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All things revealed
Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2022 12:10 pm
by Arkash
The 19th of Glade, 4622
Daravin.
A place brimming with cruel, callous persons that preyed on the weakness of those below them. Exploiters and usurpers took advantage of the people around them for their own gain and left shallow, broken husks in their wake.
That was the peasantry, everybody Arkash had happened across, every weakling that was unmarred by the corruptive influence of the Mark of Control was a famished, starving, degraded shuck of a being. They were discarded as filth without opportunity or purpose, while their lord, the Entente, were celebrated.
None of it was appealing if he was honest.
Nothing brought the Dranoch satisfaction like the lifeblood of his very own noble.
Still, he wandered the quiet night-lit streets. He stopped in alleys, sat, and spoke with those shriveled shells. Over and over again, he listened to their stories, their tales of woe, loss, and grief. Occasionally, he found people of interest in the stories that ran from the lips of the broken; wild, sadistic abusers that used their position to inflict cruelty on the downtrodden piles of skin and bone that littered the most disheveled areas of the city. Those few that he found often met their end in the grip of his jaws.
Other times, he found prowlers akin to him, but killed and ate without consideration for their victims. They were beasts preying on the weak, monsters in the skin of elves and humans. They too found their demise to his teeth and claws, they fed his evolution, his growth ins strength toward the apex of his blight.
And other nights? There was nothing.
More often than not, the only thing to ail those sorry souls was their own weakness, their own cowardice, their own inaction. There were no forceful hands that had shoved them to the dirt or taken their loved ones, there was no oppressor. They were the cause of their own torment, and for those, Arkash offered no sympathy, no shade of respect or morsel of his time.
That night was one filled with those helpless, broken things. Arkash had ventured out into the streets of Amoren to hunt and found nothing but weaklings and cowards. By the end of his prowl, he'd almost lost his appetite... If such a thing was possible.
A deep sigh flared his nostrils as he climbed the steps of Degare's estate, but the breath that filled his lungs caught his attention. There was a stranger at the Estate? Someone he didn't recognize, someone foul with the smell of body odor and illness had passed the threshold of the Socorro Estate.
No, that wasn't all.
A deeper breath revealed the presence of blood somewhere in the estate, deep in the kitchen from what he could tell. it was human, and weak in texture. Who?
Arkash felt the hairs of his arms and legs raise as he pondered the possibilities, and the pit of his stomach grew deeper as he let himself inside. He disrobed his tailcoat quickly and set his mask aside. Through the estate, he moved, then arrived at the kitchen door. A test of the handle revealed the door was locked.
The barrier snapped him from the trance of his frenzy and he blinked quickly as he opened his mouth to breathe. What was happening? A sharp squint saw him retrieve the lever and the lockpick from his pocket, and he made short work of the Kitchen's lock with a rake of the holding pins and twisted the tumbler open. To his own delight, it was almost as quick as if he'd had the key to the door in the first place.
When he stepped inside, Lucia and Degare were stood, basking in the presence of a fresh kill; a young man was strung from one of the meat hooks in the ceiling, tied to the foot of the stove. His throat had been cut open and a storm of blight was Degare's to command. Arkash hadn't been noticed, it seemed.
Quietly, he shut the door behind him and turned the tumbler to re-activate the locking mechanism while the two spoke in a tongue that he did not understand. From what he could tell, they were two different languages. A raise of his brows preceded his advance.
Quite quickly, and without a sound, Arkash closed the gap with Degare's back, reached up, and took his head on both sides. Remarkably fast and with little time to react, Arkash quickly yanked the Veir's head from its saddle with a satisfying stretch of his skin, then lowered it to a degree that his shoulders could remain relaxed before he carefully turned Degare's head around to face him from a lower position. Both his eyebrows were raised above his deep brown eyes, which stared with accusation reserved.
"What's all this, Degare?" Arkash asked with knowing scorn to the tone of his voice, as though he was fully aware of what had happened already. He then looked to Lucia with a raise of one brow. "Was this your idea?"
Re: All things revealed
Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2022 1:53 pm
by Degare
TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: direct continuation thread of Bled Deep
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The pair of Sil’Norai were so absorbed in their little sacrificial ritual that neither party heard the lock of the door click nor did they hear it open or close. They both faced away from the kitchen’s entrance when the Rathor snuck in; this enabled Arkash to evade the elves’ field of view while at the same time allowed him to bear witness to exactly what the two of them were up to. All the while, they spoke freely to one another in two different tongues– Degare was more comfortable with Raillen and Lucia with Silvain, but the two knew enough of each to understand one another.
Before the lurking Neoalt approached, their faces were painted with vibrant delight at the blood that flowed forth from the wound inflicted upon their unfortunate victim. The Blight that Degare leeched flowed around him like dark, flowing tendrils of water; he was very evidently enjoying himself. And when the younger man did make his move to close the distance between himself and the Veir, there wasn’t really much time on his end to react. A normal person would very likely struggle to pull Degare’s head from his body, especially with the level of ease that Arkash had managed, but fortunately for him, he had the supernatural strength of being a Dranoch on his side.
Skin and bone frayed and tore free as if composed of a gauzy type cloth or tissue paper and then immediately sealed and mended once the head was separated from the body. Degare froze and then with great haste lifted his arms to helplessly paw at his neck where his head should be. On Lucia’s end, she shrieked and clapped her hands over her mouth, face twisting into an expression of shock and abject horror that quickly morphed into confusion as clear jade eyes flit back and forth from the head to the body. There was no blood at all and…he was still moving on his own? Standing upright on his own? Frozen in place and utterly perplexed, she decided it’s probably best to wait to act given the fact that her Veir is somehow still alive— there’s definitely no cause for actual concern…right?
Right?
It was in these moments of strained confusion that Arkash spoke an inquiry in regards to what exactly it was that they were doing– though it was obvious to Degare that he was damn well aware of what was happening. After all, it was from him that the pale elf even learned of this concept. While the Veir struggled to adjust to his eyeline now being near to a full foot lower and not connected to his body, the Rathor posed a question directly to Lucia. The elf still looked terrified and she just shook her head frantically in response, white hair billowing in a panic stricken cloud around her as her eyes clenched shut. “No, I had no ide-...No, he wouldn’t tell me anything until we’d already started!” The woman’s Common is definitely her worst language; heavily accented and slow, it takes her far longer to say this than she’d wanted while the Silvain words at the start had fallen out in a quick, jumbled mess. Her fear in the face of the young Dranoch was audible in the fraying tremble of her silken voice.
By now, the Ferrier had adjusted to exactly what just happened. Noting his Valran’s obvious distress, he intervenes, “She’s correct– I pulled her along because I didn’t want to be alone. Performing Sacrifice was my idea because it was the last of the things you’d taught me I’d yet to try…and I was…ehm...bored.” He actually can’t help but to laugh at the end. Being held like this was utterly ridiculous and he was absolutely not used to this mutation even being a thing. So for him, to suddenly have his head yanked from his shoulders was the absolute last thing he had expected that evening. “Are…are you upset?”
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'Thoughts'
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Raillen Tongue/Speech"
"Silvain Tongue/Speech"
Re: All things revealed
Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2022 8:11 am
by Arkash
He reveled in it; the rampant fear in the eyes of the elf in the moments where he'd severed Degare's head, when all was a blur of shock and confusion. It was hard not to smile as he challenged both the Veir and the Valran on their chosen activity.
Maintaining that accusatory irritation was a lot easier without the smell of blood to clog his sinuses, as Arkash's frenzy was stalled. Though he could almost taste the coppery vapor on the air, such was much easier to resist than the full metallic tang in his nostrils.
"Oh really?" Arkash asked, serious in his choice of tone. The poor girl had apparently no part in it, so she claimed. Degare followed up to affirm her claim while she panicked.
While it did bring him some sliver of guilt to continue his scorned facade, such was vastly outweighed by the sheer delight he derived in seeing her panic.
As Degare explained, Arkash let his stance turn a little laxer, and he nodded down at the noble's lowered perspective. "I see... You're being a bad influence, then," Arkash asserted.
"Upset?!" he asked with a raise of his voice, brow pressed in anger before the break of a smile in the corner of his lips gave him away. "I'm furious Degare! You performed your first sacrifice without me...!" Theatrically, he tucked the Veir's weighty head against his body and lifted the back of his hand to his brow, as though he felt faint. "I'm hurt- No, wounded by your lack of consideration." He continued, but by then, the smile on his lips was audible in his voice.
"No... I'm not upset," he clarified with a trail of adoration as he took Degare's head with both hands again, then lifted it to press a quick kiss to his lips. "If anything, I'm impressed you managed to time the leeching right without my help. You did well," Arkash said as he turned Degare's head around, then reached up to re-saddle the extremity on the body's neck. He held it in place until all the correct fixtures rejoined, then let the body part go.
Once the Veir was whole again, he looked to Lucia and bowed his head. "I'm sorry for the scare; I saw an opportunity and couldn't resist," he explained with a remark of sincerity. On the subject of resisting, Lucia must have known how abnormal it was to see a dranoch with so much composure in the presence of a fresh bleeding corpse but might have also noticed that he was quite deliberately breathing exclusively through his mouth.
His lips closed as he offered a brief smile, but parted again as he resumed breathing, and looked at the hanging corpse. He trailed over the ropework around the ankles, the placement of the thread on the hook, and then followed it to the stove. Arkash nodded, as though he approved of the method. As his eyes trailed lower, he stopped at the features of the victim. There his gaze held for a long second before he breathed out, then looked between the two.
"Where did you find this one?" Arkash quizzed.
"I was out there for an hour looking and didn't find anything good to eat," came the false explanation of his ask.
Re: All things revealed
Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2022 10:41 am
by Degare
TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: -
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At first, the Veir couldn’t tell if Arkash was kidding or not from his tone. From his position, however, it’s not like Degare could really do anything– he didn’t want to hurt or fight against his lover so for the moment, he was kind of at his mercy. The Dranoch came across as offended…but was he truly?
Both elves stayed silent after Degare asked if the Neoalt was upset, waiting for him to answer with bated breath. He tried to appear angry but his facade broke almost immediately because he wasn’t able to hide the smile that pulled at the corners of his lips. When his actual gripe was voiced, Degare couldn’t help himself from laughing. He had considered waiting for Arkash to return, but…he was also not known for his patience.
As the younger man clarified his feelings and then kissed the Veir, Lucia was able to finally calm herself down as she realized that the tension created was all a joke and that…whatever the hell was happening with Degare was some kind of magic. At least…it had to be since he wasn’t reacting with any concern for his well being. While she was flooded with relief, she was still overwhelmed with confusion as for exactly when the Veir had gained this ability.
By the time his head was reattached, the pale elf still hadn’t said anything– all he’d done was laugh. After Arkash had offered his apology, Degare replied, “I suppose I maybe should have waited for you, dearest mentor of mine…but thank you. I was a bit concerned about the timing too because then I’d have had to go out and collect another body which would’ve been a pain…” his words drifted off with a trail as he mused about what he’d done. “...and honestly, you got us pretty good…but I can’t even blame you. I probably would’ve done the same thing if I were you.” The Ferrier punctuates this sentence with light laughter because honestly, he definitely would have.
When Arkash asked about exactly where they came across the strung up man, “He was asleep in an alley not that far away from here. It didn’t really take that long to find him– his body is yours to eat, of course.” Degare answered this question fairly casually because he figured that the Dranoch used similar unfortunate people to feed.
Finally having regained her composure, the Valran posed her question, “Um, could one of you please explain why his head can come off? Or at the very least when you discovered this was even possible?” The Ferrier rolled his shoulders and stretched the muscles in his neck for a few moments before he responded. "Ah...I'm...not really sure when I actually gained this ability...? I discovered it only a few days ago, though...and then I forgot about it. If I hadn't I would've told you, but I guess this was one to find out," he spoke with a light tone and slight laughter at the end.
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'Thoughts'
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Raillen Tongue/Speech"
"Silvain Tongue/Speech"
Re: All things revealed
Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2022 12:40 pm
by Arkash
Degare's laugh brought a certain light to his features. He hadn't anticipated that his mischief would be so well received by the jovial head in his hands, but it certainly did its part to broaden his smile, which he maintained when he kissed the Veir.
All the while, Lucia was a befuddled mess. She appeared totally taken aback by the happenings in the kitchen, unlike Degare who was a stark contrast of joy still in wake of Arkash's trickery. Arkash couldn't help but laugh at his own joke as he reset the Veir's head. Something about his lover's laugh was contagious. It stirred in his chest and brought his eyes to squint as his cheeks darkened and his whole body jostled at the strength of his diaphragm. For a moment, he held his stomach together while he rode out the euphoric release of his scare.
Lucia did not share such sentiments, it seemed.
Once the Veir's head was reattached and his apology to Lucia was delivered, Degare went on to explain and apologize. "No it's fine," Arkash returned. "You've gotta entertain yourself while I'm out somehow, and I know you give a botchling a run for its money on your love of blood." It made sense, he understood Degare's reasoning. it was nice that the Veir was able to enjoy such things while Arkash was hunting. "Oh, I'm sure you would have," Arkash assured at the confession that he would have done the same.
But then Arkash recognized the man, the broken soul to have ended up as Degare's victim.
The boy was one of those he spared no sympathy for, one of the many that did nothing to help their situation and succumbed to their place as society's vermin. Apparently, he'd done nothing to help his situation, as Degare had found him lying in an alley when he abducted him. Arkash maintained his smile despite the war that raged behind his eyes, the conflict that weighed in the pit of his stomach almost ruined his appetite for the second time that night, but such a thing wasn't possible. "Ah," Arkash began. "Well, it's not the most satisfying meal but let's be honest... There's not much that can compare to my favorite," he spoke with the mask of an impish smile toward the Veir.
Lucia asked for clarification, and Degare delivered some vague explanation while Arkash studied the boy's features, the expression he held in his death.
His smile receded, and he drew a deep breath through his nose after a few moments of consideration and flooded his lungs with the smell of the waster's blood and he shook his head. Ultimately, what he beheld was the fate of weaklings. Those that sank in the shallows deserved to drown.
"Well thank you for the food, Degare, but I can't really get through bones with these teeth anymore," he spoke with a press of his thumb to the edge of his front teeth, which he flicked outward with force to indicate their bluntness. "...And I'm not sure if I want to show off my features right now," he spoke with a little more emphasis while he faced the Elf and did his best to offer subtle motions at Lucia. He could only imagine how the elf might fare at seeing a Cardinal in the flesh if his botching eyes frightened her as much as they did before. "Besides... I don't see any sort of eccentric robes on you right now, so you can't see them either," he said with a devilish grin.
"You don't need to lock the door, I'll be done in a minute," he said with confidence as he turned to face the hanging body, then looked at the basin of blood at his feet. "Oh... Did you want this for something?" he asked with a glance over his shoulder and a point at the bowl on the floor.
Re: All things revealed
Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2022 1:39 pm
by Degare
TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: -
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To see Arkash so happy infused the Veir with a mirrored emotion– and it would appear that his lover felt the same way towards him; the two of them built one another up in this way while poor Lucia stood off to the side, eyes narrowed disapprovingly at the both of them.
After Degare spoke and Arkash replied, he scoffed, though he is clearly still amused. “My bloodlust rivals that of a botchling, huh? I suppose that could be true…though I’ve much more self control, I’d like to think,” he spoke with bright, bubbling laughter at the end.
As the young Dranoch inspected the hanging body, some strange emotions ebbed and flowed just below the surface of his features. The Veir didn’t exactly recognize what else he was feeling but he was capable of noting that there was something else there in the first place. His attention was pulled away from these thoughts when his lover referred to him as ‘his favorite’ and in this case, that specifically meant his favorite food. Degare huffed and crossed his arms, “I’d best mean more to you than being your favorite snack, lover of mine.” With a somewhat theatrical shrug, “...though I’d be hard pressed to pretend I’m not rather fond of your, ah…unique blood.” His voice is light, impish; he spoke teasingly, in a way.
Lucia and Degare shared a brief exchange about the strange nature of his head coming off but had their attention once more directed towards the little Rathor when he spoke again. From what he was saying, it sounded like he’d need to shift into his Cardinal form in order to feed himself. For Lucia, this is something she definitely wouldn’t want to be around to see regardless of what form he takes. On the Veir’s end, though, he’s rather disappointed. “Aw, I can’t see yet…? A shame…I’d put on what I wore to Ardenserat but it’s not quite the right palette of colors you’re looking for…” his words end with a soft trail, voice feigning immense disappointment.
Lucia directed her gaze to Degare with brows furrowed and an overall annoyed expression on her face, “If he wants to eat alone let’s just…let him then, yes? I’d rather not linger any longer…” She’s still very much on edge in the Dranoch’s presence regardless of how comfortable her Veir is. The older elf takes note of this and gives her a sympathetic smile, “Fine, no need to stay…but yes, Arkash, the blood I planned on keeping to practice Bloodshaping,” with those words he channeled some of his collected blight to harden all of the blood within the basin for the sake of its preservation.
Lucia’s eyes flit from the basin of hardened blood back to her Veir and then between the two again. He was half starved himself. He couldn’t lift that. With a sigh, the Valran used Integrate and changed her arms to that of a black bear’s, collected the basin and took her leave. Degare sighed– with a light shrug, he followed after her.
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'Thoughts'
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Raillen Tongue/Speech"
"Silvain Tongue/Speech"
Re: All things revealed
Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 7:42 pm
by Salen
Degare
Lores
Bane: Mutations - Doll's Limbs
Bane: Mutations (Doll's Limbs) - Absurd to See
Blood: Sacrifice - A Terrible Fate
Blood: Sacrifice - Feast of Blight
Politics: Daravin - Blind Eye Turned Toward Entente
Politics: The Destitute Fall Through The Cracks
Politics: Nobility Prey on the Weak
Psychology: Morality
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[PC] Arkash: Mischievous
[PC] Arkash: His laughter brings you joy
[PC] Arkash: May have judged you?
[PC] Arkash: Didn't want to show you his Cardinal form
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[NPC] Lucia: Afraid of Arkash
[NPC] Lucia: Arkash's antics scared her more
[NPC] Lucia: Blood Magic sparks joy
Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Points: 3 Blood Magic, 5 Normal Exp
Arkash
Lores
Appraisal: The strength of an individual from their blood
Appraisal: Blood magic at work
Hunting: At night
Hunting: Ignore unappealing prey
Hunting: Other predators
Politics: Weakness below strength
Psychology: Justification
Psychology: Mental gymnastics
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[PC] Degare: Kills weaklings
[PC] Degare: Meant to feed you
[PC] Degare: Open about the details of his relationship with you
[PC] Degare: His laugh is contagious
Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Points: 8
Comments:
Arkash pretending to be disappointed when really he was overjoyed and especially when Degare is being sadistic behind closed doors. Great Thread, let me know if you have any questions about your rewards.