Sorry, Siegfried

[18:29] Rindou seemed to be waiting for the man to follow her despite the way she spoke to him. When he ended up not coming she turned around, being met with a Vetani right behind her. It calmed her down just enough to not offer her speciality knuckle sandwich to Siegfried.

She walked past the penguin and towards the man.

"How long are you going to act this way?" She asked, Jiuweihu's light burning a bit brighter in that moment, shedding away some of Ardith's own 'blessed' presence.

"Do you really not care about anything involving you, your girlfriend, her death, and maybe yours?!"
(Rindou Sakamoto)
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[18:31] Go figure, the Accursed doesn't look like she likes that. Jiuwehu's light flickers around her and the aura around her grows darker and dense in response. Her expression twists and her fingers flex.

Her stare at Rindou becomes a little less merry and a little less well meaning.
(Ardith)
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[18:41] "Well," he says, blatantly ignoring the first question, and then transitioning to the next series of questions...

"No, I don't have a girlfriend, that's why I drink, and I'm cool with dealing with it when it comes."

He answers each question in Rindou's closing statement in turn. It was quite hard to rally or motivate Siegfried unless you were a good friend of his. For the most part, he was, by necessity, an apathetic individual, cliché as it may come off. Many mages were by the time they got to his age. You walked with death as a constant companion when you started fighting for your life as a teenager.

The holy aura that Rindou emits...does nothing to him. Nothing for him. There isn't a sliver of either occult or holy presence within him. No polarity, nor resonance.

"You remind me of a woman I know, 'cept I've known her since we were kids. Now calm down, and stop bein' a shitter to myfriends."

Dismissive. Uninterested.
(Siegfried)
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[18:47] Stop bein' a shitter to my friends.

When even the likes of Ardith were able to get friends it was a wonder. Why was someone as blatantly corrupt as that woman able to befriend others and be so popular while Rindou found herself stuck to her own shrine with barely any visitors? She wasn't the kind person that others liked - she knew it. She saw it devolve, happen, and reveal itself before her eyes with each passing day. Siegfried brushing her off so easily was only making it worse. It was obvious to her that this man had lost his way - lost his mind. How do you make up and ammend for your mistakes when that happens? How could she protect him?

That light grew brighter as Rindou's right hand reached up to smack the depressed young man right across the face, trying to slap some sense into him as she revealed her actual intent.

"Can't you even spare the time for an apology?!"

This was definitely not the best way to apologize.
(Rindou Sakamoto)
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[18:53] The Accursed is...a little moved.

There's only a few voices, all told, that bother speaking up for someone like her. She's gotten used to it. Just because she's mutated doesn't mean there's not still a very human heart beating in that horned husk of hers.

"...The FUCK you trying to pull on my pal, Rindou!?"

She reacts. Immediately. Violently. A howling gale arises and encircles her. Something claws its way into Rindou's mind like an angry beast and screams directly into her thoughts. Plugged ears aren't going to block this psychic screech, a voice ringing in her head like that of a Demon's.

'You best back the fuck off. Right. NOW.

There's a shifting in the jungles that accompanies this. Demons, lesser ones, start filtering through the trees and converging on her locations like Helish guard hounds, eyes on the Sakamoto.
(Ardith)
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[18:54] Siegfried is slapped. It's annoying, but not much else. This strangely hostile and blatantly disrespectful woman couldn't really be constituted as anything but annoying, in pretty much every facet of the word.

He didn't even know her name until recently.

Rather than strike back, he just turns to Eshmun, beaming rather radiantly at him, and then waving. Afterward, he just turns and walks away from this person who he has never heard of in his entire life who was strangely insistent on forcing him into a one-on-one interaction that he has absolutely no interest in.

Or atleast, that is what he would have done, if not for the fact that suddenly, the situation is escalating.

"Look. Rindou. Whatever problem you have with a guy you barely know, can it at least wait?"

This is, quite possibly, the most irritating escalation of nothing that he has ever had the displeasure of engagingin.

By far.
(Siegfried)
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[19:04] Screeches. Voices. Anger. They were all being projected into the woman's mind as she remained steadfast before the aggression. It wasn't that they weren't affecting her; her inner monologue was far meaner and more brutal that the psychic screeches that threatened to leap at her.

Amber eyes laid upon the reader-gone-bard's own, her lips parting as that right hand of hers clenched up following the red mark it had left on the man's face.

"You're not the problem, you imbecile. I am. For years I've tried to catch you— to tell you about what happened between the time you asked me about Huangzhou's prisoners and the time you walked into the settlement to challenge the Shogun."

She stepped forward, even if there wasn't much room for her to do so much to Ardith's dismay. If she had any ill-intent towards the man she most likely would've picked him up by the collar at this point. But she didn't.

"He knew why you were there from the get-go. I wanted to earn his trust - I needed it. I told him about the two things you told me: Those questions about prisoners and your name. You went in at a disadvantage. I-

I hope it didn't end up making things worse for your girlfriend, because all of that was my fault.

That's why I wanted to apologize. That's why it couldn't wait, Siegfried."

This was out of place. Aggressively obnoxious. Loud. Personal. In the middle of a crowd of people who could care less or would hate her for it. It was just like back then during that meeting, but... Rindou was never one to back off when she made a decision. Even with the threat of death she had kept going until struck.

They'd hate her for it, wouldn't they?
(Rindou Sakamoto)
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[19:04] Siegfried says, "..."
[19:07] Caira Vindict says, "..."
[19:09] Caira steps forward, for lack of her own willingness to listen to the factors that told her not to, and raises a hand into the air and stares back at Ardith for a time. "Hey. It's alright, yeah? No one's swung yet, and no spells are flying."

Caira nods her head back towards the woman, staring them back in the eyes and hoping to net their attention by standing in front of their line of sight. ".. If it comes to blades, you can go wild. But let's keep it easy, alright Ardith?"

The Gehennan tries to smile back, though it's a little forced.
(Caira Vindict)
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[19:16] The boy is taken back, now.

He sees that scene, quite vividly. That day, and what'd happened there. Him, storming into Huangzhou, ready to die. Clashing swords with Isaac in a long, drawn-out back and forth, ultimately being overwhelmed and skewered with swords and javelins. Lying there, in the streets, thinking he was dying..

Spending weeks in that cell, untreated, lapsing in and out of consciousness, sure that he was almost dead. Running home with broken shards of crystal in his fucking thigh, to find his brother, captive in a cell. To watch that brother die, hear the news that his girlfriend had been freed, and arrive in Huangzhou to her corpse.

Yes. What a time that'd been, all those years ago.

"Ah," he says flatly. "So what you're telling me is that you're someone who would screw people over if it means getting ahead."

Listlessly, his eyes gaze at Rindou,and if before they were dismissive and uninterested in everything she had to say, now, they were simply filled with outright disdain. His appreciation for Ardith in speaking on his behalf is nearly forgotten, even, in the storm of absolute dislike he feels for the samurai in front of him.

"Or that you were. Who knows. Who cares."

He waves his arms wide, to the gathered crowd, hoping for a spectacle. Two swordsman slashing each other down over something petty. And they all wondered why he couldn't stand most people nowadays. Someone who'd told everyone he'd met that he would be a hero.

"This isn't how you apologize. An' I wouldn't have wanted your apology to begin with. Move on with your life...like I have mine."
(Siegfried)
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[19:20] Ardith looks like she absolutely frothing all of a sudden, as if she could be foaming at the mouth in a scant few seconds. That withering occultic aura makes her head go haywire. Bit by bit by bit. She starts to loose her grip and a haze descends over her twinkling red eyes.

Her spear's already in her gloved hands, clenched tightly like she's about to spring. She sort of registers Caira approaching, talking some mouth words and trying to get her attention.

The Vindict does actually have her attention though, in the way that someone can get the attention of an animal before it sinks its teeth into something. The Accursed's begun hyperventilating and has broken out into a slick sheen of sweat. All the while the little pack of demons starts around her misshapen legs in a protective circle.
(Ardith)
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[19:23] Caira's eyes are half-lidded and her focus is entirely on Ardith. So much so that when Ardith starts to absolutely lose her head and look more and more like a rabid animal, Caira is almost instant in her response to make a small stone bridge from where she was to where Ardith was. And so very slowly, a hand reaches up and takes hold of the spear and lift it up and up and up until it's no longer quite so easy to throw or jab right through someone's body.

Someone that wasn't Caira, that is. ".. Hey. It's alright, yeah?" Caira's tone is concerned yet- Dry in some manner. ".. Relax, Ardith. Don't explode, don't go over the edge." The Vindict stares back at Ardith without a specific demeanor to pick up on. Well,

Other than tired, of course.
(Caira Vindict)
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[19:28] Be nicer to be people. Don't be afraid to apologize.

Reito's words of advice didn't work out there. Even when Rindou was trying to be nice and do the right thing it didn't pan out great; it was always the same, the same looks, the same anticipation of her defeat, the burning will to see her suffer. Was it the curse of being born in nobility? It couldn't be. Others were admired - Calista received praise and admiration all across Huangzhou despite being completely insane and having no love to speak of.

Rindou was the issue. Herself.

I'm not good at faking a smile.

She had said it before, yet even when she was genuinely sorry, full regrets and at her very lowest it wasn't enough. Would it ever be enough? Would she ever be able to make up for her mistakes? Not according to Siegfried, she wasn't. The uncare and indifference had turned to disdain, maybe even hatred.

Just as it had with every other person. Even Caira's approach was one born out of duty rather than friendship, wasn't it? It was no wonder those psychic screams hadn't even shaken her.

It's with the sight of her 'rival' comforting Ardith that a step back was taken by the young woman. That holy light of hers dimmed down, shaky legs barely able to hold her own weight.

Move on with your life.

Oddly similar to Calael who had grown tired of her pushing him to do something about Isaac.

The world would be better off if she fucked off right back to her shrine, wouldn't it?

Amber eyes laid upon the tightly knit bricks. Her purple robes moving with the motions of her body as she faced the rising sun. A beautiful morning for most of Agartha; a new horrible day for Rindou.

What could she say to a man who's life she so blatantly tried to ruin for her own gain? She didn't deserve a word.
(Rindou Sakamoto)
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[19:32] Caira approaches and Ardith stares at her, tensing to stab. Yet the way she approaches is disarming enough. Non-threatening, and Rindou starts to make her way away. The source of aggression is removed.

The Vindict has no resistance from moving the spear up, making it more difficult for the glassy-eyed occultist to stab with if she so chooses.

Steady...steady....

The Accursed starts to calm fabulously. All up until she feels something on her shoulder. She reacts suddenly and violently; Ardith turns to send her armored elbow into what she's certain is a would-be attacker's gut.

Oh. It's only Garrick...

Whoops? At least he's not stabbed.
(Ardith)
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[19:36] Caira holds the spear with one hand upwards now as Ardith and Rindou seemed to both lose tension and rigidity. As the Accursed loses steam and slowly starts to come down, Caira stares back into the woman's eyes with a golden glow to her iris.

".. Good?" She asks, as if unsure herself.
(Caira Vindict)
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[19:39] Garrick would begin to smile as he saw tensions beginning to simmer down, puffing idly on his raggedy cigarette as his molten eyes trailed over Ardith and Caira while the fire drakan carefully lowered his hand down upon her shoulder. All was going well, the violence in the air was fading away, and business could return to usual in the square like nothing had happened!

Until the drakan's hand landed upon Ardith's shoulder.

With a vicious, armored elbow driven with primal violence directly into the drakan's rib cage by surprise, today being one of the few days he'd decided to let his scales air out a bit by not wearing his cuirass, the ruthless blow proceeds to crack with violence several of the scaly smith's ribs, issuing a sudden cough of crimson ichor upon the anvil as the drakan grimaced, intense pain flashing over his visage at the sudden sound of snapping bone.

The smith would hold himself steady upon Ardith's shoulder, planting another hand upon the nearby anvil so he didn't collapse. At the least, the tensions had died down.
(Garrick)
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[19:40] The Accursed regains her sense of self, looking down and over to Garrick as he crumples.

She doesn't pay him much mind after that, giving Caira a winsome smile and a thumbsup.

"Hahaaaa. Peachy."
(Ardith)
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[19:40] Caira Vindict asks, "... Have you gotten better at controlling that anger yet?"
[19:41] One of the demon's senses weakness. The smallest, little 'Bitey', turns on Garrick and tries to gnaw on his ankles furiously.

"Abso-fuckin'-lutely not," the Accursed answers bluntly, still smiling.
(Ardith)
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[19:42] Ardith says, "I ain't control much of anything really."
[19:42] Caira Vindict asks, ".. Need help with it?"
[19:42] Caira Vindict says, "I'm more than willing to help you get your anger under control if you'd like."
[19:42] Caira Vindict says, "The less freak outs, the better. I care for you, Ardith."
[19:42] Caira offers that same smile and thumbs-up.
(Caira Vindict)
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[19:43] Ardith asks, "...Ain't gonna involve no collars or bullshit like that, is it?"
[19:44] Caira Vindict says, ".. What? No."
[19:44] Caira Vindict says, "Hell no."
[19:44] Caira Vindict says, "I wouldn't ever think about throwing a fellow Gehennan in a collar."
[19:44] Caira Vindict says, "That's one of the most direspectful things."
[19:44] Ardith says, "Y'know. I think so too. But you'd be surprised the shit folks try to pull."
[19:45] Garrick would bark out in pained laughter as he felt Bitey make good on his name, nibbling fervently upon the drakan's ankle as he wiped the blood from his mouth. Forcing himself up straight, the fire drakan would pat Bitey while otherwise allowing him to continue with his chewing business, the emerald scales that lined his legs perfect chew toys for a demon in truth. The smith would acclimate to the pain of cracked ribs, smiling once more with only the idle drip of crimson from his lips.

He had missed Bitey.
(Garrick)
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[19:45] Ardith says, "...Color me curious. Just how you plan on doing that? "
[19:45] Siegfried leans back, on the fence, eyes half-lidded, now sent spiraling down a long road of memories involving a bunch of things that'd now been publicly disclosed to a full crowd that didn't give a damn.

What a bother.

His private affairs were...private. Siegfried isn't the kind of man to go around hollering about the dramatics. This entire thing with Rindou had been the opposite of his element, and as she walks off, all that he feels is relief. That's it. She was nothing but a source of animosity and distaste for him in those moments, and it's only after she's gone that he's able to turn his attention to Caira and Ardith.

"I'm sorry that she acted like tha'. Ain' mean to stress you out or nothin'."

Similar to her own smile from earlier, he flashes one back, but it's meant to be comforting rather than saucy.

"It's much better to think about the now than the way back when."

He just hoped...

"Hope that girl finds inner peace, someday."
(Siegfried)
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[19:45] Caira Vindict says, "Fighting, meditation, helping you find some patience, a little relaxation- Repeat until you're able to take a deep breath and cool your jets."
[19:51] There she was, back at the shrine. Alone. Where she belonged. Calael had told her to go take care of this place, to not bother with the world and let time do its own thing. Had she been played; was his plan more than being about protecting Rindou and actually trying to get her out of the way of his projects? Most likely. That man was wise and self-centered.

Alone.
Why did it have to be alone?
The young woman watched as her rival cared more about some vile, corrupt bovine than the person she deemed good enough to wield her blade's equivalent.

What would it take for people to appreciate Rindou for who she was? Being nice didn't work. Helping the world was no better. Making friends only ended with fake bonds. Keeping an eye on Isaac had landed her near death. Opening that shrine made her truly understand it all.

This loneliness. The reality of the world.

I'm not very good at faking a smile.

Nobody wanted Rindou Sakamoto's smile, anyway.
(Rindou Sakamoto)