- THE LEVIATHAN -

Vargas had a sense of renewed... purpose? No. That wasn't right; his purpose was constant. It was renewed hope, maybe. He smelled a little of the sea, having returned now from Leo. It had been a long route, and he was a little weary despite his gangly limbs and physical fitness. ...It had been a lot of sand to trudge through.

His frustration with V-Ruby-One, followed by his (admittedly faint) guilt, had nevertheless struck upon a quite sudden bit of inspiration. He had, to put it simply, An Idea™.

It was a risk, to be certain, but one that his hopeful ally had agreed to take. Vargas did not know how it would go, but he trusted that one to be... what? Reasonable? Sensitive? He had a way with Gembounds, that much Vargas knew. He wasn't sure if his demeanor would anger V-Ruby-One more, but he had to believe that it would help, instead.

He wasn't sure if the creature was in Draco right that moment--it had chosen the freedom to wander as one of its rewards. Even so, the Forge members were expected to check in reasonably often, so he felt relatively confident he'd come across it eventually. Even with its simmering anger, it still had to stabilize, at least. "V-RUBY-ONE?" he called, his voice crashing through the previously peaceful silence. Well, silent aside from the low breathing rhythm of the Black Spire, anyway.

"Are you in?"

@V-Ruby-One

Fortunately, V-Ruby-One was around, doing the only thing it would be doing in Draco at this point, stabilizing before the Spire. Since its reemergence, it had felt the need to sit here more, for longer times, or else it would lose control. Whether it was a further drawback of what had happened to it, a consequence, or simply another symptom of its crumbling mind.

It was in the midst of staring into nothing, sitting before the Spire, images of war and violence flashing across its mind to feed the beast within it, listening to its contented rumbling echoing and reverberating through its very bones. And then that fucking voice snapped it out of its partial-trance, already pulling a scowl to its face.

It turned to face its Master and already, fire ignited in its gaze. But it tempered it - for now. It wasn't strong enough. It feared any further bite-back and he would decide that it really would just be easier to remake it into something more obedient. So even now, when there was little fear of it losing control, when it had no particular reason to be nice or calm, it just took in a deep breath and hissed out through its teeth, "Yes? What is it?"

@Vargas

- THE LEVIATHAN -

"There you are," Vargas remarked, which was wildly unnecessary but apparently it was conversation. He came to a halt before V-Ruby-One, glancing absently at the Black Spire as he did so. "Good. I have a proposition for you. Tell me: are you particularly interested in a custom weapon, or armor? -Or perhaps both," he added, musing.

It was a blunt question, and to the point, but he was oddly calm as he asked it. It was not a demand, it seemed; not a command or an order. It likely wasn't just an offer, given freely--but maybe it was. It could be hard to tell, with the Leviathan; undoubtedly he'd explain himself soon enough.

@V-Ruby-One

It narrowed its eyes at the Master, trying to gauge his purpose here. A custom weapon? Armor? Why was he offering this now, when it was a step from death row? And was it an offer? To be honest, it had never thought of such a thing - why would it need a weapon when it was a weapon itself? Why wear armor when it enjoyed the pain that came with battle? It seemed redundant and pointless and it was half a mind to simply spit out, "No", turn away, and be done with it. It thought of Onyx-Three and its bow and dagger. How little damage it did to the iceworm. It thought of Azrael and his stupid bone armor and how little he actually wore it, how much it slowed him down. No, it had never wanted those things.

But if they were to give it a step up in strength and power, give it protection against itself or bolster what it already had...that it could get behind. Vargas wasn't offering something enchanted, but it wondered if it could find a way.

Didn't make it seem any less useless. Still, it wanted to hear him out, at the very least, while it was still feeling reasonably sane. "No," it answered, equally as blunt. "Why?"

@Vargas

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Well, that was disappointing. That had been the carrot on a stick, and it seemingly didn't want a carrot. He'd thought the armor, at least, would have interested it--no doubt it could've chosen its enchantment, the materials, and so forth. But--"Very well. That was half of what I wished to ask. I would like you to go to Leo, and find the Blacksmith in his Forge. We both know that you struggle with control," and Vargas glanced again at the Black Spire. "He has agreed to teach you. He is not..." and here, the Leviathan paused, thinking.

Ahh, but--maybe they'd met? "Have you met the Blacksmith?" he asked first, interrupting his own train of thought. If V-Ruby-One had already met him, there was no point in repeating things he might already know.

@V-Ruby-One

To be perfectly honest, it was not even remotely interested in anything Master Vargas had to offer it, it wasn't interested in his lessons or weapons or whatever. Its feelings towards its supposed overlord at this point were nothing but a seething hatred for his hypocrisy. It did wonder sometimes if i simply didn't return to the Forge. It would be hunted down, probably. Killed for its defiance.

Why did they not understand Chaos? Why did one who had rejected itself for the majority of its life have more of a capacity to understand the nature of it then those that had been working with it for centuries?

That was beside the point at this moment.

It snorted. Loss of control. It still thought the notion ridiculous that Chaos could or should be controlled, but it loathed to agree. It was a nuisance and had put it out for far too long. Gotten in the way too many times. But its own control would not come from The Forge, it would come from itself. They obviously had no fucking idea how to deal with it, so it would deal with itself.

"I haven't met him." It had heard of him, of course, but a face-to-face meeting hadn't yet occurred, probably to the Blacksmith's benefit. Its head slowly turned, each second out of its meditation feeling less and less stable as the beast uncurled from its sleep and began to growl in the back of its mind. Stay out of this. But it knew it wouldn't. It never did.

"Is that a command, then?" It couldn't help but sneer. "Go run off to Leo and learn how to hit metal?"

@Vargas

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Vargas glanced up a little sharply, staring at V-Ruby-One for a beat before replying. The silence was likely meant as a warning, though he said nothing to that effect. "Hit metal-? Ah. No. The Blacksmith is his title, but he is more than that. It is an order, yes. But I demand nothing of you other than that you speak with him. Stay with him for several days. If you cannot tolerate it after... three, four days, then return, but it's my hope that he will be able to help you. And if you find that you can tolerate it, feel free to remain for a time. Report back to me if you think you will be gone for more than a cycle, perhaps when you return to meditate." Vargas thought for a moment, then shrugged, a little. "The Blacksmith is one of the most capable smiths in the caves, however--perhaps the most capable. He is also knowledgeable about martial combat. It may be worth consulting him on whether he can think of any armor or weapons you may find useful to your fighting style." Shield enchantments, maybe, Vargas thought.

He considered... explaining things further. Pointing out that the Blacksmith had good food, and tea. That he was peaceful and would make few real demands. But--no. He'd let him explain himself. That would likely be for the best.

@V-Ruby-One

It listened, at least. It considered. Would it go along with a command from Vargas? Maybe. Only if it benefited itself, but it would have to twist its own cracked pride backwards and around to convince itself that it was worth it at all. Its teeth clenched just thinking about it. Doing what it was told.

But...it didn't want to die. None of them did. And having armor sounded like fun. It sounded strong.

It didn't want to go without a fight, but it had to admit - doing so would be the best course of action at the moment. Being non-combative would be to its benefit. And it was easier, now - it had just stabilized and the heat that usually thrummed through its veins and sung songs of chaos in its head was dormant for the time being, satisfied.

With a huff of its breath, almost a sigh but angrier, closed in, left its jaws and it climbed to its feet. "Fine, then. I'll go. We'll see if he can deal with me." The snarl that ended with his words was both a challenge and a self-depreciation. It had yet found someone that didn't stir its ire, that didn't set it off. It knew the Blacksmith would be no different, but it challenged him to try.

@Vargas

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Vargas nodded. "Very good," he said, and it wasn't clear if this was praise or simply acknowledgment. And to the last--he tipped his head a little to one side, studying V-Ruby-One as though with a fresh eye.

Was that... Was it making fun of itself? He couldn't tell if it was bitter about its own lack of control--or if it despised Vargas's attempts to apply that control. After a moment, he dismissed this with a mental shrug. It clearly had its problems, but that's why he'd considered The Blacksmith as a potential... Not a solution, no. Not a cure--but a treatment? Maybe.

"I wish you both luck, then," he said after a beat, the faintest humor in his own words. "Set off when you feel fit to do so."

@V-Ruby-One

It snarled one last time before turning away from Master Vargas. It would leave now - why the fuck not, it's meditation had been ruined anyways. Not that it needed any more. If there wasn't any sources of corruption all the way in Leo, it might have to put one down with that new delicious power it had. Anything to avoid coming back here for as long as possible.

It hated to please Master Vargas. It hated to follow his commands. But it needed to play safe for now. The threat hung over its head like a toxic cloud and it would not dare to lash out anymore until it felt certain it wasn't in fear of immediate death.

It didn't say goodbye, simply turned and left, with only a huff of acknowledgement. Moody as ever, bad-tempered as always.

*exit

@Vargas