Riding The End (L3 | Archived | Fantasy/Sci-Fi)

[SiberDrac]

As the decidedly odd duo headed off together in search of tasty treats, Nine started looking at the little boy differently. It had been... quite some time since Nine had really had an opportunity to just go wild. Around him, the bustling city was grating on his nerves. Every single person there needed fewer organs, he was certain. A woman that passed them by would have looked better with a horse's head. And, staring at the young, tender, lean flesh leading him, Nine realized that hunger had been sated creatively more than once in the past.

With an abrupt gust of wind to trip his charge, Nine carried Zuberi into the back of an alleyway off to the side of anything interesting and pinned him against a wall with his magic. Out of his pocket came a simple carving knife and a cigarette lighter. He glared at the child, his face much more closely resembling the Lord of Hell he wished to be than the insouciant psychopath from earlier. "Little boy, this is a much faster way to get un-hungry. Why were you riding the talking tree?" A little earth magic closed the stone of the building around the boy's wrists and ankles. There would be no sign-language, this time.

More than a casual murderer, Saturnine Rhapsody was a curious individual, much like a feline of any given species. He was perfectly happy to go on killing and eating mice, but every now and then, he liked to figure out how they made their tunnels. Just for fun. So he held the knife casually in one hand, and waited.  

[Isa-sama]

The child was scared stiff. He'd been walking quietly with the insane elf when all of a sudden he got pinned to the wall! He tried pulling away from the wall, but he wasn't strong enough to break stone.

He looked at the man and started crying. He didn't wail or whimper though. He stared to the side where the occasional person was passing by. It was possible that he could scream and someone react in time to help him. His hands were moving at a fast pace trying to sign to the crazy Fae.

It was sad. If this carried on, the kid was bound to wet his pants.

Fortunately, the kid was saved from being turned into food. A shadow blocked the light in the alleyway, and the shadow belonged to a temperamental tree. She stared down Nine and was ready to knock the man out.

Ashling had seen the boy and Nine walk towards her as they were in search of food. She'd also seen how Nine ran off with the boy into the alley. Not to say she was worried for the boy, but she hurried just a little bit to see what was going on.

----------------

((To the human players, a post is on the way! I'll edit in here.))  

[SiberDrac]

The Fae heard Ashling approaching as the carving knife found its way closer and closer to Zuberi's throat. He stopped with the tip actually pushing at the child's flesh, and turned. "You aren't on fire yet," he accused, ignoring what she had said. "Do I need to fix that?"  

[Jokerman-EXE]

"I knew I couldn't leave you alone," Osiris said as he dropped into the alley from the side opposite Ashling. Nine was caught between them as the Druid advanced.

"I'd drop the knife," he said, flicking his chin at the carving knife in Nine's hand, "and don't hurt the kid before you do it. That would defeat the purpose, and I'd have to take action." Nine noticed with interest that Osiris already had several knives between his fingers, held as casually as a pen.

Osiris looked to see what Ashling was doing before he made a move.  

[SiberDrac]

So they had pincered him in. Nine didn't like being pincered. "Two on one is no fun, Commander." He dropped the knife, then made a slashing motion with both arms. While it required letting the little boy go, it allowed him to bring two very thin walls of stone out of the ends of the alleyway, cutting off the two attackers. He snatched his knife from the ground and, clearly caught in a dilemma, looked back and forth between the roofs and the child. While doing so, he suddenly felt the bread in his satchel squish against him. Immediately perking back up, he removed it, let the magic holding the walls fall (although really, Ashling had likely crushed hers already), and broke the bread in half, smiling and giving one half to Zubera before biting into the other. He waved at Osiris.

"Hi! We're having breakfast. Care to join?"  

[Jokerman-EXE]

Osiris was halfway up the wall when Nine let it fall again, so he morphed back into a Druid and walked the rest of the way. He sighed in exasperation; no harm, no foul, but it was abundantly clear that keeping up with Nine was not only an incredibly difficult feat, but one that Osiris did not have any intention of wearing himself out doing. At least, not continuously. If he could find a way to control Nine in brief periods, without getting anyone on their side hurt, then Saturnine Rhapsody would be an excellent asset.

He shook his head. "Nine, you have to stop doing this. It's detrimental in the long for your killing of people, you know?" He used this statement to close the distance and seize Zubera by the hand, maneuvering the child behind him as he regarded Nine.

The Fae was powerful, well-known, and crazy. If it weren't for that last facet, he'd be like a miniature Archmage Azrial. Ahh, if only. You had to take what you got, though, and Nine would be someone that, if he could be counted on, would be excellent to have along when they went searching for Aeon. Osiris sighed again as he realized that he would have to keep up with this Fae, because doing so meant that they had significantly better odds of finding Aeon and ending the war with the Humans, however that would happen.

Osiris knew he was the one destined to do it, after all. While he had hid it well so far, he was bursting with excitement: he was the one on the trail, the one Druid that would catch up to Aeon and make the move that would determine how the war would go. At least, in his own mind this was true, but that was enough for him to realize that he needed to make Nine come to his side.  

[Isa-sama]

Nine was correct. Ashling did crush the wall and was about to do the same to the man, but then he just changed his mind. What was wrong with this Fae?

She watched him eat his bread before speaking up. Nine could also be her guide, but she wasn't sure how long she could go without killing the flesh bag.

Zuberi held the bread in one hand and used the other to cling onto Osiris. He was chewing on his bread while wondering who was most trustworthy. The Trent was rough, but hadn't done anything harmful to him. The Druid seemed to care for him. Nine was just plain confusing. Zuberi was glued to Osiris' back - hiding behind the man was very beneficial.

------

"So what do we do now, Filly?" Phallo was worried. He didn't trust Theridan to keep his mouth shut about Aeon.

"If Theridan had talked, we'd have already had someone after us. What we need to do is wait to talk to him. We owe him." Filly had already left a note at the Loose Lass Tavern telling Theridan that they'd be there in the late evening. "We might have to speak to the Druid for protection."

"Why not the Trents? They're our allies."

"That's the exact reason we can't. They'll go Lord Phalanx!" Filly sighed. "Then again, Trows and Trents aren't the greatest of friends..." Their meeting with Ashling and Canopy should have shown them that. "Perhaps. We'll see after our talk with Theridan."

--------

((Okay, I lied. HERE'S the human post!))

After waving off the nurse's concern, Trajan was allowed to go and meet Major Perry. He had to wander around the ship a little in order to reach the major's office. Once he found it, he was greeted by a woman. "Ah, there you are. I was wondering when you'd arrive." The lady gave him a small nod and said, "I am Major Perry, and I am about to ask you to go on a rather important mission."

She beckoned for him to sit. "There is a Fae that has been giving us particular trouble. It seems that not even the leader can control this elf," she added. "He goes by the name of Saturnine Rhapsody." She paused to study his expression. After all, Nine had been known to kill/torture many men. "You will not be alone in this mission. Once we reach shore, you will meet with a man named Donnie DuPont. From there, you will start tracking him. This will not be easy," she warned. "Will you take this mission?"

------------

The man waved for the Dane to come over to him. "I'm here to tell you of your next mission. It's a doozy," he said. "You're to go out and kill the Fae named Saturnine Rhapsody. That elf has done so much damage to our men. It seems that not even the other elves can contain this crazy son of a b***h," he growled.

He stopped himself to clear his throat. "Sorry about that. Anyway, you'll have a partner with you. His name is Trajan Jordan. He's on his way here to meet you. Once the two of you have gotten acquainted, report to Major Kelso. He's been keeping track of all elven intel." He looked back to the group of men. "It'll be a day before Mr. Jordan comes, so you can rest easy tonight. Enjoy your evening."  

[Jokerman-EXE]

Well now, that was interesting. The Trent, Ashling, would be better able to keep Nine in line, both because he seemed to be fascinated with her and because she was big and strong enough to slam him back into line. If it were possible for her to contain Nine, then Osiris would be free to talk to Theridan for long enough to get the information he needed.

"Ashling," Osiris spoke up from the other side of Nine, "can I talk to you about something?" His tone said that it was important, so the Trent stepped over the Fae to come to his side. Zuberi was more relaxed, now that both Osiris and Ashling were between Nine and himself.

"Can you keep Nine under control for a few hours?" he murmured to the tree. "If you can, I can get the information we all need about Aeon from someone in this town - they're all sneaky sons of bitches that have undoubtedly gained the information, if I know the Trow." Osiris caught his blunder (he had said that the Trow from last night might be moving elsewhere), so he smoothly continued, "I saw their tracks this morning. They switched back to coming this way after moving in another direction to confuse us. They must be in this town."

He looked back at Zuberi. "I'll keep the kid safe too. When I'm done here, I'd be more than happy to accompany you and Nine to meet Azrial - reporting to him is the same as reporting to the Sheperd."  

[SiberDrac]

"My killing of people is not in the least detrimental. It has never served me foul." There was the one time he had slaughtered a homestead, only to find it meant he couldn't steal milk anymore. "Well, I suppose that's not true. And like I said, you can trust me.

"And Miss Tree, Fae territory is six hours to the north and east. Have fun! If we meet again, we can roast marshmallows on you." He smiled endearingly at her.

When Ashling stepped over him, Nine didn't even look up - he did, however, roll his eyes and flick a hand towards himself. Osiris' words sounded loud and clear to him. Secret information? Aeon?

...Aeon?

Nine darted to his feet, tossing the remainder of the bread away and pocketing his Zippo lighter. He'd find a squirrel or something, later. "Why Commander Darke!" he called innocuously, "are there arms that need to be twisted off? Rocks that need to be squeezed into eye sockets? Depths that must be sounded, preferably with sandpaper and metal filings?" He approached the Druid and Trent, a hand very humbly on his breast, body bent in half of a bow. "For if such is the case, I'm rather a respectable interrogator."  

[Jokerman-EXE]

The Druid froze. Grrrrrreat, the Fae had heard him. Osiris would have to work on that.

Now came the decision. He could take Nine with him - at first and even second thought, that was an absolutely horrible idea. The damn creature couldn't even walk through the city with a child before he started murdering and eating things. Probably not even in that order!

Even so...this might be the chance that Osiris needed in order to build the rapport necessary with Nine in order to have a better handle on him in the future. Added to that was the fact that the Trow had been very capable indeed, and could probably subdue Nine if he did something stupid in a public place. This experience could be good, provided that Nine could stay under at least a modicum of control.

"Listen to me, Saturnine Rhapsody," Osiris said slowly and clearly. "Where I'm going, there's no need for any interrogation or killing: the contacts will give up the information without a fight. However," he said, interjecting into Nine's interjection, "if, if," he put heavy emphasis on the if, "you can maintain your composure enough that they don't recognize us for who we are, then I will let you go out into the city after the meeting and hunt three...no, four individuals and do what you like with them. After that, we're going to meet Archmage Azrial.

"Once more: you're going to come with me and stay completely in control. When we get the information, you're free to hunt four people, whomever you'd like that's not in our group, after we've split up. Then, we'll meet with Ashling here and go to see Azrial. Got it?"

He knew that Ashling might not like his decision there, but Osiris knew that he had to risk some things to get a proportionate gain. Besides, Ashling couldn't do much to sway his decision, as she wouldn't be able to accompany him to the meeting. And who knew, maybe she'd be OK with it.

"Choose," Osiris said imperiously, "because I'm leaving in one minute." He began to walk towards the mouth of the alley, Zuberi alongside him.  

[SiberDrac]

"...undoubtedly gained the information... sneaky sons of bitches... after the meeting hunt three... individuals."

Nine smiled an evil smile and looked up at the commander from beneath his eyebrows. "Mr. Darke, if you wanted me to kill a trio of Trow, you should have just asked." The man had changed his mind to four. So three Trow and... a Druid, if he didn't come up with anything interesting. Maybe not the Trow, though. Trow had afforded him quite the entertainment in the past many years; it might be good to get to know these in particular a little better. So that meant four kills without Osiris ratting him out. Four random kills. Four bodies. Four...

Wait. Four? Nine was the Lord of Hell. Who in the name of Saturnine Rhapsody himself restricted the Lord of Hell?

The Fae put a finger on his chin thoughtfully. "Although it does mean I don't get to wear your guts as garters, or innards as anklets, or however assonantly I asserted it. Yet. Unfortunate." With a familiar pat on Ashling's trunk, the Fae began to follow Osiris.

For just a moment, he employed his bit of wind magic to drain the air from in front of the commander's mouth and nostrils. "And if you treat me like a simpleton again, I'll eat your heart." He let the vacuum fill and smiled innocently.  

[Jokerman-EXE]

Osiris laughed to hide the gasp as he found himself without air. Not again...never again. While he didn't show it, he was temporarily terrified almost witless: being without air was one of his greatest fears. He had nearly died as a child when he had fallen in a river. He was incredibly claustrophobic.

"Would you like to know something, Nine?" he asked, his voice somehow different to the Fae. "Want to know a secret?"

He stopped, disengaged from the child, and took a long step right into Nine's personal space - the Druid was tall and had long legs. He looked straight down into the Fae's eyes, and Nine noticed that Osiris' eyes were totally black. Endless darkness stared down at the Lord of Hell.

"There's a reason they sent me along with you, Rhapsody. I know you think you're special, and maybe you are. But guess what?" His voice practically caused shivers in even Nine's spine. "You're not the only one, Nine. I'm strong enough to keep up with you, got it? And if you want me on your side, that's fine - I'd be more than happy to help you in the future. But if you cross me, especially here, now, when it's so close, so close, I will do everything I can to end you. And that's quite a bit."

He stepped back. His eyes were normal again and he was almost breathing heavily. That was odd. "All right, Nine? Can we just work together, here? You can attack those Trow afterward, if you want. But we need to get this done." He took Zuberi's hand again and began to walk.  

[SiberDrac]

Nine almost giggled. "I'd love to know a secret!" He sidled up very close to Osiris and lent his ear, compounding the Druid's attempt to unnerve him and actually managing to lean into the larger man's chest. As the commander began his tirade, the once-fervidly self-righteous voice's transformation into something somewhat more menacing; less innocent; less infallible. Nine backed off, a cruel, pleased, excited smile on his face while somewhere deep within he savored the thrill of danger now oozing from Osiris Darke.

Nine loved a closet masochist.

He whispered little responses to himself under his breath as the Druid spoke, staring unblinkingly up at him, amber eyes bright and excited. "Because they wanted you dead, you pretentious little bug. Yes, I'm very special. Oh, no, I am the only one, and I don't need you on my side. Little future as you have, at least. I've already crossed you. What's close? Your pathetic little dreams? I will eat them alive." He shivered in greedy anticipation. This would be fun.

Besides, the commander had had to fall out of character for that. He was afraid. And Nine drank fear. He smiled, immediately snapping to his normal, cheerful disposition. "We can work together. And when we're done, I'll dangle your mother's head over your bedpost and strangle you with her hair. It'll be good times." Besides, all of this was going on his official record with the Fae; and the closer he got to the Fae upper ranks, the closer he got to a few different goals - first, learning about the curious little humans. Second, teaching them that to screw with the planet he was set up to rule was a baaaaaad idea. And third, decapitating as many world leaders as he could and drinking wine from their skulls.

Saturnine Rhapsody followed.  

[Jokerman-EXE]

Osiris used the pretense of taking in the sights to hide the thought written on his face. That had been bad.

He had Nine following him. That was good - the Fae would be in line until the end of the negotiations. After that, Osiris couldn't care less what he did to the Trow. Not that he would ever say that, of course. He still cared that they were talking about assaulting their own kind, when the Humans were the bigger threat, but Osiris preferred having Nine, an Aros, with him than in prolonging the lives of three grunt Trow.

Still, that last conversation had been bothersome. The insolent Fae was as disrespectful as they came, though Osiris had already accepted that character flaw. The worst part was that Osiris had...enjoyed that, the idea of instilling fear in order to get his point across. It was unlike what he had done before as a leader. But it was more direct, much quicker, and probably had less room for failure with anyone other than Saturnine Rhapsody.

He hurried his steps toward their destination. The Loose Lass was in sight. "Zuberi, stay close by," he murmured to the boy. "Nine," he said louder, "You wait outside. In fact, wait in the alley out back. When the Trow come out, you can do what you want. In fact, kill anyone that goes out there. But remember, don't tell them we're connected, or things will get difficult. Now get going."

Osiris took Zuberi's hand and pushed open the door to the tavern. He went in, leading the boy, and immediately saw Theridan within, despite the darkness. He went over and signaled discreetly as he ordered a drink.  

[Isa-sama]

Ashling would have answered Osiris if he hadn't left as quickly as he had. With a roll of her eyes, it took two steps for her to catch up with the stopped trio of flesh bags. She watched them threaten each other and completely disregard her. Now normally that would make her furious. How DARE they ignore her? Except this wasn't a normal situation - therefore, this was funny.

Her eyes had been twitching madly in her supposed laughter. This was just too hilarious a threat match. In her own humble opinion, you don't threaten. You just do.

Any information she could relay to the Grand Oak would help their cause. That was as much warning as she was going to give Osiris.

When they'd met at the Loose Lass Tavern, she waited outside. It wasn't like she could fit in the building.

The little boy easily followed after Osiris (though he showed a little discomfort with the traded threats). But after seeing Theridan inside the tavern, he froze in place for a second before running out of the building. In his panic, he started climbing up Ashling. Apparently seeing the Trow brought back his near death experience.

Ashling pulled the boy off her and stared at him. The boy signed, He started to grip onto her hand and quivered in fear. Ashling dropped him on one of her lower branches.