[center][h1][b]Szayeis Pet - Part Two[/b][/h1]
Day 1 | Late Night | Ominar - The Abyss
Collab between [@yoshua171] and [@Celaira][/center][hr]
Two dark silhouettes on the skyline, Szayeis and his [i]pet[/i] flew, the vampire following him closely despite her want to strike him down. Amused, both by the proceedings of the ongoing Resistance meeting and on what he had to show her as well. Knowing her compassionate nature, she was almost sure to balk at what he was doing. Though that, of course, would only be [i]after[/i] they were well away from the little gathering, as it were.

So it was that their flight led them to some of Ominar's outskirts where the nightwalker landed, knowing she would follow. He began walking down the road they had landed upon, its streets eerily empty, a swagger in his step. He had always loved the night. After all, it was when he was strongest.

Aeris' eyes were dark as she dropped to the ground a few feet from Szayeis' form. He began to walk, and she reluctantly followed. Words bubbled up, and then proceeded to get caught in her throat. Slurs, screams, curses, venomous phrases filled her head. How she wanted so badly to say them, to let all of her rage out in one, insidious burst. 

She wanted to drown him in the sea that was her rage. More than that, however, she wanted him to feel how she had in her time with him. She wanted him to have the rug he treaded upon ripped from beneath him, allowing her to watch him tumble from his egregious pedestal.

The girl's silence was almost calming, even though he knew that she must be bubbling with frustration and anger beneath the surface. It made him smile to think about. The anger she harbored. It was delicious. He fed on it just like he sometimes fed on her despair. His thoughts drifting to their...[i]time together[/i] in the past, Szayeis almost missed the turn, but caught himself in time and took a left and headed down another street before heading down...down down into an abandoned subway tunnel. He continued walking, avoiding the third rail even though it was probably powered down.

After about ten minutes he stopped, turned towards a wall and then casually walked through it. He waited, no longer visible to Aeris, on the other side, grinning to himself as he waited to see what she'd do. Would she follow, or would she think he'd led her on a wild goose chase just to irritate and distract her.

He'd done it before, though he hadn't done so terribly often.

Aeris followed the Nightwalker, trying to quell the rage rolling off her body. As they entered the subway, she tensed. Though it wasn't a super small space, it [i]was[/i] closed, and being in a confined space with Szayeis made her extremely uncomfortable. Even still, the Vampire followed him until he reached the wall and went through it, her eyes narrowing.

It wasn't as if she couldn't go through it as well, she just wasn't sure she [i]wanted[/i] to.

After a few moments she let out a sigh, before making her way up to, and through the wall, staring expectantly at her "Master."

[color=#3098C1]"Well?"[/color]

He just grinned and then continued down the corridor that revealed itself once she had passed through the illusory wall. After about two minutes it opened up into a large artificial cavern, all 90 degree angles and smooth surfaces. He smirked at it, pleased with himself. Further in there were a set of shacks, a few proper buildings, and a multitude of tents.

[color=#00001A][b]"Welcome to the headquarters of the second rebellion,"[/b][/color] he said, sweeping an arm out before him before letting it slip back to his side.

Here and there, she would see people milling about, many of them human and licentia, and many of them clearly rather poor. [color=#00001A][b]"They like to call it...Refuge, of course. They like it here. Nice and safe. Of course, most of them are angry enough that they see it as a staging ground."[/b][/color]

His cane appeared and he lightly tapped it against the cold stone floor, though no vis spread out or formulated itself as he did so. He just liked how the action felt. He liked how insulting it must have been for Aeris that he would use the object which held her soul core merely to prop himself up. Of course, it surely bothered her that he used it at all.

[color=#00001A][b]"Of course, it's not a refuge and a rebellion is a terrible outlet for their anger."[/b][/color] He said it rather flippantly, dispelling the cane as he raised a hand and brushed some dust from the arm of his other sleeve. He was clearly looking down on the people before him...and man was there evidence of a lot of people.

At least a couple hundred or so. Far more than the more focused and newer Resistance had gathered. The question was, why was he showing this to her?

As they entered the cavern, Aeris stopped just short of Szayeis' side, her eyes widening at the sight before her. [color=#3098C1]"The... Second Rebellion...?"[/color] Her head turned slowly to look at the Nightwalker, eyes still wide.

As Szayeis continued to talk, Aeris' eyes went from wide, to narrow. Something was clearly off. 

When he summoned [i]her[/i] soul core in his stupid, gaudy cane, she visibly grimaced. 

[color=#3098C1]"What are you planning, Szayeis?"[/color] Her voice held an accusatory tone, her arms folded.

[color=#00001A][b]"Now dear, I'm an honest licenti. I only thought it would be charitable to house my kind, and well, with the sort of power my cane affords me I ended up making too many houses. So I thought to myself, [i]'Why not allow humans to come as well'[/i]. Of course, having loved ones disappear, being evicted, and disallowed a proper life in the city proper people were angry. So I thought perhaps they could use an outlet for all of that pent up rage. I'm sure you understand."[/b][/color] He glanced back at her and smiled knowingly, but there was a twinkle in his eye and she'd known him long enough that it would be clear that at least some of what he was saying was a bald faced lie.

However, he clearly intended to force her to pry it out of him. It was more fun that way. She'd suffer more...and he did so enjoy watching her struggle.

Bullshit fell from the Licentia's mouth as per the usual, causing Aeris to roll her eyes. When he had finished speaking, she moved to stand mere inches from him, a look of disgust in her eyes as she glared up at him. [color=#3098C1]"I'm going to ask you again, and this time cut the bullshit."[/color] Her voice was cold, stern. She wasn't playing this game tonight. 

[color=#3098C1]"What. Are. You. Planning." [/color]

In response he bent down, his face mere centimeters from touching hers, his smile as self satisfied as ever. [color=#00001A][b]"Or you'll do what exactly?"[/b][/color]

[color=#3098C1]"Several things come to mind, [i]Master[/i]."[/color] She practically spat the title. [color=#3098C1]"The first of which being to find the nearest Prae and tell them your [i]exact[/i] location."[/color] After a moment of thought, she closed the distance, so their bodies were pretty much touching. [color=#3098C1]"Regardless of what you, or [i]they[/i] decided to do to me. Because, guess what? You've done worse than anything they can do, and I'm far from afraid of you."[/color]

His smile fell away, but he quickly betrayed just how empty he felt her threat was, by, with the flatest tone possible, saying one word.

[color=#00001A][b]"[i]Cute.[/i]"[/b][/color]

He didn't back up either, essentially staring her down. He didn't care if she was in contact with him, it would only make her uncomfortable. He didn't care in the least.

When he spoke again, a wicked smile cast across her face, [color=#3098C1]"Mm. Alright, then."[/color] With that, she turned and began walking back toward the surface, memorizing every aspect of their location in both physical senses and vis, so even if he decided to move it, she'd be able to pick it up again.

She didn't get more than ten feet before, without a sound, a pressure, like gravity, pushed her forwards and then down. Szayeis remained where he had been, casting his unamused gaze in her direction, not even the slightest hint of worry showing itself--and she had seen it before. She'd know how to spot it, even with his impeccable acting. [color=#00001A][b]"If you truly do not value your freedom and the freedom of your brother, then I will releas eyou and you can report this. You can even report my location. However, I've been double crossed before, and I should inform you that it was by people with far more skill and expertise than yourself, yet here I stand."[/b][/color]

[color=#00001A][b]"Besides, it is the nature of the master to play with their [i]pet[/i],"[/b][/color] he finished, speaking frankly. [color=#00001A][b]"Of course, if you had properly learned to play the game from our extended time in Torqueo, and you had learned to control your emotions, then perhaps you would have found me far more willing to tell you what you wanted to know. Of course, clearly you are still ruled by your emotions like the rest of your pathetic race."[/b][/color]

[color=#3098C1]"Oh, you mean... Nightwalkers? Or Licentia? Because, you can't mean Human, since I am, by your hand, no longer a part of that race."[/color]

[color=#00001A][b]"So you're presumptious too. Amusing,"[/b][/color] He walked towards her till he stood beside her, at which point he glanced down at her, with no sympathy in his eyes. It was like she barely mattered at all. Like she was a small thing he could crush with a whim.

As he glanced down at her, he would clearly see the smile she still wore on her face. Not fear. Not anger. Triumph. She hadn't spoken out in such a way in quite a long time. It meant something. She was freeing [i]herself[/i].

Slowly, but surely. One day she would rip out every soul core in his body and, one by one, squeeze them in her grasp until he was on [i]his[/i] knees.

He smiled slightly at her defiance, [color=#00001A][b]"So young,"[/b][/color] he said, shaking his head before he turned around, looking once more upon the settlement. [color=#00001A][b]"If you were truly a nightwalker, or a licenti--with few exceptions--tearing your core from your body as I have would have caused your body to shift into vis, condense into your core and stay that way until I decided otherwise. However, you are not, you're a hybrid, and for that you must also be human. This gives you a small advantage, but it comes with many...disadvantages as well. For example, you were born human, and so you will forever be troubled by things such as your morality. If the last couple hundred years are any indication you will also be ruled by your emotions, just as you are now."[/b][/color]

He shook his head, honestly disappointed.

[color=#3098C1]"I would rather be ruled by my emotions than to be an unfeeling cock-sucker. Let's be honest, what has you ignoring those things inside your head done for you aside from make you sound like a condescending cunt?"[/color] She spoke, still smiling. [color=#3098C1]"Are you, perchance, hiding from something? Because, I could understand that. After all, I dealt with your torture for hundreds of years, I [i]was[/i] in control of my emotions for a long time. It was a way of coping with what you were doing to me. I shut it out. Tried to ignore it. I didn't face it until Mai helped me to. I'm [i]stronger[/i] [i][b]because[/b][/i] I feel, not because I don't."[/color]

[color=#00001A][b]"Yes, stronger. That's why you're the subservient one. That's why not once in those hundreds of years could you break out and stay out. That's why you're attempting to belittle me to make yourself feel better. Stronger."[/b][/color]

[color=#3098C1]"Mm? Have I struck a cord, then? Because, last I checked, asking a question wasn't belittling."[/color] The vampire laughed, mirth filling the melody that was her voice. Even in her position, she was still standing against him. She didn't care for his approval. She had resigned herself to the fact, long ago, that she was much weaker than him back then, there [i]was[/i] no escape until he grew bored of her. Or, whatever it was that had possessed him to let her out. 

[color=#3098C1]"You and I both know I wouldn't have been able to fight you, even if I had wanted to. What made me even weaker then was [i]not[/i] listening to my emotions. It was hiding from them."[/color]

A small smile formed, but there was no arrogance to it. He knew something she didn't. [color=#00001A][b]"Ah, but had you not, it would have destroyed you,"[/b][/color] he said, [color=#00001A][b]"Of course it hardly matters. All you're interested in is my downfall. My death. You want me to pay for what I've done to you...to your brother. To your mother."[/b][/color]

[color=#3098C1]"You're damn right, I do. You deserve more than that for what you did to us, what you've done to others. But I'm sure you've justified it in your head somehow."[/color]

There was a moment of silence, a long moment, almost as if he was conceding the point, and then he laughed. It was a quiet sound, subdued. It wasn't like the laughter she had been hearing from him. It wasn't a sound begotten from a sadistic enjoyment. It wasn't the sound of victory. It was more like, rather than striking a nerve, she had unknowingly touched something honest in him, something that illicited an earnest reaction.

He chuckled lightly for a moment, his smile soft, eyes gazing forwards, looking at nothing. [color=#00001A][b]"I have done terrible things,"[/b][/color] he said flatly, [color=#00001A][b]"...but you are wrong."[/b][/color]

[color=#00001A][b]"I don't justify them. Not really. I consider them...necessary, sometimes, but that does not mean I always enjoy the terrible things I do. Like you, like everyone, I am flawed, and as much as you would convince yourself that I am the edifice of evil, as many others have before you and many will after, you are wrong."[/b][/color]

He turned and glanced at her, [color=#00001A][b]"I wish I was,"[/b][/color] he said, and for once the walls were down, and there was no second guessing if he was lying or not. He wasn't. [color=#00001A][b]"I am flawed and I am not good, but I am also not what you think of me. I am the result of a cruel series of events that were outside of my control. Of course, I chose this path because you see, I would prefer to dedicate my life to making the world just a little bit better even if I do not live to see it, even if making that difference means making the world my enemy."[/b][/color]

There was a somber air about him as he fell silent...his eyes trained on her, wondering how she would process what he'd told her.

Aeris' eyes moved over Szayeis' face for a long time, her head tilted. Her smile still ever present. [color=#3098C1]"Really? So... you're telling me, you see yourself as some sort of anti-villain? Interesting insight."[/color] She responded, genuinely surprised.

He chuckled, [color=#00001A][b]"As I said before. So young. If you think that people fit into neat little categories like that, then you are more foolish and naive than I thought. Needless to say, we've gotten quite off topic. Rise. I'll tell you why I've been so generous to these people on our way back up, unless...you'd like to meet some of them."[/b][/color] The question was implied, the pressure on her lessening and then vanishing entirely.

[color=#3098C1]"Not today."[/color] She spoke in response to his statement about meeting them as she stood, brushing the dust and dirt from her stockings.

[color=#00001A][b]"A pity,"[/b][/color] he said, and then turned, walking back the way they came. He was silent, letting her wonder awhile, until they were halfway back through the subway tunnel at which point he finally broke the silence. [color=#00001A][b]"They are a tool,"[/b][/color] he began, his tone matter of fact, [color=#00001A][b]"...that I plan to use to incriminate the prae government and draw more internation attention to their take over of this city."[/b][/color]

Aeris balked at his statements. [color=#3098C1]"How exactly are you planning on doing that?"[/color] She questioned him, but part of her likely already knew the answer.

[color=#00001A][b]"Do you want to sleep tonight?"[/b][/color] He said, his expression unreadable.

She chuckled, [color=#3098C1]"That assumes I usually do."[/color]

[color=#00001A][b]"Heh, fair enough."[/b][/color] He paused a moment, only their breath and footsteps breaking the silence for a brief time.

[color=#00001A][b]"The prae are going to slaughter them."[/b][/color]

Aeris blinked, not entirely surprised by his answer, but still somewhat... confused. [color=#3098C1]"... [i]How?[/i] [i]Why?[/i]"[/color]

[color=#00001A][b]"Because as much as you think me a monster, their society has done worse."[/b][/color]

[color=#3098C1]"...That only answers one of my questions, Szayeis."[/color] She responded, not surpsied by that answer either. The Prae were assholes, she was sure they'd probably done much worse than just subjugating an entire population in one city. 

[color=#00001A][b]"Because the rebels, as I told you, are angry, and anger loves violence,"[/b][/color] he glanced at her and smiled faintly. He seemed oddly subdued. Perhaps it was that his attention was divided, or maybe he had something on his mind. Of course, she'd probably take it as one of her silly little victories. It really wasn't.

[color=#00001A][b]"They, of their own volition, are going to lead a series of violent raids in the city proper. The prae are going to respond, and a mixture of overzealousness by the prae, and the beauty of crowd mentality will do the rest,"[/b][/color] he lied, though every word sounded genuine.

The Vampire gave him a sidelong glance, clearly not buying into what he was spinning. She knew him better than that. She couldn't trust him as far as she could throw him.

He met her gaze a moment before looking away. As they approached the stairs that would get them out of the subway, in the moment that he blinked, he decided on his next two destinations for the night. Without asking, entirely to unsettling her, she would find his hand on her shoulder, and then the two of them were gone, briefly engulfed by roiling darkness. Tendrils of wispy shadow that licked at the edges of their vision and against their skin, in her clothes, everywhere, and then there was light and they'd arrived in what appeared to be a mansion.

The nightwalker's hand was no longer touching Aeris. He glanced at her, uncaring of her reaction, [color=#00001A][b]"Darius will be by soon. He's going to need a hand."[/b][/color]

Aeris' eyes widened at his assertion, ignoring the reaction her body was having to both him, and his disgusting shadows touching her. [color=#3098C1]"Okay."[/color] The response was simple, eerily calm.

[color=#00001A][b]"Mmm. Good. I'll...see you around,"[/b][/color] he said, his characteristic smirk forming a moment, before he turned and, in a second, melted into the shadows and was gone. It appeared that his son would be needing a [i]visit[/i].