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| − | * - Back to [[GoldenCat/SixthMovement|Sixth Movement]]
| + | #REDIRECT [[ADanceOfAngels]] |
| − | * - Back to [[GoldenCat/DanceOfAngels|A Dance of Angels]]
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| − | == Mists of Mystery ==
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| − | '''Ryshassa: ''' Ryshassa stands just outside the door to the Pale Angel's quarters in the Zephyr, pensively adjusting the folds of her black silk kimono patterned with lilies and forget-me-nots. Apparently Lilith did not feel comfortable residing in the Spire, and chose to keep her room in Cael's vessel for the moment. Given the strangeness of recent events surrounding the structure, no one could blame her, really.
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| − | Meeting with the Pale Angel always made Ryshassa feel at least a little bit apprehensive. She wasn't really sure why. The couple times they had spoken personally, the Pale Angel had not been all that unkind -- even given the brief lecture after the Whiteshield raid. And on the battlefield, she did her very best to be attentive to those she led into combat, including Ryshassa herself.
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| − | No, the Pale Angel didn't seem like an unkind person at all. At least not without reason. On the other hand, her presence did command a certain amount of respect. Ryshassa spends a moment longer warring with her tendency towards formality and her desire to present herself as a friendly equal, before she simply takes a deep breath and knocks.
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| − | ''Thrap, thrap. ''
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| − | '''Vorpal: ''' ''Tee-hee-hee. ''
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| − | It is a low, throaty sound deep in her mind, a dark chuckle that chills the blood and makes the heart flutter with fear.
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| − | Her high-heeled boots propped carelessly up against the head support of her bed, her hair spilling in snowy cascades across the pillows, her white coat hanging unbuttoned to boldly reveal the thin black tunic she wears underneath, Vorpal deFay has succumbed to the sweet allure of sin.
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| − | Sin... Oh yes, sin, sweet, delightful, tasteful, wonderful sin. She wallows in it, welters in its depths, allows its dark, warm currents to carry her aloft, heedless of virtue, heedless of morale, heedless of moderation. She drinks it 'till it makes her pregnant with pleasure.
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| − | The heart-shaped box of chocolates lies opened on the bed next to her, the packet's cover discarded onto the floor long ago. Over half of the box's contents are missing already. Vorpal has started from the black chocolates and has been making her way towards the lighter ones - now, there are only white treats left. Vorpal does not mind. She rather liked eating the black ones, but she does know just the person who always dresses in white she can imagine while eating the remaining chocolate...
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| − | Her eyes crunch up into little slits. Her lips tremble with a barely-held smile.
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| − | ''Tee-hee-hee. ''
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| − | Flipping over the next page on a book titled ''Helen and Julian'' (her favorite), she reaches over to the chocolate box for the next treat...
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| − | ''Sin, sin, sin... ''
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| − | | |
| − | ...and then, someone knocks at the cabin door, and her little bubble pops. Reality comes rushing in.
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| − | "Rrrrrr..."
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| − | Her hand hovers over the chocolate box just for a few seconds longer, then clenches into a trembling fist and withdraws. The book is closed, quite deliberately, and set neatly aside on the bed. The high-heeled boots are swung down onto the floor, and the Pale Angel pushes herself onto her feet.
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| − | She crosses over to her cabin door.
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| − | She turns the handle.
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| − | And she inquires, quite loudly: "'''''What? '''''"
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| − | The effect is somewhat lessened by the spot of chocolate on her cheek, though
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| − |
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| − | '''Ryshassa: ''' Ryshassa stands uncertainly at the door for a moment, waiting for a response. ''Oh... maybe I should have waited till morning -- but no... this is important, I said to Cael I'd... ''
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| − | The door opens quite suddenly after some delay and the Pale Angel emerges, looking somewhat in disarray and not all that pleased to have been interrupted by... whatever it was... ''Is that chocolate on her face? ''
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| − | Needless to say, Ryshassa jumps back, looking startled and even somewhat fearful -- the latter, much to her embarrassment. After all, she had proven herself in situations much more daunting. Why did she fear ''now''? The healer wrings her hands, struggling to regain some sense of dignity as she glances up at the taller woman.
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| − | "I'm sorry!" she exclaims, "Have I come at a bad time? The report could wait until later..."
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| − | ''Oh, that HAD to sound awkward... ''
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| − | '''Vorpal: ''' To Vorpal's credit, she does pull some of her aggression back when she realizes it is not Selina standing in the corridor. For a moment, the Ghost-Blooded had been absolutely certain it would be the Dark Angel who had come to pester her for even more chocolate - the insatiable thing! Ryshassa, on the other hand... The Solar healer, the timid one. This is not like her, to come seeking Vorpal out in her own cabins.
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| − | "No, it could not wait", the Pale Angle growls and whisks her hand angrily before her face, as if wiping an irritating strand of spiderweb out of the way. "Reports could ''never'' wait. What is it?"
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| − | '''Ryshassa: ''' Ryshassa's first instinct -- which she does her best to squelch -- is to spew each and every inane excuse that could come to her mind in order to appease the Pale Angel. Anger -- she seemed so displeased with her. It makes her think...
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| − | | |
| − | ...it makes her think of her mother and father... whom she had so wanted to be proud of her. But those days are done now. She is no longer the pathetic mortal child of Dynastic Dragon-blooded. She needs feel no shame.
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| − | Nor fear.
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| − | So she nods, quickly and decisively, clutching at the cloth of her kimono underneath the wide sleeves where the shaking would not be seen. "I am reporting on behalf of Cael, who went exploring the underways of Spire... or what Spire has become. There was an infestation of a poisonous fungus there, which we needed the help of some of the soldiers to deal with. There are likely still more of them..."
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| − | Ryshassa and Vorpal are still standing in the hallway, and it makes the healer feel suddenly self-conscious. "Perhaps I can speak of the details inside?" she asks, not wanting to simply invite herself into the Pale Angel's room.
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| − | '''Vorpal: ''' Vorpal rests one hand against the door frame, doing her very best to push her irritation down. This sounds important, and chocolate or not, she will need a cool head to deal with it. She inhales deeply and rubs her brows wearily, gathering her thoughts. At the same time, however, one small part of her notes the decisive manner by which the Solar woman is proceeding with the matters.
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| − | What did she tell the woman a while back? That she had backbone?
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| − | "Tch", she mutters under her breath, her words barely audible. "First phantoms, now this? Come in."
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| − | She steps back from the door, the loose hems of the white coat swinging around her legs. Placing her hands onto her hips, she indicates the bedside and the rumpled sheets with a glowering nod of her head. "Sit. Speak. No, wait."
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| − | She quickly moves up to the bed and picks up the book she had left there. After tucking it under the pillow, she steps back once again. "Sit. Speak."
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| − | '''Ryshassa: ''' The interior of the room surprises Ryshassa a bit. It is the first time she has seen it, after all. Of particular interest is the heart-shaped box of chocolates over halfway eaten -- which explains the stain at least, not that Ryshassa would dare point it out -- and the book laid on the rumpled bedsheets. She barely makes out the cover, something that looks very ''much'' like a couple locked in a passionate embrace, just before Vorpal snatches it and stuffs it under the bed.
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| − | Ryshassa realizes that she has just gotten a glimpse of the Pale Angel's private pastimes, and that alone is enough to make a blush rise on her pale cheeks. But beyond that, she makes no acknowledgment of what she may or may not have seen. Especially when she isn't quite sure it's really what she saw.
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| − | ''A closet romantic, perhaps? Ah...! This is no time for this sort of speculation! ''
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| − | She sits as directed, once again almost obsessively arranging the dark, flowered folds of her kimono as she crosses her legs underneath it. Might as well get down to business and get it over with, right?
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| − | "Cael called me down as soon as he and Cloud in Dawn discovered the vine-like fungus growths in what looked to be a natural opium den. Several people were there, who seemed to have been attracted by the poison it emitted, thinking it to be a drug. They were already unconscious and entangled in the vines when found. I touched them, and discovered the poison would transform the people into monsters in the thrall of the plant."
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| − | "I think that Cael and Cloud had already encountered some of the transformed ones. They turned into... fungus-insect-like creatures. There were four of them and they had to kill them." Ryshassa lets out a regretful sigh -- regardless of whether it was realistic or not, it never settled well with her that there were people beyond her ability to save. "In any case... they waited for me to come, and then had the soldiers who were with them take down the other people from the vines. Some of them turned violent, and had to be subdued. Some had permanent brain damage as a result." Again, a small frown mars the healer's delicate features. "But I was able to heal the rest, and Dorian -- Lieutenant Tierney, he came and destroyed the vines with lightning."
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| − | "But we do not know whether the vines we encountered were the only ones present underground. So we thought we should report it, so that all of the soldiers who patrol that area will know of it, and know what to do to deal with it. Also, it was suggested as a cautionary measure to quarantine the areas we know are affected by this strange plant."
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| − | That was a lot to say at once. The report more or less done, Ryshassa sits obediently with hands folded in her lap, awaiting a reaction from Vorpal.
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| − | '''Vorpal: ''' Vorpal listens to the report with a dark, unreadable mien, her gaze not straying away from Ryshassa even for a moment.
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| − | ''Vines...? ''
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| − | She frowns.
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| − | ''What in blazes is this city about? ''
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| − | "These... captured people. They were Winlandian soldiers? Not civilians?"
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| − | '''Ryshassa: ''' "No... I... I believe they were civilians, Pale Angel. Destitute people, homeless, perhaps. They might have been forced there, but they seemed to be sucking on the vines themselves, so I figure they might have been attracted by whatever alternative state of consciousness the smoke it emitted might have given."
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| − | Ryshassa shudders at that. She had never been the type to indulge in recreational drugs. Her drug was more like what Vorpal seemed to be indulging in the moment just before she came. Sweet things... chocolate...
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| − | | |
| − | ...mmm, chocolate...
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| − | She realizes her eyes had been resting on the opened box for at least a few seconds and hastily switches her gaze back to the Pale Angel's face. "In any case, there were twenty I was able to heal... they are still resting in the hospital. In fact, I have just come from there to meet with you."
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| − | '''Vorpal: ''' Vorpal follows Ryshassa's gaze. Too late does she realize that she should have hidden the chocolate box as well. It was stuff made in heaven - one piece is like a song of a nightingale melting on your tongue, sweet, so sweet that it almost hurts.
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| − | ''I should offer her one. ''
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| − | ''No. They are mine. All mine. ''
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| − | ''I should. She noticed them already. ''
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| − | ''No. ''
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| − | ''Yes. ''
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| − | ''No. ''
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| − | "Interview them", she says, abruptly. "Ask them what they felt, what they saw, what drew them there. Heal them if you can. Keep the areas quarantined. Have Valencia station either a Dragon-Blooded or a God-Blooded officer to oversee them. Such a being should be less likely to fall prey to whatever lure these vines use to attract their victims. And have men scour the city for more of these vines. We need to make Spire safe if we are to use it as a base."
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| − | ''Yes. ''
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| − | ''No. ''
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| − | ''Oh, damn it. ''
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| − | It does not show on her white face, but the act of raising one hand to gesture at the chocolate box is quite a feat of willpower from Vorpal. "Go ahead. Have one."
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| − | '''Ryshassa: ''' "A...are you giving me permission to carry out these orders with your soldiers?" Ryshassa asks, wide-eyed. The very thought of her having any sort of right of authority is quite unexpected. She may have pledged loyalty to Alexander, she may be an Exalt herself -- but she has no rank within the Winlandian military. Not even any link of blood to this region.
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| − | "If that is the case, I will, of course, do what I can with the survivors, though I do not know they will remember very much of it. They really seem to have been just... victims in this. And yes, I plan to let Valencia know of these events as well... and... I..." Her voice trails off as the Pale Angel seems to drift entirely away from the subject at hand, gesturing at the box of chocolates her own eyes had focused on just moments before.
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| − | "You're... you're letting me have one?"
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| − | The healer smiles brightly, her eyes filling with an almost childlike enthusiasm that wipes away the tenseness and formality on her features. With an eagerness quite contrary to her typical demeanor she scurries over to the box, and lifts one of the lightest ones, the purest white ones, into her mouth.
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| − | "Ah... ah!" Her gasps of pleasure are muffled, slightly, by the fact her mouth is still stuffed with the chocolate and busy with chewing. As soon as she swallows, she enthuses, "My, these are the best chocolates I've tasted in a long time -- not since my husband brought a gift of them back for me from Yu Shan! Where did you get these, Lilith?" she asks, still kneeling before the box, suddenly without a single bit of worry for overstepping the bounds of impropriety.
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| − | '''Vorpal: ''' Vorpal's firm train of thoughts takes a pause at the sudden change in the healer's demeanor. One eyebrow rising in what can only described as a mien of mild disbelief, the Pale Angel tilts her head slightly.
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| − | ''The key to melt the barriers of formality is chocolate, eh. Another piece of First Age wisdom. ''
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| − | "It's... from heaven, I suppose", she replies, slowly. "That other star-struck one gave it to me as a way of apology of some of his actions. I make a point of keeping forgetting his name."
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| − | So Ryshassa's husband, too, has access to such delicasies? Vorpal make a very careful mental note of this fact.
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| − | "...aye", she then returns to the subject at hand, her back straightening, her mien reassuming its mask of calm self-confidence. "You are the healer, so you are the best equipped of us to deal with this matter. Since you probably don't know much about how things are done in the military, ask Valencia to assign one of the lieutenants to help you keep everything in line."
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| − | '''Ryshassa: ''' "Oh... right. That one." Gennadi was at the big Circle meeting, yes, but Ryshassa had not really spoken with him up close since helping him heal after Shaliya got so greedy with his blood. "He had something to apologize ''for'', hmm. Figures..." A little smile briefly curls up the corners of her lips.
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| − | The chocolate box is still in front of her, but she does not take another. No use being greedy, not when she could ask Alexsei to bring her some back from Heaven. Potentially, anyway. She knows he has much more important matters to attend to there, after all.
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| − | As Vorpal returns to more serious matters, Ryshassa gives the box a last furtive glance and resumes her seat on the rumpled bed. She can still savor the aftertaste of the sweet confection on her tongue, though. ''Exquisite. ''
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| − | "I see," the healer says thoughtfully, "and I will," she acquiesces, in reference to asking Valencia. "Military protocol is not something I'm familiar with. I'm... not one people would consider a leader figure, either. Though that doesn't mean I won't do it!" she adds hastily. "I just wonder... how one learns to command the respect that you do."
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| − | '''Vorpal: ''' "Spend a lifetime making enemies out of people who could be your friends", Vorpal shrugs, nonchalantly. "That's about it."
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| − | The Pale Angel pauses, her eyes flickering up to somewhere between the cabin's wall and the ceiling before returning back to her guest. "Ryshassa", she begins, and lifts her hand before her, a cupped palm up, as if to show something to the healer. "You may be a nurser of the wounded, but you are also a Solar. A Celestial Exalted. To lead and to inspire is a natural role for your kind. It is something you do even when you are not meaning to. You already did it once during the battle against the General, remember? You'll manage."
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| − | '''Ryshassa: ''' "Hmm..." Ryshassa stretches her arms outward, with her fingers interlocked, so that the long, wide sleeves of her kimono unfold like dark, floral banners. "I'm afraid I'm terrible at making enemies," she admits with a demure blush. "I'm always so conscious of what people think of me. I want people to be comfortable with me... I like them to get along."
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| − | "I suppose if I have enemies, they are the people who lack or choose to ignore their ability to sympathize with others. I mean... those who would simply hurt or kill innocent people for their own gain. I'm on this side because I've decided that the opposition is more ...imminently destructive, I suppose."
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| − | "I guess I would be a terrible soldier," Ryshassa says ruefully, resting her hands back down on her lap now, gazing at her still-entwined fingers. "Even as a healer, the question strikes me sometimes of whether there could be a circumstance in which I would heal the injuries of the opposition. I mean... everyone has their own reasons to fight. It does not always mean they are bad people."
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| − | '''Vorpal: ''' Such a selfless way of thinking is admirable, of course, if not terribly practical.
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| − | ''This woman tries hard to be a saint, the Pale Angel decides with a sigh. In both the good and the bad meaning of the word. ''
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| − | Truth be told, she has difficulties at deciding whether she should nodding her head in approval or shaking it in reprimand. "Keep in mind that some of those enemies you want to heal are of the type who can reward your compassion by sticking a sword through your chest."
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| − | '''Ryshassa: ''' "I-- I'm not that naive!" Ryshassa insists, a note of stubbornness rising in her tone. "If I simply healed anyone who was hurt I would never be able to take a side in a war or any conflict. But it still affects me, to see people hurt... people who might have been my friends if circumstances were different."
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| − | "I'm not sure I could say that about any of those I have faced so far, though. I guess my point is... the line is rarely so clear, between good and bad, right and wrong. I can only be sure I stand with a purpose and with people that my heart can follow without guilt."
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| − | "I met the Dark Angel recently, you know..." Ryshassa muses. "Given all the rumors and the reputation around her I'd expected her to be quite frightening. In some ways, she can be --" and this she says with a shuddering remembrance of the presence of Void that Selina summoned into her eyes and her countenance "-- but she also has a heart full of... regret, and a desire for people to accept her despite what she's become."
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| − | "You too... you intimidate me, I can say that without a doubt. But you also have the capacity to care about those you lead, and that I find admirable. So I have no qualms in aiding either of you, yet we could easily have been opposed -- as Chosen on opposite sides of the horizon, so to speak."
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| − | '''Vorpal: ''' "If so, I would have been sorry to strike you down", Vorpal responds with honesty that surprises even herself. She pauses, thinking of what she just said, and then goes on with a dark chuckle: "The Dark Angel needs to change a bit before she can hope to have some people fully accept her. It's a shame she does not realize it herself."
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| − | Closing her eyes, a frown marring her white (and still chocolate-stained) face, the Pale Angel folds her hands once again over her chest. "There is one source we could check to see if we could learn anything about these vines. Spire is a First Age city. Its purpose and its origins we do not know, but we could always ask someone who has been alive at that age."
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| − | "''Calisara''! Oi! Calisara! Are you listening to this?"
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| − | '''Calisara: ''' Winds flow around the women, sriking a nearby wall, where she slowly begins to appear, in a ghostly, translucid form as she seems to be pressed against the wall with winds... "Yes, yes. As always! What do you need me for?" She asks, her smile shining as usual, her big pearlescent eyes looking at the women, the room, and...
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| − | "... do I get any chocolates?"
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| − | '''Vorpal: ''' "Maybe", Vorpal states resolutely, hands folded. The loose hems of her coat sway and flutter and flap against her in the wind.
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| − | '''Ryshassa: ''' "I doubt I could kill anyone without regret," Ryshassa says sadly, "unless it was to save many more. Even then, it is hard to judge that, when it involves those you deeply love."
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| − | But the solemn tone quickly turns to laughter as Calisara enters. "Oh my. Maybe you ought
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| − | to put those away before everyone wants a piece."
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| − | '''Vorpal: ''' "My mistake", Vorpal responds with such gravity that it borders on hilarity. "Well, Calisara? What do you remember of the Spire of old?"
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| − | ''I wonder if I should offer to sacrifice a piece of chocolate for her in return for good answers. ''
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| − | ''No. ''
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| − | ''Yes. ''
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| − | ''No. ''
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| − | ''Yes. ''
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| − | ''No. ''
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| − | '''Ryshassa: ''' "Ah, right. Calisara, I have just brought to the Pale Angel's attention an infestation of poisonous vines underneath the newly... reborn structure. We would like to know if you have any insight on that..."
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| − | "...or on any of the strange occurences around Spire nowadays, I suppose. Were you really around so long ago?" Ryshassa asks incredulously. Of course, the Zephyr was a ship from those ancient times, so naturally its spirit would have been. Still, it had not really crossed her mind before, as Calisara acted so ...youthful to her.
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| − | '''Calisara: ''' "Oh, it was Wintermist, back then. It was... much like it is now, but a little more. It closed off at some point when I was asleep... and, well. It was a nice place. Always had this fear creeping inside it, of course... but nothing like fungus. I would guess that is just the sort of muck that fills First Age sewers those days. What is sealed within Spire is not... like that."
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| − | '''Vorpal: ''' Vorpal opens her eyes, her gaze intent.
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| − | "You're saying the Spire... Wintermist... has always had something sealed something within. What is it?"
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| − | '''Ryshassa: ''' "We've seen some of it haven't we? Some of those... things... that came out when the seals broke, that the Windian sorcerors fixed back up. Not that I have much idea what they are... I imagine they must have had something to do with why the city had so many of the dead haunting its streets..."
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| − | '''Calisara: ''' "I... cannot say I can only say it is... a great, terrible thing. Nothing else..." She shakes her head.
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| − | "And I mean I ''can't''. None of us could. Nothing could make me speak of it, eeven if I wished."
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| − | '''Ryshassa: ''' "So terrible that people are spelled not to speak of it? And so many of us are sleeping in the structure at the center of where 'it' is sealed. Admittedly, the new Palace is quite a luxurious wonder... but maybe that comes with a price, hmm?"
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| − | "Perhaps the fungus infestation is just something that grew there over so many centuries of disuse. In any case, I.. I will work with Valencia and do what I can to detain it, and keep soldiers and civilians alike from being infected." Ryshassa gives as confident a nod as she can manage, squaring her slender shoulders. If the Pale Angel is entrusting this to her then she would do her very best to make it right.
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| − | '''Vorpal: ''' For some reason, Vorpal is not particularly surprised about this.
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| − | ''Figures. When it comes to First Age, you can get a straight answer from nowhere. Not from Selina, not from dreams, not even from Calisara. Nowhere. ''
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| − | "Aye, you do that", she responds to Ryshassa and crossed over to the bed again. "We'll be relying on you."
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| − | With a sigh, she bends over to the chocolate box, and plucks one of the few remaining treats there between her fingers. "Here, your reward", she says, her voice only barely trembling at the words, and tosses the chocolate in Calisara's direction.
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| − | She half-expects, half-hopes it to fall right through the immaterial spirit.
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| − | '''Calisara: ''' She sees it coming, and begins to swirl into material form, trying to hold it, her hands outstretched while the chocolate falls... the currents of silver flesh coming their way... almost... almost... and the chocolate touches their edge and... falls.
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| − | And Calisara, now fully enflieshed, drops to her knees, watching the chocolate on the ground as if it was a dying puppy.
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| − | "... meanie."
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| − | '''Ryshassa: ''' "A-all right." Relying on her? That sounded... strange... and good. But really, it wasn't much different than what she usually did since joining this group. Somehow along the way Ryshassa had become something of a military medic. The thought makes her giggle inwardly a bit -- would she be wearing a uniform for it one day?
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| − | "I should leave you now to enjoy the rest of your chocolates. And your reading," Ryshassa adds, innocently enough, as she rises fluidly to her feet. "I'm still sorry I interrupted. I'd like to talk again sometime though. Perhaps you could teach me to be more... assertive. I don't want to be a liability, to anybody."
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| − | She heads towards the door, then turns to bow gracefully, both to Vorpal and to Calisara as well. "Good night to both of you."
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| − | '''Vorpal: ''' The mention of the 'reading' makes spots of faint red to rise up to the Pale Angel's cheeks. She grunts, clenches her teeth together, and gives the Solar an irritated wave of hand. "Yes, yes, we'll talk about that later, good night, now go out."
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| − | ''She saw, she saw... Did she see? Of course she did! They always, always, always do! ''
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| − | Hastily searching for a way to divert her thoughts, Vorpal focuses her attention on Calisara instead. "Oi, oi", she smirks down at Calisara... perhaps a little artificially. "Don't you always fuss over keeping this ship neat and spotless? Doesn't that include floors, too?"
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| − | '''Calisara: ''' She looks up to Vorpal with pouty child's eyes... "Of course I do! Always!"
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| − | '''Vorpal: ''' "So... what's the problem? It is a delicious chocolate on a very clean floor."
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| − | '''Ryshassa: ''' What else can Ryshassa do? She goes. ''Oh, well... that didn't go as well as I would have liked'', she thinks sorrowfully, hastening out into the hallway.
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| − | '''Calisara: ''' Her ears seem to drop as she makes a pouty face, then leans down on her knees, opening her mouth... "You were just reading how the girl was leaning over the lover-boy when Ryshassa there came to interrupt you. Did you imagine it would be like... _this_?" She asks, her voice very, very sweet before she picks the chocolate between her teeth....
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| − | | |
| − | ... and coming up again with it between them, as wide a grin as she can.
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| − | | |
| − | ''crunch! ''
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| − | '''Vorpal: ''' All blood drains from Vorpal's already white face, her heart skipping several beats in a row. Her mouth falls open, and the voice coming out from it is strained and terrified and very, very loud:
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| − | "You... were... reading... ''over my... '''shoulder?! ''' ''"
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| − | '''Ryshassa: ''' Ryshassa winces, hearing the Pale Angel's half angry, half horrified roar from the doorway as she walks -- not runs, oh she wasn't running, or scared, or anything like that! -- away. She can't help but think, though: ''I'm glad that part wasn't at me''...
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| − | ----
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| − | * - Back to [[GoldenCat/SixthMovement|Sixth Movement]]
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| − | * - Back to [[GoldenCat/DanceOfAngels|A Dance of Angels]]
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