RP:It Was Only A Matter Of Time

Summary: It was only a matter of time until things went pear-shaped again.

The Tranquility, Cenril Wharf

With Khitti only a few months from term, he’d delegated away certain aspects of his duties, giving a few trusted mates the authority to balance the books and manage disputes between the crew. It freed up Brand to spend most of his evenings with Khitti, dining together and admiring the view of port or sea instead of drowning in paperwork and petty squabbles. Tonight the moon was full, her light and the stars their only company for miles around. The ship was anchored in the deeps, and the rest of the crew had gone belowdecks to give Khitti and the Captain their privacy. “Y’know, I could get used to this. There’s a certain charm to it.” Brand swiveled his drink, something non-alcoholic. A show of solidarity, given that Khitti couldn’t partake in his usual whiskey or wine.

Olive-green eyes watched Brand for a short time before shifting up towards the heavens, “I'm surprised you enjoy it too, but then again you've surprised me a lot since I've been back.” This wasn't a bad thing, of course, and the smile on Khitti’s face proved as much. “I used to do this nearly every night when I was on my own. Counting the stars helped to pass the time before I slept, since I didn't have any books for years.” It was a dark time. Even if she did managed to get a text of her own, it was immediately sold after she inhaled its knowledge like a drug. “You know, you've been doing a hell of a lot for me lately, whether it's been taking care of me or doing things I want to do. Is there something -you- want to do? Unfortunately, sparring is out of the question for the time being.” Khitti stuck her tongue out at him. “That's your own fault though.”

Guilty as charged. Though Brand still insisted the gods or Onyx or Facilier or -someone- had meddled somehow. “You know me too frakkin’ well. Gonna have to burn everything down and run away now, y’know.” But he was grinning, and quite stationary. “I dunno, you don't think you and those powers of yours could take me on? You did just fine in the Shadow Plane, after all.” He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. “The real problem’s that I wouldn't feel right fighting back, riskin’ you harm, so you'd beat me for sure.”

A smirk found Khitti’s lips, and soon that same set of lips would find Brand’s cheek, “I think you’re smart enough not to put me in real danger. You -are- the one that taught me most of my fighting skills after all.” She gave him another small kiss to accompany that bit of ego-stroking she was doing. “I s’pose I’m not so close to term that I’m entirely useless yet--not like that would stop me anyway.” Khitti got up out of her chair and stretched a bit, then held out her hand for him to take, to help him stand. “Come on, you. Fight with your woman like we used to. I promise not to get all sad and run off like before, though. I don’t think I could really run right now anyway even if I tried.”

Brand was uncertain. “There isn't really a way to dull most of the elements. With weapons, you have training blades, but even those hurt if you put enough force behind them.” But he stood, and he considered it anyway. It had been too long since they'd last sparred. Before she'd died, probably? “Ah, seven hells. I know how we do this.” From each of his fingertips sprung rounded bullets of ice, waiting for his command. “Ready?”

Khitti was starting to get impatient as Brand deliberated on things. The most pathetic of puppy dog eyes and pouty lips and batting of eyelashes were given to the blonde in an attempt to move things along. Look at her, Brand. Isn’t she cute? She is. Totally adorable. When he finally passed judgement on what they would do, the redhead let out an enthusiastic “Yes!” and fist-pumped the air. Were she able to jump right now, she would’ve probably did that too. Black lightning crackled between both hands, “Always,” and would soon take the form of three balls of electricity, all three charging towards him. Before they reached him, however, they’d all converge together to create one giant orb, the most innocent of grins plastered on Khitti’s face. The scene was strangely… familiar, albeit opposite.

Brand saw that grin for what it was: this was karma for months ago, and Khitti was relishing it. As the ball of lightning neared him, Brand sent his ice projectiles blindly out in the direction he’d last seen Khitti and hurriedly called forth his shield of ice and water to protect him. The orb of lightning broke against the barrier, crackling with such ferocity it was sure to draw attention from the crew below, but ultimately the shield kept the lightning surging around him rather than through him. “Not bad for your first shot,” he called, dissipating the bubble.

The Catalian had been well distracted by her lightning, and it allowed Khitti to effortlessly summon up a wall of her own, one of shadowflames, to use to melt away those ice bullets before they could hit her. Except… the wall never formed. The shadowflames never appeared and she was pelted with ice here, and there, and everywhere as Brand’s bubble dissipated. Khitti’d managed to turn her head and shield it with her arm, at least, leaving her appendage to take the welts that was meant for her face. A small cry left her throat, but one moreso of shock than pain--she was quite used to taking a beating during a fight, after all. In the spot where the flames should’ve been, there was only a wisp or two of smoke, the only thing to tell her that her magic had fizzled out.

“What… the hell?” No wave of her hand or flick of her wrist would summon up any of those four dark elements she’d come to rely on. It was clear that she was trying--she went about the long way of casting, performing those somatic gestures Brand had taught her a year ago--for more wisps or a bit of snow or spark would make themselves known, but even they too snuffed out entirely and Khitti was left to just stare at her own hands in horror, tears welling up in her eyes. “What the hell is going on?”

Brand had prepped another wave of icy darts, but they clattered uselessly to the ground when he saw Khitti in distress. “What the hell -what-?” he asked, stepping forward. “What’s wrong? What’s goin’ on?” He watched her waving about, unable to summon anything. Not fire, not ice, no manner of shadow whatsoever. “Facilier.” He reached his conclusion with a sudden clarity. “He gave you your magic, in a sense -- and now he’s taken it away. One less way for us to fight him once he strikes… Frak.”

Khitti started to panic, those tears coming in steady streams now, “No, no. Please no.” Brand’s sudden realization didn’t help things apparently. From within the ship, something stirred. Whatever that something was, it was creating quite the ruckus below, bashing itself up against a door repeatedly as it tried to let itself out. When that didn’t work, it started banging against the ceiling of the room it was in. Surely, the Tranquility must be under attack from within.

"Great. Yeah. Perfect timing." The captain drew his fingers to his mouth and whistled, summoning the crew to their posts. Within moments, the deck was crawling with wielders of magic and melee, with more instructed to investigate at the source. Time to see if all the practice drills he'd put them through had been of use. Brand pulled daggers from his belt, tossing them by their scabbards to Khitti. "Better than nothin', peach."

For something that was more than likely an attack by Facilier, there sure was this weird, blinding gold light coming from within the ship. The door to Khitti and Brand’s current sleeping quarters is suddenly blown off the hinges just before those few members of the Tranquility’s crew managed to find which room the noise was coming from (what the heck is with this ship and losing doors anyway?). Whatever that something was, it flew with great speed out of the room, past the crew nearby, and up towards the top deck.

Meanwhile, Khitti frowned at those daggers of Brand’s, taking them reluctantly. What use was she now? She may have been able to fight in the Shadow Plane, but she wasn’t this big then. She even had to rely on her magic during that mission in Frostmaw with Lionel and the others not long ago. The redhead sighed, pulled the daggers free and tossed the scabbards to the side, out of the way, for now and prepared herself like everyone else.

Everyone was entirely ready to wreak havoc on this new enemy, who likely was here to the Captain’s woman (because isn’t that what always happens?). But, what everyone -wasn’t- ready for was Tenbatsu Kaji bursting through this last doorway just the same as the first, very clearly frantically weaving around bodies to get to Khitti. [Oh my Cyris! Khitti! Are you okay?! What’s with all these people?! Why do you look like you’re ready to attack somethi--oh. I did it again. I did the bursting through things… thing… again. Er. Sorry.] The sword slowly came to a halt in front of Khitti and Brand, the embarrassment practically radiating off it and over that link it shared with the redhead. “I… can understand you now…?” It was a lot to take in--the loss of her magic and this new development with Tenbatsu Kaji--and Khitti’s legs soon started to give out from underneath of her. Right. Yes. Her magic was gone and that mana pool of hers depleted for now. The adrenaline wore off, and just as this realization too hit her, Brand’s daggers slid from Khitti’s hands and hit the ground as she fainted.

Brand was ready to fight for his life. Facilier would come at him with his full force, wouldn’t he? The high priest alone was enough of a threat, but add in Onyx’s illusions, a horde of Khitti copies, and whatever Kahran had supplied him with, and Brand wasn’t sure his crew was a match. That wouldn’t stop them from giving it their all, though. The Captain stood ready to greet the intruder with growing orbs of flame -- and instead almost ignited the holy sword’s scabbard as it burst through the doors. “Oh, frak me. Of course it’s the gorram sword.” He doused his fire magic and was too busy facepalming to catch Khitti as she fell. Whoops. Well, if the kid grew up with cognitive issues, they could always blame it on this incident.

The sword rapped its hilt against Brand's thick skull while he was mid-facepalm, as if to say ‘help your woman, moron!’ before it moved back down to the redhead herself. [Khitti? Khiiitttiiii.] Khitti wasn't dead of course, but the spirit within the sword saw fit to give Khitti a tiny jolt of holy magic in order to wake her up. She'd soon wake up and find herself on the ground, a look of internal screaming written across her features. “Thanks for catching me, Brand.” Oi. Men. Too tired to get up just yet, green eyes found the sword as it hovered over her. “I can understand you now,” she repeated those last words of hers from before she went to the Land of Unconsciousness. The sword seemed pleased with the fact that its attempt at awakening Khitti was a success, [Hi! I tried to tell you it was because of that magic you had but you couldn’t…] The sword stopped, realizing its mistake. [Right. Because you couldn’t...understand me. Anyway, I’m Seika, a spirit within the sword, and I’m here to help!] “It’s nice to meet you finally, Seika. But, uh… one question… can you make it so he’s able to hear you too? So I know I’m not crazy? I promise he’s not evil. Just… kind of a jerk sometimes.” A beat. “But not as much as he used to be!” That part was important; Brand had improved on his grumpiness considerably. [Hm? Oh. Alright, I guess.] That same zap of holy magic that was used on Khitti was sent towards Brand’s backside. [There. Now I can properly scold him when he does something wrong.] There was an obvious smirk in Seika’s tone.

Brand might have protested that she hadn't given enough warning that she was going to drop. But then, Khitti made her suggestion. "Please, no." Brand absolutely did NOT want another voice in his head. He'd only just gotten rid of the last one! Okay, so that was months ago, but he was not at all eager for a new one to fill the void. And yet, it did. No choice in the matter, apparently. "Great. Thanks a whole frakkin' lot. I'll remember this the next time you're cravin' hot wings at four in the mornin'."

Khitti frowned at Brand’s reaction, “Sorry. It doesn’t have to be all the time. I just figured in case of an emergency…” You know, because she’s pregnant. [Yes, yes. You can have your privacy. I’m not going to be bugging you all the time, unless she’s in trouble. This is different than those psychic links anyway. Think of it as sort of translator, rather than I’m intruding in your head. You won’t hear me unless I want you to.] The sword placed itself on the ground vertically, allowing Khitti to use it to help herself up. [As I’m sure you’re well aware, her protection must first. I know all about this little curse problem that she got herself into, and while I can’t get rid of it, I can do everything in my power to protect her from it.] Khitti lifted herself up with a heavy sigh, her line of sight shifting between the sword and the Catalian that she just managed to upset. It was like the old days again: both of them having another voice in their head and Brand was incredibly angry at Khitti. Yay.

Brand rubbed at the spot where he’d been shocked, scowling. “You know all about that curse and those psychic links, huh? That’s so terribly -convenient-. Why don’t you tell us what else you know things about? Facilier’s plans? The gods meddlin’ all the gorram time? Meri’s location? Onyx’s betrayal? The last time I trusted some know-it-all who just appeared on my ship one day, so eager to make themselves invaluable, it didn’t end so well. But given how much you -know things-, I’ll bet I didn’t have to tell you that.” Brand’s anger was not directed at Khitti, oh no. It was firmly directed at the mind-intruding holy sword.

Yep. Definitely like the old days. As Brand went on and on, Khitti too started to see red. She got so angry that tears started to well up in her eyes (thanks, hormones). And when he was finished? She smacked him. Khitti pivoted just enough to face Brand, raised her hand, and hit him in the same spot where those right hooks had all hit in the past. “If you're quite finished,” she said, “ you'll recall that -I- asked the gods to meddle. All of them.” Her tone was that angry, quiet smolder and those olive-green eyes were practically staring daggers into Brand. “Onyx did not entirely betray us. I would likely not be alive if it wasn't for that jewelry box.” She continued to lay out facts for the Catalian, pointing out the flaws in all of his accusations, “And, there is more than just a psychic bloodlink. Or did you forget that Meri is a goddamn psion and that there's more people like her that use their minds like we would use magic?” Once she got all of that out, she cooled down a little, but still wasn't entirely done being angry, “For all of your lack of schooling, you're still one of the smartest people I know. You have had the advantage of two minds, even though you'll probably continue to deny it for the rest of your life. Your anger and paranoia clouds your mind and you’re going down that same path we were on before, but I won't follow you there. I can't. Our child is coming soon and I'll not be a part of that destructive behavior, whether it's towards myself or someone else. If this kid is going to grow up in Kahran or Facilier’s world, it's going to need hope, to believe that things can and will get better. So before you open your mouth like that again, use that brain I know you have and think.” Khitti picked up the sword and turned away from Brand, headed toward the stairs, and beyond that, their quarters.

Brand couldn’t see how any of that meant they should trust the sword, and he shouted as much at Khitti’s retreating form. The crew he dismissed with a wave, shooing them back to their posts. He would’ve preferred a disagreement like that be kept private, but it was far too late now.