daxned

[daxned]

"Doing it style-ishly is for those who take pleasure and fun in killing. Like you." She's seen him. The way he attacked was like that of a child at a playground. "I'm only doing what needs to be done and doing it to finish quickly." Mm, though perhaps some part of her did enjoy it for the most part.

"I could leave you on the rooftop," She says coldly. Still, if he were to die, she might end up having a guilty conscious. "Or I can stay here with you. Either way is the same to me."

Watching Dam-bi in action, it occurs to Cecil that he hasn't had a chance to see how his other operatives worked. The branch of the Chorus he established in Spirale is a looseknit organization of freelancers; he only played the role of contact, while everyone else dealt with their jobs themselves.

Perhaps he should, just for fun. Someday.

❛ If you know enough to kill, why not do it stylishly? ❜ he responds while taking the offered hand again.

❛ It will get dull for me otherwise. Balancing beauty with butchery—that is what challenges my mind. ❜

At the mention of shelters, Cecil shakes his head.

❛ There is nothing to do there, ❜ he points out. ❛ If I am restless, I will just kill the others. You might as well leave me on this roof. ❜ The breeze was nice, and so were the views. As for the Glitched—well, it wasn't as if he hadn't died before in this city. He was curious to see how they'd end him, if at all.

[daxned]

"Religion is a strange and tricky thing. It may be similar in some ways, but very different in others." Once at the source of water, she kneels to rinse her hands of dirt.

"It was hard to form any kind of religion when the world was known for its monsters. When calamity befell our kingdom, there was no god to pray to. Otherwise, people wouldn't have suffered, and lives wouldn't have been lost. Hm, in my world, the King was supposedly god in the eyes of the people.:

“The abrahamic messiah is said to be the son of God, sent down to free humans from sin. The Angel has a similar purpose, except it is the sin that was caused by the ones on the surface.”

It’s been a while since Chara talked religion, not since after Frisk had casually asked Gearson about the Delta Rune; they had asked chara later what it all actually meant, because Gearson has a way with rambling that Frisk had difficulty wrapping their head around.

The child hums, stepping in time to follow the other.

“The calamity… I assume that is something like an apocalypse.” Or the rapture, even. “Religion is one of the first things humans create when they have nothing. I must say I am surprised that there was nothing like that in your world. Even the most anti-theistic people tend to have some sort of faith binding them together.”

[daxned]

"Why would you say that? The battle isn't a graceful thing."

Brutality was how things got done. At least she'd tell herself that. She certainly hadn't killed Dar'khol nor Yuri in such a brutal manner. She was able to show some grace.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Glitched, being that DOES end up flying towards them to land an attack. Before it could even succeed, the large beast that belonged to Dam-bi struck through the creature without much hesitation.

"we should move." Approaching her boss, Dam-bi holds out her hand for him to take.

"Should I take you to one of the shelters?" The large creature becomes smaller. Back to its pocket-sized onionshaped critter and plops ontop Dam-bi's shoulder.

Cecil wants to elaborate, but notices that she seems preoccupied. He shuts his mouth instead to pay attention to their surroundings, also picking up the tension in the air.

❛ It doesn't hurt to be cautious, ❜ the marquis agrees and finds a convenient place to act as a buffer—the space behind some rooftop AC units.

❛ But I mean to say—I would've expected your style to be more graceful. ❜

She was Dam-bi as well as Samjok-O, but he was both assassin and marquis. The girl who modeled dresses so well was unexpectedly a fan of cruder brutality in combat.

[daxned]

"I'm not sure what you're talking about."

There shouldn't have been any reason why Cecil would misjudge her character. Still, to be told that she looks like a flower is new. Did she look so delicate?

"Something is coming. Are animals also affected?" She asks curiously. That pricking at the back of her neck only feels more prominent. A bird was coming their way, readying to attack perhaps?

Cecil turns towards her at that statement, a little surprised. Then he laughs and looks away again.

❛ I have misjudged, mademoiselle. ❜

❛ You look like a flower, but your heart is more like nails. Ah but, that will be an interesting concept to design into a dress later. ❜

He slowly stretches next, feeling out his limbs and the remaining reserves of mana before a full refresh.

❛ But we cannot stay here indefinitely, no? We will miss the tea time. ❜ And later on, dinner besides.

[daxned]

She takes note of the face he makes. Honestly, she would have felt the same way if her name had been mentioned. After all, she also went with an alias here!

"Of course." The quicker they can find the target, the faster they can return with said target in hand.

"You may decide if we kill them or not." It all depended on how well the target cooperated with them as well, it'd seem.

He made a face at her knowing his name. Sephiroth watched the little creature run off to find their target. "I'm not here for a challenge, I'm here to do a job, and do it quickly and efficiently."

He wanted to say something, but decided against it. Whether they split up in their search or not, Sephiroth didn't care as long as the target was found.

He stepped away from the train station and headed towards the alley ways. "Your little pet should make it easier to corner our target."

[daxned]

"Why would it trouble me?" The question isn't really meant to be answered. Still. She has to admit she is worried for Eiden and a handful of other people.

"I prefer to watch where they can't reach me." Only for now though. There's an unspoken feeling that something Is on its way and it's picking at the back of Dam-bi's neck.

And they shortly reappear on one of the rooftops. Dam-bi tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and looks to her boss. "This doesn't seem like it will stop any time soon." From here, you can see just how chaotic everything is.

People screaming, fighting, running....dying.

"Even the monsters I summon wouldn't be enough to take care all of them." Who's to even say they wouldn't just add more.

This place is filled with Glitched.

[daxned]

"I see. I am not familiar with the Abrahamic messiah, but I see what you mean." Like god in a sense, though in Chara's world, it was called an Angel. Interesting.

Green hues lower to Chara's hands. Fingertips sore from picking herbs. It did require a lot of digging and pulling. "I didn't have anything like that in my world," She says, turning to walk away toward a stream of water. She's waiting for Chara to follow.

"Or perhaps if there was something like that, they would have been the cause of the Calamity befalling in the Kingdom."

Chara silently deposits the herbs they’ve picked into the basket; their fingers are dirty and sting a bit, but it feels nice to be able to do gardening like this again. It feels right. It feels… normal.

“I believe in the Angel.

In the kingdom I grew up in, there was a belief in the Angel of the Delta Rune. An Angel that would return to us one day and make the underground go empty. Basically like monster version of the Abrahamic messiah, or something.”

A shrug.

“It was something the family I had cherished deeply. And in the end… I suppose I did have a little faith in Them.”

[daxned]

And they shortly reappear on one of the rooftops. Dam-bi tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and looks to her boss. "This doesn't seem like it will stop any time soon." From here, you can see just how chaotic everything is.

People screaming, fighting, running....dying.

"Even the monsters I summon wouldn't be enough to take care all of them." Who's to even say they wouldn't just add more.

This place is filled with Glitched.

To anyone else, Dam-bi's clarification would sound strange, but Cecil knows what she means. He blinks instead, amused. ❛ This city is a terrible place for secrets. ❜

All of them get exposed so soon.

His hearing is also fine, but he doesn't pay attention to the noises outside, more interested in Dam-bi's preparations.

❛ Mademoiselle, don't jinx my shop. ❜

❛ I am still negotiating about the insur— ❜ Whatever he says is snatched away by the wind as the girl whisks them from sight.

[daxned]

With enough herbs picked up while having listened and having a conversation with Chara, Dam-bi faces them with the basketful in her hands.

"Those people are in denial. Not much can be done when the smell of death follows them at every corner."

"You may put them in here," She says, gesturing to the basket for the herbs picked.

"Do you believe in angels?" She knows there are actually some here among them, but she didn't know if she actually BELIEVED the stories about them.

“Yeah? Funny. Most of the adults I have met have been insistent on being adamant that is not the case.

Personally, for a while, I had merely assumed this place was my own special little hell. A place filled to the brim with humans that I could neither avoid nor refuse interaction with.”

Sometimes they still feel like that. Chara sniffs again, covering it with a giggle.

“I have been dead in my time for a hundred years, easily. I thought perhaps the Angel would allow me to finally rest. Clearly, They had other plans for me”

[daxned]

Chara laughs and laughs, but Dam-bi fails to see what's so funny. They laugh hard enough that they have to wipe a tear. Was being stuck in the middle so hilarious?

She doesn't get it, but it's not really her place to question them.

Exhausting. That's at least what they say, and surprisingly, Dam-bi finds herself agreeing.

"The majority of us must have died at some point and been brought alive here. I don't know how the Stars do it."

“Well, certainly, the grownups here seem to consider me human. And I feel human. Clearly my soul is back in my body…

I suppose I stand as simply being unlucky!”

They laugh, and laugh. It’s so funny! Chara shakes their head and wipes a tear from their eye. Gosh! They’re the pinnacle of humor.

“It figures that I am trapped in this awful place, in a body neither alive nor dead. How exhausting.”

[daxned]

Chara begins drawing two hearts, and Dam-bi kneels to get a better look. Interesting. The way Chara's world works when it comes to SOULS and the monsters and humans. It sounds a little similar, but at the same time, not quite.

"Hm. You're neither alive nor human, so where do you stand?"

Not even a spirit. How would Chara be considered? Still human?

“… well, yes. Monster souls are different from human ones in my world as well, but I am fairly certain they have them. I have seen them myself.”

Chara picks up a stick and clears some dirt, before drawing two hearts — with one upside down.

“Monster SOULS are upside down, and white in color. Monster SOULS cannot persist after death, but human SOULS do. The only monster SOULs that can persist after perishing are those of a particular species — BOSS MONSTERS. And even then, they can only exist for an instant outside of their shell. They turn to dust soon after.”

[daxned]

Lowell hides behind whatever this is. It's easy to see in the eyes of the child.

"Has your weapon returned since?" She asks instead. There was no sign that she'd attack him, so hopefully, that answers his question. The small creature that travels with Dam-bi chitters. It doesn't go near Yuri, but it looks in his direction.

Dam-bi resumes the picking of more mushrooms, though when she sees other plants like beings, she ends up picking those off as well and placing them in her basket.

"Your injury...they didn't leave anything behind, did they?"

a loose grip tightens around the pole, imperceptibly so; briefly widened, grey eyes slowly averting a pair of green. he almost wishes dam-bi would've walked away, too. would've saved him the oncoming aches, if anything.

he hadn't been running from the inevitable, himself, no... but that doesn't mean he was looking forward to it, either. it's still a chore to pinpoint anything he's feeling (anger? pity? disappointment? more anger?), so he hadn't bothered. all he knows is that it's enough for so much as a basic, four-word greeting to make his insides churn.

"hey," plain, a feigned interest in his fishing line as good an excuse as any to not face her. "back to take another stab at me?" the perfect picture of apathy, dipped in just enough curiosity to not come across as outright dismissal, "well, mind picking up the pace this time? turns out 'slow and painful''s not my ideal way to croak."

[daxned]

"Let me heal you." She places her hand upon his and then adds, "I won't heal you all the way." She knows. She knows that there's toxin in his body. She could feel it whenever she was near.

She heals him just enough and then turns to the door to summon backup for the giant monster outside.

Cecil may be able to hear a couple of screeches from afar if he has good hearing. "We're leaving. Even if the store gets ruined, it'll be fixed, eventually."

With that, she plans to teleport them away from this danger.

The vague sounds of combat incite Cecil's curiosity: he really wants to see how that giant trunk of a tree-monster fights. But Dam-bi's quite practical with her words, and the assassin only sighs and stays put.

❛ So your thumb is as green as your eyes, ❜ he remarks. ❛ No, we can't stay here long. Even if not for ourselves, then for the shop. ❜

❛ I would be très croix if they break through the windows. ❜ Very cross.

His eyes grew questioning as she moves to stand in front of him, seemingly ready to do something else. ❛ What is it? Is there something on my face? ❜

[daxned]

Dam-bi is fine with any of the herbs. She collected mostly all of them for different purposes after all. Chara explains SOULS and it leads Dam-bi to another question,

"And yours is rare." There had to be a reason. "In my world, monsters such as myself and this one here's soul is different from humans. I can't say for sure if souls actually exist inside of us.

“I am more than happy to assist, though I do not know why you are interested in my SOUL. Determination may be a rare trait to dominate a human’s person in my world, but that does not make it particularly special or interesting.”

still. Chara kneels in the ground, hands moving to search for herbs. She didn’t specify which herbs, so Chara will just grab any they find. They’re good at this.

It reminds them of gardening with their dad.

“The SOUL is the very essence of one's being, whether one is human or monster. A human's SOUL is not the entirety of their being, but rather their essence, housed in a physical body. All human SOULS have determination, but to be dominated by determination so much that it is the trait associated with a soul is a rare thing.”

[daxned]

"You don't have to help. As you are now, you'd only get in the way, Mister Cecil." The monster is handling the Glitched outside, keeping them from entering the boutique. She can hear the noises outside.

"Yes. I grow them near by home." She wonders why he's asking.

Green eyes look to the door. "It isn't safe to stay here, is it?" And Soft Elk may need backup.

Dam-bi moves to stand in front of Cecil. She can at least heal his wounds while the battle outside is going on.

❛ Oh. ❜ Cecil looks awestruck at the giant monster, then can't help but try to get up when it starts moving. ❛ Mind it doesn't hit the racks—oh! ❜

A wave of vertigo has him sitting back down. Belatedly, he recalls that the shop has double doors and feels oddly reassured that the monster wouldn't break any walls if it chose to exit and stand guard outside.

To Dambi he admits, ❛ I lost my scissors outside. Otherwise, I would join him. ❜ It's one reason besides his injuries that had him teleporting back—he wouldn't risk a fight unarmed with his precious parcel in hand.

❛ Do you grow plants off work? ❜ the assassin asks cheerfully. He wonders if this is why she's only part-timing, besides potential schoolwork.

[daxned]

Dam-bi is staring the other down, but eventually, she relaxes (Or seems more relaxed visibly.)

"Quaxly....I see." So this monster Pokemon was called a Quaxly. Interesting. "Its name is Soft Thistle of Feint Elk Level 90. I did not name it."

"And my name is Dam-bi. I may have overreacted. It wouldn't have gone with you even if you tried to take it home. You would have died if you tried."

"A Pokemon is, well," she could go on a lengthy explanation, if she was Nidothing, but she's not Nidothing and so she can only awkwardly gesture to Quaxly.

"Sorry about that, it's not right to try and take someone else's companion." She gestures to the girl's monster, and then Quaxly, who seems to be calming down. "This is Quaxly. He's a Pokemon."

(This girl is weird.)

[daxned]

"..." dam-bi takes the package and places it somewhere safe, but not too far from where she'd lose sight of her boss. When she returns and he's on his knees, she nods. "I do. But you don't need it."

She barely tapped into her powers, but for Cecil she didn't mind doing it. She's just about to heal Cecil when the sounds of moaning and banging interrupts her. Dam-bi looks up toward the door.

"Block the enteance."

The simple order is enough to get the small, shaped creature moving toward the door. One second it's small, and then the next, its morphed into a larger being

Heading towards the boutique hadn't been his first choice, but with his arm losing blood and no concept of where the nearest hospital might be, it was the best decision under the circumstances.

Cecil teleports into the middle of the store floor, his left arm clutching a package to himself while his right dangles uselessly by his side. Taking in the bodies and then Dambi, he breaks into a cheerful smile.

❛ Mademoiselle Dambi～! ❜

❛ A part-timer taking the effort to protect our stock? Bien joué. ❜ Well done.

He holds out the package next, the parcel partially stained with dried blood. ❛ Take this first, it is the sample fabrics I custom-ordered for the season— ❜ And then the marquis abruptly drops to one knee, laughing as blood loss takes its toll.

❛ ...do you remember where I put the bandages? ❜