tiernay's death

"Then what are you necessarily hoping to achieve other than empty inquiries? Are you hear to preach about the reasons you've take up knighthood? I'd be quite bored if that was the case."

A quiet breath flows beyond pursed lips, the mere thought seemed like a bother before all else.

"I'd sooner find myself elated the day one spares me this empty conversation and acts accordingly. Otherwise... This tends to get nowhere."
(Tiernay Reveille)

"I was curious." The teen admitted with a shrug. "I've seen you many times, but I only just recently heard your name - a friend of Owyn's, after all. I was just curious on whether you were a Witch or not. That's all." She said.

"So have a decent evening, I suppose, Tiernay."

Respectful and formal, yet direct all the same. The Knight would turn, to face Yoshiko who had been hiding behind her. A hand came upwards, to pat the Kitsune before she'd attempt to move off, pausing only once she spotted the pair upon the beach. She recognized them.

"... Oh. You guys fought my Mother... Hrm."
(Anastasia ven Astor)

This isn't bound to end well.

For one of them. While the interaction between those present may have been more or less mild, there's an immediate thought back on all the words that have been said when the two clashed the last time. After all..

Much has changed.

"Figures the vermin would be here."

There's nothing friendly out of this. But maybe Basil is done calling out to the dark. Maybe he's done trying to spare people, especially after seeing them almost take away everything from him - or betray him.

"Came here to die, Tiernay?"

"Or did you come here to lower yourself before witches and Demons once more?"
(Basil)

Curious. What is shot within Anastasia's direction is nothing more than an inquisitve look...After all, why is it that this teenager has some strange knack for finding herself against people who could harm her? It seems particularly silly for her to be roaming about at such an age...Especially, with another child who simply cannot compare to the things that lie in wait within the woods. Nevertheless though, the woman would briefly wave a hand.

"That thing isn't your mother." Her voice remains flat, her arms soon crossing as she would look onward, glancing towards the man behind the two. "That. Is a fake. Your mother has already departed and is with the stars above...So, it's best to not confuse the two." Just a passing though. Perhaps, a bit too harsh for the Astor, but regardless...

Mars hasn't been feeling very nice recently. "And- Tiernay...When are you going to stop playing this game? Living isn't just about sating your boredom."
(Mars)


Basil says, "He won't. Don't bother."

Basil says, "You're not speaking to your brother, Mars, but an empty shell of it."
"Living will always be about sating my boredom, because there's nothing more dissatisfying than sitting about and playing nice with people I don't like."

Tiernay hums, a smile adorning his expression as he glances down towards the two, more pressing arrivals.

"Though it is evident Basil would rather bark and foam like the rabid Rhyonish he is." Smug, though admittedly one could feel the dark which flits about his person press against the light source before him, expanding ever slightly.

"Satisfaction is satisfying, there's no deeper definition, no means to write it off as anything extravagant. Though even while I do enjoy myself, there are things I must do."

Tiernay chuckles.

"Are you mad because I'm genuinely elated, Basil? Come, come. Try to kill me. We'll get that over with and have our conversation after."
(Tiernay Reveille)

He's trying to get on your nerve.

That's what he's telling himself. For while Tiernay speaks of such words, the steady frown appears over his face- the signs of gathering anger coming over his features. As much as he claims that this isn't their brother, that this is merely a shell of what used to be..

It's difficult to not see him as such.
It's difficult to remain unaffected.

"If you think that I'm mad because you're elated - you know nothing about me." Yet, it seems that the promise of violence is found upon the fact of how the starlight begins to emit upon his frame; in particular, intending to strengthen the Rhoynish King as it always did.

"It wouldn't surprise me that it's what you think I feel."

That he doesn't understand the Rhoynish. Then again.. isn't that the same thing that Tiernay claimed about Basil? That he does not understand the shadowmancer?

"We were never friends, after all."

Something that he tells himself. Something to escape the reality of having to fight someone like this. For while he had no issues fighting anybody else that sits within the dark..

This is different.

"But to kill you?"

He would rather save him. That remains unspoken, however- because that could be the end of him, the weakness that might make him slip up. So instead, what comes next is..

The brilliant rosegold light.

Shot right at the shadowmancer. He attacks.
(Basil)

The Knight's eyes fall upon Mars and there's a subtle shake of her head.

"I know she isn't my Mother as she was. I know her soul is trapped inside of that form, forced to serve whatever - but she has memories. She calls me her daughter. For all intents and purposes, she's my Mother." Anastasia explained carefully. "And I intend to free her back up into the stars above regardless of that."

Her intention made clear. She stepped down the stone stairs carefully, though she didn't depart. Instead she lingered, emerald gaze being cast upon Basil instead as that brilliance of that rosegold glow of cosmic overtakes his form.

She couldn't help herself - she had to watch.
(Anastasia ven Astor)

A heart that flutters. Uncertainty gathering within her being - where the pain within her heart flourishes in the face of something such as this. Once again. Is her will tried within the worst manner...The desire to find something more, to finally come with amends faltering as two people that she cares for would nearly come to trading blows.

"Nobody asks you to play nice with those people, Tiernay." She'd add in response. "But that doesn't mean that you have to go and beat them up- or side with the witches for such an endeavor. If you wanted fun...You could do all of that without standing along side them." She understands Tiernay to an extent. After all, she knows that he is, mostly, a neutral piece that occasionally appears when coaxed into doing something. But what hurts...

Is that he seemingly looks elsewhere.
Especially, when it comes to the witches that have caused so many problems.

But to digress.

But in the end, "That isn't her soul either...When she died, all of her has vanished." Instead, it seems to be essence of her past self. A spiritual marker left for the doppleganger to use as a cover up- a means to have an identity. But as of now, this is the least of her worries. Instead...

"We're going to be taking you home now, Tiernay. Enough of this talk."
(Mars)

Basil has engaged Tiernay Reveille in Dangerous combat, with a capture roll of 2

"No, I know. Though words never really meant much to me. It's likely why I never did make for the best listener." A smile still tugs upon the corners of his lips, such an expression brought about by nothing other than the nostalgia of a situation that'd surely test his spirit.

Basil was of the opposition that he'd consider capable, and the shadows which bursts, and is exuded from his presence in full promises that he'd go all out from the very start.

A splitting collision of the stars, against an all consuming dark.

"Hmn, if we weren't friends you'd be dead by now. I surely wouldn't be so elated either. But.... I digress. I won't tell you to love who I've become." He chuckles, such words sure to fall upon deaf ears as he sought to truly indulge in this moment.

"That will never be my choice."
(Tiernay Reveille)

It's been always difficult.

To oppose someone you actually cared about. Had it not been that way, then Tiernay would be long facing the frenzied Rhoynish with the murderous intent behind the golden eyes- had it been any different, then Basil would try to rip him apart.

The same man that ripped apart Doppelgangers of Serea and Pericles.

But.. instead? What he faces is not a frenzied Rhoynish, maddened by spiritual rage of Njorun; what he faces is the man that is desperate to tear away someone he considered a friend from the clutches of the witch, from the clutches of the dark. While Tiernay may think that Basil doesn't understand him, that he's a free spirit which needs entertainment..

He does. Doesn't shadowmancer remember? Of all people, Basil was one to stir up trouble so often, and yet..

"This isn't the way."

"And you know it."

Starlight dances against the shadows. The struggle is an immense one, for while the two of them come to blows against one another in such manner, it's the struggle to overcome this dark that almost causes Basil to struggle too much.

It's akin pushing through a cold winter. All in hopes to come out to the new dawn..

"I would rather die than live in fear, scattering from the dark."

And it's the same reason why Basil fights him now- the very same man that countless have warned him about, that countless have dubbed to be 'too dangerous'. And here, where the light of the Alph becomes overbearing..

"But you never understood that, did you?"

It strikes. Singing him, pushing him to the limits- until these limits are broken and Tiernay finds himself upon the ground, beaten and unable to continue. The Rhoynish were indeed most capable at combat..

This darkness is something that he could push through unlike any other.

Here, a single hand reaches out to grasp upon Tiernay when he falls- holding him by the cloth of the front. There's no escape now.

There's no shadow to escape to.

"The moment of truth, Tiernay."

"What are you, really?"
(Basil)

We're gonna be somebody. Echoes within the mind scatter about time and time again. Thoughts of the past, promises that came into fruition when they were nothing more than children. Alabastre meant to be the one place that was supposed to tilt this world atop of its head. And truth be told....She can claim that it has served it's purpose. That while it is no longer invisible to the realm, that it has become a city of knowledge and power...Thanks to the two men that are infront of her. But while they might've grown up together...


They've all grown apart.


She watches the battle within silent turmoil. Weakness and tumultuous storms echoing through her mind...If anything, what does she suspect to come out of the mouth of Tiernay? For she certainly knows that while he is rich in opulence, he holds many facets...Like a diamond, like the blackest, most dim gem. And that...is what makes her step forward in anticipation..

Red cosm soon appearing around her form, an idle hand reaching out briefly...As if in preparation. Say the right thing this time, Tiernay For her sake.
(Mars)

There is certainly no threshold imaginable when it comes to the stars and their patrons, though would such truly cause one to fear, or even cower before another?

Most certainly not. The male dances nearly effortlessly, the flowing dark which caresses his form serving as not but a means to allow him to escape at the last moment, to reach within and extend his reach without so much as missing a single beat.

Though there are certainly few whom could cut through and touch the being beneath, and Basil seemed to be one of them. The light singes his form, and in a vicious battle, one could consider such a narrow victory in the favor of his past family.

"Evidently not, though as to what I am? Aha... I'm certainly not anything beyond the ordinary. I am, and will forever be the same Hellebore." He chuckles, after a strained breath.

"I am creation, I am freedom. I am by no means shackled by the inhibitions wishfully set upon me by any other, and while you sit here... Collecting me. Chasing me, speaking of family? What of Owyn? He could be out there dead while you sit comfortably and call yourselves kings and queens."

How could one possibly say the wrong thing, when the only answer which ever leaves his lips is objectively oh-so right?

"Del is dead, Owyn will be next, and then what of me? Hmn? One way or another, it seems my time will come."
(Tiernay Reveille)

Even now, when he holds him like this..

The golden eyes remain set upon Tiernay, awaiting what would come out of his mouth. Essentially, all that he decides to do is judge Basil and Mars for all that they do, but it seems to affect less and less the longer that he keeps talking.

"Very moving, Tiernay."

"But not comparable to aiding in potentially murdering thousands and bringing about the emissaries of Dark Lord to Esshar."

Evidently, this has been considered a 'wrong' answer by Tiernay. For while he speaks of freedom, all that this is interpreted by the Rhoynish is attempting to aid the witches and demonkind alike. And yet, there's one thing that Tiernay missed out..

Whether on purpose or not? That's different tale.

"I'm a Rhoynur, Tiernay."

"I'm designed by my Primordial to oppose the dark wherever it dwells - and that's exactly what I'm going to do." A pause. "That day, when I let you go? When you admitted that you're leaving?"

"I knew what you're going to do. The only reason I did not attack you that day is because of the woman that watches us."

A reference to Mars, no doubt. Even then, however, the starlight begins to emit brighter. One could almost swear that he could bring down the heavens upon Tiernay any moment..

Is it going to be the end?

"Is this what you wish, Tiernay?"

"To tell me that another cannot impose on you what to do, while following Nox around like a faithful dog?"

"To end you here?"
(Basil)

"Exactly so. Had I been sitting beside you all killing, and maiming, and doing all it is I could do now you'd be smiling and happy. This is all but a subjective circumstance to have me be alike all of you, when I never can be."

His sight narrows upon Mars, and Basil. All of this, would never be pertinent to him, as it is just a means of sitting and waiting for the world to be handed to him.

Or what little of it that he desired anyway.

"Esshar will never be bright as long as you all persist to find solace in contentedness. I am here of my own accord, my leash must truly run long... No?" He chuckles.

"There's far more that persists beyond me, my devotion is by no means primordial. It is real, and upon this realm. Whether it be Owyn, Nox, or my daughter. They will breathe and move the same as I have."
(Tiernay Reveille)

"...When have we ever asked you to kill someone for us?" The question spills past her lips. "The only thing that we have ever asked for was your loyalty...Everything that you've done past that was on your own volition. Your own want to protect those that you love."

There is a silent pause. A moment, where she'd soon find herself beginning to look elsewhere. "The only thing that changed is when you began to see it as a duty...When protecting and fighting and loving people around you isn't anything of the sort."

In the end, she looks towards her hands. "Your leash is only your own desire for self-satisfaction. And I understand it...You are no sheep, Tiernay. You never was...You never will be. But you were always free. Free when you were home with us. Free- when you were beside us." She'd add while beginning to go silent. He brings up Owyn...It is the second time that the name draws her attention.

"And what is this of Owyn?- he wouldn't dare do the things that you have done..." However, she cannot say the same of Nox and his daughter. But...

That just makes things even worse, because she has yet to see her. To hear of how her family has expanded...If you could even consider them to be that sort of thing.

(Mars)

All the maiming and killing. This is something that causes the last hints of amusement to leave his features. At this point, he realizes that there's little of a 'brother' that he once called in Tiernay. Or perhaps, he just didn't know him well enough..

Or was it twisted, somewhere along the way?

"Pot calling the kettle black.."

Yet, already what seems to emerge next is a cosmic shot to his shoulder- perhaps, wounding him further, all the while the shadowmancer is pinned to the ground. Blood spills, ensuring that he wouldn't be escaping anywhere, no matter what..

"Why, Tiernay?"

"Why did you have to join the witches in such manner? Why did you have to linger with the dark that threatens to destroy everything - even this daughter you speak of.." Does he not realize that this drive for self-satisfaction and elevating boredom will be the end of all?

Does he not realize that there are things more important than the way he feels?

".. when all you had to do is live the life as you wanted, uninhibited? I was ready to sacrifice a lot for you, Tiernay."

"I was ready to shelter you in Alabastre, no matter what trouble you got yourself into- no matter how many people you killed, or whom you destroyed in your wake."

"I was going to forgive it all and be by your side, always." Another shot. Now, to the other shoulder- the blood spills more, and where the starlight pierces his flesh in such manner, one thing becomes clear..

"I have a goal, Tiernay. It is far beyond persisting in whatever peace you assume I want."

"It is far beyond whatever you can think of now - had you only listened."

He walks closer. Now, the starlight gathers upon his palm once more- and as much as he's regretful, he realizes one thing - he cannot save Tiernay.

No matter what he says, or does, he just won't listen.

"You've been a great disappointment to Mars."

"And you've been a great disappointment to me..."

The light gathers, almost blinding to Tiernay. Beneath this light, a single question is asked.

"Any last words?"
(Basil)

"Goodness." The shadow magi chuckles beneath his breath, there's quite a lot that could potentially run through one's mind. Though words weighed upon the lives of another never truly does convey how one feels?

His love for another, the means to bleed for what it is he desires without the quiet persisting. To relish the time he'd laughed in even his darkest moments.

This being, coded by the design of another would never understand.

"Marzipan, is by no means incapable of speaking for herself. Or so, I once thought that of my sunflower." He chuckles. No amount of pain is enough to blind one from the fate they've written themselves. "Though you? I don't care about you."

He would stare down upon it, and know another life just as free as his own would persist beyond his temporary shadow.

"My last words? Ahaha, fuck you Basil. You? You're just a pinup for everyone I knew tohate. See you in Hel-labore, bitch."
(Tiernay Reveille)

There is something that she doesn't want to see. Something, that she cannot afford to see. Because she is afraid of the thing that she could become. Because she is afraid of all the things that could happen. And now, the questions begin to arise about Owyn's whereabouts. About Tiernay's happenings. Of all the things that she did not take out the time to truly comprehend during her long stints of work and studying of the Grimmiores. The question is...How much of those boys has she neglected. And how far as she pushed them- to the point of where they are no longer together, but instead, separate..

"..." the truth of the matter is that they all care for one another. Much different than what one would have imagined...But in the end, even as Tiernay would speak his last words, she already understood what that would mean for him- for Basil's own reasoning was to see if he was capable of being redeemed. But clearly, this final insult is far beyond what the Rhoynish might've expected..

Instead, there is movement. Quick and intense, bubbling and heated. Vermillion flashes and this world groans within pain, echoing that of her heart as she begs for the fire within her soul to refine her into something that is capable of standing against this dropping feeling within her heart..


"No-...I won't let you."


There are certain thing that Basil should have expected. But..."Basil-...Basil, please-...Please, don't." But she already begins to beg for the life that is behind her...Even while preparing herself for what might appear to be the fight of her life.

"...He's...He's still Tiernay there. He hasn't changed! He's just confused- he's different. I can fix him- we can fix him!" Save him. His spirit. His soul. There's still time..

"Stopstopplease..." Words are strewn together within her sudden fright. Her gaze wide-eyed, her hands gripping tightly upon her weapon to block or take whatever magic might be aimed within the direction of Tiernay.


(Mars)

He knew of this very well.

Because he knows that she has fragile heart- because he knows that she just doesn't have it in her what it takes in order to end it all, no matter how far it has gone on. And while this is something that he hesitated about once..

"Enough of this!"

The starlight, while unable to perform the last rites for Tiernay, now refocuses onto Mars instead. The stern visage on his face speaks of a simple truth - that he wouldn't be as kind to this anymore. That perhaps, it's time that he takes matters into his own hands..

"He allies himself with the same people that almost killed you the other day, Mars."

"You were about to die to Serea, and Tiernay serves the only witch that controls these Dopplegangers." Could she not see that Tiernay has become their enemy a long time ago?

"If Nox- and by extension Tiernay- ever cared about you.."

"This would never be their directive to kill you upon first opportunity." Because they're drones, summoned by meteorite. And truthfully, this..

Actually insults him that she defends him.

"You stopped me from attacking him the first time."

"And look what came out of that. Don't you realize it's far too late for this? Don't you realize that this isn't your brother, but a hollow shell of what he once used to be?"

"If he justifies killing thousands and upheaving Helheim just because he's 'bored' and because he 'won't be told what to do' - he's fucking nuts, Mars."

"Do not defend an insane man - or I won't hesitate to push you aside."

The starlight is pointed at her. It would be the moment of truth- for while Tiernay is left bloodied, incapacitated and unable to leave.. it seems that he'd have to go through her first.

"Leave at once."
(Basil)

"What makes you believe that Tiernay has any control over those fucking things?!" She shouldn't yell. She shouldn't be doing anything of the sort and yet...The struggle remains ever so constant within her being. "The Dopplegangers have minds of their own- grudges that they've carried from their past life. I've defeated Serea over and over again...I've taken her bridge, made her lose her position. If she wanted to kill me, it's because she wanted to do that before she died as well...It's only magnified." Explanations come quite upon the heel of fighting. Her breathing becoming bathed...Her knuckles whitening as she tightens her grip upon the gun.

"This is my brother. This is Tiernay, still...The only difference is that he-.." There is no excuse for his actions. There is no excuse of how he aided the witches during the meteorite. But truthfully, that is the only sin she could truly come up with. "He can still be saved. Those thousands...Those thousands are not dead, because you saved them."

She believes in redemption, foolishly so.
She believes that all things can be changed. That with the good of whatever heart that she possesses...She could fix what damage had been there and replace what pain that Tiernay had been given, with a passion like no other. But in the end....When he tells her to leave, she does not listen unlike the first time.

Instead, she shakes her head.

"No-...No, I can't. I can't leave, Basil." Once again, does she plead with her husband. "Please-...Please, please don't do this."
(Mars)

"NONE OF THIS MATTERS ANYMORE!"

No matter how much heart she possesses, it's just too late. For while she believes that this could be fixed, there's one thing that she does not understand - and it's the fact that all of such things are intertwined.

"Complacency is a crime as big as participation."

"The Dopplegangers follow a mission. If they bothered, they could've made sure you wouldn't be under attack - but they won't."

But she's too soft to understand that. While she tries to push him out of the way, to plead, to utilize her flames and her own cosmic prowess to ensure that she could save Tiernay, it is the prowess of the Rhoynur that remains superior- for while it is one thing that she wouldn't want to hear, or anybody for that matter..

It is the blood-chilling war cry.
The strength of Njorun which defies her flames.

And by all means, she's pushed back, away from it.. unable to do anything about it anymore. He knows that if he were to fall to these sensations, he might compromise not only his livelihood, but everything that he aspired for.

"This is for your own sake, Mars."

"Maybe one day you will realize that."

Or maybe not. But.. every single time that he listened to Mars, things have ended up either shaky or for worse. Perhaps, he shouldn't have listened all along. After all, it's just like he once told her..

Sometimes, he has to do what he does.
Sometimes, he shouldn't listen to others.

And so, the starlight points towards Tiernay. The final words were taken in account, and what follows is but a brief remark.

"Goodbye, Tiernay."

"And if I do meet you in Hel.." For Rhoynish were spiritual guardians.. if they were to fall in battle, they would fight against the dark of Helheim as warriors of Vanaheim.

"I'll kill you again."

A shot. This time, the starlight is forceful, enough to melt through flesh- it is shot with lethal intent, to end Tiernay here and now. After all, one thing has become abundantly clear..

He can neither save him nor reason with others to keep him chained. Yet, in the end..

That's what he wanted.

To be free.

And now, he's free of this mortal coil.
(Basil)

Mars tried to stop him and yet, even she fell before the might of the Rhoynish combined with the power of Alph itself. The Knight shook her head - she was uncertain on whether Tiernay could truly be free; could be saved, as the Felinae had cried for.

He had assisted the coven. As it stood? He was her enemy, and yet she hadn't approached with the intent to fight him for she knew his strength. She knew he had bested Aeolus, and it would have been foolhardy to try her hand against him.

The Astor did not look away, even as Basil shot that bullet of pure starlight, hot enough to melt flesh, to end Tiernay right then and there. There's a sudden sharp inhale of breath - and eventually the young girl looked away.

Not because it was a gruesome sight, but out of respect. It wasn't her business, in the end. Only the knowledge that an enemy of that which was righteous had perished was important. She had seen enough.

She'd aim to stray from the scene, wandering home.
(Anastasia ven Astor)

There is the pitter-patter of rain within this mind. The rolling of clouds found within the presence of her mind- as if impending unconsciousness could linger within the static and starfire that rolls around her frame. Is this sight beautiful? That way that she combusts into a myriad of colors? When Plasma becomes caught up within the rapture of Plumes...And she is not just electrocuted, but singed in the worst manner possible? This weakness. This moment. She has never been fond of trembling but she has found a weakness within her heart of hearts. Where failing. And failing. And failing has caused a rend, akin to the one that she opens up within the earth..

"Basil, I'm begging! Please..Please..!" How many times must she beg her husband to not do anything of the sort? How many times must she bid for him to not do such a thing? For as much as she might run against his frame, she only finds herself being pushed back time and time again...Until she could no longer stand. Until she finds her world becoming lopsided when she hits the ground and the repeated mantra that haunted her in her sleep...Not just against the likes Kabal..

But of Basten. Of Garm. Of Serea. And now, with Basil.

How many more times must she find herself being comfortable with the ground's sweet embrace? How many times will she be able to listen to her spirit saying get up until it is enough? These tears. This crying. It is a heart that breaks so easily....That she shatters infront of those that she cares for, even while struggling to push herself off of the ground.

Get up, please. But as much as she writhes, she can see him within her mind's eye...Shaking, a hand extending within his direction. Get up, she wills herself to push again. To go beyond what others might've imagined...And yet, this faltering...This breaking...When she hits the ground, she falters for the final time while hearing the first shot ring out..

Get. Up.

She wasn't certain if it was the light that faded from his eyes. Of the hollowing of her heart that would come. For there is something that makes her curl up into a ball of nothingness. Of being pathetic...Of being too weak to save someone that, while has done inexcusable things...They had never, truly changed at all.

But there is only so many apologies that she could give him. For the amount of 'I'm sorries' and begging and hysterical cries are not enough to stop the fate from happening. All the while, her friends...People that she has grown up with are either disappearing, turning into enemies, or are simply....dead.

In the end, there is something within this mind that clicks. Whether it is the disposition that changes or an intent to no longer become shackled, with the death of those that she cares for the most....Comes a darkness that extinguishes this fire. That dampens this hope and in turn, comes with no ordinary hunger...

This moment.
She will never forget.

"I'm sorry, Tiernay- I wasn't strong enough. I was...I was never strong enough." Spoken, as she'd soon fade into the opaque of her own unconsciousness.

(Mars)

A woman in crimson stepped forth. There's a contrast with these two Stars, a battle, a sad dance that they don't quite grasp the context. The dark violet man was a brother, but different now. Darker, as the rosegold man put it.

The differences warranted death, one with starlight that pierced through the Hellebore's body. Eyes widen then close tight. The child stepped back, breath heightening before lips part, shaking sounds leave them.

"A-Ah... Aahh..."

Digits coiled through the grass as their gaze filled with the visage of a dead man.

"AHHHH!!!"

They scream, loud and piercing- Terrified as they kick and push back. Jianyu rose, gaze blurring as tears flowed. A man died in front of him. Crimson leaked onto the grass, staining it with death. It consumed them, filling their entire being. A fear for this man, for the Stars. A man who would defy the crimson starredwoman.

At dirty palms, perhaps unseen, unnoticed, does the grass wane and bend.

He killed him without a hint of mercy.
That man was a monster.

Even when he's begged, when the Felinae had tears her eyes does he take life. The wane spreads for maybe a few inches before Jianyu rose frantically.

They ran away.
(Jianyu Xi)

To do this is not out of malice.

But because this is his duty, because this has become necessity- and while many could blame Basil for countless things, to be a 'pin-up for hatred' as Tiernay had described him once.. in the end, this is something that would be needed for the greater good. If only because of the fact that Tiernay aided witches to such extent..

He almost got thousands killed.
And done far worse.

Yet, the murderous intent behind the golden eyes of the Rhoynur, and the war-cries that followed among the battle? These are the things that nobody in their right mind would want to see - because they're terrible, terrifying to behold. So instead..

"..I'm sorry, Mars."

"But he left me no choice."

He only hopes that she would understand. He only hopes that one day, she would learn of the reasons why Basil had done all of this. And if she does not..

Then thiscould become the day they part ways.
Because he cannot ignore his nature forever.

Instead, he comes closer to collect the body of a dead man, still wrapped in clothes; and then, he walks over to carefully collect Mars as well. In the most tragic way, he carries them together..

A dead brother.
Next to his living sister.

"One day, you will understand."

One day, she will know..

That the most crucial decisions require strongest of minds.
(Basil)