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Revision as of 21:51, 6 March 2007

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The Journey Begins!

The Manse is named The Lotus of Endless Flame.

On the outskirts of the Varang, amidst many plantantions... a rural, mountainous areas. A no man's land right outside of Varang territories. It is close to Guild plantations, whose product commands high prices on Varang, and pretty much dominates two small nearby kingdoms, Sayr and Aef.

And many who come from them congrgate on the citatel around the Lotus of Endless Flame... and of those, many become pupils of Carmine Tears... simply Carmine to those who knew her passingly. Those who truly knew would beg to call her Mistress of Pain. Blood Tears. 'That sadist'.

It was a short walk from the Heavenly Gate to Lotus of Endless Flame... one Gennadi had walked many, many times. And in the end of the walk, he saw her... her dark skin, her crimson eyes, her beautiful dress...

... and all of her students falling to the ground, trying hard not to let their faces betray the pain they are in...

Gennadi: Just like he remembers it, yes. Just like he remembers the last lesson she taught him, however unintentional... that legends hold strength only so long as the people believe. He puts out the intricately carved stick of incense he'd been chewing on through a short prayer and buries the remnants in the ground with a quick flick of the wrist.

"You're too hard on them, great teacher. How can they contemplate your wisdom and beauty when their heads throb like my heart after too long away?"

Carmine Tears: She realises Gennadi is in, moments before he speaks.

And she makes that known by parrying one of her student's blows, and striking his stomach with enough force that Gennadi could see swear he saw the mark of her first on the man's back. The poor student's eyes went wide, and as she let go, he fell to the ground pretty much unconscious from the pain. And she turned around, dressed on her long crimson kimono with the drawings of crying black lotus, rose spiders hidden within them... and looking at Gennadi with Mars eyes aflame. "If you had a heart, my dear pupil. As I know you don't, I know it is not your heart throbbing."

And then she looks away from him, waving his students. "Class dismissed. I will need a moment. Rose, take Iron Eagle, if you please."

And so they do, bowing, and beggining to move away...

• Gennadi just grins. "I have battled a behemoth since we last met, and damned if that wasn't easier than getting you to accept a compliment." He raises a finger and tilts his head slightly sideways to look around it. "Unfortunately, I doubt my techniques would work on one of your figure."

Carmine Tears: "I accept honest compliments, my dear. And the pained groans of my Amiliki are more honest in that." She looks at her students as they bow and leave and prepare to leave, eandeared by them, stretching, somewhat curious. If by the facts or how Gennadi will word them, it is anyone's guess "Battled a Behemoth? So, you did assign yourself to that mess up North. I never expected you to be somewhere like that."

Gennadi: "I am where the business is, and business, shall we say, is booming. Enough I have a whole pile, a vast bed of laurels to rest back upon as I admit that I was wrong and you were right."

Carmine Tears: "... and that is exactly why. You have looked upon war, Gennadi. And I see you have learned that on War, there is no Serenity. But you have managed to fall the Wolf of Crimson Ice... which is quite a feat. The poor creature had quite a few legends about it."

Gennadi: "Did it? I hadn't paid attention. Just another bitch that needed some grappling." He shakes his head. "No... I'm afraid it is the other way around. Even in that very battle I saw my art performed... and that is why I am here. I had thought that I could dictate the terms of battle, that if my art was sufficient, I would not need another... and now I have seen visions of my demise from an enraged deathknight's last breath." He shrugs. "I suppose I mean to say nobody's perfect, but I'd at least like to get closer to it."

Carmine Tears: "Perfection. Indeed, what every warrior should seek. Come, then." She says, standing, relaxed, in the middle of the dojo... and her lips, those lips so dark, that seem to always have a crimson sheen to them even though she would never use lipstick... "Step in, and let me see what you still remember."

• Gennadi raises that single finger again and takes a moment to flick the jacket he was wearing away. As the dark blotch flutters in the air he bursts into motion, the whirr of air forced through links of the chain he wore wrapped underneath accompanying his series of strikes, chops, backhands and spinning elbows in a blindingly fast flurry. "You'll pardon if I paraphrase, but I remember rule one: Fuck polite honor."

Carmine Tears: She stands still as the chain comes towards her... and only in the very last second, she moves. Well, not quite. She does not move until after he has struck her, and then, she moves, undoing the strikes, flowing like southern winds to undo all he has done. "You have to remember to focus. You have to remember to be merciless. And the one thing you never learned..."

Her form seems to flare, as she strikes at his chest. "... you have to see an opponent, not a woman."

• Gennadi crumples before the strike, riding the rush of essence like a leaf on the wind. He flicks back through the dojo, only brushing the roof to spiral down to his feet. "Focus makes you blind. Blind to the alternatives, blind to the threats lurking outside your field of expertise. Is that not why I'm..." A sudden rush of pain spikes into his head and he drops out of that formal stance, struggling to take another breath. "Damn. That one's new."

Carmine Tears: "If I saw you as a man, I would think of striking between your legs. But no. You are an enemy."

"Sexual points are fleeting pain. In war, one must kill, and all bodies work the same way where it counts."

She is there, in front of him, moving between moments, moving without movement. She is there, in front of him, catching the chain, dancing with it around him, a dance with grace, without flourish. "Focus is what truly shows you your alternatives. Focus opens your mind. When you know what to do, then you seek the tools for it. Those with focus, broaden their expertise. Those without fall into a rut."

"Like the student who greets his sifu again the same way as he walked out last time."

Gennadi: The style she teaches is soft, then hard. A drop, and then the sudden stop. A warm breeze, and then the lightning. For once, Gennadi dispenses with the pleasantries and gets straight to the point. His hand spikes out through the twisting chains, letting them tear into his skin, the reaction only serving to drive the other hand now spearing through the air faster. His fingers snarl in her hair as he yanks back, pausing her dance as their bodies collide.

"You speak of ruts, but that's how I won our last encounter. Your rut leaving you blind, your rut hot and welcoming me."

"Like the woman who gives the same old speech to a new man."

Carmine Tears: Her head is pushed back... but her eyes do not leave him. And they burn. Tinges of crimson essence show in them, in her anger... oh, that mention made her angry. He could feel, as if he was hearing many locks opening... "I went into a rut, yes... and that made me blind. I focused on your smile, I focused on your dick and saw nothing else. Not all focus is good."

Her whole body moves back, however... pushing his own arm with it, as her body angles back like a ballerina's... and then, her leg is on his chest, and a quick, soft move... and then hard, pushing him out of his feet, kicking him away, over her, throwing him far, far to her back... and holding to the chain, as she finishes the movement and turns, intending to bring him hard to the ground! "... those are brought by Venus, the focus on love, the focus on lust. Those are brought by Jupiter, the focus on mysteries, the focus on knowledge. Those are brought by Saturn, the focus on one's own fears, on one's own death. The focus of Mars is ont he conflict."

"You are the same rotten man, Gennadi."

• Gennadi 's torn arm snaps as he cartwheels, but his other holds fast, and he throws his hips forwards in a rapid whirl. His expensive shoes drag the floor before snapping out, one striking back to her ankles and the other forward to her knees, trying to slam her into the floor. "Same rotten winner. New desires. This time I want the Diamond Weave, and not so much to leave."

Carmine Tears: The chain begins to wrap about her ankles... but then, she moves out of it like flowing blood, placing her foot on the ground and jumping... catching the chain... and soaring through the air all the way until she falls behind Gennadi, the chain wrapping behind his neck. "You could never win, Gennadi. Not without throwing fire on my body, throwing lust to me. But I have had your dick already, and I am over it."

Then, the open palm strikes at his back... bringing quite a bit of embarassment.

"You forget, rotten man. I taught you all you know. And they are worse for you."

• Gennadi had something planned, but it sort of vanishes in the moment. He'd had a countermove, but it doesn't seem as important anymore. He just sags back in her grip, twisting around to press his lips to hers. "Bad is good, baby... And I'm prepared to call this one a draw."

Carmine Tears: The chain twists around his neck, pushing his face away, and twisting his own body around until he is on the ground, her feet over his chest. "The good are good, Gennadi. The draw of your kind is too filthy for words. And it is not a draw, Gennadi. You never had any chance."

Gennadi: "Never said I did... but this fight wasn't the important one." He shrugs, tracing the line of her calf before suddenly yanking it out of the way, and she lands on his stomach with a whump. "Now you're down in my territory... words and wants. And as stellar as you are at fighting..." He taps her thigh. "You never had a chance at refusing me training, and by the time I'm through..." He smiles. "I'll make up for last time and lost time all at once."

Carmine Tears: "You wish to train the master, Gennadi?" She slips up, flowing uptight, holding the chain on her hand, pushing him up like a dog... "It is always a war, for me. And I will not be conquered. You wish to learn, I will teach you. But I will not have another regret with you."

• Gennadi blinks, entirely falling out of the conflict for a moment. "You had regrets? I thought you'd be too upset for that... that was the whole idea..."

Carmine Tears: "Did you think I set you on the field because of how good you were? Silly."

"I did it because I was too embarassed to ever want to see your face again."

She makes sure her foot is hard on his chest, now. "But I willl get my revenge now."

• Gennadi shrugs. "I thought you sent me away because you didn't like the idea of having a weakness, that experience would sort me out, and because the idea of continuing to train me in n art so focused on softness and pleasure was disturbing at the moment."

Gennadi: "If you need some revenge, can you at least make it quick?"

Carmine Tears: "... no." She says with a devilish smile.

"Real life would make you return, of course. You have seen the Deathknights. If you had not, it would be the Demons, the True Immaculates, the Courts. They would make you return. But I do not have a weakness, Gennadi. You created a weak spot I have curbed. You are hard like chain's steel, but I am dry like the desert sands. And so shall I remain."

Gennadi: "Even in the depths of the south, even in the strange flame deserts of the wyld... there is rain." He laughs, though it cuts off as he tries to use the now broken arm. "You've just challenged me to make you WET, and you claim your lust is gone. What a pair of self-decievers we make."

Carmine Tears: "Every boy needs a goal, after all. Otherwise, your focus might stray from our classes." She smiles, and then she is far away from him, still holding the chain. Simply a blink, and she is standing so ghastly away... "You will wish to be close again. And then, you will go through the Seven Trials for it..."

• Gennadi tugs himself up to his feet, hand on the taut line. "That's not very nice, great teacher..."

Carmine Tears: "Haven't you heard my students?" She asks with a triumphant smile. "I am not nice."

And then it is behind her... a great, crimson sand styngray. "My familiar will look after your wound... and then, we can begin for real, tomorrow. I will have everything ready then."

Gennadi: "I see. What of tonight?"

Carmine Tears: "Tonight, I go prepare, read up on you, and throw my would-be Amiliki down a mountain in a nocturne wilderness survival and tracking exercise." She shrugs. "And you have to rest and prepare. I am a harsh mistress, Azure." The crimson styngray floats up to Gennadi, lulling strange noises as it hovers over him...

Early in the morning....

Gennadi was woken up shorlty before Sunrise, and told to wait.

The sun was already bathing the mountains on the distance, their colors going from orange to golden already... when he saw her coming. He saw the Sand Manta... the great dark creature floating above the Lotus of Endless Flame. Every movement of its grand 'wings', an intricate symbology appeared in burning red all over its dark skin... all conveying to a chrysantemun-shaped emerald on its center. The symbols went up to the start of the tail, which had... strangely, feathers. Feathers of many fiery colors... made of glass, each and every one, and razor-sharp.

And above, Carmine Tears looked down to her student.
"You are still able to wake at a decent time. Who knew."

Gennadi: "It is, perhaps, the only thing decent about me at the moment." He yawns hugely. "I imagine you're here to tell me of the horrible tasks I must complete to earn entry into the higher ranks of our order... or at least yell at me some more."

Carmine Tears: "Actually..." She says, and Gennadi sees nothing. An unreadable expression, as she stands on the back of her godly familiar, the sun behind her... being simply a shadow of crimson eyes. She lets that single word hang as she motions for her mount to come down... and then he can finally see her smile. "... I am going to congratulate you."

• Gennadi blinks. Once. Twice. Three times. He spins up to his feet from his lazy pose along the ground,halfway into a fighting stance already as he points at her. "Sifu, it is too early in the morning for impenetrable jokes. I am simply going to assume by congratulate you mean break my other arm."

Carmine Tears: "Oh no. See, I have been thinking about it all night as I made my poor trainees go through hell." She says with the sweetest smile. "You may be all I said, Gennadi... but you have come back to me. You have come wishing to better yourself. You have acknowledged your limitations, and realised that even with the power you already possess, you can be squashed like a bug by your current adversaries."

"You have matured. And I wish to thank you for that."

Gennadi: "I... see." What he is really looking for are the hidden ninjas, the great beast lurking and waiting to strike... whatever trick she has hidden up her voluminous sleeves. "I suppose having such an immature student was a strain on your reputation, or... look, just what is this all about? I see no reason for you to thank me for letting your lessons sink in..."

Carmine Tears: "I am thanking your emotional maturity. And you are always judged to be mature enough for this."

A chain of essence appears on her hand... like liquid rubies, it goes away, striking a point in the air... and opening it. And then she pushes the chain back... softly, gently. And it is forming a collar of essence around a person's neck... "Gennadi. Meet your Disciple." Her smile is different now. It is her usual.

Sadistic.

But much, much more satisfied.

• Gennadi is never at a loss for words. It is his talent, the singular piece that makes him different from all the other choices, the thing that brought him destiny. But there are occasions, mind, when he is restricted to one word. This is one of them.

Gennadi: "What."

Aria: She'd be a pretty girl. Really, pretty pink hair, ribbons, cute outfit. Nothing wrong with her at all!

If it weren't for the fact she was slouching something terrible.

And that she looked rather disheveled, rubbing one eye with the back of her hand.

Was she... hungover?

"Oh, we're there already?", she half-states in a rather monotomous voice. She rubs the other eye and peers bleerily between the two.

Carmine Tears: "Yes, Aria."

She touches the chain as if playing it, and it retracts, the collar disappearing from Aria's neck.

"Meet Gennadi, he will be your master from now on. If you have any complaints about his conduct, you can tell me."

Gennadi: "Wh..." Something clicks in his mind, and he waves frantically at her. "I can't have a disciple, I don't yet qualify! There's requirements and tests and rituals... right? And her, look at her, I'm sure she wants a more experienced person for training relevant to her interests."

Aria: "Hai, hai...", she says in that same uninspired tone, though this time in forestspeak.

"Ohayo, oji-san.", she half waves at Gennadi, straightening briefly to do so, before slouching back again.

Gennadi: "At least give me a disciple that isn't broken already!"

Carmine Tears: "You will go through those tests now. And if you do not pass... you know what will happen."

"That might be the best lesson you can give her, no?" She asks with a grin that could be that of the Ebon Dragon's.

Aria: "I only had a little too much to drink!", she pipes up in her defense. Although, perhaps it'd been better if she had just kept quiet.

Gennadi: "Aria! Disciple-chan!" His eyes flash. "SHUT UP!"

• Gennadi clears his throat. "Ah... that is to say... No, just shut up. I didn't get to drink at all and now I have a headache." He closes his eyes. "Sifu? Have I told you lately that you're not as pretty when you're trying to kill a man?"

Aria: She just stares at him blankly for a few seconds before muttering: "Hen da yo"

Carmine Tears: "Is that how you tend to your disciple, Gennadi? Maybe I should report you to Yaogin..."

"Your Salary is on the line, you know."

Gennadi: "She is not yet my disciple, as I have not yet passed the tests, Great Teacher mine. As often as you have cracked my teeth upon the strict forms of your style, do not think you can surpass me in the strict forms of the red tape hurricane." He opens them. "It was just the once, Sifu. Even if you did get off more than that... Couldn't you be satisfied with a lesser vengeance?"

Carmine Tears: "Actually, Lonely Amethyst decided to change some rules and make her your Disciple before the time over your new emotional growth. Are you sure you can cut through red tape as well as our dear Chosen of Endings, my poor Disciple? And..." Her smile already mischievous, the stars in her crimson eyes shine "No, I could not, Gennadi. You deserved even more, but I could not make anything better in such short notice."

• Gennadi blinks again. "She... what?"

Aria: Meanwhile Aria gets this creeping feeling that nobody realizes she's here.

That'd been happening a lot since she exalted.

She slouches a bit further.

Carmine Tears: "You heard me." Her lips open in a death's head grin. "Well, with Damian's blessing."

Gennadi: "... The stars align against me. Foul treachery from those I had at least a modicum of respect for!" He takes a deep breath. "Oh, you will regret this. Just look at her over there, already plotting something no doubt horrifying against both of us for ignoring her and having an arguement instead! Right?"

Carmine Tears: "Actually, I believe she is just sulking. Not that I would know. That is for you and bloody Sunsets."

"I can just see how her stance is open for at least five fatal blows."

Aria: "... Actually I was wondering if you'd forgotten my name yet. It's not supposed to be possible but you never know..."

She sighs wearily.

Gennadi: "Do not lump me in with him! You're the one plotting to use her as a tool against me with the bastard!"

Aria: She seems to perk a little.

"Though maybe you shouldn't argue so much where I can hear...", she mumbles, "I did pass training you know..."

Carmine Tears: "He thought you would like her, actually." She nods, and looks at Aria...

"... well, you are one of a kind. No dignity whatsoever."

Gennadi: "No wonder he thought I'd like her... the collar thing was probably his idea, too. A cute little sad Sid to play with." He sighs. "Do you have a familiar yet, Airy?"

Aria: "My name is Aria of Flowing Jade.", she protests, "And no, I don't have a familiar yet."

...

"Oji-san.", she adds, snarkily.

Gennadi: "Right. Aria." He hauls on the bond between himself and his own familiar, rather stronger than his usual subtle tug. It's clear he'd like to see her now, if not a minute ago. "In the absence of that, and given that I doubt the manta with the slashing tail is very personable..."

Shaliya: A single tear comes from Gennadi's nail, touching the ground... and forming a flower of crystal. The crystal unfurls, opening into so many forms, ininitely unfurling into a great bush, of a myriad flowers and thorns... and forming a feminine form. A blink later, as if she had missed something, there is a woman there, with eyes of steel and hair of snow, a single rose as a brooch on her dress. She is polite. "Hello, Carmine. It has been a long time."

• Carmine Tears can't help but smile friendly to the Rose. "Hello, Shal. No need to be so polite, you know."

• Gennadi just clears his throat. "In case you missed it, I'm going to have a disciple assuming I pass the tests the Great Teacher is forcing on me. She's over there. Entertain her while I try not to strangle my Sifu, please?"

Carmine Tears: "Ooooh! She's so cute!" Shaliya says, clapping her hands, running towards Aria...

... and stepping between tiles on the floor, falling over the Aria, bringing both to the ground with a thud!

Gennadi: "That'll do." He turns away from them. "Now, can we get this over with? I have some very serious complaining to do to a certain prettyboy."

Aria: Which really doesn't go down well with Aria.

Rather literally. She goes pale. Presumably the fall jostled something she ate that didn't agree with her. ... Or drank.

"Owww...", she groans, "Enough with the jostling and things!"

Shaliya: The Winter Rose slowly moves away from Aria, pushing her up... "... sorry."

"But you are a cute one! And I thought they'd give Genn a ugly man for a disciple..."

Gennadi: "... You knew about this and didn't tell me? What is going ON around here?"

Shaliya: "Well, Amy told me when I was going to deliver a message..."

"... but she wasn't specific! "

• Carmine Tears smiles, walking closer to Gennadi. "What is it they say?"
  
  "'Just because you are paranoid, does not mean they are not really after you?"

Gennadi: "I can't even complain about women, because I had to be exalted by goddesses." He inches away just a bit, a small shift of position.

Aria: "Ohayo, kohai-chan.", she says rather blankly in greeting to Shaliya. She looked possibly even worse now. But then, she was trying not to gag, so she could be forgiven.

"I need coffee. Or sake.", she states unceremoniously.

Gennadi: "Coffee. I'm not having a drunken girl in ribbons on my hands."

• Shaliya slaps Aria's back. "Relax, relax, I can get you some! So, what's your name again?"

Gennadi: "She's Airy, and be nice. She's had a hard day so far."

Aria: She winces, and tries not to toss her lunch as Shal slaps her on the back. "Less with the touching please... and I guess I'll settle for coffee. But you know what they say... hangovers only last while you're not drunk..."

Shaliya: "Alright, Airy! Wait here, I'll get your coffee!" She says, slapping her a couple more times, then running out to get the coffee!

Carmine Tears: Her chain disappears in droplets of blood that scatter like motes, as she watches Shaliya leave... wondering, partly, how Aria managed not to throw up after so many slaps to her back. Hair and kimono waving in the desert wind, the figures on her kimono, sun and stars over placid eastern lakes seeming to waver in the same wind, seeming to move like the hour growing late... "Well, then, while she waits for the coffee... it is time for you to warm up, Gennadi."

Aria: She sits down in a sort of lotus way, still half gagging, holding up a hand.

"I'm okay. I'm o-kay. Thanks for asking."

Gennadi: "You brought me a woman on a leash. How much more warmed up should I be for this?"

• Carmine Tears almost giggles... but catches it in her throat, seizing it and throwing it back on its box again.

She snaps her fingers. A demon that looks much like a man with the face of a lion, made of sand, opals crying fire from its eyes, claws bent backwards, appeared behind her. Flanking her, three creatures akin to scorpions, but standing much like spiders, made of glass, burning in perpetual flame within, forming wisps of hair over its bodies out of blackened glass "Time to begin. Take off your shirt."

Aria: "Geeh... all I ever got was archery buttes...", she mumbles from the sideline.

• Gennadi shrugs. There's something impossibly eye-catching about the way he does work his way out of that shirt, possibly the essence that purrs and slides around him, caressing his skin as he takes forms and weaves destiny around himself, far better than any armor crafted by human hands. He files away that comment on archery butt for later even as his chain sweeps the ground, etching arcane sigils in an almost random arc around him.

Carmine Tears: "Do take a few steps back, my dear. This might be a little... violent."

She does so herself, and the scorpions-spiders of glass begin to move towards Gennadi, every movement the sound of glass breaking... as if they moved through constantly breaking and re-fusing their glass together. They form a symbol, three around Gennadi... "This is your warm-up. You will need your essence, to know your essence. And no better way to exercise essence than like this."

"Those are Pyrexians, The Spiders That Spin Essence."

"Great tools for Geomancers, they help to spin Manses, to create enchantments. Very useful. You see how they move now? They are spinning essence around you, Gennadi. They are trying to rewrite and mess with your own. Breathe. Feel. Take control of your essence and your self. Then, you will be ready for the trials."

• Gennadi would, perhaps, be upset she had so little faith in his self control... but to do so would justify her lack. He is calm and still like deep waters, wrapped in the comforting blue glow of his own essence. It is difficult to re-write a lake, and much more the deep sea. HIs breath curls out in the shape of darting fish, moving to spin around him and strike at the threads that intrude into their territory.

Aria: Meanwhile Aria shuffles back a bit. She rests her elbows on her knees, her head in her palms, and watches.

Carmine Tears: Threads of fire can be seen on the corner of his mind. He feels it... he feels something touching him, his side, the world around him... their tails touch their front legs, weaving their fire into invisible strands in the air... all that touching the chaos about him, trying to crystallize in their order... and not his'

"Can you feel it?" Carmine whispers, standing directly behind Aria now. When she moved, no one saw.

"The essence flows? The chaos, and the conflicting orders that try to impose themselves on it?"

"The chaos is the tapestry, it is the fire of his soul and ours'."

Aria: "Yes, chaos. Chaos and a bit of bile... Exactly what I wanted to feel today...", she mutters.

Carmine Tears: It flows back, a baclkash as Gennadi orders his own essence... and his own temple sends back waves through the webs, breaking them shattering parts of the spiders, sending their 'fur' - the pieces of dark, burnt glass - falling into the ground, some near Aria's feet. "This is a warm up. To build a temple of your own essence, to control it for the uses that will come."

"Knowing him, he is building a whorehouse, however."

Gennadi: "Cries to the gods are common enough in both." He shakes his head, with the odd feeling that he'd almost managed to trip during the warmup...

Carmine Tears: "That is true enough. But do not misunderstand act for intent, Gennadi. Intent is what separates us from our enemies."

She walks to the edge of the training grounds, feeling the sun, looking at the valley below...

"Your first Trial. will be the Yellow Path. The Trial of Mercury."

• Gennadi looks over to Aria. "Is she coming along? I'm assuming no, or she'll ruin your plan by ruining my test when she sees how I handle myself."

Aria: She clambers up to her feet.

"I wanna come! Maybe I'll get to see oji-san getting hit on the head because he wasn't smart enough to use a weapon that lets you stay away from the things who make the hurt."

Gennadi: "She already hates me, and I've not spoken more than five sentences to her. A new record."

Aria: "I hate everyone. Equal opportunity hater."

Carmine Tears: "Come, then." And she steps foward, apparently to thin air, falling... but lifted by the Manta, waiting for the others to step on. "You spoke of the Diamond Weave, Gennadi Ilkov. There are many things to be learned from it. But the Weave... it is all. It is the tapestry. It is Fate. And Fate... is what holds us all together. When we get where we are going, you will have to know where to go. You have to know the Destination that will make your path meaningful."

Aria: She trots onto the ... thing. Didn't much seem to like that mode of transportation.

• Gennadi listens silently. She can be hard, and she can be ever so soft, but the one thing she never has been is foolish. He bows and waves Aria forward, amused at the flutter of her skirt before he steps on himself. He slings his shirt over the shoulder not occupied with the end of a chain, both items sparking when the light hits them just right.

Carmine Tears: They fly silent for a moment, towards the east... and not a mile away from the mountain, there is a great forest, a valley amidst the mountains... and at the feet of a lake, the nascent of a river, of the whole valley, the manta leaves them... and Carmine tears picks a crystal. She breaks it on her hand, letting the shards fall over the river... each and every one shining, then rushing foward like frantic fish, like hares, like all manner of game there is, a different one every time they blink. And on each, Gennadi can see the face... the feel... of a person he knows, he loves, he cares about. "Game is on. Better hurry. They shall scatter, and you must know where, and which."

"Beware the competition downstream..."

They are already below the waterfall, no chance of catching them anytime soon now... they got their headstart.

Shaliya: Shaliya finally returns, coffee, cookies and aspirins in hand...

And only a bush of glass-fur, blown in the wind, is there to greet her.

"That... is not nice."

• Gennadi closes his eyes. "You, madam, are cruel. I shall claim a kiss for luck as compensation." He actually manages it, letting Carmine's swat at him knock him from the manta. He falls gracefully, a swan dive through the sky brought up short suddenly with an arc of gold spreading through the blue. He slides onto the river itself, a flare of steam as the essence and water meet obscuring him for only a moment.

Gennadi: There's a certain desperation in fish swimming upstream, literally dying for a chance at creating a legacy. He's no longer quite certain just why Carmine is giving him this version of the test... her catering to his love of the waters clashes horribly with her vengeance... but if he fails, her cruelty falters. Damned women and their inconsistencies. The quickest path to any position is always a straight line... but not always the best. With this in mind, he stands on dry land for a moment, flicking a fish out of the air with lightning speed. The water would hit him, but he has been trained in the arts of redirection, so he lets it pass him by, roaring down the channel as he stands on an upright stone. It is no more dangerous than the wild swings of a drunkard.

Carmine Tears: The sifu walks to the waterfall's edge, looking at the essence steam below... did she imagine how easy it was to come down and strike him down? Did she imagine wether or not he would suceed? Did she imagine him swimming, against the crystal-fish that marched downstream? Or would he go for the hares? Or did she imagine how it would feel to be in the waters below with him? Whatever she felt was unreadable, as she turned to Aria... "Not going to follow him down?"

Gennadi: Shockingly enough... He does nothing for a moment... two... three... and then suddenly he is gone. It is an indication of his philosophy to see his new actions, blurring through the forest on wings of blue and gold. He hunts no creatures himself, and rather waits only for the hunters to strike, sweeping each from the jaws of danger at the last moment. Hawks close their talons on nothingness, and he skitters in the wind of their passing to claim his prize from hungry wolves. Their paw prints melt under the weight of his own feet. He knows what preys on the fishes here, and he is not looking forward to it.

Aria: "Nope! I like being at a distance... more comfortable that way. I'll follow him if he goes too far.", she muses.

Gennadi: He may not be looking forward to what lurks in the river, but he is always looking forward, for flashes of strange light and the sounds of animals in terror, the places in which strikes are likely and despite the intent being to rescue others, he cannot help but look out for himself. His vision flicks from one place to the next so quickly he can barely process it, a disjointed slideshow of gold and green and brown, skewed with speed and the strange angles he is forced to take.

Aria: Meanwhile Aria wrinkles her nose, then leans over and whispers conspiratively.

"He's cheating you know. ... Well, if you consider him drawing off my limited talents in this area cheating anyhow."

Carmine Tears: Carmine smiles, still looking down... "He is not. He would be, if he tried to steal from his master, without learning himself. But you... you, my dear, you are his apprentice. Therefore, you are part of him. Of his group.... and you are fair game." She waves at him as she says that... and one might imagine Aria had been there pre-emptively for it. Did she do it to help Gennadi, after all? Or... to hinder him?

The chain appears in her hands once again, cutting through space...
...and bringing in Shaliya, coffe and cookies and aspirins in two places...

"Oh yes, your coffee is here, as well."

Narrator: Gennadi jumps through hoops, the shards hunted by the creatures of the jungle, closer and closer...

And sees things, running at the distance, between the trees...

Magnificent, magnificent white deers...

Aria: "Oh thanks, I'm going to need that..."

She takes a cookie, chomps it down with amazing speed, then takes the aspirins and knocks them over with half a cup of coffee.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go show the oji-san how it's done."

And with that she simply dives off the edge of the cliff. Sure, she was a slob, and she was hung over, and she was slouchy and depressed, but her dive was rather perfect as she sailed through mid air to the ground below.

Gennadi: ... white deer? Deer aren't supposed to be white... Still, he can't help but check them out. He pauses and simply shakes a hunting cat off the leg of his pants, in the same smooth motion unleashing a lightning-fast kick that sends it back to the branch it leapt from at the crystal animal he now holds. Moments after, he is back in motion.

Narrator: As Gennadi comes close to the deer, it runs, through the trees, almost shining...

Gennadi: There's a thrilling focus to any climax. A moment of perfect clarity, in joy or in sorrow, in pain or pleasure. He launches himself through the air one more time, and it as if time freezes for one second, and he forgets to breathe as he locks eyes on what he seeks.

Narrator: Gennadi jumps... and in mid-air, realises there is nothing below!

The deer is on the other side of the depress, a brook far beneath, the deer took a log... a little too far! Emptyness, and a fall rolling down the ramp of earth below call for Gennadi, but he notices it a moment too early, still able to grab at branches, to try and escape his fall....

Aria falls to the ground like a perfect athlete, barely fazed by the impact at all.

Carmine almost feels the need to compliment.
Shaliya applauds profusely! "Bravo! "

However... Gennadi is nowhere to be seen, he ventured deeper into the woods, to the right, when Aria was falling...

Aria: Aria meanwhile has a better idea. She shimmies up the biggest tree she can find and surveys the area, looking for the telltale signs of passing wildlife. The kind that Gennadi would be looking for. As she stands at the top of the tree, somehow retaining her balance, she lets the forest tell her what she needs to know.

She lets it tell her its secrets. But just the good ones, none of the 'well once there was this draught and...' type things. She wasn't interested in those for now.

Gennadi: It is uncivilized. It's so gauche. It's against everything he keeps wrapped around himself as a persona. He does it anyway, A chain flicks itself around a branch as he falls. placidly waiting for the right moment as he drops from sight. He plummets through the air... and suddenly the log turns as he swings through the air, a graceful arc not terminated by the branch breaking, but only accelerating as he swings back up into the air. A bird flies through the sky, unconcerned and happy until the form of a shirtless man appears before it, and a starmetal-shod shoe slams into the bird's form, sending him launching back through the air above the treetops to hunt his prey.

Narrator: ... and he falls perfectly, above the treetops, from where he can see....

And Aria looks... feels.. and she can see something is not right around here. There are unnatural creatures around. Demons. Demons masquerading as wildlife, apparently having killed many prey animals around here...

Gennadi sees one of the crystals running north... and another one to the Northwest. He also sees the deers... they run closer to Gennadi, almost as if they were playing with him! Mocking him! Hopping, hopping, not anywhere closer... shining so beautifully...

Aria, herself, sees only the markings... she knows they are inconspicuous. They probably look like prey animals themselves... she doesn't remember which demon it might be, but it is probably good at being inconspicuous... and there is more than one. Demons, demons... they have to be hunted! Found! Killed!

Gennadi: There's a time for everything, and everything has a time. At the moment, it's time to run across the backs of white deer, making a diving catch at the one to the north. He rolls across the ground to thump against a tree, a second ofr five to catch his breath. "Damned tests..."

Aria: Having nothing left to do in her bag of tricks she does the one thing she can do.

She plucks the powerbow from her back, then tugs on a ray of light that passes by, seperating it from it's proper place in the world and fashioning it into an arrow, which she shoots high up into the sky. There, it splits into multiple arrows, which embed themself as glowing flecks of light in the sky.

And she does this repeatedly, using her arrows of light as temporary stars, fashioning a map of the creatures for Gennadi to read through astrology.

After all, knowing is half the battle.

Narrator: Genn hops over their backs... but when his foot touches them, he feels them writhing...

It is all slimy, and makes him almost fall. And as he finally touches down, he can look over his shoulder, and see the image of the white deers disappeared... becoming writhin white tendrils bound in a deer's shape, with two cold brown eyes. And looking very angry at the Sidereal....

• Gennadi just sighs, slapping his hand against his forehead. "Oh, come on. This is INSANE." He waits until one of them charges and simply leaps up, stunning the first demon as it slams into the tree. He swings from the branch up into the treetops, using the map to very efficiently track down the next in line. He resolves to buy Aria something nice.

Aria: Having done all she can Aria hops down the branches of several trees as if they were steps she were skipping down and heads back to the waterfall, where she shoots arrows into the steep surface, and using those to climb back up.

Nothing more she could do here, really. If the old man couldn't take it from here, he really didn't deserve her as an apprentice anyhow.

Narrator: Gennadi does manage to get away, running through treetops where the demons cannot reach...

He can feel them tempting him, however... to hunt for them... not to leave demons behind...

He can feel the desire to hunt at the White Deer come...

At the same time as their own magic makes Gennadi's trails harder, the branches more slippery, the paths to the shards branching strangely....

Aria: Once at the top Aria sits on the edge, letting her feet dangle, and slurps the rest of the coffee. Looking mighty pleased with herself. >_>

Narrator: Gennadi rushes through the trees. Not once does he fall. Not once does he loses his way. Not once does the branches break for him. Through weak branches, through brooks and falls, Gennadi goes through it all, as his clear mind, beyond all temptation, ignores their commands, ignores their whispers, ignores their confusion.. And he comes closer, closer and closer of where Aria said the Shard was... it might have moved, but he knows where now. The demons willcome, but he is out of their reach... for now. He can feel it.

He comes closer and closer. He can feel two of them close, however...

And know which they are. Who he has to go to.

He has to know who, he remembers. He has to be set on his feelings, on his star.

• Gennadi remembers who all too well. One of them is the reason he's having to do this in the first place, the reason why he left and, to a point, the reason why he returned to Heaven. It is not easy to walk the line, but it's just important enough he finds himself managing it, almost to his own shock.

Narrator: And Gennadi comes upon the rabbit... holding him on his hand, and seeing the shard disappear in his hands... in a glow that fills the whole forest. A great word hangs about it, and he can feel the Demons are no more within. And he is left to feel that person's feel all about him.... as his Sifu appears on his side.

"Your apprentice loses points for not having killed any of the demons. If I use them as practice dummies, I want to see them beaten to a pulp, damn it." She scoffs, an almost-smile to Gennadi... "Oh, and you finished the Trial of Mercury. Congratulations would be in order."

Gennadi: "Would be, only it's you. I'll settle for dinner tonight."

Carmine Tears: "You deserved this much, I suppose." She nods, as the Manta appears overhead... "Let us pick your apprentice, then. And you were complaining to me about her? I demand restitution now. I get worse from you, and you aren't even useful to me."

Gennadi: "Fine. I'll make it up to you after dinner. I'll need a shower first, unless you like the unkempt look more than when I lst left..."

Carmine Tears: "... You think you will have dinner now?" She laughs, a throaty, throaty laugh.

"Gennadi, it is barely after breakfast. The trial of your patron Goddess looms ahead of you." The Manta comes upon Aria, waiting for her to hop on... and Shaliya, already on the manta, offers Genn the plate. "Well, I guess you can drink some coffee and eat some cookies. And of course, you will need to shower, and put on your best kimono."

Gennadi: "You said you demanded it now, darling teacher mine. And I set a date for later!" He grins, cocking his head to the side. "It'd be terribly rude not to show up."

Aria: Aria wanders onto the manta thing, still sipping her coffee.

"Good coffee.", she remarks.

• Gennadi turns to Aria. "And you, you need to tell me whatever it is you were drinking so I can buy you something better... but later. What IS the next test, Sifu?"

Carmine Tears: "The Trial of Venus. You passed the Trial of Mercury, which taught you to find your road, the one connecting your fate to those you care about - care is simply a road between people. A tie in the Tapestry. Now, comes the Trial of Venus. You must dress well. You must come to the appointed place, and give a demonstration of the beauty of your art. You must know the beauty in the movements of the Tapestry, and emulate them."

Gennadi: "I suppose I should get that shower after all... and my apprentice as well, perhaps?"

Carmine Tears: "She would not survive if she tried the Beautiful Dance on the Garden of Fire. But she has to shower and be ready for the ceremony. It has to be prim. It has to be proper. It has to be ritualized and beautiful. It is Venus."

Aria: "Can't I just skip it or something?"

Carmine Tears: "Oh, go ahead. You do not have to see beauty if you do not wish to."

Gennadi: "You can tell me why you desire to skip such a mind-altering experience after indulging in another one... while you're washing my back." He wags a finger at her. "I'll let you off the hook if you have a good enough reason."

Aria: "... Um... places to go, people to see, drunk to get?"

She sighs. "Fine, will an overly elaborate chihaya do? That's the best I can do."

Gennadi: "It'll do. Overly elaborate is exactly what we're looking for

Carmine Tears: "Indeed. Let us see if you go through this one just as well, my dear Ilkov...."

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