(LORE) HEALING

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 11:00 pm

She flinched at his gaze and bowed her head. The Gods, they had only wanted to see him safe. She feared opening her mouth to tell him he didn't need to explain himself to her would put them in more danger, so she kept quiet and did not meet his gaze. She even blocked her mind to him, whether or not he wanted to try and speak to her telepathically, she still kept it closed.

"Just go on..." she practically whispered, wanting the attention off of her.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 11:40 pm

Rai, being a child, was very confused about what was going on. She didn't know why Soran would be mad and she didn't know why this man wanted them to come inside. She didn't understand at all, and she didn't like not understanding.

Rai pulled her hand free from Mizuki's grasp and took a curious step towards a bookshelf, admiring an hourglass. She lowered her hood with her hand, poking it with a single finger and smiling. It was pretty!

Children.... easily distracted by shiny objects.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 8:37 pm

Soran bit down his anger and turned to grab Rai's hand firmly, pulling her sternly away from the shelf. "Stand with your mother," he murmured into her ear.

"An outsider named Sid Borden showed up in town today," he said to Micah. "He must have come for a reason. I want to know why."

"Do I look like the private police to you? What gives you such interest in this man, and what makes you think I would consider making your interesets my own?" Micah asked, though he sounded intrigued, or perhaps just amused by the rogue's request.

"If you discover the information I need, my explanation of my interest in him will more than repay your service," Soran said coolly.

"And what is there to stop me from keeping you here until I've forced you to speak all that you know?"

"Your pride."

Micah laughed, low and clear. "You are an amusing man, Nightblade."

"So you seem to think," Soran spoke icily. He was counting on Micah having some concept of fair play.

"What do you think, my dear?" Micah said, leaning toward Mizuki playfully. "It would be dreadfully boring to help him and learn nothing in return. Does your man here speak his word?"

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 8:46 pm

Mizuki blinked and leaned a bit farther back to keep a distance from Micha. His aura... it was heavy with black deeds. It weighed on her mind like lead. Not knowing what else to do, and certainly not wanting to be throughly involved, Mizuki nodded her head. She held Rai by her side protectively, like Micha would try to harm her.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 9:09 pm

Rai whimpered when Soran pulled her away from the pretty shiny object that she so longed to touch and play with. She did as she was told and ran back over to her mother, trying to wrap her arms around Mizuki's leg to hug her.

She didn't understand what was so important. Sid seemed nice! He was a good guy wasn't he?

"Who are you?" Rai asked curiously. Maybe he was some magic prophet fortune teller guy! Maybe he could read her palm and tell her she was going to grow up soon and understand everything! Rai had always been a child that wasn't afraid of much, except spiders. Everyone knows spiders are far more scarier than evil men!

At least, Rai thought so...

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 12:37 pm

Micah looked down at Rai, intrigued. "You can call me Micah, little one," he said, crouching down in front of her paternally. "I'm an old acquaintance of your father's. We're going to do some business together."

"Then you know something about Sid," Soran observed icily.

"Don't jump the gun, rogue. I won't give you the information for free. My network has been on this case as well."

"Any leads?" Soran said.

"We found a man skulking about outside the city gates and took him into our custody. Despite our generous hospitality, he's been quite reticent in sharing any information with us. Of course, he could just be an ordinary civilian..."

"Ordinary civilians are not trained to be so stiff-lipped in the face of your 'hospitality'," Soran challenged.

"Or perhaps my method of persuasian is insufficient to make him speak. Maybe you can do a better job. Rumor has it that your body is familiar with the methodology of torture," he smiled, his eyes snaking up and down Soran's torso.

Soran frowned. It didn't make sense. Micah should know that there was nothing he could do that a professional persuador couldn't. But he didn't have much choice but to try. And besides, he had little to lose. "Fine. Let me see him."

"Excellent!" Micah smiled, "Why don't you bring the lady with you, and leave Rai here with me. I"m sure it's been a while since you two had a night out alone," he said congenially, resting his hand on Rai's shoulder gently.

OOC: I'm baaaaaaack ^_~

Post by **Emora Deen** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 1:24 pm

OOC: YAAYYYYY Your back!!!! On a darker note, this guy isn't a pedofile is he?

IC: Rai looked up at the man who seemed rather friendly. "Sure!" she said and giggled when she looked to her mommy and daddy. If they were business friends, surely this guy was okay!!

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 10:41 pm

Mizuki hesitated at the idea. Obviously this man was torturing Soran this way, maybe even punishing her as well for trying to hide from him. Either way, she didn't want to open her mouth in fear that she'd make it harder for Soran to wiggle them out of safely. All she did was show her discomfort at the idea. Rai being so ready to agree disturbed Mizuki to a degree. Didn't the child remember all the horrid things that had happened in the past to her? Surely the child would know better than to trust so readily.

...But then again, Mizuki still made the same mistakes as well.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 1:07 pm

Soran fought back his anger as the man touched Rai. She wasn't safe here, but none of them were. If he couldn't get them both out, then at least Mizuki... but why would Micah want her to go with him? He cringed as he realized this meant that Mizuki would see him torture another man - someone who, for all he knew, had nothing to do with Sid.

"Very well. I leave the child with you. But you will hear nothing of what we learn from your hostage until after her safe departure from this place," Soran spoke darkly.

"I figured you would require something like that," Micah sighed, lifting his hands in an indifferent shrug. "My assistant will scribe you a map to his locationi. I expect you to return promptly by dawn. Don't think i won't notice if you stray from your task, either of you."

Ten minutes later, Soran and Mizuki let themselves out the front door as simply as if it were a normal home they were leaving and not the flawless security of Hepian's most powerful underlord.

When they were outside, Soran took Mizuki's wrist tightly and let her at full stride into the relative privacy of an alley. He dropped his grip on her hand abruptly and clenched both fists in barely-controlled rage. "I don't think I need to tell you how much danger we're in, or Rai," he said tightly and stared at her for several seconds, anger and fear swarming in his eyes. "Why the hell did you follow me!" he scathed, almost shouting.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 1:56 pm

Mizuki flinched as Soran took her wrist. It was coming, the moment she had been steeling herself against since they had been taken in by Micha. Suddenly, everything she had planned to say to him left her mind. She felt she had no good excuses. No reason for her actions...

No, she had a very good reason. And it hurt her that she had to tell him exactly why she followed him. She looked up at Soran fiercely, tears shimmering in the corners of her eyes, never had she been angry at him before until now. Why didn't he understand?

"Because the last thing I--WE--wanted was to see you taken from us again!" her voice shook and she narrowed her eyes at him. Her fists shook at her sides and she prayed, 'Gods make him understand finally.' "Of all things... we didn't want the risk of losing you...again..." her fight against her tears was a losing one, but they hadn't fallen yet.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 4:38 pm

Rai looked up at the man as her mommy and daddy left. She thought for a moment that maybe it was a better idea to go with them, but then again they wouldn't willingly leave her with a baddy!

"So," Rai said and looked up at the man. "Got any cookies?" she asked him with a pleasent smile before walking over and climbing into a chair, swinging her feet back and forth as they dangled above the floor.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 6:06 pm

"I can manage my own affairs. If I'd wanted you or Rai's help I would have asked for it, but I didn't because I knew it would cause this," Soran growled, throwing his arms sharply out for emphasis on the last word. He was too angry to anticipate what his words were doing to Mizuki.

* * *

Micah eyed Rai speculatively. She was intriguing; for all her innocence, there had to be more to her if she was staying with Nightblade and that Seer. "Bofsef," he said calmly with a smirk and the bodyguard from before appeared in the doorway, as stone-faced as ever. "Find some cookies for our young guest."

If the towering man had any doubts about this strange order, he gave no voice to them before Micah. "Yes, sir," he said and disappeared again.

"Now, my dear, you'll be staying here for a while, so I expect you to follow a few simple rules. Rule one, you are to stay put in this room till your guardians return. Rule two," he smiled, "You don't want to break rule one. Think you can manage that?"

Post by **Emora Deen** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 6:31 pm

Rai looked at the man for a moment and then nodded. However, she stopped and tilted her head up at him. "Is something in the other rooms?" she asked curiously. "I promise not to go, but can I know what is in the other rooms?!" She seemed eager to know this secret she was not allowed to see. Maybe it was a fairy? Or a goblin?! Magic staffs? Talking animals? What could be so secretive!

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 9:46 pm

Mizuki threw her head down sharply as the tears spilled over silently. Her shoulders shuddered but she quickly quelled them then furiously rubbed at her eyes. She would've breathed if it didn't give away the pain inside of her. So she held her breath, letting it out in small, quiet gasps.

"What about love, then? Do you trust that?"

"No,"

That one, pain filled memory would come sprinting back into her conscious. Suddenly every excuse she had made for him lifted away. Luc, the long dead bastard, may have actually been right. 'No,... no he could never be right.' Mizuki chided herself for letting that dark thought cross her mind. Luc wasn't right about elves. Gwendolyn was nothing Luc claimed elves were and Soran... He was... He... was...

Just the same as any stubborn male.

"Fine then," she said, breaking the moment of silenced that had followed after Soran's words. "But you're stuck with me for now, so you might as well get the job done with." She said it with more venom than she intended, but it was too late to smooth it out now.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 10:11 pm

Soran's expression changed slowly as Mizuki rubbed her eyes in the dreadful silence that passed between them. When she spoke again, however, her voice was solid and sharp. He frowned sternly. Emotions would not get him anywhere right now; like usual, they were far more curse than blessing. To do what they needed to do next, he would have to be objective and calm. If Mizuki seemed to understand that, so much the better. Still, a weight sat at the bottom of his stomach as he turned away from Mizuki and led they way to the assigned location in silence.

They reached the place within minutes, and Soran knocked firmly on the door. Apparently he was expected, because it opened to them without fuss. "This way," said a man half-hidden in shadows within the dim room, and led them down a stairwell into an unfinished basement that smelled of damp earth and mold. A figure lay strapped to a table horizontally in the center of the room; nothing fancy, just ordinary ropes and furniture. It was remarkably easy to create immense suffering with the mundane. Common garden tools and blades lay in an array on an adjacent table; from the hostage's appearance, he'd already learned alternative uses for many of those tools.

"Out of the room," Soran said flatly. The shadowed forms shrugged and filed up the stairs, leaving Soran and Mizuki alone with the hostage. Soran walked to a lantern in the corner and turned it up, casting light onto their patient. The light revealed that the man was in far worse condition than he'd thought. It was a sloppy job; at the rate they were going, they'd lose him soon regardless. Soran looked to Mizuki, met her eyes, and touched a gaping wound on the man's shoulder. One slight touch, and the man began screaming hysterically, not forming any real words, just wailing unintelligibly. It was a haunting sound. Soran removed his finger and eyed the man grimly. At this rate, he'd be too traumatized to communicate anything useful before he bled to death.

The man's frantic eyes locked on Mizuki's and he stopped screaming, staring at her with crazed brown eyes. It seemed like the slightest movement would set him off again. Soran studied his behavior thoughtfully in silence.