The Tarots II RP

"Some mercurial Tarot was spying on us. He got caught and fled. It seems that one of the others has been sent out to fetch him." Lufu said while twisting a few strands of hair between his index finger and thumb out of ennui.

"Name's Lucifuge Domine Saint'Saens. Lufu will do. I'm Death. Charmed." he spoke while keeping an eerie eye-contact with Nerus. "As for my occupation or whatever you can call skills, I used to be a mercenary before the army forced me into servitude."

A Vanitas grew from a shadowy blob beside them. It walked over to the fireplace and proceeded to light it by using some nearby flint, as the room was somewhat chilly. Once it had done so, it vanished again.

"Quite right. And these hollow creatures are my Vanitas. They're... well, comparable to worker-bees or golems, if you will."

 

”*Sigh* Might as well. Name's Nathan Melendez. I am the Chariot, if you dont know what that is, it basicly means that I can control the earth beneath me. Before everything went to hell, I used to be a free man. That was, untill the army decided I was better off working under them." Nathan introduced himself. "Pleased to meet you all, even if it was under bad circumstances."

 

Aurora smiles at everyone being so open, well open enough to share basic information for the mission at hand. She cleared her throat a little, "If you didn't hear before, I am Aurora Miu, I'm 19, I think, and I am the Hanged Man Tarot." She jumped off the ground floating rather than falling, "and I can do this. Orrrr" She gently touched the small end table next to her and it began to float not far off the ground, "orrrrr to people, but I won't be rude and cause you guys to float without your permission- for now." She smiled widely touching the table again causing it to fall to the floor with a thud. She landed without a sound and sat back on the air, crossing one leg over another.

 

Elreen came down a little later, still rubbing his head. Now that his trembling was gone, he had a searing headache. He didn't recognize anyone, except for that silver-haired lass--he had seen her for a short while before he blacked out. He saw seven others in the room at the moment, all of them with powers rivaling his own. Not a one of them was to be trifled with, but in them he could instantly see the potential for comrades and friends in arms. Already, he felt something akin to friendship forming with that aloof Nerus. That short girl for : lifting things with her mind! Such power in her tiny body.

"Good morning, friends!" he said. But really, he wasn't sure it was morning. "I am Elreen Rexel, the Emperor. Former Sefal Sergeant at your service." Perhaps that last detail ought not to have been added.

 

"I suggest not mentioning that anymore, Elreen." Enya stretched her arms above her head as she spoke. "Most of us don't exactly like either army. And a Tarot as former army member is going to spawn riots."

She rolled her shoulder trying to make she had all the possible movement that she was going to get without much lingering pain. Her fighting style relied on agility and she needed to be able to tumble around to evade attacks.

 

"... 'Morning'?" Lufu asked with a slightly cocked eyebrow, glanced at Elreen and placed his fingers on his temples. "Nevermind." he said to himself. At this point Lufu couldn't be bothered to correct the sleepy Emperor.

Lucifuge clicked his tongue and started to gaze into the dancing flames inside the fireplace. "A sergeant, hm...?" he thought to himself and felt somewhat uneasy.

 

"Well unless you want to start a riot, then you're doing a fine job," Nerus responded to Enya's statement with mirth. His tired gaze twinkling in amusement as he broke the gaze he had kept on Nathan when he heard his power, wary of his weakness being so close to him. Raking his gaze across the group, Nerus was unable to stop the yawn that escaped him. Frowning beneath his mask, Nerus questioned, "So unless another stranger appeared while I was upstairs, I'm assuming our moon friend is taking after our spy?"

 

Elreen felt sweat bead on his forehead, and he nodded in quick acknowledgement. "Of course," he mumbled, trying to keep himself composed. He kicked himself in the shin for being so careless. He redirected his gaze at Lucifuge, the necromancer. Such strange powers posed an innate suspicion to him, but he chose not to question it. "You, there. You seem intent on something," he said, trying to smile. "From where do you hail?"

 

Lufu turned to face Elreen. "... Did he just address me as 'you there'?" he thought. "Oh this man is far too used to being in a position of authority, I'd say."

The presence of this former sergeant didn't help his sense of unease at all. Almost reflexively, the shadow of the chair cast by the fire turned into the silhouette of a Vanitas on the wall, although it didn't attempt to fully manifest itself.

"A distant mountain town in Sefal... I had accumulated enough wealth over the years to purchase a small home in that little town. The tiny settlement held a few childhood memories I was fond of, you see. But, the villagers weren't quite pleased about the idea of a Tarot living amongst them. Instead, they directed me towards a stronghold, quite a lot further up the mountain, too scared to even look me in the eyes. The castle was old and abandoned for decades. I didn't mind, though." Lufu said distantly.

"But, as you are well aware, Sergeant..." Lufu almost hissed the last word. "The army would do anything to... shall we say, "convince" Tarots to join their cause. One day, my isolated home was raided and, like an animal, I was bound, caged and dragged onto the first battlefield they could find."

Lufu's scarlet gaze returned towards the fireplace. He knew that he had to at least make an attempt to get along with Elreen or he would have the others to deal with. Then with the most horribly feigned grin he could muster, Lufu added: "I do hope we can get along, nonetheless."

 

Elreen sighed. Another wayward soul like him, then. Missing the subtleties in Lufu's expression and his hidden Vanitas, Elreen returned the smile. With any hope, they'd be friends yet. "Your life was solemn, Lucifuge," he said thoughtfully. With a winning grin, he reached over and clapped him on the shoulder in a show of camaraderie and declared: "No more."

Perhaps that was too forward. He couldn't discern if Lufu was accepting or hostile to the touch.

But still, looking at the man, Elreen sensed emptiness behind his eyes. He'd seen it in young soldiers, those caught by the draft, not yet ready for war. He hated seeing those eyes. "Seems we've all come here for a reason," he said broadly. "Some greater power brought us all together, I reckon."

 

Lufu stared at Elreen with clenched teeth and a mixed look of confusion and disdain. "Did this man just not listen or did he simply ignore me...?" he thought until the Emperor touched him on the shoulder. Lucifuge cringed away from the man's touch, like an injured animal would.

"Do not presume to touch me!" he growled as he stood up from the chair, which fell over violently in the process. His expression changed to an almost demonic scowl. "Who on this bloody earth do you think you are? You, who yet bears the armour of Sefal's military and the rank of Sergeant no less, are in no position to even so much as suggest camaraderie! You... You... You..."

The Vanitas' silhouette on the wall shuddered, and like a flower, a shadowy spear sprouted from its centre. It took aim at the Emperor Tarot's head and appeared ready to launch itself and pierce him, awaiting the order... But that order never came.

Instead Lucifuge turned away, his fists clenched tightly. "... You may consider this a near-death experience. I will not show mercy a second time." he muttered while trembling heavily, having to use all of his willpower to reign in his anger. The Vanitas' spear retreated back into the wall, yet the silhouette of the shadowy construct remained. The Vanitas then fully manifested itself and walked to the door to the dining area, opening it for its master.

"... If you'll excuse me." Lufu then quickly walked through and took a seat at the dining table, far away from the open door. Once seated, he sighed and looked at his Vanitas.

"Get me something to calm my nerves." he said and the Vanitas did as it was told; it placed a tall wine-glass on the table and pulled a bottle filled with a red liquid from out of the shadows, filling the glass. Lufu slowly took a sip and stared melancholically at the liquid. The Vanitas stood by his side as would be expected from a servant, holding the bottle in its hands in case there was a need for a refill.

 

The spear seemed to encompass all of his vision in that moment. Elreen could feel the tension like threads in the room--one tied to his forehead, the other to the tip of that dread spear. He gulped down a breath, feeling sweat trickle down his forehead. He had never felt so helpless before, standing at the mercy of this young fellow and his shadow creatures.

And then he detracted his creature and left. Sighing, Elreen massaged his forehead. "Where did I go wrong?" he mumbled thoughtfully. "I only thought that I would be establishing friendship."

He looked around to the others, who were either trying to ignore the situation, or had been staring right at them, and breathed a sigh; he was embarrassed and frustrated.

 

Watching that whole scene play out in front of him. Nathan felt extremely uncomfortable, still a little shocked. Right after Lucifuge left the room, the room became immediately silent, the only sounds being Elreen mumbling something along the lines of where did he go wrong. As soon as Nathan noticed nobody talking, he decided to break the silence.

"Look, I dont mean to be rude or anything, but its kind of obvious where you most likely went wrong. Most of us here just came back from that blood bath out there, and the last thing we want to see right now is anything that has to do with it. Some of us here really dont want to see anybody from the army, and since you were the former sergent, you were bound to make at least somebody... uncomfortable." He explained. "Look, I know your intentions were most likely good, and I have no problem with that. But some of us here, really just want a break from all this."

 

"Lufu freaked out because you touched him, not just because you are a former sergant. He didn't react really strongly, until after you clapped him on the shoulder." Enya observed calmly. "Which leads me to something that must be said. Don't touch anyone here without explicit permission or if they don't suspect it. After all, defense mechnisims are hard to get rid off."

She held out her hand and demonstrated what she meant. Spikes shot out of the palm of her hand, each more dangerous than the next. Putting on finger to the ice. she showed just how sharp they were, blood welling up from the finger tip after lightly pressing on the tip. She just plucked the ice crystal of her had and set it on the low table.

"This is the result of years of hard training to make sure no one would grab when I was a child. Unlike you, Elreen, most of us have had hard lives and became jaded and distrustful as result. I was left alone by the army, because I am a woman, even if I am a Tarot. But that didn't mean that the general population liked me any better."

 

Aurora nodded at Enya's statement, "While some of us also are probably a little young as well for their ideal soldier." She yawned, a little tired from the ordeal that had taken place. "Maybe once we let the dust settle a bit we can all be close friends but who knows anymore, this is all only happened today." She placed her feet on the ground, "so lets not stress about it and let's not get into anymore fights" She gently stepped into the dining room area, shaking her hands to get the dust off. "Hey Lufu, are you doing ok?" she came a little closer to him but didn't want to intrude on his personal space after what happened.

 

(Warning: Mild undressing. Will adjust if necessary.)

Hearing the crunching noise, she instinctively turned to the source. Narrowing her eyes to the stranger in the tree, who fortunately did not look like a solider, she spoke again, this time verbally.

"I do not wish to fight you. I only want to talk to you." Her tone was serious. "I've come unarmed." Without waiting for his response, she removed her leather vest, gauntlets and gloves, putting them on the ground, and then putting both hands in the air as a gesture of surrender. Only garbed with plain clothes underneath, she was aware that doing this is going to get her caught by other straggling spies or creatures in that vicinity, but she had to convince him somehow!

 

Lucifuge didn't look up from his drink. He dipped the tip of his index finger into the crimson liquid and then traced the round edge of the glass with it, creating a clear, reverberating sound.

"..." Lucifuge remained silent for a while. A second Vanitas appeared in front of Aurora, with its arms spread as a sign that this would be as far as it would permit her to go. It did, however, offer her a glass of the same red liquid that Lufu was drinking, showing that it meant no offence.

Then, Lucifuge began to speak softly. "... No, miss, I am not doing well. Most likely I won't ever be doing well." he said, still focussed on tracing the edge of the glass. "... Even though I told him what they did to me... What those vile soldiers did to me..."

Lucifuge remained silent again for a while, lost in his own thoughts. "... One doesn't get promoted from a soldier to a sergeant if one gets forced to fight. He sympathised with their cause, or at least fought of his own free will." Lufu muttered. "If it wasn't for his Tarot powers, he'd still be fighting for such a hollow cause."

 

Elreen, despondent, took a chair and sat down, crossing his arms and spreading his legs in a gesture of relaxation and surrender. "I understand," he mumbled to Enya. "Or, maybe I don't. I've been around long to know that 'I understand' is a very empty phrase. Everyone faces their own set of troubles. No one can ever truly understand."

He gazed over to the dining room entrance where Aurora had been stopped. "Still," he muttered to Enya, "everyone can change. Everyone does change. I refuse to believe that, coming here among such like people, I cannot befriend even a single man. Perhaps that is naïve though." He sighed a deep, crestfallen sigh. "His trust is not so easy to gain, I see. Neither is yours, I suppose."

He saw the Vanitas before the entrance and struggled a bit. "I ought to go apologize," he mumbled. "But now just seems like the wrong time, doesn't it?"