Fightflight
Member
~ The Group, Cervi Camp ~
"Gladly." Walter said to Naomi after she had come out of nowhere and physically assault what seemed to be her brother, "And while your at it, you can explain to him that saying he's not allied to any of our enemies doesn't mean I'm stupid enough to trust him." He didn't trust anyone in this group, especially not Alejandro now that he had told him his plan. What an obvious spy, he was. His nose scrunched at the thought. A spy, yes, the voice whispered, a spy to cut down, show him his place. Not that that would be a good idea, really. The man had to be a spy, of course, considering he came out of nowhere with his silent brother, Senshi. Out of nowhere, staying for a single night (most likely to gain information on the group and find their weaknesses) and then offering to "help" by packing up and leaving for Life City to "spy" on them. Right, sure. Only an idiot would buy that, of course, so only Todd.
Todd. That name infuriated him, distracted him from where he was, who he was with, even the current situation. His best friend betrayed him, that arse. Shai-Hulud had told him to leave the guy alone, but damn it all did he want nothing more than to keep punching Todd's teeth in for what he did. But then he was spoken to again and snapped out of his thoughts. Right, the suited man from earlier who apparently wasn't from Earth after all -- What a disappointment. Another newcomer asking to travel within this large group. Why, oh why did so many feel inclined to travel with, let's see, Walter thought, let's do a head count; Two fully established murderers, six complete strangers (one of which is another werewolf), a priest and his drunken blood knight, a magic-using and seemingly-emotionless girl and supposedly a blood-splattered and Japanese-looking psycho (if she ever had the sense to come back, please, please)? It simply made no sense -- They were the most untrustworthy-looking group of crazies he was sure anyone could lay their eyes on. He would have answered Agent 9, even took in a breath to do so, but then he heard a loud little bleat.
The Cervid seemed to be the answer to Agent 9's request. Right, the Cervi were certainly far more trustworthy a group than human men and women. Certainly he could allow them to come on board. Creatures of nature, yes. Sure, they were almost literal party animals, but they were also, for the most part, specialized in healing -- Something Walter was sure that they needed more of. There was only so much "healing" Shai-Hulud could really take before the poor guy keeled over. And then once more were they greeted, this time by another Cervid. He waved to them both, but mainly focused his attention on Caylx. She was a priority.
"That's a great idea, you know. We could use someone like you in our group, and..." He eyed Agent 9, "... I suppose we could help escort you to Metal City, er, 'Agent 9'." He turned back to Caylx, with, for a split second, eyeing Sasha. Did she only want to wish them a good morning, or was there more to her that was flying over his head?
"Now, how much in the ways of medicine do you know, hm? Oh! And by the gods, dear Cervid, please tell us your name so we can address you properly!" He forced a smile for her. Forcing was all he could do at that point. His bitterness had consumed him in this moment. He had to strive to get past that if he wanted to keep a group this large together.
"Hey! Help!" Todd then shouted, running over to the main group and yelling loud enough for them all to hear, "It's -- It's the golden-haired guy with the purple eyes! He just passed out! He might be having a heart attack, I don't know!"
"What?!" Walter exclaimed, not entirely believing what he was hearing.
~ Bibentus With Moonais, Death City ~
Lord Bibentus snickered a little at Moonais's joke and replied, with some seriousness while keeping that light-hearted tone;
"That's how we find them, my dear, that's how we find them." He grinned at her, but this dropped the minute he saw how uncomfortable she was, how the citizens around them and their stares seemed to make her so very unhappy. She was putting on a good show, of course, attempting to pretend, more than likely because she feared angering him. His expression grew soft. It became thoughtful. Were they all truly so horrifying to her? Bibentus had spent so much time around these night-creatures, these wretched souls and walking bones that he had forgotten just how unpleasant they looked.
"Come along, Miss Silvarn. Allow me to take you somewhere a bit quieter." He moved his hand so that it was now gently holding hers, and the vampire lead the Seraphari woman into the church, which currently stood empty. The stained glass in each of the windows filled the grand place with many colors, colors of all shades and hues. They sparkled against the waning moon's still-bright moonlight outside. Even the stone benches gained that life-giving color. Everything, everything within the building embraced those shimmering blues and reds and greens and yellows. Everything except for the gigantic statue of Nurr-Dradus and the little undead boy (an exact copy of the one on Bibentus's desk), which, at the very end of church, was out of the range of the windows and kept dimly lit with candles. Beside Nurr-Dradus stood four other smaller statues. There was Cerigus, the god of emotion and Jiirki the trickster god on his right. On his left were Kyria N'Kri, goddess of order and Sharazay, the goddess of chaos. These statues looked down on the benches where churchgoers would sit. While their eyes were nothing more than cold stone, they showed nothing but warm love -- Even Jiirki, who was always depicted as a nuisance and troublemaker, was carved in a way that he too looked down upon everyone like they were his own children.
Along the walls were torches held by carved-out marble skeletons, their hands cupped together as if holding nothing more than a bit of water. The skeletons all looked up, up through the ceiling and to the sky where judgement lied. They watched and waited for their new brothers and sisters.
"This is our church." Bibentus told Moonais, this time far quieter than he would have spoken outside. He was respectful of the place, and did not look directly into the eyes of the statues of his gods, "This was the first place I was ever taken to when I came to Death City. I felt alone. I felt scared and I was grieving for my lost family. Lord Draknot greeted me at the gates. 'Oh no, son. No,' He told me, 'I'm not showing you anywhere else until you see our church, and you understand.' And understand I did, Miss Silvarn."
A smile crept onto his face.
"If we were monsters, then how was it that one of the Great Father's jobs was to pull us from our mortal bodies and give us our new life? I learned that those others, the ones who shunned us... They simply didn't understand. It was Lord Draknot who turned me, you see, and my anger at him for turning me was quickly moved over to those people. The ones in that village who took my family from me and kicked me out. The village that would later become Life City. We are people, just like them. We have needs and wishes and will and weakness. We have our feelings and our fears, and seeing all these gods, looking down, together on us as if we are all the same, all equal, can certainly show you that... That's just it. We are all equal, but it is our struggle to show others that."
He looked at Moonais now, moving his hand to her upper back, all that hardship reflecting in his black, shimmering eyes.
"This is a beautiful church, Moonais. It's been here since the beginning, old as time itself, it would seem. I hope you may appreciate the history and art that went into this place -- It has seen much." And then he gave her another smile. A genuine one.
~ Feye and Aroothian with Gnasher ~
Markal had led Feye, Aroothian and Gnasher to Death City and retreated back to his home. It was an odd walk to the place, and most certainly a long one. It was one of silence, as Aroothian knew he had been convinced to go with this man he was not entirely fond of, as well as a brainless gorilla monster who could probably easily kill dear little Feye on accident. Brutus, grumbling about Aroothian's decision, decided to head back to the Nurn Tuum mountains. Besides, the orc-werewolf had no intention of heading into a death trap like Death City. Either way, Feye, Aroothian and Gnasher were allowed in by Markal, his word being enough to calm the tense guards, and told to go see Bibentus, tell him of their own plans with freeing the undead trapped in Life City, and hope that this was enough to gain their support for werewolves.
The citizens, who were now left without Bibentus's comforting presence, were not the happiest with the newcomers. Two things, one that was definitely a werewolf and one that looked like a werewolf... If it had been mutilated in a butcher shop. Along with them was a young elf woman. No, this was not okay. Had the guards lost their minds?! Those things could go ballistic at any moment! The elf girl was more than likely a part of Life City, and like Abyssus were they about to let some Life City wench into their home!
Some glared, and some panicked, but it was all silent. All so very silent.
"Excuse me." Aroothian addressed the crowd, startling them with his perfect (if not incredibly deep) Concordian speech, "We are looking for your lord. Where might he be so we can conduct our business with him?"
All of them were silent still. Staring. Waiting.
"Oh come on, it's just a simple question!" Feye exclaimed, "You're all dead anyway, what do you have to worry about us?!"
And there was still nothing from the crowd.
~ Jiirki, with Hal and an Unexpected Guest ~
"I've gone and found some help for your plans, little Hal-boy, oh yes, yes I did." Jiirki chittered happily, dancing about the room within Hal's house, "He's all flesh-and-red-and-red-and-red-blood, but oh, oh boy, oh dear, oh yes, yes he is a help! A help indeed! You'll see, come see, time to show you, yes indeed, oh yes!"
Jiirki hopped around the room a bit before seemingly pulling a Cervid out of thin air. The room bent around him when he came into being, only relaxing when he was finally fully present. A male, completely and utterly naked -- And somewhat emaciated, at that! The beast-man, oddly, had his horns sawed off his head. An exile.
"You!" He greeted Hal in a hushed voice, through clenched deer teeth. His nostrils were flared, and "tense" could barely describe how the creature looked, "Yes you, you! You are the one the moon told me about! The one who could bring forth a new era!" He then clopped forward on those hoofs of his, sniffing Hal at a closer range.
"Yyyesss..." He whispered, "Yes, you're the one. You smell like I thought you would. A bot, who would'a thought, yes? A cervid working with a bot? Funny stuff, funny stuff."
"I like this guy." Jiirki quipped.
"The dawn, this new age! It shall begin, I shall assist you! Jiirki, dear Jiirki, he told me of your ambitions, he told me all of it, all of it except for what it is I can help with. So what is it, bot? What is it I can help you with? Guide me, master, oh please, please guide me. I'm ready."
It seemed like mad rambling, but my, was this Cervid more than eager to serve Hal and, from there, be also serving Jiirki. He shivered with delight, wanted nothing more than vengeance on those who banished him from the Cervi clan, and these good beings were going to let him see that day.
"So what do you think, Hal?" Jiirki asked with a grin, "How's the fleshy going to help lil ol' you help lil ol' me? Tell him the plan, why don't you? Oh yes, yes, do tell him the plan."
