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[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/191205/1259dabf7c97e732c0ddd286dc20d72f.png[/img]
[h3]& Reaver[/h3]
[@Shifter_Master]
Before the Mint meet and greet.
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[hider=Sweet dreams]
The almighty chicken stomped through the city, setting the landscape ablaze. Truly it was their darkest hour. Penrose city was under siege by the forces of the Colonel. Countless innocents were made into nuggets.

Reaver could not look at the hellish landscape, his heart already too heavy. And the lady in his arms too. She had better drop the bucket she had been given too.

However, at the last minute possible, a figure in impossible disco clothes descended from the skies. It was Strdy’NgtLif, the Horror of disco madness, which then proceeded to beat the chicken with its sparky tentacles.

But just as the crazed disco tunes begin to blare out a funky victory beat there would come an incessant beeping. It started softly but quickly grew until it drowned out everything.
[/hider]
And with a jolt Viva would find herself once again with the land of living. “That is the last time, I follow up an undead with an abomination before bed” She would grumbl to herself as the utterly bizarre dream receded back into the depths of her mind. It was hard to tell what things she ate would cause odd dreams, but by a large margin this had been the strangest.

Shaking her head once again to banish any lingering thoughts of her dream Viva would crawl out of the tent she had set up. Her hunger told her she had slept about seven hours, which was more than she had been expecting, but at the same time she hadn’t really been planning on sleeping.

Outside of the tent was the inside of an abandoned house, Viva thought it was the same one she had finished up her undead treat, but it was hard to be sure. That part of her night was a blur. Not a bad one, per se, but a blur nonetheless. She had directed Reaver to this place as a decent middle ground of safety and keeping Reaver to herself. A nice cozy little place for just the two of them.

The fact that she nearly crashed the moment they got here was more than a tad infuriating, just as it was more than a little relieving to do so as well. Her thoughts were a tangled mess when it came to her son. He had become such a handsome man, not to mention deliciously twisted, but there was still a part of her that was horrified at those very same thoughts. So the reprieve was appreciated, even if she hated it.

Now she just had to figure out if she wanted to tell him or not… [color=#652DC1][i]‘Not happening on an empty stomach’[/i][/color]

Putting that decision off until later Viva would begin pulling a simple camping stove set up out of her hammer space and started on making some breakfast, humming as she did so, because food always helped put things in the correct perspective.

Reaver was awfully sore, and thirsty. He had slept like a log. Or more precisely like a weary warrior. His hand, now somewhat recovered, was still gripping the hand of the sword handle. Last night had passed between a daze and a dream. He could not even recall it had been raining the whole time, such was the intensity.

The deed had been done. The knight had become the blackguard. A person had died by his hand.

Cindy, would be no more.

Cindy had been his meal.

That...was an unsettling thought. But what was more unsettling was how he felt… not different. They said the first kill was hardest. That there was some dehumanizing trait in slaughter. Reaver pondered and understood that… the dehumanizing part was not losing oneself in killing… It was realizing that killing was nothing so special like walking a dog, doing your daily needs… or making breakfast?

Oh, yes, he had beaten some horror because some silly girl had insisted on playing hero… and mocking his cowardice. That damned thing had not made it easy, as if a regicide had been an easy task. Where all those people had come from? Could not one person fart in Penrose without eight people complaining? Still, he persevered. How could he not? Odin did not like those who had no spine.

Oh yeah, there was some girl that he didn’t know but was awfully familiar that he had taken along the ride. That was the culprit of the breakfast. The anguish over Cindy’s death was replaced often by confusion. There was something in that song, that he tried to grasp, something deep, familiar lurking in the mind that he could not...remember.

“Smells nice.” Reaver just droned. [i]Nicer than anything I've eaten recently. I miss my old home sometimes.[/i] He thought to himself. And that’s when it hit him.

That was the song his father hummed all the time.

“...how...do you know that song?” Something deep clutched in his mind. A deep, irrational paranoid thought. It couldn’t be… could it? 

[color=#652DC1]“Morning~”[/color] Viva would reply cheerfully from her spot at the small stove top. The breakfast was proving to be a variety of meat products at the moment, though she had set out a few eggs as well, not that she was one who often ate eggs cooked. She was cooking for family however so it would be a better idea to make things more palatable at the moment.

[color=#652DC1]“This old thing?”[/color] She would ask a bit bemused at the question [color=#652DC1]“It’s just a lullaby I picked up when I was a kid.”[/color] She would reply honestly, not having known that Ed had picked it up from her and kept humming it as well. [color=#652DC1]“Been humming it for over thirty years at this point.”[/color] She would comment off handedly as her attention was brought back to the slowly cooking food in front of her. She was very Hungry after all.

Reaver, on the other hand, felt a clump form in his stomach, as he gripped his blade tightly. That was one hell of a coincidence. The same hum, on two different people. It could be just fortuitous, but something inside urged him to pry even further. His eyes narrowed significantly.

“Please answer truthfully. What was your name before being a magical girl?”

Viva would once again give the child next to her an odd look, she could tell that there was a reason why he seemed so worried about who she was. Just as she could somewhat remember that she wanted to hide it, neither of those seemed terribly important at the moment though. Her Hunger was gnawing at her too much for her to see much reason for either or.

[color=#652DC1]“Same as it is now?”[/color] She would say a bit confused as she snagged a piece of bacon that was just barely undercooked [color=#652DC1]“Vivian Turner, but you can call me Viva.”[/color] She would answer honestly as she bit into the piece of meat [color=#652DC1]“Mommy works as well”[/color] She would tack on as she lost the battle against not eating the rest of the food she had brought out raw.

Reaver stood silent for a moment. Then looked at Viva. Then looked at the food. Oh. That explained that. How could his own mother not be familiar to him. And he and her….

“Please excuse me.” He said, while raising from his seated position, walking up right to the nearest wall and giving it a long sigh… began to hit his head hard against it until it bled profusely. 

“I AM NOT FUCKING OEDIPUS! NOPE, NOPE NOPE, NOPE!” He yelled as he kept hitting himself, trying to reign himself in, trying to deal with the knot of his stomach. It was true, wasn’t it. The pain was real. She was embarrassing. He had shown her his most embarrassing side.

“Ugh. What a fine day to taste mother’s cooking.” He said, his appetite spiking a bit after the regeneration closed his head wound and sat himself on the table, letting his devouring urges overtake briefly.

“Where the hell have you been, ...mother?” He said, his eyes alternating between the food and her. “You left both my father and me, isn’t it a bit late to be a good mother now?” 

Viva flinched at the not quite accusation leveled at her, as it was a valid question. She quickly swallowed the mouthful of food she had [color=#652DC1]“Dead as far as the rest of the world was concerned, and then lost.”[/color] She would say sadly not willing to meet Reaver’s eyes [color=#652DC1]“You were still young when I found myself involved in the magical side of things and it wasn’t my choice to get involved in it either. The magical girl of the area had been killed and I happened to be in the wrong place at the right time to fill in. Something went wrong though”[/color] She would give a sigh and look towards the window [color=#652DC1]“The magic I ended up with was twisted, so the rat bastard Puuchu that dragged me into this dropped me just as quickly. In my confusion I ended up falling into the Overcity, and when I finally made it back home Ed had moved away, and took you with him.”[/color] 

[color=#652DC1]“It was only last night that I learned that either of you were even in Penrose”[/color] She would explain with a helpless shrug finally turning to face her son [color=#652DC1]“And that was only because I was able to get a Patron at long last. But I’m here for you now, and I’m not planning on leaving, not that I’ve got you back.”[/color]

“Mmm.” Reaver decided to listen, although some bits… were shady. But who was he kidding. He himself had been shady. And a killer. He didn’t  have the right to judge her mother for what she did… even if she had abandoned her. “Alright, then so be it. But … no more flirting, please. It’s just...wrong. And I eat people on a regular basis.”

[i]You do too, I’ve seen what you did to the horror.[/i]

Given the prospects, if she had any kind of motherly remorse… he would welcome her. His allies were surprisingly lean recently. And he had always yearned for a motherly hug… specially on dark moments like this.

[color=#652DC1]“I…”[/color] Viva would hesitate for a moment [color=#652DC1]“I’ll try.”[/color] She would settle on after a moment [color=#652DC1]“I’ve spent a lot of time around Mother as of late. I had to internalize a lot of her teachings before she would bother giving me a chance.”[/color] She would give Reaver a soft smile “Glad to see that we care at least share meals in the long run however”

Reaver flinched awkwardly, trying to process how much his whole world changed. Still… better start abusing offspring privileges as he gulped more of his food. "Seconds." He said, sullen.

Damn, it was a pain to have been twisted in a Devourer of sorts. He really needed to think his next move carefully and being compelled to consume was distracting.

[color=AE312D]“Anything in particular you would like?”[/color] Asked an unknown third voice at Reaver’s request. Causing Viva to reflexively call her revolver and nearly open fire on the sudden intruder. Only to relax when she realized the person speaking was in fact her Mother, Lamashtu, who was now sitting just across the stove from both Reaver and Viva. Cooking what seemed to be a piece of steak.

[color=#652DC1]“Mother”[/color] Viva would groan as she let her weapon fade away. [color=#652DC1]“Is now really the time?”[/color] She would ask, trying not to sound like she was sulking at having her bonding time with her son interrupted.

[color=AE312D]“I would say so, it’s not every day that I get to meet grand kids after all.”[/color] The dark goddess would reply with an unrepentant smirk as she eyed Reaver. [color=AE312D]“Pleasure to meet you sweet child”[/color] she would say a barely contained leer in her eyes.

Reaver, truth to his training, had also reflexively grabbed the sword on his hand, lifting it as if it were just a pen, and aiming it at the source of the voice. His eyes narrowed at this interloper, before cracking a smirk. 

A monster mother for a monster motherly goddess. How...fitting was that. He now understood a bit of his father. If this insane woman had been the one that had conceived him, it explained so much. Even if she seemed genuinely trying now, it was a bit of a too little, too late mentality. As well as he wasn’t entirely sure what part of her was genuine love and what was cosmetic brainwashing. He knew the tricks gods used, as he was under a particularly hard to grasp one.

So he paused. “Stir fry your liver and serve it to us.” He said, without batting an eyelid. “You can survive that, can you? Also, you’re not my grandmother.” Reaver said, eyes narrowed.

[color=#652DC1]“Will!”[/color] Viva would exclaim seemingly scandalized by his retort, through what part was harder to pin down.

Lamashtu on the other hand would simply chuckle as she continued to tent to her slab of steak that she was cooking [color=AE312D]“You’re quite the fiesty one”[/color] She would go one to say as she would start carving the steak with her claws, which would grow ever so slightly longer as she did so. [color=AE312D]“And while I could quite simply survive the loss of a liver, are you sure that you could survive eating it?”[/color] She would pop a small cube of the blue rare steak into her mouth, revealing the rows of fangs in her maw as she did so. [color=AE312D]“After all, The Mint’s blessing has nothing on what it is my body could do for you”[/color] She would ass licking the oil off her talons with an unnaturally long tongue.

[color=#652DC1]“Mother, you don’t need to taunt him”[/color] Viva would sound exasperated with her divine Patron, before turning to Reaver [color=#652DC1]“She’s not your grandmother biologically, but she is considered the Mother of Monsters. Since I am now one of her children, you are one of her grandkids by extension.”[/color] Viva would explain [color=#652DC1]“It’s something of a honor, Mother doesn’t always consider the darkened magicals to be part of her family, only those with Monterrious natures get freely invited into the Family”[/color]

Reaver looked at her own mother for a second, before sighing. “I knew it was too good to be true.” His voice carried disappointment, before his eyes zeroed on Lamashtu. “You forgot whom I also serve.” He said, his voice now steely and icy. “And gaining his favour is harder and more difficult than being called a proxy grandchild of someone. Do you think I fear death? I am one of the chosen, who will fight through Valhalla and Ragnarok. And the only reason I am not grabbing -this- sword and gutting you myself or die trying is because I am trying to be polite upon this rude intrusion on what is probably the first time I see my own mother in decades.” 
He added. “So please spare me such horseplay.” He added, as he raised himself off the table, and attempted to leave.

Lamashtu’s gaze never wavered as Reaver voiced his displeasure, though her grin would grow slightly [color=AE312D]“I came to congratulate you two, and offer up a feast for the reunion. You are rather quick to throw that in my face child. But you should know that just because you are considered family, doesn’t mean that you have earned any favor”[/color] She would reply her voice devolving to a near hiss as she went on [color=AE312D]“And I know of the old fool that you follow, why would I not? After all it is one of my favored sons that will tear out his throat”[/color]

[color=#652DC1]“Mother-”[/color] Whatever it was that Viva was about to say, Lamashtu silenced it with a glare, causing the now distraught mother to flinch back.

[color=AE312D]“Yet I will admit that the night was not an easy one for you, even before I sent Vivian your way.”[/color] she would continue after a moment, her voice more normal, but it wasn’t hard to see the tension was just hidden, not gone. [color=AE312D]“So I am willing to overlook your lack of manners if you are willing to do the same for mine. Does that sound fair”[/color] She would flash him a grin that displayed her wickedly sharp teeth [color=AE312D]“Well, sweety?”[/color]

Calculated risk. That was what Reaver was doing right now. “I suppose I must thank you for the assist then.” He quickly turned on his heels, offering a small curtsy. Grimy incestuous crazy mother god she might have been, but he could not afford antagonizing each potential ally that came across. No, he would take heed of their actions and words to differentiate the valuable from the chaff, and the reliable from the unreliable. Far too much lip service he had endured, only to be left with scarcely any help.

“Guess It would belittle whom I serve if I cannot recognize an offer of compromise.” He paused and took a seat once more, his expression somewhat sulky, like the teenager he had just recently stopped being.

His risk would pay off almost instantly, although perhaps not by much, but for a moment Lamashtu’s facade slipped and genuine surprise and annoyance was visible. It was quickly subsumed by her normal, rather more arrogant demeanor. [color=AE312D]“Wonderful”[/color] She would purr and with a simple gesture the room would find itself filled with wonderful delicacies from across the planes. [color=AE312D]“A feast from me to you both”[/color] She would explain unnecessarily. She would move to speak more before her attention seemed to be grabbed by something [color=AE312D]“Seems I must be going, other matters have sprung up”[/color] She would say as she gracefully rose to a stand [color=AE312D]“I’ll try and visit again soon”[/color] She would say before dissolving away.

Viva, for her part, just let out a relieved sigh one it seemed like things had calmed down, and even though she was marveling at the wonderful gift of food she couldn’t help but be more grateful when Lamashtu left [color=#652DC1]“Ugh, I really hope that I don’t come across like that”[/color] Viva would remark with a grimace. She was glad to finally be able to be a mother to Reaver, as late as it happened to be, but she didn’t want to be such an overbearing one such as Mother was being.

[color=#652DC1]“I want to apologize for her”[/color] Viva would say, snagging the bits of steak that Lamashtu had left behind [color=#652DC1]“But I’m not going to. That was just rude”[/color]

“Gods be gods.” Reaver shrugged as he took some more of the food and decided to eat it after careful inspection. Who knows if that crazy motherly complex goddess had left anything funny on the meal. “Every patron sees their servants as their little pawns whom they must dance to their demented tunes. Gods, Puchuus, Horrors, Lesser Forces, the Mint… they all are no exception.” Reaver pondered.

“If one’s to prosper, one must learn to dance the danse macabre.” He added. “And learn how to lick boots. Flattery makes people prone to manipulation. Wasn’t that how you got dad in first place?” The black knight eyed Viva. “I appreciate the thought, tho.”

[color=#652DC1]“Not… exactly”[/color] Viva didn’t have the same reluctance as her son did when it came to eating any of the offered food. She had spent years working towards getting into Lamashtu’s Family after all, the thought that the Goddess would use food against her never really a chance to form. [color=#652DC1]“I mean that was originally the plan, thought why that was the plan I can’t really recall anymore as it had been so long ago. Not that it matters, that plan kinda fell apart on our first date.”[/color] She would explain with a shy smile [color=#652DC1]“He started talking about his work, about all the complexities that are involved in tending to a corpse, about some of the oddities during dissections of cadavers. It was fascinating”[/color]

She would giggle a bit recalling the beginning of her relationship with Ed, it was a simpler time looking back on it. It was hard to remember why she had left. [color=#652DC1]“Not to mention that he was quite the looker.”[/color] She would add shamelessly before turning her eye to Reaver. [color=#652DC1]“I wonder if you used to take after him. Not that the dark and edgy look doesn’t have it’s own charm”[/color] her smirk was unmistakable [color=#652DC1]“but your Father, ahh, the classical look always suited him”[/color] Viva would get lost in her thoughts for a moment, giggling to herself about her less than family friendly thoughts about her husband.

“Hrm.” Reaver carefully pondered what to say next, as he kept talking. Some red flags were forming on his mind. Something wasn’t right. Something had caused a fracture long ago and it had been nothing too trivial. He reached for his neck, under the armor and produced a locket with his father and [url=https://safebooru.org//images/1627/ed538db46798f4c7efb14232c92c81e8543f3c8e.jpg?1704292]himself[/url]. 
He hefted it and then handed it to Viva.

Viva took the locket with no small amount of curiosity. She didn’t have anything from before her change after all, she wasn’t even aware that some things could be kept across that transition. Yet she was still unprepared for the images inside the locket, and had she not already been sitting down she would have fallen.

[color=#652DC1]“You had his face”[/color] She would say softly as something inside of her seemed to crack and bleed [color=#652DC1]“But you had my eyes”[/color] She sat transfixed at the simple images of a life she had lost… No, that wasn’t right. She furrowed her brow at her thoughts. They weren’t entirely… right? It was hard to pin down what it was but her thoughts felt off. 

She let out a soft hiss as she placed a hand to her temple, a momentary migraine flitting across her thoughts.

Blinking away the pain she wondered what brought that about, before mentally shrugging it off. She closed the locket with notably less reverence then she had opened it. [color=#652DC1]“Shame you didn’t keep the piercings. Those are always fun~”[/color] Viva would say with an impish smile as she handed back the locket. The small part of her that had cringed away from flirting with her son weakly protesting, somewhere in the back of her mind.

“They were just another phase. I still got picked on a lot. And Dad was against them. Said it was a source of infection.” Reaver drone, wincing at how his past self had once been. “I went overboard back then...chasing ghosts.” He said, as he kept eating absent-mindedly. 

“There’s so much you can do when one’s father is married to the job, your mother is missing, and you lack social graces.” He pondered, as he tilted his head. Even if he had his reservations, and an inkling feeling that… Viva was not the sanest person of earth, he did pick up on her … change of nuance.

“Are you alright?”

[color=#652DC1]“Yeah I’m fine”[/color] She would brush off his concern as she returned to eating herself, though some of the food would be tucked away into her Hammerspace for later as well. Her answer didn’t quite reach her eyes however.

[color=#652DC1]“I was never really picked on when I was younger”[/color] She’d go on to say [color=#652DC1]“Not to say I was popular, at least not until late highschool, I just had a habit of biting people so they mostly left me alone”[/color] She would admit without any shame [color=#652DC1]“Ended up changing schools because of it once”[/color]

Reaver let a small chuckle, and winced somewhat. Upon the revelation, it seemed some part of his heart darkened and died. [i]So that’s it. The apple doesn’t fall down from the tree. Maybe that’s why she left. Maybe she bit father.[/i]. “Can’t say I can judge you on that. I’m a biter too.”

[i]And a murderer.[/i] he added to himself, as he raised from his seat and closed the distance. His eyes wandered, before setting himself besides Viva. His arms reached her, and pulled himself towards her figure, his head sunken and low, in an embrace.

“This is so tiring. Let me do this, just this once...mother.” He added. “I am trapped in a hell of both my actions and my circumstances.” 

There were a lot of things Viva could have said, or done in reaction to Reaver closing the distance as he did, even a few witty remarks she could have spouted off due to his reply.
She did none of those, or at least she did none of the ones that were her first instincts, because she was a mother, a terrible one perhaps, an absent one for sure, but a mother nonetheless.

Instead she simply returned the embrace, she didn’t shy from it, she didn’t joke or judge. She simply let it remain the simple comfort that it was. She would shift slightly so that they were slightly more comfortable, and once again start humming the same tune she had from earlier.

She wanted to ask him about it, but she wasn’t sure if she had the right just yet, but she would be here if he wanted too. Regardless about the migraine that seemed to be resurfacing.

Reaver seemed to spend a few moments locked, his breathing becoming slower and slower, until he decided it was enough and pried himself apart, before resuming an stance. "This city will be a sea of blood if it is not already. And part of it will be my hand. Because someone, in this charade of puppets, has to play the sinister black hand. I wonder if my father is alright."

[color=#652DC1]“Lots of people are looking to claim Penrose for themselves”[/color] Viva would remark, as she let Reaver pull away with no resistance [color=#652DC1]“So plenty of bloodletting to go around even if you don’t want to play a puppet.”[/color] Her movement to stand was much more fluid, quite literally, as her body would seemingly melt and flow until she was once again standing.

[color=#652DC1]“As for Ed, we could always check in on him.”[/color]

Reaver pondered. Ed's child was a murdered. And his wife a cannibal. For a coroner, he had accrued a very odd family. Reaver hesitated. Deep down the desire of familiarity was intoxicating… but opening the door could bring… unpleasantness. Still, Viva seemed a bit fixated with him and his father. It could work.

"We could… but will we be recognized, even? He thinks both of us are dead."

[color=#652DC1]“We wouldn’t need to fully drop in on him”[/color] Viva would say at first [color=#652DC1]“But I have a few ideas on how we could do that as well if you wanted too.”[/color] she would offer up after a moment of thought, her new magic did giver her a wide array of options for appearances after all.

[color=#652DC1]“Shall we then?”[/color] She would ask as she started moving the rest of the feast into her hammer space.