RP:Doom And Gloom (And Cupcakes)

Part of the Dissonance Theory Arc

Part of the The God of Undeath Arc

This is a Necromancer's Guild RP.

This is a Warrior's Guild RP.

Summary: Khitti, Brand, and Lionel sit down with Quintessa to "talk" about her little bug problem. It mostly doesn't go well, but somehow it strengthens Khitti and Quintessa's mother/daughter bond. Also, Brand planned an entire diversion with one of his crewmembers, Guillermo, for when things got too crazy. Also also, Lionel's got a bug up his butt (a separate bug problem from Quintessa's). And Quintessa murders an innocent cupcake (this is the most important part).

The Tranquility, Cenril Wharf

Khitti || Today… Today was going to be a bad day, wasn’t it? Someone was probably gonna die today. So, what’s the best way to try to ignore that feeling of possible murder? STRESS BAKING. Khitti made spice-flavored cupcakes. With cream cheese frosting that had cinnamon whiskey mixed in. And a liiiittle bit of cinnamon sprinkled on top. She might have taken a couple shots of the whiskey before adding it into the frosting though. Regardless, that’s done and now they’re in the ship’s library with some coffee (and all the things that come with coffee) and the Khitti and the Brand and the Lionel. Mainly because if Khitti wasn’t able to keep herself busy with eating or drinking during this “parent-guild leader conference”, something or someone was getting stabbed. Even if it was just the couch she was sitting on. Waiting impatiently, Khitti ripped off the bottom of her cupcake, put it on top of the frosting, and shoved half of the cupcake sandwich into her mouth as she silently scolded herself for not putting some peppermint schnapps in her coffee. Was Quintessa even going to show up? Was she going to have to put the girl down finally? She was hoping it wasn’t going to happen so soon. They had mostly been getting along so well! And there were disgusting maternal feelings towards the changeling. But, who knows. Khitti doesn’t. She’s just angry. -Really angry.-

Lionel knew only two things about today, but he knew them well. Voices other than his own were going to be loud and sound carried entirely too well within the library for him to successfully zone out when that happened. It didn't surprise him that he didn't feel like cupcakes at the moment, but he was a little disturbed when he realized that he had no interest in any of the ship's alcohol either. As far as Lionel was presently concerned, the bulk of his work here was done already; he'd told his sister the particulars and he mainly stuck around so as to help avoid bloodshed if bloodshed seemed imminent. He didn't want any of them to die, no matter how much he occasionally disliked them all, not least of whom himself. That was why he'd brought his katana, albeit a replacement katana because he had blown up his previous one just two days past. Lionel had a habit of blowing up swords, he suddenly realized, yet even this revelation did not prompt him to reach for a bottle. The thought came and went -- alongside quick measurements of the library's square footage so that he could be prepared to detonate this sword as well without necessarily maiming anybody in the process. So long as none were maimed, Lionel was convinced things will have gone well today.

Brand had thought through their possible meeting locations before settling on the library, but that didn't mean the library was without its problems as a meeting place. First of all, everything here was very... flammable. Anti-incendiary enchantments could only do so much when the contents of the library were constantly shifting -- the bookcases would be fine, but the books themselves? Perhaps not. Secondly, there was the matter of the large window, half of which was submerged. It, too, was reinforced magically, but the strength of that reinforcement hadn't been tested as of yet and he'd rather things stay that way. These problems, however, were outweighed by the positives of selecting such a location. It was the best place on the ship to hold a private conversation amongst many people (second only to the central command room, but that room was only for actual crew) and the ship itself was among the most secure places in general. And Khitti had been emphatic on that particular point -- that she'd wanted a place away from prying eyes and ears to have this discussion with/about Quintessa. So... here they were, and Brand would have to hope everyone could behave themselves enough to keep the library -- and the ship as a whole -- in one piece. Given who was going to be in attendance, this still left Brand rather nervous, and as they waited for Quintessa to arrive he sat on his hands in an effort to stop himself from fidgeting. Cupcakes would have to wait.

Quintessa almost didn’t turn up for this. A part of her still wanted to run, to become a fugitive, evading anyone she had to to complete her mission. Doing everything she felt she had to to survive, but the changeling didn’t run. Perhaps an even larger part of her was done running. Quintessa felt deep down that she could face anything head on despite her many failures, for with each misattampt she grew stronger. With each day her pool of knowledge grew, so why should Countess Quintessa Dragana fear coming here today? The changeling knew why; She was out of her depth. As much of a dark horse neophyte the hex blade knew she was, she also knew she’d be destroyed if she wasn’t careful about her decisions today, but what would those choices be? Could she lie her way out of this? Would the truth set her free? These are the questions that fill the odd girl’s mind as heeled boots carry her down the wharf, Tessa’s mismatched eyes filling with dread as anxiety gets caught in her throat. Her sylphlike left hand trembles with nervousness as she grips the handle of her sword, pushing her emotions down as she pulls herself up the gangplank. ‘It isn’t too late to flee,’ she thinks to herself, sapphire and topaz optics trailing back in the direction from whence she came. ‘This is all a trap, don’t fall for it.’ But Quintessa had already decided if this was a trap, she’d spring it anyway. It was better this way in the long run. Maybe there wouldn’t even be a fight, not a fatal one anyway, yet still the changeling has come prepared in her battle gear. Ready for a struggle. Ready to meet her end if it came to it. As the hex blade’s footsteps give away her presence, she gives a silent glance first to Khitti, and to Lionel and Brand before casually eyeing the cupcakes her mentor had made. “Kept you waiting, huh?” she says, her inner emotions hidden by an icy wall of indifference before her mismatched gaze settled upon the Imperator. “So,” she continues, her mouth drawn into a flat line, “I’m here.” Anyone could see a mile away that Quintessa was tense and ready to strike at the slightest sign of trouble, but for now she was cooperating.

Khitti || Thankfully for Brand, Khitti wasn’t going to light her precious books on fire. No, much like Brand and his ship, Khitti thought of those books like her children. Then again, she’d started thinking about Quintessa as her child and… well… here she was half tempted to set the girl on fire with every ounce of Cyris’ flames that she could conjure. It was an agonizingly long time before Khitti spoke--or at least it seemed that way. She was too busy washing down her cupcake with that scalding hot coffee. It wasn’t hot to her though maybe that’s because she was so ~burned up~ over this whole situation. “Sit -down-, Quintessa,” Khitti said finally, eyeing an empty armchair near the coffee table, before turning her attention back to the changeling. “And before we start this, I want you to keep something in mind. Right now, you are not your titles. You are not a Countess or a Warden of the Dark Forest. You’re not an Arcane Stewardess or an Acerbitor or a Lieutenant or anything else you’ve done with yourself since you’ve left the Black Pond. You -are- a teenage girl that’s in a hell of a lot of trouble right now and you’re not leaving until you tell us what the frak you thought you were doing there and why.” Khitti set her mug down, laced her fingers together, and placed her hands in her lap in an effort to keep as calm as possible. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for now. “You just went to the Shadow Plane. You saw what it looks like when a place’s nature is corrupted. Did you not think that something like that would happen here if you did something to that tree? To any of those great trees? That promise I made to you, the first day we met, extends far past the borders of Vailkrin and its politics. If you corrupt this place and put my family in harm’s way, I -will- kill you.” So far, it seemed like a lot of strong words. Perhaps, it was safe for Quintessa to assume that there wasn’t a trap? Khitti probably would’ve set her on fire by now. Probably. Maybe.

Lionel had originally intended to lean against a wall this entire time, keeping his cool and edgy persona with one leg propped up against the woodwork. He'd pictured himself with arms crossed over his black silk shirt, head downcast. Maybe his hair would have stirred a bit in the wind for added effect -- if the library were windy, which being a library, was admittedly unlikely. He wanted to be the lithe personification of "mild interest," so as to accomplish two key things: becalm Quintessa, and avoid direct intervention. It was all going so well… until his sister opened her mouth. Khitti's fiery words weren't just for show. There was heat enough in her command that Quintessa be seated to somehow draw Lionel himself away from his well-practiced JRPG deuteragonist footwork. With a barely-concealed sigh, he gingerly shoved himself across the room and into a chair of his own. It seemed the only responsible thing he could think to do now was to nod, so he nodded along. "Yeah," he said blandly, though to his credit he soon added, "and if you genuinely believe that this whole ordeal is a matter of need and not want, then you -need- to tell us why."

Brand watched the confrontation, but much like Lionel he was loath to intervene more than was necessary. He was here to contain the sparks, not add fuel to the fire. "Guillermo." He called, and a stout, dark-haired man came jogging in from the hall beyond the library's doors. "Fetch us a pitcher of ice water, would you?" The man nodded and jogged away again. He came back some time later, sweat visible in his hairline and fog on the edges of his glasses. The galley became stiflingly hot when in use, and carrying the ice water all the way back here from the other side of the ship hadn't helped Guillermo cool down any. "Thank you, Guillermo." Brand accepted the pitcher and motioned for the man to leave again, to resume guarding the library's entrance of any would-be eavesdroppers.

Quintessa is perhaps caught a little off-guard by Khitti’s order for her to sit, but she obeys anyway, settling into the armchair with one long leg crossed over the other. When Khitti starts naming off her titles and how she was meant to leave them at the door, the changeling grows annoyed but she holds her tongue until all has been said. “I’ll tell you the same thing I already told Lionel and Krice; If I do not do this I’ll die.” There is conviction in her voice when Quintessa speaks. “The Great Insectoid that Dwells Between Worlds will rake me across the coals if I don’t hold up my end of the bargain. It’ll allow Gevurah to kill me- maybe even empower her to do so. Either way, it’s too late; I already agreed to do this and took the payment. I have to fulfil my contract, like it or not.” Quintessa decides to put it all out there, for in her mind she has little choice. “I take no pleasure in killing those elves- It’s the drow I’m after. And the Eternal Tree? If it’s as powerful as it’s rumored to be then I’m sure my little ‘experiment’ wont leave any permanent damage.” The changeling’s sharp fingernails tap on the black leather of her knee-length boots as she speaks, “But if you really feel like you need to kill me,” Her mismatched gaze flickers up to Khitti, just a hint of challenge in her eyes. “Perhaps you should strike me down now while you have an opportunity.” Does Quintessa have a deathwish or something?

Khitti just stared at Quintessa the entire time, through Lionel’s sitting and Brand’s Guillermo-ing, and Quintessa’s “explanation”. The name ‘Gevurah’ was given a brief snort, the remnants of a muffled laugh that Khitti tried so hard to stifle entirely. It didn’t work. When Quintessa was finished speaking and hinted at her challenge, Khitti laughed. Khitti laughed -a lot-. Tears formed in her eyes and she tried to stop! But alas, she could not. Both hands were brought up to her face in an effort to get her to cease and it soon worked, but not before it was made very plain that Khitti thought nearly every ounce of what Quintessa had said was goddamned hilarious. The redhead wiped at her eyes, the laughter subsiding, though there was a chuckle here and there that she just couldn’t get rid of yet. “Gods, Quintessa. For someone so goddamned smart, you might be one of the stupidest people I’ve met yet, if only because of this. Do you know who we are? What we’ve done? What we’ve seen?! Your little insect friend is nothing. We have fought swarms of millennia old insects--a goddamned spider goddess! And Gevurah? -Gevurah- is nothing. That bitch worked her dark magic on me when I was still a vampire. She cursed me. She cursed my entire bloodline in the name of Vakmathras because I asked for it. And do you know what happened? We broke that goddamned curse. Her curse. -Vakmathras’- curse. We did it. We stopped general and general after general in Kahran’s army. Lionel -died- taking that bastard out.” Khitti laughed a little more, somewhat bitterly this time around. “You are so much like me and I hate it. I should’ve seen something like this coming. You attract as much chaos and trouble as I do. How could you be so stupid?! Did you really think we wouldn’t help you? That you could take on the whole of Trist’oth yourself? That more bad things wouldn’t come from this stupid talking insect?” The anger actually started to subside somewhat. It shifted to hurt. Guilt. More tears wanted to show up, but she bit them back. Khitti knew exactly what it was like to be in Quintessa’s shoes. She’d done it with Raiez. Would’ve done the same with the vampirism cure if it’d not been for Brand, and Lionel, and Meri. She did it with Venturil too. She should’ve seen it coming. All of it.

Lionel may have been caught off-guard by Khitti's commanding presence moments ago, but her descent into halfway-maniacal laughter by contrast did not faze him at all. In fact, this felt like a prime opportunity to pour himself some ice water. As he listened to his sister righteously regale an irritated changeling with the saga of their various exploits, he enjoyed the crisp coldness stretching across his lips and falling down his throat like a waterfall in a park so scenic he could just drift away from all this talk of wars fought and wars won. But he couldn't, of course, which was why once Khitti's laughter had finally turned into stifled hints of guilt, he gulped down the last of his refreshing beverage and stretched his arms wide. "If I had a copper for every time someone's gone and done something grim because they've convinced themselves the alternative is certain death rather than putting up a real fight, I'd have so many coppers that -- I don't know -- the point is it's dumb." He shrugged sheepishly. "You're willing to stand up against a subterranean terror who might just be the size of Cenril after a feast day meal but you're afraid of some other cosmic-sounding horror? You're worried about Gevurah of all people? Do you want to know why I've never fought Gevurah?" Lionel chuckled dryly. "Because if choiced between fighting Gevurah and walking on hot coals, I'll choose the coals every time. I'm gonna win either way, but at least the coals won't be so one-dimensionally -boring- as all that matronly prattle. Seriously, either let us help you or don't, but if you choose the latter, no one's going to think you're brave for it. If you go and get yourself killed, any tears in this room will concern the woman you could have been but chose to disregard. You're surrounded by people who have survived karaoke night with demigods, Quintessa."

Brand wanted to roll his eyes, but couldn't -- and not just because his gaze was glued to some faraway spot well before Khitti launched into an accounting of all their many deeds. He wanted to downplay it, to call it all an exaggeration, but no. It was true, all of it. "Seven hells, I can't even keep track of all the stuff we've done. I forgot about half of that ever happened until you mentioned it just now." He sighed and finally locked eyes with the subject of this meeting. "Listen. You don't really know me, so I wouldn't 'spect you to take any advice of mine just 'cause it's me that's sayin' it. But you know I know Khitti, and you know I know Lionel, and I reckon you've picked up some idea of how -long- we've known each other. So, trust me to know what I'm talkin' about when I say that these two aren't folks you wanna be on the bad side of. And not just 'cause of the whoop-ass they'll give ya." Khitti got a fleeting sidelong look. He dared not mention what -other- kinds of retribution she was capable of carrying out, lest she decide it was a good time to demonstrate.

Quintessa ‘s agitation rises at Khitti’s laughter, her wrath fumming like a dark cloud of smoke billowing all around her. Was Khitti actually mocking her. “You think this bargain was struck recently?” she hisses out between her sharp teeth at her teacher. Whatever composure the girl had collected was gone. “This happened last Samhain! I was dumb enough to get my affections twisted up around Kasyr- so when Gevurah tried to kill him of course this- this Forgotten God or Demon or whatever in the Nine Hells It is took advantage of me- of the juvenile games I was playing at. Offered an ambitious little girl the powers she needed to enact her revenge- I know I’m an idoit but I’m not dumb enough to defy It now, not after what I’ve seen it do. Vakmatharas is nothing- The Great Insectoid granted me too the power to nullify the God of Death himself, how else do you think I’ve grown so powerful?” Her eyes flicker to Lionel when he adds his perspective but that only causes a similar fit of laughter to Khitti’s. “Subterranean terror, you mean Xicotl?” Quintessa scoffs, “The Great Insectoid would feast on Xicotl like beetles upon the harvest. He is a dust mote in comparison, anything you’ve faced up until now has been. The Haathian, the spider goddess, even that wretch Kahran is but a tiny speck to It. And you, Lionel, the ‘Hero without Hellfire, what makes you think you can help anyone? You had to use fugazi crab artifacts to defeat me the last time we did battle, so do not speak of the art of karaoke as if you can muster any command over its mystic forces.” The changeling’s sharp teeth are nearly bared when Brand finally speaks, as the teen’s expression softens to one of displeasure rather than anger. “No,” she agrees, “I don’t want to be on their bad side, but they are the ones getting involved in my business, not the other way around.” Mismatched eyes flicker to Lionel and Khitti before she sinks into her chair. “So I am dead either way then? If I fulfill my contract, the self-righteous destroy me, if I do not fulfill my contract then The Great Insectoid kills me. I cannot win…”

Khitti was as unfazed by Quintessa’s rage as Lionel had been with her laughter. She sighed and shook her head. “Of course you would think that way about this -thing-. You have seen nothing else.” Shrugging, she threw her hands in the air in mock defeat. “I’ve already told you once. The god of death will have you, Quintessa. It doesn’t matter how much you fight it. It doesn’t matter if some bug gave you new abilities. I got mine from a mindflayer. Do you really think any of that matters?” Khitti leaned over and picked up a cupcake, inspecting it carefully, “If I had the means, I’d show you how I died. I’d let you feel the anger… and the fear you get when you realize you’ll never see the people you love again. That you failed. I’d make you feel the numbness I felt while my soul was floating around in the Void for a whole two weeks. It felt like decades. Have you even thought about the people that care for you in all of this? You clearly don’t give a damn what we think--even though I have come so close to wanting to call you my daughter. Doesn’t matter how much I fight it; it’s still there.” She shrugged again, still looking at the cupcake, “So, if we don’t matter, then what about Karasu? Are you just going to leave her here alone? Because Brand and Lionel can sure as hell tell you that side of things. They got left behind when I died. And Vakmathras doesn’t bring back just anyone--I shouldn’t even be alive right now after all of that. But he would not bring you back, Quintessa, no matter how you died. You would die, because you didn’t choose the right path, and Karasu would be left to whatever hell she’s going through in the Mage’s Guild right now. Do you really want that for her?” Finally, after all that inspection, Khitti doesn’t even eat the damn cupcake. She tossed it to Quintessa instead. “You are not even giving yourself the option of a future. With her. With anyone. Because that bug will try to consume you, whether you do its bidding or not.”

Lionel had been water to Khitti's fire, and now she was as water as the flames of ire swelled upon within him instead. He couldn't believe he was hearing. In hindsight, he might come to realize how right Khitti was about Quintessa's words reflecting a lack of experience rather than a case of the crazies. But Lionel… was Lionel. The comedy here shriveled up and died; all that was left from this girl's mouth was arrogance and farce. He rolled his eyes so far back into his head that if eyes were magic orbs he might have detonated a third sword on sheer cynicism alone. "And Immanuel was nothing next to Xaden. And Xaden was nothing next to Movdon. And Movdon was nothing next to Yinepu. And Yinepu was nothing next to Elazul. And Elazul was nothing next to the gods-damned squirrel who stole some dude's nuts, yes, I get it, you're young and ignorant and caught up in power level fanfiction discourse and you think something called a 'Great Insectoid' is beyond my comprehension just because you didn't like the method in which I chose to ensure you got here in one piece. It's all very cute, until it isn't, because there's a lot you don't know about this world, kid, and snapping at people who could crack your skull with a second glance isn't the best way to go about filling that chasmic void with wisdom. Please get over yourself," was all he had to add at this point. Rising from his seat, he fixed Khitti with a suddenly sympathetic glance. The scene of it, Khitti offering Quintessa a cupcake, filled the Catalian with resolve that just because he was bowing out didn't mean their cause was at an end. "You have far more patience for this nonsense than I do. The kid's got potential, and with enough zen-like longanimity to fill a fertile Haathian centipede she might just come out of this clean enough to one day realize that potential. But so long as she's stuck sobbing in self-pity over a frakking bug, she's nowhere near powerful enough to survive in a world that doesn't give a damn what people think -- it requires that we act, and that we act in accordance with some basic sense of morality that -doesn't- involve pissing people off who were perfectly happy being sober five minutes ago." He helped himself to an ample taste of alcohol. "Which is why I brought her here in the first place. I'll kill her myself if she keeps this up, but I believe in your ability to stop that from having to happen. I'm gonna keep on keepin' on with that belief, but I don't need to sit here and watch my cringey adolescent self on instant replay in the meantime. It's been real," he told Brand with a cheeky thumbs-up, before making his way toward the exit door.

Brand hadn't said anything in quite some time, but his face betrayed what he thought clearly enough. His eyes were wide as they bounced from Khitti to Lionel, and his mouth had narrowed into an almost pucker and gotten stuck that way. It was the face of a student when their peer was getting chewed out in front of the entire class. Two parts "frak, I'm glad that's not me" with a pinch of "lol get rekt" for flavor. He didn't say anything. It wouldn't have helped, anyway.

Quintessa stares at the cupcake in her pale hands silently, letting Khitti's words erode at the walls she had built up around herself specifically for this meeting. In the end, it was the mention of Karasu that cracked her resolve. "What am I doing?" she mutters, right at the edge of reason until Lionel opened his mouth and brought the hex blade right back to her boiling point. "frak off, you washed up old man! You lost to Larket! Any 'great deeds' that you might have achieved in your youth have crumbled in your obscurity!" The cupcake in her hands was thrown after him with enough force to explode against whatever it came in contact with. "I hate you! I always have! And next time you draw your sword against me you'd better be ready to kill me because I won't cease till one of us stops moving!" The rage pours off of Quintessa in waves of her dark energy, uncontrolled as it harmlessly fills the room with its oppressive presence. It was perhaps better that the Imperator left cause he wasn't doing any favors sticking around, not after saying those kinds of things to the dark half-fey. "For you," Quintessa growls as she turns to face Khitti again, "And for Karasu. You are the only two that matter to me anymore, so I'll stop this fool's errand if you ask me to..." There is doubt in her blue and hazel eyes. Would she be able to avoid it? Wouldn't Caluss just turn her into an undead thrall if she didn't do this willingly? "But even if I abandon this task there will be others to replace me. My death won't stop this from happening be if you who kills me or the Cursed Bug Who Tricks the Wroth."

Lionel had only wished he had any clue what Quintessa was even talking about so that he could mount a counterassault on her verbage. But, having evidently crumbled into obscurity due to his advancing age of thirty-two, perhaps this was why he held nothing left but scorn toward the changeling at this point. And, clueless as to what she was even going on about, he elected to act. "If you think this was about anyone's 'great deeds', you may just be beyond salvation." He withdrew his katana and stared pointedly at the girl, waiting.

Quintessa shouted, "If you don't leave I'll sink this whole FRAKKING ship!!"

Lionel did not move.

Khitti || In a rare show of KhittiBrand PDA, Khitti took hold of Brand’s hand and squeezed it quickly, three times. While it normally meant ‘I love you’--a silent code for the times that one of them needed the reminder when they weren’t able to say it in private--for the moment it was to say that she was okay (and wasn’t going to kill anyone just yet). Lionel would be okay (eventually). Brand’s ship wasn’t going to get set on fire (at least not by her). The brief show of affection was soon gone, before Quintessa returned her attention to Khitti, her hand returned to her lap where it’d been before. “Quintessa, stop. He’s angry, like I was, because we’ve dealt with this sort of thing almost our entire lives. This is why we’re trying to help you. And don’t bring up Larket. He was not the only one there. Brand and I were there too. We tried. But there’s not much to be done when the Queen of Frostmaw--the person Lionel and I were serving at the time--is best friends with the “Queen” of Larket.” Khitti shook her head, waved her hands, and stood, “That is all besides the point and not the reason why we’re here. Josleen and Macon will get what’s coming to them.” Uh, hello, Quintessa. Was that not one of the reasons why she was brought into the Syndicate? She wasn’t going to voice this, of course, but she hoped the girl was keen enough to pick up what Khitti was putting down. Despite Lionel’s obvious challenge, and the likelihood that Quintessa would probably try to accept it, Khitti stepped over to where the changeling was, taking the chance that -she- might actually be the one to get stabbed. “Quintessa. I know you’re scared and I know you’re angry… I need -you- to be the one to make the decision not to do this. Accept the help we are trying to give you… and don’t make the same mistakes I’ve made.”

Brand wasn't sure how long he'd been holding his breath, but it came out in a sudden exhale when Khitti grasped his hand. Brand regained his senses enough to give The Signal to Guillermo... not that Guillermo really needed to hear a fake coughing fit to know that tensions were high inside the library. In fact, Brand had barely started his 'super secret signal' when the sailor burst into the library, screamed some nonsense about giant angry squids and fleeing for their lives, and then disappeared again. Brand made sure everyone noticed him sounding legitimately concerned and barking orders to deal with this new threat, then he rushed out to follow. By the time anyone realized there -was- no giant angry squid, the situation would be defused or at least way the frak off of his ship. That was the plan, anyway.

Quintessa || The wooden boards were all slowly creaking as Quintessa’s dark aura slightly warps and bends them, the changeling’s mismatched eyes filled with murderous intent. She grins, pointed teeth glistening in the light as she wonders if she’ll be next on his long list of kills or if Lionel would end up on hers. With the spells she had prepared for this encounter it could go either way. Khitti, however, does the smart thing and places herself in a position that makes fighting impossible. Quintessa breaks eye contact with the Imperator to gaze up at the only real mother figure the girl had ever had. “Fine,” she breathes out flatley, her gaze dropping to the floor. “But I still don’t like Lionel…” There is a moment where Quintessa wants to cry, but she’d never do it in front of him or Brand. “And I don’t think you can protect me… but I don’t want to do this… I don’t see the reason. I have no idea what’s going to happen to the Druid’s Tree if the Insectoid infests it and I’m not personally driven to find out.”

Lionel would have relished the chance to test out the abilities Requital sorceresses had begun teaching him. He would have savored the shot to see if matter really did bend the way they claimed; to find out if bitter poisons could fill someone's body like a vase, a rush from thin air, a toxic portal subjected upon vital organs. His own eyes shimmered with killer instinct. Quintessa had been disappointed when she'd first met him -- disappointed that he had grown soft in principles of public decency. She was about to discover that the Hero without Hellfire could still roast her alive. Which is why, in the final telling, it was for the best that his sister intervened. Never would he think to do the things to Khitti which haunted him over the changeling, and he was confident that Khitti knew that. He was equally confident, much to his chagrin, that she also knew how much it would secretly hurt him to be the one who had to vanquish a girl of seventeen. For Quintessa's sake and Lionel's, Khitti had done the one thing she could that would outwit them both. By the time a comely lad not unlike Rorin had returned with news of calamity, or clams, or whatever had been said, Lionel had sheathed his blade and willfully ignored whatever verbal garbage Quintessa was spewing now. "Giant squid," he said so dully he might have been daft. "I sure hope it knows it's no match for a giant insectoid," he practically whistled in addendum on his way out the door.

Khitti couldn’t help but give Brand a look that said “Okay, maybe I will kill you.” With love, of course. Maybe. Well, at least she’d have Guillermo to clean up the blood after she murdered her husband. Such a good minion. She sighed heavily and returned her attention to Quintessa once Brand and Lionel had left. “No one likes Lionel. Lionel doesn’t even like Lionel. Trust me, the self-loathing runs deep in this family,” she said with a smirk. “I’m gonna give you a choice. You can either stay here tonight on the ship or you can go to the apartment. It’s up to you. But for the moment, try not to think of this stupid bug. There’s someone much worse that you need to go talk to, to get that book so we can deal with Caiburne. You need to go talk to Bradyn. Cause I’m not giving up my own book for you to study.” Sorry, Quintessa. She’s rather attached to that book of hers. “Worry about the things we can take care of right now first.” Was this going to hurt Khitti? It might. It really might. But, she was gonna do it anyway. Quintessa -really- looked like she needed a hug and… well… Khitti would actually offer one, her arms outstretched somewhat lazily towards the girl.

Quintessa really wants to see Lionel’s head on a pike right now, more so than she did Lanlan and Gevurah’s heads combined. Him being gone was like being allowed to breath after suffocating for a couple of minutes, and the odd girl was thankful for it. When Quintessa finally lifted her mismatched eyes from the floor and her spiky aura had faded away, she was on the verge of tears. “The apartment,” she whispers, wanting to get back to land. “Ugh… Bradyn is mad at me too… Why do I keep messing everything up? Even the Mage’s Guild is against me now, and even after I captured that kid for them…” Her face falls into her pale hands, lithe fingers rubbing her temples as a stress headache set in. “Why am I such a failure!” After a long sigh Quintessa finally looks up at Khitti’s outstretched arms, and she hesitates for a moment as if she didn’t understand what she was trying to offer. It doesn’t take the changeling long to catch on, and she nearly lunges at the templar to accept the hug, the walls she had put up breaking down. “At least you still believe in me,” the girl sobs into Khitti’s shoulder as she squeezes her tightly. Quintessa would probably cry like this for a while, likely making things uncomfortable for both of them, and after she cried she would insist that Khitti escort her back to the apartment. In her current mental state, the changeling didn’t trust herself. She wanted to make sure she didn’t immediately flee back to the Sage Forest. Quintessa, for the time being, wanted to make a real effort not to be evil, even if for just one night.