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 Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 1:58 pm
Kaosu watched Ziazan work with a bemused expression, trying to decide what to make of this whole "fortune telling" show. Surprisingly, the normally logical, calculating man nursed a strong belief in the supernatural. However, he had a hard time believing that this odd looking Faolan and his apprentice could predict something as fickle as the future. Was it a scam? Probably. If it was, though, how would they try to pull it off...?
A new kind of curiosity pervaded his system, purging his awkward behavior and soothing his nerves. "Driven back to civilization, hm? Nice guess," he hummed, nonchalantly cutting the strange deck of cards. It could not have been a guess, that was for certain. It was too accurate. However, the redhead was not convinced it was "magic", either. He could pick out a wastelander in a Vargash crowd without trying -who was he to say that the peculiar little kid could not do the same? "Please, tell me something I don't know."
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Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 10:21 pm
Zia looked up at the man, eyes seeming to be looking at something far away. "It was never your nurse's fault your brother died. Just an accident." The child looked down at the deck of cards, taking the top one off and laying it on the table, face up. The Chariot.
The young Essentic tilted its head and looked up at the man. "Vengeance for an accident? Hasty, rushed decision indeed." It touched the gun again, brow furrowing, then finally reached across and touched the man's hand, fingertips brushing lightly across the skin on the back of his hand. Zia's eyes went wide, pupils dialating. Slowly a look of understanding came into its expression and understanding soon turned to anger. The gentle fingers clamped down tight, claw-like and digging into the man's flesh, as the child hissed, pulling itself onto the table with its grip on Kaosu's hand, its other hand up to claw at the man's eyes.
Faolan moved quickly, catching the youth around the middle, ignoring the struggles as he tried to get Zia under control. He stared at Kaosu, accusation in his eyes. "Who are you?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 10:57 pm
Ziazan's first string of words caused Kaosu to visibly tense. Nurse? Brother? How in the world had the child known about them? It could not be a guess. There was no way it could be a guess. What had really happened to his sibling... no one in the world knew that save Kao himself. "Y-you..." the tramp began, unable to keep his voice from trembling. The apprentice had intruded on his darkest, most carefully kept memory. He had stirred Pandora's Box. It took every inch of self control Kao possessed to keep calm. "I t-thought you were supposed to tell me the future, not the past," he began, reigning in his emotions and fighting to maintain his indifferent, casual attitude.
A decade or less ago, Kao might have been more reactive. He might have panicked when Zia furiously grasped his hand. He might have reached for his gun. Instead he had the nerve to sit still, trusting Faolan to restrain his pet. "I see. So that thing is an Essentic. I had no idea there were alters running around already," he concluded out loud flatly. In an almost provocative tone, he added, "What a unique power it has. If there were more curious little Essentics like that one forty years ago, they might have put up more of a fight." He eyed Fao warily, wondering if the owner would anger as easily as his pet had. That would not be good.
"The name's Kaosu. I am a nobody." Nonchalantly, he retrieved Robert Lynd's weapon from the table and tucked it safely away. "I don't know what that runt is so upset about," he lied obviously. "Isn't using it to help you tell fortunes is cheating?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 12:31 am
Zia continued snarling and hissing like an angry cat, struggling against Fao's hold on it. Worry clearly showed in the half-demon's face, having never seen the Essentic react in such a way. To his recollection, Zia had never even been more than annoyed at anything. Full-blown anger was a new side to the Essentic.
"Not exactly believin' that you're nobody, lad," Fao said, moving to get a better hold on Zia, who was now flapping its wings in an attempt to break free, cards and feathers going everywhere. "Ain't cheatin' at anything, hinny. I see it as trainin' it to be what its meant to be. Don't know what's set it off now, neither. Never seen Zia so worked up."
Finally getting Zia pinned pretty well in his arms, he rocked the child gently side-to-side, murmuring soothingly to it, more parent than owner. "Ay, now, wean. Noothin t'be scared. This'un ain't gan t'hurt ye. Naw needs t'let tha' nyaff rile ye. Shush, noo, ma wee bairn." The words might not make any sense to the one calling himself Kaosu, the traditional dialect of Farstep did wonders to calm Zia down, the alter letting itself relax in Fao's arm, thought it continued to glare dangerously at the other man.
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Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 4:31 pm
Kaosu, still recovering from Ziazan's words, kept a wary eye on the furious Essentic. How dare that little lifeless creature try to pass judgement on his past! It didn't know anything. It wasn't an accident. It could not have been. The worthless creature simply was not human enough to undertand his emotions... right?
Kao carefully watched Faolan's reaction to the sudden chaos. The Essentic was not a threat, but his owner might be a different story. It would not be wise to provoke him. Fortunately, the stranger seemed to have a cooler head than his apprentice. "If you're training it to be a fortune teller, that power might just get in the way. People tend to forget about the future when faced with their past," he stated evenly.
He raised a brow when the half-demon began speaking in a dialect he could not decipher. Whatever the odd language was, it caused Ziazan to calm down. In turn, Kao managed to relax slightly. "You might want to be careful who you let it touch, too. If it freaks out that much every time it catches a glimpse of the Hunt, I'd hate to see what would happen if it met someone who still has a quick trigger finger."
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 8:20 pm
Zia stared at the man, thin chest rising and falling with its soft panting. Murder remained in its eyes and surely if Fao didn't have the hold on it that he did, Zia would be flinging itself at Kaosu again. For now, it resigned itself to behave and be held by it "father."
"Its ability is what it is. I can't change that. The past often plays into the telling of the future, and most times, when people come for fortunes, they want to be told just what they want to hear. A fortune is not always about the future. Too much of it is the present and the past, and for that, my Zia is perfect," Faolan said softly, stroking the Essentic's hair soothingly. He looked up at Kaosu, fixing him with a deadly stare, golden eyes looking feral in the lamp light. "Zia already knows not to touch strangers. It was merely curious about you because you seemed sad on your past. Let's not be making threats in a carnival my dad runs, eh? We'll both be happier that way."
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 8:38 pm
Kaosu did his best to ignore Zia, knowing that if he thought about the Essentic too much he would only get annoyed. No, he needed to remain calm. He needed to remain reasonable. Fights were easy to start, and he did not need another "accident" to worry about at the moment.
Instead, he kept his attention pinned on Faolan. "Mmmm, I suppose you have a point there. Many are too preoccupied looking backwards to care very much about what lies ahead," Kao mused absently, unaware that he was being a hypocrite. "But if that is the case, your fortunes will do nothing to help them. You're just taking their money and telling them what they want to hear. A con man." His tone was not accusatory or annoyed -he was just stating fact. When the other got defensive, Kao raised a brow.
"You thought I was threatening you? I apologize," he hummed. "I was merely pointing out a fact. There are still a few "veterans" running around, and anyone who worked for the Government is bound to be a little messed up in the head." Worked for the Government. What he meant to say was worked for the Hunt. For slaughter -genocide. Yes, the people he had spent his teenage years amongst were definitely not to be trifled with.
"I just recommend you be more careful. There are lot of people who don't like Essentics," he pointed to himself. "And that clairvoyant Essentic of yours is something special. An asset worth protecting."
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 9:32 pm
Faolan nodded, not at all bothered at the lable of con man. He knew what he was sure enough. "It's true, I mostly take the money and tell them what they already know if they'd just look at their lives better. Sometimes, though . . . " He let go of Zia, the young Essentic sitting down and behaving, though it still glared at Kaosu. Faolan set something wrapped in silk on the table, then pulled back the cloth to reveal an old, well-used deck. "Sometimes, I tell them what they need to hear more than what they want to hear."
He looked up at the other man. "I know what's out there and there are worse things than leftover fanatics." Like the rogue Essentic that could only be a survivor of the Hunt. Or perhaps his own murderous blood father. Or Trystan. He was sure Trystan was much scarier than Kaosu, which only reminded him how glad he was that Tryst was his best friend.
"I'm well aware about some folk's feelings on them and I know how special Zia is. Even if it weren't a clairvoyant, it'd be special because it's mine." Faolan looked down at the child, his gaze returned by Zia, and both of them smiled a bit, as if sharing a secret. Even the most casual observer might pick up on the familial feeling between the two, Faolan being more a parent--a father to the young Essentic than an owner.
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 10:02 pm
"What they need to hear?" Kaosu repeated incredulously, mulling the idea over. As Fao released Ziazan, he kept a wary eye on the glowering creature. It seemed like it had gotten control of its temper. Relaxing slightly, he watched the fortune teller pull out an old tarot deck. Curious. "And how do you determine what that is?"
When Fao mentioned fanatics, he could not help but scoff. "I'm sure there are plenty of worse things out there. But how many leftover Hunters have you met? How many fights have you had with predators who still have their claws?" Judging from the way the half demon behaved, it could not have been very many. Danger tended to change people. Fao was too trusting to be much of a veteran... trusting of his surroundings. Trusting of himself. Trusting of that accursed Essentic.
"Tch, you treat that thing like your kid," he observed, barely keeping his disgust from his voice. "I wonder what will happen when the day comes you realize it's not one."
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 11:31 pm
"The cards determine it, lad," Fao said softly, looking down at the cards. He reached out around Zia to stroke the deck reverently. "It's an old deck. A gift from a very special woman that was a grandmother to me when I needed one. It works, though. It tells a fortune true, which is why I don't use it often with just anyone." He looked up at the man. "I'll give you a small reading, though, from this deck, if you truly want your answers."
At the change of topic, Faolan's lip curled, not a usual expression for his handsome face. "It's not the Hunters I worry on. It's the surivors. I don't fight, lad, it ain't in my nature, but I'm a halfbreed of demon blood and sooner or later something much worse that a 'predator' will be knocking on my door. Not that I haven't already had a run in with one of your so-called 'predators' once. He weren't so bad, really. Just lonely, I guess."
He moved a hand to pat Zia's shoulder affectionately. "I have never thought for once that Zia is anything other than what it is. Its not my child nor my brother nor human, but it is a part of my family and it needs my guidance. It's comfortable where it is in my life."
Zia fixed Kaosu with an even stare, rainbow eyes sparkling like gems, and grinned bitterly. "Killer of my kind, you do not get to dictate how I choose to view my master."
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 1:11 pm
"The cards, hm?" Kaosu mused, eying the worn deck with a marked curiosity. He was not exactly a sentimental man, but he understood the power of heirlooms. Even if the stack of tarot cards was nothing more than a waste of cardboard, the faith Faolan's faith in it would definitely bring out its potential. The results could be interesting, to say the least. "I'd be honored~" he replied evenly, absently wondering why the fortune teller would bother using such a priceless deck with him.
"Survivors," Kao repeated, suddenly appearing very very interested. "You've met a survivor? An Essentic from before the Hunt?" A sleeping emotion stirred within him. Excitement. For a precious moment, he forgot to behave indifferently. "Where? How-" Fortunately, the red head caught himself before he fired off more questions. "Er, nevermind. So you're a half demon, too? Second one I've met this month~" he purred, slowly recovering his calm. "I assume you're from of one of those nasty Vargash families, then. How did you end up in a place like Farstep?"
He scoffed when Zia hissed at him. "No I don't, little prey. You do. That's part of the problem."
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 4:43 pm
"I assume he's a survivor, at any rate. Certainly older than any Zia and more powerful. I don't know where he is now, though," Faolan said softly, then shrugged. "I'm from one of the families, yes. My baseline mother stole me away from my father and abandoned me. I was found by the carnival and adopted by the owner. Lived here ever since. Who's the other halfbreed you've met?"
Zia's lip curled, it's hand moving to hold onto Fao's wrist for comfort and support. "There's no problem here. I'm not your prey."
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 5:08 pm
"You don't know where he is? That's a shame," Kaosu mused absently, mulling the information over carefully. Older and stronger than Zia. Zia was the first alter of the newest Essentic generation the redhead had stumbled upon. The rest could not have been much more mature than he was. It was quite possible that the fortune teller had stumbled on a genuine Hunt survivor. Curious. Kao was not naive enough to believe that his brethren had eradicated all of the original Essentics, but why would one be seen near a place like Farstep?
"Sounds like you have quite an exciting family tree," he replied flatly. "The other halfbreed? Trystan Chevalier." He did not have any idea how many demonkind inhabited the area, so he did not really expect this stranger to know him. He waved a hand dismissively at Zia, "No, you're not. Not yet, at least. Maybe there's no problem at the moment, but there's definitely a problem in the making..."
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 8:27 pm
Faolan shook his head at the question. "We parted ways after he spoke with us. I haven't seen him since, nor do I really care to." He wrapped the deck back up and put it away. No, he really didn't want to know this man after all. He could learn enough just from speaking to him.
Ears at attention, he turned to look at Kaosu with wide eyes. "You know my brother? I mean, Trystan. Small world, la."
"And just how would there be a problem in the making?" Zia hissed, eyes narrowing to dangerous slits.
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 8:40 pm
Kaosu raised a brow when Fao put the deck away but did not comment. "Sounds like your meeting wasn't exactly cheerful," he observed offhandedly. He was fishing for more information about the Essentic, but was not going to be obvious about it. He was not completely sure why he was interested in the old AI -perhaps it was his old instincts kicking in? Or perhaps he wanted the chance to see the Hunt through the eyes of the losing side.
At the mention of Trystan, to Kao's surprise, the fortune teller reacted. "Your brother?" he responded, instantly curious. "Small world indeed. Funny, you don't look much like siblings." Still unable to ignore Zia, he added, "You are the problem in the making. Sure, you're cute and docile now, but Essentics change when they get older. And considering how the Government reacted to the evolution of the last generation of your species, that change can only lead to trouble."
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