Remember Me? [Ignotus]

[Gale Austin McCenry]

84th of Summer, 512 A.V.
Beach
Afternoon

The sand moved easily under Gale's feet as he walked along the it. Once again, like any other days, he was walking along the line of the ocean's end and lands beginning. With his head turned to his left to look at the waves, Gale put his hands in his pockets.

He had so much on his mind. Not just the normal "a lot" either. The season was hectic and it bugged him tremendously. He's been getting into things that should have never happen. It's irritating since Gale always though he had enough on his plate. But now that he realizes that he can actually "have more on his plate", he's been thinking of trying to learn a few new things again. Possibly be a bit more social. Maybe actually make a friend.

Gale pulled his head to look at the sand in front of him now. He flicked some of his yellow hair out of his face before sitting down where he was, but facing the ocean. Leaning back on the palms of his hands, Gale watched the waves go up and down and up and down.

It brought so many memories, this long stretch of sand in front of the water. Good and bad. One of his favorites was here. The beginning at least. He supposed it didn't end terrible. Getting help from a strange man in a mustache isn't the first thing to come to mind when he pictured someone helping him but appearance doesn't really matter. Help was help.

Gale let in a breath of salty air before letting it out. It wasn't a bad memory. Not at all. His fingers played with the sand a little as he watched the waves. Up and down. He crossed his legs and pulled his hands forward, he falling the rest of the way back with a soft thud. He folded his arms on his stomach now observing the sky.

[Ignotus Everto]

[color=#cfcfd1]Today was a bad day. Ignotus was already past the supposed day of departure for the party leaving Zeltiva, and he barely had half of what he was hoping for. Indeed, he was vaguely considering calling his little adventure off until he was better prepared. Then, of course, there was his body. It was a good body; reliable, just old enough for his tastes, and likeable. It couldn't last forever, though, and it was already starting to get tatty. A couple patches of rotting skin were on his forearm and foot already, and it would only get worse from there.

Since he'd be dropping it soon, Ignotus didn't mind the salt air much as he strolled down the beach, whistling an old nursery rhyme. People and animals noticed the noise; they didn't notice the subtle hypnotic pull that accompanied it. Just a bit of practice, really. Simply bubble up some curiosity, and let the whistling itself do the rest. In this instance, the recipient was a seagull meandering near the coast.

Ignotus smirked as the bird began to near him, and he dipped a hand into his cloak. He was bored, and his appearance would be radically different soon, so why not have a bit of fun with the bird? Djed accumulated in the palm of his hand, eventually oozing past muscle and out his pores as Res. It wasn't a lot of Res, only enough to fill a thimble. This he shaped into a small ball. The gull plopped down on the sand a yard in front of him, tilting its head slightly at him. Ignotus slowly pulled his hand out of his cloak, its back facing the bird.

He lazily turned his palm toward its wing and loosed the ball, setting it alight the moment before impact. The gull took off with a terrified squawk, flames spreading throughout its wing and causing it to tilt, then crash into the sea.

The Nuit chuckled at the show, mockingly mimicking its death cry before noticing he wasn't alone. Immediately he quieted down, swallowing nervously. He hadn't seen him kill the bird, had he? From this distance, he couldn't tell. What would it be to him, anyways? He'd have a completely different face soon. It didn't matter. As he drew closer to the stranger and his features came into clearer view, however, his eyes widened in recognition. He was older, and his features were a little more masculine, but there was no mistaking that boy. A grin came across his face, and he strode towards the man, calling over once he was in earshot, "Gale? It's been too long!"

Of course, his appearance had changed a bit more radically, so he soon added, "It's me, Ignotus!"

This was where he would have to hope his little long term investment had paid off. With some luck, the connotations he had planted in Gale's head as a boy would rise up when he recognized him.

[Gale Austin McCenry]

Gale's thoughts continued in this sort of loop that went right back to the first thought. He sighed softly and heard an odd screech from a bird and he looked over to see a flash of orange plummet into the water. Gale blinked in confusion as he propped himself up on his forearms. What the petch? Why- what- oh never mind. Gale rolled his eyes and plopped back down. It wasn't everyday you see a bird randomly on fire and plummet in the ocean but he didn't think much of it. Probably someone being stupid and using magic or something.

Gale was never really fond of magic and never wanted to get involved with it, even though he already has, even though he hasn't realized it. It was just something Gale thought was too crazy to really spend any time investing in it. Too many things can go wrong in his eyes. But that's him. People can go ahead and do what they want with it as long as it didn't have anything to do with him.

His thoughts about it was interrupted by the calling of his full name. Who could be calling him? He sat up on his forearms again and looked over. He saw a man he didn't recognize but he remembered the name.

Yeah, Ignotus. The guy that almost took that kid's face off. It's been what? 10 years or so? He just randomly showed up didn't he? But...Why did he look so different? That was odd. He didn't even look much older. Or did he remember wrong? All he really remembered crystal clear was his mustache. He would probably never forget that.

Gale smirked at the sighting of the man. It was actually kind of a treat to have someone he remembered as a child show up. Doesn't happen often anymore. Gale didn't get up though. He didn't want to stand and didn't care what others thought of it.

"What happened the mustache?" Gale questioned to the old "friend".

[Ignotus Everto]

Ignotus rolled his eyes, "It's gone." he plopped down next to Gale with a faint thud and a small spray of sand. An icy hand tapped his arm amicably. "So, how have you been? Did you ever tell that one girl you liked her? Did you propose?" his voice took on a more teasing tone, releasing a small flush of happiness in Gale.

Of course, he didn't know that Hana was dead. It was just idle conversation, until he found out what Gale did now, and what he'd be useful for. He seemed to be enjoying himself, but behind the grinning mask, Ignotus was still coolly calculating odds, advantages, and weaknesses. If he was to stand a chance of surviving the journey to Sahova, he couldn't afford a mistake, and right now, he couldn't waste time either. So he needed to know whether Gale was an asset, or just meat.

Of course, he was very sorry and heart broken when he heard the news.

[Gale Austin McCenry]

Gale's watched him plop down next to him. His smirk faded to a frown and he turned to the ocean,"Yes... I did..." He said, his tone sounding monotone at this point but it switched to sadness when he spoke of her death. "But she died." He let out a breath, glad he was actually able to say it without having some sort of weird feeling in his stomach like he did with most people.

It was just like when he was a kid. He was sort of nervous talking about it with Ignotus, but not wildly. But he was uncomfortable about it when talking about with anyone so it was normal. He was just talking to him as of now. Getting it out of his mind and into the air. He supposed though that he was more comfortable talking about it with Ignotus then others because he actually helped him with it once. Sort of. Not sure why though. It was once and it had been so long. He didn't know. He supposed he just needed to talk to someone who was there when it started? Or something. Or maybe it was a reason he didn't even know. Oh well, why did it matter?

" But you know. It happens." His deep voice went back to that monotone sound. He leaned his weight on one arm as his other picked up sand in his hand and he watched it drop between his fingers into a pile on the ground below. "Not the first time a person died from an animal bite." Gale figured he was going to ask how she passed so he minus well save time and just state it. Even if he didn't want to ask, it's not like he could do anything with the information. Could he?

[Ignotus Everto]

Ignotus' brow furrowed. "She's dead? That..." he trailed off, gears turning in his head. He needed a body. Gale's wife had died by animal bite. Ignotus knew that there were some men who could shift into animals. The boy was certainly still angry. If he wasn't now, he would be soon.

The Hypnotist slowly opened his mouth with a worried expression. "That can't be coincidence. When did she die?"

No matter what date Gale mentioned, he'd say, [color=#BFBF80]"I overheard two men talking in one of the darker corners of the Kelp Bar a few days before that about a... What was her name?" a light tug at the heartstrings, an urge to fill the blanks, to have closure. Memories and feelings long left dormant stirred by the gentle influence of Djed. A sharp nod from the Nuit. "No doubt about it, then. Have you heard of the Kelvic, Gale?" If he said no, Ignotus would elaborate: "They're a were-race. Shape shifters. They can change from human to animal with nary a thought..."

'Anyways, one asked for where she was, then accepted a bag of mizas after getting an answer. His face I saw. The man who paid him was shrouded in shadow, though."

The connotations were obvious and easy to charge; that his wife had been murdered. Next, Ignotus planted a seed of anger. Anger that would hopefully curdle into hatred. It wouldn't be much work. The framework was already there. All that was needed was a little push to send the malignant machinery in motion, to release the pent up pain, and helplessness, and rage, and focus it into a diamond hard spear with a single destination: Hana's 'killer's' heart.

[/color]

[Gale Austin McCenry]

Gale glanced at Ignotus as he responded. Did he actually care or was he putting on a show of concern?

"Not long after we got married. Why?" Gale questioned. Why would that be important to him? When he went on, Gale filled in her name with a confused look on his face. "Hana." he turned his head to look at Ignotus as he asked if he knew what a Kelvic was. Boy did he.

"Yeah. Seen too much of them."

Gale blinked in confusion and shock as he explained further. "But- wait a minute. Why would someone want her dead? She never did anything wrong, ever! She-" Gale sat himself up,"She didn't have an debt to pay or had anyone who disliked her enough to kill her off. And neither did I! Why would someone just murder her?! "

Gale started speaking with just confusion, but it quickly grew enraged. It didn't make any sense! It just- it didn't piece together! Even if they didn't have a reason, they just happened to pick Hana out of all the people? It just made Gale furious. No. She wasn't murdered. He was lying. She couldn't have been murdered. It was just coincidence.

[Ignotus Everto]

Ignotus shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. Maybe it was someone she spurned to be with you? She was killed after you were married. Perhaps the man finally realized she'd never be his, and had her murdered? Perhaps she never said a thing about it to protect you?"

He was mad. This was good, but he still wasn't quite focused yet. It wasn't enough to just be angry. It had to be honed, sharpened, and focused. Gale had to want to believe Ignotus. "Maybe it was a different Hana... Or maybe your beloved's killer is still at large. Are you really willing to take that chance?"

Gale had to see that this was a chance to make it up to Hana. To avenge her. To gain closure. Ignotus had to take his love for her and turn it into lethal instinct. Sowing the seeds in his subconscious was the first step. Next was to raise an undertone of longing. Just a little. It wouldn't do, nor was it possible at Ignotus' current level, to drown out the anger. It just needed to be seasoned. The scarlet tapestry needed a bit of black at its hems. "Gale... Lhex deigned for us to meet again, and for me to tell you this for a reason." Ignotus intoned gravely. Meanwhile, he shrouded himself with an aura of believability. "You can trust me." If he didn't, the deceit wouldn't get very far.

[Gale Austin McCenry]

Gale looked at Ignotus angrily, trying to straighten things out. None of this made sense. But death never really did, did it? Gale looked down in his lap, his hands playing with his fingers and occasionally the sand or his pants.

He was right though. If Hana was murdered, and the petching vyke wasn't caught, then he would still be out there. But...maybe he wasn't. It's been about a season now. That's plenty of time to leave for whatever reason that would be. Gale didn't know where the guy was or what he looked like besides a the fact he could turn into a bat. And even if Ignotus told him, what would he do about it?

"So what do you want me to do about it? It sounds like you want me to kill him." Gale responded.

It didn't actually sound like a bad idea at the moment. He would get what he deserved, it was only fair. But Gale didn't know if it would come around to bite him in the ass later. No doubt it would. But wouldn't it be worth it? The man killed her for little to no reason. To see him die because of his actions would be... Astounding...

[Ignotus Everto]

"So what do you want me to do about it? It sounds like you want me to kill him."

Another shrug."I want you to do what you think is right."

The message already burrowing its way into his inner mind was a great deal more clear, though, "Kill him."

Ignotus stared intently at Gale, apparently waiting to see what he was going to do. In the depths of the widower's belly, resolve began to boil, mingling with the already present hate, hurt, and fury, the beautiful cocktail that motivated a man to murder taking shape. Truly, Hypnotism was a finer art than any painting or sculpture this sandy blonde boy, or anyone else could conjure. To mold clay took deft hands. To mold a mind took skill, patience, and intuition.

\"But... If you do choose to act... I happen to know where to find him."\ he said almost apologetically.

There was no more room for words. The wizard's work was done. Now all that was left was to wait for a passing whim to harden into cold determination, give the man a weapon, and watch him do the deed. And if he decided against it? That was all right. He could always try again. And again. And again.