RP:No Longer Human
Part of the You Must Have Been Human Arc
Part of the The God of Undeath Arc
Part of the Lies Within Us Arc
Summary: Quintessa, regretting her fight with her girlfriend, despairs in the walls of House Dragana. Kanna attempts to comfort the Countess, which results in Quintessa's rediscovery of a mission she put aside in the name of doing good. A plan for revenge against the Mage's Guild surfaces, and Kanna, excited by the prospect of regaining her failing memory, offers to help.
House Dragana
Towering over the abyssal forest, the dark mass of House Dragana is no less eerie than the vegetation, or lack thereof, in which it stands. The mansion's outer perimeters are flanked by the twisting trees and there are no gates to prevent the seemingly less desirable denizens of the forest from trespassing upon the property. A sleek, obsidian walkway runs from the house's entry to the path. The only source of light without comes form wrought-iron lanterns that are placed on either side of the walkway, spaced perfectly from one another. Within them, an eldritch glow of a deep, verdant hue flickers. Those brave enough to approach House Dragana's doors will be greeted with iron knockers bearing blackened skulls, their eyes set with emeralds that glow with the same light from the lanterns. Within the house's walls, there is no shortage of decadence. Only the most elegant of furniture is placed throughout its rooms. A grand staircase of blackened wood leads to the upper levels, where rooms for those that reside within the house can be found. Midway up, the stairs split to the left and right, spiraling upward. Here, there is a landing with a set of double doors that leads to a large ballroom. The lower level of the house plays host to a dining area and kitchen, though rarely used, a grandiose library filled with grimoires and tomes, and a small museum of artifacts collected by the house's residents. Though there appear to be no candles to light the way, an ethereal glow floods the innards of the house, providing ample reading light - undoubtedly arcane in origin. Dark magic is weaved into the house's existence as a measure of protection.
An eerie sobbing echoes throughout the halls of House Dragana, disturbed only by the momentary screams of anger, or the sounds of things being smashed or broken. Not even Quintessa’s servants dare investigate, preferring to hide in the shadows until the changeling’s tantrum was over. But it’s been hours, who much longer can the girl keep this up? Another roar of fury escapes the countess as she brings the Jubaku no Kijo down upon a decorative end table, a thousand splinters of wood exploding throughout the hallway before she slips into more crying. Quintessa’s sword drags behind her, the ashen blade scratching the red carpet to leave a winding, snaking scar in her wake. The loose nightgown she wears is torn and hanging off her shoulders, her short hair a knotted mess, and the makeup she wears is smeared and horrific looking, further pulled down her cheeks by the river of tears she’s been crying. “...I’ll show them…” she whispers, a dark, shadowy aura accompanying her as she skulks the halls. “I’ll show them all…”
Kanna pulls the blankets over the chin of a small dragon boy as she lays him down to sleep. "Ui dask kiwiegir jimva?" Berrentam looks up at the ghoul he has come to love just as much as he does his mothers. Despite the red scales normally obscuring his expression, his brow bones which protrude tiny white horns are knitted down with concern. "Axun, but I will give her plenty of hugs from her favorite little man until she feels better, okay? Now, bensvelk wurunwi.." Kanna reassures him with the bit of draconic she's been able to learn and retain despite her ongoing memory problems. Despite being content to spend her days in the safety of the city of eternal darkness, she can't help but feel that she has forgotten to do something important. The child gives off a low rumble of contentment and closes his eyes. Kanna rises from the bed and exits Berrentam's bedroom before ascending the staircase to the master suite. Finally coming across the changeling, Kanna glaces at the destroyed furniture, then to Quintessa, her expression unusually cold. From a topped vase of roses, vines snake out, wrapping around the hilt of her sword to hold it in place. "You know your son was on the verge of tears worrying about you before I came home, right?" The ghoul asks. Closing the distance, her tone and expression softens as she looks up at the towering woman and holds her hands out for a hug. "Want to hug it out?"
Quintessa doesn’t realize that the vines have snuck their ways around the grip of her katana as pain filled eyes slowly drift over to gaze at the undead bardess. She moves to meet her, struggling against the constriction of the vines until she surrenders her weapon to their grasp. The moment for violence was over. “Oh, Kanna,” Quintessa falls to her knees before the ghoul, her long arms wrapping around her waist tightly to accept the offered hug. “I’m such a frakking idoit…” The countess continues to sobs, pouring every bit of sadness and regret into the action. “I-I told her to go die… How could I say such a thing? She’s never going to forgive me…” Quintessa begins to wail she is so distraught, her emotions sending vibrations through the house that cause the magical lights to flicker and waiver, and the wooden floor to creak as her aura bends the boards slightly.
Kanna wraps her arms around Quintessa's head as she sobs into her neck, seeming to absorb whatever warmth the false vampire gives off into her icy skin. "Oh dear..." The bard hums a lullaby over her wails, gently rocking her back and forth as she would a child. Despite her newfound murderous nature, something maternal always manages to override the moment she sees Quintessa or Berrentam upset. "I'm sure she knows you didn't mean it, dear. Come on, the hallway is no place for a nervous breakdown, hm? Let's go to your room." With a flick of her wrist, the vines lower the sword to the ground and retreat back to their vase, which turns itself upright despite the spiderweb cracks threatening to collapse the roses’ home.
Quintessa slowly calms at the sound of the lullaby, the rocking motion stirring something deep in her heart that she never noticed she needed nurturing before. Hesitantly, the changeling stands back up and allows Kanna to lead her back to her room, the bedspread still torn and left haphazardly thrown across the room, her small alters smashed to bits. As the dark fae girl rubs her mismatched eyes and sniffles, she can’t believe what she’s done. “Gods, what am I doing?” Quintessa is having a moment of clarity brought on by the release of crying. “It’s no wonder people don’t trust me… I’m a psychopath.”
Kanna looks around the room with a few clicks of her tongue. "I can clean it up. It's the least I can do for the free food." She says. Quintessa is led to sit down in one of the armchairs while the bed is made. "Well, yes, but actually, no. If anyone goes long enough without getting what it is their heart yearns for, it starts to fall apart, I think. Without a heart, you end up being no longer human." She pauses and holds up a compass from her pocket with a soft pink gemstone in the center. When opened, the magical arrow that is meant to appear simply... doesn't. "Like me. I think this showed me an arrow once, but now I can't be sure where it pointed. I guess it was pointing here. So, now I'm here and I'm okay." She smiles. The trunk at the foot of the bed is opened to toss the torn sheets into and she pauses, looking it over. The trunk is filled with miscellaneous objects and books that did not have a place in any of the bookshelves in the hexblade's various domains. "Oh, you use these for storage? I should start doing that." She says nonchalantly as she looks for somewhere else to stash the linen. Under the bed it goes.
Quintessa sits in the chair in a daze, practically disassociating as her aura fades away to nothingness once more. She watches Kanna out of the corner of her icy-blue eye, turning in her seat only once she pulls out her heart-reading compass. Falling out of her chair, Quintessa crawls towards her on the floor, using her leg to brace herself as she stands up. “This!” she points at the magical compass, “I have one too- but your’s…” Quintessa frowns. Was it broken? Was Kanna’s heart not working right?” Sapphire and topaz eyed flicker up to the bard, the realization of something clicking in her mind. “I can fix this.” The changeling whispers, a delirious smile tugging at her pale lips. “Stop cleaning.” Quintessa tells her, reaching down to grab her arm. “There was something your heart once yearned for- I remember it. I remember now… I’ve distracted myself long enough with delusions of grandeur, of being some type of hero, but that’s not who I am. I get things done because I do whatever I frakking have to no matter who is in my way, no matter what cursed gods I have to make a deal with. I made a deal long ago, for someone who was undeserving, but you Kanna, I can use Its powers to help you. You can be my new cause! I can fix this, but I have to keep my end of the bargain- I have to spread Its influence to the Xalious tree. The timing is perfect! I can kill two rocs with one spear.”
Kanna nearly drops the compass when she sees the Countess fall from her chair with a panicked shout to stop moving. Her intention to ask if perhaps she knew the compass’ origin is left for another day. She stops though as Quintessa speaks. Her expression is curious, and somewhat confused. She met a god? "There was?" Deep blue eyes light up with curiosity at this. Kanna sits down on the floor next to the kneeling changeling and flicks open the compass again. The center of it remains black as she tries to will it to point at something to no avail. "If you go to the Xalious tree, I can stop forgetting things?" She asks quietly, her eyes shimmering with a newfound hope. Kanna suddenly leans forward, grabbing Quintessa's hands, the useless compass clattering to the floor. The ghoul smiles widely, revealing her sharpened teeth. "Can I help?!" The boredom that had amassed in her stay at the Dragana manor had begun to take its toll more than a month ago, even with Berrentam and Amante to keep her company. Though she felt guilty admitting it, she missed the sense of adventure that came with roaming from city to city.
Quintessa gazes into Kanna’s beautiful cornflower eyes with her mixed optics, her smile growing too far too wide. “Yes!” she claims, “And then Kelay and Enchantment! You are the answer I’ve been waiting for all along- You!” The changeling is so happy she could kiss Kanna, but she doesn't. “Look!” Quintessa moves over to the trunk to dig through it, tossing unused books and scrolls to the floor. “With this!” The changeling cackles madly, holding up a syringe with a strange, black liquid stored inside. “Once we inject the tree, the Great Insectoid that Dwells Between Worlds will reward me with more knowledge over necromancy- the knowledge to help you! It all makes sense now- your control over plants! It wanted you all along for this task!”
Kanna looks over the black liquid curiously. So many questions run through her mind: What kind of god needed the help of a mortal, what would happen to the Holy Trees once this substance was injected, and would her benefactor really have the knowledge to fix Kanna's memory? There's a faint recollection of having spoken to someone, or rather, something about being fixed. Kanna shakes her head of the distraction to focus on the task at hand. "Well, if we want to even touch the trees, then we need help; I doubt anyone taking care of the Xalious Tree would let two cute girls walk up and ask nicely to inject it with something strange." Clapping her hands together, her eyes light up again. "Ooh, we could bring my toys along, we'll make it an outing! Maybe on the way there we can pick up something for your friend, too!" She says, the knowledge of who it was Quintessa was talking about in her fit of despair having been lost days before.
Quintessa nods her head enthusiastically at the mention of her ‘toys’, knowing full well they would be met with resistance. “There will be other bad people who will try to stop us,” she says, digging around in her trunk for more artifacts. “We’ll need some of my skeletons, and maybe even a flesh golem!” The hexblade collects the other two syringes of cursed sap and brings them to her vanity, which has miraculously survived Tessa’s tantrum, and she slides them into the hostler of her alchemy belt. “I could make more mummy dust… but that was a waste of time last time… Oh! I know! I’ll invite my new student, Leralynn! This will be the perfect chance for her to test her reanimation skills- See if Tenebrae taught her as well as I think she has… Even just the three of us should be able to shove any resistance aside.”
Kanna rises up from the floor and dusts off her skirt before joining her at the vanity, taking note of how she overlooked the mention of getting a gift to reconcile with the cause of her ruined makeup. "Ooh, I can meet someone else from your teachings? How fun." Kanna says, grabbing a few things from around the vanity. "Well, if there's going to be bad people looking to stop us, then they'd hone in on you since you seem to be quite the popular peony. Holding up a make-up brush, she smiles, treating the adventure as if it were a game. "We might not be able to go out right this second if we need time to prepare, but that gives me time to do something -very- fun too." Lowering her voice in a comically conspiratorial way, she whispers the idea in Quintessa's ear.