• PM To Join • Bittersweet Success

[Max]

1 Cylus 719

It's finally over.

The return to Scalvoris wasn't necessarily a lightning-quick journey that brought her relief, but the familiar island was a far cry from the cess pit that was Rynmere. The mission Councilwoman Kura had sent Sephira, Rey'na, and Maxine to undertake had been insanity from its conception. Three women sent to infiltrate Andaris to recover the portal stone from the crown had been a desperate long-shot. Scalvoris depended on the impossible request.

The trio had the odds stacked against them from the start, and though success was unlikely, they had completed their treacherous mission in the end. That victory did not come without great loss and consequence. Max could feel it in the pain that struck her when she shifted in her seat, and see it in the knowing exchange of silent glances she'd shared with the Special Assistant. She felt it most in the great emptiness of Kura's cabin: the place where one more woman should've been present among them.

The ex-convict slouched back into the couch. Last time she'd sat here, she'd made a point to mercilessly heckle the Councilwoman and Special Assistant. It had been a step up from her initial intentions that trial. After all, when she'd stormed out of Slags Deep to find herself at the door step, it had been with thoughts of violence and retribution. This time she rested in this spot in utter silence.

Caramel eyes zoned off into the crackling fire in the room, open but not really seeing. The raven-haired woman was here but her mind was everywhere else. Thoughts bounced from Rey'na and Rynmere to the not-so-distant prison where the Warden and the eerie entity waited for her. Greed and guilt tugged her in two violent directions with one foot in the past and the other in the present.

That pragmatic piece of her mind knew what to do. It willed her to forget about what she'd had to do in Rynmere once her conversation here was through. Forget Francis, Rey'na, Brett, and Rebekah. Forget and beat out of existence the connections and emotions which had perilously distracted her from what she was. But...what was she now? How could she be both a hunter of this island's authority and part of its salvation? A venomous double-agent and tempestuously loyal ally? It was an inner, conflicting duality she didn't understand. A duality that might not last, but disintegrate the trill someone swayed and cemented her in one particular direction over another like clay.

Who are you now?

That question would have to wait. Her focus slowly returned to where she was, and she turned her gaze to hone in on the meeting manifesting in the room. Max shifted in her seat, involuntarily wincing when she remembered the fresh, bandaged wound resting beneath the corresponding gash in the catsuit armor she wore. The sensation brought her murderous mind back to the moment she'd allowed herself to be struck, and a seething hatred briefly darkened her gaze. She could feel a subtle warmth on her side. No doubt red was starting to vividly color through the wrapping. She'd have to remember to replace the damned bandages later. She drew the cloak closer in around her torso, more so to hide the vexing vulnerability from her own eyes than to conceal it from Kura and Sephira. There were fewer things she found herself able to hide from them as of late.

"Well," she sighed at last, glancing between the pair. "I don't know how this shit is supposed to go." Max briefly gestured toward Sephira and then Kura in turn. "But if we're really going to get into it, someone is going to have to pour us some drinks."

Dialogue|Thoughts

[Sephira]

It felt otherworldly,

Sitting in Kura’s cabin again once again with Maxine seated silently across from her, none of it felt real. Sephira wrung her hands faintly in her lap where they rested on a small cloth wrapped package that the eponymous portal stone rested within. It was as if the Special Assistant could not fully let herself relax, every part of her once stoic and unflappable nature seemed disturbed...and a bit shaken.

This is what happened when you lived for two seasons as a wanted mage in Rynmere. There were new subtle scars decorating her hands from numerous violence clashes with the Order of the Mantis. The old scar from last Cylus on her cheek had long since faded but there was a new one now beneath her left eye that she had earned during the confrontation at the mage burning. Perhaps one trial in the future it would fade as well.

Even here in the safety of Scalvoris she never felt like they had left Rynmere. There was a paranoia that crept beneath her skin along with a loss that she and Maxine both left unspoken. They had left this cold rock of an island with three on their team and only two had returned.

Rey’na was gone, not dead but changed forever. In a way, the Rey’na that Sephira had become friends with had been killed. Her soul fractured and her emotions stolen away when the Mantis had removed her Spark. Rey’na would never be the same again, and it was because of this that she had asked Sephira to lie and tell her superiors that her comrade had died in action. In all honesty she intended to carry out that request.

The woman glanced at the ex-con and saw the same uncertainty, the same fears resting behind her eyes. However, she said nothing. This was their way after all.

A small stain of blood marred the bandage at Maxine’s side, the woman had probably pulled her damn stitches again. Sephira pitch black eyes cut down to the wound before her gaze flickered back up to Maxine, as if to silently ask: ‘Are you alright?’ Though she said none of those words out loud. The ex-con hated to show weakness and the mage was not about to bring up the stab wound again even if she was worried about the other woman.

“Bring us the bottle.” The Special Assistant grumbled when Maxine mentioned the need for some stout drinks. A twisted but sad smile alighted on the mage’s thin lips.

“It’s going to be a very long night.” Her voice was tinged with regret along with a bitter edge of humor.

Their time in Andaris had been long, and had been filled with more horrors than Sephira even cared to think about. Tonight they had to lay everything out on the table; it was not going to be pleasant. Between their multiple costly mistakes, Maxine’s infiltration of the Mantis, Rey’na’s Spark removal, and the possibility of their cover being blown as agents of Scalvoris...there was much to discuss.

Dialogue|Thoughts

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

They were safe.

Kura had been worried about her team in Rynmere, and had used the Rupturing link between her and Sephira semi-regularly in order to keep tabs on them, but even then she had an imperfect vision of things. She did, however, know a few things more than they perhaps knew about. She did know, however, that they had suffered far more than she would have liked, and she saw the scars on Sephira's hands, the scar on her face, and Maxine's injury as something between a loss she could have prevented if she had done something different and an acceptable cost compared to what could have happened. She knew that, logically, the latter was more accurate, but she couldn't help the former feeling. Maxine, Sephira, and Rey'na were hers, after all. She did, however, have to suppress a smirk at that, since she could probably guess how Maxine would react if Kura ever let slip that she considered the firebrand "hers" in any fashion.

When Maxine and Sephira asked for alcohol, however, she did smile slightly. "Of course. I made sure to have good alcohol available for when you got back." she said, bringing out three glasses, one for each of them, and a substantially sized bottle of whiskey. It was actually a personal favorite, a relatively pricey type of whiskey that was brewed in Korlasir. It aged very well, and if one had particularly deep pockets, they could acquire bottles of the stuff that was older than Kura herself was. However, such things were recklessly expensive so the bottle she had made sure to procure was only half her age. Still though, as Maxine and especially Sephira would notice when they started on the glasses that Kura poured for them, it had a much better flavor than the cheaper drinks Maxine tended towards as well as a noticeably stronger kick and alcohol content.

Once glasses had been poured and handed out, Kura leaned back in her chair. This time, she wasn't seated behind her desk, and Pierce was absent. She did have a folder next to her though. "Before either of you begin, let me explain somethin'. I have Rupturing, same as Sephira. In fact she's my teacher. I'm far weaker in the magic, but it lets me see through her eyes. Since I couldn't be there with you, I used that to keep an eye on you as best I could. I know some things you did, some troubles you had. I know why there's only two of you here, mostly by luck." she said, her tone intent on that last line.

She frowned slightly then. "However, there are sizeable gaps between when I was able to check in on you, so I'm aware I'm missin' a great deal of context." she said, letting out a sigh. "So, please, begin." she said, her tone calm, but there was an odd note to it, a sort of reluctance. Kura was old, and her age gave her an understanding of people that few Mortals ever truly grasped. She knew how trauma affected people, and she had no desire to make either Sephira or Maxine relive the events of Rynmere, given she could how badly it affected them. An unfortunately reality of things though was that she had to know what had happened. Hopefully talking about it could help them deal with it in some way as well.

[Max]

Maxine leaned back in her seat and ran her hands down her face with a sigh. Her eyes flashed to Sephira's face when she felt the woman's gaze upon her. There was no mistaking the brief, cutting glance between the bleeding bandage and the ex-convict. Max read her stare and nodded sharply before turning her attention toward Kura. Nothing was ever quite alright, but Maxine always had to be. There was never an alternative. She could only ever relied on herself. That promised drink was a step toward feeling better though, and one she'd happily accept.

"Well, well, well," Maxine conceded with a smirk and a raised brow after her first sip. "You've been holding out on us, Councilor." It wasn't her usual drink, but Immortals was it smooth to go down. She pulled the glass away to take a look at the dark drink before happily sipping it again. "That's good shit." It was a farcry from the stuff commoners drank in the taverns she'd loved to frequent. She supposed it was one of the many perks of holding a seat in Scalvoris government: having the wages to procure alcohol this fine. For a couple trills she was content to silently enjoy the whiskey. Then it was straight to business.

Max narrowed her eyes briefly at first, appraising both master and student when talk of the Rupturing initiation came to the forefront. That little tid-bit indeed came as a surprise to the magic-opposed woman. It seemed it was always invading her life somehow. Either a mage was attacking her with ether, or using it to invade her privacy. As useful as it evidently was to the two other women in the room, Max would never see it in such a favorable light. Except when it was to her undeniable advantage of course. Part of her hoped that the boon at least liberated her from having to voice what happened in Rynmere. That would've been too easy, it would seem. The specifics had to be voiced. If Kura wanted it all on the table, she'd get it.

This'll be a fuckin' riot.

"I wasn't going to honor our deal," Maxine admitted darkly after she'd finished her whole glass of whiskey. Her gaze shifted between the women. "I took you for the free ride. Francis Higglebottom, better known as our friend Earth Mask, was in Rynmere. Neither of you got him for me so I was going to get him for myself. I played the part. Went through the motions. While your agents hunted for your stone, I was hunting him. I told you from the start I don't give a shit about what happens to Scalvoris. I meant it." She leaned forward, lip curling when the motion irritated her wound. She scooped up the bottle and uncorked it, taking the liberty of refilling her glass on her own.

"I was watching a mage burning put on by The Mantis hoping he'd show. Instead, the other two show up. Rey'na decides to be a fucking hero and put all of us in the Mantis crosshairs, and next thing I know, we're in the shit." Thinking back to the scene irritated her all over again. How easily it all could've been avoided if they'd listened to her, left when they were supposed to. "The three of us got separated. I ran into a friend of mine on the run, and the two of us gutted some Yaralon Ithecals the Mantis paid out to kill us. I don't know what happened with Rey'na and Blackwood. Like I said, I was never there for your stone." Max paused to lean her elbows on her knees. She adjusted her jaw and took a sip of whiskey, eyes staring through the table ahead of her. Her free hand clenched into a fist.

"I went after Francis. I found him. We fought. The Mantis got in my fucking way before I got to finish him. One admired my talent of 'dispatching powerful mages', so my connection with your agents was overlooked. In exchange for a cloak, I was offered the torch to burn that fucker alive. It was an easy choice." She could practically hear it now, hear his wails as the fire rose to consume him in spite of his Defiance. The grey cloak felt light on her shoulders that trial. The hatred that burned so hot in her core hadn't dimmed with his demise.

"After that I kept my word. I did the work for the Mantis. I hunted. I executed. I liked what I did. I was good at it." A hardness overtook Max then. She finished the drink and placed it on the table. For a couple trills she didn't look at either of them. "I was invited to their black site where I found out they'd kidnapped Rey'na. They'd been torturing her in hopes she'd give up Blackwood. She didn't, so they came up with a new idea. Either she'd break and serve as their sleeper cell to kill the Rupturer they wanted so bad, or she'd be the bait to draw her into their trap." Her unapologetic mask settled firmly upon her face. Her dark gaze moved up finally, addressing the Special Assistant and the Councilor in turn. "I held Rey'na down so Rebekah could rip out her Spark."

I killed her.

Those were the screams that really haunted her. It was that sound that kept her high so she could escape it for at least three nights without sleep. Her left foot bounced. More whiskey filled her glass. She could feel the alcohol starting to settle in her system, but it did little to dull the unwanted feelings that lingered. She sucked down more of it, embracing the burn. In all likelihood she was one slip away from turning and smashing the cup against the wall. More glass breaking wouldn't change anything. Max had already told her truth. Given the choice, she'd have made the same decision again. Betrayal had been the lesser price to pay.

"I'll let the Special Assistant fill you in on the rest," she murmured, temporarily shutting down and retreating within herself. Max was done telling of her sins for now. Her treachery had only just started to come to light. In this endeavor, enlightening Kura, she needed Sephira to help shoulder the burden. There was no redemption in the next bit to tell. Not in the argument. Not in the rescue or the stone recovery. Not in the murder of Brett of Rebekah. For a couple trills she just wanted to drink.

Dialogue|Thoughts

[Sephira]

The mage bit her lip as she tended to do when stressed as Max told her side of the story. She wondered if the mortalborn would be all that surprised in the ex-con's actions. They both knew that Max was a loose cannon, Sephira had warned Kura of as much when they had first been tasked with reclaiming the Portal Stone. However none of them could have imagined how complex the situation would become once they arrived in Rynmere.

Sephira frowned, her black pupiless eyes flickering up to Kura’s own. Much of her telling of their story would go unspoken but it was clear from the young mage’s expression that nothing about this mission had been easy.

“And I watched it happen.” The Rupturer said numbly. She had been attempting to scry Rey’na when her Spark had been torn from her by Rebekah. The soldier had been forced to watch as the other Element’s soul was fractured and her magic was torn from her. Rey’na had never been the same even after they rescued her. It was as if her emotions had been stripped away like scales rent by a fishmonger’s knife.

Taking a pause the mage took a long draught from her glass, the bright woody scent of the whiskey mingling with the aroma of the hearth happily burning in the corner. It felt strange to be here, surrounded by the comforts of Kura’s home when only weeks before they had been scrambling desperately for survival in Rynmere. The aroma of home and hearth were almost unnerving, as if they couldn’t possibly be real. The last Cycle had been filled with the stench of dried blood, and mildew laced basements. Life for the Rupturer had been one of the chase. Moving from temporary base to temporary base. This had often meant staying in abandoned homes, condemned buildings or the occasional inn if she was lucky. Sephira looked far too much the part of a mage with her onyx eyes and thin inhuman features. Yes, she could Soothe one of her mutations for a few hours and pass as mostly mortal but the act weakened her Sparks for a time, leaving her vulnerable. More often than not Sephira had opted for discomfort in her choice of hiding places rather than limiting her magical arsenal.

With a soft clink of glass against wood the woman set her drink back on the table before she continued. Her eyes drifted down to the glass where she watched the firelight flicker across its surface.

“I don’t care to delve into the details of how we eventually arrived on the same side again.” Sephira said with a heavy sigh, remembering the brawl and the really terrible rum from that night. “Let’s just say Max and I had words. But I managed to convince her to help me rescue Rey’na.” The mage bit her lip again nervously.

“It went as well as one could expect.” she spoke sardonically with a flippant nod towards the ex-con. "In that everything went to hell." she said.

“We got in over our heads and Max turned the Mantis blacksite into a smoking hole in the ground. Thankfully, Rey managed to escape in the chaos afterwards.” Sephira added before her expression soured faintly.

“Rescuing Rey’na complicated things. The Mantis were aware of us now more than ever.” she glanced up at the councilwoman with a grim expression. “ I don’t know what repercussions that may have for Scalvoris Kura. We weren’t exactly operating with any degree of stealth by this point.” The Special Assistant added almost as an afterthought.

“Which made the mission to find the Stone all the more difficult. They knew we were coming.” she said darkly.

"We managed to learn of a trove of artifacts being stored in the Royal catacombs beneath the King's estate. So we took the chance of investigating in the hopes that we would locate the Stone. " The truth was that they had been forced out of desperation to take their chances with the tomb. Between fleeing the Mantis and evading the Rynmere military the group had little time to actually try and hunt down the Stone. Perhaps if Rey'na had never revealed them at the mage burning they would have been able to execute the mission with a bit more finesse, but early in the game their hand had been shown. Everything that followed had been utter chaos.

“When Max and I made it into the catacombs, the Mantis had set a trap for us. We were lucky to escape from it before we were killed.” Sephira’s eyes glanced up to regard Max from across the table. They had both seen each other’s fears that night. Max had been forced to relive her worst sins in Slags and had been forced to face the reality of leaving behind someone she had cared for. Sephira had been faced with her waiting future as a mage, and the creature that she might one day become. Rynmere had pushed her closer than ever before. She had Flayed a mortal soul. Even if it had been Rebekah, Sephira wasn’t certain if anyone deserved that fate. The mage shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her hands curled into fists at the memory in her lap.

“We were captured, however briefly by a woman named Rebekah. Max can fill you in more on who she is. But she was a high ranking Mantis commander and a woman responsible for many of the mage burnings in Andaris.” The Special Assistant grew silent, snatching up the glass of whiskey again before setting it to her lips and sipping it as if lost in thought.

“She nearly killed Max.” Sephira murmured quietly, her gaze flitting down to the bandage on the ex-con’s side. A flicker of cerulean light glinting in her eyes.

Perhaps it had only been a trick of the light...but that did nothing to change the Thirst that burned stronger than ever in the pit of her stomach.

“So I Flayed her.” The woman said coldly into her glass, her voice echoing off the walls of the tidy woodland home.

“I don’t even know if she survived.” Sephira said before setting the glass down with a sense of finality.

“But if she did; she knows of us. She knows our names, and whatever is left of her may be something we will have to deal with in the future.”

Dialogue|Thoughts