Faustite passed like an instant into Axinite's office, all smoke and fire, all spitting soot and ink. What burst into that space, so circumventing doors, was what remained of Youma General Faustite. The blaze announced itself before the rest of the child — it set shadows to dancing, painted the place orange and gold like a dying sunset. It cast Axinite's hair a bloodier orange, rosed his features, chased away what black circles might loiter under his eyes. That fire spoke louder than its owner did. Faustite and Axinite's lapse of meetings made known that much kept Faustite preoccupied, largely owed to eir near bisecting by fire. Largely owed to loss and setback. Metal wound em back together, but so much of em was lost to ash.
Ash and indignity, for all eir naked rage coalesced into spitting black words half into eir own hand. That hand cupped over eir mouth to catch some of that blood, but flecks still slipped out to stain Axinite's desk during eir brisk pacing. What rasped out was a voice more ragged than eir usual pubescent tenor. "I need to report an assault.
"Ochre broke into my office, attacked me, pulled my starseed. I want him to hurt for it." Faustite halted, gripped the back of a chair with force enough to strain eir knuckles. Black trickled off eir right hand to stain the wooden side. Ey stared at Axinite, waited, eir mouth an ivory line of resentment.
the space cauldron
For easy reference —
Faustite's come to report Ochre for assault. Ey's Big Mad, so any punishment for not respecting the chain of command by knocking first is A+ by me. We discussed Axinite wanting to meet with Ochre in private afterward to get both sides of the story. Ochre will purify shortly afterward, so there's free range of any punishments decided for him (if any). I have no major requests for punishments for either of them, so please feel free to determine course of action per whatever Axinite feels is best!
Thanks again for agreeing to these RPs!
Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2019 7:33 am
Axinite had been sitting at his desk, somewhat slouched, reading over a report on the tablet. When Faustite burst in, he sat rigid and closed the tablet, watching the General with rapt attention. He was keen to give his full focus on any issue at hand, but Faustite's unique form made the experience a little different.
His eyes flicked to the fire--to the blood Faustite had caught--and missed. The specks on his desk were noted but ignored.
"Take a seat," he insisted; it wasn't entirely a command, simply a request to have Faustite take a seat. He had always worked best when dealing with those in a calm, rational state of mind, but he couldn't blame Faustite for being worked up after an attack. Especially by one from a peer.
He did not wait for Faustite to comply, nor did he intend to chastise if the request was denied; Axinite simply reached for a pen and paper and took rapid notes on the information he had obtained already.
"Tell me what happened, everything, please. Do you need first aid? I have some things back here," he said, hand already hovering over the kit he had tucked under his desk.
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Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2019 12:50 am
Faustite threw emself into a chair, still holding eir mouth, still aware of all eir metal's protests for being made to collide with another surface. Faustite felt its complaint in eir ribs, hips. "I better not need stitches." The general drew eir hand away, looked at it, seethed, glowered at Axinite and his first aid kit.
Ey hated needing repairs. Hated that body, that prison full of limitations. One hand gripped the seat while the other held eir mouth. "He's sibling to General Umber. He's compromised since his brother's been missing for so long. Became some whinging malcontent for it. Sch —" Faustite paused, dropped eir breath. Drew a new one, ground fingernails into the underside of the chair arm. Faustite spoke with less heat than before, eir tone simmering into a careful seriousness. Ey straightened up, leveraged eir gaze on the sovereign before em. Fire wicked and licked and settled into a quiet burn behind eir cage.
"Ochre thinks I ate his brother's starseed. He attacked me for it. Entered my office and said as much." Shifting, ey added, "He demanded an apology after he punched me. Used his magic on me when I fought back. Pulled my starseed the first chance he got." Faustite wiped eir lips on eir sleeve.
Then eir gaze fell to the rim of Axinite's desk, where doubt collected in places where grime never did. Rage burned out of em, cooled into an uncertainty that left Faustite's resolve in tatters. So many questions lingered after their bout — questions that Faustite struggled to push from eir mind. Questions that plagued at the small hours of the day when ey found emself idle, questions that slipped in at moments least expected. Doubt, ey found, was an insidious effacer. "I don't know how I lived.
"I don't know if he's wrong. What if he's right? What if I ate Umber?" The youma general's attention found Axinite again, this time rapt and probing and strained. Did he doubt?
the space cauldron
Posted: Wed May 08, 2019 11:41 am
Axinite did not miss the reproachful gaze sent to the first aid kit; he did not press the need for repair, but offered it as an option. He kept the kit atop the desk, hand atop it as if waiting for a request for him to proceed. He would not force anything on Faustite, not in this condition. It was not weakness, but respect, and an understanding that information was raw and best collected now before time dulled the memories with emotion and doubt.
He watched the change in the General before him, nodding as he listened. Faustite's anger had shifted into a coolness that made it easier to follow, but Axinite had no doubt that the seeds of rage had far from simmered.
"If he had concerns that you had something to do with his brother's disappearance, he should have submitted a report." He didn't know what information or research Ochre had acquired but he didn't like to be kept out of the loop. "Insufficient information has lead to many mistakes."
His jaw clenched, discreetly, and he swallowed whatever thoughts such a fact drew to mind and continued, "What makes him think you have done anything of the sort? You did not attack Umber. You wouldn't lie to me if you had. Had you ever interacted with Umber--or Ochre--before this?"
