Chapter Two
There was a single, blinding light. Envy tried to move his arms, but couldn't manage to pull himself free. It wasn't just that he was being restrained, but that his limbs wouldn't respond. Something cold ran across his forehead, following the icy instrument was a stinging sensation. Afterward was a crunching sound, one that vibrated his entire skull. He managed to clench his teeth together as the voices above him began to chatter. While he recognized some of the words, he could not link them into sentences.
A hand rested on his forehead, even colder than the instrument from earlier. He jerked his arm up, and clutched onto the hand as his eyes tore open. He could see a blonde woman's face through the moonlight that crept in through their windows, fear and embarrassment mingling in her blue eyes.
"…Envy?" He retained his grip on her wrist as she froze, the woman leaning over him. He released her as she pulled her hand away and held her wrist.
"You were sweating….and grinding your teeth….I was just checking your temper-" Lust's voice cut off as Envy sat up in bed, rubbing his face.
"….What time is it, Lust?"
"Not quite 4." She remained sitting on the edge of Envy's bed, her gaze moving from him toward the moonlit window. "…Were you having a nightmare again?" Her empty gaze moved back to Envy. "You don't have to tell me if you would rather not talk about it."
Envy remained sitting, now unable to surrender himself to sleep. "Yeah, I already can't remember what it was about though. Something about light." Even his voice sounded unsure, as if the man had forgotten himself already. There was an awkward silence between the two of them as Envy glanced over to Sloth's bed. She was still sound asleep.
As he did, he could feel the blanket on the bed tug towards Lust. "…I think I'll go outside." Lust pushed herself off of the bed and quietly made her way around Sloth and back to her own bed. She knelt down next to her clothing coffer and the latch popped open. Seeing her pull her nightgown over her head, Envy rolled out of bed. His own coffer popped open. At the sound of the click, Sloth stirred from her rest. She let out a sleepy moan, then rolled over toward Envy. Still in his boxers, Envy turned to her as she awoke.
"Where are you going?" Her voice was groggy, and still easing out of sleep. Envy dug out his brigadine harness and a pair of slops, then set them on his bed.
"For a walk, can't sleep." Sloth sat up and looked to her left at Lust, who was almost fully dressed already. Lust slunk down like a freshly beaten dog as Sloth climbed out of bed.
"We'll wait." Envy passed Sloth, making his way out of the bunk just behind Lust. Lust gazed over the man as he leaned against the wall. Even when not wearing his uniform, he still had a scarf covering his face. This one was green though, as opposed to the pale blue one he wore with his training outfit. His eyes seemed to make their way down toward the red carpet that lead from their quarters to the hall's grand entrance as the gears in his mind churned. While they were a vibrant blue like her's, they still managed to seem dull through their emotionlessness.
"….Envy?" He slowly turned his gaze toward her, his tired eyes meeting her's. "Something is bothering you…is it the dream?" Envy broke eye contact with her as his vision refocused on the carpet.
"The dream….it's like I remember something about it for just a moment, but then it's gone. It's like I'm forgetting something important…" He paused for a moment, then looked back to Lust. "And I don't remember anything before meeting you and Sloth. But there had to be something before that, right?"
Lust settled next to him on the wall, leaning against it as he did. She hesitated before speaking again. "Something from before?"
Envy nodded. "Something from before we met. Who were we? Did we know each other? Did I have anyone waiting for me?" He looked up at her again, his face devoid of any emotion. He was looking to her for answers, ones she could not give.
"But would it really be that bad if we stayed here? We would still have each other. You, me…." Envy turned to her as she spoke, his gaze making her burn as she stuttered out another name. "…..and Sloth. The three of us." They remained motionless for another moment, their eyes interlocked as if waiting for some kind of signal from each other That signal was interrupted as the door opens, with Lust responding by quickly hopping away from Envy as both of their attentions turned to Sloth.
The red haired woman smiled as she approached Envy, caught his wrist, and began pulling him along. "Come on Lust! Don't make me drag both of you along!" Quickly followed the two of them into the market streets. While it was early morning, several of the merchants were already setting up shop, and several of the mouse-like beastmen scurried through the streets. While people kept their distance when they were in their training uniforms, no one appeared to link the three of them to the ones tearing apart the Mamool the previous day.
The early morning was crisp and cold, the sun only now beginning to peak out from behind the tea house the trio was seated at. Sloth appeared to be the most upbeat of the three, laughing between sips of her coffee and mouthfuls of pine cake After having done a lap around Whitegate, they had stopped at the only place that appeared open. Several people came in for the same thing as Sloth, likely a daily wake up routine for some. Lust on the other hand, appeared uneasy. Her fingers massaged her coffee mug, as her eyes darted back and forth from Sloth to the drink in her own hands. Occasionally she would glance at Envy after taking a sip of the hot liquid.
"Envy?" He quickly turned from Lust, back to Sloth as their eyes met. "Have you tried the Pine cake yet?" The red haired man glanced down at Sloth's plate, a small piece of the yellow confection remaining. Impaling it on her fork, Sloth offered it to him.
"I'm not really a sweets perso-" At that moment, the fork slipped into his mouth. Since having a tongue piercing did not sound appealing, he did not resist. The cake had a sweet, nutty flavor, it was actually pretty good. "…Huh…I'll have to get one next time." Sloth grinned as she set the fork down on her plate.
Lust continued staring into her drink as the two of them conversed, then took a large gulp to finish her now cooling coffee. "We should probably get back…Greed'll be mad if we're late for role call. We're really not even supposed to be out here."
"Oh, you're not fun." Sloth waved dismissively at Lust, as the blonde's eyes crept toward Envy, starving for approval.
"She's right, let's head back. If we don't screw up and show up late, maybe we can do this again tomorrow" He pulled his scarf up over his mouth as he stood from his seat, then glanced toward the exit to the tea house
Greed had been just stepping out of the Imperial Whitegate as the three approached He scowled at them through his mask, lightening his expression as he saw Sloth smile and wave at him. "You three aren't trying to play hooky, are you?" Sloth lead her peers, approaching Greed first as she responded.
"I prefer 'team building exercises' myself." Greed's response to Sloth's answer was likely hidden by his mask, but he apparently decided to drop the conversation there.
Upon entering the gates, Wrath was already waiting in the main hall of the palace. The halls were lavish to say the least, but Lust was not terribly fond of them. They felt oppressive, like every move she made within them were being monitored and judged, to which they likely were. She could not help but stand at attention within them, unlike Envy who slouched against the wall. Now wearing his training uniform that identified him as an Imperial, but not an Immortal. The scarf was pulled up over his mouth as usual, as he seemed to stare off into space. It was difficult to read him like that, since he always appeared depressed when he wasn't fighting.
Her and Sloth stood straight as Wrath approached, only giving them a glance before he responded with an "At ease." Pride exited from the Empress’s chamber a few minutes later, grinning out of the corner of his mouth. He rubbed his blonde beard as he approached the other five, standing nearly a foot taller than the rest of them. The size differences even seemed appropriate to her.
"Good morning. Wrath has lined up some new training missions for you, but first I wanted to talk a little more about yesterday." He approached the three of them as Wrath stepped out of his way. Greed leaned against the back door and crossed his arms, tapping his foot against the stone floor.
"First, Lust. While I wanted to see you in action out there, you barely even raised a finger while fighting. While I was somewhat disappointed, your ability to turn the enemy on itself is commendable. You did very well, and probably could have stayed out there all day. You are very resourceful, good job." He set his large, strong hand on her head as he said 'very well.' Lust could feel a warm wave of accomplishment as he did so. She felt like a child being praised by her father, and her skin tinted a rosy shade of red.
Seeing her reaction, he grinned a little wider, and pet her before moving along. "Envy, you probably have more spirit than any of us, and that's a mixed blessing. If you could manage to control your emotions out there, you might end up being one of the best melee fighters we've had.
Even on par with Wrath. I am concerned though about your lack of focus, but still, good job protecting Sloth."
Pride put his hands behind his back and approached Sloth, he took a breath and sighed before continuing. "Finally, Sloth. Sloth, if Envy hadn't been dancing around you as he was, you would have never stood a chance. We need to work on your concentration, to find a way to enable you to channel faster. But even with that, you are truly something special. I have never seen someone master spells quite like you have." Pride rubbed his beard, then continued. 'Your ability to mix spells like that, to not only copy an ability but to IMPROVE it, is unquestionably amazing. My brother may even need to watch his position, at this rate I could see you becoming my number two. Isn't that right, Greed?"
Greed shrugged from his position against the door. "Should I clear out my bunk now, or wait until she tears my legs off?"
Pride smiled again, then put his hands behind his back once more as he approached Wrath. "So what did you have planned for the newest members of our little family?"
Wrath crumpled a sheet of paper in his hand and set it into his pocket. "Greed had suggested I set The three of them together, but after expression your concerns, I think a rewrite is in order." Pride raised an eyebrow as he glanced over toward Greed, who was now approaching the two of them. "I believe that Sloth should accompany me for some combat training, while Lust and Envy should accompany Greed into the Marsh for the original mission."
Pride nodded, still retaining his gentle smile. "Very good, I think I'll take the day off and follow you two. I haven't sparred in quite some time, maybe the two of us could give her a demonstration." Wrath nodded once.
"As you wish."
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- The Sin That is Envy
Chapter Three
Something about Greed made her uneasy. But the silver lining to the situation would be getting to spend time with Envy without Sloth looming over them. While Lust had no dislike for her female comrade, she had spent very little time alone with Envy. He was a puzzle box, and if she could get him to open up, Lust might have someone to confide in. He always appeared to listen when she needed to talk to someone, but for all she knew, he simply tuned her out.
Her wraps hid her emotions from her companions as the ferry creaked out of the Dock of Whitegate. Envy took to the top deck immediately, something Greed did not appear to oppose. The gold masked man leaned against one of the supply barrels and thumbed through a small book, glancing once at Lust before returning to his reading. She decided it would be better to follow Envy up the stairs.
Upon opening the doors, a gust of salty air washed over them. The noon-light made the waters beyond the capital gleam, blue and infinite aside from the few rocks and structures that managed to hold themselves above the lapping waves. On deck, a large blue crab scuffled out of the humes' way as they exited the double doors.
Envy approached the side of the ship, leaning against the safety ropes. Apparently whatever he had dreamed of the previous night was still eating away at him. She approached, not exactly sure how to begin a conversation, or what direction to even try to steer it in. A distraction might serve better than attempting to comfort him today.
As her mind shuffled for an answer, the crab managed to catch her attention. Wild animal or not, within a few seconds it was tame enough to eat out of her hand. Lust knelt down next to the crustacean as its two eye stalks looked her over. Picking some sea weed out from between the crab's armor plates, she spotted something stuck to it that was the answer to her query. Lust whispered her plan to her new accomplice
"…Are you still feeling down, Envy?" Envy responded with a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a grunt. "Even the crab doesn't like seeing you like this." On her mark, the crab poked at Envy's leg. He turned his gaze downward at the creature as it offered something to him.
Envy took the small shell and looked it over as the crab scurried back to Lust's side. He looked over the dull shell, then back to Lust. Lust then pocketed the opposite half of the clam shell after giving Envy just enough time to see it. She tried to hold back a smile when Envy did the same. They grew quiet once more, only the waters acting as a buffer until this time Envy spoke.
"What do you think they're going to have us do after all of this? All of the training and practice missions?" He turned back toward the waters, once again leaning against the ropes.
"Guard the Empress I guess…" Lust sat down on the wooden deck as the crab wandered nearby. "Maybe we'll get sent out to assist the generals during the attacks?"
"And after that? What do you think their retirement plan is like?" While it might have been made in jest, something obviously bothered Envy after he spoke that line. "…In fact, I haven't heard of anyone retiring, or quitting for that matter…" Lust decided not to take it further, as nothing good would come from this conversation. While trying to distract Envy from his current worry, she merely introduced another. The New silence hung overhead until the ferry pulled into Nashemaru.
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As the boat pulled into the harbor, Envy stepping off the ship's railing into the ten foot drop that lead to the dock. Greed stepped through the door a moment later, his face churning in disgust at the red haired Immortal's exit of the craft. Lust put her foot on the rail to follow Envy, but immediately lowered it after Greed glared though is mask toward the two of them. As she passed him, he punted her pet crab off of the deck and back into the sea.
"No class…." Greed muttered as Envy hopped over the divider rope and entered the city. Lust continued to follow her red haired companion as they exited into the mire, taking no heed to the Qiqirn that tugged at their clothes and tried to peddle their wares
. Today was to be special, they were going to take in the essence of something they had been specifically not to up to this point. They were to serve as test subjects for Sloth, to make sure the newest three could all handle a taste of undeath.
There had been no attempt by Greed to hide it, Sloth was his favorite of the three. While he often ignored Lust, it was perhaps better that way if it meant Greed did not feel to her as he did Envy. There was something between the two of them, Greed had no love for his brother in arms.
While today she would be his favorite due to circumstance, even that thought made her skin crawl. Upon exiting the gate, Envy drew his swords, continuing to walk through the tall grass and muddy earth. "That's far enough." Envy stopped as Greed spoke, but did not turn to look at him. He stood like a hunting dog, waiting for the 'kill' command.
Greed brushed the moisture of the mist from his uniform as he began to brief them, reading from a parchment given to him by Wrath. "Today the two of you will be fighting as a team. The targets are any undead, Imps, or Chimera you find. This includes the Lamia. Lust, you are not to use any familiars unless Greed says otherwise." Greed's eye left the paper. "Envy shall be your mutt for now."
Envy turned to face her, the blue scarf covering his mouth as usual. "What do you want to start with?" His voice was still dull, emotionless.
"Imps sound easy enough for a warmup…" As she responded, Greed shook his head.
"If we're coming all the way out here, we're not wasting the evening on Imps." Greed wadded up the parchment and tossed it into the soggy mire. "We're hunting Lamia. They are bound to have enough undead for our needs."
Envy gave a partial shrug, then crouched as he entered the shrubbery and weeds. While she hoped he would deny her request, Lust felt obligated to ask. "Are you coming? Greed?"
"I'll catch up." As he spoke, the gold masked Immortal leaned against a tree and examined his nails.
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Lust had managed to absorb an Imp before they found their initial target. The fight had been easy, consisting of Envy holding the small demon down as it freneticly flailed and screamed. While she felt guilty admitting it, Lust did enjoy finishing it off as Envy pinned it to the ground. Maybe it was the feeling of power, of control, or possibly she was merely picking up on how much her companion enjoyed fighting.
Aside from a few minor skirmishes, the evening was mostly quiet. And until this moment, they had not managed to encounter one of the Chimera. The two of them crouched low into the mud as the unmistakable clatter of bones echoed from one of the caves.
The first to step out was covered in a thin layer of mold and mud. The skeleton held a partisan ready, seemingly oblivious that the tip of is weapon had snapped off long ago. His jaw hung open, as he marched forward blindly into the mire while the second Draugar followed. Visually similar, this one held two short swords. Finally, the third figure emerged with a serpent-like grace.
She was tall and slender, her flesh whiter than the bones of either of the skeletons. A pair of gnarled claws tightly clutched her staff as her red eyes darted back and forth. She pointed the tip of her staff at some unseen foe, preparing to unleash a barrage of magic upon whatever leapt out at her.
"Lamia…" The words escaped Lust's lips and Envy lowered himself into the muddy soup that was the mire. With how close they were, a well aimed thundaga would would take care of both herself and Envy. Lust followed suit, waiting for their opportunity to strike. Stealth was going to be the key to-
The lamia screamed, clutching her side as two more Draugar exited the cave. Both wielded scythes, likely mages. "Let the games begin!" Greed stood on top of an outcrop as he caught his thrown chakram, smeared with chimera blood. The Draugar snapped to attention, noticing relatively quickly that Lust and Envy were the closest targets. Envy rolled forward, catching himself near the end and managing to stagger his way to his feet. The Partisan wielding skeleton approached first, jabbing at his midsection with the blunted weapon as the red haired fighter unsheathed his own swords.
Lust stayed in position, but slowly rose to her feet as the Draugar focused on Envy. The two mages were beginning to cast, and he was going to rely on her to stop them. She clutched her chakram, then took aim.
Envy sidestepped the skeleton's weapon as he drove his first sword into the Draugar's ribs. Twisting the blade so that it locked into the undead, he yanked it forward and decapitated the skeleton with his offhand. Envy glanced to his right to see one of the mages glaring at him through its empty eye sockets, prepping a ball of lightening. Just before it opened its arms to unleash a spell,a chakram sliced through the bushes, hitting the skeleton square in the temple of its skull. There was a crack, but the Draugar's skull remained attached to the undead's neck. Both mages turned toward the bushes as Lust exploded from the weeds. While she had little strength behind her attacks, her speed more than made up for it. Severing the tendon that held the Draugar's vertebrae together, the mage fell to the ground.
The second mage switched targets, readying a fireball for Lust as she recovered from her last strike. She set her sword into her belt as the blonde charged forward, freneticly ripping at the skeleton with her bare hands. Before the Immortal even realized what she was doing, the Draugar was in a dozen pieces at her feet, in slightly worse condition than the final one, which Envy now stood over. All that was left now, was the lamia.
Envy stepped into the cave first, it was his turn to feed on a creature's essence. The lamia had made her way to the back of the cave, still holding the oozing wound that Greed had given her. She held her staff out defensively, as if it was going to defend her from either of her assailants.
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Lamia #84 winced in pain, sucking air through her teeth as the two Immortals stood over her. The male clutched his fist as several of the bones in his hand popped. He reached for her, resting the palm of his hand on her face. She had seen them do this before, and it always resulted in death of the victim. His grip tightened. Even this though would have been preferable to the alternative.
"…I'm n-not going back…" Her voice trembled, as she strained to contain her fear.
The Immortal held her face tightly, only a moment away from finishing her off. "What was that?" His voice was dry, with no emotion. But what else would she expect from a walking weapon?
"I said…I said I'm not going back to the Empire…we aren't toolsss…" His grip loosened, if only slightly. Apparently something she said had bothered him, and at the moment it appeared to be the best way to buy a few seconds. "Th-they use us and then throw us away! Like….like dull swordsss!"
The Immortal held his grip as her vision faded. She was unsure of the reason. Perhaps it was fear, or possibly the blood loss, or maybe he was drawing her essence out. But it didn't matter at the moment, all that mattered was the darkness that took her.
Something about Greed made her uneasy. But the silver lining to the situation would be getting to spend time with Envy without Sloth looming over them. While Lust had no dislike for her female comrade, she had spent very little time alone with Envy. He was a puzzle box, and if she could get him to open up, Lust might have someone to confide in. He always appeared to listen when she needed to talk to someone, but for all she knew, he simply tuned her out.
Her wraps hid her emotions from her companions as the ferry creaked out of the Dock of Whitegate. Envy took to the top deck immediately, something Greed did not appear to oppose. The gold masked man leaned against one of the supply barrels and thumbed through a small book, glancing once at Lust before returning to his reading. She decided it would be better to follow Envy up the stairs.
Upon opening the doors, a gust of salty air washed over them. The noon-light made the waters beyond the capital gleam, blue and infinite aside from the few rocks and structures that managed to hold themselves above the lapping waves. On deck, a large blue crab scuffled out of the humes' way as they exited the double doors.
Envy approached the side of the ship, leaning against the safety ropes. Apparently whatever he had dreamed of the previous night was still eating away at him. She approached, not exactly sure how to begin a conversation, or what direction to even try to steer it in. A distraction might serve better than attempting to comfort him today.
As her mind shuffled for an answer, the crab managed to catch her attention. Wild animal or not, within a few seconds it was tame enough to eat out of her hand. Lust knelt down next to the crustacean as its two eye stalks looked her over. Picking some sea weed out from between the crab's armor plates, she spotted something stuck to it that was the answer to her query. Lust whispered her plan to her new accomplice
"…Are you still feeling down, Envy?" Envy responded with a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a grunt. "Even the crab doesn't like seeing you like this." On her mark, the crab poked at Envy's leg. He turned his gaze downward at the creature as it offered something to him.
Envy took the small shell and looked it over as the crab scurried back to Lust's side. He looked over the dull shell, then back to Lust. Lust then pocketed the opposite half of the clam shell after giving Envy just enough time to see it. She tried to hold back a smile when Envy did the same. They grew quiet once more, only the waters acting as a buffer until this time Envy spoke.
"What do you think they're going to have us do after all of this? All of the training and practice missions?" He turned back toward the waters, once again leaning against the ropes.
"Guard the Empress I guess…" Lust sat down on the wooden deck as the crab wandered nearby. "Maybe we'll get sent out to assist the generals during the attacks?"
"And after that? What do you think their retirement plan is like?" While it might have been made in jest, something obviously bothered Envy after he spoke that line. "…In fact, I haven't heard of anyone retiring, or quitting for that matter…" Lust decided not to take it further, as nothing good would come from this conversation. While trying to distract Envy from his current worry, she merely introduced another. The New silence hung overhead until the ferry pulled into Nashemaru.
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As the boat pulled into the harbor, Envy stepping off the ship's railing into the ten foot drop that lead to the dock. Greed stepped through the door a moment later, his face churning in disgust at the red haired Immortal's exit of the craft. Lust put her foot on the rail to follow Envy, but immediately lowered it after Greed glared though is mask toward the two of them. As she passed him, he punted her pet crab off of the deck and back into the sea.
"No class…." Greed muttered as Envy hopped over the divider rope and entered the city. Lust continued to follow her red haired companion as they exited into the mire, taking no heed to the Qiqirn that tugged at their clothes and tried to peddle their wares
. Today was to be special, they were going to take in the essence of something they had been specifically not to up to this point. They were to serve as test subjects for Sloth, to make sure the newest three could all handle a taste of undeath.
There had been no attempt by Greed to hide it, Sloth was his favorite of the three. While he often ignored Lust, it was perhaps better that way if it meant Greed did not feel to her as he did Envy. There was something between the two of them, Greed had no love for his brother in arms.
While today she would be his favorite due to circumstance, even that thought made her skin crawl. Upon exiting the gate, Envy drew his swords, continuing to walk through the tall grass and muddy earth. "That's far enough." Envy stopped as Greed spoke, but did not turn to look at him. He stood like a hunting dog, waiting for the 'kill' command.
Greed brushed the moisture of the mist from his uniform as he began to brief them, reading from a parchment given to him by Wrath. "Today the two of you will be fighting as a team. The targets are any undead, Imps, or Chimera you find. This includes the Lamia. Lust, you are not to use any familiars unless Greed says otherwise." Greed's eye left the paper. "Envy shall be your mutt for now."
Envy turned to face her, the blue scarf covering his mouth as usual. "What do you want to start with?" His voice was still dull, emotionless.
"Imps sound easy enough for a warmup…" As she responded, Greed shook his head.
"If we're coming all the way out here, we're not wasting the evening on Imps." Greed wadded up the parchment and tossed it into the soggy mire. "We're hunting Lamia. They are bound to have enough undead for our needs."
Envy gave a partial shrug, then crouched as he entered the shrubbery and weeds. While she hoped he would deny her request, Lust felt obligated to ask. "Are you coming? Greed?"
"I'll catch up." As he spoke, the gold masked Immortal leaned against a tree and examined his nails.
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Lust had managed to absorb an Imp before they found their initial target. The fight had been easy, consisting of Envy holding the small demon down as it freneticly flailed and screamed. While she felt guilty admitting it, Lust did enjoy finishing it off as Envy pinned it to the ground. Maybe it was the feeling of power, of control, or possibly she was merely picking up on how much her companion enjoyed fighting.
Aside from a few minor skirmishes, the evening was mostly quiet. And until this moment, they had not managed to encounter one of the Chimera. The two of them crouched low into the mud as the unmistakable clatter of bones echoed from one of the caves.
The first to step out was covered in a thin layer of mold and mud. The skeleton held a partisan ready, seemingly oblivious that the tip of is weapon had snapped off long ago. His jaw hung open, as he marched forward blindly into the mire while the second Draugar followed. Visually similar, this one held two short swords. Finally, the third figure emerged with a serpent-like grace.
She was tall and slender, her flesh whiter than the bones of either of the skeletons. A pair of gnarled claws tightly clutched her staff as her red eyes darted back and forth. She pointed the tip of her staff at some unseen foe, preparing to unleash a barrage of magic upon whatever leapt out at her.
"Lamia…" The words escaped Lust's lips and Envy lowered himself into the muddy soup that was the mire. With how close they were, a well aimed thundaga would would take care of both herself and Envy. Lust followed suit, waiting for their opportunity to strike. Stealth was going to be the key to-
The lamia screamed, clutching her side as two more Draugar exited the cave. Both wielded scythes, likely mages. "Let the games begin!" Greed stood on top of an outcrop as he caught his thrown chakram, smeared with chimera blood. The Draugar snapped to attention, noticing relatively quickly that Lust and Envy were the closest targets. Envy rolled forward, catching himself near the end and managing to stagger his way to his feet. The Partisan wielding skeleton approached first, jabbing at his midsection with the blunted weapon as the red haired fighter unsheathed his own swords.
Lust stayed in position, but slowly rose to her feet as the Draugar focused on Envy. The two mages were beginning to cast, and he was going to rely on her to stop them. She clutched her chakram, then took aim.
Envy sidestepped the skeleton's weapon as he drove his first sword into the Draugar's ribs. Twisting the blade so that it locked into the undead, he yanked it forward and decapitated the skeleton with his offhand. Envy glanced to his right to see one of the mages glaring at him through its empty eye sockets, prepping a ball of lightening. Just before it opened its arms to unleash a spell,a chakram sliced through the bushes, hitting the skeleton square in the temple of its skull. There was a crack, but the Draugar's skull remained attached to the undead's neck. Both mages turned toward the bushes as Lust exploded from the weeds. While she had little strength behind her attacks, her speed more than made up for it. Severing the tendon that held the Draugar's vertebrae together, the mage fell to the ground.
The second mage switched targets, readying a fireball for Lust as she recovered from her last strike. She set her sword into her belt as the blonde charged forward, freneticly ripping at the skeleton with her bare hands. Before the Immortal even realized what she was doing, the Draugar was in a dozen pieces at her feet, in slightly worse condition than the final one, which Envy now stood over. All that was left now, was the lamia.
Envy stepped into the cave first, it was his turn to feed on a creature's essence. The lamia had made her way to the back of the cave, still holding the oozing wound that Greed had given her. She held her staff out defensively, as if it was going to defend her from either of her assailants.
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Lamia #84 winced in pain, sucking air through her teeth as the two Immortals stood over her. The male clutched his fist as several of the bones in his hand popped. He reached for her, resting the palm of his hand on her face. She had seen them do this before, and it always resulted in death of the victim. His grip tightened. Even this though would have been preferable to the alternative.
"…I'm n-not going back…" Her voice trembled, as she strained to contain her fear.
The Immortal held her face tightly, only a moment away from finishing her off. "What was that?" His voice was dry, with no emotion. But what else would she expect from a walking weapon?
"I said…I said I'm not going back to the Empire…we aren't toolsss…" His grip loosened, if only slightly. Apparently something she said had bothered him, and at the moment it appeared to be the best way to buy a few seconds. "Th-they use us and then throw us away! Like….like dull swordsss!"
The Immortal held his grip as her vision faded. She was unsure of the reason. Perhaps it was fear, or possibly the blood loss, or maybe he was drawing her essence out. But it didn't matter at the moment, all that mattered was the darkness that took her.
Awww I actually felt bad for the poor monster…!
To be an interesting, intriguing, well-written character, there needs to be something to allow the audience to relate to them. That is what the problem is with who wants their character to be "perfect". Perfect characters will never be strong, and strong characters will never be perfect, because WE (those who read, who watch, who RP) are not perfect.
"What makes a strong character is how they deal with their flaws, their fears, their turmoils, their troubles that get in the way. That's what makes them relatable." – Doug Walker
"What makes a strong character is how they deal with their flaws, their fears, their turmoils, their troubles that get in the way. That's what makes them relatable." – Doug Walker
Chapter Four
Lust watched her companion release the Lamia, who crumpled to the ground. Envy gazed at his own palm, before shifting his gaze toward her. There had been no light show.
"I-Is something wrong?" Lust stuttered the words out as Envy remained still.
"Did you hear what she said? About being used?" Their talk from earlier…that comment must have hit a cord with Envy. He examined the unconscious Lamia at his feet. "…What did you mean by…"
Before he could finish, Greed's voice echoed through the mouth of the cave. "Hurry up you two, I don't want to be in this mud pit all day."
Lust looked over at Envy, waiting for some kind of signal from him. He in turn, looked back at the downed Lamia. She could tell he wanted to stay, to interrogate her. But that wouldn't be an option at the moment. Greed would have both of their heads if he saw them 'take pity' on the enemy.
She leaned in, putting her hand on Envy's shoulder and whispered to him. "We can come back." While she couldn't see his expression from under his scarf, she could feel him smile at her. The two of them turned and exited the cave.
Greed awaited them outside of the cave, along with the remains of the skeletons. He stood with his hands on his hips, glaring down his nose at the two of them. "Get what we came for so we can leave."
Lust leaned down, picking up one of the still rattling skulls. The jaw continued to move, trying to bite at her fingers as she handled it. Clutching the skull tightly, she concentrated on the empty eye sockets as she pulled whatever constituted as a 'soul' out of the creature. At first it was quiet sobbing, but within seconds the skull's silent screams echoed inside of Lust's head. She dropped the bones as they hit the ground motionlessly, clutching her own head as the skeleton screamed in absolute fury. She covered her ears to no effect, the sound was coming from inside her own head. Lust let out a whine, feeling a hand holding her shoulder. The sounds from the undead were so loud that the swamp around her spun. She began coughing heavily, her stomach spasming as the shrieking somehow became louder.
The ordeal had lasted for about 15 minutes, with her vomiting twice before the screaming became sobbing again, a welcome change. Envy had been the one trying to comfort her as Greed filed his nails against a tree. Her first absorption had been a similar experience, but while that was like being hit by a Goobbue, this was more like one of the giant Khimera. Either way, she was done, it was over. Now was Envy's turn. He reacted similarly, luckily now knowing in advance to tie his hair back. About another 13 minutes was consumed with Envy being unable to stand, Greed continuing his indifference toward them as she patted his back and held his hair away from his face.
Before Envy even had time to prop himself up, Greed was rushing them to move on. The last ferry was to leave in 30 minutes, and he vowed to be on it with or without them.
"…Then go." Lust hadn't even realized what she until Greed responded.
"What was that, Lust?" Her blood ran cold as she continued to hold Envy's hair in case he lost his lunch again.
"W-well, it's the last ferry…and Envy's still not ready to move. I'll stay with him, and you can return to the capital. We'll catch the first ferry back in the morning. Would that be Okay?" Lust thought she had managed to save that pretty well. Especially since Greed appeared to be considering it.
"Impossible. Pride would not approve of this."
"Then we won't tell Pride." Greed grinned as Lust said exactly what he wanted to hear.
"In that case, I'll be off. But I expect a full report back in the morning, as well as a few new….'acquires' before you get back." He pushed himself off of the tree, and began his trip back to Nashemaru.
"….I'll let you acquire my boot in your snooty ass…" Envy muttered and spit, still likely tasting stomach acid. Lust helped him up as he glared back at the cave. Fortunately, the chimera had not made her way to the mouth yet, nor had she already succumb to her wounds. Leaning against the cave wall for support, he lead the two of them back to the Lamia. Aside from a chigoe picking at her wound, she was exactly like they had left her.
Lust caught the Chigoe's attention as it began hopping happily toward her, only to end up under her boot with a gooey crunch. She had a soft spot for the animals of Vanadiel, but chigoe were not 'animals.' They were disease incarnate.
Envy removed the wraps from his head, looking down at the Lamia. "Lust, help me wrap that wound."
She hesitated, some basic first aid coming to mind. "S-shouldn't we clean it first?"
"With what? The water around here?" Envy had a point, but Lust had a plan. She reached into the satchel on her hip, separating a small vial of distilled water from the potions and remedies it also contained. While it wasn't the best for drinking, it did have its uses. "…Clever girl."
Envy began shredding his wraps, as Lust wet a piece of the white cloth and began cleaning the chimera's wound. While this wasn't what she had in mind for 'bonding time' but anytime without Greed was more than she had hoped for. She remained silent as they wrapped the serpent's wound. This was the first time she had actually been so close to one of the chimera while they were still alive. Now that it wasn't try to kill her, Lust couldn't help but notice how much the lamia resembled a hume woman.
"Lust…" She turned toward her companion as she spoke, his dull eyes upon her. "Let's see about setting up a camp."
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The darkness of the mire made Lust uneasy. At any moment, a wall of undead could emerge from the nearly tangible blackness that crept into the mouth of the cavern. The small fire that she tended to managed to illuminate the three of them, the very back of the cavern, but not much else. The unconscious lamia shifted slightly, but did not awaken.
"What are you going to do with her when she wakes up?" Lust prodded the small fire pit with a stick Envy had gathered earlier. Finding dry wood in a mire had likely been….difficult. While Envy did that, Lust had stayed with the guest, making sure none of the marsh's residents tried for an easy meal.
The flickers of flame reflected in Envy's eyes as he hesitated. "We talk to her. If we like her answers, we'll let her go."
"And if you don't?" The two immortals turned their heads toward the source of the voice. Their guest had awoken.
Lamia #84 pushed herself into a sitting position, the sharp pain from her wound still pulsing. Her boney fingers ran over the makeshift bandages that covered her abdomen They had gone to lengths to make sure that she awoke from the injury.
The male picked something off of the ground before climbing to his feet. He approached slowly, now lacking the headwrap from when he first attacked her. The man's red hair flowed over his shoulders, his blue eyes locking with her own. Now only a foot or so infront of her, the man crouched down to her eye level and offered her a canteen. She hesitantly took the container, seeing as to the work they had apparently wen through to insure she awoke, poisoning her now would seem rather pointless.
The water inside was rather refreshing in opposition to the waters of the mire. Those waters were brackish on a good day, and rot filled slime on a bad one. She took her time drinking, struggling to buy time and work up enough nerve to speak with the two predators that had cornered her.
She lowered the canteen as the male Immortal waited patiently. Upon having his canteen returned, he repeated himself. "What were you talking about earlier?"
#84 set her hands onto her lap and looked toward the darkened entrance to the cave. "I said I wasssn't going back to the empire. We aren't just some weapon to be dispatched like an Acrolith. We're different, we're alive."
He took a seat on the ground near her, his partner watching the two of them, but remaining by the fire that separated the serpent from the exit. The woman removed a wrapping similar to the ones that now functioned as #84's bandages. Her eyes had a similar glow to the man before her, though the woman's hair was a golden blonde against the glow of the fire.
Envy held a calm tone as he retorted. "Then why attack the commoners? If your problem is with the Immortals, why do you kill the others?"
#84 scoffed at his ignorant question. "Even if we manage to kill all of their Immortals, they'll jussst make more. As long as they have civilians, they have potential soldiersss. Not only that, but several of your 'civiliansss' come out here with swords and pitchforksss. We aren't like the Mamool, or the Trolls. We can't surrender. For us, to surrender is to die. The Empire doesn't want us to pay tribute to them. They want usss to serve them while we are physically able, and after we become wounded or old, to perisssh."
The Immortal may have frowned beneath his scarf, but it was difficult to tell. #84 continued her rant. "They make us in labs. I don't know if we are homunculi, if we're synthed, or if we're stitched together, but it doesssn't matter. We still think and we still feel." Her anger began to fade, giving way to a melancholy tone. "Besides, you started this war, not usss…"
The serpent began tugging on the golden bracelets that circled her wrists as if they were shackles. She was a prisoner after all, their prisoner. Lust had been listening closely, staring into the fire that crackled invitingly as opposed to the heavy rain that poured down oppressively from outside the cave. While the story had not been from a particularly reliable source, there had not been much incentive to lie. Something like her rant would have likely fallen under Envy's earlier category of 'not liking her answer.' In the case of most of the Immortals, tone alone would have been enough. For a moment, she even considered herself. What circumstances had brought her here? Had she been someone before this? Just a commoner who lived in Whitegate, or perhaps from somewhere else further away?
"So now what?" #84' red eyes moved between the two Immortals and the door. "It'sss not like you're going to let me walk."
The red haired man shifted his gaze toward the blonde woman as she spoke. "Anything else you want from her?" The man shook his head as he stood from his crouched position. He slowly made his way over toward the lamia's staff near his blonde companion.
The red haired man tossed her weapon gently across the cave, into the lamia's gnarled claws. Both sets of eyes rested on her, as if waiting for the serpent to attack. #84 already knew that she couldn't handle the two of them together unassisted. Using the weapon as leverage, the pushed herself upright and made her way toward the cave entrance
As the serpent reached Envy's position, Lust heard the signal she had been listening for. The stone she had been sitting on burst into flame and shrapnel as Lust somersaulted from it. Envy leapt over her, yanking the skull from a scythe wielding skeleton that had nearly made charred meat out of his companion. As he kicked the body away from the skull, a red glow weaved through the darkmire outside. Envy glanced up just as the fireball was less than 10 feet away. But before it reached him, there was a heavy hiss of steam.
#84 reacted with out thinking. Struggling to reassemble the last few seconds, she realized that from the direction her staff pointed, it had been HER water spell that had just protected the red haired man. He glanced back at her in disbelief for a moment, then back towards the imposing darkness as he waited for the next attack. A second one did not appear, but the source of it did.
A second Draugar stepped into the cave as #84 ordered it to stop. The skeleton set the bottom of its scythe on the ground as a new figure slithered into the cave's mouth.
"Eighty-foùr, you are un'armed?" While it was close, the new figure was not another lamia. The scales the framed her face were different, they laid back unlike the hood those of the lamia's formed. The Merrow's eyes traced the Lamia's form, stopping at her bandaged wound and then returning to her face.
"Th-there wasss an accident. The man and woman bandaged it for me." The lamia stammered out a response, and for a moment it appeared that her new companion wasn't going to buy it.
"En dat case, let us d'part." The merrow shifted back into the darkness as it re-engulfed her face. #84 slithered between the two Immortals as she made her way to the mouth of the cave. She stopped for a moment and hesitated before speaking again.
"You two should not wear that color out here….you will likely be missstaken for…THEM." With that remark, she exited. The scythe wielding skeleton following her, seemingly having forgotten about the two mortal enemies mere feet away.
Lust stood still for nearly a full three minutes before sitting back down at the fire. Their heads would be on pikes if anyone else had seen what happened. Something akin to fear washed over her as her mind tried to think of an explanation for her actions. The two of them would have to take this encounter to the grave, which in their case may be much, much longer than one would think.
But something excited her about it as well. She and Envy had their own secret now. Something that only the two of them would know about. As he sat down across from her and stared into the fire, their eyes locked for just a moment. Lust couldn't help but smile, and she was fairly sure that under that scarf, Envy was smiling back.
Lust watched her companion release the Lamia, who crumpled to the ground. Envy gazed at his own palm, before shifting his gaze toward her. There had been no light show.
"I-Is something wrong?" Lust stuttered the words out as Envy remained still.
"Did you hear what she said? About being used?" Their talk from earlier…that comment must have hit a cord with Envy. He examined the unconscious Lamia at his feet. "…What did you mean by…"
Before he could finish, Greed's voice echoed through the mouth of the cave. "Hurry up you two, I don't want to be in this mud pit all day."
Lust looked over at Envy, waiting for some kind of signal from him. He in turn, looked back at the downed Lamia. She could tell he wanted to stay, to interrogate her. But that wouldn't be an option at the moment. Greed would have both of their heads if he saw them 'take pity' on the enemy.
She leaned in, putting her hand on Envy's shoulder and whispered to him. "We can come back." While she couldn't see his expression from under his scarf, she could feel him smile at her. The two of them turned and exited the cave.
Greed awaited them outside of the cave, along with the remains of the skeletons. He stood with his hands on his hips, glaring down his nose at the two of them. "Get what we came for so we can leave."
Lust leaned down, picking up one of the still rattling skulls. The jaw continued to move, trying to bite at her fingers as she handled it. Clutching the skull tightly, she concentrated on the empty eye sockets as she pulled whatever constituted as a 'soul' out of the creature. At first it was quiet sobbing, but within seconds the skull's silent screams echoed inside of Lust's head. She dropped the bones as they hit the ground motionlessly, clutching her own head as the skeleton screamed in absolute fury. She covered her ears to no effect, the sound was coming from inside her own head. Lust let out a whine, feeling a hand holding her shoulder. The sounds from the undead were so loud that the swamp around her spun. She began coughing heavily, her stomach spasming as the shrieking somehow became louder.
The ordeal had lasted for about 15 minutes, with her vomiting twice before the screaming became sobbing again, a welcome change. Envy had been the one trying to comfort her as Greed filed his nails against a tree. Her first absorption had been a similar experience, but while that was like being hit by a Goobbue, this was more like one of the giant Khimera. Either way, she was done, it was over. Now was Envy's turn. He reacted similarly, luckily now knowing in advance to tie his hair back. About another 13 minutes was consumed with Envy being unable to stand, Greed continuing his indifference toward them as she patted his back and held his hair away from his face.
Before Envy even had time to prop himself up, Greed was rushing them to move on. The last ferry was to leave in 30 minutes, and he vowed to be on it with or without them.
"…Then go." Lust hadn't even realized what she until Greed responded.
"What was that, Lust?" Her blood ran cold as she continued to hold Envy's hair in case he lost his lunch again.
"W-well, it's the last ferry…and Envy's still not ready to move. I'll stay with him, and you can return to the capital. We'll catch the first ferry back in the morning. Would that be Okay?" Lust thought she had managed to save that pretty well. Especially since Greed appeared to be considering it.
"Impossible. Pride would not approve of this."
"Then we won't tell Pride." Greed grinned as Lust said exactly what he wanted to hear.
"In that case, I'll be off. But I expect a full report back in the morning, as well as a few new….'acquires' before you get back." He pushed himself off of the tree, and began his trip back to Nashemaru.
"….I'll let you acquire my boot in your snooty ass…" Envy muttered and spit, still likely tasting stomach acid. Lust helped him up as he glared back at the cave. Fortunately, the chimera had not made her way to the mouth yet, nor had she already succumb to her wounds. Leaning against the cave wall for support, he lead the two of them back to the Lamia. Aside from a chigoe picking at her wound, she was exactly like they had left her.
Lust caught the Chigoe's attention as it began hopping happily toward her, only to end up under her boot with a gooey crunch. She had a soft spot for the animals of Vanadiel, but chigoe were not 'animals.' They were disease incarnate.
Envy removed the wraps from his head, looking down at the Lamia. "Lust, help me wrap that wound."
She hesitated, some basic first aid coming to mind. "S-shouldn't we clean it first?"
"With what? The water around here?" Envy had a point, but Lust had a plan. She reached into the satchel on her hip, separating a small vial of distilled water from the potions and remedies it also contained. While it wasn't the best for drinking, it did have its uses. "…Clever girl."
Envy began shredding his wraps, as Lust wet a piece of the white cloth and began cleaning the chimera's wound. While this wasn't what she had in mind for 'bonding time' but anytime without Greed was more than she had hoped for. She remained silent as they wrapped the serpent's wound. This was the first time she had actually been so close to one of the chimera while they were still alive. Now that it wasn't try to kill her, Lust couldn't help but notice how much the lamia resembled a hume woman.
"Lust…" She turned toward her companion as she spoke, his dull eyes upon her. "Let's see about setting up a camp."
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The darkness of the mire made Lust uneasy. At any moment, a wall of undead could emerge from the nearly tangible blackness that crept into the mouth of the cavern. The small fire that she tended to managed to illuminate the three of them, the very back of the cavern, but not much else. The unconscious lamia shifted slightly, but did not awaken.
"What are you going to do with her when she wakes up?" Lust prodded the small fire pit with a stick Envy had gathered earlier. Finding dry wood in a mire had likely been….difficult. While Envy did that, Lust had stayed with the guest, making sure none of the marsh's residents tried for an easy meal.
The flickers of flame reflected in Envy's eyes as he hesitated. "We talk to her. If we like her answers, we'll let her go."
"And if you don't?" The two immortals turned their heads toward the source of the voice. Their guest had awoken.
Lamia #84 pushed herself into a sitting position, the sharp pain from her wound still pulsing. Her boney fingers ran over the makeshift bandages that covered her abdomen They had gone to lengths to make sure that she awoke from the injury.
The male picked something off of the ground before climbing to his feet. He approached slowly, now lacking the headwrap from when he first attacked her. The man's red hair flowed over his shoulders, his blue eyes locking with her own. Now only a foot or so infront of her, the man crouched down to her eye level and offered her a canteen. She hesitantly took the container, seeing as to the work they had apparently wen through to insure she awoke, poisoning her now would seem rather pointless.
The water inside was rather refreshing in opposition to the waters of the mire. Those waters were brackish on a good day, and rot filled slime on a bad one. She took her time drinking, struggling to buy time and work up enough nerve to speak with the two predators that had cornered her.
She lowered the canteen as the male Immortal waited patiently. Upon having his canteen returned, he repeated himself. "What were you talking about earlier?"
#84 set her hands onto her lap and looked toward the darkened entrance to the cave. "I said I wasssn't going back to the empire. We aren't just some weapon to be dispatched like an Acrolith. We're different, we're alive."
He took a seat on the ground near her, his partner watching the two of them, but remaining by the fire that separated the serpent from the exit. The woman removed a wrapping similar to the ones that now functioned as #84's bandages. Her eyes had a similar glow to the man before her, though the woman's hair was a golden blonde against the glow of the fire.
Envy held a calm tone as he retorted. "Then why attack the commoners? If your problem is with the Immortals, why do you kill the others?"
#84 scoffed at his ignorant question. "Even if we manage to kill all of their Immortals, they'll jussst make more. As long as they have civilians, they have potential soldiersss. Not only that, but several of your 'civiliansss' come out here with swords and pitchforksss. We aren't like the Mamool, or the Trolls. We can't surrender. For us, to surrender is to die. The Empire doesn't want us to pay tribute to them. They want usss to serve them while we are physically able, and after we become wounded or old, to perisssh."
The Immortal may have frowned beneath his scarf, but it was difficult to tell. #84 continued her rant. "They make us in labs. I don't know if we are homunculi, if we're synthed, or if we're stitched together, but it doesssn't matter. We still think and we still feel." Her anger began to fade, giving way to a melancholy tone. "Besides, you started this war, not usss…"
The serpent began tugging on the golden bracelets that circled her wrists as if they were shackles. She was a prisoner after all, their prisoner. Lust had been listening closely, staring into the fire that crackled invitingly as opposed to the heavy rain that poured down oppressively from outside the cave. While the story had not been from a particularly reliable source, there had not been much incentive to lie. Something like her rant would have likely fallen under Envy's earlier category of 'not liking her answer.' In the case of most of the Immortals, tone alone would have been enough. For a moment, she even considered herself. What circumstances had brought her here? Had she been someone before this? Just a commoner who lived in Whitegate, or perhaps from somewhere else further away?
"So now what?" #84' red eyes moved between the two Immortals and the door. "It'sss not like you're going to let me walk."
The red haired man shifted his gaze toward the blonde woman as she spoke. "Anything else you want from her?" The man shook his head as he stood from his crouched position. He slowly made his way over toward the lamia's staff near his blonde companion.
The red haired man tossed her weapon gently across the cave, into the lamia's gnarled claws. Both sets of eyes rested on her, as if waiting for the serpent to attack. #84 already knew that she couldn't handle the two of them together unassisted. Using the weapon as leverage, the pushed herself upright and made her way toward the cave entrance
As the serpent reached Envy's position, Lust heard the signal she had been listening for. The stone she had been sitting on burst into flame and shrapnel as Lust somersaulted from it. Envy leapt over her, yanking the skull from a scythe wielding skeleton that had nearly made charred meat out of his companion. As he kicked the body away from the skull, a red glow weaved through the darkmire outside. Envy glanced up just as the fireball was less than 10 feet away. But before it reached him, there was a heavy hiss of steam.
#84 reacted with out thinking. Struggling to reassemble the last few seconds, she realized that from the direction her staff pointed, it had been HER water spell that had just protected the red haired man. He glanced back at her in disbelief for a moment, then back towards the imposing darkness as he waited for the next attack. A second one did not appear, but the source of it did.
A second Draugar stepped into the cave as #84 ordered it to stop. The skeleton set the bottom of its scythe on the ground as a new figure slithered into the cave's mouth.
"Eighty-foùr, you are un'armed?" While it was close, the new figure was not another lamia. The scales the framed her face were different, they laid back unlike the hood those of the lamia's formed. The Merrow's eyes traced the Lamia's form, stopping at her bandaged wound and then returning to her face.
"Th-there wasss an accident. The man and woman bandaged it for me." The lamia stammered out a response, and for a moment it appeared that her new companion wasn't going to buy it.
"En dat case, let us d'part." The merrow shifted back into the darkness as it re-engulfed her face. #84 slithered between the two Immortals as she made her way to the mouth of the cave. She stopped for a moment and hesitated before speaking again.
"You two should not wear that color out here….you will likely be missstaken for…THEM." With that remark, she exited. The scythe wielding skeleton following her, seemingly having forgotten about the two mortal enemies mere feet away.
Lust stood still for nearly a full three minutes before sitting back down at the fire. Their heads would be on pikes if anyone else had seen what happened. Something akin to fear washed over her as her mind tried to think of an explanation for her actions. The two of them would have to take this encounter to the grave, which in their case may be much, much longer than one would think.
But something excited her about it as well. She and Envy had their own secret now. Something that only the two of them would know about. As he sat down across from her and stared into the fire, their eyes locked for just a moment. Lust couldn't help but smile, and she was fairly sure that under that scarf, Envy was smiling back.
Chapter Five
A familiar ferry pulled into the Imperial Whitegate as Lust and Envy stepped off of the top deck. She had wanted to try it since she had seen Envy do it back in Nashmaru, and now that Greed wasn't leering at them it seemed to be as good a time as any. The morning sun was just beginning to peak through the buildings, and the wind still had a chill of night air. While neither of them had managed to get a lot of sleep, Lust did not feel fatigued in the least.
That might have had something to do with her position of being on top of the world at the moment. Last night had been exciting, new, and unexpected. They had even managed to get a few additional 'tricks' on their way back to Nashmaru. The two of them had the perfect alibi, and no one would ever know what happened as long as she could prevent herself from telling Sloth. That was the next person on her list, Sloth. She hoped that the two of them would get paired for the next exercise, so that they could get to know each other better.
Wrath did not seem particularly interested in any of them, and while Pride wasn't exactly cold, he felt like a father figure. Envy and Sloth on the other hand seemed to be 'more at her level.' Like a brother and sister. Greed…she didn't like Greed. Something about him terrified her, and made the marrow in her bones freeze at the thought of him. She quickly shook it off, not wanting to ruin the moment.
The two of them approached the Imperial Palace, the guards opening the entrance without question. Greed had been waiting for them, thumbing through a stack of papers. His effort appeared to be more focused on looking busy more than actually reading through the reports. He pretended to browse their contents as he spoke to them. "I see that the two of you have returned. I'll get a report from you later, we have new drills already awaiting you." Greed removed the top two papers from his stack, handing them to Lust and Envy. "Lust, you are going to accompany myself and Sloth. We are going to deal with the approaching trolls. Wrath is going to take Envy to their stronghold and catch them upon their return."
Greed walked past the two of them and let out an exasperated sigh. "If Envy is going to flail like a wounded animal when he fights, we might as well have Wrath teach him how to do it right." Neither of them bothered to respond to Greed's comments, it simply wasn't worth the effort.
Upon exiting the Palace, Sloth was already waiting out front. She waved excitedly toward her companions. She approached Lust, Wrath following close behind. Envy glanced toward his superior, as Wrath made a motion toward the docks. The two of them departed wordlessly, leaving Sloth and Lust to their own devices.
"…So, how was the mire?" Sloth turned to her companion, her soft smile still pinned to her face.
"Uneventful…aside from getting our undead essences" Lust struggled not to shy away from the conversation. Bonding with Sloth should be easier that it was with Envy.
Sloth's smile curled slightly more as she responded. "You're lying, Lust. You and Envy never came back last night. What happened there?" Her words along nearly staggered Lust.
"We had a hard time adjusting to the undead essence, especially Envy. Him and I stayed there over night so we wouldn't have to move."
Sloth shook her head. "You're practically glowing Lust, there's something you're not telling me." Sloth was dead on, but she couldn't mention the lamia. It wasn't that she didn't trust Sloth, but she had promised not to… She simply lowered her head, unable to lie to Sloth or break her promise to Envy. "Not going to tell me?" Sloth's smile didn't falter, but something in her voice threw Lust off.
"Well, I guess it's OK if you don't want to tell me. But if I find out that you're moving in on Envy, I'll peel you like a banana. And maybe eat you afterward" Lust's blood froze as Sloth continued to smile, Greed suddenly seemed like a preferable companion. "You didn't do anything like that, right Lust?" The blonde shook her head. "Kay, and I would really appreciate you keeping your hands off of him. Also if I catch you ever lying to me again, I promise I'll make the banana thing sound pleasant. Could you do that for me, Sis?" Her high plummeted into the pit of her stomach as the color drained from her face. Lust nodded as her voice went dry.
"Alrighty, how about we go meet up with Greed so that we can get started!" Lust remained quiet as Sloth turned and make her way back to the palace, as if the conversation had never happened.
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#84 sat on the decayed bench in her small wooden room, scrubbing against a light blue cloth. What had once been a walk in janitor's closet, had been converted into a small living space for the lamia. A makeshift bed of cloth scraps stuffed into a mattress cover, a cabinet missing the bottom drawer, and a crate that functioned as a table. That was basically it.
The higher ups normally got rooms in the caves, with the peons getting to fight over what remained. Honestly, the ship had its own charm. While it was entirely possible that tomorrow she would return to see the ship had either shifted or completely sank, nothing she owned would be much worse for the wear by being underwater for a few more hours.
A hole in the wall served as a window, with only a heavy tarp acting as a curtain. On any given day the salty sea air could blow in, or the smell of rot. One was quite obviously preferable to the other. In a few days the rotting smell would grow worse, they would be bringing in new bodies.
The Lamia and Merrow had much smaller numbers than the other beastmen on the continent, the undead were their best line of defense or offense. They were beginning to pull more from the undersea ruins though, the golden golems may eventually overtake the undead as their bodyguards. At least the slightly electric smell that came from the golems was better than the decay stench that flowed from the undead.
#84 set the scrub brush down beside her, the blood was not going to come out by conventional means. She glared at the dark crimson stain again once more, no obvious weaknesses appeared. There was no specific reason to battle the blotch so thoroughly, but there was not much else to do either. That was probably the worst part of the reef, the crippling boredom. She had read and reread all of the book in her possession; as well as most of the books owned by the others in the reef.
She sat still for a moment longer, then let her tail fall to the floor as she shifted her weight onto it and made her way toward the door. The lamia moved toward the door left of her own and knocked.
"Si?" #84 eased the door open. A ring of Gears and gold plates made a near perfect circle, with #90 sitting in the center. The Merrow looked up at #84, an oil-stained rag wrapped around her neck like a bandana. She had been working on that 'alternate solution' again. One of the smaller acrolith arms was draped across her lap, half of its fingers lying next to the merrow. The merrow returned to her craft as #84 squeezed past her, sitting on a crate partially covered in more bits and pieces.
"Are yu ready to tulk abot last night?" The merrow did not look away from her project as she spoke, setting one of the fingers into the palm and tightening it into place.
She might as well, #90 would find out eventually. She sighed, then began. "Last night, those were Immortalsss. The red one, I think he took care of me."
"By nearly gat-ting yu?" #90's voice took on a pang of frustration
"That wasss….not them. That wasss a third. He wasss not there when I woke up. It wasss just the two of them." #84 picked up a a metal bar and began to examine it. "The man asked me some questionsss, then said he wasss going to let me go. Then you showed."
"I hurd him say he was done wid yu."
"He gave me back my staff. That wasss how I stopped your spell."
#90's eyes lit up in fury as she tore her attention away from the golden arm. "Dat vas yu?! Why did yu stop de attack? I 'ad a clear shot!"
#84 glanced down at her friend, her emotions still blank. "Would it have been a good way to repay him for what he did? To kill him?"
#90 huffed, finishing the last finger on the arm as she set it to the side and wiped her claws onto her bandana. "Dhe nexd time yu see 'im, do yu tink he will even remember yu?"
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A familiar ferry pulled into the Imperial Whitegate as Lust and Envy stepped off of the top deck. She had wanted to try it since she had seen Envy do it back in Nashmaru, and now that Greed wasn't leering at them it seemed to be as good a time as any. The morning sun was just beginning to peak through the buildings, and the wind still had a chill of night air. While neither of them had managed to get a lot of sleep, Lust did not feel fatigued in the least.
That might have had something to do with her position of being on top of the world at the moment. Last night had been exciting, new, and unexpected. They had even managed to get a few additional 'tricks' on their way back to Nashmaru. The two of them had the perfect alibi, and no one would ever know what happened as long as she could prevent herself from telling Sloth. That was the next person on her list, Sloth. She hoped that the two of them would get paired for the next exercise, so that they could get to know each other better.
Wrath did not seem particularly interested in any of them, and while Pride wasn't exactly cold, he felt like a father figure. Envy and Sloth on the other hand seemed to be 'more at her level.' Like a brother and sister. Greed…she didn't like Greed. Something about him terrified her, and made the marrow in her bones freeze at the thought of him. She quickly shook it off, not wanting to ruin the moment.
The two of them approached the Imperial Palace, the guards opening the entrance without question. Greed had been waiting for them, thumbing through a stack of papers. His effort appeared to be more focused on looking busy more than actually reading through the reports. He pretended to browse their contents as he spoke to them. "I see that the two of you have returned. I'll get a report from you later, we have new drills already awaiting you." Greed removed the top two papers from his stack, handing them to Lust and Envy. "Lust, you are going to accompany myself and Sloth. We are going to deal with the approaching trolls. Wrath is going to take Envy to their stronghold and catch them upon their return."
Greed walked past the two of them and let out an exasperated sigh. "If Envy is going to flail like a wounded animal when he fights, we might as well have Wrath teach him how to do it right." Neither of them bothered to respond to Greed's comments, it simply wasn't worth the effort.
Upon exiting the Palace, Sloth was already waiting out front. She waved excitedly toward her companions. She approached Lust, Wrath following close behind. Envy glanced toward his superior, as Wrath made a motion toward the docks. The two of them departed wordlessly, leaving Sloth and Lust to their own devices.
"…So, how was the mire?" Sloth turned to her companion, her soft smile still pinned to her face.
"Uneventful…aside from getting our undead essences" Lust struggled not to shy away from the conversation. Bonding with Sloth should be easier that it was with Envy.
Sloth's smile curled slightly more as she responded. "You're lying, Lust. You and Envy never came back last night. What happened there?" Her words along nearly staggered Lust.
"We had a hard time adjusting to the undead essence, especially Envy. Him and I stayed there over night so we wouldn't have to move."
Sloth shook her head. "You're practically glowing Lust, there's something you're not telling me." Sloth was dead on, but she couldn't mention the lamia. It wasn't that she didn't trust Sloth, but she had promised not to… She simply lowered her head, unable to lie to Sloth or break her promise to Envy. "Not going to tell me?" Sloth's smile didn't falter, but something in her voice threw Lust off.
"Well, I guess it's OK if you don't want to tell me. But if I find out that you're moving in on Envy, I'll peel you like a banana. And maybe eat you afterward" Lust's blood froze as Sloth continued to smile, Greed suddenly seemed like a preferable companion. "You didn't do anything like that, right Lust?" The blonde shook her head. "Kay, and I would really appreciate you keeping your hands off of him. Also if I catch you ever lying to me again, I promise I'll make the banana thing sound pleasant. Could you do that for me, Sis?" Her high plummeted into the pit of her stomach as the color drained from her face. Lust nodded as her voice went dry.
"Alrighty, how about we go meet up with Greed so that we can get started!" Lust remained quiet as Sloth turned and make her way back to the palace, as if the conversation had never happened.
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#84 sat on the decayed bench in her small wooden room, scrubbing against a light blue cloth. What had once been a walk in janitor's closet, had been converted into a small living space for the lamia. A makeshift bed of cloth scraps stuffed into a mattress cover, a cabinet missing the bottom drawer, and a crate that functioned as a table. That was basically it.
The higher ups normally got rooms in the caves, with the peons getting to fight over what remained. Honestly, the ship had its own charm. While it was entirely possible that tomorrow she would return to see the ship had either shifted or completely sank, nothing she owned would be much worse for the wear by being underwater for a few more hours.
A hole in the wall served as a window, with only a heavy tarp acting as a curtain. On any given day the salty sea air could blow in, or the smell of rot. One was quite obviously preferable to the other. In a few days the rotting smell would grow worse, they would be bringing in new bodies.
The Lamia and Merrow had much smaller numbers than the other beastmen on the continent, the undead were their best line of defense or offense. They were beginning to pull more from the undersea ruins though, the golden golems may eventually overtake the undead as their bodyguards. At least the slightly electric smell that came from the golems was better than the decay stench that flowed from the undead.
#84 set the scrub brush down beside her, the blood was not going to come out by conventional means. She glared at the dark crimson stain again once more, no obvious weaknesses appeared. There was no specific reason to battle the blotch so thoroughly, but there was not much else to do either. That was probably the worst part of the reef, the crippling boredom. She had read and reread all of the book in her possession; as well as most of the books owned by the others in the reef.
She sat still for a moment longer, then let her tail fall to the floor as she shifted her weight onto it and made her way toward the door. The lamia moved toward the door left of her own and knocked.
"Si?" #84 eased the door open. A ring of Gears and gold plates made a near perfect circle, with #90 sitting in the center. The Merrow looked up at #84, an oil-stained rag wrapped around her neck like a bandana. She had been working on that 'alternate solution' again. One of the smaller acrolith arms was draped across her lap, half of its fingers lying next to the merrow. The merrow returned to her craft as #84 squeezed past her, sitting on a crate partially covered in more bits and pieces.
"Are yu ready to tulk abot last night?" The merrow did not look away from her project as she spoke, setting one of the fingers into the palm and tightening it into place.
She might as well, #90 would find out eventually. She sighed, then began. "Last night, those were Immortalsss. The red one, I think he took care of me."
"By nearly gat-ting yu?" #90's voice took on a pang of frustration
"That wasss….not them. That wasss a third. He wasss not there when I woke up. It wasss just the two of them." #84 picked up a a metal bar and began to examine it. "The man asked me some questionsss, then said he wasss going to let me go. Then you showed."
"I hurd him say he was done wid yu."
"He gave me back my staff. That wasss how I stopped your spell."
#90's eyes lit up in fury as she tore her attention away from the golden arm. "Dat vas yu?! Why did yu stop de attack? I 'ad a clear shot!"
#84 glanced down at her friend, her emotions still blank. "Would it have been a good way to repay him for what he did? To kill him?"
#90 huffed, finishing the last finger on the arm as she set it to the side and wiped her claws onto her bandana. "Dhe nexd time yu see 'im, do yu tink he will even remember yu?"
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Xelo Dual Member replied
677 weeks ago