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

[SniperComZero]

Gwen could hear someone coming up next to her, to be sure. She couldn't even be bothered to look up at them. It's only when they-- she spoke, that the voice made the elf visibly tense up, like a coiled spring. And yet, her words poured a bucket of sand over the princess's emotions. All she could feel again inside was... hollow. Like nothing was there.

It took her a few moments to process, before she even moved. Even then, it was only to allow her eyes to glance out past her knees. "...So what?" She posed, rather bluntly towards Kassidy. "Even if you're not... you're not like her..." The word spilled forth from her lips like it was acid, Gwenaelle swallowing down the bad taste in her mouth before continuing. "...I know well enough now that... perhaps most demons like you aren't born so. Even if you're not as bad, you're still down here for a reason. Just like all the rest of us." Blank eyes stared outward. "...If things in the past had turned out differently... you'd probably be saying the same thing to someone else about killing me."

"...She used me, manipulated me-- and I let her. She used my greed-- my lust, everything against me... and I was too stupid to see the writing on the wall." Emotion all rushed to Gwen's face at once, tears streaming down either cheek. "I would've been where Thelyra was. Sitting eons on that stained throne-- that whore's most prized posession. Her pet... I'm going to make her fucking bleed. But... I don't think I even deserve to return home... not after what I've done to it. To the people who were supposed to have trusted me to protect them. I pissed it all away, just-- just for some fucking petty power."

"...And the worst part is, I think anyone else in my position would've done it in a heartbeat... without any shred of remorse."

 

[Doomevil]

During the travel, Senya prayed to the Dragon Gods in silence. The hectic battle in the city was over, but there was still much to come. She feels stronger in terms of iron will and fighting skills learning how to deal with an elve or special demons within the Abyss. When it came to a Warden, each fight ended in victory or death. The Grand Master Hugh Russ taught her experience meant everything on a situation. Vampires, humans, demons, werebeasts, they all had their way of crime and behavior. Her younger self felt too eager to hunt down these wanted individuals but there was a process when it came to being a Warden. It's no secret the Red Wardens were made up of mutants and the supernatural albeit rare. In the old times, with no written constitution, a Red Warden could act freely and recklessly. The people outnumbered them, and thus gave a bad reputation for this line of mercenary work and still carries a stigma against them. But the industrial era caused a need for change.

The Red Wardens started to cooperate with the governments of both continents in order to make sure there was no arbitrary decision and vigilantism. Hugh Russ installed a golden rule: no unconfirmed written records. A vein of bounty hunting Senya liked to call it, only dealing with dangerous people. Anyone who disregarded that rule was now the responsibility of the Temples to deal with them harshly. She dealt with a rogue warden, and she'd rather not do it again in the future.

The truck halted and everyone went to their own groups to talk among themselves. Senya leaned against the side of the vehicle, staring upward. She didn't feel like talking to anyone in particular, other than feelings. Though it seemed like people like Seriphine and Gwenaelle have every right to express their emotions from the Taskmaster's past. Loque also had things she needed to solve and as much as Senya liked to help her, she knew this is a battle Loque needed to fight on her own. Senya wondered if this is the side effect of entering the Abyss in the first place. Emotions unraveling and infighting very much a possibility. The shadow demons will confirm her suspicions.

Xager appeared in front of them, along with several shipments of weaponry and supplies. The Warden gave a thankful nod and set her bag to collect food and ammo. She switched her rifle to a very cool looking shotgun, double barreled. The demons in the city damaged her black armor, splitting the shoulder plating and chest. Finding some tools and materials to repair this, she stitched up the armor plates. She gave a happy smirk, holstering the shotgun on her back as she was done.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

... Would she be as skilled as me, or would they just fry everything in oil the Southern Atracan way? Would she even be a chef?... Would Sagath beat and abuse her the same way?.

The train of thought Loque's riding on as to just what her envy knock-off would be like screeches to a halt with the sudden appearance of Xager bringing in supplies. Another face is with her, a green one she's not seen in a long time: Uloth. There's nothing she wants to say to either of them for now. She simply gets up from her spot with Seriphine’s gift in her hand, slowly walks over to the boxes, and started gathering whatever she needed from them. As she collected ammunition and food though, she notices Gwen off by herself looking just as sad as she is. It's definitely to do with what they saw at Sekath's palace. How Seriphine isn't as devastated is a mystery. Kassidy's there too, trying to talk to her about it. 'Not a smart move for a succubus to talk to her about her entire race turning into a bunch of sexually depraved animals' thinks Loque. Curious to see just how she'll handle this, she stands in silence within earshot, quietly observing.

 

[Frankafurter]

Uloth arrives with Xager, the orc warlord looks equal parts utterly exhausted and worn out. Her helmet is tucked under her right arm, her long hair now cut short into something more manageable and lightweight. Her left ear is malformed and for that matter, the left side of her head barring her face has clearly been burnt badly by some sort of fire. There's circles under her eyes and she has a bit of a distant look about her. Her armor, once likely the pride of some artificer back in the mortal realm, now as battle-scarred and worn as the orc wearing it. She still has her machine gun and it seems to have undergone some field modifications to lighten it and make it easier to handle. Some pieces of her near tank-like armor have been forgone in favor of mobility and weight savings. She offers only a small curt wave, her voice having lost some of the accent she had before, seemingly as she's gotten used to speaking a human tongue, "Xager 'ere tells me that you lot needed a lil' extra help an' shite. I told 'er I needed a holiday from tha' killin' fields. Tho' judgin' by the looks of you lot, this'n pro'ly not gonnae be much of a holiday." She doesn't touch the supplies herself as she had already restocked before being zapped back over to the inquiry. She looks around and takes stock of who's left and who's new it seems. She doesn't comment in that regard though and simply goes and sits down somewhere to relax while she waits for the party to resupply and ask Xager their questions.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Inari listened quietly as Henderson spoke. No house? That was unfortunate. She was used to living on the land and traveling with her warband, but there was always a home or two somewhere, castles tucked away in the mountains or other stupendously well-defended locations that were home to far more than just her. If you ran with her group and lived long enough, and served well enough, you'd retire to castle life. Precious few soldiers went back to the plow after spending time with her. Those that really distinguished themselves got minor titles and some land of their own nearby. After all, who was there to object? She made the rules and if others knew what was good for them, they listened. Regardless, she had accumulated a fair amount of trinkets, weapons, armor, tokens, art, and even artifacts over her life. Things that you didn't carry on your back everywhere. In some ways, her scattered castles were glorified storehouses, armed to the teeth. The only proper, real home was her birthplace, a kitsune village so far into the mountains that few knew it existed outside the handful of clans there. Even to her it was more a dreamlike place, a location of almost religious importance. She'd not been there in... a very long time.

"Man kill your pet? That sad. Even as child, I say, kill that man," Inari said. She had no love for dogs, but she could appreciate a bonded pet. "And yes! Slave is good fun. I suggest to try."

The kitsune perked up immediately when she heard something very close, and she glanced up to see Xager on approach, the demon woman already speaking to them. Well, preaching seemed more like it. Something about slavery being bad. Sure, it was nothing glamorous, but it had its uses. It was merely another method of bonding in the wonderful land of Kowareta, and slaves could be quite useful. If they were too ferocious or broken, well, she let them loose. What was the point if they couldn't put up a smile, or at least offer some sort of value to her?

Inari seemed to consider Xager's words thoughtfully before the kitsune simply shrugged. "You say interesting thing, but not very practical thing. Everyone slave at some point, and, who keep slave for life? Slave become servant after enough time. They happy by then." The ones that lasted, that was.

She spotted Uloth lingering nearby, the orc warrior woman she could barely understand. A friendly face, at least, though one that looked remarkably more weary since they had last seen each other. "Ah, big lady! You come here to fight, but no fight right now," Inari lamented, hopping up off the truck and scurrying towards the crates. "More like... time for... for..." she hesitated, not sure what the word was, so she extrapolated - "More like time for staring in quiet at pond under moonlight and think on voice of your heart." Good enough, she thought with a mental shrug this time, and promptly started ransacking the crates for food. A good way to replenish energy, morale, and spirits.... speaking of which, she plucked out a dark bottle of alcohol which she uncorked, sniffed, and then drank. Spicy with a hard bite to it. Not sour like Loque's drink. This was something she could really drink. And she did. Half the bottle was gone in a few seconds as she coughed, her throat on fire, sending a rush of awareness through her, rousing her from her mild stupor of boredom.

"Ah, maybe time for celebrate, yes?" She smirked, raising the bottle at the exhausted group, then gesturing it towards Uloth. "Lady return to fight, so I say, good time to have a good time." Bottle in one hand, the other continued to ransack the crate she was leaning over, looking for something to whet her appetite.

 

[Infab]

Kassidy listened as Gwen let her thoughts flow forth, looking to the elf as she spoke. "...Gwen...I'm usually a good judge o' character. Used to be a saloon girl when I was livin'...got 'round just as much as I do down here. Reason I'm down here in the first place is 'cause I was hung for killin' a man...a preacher man." she said softly, before smiling. "...Yer right. Others in yer position would'a been like Thelyra...I want ya ta really think about that. Sekath chose Thelyra ta be her little friend...not you. She prey'd on yer emotions and urges...Sekath's always been like that, from what I've heard. But yer different from Thelyra. Far different. Which is why she didn't turn ya."

Kassidy scooted close, and wrapped an arm around Gwen, gently hugging her. "...Yer a good person deep down, Gwen. Ya may not think it right now, but ya are. I can tell. This journey yer on...through this place an' all the trials in it...they'll bring the good in ya ta light. And ya got a second chance at livin'. At bein' the good person I know ya are. Ya deserve that second chance, and I'm gonna make sure ya get out o' here so you can go live it."

She released her afterwards. "...Now, ya gotta stop cryin', a'ight? Yer too pretty to cry." she said, with a faint chuckle. "...Ya got a job ta do. And some fights ahead o' ya. And I'll be here to help ya out. If ya need anythin', I'm always here ta help ya."

 

[Viper Actual]

"I very much hope so," replied Seriphine. She was staring out over the grasslands as well. The sight reminded her of something, though at the time she couldn't remember what. Looking at Vincent again another thought sprung up. Slowly, the Elf was beginning to move closer when Xager's voice called out and echoed across the imminent area. Seriphine froze and looked at Xager and, much to her surprise, Uloth as the two had appeared out of thin air.

Seriphine frowned and crossed her arms. She didn't care much for the preaching- she had been through, seen and enforced her fair of share of slavery herself and was in no moral position to question it- so she tried to ignore it and focus on the supplies.

Excusing herself, Seriphine left Vincent to refill her rations which were already limited to reduce weight. She nodded towards Uloth in a sort of 'Good to have you back'-fashion before heading over to where Gwen was. Nodding towards Kass, Seriphine seated herself next to Gwen and offered her a water pouch which was fresh from Xager's supplies. "Take it," motioned Seriphine before once again staring out across the grasslands.

 

[Frankafurter]

Uloth shrugs at what Inari has to say, honestly not sure what the woman was trying to convey but probably intended as something uplifting by the tone of her voice. She settles into her seating spot and surveys the landscape. It's jarring to her, most of the other parts of the Abyss she's been in to fight have consistency, but this place is just... patchwork in the worst way possible. As if the artist making it couldn't decide on a theme and decided to just put a bit of everything at once.

She looks over at Gwen and someone she doesn't recognize, she notes that Gwen seems rather upset and the other is trying to comfort her in some capacity. She takes a quick mental headcount of the group and realizes they're short a few people from the group she originally went through the gates with. She decides against questioning it as she realizes that it might be a sore spot for the other party members and they all seem pretty low spirits as is. She's honestly forgotten how long she's been down here with the others, sometimes it feels like they just got here and sometimes it feels like they've been here forever.

She runs a hand over the top of her head, feeling the sweat and dirt matted texture of her hair. Her nose only briefly picks up the musky smell of her own body, having gone noseblind to it awhile ago. She only had access to bathing on occasion when she was in parts unknown, most of the fighting was so intense and ongoing that she only had short breaks between battles to worry about self-care. Either way, she was polite enough to not sit near anyone who may have been offended by her malodorous body.

 

[Breadman]

If you seek to take slaves down here, you're no better than the demons you seek to kill.

Henderson turned his head slightly annoyed with one eyebrow raised, looking at Xager

"Madam, I do not know what delusions you have about this group, but I find that offensive." He walked after her. "I did not at any point made it important to be above the denizens of the Abyss morally. Such things are irrelevant to our mission and frankly I do not care for those lectures. I don't wish for an apology, but I wan't the record to be set straight." He turned Uloth "Welcome back to the sane part of this party." Back to Xager "Now that I'm done with my indignation, how is it going along about my request from last time? Any progress on that?"

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

“Reason I'm down here in the first place is 'cause I was hung for killin' a man...a preacher man."

Loque narrows her eyes at Kassidy on hearing this. Killing a preacher? What in the world for? This makes her think: is there anyone in this party that hasn't done something awful or isn't a son of a bitch? Only person that she can think of is Senya, but at this rate, whatever skeletons she's got in her closet's bound to come dancing out soon. Speaking of which, what's she up to anyway? Loque turns around to look for her, eventually seeing Senya smiling at herself while holding some new shotgun she's found. Well, at least someone's happy.

She waves at her hoping to get her attention. With her free hand she points at the shotgun and shrugs.

 

[Frankafurter]

Uloth continues to sit in silence, sitting cross legged while leaning against her machine gun for support. If anyone were to actually take notice, they'd realize she had fallen asleep sitting up with the MG propping her up so she doesn't fall forwards. Whatever she's been doing while absent from the group it's clearly taken its toll on her. For her, it's probably the first time she's slept in any capacity since leaving the group to help Tariun's efforts elsewhere. Everything is just kind of a haze in her memory, maybe some sort of magic or something she ate or drank had given her those near limitless reserves of energy but now without it, she just feels impossibly tired. Her fatigued state is so bad that even asleep she doesn't dream or anything, she's just out cold.

 

[SniperComZero]

"You don't get it, the only reason it wasn't me, is because I fucking died." Even without the current circumstances, coming to proper terms with what happened just before-- well, everything, put a noticeable tremor in the elf's body. "...That fucking bitch Thelyra probably finished whatever job there was after I was gone..." And then, Gwen simply slumped back down against herself. Hardly a reaction to the succubus' arm draped over her. Praising her-- how good of a person she is. How she'll always be there. "...Yer too pretty to cry."

It was only after she'd finished, that Gwen lifted her head. "...You know?" It wasn't even like she was staring at Kassidy, and moreso staring through her. "...You sound exactly like she did." There wasn't much anger, or even sorrow, in her voice. Just a hollow bitterness. She couldn't tell whether or not it was an indication of all demons being truly the same at their core, or perhaps simply a behavioural thing among them. Even if it was just a simple similarity between the two. But to her, it brought up too many bad memories about Sekath.

She looked away, not even a word to Seriphine as she took the pouch from her. Cupped in both hands, and drinking from it. 'Drinking' being a mild word, whenever it's short time from her receiving it, to having gone through at least a third, maybe half of it. Perhaps her state left her drained in more ways than one.

 

[Viper Actual]

Seriphine glanced over at Gwen though with a concerned expression. "I know we are but strangers in this hellish realm but if you wish to speak then I am here." She paused and watched Gwen devour the water. "Whatever blame you pin on yourself...don't. This burden is for the both of us."

"I am as guilty as you are. When I lived I embraced a life of war and supremacy. Perhaps things would have been different decades later had the clans embraced a much more peaceful approach?"

Seriphine remained silent for a while as if she was processing the words in her own mind. It was a tough puzzle to solve, if it could even be solved in the first place. Finally she looked at Gwen with a determined look. "Ultimately the ones who committed the biggest crime of them all was Thelyra and her inner circle. Our people will undoubtedly fare much better without her filth."

 

[Doomevil]

Senya turned to Loque who gave a short wave. She figured there might be something to chat about as the group stocked up on supplies. The Warden gave a confident nod, "Hello Loque. Seems like Uloth returned from the other group to assist us in this territory. How do you feel about the situation thus far?" She tilted her head.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"Hello Loque. Seems like Uloth returned from the other group to assist us in this territory. How do you feel about the situation thus far?"

With her free hand again she motions towards Gwen and the others. "We have people crying, we have people frustrated, we have people wanting to go home. Everything is in the shit, so really I feel like it's just another day for us here."

 

[Doomevil]

"Probably," Senya agreed, "Comes with being in an open hell fighting and killing enemies away in a race to prevent the end of the world from happening. So yeah." The Warden shrugged but on the other hand, understood what everyone was going through right now. They just needed to keep on earning victories til then. "I know it sounds like I'm being inconsiderate, but I won't let this group go down if it does. Don't take it personally, this is my profession after all."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"Comes with being in an open hell fighting and killing enemies away in a race to prevent the end of the world from happening. So yeah."

An awkard silence filled the air around Loque. She's a little dumbstruck by what Senya just said. All this bullshit surrounding the party has to be a first. After reading countless novels and books of heroes and heroines banding together to take down a great evil, she expected this journey to be a bit more upbeat than it is now. Then again, only in novels can people act without their problems weighing down their back. Finally she speaks.

"Senya, I don't think this is normal for journeys like this." she says. "We have a leader that can't lead, making us run pointless tasks that probably won't even affect the icons, and what's left of our group is slowly sinking into despair and apathy."

 

[Damian0358]

After moving away from Loque with Kassidy, Takato watched as Kassidy herself walked over to Gwen. Unlike with Loque, he didn't have as much familiarity with her, so he stood back. Soon enough, Xager arrived, with another surprise return in the form of Uloth. She seemed to have somehow gone through a rougher time than the rest of them, contrasting the somewhat fine-seeming Gwen when she appeared like a flame in the dark.

Just as Seriphine did, he went over to Xager to restock whatever he needed, in this case refilling on water. He stayed by the crates, as he looked over at the others - Uloth seeming to have fallen asleep, after ignoring Inari, Gwen and Kassidy being joined by Seriphine, and Senya now speaking with Loque. Henderson seemed to be speaking with Xager, and the others, those being Wesley and Vincent, likely thinking what to do next.

Takato sighed, still feeling somewhat remorseful over his tone earlier. He still recalled the two centuries or so he spent as a nomadic hermit, what some might consider a quasi-sage even; in the former half, he had gone through the same usual pattern - his daily routine, adapted to be used on the road, and the time he would spent heading to the villages, where he'd help those in need, if there are any. He couldn't help himself, as a hermit - he felt the need to come to the aid of others and display the utmost kindness to them. But the latter half, when he was increasingly on the run for false accusations, that need remained, but could he spare kindness when time would not spare itself? He needed to grow concise, brief... blunt, as though he were a pundit from the major cities...

...what would master have thought of this?

 

[Doomevil]

"If this concerns you that much, I can speak to Xager and Vincent about being second in command of this group. Hudson and Detective Jakob are gone now and Vincent is left with no one to fall back on. Perhaps I can help out when it comes to pulling people together." Senya said as she glanced away from Loque. She had a feeling Vincent or even their bosses of this Abyss might reject the proposal, but it was worth a try.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"If this concerns you that much, I can speak to Xager and Vincent about being second in command of this group. Hudson and Detective Jakob are gone now and Vincent is left with no one to fall back on. Perhaps I can help out when it comes to pulling people together."

"Yes. Please do for the love of the Gods." Loque places a hand on Senya's chest plate. "You're the only one out of these imbeciles I trust completely."

 

[Viper Actual]

Seriphine decided to leave Gwen to herself. She had said what she needed to say and truth to be told she didn't think there was much else to say or do in order to help Gwen- at least not right now.
Approaching Xager she glanced between her and Henderson. A thought had been nagging at the back of her head, one she had to force herself to ask about.

If anyone knew it would be Tariun.

Noticing that Xager was still speaking with Henderson, Seriphine crossed her arms together and waited for her turn.

Once the cannibal had gotten his answer Seriphine cleared her throat. "If you don't mind, I have a question?"

 

[Doomevil]

Senya gave a low sigh as Loque felt genuinely frightened the entire group might fall. And maybe she had a point. All of them were different in every other way. If Vincent falls in battle, it's over for good. The Warden wasn't ignorant about the others' agendas. Just like Hudson, they would go on their own ways and all efforts were for nothing. This was exactly what the Shadow Demons wanted. Senya patted Loque on the shoulder to assure her she'll try. "Alright. Just, relax for now."

Henderson and Seriphine are occupied with Xager so she went to talk to Vincent instead. "When you're done with talking to the others, I'd like to speak to you about something important within the group. Is that okay?" Senya asked.

 

[Infab]

Kassidy sighed. "...Gwen, do ya think Thelyra lived through what happened? Icon's can't make ya a demon if yer still livin'. She likely cut 'er a deal, then killed 'er. She demonfied her after."

She stood from where she was. "...Both of ya died. Sekath just used ya, and praised her. In the end, the one that screwed yer race over was Thelyra. She was th' doorway most likely ta gettin' ta you." Kassidy then moved to leave, turning away, but paused. "And ya are pretty, sugar. I meant it as a harmless compliment. Not some clever use of words ta manipulate ya like Sekath would'a done. Don't ya dare compare me ta that skank." And afterwards, Kassidy stepped away. Moving over and sitting next to Uloth. "Hey there. I'm Kassidy. Good ta meet ya."

Xager glared at both Henderson and Inari, her piercing eyes locked onto each of them for a few moments, before replying to Henderson. "Your gauntlets are in the weapons crate." she replied. She then returned her attention to the rest of the group. And soon Seriphine spoke to her. "Yes, warrior elf?"

Vincent shrugged, as he turned to face Senya. "We can talk now, if you'd like. I was going to check on Loque, but I can spare a few minutes."

 

[Frankafurter]

Uloth stirs slightly as her mind registers someone's speaking next to her. She doesn't spring into her usual combat mode when disturbed from sleeping, she's just too tired to care if someone's come to claim her head. She lifts her head and looks around to notice the newcomer of the group, she yawns widely, only half covering her mouth, " 'ello, we gettin' ta movin' on then, ye?" She shifts around and picks herself up off the ground and looks around, realizing the group isn't actually moving out. She sighs and sits back down, rubbing her face a few times, "Ach, got me up for nothin' then." She rubs an eye and looks over, "I'm Uloth, I dunnae know where ya came from, cause ya din't go through tha' gate with us. So ya must be a local tha' signed up." She rolls one shoulder then the other then cracks her neck with a few short motions, "Wha's yer job 'ere then? Cause no offense but ya dunnae seem like the fightin' type."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"Alright. Just, relax for now."

Loque lifts up her bottle of hard alcohol, "Doing it the best way I can." and takes a nice big swig from it. Turning around, she sees Gwen's back to being by herself again. She's already aware of how devastated Gwen is feeling right now and decides to do some cheering up of her own; this time in her own special way. Loque plants herself in the same spot Kassidy was earlier.

"Excusez-moi, Reine." she whispers to her in Escarian. "[But I think it's best we speak to one another in a language we both understand.]"