Chronology: Ultimate

The octopus, --maybe squid?-- person's metaphor for his Ability, the main Facet of it, had caught Sage a bit off-guard. He had raised a finger as if about to protest for a moment, before thinking about it for good and giving up entirely, putting it back down. If you threw aside all of the technicalities this... still weirdly worked??

"I uh-...", he had been notably confused, "I had never thought of it that way but, you know? You're not exactly wrong?? And I'm unsure of how that makes me feel... But yeah uhhh, emotion-tied fire manipulation Magic... You missed the part with the spontaneously combusting obje- Well actually, that's probably going to make a return sometime, so nevermind that.", despite the playful, casual tone in which it had ended, he still seemed somewhat uncomfortable with the idea altogether.


"...You're right, the chances of actually doing so were very veeeery small. Because like I said, I was terrified. I, have a really long history with others being scared of me, putting me aside, treating me like a thing rather than a person and cutting ties after they're aware of things.", the pyromancer looked down rather dejectedly, his free hand had gripped to the corner of the lack t-shirt and was fidgetting with the fabric nervously, "And the whole time I was just, fearful that it was about to happen again... But then also, because as much as I wanted help with it from the get-go, there was this very loud thought in my mind saying that it would be 'extremely unfair to drop such a heavy load onto strangers I had barely met'. So I guess, maybe, I just wasn't desperate enough to disregard something that.", he had shrugged with his shoulders and let out a resigned sigh before his mood seemed to pick up a bit with surprise.

"Oh right! You're new here, aren't you?", his expression was a mix of child-like wonderment and sympathy, yet mild apprehension over what he was about to eventually say, "Well uhh... H-hiya, I'm Sage~! It's been shortened to 'Sey' before, if you'd prefer that one and oh man, ain't this the weirdest topic to be on when you're just meeting somebody... By the Gods...", the young man had laughed nervously, then bringing his hand to the back of his neck, rubbing it with just as much anxiety, "Okay so uhhh, if the gaps in my memory are to be taken into account... It, might have already shown up twice or thrice in this adventure... and then a close final one after... very hurtful things happened. I just, really lost it there, but to be honest, I think... I think that everybody else did too...", there had been a glance towards whichever direction of the town the remaining parts of Team RWBY had set off to just moments ago.

And doing so had him remembering Yang's reply to him before leaving...

He had solely focused on the 'losing control' aspect of everything, but she had focused on 'anger' itself, which was interesting. Except, that had been the pyromancer's first run-in with the emotion, in a very long time, if not the initial one altogether. Maybe because of how his childhood had went, he had eventually learned to collapse irritation, annoyance and rage into numbness before he could even feel them properly, something that had become automatic as time went on...
So when it came to anger, the blonde undoubtedly had a lot more experience with it, and he, who had merely tipped the toes in the water, was already wanting out of that pool in alarm. As soon as it had passed, he had regretted literally every single second spent under its drive.

"As to what could have happened?", he had continued answering to the squid-person with almost no perceptible pause, "Well, people would be aware, for starters. They'd have known how to go about it, maybe stop it from happening at all... Then, apparently It got like, really in the way on one of the fights back in Remnant. So whatever It did, --because I don't yet know--, could have been avoided too. ... Though, that one is also, absolutely on me... That Toga Missy had me cornered and frightened for my life. Or at least that's what it felt like. I'd fill you in properly but I don't- I don't exactly like remembering it...", he had averted his gaze with some level of distress.

Then of course, at the aftermath of everything was the last person that already knew, Alexis, who had been just as supportive as Leo and was stating how proud she was of the initiative, --if doing it this late can be called that-- There was something about it, aided by the head pat, that just made him feel like straight melting over the displays of affection. Instead, Sage just blushed slightly, averted his gaze in embarrassment and tried to keep himself from tearing up again.

Oh hey, look! These didn't cause him to flinch anymore, progress has been made~!!


"I've been doing that??", the pyromancer had been legitimately shocked, eyes wide with hints of disbelief. While it was true that there was some awareness of the matter, neither the frequency nor intensity of it had registered. It was almost instinctual at this point, "I mean, I honestly was just sharing the most effective solution and, it doesn't feel like such a huge deal when I can just heal la...ter-? Oh.", hearing himself saying it out loud and using it as justification had truly helped the issue to sink in, a shocked blink marking the moment of realization, "S-shoot, that does sound bad... I honestly had no idea that's what it sounded like! It's just, so second-nature to me...", he seemed to have a bit of a crisis over the matter, lowering an erratic widened-gaze in a mix of shock, disbelief and even mild shame, "Oh man, I- was right! There IS something wrong with me...", Sage had then raised a very conflicted glance at the Kitsune, half-scared of the implications of everything, half- ...Half-searching for reassurance, "T-this is not normal, is it?"

Luckily, Orbeck's answer to his question would come at an opportune time, not cutting the exchange completely, but at least dragging his focus back, not giving it enough time to spawn into a full-on existential crisis of the kind to put the Descendant to reconsider way more than he should be doing right now. Annnnd he was right! It was Hershel! Though now he was being asked if he knew him in return.

"You could say that? We have a weird arrangement going on...", he had glanced away for a moment trying to find how to word things, "I guess it's like having a second home and a roommate on it? He lent me a room and I go over to his place at times when I'm bored in the temple, which is somewhat often ever since I abandoned college... It's nice in there, different, but not bad.", there was a thoughtful pause, "It's odd that you hadn't run at me yet... But then again, I'm either flying or meditating most of the time? So It's not that surprising.", the pyromancer had chuckled to himself, "Hershel is... well, a bit pushy at times, but he was one of the first people to like, actually hear me out and lend me a space to open-up sooo, can't say I mind it that much."

"Oh, in fact! Alexis keeps repeating a lot of what he says!!", the young man had looked back up at the woman, a child-like wonder and excitement in his gaze, "Maybe you two should meet some time, I get the feeling that you'd get along nicely... He likes to set up tea and sugar cookies and we just talk, it's fun! I met Ike on one of those, remember that we were talking about it? ...I wonder where he went after that, oh well, maybe he changed ideas."

It didn't take much for the others to realize he had kinda entered ramble-mode somewhere along the way, but at least the pyromancer was in high-spirits again and that was a good thing. Probably! Definitely better than an existential crisis.


The Magical Missy's shout had echoed in the background and suddenly he had recalled that's what he had been about to do! It would be easier to catch that runaway bird if he just flew there, right? ...This was totally not just an excuse to fly without being slapped by extreme wind currents this time. Nope!

"Meet you guys at Megumin's?", he had declared to Alexis and Leo while pulling out the armet, unknowing that Orbeck's destination was apparently the same, "I have a hat to help retrieve first!"

Then he had taken off just as soon as he had said it, a fierce flap of his recently summoned wings sending him up high. Maaan did it feel good! And it wasn't just the power surge talking, though that also felt amazing. Since he had been facing the opposite way, Sage had executed a half-loop in the air, bending his body back into a horizontal position, before a single-wing flap would help him flip around the proper way, now belly-down as it should be. With a new flap, he had dived down, using the gravity to pick up speed and aim to catch up with both Megumin and the odd parakeet.
However, the bird thief had then made an abrupt turn upwards going higher and higher out of the Missy's reach! Sage would take it as a bit of a challenge and flap again for even more speed, passing by the entire group at surface level with a sudden loud 'fooosh!!' of both wind and flames. He made sure to not be too close that he might have crashed, but that could have startled somebody that was distracted.

"I'VE GOT IT!!!!!", he had announced as he flew by able to reach half of the building's height, until a sharp bird cry cut through the air overhead... Oh, uhhh there was an eagle with the same bird as target here, oops! ...He definitely didn't want to see what it did to that poor parakeet, "N-Nevermind!"

Forced to head back, the pyromancer had took a new flap to get a bit more height, then bent himself back for another loop, wings extended back and close to his body to allow his descent to be as quick as possible. Then about two person's height, they had re-opened and flapped, Sage flying over the group to take a safe landing distance from them. He allowed it to ease on a half-closed wing glide before pulling back into a vertical position, at which point the wings acted akin to parachutes to soften the landing. As usual, the constructs were gone as soon as he had landed, mere embers scattering in the air. Oh well, that had been fun! Short, definitely, but still tons of fun!

A moment later he would be catching up with the others, about to give Megumin the news about the parakeet and consequently her hat untiiiil, his gaze had caught the strange man they were apparently talking to. Firstly, he got a magician feel off of him... Secondly, The Moon Clan vibes were off the charts. Sage took a cautious step back almost immediately.

"Uhhh, hi?", he had raised an arm in a tentative greeting, but his hesitancy showed.

Nope! The young man didn't trust this dapper clad stranger one bit already.

The pyromancer had a narrowed, unusually judgemental look the whole time as he had watched the mysterious man, apparently called Facilier, and his each and every move. As both strong biases and apprehension swirled, the temperature around him would pick up a few degrees, not yet the heater sensation, but something akin to electronic devices left turned on for long periods of time. It was mild, and yet rather noticeable on closeness.

The man in a black and red tophat stated that he was there to 'help' and Sage could only scoff at the idea. Help. When did anyone carrying the feel of mystery and twisted interests ever want to just help? It was more likely that he would be leading them straight into a trap. If anything, the motif of skulls did not sell the lie any further. Exposed skeletons evoked both Death and wickedness. If that wasn't the mark of a cult or something similarly of sinister nature, he didn't know what it was...

With a discreet glance towards Megumin, the young man wondered if it was too late to take the mage into the air and run away with her. Well, if Leo had tagged along too, there'd be two passengers to handle... Maybe Alexis could carry him as well? But all instincts were screaming to escape before the situation escalated too much, his firey-gaze glowing ever so slightly with the held-in tension. At least, the Missy's excited comments had offered a little reprieve from everything, even if temporary. The temperature subsided just a bit...

"...Huh?", he had blinked out of it in confusion before glancing away awkwardly, "Weeell, what part of Phoenix Deity mix, didn't you get?", what else did you think of when you heard the word, really? Big fire bird! Also... wasn't him flying when they had first interacted properly?, "But uhh thanks! It's my favorite Facet of it, really.", normally he'd be more excited and go on a huge rambling session about it buuuuuut-

That man was still there, and setting off every darn alarm in his mind!

Sage leaned in closer to the archmage just enough to see the card in her hands. None of the words in it really meant anything to the pyromancer. Well, maybe Tarot would, eventually, but it was not something his Clan messed with. Why? Because 'Fortune-telling' as Megumin would mention was a well-known scummy Moon Clan practice. They know Time can only be channelled to be measured, but they still created these 'tools' to trick others, selling them as magic. It wasn't, it was just very clever and ill-intentioned body language reading summed to the right words and questions. Absolutely despicable. Some of the cards and symbology would be different too, not that he would know it, not having seen the deck in person at all.

It was one thing to balance energies and assess personalities, it was another to straight lie to people for money.

So here he was, being crushed by biases, in front of a terrible and possibly dangerous man that was suggesting they visited his 'shop', a shop that existed in the alleyway of a huge urbanized city. Ciri had been the one to best word the pyromancer's exact concerns out loud, though only indirectly. She was right though, they did know better than to follow a stranger into what was probably a trap in a more isolated location... Away from public eyes.

He, had not liked that. To make matters worse, the magical Missy had been a little too straight-forward, if not plain sassy with this 'Doctor'. The young man had exchanged a nervous glance with her and shook his head ever so slightly.
She was being way too overconfident in their abilities.

It did not take too long for the girl to pay the price.

Some type of Illusion, then Shapeshifting. The shadow of the man would shove Megumin up back to the front a couple of times and expose the mage to his power's range. The tone changed, it was a clear threat now, they were being given no chance other than to follow him into his dominion. But even further, it became a hostage situation once where had once stood the archmage, engulfed by a smoke that spelled 'bad news', now stood an odd living cartoonish shoe. Sage let out a gasp and, with the sudden incoming mix of outrage, shock and confusion, as his eyes had flashed brighter, a streetlamp right beside Facilier had suddenly exploded and caught on fire.

And the outrage would remain alight. 'Oh no, you DIDN'T.'
If there had been any chance for the pyromancer to warm up towards the mysterious man, it was clearly off of the table after that.

"H-hey!", he protested, orange flame-aura starting to burn around his silhouette, the temperature was on heater levels and quickly rising, "You better shift that Missy back, immediately!!"

He wasn't about to start anything for real. Not yet at least, attacking first wasn't the Descendant's thing. But, he was incredibly annoyed and could not tolerate the oppression done to poor Megumin; Nor the egocentric, 'full of himself' way that Facilier had lashed out with Magic. He hated those types, it was a similar gripe to the one he had with the Entity.
Come oooon, the girl hadn't even done anything that was close to warranting that kind of harsh punishment!