meltryllis.

[oathic]

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[oathic]

[honestly, he knew from the start it would come down to this. it wouldn't be so easy. for better or for worse, babo kim—or agni rather, because he's not doing this as the fool, but as a god with a duty—is prepared. he can't afford to screw up. to make brilith cry, or to leave another innocent to die by the hands of the monster inside meltryllis.

he's calm. he has to be. none of his feelings can leak into the bond he has with others, at the moment. thankfully, it's an easy task for someone who, out of necessity, has lived by suppressing his emotions.

so with a perfectly casual smile, he walks out, before blinking in surprise when he spots meltryllis. his sword is in hand, but it always is, so that's hardly unusual.]

Hey! Meltryllis!

[sadiskick]

[ If there's a question Meltryllis asks herself this week, it's where will she go this Thursday? Should she be alone? Of course she should be. Isn't that how she should always be?

She knows people suspect, perhaps some even know, but it's not like she can say anything about it. That's what eats away at her the most: her lack of control in a place that's taken away her powers, her ability to be herself, the only thing she can be proud of. This body should be her own. Her heart should be her own.

She, too, is calm and rational in her own way. It's what make her separate herself from others, and it's a weakness she buries deep in the layers of her heart. ]

Gardener Kim. What is it?

[ Her smile is cool, collected. ]

[oathic]

Looking for a place to stay for the night? It's getting to be that time, after all...

[he scratches the back of his neck, before he offers a smile. when it matters, lying comes too easily—isn't that one of the things brilith hates about him?]

By the way, mind if I ask you something? It just occurred to me now.

[sadiskick]

I am. I feel like there may be someone or a few someones who will come looking for me tonight.

[ She says that like she's commenting on how the light fixtures on the wall seem a little crooked. She speaks like a slow tide coming to shore. If she can't face what comes at her with grace, pride, or her own sense of beauty, she wouldn't be herself ]

Ask me whatever you want. I can't guarantee an answer.

[ It's a joke she hates to make. ]

[oathic]

I kind of know how you feel.

[because someone sure did try to frame him last trial!]

... Well, that's fair. It's a bit of a weird question... I was just wondering—Meltryllis seems like a pretty unusual name. Does it mean anything?

[it's more of a starter, than anything. there are things he wants to ask her, though. even if it may be too late for her, she at least deserves to be more than a complete stranger when she dies.]

[sadiskick]

[ Sometimes, things just happen! Sometimes, you become a monster who wants to survive, and sometimes, you just come across a sword and use it.

And sometimes, for someone who once thought she was perfect, you hate what you've become. ]

My name? [ No one's actually asked her that before. ] It's a combination of what I can do and amaryllis.

[ What she can usually do, given abilities. ]

[oathic]

Amaryllis? Like the flower?

[he makes a mental note of that.]

What is it you can do? Melt things?

[sadiskick]

Like the flower. All my sisters are named for flowers.

[ She makes a displeased face. ]

Not here, I can't, but in essence, that's what I should be able to do.

[oathic]

Ah, right. You mentioned before that you wanted your abilities back... You have sisters, though? Are they goddesses like you?

[this might be foolish. meltryllis is already aware of what he's here for. and if his suspicions are correct, she will not—cannot?—transform while others are awake, lest there be witnesses.

pragmatically speaking, he should kill her now. but if agni, famous and mocked among the gods for his sense of honour, would fight fairly even against his mortal enemies, meltryllis should be given no less.

until she transforms and the monster plaguing her heart reveals itself, then she is still, in a sense, the girl who doesn't deserve this fate.]

[sadiskick]

[ Meltryllis doesn't know for sure why he approached her, but she suspects. It really is a wonder that he doesn't attack her now, if she's right. It'd be the smartest way to go about it with all her powers gone until the clock strikes midnight, the hour that signifies her beauty is gone. ]

Yes. We've all been given various powers, but my capabilities are the best.

[ There's no mistaking her pride, her self-assurance. It's because her pride is so high that what happened to her last week stings. It'd be one thing if she absorbed the monster, but sometimes, it feels like the other way around, and that gives her feelings she doesn't want to admit to.

(It's fear.) ]

[oathic]

[melt ): ]

Impressive! I can see why you'd be so annoyed about losing them, in that case.

[well, not that he can't relate.]

Does that have anything to do with why you hate humans? There are many gods where I'm from who don't care for them either...

[sadiskick]

[ Meltryllis is still a terrible person even if she may be tragic. If it were a kill in her own form, of her purest will, she'd have no regrets about it. Killing has never weighed on her conscious that way. ]

We're viewed as monsters by humans, as beings they should attack and kill to advance in their war for a wish.

[ She accepts being a monster in their eyes because she can be monstrous, but it's also why she doesn't think she and humans can reach an understanding. There have only ever been a few that changed her mind, and that handful does not absolve the rest of humankind. ]

[oathic]

In their war for a wish...?

[sadiskick]

[ She waves a sleeve like it's sort of complicated to explain. ]

It depends on the circumstances, but there's usually some device like a grail or a supercomputer that has the power to grant any wish if you kill enough for it. Human mages summon powerful spirits to fight for them.

[ Well, if he's here to kill her, does he need to know that she's a taboo spirit that shouldn't have been created and born? It's fine. ]

[oathic]

[ara, desperately swerving from explaining fate]

... Having any wish granted is an incentive many would fight for, it's true. So you're one of those spirits, or...?

[sadiskick]

[ yea

Meltryllis laughs, something not quite bittersweet. ]

I am now. I wasn't before.

[ ... ]

If you're after my life tonight, why do you want to know about me?

[ There's no use pretending anymore, she figures. ]

[oathic]

[he scratches the back of his neck.]

Is wanting to get to know someone so unusual?

[sadiskick]

Yes.

[ It's something she understands only in specific circumstances. She smiles at him, an almost lazy stretch of her lips. ]

If it's not, why don't you tell me about yourself?

[oathic]

... Why not? [he smiles.] My real name's Agni, for one. Babo Kim's just an alias I usually use when passing as a human.

[sadiskick]

[ Oh. This is almost funny. If it weren't for where they were and why, she'd be entirely amused.

Meltryllis grins. ]

The god of fire, in the flesh? Should I feel honored?

[oathic]

[he blinks.]

I'm surprised you know the name. [she's certainly not from his universe, after all.] But even if I thought you should, you wouldn't, right?

[so, probably for the better that agni hardly cares about being held in esteem.]

[sadiskick]

Even if you aren't a god from my world, there is a god with your name.

[ Funny how the streams cross. ]

It's usually suicide to reveal this, but one of us is going to die tonight.

[ For some Servants, they think it's honorable to reveal True Names, if the other does. She doesn't really care for that, but tonight isn't about choices.

After all, if she had a choice, it wouldn't be him. It wouldn't have been Nia. And... it wouldn't have even been Asch, if it weren't for a different monster's urges. If she had a choice, she'd remain herself. ]

I was created with the essence of three different goddesses: Artermis, Sarasvati, and the Leviathan.

[ He should be honored she revealed that she's going to turn into a knock off version of what she's made of. ]

[oathic]

[... he feels a little bad because that was clearly supposed to be a dramatic reveal, but none of those names mean anything to him.]

Oh. Cool. You weren't kidding when you said you were powerful, huh?

[sadiskick]

[ He should feel bad not at all. If there's no recognition, then it's the same as not revealing, and she's also fine with that.

She sighs, and a conflicted emotion crosses her face. ]

... I won't die easily either way.

[ Even if she doesn't want to live like this, her instinct is always to fight. ]

[oathic]

... I wasn't expecting you to.

[tick tock, tick tock. is there a clock in the room? who knows, because we don't even know which room they're locked in now, but either way, agni keeps track of the passing time in the back of his mind.]

To be honest, I'd rather talk this out than fight... but I guess negotiating's off the table?