darkness has its teachings
Aurelia Murlow
the Fireheart


Age: 29 | Height: 5'7" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 4 - Strg: 18 - Dext: 20 - Endr: 27 - Luck: 21 - Int:
Played by: Catalysta Away
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Posts: 1,182 | Total: 1,724
MP: 630
#15
Aurelia
and my hands aren't clean
maybe they never will be
She's vaguely aware of Seren's companion's movements, but she's too winded and exhausted to pay it much mind. It being a dragon might spark a bit of wonder within her at any other time, but now? Now it's just one of those little things, overlooked like they so often are. And she's tried to fill her life fuller with them, with those little moments and rare things. Beneath the crushing weight of reality they always seem to fall away, and a dark depression lingers deep in the fibers of her being upon coming to this melancholy realization.

Yet she's attentive to Seren, because this moment matters and feels so defining - or potentially damning. The hint that's dropped in the way that her shoulders stiffen doesn't go unnoticed. Seren has something she wants to say, and Aurelia's gaze flashes with a need to know what. But she bites back her impulsive tongue and lets the girl speak in a way that's comfortable for her.

She heaves a tempered sigh and points out, "If we don't know who they are, Seren, and they remain free? There is a high chance that they will do something like this again. Or they may do something worse. Whoever it was, they're not only a danger to others but a danger to themselves." It's imperative that they're found and held accountable, but of course fighting or killing them doesn't have to be apart of that.

Her brows shift with speculation and she has to ask firstly and foremost, "Who did you get this information from? Are you sure they knew what they were talking about? This is a serious accusation to be making, we can't take it lightly." Was it a reliable source, or simply conjecture, rumor? Perhaps it would be easier for Seren to start from the beginning.
but they can still carry you home
when you're ready to sleep
Seren Taliesin


Age: 25 | Height: 5'7 in (170cm) | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 3 - Strg: 16 - Dext: 20 - Endr: 30 - Luck: 16 - Int:
UMBRA - Mythical - Dragon (fire breath)
Played by: Chan Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,448 | Total: 5,767
MP: 1897
#16
Not just a fighter, not just a dreamer
Amazing creator, relentless believer
In who I am and what I got inside
The expression on the demi-god's face was patient, and calm. "I know. That is why I am breaking my friends trust and telling you this." She looked around then, at the busy street and the setting sun. If this really was such a sensitive matter, then they probably should not be discussing it in the open. Indicating with a nod that she wished to move, Seren began strolling down the street, with an eye on the passing crowd.

"As I said before, I was not there when the fire started. I saw it from the roof of another house, and hurried over to see if I could help." Why she had been lurking on the rooftops of Haulani was a separate matter entirely, and she brushed past this without even blinking. "I arrived in time to see how the unicorn got to its feet, and how it tried to leave. I leaped in, hoping that I could help the poor thing get away - I wanted to save it from both the fire and further harm." Pain flashed across her face as the memory of it all returned; the chaos and the heat, the violence. It was all terrible and frightening, and new to her. "I was too late." Her throat tried to clench, anger attempting to flare up anew - but Seren reminded herself of Aurelia's mindset when she acted, and the sentiments died away once more. "By the time I could bring the unicorn to my island, he was already dead. And when I returned, you were gone. The fire was out. I saw my friend on the beach, and went to see that she was alright."

Only here did the raven-haired girl pause, and drew in a breath to steady herself before turning to look at the Arbiter. "I heard the name from Maeve, the Halenani Madame. I asked who the companion belonged to - since she tried to help it too, I assumed she would know, and... she did. The unicorn's name was Atlas. And it was bonded to a woman named Hotaru."

It was as thorough and clear-cut a recounting as Seren was capable of. It did not feel good, to reveal the names of her friends like this. It implied... so much. That Maeve had known and said nothing. That Seren herself was not someone who could be trusted to keep a secret. Yet she had to believe in the laws and justice of the system... or what else would there be left but chaos? This was not something that could - or should - simply be swept under the rug and forgotten.
Seren
Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
Aurelia Murlow
the Fireheart


Age: 29 | Height: 5'7" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 4 - Strg: 18 - Dext: 20 - Endr: 27 - Luck: 21 - Int:
Played by: Catalysta Away
Change author:
Posts: 1,182 | Total: 1,724
MP: 630
#17
Aurelia
and my hands aren't clean
maybe they never will be
Aurelia nods gravely, empathetic to the tensions of risking friendship for what is believed to be right, or just, or... simply better. She understands that quite personally in this moment, but in terms of a different matter that needn't be brought up. She gestures for Seren to lead the way, to choose where she feels most at ease to begin the discussion. If there is a bit of anticipation in the way she attempts to casually stride with the other woman, she tries not to make it too obvious. It will come, whatever Seren wishes to unveil to her, and she isn't keen on pressuring the truth out. She wants to hear it unfiltered and raw from Seren's point of view.

That she does, and she can't help but to grimace a bit as the events surrounding the unicorn are brought up once more. It's a necessary facet to the story, however. "It's not your fault..." she comments quietly, hoping in vain to ease some of the emotions Seren is struggling with over it. However, not wishing to dig her hole deeper, she says nothing more and continues to listen, strains to hear all of it so that the quiet undertones are not lost among the hubbub of Haulani.

Aurelia hesitates as Seren comes to a sudden halt, and she rounds back to face the other girl with uncertainty. It's in this small moment that she isn't totally sure she wants to know the identity of the person who almost killed her, who set the Slagveld on fire, but she knows that she needs to know. She hopes that it will provide clarity of some sort, if not to her then to Sunjata.

Maeve's name is spoken and immediately her brows raise and lower in bewilderment. "I'm familiar.." she mutters, of the Halenani Madame. Intimately familiar, in fact, but that's not important here and now. What she doesn't understand... is what Maeve has to do with any of this. Who could she possibly want to protect, and why? When she had lost so much in the monsoons. Aurelia had heard about it, the devastation and the many workers there hurt, left without homes - Maeve amongst them. Why would she want to protect someone that tried to commit the same level of destruction on the city, when she had to understand so personally what it felt like.

But Seren answers her, and it's a good thing she didn't interrupt to ask all of the questions swirling around in her mind. "Hotaru?" The name is spoken with a great measure of not only disbelief, but also disdain. Her gaze casts downward, flickering back and forth as her mind tries to piece together the why from the who and the what.

"But why would Hotaru attack the Slagveld?" She can't help but to ask this question aloud, though she's sure that Seren doesn't know either. "She... she's Sunjata's wife- or, she was. Is this really over a marriage that she walked away from?" Anger fumes at her nostrils and she has to steady herself for a second.

"That can't be it... there has to be a better reason..." one of her hands comes up to run through her curled hair, where the skin on her arms is fractured by lightning scars that appear like the coils of ferns imprinted, embedded, forever left with a mark from a woman who had no real reason. Not any except revenge, and what a self-destructive plight that is. Aurelia would know.

It's perhaps disappointing that the revelation of who doesn't bring with it clarity. Only more doubt and confusion and... frustration, beneath it. But Aurelia refocuses on Seren and, through the questioning, she suddenly says, "Seren," and she places both hands on the young demi-god's shoulders to anchor her with her words, to meet her eyes, "Thank you for telling me. I know this wasn't easy but it will help a great deal. I hope you know that." Slowly, gently, she lets go and steps back out of Seren's immediate space. "I don't know why Hotaru would do this, if it really was her, or why Maeve would want to protect her, but.. now at least we have a hope of getting to the bottom of all this. Maybe she can be stopped from doing something else she'll regret, before it's too late."
but they can still carry you home
when you're ready to sleep
Seren Taliesin


Age: 25 | Height: 5'7 in (170cm) | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 3 - Strg: 16 - Dext: 20 - Endr: 30 - Luck: 16 - Int:
UMBRA - Mythical - Dragon (fire breath)
Played by: Chan Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,448 | Total: 5,767
MP: 1897
#18
Not just a fighter, not just a dreamer
Amazing creator, relentless believer
In who I am and what I got inside
Seren had no answers. At least none she was confident in repeating. Something about Hotaru's relation to Sunjata and Nate... but it appeared as though Aurelia was already familiar with that. More than Seren was, whose eyebrows had risen high in surprise. Hotaru was - had been? - married to Sunjata? That was new. Another facet to the picture of a smiling woman on a bridge, that made her wonder what was true. The laughter and fun, or the raging  fire?

It was her turn to feel tired, and the usual smiles had faded by the time she found her grabbed by the shoulders. The gratutide sounded hollow, and the satisfaction of doing the right thing only barely kept her from regretting this. "I hope that you will not be too quick to judge her, when you find her," she said softly. "If she is as close to Sunjata as you say, then this whole affair might be both complicated and painful." Nor was it likely to be one-sided, though Seren didn't know enough to judge there. "I hope that you will listen to her side of the story, if you get the chance. Like I did for you."
Seren
Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
Aurelia Murlow
the Fireheart


Age: 29 | Height: 5'7" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 4 - Strg: 18 - Dext: 20 - Endr: 27 - Luck: 21 - Int:
Played by: Catalysta Away
Change author:
Posts: 1,182 | Total: 1,724
MP: 630
#19
Aurelia
and my hands aren't clean
maybe they never will be
Aurelia's expression dims with sadness at seeing the light begin to fade from Seren's eyes, at seeing that same weariness within them that reflects from her own. She wants to apologize for it, but she knows better. This is life. Life is exhausting, strenuous, and it never ceases. It continues to go on, and you can either follow it.. or die in the wastes.

As for Seren's requests, Aurelia finds herself recoiling slightly. Not in a defensive way, but a measured way. Such promises won't be easy to keep, and so she can't make them. "I will try, Seren," is the best sort of promise she can offer, "if for no other reason than for you, I'll try," because Seren is the daughter of Safrin and, while she is not her mother, Aurelia still feels some sense of fealty. It's a humbling thing and so hard to understand within herself. Kind of weird, too.

"But.." she pulls in a shorter breath, eyeing Seren with solemnity, "she's already committed a violent act against Sunjata - or Torchline. Whatever her story is, I doubt that it's talking she wants. Things could get bad, they could get worse, and very quickly," she releases that breath with a heavy sigh, her mind swarming with possibilities. "That's why it's important that you've told me the truth now, before something else happens. But Seren?" Her brows lift, "You can't tell anyone else what you've told me - that you have told me this - unless it's Sunjata or Nate. We don't know how things are going to go yet and it's imperative that you don't put yourself or anyone else in unnecessary danger. Do you understand? Don't take this upon yourself and, no matter what happens, none of it is your fault." That last part is something she'd always needed to hear and that's why it comes so easily, so readily, why she repeats it as if to ingrain it in the girl's mind.
but they can still carry you home
when you're ready to sleep
Seren Taliesin


Age: 25 | Height: 5'7 in (170cm) | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 3 - Strg: 16 - Dext: 20 - Endr: 30 - Luck: 16 - Int:
UMBRA - Mythical - Dragon (fire breath)
Played by: Chan Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,448 | Total: 5,767
MP: 1897
#20
Not just a fighter, not just a dreamer
Amazing creator, relentless believer
In who I am and what I got inside
She frowned slightly at the implication that someone might come after her for speaking up and telling the truth. Would Hotaru do that? Would Maeve? Seren wouldn't believe it of either of them. But then, she also would never have believed that Hotaru would be capable of arson either. If it really was her who started this.

"If there really is potential for danger then I need to let my father know, at least," she murmured. "But other than him, I won't tell anyone." Easy enough to promise; she had no wish to spread rumors and increase the potential for the kind of unjustified blame that Maeve had feared. "And you should not try to be fair because I ask, miss Arbiter. You should give her the benefit of the doubt because that is what's right, and because we don't know the full story. Hotaru being on the scene doesn't make her automatically guilty. If that was the case, then you should be arresting me, too. For trying to aid the unicorn in escaping."

And Maeve, and Adam, and all the spectators that had been standing by to do nothing. There would be no end.
Seren
Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
Aurelia Murlow
the Fireheart


Age: 29 | Height: 5'7" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 4 - Strg: 18 - Dext: 20 - Endr: 27 - Luck: 21 - Int:
Played by: Catalysta Away
Change author:
Posts: 1,182 | Total: 1,724
MP: 630
#21
Aurelia
and my hands aren't clean
maybe they never will be
"It's not being on the scene, Seren. I'm aware things are not that simple," she almost laughs at it, but not out of joy. "Now that I have her name, I have very little doubt. I said nothing about fairness," Hotaru had tried to kill her, after all, though Aurelia thinks Seren doesn't realize that, "because of what I know now, whether she did this is less of a question and now it's if she worked alone or not. We can't be sure of that. If Maeve had something to do with it, potentially. But I will hear her side of the story if she wants to tell it peacefully, because you can be damn sure I wanna know the reason for this." Seren had quite the imagination of a world ruled by justice and mercy and fairness. The conclusions she jumped to and the requests she made, they're unrealistic and Aurelia has no intention of feeding them.

Aurelia has to go, however. She can feel the tension rising in herself, urging her to move on now. "I have to go, Seren. I hope you understand, but I'm still not done with what I need to do. I have to go and speak with Maeve, get her side of things. Thank you again."



Fin!
but they can still carry you home
when you're ready to sleep


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