[ prp ] Flayer (Riley)

[Nio Love]

When Riley returned, she fell to one knee out of sheer exhaustion. Even there, with one hand on the ground and her body nearly defeated, she chuckled. Whoever Sinclaire was had such a testy little temper. Nothing infallible would be that angry about dissent.

And that was a comforting thought.

She felt the shards digging into her skin, and her face twisted in what would have been a grimace. But this was nothing, compared to a core disruption. A tickle, after all she'd just been through. She accepted them into herself with pride, never once regretting the choice to bury those futures before giving them a chance.

But of course, saying no isn't what you want. Otherwise, you wouldn't have brought me here. You wouldn't have given me this.. stood up, and her expression pinched with amusement. Gift. So why would I do that? Will you just put me back in the loop for an eternity of torture? I've already made it clear that I don't choose that.

There were five mirrors left to choose from. In truth, she wanted them all. Was that even an option? She stopped pacing the mirrors to turn to look at her with genuine interest. What price would I have to pay for all of these? Why choose one? Is that all you can give?

lizbot

 

[lizbot]

"If you did not, in some way, want or need what I offer, flayer, I would not be here. If you were not capable of being useful to me, I would not be here. If you say no, you will simply wake up. I will not offer again."

Circling around Riley and the mirrors, clawed fingers tapped across crystal and glass. "Power is its own price."

nio love

 

[Nio Love]

So she did have something that she wanted. Riley's expression lifted, just slightly, in victory. But the offer to simply wake up was tempting - it was the smart choice. The wise, clever choice. She did not need more power to obtain what she truly craved - all she needed were her own two hands, and the ability to use them for as much destruction as she could find. She wanted to wring the life out of a crying, baying soul. She wanted to watch the light leave their eyes.

Sinclaire did not offer that, because Riley did not need anyone to have it.

Still.

So I give you my power, in exchange for a different power. Just saying it felt disgusting. If she had a tongue, she would have tasted the vileness of the words as they left her lips. To exchange her own glorious and perfect power, for an unknown, untested entity.

It was foolish.

And if I chose all of these, then the price would simply be.. bigger. Her eyes flickered away from the mirrors to follow Sinclaire's shadowed form. Forgive me. I simply want to know what I'm getting into.

lizbot

 

[lizbot]

"Perhaps I underestimated your intelligence," Sinclaire gave her a disappointed look. "Power is its own price."

A pause.

"You do not give me your own power, rather, you would be granted the distinction of wielding mine."

nio love

 

[Nio Love]

She ignored the insult to her intelligence - she would not be riled up as easily as Sinclaire had been, because she was better. If anything, Riley had just been overanalyzing her words too well. Maybe the woman needed her to be more simpler.

Oh, I like that. Wielding the power of another while remaining with her own sounded too good to be true. She'd already been a sword to one, and found it to her liking. Whoever Sinclaire was, she had to know that Riley did not believe in whatever cause she fought for. But she would fight - because it suited her.

And that was enough.

And you take nothing from me. She moved to consider the mirrors again, questioning her choice of whether she truly wanted them all. Upon closer inspection, she had doubts.

This one is absurd, She informed Sinclaire as she brushed off the reflection of herself holding a shield. And I grow tired of being worshipped. It comes with too many unintended connections. The third mirror was thus disregarded as well. She stopped at the throne, empty, with her beside it. She lingered there for too long, analyzing exactly what she was seeing. A moment later, her face tightened in anger.

No. She simply said, and it was brushed away.

Now this one intrigues me, She admitted as she stopped at the one of her regarding a map. So many possibilities with this one. I like possibilities.

But there was one mirror she hadn't given a second glance to - and this was because her first glance had been enough. Never, not even once, would Riley turn her back on her heart's true desire.

Destruction.

Tentacles lashed out at all but the first, and fifth mirrors, all at once. They smashed violently, showering her with slivers and broken futures that she had chosen to decline long before this encounter with the woman who promised her power. When she stopped at the first mirror, her face lifted as though to smile at what she saw.

I wonder if there was ever really a choice at all.

She doubted it.

lizbot

 

[lizbot]

The first mirror began to expand and swallow the room, eclipsing the hall with its locked door. Within moments, Riley would find herself on a battlefield, surrounded by violence and destruction and a thousand small acts of revenge.

And then she would wake up and the dream would fade back, the details gone in the waking world, leaving only a sense of purpose in their absence.

In dreams, though...in dreams there were lessons to be learned.

nio love