Angelo, finally

[19:55] Eagleheart says, "Ah, wait."
[19:56] Eagleheart asks, "You said you wanted to talk, yes?"
[19:56] Eagleheart asks, "You want to talk while we're here, because it's private, or you'd prefer to get back to the city?"
[19:56] Mei Xiang asks, "It's not really super private, but I think it's awkward to hold a conversation in a crowd in the middle of the city?"
[19:57] Mei Xiang says, "I just... wanted to get to know you some, outside of the arcane things. Me 'n Tiff think you're cool, so..."
[19:57] Eagleheart says, "Well."
[19:57] Eagleheart says, "I appreciate the thought, actually. First time I've been called cool."
[19:57] Eagleheart asks, "But did you want to know anything specific?"
[19:57] Mei Xiang asks, "Yeah, kinda! After watchin' you 'n Ohtli talk, I slowly realized that the mask isn't a gimick, but it... has history behind it, huh?"
[19:58] Eagleheart asks, "... What do you mean, a gimmick?"
[20:02] Suddenly Mei Xiang looked alarm.

She shakes both of her hands, smiling nervously.

"Nooo, uh, not... a gimmick, sorry, that was the wrong word. Me 'n Tiff were talkin' while you were gone, and I think I remember you talkin' about... Seekers? She brought up how you're basically a vigilante, 'n then I thought that you wear your mask 'cause it's required by the Seekers! That, and... we thought you had a secret..."

She clears her throat, her tone fading.

"...hero identity."
(Mei Xiang)
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[20:10] Vigilante, hero identities... What was that? He had no idea why people called him that every now and then, even if it was rather something that he accidentally did. Yet, it was a concept that went far above his head. The tales of heroes and villains that most children did read, he didn't.

It was a poor childhood one that he lived, this much was clear to anyone that ever asked him about factors like how he didn't know these. Sometimes, it wasn't as obvious...

Yet, it still confused him, and this much WAS obvious. His head tilted slightly to the side, but upon her fading tone, the man let out a hearty laughter.

A hand rose to pat her head. "Don't be ashamed of saying your own questions, dear! It is all something we must do. And perhaps..."

Clearing his throat, one hand rose towards his own neck, massaging it softly. His voice's effects waned, and it was obvious that there was only the slightest distortion due to the porcelain mask above the mouth.

"The mask is required by the Seekers, because we had to hide our identity. That was the whole point with Ohtli, didn't you see? I couldn't let her know who I truly was because of risks others would get into if they knew."

"My past is behind me, I have merely turned from my old self into Eagleheart entirely. I have to say, however, sometimes the mask gets a bit tiresome to wear, so I take it off at night. Not that anyone's ever seen me asleep."
(Eagleheart)
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[20:22] Contrast to Eagleheart, the young girl before him seemed to be quite enthusiastic about heroes in general.

When he assures her that she shouldn't be ashamed, the young girl smiles, even moreso when the man explained that it was required that they hide their identities, as seen with Ohtli.

She holds up a single finger, and then reaches into her satchel, audibly rummaging through; it seemed like there was a lot of paper in there for one reason or another. Eventually, she produces a small book titled The Creeping Jenny. It was a book related to masked heroes leading two lives, but it was unlikely the man would know if he wasn't knowledgeable on hero books in general.

"Yeah! I... I understand that. Having to keep your real self a secret so your friends don't get hurt 'cause of it. It's really... noble- me 'n Tiff were talking all about it and how we'd like to do it, too, if we ever got the chance! Even start up the Seekers again, may-"

But then she catches herself 'fangirling' over the man. The book is soon placed back into her satchel.

"...erm, I think it would be pretty annoying to wear a mask all the time, though. Speaking of the Seekers, what... were they?"
(Mei Xiang)
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[20:32] There is a soft chuckle, muffled by what sounds like closed lips along with the mask. He seems to remain, as always, almost perfectly still, even if his face shifted to look towards the girl as she talked with him.

The book is perhaps glanced, but the movement of his irises is unseen under the mask, with a thick black cloth stretched over the hole where they'd be visible.

Upon saying there was the possibility of starting up the seekers again, his head is taken slightly aback -- Almost as if he's surprised to hear that, with a hand risen towards her, but he waits until she's finished speaking.

And then, as soon as it happens, the man's hand slowly moves downwards, as if wanting for her to simply slow down. "The seekers didn't wear masks all the time. Back when I formed our own small organization, the three of us were living in different places, and if they knew the faces that hunted demons, vampires, sinners and chaos magi, it'd represent major risks."

"Right now, it's nothing more than expected. So, to answer your question..." He takes a brief pause, letting out a sigh.

"The Seekers were nothing more than a dream abandoned when Huangzhou arose. I was captured, Owlight gave up on himself, and even if the Golden Fox had barely started, she couldn't exactly take the mantle."

"We were behind the founding of Huangzhou, side by side with Ming."
(Eagleheart)
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[20:45] At the hand gestures, Mei Xiang indeed slows down some, but that doesn't do away with her giddy demeanor. It was strange how someone could get so happy and enthusiastic just by talking to one person.

Her smile does indeed wane a tad bit when he goes into depth about the Seekers. While the idea seemed fun and nice to her, it was a bit sad to hear that the dream was abandoned shortly after Huangzhou arose.

"Oh," she begins, sounding either surprised or disappointed, maybe even both at the revelation.

She hugs one arm around her abdomen while her other hand goes up to cup her chin with her index finger and thumb.

"That makes a lot of sense, but it's really sad to hear that it was just abandoned, but given the circumstances, it's... understandable! Still, though, I think it would be good if they came back. I learned that a lot of people hate Huangzhou already just 'cause of the way we are. It wouldn't make too much of a difference if we went out 'n started doing good, but... wearing masks while doing good would sort of... alleviate the risk? It definitely wouldn't put people you know in danger, if the enemy didn't know it was you doing the... attackin' on them."

During the last bit of her speech, it sounded like she was tumbling over her words, perhaps struggling to neatly tie her notion together.

"..but ultimately, it's all up to you, Eagleheart! You said Owlight 'n the Goldenfox, though- were those your friends?"
(Mei Xiang)
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[21:00] It seems like there were few things that could get over him, but even if his whole body remained mostly still for what it was worth, this topic was something that brought him a certain sadness.

Even with the mask on, he almost looked gloomy. There was a tone of sadness within his very way of speaking, much different from his usually monotonous form or occasional cheeriness in which he conducted words.

"Wearing something akin to me will obviously call attention to Huangzhou, and more often than not, it would make you act like Exiles. They'd know... I've been too affiliated with the town." A sigh comes out, as he continues to respond to her questions.

His voice seems to be carrying enormous amounts of dread, mourning and a sad baggage all by itself. "Owlight and Goldenfox were... They were... More than friends. Owlight was a brother from a different mother. We were-- Theywere everything I could have asked, and..."

He stops. Suddenly.

There is a low sob heard from underneath the mask, and finally, his whole body seems to spring with life, even if this is what it took. Finally, the perfect posture seems to be broken.

He turns sightly to the side, and the still human hand rises to his face, removing the mask. It is hard to see him, specially with the light so diminished, but it is possible to distinguish some traits.

Namely, the dirty blonde medium-length hair and the stubble, likely kept from days on end without removing the mask. There were no scars upon the man's perfect face, and yet, he seemed to be crying.

Eyes closed, he wiped the tears away with his own hand, the metal scraping against his skin. Obviously, he wasn't going to continue anytime soon, even if his crying was extremely silent -- It was almost like a picture, without any sound beyond muffled sobs.
(Eagleheart)
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[21:13] Her smile continued to shrink.

The man was absolutely right, though. When thinking of Huangzhou, she immediately thought of people like Anwar and Eagleheart. To say he obviously wasn't affiliated with the settlement would be an outright lie.

Plus, what would the Seekers even be with the Fourfold around? The Fourfold was an army, but-

Oh, maybe the Seekers could be some sort of task force-

...but those thoughts come to a screeching halt when the man explains who those people were to him. The feeling of dread and sadness was heavy in the air, so much so that her smile was now basically non-existent. Maybe she shouldn't have asked about his friends, maybe she shouldn't have even asked about the Seekers.

However, when Eagleheart finally removes his mask in front of her, her eyes go wide. Truth be told, the darkness made it difficult to make out any sort of fine details, but oh, she would definitely analyze the distinctive shapes and features of his face.

But the feeling of excitement is short lived, swapped out for a mixture of surprise, sadness, and guilt. In her mind, she felt it was most definitely her fault that she put the man in such a terrible mood. As he wept silently, she only saw it fit to utter a quiet apology, as to not interrupt the man or make him fall even more into sadness.

"I'm- I'm sorry for bringing them up, Eagleheart- the Seekers, too. I didn't know about... any of that stuff."
(Mei Xiang)
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[21:34] The man was certainly aging. At the peak age of thirty four, his face was the least affected part of the years of duty, perhaps due to the protection of the mask. He wiped the tears, yet there was no desperation within himself.

It was simply mourning the death of two people he loved more than himself. A late mourning, one that he never had the time to do, for all those that helped him, that hit him by surprise. All the time trying to keep his own emotions in check, to fall for a surprise strike.

And it wasn't all bad, however. He was still contained. Upon hearing her apologies, the man speaks again, this time with his voice uninterrupted by any masks or anything.

Except for the tone, modified due to the recent sobbing.

"It's not your fault, please... It's... I'm naught but an old man missing his friends, yeah?" He speaks, turning towards her. Even if the wiping of tears was almost perfect, there was the obvious result of the scraping of his skin from the mythril hand.

And surprisingly, amidst the face hit by tears, he musters a smile. Alabaster teeth exposed, the man's smile is almost as serene as everything else about him, even if it was not containing much cheeriness by himself. It was simply the joy of living, after all, which it carried. A slight smile, but it wasn't forced. It simply... Was there.

Perhaps now that he faced her directly, she could see that his gaze wasn't directed exactly towards her, but simply wandered the nearby environment until the same soft soothing breeze ran over her, and it was only then that his eyes caught up to her.

Silver-blue irises would reveal the truth. By some mean, Eagleheart wasn't truly seeing her. He was blind, eyes almost unblinking even to the flickering lights of bugs within the woods.

A hand rose to pat at her head. Clearing his throat, he started speaking again... And the same hand started to ruffle her hair. "You're not at fault, alright? Don't blame yourself for others like that. You had the right to know, I just... I never wept for them. It was time I finally did it."

He let out a long sigh. "Really, don't. I am sorry that you had to see this."
(Eagleheart)
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[21:50] Her eyes never left his visage.

She was absolutely enthralled by it, but at the same time, she felt sympathetic. The loss of a loved one was never something she had ever experienced, and as much as she attempted to put herself in the man's shoes for just a second, the thought of losing someone like her mother or father, or even Tiff frightened her truly. She knew the path to glory and being a 'hero' was going to be arduous, but she didn't know to what extent.

If she ever got to such a state, would she still have her friends with her, or would she be all alone?

She abruptly jerks her head to the side while reaching up to adjust her scarf, for the thoughts brought her some mild anxiety.

It's relieved when Eagleheart confirms it indeed wasn't her fault that he was weeping and mourning. In response to his smile, she smiles as well, if only for a moment.

She notices something in his eyes, however. The way looked ingeneral direction, but not at her. At first, she simply assumed he was analyzing their surroundings, but upon further inspection she grew suspicious.

After the soothing breeze washes over her form, she rests her arms by her side; she had almost no doubt about the man, now.

He was blind, or atleast... it seemed that way; she wouldn't question him, but how could she have not known such sooner? Everyday seemed to bring some new knowledge.

She smiles from the small pat and nods.

"It's okay, Eagleheart. I know I would... cry if I lost people I loved. Still, at the very least, you have the strength to continue on, right? To help and teach others, like you do now."
(Mei Xiang)
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[22:02] He scoffs for a brief moment at her question. Afterwards, he shrugs slightly. The slight smile remains upon his face, as he speaks some final words. "Well, yes. I kind of have to. If I was the last Order Magi in the world and didn't at least try to find one suitable student... I'd be wrong."

A sigh, before he rises the mythril-covered hand to massage his temples. "No one told me it'd be so hard. I don't mean you and Tiff -- You're probably the best two from all, but... Ei Sei was one, and what he did today, I'm not sure he fits."

"There was also another one who tried to ask me about it because he saw Tragedy and wanted to become powerful... I'm worried about that one." He let out a low groan of pain. It seemed that this almost hurt him physically.

And then, shaking his head side to side, the man finally rose the hand with the mask closer to his own face. "Still. It's nothing but my duty to help those in need, and this is what I'll continue doing, no matter what the world puts in front of me."

"Remember what I said about determination, yeah?" He finished off, the mask floating from his hand and slowly tightening around his face, now covering it entirely.
(Eagleheart)
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[22:15] Mei Xiang laughs some.

Being regarded as one of the best students of all sure made her happy, but she would have to keep herself from looking too happy over the prospect.

Though at the same time, being one of the ONLY good students would be quite troublesome. If she even managed to master the teachings of Order, she very well may find herself in a similar position to Eagleheart, in that she would be struggling to find a student.

But those were daydreams. For now, she had to focus on the current.

She smiled wide at the idea of determination. She would most definitely remember this discussion.

"Yeah! If you're determined to do something, you'll be able to do it, no matter good or bad- I think you're like, the best example I have of what determination does when you wanna do something good, like helping maintain Order, teaching people, being strong, and just being a general... cool guy."

She clicks her tongue and shoots some finger guns at the man, then laughs some more.

"...uh, one more thing, though. I went into Crafthold a few days ago and some guy with horns started talking to me, asking where I'm from- two people with horns, too. He said whatever 'Tragedy' doesn't like, he doesn't like, either, so they both don't like Huangzhou. Who's Tragedy, Eagleheart?"
(Mei Xiang)
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[22:22] A shame he put on the mask just now. There is a slight turn of his face towards her, almost as a side glance, or as close as he could manage to do. "Ah..."

His voice took on the same effects of always, upon putting on the mask. This time, it was no more Angelo Sanguinis anymore, but Eagleheart again. The soothing chime accompanied it, along with a soft reverberation from himself and the mask.

"Tragedy is a major deviance of Kraus' Plan. She's, as all demons are, made of pure Chaos, but she managed to master it far before anyone else ever has. I believe there are few who achieved the same level of mastery she has..."

"The Archon of Tragedy, is her full name. She is the one to blame for the extinction of Order Magi, she is one of the founding members of Gaiar Aetherius... And she hates every form of life that refuses to be her puppet."

He lifts off a single hand, a soft chime of order following it around. There seemed to be something that he was trying to cause, some disorder in and by itself, but perhaps due to his own nature or the nature of the magic he wielded, he was unable to.

"Be careful when you walk in Crafthold, Mei Xiang. There are those who are to be trusted... But those who aren't to be trusted also run aplenty there."
(Eagleheart)
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[22:28] Archon, a title, it sounds like.

Tragedy, just a big, bad demon.

She nods swiftly. "Right, thanks for the info. This brings up a lot more questions, though, but I think I'll save 'em for now, 'cause we've been out here forever."

She sighs quietly, glancing around at her surroundings.

"I'll be careful if I go there. I know now it isn't really a friendly place for us, 'n I'll only go there if I reeeeally need somethin', so yeah.

Anyway, this was... awesome. Thank you for talkin' with me, Eagleheart." At that, the young girl bows slightly.
(Mei Xiang)
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[22:29] Eagleheart asks, "Of course. Shall we reutrn, then?"
[22:29] Mei Xiang exclaims, "Yeah, let's go!"
[22:30] Mei Xiang says, "See ya around, Eagleheart."