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 Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 5:49 pm
It was late, and the wind howled mournfully as it sped through alleys and streets of the city, picking up rubbish and leaves left from a too warm autumn. But aside from the wind, it was quiet. Ominous, even. Blood dripped down August’s lip from where he’d been hit while fending off a creature that had attacked him from the darkness. He had heard rumors of such monsters lurking in the city, hunting down those who weren’t able to defend themselves. But until that night, he hadn’t come across one himself.
He could understand how someone could be seriously injured or killed by one of these creatures; however, he knew how to fight. It was the only saving grace he had against the dog-like creature with dripping fangs and razor sharp claws. Somehow he’d managed to make it out alive, but with what he faced now… he wasn’t so sure of his odds.
After the creature disappeared in a cloud of dust, a man appeared from the shadows. Military in appearance, although he was not part of any branch he recognized. August remained where he sat on the ground in the alley, trying to catch his breath after the too long fight. He would have more bruises than he could count, and cuts along his arms and torso that would likely scar some when they healed. But the heavy presence of the young man before him made him question if he would survive much longer.
“Do you control those creatures?” he ventured, his grey eyes looking up to the man’s blue, unable to pick out what he was thinking through his expression.
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 7:36 pm
He'd been watching, rather than intervening, for the first several minutes, Aurostibite idly stroking Behellagh's head, the youma letting out soft growls every few seconds. The civilian had fought back, surprisingly, instead of turning and running away, which was what he had expected; and even more surprising, he'd managed to get rid of it.
He'd given it a moment and then stepped into view, Behellagh's taloned feet clicking on the pavement. Aurostibite had stood there silently, dark hair billowing out behind him in long, raven waves, and once again, the civilian had not run away. Instead, he was sitting and watching him with a calculated expression, as though trying to determine who he was.
Aurostibite lifted his head, tilting the brim of his hat upwards so that his face was more visible in the moonlight.
"Those?" he asked. "Sometimes. They belong to us, after all, though those ones in particular were not mine. There are some that simply wander free, doing our bidding. This - " He indicated the half peacock, half lion creature at his side. " - is the one that I personally control."
Aurostibite surveyed him silently and then asked, "What is your name?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 9:14 pm
Sometimes. Something about that was almost… disappointing, although he couldn’t quite place why. The creature had definitely given the toughest fight he’d had in a long time, and they weren’t even controlled. Wild animals, more like.
The fact that this man had his own monster-like creature with him, one he said he did control, was slightly more appeasing. Again, he couldn’t quite place why he felt that way. Maybe it was because he knew when he’d met his match. He doubted he would be able to take the feathered lion, much less the man that stood before him.
“August,” he said with little hesitation. The worst that could come of it was being killed before he had a chance to get another word in. “August de Rais,” he added, almost bitterly. By now, his lineage was more of a disappointment than anything. There had been times he’d considered leaving the city, the country if necessary, but in the end he was bound to this fate it seemed.
“Are you going to have me killed?” he found himself asking, his expression never changing, almost resigned to the fact that he could very well die. He’d already used up all of his energy, so there was no means of escape, nor did he want to escape, he realized. It was always that voice in the back of his head, nagging at him, pointing out how meaningless his existence was in the first place.
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Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2016 1:45 pm
Behellagh gave a low growl, head tilted to the side, and Aurostibite kept up the gentle sweep of his fingers over her feathers, feeling them shift beneath his gloves. The young man was still there; he hadn't run away yet, still watching him with some wariness, it seemed.
Dark brows rose at the tone of voice, though Aurostibite didn't comment on it. "My name is General Aurostibite," he said calmly.
The flicker of a smile passed across his face, brief and amused. "No," said Aurostibite after a moment. "No, I'm not going to kill you. I'm not about the useless murdering of civilians when there's neither benefit nor any sort of reason behind it."
A thought had occurred to him, and Aurostibite considered August quietly for a moment.
"How long have you been in Destiny City?" he asked. "Have you encountered these creatures before? They're called youma, by the way."
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Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2016 7:05 pm
August’s eyes flicked to the creature when it growled, watching it with growing interest as the young man kept it in check. A General, apparently. Of what? He’d managed to at least settle his breathing by now. If he wanted to get up, he could. But he was sure if he tried, this creature… this youma, he noted… would probably tear him to shreds before he had a chance to raise a fist.
“My whole life,” he said, shifting his gaze back up to the strange young General. “I’m a trauma surgeon,” he added, wondering what the look that General Aurostibite was giving him meant. “I’m used to seeing injuries and hearing stories about monsters that live in the city, but it’s a little difficult to believe.”
In his defense, he expected people to lie about their injuries. How was he supposed to know magical creatures that attacked really existed.
“Unexplained injuries, too… as though caused by combat weapons or magic,” he ventured cautiously, not sure how far he could push his luck before the General changed his mind.
“What are you a General of…?”
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Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2016 10:31 pm
He had good instincts; Aurostibite had watched the fight, had seen the way that he had moved to defend himself. Maybe not as experienced as some, but for a civilian to go head to head against a youma and come out on top was rather impressive in and of itself.
He could be useful, this August, Aurostibite thought, surveying him from under the brim of his hat. He could be beneficial to the Negaverse with the skills he had already shown, and the fact that he was a surgeon only added to that list, Aurostibite's brows raising.
"That's good to know," he said, and dark strands of hair fell loosely across his face, blown by the wind. "You have a good head on your shoulders, it seems, which is already a plus."
Behellagh gave a low croon. Aurostibite slid gloved fingers reassuringly over the youma's head and said, "Of a place that creates strength, August."
His head lifted, moonlight illuminating part of his face.
"Do you have any desire to be stronger, August? To be better?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 9:56 am
Did he have any desire to be stronger? Better? Of course he did. How making him stronger and better was going to be achieved, he wasn’t entirely sure, but he would be lying if he didn’t find the idea of becoming stronger very appealing.
This man, this General Aurostibite, was difficult for him to read, but it was clear that he had been through a lot and managed to survive. The youma with him was still concerning. Whether the General meant for him to become stronger, or for him to be used for the greater good of making something else stronger wasn’t clear. Knowing how people worked, it could easily go one way or another.
For all he knew, if he said ‘no’ he could be killed. If he said ‘yes’ he could be killed, despite being told useless murdering was not something in which the General participated.
“Yes,” he finally said, although the hesitation really was not necessary. “Are you offering me an opportunity to become stronger?” The voice in the back of his mind was reminding him to be cautious of pushing any limits when he was faced against an obviously powerful man and his strange, dangerous pet youma, but his curiosity was overpowering.
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 12:03 am
Aurostibite waited in patient silence for the man to figure out what he meant. Unlike many of the other agents of the Negaverse, he saw little point in forcing brutalities on the ones that could possibly be of use later; he would wait, and he would watch to see what the outcome would be instead of trying to force one. If it was not the right outcome, well...
Then he would take the steps necessary. However, he had an inkling that August de Rais would be smart enough to deduce the correct path to take at this juncture in his life. At least, he hoped so; he certainly seemed intelligent enough.
The answer was the right one. Aurostibite lifted his head and took a step closer, and Behellagh followed obediently, lumbering along on taloned feet. Aurostibite, however, remained calm and unruffled, showing no outward inclinations towards violence.
"Yes," he said. "I am, if you should wish to take it. Think of it as...an opportunity to put your considerable talents to good use. I watched your fight with the youma; you have good instincts, and you're clearly an intelligent man. You could do great things within the Negaverse, I think; you're filled with quite a lot of potential. And we can give you the strength necessary to do what you need to."
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Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 8:43 pm
The Negaverse? August didn’t think he’d heard of such a thing before. Apparently it was what this man worked for. An underground organization? With monsters and magic? If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought he was dreaming all of this.
Still, as the man named Aurostibite approached him, he remained still. August looked up at him, still trying to determine exactly what his motives were, although it didn’t seem as though he had an interest in killing him, as he’d said.
“If you think I’m worthy,” he said, still unsure of what was going on, but in order to survive, he determined this was the best option. He was still wary of the creature by the General’s side. “What do I have to do?”
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 6:09 pm
Behellagh gave a little crooning sound, but stayed back on Aurostibite's command, the sound of feathers rustling in his ears. He was right in front of August now, though at a respectable distance away, keeping certain he was not appearing hostile.
"You just have to say you're willing to work for us," he said quietly. "And I can help you. I'm willing to give you more power and ability than you could ever dream of. I won't lie; the transformation will be a little painful, but I will make it as quick as possible."
Aurostibite stretched out his hand towards August, a light breeze rustling through the air.
"What do you say?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 8:04 pm
August’s eyes flicked towards the youma once more when it approached, but he didn’t draw back, instead remaining where he knelt on the ground, looking up at the man who called himself a General of the Negaverse. Power was definitely an appealing idea, if only so that he could have more control over his own life.
Pain wasn’t exactly something he was fond of. He saw enough people in pain on a daily basis to be numb to others’, but his own was different. Still, he felt himself nodding his head, looking at the hand stretched out towards him.
“I’m willing to work for you,” he repeated, not closing his eyes to the thought of pain, but instead keeping them on the other man’s expression. “I’ll do it.”
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 6:49 am
I'll do it.
Aurostibite felt, somewhere deep within his chest, the first thrill of true anticipation, of expectation. He'd never done this before, not on his own; but he knew how, and he knew what would happen when he did, remembering all too well his own recruitment, his own corruption.
Such an ill mannered term, he thought, as he gave a small nod. We are enlightening these people, not corrupting them. We are teaching them how to protect the Earth, and that is what matters.
The tips of his gloved fingers touched August's chest. For a moment he did nothing, Aurostibite's eyes narrowing slightly - and then he shoved, his entire hand sinking into the man's chest, seeking out the starseed with in. He closed his fingers around it and with a small hiss, Aurostibite pushed the Chaos in, careful to let it coil around but not consume, not entirely at least.
"Wake up," he murmured softly. "Wake up and be stronger."
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 3:16 pm
There was no way for anyone to have prepared themselves for this, August decided as General Aurostibite’s hand suddenly pushed into his chest. He assumed it was some kind of magic since there was no physical damage he could see, but he could definitely feel the pressure inside his chest from a foreign object. His breathing restricted and he froze in place, his eyes wide from shock.
And then there was the pain. Aurostibite had not been lying when he said it would be painful. A strange energy seemed to be forced into him, ripping him apart and consuming him whole. August wanted to scream out, but he couldn’t breathe. His hands clenched into fists as he did what he could to brace himself, trying to resist pulling away. He wanted to pull away. He wanted to stop the pain, but that would have been anyone’s reaction.
He refused to just be anyone.
Through sheer will he did what he could to endure it. A large part of him wondered if Aurostibite had lied and really did intend to kill him, since it definitely felt as though he was being torn apart. A smaller part reminded him that he would have died anyway, having been unable to defend himself after fighting the monster from just earlier.
And then, while the pain had not subsided, he could feel something change within him. He could feel a strange power pulsing through him -- the power Aurostibite mentioned, perhaps. And it wasn’t just an internal change. His torn and bloody clothes seemed to melt away, replaced by olive and red. He was no longer a pathetic human, struggling to survive, but rather emerged so much stronger and powerful than before. 
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 3:46 pm
He knew it had hurt; he had felt the pain himself, in his own corruption, but Aurostibite also knew better than to stop halfway through. His hand clenched just a little bit tighter around the man's chest, pushing the Chaos in and making sure that it took over every part without entirely swallowing him.
And he felt the shift.
Aurostibite waited just a few more seconds and then pulled his hand free, taking a step back. The man before him was in a uniform of a starkly different color than his own, but entirely within the standards and familiarity that Aurostibite had grown to know and become used to over the past several years. He let his eyes sweep up and down the figure, and a satisfied smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
Behellagh gave a little croon of approval. Aurostibite stretched out his fingers and stroked the creature's head, but kept his gaze on the one formerly known as August.
"Welcome to the Negaverse," said Aurostibite quietly. "I think I shall call you..."
He thought about it for a moment, his eyes falling on the red fixtures of the man's uniform.
"...Bloodstone. Lieutenant Bloodstone."
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 6:47 pm
The new Lieutenant was still trying to catch his breath after Aurostibite pulled away, his body shaking from the lingering strain of the changing to this new power.
Bloodstone.
It was his new name, and once he was sure he wouldn’t immediately collapse, he stood from where he had been kneeling in the alley, lowering his head in appreciation to the General before him. He could definitely feel the difference in power now. The energy that radiated from Aurostibite was almost suffocating, especially when compared to his own.
“Thank you,” he said, his head rising back up after a moment. “What are my orders?”
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