RP:Pride, Prejudice, And Promotions

Part of the In Darkness We Trust Arc

Part of the The Day I Tried To Live Arc

This is a Necromancer's Guild RP.

Summary: Khitti searches the books at the HQ for any sort of help to get rid of the monstrosity she created. Larewen and Bradyn soon appear, and as usual, things do not go well between the three.

Necromancer's Guild Headquarters, The Avenue Of Guilds

Khitti was only here because she had to be. Well, more because she was avoiding Larewen at the moment. While she had talked to Bradyn about things--and there’s no way for her to truly know if things were set right or not with him--she still hadn’t approached their guild leader about things pertaining to her cure. LydiaAmarrahAbomination things, that is. It’s not like Larewen wouldn’t have known. It was done in the forest near her house, near her body that was staving off the Corruption from getting loose--and here Khitti was, letting loose her own sort of nightmare on the world, albeit unintentionally. The city was still relatively on high alert. Would the Monstrosity return for more souls? Would it send more mindless undead through the portal to attack the city? It was unknown what its intentions were, what Amarrah’s father’s intentions were, besides the obvious ones of murder and trying to completely ruin Khitti’s life--moreso than Amarrah already had before. But, here she was, pouring through the guilds tomes for something, anything. This was not a luxury she had before she went to the Shadow Plane and it could prove fruitful. Maybe there was something here that she could find in hopes of putting an end to the Monstrosity? Likely not, but as she was not on tracking duty at the moment, it didn’t hurt to try.

Nothing stirs within the room, and yet if Khitti lifts her head, she’ll find Larewen having materialized in one of the chairs opposite her. She is quiet, watchful, and partially buried beneath her own thoughts which, in the wake of trading one curse for another, have become quite troublesome. The necromancer finds herself in possession of something resembling a conscience. It isn’t a true one, there to prevent one from committing heinous deeds, but it is there as a filter of sorts. The specter taps her fingers, always reaching for a cigarette that is never there. Her breath funnels through the ghastly remnants of her throat and finally, there is that otherworldly chill that only a lingering spirit can possess. “Khatja,” she greets, her voice a soft, disembodied cadence. From there, she awaits the other’s acknowledgment.

Bradyn hardly gives the two women much of a chance to begin catching up before his own arrival is made known. In through the main entrance Bradyn strides, his steps carrying him all the way into the very same space that Khitti and Larewen occupy. A seat is not taken beside either woman, the Maharan male instead coming to a stand at one end of the table. Both hands rest upon the surface of the table as grey eyes flicker from Khitti to Larewen and back again. No words come to greet either vampire, but Bradyn has the same subject matter on his mind that the other women do: Vailkrin does not just have a problem with the Corruption, but now with a beast that Khitti has let loose onto the world. He'll let Khitti break the news to Larewen of this newest problem, even if she is more than likely already aware of it. It is always different when hearing it straight from the source…

Mmm, nope. This is not a thing Khitti wanted to deal with right now. Not at all. She fights the urge to flee, but it’s definitely written all over her face. The little bit of color she had in her system from a most recent feeding drained pretty quickly when she turned her head to find not only Larewen--of course it was Larewen; she was the only one that called her Khatja--and Bradyn. If only she hadn’t been so intently reading these books, she might’ve had time to escape. If only. She always was pretty bad with her vampiric senses though, there was always something more important to focus on unless things were really bad. Khitti does manage to steel her nerves as much as possible, however, addressing only the elder vampire currently as Bradyn’s said nothing. “Larewen.” The book she had was shut ever so carefully and her gaze shifted between the two before focusing on the tome’s cover instead.

Larewen tilts her head slightly in Bradyn’s direction, a curt lift of her chin offered in greeting to the male before mismatched and translucent eyes return to Khatja. Her jaw moves, undoubtedly to mimic that way in which the woman often clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth, only there’s no flesh or membrane there to meet. “It seems we have two problems to deal with now,” the banshee’s haunting voice continues. She pinches the bridge of her nose slightly with her fingers, as if to relieve a phantom ache. “I will assume your ritual didn’t quite go the way you expected?” Originally Larewen was to be there, but when one’s bound to a dark forest and, at that time largely incapable of magic, there would be little for her to do. Instead, she’d been off to meet with Lionel, to eat magic, to sort through dreadful emotions, and to finally accept help - from her ex-husband, actually.

It would seem that one way or another Khitti would be bound to speak of the situation, like it or not, for it seems at least one being in the room would bring up the subject matter. While Bradyn was probably still rather sore at Khitti, he was still doing well to keep his commentary to himself and not rub salt on the wound, so to speak. "A problem that will be dealt with." Obviously, yes. Someone would have to deal with it. It would seem the Maharan male is far more willing to offer up his aid to Khitti despite their tensions, if only because he was not without his role within this ritual. A wiser man would have stopped to ask more questions rather than so blindly agreeing to assist.

Khitti sighed heavily. “Yes. And, no, it did not go vell. I vasn’t exactly expecting Facilier himself to materialize from zhe Shadow Plane. I vasn’t expecting zhat Amarrah’s soul vould still be attached to zhat heart of hers. I vasn’t expecting zhe fact zhat maybe, just maybe, zhis could’ve all have been a nice big trap for me because I’m desperate and vant a frakking cure.” There’s hesitation, an attempt to try to temper whatever attitude it might sound like she has. It’s not really directed at either of them, to be fair, but rather, at the situation itself. This is not what she wanted. Not any of it. “I should have been, however. Especially given zhe nightmares I’ve been having lately because of Facilier. Or vas, rather. Zhey’ve all miraculously stopped now zhat zhe heart is no longer being used to manipulate me, as Brand and I found out.” That doesn’t mean she wasn’t still stressed out by them and it showed; there was a certain furrowing of red brows and a soul-worn frown to accompany it. “It’s being dealt vith. By me. By Brand. By Lionel.” That’s when she finally looks towards Bradyn, that frown still present. “You’re not helping. I need you here.” It was more of a begging sort of tone, than a commanding one, as in ‘please don’t get any deeper into this mess’. “Bradyn’s role in it vas my own fault. He likely vould not have helped me if he knew vhat I vas doing.”

Larewen sucks in a cool breath of air for what it’s worth as she looks between the two. A glass of wine would be just as wonderful as a cigarette right now, but the banshee is robbed of that also. “I still know very little of this Amarrah, aside from the bits and pieces you’ve told me. That is something we can talk about another time, when it is done and things are better,” she says, and though she appears to brush the subject off, her jaw tenses a fraction. “What is done is done.” The thought of Lionel even remotely close to Vailkrin unsettles the banshee, but she too has requested the warrior’s aid with her own monstrosity. The fact her body still held its vigil, that the barrier remains intact, is a wonder at this point. Several months have passed, after all. She could raise her voice, she could threaten the pair, she could behave every bit the ass she makes of herself, and yet the specter does not. Instead, she leans back in the chair she sits in. “How do you intend to remedy the problem?”

Bradyn can't even begin to express the amount of annoyance he has for the two women in the room. One he would not mind helping with her problems, yet she is picking and choosing. Brand and Lionel, not you though Bradyn. The other? Well he can't stand talking about her, let alone being in her presence...and yet she thinks that he should help her? Ladies, please uncross your wires. Khitti has spoken her part and Bradyn really does not feel like bickering with her, so she and Larewen can discuss the details while the Maharan turns begins to stride out of the room. Whatever purpose originally brought him here has not been forgotten, he'll just come back during a quieter time.

Khitti wasn’t finished, but yet Bradyn still left regardless and this only made her frown more. “I had more to say… I didn’t vant him zhere because I don’t know how zhis vill end. It’s more important to be here, to help vith zhe guild, to help vith zhe Corruption, to help zhe city. But, he just… doesn’t get it. He’s more concerned about his pride. I know you two have your differences, but I felt like I vas getting somewhere vith him and zhen it all vent frakking belly up. I should’ve told him about zhe cure, but… vhat does he expect me to say? After zhe initial reaction I got from you, I vasn’t just going to tell him zhat I vant to be human again. You house vampires, you vanted zhis. You just… don’t get it and it’s not really my job to make you see.” Khitti stared at the exit where Bradyn had been only moments before, “As for zhe monster, I don’t know if she’s gotten out or not. Onyx, Brand’s first mate, put up a tracking spell at zhe portal. I trust zhem enough to know zhat zhey’d say if Amarrah left or not.” The seemingly genderless undead known as Onyx was not a pleasant sort of being, but they were beholden to Brand somewhat, and this meant that they would help Khitti, if only because of their captain. “Zhe undead keep coming, zhough. Victims are either eaten entirely to further her mutation or made to join zhe horde. I’ve been helping zhe guards vhen I’m not here, but zhat’s all I can do right now until she slips up. Ve’re all vatching and vaiting, zhough. Ve’re not just not doing anything.

Larewen furrows her brow slightly as Bradyn takes his leave, her lips pressing into a thin line. Her gaze follows, only returning to the dark ranger when the male is gone from sight. It’s hard to work with a necromancer that loathes her as much as he does, though she’s got no reason to fault him. With a slight lift of her shoulder, she continues the conversation with Khitti. “The things a person will do when their heart calls them makes fools of many of them - myself included. A more proactive measure may be necessary and is certainly preferable to her gaining strength, no?”

Khitti nodded, “If you have a solution, to at least protect zhe city further, zhen I am all ears. Implement it vhen you can. Zhe problem is zhat Facilier is powerful--moreso zhan you even. Zhere’s been a few undead sightings outside of zhe city too, zhough not many yet. I can deal vith Cenril and Kelay-Sage, and even come back here if I need to, but zhere’s so few of us vorking on zhis, zhat ve’re spread zhin. And zhat’s besides zhe fact zhat zhis is not either Brand, nor Lionel, nor Onyx’s responsibility. Zhey all have zheir own jobs to do elsewhere.” Khitti finally eased up a bit, leaning back in the chair, “I don’t know all of vhat Facilier is capable of, but I do know vhat he intends to do and it may end up being a problem for Future Me, but not one I can afford to focus on right now.”

Larewen is still limited, still learning her own abilities in the form she now possesses and this is a constant source of frustration for the deathsinger. Silently she studies the woman before her, her thoughts roaming back, briefly, to the very beginning, to their first meeting. “Without my body, what I can do to protect Vailkrin is woefully lacking,” Larewen voices. “But I will find something we can do to keep the city safe. Bradyn may loathe the thought of aiding me in returning to my body, but if Vailkrin falls, so too does House Mahara. Personal vendettas matter little at times like these, but I am not going to chase him down to beg his forgiveness.” She taps the arm of her chair again. “This was not the reason for my lingering here, Khatja. I am hard pressed to follow my initial intentions, given the current situation at large. I think you’re quite aware of the consequences of your actions, and while the ritual may not have gone as planned and the result is less than satisfactory, you have certainly honed your craft since first we met. The arts we dabble in are dangerous. They can tear us apart, corrupt us, and far worse if we allow them to. I am not without fault, given the beast that roams the forest presently. It is a part of the learning process to make mistakes. That said, I was actually here to inform you and Bradyn of a change of rank to Thanadule.”

Khitti side-eyed the table as Larewen spoke of Bradyn and alliances. “You may not necessarily have to chase him down to beg for forgiveness, but a compromise might have to be made. Vhatever is going on between you two must end. Even vhen my problem is dealt vith, zhere is still zhe Corruption and zhat vill require more in-depth zhinking zhat anything we might need to do vith Amarrah. He really lives up to his house’s nature. I zhink ve vould have succeed in zhe resurrection of my sister if Facilier had not interfered and zhat vas mainly because of Bradyn’s help. He certainly has a passion for advanced reanimation and zhe like, vhich I guess is to be expected vith his job as a mortician.” She dwelled, for the moment, on the last of Larewen’s words and her making it to the next step in the guild. “I vould like to teach zhe Black Tides, if you’d allow me to. Zhere is still zhings I must learn vith it--how to better control shadowice at zhe very least--but I know no other around here like myself, vith zhis much skill in it.” There’s a pause and a mustering of a faint smile despite everything. “Zhank you.” For what though, she didn’t really explain. Could be for Larewen not yelling at her. Could be for her giving Khitti the chance still to further herself in the guild. Could be for a lot of things.

Larewen dips her head slightly in Khitt’s direction. “I expected the Black Tides to be the skill you would choose,” the necromancer replies. She and Bradyn have talked. Once, at least. And that was when he expressed his interest in advanced re-animation. “In regards to Amarrah, I will aid in whatever way I can. Should your path cross with Bradyn before mine does, feel free to inform him of his promotion.” The corners of her lips twitch faintly, hinting at a smile - or something akin to one. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve some things to take care of. A few things I’d like to try in my present state.”