hearthebell (
hearthebell) wrote in
middaeg2021-03-03 11:31 pm
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I don't need to read the papers, or the tea leaves to understand [CLOSED]
Who: L, Niles, Jin Guangyao
When: Late February
Where: Outskirts of the Harbor District
What: A Naga hypnotized Myr, and his witch isn't too thrilled about it. Time for some good old-fashioned unregulated Mirrorbound justice.
Warnings: Forcible magic tattoos
[L had known, perhaps, that Niles was unlikely to say no. That after everything they'd been through, and all that the chimera believed and had born witness to, he would agree with the necessity for this.
They're an unlikely team, considering their history, but their understanding of one another has evolved. That can make all the difference.]
He'll be coming this way, in two minutes.
[Surely Niles, of anyone, can appreciate just how detail-oriented L is when he sets his mind on stalking someone.]
When: Late February
Where: Outskirts of the Harbor District
What: A Naga hypnotized Myr, and his witch isn't too thrilled about it. Time for some good old-fashioned unregulated Mirrorbound justice.
Warnings: Forcible magic tattoos
[L had known, perhaps, that Niles was unlikely to say no. That after everything they'd been through, and all that the chimera believed and had born witness to, he would agree with the necessity for this.
They're an unlikely team, considering their history, but their understanding of one another has evolved. That can make all the difference.]
He'll be coming this way, in two minutes.
[Surely Niles, of anyone, can appreciate just how detail-oriented L is when he sets his mind on stalking someone.]
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Hide somewhere to that side of this window.
[He takes a few steps straight up the side of the brickwork until he's at the second window level and peers in. Looks like overflow storage for the bar below. Ideal. He pulls barrel over to the window to perch on, right at the level of the sill. He readies the knockout rag in his hands and aims both ears squarely at direction their mark is coming from, waiting for the hiss of scales over stone.]
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It's still cold enough to bother him. Though he's wearing the tubelike 'sweater' for his lower half, enchanted to keep him warm, even the layers of robes on his more human half barely feel like enough protection against the weather. His trip starts off fast enough, he has slowed a bit by the time he slides across the cobbles in front of the ambush site, clearly preoccupied with his own thoughts.]
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From his hiding place, he's still, silent. He doesn't even breathe; this is in Niles' hands, for the moment, and he'll see if his trust was well-placed, or not.]
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He only barely manages to catch himself to avoid fully faceplanting into the cold cobbles of the street. It all happens so fast, and the moment he opens his mouth in protest, the damp, odd taste of the cloth shoved in his mouth induces a violent roll, strong snake tail thrashing to try to get the attacker off him.
Not that it lasts for long, potion taking quick effect and the lashing of his tail quieting and lidless yellow eyes staring blankly.]
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When it looks like Jin Guangyao's struggling has ceased, he emerges from his hiding spot, drawing out his prepared runes. Better to only waste time on what's utterly necessary; he's done as much of this ahead of time as possible.]
He's out?
[L asks the question coldly, almost professionally.]
Please remain nearby.
[He says so as he kneels beside Jin Guangyao's face, working quickly to unpack his kit. As a witch, he's more than capable of defending himself in case Jin Guangyao is merely drugged to not quite the point of unconsciousness, but he'll need both hands for this, concentration and precision. Niles' cooperation and strength are key for the spindly witch's mission to end in success.]
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Once he's still Niles makes sure to tie the gag securely behind Jin Guangyao's head before wriggling out from under him. He tilts his head, peering down at the vacant, blank expression and the slow full body movement of his even, unconscious breathing.]
Should be. [He kicks him in the stomach to check his acting skills. Satisfied with the lack of a reaction, he nods.] Don't worry, I have your back until this is over. [He takes a seat straddling Jin's tail, and takes the extra precaution of binding his hands just in case.]
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L glances up, nodding stoically, before setting to work. He lays his scrap of paper across the naga's pale brow, over a mark that already exists there. Drawn on it in pen is a very lovely and detailed outline of a flower, specifically a black dahlia. It's a symbol of betrayal and deception, and L considers that appropriate, as well as a very convenient warning to others. So long as they aren't blind, of course... but of all of those in Aefenglom who would need to worry, L's intent on his own never needing to worry about it again.]
It's best that he's unconscious for this. This spell is designed for speed and not comfort... it'll burn considerably.
[Maybe part of him wishes Jin Guangyao was awake, in truth. Carefully, he pricks the inside of his wrist so that he has some blood to work with, letting it dot the drawn dahlia irregularly until it starts to glow violet.]
The runes will anchor this in place and it'll last at least until he sheds, next. Maybe longer.
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He knows this isn't a mugging, but maybe he has something on him they don't want him to have. Maybe he has a little black book of names of cultists. Maybe he's got a really cool dagger. It doesn't hurt to look.
When he finds the sword he unfastens the sheath from his belt and sets it to the side. The pouches turn out to be holding nothing more than items of convenience and currency. He puts them back as he found them and returns his attention to the sword. The runes carved into it are beyond his ability to understand, but he squints down at them, trying to pick out any individual symbols he's familiar with.]
And what then? Are you going to call me in a few months time needing to do all this over again? Surely he won't go down so easy a second time.
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When consciousness does slowly seep back, it's with a searing pain. His fangs try to unfold against the gag in his mouth and he lets out a soft groan before even thinking about it, eyes moving ever so slightly.
He doesn't know what is happening, what they're doing or still have yet to do, but he recognizes the man directly in front of him at least. It can't be hard to catch L's eye when he's looking right at Jin Guangyao's face -- he couldn't catch Myr's gaze those few weeks ago, but that hadn't too much of an impediment back then. So even gagged, he can try to pull L deep down into that golden stare.
Frankly, his first urge on seeing the leftover from that prick of blood is to compel L to finish slitting his wrist all the way up, but even in pain and fury, he's not that stupid. It's likely that such a thing would be more easily resisted.
Just... take out the gag, Linden. He thinks it over and over, repeating it in his mind in hopes that somehow, the tingle of hypnotic magic will do its job, and quelling the monstrous instinct to shake his tailtip and huff in anger. Two against one, he isn't likely to win. But if he can stay still enough to surprise them...]
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The focus is broken, for just a moment, when L glances at Niles going through the naga's clothing and possessions.]
I appreciate your attention to detail, but I did offer to pay you.
[Dryly...and quickly diverted before he can comment on the possibility of repeating this, because the potion, it seems, wasn't quite concentrated enough or in a large enough dose. When L's glance starts to return to the dahlia, and the runes he's putting the finishing touches on, the scan of his gaze is tripped by a flash of gold, and his hand lingers close to the gag.
He's practiced with Near. They're different nagas, but it works similarly, twists similarly through the turns of the detective's quick mind. It's not without effect... but he's seen a beast like this before.
His fingers curl around the edges of the gag, an action he doesn't want to take until the runes are anchored and the spell sealed, but he has control over his mind and its connection to his tongue. The dangerous experiment with his Bonded paid off, at least in allowing him to resist this far.]
Niles...!
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[The only runes on the sword he could parse are the simple ones about directing the magic itself, not anything about its functions. So, true to his word, he returns it to the belt. At the shuffle and the groan Niles' ears prick up and his tail begins to swipe side to side. He shifts to brace one foot on the ground, and kneel on Jin's chest with his other leg, anticipating some more thrashing to start in a few minutes.
But then L is reaching for the gag, panic in his voice, and Niles swats L's hand away. He swings his tail around, placing the bulb on the prone man's neck, the sharpened hook of the stinger hovering menacingly over his face. He's not out of venom, but he's close. The cultists had milked him daily while there, and it's soon enough after that his body hasn't produced much more. He could kill a fox, with what he's got, (he could probably kill L, the man is a whole 90 pounds), but it's certainly not enough to do anything to Jin other than perhaps give him heart palpitations and a raging erection. But he's the only one who knows that for now.]
No games, worm, you won't win here.
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He can't respond properly, but lies still and docile, though the tension is still obvious in his body and one unrepressed breath through his nose comes out in a long hiss like water hitting a hot stovetop. He won't risk his life, and he's been through worse pain than this before. Whatever is happening to him will have to end at some point, or they'll have to try to move him; he can wait.]
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Hold...!
[Addressed tensely to Niles. He grips the delicate blade in his right hand, and this time he is far less shallow in his rune tracings. Some of them aren't purely superficial scratches anymore, but actually draw blood, and it's absolutely out of pure spite. He's also prioritizing speed in finishing this, and Jin Guangyao forewent his chance for a gentle touch, as far as he's concerned.
He pulls back, slightly breathless, lowering the blade at his side, cleaning it with a touch.]
...done. Sloppy at the end, but serviceable...
[He looks Jin Guangyao dead in the eyes, his own dark ones narrowing in disdain.]
Try to hypnotize me again. Go ahead; I won't try to stop you.
[Do your worst, is the taunt that's unspoken in words, but communicated perfectly clear in L's tone and manner. It's hard not to ride high on victory, and feel a little bit drunk on it, and L is human to the last.]
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He doesn't release his hands though. They were testing the efficacy of the runes, not how well he and L could dodge a blade. He'd be fine probably, but L doesn't have a lot of spare blood to lose.]
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But there's no crying for a snake. With the wet feeling of blood still fresh on his forehead, he spits out the gag as soon as he's able. If it was only one or the other facing him, he might be more inclined to try something. Even if Niles wasn't so close, sitting on his chest. He's pretty sure he could throw him off, but of the two, Niles and his claws and tail are a more obvious danger than anything Linden could do. So he remains still for now.]
What did you do?
[He asks directly. Being invited to try... no, he's no fool. Something is wrong, then.]
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L tucks his runetching kit back inside his coat as though he was stowing a lunchbox after a midday meal in the park, standing and stepping back. He's an uncommonly fine-boned man, with no hope of besting the naga should he choose to attack him physically. It's not the ideal range for his ice or lightning magic, but ah; he hired muscle for a reason, and Jin Guangyao's most potent weapon against them is out of commission.]
I was kind.
[Spoken low, with precise, cold diction.]
In the days ahead I suggest you don't forget it.
[It's all relative, after all. Myr and Niles have both glimpsed the actual cruelty the man is capable of.]
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Wildly different circumstances of course, but the attitude that not doing the worst he could have done was something to be praised or thanked for still gets under his skin.]
You won't be able to magically compel others any longer. You'll have to settle for manipulating your enemies the old fashioned way like the rest of us.
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He'd been denied the opportunity to explain himself to Lan Xichen, for the first time since he'd known the man. To be held to 'account' for something so much smaller and lighter in comparison, again denied any opportunity to respond to claims against him (even when those claims might be true) feels like just another betrayal of this 'new life' towards him.
At least the other Monster has a more straightforward explanation for him., upon which he looks back to Linden with a faintly pained expression.]
Do you truly think I wanted to do that to your Bonded? I never intended any harm to him or to you.
[To others, was a different story, but when he's well aware he's talking to someone who specializes in Divination, Jin Guangyao decides to choose his words carefully.]
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I truly think that one doesn't have to intend harm to still manage a great deal of it. And you have harmed my Bonded.
[A slow, creaking slide as his teeth grind; he's thinking of what he saw, that the naga's influence had peeled the edge away from like a streak of turpentine on a coat of pretty paint. So much rot, revealed.]
You're wearing a symbol that fits a what you are. It's beautiful, in spite of what it means... but if you touch his mind again, I'll know, and I'll brand you with something far cruder, and permanent.
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But it still makes those black feelings of resentment roil in the pit of his stomach, to be looked at like that -- and to know that he's been marked in some way, for anyone to see. How is he going to explain that at the next Council meeting?
He'll no doubt have to bear seeing Linden at some Council meetings, as well.
Rubbing his wrist, as if trying to draw circulation back, he replies just as pitifully even against that impassive mask, not unaware that there's still Linden's compatriot watching all this unfold in front of him.]
I really didn't want to. It's just that I had no choice in the matter. How is it that you can take vengeance like this without even a moment to hear why it happened?
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I'll not be reversing the spell.
[Firmly.]
It's as I said. You harmed my Bonded; I've seen the extent of that harm, because I don't see the goodness deep inside of people. He did; he had that comfort, and he doubts all of it now, thanks to you.
[He turns with a dark, contemptuous look over his shoulder.]
Remember that I was kind.
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L's words are a harsh reminder to Niles that even when their goals align, even with all the hard earned progress they've made, L thinks about the world in a fundamentally flat sort of way. There's no definition of kindness he believes in that covers this. It was not kind when Niles drugged L before removing his fingers, it was convenient. It was not kind of L to brand his enemy, it was simply a more convenient solution than murder. He waits until L has vanished properly, teleported half a city away, before he speaks up from his spot against the wall.]
This isn't vengeance, it's prevention. [Or it's not solely vengeance anyway.] If you use a weapon irresponsibly and dangerously, don't be surprised when someone takes it away from you.
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The words interrupt his stare after the ugly resonance of Linden's words and departure, turning to Niles.]
Irresponsibly? If I did such a thing to protect my own Bonded, and Myr wasn't harmed at all, then what part of that is so irresponsible?
[He replies unhappily. No, certainly not in a direct way at all, but even if the ultimate goal of everything had been to remove a few people, it was to help ensure a peaceful and happy existence here for himself and Lan Xichen... something that seemed quite distant, to look at it now]
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I don't care about Myr![He cares about Myr. But not like, as much as he cares about himself.] There is no 'harmlessly' mesmerizing someone into assisting a cult! Because you compromised him I walked into an ambush. [He tosses his head angrily. The moon is waxing, and his wrists are still raw from the cuffs in that place.] I refuse to keep being...collateral damage!
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[He insists, curling a little tighter and silently wary of those horns.
Though the scenery is far different, it's all too reminiscent of accusations levelled against him, not so long before he came here. Though it didn't start in such a genuine manner, the idea of having a second chance at life had become quite appealing; why did other have to dog his steps, causing the whole train of events that led to this happening again?]