Not an Oathbreaker

[15:55] Anastasia ven Astor says, "...."
[15:55] Yuri says, "..."
[15:56] There's a step away from Walter, with a hand upon her blade as she stared at Yuri in silence. There's a tilt of her head.

"You know you did something horrible - right?" She asked. She didn't draw the weapon quite yet, but it was plain as day that she was ready to.
(Anastasia ven Astor)
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[15:58] Yuri's gaze set upon Anastasia. More importantly the collar she was wearing. Prisoner. Had she been caught while looking for him? If so, guilt would rid him. His lips parted as he took a step towards the woman.

"Were you caught looking for me or did you give up like everyone else?"
(Yuri)
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[16:01] There's a frown that mars her features and she's silent for a moment in regards to his question before her head tilted.

"Who, me? Give up?" She asked now, before a strained laugh came from her. "Not a chance." Much as Yuri took a step towards her, she took a step towards him. The gap was quickly closing.

A paper was withdrawn and held between two fingers of her free hand. She didn't need to look at the paper in order to recite it's contents at this point. Emerald gaze never left her Radiant's own, a scowl replacing that frown soon enough.

"Victory in trouble. Yuri is a traitor. Cut out my tongue. With some twisted snake man and two others a woman and a fortune teller that told us bad things were coming."

The paper was disposed of, wind picking it up and allowing it to flutter to freedom within the gutters, no doubt.

"Just what were you thinking?" She snapped.
(Anastasia ven Astor)
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[16:09] A report that had been made on his actions right away. One that would paint him as a devil without quite grasping the depth of his actions. His gaze averted, hiding. Shameful. He still wishes things could have been different, that he could have proved himself loyal in another way. Luckily enough she was still alive. He didn't take a life.

Not yet.

Eyes fell shut for a moment. An exhale left him before a difficult breath was drawn. Piercing green eyes met once more with the Lightbringer's own, facing them, facing the man he'd become.

"I wanted to be happy. Atlas wished for me to carry Nysea on my shoulders, yet we had to leave. Atlas asked me to ensure you were safe, yet you never would accept that.

I was left with a man's dying will."

His left hand reaches up, above his shoulder, fingertips nearing his blade... before their suddenly shifted upon the red headband tied tightly around his head. A soft touch.

".. A will I had no way of accomplishing. So I had to ask myself what it meant. To protect the people who believed in you. To remain with the one you love, at all cost. Even in death."

His hand fell back down to his side, and a slight shake of his head is given.

"You did nothing wrong. You were the last one who believed in me. The only one who didn't lie, really."
(Yuri)
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[16:16] Eyebrows immediately furrow as Yuri imparts his answer onto her. She had asked him what he had been thinking and he had laid it all out. But it wasn't good enough for her. His words were met with a shake of her head. Whilst there was a minor tension that had immediately registered through her body as it appeared that his fingertips were nearing that blade, it did not get better once they touched that headband.

"Fancy words, but it doesn't excuse the fact you cut out a girl's tongue. For what? Some demon and some woman that claims they love you?!" She asked. The grip upon Balmung's hilt tightened yet it wasn't drawn yet. After all she had made a promise - no? She wasn't entirely sure if it included getting into random fights within the streets of Osrona itself.

"Atlas would have told you you're stupid for doing something to someone who was completely innocent. In fact? I'm telling you right here and right now. You're being stupid. Turn yourself in and perhaps the stars will have mercy on you for what you've done."

There's a pause, and a scoff came from her.

"You messed up, kid."
(Anastasia ven Astor)
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[16:16] Tanya slowly leans over to Walter, whispering, but it's far too loud to be an actual whisper.
(Tanya Volkova)
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[16:16] Tanya Volkova asks, "..Is she trying to arrest someone in our city?"
[16:17] Walter snickers. "Seems like it, doesn't it? It's cute. So as long as they're barking, should we bother?"
(Walter Docro)
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[16:18] Rella stands aside, silent. Her hands are folded behind her back.
(Rella Caller)
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[16:26] "And go back to being unhappy?"

A step brought him closer to the woman. She towered over him, yet his confidence was much, much greater than it used to be. It... genuinely seemed like he believed in himself. There was a notable change about him, a lack of hesitation, of second-thought, of stammering all-around.

"Eight years. It took me eight years to become a Radiant. It didn't matter how much I worked, how hard I worked, what I did, how I did it, or when I did it. Alexander... never would have wanted me in that position."

Another step. Closing the gap. Facing the storm.

"It's out of pity. Out of familiarity that I was considered. I renewed my oaths. I promised I would be there for her. I..."

Teeth came to a grit, and composure broke. Fingers curled up. He trembled.

"I dedicated my life to make her happy! To make her smile! I gave every ounce of my being for her sake. All I wanted was for her to be proud of me. To show me that it wasn't just for nothing. It made her smile. It had been years since I'd last seen her smile. It all came apart when someone else, when someone who makes her happy wasn't happy with the decision.

My lifelong dedication, my oath, my promotion, my growth— It was nothing compared to Avlainn being stubborn and saying no."

Another step. The storm had engulfed him, and consumed him. He was the storm.

"Can you even understand how it feels to mean nothing to someone you've given everything to?" He asked. Rain befell the storm, surely, why else would his eyes be watering up? "I gave up on being happy for her, and it wasn't enough to make her smile."
(Yuri)
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[16:26] * You have been awarded 1 Roleplay Points! *
[16:38] The change within Yuri had gone unnoticed at first, mostly out of her own long stay within Osrona at the Imperator's side, as well as the fact she had been absolutely livid upon seeing him. And yet -

He was standing up to her here and now. Whereas before he would have stuttered his response, or just gone quiet, he spoke. He inched closer to her with every step and through it all she remained quiet. Thoughtful over his words.

In fact, Anastasia had taken a step back, briefly turning upon a heel as if to walk away from him outright. Because what else could be said, yes? - Yet with a vicious snap her hand reached out to take hold of his neck all at once. Her fingers wrapped around his throat easily, and unless the former Radiant did anything to stop the Astor she lifted him up into the air by his neck.

"What? You think just because you were friends with Aeliana she told me to test you two?" She questioned now; but the words were hidden beneath a growl. "You two were the most trust worthy to carry things out when I died - and you both failed me. You both disappointed me for a variety of reasons. This isn't a job where you get a happy ending, Yuri."

She slammed him into the pavement and cobblestone.

"You swore an oath - to serve the Petrakis line unquestionably." She began, her fingers had released his throat as she began reciting something Yuri no doubt knew by heart now. "To uphold justice and the law. To serve as the shield in times of peace and the sword in times of war. You swore to be a model human being, upstanding, and to address your superiors by their respective titles!" She exclaimed, eyes widening. "... You promised to always be there for Aeliana."

"You swore. And yet, instead of upholding your oath you walked away from it - spat upon and destroyed it."
(Anastasia ven Astor)
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[16:53] His leg shifted to move away from the incoming grasp, yet he was far too slow, far too late. Her reach was greater than his, leaving him with his neck held, with his feet leaving the ground. Him on the western side, her on the eastern. A memory that held the reason he despised Walter. A reminder of how some thought the whole world was theirs, that they could do as they pleased without facing any consequences.

Back them he barely managed to speak up.

Even without breath his gaze remained upon Anastasia's, unwavering. His lips parted, and with it more words came.

"Carry things out where? Protecting the people who genocided our own?" A hand came up, clutching upon the woman's wrist while he remained pinned on the ground underneath her wrath. "If my happiness, if my decision is too much for Aeliana to bear then she was no friend at all. She was the one who pushed me to be happy, even if it hurt her."

He was being selfish. He'd allowed her to be the selfish one for years, to entrap - to cage his happiness and keep it for herself. But this time around? He was being happy.

.. No, there was more. There was a reason that he hadn't abandoned his title, after all. It felt like time was slowing down. Like the leaves falling before the winter were never going to reach the cobblestone, like his next words alone would strike Anastasia down to her core, vanquishing her fury.

"I made an oath to serve the Petrakis line unquestionably."

He pushed, prying the woman's hand away from his throat, casting away the shackles of oppression with the truth being cast forth.

"I kneeled and sought happiness with the one I love. I proved my loyalty by silencing one who called me a traitor...

... under the demands of a Petrakis."

It's only with the Lightbringer's words that Yuri realized it, that he gave his mistake some sense to them, that he began believing that what he had done, while hurtful, was no different than harming people in war.

He was no Oathbreaker, after all.
He merely had listened to a different royal.
One who wasn't afraid to dish out pain, yet, who could respect an ally's wishes no matter how extravagant.

Yuri remained a Radiant.
Flos Nivis gained meaning.
(Yuri)
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[17:09] Only after that final phrase, Walter's jaw finally unfastens its clutch, allowing for a subtle gape to form between his lips. It's hit him like a slow burn, perhaps taking more than requited in figuring out an ordeal that could've been obvious, had the imperator been paying close attention.

And yet, it is finally brought to light. All of it makes sense. Her breaking down upon Alexander's felling, Walter's own fall into the dreamscape, her empathy and care, drive to stand by even his most hedonistic and ambitious ideas.

A soft sigh relieves him. Walter's fry textured baritone finally projects itself towards the collared lightbringer.

"Ana." Unforgivingly. "Let go of him."

Some semblance of tension builds at his frown, he makes a lengthy pause in meditation.

"He's not lying." What a wildcard. He had truly underestimated her, after all.

"His oath has not been truly violated."

He would know.
(Walter Docro)
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[17:15] He wasn't quick enough - her arms were longer, her body more accustomed to doing things that shouldn't have been possible had she not been a magi. Eyebrows furrowed as he mentioned the Teraphim and yet described them nothing more than the people who genocided our own?

"No. You're wrong. You're supposed to protect OUR people!" She demanded. That had been the entire point of the evacuation to Myllenoris, to protect their people. In truth, Anastasia had very little care for the teenage drama that was happening between him and the Queen.

She didn't understand it and she certainly didn't pretend to understand it either. She had more important things to do, and bigger things on her plate. Yet Yuri's words do bring her pause...

Whilst she hears Walter's words towards her it takes her a moment or two to truly process what both Yuri and the Imperator had said. It's only once she's properly processed it does she finally relent and detatch herself from Yuri to stand back up straight. A flicker of annoyance on her visage.

"Carlisle?" She asked, unknowing. For she was quite certain neither Philip nor Elaine would order someone's tongue to be cut off. She looked over her shoulder towards Walter now, eyes wide and yet everything still didn't sit right with her. "... How do you know?" She questioned.

Yuri was behind her, forgotten for the mean time, as her focus zeroed in upon the Imperator himself.
(Anastasia ven Astor)
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[17:19] Rella herself remained quiet throughout the debate - it concerned something or other that was long past her, over her head. It circled around people she hadn't seen or heard from in years...

And yet, she still tried to unravel it. It was her instinct. If he believes he's following orders from a Petrakis, who remained...?

Not Philip, Elaine, Aeliana… Alexander was long dead - a thought that she still had to brace herself for...

Anastasia throws out a name, and Rella reacts like she's been stabbed. An arm reflexively shooting out to cross over her chest, a half-step pressing her back to the wall.

There's no way.
(Rella Caller)
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[17:20] Released.

Air filled his lungs soon after the Imperator had spoken, confirming to Anastasia that everything she was angry about was naught but falseties. That his actions were, while despicable, still within his duty. It... provided meaning to his wrongdoings. An excuse. A convenient way to look aside and pretend that felling person after person was no issue.

As if war upon another extended that far.

Yuri remained silent for now. His mind still worked through the intricacies of everything that had happened. He had been told to kneel and beg for forgiveness from Jianyu. He had been told to take care of the bunny - to silence them.

Those...

... those were the orders. They could be. They were, once executed.

It took time to process.
(Yuri)
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[17:28] Silence, as the imperious leader of Osrona allows for the prisoner lightbringer's reaction to grow steadier, giving a window of time for her cholera to subside to a more flexible position. His intervention alone had allowed for the immediate conflict and point of contention to disappear.

The pale jade in his stare narrows subtly, as Anastasia inquires further, seemingly dancing around the obvious by now. Yet, Walter confirms it naught. Doing so would have yet again tipped the scales in one influence's favor, hardly loyal to his optimal scenario.

"..." He wouldn't explain there and then.

That stoic stare looms over the lithe swordsman, Yuri. His head sways to the side rapidly, with his chin flying in the vague general direction of the southernmost exit.

"Leave town. Don't come back." Likely, a better place for them both to be. Walter wouldn't intervene, and thus wouldn't Osrona. Yet having attempts madeat his interest's expense, in public light of day, even if indirectly was not something he could sponsor.

"Back to your kinsmen, now. You have a role to fulfill."
(Walter Docro)
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[17:30] She'd been there the whole time, casually puffing on the pipe that now stuck out from her lips. One hand upon her scabbard, the other against the small of her back. As she always had it. As was always the case. She only barely glances between the few gathered, entirely quiet, flat faced, emotionless.

Until, at least, Walter instructed Anastasia to leave. There's a quiet noise from the back of Tanya's throat, something almost akin to a quiet, barely audible.. Laugh. The hand on her scabbard is pulled up, to grasp at the pipe and pluck it from her mouth between two fingers.

"Do let your kinsmen know they're welcome here, if they follow our rules, under Sanctuary. Dissenters will be dealt with, of course. But the offer is genuine, otherwise."

..Something about the way she says that, despite it being almost monotone, seems.. Mocking? Or perhaps, incredibly smug.
(Tanya Volkova)
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[17:31] Rella Caller says, "Sanctuary..."
[17:31] Rella mutters the word to herself.
(Rella Caller)
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[17:34] She never turned back around to Yuri, staring Walter in the face and yet he didn't provide answers. He only gave her more questions. As he told Yuri to leave, that was when she finally turned back to him, quietly.

"... I can't be there." She admitted. "So someone has to be." And yet even then, her index finger rose to press against her lips now, tapping. "Ensure Aeliana does not find out where I'm at, either."

She backed up, approximately three paces before falling silent once more, her hand dropped back to her side. The last thing she wanted was for people to worry about her, or try some foolhardy errand such as getting her free. She'd be freed eventually - just not yet.
(Anastasia ven Astor)
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[17:40] Made to listen orders. To take upon a burden that reconfirmed his own actions, and affirmed the fact that he was... right in them. Confidence that had been built atop a tower of love and affection found itself solidified. Anastasia's words pulled him to believe in his cause.

Even if he despised Demonkind.

A nod.

"I will, Lightbringer Astor."

To refer to one's superior by their respective title. A part of the oath, yet one often disregarded. Walter's words were heard and brought him to move southwards. Not out of compliance, mind you, but because he knew of the weight brought upon the Imperator, and subsequently his shoulders with those small hints dropped. Those quiet revelations.

He still despised the man who thought he owned the world, the man who thought people owed him respect, or fear.

Tanya, on the other end, left him...

... indifferent. He'd never met her. From the looks and sounds of it she was the magistrate, or assistant? Whatever her title was, Yuri had no interest in furthering their goal.

But he knew looking for trouble would have him find it.

Yuri left.
As radiant as ever.
(Yuri)
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[17:41] Anastasia ven Astor says, "....."
[17:41] Yuri says, ".. I meant-"
[17:41] Yuri says, "I won't let her find out."
[17:41] Yuri says, "Y-"
[17:42] Yuri says, "... You know what I mean...."
[17:42] Anastasia ven Astor says, "You're stuttering Yuri stop it."
[17:43] Rella finally approaches, letting her hands drop to her sides.
(Rella Caller)
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[17:43] A deceptively beaming smile takes ahold of the imperator's features. His head cants to the side with deceptive sweetness.

"Have a good day!"
(Walter Docro)
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[17:43] She peered up at Walter in gloomy silence.

"... That smile is not real." She muttered.
(Anastasia ven Astor)