[PP-PT-F01 to F04] Fortunate Encounters

[Vex Vexxus 1]

I rolled onto my stomach and pushed myself to my feet with a small ‘hup’ I started to dust the snow off my white suit, humming to myself. Mari was annoyingly astute - I could swear black and blue I wasn’t here to follow her, hell - I doubted that she’d believe me even if I hadn’t been. She was far too on guard, and…who could blame her really. Banging one of the top brass of the Laughing Coffin would have one do that to you. Eh?

“Alrighty! Alrighty! You caught me!” I said as I held up my hands in defeat “I assure you, my sweetest Emilia had nothing to do with me being here.” I said with a sweeping bow toward the trio. It seemed that all three of them were rather annoyed with me. Well, maybe not the lad - but I didn’t really know what his deal was. I gave him a wink and a couple of double finger guns, “Yo, Yo!”

“I’m fine, and its Mrs.”

OHO! My eyes lit up at that. Since when did the two get hitched!? I clapped my hands together. “Mazel Tov! Mazel Tov!” Honestly? It was cause for celebration - maybe the two could chill each other out a little. Would make it harder for me to play my games with the woman - doing so would probably have me blown up. But still…this was most fortunate news!

[Khione 0]

Married? Khione shifted her gaze to Mari. To…Lancaster? The woman didn’t believe it, but a quick glance to Mari’s left hand and…yes, there was the ring. “Your reputation really tends to be exaggerated.” Khione said, shifting her weight to one side as she placed a hand on her hip.

“Mari. The Pink Pker. The Poisons Master. One of the strongest in Aincrad, who tore through countless souls. Rumours would say with no remorse but…” Khione paused. She knew those rumours were wrong, to an extent, at least. Mari had no remorse at the time, because she was too crazed. Driven mad by the death of her daughter. Khione wondered if Lancaster truly understood the weight of that. Or if Mari truly understood just how deep Lancasters sins were. Khione may be in the Coffin, she may hand over unsavory people to her superiors. But She hadn’t killed, nor did she condone violence against anyone young. Thankfully, in the recent years whatever powers that be had reigned in the uncontrolled chaos that was the LC beforehand. Now, it was less… violent. Even more so now with perhaps one of the most violent of them all cooped up playing house somewhere.

“I know they aren’t true.” Khione finished with a sigh. “Still, one thing was true. Cold, aloof. Yet Married. Congratulations?” She asked. Khione shifted her eyes to Reytac - the poor bastard. Khione invited him along to continue their conversations - since she didn’t mind his company - but perhaps this was a bad idea. “Sorry, didn’t expect such a mess.” She said to him.

[Reytac 0]

Reytac gave Emilia a slight nod, the majority of his attention on the other man there, who still had a self-satisfied smile on his face as he looked towards Mari. There was something about the white-dressed man that had the hairs on the back of Rey's neck prickling, something that was just ever so slightly off that he couldn't place. Not that he was flighty - Rey had met people in life who had attention spans that short, but at the same time… This man had been tracking him, or perhaps, more likely, Mari, for an extended period of time. And now that he was being confronted, was now distracted, or distractible? Rey shook his head, breaking his gaze finally before looking to Emilia to respond to her.

“To be fair, I kind of was. I don’t know Mrs. Mari very well here, but I don’t think she’d take to being followed very well. I’m just glad she didn’t respond to him like she did all those wolves that attacked us before.” He switched his attention to Mari. He’d been one of the impromptu witnesses to Mari and Lancaster’s rampage through the Town, so calling her just ‘Miss’ had been more a slip of the tongue or habit for politeness than anything.  With the initial discomfort, or anger perhaps, of being confronted by the person who had been stalking them before passed, and the sharply-dressed man at the very least was attempting to diffuse by celebrating her marriage..

If he wasn’t pretending to be happy about it, that is. The way he had almost immediately seemed to lose track of what he was saying at that point had Reytac uncomfortable about him. He’d have to keep an eye out for the other man in the future - he knew that Mari would already be doing that, but if Vex now had it in his mind that Reytac and Mari were associates - or if he knew that they were actually now guildmates - there was a chance  that he would start trying to track Reytac too. Or maybe it was just paranoia on his part - the man had seemed taken aback at the fact that Mari was married, so maybe the person she was married to was bad enough that it gave him pause? Which, considering the rumors already out there about Mari, had to be someone who was also a drastically dangerous person.
Reytac frowned slightly. He could ask the guy why he was following Mari, Rey was fairly certain it was Mari the man was after, but it wasn't like the man would actually answer him. It'd be too easy for Vex to pretend he'd forgotten - he was already acting forgetful of things he'd said moments before. The leather-clad man folded his arms over his chest and shook his head slightly - he hadn't stepped away from Emilia, since even she seemed a bit annoyed with the fancy man. 

 

Edited 1 hour ago by Reytac

[Mari 1]

Mari sighed, this wasn’t how she expected to spend her day - so much for trying to find new guild members for Jacobs Ladder. It’d be a miracle if the poor bastard stayed after this debacle. Vex still hadn’t told Mari why he was there. And there was something inherently off about the way he acted. How excited he seemed to get when Mari mentioned she was married. “Why do you care what my marital status is?” Mari asked Vex.

Vex bounced on the spot, giddy - like a child who had just been given his favourite candy. “Oh I just…” He would twirl his fingers around in a little circle. “It’s crazy! You know! First there’s just explosions and FIRE! And then….”  Vex  would clap his hands together loudly, causing both Mari and Khione to jump slightly, seeing this seemed to make the grin on Vex’s face grow. “Nothing. So yes. I am V-e-r-y interested Mrs Mari.”

“Explain.” Mari said again, this time - pulling out her weapon. “As the man said….” She’d gesture toward Reytac. “You’d not want to see the mess I can make. As the woman said, and as you said before they came here. You know very well what I am. Now, I don’t like making threats. Nor do I make them lightly - but Vex…” Mari swung her weapon around, the blade of the halberd mere inches from Vex’s throat. “I will not hesitate to cut down anyone who even breathes  in our direction wrong. Last chance. Why are you following me? Why the interest?” Ever since she had met him, the man had an odd interest in her - and Mari brushed it off. It wasn’t the first time someone had been fanatical around her, but how he reacted when she mentioned her marriage…dots began to connect. And Mari would not hesitate to cut down him, and anyone associated with him to protect her little pocket of happiness. Let her become the monster the rumours spoke of. 

Vex grinned then laughed as he clapped his hands, practically dancing on the spot. “Oh! OH! I thought you would have guessed by now!” He pushed the blade away from his neck with an index finger only to have Mari thrust it right back into his face. “Okay! Okay! I’ll come clean! I was makin’ sure you were yanno…safe.” He paused then continued. “A non threat to the Coffin!” He would snap his fingers at her and give her a double thumbs up. “And wouldn’t you know it! I deduce you as A-Okay!” He would wink at her as Mari finally lowered her weapon.

The Coffin…Mari should have figured as much. “And why?” Mari asked. She glanced over at Khione and Reytac. Did they know? Khione stepped slightly in front of Reytac, her eyes narrowing. She shoved a teleportation crystal in Reytacs hand and held fast to one in her own - ready to get the both of them out of there if she needed.

It didn’t seem like Khione, or Reytac knew. Come to think of it…. Lancaster wasn’t familiar with Khiones name either when Mari mentioned it to him the first time. So for now, those two were safe. Vex however…was not.

“Why? Oh my sweet little Mari! You Married a head honcho of our merry troupe!” Vex exclaimed with glee, clearly not caring about the delicate information he was sharing. Vex was never one to care about such politics. “You tamed an important man and I was curious as to how and why! But oh… it really does seem its just for love!” he placed his hands over his heart. “Bless the cockles of this lonely jesters heart! Oh how you warm it with hope! A shining beacon for all!”

“Reytac…” Khione said as she took a step back. “I think…we should leave.”

Mari rushed forward, knocking Vex to the floor and shoving the halberd straight into his chest. She twisted it sharply as the man did nothing but laugh at her sudden aggression. Mari had to ensure she didn’t kill him. She couldn’t. Wouldn’t harm members of the Laughing Coffin unless they attacked her first, but this man was a threat.

“This is your only warning.” Mari hissed. The woman was usually docile. But in that moment there was a grim precision with her strike. No hesitation in the risk of killing another. Cold eyes like glass as they stared down at Vex, consuming him as though he were little more than prey.

“Come near me, or Lancaster again - and it will be your fuckin’ head.”

Mari turned her gaze up toward Khione and Reytac. “And you both best forget what you saw here today. The less you know of the Laughing Coffin. The safer you’ll be.”

[Reytac 0]

One step back, pulling Emilia with him. It hadn't escaped Reytac that she'd tried to put herself between him and Vex when the man had started acting up. So she knew something was wrong with the cackling man, but maybe not what. Two steps back, now pulling Khione, in her casual dressy clothes and fur coat behind him as he squeezed onto the crystal that she'd handed him. “Way ahead of you Mari.” Showing up on the LC's radar was an absolutely atrocious idea, and one that, considering he wanted to get out of this death game, an idea that Reytac actively wanted to avoid. 

A glance at his HUD made sure that he wasn't flagged as in combat. And if he wasn't, then Emilia wasn't either. The man's attention, thankfully, seemed to be fully on Mari as he seemed almost amused by the threat and the halberd pinning him in place. Reytac waited the heartbeat or two to make sure he heard and saw Emilia shatter her teleport crystal, using it and disappearing, before he activated his own. The last thing he saw was Mari returning her attention to Vex now that the two ‘uninvolved’ were out of the way. 

The brunette man stumbled for one step as he caught himself after the teleport, then immediately looked around the Town of Beginnings teleport platform to see where Emilia was, to make sure she had actually gotten out of there safely. She had seemed outright afraid of Vex there at the end, like she hadn't realized just what kind of person he was. That made her either a consummate actor, or someone who had been caught up in more than she expected. 

He saw Emilia after a few moments of looking around. For a second he watched her, unsure if she'd known he was coming here as well, before he moved towards her. 
She was quiet, standing to the side of the plaza, head downcast as she tapped her lips nervously, muttering unspoken words. 
“Are you okay, Miss Emilia?” Rey's voice was soft, pitched just loud enough for her to hear, but not be heard by anyone else in the hubbub of the teleport plaza. 

“Huh?” She blinked as she looked up at Rey. “I…” she sighed. “I didn’t think all that would happen. The man…literally had no names on the wall attributed to him. His name hadn’t come up in any of the rumour boards or info barterers…so I deemed him mostly safe…if not a little insane. But…” She shifted her eyes away. “How do you remove yourself from someone like that? He follows me around like a lost puppy. But I can’t - I mean…” She didn’t say the name of the guild but it was clear what she was implying. “Someone like that.” 

“It.. “ Rey rubbed his face before sliding his hand up to run it through his hair. He understood. If Vex hadn't been talking literally insane and making things up, if what he'd implied was true, then Khione was already associated with him, and through him, to them. Distancing herself would be difficult, dangerous. “Becoming like her, so that they leave you alone. Or becoming connected to someone else that can help you keep safe.” It was harsh, maybe, but realistic. Asking him to leave her alone wouldn't work, and might even set him off. Or someone else that he was associated with. Emilia had found herself caught between a rock and a hard place. 
“It isn't much, but.. Well, it'll be a long term goal, but I was already wanting to get to the front lines. What's one more reason to get stronger?” Rey didn't want to think of anyone being trapped by that unhinged fancy-boy. “But at least, for now, he knows you know me, so wouldn't, probably, maybe? Care if you talk to me again. So.. At least you aren't alone. “ It was a pittance, a tiny thing - but all he could offer, everything he could offer. 

 

[Khione 0]

Fuckin Vex How could he just outright say something like that? He could have completely ruined everything for Khione at that moment. Luckily, she didn’t have to put on too much of an act. Seeing Mari switch up like that frankly unnerved the woman. Of all the reports and all the research and all the times she had personally seen Mari the woman had been almost completely adverse to drawing weapons on people. Hell….even when that band of men pretending to be a knighthood had attacked her…three times…she hadn’t drawn her weapon on them. So what made Vex different? Khione knew he was good at messing with people mentally…that was the entire reason he was wrapped up in Tybalts group - but… to have her do that?

She was chewing on her thumbnail, trying to figure out what to do next, what to say next. Should she check the monument and see if Mari actually killed the man? How would she explain that to Rosaline? To Tybalt? Khione didn’t want the ire of their commanders on her. She just wanted to keep her head down and do what she was asked to do. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Her eyes shifted back to Rey when he said ‘becoming like her’  “What do you mean by that?” Khione asked. Did Reytac think she was weak? What was he implying?

“Someone that they put on a ‘don’t touch’ list. I guess, knowing your profession in here, that would include having crucial info for them, or dirt, I guess.”

Khione’s eyes narrowed. “I am pretty sure they do not have such a thing.” It was wild to think that. “Him not attacking her then didn’t mean he wouldn’t. You saw what he was like. Who knows what he’d do.”

Rey frowned and rubbed his chin. “Then why did Vex need to make sure she was ‘safe’?” He mumbled this more under his breath than anything. He shook his head. “But you're right. Both about that kind of thing being weird for who we're talking about in general, and him in particular.”

Khione shrugged. “From what he was saying…” She paused, it was difficult to guess exactly what the man was doing. “He was sent to make sure she wasn’t an immediate threat? Since she apparently married one of them. He said all that himself. I’m guessing it’d be hard to murder someone who ….married into the coffin.” It was as good a guess as any at least. Even Khione wasn’t privy to why they had to keep an eye on Mari for the time being, but the theory made sense. Ensure she wasn’t a threat to the Coffin. No loose ends and all that. She ended her sentence sounding somewhat bewildered. It was still…insane to think that anyone would want to marry that egotistical and selfish pyromaniac.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen nor heard of Mari acting like that before though…” Khione placed a hand on Reytac's shoulder. “If I had known, I’d not have sent you there. She always came off as a safe person to me. Now, I’m not so sure.”

And that was the absolute truth.

 

Reytac gave her a light shrug, the motion moving her hand on his shoulder up and down. “She didn't act like that when I met her, not until, well, then. Up until that point, sure, she was standoffish, and a bit cold, but nothing like that.” His face was scrunched slightly, eyes narrowed as he stared off in one direction in thought. 

“Honestly, it unnerved me.” Khione said with frank honesty as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I do not know if it has anything to do with who she married, or if it is something else entirely…” She shifted her eyes back to Reytac.

“You good?”

[Reytac 0]

 “I mean, if nothing else, most people feel violated when they find out they've been stalked like that.” Reytac refocused his eyes, blinking as he realized they'd dried out while he was thinking. “It's just that, in here, some people can be a bit more direct in dealing with that feeling of violation. I don't know how I'd react if I found out that someone was stalking me like that - I was aggravated with him myself, and I was just collateral to his pursuit.” He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “I don't think I'd take it well myself. And even if most of the rumors about her were false…” He looked in the direction of the monument. 

As he'd told Mari when he'd been talking with her before, he believed that the names up there attached to hers were up there for a reason, that there was an explanation behind each. That madman's name going up there would just be another - and this time, he.. Didn't know if he would completely agree with it, but at the same time, he could understand it if it happened. Rey shook his head to clear the grim thought away and exhaled softly, then looked back to Emilia. “I know it's probably pointless to say, but, take care of yourself Miss Emilia. Someone like that probably has two or three motives for anything he does or says. I'll see you around.” He couldn't exactly send her a message, not knowing her username, but the woman had been playing her cards close to her chest in the first place, and after the rattling encounter, he couldn't exactly blame her. Usernames could be tracked in here, and she already had one unsavory person who knew hers. 

“Khione.” She said quietly. Reytac paused as he had been about to turn away, and looked to her with one eyebrow raised. 

“Don’t be a stranger Reytac. And best keep what you saw today to yourself.”  She offered him a slight smile before waving him off.

“I'll try not to be a stranger. And yeah - the less said about earlier in any regard, the better.” He finished turning on his heel and gave her a wave over his shoulder as he walked away, blending into the crowd of people leaving the plaza. 

  

Edited 1 minute ago by Reytac

[Vex Vexxus 1]

That couldn’t have gone better

It was quite a sight to see, watching Khione be whisked away by her knight in shining armour. She looked a little unnerved - a shame really. She should be used to this sort of thing by now. She was far too busy being all high and mighty. Most under Rosaria were, it was kinda gross really. They thought they were near untouchable because most of them held green crystals. It was good to see her get a dose of reality.

OHhh…then there was Mari I couldn’t help but laugh when she had actually attacked me! Oh man, I thought she’d need more goading. She was always so adamant, so stuck in her ways. The curse of the bleeding heart frontliners. But she attacked me! She attacked me! Now with the others gone I gripped the pole of her weapon.

“Oh I like this side of you Mari.”

She jerked her blade out of my chest and kicked me hard enough that I had to roll over, coughing. Damn she was pissed. I felt her kneel down beside me.

“I think you have the wrong impression of me.” Mari spat in my direction as she grabbed a chunk of my hair and roughly pulled it so my eyes would meet hers. Oh..Ohhh sweetie, if only she knew… I waited though, not wanting to derail whatever speech she wanted to give. She continued. “I’m not a nice person, I simply just don’t believe in senseless death, I have no intention of getting in the way of the Coffins business as long as it keeps out of mine. Lancaster is off limits.” She hissed.

Hahah…oh that was rich, coming from her she was the one who took him from us, but there was a silver lining to all this. She clearly knew of us, knew what we represented. I had to wonder how much else she knew. Still, even with her basic understanding she was vehemently defending Lancaster. She even admitted she wouldn’t stop us? Oh man…maybe I still had a shot. She went to wrench my head away and in turn I shifted. Grabbing both her hands with my own and pushing her down toward the ground. I pressed my head against her forehead.

“Mari, Mari…Mari….” I repeated her name over and over again, softly till I watched her eyes flutter. “You wound me so. Seeing you the way you are, I want nothing more than to have you see things our way.” I felt the strength in her resistance weaken and I pushed her gently into the snow.

I hovered over her now, lips turning to whisper the sweetest of nothings into her ear. “You want to stay here, with him. That’s all we want. To stay here too. Right?”

I felt her still, then nod. “Good.” I said as I stood, brushing myself off then giving her a bow.

“Until next time, little Mari.”
 

“Next time, I won’t hesitate to mount your head over the fireplace.”

I turned back to glance at her, quick to her feet she was. I shrugged and waved. Guess cat was out of the bag now. I’d have to keep my distance from my precious Khione now.