ProfetessaOscura

8 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

"That's okay. I'm used to eating out of dumpsters."

Vespyr stood.  "I will fetch some fish," he said, and ducked out of the cabin.

Vespyr swished a bottle of nectar, as if that was the appropriate answer and response.

5 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

"Why would you die in five days?"

 

7 minutes ago, Fallapede said:

They most certainly were not whispering.

Just now, Channelknight Fadran said:

"So... you're not going to stop me?"

Vespyr shrugged.  "I'll keep you alive until I die.  Regardless of if I die in 5 days or live longer, you will eventually make your way back.  My time constraint is not effective enough to stop you, so I might as well follow along until death arrives."  He sank back into the couch.  Heavens.  Was this what an afterlife might be, all soft?  Well... not for him.  He'd killed enough that saving one child wasn't much of a redemption.  He could only hope that there was nothing after death.  "Talk with the Sparrow," he advised, "He might not take too kindly to me, now."  After all... he had just admitted to being a monster of the Queen's.

3 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

Janice whimpered lightly, then swallowed and tried to hold back her pain. "'s okay. I just... I don't want to leave my friends behind for something like safety. I've never been safe, and I'll never be safe. So if safety isn't an option, then I might as well be with my friends while I hide."

He nodded.  Although he couldn't possibly agree with her decision, he could accept it.  He wasn't human enough to understand why other humans could behave so foolishly.  Not yet.  

Then again... he had played the fool in saving the child.  Maybe he understood more than he realized.  Maybe humans were just naturally stupid.  The thought made him relax, slightly.  Perhaps saving her had been a mistake, but maybe mistakes were just a part of nature.

1 minute ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

"I want to go back to my friends! My real family, not some random mom and dad or someone!"

"While a rabid dog could accurately assess the intelligence of that plan, that's your decision and not mine to make," Vespyr snapped.

Oh no.  That was a little too human.  Too harsh.  He dialed it back.  "I apologize."

2 hours ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

"I let you take me."

1 hour ago, Fallapede said:

"I apologize for my intrusiveness, but on what terms, exactly, were you separated from these friends of yours?"

Vespyr  nodded, as if this was to be expected.  "I was a scion of the Qhoral Queen," Vespyr began, "tasked with retrieving a deserter with whom the Queen had invested significant time, power, and energy.  I returned the deserter to the Queen, but the punishment vested on the child was too severe.  I stole the deserter and fled, touching down on what I assume must have been your rock.  It was perhaps the most foolish mistake of my existence."  Life.  The proper word was life.  He wasn't an object.  Or, at least, he wasn't supposed to be one now.  "Perhaps the best mistake.  We shall see."

He looked at Janice, and almost seemed childish in their spat.  "You didn't have to let me for my mission to have succeeded."

5 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

"Vespyr, you... I..." Janice shook her head. Man, holding back tears was way harder than she remembered it being. "My friends can protect me."

"Your friends could not protect you against me, much less my master.  Former... master.  I will be an adequate shield."

6 hours ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

“Then... am I well?”

Vespyr considered a laugh.  It felt wrong, yet right.  It was the right moment to laugh, but Vespyr had almost forgotten how.  At least naturally, laughter... was more of a memory than an option.  And it would be rude, besides.  "If you insist on trying to get yourself killed, I will defend you until I am no longer able," Vespyr volunteered hesitantly. "You and your friends."  Damn.  Why was it that her hair looked red to him?  Why was it that he kept seeing Rain whenever he glanced at this child?  They were nothing alike.  She was dead.  No amount of trying would bring back the girl he'd let be slaughtered.  He shouldn't care.  There was no redemption, no fixing that betrayal.  This... was an act of futility.

He was dying, though.  Death throes weren't supposed to by anything but futile, he supposed.  

Just now, Fallapede said:

"As soon as I am satisfied that you are well, I will happily take you to them. I say this under the assumption that you are informed as to their current whereabouts, of course."

Vespyr sighed.  "She knows the island that they may or may not be currently on," he said.  Sarcasm.  Right.  It wasn't nice.

6 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

"I'm not small! I'm... uhh..." She counted on her fingers. "Thirteen?"

“Smoll.”  He patted her head once lightly, then faced forward again. 

1 minute ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

"I'm not going to leave my friends behind! You can't just tell me what to do!"

Vespyr rested a hand on her head, calmly turning to look at her.  “You are small,” he said, as if that was explanation enough. 

4 hours ago, Fallapede said:

"Why would I mind? All life is wonderful. I seek to preserve it in any way I can. I see no reason why that should not extend to Yevon."

4 hours ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

Janice smiled. "Thank you."

Vespyr nodded in satisfaction. “Then it is settled. The Sparrow will care for your needs.  You will remain unobtrusive until the Queen’s search has faded.”  Vespyr had a very one-track mind. It didn’t occur to him at all to ask if Sparrow wanted to adopt a magical ex-serial killer child with a semi-fragmented mind. And he seemed to be discounting Janice’s insistant complaints that her friends needed her. After all... it would be a shame, dying to save her, if she went and got herself killed again by the same people she’d just been saved from. 

21 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

"But... they're the only people who'll care about me." Janice hugged her knees to her chest. "When I... lost my parents... I tried to find someone else to take me in. Everyone was afraid of me. They thought I was a yevon."

She sighed, turning her head away. "They were right, of course."

Vespyr shrugged, then looked at the Sparrow. “You don’t mind that she’s Yevon, do you?” He asked. It was very... strange. Just strange. To reclaim the name. To reclaim even the pronouns of a person. It felt like a lie, after so many years.  It would be nice, though, to die as a person. 

“That is inadviseable.  They are on the Queen’s radar.  They will be the first ones to be hunted and detained in the search for you,” Vespyr explained, as if that knowledge would be a comfort to her. Goodness. He’d always wondered at why couches were made of such... soft, decorative fabric.  It was like his back was being embraced, warm and soft. Vespyr let out a contented sigh. 

2 hours ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

"I... think that's easier said than done."

Vespyr shook his head. “No. Cut and dye your hair. Ingratiate yourself into a local family.  Attend an educational service. You can be passably unnoticeable.”  Vespyr leaned back, relaxing. “I will help you until I am dead.”

4 hours ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

Janice blinked. "That's okay."

Vespyr smiled.  Oh.  Right.  They wouldn't be able to tell, with the mask.  "The Queen searches for us.  She will not be able to find us, so long as we do not stand out."

1 hour ago, Fallapede said:

Brother Sparrow pulled out a notebook and set the bottle down on a table, then pulled on Vespyr and Janice's pain, amplifying his sense of smell and taste. He slightly opened the bottle and took in the scent of its contents, then began intensely scribbling down notes. He gestured in Vespyr's general direction. "Please, sit. This will take some time."

Vespyr perched on the couch, then flailed suddenly, as if he hadn't quite expected the couch to cave when he sat on it.  It was... plush.  

Vespyr accidentally thwapped Janice in the face and had the courtesy to look abashed.  "I apologize for the inconvenience."

4 hours ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

Janice pulled open the door, peeking inside. "It looks cozy in here."

2 hours ago, Fallapede said:

"It is, though I have rarely resided here in recent years. It is still stocked with sufficient medical supplies to treat both of you, however. At least, your external wounds. Vespyr, would you mind taking the tiniest of sips from your bottle of Nectar? I may be able to glean some diagnostic data from it."

Vespyr passed an entire bottle over to the Sparrow.  That meant four remaining.  Vespyr didn't necessarily trust the person, but what did the extra time really matter, unless a solution could be found?  He shook his head, then pushed the door open, ushering Janice in.  The child was inquisitive, but rather timid.  Compared to how she had been earlier... loud, brash, and cruel, she seemed... weak.  Smarter, for sure, but weaker.  That was an illusion, almost definitely.  Janice's personality was simply more subdued after her meeting with the Queen.  

He shed an exterior cowl of gray leather, tassels sopping, and hung it by the door, then stood in one corner with hands folded behind his back.  A sentinel, of sorts.  Vespyr... wasn't used to furniture, it seemed.  Definitely not a house-trained wastrel.  Oh, he knew how people used furniture, certainly, but he'd almost never used it in his life on the spire, and wasn't quite sure if it was polite to take a seat.

1 minute ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

"Thank you, Brother Sparrow, for everything you've for me and S--Vespyr."

Vespyr noted that.  The child was eager to use the new name?  Good.  Aliases would be better in the future.

Just now, Negative_Null said:

Find the girl...find the girl...bring her to me...the one who flies... and the girl who left... bring them both to me...

Less actual words than impressions, commands that wash over Vespyr's soul like a wave

Had the queen forgotten which one of them had been the girl, back when they were children, Vespyr and Rain?  Although, behind the scars, it was difficult to distinguish anything of the person Vespyr had once been.  It wouldn't have surprised Vespyr if the queen had forgotten which one had been spared and which one had been slain.

4 minutes ago, Negative_Null said:

The Queen's consciousness seems to nudge Vespyr's, although oddly it seems less present than when the Queen usually speaks to her.

Vespyr ignored the prodding for a moment.  But... what if the Queen could find them through Vespyr?  The creature tuned into the voice hesitantly.

8 minutes ago, Fallapede said:

"Chemical dependency is indeed a grave problem, though it may be possible to wean you off of it over time. I cannot be certain without precise knowledge of what is contained in what you are taking, but there is certainly no reason to give up hope. In any case, you must immediately limit your consumption to the bare minimum necessary to keep you alive. As regards children, I am no more knowledgeable than any other person with a basic regard for human life." What in the world had these people been through? Even the war for the islands hadn't been this bad... At least, not to start with.

Vespyr grew still. “I have not been without Nectar in at least thirteen years,” it explained. “The delayed strain of my abilities will strike the instant I run out of Nectar, regardless of if I am able to ration myself off of the addictive substances within.”  It truly was a dire situation. Vespyr doubted even a skilled healer would be able to keep them stable. Even if the body survived the agony, the mind likely would not. What state of life would Vespyr even be able to entertain should it survive?  Perhaps... to cut the drugged nectar with common street supply could prolong the addiction... but even fighting that battle had a grim outcome. 
 

Vespyr wasn’t opposed to survival. It just wasn’t likely, with the addictive nature of the drugs. It was especially unlikely if Vespyr was going to be expected to be off of Nectar entirely. 

59 minutes ago, Fallapede said:

"I see you have a very skewed concept of the acceptable standard of human wellbeing. You may be acclimated to pain and suffering, and I sorrow for the losses you have endured, but I will not allow you to die if there is even a remote possibility of preventing it. As for - what is your name, child? - she has been exposed to a level of suffering that no one should be allowed to experience, let alone a child of her age. As her guardian, you must take far better care of her than whatever her previous situation was, and even if you do not value your own life, you must take responsiblity for preserving and enriching hers." Brother Sparrow sighs, and takes a deep breath. "I apologize for my outburst. I am in no position to judge on such matters."

Vespyr swayed backward, as if the words were creating a physical gale. In actuality, Vespyr was simply surprised at the level of passion and assumptions that this man was making. “I’m dead when I run out of my supply of Nectar,” Vespyr clarified, “It is spiked with an assortment of highly addictive drugs in a formula unknown to me.”  Vespyr spoke casually, as if it wasn’t afraid. It tapped the top of Janice’s head. “Do you want a child?  You seem to know about them.”  Maybe children couldn’t survive torture?  That was strange. Vespyr and the other children had survived tortures far worse than Janice had endured for the time she’d been captive. Maybe that wasn’t normal. 

47 minutes ago, Fallapede said:

"I hate to disagree with your medical analysis, but both of you are so hurt and exhausted it is a wonder you can stay awake, much less talk. I must insist that you receive proper medical care before you continue on your journey, wherever it is that you are going."

“This is normal,” Vespyr said. “I will not need medical care. In a few days, I will be dead. Sleep would be an annoyance.”  Vespyr pointed a gloved finger at Janice. “This one just needs a meal and to walk a little.  There is nothing physically damaged with her.”

1 hour ago, Fallapede said:

"I apologize, child, but I am unfamiliar with the people of whom you speak. We are currently on course for Raodea, if that is of any help to you. Once we arrive and I am able to treat both Vespyr's and your wounds, I would be happy to take you anywhere I can. Is this reasonable?"

“We are unharmed,” Vespyr explained, sitting solidly on some cargo. What?  Janice had just suffered a little mild torture. It wasn’t like she was bleeding or dying or needed medical care.