RP:A Moment of (Relative) Peace
Part of the The Unbalanced Island Arc
Chapter Six: A Moment of (Relative) Peace
Satoshi's not exactly following, as she's preoccupied still tenderizing Feryn with her boot... before promptly keeling over in a dead--undead?--faint. That intricate spell and its cost have finally caught up with her, it seems. If she were even semi-conscious, she'd be complaining about having landed on top of the other mage. A face full of dirt would have been far more preferred to him.
Kasyr would note that Satoshi isn't really in a state to follow Riss, but he's busy hefting her off of the jack-ass mage. That being said, he does not sling her over his shoulder like luggage this time, instead choosing to cradle her in his arms. After all, Delphine still seems rather adamant about following along- which means they'll likely need to move a bit slower. ...Something the cleric, Cyran, seems to have no particular issues with- as he grasps Feryn by the neck of his robes, and simply begins to drag him along. Maybe the experience might prove a bit humbling, and take the edge off the first bitter retort likely to be said when the mage wakes up. ...Likely not.
Riss continued onward, setting a path that refused detours. He had enough of it all already-- slaying a woman whom had been so nice to him in the past, slicing up a god-awful abomination, running into some sort of killer, and a trio of order-aligned champions-- it was just, too much. He wanted to go home, wanted to feel safe in a land of nothing but whores and hypocrites. Time had passed, time consumed by -- for once, aimed -- wandering. And they were nearing, nearing a place where Christian could call upon the Dragons, and the journey completed. But, of course, there had to be another detour. Melodically humming, came a raven-haired girl on the path, and upon seeing Christian, she immediately stumbled, falling to the ground with a girlish gasp. And for that, the swordsman rushed ahead, just to help her from the ground. He surely didn't have any other intentions. Surely. As he knelt down, offering a hand to allow her support, aid from the forest floor, she placed a hand to Christian's face, and murmured a soft, quite believable, "My hero~." Of course, this was just how she was. Folks, meet Lyna Lu'el. Shameless flirt, condescending bitch of a woman.
Satoshi's... somewhat recovered. Not quite enough to be willing to do her own walking yet, but certainly enough that she can devote her idle recovery moments prodding at Feryn's unconscious face with a long, sharp stick--swiped from some tree unfortunate enough to get within her reach. If anyone's paying the feline mind, and not the script-esque scene with Riss, they might just hear her quietly trilling, "You mad, nyah~?" with each jab to the dragged mage.
Kasyr gives Riss a brief stare, before simply shaking his head, "Mon dieu- The first cute girl to cross our path, et tu trip over yourself to help her- albeit the fact that we've been ambushed repeatedly. Are tu mentally deficient, ou quelque chose? I don't recall drop kicking you in the head when we were younger. Did I push tu off a cliff er forget about it? Were tu conceived in this world by being dropped head first onto the pavement? I...Juste. Sacre Bleu!!" ...Unfortunately for Satie, the hybrids doing his best to suppress gesturing- but she's still likely getting jostled back and forth. Feryn, on the other hand, just seems to be placidly mumbling in his sleep. At least, until a door shaped hole in the space-time fabric appears directly above him. Not wasting a moment, the mage smacks Cyrans response- something which provokes the cleric into dropping him. Which, is apparently just what Feryn wants, as he proceeds to dive headfirst into the odd nothingness that had appeared out of nowhere. The two remaining figments barely have the time to turn on their heels, the rip in space fixes itself with the comical sound of a door shutting. Turning to Delphine, Cyran simply Comments, "...I don't think he's coming back." The paladin, on the other hand, just gives her husband a sour look, before shrugging- and resuming walking.
Satoshi said, "Guess so..."
Riss looked back for just a moment, long enough to stick his tongue out as Kasyr before going back to tending to the maiden in, obvious, distress. "Eheh. It's the least I could do, really. I can do much more if you'd--" And that's when ~he~ came out of nowhere, palm placed flat against Christian's forehead with fingers snaking into the swordsman's hair, a flat strike that left Riss flat on the ground, a few feet away from Lyna. The hell had just hit him? A bus? "O-owwww," Christian whined from the ground, not taking the effort to get back to his feet. Maybe it was because he didn't sense any sort of bloodlust within that strike; jealousy, maybe, but certainly no desire to kill. And that's where Ezio took his place, practically cradling the black mage in his arms while shooting Christian a death-glare. "Are you alright?" he asked, looking down to Lyna, doing his best heroic impersonation; hell, a gentle breeze may have even blown through his hair at the time. And to that, Lyna only pouted before getting angry, absolutely red in the face. "Why is it that whenever an absolute cutie comes to rescue me, you always get in the way? Hm? You should know by now that I'm not going to sleep with -you-. How long have we lived together? I'm like your little sister! Pervert." And this whole time, Riss continued to lay there, head rolled back onto the forest floor.
Satoshi is sufficiently jostled and even dizzily murmurs something about disliking Trey's ship in the midst of a bad storm before she recovers her senses in time to catch Act Two of the odd scene being played out. "Er..." The magus is rarely at a loss for words, but apparently today's just the day for that. Turning a perplexed look up toward the tiefling, Satoshi can only wait on his interpretation of this--and sneak in a furtive nestling nearer. She's still got recuperating to do, whether these strange folk are a danger or not. Useless mage is currently useless.
Kasyr just plain stares. First at Riss, than at the spot where Feryn disappeared to- and than finally back to the girl Riss was trying to woo, "...Madamoiselle Lyna, Seeing as your temperament es about the same- I suppose it es safe to assume you're ..sane. For here. So~ Whilst it es a plaisir to see you et all, I unfortunately have to be somewhere. You can ask my brother, Riss, the details, since he's likely going to be drooling over you like a puppy for the next few moments." Offering Christian a smile and a wave, the hybrid simply begins to head onwards- paying very little heed to those present. Delphine and Cyran fall in line behind the hybrid, although- both of them give Ezio a peculiar look. Cyran goes so far as to quietly mutter, "Good to see you again. We'd heard you were missing in action.", before nodding his head and proceeding.
Riss shot up from the ground to a sitting position, gritting his teeth with a soft, "I'm not drooling." And then, that's when Lyna broke from Ezio's grasp, crawling from the ground to skip over to Kasyr; cue cute tilt of head, and friendly tone, matched with condescending words. "Oh hey there, Kasyr. I see you're still as handsome as ever, for being a cat-demon-person-thing. You know, I'd probably go after you if it weren't for that annoying accent of yours. And generally over-inflated ego matched with a bit of psychosis." Yeah, she just went there. Making fun of the accent and all. And that's when Christian's eyes lit up... was this... love? Finally, someone else who considered Kasyr an egotistical abomination to humanity! Oh, what sweet repose! Ezio, being quite offended by the 'pervert' comment, sulked, making his way to a tree, facing it, and standing there. Were those tears? Surely not! Lyna couldn't make a grown-man cry. She was far too sweet, and pretty, and perfect-- or so she thought. Now feeling obligated, Christian rushed to Lyna's side, just to fill her in on the situation. "You see, he's trying to become something that's not a complete abomination to all things right in this world, so we're traveling to make a deal with the Dragons! I'm sure a beautiful face wouldn't be a burden to this group at all, if you'd like to come along. But I'm sure you and your 'lover' need some alone time, right?" Yes, he said that a bit loud, just so Ezio could hear the-- oddly snide-- comment.
Satoshi's still armed with that long, sharp stick, and puts it to immediate use as soon as Lyna's words are out of her mouth--so that said twig can promptly replace said words~. A quickly whispered, "Down, boy" goes to Riss before the feline flashes Lyna a far too fangy smile, brandishing the stick. "That's -my- egotistical, psychotic demi-demon, thank you very much, Missy. And I happen to like the accent," the magus states with a sharp nod, doing her best to look like properly indignant and threatening while nestled in Kasyr's arms still. The fact that she's puffing out her cheeks in an irritated gesture she's learned from Shishi is probably not helping the appearance of being a fearsome cat.
Kasyr is doing all he can to remain straight-faced during Satoshi's tirade. Which is made all the much easier as he starts casually commenting, "Married, so pass. D'accord? Anyways, go tug at poor Riss' Heartstrings. He's a bit of a charity case these days, if only because going between being a suave lady-killer et aloof wanderer doesn't quite fair well with the girls he strings along." Riss actually gets a rather broad smile at the end of that, before the tiefling promptly settles back into wandering onwards. "He es right though- I'm here to make a deal with some dragons, et then leave this place. If you'd like to come along et such, it's up to vous. Though, Well, whether it would benefit tu es..." The hybrid shrugs, before moving to absently scratch behind Satoshi' ears as he meanders.
Riss wasn't left in the best of moods after the comment directed toward him by Kasyr. He had done his best to forget about her entirely-- but it was still there, feelings that he wanted to replace with unchaste thought, impurities of raw desire. And, though it wasn't Satoshi's comment that had caused him to back down, he did, visage becoming home to an expression entirely too somber, too serious, childish bliss that alighted emerald eyes dieing, simmering to extinguish in unmistakable apathy. "You know what? Forget about it. It's best you all don't come along with us. Stay here, with your monk, and don't get intermingled with matters that don't concern you." And that's when Christian walked away, downtrodden steps setting the scene of path continued. Lyna, unsuspecting of such harsh words, was left in shock. She had never been the victim of cold words, ones akin to those that left her own lips so often in melodic tune. For that reason, she just eyed Kasyr, scorn residing behind irises, and headed back to the woods, toward both her monk, whom she tugged at by the hand, and their quaint cottage. Riss didn't care anymore. He had made the mistake of offering help to a family member that wouldn't ever return the favor, and at the cost of pain, memories that flooded his mind with waters ablaze, searing his mind; a fire that refused being lost in time, happy and sad memories alike joining together for a similar goal: torment.
Kasyr gives Riss a look, before simply shaking his head and tossing Lyna a look. "Adieu, madamoiselle. J'imagine this will be the last time I meet vous- unless tu decide that living in these particular climes es bad for your health." Momentarily shifting a hand from Satoshi, the tiefling affords the mage a brief wave- before he simply resumes ruffling his wifes' hair as he carries her along. It's only after these proceedings that the hybrid bothers to comment towards Riss, "..You really shouldn't do that. Putting yourself at a disadvantage et just flinging yourself at a .... situation because it's cute. ...Your luck won't hold out forever, you know. Et it could get tu killed, especially here. Hell, you were the one who impressed the dangers upon us first." Picking up the pace, the hybrid tries his best to stride over to Riss' side, "What exactly es wrong with tu? You're not normally so contrary."
Riss didn't even know how to respond. He was the one who imposed these dangers on them? Like hell he was. He didn't want to come here, didn't want to be face to face with what he fought against for so long. The past could never remain dead, memories could never find peace, could never move on from his mind; they haunted him, through both dreams and reality, a poison that polluted his sanity. Stride came to a halt, right hand clenching into a fist, made with the intent of hitting his brother right then and there. Instead, muscles relaxed, bones unfurled to their peaceful state; he couldn't do it. Not even then, when he wanted to, could he do it. It wasn't certain what had calmed him-- maybe it was the breeze that flowed so damn freely through his hair, or maybe it was the same thought that angered him so: he found solace in helping others, even the most ungrateful of kin. "I didn't impose anything on us, Kasyr. You did. This is all a result of your lack of faith in yourself. You weren't satisfied with what you had. You can never be satisfied with anything, not even a fate that you brought upon yourself. Instead of living a fairly normal, happy life, you chose a path that threw you deep into the dark. No humanity left, only survival, and a lust for power. No better than the chaos-endowed abominations that reside within our half of the island. You're nothing but a demon, one that's not even worth killing. If it weren't for people like me, and Kitten, you'd do a fine job of killing yourself. What kind of brother goes this far, knowing damn well that nothing'll change, for someone so ungrateful? Answer me that, Kas. All you do is bitch, and moan, and look down on my decisions. I have no reason to even help you now, but I will." And with that, he resumed his stride, mind searching for answers, but ears unwilling to accept them. Christian didn't care; he already knew the future, knew of what would happen, and how nothing would ever change.
Kasyr can't really help it. The moment Riss started moving again, the hybrid right back at his side- an unamused expression playing at his features, "You mentioned that this particular bit of our Foray was because tu wanted to show me what had happened to this place. Which, was your choice. Believe it ou non, I can actually pass on having to try to kill the majority of things we bump into because they're rabid et foaming at the mouth, ou quoi-ce-soit. That's not to say -I'm- not thankful, for the help. I rather like the fact that you're helping me avoid widowing Satoshi, et dodging a bit of divine wrath. ...I'm just saying this particular series of events have also been brought about by you." Pausing, the tiefling simply adds, "..Oh, and even if I -was- worth killing, Given the people I have saved over the years, and things I've done, that likely would be for the worse. So I can't be that bad of monster, hmm?" Looking thoroughly amused, the tiefling than simply carries on petting Satoshi. Delphine and Cyran, still being present and all, simply look a bit disconcerted due to the tenseness of the situation. Whilst one of the figments couldn't snap, the other two could, as far as they were aware of, and that didn't necessarily bode well.
Satoshi's at least not in immediate danger of snapping, or even voicing any sort of comment to the conversation, as she's drifted off, at some point, into sleep--a combination of exhaustion and the tiefling's attentions to blame. Nom, however, seems to be watching and listening with rapt attention despite lacking any physical eyes or ears whatsoever.
Riss nearly spit, spit in pure disgust at Kasyr's foolish justifications. "It doesn't matter. You're not getting my point. I wouldn't expect an abomination like you to understand. But, let's end the bickering and just focus on the matter at hand. We're not far now. So, let's end this peaceful little journey on a happy note, and then resume trying to kill one another when we get back. Kay?" It wasn't a question. Christian was determined that if Kasyr were to die, it would be, undoubtedly, at his hand. But, that would likely never happen. The cards had already been dealt, and every light needs a looming shadow, a shadow which it can fight against, to no end; never-ending bickering and bloodshed, accomplishing naught but fueling egos for another day. "Y'know, if it weren't for her, I'd be at your throat. If you didn't mean so much to her. I could never take something like that away from someone. Love. I know what it feels like to lose it. And I wouldn't dare put her through the same agony." And there, he would resume a journey, mind lusting for the serenity of silence, though loud-mouths never allowed such.
Kasyr glances down at Satoshi, before poking a kiss to her forehead. It's only after he gives his sleeping beauty that small token of affection that he returns his full attention to Riss, "...You say that like I've never loved et lost. ...But then, I guess it's really easy to imagine that- if you keep picturing me as a some rabid monster. ...You are aware, however, that it would be futile to attack me, even without her- oui? I'd simply keep returning. Being an Ascendis necessary evil, et all..." Shrugging, the tiefling simply glances off in the distance, "Nonetheless, I can see et sense you want this conversation to die...so, Let's continue in silence...non?"
Satoshi's reaction to that tiny token is no more than the flick of an ear and an incomprehensible murmur. Obviously the feline's still quite dead to the world, resting off that massive use of energy.
Riss had enough. Though the conversation had ended, the poison of sibling rivalry still coursed through his mind; he wanted to end this, wanted to return to a life where he could entirely disregard one who he once willingly-- lovingly-- endeared as a brother. No more. The bond of family could only withstand so much, and now, Christian was unsure if this peace could last much longer. "Screw it," left his lips, ivory fabric of trench-coat unfurling to reveal Sebastian, a blade endowed with not only the essence of wind, but the blessing of the Neutralities, the dragons which they sought after in their journey. Fingers adoringly wrapped around the hilt of that blade, digits intermingling with chain that encompassed it so securely, so tactically, and with a hiss of metal against metal, it was drawn from its slumber and forced into the ground. Scars-- etchings within dirt and foliage alike clawed into the ground, scribed by an unseen hand, and with those runes, those callings to higher beings, Christian fell into a trance, indecipherable murmurings lacing the air in stoic rhythm, unconscious whispering, another of those rituals that Satoshi so despised: teleportation. Though intended, originally, for three, the archaic patterns even extended to the newfound party-members; there must have been a reasoning behind this. Surely to the surprise of many, the spiraling of space and time was seamless, all essence of chaotic magic lost within a visible shroud of smoke that hid even the gnats that called the forest home. Hand would be lost, even placed directly in front of face, but clarity was brought through the reverberation of voices, aligned in such perfect synchrony. "Journey brought to an end, the reaping of rewards~ Deals to be made. What is yours?"