Fantasy Hunter's Moon: The Sin & Sentence [IC] [CLOSED]

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"... no! But why that matter?"

Loque simply sighs. She really can't be bothered to carefully explain the problem of getting back to the door before shifting attention back to Takato.

"but to return home... would it truly resolve the emotions you feel? I, I may not know what they are, and how deep they go, but with everything you've seen, and now know of the circumstances, could you truly return and even feign ignorance of what has occurred?"

Those words certainly did strike a nerve. What it is he's getting to exactly strikes under her skin hard enough that with shaking hands she very cautiously puts the tin cup down lest she crumples it in boiling rage she failed to contain. Just what the hell kind of question is that? Where the hell does he think he is?! Has he kept his eyes and ears shut the moment they entered the Abyss? Is he not aware of how desperate demons like her are to leave this place, desperate enough they're willing to risk adding themselves to the stinking, rotting mass grave of escapees at the door? Is he not aware of how bleak and hopeless life is down here, with every single second of life spent here being in absolute misery is more than enough of mutating people like her into the ugly, wretched thing she looks like now? Maybe she ought to show him her scars, her scorches, her bite marks, just so he can understand that maybe she has a point when she says this isn't a good place to be.

This place is hell, and this is a lesson she's aghast at how it's evaded him. She rises to her feet and walks right up to his face, looking him in his eyes.

"I did so once, oni. I can do so again."

 

[Damian0358]

Takato didn't even flinch as the visibly enraged Loque rose up and walked up to his face. It was clear that however she interpreted his words, she did so in a way circumventing the heart of the matter. He's dealt with more enraged people than this. If she were to even punch him, he wouldn't be surprised. But those words of his will stick. And they will find their way through.

Hearing her remark, he plainly responded.

"...once? Can a façade of ignorance truly be restored once broken? Emotions alight once more, now is the time to confront them. And doing so, resolve them."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"...once? Can a façade of ignorance truly be restored once broken? Emotions alight once more, now is the time to confront them. And doing so, resolve them."

"And what if I don't want to, oni? What if I liked my life in the mortal realm before this?" Loque takes a deep breath before to calm herself before talking again. "... Do you know what I'd be doing if I wasn't here right now? I'd be on the beach, getting a nice sun tan, relishing in the fact I have more money than the gods."

 

[Damian0358]

Takato kept his look at Loque unbroken as he responded.

"...you would be filling the void left by your façade, your unwillingness to confront your emotions, with material goods. What is there to like about a life where you feel no self-satisfaction beyond that façade? Where at any moment, it could've crumbled just as easily as it had here.

"What would your goods have done you in a time of another Abyssal invasion? For now you know, that is the future to be if our actions fail here."

As Takato spoke, a tingle in his mind arose - a harshness he hadn't considered, manifesting itself ever stronger as he continued this dialogue. Was this harshness always present within him? After speaking his last sentence, his thoughts prompt his expression to soften in realization.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"...you would be filling the void left by your façade, your unwillingness to confront your emotions, with material goods. What is there to like about a life where you feel no self-satisfaction beyond that façade? Where at any moment, it could've crumbled just as easily as it had here."

"...filling the void..."

"...with material goods..."

Every bit of Loque's crooked, sharp teeth is on full display as she peels her lips back in a deformed grimace, seemingly about to bite Takato's head off from his shoulders. Her body tenses up like a steel beam about to break in two. Her fingers squeeze tightly with white knuckles barely holding them together.

"Get... AWAY from me." she growls as she readies to physically lash out against him.

Yet if Takato looks just close enough into the dried out, misshapen, and misaligned black spots that were once her eyes, something slips out of them. The burning rage they held just moments ago dissolved into something else: fear, but only for a moment.

 

[Infab]

Kassidy overheard the last parts of the convo between Takato and Loque, and quickly opted to get involved. "Think its time we leave Loque alone, ya know? Give 'er some space, Oni boy." said Kassidy, strolling over, and gently pulling Takato away from Loque. Or at least attempting to. "She's had it rough. Just like th' elf over there. Let 'er breathe a bit."

 

[Damian0358]

As Takato's realization of his harshness strengthened, he watched as Loque seemingly was about to bite his head off. Yet, through her growls, just as his expression softened further, he could see it - in her eyes, there was fear. Fear, of great many things. Likely of what was, what is, and what is to be. Through the façade, he could truly see eye-to-eye the emotional turmoil. There was but one thing he could do, ignoring Kassidy as he moved in.

He gave Loque a hug.

"...take my head if it would comfort you... but we're all in this together... my skills with others may be lacking, as they may have just now, but...

"...we can't let fear eat away at us forever. We have to confront it, otherwise it will consume us.... we may not be the best, but we can at least help one another..."

Loque could hear how his tone of voice had changed, going from stoic-yet-fatherly to sorrowful-yet-forgiving. He may have gotten his point through, but he had gone too far as well.

 

[Viper Actual]

Seriphine looked away to the horizon as she and Vincent stepped away from Gwen. She forced a faint smile as she looked at Vincent. "I am relatively well," she said with a soft tone. Shrugging, Seriphine continued: "Considering what I learned- we learned- I am as well as I can be."

"I'm far more worried about her," said Seriphine while nodding towards Gwen. She then gestured towards Loque. "At the very least Loque seems to have calmed down...for now."

Seriphine turned and looked at Vincent. "I wanted to speak with you regarding what the demon, Kass, said back at the dwelling."
She paused, as if doubting her voice and words, exhaling slowly. "I do not understand this...connection. All my life, my past life, I spent at war. It is difficult for me to talk about emotions."

Seriphine spotted Takato chatting away with Loque followed by Loque standing up in a stiff and angry manner. Seriphine cursed before refocusing her attention on Vincent. "Truthfully, I don't fully know what it is I'm trying to say. I suppose I want you to know that I respect you, Vincent Beaumont."

 

[Infab]

Vincent listened to Seriphine, before eventually smiling. "...I respect you too, Seriphine." he replied, before glancing over to where Loque and Takato were. Kassidy attempting to draw Takato away from the demon. She had been calm before, and now apparently the Oni had pissed her off. And now he was...hugging her? Vincent raised an eyebrow, before turning his attention back to Seriphine. "...Yeah, I'm worried about Gwen. Loque too." he said, before looking back to where Gwen was. "...I would have told both of you if you hadn't seen the mural in Sekath's palace...It was important for you and her to know what happened. Its vital information for your race's second chance at life."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

The spittle seeping between Loque's teeth spills out a little on Takato's shoulder as he hugged her. She genuinely did not expect for him to do that, instead to spout out some insipid Redonian proverb she'd probably find later painted on whatever bathroom tissue they use as parchment over there. Yet the sting of what he said was still there, gnawing at her underneath her skin. Saying she was filling that 'façade' as he called it with all sorts of material goods and vices; that hit a bit closer to home than he might've expected, but she'll be damned if he expected her to tell him more since that's none of his business. That's no one's business in fact. And just as suddenly as the hug came did Loque try prying herself out of Takato's hold. He's very wrong if he thought it'd make her feel better. All it did was withhold her frustration with him for just a minute. She was this close to going through with eating his head had Kassidy not stepped in just in the neck of time.

"I don't care for your fucking fortune cookie sayings! Away already!"

 

[Damian0358]

Takato sighed, as he released his hug and stepped away from Loque, looking somewhat remorseful. He didn't even mind what she had said just then. Just as with her rage, her emotions were streaming forth, without consideration for self or others. She wasn't at fault for that.

"...I just hope you'll really consider your needs in this coming time... for your own sake..." he made his last remark, as he turned his head towards Kassidy, nodding as he moved with her to give Loque space. He just wondered what Inari was thinking throughout all this.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Inari looked back and forth between Loque and Takato. The clueless monk wasn't making much headway, and he seemed to have pinched quite the nerve with Loque when her entire body tensed like a wolf prepared to pounce. A slight grin crossed her vulpine maw as if she was about to laugh. Was she about to see Takato have a bite taken away? His philosophy was as hollow as his own head. Ignoring things was easy, and filling that void with all sorts of other fun stuff was very effective. How could you be living a facade if you kept yourself properly occupied? A higher calling beyond what was in front of you could be fulfilling, certainly, but so was living in the present. Evidently, living in a mud shack in the mountains had taken quite the toll on his senses. Still, he was a worthwhile enough fighter and healer, so she watched closely to see if she needed to try to separate the two. Kassidy was quick on the draw and took care of that for her, leaving Inari a chance to enjoy the scene.

The hug he offered was quite the surprise, and it finally stole a small chuckle away from her. It almost looked sincere.

He started to walk away with Kassidy, and she held one hand up over her snout like a geisha with a fan. ["I've seen potatoes with blight have more charm than you,"] she called out coyly. ["You should consider doing more with your life than counting rocks and beetles and wondering about the moral failings of a blade of grass. You can't even speak to a woman for five minutes before she tries to kill you."]

Inari then glanced back at the still heated Loque. "Give no mind to potato man, he know not what he say. You do as must for happiness, such is best way. It how I do it."

 

[Viper Actual]

Seriphine felt herself blushing slightly in response to Vincent's words but was quick to quell whatever madness she felt. "I'm honored," she managed to say after a few seconds.
Like Vincent, Seriphine was surprised to see the entire exchange between Loque and Takato. She would have rushed up to the monk and shoved him away herself hadn't Kass stepped in.

When Vincent spoke about the mural Seriphine raised an eyebrow. "You knew?"

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"Give no mind to potato man, he know not what he say. You do as must for happiness, such is best way. It how I do it."

Loque doesn’t say anything and resumes her sulking against the tree. Another long draw of her cigarette is taken and another sip of wine after that. A small moment of silence passes until she finally says something back to Inari.

“Inari, I’d like to be alone... for now.” Before Inari does anything else however, she raises the bottle towards her. “... You can have the rest if you want.”

 

[Infab]

"You knew?"

Vincent shook his head. "I saw it when you did. I didn't know that a demon played a part in your race's downfall." he said, looking down towards the grass. "...All I know is your race disappeared during the Age of Darkness. The details as to how are a mystery to most. We figured it was the werebeasts that raged through eastern Daristein and northeastern Escaria at the time." He looked back up to Seriphine. "...I'm sorry."

 

[Viper Actual]

Seriphine sighed with relief. For a moment she feared- no, dreaded- the possibility that Vincent had known all this time. Her mental armor was ready deploy and she could feel her muscles tensing up just as Vincent explained. "You have nothing to apologize for."
The Elf visibly relaxed. "It was not your fault and way for you to know. By all accounts our decimation seems to have been a carefully planned affair that left little in the way of actual information."

Seriphine nodded towards Gwen. "She will recover. As will I and the rest of our people. We must learn from our mistakes to prevent them from happening ever again."

"There is no other way," finished Seriphine, now looking into Vincent's eyes. Was there truly no other way? Was all of this forbidden and barred from her? The prospect of a future with joy and peace?

Seriphine shuddered, almost as if she was cold, and looked away into the distance.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Inari shrugged, but shook her head at Loque. "Is your drink, you keep it," she said before sauntering off. After all, it seemed the demon needed it far more than herself. Heading back towards the truck, Inari hopped onto the edge of the bed and watched the others go about their business. There were quite a few mopey types in the party that made it hard for her to keep up her own mood. These weren't comrades, or even raucous soldiers. Just a scattered assortment of nobodies who had a lot of problems. Leave it to her, a proper example of what a person should be, being stuck around these folks. They weren't bad, just... draining... though it did seem most of them would sooner turn their back on her than even speak with her. Gwen had been distant for so long now and in the pit of some kind of despair that she couldn't even approach the elf, Loque was... well, they had gotten off on the wrong foot and the demon could be snappy, but now she was so far down her own pit that she was closer to the other side of the world than this one.

Sighing, Inari leaned backwards onto the truck bed, her legs still hanging off. She needed something. And whatever it was just wasn't here. Ah, hell, am I going to be the next psycho around here? If only her children were here, those rascals would keep this place lively. That man, Winchester, had better have found them and kept them safe. Otherwise there would be another head on the list to take.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"Is your drink, you keep it,"

"No, really. I insist. I have more-"

Too late. Inari walked off back to the truck before listening to what Loque had to say next. Well, at least her company was fun while it lasted. Both her and Seriphine talking to her did raise her spirits more than she herself expected until Takato decided to get way too personal with his stupid sayings. With poor social skills like that, Loque's starting to understand in her own way why he became a hermit. Maybe he ought to remain as one, honestly. But still, Inari went back to the truck, and Seriphine went to go suck up to Vincent or something. At least her bottle's still here. She periodically takes swigs of it now and then as she looks out into the strange looking horizon. The brittle trees crumbling into ash, the shimmering blue-ish grass remaining still as the wind blew, even the sky itself looked off like if it'd been ripped from some other icon's domain and placed here. Whatever stupid errand Vincent's going to make them do here better be quick as she'd very much rather not discover to her horror that Sagath has made a knock-off version of her.

 

[Breadman]

Henderson was left alone after Kassidy went over to pull Takato away from danger. Loque was ready to eat him alive. While amusing to think about, he would rather not let that happen. Not while there was more work needed.

Walking back to the truck he noticed Inari.
"Boredom getting to you?"

 

[SniperComZero]

As the pair turned away from Gwen, her lip quivered. She raised her hand towards them, as if she were about to say something. There was some part of her-- so desperately, that wanted them to stay. For Seriphine to berate her-- to mock her. Just to make her feel something. But what would she even say? That she wanted them to stay, and kick her whilst she's down? That she's so terrified of the gaping abyss within her subconscious that she'd rather be dragged up out of it forcibly by everyone else's negative thoughts about her?

By the next time that the two of them look over to her, Gwen's taken a few paces in the opposite direction, sitting down on the grass, with her knees pressed against her chest.

She decided to take another look at the landscape around them. Maybe that would calm her nerves? Even as synthetic as it seemed to be, there was a certain... serenity to it. [WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE, FAILURE?] The air was so crisp, and clean. More than it had any right to be, here in the Abyss. [MONSTROUS, USURPING IDIOT.] Its painting-like qualities... so easy for one to lose themselves in. [DID YOU EVER DESERVE TO BE QUEEN ANYWAYS?]

...With a heavy sigh, Gwen withdrew her head back between her legs, face nestled between her knees, and hardly even having the energy to sob to herself for the moment.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Inari raised her head slightly to look up as Henderson approached. At least he was of the strong, neutral sort. Stable. A bit more like a giant man-eating ape than a person, but that was more perspective, for she had known plenty better apes than men in her time.

"Ah, yes. No people to kill. No slave to play with. Some people here cry too much," she sighed. "I not even have loot from palace but pillow!" To demonstrate, she held up the opulent purple and gold pillow.

 

[Breadman]

"I have never owned slaves, but I understand that lust for violence being ignored. Leaves an emptiness in you and a certain thirst that can't be quenched." Henderson sighed "As for the crying, they'll get over it." He shrugged "And if they don't, they will get themselves killed over it. Simple as that."

 

[Emperor Sagan]

"Yes, most true. Head held low easier to lop off than head held high," she agreed. "And slave can be fun, I say you get one sometime. Lot of work to keep slave in place and not killer or broken, but when you make slave into good image, they many fun to play with. Maybe they pledge allegiance and join household freely. Many servant do that."

 

[Breadman]

"Don't own a house." He shrugged again "And it's not that much of a loss, when I think about it. The way I go about things, I'd just end up breaking the slave and then I'd have to go out and get a new one and then again and again." He scratched his chin "But you know, maybe I should get a pet of some kind. Last time I had one, I was a small lad. Maybe 8 or 9. Had a dog. Thing got stomped to death by a constable because it pissed on his boot, but it was fun till then." He thought for a moment after pausing "I wonder if that bastard is around here somewhere. Probably is. Maybe I'll find his struggling soul and make him my pet. You know, I'm beginning to warm up to the idea of having a slave." He concluded rather enthusiastically.

 

[Infab]

Once Kassidy had properly pulled Takato away, she sighed. As kind of an act as he did, Loque didn't appear to be in the right mentality to take it well. She then glanced over to Gwen, to find that the elf had sat down in the grass, with her knees pulled up to her chest and her face buried in her knees. She really needed to talk to the elf, regardless of how the elf felt about her. And so she decided to. She walked over towards the elf, and eventually sat in the grass next to her.

"...Gwen...I'm sorry for what happened to ya. To yer people...That's a fucking horrible thing ta do ta someone and their kind." she said softly, looking out over the grass towards the horizon. "...You...Ya might hate me fer what I am...that's fine. You can hate me as much as ya want to...if it makes ya feel better. But...we're not all like Sekath and her ilk." She paused for a moment, looking to the elf. "...I want ta help ya. All o' ya. That's why I helped y'all kill Thelyra. They deserve everything they got comin' to 'em. And I hope you get yer hands on Sekath. She used ya, and manipulated ya. And I hope ya rip her fuckin' heart out."

Meanwhile, Vincent glanced out over the grasslands as he spoke to Seriphine. "You, Gwen, and your race deserve to live on, with lives full of happiness and peace." he stated. "Without the manipulation and depravity that Sekath brought to your kind. With guidance, and due diligence, you can repel it."

As Inari and Henderson spoke at the back of the truck, there was a voice that spoke from nearby. "If you seek to take slaves down here, you're no better than the demons you seek to kill." said an all too familiar female voice. Xager had appeared nearby, along with several crates full of food and equipment as well as one of their former group members. Uloth, the orcess. "No one deserves to be enslaved. A life of slavery and servitude is worse than death." stated Xager rather bluntly. "Ask your companion Loque about the subject. Listen to her thoughts on the matter."

Xager eyed them both, before strolling by over to where the rest of the group was. "I'm glad to see that you all have survived the encounter with Sekath's taskmaster Thelyra. I have brought you supplies and equipment to replenish your stocks."