2018-02-13: A Lifetime of Sins to Confess
- Cutscene: A Lifetime of Sins to Confess
- Cast: Cassidy Cain, Lily Keil, Leon Albus, Jude Moshe
- Where: A hotel in some backwoods town, in the middle of nowhere.
- Date: February 13, 2018
- Summary: Takes place directly after Hell's Chapel and before The Summer Palace, Lily Keil sees to Cassidy Cain's injuries after a week spent fighting Vorthuzahl in the desert. Leon touches on the true nature of Jude and Cassidy's connection, and the conwoman informs them of some dangerous experiments in Nortune. Lily drops some surprising revelations of her own.
<Pose Tracker> Cassidy Cain has posed.
Rosaline Calice's shotgun wedding had resulted in two things: a bloody mess and yet another hellion loosed upon the sands of Filgaia, but at the very least when she returned to her temporary abode in the evening, she only carried but one of these.
Metal Dragons aren't prone to leaving prey alive, especially one such as Vorthuzahl, as fixated as he has become on one Cassidy Cain, who he spent days hunting across the desert. The fact that the blonde is still alive is miraculous enough in itself, though this time, her injuries are grievous enough that she cannot treat herself, and she is too far away from the Baskar medicine man that has become her physician, of sorts, over the years. As fate would have it, Lily Keil had been one of the unwilling bridesmaids kidnapped for the purposes of the wedding, and the fact that she was a medic was one of the first pieces of information she had ever acquired about the mysterious Kislevi sorceress - not that she had much of a choice; Lily certainly didn't give her one.
Torn clothing stripped and left in nothing but fashionable, but serviceable underthings, she is presently bleeding all over her mattress, gouges of unforgiving teeth, claws and bruises from a wild, lashing tail leaving pale skin mottled black and blue. She looks half-dead, had she been lying still, she would make a fine impression of a corpse, and truth be told, she would have willingly closed her eyes and sunk into the mattress in a dead sleep were it not for Lily bringing out her kit, and the first thing she had brought out of it was a needle and thread.
Her protests on that end were downright vociferous, too hurt to hide it; what remains of the nigh-near endless fight in her are presently spent arguing-slash-fighting the medic on that issue. It doesn't matter that pints of her own blood have been soaked into the bed, or splashed on the floor, leaving garish crimson puddles. Bloodless lips peeled back against her words, whatever fire she is presently capable of exhibiting is present in her eyes only, burning emerald and gold - the rest of her looks absolutely limp.
And so whenever Leon Albus and Jude Moshe seek out their respective partners, this is how they will find them, wrestling half-entangled on the bed, Cassidy's insistent accent filling the room:
"Magic...sommat else...anything but stitches, Lily! There has tae be another way!"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Indeed, Lily was a bridesmaid -- and still she wears the semi-pastel dress, bloodstained and bloody both as it now is, darker than the pink it once was, baring the strange, circuit-like patterns on her arms. ...They glow faintly violet still as she attempts to wrangle Cassidy into place. ...The fact is, she isn't in nearly as bad of condition at this point... But that says more about Cassidy's wounds than Lily's. Lily's left arm is stiff, the shoulder still bandaged heavily, showing red where her own blood has started to soak through the gauze. Her hands--strangely marked as well--are currently on Cassidy's upper arms, as she growls for an instant.
"You damn fool woman, you're going to die," she answers her. Lily by this point has set her golden eyes on Cass's wounds, on her flesh, looked for some explanation of all this. "Do you have any idea how much magic it takes to seal that many wounds? And how likely you are to bleed out before I finish? Now stop fighting me--"
There's a bottle beside the table. ...Lily's found some alcohol to serve as what will serve as anesthetic for the moment, about the closest that she has. The wounds are everywhere, and her kit of course is currently spilled on the ground, with disinfectants, rolls of bandages, and yes, her thread fallen down beside them. "You'd think I was trying to chop a limb off-- which is going to be damn well necessary if you don't let me start disinfecting!"
She's dealt with hysterical patients before. ...Wounds can be very shocking. "You might even get away without scars if you'll just let me work!"
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon is walking with Jude Moshe, of course. As a member of the new Black Wolves, they have to spend more time together. "I suppose I can see your reasoning," he answers, just outside of the room that Cassidy and Lily are inside. His head turns, to look at him. "But you're wrong, Moshe. A sausage on a bun is not a sand--"
He opens the door. He sees, in short order, blood all over a mattress. He sees Cassidy Cain, barely dressed. He sees Lily, with a bottle of alcohol by her, and arms aglow with their magical light. He looks at the way the two are, at least metaphorically and really more, all tangled.
"...wich," he finishes.
Then, immediately: "Two thousand gella on Lily."
<Pose Tracker> Jude Moshe has posed.
There has tae be another way!
And the answer that bestrides Lily Keil's steadfast words is the sound of a tinny chirp.
As always, it is Jacob's chipper tune that prefaces Jude Moshe's arrival anywhere; the metallic messenger bird flits into the room through an opened window, landing with the softest of 'clinks' and the most cheery of cheeps as its head tilts, the lenses of its eyes shuttering almost like a curious blink as it stares between a bloodied Cassidy and a bloodied Lily.
All but wrestling to an almost certainly literal death.
Jacob's head tilts, as if trying to comprehend the sight.
Seconds later, in comes Jude Moshe, quite comfortably in the middle of good-naturedly rolling his eyes at Leon's stubborn defiance of all things natural and logical about the nature and physics of sandwiches, when he enters to the sight his bird is currently attempting to parse.
"And this is why you're not ready for--"
The sight of Lily Keil trying to pin down Cassidy Cain like she's about to attack her instead of heal her.
"--the adult world," Jude Moshe finishes without so much as missing a beat. And here, he takes a casual bite of his sandwich. Which is, in fact, a sausage on a bun.
"Maybe you should avert your eyes, Cap'n," he advises, solemnly, after he's done chewing. "This is one of those adult world things."
Two thousand gella on Lily.
Jude considers this for a moment, leaning on the frame of the doorway. He peers, weighing his options.
"Okay. But if you lose, you have to admit it's a sandwich."
He thinks that's fair terms.
Regardless -- he knows Cassidy's stance on stitches, on scars. So after a moment, when he's certain he's finished with his sandwich, he makes his way over to crouch beside that mattress, brows lifted faintly.
"See," he begins, slowly. Conversationally "I always knew you were the type to want to live fast, die young and leave an attractive corpse, but I gotta be honest with you." His smile, apologetic. "You're only gonna be hitting two of those at this rate, Cassie."
<Pose Tracker> Cassidy Cain has posed.
The chirp from the window sill freezes Cassidy in place, her fingers curled around Lily's wrist. Green-and-gold eyes flit over to where Jake sits on the frame, and her expression flattens immediately.
"Lily," she begins, calmly, as if she hadn't spent the last five minutes yelling her head off. "Tell me you locked the bloody doo-- "
The wooden appendage swings inward and two pairs of boots step into her small, bloody boudoir. Defeat on her expression, the blonde's head collapses backwards against the pillows, stifling a groan and a hand pressing flat on her forehead. She doesn't even say anything when Leon places his bet and another familiar voice accepts it, because it could really only be two people at this point even as Lily struggles to get to her kit.
She doesn't have to struggle too much now; disinfecting, she can handle, and the blonde slowly lets go of the Kislevi medic so she can go about her business unencumbered, though heaven and hell only know how long that is going to last.
This is one of those adult world things, Jude Moshe declares, nevermind that just a few seconds ago, Cassidy was doing her very best impression of a five year old throwing a tantrum.
And, apropos of nothing, since they've invaded her room anyway: "I want a sandwich," comes the quiet, petulant mutter from the mattress.
There's still a baleful eye cast on Lily's glowing arms and all the instruments of healing (death) on the adjacent table, lips pursed in silent trepidation when a lean shadow falls across her mattress. Turning her head to look over at the crouching red-haired reporter, there's an almost expectant expression, as if waiting for something and he doesn't disappoint - there it is, within five seconds upon his arrival - the glib, casual quip.
"At this rate, I'd be happy tae settle for one out of three," she remarks; half-dead on the bed, she still manages to aim her shots with remarkable precision. This followed by a blithe and easy smile. "Was always the sort tae take what I can get also, luv, how else could I explain you?"
Also, because he also knows that she is the shameless sort: "Do me a favor and hand the good medic the last of my steri-strips?" Like tape, but not - extremely hard to come by, and terribly expensive, but they seal wounds without having a need for needle and thread. To Leon, she lifts her fingers in an easy salute. "Forgive the mess, luv, but your wife was terribly insistent. How have you been? Any luck regarding the monster you've been hunting?"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"Of course I locked the damn--"
Lily did not in fact lock the door, apparently. She scowls as she hears it opening. ...And then, well--as people are here--
"The only adult thing in here is my boot in your ass if you bring that food close to my patient," Lily snaps sourly at Jude as she hears him and Leon coming. A bet. On her. Well, obviously a bet on her. But she noticed him mostly becaue of that chirp, given how busy she is at the moment. It makes him hard to miss.
"You can have a sandwich when you're not flirting with infection as hard as you do everything that moves," Lily remarks with some disapproval to Cassidy, though she at least notices the way Cass calms somewhat... and leans down to start picking up her things, placing them back on the table where they go. The instruments of healing shine a bit in the light--some of the light from her, that is. However--
"Lovely," she answers, shaking her head as she pulls the bottle from the table--not the one for drinking, but the other she keeps on her. "We're not married," she points out sourly, and then frowns harder at Cass. "...You could've told me you had steri-strips," Lily points out. "And then you wouldn't have had to fight me like a screaming mess."
She sighs, shakes her head, and looks to the others. "Yes, yes, it's a fascinating spectacle, close the damned door and lock it." She seems... In an even worse mood than usual, somehow. But at that she pulls a sterile cloth--pulling it from where it was hidden--and starts working. "This is going to hurt, Cain," Lily points out, and starts her work by pouring alcohol on the first bite mark on her arm and cleaning. It's... going to continue in this way. She is careful, but not gentle--the wounds will not worsen, but it's not going to be pleasant. "If you have a problem with the pain, take a drink. Once he gets me those strips I can seal you up enough to start with my magic."
Notable, if Cass looks--if she has the presence of mind--is that despite all the marks on Lily's arms, all the exposed skin, not a single scar marks the soldier's body.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Not ready for the-- God, you're hopeless," Leon sighs, though it doesn't have the bite that it once did. He turns his head to look at Jude, with quite the frown on his face. Them, he rubs at his forehead, and looks back towards Cassidy and Lily. Now that he gets a look at them, he starts to make sense of some of what was happening. He looks sideways at Jude.
He raises an eyebrow, and then shakes his head. He doesn't comment. (He will not call a hot dog a sandwich.)
He pauses a moment.
He knew that Cassidy knew of Jude Moshe, but it's rather different than knowing him personally. His eyes widen a moment, before he looks to Cassidy, then to Jude, and then back to Cassidy. "...We have a lead, actually. We've been busy, of course. Something about the return of demons of legend. And political machinations. And Gebler. And forming a mercenary company."
He has been busy. His bounty is evidence.
He sighs for a moment, and then he shakes his head. He lets Lily speak for them both. "As she says. Hello, Lily," he says. "I see you're dealing with one of those patients."
A moment passes, and then he adds: "I would ask how you're doing, Cassidy, but... ah. You're covered in blood." He looks to Jude. "So, you two know each other?"
<Pose Tracker> Jude Moshe has posed.
To his credit, Jude Moshe apparently is aware enough of medical procedures to know -not- to compromise the already tenuously sterilized state of this room anymore than it already is.
"Sure, but be specific -- what kind of food aren't you wanting me to bring close to your patient under threat of adult things regarding your boot and my ass?" He dangles the remnants of his sausage-on-a-bun here, moments before he polishes it off entirely.
He may or may not also be mouthing the word 'sandwich' like a subliminal message.
It's difficult to say.
Soon enough, though, the redheaded reporter is settled at Cassidy Cain's bedside andor deathbed in a comfortable crouch, food gone. Both Cassidy and Lily mention sandwiches in the same breath -- and with this, he just looks back and casts a wink in Leon's direction.
He's counting that as a win, clearly.
Soon, though, his attention returns to Cassidy, and he provides sharp words in lieu of painkillers, his smile the familiar, haplessly lopsided sort that knows his lips so well. It doesn't stop his wince, of course, at her easy, half-dead rejoinder, hands coming up like a gesture of helpless futility.
"Ouch, my heart," is his first declaration, his tone never swerving from that casual calm despite his apparent heartbreak. "You know, I think I'm thinking I might miss this back-and-forth when you're gone." His shoulders lift, ever-so-ambivalently, but his smile briefly becomes the flash of a lazy grin in defiant contrast.
"Jury's still out, though."
But when Cassidy directs his attention towards her own stash of medical supplies, Jude rubs the back of his head. "To be honest, I'm surprised you still have any of those," is his first observation as he gets up onto his feet once more, hands locking behind the back of his head as he goes. He ducks away, out of the room, for the briefest moment --
--and then pops his head out for exactly one second to look on with a faint grimace of concern.
"You're not married anymore? What happened? I know it can be hard to keep the spark alive, but--"
And as if he couldn't even be bothered to finish the thought, he just disappears once again to let things spiral out from there.
A Reasonable Amount of time later, Jude is back, supplies in his grasp; he handles them with an experienced hand as he frees up the last of those steri-strips to hand Lily's way with a simple offer of, "If you need any help, I'm on-hand. Got a little experience with this sort of thing," before he pauses. "At the very least, I can give her her last rites."
A helpful little smile goes... here.
So, you two know each other?
"Yep," comes Jude's answer as he settles comfortably next to that bedside once more, leaning his back against the side of the mattress as he settles down. "She tried to help get my music career going, in another life. Didn't get very far, though. One of those star-crossed sort of things. It's okay --" pause goes here, sympathetic look...
"I know it's hard for a divorced couple to understand."
... here.
<Pose Tracker> Cassidy Cain has posed.
You could have told me you had steri-strips.
There it is, the smile that cuts like a knife. "Maybe I just wanted your hands on me just a little longer, luv," she claims, unabashedly. "I do flirt with everything that moves, by your accounting."
But at the warning about the pain, she simply holds her arm out, where plenty of the bleeding is coming from, for the medic's perusal. "You're a good soul, luv," she murmurs, lashes drifting half-shut. For a moment, she does nothing but watch the well of ruby life fountain from the gaping gash, expression inscrutable.
A second or two, before her eyes lift again, gravitating towards Leon, instead.
"Define 'demons of legend' because if they turn intae dragons, I'd suggest a team up," Cassidy says, flashing her own wink to Lily - she doesn't seem all that fazed by the pain. "There's one in particular who does nae like me very much and is, in fact, responsible for this." There's a sweeping gesture towards the rest of her. "Dinnae ken what happened, bloody fookin' Vorthuzahl decided tae do some spelunking on his own, came across some crashed ship or sommat and took its power for himself and suddenly he's a dragon. All I wanted was his heart, took the bloody thing while it was beating out of his chest, he dinnae need tae get so personal about it. It's nae like it cannae grow back."
All said with the lighthearted innocence that belies her presently half-dead state, but there's a glance at Jude at that. "What do you think, luv? You think we can outrun a dragon? Dinnae think we could...figured there'll nae be much choice in the end but tae end him after all." There's a glance to Lily and Leon. "What do the two of you think? Should dragon slaying be part of my lengthy list of accolades?"
But with Leon's listing of his own accomplishments in the last few months, her dark brows lift, though the keen sharpness of her stare fades in gradual increments, but the smile continues to linger. "Ay, going intae business for yourself, finally? Remember the last conversation we had...? This sommat you want tae do or you doing it because you're expected tae? Could mean all the difference in the world, luv. So where's your mercenary company heading now tae pursue your leads, if I may ask? Could know a thing or two before Jude decides tae perform my last rites."
You're not married anymore? asks the redhead.
"Ay? That's too bad. I was really rooting for you two lovebirds," she says, taking up the journalist's quip without even so much of a pause.
The question has her glancing sideways at the man seated by her bedside-slash-deathbed, and there's a laugh, one that chokes at the back of her throat, a hand coming down to clutch at her ribs. "Ngh, I nearly forgot about all of that. Ancient history, methinks. I'd like tae call myself Mr. Moshe's manager, once upon a time, but he was so difficult tae work with I resigned on the spot." Her eyes glitter faintly with mischief - faded enough to be worrisome, but good cheer burns from those dying embers, unable to function at anything less.
The type to die laughing in the throes of one final joke.
"These days, he's more of my priest," she murmurs, sagging heavily into the bed. "He's nae much of one, but he's the sort I need, before you get any ideas...though if the two of you want tae un-divorce and remarry, I'm certain he can oblige you."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"One of those patients," Lily answers Leon with an obvious sigh in her voice. She thinks on his explanation of what it is that they've been doing, and in the back of her mind she's amazed that it's been that long. Dealing with all of that. There's a light shake of her head, as Leon asks how Cassidy is doing. "Poorly," Lily answers for her.
And Jude--well, Jude doesn't move closer, and the sausage is dangled before--"Any food," she answers with a frown. She does not notice 'sandwich'. ...It is for the best. Just, really, for the best. Lily is not known for her humor.
But Cassidy's answer gets a roll of Lily's eyes. "Wouldn't be the first operating bed confession I got," she replies. ...But when Cassidy murmurs to her, she doesn't have any sharp comebacks for that. She watches the wound bleed, as she cleans it, and quiets for a moment. ...Just a moment, though; she keeps working, wiping away excess blood and waiting, moving onto more wounds on the arm. It's quite painful, but less so is when Jude hands over the supplies, and Lily lifts her hands. "...Yeah," Lily says to Jude, "I could use a little help. Fetch me a large bowl of water. I can heat it myself. Then hand me the strips as I work. Guess you're deputized as my nurse, Moshe." Pause. "...And sure, last rites."
She seems to miss he divorce comment for just a moment. Just a moment.
"I've got a dragon to kill already," Lily answers. "Might as well make it two and join you. ..." She quiets, shakes her head. "Down there was bad all around."
But then... The--the...
"We are not divorced," Lily answers irritatedly. "And I'm not getting married in this shithole ruin, either. I'm getting a proper Nisan cathedral when it's time," she says instead.
At least Cass is in cheer. ...Lily has seen worse than this, after all, when that fades.
"I should've known you too know each other," she says. "My luck isn't good enough for you not to. Maybe I should let you give her last rites. ...Leon, more cloth out of my bag. Or any towels you can find in here."
Leon looks back to Cassidy, then. "Nortune," he says. "And then... a location in the countryside." The capital of Kislev. A place that, by definition, is not safe for them.
<Pose Tracker> Jude Moshe has posed.
What do you think, luv? You think we can outrun a dragon?
"I think the moon's still a pretty good option, Cassie."
This is Jude Moshe's off-handed observation as he sets about getting those steri-strips assembled and ready, ever-innovative and insistent when it comes to running away from one's problems. It doesn't have any commitment to it, however; there's no real weight in the journalist's voice as he speaks, disaffected as ever as he slides the first of those strips Lily's way. Vorthuzahl. The monstrosity that very nearly killed him. Maybe he should hold a grudge--
"Ever wonder how much a whole, intact Metal Dragon would go for in Aquvy?"
-- but maybe Jude Moshe just doesn't have the effort in him to hold grudges as much as he does to see opportunities.
"Aye aye, ma'am," comes his casual little acceptance of his role as nurse not seconds later. Stretching out, the redheaded reporter makes his way towards the nearest available sink, fetching a bowl as he goes and tossing it into the air. The intervening space fills with the sound of rushing water and a whistle as he works; given Cassidy's state, one might almost think it cavalier.
But he's also never out of her sight for long, either. And despite appearances, he is nothing less than wholly attentive as he works.
"What do you think, Cap'n?" Amber eyes roll Leon's way as Jude reenters, warm water sloshing crystal clear against the lip of that bowl as he sets it on the nearest available space next to Lily so she may work her magic. "Hunt down a Metal Dragon, can split the profits we make off the carcass as the payment. I can handle the go-between for the sale -- I've got some connections down in Guild Galad. Sounds like a pretty good deal, right?"
As he speaks, Jude makes his way back to that bedside, ready to help as needed. Hands falling to his side, he turns his attention towards Cassidy, letting the rest of them talk of the situation with Gryndille and Kislev without interference as he offers a little smile like someone sharing a private joke.
"Just passionate about my art, I guess," is all he says, regarding his music career. "It can be hard for some people to handle."
Still -- what comes next is a hapless shrug as his would-be profession as a priest comes up. I never took you for a man of the cloth, Moshe, says Leon, and Jude shuts his eyes and sighs.
"You know that's -exactly- what the bishop told me when I left the priesthood?" he asides conversationally. "But I still know enough to give you two a proper marriage, for a pretty low price to boot. Whenever you both get over your cold feet, anyway." He's not entirely sold on this 'they've never been married' thing.
"And every time I give her the last rites, she pulls through. It's enough for a man to question his faith."
And here, he makes the holy sign of Nisan for Cassidy and mouths a reverent little 'amen.'
If he winks at the end, that's clearly just a part of the new rites.
<Pose Tracker> Cassidy Cain has posed.
The banter between all four of them is enough to make her smile. Cassidy turns her head to watch Lily and Jude work, and even Leon is given a job to do. It's enough for her to stay still, for just a few moments while preparations are made to turn her into a mummy - judging by all of the blood spilling out of her, it was going to be necessary.
"I'm with Jude about the cold feet thing." Because of course she is. "World's going tae bloody shite, luvs. Methinks the moment my priest here actually finds a bloody way tae the moon, we'd be right on that ship." Her fingers splaying over her ribs, she attempts to sit up. "Anyway, forget the dragon - if nothing else, it's my problem." There's a glance towards two spiky, shining lumps on top of her desk - what seems to be fancy paperweights. Metal Demon hearts. "At this point, third time's the charm. I have a pretty good idea as tae how to kill him. That's what happens when you get at someone long enough....you start tae really ken what makes them tick."
Lashes lower over her eyes at that.
"But if your new company's looking for a job and you're nae keen on killing dragons, I've just the thing."
She actually tries to leave her bed, though god knows how far she'll actually go with Lily seeing to her, a pale hand and fingers with very little strength in them attempting to reach the nearest drawer...and failing miserably. She bites back a groan, sagging back on her pillows, eyes drifting to the ceiling. "Fook me," she whispers, more to herself than to anyone else.
"I've been trying tae get tae a specific area in Nortune for a while, but it's been under extremely tight guard. You ken why that is? It's funny, really, how the two of you are pragmatic enough tae stay away from trouble, and when you do come looking for it, it's bigger than you ever imagined. I think everyone knows that the Kislevi capital's an extremely dangerous place tae be most days...but it's all the moreso now."
Bloodied fingers curl into her stomach, her eyes finding Leon's at the foot of the bed. "They're building sommat dangerous, over there. If anything goes wrong, I figured I'm definitely going tae try and find my way to that bloody moon sooner rather than later, because there's nae going tae be any running from that if it melts down."
The what?
"They're keeping it in a place called the Aleph Site," she continues. "Might be a code name for sommat that officially dinnae exist. Somewhere in the Central Administrative District. I've been trying tae milk my contacts for a way in tae learn more, but it's been slow going. Since you and your company are headed there anyway...I'll pay good gella for any information you and your own can find. Nae much for that kind of work, mind, but I'm verra interested in my survival and if they dinnae ken what they're handling, I'd rather nae be around if the thing goes tits up. I only ken about it because I heard of fuel rods being transported tae a location there...very special and incredibly dangerous fuel - fook if anything, I wouldnae even call it that, and the people who transported them got extremely sick after being exposed tae them."
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Given which Metal Dragon it is? It's a bloody perfect deal," Leon says with a frown -- and a nod. "Vorthuzahl's been a major threat. I'd normally think twice, after meeting some of Riesenlied's dragons. Him, though..."
And Jude's contacts. They stood to make a pretty gella off that. A thought strikes him, though. "After we handle the problem with the Kaiser," he appends.
But, Cassidy says she has it. He hesitates -- and then he nods. "The offer stands, if you change your mind."
He frowns at the mention of cold feet -- and then he shakes his head. Cassidy raises something important. He hesitates a moment, before he nods. He looks at Lily. "We could," he says. "We have a way into Nortune. The sewers--Fei found it, with me. There's a path through the sewers. It's not entirely safe."
He frowns.
"We'll look around. If we find something, we'll tell you," he says. "And, worst case, we can give you a way in." He opens his mouth, as if to say more. But, then a call comes from downstairs:
'Mister Albus!'
He frowns. "Mm, the hotel owner." He looks back to the rest. "I'll go take care of that. Lily, catch me up later, if this takes awhile, will you?"
He waves a hand once, and then starts for the door.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Turning into a dragon... Whichever. "Doesn't matter to me which it is. ...If you don't want the help, that's fine." She considers the hearts, for a moment. "...It's a good way to get yourself killed, anyway." She doesn't sound much like she approves. Leon mentions expectations though, and Lily nods. "...Of ourselves. There's things yet we need to do."
"Heh. The Moon. Fanciful enough. I've met enough people claiming to be from it." But she considers. A whole, intact Metal Dragon... She shakes her head. "I doubt it'd be intact if we managed to take it down to begin with." And she's not... entirely comfortable with it at the moment anyway. The stripes Lily sets down without unwrapping at first. But Jude accepts things, and when the water is brought back--
Lily hovers her hand over the bowl and her circuit markings glow hot orange, the water instantly working towards great heat, bubbling at the suddenness of it.
She rolls her eyes again when Jude offers their marriage... again. However, when Cass tries to leave her bed, Lily places a hand on her and refuses to move it, preventing her getting up. "If you need something, Moshe can get it," Lily says, "But you don't need anything until we get these handled." Then, she takes her hands back to wash them off in the basin before drying them with another rush of Ether-heat, and wipes away more blood with rags to start applying the sticking sutures. One at a time. ...And she listens, while she works.
She listens, in silence, working a bit at a time. She is quick, with deft hands, efficient and precise. But...
"Mm," Lily says. "I wonder if the Colonel is involved. Some sort of secret weapons material...?" Fuel. Sickness. Lily considers, thoughtfully.
But Leon mentions the path and Lily shakes her head. "Let us handle it. We--" The call comes. The hotel owner. "...Right, Leon. Will do." She hasn't even had time to change back into her own clothes again, yet.
"Once I finish with this and get you bandaged up, I've got enough medicine to make you sleep for a while. It'll help with the pain. But I can't give it to you until I'm sure it won't kill you." She pauses, and starts wending bandages around Cass's wounds, clean-stick-wrap, clean-stick-wrap, angled to avoid letting blood drip down. "The biggest thing you'll need is rest and some iron, to help you regain all this blood. You'll have to wait a few days because you can drink like you normally do."
She pauses. "...But we'll follow up for this Aleph Site, all right. I'm not concerned with getting sick." She glances down at her arms, shakes her head, and starts to wash her hands again. "...Moshe," she says. Are you with us on that?"
<Pose Tracker> Jude Moshe has posed.
"Close enough to it, depending on how things go." There's no doubt the certainty in Jude's voice as he debates the finer points of selling a dragon carcass; it's a lazy confidence that comes with experience, layered into every syllable he utters. "Most of the Fossils you get in Aquvy, anywhere really, is bits and pieces thanks to time and erosion. Even in the Graveyard. Get something like that, even relatively in one piece?"
Jude Moshe's shoulders lift in an easy, ambivalent shrug that absolutely undercuts his next words.
"You'd have enough gella to build a -bridge- to the moon, if you really wanted."
He does not, in any way, sound like he is exaggerating, despite what must be hyperbole. Right?
... Right??
Still, as easy as he suggests it, he just as easily lets it drop as Cassidy mentions the possibility of handling the situation on her own. He leans against the wall nearest where those hearts rest, reaching out and flicking one of the jagged edges with the tip of his finger.
"Third time's the charm, huh?" he wonders, glancing Cassidy's way with the ghost of an unreadable kind of smile. "For him or for you, do you wonder?"
It's a question he lets hang in the air, and just as quickly abandons when subjects turn. Amber eyes spy the way the markings on Lily's arms shift coloration from their peripherals as she heats the water to a boil, but he doesn't see fit to call much more attention to it than it already does all by itself; hands crossing over his chest, he patiently waits until the next strip is needed, and otherwise just listens as the others talk.
Nortune, Cassidy brings up. Trips there. Discovering something dangerous. Aleph Site. To his credit, Jude Moshe reacts as one might expect -- the mild lift of his brows, an incredulous look Cassidy's way. The mild cluck of his tongue.
"That's a lot of sins to forget to confess, Cassie," he chides, in that way that is anything but reprimanding. "If I was a better man of the cloth, I'd probably be a bit more perturbed about that." As it is? He seems to take it all in good stride, the heave of a hopeless sigh escaping his lips as he closes his eyes and lifts his hands, palm-up, to the heavens.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you chose not to take me. That all sounds like more of a headache than it's worth."
Which is, precisely, when Lily asks,
... Moshe. Are you with us on that?
"Oof."
Shoulders sag, just a bit. Then, as if resigned to his fate, Jude just rolls his shoulders nonchalantly, pushing off that wall and pressing a hand to Cassidy's shoulder briefly to steady her from any further attempts to move around as he makes his way to that drawer to open it up for her.
"I'm already opening up someone's private storage and poking my nose where it doesn't belong," he answers, ever-so-haplessly.
"So I guess I'm already involved. Ah well. I wouldn't be much of a journalist if I didn't keep doing suicidal things like meddle in affairs of state for very little tangible gain, would I?"
<Pose Tracker> Cassidy Cain has posed.
"Well, if you really have your heart set on it, I would nae refuse the help," Cassidy replies. "I like being alive, and this bloody thing's out tae kill me and mine. Plus I made promises of my own as far as he's concerned. He's nae going tae stop until one of us dies....and I, as always, am an obliging lass."
Full of easy humor and good-natured mischief, for a woman who seems incredibly confident about her chances of killing a Metal Demon Dragon.
She could also be certifiably insane, but she has never professed being in her right mind half the time anyway.
"Plus, I like my odds. And I believe Jude about his contacts in Guild Galad, if nothing else, his carcass would fetch enough gella tae retire if any of us so chooses, even with a four-way split." Her lips lift a touch wider on the corners. "But his glowing, beating, golden heart is mine. It's got my name on it."
And how.
When talk flits back to Nortune, the conwoman attempts to reach for her silver ouroboros lighter and her pack of cigarettes, resting on Lily's work station - it was the first thing that Lily took from her, and she's had to slap her fingers away a dozen times. Unperturbed by the Kislevi sorceress' constant rebuffing, she attempts to take them again, but none of her usual lightning quickness and dexterity is present, her body too broken to house her usual speed, nevermind that her tongue and quick wit has managed to remain despite the blood and exhaustion.
At worst, we can give you a way in.
"Either, or, just let me ken." She hasn't heard about the strike against the Kaiser, and as Leon mentions it, there's a slight incline of her head at that. "Oh hoh. Dinnae ken that, your hunt going all the way tae the top." That, and with Lily mentioning the colonel, there's a curious glance towards her. "What, an old friend of yours? Dinnae find any names in the documents I found that told me about the Arleph Site tae begin with, but if he has a taste for extremely dangerous weapons projects, he...or she...very well could be. Odd how coincidence works, sometimes. I would nae have found them if it weren't for our Blue-Eyed friend. I mentioned he was in Nortune looking intae you, ay? That's when I found them."
Some kind of secret weapons material?
"You can say you cannae find the kind of shite they've got on their own, or the means tae process them without some verra specific ken-how," the conwoman replies. "And I have it on some legitimate authority that Gebler's been poking their nose intae it - they're verra interested in whatever it is they're building. It's nae biological, but its effects on anything biological, and really, anything that can produce life, are lethal. Dinnae ken how many bodies they buried already, trying tae build the thing."
She quietly listens to what Lily says about her treatment - odd how she can swing from rebellious to almost docile and laconic in the next; perhaps it's the blood loss, when the faces of her companions are already blurry, swimming in and out of clarity within her vision. But her expertise speaks of years of training, for someone almost a decade younger than she is. The sigils, too, are taken note, but her practical knowledge regarding magic is very little - she limits it to 'just enough to know what to expect, and not to get killed by it.'
At Jude's unreadable smile, she returns it with an easy one of her own. "For me," she tells him. "Especially now that we're bringing a group. What do you think, luv? If we split the profits from that with Lily and Leon, methinks we'd be off the hook for any wedding presents they may demand once they decide tae get married. Hell, maybe with the money, they'll get the bloody cathedral they always wanted for it. We make fine matchmakers, you and I."
And that is when her red-haired partner opens up the drawer - and there they are. Sheafs of documents, encrypted in a strange cypher...
...of Solarian origin.
But who knows, perhaps none of the people in the room can recognize it.
"Would nae be much of a thief if I dinnae ken what I was looking at," she says quietly. "Or if I dinnae ken people who could tell me what I was looking at."
With Lily's last question, and Jude's resigned acquiescence, her lashes lower further over her eyes. "Ay, well, cannae speak of his abilities as a priest, but he does ken how tae get a job done and see it through tae the end."
After a pause, she speaks again, though she doesn't look at Lily as she does, her eyes on the journalist and his hand on the drawer and documents.
"And since I have a lifetime of sins tae confess, you'll make sure tae bring my priest back tae me, wouldn't you, Lily? A small price tae pay for a cathedral?"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"...Fair enough," Lily admits. "I'm not much for the dragon trade these days... But there's a lot we could use that money for." And Lily is not precisely a woman known for her gentle morals, either. But Cassidy says she wouldn't refuse the help, and Lily says as she keeps working, "Have you known me to keep my nose out of a good fight?" she points out. "...I could use the practice. I've got at least one unkillable thing to destroy already, and that's only counting the one that's personal. The Quarter Knights are still on my list."
She doesn't put much emotion in that; it's just a statement of fact, without even any hint of bravado save the mere fact of saying something like that in the first place.
"...You can keep the heart," she says. "Not my trophy to care about. That's not the one I owe something to anyway." A pause. Third time's the charm. "...That's what I like about you, Moshe. Your optimism." Is that a joke? It might be a joke.
Casually, Lily reaches out to take Cassidy's hand and move it back over her person, without even looking up when she moves towards the cigarettes and lighter. "After you're bandaged. Until then the moving is going to interfere with my work." ...At least she didn't slap her fingers this time. Maybe she's trying to keep her hands clean. ...In a purely non-metaphorical sense.
"Long story about the Kaiser," Lily tells Cassidy, "But you could say this Colonel is an old friend." She pauses. "...He's my father."
"Gebler's always poking their way into Kislevi business, though. Doesn't surprise me. The rest... I'll have to see for myself. One way or another."
Jude mentions the sins, and Lily keeps working. ...By now Cassidy is starting to resemble a mummy, the bandages tight enough to be secure but not to cut off too much circulation. She won't have her full range of motion without a little effort though. "You and your headaches," she says, and then pauses, listening. "...Good," she says, when he says he's in, without engaging with his usual... manner.
But Cassidy mentions the cathedral, and she shakes her head again. "Didn't ask for wedding presents," Lily points out. "Besides, Kislevi tradition dictates that you find one of my greatest enemies for me to slay before the wedding anyway, as a guest of the bride." ...She says it completely deadpan. She looks though. The cipher... She doesn't know it, frankly. But she's seen some Solarian text now and then. She frowns, unsure, shaking her head. "...Fair enough. And yeah, you mentioned that guy, too."
She pauses, and doesn't look at Cassidy either, as she speaks up. There's silence, for a few moments.
"...I'll bring him back, Cain," she says. "You have my word. I've let too many die already to lose another."
She tightens another last set of bandages. She continues her work in silence. ...With wounds this extensive, it's going to take a while. "...Moshe, fresh water," she says, as she goes.
<Pose Tracker> Jude Moshe has posed.
For a moment, Jude Moshe peers at Lily Keil, lips pursed together mildly.
"... Huh, look at that. You made a joke," he says, full of laconic wonder. A second passes.
"... I think."
With that, he rummages into the interior pocket of his frock coat; seconds later, he is producing his very own cigarette case even as Cassidy is cruelly rebuked from hers, flicking open the polished nickel with one hand and slipping a single stick of tobacco between his lips. He doesn't light it. He just sort of lets it hang there, for now, like he could smoke it if he wanted to, while he looks through the contents of that drawer.
"Colonel Dietrich Keil," Jude asides as he pulls free those documents, helpfully providing context. "A big shot military officer in Kislev. Has some ideas of his own about where the nation ought to be heading. The rest..."
Well, Lily explains, succinctly. So he just adds on,
"... is awkward."
He doesn't sound particularly committed to the idea, though, like someone expressing it because it's probably the appropriate sentiment. The sound of someone who never had a close relationship to their father, maybe.
Eventually, though, he takes a good look at those papers as Cassidy explains about the fuel cells; that's something he'll probably circle back around to later, at least, considering the headache-inducing complexity at the powers at play there. As it stands, his curiosity is taken up most immediately by the strange writing on that document, his dark brows furrowing faintly as he tilts them in his hand.
"Some kind of cipher?" asks Jude, head tilting faintly to his right. "Not Kislevi, anyway." He says -that- much with the certainty of someone who makes it a habit of poking their nose where it doesn't belong, that veteran's experience coming to the surface if only to demonstrate the simple fact that, by all accounts, he has no idea the kind of thing he's looking at.
"Huh." Amber eyes roll Cassidy's way. "Figured this out? Too bad." The flash of a lopsided smile settles briefly at his lips.
"Might have been a little fun to try and crack it."
Which is, perhaps, as enthused as the man seems to get about anything. And that is truly saying a lot.
Eventually, he sets those documents down -- just enough at an angle for Lily to be able to see the cipher-laden words, entirely by fluke of chance of course -- and leans himself against the stand; arms crossing over his chest, cigarette hanging from his lips, he looks back to Cassidy, brows lifting just a bit. For me, she says.
"Then I know who to place my bet on," is his answer, seconds later. Easy as they come.
And since I have a lifetime of sins tae confess, you'll make sure tae bring my priest back tae me, wouldn't you, Lily?
He stares, comfortably, at the nearby wall, for a few precious seconds.
And then that cigarette is plucked from his lips, and offered up to Cassidy's. He won't light it though. Not yet.
"We ought to get to work on your last rites before we start potentially talking about avoiding mine, huh?"
And with that said, he'll do just that.
A priest is nothing if not inherently thoughtful of the needs of others, after all.
<Pose Tracker> Cassidy Cain has posed.
That's not the one I owe something to anyway, Lily Keil says about Vorthuzahl's heart.
"He owes me a heart," Cassidy replies easily with that same, easy smile - nevermind the absolutely dangerous glint in her faded stare when she says it, still as sharp as a blade no matter her state of near-mummification. "And seven days." The last is as cryptic as it gets. "But like I said earlier, I'll take what I can get." There's a choking laugh at what the medic says about Jude's optimism, but she ends up biting a groan instead, blood-stained fingertips falling on her freshly-bandaged abdomen once Lily has moved it away from her cigarettes. There's a quiet glance at the precious silver lighter, with its delicate engraving of a snake eating its own tail, and its blue crystals for eyes.
Long story about the Kaiser.
"Must be," she says. "Too bad I'm going tae have tae miss it, it's not every day I get tae see a regime change."
But regarding the colonel and his presumably adversarial relationship with Lily, there's a faint smirk on her lips at that. "Parents," she sighs. "Too much bloody trouble than they're worth, these days. Dinnae think this monster hunt of yours would end up being a deeply personal family affair. Those I actively try and stay away from." She leans back against the pillows. "But you do what you have tae in order tae be free of whatever he's put you in." Her words are easy, and it could simply be fatigue and the fact that she has spent a few minutes hemmorhaging, but her accent carries with it rare notes of what suspiciously sounds like genuine sympathy.
"Though if the worst happens and the Kaiser manages tae get intae too much trouble..." There's a glance towards Lily. "...dinnae tell me your dear ol' da gets a shot at the vacant seat."
Or at the very least, the kind of inflection from one who understands, too well, how that goes.
I'll bring him back, Cain.
When Jude finally lifts his head from the documents, she smiles at him. "Only part," she tells him. "Enough tae figure out what I'm bloody looking at, as I said. But the rest is woefully encrypted, still. If you want tae take a crack at them, go ahead, I'd be curious tae see if you can decipher the rest of the writing. What can I say, luv? Dinnae I always say that you're a verra talented man?"
Said with all easy, casual affection - though the sentiment, in particular, is never one to be heard from her lips by too many people.
Still leaning on her pile of bloodied pillows, there's a tilt of her head when the journalist's taller form leans over her, to offer the unlit cigarette to her lips. They part to ensnare it in between, a pale hand lifting to touch his cheek once, the barest brush of light fingertips. Lashes lower, but that glint of mischief remains, and something else entirely.
"How do the words go again?" she wonders at him. "Bless me father, for I have sinned?"
Her hand falls back on the sheets, leaving him to fetch Lily her water. And with him somewhat out of earshot, she tilts her head towards her medic.
"Methinks I was wrong, lass," she says, privately from around her newly procured cigarette. "I think you and I have more in common than I initially thought. And maybe one day, I'll be drunk enough tae tell you why that is."