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Post by Prince Amy O'Connor on Mar 3, 2016 5:09:22 GMT
The sun had long since set and, for once, Nagasaki was quiet. The war hovered just over the city, making the air tense to the point of nausea, and Findero Lauden had grown tired of the weight suffocating the supernatural creatures like a blanket. He had placed a delicate kiss upon Dantye's temple before escaping from the confines of Amy O'Connor's rule. As per her request, he had taken a cellphone for ease of communication, but it remained turned off in the deep pocket of his slacks where the bright screen of technology could not interrupt the night sky.
Taking a ferry to the uninhabited island, Kaba Island, just off the shore of the main city, he expected nothing but peace. The Madness Network was made aware of his whereabouts, just in case, but afterwards, their voices were a dull babble in his mind. He paid them no actual attention, preferring to allow their constant gibberish in the back of his head, enhancing his sense of complete insanity.
Sighing softly, he kicked off his shoes and socks, walking with his bare feet across the rolling sand. The trees and plant-life looked withered to his cursed eyes, but after hundreds of years, that was normal. He even managed to find beauty in the rotting carcass of a crab upon the shore, just as he wondered if it was actually there or if the crab was alive and simply remaining still, trying to go unnoticed by the monstrous, seven foot tall man that shared its space.
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Post by Octavian O'Connor on Mar 3, 2016 5:39:18 GMT
Octavian had left the manor a few hours before, driving his prized Nova through the streets of Nagasaki. Listening to the gears shift, feeling the weight of the car on its suspension when it turns, feeling the pure power underneath him as he gunned the engine through straightaways and around corners. There wasn't anything quite like harnessing raw power with human ingenuity, especially when it could; the engine roared as his foot hit the floor, tearing across the massive bridge separating Kaba island from the rest of Japan.
Pulling onto the islands empty parking lot, the engine quieted down from an ear piercing roar to a gutteral growl. Only to be silenced as he pulled the keys from the ignition and tucked them into the pocket of his blazer. The young Ventrue started down for the beach, his shined dress shoes kicking up sand and shells.
Young Octavian was looking for some peace and quiet to contemplate the swords that hung on his belt. A demon had found him worthy of the weapons, how a demon could come to that conclusion was a subject he hadn't even begin to wrap his mind around, when suddenly he realized he wasn't as alone as he thought.
Finn stood on the beach, staring down at some form of oceanic wildlife or other. Aside from his eggplant colored hair shipping in the wind, Octavian could have easily, (in his mortal days) mistaken the massive Malkavian for a very large statue.
"Good evening Finn, I hadn't expected to see anyone out here in the middle of winter." He smiled warmly, welcoming to the overly large Primigen. "What brings you out here this evening?" He asked, walking over to stand next to one of his oldest friends.
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Post by Prince Amy O'Connor on Mar 3, 2016 14:49:27 GMT
Finn had become focused, nearly obsessed, with the tiny little cracked carcass covered in maggots. He could watch each individual worm squirm as it fed, hearing the crunching as they broke down the soft body within the shell. As one claw came up and snapped, he was forced to realize that what he saw was only to his eyes, only in his mind. The crab was very much alive. Wasn't madness beautiful?
His lips grew into a smile, even as Octavian began to approach him. He couldn't tear his emerald gaze away from the creature as it was devoured, even if only in delusion. His head slowly began to tilt to one side, like an egg timer ticking. Finally, it clicked, the bones of his neck giving an obnoxiously loud crack, a sound that reverberated through the still air. If one didn't know better, they may believe he had broken his own neck, somehow.
He didn't bother to speak until the echoes had quieted down once more. The crab scurried away towards the safety of crashing waves, and he watched it. "Eeeeevening, Octavian," he murmured, voice a low rumble. Perhaps he should feel uncomfortable around this man: after all, the last two times he had been even remotely alone with him, the Ventrue had caused him direct harm. Perhaps his willingness to stay near him was simply... insanity.
Or maybe it was the flames of Hell lapping at his belt. That could be it, too.
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Post by Octavian O'Connor on Mar 3, 2016 15:17:49 GMT
He couldn't help but stare at the madman for a moment. That had been the same greeting he'd received the last time they had been on the island together. Though the last time he had been the madman... Perhaps they were both mad? Who can really tell? Octavian moved to stand next to Finn, his hands moving into his pockets, brown eyes staring out at the ocean. "I'm sorry for what happened Finn." He decided to cut to the chase, leave the formalities at the door. "I hope you can find some way to forgive me." He finished quietly looking down at the crab the Malkavian had been staring at before he'd arrived.
What was it that caused the pair to be so polar opposite, but care so deeply for the same individual, for Amy? Octavian couldn't fathom the answer to that question, nor the countless others he had regarding his tall friend. "Pool sometime perhaps?" He was talking to himself then, wondering aloud if that Malkavian was even familiar with the game. How long had it been since he'd been to a pool hall, how long had it been since he'd done many of the things he used to enjoy? He couldn't really remember. His life had most certainly become far more... Hectic since he'd become a Kindred. Maybe all the stress just needed to be alleviated with something ordinary, something like pool, or a boxing match, heh, or even a game of chess.
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Post by Prince Amy O'Connor on Mar 3, 2016 15:23:48 GMT
"I don't swim."
The lunatic's voice was the deep, low rumble of Thunder before a Storm, the warning just before lightning struck. Even such an ignorant statement, removed completely from the implied meaning, sounded like a passive threat. He did not bother to raise his gaze from the sandy beach, even once the crab disappeared completely from view.
His thoughts were focused on Octavian's first cluster of statements. Forgiveness... the truest form of madness. His smile remained in place, making his face look gaunt and thin. To knowingly allow somebody to hurt you again when given the opportunity under the false pretense that maybe, just maybe, they were something other than monsters? Now, that was funny. His laughter fell from his lips, an assault on the ears. Luckily, there was no one around.
"I protected you... for the sake of your wife. She loooo-ooooves you, y'know." Love. True love. Weakness. "She'd never forgive me if I allowed the whiskered one's uncle to strike you down."
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Post by Octavian O'Connor on Mar 3, 2016 16:18:11 GMT
"Not swimming... Billiards..." He responded to Finn's statement about swimming. He could hear the implied threat, and he simply stood there, turning only when he mentioned Nuko. His fists clenching in his pockets. He kept his mouth shut on the subject, if Nichiya were really Nuko's uncle, why would they come here? Why would they look to instigate a war, specifically a war with family? Octavian returned his now brown gaze to the sea sighing softly as his hands relaxed. "What do you think Finn?" He asked the madman curiously, about what he was asking he really didn't know. Finn seemed to have that strange quality that he could answer questions that hadn't quite formed yet.
The neonate still had no idea what to do about the swords, or why he'd been given them. No idea how to mend his relationship with the Malkavian, and even less of an idea of what this war was going to bring. Octavian was stuck. Trapped in a kaleidoscope of strange, lost, confused, hurt and distressed. He had no idea what to do, how to do it and even worse. He had no idea how to figure out what it was he was supposed to be doing.
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Post by Prince Amy O'Connor on Mar 3, 2016 16:25:44 GMT
"I think you should find him," the madman growled, voice low in contemplation. The image of his brother, in all his disgusting glory, came unbidden to his mind. He had yet to forgive the man for everything he had done to Amy, Finn himself, and others. He had watched the complete and utter destruction caused by Vindelo Lauden. Madness, while beautiful, did not inherently mean combat. Would he never understand that?
Lips peeled back in an almost animalistic snarl, a look of loathing slowly creeping across him as he drowned within the emotion. The monstrous power of Finn rippled through the Madness Network, silencing the voices of those close enough. Rini would be unable to speak for the duration of his conversation.
"Save the woman that means so much to you. You now have the power to do so." One gloved hand motioned towards the swords that hung from Octavian's belt before his fingers spasmed wildly and curled into his palm. "Do not waste the gift that has been given to you. Save her or die trying, for she won't be long to follow you. Take up your arms, cousin, and do what you know to be right."
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Post by Octavian O'Connor on Mar 3, 2016 17:29:58 GMT
Octavian paid the Primogen careful attention, his eyes staring up and into Finn's emerald greens. There was only one person in the world Finn could be talking about, one creature that could do what he'd suggested. The person he hated more than anyone else on the planet, Vindelo. His hands dropped down to the handles of the weapon he'd been granted. A gesture he learned from a certain Assamite. "How do I stop him from escaping as he did in Lunaria?" He asked, having been privy to those specific memories when Amy had decided to punish him. Vindelo escaped, he'd seen him hooded in London. How did the Malkavian survive?
The young Ventrue looked driven, more so than he had the night he went to deal with the eastern monsters. Vindelo had to die, and it would be by his hands that the creature would be slain.
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Post by Prince Amy O'Connor on Mar 3, 2016 17:33:48 GMT
His laughter bubbled up inside of him, spilling over like a frothing pot. His arms wrapped around his waist and he leaned his shoulders back, opening his lungs for deeper, louder laughter. It was hilarious to him. How did one stop Vindelo from going to Acadia, his home away from home, his Malkav given blessing?
"Don't you wish it was just a dream?" He murmured to the neonate. As always, everything he said was a clue, a hint. Nothing was black and white with the lunatic. Nothing was simple. "Too bad Kindred can't dream in Acadia. Only the Changeling can sleep there."
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Post by Octavian O'Connor on Mar 4, 2016 9:56:00 GMT
Octavian frowned thinking on the madman's words. Sleep, how could he put Vindelo to sleep? Octavian truly had no answer to that, at least not yer. With a sigh he looked up toward Finn. "Thank you again my mad friend, for everything." He wanted to reach up and pat his shoulder, but decided against it. "Vindelo will die, I swear to you that much." He offered the Malkavian the only thing he really had. His word. As far as Octavian was aware, he'd done everything he possibly could to keep that word.
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Post by Prince Amy O'Connor on Mar 4, 2016 10:04:20 GMT
"Exchange," the lunatic murmured, mostly under his breath. He turned his gaze, eyes crystallized emeralds, towards the neonate. Even taking his imposing height out of the rquation, it didn't take much for the madman to be intimidating. On some nights, he seemed perfectly sane, well groomed and well kept. On others, nights like tonight, his madness was undeniable.
"I gave you information to reach your goal. I have something I want in exchange."
His voice was low, a growl that rumbled within his chest before tainting the air around them. The thunderous threat had faded, but in its place was something far more terrifying.
Desperation.
"I will trade you my brother for my sister. The Bride. I need to find her."
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Post by Octavian O'Connor on Mar 4, 2016 10:21:36 GMT
Octavian watched the madman turn, watched those emerald eyes pierce him and he didn't flinch away, he never had. Perhaps he was insane, but what did that matter? Desperation was not something he had ever seen the massive Primogen express. Concern was written plainly across his features. Despite everything that he had seen and experienced over the past couple of years, Octavian still considered Finn a friend when so many other were simply too terrified to really try to learn anymore.
"I'll help you find your sister, I'll cure Amy of this Curse, I'll see Vindelo dead, and I wont stop until everything is done Finn. You have my word."
His hand extended, offered out to Finn, he remembered the last time they stood on this island and made a deal. This time, it was Octavian that was going to help Finn.
"I kill Vindelo, we find your sister." Clean crisp and concise, absolutely Ventrue, and an absolutely mad plan. All Finn had to do was shake.
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Post by Prince Amy O'Connor on Mar 4, 2016 16:38:34 GMT
His head slowly tilted to one side until the tendons of his neck were plainly visible against his skin, looking at Octavian almost upside down. His smile was slow and careful, the desperation almost immediately disappearing from his features. Whether that was bravado or he had faked the intense emotion was something no one but Finn would know.
He thrust a gloved hand out to take Octavian's, nearly crushing it with the force in his fingers, and offered the neonate a single shake up and down. His maniacal laughter once more began to pull from him until it seemed to fill the still air all around them. Then, it stopped suddenly, leaving only silence.
"Let the games begin."
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