[In a way, Waltaquin thinks she knew there was something special about him from the moment he complimented her company. Not many here seem particularly tolerant of differences in attitude, and either he had been attempting to manipulate her - and thus, a man with many secrets to keep - or to some extent, the compliment had been genuinely intended.
Quin comes along in the late evening to visit him where he's being held by the beach, hands knit together in front of her.]
It would have been nice to see you play with Billy Butcher a little longer. I really should have kept the other one from interfering.
[Sonya probably would have lost his strength regardless, but she could had dissuaded Shuda from getting in the way of a real one-on-one.]
I suppose I should also say thank you for not killing me where I slept.
Hahaha, of course I do. I wager you found him a bit lax. [To her, Chai had always seemed like someone who didn't do much thinking ahead and was always putting himself in the path of some crazy adventure. At least when Waltaquin gets herself into such situations, it's in pursuit of hidden knowledge from times immemorial, curses that could change the tide of sorcery itself.
But she digresses mentally. After all the effort he'd gone through, it did seem to fizzle out in the end. Embarrassing. She leans forward a bit.]
Care to tell me a bit about that? You left a very intriguing riddle. It's enough to send shivers down anyone's spine. [The gummy worms...truly a clotting agent no one would expect.]
[ Sorry sometimes he's just like this too, it's fine. ]
I'm not certain it's so much a riddle but rather, a technology. One I'm certain Vergilius is familiar with, but his penchant for doing as little as possible worked in my favor. Or that might have been the remaining wishpower too.
But first, do you believe in good fortune? Or barring that, the power of wishes? The very human trait of desiring what may seem improbable?
[Oh a rare Vergilius drag? Her ears can't help but perk at that, but she doesn't ask after it.]
Good fortune, certainly. Some people are smiled up, and some will never escape their rotten luck. I don't think I've ever see a wish come true without some manpower involved. Wanting something isn't enough.
It requires a lot of hard work, amongst other things.
[ Hmm, how to best explain this... ]
Where I come from, technology known as "Singularities" exist. Put simply, they bring extraordinary things into the realm of possibility. Time manipulation, instant regeneration, and so on. One of these Singularities is wishpower, but it's essentially the essence of luck. Gather up enough and you could win any jackpot with a single coin, or land the lover of your dreams.
I might not have had my sword, but I did have a wishsticker on me at arrival.
[It's foreign to her, but Waltaquin nods, believing she at least has the gist of it. Channeling the power of magic through jade isn't entirely dissimilar.]
It must have been a very grand wish. Perhaps too complicated?
Oh, I didn't use the sticker in the hope of achieving my wish. There wasn't nearly enough wishpower stored up in it for that. Instead, I used to ensure the kill would go off as cleanly as possible, and how I wanted it to.
Someone had to kill, for the greater good. I'm pretty selfless, you know? I gave Vergilius' team something they hadn't earned, because it was the right thing to do. At least, for now.
[Waltaquin giggles when he mentions being selfless for the greater good in a way that is entirely not selfless and unhinged. Oh, he's very little-guy shaped. Delightful.
Though she wonders about his actual wish, the one that now will go unfulfilled, one things stands out more than all the others to her.]
"As cleanly as possible," was it...? In that case, did you want all that business with the candies?
[ Unhinged, absolutely. Selfish? Well not if you logic loop around to it! ]
The worms? I had to muddy up his corpse a bit so it wasn't clear that it was done by a harpoon. They're what I had at hand, or what he had on hand, at least. And I figured that since he liked them so much, he would appreciate being buried with them~.
The sugar...? [Ah, she just can't stop giggling! The soft hum of amusement remains in her words, even after the laughter ends.] Then the thing that caused us all so much confusion for the longest while was your only accident!
Sonya, I believe even that may have been part of your good fortune.
It sent us in circles for quite a while, don't you think?
[It might have been the harpoon that made Sonya aggressively defend himself in the end, but it really was in noticing his tidiness that the focus shifted. That's an act of misfortune if she's ever heard of one.]
I guess it goes to show that nothing lasts forever. What a shame, just when I hoped to get to know you better.
That may be true, but have a care, won't you? Things are about to be a great deal more boring for me now that one of the more interesting people on the island will be gone.
[He won't have to worry about that, seeing as he'll be dead.]
Give me something interesting to mull over in your absence?
Possibly? I'm not sure they would care, or at least one of them wouldn't.
[ He leans in a bit in turn, the corner of his lips quirked upwards. ]
I wouldn't call them secrets, more like words meant for select ears only. They all have to do with the City, but if that still interests you—I don't mind sharing.
Now that you mention it, they've never been particularly strict with us. Only violence - at least this is a language we all can speak.
[Does it suck when it comes from someone whose side she isn't on? Certainly. Is she interested in dismantling their iron grip in retaliation? That too. But force is indeed a force with which she is familiar.
At mention of the City, she visibly perks, her hands unlinking like opening them will help her receive the information faster. It's certainly not the first time she's heard about it.]
That miserable place filled with curses? I'm more than intrigued.
Is that what the Red Gaze told you? It's not entirely wrong, but I would argue the true curse is the system and people who rule it. That's why it has to be dismantled, so it can be rebuilt from a steady, healthy foundation rather than the rotting one it currently sits on.
But ah, that I think that way isn't really a secret. [ He reaches for one of her hands if she'll allow it. ]
Vergilius is the Overseer for a group of workers, called Sinners. Their mission is to obtain all the Golden Boughs, pieces of an object that can make the impossible possible, can distort time and reality itself. One of those Sinner is a woman I'm quite fond of, Rodya. She used to be part of the Yurodiviye, the group I lead—but she left rather than face the sin she committed. I met her and the rest of the Sinners just before being brought here, and I was hoping that she had the mark.
There is something coming, and no one and nothing can stop it. But there are a select group who will lead, who are chosen. We can identify each other, even if only by instinct when we're not yet accustomed to it. She wasn't one of them, despite her innermost desire to be special above all else.
I gave them the Bough rather than fight them for it, even if I was sent there to retrieve it. Doubtlessly, this irritates the Red Gaze to no end, as he's in my debt technically speaking. But it was an act of charity for the impoverished and—giving a starving man a lone piece of bread hardly does much other than ensure he lives just one more day.
[She smiles a little knowingly at the immediate mention of Vergilius. Of course he'd been the first to tell her about it, and the use of technology that surpasses even magic by the corporations.] He also seems to think I'd be eradicated on sight, for some reason.
[Of course Waltaquin allows him to hold her hand, wearing neither her gloves nor her gauntlets this late at night.
She perhaps mistakes his final anecdote for a sign that they're on the same page with regards to charity, but beyond that -]
Wasn't it also your parting gift to her? Knowing that she won't be able to walk the same path as you. You may not be able to accept what she became, but that's what you could give to her.
The City tries to eradicate anyone who refuses to be a cog in its wheels. So that's technically correct, but I would take it as a compliment.
[ Another compliment he'll easily give to her. A squeeze of her hand too. ]
Perhaps. I'd still like to see her grow, given the optimist that I am. But next time I see her, I'll likely just pluck it from her, much like I plucked the fish from the waters here. I'm a generous individual, but I still have my own desires too.
I don't think he's in the business of giving out those.
[Vergilius is so very fun to tease, though, and the joy that chasing after him in a way that clearly irritates him shines through in her voice. Even buoyed by Sonya's compliment, she can't help but pit them against one another a bit, capitalizing on her teasing.]
One day, I'll find a way of learning more. I think such knowledge would be indispensable.
Being generous is just another way of being selfish, after all. You're indulging your own pleasure to assist others. Wouldn't she have a problem with your flirtations? [He has been trying to flatter her since they were last alone together.]
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week 2 post-trial
Quin comes along in the late evening to visit him where he's being held by the beach, hands knit together in front of her.]
It would have been nice to see you play with Billy Butcher a little longer. I really should have kept the other one from interfering.
[Sonya probably would have lost his strength regardless, but she could had dissuaded Shuda from getting in the way of a real one-on-one.]
I suppose I should also say thank you for not killing me where I slept.
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Hmm, well, my luck had run out by then I'm afraid. [ With weight on the word luck. ]
Haha, should I say you're welcome? I could have of course, but I don't see why I would. You have something to contribute unlike Chai.
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But she digresses mentally. After all the effort he'd gone through, it did seem to fizzle out in the end. Embarrassing. She leans forward a bit.]
Care to tell me a bit about that? You left a very intriguing riddle. It's enough to send shivers down anyone's spine. [The gummy worms...truly a clotting agent no one would expect.]
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[ Sorry sometimes he's just like this too, it's fine. ]
I'm not certain it's so much a riddle but rather, a technology. One I'm certain Vergilius is familiar with, but his penchant for doing as little as possible worked in my favor. Or that might have been the remaining wishpower too.
But first, do you believe in good fortune? Or barring that, the power of wishes? The very human trait of desiring what may seem improbable?
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Good fortune, certainly. Some people are smiled up, and some will never escape their rotten luck. I don't think I've ever see a wish come true without some manpower involved. Wanting something isn't enough.
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[ Hmm, how to best explain this... ]
Where I come from, technology known as "Singularities" exist. Put simply, they bring extraordinary things into the realm of possibility. Time manipulation, instant regeneration, and so on. One of these Singularities is wishpower, but it's essentially the essence of luck. Gather up enough and you could win any jackpot with a single coin, or land the lover of your dreams.
I might not have had my sword, but I did have a wishsticker on me at arrival.
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It must have been a very grand wish. Perhaps too complicated?
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Someone had to kill, for the greater good. I'm pretty selfless, you know? I gave Vergilius' team something they hadn't earned, because it was the right thing to do. At least, for now.
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Though she wonders about his actual wish, the one that now will go unfulfilled, one things stands out more than all the others to her.]
"As cleanly as possible," was it...? In that case, did you want all that business with the candies?
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The worms? I had to muddy up his corpse a bit so it wasn't clear that it was done by a harpoon. They're what I had at hand, or what he had on hand, at least. And I figured that since he liked them so much, he would appreciate being buried with them~.
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[And he doesn't do things the easy way, so he'd said on the sandbar.]
So it really went off without a hitch.
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Sonya, I believe even that may have been part of your good fortune.
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[ Like really, he's just a neat person. ]
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[It might have been the harpoon that made Sonya aggressively defend himself in the end, but it really was in noticing his tidiness that the focus shifted. That's an act of misfortune if she's ever heard of one.]
I guess it goes to show that nothing lasts forever. What a shame, just when I hoped to get to know you better.
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[ He tilts his head, resettling into a smile. ]
Did you? At least I can tell you that it's mutual. And that there's still time, however limited that might be.
nts don't mention the unions.............
[He won't have to worry about that, seeing as he'll be dead.]
Give me something interesting to mull over in your absence?
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[ He'll get to the interesting thing, and actually he has a thought here himself but first- ]
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Do they let you keep many gifts in a prison cell?
You have a lot of secrets, don't you? I'll take one.
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[ He leans in a bit in turn, the corner of his lips quirked upwards. ]
I wouldn't call them secrets, more like words meant for select ears only. They all have to do with the City, but if that still interests you—I don't mind sharing.
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[Does it suck when it comes from someone whose side she isn't on? Certainly. Is she interested in dismantling their iron grip in retaliation? That too. But force is indeed a force with which she is familiar.
At mention of the City, she visibly perks, her hands unlinking like opening them will help her receive the information faster. It's certainly not the first time she's heard about it.]
That miserable place filled with curses? I'm more than intrigued.
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But ah, that I think that way isn't really a secret. [ He reaches for one of her hands if she'll allow it. ]
Vergilius is the Overseer for a group of workers, called Sinners. Their mission is to obtain all the Golden Boughs, pieces of an object that can make the impossible possible, can distort time and reality itself. One of those Sinner is a woman I'm quite fond of, Rodya. She used to be part of the Yurodiviye, the group I lead—but she left rather than face the sin she committed. I met her and the rest of the Sinners just before being brought here, and I was hoping that she had the mark.
There is something coming, and no one and nothing can stop it. But there are a select group who will lead, who are chosen. We can identify each other, even if only by instinct when we're not yet accustomed to it. She wasn't one of them, despite her innermost desire to be special above all else.
I gave them the Bough rather than fight them for it, even if I was sent there to retrieve it. Doubtlessly, this irritates the Red Gaze to no end, as he's in my debt technically speaking. But it was an act of charity for the impoverished and—giving a starving man a lone piece of bread hardly does much other than ensure he lives just one more day.
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[Of course Waltaquin allows him to hold her hand, wearing neither her gloves nor her gauntlets this late at night.
She perhaps mistakes his final anecdote for a sign that they're on the same page with regards to charity, but beyond that -]
Wasn't it also your parting gift to her? Knowing that she won't be able to walk the same path as you. You may not be able to accept what she became, but that's what you could give to her.
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[ Another compliment he'll easily give to her. A squeeze of her hand too. ]
Perhaps. I'd still like to see her grow, given the optimist that I am. But next time I see her, I'll likely just pluck it from her, much like I plucked the fish from the waters here. I'm a generous individual, but I still have my own desires too.
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[Vergilius is so very fun to tease, though, and the joy that chasing after him in a way that clearly irritates him shines through in her voice. Even buoyed by Sonya's compliment, she can't help but pit them against one another a bit, capitalizing on her teasing.]
One day, I'll find a way of learning more. I think such knowledge would be indispensable.
Being generous is just another way of being selfish, after all. You're indulging your own pleasure to assist others. Wouldn't she have a problem with your flirtations? [He has been trying to flatter her since they were last alone together.]
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