fate_has_spoken | (no subject)

[He's got half plate mail for her.]

I figured the full would be too much.

[He also hands her a helmet.]

I've seen every single one of them wear these. A pity. It won't do anything for your good looks.

[There is no way stealth is going to be an option for her in all that metal.]

If they don't see my face, they won't pick me out as a fraud right away, at least. I can't say I'd want to wear this under normal circumstances, though. A little stifling.

[She puts on the armor and tries walking around quietly. Nope, even with her best efforts, armor isn't designed to be stealthy.]

Well... if anyone asks, do you want to be my prisoner, or an important person on important business they aren't allowed to know about?

[He can't see her smile through the helmet, but he can probably hear it in her voice.]

Edited 2018-06-03 05:22 (UTC)

It doesn't even show off your curves. Probably for the best. It is armor after all.

[He does chuckle to himself.]

I'll let you pick and play the part accordingly.

What a shame. You'll have to draw on your memory for a little while.

[She laughs.] Ah, leaving it up to me? I'm inclined to keep it a surprise until it comes up, then see how good you are at improvising on the spot.

Alas, it wouldn't make much sense to have you walk in front of me as a guest, or behind me as a prisoner.... You might be able to walk through walls, but only one of us is in armor, if we're surprised. You should probably stay behind me.

[Grins in return to her response.] Surprise, it is.

[He falls into step behind her. He does push back his hair a bit and then changes his color palette to less death gray. At least with his outfit he looks more gues than prisoner.]

The stairs down is down the hallway last door on the right. I did see two guards in front of it earlier.

I suppose the things most worth looking into are bound to have at least a little security, hmm.

Let's look like we're here on business.

[She makes sure her back is straight and her steps are sure, but moves just a touch more slowly. Trying to use her body language to give off an air of being professional and reasonably alert, but unconcerned. Don't mind her, just escorting this guest. Just a matter of business. No reason to look into this.]

[As they approach the guards, she'll be watching carefully to see how they look alone -- bored with being stuck guarding this entrance, or professional and alert to danger? -- as well as how they greet her. She very much hopes there isn't a password she's supposed to know.]

[They greet her with a professional detachment. They don't look bored, but look, well, sort of glassy-eyed and a bit zombie-ish. Not physically, but they do have that ten thousand yard stare.

To her presence they don't seem to mind, but they do both nod their head in question to her unusual 'male' guest she is trying to bring with her.]

Orders. I don't ask.

[She's caught between being interested and somewhat unnerved by the look in their eyes, but doesn't want to press her luck by trying to puzzle them out. Not right in front of them, at least.]

[She'll attempt to walk past them, leading Tyki down the stairs.]

[They give her a suspicious glance but they do indeed let her pass.

The stares are cramped and narrow before they lead to a hallway. To the left she can already see the tell tale signs of jail cells. To the right a very large audience chamber with the door barely ajar.]

I wonder why they dislike men?

[She can't help but let out a quiet sigh in relief once they get far enough down the stairs that she's sure the guards won't change their minds.]

[Teasingly:] Maybe it's not men. Maybe it's just you.

[When she's close enough, she tries to get a better look at the audience chamber through the crack in the entrance. Doesn't want to get too close because of how noisy her armor is, but she wants to try to get a glance at what sort of stuff is in there, and is listening for and sounds that might indicate if anyone is inside.]

[It looks like some sort of interrogation room / torture chamber. There are fresh spots of blood on some of the tables, too. The room appears to be empty at the moment.]

Well if they knew me, I'd expect that.

[He shrugs as he leans against a wall.]

Now that I think about it, the King recently died. He was very old despite his wife being in her twenties. The rumor is foul play.

Oh? I'm sure you could turn on the charm if you wanted to. It might not work, but they might not take your presence as an offense, either.

I seem to remember you saying something about that before. The trophy wife becomes queen, and the city starts to fall apart.

The foul play, though... Hmm. That doesn't surprise me, if she's also behind the plague. One death to kick it all off.

[She'll push open the door to the torture chamber all the way, trying to look like she belongs there just in case. Maybe there's something in the room that will tell her about the sort of people they... interrogated.]

[Nodding as she muses on the affairs of the country.]

Civil unrest must be difficult to deal with. This is why I would never like to rule any country of any size.

[His eyebrows go up when he sees the torture implements and the fresh blood.]

My, my, this keeps getting stranger and stranger, doesn't it?

[From the blood alone it is hard to tell who it belonged to. It's red or crusted brown so at least no green aliens or the like. If one were to believe in those. Though she does see quite a few discarded Gray Maiden armors strewn about the place.]

What the hell even happened here?

[She picks up one of the pieces of Gray Maiden armor.]

Were they doing this to their own people? Spies, or dissent in the ranks, perhaps?

[She frowns deeply, thinking about the two guards at the top of the stairs.]

... Or maybe control. Like breaking an animal.

Did the guards seem... off, to you?

They reminded me of Akuma actually.

[Shakes his head realizing what he said.]

A story for another time, but yes, they did seem, less aware of everything.

I suppose if you are going to murder half of your people, brainwashing the other half isn't that far of a stretch.

[Shaking his head.]

This country isn't going to last very long on its own.

Akuma? ... I'll ask you about that word later.

[She shakes her head and drops the piece of armor she'd picked up.] I suppose for some rulers, it's absolute power or nothing.

I'd say we should make like a pair of heroes and take down this queen -- along with whoever is working for her -- but really, I'd like to do it because she irritates me.

I think I saw some jail cells across the way. Let's go have a look, hmm?

Honestly, I see no finer reasoning than that. I'm sure they'll play it up with high chivalry when they write the tail down.

[He takes a look around the room again before he pauses.]

There is something odd that used to be here. Or rather someone. Like an Akuma. Older though. More magical. Hmmm. What a strange feeling. I've never encountered something like this before.

[Waves it off.]

I'm sure we'll discover the answer to that mystery later. Let's visit these jail cells.

[She raises a hand in a "hold it" gesture.]

I know I made the suggestion to go, but if something very magical was here... Well, I don't want to walk into some sort of... whatever-it-is, completely unprepared. In case it's still around.

What is an "Akuma"? What might have been in here?

Edited 2018-06-04 06:24 (UTC)

[He does stop.]

An Akuma is a human soul put into a machine. Unsightly really. The torment of the soul powers the machine and the more tragedy it creates, the stronger it grows.

There definitely was a 'soul' there. Or something. It feels... tainted like an Akuma. Unholy might be a better word. I've not encountered something like that before so I can't provide any more details.

[A long pause.]

... That's revolting.

So, we might be dealing with some sort of unholy soul-machine? Lovely. Things weren't out of control enough as it was.

Is there something these... "Akuma," or a something-like-an-Akuma, are used for? Are they needed to power some sort of ritual? Are they cannon fodder?

[Some distress is creeping into her voice, though she's trying to keep her composure. A touch of anger and revulsion.]

What is the point of making something like that?

Let's leave the rest of the Akuma discussion for a later time. I always did find them unsightly myself.

[Trying to take her hand and run his thumb over the back of it to soothe her.]

There might be some living we might be able to help out.

[She'll let him do that, and she'll take a deep breath and let it out slowly. This Akuma business gives her a cold pit in her stomach. It's nauseating. It feels personal, but she doesn't know why.]

[She'll regain her composure after a few moments.]

... Thank you.

[Shakes her head.]

You're right. There's no point in thinking about that right now. Let's go.

[He gives her hand a final squeeze before he takes the lead back to the cells. There seem to be a lack of guards but a lot of prisoners. Upon closer inspection most of the prisoners seem to be a) female or b) people she's seen or heard about disturbing the peace. They also range a spectrum of glassy eyed to actively asking for help as they see the two approach.]

[She frowns at the prisoners and will try to whisper in Tyki's ear, hoping she's quiet enough that the prisoners won't be able to hear her clearly.]

If we can free them, we should try to free the ones who are asking for help first. The quiet ones... We don't know how they'll react yet. Whether they'll be trouble or not.

That walking-through-walls trick. I assume the bars wouldn't be any challenge for you, but would you be able to pull someone else out, as well?

[Shaking his head in answer to her question, but he pats the top of her head and smiles anyway. Tyki approaches one of the loudest members and puts a finger to his lips. They do hush. He reaches out to the lock and within a few seconds the door swings open.]