Eye for an Eye: Guardian

Eye for an Eye: Guardian
Date of Scene:	01 March 2013
Location:	The Farplane / Traverse Area - Traverse Town - Hotel
Synopsis:	After receiving the message from Katyna, Skoll goes to check on his sister.
Cast of Characters:	Skoll Ulfang, Hati

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Hati has posed:
In the early hours of morning, there had been a silent changing of the guard. Katyna had offered Skoll no explination for what happened to his sister, noting that it would be better to ask the girl, herself. Her usual brusk manner aside, the Ember Knight had seemed rushed and worried, heading off to find someone to help the injured wolf.

Entering the room, the first thing that Skoll might notice is the smell. For all that Hati had called this place home for the past few weeks, her scent has already been masked by something else. The smell if illness is in the air. The lights are low, but Hati's form is hard to miss on the bed, curled up in the fetal position. For someone who seems to always put on a show of strength, it just looks... wrong somehow.

There is a patch over her once blue eye, the other one closed. Her feet are bare, having kicked off the covers, showing bandaged ankles. Her wrists are bound up, too, but both sets of bandages seem to have something dark oozing through, staining the coverings. Sweat beads on her forehead, and her fingers twitch like a dog that is dreaming somehing terrible. She isn't awake, so maybe it is some nightmare that seizes her, but it certainly can't be much worse than the nightmare of reality.

Though her eye is covered, there is a spiderweb of dark lines that come from it, like sickness weaving through her veins. It has spread upwards, with tendrils showing through the skin on her forehead, and down as far as the edge of her cheek.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
It took Skoll a little while to decypher Katyna's attempt at shortening her textmessage - and even had to seek help from the resident Gargoyle in doing so. Luckily, it didn't take too long - and the werewolf made his way over to Traverse Town with a certain haste rarely seen in the werewolf. After all, the text implied that something horrible had happened to his sister.

The youthly werewolf runs through the streets of the world of wayward men and women, and soon finds his way into the 'Red Room' of the hotel. "Hati!" He calls out to the girl as he opens that door, and immediately feels that wall of 'ill' hitting his nose. Tears come to his eyes and he moves the sleeve of his arm to his nose almost immediately. Instead of dealing with Hati immediately, he opens a window to get that scent to escape the place. Such a thing is no good for a wolf.

The youth then turns around and makes it to the girl's side, kneeling on the floor so he's at her side and wraps both of his hands around one of hers - to halt her finger's twitching. "Hati. It's me, Skoll, your brother. I'm here now." He tells her, not trying to whisper in the least. His gaze skips to the sickness that travels from the eye - the one that had seemed alien to him on multiple occassions.

What is this? Some kind of dark sorcery?

Hati has posed:
The fresh air is the first thing that hits Hati's nose, and it interrupts some part of that dream, dragging her consciousness up from the depths. Her nose twitches, taking slightly deeper breaths. Then, there is the touch of a hand over her own. With a groan, the wolf-girl wakes, her green eye fluttering open and taking a moment to focus.

Skoll's words come across as strange, and for a moment she just squints at him, head cocked quizzically. "I'm not posessed, Skoll." At the very least, her throat doesn't sound like it ahd been raked with barbed wire like it had the previous night, and as much as the rest seemed to be worse, that is at least some progress. "I know who you are." A lance of pain draws her features into a grimace, her hand drawing away from his to rub at the badnage-wrapped, eye-patch covered eye.

As much as those dark lines seem to eminate mostly from her eye, he might notice that hand he had held... a few streaks of black are visible beneath the bandages as well. It's enough to show that while the eye may be the root of the problem, it isn't the only thing killing her. "Guess Kat went to talk to Seith." Her green eye roves the room, and then comes back to Skoll as she tries to sit up. "You need... to watch for a blonde girl with one eye, or a red-haired woman who looks like Kat."

Then, a dizzy spell seems to take her and Hati leans against the headboard, half-sitting up, and half sprawled to catch her breath. "Not... going to give that witch the pleasure of killing me herself."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Well, I didn't know what happened. You're - like - oozing black blood and have these weird black veins in your body." Skoll answers her, pouting a little at the girl. "Still - I'm glad you're not possessed, and know who I am. That saves quite some trouble." The werewolf nods sagely, before adding; "But if I knew you'd be in this bad of a shape, I would have brought some bacon to get you back to health." No, he really does know that bacon won't really cure her, but... he's trying to cheer her up. Mostly in reaction to that little twitch of pain she experienced just moments ago.

The youth looks at her hand as it comes up, and lets go of it as she draws it back. "Who?" He doesn't know Seith - nor has he ever heard of him. "Hey hey, calm down now." Skoll reaches out and helps her to get to that half-seated position. "Don't you worry. No blonde cyclopses or Katyna-impersonators are getting through me." He explains. "So want to tell me just what exactly happened? A witch - you said?" The youth then looks around, wondering if there's any water nearby.

Hati has posed:
"Bacon." At this, Hati does manage a laugh. At the very least, her sense of humor hasn't been effected too much. Still, for a girl who tends to try to always show strength, seeing her like this is... odd. "Could probably use something to eat, anyways." She notes, not quite remembering when her last meal was. All her knowledge of survival skills says that eating is the one thing she can do to keep her strength up, at least until someone else comes up with a better solution. She'd try going after Lillian herself, but some part of her knows that she wouldn't get five steps without some help. It's frustrating.

"Seith is a ... well I'm not sure what he is. He's not a mage, but he's probably the closest thing the Shadow Lords have to an Archivist." She shakes her head, not wanting to go into that too deeply. Hati hadn't spoken to him in quite a while, and just how much he might be willign to help her is an unknown. Afterall, the wolf-girl isn't really an ally any more.

With a small wave of her hand, Hati relaxes against the headboard after getting her brother's help in sitting up, "Better to start at the beginning." Closing that one eye, she sighs. "A moogle delivered a letter from Serrak, asking for help. Guess... you can figure out that it was a trap." She manages a smirk at that. "I was stupid. Wasn't thinking. Thought I could save him." She's had a few hours now to beat herself up for that mitake.

"Lillian. His daughter. She was there, but not human. Cast some sort of spell." Hati winces again, growling slightly at the continued pain that her eye is causing her. "Some sort of sympathetic magic. Using her corrupted eye to poison me. Kat got me out..." Another humorless laugh follows, "First time she's had to save me from rushing in without thinking..." Ahh, the irony.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"I didn't really bring much." Skoll answers her, reaching into a pocket and dragging out some of his dried meat that he always carries with him for those times where he or someone else he travels with really needs something to eat or chew on. The youth sits down just on the very edge of the bed she is laying on and starts trying to unwrap it from its container and continues to look at the girl.

"Katyna went to the Shadow Lords for help?" He pauses for a moment, before adding, "I guess they would try to look after one of their own, right?" Nobody has told him that Hati has slipped away from the Shadow Lords. And seeing as she didn't exactly leave a letter, just like with Leida, they may not have figured this out yet.When she raises the name Serrak, Skoll believes to recognize it as the one who took care of Hati after she left their world.

"But understandable." He replies to her. "At least, from what I understand... it's undertandable you came to him." The youth nods his head a little, wincing at the girl being in pain. He can't imagine what this disease must be like. He offers Hati a little of his dried jerky, and then takes her hand again. "Do you need anything?"

Hati has posed:
"Not sure how to explain it." Hati shifts her legs a little, moving them so they rest along his back, stealing warmth where she can get it. It isn't an uncommon thing among wolves, who often are more physical than their human counterparts. "Seith. He took over for Serrak and Fessner in some ways. Lots of dark, arcane knowledge. Maybe he'd know something, and he owes me." It's strange that the girl might have some sort of hold over a Shadow Lord, and yet Hati had never asked anything in exchange for her scrying. As much as she hated to admit it, he was probably one of the more likeable sorts among the Shadow Lords, if he could get over the whole family thing. "He's not as bad as the others."

With all this information, Hati is subtlely covering tracks for Katyna. It is up to her if she wants to reveal her allegiances or not, but the wolf would not be the one to betray that. It's left to sound as if Hati had sent her in search of the mage, which is what she intended. "They don't have any reason to help me. I was never really part of their organization after Serrak left... I just made it official." She shrugs. It's not like she had to turn in a letter of resignation to Malificent or something. People came and went all the time - and few really kept track of anyone.

She takes the bit of jerky, cracking off a piece and putting it in her mouth and chewing on it quietly. Her fingers seem a bit cold. "Skoll..." The girl looks over at her brother. "I'm sorry I didn't call you. I thought there might be darkness there, and it would make things worse. I could have asked Faruja, or Evja maybe... but I was afraid that they wouldn't want to help a Shadow Lord. Everyone is so angry, even at those who have nothing to do with what has been going on lately." She looks at him, ears drawn down. "I'm not sure they would have looked past that, not even as a favor for me. I'm not sure I did the right thing... and I'm not sure if I should call them or not."

As stupid as it might sound, there is a part of the wolf-girl that is afraid. Not afraid of the poison in her veins, but afraid of those few people she's made ties with being angry with her. Perhaps not just that, but afraid that when push comes to shove, they might not be willing to help a girl who had once been a member of the Shadow Lords. Could she even ask that of them if that is what happened? Certainly, someone had to take care of Lillian, and she's in no shape to manage it. Maybe ending that darkness would be reason enough.

Uncertainty and turmoil show in her green eye, and while she doesn't say any of this aloud, there is a heaviness to her words from before, as if it carried some bit of the subtext.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Heh, owes you huh?" The youth just nods his head. "Well, seeing as I've never heard of the guy - as opposed to names like LEXUS, he probably indeed isn't that bad." Skoll points out. He's not even aware of the dark shadow that looms over the Shard Seekers, and just how far they are entangled with that particular man. The youth feels her cold hands when she takes some of the jerky, and lets out a worried sigh. Werewolves generally have a slightly higher bodytemperature to begin with - at least they did amongst his tribe. So for her to be this cold really does worry home.

"It's okay Hati. I understand - you were looking out for me. And Katyna is a friend of yours. But I wouldn't judge Faruja and Evja so easily. Especially not Faruja - that rat will follow you to the ends of the world if you'd try to convince him, I am almost certain." He explains and then stands up to grab a second pair of blankets from a stack nearby, and soon covers the girl with them. "You should call at least Faruja. I am certain he is worried. He knew something was up the moment you didn't attend the festivities. And when Katyna suddenly shouted out something about you and going to 'some place' - both of us tried to follow her. But she ended up closing the portal before we could get to her." He explains, tucking her in further.

Skoll then tilts his head, sitting back down next to her and taking the cold hand in an attempt to warm it back up. "What is on your mind, Hati?"

Hati has posed:
"What can I say? Your little sister has a few skills that even the Shadow Lords would pay handsomely for." Hati's green eye turns towards him, the eyepatch and spiderweb of blackened veins hidden momentarily beneath her hair. It begs the question, though: Just how much does Skoll know about his sister? She is a far cry from the girl who lives in his memories. That girl had been quiet, a little shy, curious and full of life. There are moments when you can almost see who she used to be, but this girl sitting next to him is a far cry from who she had once been.

"I can't say if he's better or worse than the others. Let's just say he isn't as... visible as they are." That might be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what he did with the magic at his disposal within the libraries of Hollow Bastian. As she chews, there is some appreciation for the warmth of his hand, enough that her tail sways softly against the bed.

"Maybe he'd do that for me, but I'm not sure he would have risked his life for a Shadow Lord." Hati's eye shows that uncertainty again. "If it were the other way around... I can tell you that the Shadow Lords would have taken it as a great opportunity to make sure one of their enemies died for certain. Take them out when they're at their weakest." It's a strange thing to look at things through a different set of eyes. Maybe no one on the 'good guys' side would ever do such a thing, but years of seeing how the Shadow Lords handle things has made her not have the greatest of trust in people's good itnentions.

"They would have come to help me, wouldn't they?" She asks, but her voice still sounds unsure. "Even if it was to save someone they hate?" Confusion has become a frustrating part of her life recently, and now even more so. These people don't behave like anyone she's ever known before. "Maybe... it doesn't matter. Serrak's dead. I'm the only one left and I'm not even sure for how long." There is a crack in her voice as she says those words, because saying it means that it's real, at least for her. He had been more of a father to her than the one who's blood flows in her veins, and he was gone and even if she had asked for help... it wouldn't have mattered.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Oho?" Skoll answers the girl, raising a brow. He doesn't actually ask just what those skills are. Maybe he's a bit afraid of what that might be? Or maybe he just trusts that the girl will tell him if she wants to. It is true though. She is an incredible far cry from who he remembers her to be. But slowly but surely, since that first meeting where he tried to offer his familial warmth - she's coming back to be a little bit more recognizable. A little bit. But he's fairly sure of one thing; she will never be that same person again.

"I wouldn't be so sure." Skoll answers Hati. "They gave Leida a chance too, after all." Though that may have been one of their greatest mistakes. All of them oblivious to the girl's truth. "Even if that is true - about what the Shadow Lords would do. That's what it means to be like them - like the folk one might call 'heroes'. They will give those chances. Hoping their enemies will change."

The youth then nods again in regards to her question on whether or not they would come to help. They would. He nods again on the followup, but doesn't actually answer her vocally. "Don't worry Hati. I am sure you will be saved. Trust in your friends." Skoll tells the girl, before grabbing his cellphone with his free hand and typing up a little mail to Faruja. He should be told what is going on.

"You'll be fine, Hati. I won't leave you again. You won't be alone. I will not let you be cold."

Hati has posed:
As sick as she might look, Hati still rolls her eyes at her brother's little titter, then shakes her head. "I keep an eye on people for him. Other than mixing potions, it's the one skill Serrak taught me that I have some real talent with." She lets out a breath then, leaning back, "Unfortunately, it doesn't always work." The wolf aims a finger at her brother's collar, "That, for instance, keeps me from being able to see you. It's why I couldn't find you when you disappeared."

"Yeah, but Leida wanted to change. Serrak..." Hati shakes her head. "He wouldn't have changed. He blamed the world for taking his daughter from him." At this thought, her ears tuck down. "Maybe... I could have saved him from that, but all I wanted to do was run away from everything. From our father, our pack... everything that made me who I was. "Maybe he wasn't the one who failed me... but I was the one who failed him." It's a hard thing to come to grips with, but would Hati have ever come around even this small amount had someone not reached out? Would she be sitting here like this if Skoll hadn't stopped her that day?

"Trust." Hati repeats the word, looking confused. So many things she didn't remember or understand. There's so much of herself that has been supressed and now is only starting to come back to life. It's ironic that she would be lying on her deathbead for that to happen. "I'll... try." It's all she can manage right now, but her eye watches him as he starts to type that message. "I'll call him, myself. Later. When I figure out what to say." Matters of the heart are not her strong point, so how does she even start to call someone she's grown to care about... just to tell them she's dying?

It's the sort of thing that she's likely to put off, and later when Katyna comes with the potion recipie, Hati would be too focused on that. Alas, it would likely be a few days before she gathered the courage to dial that number. Until then, at least, she wouldn't be alone. "Thank you."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"I see." So she's a spy of sorts, good at keeping herself hidden? He figures that werewolves are good at the whole hiding thing. However, when she comments on the collar later - he realizes that there's more to it than that. "Magically - you mean? Keeping track of people?" The youth continues to listen, and smirks a little. Their mother had been one for the potions in a ways - due to her place in the pack and her job. So it's not surprising that Hati had inherited at least some of that.

"Still, a shame people are so unable to change. Though, I guess losing someone so dear to you can really mess with your head." Skoll points out. The youth sighs. How much must Hati not have gone through? To run from 'everything'. She hadn't even been able to remember him when they met for the first time after the destruction of their world.

The youth remains at her side, holding her hand. "Here." He gives her his phone. "In case you decide to call him." He then looks to the door, waiting for Katyna. "You're welcome Hati. Anything for my little sister." He whispers to the sick werewolf.