eagleheart asks for a whip wtf

[23:38] Mei Xiang exclaims, "We're havin' tea!"
[23:40] Mei Xiang walked to her little kitchen area, pulling out a kettle, several cups, a tray, and some bags of tea. It isn't long before she has the tea boiling away; it would be done soon.

While it brewed, she turned to face everybody with a smile.

"Sooooo we got a lot done today, didn't we? A lil' understatement, but I just wanna acknowledge our accomplishment."
(Mei Xiang)
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[23:44] Eagleheart took a hand to his face, removing the mask. A slight smile was present upon his face, before he moved closer to the desk, sitting down at one of the free seats.

"I just wanted to ask... If I'm not supposed to take this anywhere dangerous, what's its purpose?"
(Eagleheart)
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[23:45] For her part, Satsuki seemed to be a bit too distracted to enjoy herself. She was drafting a response to the letter, after all, and it had almost all of her attention. Angelo's query, however, did snap her out of her work however briefly. She produced the device and pressed a button, mentally transmitting a message on the network.

A response.
(Satsuki Shimasu)
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[23:52] Taro sits at one end of the table with a leg pulled up and onto the chair, eyes glancing around between the other three in the house. He eyes the transmitters for a period of time but doesn't speak up at first. After being covered by a blanket of silence, he looks directly at Mei across the house.

"It was a great victory, Master. But.. I feel like the others are complacent? I hear our peers talking about just.. surviving and tackling threats that come to them. I don't want to be like that, or them-- I wanna' be proactive about it. So.."

He stumbles through the next few seconds, trying to find the right words to convey his message.

".. I'unno. If there's anything I can do to push things further within the Fourfold or for you guys personally, let me know. I'm still hungry for change."
(Taro Wvelven)
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[00:04] The tea continued to heat up within the kettle; the Shogun made sure to keep an eye on it.

She frowns a little at Taro's words.

"Nobody can be positive 'n celebrate for one day? I mean, we got so much done; we... made history, pretty much, but... no, we're not gonna sit around forever 'n just defeat things that come to us, no, we're' takin' the fight to our enemies. All we need a lil' more time to prepare 'n get ourselves in shape."

She looks over to Eagleheart.

"Also, I think as long as ya don't knowingly walk into a place where ya could potentially get captured, it's fine to bring it. This is for speedy communication 'n organization, as well as... I dunno, a way to call for backup if ya need it?"
(Mei Xiang)
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[00:11] A hand types idly at the table, the metallic sound of mythril against wood resonating loudly. "I agree to let it lie down for a day or two. Times to celebrate, yes? Maybe a feast, maybe some sort of official celebration..." He said, letting out a sigh. He tilted his head from side to side, a small crack of his neck audible.

Stress, or just the result of many scars from battle.

"But the thing that Taro speaks is that there just was sort of a bad precedent. We waited until Gaiar came to our doorstep to attack back, or at least, the Fourfold itself waited until that. The only groups that tried to take the fight back were... Well, us. Or any patrol led by me." He said, smiling slightly at the notion of apparently leading most successful patrols that happened. After all, they weren't merely preventive.

"And well, I was thinking exactly that. I often need assistance outside, but waiting until someone comes by or having to flee from the place to call for help is often... Well, often can't happen."

However, after all that, he took both arms up and stretched. "But anyways, I guess a bit of time to rest comes at a good time. Which reminds me... Now that Gaiar is down, I can take a bit of time to focus on myself, and this means!" He says, pointing towards Satsuki.

"Do you have a whip, Satsuki? Pointy ends, preferrably. I need one."
(Eagleheart)
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[00:11] Mei Xiang says, "...a whip."
[00:13] Taro Wvelven asks, ".. A whip?"
[00:13] Eagleheart says, "Yes."
[00:13] Eagleheart says, "Why do you question? You almost make it look like I'm asking for something unusual."
[00:17] Satsuki was still distracted with composing her letter, but she did seem to almost be finished with it, enough so that she could take a small break and...

...Never mind.

"...A whip," she repeated. "You. You asked about that so enthusiastically," she went on. "Is your last name Hitoshura, by chance? Are you descended from that madman?" She scribbled her signature onto the letter and looked back up at Eagleheart.

"That is a serious question, Angelo. I have heard stories about that lunatic, and..." she trailed off, eyes narrowing as she well and truly processed the question. "...Why do you think I have a whip."
(Satsuki Shimasu)
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[00:17] Eagleheart blinks.
(Eagleheart)
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[00:19] By now, the kettle started to whistle.

She immediately grabs the thing and begins to pour cups, but not before silently counting everyone present, including herself. When she has the cups ready, she sets them on the tray, picks it up, and then walks over to the table.

"Normally people don't ask for whips unless they intend to hit somethin', so..."
(Mei Xiang)
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[00:20] Taro seems pacified somewhat by the fact that Eagleheart understood where he was coming from. His request to do more and be more involved in the Fourfold was a serious one, but the youth lacked the.. vernacular to express it in such a way that would not make it sound like he could do a better job of holding the Fourfold together than Wei.

Even though he could.

With the topic of a whip now taking the center stage, he furrows his brow and scrunches his face up.

"You're not going to beat any of us with a whip, are ya?"
(Taro Wvelven)
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[00:20] Satsuki Shimasu says, "...I assumed he aimed to flog himself. Like a lunatic."
[00:20] Mei Xiang says, "Don't... do that."
[00:26] He tilts his head to the side, furrowing down his eyebrows after a few blinks. "What did a man do with a whip? Obviously--" He said, before the others spoke of it. Well, he let out a sigh.

"Self flagellation. My back hurts, and I am boiling in anger which I never felt in my whole life. Probably the result of the corruption, still, but..." He said, one hand rising to his own head, a brief massage conducted by his index and middle fingers at the center of the forehead.

"It was a religious practice, or so I'd heard. Ming did that once -- I believed I should try. Pain is a powerful motivator, after all, and it should keep me at... Being punished for things I've done." He said, irises moving to the side with eyebrows furrowed down, lips curled into a slight frown. Seemingly, he had done something he wasn't exactly proud of -- And that was an understatement.

"I didn't intend to maim myself with it, but simply... Atone for what I've done. I'm not proud of the way I'm doing things lately, is all. My head's getting clouded. Wanted to try that to see if I could get control back."

And then, a forced smile, before he nods towards Satsuki, eyelids shut closed. "Forget I said anything! Tea."
(Eagleheart)
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[00:27] Satsuki Shimasu says, "..."
[00:27] Mei Xiang says, "..."
[00:27] Satsuki Shimasu whispers something.
[00:27] Mei Xiang whispers something.
[00:27] Satsuki rises to her feet. She's outtie.
(Satsuki Shimasu)
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[00:27] Satsuki Shimasu whispers something.
[00:27] Taro Wvelven asks, "??"
[00:28] Eagleheart asks, "Was it that bad?"
[00:28] Mei Xiang says, "...Eagleheart."
[00:28] Mei Xiang says, "You sound nuts."
[00:28] Mei Xiang says, "Crazy."
[00:28] Eagleheart says, "Mei, everything we saw from the Vidharatti points to me falling to Chaos."
[00:28] Eagleheart says, "I nearly killed a man through punching him to death, even if he was corrupted."
[00:28] Eagleheart says, "And I actually did that today to a soldier."
[00:28] Mei Xiang says, "Okay- well, look, I wanna... I don't-"
[00:29] Mei shakes her head, more sad than annoyed. She went over and set the tray on one of the counters.

All that tea for nothing.

"Why does there always have to be somethin' wrong? How do we fix ya, Eagleheart, huh?"
(Mei Xiang)
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[00:29] Mei Xiang asks, "What do we need to do?"
[00:30] Taro awkwardly pats his thighs off to one side of the conversation.

"A hug probably wouldn't fix this."
(Taro Wvelven)
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[00:46] "I don't know." He said, letting out a sigh. Afterwards, he simply moved his lips from side to side, seemingly unsure of what to say next. Expression was turned into something completely serious -- Almost awkward for him to do so, after all, most of the time he took the mask off he was filled with utter joy or, at times, sadness.

There was still the odd sense of serenity coming from his voice, the stillness that always permeated every word he spoke. "I truly don't. And I hate it, because I feel like I'm not necessary, or as of now, I feel like I'm not wanted."

He said, letting out a sigh. He took both hands to his face, elbows supported against the table, and his breathing seemingly got a little shaky. "I just... I don't know anything anymore. I miss a purpose. I miss things to do, and I still feel like I'm getting more and more aggressive at each moment that passes."

"I fear that I'm truly getting to the path that one of the three Vidharatti went through. He spoke of it, didn't he?" He said, once again forcing a smile through his face, after a quick wipe from his hands.

"I just-- I should leave. I shouldn't have come back. You were doing fine without me." He says, getting the transceiver, and putting it over the table. He seems hesitant on simply leaving it there, but soon enough, he raises his hand from it.

"Sorry for destroying the celebration, Mei." He speaks, moving out.
(Eagleheart)
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[00:48] {Item} You drop Agarthian Transceiver.
[00:52] As the man sat his transceiver down, Mei Xiang immediately stood up. Dozens of questions raced through the young Shogun's mind, but all she could really think of is:

Why?

A scowl corrupted those normally jovial features of hers.

"Eagleheart- you're... do ya even hear what you're sayin'? You're talkin' crazy right now, 'n of course we wouldn't want ya gone! We can help ya, we just need to find out how!"
(Mei Xiang)
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[00:57] "Mn.. Miss Mei is right, Angelo. Don't.. just leave. It ain't that strange to want to punish yourself-- a beat myself up over my mistakes all the time. But you're talking like you've done something that makes you irredeemable! Like each and every person in the settlement doesn't appreciate you and everything you've done."

He is standing on one of the red chairs at this point and looking over the wooden wall, elbows folded over the top of it with his head propped up on both of them.

"If you need a whip, I'll find you a whip. Just don't leave again, Gramps. Mei and Tiff-- we were all worried about you."
(Taro Wvelven)
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[01:09] He stops, before leaving, since the door was... Locked. He seemed intent on simply breaking that door there and continue on his way out, breathing still accelerated, but he stopped at the moment Taro spoke his name, in fact.

"I know you were. I know-- I know you still are, but..." He said, biting on his lower lip for a moment. "I didn't say you wanted me gone from the place, I just said you wanted me gone from this party-- It'd be better than killing the mood." Continued, a small, obviously forced chuckle coming afterwards.

However, he did take his hand out of the doorknob. "I am not saying you don't appreciate what I've done -- I never intended to. I'm sorry if that is what you understood, but..."

He took a deep, deep breath. "I just feel tainted. Ifeel corrupted-- I can feel pure Chaos running in my veins, and I know for a fact this is why I have been getting more and more aggressive."

"I know I've changed. I can feel that. I can feel that scowl in Mei's face." But then, he let out a sigh. "I just fear I might be more of a risk instead of a benefit now."
(Eagleheart)
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[02:01] Tiff blinked. She only caught the tail end of Eagleheart's rant, but enough was said. The fairy for her to catch the mood of the place. Her mentor was troubled, changing, he said. And the words of chaos. She squinted at Angelo and sat upon the counter top. She was mistaken, right? He couldn't be saying what she THOUGHT he was saying...
(Tiff)
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[03:22] Eagleheart lets out a sigh as soon as Tiff gets inside, but the opportunity to leave is simply enough to allow him to leave the place, likely unimpeded.
(Eagleheart)
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