07-23-2017, 12:23 PM
Ebony shivered, eyes wide open in confusion, shock, and fear. She didn't like this at all. First, there were the stormtroopers, who she only just accepted were not here to hurt her. Then there was a more reasonable looking man who at first she thought was honourable but later found he got paid to hunt people down and kill them. She almost felt a tinge of betrayal - while for a short time, she trusted him. What was even worse was that the stormtroopers, James and Cody, were going to actually help Vulre do it; they were going to provide him with ways to get an income from it.
And then there was Morene: the big scary armoured lady who had recently blocked Ebony's path just when she'd gathered the nerve to act. It confuddled Ebony that Morene actually believed Vulre's claim about having good intentions. If he had righteous aims, then he wouldn't be hurting anyone outside of self-defence. And he certainly wouldn't want money for his "services". It was immoral that he even thought to put a price on human lives. Living, thinking, beings. Ebony was shocked that someone would actually do such a thing. He was no better than the people he hunted if he genuinely thought in such a way. But why? Why did he have to think like that? Couldn't he just work as a blacksmith or fight to protect people? How could he live with himself? Surely there had to be good inside him somewhere. A faint idea formed in the back of Ebony's mind as she considered the situation.
Lastly, there was also the monsters Morene talked about. But Ebony just wanted to go home, not get cast into a dangerous fight - she'd heard vague stories of the demons in the recent history of her world, she had no will to join in on such a thing. At least Morene was better in that regard. She had an air about her, one signifying her conviction towards the fight and aim to protect people from it. But Ebony couldn't do that. She'd just get in the way. She couldn't even use her magic to stop a ship from sinking in a story. She'd failed then, and could only guess the consequences.
Ducking her head quickly, she covered her eyes with her free hand waiting for tears that never came. She shivered at the resurfaced memory nonetheless before bracing herself. Her breathing steadied yet again as she looked up - determination partially shown on her face but the many dried tears and uncertain eyes betrayed the image. Stepping quickly, making use of her small body rather than actually being mobile or fast, she moved around Morene and closed in on Vulre.
"I'm coming with you." Unlike most of her speech so far, the line came out surprisingly clean and smooth, even if it was still quiet.
Silence. If there were any crickets in the Nexus, they would have easily been audible. It was hard for Ebony to gauge Vulre's reaction through his mask, but before he could reply, Morene opened her mouth. "Hun. I don't thin-" Only to be shortly cut off.
"I've g-got to go with you t-t-to stop you hurting anyone else!" Ebony pushed herself forwards, leaning towards Vulre and standing on the tips of her toes while seemingly being unaware of the silver scythe blade dangerously close to both her and the hunter. Vulre stepped back reactively.
Ebony's face was already broken, yet she was still making a conscious effort to at least try and look determined through her fear and uncertainty. Aaaaaaaaaahh! Why did I do that?! Some second thoughts were had, yet she still found herself pushed forwards to continue the uncharacteristic pursuit. She forced herself to be assertive. It was, after all, what Ebonywood Hellscythe might have done.
Vulre looked down at the girl, the sounds of her belts and boots shaking reached his ears. He reached to his side and spoke, trying to move further away to give himself more room. The purpose of the movement, however, was foiled by Ebony yet again filling the gap and invading his personal space. Giving up with the endeavour, he spoke nonetheless. Although he was visibly uncomfortable by the proximity. "This is my axe. Axes are sharp and axes can hurt people. Some people go around using axes and other weapons to kill others for their own personal gain, in doing so they lose their right to be called a person. I take on the necessary job to make sure monsters like that don't exist." He held his axe idly between them, although not a threat. Like it was just a thing to him, no different than a stick or a hammer or a toolkit. His voice was dull and emotionless.
Morene finally closed in, carefully placing her metal clad hand on Ebony's shoulder. She flinched, even though she couldn't feel the cold of the steel through her cloak, the light impact still shook her. "Ebony-"
Ebony shrugged the arm off her and leant forwards further. Her chest almost pressing against the axe and the only thing keeping her upright was the scythe. "N-no." She shook her head, hairs shifting under her cloak and some dropping to partially cover her eyes. She ignored them. Her back arched upwards as she raised her face to look at Vulre. His breathing cut out briefly while Ebony continued. "Y-you're wrong. K-k..." She braced herself, forcing the words out. The first of which felt unfamiliar on her tongue. "Killing people makes you just as bad as the m-m-monsters. S-stop it." She paused, tears almost dripping down her face. While the individual words may have sounded assertive, it came across has her begging him to stop. "A-and you're even asking for money t-to d-d-do it." Jutting her face closer - inches away from Vulre - who was (unbeknownst to Ebony) locked into the position due to the scythe blade behind him, she whispered. It was quiet enough for him to barely hear, yet loud enough for him to know he heard it. "Are you happy? Is that life really what you want?"
Seeing the locked position, Morene tried to touch and gently move Ebony and her scythe backwards, away from Vulre. However, the second her hand brushed against the scythe she flinched. It was just by a small amount, Morene hadn't expected the scythe to be warm, but the movement in the corner of Ebony's vision, in turn, caused her to flinch - knocking her out of her thoughts for a brief second. Her scythe wobbled, tilting diagonally behind Vulre. The unstable pose faltered, her toes slipping, as Ebony fell sideways and forwards, gently brushing against Vulre in her decent as her arms flew out trying to catch something to steady herself with.
Her gloved palm met the handle of the axe Vulre was still idly holding, while her other hand was still holding on to her collapsing scythe. She twisted from the uneven forces on her body, consequently landing on her back. She fell much more gently than one would expect, still letting out a small breath of air with an "oof" sound. Her scythe cluttered and her belt buckles jangled and her shoes let out a loud clap. One arm brought the heated scythe almost into a hug - signature fake purple flames following its movements towards her, while the other awkwardly still grasped onto Vulres axe. Yet, from the impact, she did so gently enough to allow him to pry it from her faltering grasp. He couldn't help but glance towards the silver scythe blade as he did so - the mirrored metal showing a reflection of his dull steel helmet.
Slightly further from the trio, James let out some of a suppressed laugh while Cody made an attempt to silence him. They might have only been here the last thirty minutes at most, but it felt like a much longer time.
And then there was Morene: the big scary armoured lady who had recently blocked Ebony's path just when she'd gathered the nerve to act. It confuddled Ebony that Morene actually believed Vulre's claim about having good intentions. If he had righteous aims, then he wouldn't be hurting anyone outside of self-defence. And he certainly wouldn't want money for his "services". It was immoral that he even thought to put a price on human lives. Living, thinking, beings. Ebony was shocked that someone would actually do such a thing. He was no better than the people he hunted if he genuinely thought in such a way. But why? Why did he have to think like that? Couldn't he just work as a blacksmith or fight to protect people? How could he live with himself? Surely there had to be good inside him somewhere. A faint idea formed in the back of Ebony's mind as she considered the situation.
Lastly, there was also the monsters Morene talked about. But Ebony just wanted to go home, not get cast into a dangerous fight - she'd heard vague stories of the demons in the recent history of her world, she had no will to join in on such a thing. At least Morene was better in that regard. She had an air about her, one signifying her conviction towards the fight and aim to protect people from it. But Ebony couldn't do that. She'd just get in the way. She couldn't even use her magic to stop a ship from sinking in a story. She'd failed then, and could only guess the consequences.
Ducking her head quickly, she covered her eyes with her free hand waiting for tears that never came. She shivered at the resurfaced memory nonetheless before bracing herself. Her breathing steadied yet again as she looked up - determination partially shown on her face but the many dried tears and uncertain eyes betrayed the image. Stepping quickly, making use of her small body rather than actually being mobile or fast, she moved around Morene and closed in on Vulre.
"I'm coming with you." Unlike most of her speech so far, the line came out surprisingly clean and smooth, even if it was still quiet.
Silence. If there were any crickets in the Nexus, they would have easily been audible. It was hard for Ebony to gauge Vulre's reaction through his mask, but before he could reply, Morene opened her mouth. "Hun. I don't thin-" Only to be shortly cut off.
"I've g-got to go with you t-t-to stop you hurting anyone else!" Ebony pushed herself forwards, leaning towards Vulre and standing on the tips of her toes while seemingly being unaware of the silver scythe blade dangerously close to both her and the hunter. Vulre stepped back reactively.
Ebony's face was already broken, yet she was still making a conscious effort to at least try and look determined through her fear and uncertainty. Aaaaaaaaaahh! Why did I do that?! Some second thoughts were had, yet she still found herself pushed forwards to continue the uncharacteristic pursuit. She forced herself to be assertive. It was, after all, what Ebonywood Hellscythe might have done.
Vulre looked down at the girl, the sounds of her belts and boots shaking reached his ears. He reached to his side and spoke, trying to move further away to give himself more room. The purpose of the movement, however, was foiled by Ebony yet again filling the gap and invading his personal space. Giving up with the endeavour, he spoke nonetheless. Although he was visibly uncomfortable by the proximity. "This is my axe. Axes are sharp and axes can hurt people. Some people go around using axes and other weapons to kill others for their own personal gain, in doing so they lose their right to be called a person. I take on the necessary job to make sure monsters like that don't exist." He held his axe idly between them, although not a threat. Like it was just a thing to him, no different than a stick or a hammer or a toolkit. His voice was dull and emotionless.
Morene finally closed in, carefully placing her metal clad hand on Ebony's shoulder. She flinched, even though she couldn't feel the cold of the steel through her cloak, the light impact still shook her. "Ebony-"
Ebony shrugged the arm off her and leant forwards further. Her chest almost pressing against the axe and the only thing keeping her upright was the scythe. "N-no." She shook her head, hairs shifting under her cloak and some dropping to partially cover her eyes. She ignored them. Her back arched upwards as she raised her face to look at Vulre. His breathing cut out briefly while Ebony continued. "Y-you're wrong. K-k..." She braced herself, forcing the words out. The first of which felt unfamiliar on her tongue. "Killing people makes you just as bad as the m-m-monsters. S-stop it." She paused, tears almost dripping down her face. While the individual words may have sounded assertive, it came across has her begging him to stop. "A-and you're even asking for money t-to d-d-do it." Jutting her face closer - inches away from Vulre - who was (unbeknownst to Ebony) locked into the position due to the scythe blade behind him, she whispered. It was quiet enough for him to barely hear, yet loud enough for him to know he heard it. "Are you happy? Is that life really what you want?"
Seeing the locked position, Morene tried to touch and gently move Ebony and her scythe backwards, away from Vulre. However, the second her hand brushed against the scythe she flinched. It was just by a small amount, Morene hadn't expected the scythe to be warm, but the movement in the corner of Ebony's vision, in turn, caused her to flinch - knocking her out of her thoughts for a brief second. Her scythe wobbled, tilting diagonally behind Vulre. The unstable pose faltered, her toes slipping, as Ebony fell sideways and forwards, gently brushing against Vulre in her decent as her arms flew out trying to catch something to steady herself with.
Her gloved palm met the handle of the axe Vulre was still idly holding, while her other hand was still holding on to her collapsing scythe. She twisted from the uneven forces on her body, consequently landing on her back. She fell much more gently than one would expect, still letting out a small breath of air with an "oof" sound. Her scythe cluttered and her belt buckles jangled and her shoes let out a loud clap. One arm brought the heated scythe almost into a hug - signature fake purple flames following its movements towards her, while the other awkwardly still grasped onto Vulres axe. Yet, from the impact, she did so gently enough to allow him to pry it from her faltering grasp. He couldn't help but glance towards the silver scythe blade as he did so - the mirrored metal showing a reflection of his dull steel helmet.
Slightly further from the trio, James let out some of a suppressed laugh while Cody made an attempt to silence him. They might have only been here the last thirty minutes at most, but it felt like a much longer time.