Mar was still striving to calm herself when her coils shifted along the stone walkways through the courtyard, mindfully avoided the growing activity and other creatures within. Her knuckles were already tighten white about her weapon, held close yet in an ill position to defend herself should any attack had occurred that moment. It was hard to calm the building frustration. From the series of late events, her banishment to the male's demands to stand for judgment yet again by the council of Matriarch had seemed to rub at her unknown thinning patience. The hardest hit was when he demanded she returned home. A fact that had, unknowingly, been slapped in her face by the bizarre creature claiming to be a Naga.
That thought lingered. It was the one place she couldn't return to again and one that was far more familiar to her then the College. Mar inhaled to shake the memories away before the sounds of foot steps had her head whipped to the side, her eyes flashed with alarm and scythe rose defensively at the touch. In an impulse she had been about to slice him across the gut only to cease her motion. Just as quickly as it came up, the weapon lowered at the shady male's voice reached into her ear. Her posture immediately relaxed once with a slight shiver at the warm breath grazing her cheek.
At hearing the fact she was being followed, Mar's body tensed, fighting the urge to look about and face her attacker. This Shadow Golem. Deep inside, something told her she didn't want to face it even if she had seen it. "Why the friendly warning, human?"
Althalus saw the scythe begin to move, but before he could react, she relaxed, only shivering slightly beneath his hand. Certainly, she was quick to react to unexpected things. Something to be appreciated in that. Now if only she hadn't been trying to spill my guts all over the floor. Althalus thought wryly, removing his hand from her shoulder. Seeing as the shadow golem was still around, he kept close enough to whisper, however.
At her words, he gave a soft chuckle at the emphasis. Not his brightest move, all things considered. Death may have been avoided because of his armor, but it wasn't guaranteed, especially with her tail and speed. His mask was still on his hip. "My name is Althalus," He reminded her with a slight smile, "and why not? You've done nothing to give me reason to not help you, and I saw no reason to withhold the information. As for the 'friendlieness', well, ', well, a golem can still hear and report back to whomever sent it. We wouldn't want to let whoever is watching you know that you know, would we? They might change it for something we didn't notice. And then where would you be?"
Mar's suspicious grew from the male's words, her eyes glared and narrowed on the golden eyes. He mentioned not giving him a reason not to but never told her what he gained from it. It was uncharacteristic of most humans not to seek a selfish means to benefit themselves and she found it rattling to know his. "I've not given you a reason to aid me either. Humans aren't best known for their charity after all as Naga aren't known for being trusting. "
After a moment of silence, Mar then added. "Then how do you, Althalus," she said the name with some stress at not returning to say male, "Lose said shadow? I much rather not have company for much longer."
Althalus raised both eyebrows in a questioning look as she glared at him. The look quickly went away at her next words. "True, most of the humans I knew were self-serving bastards. Some willing to break even the most sacred of laws to satisfy their own desires." An emotion flashed in Althalus's eyes, breaking the usual amusement in them. Hate, or anger, perhaps. It was gone as quickly as it came and he idly rubbed the scar on his throat before continuing.
"Regardless, I'm not seeking to gain something from you, otherwise I would have already demanded it. I helped because I could, nothing more nothing less. Unless, of course, you just have to give me a return favor. Then I can't very well refuse, can I?" He smiled at her, showing he was just teasing.
Mar had noted the anger but before she draw her own conclusions to the causes, the male's teasing happened. It was a common trait she was beginning to find more bothersome as more and more often it displayed, mainly with him and in times of complete seriousness. She found it served little point and merely a waste of time as with most human habits. After a moment of silence, Mar then added. "Then how do you, Althalus," she said the name with some stress instead of male, "Lose said shadow? I much rather not have company for much longer."
At her final question, he considered the problem. "Well, if it was just a singular golem, I would suggest you outrun it. Hard, but possible. But if it isn't, the mage who created it could easily find you with another. You could create a rune to repel shadow golems, or golems in general. Alternatively, you could get your own shadow golem to kill the one following you. So, none of the ways to get rid of your little follower are quick, nor especially easy." He gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "Such is the price of getting rid of the shadow."
The Naga let out a slight sigh upon hearing the facts and less then pleasant options, her heas stilled turned at him. None of the choices were possible currently. She didn't seem capable of creating this Rune to banish Golems or could create a shadow Golem of her own, her magic namely affected the body from what Tyrael, formally Karnage, had explained to her during their trip to the College. She nearly snorted at Althalus's shrug at the current predictiment which did nothing to aid her desire.
"Typical." She started showing her slight low view of the man's lacking help. "Little help as neither I can do or care to attempt since I lack the means to accomplish. So I'll just have to tolerate it then..."
Mar cleared looked rather sour at the unsavory decision but there appeared no alternative she could try.
Althalus shrugged again, still smiling slightly. "I gave you what ideas I could. You can't expect me to make water from a pile of sand. And, if I remember correctly, that fiery dwarf woman was your rune master. A creative and believable lie would have her making the rune you require. In my line of work, a believable lie is quite useful. I could convince her to make the rune and put it in your room but that might require..drastic measures, to put it lightly. Namely, I'd likely have to become your roommate. Something you, and most Naga's really, would find displeasing."
His smile grew bigger and he added, "Along with me being human, and all humans being dastardly bastards, who knows what I would try to do. Murder, thievery, the list goes on." It was clear from his tone he was teasing her again, apparently finding something amusing in her reaction.
For a hard and long moment, Mar considered tossing her tail right across the uppity male's head then merely slither off. Leaving the man with the biggest headache, if not a partly crushed skull, in her wake. However just when her tail tensed to reach, a shadow shifted causing her force herself relax and merely glare at the man. It was too bad her looks hadn't the power to kill in an instant or the male would've blinded and likely crippled for life right then and there. The Naga gritted her teeth a bit at his ever widening smile before she took a deep breath then asked.
"Why would you want to do that? Risk bunking with a Naga, underground and in likely complete darkness?" Her points were made to hopefully discourage him, namely with the hidden threat and dangers from sharing a room with her. Naturally the large dorm rooms wouldn't do for her and special requires had to be made, namely near a heavy heat source like the forges.
Althalus saw the tail tensing out of the corner of his eye and tensed himself, ready to do some fancy footwork(which meant leap ungracefully out of the way of anything trying to cause him pain or death). But, she seemed to remember that she was being watched and relaxed. Reluctantly. As she spoke, he stood back up. No need to whisper any more, the shadow Golem wouldn't gain anything from there words. With a gesture that spoke of long practice and habit, he drew a coin from his pocket and began flipping it between his fingers.
"Darkness? Darkness is an old friend. We've known each other for many a year now. As for the other two, well, it would certainly be interesting. And if there's any danger, well..." He gave a chuckle. "Life's a bit boring with no danger, isn't it? Of course, this is all up to you and it's quite clear which answer you're going to give me. Unless you're far better at acting than I thought."
Mar's unarmed hand whipped out with surprising speed, clasped over his fingers to prevent his coin's unsettling motions. She wanted his full attention if he could managed it at least. Toying with a silly, aged coin wasn't going to help with that while she noted he began to move away. In a softer voice, dropped just below audible, she leaned into Althalus's ear to speak. "If I wanted to hurt you, I won't use my unarmed hand. Since you know the answer and I can't fathom your reasons, I've little choice don't I?"
Slowly she pulled back to let the words mull in the male's head. Her hand pulled away, bit by bit, and noted the shadow had shifted suddenly. It's form halfway pulled from the wall until it realized she hadn't aimed to hurt the man. Then it just as quickly melted back into the background, once more merely a shadow without an owner but still watching her. Sadly this didn't make her comfortable at all. It was bad enough she was fixed in a place she didn't know very well, the fact things that should've moved could possibly pose to be an enemy didn't sit in her mind well. Her coils shifted farther underneath her to push her laxed height a little higher then Althalus.
Althalus had underestimated her speed, and paid for it. By the time he had realized her hand was moving and began to move out of range, it was too late. Her hand clapsed over his fingers, stopping the almost unconscious act of moving the coin. As she leaned in, it was Althalus's turn to shiver at the warm breath and the undeniable truth that, if she had wanted to kill him, he would have been dead. As she pulled away, taking his coin with her, he saw her eyes flick away from his face to somewhere behind them. The Shadow Golem, presumably.
Now, he had to figure out exactly what in the name of the Gods she had meant. His assumption had been that she would refuse the very idea of it and that would be the end of that. They would go their separate ways, and only occasionally see each other in the halls of the College. Well, now I'm paying for that little assumption, aren't I? He thought, smirking slightly to himself. To buy a bit more time to try and figure things out, he said "You're fast. Faster than I expected, certainly. That come with being a Naga, or training?"
Mar's eyebrow raised at his odd question and fact he seemed to dwell on it rather to note they were being watched as well as not tending to his offer. Was he no longer willing to be helpful now or merely toying with her, Mar questioned mentally. She had made it rather clear both in body movements and listening to his offers to be rid of this shadow stalking her, not liking the fact she was being in a manner like hunting. She merely shook her head then made the shortest answer possible. "Huntress..."
With that brief time boost he came to the conclusion she wanted him to make good on the only half-serious suggestion, giving only a nod to her response. He had no idea what a Huntress meant to Naga's but it was only a delaying tactic anyways. His conclusion was probably wrong, but he could also come up with reasons as to why any other conclusion was wrong as well. Thus, he replied, just as quietly, "Would you like me to arrive with or without the suggested rune? It's doubtful the golem would be able to see in complete darkness, shadow though it may be. Hearing is another matter entirely."
"I prefer not to have feel edgy in my current, brief nest. It's not idea to rattle a Naga any farther then she's been already..." Mar almost hissed her point then added, her eyes narrowed closely on his face. Mostly to determine if he was lying about his capabilities but to also slightly memorize his features. Again, she found herself slightly disappointed he was human. He would've been a rather appealing Naga, her eyes quickly broke away to shoo the thoughts to the back of her mind. "Now the question is if you were lying about your end of the deal or should I assume your mouth is your own asset that's of use?"
As she practically almost hissed at him, Althalus raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Alright, I get it." Angry Naga were never a nice thing to have around, and she had already proven that she was fast enough to cause him a severe degree of harm should she want to. Something he wished to avoid as much as possible. As she narrowed her eyes at him only to break eye contact quickly, he smiled again, slightly perplexed. He was sure he didn't have that intense of a gaze. Before he could ask why, however, she spoke. "I'm not lying. I'll get you your Rune, and then accept all the dangers that come with our little bargain." A bargain he had only made half seriously. A bargain that he hadn't been prepared for her to accept. A bargain that got him stuck with a beautiful Naga(human wise at least. The snake part he couldn't be a good judge of) that had already shown that she was easily irritable.
He chuckled, quietly. Well, I had been looking for something interesting, hadn't I? He still needed to be lead to her room however, so that when he got the rune he would be able to find it easily enough. "Seeing as I've no idea where your room is, and I have to find it to uphold my end of the deal, shall we go to it?"
Mar heard his comments though it she still didn’t completely understand what amusement he saw in the current situation. Humans, especially males, were rather foolish creatures to be sure. The only positive thing was that he seemed to at least understand her meaning. It meant she wouldn’t need to repeat herself and end up using her tail, when away from the shadows golem, to hammer some sense into the biped’s thick skull. That alone had some merit though not much, her head returned to the conversation as mention of her room came up.
She sighed and explained, “Sadly my room is still under construction at least according to the Geomancy teacher. It won’t be ready until later tonight and likely after the Feast, making it impossible to show you were it is. A simple solution is to this is to meet you at the Open Feast’s entrance then tell you then…if you have the Rune. Not to mention, it might not be best to accompany you for it might arouse suspicious…unless you like your task made more difficult?”
Mar’s eyebrow raised in question, waiting for his answer.
Althalus raised an eyebrow in return to hers. "And the Geomancer didn't tell you where your room was going to be located?" That was odd..to say the least. Why not tell someone where their room was going to be located, so they could find it without you having to guide the to it when it was finished? Regardless, the Naga was continuing. "Alright then. I'll talk to the Rune Master, get the Rune, and then meet you in front of the Feast's entrance. Simplicity in it's purest form. And I'm begining to think that you doubt my ability to hold up my end of the bargain. I can't imagine where that idea came from." He grinned at her, enjoying himself. It wasn't everday one got to tease a Naga after all.
"As for difficult tasks..I do enjoy a challenge, but there is such a thing as a stupid risk. The golem would follow you and then whoever sent it would be tipped off to what's going on. And then they would send something else. And that would defeat the purpose of this whole excercise, wouldn't it?"
"Likely they are still figuring out the best place to construct it and tell me when it's nearer to the Feast." Mar answered bluntly answering Althalus's earlier comment. Her eyes rolled at his teasing when he finally noted her lack of faith in his skills at last. Mar found it harder and harder not to just slap him with her tail, her arms crossed over instead to ease the building desire. She certainly didn't want to attrach any more unwatned attention, at least more then she had.
"Worse comes to worse, I'll have to..." Mar seemed to struggle with the word for a moment, until at last it came tumbled out. In a low, venomous breath. "...pretend to enjoy your company..."
Her jaw gritted at the idea yet it was the only one that would allow her an excuse to be in his company without arousing too much suspicion as well as to meet again at the Feast. One hand raised to slowly rub her temple at what she just implied and immediatly felt the need to take it back, her pride seemed sicked by the words that now soiled the air.
"Preferably if you've got a better idea...Althalus... I suggest you put it out here." Her tone again sounded less then faithful in his ability, possibly closer to sarcasm, as she could get for a Naga.
At her explanation, Althalus shrugged. "Fair enough." As long as it wasn't a trap of some kind(like the one he was getting himself in with this deal), he didn't care how the room was located, as long as it was located. Having a Rune created for a room that didn't exist would certainly be..bothersome, to put it mildly. His grin only grew wider as she rolled her eyes. He was amused with the whole situation at large, to be perfectly honest.
As she struggled with a word, Althalus waited slightly concerned as to what that word would be. When it finally came out, he hid his responding smile behind his hand, masking it as rubbing his face in contemplation. He couldn't hide the glint of amusement in his eyes, thought that could be written off as having always been there. Such a small thing to have difficulty with. He thought, before responding.
"Well, worse shouldn't come to worse, unless you have so little faith in my abilities that you have to come along and make sure I don't fail. That, of course, is entirely up to you. We can part ways now, and meet up at the entrance to the Feast, or you can brush up on your acting." He managed to keep a straight face, to his credit.
Mar merely hissed at his comment, viewed to be brash and insulting. She snapped softly. "I only hope you're as good as your claims or else this whole thing would've been a waste. Last thing I enjoy is wasting energy and breathe on something pointless. Words are easily created but actions are worth more and much harder. Until I see results, this is the best you get...male."
Leaving him with those words, her body jerked around to leave. Her figure soon left the man standing there alone as she vanished from sight until the Feast, her stalker's black shape skirted after her across the walls and floor.
As the Headmaster hid the vials beneath a napkin, Uicle chuckled. He was sitting next to the Esyire, swirling a glass of Yarosmerian Dragon Spite. He couldn't drink it of course, but the smell brought back pleasant memories of a time before he sold his soul to the God of Evil. He kept his gaze on the students pouring into the Dining Hall, but spoke to Khan. "You know, I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one who would find it vastly amusing to see the Headmaster not only scolded by an old man for not taking his medicine, but having the old man force it down his throat as well. It'll certainly make it a memorable Opening Feast, don't you think?" This was spoken in a conversational tone, as more and more students poured in and the sounds of conversation slowly filled the hall with a dull roar. "Alternatively of course, you could just take the medicine now. But that would be the boring route. The first one would be so much more entertaining, even if it damaged your pride, dignity, and authority beyond repair." Placing down his glass of Dragon Spite, the Necromancer reached down and patted Greg on the head, the Golem dog still gnawing on his scrap metal prize, albeit much more quietly.
Glancing around, he added in a dark tone, "If Alaira breaks anything or starts any fights here, she's going to clean and repair the entire damn Hall."
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Konan375