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 Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 9:10 am
Xelloss had a plan, as he so often did. His current plan involved water and swimming down deep under it. Given that he was not personally amphibious, he needed to acquire an assistant for this one. Fortunately, Hellmaster had picked up a kelpi mare back when they were collecting artifacts for Ruby Eye's resurrection. Xelloss trotted down the path to her known usual haunt. Borrowing servants was a grand old tradition for mazokus. He himself had been lent out to other various mazoku lords several times. Now it was his turn to make use of one of the useful soquili they had laying around.
"Lavinia?" He called her name out with his usual smile on his face. "Are you here?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 11:50 am
 The mare in question was staring down at the container that housed her own servant so to speak. Miracle had aided her these last few months without too much complaint and they had succeeded in their mission to locate the artifact that Phibrizzo had sent her to find. The kelpi mare had told the seathi that once her usefulness was over that she would be released. That time seemed to have come. Lavinia had dragged the container near to the edge of a river that she knew fed into the ocean. It was as close as she could go to Miracle's old home.
She was about to tip the container over to release Miracle when she heard a voice calling her name. She shifted her head to the side before shushing the complaint from the seathi mare. "Silence. Just wait this out."
Lavinia lifted her head towards the direction that she believed the voice to be coming from. "I am here. Who seeks me?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 3:24 pm
"Forgotten me already?" asked Xelloss as he came into view of the kelpi mare. It looked like he was interrupting something. Curious, he blinked at the container which held Miracle the seathi. "Be careful with that," he said. "Looks like she might escape. Unless that was the idea?" Carrying around a jug of water everywhere wasn't his idea of fun. Maybe Lavinia had finally gotten tired of hauling the seathi around.
Whatever she was doing, Xelloss hoped she'd make it quick. He didn't intend on standing around watching some prolonged departure scene.
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Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 3:34 pm
Lavinia could pretend to hide the hostility simmering under her skin at being so casually hailed by Xelloss but why bother. The mare snapped her teeth in warning as the stallion approached before eying Miracle. "It is none of your business if I choose to be careless."
Lavinia glared down towards Miracle in turn before turning around and delivering a solid kick to the container. She heard the splash of water as the container met the water. A pang of regret towards the rough treatment that she had given Miracle washed through her before she shook her head. The container was bound to be empty now and she was not willing to check the seathi's condition. "What do you want Xelloss?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 3:55 pm
Xelloss lost some of his guise of friendliness. She was being curt with him. He could tolerate that from a soquili who didn't know any better or from a superior, but she was neither. She ought to know that he outranked her, second only to Beastmaster, Hellmaster, and Ruby Eyes. He straightened up, also not even deigning to look at the seathi that was so harshly flung into the water.
"I want to make use of your abilities," he told her. "It is... in your best interest to comply." An unspoken threat hung upon those words of what might happen should she choose to be defiant.
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Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 4:08 pm
Lavinia stood motionless as Xelloss's demeanor shifted and she immediately toned down the amount of snark in her voice. When she had first met Phibrizzo and began her service to the Mazoku she had been reprimanded in somewhat of the same way. She gave a swift glare towards the Kalona before sighing. With that sigh the mare tamped down on some of the anger that she was feeling.
"So I assume that this means you are needing someone to comb the depths of the waters again?"
Flashing back to Phibrizzo again Lavinia remembered the second task that had been proposed to her before she chose to hunt down the item. "Is this about Deep Sea Dolphin?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 4:15 pm
Mollified slightly, Xelloss also toned himself down. He wasn't smiling like he had when he first came over, but he no longer looked like he might be about to strike her either. He'd play nice as long as she did. He didn't want to alienate her, after all.
"Yes, you are correct," he said in response to her question. She might be irreverent but she put things together quickly. Matters pertaining to Deep Sea Dolphin were the ones that her skills applied to, Dolphin being a kelpi herself and supposedly sleeping in the depths somewhere. "I plan on enlisting the aide of a certain aquatic monarchy to help find her, and you're going to be the mazoku liaison for this affair."
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Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 8:14 pm
Well it seemed as if she hadn't lost her touch in connecting the dots so to say. She listened attentively to Xelloss as he highlighted his plan. At the same time she knew that she would probably never leave this organization now. Lavinia let a silent snarl pass through her lips at the realization. However now was not the time.
She had agreed to this when she sought out Phibrizzo and she would live with her decision ... she sought power after all. Lavinia watched Xelloss from the corner of her eyes. So far the plan seemed simple enough. "Is there anything I need to do besides tagging along with this enlistee at first? I assume that there might be something I need to say to Deep Sea Dolphin if we find her."
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Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 8:35 pm
"Yes, if you find her..." There was one thing that would draw any mazoku out of hiding, no matter how preoccupied or reluctant. "Tell her that Lord Ruby Eyes walks among us again." The ceremony had been a success and Rezo the Red Priest was now Ruby Eyes once more. No mazoku could not heed that call. "Tell her that we have gathered near the jungle temple. She'll know where that is." It was a site they had used in their previous warring. As long as Dolphin hadn't suffered any head injuries she should be able to make her way back. There was even plenty of water around for her to stay comfortable.
"And I shouldn't need to tell you this," said Xelloss. "But Dolphin is a mazoku lord which means that she is very dangerous and not very used to disrespect." His tail twitched slightly behind him as he leaned in closer to Lavinia. "So try to be polite to her, will you?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 8:53 pm
"Lord Ruby Eyes walks among us again. Gathered near the jungle temple." Lavinia spoke the words in order to lock them into her memory. She wasn't likely to forget the phrases but it seemed prudent that she repeat the words to Xelloss in order to prove that she had the phrases memorized. Lavinia nodded to herself now more than Xelloss. It seemed as if she was stuck for now.
As Xelloss gave her the warning about Deep Sea Dolphin being shown respect Lavinia shifted her weight in order to peer at the stallion. He leaned in closer and she nearly lost her composure in lashing out. However if she had done that she would land herself in hot water. "I will remember that Xelloss. So when do we meet your enlistee?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 9:05 pm
He drew away from her again, giving her back her breathing room. "We meet the potential enlistee.." Xelloss put emphasis on 'potential.' He had every intention of doing whatever necessary to convince the kelpi prince to do what he needed, but he hadn't done it yet. "As soon as we get there. That means we have a walk ahead of us." If he wasn't bringing her along it could be a fly instead. He would be able to make it to the meeting point at least twice as fast without Lavinia, but such was the inconvenience of bringing along an assistant.
"We leave tomorrow morning. Be ready." It hadn't been a long conversation. Xelloss figured there would be plenty of time on the road to fill her in on the finer details of the project. With nothing else to say for the moment, Xelloss turned to leave her. He only had a few matters to attend to, and then would come time for departure.
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Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 1:10 pm
Lavinia nodded at Xelloss's advice to be ready for an early departure before she heard the sounds of his form retreating. The kelpi mare stood silent for a moment before edging back towards the river bank. It was not in her nature to let a creature suffer. If she had indeed caused serious injury to Miracle the kelpi mare would do anything she could to put an end to the suffering. Her hooves carried her towards the river's edge. As water lapped around her legs she eased her form into the shallow water and nosed the container that had been Miracle's home away from home. It was necessary, her mind told her as she scanned the water. You needed someone and she was the most convenient choice. Now her usefulness had come to an end. Failing to see the seathi in the water Lavinia snorted harshly and scrambled out of the water. She would need time to get ready for the morning. She craned her neck around once more before sighing, "Goodbye Miracle."
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Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 2:03 pm
 The time had apparently come. She was going to be set free. It had been a long few months acting as a guide for Lavinia and Miracle was ready to begin her journey home. As she felt the water in the container shift the seathi blew a steady stream of bubbles as she rested near the bottom. She could make the outline of Lavinia's form as the mare struggled to drag the container to the river. She'd been informed that the river fed into the ocean and she could use it as a way home. Miracle had felt her spirits soar at that announcement and she had been on cloud nine since.
What was this though? The cessation of motion had Miracle rising to the surface to complain. She had been promised. The curt reply from Lavinia silenced her vocal complaint and she sunk to the bottom of the container to sulk. She had heard the kelpi's name called and she could only assume that someone else had a mission for Lavinia. Did this mean that she wasn't going to be released? Miracle splashed a little bit of water out of the container before she sighed.
A moment passed and then her whole world shifted dramatically. The container shuddered violently and she felt gravity leave momentarily as she flew through the air to splash into the water. She lay on the surface of the water for a moment, stunned by the impact. Her senses came back to her a few moments later and she realized that she was indeed free. Words registered in her ears as she bobbed gently in the water. She swam over to the container and, using it as a shield, peered around it at the scene before her. As the seathi made sense of the words she couldn't help but feel a little bit of pity for Lavinia. She would be stuck with this group unless she could find herself a way out. However it seemed as if it was now none of her business.
Miracle followed the majority of the conversation before realizing that it was coming to an end. As the stallion walked away from the clearing Miracle watched Lavinia. As the mare turned to face the water once more Miracle made a hasty decision. She dived underneath the water’s surface and swam further downstream. She surfaced a small distance away bobbed silently. Her head swiveled towards the kelpi’s direction just in time to catch the parting words from Lavinia. It seemed as if this really was goodbye then. Lavinia wasn’t going to need her services anymore. Miracle gave a sigh of relief before silently echoing Lavinia’s goodbye. She spent the next few minutes gathering her bearings before she started on the path towards the open ocean and her former home.
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