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+---- Thread: [SE] a blissful kiss from Judas lips (/showthread.php?tid=10759)
a blissful kiss from Judas lips - Dantalion - 03-01-2025
The sun rises over the Hollowed Grounds, and by the time it sets again, Danta finds himself among Stormbreak's lofty heights. He'd told only the necessary people - Asta, Charlie, his best barman at the Dusklight - and has promised not to linger here. But there are some things that a Theocrat just has to do to put his mind at ease, and one of them is finding out if there's a lever he can pull to send Stormbreak tumbling out of the sky visiting a void-torn city with open eyes.
Because he's been here before, it's true, but not since an Ancient murdered by the void had been dumped at the doorstep of his establishment. That feels personal.
Overhead the stars glitter between fast-moving clouds, and the Maverick stands in the grounds of the Trinity Temple with his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his red leather coat, the collar turned up against the chill breeze. He hadn't quite wanted to approach the Tower just in case it was taken as some sort of threat, but he can see it well enough from here, blacker than black against the sky.
Whether the fact he's standing in a space reserved for the old gods would make a difference either is up for debate. Even so, it feels marginally better than being completely out in the open.
RE: a blissful kiss from Judas lips - Melita - 03-01-2025
Melita shouldn’t have been in Stormbreak – not at all, really. But it was difficult to parse through the particulars of her boldness; to show she didn’t give a single fuck about the Family, to not wanting to become a single target to bludgeon. And while she’d certainly told Sunjata she’d keep her head down, some aspects of her personality simply couldn’t fade away from the world.
She did keep her hood up throughout the long, winding streets though, and companions at her side. Figuring if someone recognized her and started shit, she could either fade into her invisibility or just shoot them, she carried the rest of her armory over her shoulder in a bag; schooner docked not terribly far away.
The Honeybee didn’t expect to come towards the massive Temple, nor the slightly-familiar outline of the Grounds’ leader, but circumstances were what they were. Her eyes widened slightly, but then she returned them back to their normal state, striving to appear aloof and indifferent amidst a city she’d already formerly terrorized. [say]“Oh, hey,”[/say] she said off-handedly, stopping to stare at the huge ass peaks and gothic architecture some distance away – imposing and massive, clearly trying to say something from the days of old. [say]“What brings you out here?”[/say]
RE: a blissful kiss from Judas lips - Dantalion - 03-01-2025
It's strange to Danta, that he recognises Melita as she appears, and even feels as if he knows her decently well, despite never having shared a private conversation with her like this. As such, as her voice trills through the night air and she draws up beside him, he offers her a friendly enough nod before turning his gaze back up towards the Tower looming overhead. [say]"Hey,"[/say] he replies, slowly tilting his head. [say]"Oh, y'know. Just wondering if this place had an off switch. You?"[/say]
Wrinkling his nose, he finally drops his gaze from the shadowed peaks for good to turn properly towards the Honeybee. [say]"Someone dropped a body off at my doorstep at Longnight. An Ancient who had been killed by the void. Didn't look like a creature either,"[/say] he says in a lower voice. [say]"So I figured I'd scope this place out, just in case."[/say] In case of what he can't say, only that he feels better knowing his way around Stormbreak at least a little.
RE: a blissful kiss from Judas lips - Melita - 03-01-2025
Maybe it was the camaraderie built between hunting for ducks, bullying his citizens, and the general platitude for chaos, but Melita didn’t mind the Ancient either. She gave a slight smirk at his own idea, for wouldn’t that be an ideal arrangement…though if they sent it plummeting to the ground, then what? [say]“I think I’d much prefer to blow up their home turf,”[/say] and she jerked her head in the general direction of Starfall, well below. [say]“Eh, wandering just to be defiant,”[/say] she added with a shrug; a normal happenstance.
The news though caused her brows to furrow, altering her eyes to look at him, rather than the peaks and steeples. Her voice lowered to a whisper as well, the nosiness kicking in. [say]“Do you know who it was?” [/say]She only knew so many – but crimes were crimes. His ‘scoping’ out drew an arch along one brow, but she hesitated to ask why. [say]“Do you think there’s…,”[/say] she paused, nose wrinkling as she gave actual thought to what she was about to spew. [say]“Anything you can do about it?”[/say] Or were they all just as fucking powerless to the marks of the Family?
RE: a blissful kiss from Judas lips - Dantalion - 03-02-2025
[say]"Ah, right. That eyesore."[/say] Smirking and following Mel's line of sight, while Starfall is in no way visible to them from right here, Danta can understand the unease that comes with just knowing it's squatting out there in the ocean. [say]"Wonder if we can find a way to fly this hunk of rock over it and then drop it? Two problems solved at once."[/say] Wondering whether these plans constitute blasphemy as far as The Family are concerned, and whether their standing in the Trinity Temple will offer them any protection at all, the Maverick sighs.
[say]"No, I don't,"[/say] he says of the person or creature who had murdered Isar and left him on the Dusklight steps, Danta shoving his hands more deeply in his pockets and hunching his shoulders a little, evidently frustrated at the lack of answers both in the Grounds and up here. Tilting his head at her question, hesitant though it may be, the Maverick thinks for a long few seconds before shaking his head. [say]"Not other than what we're doing already. They've got my attention now, though."[/say]
RE: a blissful kiss from Judas lips - Melita - 03-02-2025
[say]“Wouldn’t that be a delight,”[/say] Melita murmured, though the Cheshire grin to follow ensured she meant what she said. A sight to see, at least, of the hurling mass crashing into the Starfall expanse below – maybe wiping all the crystal nonsense right out of there. Or further into the ocean. She wasn’t picky. [say]“I don’t know how they got it up here in the first place though.”[/say] Probably some primordial bullshit from leagues and ages ago – and she figured the power that currently sat upon the throne weren’t going to be bothered with all the finer details and points. Nor finding a particular trigger.
Shuffling her foot on the cobblestones for some semblance of movement in all her restless nature, the lack of information wasn’t entirely surprising. The Family seemed to work in all those furtive manners, while still knowing everything about them (which, quite frankly, pissed her off). As for what his ‘attention’ meant, her eyes narrowed again. [say]“Mm. But doing anything outright earns you recognition.” [/say] And while Danta might have enjoyed attention, she wasn't certain he'd like the Family's version.
RE: a blissful kiss from Judas lips - Dantalion - 03-02-2025
[say]"Wouldn't it just?"[/say] Danta echoes in a drawl, smirking briefly towards the Tower and its endless spires before he drops his gaze once more. It's all well and good to consider such things, but even being here and standing in the enormous city makes him realise how monumental the task before them truly is; how small he feels among these buildings and the presence holding command over them. [say]"Some Caido shit, probably,"[/say] he says of how Stormbreak lifted itself into the sky. [say]"I never visited before it got up here, so..."[/say]
Wincing at a cutting breeze that howls through the Temple grounds, Danta also finds himself shuffling his feet and letting out a huff of laughter. [say]"Oh, I don't have a deathwish,"[/say] he assures Melita. [say]"With something like this, I feel like doing anything outright works against us. The Family are sneaky - why shouldn't we be?"[/say]
RE: a blissful kiss from Judas lips - Melita - 03-02-2025
[say]“I did,”[/say] she ventured, nose wrinkling. [say]“When we were all relic hunting before the war. The fucking cliffs came alive,”[/say] and she gestured broadly towards wherever those would’ve been, in the spirit of Caido bullshit. Still, it hadn’t helped in knowing any particular triggers to send the island fucking rocketing up to the clouds.
Her eyes flicked back to the Temple itself as the wind seemed to do its best to emanate a god damned scream – deciding she didn’t want to go in there after all. [say]“Sneaky isn’t much in my forte,”[/say] came along a whisper and a shrug; he would’ve heard her name spewed across the broadcasts too. [say]“But I can try.”[/say] For her own admissions, she figured they just needed some flowers to get back into position – let the bigger guns work their way through the isle. [say]“Did you have something in mind?”[/say]
RE: a blissful kiss from Judas lips - Dantalion - 03-03-2025
[say]"Sounds delightful,"[/say] Danta says, his expression suggesting that he very much thinks otherwise. [say]"Kind of glad I was still in my nice, long rock nap for that part of Caido's history."[/say] He's probably slept through numerous wars, if he thinks about it, though the one that had led to the Ancients' awakening is undoubtedly the most notorious in recent times.
[say]"Ugh, me neither,"[/say] he agrees of being sneaky, or rather failing at it. [say]"Not unless it's to hunt something down and eat it. Maybe that's what I should try."[/say] Smirking to himself, he gives a nonchalant shrug, as if to say he hasn't cemented any plans just yet. [say]"The Grounds has that big cannon. Wondering if I could get it to target the void. Or I might just have to petiton my dark lady for advice."[/say] Dygra, of course, being the dark lady in question.
Glancing towards the Honeybee suddenly as if just realising it, he pulls his hand from his pocket and sticks it out towards her to shake. [say]"Danta,"[/say] he says. [say]"I don't think I ever actually introduced myself."[/say]
RE: a blissful kiss from Judas lips - Melita - 03-03-2025
Melita shrugged again; incapable of pondering much further about rock naps and avoiding wars. She’d missed out on most of Helovia’s, save for the one where their land had been completely corrupted in the end, and her mother had sacrificed her life to get her daughters out of such a mess. Hopefully the gentle, kind soul looked down on her from somewhere and did more than just shake her head; but the Honeybee couldn’t quite ever stay out of harm’s way – took her part in it just like everyone else.
Danta’s inability to do anything covert made her snort, and then she had to quiet herself down so they didn’t attract too much attention from anyone else lingering by. [say]“Weapons are delightful,”[/say] she mused. [say]“Could do something with that gods damned Spire too.”[/say] Unaware, of course, that this was the armament he was referring to – having aimed at it herself in previous years. [say]"Shelters in the underground...,"[/say] she mused, thinking of the times they'd made bunker-like rooms in the Fingers. [say]“Too bad the ol’ shitbags aren’t weakened by fire. Your lot would have a grand time.”[/say]
At the palm suddenly near her, she couldn’t help but laugh again – not great at introductions herself. Usually hers were done in a more violent manner; purely by happenstance, of course. But she took it just the same, shaking his hand in return, maybe thinking one day she simply wouldn’t need preambles and forewords – the world would know who she was at first glance. Either a shithead or some chaotic thing to be feared. Maybe both. Offering a Cheshire grin, she bobbed her head in greeting. [say]“Melita.” [/say]
RE: a blissful kiss from Judas lips - Dantalion - 03-04-2025
[say]"Mm, that thing,"[/say] Danta agrees as Mel mentions the Spire, and he'd have snapped his fingers in recognition if he wasn't so keen to keep his hands as warm as possible. [say]"It's got a big cannon on it, or something. I was wondering if I could ask Dygra to make it super effective against the void. Or,"[/say] he lowers his voice and offers a fiendish smile, [say]"if I ask real nice, maybe I could see if I could aim it all the way over here."[/say]
Groaning - if the Family were especially weakened by fire he'd have been all over it from day one - Danta gives her hand a firm shake before tucking it back into his pockets. [say]"The ducks,"[/say] he clarifies - Melita with the ducks. [say]"You can come back to the Grounds and pull that shit any time you like, by the way."[/say] Scoffing, he gazes once more towards the Tower. [say]"I'm gonna get on the next skyship out of here though, I think. I've seen their big dick Tower. That's enough for now."[/say]
RE: a blissful kiss from Judas lips - Melita - 03-04-2025
Melita probably should’ve seen that whole ‘Spire was a weapon’ thing coming; but she couldn’t help sparking a bit of a laugh at the revelation. And here she’d been, shooting at it. Ah well. She grinned instead, quite content in imagining the big ol’ black dick parsing through trees and valleys and punching Starfall with some power. Firing off a load, if you will. [say]“You should have a watch party for when it all goes down.”[/say] And invite the Honeybee, please.
That she’d be recognized for the ducks instigated another snort, though she bothered to muffle this one. [say]“Thank you for the encouragement.”[/say] As for getting out of dodge, she wondered if they’d been wearing out their welcome too – at least, the restlessness was beginning to muddle around her limbs. [say]“Agreed. See you around. Good luck shooting!”[/say] Then she winked, disappearing into the evening array.
[FIN]