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 Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 9:00 am
Merlinite was feeling a bit better now. He had a place to stay, at least, and he could clean himself up and had a steady supply of food coming his way. It was more than he could have asked for, really, and he was still stunned that so many people were willing to help him.
People on the White Moon, of course. While he did have a couple of Chaos friends, they were bound to the Negaverse or their factions. Merlinite, while still a youma, did not consider himself one of them.
No, he might not ever be able to really be a knight, but at least he could do what he could to support the White Moon.
As long as he could, at least, until Chaos got the better of him. It was still his greatest fear, and it would linger. He just did not know what was in store for him, now that he was half a youma. In his nightmares, he became a full, monstrous youma, and he killed and hurt the people he cared about.
He wanted to be dusted before that ever became a reality, if it came to that. For now, though, he was okay. He was making his own choices, and he was hiding away from the Negaverse as best he could.
Tonight he was looking for some of his white moon friends, pondering how to start his career as a do-gooder youma, and how well that might go. Not all of the White Moon would believe him, after all, and of course, the Negaverse would not really like the idea at all. It was going to be a difficult road but, for once, Merlinite was not scared.
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Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 7:17 am
What is that?
Umber halted immediately when the signature made itself known - and from what he could discern, beneath the suffocating darkness of it, was something akin to a general. Certainly, it was like one of their own, but somehow darker. Somehow more corrupted. Yes - something like Cinnabar herself, yet with more power. But who could it be? Cinnabar never mentioned other officers like herself, and Umber hadn't heard of any others. Bazzite, Benitoite's creature, became entirely youma and could not produce such an aura.
Perhaps it was folly to put his energy draining on hold, but curiosity spurred him toward the location. Umber dropped from the roof of a cafe into the collection of detritus clogging a storm drain, and started down the street at a sprint. This individual, whoever they were, felt like a straight shot down the road. He sprinted purely because he was certain they'd depart on more interesting duties - he figured that visiting with a lieutenant ranked fairly low on the priorities list - so he hoped the urgency behind his approaching signature might slow or sway them from pursuing other tasks.
Finally Umber found a two-story building with a balcony that provided ample leverage for a second leap. He surmounted the structure in two bounds, leaving him at prime location to continue his venture across rooftops. And for that, he fell into a rhythm - from parapet to parapet he jumped, then sprinted across tar paper or concrete or even tile until he spanned the breadth of the building. And surely enough, as he closed on his fifth leap, he caught vague sight of the man-creature that so piqued his attention. From this distance, all he made out were colors, and a shape that his brain couldn't quite understand. Red and green, he internalized immediately. Whoever you are. Which is your skin tone, and which is your uniform?
The remaining distance ebbed quickly, leaving Umber standing on one last ledge that framed a gap between their respective areas. He peered toward the officer in question, furrowing his brow while he studied the form. It looks like exactly half of him became a dragon, right down the center. One wing... All that weight on one side must put him off balance terribly. How is he supposed to perform as an officer with that kind of handicap? Was this another mishap, like Cinnabar's?
But perhaps most surprisingly, the face and outfit looked like one he'd met before. "Merlinite?" He ventured, unsure of his accuracy in that assumption. "What happened to you?"
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Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 11:46 am
Merlinite was relieved to see someone he knew, but that only complicated things a bit. Would he dare attack a Negaverser on his own, without the aid of a senshi or knight, or was it better to keep his efforts in the shadows so the Negaverse had less of a reason to want to come find him?
He was not sure just yet, but then, he had been rather successfully avoiding the Negaverse so far and the only person he had met from it recently was a friend he trusted enough to not worry about.
"Oh I remember you," he said, nodding his head in greeting, his wing coiled against his back and his tail beating against the ground listlessly near its tip. He was anxious, but he stayed put, watching Umber carefully. It was a typical question, and he shook his head.
"I decided to purify," he said, with a rueful grin, "and Painite decided she didn't like my idea. She corrupted my starseed so I turned into... well. This. So I guess I'm stuck with you guys, eh?"
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Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 5:10 am
You decided to purify. I suppose that would make sense. You explained some distaste with the Negaverse when we first met. But why tell anyone? That seems like it's asking for a fate like this.
Unless he hadn't - and someone just found out.
Umber leapt the last gap to reach the Dragon General. More of the man came clearly at this distance. The scales tracing new appendages, the veins inherent in the furled wing material, the horns protruding from his head... Not just reptilian, but a dragon. And cinnabar was... What? Some kind of lion? Youma rarely produce characteristics I'm familiar with. And if he were hurt, what would generate in its place? Human, youma, both? How long until the creature portion overtakes his humanity? And what use can we make of these officers, if they cannot slip among the members of society?
"'Stuck with' is correct. If you wanted to survive." Still, turning the man into a youma? Why not simply murder him? It sounded more cost-effective than wasting chaos energy that could be better purposed to convert a new recruit - or a willing one. "In making the decision to purify, you accepted the loss of half your life by default, but... This likely wasn't what you had in mind." Umber wanted to feel empathy for the man; he wanted to relate to this choice and its consequences for him. Whether that was due to his youma-based appearance or not, as with Cinnabar, he hadn't yet decided. However, empathy was a skill - or a natural-born tendency - that Umber carefully forced out of his life with years of conditioning, and such traits never returned with a wish alone.
Merlinite was still an officer of the Negaverse, and should be held accountable for his actions. Painite held him accountable. And since Umber stood as a lieutenant next to this general, he figured his part was feeding information on how well that accountability stuck with him. Had Painite's actions discouraged him from further cavorting with the White Moon and Knights? More importantly, was Merlinite still capable of functioning as an effective general for the Negaverse? The attributes granted to him looked useful only by margin, and most of that evaluation came for the claws. The one wing seemed entirely useless. Perhaps the scales added a layer of protection, and if he knew well enough how to use it, the tail could be worthwhile in knocking others down. But the disproportionate body mass promised a lot of lurching in battle. A lot of clumsiness.
"When did this happen? And how? I don't expect you'd be telling everyone of your intentions to purify."
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Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 8:52 am
Merlinite shrugged his shoulders, which made his wing shift a bit.
"I don't see the difference, me saying what happened or not. I can't purify now, so I'm stuck in the Negaverse. Painite won that one. I guess it happened a few weeks ago. Kinda hard to keep track of days now, to be honest."
They all kind of blurred together. It might be easier now, with a place to stay. He could get a calendar and actually keep up with news from the papers the library kept stocked. If he cared to, anyway, which was still up for debate.
He did not share his real plans, or the fact that he was living under the protection of a Royal Knight. He did not want that kind of information to just leak into the negaverse, and was careful with what he did or did not say to those with Chaos in their starseeds. He had never gotten too close to any of them, except for Painite and a few select others, so it was not too hard to shut them out of his life.
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Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 3:32 pm
"I imagine so." Civilian life came to an end for Cinnabar, whom he imagined lacked many social graces that people often abused. Cell phones and their built-in calendars, computers, easy access to groceries, a job for expenses, shelter by virtue of losing that job... And the loss of these functions taxed their ability to perform well in the Negaverse, as well; what kind of half-youma officer could drain energy in a well-lit bar? Or provide a convincing argument for joining their faction? Painite's call hampered much of Merlinite's usefulness, and Umber wondered if the choice to youmafy him came out of spite alone.
"I know of at least one other officer like you - Captain Cinnabar. I do not have the details on her arrangements, but I imagine that organizing shelter and food for you won't be much different. That depends on if your needs haven't already been met. I can, at least, cook for you if you need it? Assuming you don't subsist on energy or starseeds." While Cinnabar hadn't, she also looked far less given over to her youma side than he did. So much concerning youma and half-youma remained outside his scope of knowledge.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry you met with this fate." But it was necessary, given the circumstances. Kill or corrupt further.
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2015 11:11 am
"Yeah, it's not a problem. I've got stuff in the works already. I'm not going to be Painite's pet, but I've got other friends I can rely on."
White Moon friends, but did that really matter?
Well. Yes. It did, and he was not going to come out and say that was the case just yet. He trusted Camelot, but he did not want to put the Royal Knight at risk by throwing their newly formed allegiance around. Anyway, it was still so new, Camelot still had time to realize it was a terrible idea and tell him to hit the road.
It would still not be surprising, considering everything Painite and Merlinite had done, but it would also definitely put Merlinite back a bit. He looked at the Lieutenant, a little surprised by his offer.
"Uh, no, I don't eat energy or starseeds, and I've got some food. I appreciate the offer though." Merlinite reached behind his head to scratch at the back of his neck, feeling awkward. Maybe he had let his bad view of the Negaverse allow him to forget that there were pretty decent people on the side of Chaos.
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2015 5:26 am
Painite sounds like a name worth looking into. As a general, I imagine she's made a few contacts over her tenure. There might even be database information on her. Word of mouth might help as well - I'm sure there are a few officers that have been assigned under her as subordinates. If nothing else, surveying the enemy for information on Painite would assure her loyalties.
"Good. I've been to the Rift only once, but what I saw of it did not promise an enriching environment for someone who still retains some humanity." Maybe if Merlinite only slept there, he would reap the benefits of its safety without boring himself to death. He might be able to live in a house for a time, provided it wasn't on any common patrol routes. With the amount of delivery services available now, he might get away with paying over the phone for grocery orders and other amenities.
With this one still alive, it fell to the Negaverse to take care of its own. He hoped that these friends of Merlinite's provided adequate care, beyond the barest essentials. If he wanted to purify, then the Negaverse needed to employ a great deal of effort to reclaim his interest in their organization. Otherwise, they were losing a wayward general to their enemy. And what would that mean for the rest of them? He had access to the database on a higher scale than Umber, and could likely send his subordinates willingly into an ambush if he allied with their enemy. This one needed watching, surely - watching and reasons to stay loyal to their cause.
"I see." No starseeds or energy, then. He still has a human stomach, then. That would make sense if his youmafication split precisely down the middle. I wonder if having a youmafied liver has any uses... "Should I take my leave then, General?"Lithiasaur can i poke you on aim about some things?
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2015 10:58 am
Strickenized Sure thing. I am on private so I might have to add you to the list. Send me your aim!
He supposed it never really sank in that he had actually ranked up through that mess of a corruption. For a fleeting moment, he had felt what it was like to be a real General, as she had managed to push his starseed to the point of gaining him the rank. Unfortunately, she had no control, and had pushed too much Chaos into him. He still wasn't sure if she had been trying to make him a General to convince him to stay, or had been aiming to make him her youma. Either way, she failed, and he got stuck half way between the two.
Quite literally.
"Uh, yes, I don't see any reason to keep you here. Though you probably don't have to call me General. I think I'm considered more youma than ranked officer at this point, but who knows. Just take care of yourself out there, alright?"
Even if it was tense, and Merlinite could sense that there was danger to this Lieutenant, he still did not want to see anyone getting hurt or killed. Or worse, he supposed, as he flicked his tail behind him.
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Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 11:47 am
Umber only shrugged. "My only experience of someone caught between human and youma was with Captain Cinnabar. Convention indicated that I treat her as superior, regardless of her features. I see no reason to do differently around you unless ordered against it." Umber performed another once-over of the general to familiarize himself with the scales, the added wing, the tail that might've been for decoration or balance. Cinnabar sported scales and tail too... Were they a common trend among half-youma officers? The sample pool remained too low to make any real inferences about it.
"Yes sir." The suggestion to take care of himself seemed curious, but he knew not whether to consider it an affront to his self-care, or if issuing that 'order' was a cultural phenomenon. He opted for the latter.
"I hope your friends show you that the Negaverse is redeemable." Whoever they are. Negaverse, Dark Mirror, White Moon, Knight... There might be others beyond that, even. He turned from the general to start back toward his building, with the leap threatening to prove too large despite lieutenant's abilities. He caught the parapet, his fingers dug into the grime forming a shallow coating over the concrete, and hauled himself up as often was the case.
General Merlinite's fate is sealed, as far as I'm aware. Any purifications might well be out of the question, but I will need to address Hvergelmir to find out if purification still remains a possibility for this one. Painite, however, bears looking into. I wonder what her motives were for creating this creature over killing him. I'd like to see what the database has on that one.
He withdrew a small notebook from back pocket and scribbled her name across the back. That, he hoped, would remind him to learn of her.
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