Fantasy Orias- IC Zone

[CapRock]

(sorry for the delay. My weekend was a bit busy)

Scelus

"Oh, please, don't fret about it" Scelus answered Elara. "If it's some extra voices in this conversation what you seek, I'm sure we can provide you that."
Before Scelus could answer, however, he was informed that they were ready to move on. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of secret matters they had attended upstair while they waited. Could the higher-ups be devising a test to prove their conviction? And if so, could he stand the slightest chance of passing that?
Of course you can, don't be an idiot. I'll rip them all to shreds if I need to. Despite its choice of words, that thought did pick up Scelus a little bit. He got up from his sit and said:
"I'm ready alright. After you, Ms. Sear."

 

[Gas mask]

William stood up tall and took a breath. “I’m bout ready to give the Lord Of Darkness a good one. I’m ready!” William was finally ready to risk everything. He has finally found a way to bring himself back from the endless limbo.

 

[NortherStar88]

Ella
"Have fun " Ella waved them off as she continued her drinking Knowing at some point she wpould need to leave and check on the Resort. She satyed seated as she watched them leave glass in hand and staring off as she sat there.

 

[Arcanimus]

Sear​

She gave Elara a pat on the shoulder, not pushing anything, only reassuring.

"Thanks," She spoke to Elara, then turned the others with a softened smile.

"Let's get going," Sear pushed off of her seat at the bar and started walking towards the stairs.

 

[CapRock]

Scelus

Scelus passed by the band and the waiter, making sure to tip them both before following Sear upstairs. "It's been a pleasure, really;" He told them. "I hope we'll see each other again soon." he gave one final nod to Elara as he left the bar's scene. Whatever it was he'd find up there, he was as ready to face it as he ever could be and that's all that gave him confidence to press on.

 

[Gas mask]

Williams followed Scelus as well Sear up the stairs giving a smirk and a wave to Elara. “Hey Sear, where we going?” He says as he continues to Persue.

 

[Arcanimus]

Sear​

She looked at William with a tad of disbelief, "To my office, where you can be assessed by my superiors. They will decide to either accept or dismiss you."

At the top of the stairs she strode towards the door at the end of the hall, where she could see Shame leaning against the door frame.

She didn't deign to wait for a reply from William, but did look over her shoulder to make sure Scelus had followed, to engage Shame.

"Is there an issue?"

Shame smiled, eyeing the two like prey. Scare tactics, it almost made Sear laugh, if she wasn't playing along.

"Mask wants them one at a time."

 

[CapRock]

Scelus

Scelus retracted shyly to Shame's terrifying grim. It didn't help that the immortal being before him was a bit taller as well and that Sear herself seemed a bit more serious than before in her presence. The one thing that was helping him keep it together was William standing right beside him, and now even that was going to be taken away from him. The chiropteran sized up his options: he could either go first and head into the next room with no knowledge of what awaited him, a rather risky option; or he could go second, stick around and likely face Shame's stare for a quite a few minutes longer.
"Should I go first?" Scelus suggested, making his decision.

 

[Arcanimus]

Sear​

She was slightly impressed by a volunteer to meet Mask. Alone. Atleast first.

Shame's smile softened slightly, appreciative perhaps, but still retained the intention of fear.

"Of course, Mask is inside." Shame didn't show any indication to Sear why there was a sudden change in plans.

Sear decided not to show any surprise, and merely stepped to lean on the side of the door frame opposite Shame.

"Good luck,"

 

[Gas mask]

William’s eyes glew brighter with a smile. “Go get em buddy!” He said slapping Scelus on the back and reaching to give him a thumbs up if he turned around before he disappeared into the office. William had been tortured and interrogated by superiors too much in his past to be as afraid as he once was.

 

[CapRock]

Scelus

Just by gauging the other's reaction, Scelus quickly started to realize he might have misjudged just how terrifying Mask could be. He flinched nervously when patted on the back by William, but nodded and offered a nervous smile in return for the encouragement.
"So... I guess I'll just... Go in then." He muttered as he reached for the door.
Scelus was greeted with a simple office room, a work desks and a couple chairs. The moment his eyes met with Mask he couldn't help but hesitate at her sight.
Let me take over. There's no point in hiding me anymore and she'll break you like a twig if you don't. While he considered the thought, Scelus nodded slightly to Mask and said:
"Good evening. I'm Scelus, the new recruit." He took a step forward and showed an intention to put his hand forward, but gave up on it halfway. "Or at least i aspire to be."

 

[Arcanimus]

Mask​

Mask said nothing at first, taking her time to analyze him. She stood still, now centered in front of the desk.

"Sit." She said at last, her monotone commanding and deep for a female. She didn't see the use in adding words that didn't aid her.

Her abilities was the space between objects, and about the only time she ever spent am extended period in the Mortal Realm was when she was trained in science for a few years.

 

[CapRock]

Scelus

It was truly impressive: How could one word say so much about the being he was dealing with? He deduced immediately that she would be objective and take control of the conversation, so it was much better to keep this side of his in control. Scelus took one of the seats, one hand holding the other atop his lap, eyes staring at the ground and occasionally glancing up, waiting for an input.

 

[Arcanimus]

Mask​

Mask remained still, "Tell me why." She meant to tell her why he wanted to join, but without Shame her way of speaking may seem broken.

She noticed his behavior, and took no satisfaction from a docile sheep. But she wasn't about to encourage him not to follow her command.

 

[CapRock]

Scelus

Once Scelus understood the nature of the test, some of his fearfulness faded away; to explain his reasoning and motivation and prove he was serious about his own recruitment. It was one of the very few things both of his sides actually happened to agree on, so he did not hesitate before saying:
"One could say there are a lot of reasons for me to join. I want to find out more about myself and channel my inner demons towards the greater good, I want to be part of something greater and I want to atone for some past sins. But all of those are minor, really." Scelus then leaned in on his chair to add in a more aggressive tone:
"You see, I've seen some of the worst the mortal realm has to offer in my life, many of them at the wrong side of an execution. Murderers, rapists, terrorists, torturers, what have you. I know all the pain and suffering they cause to those around them if no one is there to stop it. And yet, it all pales in comparison to what the Lord of Darkness has done. He bears the sins of one, nay, two universes with himself, and I cannot rest soundly knowing such a person lives with impunity at this very moment. He's crossed a line no being should ever cross and, because of that, I must do my job one last time."
Scelus knew he'd spoken a bit too much of himself and, while he regretted it a bit, it seemed like a reasonable price to pay to get his point across.

 

[Ineptitude]

Gloxinia
Gloxinia heaved a sigh as she flopped down onto her bed, burying herself into the blankets. That was the most amount of words she's spoken in years. She groaned into a pillow, already feeling an intense fatigue sinking into her bones. She didn't regret her choice to join the rebellion, but she could already tell that it was going to be completely and utterly exhausting.

 

[Arcanimus]

Mask​

Mask grew silent, observing him from the eye holes of her mask.

She quite rapidly grabbed the other chair to face him, and sat down. Her stance wide and her hands on her knees, her posture still stiff.

"I would like you to understand something." Mask was blunt, and didn't always give a reason for her actions, this being one of those times. She pulled back her hairline to reveal the thick ropelike claws that sprouted from the mask and were burried into her scalp.

"The Lord of Darkness is not one of your mortals," She let her hair fall back in place, obscuring them completely. "He is crueler, and more creative than any you've encountered I'm sure."

She paused, her hands again resting on her knees, "He finds what will hurt you most and uses it against you, that's how he has kept us on a leash so long."

"I want you to understand that to him, we are still on that leash. And that you are not safe from us, Sear may have a heart and swear she'll defend you once you join us but," She paused her eyes flaring in anger, "I will not jeopardize this goal for a mortal."

She paused, "I am grateful that you have offered to us your help, but what can you offer us. I can see your soul Scelus, and I wonder what you think you can offer. I'm curious."

This was why she wanted them alone, Shame's aura could've snapped by now and Sear could have burned them all. Mask was the only one who had such patience.

And she didn't want to deal with their questions.

 

[CapRock]

Scelus

Scelus leaned back on his chair again, thinking a bit on what he just had been told. Getting both of his sides agreeing on something produced unexpected results on his behavior; instead of second-guessing everything or recklessly taunting everyone, his thought process ended up somewhere in the middle.
"Well, I suppose I wasn't very clear with my words then, I apologize for that. When I meant I am to do my job, I'm not about to charge recklessly into the Lord of Darkness and challenge him to a duel. If I were to do that, I wouldn't come here in the first place." His voice shifted slightly between one phrase and the next, as did his posture. "I am here to help however you may need me. As an inhabitant of the Mortal Realm, I can assist with interactions to the mortal realm of any sort, since I've been around here and there and I know a bit more of the world than your average mortal. If you see my soul, you'll know it is, well... Conflicted." He added. "But I assure you I will not get in the way of our plans. Even if I don't like to admit it all the time, this does come in handy when I have to defend myself."

Arcanimus

 

[Arcanimus]

Mask ​

Her lips shifted beneath her mask into a kind of half smile, they weren't visible of course but the feeling was so foreign she had to note it somehow.

She stood once more, and leaned against Sear's desk in a robotic fashion, "Your split personality is interesting, and only really shows up in your mental strings rather than physical so they weren't really a concern. Since..Drayko happened." She didn't elaborate, of course, she was just like that. But even to her, the suddenness of the whole thing with that male had been surprising, she had thought Shame's quest to turn him would be a fool's quest. It wasn't often she was wrong.

"Do you have any questions?" Honestly, in her mind he was already accepted, they were rather desperate she hated to admit, but she also knew she should drag it out a little longer. The main test was to see if he got scared easy and knew what he was getting into, that he had passed, his actual use was Sear's problem. Mask just cared if he would reveal their plot if he was ever captured.

 

[CapRock]

Scelus

"I do have one, actually, though it's more of a personal matter than regarding the rebellion itself if you don't mind." Scelus figured he had to see the Rebellion at work before he could come up with reasonable questions for it; with their dedication towards secrecy, he was aware that it would take some time before he was presented to the inner workings there and concluded that asking about them would only make matters worse. So instead he went straight to his point:
"You mentioned my unusual string state isn't really a concern since... Something." It didn't feel right to say that name since it seemed to carry some sort of taboo with it. "Does this mean you've seen anything like this before? And if you did, did they..." The words seemed to be stuck in his throat, but he said them anyway: "Get better from it?" 'Getting better' was a lousy way to put it, since deep down Scelus new both of those sides were him. He just hoped to get them to work together more often.

 

[Arcanimus]

Mask​

"Like it...I wouldn't say that, yours is rather unique from what I can gather just from looking at your strings without touching you." She paused to see how she could answer well about Drayko or Cole as he now preferred, "He more than anything is sociopathic, as you mortals use as a clinical term. He turned off his "real" self in order to fulfill his duty, it damaged him irreparably. If you want to speak with him to see if he could help it can be arranged,"

She paused, "He's an interesting one, an example of us not being able to protect allies, he's currently in Shame's box I can almost guarantee it." He was once the protector to the leader of an outside group the LoD was actually worried about. For some reason or another.

Despite Cole's turning, the LoD still doesn't trust him, forcing Shame to put him through mental delusions whenever he felt like it. It didn't nearly bother Mask as much as it did Shame.

 

[CapRock]

Scelus

"If he hasn't recovered from it, I don't believe it will be of much help to me, but I appreciate the offer." The word 'irreparably' sent chills down Scelus' spine. Him being an example of the dangers of joining the group didn't seem much encouraging at first too.
But you're not like him, are you? Mask said so herself. You are stronger and you can do this.
"At any rate, I believe that's all I have to ask for now. I'll probably come up with more questions as we move along."
As he said that, Scelus got up from his seat; he was a bit too nervous to stay in place. He couldn't really tell if Mask has approved him or not just from her monotone voice and scarce body language; as far as he knew, she could have only found him 'interesting' in the sense of a Guinea Pig for her to toy with, not an actual ally. But he wasn't bold enough to voice those worries so instead, he nervously pushed the chair back into its place and held onto it, waiting for Mask's next command.

 

[Arcanimus]

Mask ​

She nodded, "Fine, though you may still see him around, he comes to the bar to drink his souls," She moved across the room to the office door.

"You are a mortal, so a badge would be rather suspicious," She paused surveying him up and down, "Welcome to the Rebellion. Sear will relay my orders when I give them."

Her hand rested on the knob, "Recovery isn't as simple as you may think, though I don't care for Drayko I've come to respect his spirit, I hope you can find that same solace." She opened the door, whatever compassion that could have been read in her eyes gone instantly.

"He has passed." She spoke to both Sear and Shame, they seemed relieved to her. She supposed they didn't like the thought of dealing with the consequence if he hadn't.

 

[CapRock]

Scelus

Scelus could barely react when he heard Mask simply inform 'welcome to the Rebellion'. He'd never expect the result to come so clearly and quickly upon him and, now that it did, he wasn't sure what to do with it. Eventually, he came to terms with the news and even let himself smirk a bit. He was now one step closer to achieving a new purpose in life after spending several unforgiving years on the search of one and that was worthy of a good mood. He even looked forward to bumping into Drayko sometime, since he could be wrong about having nothing to learn from him.
Scelus nodded to Mask as he passed through the door back into the corridor; from what he'd gathered, she wasn't one to cherish overdrawn thanks. He then shifted his gaze towards the others, especially William, and said:
"I suppose I've made it in. Good luck there, friend."
You might need it.
As Scelus returned to the hallway, he decided to stick around and wait to see if William passed as well. He was happy with his decision until he gazed at Shame again, immediately flinching like a cornered animal. For the sake of curiosity, however, he was willing to endure his fear.

Arcanimus Gas mask

 

[Gas mask]

“I’ve got this friend we will be serving together in no time” William was confident