[center][i][h1]Trade-offs[/h1][/i] Day 9, Morning Azel, Hazumi, Solus Collaboration between Synthorian and Wild Wind [/center] Azel wasn’t used to receiving visitors of the divine kind. In fact, in his safe-house under Fleet Street, he wasn’t used to receiving any guests at all. But Loom was a strange place and if the proverb “anything could happen” was true anywhere in the world, it would be here. For one, he’d somehow ended up a custodian to the Essence of the World - an event purely driven by chance and with minimal effort on his part. So a man materialising in a room that was supposed to be protected, both physically and magically, felt like an almost natural progression to a considerably stranger week than most. Some hundred years ago, he might have been scared. But he’d grown since he’d come to the Surface. Matured, perhaps. He had learned to recognise danger even better than before. And learned to avoid it masterfully. Really, life was just a roll of the dice, when one thought about it objectively. Fate was a whimsical little whore but you had no choice but to deal with her. So the stranger was met with well-polished calm and only a slight look of surprise. As a second ticked by and he still wasn’t attacked, he assumed it safe to start talking. “Well hello there. I wasn’t expecting any guests but given your rude entry I don’t suppose you really care about what I expected.” He looked the man up and down curiously, wondering what his business was here. More than certainly it was Hazumi and not himself. So the question he should start thinking about was probably “is he here to help or use her”? “Harm” was unlikely, she was too valuable not to be used. The man was in his fourties, bearded, wearing a smart casual polo-neck and a black tailored jacket. The smart casual outfit meant he could be either a thug or a businessman. Interesting. “If you consider bypassing your invasive security measures to be rude, then no, I really don’t care what you expected.” The man stated matter-of-factly, putting his lit cigar between his lips as he walked past Azel towards the door that led to Hazumi’s unconscious body. The demon followed curiously, his slippers dragging lazily along the polished wooden floor to the next room. “What are you?” He asked, deducing that the man could see essence well enough to find the little princess that nobody yet knew about. “And after, what do you intend on doing with her?” The man placed his hand on the door handle and turned to Azel. “Hazumi can answer both those questions in about…” He looked down at his watch. “38 seconds and counting.” He smiled at him and proceeded to open the door into Hazumi’s resting place. Azel whistled and leaned against the door frame. During his infrequent visits to the safe house over the past week he’d tried everything he could think of trying to wake Hazumi up, with little success. She didn’t always seem as dead as today, sometimes she would moan or twist in her sleep but for all he’d seen, she hadn’t once opened her eyes. Interesting coincidence it should happen exactly when his security system failed. The man took one look at his old rival and friend, and cracked a small smile. “Been a while, Haz…” He lifted up his hand and clicked his fingers. Hazumi’s eyes began to flutter as she began to wake from her restless coma. “See? Right on the dot.” He said to Azel. The other man couldn’t stop a chuckle (not that he tried) and pointed out it was better than a kiss. Hazumi’s eyes were open but unseeing. It took another few moments for the haze of confusion to completely lift from her eyes and for a frown to settle on her face. Then suddenly she sat up and stared at the two men in panic. Azel had helpfully reverted to the appearance she knew him in, so he had no doubt she’d recognize him. Interestingly, that didn’t seem to calm her. The woman’s mouth opened but no words came out until the second try. “What’s… going on?” “You were out cold… for a long ass time.” The man replied. “Your friend here took you in to keep you hidden while you were unconscious.” Hazumi’s voice was rough and raw. As if someone had ripped the vocal cords out of her throat and put them back wrong, coiled. It hurt to speak. It also hurt to see – the light hurt her eyes. But then again, her whole existence hurt, even if there were no visible signs. “How long is “long”?” She asked gripping her hands together to stop them from trembling. “Two weeks.” The man replied. [i]Two weeks....[/i] a small sigh escaped her. It could be worse. Back in the prison of her own flesh it had felt like an eternity of pain and anguish with little hope of escape. Now that it was over, it turned out it had lasted far less than she had assumed it would. For one, she had woken up. “What has happened in that time?” She asked, not only because she was dreading the answer itself. She was also dreading a question. “Not as much as you might think.” Azel spoke up, seeing how the other man was in no hurry to answer. Interestingly, the demon still couldn’t figure out what his motives were for being here given how he didn’t attempt to obtain or even manipulate the Essence just yet. The thought of manipulating her himself was mildly tempting, but Azel wasn’t one to temper with such power in a direct fashion, and especially not under the observation by a free radical. Truth it is, then. “Murder and hate crime have increased but because your disappearance isn’t common knowledge it’s not as bad as one could expect. However something is going wrong with essence manipulation and it’s affecting magic, the Academy and even some more arcane-prone chimeras. You might want to look into that.” Unsurprisingly, he was in no rush to mention Lucien’s latest cock-up and the ensued Blackguard mobilisation. Hazumi nodded stoically, trying to ground herself in the moment and forget the entirety of the last few days. Replace the worries for herself with worries for others. It usually worked well enough. She wasn’t about to ask about Lazarus. She was a queen, and whatever the circumstances, she had to appear strong and impartial. Even when she wasn’t. “In that case, I should be off.” She nodded to the ground and pushed herself to her shaky feet. Her body definitely remembered. “Where are heading? I'll drive you.” The man suggested. Hazumi glanced at the man but didn't see any reason to object despite having no idea who he was. “Thank you. The location is Lazarus’ place… can you…” she hesitated, looking over to Azel wearily. “Can you please call him? I need to know where he is.” The demon kept his expression mild but on the inside his excitement was growing. The situation was turning more and more interesting by the minute. Who was this man? What had happened to the Essence? And what was about to happen from now on? Something was clearly wrong with her but what? And would he ever find out, or would she simply disappear from existence, leaving him the last person to see her alive? That could be troublesome. Or intriguing. Either way, he wasn't bothered. Azel gave a small bow and went to talk to Lazarus in the other room after asking about his number. Not asking why she couldn't do it herself was a small token of respect for the time she'd protected him from Lucien all those years ago. --- “Engaging Autopilot.” The computer of the car chirped as the steering wheel compressed into a smaller wheel. It began to move with no noise at all, and the ride was awfully smooth. No bumps or pothole affected the comfort of the drive. Hazumi has never seen such a vehicle before. [img]http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m382/aisherlock/Quattro-Fleet-Shuttle-virtual-car-by-Audi-for-Enders-Game_dezeen_ss_1_zpskgrhqjzi.jpg[/img] [img]http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m382/aisherlock/audi-science-fiction-car-enders-game-designboom-05_zpshafgjsoa.jpg[/img] The car was sleek and gleamed in the light of the sun like a jewel. Hazumi couldn’t help but notice that this thing was just barely touching the ground, or perhaps it wasn’t even touching the ground at all… The interior was just as lavish. Black with gold trimming along smooth lines that traced the shape of the dashboard, dim holograms gently lighting up the inside of the vehicle. Such vehicles weren’t easy to come by and even in Loom they were reserved for some very, very special individuals. It was certainly eye-catching, impressive even. Yet it wasn’t something Hazumi could appreciate right now. Having grown up as an angel, she was never one for artificial means of transformation to begin with and while she tolerated cars, she didn’t like them. However over time she had learned to recognise people’s infatuation with them. For humans, angels and demons alike, transport was a sign of authority. And this car’s owner definitely had a high status. When she sat down with a tired sigh, she wasn’t thinking about any of this. Anxiety was gripping her throat tight and leaching all her energy from her. She probably should be worried about waking up in Azel’s apartment and allowing what she presumed to be one of his employees to drive her to Lazarus. But in truth she couldn’t find it in her to care. The physical pain had ceased but her world hadn’t stopped from crumbling. The nightmare hadn’t stopped and the culmination was yet to come. “So…” The unnamed man began as the car entered traffic and began to head towards the highway. “You have been in a coma for a little while. Not much has changed, but things are beginning to brew under the surface with your absence. Heading for the Herald's Keep was a wise decision.” Hazumi scoffed slightly and gave the man a grim look. “That's my role as Essence. You all expect me to be wise, don't you?” Not her usual benign response. “Oh, I know you far better than that.” The man chuckled. “The [i]people[/i] expect you to be wise, being a Demigod and all. The Elite view you as a tool to puppet the world. I see you as someone who didn’t want this job in the first place.” “Oh?” A hostile spark appeared in her eyes, now trained on him. “You seem to know a lot. Or think you do, anyway.” “All that power and pressure was placed on your shoulders by politicians to keep people in control after the Purging War. You are… Were, a weapon, a method of keeping the population docile. Made by a Demon with a ridiculous vision for a future world, and used like a dirty dishrag for the benefit of a certain few. You keep telling yourself that it’s to save all these lives. But even you know that the chaotic nature of sentient life can’t be controlled or ruled over.” The man sighed and looked Hazumi right in the eyes. “But we have had this conversation already.” Hazumi’s expression changed like the colours of the rainbow. Intrigue, anger and then shock. The final stage was when she finally understood the truth of the man's identity. Really, she should have figured it out long ago. Her hand found her forehead and rubbed it helplessly. “What do you want, Solus?” Her voice trembled, suddenly a like she was on the verge of tears. It was impossible to hide anything from this man - a bitter truth she couldn't deny even when she knew her life hung in the balance and a secret was her last protection. “What… No “Hi, Solus. How are things?”?” The Terminus shook his head, a little disappointed. “But then again, I do always show up when the shit hits the fan. And this is no exception.” The car had now smoothly glided onto the highway and increased in speed to keep up with traffic. “You know… your reaction is more appropriate for a visit from a Djin.” He pause for what seemed like an eternity in Hazumi’s mind. Seconds ticked away as Solus processed his thoughts. “I don’t want anything from you, Haz. Ever since I went… up there-” He gestured towards the ceiling offhandedly. “-I saw a chance to fix this mess of a planet. All that power under my fingertips, and yet I’m sat here pretending to be human in a place where supernatural shit is a common occurrence.” Solus signed to himself, frustration showing on his face. “I want to help, but Aaurus has tied my hands.” Well, at least it didn't seem like he wanted to kill her this time. Much unlike the first time they met after Judas’ War, shortly after she became the Musicians’ patron. Back then he had made it obvious he wouldn't hesitate to kill her given the chance. Since then he'd have many but somehow it never came to it. They'd struck an uneasy balance over time and learned to tolerate, and even respect each other. But 'Haz’ was new. Was he saying it to reassure her? She didn't feel strong enough to look him in the eye yet but she appreciated him being more sensitive than usual. Perhaps people did change after all. “That's sad. This time we really could use with your help.” She admitted, slowing past the lump in her throat. “He wants to wipe this world clean, you know…” Solus said solemnly. “Start over.” “Is that why?” Hazumi muttered and finally looked at him seemingly feeling a bit calmer. “And you can't do a thing? I'm sorry. It must be hard.” She said sincerely but continued, knowing Solus didn't appreciate sympathy. “So why are you here?” “To help in whatever way I can without drawing Aaurus’ attention. Influence things a little.” A small smirk twitched at the corner of Hazumi’s lip. “Now we’re talking. You never were one to sit still. I think it’s the first time I appreciate it.”