News About Caira [9/13] Leash Dev

[22:57] Ardith Hirai asks, "Ya take a shine to this beach. Ain't ya?"
[22:59] Garrick says, "Of course. Lot of good memories here."
[22:59] Garrick says, "Quiet too. Lets me think."
[22:59] Ardith Hirai says, "Ain't expect to see ya here off that mountain."
[23:00] Garrick says, "Not wrong. Found less and less reason to return here as the time goes."
[23:00] Garrick says, "But I do love this beach."
[23:00] Ardith Hirai says, "Can't say I blame ya for that."
[23:00] Ardith Hirai says, "Place is a fuckin' mess."
[23:00] Garrick says, "Thought it was mine to clean up, once. I guess I never really believed it, though."
[23:00] Garrick says, "Wasn't much of a home."
[23:00] Ardith Hirai says, "No sense cleanin' up a place that ain't want cleanin'."
[23:00] Ardith Hirai says, "Or fixin' people that ain't want fixin'."
[23:00] Garrick says, "Ain't that the truth."
[23:05] Garrick would sigh steadily, taking a light drag from his ragged cigarette as he flicked his molten eyes away from the distant tides, turning his glance to the accursed with a grim expression as he blew a ring of smoke up towards the distant, evening sky.

"I'd love to say this is just a social call; that I have a three course meal and a bottle of hooch waiting for a relaxing evening to forget all of the nastiness. But, well, we're too old for fairy tales now, aren't we?"

The drakan would clack his jagged rows of teeth together as his gaze anxiously turned back north, a sense of magnetic force almost instinctually tugging at him to return where he believed he belonged. Yet, sacrifices had to be made for those you love.

"Two bits of business, one less pleasant than the other. First thing, can you make this pendant a bit....speedier? I've got aboutfourty two coins left in my pockets from what I had to drop to forge it, but I'll pay you back what I owe."
(Garrick)
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[23:06] It's never pleasant business. Especially not for her. She gets little pockets of good news, pinpricks of light against an otherwise dark backdrop. The Accursed can only grunt; it's as expected.

"I been too old for fairy tales for a long time. Lemme see it."
(Ardith Hirai)
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[23:09] Garrick would nod, steadily unchaining a fairly commonplace amulet of arcanium from the seams of his thick, cracked scaled neck. It didn't appear to be a particularly fancy work, far more utilitarian and standard than the common fare of the smith. Perhaps it was a proof of concept, or simply a placeholder for something greater one day. The drakan didn't appear to intend to illuminate upon the topic, setting it carefully before Ardith as he turned his molten gaze back towards the sea.
(Garrick)
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[23:10] The Accursed is a master in her craft. For all they speak of her in whispers, behind doors, or in sidelong glances, none can deny her expertise. It's a simple matter to draw the rune with one of her sickly claws. A simple effort at this point.

"There. Should do ya."
(Ardith Hirai)
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[23:16] Garrick would offer the accursed a tired, jagged toothed smile as he watched Ardith work, crossing his emerald, cracked scaled arms over the black plate of his cuirass as his molten eyes hung upon the brief display of rune mastery. It was nice, these few moments of simplicity where he could simply admire a bit of good artisanship. Pretend the island wasn't the fetid, rotting demense it was and just briefly believe things could be as beautiful as those that are artificed. Steadily clasping the amulet within his talons, he'd briefly look it over before giving Ardith a two clawed salute and a familiar, roguish smile that didn't reach the drakan's eyes.

Not much did, these days. Not here of all places.

"You've improved. Here I thought you couldn't get any better at runework. I'm pleasantly surprised. You have my thanks."

The drakan would frown as he tucked the amulet around his neck, glancing at its unadorned expanse for a time before turning his molten eyes back towards the lapping tides of the sea. He'd release another sigh as he took a long, pensive drag from his cigarette before deigning to speak, seeming to contemplate how to phrase the second bit of business that had brought him here.

"You might want to sit down. Or stand. Or near something you can hit."
(Garrick)
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[23:17] The smile is hollow, no light in Garrick's eyes. The news must not be great after all. He'd warned her already.

"There's always somethin' to move forward with. S'just that most people ain't bother to seek it out. I have."

His offer gives her additional anxiety. Near something to hit? No, no. It can't be good. She grunts, folds her arms over her chest, and turns west to stare out over the water.

"...G'head then. Ya nearby enough."
(Ardith Hirai)
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[23:23] "That I am."

It would have been an entertaining back and forth under usual circumstances, a distant call back to the days where the pair had spent their time on this very beach chatting about the distant unknowns of the future, of the younger Garrick's foolish arrogance and silliness. Simpler times where the greatest anxieties of the world were finding enough raw metal to perfect his craft, enough alcohol to drink, and enough variety in his food preparation to bring a woman he cared for a smile.

Prettier times. Long gone.

"Your friend, Caira. She came up the mountain looking to take out Sors. Not quite sure why or what compelled her to do so, but she engaged in battle with him."

The drakan would take a light drag from his cigarette as his frigid visage held upon the lapping tides, another ring of smoke rising up towards the moonlit sky as he clacked his teeth slightly.

"She did not succeed. She was captured by him, stripped of her possessions. Rindou dragged her away in chains under what I presume to not be positive intentions. She is alive, but not unharmed."
(Garrick)
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[23:29] Long gone, and never to happen again. She'd been warned about this continent's tendency to take away happiness and innocence. It really shouldn't have come as a surprise that it had happened not only to those around her, but to her too. It's hard to watch the changes within oneself though, to become warped inch by inch. Not just without, oh no. Within too.

There's the popping of bones as the knuckles on her mutated hand flex, cracking sonorously and echoing over the secluded sandbar. It, incidentally, perfectly mirrors the internal snap that comes with it.

"...She's...he's...what?"

It's a heavy thing to get hit with, out of the relative blue.

Her frie- No...No. Her human, one of a small few she treasured and held close, taken.

A potent emotion boils within the Accursed, leaking into the atmosphere around her. Fury, potent anger, and a great desire to inflict harm twists the open air.


(Ardith Hirai)
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[23:31] You learned the spell Sound Burst.
[23:38] Garrick would turn his molten glance to Ardith as he frowned, taking a steady drag from his ragged cigarette as his amber motes hung upon the accursed patiently. It did not bring him pleasure to see the accursed unhappy, the drakan was certain that for all that had occurred between the pair good and bad, she was still one of the few he could still muster a sense of empathy for. The woman he'd loved more than anything upon the island, perhaps the catalyst for what had driven him so far from the stagnancy of Ryujin and the gods.

He felt nothing for Caira, the drakan fairly felt more interest in the sword Sors now possessed than the slightest pang of sympathy for the girl that tried to raise it against him. It was a masterful artifice, invoking the dragon's greed even as he practically forgot the young woman that had been chained to retrieve it. Yet, from Ardith's reaction, she bore far more attachment to the young woman than the fire drakan was capable of.

"Yes. Bound, shackled, ordered not to be killed. An Ultovexian game I reckon, the man is a fan of allowing the smoke to come to him."

Taking a step forward towards the accursed, the drakan would spread his arms, offering the rage filled Ardith something to hit if she so desired. After the physical trauma he'd endured along his path to evolution, the cracked scaled smith did not fear a bit of pain for a good cause.
(Garrick)
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[23:42] Whatever is boiling within the Accursed might not have a name, but it is not kind. It is not good, and it is wrong.

Much as when Eshmun died, something has been taken from her. Something that is hers. Even if the Nagual had been foolish to trek up the mountain. Stupid creatures all of them. Why must they keep putting themselves in danger, in harm's way?

Clearly, she must start putting them on leashes, as loathe as she is to consider the notion. It's for their own good. Even if they don't realize it.

"...She's alive. Who else knows where she is?"

The temptation to hit Garrick is strong. Bowl him over, tear into him, and satisfy those violent urges. But he isn't directly responsible for her current woes. Not that all of her recognizes this fact.
(Ardith Hirai)
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[23:50] "Straight to the point. Sounding like a real demon."

Garrick would cross his emerald, cracked scaled arms over the navy cotton of his engineer's coat and the layered black plate of his cuirass as his molten eyes met Ardith's own glimmering rubies, puffing lightly on his ragged cigarette as he held his view upon the accursed with a degree of pride. The woman had grown far more adept at mastering her rage, but then, she was no longer quite a woman was she?

More demon than girl at this point. The drake could smell it.

"More names than I care to mention, but there was certainly a crowd upon the mountain when she was bound. The news is bound to slip out from one source or another eventually, I'm quite certain that is exactly Lord Ultovex's intention. Draw them into the lion's den as it were. He expects an assault."

The smith would stare Ardith right in the eyes with a harsh gesture, seemingly challenging her to push through any potential malaise as he stared down the angry accursed with a bluntness so unlike the sweet tongued lover boy that had once frequented this beach in his youth.

"So, what are you gonna do about it?"

(Garrick)
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[23:57] There are more glimpses of the demon parts of her than she'd like to admit. The possessiveness grows, her anger still potent and vitriolic. Yet alongside it there is still some measure of cruel, calculating cunning.

Malaise and morose mourning will come later. Now there is fury, drowning out all else. Even when it does overtake her like a hunting hound snapping at her heels, it is not something that will slow her down.

"...I could tell 'em here. I ain't know fuck all 'bout what they'd do. Prolly fuckin' make it worse," she scoffs. The knuckles in her demonic hand crack again, echoing once more over the beach.

"Or...Or I can deal with this my fuckin' self."

Ardith doesn't offer more detail than that.
(Ardith Hirai)
[00:04] "Yes, tell them. They might consider do something in the next three years by the time Caira's mind is shattered, her bones stripped of flesh by carrion."

Garrick's tone dripped with venom, his hatred for the tribes and their apathy worn openly upon his sleeve in this moment of honesty between the accursed and the drake. He'd wanted, once, to truly believe in the ideals of freedom that he thought Gehenna represented. He'd become a member of Cruxiati because, somewhere in his heart, he truly believed that he was a religious man that would one day achieve notice by his patron dragon. That somehow, if he followed the tenets of dogma just right, he'd be greater for it.

What an ignorant slave he'd been. A true dragon worshipped no one but themselves.

"You've a sharper mind than the collective voices and chieftain put together. If anyone's capable of getting Caira out of that mess intact, its you. Use that rage, never let it go, and you'll have all the drive you require."

The drakan would turn his gaze back towards the distant lapping of the coast, taking a long, pensive drag from his ragged smoke as he clacked his jagged rows of teeth together pensively, humming to himself as he nodded lightly.

"I'm not here to comfort you, tell you pretty lies that that this is going to be better. Once upon a time, we said we'd be honest with each other if it was just us. So I'm telling you straight that Caira is not in a good place. If you want her mentally sound, time is of the essence."
(Garrick)
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[00:13] The Accursed scoffs, a noise of scorn and derision. Yet he is likely not wrong. And she knows it. There's been a great rattling of spears and chatter, but so far...nothing.

Perhaps this would be the push they needed, perhaps not. Either way Ardith didn't care. Her focus was singular; her goal is to pursue her studies and keep her humans out of harms way. In the span of a half decade now one has died and another's been captured.

"I can nudge 'em to do somethin'. Or I can cut a fuckin' deal. It's always fuckin' deals with him," she curses.

"But if it's his goal to stir up Gehenna...he might not be takin' deals."

Her mind races, grasping at straws.
(Ardith Hirai)
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[00:21] "A deal with a nightmare is a costly thing. How much are you willing to give for her freedom, is what you should be asking."

Garrick shook his head steadily as his molten gaze held upon the lapping tides, removing his cigarette briefly from his jagged maw to grit his teeth with annoyance at the thought of Ardith giving up anything of value for Caira. Yet, were the drake in such a situation where Ardith was the one in chains? The smith suspected he'd do anything to free her.

He could sympathize, vaguely.

"It's more a bonus than a defined goal, I'd reckon. He didn't expect her to come up the mountain, but now he has a Gehennan voice of his own to hold on a pedestal. A legendary blade to boot, one which I'm quite interested in examining. A fascinating piece, truly, I can see how its served Caira well."

The drakan would shrug,turning his amber motes back towards the Accursed as his eyes one more met hers with a stern glance, clearly doing nothing to try and soften what was a clear cut grim situation.

"A deal is an option. Pushing the self-interested tribes to get off their asses, another. Or you could try and find a way to free her without invoking the wrath of a warden, rune master. It's not quite so clear cut as to what way forward is best. "
(Garrick)
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[00:27] The Accursed is not ready to give up everything. She makes no bones about it, but the fact that something of hers has been taken is not something she can abide by. So much potential in Caira. Strength, zeal, qualities that could be made even better by her hand...

All wasted. Wasted on Gehenna and her foolish crusades.

There is still a chance to fix this, to gain the upper hand. She contemplates her decisions and gnaws on her lower lip furiously.

"...I wanna' go up the mountain. I wanna cut a deal.

"I ain't give a fuck 'bout the sword. He can fuckin' keep it. Swords is swords. I want what's mine."

That demonic quality of possessiveness continues to crawl over her and consume her thoughts. It is not her friend any longer. Caira. Her human, her belonging.
(Ardith Hirai)
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[00:38] "...If you are certain that is the path you desire to take, you'll have my full support."

Garrick would take a long, pensive drag from his cigarette as his molten eyes held briefly upon Ardith's visage, seeming to take in her face for a time as just barely, only for a moment, his expression softened with worry. He was willing to give up just about anything to further his goals, to see this island turned to ash in memory of fallen Vallahaz. But for all that he had hardened his heart in pursuit of his wings, to seize the strength of dragons by becoming a monster himself, a soft spot still remained where his missing heart scale glowing emerald green with reika.

For all he had fallen, he still loved her.

"Not caring about the sword is a good start. Try to think of a good bargaining chip, something you can offer him that no one else on the island can. You've proven your ability with runes already, and now you've grown more adept still. A lead, perhaps."

Garrick briefly glanced back towards the city, pursing his lips as he imagined the road to Helheim this was more than likely to take the pair down even further. Nothing good could come of a deal with the devil, after all. Nothing without cost.

"Think upon the matter, I'll bring you to Lord Ultovex when he is around and arrange a meeting between the two of you. Best to be cautious about it with all the prying eyes and ears in this fetid city."
(Garrick)
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[00:44] "I got a few things I can bring to the table that he can't get anywhere else. Ain' even just my runes. Though no one else can do 'em like I can...no one on this whole island 'cept maybe Illaron. Even then."

The demon sleeps a great deal. She's got a leg up there.

Ardith doesn't mention what chips she has to bargain with. That would've been tipping her hand far, far too soon. But how much does that matter when dealing with a wildcard like the Lord Ultovex?

There's no telling until it finally is settled.

"I'll know what I can bring to the table by then. A few things that oughta' get his interest. And if I can get access to Caira...maybe a project proposal."

Maybe something to suit both their needs. A leash on her human and a combatant taken out of the Lord's way. If that is even what he desired any longer.

"I'm already gettin' funny 'nough looks here. But I'll be fine. Fuck 'em. Let 'em have their looks and whispers while this fuckin' puddle stagnates and gets pondscum."
(Ardith Hirai)
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[00:54] "Sounds like you've got a battle plan already. Good. Best to be as prepared as you can when dealing with a den of monsters. Even if it is just a deal with other monsters."

Garrick would not prod, the specifics of what she could bring forth probably best left to the confines of her own mind until the moment she presented them forth to Lord Ultovex. It would benefit the drakan none to know them, especially were he to be unlucky enough to face the wrong end of a blade somewhere about the island. The less he knew of Ardith's exact plans, the better for both of them.

In spite of the grimness of the situation, the cracked scaled smith couldn't help but smile. The barest flickers of light entered his eyes, brief as the gesture would be before it returned to pursed lips and a stern glance.

"Always thinking two steps ahead, aren't you? If anyone can pull a wonder out of their ass fancy enough to impress the dark lord, I reckon its you. Gehenna's been wasting one of the few researchers with drive as long as we've known each other. Let'm fuckin' rot, they won't even pull there heads out of their asses long enough to smell it."

The drakan would nod grimly, gritting his teeth before placing a fresh cigarette into his mouth once more, nodding lightly as he held his molten eyes upon the lapping tides with a light clack of his jagged maw.

"Best to be subtle still, don't make me plan a goddamn jailbreak for you just so you can plan a jailbreak for someone else. If we meet, it's gonna be on this beach when the sun sets. If I ain't here, it ain't the day."
(Garrick)
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[00:59] The best way to deal with a monster? Bring in another monster. She's never claimed to be anything but, not in the past few years. Her mind formulates plans, drifting elsewhere and only half present for the rest of the conversation.

There are whispers and voices to listen to. Plenty of them. It's something the Accursed is never short on, even on this quiet beach. Each of them brings her a new piece of information, a new suggestion to augment her cunning.

"I gotta'. Only way to even try to get ahead in this fuckin' rathole," she grunts, spitting off to the side. Her brows knit.

"Wastin' by barely usin' me. I'm gettin' my studies done at least. I get work and keep up appearances. I ain't owe this place nothin' 'cept for bein' attached to the Dreadwoods."

She looks around, then even on this beachhead lowers her voice to a whisper.
(Ardith Hirai)
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[00:59] Ardith Hirai whispers: Careful. While Gehenna fuckin' stagnates, Ely and Kay are out on the prowl. Ain't go near the foot of the mountain if ya can help it.
[01:02] Garrick whispers: Mmm, not surprising. I was very fond of walking to get my morning coffee only to see from the shadows Elyon, Calista, Tahldrig, and Adrian attacking a woman that had just had a child.
[01:02] Garrick whispers: It was a few years back, but I don't forget things like that.
[01:02] Garrick whispers: Still....thanks for the warning. I'll keep my ears open.
[01:03] Ardith Hirai whispers: There's lotta' spear rattling...but not fuckin' unity here.
[01:04] Ardith Hirai whispers: Might as well have fuckin' tissue paper as Chieftain and voices.
[01:04] Garrick whispers: At least tissue paper is useful.
[01:07] Ardith Hirai whispers: Hfff...Ya ain' wrong.
[01:08] Garrick would grumble as his ears twitched at the whispers, a vein bulging upon his forehead with condensed fury as he grinded his jagged rows of teeth together. The drake had grown quite protective of the mountain in the recent years; of the wild fools and vagabonds that made their rest upon the snowy expanse of the mountaintop. Perhaps he'd finally settled upon the plain as his dragon's lair, a perch with which to sharpen his claws and collect his avarisitic acquisitions in a pile to sleep cozily upon.

It was his home, now. He'd sooner die by his blade than see it fall to the rot and stagnancy of the south.

Turning briefly towards Ardith, his visage would briefly soften as he laid one of his cracked scaled palms upon the accursed's shoulder. It was a light touch, not a long lasting thing, born of brevity and the barest remnants of empathy that remained within the drake's breast.

"You're gonna figure this out, Ardi. You always do."

The fire drakan would nod, turning to begin pacing away back towards the distant north. He'd already stayed in the jungle longer than he liked, the compulsion to return to the snowy heights overwhelming.
(Garrick)
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