middaeg | {catch-all}

[Ozymandias holds up a hand to block what amount of water manages to make it over to him with a smile, sitting back upright once more. He hums in mild agreement of her assessment. Despite whatever might occupy his mind and the general ugliness of Dorchacht, he is physically no worse for wear than he's ever been.]

And you look like you've been busy. [He cants his head to one side.] I assume doing things that our most "gracious" hosts would find unacceptable.

[He doesn't sound so much sarcastic as he does skeptical of the chosen adjective. Considering all the literal and figurative doors that have been kept restricted and locked from them, all the secrets that are no doubt being buried, gracious doesn't exactly begin to describe Morgana and her ilk.]

[A soft 'tsk' of disapproval slips past her lip as he blocks her splash, but it's not out of any genuine irritation. Whatever amusement and fledgling flirtation evaporates at the proverbial mirror he puts in front of her. He's right, or so she assumes. She's not taken a gander in the mirror recently, but by the way she feels Sheva can interpolate the degree of wear she's displaying.

She exhales and sinks a bit lower into the water, contemplating how she wants to answer as well as the entire situation.]

I've been busy. [She finally agrees.] And this is my element. I feel as though I'm back in Africa.

[And it's clear that--in addition to all the weight of self-appointed responsibility on the matter--the woman feels guilt. She shouldn't be in this magic bath when people have been enslaved on the basis of genetics and nothing else.]

They put on a clean coat of paint for appearances, but scratch enough at the surface and it reveals the true nature of the city and those in charge.

[That simple act of concealment means they know what they're doing is wrong, and that just adds fuel to her fire on the matter.]

[The appearance of some guilt is not all that surprising. In fact, Ozymandias feels quite familiar with it by now. Those who have felt compelled enough to do something about the situation in this city despite the risks that it carries do so with a noble heart. Noble hearts just also happen to be quite prone to guilt if they are not submitting themselves beyond their limits to their causes.]

[He shakes his head a little.]

I would be inclined to agree with you, but you're approaching it from a moral perspective. That's not one Morgana or anyone else in charge of this city likely shares with you. [Wrong or right, Ozymandias suspects, doesn't even begin to factor into their equations. Within this city's walls, it's cold cost-benefit.] To them, everything is a flaunting of power they've cultivated. They use that power to create fear and thus, create obedience.

A city that intimidates so much of its population would not hesitate to do the same to foreign powers, particularly after it has felt violated in some capacity.

[It's really the only sense that Ozymandias can make of the very invitation for anyone to travel from Aefenglom to Dorchacht. It's difficult to seem so powerful if one is so far away and unable to place demands. But Morgana has done just that by allowing the mirrorbound to come along and permit them carefully curated roam of the city. She wants them to be horrified and afraid. Horrified and afraid leads to stupid decisions that she might exploit.]

There are some things they likely want no one to see, but things like the opposition put forth by the Resistance must be empowering to Morgana in some way. One cannot have power to create fear if it is not wielded occasionally. What is an easier target than something within your own city?

I'm aware that people without moral standards not only exist, but thrive on keeping people underfoot. [She just tries to be the balance of that as best she can while sometimes weaving through more lawfully grey areas herself for the greater good. Not all laws, as Dorchacht exemplifies, are rooted in strong morals.]

Besides, they can only flaunt their power so long as they maintain it, and... I believe that's shifting as we speak, much like in the dream.

[There's definitely a pleasure that weaves in with that statement, a proud, knowing glint in her eyes. Sheva clearly will delight should the leaders culpable in such moral debauchery meet terrible ends, all of which better include losing said powers.

She means to ask him about his opinions from a cwyld centered perspective, but something clicks and her expression dilutes at what she suspects is a rhetorical question.] Perhaps a distracted city that's lost some of its newly gained fodder... I mean populace.

[A beat.]

Do you think Morgana might have sent a covert team to Aefenglom?

[Ozymandias genuinely considers it for a moment, gaze dropping to the water between them for a moment. There is enough secrecy within the walls of this city to keep a covert team busy for months that it doesn't seem exactly out of character for Morgana to implement a more subtle hand when necessary. But would it be necessary to investigate Aefenglom without detection? Or would protecting her secrets weigh more to her?]

[Then there is also the matter of this woman's ego and pride. Her very image that is now inextricably linked with Dorchacht and its history.]

[He slowly shakes his head, bringing his gaze back up to Sheva.]

If she perceived Aefenglom to be a threat, I believe she would strike with obvious force. It would send a clear message to Aefenglom and her people. Anything less than that would seem unconfident and cowardly. Despite how she seems a viper, she does not truly comport herself as an assassin. Her people would likely still rally behind her even if she were to use such methods, but that would be far more fragile than acting as the city has come to know her.

[She would not be seen as inherently strong and righteous as she does in all the public opinions and literature on the history of this city if she was so underhanded. Whatever she might do in aggression would require brutality.]

[Every organization or country worth their salt found a way to deal in secrets, so while she's not arguing with Oz's earlier statements, Sheva thinks that there's much more going on beneath the surface. Then again, the BSAA agent trusts exactly zero percent of either of the cities' ruling witches and monsters.

She's quiet for a moment, listening as she steps closer so that they might speak in less carrying voices.]

You think like a man. [It's not spoken as an insult or with heavy bias. He's a man, and therefore he thinks like one. Just as the opposite can be said of herself.] A pointedly visible display of power could easily serve more purpose than putting fear into the hearts of literally anyone else. Especially when she may be making a larger power grab beneath everyone's noses.

[She seems like the sort of smart, calculate survivalist to play the long game even while brutally leading. Biting the hand that protects them all would be ill advised, even if she thinks herself better than Aefenglom.]

Whoever holds the ability to either keep the cwyld at bay--or if possible, control it--holds the true power in this world.

[It is exactly due to that lack of insult that Ozymandias raises a slight eyebrow, curious as to where exactly her logic may lead. Ozymandias' lips quirk into a smile as he remembers an earlier, similar conversation with Iskandar, back when the possibility of war and conquest in this world were merely distant hypotheticals. If such a person could exist, would they share it or would they use that power to decimate and seize all the power in the world? Ozymandias and Iskandar both concluded that both situation and the person wielding the power would more definitively answer that question, and in this case, he doesn't see Morgana acting all that charitable to her neighbors.]

That is, of course, assuming that a more permanent solution may yet exist or there is a willingness to use it. [Not all cures are without pain after all.] So far, it seems this world only possesses stop-gap measures.

We're not from this world.

[She points out, counter his eyebrow lift with one of her own. ]

I don't know how exactly they're pulling us here through mirrors. [It's obviously something she thinks is rather ridiculous still.] Maybe it started as an accident, but it wouldn't surprise me if they believe the permanent solution that they're searching for exists in another world, maybe in one of us.

[Given how integral the bioengineering of diseases and the negative consequences that stem from them are in her world, her perspective is a bit biased.]

[He cants his head a little. It's certainly not unheard of to him that one might call upon someone else beyond their time and place to fight where the stakes are certainly quite high, but this is different. There doesn't appear to be any evidence of control associated with the way the mirrorbound are brought to this world, and that alone opens this world up to even greater dangers potentially.]

Do you believe the situation has already grown that desperate?

I believe that depends on who you ask, and what they've experienced.

[Who they've lost, what they chance to gain or lose if the politics shift a certain direction. Even the slightest breeze can disturb the balance. Sheva wants to see the good in people, but she's seen to much darkness to ignore the reality of the shadows..]

For all of our sake, I hope that I am wrong in painting such a bleak picture.

[He laughs a little.]

I hope so as well, [he says with an agreeing shake of his head,] But such a perspective is still important to hear and bear in mind when making any decision that might have significant repercussions. A disaster that is unspoken is not one that anyone can prepare for.

[In life, Ozymandias may never have agreed with all of his advisors and there may have been times he chose to abstain from action or acted in an opposite manner, but that did not mean that he would not permit them to speak and make a sincere effort to listen before reaching a decision. Similar principles, he feels, should apply here as well. Even if what Sheva suggests sounds extreme or dire, even if it does not match up with the current reality, he cannot dismiss it out of hand.]

[Ozymandias smiles.]

I might advise, however, that perhaps we focus our conversation on more pleasant matters. There will be plenty of other opportunities and settings more appropriate to such doomsday discussions than this bath.

[It's his turn to give her a teasing, light splash of water in her direction.]

[He's right, of course, and Sheva certainly knows that her perspective is different, very much steeped in bias, and more akin to a worst case scenario. She hasn't been too entrenched in the coven politics herself, more worried about finding ways to directly help free the slaves and give them a fighting chance to freedom.

She follows his first statement with a noise of thoughtful agreement, her attention split between the information she's picked up and her own experiences. As he offers advice, her gaze lifts, not sure of what direction it will go, and there's great relief when it's something more playful.]

To be fair, doomsday thoughts are never terribly out of reach for me. [He receives a bittersweet sort of smile that's laced in apology.] You saw me when I'd first arrived, fresh from a possible global apocalypse.

[She does shift closer and lift an eyebrow at that splash of water.]

What do you suggest we discuss instead?

[While they're both naked in magic waters. Her eyebrow lifts in a quiet challenge.]

It has been some time since we last spoke. Present circumstances aside, how have you been settling in?

[The curve to Ozymandias' lips tell that he knows that he's quite blatantly selected a very mundane topic of conversation in response to that lift of her eyebrows. And yet, it is clearly the beginning of some back and forth game. The end result of which is still yet unknown.]

[He might think it mundane, but it's liable to be another on ramp to the less upbeat subjects he's looking for given their setting and the last month and change. Slavery and monsters are heavy on her mind because they tie so deeply into her own life.

Still, she desires distraction.]

I don't appreciate the fashion here. Too many layers and ornate fabrics. They're beautiful, but restrict more athletic movements.

[He has to laugh. While he has his own complaints about some of what is considered fashionable to this world, that particular complaint is one he's heard before.]

A woman from my world is more accustomed to form-fitting clothing. She is a great warrior herself, and prefers to have freedom of movement. I believe she is still dissatisfied with her options, but she has found some success with men's clothing. [A beat.] With some requested help.

[Requested is a kind way of putting it. Lancer is a force to be reckoned with and just as Ozymandias continues to carry himself as Pharaoh, there is nothing less than queenly about her. Were she not a queen (and had her attempts at modification not been driving the poor tailor to tears), he would not have given in to her demands at all.]

Perhaps I may be of similar assistance to you.

[Sheva's relating to the woman he describes and their very similar complaints, and she feels almost justified in her relatively benign issue.]

Have either of you found any material that stretches and holds tighter to the body without losing it's shape? [One can hope.] As tasty as corsets make me look, I'd rather be able to maneuver properly in a fight.

Though, I must admit being able to hide weapons beneath layers has been a plus. [She flicks him with some more water, lips curling into a playful smirk.] If you can keep up with my needs, I would appreciate your assistance.

[He turns his head only slightly to avoid getting the flick of water squarely in his face, lips moving into an even wider grin.]

I don't believe in allowing a woman to walk away unsatisfied. I'm sure I'll find something to your liking.

Seems that you and I will get along quite well... So long as you live up to your lofty claims of satisfaction.

[The hand beneath the water shifts absently to her thigh, tracing along the weapon first and then her skin. Not as a threat, but simply due to talks of hidden weapons.

Her eyebrow lifts in further challenge.]

I don't suffer any less than I deserve.

[The movement beneath the water catches his gaze for a brief moment before he raises it to meet hers again.]

If you're really bold enough to consider Pharaoh's words to be mere claims, I wouldn't assume anything else of you.

[She considers him evenly for the most part, only appearing a bit thoughtful at the mention of Pharaoh, head canting ever so slightly. Then, it clicks.]

I put more stock in actions.

[Though her thoughts continue, Sheva keeps her explanation simple.]

[He moves closer to her, though still not quite close enough to have crossed the threshold into her space.]

Do you?

[Nothing about that surprises him. She seems a woman to trust little after all. Words are nice and pretty, but to her, that's likely all they ever could be in the absence of anything else.]

[She stands her ground, simply observing until he prompts a question.]

From experience.

[More times than she prefers to count.]

[While Ozymandias didn't expect her to shrink away from his approach, he wasn't expecting her not to approach in return. Interesting that she chooses to hold her ground like that.]

And you would think to lump me in with past experience?

[Welcome to making him work for it a little more than he's probably used to looking as he does.]

Is there a good reason for me to ignore it?

[Excuse. He doesn't just coast on his good looks! He's also got his name and legacy to precede him in nearly every given circumstance.

]

You do hear how foolish it is to consider the King of Kings to be so ordinary, don't you?

(no subject)

partnerinheels - 2019-11-03 01:12 (UTC) - Expand