Welcome to Gaia! ::

“Not without your help.” She wasnt crying, he was expecting her to cry. And yet, deep inside he found his smile widening at the realization of just how much the woman had grown in just the past few hours. He was going to correct her, he was going to explain. But, guilt hit him deep in his core. All he could do was hold his smile.

“It’s good to have you back, Ma-.” And then he was attacked! Whatever guilt lingered was washed away by laughs, smiles, and him playfully pushing the shadow dog away from his face without actually ever pushing him away. He was very thankful the dog did not need to eat...and thusly did not have the infamous dog breath. But slobber he did, and he did so thoroughly, even through it Maximos chuckled and ruffled the side of his muzzle. "Its good to see you too boy."

“Wocky, come on boy! Get down!” He couldnt help but laugh at Madison's attempts to tame her wildly excited pet. There were some bumps, grazes, and outright steps onto his arm but refreshed as he was Maximos managed to swallow back anything more than a wince pulling at the edges of his smile and making him squint slightly. The bullet wounds did not bleed again, and then when the moment began to settled, it was back to business.

"Thank you...you saved my life."

"You are welcome, Max. But really... this is the second time this has happened we need to stop doing this!” Max raised his right hand like a would-be political candidate swearing an oath, then adopted the tone of a reprimanded child and said.

"I'll be on my best behavior from now on. I swear it." At which point he gifted Madison the paintbrush.

And despite her sincere, “Thank you...”, Maximos knew fully she had no idea what this meant. His smile didnt quite reach his ears anymore. In some places on Aria, what he was about to say had been a death sentence. In others, a blessing. There was no telling where in between Madison would fall, but he knew the weight of it should never have been hers to bear. He saw doubt on her face, and wondered if her natural instincts had not warned her. He could have kept silent, and let a gift or a curse go to waste. But then...he could not. And spurred on by the duty placed soley on his shoulders he spoke. “But...I feel I owe you an apology...something...has happened."

She was confused, Maximos decided not to rush the moment. Let the realizations come as they may. He tried his very best to steal the edge off of what was to come by leaving a small simple smile on his face as he let her speak. “What? Did you forget something with the lady you were talking too?”

"No, no." Maximos said, shaking his head slowly side to side. "She is and old...friend of mine. You'll meet her eventually. She borrows alot, but what she takes she always keeps, that would be nothing to worry about. No...this is something more serious..."

Pain, flashed through him, from his shoulder across his back and even to the fingertips of the opposite arm. He was moving, and slowly, turning to face Madison properly and tuck his legs beneath himself. He held his right hand over his left shoulder and shut his eyes for a moment. There was silence. Shadow was everywhere, in the room, in his blood in the essence still lingering from Madison's spell. He called upon it, performing a small shadowcrafting which marked its completion with a dry pop. The muscles were shredded the bones were useless, but if shadow did anything it was mimic, and mimic a functioning shoulder it would. Without any other concerns he could hold the crafting for a bit longer and use his arm. And he did, placing both arms in his lap. He took a deep breath and then began.

"Let me first say, I did not know that spell would work. That brush, Madison, has no power of its own." He gave a pause for that to sink, and then continued.

"Earlier today, you said you had a weird dream. You mentioned a little boy. And I...took a chance. You see, the Shadowfather can reach people through with his Priests, Priestess, or Paladin's. The Priest, Priestess, or Paladin partakes of a small portion of an individuals life force, their soul, and offers it to him, and the channel is opened. Through those channels he may visit on those people dreams. Or nightmares. But..." Maximos paused, and moved his finger instinctively to slide glasses up the bridge of his nose. But he wasnt wearing any. "...The Shadowfather is generous. This channel goes both ways, those which he may visit may in turn tap into his power and perform his magic...those people are called the Noxfelis. Or in your language, the Shadowtouched."

Maximos gestured to the ground, waving his hand gently over it. Where the blood once was, now small specks ignited forming a dusty version the spell circle the rabbit created. "...This is a Lunaic spell circle. Lunaic is the language of shadow. It is the magic of the Shadowfather. And with that brush you wielded it flawlessly."

Maximos reached both of his hands forward aiming to scoop up the woman's smaller hands in his, his mismatched eyes sought hers and hoped to find understanding as he dropped the final piece of the puzzle. "You, Madison, are Shadowtouched. A connection is open between you, and the Father of Shadow and Lord of Nightmare, Nocturne. With it, he may reach your dreams. But..."

He slipped his hand free, flicked his wrist and in a flourish produced another black paint brush. "...with this, and with a bit a training, a bit of practice, and a bit of reading, you could potentially learn to do everything you have seen me do here tonight. Even make Jabberwocky...and more." He paused, his eyes rolling up and to the right, searching before he smirked and said. "...except the sword fighting."

But then it was back to seriousness, his lips pressed together in a thin flat line, his other hand moved to retract itself. He switched his footing so that he was on one knee with his head bowed and then as formally and properly as any knight should, he said. "Or...you could be furiously upset that your normalcy and privacy has been invaded by a dark god at which point I am truly at the mercy of whatever vengeance you feel is just."

Maximos head lift with her gentle motion, and yet his eyes did not. Mismatched black and white pupils stood focused on the dusty and broken ground. If she had known...Nocturne was a name here, but he was a curse in his home. She didnt understand. Or maybe she did, and Maximos was too much of a coward to look at her face and see it. Mercy, just like that?

“Is...Nocturne scary at all? Being the Lord of Nightmare and all...” And yet there it was. In the place of insult, accusation and vengeance, Madison only had curiosity. Maximos' eyes rolled slowly up from the ground to meet hers squarely and yet kindly. A smile stretched slowly across his face, pulling the corners of his mouth up in a slight curve. He took a soft breath, and then almost as excited as she was to ask, Maximos answered.

"Yes. He is. He knows and embodies your greatest fears. Every single one, until you fear nothing. And he will use those fears as he sees fit for whatever purpose he desires. Even, simply for his own amusement." And yet Maximos was smiling. There was no need to kneel so formally now, so the Shadow's posture loosened a bit. "And yet, he is not cruel. His machinations help and strengthen his followers, through difficulty and struggle."

There was a certain mote of strength in the Shadow's voice as he said the last bit. He even raised his right hand and balled it into a tight fist. The leather of his glove squeaked, and yet underneath that leather lay Lunaic burns charred into his skin, and painful black metal that replaced the bones beneath that. Strength, given through pain. There was a certain degree of pride in his voice as he continued. "It is a cursed sort of love, but it is a love."

His smile quirked just a bit at its edges, and his fist loosened, with a flick of his wrist the paintbrush he had produced for himself moments ago vanished. "He is as kind and caring as the child you encountered in your dream."

Maximos had not seen the dream, or heard of its details. But, he knew the dark god's style. If Madison had seen the boy then Nocturne had cast himself the child, and the child was a very particular character. It was a lifeline, put forth for the truly terrible nightmares. It was a piece of innocent to anchor ones sanity. And yet... "He is also as terrifying as everything else you faced in the very same dream."

Maximos rolled backwards, so he was sitting on his rear and folded his legs in front of himself, still facing Madison. He smirked. "So I suppose, in direct answer to your question...yes, he is. But how scary is entirely up to you."

Maximos watched and listened while he spoke. His expression never turned grim and his tone never slipped into anything beyond cheer. For Maximos, the negativity associated with Nocturne had become common place. It was so much so a part of his daily life that it had moved from a curse, to a chosen blessing, and now to a title. Paladin. Sword and hand of the Shadowfather. As it stood, the shadow could only see the good it had given his life.

But, it was not always so, and so he completely understood the darkness shrouding Madison's features. It was fear and doubt, which wrestled beside possibility and potential. The bad beside the good. His right eye gently slid from a dull hue to a bolder more prominent white. She was indecisive and confused, as should be expected. And while a part of him felt guilt for inflicting this on her, another part of him foresaw it melding perfectly with the new twist in her persona. And then, over the confusion came a declaration. He saw the emotion before he heard her words.

“Well, despite how scary he maybe, at some point I will thank him for his blessing.” Maximos simply nodded, and smiled. She had decided to save the issue for later, and that was understandable. But Maximos wondered, if while she thought on it, it wasnt better if she had a better image of what she was thinking about.

She leaned forward and past him, and recognizing what she was after he said, "Oh! My apologies for the stains and thank you."

And then turned and scooped the jacket up and offered it to her properly. They were both absolutely messy and not just moments after getting all fixed up. It was laughably hilarious. She offered him her hand, and the Shadow cordially accepted. He was feeling much better, but as his good arm slipped into her grip he used what strength she could offer to roll onto his feet and into a stand.

But, he didnt let go of her hand.

“Come on, we better go looking for those files before we get more company.” She said, and without skipping a beat Maximos responded. His reply phrased so close to hers it might as well have been the period on her sentence.

"Madison" , he said, squeezing her hand softly. She was absolutely ready to rush off to the next destination, but before she let this simmer Maximos had to be sure everything was set right. With any luck, he had gained her attention, but if not he was not moving or releasing her hand until he had finished speaking. "I know this is all very exciting, and its likely also very scary. All alone with weird magics, when you probably know very little of anything magical at all."

"Dreams, nightmares, gods, and spells", he smirked. "Its like a whole new world you've been mercilessly flung into. And by Noct, you dont even know your own name yet. But..."

Maximos was still holding her hand, he lift it just slightly and squeezed it softly again so as to bring attention to it. "...your not alone. I've been through this once already. And I'll be right here through it again, if you like, just like...this."

He squeezed her hand again. A softly chuckle as the Shadow again moved to adjust slide glasses up the brim of his nose that he simply was no wearing at the moment. "What I'm trying to say is, if and when we survive this...I can teach you...if you like."

He had given her his business card earlier. He had no idea she couldnt read the text on it. Hopefully she understood what he meant when he finally slipped his hand from hers and said. "After all, every Magician needs an apprentice, right?"

Madison was practically like a school girl.

There was so much excitement going on that it was practically mind blowing. Zombies, Nocturne, history, and even a new puppy! Madison was now filled with nothing more than excitement and once grabbing onto Max’s hand she almost began to drag Max off into the room as though she was a little girl leading her friend into the playground.

“Oh! My apologies for the stains and thank you."

“Uh-huh, that’s great. Come on let’s go!” With the quick movements that she was trying to make it seemed that Wocky even jumped up from his resting spot on the floor and began to run around them excitedly. Her voice even sounded as though she wasn’t even really listening. Perhaps it was the adrenaline from her earlier injuries, or even the fact that everything was happening way too fast. Whatever it was, Madison was simply ready for an adventure. She had been waiting so long for her answers, and now she was here and she couldn’t wait to see what was a head of her. The only thing was, Madison really wasn’t even considering what dark corners things may fall into.

"Madison"

With those words Madison came to a halt as the squeeze of his hand against hers was almost like an instant break. Stopping, the rabbit turned to look at him and smiled. She seemed confident, but even with her grin it was easy to see something through her eyes. Yes, there was excitement that seemed to be the only thing that was pulsing through her. But deep down, past everything, Madison was truly terrified. There was so much that she didn’t understand right now that was being handed to her from every direction, and one only fears what they did not understand.

"I know this is all very exciting, and its likely also very scary. All alone with weird magics, when you probably know very little of anything magical at all. Dreams, nightmares, gods, and spells. Its like a whole new world you've been mercilessly flung into. And by Noct, you dont even know your own name yet. But..."

Tightly, Max was holding onto her hand and yet, Madison wasn’t fighting to let go. For some reason, despite how fearful the Shadow man may have been to other people. To her, he almost made her feel safe when she was standing alone on the edge.

"...your not alone. I've been through this once already. And I'll be right here through it again, if you like, just like...this."

Madison lips moved slightly as it looked almost as though she was biting them nervously. These words were very powerful, even though they were very quiet and small. The rabbit didn’t really know what there was even to say, but really there was no need too. Her smile constantly remained the same from even the first time they had ever met to when Madison had ran into him during HoH. However, even though there was consistency there was a slight difference. Through the silence, there was only one word being said.

Thank you.

With another squeeze the man began to chuckle again as he adjusted his glasses. Cocking her head to the side Madison continued to look at him; did she miss a funny joke or something? Still holding onto his hand she swung it slightly back in forth almost in a childish manner. She too even began to giggle slightly as they sat in the wavering silence.

"What I'm trying to say is, if and when we survive this...I can teach you...if you like. After all, every Magician needs an apprentice, right? "

The swinging stopped and Madison almost looked shocked at him. Did he honestly just say what she thought? Without even realizing it, his hand slowly moved from hers. She almost seemed in shocked that he was even offering it to her.

“I would be honoured if you could teach me!” She said it within an instant of his words coming out. With both hands free, she jumped forward and tossed her hands around his neck. It seemed that she was full of excitement and joy. But really there was more to this. Madison was showing her gratitude the best way she could, as the amount she had for him she didn’t know how to express it.

“Thank you Maximos.” Her words were faint, almost a whisper but they were still there. She held on for quite a bit longer, as though she never wanted to let get. Through all of the pain and anguish that Madison had went through...

Max was definitely the home to her homeless heart.

"Compiling enough to make a complete body is not necessary, if such worries you," Kasumi easily replied. "Skulls and other larger, recognizable parts are recommended, as it gives us more to work with, but one can only do what one can do. If you find yourself burdened, then we will take all you have to offer."

The screening...?

"Ah!" She blinked, as she had very clearly forgotten. "Yes, we already have a scroll that indicates that you are working for us. That should allow you to complete your task with little problem, with your entire toolkit."

She turned to one of the accompanying monks. "If you would, Rongo...?" The man nodded and turned away, heading back to the centermost building.

Kasumi returned her attention to Matana, smiling softly. "I apologize... as I said, I hadn't really expected that the ad in the paper would work well, but I'm glad that we agreed to it.

The monk was rather quick about going back and forth; perhaps twenty or so seconds passed before he was already back, a rolled scroll in his grip. The item was given to Kasumi, and Kasumi moved to approach Matana.

"This should see you well. Feel free to return if you have any difficulty."

There were possibly no words that could have described what Madison had witnessed just moments ago. Their moment of tenderness seemed to have disappeared as the rabbit witnessed a song and dance from a man who she had witnessed visit death and be reborn into this. Apparently, this is what happens when you are resurrected...

Madison wasn’t even sure if everything she saw was real.

There was music, chess pieces, books, zombies, and even a faint image of tasty treats! Despite how life like everything was there was still an element of irregularly and mystery behind it, which seemed to intrigue Madison even more about the paintbrush that she was now holding within her palms. However, thinking about it was proving to be difficult as she was flung around like a ragdoll and there were oh so many distractions!

And yet her smile never faded...

At least it didn’t till the finale.

Maximos was absolutely spectacular! Who knew that he had such a voice and dance moves? But all of the good feelings left as it seemed the two of them were now swamped with zombies. There were at least thirty of them making their way through the front doors. A handful of them seemed to race towards the Shadow Man while some went straight for the rabbit. Five of them managed to try and swamp Jabberwocky and interrupt his chew time with an arm of one of the undead comrades. Before Madison could even scramble to her feet it seemed that it was too late.



Two of the zombies quickly tackled at the rabbit in attempted to have a bite. Thanks to the support of the chair, the wheels decided to roll back and tipped onto the ground. Smacking her head rather hard into some sort of zombie remains Madison began to flail. She had two zombies sitting on top of her clawing at her flesh as well as trying to bite onto whatever they could get their hands on. The large claw marks caused a searing pain to fill her body with the movement of the nails scraped along her skin. It seemed though that Madison wasn’t going down without a fight though. A few of the undead horde attempted to get a tasty treat from her legs as though that were trying to chop her feet off with their teeth for good luck. But, that really didn’t seem to be such a good idea as once their faces had gotten close, they were met with the unpleasant surprise of having their jaw knocked off.

CHOMP.

A loud pain filled scream left Madison’s lips as she felt teeth sinking into her right arm. Yes, it seemed that something had managed to have a taste of what bunny was like. Yes, it may have been considered sweet, but that was enough from the rabbit.

“LET GO!” Madison’s call almost sounded as though it was a battle cry as blood began to spray over the general area that she was resting at. Swinging her arm upwards the undead creature’s teeth released causing a shower to sprinkle onto the floor like rain. As she made this motion her knee shot up as though she were kneeing a soccer ball like a professional player, except the one zombie who was one top of her spine was her weapon. With a loud crack and a wail, liquids sprayed onto her own flesh as the spinal cord broke through the chest cavity. It was almost beautiful, it was a massacre. Quietly, the corpse gasped the air as it tumbled to the side.

And there was still another few coming her way.

Sighing, Madison attempted to get to her feet from the knocked down chair. Her body was growing tired of this countless game of chasing and fighting. But with her pen in hand she took another deep breath in and prepared for the next round of attack as her arm dripped to the floor.

Here it goes again.

Spells did not grow on trees. Skillfully crafted magic was not something you found out back. That performance took time, work, preparation, practice, and all in exceeding amounts. And only to have its final moments trumped by loud roars, moans, and groping hungry hands. Maximos eye's widened as he turned away from Madison to face the oncoming horde. In the silent seconds of their approach all vestiges of anything even reminiscent of a smile vanished from his face leaving only a stern upside down curve on his lips and sharp violent eyes. And so it was with absolutely no pretense or jest but complete outrage that Maximos firmly declared.

"How dare you?!" And in nothing short of a furious march advanced on the approaching horde. The mindless undead abominations had already waste plenty of good special effects with their unforgivably rude arrival. Maximos would waste nothing more on them or their ilk. He walked with both hands down by his side, fists balled tight. As the first five zombies approached, Maximos lashed out his right hand and his jet black long sword flew wildly into his waiting palm. The long sword was a single solid piece of some sort of obsidian-esque material and reflected the moonlight in flashes of silver along its length as it moved.

"I've had quite enough of your indecencies." Maximos said through gritted teeth as the first of the pack of five lunged forward. The zombie responded with a groan, and made it half way through the sound before the Shadow burst into motion. His right foot led, stomping forward his boot squeaking against the dusty floor tiles. He swung, his slash a fluid thing, the motion starting from his left leg, pushing through to his hips, across his torso and finally into his arms which tore across the remaining space from left to right and divided the walking corpse from its left hip to its right shoulder. Maximos was already moving as its upper torso began to slide along the diagonal separation in its rotted form to eventually flop onto the floor.

"No grace!" Maximos the Shadow said, as he used his moment to swing the sword up, and over his head in a wide ellipse flicking a spray of blood and dried viscera out in all directions before bringing the blade viciously down and across dividing a second zombie cleaning from left to right. Its hips gurgled something wet and yet thick and rancid as its upper half simply fell backwards like a fallen tree leaving its decaying innards exposed. "No class!"

And then the sword came back, slashing in wide arcs, clearing limbs and lunges in graceful sweeps and poignant cuts. It wasnt hard to bat the head off a zombie with the flat of his sword, or slam a single corpse into another and then impale them both and toss them as a road block before their companions to be crushed and trampled. Maximos had no problem dropping low and cutting the legs from under a running rot and then dicing its body into useless bits as he stood up and before it hit the ground. And yet the undead had a single thing on their side, and that was numbers. Hundreds of them could horde a single spot and win simply because the person fighting them had no room to move and no escape. And as it stood, Maximos was being surrounded. Fending one zombie, or two, or even ten was nothing, but if they came at all angles at once...

It was about then he heard Madison scream. Maximos' jaw clenched, his lips pursed in a tight pale line across his face. The moon beamed against the back of his head casting a long shadow over his face and leaving only the soft white glow of his right eye to indicate he even had a face at all. She was hurt. Again. He had failed to protect her. Again.

There was an expression on Maximos' face that was reminiscent of a grin. But only in the way that a grin, or even a smile is nothing more than a social evolution to bearing ones teeth. This was a primal, mirthless grin, cast in stark white by the gleam of the moon, almost giving it a glow against the shadow covering his face.

"Being dead is absolutely no excuse..." Maximos said, in cold and chillingly calm breath, simply lowering his sword to his side as the horde rushed in, all flailing arms, grabbing hands, and gnashing teeth. The leather of his glove squeaked softly. There was a long line of rotting flesh between him and the bunny. He could see that clearly, and then he advanced. Maximos met the crowd of groaning undead and walked through them like a man crossing a crowded market. Shoulders and hips twisting. Bobbing up on his toes to slide between passersby. Turning in a graceful pirouette to avoid stumbling over something on the ground. All the while the moonlight visible around him in lines and curves drawn for a blink in the open. And when he stopped, every one of the carcasses between him and Madison lay on the floor. Each spilling cold globs of lifeless slop onto the floor like rancid meat and juices pouring out of a torn garbage bag. "...for having no dignity."

The Shadow flicked his sword to the side casting off an arch of multicolored bodily fluids and then stepped forward toward the bunny. He was still smiling, though the moonlight no longer cast a shadow over his features. Maximos' mismatched black left eye, and white right eye, met Madison, and then met the sudden newcomer. By all immediate appearances the man did not appear infect, he even appeared to be excited!

And yet, the last living individual that bunny, and the gentleman met had expressed an intense desire to eat them both. And nearly succeeded. It was with that in mind, that Maximos spoke. Not rudely, but infact warmly, smiling all throughout. "Good evening, sir. "

The Shadow said, bowing his head slightly and using his left hand to make a sort of hat tipping gesture, though he currently wore no hat. Maximos' tone was the very epitome of politeness and friendliness. A gentleman, through and through. "Yes, quite the em...exciting, horde out today. And its great to see another survivor and such, but in interest of fair play I have to inform you..."

Maximos brought the spotless black blade up to rest across his shoulders almost lazily. And then, still smiling and still warm of tone he said, "...if your intending to eat my friend there, then I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you outright, here and now. Nothing personal. You understand dont you?"