Xibalba

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

He looked... puzzled. His mouth gaped, and he looked at her like she suddenly went crazy. Like he really wanted to say something like whaaa? That was just ridiculous.

[yinsukin]

Aruna

The demon floated closer, the closest thing to leaning in.  "Well?"

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

He scratched the back of his head. Not sure I follow.

He liked to think he was a pretty honest lad! Most of the times! Sometimes. Occasinally.

[yinsukin]

Aruna

"Do you think a sentient black hole isn't a person?" she said with a shrug.  "In my world, you are real, a thing that makes choices.  The fact that you have a name is proof of this.  You are Ezekial.  I'm asking why you would lie to yourself about that?  You know what you are."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

Zeke just floated there, still and silent. He stared at Aruna in disbelief, or perhaps some other kind of emotion. Whatever it was, there was no mistake about it. The air got colder. Zeke's face twisted, slowly, into a frown. Suddenly, he wasn't laughing anymore. He growled, and a vile heat and light cracklet out ow his maw like embers. The void was pulsing.

It glared at her...

And laughed. The tension vanished, and he beamed like the kindest little old man in the city. A pure dark beam of sunshine, his chipper laughter was. You could tell his heart was just fuzzing when next to the cute demon. To think a demon was the one to lecture him. Wahahaha!

That's exactly right.

Heheh. Bet she got real spooked there for a second.

[yinsukin]

Aruna

Aruna's arm began to glow.  With no time to set traps and no way out, if he was going to fight again, this was her best option.  Besides, she wasn't afraid of the light anymore.  At the very least, not her light.  For a brief moment, they shared a tense glare, his darkness ready to meet her light.

But then it went away.

"I would hope so," Aruna said, blowing her bangs.  "Whether good or bad, we decide and that makes it worth moving forward.  That means we are people.  If a "person" can make a choice, then we are people.  That is what my culture has taught me.  But you taught me that choices are our own, the paths we forge out of our own hands.... or in your case others.  So if all that is nonsense, then I am back at square one."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

Everyone's got a choice. Even the choice not to choose. He grinned. After all, Zeke made his bed. He wasn't going to cry and moan about it after coming this far, and he sure as hell didn't regret it.

But he did fight it. Just in a different way. He sought more than his lot, and did everything for the sake of this dream of his. Was that his choice, or was this just following his voracious nature? Maybe he was just what some would call a bad person. Honestly, who cares. Its exactly as he said, he chose to follow his own nature, instead of resisting, and gave himself up to the pleasure. That's all there is to it.

You either fight your destiny, or you accept it and move on.

This is my way. What is yours?

[yinsukin]

Aruna

Aruna sighed, crossing her legs in midair as her wings continued to flap.  She placed a hand on her chin, before her eyes widened.  "Thats right," she said.  "I'm not worried about it right now.  All that matters is my choices going forward.  I am a denizen of the dark and wielder of the light.  So right now, I'll just focus on a goal and I'll figure out the rest on the way."

Aruna's finger fell to the ground limp, her eyes sharpening.  "I must collect god's grace and free those from the all-engulfing flame of the light."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Ezekiel

He stretched and smiled confidently, arms stretched behind his back. He wondered where this PATH would lead her. He hoped she'd find her answer.

He glanced back at the tower of Sur Carys, relaxed as ever. See that?

[yinsukin]

Aruna

Aruna followed Ezekial's gaze.  "Yeah?  That tower?" she asked.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

That's my boss's place. He grinned widely, zipping behind her to lay his head right on her shoulder. A sly old fox he was. Isn't it cute?

[yinsukin]

Aruna

Strange.  He had a master.  Unlike her, who had remained masterless since she got here, he had a master and a powerful one at that.  Aruna's mind drifted towards the possibilities.  How much did he help her attain that power?  What was their relationship?

"I see," she said.  "May I meet her?"

It was hard not to be curious.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

A bit of sweat dripped down his forehead, and he shivered. Heh. I don't knoww... she's a taaad bit angry at me, if you haven't noticed. He pointed at his now empty throat, which he gaped wide for Aruna to see. When he closed it shut, he spend the rest of the time showing pure, dorkish confusion.

I can't say I understand. I just called an elf knife-ear. According to my assimilated data, it is a popular nickname for elven kind. I've seen... real elves say stuff like -oh yeah daddy, call me a dirty, dirty knife-ear you fat stud- ... Were the human holocrons mistaken? Pft, no way. The twiddled with his thumbs, and looked away from the tower in embarassment. And not even the usual over the top kind of stress. It was the kind of being bothered that was legitimately concerning, especially coming from someone like him. It was actually a bit cute.

He turned his back on Aruna and stroked his beard in deep contemplation, chuckling occasionally.

Prideful girls are cute though. Heh heh heh...

Nope. Nevermind. Dom fetish alert. Dom fetish alert.

[yinsukin]

Aruna

Aruna closed her eyes and nodded, once again taking a cross-legged mid-air stance.  "So... basically you like being dominated... and she didn't consent, so she's punishing you for it...." She didn't need to read his soul to figure that out. The tone of her voice was straightforward and nonjudgmental.  After all, she sort of got it.  That explained why he couldn't talk anymore.

"Even your master acts like a demon, an especially cruel one as well."

Weird.  The fake demon was starting to play the part better than her.  In that case, maybe he should learn more about demons.  "Ezekiel?  Do you know what I feed on?"

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

He raised an eyebrow, but relaxed and sprawled on his back, as if he were stretching down a couch. Of course, they were both mid-air. Yep. You'd be surprised what women can do when their pride's on the line. I just didn't think someone like her would care.

Suddenly, he smiled patiently, arms behind his head as he enjoyed the sunshine up above.

Emotions. Memories. The soul itself. But not their lives. It's almost cruel, you just keep them alive like cattle. It wasn't so different from what he did, really.