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| − | * - Back to [[GoldenCat/FourthMovement|Fourth Movement]]
| + | #REDIRECT [[ADanceOfAngels]] |
| − | * - Back to [[GoldenCat/DanceOfAngels|A Dance of Angels]]
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| − | == Dead Man's Gambit ==
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| − | The Ashen District...
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| − | It is more silent now. Few patrols. The strike is big on the Industrial, just at its side... and yet, the noise seems... muted, somehow. Like something hangs above the Ashen District making it... detached, of things like those. And darker. Not even the moonlight comes into it much...
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| − | A patrol is broken behind them, and a Hanna dressed leather, fishnets, black, white and red tones and paints, smiles. She ''liked'' the power. The ghosts pass through them, Moon can feel, harmlessly. They ''feel'' dead.
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| − | And, with Hanna and Kanti with them, like the great dead.
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| − | The path was clear.
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| − | "So, we are gonna meet Barr." Hanna chuckled, "Never thought I'd get to say hi to the guy. Some nice things ta steal at least, ne?" She says, tring to be optimistic, then grimaces, "If those will hold on to the people around him..."
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| − | '''Kanti: ''' ''Can I let the Dark Angel face him alone? ''
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| − | ''I have to. ''
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| − | ''Can I face him if Moon makes me? ''
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| − | ''I have to. ''
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| − | ''Can I leave with Moon after, to see Her? ''
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| − | ''....I have to. ''<br>
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| − | ''... I want to. ''<br>
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| − | ''... I need to. ''<br>
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| − | ''... please don't make me go! ''
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| − | Such are the thoughts in Kanti's mind as she moves through the city, staying close to Moon as she does, alert for dangers. She moves with a softness that might surprise those not used to her. It is not so much that she is being stealthy, as that she does not intrude on the senses.
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| − | As she moves, she glances about Moon's gang, especially to Hanna. The girl's costume both attracted and repulsed her, promising things Kanti both desired and feared.
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| − | ''focus. ''
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| − | '''Seventh Moon: ''' Armored feet struck paving stone with an eerily muted clash. The heavy plates of steel encasing the Lunar felt strange and cold. Like being packed in snow so tightly it crushed into a blanket of ice. That had happened to Moon once, a long time ago. Childhood games gone array. The two others who had been burried near him had died in their frozen coffins though. Moon hadn't. It had been the first time he'd ever realized he was "different."
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| − | Frowning behind the iron mask covering his face, Moon thought about the past as he followed behind Hanna, walking in step with the rest of the Pack through the narrow streets of the Ash. There was an enormous black claymore strapped to his back. He had no idea how to use the damn thing, but it looked intimidating and felt reassuring. Every so often, the black or the heavy armor around him would let out a faint ghostly wail and hazy faces would stir in their depths. Moon tried to ignore them.
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| − | Eh? he grunted softly, Hanna waking him from a distant past that seemed a lot brighter than the cold, gray present. His voice sounded strange through the mask. A hellish distortion making it deeper and raspy, like a man who had been strung up by the neck and lived to tell about.
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| − | Yeah, maybe. Moon answered slowly when her words sank in. Idea aint ta loot the fuckers place though. Just whack the bastard and get out, yknow? Dont go stoppin ta take souvenirs n shit.
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| − | '''Hanna: ''' "I guess. Y'know the bad part? Even if I get a good smack on the sucker's face, I'll only get ta brag for awhile until people forget about him. No fun." She pouted, then gave a toothy grin, "But it's that time that matter, ah guess."
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| − | Turning around the corner, and seeing Barr's little fortress. Place was sused to hold smuggling and people Barr took - everyone knew, nobody did jack. Every few years Iria would burn one of those down and arrest a bunch of Barr's people, but it will only take awhile to make a new one. Solid brick, iron gate, iron bars on the windows... it looked so humble, normal, but details gave away how it was just a small fortress. Minos people were about, openly displaying the bone weapons, five of them outside of the place... all dead-eyed.
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| − | '''Seventh Moon: ''' Moon grinned, even if nothing showed behind the mask. "Hey, ain't like ''we'd'' forget, y'know? Whats more important, impressin' us or a buncha foundry workers and garrison fucks?"
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| − | The question would have to go unanswered. As they rounded the corner, Moon's eyes grew narrow at the sight of the building and the bone-clad people around them. Kadel's people had found the place for them. Damned if he knew how, but they did. Swore the bastard was ducking out inside, letting other people take the blows for the shit he'd pulled and hoping it would all blow over without anyone remembering about him. Joints creaked in Moon's gauntlets as he balled his hands into fists. Barr already forgot; the Father of Crows didn't forgive or forget. And there was nowhere in the city you could hide from him.
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| − | "A'ite," he muttered just loud enough to carry to the disguised punks around him. "Keep ya mouths shut and let Hanna do the talkin' from here, a'ite? Remember we're supposed ta be dead. I'll let ya know when ta start makin' noise."
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| − | The Lunar stole a glance towards the young girl walking near him. Kanti looked nervous and impatient. She looked small, with the armored figures around her. To part of him, that just made her prey. Moon swallowed a bitter lump in his throat and touched her shoulder briefly, speaking in as soft of tones as his mask would allow. Be easy, kid. He soothed. Just a quick run in ta take care of shit, then we move on. Aint any harder than seducin a workin girl with a handfula jade.
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| − | '''Hanna: ''' "Sooo... I just walk up ta them an' tell the fuckers we are here to scort the ol' bastard off? Or to provie ''security''" She grins, then looks down at herself, "Not that it matters whatever I tell 'um, they won't be looking at ma face or hearin' anyway. How come deadlordy ladies have to look straight out of the fuckin' Black Silken Sighs? I look a evil version of a workin' girl here!"
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| − | '''Kanti: ''' Kanti shivers as Moon touches her, the rasping voice he manages through the mask failing to comfort her in the slightest from it's tone, though the words penetrate, and she nods within her own mask "I...It's okay." shuddering a little at the way the mask modulated her own voice.
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| − | ''dead voice...so wrong... ''
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| − | She eyed the fortress of iron and brick, the oppressive styling reinforcing her resolve a little, letting her see who it was they were here to deal with ...
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| − | '''Seventh Moon: ''' The gauntleted hand patted Kantis shoulder once more before it fell away. Probably wouldnt do to have the smugglers see that sort of gesture. Moon wasnt even sure why he bothered to try and comfort her. Shed do what she was told, personal feelings be damned. A bile-born thought wondered if he could make her do to Barr what she had done to Sarah.
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| − | I dunno, Moon grunted, turning away from Kanti towards their deathknight. Running his eyes over Hanna speculatively, Moon held back the urge to tilt his head or whistle. She did look good like that. Maybe theres a sore lacka breasts in deader-land.
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| − | '''Hanna: ''' "Now I imagining them in what happens to Red Sun Ravager girls when they are beaten. Waayyy to make this more dignified, Boss." The Red Sun Ravagers were mostly male - most gangs were, but they were overwhelmingly so - so the times they lost, the few, if any, girls in their side had to put up with the attentions of... too many men at once.
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| − | "So, I choose, which bullshit I fling at 'um? Fine."
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| − | And then she walked towards the guards, moving her hips as she did. Teasing in that sort clothes was fun, she had to admit!
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| − | And so she does walk up to them, and sure enough, after a few honeyed words, they begin to open the gates to the Pack... she turns back to them and gestures for them to come close, trying to act her best like a great, presumptuous queen of darkness.
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| − | It was just too ''fun''
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| − | '''Seventh Moon: ''' Standing a step back with the others, Moon waited silently for Hanna to open the way for them. Despite the mask, he scowled and did his best to be silently intimidating. Forcing contempt and ill will towards Barrs people to seep through the armor by sheer will. Of course, it was hard to hold a glare while watching Hannas posturing. Be damned if she didnt get the self-righteous attitude down perfectly. Made him wonder what Selina would think of the act.
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| − | Probably want to kill the girl. Or fuck her.
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| − | Moon grinned as the door was opened for them and glided forward silently at Hannas command. The faceless black mask swung towards one of the bone-clad men at the door as Moon walked past him, the cold iron meeting white ivory intently for a moment. Tempting as hell to just smash in the heads of the guards now and save themselves a fight on the way out. But getting to Barr came first and Moon looked away and moved on. These pricks wouldnt be doing much to stop them, once he came trotting out with Barrs hairy head in one hand.
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| − | They say where hes at? Moon muttered softly to Hanna as he drew closer to her.
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| − | '''Kanti: ''' Kanti watched Hanna as she talked to the guards, watched every switch and sway of her body as she lied about who and what she was, watched every tiny little gesture.
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| − | ''...why is she so good at this...? ''
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| − | ''..concentrate. On him. ''
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| − | Kanti glided forward besides Moon, staying by his side, the iron mask hiding the expression on her face, which can only be for the best
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| − | '''Hanna: ''' "Nah. They just let us in. S'pose the guy's up there somewhere..."
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| − | Past the yard, a gray, desertic garden, and into the building itself, She stopped to talk to a guard on the door, practically ordering him to tell her where to find Barr!
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| − | Then, the door was opened to them - all of ten locks to wait until it opened - and she walked back to Moon, "Fucker is down there." She stamps the ground, "Hiding like a worm."
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| − | With that, they walk into the apartment, hearing the sounds of men up the stairs, but knowing the way was down the stairs... and into a small, unassuming, dirty door at their end.
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| − | '''Seventh Moon: ''' ''Shit. That was easy. ''
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| − | Maybe too easy. An itchy feeling tingled on the bridge of his nose as they walked past the guards at the inner door. Maybe something was wrong, maybe he was just paranoid, but a feeling of unease stirred in his guts as they trooped down the stairs of the dilapidated apartment. The ill-lit stairwell and myriad shadows only heightened his sense of unease.
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| − | Paranoia or honest apprehension, sure as fuck wouldnt hurt now to find out. As they paused before the tiny door, Moon put a hand over Hannas arm to stop her, then held a finger above his masked face, calling for silence. He swept his gaze up and down the hall behind them, making certain it was clear before reaching to iron mask. Clumsy armored fingers scrap for a moment against the helmet before hooking the latches that hold the mask on and pulling them open. Moon lets out a faint sigh as he pulls the sweat iron plate off of his face, taking in a deep breath of air. It was for more than just relief though.
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| − | When he breathed in, Moon let his senses expand. Everything sharpened to painful clarity. The oily tang of their armor and the sweat on the flesh under it. The scent of rotting wooden beams, moldy plaster, and rat shit clinging in the stale air of the tight hall. Breaths from the Pack behind him echoed like thunder off the walls of their armored faces and the creaking foot steps of the guards moving around above them hit him like a forest straining under a storm.
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| − | But there was only one scent and one sound he was searching for. Moon had been close enough to Barr to remember what he smelt like and had damn well heard the bastards lies clear enough to know the very sound of his breath. Focusing himself upon the door in front of them, Moon hunted through the legion of sensations assaulting him for the touch of a traitor.
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| − | * Moon feels the air... and finds Barr's scent.<br><br>It is there, down there.<bR><br>It is faint... and there is death there as well.... but it ''is'' there! It ''is'' him!
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| − | '''Seventh Moon: ''' Moon breaths out and wills his senses to mute, for now.
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| − | "A'ite..." he says quietly, looking around at the rest of the Pack. "Bastard's in there. Somethin' with him though. Probably just more dead fuckers. Kid and I can take care of them." He put a hand on Kanti's shoulder again, though there was probably little doubt to who the kid was. Whatever the dead scent had been, wasnt anything they couldnt handle. Hed seen what she could do to the dead before.
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| − | "Rest'a you take care of anything else in there. Don't give 'um time ta even fuckin' breath when we go in, a'ite? Just hit 'um ill they stop movin'."
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| − | Kinny, you stick by the door, aite? Dont want that bastard tryin ta run out while were tied up. He picked his second out from among the rest of the masked figures and flicked a finger against the skull-like iron face glaring at him. He grinned toothfully as the heavy plate echoed like a bell. Try not ta screw up too bad man. Dont wanna have ta save your ass again.
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| − | '''Kinny: '''All of them nodded. Not the usual cheer. "If they come, we kill them, boss."
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| − | "Bite me. I can handle it! If you are in trouble, try not to be too girly in asking for help!"
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| − | '''Kanti: ''' Kanti nodded as she was given instruction, trying to draw strength and comfort from the touch on her shoulder before she stepped away from him and the room, her body flowing as she swept out a series of kata's, old realm prayers for martial excellence hanging in the air about her as she does, assuming the Viridian Radiance Form.
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| − | She pauses.<br>
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| − | She enacts the Infinate Radiance Meditation.<br>
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| − | She closes her eyes reflexively as the mask on her face shatters with the Life coursing through it.
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| − | '''Kinny: ''' Kinny looks... and misses a breath in awe.
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| − | "Dude... do call if you need cavalry. Don't go get hurting there." He looks at Kanti, "Or let the girl get hurt..."
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| − | She look far too... holy? For him to desire that...
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| − | '''Seventh Moon: ''' "Don't plan on it..." Moon's answer is quite, his attention drawn like all the rest to the young Terrestrial. Eyes alite and unblinking, he stares at Kanti and feels... nothing that he should. No anger, no lingering resentments, no bitter tastes in his mouth. For all the scars on her face, she was heartbreakingly beautiful right now. Too beautiful to even be desirable, only cherished. The rest of the Pack seemed to be feeling in to, letting out soft gasps and sighs. Looking at her in awe. They were enamored now, almost worshipful. It probably won't even had mattered if he told them what she had done to Sarah. They'd have forgiven her in the same breath they damned her.
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| − | And that was more frightening than any unliving horror that might have been waiting for them behind the door.
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| − | Without thinking, Moon lifted the iron mask back to his face and closed it. He needed it suddenly. Needed some sort of barrier between himself and the beautiful, horrible creature in the hall with him. The numbing cold of the iron plate was comforting somehow, a distant familiarity that clawed at the edge of his mind from somewhere further back than a childhood memory, and he let it seep into his skin. The hound within him grabbed eagerly with sharp teeth and pulled it in deeper, letting the numb chill spread through his blood until body and soul felt nothing.
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| − | Moon shrugged the claymore from his back and swung it easily into his hands. The weight was familiar and alien at once as he hefted it experimentally. His mind knew how to wield it, even if his body could not respond properly to its will. Poor choice of weapon for tight spaces anyway, but it would at least be enough to scatter initial resistance.
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| − | Alright. His voice that came through the mask and it was not his own. Even without the enchantments to filter it, it was someone elses voice. Follow behind me. Do not get in the way.
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| − | With no further words of preparation or assurance, Moon stepped past Hanna and with one smooth motion lifted up his armored foot and smashed it into the door with enough force to snap it off the rusted hinges.
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| − | * Within... it was large. Luxurious.<br><br>Claustrophobic, but lit with just too many candles, and with just too nice a decoration.<br><br>In the room, five Nemessaries look at them, their eyes wide, for corpses. "What the...? Why are you here?!?" They ask, trying to understand why one dressed like that... one that ''felt'' like that would enter in such a way.<bR><br>The door breaks, scattering splinters around the underground room.<bR><br>It is filled with incense - no wonder Moon could barely sense inside it. Decorated with 'impressive' paintings - in bad taste and pehaps poor skill, but certainly striking- and weapons in the walls. Five figures are there, longing in the great sofas, away from the great bed... a few serving girls there. Five figures robed like priests.<br><br>Their hands go to their weapons as Moon breaks in, looking surprised. "What the...? Who are you?!? What the ''hell'' do you think you are doing?!?" They say, surprised, but ''feeling'' the new arrival is an undead...
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| − | '''Seventh Moon: ''' A step forward, crushing the wooden door under foot. A cold iron shadow filled the doorway, faceless mask staring at them from the shadows of a hooded cloaked. Ghastly faces swirled in the murky depth of the blade in its hands, a thick and brutal thing that clanked against his gauntlets as the black templar hefted it up and down. Armor creaking, he turned to survey one dead face to the next, radiating a frozen malice towards each, before words finally echoed out of the abyssal depths of the mask.
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| − | Sending you back where you belong.
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| − | Silver fires ignited the eyes of the mask as Moon lunged forward into the room, falling to one knee and whipping out the giant blade in a scything arch. It was a clumsy, untrained strike but then his target was rather large. Wooden legs disintegrated into splinters and dust as the black sword crushed through the legs of the sofas one after the other, spilling the robed figures onto the flood. The great blade clattered to the ground behind Moon as he abandoned it to the motion of the swing and twisted himself towards the first of the dark priests, fist upraised as a black ichor boiled up from under the iron gauntlet and engulfed his fist. Ebb and Flow, stretched into a thin cloth under the armor until that moment, reformed and hardened over the casing of armor, the fang-and-feather on the knuckles burning in a cold light as it crashed through the priests head and into the floor on the other side.
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| − | '''Kanti''': Kanti flowed into the rooom behind the whirlwind of destruction that was Moon, trails of fragrant smoke gathering around her as she called the Fragrant Incence Spear. She skipped over the floor as she moved, brilliant white irises lighting up the darkened room.
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| − | Through the doorway.<br>
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| − | Through the cloud of splinters.<br>
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| − | Through to the middle of the room.<br>
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| − | Life to Death.<br>
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| − | Fire to Moon.<br>
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| − | Grace to Power.
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| − | She flows through a kata, bright irises illuminating each strike, arcs of incense streaming behind the spear as she dances.
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| − | Four viridian curtains decend without pain.
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| − | '''Priest: ''' Four of the priests are gone in a heartbeat.
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| − | Moon kills one, crushing his skull.
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| − | Kanti destroys three, green light shining one them as she stops... and only the last one manages to roll away from her, backing up against the wall... his dead eyes open wide, seeing the face of his compatriots... "Please... please spare me! Don't... don't... silver light... it is you, isn't it? The Father...?"
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| − | The three serving girls screamed and yelped, away from the center of the room, against the walls....
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| − | * .... there is something wrong, however.<br><bR>It reeks of death.<br><br>Not of something who died there. Not the corpses at their feet.<br><br>''The whole fucking place was dead''
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| − | '''Seventh Moon: ''' Pulling his fist from the hole in the floor with the priests head once was, Moon shook his hand slightly to dislodge some of the gore as he rose back to his feet. The rest of the Pack were filling in quickly after them, but stopping just past the door. There was nothing for them to do. As he wiped his hand clean on his tattered cloak, Moon glanced to where the other ghosts had been. Where nothing at all remained anymore. He looked over at Kanti and gave a stern, approving nod. Whatever might be wrong with her, she did this well.
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| − | Turning his attention from the Terrestrial a moment, he cast a cold glance towards the babbling ghost, then around at the rest of the room. Ruins, punks, harlots, dead men, and monsters. But no smugglers. His eyes fell back onto the dark priest, irritation burning in his eyes.
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| − | I am only going to ask once. Where is- Moon stopped, his head twisting away suddenly. Something was wrong. Frowning behind the mask, he inhaled deeply through his nose, sniffing at the air. Rot, decay it permeated the scents, even above the odors of the recently dead. Something was wrong.
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| − | Kanti There was a warning in his voice as he began to survey the room more. He opened his eyes wider and let his nostrils flare, flooding the channels of his body with Essence, ripping away the veil from the physical word to behold the immaterial beyond.
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| − | '''????: ''' Surrounded by spirirts. Not whole spirirts. None of them are. Parts of spirirts, broken down, and used to fuel something. A big necromantic construct. That whole room is a big necromantic construct.
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| − | He can see it, on the corner of his eyes. As the harlots touch the walls, pieces of the spirirts are going to her... nothing more than cables, nothing more than cobwebs. Not real spirits, not alive, just spiritstuff. Going inside the girls.
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| − | Who are as alive as the priests.
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| − | '''Kanti: ''' Kanti flows to the alert at Moon's warning tone, standing alert and aware, casting her senses around, seeing the faint iris filaments ... not understanding ... not sure what to do, but not liking the situation.
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| − | "...Moon, what's happening?"
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| − | '''Seventh Moon: ''' '''''"OUT!" '''''
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| − | Moon wheels upon the Pack behind him, grabbing the nearest and forcefully shoving him towards the open doorway. His voice sounds like his own again, even through the filter of the mask, and he snarls. "Get the fuck outta here! Everyone! '''''Now! '''''"
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| − | How could he have been so stupid not to check for dead shit first? After all they'd been through already... No. He'd chew himself out about it later. Selina probably would too, if she found out. For now, he had his gang to worry about. He twisted back to Kanti, voice lowering as he spoke. "Somethin's fucked up in this room darlin'. Don't know what, but it's for shit. It's like there's bits of a dead fuckers clinging ta everything..."
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| − | Moon thrust a hand out towards the serving girls cowering against the walls. "Them too. I'll get my boys moving', you drag that lot out. Keep an eye on 'um."
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| − | Turning away from the Terrestrial, he began to shout and cajole the rest of the Pack back out of the room before well, before whatever the fuck was gonna happen happened. Didnt intend to stick around and find out what.
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| − | '''????: ''' On the walls, the filaments begun to touch the girls. Wide-eyed, dead-eyed, they looked at them as they begun to become part of the walls...
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| − | The filaments going into them like veins, cables, parts of the wall, bone, going into them materially...
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| − | And the same strands of spirirt, now solid, begin to fall over the door...
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| − | The girls speak, as one, with the same voice....
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| − | "Father... Silver Light... Father of Crows..."
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| − | '''Kanti: ''' Kanti winced a little as Moon shouted, but remains calm, ready. She peers towards the girls on the walls, wondering what the strange iris tendrils were, but she nods to Moon
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| − | "Yes, Moon."
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| − | Then they started to merge with the walls, bones spilling out into the walls, wall spilling out into the girls....
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| − | ''...what is happening to them? ''<br>
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| − | ''why are they helping this? ''<br>
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| − | ''why don't they struggle? ''
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| − | "...Moon, I don't think I can get them out now ..." her voice is quiet, and rather plaintive. She regards the growing ivory tendrils with a building fear...
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| − | '''Hanna: ''' Hanna managed to turn around moment before that. She held most of the pack back, her new strength and hardened skin stopping the flux and pushing people back...the strands falling over her as she tells people to leave, sticking to her...
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| − | "What... the... fuck?" She says, eyes wide, as she feels suffering, she feels something suffering in the strands, in her skin now...
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| − | '''Seventh Moon: ''' Standing on the opposite side of the door from Hanna and leaning into a wall of armored bodies, pushing the mortal members his gang out into the hallway by brute force, Moon looked back at Kanti's plea and his eyes widen behind the mask.
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| − | "''Fuck''." He echoed Hanna's sentiments softly. His eyes flickered up to the tendrils of ghostly Essence falling over the door, then grabbed the two punks nearest to the narrow portal and yanked them back from it sharply before the ghost-stuff could spill into them. That left five of them in the room: Kanti, Hanna, these two, and himself. Whatever the fucked was about to happen, hed hope that was enough to deal with it.
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| − | Kinny! he leaned towards the rapidly shrinking door and shouted through. Get um up top and wait for us, aite? Well be out quick.
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| − | Hopefully.
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| − | Trusting Kinny to do what he was told if the other punk had even heard him, Moon turned to face the trio of women melting into the wall. Yeah? he demanded, taking a step closer to them, moving up beside Kanti. What the fuck ya want?
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| − | | |
| − | '''????: ''' The walls begin to melt. Revealing pieces of bodies, strands of ghostly flesh... something goes inside the girls, and they scream. They squirm, and Moon and Kanti can see that something is still alive in them. Feeling. Wide-eyed in terror now. But yet, used as puppets as they turn to the people within the room, sharp appendages jutting from the walls, necrotic energy crackling on them...
| |
| − | | |
| − | "Father.... of... Crows... he... wants... you... dead..."
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''Seventh Moon: ''' "Feelin's mutual darlin'." he growled back to the half-dead women. His guts were twisting slightly though, turned upside down at the sight of the still-living bits squirming around in the wall. How fuckin dead did you have to be to do shit like that to people? Just to get at him, they were gonna rip some poor ladies to pieces?
| |
| − | | |
| − | ''Yeah, fuck this. ''
| |
| − | | |
| − | Moon looked up at the ceiling above them, low enough he could reach it with a stretch, then flickered his gaze over to the half-ruined couches on the floor.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Hanna, you and those two drag that shit over here, he tilted his head towards the furniture. And try not ta touch the walls.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Kanti A pause as Moon leaned down and grasped the heavy iron blade he had abandoned earlier. He hoisted it up to his shoulder, his eyes peering over the sooty edge at the Terrestrial beside him. There was anger in his gaze, cold and seething, though it wasnt meant for her. Right now, there were far worse monsters in the city. We aint gonna let those girls suffer through the rest of this, aite?
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''Kraken: ''' ''Death....so much death... ''
| |
| − | ''...so much pain... ''
| |
| − | | |
| − | Kanti glances around wide eyed as the necrotic energy crackles and arcs around her an the others in the room. Her breath starts to quicken, as the appendages coil and she starts to imagine what the girls must be feeling, the Radiant Viridian Form linking her far too close to them.
| |
| − | Then Moon looks at her, eyes full of rage.
| |
| − | | |
| − | ''It wasn't me! It wasn't me! '' Her eyes plead. Kanti steps back a pace before the words Moon speak reach through to her, and she shakes her head.
| |
| − | | |
| − | "No...no! I can't..."
| |
| − | | |
| − | She raises the spear once more, only a slight tremble in her arms.
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''????: ''' The souls, of the girls and many others, begin to pour as a carpet on the ground... moaning.... trying to cover all the room, apparently. The walls, the ground... as some device begun to be mounted on the girls, dark eyes pointing to Moon....
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''Seventh Moon: '''The Lunars eyes narrow at Kantis sudden protest, but he makes no more answer than a disgusted huff before he turns away.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Moon takes stock of the progress of the death-essence creeping across the floor and ceiling and the distance of the three women in the walls. Hoisting the black sword upwards, he pulls his arms back almost to the floor, then springs upwards with all the force he can muster. The deadly point stabs into a rotting support beam in the ceiling above, one that pulses and bleeds like a punctured vein as the ghostly taint manifest through it. But whatever its trying to become, its still wood for the moment and splits open to swallow the blade until it sticks hard.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Dangling from the jammed sword, feet inches from the floor bellow, Moon clutches the blade tightly in one hand as the other closes into a fist. Streams of silver Essence spill down his arm to ignite the moonsilver on his gauntlet, the gleaming metal casting off undulating streamers of hissing white light into the air.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Im sorry he whispers quietly to the half-consumed woman on the in front of him, not knowing if they can even understand him anymore. The glare of Ebb and Flow grows worse as he draws his fist back and the shimmering light is outright blinding as it comes snapping forward, Essence spiking out ahead of the glow into the shape of great fanged mouth, open and hungry.
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''Kanti: ''' Kanti steadies her grip on the spear and her breathing stops for a momment.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Moon nodded.
| |
| − | | |
| − | From her feet, more of the iris strands pour forth, joining the ones flowing about the room in her perceptions. They all fade away as she focuses on the girl-shape in front of her, a sheet of irises heading off to infinity, cut across by black necromancy.
| |
| − | | |
| − | ''Let me help you'' Kanti's eyes plead. ''Let my spear enter you and take you on to a better place. Let me end it for you. ''
| |
| − | | |
| − | Then, with a swirl of incense, she strikes, the spear stabbing forth again and again, the blade slipping in without pain, brilliant green light shining forth from the wounds.
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''????: ''' The green glow leaves, and the ghostly strands recede...
| |
| − | | |
| − | They girl that lis left screams, and her body twitches as her body begins to be invaded and opened to form many implements... sheredding her souls to form power to them, four arms coming out of her broken torso, dark eyes on them... each and every one of those eyes letting out bolts of cryptic energy towards Kanti.... while the one looking at Moon, the little that is left of one girl, blasts him....
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''Kanti: ''' Kanti lets out a strangled whimper as the bolts of void energy pour towards her, dragging the fragrant incense spear in short sharp arcs to deflect the worst of the enslaught.
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''Hanna: ''' Hanna jumps closer to Moon, barely standing on a chair closer to the wall... "Don't you '''touch him'''!"
| |
| − | | |
| − | She says, punching the eye...
| |
| − | | |
| − | "'''DIE ALREADY'''" She yells, punching it a second, third time...
| |
| − | | |
| − | "''Ouch! '' Fucking damned..."
| |
| − | | |
| − | She holds her hand, marble-hard but cracked... she barely hurt it.
| |
| − | | |
| − | But the heart dangled from one ghost-thread, and severed, there was no more, it fell apart, a last scream of the girl throughout the ghost-filaments on the room....
| |
| − | | |
| − | .. while the two other members of the pack brought a sofa to the center of the room, and jumped up in it... watching, horrrified. One couldn't help it, retching over the ghostly floor...
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''Seventh Moon: ''' Moon snarled in pain as the bolt of dark energy pealed back the layers of armor around his shoulder and struck through to flesh. Bloody and spotted with black necrotic welts, the wound looked worse than it was and his body was already stitching it back together.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Kanti had slain one of the half-girls and Hanna had managed to finish off the one he had struck. Only one remained, twisted and black by the dark essence crawling over the room. Something not even human anymore. But then, this had already stopped being about mercy. This was survival now.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Hanna! Lets finish this shit darlin! She stared for a moment, then nodded once, her black lips set in a hard line. Twisting back towards her, Moon thrust out his hand towards her and the Pack girl grabbed it without hesitation. Her knees bent a moment, then shoved off the chair, hurling away what had been her only shield from the floor and giving herself into Moon.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Dust sprinkled out of the wood around the greatsword, the blade inching down slightly as the sudden weight of two armored bodies were pressed upon it. Moon tried not to notice. He focused instead on the girl in his hand as her body swung through the air with the motion of his arm, set on a collision course with the inhuman-torso joined to the wall.
| |
| − | | |
| − | ''Within his mind, Moon whistled sharply. The wounded Hounds ears perked up, its head lifting up. Painstakingly, it rose to its feet and stalked warily closer to the Lunar and the swirling vortex of diamonds wrapped around his hand. ''
| |
| − | | |
| − | ''This is Hanna. Moon told the bleeding husky, holding the marble-white energy closer to it like an offering. I wantcha ta take care of her, aite? ''
| |
| − | | |
| − | ''The Hound looked up at him, staring with that depthless intensity only a dog could achieve. It stretched its head closer to the vortex and sniffed at it a moment. Then, cautiously, opened its mouth and closed it gently over the spinning white crystal''
| |
| − | | |
| − | Hannas body exploded into silver-white flame, the shimmering fires twisting in and out of the shape of huge northern hound. Blue-white scales of Essence erupted from the depths of the flames, great crystal wings seeming to burst from her back as a draconian serpent coiled upwards around the shimmering aura of flame. Two monstrous faces formed around Hannas outstretched fist as her lithe body came baring down on the last of the tortured women. The Hound and the Dragon roared as one and the necromantic energy around them recoiled and two pairs of great fangs came crashing down around her; the Hound ripping away her defenses and the Dragons plunging deep into her rotted chest.
| |
| − | | |
| − | * The wolf gnaws at the spirirts, eating them, roaring... as the room died on his teeth. All the circuitry of spirits broken and eaten by its fangs.<br><br>The carpet of moaning begin to open its maws... one last scream... one last plot. One last function. To open its mouths so wide they would turn inside-out, and send all those within to the depths of the Labyrinth.<br><br>And yet, the hound ate the spirts, all that is the machine. And they simply dissolve,<br>Unable to carry on their last task.<br>Not to oblivion, not to heaven.<br>Simply to nothingness.
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''Seventh Moon: ''' The machine screamed. The room cried. The beasts howled their triumph before flickering back into a subtle glow.
| |
| − | | |
| − | And then wooden beam creaked, cracked, and splintered apart. Ripping out of the suddenly quite mundane wood, the black blade tumbled to the floor, carrying Moon along with it and Hanna in turn.
| |
| − | | |
| − | "Ooof." he grunted as he landed gracefully upon his ass in a clatter of armored plates. The young Terrestrial at the end of his outstretched arm fell with far less noisy near by.
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''Hanna: ''' Hanna looked up... shallow breaths, shocked.
| |
| − | | |
| − | "I felt it... going through me... so much... so clear... so pure..."
| |
| − | | |
| − | She looked at Moon...
| |
| − | | |
| − | "It is always like that for you...?"
| |
| − | | |
| − | Then, she rose her hand, as if it had been in jelly, the floorstuff sticking to her arm...
| |
| − | | |
| − | "... let's get away from here. And torch this fucking place."
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''Kanti: ''' Kanti blinks as the vision of crystal and silver flashes past her eyes, watchting the two sets of terrible fangs devouring the fields of irises until there was nothing left, the beasts hunger finally saited. The spear drops to the floor to support her for a brief moment.
| |
| − | | |
| − | "...Moon...Hanna...are you alright?" she asks, still a little overawed by the vision infront of her. She relaxes as she sees Moon and Hanna begin to rise, apparently unhurt by the experience.
| |
| − | | |
| − | And, in the deepest, darkest bit of her soul, she was jealous of her. Jealous of how close she'd been to Moon. Jealous that Moon chose her.
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''Seventh Moon: ''' Moon was breathing nearly as hard, blinking spots out of his eyes as he met Hanna's gaze and listened to her words as they rang through his helmet.
| |
| − | | |
| − | "Somethin' like that..." he agreed. He had felt her too. It had been strange. Agitated and solid at once, like an earthquake. Moon reached up and pried off his mask, the presence of it more stifling than comforting. Sweat making his face glisten, he flashed Hanna a red faced grin, almost asking if she wanted to get something to smoke.
| |
| − | | |
| − | The place still reeked of death though and his smile died fast. Pushing himself to his feet, Moon looked back to Kanti and the two other punks. "Everyone a'ite?"
| |
| − | | |
| − | Asking his question almost the same moment Kanti spoke her own, the Lunar paused with his mouth still open slightly, then let out a breathy laugh. "Yeah, We're good on. He grinned toothfully and reached over to ruffle Kantis hair. Or would have, if there hadnt been a helmet in his way. Something of Hanna was still pumping through his blood, making his skin crackle, making his eyes glow bright. It made him feel a little more alive. A little more excited. How you doin' kid? Held up aite, seem like."
| |
| − | | |
| − | * "A’rite... I think...”, said one....<br><br>"Let's just get the fuck out of here, ok?" Said the one who had retched, wiping out his mouth.
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''Kanti: ''' Kanti nods to him, the nightmare of the ghost room receeding from the set of her body, her breath calming back down, though she doesn't let herself relax fully, the terror she felt still too close for that.
| |
| − | | |
| − | "...I am fine, Moon." she says carefully, making her voice be calm, casting her eyes about the room to check on the other two. They seems fine to her look, though she might have to do something for them later....
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''Hanna: ''' Hanna gets up, the light leaving her, still feeling like a huntress. Wisps of fangs still around her fingers.... she looks at how Moon treats Kanti, and grimaces. "She is Exalted. We are Exalted. We can handle that!" She says, not meaning the words as much as she'd like to. She was terrified.
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''Seventh Moon: ''' Moon's brows furrow inward and looks back over his shoulder at Hanna with a disapproving frown. "Yeah, we're Exalted darlin'. But we're still human."
| |
| − | | |
| − | ''And fuck all when we start to forget that. ''
| |
| − | | |
| − | They had both been shaken by what they'd just seen. Just like the two punks waiting impatiently to make an escape. Just like him. And ''that'' was very comforting somehow.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Anyway, bastard sure as hell aint here like Kadel said. Moon went on, one disappointment replaced by another. He leaned down as he spoke and picked up the huge black sword from the ground, clumsily managing to slide it onto his back. We gotta move. Hunt the fucker down so we can go meet up with Selina.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Shifting until the weight had settled comfortably, Moon suddenly reached out one arm and wrapped it around Hannas shoulders, pulling her closer. And as he pulled her along in step with him towards the door and they walked past Kanti, his other arm reached out and snagged around her shoulders as well, bringing her along for the ride. A tilt of his head sent the only too eager Pack boys out to run ahead and make sure the way up was clear and holding both the Terrestrial girls close, Moon strode out as well. Lets get outta here darlins. This place bugs the shit outta me.
| |
| − | | |
| − | * As they got out, Kinny and the rest of the pack were there, and Barr's men were ion the ground, bloodied. The Pack were still kicking some people on the ground, violent. The few who had been in the stairs, that is. Angry to kick anything responsible for the little they'd seen within the room.<br><br>Amidst the violence, the screams and the kicking noises, Kinny stood there, smoking, a little bit of blood on his shirt and over his club. "Hey, boss. Someone here wants ta talk to ya."<br><br>And over the wall to the stronghold, she stood. The ashen hag, flesh withered, sharp, jagged, dressed in a collection of rags that somehow made a dress. A dress looking like dirty, fear, and violence, a dress made of despair. She stood there, ashen hair falling over her unnatractive face. "Father of Crows. Their trap wasn't enough for you, eh? Thought of warning, but it'd be fun to see wether it would or not, I thought." Her voice is like an iron boot scraping at dry, sticky ash on the ground. Unpleasant. Unnatractive. All that the Ashen District is.
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''Seventh Moon: ''' Moon dropped his arms from the girls at the sight of the rag-woman. She looked familiar. '' Smelt'' familiar, in a way that made his hackled rise and his eyes watch her hands for the flash of a knife. Still keeping Kanti and Hanna close, Moon glared at the rag-woman with troubled eyes. "Yeah, well, hope ya had your fun bitch. Maybe next time ya oughta come down and join us. He spat onto the ground between her feet. People had died down there, horribly, and she had known it was going to happen. Now you got about five seconds ta say who the fuck you are and what you want before we give ya a nice first hand show of how much fun that was.
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''Kanti: ''' Kanti allowed herself to be pulled up close to Moon, to feel his warmth, at least from the hand, not caring about the dull metal pressing into her side from the armour he wore. She needed to be close to him, to feel him, to know he was there. She wicned as she saw the brutality of the pack, but couldn't quite brigng herself to voice any opinion that they should stop, letting Moon guide her on .. to the woman of ash. She shivered alittle as Moons hand slipped away, remanining close, for what she did not know.
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''Sashra: ''' "It is always fun here, Father. Horrible deaths... that is the Ash. What else is new? You made it like this. Horrible. Ugly. Dirty. Surviving as we can... and that is our strength. Whatever was downstairs was just more artful. Fucking artists. So don't come with that tone, Father. All that had was more frilly touches, and plenty more power than what we have in your streets all the time." The hag looks at him defiantly. She was a minor spirit, plenty minor, but she had her pride.
| |
| − | | |
| − | "Barr was not there, though. I liked him. We had an understanding. He did good for the District, in a way. In my way." She glided down, and kicked some sand. "I guess I'll show you."
| |
| − | | |
| − | As it blows up, dirt on the room becomes ash... and images begin to appear on it... forms...and to Kanti’s despair, she can hear the Parishioner’s voice again. Beautiful, melodious, coming from the armored monster...
| |
| − | | |
| − | Kanti sees the Parishioner, overseeing the ritual preperation for his spell, done by pale, bare breasted acolytes. All beautifully scared. All to be sacraficed. He speaks in soft, reasonable tones, the voice of a patient father to a child, as he picks up delicate instruments of ritual one by one to examine them “Now, now Mr. Barr. You assured me yourself that the Father of Crows would not be arriving in person. He will likely do as you said, return underground and direct matters from there.”
| |
| − | | |
| − | “That was before.” The large smuggler spat. His cold, heartless green eyes glinted at the Abyssal before him. Pampered fucking southern dandy. But tough as he tried to act, one could feel it in the large mans aura. A quiver that shook him whole. He was afraid. And not of the man in front of him. “He's been acting strangely a lot lately. Leaving the city. Calling that meeting. Bringing in that black winged bitch you're so wound up about and parading her around.”
| |
| − | | |
| − | ”The Dark Angel, yes...” A slow smile creased the Parishoners face as he held up an intricately carved femer bone between his long fingers and turned it over. “We know all about the Dark Angel. It will be a pleasure to meet up with her again. She murdered a good friend of mine, you know. And no artistry at all about it...”
| |
| − | | |
| − | “Forget about her!” Barr snaps, slamming a fist down on the table. “Goddamn it you asshole, I keep telling you that you can't ignore the Father. I've been dealing with the fucker for YEARS!”
| |
| − | | |
| − | The Parishioner sighs wearly and holds his hands against the table to still it, then begins to rearrange the pieces shook out of place into their proper order. “Yes, yes Mr. Barr. I am quite certain that your Father of Crows is very much the local terror of the... whatever you people call yourselves.” He paused to examine a gold-plated childs skull, converted into a mortar and pestal, then shruged nonchalantly and set it down. “We, however, are the makers of nightmares. I do not think we have much to worry about from some little criminal kingpin of a backwater city.”
| |
| − | | |
| − | The smuggler snarled. “Yeah, well, you fuckers might not, but I could. What if he sends someone after me, huh? That twittering dandy Hemlock bought the guys line of bullshit. I don't want my ass hanging out there unprotected just cause you wanna use my boys as some kinda living shield for yours.”
| |
| − | | |
| − | The Abyssal picks up the last item, an ellaborate soulsteel and bone knife. Delicate. Almost flimsy looking. The sort one only uses for sacrafices. He tests it's edge upon his thumb and watches as a droplet of black blood bubbles up and trickles down the edge. His face is passive as he pulls his thumb away and slowly smears the blood between his thumb and forefingers, the knife held loosely in his hand. “Oh, you don't have to worry about _that_ Mr. Barr.”
| |
| − | | |
| − | “Yeah?” There is a tone of faint relief in the smugglers voice and he takes an eager step forward. “So you're gonna put someone around me, right?”
| |
| − | | |
| − | “Oh...” He smiles, opening his fingers and looking at the face of a grinning skull shaped in his own blood. “We will be putting _plenty_ around you.” His hand suddenly tightens around the knife. Before Barr can even catch the implications of that, the pale Abyssal and whipped around and drawn it's edge sharply across the mans throat. There is a look of absolute shock on Barrs face and he sways on his feet, his throat making a messy, bubbly noise as he tries to gag out a word. The Parishoner only stands by calmly, nodding in patient understanding, until the northern has collapsed onto the floor. Turning his head to the darkly cowled figure in armor who had been standing near by the whole time, unseen and unnoticed by the smuggler, the Parishoner smiles. “I am afraid the dear man was just a little too high strung.”
| |
| − | | |
| − | Agony, close by, pouts. Such a cute pout. “You told me you would make him scream...”
| |
| − | | |
| − | That makes a chuckle raise from... somewhere, in the shadows beyond the ashes. It slowly comes into light as a shadowy, hooded figure on a corner “Never trust a traitor”. Comes the simple answer out of the darkness of the hood, echoing strangely, as if two voices spoke as one.
| |
| − | | |
| − | “Parishoner: Yes, quite.” He smiles ironically at that, then shakes his head and looks away. “Ah well, for the best. The man smelled of sex and tobacco. Most unplesant.” Setting the blood standed knife down, he clapped his hands together lightly and three of the beautiful young acolytes broke from the circle, scurrying to his side. He gestured vaugely to the dead man near by. “Please take that away and clean it up. We really cannot meet our guest with anything less that the best when she arrive.” Slowly, he kissed his own blood finger tip, closing his eyes a moment in relish as he sucked gently at the wound. A spot of blood clung to his lips as hand fell and mouth opened into a sharp-toothed grin. “She deserves the best of our hospitality.”
| |
| − | | |
| − | The images vanish, and she chuckles, "Couldn't care less about the bitch. She probably will die anyway. But just warning you so you know who to torture in Barr's place. That way, I am sure all of them just die already. All those fucking outsiders and deathknights."
| |
| − | | |
| − | '''Seventh Moon: ''' It hadn't been for him. Moon felt a sinking feeling run through his body as the ash-born image ran through him. They hadn't been trying to trap him. They hadn't even really thought he would come. That trap, that horror they had made back there, would have been set off by anyone coming in. Because the real ambush had been for Selina.
| |
| − | | |
| − | And it made perfect sense.
| |
| − | | |
| − | The Father of Crows was known and feared in the Boil. Seventh Moon was just known. If this had just been another bloody civil war within the city, they would have stopped at nothing to eliminate him first. But it wasn't. It was like the Ash-goddess had said. The people they were against weren't from the Boil. They didn't know or care about the local powers or politics. They were outsiders, with an outsiders point of view, and an outsiders distain for everything in the city. To them, an assassin famous all across the north would be a far larger threat than a local crime lord, or a well known gang leader, or even the living god of a city.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Selina had been right, in a way. There had been a trap. But she was the one walking into it, not him.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Moon looked back and forth at the two women beside him, gauging their expressions, waiting to see theyd realized the same thing he had. "Selinas in trouble. We gotta go. Now." He began yanking off the better part of his armor and throwing it aside, his voice raising over the shouting of the Pack. "Thats enough, ya dumb-fucks! They only die once! Everyone toss mucha this shit as ya can! We gotta move fast, aite? No fuckin trophies or shit. Can get your fill where were goin!"
| |
| − | | |
| − | As he wriggled his way out of his armor Moon stared hard at the Ash-goddess. There was no gratefulness in his eyes. But then, he wasnt killing her right now for letting him and his boys walk into a deathtrap and that was damn more than she should have been expecting.
| |
| − | | |
| − | "Scram." He snarled at her, then disregarded her completely. The Father of Crows had more important things on his mind right now, namely the image of a pair of empty green eyes and a set of bloody, broken wings.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | '''Kanti: ''' Kanti whimpers softly as his voice washes over her and the scene before her unfolded, so many of the tools just like the ones she saw occasionally, when the memories gripped her bad, which they were starting to do now, the cold, quenching fear curling up through her body, wrapping itself around her.
| |
| − | | |
| − | ''No...get out!.. ''<br>
| |
| − | ''It's not safe there! ''<br>
| |
| − | ''You can't trust him. ''<br>
| |
| − | ''He'll hurt you. ''
| |
| − | | |
| − | Her silent pleas to the dead smuggler are unheard by the dead man, and she can only watch in mute horror as the parishinor killed him.
| |
| − | | |
| − | ''Agony''<br>
| |
| − | "...Agony..." she whispers into the cool Boil night, more memories spilling over her, far too many of them pleasant for the horror the others created.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Then it hits her. her. the dark angel. mistress.<br>
| |
| − | They were trying to trap mistress!<bR>
| |
| − | She tensed, with a nervoud glance to Moon, seeing he realised too.<br>
| |
| − | She got ready to run.
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| − | | |
| − | | |
| − | | |
| − | | |
| − | | |
| − | ----
| |
| − | | |
| − | * - Back to [[GoldenCat/FourthMovement|Fourth Movement]]
| |
| − | * - Back to [[GoldenCat/DanceOfAngels|A Dance of Angels]]
| |
