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 Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2011 9:23 pm
She should've known better then to venture out of Claus Arbor so late in the night. Her dreams had been a jumble mix of faces, meetings, Danger, Death and Life. They haunted her as she woke up from them, her body sweating from the pressure the magical insight.
And yet, in her fevered state, she had decided to leave the peaceful village and head to the fewer places to visit. The castle ruins of Poena Privus loomed over her as she shouldered the cloak she wore for safe passage. She didn't particularly like the Reaper association, with their ruthless Black hearts and Reapers. And yet she was here for one thing, something she felt she would find in the cold stone and safety of granite and marble.
She sought safety. In her nomadic past life, she had found the ruins had a way of lessening her extremely detailed dreams and a place where she could focus on more meaningless task. She...hadn't been back at the ruins since she left her village and wasn't sure if they would welcome her warmly.
"Hello?" She called out as she entered the Castle hallways, dimly lit by Lanterns and Torches on the walls. She removed her cloak to sit hand on a loose peg as she continued to look around, black ears swiveled at small sounds and her nose twitched as she attempted to smell another magical being around. Hopefully in the time she had been her last, the Reapers hadn't decided to move.
"Helloooooo? It's Graveyard, The Ars Lilium of Claus Arbor!" She called out the honorific name, something she only claimed when she needed to. "Is there anyone here??" She frowned, her familiar Savage loosened himself from her shadows to come sit by her feet, her hand instinctively pressed to his head. "Just where is everyone in this place?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2011 10:58 pm
 It wasn't unusual for Cruor to take the night watch. In fact many of the Reapers appreciated his silent and invisible vigilance in the middle of the night. Not only could he move soundlessly and without being seen, but he never complained about his duties. Being a member of the elite was something Cruor always had a tendency to take a little to seriously, to shoulder with a little too much eagerness. Honestly he preferred the dark, cold perch of stone he usually sat upon to the liveliness within the castle ruins themselves.
He was outside on one of these routine patrols when he had spotted her. She was obviously an outsider, especially considering the way she dressed and the way she cast her gaze around the courtyard as she entered the ruins. Frowning, Cruor slowly climbed down, using magic to keep himself concealed, to muffle the clink of his armor, the scrape of metal on stone. Soundlessly he followed her, drawing his scythe when he heard that she was an Ars Lilium, when he saw her familiar.
"Halt." he called out softly from the shadows, finally, when she asked her final question, his hand moving to extinguish the flames in the hallway, giving him an advantage.. "Graveyard, Ars Lillium of Clarus Arbor, what is your business here?"
His tone was chill and full of wariness, his scythe slowly morphing into a longsword instead at his mental command; easier for such a confined place with an enemy that could, possibly, be too fast for a scythe strike to do much damage to her. Then again he supposed that he did have her at a disadvantage, her being now in the dark of a castle she didn't know very well... Never mind that he was still concealed safely within the shadows. In that moment he didn't wish her ill, but he had to take necessary precautions, even if it alarmed the one that had come into the home of the reapers.
"I'm afraid I cannot allow you to go further without knowing your intent."
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2011 11:29 pm
Graveyard was beginning to think that the ruins were really what they were called, just empty barren ruins. Losing hope in the safe haven she thought she could rely on, she turned to leave when she hard the faint sound of metal on stone. Her ears perked to the sound as she swiveled her head to look and yet....she saw nothing. Shrugging, she tightened the cloak she came with, her familiar by her side.
Then she heard the sound again, and moments after she did the lights extinguished. Though she was a wolf mononoke, her vision was not the best in pitch blackness and she breathed in, looking for the source. A deep male voice resounded off the walls which didn't help her pinpoint the source either. She didn't jump though, keeping her cool before sighing.
"Mysterious voice of the ruins." She responded back, chuckling to herself, "I came here to speak to a reaper. I am a dream seer and use to come here often with my nomadic village for refuge." Her voice shook a little as she remembered her people coming here before her ears perked to the sound of magic taking form.
"I'm not here to harm anyone if that's what your thinking good sir. Though with the way you've darkened the room here, I'm not sure I could do much anyways." Graveyard's tail wagged as she lifted her hand, a small purple ball lit her face as she looked around, hoping to see the unknown source. "Are you a reaper? Or a Witch eater?" She smiled softly, it would be her luck on this night to run into one of the witch eater kind. She could fight, but she wasn't that much of a fighter either. She would do her best but....She relied on her familiar too much to protect her instead.
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Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 11:45 am
His brow slowly lifted as the woman before him spoke, her words ringing of truth and triggering vague memories of nomadic tribes that had occasionally passed through the ruins once, years before. Frowning he slowly circled the Ars Lillium, making sure to remain as silent as possible, the sound of his footsteps masked by his magic. She didn't seem to be lying from what he knew from experience with interrogation, though she did seem uneasy which he supposed he couldn't blame her for.
"That is the point." he answered as he stopped before her, most likely alerting her to the fact that he was closer than he had let on.
He watched her for another moment before he allowed the shadows to slip away from his form, lifting a hand to light the torches with a touch of pyromancy. Cruor stared at her, slowly letting a gauntlet-covered hand fall back to his side as he observed her, his gaze narrow and his form tense, just in case she tried anything. It wasn't that he believed that she meant ill-will or that she was anything but what she was, it was more that he didn't trust anyone that he had never met before, no matter who they were.
"My name is Cruor. I am a Black Heart entrusted with the protection of the ruins. State your business." he muttered, one of his hands flexing at his side.
Perhaps he was too used to violence, too used to their headquarters being occasionally assaulted instead of simply visited. Whatever it was it left him on edged and primed for combat should this Graveyard do anything suspicious in his presence. Though he did, secretly, hope that it did not come to that, all things considered.
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Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2011 9:59 pm
If she could hear the thoughts running through Cruor's head, she would've assumed that he knew just what the nomadic tribes we're like and how they had always sought refuge until recent years. But she didn't know that he did, in FACT know these details.
She only slightly twitched at the sound of his voice close to her and chuckled again. "You play such an interesting game." She spoke of his shadows again before they fell back and reveled the armored man. The room lit again with the flames from the torches, again from the man's magic and illuminated the room. Her head cocked as she studied the other before smiling.
"Such a handsome face to hide in the shadow's." She didn't move from her spot as she exstinquished the purple magic she used to illuminate her face from before cocking her hips, placing her hands on them. "It's a shame that you have such a way with introducing yourself, Had I been any lesser of a woman, I think I might have left here." She smiled softly.
"Pleasure to meet you Cruor of the Black Hearts." She wrung her hands together and looked at him before sighing, "As stated before, I am a dream seer. I had a very demonic premention in my dreams...a nightmare if I was to put it simply..." She bit her lip and shifted again, "I came her solely for a place to feel safe." She didn't know how to explain the sensation to him, when she had those nightmares, there was a chance they would come true, and usually a high chance. She didn't want to see them. "I am not sure why, but in the past, the ruins have provided a very....sheltered dream seering for me. In a way, it hinders my ability. Whether that is due to the magic here or not, I do not know." She looked at the man again, "I just need to stay here for the night and then I will be on my way." Her eyes were hooded with fear and dejection, regardless that her head was tilted upwards and a soft smile.
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Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 12:34 pm
Cruor lifted a brow in response to the female's comment, his tail flicking, the only sign that the compliment affected him in any way. From what he had seen of her she was no Majin, no real threat, thus his own personal code wouldn't really let him turn him away. However that did not mean that he had to be artificially pleasant with her by any means. Doubtless she would be able to see through any facade of cheer after his less-than-pleasant introduction.
"Only a strong or brave woman would seek shelter from the Reapers." he answered simply, head tilting slightly to the side with slight curiosity. "You're the first in a while."
He hadn't seen an outsider within their complex for quite some time, actually. Typically he spent his watches alone with the stars and the wind, the rustle of the nearby trees and the occasional stirrings of nocturnal creatures. He'd never witnessed a Witch Eater bold enough to attack the Reaper stronghold and, typically, everyone else simply left them to their own devices. Not that he could really blame them; they weren't always the most friendly bunch... Or, at least, he wasn't.
"A seer? I see." Cruor murmured, frowning thoughtfully as he looked her over; now that he was looking for it, he saw the signs of fear, of being shaken and he couldn't hear a lie or any form of deception in her words. "It's far too late for us to turn you away, especially considering the attacks recently. We'll find you a place to sleep."
That said he conjured a small flame to his hand for better lighting and half turned, gesturing for her to walk beside him; despite his disposition he didn't want to make her feel unwelcome. His goals as a Reaper, while mainly focused on revenge, had slowly shifted to genuinely wanting to help others and turning people away or being outright unfriendly was counter-productive to that. Once he knew she was walking with him he lead her down the main hall, towards where the offices and rooms were, his gaze wandering over the dark corners, places to hide; it was a habit born of necessity and perhaps a bit of paranoia.
"Odd that I have never seen you here before." he mused finally, glancing at the woman beside him out of the corner of his eyes. "I usually patrol alone at night."
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 11:49 am
Her ears flicked at his statement before shrugging. "I am neither or if that is what you ensuing Cruor of the Black hearts. That is...Brave or Strong." She rubbed her eyes before looking away, "I have heard that Reapers have begun to turn away refuge from most. Fear that a Majin would be in their midst, or gods forbid, A human with Majin ties." She looked away again, her arms crossing protectivately in front of her. "It is only cause I have a cousin within your ranks that I am allowed to come here." She smiled, feigning the tired and dread she felt inside her.
"Ah...Yes a Seer and a Healer if one must put it. And a wolf for others." Her ears twitched again, flicking when he came close or moved away. Whether or not she was intently paying attention to his moments out of fear was another matter. "Thank you Cruor." She wanted to reach out and grip on the stranger's arm, to have something solid to hold on to before picking up her stuff.
Though she got the feeling if she did such to the Dragon, she might agitate him more then he already seemed. Her tail swayed as she looked like he did. Where he looked for enemies, she looked for fabled nightmare creatures. Her usual half lidded violet eyes we're wide and alert.
"I haven't returned here in many moons...And when I do stay, I stay with Ashkii of the Black hearts." Her face screwed up at the mention of her cousin, "Though I have had better hospitality and such from a mouse, Ashkii usually keeps me tucked away deep in the Privus. As I said before..." She sighed, "The ruins provide some damper on my magical abilities." She heard the faintest clank of something behind her, her feet whirling as her face screwed in a growl, ears flattened. As she searched the dark behind them, she saw, smelt nor heard nothing more. "Ah...I tire of being so jumpy." She mumbled to herself mostly, she desperately wanted to hold onto Cruor now, in fear that something would rip her from the dark and take her from the small light he provided.
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 12:56 pm
"It is difficult to trust anyone now. Times are growing darker, Witch Eaters more desperate." Cruor murmured, brows knitting a little. "It is dangerous for anyone here for us to let in... Unknown visitors."
Perhaps he was paranoid and distrustful, but if a Witch Eater snuck into their ranks and took the heart of anyone in Poena Privus he would take it personally. He had lost far too many friends and family to the majins to even consider forgiving anyone that counted themselves as one of them or to chance allowing one of them in unintentionally. By killing Witch Eaters he was saving lives but, also, by turning travelers away, he knew that they were saving the lives of those that did what was necessary to protect the innocent.
"Ashkii." his stride faltered for a moment, eyes narrowing and lips pressing together in distaste. "I imagine that his hospitality leaves much to be desired, yes."
When she spun, suddenly, startled, he simply turned his head to give her a curious look, turning slightly to peer into the darkness. He saw and smelt... Absolutely nothing and hadn't felt any sort of unease since she had first entered the ruins. Sighing he reached out and gently gripped her shoulder, turning her and using the grip to guide her down the hall, hoping the metal and leather of his gauntlet served as some sort of tangible comfort.
"You need rest." Cruor mused, watching her as he led her down one of the long, darkened hallways. "We'll place you somewhere secure. You are safer here than you would be virtually anywhere else."
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