[color=757163][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/UAIDXdi.png[/img][/center] [hr] [hider=Tku x Marceline]Tku met up with Marci in person, an odd and unusual occurrence these days. He was not chipper or performative for his friend, his smile meek. Setting down his bag and tensions, he sat in front of her and pulled out a small treat for them, something to brighten the bleakness of war. "You know I never thought I would miss being overworked at Zenobucks," he let out a small laugh as he split it for them and savored it. Marci leaned forward, one hand on a wheel, and slid the bag toward herself. Eagerly, she opened the bag. [color=598527]"And I never thought I'd miss overworking you,"[/color] she teased, making the same effort to lighten things. She smiled thoughtfully. When he had finished the treat, he found himself longing for just a casual conversation, hoping that they had the time but he knew that he didn't have that. "I know this may seem stupid but I want to reach out to Zarina. I don't know if it will do little more than simply assure me that I tried but nonetheless, I still want to try. I would have gone in person if it were before that night, I should have made more time for that. You know I can't go in person and I ask that you relay my words to her." He looked towards Marci with the full acknowledgement that he was asking something difficult. The sounds of Ceboyan as Oraff rolled over to Eshiran drifted in through the balcony window. It was a large complex in the middle of the Virangish quarter, formerly a home to wealthy merchants and now the nerve centre of the provisional government. Marceline's eyes were large as she studied Tku, and it occurred to him how much... she missed him. It seemed an odd thought, for he was right here, in front of her: a familiar and welcome presence, and yet... So much of him was missing as well - perhaps not as literally as it was with her, but missing nonetheless. She longed for his smile, his bubbly laugh during those morning check-ins (they'd just started back up following her return from Torragon), and the general... [i]lightness[/i] of his presence. On impulse, she reached down and unlocked her wheels, backing out from the table and rolling up beside him. She looked at him for a moment, as if to ask for permission, and then quietly reached over to hug him from the side. [color=598527]"I know, and I will."[/color] She squeezed a little tighter. [color=598527]"But, I have to ask,"[/color] she added, pulling back just a little, [color=598527]"is this personal or strategic?"[/color] He didn't startle at her hug for she never left his detection. He grasped her gently as before, as if some normalcy was thrusted upon him he wanted to tell her he was okay. He mouthed thank you to her for caring for him as she released him. He leaned back in his chair, eyes staring at the ceiling. "I wish I could say it was personal, that it was just to check on her but I'm too damaged for that." Tku admitted. "I want to figure out her angle, to lay to rest the confusion in my heart so my mind may act clearly. Maybe we can work together still, maybe we can't. That is what I need." Marceline nodded, switching from caring to businesslike in a manner she had become an expert in of late. She rolled back a half push and turned on the spot. [color=598527]"Right,"[/color] she agreed. [color=598527]"So, what's the situation? What have you got and what are you looking for?"[/color] She jerked a thumb at herself and smirked. [color=598527]"'Cause you just happen to be talking to messenger girl extraordinaire!"[/color] "I have information on trade document, accounts of certain exuberant spending's, and some actual blackmail against Ertan Kishani," Tku sipped his tea, "the usual stuff for such a man that uses women as meat shields." He set his cup down and crossed his arms, "What I need is to know her purpose. Her actions just far create real questions within the revolution on why we are allowing her to live after taking a literal bullet for a scumbag. Eventually she will regain her strength and as much as I want to believe in her innate goodness, she has only provided evidence against that she will fight us." He thought to himself. Marci nodded slowly. [color=598527]"So, are you asking for anything in return, or is this completely an act of good faith and will masking information gathering?"[/color] While they were still present, she was now pointedly keeping her emotions free of this discussion. Being tactical was important here. "If able, I want cooperation to keep casualties down, she is to strong enough to not be ignored when the main forces have been repelled from the capital. It is also to hopefully keep her from dirtying her hands with anymore blood. I want to see if there is something that we can work together on that will lead to palaparese freedom. If she is unable to speak honestly on her actions and motives, then I will have no ability to keep the more 'active' elements away from her. If she needs some convincing I am not a monster, try to allude to a mirraculous escape that the Virangish families had from Fort Limanagzi" He spoke rather clearly. "I used what good will I had to keep her and Mahal's people alive. Dani is more flexible than he lets on but I'm unsure if she has already gone too far for him." He thought to himself as he pulled out a small box. setting in on the table as he stared at it. "I... I hurt thinking of her as the executioner for slavers. I feel as if this role pains her and I can see why she takes it. I just wish to either rid myself of these feeling or trust her. I am not made for this kind of world." He pushed the box to Marci, "Even now, I prepared medicine and something of comfort for the person that will mostly likely partake in actions to keep Palapar in chains." He let out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry but I cannot be as clear or concise with you about her. My goals are messy but I trust that you are my better with words and that she would bring no harm to you." Marci took the box up in her hands and turned it over. Did she sweep it as she did so? Could she even [i]avoid[/i] sensing it as a tethered? Regardless, she nodded slowly. [color=598527]"I think she has her own ideas, for what it's worth."[/color] She transitioned to shaking her head. [color=598527]"We... didn't get along when we spoke -"[/color] The tethered seemed small for a moment as she shrugged. [color=598527]"- but I sense that she is in a hard place and Zarina has always preferred charting her own course over simple obedience to what her superiors say."[/color] Marceline managed a smile. [color=598527]"If that weren't so, then I'd likely still be rotting away in a refuge."[/color] She twisted to unclasp the pack that hung from the back of her wheelchair and began to stuff the box inside. [color=598527]"I will find a way,"[/color] she promised, grunting with the exertion. [color=598527]"I think it probably involves a teleport, some pinch language, and either a secret meeting or a quick flight out of there."[/color] She twisted back, tightening the straps before she did so, and slapped the tops of her legs. [color=598527]"All done. Now, hug me for good luck, amigo. I'll take her your olive branch. Do I actually bring it or just mention it?"[/color] "I have copies of it with me, its been enchanted to consume itself if a certain phrase is said in case she or another tries to steal it from you. It shouldn't be too common in conversation, I hope." he rose a mischievous grin. He slid the password to her and it read 'Fiske's buttery toes!' He pulled them out after she read it in case it was funny enough to accidently say. She was all business until the phrase came out, nodding along at his sensible approach, but then... [color=598527]"Fiske's buttery...!"[/color] Marci caught herself and smiled wickedly. [color=598527]"Now, I have to know where that came from!"[/color] She took a little swing at Tku's shoulder, leaning over a bit too far and nearly losing her balance. She straightened and flicked her hair back dramatically. [color=598527]"This, Tuk-tuk. We need more of [i]this[/i]."[/color] He chuckled a little seeing the joke landed. He gave her a parting hug as she left. A part of him hoped that this would all work out but he couldn't place his heart fully there anymore. He had been disappointed too many times to let himself believe so naïvely.[/hider] [hider=Marceline x Palapar][color=598527][i]You are embers, Tku.[/i][/color] Marceline's arms were stiff as she wheeled away from the meeting. He was still there, but... so much of the playfulness was gone. Zarina, too, had been a woman changed: paranoid and confrontational. And Fiske: he'd run from what people were now calling the Banquet of the Short Knives. He'd run from the burning of the Blue Star Idasque. More trauma for someone whose life had been a conga line of unfortunate events. Something tightened atop the girl's stomach as she went. The sun beat down on her shoulders and the grooves in the flagstones jerked at her wheels. But there was a breeze. Gulls bleated and circled overhead. The voices of people going about their lives reached her ears. [color=598527]"I can bring you back,"[/color] she murmured aloud to herself as she eased her way into the space between two large warehouses that smelled of fish. Deep shadows pooled in the gap and she squeezed her eyes shut. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Marceline had imagined that [i]she[/i] would be the broken one upon her return from Torragon, but she had found the people she held dear in a shambles instead. She breathed. [color=598527][i]The next step after a plan is action.[/i][/color] She reached out with her senses, spreading them wider, and wider still. Hundreds, thousands, [i]millions[/i] of energies washed over the tethered and it was as it had been atop the walls of San Agustin de las Arenas seven years ago. The noise faded gradually into the background, distant, softening, and gone. Now, there were only a few perfect energies, twinkling against the vast tapestry of existence. She chose one and she reached, across the threads that bound it in space and time, that - in a sense - comprised it. These, she took hold of. When she opened her eyes, she was just outside the ruins of a fort overlooking Ceboyan. The stones were battered and blasted and, already, the jungle - the hungry, relentless jungle - was encroaching. A gust of wind pushed against her back and swirled her hair about her face. Marci breathed it in and did, once more, as Jocasta had taught her. The world darkened, but for those bright spots. She found the paths connecting them. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/BuftIHH.png[/img][/center] When she opened her eyes again, she was in a garden. Butterflies and hummingbirds flitted from one flower to the next and their sweet aroma filled her lungs. The verandahs and colonnades rose around her and, on one of them, Marci could sense a fellow tethered - an eeaiko girl named Keearah who sometimes worked with Tku - turn her way. She waved and closed her eyes and found her next place. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/tuNUe6Z.png[/img][/center] It was a small village in the foothills. A slow muddy river meandered by Marceline's field of vision and dragonflies rested lazily on its surface. An alligator opened its eyes lazily and blinked. In the distance, beyond a rustic rope bridge, children played on a central green and thatched-roof cottages with little gardens clustered around the end of a well-worn dirt trail. The tethered smiled and closed her eyes again, and [i]reached[/i]. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/Z4JQSqU.png[/img][/center] Marci didn't realize that she was holding her breath - not at first. Amid the towering mountains of Central Palapar, she found herself in Yai'suum'da. The tiny yasoi village perched amid the mists of the vast highland forests, built into the trees and mountainsides. Ropes, ladders, and walkways stretched between its structures and the adventurous little girl that lived inside of her fluttered. But Marceline was nearly a woman grown. She smiled and breathed the air and felt the wind on her cheeks. She looked down at the bridge she sat at the foot of and rolled forward two pushes, easing onto it and taking in the sway of it and the drop to the forest floor far below. Then, she closed her eyes again and took a steadying breath, and found her next destination. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/LcaeVES.png[/img][/center] At the very Crown of Palapar lies the Hegelan town of Hagh Pahakhi. It was here that Marceline's journey next carried her. The sixteen-year-old had spent most all of her life on an estate in Kerremand or else within the walls of San Agustin de las Arenas. She could not help but roll a few pushed forward in wonderment. That such beauty could exist alongside such bleakness and suffering. The settlement's immense gate towered above her: ancient and imposing, hewn from the mountain's black volcanic stone. In the distance, ethereal waterfalls tumbled down the sides of towering mountains. Flocks of colourful birds took off from the trees and dragons circled overhead. Silently, Marceline thanked Ahn-Ipté and reached, once more, for the threads of space and time. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ewiYa6B.png[/img][/center] She could feel the dew on her skin even before her eyes opened. So close that she could touch it lay a giant mushroom. Her hand, drawn forward, reached out and her fingertips brushed its rubbery surface. Marci craned her neck and gazed up into the swirling mists. Somewhere beyond them was the sun. She had a message to deliver. She could not wander through here and, in any event, she could already feel her wheels sinking into the soft, muddy ground. A tinge of sadness coloured this awe-inspiring place, for the things that she could no longer do, but it was small and would remain so, she was determined. The tethered reached outward once more and found her next place. Perhaps she had been distracted by the path left unexplored, for it took her a moment longer than usual to find the threads… [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/JOe6b3m.png[/img][/center] She was on a rocky islet. before her loomed a great derelict ship, wedged between two rocky coral cliffsides. At some point in the past, it had tried to pass through and gotten stuck. Now, from its shell and the cliffsides rose a dozen or more dwellings, shops, storehouses, and gardens. Laundry lines stirred faintly in the light breeze and seabirds roosted in its upper reaches. A lookout tower must've given the place's residents a view of the surrounding coast. Marci breathed in the fresh salty air. She'd made it back to the sea. A trio of children, playing down by the water, took notice of the foreign interloper and one of them pointed. Another waved and she smiled and waved back. [color=598527][i]Hang in there, little guy,[/i][/color] she thought at him, [color=598527][i]the Palapar we're building is for you.[/i][/color] Once more, however, her eyelids slid shut and she felt the warm pinkish glow of the sun upon them. She stretched her senses out into the vast and exciting beyond, shining a light on the threads that bound space and time to each other and... Marceline froze. Had they... moved? Something quick and icy pulsed up and down her spine. Hurriedly, more force than finesse, she grabbed them and tugged. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/LNRoL4D.png[/img][/center] The emergence did not happen right away, however. For some bare few seconds, Marceline could feel herself [i]linger[/i] in the space in between. Was it greyspace? Was this what greyborn felt? And yet... something told her that it wasn't. She had learned that there was no magic in greyspace, not in the traditional sense. She could sense energy - for those bare handful of seconds - and she sensed... Surely, she had imagined the presence. There was something that lived in there. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/oQJV11R.png[/img][/center] Marceline opened her eyes, however, and she was... safe. She breathed in and out, casting about from atop the stone pinnacle where she had come to rest. What had that [i]been[/i]!? What had happened in the space between spaces!? She shook her head to clear it and ran her hands along herself, panicked breaths slowing. Had she hallucinated that? Below her was the most pleasant little village, complete with fishing boats, gaily-coloured houses, windmills, docks, and bridges. It was built into the mouth of a great fjord, speckled with islets, rocks, and ledges that had been used for its foundations. The sight of it filled her with momentary wonder and relief. Just there were other people who, surely, would not forsake her. Up here, though, on a stone pinnacle, she was precarious. The wind buffeted the young tethered and there was a slight tilt to the ground that necessitated she keep her brakes locked. An angry seabird squawked and hissed at her from its nearby nest. She was close, her destination only one stop away, but she had [i]not[/i] imagined that near-encounter. No, she hadn't. She would need to be quick. She would need to cloak her presence. Then, once she arrived, she wouldn't teleport for some time. She would wait before contacting Zarina. The [i]thing[/i] in the greyness would lose her trail. Marceline did not relax her muscles or her manas. She did not close her eyes or reach out slowly or drown the noise. She grabbed the threads and jumped. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/MmruOJV.png[/img] [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_egA9RZrD5k[/youtube][/center] This time, there was no sense of being stalked and no sense of being caught between realms. Yet, even before Marci opened her eyes, she knew that she had not reached her destination. All about her, the world was an ethereal orange-pink. Great arcing walls rose all about her, swaying gently. They were soft, she realized, as she reached down to unlock her brakes. They were soft and fleshy and... thin. The girl tilted her head upwards and, far above her lay swirling white mists. There was no source of light and, yet, it was everywhere. For a moment, a panic seized Marceline's heart. [color=598527][i]Am I [b]dead[/b]!?[/i][/color] she wondered, [color=598527][i]Just like that!?[/i][/color] And, yet, she immediately knew it for an untruth. There was still an itch on her elbow where a mosquito had bitten her. Everything below her waist remained dead to touch and motion. She yet drew breath. So it was that the young tethered wheeled through this strange, bright abyss. Its walls rose all around her, yet she could never seem to reach them. The ground below appeared ridged and uneven, yet all of her careful adjustments were for naught. She rolled over it effortlessly. She cleared her throat. [color=598527]"Um... hello?"[/color] she called out warily. Perhaps it would've been smarter to say nothing, if this place was, at all, linked to the presence she had felt earlier. [color=598527]"Hello?"[/color] she called again, [color=598527]"Is anyone there? I... I'm sorry if I've intruded."[/color] A spike of panic rose in her chest. What if she was trapped here!? What if it was indefinite - some sort of punishment!? Marceline swallowed. She looked up to the thin gap at the top of this strange realm, into the swirling white mists, and gathered energy to rise. It was in that moment, that she felt that she was being watched. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/0riiZe8.png[/img][/center] Marci found herself within the mists and she blinked, glancing about, trying to get her bearings. She reached for any traces of space or time and found nothing. Whatever this was, it was not good. Whoever was doing this was far stronger than she. And that was when it came: a great grasping hand of vines and flowers. It shot out from the haze and slammed into her shoulder. Marceline tumbled from her wheelchair and rolled and, yet, the ground was not hard. There was scarcely any impact. She scrambled to pull herself up into a sitting position, but then it was swiping at her again, this time with great knifelike thorns for claws. Marci threw herself onto her back and the deadly slash caught only air. Her assailant emerged, in profile, from the mists. She was... made of flowering vines: a tall thin female figure: eerily beautiful and menacing. She turned her eyeless visage Marceline's direction, but the girl took no time to gawk. This was a fight and the only outcomes were life or death. She reached for her wheelchair with all of the kinetic force that she could draw and it came hurtling over, glancing the strange being as it went. Chunks of vine were ripped free. Flower petals rained down as if they were blood from severed arteries. Then, Marci had her wheelchair again. She scrambled into it. Then, the being retreated into the mists and they billowed and steamed. Marceline did not so much as bother to make sure that her feet were properly settled. She just began to [i]move[/i] in the opposite direction. Then, it struck her: she had not even [i]tried[/i] to sense in this place after failing further down within what she assumed had been some form of immense tulip or rose. It was not a moment too early. The strike was fast and powerful from right in front of her, and the flower monster's scythelike slash would've likely taken her head clean off had she not sensed it. Not trusting it to her arms, Marci blasted herself backward with kinetic magic. The creature ran after her, accelerating and closing the gap. She could not outrun it and that was no surprise. Instead, the tethered drew from her own momentum and sent it into her pursuer's midsection. The flower being unraveled on the spot, petals fluttering about like confetti, and Marceline was left sitting there in a foggy abyss, sensing anxiously for paths of attack or escape. [color=598527]"Who [i]are[/i] you?"[/color] she shouted into the nothingness, finding her voice. [color=598527]"Why are you attacking me? What have I done?"[/color] At first, she'd had the absurd notion that [i]this[/i] was a Knower, but it did not look like one, and further information was not likely forthcoming. Slowly, she turned on the spot, casting about, and realized that her surroundings rather [i]hummed[/i] with temporal energies - richer and thicker than what she was used to by far but still... unmoldable, useless to her. It was almost as if, each time that - [color=000000]"You are breaking the game,"[/color] her own voice replied, and Marceline nearly jumped out of her wheelchair. In truth, she had not actually expected a response. [color=598527]"The [i]game[/i]!?"[/color] she began to reply, [color=598527]"What are you -"[/color] And then there was a twist of spacetime's fabric and the monster appeared below her, reaching up. Its faceless head irised open and, inside, was a ring of razor-sharp thorns and a great bloody stinger in the middle. It was too fast. There was no time to counterattack. All that she could manage was to jet forward. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/lWshhgl.png[/img][/center][/hider] [hider=Marceline x Zarina] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/1pejTVh.png[/img][/center] For just a moment, as she cleared the flower demon's lunge with less than an inch to spare, she looked down and thought that she caught a flash of the purest blackness and long oily tentacles before it disappeared. She did not have time to process it. The stench of temporal use hung heavily in the air where the flower demon had been a moment earlier and she could almost - [i]almost[/i] grab hold of it. Marci drew all of the heat that she could from the great nebulous nothing surrounding her and blasted it outward in all directions. Distantly, somewhere behind her, there was a whistling wail and the strange and hostile being exploded into petals once more. The youth put everything that she had - all of the muscle in her arms and shoulders, all of the magic of her manas - into moving. She rushed for the spot where the creature had exploded and there were the threads. She found them and pulled and... [color=000000]"The next time, I will be stronger..."[/color] Before Marceline stretched a small coffee plantation and, in the distance, the great city of Sabu, Palapar's second largest and the provisional capital of the 'Government in Exile'. This, most likely, was where she would find Zarina. Her pulse hammered in her temples and she ran her hands over herself and breathed. The tethered let out a small inarticulate noise of relief and slumped, moving nowhere for a good minute or so. A Knower. That had been a Knower, though it had disguised itself as something different... but [i]why[/i]? It was an exceptionally hot and muggy day in this part of the country, Marceline realized. She glanced up at the clouds - heavy and anvil-shaped, and settled her nerves for a few moments longer. [color=598527][i]It was only a matter of time,[/i][/color] she commiserated with herself. [color=598527][i]Head in the game now.[/i][/color] She let out a final large breath. [color=598527][i]Head in the game. Find Zarina.[/i][/color] A cloud rumbled threateningly and the tethered took a moment to wheel over to some manner of small shed and slip inside. She stretched her senses out, tenuous this time, perhaps a bit afraid of what she might find. There was no trick, however, just the normal comings and goings of the great city below. Fortunately, an atomic dragon wildblood is relatively easy to pick out in a crowd. She kept her opening pinch message simple. [color=598527][/color] Zarina's return wasn't met with fanfare or hugs. Selma Balik was on duty, far away. Most of her temporary squad were assigned to her or some other detail. Emel was brought to one of her family's residences near the city, and they promised to meet up soon. Raffaella wasn't found either. Essentially, she could step back in without much of anyone noticing, especially with the mundane get-up she had been sporting after Marawan - not the local clothes, but nothing more than a Virangish artisan's set of clothes. It was only when she needed shelter that had presence was made known. One of the fresher inquisitors arriving from the mainland processed her quickly enough and soon a report was going to reach someone of import. For now, she waited new orders. The vacation up North had been far more taxing than she had expected, and this was a rare opportunity where the mind could be shut down and sleep could be found without an ounce of paranoia. Nobody to look after. Peace. Until she got the pinches. She snapped her fingers somewhat sassily, an invitation to either come or give further instructions. [color=598527][/color] Did she hesitate? Was she worried that Zarina was not a safe person to be around? If this was the case she didn't show it. Certainly, Marceline had plenty to be afraid of. She'd spent a good few minutes just settling her heartrate and breathing. She considered. She couldn't outrun Zarina. She couldn't hope to win a fight if things went south, and she presently did [i]not[/i] want to risk teleporting. The tethered closed her eyes and concentrated and picked this moment of time out, stretching it free of the stream but leaving it connected. She drew it forward, and forward still further, and it began to warp. A pressure began to build within her head and a weight settled atop her chest. It was just as she felt the first hint of a tingle around her waistline - that hazy pins-and-needles boundary where all sensation ended - that she stopped, drawing the moment back into the stream. Exhausted, she released a breath she hadn't meant to hold. Her lungs filled, and again. She fixed her hair. She fixed her dress. [color=598527][i]Right! Pressure relief. It's been an hour.[/i][/color] She pushed herself up in her chair, locked her elbows, and counted to ten. There was comfort in routines. She let herself back down and adjusted one of her feet. She checked her bag for Tku's package but though better of setting it out or on her lap. Then, she stretched out her senses, dragon hunting... figuratively, of course. The dragon was close. Way too close. In fact, the apex predator of many skies and fields of Sipenta was just about to land right in front of the tethered she knew all too well. The tip of her sandal kissed the dirt before the shed's entrance, quiet and controlled. She had progressed so much in her magic ever since the deserts of Torragon. And yet many wondered if her character had the same metamorphosis. [color=#E5E4E2]“Hi.”[/color] Zarina greeted in the most casual of manners as she stepped in. She looked a little more sun kissed than before. [color=#E5E4E2]“You said you had something?”[/color] she went straight to the point, finding any sort of furniture to sit on. All the while she stared evaluatively at the one some believed she still held as a friend. Marceline forced herself not to react to the carefully calculated entrance. [color=598527]"Hi,"[/color] she replied, and it didn't [i]seem[/i] forced. [color=598527]"Tku found something that he thought could be useful, but it depends on something..."[/color] She regarded Zarina evaluatively. [color=598527]"What are your feelings towards Viceroy Kashani?"[/color] Zarina cocked her head. [color=#E5E4E2]“Does he now?”[/color] she did not sound particularly impressed. Considering the following question, she could deduce the nature of what it might be. [color=#E5E4E2]“He's a dick. And he's my boss. He keeps things in order.”[/color] she shrugged. [color=#E5E4E2]“I took a bullet for him. I wasn't going to let butchers get that win after what they had done to these people. But that doesn't mean I like the guy.”[/color] Marceline did not react to the majority of it. She seized upon one particular point. [color=598527]"A lot of people don't like him."[/color] She paused. [color=598527]"On both sides, and for good reason."[/color] If she was trying to appear relaxed, however, the fact that her hands remained on her wheels put the lie to it. She tilted her head. [color=598527]"You prefer Karga, then."[/color] She glanced down at her nails and then back up, returning her hand to her wheel and her eyes to her... opposite. Zarina peered down for a moment, clicked her tongue, and then looked back up at Marceline. [color=#E5E4E2]“I don't know all that much about the vizier. He keeps his distance, because he's not a fool.”[/color] she crossed her arms defensively. [color=#E5E4E2]“If things haven't crumbled down under Kashani, it's probably thanks to Karga. He listened to me, but-”[/color] she pursed her lips and held back on saying more. Her gaze was dull, far from intense. [color=#E5E4E2]“What's the useful thing?”[/color] [color=598527]"Kashani likes to play hero, but we both know he's no hero, or he wouldn't have made my suunei take a bullet for him. He wouldn't have used two noblewomen as meatshields."[/color] She twisted slightly to pat her backpack where it hung from the back of her wheelchair. [color=598527]"Whatever else we're at odds on right now, I know you have a conscience, and a plan, like [i]I[/i] do. Kashani figures in it, for both of us."[/color] She swallowed, and her fingers bunched up around her dress. A slip? A sign of the nerves that she was hiding? [color=598527]"We can get rid of a very dangerous man who - let's be honest - wouldn't bat an eyelash at you or anyone who isn't himself dying for his interests."[/color] She shrugged. [color=598527]"That's my proposal."[/color] Once again, Zarina looked down as if she was pondering something, eyes fixated slightly lower from where she was looking. After a brief moment, she tutted and looked out through the cracks on the shed's wall. [color=#E5E4E2]“You'd be stupid to kill this man too quickly after what he's done.”[/color] she said with a hint of animosity in her voice. [color=#E5E4E2]“Karga is the truly difficult one to get rid of. But I won't lie, Ertan's reign is going to end in the near future. And I'd prefer it be by us - our laws.”[/color] Marceline had been keeping count in her head. [color=598527][i]Forty seconds.[/i][/color] She had one hundred forty left - just shy of three minutes. [color=598527]"It sounds like there's an opportunity, then. Make the right person aware of this and a lot of dominoes could fall."[/color] She shrugged. [color=598527]"The sooner that people stop killing each other here, the better for everyone. It's a waste of... so much."[/color] So much [i]what[/i], exactly? She appeared to have left that up to Zarina's imagination. [color=#E5E4E2]“How they fall is what matters to me.”[/color] Zarina started firmly, her defensive posture tightening. [color=#E5E4E2]“I don't want to let these people who SHOT ME get all they want. I get their frustrations but-”[/color] she shook her head and scoffed. [color=#E5E4E2]“Y'know, all I had to do to cool things down up North was listen to the fuckers. And now they're not actually trying to kill each other. Crazy what we can do if people fucking listen and work with me.”[/color] there came the frustration. Marceline did not react very much. For perhaps a couple of seconds, her expression softened somewhat, but Zarina's focus on herself above all else was clear here. The tethered backed up a push, reaching out with her senses for a moment. She sighed. [color=598527]"Zarina..."[/color] she began, [color=598527]"Do you consider Jocasta a friend?"[/color] She tilted her chin. [color=#E5E4E2]“Yes.”[/color] there was no delay in Zarina's response. [color=#E5E4E2]“Are you going to do what Tku did? Bring up the refuge or something like that.”[/color] she lowered her head but her implacable gaze remained locked onto Marci's. It was more intense, like a hound guarding something. [color=#E5E4E2]“This is different.”[/color] Marceline shrugged. [color=598527]"Probably,"[/color] she admitted, [color=598527]"but I find that human nature remains startlingly constant, whatever other differences there may be."[/color] Her eyes sparked with something. [color=598527]"I had just about the best upbringing that one could possibly enjoy in that refuge, and you remember what a depressed kid I was, how I oozed with anxiety and desperation beneath this cheery little smile."[/color] She put one up and pointed. [color=598527]"I watched my mother waste away in the red tower, neglected every hour of the day. And who can forget,"[/color] she continued, [color=598527]"how angry the Warden's utter disregard for people's lives - our lives, and [i]your[/i] lives - made us?"[/color] She shook her head. [color=598527]"Yet, it was nothing close to what Jocasta felt, and we all knew it."[/color] Marceline could not pace in this small space, not as she liked to, though it was less automatic now, less enjoyable since she had lost the use of her legs. She contended herself with small restless pushes forward and back as she spoke. [color=598527]"She killed the man who raped her again and again, and killed the doctor who willingly covered it up for him."[/color] The tethered's eyes narrowed. [color=598527]"It wasn't a rational thing..."[/color] She shrugged. [color=598527]"But would [i]you[/i] tell her not to do it? Would you tell her that she was wrong?"[/color] Marci rolled forward a push, craning her neck to meet Zarina's eyes. [color=598527]"How do you think she would respond?"[/color] Zarina listened, expression unreadable. Her nails digging into her clothes, however, betrayed the demeanour she was selling. [color=#E5E4E2]“I would not.”[/color] she answered simply, the lightest hint of a rasp in her voice. [color=#E5E4E2]“Because she wouldn't be.”[/color] Marceline's lips were a grim line. [color=598527]"I love you, Zarina. You're the only thing like a sister I've ever had..."[/color] Marci glanced down, and then back up. [color=598527]"But your example from the North is different than the reality of what people have lived here for fifty years in the South."[/color] She let out a breath and shook her head, glancing out the door for a moment. [color=598527]"The Company was just reaching them up there when things exploded. They had some anger, but it wasn't even as much as what you feel now. They hadn't been killed by the Company, or shot at, or seen their family and friends destroyed."[/color] She glanced away again. [color=598527]"This isn't Virang, you know. It's Feska."[/color] She sniffed. [color=598527]"You think there isn't a person in the South who's had his or a friend's or a family member's land and livelihood taken? Who hasn't known someone who was killed or maimed either purposely or by neglect? Who hasn't had a daughter or a mother, a sister or a wife who hasn't been raped by some prick with a complex and no accountability?"[/color] She held up a hand. [color=598527]"I'm not trying to shame you. I'm not trying to blame you or make you feel like shit. You're not those people, but asking [i]these[/i] people to be rational in the face of fifty years of abuse and exploitation that almost always touches them personally in some way is the irrational call here."[/color] She shook her head firmly. [color=598527]"And asking them to come to the table and sit there with the people who've abused them or people who look like and work with them and be 'reasonable?'"[/color] She shrugged. [color=598527]"Maybe it'd be more effective if we remove emotion from it. Maybe it wouldn't. I don't know, but they won't do it. That's not human nature."[/color] She pursed her lips. [color=598527]"They would have to win or be desperate."[/color] She swallowed and glanced down. [color=598527]"[i]Gods[/i], I'm sorry.[/color] She glanced up. [color=598527]"I guess it's the same on the Virangish side now?"[/color] Zarina, still sat on an old table full of dust, leaned back until her cranium hit a hard surface. She just listened and took it, numbed somewhat from the morality of it all. The words of Tku, the massacre of her own people, the hatred of Manalo, and her very own conscience gnawing at her soul. All of it rang in tandem with Marceline's words. A repeat of the same noise, this time with a face she cared too much for. [color=#E5E4E2]“Why did you choose this battle?”[/color] she asked, although the 'you' could encompass more than just Marci. [color=#E5E4E2]“Why here? When suffering runs rampant in this world on a systemic level? Why not Eskand, or Feska even? Why not Xochit-whatever, where they butcher people to some despicable ruler God? Or ReTan and the enslavement of their entire people?”[/color] there was no screaming or even that much venom in her voice, but the cool head she was keeping was gone. This was veering towards accusation. [color=#E5E4E2]“Why here? Why at a time where my country is in great peril? Is it because of the opportunity? Because we're seen as weaker now? Do you want my home to burn?”[/color] Zarina leaned forward now, hands clasped in over her knees, and regarded Marci with vicious intensity. [color=#E5E4E2]“The only reason I remain on this island is the hope that I can reconcile this conflict before we have another massacre. But I will not have these butchers have their way. No matter how vindicated they feel. I did not punish the people of Marawan for what the Palparese did to mine. Innocent people, children. All in front of me. All my responsibility. If I can still sit down with these murderers for a better future, they can sit down with me. Otherwise, I will not hold back anymore.”[/color] A deep inhale, a brushing of long, dark hair over her ear and a softening of her features punctuated her speech. Zarina needed to get this out of her chest. [color=#E5E4E2]“What does he have on Kashani? It will surely be useful to make some headway.”[/color] Marceline had responses - plenty of them - but she held back for the time being because it all came spilling out of Zarina. It fairly [i]gushed[/i] forth and all that she could do was sit and listen as her temporal anchor expired. She was alone with the dragon and her escape route had just closed. She swallowed, addressing something else first. [color=598527]"Why here? Why now?"[/color] she questioned, with a regretful shrug. [color=598527]"I could go on about how Virang, stretched thin as it tries to prepare for a war against either Torragon or Tarlon, levied new taxes and fees and those were a straw that broke the camel's back. They forced a cascade that caused a dam already strained by a half-century of brutal exploitation to break."[/color] She pursed her lips for a moment. [color=598527]"But I don't think that's the satisfying answer you're looking for."[/color] Her fingers drummed just above her knees and she worked her jaw for a moment. [color=598527]"It's because Virang was weak. It's because Virang was vulnerable."[/color] She shrugged again. [color=598527]"For the people of this place, it was the best chance they'd ever have to throw off their chains and I will never fault them for wanting to do that."[/color] She tilted her head. [color=598527]"But for Revidia? Yeah."[/color] She nodded. [color=598527]"It was the chance to weaken a political and possibly military enemy."[/color] She continued to nod. [color=598527]"For Tarlon, much the same. For the Deici Volti, a chance to advance an agenda. Is it cynical or something they truly believe in?"[/color] Another shrug. [color=598527]"Neither of us is in their heads."[/color] She swallowed, bunching up her dress once more and releasing it, knuckles not quite white. [color=598527]"But I'll tell you what it is for me: It's a Damidamned crisis."[/color] Marci shook her head emphatically. [color=598527]"You know what? I fucking [i]hate[/i] countries: just the very [i]idea[/i] of them."[/color] Her lips curled in disgust. [color=598527]"The world puts you on these arbitrary little teams and you're obligated to like or hate certain other teams and the people on them, regardless of what they're actually like, usually because some fat old man in a palace says so because it fucking benefits [i]him[/i]."[/color] She took a push forward. [color=598527]"You're not Virang any more than I'm Torragon or Kerremand, any more than Miret is Tarlon and your enemy, or Ayla is Torragon and your enemy."[/color] Marceline stopped for a breath. [color=598527]"We started Zenobucks because we saw an opportunity, where we could make people's lives a little better but also where [i]we[/i] could benefit. Where we could be on our [i]own[/i] team, that [i]we[/i] chose."[/color] Marci's eyes went to her lap and came back up. [color=598527]"You and me, bruja."[/color] She tapped her chest with a pointer and turned it on her friend. [color=598527]"Our own team. Fuck all these murderers on both sides. Fuck these powerful people who don't care about us and who look at a war as an opportunity."[/color] She gestured emphatically but vaguely into the distance, out the partially open doorway. [color=598527]"We make money. We get power. We do right, and nobody can touch us."[/color] She shook her head again and swallowed. [color=598527]"Please, Zarina."[/color] She swallowed again and paused for a moment. [color=598527]"I know it's bad. I can see you're angry. I know you feel attacked, but don't let them reel you in. There's something bigger than what Osman wants or what Dani wants, or whoever."[/color] She blinked once and looked away. [color=598527]"Anyway, it's a whole bunch of the man's dirty letters to his lovers, details of his accounts in foreign countries, his lists of spies, and other secret correspondence."[/color] She pursed her lips, reaching an hand back into her open bag. [color=598527]"One stood out to Tku, though - one 'lover' who I can't help but think is a little bit more."[/color] Zarina listened, stoic and unflinching. The reasons why nations, peoples and others that weren't her mattered little. The many nights of self-doubt had revealed it all to her, and if it wasn't her own conclusions, the brass had no qualms in spewing its propaganda on occasion. No, what mattered was Marceline's reasons, and only when she got to that point that the slightest incline in the Virangish's posture could be noticed. As the Torragonese went on, amber eyes descended further and further down. Without ever saying it, she was growing more saddened by the syllable. By that alone, Marci had her answer. [color=#E5E4E2]“I cannot abandon my country.”[/color] she said, eyes back on her opposite. [color=#E5E4E2]“I cannot stand against its interest. Not now. Not when my people, friends and family risk suffering greatly if I don't fix this the [b]right way[/b].”[/color] hands on her knees, she pushed herself off the table and stood on her feet. [color=#E5E4E2]“We can't take on the world. Not when there are anti-magic tools. Or Ersand'Enise. Or the Dieci Volti. Or everything that has this world rigged. All I can do is keep what matters most to me safe and sound.”[/color] a defeatist's sigh punctuated her stance. Approaching Marceline, she extended her hand. [color=#E5E4E2]“Kashani will know justice. His betrayal of our values and dignity will cost him his life. But killing a useful fool too early is stupid. You and I know this, but the rebels won't see it that way. Any leverage will make all of our lives easier.”[/color] For a good second or two, Marceline regarded Zarina's hand. Her eyes flicked to the bundle in her lap and to the hand and to her... friend's eyes. They lingered on the last and she brought the parcel forward. [color=598527]"Even the greatest of journeys begins with a single step."[/color] It occurred to the tethered, absently, that the saying no longer applied to her, but now was not the time to dwell on her own psychological wounds. Marci held it out. [color=598527]"Myself and the rebellion do not agree with you, but...[/color] She narrowed her eyes knowingly. [color=598527]"neither Tku nor I want things to get worse either. He saved hundreds at Fort Limanagzi, you know."[/color] She shrugged and thrust the parcel into Zarina's hands. [color=598527]"I trust you, suunei."[/color] [color=#E5E4E2]“I see.”[/color] there was only the slightest hint of surprise in her voice. It was Zarina answer to everything Marci had said, and the news on Tku. The goods were seized and secured with her second hand clutching it tightly. For a moment, her gaze lingered on her winnings. Her lips thinned and shivered, as if she was holding back something. [color=#E5E4E2]“Thanks, sis.”[/color] she quickly twisted and marched out of the cabin to take flight. The goods were going to be investigated later, the lack of verification made it clear trust went without saying. Literally. The meeting was finished. Mariana leaned back and breathed. It was impossible to have caught everything; tone of voice was difficult, body language, and other subtler cues. Regardless, she had a smoking gun on her hands and she knew it. She needed to get this to Tio Piyale, but he was overseas... for now. Reaching out across Sabu, she felt for familiar energies, for allies. The truth was that there were few. Her benefactor was gathering the fleet and most others were either Kashani's creatures or of dubious loyalty, like Zarina. No. For now, she would keep this to herself. It was at around that time that she reached up for the middle of her back in annoyance, feeling a sudden itch…[/hider][/color]