His questions were not answered, thanks to an unthinking boil. He didn't blame him because they suffered much from the event but he disapproved of frankly tossing the distrust over Jamila's face. He mistook her stance, it wasn't that she was begging them to help. Instead, it was an offer. For instance, a merchant that offered you a map to a treasure room and asked you to take back one thing for them in return. That was the position she was at, guaranteed safety was not included. Besides, he showed the cards in his hand too early.
AJ sighed, pondered if the beast boil was too angry to think of anything or didn't bother to do so at all. Anyway he wasn't the one they need to take care of, his top priority was to pacify Jamila, the only source they could gather information from at that moment. "Dear Jamila, please forgive us. The unexpected occurrence had stretched our nerves, I do understand no risk no gain." He walked slowly towards until he was close to her.
"I appreciate your assistance as well a the information, yet knowing not enough makes me feel mildly unsettling. So I would be grateful if you could answer ours and my questions." He sighed softly and gave her a bitter smile. Eyes cast down, he was purposely brushing over the burn scar on his arm if she was looking at him.
He wanted to know whether those he asked were what they wanted to hide from them, but first - he had to make sure they're on good terms.
Nio Love
Carhop Cavalier
Dear Dirge
Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2015 4:07 pm
"I am already here - so has not my choice been made?" she said in response to Jamila's last sentence. She hummed thoughtfully. Hollandaise understood why AJ was sucking up to Jamila, but apologizing for the other boil was strange, in her mind. Dirge was rude, but he lashed out in a way that was understandable, maybe. She toed the ground. Jamila was not some all-knowing creature who had purposefully withheld all information with the thought of making them suffer and, besides, no one had died, not really. She still wondered about the shadows that had lurked in the room.
Hollandaise did not have to trust Jamila so much as be willing to toss herself in. "The next room - which avarice is it? It could be interesting, I suppose, to see how the other manifest. I assume it is like the concept of the seven deadly sins? But-" She paused, eyes flicking to each stone in turn. "-there are eight."
nio love
The Semblance of Unity
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2015 7:01 pm
And like the kitten the demon was, Dirge's anger collapsed to fear the second Jamila had turned on him, tail sticking straight out and hackles rearing behind his teeth, incisors bared. Fear morphed to resentment once she turned, though, her sudden power gone as quickly as it came on. Golden eyes tracked her pacing, little orbs of fire swiveled around his head as if curious, yet staying cautious.
"Sorry, ma'am." The Kasha relented, dropping his angry posture for the time being, but keeping the narrowed eyes. Dirge may have been belligerent and doubtful, but he intended to see this this through - it was his end of the bargain, after all. "I see you meant us no harm, and it was wrong of me to suspect you did." A breath, and he gave her a half bow, from the waist. "I'm with Andrew, though; knowing what we'll be throwing ourselves into would be rad.
His head swiveled to AJ, glaring at the boil. "How about you apologize to everyone in this room before apologizing for me, huh Just 'cos she likes you doesn't mean you're above everyone here."
xnio love
xmeegane
Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2015 9:52 pm
Dirge got a smile but nothing else. "I didn't have a second thinking I'm above anyone, and definitely not apologize for you especially. She can't be upset for nothing, It must be because of some of us." He leaned closely to Dirge before he spoke, "Don't think an apology would make you at a lower stance, it's a paving stone to make things forward in a stalemate." He was calm all the time, the glaring did nothing to the monster. He was saying it because he was one of them, it is normal to apology for a friend that hurts someone's feeling, right?
The stance he told was partially a friend and partially a merchant in a deal, he knew where he stood clearly. He could help her or not, depends on whether it would put the school in plight.
He didn't mind to be misunderstood because he always did in the past, they didn't even care to spend a second to know him before they attacked. He simply wanted the deal to continue so he could know more about the lurking danger in the school he felt enjoyable. Besides, the beast boil did apologize and the deal would go to the good direction.
AJ didn't care about the processes in between or who did it as long as the goal could be achieved. He felt the prejudice from Dirge, might be because of the plant ghoul, he laughed to himself. He'd ran counter to Dirge if he was still the past him or Chase but he wasn't. He didn't want to relish the loneliness and destruction, Amityville was supposed to be his new start over.
The game was over, and suddenly Jamila was back to business, with an odd mixture of tense concern as she flickered her glance from Andrew to Dirge. "Above all things, even above my demand for respect, we must not fight between us. That is what our enemy wants. We will press on regardless of the wariness this conversation has made me, but remember my words, younglings. We are above all, on the same side; even if time, strife, or artifact may temporarily cloud that truth. Remember it, and move forward."
She gave one very stiff look at Andrew, as if reconsidering what she'd just said, before a calmness took her over, and she closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, she offered them what answers she could give.
"No one among my men have the ring. We've been tracking Malocchio silently for some clue, but it's possible they did not receive it either. For all I know, Wrath is lost to us; or in a stranger's hands. Still, there is so much more to be gained from the others. All of these artifacts are, indeed, under Amity. They should be in connecting chambers to the one you've found." She paused, biting her lip to remember the next question AJ had asked, and then let out a soft, bitter chuckle. "Group. Malocchio is led by a foul demon named Batista, who cultivates their love for explosions and anarchy. They enjoy extorting from good, honest people with threats of - well - being blown up, to put it bluntly. They are, as I've said, brutes."
Her eyes flickered to the rest of the students. "There is a chance they may try to recruit. Most likely these students will have been fed lies about the Black Sands so they won’t listen to my men, or myself. If you encounter one, appeal to their sensibility. I'd rather not see you, or any of them, blown to bits simply because they were offered a chance for power by the wrong side."
She turned to Cearney. "Ancient beings. The legend states that two such ancient beings came together to create the rings as a sign of alliance." Her eyes rolled to admire her statues again, and a fond look passed over her expression. "Rather touching, really. Honor, and loyalty. Allegience. Not unlike what we are doing here, wouldn't you say?"
But Hollandaise reminded Jamila that this was not a harmonious coming together of powers, and the fond expression faded into a frown. "Just being here doesn't mean I can trust you. Nor does it mean you trust me, as has been blatantly established already. But." She waved a hand, trying not to focus on the earlier transgression that had disturbed her. "Gluttony is your next target. But the eighth, as you so cleverly pointed out, is for sin itself. This-" She waved at the larger statue, with two figures holding the symbol up. "This is the sign for Sin." Her eyes shone with many sins of her own; pride, desire, and desperate greed. She sighed in longing, and forced herself to turn away.
"Anything else?"
Pixie Nyxie
ANNALISE
The Semblance of Unity
HOLLANDAISE
Seiana_ZI
CEARNEY O'CAHAN
Seussi
Matthias
Carhop Cavalier
DIRGE
Meegane
AJ
phantompanther13
Andrew
DarkHeartedSorrow
RIKKI
Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 6:42 pm
Brutes: and observation of method only. If they were speaking only of standard morality, Hollandaise wondered how the Black Sands measured against the Malocchio. For now, though, they had done her no lasting harm. Morality was a grey thing, in any event, although rules were not. Right side, wrong side - these were charged words, and everyone wanted to believe their side was right and just. She tapped her lip briefly and decided that she could make no decision today. Not about this aspect of things.
"Just being here means we have made a sort of business arrangement, though, regardless of emotional trust. Is not that enough?" There was an irrefutable honor in deals, one that Hollandaise could not bear to break. Her gaze turned towards the eight symbol, sin itself. What an all encompassing ring... did it control the others?
"Is there more to the plan than Settimo showing us the way to Gluttony?"
nio love
The Semblance of Unity
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Seiana_ZI
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Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 9:01 pm
The reference to brutes automatically brought images to his head, mostly of hulking monsters with large laughs and even larger explosions. The idea that they would be led by a demon made sense, if little else. Many demons enjoyed the feeling of power, and if they could be so easily manipulated, it was even better. The less work for the gain, the better.
Cearney could understand the deserve for power and craved it himself. The concept of taking something some ancient beings created as a bond to each other and taking it to gain a form of power himself was almost too tempting to resist asking if they could go now.
He'd hold himself though, for the sake of not appearing too eager.
Fighting with another group, even if they were fellow students, did not concern him. If they were brutes as Jamila had stated, their behaviours would not make any difference to their mission. Strategy and cunning always won out in the end. (Besides, considering he had already agreed to help Marosa with a despot fey king of a father, fellow students were not intimidating.)
Still, it was rather important that they knew what that strategy and cunning involved, so he paused and waited to see if the tree girl would get a straight answer.
Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2015 2:09 pm
Settimo hadn't initially followed the group into the room with the statues. He had a few things to take care of in the mean time. However, he now entered the area, where he gave Jamila a particular look. With a quick glance around, he made his way over towards her and whispered.
Jamila appreciated the honor and naivety of a creature who believed an arrangement was never meant to be broken, so she felt more settled with Hollandaise's assurance. "He will do more than just show you. He will open the way for you. We're not sending you in blindly anymore-"
Settimo's whisper stopped her speaking in her tracks, and her lips turned up in a wide, satisfied smile. "Ah, thank you, Settimo. Just perfect. Come, my young ones. I have someone that I wish for you all to meet."
lizbot
Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2015 1:21 pm
As much as he wished to speak his annoyance with everything (and lets face it, everyone) Mathias kept his silence as others arrived and gave voice to their individual concerns. Dirge and Holly were both given nods in greeting, but little more, as the wolpertinger kept to himself and kept quiet, ears twitching in the direction of each voice as they spoke, taking in everything while giving no opinion on the matter himself.
Their "host" arrived, and when her hand found it's way to Mathias's shoulder, his muscles stiffened beneath her touch, his back straightening, his lip curling back just very slightly from his teeth, though he managed to stop himself from nipping at her fingers and pulling away.
When she moved away herself, he relaxed, and went back to simply listening, following, taking in what she had to say and what she had to show them.
And then, finally, he moved closer to Dirge, his arms uncrossing as he let out a sigh. "Ignore him. He is not vorth it. I vould be saying is vorth quite little, actually." His gaze moved to AJ, and he gave the other boil an unkind smile, one that was more a baring of teeth than anything else.
Bid to follow once more, Mathias mentally shrugged and moved on with all of the rest.
carhop cavalier
the semblance of unity"
just a nod
meegane
in case AJ is in hearing distance. Also a smile
Seussi
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Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2015 11:08 pm
Dirge's tail quit its thrashings at Matty's words, ears perking up from his mane ever so slightly when his bro had come by. Good ol' Matty, always the logical and level-headed one. A good friend to have around, to play the logic to Dirge's rashness. "Yeah, of course. Not worth my time, for sure." The Kasha grumbled in reply, taking a few steps back from both Jamila and AJ.
Settimo came, there were whispers, and Jamila said they were going to meet someone. Dirge followed with ears pressed to his head again, tail stiff and bristled. This whole expedition just gave off a terrible air of nope, but maybe this stranger would at least keep up their end of the bargain.
"Matty, bro... if this goes south, you know we gotta act, right?" Dirge whispered to the Worpeltinger, in his best Super Serious Voice. They'd have to be the Scario and Booigi of the days, probably.
Dirge would obviously be Scario, though.
seussi
Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2015 4:27 pm
It was a ghoul wearing another school's uniform, standing still and staring at off into space. The tinny sound of pop music could be heard coming from her eyepod but she paid no attention to it.
"Well?" She spoke up and then went silent. Lounging in a shadowed corner, another figure shifted and continued, voice roughly masculine but bearing the same intonation as the ghoul, "Is this all?"
The ghoul turned to them, eyes like oil slicks, "Good enough. Too much power in too many hands invites..."
"...insubordination," the male hissed. There was a shift in the shadowy figure's corner, revealing a piece of a very particular cloak and it became suddenly apparent he was, in fact, a boogeyman.
"Good enough," she repeated. "But do they want power? So many...fear it." And at this, both of them laughed and then stilled. The ghoul became motionless once more, the shadowy corner remained silent.
blade kuroda
lizbot Vice Captain
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Blade Kuroda
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Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2015 6:28 pm
Settimo looked to the two. He glanced back at Jamila, then nodded.
"This should be all of them, yeah. As for power... well... They have shown the desire for it prior. Perhaps they need... a more tangible demonstration?"
The did buy the FEAR amps, after all.
lizbot
Pixie Nyxie
ANNALISE
The Semblance of Unity
HOLLANDAISE
Seiana_ZI
CEARNEY O'CAHAN
Seussi
Matthias
Carhop Cavalier
DIRGE
Meegane
AJ
phantompanther13
Andrew
DarkHeartedSorrow
RIKKI
Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 6:44 pm
"If you fear power, it controls you. Is it not the opposite we want? To control it?" Hollandaise had read that in a book, but it certainly seemed sensible enough. But other than saying that, she kept silent, waiting to see what sort of a demonstration it could be.
He took a quick look at Mathias and Dirge, what they've said, it didn't worth his time. AJ returned with a gentle smile, felt like a young scareling stuck out his tongue at him but he brushed it off. It wasn't his intention at all. The boil gladly analyzed the useful information finally given by Jamila, their academy suddenly turned into a spot for treasure hunt, great. He had seen the power of Wrath ring, if it was in the hands of Malocchio, they might make a firework party in their school, not something he wanted.
Anyway, he could guess that said party already recruited students to join their side if they were recruited by Black Sands. He pondered for the possibility of make a contact with the Malocchio and listened to their version of story. Brutes, that how Jamila called them. A spark of something flashed his eyes and it was the bracelet, oh well, he needed to take that off if he planned to do so. Reaper versus Demon, it sounded like a good show, if the school wasn't involved.
Gluttony huh? He flickered to Hollandaise for a moment, she was clever but too aggressive in his words. As long as she won't ruin his chance to pry more, he would leave her alone with her guards. If she wanted the spotlight, take it, he will lean back. Jamila's assurance was more comfortable, he recalled the Demons arrived at the spot first, before the Black Sands showed up - and there was another party, he didn't miss that.
The benefactor appeared on the stage felt like a ghoul from a wealthy family with her security guard. She remained her mysteriousness, even AJ was curious, he knew it wasn't a good time to find out more about her. His eye brightened at Settimo's suggestion, that's such a nice suggestion, man. AJ continued to wonder what a role the ghoul played in that. To make it convincing, it's better to captivate the subjects with what it could do, in front of their eyes. Gluing their minds from critical thinking by showing them what the power could grant them.
