Welcome to Gaia! ::

A loud boom echoed across the sky, the occasional flash of lightning illuminating the clouds. A large, pale green half-dome marked the landscape now mostly shrouded in the darkness of the evening, little flecks of light from the distant atmospheric lightshow reflecting upon its glass. Within was Elst, transplanting a new shipment of orchid sprouts he’d purchased, every movement he made closely followed by his curious assistant, a lavender-colored flower of sorts, at about the height of Elst’s waist. A sort of song-like voice echoed,

Rain!

Aoi ran to the side of the greenhouse, watching the tiny droplets hit the panes of ivy-colored glass in increasing amounts.

Can we… go outside?

Elst smiled, having wanted to go outside to enjoy the rain anyway. He teased,

“Well, I dunno, we do have a lot of work to get done, it could be another couple of hours before we could go outside… The rain would probably be through by then, anyway…

I can get it done… faster! Promise we can go see the rain… afterward?

Showing a particular vigor for his work, Aoi ran over to the table, removing the orchid sprouts from their smaller pots as fast as he could with his delicate little hands, careful not to go too fast. With the aid of what little floramancy he’d managed to use in his excited state, the job was done quickly, each orchid soon residing in a larger pot, with not so much as a single leaf disturbed.

May we go outside now… Please?

Elst grinned down at the eager Essentic, walking towards the door.

“Oh, well, I suppose we could…"

He was quickly taken by the hand, tiny grass-like fingers gently tugging towards the outside rain, and they were soon soaked to the bone, Elst lying back on one of his workbenches while Aoi ran around in the flowers. The Essentic blended in so well in the flowerbeds, Elst thought, he could hardly be seen at all.

He took a deep breath of the moist air, admiring the fragments of moonlight breaking through the clouds like a blessing from the gods. He had the perfect view… and had become a perfect target.

Thunderous crashes of sound reverberated across the sky, each accompanied by another bolt of electricity illuminating everything from the sky to the ground. Elst stood in the middle of it all, enjoying the rain’s tendency to blanket out anything and everything else. Another boom, echoed, yet Elst had just enough time to wonder why it’d had no accompanying lightning before the bullet smashed through his head, fully removing a large portion of it. He was sent down, hitting the ground in moments. No blood, no grey matter fell to the ground with him, however, as only a green mist was sent into the air. The other section of his skull landed in a tree nearby.

…!!

Aoi poked his head above the flowers to see that Elst had fallen, and he realized something was wrong. He ran to his broken master, slight hints of purer emotions starting to show.

Wake up! What… happened?

Thunder crashed once again overhead, the rain intensifying, seemingly a protest of the sky itself. Aoi felt a certain cold wash over him, nowhere near an effect of the rain. This…was a different sort of cold, one that permeated beyond your skin, beyond your bones, into your soul. Aoi looked down, seeing the ‘body’ beginning to shudder, then stand.

”Gah… What was that? Felt like a high-powered rifle or something… Aoi, could you help me reform my skull a bit? It’s getting difficult with the details.”

Aoi felt something, was it relief? Knowing his master was a fellow plant, knew well that Elst’s skull was like any other green matter; easy to re-grow using his magic. He retrieved the other portion of Elst’s skull, placing his hands ever so gently on the gash that was left between the tow halves as he pressed them together. His hands gave off a faint glow, and the gash sealed, hair quickly growing back, and Elst was practically like he’d never even been shot. His eyes darted around.

“Thanks, but now we need to focus on finding who did that. I think I have a machete in storage, somewhere…”

Prodding the former severance point in his skull slightly, Elst felt around his hairline to ensure he was completely pieced back together for a moment before turning to the man who'd just tried to kill him. The only emotion prevalent in his expression was a mix of curiosity, and a bit of irritation. Aoi stood in front of him, examining the other Essentic from a short distance, a slight glow to his hands as he kept his magic ready for quick use.

"Won't be necessary, you say. Is there really any reason I should believe you on that, other than, say, the fact you haven’t killed me yet?"

Ignoring the rather… horrifying appearance of the man, Elst actually grinned slightly, and examined him a bit more in-depth, trying to see his actual motive. He wasn’t someone he recognized, and the man certainly had no personal knowledge of him, seeing as he’d not known Elst was a plant. Hearing the man’s question, he snapped back into reality from within his mind.

“I think… I’ll just accept that apology for now, no real harm done, anyways. And what am I? I would prefer you use 'who', but I am Elst, and I'm human enough. I’m rather surprised you wouldn’t know that already, seeing as assassins generally know their target. A better question is, who are you? And who wanted me dead, anyways? I’ve never hurt anyone, I think…”

Aoi eyed Crux somewhat warily, while trying to imitate Elst’s nonchalant air. He directed a simple question;

Sibling… Essentic?

Thunder erupted overhead, and the wind slowly began to pick up; a rather suiting climate for an equally grim meeting.

Elst held back a rather cynical glance, instead choosing another grin.

"So this has something to do with the Essentics, then? I must admit I'm a bit surprised that you don't mind killing people, yet don't want to irritate Banning. But trust me, I have no intention to assault you, god knows what little good it would do anyway."

He listened as the man spoke, noting his name as something to be remembered.

"Interesting how you assume I claim to know much about crime, if I did I wouldn't be asking you these questions would I? I'm simply saying it's a tad pointless to go around hiring a top-notch hitman without even telling them something as important as the fact that I'm not human. I mean, I think I've even heard your name a time or two, you'd think they'd remember to mention a detail as crucial as that when they're hiring one of the most, if not the most, notorious hitmen around."

He heard the man's offer for the information, raising an eyebrow before replying.

"Terribly sorry, uh, Trystan, but as much as I'd love to know who wants me dead so passionately, I doubt I have any information you'd find too interesting." He almost laughed at the question. As intimidating as the man was, Elst had always appreciated it when people were honest, even when it came to the point of being blunt. "And yes, I suppose fire could work, although it'd be a fairly futile effort in this weather."

He spoke of the best way one could kill him as if he were chatting about work with a friend. He was fairly certain the man had no intention of killing him, anyways, for some reason, Elst trusted his word. Yes, he noticed the man's darkening eyes, amongst the other signs that the man was likely some sort of hellspawn, but appearances mattered little to him.

As this happened, Aoi continued to observe his potential kin.

Yes... I am an... Essentic. Aoi.

He made his best effort to match Crux's bluntness.

Elst listened to the man as he spoke of knowing when an opponent would attack, paying more attention to the ‘testing’ part. “Ah, so they try to test you… I guess it would be a bit nice to have a few surprises now and then, if you’ve gotten so used to doing what you do.” He noted the man’s irritation, however, noting that he should try to be a little less chatty. Upon the mention of Essentics, and the fact that he’d not run screaming yet, he laughed slightly. “Well, I must admit, you have quite the menacing appearance. Must be useful when you need information out of people. Luckily, I don’t care too much about appearances.”

He paused for a moment, not entirely sure what had left-him undisturbed about talking with someone who’d try to kill him. ”Yeah, I suppose it’s a tad strange, me still talking to you and all, but hey, I forgive fairly easily when the apology’s sincere enough. If you wanted me dead, I would be dead.” He shuddered slightly as the man spoke of water resistant fire.

He paused a moment, for the raindrops that had accumulated on his glasses had begun to obscure his vision. He wiped them off with his sleeve, then continued. “Well, actually, there are a few chemicals that can make water-proof fire, but I’d rather not dwell on those. Once again, I think I can trust you not to use it against me, at least for now.” He spoke of this quite airily; not minding at all that he’d just informed an assassin of a way to catch him on fire in the rain.

"But if you want to know about Essentics, I’ll tell you right away I do not know too much, but I can tell you whatever I do know. We might want to head inside, though; I doubt you enjoy being soaked.” Had Elst just invited one of the most dangerous men in Drente inside the greenhouse with him? Yes. Did that bother him in the slightest? No.

Aoi eyed his… brother? A little more closely. They seemed so very different, yet were supposedly the same species of creature. Past his previous shyness for the moment, Aoi managed to speak in full sentences.

My purpose? I…help with the gardens, help them grow strong. See? He pressed his hands together, and when they separated, a small cloud had formed, one which he could use to water plants. He quickly dispersed it, however, as he was still fairly new with his magic. “Is yours to… just help your master on his… jobs? Or do you do other things for him?

Hands absentmindedly retracing the line at which his skull had shattered, still trying to calculate the man’s precise intentions, if all he truly wanted was information. “Ah, yes… I could understand it would get annoying to constantly have people running.” He looked down at his hands, thinking of whether he had much control over changing his body’s form or not. “Though, I’ll admit, I’d rarely solicit that reaction without changing my appearance rather…drastically. Which would be inconvenient.”

He took in the man’s words on his strangeness. “I have… heard it quite a number of times; that I’m rather difficult to surprise, to scare. I have seen a number of disturbing things in my life; few of them really phase me anymore.” He listened to the man’s speech of his own insincerity, returning to his formal grin to match the man’s dangerous, almost sly look. “Oh, believe me, I have no intention of ever thinking of you as sincere, no worry about that. I speak of your words, meaning they are truthful… for now. I simply do not believe you plan to kill me, but once again, only for now.”

Elst hadn’t the slightest intention of attempting to befriend the man… No, that would simply be foolish, however much Elst appreciated friendships. Instead, he desired to form a mild acquaintance with this dangerous individual; such an acquaintance would be highly useful to have, of course. There were the obvious benefits, he now knew of a man whom he could call upon if he had a highly dangerous task to be performed along with the corresponding cash; and he could count on the task being performed with the highest level of expertise possible. Then there was the underlying benefit… As long as Elst did the same in return, this man could provide rather useful information. He’d already learned a few things, that was for sure. He may be a fair bit oblivious, but Elst wasn't incapable of planning. However, there was always that simple aspect of Elst that enjoyed having guests, whomever they may be. He digressed;

“Anyway, let us head inside, it’s a greenhouse, plenty warm, I’m sure you’ll agree.” He walked over to the greenhouse door, opening it; a ray of jade light spilled through the open doorway.

Aoi continued his gaze towards Crux, finally beginning to understand him a bit more. Just being within his presence was enough to cause Aoi to act somewhat coldly.

Weak, you say… Tell me, which is the one that’s been around for almost as long as this world has… existed, without strife in the slightest; plants, or everything else? Which would survive being torn to pieces… You, or Elst?

Just as Crux was, Aoi had been simply using things his master had taught him.

But... you would be difficult to tear apart in the first place… So basically your Purpose is to… keep him alive, then, as he does for you…

He began to follow Elst towards the doorway.

Elst calmly watched as the other man seemed to... waver, ever so slightly, and declined to offer the man help because he'd learned enough by this point; if he offered help, the man would not accept it. So such an offer would be a complete and utter waste of words. One more thing: He had a headache. Headaches annoyed him, since it proved his inability to be human without feeling pain, defying his goal of defying pain. Make sense? Well, it did, at least to Elst, and that was what mattered to him at present. He placed a small amount of pressure upon his temples, with his thumb and forefinger. Another portion of his own weakness had begun to show; when his headaches started, he began to lose his hold over suppressing his emotions. He was only slightly irritated at the moment; but that was enough for Elst to want to suppress it. He took a somewhat halted breath, before replying.

“Allow me to repeat myself, just once more. I do not trust you; I simply believe that at present it would be illogical for you to kill me, for I have something you cannot have from me dead.” He allowed them man inside, then shut the door rather sharply behind himself. “Now, Trystan, can I get you something to drink? You look like you drink, and you look stressed. Maybe you’ll think a bit clearer with something to spice up your mind a bit.”

Oddly enough, like Aoi, the very presence of this duo seemed to be causing Elst to act differently. His words had a slight –slight, mind you- dry edge to them, and his brows showed slightly more… negative emotion in their now angled shape. “Now –ah, how did you put it- monsieur; I care to tell you what you wish to know… in specific. I have no way of knowing what you already know, so, I suggest, it would be to your greatest advantage to simply start asking questions.”

He reached into a cabinet, from wherein he removed a single light blue bottle absent of a label, filled with a fluid seemingly clearer than water. He kept some sort of drink in storage, somewhere, at all times, for he often was able to coo customers into small talk over large orders with such drinks. Earned him far more than the liquor cost. He didn’t like the stuff himself, didn’t seem to have any sort of attractive flavor, but humans liked it, as well as… other species, so he figured, why not make his customers and guests comfortable? Couldn’t hurt, could it? “How does this look to you? What was it called… Vodka, yes? I don’t know your tastes, but will this suffice?” A rather strange occasion, it was, the more irritated he became with this ‘guest’, the more seemingly courteous he became.

Aoi followed Elst, almost following in suit with Crux’s actions, and continued. Dependent… Strange word choice for you. We… are dependant on sunlight, and water as well, yet those are in near endless abundance. Machines, however, are dependant on things not so easy to find. Oil, electricity, maintenance. These things… All provided by humans. Machines are… dependant on humans, can barely sustain themselves. When plants are hurt, we fix ourselves. When we cannot find water, we hold our supplies for as long as possible, dig our roots deeper. Plants have existed for longer than humans, and for a reason. Humans cannot adapt to their environment, they instead must fight over resources, and oppress other cohabitants…of the planet…to survive. Eventually, they will run out of their petty resources, and as they die their machines will follow them. Then, once more… Plants will grow back.

He paused for a moment. This was all from memory of what Elst had taught him, infused with a slight bit of a cruel influence gained by Trystan’s presence. And yes, we have lived without… strife… At least none of our own. When humans caused that great downfall, they learned nothing and continued to fight, rebuilding the machines that once served… their purposes. Plants, continue to grow. We do not fight, and live on… accordingly. Aoi had taken this from a number of sources. Elst’s facts about the cause of that great downfall, about many things; this portion at least was not biased. The argumentative edge came from books Aoi had read with Elst, ones environmentalists had loaned them. Then the bite of his words came from the father of fierce himself; none other than Trystan Chevalier.