The Book of Abolition

[Valgunn]

The Truant in the Garden of Death

The Truant looked between Markhis, whose name she hadn't remembered until Waves had said it, and Waves herself. She always felt awkward when Waves was dealing with the members of her cult. In some ways, Waves reminded the Truant of her cousin. Both seemed able to warp reality with their words, though her cousin managed it more with her bounteous breasts than her words, and more often with men than with women, but the basic principle was the same. Old memories of acting as an awkward accessory to her cousin's indecent manipulations—both in the village and out on missions—slipped through the back of her mind. Her beautiful buxom cousin would twist the world around her finger while The Truant stood there—plain-faced, ash-pale, and flat—with nothing to do but wait for her to be done.

The Truant stood there, feeling slightly ignored and not sure what to do next, and idly kicked at some of the settling snow out of boredom.

Edited September 28, 2023 by Valgunn (see edit history)

[Oceane]

Waves Under The Night Sky
Our Lady in Salvation, The Roof Under The Crimson Rain, Mistress of Dreams

---

The tides suddenly reversed into flow.

"Truant," her voice came crashing down—the benefits of her sharp mind were such that Waves could tell when she made a mistake, and right here, right now, the very moment she pushed her body to grab the snowflake, she felt a mistake—and she set motions to the world to fix it on the spot, "help me."

Truant was quick and clever; Waves' words were few but her body, her position, her momentum, spoke a lot more as to what she needed help with that she could ever say fast enough with her tongue.

 

OOC

Trying to get Truant's help on the not-so-good roll!

[Valgunn]

The Truant in the Garden of Death

The Truant moved like a shadow dancing in the wan light of funerary incense. She acted faster than the speed of her own thoughts which caught up to her as she crunched freshly fallen snow under her night black shoes. For a split instant, she was standing there with two Soulsteel needles drawn, the faint images and moans of its horrifying material lingering in the snow-filled air. Then, as her thoughts caught up to her, she realized this was a time of blood but not that kind of blood. Not hot blood spilt on hungry earth, but of blood racing through the body. Even though she thought of herself as dead, she was actually still more-or-less alive and blood still pumped through her veins.

[Oceane]

Waves Under The Night Sky
Our Lady in Salvation, The Roof Under The Blood Rain, Mistress of Dreams

---

Her quest momentarily forgotten, Waves' attention was fully onto the world around her: all the more so she could witness Truant's prowess. The girl moved and breathed with the sharpness and precision of the very Soulsteel blades she wielded—the snowflakes on her path to Waves were cut in twain, whereas their one target she somehow plucked with the tip of a needle, hesitation to her companion's desire hindrance none to her ability, and delivered it onto Waves' poised hand.

On her skin, on the end of one finger, it blossomed almost like a flower with mirrors for petals.

"Perfect," Waves said with a smile, her crimson, intense eyes a cacophonous inferno burning into Truant's. Befitting her name, her movement was ampler, gentle and strong both, as the caress of waters; she swiveled on her feet, embracing her not-so-dead half's shoulders with her free arm, and presenting forth her catch, almost touching Truant's nose with her finger, as she brought herself almost as close to her as the sea to land.

On one side of the balance, Waves was obviously very intrigued by this fancy snowflake, but on the other, the heat radiating from her was pure distraction.

"I am no snow maven," she said coolly, slightly inclining her finger this way and that way, "but this is no mere snowflake, yes?"

 

Edited October 10, 2023 by Oceane (see edit history)

[Valgunn]

The Truant in the Garden of Death

The Truant shrugged, needles in hand, and let out an inelegnat, half-grunted, "I'unno." It was the kind of noise and gesture that brought down the whole vibe of a moment.

Edited October 10, 2023 by Valgunn (see edit history)

[Sarcasticfury]

 

 

Dancing White Flame

Dancing White Flame shivered as the snow fell. With combat wear that revealed much of her arms and legs, she was not at all dressed for the cold. Enduring Iron Ram however, didn't seem to be the least bit bothered by the sudden drop in temperature. The rhino moved even slower as the crowds began to panic, not wanting to accidentally harm anyone or make the situation worse. Though from her position, Flame noticed the vendors and others who weren't as panicked pulling out their umbrellas. She calls out to one of the vendors.

"You seem more ready for this than most! Is this something that happens frequently in the city of Great Forks? And do you have some garments for the cold?!"

Edited October 16, 2023 by Sarcasticfury (see edit history)

[Oceane]

Waves Under The Night Sky
Our Lady in Salvation, The Roof Under The Blood Rain, Mistress of Dreams

---

Waves stood there, frozen.

Embarrassed.

Truant had a way of breaking the deity play Waves got so caught up playing in.

In those moments, she could never tell if she hated herself, or if Truant despised her.

"It shines strangely," she clarified after clearing her throat. "Y-You don't see it?"

 

[Valgunn]

The Truant in the Garden of Death

The Truant blinked, the goddess Waves pretended to be faded, and the woman beneath emerged as if through a fog. This was the woman the Truant had decided to help all those months ago; that she had decided to stay with after the disaster that was her attempted romantic reunion; and that she walked with through Great Forks, trying to think of ways to bring a smile to her face. The breath the Truant didn't truly need caught in her throat, forcing her to focus for a moment on her own body. It helped with her breathing, but it didn't help anything else. If she weren't as pale as a corpse and almost as bloodless her cheeks and ears would have gone pink. Instead, they just seemed to flush with a slight living colour that would have disgusted her master.

"Oh, er," the Truant stumbled, the living colour intensifying slightly. "I'm not really good with sorcerous stuff, or theological stuff. Even the dead sort of theology." She took a second look at the snowflake. "It's very pretty, though," she insisted awkwardly. "Er, say, why hasn't it melted yet? Snowflakes should melt as soon as you touch them..."

Edited November 20, 2023 by Valgunn (see edit history)

[Sarcasticfury]

 

 

Dancing White Flame

Dancing White Flame grew impatient waiting for the vendor to respond. Either he was exceptionally slow-witted or in awe at how one of the Princes of the World had opted to speak to him. Either way, she was growing bored and time was being wasted. That was one of the convenient parts about traveling with Moon. As an anathema, she didn't possess the need to kneel every time she farted. "Moon. Did it ever snow where you come from? I've never seen this before."

[Oceane]

Waves Under The Night Sky
Our Lady in Salvation, The Roof Under The Blood Rain, Mistress of Dreams

---

The young godling seized the opportunity that was her Garden's question like a drowner driftwood. "I'unno," she replied, a cheek in her voice that was unfortunately too uncommon.

For a moment, Waves focused some more on Truant, eyes enraptured by the slow and steady whitening of her assassin's pitch black hair by the falling snowflakes.

"How about you hold it still for me while I try to figure it out?" she said in one breath, grabbing one of Truant's hand, and passing the strange crystal onto the girl's pale palm, intend on figuring out what kind of magic whirled around it.

 

[Valgunn]

The Truant in the Garden of Death

The Truant froze in place and was as perfectly still as a rigour mortis-locked corpse. The only thing that moved was the Abyss black locks of her hair and the rustle of her grave-robbed clothes.

[Savine]

6 Markhis, ever faithful, remained statuesque on the ground, his cinereous garments soaking from the freshly fallen snow. He didn’t dare look up at his goddess as she dealt with issues obviously more pertinent than the temporal dealings of mortals. 

But even the most faithful supplicants have limits, and Markhis’ must’ve been the point just before frostbite.

“Mistress!” he beseeched, “Forgive me, my interjection, but permit me to answer your former petition.” Markhis hadn’t even raised his head to his goddess, his face still pointed toward the snow-clad ground. “Some weather godling’s cult—” he spat again “—has broken down our doors and, and… tore off the Cerement of Telos!” Waves and Truant weren’t too sure how the worshippers got their hands on one of Truant’s beddings, but it had nevertheless found its way into the reliquary. 

Markhis began to weep and buried his face into the snow, a salty slurry pooling from his tears.

 

***

7 One of the vendors eyed the pair and the rhinoceros; he had just wrapped a woolen himation over himself before grumbling. “You think you’re in the North, do ya?” Another wave of snow buffeted them. He cursed. “‘Spose, y’would, now that one of the Northern gods has graced us with their presence.” The vendor gestured to the mounting snow before them. “But lookin’ for hardier clothin’, are ya? Here.” He dropped behind his thela that was now quarter-buried beneath the snow, cursing to himself as he dragged out two rolls of a muddy-gray fabric.

“You’d be hard-pressed to find heavy cloth ‘round these parts, I’ll tell ya. For the two?” The vendor stared at Flame’s Daiklave, “I accept jade or silver.”

[Valgunn]

The Truant in the Garden of Death

The Truant turned her head slowly from the snowflake, her blood-red eyes set deep into her corpse-pale face piercing Markhis. With a complete lack of sympathy for the bedsheet thieves, she turned back to Waves. "Anyway," she said. "What about this thing?"

[Sarcasticfury]

 

 

Dancing White Flame

Dancing White Flame takes a good long look at the merchant before looking at Moonlight. "He's trying to scam us." She says before turning to address the merchant. "I'm assuming that since we're new here you take us for easy marks. Fine clothes aren't even worth a jade and you'd be beyond lucky to get a dinar out of those. But if you really need to feed yourself tonight..." She pulls out three dinars and tosses them to the merchant. "I suppose there's worse ways than trying to price gouge a Prince of the World."

[Naimless]

Moonlight on the Riverbend

Moon laughed a soft, delicate laugh, a kind common in the lavish courts of those who wielded actual power in the world. "You do his ilk too great a kindness." She cooed, her languid gaze taking in the merchant who dared rob a Prince. "But I'm sure a man of his wit and mercantile skill can see the value of making a friends of someone with the means to further his status in this great city." She smiled then, conspiratorial. Her heart all but sang in her chest as she wove her words. Without the raw force of the ocean in her words, she could nonetheless channel her namesake and twist and glide around any obstacle.

"Good merchant." She gestures to her riding companion. "I will be certain to recall your honest dealings in the future when the Prince is in need of supplies in the coming span of time. Consider this payment...an investment." Her eyes narrowed slightly, her gaze able to cut glass. "The Prince will remember you when it is time. I will make sure of it." She smiled, but in her heart, it was the leopard baring her fangs. The tiger sharpening her claws.