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Post by Argoth/Maximus on Jan 16, 2017 19:30:30 GMT -6
There was a frown on Argoth's face, and it only deepened the more Enye spoke. It seemed that even if Argoth could have a reasonable dialogue about Rii and her daughter, there was no chance of disillusionment. Not here. Enye mentioned so long as he never uttered Rii's name he would be safe, and she could protect him. An instinctual defiance tried to smash its way through rational thought, but the walls of his mind were too fortified. Argoth hated being helpless, and the offer of stipulated safety felt too much like rules and not suggestions. 'I don't need you!' the defiance in him screamed, 'I can protect myself!' But the solid walls of rationalism wouldn't let them through to his fore-brain, because Argoth knew better. The situation he was in bore no room for rash actions and thoughts. His brain began to stew on his helplessness until it was broken by the adorable miss Naiya, waddling over to him with a handful of blankets. Argoth couldn't keep the smile from his face as she threw the blankets on him. Slowly, as Naiya and Enye exchanged a few words about her sleeping arrangements Argoth spread the blankets out over himself and the little girl. With near excruciating effort he lay back down, pulling the child close to him in a snuggle.
And there he lay, an Assassin of Hyrule, one of the deadliest men in all of the world, cuddling with the cutest two and a half year old he'd ever met. Naiya whispered something about how Enye didn't say goodnight to him and he laughed faintly. "Yeah," he whispered back, "She doesn't like me much." His eyes were already closed as he spoke, "Goodnight Naiya." Then the comforting arms of sleep drew him in.
Tarris took a step in from the door so he could reach his full height. He began breathing deeply and clenching his fists. He closed his eyes, focusing. The temperature of the room began to rise slightly, coinciding with how red his skin was becoming and how much steam was now emanating from his body. The writhing tattoos over his body began to furiously dance about his torso, and after several seconds burst into low burning blue flame. Tarris opened his eyes and the blackness of his iris engulfed the res of his eye. He threw his hands out at his sides, fingers spread. The tribal tattoos, now wriggling over his body with immense speed, snaked their way down his arms and coalesced into enormous whips of shadowy flame. Now they burned red hot with fire wreathing their entirety. Tarris released a roar and whipped the adjacent wall. The wall of the shack exploded outward in flame and smoke, nearly taking the building with it. It took a few minutes for the dust to settle but when it had there was no longer a wall next to Faro. Tarris closed his eyes again and regained his composure. Fury was how he fed the fire, and as he calmed down heat on the whips lowered back to a low burning blue. After a few more seconds he sucked the whips back through his arms and onto his torso again.
"Satisfied?" Syrus purred.
Elise paid no attention to the witch and her incessant need to fill the silence. She managed to quell the storm of rage inside her simply sat there awaiting their next stop.
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Post by Faro/Blade on Jan 16, 2017 20:09:14 GMT -6
The dust cleared, and Faro stood unmoved. Neither the heat nor the destruction bothered him, they were both things he was already perfectly capable of. "Satisfied we can end him." Chided a presence within Faro. He swiftly silenced it, there was one thing Syrus was not telling him. "Not quite." He said, raising his hand to Tarris. Deliberately, he allowed a small fireball to fill his palm. "If I were to end this exchange by throwing this at your man, how would he respond?" Faro asked. He eyed Syrus with contempt, waiting to hear his answer. "And what would prefer to know?"
Shit, not even two minutes and the little brat was already trying to run off. Think dammit, what do little kids like? "I'm sure you could, dear little Max, but don't you think should eat first? A growing boy like you can't afford to miss any meals, you know." She said, knowing the kid had to be hungry after being stuck in a Void with no food. "Why don't we have lunch, and then I can take you to Faro myself?" She suggested. "It'll be faster than going alone."
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Post by Rii/Thell on Jan 17, 2017 1:00:58 GMT -6
"If you don't mind, Billiam must need water. For his sake we should stop at this pond." Billiam slowed, snorting at Rii's gentle but insisting tug on his reins. In the water Rii saw her new reflection, supple skin and feather soft hair. But if she looked past it she could remember... remember something... she'd been to this pond before. She'd been... swimming. She'd been swimming at the depths of the pond, pulling free twisting fronds. And then she was pulled free, too, cold fingers of metal wrapped around her waist. I don't... I don't know if I want to be here.
That was not a good thought to be having, though. Rii couldn't tear away part of the world she had explored. Not forever. Especially not when her child and Argoth could very well be there.
Rii dismounted, but she did not approach the water as Billiam bowed his head to it. Her gaze lingered on the flickering light of the sun on the pond. "Where did you meet Argoth, Elise?"
Somewhere else, Naiya awoke with the sun, sensing its presence even before its pale gold touch could reach through the high window of the infirmary. She wiggled and rolled out of Argoth's arms and onto the floor, eyes bright. "Good morning home!" she whispered with excitement strong in her voice. For awhile she toddled about, opening drawers and emptying them of their vials and pouches and carefully packed herbs. Nonsense words and some syllables that almost sounded like the correct name for something left her lips, an ambling list she sometimes whispered and sometimes squealed. Every cabinet lost its organization to Naiya's curiosity, but nothing broke. Instead she set everything aside with care, neatly littering the infirmary with her finds. "This. One's. Blue!" she suddenly exclaimed, thrusting a vial with deep blue liquid into the air. Then, just as quickly as her sense of victory arrived, it vanished, and she set the vial aside. Her face crumpled into a pout. "Hungry," she mumbled. She stood up, carefully navigating the new landscape of the floor so she could crawl into the bed with Argoth. Injured he was, and she knew that meant he needed rest, but he also was the only adult present. "Argod." Her voice was soft and breathy as she brought her face within two inches of his own. "I'm. Hungry."
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Post by Argoth/Maximus on Oct 20, 2017 17:38:03 GMT -6
Argoth's eyes blinked open a few seconds after Naiya crawled on top of him. Her giant, adorable reddish gold eyes came into view along with the soft touch of her nose against his. It was cool, like a zora's. Like Rii, he thought, and for a brief moment his heart sank. He wondered where she was and if she was okay. Damn these injuries. I should be back there. Then he remembered Rii was no longer a zora woman. Whatever magic had been performed on her back at the amphitheater had seen to that. Her touch would be warm now, which was different but not altogether bad. Not bad at all actually. Argoth yearned for Rii to be close enough to touch again. Some comfort after all they had been through these past couple days would be fantastic right now. A much needed pause to the chaos tearing its way through their lives like a malevolent tornado. Naiya sliced through his minor indulgence into self pity by proclaiming her hunger, and when Argoth shifted his attention he realized that he was hungry as well, almost unbearably so. He couldn't even remember the last time he had eaten. A smile broke onto his face and he said, "Yeah, me too." Testing his limbs he found it easier to move today with less pain. Whatever the healers had done it was working wonders. Not fast enough though, as Argoth attempted to rise the same familiar burning sensation shot through his back like lightning. He winced and drew in a sharp breath, but he persevered and swung his legs over the side of his cot. Little black dots began to blur his vision as the pain of sitting up clawed its way through his body. Naiya was standing a few feet from him now, eagerly awaiting their adventure to go find some food. Argoth knew he shouldn't attempt to stand, but dammit little Naiya was hungry and he was going to find her some food. Besides, he didn't have any way of notifying anyone here to come and see him, and he had no idea what time it was or when they would be back. Can't imagine it would be long though, seeing as how they were floored that Naiya was even here. Argoth was sure they had regularly checked on him and Naiya throughout the night. They didn't trust him and he knew it. The feeling was indeed mutual, and that was partly the reason he was getting up to find some food. Better to do it yourself then let some strangers disappear and reappear with a plate of goddesses knows what. For all he knew they could attempt to poison him.
Whatever drugs the healers had used the night before wore off and as he slowly lifted himself from cot to feet pain threatened to sit him back down. He gritted his teeth and held his breath till he was finally upright, one hand placed against the adjacent wall to prop himself up. Sweat had beaded onto his brow from the effort and he was breathing a little harder now. He chuckled slightly, wobbling back and forth. "If your mother knew I was standing right now she'd kill me," he said to Naiya. He reached out with his free hand and took the little half zora's in his. "Alright," he breathed, "Lets go find some food."
Elise dismounted Billiam, scowling. She needed a break from having to be so close to her. Any more time and the need to stab the sorceress repeatedly might overcome her. She began to decompress by the pond, kneeling down by the water to rinse her hands. Elise sighed, hoping some of the tension might leave her as she did so. The thought of seeing Argoth again for the first time since they were sixteen was...exhilarating. It made her tense up with glee and nerves. Her mind wandered to daydreams of his adulthood. What would he be like now? She imagined he'd be much the same as when they had parted all those years ago. of course, only once she had broken the spell the witch had laid upon him. Then he'd be hers again. These thoughts actually began to calm her, taking her mind away from the wretched woman. Her moment of semi bliss was instantly crushed, however, when Rii asked how she had met her beloved. A flash of rage like the birth of a scorching red sun followed immediately by its collapse pulsed through her. Elise shot up from the waters edge. She whipped around balling her hands into fists. How dare she ask such a question! Hadn't she made herself clear by the fire the night before? They were not friends, nor would they ever be. Elise took a sinister step forward. "I thought I told you," another step, "I do not, and never will be," and another, "your friend, witch." The last step brought her within arms reach.
Another supernova of anger seared through her insides, beginning in the black pit of her stomach and reaching up to twist her face into a scowl of violence. She took another step toward Rii and drove a fist into her stomach. A satisfying burst of air ejected itself from Rii's lungs and Elise took a sick joy in feeling her crumple to her knees. With another flash of speed Elise snatched the witch's chin with a clawed hand. She gripped Rii's cheeks so tight she began to bleed, the warm red fluid running over her fingertips and down Rii's face.
"The next time you try to make friends with me, witch, I'll permanently cripple you, understand?" she said, yanking Rii's face up so they could lock eyes. She let the gravity of her words sink in for a moment, staring into her eyes. The intensity of her stare could have seared holes into steel. Finally, she let Rii go, fiercely tossing her to the ground. Elise looked at her bloodied hand, disgusted. She left the bitch to pick herself up and went back to the waters edge. Kneeling once again, she began to rinse the blood from her fingers.
The blood was almost completely gone when she heard a familiar sound echoing to them from the distance. She froze, cocking her head to the side slightly, Hooves. she thought, someone's coming. She looked around and sure enough, a horse bearing two people had come upon them while she disciplined the witch.
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Post by Rii/Thell on Oct 26, 2017 22:00:05 GMT -6
The blood was hot and slick on Rii's cheek as she curled in on herself, swallowing mouthfuls of air. She'd had some words thrown at her, some harsh from the beginning, others sharp with time and context: fish wench, scales, scut. Now "witch" could just be another on the list. They hadn't bothered her at first. She'd wandered all over the place, felt the sand and dirt and grass and stone of so many kingdoms and hidden places beneath her feet. Dozens of voices had whispered in her head, speaking of plants and animals and illnesses they remembered from their travels. What could bother her when they were there to guide her?
But Karis had rained down from on high in a shower of dark diamonds and her dead daughter had floated in front of her eyes like a dream. It had never hurt to remember something or to see someone live before - had Rii ever really hurt? But in that moment Rii had ached, looking at that tiny girl, remembering why she existed, remembering how cold and still she had been in Rii's arms.
Her cheek stung, and Rii wearily brought a hand to her face, first a gentle touch over the light scratches that brought the trickle of blood. The softness of the skin still startled her, the fickle golden strands of her hair that stuck to the slim cuts new and... and frustrating. She pressed her hand against her face and scrubbed outwards, dragging red across the swell of her cheek and forcing the hair off to the side.
Rii didn't near the water. A part of her bold and loud in her chest longed for it, writhed between her ribs at the thought of feeling the water around her. But Elise knelt there, a stone's toss away from the center of the pool where Rii had been wrenched away years earlier. Where many things had begun. Rii let her have it. Elise was new. Rii was curious. She knew things about Argoth, and it was less about Rii feeling like she had to know what this woman did, and more that not even Argoth knew. This woman was wild and vicious and at the end of the day... she knew something about Argoth, and if Argoth wanted his memories, Rii wanted him to have them too.
But Elise was mistaken. Rii was no witch and Rii had stolen nothing and Argoth didn't love Elise - at least not the Argoth Rii knew. But more than that...
From such a distance Rii couldn't see her reflection, but she could feel the blood drying on her cheek. She wanted it to stay there, and if Rii neared the water she knew she'd wash it off immediately.
But Rii needed to remember something very important, and the blood would be her reminder.
She wasn't trying to be friends with Elise.
Rii didn't want to be friends with Elise. A strange ache - or maybe a heated pulse - beneath her skin told her that much.
Billiam cast a heavy stare over the bulk of his body, and Rii heard the approaching horse before she glanced over, startled from her reverie.
Somewhere else, a small child was looking up at Argoth in horror, her red and yellow eyes wide. "Mommy wud not. Kill you!" she cried out, her hand tightening around his. Small but already tough from the layer of scales her mother had gifted her with. Her shout echoed hollow in the halls. "No! No, no, mommy wuddun do that." Despite her outrage, Naiya continued her toddling, blindly going down corridors, something in her blood thrumming with familiarity even if she had never walked across the stone floor before. A shadow may have danced around the corner, long and hooded, but there was so much else to look at as she walked. Large portraits of elegant men and women, floor to ceiling curtains of bright turquoise and deep reds, swirled grooves etched into the stones; they all spoke of something rich, though perhaps a little too new. One gilded frame held no image at all, just ashes and scorched canvas. Everything else seemed beautiful, luxurious, a castle for a lord. Naiya reached out and pulled at a curtain, frowning when it did not immediately pull down at her will, then let it hang. She looked up at Argoth with a pout. "But you are hurted. And hungry." Everything else descended into curious mumbling as she continued on. She paused when she reached the door they had emerged from the night before, and even from that great distance the soft swirling and lapping of the pool echoed in her chest, cool and slippery. My waters. Home. Something told her to go there, to swim and to play.
But there was something else too. An uncomfortable shifting in the pit of her stomach, a metallic taste in her mouth. Her birthing waters... but not.
Naiya wondered if Enye might be there, but in her heart she felt no one was. No one she knew anyway. Something colder and filled with echoes. But not her mommy.
Shouldn't she feel... even a bit of her mommy there?
Naiya shrugged, and continued walking.
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Post by Argoth/Maximus on Dec 4, 2017 20:36:13 GMT -6
The strangers were now on the opposite bank of the pond, dismounting. Elise narrowed her eyes at them as recognition dawned on her. There were two men, one old and lacking in functionality, the other younger, Elise's age, and he was helping the old man off the horse. The older man was wearing a light brown cloak that seemed to match him in antiquity. After gingerly removing his elder from their mount, the younger man handed him an ancient wooden staff that was protruding from a saddlebag. By this time Elise had fully recognized both men, and was standing to face them from across the pond. It wasn't a long distance, the three of them could hold whatever conversation they came to have with her from where she stood. Or they would have to come to her. She dare not leave the witch unattended. If Rii were to use this temporary distraction to attempt an escape Elise would never find Argoth again, and that was not going to happen. She was pretty sure she had given the witch enough reason not to try, but Elise wasn't taking any chances.
Snails could have moved faster than the old man, and Elise was losing her patience waiting for them to come round the pond. The younger gentleman was stationed on the older one's right, as his staff was in his left. After a subjective decade and a serious restraint on her temper the two men stopped about ten feet from Elise and Rii. The elder frowned heavily as his gaze passed over Rii.
"Elise what have you done to this poor girl," the old man said in a somber tone.
Anger flared across Elise's face and she spit back at him, "Her?!?" She flung an arm back to savagely point at Rii. "This witch is the reason Argoth left us, Dover. She has placed some kind of spell on him and he remembers nothing. But after she shows me where she has hidden him I will make him normal again, I swear it."
The man standing next to Dover sighed. He was tall with pale blue eyes and jet black hair that fell around his ears in ringlets. There was a mask pulled over his mouth and nose and his garb resembled that of the sheikah. He turned to Dover, "See, it is just as I said, the teleporter has corrupted her mind, there is nothing we can do for her now," he said accusingly. He turned back toward their horse, whom was happily grazing by the waters edge, and placed an arm on the old man's shoulder. "Come, Dover, we cannot help her."
Dover's frown deepened, which oddly aged him past the decrepitude he already inhabited. "No, Gavin, this is partially my doing, and I must make it right. But first, I would very much like to hear from Riinari." With the grace and sluggishness of a sloth Dover crept his way forward to Rii.
Elise reacted instantaneously. Her arm jettisoned out, clamping down on Dover's wrist. "She's dangerous. Anything she tells you cannot be trusted."
Dover scoffed, "Let go of me, Elise. I can assure you she will try nothing with you standing here. I only wish to ask a simple question."
Reluctantly, Elise let go. Her eyes flickered over to Rii with malignant hatred. "Answer him honestly, witch, or I will remove your tongue,"
Gavin's heart sank at that. He hadn't seen Elise like this since...since Argoth was still with us. What has the red eyed man done to you Elise. Do you not recognize your old self? he lamented.
Dover had reached Rii a few moments later, leaning heavily on his staff with both hands. While standing over her he asked with a smile, "Could you please tell me about Argoth? What kind of man has he become? It has been nearly eighteen years since I have heard about his doings in Hyrule and I would very much like to know how he has been getting on. And don't spare me the details I would love to hear them."
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A ponderous look adorned Max's face. He only knew two things since being set free from the cube. One, he was starving, and two, he was in an unfamiliar place with a strange woman he had never met. She seemed friendly enough, and his good nature was telling him she was probably harmless. The assassin in him was setting off all kinds of alarms. It was all very confusing to the nine year old. In the end however, his hunger overpowered any continuous critical thinking, and he agreed to eat with the woman.
"Okay, let's eat. But I really need to get going so if we could leave as soon as possible I would be forever thankful," he said. Another smile cemented his words in truth, and he waited his new acquaintances response.
Far away Argoth limped painfully through the halls of Karis's old kingdom. The architecture was impeccable, the decor even more so. Naiya, being only a toddler, couldn't contain herself while they searched. She almost immediately let go of his hand and began wandering around, curiously looking at pictures and into rooms. It was all Argoth could do to keep up and soon he began to wonder just what the hell he'd been thinking. His lungs were beginning to ache from all the heavy breathing and his legs were trembling. He was about to speak up, tell Naiya to wait so he could catch his breath. The wall had been holding him upright for most of their trip down the third length of hallway, when suddenly the portrait on the wall his hand had been trailing captured his attention. Strange, he thought. It had been scorched to ash yet still hanging. When he thought a little harder however, he realized it was most likely an old portrait of Rii. They reacted pretty vehemently to the mention of her name so it seemed only right they'd burn any image glorifying her. Argoth looked over and saw Naiya stopped in front of a doorway. He sighed. She was stopped, thank the goddesses. He turned his head back toward the burned portrait and yet another anomaly caught his eye. It only registered in his peripherals, but he was positive of what he saw. Years of training in intelligence gathering form The AoH told him a hooded figure dipped slyly dipped into a shadow down the hall. He froze. The corner of his mouth twitched up slightly in a wry little smile. His adrenaline spiked his heart rate and after another moment of pretending to puzzle at the burned picture he limped back over to Naiya. Gently he scooped her hand into his, "Come," he said, "Let's go find a place to sit down."
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Post by Rii/Thell on Jan 8, 2018 16:59:35 GMT -6
The elderly man, the one who shuffled and wrapped himself around his staff with care and need, knew her name. Dover, he'd been called. Dover knew her name.
Curious.
How could he? If Rii had met him it would not have been in this form. But then again, Elise had sought her out so specifically when she had bolted from the house. She'd been human for only a handful of days and yet they'd picked her out like Deku from the plants.
"She's dangerous. Anything she tells you cannot be trusted." Rii's gaze flickered between this Dover and Elise, looking out from beneath her new golden hair. Not silver, like her scales had been, or the tail that protruded from her skull as a Zora.
Dover had reached her. "Could you please tell me about Argoth? What kind of man has he become? It has been nearly eighteen years since I have heard about his doings in Hyrule and I would very much like to know how he has been getting on. And don't spare me the details I would love to hear them."
Rii's green eyes went wide. "You knew of Argoth so long ago?" she asked in wonderment. "Those are the days he can no longer remember. I had hoped to help him find them again... But we barely have time to breathe as it is." Rii stopped, warily glancing once again at Elise. She doubted Elise would believe anything she said to be the truth. How wise would it really be to say anything of Argoth with her present? Still, suggesting Elise leave would only draw more suspicion.
Somewhere else, Naiya twirled to look up at Argoth - towering to her even when he was wounded and hunched over ever so slightly. "But, I'm hungry," she stated, brows pinched together and her mouth popped open in confusion. "Daddy feeded me breakfast. You eat breakfast here?" Her voice wobbled, her lower lip jutting out. "So hungry, Argod."
NOT DONE
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