2023-07-01: Devils Have Hair After All
- Log: 2023-07-01: Devils Have Hair After All
- Cast: Ruth Pauling (in flashback), Seraph Dezel (GM'd by Ruth's player), Seraph Yvain, Rixia, Ida Everstead-Rey, Xander Lovell, Shige Kiwako, Yulie Ahtreide
- Where: Sylvaland City - Market Borough
- Date: July 01, 2023
- Summary: Iris Gems - crystalized memories - have always been treasured as a window to events that otherwise would lack historical record or other reference. Idle curiosity begets inquiries about the events of the Otherworldly Hollow - ground zero for Malevolence's introduction to Filgaia some years ago by now, and whether the new Shepherd Rose and her companions might have some recovered from that former Domain that started it all. Specifically... any gems concerning a specific individual: an elf bearing a large rifle. As it turns out, they did! Content Warning: Matters of discrimination, violence, and heartbreak.
=====================<* Sylvaland City - Market Borough *>======================
The gates to Sylvaland City lead into the Market Borough. This part of the city is a testament to the glories and qualities that Sylvaland would emphasize. Unlike many cities in Filgaia, this one is built amidst the great trees of the Great Woods. Somehow, those trees have been more resistant to desertification... but also impossible to plant outside of Sylvaland.
The Market Borough has small, low-lying buildings constructed amidst the trees. The buildings have more permanent, low-lying shops -- crafts and industries that need a permanent fixture. At the center of the borough is a large lake, fed by creeks and streams throughout the city.
A vast network of boats is moored there, semi-permanently. Piers and docks connect them, and sellers will bring a boat with a cart up to attach -- then detach and row away, when their business is concluded. The result is a vibrant market, dealing in local cuisine, trade from Meria and Guild Galad, and the occasional ARM.
BGM: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Kakariko Village https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up5HeIWeOMI
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Years ago, a cavernous place near Port Timney served as the fertile soil to introduce Malevolence to Filgaia. That place, the Otherworldly Hollow, has long since been cleansed... but the damage has long since been done.
With Iris Gems - crystallized memories of the world - having often given insight to events otherwise unobservable with no witnesses, one had to wonder. Were there any found at the Otherworldly Hollow, after it was purified of its status as a Malevolent Domain?
Reaching out to those who once traveled with Sorey, the answer was.. yes! They kept them as mementos of their journey together. More specific questions, did any of them feature an elf carrying a large gunsmoke rifle ARM?
One thing leads to another, and there's an agreement to loan them for a viewing party. (It is way less fun than it sounds.)
Using their Sparrowfeathers connections and resources, they've rented out a place in Sylvaland. The timing is convenient for them, due to some unspecified business deals. The place in question is a local restaurant's room reserved for large gatherings, which - most importantly - is closed off. It's not fancy fare for the privilege, suggesting maybe this is less meant 'for parties' and more 'for people with a lot of money, legal or otherwise, to discuss things in private.' Two tables have a few snacks laid out among them, it's largely sweets and some beverages.
Seraph Dezel's standing in a corner with crossed arms, not even looking up to see those who come in. (Can he? There's a hat in the way.) A faint breeze fills the room every time someone comes in, as if the wind itself were appraising.
Seraph Dezel is a lanky Seraph clad in a black coat over a striped green shirt with a white vertical line going perpendicular down the center through the other white lines. He's wearing matching black trousers with a set of leather gloves and boots. Most notable is a black hat adorned with medallions and coins connected by jewelry chain links, set over his eyes. The pale green tips of his white hair shows him as a Wind Seraph.
"You're the ones?" His manner is stand-offish and distant, but not outright hostile. "I've got the Iris Gems from that place near Port Timney." He brings a hand up to the brim of his hat. "Let me know when you're all ready... before you ask, the others are fine. I just volunteered to be the one to share them."
He doesn't sound too enthusiastic about it, but Iris Gems are rarely feel-good viewing. (Still! Free snacks. Fruit frappe and madelines are the real stand-outs, and also continue to be a source of concern as to whether Sorey, Rose, and Alisha ever consumed adequate nutrition and not just, like, confectionary all the time while they journeyed together.)
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Yvain has posed.
The Otherworldy Hollow is of interest to Yvain, for reasons that may or may not be obvious--and thematter of an elf with a large rifle... Is likewise.
And of course, most of the people in Sylvaland don't see him, a man in ornate jacket and slacks of white, red, and orange, with blue accents, a broad and solid presence.
"Hello, Dezel." Obviously Yvain has met him before. But this isn't about that. Instead... He considers. The others are fine, and so he doesn't ask about it.
Instead, he moves to the snacks. "When they're ready, I'm ready," he says of the other people around.
"Thank you for the information."
<Pose Tracker> Rixia has posed.
Rixia isn't a companion of Sorey's, and never travelled with him, but... she did see him at his last moments walking on Lunar, when he entered the Earthpulse with Maotelus. Somewhat more pertinently, a figure she can only pin down as Ruth has been brought up, which has further piqued her interest, and when she heard what Iris Gems are...
Well.
Suffice to say she's been looking for really sad stories about the past, as if she can't help but look for more reasons to hate the world -- sort of like the pre-internet equivalent of doomscrolling.
"... thanks for having me here," she says, and--
Promptly gets distracted by snacks and starts gobbling some up, because even with 99.9% on her Malevolence Meter, she's still a teen that can hardly feed herself on a good day and is perpetually hungryu. "Imff alffo reaffy," she speaks inbetween gobfuls of madeline. Slurrrp.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida Everstead-Rey--Seer of Fire, and Drifter expert on the behavior of Malevolence--received one of those invitations. As one of those who first ventured into the Hollow, she has a keen interest into what happened to it... and what happened to the others who ventured in.
Even if those stories are far from pleasant.
The heiress is still dressed for Spira, but it's becoming increasingly common here, near the gateway between worlds. She's wearing a green vest, white halter top, cream-colored shorts, and sandals--perfect summer dress. "You must be Seraph Dezel," she says, to the man with the hat. "Good to meet you." She offers him a handshake, then turns to Yvain. "Yvain." A warm, broad smile. "It's good to see you again."
Then it's time to fill up a plate. Ida acquires some fresh blueberry tarts, fruit frappe, and madelines. The sensation of strong, nearby Malevolence--which she'd guessed, maybe, was Ruth, despite it feeling off?--draws her attention. Ida gives Rixia a look of concern, but... then she notices how thin she looks. Food first, she concludes. Everything else can wait.
<Pose Tracker> Xander Lovell has posed.
Iris Gems would be an intriguing enough concept for Xander on their own as someone chasing down lost bits of history and impossible goals. This round is his last chance. He must find something, or it's all over. Any lead, however small and frail, however much it requires trying to communicate with (ugh) other people, has to be pursued... and yet, he cannot waste so much time that's all he's doing. There are a number of reasons never to stray too far from his partner, practical and otherwise.
But it's in this pursuit of research that Xander ends up getting cross information -- perhaps accidentally, mistaken as someone looking for someone else, given the timing -- about the elf with a rifle instead of any ancient evils. It's none of his business. Not at all. Malevolence has nothing to do with his own suffering, as far as he understands.
...
A quick errand, he tells himself. That's it.
Having come by his information more on the side of anyone else here, he may strike as not exactly invited. This has not stopped Xander before, and it does not stop him from shoving into the room, impassive as the breeze plays against his unruly hair and mostly open shirt. He found himself a corner, saying nothing and absolutely did not eye the sweets at the table with any manner of longing. Anything you thought you saw, you didn't!
Except for the part where he's eyeing the fruit frappe. ...There's no way to get that back still cold, is there?
Pushing past the distractions, he glances back up at the crowd. Xander grunts faintly in confirmation, but there's unease on his features. Are these Ruth's friends, or is something else going on...?
<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.
Shige Kiwako wasn't a companion, but she is one who likes to hear these kinds of stories. Sure they're rarely happy, but those stories need to be known and remembered too. She may or may not have just found herself showing up regardless. It works out.
A counterpart maybe. These stories in her mind, show that you can move on.
She's taking this one seriously and hasn't.. quite started drinking yet. There's probably some commentary on her thinking others should move on while she broods on the past, but that's a later sober problem.
She takes a seat, pausing long enough after a surprised look to try and place a hand on Rixia's shoulder, offering her something of an encouraging look through tired eyes.
Then she focuses on the others. Fiddling idly with a cigar in hand. Not that she's lit it up yet. Nor has she reached for her flask. Traveling light for now.
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
Crystals that contain memories... Yulie has heard about them through the general Drifter knowledge. Her closest experience with Iris Gems would be Spheres. And... there's interest in specific sets of Iris Gems, relating to a specific woman.
Well... Yulie wants to know more, of course. She considers Ruth a friend, and knowing more about what lead her to her current situation will help.
"Hello... and, yes. Thank you for having us." Yulie greets, clasping her hands in front of herself and offering him a polite bow before moving to find herself some place to sit.
She does, of course, help herself to madelines and frappe. ...She knows that, if these memories are related to Ruth, they aren't going to be pleasant. They may be just as necessary for emotional support as for the simple joy of sweets.
"...Okay. I'm ready." She says.
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
"Yvain." Dezel turns his chin up. Yvain would recognize that a few years ago, the Wind Seraph held - but wasn't overtaken - by a great anger concerning circumstances he's yet to talk about, but he's mellowed in some subtle ways after the business with Heldalf was taken care of. He's still fairly young, by Seraph standards, and in many ways lucky to still be alive (and himself). "Well, I wouldn't turn you down, that's for sure. I don't know anyone who would."
Rixia's presence and seeming circumstances doesn't go unnoticed, but he knows those who would be interested in what he has to share aren't blind to it. Whatever the reason... he's not backing out of it now. She can enjoy the snacks.
"I'm him." He has momentary trouble finding Ida's hand at first when she extends it, but when he takes it, there's a shake. "One of the... Seers, I hear. Like a Squire?" He got the fill of what went down at Artorius' Throne but he's not completely up on the terminology yet. "...It's good to meet you," as if he might've been shy saying that. Humbled?
There's a pause when Xander comes in, but no movement or hostility on his part. He might not recognize what it is that Xander harbors by tragic circumstance. "Help yourself to the snacks, and buckle up," he offers.
By the movements of the wind, he can detect how one's moving to render emotional aid to Rixia, and he might have caught a whiff of that cigar even if it hasn't been lit yet. (His favorite mortal friend deals in a lot of things, he's become good at noticing those things in turn.)
"Don't thank me just yet," Dezel says to Yulie as she respectfully and politely greets him. "...I mean," he backtracks that statement a bit, "we've kept all the Iris Gems we found when we traveled with the Shepherd." He corrects himself. "Former Shepherd. I'll admit... never thought anyone else would've taken interest in what happened over in... Ignas, wasn't it?" He rubs at the back of his head. "All right. Rose labeled them," he says to himself, as he draws out a set of...
Five blue-gray gems. Sometimes the crystallized memories are split into individual sets, with safe bets being those of an identical color hue being directly related to one another. (Not always, but if they were geographically and chronologically close..)
Rose has apparently found a Zeboim-era labeler in their travels and printed coy, silly labels on them that undersell the gravity of what they contain. The lettering is textured.
Dezel feels these labels before he picks out the first two.
"If you're ready... these are the first two."
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
BLUE-GRAY GEM - RISHONA
Anyone who's been to the Otherworldly Hollow would be able to identify it from the outside by the carnage surrounding it. The Iris Gem shows six individuals together just outside of it, obstructed by rubble. It's currently raining.
Ruth is right there in plain sight, dressed in battle-worn Etone robes obscured with a hooded mantle common among Aquvy Union soldiers. The manner of dress remains heavy, but a much better form fit than what's seen today. She's not wearing gloves, and the Granasian rosary can be seen around what's visible of her right wrist. She struggles with the weight of her rifle at her back, owing to the chronic pain in her left arm, but trudges on nonetheless.
She's joined by several others that may be passingly familiar to those who saw a certain vision at Siddim Canyon. An older, dignified-looking man holding a Picto Box with the pointed ears of an elf and a few visible Symbological crests. A slender, carefree young woman of slightly odd proprotions (a less obvious Beastfolk?) and a toothy grin with a wadded-up map in her clenched fist. A stout, armored human man with the sigil of Ione Paua etched into his armor bearing a shield and spear. The last familiar silhouette is a high-strung looking human man dealing with an identifiably Veruni-made set of explosives at the rubble, sweating profusely and murmuring to himself as he sets it.
...There's one more that wasn't seen prior.
A massive Beastfolk, who could very easily be confused for a Wel for their misshapen, unsightly appearance. There's something distinctly chimeric about them in ways Beastfolk typically aren't. Huge wings, incapable of flight for the weight they'd have to bear, bears both leathery and feathery qualities. There's enough other monstrous features so pronounced that he could be readily confused for any number of hostile creature - as seen with the fresh blood on his claws.
"You think the monsters would've gone away if Boaz asked them nicely?" Says the carefree young woman.
"I'm not a monssster," comes the response of 'Boaz' - the Beastfolk, not of irritation or anger but of fear... even dismay. "I'm h--"
"You are, most assuredly, a thief," snaps the male elf, "don't think I haven't noticed--"
"The explosives. Are they ready?" The armored Shaman speaks over them.
"Maybe, close to it, almost," the nervous demolitionist grits his teeth. "Get off my back! My neck's already sore making sure people from Honeys-- those places aren't just... waiting to strike..."
To the Iris Gem viewers, what rises from him is unmistakable - a high concentration of Malevolence. In the background, Ruth's raised a revolver somewhere in the male elf's direction, but whatever's going on there is muted compared to what's going on at the rubble.
"Goody," the carefree young woman steps forth, leans over, and taps a button, "let's go inside already~ o/'"
The explosives all go off, in all sorts of colors. The demolitionist screams, falls back, and covers his head.
"They're here! They found me! You're WITH THEM--"
Overcome by cowardice against those he explicitly trusted, the Gem's tale ends at the sight of a newly-transformed goblin.
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
BLUE-GRAY GEM - SHNIYA
The next story of the Blue-Gray Gems goes straight into the caverns, climbing up as water rushes from behind - from beneath.
The Ione Paua Shaman takes the rear and slams his shield down to part the Malevolence-fueled floodwaters that seem intent on flowing backwards, of all things. There are sounds of a percussive nature that strike against it, but it physically holds.
The others - the male elf, the oddly-proportioned young woman, Boaz, and Ruth, collectively struggle to rise up the water-slick ground. This isn't the first time the reverse-waterfall has passed through here.
"I said I was sorry!" The strange young woman laughs flippantly. "C'mon, he'll calm down."
"Keep moving," the Ione Paua Shaman grunts as he channels his Stone Medium slotted within his shield to part the waters, which splash violently further up the divide. No one appears to escape the spray of miasma.
Both Ruth and the male elf start to lose their footing at about the same time, threatening both of them with being swept up towards... wherever all that water wishes to go in its strange rise.
Boaz's massive arms reach out to catch Ruth, enormous wings fanning out. He's joined by the jovial soul who also grabs hold of her.
For a moment, eyes meet, though Ruth's expression doesn't exceed dull exasperation.
The male elf sees no such immediate aid, but a moment later he finds his grip as the Picto Box goes flying... and finds himself in that bathing 'glow' of Malevolence.
"How preposterous this all is," he sneers, "you'd leave me hanging! After how many times I've been threatened by the likes of them!"
"I got your dumb box, stop complaining!" The carefree woman and valorous Picto Box rescuer grins, having apparently caught it within a blink of an eye.
"Keep it together--" The Ione Paua Shaman starts to back up, his movements deft despite the weight of his kit.
"Who keeps the lot of you ruffians together, you worthless rabble that sees me as disposable!!"
Taken by conceit despite their shared circumstances having put them otherwise in equal footing, the Gem fades out on the newly-emergent shape of an arachnid body underneath his own torso.
...
THE PRESENT
Dezel stoically keeps his arms crossed, but those perceptive can tell his posture is that of deep discomfort. A discomfort he's shouldering, to whatever end. He doesn't speak over what anyone has to say about what's been seen so far.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Yvain has posed.
Who would turn him down? "I appreciate that," Yvain says to Dezel, and remembers hearing of his anger, though only lately; after all, for the last two hundred years he was dealing with an anger and despair of his own.
He nods to Ida. "Likewise, a pleasure."
He doesn't know everyone here, but he is friendly nevertheless... Until the visions begin to show. "...Ignas is of interest to me, too, for... reasons."
He watches. He watches, as there is a vision of what Ruth once was. As her friends? Allies? Are there... and as they slowly turn on one another.
Into the caverns, deeper and darker...
"...She was not alone," Yvain reflects. "Not alone, in what she became, or in that place."
"At least... Not yet."
<Pose Tracker> Rixia has posed.
Rixia pauses and feels Shige's hand on her shoulder, and she takes a napkin and wipes herself with a nod. Shige looks pretty tired. It's... not surprising, the way things have been going on. There's a glance at Ida as well, and the Seraph, Yvain... The slender man in the eyepatch -- Xander -- is a bit curious to her; and Yulie is maybe surprising, given how she seems possibly just as young as her. What's her relation here?
But soon, it's time to face the proverbial music. "... he did good," she asides to Dezel, when he flipflops between Sorey's status. "Shepherd or no... I'll remember him."
The Gems are revealed. She has no experience with the Otherworldly Hollow. She was 13 years old when this all went down, huddling in her frozen hut in Sagahli. But Ruth... the way she looks then...
And... a massive Beastfolk. She can't help but think of the way the wings remind her of Ruth's. Some casual discrimination against Beastfolk. Okay. The explosion... the swelling of malevolence, from him...
...
What shape will she take, when she lets herself out? A goblin, an arachnid... will she just become a 'monster', to be made fun of, like that Boaz?
...
At least it'll provoke honest reactions in people, she thinks to herself.
"It wasn't her, it seems, but... I've seen how Malevolence can move from one body to another..." she murmurs.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida notes that moment it takes Dezel to find her hand. Can he see clearly? She makes a note of that as she returns the handshake, firm and polite. "Something like that," she says. "As I understand it, it's... more like the relationship between Prime Lord and Shepherd, but with a Guardian as the ultimate power source."
With food and water obtained, she sits down at the viewing table. But something isn't right, here, and it isn't just the malevolence bubbling inside of Rixia like a geyser waiting to erupt. It's something more insidious, more familiar--
In a single, fluid movement, she turns to face Xander Lowell, a madeline halfway to her mouth. She sucks in a breath, and lets it out. As long as--he doesn't threaten anyone, she decides. It's not as though she could do anything about him anyway. Instead, she takes in... Ruth. And Ruth's old companions. The gargoyle-like Beastfolk instantly captures her eye; empathy wells up in her as he endures that insult, and she does not miss Ruth's clandestine work with the revolver. She doesn't shoot anyone. Yet.
"None of them trusted each other," Ida says. But she's focused on the odd person out--Boaz, who helps rescue Ruth.
<Pose Tracker> Xander Lovell has posed.
It's the exchanges the hosts has with the others that give Xander any of the clues he's going to get about this situation. The others here... Xander doesn't recognize them, except for one. He bristles to himself in recognizing Ida, but holds his tongue. Like Riley before him, he has to bank on the idea that anyone wanting to start a fight will find it more trouble to do than continue with the day's plans. Xander's not going to be the one to interrupt.
Bidden to help himself, Xander does take a fruit frappe. He does not drink it.
His attention sharpens onto Iris Gems. He has his journal with him, but doesn't risk pulling it out to try and cross reference his notes on Zeboim. The information coming is forthright enough as it is. A little too much -- that's what has him on edge.
The memories come. Ruth is something of a legend herself. Xander's been on -- well, all right, the correct end, given who he is, but not the favorable end of some of the more haunting whispers. But Ruth was not always someone who worked alone. Xander already does not like this.
Boaz. Xander notices the same familiarity that Rixia does. Ruth thinks herself a monster. Xander wonders suddenly if her appearance was actually never a factor in that.
"...Maybe not none of them," Xander murmurs. Is that a hint of idealism? Perish the thought.
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
Dezel says not to thank him just yet - but backtracks the statement. She nods in understanding.
"I'm glad you kept them. They could be important." Yulie replies. She looks around at the others. Familiar faces, for the most part. She sends Rixia a small smile in response to her surprise, but her attention soon turns toward Dezel.
"...Okay." Yulie says. She braces herself.
...A story of Ruth and her companions. Already the tension presents itself, the lack of trust. Is it just a partnership of convenience...? Two gems in, and two have transformed.
"...How awful." Yulie murmurs, momentarily distracting herself with a spoonful of frappe. It's going to get heavier from here... but she has to be ready to accept these memories.
<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.
Shige Kiwako makes the cigar disappear with a flourish as they show begins. After one last look and consideration. Oh well. She does in fact take a pull from her flask though. Halfway to capping it when she offers it over to Rixia. And then to the rest. Accepted or not, the flask gets stashed too and she crosses her legs, leaning forward to prop herself up against her knee. Briefly watching the others. Not sure if she should fish for names. Somethingsomething curiousity and cats something.
The events unfolding hold her attention. A different kind of horror to the sort she's more intimate with. Similar in ways though. She glances sidelong to the fellow beastfolk, then even takes a moment to look at her own hands. She hadn't quite gotten that far, but she's got grievances. And a level of growing belligerence to go yell at a Guardian about it. If she can figure that one out. It can only go well, right?
Her commentary beyond a grim set to her features is minimal.
Eventually she shifts, leaning in like the details would be clearer. There's thoughts brewing behind those eyes. Things that need to be done.
An ear perks. Listening. Head tilted and a glance to her left. Her shadow's wrong as it always is.
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
"She wasn't. There were six of them," Dezel confirms to Yvain, a hand on the brim of his hat. "...I wouldn't mind going by Ignas again. They've got birds there you can talk to, who are said to help mortals remember just about anything... and there was that cave with all the berries they use as medicine over there." He only remembers some of them exploding.
He halts himself from chewing the fat further with a fellow curious Seraph. "If you're headed that way, Yvain, I'll fill you in about some of the other flora and fauna another time."
"Yeah, it can." Dezel confirms to the source of the one he knows might be about 'there.' A part of him has an inkling of an idea as to how careful he needs to be in speaking with Rixia about any of this, but she's surrounded by people in the know. Things are better off than they were when they first came to Filgaia, years ago.
When Ida clarifies the relationship, Dezel nods. "Whatever the case, we owe a lot to you." Even if Ida herself wasn't there, the Oracles and Seers have done a lot of good work in handling major concentrations of Hellions, and Dezel's humble enough to admit that. "The cracks were there from the beginning... that's true enough."
Something about what Xander says sees Dezel cross his arms and go quiet without commenting on the insight.
"They're more important to all of us more than ever," Dezel replies to Yulie's gratitude that they've been kept, and he notes how Yulie becomes crestfallen seeing the beginning elements of all that went down. "If it becomes too much for you at any time, it's all right. I wouldn't force anyone to watch any of this," underestimating Yulie's resolve and compassion inherent to her work in dealing with the Earthbound Dead of Zoara.
Dezel's head turns as one of Shige's shadows begin to speak, moving his hands along the remaining Iris Gems. "This one's... the third," he cracks a smile as he encounters a particular in-joke between Rose and himself in the way she noted it's the third, he won't ever say what it is or why, "and that's the... all right."
"In which case," he's still looking in the direction of the shadow as he sets down the next two gems, "here's the next two."
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
BLUE-GRAY GEM - SHLISHIT
Blood spatters everywhere in a pitched battle. A pack of Fury Wolves still circle four Drifters, even with half their number lying dead around them without a hint of fear or hesitation. Even with the benefit of an Iris Gem's detached 'eye,' it's hard to follow the action.
The four Drifters... the Ione Paua Shaman who is now backing his massive shield by holding a large lance with one hand, the skilled use of laser-like ARM daggers of a flighty woman who doesn't seem to be taking any of this seriously, waves of Crest Sorcery-conjured water from Ruth, and Boaz's massive size being its own weapon.
Boaz cries in pain with deafening echoes in this cavern as one of the last of the Fury Wolves digs into his leg, though the Iris Gem doesn't capture that exact angle well. Between Ruth drawing her revolver and the dagger-wielding woman, this proves the Fury Wolf's last success.
"Just leave him," the Ione Paua Shaman says as things don't calm so much as stretch on a tense pause, "he can keep the others at bay."
"Really?" The carefree one laughs. "You'd think he'd be the one to try and eat us of everyone! Bet he's chomping at the bit to really eat us up next time we sleep."
"No." That's Ruth, with firmness, as she checks the bullets in her revolver, dumps the remainder of the clip, and puts in a fresh one.
"He can't walk with that wound. He's dead meat." The Shaman says. "Dead weight. And... he has to have been the one who stole from our funds."
"Aren't you a servant of a saint?" Ruth says, downcast. "Saints who'd look away from someone hurt," now with a smile.
"You can't possibly carry that burdensome beast!" The dagger-wielder mocks. "Always complaining about your arm..."
"Ruth..." Boaz's eyes are in tears, as if he knows what they say is true.
The infamous Celesti war criminal shakes her head, though looking at her eyes, they're without much life or expression. Boaz dwarfs her - as he would virtually anyone watching this - but she doesn't flinch over-much when he tries to lean on her for support.
"He's going to forfeit his share," the Shaman warns, "whatever's in here..."
"Is mine." The dagger wielder snaps, she who never really cared about anything... until now? Malevolence wreathes around her. "I don't really care what's in here! I don't really care what's stolen or what's yours, I don't care, but I'm going to make it worth it!"
"You--" The Shaman flinches, positioning his shield as Boaz shrinks (unsuccessfully, as this is an impossible task) against Ruth.
Washed over in their greed, whoever or whatever that young woman was before, she's now emerged as a cackling harpy as this sordid chapter from the Gem fades away.
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
BLUE-GRAY GEM - REVI'IT
More rushing water. Torrential waters, running through the Hollow. A raging river with only a handful of stepping stones to see one across. To the viewers of the Iris Gem, there are a number already lousy with Malevolence as if color-coded.
Ruth walks at a sedate pace alongside the injured Boaz, though again the view is from the waist up. The two of them look out ahead to something that should, logically, now be completely impassible with the grievous injury that Boaz has suffered.
"A dead end," Ruth remarks in an even tone of voice, and a 'heh.'
"I don't think ssso," Boaz disagrees. "Not deep."
"That river's moving fast," Ruth says, as she considers her Crest Graphs. "Maybe... I can slow it down."
"Can you not see it?" The Shaman interjects, following behind them - and wreathed in Malevolence. "Monsters, everywhere. Everywhere... as a Shaman of Ione Paua, disgraced as I was... I've been shepherding monsters." His teeth clench, as he draws closer. "Sinners, everyone! A cowardly traitor! A self-centered turncoat! A greedy gadabout! Ever since those animals attacked our camp, everyone's showed themselves for who they really are!"
In unbridled hatred, the Ione Paua Shaman hollows himself out into a rusted suit of armor of besmirched Ione Paua iconography, a set of hind legs kicking out behind him to shatter apart the passage behind the lot of them. A centaur-like disembodied armor.
"What of you two? Why aren't you showing yourselves as the monsters you are?! That each and every one of you have always been!!" His newly formed front set of hooves slam the ground, crumbling some of the rocks ahead from the seismic force.
Ruth staggers, with no verbal retort on her part, one hand over her chest as she looks to the rosary under her sleeve.
"I'm human!" Boaz insists with an inhuman roar, as if heedless of his appearance saying otherwise.
Ruth bows her head, balance kept mutually with Boaz, as she draws her handgun...
But Boaz throws the two of them into the rapids. Before Ruth can vocalize anything, Boaz grips tightly to one of the rocks with his one free hand, drawing from his inhuman strength, rock-piercing claws, and immense weight to anchor the two of them from the tide.
Ruth almost seems like little more than a ragdoll in these events, but there's a sign of life - at least that of someone willing to act to survive.
It is through a timely Crest Graph conjuration that some of that water is forced back, giving precious moments for Boaz to hurl the two of themselves forward through the rapids that should be impassible against the Malevolence-fueled floodwaters. Bit by bit, he does not let go even as the rapids test the weakness in his leg. Moment by moment, Ruth keeps her concentration even as the chilling waters threaten to drown her.
The newly-born Hellion from the Shaman keeps stabbing, keeps probing, keeps shaking the cave all the while... the viewer knows that at least one person unquestionably survived these events, improbable as it seems.
The Gem fades as they come to the other end of the bank.
...
THE PRESENT
"There's one more." Dezel says. "If you want to walk out here, I won't stop you." He's keeping the brim of his hat pulled as far down his face as he can.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Yvain has posed.
Not a monster... Trust. Which of them trusted the others? There seems to be an answer there. The man who is not a 'monster'...
"I'd like to see Ignas properly," Yvain agrees. He didn't get to sightsee before. But they don't discuss it in more detail yet; for now, Yvain simply says, "I'd appreciate that."
He regards Rixia thoughtfully. She does seem to know Malevolence...
Ida recognizes the other man. And it is, indeed, awful.
Yvain does not pay overmuch attention to wrong shadows here. Instead, he watches the next.
The wolves come. Ruth's firmness in not abandoning that man... Another falls.
And another.
"...The skills she still relies on," Yvain reflects. "That are important to her."
Yvain looks around, to the others, at Dezel's warning. "I intend to stay," he says. "...Regardless of what happens next. She is my friend, for better or worse. I will see this through."
"...But this is the nature of Malevolence. It divides, opposes, destroys. That she is able to find equilibrium does not mean that most do, or can."
"It does not show 'who they really are' at all. ...But I can't blame these people for believing it does."
"When something bursts forth from seemingly within, it can be hard to think otherwise."
<Pose Tracker> Rixia has posed.
Shige offers Rixia a drink, and she takes it -- not even caring if it's alcoholic or not. She seems to be accepting of just about anything right now, given how long it's been since she's had a proper meal instead of just whatever she's found on the road.
She's not a stranger to how careful Dezel is being around her. She feels it too. The way she'll become an enemy of these people... in the end, it'll be just like that Omega she was told about. The moment someone turns into something even remotely unpleasant, smiles wash off people's faces like water off a duck's back...
Just like these visions.
She doesn't miss the way even a servant of a Guardian discards a Beastfolk so fast. It's familiar, as a Beastfolk herself. That she's still carrying the title is frustrating to her. 'Beast'. An 'other'. The way Boaz has to insist he's 'human', as if 'human' was the norm, something to aspire to, when every 'human' that's been presented here is...
They fall, and though Boaz struggles mightily, she understands what will happen here, because this is ultimately a fragment of the past.
"... you can't even wholly blame these behaviours to Malevolence," she remarks to Yvain. "People already were like this, a long, long time ago, before Malevolence came to Filgaia. If anything, it just made them more honest. And in a way, that's a good thing... if the only way we can have pleasant company is through lies, sometimes, I wonder if that was ever worth it."
<Pose Tracker> Xander Lovell has posed.
A group of six in total, and five Iris Gems. It would be too morbid to make internal bets with himself about the order of it, wouldn't it?
And yet, his first impulsive thought proves exactly correct.
Xander sucks in a breath not as silent as the rest at what he sees. Discreetly, he pulls free a vial to spritz a scent onto his collar. It's a memory. The carnage is something long past.. but the fragrance still helps him focus.
Just leave him, says the memory, and Xander actually flinches. He has to bring his hand up to keep the frappe frome spilling over. The memory of Ruth thankfully does not concede. Transformations. Humans and monsters...
A group of six. Five gems.
Xander stares at the final gem. He swallows. He should leave, not for his own sake. They all should. For Ruth. But his legs don't move.
"...It is," Xander agrees with Yvain, so softspoken that it's hard to imagine he intends to be heard at all. "But I think Ruth knows this isn't what makes monsters."
He glances to Rixia. "Get new friends."
<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.
Shige Kiwako tilts her head and considers the conversation of those visibly present. Her other ear perking up, "I don't think I've ever been." She admits. "It's on my list. There's no end to the stories, right?" She pauses. Most here have no idea who she is or her habit of trying to make sure eveveryone is remembered.
"It draws out the parts you hide from others. Makes them worse." She suggests. Brought out her feelings of helplessness. She had some outside support though. And that feeling was met head on with a decision to do something about it. "It's why their stories are important too though." That's quieter. More to herself. Maybe to convince herself. Or to her unseen companion.
Rixia would find Shige's drink of choice today is kirschwasser. Shige can quit any time she wants. Really!
The denial of being who he was by Boaz gets a grimace. "He's lost his way." Said in a way like she's telling a story. The flick of her ear suggests the shadow's speaking again. Faint. She looks to Rixia after. "Everyone lies, even to themselves. Even at death's door." She takes a pull from her flask, producing it deftly. She should know. She lies to herself often enough. "It's always worth it."
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida looks to Xander. Realization dawns in her eyes--he's right. It's difficult to tell from body language alone, but the way Boaz stays near Ruth, aids her, protects her...
She looks away, feeling a little guilty she didn't notice it earlier. She forces herself to eat the last madeline to steady her stomach--it's busy tying itself in knots over what she's sure is going to be the outcome. "Yvain is right," she says. "Keeping that equilibrium is... difficult, even on good days."
It gets worse. It gets so much worse. Ida turns to Shige, considers asking her for a drink. Afterwards, she decides. She has sparkling water. Sparkling water is fine. "Everyone has contradictions inside them," she says, to the Shaman. "But for some, they're like cracks in a building's structure, and Malevolence is like ice that seeps inside, and freezes."
Dezel gives his warning. Ida doesn't move.
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
"Thank you, but... it's okay. I can keep going." Yulie assures, as Dezel says that it's alright if it becomes too much at any time. Whether it's the living or the earthbound dead, she has to be ready to face the pain and suffering of others. That's what it means to be a Paladienne, in her eyes. So she's ready, when the third one begins.
...How quickly, they're ready to abandon their companion. ...No, they never thought of him as even that, did they...? Only Ruth seems to. A frown crosses her face as one gives into greed - and another, to hatred and paranoia.
...It's just Boaz and Ruth, now. Yulie knows the latter made it out, but the former...
...She's quiet, finishing off a madeleine as she rolls her thoughts over in her head.
The nature of Malevolence... and, lies. Contradictions. Rixia wonders if it was worth it, if the only way they can have pleasant company is through lies.
"...It's worth it." Yulie agrees with Shige. "People need people... Lies hurt, but they're not always... malicious."
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Yvain announces his resolve to stay, stating that 'she' is his friend, for better or for worse, and something about that has him quiet while Yvain speaks about the nature of Malevolence to someone about to fall into its sway.
"I've seen a lot of backstabbing and bickering in my time," Dezel says, keeping cool in the presence of someone about to lose it--
Xander silences Dezel's words even though they're not aimed at the Wind Seraph hosting this cozy family fun movie night among them, one hand atop the 'second' gem by accident. He corrects this after going over the lot of them again until he finds the properly labeled one.
"Is he the one that stands out to you?" Dezel asks of Shige, seemingly intrigued by this thought. "I can't say I know what it's like to die."
...Yes, yes, moving on.
With Yvain and Ida both talking about how hard it is to keep the equilibrium and Ida giving a more thorough explanation via analogy of what Malevolence is like to the contradictions everyone bears inside of them, Dezel nods along.
Even if all his experiences with Hellions that held onto some semblance of themselves... he decides not to linger on that.
Yulie asserts her feelings on how much it's worth it with a conviction built of a span of time that seems far greater than her actual years, whether by being forced to grow up far too soon, or... whatever her source of strength of character is, Dezel doesn't prod it.
"This is the last one." He warns, unspoken, as if waiting to hear someone speak up, or for feet to carry themselves out the door. When they don't, he sets it down again, and the last chapter of the series unfolds.
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
BLUE-GRAY GEM - CHAMISHIT
Before them, an altar. Beyond the altar, the one door to be found in all the caverns. These features are the only evidence of anything of mortal hands having shaped this strange place... if they were mortal hands.
Ruth and Boaz, soaking wet from braving a Malevolence-filled river, approach that altar still supporting one another. None of the miasma appears to rise from them, but this chamber is utterly lousy with it. Enough to hide things from the waist down on this Iris Gem's replay.
"It's jussst usss," Boaz says. He sounds relieved, despite his wounds, one hand setting atop Ruth's scalp. "...Are thossse wordsss? I... can't sssee-"
"Offer unto the pyre." Ruth mouths out, touching a hand against Baoz's massive one - gently - as if to coax it off. "That's what it says."
"Offer...?" Boaz asks, trailing off.
"Flint," Ruth murmurs, "and... enough to start a fire."
"It'sss chilly here." Boaz remarks, rustling with his entire body. "Even with my fur." A deeply unsightly biological amalgamation of leather, hair, and feathers - rather unusual features for a self-proclaimed human - suggest that 'being cold' is not high on his list of vulnerabilities.
The two of them gather close, and Boaz struggles with starting the fire. At least... until Ruth lays her hands upon them, touching briefly as he strikes the light.
The altar, alight with flame, stares into the two of them. The words on the door beyond seem to read ever more clearly.
OFFER UNTO THE PYRE.
They stare into those words together for some poignant moments.
Ruth movies herself out of Boaz's arm as he leans upon the pyre for balance without a word, and steps away from view of the Iris Gem's replay.
"Don't you want to warm yourssself?" Baoz asks without looking behind him, receiving no answer. It's just him at the pyre, though whether that flame can truly warm anyone or anything is an act of desparation. He exhales loudly as he fishes something out from his person.
Something that gleams, with a shining, beautiful light, balanced between his fingers as he looks to the pyre. Something dainty, nearly impossible to ever consider to be gently held with such pronounced, clawed fingers like his own. Clawed hands that nature would have deemed only useful for taking life, evidenced by the dried blood that hadn't been washed away prior.
"Ssso... it'sss over," he starts, sullen, "but..."
He looks to this with clearing eyes, wet with tears from pain but now clear with resolve. The rest of his shape notwithstanding... his eyes are a match for a human's, a vibrant, clear blue. He clasps both hands around what he holds, closing his eyes.
Whatever this is, it's precious to him.
Something he will not offer. Something he will not sacrifice. Somethi--
* SQUELCH *
OST: Tales of Zestiria - Disc 2 Track 15: An Abrupt End
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Ichor sprays from Boaz's chest.
The pyre's flames roar to life as they drink of Boaz's lifeblood. His body lifeless in the exact instant that follows, he tumbles head-first into that flame.
Behind him, Ruth's silhouette, terminating into the visible color around her hands that both hold a blade coated in blood.
Blood of a purple hue, along hands calloused by her life's trials but still feminine, with trimmed nails.
"Once again," a smile on her face of resignation, "it was always going to end like this." Malevolence continues its ambient around her, but that it doesn't wreathe around her may be its own form of damnation.
Boaz feeds the pyre with his lifeless body as its flames surge and crackle hypnotically to a sacrifice that might not be that valuable.
"Again and again," her tone of voice flat. "How could you put up with everyone treating you like that... how could you see yourself be anything else?"
Suddenly, a nearly inaudible metallic 'tink,' that echoes a few times - each one less audible than the last. Her eyes follow the source that her one healthy ear catches, where she catches sight of it with those peerless eyes of hers.
She knows what she's looking at before she picks it up with a bloodied hand.
An engagement ring, the style of which was of common make from an extraordinary jeweler in Marze with a shining violet jewel. Of expense beyond the modest means of a single Drifter.
"So you were stealing money," Ruth says of it, detached, "Another year... another reminder." As if the blood on her hands barely registered, anymore. "The world can't let you be anything else. Not even--"
But then... she blinks, and looks at it more closely again.
Two names engraved.
Boaz and Ruth.
OST: Tales of Zestiria - Disc 2 Track 16: Weighed Down by Heavy Rain
She puts the ring on in disbelief, bloodying her ring finger further with the stained jewelry. The ideas that follow are visibly heart-stopping, mind-numbing, soul-crushing to consider the whole of without hearing her utter a word of it. Malevolence rising around her in that time, one might miss the roaring of a frightening Malevolence-fueled phantasm from beyond the pyre.
"After everything... what-- what did you even see," an incredulous Ruth finally speaks, heedless of the mortal danger. "The only thing I was worth to anyone," a bitter laugh, and then... tears. Maybe she was never laughing. The raw emotion, as if an entire dam of a lifetime of emotion burst then and there.
Her despair ushers her into the form of a Hellion, the shape of which is familiar to all who know her - a gargoyle, with a missing wing. Her violet eyes shine through the haze. The pyre's flames reflect the shine of a Granasian rosary around a newly exposed right forearm, her Aquvy Union dog tags around her throat, and... new details previously unseen (or rather, not seen in the future) due to her manner of dress in the present day.
Her left side, especially her arm, appears as if shattered, and broken. Some pieces are missing, though the whole of the arm still flexes and moves like one continuous limb. There's a scar at the left side of her back that looks more like a tear into an empty void.
It's only a brief look, widened, tear-stained glowing eyes staring at the blood on her (rather normal, claw-less) hands like they're the most horrifying things she's ever beheld. Screeching, hissing noises rapidly overtake Ruth's throat as her tail ushers her rifle into her hands before a descending Malevolent phantom. The sound of four deafening bangs is the last of what the Iris Gem shares.
THE PRESENT
Just like that, the final Iris Gem's story is over, and Dezel once again cedes the speaking floor to those viewing it for the first time. He can vividly recall the reactions of Sorey and the others, even though years have passed.
But it's the turn of those witnessing it today to speak.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Yvain has posed.
"Some people will be like this. What Malevolence does is bring these feelings to the surface. ...Venting all your dark thoughts without consideration to others isn't the same as honesty. We all, including Seraphim, have those dark thoughts. But that does not mean that those thoughts are all we are--that they are the 'truth' above all other things we are, too."
'Get new friends'. ...Yvain can't really say more than that. He shakes his head, instead, and looks to Xander, as he speaks of things that show he knows. "...Mm. You're right."
He looks to Shige, talking of 'stories' that are important. Of lies. He is thoughtful, towards her, and then Ida speaks of contradictions. Yes, she would know, too.
And he watches, as the next visions come. Ruth and Boaz...
'Offer unto the pyre', it says, and Yvain, had he blood, would feel it chill. He knows what is to come, before he sees it, and he is too old to hope that he will not. No, it is there. Boaz asks...
Something he will not offer. Something he will not sacrifice. Yvain thinks back, hundreds of years... ANd looks down.
But his gaze rises again. "Ruth..."
He sees what she has become. And he knows, then, much of what he did not understand before.
The darkness of her form... The true monster.
He looks down again. "...No," he says. "Malevolence does not always make the monster."
"...A single moment, entrapped, indefinitely."
He doesn't look up, this time. "..."
<Pose Tracker> Rixia has posed.
Kirschwasser. It's nice. Rixia shivers for a moment as she finishes the drink. Everyone lies. Yulie mentions how lies aren't always malicious. ... is that how it is? What is the value of lies, even when one's life is about to be extinguished? She's not sure, but...
But the final orb is upon them, and Rixia digests it all with nearly closed eyes, absorbing everything that's been laid bare for her. The way the Pyre demands, and ultimately, the way Ruth takes Boaz's life. ... it was always ever going to be this way. Was it? Two names engraved...
It's not a surprise to her. The only thing she ever was worth to anyone... those are words she's heard from her before, time and time again. And then... her despair ushers her forward, transforms her into a Hellion. A gargoyle, with a missing wing.
So... this is the way you can feel like anything but...
She takes a deeper, almost violent breath.
Rixia glances to Ida, and murmurs, "Contradictions don't come up inside of us the day we're born. It's the world that makes us this way. Even when you say, 'I want to make things better', you can't help but be a product of the world you're born into... and for the 'have nots', the way in which they have to live grows more and more contradictory to how they feel. Why does anyone have to steal in the first place? Why does discrimination against those who 'have not' just increase further and further, the way Boaz was just assumed to be a thief by those other people? And everything that made Ruth what she was... why did her parents disown her? Why did she start killing so many, that a legend built up around her in the civil war?"
She's really worked up now. The alcohol's fueling her, even if she's only had a single drink. She's a lightweight in that way.
The bitterness is in her again as she looks to Yvain. "I get what you mean, but... that's a way in which those in control influence you. You have to be *polite*, never speaking to power the things that are wrong. Being smothered by enforced 'niceness' to the day you starve and die and are branded a criminal by those who control the laws of the world. But even then..."
"Even if you slay everyone in power, ultimately, the greatest contradiction rests with the world: one in which everyone is partially to blame, and yet everyone is innocent. You can't just pin the blame on one or even a dozen people... it's hard for one person to imagine a better world, and harder still for everyone to share in that vision."
There's a quiet frown. "... Ruth told me that Malevolence, despite its violence, the despair, the coldness... it was the closest she ever felt like she could be anything other than a heartless monster." She clenches her hand tightly to her heart. "... I don't want to let go of this feeling. I don't want it cleansed. I don't ever want to forget those that've succumbed before felt. I'll fight for them."
"... my friends aren't the problem. They were never the problem," she looks to Xander. Rixia's eyes narrow, as she reflects inwardsly to herself. "... but you're right, all the same. I need ... others ... who have that capability..."
Rixia looks to Dezel again, having as flat a face as she can manage. "... thank you for showing me this. And for the food. It was tasty."
She turns to leave, afterwards, stumbling a little as she does so. Everything just reinforces how she feels, but is she really looking correctly, or is she choosing to interpret everything in a way that's convenient for her?
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida knows where they'll be before Dezel activates the Iris Gem. That damnable pyre.
When she came across it, Ida offered it one of her calling cards. In the moment, she thought it fitting, even witty--the Hollow's master was nowhere to be found, so she followed social protocol, and left her card for follow-up. That card contained her name, her address, her family crest, her title as 'Junior ARMs Meister' of the Everstead-Rey ARMs and Munitions Company. Her alma mater and degree. Everything about her, and the role she secretly hated. And K.K. not only found all of that out, they found her weaknesses.
"Stop," Ida breathes, her face bedsheet-pale as she watches the two. It's like she's watching a play she knows will end in tragedy, and urging the characters to change course. This was real. All she can do is watch.
Boaz holds up the little metal object, and Ida's face twists in undisguised horror. "No." That won't be the sacrifice.
Optional BGM: Warframe OST - Keith Power - Old Friend
Ida presses her hands to her mouth. She can only watch as Ruth betrays the man who loved her, selflessly, deeply--and the revelation breaks her.
Rixia looks at her. Ida wants to have answers for her, but she doesn't, and the younger woman's tone is hauntingly familiar. She is staring down the barrel of a world she sees as uncaring. Ida, at least, was privileged enough to be holding a gun of her own, to turn it into a standoff. "Rixia..." she breathes, her face twisting with concern as Rixia gets up and leaves. Part of her wants to demand she sit down, and listen to sense, before she makes a horrible mistake. A mistake she can't ever take back.
But that's the thing with Malevolence, right? You have to want to be purified, if you're in the state she's in.
Ida sags forward onto the table. She doesn't know what else to say.
<Pose Tracker> Xander Lovell has posed.
Xander watches the final memory, not surprised to see how Boaz and Ruth lean on each other, but his chest aching more for it. There's an end here that's inevitable, and there's a truth about Xander that Ruth understands far, far too well. He hates that she does, but does not hate her for doing so. Instinct might've known why.
Now he'll really know why. The pyre. An offering must be made. Xander has his own immediate prediction --
And he's wrong. Deeply, completely wrong. Idealism. Optimism. Hope. Xander likes to think these things are dead in him. But the ichor sprays from Boaz, and Xander stares, uncomprehending. Ruth insisted Xander was no monster himself, despite all she'd seen him do, or try do it. She said it despite him being a servant of Valmar, and her being a devoted Granasian. Xander was given a choice, once. Both paths meant becoming a monster. It was a matter of what kind.
Ruth chose to become the kind of monster Xander refused to be.
He tips back, leaning against the wall, breathing out slow and shaken. Yvain points out it takes a single moment. Rixia professes that the world can be built against you. They're both right in their own ways.
"...Most people are lucky enough to go their whole lives without having discover what makes them a monster," he says, voice quiet so it won't break. He's not looking at anyone. Or anything.
<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.
Shige Kiwako shakes her head, "Each stands out in their own way-" she gestures up, her ears twitching. "-They've all lost their way in a sense though. Wandering ghosts in a way." The flask if still out and anyone even remotely curious can probably get a pull from her. It's a safe bet she's got a backup.
"Yeah. I could see that. I was thinking of it as being lost in the dark." the feline responds to Ida's comment simply. "A crumbling pillar that needs help maybe."
She nods to Yulie, "Some don't even like admitting it to themselves." And she takes a drink.
Drink taken care of, she glances to the others briefly. A familiar look from Yvain met with a curious one from the feline. Someone to talk to later.
A look to Rixia's short rant gives way to a look of concern again. "It's always easier to create an us and them. At the end, almost all of them sound the same." This is said in a melancholy. The shadow behind her growing agitated though. "Guilt. People wronged. Things left undone. Regret that they made it longer than their brothers in arms." she tilts her hand the other way, "Relief. Acceptance. Surprise. I could categorize it all done, but it wouldn't do them justice, would it." She props her chin up on her hand before continuing, "You can do more than you think. Even if it doesn't seem like it right away. Even if you never see the changes you made." It's what keeps her going. In a sense. Mostly. There's a glance down. Like she's unsure if her point was clear, but it's too late to fix it, isn't it.
She looks to the memory, focused on the ring. And the memories. No comment this time though. Just the look of a tired reaper. "I think I get it now." She eventually says, answering a memory on the creation of monsters, not even a comment from the unknown shadows this time.
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
Yulie watches. An altar with a flame? She wasn't adventuring, when the Drifters of Ignas came across it. She would've still been back at St. Calucion's Abbey, or... still in the White Orphanage. She's never seen it before, but the way it demands a sacrifice... that can't mean anything good.
And, a sacrifice is, eventually, made.
...Boaz.
Yulie gasps, clasping her hands over her mouth. It... explains a lot, really. Her hands lower, and her shocked expression becomes one of... thought. Consideration. She's quiet, listening as the others talk, as Rixia turns to leave. Yulie won't stop her. But she can at least leave her with some kind words.
"...Take care, okay?" Yulie offers, before looking back up at Dezel.
"...Thank you for showing us this." She says. Her tone and expression are both earnest. She can still mean that honestly, even after everything they just witnessed.
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
There's no un-seeing what's been seen.
Ida's pleading as they watch strikes a chord with Dezel as it all plays out the way it does, how at least one other in Sorey's entourage similarly hoped in vain that somehow the events could magically be averted if someone demanded it.
Dezel shares that moment of silence betwene Yvain digesting one of the darkest truths of someone he's come to accept as a friend.
"Let her leave," Dezel says, of Rixia's departure after her tirade - choosing not to engage her rhetoric or feelings directly. "My being around wouldn't have done her any favors." He doesn't clarify how or why, but doesn't speak out against those who are trying to give their arguments to stop Rixia from going off the deep end that she might already be neck-high in.
Keen eyes can see that pendulums attached to cords are hidden right up at least one sleeve, the way he's holding one arm out - but this fight of words against Rixia isn't his to partake.
Though the tension never clears - why should it? This was horrific to watch - Dezel retrieves the five Iris Gems back into his person for safekeeping.
"Most would be lucky to go their whole lives without knowing their part in any of it," tugging at his hat again as Xander goes through his feelings of despair and horror about what he saw, unaware of the subtleties between his situation and Ruth's.
"For what it's worth," Dezel seems to pick up on the context of ghosts and the fallen from Shige, unaware this applies in part to Yulie too, "we know for a fact everyone else that was with her is long dead. We checked after we purified the Domain there."
None of them are suffering, except for the one that is living with it the only way they can, at this point.
Yulie, at the end of all this, offers her thanks to Dezel despite what he told her before they all watched one of the many tragedies the Hollow enabled - and the seed it helped plant in the Zoara region in turn. He bows his head to her earnestness.
"...I won't keep you, but if I can say something." Dezel looks away.
"I remember when Sorey and the rest of us watched all this. I'm... not going to name names. There was disgust, there was horror." If anyone knew Sorey's entourage they could probably guess who had those reactions. "I wasn't going to subject them to that again."
He exhales. "When I signed on with the lot, I saw it as my chance for revenge against a Hellion. All of this hit home, then... and it still does now." There's an ache there that'll never go away, but it is one that he is living with - as himself. "I even asked the Shepherd then. Even among Hellions who weren't innocent victims of their circumstances, would you really want to help them? Could you really see them as anything other than bones to scatter to their rest?"
Silence follows, as he crosses his arms, leans back, and looks up.
"His actions in the years after... really spoke for themselves."
...
He turns his head down to be level enough in the direction of those still here, and has a self-mocking grin with those sharp teeth. "Nah. I can't gainsay you on any of this. You all know what you're doing. I-- we trust you with the rest."
He sobers up his facial expression. "The new Shepherd's made a lot of great allies and friends since we first met. I don't know if we'll cross paths much, or face the same enemies."
He levels again. "I guess what comes next will be up to you, and her."
Dezel looks ready to step forward into an uncertain future, some days of which will involve fighting with Zaveid over whether his hat would look better on him. That's its own story.
"...You can keep the rest of the snacks." Someone is going to have to have a sit-down with Lailah and the others and explain how mortal nutrition works. Another day.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Yvain has posed.
Dezel and Yvain share that moment. It is something, at least.
Contradiction, and the nature of the mortal world... Yvain knows well the struggle of the 'haves' and the 'have-nots'. He has seen it, time after time, sometimes in ways very personal to him... "I am not mortal," Yvain admits. "I do not have the 'needs' that mortals have. If I am not acted upon by malice, I 'need' almost nothing."
"I would not say that harmony is more important than justice. ...And I would be wary, or prioritizing a 'feeling' above..."
He shakes his head. "Nevermind. An old man's ramblings. You will walk your own path. I hope that you find all you seek on it, Rixia."
He walks, over to Ida, and places a hand on her shoulder, squeezing once. "You can't live it for her either," he says. "No one can."
He looks to Xander, next. "...Most are. But the longer you live, the more likely you find it."
Everyone else is long dead... Yes, that seems right. And Deel explains.
"...I know revenge," Yain says to Dezel, but says it for the benefits of the others. "Revenge against Hellions, no less. It is perhaps why I never again walked with the likes of Sorey."
"...The philosophy can be debated. But she is trying to do good with her life. I am willing to see how that goes for her. To see if she can manage it. To help her along the way."
"...I hope that we meet again, Dezel."
"...I will do all that I can for her, and for them. I assure you of that."
<Pose Tracker> Xander Lovell has posed.
Something in Xander's worldview has cracked. It feels so stupid, so pointless, to let it happen. What does any of this matter to him now? The philosophical debates of the others are far away. These are not luxuries Xander has to care about, when he's focused on trying to survive into the next month, the next week, the next day. He's probably the kind of person they'd philosophize about.
Everyone dead. As if it's a positive. For so many of them it is. Better dead than suffering. The air tastes bitter.
It's haunting him. He knows, he knows, this was what he was supposed to do. Disgust and horror. That's exactly what it is. They can see it here, but that wasn't how it was framed when it was his turn. Still, he thought, how could anyone? Yet it is done.
Just like that... it's done...
It steels him against it further, if anything, assuming there's much of Xander able to accept the revelation. These are Ruth's friends. Ruth moves forward. They move with her. That's... fine. It's fine. There's no undoing the past.
And despite all that's happened, there's a moment in time Xander never, ever would.
Xander looks at the snacks without an appetite. But if he hurries back fast enough, the fruit frappe will still be cold.
He leaves with it.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
'Let her leave.'
Dezel is also right. Ida knows from experience that chasing after someone neck-deep in depressive thoughts--and afflicted by Malevolence--will almost certainly cause them to double down. She nods to Dezel, and leans towards Yvain when he squeezes her shoulder. "I know," she says. "Liath taught me that." Which is... partly accurate, but Ida did a lot of independent study. Seers exist to help bear others' pain, and must never infringe on their agency. Even if it means letting them make mistakes.
Xander gets up to leave. Ida... can guess why. "They're good," she says, on the subject of the snacks. "He'd like them." But she otherwise lets him leave.
She stirs her fruit frappe with her spoon, and takes a bite. The taste helps her steady herself. "Thank you, Dezel," she says. "I know you didn't do this lightly. She's done horrible, monstrous things. But she doesn't have to be that way forever."
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
A shared moment of understanding between two Seraphim who at one point lived in anger and a desire for revenge, one of whom nearly fell to its consequences at their greatest and darkest. A nod.
Dezel's head turns as he feels the disturbance in the air from just how hastily Xander leaves, but there's a seeming discomfort with his presence and action in almost everything he does, though he doesn't radiate Malevolence like that young woman did. It's strange, that...
Ida reinforces the thanks for the sharing of something so heavy and uncomfortable, vouching for the hope that someone like her can one day find a way out of where she is - even if the deeds that have been done can never, ever be taken back.
"The rest's on you," he says in an acknowledging nod. "Meanwhile... ah!" He grimaces. "I forgot they were going to meet with the Al Bhed today! I can't let Brother within arm's reach...!" He looks to the rest. "Sorry, that's all, I got to go..."
Like a breeze, of which he is, Dezel hurriedly makes his escape out into Sylvaland to make sure that 'Brother' guy does not do whatever it is that has him all worked up. What is it? It's Brother, it can be anything!!
Even acknowledging Rose has a lot of trustworthy friends looking out for her that he could leave her to, he's still a worrywart at heart! (It is Brother we're talking about.)