[Center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ubDydDb.png[/img][hr][hr][b][colour=006633]Event:[/colour][/b] Masks of Black [b]|[/b] [b][colour=006633]Location:[/colour][/b] Ersand'Enise [hr][hr][/center]
The evening had come to an end as Taleja’s heels clicked on the stone. She found herself ruminating on a particular set of events, and she couldn’t put her finger on the specifics of it. Jocasta had accused her of poisoning, yet there had been no intention for her to play any kind of active role in such a feat. Also, earlier means when? There had been no opportunities and no interactions since thin air, and she would not have resorted to such efforts for a children's game. There was also the possibility of mistaken identity; perhaps Memento Mori acted, but why would she suspect her involvement, especially in a poisoning, when she did not have a hand in it? Did they let slip with a source of their information? Whatever the outcome, it was troubling. Jocasta wasn’t the only one who had been on her mind; there was the Vossiriyan too, and she was up to something. One scene, in particular, was when she requested her to stop; was it more than the fight, an indication people were watching her? The girl had hurried her away from Jocasta; were they connected somehow? To make it even more perplexing, her mark for the evening had not even made an appearance. She clenched her fist in frustration as she needed to reassess the drawing board. She attracted attention, and she needed to blind all the eyes upon her in some fashion.

[color=000000]"You're good, Miss Drakenknecht,"[/color] announced a man's voice, and then there was a cloaked figure standing in her path, hands spread in a nonthreatening gesture. [color=000000]"Very good, in fact, but you've chosen some especially dangerous people to deal with."[/color] There was a momentary pause. [color=000000]"I believe you recognize that now."[/color]

[colour=006633]“However, I was not good enough,”[/colour] she responded dryly. The heels came to a stop as she stood still in front of the figure. She didn’t need to be informed of the unwritten rules of the dynamic, and she simply breathed in and let her shoulders drop in resignation. Her green eyes looked down. [colour=006633]“I have entered a chessboard and made a first move that I don’t remember,”[/colour] she brushed her hair to the side as her green eyes moved to meet his, [colour=006633]“and all I can recall is playing draughts.”[/colour]

[color=000000]"A mistake that came about because you didn't take the time to learn about your opponent. A mistake that you won't make again, I trust."[/color] The man was wearing a black mask: a clear statement to Taleja of what he was if not [i]*who*[/i]. [color=000000]"You're used to winning,"[/color] he continued. [color=000000]"You're used to being the strongest or at least the smartest in the room, but almost everybody here comes from a similar pedestal."[/color] He shook his head. [color=000000]"The only thing inherently special about you, Taleja Drakenknecht, is your mana type. The rest, you'll have to build. The problem, as you may or may not be aware, is that the all-powerful maniac whom you conspired to kill in a timeline since erased, is about to arrive and render you a stain on the floor."[/color] He tilted his head to the side. [color=000000]"What is your way out of this situation?"[/color]

Taleja silently listened and mulled over the words being spoken as she replied softly, [colour=006633]"It was actually a move in Go that was played."[/colour] There wasn’t much else that needed to be said verbally, as the situation was pretty clear. It was a thick, uneasy, and heavy silence that lingered. [colour=006633]"They always said that Dami’s hell is paved with the best intentions."[/colour] Her hands held together as they shook and twitched, [colour=006633]"Not that it truly mattered. This world is ruled by the strong, who seek nothing more than to abuse it."[/colour] She looked down at the muddy pavement, [colour=006633]"Truly, my fight had already been lost 800 years ago, a remnant, really, of a people on the verge of genocide by the hands of another."[/colour] A tear rolled down her cheek, as it lingered there for a moment, before eventually falling. She moved into her bag to retrieve a handkerchief, her finger stroking the head of her Slefish for a moment, before she wiped the tear away.

[colour=006633]"Though, you are wrong about one thing."[/colour] She sniffed and put the damp handkerchief back away in her handbag. [colour=006633]"What makes me special isn’t my mana-type. What makes me special is that I am willing to embrace being the monster people already see me as."[/colour] Her eyes coldly regarded the man, [colour=006633]"My mere existence is regarded as an abomination, both as a swamp witch and as a Kressian,"[/colour] she paused before making an amendment, [colour=006633]"That is Kressian, with a K. We have not all died, just [i]yet[/i]."[/colour] She took a step forward, then thought better of it, then took it back, then began to pace sideways instead, [colour=006633]"They like to make up stories about me, you know. People I have never met."[/colour] She spun her finger around in a circle, [colour=006633]"Apparently, I enjoy dining on a good baby when I have the opportunity, my mouth full of their innocent blood."[/colour] She mimicked the action of eating a leg of lamb like an Eskandr, [colour=006633]"Children taught that if they misbehave, a Kressian will kidnap them in the middle of the night to raise them in the filth and squalor of the swamps and burn down their village."[/colour]

[colour=006633]"My mere existence is abhorrent. I see the way people look at me, their looks, their disdain. I am as welcome as a swarm of locusts on a farmer's field. If you saw that little Soirée, you would have noticed that invisible barrier that naturally formed around me, nobody wanted me there."[/colour] She outlined a circle around her, one that the man conveniently stood out of the range of. [colour=006633]"Nobody wants Taleja, the nice girl who likes to share her love of herbal tea, who would like nothing more than to share a small tea party with her friends. All they care about is their little giggles, point and laugh at the creepy girl, all fun and games. A curiosity like the bearded lady, conjoined twins, or a siren caged in an oversized bucket. So… I did it,"[/colour] she moved into her own bag as she pulled out her beaked black mask, as she tossed it to the man’s feet, [colour=006633]"Like you, I wore a mask."[/colour] She moved her hand over her face; any trace of annoyance, sadness, frustration, and fear disappeared, replaced by a very unsettling polite smile. Her tone became incongruent with her words, a polite singsong of a voice in disharmony with them, [colour=006633]"I became the monster, the devil they made me out to be. I gave them the impression I am someone to be feared, it is easier that way, they leave you alone. I played the part, three C’s as you will. Calm, collected, and in control. I really wasn’t, but you see, if you appear like you are, people just assume and back down, as if going according to some obnoxious master plan, rather than swinging by the hem of my skirt, as it were."[/colour]

She moved her hand upwards, as if the motion removed the face as it revealed that natural and distressed expression, her tone now congruent again, as she moved to directly answer the question, [colour=006633]"My way out of this situation? There isn’t one."[/colour] Her shoulders dropped, [colour=006633]"If fortunate, I may have time to get my affairs in order, write a letter to my father, as it were. At best, I will get a carriage in the morning with my belongings, and return to Kressia, perhaps enough for some funds, and disappear for a bit. Perhaps I may follow the footsteps of my ancestors, head to the wandering mountain as a hermit,"[/colour] a wry smile formed on her lips, [colour=006633]"or like the other side, peddle my wares as an alchemist swamp witch for some young couple who wants to discreetly induce a miscarriage, then get accused of crimes against Oraff and wanting to harvest the child in exchange for eternal youth and beauty."[/colour]

Taleja paused for a moment, then stood still, [colour=006633]"The truth is, I am already dead, that is why you are here. Assassin’s don’t make social calls."[/colour] Her green eyes turned to the man in the mask, [colour=006633]"I shared my story so that I may be remembered. Perhaps you may feel some pity, and after the deed is done, you go home, raise a drink, send me off with a memory of the person I am. A girl who never lived. Perhaps I might hear, and thank you through the cheery song of ‘Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead’."[/colour] She turned and lowered her head, closing those green eyes for a final time. [colour=006633]"I’m ready. Please make it quick and painless."[/colour]

Taleja's great monologue went forward uninterrupted. For a moment afterwards, there was silence. Then came a single clap, muffled by gloves, and a second, third, and fourth, slowly and deliberately. [color=000000]"A touch melodramatic. A touch [i]*long.*[/i] You'll need to learn concision, to tone that down just a bit, but affective nonetheless. I [i]*felt*[/i] something."[/color] He strode forward, into the immediate range of her disruption, and pressed his hand to his heart. After a moment, he let it fall. [color=000000]"Parts of it may even have been real."[/color] He was motionless but not emotionless. [color=000000]"That's a valuable skill: channeling the authentic bits, [i]*using*[/i] them."[/color] He lifted her mask from the ground with uncertain kinetic magic, and returned it to her opened bag. [color=000000]"I am Volto Nero. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Drakenknecht."[/color] He held out his hand for her to shake it.

Taleja remained motionless as he clapped, simply listening to his words. As he approached, she lifted her head and gazed toward him. She was not fooled; she knew her life lay in the man’s hands, though his continued presence suggested an alternative outcome to the evening. As he walked close to her, she could sense no fear or hesitation in his actions. She fiddled with her glove anxiously as he opened the fastening, scratching against the back of her hand. Her green eyes shone as she stared into his eyes, watching every twitch of the iris, every direction they looked, trying to better understand the person she was with. As he offered his hand, she moved her pale, dainty fingers towards it. [colour=006633]"What brings Signore Nero from his warm bed to meet me this evening?"[/colour] Her eyes continued to follow his, questioning him. [colour=006633]"Are you here to recruit me into the Volti?"[/colour]

He shook his head. If there was any further expression, it was hidden behind both a mask and magics. He was easily Jocasta's equal in that regard. Even though his manas should have been in rebellion, he retained enough power to cast. [color=000000]"Would you want to join the Volti Nascosti, truly, or would it only be for the resources?" Would your goals align with theirs?"[/color]

[colour=006633]"Everyone knows the Dieci Volti do not exist,"[/colour] she turned away, peering past him, [colour=006633]"Even if they did, a secretive cabal of immortal killers has never been at the top of a little girl’s list for graduation. If it was, I would be very concerned."[/colour] She turned to give Nero a wry smile. [colour=006633]"I had assumed your recruitment philosophy would be ‘We find you, you don’t find us’, so I have been unable to ascertain your goals from the recruitment poster. Please forgive my ignorance on the matter. If it were true you were responsible for the death of monarchs last year, I wouldn’t say our goals were incompatible. I would assist with at least a couple more on your list, timeline erasure forgiving."[/colour]

Her green eyes looked to his, then appeared to eye his figure. [colour=006633]"If you are not here on behalf of the Volti, then are you here on behalf of yourself?"[/colour] She moved her hands towards the back of her hair, beginning to unfold the  platinum blonde locks before him. [colour=006633]"A bride, perhaps, keeping you to your bed. One whose very life is held in your grasp?"[/colour] She fluttered those green eyes before him.

There was an extended pause. [color=000000]"Do hold yourself together,"[/color] replied an unamused voice, but there was a hint of something in it - a hard-to-place hint. [color=000000]"There are those who work with us who are not [i]*of*[/i] us. Those whose goals align with ours."[/color] He tacitly acknowledged her suspicions on the assassinations. [color=000000]"Although - "[/color] He paused. [color=000000]"Not all of our goals are [i]*in*[/i] alignment these days."[/color] He shook his head.

At around that moment, Taleja felt it: a pinch in her chest - a pressure in her heart and a weakness in her knees. Volto Nero sprung back instantly and then, before it could become a serious threat, the pain alleviated. He stood there with his hand outstretched. [color=000000]"Case in point,"[/color] he declared. [color=000000]"That was our mutual friend. Some, like her, are a bit too volatile; a bit too attached to their...personal issues. I'll speak with her, incidentally, whether or not you agree to work with us. We don't kill for pleasure or personal reasons here. She needs to be reminded of that."[/color]

Her green eyes gleamed at his response, a bemused smile played on her lips, then she felt it. That tug, that pinch, the sensation of a hand clenching the heart in her chest. The searing pain in her chest became unbearable as she tried to claw at her chest, though the sudden weakness in her body caused her to fall down suddenly, her body pooling on the floor on the cusp of an unconscious state. Her eyes opened wide as she gasped for breath, the skip of the beats replaced by an intense pounding heartbeat, her face feeling flush as it reddened. [colour=006633]"That was very much personal."[/colour] Her sumpfkrake peeled away from her dress, the creatures that had masqueraded as star-like shifting patterns made themselves known, expressing their distress at her presentation. She moved her hand as she caressed the creatures, and they began to settle down on her again. She began to move, righting herself, though she was coated in the filth and silt where she had fallen. Attempting to stand back up in these heels would be a challenge. [colour=006633]"You saved me. Thank you."[/colour]

Volto Nero nodded. [color=000000]"Some of us have principle,"[/color] he said simply. [color=000000]"We stand for more than our own power. You don't need to have that to work with us, though."[/color] There was no visible smile behind that mask, but his bearing gave off a certain air of concern. Not much. [color=000000]"Should I bring you an opportunity in our mutual interest, may I count on you to act upon it?"[/color]

Taleja had hoped for some assistance, though, she supposes, a certain generosity cannot be stretched too far. She struggled to get up, but up she did, using her magic to clean herself off until she was suitably presentable.  [colour=006633]"I do have principles, Signore Nero."[/colour] She brushed off the rest of the dirt.  [colour=006633]"Whether they are shared is a different matter, which is best discussed alongside a cup of tea and not on a dark muddy street."[/colour]

As he presented his question, her green eyes flicked towards him with a shy smile.  [colour=006633]"Well, currently, you are scoring seven out of ten."[/colour] Her eyes pointed forwards.  [colour=006633]"You used flattery to soften your target and build an empathetic connection. You don’t pressurize, either; you want to enlist their help with an illusion of free will."[/colour] She moved a hand to symbolize his frame.  [colour=006633]"You have this air of a mysterious masked gentleman-renegade, which could make a girl quite smitten."[/colour] She gave a playful wink as she turned to him.  [colour=006633]"You saved my life, and I am in your debt. If there is an opportunity of mutual interest that happens to fall into my lap, consider it completed."[/colour]

With that, Volto Nero nodded. [color=000000]"Much obliged,"[/color] he replied. If there might've been any reaction to her prods, he did not show it. Perhaps that was why he hid his face, or perhaps it was simply Volti Nascosti convention. [color=000000]"We shall certainly stay in touch."[/color] A moment later, he was gone.

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