[IC] Artanis

[TheMinorFall]

His brow furrowed in confusion. He had assumed she knew the purpose of the garment. "No. It was originally to hide my identity, and strike fear in the hearts of my enemies." He said, recalling the elders explaining such things to him. Fear made the opponent frantic and less able to defend them self. He and his brethren had been stricken of such weakness, but even as a boy he had sociopathic tendencies.

He thought a moment about her question, though. Why still wear the mask of his identity was known to the point of infamy. Even if he was just a story parents told their children to make then behave, everyone who saw him would know.

He softened his features, regarding her with emotionless stone face. "I do not feel emotion as you, but this mask gives me reassurance of some degree of safety. I've deduced this is a comparable purpose."

He took back the mask, using his metal-style Magic to sever it in half. With the bottom half, he reshaped a new mask for himself to cover him from the nose down and from ear to ear. The top half, he made a mask for the girl's size. It was not unlike a masquerade mask, covering the eyes and nose, but was rather plain. The only decoration was Cain's signature obsidian flower on the upper left edge.

He handed the girl hers and donned his. "We can share. Anytime you feel frightened or distressed, don this mask and I will come."

He had also placed a special tracking curse on the mask. The moment it touched her face, he would know where she was and be able to see from her perspective briefly. @shylarah

[shylarah]

She was only mildly curious about what he was doing, though her crying had gone from sobs to sniffles. When Cain pressed the gift into her hands, she looked at it for a moment. She thought he meant well by it, but all Amuné could think of just then was how people hid venom behind smiles. Her expression twisted in disgust and hurt. “No!” She threw the thing from her, and it slid across the sparse grass that grew below the willow’s shade. “I hate masks! They’re just more lies!” It didn’t matter that it wasn’t really the accessory she disliked, but the idea it represented. The girl pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face in her skirts, tears flowing freely again. Polite society was nothing but saying one thing even if you meant another, with layers of subtlety and never, ever being truly honest. She hated it.

@TheMinorFall

[TheMinorFall]

Cain solemnly watched the gift as it was flung away. Her words made no logical sense.

"It cannot be a lie." He turned back to the girl, "it is an object. The object does not lie, rather the person behind it."

He willed the gift back into his hand and set it down.

"The mask lies no less than the sword kills. It is the person behind the object that does the deed." As he finished the sentence, he felt a heat in his chest and face. His eyes went back to the girl's mask. "Do you think I'm a liar?" He asked. His tone was still hard and cold as stone, but there was something unbalanced about his physiological being. He could literally feel the chemical changes, but not the emotions they were meant to produce.

Still, there was something about what she said.
@shylarah

[shylarah]

Amuné quickly shook her head at the question. She hadn’t meant he was a liar...but now that she considered it.... “You could be, though, and maybe I just can’t tell.” She lifted her head to look at him again, wiping the worst of the tears away with her sleeve. “I can’t always -- and that hurts even worse.” She grimaced, looking at the damp spots on her skirt. “It’s better knowing, even when they hate me for it because they think I--” The girl bit her lip and her gaze flicked up to Cain for a single guilty moment. “Why is the truth such a bad thing?” she asked instead, looking away again. “Why does everyone want to hide it?”

@TheMinorFall

[TheMinorFall]

"They fear truth for the same reason they fear death. It is absolute, and beyond their control. Lies can be formed, adjusted, but truth stands unmoving and is therefore considered a threat." He analyzed for her. "Additionally, I have to disagree with you. You can tell when people are lying. You feel it. As I recall, in the labyrinth during the masquerade, you displayed intense discomfort during my conversation with my cousin. When the enraged wolf shifter arrived, you again showed agitation. I sensed magic in you that day, which made your shifting ability likely, but I was too distracted to deduce that you had telepathy."

He allowed this to sink in. It was clear that she had underestimated his power of deductive reasoning, but she was a child. Such came as no surprise.

"After you left to return to this academy following our encounter in town, i have not allowed you to leave my sight. You seclude yourself as much as possible. You avoid the overly emotional children. You despise the caretaker who exhibits anger on a frequent basis. You read to escape life despite your age. You take to people who are 'happy' or 'calm' most of the time. I suspect this is why you take to a monster like me. I am incapable of intense emotion or complicated thought. My mind is clear, because I deal in truth. This is how you know that I am not a liar."

The strange feeling had gone by now. He remembered that the truth was likely not what upset her, rather the fear of potential non-truth. His logic was absolute, and in his mind he expected her to agree and realize this. But he had been surprised before. He prepared himself to be shunned, and complete his charge from a distance.

Though something in him hope she would not. @shylarah

[shylarah]

The child’s mouth dropped open. He knew? Her heart sank. She really was terrible at keeping secrets, though the way he explained it made it seem so obvious.. Yet perhaps it was not the disaster she feared. “...It doesn’t bother you? That I can tell things like that?” Amuné wasn’t sure how she felt about him watching her, but that was a secondary concern at the moment. And for all that he’d figured out, there were pieces of the picture he had incorrect. “You’re wrong about some things,” she told him, sighing heavily. “I can’t always tell when people are lying. It would be easier if I could.”

She picked up the half-mask Cain had fashioned for her and ran her fingers over the smooth metal. “A lot of people mix it up -- I sense feelings far more than thoughts.” The girl’s voice dropped to hardly more than a whisper. “That’s part of why they don’t like me. They can’t be sure I’m not seeing through the smiles and the lies.” Her brow furrowed as she considered. “I avoid crowds because they hurt, but most of the students...I avoid them because they don’t like me,” she continued, a bit more steadily. “There’s a few I spend time with. The same with the servants and the teachers. ...I actually get along better with many of the humans than I do with the shifters. It’s just more magic to those that don’t have any, instead of something strange and frightening.” The thought of the lady that oversaw her group made Amuné wrinkle her nose. “Ms. Primm doesn’t like /anyone/ -- and she really dislikes me because I have no real rank and she doesn’t think I should be here. It’s not about their mood, always. It’s about who they are. Jillian’s always nervous, or gloomy, but I like her.”

She tilted her head at Cain. “With you...I don’t know. I think it’s because you’re different. At the ball, when you showed up, you seemed just as out of place as I feel. They looked at you the way they look at me.” Her fingers found the engraved flower and traced it lightly. “I don’t know why you’d say you’re a monster. Is it because people always call you one?” They called her a freak, and sometimes she felt like they were right. “That doesn’t mean you are.” Amuné put the mask up to her face and looked at him from behind it, her grey eyes solemn. “/I/ don’t think you are. You can be scary, but...you’re also kind. Monsters don’t care.”

@TheMinorFall

[TheMinorFall]

"I am not kind." Was all he said in reply. He elected not to answer her question. It was irrelevant. "You say you feel others' emotions. Perhaps this is why I am 'different'. I have been stripped of such weakness." He decided not to tell her he didn't care. That might put her trust in him on a ledge, and his charge required she be cooperative.

A part of him wondered if that was true though. Perhaps a trace part of him thought of her well-being as advantageous. He was learning a lot from her after all... but it was more than that somehow.. He put these thoughts in the back of his mind for further analysis at a later time.

He wiped her face off once more and stood. "Come, I will escort you back and see what it is these 'others' have to say of you." He said.

The man who had hired him, one of high status and influence, had drawn up a writ of passage in relation to the girl. The man's place in whatever he did, which was a well kept secret, gave him access to such power, and had deemed it a requirement. The Primm woman would certainly not allow a monster such as Cain to walk the grounds freely.

His sword was a little much though, so he removed t from his back and reformed it into a bracer for his right forearm that contained a hidden blade.

@shylarah

[shylarah]

“Emotion isn’t weakness,” Amuné argued, brow wrinkling. She didn’t understand how someone could cut themselves off from what they felt. To someone who felt the emotions of others in so direct a manner, it was an utterly alien concept. “Not having any...that sounds terribly lonely.” Maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much, if she couldn’t feel sadness or grief or anger. But a life without joy and laughter and warmth seemed bleak indeed. She frowned as a thought occurred to her. “Besides, you’re lying. I remember the Masquerade. Your laughter might have been fake, but when you shed tears, they were real.” Certain details of that night had lodged securely in her memory, and a number of them were those that included Cain. The girl turned the mask she’d been given over in her hands, looking disappointed. She hoped the lie was well-intentioned, even though she couldn’t see the advantage in this particular instance. It was something even nice people did. But he’d just claimed not to lie, and in addition to the faint sting of the implied insult, maybe she had allowed herself the foolish hope that, this once, she’d found someone who really didn’t.

The suggestion of heading back was met with a heavy sigh. Amuné might be in a better mood now, but she didn’t feel ready to face everyone quite yet. Still, she knew she should return. “Very well.” Despite her efforts, her tone was glum as she got to her feet and started back down the deer trail she’d taken through the woods. “Who are you supposed to be seeing?” the child asked, assuming that he’d made arrangements in advance, as was expected. A school like the Liddell Academy didn’t let just anyone drop by, and she rather doubted he was family or friend of any of the other students. Then again, he wasn’t the sort of person most would be comfortable acknowledging, so it was possible.

@TheMinorFall

[TheMinorFall]

"I was bewitched." He swiftly replied, "My cousin, Morgäna, used her magic to influence my body's chemical physiology in an effort to upset me enough that I would leave. It backfired on her, obviously."

This may or may not have been true, but that was unimportant. Cain truly believed what he said to be the truth. It was the only way his mind could rationalize his past outburst. He had couldn't remember the last time he had felt an emotion, so his outburst had been an alien experience. His mind didn't recognize it, and so he used the data to determine his vision of what happened. He had reacted in such a way as an emotional person would when his cousin's magic had peaked. Immediately before and after his mind had been stone cold. The logic was undeniable, and yet emotions are not logical. Therefore his mind determined them to be untrue.

This was why he was unable to comprehend the fact that somewhere deep inside, a splinter of his soul was happy the girl had accepted his mask. His conscious mind saw it as an acknowledgement of his plan working, but something was stirring within him.

"The Primm woman should be expecting an emissary from the 'Royal Special Affairs' in regards to campus courses and activity. I am acting as this person on behalf of my employer." He said, drawing the writ from a pocket beneath a thin obsidian steel armor plate on his thigh. "This document is a writ of passage for me to follow a specific student and observe the happenings of the academy around said student. 'From their perspective,' as my employer iterated." He left out that the student was Amuné. Part of his hidden objective was to study her and report unusual findings. If he could, he would allow this to be a surprise from the Primm woman's lips and study her reaction, but as his task and for personal research on 'surprise'. @shylarah

[shylarah]

She let the matter drop, but for a moment before the child schooled her expression, she looked more than just disappointed. She looked hurt. She hardly listened when he told her about why he’d come, just noting that he was supposed to see Ms. Primm. Instead, she was thinking. She recalled the Masquerade. She remembered the woman’s pain. The woman wanted to be alone, yes, but had she used magic, trying to get Cain to leave? Amuné wasn’t so sure about that. Even if the lady had used magic, that meant he could feel, though perhaps his emotions lay deeper. Either way...he was still lying, and there was no reason for it. It wasn’t even a /good/ lie. It didn’t occur to the girl that he might believe it himself. Instead, it seemed like he was deliberately rejecting her.

Just like the others. Once they figured out what she could do, they turned on her. They shut her out, and they repaid kindness with hate that stemmed from fear. Amuné had thought he was like her, and maybe that meant he would understand her better, but it seemed she’d been mistaken. He’d been kind. He’d helped her when she was in trouble. She had hoped he might become a friend, that she’d finally have someone who knew what it was like to be an outcast and who could teach her to be okay with it like he seemed to be. Her hope made his rejection more painful.

She lead the way in silence to the edge of the forest, and pointed off toward the front of the school, where the main gate was. “The entrance is that way. Someone will take you to Ms. Primm.” The girl sounded subdued, and she didn’t quite look at Cain. She knew she should return, but between not being completely over the taunting earlier and the man’s perceived lies, she was not ready. She made no move to leave the shade of the trees herself.

@TheMinorFall

[TheMinorFall]

Cain noticed the expression, and the heat returned to him. His chest and face burned as his brow furrowed. Had he not been wearing a mask over his lips, she might have seen his ever so slight frown. This confused him. He didn't stifle his own expression this time. Instead he knelt down to eye level again. His metallic eyes had a slight glisten to them, although he didn't know this. He only knew they too felt hot, and he didn't understand what magic was causing this. Perhaps the girl was cursing him too. Perhaps not. Clearly she did not believe him, and that was unacceptable. Her trust was less, and he needed that trust. But why did he need that trust? Why did he need anything from her?

His body acted on its own for a moment, placing his hand on her arm. His bare hand. He had peeled off his glove, revealing a pale, tattooed hand with blacked fingernails. If she had telepathy, it was well known amongst magic users that touch gave ease to such ability. This was how he would prove his honesty, or at least the story he believed to be the truth. Rejection from his cousin had been more traumatic than he had been willing to accept. He was alone. The girl was right, whether he was able to understand it or not.
@shylarah

[shylarah]

Amuné flinched at the contact. She couldn’t help it; there were very few people she was comfortable letting touch her. But once again Cain’s hand did not bring the anticipated emotional impact, and she let the sharp breath she’d taken out slowly. There was something in the touch, but it was still muted, and she didn’t recognize it on instinct alone. She’d need to make a deliberate effort, something she’d hardly ever done. If he noticed, he’d be angry at her, wouldn’t he? Except he’d seen touch enhance her ability, that day at the market, and he’d deliberately removed his glove. The girl decided to interpret that as tacit permission -- she could hardly make things worse, after all. She pressed her free hand over his pale one and closed her eyes.

His feelings were distant, but not beyond Amuné’s reach. Foremost was confusion. Cain could not explain his reactions, and did not understand what caused him to respond as he did. She’d been mistaken; he believed himself to be speaking the truth. “I hurt you,” the girl murmured, lifting her gaze to meet his. “I’m sorry...I didn’t understand.” She’d become so used to rejection that she’d come to expect it, and she’d misjudged. “I thought -- I was wrong.” No excuses. Adding an excuse to an apology made it less meaningful.

@TheMinorFall

[TheMinorFall]

The heat subsided and can stood. Now that she trusted him again, they could move forward. He slipped his glove into his belt, leaving his right hand exposed. After a quick survey of the area and its features, Cain looked back down to the girl. "Do you know where to find the Primm woman?" He asked, stone cold with emotionless nickel stained eyes locked on her. He held out the hand for her to take. He deduced that if she had a direct line to him, she would take comfort in his allowing her to screen his every word for lies. He was unable to tell them as far as he was aware, but it was evident that she didn't fully believe that. She required evidence just as he did. @shylarah

[shylarah]

The offered hand was unexpected. Amuné was touched that the man would make a show of trust like that, but after a moment of hesitation she shook her head, looking guilty. Even if he was okay with the idea, she was still uncomfortable with contact with someone she hardly knew. "Thanks, but...I'd rather not."

The girl headed for where the ivy grew, trying to answer Cain's question along the way. "Ms. Primm? Um...lunch is over by now, so not really. She might be at the admin building...or the school." She paused upon reaching the wall, one hand grasping the ivy. "Ah...visitors use the front entrance, but if I do, I'll get in trouble. I'm not really supposed to be outside the walls." She chewed her lip, looking conflicted. "I mean, you /could/ come this way, but...I don't want you getting in trouble either."

@TheMinorFall

[TheMinorFall]

Considering his options, the gate was probably the better option. Suspicions were not helpful with reconnaissance. Further still, entering an unknown area fully exposed yielded he same amount of aid. That was why he preferred to catch his targets off-guard. The more social missions of late were throwing his game off. He was not accustom to such operations. The threat level was low here. With a majority of women and children. Collateral damage was imminent if he were to alert the guards and cause altercation. He had no opinion of collateral damage, but his new general orders frowned upon it.

He decided to use the front gate, replacing his glove and turning to move toward the front gate. He might have helped the girl over the wall, but it seemed she knew what she was doing.

"I will find you after my objective is complete." He said over his shoulder before returning to his task.He formed the tatsu handsign and incantated, "Dragon Style, Obsidian Flight."

A pair of shadowy wings formed at his back and he took flight toward the gate. When he landed, he stood as marble before the guards. @shylarah

[shylarah]

They might have expected a visitor, but they did not expect the manner of his arrival. Most came in carriages, some on horse. He could bear news of trouble, but he did not wear the garb of a messenger. The sentry in the bell tower moved toward the rope that would allow him to ring the alarm, but he did not pull it yet. The others shifted subtly, readying to fight off an intruder, if that should be the case. One man with a salt-and-pepper beard and a dignified air took a few steps forward. Cain was asked his business, and his writ of passage was examined, the seal inspected to ensure it was genuine. But the papers were in order and they allowed him through without undue hassle. If Ms. Primm and Mrs. Martinez were expecting him, then they would be in Administration, the bearded guard informed him, and indicated which building that was. They hoped he had a pleasant day.

By the time the iron gate swung shut behind him, Amuné had made it across the yard and waited on the other side. Her breathing indicated she’d probably run part of the way, so she wouldn’t miss him. “I thought I’d walk with you,” she said, giving him a shy smile. “At least to the building...I’d rather not face Ms. Primm.” She fell in beside him, though not too close. “But then I should be going -- I’m expected for practice.”

@TheMinorFall

[TheMinorFall]

Cain responded to the sentries appropriately, showing papers and such. He understood that he was a daunting figure, so he made no sudden movements, although the ornately disguised hidden blade upon his right forearm was always at the ready to kill if necessary. As he was inspected, he took note of the details of the operation, in case it held pertinent data do later.

Tempering his speed he gained passage to the campus to find a winded Amuné. She was not keen on seeing the woman, but as his mission stated, Cain was to 'observe operations from a student's standpoint'. The guise was for him to choose a student at random, but he was to choose Amuné. "Very well. Complete your objective, while I complete mine. We will rendezvous at your dinner time." He said, as if she were another of his ranks. In a way, he considered her position to be his underling of sorts. "Remember to use your mask if you need me. If anyone asks, you were selected at random whilst in town as a preliminary screening to precede this meeting. Do you understand?" He asked, again locking in on her eyes.

Cain had trained another once before. Another female around Amune's age upon indoctrination. She had been weak and died while in pursuit of a target. Cain had completed the charge for her and burned the body. He had felt nothing then, so why now did he have a small, barely noticeable warmth in his chest when interacting with Amuné. The fact that he recognized she had a name was uncharacteristic of him in the first place. He wondered what emotion he was experiencing. This was a chemical combination and sensation he had not experienced before. Ever since he realized the false nature of his previous employment his body's physiological activity had been increasingly sparatic. He recognized these changes as the chemical processes of emotion, but still had not grasped their meaning, nor how to understand and emulate them.

He wasn't even sure that getting in touch with these reactions was conducive to optimal performance of his expertise.
@shylarah

[shylarah]

“Ron-dee...? You mean you’ll see me at dinner?” Amuné didn’t recognize the word, but she made a guess as to its meaning. “I would like that.” She would definitely look forward to it. But the rest of what Cain said made little sense, and her confusion was apparent. “No, I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” she answered, shaking her head. “Why would I be asked? Selected for what? Nothing like that happened....” The child trailed off as she came to an unpleasant conclusion. “...Are you asking me to lie?” She met his gaze, judgement and disapproval showing on her face. “I -- aaah!”

They’d just passed the corner of a building that seemed to be where a number of the guard staff stayed, and suddenly a man in well-made but informal attire stepped out and scooped the girl off the ground, slinging her over her shoulder. Amuné shrieked and flailed at him, but her initial fright turned quickly into irritation. “Put me /down/, you oaf!”
“Nae, lass, if ye run off and dinnae show when yer expected, then practice has ta come t’ you. You want down, use what ye been taught!”

@TheMinorFall

[TheMinorFall]

Of all people to launch an attack on close proximity of, Cain was not the smartest choice. Although the man clearly had no idea who was around the corner any more than the former-assassin did, it didn't matter. Cain tapped the hidden blade he had drawn lightning fast against the back of the assailant's neck three times. He had moved with incredible speed, doing a three-sixty on his heels and found a position forty-five degrees behind and to the left of the man. His blade was two inches wide and ten inches long and lay flat side against the side of the attacker's neck.

With a calm, collected tone that only added an eerie feel to his words, Cain said to the man, "This blade is sharper than a surgeon's knife. It is placed directly over your bracheoplexis origin. One small movement of my wrist, or one wrong move on your part will kill you. You will put Amuné down and I will retract my blade." His voice, although deep and gritty from a previous injury, was was colder than the obsidian steel that lay against this man's neck.

Had Amuné not expressed familiarity with him, Cain would have ended his life then and there.@shylarah

[shylarah]

He was a trained guard, but Kirk knew when he was outmatched. He’d tried to move away, shifting the girl on his shoulder so she was held more securely, but he was not quick enough. Still, he had a duty. “Lass, do ye know this man?” he asked softly. It was a moment before Amuné could recover her voice enough to reply. “Y-yes....Cain, what...don’t hurt him!” Her voice wavered, and she reached for the former assassin’s free hand, but stopped short of actually touching him. She didn’t want to risk it.

“Cain, is it? I’m going to set the lass down as you ask.” Careful not to move suddenly, the guardsman knelt and let Amuné off his shoulder. “Now, you are a visitor here, but we don’t take kindly to folks who threaten others. I think you might have misunderstood what was going on, so I won’t make a fuss about it, but try to take a bit more care in the future.” The informal dialect had dropped from the man’s words, though his rough accent still remained. When the knife was withdrawn, he stayed kneeling, and turned his focus to Amuné.

She’d taken a few steps back when her feet hit the ground, and then just stared at Cain with a horrified expression until Kirk drew her attention. “Bit shaken, eh lass? But no harm done. Why don’t ye go ahead to change, and I’ll--” A finger hooked in his shirt’s breast pocket made the man give her a rueful smile. “I’m the one as supposed ta be protecting /you/, lass. Fine, together then.” Her negotiations with the guard complete, Amuné looked up at Cain, her face a complicated blend of emotions. Even the girl would have had trouble distinguishing all of them, but there were bits of anger and hurt and sadness and fear. “Why?” she demanded, hands gripping fistfuls of her skirt so tightly her knuckles were white. “That...just, why?”

@TheMinorFall