ya_assemble | [LN] A Waheela Arrives [Closed to Alex, Azula]

Entry tags:

[LN] A Waheela Arrives [Closed to Alex, Azula]

In a small, frozen town in Canada inundated with ice and snow, Istas was growling.

Normally this would cause people to freeze, or step back, or perhaps even consider running very far away. Because while Istas appeared to be a plump young woman of the First Nations of Canada dressed in elaborate Gothic Lolita style, people could usually sense that for all her unthreatening apparel, she was a predator and they should react accordingly. Usually. Not one human seemed to even be aware of her insistent growl, which demanded that she be immediately returned to New York. Istas did not know how she came to be here, but she did not like it and she would immediately disembowel whoever was responsible for this. As soon as she identified who that person was.

She could only conclude that they must be one of the many humans who were irritatingly ignoring her presence.

"You will return me!" She demanded, her speech growing distorted as her canines enlarged, growing sharp and deadly. The fingernails which gripped her dark green parasol with pretty white ruffles elongated into sharp claws. But she did not transform further. Not yet. To transform she would have to discard her lovely black bustle jacket, and she had not yet found her enemy. She would find the enemy first. Then, she would transform into her beastly form. "You will return me now, or I will tear out your intestines and decorate my handbag with them!"

Curse her enemy, for refusing to appear in front of her so that she might tear them limb from limb...

[[OOC: For reference, Istas's outfit]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Very descriptive. Points for imagery," sound a young man nearby, leaning against the wall of a nearby building. He wasn't wearing a coat. Being able to go intangible had its perks when it came to ignoring the environment around you.

"But you won't find the people that brought you here," he said. "Because it wasn't people so much as a force of nature."

Azula studied this...creature that they had been sent to retrieve. For all intents and purposes she appeared human enough, but her mannerisms were more primal. Her stance, the look in her eyes...and those teeth.

If Azula wasn't half convinced this was all part of her madness taking over her life, she might be more cautious about letting her see them. But Alex was like her, he enjoyed putting on a show.

If the former fire nation princess was completely honest with herself, she'd lost a bit of taste for the performance. But she would play her part in this. Perhaps if she was lucky there might be a fight and she'd get to burn off some of this pent up energy and aggression she'd felt since being conjured into this world.

She was in an older style of clothing, various shades of red clothes, some leather bracers on her arms, and shoes that come to a point. Gold accents completed the outfit with a bit of flair and reminded her of the finery she'd left behind.

She studied this woman, this potential ally. Her own eyes sharp as a hawk picking apart the little details. Her own stance was confident and strong, it had taken her hours to brush away the insecurities and overwhelming rage that Ursa had left her with.

Anyone who had known her would be able to tell that she still wasn't on the same level she had once been. But for now this would do for interacting with strangers.

Istas turned to face the strangers, going inhumanly still as she stared at them. They were unknown to her, and thus they must be assessed intently until they were determined to be either a threat or not. It would be the same even had she not encountered them in this unusual situation, but thanks to her kidnapping there was a greater edge to her appraisal.

That man was glib, almost dismissive. That was foolish, because Istas should never be dismissed. Unless he was like Verity in this regard, with the odd tendency to speak casually even when in mortal danger. The woman was of greater interest. Not only because her interesting and attractive clothing, but because even though she had not said a word Istas could sense that this was someone to watch closely. A predator, like herself.

But the man was the one who spoke, so while the woman was the one she watched more closely, it was to him that she responded. "Unless I have already found them," she said, her voice dangerously soft and low. "My enemy may stand before me right now, feeding me lies in the hope that I will not tear them limb from limb. But I will be patient. I will not eat first, and ask questions later. What is this force of nature you speak of? And more importantly," Istas smiled. It was not a reassuring expression. "...what proof do you have of its existence?"

"This isn't your world and there's a being that lives just outside this world - a very powerful one named Kuk. It isn't so much a person as a thing, a living mass of darkness, infinite in scope, living just outside of existence. It's been chewing at the edges of this world, trying to get in and devour it, but It wants more than just a nibble."

Alex stepped forward - but not too close - carefully regarding the stranger.

"Because of It trying to get into this universe, the walls of reality here are thin. That means that people's fear brings in people who should be feared - ie people like you - from other worlds."

He peeked back at the shadows in the alley behind him.

"As for proof that there's something here other than me and the princess here..."

He snapped his fingers and all of a sudden the shadows in the alley behind him grew thicker, into a solid mass and then far, far too many eyes were peeping out from the shadows.

"Do they really look like people to you?"

Edited 2015-06-14 04:09 (UTC)

Though she would not admit it to his face, Azula admired how easily Alex stepped into this role. He was practiced, he was charming.

He was dangerous.

It was the kind of dangerous that Azula was familiar with, the kind she had excelled in once. But once that was all stripped away she was still a skilled fighter.

Could the same be said for him? Only time would tell.

As for the woman, Azula was appraising her in turn and her caution was met with a flash of approval in the Princesses eyes. Too many fools had willing soaked up the words offered to them when they were in a confusing situation. Desperate to cling to any sort of explanation. Without batting an eyelash she kept the woman's gaze until Alex summoned up something else worth looking at. If the woman took the time to watch those many extra eyes Azula would use the opportunity to scan the horizon for potential threats.

She hadn't had the chance to meet any of their opposition, but she would relish the chance.

Alex's danger was not one that Istas recognised. Waheela were solitary, feral creatures. They weren't exactly known for their highly developed social skills, and for all that Istas was practically gregarious for a Waheela, the though that someone could be dangerous by talking was just never something that had even occurred to her. Teeth and claws were dangerous. Words were confusing sometimes, and not always truth, but not dangerous.

The eyes in the darkness, those were dangerous. Istas growled when they appeared, and she shifted to try and keep them and the two humans - especially the woman - in view. So many! Enough to surround her, and to be surrounded was to be vulnerable.

Istas did not like to be vulnerable.

"What are they!?" she barked, demanding. "You will explain!" She growled at them again. They would stay back, if they did not wish to meet her claws.

"Fearlings," Alex said. "Kuk's servants, the ones he's using to take over this world. At least when he's not using us and the others like us. They're not here to hurt you. Believe it or not we're not here to hurt you either. We're here to offer you a deal."

He snapped his fingers and the creatures faded into the dark of the alley and disappeared.

"Like I said, because of Kuk trying to take over this world, reality's thin. The people of this world, their fear is so strong it pulled you here - it pulled us here too. Even Kuk Itself can't control it or send you back home. At least not yet, not until he's won and has control of this world. Like I said - a force of nature."

He went on breezily, "So you have two options. You can wander around in a strange world with no allies. No one would stop you. We're not about to pick any fights over people wanting to be left alone." A pause. "Or you can join up with us. See, Kuk is very generous, and not only does It give some of us all kinds of opportunities to do some damage to the self-righteous idiots trying to stop It - you know, for fun - It also rewards us if we're willing to help It. Power, wealth, even the slightly more immaterial, like healing if you're sick - you name it, and that'll be your reward if you help It destroy this universe. You get to go back home after, with a dark god sending you off with whatever you want. It's a pretty good deal."

"Almost too good to be true, save for the fact that everyone gets what they want, by doing what we do best." Azula commented idly returning her gaze to their target.

No need to say more then that. Alex had gotten the details out of the way. Azula's words were only to give voice to the obvious note that Istas didn't have many options. Faith in a potential future of fun and carnage, or this unseen, unheard existence.

The only detail being left out was that Alex and Azula both knew all too well if they didn't scoop her up, eventually the opposition would find her. What they would do at that point was a mystery. This woman had been brought here because she was more like them. A monster lurking just beneath the flesh.

At this, Istas finally turned her main focus to the man. (Not that this meant, of course, that she was not very much aware of everything the woman and these fearlings were doing.)

"Why do you wish for me to join up for the very entity that brought me here?" she said, most dubious. "Even if unintended, he is still responsible. And I do not trust a creature that hungers to eat an entire world. Such hunger would be without end." This, Istas knew, deep down into her very bones. She had felt the Hunger every day of her life, and it only demanded the constant consumption of flesh. It could be controlled, and managed, staved off as she grew fat with the steady food that civilisation provided - but it never, ever, went away.

She growled again at the lurking fearlings. "And I do not like these servants of Kuk. You will make them go away!"

Alex made a jerky gesture with his hand to get the fearlings to fully scatter and they all flew away.

"The fact it's unintended is why he's willing to reward us. A...peace offering, if you will."

He held out his hands.

"And a way of letting us act according to our natures. See, that's what this is about. It understands all of us wanting to be what we are. All It's asking in return is that we help it be what It is. And in return we get rewarded and our home worlds get spared."

He held out his hands.

"This is the only one It wants. It's imbued with the magic It hungers for, something that was ripped away from It during the dawn of this world's creation. All It wants is to take back that spark - and other worlds don't have it."

Edited 2015-06-14 05:32 (UTC)

Ah yes, the avatar of Kuk's entirely reasonable and generous offer, peaceful and open, inviting. It was almost sickening now.

"If you think you'll have a better chance at actually enjoying your time in this world, I would suggest you attempt to indulge yourself on those unaware people passing behind you. I'm sure you've already noticed that they haven't so much as looked your way."

Azula's eyes narrowed as she took a moment to watch the crowd milling about. Mindless Koala-sheep. All of them. It had distressed her greatly to be among people suddenly with no way to communicate. Thankfully those who had come to collect her were slow to draw her in as well.

"It's rather unsettling to know that you can scream as loud as possible and not a single one of them will ever notice."

"You do not want me to be what I am," Istas said. "I am a waheela, a child of the cruel north wind. A creature of constant, unending hunger and savagery. What I am is a beast, a slave to instincts. I have worked hard to become otherwise, and I much prefer the comforts and feasts of civilisation to the cold and barren north. And civilisation is quick to take its advantages away from those who mindlessly eat humans." She paused. "Also it is difficult to buy hats when shop assistants fear that you will tear our their eyes."

She returned her unblinking gaze to the woman. Yes, she was still the greatest threat here. The humans, while oblivious, were soft and of little threat to her. The greatest threat was still before her.

"You say this Kuk has offered you a peace offering. A reward, for the promise that he will not eat you. Such a promise sounds hollow. Hunger sated today will return in strength tomorrow. I do not wish to see my world devoured, but I hear nothing that makes me believe that he would not turn around and devour it as well, when he is done with this one."

"You're free to come talk to It, if you want. If you don't take up Its offer, you'll be free to go."

That was actually the truth. From the sound of it, her running around on her own, with that hunger, could still be a thorn in the side of the Guardians, especially if they manipulated events from the sidelines.

"Where else do you have to go anyway?"

There was a sigh as if Azula was feeling somewhat put upon by this turn out.

"You know I've noticed that? In my own world I had enough money to buy every hat in the nation twice. But finding a clerk who wasn't trembling became rather tedious. It got a little easier after I filed down my nails." She glanced to her manicure now and noticed they were getting long and sharp again. She hadn't even filed them, was this another form of her powers?

"The hunger you spoke of is not an unfamiliar sensation to me. While I once considered myself above my savage nature I allowed the hunger to get the better of me, and in the process it tore from me all I held dear. Every trapping and finery I had once relished in held out of reach. And before I could even begin to take back what I deserved I was brought to this drab and dreary existence."

It was not something she took pleasure in, speaking of her misfortune and short comings, but this woman had something their forces need.

"Of course you could always stay here and be left wondering and wandering among the all these humans that you can neither interact with nor eat. I've never had to stare at a feast I could not partake of while starving but I imagine it can't be pleasant."

"Yes, and they will also not give you useful advice on what colours and styles your hat will go best with. Humans are very unhelpful when they are terrified," Istas said, nodding in solidarity with the woman.

"The Hunger cannot ever be defeated, but it can be controlled. Managed. Resisted. It is...difficult. But the rewards are great. When all I ran bathed in the blood of my prey across the frozen wastelands, all I had was the Hunger. Now, I have so much more." Istas frowned. "Or I did, before I was brought here." She looked intently at the man. Kuk was no here, so he would have to serve as her proxy by which to make her displeasure with this known.

But for all her reservations about Kuk, she reluctantly did have to admit that they had one point - she did have nowhere to go. And how could she return to civilisation, when civilsation could not even notice her? If need be, she could survive without her clothes and her precious fashions. She wouldn't be happy about it, but she could do. But when she could not purchase glorious baked goods, or sumptuous pizzas, or mouth watering hot dogs...

"You are correct. I have nowhere to go. But I will make no promises to this Kuk. He has brought me here, so he owes me his...peace offering. But I do not owe him my assistance."

"It's a 'no strings attached' kinda thing," Alex promised. "Just talk to It. I promise I'll make it worth your while."

A glowing brand appeared on the back of Alex's hand and he touched it, causing a tunnel to suddenly appear in the alley where the fearlings had been before they flew off.

"Its fortress is hidden. We're able to call up magical tunnels to go back to base."

Smirking at Istas as if they were sharing some kind of private joke that Alex wasn't in on she started for the portal.

"It really is refreshing to finally meet with someone who has a healthy amount of suspicion about them. You'd be surprised how many people just walk through portals without even a dash of trepidation. Of course yours is born out of logic rather then fear which is more respectable."

Azula on the other hand had gone through the portal out of desperation to be away from the mass of bodies that could not see her. She found it so unsettling to be passing through the world like a ghost without any understanding as to why. Now that she had a grasp on the situation it was more tolerable.

And with one last approving look, from one predator to the other Azula vanished through the tunnel.

Istas blinked, as Azula disappeared into the tunnel. Logic rather than fear? But fear was logical. Fear told you when to be wary, when to be on guard. Just as it was only logical for prey to fear Istas, so was is also logical for Istas to fear things which may harm her. It was the way nature worked.

But Azula was human, and humans thought strange things sometimes.

"I will speak to this Kuk," she said to Alex, solemn. "Because if I am to willingly stay in the domain of a predator much larger and more powerful than I, it is only the polite thing to do. But if you have lied to me then it is your tongue that I shall feast upon."

And with that, she descended down into the tunnel. She showed no fear, but Istas knew better than to show such fear to another predator. She went because she must, not because she wanted to.

"Duly noted," said Alex. "If I were lying you'd be welcome to make a sandwich out of it, but fortunately for the both of us, Kuk's generosity is very genuine."

No, it wasn't, but Alex wasn't about to share that with a stranger. Or with anyone. He already knew the score.

So he played his part.

For now.

Kuk's lair wasn't without its own strange beauty. While many parts of it were made of some kind of twisted black stone, almost organic-looking in nature, many other parts were made of beautiful crystal in blues, purples, pinks, and reds.

The only thing ugly about those crystals were the vaguely humanoid (and not-so-humanoid) shapes imprisoned inside.

There were also places that were clearly living quarters and gathering places in this place that ranged from "comfortable" to "opulent." Silk wall hangings, plush couches in colorful fabrics, even TVs and video game consoles - the whole deal.

And the food! The smell of it permeated this place. Baked goods, deliciously cooked meats, pies and cakes. Clearly, anyone that lived here never went hungry, especially given that their very nature as myths meant they didn't need to eat.

Alex and Azula led Istas through the twisting crystals that had the dark shapes of figures strapped inside.

"These are the people that've tried to stop It," Alex said. "It keeps them alive, at least. It plans on - well, It can tell you about that himself, how It plans on letting them live when everything's over. Even with eating this world, It doesn't plan to let everyone that lives in it die."

Azula couldn't help but sigh out loud as Alex explained in a vague way about the shadowy figures.

"Seems pointless if you ask me. I can understand the pleasure in forcing people to watch as you succeed where they failed, but letting them live is too merciful. They've hardly done anything to earn it."

She didn't move too close to the crystals however and her eyes remained trained on where they were going. She had in her first few weeks experienced some rather vivid and unpleasant hallucinations involving those bodies. And even now seeing her own reflection was always risking her emotional instability to kick up. She couldn't afford that in front of others.

Istas moved through the mace of crystal prisons with growing wariness. Imprisonment was a slightly baffling concept to Istas - to kill your prey or your enemy was only natural. To keep them locked up where not only were you not only had to go to the effort of feeding and housing them, but weren't even getting and extra meal yourself out of the deal seemed frankly bizarre. But Istas knew that imprisonment was the civilised way, and so since she liked civilisation very much she accepted it.

But this...to keep those who were your enemy encased in crystal, all so that they might live to see the very thing that they fought to prevent...there was only one word for it. It was cruelty, pure and simple. To destroy them entirely would have been more respectful.

Istas had run from cruelty. She did not wish to return to it. But what choice did she have?

"Life is not earned," she said. She could not speak of her unease, of her wish to flee this place. To do so would be to show weakness, to invite danger. "You have it, until such time when you do not. Nothing more, nothing less."

"It chooses to let them have it. Whether or not they deserve it isn't really ours to question," said Alex. "Mostly because we wouldn't be able to stop It either way."

Eventually he led Istas to a huge door, carved with intricate runes and sigils - things that had been meant to keep the darkness inside. It was open the tiniest little crack, and from that crack, shadows and dark mist seeped out.

"We have someone new here," Alex announced, "who seeks audience with you."

Edited 2015-06-26 08:50 (UTC)

Shadows poured out through the cracks and took a vaguely humanoid shape, something faceless - tall and thin and barely there.

Not Kuk itself, just shadow stuff, fearlings shaped into something that could speak for It. An emissary.

The creature's voice was thin and dry like dead leaves crumbling into dust, like Its voice was the embodiment of the exact moment when sound faded into silence.

"Your name, girl. What is your name? I know all your names when the fear drags you in like the tide and leaves you exposed on the rocks of this world, but as in all things, I ask for it to be freely given."

Edited 2015-06-26 08:57 (UTC)

Azula steps back for now, perfectly content to abandon Istas and Alex in front of this creature. A chill prickles along her skin and she can feel the hairs on the back of her neck rising.

She hates those things.

Still she manages to keep a strangle hold on her composure and observes for the time being. She may still yet be needed, and even if she isn't...well what else does she have to do but watch the day to day drama of this group unfold?

Istas fixed her eyes, unmoving, upon the faceless shadow before her. If need be she would transform, defend herself with tooth and claw, but she had no false assumptions about how successful she would be. No - if this predator decided to attack, she would die.

Which made his 'request' all the more ludicrous. There could be nothing freely given, not to a demand backed up by threat of force. No, only the illusion of freedom was possible here.

But a calm stillness washed over her. She was afraid - of yes, she was certainly afraid - but now there were only two possibilities. She would live, or she would die. With that fact accepted, all that was left to do was whatever action would best increase her chances of survival.

So she would allow Kuk this illusion of choice, of freely given. In return, she may - she hoped - keep her life.

"I am Istas."

"I am Kuk. I am the Void given form. If you have been brought to me, my agents have already explained my offer. This means you must have questions. Ask them of me and I shall do my best to answer."

They were question that Istas was not so sure would be safe to ask, now that she stood before Kuk in person. But to say nothing now would be to show weakness. That would be even riskier.

"You wish to eat this world, but you promise our own worlds will be spared, in return for our assistance. But a Hunger that demands to eat an entire world is a Hunger that could never be sated. I know this, for I am Waheela. We are creatures of ice and snow and cruelty, and our Hunger is unending. And yet, it is not so great as yours. What proof can you offer that your Hunger would never turn against us?"

Istas doubted that such proof could ever be provided. Except, perhaps, sparing this world...which was obviously not what Kuk wished to do.

"I can prove nothing. You know this. But I can explain that this is not normal hunger. This is not all-consuming desire. This world - and this world only - was once a part of me. I was the void, the crucible where this universe formed. When it was made in the dawn of this universe by the beings that shaped it, they did not create it wholly of their own power out of nothing. It was carved out of me. I only seek to devour what was once a part of my form. What can other worlds do to fill this need? To make me complete? Nothing. Devouring them will not return the parts of my body that were stolen. Only this world can make me whole. Only this world was taken from me."

The avatar tilted its head.

"Imagine, Waheela, that your hunger came of parts of you being carved out and stolen. Imagine that a single meal of them would make you whole, make it so you never hungered again. That is why I seek to devour this world and no others. And since it is the matter of this world, the earth and the stone and the stars that are the only things that are mine, I can even spare the life on this little planet. When I break through, I will be like a god again, like I once was. I will have the power to move all sentient living things to other worlds and take back what is mine. The earth and the star stuff and the things that are still. They were what was taken from me. The life was created by other things, by the beings that stole my body. They are...distasteful to me. I would rather pick them off my plate. They can live elsewhere, but this world is mine."

Edited 2015-06-28 08:31 (UTC)

Was this the truth? Istas did not know. While Kuk had no proof that he was, she also had no proof that he was lying. But if he was...if all Istas had to do to be free of her Hunger forever was kill and eat one innocent, sentient being, would she be right? If it would spare her a life living with a constant gaping hole in her belly, would that make it right?

No, she realised. It would not. It would be understandable, perhaps even justified, if it would prefer her from senseless killing in the future. But it would not be right. And if she did such an act, how could she ever be worthy of Ryan, of being a member of civilisation, ever again?

But she could say none of this to Kuk. To do so would be foolish. If he was weaving falsehoods, she would perhaps find herself enchased in crystal. If he was not, if he genuinely wished to eat the world but spare the people...well. She would be no worse off for hiding her thoughts.

"I see," she said, appearing to be full of still, icy, contemplation. But her eyes still watched Kuk's avatar, as any animal watches a threat. "You are correct, proof is impossible. But your arguments have given me much to think about. I must contemplate this further."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[LN] A Waheela Arrives [Closed to Alex, Azula]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Inside Kuk's Fortress

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject