RP:Socially Awkward Rabbit
Frostmaw Colosseum
(Continued from A Proposal of Brotherhood.)
Ezekiel had been tracking the faint hum of energy for hours now, well across the frozen slopes of Frostmaw. Easily distracted, and on a one track mind, the mage couldn't contain the levels of curiosity bubbling within. Ever since he integrated himself with those unique gloves, he had an affinity with raw energy unlike anything he knew. Raw pockets, mostly remnants of a short-lived battle, or someone's test of skill; it most led to nothing. This though, this had caught his attention weeks back, upon first arrival here in the frozen wasteland, he simply had matters far greater than this. However, with said matters taken care of and stapled away, the first bit of free time was spent chasing this bread crumb trail of energy. Brushing the frost off the caverns wall, he'd drag his hand along the stone, eyes studying the area carefully from behind enhanced goggles.
Satoshi is relatively alone in the arena at this time of night. The day's matches are over, the crowds dispersed, the cleaning crews gone home, all leaving the city's queen to herself. Perched on the edge of the wall that rings in the fighting pit, Satoshi stares absently down at the bloodied corpse of a Frost Howler sprawled at her feet, it's body long gone cold since she'd finished it off in her match. In her hand rests a pair of the beast's lengthy quills, like two perfect icicles, ringing with the sound of glass as she clicks them together in a constant, repetitive motion. Although she's not aware of it, the tempo she's producing matches perfectly with the thrum of energy from the colosseum's core beneath the floor, the presence of the immense fluorite only noticed on the subconscious level after sending so much time in its vicinity. Only the kit's whiskers seem aware as they give the occasional twitch, ever sensitive to the flucuations of arcane energy around her.
Ezekiel continued his unsteady gait across the crispy-frost covered arena, each step leaving a snow lined imprint. Much to the quaint hum of arcane energies, was a gentle pulsating glow, both at the core of each palm. Further he moved in, his expectations for an arena simply null; who would ever suspect a cave- so oddly filled with flowers -to harbor such a feat of architecture? As if feeding off his own curiosity, the mechanical ball of scrap metal known as Flux simply rolled out of his coat pocket, unfolding into the familiar guise of a ferret. As silly as it acted, he paid it no heed, more so fascinated with several things: The Arena, the corpse, the woman, the- The unsteady rhythm of his crunching boots stopped, and a single breath uttering two words was heard. "You again.."
Satoshi's hand ceases its clacking of the quills, attention drawn from daydreaming by the voice. Eyes squint to take in the man's features, mind awoken to search for any hints of familiarity. Ah, that's right. She's encountered this fellow once before, and seen him in passing another time, but never has she properly met him. Unless you count intending to eat his face off as a 'meeting'. "Moi, yes. I do have a terrible habit of haunting my territory. 's probably why they call me 'Ghost'." A phantom smirk creeps across her features and she nods to indicate the arena. "Forgive me, but you don't strike me as the sort to seek out organized combat." This might be a slight jab at the fact that the poor fellow soiled himself the first time she saw him. "What brings you to the arena?"
Ezekiel felt the cold hand of a chill crawling up his spine, the hairs at the back of his neck rising. This was only natural for the paranoid git, especially when he was in the presence of a ghost; nickname or not, this was an arena, and it was perfectly plausible for it to have its own haunt. "No no- you're right, foolish of me. Just another fan, who eh- lost his eye piece!" Nervously edging back, he'd reconsider the hunt for arcane energy. That was, till he saw the corpse of the Howler. "Did you.. That is- oh." This was how he was going to die.
Satoshi resists the urge to grin or laugh, instead choosing to lean forward and jab the dead creature's body with one of its quills. "It's quite dead, I promise. It won't bite." She can smell from here the faint odor of fear, as if the man's nervousness wasn't obvious enough by sight alone, and she's not quite in the mood to see someone fleeing the arena in a panic. "And neither will I~." She might have added more then, if it weren't for her catching sight of the metal ferret. A clockwork creature? Amber-flecked eyes light up with intrigue, quills dropped as the kit slips from the wall to land lightly in the snow. "Who's your lovely little friend~? I've only ever seen three other creatures made from moving metal. Did you make this?" A face filled with awe is lifted to look at Ezekiel, trying to see the man behind the veil of a paranoid rabbit.
Ezekiel could trust her about as far as he could throw her. That wasn't saying much for either; her size, and his non-existent muscles. If he were to flex, he'd get the comical animated downward droop. Regardless, she has his contraption captive, and as cowardly as he was, Ezekiel wasn't leaving without it. "More? Interesting.. I thought-" Thought it was the first, and only. Questions to visit later, no doubt. Rooted in his current location, he'd simply reply from afar, not quite sure what to do. "I did indeed." The creature, like any driven with curiosity, found interest at the base of Satoshi's feet. It would sit there, looking up, blinking occasionally.
Satoshi has gone from cyptic murderer to enthralled child in the span of seconds. But who can blame her? She's highly curious by nature, and exceedingly fond of small, unusual creatures, so this clockwork ferret is the yarnball to her kitten. Crouching down to get closer to the little creation, Satoshi reaches out with a fingertip to lightly poke its nose. "Amazing. A tinkermage, I take it? I've never known anyone but those sorts and avians being able to create these critters. An enviable skill." The same hand she'd used to boop the ferret's nose is offered out to the flectomancer then. "Satoshi Azakhaer. Ice Magus."
Satoshi gave 1 Nose Boop to Ezekiel's Ferret.
Ezekiel blinked, watching the ferret. It flinched, dipped low, and bounced into his infamous war dance, earning quite the reaction for Satoshi. Ezekiel, on the other hand, had one thing on his mind; attention whore. "Impressive. Each day I find more and more my craft isn't a far fetched tale, but something at the very least, recognizable." He was loosening up, somewhat, but his nerves were still on edge. To the hand that was offered, a stare was given in return. The steadily pulsating palm continued to glow, though now behind his back. With an unconditional fear of being touched- and all things related -Ezekiel simply leaned over, as if inspecting the hand for impurities. "Eh- No thank you. E…zekiel. Ezekiel Malokov. Tinkermage?" His undeniable socially awkward antics were as present as ever.
Satoshi doesn't seem bothered by the refusal to shake hands. In truth, she's not particularly fond of the gesture herself, having ice-cold skin that makes people uncomfortable, but common courtesy has taught her to make the attempt either way. Retracting the hand, the foxkin engages the ferret's war dance with a series of pokes over its body, each small jab placed far from the prior in hopes he'll attempt to chase after each and be left scrambling for the effort. It's a game she plays often with the cats, knowing how sensitive their fur is to being plucked, and how mad they're driven when they fail to capture the offending hand. And yet, Satoshi still manages to maintain the conversation in the process, "A pleasure et such. And, uh... tinkermage. Flectomancer? Gear Weaver? Steel Spells? They're not common, but they've plenty of names for those that can give life to metals, springs, and all the other odds and ends of mechanical things. I can make constructs of ice, but this art is beyond moi."
Ezekiel wanted to bury his face in his palm, in both a mix of shame and envy; the creature- artificial in every way -was able to socialize better than he. That was just plain pitiful. "I do what I can, given the circumstances." He took a moment to glance at his palms, the pulse of the glow somewhat brighter- was it here? "My magic is stunted. A barrier of some sorts, blocking any and all use. I must build to prevent this." A broad answer, he'd explain later, no doubt. "You haunt this.. You said?" He stared at her from behind tinted lenses. "What's hidden here?"
Satoshi pauses her playful assault on the mechanical ferret to look up at Ezekiel, all grins. "Non. I don't truly haunt here, was a joke. I'm Frostmaw's queen, this is a favorite spot of my people, so I'm here often. But..." The magus frowns slightly. "What do you mean 'hidden'?"
Ezekiel blinked. Hell, even the lenses of his goggles spiraled shut, in the snap of a few blinks, adding to the comical humor. "Oh." He waited.. And waited. "Oh!" A queen- The queen. Just like that; how unscrupulous of him. Quick, what had he said, what should he say? No- no this wasn't his queen, did her ruling not apply to him? Or did it apply tenfold, since he was in her land of ruling. "Oh. Eh-" He was lost for words, crashing and burning by the second; this was why he was, and forever would be single. "Energy.. Arcane- like. Magic! That, yes." Fumbling over his words, he simply held out his palms. "I can, the gloves, something 'big' is near. Do.. Do you know of anything capable of such power?" Red in the face, he made it a point to look away, nudging the ferret back into a ball.
Satoshi rises, only to lean back against the perimeter wall, patiently waiting for the man's fumbling to slow and eventually stop. To say she's used to these sorts of reactions at mention of her station is an understatement. It's part of why she usually refrains until later in the conversation, letting the person get acquainted to -Satoshi- before 'Lady Frostmaw'. And so, when Ezekiel brings up his gloves and a source of power, she seizes the opportunity to change the subject. "I can name a few things that might give off that sort of aura, depending on just how and what exactly you're picking up. For one, there's me. I'm the land's strongest cryomancer, in the center of her domain, after all." If she were a bird, Satoshi would be preening right now. "That's if you're detecting innate arcane abilities. Otherwise, numerous lives have ended here, often violently. The imprints of departed souls are rather strong in such cases, doubly so when excitement and aggression typically fill this area." She knows this from Kirien, who avoids the arena due to the overwhelming echoes he feels within it. "Or, it could be the energy source for the arena. It's a reservoir of magic, for maintaining the various enchantments we use in matches here each day. Take your pick, Rabbit~."
Ezekiel stutttered. "A-a reservoir?" Straight to the point, and pinned from the start. The anguish and excitement of the dead was more to the priests, and necromancers. The power radiating from Satoshi, if he could pick it up at all, would have been weak, at best. NOT to insult her obvious strength in skill, as a seasoned cyromancer, his link with the energy just didn't work like that. However, a store of mass energies, harvests from several battles; like a magnet, it seemed to hold it all inside. Again he looked down. "Interesting." The gears inside his head were already turning. "I take it information on such a thing would be classified, yes?"
Satoshi shrugs, still leaning against the wall. "Not classified. Just not quite talked about much. Folks come here to see fights, they don't care about the enchantments, wards, and other such magics present to keep things running smoothly. Nobody asks, so I don't tend to tell, es all. The only times it really gets brought up are when those attuned or sensitive to the arcane complain of a pressure in the air. Or a sound just out of their hearing range, an itch they can't quite scratch, an errant thought on the edge of their mind. That sort of thing. It used to irritate me as well, but enough time spent here lets me... tune it out, tu sais?"
Ezekiel thought about what she said for a while, pausing to glance at his watch. It was late. "What.. would it take, to gain permission to get a closer look at said reservoir?" He had promised to meet a client about a necromancer, and possibly a hired hand for his biggest project. With how hard it had been to find one, he didn't want to lose this oppurtinity. The ball of scrap metal was picked up, and dropped into his chest pocket, while he awkwardly shuffled from one foot to the other. His toes were cold.
Satoshi pushes herself off the wall with a soft sigh, a nudge of her foot given to the howler's corpse. A smile flits across her face at the wind-chime sound its quills produce from the sharp motion. "Find me here again some time, I'll give you a tour. I swear the thing gets lonely without company these days, a visit from someone new might cheer it up." She might be joking. She might not. When you stuff that much ambient energy and emotion into a single power source and then enshroud it in countless runes, odd things happen.
Ezekiel crossed his arms, and kicked his toe across the frost. "Sounds like a plan. It.. fancy- I." Secretly, the ferret was palming its metal face for the man. "Pleasure... to meet you?" That was as good as he was going to get it; he'd make a mental note, to ask Dasiy for a remedy to relax him in these socially awkard situations. "Till next time." A slight nod, coupled with a bow, a swift turn on the heel- and he was off. Once his meeting with Celiann was finished, he'd make plans to pay the Queen another visit hopefully.
Satoshi simply nods, trying to mask an amused smile. "Until next time~." Until then, she'll have to decide if teasing the man for a few laughs is worth scaring him off for good. Sometimes, the cost of behaving is no fun whatsoever. Bugger.