(Closed) Deceuer Catch All

[mirshikar]

Who: Asura + Plotted CR
When: Deceuer
Where: Various locations in Aefenglom, the Outer City, and the Wilde.
What: Quest and event threads, along with a healthy dose of clowning. I'm always down for building new CR, so if you'd like a thread starter, feel free to hmu @ the Dec plotting post!
Warnings: Light violence.

Comments

[mirshikar]

[ Like Winter thawing into Spring, Enkidu's smile—Asura glimpses it during a moment spared to appraise the other Mirrorbound's condition (though snow crystals cling to green hair, Enkidu seems to have recovered both vigor and spirit), before making the decision to push onward. Had Enkidu not recovered from their listlessness, Asura would have given pause, taken a detour in favor of resting in an abandoned residence (long since evacuated, those populating the Outer City taking shelter closer to the Bright Wall), but as it is... Enkidu leans into Asura's shoulder, suffused through with the warmth which the King has to offer, and they move forward together. ]

There are many things in this life that we are not deserving of. [ —Asura says simply, succinctly, blinking the sting of snow from his eyes as he looks ahead. ] But that does not change the fact that you were hardy enough to withstand the snow, nor can it alter the verdant color of your hair-- like the stem of the galanthus, bowing in the wind.

[ And that is only the truth as Asura sees it, nothing more and nothing less. ] But... my name is Asura, and I'm not much of a Witch, either.

[ What follows the statement is the bark of a hearty laugh: hot air exhaled, the plume of breath crystallizing into white vapors before melding with the snowfall. It is still the most profound of ironies, that Asura (enemy of mages, distasteful of human magic) should have been categorized as a 'Witch' upon arriving in the Looking-Glass House. It remains a cruel joke, one which Asura can face only with mirth. ]

My strength is diminished, in this place, as though a Witch's abilities could help me to be anything more than a pale shadow of what I once was. [ And that had been a dragon, as Asura's horns, talons, and scales might allude to, along with the heat that seems to emanate from the very core of his body. ]

Though... you say that you are a 'Lancer'. And classified so because of skill. Could you be military, Enkidu?

[ Maybe, maybe. Asura's curiosity is genuine, and the more they talk, the easier trudging through the snow seems to become. ]

they're getting along so well, i love it! :D

[enkidoh]

[Enkidu has perked up a lot. Their heart is beating faster again and they are less aware of the cracks in their skin. Whoever this person is they are glad that he has crossed their path.]

That is true. But that does not always mean we should deny us everything, isn’t it? [Their smile becomes a little warmer.] Very well then, I will accept the name only when I deem myself worthy of it.

[When they will be a strong witch who will finally be able to make a decision about this entire bonding matter and the meaning of friendship and all those things that cannot get through to their clay head.]

It seems we are both in quite a predicament then, Asura.

[A soft but earnest chuckle escapes their mouth.]

I understand what you mean. [Oh how they understand and relate to this. It is still difficult to accept how this place has stripped them from all of their abiltiites, all of their strength. And they were asked to replace that with magic. They weren’t a Caster. Truly, of all classes they could put him in Caster would be the last one ever.] It is quite frustrating, isn’t it? To not have any abilities to rely on. Or a purpose…

[Enkidu still keeps watch, eyes scanning their environment. There aren’t any creatures around, so it seems.]

Lancer is the class they assigned to me after my Master summoned me from the Throne of Heroes. I do not know if it is entirely fitting… Originally I am a weapon created by old gods, a long time ago. [They hum.]

What about you, Asura? I am curious about your story.

and then !! plot-twist? i'm enjoying their cr. /o/

[mirshikar]

[ Worthy. Purpose. Assigned. Alongside the squall of the Winter wind, Enkidu's voice flutes in the King's ear, and if Asura allowed himself to be nostalgic, it would be easy to pretend that his present companion were regaling him with a story at Court; that they were not in the midst of lumbering through the snow, Enkidu taking up the mantle of sentinel as the King chose the path that they were to travel. But Asura denies himself this luxury (despite Enkidu's sagacious words of before), and the word Master (as it falls from Enkidu's lips) diminishes the King's smile, his green eyes narrowing and on no account of blowing ice and snow.

Throne of Heroes. Weapon. Old gods. It makes Asura think of Faerie (of where he, himself, had been forged in the fires of an Arcadian volcano); how he had been his Master's most prized possession and weapon until the day when he'd devoured the creature—a monster, styled as a God—whole. Where it hadn't been present before, tension seeps into the King's frame, however... He remains mindful of Enkidu (the other Mirrorbound, their voice had been absent of bitterness when they spoke of their origins), aware that their circumstances may not mirror his own. Time will tell if as much is the case, and until then, Asura will hold his temper and so too stay the wrath which he holds for Masters and oppressors.

(And if, in the meantime, they happen across another Shade in the bleak landscape of the Outer City, it will meet with unbridled ferocity of Asura's rage.)

For now, though, there remains a question in need of answer. ]

...we are more similar that I might have imagined, you and I. [ —he begins, voice curling low and deep as his expression slips into the realm of the unfathomable. I understand, Enkidu had said, and now they and Asura both are kindred in this: ] So too was I forged as a weapon, though I broke from that path nearly half a century ago.

[ By clawing his way out of Arcadia and through the Hedge, finding himself in the mortal realm. And of course, there is more to that story, but it is something best deferred until Enkidu has been delivered to the safety of the Outpost on the Bright Wall. ]

My purpose now is the same as it was then, when I felled the creature that called itself my Master: the pursuit of justice. [ In all its forms, for both himself and for others.] And yours—

[ Though Enkidu had professed they possessed no such thing... ]

—is it not to be strong? [ For themself and for the abilities they've yet to regain; for the fated spar they will share with the King and for the refreshing day it will bring. ] You do not strike me as someone so aimless. If you were, I would not have crossed paths with you out here, in the cold.

Same here! Sorry for the slow!

[enkidoh]

[The other’s warmth is slowly seeping into Enkidu’s body and it is pleasant to have warm hands again and to feel their toes heat up. Eventually they start to hum a soft melody. The song doesn’t have a name but that doesn’t matter. It is a melody that relaxes them.

A soft hum escapes their mouth when Asura starts to speak.

Another weapon? Just like them? Their eyes widen for a moment.]

Hmm… [Enkidu is silent for a moment and finally they wiggle around so they can gaze at Asura’s face properly.] …there is no such thing as denying you are a weapon, a weapon will always function the way a weapon does. But a weapon is able to make choices and those choices will decide where you will aim at.

[They smile.]

My purpose is to be a weapon. To be wielded and used as one. As it is now…ah…I think I have broken down. I have to refind my strength. [It sounds so simple and maybe it is better to think of it that way. As something simple.]

Hmm…it is interesting of you to say that. But I like the forest. Whether it is frozen or in bloom, there is such beauty in nature. Something that this city absolutely lacks.

[mirshikar]

[ When Enkidu looks to Asura—really looks, their body purposefully shifted such that their line of sight falls solely upon the King—there is finally pause to Asura's step, the crunch of snowfall underfoot ceasing entirely. And when the King speaks next, he does not break the hold of their gaze, his eyes (the green of sacred sage and its smoke) and Enkidu's own (one in the same with the forest greenery they are so attuned to) perfectly interlocked. ]

You have not broken down. If you have been cracked and chipped— [ Asura sees them, now, the fissures and cracks splitting Enkidu's skin, and knows them to be no true product of the cold. And so intense, so pervasive is the King's stare that it suggests, were Asura's hands free from the spear he now holds in defense, he would have laid his fingertips upon the markings in reverence for what they were: scores left behind from stories; what Enkidu had weathered and endured since their arrival in this world. ] —it means only that it is time for you to be forged anew.

[ As Asura himself had been, when he'd chosen to walk alongside humans decades ago. ] And this, my friend, is something which will be done your own terms, absent of your old gods and their influence.

[ And in this vein, they agree, however... ]

...but that path will be difficult. [ Here, the smile returns to Asura's lips, perhaps rekindled by Enkidu's own, his voice resonant with a certainty that could have been borne only from traveling that very same path: ] But you will find a way, and when you do, it is my hope that you will be able to tell me what it is you've decided to aim toward.

While it is true, that a weapon will always be a weapon, it is not impossible for ones such as you and I to be more. [ No, their existence (and those of Asura's many Summer brothers and sisters) were not so limited. They had been made, shaped by the hands others to fulfill a singular function and purpose, and yet... still, they had grown. ] Do not forget that.

gonna tag anyways :D

[enkidoh]

[Enkidu gazes back at the other, the look on their face surprisingly soft for someone in the middle of a cold snowstorm. Even though they know Asura for just a short moment in time, he feels familiar. Calming. No, he holds no similarities to Gil but in a way he holds a lot of similarities to themself. A role as a weapon, making choices while not straying from the path you are on.

It is pleasant.]

Forged anew. [They repeat those words softly. It is a good sort of sentiment. But their place in the history of humanity is something that cannot be replaced. Their role will not change and their purpose will not differ.] Hmmm…in a way I see what you mean. Yet I wonder if it is possible. You cannot change a gun into a sword or an arrow into a spear. But you can replace parts…in a way.

[The gods…well…]

To turn from the purpose that is ingrained within you is barely possible. But you can redefine the reason you use it for. I have decided to be wielded by humanity instead of the gods. [And in the end, after all of it, it has been a good decision.]

[Enkidu always wanted to be more. Even though they were bound to their role they had hoped for their soul to grow. Not their knowledge, not their strength but the soul the gods have given them. It never happened and at times it had been difficult to contain their disappointment or frustration.]

Worry not, it is not easy to forget such a thing. Especially when everything reminds you of something you can be.

[They are getting closer to the city and Enkidu gazes at the buildings. No, they don’t like it. In fact, if they had to pick between fighting creatures here and protecting the forest and its nature and living in that city, they would always pick the first option.]