Kain Highwind

[Backdated to late-February.]

When I find you, we are having a -talk-.

Edited Date: 2015-04-14 09:32 am (UTC)

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It's not like I'm going anywhere.

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[Yes. Well. What you can't see is the irritated snarling at the screen and the grip tightening around the borrowed spear for a moment or two, before he keys in a reply.]

Good.

[Nope. Not pissy at all. ~~VERY PISSY.~~]

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Either explain whatever you're on about here or get back here to talk in person.

[You are being obnoxious, irrational, he has no clue what's going on, and he's tired, cranky, and in pain. His patience for posturing and beating around the bush is nil.]

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[No text reply was sent in response to that.

Instead, it was only a matter of time before Valgaav was headed up the street, makeshift spear in hand and looking absolutely livid as he storms up the driveway and seeming as though he plans to rip the gargoyle a new one.]

I thought we were allies, Kain.

[His tone is utterly venomous and biting, even if he does seem to be struggling to keep it at a low tone for the moment.]

Edited Date: 2015-04-14 09:46 am (UTC)

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[Kain is curled in a melted-out snowbank by the garage; he's not exactly mobile - his legs have the splints fused into half-melted pieces due to Agitated Gargoyle Heat Output, his network device is sitting on his bag, and he's been relying on gimping around and reminding himself that Seth making sure he has food and the like is about par for the course for medical recovery. ~~Rosa has him pretty well trained to stay on his ass and heal after a point.~~]

[And the dry, blank "what the Hell is wrong with you" stare about sums up his views on Valgaav's current snit.]

You realize I have no idea what the Hell is going on, right? [He motioned at the house with one claw; he's partly sitting upright with the undamaged wing-claws on the ground, propping himself up that way.] Nothing's changed that I know of.

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[And that gets a very draconic snarl, or at least about all that can be managed in this stupid human body. It's not like he can menacingly flare out his energy or anything to drive the point home. Which only pisses him off all the more.]

LINA INVERSE, KAIN. YOU'RE FRIENDS WITH *THAT* LINA INVERSE AND HER MEDDLING ALLIES!

[Valgaav's free hand balls into a tight fist. If only he could use his abilities here. If only.

But y'know, fuck explaining his bizarre case of misdirected grudgewank. Welcome to dealing with what's basically a teenager, Kain - you're expected to know all of everything already. God.]

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[And that just threw Kain's reactions into complete blank. The lack of recognition is so thick that it would almost be believable that Valgaav started speaking another language entirely.]

...Who?! [Nope, still utterly blank. There's a couple blinks, one of which even includes a slow, disoriented moment of the nictating membranes following his regular eyelids.] I have honestly never heard that name before in my life.

Edited Date: 2015-04-14 09:58 am (UTC)

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[A shift in stance, and the angry teenager does the predictable angry teenager thing and grabs the nearest weapon at hand and turns it on Kain.

...Even if that was Kain's spear in the first place.

DETAILS.]

That blond imbecile, the one who is Gorun Nova's keeper, TOLD ME THAT YOU WERE FRIENDS WITH HIM. If you're friends with HIM, you're CLEARLY allied with HER. HE TRAVELS WITH HER!

This is NOT the first time I've had someone betray my trust like this, Highwind. This time, I will take care of matters like I should have the last.

[Promptly when the opportunity presented itself, and without remorse.

Also, yes Kain, he's threatening you with your own weapon. At close range. And probably more than angry enough for his judgment to be clouded beyond any hope for actual combat strategy. Have fun.]

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[He has a long moment of processing and squinting, trying to figure out who the Hell you mean. It's a very confused stare up the shaft that doesn't seem all that concerned with the spear being pointed at him.]

[It's also not very amused, and quickly answered with his one remaining clawed hand wrapping around Val's nearest wrist and the spearshaft; he's abusing the Hell out of the enhanced strength advantage of a monster. As soon as he's got a grip, he's using the spear itself as a lever to push Valgaav off balance to the right, and snapping out the wing he'd been propping himself up with at a cross-angle to knock Val's legs out from under him so that he can use the spear, his other wing, and his own weight to pin the teenager to the ground.]

[Valgaav, you are in a teenage human body, threatening someone that's been training with that kind of weapon since they were tiny who's also had a few months to adjust to his new body, and you just put yourself in a position close enough for him to compensate for lack of mobility with the element of surprise and his own greater strength and weight.]

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dragonspride - Date: 2015-04-16 10:23 am (UTC) - Expand

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koukai_kirai

Continuing our conversation from before: You mentioned the possibility of meeting in person? Still don't much trust these machines to keep secrets.

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According to the Fourth God, he's the only one that can see the private channels. I doubt the Rotaians have had a way to know of his existence long enough to get around it yet.

I know a handful of places in Bavan - although some of them would require wings to get to.

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koukai_kirai

Flying isn't a problem. I'm in Bavan already.

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>>BEAUTYOFBARON has posted an AUDIO MESSAGE. If you wish to listen type LISTEN01.

Kain. We need to talk. Now.

[ She's using the Voice of God on you, Kain, you'd better not make her wait. :| ]

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It's not real much longer after the message that Kain is landing outside the house. If there is any effort at not slinking, he's failing soundly; his wings are folded in, all his spines flattened, tail barely above the ground, and he really is slinking towards the house.

And he's not actually sure if he prefers the idea of the conversation about to happen going on outside, or trying to get to the hopefully-not-in-use parlor or something for it.

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A few things had started to click together in Rosa's mind while she waited for Kain to arrive. First off, the scars on his shoulder. Those definitely didn't look like they had been caused by caustic acid or even enchanted blades. No, they looked like bite marks, and Rosa had offered enough medical assistance over the years that she was quite acquainted with the myriad scars that Kain had sustained on his missions. That particular one, though, was totally unfamiliar to her.

The second thing was something he said earlier: I know better than to pretend I might bow even if it is just to survive until I can get in a better position.

There was something hidden in those words, subtle, but there. Had he only pretended loyalty to Golbez and the Archfiends while under the influence of the spell? Or something else?

Whatever it was, she was going to pull at that thread until the whole thing unraveled, one way or another.

As soon as she heard his wingbeats and the thud of his landing, she made her way downstairs, her features schooled into a perfectly serene espression. If not for the fire burning in her eyes, she might look as through she were simply waiting on a caller to pay a visit.

It's okay. She'll wait. She can wait all day, Kain.

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Kain wasn't of much mind to wait; even if he was slinking in like he expected to go to his own funeral, it was something he knew it was probably better to get over with.

He pulled his tail inside to let the front door shut behind him; he was suddenly all the more self-conscious of the scars Cagnazzo had left, even if he knew better than to flinch in a way that would draw more attention to it.

"We should probably talk in the parlor."

Which, it looked like, was unused and empty, and ...well, he could only hope there wouldn't be too much overheard.

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It's a bit odd, seeing Kain practically cringing in her presence, especially given his current form, but she's honestly too angry right now to truly appreciate the position he's in.

"That sounds like a lovely idea," Rosa said, keeping her tone pleasant. One would think that they were going to sit down and have tea together. "In case some omnipotent being tries to eavesdrop on our conversation, or some such nonsense. No, it's better not to hash out old grievances in the public sphere, don't you agree?"

She made her way into the parlor, but something about her gait and the way her arms were folded primly against her waist implied the soft stalking of coeurl feet. Even as she settled into one of the old, out-dated arm chairs, her expression remained one of perfect serenity. But she was watching Kain with the intensity of a predator seeking out a weakpoint to exploit.

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If it were possible for his scales and spines to flatten any closer or for him to shrink in any more, he would, and while he followed at a fairly reasonable distance behind - not too close, but enough to catch the door behind her - with his gaze pretty much anywhere but directly at her.

The wings and tail made the armchairs something of an impossibility, but in this situation, somehow, settling with his talons folded out of the way under him and his tail curled around him on the ground across from her didn't seem like it was all that off.

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It was almost comical, the way Kain crouched upon the floor, tail curling about his body in the manner of a cat. Or maybe a lapdog seeking attention at its master's feet. But this was no laughing matter. Not to Rosa, in any case. And probably not to Kain, either, given his submissive posture.

She stared at him, unblinking, hands folded primly in her lap. After several tense moments of silence passed, her gaze slid toward his scars. The corner of her mouth quirked upward in the barest hint of a grin. "Care to explain how you acquired that particular battle scar? I don't recall having tended to a wound like that. In fact, if I had tended to it, you probably wouldn't bear that scar, would you?"

Edited Date: 2015-06-13 03:32 am (UTC)

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So she had put together that it wasn't something he'd gotten here. It was probably only a matter of time, with the way his scales and plates had grown around and over it, rather than being impacted by it.

The quiet rusted hinge noise was a little higher-pitched and thinner than usual, and didn't quite want to leave no matter how much he would've liked it to go away. "...After I'd contacted you about what happened in Mist Village, I went into the castle to warn my second to clear the Dragoons out. I ran into the 'King' in the back hallways. I tried to talk past with a not-entirely-false story that there was something wrong, and ... I told him that he should take cover at the old lake manor." The manor that'd burned down when they were small children, that had never been much used.

"He said he wasn't going to hide somewhere. I thought it had to be little more than some human imposter using an illusion of some sort, and tried to strike."

Archfiends from old stories hadn't even been near his list of possible things he was dealing with at the time.

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If Rosa hadn't spent so much time around Skieran, she might not have picked up on the emotional ques in Kain's draconic vocalizations. As it was, she could clearly understand the undercurrent of fear in his voice, fear of having displeased her somehow.

"Did you suspect that our liege lord was an impostor before that point?" she asked, and the smile on her face wavered. "Did you send me to follow Cecil because you knew that I was in danger, but you refused to tell me?"

It would certainly explain the quiet urgency in which Kain had spoken to her before, and his emphasis on the fact that Cecil "might be in terrible danger". Kain knew her too well, knew that she would protect Cecil to the exclusion of all else if she thought his life was in danger. He'd used Cecil as bait in order to draw her away, so that he could deal with his suspicions without her getting in the way.

That lack of trust again... It hurt. But she wasn't going to show it.

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"...I didn't know." The waver hurt more than her being angry, and was enough for his posture to sink further, his eyes firmly on the carpet in front of him. "I didn't think someone could've replaced him without one of us knowing, but I didn't want to believe he would've grown so twisted as to order us to kill children. I - thought that I would have time to do a better explanation once I'd caught up, if Cecil weren't there to do it himself." And he had erred on the side of short and direct.

"I was afraid they'd have moved to trap you if you weren't out as soon as possible, and -" He shifted, folding his wings a little closer. "I truly hadn't been trying to confront the King - but I couldn't leave my men to be used in my absence. I knew we couldn't face all of Baron by ourselves; Cecil and I had planned to get you with us, away from the castle, then go to the other nations for aid."

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