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 Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 10:01 pm
Buddingtonite tilted his head and his befuddlement could clearly be seen by the way he arched a crimson eyebrow, and his eyes sparkled with keen interest to match his rather sly smile. She claimed to serve no one... perhaps this meant that she was much more new to this gig and clueless than he once imagined. It would certainly explain a lot of things and how she didn't immediately think to show any signs of suspicion when he offered to help her. It seemed perfect, almost too easy, but Buddingtonite wasn't too quick to pounce at the opportunity. Dragging her back would be easy, but frowned upon by the superiors, so it was best to go about this in a careful and tact manner.
Something that Buddingtonite prided himself in assuming he could keep his mind out of the gutter and on the task before him. For now, he'd oblige and answer her questions as they came, and while they were out of harm's way, he took a seat on the edge of the roof and got comfortable. After his ordeal, he felt he deserved a rest. "I call myself lieutenant because that's what I am. I am a lieutenant of the Negaverse, part of the Infiltration branch. Think of it as a... military... of sort."
It was the best way he could describe his organization, as that's how it was explained to him. Given the use of ranks, branches, and following strict protocols (which he was certain he broke this evening), comparing them to a military organization just seemed rather dead on and who was he to say otherwise? "We exist to protect Earth from the invaders, namely the White Moon Court and their allies."
When he said the word, he looked dead at her and narrowed his blood red eyes a little, but there was no anger or hatred in them. Only mirth. Of the opposing side, he felt it was easier to talk to pages and knights, considering they were just like them, only having the unfortunate luck of awakening on the other side. Like with Dallol, Buddingtonite felt that he had a chance with this one, and he kept his tone professional, but sickly sweet all at once. "We're the ones keeping Destiny City and this planet safe. For the most part."
Now he looked over the edge, where all that remained of the youma the two of them defeated was blackened dust that was being scattered to the winds. "A pity. That one was strong."Shazari Feel free to let me know how best to go about this. I want to make sure I'm doing everything right!
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Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 1:45 pm
ChibiGingi Feel free to IM me anytime, esp if anything I do isn't working for YOU.~ This is fab so far -- Hver will probably freak out and run soon, unless you want to have them fight, which we can figure out. <3 And you can have Buddy answer/avoid answering anything you want, that works too -- if she gets suspicious, that'll also make her inclined to run away. Hvergelmir didn't have much idea what Buddingtonite was saying, or how much of it was true. But what she knew was that he obviously knew more about things in general than she did, and the way he talked about the youma was certifiably scary. She had no idea what the White Moon Court was, or if he was talking about some kind of alien invasion. But Aquarius had been doing all of this for years, and she hadn't mentioned any alien attacks on earth. It was monsters, wasn't it? They fought magical monsters? She brought her distaff up in front of her slightly, an unconsciously self-protective gesture, even though Buddingtonite was still sitting quite comfortably. "I'm not sure that thing was keeping anybody safe. What... what is it to you?"
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Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 2:36 pm
"That poor creature was a youma," Buddingtonite said, deciding it wasn't worth the effort to lie to the poor girl, especially when the truth, or what he understood of the truth, was just as effective if not more. He noticed her stance and its defensive gesture, but Buddingtonite showed little interest in it, at least outwardly. He recalled his recent endeavor with Cybele and how quickly that went sour, and not willing to let this one slip away, he softened his tone a little in hopes of quelling some of that suspicion he saw. "What was once a human countless centuries ago when this war first began, now? Nothing more than a monster, its humanity stripped from it by a very evil Moon Queen when the only crime he or she committed was fighting back to reclaim their home."
He recalled Benitoite's explanation with some amount of detail, though perhaps some of the flowery speech and theatrics were thrown in by him. It was hard for him to feel pity for the creature himself, given his recent attack and just how long ago this event occurred. In his eyes, there were failures of a distant past, one that he wasn't a part of, so why should he have shed a tear for their loss? Especially when one tried to hurt him just moments ago? No, better to gain a new ally at the cost of a witless beast.
"Normally the youma protect us and secure the means of collecting enough energy to keep us running, as well as protect citizens from the White Moon Court," Buddingtonite said, giving a stretch but not moving any closer to Hvergelmir. He was giving her the space she needed, and he hoped to appeal to her better nature by keeping the cool, charming words flowing. "Mira, the reason why it attacked you is because it mistook you for an enemy. Your aura's different from mine and it didn't recognize you. That's part of the White Moon's corruption, and I apologize for that. However, there is a way for me to make sure it won't happen again, if you're willing to listen?"Shazari Everything's working great for me. Just wanted to make sure everything was going well for you! c:
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Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 4:50 pm
It was a lot of information to take in, and most of it made little sense without any better context. It was hard for Hvergelmir to imagine the monsters she had killed had been human beings -- a chilling thought -- but given everything else in her life recently, it would've been ridiculous to dismiss things like a secret, centuries-long war or an evil Moon Queen. There were monsters and magical warriors, and she had been to space. While her mind didn't necessarily naturally wander to the fantastical for an explanation for things when a rational explanation would serve, she'd always had a bit of whimsy in her, and making the adjustment to accepting the magical as reality hadn't been too difficult either. She didn't have a problem of being in a state of denial. She did, on the other hand, have the problem of being in a state of ignorance and confusion. That meant it was hard to make any kind of decision, particularly for a person for whom decisiveness wasn't exactly her strong suit in the first place. Hvergelmir certainly didn't feel corrupted. What was more, there was no part of her that was even slightly capable of believing Tara -- Aquarius -- was anything resembling corrupted. If she could've canonized her friend into sainthood, she'd have drafted the nomination in a heartbeat. But maybe it wasn't about them being corrupted. What he'd said had been pretty vague, after all. And maybe he intended to teach her some trick to control the youma -- not that any such trick seemed to have worked for him. But if it helped keep Tara safe, it could be worth finding out. And Laney really did have a difficult time being rude to other people without provocation. "I'm listening," she said, her tone much more obviously hedged than before. "Tell me how it works."
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Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 11:43 pm
"This works, dear Mira," said Buddingtonite, remaining seated but extending his gloved hand out to her, white palm up, as if to beckon her to take it. "With you joining me and the Negaverse."
He kept his tone sweet and gentle, though the look in his blood red eyes would have easily given away his intent. He wasn't immediately expecting her to take his hand, but he kept it there, as he explained. "You see, by some great misfortune, you were awakened on the wrong side of this war, Mira. By some unfortunate twist of fate, you are on the side of known terrorists, alien invaders that threatened to take over this planet and enslave all of its inhabitants in its distant past.
"The Moon Queen is the cause of those youma, you see. Those youma, that creature that you and I killed, was once a human, a long, long time ago. He fought for his freedom, when she once threatened to enslave this planet and when he rose to defend his home, she turned him into that." Without dropping his hand, he motioned to the black dust that lingered still on the streets below. The pity in his voice may have been a farce, but he was certain that the story to tell was not, and he relied on what he had learned from Benitoite to get him through this. "What kind of person would do such a thing to another human being? What kind of Queen is she, to use her magic, to take a form and twist it into an abomination such as that?"
Then, he looked back to her, and the way his tilted his head resembled a curious puppy, and his tone was just a tad bit softer. "What do you think this Moon Queen has in store for her subjects? The ones that she awakens into her army? By luck, some of us have managed to control the monsters that she created, with proper training and higher ranks, and while they are unsavory and brutish, what else can we do against such a force? Our alliance with these monsters may be unsettling, but what choice do we have when this is what we're facing? There are some things that are worse than monsters, Mira... and you know this."
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Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 7:35 am
Buddingtonite was rather nice for a man in uniform. Even discounting the fact that he'd saved her life, he had a very honeyed manner about him. It wasn't quite what she would have expected from someone who was self-identified military personnel. But he was that, wasn't he? He was part of an army, the Negaverse Army. And she was no soldier. "I'm sorry," she said, relieved for the excuse, and relieved that it was true. "I can't join anyone's army. I don't want to take orders from anyone, I don't want to be under anyone's thumb anymore. I don't -- I don't have the strength of character to be what someone else wants me to be without forgetting how to be myself." She smiled apologetically, thinking of how he could just sit there languidly and spin tales of wars and corruption, completely confident in himself and his choices. "Someone like you wouldn't understand." There was something else, too. The Negaverse -- that wasn't the side Aquarius was on. She trusted her friend, always had; she trusted that Tara made the right choices and was a good, noble person. There was more to this war than what Buddingtonite was telling her -- or maybe more to it than he knew. She put her arm on the ladder leading down to the fire escape, well aware that he probably wouldn't be happy she was turning him down after he'd done her such a good turn. It would probably be polite to make her exit now. "I should go," she said, looking down at the pooled fabric around her feet. "I'm sorry I wasted your time."
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Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 11:06 am
It seemed that his charm was for naught, and Buddingtonite might have been willing to allow her to just walk away from this invitation. After all, the Negaverse had no place for the unwilling, and he took in Benitoite's words well. After all, his willingness to join their ranks was what made him a valuable officer and not simply a tool, was it not? If Hvergelmir wasn't willing, than he could not force her, and given her rather lackluster skills in combat, he couldn't imagine she'd do well in the field. Perhaps if he had his wits about him, he could have explained that there was more to the Negaverse than combat. She could have easily fit in with Infiltration, or Intelligence!
However, after the ordeal he just been through, and the death of what he assumed to be a valuable youma on his head... he simply wasn't willing to let her walk away. The hand that was once open in offering was quick, and despite his lackadaisical manner, he was certain that he had a strong grip when he needed it. That hand moved and reached for the page's wrist, and he made sure that his grip wouldn't be painful, but would keep her still long enough for him to get his point across. Oh, he'd let her go, simply because he didn't have the power to contain her and bring her to the Rift, but he would not let her leave without a little friendly warning.
"Before you go, I'd just like you to know just how big of a mistake you're making," Buddingtonite said, his crimson eyes fierce and contradicting the smile he wore. He didn't strike her, but with the way he held himself, one could tell that a strike may have been imminent. "Don't think I'm angry because you wasted my time here- no, my time being wasted is relatively minor compared for the potential and the life that you are throwing away by walking away from this. If you go back to the other side, then you'll be an enemy to not only youma, but to me, and to the Negaverse. And you don't -want- to be our enemy, Mira. Especially my enemy."
And when he felt like he wasn't getting his point across, his words came out harsher, the cool and sweet facade deteriorating with each word he sputtered, and even his smile faded at this point. "There are three roles you can play in this war, Mira. The best role to play is as an ally, where you will be safe from attacks like this and attacks from my fellow soldiers. What some of them are willing to do to protect this planet from the Moon Queen's soldiers is far, far worse than what that youma might have done to you had I not stepped in. If you cannot be our ally, then you can play the part of fodder. Step out of this war completely and never transform again- you will be treated as collateral damage, with no control of your fate! You may get killed by a youma, or a Senshi, or even -me-, should I be given the order. But still, a better fate than being our enemy. Do you understand that, Mira? If you cannot be my ally, then vow to me here that you will never transform again, and I will pretend this sordid ordeal never happened..."
Now he drew closer to her, and his words held nothing of the kind, sugar sweet businessman demeanor that he held just moments ago. He knew he was being harsh. He knew that this could have backfired, horribly. But he was giving in to frustration, and with no one else there to reel him back, he allowed himself to slip, just a little. "However, know this, that if you chose to be my enemy, you will not like it. If it's not me that will take your life to protect this planet, then it will be someone worse. Far worse. Someone who won't give you a chance to repent, someone who will not only allow the monsters to have you but will allow your demise to be slow, gruesome... do you want that, Mira? When you can have amnesty by simply joining me?"Shazari If you take a swing at him with her weapon, this will still count as a battle. Just in case you were worried about that. But yeah, we can start wrapping this up soon, if you'd like?
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Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 12:45 pm
ChibiGingi Yeah, I think we're close to a wrap here since Hvergelmir is basically flailing away in terror -- this was an awesomely fun thread and if you're ever interested in RPing again, please do hit me up <3 For what little consolation it might've made to Buddingtonite, he was right about Hvergelmir; she was an abysmal fighter, and her lack of any natural aptitude for any sort of guile would have made both intelligence-gathering and civil infiltration poor fits for her. Her refusal to join him was a loss, perhaps, but at least not much of one. Laney's best contribution, on a good day, was likely her propensity toward slavish devotion and undauntable affection -- but even those things tended to direct themselves towards individuals, rather than causes. She was aimless and benign, and that was the sort of person it was difficult to apply to a purpose, because there simply wasn't much substance there. The youma was certainly the much greater loss. But in his way -- even in his vicious, terrifying way, at the end -- he didn't completely fail to have an impact on her. Just not, perhaps, at this particular moment, when he was crushing her wrist within his hand and she was frightened of which of his threats to kill her he might follow through on. Right now all she wanted was to run away, far away where all his handsome charm and gallantry hadn't transformed into horrible malice and a sure willingness to end her life. She was entirely too scared to answer his question, to pick from any of the options he'd offered. All she cared about was not dying. "Let go of me!" Hvergelmir struggled in his grip, trying to twist her arm free so she could vault down to the top level of the fire escape and try to beat a hasty retreat. She swung her free arm up at his face, distaff within her grip, not confident that the light-weight wood could do much damage, but hoping it would buy her enough distance to get away. It was obviously not the strongest blow she could have thrown his way -- she still couldn't really bring herself to want to hurt this man who'd saved her life -- but she did at least have some survival instinct spurring her on.
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Posted: Tue May 14, 2013 12:26 am
Buddingtonite wasn't quite expecting for her to defend herself, but then again, she had been brave enough to try to handle the youma on her own and managed to damage one of its eyes before he reached the scene. So, in retrospect, he should have expected Hvergelmir to defend herself, and he didn't see the distaff until it had managed to strike his cheek. While it wasn't the most effective weapon, it was enough to startle him and force his grip loose. He wobbled on the edge for a moment before throwing himself forward. It'd mean hitting the ground and making a fool of himself, but better that than falling to his death like the youma had.
The wind was knocked out of him, but that didn't stop the angered growl that escaped his throat as he pushed himself back to his feet. He wanted to strike her, but he refrained. No... that would ruin any chance he may have had, just like with Cybele. He gave a spat, straightening himself up and making a point to turn away from her, as if to allow her the chance to flee, and his words were soft, but bitter cold, even in his own ears. "Fine. Leave, Mira. But remember, you chose this fate, and the next time, I may not be allowed to step in."
What would the future hold for her? Could she be convinced? Could she be forced? Perhaps, but Buddingtonite knew that he lacked the power. But for now, she made her decision, and as regrettable as that decision was, it would no longer be his concern this evening. Now he had another problem he would have to deal with, assuming they ever found out of his little deed. Forget Hvergelmir... what would the future hold for him when news of this got back to the higher ups? It was a matter that would lead him to drink, and he figured he'd get started on that aspect early.
Without once turning around, to see if she was still there or had taken the opportunity to flee, he called back to her, before making his way towards his home, disappearing through the garden at a brisk pace. "Or perhaps I'll put in a good word for you, and give you the chance to return the favor? You owe me, Mira... let that fester in that beautiful head of yours for awhile."
And with that, he was gone. The moment he made it through the other side of the garden and made his descent, he transformed back into his civilian attire, determined to drown out anyone random cries for help by whistling a little diddy loud and obnoxiously. It wasn't often that he played the hero, but it was certainly an interesting take on the matter.Shazari Yes, it was so much fun! They must meet again sometime!
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Posted: Tue May 14, 2013 12:01 pm
Hvergelmir hopped down to the upper landing of the fire escape and began hurtling herself back down its clanging metal stairs as quickly as she'd climbed them only a short while ago. Buddingtonite's words followed her as she went, haunting her before fading away. You owe me, Mira...
Laney obviously had a great deal still to learn about all this war business. She'd have to put together a list of more questions for Tara, see if they could put their heads together and figure this whole mess out. Surely no one wanted to be in the middle of a war -- and surely Aquarius wasn't really somehow embroiled in fighting a war instigated by some kind of evil Brood Queen from the moon, infecting people with some kind of creepy insect stinger or something and turning them into monsters.
No, they'd straighten all of this out soon enough, she was sure.
For now, Laney thought, quitting the fire escape down at street level and returning to the alcove where she'd left her dry cleaning bag, she just wanted to go put her head down for a while. This whole encounter was nearly too much for her.
No more shortcuts through empty streets for at least a few days, she decided. At least till she understood things a little better.
Laney had lived in Destiny City for long enough to know its map by heart, every street and alleyway. Its familiar sidewalks and streetlamps usually felt like home. For just this moment, though, all that faded away, and Laney felt utterly, hopelessly lost.
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