RP:Partners In Not-Crime

Part of the Through The Looking-Glass: Return To Wonderland Arc

This is a Devout's Guild RP.

Summary: After 2 long years of leading on her own, Khitti comes to a decision and asks Rorin to help co-lead the Devout's Guild. After some time and much confusion on the paladin's part, he accepts.

The Sacrosanct, Sanctum Of The Divine, Kelay

Khitti || It was a typical day in the Devout’s Guild headquarters. Students of varying religions were either studying, practicing their magic, or figuring out just how the hell they’re supposed to wield their chosen weapons. And their leader? Well, it was hella noisy and she was shut up in her lovely office that’d been enchanted for soundproofing when she required it. Today, she required it. Recently, Khitti had sent out a letter to Rorin, asking him to meet with here there in the Sacrosanct. It wasn’t often that she asked people there for a “chat”. She wasn’t really the chatting type. Small talk gave her hives and the urge to throw up. And yet, here she was, inviting that He That Almost Murdered Her With Holy Magic to come and sit and drink some tea or booze and eat their weight in baked goods. This’ll go totally fine. Camina, Khitti’s half-elf islander assistant with a penchant for bitchiness and a love for dark make-up and clothes would “welcome” Rorin into Khitti’s office with a dubious stare--look, Belters aren’t keen on mainlanders--and a frown of disdain. Once Camina closed the door behind her, Khitti’d nod at towards the half-elf that had just left, “You remember Camina, I’m sure. Don’t worry, she always looks like that.” She sat back a bit in her nice cushy chair, a hand motioning for Rorin to take a similar one across from her desk. “This wasn’t supposed to be a super formal thing in my office, but nowadays it’s one of the only places I can get some peace and quiet--and only because I had it soundproofed.” Khitti could kill Rorin in that room and no one would hear it. Thankfully for the paladin, Khitti happened to liked the guy and wouldn’t do this thing. “How’ve you been? I think one of the last times I saw you, you were a sword… and then you weren’t.”

Rorin ambled about the halls and rooms with deliberate pacing and mild interest. He didn’t come here much, since the temple of Arkhen resided to the forest in the south, and if he made a trip back to a Kelay and Sage it was usually for that. His tattered pilgrims cloak and full helm made him look rather plain here, which was quite all right with him - not like at the Warriors Guild where people knew his name, no, being one of the only paladins to serve a near forgotten god suited Rorin just fine. He eyed Khitti’s receptionist a bit longer than he should as he made his way into the bosses office and stood around admiring things a little longer as he spoke. “No, can’t say I really do, I think I’d remember a uh, girl like that.” She was absolutely his type, minus a few possible changes like fangs or a tail, but he was never one to complain about things like that. “Yeah, I get that. You seem like you like your privacy. Kind of a lone wolf thing I guess.” He didn’t really know how to respond to that last comment. “Good, I suppose. Keeping busy. Yeah, that uh, didn’t stick.” The spirit of the guardian hummed within him even now, stirring positively in the divine space. It seemed to like the studious environment.

Khitti really wouldn’t know how to feel if she knew Rorin fancied Camina for the same types of mannerisms and styles of dress that Khitti too possessed. It was probably better for her to not think about it, and she wasn’t going to because she didn’t know! Much like Camina hopefully wouldn’t find out that Rorin called her a receptionist. She’s too murdery for that, kid. “Heh, ‘lone wolf’. I suppose you could call it that. It’s always been hard to trust people. Takes a hell of a lot for me to get to that point.” She grew pensive, as she often did, crimson brows furrowing together as she stared at the much younger male across from her. “There’s a lot of people that -don’t- make it there. You… on the other hand… are somewhat of an enigma.” She opened her mouth to speak further, paused, closed her mouth again and then just motioned at the tea, whiskey, and small platter of various baked goods on her desk. “Eat and drink whatever you want. I wasn’t sure what you ate. If you want something else, the kitchen in Sanctum always has some sort of stew cooking for the people that need food and shelter here. It’s definitely not subpar.” Gods, this small talk was literally killing her. Thankfully for Rorin, there’d be no bursting into flames for Khitti this time. “How are things with Arkhen?” She kept dodging around her thoughts, trying to figure out how to properly say what she needed to say.

Rorin only nodded to the idea of Khitti needing to trust people but seemed surprised and cautious when she called him an enigma. It’s not as if they knew each other through more than the battlefield, and Khitti hadn’t always been on the same side of it as him either. Regardless Rorin took off his helmet and sat it aside as he slouched in the chair. With a biscuit in his mouth and a raised brow Rorin would note that even if he didn’t know Khitti, he could tell she was uncomfortable. “What’s this all about?” He asked, electing not to acknowledge her question. When it came to business - which Rorin was certain this was, just as he was certain Khitti didn’t make social calls - he was a boy who got down to the brass tacks. No beating around the bush for this guy.

Khitti || The templar let loose out a quick word of thanks to the gods as Rorin just told her to get to the point. “Thank frak. I hate small talk. Sorry. Despite being a damned guild leader, a shop owner, and a damned bard, it’s not make my people skills any better. -Worse- even.” Sigh. She poured herself a nice big ol’ glass of whiskey, took a sip, and sighed again. “Look.” Khitti’s mind was right where Rorin’s was. “I don’t think you and I have hardly ever been on the same side of things. Especially when it comes to politics and religion. It’s probably even worse now. Realized both Vakmathras and Delisha were calling me too, right along with Cyris. I’m sure you’re likely not keen on it--and to be honest, I’m surprised you’ve even stayed in the guild after the changes I’ve made. I think Kelovath would’ve felt the same way maybe if he were still around…” She finished her glass, poured another, drank -that- one, poured ye- another, and then finally continued. Khitti wasn’t even close to buzzed yet, so therefore she could still continue to conduct business. “And I’m also surprised you’ve not set me on fire for a second time.” Khitti waited. And waited. And waited a little more just to be sure. “That being said, I appreciate the fact that you -are- still here. You’re doing what you love to do, what you know needs to be done. I think that there is where we’re alike. You do what has to be done when it has to be done. You didn’t hesitate to take down those undead. You didn’t hesitate to come help me when I got knocked into a wall. You’ve never hesitated when anyone at all needs help with something or justice needs to dished out. And that… is what -I- need here. I never wanted this darkness on me, but when it was taken away… I felt lost. Not even Cyris could truly help me. I fought for him, because freedom and independence are absolutely things I believe in but once I got my dark magic back… I felt home again. I felt needed. I felt like I could do anything. I feel like I can finally mete out justice where it’s necessary and get retribution for the people that deserve it in my own way.” She was getting off topic and she knew it. “Rorin, I want you to be my co-leader in the guild. I walk the path of both light and darkness--literally.” Khitti held out her hands, allowing him to see the alchemical symbols for Putrefaction and Purification that had been carved on her palms months ago. “I wield light in Cyris’ name and manipulation shadows and its elements in Vakmathras and Delisha’s against those that deserve to be brought down. I am their hand of retribution. But sometimes, like as of late… my anger gets the better of me. My rage surfaces and I am more than even that… and this is why I need you. I need you to balance me out. The guild needs to be balanced out. I want this place to be a home to anyone that believes in someone or something, whether it’s nature itself, the Pantheon, or even the Ascendi. I’m still on my true path to balance, but it’s going to take some time. I want to learn light magic, to build off of Cyris’ gift that he’s given me. I need to figure out the dark side of things as well.” Khitti sat up straight, took one last swig of whiskey for now, then set the glass on the table. “I need you to be the light to my darkness, because it’s entirely possible I’ll never stray from that path and these people who are just trying to worship whomever they want don’t deserve it. They don’t deserve my rage or my uncertainty or my fear.”

Rorin smiled a little, although it nearly looked like the pitying kind with his naturally sad and introspective features. “I know,” at least he knew about small talk but wait Khitti is a bard? How does that work. Is it stringed instruments? He began to look a little surprised as she went on, but it was more of the frankness off the matter than the content. Wait, Khitti and Delisha? Oh, right, the murdering kind probably - Khitti didn’t strike him as the kind of person he’d find straddling a f**k stone, but hey, the quiet ones could surprise you, and she had been a vampire. “Cyris would teach us all to practice tolerance and the freedom to live and worship as we please, should it harm none.” Arkhen had a similar view, one of quiet guidance away from the darker (lesser he tried not to think) gods, but tolerance just the same, as if you had a wayward grandson who’s views weren’t at all like your own, but maybe it was just a product of time and place and with effort they could be brought back on the path of light. Rorin’s smile turned a bit embarrassed though. Really he wouldn’t set someone in authority on fire. Well, not this authority. Macon though, yeah, sure, anytime. Rorin certainly appreciated the things Khitti said, and was glad to be noticed. He figured it must take a lot of courage or pressure for her to express her self this way in praise of another (ships really, a bard? Delisha? She does like to dress in black leather) but he was a bit nervous about where this conversation could be going. Nervous because he had no idea. Khitti registered to Rorin as Chaotic Good - she was a good person, really - just that she saw to do good by her definition instead of others. That seemed fine, as far as he saw, Khitti did not have some warped definition of good like a crazed self appointed executioner, which Rorin had at one point painfully been. Oh, we’re getting back to the point again- “what?” Co-leader? The idea seemed to strike him as if Khitti had suggested marriage. He looks at her in that careful, caged way, the way people have of looking at someone when they announce they’re a mental patient who’s just been let out of the asylum. “Mhm. You’re sure about this?” Critically he judged if she had put a lot of time into thinking about this, wether she seemed to be loosing the dam and spilling her guts or if she had planned this speech in advance. (All right, maybe she was a bard, she was waxing awfully poetic) “you... want me, to be, your... moral compass? You want me to co-lead the guild?” This still hadn’t really sunken in yet. He needed to take a deep breath - and a glass of that whiskey. Once that was down his throat the boy leaned back from his position on the edge of the seat and considered it. He considered it the way someone must consider a sudden juxtaposition of authority, with all the grim weight of knowing you must not only carry but now use a loaded gun. Possibly against aforementioned mental patient less you also loose your own mind. “I, uh, am surprised, to say the least.” And the most obvious. “I’ve never pictured myself as someone in a Position or Authority.” Not really, no, he’d had every boys flights of fancy about being in the noble class, especially boys who grew up as temple orphans, but ever since being in one - and he had been for quite some time now, a thing he had to remind himself of - he didn’t quite like it. It’s not that he didn’t know how to use it, or didn’t have a very good grasp on how it worked or what to do, it’s that people died and he was still very sad about that. At the Battle of the Bridge he’d been a Person of Authority and screwed that all up. To be honest he hadn’t quite gotten over that since. But Rorin also knew that these things had to happen, would always happen, happen to every Person of Authority there ever was, he simply had to learn from it, and perhaps this would make him a better Person of Authority than most people were. The idea that he could improve a post or position over other unqualified peoples wasn’t lost on him. It was just that, certainly there were other qualified people? “You know I’m 19 right? It’s not just some half-elf trick, I’m not secretly a hundred and twenty five. I’m 19. And you want me to be the set standard for good actions as co-leader of the guild?” Surely someone else was more qualified. He was 19. Rorin had broken girls hearts, and tried to sleep with more people than he could count, honestly. He didn’t count that as one of his bad qualities though either, just that here someone was, sitting in front of him, telling him they wanted to be the shining light on their path of darkness. At 19. “I don’t want you to misunderstand me, it’s not that I’m uh, that I don’t want the position. It’s just, that I’m sure there’s someone more qualified for it than me. I mean, co-leader of the Devout Guild at 19,” it was a big deal. The biggest deal, in fact. Probably the biggest deal he could ever make. “It’s not that I think I’m not qualified, I am, I think, it’s just...” 19, really? Rorin scratched at the sprout of goatee he’d started to grow to try to look older and thought if it was wise. “You don’t think anyone would disagree? That there wouldn’t be so em kind of mutiny over appointing me instead of someone else?” A more seasoned, older, wiser veteran perhaps. Co-leader at 19... “it’s not as if I haven’t seen my fair share of battles and deaths.” Just recently they’d killed the world-menace kahran, but he’d been there for sauriangate and township troopers as well. 19? Gosh. “It’s just that, I may not always make the wisest decision.” He blew his arm off for a lover who became a ghost haunted addict battle addled drug junkie. Rorin definitely did not make the wisest choices. Even when he did save khittis life, which he didn’t really think he had, the wyvern had still been right there until moments later, at her possible death. And then before that he had nearly killed her and burned off her face. 19? Yes, these are definitely the decisions of someone who was right around 19. “So it’s not that I’m not fit for the job,” he’d never thought of asking for it, preposterous, trying to get to the top at 19, “it’s just that surely there’s someone more fit than me,” but was there really? If he thought about, Rorin really had been sort of made for this - not in the way some people thought they were when they’d only just discovered a passion and swelled with pride of making it, but the way someone laden with doubt and magical destiny was. He’d been born to priestess that died at his birth and raised in a temple where he hadn’t simply chosen, but had been driven, to become a paladin, and had been nearly the only one to survive the trials towards becoming one. And that was three years before he’d been 19. He still wasn’t even almost 20. But surely there was someone more qualified than him... right?

Khitti || There was no smile on Khitti’s face as Rorin worked through his many emotions and the confusion and doubt that came with Khitti’s offer. She’d let him go on. She’d even let him sit there in silence when he was done. The redhead sat back in her chair, slouching a bit so as to rest her hands on her stomach, the fingers of which were now entwined. “Age doesn’t matter, Rorin. Do you know what I was doing at nineteen? I was standing trial in my home country for suddenly being a magic user. I was going to be burned for being experimented on and being made into a necromancer. I stopped the undead from spreading throughout the rest of the country. I -saved- them. I saved all of them. And they were going to burn me. I was still a child. That saved them and they wanted me to die because of some stupid magic ban made hundreds of years before my birth. Do you know what Brand was doing? He was forced into slavery when he was fourteen, the same age I was when the necromancers experimented on me. He was force-taught elemental magic. He became the best assassin of the group known as The Daggers in Catal. Brand was a murderer at your age with the threat of his own death looming over his head at all times. And Lionel? You already know what Lionel was doing at the age of nineteen. All of Lithrydel knows.” Sigh. “Age doesn’t matter, Rorin, because life doesn’t care. Life… and sometimes the gods.” Despite her devoutness--which was nothing in comparison to Rorin’s--it was obvious that Khitti still held doubt. Still held bitterness and ire towards even those that she followed. She hadn’t asked for any of this and yet here it was. If it hadn’t happened though… she never would’ve met Brand. So, even a life like hers had a silver lining here and there. It wasn’t always enough to keep the rage at bay, though. “Unlike what the three of us were forced into, this obviously isn’t something I’m going to do to you. But, honestly, I don’t see the Devout’s Guild like the others. Some of them are too formal. Some of them informal. The Devout’s Guild just -is-. The rankings are there simply to mirror the other guilds. Despite my distaste for all of that, it helps to give people a sense of accomplishment. To show them that things aren’t all bad. That they can succeed where they want to. And your titles? They’re solely there to let people know who to go to when they need specific assistance. I think I might hate all that pomp and circumstance more than Lionel does. It was never my way. But I do it because it’s necessary to help all of them,” she said motioning to the door, and the students beyond. “I’m not a leader. I’ve never been a leader. You just said it yourself, I’m a lone wolf. I make the worst decisions. Come up with bad plans. Hell, even after having my kid and marrying Brand, I -still- think that staying here in Lithrydel was a mistake. Because I brought so many bad things to good--or nearly good--people. We all have a lot of problems, Rorin. But age and making bad decisions isn’t really one of them.”

Rorin didn’t eat while Khitti was talking. It all seemed necessary to listen to, or at least that it needed to be said. He had heard it all before and quietly accepted this though. Except he did feel that titles and marks and points were important, that goals beyond the personal allowed people to strive for something. Suppose he has a gentlemanly competitive streak. By the end he was sort of pensively tapping his fingers against things until it was done and over. “So, what would you like me to do then? As co-leader. I’m not certain what a co-leader of the guild would really do.” He knew she didn’t want him tagging along with her, or pushing along in a different direction. But how else was a moral compass supposed to work? Without being by her side when would Rorin have the chance to tell her when she had gone too far? He could train people some, sure. He could arrange the minor events and funds of things, although that wasn’t exactly what he was used to. He could even sit down and lead morning mass if she wanted, but the big question was what exactly did she want, out of the guild if not just out of him?

Khitti sighed. “The problem with attempting to lead a guild like this is that we’re all very different. Even people who follow the same god may do so for entirely different reasons. Despite your… obvious distaste for those that worship those that most consider “evil”, you still try to do your best to be accomodating of them, within reason. I’ve lost my patience for a lot of things, a lot of people, but I don’t think you’ve gotten that far yet. You still let people know you care, even if you really don’t.” But, here Khitti was getting off onto another tangent. “Basically, just be a good role model. If you want to start up some sort of training regimen for the guild, whether it’s physical or magical would be a good thing to do. Hell, I could use the help in the holy magic department. Ulah can’t exactly be there to deal with me all the time as she’s a part of the Warrior’s Guild as well. Admitting new members is another thing that can be done. For the most part, people will find you. I’ve tried to make it painfully obvious that we’re here for everyone. Even if they just want to learn and never full find a religious path, we can be here for them for a little while. But likewise, keep an eye out for possible members too. There’s been some that I didn’t think would ever join us--like a couple of the witches--but they’re just as devout as you are, though their goddess doesn’t typically have a name.” The redhead shifted her attention heavensward and stared at the stone ceiling of the Sacrosanct. “Sometimes, you just have to -do- things. There’s not always a list for them. You can’t always anticipate when something’s going to happen to the guild or otherwise, so you just have to go with the flow.”

Rorin took all this in quietly if not with a bit of fidgeting. This all did sound sort of vague and imprecise. Rorin was a man of action, yes, but as much as he tried to show some sort of cool, calm, free flowing facade, not unlike Lionel, however Rorin simply was not Lionel. Rorin was a man of plans, persistent studies and education, practice and theory. He didn’t look it - he always looked just sort of day dreamy and far away- but Rorin actually was pretty smart. Smart enough to worry and weather and while he may not be prone to anxiety and fear he did definitely feel those things and consider before acting heroic anyway. After all, that was what being a hero really means, or so he’d been told. “So, play it by ear? Just uh, direct people as needed?” Rorin was a tolerable fellow, yes. But could he provide guidance to followers of Vakmatharas or Aramoth? He tolerated these people, as long as they fell on certain sides of their religious practices, but helping, aiding, working with them - was it even religiously tolerable by his own religion to do these things? He sure hoped so.

Khitti || “Rorin, I’ve been playing it by ear for two years now--hell I’ve been playing my whole life by ear. Lionel does nothing but play things by ear unless an actual plan is needed--and even then…” Khitti bit her tongue and smirked. “You’re making this harder than it really is. Life is not precise, kid. It won’t ever be. It’s not often I say it to anyone, but I have faith in you to make okay decisions, even if they’re not always right. Just… I don’t know. Do whatever the hell Lionel does. Except piss me off. Because I’ll sic Quintessa on you if you do and it will not be a pleasant experience, I assure you. She’s almost exactly like me in way too many ways, but much younger and I know she won’t hesitate to stab someone, especially if I pay her well.” Rorin’s gifted with another smirk, to show she wasn’t entirely serious. She was definitely mostly serious, though, but Rorin would never know. Unless he actually -did- piss her off. Beware, Rorin. -Beware-. “But seriously though, kid. I wouldn’t have asked you if I didn’t think it was a good idea. Despite the chaos I like to create, I’m fully capable of making rational decisions and this one in particular -wasn’t- done when I was drunk.”

Rorin looked like a boy who doesn’t receive compliments often and doesn’t know how to take them without skepticism when he does. “Well... thanks,” he said finally, stretching out a hand to shake. *Also we may have to kill Quintessa before she uses the zombie guts for her own evil purposes* is what he thought, and he certainly hoped he also didn’t look like someone who had fully contemplated stabbing someone with neither feelings of guilt or trepidation. He would just have to burn that bridge when he crossed it. “I guess I’m looking forward to a fruitful partnership for us and the guild.” Did this mean he would be seeing Khitti more? Or she just sort of resigned to them having to eventually face off in battle, or... Rorin didn’t really know this whole moral guardian thing is supposed to go.

Khitti probably would have not agreed with Rorin on the subject of Quintessa. The girl was, after all, one who liked to experiment and research as much as Khitti had in the past and intended to do again. This knowledge wasn’t given to Khitti, however, and as such she would do nothing more than give Rorin her own hand to shake. “I do expect us to argue from time to time, I suppose. But, I think overall it’ll be fine. It’ll help us keep each other in check. Just… listen to your gut. If your gut says to kill a guildmember though, maybe come to me first about that. Just be you and I’m sure things’ll will be peachy. People like paladins of Arkhen much more than templars of too many gods to name anyway, so...” She was joking again, mostly. Khitti wouldn’t and couldn’t blame people for not caring for her much, but that didn’t mean she was gonna stop doing what she was doing. “And, I’ll see you soon to deal with that hell up in Frostmaw.”

Rorin said “I’m looking forward to it,” with a tight little smile. Somehow he al,ost felt as if Khitti would encourage Quintessa to continue her research, as if it were all fine and dandy in the facts of life. Maybe Khitti was strangely attached, maybe Khitti had already been swayed a little too close to the dark side. Rorin would not look forward to having a fight to the death with her some day, let alone argue- Rorin was hardly the arguing kind of boy. Who would he bring it up to then? When Rorin becomes convinced the world is better off without Khitti or Quintessa in it, who would he talk to about that? He tried not to have a tight sweaty guilty little pinched mouth. Instead he coughed and resumed to replace his helmet. Once that was on he’d give Khitti a formal salute in his projected more adult than he was voice and be off. Rorins future seemed to be looking a lot more nerve wracking and confrontational, but he’d face it with a bold face anyway. That was his duty and this was his path, Arkhen help him, now and forever on the path of light. The path of a true paladin