[ The jolt of pain he can ignore (maybe even be a little amused by, because he can correctly guess what happened), but the chaos of her mind? That's significantly more difficult. He had been in the Tomes, attempting to study away, but he just sinks a bit as he holds his head in his hands as if struck by a violent migraine. That's roughly the equivalent, at least. ]
Oh, yes, a temper tantrum is a fine idea. Thank you oh so very much for that, Hayame.
[It takes a decent amount of time for Hayame to stop mentally rebelling against the more blatant presence of a certain demon in her head. Much like a wild horse being broken to the bit and saddle, she bucks and kicks and runs and runs—-
But she can’t shake him.
He doesn’t have quiet until she’s mentally exhausted. Somewhere, in the sparse nature on Highstorm, she lays down and presses her forehead to a tree trunk. (Why does everything she does, every single “victory” end up hurting rather than bringing her glory or honor?)]
- Did you dream of that tree, Gabriel?
[At least he hadn’t said “miss”, this time. Like she needs to be mocked.]
[ Similarly, Sebastian also eventually leaves the Tomes. He’s not going looking for her, since he’s under no illusions that meeting her again would just prompt the same reaction, but he’s clearly getting no work done. As she stubbornly rages, she only gets his quiet, but intense annoyance and disapproval. He’s partially tempted to truly push back, to see if some part of his being that truly was like the Kenoma could be sent to silence this outburst, but… That would be an overreaction. He at least knows it. ]
That I did. It is a remarkable thing, as I am not capable of dreaming.
[ There’s sarcasm in his voice, but it’s definitely directed at the Tree itself. Between Horos and Kenos, he’s at least accepted that sometimes things that shouldn’t normally be possible for him will sometimes just… happen. ]
The cold and your mark I could handle, you know, but to tie us together so is worse than all of it. So, please know, I am no more pleased about this than you are.
[She almost accuses him of lying again, but. Of course. Of course a demon, a monster like he was, wouldn't dream as people were supposed to. He didn't move like people were supposed to, didn't have the strength they were supposed to...]
What mark?
[Far away, she presses her forehead harder against the scratchy bark of a struggling tree, struggling to understand how this could be happening. The why was plain enough- It was a punishment. It always was.
But unless he meant that he was still missing his throat...]
Why, of your teeth in my neck, naturally. Shall I remind you of the feeling?
[ It’s a bit of a cruel question, considering he had done exactly that as a vicious refusal to die easily… But it’s also sarcastic. Even he gets worn down sometimes, even if it’s mostly by stupid things like the repeated destruction of a manor or being forced to deal with feelings. ]
After the dream came scarring most unsightly. I suppose luckily the weather of Highstorm is cool enough that a scarf is not out of place.
[She doesn't say anything, she doesn't think, but in the realm of mental communication... her hiss of displeasure over the idea that he'd remind her of that pain is plain enough. In the moment she'd been able to fight through it, much like adrenaline blocked pain, but after...
(After, she'd thrown up everything in her first stomach, and just prayed nothing of him had made it to her second.)]
Blame the dryad for that, then. We all walked out of that tree without marks.
[As if none of it had happened. But it had. She knew it had.]
Why, yes, we did. How very lucky, lest our vendetta continue evermore.
[ Even with the small pang of pettiness-spiced pleasure that comes at feeling her displeasure about the reminder, he ends up settling in glib more than anything… He sighs, since perhaps if nothing else, this could help smooth out some of the lingering problems that he had been considering from Horos. It’s a very solid perhaps, since even not exactly knowing her at all, Hayame doesn’t strike him as the forgiving sort, but. ]
You know, by the etiquette of my realm, we are even. Blood for blood, and all of that.
["Lucky", he says, and even knowing it for some petty sarcasm, something likely aimed just to ruffle her... It still does the job. Not that it's hard, these days, in a world she felt she had no control over anything.
His second comment, though, almost makes her laugh. Not a cheery, good sound, either.]
So the etiquette of your land is as lacking as that?
[Even? He considered this even?]
My eye is gone, and yet you walk the earth hale and hearty as if I did not rip your throat out, and you think that is even?
[ But Sebastian does laugh. It's warm and airy, as pleasant as the perfect butler should be, and it's an intentional contrast. ]
Why, yes. Had my death been real, would that not been an escalation? I assure you, the death itself was every bit as painful as it should be, and I bear the mark of your violence as you do mine.
[ Not forever, but he doesn't know that yet. His voice shifts a shade darker, but it's still smooth. ]
Unless you would prefer I consider this escalation. I will defer to you in this matter.
It wouldn't have been an escalation, it would have been an end.
[Every syllable is snarled out clear as day- or maybe that's just due to the connection born between them. ... One which would betray that despite how much she longed for that to be true...
No. It was fine. If she'd killed him in anything like reality, if she hadn't been ripped from his corpse by the dryad...
She would have crushed his shard beneath her hoof to make sure it did end.]
[ She doesn't need to see his grin, since it's easily heard in his voice. There is just a tad bit more there, though. It’s quiet and could be missed, but there’s the barest hint of the bloodlust that she’s seen so personally that bubbles up to the surface. He keeps it controlled, but still, how could such a bold statement not entice a demon? ]
Very well, then. Allow me to rephrase. Shall I assume that you shall still try to kill me on sight when next we cross paths?
[It's supposed to be. Anyone in her own world would be scared. And yet this, this son of a bitch-- He makes her anger burn hot and strong and long. Will she try to kill him again... Even knowing that it will fail, if he somehow returned to the powers she had experienced in Achamoth?]
Why shouldn't I?
[She wants to hear it.
But if she doesn't like the answer... She was used to failure.]
[ Again, there's that anger, and it sparks a deep displeasure in return. It's not the sensation of pain, since she now knows that, but it wouldn't be much of a leap to guess that's what her anger does to him while their minds are connected like this. Maybe it's a petty response to that. Maybe it's his increased aggression because of Discord. But even if his reply comes smooth in tone, it's cold and arrogant. ]
Why, because it would be a poor idea, of course.
[ A scoff follows, and the emotion evens out with it. ]
Lady Yima saw fit to give me far more of my natural ability here than the Regent did.
[Maybe it's even pettier that Hayame almost wants to stay angry, if it meant he might find it displeasing. At least then she would have a reaction from him that wasn't disturbingly smooth and composed, like how he'd somehow managed to keep his cool despite the battles raging around them in Achamoth.
He says it would be a poor idea, and maybe it would. Maybe she doesn't give a damn if it would. A demon... a demon might have it in him to actually kill her, and end this misery once and for all. She'd tried it herself, in Horos. Tried to throw her shard to the ground and shatter it, but every time... she'd been overcome with such a wave of nausea and sick that she'd gagged and been overtaken by some cruel self-protection of the soul, but she'd tried and tried-
[But that had been in Horos, where she had been given no hope at all that there may be a way to return to her world, that it was intact somewhere. Here... Here she cannot so easily give way to despair. If she can get home...
She can kill herself there, as she had promised to. If she can die where she belongs...
The anger flares again, not even out of pettiness. That woman, Yima... Hayame had distrusted her the moment she understood what it was she'd felt in her arms, a sensation she should never had felt or even begun to think she understood, and yet... That woman's smile, so comforting and familiar...
Of course. Of course-]
So you have already sold your loyalty so easily? What are you called now, then, Kenoma? "Zenith"?
Why, of course. My loyalty is always bought. Even you could buy it, were you able to pay me what I want.
[ There’s even a possibility he’d accept since her despairing soul would present a tasty snack for him, but that’s more of an idle thought than anything he even thinks she’d consider. Besides, he has his prospect for a contract. He imagines it’s only a matter of days before his loyalty is bought up by Silco. ]
But, yes, I work for Zenith now. It was a simple choice, naturally.
[The idea of her buying loyalty is ridiculous. Not just because it would defy everything about honor she had been raised to value, but because... hah, she had no coin. But he says it so casually, so naturally, that it irks her.
A simple choice. Shouldn't people be afraid or wary of a group that a demon calls a simple choice?]
[ The question is so unexpected in a way that Sebastian can’t help but laugh. It’s cruel (though perhaps all his laughs sound cruel to her ears), but there’s a warm, easy quality that makes it clear that it’s genuine. There’s delight that’s conveyed with startling clarity compared to how little else he’s felt. ]
What a dear question. It simply does not matter to me.
[ He says it like it’s obvious. In a way, he’s surprised that it isn’t her assumption already, but it’s because her turns of phrase to call him a “demon” happened to be accurate. ]
I do not particularly care if it is gone or not. If it is truly my world, then you should rejoice for it. The realms are freed of countless devilkin, though few would come to my rank, true… [ It’s arrogantly stated, but it’s also the casual arrogance of someone with the confidence of being able to prove their claim easily. ] It is not a matter of belief for me. It is a matter of who best will satisfy my hungers.
[She has yet to hear a laugh from his lips that she would ever call "kindly" or even just "entertained". There's something sharp in it always, and even taking into account that she is a woman inclined to see sharpness everywhere in the world... It offends her still.
The mental equivalent of spitting in distaste. Mental spit.]
I do not rejoice in the possibility of a power existing that is strong enough and chaotic enough to destroy worlds, whether that world "deserves" to be put to the torch or not.
[And anyone who does, as far as she's concerned, is completely insane.]
Go back to Horos if you hunger for more of what demons eat.
[Not that she... actually knows what that is, but. It must be blood or violence. Something Ashura-like.]
[ There’s just a light hum of interest at her first response, since it’s much kinder than he expected. And foolish. If there’s a realm to rejoice for being destroyed, it would surely be his, and that was simply an objective fact. But he doesn’t comment on that portion of what she says. It’s left as a simple curiosity. ]
Oh, that place held nothing for me. I arrived at Horos absolutely ravenous. I had not fed for decades, because hunger makes an excellent meal all the sweeter, you know.
[ …Probably not, he knows. That particular habit of his of fasting was unusual, and it was a luxury only a creature like him could afford. ]
But Horos inherently denied me what I desired. I could not explain it well, since I never had time to truly learn its mysteries… But the mortal souls I feed upon were simply out of my grasp.
[ There’s an easy, casual nature to admitting this as if he were explaining that he was a vegetarian or something of the like. But she may pick up on what’s unsaid by implication. Clearly, whatever stopped him in Horos didn’t stop him here. ]
[No. She doesn't know. Hayame has never been someone who relished in her meals. She ate to fuel her body, and taste was inconsequential. Even something as simple as exclaiming that something was delicious didn't fit with the image of the cold, competent warrior she had cultivated, so hunger? It just makes you hungry, and eventually weak.
But of course. Of course he eats souls, this demon unlike the demons she had known from story and song. ... Was it because they had been "aions", no longer "mortal", that he could not feast upon them? No, what did she care-]
Do you think I care about your foul diet?
[She doesn't want to believe in a person being able to eat souls than she wants to believe in worlds being destroyed.]
You won't be eating mine, whether you've wormed your way into my head or not.
Ah, that you need not worry about. To put it simply, you are not my type!
[ A lie, mostly. Her soul is absolutely one that he would consider ripping out to savor. There’s darkness and despair there, which were both delectable to his tongue… But he knows she would be unlikely to agree to the terms of a Covenant in the first place, even setting aside their differences. There’s a simple pride there where he’s fairly certain that there’s nothing he could offer that she would take.
But he’ll phrase it that way just to potentially rankle her. ]
I am a bit surprised though, I must say. You truly do not rejoice for any world being gone? Even one as wicked as mine?
[Not his type. Is she above getting angry over how dismissive that is, even though she doesn't want to be "his type"? ... No.]
I do not.
[She truly doesn't. Even if a world was befouled and she judged it worth destruction... The idea of something being capable of that destruction was too terrifying to desire. Why- ?]
Because I am no demon.
[Not like that boy who had eaten the flesh of humans off their bones. Not like the man who had plucked her eye from her skull.]
[ There’s amusement that comes through first that’s almost light and airy in its quality. There’s something he finds delightful about her principles, and it’s where he sees the quality that had been mentioned in that first group Communion. How honorable indeed. ]
I am not the sort to rejoice for worlds being gone either, you know. It is against my interests just as much as any other. More so, perhaps.
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Oh, yes, a temper tantrum is a fine idea. Thank you oh so very much for that, Hayame.
[ He... at least dropped the "miss"? ]
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But she can’t shake him.
He doesn’t have quiet until she’s mentally exhausted. Somewhere, in the sparse nature on Highstorm, she lays down and presses her forehead to a tree trunk. (Why does everything she does, every single “victory” end up hurting rather than bringing her glory or honor?)]
- Did you dream of that tree, Gabriel?
[At least he hadn’t said “miss”, this time. Like she needs to be mocked.]
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That I did. It is a remarkable thing, as I am not capable of dreaming.
[ There’s sarcasm in his voice, but it’s definitely directed at the Tree itself. Between Horos and Kenos, he’s at least accepted that sometimes things that shouldn’t normally be possible for him will sometimes just… happen. ]
The cold and your mark I could handle, you know, but to tie us together so is worse than all of it. So, please know, I am no more pleased about this than you are.
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What mark?
[Far away, she presses her forehead harder against the scratchy bark of a struggling tree, struggling to understand how this could be happening. The why was plain enough- It was a punishment. It always was.
But unless he meant that he was still missing his throat...]
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[ It’s a bit of a cruel question, considering he had done exactly that as a vicious refusal to die easily… But it’s also sarcastic. Even he gets worn down sometimes, even if it’s mostly by stupid things like the repeated destruction of a manor or being forced to deal with feelings. ]
After the dream came scarring most unsightly. I suppose luckily the weather of Highstorm is cool enough that a scarf is not out of place.
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(After, she'd thrown up everything in her first stomach, and just prayed nothing of him had made it to her second.)]
Blame the dryad for that, then. We all walked out of that tree without marks.
[As if none of it had happened. But it had. She knew it had.]
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[ Even with the small pang of pettiness-spiced pleasure that comes at feeling her displeasure about the reminder, he ends up settling in glib more than anything… He sighs, since perhaps if nothing else, this could help smooth out some of the lingering problems that he had been considering from Horos. It’s a very solid perhaps, since even not exactly knowing her at all, Hayame doesn’t strike him as the forgiving sort, but. ]
You know, by the etiquette of my realm, we are even. Blood for blood, and all of that.
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His second comment, though, almost makes her laugh. Not a cheery, good sound, either.]
So the etiquette of your land is as lacking as that?
[Even? He considered this even?]
My eye is gone, and yet you walk the earth hale and hearty as if I did not rip your throat out, and you think that is even?
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Why, yes. Had my death been real, would that not been an escalation? I assure you, the death itself was every bit as painful as it should be, and I bear the mark of your violence as you do mine.
[ Not forever, but he doesn't know that yet. His voice shifts a shade darker, but it's still smooth. ]
Unless you would prefer I consider this escalation. I will defer to you in this matter.
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[Every syllable is snarled out clear as day- or maybe that's just due to the connection born between them. ... One which would betray that despite how much she longed for that to be true...
No. It was fine. If she'd killed him in anything like reality, if she hadn't been ripped from his corpse by the dryad...
She would have crushed his shard beneath her hoof to make sure it did end.]
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[ She doesn't need to see his grin, since it's easily heard in his voice. There is just a tad bit more there, though. It’s quiet and could be missed, but there’s the barest hint of the bloodlust that she’s seen so personally that bubbles up to the surface. He keeps it controlled, but still, how could such a bold statement not entice a demon? ]
Very well, then. Allow me to rephrase. Shall I assume that you shall still try to kill me on sight when next we cross paths?
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Why shouldn't I?
[She wants to hear it.
But if she doesn't like the answer... She was used to failure.]
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Why, because it would be a poor idea, of course.
[ A scoff follows, and the emotion evens out with it. ]
Lady Yima saw fit to give me far more of my natural ability here than the Regent did.
cw: suicidal ideation 1/2
He says it would be a poor idea, and maybe it would. Maybe she doesn't give a damn if it would. A demon... a demon might have it in him to actually kill her, and end this misery once and for all. She'd tried it herself, in Horos. Tried to throw her shard to the ground and shatter it, but every time... she'd been overcome with such a wave of nausea and sick that she'd gagged and been overtaken by some cruel self-protection of the soul, but she'd tried and tried-
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She can kill herself there, as she had promised to. If she can die where she belongs...
The anger flares again, not even out of pettiness. That woman, Yima... Hayame had distrusted her the moment she understood what it was she'd felt in her arms, a sensation she should never had felt or even begun to think she understood, and yet... That woman's smile, so comforting and familiar...
Of course. Of course-]
So you have already sold your loyalty so easily? What are you called now, then, Kenoma? "Zenith"?
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Why, of course. My loyalty is always bought. Even you could buy it, were you able to pay me what I want.
[ There’s even a possibility he’d accept since her despairing soul would present a tasty snack for him, but that’s more of an idle thought than anything he even thinks she’d consider. Besides, he has his prospect for a contract. He imagines it’s only a matter of days before his loyalty is bought up by Silco. ]
But, yes, I work for Zenith now. It was a simple choice, naturally.
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A simple choice. Shouldn't people be afraid or wary of a group that a demon calls a simple choice?]
You want to believe your world is gone so badly?
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What a dear question. It simply does not matter to me.
[ He says it like it’s obvious. In a way, he’s surprised that it isn’t her assumption already, but it’s because her turns of phrase to call him a “demon” happened to be accurate. ]
I do not particularly care if it is gone or not. If it is truly my world, then you should rejoice for it. The realms are freed of countless devilkin, though few would come to my rank, true… [ It’s arrogantly stated, but it’s also the casual arrogance of someone with the confidence of being able to prove their claim easily. ] It is not a matter of belief for me. It is a matter of who best will satisfy my hungers.
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The mental equivalent of spitting in distaste. Mental spit.]
I do not rejoice in the possibility of a power existing that is strong enough and chaotic enough to destroy worlds, whether that world "deserves" to be put to the torch or not.
[And anyone who does, as far as she's concerned, is completely insane.]
Go back to Horos if you hunger for more of what demons eat.
[Not that she... actually knows what that is, but. It must be blood or violence. Something Ashura-like.]
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Oh, that place held nothing for me. I arrived at Horos absolutely ravenous. I had not fed for decades, because hunger makes an excellent meal all the sweeter, you know.
[ …Probably not, he knows. That particular habit of his of fasting was unusual, and it was a luxury only a creature like him could afford. ]
But Horos inherently denied me what I desired. I could not explain it well, since I never had time to truly learn its mysteries… But the mortal souls I feed upon were simply out of my grasp.
[ There’s an easy, casual nature to admitting this as if he were explaining that he was a vegetarian or something of the like. But she may pick up on what’s unsaid by implication. Clearly, whatever stopped him in Horos didn’t stop him here. ]
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But of course. Of course he eats souls, this demon unlike the demons she had known from story and song. ... Was it because they had been "aions", no longer "mortal", that he could not feast upon them? No, what did she care-]
Do you think I care about your foul diet?
[She doesn't want to believe in a person being able to eat souls than she wants to believe in worlds being destroyed.]
You won't be eating mine, whether you've wormed your way into my head or not.
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[ A lie, mostly. Her soul is absolutely one that he would consider ripping out to savor. There’s darkness and despair there, which were both delectable to his tongue… But he knows she would be unlikely to agree to the terms of a Covenant in the first place, even setting aside their differences. There’s a simple pride there where he’s fairly certain that there’s nothing he could offer that she would take.
But he’ll phrase it that way just to potentially rankle her. ]
I am a bit surprised though, I must say. You truly do not rejoice for any world being gone? Even one as wicked as mine?
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I do not.
[She truly doesn't. Even if a world was befouled and she judged it worth destruction... The idea of something being capable of that destruction was too terrifying to desire. Why- ?]
Because I am no demon.
[Not like that boy who had eaten the flesh of humans off their bones. Not like the man who had plucked her eye from her skull.]
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I am not the sort to rejoice for worlds being gone either, you know. It is against my interests just as much as any other. More so, perhaps.
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Your interest in eating?
[She doesn’t bother hiding her disgust. She hadn’t over Mikuni’s “diet” and she wouldn’t over this man’s.]
Do not even begin to think that is comparable.
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