02-19-2015, 08:02 AM
Dio's satisfaction was plain to see, though the child had played at being naive he had dodged many of the traditional traps that were laid out for those types, and had proved by doing so that he was a bit more knowledgeable than he was letting on. However, when baited by Dio's own sampling of the cake, a statement of dominance and a reinforcement of his good will he had taken to it with gutso, devouring Dio's gift and even going as far as to compliment the chef. Something that Dio would allow a sigh for in the back of his mind, that he enjoyed it was merely one less thing for him to lie about later, Ceare was such a testy individual and he wasn't allowed to simply kill her for fear of earning the ire of the host's faction.
Hearing Aang speak up about The Tarrasque he would smirk a bit, he was curious now. That meant that his interest had already been piqued. Good, he could use another meat shield in his confrontation with that monster, just from the rumors he'd heard as he floated through the towns on his arrival had been enough to make even his skin crawl. Nothing that they had sent at it so far had even managed to do a little more than dent it, and even that didn't last long. However, Dio was confident in the new powers that were gradually suffusing his body as time passed, he had even begun to feel the flow of time itself lately, an astounding little fact that he was sure would be critical in securing the killing blow on that monster. However, Aang didn't need to know that, and Dio was operating on a very strict need to know basis on what he was handing out to Aang here. Thus, when he asked about the factions Dio would graciously allow that unimportant bit of information to slip.
"The factions of Dracula, and Darkshire are lead respectively by Dracula.. if that wasn't obvious, and Darkshire is lead by the self righteous and rather sanctimonious Paladin Argento. While I possess no love for that bastard in his keep, The Paladin kills our kind on sight. Thus, leaving the undead who end up here in The Pale Moors with no choice but to ally with him. As for not being able to ask Darkshire for help you are right. In their religious zealotry they have chosen to treat undead as monsters rather than people with identities. Thus even if the undead were to go to them waving a white flag they'd be met with nothing less than an all purging wave of holy fire."
He'd say, doing his best to appear the poor, wrongly persecuted, type to the boy. He had seemed apprehensive about the mere presence of blood, the idea of things like "Oppression" and "Tyranny" were doubtlessly things that would offend Aang's sensibilities, even if he was hiding his true nature underneath a veneer of happy go lucky attitude this would definitely be the kind of thing that would pluck at his heart strings. Thankful that the mask he wore made it much easier to hide expressions, the extreme wrinkling of his mouth enough to convey the intense disdain without betraying his true intentions, after all, even Dio had his limits when it came to lying and when it came to making himself pitiable even he would find it difficult to do so without betraying the true intentions behind his words.
Thankfully, Aang continued to press even when he had finished that statement, mentioning his lack of big goals, and how he was someone who wanted do something like "helping" people of his own free will. It was all Dio could do to stop himself from licking his chops like a wolf staring down prey, however, decades of practice in maintaining a false demeanor allowed Dio to master himself and his emotions to keep the mask beneath the mask as he'd continue.
"Yes, unfortunately however, those who have been attacked by the beast have nothing to offer us aside from spreading the fame of our name and their thanks. The beast leaves nothing in it's wake, so rather than reward this is a hunt of purpose. If what you said about wanting to help people is true then I'll gladly welcome you into the hunting party. However, I have to let you know that I'm not nearly so altruistic, by hunting it I, Dio, intend to prove myself the man who can make The Moors great again."
However, Dio quickly came to regret his decision as he realized another prime had been in waiting. Silently cursing Reaves for not making him aware as primes entered the building. Though Dio supposed he only had himself to blame for all of this. To say that Reaves was likely still mad about the highly public abuse was likely an understatement that even he, Dio, wouldn't be able to convey with complete sincerity.
Inwardly scowling he'd turn to Kuuzan smiling as best he could as he'd stand and pull a seat out for his guest, after all, while Dio was a remorseless bastard he was not a bad host by any means, anything that would reflect ill on him in the eyes of those at his stature was something of grave importance to Dio, he had been taught rather forcefully that even secondaries were threats to newly minted primes, forcing him to respect those who looked more at home here in The Omniverse, or well, to at least pretend to.
This didn't mean that Dio was about to let Kuuzan get off scot free for eavesdropping however. How could DIo forgive that kind of rudeness as a party host? Thus, he intended to at the very least rope Kuuzan into participating in the hunt, though. He had to keep quiet about the potential reward of an armament, that would be knowledge only for those he believed were worthy of wielding such a tool.
"Ah I see someone has keen ears, very well then. To ensure that you don't spoil the surprise for the rest of the party I'm going to have to ask that you take a seat with us here. If you want to help that's fine. I have a great need for powerful primes, and must admit that was part of the reason I invited so many here for free gourmet dining and a fine evening of dancing. However, I intend to make the announcement myself at the end of the event in front of all of the guests here. If you wouldn't mind allowing me my.. theatrics that is."
Dio would say holding the seat for a few moments before he'd return to his chair, leaving it open if Kuuzan didn't take the invitation. After all, it's not like Kuuzan would honestly believe he could get away with leaving now, especially given he had already offered his help and Dio had accepted. Though, Dio hated being forced into a corner like this. Being forced to accept the help of a man as obviously hardened as Kuuzan hear was far different than his efforts in recruiting the mindlessly altruistic Aang who was likely completely fine with the idea of facing down a building sized monster without compensation. Kuuzan here however, Dio could tell just by looking at him that this was a man who had spent his entire life dealing with evil, a man who had seen a million criminals and thieves pass before him like ash on the wind. Fooling him was going to be a completely different task compared to fooling Aang, and to be honest with himself, Dio wasn't sure if the lies he had told Aang would hold under the scrutiny that this man would put them under.
However, Dio was not about to give up! To him a challenge was merely something to be overcome, it did not intimidate him in the slightest. To see the icy glare of that man fall on him was surely bad luck, but it was nothing Dio did not believe he could not triumph over. Thus, with a chuckle he'd gesture towards a servant, the skeletal matrie d greeting him with a bow as Dio would order some formal entrees and two bottles of wine. Dio pausing as he considered something for a moment, Aang had already eaten some cake so it was likely he would only need something to drink to go with it, so Dio put in an order for some hot tea as well.
Returning to the table Dio would do his best to smirk in a manner that wasn't completely vile as he would survey the men arranged at the table, taking note of everything from how they sat, to their reactions when Dio's gaze met theirs, Dio probing for information for his next move as he would say.
"With that said, if you have any questions about how I intend to do this, I will be more than happy to give you the preliminary details that we've come up with so far. However, I must be 100% sure of your commitment. There are those in Darkshire who would see me dead just for existing, and I'd rather not leak my whereabouts to anyone on their side I wont be able to keep an eye on."
Hearing Aang speak up about The Tarrasque he would smirk a bit, he was curious now. That meant that his interest had already been piqued. Good, he could use another meat shield in his confrontation with that monster, just from the rumors he'd heard as he floated through the towns on his arrival had been enough to make even his skin crawl. Nothing that they had sent at it so far had even managed to do a little more than dent it, and even that didn't last long. However, Dio was confident in the new powers that were gradually suffusing his body as time passed, he had even begun to feel the flow of time itself lately, an astounding little fact that he was sure would be critical in securing the killing blow on that monster. However, Aang didn't need to know that, and Dio was operating on a very strict need to know basis on what he was handing out to Aang here. Thus, when he asked about the factions Dio would graciously allow that unimportant bit of information to slip.
"The factions of Dracula, and Darkshire are lead respectively by Dracula.. if that wasn't obvious, and Darkshire is lead by the self righteous and rather sanctimonious Paladin Argento. While I possess no love for that bastard in his keep, The Paladin kills our kind on sight. Thus, leaving the undead who end up here in The Pale Moors with no choice but to ally with him. As for not being able to ask Darkshire for help you are right. In their religious zealotry they have chosen to treat undead as monsters rather than people with identities. Thus even if the undead were to go to them waving a white flag they'd be met with nothing less than an all purging wave of holy fire."
He'd say, doing his best to appear the poor, wrongly persecuted, type to the boy. He had seemed apprehensive about the mere presence of blood, the idea of things like "Oppression" and "Tyranny" were doubtlessly things that would offend Aang's sensibilities, even if he was hiding his true nature underneath a veneer of happy go lucky attitude this would definitely be the kind of thing that would pluck at his heart strings. Thankful that the mask he wore made it much easier to hide expressions, the extreme wrinkling of his mouth enough to convey the intense disdain without betraying his true intentions, after all, even Dio had his limits when it came to lying and when it came to making himself pitiable even he would find it difficult to do so without betraying the true intentions behind his words.
Thankfully, Aang continued to press even when he had finished that statement, mentioning his lack of big goals, and how he was someone who wanted do something like "helping" people of his own free will. It was all Dio could do to stop himself from licking his chops like a wolf staring down prey, however, decades of practice in maintaining a false demeanor allowed Dio to master himself and his emotions to keep the mask beneath the mask as he'd continue.
"Yes, unfortunately however, those who have been attacked by the beast have nothing to offer us aside from spreading the fame of our name and their thanks. The beast leaves nothing in it's wake, so rather than reward this is a hunt of purpose. If what you said about wanting to help people is true then I'll gladly welcome you into the hunting party. However, I have to let you know that I'm not nearly so altruistic, by hunting it I, Dio, intend to prove myself the man who can make The Moors great again."
However, Dio quickly came to regret his decision as he realized another prime had been in waiting. Silently cursing Reaves for not making him aware as primes entered the building. Though Dio supposed he only had himself to blame for all of this. To say that Reaves was likely still mad about the highly public abuse was likely an understatement that even he, Dio, wouldn't be able to convey with complete sincerity.
Inwardly scowling he'd turn to Kuuzan smiling as best he could as he'd stand and pull a seat out for his guest, after all, while Dio was a remorseless bastard he was not a bad host by any means, anything that would reflect ill on him in the eyes of those at his stature was something of grave importance to Dio, he had been taught rather forcefully that even secondaries were threats to newly minted primes, forcing him to respect those who looked more at home here in The Omniverse, or well, to at least pretend to.
This didn't mean that Dio was about to let Kuuzan get off scot free for eavesdropping however. How could DIo forgive that kind of rudeness as a party host? Thus, he intended to at the very least rope Kuuzan into participating in the hunt, though. He had to keep quiet about the potential reward of an armament, that would be knowledge only for those he believed were worthy of wielding such a tool.
"Ah I see someone has keen ears, very well then. To ensure that you don't spoil the surprise for the rest of the party I'm going to have to ask that you take a seat with us here. If you want to help that's fine. I have a great need for powerful primes, and must admit that was part of the reason I invited so many here for free gourmet dining and a fine evening of dancing. However, I intend to make the announcement myself at the end of the event in front of all of the guests here. If you wouldn't mind allowing me my.. theatrics that is."
Dio would say holding the seat for a few moments before he'd return to his chair, leaving it open if Kuuzan didn't take the invitation. After all, it's not like Kuuzan would honestly believe he could get away with leaving now, especially given he had already offered his help and Dio had accepted. Though, Dio hated being forced into a corner like this. Being forced to accept the help of a man as obviously hardened as Kuuzan hear was far different than his efforts in recruiting the mindlessly altruistic Aang who was likely completely fine with the idea of facing down a building sized monster without compensation. Kuuzan here however, Dio could tell just by looking at him that this was a man who had spent his entire life dealing with evil, a man who had seen a million criminals and thieves pass before him like ash on the wind. Fooling him was going to be a completely different task compared to fooling Aang, and to be honest with himself, Dio wasn't sure if the lies he had told Aang would hold under the scrutiny that this man would put them under.
However, Dio was not about to give up! To him a challenge was merely something to be overcome, it did not intimidate him in the slightest. To see the icy glare of that man fall on him was surely bad luck, but it was nothing Dio did not believe he could not triumph over. Thus, with a chuckle he'd gesture towards a servant, the skeletal matrie d greeting him with a bow as Dio would order some formal entrees and two bottles of wine. Dio pausing as he considered something for a moment, Aang had already eaten some cake so it was likely he would only need something to drink to go with it, so Dio put in an order for some hot tea as well.
Returning to the table Dio would do his best to smirk in a manner that wasn't completely vile as he would survey the men arranged at the table, taking note of everything from how they sat, to their reactions when Dio's gaze met theirs, Dio probing for information for his next move as he would say.
"With that said, if you have any questions about how I intend to do this, I will be more than happy to give you the preliminary details that we've come up with so far. However, I must be 100% sure of your commitment. There are those in Darkshire who would see me dead just for existing, and I'd rather not leak my whereabouts to anyone on their side I wont be able to keep an eye on."