Aye. Got it in one. [He's got a keen sense about him, that's for sure. Not that it's likely any less obvious, but Nai will nod. Unreadable as his expression is, Fray seems...well, he at least seems just as bitter as she is about the state of this place, and for now, it's enough.] They're getting desperate, at this point. It won't be long before the things they've done have caught up to them, and they seem rather keen on ensuring that everyone goes down with them.
[...]
I cannot allow that to happen...but even now, I know not if I am strong enough alone, to do what needs to be done. [To settle this without resorting to putting their heads on pikes. To get bloody, bloody revenge in return for Haurchefant's untimely demise. It's all she's been thinking about, and at this point she doesn't care who her blade crosses paths with because if it means it will hurt less--] I must get stronger. Strong enough to cleave the path forward, and perhaps free these people from this senseless cycle.
[That's what she was waiting for. That spark of desire, the want to do good, but tempered by the pain Nai carries. It's understandable. It's why "Fray" is here. She'll teach Nai to harness that pain, to turn it into power and to help those who cannot help themselves.]
Aye, though the reach of my blade is too short, so to speak. [A soft scoff.] But that's where you come in.
I can see your strength - I can see your fire. You want power? Then I'll teach you the way of the Dark Knight.
[She draws the greatsword strapped to her back, the weight of it familiar already, despite the fact that she only just came into being. She holds it blade down, pommel toward Nai.]
Take the blade, heed my words, and together we'll harness that strength of yours - for those who cannot fight for themselves.
It is a heavy blade I offer; it weighs as it should. The burden of protecting others is not an easy one to bear. But I know you'll be capable of it, Nai.
Me...? [Nai sounds incredulous, and maybe it's just because she's been so deprived of praise for so long--she wants to believe that, but even she can't hide the way her hackles slightly raise. Though his tone sounds as if he wants to teach, a part of her wonders if she's just going to end up used. She won't let that happen again.] ...You put too much confidence in someone that you have just met. I'd be careful; you could end up putting your confidence in a real scoundrel.
[Because that's what she is, deep down. This man doesn't need to know that, and despite herself, Nai's tone gets the teeniest bit of wry before her face is back to that stony seriousness. Her one eye looks to the pommel of the blade in his hand, eyes unerring from it for a moment before she looks back to the man in question.
Whatever he intends to teach her would almost certainly be suited for someone else. But Nai's strength alone isn't good enough. It wasn't good enough to save Haurchefant. It may not even be good enough to save Fray, should something happen...
...But he believes in her, and somehow, that compels her to reach out and take the handle of that blade.]
...If you do believe in my potential, however, I've no issue with making an attempt to learn from you. It serves your purpose as well, does it not? Many hands makes lighter work, so to speak.
[And cleaning these bastards out is bound to serve his purpose just as well. It makes sense, despite her disbelief; he needs someone to help fight his war, and she needs to keep the people around her safe.
Perhaps that, and that alone, it could make up for everything.]
[She waits for Nai's decision - but she already knows what it will be. After all, it was that desire - for power, understanding, control - that led her here. Nai will accept, because Nai has already accepted the dark arts. The soul crystal would not have reacted so if she hadn't. Fray hands the blade over - it's a heavy blade, but nothing Nai should be incapable of wielding.]
We're in agreement, then.
[And just in time, given that a shout comes from down the way. Her eyes flick in that direction, but she doesn't move just yet.]
Know that this will not be an easy path, but I shall be here every step of the way. You will heed my words, and you will grow stronger. Should you stray too far, that darkness may consume you whole.
[A warning, a caution, but she has faith that Nai won't let it consume her. Not yet. Not now. If she was going to be consumed by her hatred and anger and sorrow, it would have happened already.]
[Nai takes the blade properly into her hand, not balking at the weight at all--it feels comfortable, almost. Not quite familiar; her preferences have always been for long and sharp blades, those lightweight and easy to make cleave through what you wish. But this blade...it's a blade with purpose, conviction behind it. Heavy is the hand that carries out the deaths of many, after all.
Fray is far more noble than she. Fray isn't a murderer; Fray doesn't revel in the bloodshed. At least, from what she has assumed. It could easily be her placing her trust in a craven scoundrel. And truthfully, she could easily get consumed by this darkness. But...
Just once. Just this once, she wants to believe someone has her best interests and isn't using her. She'll place her trust in Fray.]
...I understand. No path but forward, then.
[And right on cue (with the inward thought of i truly can never have peace, can i?), Nai's one visible eye sharpens as she grips the blade tightly in both of her hands.]
Yes. [Like the weapon she (thinks she is) is, stiff as a soldier, Nai is ready to meet whatever has elected to come to her.] Let us go.
[Nai will rush off like a shot, expecting Fray to follow as she readies herself to cleave this path forward. What's the situation?]
[She follows, of course. Silent, despite the heavy armor, remaining just a step or two behind Nai the whole time.
The yelling is coming from a distraught older woman; her granddaughter has been taken by the Temple Knights after an altercation. She begs for help, for the assistance of someone strong enough to save her granddaughter. This isn't the first time such a thing has happened, she reveals as she speaks, and Nai likely isn't all that surprised that the Temple Knights' plans for the girl are less than honorable.]
There's always trouble with the Knights, isn't there? [Ever since she arrived to Ishgard, and well before that it would seem.] She may survive this... but I assume you'd rather put your new power to use against the Knights.
[To right one wrong, no matter how small. There is no saving all of those the Temple Knights have already taken, but this one girl may not share the same fate. Nai is strong enough for it. Nai will succeed at mastering the dark arts, she already knows this.]
[Nai's eye spots the older woman shouting; her granddaughter was kidnapped by the knights? She can't say she's surprised, to say the least. And less so at the idea of what they have in store; that poor girl doesn't deserve this. The grandmother, she doesn't deserve this either.
Nai will gladly assure the old woman that she'll help her, before she's off like a shot again. They need to hurry. But Fray's words...something in them resonates just a bit too much, but Nai feels herself stiffen a bit at them.]
Saving that girl is my foremost priority. [Nai's words are clipped, but doesn't say anything further to that effect. The bloodlust, the idea of killing and killing and killing these bastards and presenting their heads along with her perfectly safe granddaughter--Nai needs to focus.] If I can learn a thing or two along the way, all the better.
[Nai can already feel dark thoughts clouding her mind; she attempts to shake them off. They need to keep going.]
[It builds and builds within her, within them - that darkness, the emotional toll that all of this is taking on her and Nai's fury and pain that have coalesced into the being that stole a dead man's name. This is it - this is what she's meant for.]
Go, then. Allow my words to guide you - allow those feelings to become your strength. Do not let them control you - you control them. Turn that anger into fuel to bolster your strength!
[When exactly did she get a staff anyway? Well, don't worry about it. She's here to heal any wounds Nai receives, to keep her in fighting shape against the Temple Knights.
Nai may start to feel herself become overwhelmed by those feelings at certain points - every time, "Fray" calls to her. Every time, she will find she isn't alone to face her fury, her pain, her sorrow. They manifest as dark flames - reaching out to them will bolster her, make her feel stronger and more in control of both the dark arts and her own emotions.
It will be a slaughter. The Temple Knights are ill prepared for someone of Nai's strength, and she will have little trouble cutting her way to the captured girl to save her.
[...When would a knight have time to take up healing--
You know what, it doesn't matter. Nai doesn't see any need to hold back against the Temple Knights--if any of them were to be left breathing after this, it could certainly cause some unsavory rumors to crop up that could prove problematic. But their sins are truly innumerable, and Nai is already justifying this slaughter in her mind as she goes on the attack.
That darkness is overwhelming, resonating with every bit of Nai that wants to go back to simply cutting anything in her path. Because in the end people are just flesh, bone, no better than the animals she hunted, and these people at least deserve it, they deserve to die like the people they've left scared to live--
But Fray's words bring her back from that brink every time. They let her keep her focus, and those flames she reaches out and touches--she feels a little more centered. In control of herself, rather than moments from giving into her urges. She wonders, inwardly, if this should be a teaching experience at all, but it must say something about the faith he has in her that he allows her to kill them herself.
And kill them she does. The heavier blade does at least mean that it's less messy than her usual when she gets like this, but for a moment, there's peace, quiet, and many dead bodies littering the ground. It's peaceful. For a long while, this silence was the only peace she got, and she simply breathes for a moment. They need to find that girl, but...]
...My thanks, for the assistance.
[...Nai's going to pull out a cloth to at least try to clean herself up a little bit before they go see that little girl. No need to scare her by looking more frightening than the knights, right?]
You were not wrong, about such power being overwhelming.
[Nai's wounds are patched - the healing magic feeling much like any she's experienced before... but then, of course it is. It's based on the healers who have healed her in the past, drawn on her memories and woven through her aether and inner darkness with ease. She doesn't have to think about it; she simply knows what must be done, and does it.
Perhaps the same can be said of Nai, who has taken well to the dark arts.]
It is not a power that anyone can wield. You've done well.
["Fray"'s golden eyes squint behind the mask - a smile. Nai may not smile easily, but who else could be so proud of her but herself?]
Should you wish to keep pursuing this power, I will be here to guide you. But first, you've a woman in distress to tend to.
[The Church's doors yawn open, and a frightened young woman makes her way towards them, eyes wide. She looks around at the slain knights - not with fear, but with curiosity.
She'll thank Nai, whenever Nai is ready to approach her and explains the situation; all the knights that were guarding her exited the Church to fight Nai, so she's been spared any injury or harm thanks to the timely interference. Her thanks are heartfelt and genuine, and once she's been reassured (by Nai, of course, as "Fray" simply watches silently) that Nai's uninjured, she takes her leave back to her grandmother in the Brume.]
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no subject
Aye. Got it in one. [He's got a keen sense about him, that's for sure. Not that it's likely any less obvious, but Nai will nod. Unreadable as his expression is, Fray seems...well, he at least seems just as bitter as she is about the state of this place, and for now, it's enough.] They're getting desperate, at this point. It won't be long before the things they've done have caught up to them, and they seem rather keen on ensuring that everyone goes down with them.
[...]
I cannot allow that to happen...but even now, I know not if I am strong enough alone, to do what needs to be done. [To settle this without resorting to putting their heads on pikes. To get bloody, bloody revenge in return for Haurchefant's untimely demise. It's all she's been thinking about, and at this point she doesn't care who her blade crosses paths with because if it means it will hurt less--] I must get stronger. Strong enough to cleave the path forward, and perhaps free these people from this senseless cycle.
...As I assume you have tried?
no subject
Aye, though the reach of my blade is too short, so to speak. [A soft scoff.] But that's where you come in.
I can see your strength - I can see your fire. You want power? Then I'll teach you the way of the Dark Knight.
[She draws the greatsword strapped to her back, the weight of it familiar already, despite the fact that she only just came into being. She holds it blade down, pommel toward Nai.]
Take the blade, heed my words, and together we'll harness that strength of yours - for those who cannot fight for themselves.
It is a heavy blade I offer; it weighs as it should. The burden of protecting others is not an easy one to bear. But I know you'll be capable of it, Nai.
no subject
Me...? [Nai sounds incredulous, and maybe it's just because she's been so deprived of praise for so long--she wants to believe that, but even she can't hide the way her hackles slightly raise. Though his tone sounds as if he wants to teach, a part of her wonders if she's just going to end up used. She won't let that happen again.] ...You put too much confidence in someone that you have just met. I'd be careful; you could end up putting your confidence in a real scoundrel.
[Because that's what she is, deep down. This man doesn't need to know that, and despite herself, Nai's tone gets the teeniest bit of wry before her face is back to that stony seriousness. Her one eye looks to the pommel of the blade in his hand, eyes unerring from it for a moment before she looks back to the man in question.
Whatever he intends to teach her would almost certainly be suited for someone else. But Nai's strength alone isn't good enough. It wasn't good enough to save Haurchefant. It may not even be good enough to save Fray, should something happen...
...But he believes in her, and somehow, that compels her to reach out and take the handle of that blade.]
...If you do believe in my potential, however, I've no issue with making an attempt to learn from you. It serves your purpose as well, does it not? Many hands makes lighter work, so to speak.
[And cleaning these bastards out is bound to serve his purpose just as well. It makes sense, despite her disbelief; he needs someone to help fight his war, and she needs to keep the people around her safe.
Perhaps that, and that alone, it could make up for everything.]
no subject
We're in agreement, then.
[And just in time, given that a shout comes from down the way. Her eyes flick in that direction, but she doesn't move just yet.]
Know that this will not be an easy path, but I shall be here every step of the way. You will heed my words, and you will grow stronger. Should you stray too far, that darkness may consume you whole.
[A warning, a caution, but she has faith that Nai won't let it consume her. Not yet. Not now. If she was going to be consumed by her hatred and anger and sorrow, it would have happened already.]
Ready to put that blade to the test, warrior?
no subject
Fray is far more noble than she. Fray isn't a murderer; Fray doesn't revel in the bloodshed. At least, from what she has assumed. It could easily be her placing her trust in a craven scoundrel. And truthfully, she could easily get consumed by this darkness. But...
Just once. Just this once, she wants to believe someone has her best interests and isn't using her. She'll place her trust in Fray.]
...I understand. No path but forward, then.
[And right on cue (with the inward thought of i truly can never have peace, can i?), Nai's one visible eye sharpens as she grips the blade tightly in both of her hands.]
Yes. [Like the weapon she (thinks she is) is, stiff as a soldier, Nai is ready to meet whatever has elected to come to her.] Let us go.
[Nai will rush off like a shot, expecting Fray to follow as she readies herself to cleave this path forward. What's the situation?]
no subject
The yelling is coming from a distraught older woman; her granddaughter has been taken by the Temple Knights after an altercation. She begs for help, for the assistance of someone strong enough to save her granddaughter. This isn't the first time such a thing has happened, she reveals as she speaks, and Nai likely isn't all that surprised that the Temple Knights' plans for the girl are less than honorable.]
There's always trouble with the Knights, isn't there? [Ever since she arrived to Ishgard, and well before that it would seem.] She may survive this... but I assume you'd rather put your new power to use against the Knights.
[To right one wrong, no matter how small. There is no saving all of those the Temple Knights have already taken, but this one girl may not share the same fate. Nai is strong enough for it. Nai will succeed at mastering the dark arts, she already knows this.]
no subject
Nai will gladly assure the old woman that she'll help her, before she's off like a shot again. They need to hurry. But Fray's words...something in them resonates just a bit too much, but Nai feels herself stiffen a bit at them.]
Saving that girl is my foremost priority. [Nai's words are clipped, but doesn't say anything further to that effect. The bloodlust, the idea of killing and killing and killing these bastards and presenting their heads along with her perfectly safe granddaughter--Nai needs to focus.] If I can learn a thing or two along the way, all the better.
[Nai can already feel dark thoughts clouding her mind; she attempts to shake them off. They need to keep going.]
no subject
Go, then. Allow my words to guide you - allow those feelings to become your strength. Do not let them control you - you control them. Turn that anger into fuel to bolster your strength!
[When exactly did she get a staff anyway? Well, don't worry about it. She's here to heal any wounds Nai receives, to keep her in fighting shape against the Temple Knights.
Nai may start to feel herself become overwhelmed by those feelings at certain points - every time, "Fray" calls to her. Every time, she will find she isn't alone to face her fury, her pain, her sorrow. They manifest as dark flames - reaching out to them will bolster her, make her feel stronger and more in control of both the dark arts and her own emotions.
It will be a slaughter. The Temple Knights are ill prepared for someone of Nai's strength, and she will have little trouble cutting her way to the captured girl to save her.
As it should be, of course.]
no subject
[...When would a knight have time to take up healing--
You know what, it doesn't matter. Nai doesn't see any need to hold back against the Temple Knights--if any of them were to be left breathing after this, it could certainly cause some unsavory rumors to crop up that could prove problematic. But their sins are truly innumerable, and Nai is already justifying this slaughter in her mind as she goes on the attack.
That darkness is overwhelming, resonating with every bit of Nai that wants to go back to simply cutting anything in her path. Because in the end people are just flesh, bone, no better than the animals she hunted, and these people at least deserve it, they deserve to die like the people they've left scared to live--
But Fray's words bring her back from that brink every time. They let her keep her focus, and those flames she reaches out and touches--she feels a little more centered. In control of herself, rather than moments from giving into her urges. She wonders, inwardly, if this should be a teaching experience at all, but it must say something about the faith he has in her that he allows her to kill them herself.
And kill them she does. The heavier blade does at least mean that it's less messy than her usual when she gets like this, but for a moment, there's peace, quiet, and many dead bodies littering the ground. It's peaceful. For a long while, this silence was the only peace she got, and she simply breathes for a moment. They need to find that girl, but...]
...My thanks, for the assistance.
[...Nai's going to pull out a cloth to at least try to clean herself up a little bit before they go see that little girl. No need to scare her by looking more frightening than the knights, right?]
You were not wrong, about such power being overwhelming.
no subject
Perhaps the same can be said of Nai, who has taken well to the dark arts.]
It is not a power that anyone can wield. You've done well.
["Fray"'s golden eyes squint behind the mask - a smile. Nai may not smile easily, but who else could be so proud of her but herself?]
Should you wish to keep pursuing this power, I will be here to guide you. But first, you've a woman in distress to tend to.
[The Church's doors yawn open, and a frightened young woman makes her way towards them, eyes wide. She looks around at the slain knights - not with fear, but with curiosity.
She'll thank Nai, whenever Nai is ready to approach her and explains the situation; all the knights that were guarding her exited the Church to fight Nai, so she's been spared any injury or harm thanks to the timely interference. Her thanks are heartfelt and genuine, and once she's been reassured (by Nai, of course, as "Fray" simply watches silently) that Nai's uninjured, she takes her leave back to her grandmother in the Brume.]