A Heartless Beast

A Heartless Beast
Date of Scene:	11 December 2012
Location:	Traverse Town - Outskirts
Synopsis:	The Shadow Lord's errand-girl comes to Traverse town to witness the fallout of the attack on Manhattan, only to be confronted by the Templar Faruja Senra and his companion, Synestria. Of course, both find it easier to blame her than to see the darkness within every heart. Note: This scene has been slightly modified from the original to remove a couple of lines that caused some consent issues.
Cast of Characters:	Hati, Faruja Senra, Synestria

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Hati has posed:
Just what happened to the Shadow Lord's resident werewolf after the fight for the Empire State Building is largely unknown. Those events in the tunnels were seen only by a rare few, and the wolf had escaped into the sewers shortly there-after. Perhaps being there to watch a world fall hits a bit too close to home for a creature who had already lost her own world. Let the darkness come, but she would rather be hunting down would-be heroes then watching the death of yet another point of light.

Yet, with most of the refugees having come here to Traverse Town, the wolf has yet another assignment. She is here, lingering on the outskirts, trying to guage the aftermath of the Shadow Lord's attack. She's not exactly a creature who blends in, leaning against a wall of one building, looking completely relaxed as others mull about, lost or afraid. Her nose twitches, ears alert, but still appearing mostly human. It's a far cry from her red-painted wolf-self that had terrorized these same humans not long ago.

As one of them wanders up to her, perhaps to ask a question, Hati just growls under her breath, which seems to be enough to make them backpeddle, bumping into another refugee. "Hey, watch it!" The shout goes up, and then there's some shoving, and a small scuffle starts to break out. Sure, she hadn't been directly involved in starting it, but a smirk shows on the wolf's features as she just leans there, watching the chaos.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Night time in Traverse Town...as if there's any other time in the ever-shrouded city. Or, near enough it, as one wanders the Outskirts, shadows long and cast by the odd state of the light down the dusty, narrow pathway. Faruja's day, looking up with several nearly-dead injured being stabilized with the help of his own magics and the powers of many healers, had plummeted quite rapidly when he received the Letter. Once he read its contents, he nearly broke his hand punching the nearest wall. The rat needed a walk, and so he took it, the object of his current anger stuck in a pocket of his robes; a back pocket, oddly enough, with the envelope sticking out.

A growl, and a shout. The rat looks down the road, to the scuffle breaking out closer to the city. Frowning, he takes out his spear, the Templar leaping and rushing to the site of the chaos. Hop!

And a pair of the near-rioters will find their heads slammed into the ground by two feet. He's sure to land gently, so as not to give them more than bloody noses.

"CEASE THIS DISRUPTION OF THE PEACE AT ONCE LEST YE FIND THYSELVES IN THE LOCAL JAIL!" He yells out for all to hear, threatening the nearest scuffler with a jab to the chest with his spear's butt. All of his work as a guardian and soldier within the city walls of Burmecia come flooding back. Sometimes, one has to be rough.

Synestria has posed:
Elsewhere on the outskirts, a small group had just teleported in, yes teleported. It wasn't announced, but the group was mostly children, easily identified by light giggling, but others yell for their mothers or fathers. From their dress, they're from New York. Some travel into Traverse town, some at a sprint until another child warns them not to stray too far from the 'Snake Lady'. Yet, no sign of the snake lady is seen, just a woman with a bit of noisy jingling chains. Yet even her spirit seems to be muted at the moment, trying to help these children find their families. Some find them easily enough, but others......not so lucky.

Hati has posed:
The sight of a Burmecian using their famous acrobatics to subdue two of the brawlers certainly draws an appraising eye from the wolf - specifically the green one as she tilts her head in that direction. It hides the scarred side of her face slightly within the multi-colored bangs of her hair. The two humans mumble various things, but the fight seems to have gone out of all of them. These are refugees, and most of them have been cowed by the loss of their world.

Still, from her place along the wall, Hati claps her hands slowly. The crowd parts, confused. The wolf just smiles, showing a hint of fanged teeth. "Impressive." The man who she had growled at is still standing, miraculously, and he mutters something while trying to back away from her again. "Oh quit being such a coward. I'm not going to bite you. Not unless you ask nicely." She practicely purrs the words, or at least as much as a wolf-girl can manage to make that sort of sound. A few men nearby laugh, one reaching out to clap the scared refugee on the shoulder.

Hati's eyes might have come back to Faruja, had she not suddenly gotten a tug on her tail. The wolf blinks, turning to look and find a child - maybe five or six, tugging at it. "Wow! It's /real/." Her eyes catch the group of children not too far away. Her eyes narrow, then she looks down again. The boy still has her tail. "Has no one ever taught you that it isn't polite to tug on other people's tails?" The boy's eyes widen, looking up. "Wow, you have EARS!" He calls out, and his excitement is probably enough to gather the attention of some of the others. Poor Hati, she's a puppy in a grade-school class.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Faruja moves, helping up the two dazed fighters he'd landed on. A cure, and a firm shove later, and the Burmecian is waving his hands. "Excellent, excellent. Off with you! To the camps. Orderly now! Parents, please watch your children. You! Yes, you! Stop staring at the Lady and get your legs moving! There we are, there we are."

When things are settled, he turns, a gaggle of kids linking up with their parents. He smiles at that, turning to the clapping wolf lady. "I do try, M'Lady. Temple Knight Faruja Senra, at your service. Terribly sorry for the incident, humans can be...troublesome."

Blink. Speaking of 'humans'! "Lady Syn! My, my it has been some time! Reuniting lost little ones with their guardians and loved ones? Lord bless you, M'Lady!"

One ear perks, and that single red eye of the rat's looks to Hati as she's mobbed. A hand covers his muzzle. Snicker. Chuckle. He'll take a moment's amusement, then step in.

"Now, now, little ones, please do not treat the dear Lady as some sort of freak show. This is not a petting zoo. How would you feel if I tugged on your leg, or ears, hmm? Off with you now! Shoo! To your parents!"

Synestria has posed:
Synestria brightens a bit at Faruja as she encounters them, but the children keep playing with hati until Synestria whistles for them. One of the children not teasing poor Hati says 'Snake Lady is cooler anyways. She let us ride on her back on the way here!' Synestria giggles at that kid's comment. "Come on guys. Leave the wolf lady alone. We're here to find your parents, not to stare at new wonders." A few others find their parents, but it's a somewhat large group.

Synestria finally chuckles to Faruja. "Greetings Faruja. These kids are.....directly from Manhattan. I got out as many as I could....but many more couldn't get out in time."

Hati has posed:
It is with some measure of patience that Hati allows the boy to tug on her tail, still looking up in wide-eyed wonder. She crouches, and he stands up on tip-toes to touch her ears. "Wooooww." The boy says in a slow voice, and then turns and runs off towards a pair that are most likely his parents, who are certainly looking a little worried for their son's actions. "Momma, momma, when I grow up can I be a dog-boy?" Ahh, children.

The attention from the other children is met with a similar sort of patience, but as the Burmecian shoos them off and she's left to herself again. Hati rises to her feet, straightening her trenchcoat and gives a nod to the mouse and his companion. "Hati." She has no great title, or even surname, it seems. Still, much about the way she looks closely resembles that of the Shard Seeker werewolf, Skoll.

"It's alright. Children don't bother me much. They're still... innocents." Something in her tone of voice seems to suggest that the wolf-girl doesn't quite believe that any adult can truly be innocent. Certainly, she wouldn't tolerate that sort of gawking from anything other than children. The words of the one called 'Syn' do tug at her, though. For all of her hatred of people, she can't fault children for the mistakes of their world. It is a shame for them to fall into darkness.

"It must be hard to keep the peace with so many here. I wonder what will become of them." Hati murmurs to herself, her hands in her pockets.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Blink. The rat turns to syn again at the boy's odd outburst. The image of the woman giving piggyback rides comes to mind, and he smiles. "Ahh, but my Mother did the same for me as a child! Though...where /ever/ do they derive that nickname, Lady Syn?"

Hati's greeting, though short and rude by Burmecian standards, is returned with a bow. "Well met, Lady Hati, may Holy Faram guide your steps and shield thy soul from the Darkness so close in these troubled times." A glance to the children. "I do believe that the world...worlds would be so much more peaceful if we all never forgot the innocence of youth. What little we gain in adulthood seems next to naught beside the peace and love of such times." The tone is caught, and there's no objections from the ratling.

"You have done well. Even a single child's life saved is worth one hundred of we sinful adults. Lord protect them all. I know naught what lies ahead. Only that we must stand firm, true, and must be on our guard against agents of those who would kill young innocents as these. No person, innocent or otherwise, is safe so long as a single one of these so-called 'Shadow Lords' live."

Synestria has posed:
Synestria giggles a little bit at the question about her nickname, but it's the child who answers. "it's REALLY cool! She can change into this really really huge lady with a snake tail!" By then, Synestria is blushing bright red, but she doesn't deny it. All of the children seem to look to Synestria now, like they're hoping she changes into the 'snake lady' now.

Hati has posed:
The wolf's nose twitches towards 'Syn', her head tilting somewhat. Likely, a wolf's sensitive nose can pick up on subtle differences that make her distinctly inhuman. Hati doesn't decide to say anything about it, though. Her eyes follow the retreating child for a moment, watching as he is lead away by his parents, still talking excitedly about dog-people.

When the knight sees fit to bless her, the wolf's one green eye turns back towards him, "I'm afraid it's a bit late for that." Her tail twitches once, moving against her legs. "No 'lord' can save anyone from the darkness of their own heart, and certainly none can save me from the darkness in mine." She rumbles a low sound in her throat. Once, she might not have understood the anger that flows through her like fire, but her memories are returning from that place where her master had sent them. And with it, the knowledge that the darkness of her own heart goes back far further than one would have thought.

It's the threat to her life that has the wolf's ears slicking back. Sure, she could pretend that she is just some refugee, but that has never really been her way. "You sound like you would fit in among them. Blind fury without understanding." But isn't that what she wants, too? The death of her father at her claws? The death of those who would harmed Serrak? "No one will ever be 'safe' from the darkness. Even if you slit every last Shadow Lord throat." She growls low in her chest, but for now the wolf is still. She is not here to attack. That is not her purpose.

Faruja Senra has posed:
"...A snake tail?" Faruja turns to Syn, sniffing distinctly. Snake tail. Large woman. Reflexively, he takes a step back. Could she be...? "...Lady Syn?"

His fear is banished, however, as Hati speaks. In but a moment, he's between the nearest gaggle of children and the wolf-woman, spear-butt slamming to the groud. Light filters off of the rat as his eye narrows at the wolfess.

"...You are an agent of those Heretical murderers. Touch but a hair on these children's heads, and I shall take yours. Thank them, for 'tis only for the sake of preserving their innocence that I do not strike you down immediately. 'Tis a rare mercy for one such as you."

Faruja snorts. "What is there to understand? The beasts that kill without remorse? That you and yours cause countless deaths, destroy entire worlds? We are all sinners, indeed, and none are without our own demons. The difference is whether we succumb utterly to them as you have."

Synestria has posed:
Synestria says, "I am the same person you know, Faruja. Just in a different body." She then watches him step back and makes a face. "And that is why I disguise myself, Faruja.

Hati gets a raised eyebrow from Synestria. "Faruja speaks with conviction, I'll admit, but he isn't without wisdom. he choses to help people instead of harming them. One good deed leads to another.....usually. it's when greed, sorrow or lonliness comes into play, that darkness finds it's first foothold." She then makes another weird face. "I never did figure this out. What IF the shadow lords destroyed everything? What would be next? Turning on themselves?""

Hati has posed:
The wolf seems impassive, standing there with her hands in her pockets as Faruja declares her to be an agent of the Shadow Lords. "You don't listen very well, Sir Senra." Hati growls lower in her throat, her eyes narrowing as she looks towards the spear and then back to him, ears tucked down. "I have no interest in harming children. You think me a wolf who preys upon the weak? Maybe that's a fault of my kind, but not me." A smile curls the edges of her mouth, showing those fanged teeth.

"There is only a fine line between a murder and a soldier. A murder kills those who cannot defend themselves. A soldier fights those who come to challenge." Her hands lift from her pockets, and she steps back slightly, a chuckle in her throat. "I am a soldier, and I have no quarrel with you. I have no quarrel with any of these people unless they decide to make one with me." She makes no move for a weapon, or even to defend herself.

It is to Synestria that the wolf looks, not letting Faruja out of her sight in the process. At least she asks, which is more than can be said for the Templar. "Everyone has their reasons. A thousand different ones. It all depends on who you ask. You assume much if you believe that is the only purpose there can be."

This is when she looks back at Faruja, her mouth opening to say something, but that's when the boy who had been so amazed returns. He doesn't seem to care that about the tension in the air, but he reaches over and tugs on Hati's coat. The wolf looks away in that moment, crouching down. "What is it, young one?" She asks, and the boy looks back at his parents, then reaches into his pocket and takes out a crumpled up bit of paper. On it, is a drawing in crayon. "My thanks." She notes, and then ruffles his hair. The boy just beams, then runs off again.

Hati remains crouched there, looking at the drawing, then turns that one blue eye onto Faruja. "I can take you elsewhere if you truly wish to fight me. But I promise you that I will not back down from a challenge. And even if you do manage to strike me down, I can promise I am the /least/ of your concerns when it comes to the forces of the Shadow Lords. I don't kill needlessly. Maybe you should focus your efforts on those who do."

Synestria has posed:
Synestria just shakes her head. "If you are not a murderer, but you still ally yourself with the shadow lord, I suggest you take a good, long look at that boy that just handed you that piece of paper, lady. He was one of the ones that nearly didn't make it..."

Faruja Senra has posed:
Fanged teeth from the wolfess, and the rat smirks. "In that you are incorrect. I quarrel with all Shadow Lords. Light and Darkness are ever opposed. 'Tis the Fate given us by the Lord. Whether you wish to admit it or not, your actions assist those who cause only death and destruction of families and homes, my own included. If you call yourself a soldier...and I will admit, you've /some/ shred of honor it seems...then we are ones on opposing sides. Do you not recognize war when it lays so plainly before you?"

The Templar nods to Syn. "As the Lady says. My own mercy is long taxed. Friends have lost everything, and I have failed in defending it. However...there are those who hold more in their hearts. Perhaps. /PERHAPS/. If you turn from the murderers and brigands you call superiors, there may yet be hope for you. Otherwise, you are merely another Heartless." Frown. Priorities.

"...So much as it would please me, you are correct in one thing. There are far more important heads to take than yours. This is your chance. Leave. Consider our words. Consider if you truly wish to steal the families from young children any longer."

Hati has posed:
The wolf growls a bit deeper as Synestria goes so far as to imply that she is somehow responsible for those who were left behind in Manhattan. Her claw-tipped fingers clench, body tensing. "Perhaps you should look carefully before you lay blame. How many of these that are here now ran with no concern for anyone but themselves? How many left behind children, neighbors, family, friends, to save their own sorry skins." The wolf grits her teeth. "How many parents left those children behind?" She speaks this last part slowly.

It's not as if the people of Manhattan had not seen the end coming. They had warning. So many children separated from parents, or families split apart, but in Hati's mind, so much of that could have been avoided had people shown one simple thing: Loyalty. Perhaps even 'love', but that isn't a concept she has as firm a grasp on. These are things sorely missing in the world.

Then, the wolf just laughs. The tension releases from her body and she shakes her head. "You are right. This is a war. I don't see a point in protecting a world where parents abandon their children. Where people care more for themselves than for those they supposedly love. Go on and continue protecting your worlds where the innocent starve, or die in the cold because everyone turns a blind eye. There are far more lives taken every day by apathy and indifference than have ever fallen under my claws."

She snorts, "I have no need for your mercy. If you think me just another Heartless, then so be it. The next time, there will be no talking. Afterall, I'm just a beast." With a growl, Hati turns and begins to walk away, moving towards the far outer reaches of Traverse Town.

Synestria has posed:
Synestria sighs as the wolf lady walks away. "That's.....actually what it seems she has become. A very sick and twisted person who, instead of seeing the good in people, she sees the bad in people....and that all she sees. If someone were to help someone in a car crash, she would ask what the person helping got out of it."