Urokai Agvain stood at the window of his bedroom, looking over the lawn of his estate, trying to mimic the Noblesse. He was not good at it. That was not his style. But, he also felt rather more comfortable at home, than he had expected. Since he had fallen in with Ragus and the others, he had come to be more active; always coming and going. Well, but he was a traitor now, and he knew that. They had plotted to kill the Noblesse, Cadis Etrama Di Raizel. Urokai had always, always admired the Noblesse; he would have given up his life to protect that one lonely being, whose grace and elegance was unlike any other.
But, he had chosen a human companion. Not just some lowly human to be his servant, either, but one with power! Urokai clenched his teeth, his blood pressure rising, because just the thought of Frankenstein made him intolerably angry. If it was not about a human's weakness, then why had the Noblesse not chosen one of them as his companion?!
The plot had failed, in all its glory, and gone down in flames. The Noblesse had
come home alive and basically unhurt. Something that did not surprise him all that much. Because, obviously the reason they all loved and hated him, was because he was a god.
On the other hand, Urokai could not believe that the Noblesse, and the Lord, and Frankenstein, and the other clan leaders, were so stupid they would not be able to trace the threat back to its source. The worst possible outcome for them, as traitors, was that not only Raizel-nim, but the Werewolf Lord, had survived. According to Ragus, the real mastermind behind it all, had called upon him only two days previously to warn him to keep his mouth shut.
But Urokai knew that Ragus thirst for domination spared no one. He did not have friends. He had people he used. Urokai knew it only too well, because he had gone done and gotten himself shit deep in these plans, and ended up losing an eye.
Turning, Urokai stomped over to the chair by the hearth. His house was small, by comparison. And he was alone there. He had no kids to dote on; he would have liked to have one or two by now, but…in a way, he was afraid to have children. Bringing out another existence like himself, and passing on his soul to them when he 'stopped being', was morbid.
He was proud of his Soul Weapon.
He was also, deep down inside him, a little afraid of it. Entrusting his entire being to a weapon, was awkward. He did not know how to put that into words. He wanted to be stronger! So strong, he no longer had to think complicated things. His head hurt when he tried to quantify it, and that made him grumpy and hot-headed.
He had gotten used to pain, though. He was in pain every minute of every day now. Although, he had only himself to blame for that, he could not help but want to throw curses onto the one who had caused it. Losing an eye was not all that easy to pass off, even for a Noble. And, not just because of the loss of vision, or the pain, but because it marked his face. Urokai did not consider himself a rare beauty, but he had been moderately protective of his face; he thought that was only normal.
Unfortunately, the wound was not a normal one. He sealed the cavity with a special eyepatch, but he knew that was not going to work forever. Sometimes, it felt like something was crawling around in there. Ordinarily, they would have been able to fit him with a glass eye, to avoid a collapse of the structure of the socket, which could reshape that side of his face. He could not do that, though; he had once, while feeling at the empty socket, ended up putting his finger under the eyelid. There was nothing in there, anymore, but…when he had panicked from the shock of realizing it was empty there, and pulled his finger back out, that 'nothingness' had followed after it.
It was festering or growing in there. Sometimes, he had bad dreams, too, which he could never remember upon waking. Just a lingering sense of doom.
The other problem, was that he was thirsty. In a way that no Noble should have been. His fangs had always been pronounced, but now they were long enough to touch his lower lip. He ached all over. As an experiment, he had once tasted the blood of a human; just a little, to find out what all the fuss was about. He thought that it was pretty disgusting, actually, but he could not deny that blood was delicious.
Heaving a sigh, not wanting to go to the Lord's Assembly, which he had to do, Urokai hugged his knee, his foot hooked on the edge of his chair, and chewed a strand of hair poking him in the face. He had let it grow, but when he sat like this, the ends poked him all over.
"I feel like shit!" He howled, loudly, raving his fists in the air.
A knock at the door distracted him. Ragus had told him to hold-up indoors and keep his mouth shut during the assembly the following day. Like he would just arbitrarily blab the whole thing?! Another knock came, making him jump, and he moved to the door with a nasty expression on his face. Who the hell was bothering him now, on the eve of such an important day?
"Oh, Ragar." He muttered, upon seeing his guest. "Don't you ever get tired of having your face covered up like that? It's sweltering hot."
"I thought it would be prudent to pay call upon you, as you have been isolated here after that time." Ragar said, as he moved into the foyer. "Urokai, it is not that hot tonight. In fact, it is quite pleasant."
Frowning, not sure how to take that statement, Urokai shrugged. "So, it's just me? Wonderful." Moving back to his parlour, he fished out a canister of tealeaves and managed to brew them. Setting the cup before Ragar, he thought about this person. They had basically grown up together, but it was somehow hard for Urokai to remember the distant past. Just a lingering feeling of release and comfort, because his parents had been the ones to handle everything. They were gone, now, though. "So! How's the family?"
"Hm. They are fine." Ragar replied, having lowered the cloth from his nose and mouth to sip the tea. "Km. Actually, the Lord asked me to come here."
Brows twitching, Urokai swallowed. "Is there something specific? If the Lord wishes to speak to me, then I would go at once." Well, unless it was his execution they were talking about…he did not think that was the case, though.
"The Lord was concerned that perhaps you were still unfit to participate in the Assembly. There is some reason for which he wants all the Clan Leaders to be present. Of course, this is the Lord we are speaking of." He paused there, then dipped his head. "How much he actually sees, I cannot imagine. What is certain, is that the Noblesse will be present this time. That has not happened in many centuries, as you are aware. So, I think that has bearing on why the Lord is sending me to check up on people."
Impressed, Urokai rubbed the back of his neck. He was aware that there were two paths before him. Neither was 'good'. Some part of him, wanted to run. But another part of him, a greater part of him, was tired of being in pain. He was sick of putting up with Ragus' crap, too. The Lord's Assembly would undoubtedly drag out the worst and best of the Clan Leaders, and if that was not something he could avoid, then…it would be far more bitter to be on the worst half.
Gritting his teeth, nervous, Urokai looked at Ragar. "How…is the Noblesse?" He asked, despite himself. Even though he did not want to be near that being at the moment, since he would probably eradicate them all, he still really, really liked Raizel-nim.
Ragar frowned a little, looking at him. "Have you not visited him?" He asked, softly. "You had isolated yourself here, but it was our understanding that you still visited him from time to time. You and Roctus and Edian."
Startled, Urokai blinked. Leaning his chin on his hand, he felt a little moody and smug now. "Did Ragus say that?" He asked, bluntly. "Oh? Really. I haven't left my house in the last few years. I told the Lord I would take a retreat, and I did. I don't like Frankenstein, and there is no reason for me to further disgrace myself in front of the Noblesse. At the very least, I'm not a masochist."
There was a long pause, before Ragar spoke again. He looked very out of place in the parlour, dressed as he was. But, his expression was somewhat more troubled. "Why would Ragus say this, if it is not so?"
"Why does Ragus do anything?" Urokai wondered, looking away. "You'd have to ask him, if you really need to know. I suppose we'll find out tomorrow, though. Just what the hell is going on." He put a hand to his temple, rubbing at it absently. His head hurt! He did not know if it was just stress or what, but he was tired and… he wanted to bite someone!
Thinking it over, Urokai studied Ragar. The Lord had sent him over? That was suspicious in and of itself. Practically speaking, if he was going to jump ship, he needed to do it before the Lord's Assembly. But, that would likely result in a heavy sentence, if not death. He was just waiting around to go insane, though, and if he had to pick and depend on anyone's mercy, he would definitely pick The Lord.
He did not want to turn into some drug-puppet or a corpse-demon, and he had a very good understanding of just what Ragus was fucking around with when he went and 'played' with humans. That, also, was a consequence of Frankenstein's arrival, though. Because Frankenstein was too powerful for a human, and that had made Ragus jealous in a completely different way from himself or Roctus.
Shuddering, Urokai abruptly stood up. He moved to the mantel, looking at the mirror. His face was not his own anymore. When had he gotten to be so ugly? He touched the eyepatch, wondering just how bad it actually was underneath, but he lacked the resolve to removed it.
"Urokai?" Ragar asked, frowning at him. He also gained his feet. "You seem quite agitated, although there is no need."
Leaning on the mantel, chuckling, Urokai really did think that was funny. Of course, Ragar did not know anything about his inner dialogue, so it was a normal statement in his mind. Turning, slowly, Urokai felt tears running from his good eye. He was in pain, and he was tired, and he was jaded. He did not want to go to the Lord's Assembly! But, he was also getting to where he did not want to be alone when everything fell apart.
"Ragar…" He said, softly. "…I would like to visit the Lord privately. Before tomorrow. There is something I need to do." He leaned back a little. "Will you take me there?"
"Take you there?" Ragar asked, softly. "You can come or go at your own discretion, Urokai. For although you have imposed this limitation upon yourself, no punishment was set upon you by the Lord."
Smiling, Urokai shook his head. "I know that." He replied. Feeling a little unstable, and unable to regulate his temperature, he gritted his teeth. "I will presume that you, at least, know how to keep your mouth shut. I would like you to escort me to the Lord, because I'm sure I'd be attacked along the way. I've been warned off of speaking to the Lord, you see. Or anyone else, for that matter; but you came on your own…no, you came because the Lord told you to." He lifted a hand. "I think that is because the Lord knows more than he lets on."
Ragar's eyes flashed. "I will escort you to the Lord, in that case. However, this is Lukedonia. Who would dare to attack a Clan Leader?"
Laughing, Urokai smiled at his friend. "You really haven't got a malicious bone in your body, do you? I can't even imagine what you think about the world." Wiping his face free of tears, Urokai smirked a little. "I'm not that righteous. I'm…" He looked away, his hands clenching. "…a traitor."