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  1. - Top - End - #181
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    Default Re: Return of the Scarlet Empress II - Nothing on My Back...

    Black Ice Shadow

    The Ghost-Blood sleeps like a dead man. Literally; he lies still and pale and unmoving while asleep. When Lauren heads back into the cabin, the man is awake, and blinks at her appearance.

    "A pleasant morning to you," he says in his soft, still voice, ignoring her state of undress. "I trust your sleep was restful?"
    Quote Originally Posted by DeafnotDumb View Post
    Silly boy. I've played in Industrious's games. They don't murder characters. That means the torture ends.
    Quote Originally Posted by Aevylmar View Post
    It turns out that sometimes? He *does* murder characters.

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  2. - Top - End - #182
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    "...or, apparently, we could put off any sort of talk like that until Firada is awake, if you'd prefer." Zhou says in a slightly stunned voice, holding up the narrow bottle of golden liquid. "Since I appear to have coincidently acquired a bottle of immensely strong healing tonic."

    He leaves out the part about the illegality. No need to worry about things like that just yet. One problem at a time.
    "Not trusting me might be the smartest decision you made since getting off of your horse."

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  3. - Top - End - #183
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    When Zhou leaves, Orchid doesn't move, staying at the railing. When he comes back, she stands up slowly and goes to sit beside the Fire Aspect, eating mechanically. She doesn't taste the flavors. So long as she can avoid thinking about anything, she can keep at least an outward semblance of composure.

    She does glance briefly back at the railing, once. But she has no idea what would happen if she jumped off. And that's... not really an answer, anyway.

    And then Zhou holds up the bottle, and she stares.

    Her surface composure remains. Barely. Fragile as glass, or a thin skin of ice, with cracks spiderwebbing across it. But beneath -

    Oh, Dragons, Firada...

    To tell her sister about - about the things she's not thinking about -

    For a moment she considers saying No, or Wait.

    And then the rest of her roars indignation at that small terrified voice. You'd keep her helpless and in pain because you're afraid of her judgement? What if Typhon wakes up? What if something else goes wrong?

    The little Eclipse blinks, once. "Yes," she says very softly. Her voice has a faint tremor to it. "If you can heal her - thank you, Zhou. I would be very grateful." She stands up, putting her bowl down on the bench. "Can we go now?"
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    Quote Originally Posted by The_Snark View Post
    I must not argue on the Internet.
    Internet argument is the mind-killer.
    It is the little death that brings total aggravation.
    I will face my annoyance.
    I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
    When it has gone past I will turn my inner eye to see its path.
    Where the irritation has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

  4. - Top - End - #184
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    "Of course."

    With that, Zhou stands up and heads to the cabin he knows that Firada was in. He knocks on the door, waits for a few moments out of courtesy, then enters. He's mildly surprised to see Emerald inside, speaking with Isa no less, but disregards that after a moment with a simple nod.

    He crosses to Firada's hammock, and gently lifts the bottle to her lips. His old medical training comes back to him, tending to injured soldiers in the wake of battle - tilt gently, give them time to swallow, don't force it on them.

    Hope this works. Or I am going to punch Stormwrack through a bulkhead for giving Orchid false hope.
    "Not trusting me might be the smartest decision you made since getting off of your horse."

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  5. - Top - End - #185
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    Orchid enters the room after Zhou. She's neatened her clothing in the meantime, although her hair is still tangled and her feet still bare. Her eyes are red from crying, and there are the faint marks of fast-healing scratches on her cheeks and forehead. (And dried blood beneath her fingernails, if anyone looked so closely.)

    She bows slightly to the two Sidereals as Zhou moves over to Firada, and says quietly, "Good morning, Isa, Emerald. I'm sorry if I woke you, and sorry again to interrupt your discussion. Would it be possible for us to have this room for a bit?" Her gaze returns again to Firada's hammock.
    Last edited by Ifni; 2013-03-18 at 12:04 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by The_Snark View Post
    I must not argue on the Internet.
    Internet argument is the mind-killer.
    It is the little death that brings total aggravation.
    I will face my annoyance.
    I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
    When it has gone past I will turn my inner eye to see its path.
    Where the irritation has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

  6. - Top - End - #186
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    Stormwrack

    "Sure. Right this way. Come on, Isa. Cargo hold should be empty."

    Emerald practically drags the other woman out of the cabin, doing his best to shield the bottle of wine from the other Sidereal's eyes.

    Tepet Firada

    As the liquid pours down Firada's throat, the burns begin to fade, and color returns to the Wood Aspect's cheeks. Her breathing becomes more regular, and her limbs twitch as nerves and muscles repair themselves, augmented by Celestial Essence.

    Tepet Firada opens her green eyes, and sees her sister, and smiles. She's still injured, still nowhere near well, but she's awake, and alive, and with her sister.

    "Iri?" she croaks out, her voice hoarse from disuse. "...We have got to stop meeting like this."

    And overcome with emotion, Orchid's sister starts to laugh, tears welling up at the corner of her eyes.
    Last edited by industrious; 2013-03-18 at 12:18 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by DeafnotDumb View Post
    Silly boy. I've played in Industrious's games. They don't murder characters. That means the torture ends.
    Quote Originally Posted by Aevylmar View Post
    It turns out that sometimes? He *does* murder characters.

    The Maze of Madness

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  7. - Top - End - #187
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    Orchid doesn't breathe a sigh of relief as Stormwrack and - especially - Isa leave, but it's a near thing. Once the door closes behind them, all her attention focuses on the woman in the hammock, drawn as if by a lodestone. She moves closer, watching with bated breath as the sacred wine does its work.

    And then Firada opens eyes of precisely the same color as her own, and smiles, and despite everything else that's happened, for a moment there's only joy. She smiles back, although it's a little wobbly - and so is her voice, when she speaks.

    "Hey, I'm not the one who keeps getting into desperate heroic battles with agents of Oblivion."

    There are tears in her eyes too, as she reaches out to hug the Wood Aspect. Not a tight embrace; the burns aren't completely gone, and she doesn't want to hurt her.

    She looks past Firada's shoulder at Zhou and whispers, "Thank you. Just... thank you."
    Last edited by Ifni; 2013-03-18 at 12:32 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by The_Snark View Post
    I must not argue on the Internet.
    Internet argument is the mind-killer.
    It is the little death that brings total aggravation.
    I will face my annoyance.
    I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
    When it has gone past I will turn my inner eye to see its path.
    Where the irritation has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

  8. - Top - End - #188
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    Zhou smiles, and re-seals the bottle. Powerful stuff, this, whatever it is. Shame that it's apparently illegal.

    "The fact that we have a Deathknight chained up in the ship's hold is completely coincidental." he says dryly. "Pleasure to meet you, Tepet Firada. Your sister has told me quite a bit about you. Most of it almost embarrassingly positive."
    "Not trusting me might be the smartest decision you made since getting off of your horse."

    Avatar by Ifni, who is rightly awesome.

  9. - Top - End - #189
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    Tepet Firada

    "Thank you, Chosen of Hessiah," she says, her arms squeezing far tighter than Orchid's. "Though I'm afraid you have the advantage of me, here."

    "As for that deathknight...if I told you he was actually another type of Exalt entirely, one that kept themselves hidden away, would you release him? He actually saved my life, believe it or not.
    Quote Originally Posted by DeafnotDumb View Post
    Silly boy. I've played in Industrious's games. They don't murder characters. That means the torture ends.
    Quote Originally Posted by Aevylmar View Post
    It turns out that sometimes? He *does* murder characters.

    The Maze of Madness

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  10. - Top - End - #190
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    "Hmm? Oh, my apologies. Kharal Zhou, at your service." he says, leaning back against the far wall. "Also, I assume you're referring to Black Ice Shadow, the Sidereal? He's here, and unbound. No, it's Typhon, the Deathknight ambassador from Thorns, that we have chained up in the hold."

    He pauses. "Oh, and I know about your sister." he says, tapping his forehead with one finger where a caste mark would manifest. "So no particular need to worry there. Though if you'd like privacy to catch up anyway..."
    "Not trusting me might be the smartest decision you made since getting off of your horse."

    Avatar by Ifni, who is rightly awesome.

  11. - Top - End - #191
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    Orchid nods at Zhou's introduction, and adds, "Zhou is from Lookshy, he was posted to Nexus." She hesitates for a moment. "We're friends, and I would trust him with my life. Based on empirical evidence. He figured out... what I am... yesterday."

    "To check we're talking about the same people - Black Ice Shadow is pale, pointy ears, spiky black hair, carries two soulsteel short daiklaves that I gather he stole from Typhon, has a violet symbol on his forehead when he uses Essence? We'd met Sidereals before, so that helped."

    "... there's a great deal I have to tell you. But are you feeling strong enough? Those burns..."

    She glances at Zhou. "And Zhou - for my part, no need to leave, unless you want to. You know most of what I have to tell Firi, so it might be boring, but no worse than that -" She stops for a moment, and takes a long breath. Still not letting go of her sister. "And you were a... witness, to some of the other things I need to talk about."
    Last edited by Ifni; 2013-03-18 at 01:00 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by The_Snark View Post
    I must not argue on the Internet.
    Internet argument is the mind-killer.
    It is the little death that brings total aggravation.
    I will face my annoyance.
    I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
    When it has gone past I will turn my inner eye to see its path.
    Where the irritation has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

  12. - Top - End - #192
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    Tepet Firada

    She blinks at the first statement. And the second statement. And the third statement.

    "Well. Clearly you seem to have a handle on things. That would be Black Ice Shadow. And you seem to have taken the idea of 'Sidereals' a lot better than I did when he told me."

    She smiles at her younger sister, squeezes Orchid even tighter.

    "I'm all ears, Iri. But first..."

    She reaches with her hand, touches the scratches on Orchid's brow.

    "What did you do to yourself, Iri?"
    Quote Originally Posted by DeafnotDumb View Post
    Silly boy. I've played in Industrious's games. They don't murder characters. That means the torture ends.
    Quote Originally Posted by Aevylmar View Post
    It turns out that sometimes? He *does* murder characters.

    The Maze of Madness

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  13. - Top - End - #193
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    The knock interrupts before Isa can think of a reply. She lets Stormwrack hustle her out of the room, not unhappy for the reprieve - but not before noting Orchid's reddened eyes and state of not-quite-neatened disarray. Something to think about later.

    Once secure in the cargo hold - not yet filled with the smell of burning cigars, thanks be - she pulls her hand free and turns to face him. "All right. We can finish arguing about this once I know the rest of what you've got to say. For now..." She studies him closely. "Whatever other oaths I swear, he won't hear about your adamant girl from me. Fair?"
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  14. - Top - End - #194
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    Emerald

    He doesn't like it. There's a vein throbbing in his head that tells Isa he doesn't like it.

    "...Fair," he admits grudgingly.

    "...They were meant to be our Companions. Or we theirs. Either way works. Unlike Lunars, our bond goes both ways. And if you have one, you can get a sense of where they are. Tugs at your heartstrings and everything."

    He talks quietly and pensively, sharing secrets that he hadn't burdened another with in a long time.

    "It's like you're missing something, and you don't know it, so you don't miss it. And then you find it, and, well..."

    He sighs.

    "Any other questions?"
    Quote Originally Posted by DeafnotDumb View Post
    Silly boy. I've played in Industrious's games. They don't murder characters. That means the torture ends.
    Quote Originally Posted by Aevylmar View Post
    It turns out that sometimes? He *does* murder characters.

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  15. - Top - End - #195
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    "..."

    Orchid reluctantly lets go of Firada, and walks quickly to the door, checking that it's firmly closed. Then she takes a knife out of the light shawl that's currently substituting for her coat, and uses it to wedge the door shut. She doesn't want any interference here, from Lunars or Nocturnals or Sidereals, be they Bronze or Gold.

    Then she comes back to the hammock, and reaches out to take Firada's hand, cradling it in both of hers. (Her own hands, her sister will notice, are trembling.) She glances at Zhou, and for a moment there's a flicker of pain and loss and regret - I'm so sorry - in her eyes.

    "... it would be cowardly to delay, I guess." And without much point - except being able to hold her sister and be held, being able to see her smile, hear her laugh...

    Her voice isn't quite steady, either. "I had a nightmare. That wasn't a nightmare, it was a memory. And when I woke up, it..."

    She drags in a long breath.

    "It didn't go away."

    She stops, there. And then breathes in again, and looks at the Fire Aspect, away from her sister's eyes. (Not that it's much easier. But nothing will make this easy.) "Zhou. Last night you asked me if the Order was right about me. You asked me to explain what made me different, from the deathknights and the akuma."

    "I'd... like you to tell Firada what happened, from your perspective. What I did. And whether you... whether you found a satisfactory answer to those questions."

    Because I'm not so sure I have one, anymore.

    She looks down, focusing on her hands, avoiding the two Dragon-Bloods' eyes.
    Last edited by Ifni; 2013-03-18 at 03:16 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by The_Snark View Post
    I must not argue on the Internet.
    Internet argument is the mind-killer.
    It is the little death that brings total aggravation.
    I will face my annoyance.
    I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
    When it has gone past I will turn my inner eye to see its path.
    Where the irritation has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

  16. - Top - End - #196
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    Zhou winces, and closes his eyes. Easier to tell this if he doesn't have to look at them, doesn't have to see Orchid flinch at the different moments in the retelling.

    "Dragons... it's hard to believe it all happened in one night. Well. Broad events first... there was a rebellion in Nexus, an attempted one at least. We're still not sure exactly who was behind it all, but there were Exalts and mercenaries on both sides, and from what I saw decent portions of the city burned down in the process."

    "But that's mostly tangential to what I think you're asking about. Which happened late in the evening, after several near-misses with a Wyld Hunt, a fight with some kind of maybe-Akuma at the play, and a small war with a mercenary company in the streets."

    Deep breath. "Orchid revealed herself as a Solar to the vast majority of Nexus. She went fully totemic during the fighting, and hundreds of people saw. Having done that, she had a meeting with one of the Councilor's, during which she leveraged mind-affecting charms to essentially command the entirety of the government of Nexus to have no peaceful dealings with Thorns, and to oppose them at every turn. The councillor was visibly terrified... and she seemed to enjoy that reaction."

    "That was when I asked her the aforementioned question. Things got... heated. Anyway, long story short, Orchid is exiled from Nexus, we fought an Akuma, subdued a Deathknight, and we're now on a boat to Yu-Shan in the company of three Sidereals, a Lunar and another Exalt of unknown stripe."

    He opens his eyes at last, and indicates Orchid. "The scratches and the tears... well, whatever nightmare you had, it was enough for you to wake screaming and collapse against the ship railing. My initial assumption was that it was just everything catching up to you all at once. Knowing what I do now about Thorns, I can certainly understand how yesterday would have been incredibly stressful. And people don't always act like themselves when they are placed under incredible amounts of stress."

    He sighs. "Honestly, your reaction right now is really enough for me to decide that, if nothing else, you're not as bad as the Deathknights or the Akuma. I doubt any of them would ever experience a moment's regret."
    "Not trusting me might be the smartest decision you made since getting off of your horse."

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  17. - Top - End - #197
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    Isa lets out a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding. She'd guessed right. After last night, she hadn't really believed what she felt about Burning Waters was the work of sorcery, but some part of her had doubted. She couldn't be sure. And as harrowing as yesterday, knowing that she'd risked her life and made a fool of herself over a bit of magic would have been far worse.

    "Yes." She checks to make sure the hold is empty, again. Never can tell with a Lunar on board. "Who's the eighth Incarna? What happened to them? And why are their Chosen suddenly appearing now?"
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  18. - Top - End - #198
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    Lauren gives a quiet, wistful sigh, somehow having the feeling that she's not getting back into that hammock for some time.

    "Restful? oh. Yes. Much more comfortable than I'd expected." smile. "And yours?"
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  19. - Top - End - #199
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    Firada

    "...I see."

    She listens to Zhou's story, nodding at the appropriate points, and when it comes to the end, quite soundly slaps Orchid on the back of the head.

    "Tepet Ireva. Her voice is that of the White Rose of Thorns, cracking like a whip. "You are not a monster. You are not a demon. You are nothing like the deathknights, and if I hear you compare yourself to them, to those terrible creatures, I will not care that you have the power of Ignis Divine at your command, or that you are far too old to be disciplined like a child. I will rinse your mouth out with soap until you gag. Are we clear, meimei?"

    Her eyes soften, and she reaches for Orchid once more, hugging her closely.

    "You are my sister, and I love you. You were stressed. You made a mistake. But you also kept Nexus from helping Thorns, and from the sound of it, you saved a lot of people last night. And the fact that you regret some of what you did means that you're a good person."

    Emerald

    "The Eighth Incarna was named Nox. Incarna of Night."

    He reaches into his coat pocket again, frowns as he fails to find a cigar.

    "And the records of his existence are classified. Technically, he's classified as a forbidden god. Technically. He's dead."

    He grumbles over his lack of tobacco, but begins to rummage through a nearby crate.

    "The writings I've consulted refer to 'the First Vengeful Strike Against the Black Boar,' and 'the Great Wailing of Night.' I think that was the opening move of the Primordial War. The destruction of Nox, and somehow, the sealing of the Nocturnal Host."

    "Other texts imply other aspects about him. 'For the One and The Five did stand opposed; a Debate between That Which Ought and That What Could,' reads one fragment. Another reads 'Thus did the Blue Lady seduce the Calibration King, in body and in the joining of their Hosts.' Which, I think, is why he is forbidden now. I doubt the Maidens would want to be reminded of their lost love. Or lover."

    "As for why the Nocturnals have returned...buggered if I know. But I think it's because the Loom is in such bad shape right now that they crept back in. So tangled and riddled with errors that they had to appear, attracted by the chaos."

    His hands emerge from the crate with a fistful of cigarillos, and after a pointed look from Isa, puts them all in his pocket without smoking one.

    "What? I like me tobacco. You're Linowan. You know how it is."

    Black Ice Shadow

    "Well enough. I am unused to travelling by boat, however. It is...an experience."

    The Ghost-Blood opens his mouth, closes it, and his brow furrows as he tries to think of what else to say.

    "...So, you are travelling with Emerald Stormwrack?"
    Last edited by industrious; 2013-03-18 at 04:24 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by DeafnotDumb View Post
    Silly boy. I've played in Industrious's games. They don't murder characters. That means the torture ends.
    Quote Originally Posted by Aevylmar View Post
    It turns out that sometimes? He *does* murder characters.

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  20. - Top - End - #200
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    Despite himself, Zhou laughs briefly. "Well, I gave her a hug, but I suppose that works too." he says, grinning.
    "Not trusting me might be the smartest decision you made since getting off of your horse."

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  21. - Top - End - #201
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    Untimely Orchid

    She didn't speak during Zhou's recounting. Kept her mouth firmly closed, her head bowed, resisting the urge to correct, to clarify. The little time-slips and confusions don't matter, for this. The core of it is there.

    Then:

    "Ow!" Orchid lets go of her sister's hand for a moment, to rub the back of her head. She doesn't resist the hug, even though part of her feels like she should, like she doesn't deserve this warmth. But... she's always trusted her sister's judgement. Always.

    She gives Zhou a Look over Firada's shoulder. It's a mixture of friendly glowering, and warmth, and profound relief.

    But they don't know all of it yet.

    "There's more, though, Firi. Zhou wasn't there for all of it."

    "I guess... Zhou, you saw the aftermath, the mercenaries dead outside the Councilor's estate? I killed them, with Skandi - hundreds of men and women, in minutes." She pauses, trying to think back. Remembering that unholy joy. "But maybe that's not so bad, they were soldiers and they knew what they were getting into - maybe I'm being oversensitive there, maybe battle is always like that?" She looks at Firada, at Zhou; her sister, far more experienced in guerilla warfare than she is, and the trained soldier.

    "But I wanted to hurt them, not just kill them. And then... then there was the girl."

    And that memory cuts to the bone, echoed and overlaid with the taste of lemon and pepper, and the memory of two terrified tearstained faces, millennia apart...

    She closes her eyes.

    "I had a letter I needed delivered. I could've just asked someone, given them enough money to make it worth their while. But instead I - she was just a girl, and I hurt her, and terrified her, and it felt like... just the sensible thing to do, to make sure she did what I wanted. At the time I didn't think twice about it, and I don't... know... why." The last words are grating, as if she's pulling them forcibly and painfully from her throat.

    "People under stress don't always act like themselves, no - but I was acting like him. In the nightmare. The memory."

    The fear in her eyes is an old familiar terror. Firada might remember it, from a bleak morning ten years ago. Some things are hard to forget.
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    Quote Originally Posted by The_Snark View Post
    I must not argue on the Internet.
    Internet argument is the mind-killer.
    It is the little death that brings total aggravation.
    I will face my annoyance.
    I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
    When it has gone past I will turn my inner eye to see its path.
    Where the irritation has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

  22. - Top - End - #202
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    Default Re: Return of the Scarlet Empress II - Nothing on My Back...

    "Yes, he... he seems to distrust me." she saus, avoiding several of the problems. As she talks, she makes herself more presentable with another layer or so of clothing.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    It's like the feng shui version of an orbital death laser.

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    Default Re: Return of the Scarlet Empress II - Nothing on My Back...

    "Battle can be like that." Zhou says quietly. "Emotions run high, self control slips... history is full of soldiers who committed unthinkable atrocities when their blood was fired by battle. If you happen to have a personal stake in it, it's worse... and it was your adopted home they were in the process of burning and looting. I can't condone sadism... but I can understand it."

    He listens to the rest of it in silence, allowing her to finish before speaking again. "...him? Memories... ah. That makes sense."

    He pauses, collecting his thoughts before offering the theory. "Solars and Lunars reincarnate. That's always been an accepted fact - it's why the Wyld Hunt has been a constant fixture for so many centuries. And we know that the rulers of the First Age were... well, monsters. It's why the Uprising took place. Maybe that's what is going on here - your past self is influencing your decisions, even more so when you find yourself under stress and backed against a wall. He was presumably old and powerful at the time of his death... I can see that leaving an imprint on your exaltation."

    He crouches, and looks Orchid in the eye. "If so, then you can fight it. You can prove yourself better than your predecessor. And maybe it will always be there, or maybe it can be defeated... but either way, it can be fought."
    "Not trusting me might be the smartest decision you made since getting off of your horse."

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  24. - Top - End - #204
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    Default Re: Return of the Scarlet Empress II - Nothing on My Back...

    Firada

    Firada pinches the bridge of her nose. And makes to slap her sister on the head again, but stops just short of doing so.

    "When you're in battle, when you've been in battle for too long...yes. You start to enjoy it. Because that's the only way to cope. It's a sign that you need to step back from open conflict for a while. Nothing more."

    Firada pats Orchid on the back, strokes her hair.

    "You aren't a monster, meimei. Not unless you want to be."

    Black Ice Shadow

    He blinks.

    "So...why do you travel with him, then?"
    Last edited by industrious; 2013-03-18 at 05:38 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by DeafnotDumb View Post
    Silly boy. I've played in Industrious's games. They don't murder characters. That means the torture ends.
    Quote Originally Posted by Aevylmar View Post
    It turns out that sometimes? He *does* murder characters.

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  25. - Top - End - #205
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    Default Re: Return of the Scarlet Empress II - Nothing on My Back...

    Ireva

    The Dragon-Bloods' reassurances, Firada's hand stroking her hair, finally do their work. The Eclipse cries silently into her sister's shoulder, but they're tears of relief more than pain. They know the truth of her, the worst of what she did - and it's all right.

    "... all right, jiejie. I'll stop arguing." Her voice is a little muffled by Firada's shoulder. "I could never win arguments with you, anyway. Should've remembered."

    She lifts her head to look at Zhou. "And Zhou... I'll try. With everything I have I'll try. You're right about him, the Admiral -" the Old Realm word is a curse in her mouth, "- in all regards. Old and powerful and a ****ing monster..." She shudders convulsively against Firada. "Dragons, if Stormwrack tries to tell me how it would be wonderful to have Solars in charge again - especially if he's waving one of those damn cigars at me! -"

    Part of her still asks, though: is it really some influence of his relic personality, or are you just like him, deep down? Do Exaltations seek a similar bearer, is that why it's so easy to slip into his dreams?

    It hadn't felt unnatural, last night. It had all seemed perfectly reasonable and logical.

    But - trust my judgement, if you can't trust your own. And she always has. You aren't a monster. Not like him. Not yet -

    No. Not ever.

    Stubbornness (or more kindly, determination) has always been her greatest strength.

    "If I act like... that, around you two, will you stop me? By slaps upside the head or otherwise?"
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    Quote Originally Posted by The_Snark View Post
    I must not argue on the Internet.
    Internet argument is the mind-killer.
    It is the little death that brings total aggravation.
    I will face my annoyance.
    I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
    When it has gone past I will turn my inner eye to see its path.
    Where the irritation has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

  26. - Top - End - #206
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    Default Re: Return of the Scarlet Empress II - Nothing on My Back...

    "I only met him today." she shrugs. "Just... it was a very long day. The kind that leaves you following anyone you recognise in the hope that you'll eventually find out what's going on. I think I got most of it, though... but I didn't have anything better to do anyway."
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    It's like the feng shui version of an orbital death laser.

  27. - Top - End - #207
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    Default Re: Return of the Scarlet Empress II - Nothing on My Back...

    "Of course. And if you do, and I have to intervene, well... I hope that you'll remember this conversation." Zhou says firmly.

    "And about Stormwrack... well. I don't know. By all accounts, we're going to Yu-Shan to speak with his superiors or something. And... I have no bloody idea what the protocol is for speaking with gods." he looks at Firada. "Any useful tips? I think I vaguely recall something about Immaculate training involving that sort of thing?"
    "Not trusting me might be the smartest decision you made since getting off of your horse."

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  28. - Top - End - #208
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    Firada

    "Well, clearly," Firada arches an eyebrow at her so forcefully that one can't help but giggle.

    "And while Immaculates are trained how to handle Celestial gods, we typically are in Creation, and outnumber them. I doubt telling them they'll be beaten down if they refuse to comply will help when we're in Yu-Shan and in the minority."

    She shrugs. "I'm guessing we either ask one of these Sidereals - except, it seems, that Emerald Stormwrack, or just try to be polite."

    "Now, Iri, I have a present for you. Or not for you, depending."

    She lurches out the hammock, grabs the large, cloth-wrapped bundle below, and hands it, albeit with enormous difficulty to her sister. The cloth unravels, revealing an enormous daiklave, a near-perfect replica of Remembrance. Down to the very last detail.

    Near-perfect, in that while Remembrance was cold green jade, this was gleaming orichalcum.

    "...I asked someone from our House to make it, before I returned to Thorns. They thought using orichalcum was funny, but for the White Rose, they were willing to make an exception."

    Her voice is quiet, proud, warm.

    "It's yours. If you want it."

    Black Ice Shadow

    He blinks. Again.

    "I see."

    Another pause.

    "...Do you like poetry?"
    Quote Originally Posted by DeafnotDumb View Post
    Silly boy. I've played in Industrious's games. They don't murder characters. That means the torture ends.
    Quote Originally Posted by Aevylmar View Post
    It turns out that sometimes? He *does* murder characters.

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  29. - Top - End - #209
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    Default Re: Return of the Scarlet Empress II - Nothing on My Back...

    She blinks back, and thinks about it.
    "...I think so. I haven't heard very much." she says slowly, seeming oddly unsure.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    It's like the feng shui version of an orbital death laser.

  30. - Top - End - #210
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    Ireva

    Orchid's mouth opens, and shuts.

    Throughout the long night her voice was rarely silent, whispering messages across the wind to her allies. Against the worst nightmares of her childhood, she spoke in furious denunciation. It takes quite a lot to render the Eclipse speechless. But this?

    Remembrance.

    It's not the priceless gift itself, although she can't begin to calculate the value of that much orichalcum, much less the craftsmanship that went into it. That pales into nothing next to the pride and warmth in her sister's voice, and what it means.

    A sword shaped, not just for a Solar, but for a Solar who doesn't need to hide what she is. Remembrance, but not of past horrors, not as the bitter pledge of Thorns, never to forgive and never to forget. Made by the hands and the will of her kin -

    Love. Hope. And a promise.

    If you accept this, you won't be hiding anymore. But could you go back? You slew an army. You flared your anima totemic above Nexus. If Shadow is right, you'll be the first Solar to walk in Yu-Shan in a thousand years.

    And it's her gift. Her sister who loved her enough to sacrifice Thorns for her. Who loves her enough to ask and offer this.

    "Of course I do," Tepet Ireva says, in a voice low and choked with emotion. "Elder Sister, Firada-sama -" She goes to one knee beside her sister's hammock. (Thankfully it's hung fairly low, or she never would've gotten Firi into it last night.) She's speaking High Realm now - and using the formal mode for one Exalted family member addressing another, junior to senior.

    She's never used it before, always speaking as mortal to Exalted elder sibling, on the rare occasions when formality seemed appropriate. She'd never felt comfortable claiming Exalted status - not when Firada had sworn herself to the Order, not when she had risked and was risking so much just to see her as sister, not Anathema.

    But the sword says something more.

    "I would be honored," Ireva says, and she's never meant anything so much in her life. "I'll do my utmost to be worthy of it."

    White-gold radiance fills the room, and the caste mark on the Solar's brow blazes like the sun's heart, as she channels Essence into the massive blade. It's so easy - the orichalcum is light in her hands, and warm, and bright as her sister's smile.

    The daiklave glows even against the light of her anima, coruscant with motes of crawling golden fire. But the roses wreathed about the hilt - they are not golden, but luminously white.

    And then Ireva lays down the sword, and slides the great jade daiklave out from under her shawl, swift as wind and moonlight on dark water. In the light all the colors of the dark are vibrant, glowing.

    She flips the silver leaf-cap to the side and palms the orichalcum button held there; it comes away easily. She balances the blade across her palms; her arms twitch for a moment at the sudden weight, as she withdraws her Essence.

    "Remembrance is yours, Firada-sama, as it has always been. It's been my privilege to carry it for you, and for those who entrusted it to you. But will you take it back, now, and bear it as you once did?"

    Her caste mark almost seems to dim, beside the light of happiness in her smile.

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    Committing out of Peripheral, so yeah, there's probably a very distinctive light coming out from under the door. Grand daiklaves are a pig to attune.

    Sorry for completely ignoring Zhou in this post, but all the sensible helpful information she was about to convey about her experiences with gods (which isn't much, based as it is on a sample size of one) went completely out of her head on seeing that sword.

    Also, Ireva apparently likes dramatic speeches more than her sister does
    Last edited by Ifni; 2013-03-18 at 09:52 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by The_Snark View Post
    I must not argue on the Internet.
    Internet argument is the mind-killer.
    It is the little death that brings total aggravation.
    I will face my annoyance.
    I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
    When it has gone past I will turn my inner eye to see its path.
    Where the irritation has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

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