they scream. oh, how they scream. the world is a rotted, twisted place, and all it does it take and take. skin meets skin and the illusion is shattered. the faceless face blurs - she may see the wild-eyed panic, but first she may notice the blood. 

oil-slick and silver, skeins of it stretching from cheek to shoulder. his hands, slippery with the stickiness of felled brothers and sisters. 

he says, "i've got you." ribbons lay in a macabre display around his feet, bloodied feathers mark the end of a hunt for the starving. the wailing does not stop. blood bubbles under his skin and he says, "they're illusions. it's all illusion. trust me. i can get you out of here."

Mitsuru Kagami

☉

they aren't so different. it's what makes nikkari believe every word of her threat; his smile maintains itself. one hand brushes some of the grit from their travels off of his shoulder. he stretches languidly, like a cat, and his gathered hair swings like a pendulum between his shoulder blades. 

"there is no equity in a partnership. not in totality." someone, inevitably, gives more. takes more. relationships are malleable intricacies. "but only the weak stand to benefit from wetting her flame.

"and besides, i still have a moral compass, miss liu."

Mei Liu

☉

their cohabitation makes more and more sense to nikkari with every word that drops from mei's mouth. yumi can afford a place on her own, should she so desire, and he'd assumed, rightfully so, that her chosen roommate would e just as interesting as the woman herself.

at her insinuations, he raises a brow. she's fetching, certainly, but he's somewhat disappointed that she reads his desires with a want for anything remotely having to do with the flesh.

throes of passion, if he so wanted, could be bought. infatuation comes with attachment; like flyaway hairs, brushed away but their tickling sensation left upon the skin. he says, "i find powerful people captivating when their dynasties were built by their own hands." water slips through his own as he skims the surface of the pool.

"and i'm a filthy opportunist at my core," he says, showing teeth. "i spent a great deal of my life sitting on the sidelines and reporting to my betters. would you know how many times i've seen the kindling of an empire snuff out before it can catch?"

Mei Liu

☉

"i didn't follow you," he says stubbornly, though that feels like a lie. alecto's tinkling laughter is amplified by whatever phantoms linger in the mist, making a mockery of the both of them. it was another smuggling job that had stranded him here. 

but he'd stayed, hadn't he? he'd caught wind of her here and even after he'd lost her trail, he stayed.

slowly, he raises a hand to put it over hers, to stop her wandering while the mists press them together. they damn him, betraying desires with rough breaths and the ruffling of discarded clothes. 

"you always mystified me, but you know that," he admits. "you always knew that."

Lulu Flint

☉

bits of debris from tera crystals falls beside them once while they walk and he's taken by the shimmering flakes of dust it leaves behind. by the time they come upon the pool, he's drained his water bottle. all of them look as though they're ready to strip bare and dive into the oasis, save for crown. she's thriving right now. 

ianthe does manage to wriggle free so she can cool off her toes in the water. nikkari crouches down by the water and fills his canteen, only after crown has sniffed a couple of times and deemed it safe. 

"like i said, a keen eye." he takes a generous swig and then offers it up to mei. "but take that a step further. why do i have such an interest in miss hasegawa?"

Mei Liu

☉

look how the marked cry. look at the shape of her, reduced to all of her bitter regrets. caustic inner turmoil makes for a bottomless well and the nest shrieks greedily. they reach not to pull the blood that fuels her heart, but to encase her, fold her into themselves and feed from her forevermore. 

"...!"

look upon this shade who has found you. you do not see the silver hair, the gold in his eyes. we wash that away. we unmake him, just as we will unmake you. when he reaches, do not go. we are so tired, and we are so few, and we need you. 

is that not what you want? to be needed? wanted? loved?




a figure looms above her, words stolen as the mist takes his mouth. he reaches for her.

Mitsuru Kagami

☉

the dust begins to settle. around them lay a massacre of bodies. phantasmal arrows fade away into wisps, but the wounds they leave behind are very real. alecto sinks her claws into arteries in order to watch how quickly the blood might let from the bodies. 

palamedes is cleaner and turns his attention more to the unown priam immobilizes for him.

when they're finished, the gruesome sight even makes nikkari turn away. "we should leave it like this," he says. "as a warning to the rest of them."

priam conrad

☉

so much for the liberation operation. after priam abandons his dig through the drk triad tactical gear, nikkari sticks a finger in his mouth and whistles sharply.

palamedes flies from above. the unown's attacks aren't accurate, but sooner or later they'll hit a lucky shot. alecto, on the other hand, thrives in the chaos. while palamedes strikes them down from the air, she emerges from the shadows, gnarled fingers around their cordlike bodies.

"if we can't take them with us, we make sure they're dead." both halves to a whole. and at nikkari's command, alecto wails with glee, happy to tear apart human throats instead.

priam conrad

☉

the shroomish sails through the air. palamedes, from his place in the trees, looks on in earnest, phantasmal bow drawn in case things go south. alecto is absolutely overjoyed and clasps her furry little hands together, cackling under her breath. 

when the agents fall, one by one, their unown startle to action. 

"good. if they're dead, that's less agents to hunt our own. looks like their unown aren't happy with us though." 

spirit shackle pins one of them to the ground. alecto eviscerates another (sorry, nomi), but three more converge on them.

priam conrad

☉

clever and genius, eh cross? 

the shroomish isn't a half bad idea and the corner of his lips twitch in a smile. he nods and gets a bit closer, motioning for quiet as they approach. 

maybe they might overhear something useful. he pauses, hesitating, but the agents linger about quietly, their unown floating stoically above them. 

he casts a glance at his companion and gestures for him to take the stage.

priam conrad

☉