10th of Zi'da
Arc 717
It had been an exhausting play and she'd been the most unwilling of actresses. Her last ploy at doing right and fitting into the woven threads of society had literally gone up in flames. Screaming, murdering flames that were commanded by her one night stand, Mercy. Gods did she really know how to pick them. As firmly against his actions as she was, Maxine could claim no innocence. Mercy had set killer wheels in motion but she had ultimately chosen which side to take. While he was roasting men alive in their armor, the Rusalka was using Chrien's gift to violently drown those that tried to escape the slaughter. The moment she helped him clean up the evidence of their betrayal, fate was sealed. Max was Mercy's accomplice.
When their work was through, the pair had made a mad-dash back toward Scalvoris. They looked quite convincing with Edmond's dead body slung on the back of Mercy's horse, Max trailing behind with the side of her head coated and scalp matted with dried blood. Dana nearly keeled over when he saw the pair ride up upon The Kennel. The Kennel Master had immediately shouted for Gibney, who came running at the tone of his partner's voice.
The pair of masquerading murderers had their roles cut out for them. Max, for one, merely played off her own reality. The horrors to which she'd been complicit had jarred her, as loose as her morals already were. Between the shock of the entire event and the debilitating migraine that had seized her from her head wound, it was fitting she could hardly handle Dana and Gibney's peppering questions with much coherence. Less was more, and Max was solid in her simple story. She nearly believed it herself.
"We--we were attacked! The thieves, they came out of no where. Too many," she'd groaned, a hand dabbing at her head wound as though she was surprised by its severity all over again.
"How, Max?! How did you Hounds let this happen?!" Gibney said, taking a hold of the girl with two hands once she'd slipped down from her mount. She couldn't look at his eyes, and instead focused on the blood on her fingers.
"They must've been ready for us. Those we weren't fighting took control of the wagon and made off with Edmond and the chest. Mercy and I split off from the others to run them down. We figured they'd try to torture him into opening the chest or ransom him off if we didn't get him back."
"And?!"
"I don't--it's hard to remember. Next thing I know, they spotted us coming and they gut Edmond. They were yelling about something...something about sending a message to the Guild? I don't know. The chest was gone. Mercy and I tried to get him back alive...but he was suffering."
"Gods, Gibney," Dana put his hands on his head, staring at the dead Guild member strung on the back of Mercy's horse. "The Guild will not stand for this. They won't!"
Currently sitting in one of The Kennel's back rooms, staring at her leather armor in the far corner, Max still wasn't quite sure why she'd chosen to stand beside Mercy that day. Was it infatuation? Fear? An underlying greed she didn't know she possessed? Perhaps a mixture of all three and then some? There was no use in dwelling on her motives now. What was done was done, and the consequences of their actions were playing out. Now was the time to be on her toes. She'd helped Mercy keep them both alive through her lie. Surviving the long-term of their conspiracy, however, was at the forefront of her mind.
Arc 717
It had been an exhausting play and she'd been the most unwilling of actresses. Her last ploy at doing right and fitting into the woven threads of society had literally gone up in flames. Screaming, murdering flames that were commanded by her one night stand, Mercy. Gods did she really know how to pick them. As firmly against his actions as she was, Maxine could claim no innocence. Mercy had set killer wheels in motion but she had ultimately chosen which side to take. While he was roasting men alive in their armor, the Rusalka was using Chrien's gift to violently drown those that tried to escape the slaughter. The moment she helped him clean up the evidence of their betrayal, fate was sealed. Max was Mercy's accomplice.
When their work was through, the pair had made a mad-dash back toward Scalvoris. They looked quite convincing with Edmond's dead body slung on the back of Mercy's horse, Max trailing behind with the side of her head coated and scalp matted with dried blood. Dana nearly keeled over when he saw the pair ride up upon The Kennel. The Kennel Master had immediately shouted for Gibney, who came running at the tone of his partner's voice.
The pair of masquerading murderers had their roles cut out for them. Max, for one, merely played off her own reality. The horrors to which she'd been complicit had jarred her, as loose as her morals already were. Between the shock of the entire event and the debilitating migraine that had seized her from her head wound, it was fitting she could hardly handle Dana and Gibney's peppering questions with much coherence. Less was more, and Max was solid in her simple story. She nearly believed it herself.
"We--we were attacked! The thieves, they came out of no where. Too many," she'd groaned, a hand dabbing at her head wound as though she was surprised by its severity all over again.
"How, Max?! How did you Hounds let this happen?!" Gibney said, taking a hold of the girl with two hands once she'd slipped down from her mount. She couldn't look at his eyes, and instead focused on the blood on her fingers.
"They must've been ready for us. Those we weren't fighting took control of the wagon and made off with Edmond and the chest. Mercy and I split off from the others to run them down. We figured they'd try to torture him into opening the chest or ransom him off if we didn't get him back."
"And?!"
"I don't--it's hard to remember. Next thing I know, they spotted us coming and they gut Edmond. They were yelling about something...something about sending a message to the Guild? I don't know. The chest was gone. Mercy and I tried to get him back alive...but he was suffering."
"Gods, Gibney," Dana put his hands on his head, staring at the dead Guild member strung on the back of Mercy's horse. "The Guild will not stand for this. They won't!"
Currently sitting in one of The Kennel's back rooms, staring at her leather armor in the far corner, Max still wasn't quite sure why she'd chosen to stand beside Mercy that day. Was it infatuation? Fear? An underlying greed she didn't know she possessed? Perhaps a mixture of all three and then some? There was no use in dwelling on her motives now. What was done was done, and the consequences of their actions were playing out. Now was the time to be on her toes. She'd helped Mercy keep them both alive through her lie. Surviving the long-term of their conspiracy, however, was at the forefront of her mind.