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Post by MP on Jan 15, 2021 3:15:15 GMT -6
"A crusader then." Sarkany glanced at Delphi. "And this would be the Hunt? This fate of the Sra?"
He hadn't missed that little comment. Or the way the Mongoose had steered the topic away from Delphi's questions. Sarkany looked back to Casmir, his eyes brightening with understanding.
"Ah. And you think that I -"
He leaned back in his seat and laughed, a full, honest sound.
"No, hunter, no. I can promise you that no cult sent me. Or the Devil, for that matter." He shook his head, still chuckling. "This visit is, how would you say. Professional curiosity. Neither the Devil nor I hold any interest for a cult."
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Post by luscen on Jan 15, 2021 3:40:10 GMT -6
The sudden laughter startled Delphi, who nearly dropped her tea all over her lap. Only a quick flash of her strings that left the cup and the contents inside of it frozen in midair prevented a rather unpleasant mess from needing to be cleaned up. With a relieved sigh, she made another gesture and the tea flew back into her cup, like a video image being reversed.
"The mongoose," she sniffed, giving Casmir a look. "Has trust issues. He should be satisfied with the fact that I'm vouching for you, but he was ever one to be wary of strangers." She took hold of the cup, frozen still in midair, and took another draught of it, setting it down on the coffee table.
"It's only an issue when it causes problems," the Hunter replied evenly. There were no signs of recognition in the Osprey's face, however. No sudden, subtle shifts in expression to indicate a guard being raised, nor the stirring of recollection in the other man's amber visage. Perhaps if Casmir chose to be more free with the details, but the more people who knew what he was on about, the more risk there was in that spreading to people he didn't want to have looking for him. After all, if the local Authorities really did sanction this Devil's behavior - a fact he was not very pleased to be thinking about - then there was the chance that this little "courtesy visit" would find him suddenly having Law Enforcement breathing down his neck.
'I've given my warning,' Casmir thought to himself. 'Let him decide what to do with it.'
"Delphi," the Hunter said, turning to the girl. She raised an eyebrow at him. "I'll be in my study- there's still a lot of preparations I have to make for tomorrow." he gave the grey-haired man a sidelong look, then left the living room, leaving them along again.
The Dryder watched him leave, then rubbed her forehead. The resonance was gone, now, and whatever clues she could have used to help discern Atol's location would be gone, too. The Mage was frustratingly troublesome to find, but there were a scant few avenues she had to sniff him out, this being one of them. But Sarkany's Thread being so weak and diminished, it would take time for her to properly form a nexus that would let her find Atol's whereabouts, and she doubted she'd have the opportunity to do so.
Instead, she turned her attention to the golden-eyed man. "You have my apologies. Casmir is... very driven. And he doesn't tend to trust people. I'm... actually surprised he bothered to share that information with you, in fact."
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Post by MP on Jan 25, 2021 2:23:07 GMT -6
Sarkany stared thoughtfully after the hunter. Trusted him enough to leave him alone with the weaver, at least. And she enough to speak more freely about her housemate. He had an in. Enough to keep an eye on things without worrying about the building eating him alive.
"Risky business," he said. "Hunting alone. All that knowledge in one place. I thought that's what the whole," he waved a hand vaguely, "hunter network thing was for."
He set down his empty cup with a satisfied sigh. A hot drink was a balm after such a cold climate, and a brace for the long flight ahead. Until he could be surer of the weaver's abilities, he couldn't risk stepping directly home. And he had some research to do on the way.
"Not that I can talk," he said with a chuckle. "If I were careful, I'd have called a hit instead and saved myself the work." He sighed with mock regret. "Maybe another time, eh?"
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Post by luscen on Jan 30, 2021 8:16:17 GMT -6
Delphi shrugged, helplessly. “Casmir's never been one for having others accompany him on his hunts,” she explained patiently. “It's not really a matter of pride or money, mind you- it's true that having someone on hand can make for a more successful venture, but it's also an extra body that can be hurt.” Her blue eyes drifted in the direction the Hunter had left in, fingers absently running through her dark hair. “Sometimes I don't know if he does it to protect others, or if it's because he's punishing himself...”
The Dryder blinked, then sighed, standing and brushing off her skirt. Looking up at the gray-haired man, she considered him for a moment as he passed off his bit of black humor. “You wouldn't do that,” she said, with a wan smile, holding her hand out for his empty tea cup. “If this was just about keeping your friend safe, you would have simply done your business and have been on your way, wouldn't you?” Her eyes flashed as the smile became more genuine. “Besides, when they messed up the hit, then you'd have to get a refund, right? And nobody wants to bother with that sort of hassle.”
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Post by MP on Feb 23, 2021 3:08:29 GMT -6
Sarkany hummed thoughtfully and returned the cup. But the smile didn't reach his eyes.
"You've been very reasonable, weaver. Hospitable. I would like not to take advantage of that." He inclined his head to her. "But don't mistake my intentions. I will protect my family first. By whatever means. If I wait, it's because there's more to this threat than one hunter, and not for any gentle reason."
He studied her, gauging the air of the room.
"Take this cult, for example. This hunt of his. We may find ourselves on the same side after all. Or maybe the Mongoose will do as hunters do, once he's done his crusade. Hard to say without more information."
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Post by luscen on Mar 24, 2021 4:22:44 GMT -6
Delphi took the cup from Sarkany, cradling it in her hands and looking down at the dregs within, her blue eyes taking on the nature of one who seemed far older than they should. "Perhaps," she replied quietly. "The world is like a web, the strings comprised of secrets and lies that stretch from one figure to another. Suspicions, envies, fears... they are the thread that sees one thing attach to another; suspicion of the stranger, seeking to take what does not belong to him. Envy of the friend, coveting what his companion has. Fear of the enemy, of the unknown, for the danger it carries... Such things are intrinsic to what we would call 'reality.'"
She looked up at the golden-eyed man, then. "But there is also faith, empathy, and trust- The delight in finding the stranger, whom you share a meal with and form a bond. The empathy of the friend, that shares your loneliness and gives you strength. And the trust of your family, the one who carries on your hopes and dreams, when you can no longer carry them, yourself..." She gave Sarkany a sad, if hopeful smile. "These things exist as integral elements of the Pattern; a dichotomy of umbral and astral strands, twining together to form a shimmering gossamer. We are, all of us, free to choose whichever of these things best serve us, if we have the will to do so..."
She set the cup down on the coffee table, then dusted her dress off, then suddenly went wide-eyed and blushed. "I'm sorry; I uh, I tend to get a little carried away when... when thinking about certain things," she stammered, averting her eyes from the other man. "I-I suppose you're going to want to be going then? Here, let me..."
She made another gesture, glowing threads splaying between her fingers. The foyer nearby quickly shrank, the door Sarkany had broken in through now approaching. Delphi lowered her hands, an anxious shift to her legs and her eyes still not-quite-meeting the gray-haired man. "I-If... If it's not too much of a bother..." she began, sweeping a pale hand through her dark hair. "Do you think you could... come back again for tea, maybe? And... and talk? I haven't had anyone to really talk to like this in a while and..." her eyes looked up at Sarkany, now, wary. "... I kind of liked it. And would like to do more of it. Talking to another actual person, that is."
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Post by MP on Aug 12, 2021 1:02:52 GMT -6
Sarkany paused at the door and glanced back at her. That look, as casual as it seemed, caught every detail of the apartment's layout and every sound, however faint. Throughout his visit, behind the smiles and cheerful words, he'd watched. And he'd seen which rooms the hunter rested in or retired to. He'd seen where the man's eyes wandered when he walked, and which unconscious paths he took when moving from one room to the next. There were places potential weapons could be hidden, or objects that could be used for a convenient trap or command in a pinch. As the human studied his prey, so he was studied in turn. Sarkany gave Delphi a small, sad smile.
"We'll meet again, weaver. One way or another." The smile warmed a little. "I hope under better circumstances."
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