Cross Effects > Areas
Nexus Campus Town
Panda:
Nanako
Nanako could not fly herself out, as it turned out. The squirrel girl's abrupt turn being mirrored by her new wings had sent her into an unexpected deathspiral, hurtling down to the ground almost as fast as she'd risen before crashing down with a great plume of dirt and dust. Impact with the ground was short, sharp, sudden, and kicked the air out of Nanako's chest, leaving the squirrel girl breathless and coughing for a moment before she caught her breath, body throbbing for a moment with the crash.
With a quiet groan, Nanako picked herself back up, body throbbing with all the blows Costin had heaped upon her, bruises fading by inches as she stepped out of the dust cloud, breathing hard in the aftermath of the fight. The sight that awaited her, of the headmaster standing there, Costin's blood sprayed everywhere, and the tattooed man nowhere to be seen, told her more than she wanted to know in that moment. Confusion struck the squirrel girl for a moment until she remembered the bloody tree Costin had grown within the dome.
She hadn't known the man all that well, and didn't have anything more to say to the headmaster now, so with one last glare to the lake, the squirrel girl zipped off, trying to find somewhere to clear her head after that fight.
Kotomine_Rin:
--- Quote from: YOLF on August 26, 2021, 09:55:22 PM ---Headmaster
Clocktower, 700 Feet Below Ground
At a later time
It hadn't been difficult to remove the vampire from the bottom of the lake or to restore the basic shape of the street he'd helped ruin. Acquiring the right measures to keep him safely restrained had merely been a matter of making the right calls and demands. Transfering him to the appropriate location had been more logistically complicated. It was a welcome surprise that he seemed unable to move effectively within water at all, but passing him through a door to his new holding place and placing the bindings without risking his release set a nervous mood upon everyone who had made themselves available to help. The Headmaster had smiled firmly with a severe bent to her eyebrows through the process, betraying no sign of turmoil until it was done.
Which brought them here. This grey and onyx room deep into the foundations of her home, where the vampire sat on a simple chair. His ankles and wrists were weighed down and bound together to the other with thick electronic manacles, red-tinted chains wrapped around his waist to connect to pillars equidistant from the center of the room, and multiple magic circles that limited his movement and vampiric might shone dimly on the glazed tiles of the floor. Entangling and self-devouring knots were engraved along the arches above his head and the variable width of the pillars every few feet, and orbs mounted upon the mid-point of the walls illuminated the chambers.
The two parts of the black iron door slid shut behind the Headmaster, forming once more an undecipherable sigil in relief on its surface. She came in with a steaming cup and a chair, and saw about setting them both down, one on the utilitary table in front of her prisoner, and the other on the floor, unfolded, before she proceeded to sit.
"Now. I don't believe I caught your name," she said. After a moment, she pulled the hood down, revealing the slightly unkept bun and pinned braids of her hair. "What do you say we begin there?"
--- End quote ---
Costin Andrei
"Ah..." His messy hair dripped down the cool floors, the magnificent braided mane of his undone by the prior battle. Wretched. Defeated. But the apostle hardly looked like the loser of that battle. His form and wounds were mended perfectly. Not a single open wound, nor a broken bone to claim his. The only wounds and scars on his body were old, ancient things best left forgotten. But without so much as a rat crawling these dungeons, he amused himself scraping at the floors.
Scraping, scraping, scrape. Like a claw digging inside your skull. The sound reverberated sickly, like a mad pitter-patter. But it wasn't mad or senseless. Even a small ritual like this could hold off the dark impulses swirling in his mind.
Step. Step. Step...
And then the steps. He heard them from so far away, his lips quaked in anticipation. Hatefully, the vampire salivated. Her scent. Her form. The music-like sounds were this close to him - and as if by some sorcery, these sensations dulled the scrapings and the scratchings. As if her presence was more calming than any of that violence. In a way, you could tell he liked her.
Because of that, he took his time. He didn't act so abrupt as to spit out a curse or an injurious phrase. He took the time and care to answer her thoughtfully.
Extinction
"Former 14th member of the 27 Dead Apostle Ancestors. [絶滅] , Costin Andrei." And yet Costin's lips were curled up like the broken glass moon, betraying his good mood. Truth be told, for a guest, he was behaving himself extraordinarily well... at least in the cage. Even if he couldn't move through water, he hardly attempted to flee or resist - and he hardly harmed any of his jailors. Of course, she was no exception. "Ku ku ku... If I did, I would not share with such a rude visitor. Those were your words, nameless mage. And yet you'd ask me something so bold with your lonesome cup in hand, and after chaining me so thoroughly. What am I to make of that?"
YOLF:
Headmaster
With a slight smile that showed no effect on the rest of her face, the woman rested an arm on the table, and with the other pulled her hot drink closer. "You're under a misunderstanding, Mister Andrei," she said. "You were the guest in my house, and an exceedingly rude one. That you are now a prisoner is the consequence of your own conduct."
The headmaster inhaled deeply of the coffee, permeating her nose with the scent, and took a sip. She let out a steaming sigh of satisfaction and set the mug down once again, leaning forward.
"Apostles of who?" She asked.
Kotomine_Rin:
Costin
The vampire chortled cooly. "Hah, I'm not complaining, that's that - and this is this. Still, it takes a hundred years for one of our kin to be sealed up, and yet you've managed to do it in a day. That alone is praiseworthy... you're pretty good." He pointed a finger gun at her with a friendly smile. So she isn't a mage from my world. Good, I can keep using this then. "Well, whatever. It doesn't really matter. Apostles... it's a long story, and not particularly interesting at that. Bloodsuckers, parasites, a function of the world... believe whatever you want to believe. After causing all that ruckus, It's none of my business how you live your life."
And with a satisfied sigh, he laid back - relaxing himself like he was in a spa rather than a prison. Then again, compared to the prison he once dwelled in, this was an actual tropical paradise.
"Don't be too sour on the details or the methods. If I didn't go wild once in a while, I wouldn't get to meet all sorts of interesting fellas. We wouldn't be having a nice chat over this fragrant smell, and that would be... inconvenient for the both of us. By the by, is that a mediterranean blend? It smells pretty damn amazing."
YOLF:
Headmaster
Not from this world. A group of elite vampires. How elite? He could have been saying only what he wished her to believe. Costin was the only issue she faced at this moment, not these hypothetical peers. There were more pressing factors to peel away.
The Headmaster inhaled patiently of the steaming drink. The scent was mellow but robust, and the blend lingered on her tongue from the first sip. She looked up from it with an unfriendly bent to her brows.
"Are you in the habit of killing interesting fellows shortly after meeting them?" She asked. "Doesn't that rather defeat the point?"
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version