Disgusted to Meet You

[Thomas Cosa]

31st of Winter, 512 AV
The Pig's Foot Tavern

"Two meals, best food you've got," Thomas called out to the bartender, his stomach growling at the anticpation of a good meal. Of course, it had probably been pure luck he was to meet Rayage's contact at the local tavern, but Avalis knew he wasn't going to pass the chance to eat.

Not after a season on Sahova, at least.

"Yuv the money fer that, lad?" The old man croacked back, glancing over the young human, "Ya look too skinny ta 'fford my best, an' I don't take well to thieving," he growled, glaring at the newcomer. "That's four gold pieces if'n ya can 'ffords it," he added, thrusting his open hand towards Thomas.

"Fine, just make sure it gets too my table," Thomas grunted, handing over the mizas, adding two coppers for an ale, "And a pint of whatever you can get to me quickest," he added, sitting down at a rotting table, careful to pick what looked like the sturdiest chair.

Thomas sighed, looking around the dirty pub, wondering if any of these people was the master's contact. He had been hesitant at first to meet up Rayage's contact, but both the reward and falling on the old master's good side tempted the young made. That and he couldn't exactly say no to a master of Sahova. He was a pulser, after all.

Sunberth, the bane of mages and organized alike. The entire town recked of spilt blood, slavery, and prostitution. Thomas had been quick to make his way to the tavern, paranoia burning at his feet, urging him faster. He could almost feel the hunger with which the locals looked at him with -- he was after all an easy target. Perhaps more so then they even realized.

A season on Sahova wasn't the best for his health, and the young made found himself on the recovering end of what had orignally seemd fatal -- whatever it was, the longer he had stayed away from Sahova, the better he felt.

"There ya are," The bartender grunted casually, placing two plates of what he assumed to be meat and a mug of ale. Thomas nodded, before shoving the food greedily down his starving throat. Best take adavantage of the time away from Sahova.

All he had to do know was wait for the contact to show up.

ledger note-4 gm, 2 cm for food

[Evalin]

That man... Such a troublesome fool, can he not come himself? Evalin's mind ran over the letter sent only a few nits previously, informing her of a coming 'messenger' who would take with him the first few of the packages upon the next ship. In the letter the Man cloaked in darkness had spoke of a promising new pulser who had only recently come to the Citadel. A young pulser eager to please, with spirit and courage to spare.

Evalin laughed to herself, He send me a fool then! What use will he be? I have need of a strong mind and iron resolve. This CHILD would be better left to his mother's nursing.

From the pendant about her neck a chilled voice replied, So say the child so confident and proud.

Evalin frowned and grasped the necklace, raising it to her eyes, A child in body alone. Least you have forgotten.

I have forgotten nothing...

With a sigh Evalin paused in front of the entrance to the Pig Foots Tavern, leaning upon her staff as she looked over the entrance, And why come to such a place as this? Surely this is he mocking me once more... For it was well known that children were not meant to set foot into an establishment such as this.

The Immortal trapped within a child's body looked about for any who might oppose her, and when all was clear she gripped her staff tightly, keeping it raised as she dashed with inhuman speed through the portal into the darkness beyond.

It took but a moment to find the boy sent by that retched fool, for his description matched what was written in the letter. Moveing softly so as to draw little attention to herself, Evalin made her way about the edge of the room, holding her staff so that it made no noise. She would soon come to stand close to Thomas, leaning upon her staff she would clear her throat, "I call for a messenger and he sends me a child. Be it known that I do not take kindly to mockery, and that, boy, is precisely what you are."

The voice was that of a child, and when Thomas looked he would find just that before him. A child in hood and cloak that looked to be about 7-8 with straight raven black hair. In her hands she held a beautifully ornate staff, and about her neck a pendant of icy blue. Eyes shown out from the darkness of the hood, two points of glittering red like freshly spilt blood. A strange sense of unease came from the child, born of the mark cursed upon her by Uldr, God of the Undead.

"Tell me then, are you who was sent to me?" Her eyes would stare at Thomas, seaching and harsh. No hint of mercy, or kindness, and filled with an ageless hatred and loathing that did not fit a tender child's face.

[Thomas Cosa]

"Obviously, Master Evalin," Thomas replied curtly, glancing at the Nuit-child with disgust, a growing unease filling his stomach.

A child.

"A dead child," Thomas reminded himself, his vision clouding briefly as he forced his Auristic sense, his Djed flowing freely. His nose wrinkled unpleasantly as whiffs of decay bit at his nostrils, but could have been just as easily from the pub; the stench of stale ale and sweat overwhelmed much of anything else. A rolling sensation tickled at his skin; his own magic marking the Nuit-child as a mage, although the ornate staff easily would mark her as well, if not for her child-like appearance.

A light buzzing alerted Thomas to the beginnings of mild over-giving, and with a frown, his auristic sense flickered out.

"Master Rayage sent me here, to Sunberth, to assist you," he said, his tone matching the loathing in Evalin's glimmering eyes. "I had nothing better to do, it seems," Thomas muttered, not caring whether the Nuit-child heard his sarcasm -- they were, after all, in Sunberth. He was human, and nothing to mark him as a mage. Evalin was a Nuit, and Thomas knew the undead never lasted long in Sunberth once the town marked them as such.

He had no delusions about their situation, however. Evalin was in charge, and Thomas was to do as told. But, being in Sunberth, he was already in a much favorable position then he had been in Sahova. Here, he could tell a Nuit, 'no', and possibly live to tell the tail.

Not that he planned on doing that.

Besides, if he did whatever she needed, and well, he doubted Evalin would take the time to tell Rayage of any mouthyness on his part. She just need a job done, and he would do it.

"So," Thomas began, pushing the empty plates and glasses away from him, "What am I doing here?" he asked, prompting his head on his hand, resting the elbow on the table.

[Evalin]

I believe that is hatred I see within this child's eyes. Evalin echoed to the sealed familiar about her neck, A deep hatred still ripening and begining to boil to true loathing. Now a small smile would grace those cold lips, I believe I could grow rather fond of him.

A chilled presence pressed against her mind, humming as the link that bound them together let forth Tsenrika's voice into her mind, A child's hatred is rarely lasting, and what good is hatred directed toward nothing in particular.

Evalin raised a finger to carefully touch the pendant, My Dear Tsenrika, hatred kindled can be nurtured, can be trained and can be fed... A child's hatred is but the kindling for a much greater fire to come.

The entire conversation took no more than the span of a tick or two, and Evalin would quickly move to take the chair opposite Thomas, moving far more freely and with more agility than most nuits. Once settled Evalin would lean her staff against her shoulder. Speaking softly Evalin would push her hood back, revealing the young features of a child and those shimmering red eyes, "Now now, you think to lightly of your task. Surely my Dear Immortal sent you for a certain reason beyond your disposable nature?" A quick jab hidden within a veiled compliment, "I know that man very well, and he would have sent you for a particular reason to be sure."

You whisper lies quite well, though pray you are not found out.

I speak no lies at this moment Tsenrika. I know of that man and his ways, but what curious thought I have now fall to the question... "Why send this boy and not another?"

Perhaps simply to cause the question to be asked...

Ignoring what her familiar spoke, Evalin let her eyes settle upon Thomas', smiling still in a way that did not fit upon a child's face, "As for why you have come, well let us say that you have come to retrieve a few specimens to be taken back. Though buisness can wait for now, for I have gained a new interest in this boy with a heart of loathing and eyes filled with disgust for my kind." Picking up an eating knife from the table Evalin would turn it over a few times in her hand, her eyes upon the blade, "Tell me then... If you loath what you do so much, why do it at all?" her eyes would flick back up to Thomas once more as she waited his answer.

[Thomas Cosa]

"Doubtful," Thomas replied coldly, "Perhaps I was the first unfortuante he found? We both understand the rules, no?" he asked, a sarcastic smile gracing his starved face, "My kind," he whispered, intent on keeping their conversation to their ears alone, "Are never given much choice, regarding the matters of the dead," he hissed, his gaze steady on the Nuit-child, lips pursing in disgust.

"You misunderstand," Thomas answered, "I do not hate what I do, I enjoy it immensely," he corrected, "That is why I was there, and now I find myself here," he paused, a moment lost, startled by the unnatural color and brightness of the Nuit-child's blood eyes. "Perhaps," the animator continued, his eyes unmoving as he stared obviously at the Nuit-child's eyes, wondering as to whether he had seen other Nuits with the same trait -- why would this one have a different color? "Perhaps, I do not find myself in the best of company, but I have a single goal, Mistress Evalin, and even the constant smell of rot will not detour me from seeing it accomplished," he finished, feeling more and more unnerved the longer he stayed around her, although he tried not to show it.

No Nuit would scare him, not outside of Sahova. Thomas would allow himself that much.

"But it is no secret that I am disgusted," he paused, his gaze lingering on the Nuit-child, before scanning the room, "by your kind, although, I will admit that you would find me much more pleasant on the isle," he smiled, "Appearances and all," Thomas added, scratching a glove covered palm. "But I doubt they would care either way, much too self absorbed to notice anything other then adoration," Thomas scoffed, his had waving in the air dismissively.

"But enough of me," he said, quietly, "If I may, Mistress, why would you choose a...figure, such as that? On the isle, they wear whatever suits them, but surely here," Thomas gestured outside the nearest window, grinning.

"I have to ask, why not pick something a little more...adult?" he asked, nerve unfailing.

[Evalin]

Evalin turned the knife over in her small hands, still keeping her eyes upon the living man before her. She could feel it... It might have been due to her mark of Uldr, or perhaps she simply held a knack for such things, but Evalin could tell. There was, in this child, a deep seated hatred, one that rolled and slept just beneath the sufrace. He loathed, he distained and resented, but while Evalin could tell many things she could not pin down the source of these negativities.

The immortal that wore a child's face would smile slowly at Thomas' words, speaking slowly as she pressed the tip of the knife to her finger, "My I would never have guessed that such fire could be found in a child so young... though I may speak little of that myself." She chuckled, seeing a hint of her own past reflected in those eyes of Thomas', "I agree with you that those of Sahova are quite pompus and full of themselves, and truly I find my own patience lacking when present there. Thus you find me here rather than walking those long coorridors. I remember when last I tread those halls I caused quite a commotion before leaving. I do wonder if they have finished repairing my old lab." She shrugged absently as if it did not really matter.

Her eyes shot up to meet Thomas' once more, "I share no love for their kind any more than you I think, yet though I bear a similar fate I would hope," She said this with emphasis, her words twining around what could have been a threat or just as easily a miss placed emphasis, "That you would not count I among their ranks."

Letting silence ring for a moment Evalin would lay down the knife, absently rolling her staff between her hands as she eyed Thomas with something akin to interest, "Though I would say I care not for talk of myself for rarely does anyone live long enough to grasp my words, I might indulge you for the moment." Leaning on the table Evalin pushed back her hood, fully revealing her childish features so distorted by a dark expression and a grin fitting a beast more than the little girl, "This body was one of necessity I am sad to say. One I had to rest quite suddenly. It was... Messay to say the least." She looked at her hands, absently licking a finger as she spoke, her voice becoming ice cold, "She cried you know, this child. She begged her life but, sadly, she was a scarifies for the greater existence that must live on." Her eyes grew distant a moment as she remembered the feeling of the dagger slipping between the child's ribs, and a strange, almost forlorn remorse filled her soul for the briefest moment, but then that look in her eyes was replaced by the cold indifference once more as Evalin' looked back at Thomas, "It really was quite bothersome, for the child was only a nuisance. Her parents had to be dealt with before I could continue on, and you can imagine the inconvenience it was to leave no trace of them behind. Nothing but ash blow about in the wind where they and their home once stood." she chuckled

In those eyes of red there was something Thomas might not see in most nuits. More than cold indifference there was something more, something darker, something that said that without a thought Evalin would do whatever it took to achieve her goals. In her eyes was reflected decades of blood and death, and yet here she sat with a smile upon her face, talking of murder as if it were the simplest and most pleasant topic as the current weather.

Her eyes gazed over Thomas, sizing him up, taking notes, and in her voice was a confident pride, "Though you are right... I am in need of a new host rather soon..." That black tongue would escape to lick her lips as she stared at Thomas, tilting her head as she continued to toy with her staff, "And perhaps one might come about rather suddenly."

[Thomas Cosa]

"No," Thomas answered, "I hadn't considered of like the Sahovans," he shrugged, his voice casual, "I would be surprised to find any like them away from their precious Citadel, exposed thusly," he sneered, momentarily forgetting Evalin herself was a Nuit, critiscims of her undead companions coming easily as breathing, "Despite all their supposed power, all their secret knowledge, they are afraid. They hide behind creatures of metal and wood, behind stone walls, commiting themselves willingly to a prisoned eternity," he spat, disgusted.

The Nuit of Sahova were the supposed last remnants of the great Alahean empire, a kingdom of power and knowledge. A empire so great they rose to immense notability and power, and yet they feel againt the Suvan.

Despite their genius, their mastery of the arcane, the Nuit were weak. Thomas didn't believe them worthy of the knowledge they possessed, and of existence even less so. But perhaps Evalin was different, despite her cruelty. Perhaps she agreed with Thomas, feeling the time of the Nuit of Sahova was long done. "You do not hide like them, Evalin," he whispered, neither admiration nor disgust marking his tone.

As Thomas listened to Eva, his breathing become rough, his eyelids flittered. A low glow burned purple beneath a leather glove, but only for a moment, only something the most observant would catch.
---
Something was clinging to him, desperatley clutching to his robes, sobbing.

Begging. Pleading.

And as he whispered gentle nothings into a child's ear, a brief sorrow invaded his unfeeliing heart, but not regret, no. He silently cursed Lhex for dooming this innocent to a young death, and last moments knowing nothing but fear.

And then he stabbed her, the cold metal silence her words, whimpers and gurgles only heard now.

And then she was gone. And Thomas was unfeeling.
---
And with a sharp breath, those dark red eyes burned at him, unfeeling. There was no remorse, no true feeling towards what she had done. No, Evalin was far too concerned with her own goals, and nothing would stand in her way.

And for a moment, ignoring her situation, her state of being, Thomas acknowledge something between them that was similar. They were both of fire, both willing to see the very world burn before them as they took what they wanted. What they needed.

They were ambitious. They were strong.

OOCHey! So, if there's anything you don't like about this, just message me, and I'll edit!

[Evalin]

Evalin fingered the edge of the knife, nodding with a smile at Thomas' words about those who resided in the Citadel, "Indeed I might agree with you. In truth what you say was, in part, the reason for my departure. Such dullards caught up in a contract of the past, so much so that they forget that the world moves about them." looking to the side her eyes showed thoughts passing across her vision, "Surly, even for those of immortality such as I, such an existence cannot be called 'life' in any sense of the word."

Blinking Evalin shook her head, eyes coming back to Thomas as she rested her head on her hand, "But then I care little for their workings, for in the end they shall fall just as surely as the rest of this world soon enough."

Curiously Evalin noted Thomas' distant gaze, though it only lasted a moment. Narrowing her eyes, Evalin did not say a word, though she did file away the observation for later inspection. Instead she let her black tongue steer the conversation in a more useful direction, "From your talk of Sahova I take you apprentice there no? How fair the living within those halls now? It has been some time and I know not if things have changed."

A touch of cold brushed her mind, What is the purpose in your question...?

My dear Tsenrika, let us see just how deeply this child's hatred runs.

OOCSorry for the awful post. Having a hard time focusing after my brain became mush from testing T.T

[Thomas Cosa]

"Yes, I apprentice," he answered, nodding, "And as for how the living fair among the dead, well," Thomas snorted, gesturing at his own frail figure. He had once been called handsome, and even desirable, but Sahova had long since taken that from the young human. Seasons locked under ground had paled his skin, his hair heavy with dirt and grease. His face was gaunt, his cheekbones pushing unpleasently against his skin. His clothes, now baggy, did the young man a favor, his own physique grossly changed from seasons of stravation.

"We are ignored for the most part," he began, dragging his fork mindlessly through the mush he had been served as food, "I only worry when the Nuits pay me too much attention, especially unwarranted," Thomas sighed, his expression darkening, "Then, the living can make a choice," he paused, scowling, "To leave the island, unscathed and unharmed, or stay, and hope for the best," he growled, violently stabbing at his food with the rusty utensil.

"I am have been given the impression, that despite their best attempts to make me feel welcomed," he paused, his tone sarcastic, "That the Nuits are actively trying to drive the living from the island, for whatever reason, although I fully intend to stay," he muttered, harshly, his tone biting.

"I have been beaten, starved, and mentally tortured on the isle," he whispered, his jaw clenched, "But the prize of Sahova is too worthwhile for me to leave so easily, and once I have my prize, the Nuits will pay with their lives," he laughed softly, his eyes burning with a deep sense of injustice, and a hunger for revenge paid in blood.

OOCSo not sure how I feel about this post, sorry. I've been feeling sick, but I wanted to get something posted.

[Evalin]

Bitterness and hatred drip from his lips. Evalin thought, turning over the boy's words as she absently stroked the icy gem at her neck, My... How curious that one such as he would be sent to me. I might call it good fortune.

Bitterness travels well through the world, and often like come upon like for they are actively sought.

Evalin nodded slowly, eyes upon Thomas as her full attention hung upon his ever word. She could feel it, sense it, taste the hatred that raged within him. Those bitterest of feelings, those terrible lusts for power and satisfaction. She knew them well, saw them in herself in fact, and this more than anything urged her next words.

"You speak so bold for one so young, and I find that quite... alluring." A ghoulish grin cracked her lips as her eyes of red burned holes into the child's own, "Yet what you face is not some silly pawn, or a lowly braggart. No you stare down the face of eternity, into the eyes of those who have seen centuries of success and failures. They are infinitely more powerful, wise and experienced than you, and in truth I would say you have not a chance... alone of course."

Evalin leaned farther on the table, resting her head on one hand as she looked up at Thomas, "I hear your plight and your passion, and I am sympathetic to your wishes." she chuckled, straightening and picking up the knife once more. She ran a finger over its edge, her eyes upon the blade as she spoke, "If you would have it, I could offer you power, true power. Strength enough to stand against all of Sahova. Strength enough to never fear your overseers, strength enough to withstand any abuse, and strength enough to live through the ages without fear of anything ever again." She looked up to catch Thomas' eye, "They could beat you yet you would not fall. They could starve you yet you would not die. They could torture you, yet you would not break. With this power all of your goals would be well in hand, and that bitterness and hatred would be sated in full by the blood of the Sahovans."