(Closed) Mareuer Catch All

[mirshikar]

Who: Asura + Plotted CR
When: Mareuer
Where: Aefenglom, Dorchacht, and the respective Wildes of both cities.
What: SOL, Quests, Asura's birthday, and treehouse construction. Also, I'm always down for building new CR, so if you'd like a thread starter, feel free to hmu @ the March CR & plotting post!
Warnings: Will be updated as necessary.

Comments

[extirpator]

[ the city is cramped, a place of confinement in his mind more than anything; it had been home to magic and technology a far cry from what he knew, whirring and bustling and shifting about. never a dull moment behind the wall — but there'd been little familiarity to it all too. to the cobble stone, the carts of jewlery, the footsteps of monsters and witches alike.

in the woods, there'd been danger. fatality, even. but the greenery, even with all it obscured, was reminiscent of home than anything else this land had bore.

and amidst them is a presence he recognizes: it's warm, passionate, tastes of cinnamon on his tongue but brisk like the breeze. it draws him in closer and closer, until— ]

...Hey.

[ the smile on his face a little infectious, truth be told. the corners of nier's mouth curl up like a flower in bloom. he stares for a moment, impressed by the sight before him — this man had been capable of enduring even the most strenuous of emotional and physical burdens, and he can't help but be in awe.

nier holds out his arms, beckoning him to ease his own load. ]

Of course. [ a moment passes as he studies his surroundings, ice blue eyes searching for any other figures or forms. ] I don't know what it is you're trying to build, but I'm not going to let you break your back over it. Let me help.

[mirshikar]

Dragons do not break so easily. [ —grin splitting into the realm of roguish, Asura's hearty repartee is reassurance and intrigue both. Yes, the King's bestial strength is gone from him in this realm, but his draconic's composition has changed very little: beneath his mortal's guise and flesh, Asura is...! W e l l. A rock, one that's heavy with layers of chalcedony which protect crystalline innards and a molten heart of glass.

During his tenure in Talam, Asura has fashioned himself into a brace to bolster a collapsing home, shattered an axe when it collided with his head, and when the foulest of Witches (the Rathmores, their accomplices) employed their magic to rent him open so that the fire crystal of his chest might be harvested, he had endured. Risen again. And while there is a scar (crude, and made so by the butcher's hand which had inflicted it) which is visible to the eye (Asura, he just can't be assed to wear a shirt most of the time), the jagged path it carves down his abdomen is only further testament to the fact:

No, dragons do not break so easily. However— ]

But surely, those limited to bipedal form may find themselves looking to comrades when in need of making good time while ferrying supplies through the forest.

[ Amused, Asura lets slip the warm reverberations of a considering hum, eyes the color of mystic sage and its smoke creasing at their corners. ]

With your aid— [ Help, which he accepts, lowering the bundle of timber from his shoulders into Nier's open arms. Bearing most of the weight initially (careful, careful) before entrusting the heartwood to the other Mirrorbound completely. Nier's frame is one lean with muscle, and there is no great disparity between his height and Asura's own. And lo: the King will trust in Nier to let him know if the burden is too great to hold. ] —and the hours you grant me, I will be able to raise the platform of the treehouse by nightfall.

[ So that's it, then. What Asura intends to build: a treehouse, of all things! And truth be told, there is no better place than the Wilde to do it, even if— ] ...the way you look at the Wilde, my friend, it is with a hunter's gaze.

[ Something which Asura knows to recognize, perspicacious as he is. As much of a hunter he will always be, himself. ]

[extirpator]

[ the lumber is ferryed into his arms, the weight tremendous but nothing beyond the extraordinary for nier. he'd been accustomed to stone, wood, flesh, all that the natural world had to offer, always inevitably finding its way into his arms. but his newfound vampiric strength, reminsicent of what the great grimoire weiss had granted him, made his motions all the more streamline as well.

dragon, he thinks. he hasn't forgotten, but it's always difficult to not dwell — or perhaps dream of what that life would have entailed. ]

Dragons shouldn't have to do things alone is all. [ it's said with yet another benign smile, and his eyes brighten a little, ice blue shimmering like snow. ]

A tree house? [ nier trails behind him, his head peeking up with a tilt; curiousity flickers in his eyes. ] By nightfall? Sounds like a challenge. I'm in.

[ puncuated by an airy, amused little noise. ]

Hunting is what I do — always has been. And I want to kill the Cwyld as best as I can. That's one of the reasons why I travel here as often as I do.

[ his shoulder brushes against his asura's bicep like a breeze. ]

I can tell you're a hunter, too. Even if you're a lot of other things. [ many, many things, even if he hadn't been aware of the specifics. asura is a man of grandeur, and that has not at all eluded him. but there is comfort in his presence, perhaps one borne from an endless battle, or maybe it was the empathy nier so often chucked aside in the name of survival?

he hadn't know, but it existed within the realm of his mind no less. ]

Is that what's got you so interested in this?

[mirshikar]

Aa, in part. [ —is Asura's not-quite confession, shades of easy camaraderie in his stance and in his smile as he witnesses Nier's strength for himself, feels the slightest tease of it when the other Mirrorbound shifts, the proximity between them as close as it had been on the night when they'd both laid ghosts to rest.

Still keen, that thread of connection. Undeniable, that the King would seek to know Nier in all the ways in which the other man would permit it. Both these things, reasons why they should m o v e, lest they linger for overlong and allow their joints to lock beneath the weight which they both support. Having hoisted a secondary bundle of lumber into his arms and along for the ride, Asura sees them set off at a measured pace, once which allows for storytelling, because...! Well, there is much to tell, isn't there? Tales of his hunter's past and present, and the disclosure of that that other 'part': ]

Like you, I frequent the Wilde often, and not only because it reminds me of the primeval forests which were once my dominion and home. [ Those parts of Arcadia which would always be with him, no different from how he would never stop being his once-Master's creation (even if he'd devoured that vile being; even if he now wears Summer's crown). ]

Where there are creatures in need of deliverance from suffering— [ Because that is what the Cwyldtid are: somber creatures, shackled by the blight, and Asura would free as many as he could by way of spear and flame. ] —I will ever be on the hunt.

But... so too is this treehouse meant to be a reprieve. A sanctuary, beyond the confines of the Bright Wall. [ A place away from the atrocities so many Mirrorbound had endured, due to no product of the infection, but instead suffered at the hands of the very people the Mirrorbound had fought to protect. ] A good friend of mine partnered with me to scout the location and draft the design, and it is my wish to surprise them by expediting construction.

For you see, this treehouse of ours will be open to all Mirrorbound— [ here, Asura gives pause in the rhythms of his speech to glance back, over his shoulder, to Nier with a rather pointed narrowing of green eyes and a perfectly cunning edge to his grin ] especially those who rise to the occasion by volunteering themselves for tasks beyond that which had been asked of them.

[ Carrying (ten trips, reduced by half), Asura remembers asking for assistance with. Construction, the King had extended no such invitation for, and while he is ever-welcoming of company (and means not to turn away the aid), something still must be said— ] I will amend my previous statement: you are a hunter, one with a terrible case of idle hands. And that I put you to work, now, for the second time is egregious to do without offering payment.

[ But what? He thinks, then, to the ad which Nier had placed upon the network. Biiiingo! ]

The enchantment which I offered to you before, are you still in need of it?

[extirpator]

[ their pace is leisurely, and one that does not dissatisfy him; the air is clear and cool, and the weight of the lumber settles into his arms somewhat uncomfortably a worst. any time spent in the company of a friend is worthwhile in his eyes — and the feeling of the turf grazing against his pantlegs, the wood crunching beneath their feet, allows muscles that were typically so taught to relax. ]

It reminds me of home, too. [ he says a bit whimsically, following along with ease. there's an ember of curiousity at what he says next. a raise of the brow, slight and quick to fade. ] You feel sympathy for the Shades. You're a kind man, Asura.

[ asura was gentle. gentler than he ever would be, his passion rivaled by an empathy that extended to all creatures. in place of understanding, there is admiration for that trait. his brows raise a tad as nier tilts his head, thoughtfully. ] I like the sound of that. I heard about what happened those months ago — you, and the other Mirrorbound...they deserve to feel safe from the city. Like they're free from it, if even for a moment.

And— [ and...! ] it'll be good for scouting the Cwyld. [ as nier himself would so brazenly say: it's killin' time. ] If it's a gift for your friend, I'll make sure it looks nice. Flowers'll brighten just about any home.

[ nier is a moment's away from protesting, from simply telling his friend that the favor need not be repaid. but an enchantment... ]

I was going to say that your company was enough, but I can't turn down something that'll help me fight better. [ sorry! he was close to being smooth, though. ] What kind of enchantment are we talking about?

[mirshikar]

Elemental— [ Enchantments, that is. Where Asura is, by and large, a Witch with the bulk of their skill tree points allotted to both divination and evocation, the latter (evocation, Asura's passion) branched easily into the realm of enchantment. Instilling the elements into weapons, vestments, and tokens all comes as naturally to him as navigating the terrain of the Wilde, their pace (for all that it is unhurried) already putting fair distance between them and the lumber yard. ] —fueled by runes which can be activated by either Monster or Witch.

The rapier you sought a blacksmith for, imbued with a cutting wind which gusts with every swing. [ A common enchantment, favored by those who utilized its knock-back effect for the express purpose of protecting others. Then, the less sought after, if only because it proved to be by far more unwieldy: ] Or your greatsword, wreathed with flame to burn the Cwyld away.

[ ...but perhaps Nier would employ the enchantment beautifully, and his blade would burn as vividly as the wrath which consumes him still.

A slow smile parts Asura's lips before he speaks next: ]

And know that I offer you this enchantment not only in payment, but in self-interest as well. [ Ah, what's that? Maybe Asura isn't nearly as kind as Nier had professed? ] If you are able to fight better because of it, then so too will you make for better company on a hunt.

[ That Asura would like to call Nier partner is implicitly said as their travel goes unimpeded, the forest dense and filled with fauna, but bearing no signs of Cwyldtid or the blight which spawned them. ]

It is also a rare thing, to find someone who speaks of flowers as readily as they do of killing. [ Now both in person and over the Watches— curious. Normally, it is only ever one or the other: Summer's warmongering or Spring's flourishing and growth. ] Tell me, what sort of home does such a person hail from?

[extirpator]

[ there's a furrow of the brow, eyes hardening with interest — what had torn through the undead, cutting and merciless? fire, of course. he longs for his old arsenal of weaponry, home to axes and lances and greatswords and katanas withholding the souls of the dead in them. each and every one carried an aura, and some had burned with a bright flame, one that had made shade killing all the more convenient when they'd curl in onto one another. ]

...The fire. [ he starts, mulling over the prospect. ] I want it. It'll be useful for when they congregate into groups — ...I want to see how the infection reacts to the heat too.

[ he is as decisive as ever, and the admission of self-interest does not sway his opinion of asura whatsoever. the man was kind for a number of reasons, all of which nier had little intention of forgetting. as the lumber rocks in his arms, he cants his head to peer at asura. ]

I've got no intention of being a burden. Anything that makes me better, I'll take it. But if you need any help, tell me, alright? I'll do what I can.

[ there's a soft lilt to his voice, amiable in what it is. okay, yeah, asura was a big guy. and a dragon at that! but everyone had their fair share of blind spots, some less than others was all. at his question there is a hum, and the sun reflects in his eyes. ]

I come from a dying world. [ dead had been a better word for it. ] But flowers always sold well in the market. Everyone wanted to see them. It gave them hope — people want to find the light in the darkness. In a world full of death, the bloom of a flower makes you feel like there's a chance, doesn't it?

[ a laugh, small, airy and so easily smothered by the wind. ]

Honestly, I did it for my little sister. I was bad at it at first. But the more I fought, the easier it became. You don't know what you have until you lose it — that's what they say, right? A true warrior knows how to cherish life. That's why we [ a pointed look towards asura. ] fight, after all.

[ and as he overlooks the plains, his gaze turns back towards asura, the corners of his lips now upturned into a smile. ]

If I grew flowers for you, they'd be...orange lillies, sunflowers and gazanias. They would go nicely with your hair. [ a beat. ] Your home — if you're alright with telling me, what was it like? Do you miss it?

[mirshikar]

I wonder— [ Almost coy, that stalling drawl of the King's. Of course Asura misses his home, the one he'd built within his Freehold and Court where Summer soldiers were rowdy and rollicking, welcoming of all with their scarred and open arms. Or rather, welcoming of most, so long as the guest (or the Hedgefresh novitiate in question) were capable of holding their liquor a n d rolling with the punches after the very bottle which they'd imbibed from had been smashed clean over their head in the beginnings of a sporting, knock-down drag-out brawl. There's a reason why Asura spends a good majority of his time in Aefenglom's Harbor district where a fair number of sailors were much the same: rough and tumble and weathered, fond of regaling each other with tall tales no different from the ones traded by the Crimson Court after their hunts and raids. ]

If you are able to promise me something, I will gladly show you what my home is like in return.

[ Showing, opposed to so simply telling, and no that hadn't been a slip of tongue. Offering a memory to the man who had allowed for the King to feed upon their wrath seems fitting in many ways; an exchange of trust for trust. ]

And what I would have you vow, Nier who cherishes life, is to find and pursue a hope of your own.

[ "It gave them hope." "Honestly, I did it for my sister." "If I grew flowers for you." Noble, all of Nier's declarations, and as Asura himself had professed on the night when they first had met, the other man's wrath remains (always, always) for someone else.

That's why, the fae in Asura wishes to convince a pledge from Nier. Why dragon in him would bequeath Nier its flame. And why the King in him speaks frank as anything, as they near the edge of the plain and closer to the Autumnal colors of the Wilde's treeline, approaching what seems to be a steep decline into a forest hollow: ]

This world... I am certain that you have already come to find that it is not unlike the one you know. Talam is dying, and the very least one can do to honor a dying world is to live. [ And live properly. Fully. Freely. ] And not solely for the purpose of fulfilling the wills of others.

[ And here...! Here, there is a pause; a discerning hum before Asura amends: ] Though... I would not say no to sunflowers, if you wished to grow them for me. Not only are they the heraldry of my Court, but I just may be partial enough to them to wear them in my hair.

[ For Nier alone, that is. ]

[extirpator]

[ asura was a man who knew how to put you on edge — his words are firm and earnest, but they build and build and build, like an ember blooming into a flame. it leaves nier curious, a brow curving upwards a touch at his proposition.

reds and yellows and oranges overtake their surroundings, slowly coloring the trees. it's as though they've been catapulted into autumn itself, the crisp scent of leaves slices through the air.

for a moment, nier is quiet. cherish life — and yet he had destroyed it just as easily. with that promise comes a heavy burden, one that causes his eyes to stray, features now downcast.

the lumber feels near weightless in his arms right now. ]

I... [ asura had been different. had felt the worst, the ugliest of his feelings and embraced them for what they were. had given him something that hadn't known since he was a mere child, the memory far, far away from him.

so the words do not stay locked with the confines of his heart. they flow slowly, like a stream of water. ]

I don't know how.

[ it wasn't a matter of kindness. on the contrary, it had been the very opposite. a show of weakness, of dependence. ]

I've wanted the end for a long time. [ for as long as he can remember, on some days. ] The difference between this world and my own was—

The humans. They were always going to die. All of us were, no matter what we did.

I was the one who ended it.

[ all of it — he does not specify. the sorrow, or perhaps it'd been an inkling of shame, swims in his eyes, his grip on the wood now growing tighter. ]

I don't know if someone like me can hope anymore. But you...

I want to know more about you. Because you made me feel something I didn't know I could anymore. You were able to shoulder the burden of my emotions. You're strong, but a part of you understands too, as different as we are.

It draws me to you. I can't shake the feeling, even now.

[ that next revelation, of course, leaves him with a sense of nostalgia. there's a lighthearted shake of the head in spite of the conversation topic he's been presented with. ]

You're royalty. Makes sense. You guys tend to talk a certain way.

[ there's an edge of warmth to his voice. don't mind him. ]

I'll try. I can... [ hesistantly, for once. ] promise that. For you, and for my bonded, who asked the same of me.

A person like me with a dream. [ and a grimace. ] ...Maybe. But I want to see those flowers in your hair no matter what, alright?

[mirshikar]

You should not hold yourself so far apart from others. [ —is the conclusion which Asura draws after hearing the totality of Nier's words and examining them, the other man's confessions coalescing together into a stream which is not so weak as Nier himself might imagine. ]

A person like you walks alongside many, shares in their battles and bleeds all the same. I am a sovereign, yes, worlds away from here— [ No, Asura hadn't missed the warmth which suffused into Nier's voice upon the other man's articulation of the word 'royalty'. Who is it, then, that also wears a crown a n d has won Nier's affections? Could it be the Bonded which Nier had spoken of? Another?

My, my, Asura does wonder. True, the King is no Spring courtier—no champion of either love or desire—but as a Fairest (stereotypically chatty, prone to gossip, always in everyone's business), is it not his prerogative to speculate, investigate, and someday unearth the truth of things? But that is work for a fair-weathered day, one which does not already hold the promise of many hours given to labor. ] —but my rule would be empty if I did not live in the moment with my brothers and sisters, laughing and dreaming and battling through the trenches right along with them.

Those who you support do not look to flowers for hope. They look to you, and so you must find a dream for yourself. That both your Bonded and I asked the same thing of you is no mistake. [ And perhaps now, with two vows made, Nier will find his ambition. Decide for himself. Far heavier than the lumber which they carry, the burden of choice (this Asura has always known, and it had taken him years to truly learn what it was to live without the weight of shackles), but... Though Nier does not know how (does not know the way), there is time for him to learn. ] They are wise, and even if you should find yourself uncertain, heed their words.

They will help you along the way, just as I will. [ Because they do share an understanding, Asura and Nier, and not only in the daily struggle to view the world as it is, uncolored by wrath and the dogged pursuit of something beyond them. ]

Everything comes to an end, Nier. For every rise, there is a fall. There is no realm which I have walked where humans have escaped the embrace of death, however... [ That does not mean all ceases to exist. As Nier himself once said, he'd held the memories of the world even after its people had passed. ]

So too is the resurgence of life inexorable. It flourishes, even in the most inhospitable of places, including this one. [ Here, where they arrive into the enclosure beyond the forest hollow, the land cleansed of the infection and teeming with new growth. Setting down the bundles of heartwood in his arms, Asura gives a great roll of his shoulders, stretching, before looking again to his companion— ]

You realize, though, that 'no matter what' is a rather large ask. [ Like asking Nier to promise to find a hope of his own hadn't been the very same !! Still, the segue allows for levity in Asura's reciprocation of something he'd felt, wanted since he had siphoned Nier's emotions and repurposed them as power: ] You're fortunate that I'm drawn to you, as well. I haven't the will to rebuff you.

[ That is to say, with a broad and unabashed grin: ] So yes, then. No matter what.

[extirpator]

I don't mean to. [ it's a half truth, half lie. for a long time, he was a being who feared loneliness above all; the idea of dwelling in isolation, of being forced into it in such a cruel world was mortifying. but as he grew older, he'd begun to realize that perhaps it is when you're alone that you're free.

still, the feeling is biting and as relentless as it had been when he was alive. even more difficult is the prospect of accepting a warm hand rather than lending one. ]

But...you don't need to worry for me. [ his features harden with a shake of the head. it isn't stern, merely determined. ]

I'm a selfish man, and one who is free. I've already seen the end — so I'm not afraid of the future.

[ he is a victim of the horrors of huamnity, and has witnessed them rob him of his own earth — has almost had has his own self taken by them as well. as asura releases his weight of lumber, nier follows suit, gently easing them down onto the ground so as to not damage them. ]

I'm not doing this out of the kindness of my heart. I'm doing it because I like you. [ said firmly, earnestly, and with a dash of maschismo. the smile that dances along his lips is boyish. ] I want, just as you do. And to me, wanting is enough reason to do something, even if isn't to others. That's why you don't need to worry.

[ and of course, his eyes brighten at asura's agreement. he would absolutely be letting out a merry "haha, alright!" if he could — but he does not, instead opting to be at least a little graceful here. ]

I'll hold you to that. After you, [ a pause, before he takes a moment to joke. ] my liege.