[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/170727/34330830fd8a0b7214d4b56e66b55037.png[/img] [hr][color=000000][b]Location:[/b][/color] The Kingdom of Abhainn [color=000000][b]Interacting With:[/b][/color]His better(?) half ([@Fabricant451]), Others...[/center][hr] More diplomatic and civilized interactions awaited him. Intricacies and layers upon layers of lies that they wear when talking to each other, establishing fake, shallow, short-lived meaningless connections that are formed at the moment and discarded just as quickly. What a wonderful way to pass time no? That is why he liked the purity of battle. Everyone was their true self amidst the gore and brutality of the battlefield. The last thing they expect is to survive it. Yes, survival, the core that everything revolves around and the thing that shows when faced with imminent death, their true nature. Nothing can beat that sincerity, that purity. [b]thud thud thud[/b] The noise of the foot soldiers marching in at a stop before the enemy armies. The 2 kingdoms meet again in battle at one of their many fronts. Jack rode his horse to the middle, the enemy general doing the same. A short silence endued before the general began talking. [color=a36209]"What do you want?"[/color] That question may seem out of place without the proper context. The Slibah army had gained ground on previous Abhain territory, sending many raiders to loot, kill and destroy the nearby villages. The Abhainian scouts had reported that among all the corpses and rubble, no children were found. They were assumed to have been taken prisoner though the hopes for their survival weren't high. But now, as the 2 armies stood in front of each other, one showing its soldiers at the front, the other displaying crying children, kneeled before the front line soldiers, a hand grabbing their heads with a knife in front of their throats. The general had come to negotiate. Jack had only one word to say to that. [color=070809]"Nothing."[/color]- and he raised his hand, the signal for executing the order, executing the children. One after the other they all dropped, all 730 of them. At first there was shock, the general was stunned seeing all those young bodies drop before him, the future of the country that he had sworn to protect, then was anger as he drew his sword and attacked the King who parried the blow. The battle had commenced as both armies dove in for the attack. There were loses, sure, but the end result was a victory for Slibah. Several battalions of cavalry aided them from their southern front, believed to have retreated after their most recent loss. [b]thud thud thud[/b] Slowly he opened his eyes. He always fell in a deep slumber after a fresh kill, something about the act made him more calm. Getting up from the bed he opened the door. [color=000000]"Father, apologies for disturbing you but the ball is halfway through."[/color] He looked straight at his operative but not him. He was looking at the space between them, still caught up on that memory. [color=070809]"Call for a maid."[/color]- the soldier took off as soon as the sentence was finished. Jack opened his closet and ruffled through many wears then he looked to a basket , his blood stained clothes still hanging there. The shirt would make a nice piece, the arms still covered in splatters of dried blood. The maid entered in just as Jack was looking at his bloody shirt, now in his hands. [color=00aeef]"I..I'm so sorry my king. I would have cleaned it earlier but I didn't want to distur-"[/color] [color=070809]"Shhhhhhhh"[/color]-he said as he put his index finger over the girl's lips, still looking at his bloody shirt-"It is just... perfect." Looking at the mirror, he saw [url=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/04/4e/e6/044ee69758f9f67c6e4c4518a6c5e79e.jpg]his outfit[/url]. The dark red color danced flawlessly with the dark marks as did the dried blood over his black shirt. If you saw this in a masquerade ball for the first time you wouldn't think twice of it being blood but just a part of the design. Now that he was all set and ready, he headed for the ball, hopefully it was over already. And with those thoughts he entered the ball room, false hopes were thrown in the gutter as he carried on. The sounds and voices turned down a notch as an instrument momentarily went out of sync. All eyes were on him, the brute murderer, the criminal that invaded their homes. The displeasure could be seen on their face, even beneath the masks. Displeasure at this foreign enemy, now dining with them, displeasure at their king, for opening the doors and letting the wolf in. They all knew of the atrocities he had committed in battle, the savage way that he fought which had earned him the name of Black Jack as the dried blood, coming from all his defeated victims took the shade of a dark red and formed a second layer around his skin. As he looked at all those faces, talking and whispering to each other he had the feeling he forgot something. Yes, the mask. That was what the ball was about, masking yourself even more than you usually do. Looking around he also noticed that his wife wasn't wearing a mask either. He doubted it was because she had forgotten. Not soon after a noble approached him, leaving his group of friends. Attention seeker? A challenge to see if he could go a minute without being beaten to death? He was thin, wearing a green mask and a dark green half-coat. [color=39b54a]"A pleasure to finally meet you your highness."[/color] [color=070809]"Yes it is."[/color] The man was caught a little off guard by that abrupt response but then continued. [color=39b54a]"You are quite the topic among the people. Your actions in battle as well as the most recent ones have made you infamous."[/color] [color=070809]"Glad to hear it."[/color]-he responded as he finished another glass and was halfway filling another one all the while walking, taking the noble along with him. Looking around he spotted multiple groups. He noticed, aside from his wife, the other king, his sister, basically anyone whom he had seen before. If you already recognized a face, the hair, the shape, you couldn't [b]not[/b] recognize them. 2 other groups of people he didn't know also caught his attention. A group of 3 men, chatting loudly where one of them was constantly eyeing Jack, a hate in his gaze when he suddenly burst into laughter enticed by the other men. And then there were the 4 young ladies some distance away in the corner, all eyeing Jack but one who was looking at the trio of men. Then she turned to Jack a smile painting her lips before turning to her friends. Not soon after they were all giggling. Jack stopped in his tracks and looked at his now human tail. [color=070809]"Be of some use and tell me the name of that lovely blonde lady right in front of us."[/color]- as he said so the man looked at where the king was looking and with a smirk on his face he responded:[color=39b54a]"That is Lady Kate. She is known for her beauty, as you can see, and for her support for the poor. She is loved by the people but I suppose that is negated by her other half, her husband."[/color]- he told Jack while nodding to the trio of men from before-[color=39b54a]"The one in the middle, Lord Baringstan."[/color]-he quickly added. Curious, so both husband and wife were eyeing him. His hopes for a threesome weren't that high, well on the husband's side of course. [color=070809]"What can you tell me of him."[/color] [color=39b54a]"For one he completely hates you."[/color] [color=070809]"Nothing out of the ordinary.."[/color] [color=39b54a]"But he has more reason than others to do so. Other nobles despise you based on what they have heard of you, your deeds in the battlefield and the countless losses to their troops and money. It's more about the money really. But Lord Baringstan sent his 3 sons to the battlefield. His only 3 sons, one of which you impaled with your spear and waved him in the sky like a flag, or so they say. Now he has no heirs to his house, all because of you."[/color] As the noble was talking, Lord Baringstan had just downed his fourth cup, slamming it in the table, all the while looking at Jack while only giving quick glances to his friends. On the other side, his wife, was still stealing glances at Jack amidst chattering and giggling. Well, he had no more use of this guy as he didn't plan on socializing with anyone in this room. At most the peace treaty was temporary. Just to buy enough time for him to fully reform the army, strengthen his ties with the outside kingdoms and bring a few thousand payed mercenaries from overseas. Not even knowing his name he had to lose him somehow. Finishing his third cup he dropped it and didn't even look at it while it rolled away. [color=070809]"Pick up that cup for me."[/color] The noble waited a second before going after the cup and just as he was about to reach it, it hot kicked away by another Lord. With a sigh he followed it again, bent his body and picked it up. Turning around he saw that Jack was already gone. A loud laughter was heard from a group of 5 people, lords and ladies, the group he initially left to talk to Jack. Now sweating with anger and shame he let the cup fall from his hand and retreated outside for some fresh air. It took but a second of scouting the ball to find his wife. The one without mask. Approaching her he started:[color=070809]"Seen anything of interest? Or if you'd like, I can make it interesting. We wouldn't want you to get bored now would we?"[/color] Rhoslyn was like the clean up crew after a mess, his mess. She was usually the one to apologize, be polite, play the social games... decent human interaction with hopes of calming the fires after the tornado had passed. Fires which, in Jack's eye were burning matches. Burn small, burn quickly, of no consequence. It was actually amusing, seeing her put a facade, faking sorrow and apology before others. How annoyed she looked..