, Aug 6 2011, 05:20 PM.
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| Sophia | Aug 7 2011, 06:56 AM Post #7 |
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High Inquisitor of Ashoka
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His eyes were dead. That in itself was nothing unusual, Sophia had met any number of people like that, ones who, for whatever reason, had shut off that glint behind the iris. She used to be like that herself, throughout her childhood and even into the time when she was an adult her eyes were empty, she was passive, emotionless existing but not living. In her case it had been to shut herself off, to deal with the problems facing her by removing herself from them. She remembered when she first used those cold, dead eyes, remembered the man who had found her on the street slowly worming his hand up her thigh... But this mans eyes, the investigator's eyes, they were not the same. She couldn't tell why, but it sat oddly with her. Was this a choice on his part, as oppose to a method of dealing with the knowledge you had been defeated, that your mind, body and soul was something for another to play with as they wished? She found herself staring, but stopped herself. Whatever it was she thought, that could not take precedence. She let him speak and say his piece, listening, her facial expression unmoving. "I have my reasons for doing this" she responded simply "I will speak to the guild, but I see no reason to do so now. After all, why would they listen to me usually? When I show them I can waltz into one of their key facilities, and then leave with their most precious resource, and get out of the country without them even getting close to stopping me, then I will talk" she didn't mind telling him her plan. What was he going to do? Unless he could stop her himself, in which case his attempts would unlikely be affected if he knew her plan or not, there was nothing he could do. "It is about showing that my skill is more than just over death" suddenly she made a movement, her hand shot out towards the man, her fingers bent over as if each had some string to a invisible puppet attached. The thin, boney fingers moved like some grotesque spider, pulling at whatever invisible strings they holding. "Kneel" she said softly, but with clear menace and using the telekinetic strings she had commanded Tsuki's body to move, both knees on the floor "And bow to me" again her fingers moved, a slight click as she commanded Tsuki to place his forehead on the ground. A sadistic smile crept to her lips. "The power to command is infinitely more useful than the power to kill, don't you think?" she asked as her hand dropped back to her side, her grip abandoned leaving Tsuki free to move as he wished once more. She would leave that as a clue, Tsuki should be able to work out something of her aims from that. "I think I will indulge you. Answer any question you like, and if I feel like it I will answer, and if I don't, I will not. That is all I can offer, I make no promises to answer a question until I know what it is, investigator" She wondered where the guild was. They must have contacted him in some way, this was an odd place to be if they had nothing to do with it, and he was evidently involved in Sotoan business. But he had found her, and nobody else was around. Her web of extra eyes and ears had not seen anything out of the ordinary. Was this man alone? She would have to be careful about what she did with him. "But I do have one question for you. As of yet, nobody else is around. Are you alone? And if so why should I even think about letting you walk free afterwards? Something to consider" she shrugged and adjusted her robes a little. |
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| Tsuki | Aug 9 2011, 05:45 PM Post #8 |
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The Undeadophile
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It didn't - and couldn't have really, even if she'd tried - escape his notice that she was staring at him, intently, her gaze trained on his face, his eyes, no doubt trying to discern something out of what she saw, even if it was the mere realization that there were things about him that directly challenged standard beliefs. Almost belatedly she seemed to realize that she was staring and looked away. The necromancer ignored much of what she said until she displayed, briefly, the sort of feats she was capable of. Without his body being conscious of the act, Tsuki felt himself pulled forward, to his knees. The motions were mechanical, autonomous, his arms slipping forward at the same time that his forehead touched the green grass beneath. Obedience to her? Not hardly. What she evidently thought to be a humiliating act was passed off as nothing short of a show of bravado, an unsuccessful attempt at pretending to be more powerful, better, stronger. And yes, she probably was all of those things and the trick was dangerous when taken in other contexts, but it didn't phase him. In fact, when he straightened up and took to sitting across from her, a smile twitched at the corner of his lips. "Clever. You are the same as all of those who have come before you. You think that by flaunting your power and intimidating others, by making them grovel at your feet, you earn something from them. Respect? No. No petty ruler earns respect from his or her subjects by being a domineering twit; no ruler earns respect through fear, and certainly not when they force another to bow down to them. The only power that you hold is imaginary power. But go ahead, humour yourself. I do not mind being a fictitious subject of yours." His questions were obvious ones, though he supposed that, obvious or not, they ought to be asked, if only to bring it to light. Her question, however, seemed equally redundant, considering how attuned she was to her setting, to who was in it and where they happened to be. Need she really ask if he was alone? "I do not believe that that question requires an answer. Assume what you will of the situation. As has already become clear, I assume-" and the implication was, naturally, that he thought her rather dull-witted "-that you have already come to your own conclusions on the matter and I will leave it as such. However, since you are kindly indulging me, I will not waste our time with petty speech. For what reason have you taken the children?" He didn't beat around the bush, didn't try to think of anything ingenious to say. He kept his eyes trained on the woman sitting across from him, his expression a mere line. |
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| Sophia | Aug 11 2011, 04:24 PM Post #9 |
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High Inquisitor of Ashoka
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He did not seem overly impressed or worried when she made him bow. That was odd, people usually were at least a little intimidated when she did something like that, the idea that she could make them move how she wanted to and quite easily kill them at any point usually did... Something. Did this man have no fear of her at all, he seemed to understand she was stronger, that she could kill him, but did not seem to care. Was he baiting her? If so that was a foolish path, she saw no issue with killing him if he kept pushing her to it. "You think I care for your respect?" Sophia asked with a raised eyebrow "You are an odd man. If I wanted respect then I would have taken other paths to the one I walk. What value lies in the opinion of other people?" she seemed quite at ease still. He might talk well, but he had nothing. He had wondered in on her and had no bargaining chips to keep him alive. By his own admission he couldn't fight her (although she needed to be careful with that), and he had nothing she wanted, or else he would have said it by now. He remained alive purely by her good nature. If she had wanted to she could have tore him limb from limb as soon as he approached. Still could. She wouldn't lose anything. "I do what I do for power." she answered his question "For control. Seeing as you seem to think you are oh so much smarter than me I shall leave it to you to figure out, I will only say I mean them no harm, and plan to have them back within the week." "I am more interested in the fact you are alone. And as such you are an idiot. You walk, on your own, up to a woman who has just managed to move these" she gestured to the children "from under the nose's of a guild of highly trained killers without trying to hide it, and then all you do is ask me questions? I could not possibly believe anyone could be so stupid. And I already know you work in an official capacity for Soto. Why do you think I would let you live?" she inquired. "You thought you could walk in here, ask me my motives and walk away?" she clicked her fingers and a knife flew out in front of her, pointing at Tsuki "Without sharing anything of yourself or giving me any reason to trust you? If your so smart lets see you talk your way out of this." she cocked her head to one side "Be sure to use small words, after all I am quite dull witted" she added, her voice finally adopting an air of venom. She knew she wasn't smart, it didn't mean she liked it being pointed out. |
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| Tsuki | Aug 18 2011, 06:30 PM Post #10 |
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The Undeadophile
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"Respect is a relative term. Twist and warp it however you wish, my lady—it is what it is." She could think what she liked of him. His conversation with Sphynx in Morrim those many months ago had crushed any fear that he might have harboured at dying—and there wasn't much, truly, because he was a necromancer, after all, and understood the deeper underlying machinations of Death—and had left him at peace with this world. He still maintained, even to this day, that Fate controlled his life and that if Fate had decreed that this was his end, this was it—there wasn't anything else. And, perhaps, if he could save but one child, return one child to Madrid before this woman took all the rest... Perhaps he would find some form of redemption for actions in the past that, though he wasn't necessarily proud of, had felt like a necessity at the time. But most things tend to when one is desperate. "Now that we have that out of the way—" and he was obviously referring to her stupidity "—I suppose I will not bore you any longer. You must just be dying to hear what I have to say." His foot slipped in the door and a show of sarcasm entered his voice, the pun most definitely intended. He eyed the knife coolly, arching one eyebrow at her as if this were a common occurrence. And perhaps it was, considering how many children he'd murdered years ago, when that had been a delight. "What would you achieve in murdering me? Whatever your power is—and I am certain that it is nothing to scoff at—it can only go so far. You are not a god and you are not immortal—you can die, akin to the rest of us. You are not special. And let us say that murdering me here is the best course of action for you to take—who will care? Why should they? I have burned so many bridges in my life that it is not worth counting them anymore. Whatever alliances I have left and whatever alliances I have made can be counted on one hand. The only one, arguably, that is a threat to you is Sphynx. If you would like to begin a conflict with her, surely murder me and I imagine that she will answer the call. "I am not asking for your trust, nor do I see it prudent to seek it out—I highly doubt that those who do trust you achieve much and that, more often than not, they regret placing that trust in you. There is little point in playing these games, however, because I do not plan to try and sway you to one side or the other—quite frankly, I do not care. And regardless of how you perceive this conversation, the simple fact is that the only achievement you can say you have made here is that you have stolen young children and endeavoured to scare the man who decided to follow you. In the eyes of the rest of the world you are now labelled the scum of the earth; as of this moment you are and mean nothing. I would know. I have been there." His irises grew dark, his expression twitching, almost making his lips form into a hard line. The necromancer's feelings were still mixed on the matter—on past actions—but, if nothing else, he knew that the worst thing in his life that he had ever done had been to take children and slaughter them. To revel in their deaths. He had been branded and the mark would stay with him for the rest of his life. "I do not care what you do. I came because I was curious. Does that please her majesty?" |
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| Sophia | Aug 30 2011, 05:23 PM Post #11 |
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High Inquisitor of Ashoka
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"It could be a relative term. It could be a dragon for all I care." Sophia responded simply, before adding "If I have it, great, if not then who cares? I am not twisting or warping anything, I am ignoring it." she exhaled with annoyance. She didn't want to get into any question of the meaning of abstract concepts, as she had said, she did not care. Why would anyone want to respect her anywhere? She was an assassin, at her heart, somehow who snuck in, stabbed people in the face and got away without being seen. Although, there was the issue that now she would only take a job if it was amazingly difficult, so thus if completed it would probably obviously be her... But still, she wasn't someone who wanted the limelight. Beyond that, she honestly did not think she was that special or worthy of respect. She was skilled, yes, but not to the extent anyone else could not overtake her with much less effort than it took her. "That is my point. Who would care if I killed you now? I wouldn't. And you seemingly know this. So even if you do not care about dying, coming here you must have known I might well decide to kill you, to cover my tracks if nothing else. I don't get why you would have come to me. It is taking quite a risk." she licked her lips as one thing did occur to her. "But if killing you might anger Sphynx... I am not sure, apparently she used to be a Goddess? I would quite like to fight her. But, I doubt it would be that simple" she shrugged "I suppose I would have to be stupid enough not to hide your corpse too. But more generally, I don't care what she thinks about me, or what anyone things. They can call me the greatest thing since sliced bread or the scum of the earth and it would make no difference". She paused, and thought for a moment "But, ignoring all of that, I will tell you what, you give me a reason why I should let you live, why I don't need to worry about you leading a whole army down upon me, or getting in my way, and I will answer one question of yours. And after that I can be rid of you, for whatever reason. How does that sound? Or do you feel you need to prove that your smarter than me some more?" |
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| Tsuki | Sep 4 2011, 01:17 PM Post #12 |
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The Undeadophile
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He saw no point to arguing the nature of respect or whether this woman did or did not need or crave it—she claimed that she did not, but he assumed otherwise. Respect came from doing deeds that weren't a part of the everyday world, from being better than others, and from having the persona that enabled one to hold it without being deposed for it. If it wasn't outward respect that she was looking for, he would have almost guaranteed that it was some form of inner respect that she yearned for, to feel as if she was actually worthy of more than existing. But who was he to question her motives? She'd already made it clear enough that it wasn't his place and if she didn't want to be faced with truth, whatever form it came in, he shouldn't spew it. That she mentioned that Sphynx had been a former goddess was interesting, for he'd heard a few rumours here and there from people he assumed had come from Mianor with her, but he had no way of knowing and he'd never really bothered to ask her if it was true or not. It wasn't as if it mattered, though, because she had proven herself during Andromalius' conquest to be considerably powerful and ruthless, and just because one had been a goddess did not mean that one had retained all or even most of the power that had been associated with it. In fact, he assumed that Sphynx had retained very little of that power and that what she possessed now was through personal training and growth. Once again Tsuki let Sophia's comments slide, unable or unwilling to offer her an answer or a retort. "I have already proven that, in the morgue, so I see no need to continue to do so." Yes, Tsuki had figured out who she was. Though he hadn't said a word yet about his previous conversation with her, he'd managed to put the pieces together, making note of what she said and how she said it. The necromancer was making a bit of an assumption in tying the two ideas together, but it didn't hurt to put the notion forward, especially if he was almost certain that it had been her he'd been speaking to about the murders. "Have you not yet come to your own conclusions about why you should let me live? Or has everything I have said to you until this point passed through deaf ears? I do not care, quite frankly, if you let me live or if you kill me—my death will have neither a far-reaching magnitude nor will it concern many besides those with whom I speak on a daily basis. Fate has decreed where and when I shall die, and if it is my time, it is my time. One cannot fear that which he experiences everyday." Perhaps that last sentence was his reasoning, or could be taken as such. The truth was, though, that Tsuki really didn't have a reason for her to let him live. Life, Death... the two were synonymous terms for him now, having spent most of his life with one foot in Death's door while his physical body existed on the material plane. To traverse from one into the other did little more than make him wonder what the experience would be like. "Why would I care to place myself in your way? If you cannot accept my simple reasoning for why I came in the first place—that I saw you take the children and I was curious as to not only why you had done so, but also because I once had a vested interest in children—then I see no reason to explain myself. My motives are not on a grand scale as I presume yours to be. They are my own and they will remain that way regardless of the outcome of this petty discussion." He wasn't sure if she would accept his answers or if they were good enough, as it were, for her, but it was all she was going to get out of him. And this was made clear when he asked his own question, cutting off any further questions she could level at him. "Will you let me take one of these children back with me? I have a vendetta to settle." Tsuki's intentions, for once, were almost noble. Lurking beneath the surface, however, was still that very real urge to kill. |
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| Sophia | Sep 16 2011, 04:27 PM Post #13 |
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High Inquisitor of Ashoka
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Sophia watched him and let herself calm down a little. She could feel herself getting worked up, and that was not good. She needed to stay cool and collected, despite the fact she had heavily used brute force, she recognized that this operation hinged on subtlety, if she was caught by a group of size she would be in trouble, whilst her victory had not caused her any injuries, it had been tiring. If she was caught in a large fight now, she was not sure that she could win, escape? Quite possibly, but doing so would be to abandon all her plans. But, she had wanted to try and present herself as more powerful to the guild than she really was, so she had made use of her more draining skills more than she needed to, and thus only had a couple of valuable cards left in reserve if things got really difficult. Still, alone Tsuki wouldn't warrant using them. Although she still didn't understand why he was here. "I have heard you, but you have not given me a reason. You can pretend to be as smart as you want, at the end of the day you, clearly aligned with those I consider my enemies, have walked up to me at a time when I have need to be defensive. Your like a mouse walking into a pit of snakes." she paused "Still, I doubt there is much you could do other than continue being such an arrogant boor, and whilst annoying I don't think that warrants a knife in the neck." Her weapons sheathed themselves with a click of the fingers, and Sophia stood before him as a person rather than a warrior. "I suppose I shall answer you, seeing as you answered me. Even if it was a squirmy and pathetic answer. I have no grand motive for this, I don't seek a long chain of causality and genius. I am after power, pure and simple. I think you will find that sleeping there is a very powerful bargaining chip... And maybe I have a personal investment also." she shrugged in such a way as to hint that she may have made that list part up entirely. "So no, I am not going to let you take anyone with you after you have antagonized me to help you fulfill some obscure motive I know nothing of. Whatever you may think, they are in my care now." "The balls in your court. What do you plan now?" she asked. She had decided to not kill him (probably) but she wanted to see what he planned. She had not ruled out poisoning him and leaving him out to doze until after she had move on. And his answer might give her a clue as to what she should do next to avoid interference. |
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| Tsuki | Sep 21 2011, 08:25 PM Post #14 |
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The Undeadophile
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"It is what it is." The statement was referring to her description of his reasoning, though it could easily have referred to anything else she'd said prior as well. And, as he had suspected, power was what she sought, though he had accused her of desiring other things, as well. But, ultimately—and this was how the world seemed to work, he had discovered—this was what most people wanted and, if unobtainable by means that they were accustomed to, would do anything to attain more. The necromancer paused for a moment in his thought processes to consider what would happen if one reached the maximum level of power achievable in this world. Would they be content? He doubted it. Eventually, somewhere down the road, this woman would reach a barrier that she could not pass through. And whether she tore it down or not, in both cases there would be no additional power to satiate her lust. "I plan," he drawled, his crimson eyes set on her face, "to attempt to walk away with one child today. That is all. One. I do not wish to return the others, do not wish to sound the alarm, and I really do not care what you choose to do—I am not a native of Soto and I do not particularly care what feuds you cause between this country and whatever country you hail from, for I am sure you must be well-known somewhere in this world. Give me the child to whom this doll belongs and I will walk away now. I understand that my word means nothing to you, but if I had wanted to, I could have led all of Soto's warrior guilds this way only minutes after the abduction had taken place. Regardless of how careful you had intended to be, it cannot hide what I am able to see." Tsuki was, of course, referring to his ability to scrye, though the woman across from him wouldn't know that unless she'd managed to pick it up from the confused tangled webs that the murder problem in Soto had created. Some knew he could scrye, others had speculated that he was simply ingenious when it came to understanding complex puzzles. If he'd wanted to, though, the elf could easily have led half of the Sotoan guilds here to this very spot, her trail very apparent to one who witnesses events of the past. And having taken children who always kept dear things with them, those who had dropped precious items had left behind the last moments before that object had been lost—namely, their abduction. "Allow me to take the one child to Madrid and to return her to her mother and father and I will go peacefully, quietly, and I will not say a word. As I have said, I have no invested interest in these children and I did not come out here to perform a rescue mission. My reasons are my own, and if we should meet again in the future, I will share those reasons with you. For now, accept that my intentions are genuine. There will be no gain for me if I return all of these children; I am an outsider to much of Soto." Tsuki kept his gaze trained on her. She might have said that it wasn't worth putting a knife through his neck but that didn't mean she wouldn't. He wouldn't trust her not to try to stab him in the back, either. |
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| Sophia | Sep 25 2011, 03:06 PM Post #15 |
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High Inquisitor of Ashoka
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"You are aware some of these children don't have parent's? Some do, many of them are in the guild and so aren't exactly family units... But some don't" Sophia commented coolly after Tsuki had spoken "Some are just little girls convinced they need to do as they are told to escape the noose" she continued in such a way to make it clear she was really talking about herself "With no place to turn they end up in the guilds permanent care until" she clicked her tongue "Well" her arms spread wide "This. You could almost call it a holiday. A mixture of that and a strange training exercise with that one person who only shows up occasionally, but Rachel de Mattiano is a respected guild member. Even if she looks a little different now" her arms returned to her sides as she lay a few of the details behind her plan bare. "I will spell this out to you simply, there is no way I am going to allow any of these children to be separated from the others whilst they are under my care. And all of them will be returning home in... Less than a week, I guess, depending on how quickly we progress. If you are so concerned, you are welcome to check up on us whenever you want. I will be returning to Madrid with them soon. I just need to cross a border first." Her head tilted to one side "Of course, if you want to go back and tell the warrior guilds where I will be returning, I could give you a location. A showdown might be amusing. I wonder how long it would be before I had to retreat?" she spoke with false arrogance but real curiosity. She did want to test her mettle in mass combat, but she honestly expected to find many who could clam to be her peer among st Soto's soldiers, however erroneously. "The ball is in your court, but I am going to do what am going to do. You are welcome to add your own eyes to make sure I am as committed to non harm as I claim" She didn't add another reason she wasn't going to let him. She was partially aware of the child who had been sleeping on her lap talking about a doll she had left behind, and she liked her. She didn't want her to go away, although any accusation would be violently denied. |
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| Tsuki | Oct 2 2011, 06:11 PM Post #16 |
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The Undeadophile
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The name, Rachel de Mattiano, was filed away quietly, idle curiosity gripping his mind for a moment as he toyed with it. He had made the connection between her brief description and her own past and he wondered if that wasn't perhaps the woman's name, or at least one that she had once gone by in bygone days. And now that she had revealed that tidbit, he would try to use it as leverage to get what he wanted. The request was so simple and he had realized, upon first seeing her with the girl in her lap, that she had a soft spot for the child. "I am not asking for all or even a few of them," Tsuki replied calmly, levelling his gaze against her. "I am requesting one. I have looked into the child's history and I know for a fact that she has a mother and a father, so she will not be returning to a place where she is an orphan and, subsequently, the property of a guild that will merely turn her into a murderous machine. It would appear that she was sent there for reasons beyond what you suggest, but I suppose you must already know that. "The fact of the matter is, you describe a scenario that is neither pleasant nor attractive and yet you are carrying these children off to repeat the past. They are to walk in the same footsteps of that girl who was convinced she needed to escape the noose, are doing what they are told for perhaps the same reasons, perhaps different ones—I cannot say. Is it fair to put that child there that you seem to be so fond of through the same situations and scenarios that you are implying? Holidays imply relaxation, enjoyment, and the fulfillment of a child's wishes for that particular day—spending time with friends, family, or away from the monotonous work that they spend each and every single day doing. That you would subject them to journey to another country to do whatever it is you plan is to repeat the past. I am not asking for all of your children and, quite frankly, I do not care what it is you plan to do with them. If you wish to murder them, leave them across the border, or bring them home is of no consequence to me. All I ask is that you give me that girl whose doll I found on Madrid's streets. If you would like one child to walk away with a different destiny today, let it be her. I am not so blind to see that she is special to you. Let her have her own fate—do not dictate to her the same fate that you no doubt experienced yourself." Perhaps it was a bit forward to suggest such a thing, but he couldn't go back on what he had said now. The insinuations were there, the pieces being pulled together strictly from what she had said. The elf had every intention of further researching the name she had offered him in the hopes of finding some leads. Reaching behind him, he pulled the doll he'd found on the ground from his belt and held it, glancing down at it for a brief moment before his crimson eyes lifted and he looked pointedly at the woman across from him. "Give me the girl to return to Madrid and I will not breathe a word of this conversation to any in Soto. While I am sure you would rather enjoy a skirmish with the Sotoan guilds, I hardly think it is worth your time or effort to handle it. I have no reason to betray you to any of the Council members. Your qualms are with the guild. I only came here to request that you allow me to escort the child to whom this doll belongs back to Madrid. My reasons for coming here are strictly my own." |
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| Sophia | Oct 6 2011, 03:17 PM Post #17 |
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High Inquisitor of Ashoka
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She bit her lip with frustration. Evidently he didn't like her plan, she was under no real obligation to want him to, but it would be easier if he would just accept her offer and then contemplate how he could possibly be the least noticeable person in the entire world whilst he was around her. "I am the one dictating her fate?" she asked with obvious surprise "I am doing nothing of the sort, I am merely taking her across the border, and then taking her home. What you are proposing is that she stay with the guild in the exact same circumstances as before. If anyone is proposing to give her any freedom, it is me and not you. I am giving her the time it takes to get to Ashoka and back to spend her days as she wishes whilst we are travelling, although I will admit the pace is quick at the moment. You want to bring her back to Soto where she will be back in the exact place I took her from in five seconds. Don't impose your ideas of what is the best thing to do on me." She paused "And I am sure as hell not trusting any of these children to a stranger who arrives determined to take away a little girl, and will not explain his motivations. Whatever you think of me, these children are under my care now, and I am not going to take the risk of handing them over to someone I cannot completely trust" of course, the amount of people she would have trusted was pathetically small, but that was neither here nor there. Her gaze was locked with his, but she didn't seem to be putting any effort into keeping it that way. "I know the depths some people can sink to, and you have done nothing to make me believe anything good about you at all." the irony here of her judging him unfit to take care of a child was not lost on her "And certainly not to believe you will do what you say. So I repeat: None of these children are leaving my sight until I return them, so you can do whatever you want. I am their carer for now, and you are just a stranger with a fascination on a little girl." she spoke the last words with the insulation clear. She knew exactly would some people would do with a girl like this one, too well. |
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| Tsuki | Oct 19 2011, 08:59 PM Post #18 |
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The Undeadophile
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Pot calling the kettle black. Hypocritical and paranoid. If he'd been able to laugh, Tsuki would have, would have barked out a swell of giggles at the sheer irony of what she said. She might have been powerful—and Tsuki certainly assumed that she was, considering how easily she had abducted the children in the first place—but she wouldn't be able to protect every single one of them, even if she'd wanted to. One, maybe two, would escape her, be eaten by the wolves or creatures of the desert, try to return home and die of starvation, the elements, or murderers. It was inevitable. "And you will do better for these children? As far as I am concerned, you are no better in my eyes than I am in yours. There is no guarantee that these children will return safely home when you have completed your purpose, whatever it may be; there is no guarantee that you will not do to them what you have insinuated I will. Your guarantees are as flimsy and transparent as you accuse my own to be, and if you think for a moment that your arguments are any more valid than mine, you really are a fool. Your arguments are sub-par at best. We are now at a standstill and the only way to end it is to negotiate. Not all things can be negotiated in your favour. If you just take those children and kill me, leave me for dead, or allow me to live so that I may inform the guilds, you will have Soto at your doorstep. You obviously understand how important children are—I would tread carefully. "I do not molest children, as you have kindly insinuated. You desire to understand my motivations? Very well. Understand. Several years ago I had a ritual habit in which I murdered children and animated their corpses as a means of both shedding blood and exercising my power as it is tied to necromancy. And, several years ago, I relinquished that need, as it were, because it was no longer a crutch that I felt compelled to use. Fate, however, is unconvinced of my crimes against humanity. To be granted one child—male, female, I do not particularly care—so that its life may be saved, would be an act of repentance, supplication to Fate and Her vendetta broken. I have neither desire nor intentions to hurt a child. If you were to grant me the girl whose toy I found on the streets—the same one, in fact, that enabled me to find you here—I will return her to Madrid, but not to her guild. She will be transferred to a guild of her interest and she will walk free. If she dies on the journey to or from Ashoka, how will you feel then? You can make a claim to your abilities to protect her, that the probability is low, but there is still that—probability. And if you believe that you are beyond the Will of this universe, the gods, or even Fate, I wish you the best of luck. It is our kind—those who have committed crimes in our lives—that they love to torment the most. And if you will not give me her, give me one other, dictate what is to happen to them once we reach Madrid, and it shall be done. And by all means, return to Madrid and see if your wishes have been carried out as you desired. I will answer you if they have not." He spoke carefully, deliberately, giving her just enough information to perhaps push her to let him take at least one of the children with him. On the other hand, she could just as easily deny him now that he'd shared a piece of his past that he was neither proud of nor was something he shared often. The necromancer continued to hold the girl's doll in his hands, his smooth fingers running across the rough texture. If she refused him the one thing he wanted—which, in comparison to what she wanted, was very minimal—he would walk away. Tsuki recognized when negotiations had become futile. |
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| Sophia | Oct 29 2011, 12:05 PM Post #19 |
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High Inquisitor of Ashoka
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"It doesn't matter how I appear in your eyes" Sophia jumped to say, barely letting Tsuki finish "I am not seeking anything of you, I don't need to give you a guarantee. The incentive is on you to give a reason for me to do something I would not usually, and if you think me hypocritical in that, then thats your issue. Whatever the reasons are, be they just or unjust in your eyes these children are under my care" she glanced at him, eyes narrowing "And it is up to you to give me a reason to trust you. And I am afraid claiming not to trust me isn't one of them. I don't care if you trust me. You hold no cards, there is nothing you have to convince me to do anything, and all you can say is that I am no better?" she spat "Your not as clever as you think. And unlike me, you don't seem to realize that. You argue as if we were talking to some third party, trying to convince them to side with either one of us. You may be clever, but you clearly don't know what fits where" The woman looked back at the children "So, that leaves me at an odd place. You have given me no reason to side with you, indeed living this long has been a result of my good graces." "I suppose I could kill you as some agent of fates judgement" her voice gained a lot of emotion suddenly, all of it sarcastic, "but honestly, what you have done matter little to me. I don't care if you need some offering so you can tell yourself that you don't need to be feel guilty. And I think that would be more effort for me in the long run that I want." Can't let him walk away, and killing him would be difficult. What to do... How long would he survive if she just tied him to a tree? How long would it take him to get out? He ha revealed necromancy, so he could probably summon something to free him. Still, it might hold him for a little, if she tied her knots well. It would only take her a little to fly back once she had the children in a safe place to free him as well, by which point his information would be out of date. A blue tear in reality opened behind her once more, and she reached one hand inside, pulling a length of rope out behind her "Now, do me a favor and go stand next to that tree over there" she used her free hand to point to one a little away, enough so that, with a gag, he wouldn't make enough noise to be heard by the kids "And I won't harm a hair on your head" she smiled sweetly, but from her it came off more as incredibly disturbing. |
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| Tsuki | Oct 30 2011, 11:44 AM Post #20 |
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The Undeadophile
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"You really ought to think before you speak. Either I am clever or I am not—I cannot be both at the same time, though you would suggest as much. I do not need to hold cards to feel powerful. In fact, I have no desire to feel powerful. Power is an illusion that is held onto by people who feel that they have nothing else in this world to look forward to." People like you, he thought, who cannot possibly fathom that there is more to this world than ideology that is illusionary at best. People like you who cannot exist within your sphere of existence without pretending that you have more than you actually do. When the world's cities and governments crumble, you will have nothing left. For those of us who do not buy into power structures and notions of the head, there will still be something left in this world when it finally crumbles. But you would not care about that, of course. Because without power, you are like these children: helpless and alone. "Even if I had actually tried to garner your trust, I doubt you would have given it. I am not oblivious to the fact that you are inherently narrow-minded and paranoid and that, no matter what I said to you, you would continue to deny my request. It seemed like a nice idea to try, however." Good graces? Really now. If this woman had a heart he had a hard time believing there was much of it left. She held things above people's heads and walked with a sense of purpose and superiority that the necromancer sincerely doubted really existed. She was probably just as insecure as the rest of the world, if not more so, and for her to make such proclamations like they actually mattered suggested to him that she just wanted to hear herself talk so that she could feel good. And even if that wasn't the case, she came across to him as such. He couldn't and never would take her seriously. Of course, the necromancer obeyed her command, rolling his eyes skyward as soon as his back was turned to her. If she wanted to kill him she could go ahead. Life could not be considered sacred to a man who was a necromancer and had been destroying life since he was old enough to comprehend the power that he had learned and practiced. He missed her smile, turning to face her only after he stood in front of the tree, his arms folded across his chest. Tsuki wasn't so foolish as to throw away an opportunity for self-preservation. "Does it make you feel like a big girl, to tie a man up to a tree and to leave him there?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. There was a twinge of smugness to his expression. |
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| Sophia | Oct 31 2011, 03:51 PM Post #21 |
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High Inquisitor of Ashoka
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Some people wouldn't like the idea of being tied to a tree, possibly for a substantial period of time. Tsuki didn't seem to mind. That meant either he was an idiot, he reckoned he could get out or he was acting. Or possibly all three. It didn't matter, as long as he was held long enough for her to put some distance between them before he sent the Sotoan guild dogs after her. "I believe" she began as she flexed the rope in her hands "You are clever. However, you think you are a lot cleverer than you are, which leads you to do a few things which aren't so much. If it helps you, your probably smarter than me, and more delusional to boot" she shrugged and pushed him against the tree as the rope began to curl around him and it of its own accord. "And you seem to think I am a lot more concerned with governments and politics than I am. Honestly? I reckon in a world of anarchy I would do better than most, but as they are there, I might as well use everything I can. I have no grand ideology, I don't want to be Grand Empress of Soare. I just am" she took a grip and began tieing the rope up, perhaps a little tighter than she needed to. "So, how about I leave you with what I have for an ideology. There are two things that matter in this world, what you can do, and what you can't. Everything else is just noise." She finished and took a couple of steps away, before turning back "If you want to think this is how I get my kicks, feel free. Although how do you feel, coming here so determined to bring a child back and failing miserably because you decided it was more important to be the big man and make sure I knew you were cleverer than me than it was to actually do anything" she gave him a mock salute "Anything else to say?" she asked with mock politeness as she pulled out a length of cloth to use as a gag. |
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| Tsuki | Nov 5 2011, 01:01 PM Post #22 |
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The Undeadophile
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Tsuki decided to let her live in her delusions, keeping to his silence. Arguing with her wasn't actually accomplishing anything useful—she would continue to claim that he was just trying to one-up her using intelligence and would, by extension, claim that he was foolish for doing it because he was trying to pursue his role as the "bigger man," while he would continue to put forward the notion that she was at the mercy of her own feelings of inadequacy and shortcomings—and he already knew that she intended to tie him to the tree and leave him there. And unless that piece of rope happened to be something exceptional or enchanted, it was of very little concern to him. He'd already made a scope of the surrounding area and had found that there were creatures here whose souls could be summoned to the material world. "Not all wars are fought with shows of bravado and swords," the necromancer replied calmly, his eyes straying to the gag that she planned to use. Really? Did she actually think he'd scream for help out here? Where there was nobody to actually hear him. He was becoming more and more convinced that this woman definitely had a complex, probably an inferiority complex that translated into a superiority one. Because there weren't other ways to handle this situation. Tsuki was soothed by the fact, however, that she knew next to nothing about him besides his minor role as an investigator for the Sotoan government. It was mostly for that reason that he didn't try to fight her on the matter. "I made a gamble and I lost—I have no qualms with that outcome. You may think what you like, High Inquisitor. I am not here to change opinions." Or argue with lesser minds. There may have been some truth to her arguments, but he was not reacting against her physically because he thought it more prudent to come across as arrogant and imperious—had they made physical contact, for whatever reason, and had she actually hurt him... Well, there was a good chance he would bleed to death and, in the interests of self-preservation, he didn't want that to happen. So Tsuki kept his mouth shut and did as she told him, waiting for the gag to be placed and the ropes to be tied. He was thankful he didn't need to speak to summon. |
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| Sophia | Nov 7 2011, 02:14 PM Post #23 |
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High Inquisitor of Ashoka
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So, he decided that was what he wanted his parting words to be to her? Fair enough. "Well, for an idiot those are the only tools in war" she responded calmly and began to tie the gag round his mouth. Mainly because she did not want him alerting his presence to the children, who she needed to walk back to. It was not far, she could see them if she turned round and took a step to the side, but it was far enough. She just had to get enough distance so Tsuki wouldn't be an obvious presence. She sorted the gag and began to walk away "But whether it is a genius or an idiot, its actions not words that decide a conflict." she shrugged. Her meaning there was clear, he might well be the smarter one but when it came to actually doing something she had everything over him. But that was all for now, she walked back to the dozing children, taking her position among them once more and waiting. Until they moved again, she was on guard duty. And the next person who disturbed that wouldn't get the very lenient treatment Tsuki did. |
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| Tsuki | Nov 17 2011, 09:52 PM Post #24 |
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The Undeadophile
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((This seemed like an appropriate place to end this, so I did. If you would prefer it continue, just let me know!)) He watched her walk away, the gag in his mouth, his crimson eyes following her movement despite the curtain of hair that fell over the one eye. At first he had intended for her to leave the scene before he chose to make his escape, but, as she walked away, he realized that it would be very difficult for her to see him from where she was unless she stepped to the side and peered down the way. He, of course, could see neither her nor the children, but he didn't care to see them—he had no intention of going after them now, knowing that this was about as relaxed as her treatment towards him would be. And though he thought that he could perhaps hold his ground against her in a battle of magic and might, Tsuki knew better than to think he could hold it for long. It was some time before he made his move to escape, his mind to that point seeking an appropriate soul. When he discovered it, he called the soul from death, sometimes coaxing it, but mostly commanding it and binding it to his will. It was a moderately difficult task considering the age of the soul—roughly three-hundred years, if he had to guess—which meant that it had been in Death long enough to develop a resistance to his magic, but, once bound to a body, would be just as powerful, if not more so. And the body, of course, happened to be the easiest piece to find. Fusing the two together temporarily, Tsuki animated the corpse of his choice, a rather large creature that had once roamed these forests, likely a bear though it was difficult to tell. Somewhere behind him, the ground bulged as bony appendages once known as paws tore through the soft soil, pieces of grass and dirt tumbling to the side as first the animal's forepaws appeared, followed by its head and, finally, the rest of its body. No flesh hung from its skeletal frame but, imbued with the necromancer's magic, it was fast and powerful, its bones held together by magical sinews. It loped towards him and, forced to do his bidding, struck at the ropes with its paws, gouging the tree, until, finally, they fell apart. Freed from the tree, Tsuki ungagged himself. He looked for only a moment towards where Sophia was, his eyes scanning to see if she was watching. Picking up the doll that he had dropped when she had bound him, the necromancer turned and began to walk at a brisk pace in the opposite direction. His skeletal bear-creature followed behind. He had caught no glimpse of Sophia. When Tsuki finally returned to Madrid, he told not a soul about his encounter with the High Inquisitor or the children, merely shrugging his shoulders when asked where he'd disappeared to and where he'd acquired the doll from. If pressed, he simply said that he had found it and gone to investigate but had come up with nothing. It would be months before he'd breathe a word of it to anyone. |
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