occult4

[07:48] Eclipse says, "That was very rude of you to decline the first time."
[07:48] Wakes up looking around him.
(Niclous Runeclaw)
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[07:48] Niclous Runeclaw says, "Not one to fall asleep that easy..."
[07:51] "So, this has been an expense of my resources to set this up. So I'm hoping this wont be a waste of my time..." They floated over to a set of chairs with a teapot already steaming. Going to pour them a drink each she continued. "I've been told you wanted to talk to me about something."

"Me, specifically." A hot cup of tea was poured for the both of them. She gestured to the other seat. "Sit." She took the chance to sit in the other chair opposite. "I do hope you realise that if this is a waste of my time then I will be recouping the cost by harvesting you..."

She sighed. "There is also a question I have for you of my own. Do you still have your soul? Or was it claimed by K'thul all those years ago in Abendrot?"
(Eclipse)
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[07:58] A sigh was then given as he would move over to the table and chair, the ranger taking a seat and crossing one leg over the other and then he would stare at Eclipse from across the table for a short while. "To whoever delivered the message I did say I would try to speak with you on my own terms. That being said I want to know why you joined the Demon's. Was it for your own personal gain ? a common goal?"

His arm's would rest in his lap finger's interlocking with one another as his right eye would open. A pale red orb resting in his socket looking directly at the beast kin across from him. "I suppose though I should thank you, for what you did with that.. Curse you put me through as well as returning one of my friends."

A nod was then given as he removed his hat and set it down onto the table. "As for my soul it is very much still my own, I never spoke with K'thul when I was taken to Abendrot."

A long heavy sigh then came from the ookami as he would begin to fiddle his thumbs as he thought back to that day. "I was attacked by a demon, saved by a girl in the demon ranks. Brought before nameless and told to train under Balor. He told me to think over my choice before it. He said that I would go hunting in the morning with them if I stayed. After some thought I fled in the cover of night."


(Niclous Runeclaw)
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[08:04] "Yes, well, this is the best way to allow us to speak without being disturbed. There's nothing physical in this realm, all ethereal, all dreams. We cannot physically harm one another... but our little avatars could. And I could leave you with yet another curse as well, another one to spur you on..."

She picked up the teacup and sipped, the liquid seeming to go straight through the metal mask on her face. "As for my reasoning for 'joining' the demons? They were going to fight Aen. That's all. Nothing more complicated than that. The fact that Alhena attecked me is mere coincidence."

"Though I let her return without proper injury." Eyes beneath the mask flit around a little, the coalescing dream world seeming to shimmer and shake under her gaze. "If you still have your soul, that means there is use for you yet... You can imagine what the other motive behind this meeting is for."

A small black book manifested in her hands. "A signature. In exchange for my help, my training and all the power you could need. You might wonder what you could possibly need from me? Well, you're not exactly the strongest fighter, Nic. However there are things I can teach that would sway that."

"Things that would bridge the gap between you and those demons or the cambion. And all it would require... is some commitment."
(Eclipse)
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[08:10] The ranger leaned forward as he would sigh once more, his hands moved in front of his face slightly as his elbows rested onto the table. "That is a heavy ask right there, You are asking me to betray everyone I know and care about and for what...? A bit of power so I can be stronger?"

His right eye would close as now having difficulty using it in the space they were in. His thoughts thinking back to all of what he had achieved thus far. "I can understand hating Aen, hell I do for the most part as well... There are... A select few I would say I am on friendly terms with. Only two I would call friends."

His hands lowering to rest onto the table now, his voice holding firm as he would look onto Eclipse's mask. "But more importantly what is in it for you?"
(Niclous Runeclaw)
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[08:15] "I fail to see how this is a betrayal. You would simply become my... apprentice. Under my Lord. Under Ba'al. And you will be taught the secrets of the forbidden arts. How you use them is entirely up to you, no betrayal required. Though, I doubt Alhena would approve, should she ever find out."

The book came to rest upon the table, ominously. "As for Aen, there are two I tolerate, and one I begin to tolerate. All the others? Well. Let's just say leaving is in their best interest. It is because of Aen that I made my own... commitment. Because I wasn't quite yet strong enough."

"Now... I believe I am. As for what's in it for me... allies. People I can trust with the more clandestine activities I pursue. People I can trust to know who's under the mask. And people I can use to manipulate things without getting too close to the danger personally. Aen hates me, the person beneath the mask."

"So having other... faces. Helps."
(Eclipse)
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[08:21] Nic listened to her words, tempted by the thought of just who was under the mask. Closing his good eye he sat there for a long while as her words set in. "I can't disagree with you there.. About Aen packing up and leaving."

His arm's lifted from the table now his mind having been made up now, a grin moving across his face as he would look to Eclipse. "You say Aen hates ya, that you had to join them to fight them. But what happens when Aen is gone and it's just us left... You planning to take a blade to everyone else as well? Your asking to give you my all for things that honestly I could care less about. I guess you don't know me as well as I thought you did.. Bit of a relief there.. But still.."


The man stood up now as he would make his choice. "I won't beg and grovel for someone else's power, if I die I die that's how it's always been. I really wish I did know you better though that way it would make things easier for me for what I have decided to do."


(Niclous Runeclaw)
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[08:28] "I'm not asking you to fight Aen for me. I was simply asking you to join underneath me as a student, using the talents to pursue your own goals. But, if you wish to pass up the opportunity, so be it." She stood up as well. "If you must know, after Aen was dealt with, the demons are next."

"Especially K'Thul. I can probably already defeat him as I am now... but there's no need to rush into that. I know that this would be something that would interest you. But, it seems you have already made your choice." A hand came up, gripping the ethereal edge of the sword on her back.

"A shame that you aren't willing to mull over what I'm offering. That you are blind to what could be. I'm going to make sure this talk wasn't a waste, one way or another. This is the last chance to reconsider." Vessels of blood began to cascade down the length of the sword, enshrouding it.

"Join me as an ally, against Aen, against Abendrot. Or else I'll have to make sure you stay out of my way."
(Eclipse)
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[08:32] Nic's hands moved from his side to his pockets and he simply stood there. "I am going to do the same thing I always do when I see someone in trouble, probably run in head first and end up getting hurt. That has never stopped me and it won't now... If I can't save someone with my own two hands then there is no point in it. So if you think I am your enemy I am not, I simply became a soldier to protect people who can't protect themselves."

The man unmoving as she began to channel her mana around her weapon, the energies of it causing his body to tense up slightly yet he would not move unless attacked.
(Niclous Runeclaw)
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[08:37] The sword was held out, blade just beneath Niclous chin. It was held there for a long moment before Eclipse sighed. "You're a pain in the ass, Nic. A real pain in the ass. Fine. Fine, be all stoic about it. But when you fail because you don't have the strength, when someone dies because you weren't enough..."

The sword was lowered. "Then that's on you. The offer remains, and it'll stand until you take it, or until you die. Whichever comes first." She gestured and the room began to spin, tendrils of darkness clawing at the edge of the mind, pulling the consciousness back towards his sleeping body.

"Try not to disappoint me again... When next we meet."
(Eclipse)