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Seas Of Erin > Cecilia > High voltage!


Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 25 2008, 10:17 PM
Morgan was really tired of today.

Jumping around all kinds of places to check up, check in, help fix...

FUCK, he was tired of today.

Still, when he appeared in Maalech's home, he pushed himself into a fighting stance, back against one of the walls, eyes flitting about to find the other man.

Posted by: Maalech May 25 2008, 10:21 PM
Well, there seemed to be no grand calamity expecting him. The house was empty and quiet, dark save for the light that was on in one of the rooms.

No sense of anything disturbed.

No sense of death.

Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 25 2008, 10:23 PM
Well, good. No one was spattered on the walls, nothing seems to have been carved up.

If Mal were lucky, she might not even have known how to find him yet. Or she was following him. But, better to act than to hope.

So he went to ward the lit room, "Mal? You in here?"

Posted by: Maalech May 25 2008, 10:28 PM
"Do you have -any- idea what the time is?" There was a bit of rustled clothing, and Maalech opened the door, wrapped in a quite mundane robe.

"It is annoying, but I need far more sleep these days. I assume this is important from that bewildered look on your face?" He turned around, walking back into the quite large bedroom. He had no bed there, just a simple mattress on the floor. And books. Always books.


Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 25 2008, 10:32 PM
"Oh, thank goodness you're alive." The man let out a sigh of relief, running a hand over his head, "Look, some big shit just happened and I think I should let you know, seeing as I'm your keeping-things-from-going-batshit guy."

Fine job he'd done, too!

"Someone's been tearing up Aly's cards. And they seem to be giving her parts of her head back..." Morgan should probably have stopped it, but it was already going on when he showed up, "And she seems plenty pissed at you.'

Posted by: Maalech May 25 2008, 10:39 PM
Maalech sighed, pressing two fingers to the bridge of his nose before he sat down on the mattress, cross-legged. "Alright. I am obviously not dead. Now calm down and tell me what I need to know."

He watched Morgan quite calmly, but there was an edge to his voice that had not been there before. "First of all. Who is this someone. Second of all, what cards have been destroyed, and are you absolutely -certain- that they actually were destroyed? They did not regenerate?"

He was tapping his fingers against his knee, but forced himself to stop. "And how are you a part of this?"

Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 25 2008, 10:44 PM
"Right, well," the man began, taking a deep breath, "The guy doing the tearing is called..." Morgan trailed off when he realized that he hadn't got the little Magus's name. "Shit. There was so much going on, I didn't get his name. Anyway. Dark-haired kid on a boat. No magic training in evidence. Aly's taken a shine to him, for whatever that's worth."

Morgan frowned, looking around quietly, "And I'm pretty sure they're torn up. I didn't look to see if they came back, but every time he tore one, Aly bent over double like she was in pain and came back up with a head full of things she suddenly remembered... and I don't think much of it was complimentary to you."

Posted by: Maalech May 25 2008, 10:54 PM
Maalech gave Morgan a long, rather cold look. Almost disbelieving really. "I see." That was the only thing he said at first, then he added "It is a wonder you have stayed alive as long as you have."

"Now let me see if we can gather some light to shine on this. Dark haired you say? Curly? Would he be sailing northwards on the sea-witch's ship?" He rubbed his chin, pondering. "It has to be him, the queensman of the Countess of Cnoch na Niall. But could the weave be that close to complete?" Maalech sounded fascinated rather than afraid.

"They would have regenerated instantly. And her reaction is to be expected. She allowed him to tear them up? I thought I had snared her need of them too strongly." He tapped his knee again. "There are many things in her memory that are less than complimentary of me. I am not surprised there." The look on his face was almost bitter.

"I take it you do not know which cards were torn either? Leaving us completely in the blind."

That was worrying. Very much so.

Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 25 2008, 10:58 PM
"I don't know. Sailing northward, yes. Curly hair, yes. She was too big on getting her head back together."

The man shrugged, grimacing at Maalech, "And I might say it's as much a wonder that you've stayed alive this long, all those people you've pissed off over the years--Hell, the ones you've pissed off recently."

Morgan shrugged some, "And there were four cards done. Strength, the Queen of Wands, the Three of Swords and the Magus." Morgan frowned some, "And that last one REALLY got her going."

He rubbed at the back of his neck a little, "I tried to talk some sense into her, Mal. But there's no talking sense into her."

Posted by: Maalech May 25 2008, 11:05 PM
"There never was any use attempting to talk sense into her." Maalech shook his head, still looking as if he was torn between annoyance and elation. "It has to be him. It is the only one that would fit. It would also explain why she trusts him." He actually chuckled there, looking to the roof for a moment.

"Seven mortal hells Morgan, this could be disastrous. And it could be the culmination of a few years of planning. It all depends on what cards are drawn and in what order. The ones you have mentioned so far constitutes no greater calamity. That she distrusts me is one thing, but if what she has is the Magus, she will not find me now. I am no longer that man."

He rubbed his chin, still looking almost amused. "The truly disastrous cards would be the ones that gave her back the knowledge of what happened to drive her this deep into insanity from the start. The Tzarg. The loss of her home. The cursed entrapment. I dislike that she has both Strength and the Queen of Wands. That is a volatile combination. Power."


Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 25 2008, 11:08 PM
"She won't find you. Good." The man nodded some, seeming to relax, "Well, then... ah." He frowned some, "I think she's got some of that stuff already."

Morgan began pacing a little, running a hand over his head, "There were other cards before. Eight of them, apparently. I wasn't there for those ones. All I know is that she seems... I think she remembers something of that. Enough of it, anyway. Not enough to know why her head had to be broken up like it was."

The man looked to Mal then, "It DID have to be broken up like it was, right?"

Posted by: Maalech May 25 2008, 11:14 PM
Maalech was silent for a moment there, then he added very quietly. "Yes. Yes it did. She would not have survived otherwise, the woman knows no compromises."

Had she learned that over the years? Maalech wished he could be sure.

"I wish she does not remember enough to get some insane notion that she can strike back at them." That thought made him look more worried than the threat to his life had. "This is too soon. I did not predict that my weave would grow this strong, this quickly." He tapped his fingers again, forehead deeply wrinkled in thought.

"But if this is the way that things are proceeding, it seems that the need to act is soon, before things are too late." And he without his Art.

Such a bother.

Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 25 2008, 11:17 PM
"So should I go and try and get her to not try and strike back?" Morgan looked to the man, brow furrowed, "I'm really outside my element here, Mal. I'm supposed to be a father now, now some damned... uh... whatever it is I'm doing here."

Morgan scowled for a moment, "This was supposed to be just me sitting around and waiting until you got done finding yourself or whatever this is and then fading further into obscurity."

Posted by: Maalech May 25 2008, 11:28 PM
"It was. I did not plan for this to happen for at least a few years. Something must have acted as a catalyst, and I would assume it is the queensman. The man you just met. It seems he has assumed the role of Magus." Maalech sighed deeply, eyes distant as he went over scenarios in his head.

"If I had thought this was likely, I would not have attempted this now. Trust my word on this Morgan, I do not sleep easily knowing this is in your hands."

He fell silent again, then finally spoke up. "There are two paths here, at least the ones I can perceive with my limited knowledge" that was delivered with a caustic glance at Morgan. "Either I discontinue this path, which I am loathe to do, or we postpone you drifting into obscurity and deal with the situation at hand."


Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 25 2008, 11:33 PM
"Well, since my fading away has already been delayed, I'm in. Just going to have to get a proper nursemaid or whatever it is you call a long-term babysitter," the man sighed, closing his eyes for a moment.

"So, we've got a little Magus on the loose, a madwoman hopping around Reality with a hate-on for who you used to be." Morgan frowned deeply then, looking to Maalech, "I say we hold the Magus at bladepoint and get him to rip up the deck and then find a way to deal with her or help her put the deck back together. But I don't have all the facts here."

Posted by: Maalech May 25 2008, 11:44 PM
"It is not safe to do it all at once, that would shatter her mind as completely or more than it was from the start. She needs a little at a time to enable her to deal with what has happened." Maalech pondered, weighing things back and forth in his head.

"The reason why this man have been able to damage the cards as all is because he is slowly but surely being assigned my role in the web. I... oh I gather I should explain."

Maalech shook his head, watching Morgan with a frown. "You do know that she is under surveillance by the Tzarg. Even more, she is under the curse, having her reborn again and again. I managed to circumvent this somewhat this time but... it has long been my goal to slip her out. Breaking the curse, that is not the issue, but keeping the Tzarg from noticing is. So I started grooming what you might call a proxy. The Countess of Cnoch na Niall. I perceived that if the world was willing, she would walk a similar path in life. It seems now that she has, to the extent that she even has embroidered her queensman in what was to be my role. That is why he and only he can affect the cards. They were keyed to me from the start." He pondered silently for a moment.

"Do you understand what I am saying here?"

Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 25 2008, 11:49 PM
Morgan frowned some, considering as the other man spoke.

"So, in other words, you're going to drive someone else crazy and then you and Aly live together under their noses with your places fobbed off on some unsuspecting couple?"

Posted by: Maalech May 25 2008, 11:54 PM
"It will not be neccesary to drive anyone crazy. That I shattered her memories was because she could not live with what she had lost. The woman was verging on self-destruct, or a foolish charge against the ones that hurt her. I would not lose her like that. The madness was always there, I only took away the reins she had placed upon it."

Maalech sounded almost upset there. "I will simply tangle the Countess thread with that of hers. If I do it skillfully enough, nobody will be the wiser. I assume that the Tzarg do not actively monitor her, else they would have acted before now. That means that they act upon her death, to restart the curse. I do not intend to have the Countess die for a very, very long time. Not until I am ready. That is why it is helpful that she is Tuhatha. She will most likely never notice anything have changed in her life."

He paused, then admitted "Apart from that, you seems to have caught the point. It would also enable me to break the curse that binds her, and bring her back fully into reality. Not as an avatar."


Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 25 2008, 11:56 PM
"Hm."

Morgan thought the whole thing over for a moment.

Then moved to punch Maalech in the face.

Posted by: Maalech May 25 2008, 11:58 PM
It was not as if Maalech would have been able to dodge that even if he had tried.

More to the point, he had not expected it, being preoccupied with what needed to be done.

So Morgan's fist hit his face, sending him sprawling back on the mattress, one hand pressed to his nose.

"This... is childish." He sounded rather muffled, and very annoyed with the fact that he was bleeding.

Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 26 2008, 12:03 AM
"No, this is sick," growled the man, suddenly animated, "I'm going through all this trouble to try and help you--Hell, I try to warn you that your wife might be coming to implode you--and... and it's all so you can suck MORE people into this-this madness?"

Morgan turned away and slammed his fist into the wall.

Getting a hold of himself, he turned back to Maalech, "I don't have a problem with this kid or this countess or even Aly at this point," he looked to Maalech then, scowling, "And if I wasn't pant-shitting afraid of that giant mountain-thing coming back, I'd just carve up this whole inane plan of yours."

He looked to the man, "There's a third way out of this. One that gets you out AND the sprogs. Tell me."

Posted by: Maalech May 26 2008, 12:12 AM
"Do not delude yourself." Maalech pulled himself to his feet, fingering his nose. At least it wasn't bleeding, the blood had come from his lip, where he had bit himself.

He only wished that he could forget exactly what lurked inside the man. As if reminded, he fingered the scar under his eye.

"This is how things work. You do not create something from nothing, even as a mage. I do not trust my skill enough to tear her out from underneath their eyes. You and your son? Yes. You were always incidental. Her? She is caught right in their web. I need something to replace her with. That is my one interest her. Her." He had lost his calm by now, not really raising his voice, just almost.

"They are already sucked into this. Just by following their paths in life. I am twisting nothing. It is all their choices, their fates, their lives. It would not work if I pulled their strings. It has to be real. The web is set. They are progressing down that path, with or without me. I will not waste this opportunity."

Maalech fell silent, then added, almost gently "There is no solution that just makes everything right. You know that. You tried that. There will always be sacrifices."

Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 26 2008, 12:17 AM
Morgan scowled at the man, clenching his fists tightly as if he wanted to strike again.

He let out a frustrated sound, loud and quick, and leaned against the wall, looking at Maalech with a grimace. "So what happens when it's all done? When you've pulled your big switch? You think the Tzarg won't notice an elf and her human pet where they used to have a pair of ciphers? You think they won't come after you with a vengeance to put things how they used to be?"

The man scowled, "More important, what happens to that elf and her human once you and Aly have made your getaway?"

Posted by: Maalech May 26 2008, 12:23 AM
"They will not notice." Maalech sounded confident enough, because self-doubt was the first thing you were weaned off as a mage. He trusted his machinations. "It is most likely passive surveillance, not active. Since nothing is broken, just shifted, they would have no cause to investigate. Not until the death of the Countess." Which he presumed would be quite a long time from now.

He fingered his lip thoughtfully. "I have successfully evaded their notice so far, I am quite capable of managing this. She must already be far along the path if this is coming to pass. Race have nothing to do with it, their fates are similar enough."

Yes, theoretically it should work.

"I would assume they would notice nothing at all. It is not as if this is something that affects their everyday life. Though she would gain some additional protection. It would be in my interest to keep her alive."

Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 26 2008, 12:25 AM
"And when she DOES die?" Morgan was skeptical at best. The whole thing sounded too pat. Which meant, of course, that it was.

Not that he didn't want to help, of course. But this wasn't right, dammit.

"Does she just keep coming back, not knowing why? Does she go into that sick cycle you and Aly seem to be in?"

Posted by: Maalech May 26 2008, 12:28 AM
"She does not have a soul. She is also tied to this world quite strongly. If indeed Anne and her ilk are not Tzarg, then I would assume that the Tzarg would still not wish for conflict. That is in part why I chose this plane to make this experiment in powerlessness in."

But Maalech did have to admit "However, it is impossible to know for sure." He was not concerned with moral implications, just with effectiveness.

Posted by: Scarlet May 26 2008, 12:29 AM
The darkness in the back corner of the room was broken by a small metallic click, a whiff of a bitter, wet-charcoal smelling stuff, and a tiny orange flame illuminating the dark eyes and cream-pale forehead of a woman who bent her head low to touch the tip of her cigarillo to the fire. Another click, and the flame vanished. With relief, the woman exhaled a vast cloud of strawberry smoke.

Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 26 2008, 12:33 AM
Morgan rubbed at the bridge of his nose.

He was quiet for a long time, pacing around the room as if trying to find some way through Maalech's explanations. He was about to speak when he heard the click, turning towards it with a start.

And he scowled some. He didn't feel her come in. He wasn't sure he felt her there.

"Who are you?"

Posted by: Maalech May 26 2008, 12:36 AM
Maalech noted that Morgan had likewise not felt the arrival, an relaxed somewhat. "I would assume she is one of them." He made a faint bow towards the corner, as ever polite.

"One of Anne's colleagues."

Posted by: Scarlet May 26 2008, 12:42 AM
"Wrong." She slithered out of the corner, the cigarillo hanging with careless ease at her side, trailing pink smoke. Her dark red hair was twisted into a knot at the top of her head, with two long spiralled curls brushing against her bare shoulders. "Housebreaker. The way you sleep I could've stolen every stick of furniture by now."

And she flashed him a smile like a knife's edge.

Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 26 2008, 12:47 AM
Redheads.

Too many fucking redheads. He was quite sure if he stopped and thought about it, redheads were the cause of all his troubles.

He should see if Sidiah could cut out the first red-headed child from existence. His life would be vastly improved. He just knew it.

Either that or he should stop wanting to sleep with them. That'd probably fix things, too. But fat chance of that happening.

"Not like he has a lot of furniture to steal." Morgan scowled some, examining the woman, "So are we going to have to come up with a name for you, too? Or do you come with one?"

Posted by: Maalech May 26 2008, 12:51 AM
"A housebreaker." Maalech sighed, watching the woman. "There is not much here worth stealing, furniture or otherwise. By now you should have noticed that." Had she concealed herself before he came inside.

Perhaps. He did not have sharp senses anymore.


Posted by: Scarlet May 26 2008, 12:57 AM
"Oh my God." The woman's lower jaw dropped at Maalech's response. She regarded him with something between horror and concern. "Please don't tell me you just took that seriously. How does she put up with you?"

To Morgan she offered her cigarette-free hand. "I come with a name. And accessories." She smiled. "Scarlet."

Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 26 2008, 12:59 AM
This was a bad sign.

Redhead that he liked.

The man smirked a little, gesturing to Maalech, "Well, he's Maalech. I'm Morgan. But you knew that already, I'd wager."

Posted by: Maalech May 26 2008, 01:03 AM
"It seemed impolite to disagree." Maalech simply crossed his arms, watching the woman. "If you for some reason would wish to pass yourself off for a human, far be it from me to disagree. Certain of your colleagues were quite fascinated with inhabiting bodies."

He paused for a moment. "Should you wish to do so in the future, smoke in general is not pink." The last was simply some helpful advice.

Posted by: Scarlet May 26 2008, 01:09 AM
"Sorry," she said cheerfully, waggling her cigarillo about. "I failed physics." She took another drag, watching Maalech from over the point of the burning ember. "I've been briefed," she said nicely to Morgan. "Him I knew. You I knew about."

She propped her fist on her hip. "Well! Here we all are. Where are your gods now?"

Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 26 2008, 01:13 AM
"Never had much truck with them, for my own part. My Mentor did a lot of dethroning of them. Doubt that counts, though."

After a moment Morgan looked to the woman, tilting his head, "So, okay. I assume you're here to either help or hinder. Don't suppose you'd come out and tell us which?" Morgan watched the woman for a moment.

Posted by: Maalech May 26 2008, 01:16 AM
"I left my gods behind a long time ago, I have no need for worship." But the frown that had crept on Maalech's face, stayed there.


How much had she listened to? How much did she care?

She was an unwritten card this one, and it made him faintly nervous. "I would agree with Morgan. To what do we owe the pleasure?" He straightened his robe a bit.

Posted by: Scarlet May 26 2008, 01:22 AM
"I'm here as a private agent." The woman sauntered across the room, found a seat atop a flat-topped chest already overcrowded with books. With a small frown, she nudged the books to the floor with her hip and settled down comfortably in the nest remaining. "You've just admitted you're infringing on my territory. And that's the bad news." She smiled. "I've known what you've been up to. I've known it for a long, long time."

Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 26 2008, 01:25 AM
"Territory?" Morgan looked between the two of them before looking back to Scarlet, "What territory is that?" The man watched the supernal being with a vague frown.

"So... What about it?"

Posted by: Maalech May 26 2008, 01:28 AM
Maalech made no attempt to illuminate Morgan's question, he left that for the woman. His eyes had narrowed somewhat, and he had drawn himself up slightly straighter.

"These plans were set in motion before I learned of your ilk. Would you interfere with me? Or is this nothing but a friendly warning?"

As always it was frustrating not to feel what she was.

Just a normal human, that was all he saw.

That and the pink smoke.

Posted by: Scarlet May 26 2008, 01:33 AM
"Unfortunately, I knew about you ages before you knew about me. Or us. Or about Black, although she has a habit of being . . . " she waved her hands about. "You know, appearing at odd moments, she's like the Maidenform woman, you never know where she'll turn up." She crossed her legs at the knee. "Right now? It's a friendly warning. Black's so protective of you, it's precious. She would absolutely kill me if I iced you. Either of you."

Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 26 2008, 01:37 AM
"Friendly warning to what?" Morgan arched a pale eyebrow then, running a hand over his shorn head, "I'm not sure what your... uh... 'territory' is; or how to stay off it."

He looked at the woman, crossing his arms across his chest, "I'll say this for you; I appreciate the directness."

Posted by: Maalech May 26 2008, 09:04 AM
Maalech cast a glance at Morgan. "Consider what we spoke of when she arrived. I suspect that is what the issue is about." He sighed, pressing two fingers to the bridge of his nose as he pondered.

This was not unexpected. But it was still dangerous.

"I assume then, seeing as how you know so much about me, you also know that at the moment I am not in a position to influence anything?"

An indirect death threat. Interesting. He was watching the woman now, face calm and controlled. As if none of this really concerned him.

That she would appear now must mean that things were getting more entangled than he could have predicted at this stage.

Posted by: Scarlet May 26 2008, 03:53 PM
The woman gave Maalech a look of such blankness that it verged on the bovine. "Don't be so fucking modest," she told him.

As for Morgan, she somehow managed to address him distinctly and directly without so much as a change of expression or redirection her gaze. "Don't worry about it, sweet-pea; you haven't done anything worth threatening you. Yet."

Posted by: Maalech May 26 2008, 10:00 PM
Maalech was quite certain he should be very disturbed over the fact that Scarlet and Morgan got along so well. Not that he was surprised.

But he had a question for the woman, and so he acknowledged her comment with just a simple nod. "There is one thing that I would like clarified. What would be your area of expertise? I have met with the Random and the Architect, it would be interesting to hear what your particular charge is, since I have apparently stepped into it."

He spoke very carefully, watching the woman intently.

Posted by: Scarlet May 27 2008, 04:40 PM
"Interpersonal relationships," she explained sweetly. "But please. Don't get the wrong idea."

Posted by: Maalech May 27 2008, 08:18 PM
"And may I ask..." Maalech was still watching the woman, grey eyes calm and focused "... how a human whose life is, as I have recently had pointed out to me, mostly about interpersonal relationships are supposed to avoid infringing on your territory? It seems to be quite an unreasonable request."

He had relaxed his defensive posture by now, and seemed to be quite intrigued by the whole thing.

Posted by: Scarlet May 27 2008, 08:42 PM
"You can blow your own self away, for all I care. You strike me as someone who needs a few more interpersonal relationships to distract you from the ones you've already got going." She gave him a discerning, arrogant look down her pert little nose, then shook her head and took another drag from her cigarillo. "Niabheara, asshole."

Posted by: Maalech May 27 2008, 09:04 PM
"I see." Maalech nodded slowly. It was as he had surmised. But he had wished for confirmation, in case he had been wrong. "She is one of yours then."

"And what would happen if I would continue to do what I am doing? Let my earlier machinations run their course?"

Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 27 2008, 09:06 PM
Well, HE hadn't done anything to have the supernal overbeing directly pissed at him.

That was good to know. Of course, knowing it was there probably meant he'd fuck it all up later. What were you going to do?

"I imagine," the man piped up to Maalech, "she'll kick your ass. At least that's the impression I'm getting."

Posted by: Scarlet May 27 2008, 09:26 PM
"I'd fuck him up so badly that he'd hire out for ass-kickings as a means of relaxation." The smoke was fast going up from pink to blood-red, and the strawberry smell took on a distinct whiff of sulphur.

Posted by: Maalech May 27 2008, 09:32 PM
"I see." Maalech was still looking at her, rubbing his chin for a moment as he considered a suitable reply.

What disturbed him was that he was not exactly sure what limits there were on these creatures. Not yet.

"And if I had not been aware of you and your ilk... would you simply have struck me down without warning then? For daring to use her in my machinations? Or would you have appeared regardless, though I would not know what you were?"

Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 27 2008, 09:38 PM
Hire out asskickings... he'd have to remember that one.

At any rate, there were bigger matters at hand--and the woman was obviously far too interested in the man's plan for Nialla. Not that Morgan blamed her.

"And why does it matter, anyway? What do you care if one more person bites it?"

Posted by: Scarlet May 27 2008, 09:43 PM
"Um. You. Peanut gallery." She pointed a crimson-slick nail at Morgan. "Shut the fuck up before you end up in the body count. Not as if I could do anything to you that you haven't done to yourself already, you walking wrecking-ball."

She stood up, stretching. The smoldering butt of the cigarillo dropped to the floor and she ground down a heel on it. "Of course I wouldn't have bothered then. You're practically family now, didn't you know that? She's grooming you. Like a poodle."

Posted by: Maalech May 27 2008, 09:50 PM
"Ah." Maalech nodded, as if this made perfect sense. "So it is less about what I actually am using her for, and more about who it is that is using her. Me. Or rather, as you say, me in the aspect of almost family."

He mused on that for a moment, fingertips pressed against one another.

"Yes, I am aware of the fact that she is grooming me as you put it." He made a faint face at that. "But you should also be aware that I have not yet said yes. Nor am I certain I ever will. Which Aspect of this is it that you have the trouble with? The one that grooms me, or the one whom I am supposed to replace?"

Posted by: Scarlet May 27 2008, 10:05 PM
"Oh, I haven't got a problem with either Aspect." She moved in closer, gown whispering at her feet, and slipped in near to Maalech, close enough to feel body heat. "I do have problems with people trying to muck about with my avatars. There's not room in that pert little body for the both of us, buster."

Posted by: Maalech May 27 2008, 10:14 PM
"I am not interested in her body." Nor did Maalech seem that interested in her body either, at least not in any other capacity than a possible threat. Though the wrinkle between his eyebrows had deepened quite a bit. "I am interested in how the thread of her fate grows to resemble that of my wife. I am barely influencing her actions. It would render the entire experiment moot."

For a moment he was silent, then admitted "It might have proceeded too far to be aborted easily, even should I wish to. The Queensman have already begun to unravel the shields I placed around her. What you are asking me to do might mean the destruction of my wife."

Posted by: Scarlet May 27 2008, 10:23 PM
"Call me when I give a shit." She turned in a neat half-circle, bare shoulder brushing against Maalech's chest, and stalked off across the room again. The little lighter came out again, as did a second cigarette. Fire flared, and in the snap of the lighter's lid, she blinked out of existence.

Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 28 2008, 10:58 AM
Morgan looked after the woman, rather angered at how he'd kind of wanted to lose his shit when she'd turned even that fraction of her ire on him.

And that she seemed to know.

But, then, what's the point of being an omnicient (or at least nearly so) being if you didn't know things?

The man looked over at Maalech for a moment before looking back to the shadowed corner of the room, wishing he could have somehow felt the woman's presence like he felt other people's. "Your friends, family, colleagues or whatever you're going to be calling them, I really, really am starting to dislike them."

Then Morgan frowned, looking to the other man, "Does that mean Aly's going to be one of that Scarlet woman's avatars, too?"

Posted by: Maalech May 28 2008, 08:34 PM
"It is still not decided." Maalech let out a breath when the woman had left, losing the calmness that he had cultivated. Instead he looked rather annoyed, and more than a bit flustered by the visit.

"I distrust this on a deep level, you of all people should know that by now. I do not desire to be something other than human, it has never been my goal." But still, this was not godhood... this was being able to look behind the scenes of reality in ways that he had always wanted.

Always. Dream and nightmare in one neatly wrapped package.

"And I assume it was not her intent to be liked. She was here to threaten. Had that not been the case, I surmise you would have seen a different aspect of her. She would be the one closest to humans in ways of behavior, seeing what she represents. That also explains the jealousy."

Maalech shook his head. He had started pacing now, almost without conscious effort. "This I did not foresee. What are the odds of the countess being... seven mortal hells!" Maalech swore, then abruptly stopped.

It looked as if some thought had struck him so hard, he was still reeling from the shock.

"This could be bad."

Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 29 2008, 12:23 AM
I don't even know what you're thinking, Mal, and I'll tell you for free that it is bad." The man watched the other pace, frowning deeply and, without quite thinking about it, the man began to pace as well, scowling deeply.

"Even if you haven't decided, you're still..." the man sighed, "I know you didn't ask for it." Rubbing at the bridge of his nose, the man forced himself to stop pacing. "See? This is what happens when you start fucking with people, Mal. They start fucking back and everything goes sideways and you end up dead or crazy."

He felt like throwing something.


Posted by: Maalech May 29 2008, 08:40 AM
"Yes, of course I could get killed, that is not the issue here..." Maalech dismissed that notion with a wave of his hand, what bothered him was not his personal safety. If it had, he would never have walked this path he did now. In fact, being threatened at this level made him feel more at ease than if it had been someone holding a blade to his throat. That was just so undignified.

"What concerns me is the possible parallels between what I have known as the Tzarg, and these aspects." He forced himself to calm down, there had come a tone in his voice that he did not quite care for. "This was of course a concern from the start, one admitted to by the woman you named Anne." This all made him deeply uncomfortable.

This was why emotional attachments were bad. They clouded your judgment.

"I am not certain whether it was deliberate misdirection, or whether it was a confusion of the terms used but... one of the things that she claimed made it fairly certain she was not one of what I would term the Tzarg was that the Tzarg recruited people. Humans. Made them a part of the whole. She claimed that was not what she did. However, now I am wondering whether she ever only meant the words to apply to her role in this. Because clearly am I currently in the process of possible recruitment unless they are all lying to me." He had recalled his calm now, think about this logically and accept the conclusions. That was the one way to deal with matters like this.

"The Countess Niall... seems to have been claimed by the Scarlet aspect. For what I can only hazard a guess at, I would assume that she provides a suitable body should she choose to walk the planes as a human. I have seen this done with others of the Aspects, borrowing human shapes, I was just not certain whether they could take anybody, or whether they had preferences. I am also not certain whether this would also apply to choosing their successors. I am told that there were other possibilities for the Grey aspect apart from me, all currently native to this world. Perhaps this is what the Countess is, a possible replacement should Scarlet choose to step down. Or both."

Maalech paused, smiling very thinly, almost icily. "And then consider what drew me to the Countess in the first place when she was a child. I met her when researching the parasite, it was a meeting I choose to have to influence the course it was taking. However, I was immediately struck by the possibilities. By the possible threads all tied to that child. What was it that made me pause? Besides a superficial resemblance in manners? Is it possible that the potential I felt in her is the same potential that makes her useful to Scarlet, and in turn would be the same potential that resides in Alynealin?"

He frowned, pressing the tips of his fingers together as he pondered... "What drove the Tzarg to destroy her home. That is one of the things I have never found an answer for. What brought the attack? The closest thing I have had to a theory was that it was intended to draw her out. To force her, and her sisters to abandon a land and destiny they would never leave otherwise. Why else would they make the attempt to recruit her as soon afterwards? To help craft a land that was nearly abandoned after an improbable calamity? She moved there as helpless as any pawn. And I was a fool for not seeing it at the time. And I was even twice the fool for not being able to talk her out of accepting despite my misgivings..." There, anger at last.

At himself. He should have foreseen this.

Posted by: Morgan deCiel May 30 2008, 02:10 PM
The man listened in silence, watching the other man stew and consider and think.

He could almost SEE the dots in the man's head connecting. But it was all moot to Morgan; he wasn't there for most of those dots. And many of them didn't matter too much to him.

Morgan shrugged some, "I couldn't even begin to guess. You're assuming the Tzarg even think like we do or like they do. Even if they have people working with them or joining them..." Morgan trailed off, feeling as if he were gasping for air, in too deep. He scowled down at the scar on his palm some, wishing he had the ability to reach out and grab that fucking deck of cards and cleave the thing and get some fucking answers.

But answers weren't coming.

Just more questions.

"So do you think the Tzarg's 'Scarlet' might have its eye on Aly like this one has for this girl?" Morgan shrugged some, before looking to the man, "Pity you can't just tattle on Scarlet to the Tzarg about how she doesn't seem to care about Aly getting dead in persuit of a new Avatar or whatever it is that she was going on about."

The man sighed some and looked back out the window, scanning for another of those damned mountains, "Why do you get me into shit like this, Mal? I fucking apologized." Old, stupid things to bring up. But he'd been threatened by something that could probably just put him back in Hell without any actual effort.

He grasped at his wrist then, resisting the urge to see the blade just in case.

They'd taken her away from him before. He didn't want it to happen again.

Posted by: Maalech May 30 2008, 09:44 PM
"At this moment I don't -think- anything." Maalech watched the other man intently. "And I assume even less. I simply consider possibilities. I do not know what the Tzarg is. All I ever had was secondary information from two levels away. That is all that anybody has, presumably because anyone in closer contact either ended up dead or simply was removed. Or had their knowledge of them removed. That has already been threatened to me in case I was cultivating this only to use the information received for my own ends."

He resisted the urge to join Morgan as he peered through the window, instead resigning himself to what would happen. "I have not got you into anything. You have free will, just like any man. This is not about you. Likely you are not even threatened, if you do not consider your uncanny ability to make women angry at you."

That was a low blow, but so be it. He did not have the patience to coddle. "Listen. I do not how whether these beings are Tzarg. I do not know if they are cousins of the Tzarg, if they are another tribe of them or whether they are something completely different. I simply do not know because as I said, I do not know what the Tzarg are. That was in part why I made the choice to walk this path." He sighed in frustration, scowling at the empty wall. "In fact, I do not even know whether my machinations are protecting is from the Tzarg or not. They could very well have been aware of what I have been doing since day one, and for their own reasons not interfered. I simply do not know. In this, I am not better than any superstitious peasant. A peasant might believe that a certain amulet wards off wolves. He believes so because he travels roads where other people have been slain by wolves and yet he has never been attacked. To him, that is proof enough. But he do not understand why. To him it is divine protection, or magic. It could simply be luck that he has been avoided so far. Or perhaps the wolves are not as voracious as everybody believed, or it is the fact that he travels by day only. It could be a fluke. That is what I have. I have hidden us as well as I am able, with crafts I only half understand myself. We have not yet been targeted, and for me that has to be proof that they work. However, it could simply be that they have not looked for us. It could also be that we are watched, and kept under observation. It might very well be that these beings here are the very Tzarg, that have now taken steps to recruit me. I do not -know-."

He spoke the last with vehemence.

He loathed not knowing.

Posted by: Morgan deCiel Jun 1 2008, 02:10 PM
"Yeah, I could leave. And I'm not... Look, for all my talk, I know I could just stop. And I'm not..." Morgan rubbed at the bridge of his nose, turning to the man, " I want to see this through. I'm a mage."

He smirked a little at that, shrugging, "I want to know."

He was out of his element. He knew it.

Didn't stop him from trying to adapt, though.

"Shit, even all bound up like that, you're still more of one than I am." The man had to smile at that before he returned to the window, "And I guess we're all back to just hoping like mad that we have half a grasp on the situation, hm?"

Posted by: Maalech Jun 2 2008, 08:12 PM
"The only way to ascertain that is to gather more information. Something which I am not well equipped for at the moment, at least in some areas." Maalech admitted this reluctantly, but it was true.

"Regardless whether I will follow the 'friendly' advice or not, I need to know exactly how entangled the Countess is in the web I prepared for her. If the Queensman can tear up the cards, I suspect more deeply than I ever would have imagined. I did not prepare for an analogy of myself in this weave, but I assume it is inevitable. And it complicates matters." Maalech rubbed his chin, pondering deeply.

He was quiet for some time, several minutes in fact as he went over what needed to be done. Then he spoke.

"Do you imagine you can get close enough to the Countess, or friends of her to gather the information I need? He realized as he said it what an annoyance it was not to be able to view the web in person. For a moment he was tempted to... no. That would be giving up in quite a different way.

"I know some facts already, I assume some others, but I would need to be sure how much time we have. Also, I would very much advice against the Queensman tearing up any more cards. To have more of her memories return is dangerous, there were reasons why I blocked then. Regardless what people might think, it was not a random act of cruelty."

He had started pacing now, frustration over this inaction already building. "Our options are becoming limited and risky. But I assume that is as it should be."

Posted by: Morgan deCiel Jun 4 2008, 12:56 AM
"I'll can try." Morgan scowled, looking down at the ground, "What am I looking for? the girl's Sword?" The man smirked some before exhaling sharply, running his hand over his head.

"You sure you don't want to just be an archmage again?" He looked over at the man with a half-smile, not sure if he was joking or not.

But, truth to tell, Maalech was better at it.

Posted by: Maalech Jun 4 2008, 08:56 AM
"No. This path would be of little use if I just stopped walking it as soon as it became inconvenient. " Maalech dismissed the suggestion abruptly, mostly because despite himself he was very much tempted to. But he distrusted temptation.

"And no, there would be no sword. She had none back then, and it is the early analogy that this is based upon." He walked over to the window, leaning against the windowsill as he watched the garden. "What we are looking for is the lynchpins."

After a moment of silence he spoke again, still not watching Morgan. "Some of these things I know, others i guess at, but I will name them regardless so you understand the scope and direction. The central pattern is exile. Loss of land and people to a force more powerful than she could have foreseen. Anchoring this pattern is a number of important points. Acquiring the displeasure of the gods by refusing a sacrifice, then performing said sacrifice for the good of her people. Acquiring a consort from a different people, then having him almost be killed by the Queen. Becoming pregnant. There are a myriad smaller things as well, but they can wait. They bring strength, not pattern." Maalech frowned deeply, then finally turned to face Morgan.

"I suspect that her Queensman is her consort as well. I also suspect that the reason she is here, is because she was exiled and lost her land. I know that she had aquired the displeasure of the gods by not performing the human sacrifice, but I do not know for certain if she went through with it. I do not know what the relationship is between the Queen and the Countess Queensman. Has she made any attempts on his life? Has he defended himself against her? Already the parallels of the Countess heritage were close enough, they were the reasons I chose her from the start. Old blood and new. Living in the last days of her kingdom. How she treats her horses."

He was not rapidly approaching one of the points that annoyed him the most, and it showed. "Above all, I need to know why the Queensman suddenly influences the web as if he were occupying my point. It should not be needed, at that time he was consort, nothing else. Who engineered this? Did he approach Alynealin first, or was it the other way around? I need to know what he is doing. Because I cannot overlook the possibility that he might be manipulating this web to his own end. That every card pulled is not by chance but by design. That he is feeding her back her memories one by one in just the right order. Who is he? What is he?" It seemed absurd, but Maalech looked far more disturbed by the thought of that man than by the possibility of not so divine vengeance for his transgressions.

"Surely the thought has struck you as well. If he can influence the cards, that means he has the possibility to influence all my designs as if he were me."

Posted by: Morgan deCiel Jun 4 2008, 11:06 AM
"Maybe you should meet the guy first," Morgan said, chuckling, "Maybe he's a very good actor, but he doesn't seem to care much about being the Magus to Aly's Queen of whatever." he made a vague gesture with one hand then, sighing some.

"You're overthinking. Calm down, Mal. I can find out what things are life between her and the Queen and I can find out about horses and all that, but..." Morgan scowled a little, looking back at the other man, "And I don't think he's the one who set this all up, Mal. I seem to recall you talking about thinking this was all a good idea."

Morgan was quiet for a moment, running his hand over his head, "And watching the guy? If it was intentional... again, he's a good actor. He doesn't consider himself the Magus. I don't even think he knows what to think about the cards... 'cept that he doesn't seem fond of you for what happened." The man shrugged a little, "But absent the facts, you probably wouldn't think it was so great yourself."

Posted by: Maalech Jun 4 2008, 10:04 PM
"Oh, I am rather pleased that this has progressed so rapidly. That was never the issue here. But just because I find that something proceeds in the right direction, does not mean that someone else cannot use that to their own advantage." Maalech sighed, running a hand over his short hair. He loathed to admit it, but Morgan was most likely right.

"I will accept your judgment of him for the moment." He sounded a bit hesitant as he spoke, because he was not used to trust anybody else when it came to things like that. Least of all Morgan.

"I just wish to avoid the worst. If... Scarlet takes issue with the use I have for the Countess, and if the unraveling of Alynealin's blocks proceeds... then the number of possibilities that are not outright disastrous are quite limited."

But there were still possibilities. There always were.

Posted by: Morgan deCiel Jun 5 2008, 07:31 AM
"Great. But at least you're smart enough to help let me know which ones are the bad ones." Fuck, did he just say that?

He wasn't Maalech's yes-man.

"For my own part, I'd rather this whole thing just slowed right down." He frowned some, looking out the window up at the night sky, "Just a shame about that girl, is all I'm saying. And not just because that 'Scarlet' wants an avatar." The man grimaced some at the thought of Scarlet speaking out of someone else's mouth--Morgan might never know--and ran his hand over his head.

"And, look, the Magus kid isn't too bad. Hell, he might even be able to help her not die. I'm guessing that's good for all involved, right?"

Posted by: Maalech Jun 5 2008, 08:42 AM
"It is rather essential for all involved in fact. That is one thing you should also seek to find out. Did he save her life? Was he the driving force behind her exile or did she go willingly?" Maalech didn't seem to notice that Morgan had agreed with him, or that it was something odd about that.

In likelihood, Morgan's views just didn't matter, whether they were positive or negative.

Or perhaps he was just too deep in thought.

And really, somewhere in all this the man had almost started to smile. The truth was that despite the frowns and the worries, he looked more animated than in many weeks. Months even.

Posted by: Morgan deCiel Jun 5 2008, 08:57 AM
Morgan looked sidelong at the other man, frowning some. He really hated when Maalech smiled like that. Like plans were coming to bear. The same smile Morgan felt on his face when he thought of Joy or Phaedhra.

Something too damn deep.

A part of him wondered if it might not be easier to just off the girl. Derail Mal's plans and get her out of harm's way.

But, then, he imagined that Scarlet might have a thing or eight to say about that. Or, rather, kill about that.

Running his hand over his head, Morgan just frowned, "So is he heroic, did he get her kicked out and how much of your stuff can you project onto him. Gotcha." Morgan frowned some, leaning against the wall, "So does this lock her into that same kind of cycle as Aly? Explicitly so?"

Posted by: Maalech Jun 5 2008, 04:27 PM
"Manipulating the threads of fates are a very recent research of mine. It is in its infancy, I cannot throughly predict exactly how deep it takes hold." Maalech mulled over this a moment, rubbing his chin. "Also, I am not crafting her fate. This is her own doing, as you well know, anything done of ones own free will has double the value of something one is forced into. They are all her choices. But just as one can find a road that goes parallel to another road and leads to the same destination, I have found her to be quite similar to Alynealin. I could not do this otherwise."

He walked over to the stack of books near the bed, hunching down to pick up a notebook. He leafed through a few pages, pondering, then leafed through a few others before he spoke again. "Should I choose to finish the weave, my aim is to gently untangle the particulars of the binding cycle the Tzarg placed up Alynealin, and entangle them on the Countess. I predict that this will not lead to the woman being locked into the same cycle. They are still too dissimilar for anything but superficial deceit. However, there is a moderate chance that it will happen. It will be impossible to tell until she dies, which is in part why I thought the Countess made a perfect choice. The Tuatha lives for a long time, and if she makes it through these troubled times she has centuries or even millenniums to look forward to. It was my intention to make sure that she lived for a very long time indeed. Because once she dies, I am almost certain that the Tzarg would know that they are fooled and would retaliate. I would have to be ready then."

That made him grimace, and he turned to Morgan to add "This is of course assuming that we are not already dealing with the Tzarg right here and now."

Posted by: Morgan deCiel Jun 6 2008, 12:05 AM
"Never could confuse you with someone who was thinking small, eh?"

This was so fucked. The man made a good case, sure. But.

"I hope you won't mind if I take a little to mull it all over. You're dumping an awful lot of stuff on me. I'd like to have a bit to think about it." Because, well, Maalech was good at getting people to do things. There was no reason to assume he needed anything more than good intentions (were they, though?) and a little time to work on someone.

"And, y'know, there's a lot of really important "ifs" there."

Posted by: Maalech Jun 6 2008, 08:03 AM
"There always are. There are no certainties in life, only the fools look at things in black and white, true and false." It was all probabilities. Chance. Life was not a set of absolutes. If it had been, that would have bereft the Art of all its power.

"However, there is no way to ascertain the truth of these matters than by going forward. But by all means, take your time. Hurry have killed more men than caution." If anything, Maalech seemed to be a bit relieved that Morgan showed hesitation, it meant that the man appreciated the gravity of their situation.

In the past, the man had been rash beyond belief. Perhaps finally he was learning.

In fact, he would prefer some time to think himself, these last developments had all come step in step. He needed to recast his predictions, work out what effect this could have on the pattern.

Posted by: Morgan deCiel Jun 7 2008, 03:13 PM
Most of the time, it was only his own ass on the line--and he could count on himself to pull his fat out of the fire. But something like this?

There was something obscene about it, even if it was a subtle working.

But it was pushing people (well, okay, a faerie, but close enough) toward... toward anything. It grated on him. Manipulating. Weaving a fate.

The man scowled at the garden beyond the window, "I am a fool, Mal. This is a bad thing. I just have to figure out if it's a bad thing I can live with or not." He looked over at maalech for a moment.

The conscience was a burden. He guessed Maalech had gotten strong enough to bear it. Morgan wasn't. Not any more. "Don't let this get too bad, Mal. I'll do what I can, but you're the one who's been playing the strings. I'm so entirely ready to beat your ass."

Posted by: Maalech Jun 7 2008, 05:29 PM
"It would not be overly hard now. Like it or not, you do have my life in your hands." Maalech frowned as he said it, because no matter what he still disliked this helplessness. But Morgan was the closest thing he would find to a man that he would trust. At least he knew the gravity of their situation.

"Look. Morgan." He sounded tired as he spoke, turning to face the other man. "I just wish this to be done, with minimal damage to all concerned. But there are always sacrifices. You just need to figure out which ones you are willing to do. We are quickly passing beyond the status quo here, soon there will be no returning to what was. Something will change and it is up to us to decide into what. But go, think. But be done with it soon. There is no way to predict how long we will have."

Posted by: Morgan deCiel Jun 9 2008, 01:33 AM
"Yeah." Morgan grimaced, thinking back to that little clay disc. He should just 'drop' the thing and let Mal be on his own.

"There's always sacrifices," repeated Morgan, running his hand over his head, "Do you have any idea how much of an asshole you sound like? Do you? I mean, me? I'm just a garden-variety thoughtless prick. But you take it to..."

Morgan cut himself off, shaking his head and looking to Maalech for a moment, "You do realize that if everything goes wrong you fucking deserve it, right?" He just stared at Mal for a while then, "There's no amount of smarts or manipulation that'll hold off... I don't know. Fate or love or karma or whatever from coming back around and dumping things back on you."

Maybe he wasn't the most learned of magi. And it was a truth he'd found along the way.

Posted by: Maalech Jun 9 2008, 06:10 AM
Maalech gave the other man a dry look. "And this is somehow news to you?" He shrugged and shook his head. "It matters little what I sound like, reality do not change just because someone has the wish to wrap it in a more palatable cover. There is no universal book keeper that keeps track on Karma. There is no such thing as fate, or divine punishment." Maybe his words sounded too sharp even for his own ears, because he held up a hand to stave off any comments as he continued, sounding tired.

"I will not argue what I deserve or do not deserve. It is as you say, you are thoughtless, as most people are. You hide your thoughts behind ignorance of their consequences because otherwise you would have to adjust your behavior or change your view of yourself. But the truth is that most people do not want to think. They want to be kept ignorant of what they do, so they can escape the truth of their influence on people. If any of you had truly sat down and thought things through, you surely would have seen what..." He broke off, dismissing his own comment with an annoyed wave of his hand.

"Never mind. It is not important. If you believe that is the truth, then be at peace and know that surely the universe itself will punish me."

Posted by: Morgan deCiel Jun 11 2008, 10:35 AM
"No," said Morgan, turning to face the man, "Go on, say it."

Facing the man with a scowl, he crossed his arms, chin jutted out angrily. "I try to follow your massive trail of shit, but at every turn I run into some giant wall left up either by the fact that I don't know what people to watch, what things to do or what patterns do anything to anything else because I just don't have your perspective."

He flung his arms out then, "So, tell me, Mal. What would I have seen if I just sat down? Spell it the fuck out for me, man, I'm no fucking use to anything flying blind as I am. I'm not LIKE you. I don't think that way."

Posted by: Maalech Jun 11 2008, 08:22 PM
Maalech didn't back down, he just crossed his own arms in turn, facing the taller mage with a composed look on his face. "What I was about to say was that most people at an early age choose to be unaware of the consequences of their own actions. They willingly choose ignorance because it hurts less, and they do not want the responsibility. After a while they lose the ability to see how their actions influence others. It is not something that can be relearned after a lecture."

He spoke calmly now, as if Morgan's agitation had enabled him to find that stony composure once more. "You spoke it clearly. You do not think like that, there is nothing I can do or say that will enable you to suddenly think or see the larger picture. Perhaps I spoke glibly about just sitting down to see, because this takes time. If you are willing to learn, I -will- show you how because I am dangerously short of allies. However I think that from the sound of things you were just going for a point and a quick solution."

That made him sigh, a look of faint annoyance on his face. "The quick solution is this. Trust my judgment. Do what I tell you. Let the consequences be on my conscience."

Posted by: Morgan deCiel Jun 12 2008, 08:07 AM
"If if were that easy." He smirked some. "I can't." Morgan paused then, standing up straighter before turning away again, "It's not that easy. If I just... If I just listen to you, it's all on my head."

He scratched at the back of his head, sighing.

"I'm getting out of here. You're... I can't think. This is just so fucked up." He flexed his hand a little, closing his eyes as he felt the blade squirming around inside him. Consequences.

How in Hell was he supposed to look THAT far ahead?

Posted by: Maalech Jun 12 2008, 08:27 AM
"For what it's worth..." Maalech hesitated there for a moment, watching the other man's back. "I know my conscience is not clean. It will get dirtier before this is finished. Yet this is the path I have chosen to walk, and not just for the sake of my own fate. I failed. I should have made her heed my warnings. My failure is the cause of her entrapment, I will not walk away and leave her to her fate."

That made him look almost depressed, but he simply sighed and shrugged. "Go. Think. We still have time."

Posted by: Morgan deCiel Jun 12 2008, 08:31 AM
"I know, Mal. If I thought it were for anything but her, I'd have just kicked your neck in by now."

Morgan scowled at the man before he reached out and grasped at home for a moment, "This'll make Aly sane again, though?"

Posted by: Maalech Jun 12 2008, 08:34 AM
"If it works according to my calculations she will be sane, and hidden from the Tzarg." He had to trust himself there. If his worst nightmares were true, they were already lost anyway. Confidence was the only thing that was needed here. Doubts got you killed.

Though having her sane would lead to new problems, but that was something he would have to face then.

He was no fool. He knew he would most likely lose her.

Posted by: Morgan deCiel Jun 12 2008, 08:37 AM
Morgan looked back at the man for a moment before slapping the other man on the arm. "Then keep thinking. You're getting more and more info..." he looked upward for a moment, "Here's hoping Scarlet or Anne don't take any more interest in this whole clusterfuck."

He sighed then, "You're a good guy underneath it, Maalech. I know that. But you're still SUCH an asshole."

And disappeared.

Posted by: Maalech Jun 12 2008, 08:43 AM
Maalech waited for a moment until Morgan was gone, then he let the tension slip and an amused smile started playing on his lips.

Good guy indeed. Morgan was so naive, but he should not complain. At the moment he needed the man, and that naivety was his best and strongest tool.

Now, where were he...

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