Turning The Tables

Turning The Tables
Date of Scene:	15 December 2012
Location:	The Crossroads
Synopsis:	Morrighan and Avira happen to run across each other on The Crossroads. Unexpected things happen.
Cast of Characters:	Avira, Morrighan Alazne

---

Avira has posed:
Avira stands at the center of the crossroads, slowly turning.

She came alone, eager to get out of Traverse Town for a little while, perhaps spend some time without people around her. The staring and distrustful looks at her were wearing upon her, making her long for the days when she was simply ignored completely. Those days are long gone, lived under another name on a world that no longer existed.

The crossroads were actually familiar to Avira, though she still had trouble placing when she had been here before. All she really knew is that at that time, she went North. Then something...happened. Memories became fuzzy from there. Part of her held the urge to return, but the rest of her knew it would be unwise to go alone. Very, very unwise.

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
Why was she here? When did she get here? How did she get here?

Those were all questions that Morrighan could not answer. After all of that nonsense with Manhattan, Morrighan had found herself wandering aimlessly. For some reason, she did not see fit to return to Baron and report for continued duty. In fact, she had no idea just what exactly was happening there now. Essentially, one could say that she left. She left and now she was without clear purpose.

And it was on this particular day...or was it night? Regardless here she was, walking along the crossroads and having come from the rather ominous darkness. Eventually emerging and coming into view of Avira, the dark elf raised an eyebrow upon sighting the currently mutated woman.

"...Hmn? A heartless?" She mumbled, frowning as she looked over the creature's form for any sort of emblem.

No, it would seem that Morrighan did not recognize the monster for Avira.

Avira has posed:
Morrighan is heard long before Avira sees her. Those pointed ears of hers swivel in the dark elf's direction, listening to the approach. Her eyes do not follow, but her body immediately tenses since lately, it was rather random how people would react to her presence. Some were afraid, some were angry, some were awed.

Most mistook her for a Heartless at first glance, just as Morrighan does now. But there's no emblem upon her to denote such. To those of magical nature, they could sense that while she had a good amount of darkness within her, she felt nothing like the pureblood Heartless that roam the worlds.

Avira knows the voice and when Morrighan mumbles, she immediately turns to face her. The tension in her form increases and her eyes seem to glow. Darkness intensifies around her, bleeding into the mutate's aura.

"You." she growls in a low, gruff voice. "Are you proud of yourself? Are you proud of all that you've done?"

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
"....?"

Avira's demanding questions are met with a single confused look from the elf. Having dealt with heartless rather closely during her time with Baron, Avira's current appearance drew no particular adverse reaction from the elven woman. She was on guard initially, but hearing 'it' talk, caused her to lower her guard, crossing her arms instead.

"Excuse me?" Morrighan spoke flatly, not looking to be in the best of moods. "Do I know you?" Indeed, Avira's voice was no longer familiar, just as her form was no longer familiar. The healer slowed down to a stop a respectable distance away from Avira, tilting her head slightly. "If I knew a creature such as...you-" She spoke with a hint of mocking, gesturing to the other rather nonchalantly. "--I certainly would not forget it so easily now."

The dark elf then brought a hand to her mouth, suppressing a yawn before she staring at the Mutate before her again. "...So what exactly am I supposed to be proud of now? I certainly cannot commit to memory every apparent atrocity I may have committed now."

Avira has posed:
A laugh escapes Avira, loud and bitter. A small part of her finds herself terrified at this...she's never laughed like this before. Through her muzzle, the noise sounded so alien. It was just straight up unlike her.

"Oh you know me alright." Teeth are bared at Morrighan and Avira throws her shoulders back, spreading her wings out behind her. Already she had picked up this little intimidation trick, using the gesture to make herself seem even larger. "You once coveted me as a servant, but with the help of my friends, I escaped you." Ominously, the mutate takes a step towards Morrighan, her eyes now glowing with hatred.

It's enough to cast doubt on this creature's identity, really. While under Morrighan's control, Avira had plenty a look of loathing for the dark elf, but not outright hatred. Not like this.

"I am talking about /the/ atrocity. The world you helped extinguished. You were there. You helped those monsters." Fortunately, Avira is not irrational enough to think it was personal. There's no way Morrighan could have know that world was her own.

The mutate draws closer, absolutely trembling with rage. "So tell me. Are you proud of yourself?"

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
Morrighan listened, staring up at the creature as 'it', ...or was it a she? Either way, she watched as the other spread her wings, looking to appear even bigger. Ah, yes, this WOULD be a problem now, wouldn't it? With no one here to support her, Morrighan's combat ability effectiveness was severely diminished...

"Oh....Ohhhhhhhh....!" Sounding out in understanding, the healer gave Avira a mildly incredulous look. "You mean to tell me that YOU are that awful woman with the scars?" She asked, taking a step forward to have a closer look. Now that it was mentioned, she COULD see areas of familiar scarring.

After a moment or two of further scrutiny, a hand was brought up to Morrighans face and....she began laughing. Of all things to do in the face of a creature that could no doubt take her head off with little effort now. "Ohohohoho~! Oh my! What happened to you!?" No, the elf was no particularly worried for Avira, rather, she was greatly amused. "So then...by atrocity, you would be speaking of Manhattan!"

Sobering up then, Morrighan brought a hand to her chin, rubbing it thoughtfully. "Hmn...Am I proud of myself now? ...Not particularly, to be quite honest" Well, this was not entirely expected. "I had no idea that they were planning to destroy that world...I was only told what they wanted me to know. Not to mention that I got tossed around FAR more than I think is healthy! Have you any idea how expensive these robes are!?"

Of course, it wouldn't be Morrighan if she didn't top it off with some sort of vain statement like that.

Avira has posed:
There is a bit of indication of gender...in the fact that she still wears a shirt, as if there was something she wanted to be modest about. It is, in fact, one of the same shirts that Avira used to wear but in this new form of hers it covered a lot less, due to size. The gruff voice she speaks with does have a bit of feminine bent as well.

Morrighan's reaction to the revealing of her identity leaves Avira feeling empty on the inside, no thanks to that familiar, grating laughter. Right away, she starts growling again, her eyes meeting the elf's immediately. "It's a curse." is the only explanation she gives, not bothering going into the whole genetics and Sevarius and LEXUS thing. Such details would go over Morrighan's head and Avira strongly suspects she wouldn't really /care/ in the first place.

Control starts to slip and the darkness around her begins to become oppressive and predatory. The mutate's hands clench and unclench...but notably do not move for the Spine, which remains on Avira, sheathed behind her back.

"More ignorance. I'll bet you thought they were merely going to help Baron conquer Manhattan." In a sudden burst of movement, she reaches out,grasping for the dark elf's robes, ready to drag her in close. "I should rip you to pieces for helping the Shadow Lords!"

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
Certainly, Baigan probably thought that, but Morrighan had her suspicions. At the end of the day though, orders were given and they were followed. This was the result; the fall of an entire world.

Certainly not the most glowing thing to put on your resume. Unless you were going for a career in being evil.

"Baron? What do I care about Baron? I no longer have any stake in their campaigns or ambitions." She spoke with a scoff. Indeed, she was fooled this time. And she did not like being fooled. Why bother playing for the losing team after all? Better to leave to find better.

At that point however, Morrighan found herself grabbed and pulled in close, cutting off anything further that she would have said. "...Oh?" The healer mused, smiling in amusement despite the situation. Of course, she was afraid for her life on some level. Being alone and largely incapable of heavy combat. But on the other hand...

"Why bother threatening me then? Go on. Tear me limb from limb." The dark elf said, egging Avira on. "Can you really do it though?"

Avira has posed:
It's a pity Avira didn't know about Kaydin's apparent abandonment about Baron too, as this was ripe for the commenting. It was quite curious to hear Morrighan abandoning them, even prompting a tilt of Avira's head in a doglike manner. But overall...she doesn't actually seem to surprised.

Morrighan was focused upon herself, of all things.

Avira is downright infuriated that Morrighan doesn't actually appear to be afraid of her. No, she's smiling outwardly, even as the mutate lays her hands upon the dark elf. Her claws tighten upon her, now starting to break skin with their sharp edges.

The darkness swelled. Do it.

Morrighan pushes her to do so, questioning whether or not she had it in her. Avira did and it was pushing down upon her very hard, showing her how easy it would be now. How easily she could tap into this power and rend this white mage limb from limb.

Yet at the same time, she heard the words of Skoll coming back to her. "You're made to kill now. "But you mustn't give in to that desire, if it comes up Avira. You mustn't kill."

But it would be so easy. There were no witnesses here. Morrighan had abandoned Baron so who would come looking for her?

With a surge of strength, Avira lifts Morrighan off the ground, snarling into her face. Yet in the same breath, she throws the elf, roughly, several feet in front of her. The mutate's entire body trembles, roiling with darkness that hadn't been there before.

"Do you regret what you did?" Avira asks, after a very long stretch of silence.

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
Watching Avira hesitate, Morrighan grinned, yet also grimaced in pain a bit upon feeling blood being drawn from the Mutate's tightening grip. "Gnh...!" A faint sound of pain escaped from the white mage upon being lifted then and she still smiled at the creature. "...My, so angry..! Agh!"

And then she was thrown. Sailing a couple feet away, Morrighan impacted with the ground, landing none too gently and letting out another cry of pain afterwards. "Augh! You...ow!" She laid there for a moment, taking several deep breaths before sitting up where she lay and beginning to heal herself rather casually, light emanating from her hands.

While this was being done, the dark elf glanced over at Avira remaining silent as she heard the question. "Do I regret what I did?" She repeated to herself, looking upwards in thought after. "...Why do you care? If you are looking for some manner of criteria in which to stay your hand. You will not be finding it with me."

Avira has posed:
It was so tempting. Yet Avira relents and right away, pain spreads inside of her like wildfire. Her face screws up in a grimace and she turns away from the fallen dark elf. She's only vaguely aware of the healing due to her senses though her mind already comprehends that it is happening based on prior experience in Morrighan.

The pain doesn't go away for Avira, but she forces herself to listen to the elf, eagerly hoping to hear some answers. She doesn't get one, especially not one that satisfies.

"I want justification to do it." Avira growls, "But you're not...grrr..." she struggles with the words, both because of the rebelling darkness inside her and the difficulty really articulating this thought. "Killing a clueless patsy won't satisfy me!" she finally howls, the realization taming the darkness...for now. "You're just as much as a tool as Kaydin was."

The mutate turns towards Morrighan, her tail thrashing in an agitated manner. For a long moment, she seems to be studying the elf, when her eyes widen just a little. "I think you do regret it." she says in a low tone, "I think you /want/ me to take your life, like you dying will atone for your crimes. Here you are, wandering alone without protection, smiling in the face of my rage, egging me on. You have nowhere to go now. You abandoned Baron...you have a death wish and you want it to be fulfilled by your victims."

Avira's lips peel back into a sneer. "I refuse to give you what you want. I won't /allow/ you to take the easy way out!" Aggressively, she moves to scoop up the elf again and throw her over a shoulder, should she get the chance.

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
Ding ding ding.

Avira wins the prize!

What does she get? Morrighan looking away rather quickly to hide her own expression. Indeed, she did feel a bit more regret that she may have let on. She was working for the wrong side of the coin, but that did not entirely mean that she herself was evil, attitude nonwithstanding. But even then, she 'almost' had gotten what she wanted. If only it were a little closer...

"I...I have no idea what you are talking about!" And of course she denies it. "Why would I WANT to die? Have you lost your mind!?" And then Avira swoops in again, effortlessly scooping up the elven woman despite her protests. She had no strength in which to resist effectively now.

"Hey! Unhand me! Where are you taking me!?" She complained loudly, angrily flailing her arms outwards in a rather childish manner.

Oh boy.

Avira has posed:
Silly Morrighan, Avira knows ALL about denial. She sang a tsundere power ballad! So even as the dark elf protests, she sees right through it. All the blustering and flailing.

With how easily Avira lifts Morrighan now, it's obvious that in this mutated form she's gained quite a bit of physical strength. Her petite size would have made such a feat hard before and only sustainable for seconds. Now a lithe arm with slim and firm muscle encircles Morrighan's waist, pinning her over one of Avira's broad shoulders.

"I'm taking you off to be useful to me and quite a few others." Avira huffs, her wings stretching out around her. The mutate starts to walk east, slow at first, but gradually picking up speed. "You are a white mage and I assume you know a thing or two about faith."

She comes to the crest of a hill and she leaps, wings flapping once, then catching an updraft. In short order, the pair are airborne. "You wanna atone? Then I'll make you atone by helping us out!!"

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
"Useful? What do you mean by useful? And how is it your place to decide where I go anyhow!?" Morrighan continued to complain, yet not really having the capability to actually do anything about it. Sure, she could use magic...but that was a waste of energy in the grand scheme of things.

And so with a grumble, the healer finally gave up, pouting childishly and looking down over the landscape as they flew. ...This situation somehow seemed very familiar. "...This is a kidnapping, isn't it?" She asked mostly rhetorically, frowning at the thought.

How ironic, that the tables have turned now.

"What do you want me to do anyhow? And even then, how do you know that whoever sees me will not just try to dispose of me, hmm?" Of course, she could think of quite a number of people who would love nothing more than to hurt her now. And she doubted that she would be getting any sort of protection.

Not that it mattered.

Avira has posed:
"Morrighan, /dear/." Avira smiles sweetly. Even that looks pretty terrifying on her lupine face. "You, quite literally, just put your life into my hands. I recall clearly you practically begging me to take it. So since it's now up to me, this is the decision I've made. My group could use someone as specialized in the healing arts as you are."

The landscape flies by beneath them. Despite Morrighan dangling half over Avira's back, this doesn't seem to interfere with the wings terribly much. Those wings hardly flap that often, air currents and updrafts used to soar through the air, enabling Avira to stay up with little work on her part.

"You could call it that." Avira says after a moment of consideration, "How ironic, no? Perhaps we're now /even/ in that regard! Ehehehee~" Her wings beat once, taking them just a little bit higher.

"Help VALKYRI. Help Hearts Intertwined. Help the displaced people of Manhattan. There are many /charitable/ things you can do that don't involve healing, no less. As for the others...well, if a beast such as myself can show such restraint, than the others may very well be able to do the same."

Avira would look back...but looking back would just get her a facefull of Morrighan butt. "My VALKYRI will also be keeping an eye on you. Who do you think will be giving you issues?"

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
"VALKYRI? ....What in the world is that?" Morrighan asked, frowning even more. Oh this all sounded like so much trouble. What, she was expected to join some group and help people out of the kindness of her heart? ...For NO pay? Bah!

"That all sounds like far too much trouble." She huffed, crossed her arms as well as she was carried along. "Sure, I suppose I am capable of healing wounds and such, but my feet are delicate! I cannot be walking about for too long! And my arms do not have the brute strength that yours do! Carrying anything is out of the question!" Complain, complain, complain. Morrighan was just going on and on, certainly giving Avira very good cause to just drop her.

"I certainly hope you are not expecting me to get on my hands and feet like a servant! I am no one's servant! And I cannot have my clothes getting dirty either! They are expensive and not at all worth marring with blood and dirt!"

She sure was demanding for someone who's 'given up', huh?

Avira has posed:
"/My/ group." Avira sniffs with no small hint of pride. "Maira is a member of it as well. We hunt marks, find treasure, and most importantly, oppose those /awful Shadow Lords/." Though that last bit was more of a recent addition. "Now won't that be nice? You don't seem to think very highly of the Shadow Lords, do you?"

Oh gosh. This woman's complaining! As she goes on and on, it sort of starts to all run together and the pain of resisting her darkness returns in full force. drop her drop herdropherDROP HERRRRR

SO TEMPTING.

"What, bowing and all that nonsense?" That bit of whining at least gets her attention, snapping her out of her dark thoughts, "Oh, how tempting, since I recall you had me on my knees quite often when I was in your clutches! However, I don't find such hazing constructive at all. But continue complaining to me as you are right now..."

Avira suddenly snaps her wings in, going into a very fast divebomb at the ground. It lasts for a few terrifying seconds before she flares her wings out like a hang glider and slows. "...and I just might change my mind."

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
"Nbsdkjfsbkdsabybh!" Was all Morrighan said...or rather garbled out as Avira went in for the terrifying divebomb. "DON'T DO THAT!" She cried once they were safe again, flailing her arms and legs. "Fine! Fine! I'll help! Just stop!"

With that said, the elven woman fell silent, catching her breath from the short, but harrowing experience. Once she had recovered enough, she spoke up again. "...Were are you taking me anyhow? Is it that awful Traverse Town place? Don't let it be that place! It's so big and confusing and everything is on top of everything else and--" It was then that Morrighan had realized that she was doing it again. She cut herself off then and shut up.

"I mean...How wonderful! Helping people and doing good! Working with VALKYRI is going to be soooo much fun~" It probably wasn't possible to sound any faker than she was sounding right now.

No, she wasn't looking forward to this by any stretch of the imagination.

Avira has posed:
As Morrighan starts to flail, Avira tilts her head to the side so she doesn't get kneed in the jaw. Barely, she manages to avoid just that as the elf lady squirms. A smirk creeps up Avira's face-unlike Morrighan, Avira found that quite fun~

"Yes, we're going to Traverse Town. That's where our base is...and the number of people in the most need. The other shelters haven't been finished yet." Whoops, there she goes, COMPLAINING AGAIN. She's about to move her wings back when Morrighan cuts herself off. Yes. Progress!

"Ahhh, don't knock it until you've tried it~" Avira counters cheerfully in response to the fakeness. "In fact..." she adds in that sweet tone before, though her own words seem sincere. "I think this may be the start of a ~spectacular~ friendship~"