consolation | kenos inbox

[Friendship wasn't something she considered often in this world. There was duty, sometimes, and occasionally, the glimpse of understanding that might be perceived as through a frosted window looking in from outside. But rarely did she entertain the thought that the foundations of relationships built here could scaffolded into friendship. In some ways, it seemed entirely antithetical to what many wished to achieve in the first place.

Caren's choice to remain with Meridian even after the haze of corruption left her mind had been simple. She was called. She felt little draw to the cause, little investment in the political unrest. But Set had not been wrong that there was angry suffering at the center of Meridian, a grief that bared its fangs through its Shardbearers. So she had endeavored to try, of her own volition. If she had hoped, even for a moment, for a recreated world that promised her different circumstances, then that too was a trick of the light.

Going out midday (which was always) in such a crowded city still wasn't pleasant, but the sun-shielding parasol she received from Cetina mitigated what it could. Caren pulled the parasol's canopy closed upon entering the garden. She was a little overgrown herself: Discord had been bubbling unchecked in her heart for a while now, hair a gauzy tuft.]

I've come in response to your invitation. Thank you for having me. [Her greeting was polite - normal, even, in a way that felt a little guarded.]

[ The door opened for her with Akua standing within. Her home -- she called it The Pavilion, for what villain could have an unnamed lair? -- opened to Caren, marble floors and columns, an overwhelming growth both within and outside. The balcony that overlooked the street was practically beaming with life and growth -- Set's influence -- and there were fountains even on the inside. It was the very picture of a bright, airy, rich person's home. High windows, fine furnishings, sunlight filtered in.

Was it a villain's lair? Well, there were no rooms of screaming souls in eternal torment, but she made do. ]

I'm glad you could come. I thought it should be nice, to get to know you, given that we will be... working together at some point.

[ A beat, and a smile, then. ] And besides, it can be lonely finding yourself in a new faction, I've found.

[ She had, after all, conformed to Zenith temporarily, and had felt that loneliness. ]

I hope you enjoy tea?

[ She stepped back and into the home, offering to allow her to join her further within, where the secondary dining area held a small table, practically piled high with treats and teas. Her Walin-Falme (Think the Wicked Witch's Monkey Bat) was trundling from the kitchen, a teapot in hand. ]

Edited (i saw the typo RIGHT as i hit enter) 2023-07-16 18:56 (UTC)

[For someone like her, who was much more acquainted with enclosed spaces, buildings that keep things both within and without their walls, this house was more outdoors than indoors in many regards. Like a cage that can be hung outside the window. Perhaps she envied it a little...at least the balcony.]

We've already worked together, haven't we? [Even if not hand-in-hand.] Although my contributions were meager, I didn't want to rest until it was done.

[She had brought to the Blight research the handful of knowledge she'd obtained before the previous infection, the medical input she could provide from treating her wounds and others', and the dizzying deja vu of living days repeated, which had at least made it easier to organize.

Caren smiled politely and inclined her head toward Akua and the creature puttering its way over to them; even she was capable of polite manners as a houseguest, even if Set might decry it as impossible the moment he caught wind of her being there.] Tea is fine, thank you. Do you host newcomers often? I don't blame anyone for being suspicious or unwelcoming. In the end, I don't believe my membership in either faction will be decisive for anyone.

Mm, we did, yes. There were so many of us then, and it was not a part of the faction, I often... consider that as something else entirely.

[ It had been... odd. Like they had fallen into a trap, even though it had been to save the lot of Kenos, and it had seemed to exist out of time, out of everything. Akua had spent most of her time in experiments, trying different compounds, magical forces, trying everything her mind could come up with, setting computations... It's not surprising that she almost doesn't think about it. ]

Oddly, I suppose. We were doing something so grand, so important, but I will admit I was almost in my own world, while we worked.

[ Though as they moved further in, she laughed softly. ]

Only those that I find intriguing, I suppose. I would hardly discount someone as a worthy member if they said they were not decisive.

[ To be fair, there had already been plenty of defections. ] Besides, I think you are not shy of having worth to any faction, despite what you say, hm?

[ The small Walin-Falme pulled out a chair for Caren, with a comical little bow. ]

Hm, [Caren hummed thoughtfully, voice crystalline.] Like existing in a dream you are not really living. The impact of our actions will go mostly unknown, so it really is as if we weren't there in the first place.

[It was a sad sentiment, and yet there was little wistfulness in her voice as she described the sensation. Something had gone wrong across the progression of time, and all they'd done in the end was put it back where it belonged.

As the Walin-Falme politely bade her sit, Caren stepped straight past it to seat herself, sitting somewhat far up on the edge of the seat. Her pale skin had a slightly clammy bent to it, exacerbated, perhaps, by the shift from the sun to the indoors. Storing her parasol and removing the light sunhat she wore underneath for extra measure, Caren brushed her feathery bangs from her forehead.]

Hehehe... That's kind of you. I have always said that I will endeavor to do what I am able. But do you know something I do not? I seek to guide who I can through our circumstances, but I'm not a fighter or notable figure.

[ There was a soft chuff of a laugh, at her particular phrasing. She waited for her Walin-Falme to pull her chair out, before she let it push it back in. Though the Devil was smarter than some other types, it was still merely a Devil. It could talk, and it could understand, but it was closer to the intelligence of an older child, rather than a fully formed adult.

After she sat, it trotted toward the kitchen, and Akua picked up the small teapot, to offer to pour.

Most people did not seem to have the qualms with possible poisoning that she did, and thus didn't mind being served by others, she found. ]

I do know a great many things that others do not.

[ She said, with a mysterious smile. ]

Though, perhaps your position of a guide is something that I... understand. I, too, hold a similar Role in my world, and do my best to usher souls to find their rightful places.

[Akua's servile creature didn't seem particularly powerful or dangerous, but Caren found it slightly easier to breathe in its absence. It was just a slow and seedy ache, steady discomfort, the same as being around a large crowd of people. Back teeth rubbing together slightly, she nodded to accept the tea. It was less that she never considered the presence of poison and more that she had already determined that someone set on poisoning her could be forgiven for the deed.]

Is that really so? Then it makes sense for you to be the one with answers, given that authority. Purpose is easier than small talk.

[It was an authority more unusual to Caren. She wanted to answer what questions she could, mitigate the sins that caused so much suffering in these torn-up worlds, but it often felt as if her reason for being was unsettled. The services she once provided for the church are no longer needed here, so the ~~cruel~~ rare effect of her condition served minimal purpose.]

Meridian's church is a fixture of the community, but I haven't heard your name in conjunction with it. Your sights are set elsewhere.

Yes, they are.

[ She admitted, with a confident smile. ] I am not one for religion. Benediction toward my own gods manifests in the pursuit of power. Springstar's church is... unwelcoming to such things.

[ Or it's just. Too Good Aligned for her to look at it for long. They don't do churches in Praes, after all. Prayers to the gods below are private, and never in groups. Individualized. ]

I set my sights toward our victory, but perhaps in a different way than the church would have us. They've been established for a long time, after all. I think they would favor their power over the resurrection of our worlds.

[Caren had already admitted to a struggle with small talk, but even speaking generally about uninteresting details of her own life did not come easily to her. This much might have been obvious in her almost uncharacteristically awkward statements.] I am an orphan. The Holy Church of my world harbored me and in turn I was able to find my use to them. So when you think about it, it's quite miraculous.

[They would never see eye-to-eye regarding religion, and, as many believers do, she felt the slightest regret that they wouldn't. But of all the things Caren leveraged to pick at and torment others, nonbelief barely even made it into the radius of her judgment. People were people and sin was sin no matter what.

The tea was hot, but unlike the weather outside, she seemed to have less trouble subjecting her tongue to that kind of torment as she sipped from her cup.]

Even when I was with Zenith, I visited to see how popular the Church was here, and I realized just how popular it is. Of course it's good to have a guiding light in times of pain... [But... was silent in the silence following her words.]

I wonder what their plans are for the future of their congregation. If you don't see eye-to-eye with them now, the future's probably a point of contention for you, too.

[ She laughed. ] Likely, yes. We serve my gods by seeking power. Not by worship, or benediction, but by becoming the best, and seeking to enforce our will on creation itself. Force it to do what we want. No gods, no orders, merely worship through seeking power.

[ There is a smile there. ] In contrast, the House of Light tends to call our leaders the Arch Heretic of the East, and organize regular Crusades against us.

[ She does not, however, say how much Human Sacrifice her people engage in. ]

So my mistrust of them is to be expected, I'm afraid. I have, however, worked with those who follow in the light when required. When there is... a greater purpose to be found.

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