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Post by jarahamee on Mar 28, 2022 20:33:29 GMT -6
The Witch chuckled, sharply but not cruelly. Her gaze was knowing, calm, thoughtful as she watched Casmir’s eyes with her own. He had lost something dear to him. What, she did not know. Was it family? A mother? A son? He was old enough it could be. It occurred to her, they were not unalike, the two of them. They had both lost something to this common enemy.
“What did they take from you, Hunter?”
She leaned forward, her lean arms gleaming coppery in the firelight as she waited. Her long hair fell lank about her shoulders, body folded into a sitting position that was as much a wolf’s crouch as it was a readied pose.
“It sounds like you /are/ noble, if what you say is true, at least, in your own way. There are many ways that men act when they hope to better this rotten carcass of a world.”
The skinwalker’s teeth flashed as she half-grinned. Did she hope to better this world? Maybe in a vague way, by getting rid of the Soundless and Atol, but, when it came down to it, her world was small. There was only space in her heart for Rose, and nothing else mattered besides revenge. |
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Post by luscen on Apr 3, 2022 8:20:43 GMT -6
Casmir didn't reply right away. The din of rain falling in the forest beyond the mouth of the cave abruptly reached his ears, bringing his memories back to that day. The day he'd died, if not literally, then figuratively.
"As I said," he answered in a quiet voice, his eyes distant. "There is no balance to be found in the life of a child whose life is destroyed by violence. His path led astray by a kindly face he thought was his neighbor's, given to those who meant harm for him. There's no balance in the senseless sacrifice of a sibling, or the sorrow of the mother when she learns her children have been taken from her, leaving her with nothing but despair..."
Unbidden, Casmir's gloved fingertips went to the scar that carved its way down the right side of his face- an ugly thing, thick and jagged, a crimson eye sitting where a blue one should have been. "They took from me my innocence, Stella. My hopes, and my joys, and the naïve dreams I may have once had. My ability to ask for forgiveness. My opportunity to accept my just punishment." His eyes hardened, then. "All I have now, is hatred. A poison, or so they tell me. But a poison I've spent twenty years refining and perfecting, which I intend to stab into the soul of the one at the heart of this. He took away my future, so I will take away his." The weight of the dagger hidden against his wrist, beneath the sleeve of his coat, was heavy. In his mind flashed a raven-haired woman with red eyes and an amused - if somewhat sardonic - smile. "No matter the cost."
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Post by jarahamee on Apr 8, 2022 0:55:17 GMT -6
“Then, we are much more alike than I would have guessed. Your scar is here…”
She traced a spot in the air over his scar, moving her finger in the approximate direction of its path. Her eyes were steady, somber, filled with barely contained bloodlust.
“Mine…is here…”
The Witch traced the spot over her heart, drawing her finger down roughly on her exposed skin. The scratch was deep enough to leave a mark, but she hardly seemed to notice it or care. She ran fingers through her hair wild, voluminous hair, and shook her head. She was determined, and that was all that kept her focus on Atol and his cultists. She would never see Rose again, but she would ensure he could never harm another woman. Perhaps, if she was lucky, she’d make him regret ever setting his sights on them, but somehow, she doubted it.
“No matter the cost, we’ll find him and put an end to him.” |
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Post by luscen on Apr 21, 2022 22:21:10 GMT -6
The Hunter nodded in reply. Even while uttering those words to himself, however, he tried not to think about the young, teal-haired boy that regarded him with a combination of wariness and interest, ignorant of the part he was playing in this. Casmir had only known him for a brief time, but he'd already felt an affection for the boy's innocence he hadn't expected. Was the deception worth that price?
Similarly, Casmir tried not to think about the red-haired woman with the smiling face who'd somehow managed to slip her way into being his student, waiting for her next boxing lesson. He hadn't intended to make her acquaintance, and he'd somehow ingratiated himself to her, and she him. What would she have thought of him, now? What would happen, if he couldn't keep his promise to her? Was that worth the price?
Lastly, he tried not to think about the quiet, curious black-haired girl with whom he'd shared his home. A home she had made for him out of gratitude for saving her. Who looked so delighted every time he brought her a box of filled chocolates, and who couldn't completely erase the haunted look from her vibrant blue eyes when she asked him about where he'd gone and what he'd seen. He'd taken advantage of her fervent desire to not abuse her powers, to pry into his secrets, to keep what he was doing from her, because she wouldn't understand. Was that worth the price?
'No matter the cost,' Casmir repeated once again. He would continue to do so many times, that night.
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Post by jarahamee on Apr 25, 2022 23:30:58 GMT -6
The yee naaldlooshii nodded somberly, before gazing out into the empty night, into the abyss. There was no sound above the flame. No animals would come to bother them, at least as long as she was here, not even blood-drinking insects. There was some kind of grotesque benefit to her current state, however unnatural and pitiable. The Witch crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall of the cave, enjoying the sensation of her dry clothes.
“You should rest. I will keep watch.”
She offered idly. Though she was in human form, her senses were keener than any man’s. She was so close to the end, to her goal, to victory. Nothing would stop her now. She had a champion.
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Post by luscen on Apr 28, 2022 18:51:51 GMT -6
The Hunter regarded Stella from his single red eye. "You'll forgive me if I don't feel quite like nodding off," he commented off-handedly. "Too high strung, as it were."
That was only partially true- the eves before a Hunt were often sleepless for him, yes. The copper-skinned woman had been open with him, and because of that he was avoiding being hostile to her. But - ally or not - Casmir knew that Supers, much like anyone else, were creatures of habit, and Skinwalkers' habits in particular were very capricious. It was entirely possible, once she'd finished her task, that her baser nature would get the better of her. And while the Hunter wasn't of a mind to harm her, neither was he very comfortable with the thought of putting himself at her mercy.
"Carry on with your work," he suggested conversationally. "Don't let me provide any further distractions."
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Post by jarahamee on May 8, 2022 19:39:30 GMT -6
“Suit yourself.”
She turned her body away from his, the hide slipping its way over her form. As she shrunk and distorted physically, her form became that of a coyote with glinting golden eyes. The animal stared at Casmir for a long moment, unreadable, and then moved towards the cave entrance to curl itself in a ball. Presumably to keep watch. The night was young.
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