Amber gaze upon the Crimson Stray

[Mari]

NB: Closed to BaBe - All bunnying approved.



She walked, wearing leather boots and thick furs wrapped around her form. Her once green and golden eyes were broken by shards of red, as though her very eyes had been cut and bleed the angry colour. Signs of her souls corruption began to manifest in her physical form. Not that she had noticed. She didn’t have the luxury of a mirror.

It was the 10th day.

Amari was granted permission to leave her hut but was ordered to stay within the Seventh Sanctum. It wasn’t freedom by any means, but she felt grateful. Her Master, Lichensith Ulroke was a cruel and sadistic man. He admitted that he would have killed her, or given her to Aurelianus if it weren’t for her soul and natural ‘gifts’ All things Amari disliked about herself, Lye seemed to lavish and adore.

She struggled to understand the man that had managed to sink his claws deep within her psyche. She struggled to figure out his end-game. He had her. Amari was completely and utterly his so what now? The woman assumed that he would have killed her, and not revived her; unlike before. The moment Amari told him of the way to revive her he grinned his toothy grin and killed her. In such a way it almost became a sense of pleasure - he bought her back to life. Further instilling his dominance over her. Amari had to admit, she didn’t mind. Seeing his commanding gaze burning into hers, his body wrapped around her own as she was lit into the world of the living again. A sigh fell from her lips. It was a moment she wouldn’t soon forget.

Still, instead of discarding her for good- he showed her an odd sort of kindness. Soft kisses, praise, tender touches.

Hell.

She killed and dismembered 25 of his men. The same men who defiled her on the first day. Instead of scolding or punishing her, he beamed. Almost proud of her dirty work - insisting on gently bathing her, washing off the blood and even staying with her the night. It was a sickening kindness that she couldn’t place. Nor ever recall having received. Amari enjoyed that side of him, immensely so, but didn’t enjoy the actions that lead to that kindness.

A low rumbling growl - guttural and bestial distracted her thoughts. Amari’s head shot up -eyes darted from side to side. “What the…” She had been wandering one of the many tunnels within the sanctum, but she had found herself lost. The smells and walls were not familiar. “Shit..”

The guttural roar grew closer, and the sounds of claws scraping against the walls grew ever closer. Amari hastened her stead - not wanting to meet whatever it was that had caught her scent.

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

Sometimes, it's just good to get out of the lab.

It was only a couple weeks ago that Lichensith approached me with a curio. It was a scrap of bone with winding tendrils growing out of it that, if he squinted his eyes and grunted as if he were suffering through the worst trip to the commode in his life, he could make wiggle around a bit. He did his childish little drama queen thing where he threw his weight around and made vague threats with overly purple prose and grandiose body language that you'd normally find in a ten silver fantasy novel.

I knew then that I should have killed him dead and washed my hands of the whole business. But I did have to admit that his newfound ability to control the bone structures of other was a most intriguing opportunity for me to flex my mind once more.

And it was the experiments regarding that anomaly that I was currently involved in. He granted me access to the three poor suckers who he tested this new power of his, and I was making progress at a slower rate than he'd like. By now, he expected to know what the exact cause and implications of whatever happened to him was, but I've only gotten so far as to finally convince him that I needed a blood sample from him to examine under a microscope, and cross-examine anything I might find with what was happening on the samples of bone I took from the dungeon victims.

Good science takes time; it wasn't like I could snap my fingers and call on some stupid Briarheart magic and poof, all of the information is laid out before me great job Madison you saved the day once again let me continue to be an ungrateful little fuck for everything you have done for me and the organization--

--but I digress.

Today, I decided that I needed a break from the lab. I left the experiments in capable hands for the time being, and took the afternoon off to be by myself. Sometimes, it's nice to clear your head. Take a walk. Stop worrying about how much more money you should ask for to justify continuing to work under a murderous psychopath and his revolving door of scum.

Especially if I was going to remain here after more than two dozen men were slaughtered within the halls of the Seventh Sanctum. I know all about workplace hazards and all--I've started to require everyone living in these halls to have every single possible shot I can give them--but whatever happened that day was absolutely ridiculous.

It did give my department plenty of food for the monsters deep within the mountain, though. So I can't really complain that much.

Speaking of, I found myself wandering through the labyrinthine halls of the Sanctum towards the mountain cave that we dug out to contain the three beasts in. Beyond the original cataloging after the initial capture, I hadn't had time to devote to studying these specimens. I also haven't had the spare personnel to send down here to do anything for me. We're running on a bit of a skeleton crew, what with how many we lost boxing these creatures up and now this slaughter that happened recently...

I was on one of my regular check-up trips. Just wanted to make sure that the three monsters hadn't ripped each other yet. As I drew closer and closer to the observation room, something felt just a little bit off. I stopped walking for a moment, and quieted my breathing.

Off in the distance, I could hear the fervor of venomous talons scraping against the rock of the mountain and the snarls of poisonous lab experiments on the hunt for prey.

But--nothing had been down here, right? Nobody goes down here without my express knowledge and permission.

I knelt to the ground and dug my vines into the hard earth. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and braced myself for the pulse of every living creature for miles around hit me all at once.

Once I got over the initial rush--and it took a moment, as it always does--I was able to single out the three massive, pulsating red blips of bioengineered energy that the three dangerous beasts emitted. But, there was an anomaly closer to me than those.

It was a life energy that I had not tasted before. Something strange, unique. Curious. And it was running at me full blast.

I withdrew my hand from the ground, and steeled myself for whatever it might be. Common sense would tell you to run from anything chasing you in the darkened tunnels of a mountain cavern, but... I was out the day they handed common sense out, I guess.

The echoing of heavy footsteps reached me before the figure broke into the light of my torch. She was this small, young-looking thing, with wild red hair and an outfit of black leather and silver bits that immediately soured my mind with thoughts of a certain pale assassin. But other than that, I did not recognize her. She must have been one of the new recruits that I never got around to meeting on the account that Lye kept me busy with his bone issues.

I held up a briar-knit hand, commanding her to stop. "Easy there, kid. Those things at the end of the hall are locked up tight. They're not going to hurt you."

I immediately regretted not bringing my mask with me. I stood there facing the girl, the light of the torch flickering off my four amber eyes, casting shadows across the vines of my face and the sharpened points of my teeth.

"We have a tendency of letting all the truly terrifying monsters run free here," I said lightly in a poor attempt to break the ice. "I haven't seen you around before. Mind telling me your name?"

[Mari]

One would assume that the initial instinct, when coming face to face with a talking plant like abomination with glowing amber eyes would be to run. That assumption would be right. But, that instinct did not hit Amari. Instead, she came face to face with this creature, and blinked - confused.

It spoke. Not only did it speak, it was very articulate, and it’s voice had connotations of kindness within. It was amazing, stunning, and beautiful - really. One would doubt Amari's sense of beauty, but - Amari was an odd woman.

Amari reached out, silently, albeit rudely, to lightly graze her fingers over the vines that entangled the other's face. Feeling an odd affinity to the creature. Was this another effect of her soul? She wasn’t sure. Maybe it was because she was the first female creature Amari had encountered since Lye trapped and conditioned her. The creature flinched at her touch, and batted her hand away, as if scolding a child.

"I'm sorry!" Amari said, startled. "I just- you're beautiful." The action threw her off, and Amari stepped back. Suddenly feeling very aware of her surroundings and invasive action. Mildly embarrassed she turned her head to the side. "Not in that way. I'm not sure...what I meant."

The woman-creature-thing assured Amari that she was safe with a light attempt at a joke. Amari relaxed. “So you’re one o’ Masters terrifying Monsters eh? I suppose we have that in common now.” She muttered. Already, the other men in the compound had avoided her - having heard that she killed half fifty of them. Little did they know. Every death was well justified in her eyes.

The creature asked for her name, and Amari turned her eyes back to it. Staring somewhere between the middle of it’s four eyes. She blinked, not entirely sure how to answer that. “Ama-mmm….” She almost said her name, but her voice trailed off. The cold demeanour she had forced herself to take on faltering. “I’m Master Ulroke’s pet, call me-” Another pause. What was it that he had called her? “Call me Red.” It was said with an assured finality. She extended a small gloved hand, offering a greeting.

“And you?”

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

I regarded the strange little woman for a minute.

The way she carried herself and spoke implied that she had a certain inner strength that was required to be a part of our little group and survive in this frozen hellhole. Her eyes, speckled with green and gold and red, were decidedly most curious. But the more I looked at her black and silver ensemble, the more something didn't seem right.

I had heard the whispers that Lichensith had personally brought a girl into the fold, but I couldn't pin anyone down to tell me exactly what he was doing with her. Part of me feared the worst, but I was still holding out hope that the year of re-education had given him a new outlook on how to treat his underlings and equals.

But when she introduced herself, I was proven to be the fool for believing that he had been fixed.

"His pet, you say?" The words dripped from my tongue like venom.

The redhead nodded, her hand still outstretched.

Sucking in a deep breath, I took her hand. "I refuse to call you that," I said behind a forced smile. The only person who's a pet around here is Lichensith, whether or not he wants to believe it. "If you don't want to tell me your name, I'll just call you Red instead." My eyes flickered briefly to the girl's mop of hair for good measure.

"My name's Madison. I'm the head of the science and medical division." Calling it a division was a gross overstatement that gave the Crimson Hands a sense of legitimacy that it will never have. But it was the best way to describe it, I guess. "I'm in charge of the research and development of all sorts of wonderful stuff that you'll find we use on a daily basis."

My amber eyes ignited momentarily as I looked over Red's shoulder and down the hall, where the three beasts circled in their pens, the scent of fresh meat imprinted in their diminutive brains. "...Among other things."

I let go of the smol woman's hand and beckoned her to follow me with a gnarled finger. "Since I've never met you before, you and I have a few things to discuss." The Master Handjob's treatment of her was one of them, but that could wait once I pried her open a bit.

"It's rather important that everybody employed by Ulroke is up to date on their shots. Come with me to my lab, we'll get you squared away. I hope you're not afraid of needles."

As I turned to walk away, I closed my eyes and concentrated. Far above ground, in the stone-hewn halls of his little castle, I felt the presence of the silver-haired bastard. With only a thought, I grabbed hold of the briars around his heart and gave them the biggest fucking squeeze that lasted the longest twenty seconds of his life.

[Mari]

A frown played across her lips as she was left holding her hand out in the air silently for a few passing moments. Four amber eyes seemed to narrow as they stared at her. Amari scrunched her nose. What was the woman’s problem? How hard is it to shake someone’s hand?


The venomous undertones muttered by her did not go unnoticed by Amari. Not that Amari cared what the other thought of the relationship between her and her Master. Amari gave a curt nod. Extending her hand out further.

Finally, finally the other took her hand in greeting. Amari offered Madison a small smile, a part of her thankful that she seemed nothing like the cruel man she had come to serve. “Madison. Pleasure.” Amari gave the other woman’s vine-like hand a final squeeze before letting go.


“Science and Medical…” Amari mused, glancing around the tomb-like surroundings. “I wouldn’t call it wonderful exactly…” She muttered. Having experienced a variety of concoctions and objects that Lye held - Amari could only assume some came from Madison. She didn’t like any of it. Still, she had an odd and immediate affinity for Madison.

“You’re a plant based lifeform, right?” Madison nodded. Amari didn’t ask a follow up question. She knew little about herself, but was slowly learning that she may not be as human as she once thought. At least her soul in any case. She could deduce that her affinity with the woman was directly linked to her being a plantlike life form, but as to the who, what or Why. Amari was clueless.

Madison turned and beckoned for Amari to follow, and follow she did. It’s not like she had anything better to do. “That’s fine, although in around 3 hours I have a session with Master.” Amari shoved her hands into the jackets large pockets. “Shared pain and all that. Delightful.” She added with a sarcastic tone. “Course. I asked for it.”


Madison wanted to discuss things of her own, and Amari’s curiosity peaked, just what would anyone want to discuss with Amari?

“Needles?”

Amari laughed, a hand reached up to cover the side of her face. It was a dark laugh similar to Lye’s. “ Needles? she repeated, and signs of her conditioning began to leak through - the unstability of her mind. All the things he did to her bubbled to the surface and made her skin prickle with a sick and twisted excitement. “Madison...I’ve been flayed alive - needles are a pleasant pain I welcome.”

The two paused at a set of double doors, and Amari calmed herself down. “This the place?” Amari asked.

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

My hand hovered momentarily over the handle. The things that Red said just now weren't sitting well with me.

Shared pain, sessions with "The Master", and being flayed alive usually have certain connotations around here. They're usually taken quite literally.

Why oh why did I agree to come back here? Aside from the money and resources?

"Yes, this is it," I spoke flatly as I turned the iron-forged handle and nudged open the door that led to my little corner of the Seventh Sanctum. The portal revealed a long hallway illuminated by glowing stones, sparsely decorated by paintings or carpeting. I didn't have much need for frivolous things like those. Doors along the left side of the hallway led to the medical areas, while the ones on the right led to my laboratory and personal quarters. Strange, chemical odors wafted out from the cracks between the heavy reinforced oak and the stonework as my colleagues continued their experiments on those weird growths that Lichensith presented me.

I opened the second one on the left, which led to a makeshift examination room. One of my assistants was currently taking inventory and looked over to see what the disturbance was.

"Dovan," I greeted him with a twisted smile.

The half-elf smiled back, unperturbed by my appearance. Most everyone I worked with in the Hands had grown used to my visage. "Madison, hello. Is there something you need?"

"Yes, actually." I jabbed a thumb towards the hallway behind me. "I have to give a set of vaccinations. Can you ask Hyperion to grab the Box and give me a hand here?"

Dovan nodded, set his clipboard down on the counter, and made a bee-line out of the room, casting Red a curious glance as he shut the door behind him.

Alone with the girl once more, I let out a heavy sigh. I pulled my hood down across my shoulders, and ran the tips of my fingers across my hairless scalp. Man, did I miss having hair. I've grown increasingly okay with having a mass of gnarled vines wrapped around a skeleton for a body and all, but I sorely missed my luscious black locks.

I motioned towards a padded chair in the middle of the room. "Please, have a seat."

She did.

As she adjusted herself and made herself comfortable, I realized that I had no idea where to begin with the mysterious girl. She was an unknown entity to me. A nobody. I wasn't made aware of her official arrival to the Sanctum, outside of a couple rumors whispered on the air the day that I arrived and unpacked my bags.

And so, because I am terrible at subtlety, I decided to just go for it.

"Well, Red, let's start from the beginning, shall we?" I pulled up a second chair and parked it a few feet away from her. "Tell me about yourself. Where you come from. What you did before you joined our little band of jerks."

[Mari]

Madison's tone turned flat, Amari hadn't the faintest idea why. Amari was sure she hadn't said anything to offend the woman, or what she assumed to be a woman. Madison lead Amari down a small coridoor, and into another smaller room. A elf, Donvan? Doovan? Amari didn't pay attention - he gave her an odd look before slipping out the room.

Now alone, Madison gestured for Amari to take a seat.

"Thank you." Amari said.

She slipped off the furs and took off her gloves. "I'm not a fan of leather..." she muttered. She shrugged off the leather jacket, underneath - she wore very little, but a lacy revealing undergarment (https://scontent-hkg3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t34.0-12/14593459_10153944494245382_1162386865_n.jpg?oh=fac 995d1c41e089440573c7f3f0e6931&oe=582D0653). Amari caught Madison's disapproving look. Amari sighed, "Right? He insists I wear it." Amari sat down, making herself comfortable. She shoved the furs in her lap, attempting to cover the more...erogenous areas.

"The begining...." Amari noted that Madison had set herself up, and seemingly was ready for a long conversation. "If you insist..." she muttered with a shrug of her shoulders.

Amari started with her birth, her noble family, and how she had killed her mother - how her father called her a child of sin, a death born. Her life took that of another with her very first, tiny, baby breath. Amari spoke of how her father treated her like the help, and how she was to do all the chores that the maid staff would have done, if he did not get rid of them all. She spoke in detail of how her father would go out of his way to ensure she knew her place was not of nobility. To ensure that she knew her existence was a gift to her, that her being granted life was a debt she would never repay.

"Then, we have my brother..."

"My Brother..." Her tone soured, her hands gripped the chair. Her brows furrowed and her eyes literally glowed softly with the utter hatred she now had for him. My brother. She repeated with a hiss. "What do I say about Lamont?" She paused, lowering her head, it still hurt to think about. She cleared her throat, continuing. She elaborated on everything - how her brother placed blood sigils on her when she was young, one to deny her release until she was deflowered, and another - to have her body twist in fits of pleasure at the slightest touch of man. How the two were meant be synonymous, to turn her into nothing more than his 'doll'. Her voice became a low growl as she explained his actions. Her lips twisted up into an unnerving smile. "I have nothing more to say on him...Other than the fact that he's locked away in the inner sanctum, enjoying his penitence for his sins. But I digress, I'll elaborate on that later."

Amari took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "My father was going to give me to the Church of the Etheral Sway. Before he could." Amari paused. Shaking her head. "I'd call it luck, really- I was kidnapped by bandits. They tried to ransom me, but failed. I managed to trick them into believing I had a dick rotting disease." She pointed to her eyes. "It didn't stop them from physical pain, the lashings, the iron bars - the denial of food. They tried so hard to break me, but failed. In the end, their selfish desire for power and coin had them murdered by Shinsou."

Her voice faltered at the mention of his name. Amari had to pull her tri coloured eyes away from Madison. Her heart still ached at the mention of his name. "He took me in, he and the Brothers of the Castigar. I was stupid enough to fall for him. Course, he was nothing more than a horny bastard, he couldn't get any from me, and I had accidently caused the death of a few of his men - rumour had it that he were to behead me." Amari slid her fingernail across her neck for emphasis. "I left."

There was another pause in Amari's long winded life story. She shifted her legs, crossing one over the other. Somewhat apologetic that she didn't have any normal attire to wear beyond the lather jacket. She'd have to have a talk with her Master about that. This was no way to conduct business. Her revealing attire clearly made Madison uncomfortable too. "After that, I was in the slums for a year. I came across a bored silver haired assassin, who bore down on me in the snow. Oh Master Ulroke..." She shook her head, a soft smile playing across her lips as she began to detail the ordeals that he had put her through. The brutality of men and their desires on day one. How on the second day he bought her to Aurelianus, and she had been flayed alive - and felt his hands twist up inside of her. Amari left out the part where he had done that to her once before. She detailed how day three had been 'shared pain' how she was able to inflict any wound upon him, but she would feel it too.

Amari explained her healing powers, or what seemed to be some form of healing powers, and how she had managed to heal a seemingly quiet and thoughtful Master.

Then there was Day four, obedience training. Day Five... Amari's tone softened as she spoke of that day, how he had been kind to her - how he had tended to her wounds, and took her, and her virginity. Amari noticed Madison's unease on the topic, and shifted to the next day.

The woman, who Madison knew as 'Red' was quiet for a long time. "Master took me home." She began quietly. "Brother was there, he - " She paused, shifting uncomfortably. "He placed a seal on me, Madison. One that scares me more than Master, or Aurelianus ever will. I don't know what it was, but it was dark."

Amari rose her gaze to stare at the glowing amber eyes of Madison. "As he drew on me, in my own damn blood - I could feel everything draining away. My memories, who I was, my will, my free thought. It was slipping through my fingers and I was powerless to stop it. The last few things I had heard before I lost everything - before I was suffocated by that encroaching darkness. I heard him laugh, and gloat on how death was the only way to stop it. THen..."

There was another pause, and Amari had to hug herself. It was the one event that she wasn't able to steel herself from. "Master injured him. Tore him off me, and killed me. He bought me back to life and held me whilst I sobbed uncontrollably. He carried me back to the Sanctum and allowed me to rest with him."

An odd silence filled the room, but Amari didn't allow it to linger. She cleared her throat. "The seventh day - I snapped. I killed all the men who dared defile me without permission. Rumours spread fast around here- now people leave me alone. It's funny really..." Amari shifted her gaze to her lap, "I was told I could walk away. He offered me food, weapons, rations, clothing - and told me I could leave and he'd ensure the entirety of the Crimson Hand would leave me alone. I could have left, and yet-"

Her eyes glanced up toward Madison again. "And yet I chose to stay. I don't want to leave him. That is everything until now."

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

By the gods, and I thought I had a shitty life.

I had only asked Red to detail what led up to her... recruitment into the Crimson Hands. Instead, I got a full-length novel in the span of five minutes. I sat there, patient and listening, keeping my face as blank and devoid of emotion as possible while she told me about her utterly awful family and the time she spent as a prisoner before being rescued by a name that sounded vaguely familiar to me. Shinsou Vaan Osiris? I had a feeling that I recognized the name from somewhere. Might have been one of the many sparring partners I had in the Citadel.

But this Brotherhood of Castanets or whatever he was associated with? I hadn't the foggiest. Probably another one of those shadowy organizations with grand plans that never come to fruition because they can't get out of the way of their own egos.

Whatever. Gods know that they're a doubloon a dozen in this world, anyway.

Red's life story continued to spill out of her mouth at a thousand words per second, and I tried to pick up as many details as possible. Then, she got to the part I wanted to hear the most: How she crossed paths with the silver-haired assassin who liked to think he was in charge of the Seventh Sanctum.

And the story only made my blood boil.

It was a story of subjugation and humiliation. A story of physical and mental torture, a story of the complete and utter defiling of an innocent woman. She had been raped, mutilated, killed, and brought back to life repeatedly. To what end? So that emotionally-stunted fuckwad could have complete control over something in his life? To feed his ego and desire to rule over someone?

I was shaking. My briar-knit hands ached as I clenched my fists. We buried him under the mountain for a year so he wouldn't fucking do this shit when we released him.

Did I waste a year of my life teaching lessons about leading through respect instead of fear? All those long nights spent in his cell... And this is what comes of it?

I immediately thought about the briars wrapped around his blackened heart. It would be so easy to finish the job. I could just literally squeeze the life out of him, leaving him a writhing mass of flesh and wasted potential on the cold stone floor of the Sanctum until his body eventually quit--

--and then I thought of Red.

...No.

Killing Lye would be the worst possible thing for her.

She had become too attached to him. Despite everything she put him through, in her twisted mind he was her everything. The loss of her "master" would only break her further. She'd fall deeper into the abyss, and eventually she'd crawl out as a copy of him.

I couldn't allow that to happen.

I'd just have to teach Lichensith one final lesson.

Red's psyche may be broken, but it's not too late to fix her.

I can fix her. I can do it this time.

First order of business: We get her some more modest undergarments.

As the assassin's protege finished her story, the door behind us opened on its creaky, rusty hinges. The light from the stones glimmered off the polished mythril mask of Hyperion as she entered with the Box, a dirty lab coat haphazardly thrown on over her tight Fallien-styled robes. She looked from me, to Red, back to me, and then to the girl again. "Oh, hello!" Her voice echoed off the walls cheery and bright, a stark contrast to everything else within a twenty mile radius.

I waved a gnarled hand at her. "Hype, come on in." Turning back to Red, I said, "This is our latest recruit. Her name's Red. Red, this is Hyperion, my chief assistant."

Hype drew closer, concern flashing across her amber eyes as she read the maelstrom of emotions written on the girl's pale face. "She looks like she needs a hug. Can I give you a hug? I'm going to give you a hug."

The briarbane swiftly made her away across the room. I snatched the Box out of her arms before she accidentally knocked the poor girl off the chair with it.

[Mari]

Amari sighed, pressing herself back into the chair. “I think I said too much.” Her words were a gross understatement. Amari’s eyes fluttered open, noting that Madison still looked rather pissed. As pissed as a writhing mass of vines somewhat resembling a humanoid could be, at least. Amari wasn’t entirely sure where the anger stemmed from, but she could take a haphazard guess.

Her Master.

Even amongst his own men and women he was hated. Amari pursed her lips. She lifted herself forward, being sure to drape the furs as best she could over her revealing form. “Madison-” She began.


“I know he isn’t the best person.” There was a pause, “He’s probably one of the worst . I can’t-” Amari pursed her lips, her brows furrowing, it was clear she was struggling to find the right words. “I can’t...seem to entirely blame him. From what he’s told me - he had been far, far worse before undergoing some year long torture with Aurelianus.” Amari glanced down, fiddling with her fingers. “He doesn’t have anyone. His own men would sooner stab him in the back than offer any form of loyalty. This place...it’s suffocating, the stench of death fills the halls and tunnels. Such things used to -”

Amari shook her head, offering a dismal laugh, “It’s stupid, I swear it used to make my very soul ache. Now it doesn’t phase me at all.” Her smile faded. Her eyes glanced up at Madison. “It’s a lonely existence.”


Amari held out her arm, open palm toward Madison - as though she were signalling she was ready for whatever ‘shots’ she were to be given. “I’ve seen glimpses of humanity past those cold, dead eyes. I’ll do whatever I can to ensure I see that again, and to ensure he has at least one person. Even if it kills me, again, and again. So don’t be too mad at him. I have willingly placed myself in this position.”

Amari offered Madison a wry smile, “Course, I won’t be opposed to someone smacking a some sense into him.”

Amari was interrupted with the creak of a door, another approached - fully clothed, and her face had a small material veil over it, Amari had to take a guess that she was similar in appearance to Madison, another vine woman?

Her cheery voice took Amari by surprise, it was light-hearted and bubbly. The way she held herself, Amari both admired and hated it. She admired how someone could be so content and happy in such a place as the Sanctum, and she hated it - because it represented everything she never had. When was the last time Amari was able to hold herself in such a way? When did she genuinely smile, or laugh?

“Wait, what?”

Did the woman just ask for a hug?

“I don’t think that’s - ah-”

Amari didn’t have the option to say no. The woman quickly rushed forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Amari’s lithe form. Clearly not as awkward as Madison was, nor as intimidated by the little amount of clothing the red headed woman wore. The furs were knocked off Amari, and toppled soundlessly to the floor.

Amari glanced at Madison, as if to apologise for her now virtually exposed form. That is, if it weren’t being wrapped by an overly enthusiastic assistant.

Amari slowly came to wrap her arms around the other woman, sharing a tight embrace. Then, an odd thing happened. Amari may have a human body, but her form, her true form was that of an Ar’ Tuel. An ancient ethereal being said to bring and spread mana and lice across the land, invigorating plantlife as they wandered the surface of the planet. That, is just what may have occurred when she embraced the energetic plantlike woman.

Where Amari’s skin held her form, a light glow formed. It spread and engulfed the two in a comforting, warming light, before dimming back down to concentrate on the areas where they touched. Hyperion, if she were to notice such a thing, would have felt energised, invigorated and comforted.

Amari however, just felt confused and tired. It was draining to her. She loosened her grip on the other woman, pulling away, unsure of what to make of the phenomenon.


“I uh...Thanks.”

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

My hand froze on the lock that kept the Box's lid on as Hype hugged the poor girl. Something was definitely wrong here--Red was glowing. My first instinct was to run over and pry the briarbane off of her, but I just stood there at a complete loss for what to do.

"Hype," I finally said as she only squeezed tighter and gave a pleasant little shake of her butt.

"Hyperion, let her go."

The briarbane only nestled her masked face in the space between Red's neck and shoulder. "But she feels so nice--"

I took a single cautious step towards them. "Let her go, now."

"But--"

"Hype, glowing things usually ignite or explode!" I never raised my voice at my assistants, but I was pretty close to it this time.

She sensed the welling confusion and anger in my voice, and with a heavy sigh, relented. But she took her damn time unwrapping her twisted arms from around the thin, pale wretch.

I picked the furs up off the floor and handed them to Red to cover herself up. Boy oh boy, did I have a million questions for her.

"Nobody told me hugs could feel that good," Hype said with a grin that was hidden by her mythril mask.

"I don't think that was an ordinary hug," I flatly remarked. "That glow, that energy... What was it?"

Red only looked back and forth between the two of us, visibly tired.

The questions kept on coming. I barely gave her time to answer one before moving onto the next. "What was that glow? What are you, really? Who else knows about this? Does Lichensith know about this? Is this why he really brought you here?"

[Mari]

Amari looked, well, dumbfounded.

Madison asked question after question, clearly sparked from the odd glow that she had just witnessed. Everyone but Hyperion seemed bothered by the light. Hyperion? She seemed utterly delighted. “I uh-” How the hell was she to explain this? She didn’t even know what this was.

Amari glanced toward Hyperion, looking toward where she assumed the womans’ eyes would be. She offered the strange, exuberant woman a small smile. “For what it’s worth, Hype - I didn’t mind it either.” She held up her hand, signalling that maybe, just maybe Hyperion should squeeze her a little less next time. “Just not so tight next time.”

The ‘ultra glowing what the fuckery’ hug seemed to have put Amari in a slightly better mood. Less sour and Lye-like.

Amari pulled the furs tighter around her body. Carefully ensuring that it covered as much as possible. A part of her felt she should put all the leathers back on for Madisons’ sake of sanity, but they were so damn uncomfortable.

Right, enough dilly dallying. Time to give Madison some half assed answers.

“I’ve never glowed like that, not whilst hugging someone. So I don’t know what that was. I’m fuckin’ tired though.” Amari paushed. “I think there is a similar glow when I’m being revived.” Amari muttered. She glanced up at Madison and quickly answered the question for her. “I’ve died. Multiple times. Aurelianus figured out that the sigil, aka my birthmark on my back can well…” Amari shrugged, “Bring me back to life? More so...heal my body.”

Amari shifted uncomfortably. It was difficult to explain this, and she never had the chance to talk about it with her Master. “I don’t know what I am. I’m beginning to realize, its not human. When I die, I find myself chained to my body, I'm some sort of glowing person but - I don’t think it’s death.” She patted herself with a hearty thump. “I suppose you could call this some sort of meat prison.” She added with a small smirk.

It quickly dissipated as more questions spurred forth, ones she wasn't able to answer.

“Even Aurelianus couldn’t tell me exactly what I am. Although he’d probably know the most. As for Master.” Amari tilted her head to the side. “Not this. Not yet. He knows how to bring me back from ‘death’ and how I am able to heal others.” She traced a finger in the air. “With a touch, I’m able to heal their wounds, but for some time after, I experience the pain from said wounds.”

Amari paused, having to lean back in her chair. Still visibly drained. “He made it painfully clear, if it weren’t for my glowing eyes, and my personality. He would have handed me over to Aurelianus to join his…” Amari groaned. “House of Sin.”

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

I felt a headache coming on. A pounding, pulsating spike of pain that was growing and growing in my temples.

As Red told me what she could about her true nature, it was becoming more and more clear that my year-long effort to correct Lichensith's darker tendencies was a failure. What was an effort to re-educate him and build him up as a more effective, level-headed leader for the Crimson Hands only made him a bigger monster than he was at the time we imprisoned him.

I should have killed him.

I should have sent his maggot-infested corpse to the Ixian Knights alongside the body of Kyla Orlouge.

I should have ignored his invitation to return to the Seventh Sanctum.

Everything would have been alright if I had only shooed away the raven he sent weeks ago.

I would be back in Concordia, enjoying a good book and glass of whiskey in the high tower of my compound. I would be spending my time puttering around with my experiments and adding rare texts and artifacts to my archives.

But here I am instead, dealing with the petulant demands of a broken assassin and scrambling to figure out exactly what it was he dragged in from the cold and what he plans on doing with her. And now, I learned that Aurelianus was involved, and may actually know something about this. I considered him a friend, but I wasn't exactly sure he'd loosen his tongue on the matter unless I paid a steep price.

I took a deep breath as Red finished speaking. "Show me this birthmark, please."

The young woman nodded, and rose from her chair. She made an effort to lower the furs just enough to expose the porcelain skin of her lower back.

To say that it was anything other than blatantly obvious would be wrong. It looked more like an intricate tribal tattoo than a birthmark. An eldritch arrangement of squares and circles in different sizes that were vaguely in a cross-shaped mass marked her flesh. Even after looking at it for several seconds, I was drawing blanks as to where it might have originated.

Without a word, I moved to find a scrap of paper and a writing utensil. "Hold still for a second," I said as I began to copy the curious pattern on her back.

I called for Hype after I finished up. "Yes, Madison?"

"Can you go find Diggs in the lab and show him this?" I handed her the drawing. "He has some experience with runes and symbols. I haven't seen anything like this in my studies, but perhaps he might have."

The briarbane nodded and was out the door in a flash of purple and royal blue. I turned back to Red as she was adjusting the furs to cover herself and keep warm. I put on the best and brightest smile I could, considering the simmering anger that was coursing through my vines.

"We'll see what we can turn up on that mark of yours," I reassured her. "But in the meantime, let's get you vaccinated so you survive long enough to learn something, yes?"

[Mari]

Amari felt a little disappointed. Madison seemed quite well read. She was the smartest person...plant...she was the smartest sentient being Amari knew and even she was baffled at what the symbol could possibly mean - or even its origins. She sighed softly as she covered herself back up.

“That’s how everyone reacts.” Amari mused, clearly frustrated. “I don’t think I’m all that special. Rather, I just wind up in the wrong place, at the wrong time - mostly.” She offered Madison a wry smile as she held out her arm, ready for whatever vaccinations Madison had for her. “Although, can’t be all bad. Met you, didn’t I?”

The Briarheart didn’t look too thrilled with Amari’s attempted compliment. She prepped the needles and one by one, started injecting Amari with the vaccinations. Amari made no complaint. Again, she tried to make light of the situation. “I suppose I should thank Master, this is nothing compared to what I normally go through.”

Madison stilled her movements and muttered words Amari didn’t quite catch. But she caught the anger. Madison put the needles back into the metal box and set it on the counter.

“You must hate him, huh?” Amari said, rubbing her arm. Madison didn’t reply with words, but her actions spoke far louder than anything she could have said. “I don’t blame you…” She mused. Amari lowered her eyes, picking at the fur overcoat she had wrapped around her shoulders. “He may be my Master, but you’d be an idiot to not see he has…” She paused. “ Issues. He seems to throw a tantrum if the smallest thing doesn’t go his way. He’s far too controlling, and he has the notion that fear grants subordination.” Amari laughed softly and shook her head. “I was never afraid of him. I think that’s another reason I caught his attention.” Amari fell silent again. She didn’t feel right talking ill of him, but her words were naught but truth.

“I could leave here. Anytime. But I don’t want to.” Her words were whispered. “I don’t want to leave a man who is as hurt as he is.” Amari glanced back up at Madison, with newfound resolve. “I want to help him. I want to bring the Crimson Hand back to whatever former glory it once had. I’ll help him. Not with fear, but by gaining the respect of others. I’ll ensure he won’t have traitors in his ranks. I just haven’t figured out how yet.”

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

“Although, can’t be all bad. Met you, didn’t I?”

Red, you've known me for all of twenty minutes.

No wonder Lichensith was able to get his rusty hooks into her so easily. The poor thing was probably starved for attention and affection. That would explain why, after all the shit she's been through, she chose to stay with that bastard. Somewhere in her broken mind, she was scrambling to justify the horrible events of the past couple weeks of her life in order to have a reason to stick around. Red can claim that she wasn't afraid of him as much as she wants; but there was no way in hell she wasn't.

That's how the assassin worked. Loyalty through fear. And if that didn't go his way, he opted for loyalty through pain.

And now he's garnered her pity, and there's no way she will leave him.

I need a drink.

I should have never come back.

I should have killed him when I had the chance, rather than thinking that I could fix him.

I'm suddenly not so sure that I can fix Red.

I really need that drink. Now.

I placed all the needles and vials containing the vaccines back in the Box, and clasped shut the lid. I pulled up a spare chair across from the girl and sat down in it. I took a deep breath before I spoke. "I'm going to speak plainly right now. The man you call master isn't worthy of your pity or your loyalty, no matter what you may think. He is a horrible creature who uses and abuses those under his command and casts them aside when they've outlived their usefulness."

Amari shot me an incredulous look. "If you hate him so much, then why are you here?"

A sad smile inched across my face. "Babysitting duties, mostly. I'm here making sure that his temper doesn't get too out of hand... seeing whether or not some of the lessons Aurelianus and I tried to teach him in his year under the mountain stuck."

I shook my head. "Doesn't seem like they have," I muttered quietly. "In fact, it looks like he hasn't changed his ways at all. He's been acting the same way he was during the war."

The girl clad in furs cocked her head slightly. "What war?"

"The war in Eiskalt," I said flatly. "This shitty little island off the eastern coast of Salvar. We all went over there under some false pretenses. Something about establishing these vague trade agreements between the Hand and the merchant guilds there. But, the Ixian Knights stuck their noses where they didn't belong and ignited a conflict between our two clans."

I hated retelling this next part, but I felt it was necessary to let Red know what kind of person she was pledging her allegiance to. "Lye gave me orders to develop and unleash a plague that would strain the Knights' resources and spread them thin by forcing them to care for both the sick within their ranks and the Eiskaltans who were infected during the war. And I did."

The smile disappeared from my face.

"Oh, sure, I enjoyed it at the time, and the scant research I was able to glean from the spreading disease was incredibly valuable to me; but it was around that time that things went to hell. During one of the battles for some important choke point, Lichensith abandoned the Hand to chase after one of the Knights--someone named Jensen Ambrose, you wouldn't have heard of him. It wasn't long after that he disappeared entirely, leaving the Hands to fend for themselves and scramble to salvage the mission."

"We failed, of course," I said with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Only two others from my initial group of twenty-one survived to return to the Sanctum. Once I arrived, I found that Lichensith had hightailed it back here without a word to the rest of us." I leaned closer to Red, an angry flash of amber light erupting from my eyes. "He left us all to die on that forsaken hunk of ice. People who trusted him with their lives. And he would waste them to ease his bruised ego after he lost Jensen's trail."

"We were pissed. We were angry. We were hurt. And all we got in thanks was accusations of dissent and forgetting that he was our master." The words were like venom on my tongue. "In his twisted mind, he thought that the only way to quash it was to call us all into a combat, where we would fight each other in some sick tournament. I'm not entirely sure how it make sense to instill loyalty in others by making them fight the very people they survived a long and drawn-out war with, but that's Lichensith for you."

I shook my head again. "That's what ultimately led to his downfall. We overthrew him. Locked him away in his own prison for a year. Tortured and rehabilitated him."

Or, at least we tried to.

"And now that he's out and back in charge of the Hands, I'm here to see that he doesn't repeat the mistakes of his past." My face darkened. "But I'm not entirely confident that he won't."

And if he tried, I'd be sure to kill him before he could cause any more harm.

[Mari]

Amari thought she would be well on her way at that point. She felt that she was overstaying her welcome, but as Madison drew her chair forward Amari realized that her little tit for tat with Madison was far from over. Not that she minded. Amari quite enjoyed the Briarhearts company.

She outlined why she hated the man. Amari was not pleased. Why would someone who worked under him talk so ill of him? "If you hate him so much, then why are you here?"


Madison’s reply threw Amari for a loop. “Babysitting….” She repeated, confused. Madison gave a nod, then referred to a war in Eiskalt that Amari was oblivious to. “So he doomed an entire nation to further his own gain.” Amari sighed, and wrapped her arms around herself. “It saddens me to say, that doesn’t surprise me, to have such power - is a scary thought.” She paused. “Although, that was you. Not him. Not that I can blame you…”

Her gaze shifted to the various equipment around Madison. “To you, it’d just be another experiment? A chance to test things? In a sense - you two are similar that way…” Amari mused, not realising the major insults she was throwing toward Madison. “You both see an opportunity to test something, and take it.”


Amari’s brows furrowed at the news; of the war, Lye abandoning his men and the torture. She knew Aurelianus had a part in his torture, but only now realized that Madison had too. She was slowly putting the pieces together. It appeared that the strongest of the Crimson Hand were her Master, Aurelianus and Madison. The Tiefling and plant woman seemed strong in their own right, and Amari still questioned why they would follow a man they were not amicable toward. Still, it was not her place to know their life story.

“You keep saying it didn’t work-your conditioning.” Amari glanced to the side. Tugging at her hair. “Aurelianus seems to think he’s developed a soft spot. I wonder if that were possible before the conditioning.” Amari pondered out loud. “I think it worked - just not in the way you were hoping. Nor to your expectations.”

Madison spoke again, detailing her concerns for him. Amari had to agree with her. She didn’t want to see her Master fall that far down into his bloodlust and insanity. Amari had seem him admit to his old ways, she had heard him admit that he didn’t wish to pointlessly kill someone. She’d even felt his tender touches and worried gazes. Such things would be impossible to relay to Madison. Much like it was impossible for Madison to relay the sheer horror of his past to Amari.


“I see.” Amari said quietly. “So as part of your atonement for past mistakes...you’re ensuring that another Eiskart phenomenon doesn’t happen again, right?” Amari asked. Not quite getting the name right. “How about this…” She leaned forward, “I’m not blind Madison. I know he isn’t a good person, and I can’t promise that he won’t fuck something up again. No doubt. He will. He’s a stubborn and foolish man.” She offered her hand out toward Madison. Seemingly confident in her own abilities. “But I want to help. For better or worse, we’re both part of the Crimson Hand. Let’s both make sure Mas-” She paused and cleared her throat. “Ulroke..Let’s ensure Ulroke doesn’t fuck things up too badly.”

She offered Madison a smile. “I’ll even sock him one, square in the head for what he did. Small consolation, right?”

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

The thought of Red waltzing up to Lye and loosening a couple of his teeth brought a wry smile to my face.

"Yeah," I mused, "that'll work."

Standing up, I moved over to the counter and picked up the Box. I turned back to face the girl and nodded towards the door.

"Gonna' have to kick you out now; Lichensith's got me on a special project for him, and I need to get back to it. Now, you're going to feel a little soreness in your arm over the next couple of days, and maybe some side effects as well--headaches, fatigue, a bit of nausea and the like while the vaccines do their work."

I made to leave the room, but my hand hovered over the doorknob for a brief moment.

"Also, just between the two of us..."

I lowered my voice to just above a whisper, enough for the girl to hear me.

"As soon as I hear back from my scholar about your birthmark, I'll come see you. And if there is anything you ever need, just let me know."

The door opened with a loud creak that echoed down the stone hallway.

"And stay out of the mountain caverns, okay?"

And with that, I was gone.

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

Mari receives 765 EXP and 90 GP!

BlackandBlueEyes receives 1295 EXP and 90 GP!

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

All rewards added!