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Rinsu'o, among the Frostguard for a time.; Events leading to Rin leaving the Frostguard
Topic Started: Apr 24 2017, 01:44 PM (460 Views)
rinsujo
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Winter's Claw for Life.
Rin sighed and kicked at the bedpost. His head always ached after Synar’s visits, but they were, as much as he hated to admit it, helping. The Frostguard mages who had been involved early on always asked “Do you still feel crazy? Can we please scramble your brain a bit?” and then wanted him to trust them. HAH! Hence his continued work with Sasha as an agent for Lissandra, though he had to keep that secret. If it meant no one was poking his brains, so be it. Synar, at least, had simply asked him about who he was, who he had been, the past, and what he thought, then spent the time Rin spoke doodling his picture-things. It was helpful, for a while, but he’d once again hit a dead end and couldn’t remember more. The broken rat didn’t want to give up Antaui’s secrets, and the placeholder soul wasn’t as in-control as he had once been. Though to be fair, a lot of things were shifting.

i suspect we are blending, now that we’re interacting so often. a shame, i’d hoped i could be rid of you before you tainted me with your… weakness.

I am kind, not weak. You of all people should know the dangers of confusing the two.


It was however, fruitless argument. He needed a push, a nudge, something to help. And despite his work for Lissandra, the Frostguard still seemed to have misgivings about him. He wasn’t allowed access to the main halls of the castle, and that meant if he wasn’t on an assignment with Sasha, he was pacing this little bedroom. Which he could’ve done at the Institute too, and had better odds of getting information secondhand. He sighed again.

“Two sighs, eh? Sounds like a real problem.” Rin whirled to his doorway - the tall man was vaguely familiar. Rin tried picturing him in Avarosan garb. Nope. Rough Claw armor, or patchwork clothing. Closer. Summoner’s robes. THAT was it. Long, fair hair… Deon had called him Fabio, in the Arena once. Aluena, Kuronan, Jinsan… Korlf, and… what was his name?!

“I remember the possession and that it was because of hair, and it was exceptionally clever but I cannot recall... ERIK! I don’t think I’ve seen you since that atrocious garbage that was the Shuriman dispute. Now it’s coming back, how have you been? I suppose I should’ve expected to run into you here eventually, I had nearly forgotten you were up here among the witches and hunters.”
Rin allowed himself a wry smile. Team Not-Always-Pirates had been an eclectic assortment, but a good crew of people. The Arena had allowed them a difficult, but enjoyable fight with people who had become friends. But that time had passed, now, and the summoners had gone their separate ways. Erik interrupted the wave of nostalgia without realizing it, forcing Rin back into the moment.

“You still talk like a Claw, Rin. No wonder everyone here thinks you’re… mmm, how to put it… well, they question your loyalty, I guess would be the most accurate but still pleasant way to put it.” The tall summoner flashed his trademark smile, but there was a question in his voice.

“I’ve never hidden my loyalty. I’m loyal to the Freljord, and to Sejuani. I am not here by choice and I have no wish to work against my queen, though I’m willing to work for the good of the Freljord as a whole if Lissandra and Ashe choose to use me as such. Sometimes they do and other times I pace my room here and sigh. You can tell which direction today seems to be headed for me.” Rin clenched his teeth slightly. In truth, he should probably attempt to convince others that he was changing his loyalty, that he was willing to work with the prevailing powers so long as it got him his way. But his pride and stubbornness were both far stronger than his wish to deceive, and with someone he actually respected, like Erik… I haven’t slipped that far, not yet.

“See, that’s just it then. You’re acting like you don’t want to be here, while everyone else here does... to varying extents, of course. But that gives you nothing in common, makes them more distant, and doesn’t help your case. That’s how socialization works Rin.”

“...the mountain will not come to Lanpoa, Lanpoa must go to the mountain. I get what you’re saying, then. I don’t get to act like the immovable mountain, I have to work with others. Which is unfortunate, since I seem to have already divided myself from any others here quite thoroughly. I don’t suppose you’d be willing to give me a hand? I’m in need of things to jog my memory of Argyre, I’ve discovered someone has meddled with my mind and I can’t trust what seems to be accurate.” Rin’s shoulders dropped, some minor measure of defeat playing out across his face.

“Ah-h-h, is THAT why you came up here to be away from the Institute. Have they gotten that bold with recent scandals?”

“M-m-m-m… sort of.” Rin grimaced again, conflicted.

allowing him to keep his flawed conclusion is not an act of deceit.

It is, however, a dirtbag thing to do to a friend who has been honest with us, and could potentially help. Just because it’s not an ACT doesn’t make it any less wrong.

his mind jumps to the institute as the untrustworthy party. do you really wish to correct him?

You. Are. A. MIZERULON.

as are you.


“If any library will have untainted information regarding Argyre, it’s this one. Avarosan libraries are too close to the Institute, plus any other library on Valoran will have secondhand information. You came to the right place. Unfortunately, only Frostguard Summoners, TRUSTED Frostguard Summoners, are even allowed access, so as long as you keep spouting off that you’re a Claw, you’re going to get nowhere. I was thinking about heading there myself just the other day. I’d have to know what sort of thing I was looking for, though.”

“That…” Rin paused, beginning to read the subtext of what Erik was saying. His voice dropped. “...that would, unfortunately, require me to know what sort of information I’m looking for… which would be difficult unless I already knew the truth.”

“Well, then... shall we take a walk, Vlohrvar?”

“...you… ...very well, my brother. Lead on.” Rin grabbed the man’s forearm in a traditional handshake among the Winter’s Claw, looking for a reaction.

The smile told him all he needed to know.

Brother in arms it is then.


The two Summoners walked through the library, Erik reaching up and grabbing a roughly bound book from a shelf once they were several stacks deep. “Notes from the second exploration of Argyre. If what you seek is here, this will be the book.”

Rin leafed through the book until he found a sketched picture of Lanpoa, then slowed down until he saw a sketch of the Unblessed. He couldn’t decipher the glyphs below it easily, and decided to save his efforts for the next few pages. He turned the page, and began scrutinizing the rows of glyphs. “We. treked. more. care-fully. this. time. Most. of the. small. beings. were. dis-tract-ed. by the gifts. of food. that we. brought.” Erik tapped him on the shoulder quietly - sounding out difficult words was not something the Frostguard did very often, it seems. Erik led him to a small niche with a light of some sort. Taking the book, he read in a very soft voice.

“We have traveled through caves of mixed rock and True Ice, some of the Avarosan in the lead mapping the caves as we descend. The tiny yordles have largely remained in hiding, though a few approached and were quickly shooed away by the sound of clashing weapons. Lady Lissandra is leading us with grace towards the stores of True Ice we sensed deep below the island.”

Rin felt a familiar chill starting - not as powerful as it was when Firia first ‘read’ him, but the self-same cold in the pit of his stomach radiating out to his fur. He saw a metallic shape, buried in ice, in a poorly lit cavern. A door was open, leading inside, but that isn’t what interests him now. There, on the side, a bit low, a line of runes! ‘CRYO-STORE’ He gripped Erik’s arm. Erik had just begun describing a cavern opening ahead.

Erik turned the page. There, sketched with a different light source! Brighter light revealing depths to the ice surrounding the Artifact… the runes are sketched as more worn than he recalled. And the door is closed. And there, just below the door, a massive indentation, as though something nearly human-sized were flung into the artifact with violence.

“The door would not open, even with magic, and we were loathe to break the Artifact. Though we tried to collect it for study, it did not budge, anchored somehow to the nexus of the island. We collected chests of True Ice and returned to the surface uneventfully.” Erik finished reading. The next pages are about events above ground, and though Rin turned pages quickly, the only sketch he saw after that was a coat, designed to be assembled from… Rin grimaced slightly, Erik visibly paling as Rin interpreted the sketch.

“To be completely fair, I was quite upset with the Usurpers too, and I can certainly appreciate how warm yordle-fur is. But you would need only a dozen or so, not a hundred and one. Whoever drew this was being a bit overzealous.” He continues to flip pages, looking for any further mention of the caves, or the cry-stor artifact. He must know what is inside of it. The next chill catches him unaware and he nearly cries out as he doubles over.

He remembers the interior of the artifact. Small, much smaller than Lanpoa. He had inspected the ‘main power’ conduit on the back wall for only a moment before calling over Hucao. The smarter yordle’s name was Hucao. A thin young man, though not quite as thin as Fecbo had been. He interpreted the glyphs… then they continued searching the interior of the crystor. Hucao found some sort of additional floor, and had gone down into it. Rin had sat down, considering- The vision flashed over with a brilliant white-ringed moon. He gasped for air and opened his eyes.

Erik was sitting next to him, calmly chuckling a bit at his misfortune. “So tell me about your friend here, Rin? She says you haven’t called her.” Rin could do nothing but try to gather his wits. His vision was blurry, and refused to clear no matter how much he blinked.
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JondorHoruku
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The King of Alliteration
"It's been what, four years? A month? I don't know, it's been too long," Firia cast a mock scowl as Dona nodded indignantly, chiming angrily, "I couldn't help but notice your barriers are breaking down more, and more quickly. I knew something was about to happen here, I thought it would be a bit... grander though."

As if on cue, the library shook with a mighty CRACK, books tumbled from their shelves, and Firia, Rin, and Erik were thrown to the ground, "What the hell?"
Edited by JondorHoruku, Apr 25 2017, 12:59 PM.
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rinsujo
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Winter's Claw for Life.
Rin picked himself up quickly, his vision finally clearing. He recognized Firia, he hadn't seen her since the library, researching Argyre. "Miss Firia!? How did you know I was... ...wait. Testimony about temporal manipulation on my mind... that was YOU at the court hearing! ...wait, of course it was. Why does that surprise me?
why does this surprise us? I was aware it was her in the courtroom, were you not? I was furious you were working with her without my approval, she is DANGEROUS.
She had worked with us in the library, not to mention it's because of her we even have a real guide where to look. If I'd relied solely on you we'd be in the prison wing of the institute alongside Nocturne, muttering and scratching like some feral rodent. Why can't I picture her clearly in the courtroom?
finding the disturbance that just rocked our prison and escaping are more important right now. we have what we needed, that was the most helpful book we could've found and it had little of worth. it's time we looked elsewhere again. let us make progress again!
Fine, but we owe Erik big. It's only because of him we got into this library at all... oh, look, friends I've made help us out of yet another jam you would've been mired in for ages. Strange how that keeps happening. Wonder if the trend will continue, or if one of your comrades will... OH RIGHT YOU DON'T HAVE ANY BECAUSE YOU'RE A MERCILESS MURDEROUS WRETCH.

"Erik, I would not be comfortable telling many people this, but I am most solidly and deeply in your debt. If there is anything you need of me, you have only to ask."

sappy and subservient enough for you?
Subservient? Where did you pick up that word? ESPECIALLY in Valoran-tongue?
oh, look, the devoted and dedicated one isn't an illiterate buffoon. strange how that happens.
Did you just... You did, didn't you?

"Thank you, Rin. I'll remember that. Go, I'll close up the library like we were never here. You need to be somewhere else, quickly." Erik grabbed the book and rushed off toward where they had found it. Rin turned to Firia and pulled her out of the library, into the halls. He glanced around quickly, then started pulling her in the direction from which the crash had come.
"Yes, well, things are beginning to fit, but I still don't understand or realize what I'm grasping at, and that last one... it ended with the moon. There was no moon, underground, nor did that part fit with the rest of the vision. There are still barriers. Not to mention I've exhausted my places to search, now. But there are more details coming together. There were other yordles of my... unit. Names I had long since forgotten, faces long dead. The hun-... My sister still had both arms. I'm not sure how I know this, but I am certain it's true."
Say hello to Dona.

what?
The meep. Say hello to her. If you're going to pass as me, you have to be nice to the people I like. And you certainly can't be calling my sister a bitch.
when I do not need you any more, I will enjoy your suffering as you are removed from me.
If. If we even survive that long. Doing a bang up job of that, by the way.

"And hello, Dona. Long time no see. But let me give you what I've settled on: That artifact below Argyre is at the heart of it. That's where things are blocked most, and the sketch in that book is not as I remembered it before the block. The caves, the true-ice barrier mentioned in the book you had found, and now that sketch. Things are beginning to fall into place. Slowly, for certain. Not everything. What has been going on since the Divinity dispute? Has Bandle actually done anything with their win, or are they as useless as ever?"

The rounded a corner, and Rin stopped short.



The humming, I think, is always the most unsettling part about them. Moreso than anything else, that's what grabs my attention away from... are you even listening, or are you still under their spell? Snap out of it, it was another hallucination.
what is actually there? it isn't them, but what is there?
It's Kera. The one we fought without magic at the bar. The one we narrowly avoided on the return from Noxus? The one you're infatuated with.
i know who Kera is, thank you. i am not the one infatuated with her, that's you.
Liii-ar.

"Blood-cur! What are you doing here? You're mad to be attacking the Frostguard! Do you want the whole of the Freljord after you? Come on, Firia, I've had an idea. It will need time to bake, but I think I can use this..."


Rin darted down the hall toward the other yordle, thanking whatever gods there might be that he had his bag with him. Because the other, more terrifying option seemed to be the one that might just be in his favor... that this, though not some cosmic plan, just might be his chance.
Edited by rinsujo, May 11 2017, 12:16 PM.
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JondorHoruku
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The King of Alliteration
Firia smirked, "Yordles will be yordles—" she started to say more, but was cut off by the massive bellow of the black and red she-beast that was charging to meet Rin.
"RIN, YE KNOCK-KNEED EXCUSE FOR A BLACK-EARED HOOLIGAN," with a massive hug, Rin felt one of his ribs give slightly as the techmatugically enhanced yordle squeezed him, "I BE HERE TO BUST YE OUT O' THIS ICE-COVERED, GOD FORSAKEN, BILE-INFESTED EXCUSE FOR A TOWER, I GOT ME SHIP AND CREW HOLDING THE GATE, WE GOT THE WIND AT OUR TAIL AND BLACK-HEARTED ICE WITCHES AT OUR HEELS," she grinned like the mildly insane fiend she was, "GET YER FUZZY BUTT MOVIN', OR YER ENTRAILS'LL BE PLASTERED ON THE MAINSTAY, YE SLACK-JAWED IDJIT!"
She grabbed him by the arm, and dashed off, his feet barely touching the ground as she barreled down the hallways, crashing through doors as if they were paper, Firia running close behind. She charged yelling towards an open window, from the looks of things in the room this wasn't her first visit here. She didn't slow for a moment as she dove headlong through the open window whooping manically as she and rin tumbled nearly a hundred feet out of the tower. Just before they smattered on the ground, Rin blasted them to a slow decent with a bit of wind magic, tumbling to a halt. Firia stepped beside them out of a strange portal, a devilish twinkle in her eye, "That mad yordle's zest is intoxicating, What is your name?"
Kera bared her teeth in a feral grin, extending her hand, "THE NAME BE CAPTAIN KERA BLOËDKUR, CAPTAIN OF THE DREDGER, CUTTHROAT OF BILGEWATER AND FURY OF THE HIGH SEAS!"
Firia chuckled, then winced as Kera gripped her hand like a vice, "Well met, Captain Bloëdkur of The Dredger, where is your fine vessel?"
Kera laughed and started running again, "IT BE IN THE BASEMENT."
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rinsujo
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Winter's Claw for Life.
this is not a plan, but i think it can work. we just may escape this citadel yet.
And once we have I know where to look next. We'll have to come up with some kind of justification for our actions, though, to regain entry into the League.
what? first of all, my memories, how on earth would YOU know where to look? second, the frostguard citadel is getting trashed by a crazed yordle on our account, how the HELL do you justify that? thirdly, even if you can justify it, why do we want to rejoin the League?
In reverse order: Because the Frostguard will probably try to come kill us for trashing the camp, so we need enough oversight to make that difficult. Justifying is a misnomer... we just need to get back into the League. We had no way of getting Kera to come for us, and so she acted on her own, we escaped to keep her occupied and prevent further deaths. Not to mention the Frostguard aren't likely to tell the League outright "We got our shit kicked by a crazed pirate yordle and lost the crazed non-pirate yordle you wanted us to keep eyes on, our bad." So what we do is offer both sides a way to save face. The Frostguard don't have to report anything happened, because nothing happened. The League gets me back, on MY BEST FUCKING BEHAVIOR, and maybe I'm a little more willing to come to their aid, so long as they don't go asking too many questions about how I got out. And last... I'll tell you when you can say Her name properly.
...cyvado.
What? ... No, no, not her. Her.
...? grandmaster makahtyno?
By Her gears, you're thick. Maybe you don't hear it because you don't listen to yourself, but it's there every time you say Her name.
...l̵̵͡á̸̷ńṕ̛͜o͟á? what does she have to do...?
DINGDINGDING, THE WIRES FINALLY CAUGHT FOLKS. Yes. Her. Did you hear it that time? Feel it?
...what are you talking about?
Ugh. Look, just keep saying Her name until you hear it. Say it out loud if you have to. It's there too. Even when you talk in my voice. Maybe even when I talk in my voice, though not always. It doesn't happen when I invoke her name as a profanity, only when I invoke it talking about Her.
...lá͢ǹ̵p̷͟o͠a͞҉.
lan҉poa͝
l̨a̢npo̴a
l̢a̶n͏p͢o̡a̶

l̷an̷p̧o̧a̕
ļ̶̨̀͡a̢̛͝͡n҉̷͡p͏̀o̸̕͠a҉̸͘͢
lan̛poa̕

l҉͞ą́ǹ̡po̸͞á
Holy shit, I heard it that time. You... you say I do that every time I say Her name? Even out loud?

Try it.


"...ļa͠͝n͟p̛͜o̶a..."

Rin's whisper was enough someone could hear, if they weren't preoccupied. But it was enough confirmation for him without being any louder. He continued to rush down the halls and corridors following Kera to her ship, before he thought perhaps there really was something very wrong with him. The incessant humming of the Kindred echoing in his ears served only to drive the point further home.
"Firia? Dona? I think... I think I may be broken. Are you sure you still remember nothing of me?"
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JondorHoruku
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The King of Alliteration
"That which no one remembers, we were meant to forget." Firia said, then glanced at the yordle again, her expression softening as she realized the yordle's mental state, "We'll figure it out Rin, I promise. I know whatever happened to your memories and my memories happened for a reason, we need to figure out what that reason is before we start tampering with them again..." she hestitated, then forced a smile, "We'll get through this. But now, we have to follow your insane girlfriend."
Kera, who was a good twenty yards ahead at this point, turned and bellowed at the two of them, "IF YE NINNIES DON'T MIND, WE BE IN THE MIDST OF A JAIL BREAK! GET YOUR RUBBER-FOOTED LAZY ASSES DOWN HERE!"
As Rin and Firia joined Kera, she was grinning again, well, more broadly. She put her long ear up to a sheet of ice, "Ye hear that? No? That be the stairs to the basement, and we be havin' a full platoon of guardsman on yon side." Firia raised her hand to gesture for Kera to wait, but the yordle was not to be stopped, "PREPARE TO BROADSIDE!" she bellowed, and slammed her staff into the ice. The first blow dented the wall, the second sent huge cracks spidering up the side, while the third sent a massive chunk hurtling down the stairs, bowling over a half dozen of the twenty or so guards on the landing. In the distance, the sounds of gunshots and the roar of a mad bear could be heard. Kera whooped with joy and dove head first into the crowd, laying out with massive swings of her staff. Those who survived the first onslaught charged back, swords up. Kera's eyes gleamed with a hint of red, her teeth were bared in a feral grin, and her ears were laid back against her skull, she laughed, then leapt back into the brawl.
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rinsujo
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Winter's Claw for Life.
Somewhere in the red haze, Rin considered getting his sticks. But he didn't need those as much now, with the claws he'd managed to... acquire... during one of his personal trips around the castle. The number of targets wasn't something to worry over, nor the swords and spells being readied against them. Rin simply flexed his paws, feeling the slight give of the leather 'glove' holding the true-ice claws over his own. Exposed throat, and his paw extended and retracted to carve an additional chunk of flesh out. The next guard held a spell on his lips - a kick crushed the words in his voicebox, while a quick backhand to the temple jarred the manaflow for a moment, which was followed by a scream as Rin launched himself off of the man's face, making sure to flick the kick into his now-empty eyesocket. Kera was his ally, moving more slowly than the yordles he was used to, but also more capable of holding her own. She could handle a third of the remaining targets on her own. His gaze swept across the array before him as his body arced from the caster to the next target, a woman brandishing a mace. A third of a dozen was... four. The man on the right of the stairs would be a nuisance to get back over to, leave it to her. After this mace-woman, another was behind her. Rin snaked his paw into the mace-woman's collar, jabbing hard into the sensitive area at the base of the neck and ripping upwards. The second one, thankfully, was wearing robes. Probably with arcane defences. Rin let his own mana ripple into the claws and briefly pictured the intertwined ripple of a carefully crafted spell meeting a bludgeon... and the claws scissored through the nape of her hood deep into the cervical vertebrae. Missed the nerves, still not used to the slightly higher point of impact with these artificial claw-tips, but her spell was certainly gone. The shock of the wound and mana-backlash would drop her for several minutes, if not longer. Kera could handle half of those remaining. The next man was wearing robes as well, but his hands were in a high guard as his spell died. Rin aimed lower, flexing his paw to use the lower, cutting edge of the claws. The first slash would only pierce cloth and skin, but each following strike laid over the last cutting deeper into the muscle with each pull. The fifth and final slash might even pierce the wall of the abdomen and cause lasting or fatal damage, but then it might not. No matter, this was an escape, not a kill-op. Another woman, shield and war-axe, panicked look mixing with her battle-cry on her face as the axe swang down. As he recovered from his roll, he wondered why she would be so foolish as to swing the shield wide, that just gave him an excellent opening to tear into the muscles of her shoulder socket through her armpit. No accounting for inexperience and panic, he supposed. He leapt to her head and kicked off with everything he had - two left that he'd need to worry about. One. Kera had cleared the remaining guards faster than he expected. Maybe she'd worked on her precision since their bout? Another set of targets gave their peculiar squishy-squelch as he jabbed through the eyeslots of the helmet and twisted his palms inward.

"Don't be lecturing me about speed, cap'n. I tied you after a round of taunting and a round of you sweet-talking me. Means I used less time. Down we go then!"

WHAT. HAVE YOU JUST DONE?!

hmm? oh. You don't remember that? I thought we shared those memories. cold water and sand to get the cleanest, the quicker the better. part of why I liked ocklepod ink so much, covers the stains if you don't get them clean quick enough. how bad is it?


Rin glanced down and was amazed at how much blood had spattered onto his robes. Not to mention how far up his forearms it was spread.

ugh. long sleeves this week for sure. yeah, definitely need to find a better way to attach those ice-claws, that glove is gonna get slick. maybe a metal ring of some sort?
It was just a haze, it's been thirty seconds and I already can't remember where we started or how we got here. What WAS that?
fighting without thought. it's why I said you should've let me take over fully in that cavern underwater, instead of just major motor function. THAT is what we're capable of. better once we manage to shake the rust off.
...forget the Unblessed, you're a monster. Our mother did not teach you those ways.
not all of them, no. that's what practice is for, honing skills. she taught us the way of the sticks, of the wind and lightning. the fight was always our own.


Rin practically skipped down the stairs, trying to find the train of thought he'd lost before the fight. It was important, it had to be. Something about the Kindred, Lanpoa, and why he was broken. It was like a shard of mirror, if he could find it again and peer deep enough into it, perhaps he'd start to see the yellow eyes looking back at him. They were significant, he knew they were.
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JondorHoruku
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The King of Alliteration
As Kera and Rin dashed ahead, Firia glanced at the bloody mess Rin left behind, her vision went black for a moment and her knees gave out. She kneeled at the top of the stairs and retched as the scene assaulted her. She shivered but regained her composure, closing her eyes and trusting Dona to guide her through the pile of corpses. A few of the men Kera had taken down were groaning, they'd wake up with large bruises in the morning, but most of them wouldn't be nearly that lucky. Dona chirped as Firia felt the familiar chill of Wolf nipping at her heels, "You run little one..."
"The take me you beast!"
Firia shot back, opening her spirit to the ravenous creature. He was confused, he was only to take those who run. Lamb stood quietly watching, "She is not ours to take, dear wolf, not here. not yet." Wolf and lamb took the souls of the slain and vanished into the ether.
"Rin needs help. Now." Firia told Dona, not nearly as shaken as one should've been after having a brush with death. She'd met the Kindred before, several times. And the conversation was generally the same.
"His scent, Peace and Fear taste. Long, He does not have."
"Or anyone else for that matter," Firia shuddered again as she slipped past the last of the corpses and ran down the stairs.
There was a slew of bodies, most breathing, some dead, all incapacitated. A tall man with smoking guns was smirking. A shadowy yordle sat on the prow of the ship. A Noxian with glowing hands was healing one of the downed freljordians. A massive ursine snarled and kicked a twitching body. A marai sat at the wheel, waving excitedly to Kera as she strode in.
"Bertha is below," the bear said, "ROWAN, GET YER ASS UP HERE!" the Noxian nodded sadly, and reboarded the ship, "By yer leave cap'n," Kera nodded.
"GET READY TO MAKE WAY YE GUTLESS WRETCHES."
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rinsujo
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Winter's Claw for Life.
As the ship began to move, Rin climbed for the highest point on the ship, and listened carefully. He needed to confirm something, needed to confirm that it was even the slightest bit real, and not simply the warped delusions that were starting to echo in his head.

The humming had stopped.

Because they're busy mopping up a dozen souls that you tore apart like some kind of crazed demon. You've gone too far, nothing should even be capable of that sort of killing. You're like a Noxian battalion without the insistence on suppressing other cultures. You killed two summoners, and now a dozen Frostguard, or close to it. You know who else slaughters like that? Nocturne. Or Fiddlesticks. Or Brand. All of the champions in the prison wing. What would our mother think? Our sister?
they do not approve. never have. but they slept more soundly after i was like this than they did when the unblessed were treading the ground of our tribe, when your ĺa҉̴́͟ǹ̴̴ṕ̡̢͟͠o̵̕a̴̡ didn't see fit to protect her people.
Oh, so you're some kind of martyr then, of course that excuses everything you could possibly do.
save your sarcasm and contempt for someone who appreciates them, for i do not. i have only chased those who were a threat to us or our dear ones, except beneath the waves. and it is my intent to apologize to both vinnie and lionel.
Don't think a few apologies will be enough to pacigi me. There is another who would scold you, if he could. Two, actually.
DON'T YOU DARE BRING HIM INTO THIS. DON'T YOU DARE. EITHER OF THEM. you don't have the right... ...you have no right to bring them up, lokokupilo.
AND YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SLAUGHTER.
what alternative did we have, hm? I... We. don't have the strength to knock someone out, especially those in armor. we don't know what sort of spells they had woven to recapture us, or to kill the invaders they did not know we were with. it was not a pleasant choice, but nor were the alternatives.
You weren't considering alternatives, you were barely even thinking at all.
we didn't have TIME to think, so gut decisions had to be followed. in hindsight, it was the right decision. that's how this WORKS, placeholder soul. that's what combat, what becoming a true...a true... is... ugh. words are hard. you have always thought we were batalanto. I never corrected you, but that is not what we were. we weren't soldato either, before you get your hopes up. that is what your sister wished. that is what Samil was. they were bound to duty, in a way that we never were. we are... we are gerilo. after his death, I chose to destroy any who would threaten. they did not approve, but it was my choice. and they respected that until they replaced me with you.
Save your pity-seeking for someone who appreciates it, for I don't. Asshole. You're a monster in yordle clothing and I'm not going to take a backseat to you. I swear to you I'll find someone capable of exorcising you and then I'll never look back again.
how would you know not to look back? that strategy didn't work out so well before, did it? give me a reason not to simply do the same with you. I was here first, and trained and molded this body into what it was. You've done nothing but use my strength for mischief and weakened my resolve. YEARS you remained on Argyre, and the Unblessed are still enough of a threat to ļ͞͠á̸́͢n̷̡͟p̸̀͘o̸̴̡̧a̧҉̡͠ that the Freljord posts guards around our kin. I should have finished them in that cavern, in that memory blocked by the moon. what stopped me?
...what do you mean you should have finished them there? What are you saying? Because I know what it sounds like, but even you... even you couldn't be that wretched. That's not being gerilo, that's being a murdisto. Tell me you aren't capable of what it sounds like you're saying.
. . .


Rin slid down from the mast and approached Firia, hesitantly.

"Firia... what do you know about 'exorcisms' to... to remove a broken piece of myself from my head? He... he and I are too different, I think. We... we have begun to remember enough about each other to put pieces together, but those pieces are... Firia, perhaps it would be best if the Kindred simply came for us. Our actions... my actions, in the past... and we cannot remember what happened once the moon covers over the memory, but it was preceded by so much blood... If we could ask my sister... but I think we might just as soon attack her... even if she's family. Firia... Firia what have I done? A-and... and what stayed me from destroying everything?"

He swept his tail up into his hands and began to wring it, his face a superb mixture of fear and uncertainty. The blood smeared through his fur unnoticed.
Edited by rinsujo, May 19 2017, 02:02 PM.
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JondorHoruku
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The King of Alliteration
The boat lurched as the undertow of the fleeing tide pulled it out of the dock. Fira sat on the fo'c'sle, watching the light grow as The Dredger pulled out to sea, Kera and Taroi bellowing in the background as the crew pulled and heaved to get the sails ready to make way.

"The Kindred come for those whose time is come," Firia sighed, the raspy growl of wolf and the unsettling melody of lamb echoing in her memories. "You aren't here because you've escaped the Kindred, that's why I'm here, for better or worse. You're still here because the stars still have a path for you to follow," she laid a hand on Rin, a soft glow dancing off her hand and cleaning the blood and filth off the yordle's fur.
"And the two parts of you, and they are both you, must find harmony together. One without the other would destroy your soul, that struggle inside you is the only thing that's keeping you together," she hugged the furry head, "You care, and that's a victory in and of itself—"
"WHAT BE OUR HEADIN', YE LAND TOADS?" Kera bellowed from the wheel, then "PREPARE FOR THE OPEN SEA ME HEARTIES! BACK TO THE HORIZON!" The crew let out a throaty roar of excitement as the tunnel began to open up.
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rinsujo
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Winter's Claw for Life.
Rin listened to Firia with a mixture of sadness and no small amount of fear on his face, until Kera interrupted. An infuriated glare crossed his face briefly, before being replaced with a sad smile. "It seems this isn't the time to dwell on it, I'm afraid. I guess it means we must solve this mystery, since understanding him will be the only way to try to balance him. Unless of course the internal bickering balances us out first."
Must you interject? If you won't let me be in control, stop pretending to be me and using my friends. Wretch.

realistically, understanding me will not help you. your best hope to not get evicted is to corrupt me by your presence, lokokupilo.
You've pointed out yourself that splitting us doesn't seem to work. Look, just get us to the League so we can get someone covering our backs from the Frostguard. We don't want to get hunted down.
allying with your league is asking for the same trouble from a different sort. they seek power, and they'll not accept us unless we've proven ourselves useful. we need to find allies.
We have allies, Red, Sasha, Sam, Raptirius. All summoners. Go to the League.
you don't get it, do you? your league is not our ally until we make them recognize our usefulness. they will simply remit us to the prison we've just escaped, and they will take greater care with the locks. kolminye and synar are not to be trusted with the freedom we've gained.

"Cap'n! We... well, I at least, need a couple summoners at my back before I go walking into the Institute. You know of anything going on that drew summoners away from the Institute since the last craziness? Wasn't there some rumor about a town having problems and calling for summoner help?"

Rin swung his bag to him and started shuffling through it, looking for something among the papers within. He paused briefly as his hand touched something cold and solid, that he didn't recall putting in, though... he did recall seeing it in the Library. As he pulled it out, it smiled at him. He shuddered involuntarily, and shoved it further back into his bag before glancing at Firia.
You should thank her, she was there at the Cantina and didn't need to help us after the Lines dispute. She didn't have to help us in the Institute Library. She didn't have to come to the Frostguard library, either. She's been nothing but kind to us, and quite honestly she's one of the only friends you haven't managed to completely drive away with your existence. She's-
i get it, lokokupilo.

"Firia? I wanted to... to thank you. I... He and I... ugh, how to put this? The wretch has no real friends, and the placeholder's friends have still been good to him. Perhaps we will manage to make amends."
...that was nice. I.... I apologize for being short before, I forget you are not the monster your actions paint.

spare me your pity.
Edited by rinsujo, May 24 2017, 01:42 PM.
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JondorHoruku
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The King of Alliteration
A mottled salt-and-pepper spotted yordle glanced at Rin, "A group of Summoners and mercenaries went to a town called Nharmick on the Shadow Isles. Might be who you're looking for." the yordle sniffed, Rin's scent was foreign to him, the tail was also odd, "Cap'n Bloëdkur," his feigned respect was palpable, "Who are the fine brigands you've brought onto our fine vessel?"
Kera's wide, fury-sated smile grew as she guffawed, "AYE! INTRODUCTIONS!"
She spun the wheel on a heading toward the Shadow Isles as the boat drifted forward.
((Author's note: in the interest of legibility and ease of writing, the following sections of extended Kera-dialogue will not be in Impact))
Kera bellowed "ALL HANDS ON DECK YE FILTHY VARMITS, WE GOT COMPANY!"
A motley assortment of various species and sizes of person assembled on the deck, Kera gestured a massive ursine, nearly twice as tall as any of the humans, "This here be Taroi Banig, our first mate. He's loyal as a dog and fierce as a bear," she chuckled at her own joke as the Ursine growled a greeting. She patted the aforementioned yordle, his satsujin mark cutting harshly through the fur on his face, "Arkin Sloan be our intelligence, assassin, surveillance, and general roguery," the yordle nodded, not saying anything. A dozen or so ethereal knives glinted across his chest, waist, and legs. The next bowed flamboyantly, "Slade Richards be our showboating asshat who shoots things," Slade glared at Kera, then smiled flirtatiously at Firia, "I beg your pardon miss, I'm sure you kno—" Firia smiled softly, her eyes flaring white, Slade stepped back, "I beg your pardon miss," he muttered. Kera roared with laughter, "AYE THERE YE GO, PUT 'IM IN 'IS PLACE! Ye'll not have any trouble with Rowan here, he be'n a Noxian who thought punching people was dumb, so now he fixes 'em back up after I punch them. Still not sure why we have him around," Rowan started to interject, but she kept going, "The lady who ain't a bear is called Barta. She's our cook and she's who's really in charge around 'ere." Barta smiled and curtsied clumsily, "A pleasure I'm sure."
"Finally, Shira Loaja, our fish-maid and mapmaker. If we crash into a rock it's her fault." Shira smiled, her emerald and turquoise fins sparkling magnificently as she flourished a bow, "Welcome aboard travelers."

Firia rose and bowed, "Thank you for your hospitality, I am Eilfiria Galidir, though to my friends I am Firia, and this is Rinsu'o, my friend."
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rinsujo
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Winter's Claw for Life.
"Captain, I believe you keep him around to patch you up after a good fight." Rin could barely contain his smirk at the one member of Kera's crew he recognized from the bar-fight. To everyone else, especially the other yordle, he smiled or nodded or offered a hand, trying his best to remember who they were. Any crew of a friend was to be respected. He chuckled at Slade's meek retreat, but then glanced at Firia.
not very reserved about using her power, is she?
Oh, stop it. She's using magic, not necessarily temporal. Could be... soul, or emotional, or something. Maybe she just sent him a palpable sense of disapproval.
awful fast reaction time for non-temporal magic. I told you she was dangerous. multiple times, even. whether you trust her of your own accord or not, I am telling you she is perhaps capable of greater destruction than even we.

"Aye, heh, Firia is a friend of mine, though I recall meeting Kera first, I think. A pleasure to meet you all, and yes, Mr. Sloan, I do think a group of Summoners and mercenaries would be just the sort of people I'm looking for. How much extra wind can your sails take, I wonder? Because I could give them a bit of breeze and help them along if that'd be helpful. I'm in no rush to leave your company, of course, but the sooner I can get the League covering my tail from the Frostguard, the less jumpy I have to be for the next few months, and that is something I certainly look forward to! Not to mention I've been cramped in that damnable tower... ugh, since Sasha left, entirely alone up until today. Save Synar, but his visits weren't exactly my personal favorite thing."
Rin glanced about, eager to have something to occupy his mind and hands for the time being.
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JondorHoruku
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The King of Alliteration
Taroi smiled, "Wind, eh? Let's see what you've got, little yordle!" The bear directed Rin to the rear of the ship, "ALL HANDS ON DECK, PREPARE THE SAILS! LET 'ER RIP!"

With a massive gust the ship careened forward, its prow headed straight for Nharmick Town.
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rinsujo
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Winter's Claw for Life.
Rin disembarked quietly, making sure the freshly altered claws were securely contained within the tied pocket of his bag. They'd made excellent time, but he needed to be sure that if anyone was at risk for his actions it was only himself. He waved silently to Firia as he swam ashore, using a small gust of wind to dry his fur.

{{Masks in Time continues here.}}
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