Redthorn Anvil

The Zodiacs

@KatherinWinter I have a question, if I may... Exactly how fast-paced do you expect this roleplay to be, and how often would you reccomend a player to be on during the span of a week to keep up with it?

Hi I'm new!

Greetings and happy roleplaying. May your blade always strike true. And first.

Exodus

"Indeed, he's not a difficult one to spot with all the attraction he gets. It's a little disconcerting, really." Sephiroth looked mildly uncomfortable as he spoke. It appeared he wasn't fond of crowds. He gestured to one corner of the room.
"There."

Sure enough, one could clearly see the Grim's dark scythe poking up out of a crowd of other angels who seemed to be rather unnerved at its presence.

Sephiroth sighed in resignation, though he chose not to elaborate. He led Sasha through the mix to the table that the deathly angel had chosen.

"Aha, there you are! Sit, sit!" Grim grinned at the two of them, which broadened when he noted Sephiroth's expression.
"Come now old boy, surely you're not frightened by a few of my own kin?" He teased, gesturing at the tables around them. The magority of the tables' occupants were also angels.

Sephiroth scowled openly at the reaper.
"You're lucky I have the patience to tolerate your jokes." He muttered, then seated himself.

Grim laughed with a devilish smirk.
"Hehehehe. Oh, I forgot. People are almost as scared of you as they are of me! That's quite a feat you accomplished! But then again, I supposed you didn't even--"

Sephiroth cut him off, his voice was cool.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to irritate me on purpose. Are you so obsessed with your job that you resort to manipulation to collect more souls? And these here are angels, no less, like you. I'm surprised that anyone of your kind could be so rutheless, Grim."

Grim bared his pointy teeth in a deceptive smile.
"Well, they don't call me the angel of death for no reason. But at least I don't go about massacring whole cities full of innocents simply from irritation at not having breakfast at the proper time."

Sephiroth stared at him with a blank expression for a moment or two. So was pretty much everyone else around their table.

After a moment, Sephiroth replied, "no? A pity. You should try it sometime, Grim. It really calms the nerves." His cool tone had not changed.

Then the neaby tables began clearing out, as if everyone there had suddenly all finished eating at the same time. Sephiroth began eating as if nothing had happened.

Then Grim burst out in a genuine laugh. "Oh that was priceless! Did you see the looks on their faces? Ahahahha!" He clutched his stomach in his laughing fit.

"Hmm." Sephiroth replied uninterestedly. He seemed quite devoted to his food at the moment.

Exodus

Sephiroth seemed to consider her words. "I should have considered that..." he looked around for Grim with creased brows.
"Well, we can always have him take it back where it belongs if he does." He decided after a moment.
"He's an odd one." He looked at Sasha as she spoke again concerning the landing.
"Indeed, I believe we are already nearing Terra's atmosphere, if we are not already blazing accross it. More than likely, we will experience a few jolts. After breakfast I mean to help work in the engine room. I have a feeling that they will be hard-pressed to keep her cool while she's running overtime, so extra hands can't hurt."
He replied, picking through trays of breakfast food until he'd gotten all he wanted. There was a barely noticible hint of amusement in his eye.
"It must sound strange, for a noble to do menial labor." He commented almost as an afterthought, though, whether or not it had actually been addressed to Sasha was not discernable. He waited beside the stand until she got her food.

Exodus

The same contemplative look that he'd shown earlier crossed his face again, and he stroked his chin with a mild frown.
"I am willing to show you what I know, if that is what you want." He replied after a moment.
"We can discuss this further over breakfast." He added as they entered the mess. He was hungry.
"Grim, why don't you snatch a table?" He suggested to the reaper, who grinned at him.
"Easy." And the tall man with the scythe strode off.

Exodus

Grim laughed. "Hehehehe...You're probably right, miss Sasha, but I'm afraid that this robe is my uniform--part of the job, you understand. Besides, if I wore a suit, then I would have to show my face, wouldn't I?" His grin formed into a smirk. He waited for Sasha to finish speaking to Sephiroth, and his smirk broadened.

Sephiroth didn't react for a moment, then he blinked and his brow furrowed as if he'd just realized she'd spoken to him. He turned to look at the young princess with the same expression. He seemed to be contemplating her. Then he seemed to disregard her apology.
"No leader is born knowing how to lead. Your skill will improve with practice and instruction. I suggest you find someone to teach you, if you are truly sincere of your apology."

Grim's smirk twitched painfully. "A little harsh, don't you think?"

Sephiroth turned his gaze to the reaper. "A ruler cannot afford to make mistakes. The fate of the people are in the ruler's hands. I know very well the consequences of rulers that make mistakes. My father was one of them, and I despise him for it." His eyes narrowed, and he turned his gaze back to Sasha. "I admit that I should not have interfered, your Highness. However, your naivete cost you your personal bodyguard. How does that reflect on your actions? Apologies will not fix your mistakes, young princess. Words are meaningless unless you act upon them. If you cannot act upon your words, then I cannot trust you."
His eyes were rutheless.
"Therefore I make this suggestion to you, your Highness. If you truly wish to apologize to me, then you will act on that apology. And if not for my trust, then for the sake of your own people. Show them that you are worth their loyalty."
By the end of his reprimand, his expression had softened somewhat. He was far from irritated or angry, rather, he saw this moment as an opportunity to potentially help her open her eyes to the bigger picture, that it was her decisions that would decide the fate of her people. Truly, he had the inborn dislike for angels that all his race shared, but that didn't mean they deserved a ruler like his father, or worse.

Exodus

"Don't lose your wings, lover boy," T'vor said briskly to Damien, "this is the most dangerous part of our trek." It appeared that T'vor was back to his normal 'formal grumpy persona' that everyone was accustomed to. His head snapped around to face someone else.
"You there! Get back to your bloody station!"
"Y-yessir--!"

This morning found an unlikely pair walking in stride towards the mess for breakfast. Rather, one of them wanted breakfast, and the other was following along as the two of them conversed.

The very unlikely pair just so happened to be Sephiroth, walking alongside Grim. The former's typically stoic attitude was in stark contrast next to the jovial, albeit peculiar personality that the Grim was known for. And today, the Grim seemed more upbeat than usual, energetically spouting at Sephiroth while the other listened calmly and offered his opinions bluntly.
"In any event, I was so surprised at suddenly seeing--" Grim was saying, but he cut himself off abruptly when Sephiroth thrust his arm out in front of the Reaper to stop him in his tracks. Though, he didn't offer and explanation, for he was staring at someone else with a hidden expression.

Grim looked up at what Sephiroth was staring at with a puzzled look, but he just as quickly replaced the face with a broad grin.
"Oh, my apologies, princess! I didn't realize you were standing just there! Hehehe." Grim apologized. If Sephiroth had not forcibly stopped the reaper, he would have barreled straight into Sasha. He continued to say nothing, but Grim continued.

"Oh, are you on your way to breakfast too? Come join us!" And without waiting for a reply on her part, he shepherded the young princess along with him, but he paused when he realized that Sephiroth had not followed. He was still standing there, but his expression had changed into a mild frown, and his eyes were closed as if in thought.

"Oi, Sephiroth!" The Grim attempted to get his attention.
"You said you were hungry, remember?"

Sephiroth opened his eyes again, and once more he was devoid of expression. He nodded silently, then continued walking with them.

Grim then continued his thought to Sasha. "I was telling Sephiroth here how I died!" He told her enthusiastically, as if that were a very normal thing to talk about. He then caught himself. "Oh yes, but I haven't properly introduced myself yet, how silly of me! I'm the Grim Reaper, it's a pleasure to meet you in person, Sasha! Did you know, I knew your great ancestors!" He continued to relate stories about her lineage. All the while, Sephiroth continued to remain silent, though he was no longer staring at her.

Exodus

That evening, as was his custom, T'vor met with Lord Sephiroth to talk--not necessarily about anything in particular, but because the two of them were as close a pair of freinds as anyone you might find, and their duties often kept them both quite busy during the day. Most everyone was in bed by now, save for the pilots and crewmen whose shifts were at night, and the evening found the two of them sitting together in the rec room, talking in hushed tones that are common to people who converse at night, as if the sound of their voices would wake someone nearby. Both of them were dressed for bed, lounging casually on a sofa in pajamas and bantering with one another like brothers. After a while, there was a lull in the conversation.
"What time do you think?" The young lord asked the tall man.
"Hmm. Hard to tell in space. I reckon it's probably just past midnight, though."
Sephiroth frowned.
"I'm surprised at you, you're usually exhausted by now."
T'vor grimaced. "I know. I don't sleep well any more. The atmosphere is tense, and it's getting to me. I'll relax once we land."
"You worry too much."
"Maybe I make up for that that you don't worry enough." T'vor smirked at his jibe.
"Of course I worry. You know that."
"Yeah, I know."
"Hey T'vor, remember that one time you snuck into the palace' private quarters..."
"Hmm...which time was that? I recall doing that several times, because you wanted to sneak down to the kitchens to swipe food, and I was worried you'd hack it up."
"That time when you snuck in and then you got spotted by a palace guard, and they thought you were a spy..."
"Oh yeah, I remember that. First and only time I ever slept in a prison cell. It reeked like bloody hellfire."
The two of them laughed quietly as they reminisced.

Exodus

For once, Grim's mouth twisted into a dubious frown. "Hmm, I'm not sure, Azurael, al'Talvor might take 'fearsome' and 'growly' as compliments..." but his grin was quick to return.
"Hehehe."

"If you are well enough to spout nonsense, Stormy, then you are well enough to work. So get on it." T'vor told Azurael pointedly, seemingly ignoring her tease.

Exodus

"Aha, miss Azurael has returned, and might I say, she's looking much more colorful and lively than she was previously. Ehehe." Grim was still there when Azurael returned, and addressed that comment to her, chuckling at his own obscure joke.
"I was just asking al'Talvor here when it was the last time he'd slept, because he seemed to me to be in rather irate spirits! But, he merely scowled at me and ignored my question! He's not much of a conversationalist, sadly. I think even ole Seph-boy talks more than this lizard!" Grim shook his head in mock disappointment.