Hate to Go

It's not exactly hard to find their way back to where they were before. All one has to do is follow the sound of the susurrus, after all. The crowd is still gathered, whispering and talking amongst themselves -- which doesn't help keep it from being essentially a roar. Malik wipes the last of the black flakes from his skin, though it probably doesn't do much for the black stains on his clothes. One less thing for the cattle to panic over doesn't sound like a terrible idea.

Turning over his shoulder, he says, "There may be too many eyes here still. We should find a way to send some of them back. Gathered together as such, they make a target a blind man could hit."

Seldan follows, with a last look back over his shoulder, but as the road gets closer and he catches up to Malik, he holds up a hand that, along with the arm to which it is attached and their relative mates on the other side, is reddened and looks to have a fairly nasty case of frostbite. "Hold, Mal," he tells the other man quietly. "I would not offer them more to gossip on. That will not aid us in dispersing them." Without waiting for a response, he lifts that hand again, and traces the gestures and speaks the phrase of a simple cantrip well-known to both of them, and sets about, with a gesture, removing the black stains from Malik's clothing.

There's a group of clerics coming out of the temple of Daeus. It's not the only temple of Daeus that's moving either, but the temples are quickly clearing the square, and among those that are coming out of the temple is Zeke. His familiar form dwarfs those of the men and women that exit with him. He doesn't notice Seldan and Malik right away however, like his fellow priests he is more concerned with ensuring that the demon is gone and that people are safely moved away from the area.

Malik doesn't fight. He lets Seldan clean him up. Malik, however, is focused on other things -- finding the whitescale woman, and figuring out how to get the crowd dispersed.

Thankfully, the other clerics seems to have crowd control well in hand.

Which just leaves one thing.

Malik eyes the crowd, taking his time. If anything, a pure-white sith makar with rainbow scales will stand out in the sunlight -- though it's the blue-scale that he spots first, hand tightening on his bow. "I think we'll have an audience for the words we need to have with her either way," Malik says, nodding to Zeke. "If you wish, I can speak for both of us."

"As you will. I shall back you, and in truth would I have words with the Sentinel as well, when she has rested." Seldan holds his remark until he has completed cleaning up Malik, and dismissed the cantrip, leaving clothing as clean as if the blackened blood had never fallen upon it. He does not, however, seem entirely displeased, for some reason he does not voice. "I think Yukia not so strong as Kol, nor Salina. She is dangerous, make no mistake of that, but neither is she invulnerable."

The pair stand at the entrance to a small alleyway, Seldan's armor still quite visible and identifiable as a stray beam from the setting sun falls upon it.

GAME: Zeke rolls heal: (16)+13: 29

It's probably that stray beam of light that catches Zeke's eye. He lifts his claw in greeting across the square toward Seldan and nods to the man's cihuaa before speaking to one of his fellow priests. There's a moments discussion before Zeke withdraws, the temple district quickly clearing of people. There will be movement inside the temples themselves for some time yet, but Zeke makes his unhurried way to where his kin stands. Once he has drawn close enough he fixes them each with a serious look. "Peassce on your nessstsss. You are both hurt, will you allow thisss one to heal you?"

Malik moves toward Zeke, offering the man a smile that could probably only be generously described as 'grim'. "I wish that I could offer peace on your nest as well, friend," he starts. "But given what we need to do, I fear it would be insincere." The wizard is still looking for the whitescale, though he turns to look at Seldan, briefly. "I'm fine. Just a bit sore. Seldan is, I think, in far worse shape than I am." Which isn't exactly true. He wasn't even in as bad a shape when the fight ended, and Malik was barely scratched. But Seldan is the one currently still bleeding.

Seldan closes his eyes at that, and nods his agreement with Malik before looking up again. "Kin, it is good to see you. If the others have been seen to, then would I accept your aid. Still, what Malik says is true enough. Your _cihuaa_'s actions provoked the appearance of the demon. Thankfully, only one was sore hurt."

Zeke blinks at Malik's words, not really understanding them. Though Seldan's... The man's words brings even more worry to his gaze and the sith-makar goes still. "What did Cryosssanthia do to bring a demon here? How?" His tail flick-flicks behind him and he looks between the two man with growing concern. He takes a breath, and a small pulse of healing emits from him, healing those around him. Though with the fading crowd it's now only the three of them. "Thisss one would like to hear what you have to sssay."

"She contacted Salina," Malik answers. "Or perhaps Salina contacted her first. It makes little difference. The result was the same. Cryosanthia offered to open her mind to the fey. Share memories. No matter what her motivation, it was reckless. It antagonized Salina, and the woman knows too much of the plans that have been laid for her to so wantonly merge their minds together. She endangered everyone here."

Seldan bows his head as the burst of healing clears the frostbitten skin, leaving the more customary alabaster behind, and only harmless streaks of crimson here and there where the skin had cracked remain. "Know you what would drive her to attempt such a foolish and dangerous thing, Zeke? I ... know not if she has done so before, but that she may also communicate with Salina, and is willing to do so, worries me. Who knows what hold the fae woman has over here, after all she has suffered?"

Zeke is lost in Malik and Seldan's words. Cut adrift by what they are saying. "Thisss one..." He holds his arms around himself, trying to protect himself but they are sounds and he can not stop them with his claws. The blue-scaled sith moves, suddenly pacing back and forth in a tight line, his tail thrashing behind him. "Thisss one bore her punisshmentsss! Thiss one thought that thisss one protected her enough that ssshe would not become..."

He stops in his tracks, his right claw lifting to soothe his brow. "Thisss one can not know. If ssshe would purposssefully contact her... If sshe offered to ssshare her mind." Zeke looks as though he will be outright ill at the thought. "Did... did thisss one fail her?"

GAME: Malik rolls Diplomacy: (7)+6: 13

Malik turns to Zeke, opening his mouth as if to say something -- and closing it again. The wizard isn't exactly famous for his ability to say the right things at the right times. Especially in situations as delicate as this one. He turns to Seldan, offering the man a sympathetic look -- but for the moment keeps his attention focused on the task at hand. There are two of them, after all. They can share the work.

Seldan steps forward, reaching out for Zeke - and then stops himself, remembering, his hands dropping uncertainly. "Your _cihuaa_ will not be so easily freed. As with all things of Her, it will take many together to put an end to this. You cannot shield her, alone, Zeke. There is but one answer. Do not fault yourself for the actions of another." The paladin's very small smile acknowledges all the times where this very thing has been said to him.

Zeke breathes out, a soft huff of air that acknowledges that his own words are being spoken back to him. Finally he looks at his kin and nods to the man. "What can thisss one do? Thisss one would hear your wisssdom kin. There mussst be sssome-thing that thisss one can do."

"There is nothing you can do, until she is ready to do so herself," Malik says. "Taking on the burdens of another does nothing if they're not ready to be free of the burden. They'll simply pull you both into the dark depths." He glances over his shoulder, sympathy written on his face, stopping his search for a moment to ensure that Zeke is alright. Or as alright as can be expected.

"I would have you learn what drove her to do such a thing," Seldan answers, with a look at Malik. "What did she hope to achieve, and why did she deem such an attempt necessary, or wise? Perhaps in understanding more of her mind, you may find a means to aid her, or at the very least, deter any further attempts." His gaze on Zeke is earnest. "Will you do this thing for us?"

"Thisss one will ssshare wordss with her." Zeke nods seriously and lowers his claw, but he looks distraught. "Thisss one... thisss one would like to know her reasonsss alssso yet... Thisss one can not imagine a reassson for doing sssuch thingsss. Ssuch risssksss are dangeroussss, the innocentsss that might have been hurt if you and your cihuaa were not here Ssseldan. You and the otherssss."

"The innocents that might be hurt in the future if Salina learns what Cryosanthia knows." The wizard adds in his own concerns, eyes once more turning to scan the crowd. She'll emerge at some point, surely. They need but wait. "Whatever her motivations -- I do not think it wise to trust her in the future. Her judgment is at best questionable." The worst case scenario goes unspoken, but is clear enough -- if she did it intentionally, then she's an active threat to the safety of the city, and would be treated as such.

Hesitation and a measure of sadness are held within the look Seldan shoots Malik, but he nods slowly. "Kin, I mean no slight ... but Mal has the right of it. Without understanding where her loyalties lie, and without faith in her good judgment ... I dare not in truth seek her aid." He looks down at his feet, frowning, then lifts his eyes a little to look at nothing. "She must be freed."

The words only make Zeke look more distressed. It's clear that he knows what the worst-case scenario is here. "Thisss one underssstandsss. If ssshe isss... being manipulated we might be able to undo ssuch. There are waysss." The problem that he does not speak is if she is doing this of her own voilition, or if she is doing it because she was trained to. "Ssshe ssshould be in the temple. Thisss one can retrieve her, perhapsss... Perhapsss the fae cassst sssome ssspell through the... mark."

Malik and Seldan stand out in the Temple Courtyard, having (mostly) cleaned themselves up from the fight. They're no longer bleeding, or covered in blood, at any rate. But neither of them looks terribly pleased. Malik still holds his bow as if he's ready to use it at any moment, glancing around the crowd as the clerics clear them out, herding them to somewhere far more safe. The wizard glances over his shoulder at the paladin that stands by his side, expression grim, but resolved. Whatever exchange happens between the pair, it seems to be more with looks and body language than words.

Seldan looks no better pleased than Malik. Although he appears to be healed, and mostly cleaned, thin streaks of dried rust-crimson mar the alabaster-toned skin of hands and arms, here and there, and while Reunion is again sheathed, there lies a carefully tamped, seething fury beneath his carefully controlled words. "I would speak with her, if we may."

Zeke, hasn't said anything much to Cryosanthia, only went to find her in the temple with a few questions to those that work inside to locate her. He asked her to come with him, and that was enough, so now the blue-scaled sith leads her back across the temple square to where Seldan and Malik await them, his tail flick-flickering uncomfortably as he draws to a stop. "Crosssanthia..." He hesitates and looks hopefully at the other men in the hopes that they will say the things that he does not know how to say.

Cryosanthia follows along. She's clean. Helping Kira to bed left her covered in blood and she's magically washed that away. She glances at Zeke as he speaks her name, then back to the other two. "Did you catch the one you were chasing?"

Malik takes a step forward, but hesitates as Seldan speaks, glancing over to him. There's a brief moment of hesitation, as if unsure whether to proceed, but eventually Malik takes a step back, giving the paladin a simple nod as he returns his focus to the other pair.

Seldan returns the look from Malik, then turns his gaze on the white-scaled sith-makar. It is even, level, and very, very controlled. "I would offer you peace upon your nest, Cryosanthia, but I fear that there is to be little enough. Even so did we find our quarry, and it was nearly certainly the one responsible for unraveling the anchor and permitting Yukia to escape. It may well have been Salina herself, or else a player we do not yet ken. This much is certain - the demon that appeared was of Her sending. Is the Sentinel all right, and does she yet need tending? And - why did you seek to contact Salina?"

Zeke seems surprised to hear this, falling still again save the flick-flicking of his tail behind him. He stands somewhat between Seldan and Cryosanthia, but for the moment he says nothing. He's clearly uncertain /what/ to say.

"Kira is fine. She used her healing spells on herself and then she collapsed into bed. She's worn out from her efforts." Cryosanthia says, exhaling. "I didn't seek to contact her. I was working on a song and watching the mark and when it turned on I decided to try my cantrip. I wasn't expecting it to work. The range is pathetic, you can write on rocks and throw them farther. I wasn't expecting her to answer if it did. I'm still not entirely sure it did work, that she isn't able to hear all the time or all the time it's on. If she'd said nothing, I'd be none the wiser. She's watching me. All the time. I want her to stop and I want to know why."

"Casting such magics is almost unheard of," Malik says. He steps around to the side, slowly, pace controlled... but clearly circling around nonetheless. "There are few enough magics which work over such a range, and through magics that extend your senses, only a handful, prone to failure. It seems unlikely. Though not impossible. She has magics unheard of in other ways. But if such were the case, I find it unlikely that she would appear in person, or through a minion." The wizard's tone isn't accusatory, exactly -- but he's clearly questionable of this 'magic through the mark' theory.

"Mal, I have been able to examine such a mark, while it is active." Seldan's gaze turns from Cryosanthia, and he reaches to place a hand somewhere on the wizard's shoulder or arm, whatever he can reach. It is meant as a forestalling gesture, and a calming one. "It does far more than mere scrying, and do you think such magics impossible, we deal with one at least a thousand years old, and have seen magics that draw life itself from the Source. Do you put any wonder beyond her reach? I would have you examine the magics upon that mark, more closely, ere you dismiss it."

He turns that steady, level gaze back to Cryosanthia. "I am grateful to the quick warning, that none were slain. I think that she does not always watch - for does she not do other things? It is in my mind that you were able to get her attention, as Kol did when he came here."

Restlessly Zeke shifts his feet and looks finally at Cryosantia. "Thisss one mussst know Cryosssanthia... Isss your knowledge worth the livesss of the innocent who might have been hurt in calling her? Our kinsss blood?" He motions toward Seldan and Malik with his claw. There's no sign of their injury now with Seldan's magic having cleaned them, but they had been hurt and not all evidence of the wounds had been erased. "Ssshe doesss not watch usss alwaysss, but you drew her attention. Wasss it on purpossse?"

Cryosanthia stares at Malik. It's an impassive look, no anger, no real expression. Zeke might scent some confusion coming off the whitescale. In actuality she's trying to distill it down to a level she can understand and summarize. She arrives at a conclusion, "So it wasn't supposed to work."

She removes her left glove, since that request will be coming sooner or later. "By sitting at the fountain and working on a song, by talking to Kira, using the cantrip? Saying 'Hello Mistress'? I've said that before. Sure, once it turned on my cast was deliberate. She seemed like she would talk so I tried to get her to talk more. Negotiation strategy. Find terms, something she wants. Which seems to be me or that I don't look or ask questions. If I'd told her to eat my tail that would have been different. She's looking at me whenever she wants. I have no idea why, when, what interests her, what attracts her, how far and how much she can see and hear. I should sit in a box doing nothing all day and do even more nothing if it activates in the hopes she gives up looking? Is it on now?"

"And yet," Malik counters, "you offered to open your mind to her. You, who have been privy to many of the plans laid out. If she commands such magics as is claimed, opening the path could let her rip the knowledge from your head, or force you to divulge it. You didn't just risk the lives of those here, now. You risked the future of any resistance against her, and the lives that it could cost. That was your choice."

As Malik speaks, Seldan folds his arms across his chest, his impassively cool expression speaking volumes even as it seeks to conceal the anger beneath. "It is as Malik says. I think your intentions well enough, and I understand your desire to act, but do you not wish to risk us all, pray do not attempt such a thing again. The mark has far more magics than you know, more than I was able to identify, and is an extensive work. I know not its full reach. Perhaps more extensive magical study of it will glean you something of use, without risking all."

Zeke moves quietly, reaching out to Cryosanthia with his crystal claw. There's plenty of time for her to move away if she doesn't want him touching her, but he reaches out now where in the past he would never have even thought of doing so. "Cryosssanthia..." He doesn't know what to say; his words fail him.

"No. I offered to share eight decades of living with her. How I see her. Experienced Her. What Zeke and Seldan saw. She's Fae, the other Queens liked Blood and Pain, I thought... maybe she'll be curious. Maybe it'll put in that missing piece that makes her inhuman. Maybe it'll make her scream and I'll finally hurt her back." Cryosanthia stares at Malik, and then she shrugs, "What plans? Seldan told me very little even before that wasted meeting with all those Adventurers. I haven't heard anything since. I haven't even heard what happened to you in the Tower. Not even how the weekends with Zeke went. I heard Salina lived from Kira."

She sighs and rubs at her horns, "However, you're right. I didn't think I'd lose control of that offer. It never occurred to me. So... that... was probably unwise. I should have asked her about erasing time first. However, I think your idea that I know something that risks the resistance is off."

Malik catches Seldan's gaze, the two of them sharing a quiet second before he turns his attention back to Cryosanthia. "And yet, this isn't the first time that you've made questionable choices. When Eclavdran first appeared, you concerned yourself more with feeding a small dragon. A strange priority in that moment. In the tower, when confronted with Salina, you were downright agreeable, even complying with her demands still." Seldan might be the good cop, but Malik is clearly the other one. "A series of unfortunate coincidences?"

Seldan shares that silence, and extends it, his gaze on Malik, but he turns back to Cryosanthia after more of that level stare. The anger is fading, though. "None have asked," he replies quietly. "In truth, it seems to me that none cared to know. There were larger concerns, and those left above were not among those concerns."

The white-scaled sith doesn't move, so Zeke takes her hand in his. Tries to get her attention with that gentle touch. "You can not allow her entry to your mind Cryosssanthia. There isss no knowing what ssshe might take. What sshe might /add/. You can not give yourssself to her in any way. You do not belong to her any longer. Ssshe iss not your misssstresss. What if ssshe had taken you again? What if thisss demon that came had killed sssomeone?" Zeke peers at her intently, trying to understand her reasons.

Cryosanthia blinks at Malik, shaking her head. "Don't say bad things about Tanithariairisixchel. She is not a little dragon. She is a huge dragon pretending to be a little dragon, if she isn't an emissary of Draco Solis. She ate cartloads of fish. Cartloads! She popped Eclavdran back into Hell because I asked nicely, and she chased off the people who summoned him again, because I asked nicely. If someone had attacked her or made her leave, that incident would have gone much worse. I played to my strengths. Believe it or not, charm sometimes works."

"And what demands? The Mistress said hello and shoved me in her dungeon."

"As for how I relate to Her..." The whitescale sighs. She holds tight to the bluescale's crystal claw. Her voice breaks, rising with frantic intensity."She cut me! She made me kill my foundling, over and over. She cut up my mate. AND EVERY TIME SHE MADE ME THANK HER! OVER AND OVER! OR IT GOT WORSE! I CAN'T! I can't... I can't not. I have a dagger for her and I long to put it in. I will, and when I do I will say 'Thank You Mistress'."

She's shaking and unsettled, and there's still more to say. Cryo turns and looks into Zeke's eyes, "She can do that any time, Zeke. She can send a demon any time she wants, she knows where I am, whenever she wants. Where Kira, Faran's mom, you, anyone she's had, anyone she's marked. I can't stop her sending demons. I can't stop the demons. I don't want to think what happens if she gets me again. Maybe I'll kill myself. Maybe she'll bring me back as a construct." Eyes closed, shaking her head, the sith exhales "Did you finally meet with Verna? I think you should summon Eclavdran."

Malik, though, says nothing more. There's the briefest moment of sympathy on his face -- and then it's gone, turning into something cold and hard. "You would evoke sympathy and play to his feelings merely to implore him to summon a demon in the same breath?" The wizard looks absolutely exasperated, glancing between the other two.

GAME: Seldan rolls will: (11)+28: 39

"Malik is capable of charm, when he deems it fit." Seldan shoots an affectionate look at the wizard, but it is not accompanied by a smile, and it merely gives an opportunity for a lock of half-sweaty hair to fall into his eyes. He brushes it back impatiently, but his words are not without sympathy. "She very nearly did take you again, Cryosanthia. You started towards her. In truth do I wonder, is your mind truly yours? Or has it been trained from you, taken from you, made hers? Would you take it back, or are you content? And, do you find that you wish to take it back, it is as Zeke says. You must begin by allowing her no more than you must."

At the mention of summoning Eclavdran, all sympathy fades, and he, too, turns hard. "As to the summoning of demons, no. I will not see that one summoned here, not now. Not by those I name allies. I will draw blade ere I see it done, not unless in the direst of need."

Gently Zeke releases Cryosanthia. "Ssshe did all thossse thingsss to thisss one alssso Cryossanthia." He holds his own hands now, not looking at the sith female. "Perhapsss you are right. Perhapssss ssshe can sssend a demon any-time sshe likesss. But that doess not mean that we can give in. That you can allow her to do thessse thingsss to you. It isss asss Malik ssaysss. How can you sssay that you want to sstop her in one breath, and then asssk Ssseldan to sssummon that... abomination in the nesxt? The demon isss evil. Do you even know the meansss by which he can be sssummoned? The blood that mussst be ssspilled to control him?" He looks at her now. "Tell thisss one your mind Cryosssathia. Thisss one doess not undersstand."

"No, of course not. I don't want Zeke summoning demons. I mean Seldan. And you. It's why I asked him to Verna's.. re-awakening." Cryosanthia holds onto Zeke's hand, her pupils returning to normal along with her breathing. She's trying to sound convincing. "No, no blood. Verna, she has an effigy, of Him. Burning it will summon him. I had to keep it from the other adventurers who wanted to use it foolishly."

"So here's my foolish thought. Aren't demons bound to the summoning circle and the one who brings them in can commands them? Use it to summon him to the Alexandria city circle, bind him with the following commands: 'Ignore all other summons, amuse yourself as long as that amusement doesn't cause harm or through inaction allow someone to come to harm. So no killing, injury, property damage, or fomenting language. No summoning in other things to cause mayhem you can't. Take a vacation. In short, hang out, do nothing, come back with a book report in a week.' Or make it a month, or a year. Give him some pocket money. He's already wandering the sewers harming people. Wouldn't that bind him harmlessly, prevent him being used and get him up where you can keep an eye on him? You're the expert mages."

"Summoning and control are wildly different things," Malik says. "He cannot be summoned safely. He can merely be summoned under a modicum of control. Control that comes at a cost. In order to bind him, sacrifices must be made. He cannot simply be -commanded-." Malik speaks as though he has some experience in this particular arena, no doubt in his mind whatsoever. "Seldan cannot pay the price required. His gods would turn their backs on him in an instant." Though Malik doesn't exactly sound torn up about the idea of whatever cost it might be.

GAME: Seldan rolls will: (1)+28: 29 (EPIC FAIL)

If Malik is unreceptive, Seldan goes positively ashen at the idea, all color draining from his face. "You ... sent for me ... to see to a friend ... because you would have me summon you a -demon?!" Rage - pure, blind fury - mingles with hurt, shock and naked fear in the mask his face twists into as he speaks, and his hand goes to Reunion at his hip, coming halfway out of its sheath. "NO! I shall not! I shall not turn my back on my oaths to the Dreamer to satisfy your whims! You do not care how many people are hurt or killed! You are more like her than you know! NO!"

Zeke moves. Moves like lightning for which his kind are known. Moves himself between Cryosanthia and Seldan. His eyes are dark and sad, his hands up to show that he is not armed. To forstall any violence between Cryosanthia and his kin. He does not look at her, but rather at Seldan. Begs the paladin with his eyes to regain some semblance of self-control. "Kin. You need not. It isss... Thisss one will not allow sssuch." His voice is dry and laced with pain, but his scent is fading away into desperation. His hands lower slowly. "Why do you not asssk thiss one to do sssuch Cryossanthia? Why? You asssk thisss oness kin. Hiss cihuaa. You would asssk them to do sssomething like thissss."

He shudders, his shoulders lower and Zeke looks at Malik. "No more. We will not trussst. We... will not do sssuch thingsss. We can not become the evil. Take him away Malik. Pleasse. If he harmsss her he will hurt hisss ssoul and thiss one would ssspare him that. Thisss one will come. Thisss one will beg you to let thisss one sstay in your nesst for a time."

GAME: Seldan rolls will: (15)+28: 43

"What?! I called you, because she DIED researching Eclavdran and ways to summon him, and HE wrote your mate's name with her entrails! He used her heart as the dot on the 'i'! He's clearly more angry at Malik than her and he's coming. I thought maybe you'd like an idea on how to neutralize him. Since no one can trap him and no one can kill him, what else can be done? I'm tired of running from him and begging when cornered. Do you think I've forgotten everyone I've seen him kill? HE. IS. A. THREAT. TO. YOUR. MALIK. DO SOMETHING!" Cryosanthia stares, her breath coming out cold and visible, "and now you draw on me. Leave me to my own devices, haul me up to a youngling to explain my actions, explode at me when I do."

"Yes Zeke! Yes! I would be free of her. I would be free of this! I am sick of it! I want her out of my mind. The weakest magics I have call immortals I will accidentally discover I can summon Maugrim by scratching my ass and you will blame me for itching."

She gives Seldan one more look, "You said things to Faran when she was disarmed but made like she would drawing on you. Well you have your sword and you have, so whatever you said to her then, say to yourself. This one is going home."

Malik seems ready to draw on the woman, hands tightening on the arrow -- but as Zeke intervenes, he relaxes. And then openly rolls his eyes at Cryosanthia. "He is not angry at me. Nor does he pose a threat to me." Malik puts the bow up, stepping toward Zeke and Seldan, voice calm and collected -- though his eyes are anything but. "I warned all of you to stay away from him. But you fools keep poking the bear and acting -shocked- when it bites your faces off. I even warned you about the entrails thing. Perhaps now you'll listen, though I doubt it. Nothing seems to get through to -any- of you. Not even death."

He extends a hand for Seldan, and then one for Zeke. "I think it's time that we go," he agrees. "We'll accomplish nothing more here today."

It's Zeke stepping between them that seems to restore Seldan's sanity, for Reunion immediately eases back into its sheath, though his color is still ashen, his eyes snapping, his voice shaking. "Forgive me, Zeke, briefly did I lose myself." He stares daggers at Cryosanthia. "You speak as though Malik is my possession, and I may by some means control him - again, as Salina did, within the tower. Truly are you hers, and you know it not. I say to you as I did to her - he is not mine to command. I commend to you asking -him- of such a thing, if you dare."

His chest still heaves, but with deep breaths, he slowly pulls himself together. "No, I should not have gone for my blade, and for that would I ask your forgiveness, as Faran did me. Know this - such an act is a violation of the vows I spoke before Her altar, of all that I hold sacred. Do I commit such an act, She will turn Her face from me, and without her wisdom and her grace, all is lost. You ask me to turn my back on the Dreamer and on the vows I spoke before Her." By now, his voice is level. "Your _cihuaa_ fell from grace, for your sake. You now ask me to do the same, and I shall not."

He reaches to take Malik's hand, and offers one to Zeke as well. "I stand against her, and against the demon. Make no mistake. Enough."

Only Seldan and Malik can see the expression on Zeke's face, the combination of emotions that only another sith-makar could have read as they fly over his face and settle eventually into the despair that he was trying to avoid. "Cryosssanthia." It's a mere whisper of sound. Both of them have their hands held out for him. To offer him a place between them. He swallows his emotions and takes Malik's hand first. Because the mage is on the side of his crystal arm and it is easier to offer that. But Seldan is kin, and he must begin to change. Only a moment of hesitation and then he takes Seldan's hand in his other claw. "Enough kin. Enough."

A soft huff of sound, a crack in his voice. It's all that betrays him to Cryosanthia behind him beyond that scent which he can not help.

"I don't even understand what you're saying. I warn you there's a personal threat and you talk like I'm ordering you to command him? You act like I paid attention when you told me all your paladin vows. Malik admonishes me to think like a mage, but when I do, I'm Salina? What other mage am I going to think like! Forget I said anything, forget everything. It's Verna's statue she'll do what she wants with it. I shouldn't have bothered. Just let him roam free, do nothing, don't even think about him. Got it. Malik has a pact and what I saw was a love letter and a joke on the Demon's part so we'll come warn you and you can tell us we're idiots. Nice. Glad its working out for you. I feel so rewarded for trying to care. Thanks for putting Zeke back together and the Break Enchantment if that was you, but I agree. It's time to go." Cryosanthia she clearly wants to leave, Zeke wants her to stay. Or to stay with them. So she can argue some more. Her scents are hot and flustered. Zeke's are worse, they do not calm her.

At the mention of a pact, Malik merely says nothing, just shaking his head. "If you want to start thinking like a mage?" he tells her. "Then start here -- observe the world around you free of biases, and take the truths as they come. And the truth is -- the demon only attacks when commanded to do so by Salina, or when someone is foolish enough to seek him out. When allowed to 'do as he pleases', the body count has been lower than your interventions. Ponder that."

Once the others have his hands, however, he merely gives them a nod, and with a word, they vanish, disappearing to wherever it is the trio are destined to go.

-End