"Reality is the finest flesh, oh bearer mine. And are you not...hungry?"
The Exo Danu frantically paced the unlit room and Ysolde waited, bound and kneeling against the wet ground. The shock of her situation had long left her, replaced by a boredom creeping over her skin. She had spent - well - how long had she been here? Of that she could not be sure. All she could conclude was that enough time had passed for her eyes to adjust to the dim surroundings.
Curious, she cast her gaze around the room. Though, beyond curiosity, she really just needed to look at anything besides him - the way he fidgeted and wrung his hands rendered her nervous just watching. Whatever intimidating pretense he may have hoped to wield would be unachievable after seeing him like this. To her disappointment, the room appeared mostly barren aside from the cobwebs decorating the ceilings and walls. She imagined this must be a storage room, or perhaps, a holding cell.
Her perusal was cut short by Danu as he approached Ysolde and once again crouched before her, "You..." he trailed briefly, "wouldn't happen to be a nobody would you?" his eyes moved up toward the ceiling, "you know, someone that could go missing without anyone noticing?" His hands began to gesture wildly as he continued. "I was just wondering since that would make this whole situation a lot easier." Ysolde stared wide-eyed at the man; did this idiot expect her to reply while gagged or..?
Staring back at her, he grinned a stupid grin that quickly faded, "No, you spoke with 'The Drifter' so at least he knows. No doubt there are others..."
"Shit", he spat, eyes moving to the ground, "Shit, shit, shit. Look, I'm going to need to remove your gag because, if I'm being honest, I need some help fixing this. I absolutely can't go to th... well, just please nothing dramatic so we can work this out sans headache?", his tone was pleading as his mechanical pupils dilated, honing in on hers.
A single raised brow was Ysolde's only response and it gave Danu no comfort. "Damn, I really don't like that look you're giving me. Makes me think you're not the listening type." he explained with a furrowed brow.
A devious smile hid behind Ysolde's gag.
"I'm serious! I'm sorry for having to hit you like that but for my sake and yours please let's just talk. I brought us some tea!" he swiveled around on his heels and reached into a bag, "Organic lifeforms love tea!"
Well, she couldn't argue with that and to be honest, she was not so dense as to believe progress would be made in this situation without a little discussion. These terms were acceptable assuming she could extract more information from him than he could from her.
Cold hands reached tentatively toward Ysolde's mouth, pulling at the crammed rag inside. Once removed, Ysolde's next breath felt fresher than any she had ever taken. With her devious smile revealed, she parted her lips as if to scream. Danu's brief panic was palatably sweet. The petty trick was at least a first step towards getting back at this Danu fellow. But no, Ysolde did not scream. She needed information and although the pathway here was... unorthodox, she wouldn't leave until she was at least a step closer to finding them.
"We can talk", Ysolde began slowly, "but I do expect that tea." With that Danu set to work boiling a pot of water.
"I drank of the oracles. It tasted like the sea" - Kabr
Highlighted by rays of sun, dust, recently perturbed, fell and tickled Ysolde's nose, yet she did not budge. Pressed against the back of her head was the distinct chill of metal and the very clear threat it represented. Just a moment ago she was laughing while Ceres zipped about as they sorted through the absurd details of their eerie encounter in the Tower's underground market and the man named Danu. Thank the Iron Lords Ceres had hurtled unnoticed into Ysolde's satchel, for as soon as she passed the threshold into this derelict building, circumstances abruptly changed. And so, she stood frozen - quiet - recalling the suffocatingly thick atmosphere that thinned just enough for a strange voice to ring through, "Do. Not. Move", it had said.
So she waited. Nothing.
"Look, whatever misunderstanding we have here, I assure you it can be resolved, one guardian to another", Ysolde uttered slowly but her voice faded as she heard - a chuckle?
"No." the voice began again in an accent strange and foreign, "I will taaaake gun but harm is not wanted. I will plaaaace gun away. You will count 5. When you count 5, I will be gone and you can get gun. You... caught me surpriiiise...", he confessed, each word seeming a struggle.
When Ysolde did not reply, she saw two arms slowly reach over her shoulders toward the rifle she held, just as the voice had promised. There was no fear in her. Just like a million times before, she would be revived in the case of her death, but of course she still preferred to avoid that agony whenever possible. Beyond that, she was curious. She-
Wait. Two arms were visible over her shoulders, yet the gun was still held firmly against her skull? But that-
Realization sinking its hooks into her mind, the sharp inhale that followed felt like a strike to the chest. The arms hovering above her jerked in response to her jolt, but both she and the stranger managed to recover their resolve. The swirl of alarm and curiosity was dizzying – disorienting. Though as her thoughts settled, intrigue won out, "You-" she puffed out, "you're not a guardian– are you?", forcing each of her muscles to relax as they anxiously tightened in turn.
The familiar sound of nothing.
"No haaaarm", muttered the voice - a reminder, a plea, or maybe both.
"Wait" Ysolde replied with urgency, "I want to speak with you. Look," she began to slowly lower her weapon, "I'm placing it down on the floor. I will disarm completely and kick the items away, just stay and chat with me once I do. No harm."
The firm contact between her skull and the gun barrel seemed to ease and she took that as a promising sign. After having released her grip on her primary rifle, her hands slowly drifted until they met her belt which supported a hand cannon sitting in its holster. Her fingers delicately finessed the latch releasing the belt and holster from her waist. With a deep breath and thoughtful movements, she gently laid it on the floor near the rifle. True to her promise, she slowly lifted a leg and with an abrupt kick, her items slid across the floor, out of reach.
"Your ghost. Reveeeal this thing," the voice came once more, "Make fair. Not on even ground if you have ghosssst. Valthyx does not have thisss thing."
Valthyx? As far as she had come to meet this stranger halfway, a muscle in her jaw tensed. Some believed the ghosts to be servants to their guardians, while some saw them more akin to pets. Ysolde did not believe these things. She knew she could not reveal Ceres.
"I-" she began, pausing to find the right words, "her life is not mine to risk." Ysolde's heart began to race, she hoped this stranger would understand why she couldn't comply with his request.
Behind her, a low growl came - portraying irritation but also concession - as the strangers arms lower.
"If you can't bite, better not show your teeth" - Lord Shaxx
A whirlwind churned in Valthyx's stomach and his fingers dug further into his weapon's leather grip. He desperately hoped the guardian could not sense the light trembling in his hold. He slowed each inhale and exhale but the tremors did not leave. 'Not this guardian. Not now and not her.', his thoughts implored the great machine as his focus remained acute and agonizing. He would just leave. Surely he could convince her to just part. Though if he could not, killing guardians was nothing new to Valthyx... Until-
No, she thought a guardian stood behind her? This would make sense, Valthyx mused. Only another guardian would maintain trigger discipline in this situation. An unexpected laugh escaped him at the misunderstanding. Refocusing on the situation, he clarified his next steps to the guardian. They could both leave here alive. They would.
His eyes narrowed, watching her as she willingly disarmed. Was it always this easy? Was this the secret to fighting the guardians all along? She seemed to be so... receptive. So accommodating. This sign was good. Something else struck him: were all guardians this... small? Up close they seemed like such little things. Curious. Tensing, he knew his next request was a difficult, but necessary one.
He felt a plummeting sensation and a brief panic after hearing her refusal to reveal her ghost. 'Her life is not mine to risk? ' Perhaps -
Perhaps she was right. Or, perhaps Valthyx had grown naïve since relinquishing his title as captain. Something strange stirring within him kept him here, urging him to find out. Lowering his weapon, he took a step back. She slowly turned to face him. His frame towered over her as she tilted her gaze upwards toward him. Their eyes locked. The two stood in silence for what felt to be an eternity. An unfamiliar aching in his chest came while he stared.
This felt-