Questions and Answers

Questions and Answers

Postby Jirai » Thu Jul 07, 2011 7:03 am

Destroying the bar had felt good. Not satisfying, but good. She wished she had done more than just ruin the bar, remembering... but this was not there and it was not only Kyra's edict that bound her. Not entirely. On the other hand, the conversation with the tailor had been neither satisfying nor good (except when she got to whack him with her staff, that was fun). The man did not quite make sense, but that could as easily be because he was human as because he was lying. Niall certainly wasn't sure. Now the girl had more questions than answers and only one person she was willing to put those questions to.

He had never been very good at finding her, but she could usually find him quite easily. Today was no exception, and the scarred girl managed to intercept him not far from the tavern, popping rather suddenly onto the road beside him. Sword had been exchanged for staff, smile for scowl, the latter of which was turned on the squire. She had questions, yes, but it would take her a few moments to find the words, asking things not being one of her strong suits.
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Postby Glenn » Thu Jul 07, 2011 7:41 am

"Niall!" Elliot had been looking for her. Everywhere, all the time, incessantly. For two days! He hadn't eaten much or slept much or anything. He kept missing her. He made it to the Dagger only a few minutes after she destroyed the bar. She DESTROYED the bar. He blamed himself for that. If he just found her sooner... then... no, he was right the first time. If he had just found her sooner, then she wouldn't have destroyed the bar. It was a strange thing to be confident about, but he was.

Unfortunately, he still had that very heavy sword upon his back which only added to the fatigue. Perhaps it wasn't THAT unfortunately. He was intent on charging towards her and hugging her. Thanks to the sword, he didn't quite get there before having to bend over and put his hands on his knees, huffing and puffing. Still, he was able to blurt out. "I was worried about you!"
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Niall

Postby Jirai » Thu Jul 07, 2011 9:24 am

"Worried about -me-?" The scarred girl returned as she eyed the squire bent over, puffing as though he might pass out at any moment. Now that was funny, she thought, though she didn't laugh as she might have a week or two ago. It's probably as well that Elliot did not get close enough to make good on his intent to hug the scarred girl. "Why were you worried about me?" She leaned slightly on her staff, looking down at the younger teen.

"Glenn Burnie says that it's Suede Roschen's fault, but Suede Roschen says that it's Glenn Burnie's fault because Suede would rather just kill people for money."
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Postby Glenn » Thu Jul 07, 2011 12:01 pm

"Yes." Elliot was still keeled over, but he was able to blurt out a few words between huge gulps of breath. "I was worried about you!" It seemed that the sheer disbelief generated in him from her words allowed for a speedier recovery. He was soon back and standing up, looking exasperated and not exhausted. "Niall. You've had lots and lots of poisoned chocolate! How in the world would you think I wasn't worried about you? I don't CARE how strong you are and how many terrible things you've been through. You've been drinking that stuff since I met you! And..." His voice faded off a bit and he looked away. She hadn't smiled, had she? She didn't seem like the Niall of the last few months at all. "You can't tell me that things haven't been very very strange over the last year. The chocolate HAD to be the cause, right?"

Frustratingly, to her, he hadn't even gotten to her question as of yet. He was focused on all sorts of other things. He was dancing around a question and it wasn't going to have anything to do with Suede Roschen or Glenn Burnie.
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Niall

Postby Jirai » Thu Jul 07, 2011 12:27 pm

Really, did he think she was completely moronic? Of course she knew she'd been drinking it. "That's why," she patiently replied, "I want to know if Suede Roschen is right or if he's lying." So that she could kill whomever was responsible. "And," the scarred girl continued, "It won't happen again." Straightening, she tucked the staff into the crook of her arm and drew out from her belt pouch an odd needle, a small pot, and a soft cloth. "I can take care of that right now if it'd make you feel better."
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Postby Glenn » Thu Jul 07, 2011 12:34 pm

"Niall!" Elliot had seen some strange things recently, some very strange things. Now he wasn't sure if they had been real or not. If they weren't, why did he have some of... why did he have gifts and relics and other things they obtained in his room. Why were they real? Or had he just gone mad. No matter what the answer, he knew that when she rushed to do magic it was rarely a good thing. "You tell me what you're going to do right now, okay? Just tell me, and I'll tell you what I think about Suede Roschen and Glenn Burnie."

And that would be a good fair deal. He wouldn't be able to stop her. Elliot wasn't a complete moron, not when it came to her. It could have been one of a few things. Maybe she was making herself immune somehow. Or maybe she was doing something else, something to learn the truth or hurt Suede or Glenn from afar. Or maybe she was going to brew the chocolate in that pot. He didn't know! He could only guess! Finally, he frowned and spoke softly. He wasn't used to her being so short with him. He knew better but it still sort of hurt his feelings. "Are you going to make it so the chocolate can't hurt you again? Will it hurt?"
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Postby Jirai » Thu Jul 07, 2011 12:43 pm

"Changing the magic." She said calmly. "I ought to have noticed the poison. With this, next time I will. I was going to do it later tonight, but if it will make you feel better I can do it now." She dropped to a crouch, setting the materials in front of her. "Hurt? What does that matter?" She rucked up the side of her shirt, revealing tattooed skin there as well. "What do you think about Suede and Glenn?"
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Postby Glenn » Thu Jul 07, 2011 1:02 pm

He didn't want her to hurt? He knew well enough not to say it out loud though. The whole concept was just stupid considering what she had been through, considering that she was making herself safer now. "Fine." He didn't shut his eyes. He wanted to, but he didn't. He could do that much for her, even if she wasn't going to appreciate it.

"Do it now." Notice that he didn't ask her to do it for him too. That looked sharp and painful and probably bloody too. No, he didn't want to watch. But, he would. He would. Elliot cleared his through uncomfortably. "Alright, Suede. He betrayed everyone. But they've never really been able to catch him. He faked his own death they say. And if Glenn really wanted to arrest him he wouldn't have to frame him for anything, right? He could just do it. There are plenty of bad things Suede did, like killed people for money. But maybe Suede wouldn't have gotten caught if he did do it. Okay, here's what I think. I think maybe Suede's not behind it at all." That Elliot came up with that answer so quickly, with so little evidence was a little absurd and his commentary only got worse. "But he was as good a person to blame as anyone, because he's a bad person who does bad things. He's as likely to be behind it as anyone, so Glenn made the best guess he could. And maybe he's right and maybe he's not. So I don't think it's Glenn's fault, except for maybe that he blamed Suede when he didn't know for sure that Suede did it. And it's more likely that Suede did it anyway because he's a really bad person. Everyone knows that he lies all the time and sleeps with Drow. SO, I wouldn't believe what Suede says, no matter what, but Glenn might have just given people the easy answer that they wanted to hear. That's what people like him do."

Hopefully, by now, Niall was somewhat used to the boy thinking out loud like that. He only ever did it when she asked him something complicated and the last few words were generally the only ones that were important.
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Niall

Postby Jirai » Thu Jul 07, 2011 2:00 pm

Throughout the speech she seemed to be paying little attention to him, focusing intently on what she was doing. She'd worked through the runes earlier, puzzling out the balance, now it was simply a matter of finding the correct spot. Murmering under her breath in her own tongue, fingers traced the runes tattooed on her side until she'd found what she wanted. The needle was next, handled with the ease of long practice. Then a swipe of the liquid in the jar, a pat from the cloth and she traced the runes again. This time they flared blue and after a long moment's pause she moved to put the tools back into her belt pouch.

"So if neither of them did it, who did?" Whoever it was, she had something to give them. She gripped her staff in one hand, but made no move to rise immediately.
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Elliot

Postby Glenn » Thu Jul 07, 2011 2:50 pm

Honestly, the babbling helped the boy squire get through the ordeal of watching her do that. He didn't flinch, not even a little. He had seen worse things happen to her, yes, but those were all dreamlike, surreal. This was very, very real. It was sort of amazing he'd never seen her do anything like this before. It answered questions he didn't even know he had.

She had asked another question of his own. "Okay. So Roschen is probably blaming Burnie because of the fact that Burnie blamed him." He started to pace around in front of her. Elliot only knew what he'd do and.. "That's what I'd do if I was him. And you don't want to mess with the Constables and the government and all that too much. I don't want you to get in trouble," and no, he didn't mean with Kyra. "Do you know any spells to make anyone tell the truth? You could use that on Roschen. Like I said, at best, if he's lying, Burnie would say that he didn't know who did it and then we have to start all over. That'd be a waste of time. Suede would either admit that he did it or not. That'd be quickest." He looked at her plainly. "Can you even do that?" Months and months with her and he had NO idea what she could do.
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Niall

Postby Jirai » Thu Jul 07, 2011 5:08 pm

He'd never seen it before. No one in Myrken had seen it before, and she knew just how much she revealed in those actions. Elliot would do well to keep it to himself.

"I'd have to work out the runes. I could do it, but it is more a question of how much effort and power it would take. And I'd likely not be able to do much else while working it." That was a concern for obvious reasons - Elliot has seen her heal herself once before, when she becomes totally oblivious to the world and incapable of reacting. Vulnerable. Niall did not like being vulenerable.
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Elliot

Postby Glenn » Fri Jul 08, 2011 12:29 am

Elliot stared at her. She could do it? Of course she could do it. Probably. "If he lies about everything, does it make it harder than if he was someone who mostly told the truth?" That was a pretty meaningless question but those were the sort that the squire excelled at. Things had gotten rather serious what with her using a that needle and considering dire action. He couldn't ask his question anymore. Instead, he just looked away, considering something himself. When he spoke once more, his voice was quiet. He was edging towards a line. "I have a very big sword, Niall. If you want.." His voice caught, but he pushed through it. "It can be pointed at his throat the entire time you're working."
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Niall

Postby Jirai » Fri Jul 08, 2011 4:16 am

"I don't know, I've never done it before." She'd never needed to. The scarred girl pushed herself to her feet finally, leaning again on that staff. "I'll think about it, Elliot." That was actually quite diplomatic, wasn't it? She didn't bother mentioning how that very sword practically made him collapse just minutes past.
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Elliot

Postby Glenn » Fri Jul 08, 2011 4:28 am

Running around Myrken looking for her was what made him almost collapse. So long as they didn't have to chase Roschen around, it shouldn't be too bad.
Whether or not she thought he could actually take the man's life in cold blood was another story. If she didn't believe it, the tailor never would. Of course, if Jirai was there... Then it could all get very very bad, no matter his mettle. Niall was rising though. That meant she was about to go. He could go with her but they wouldn't talk anymore. Times like this were few and far between. He still had his question, as foolish as it sounded in the face of her maiming herself, in the face of all of this. Still.. he was Elliot and she was Niall and he could ask her things he wouldn't dare ask anyone else. "Niall," he started, his voice soft. He could ask her, but he maybe couldn't do it very loudly. "The last months. Did any of that really happen?" He held his hand up for her. There was a little scar on it. It had come from a very, very large... well, what it was, wasn't important, but it was impossible. It was probably just a hallucination from the chocolate that he got swept up in. That's what made sense. Still, on his hand... the little scar.
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Niall

Postby Jirai » Fri Jul 08, 2011 7:37 am

Niall certainly had her doubts about whether Elliot could actually kill someone. He was much too nice, really. She'd started walking when the squire gave voice to his question and glanced back over her shoulder. Her answer was probably not the most reassuring. "How else did you get that?" She didn't seem at all bothered by what was clearly bothering the boy.
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