CH7
Deepsea Dolphin lay on her stomach in the middle of the floor, staring at a set of Mahjong pieces that were in a pile between her and the mysterious Mazoku who'd come to tell her something.. the same Mazoku whom she hadn't let speak until he won a game of Mahjong with her. Slowly, she reached out and pulled a piece away, grinning maniacally at her opponent- who only smirked mysteriously from beneath the hood of his purple cloak.
He reached out a white gloved hand and pulled a piece away.
Back and forth, they went, until finally. "I believe I've won, Lady Dolphin," he stated.
For a moment, Deepsea scowled and was tempted to challenge him again- for this had been more entertaining than anything she'd done in the last thousand years.
"I remind, I came for a reason.."
A smile spread across her lips, "Alright, you won, so you can tell me," she said cheerfully, sliding her legs under her and sitting up. "I hope it's entertaining!"
The Mazoku smirked, "I believe it will be," he replied. "You see.. I heard that Dynast moved recently."
For a moment, Deepsea was quiet, then grinned lifting her hands to clap excitedly, "Oh! Why'd he do that?"
A single finger was produced from an uplifted hand, "Sore wa himitsu desu." With that, he stood, and disappeared.
"A secret, hmm?" Deepsea giggled, "I LOVE finding out secrets!"
***
The room was dark as ever, at least until one got within range of the two braziers that stood on either side of the stone throne set upon a dais. The ceiling was lost in shadows as was the end of the room before the throne. And standing before the throne was a woman of perhaps eighteen wearing a dress that may as well have been woven from seaweed. Her hair was flowing shades of blue, the sides clipped back on the back of her head by a starfish. In all, she was a very beautiful woman, except for her expression.
She was scowling. DEEPLY. "If it's such a small thing, then why did you move?!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. The man who sprawled in his stone throne before her, his body clad in black robes and cloak didn't even blink. He was just the same as she'd last saw him.. a thousand years ago. "And if it's so SMALL why won't you TELL ME?!" Deepsea Dolphin clenched her slender and delicate hands into fists and stomped her slipper clad foot in much the same way a child would do in a temper tantrum. The stone of the room rumbled ominously. Dust shifted down from the immensely high ceiling.
Dynast sighed, rubbing his forehead. If he didn't know that Mazoku couldn't get headaches... "It's nothing, Dolphin, and you would leave it be if you knew what was good for you."
The floor beneath her cracked from the sheer force of her anger. Green fire swirled out around her, lighting the ground eerily, the walls were simply too far off to have even been touched by the light. "Good for me?" she growled, her green eyes flaring to match the strange fires around her.
A yawn was her answer, "Your display does not impress me, now go away."
"I'll find out eventually!" she threatened raising a fist towards him. Dynast remained unmoved.
"I'm sure you will," he stated, though rather sarcastically. The air ripped, and the lord of the Demon Sea disappeared, leaving the wreckage she'd caused as a calling card.
Dynast sighed, listening to the Astral echoes as Deepsea appeared on Wolf Pack Island. She'd likely get the same treatment there. "She doesn't know when to quit, does she?" he asked with a hint of boredom, glancing to the side where Scherra stood. The faintest hint of a smirk touched the blue- haired woman's lips.
***
The sky was still very overcast, but at least it wasn't raining like it was the day and night before. Lina was beginning to think it quite lucky that Dynast had talked to them. She hadn't had to walk five more hours in the rain to get to Two Springs.
Zelgadis hadn't gone off on his own, just gone to wait just outside of town for her to finish up. Even now, he was being gloomily silent.
"Oi! Lina!" an annoying and very familiar voice stated in her ear.
Lina shrieked, spinning around and smacking Xelloss in the face with the back of her fist. "Itai..." he mumbled from where he lay on his back in a puddle on the road. Zelgadis turned and smirked, feeling some pleasure at seeing the fruitcake in immense pain.
The sorceress scowled, "You deserved that for startling me. Now, what do you want?"
Slowly, Xelloss picked himself up, rubbing at his bloody nose with one white gloved hand, "I just wanted to tell you that there's an All You Can Eat for a Silver buffet not that far from here."
"What are YOU getting out of telling us that?" Zelgadis snapped immediately, grabbing hold of the back of Lina's cloak as she was about to leap upon Xelloss and demand to know where it was.
A smirk.. A lifted finger.. and those dreaded words. "Sore wa himitsu d-" sadly, Xelloss did not get to finish, he found Zelgadis's boot in his mouth.
"You chased him away!" Lina howled when Xelloss disappeared. "I wanted to-" the sorceress turned sparking eyes toward her companion, the chimera almost imagined her growing fangs and horns. Forcing himself to blink that image away, he stared her down.
"Fine. YOU can go to it, I'm continuing toward Seyruun," he stated after a minute of glaring at each other.
Her lips pressed together, her fists clenched by her sides. "FINE!" she shouted and continued stomping down the road the direction they were heading.
Zelgadis was beginning to feel tired. The drive to get to Seyruun was almost the only thing keeping him on his feet anymore. It wasn't like he needed MUCH sleep, but he did need some, and sadly, the sleep he did get was swamped with visions of Amelia being raped by frogs. Very imaginative, but also very disturbing.
Glancing up towards the sullen sky, Zelgadis finally turned and hurried to catch up with Lina who hadn't noticed he wasn't following just yet. Beneath his cloak, he brushed his fingers across the bracelet Amelia had given him which he had hanging off the hilt of his sword.
***
He moved along down the street, carrying the groceries from the market area of town. His brow was somewhat sweaty from the work, but overhead, the sky was hanging low as if waiting for the right moment to drop on the world and flatten the people on it. Depressive thoughts, but that was how he always thought the world was like.
Unless you were a hero.. or someone strong and powerful who could go out and defeat monsters and save the innocent and be thought of as dark hearted and mysterious. But in a small town, everyone knew who you were, your family, your birthday, your birthmarks... He knew things about people in town he really wished he'd never been told, but somehow, they thought it was alright for everyone to know that Martha had diarrhea last week, or that his great grandfather was someone highly important- which they never ceased to pester him about.
'When's your grandpa coming to visit?' 'Will he heal my brother's broken toe?' 'Can he make fireballs?' 'Does he have a wife yet?' CEPHIED he hated these people, but couldn't leave for fear that he wasn't strong enough to survive in the wild world beyond the immediate area of Rivindal.
Freeing a hand, he pushed his dark hair back from his face and tromped up to the front door of his house. They still had the shutters closed, figuring it would probably begin raining soon, but his parents had sent him out to do the shopping anyway. Another thing that pissed him off royally. Despite how important his family was to Rivinal, his parents still treated him like shit. 'Being the oldest has responsibilities' "My ass," he muttered. Like he had a choice in being the oldest, like he'd CHOSEN for his parents to have six more kids after him?
"Eighteen and practically a slave. I want OUT of this fucken town!" he growled as he stepped into his cramped house and found that there was no one in the main room. That was fine, it gave him room to put the food away. Though, as soon as he started doing so, his youngest brother, who was almost three, entered and immediately got underfoot. He hadn't been watching, but as soon as Kytan's butt hit the floor, the boy started shrieking at the top of his lungs. Directly afterwards, his mother came in, carrying Lila, age six months, whom upon hearing Kytan howling began to scream as well.
"What'd you do to Kytan! Haven't I told you to be nice to your siblings! You're so clumsy and stupid sometimes, I can't believe you're related to me at all-" his mother began her usual tirade. Another reason why he wanted OUT of Rivindal.
Setting down the remainder of the groceries on the table and aware of the rest of the family filing into the main room, he clenched his fists at his sides, forcing himself not to hurt any of them. "CEPHIED!" he shouted over the racket, "What does it take to not get criticized for an accident?!" Turning, he stepped over Kytan and slammed the door shut on his way out.
Even with the walls and several meters of distance, he could still hear his siblings howling and his mother screaming at them to shut up. If he were strong.. he could make them stop. If he were strong, he could leave and never have to deal with them again. If he were strong... he could meet the woman of his dreams, actually talk to her.
He sighed, making his way around behind the house and sneaking into the bedroom where he retrieved his sword and got back out before anyone noticed he hadn't really left. Making a b-line towards the forest, he didn't notice the cloaked figure standing just around the corner. A smirk touched the man's face, eyes closed with the expression.
***
Deepsea Dolphin lay on her stomach in the middle of the floor, staring at a set of Mahjong pieces that were in a pile between her and the mysterious Mazoku who'd come to tell her something.. the same Mazoku whom she hadn't let speak until he won a game of Mahjong with her. Slowly, she reached out and pulled a piece away, grinning maniacally at her opponent- who only smirked mysteriously from beneath the hood of his purple cloak.
He reached out a white gloved hand and pulled a piece away.
Back and forth, they went, until finally. "I believe I've won, Lady Dolphin," he stated.
For a moment, Deepsea scowled and was tempted to challenge him again- for this had been more entertaining than anything she'd done in the last thousand years.
"I remind, I came for a reason.."
A smile spread across her lips, "Alright, you won, so you can tell me," she said cheerfully, sliding her legs under her and sitting up. "I hope it's entertaining!"
The Mazoku smirked, "I believe it will be," he replied. "You see.. I heard that Dynast moved recently."
For a moment, Deepsea was quiet, then grinned lifting her hands to clap excitedly, "Oh! Why'd he do that?"
A single finger was produced from an uplifted hand, "Sore wa himitsu desu." With that, he stood, and disappeared.
"A secret, hmm?" Deepsea giggled, "I LOVE finding out secrets!"
***
The room was dark as ever, at least until one got within range of the two braziers that stood on either side of the stone throne set upon a dais. The ceiling was lost in shadows as was the end of the room before the throne. And standing before the throne was a woman of perhaps eighteen wearing a dress that may as well have been woven from seaweed. Her hair was flowing shades of blue, the sides clipped back on the back of her head by a starfish. In all, she was a very beautiful woman, except for her expression.
She was scowling. DEEPLY. "If it's such a small thing, then why did you move?!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. The man who sprawled in his stone throne before her, his body clad in black robes and cloak didn't even blink. He was just the same as she'd last saw him.. a thousand years ago. "And if it's so SMALL why won't you TELL ME?!" Deepsea Dolphin clenched her slender and delicate hands into fists and stomped her slipper clad foot in much the same way a child would do in a temper tantrum. The stone of the room rumbled ominously. Dust shifted down from the immensely high ceiling.
Dynast sighed, rubbing his forehead. If he didn't know that Mazoku couldn't get headaches... "It's nothing, Dolphin, and you would leave it be if you knew what was good for you."
The floor beneath her cracked from the sheer force of her anger. Green fire swirled out around her, lighting the ground eerily, the walls were simply too far off to have even been touched by the light. "Good for me?" she growled, her green eyes flaring to match the strange fires around her.
A yawn was her answer, "Your display does not impress me, now go away."
"I'll find out eventually!" she threatened raising a fist towards him. Dynast remained unmoved.
"I'm sure you will," he stated, though rather sarcastically. The air ripped, and the lord of the Demon Sea disappeared, leaving the wreckage she'd caused as a calling card.
Dynast sighed, listening to the Astral echoes as Deepsea appeared on Wolf Pack Island. She'd likely get the same treatment there. "She doesn't know when to quit, does she?" he asked with a hint of boredom, glancing to the side where Scherra stood. The faintest hint of a smirk touched the blue- haired woman's lips.
***
The sky was still very overcast, but at least it wasn't raining like it was the day and night before. Lina was beginning to think it quite lucky that Dynast had talked to them. She hadn't had to walk five more hours in the rain to get to Two Springs.
Zelgadis hadn't gone off on his own, just gone to wait just outside of town for her to finish up. Even now, he was being gloomily silent.
"Oi! Lina!" an annoying and very familiar voice stated in her ear.
Lina shrieked, spinning around and smacking Xelloss in the face with the back of her fist. "Itai..." he mumbled from where he lay on his back in a puddle on the road. Zelgadis turned and smirked, feeling some pleasure at seeing the fruitcake in immense pain.
The sorceress scowled, "You deserved that for startling me. Now, what do you want?"
Slowly, Xelloss picked himself up, rubbing at his bloody nose with one white gloved hand, "I just wanted to tell you that there's an All You Can Eat for a Silver buffet not that far from here."
"What are YOU getting out of telling us that?" Zelgadis snapped immediately, grabbing hold of the back of Lina's cloak as she was about to leap upon Xelloss and demand to know where it was.
A smirk.. A lifted finger.. and those dreaded words. "Sore wa himitsu d-" sadly, Xelloss did not get to finish, he found Zelgadis's boot in his mouth.
"You chased him away!" Lina howled when Xelloss disappeared. "I wanted to-" the sorceress turned sparking eyes toward her companion, the chimera almost imagined her growing fangs and horns. Forcing himself to blink that image away, he stared her down.
"Fine. YOU can go to it, I'm continuing toward Seyruun," he stated after a minute of glaring at each other.
Her lips pressed together, her fists clenched by her sides. "FINE!" she shouted and continued stomping down the road the direction they were heading.
Zelgadis was beginning to feel tired. The drive to get to Seyruun was almost the only thing keeping him on his feet anymore. It wasn't like he needed MUCH sleep, but he did need some, and sadly, the sleep he did get was swamped with visions of Amelia being raped by frogs. Very imaginative, but also very disturbing.
Glancing up towards the sullen sky, Zelgadis finally turned and hurried to catch up with Lina who hadn't noticed he wasn't following just yet. Beneath his cloak, he brushed his fingers across the bracelet Amelia had given him which he had hanging off the hilt of his sword.
***
He moved along down the street, carrying the groceries from the market area of town. His brow was somewhat sweaty from the work, but overhead, the sky was hanging low as if waiting for the right moment to drop on the world and flatten the people on it. Depressive thoughts, but that was how he always thought the world was like.
Unless you were a hero.. or someone strong and powerful who could go out and defeat monsters and save the innocent and be thought of as dark hearted and mysterious. But in a small town, everyone knew who you were, your family, your birthday, your birthmarks... He knew things about people in town he really wished he'd never been told, but somehow, they thought it was alright for everyone to know that Martha had diarrhea last week, or that his great grandfather was someone highly important- which they never ceased to pester him about.
'When's your grandpa coming to visit?' 'Will he heal my brother's broken toe?' 'Can he make fireballs?' 'Does he have a wife yet?' CEPHIED he hated these people, but couldn't leave for fear that he wasn't strong enough to survive in the wild world beyond the immediate area of Rivindal.
Freeing a hand, he pushed his dark hair back from his face and tromped up to the front door of his house. They still had the shutters closed, figuring it would probably begin raining soon, but his parents had sent him out to do the shopping anyway. Another thing that pissed him off royally. Despite how important his family was to Rivinal, his parents still treated him like shit. 'Being the oldest has responsibilities' "My ass," he muttered. Like he had a choice in being the oldest, like he'd CHOSEN for his parents to have six more kids after him?
"Eighteen and practically a slave. I want OUT of this fucken town!" he growled as he stepped into his cramped house and found that there was no one in the main room. That was fine, it gave him room to put the food away. Though, as soon as he started doing so, his youngest brother, who was almost three, entered and immediately got underfoot. He hadn't been watching, but as soon as Kytan's butt hit the floor, the boy started shrieking at the top of his lungs. Directly afterwards, his mother came in, carrying Lila, age six months, whom upon hearing Kytan howling began to scream as well.
"What'd you do to Kytan! Haven't I told you to be nice to your siblings! You're so clumsy and stupid sometimes, I can't believe you're related to me at all-" his mother began her usual tirade. Another reason why he wanted OUT of Rivindal.
Setting down the remainder of the groceries on the table and aware of the rest of the family filing into the main room, he clenched his fists at his sides, forcing himself not to hurt any of them. "CEPHIED!" he shouted over the racket, "What does it take to not get criticized for an accident?!" Turning, he stepped over Kytan and slammed the door shut on his way out.
Even with the walls and several meters of distance, he could still hear his siblings howling and his mother screaming at them to shut up. If he were strong.. he could make them stop. If he were strong, he could leave and never have to deal with them again. If he were strong... he could meet the woman of his dreams, actually talk to her.
He sighed, making his way around behind the house and sneaking into the bedroom where he retrieved his sword and got back out before anyone noticed he hadn't really left. Making a b-line towards the forest, he didn't notice the cloaked figure standing just around the corner. A smirk touched the man's face, eyes closed with the expression.
***