Monsters of a Feather

It's not really the sort of evening for sitting out-of-doors, as it's lightly raining. The sky above is gray with clouds, and a cold wind blows in now and again to send a chill up the spine. It's the sort of evening for rushing indoors where one might find a little warmth and comfort. A much-needed thing for those who have been hard at work repairing the temple square. Karasu himself is one such, but he unlike the others did not rush inside at the first sprinkling of rain. Instead he wanders to a bench and sits down on it, tilting his head back and allowing the drizzle to run down his face into his moderately long hair. Above him a raven circles quietly, watching the world below with dark eyes.

Elena comes out of the Temple of Eluna, the goddess whose name she shares, at least in a local dialect. Her robes are clean and immaculate, golden hair pulled back in a severe series of well-disciplined braids to reveal the small points of her ears. At least, that is, until she puts her hood up, offering some moderate protection from the rain. Moving over to the bench where Karasu is currently seated, she lowers herself down on the other end of it, turning her face to the sky for a moment the way one weary from a long day of work might, letting the water wash over her as she simply breathes a moment, drawing one knee up to her chest to rest her arm on.

For a long moment, the xian man that Elena has seated herself beside does not move or speak. He seems totally satisfied to remain in silence and allow the rain to drench him. Of course the formal clothing he wears comes with a heavy outer coat that is protecting his body from sharing the same fate as his face and hair. Eventually however, he does move, tilting his face to the side to look at Elena with his dark eyes. Blinking a trace of water from his eyelashes. His head shifts forward so that it's upright. "Evening."

Elena looks over, blinking, as if she just realized that someone else was there. She glances at the stranger, then looks up to the sky before looking at him again, offering a thin, amused smile. "So it seems to be," she greets in return. "A small blessing." She reaches up to rub at her face, turning slightly on the bench so that she can have a proper conversation. "Forgive me," she starts. "The days have been -- long, of late. Good evening to you as well."

He lets the rain trickle down his face slowly, unbothered by the chill or the sensation. Instead he seems to consider Elena, then nods once and tilts his head upwards to watch the raven that is circling the bench. "Long days of work make for quick hours of passing." The raven spirals down seemingly done with it's flight. Karasu's gaze tracks the bird's movements as it finally lands on the arm of the bench beside him where it begins to preen itself. With that, Karasu returns his gaze to the woman at his side. "I am Karasu, and this is Wuya."

Elena laughs, shaking her head. "Or long hours of work make for seemingly endless days. It depends on the day," she counters. "Sometimes luck is not so much on your side." Offering a hand, she introduces herself. "Elena. A pleasure to meet you, Karasu. And Wuya," she adds, nodding to the Raven. One can never be sure which ones are just that extra bit more sentient. And ravens are a prickly bird at the best of times. "I would say that I wish we had met under better circumstances," she adds, looking up at the gray skies, "but that would be a lie. I've always loved the rain."

Karasu doesn't smile, but his dark eyes twinkle with seeming amusement. He accepts her hand, but as if shaking hands is an unfamiliar thing to him. Still, he manages to make a fair effort at it, so it's not uncomfortable. His words are heavily accented, but not quite enough to make it impossible to understand what he's saying. It's clear that his homeland is not far behind him. Wuya caws quietly back at her, seemingly smart enough to at least know he's being talked to, but he seems preoccupied with cleaning his feathers at the moment. "I am enjoying it myself. It is not often that it is quiet in Alexandria, and the rain is not an unwelcome thing."

"Alexandria is certainly anything but quiet," she agrees, that light smile still there as she splits her attention between present company and the starless skies. "Especially in the last days. So many hurt, and so much destruction." She glances in the direction of the Soldier's Defense, the smile fading a bit as a somewhat more haunted look takes over. "Though I suppose they at least have it better than others. As do I," she notes, glancing off in the direction of the Vardaman Temple. "One would think a priestess of Eluna would be more able to see blessings around her. But it remains a challenge, some days."

Her attention draws his attention to the Soldier's Defence and then to the temple of Vardama. "The Dread Lady has been gathering many to her bosom of late. I have seen more dead bodies in these last few days than..." He trails off abruptly and runs his hand through his hair, pushing the wet locks backwards and falling silent. He glances at Wuya and his fingers alight upon the raven briefly, long enough for the bird to look up at him with a curious expression and then he draws back to himself. "I can see where it might be hard for some."

Elena nods solemnly. "I can't tell if this is plague," she sighs, "or war. Or maybe both. It feels more like a curse than a disease, some days. Relentless. Mocking." She wraps her arms around her waist, suppressing a slight shiver. Though she seems to come back to her senses a bit, offering him that thin, forced-looking smile once more. "Though I suppose it must be even more difficult for you," she muses. "Coming to a strange land, only to find death and suffering. Not exactly what anyone dreams of when they sail the seas."

Karasu blinks, then shakes his head. "I came for reasons far too important to be diswayed by a little suffering and death. Besides, Vardama has kept me hale and whole so far, so I must think that she has a purpose for me yet. There are others far less fortunate than I." He turns his dark gaze back on her. "Are you cold?"

Elena shakes her head. "No," she answers. "Just--" She searches for the words, though they don't seem to come easily to her. "Numb. I think. Or getting there. So a kind of cold, I suppose?" She leans back on the bench, glancing over to her companion once more as if seeing him truly for the first time. "Far less fortunate," she agrees, somewhat absently. "Your reasons must be important indeed, if the events of the last year have given you no reason to question your mission. Even among the faithful, that level of dedication is -- rare." She doesn't ask about the reasons directly, though the curiosity in her voice is enough to give her away even without asking.

"Numbness is the minds way of protecting itself. It will fade." Karasu sounds the voice of experience on this, but her obvious curiosity causes him to look away from her once again. "Both my reason and my experience make me well suited to trials such as these. We all have our strengths and our weaknesses. There is no shame in being unused to suffering. Most after all are destined to lead quiet lives."

"Be careful what you pray for," Elena laughs. "The gods sometimes grant it." She looks to Karasu, eyes bright. "I used to think that leading a quiet, uneventful life was the worst thing that could happen." Glancing around at the ruins in the Temple district, the destroyed fountain, the shrouds for corpses and healers attending to those still making their way to safety, even days later. "And truth be told? I think I still do." She glances at the people, their pain and suffering. "I suppose that it takes a special kind of monster to think that boredom and anonymity is a worse fate than all of this."

"Indeed." The word is a quiet response to her statement that one should be careful what they pray for. His eyes do not trace the corpses or the ruin of the fountain. Nor even the people passing as quickly as they may through the area. Karasu's attention seems to be on the rain itself. "I am not one to judge anyone. Just the same, I think I would not know what to do with a life of boredom, so perhaps that makes me a like-minded monster?" This thought tinges his voice with the first hint of emotion - amusement.

Elena actually laughs then, bright and clear, amusement in her own voice now. "I suppose it does," she agrees, looking back over at him. "But don't worry," she whispers. "Your secret is safe with me. Rules of Confession," she whispers, putting a finger to her lips in the classic sign for quiet and secrecy.

Karasu looks Elena's way and his eyes twinkle with the amusement that doesn't somehow manage to touch his features. "Your discretion is appreciated. So, tell me priestess, is the it the lure of a exciting life that compels you to stay here? Or do you have other reasons that draw you to such a place as this?"

Elena shakes her head, disciplined appearance belied by the small moment of unsurety that she's displaying. "Not an exciting life," she answers. "Though I certainly can't claim that it has been anything else. No. I think, for me, it's more -- having a meaningful life. Something more than marriage to the local farmboy and raising a small gaggle of children so that I can die of old age in a warm bed, if fever or war doesn't take me first, never having done anything that anyone will remember, my life having made little impact. Here, at least -- I have a chance to leave the world better than I found it. Help the people in it. Learn the secrets of the world, and use them for good." She turns to him, raising a curious eyebrow. "And what of you?" she asks. "What important mission drives you forward, despite the horror around you?"

The xian man nods his head, seeming to agree with Elena, but he seems to hesitate to answer her before finally replying. "To save one small boy from a life he should not lead." This it seems is a serious answer, one that draws the warm light in his eyes out and leaves them filled instead with dangerous purpose. "This, is not horror Elena. The horror would be to become the person who has wrought such suffering. To be the monster that kills without mercy or concern for those left behind." He says the words without a trace of emotion, and it makes them all the more chilling for the lack. He speaks with such absolute certainty…

Elena watches him as he answers, taking in his words, her own expression growing more serious. She's quiet for a moment, considering what he says carefully, it seems. "We each save one at a time," she finally answers. "So saving one small boy from a life he should not lead is the worthiest cause that I can think of. The first step in saving the world." But she gives a small nod. "You're right," she agrees. "To become something capable of -- all this. Something truly awful must have happened. I don't know whether she deserves my wrath, or my pity, more. Perhaps both."

"Perhaps, though I have little enough in the way of pity. There is after all, always a choice. Even if she was raised in this, even if it is all she has known all her life, there is a choice." Karasu reaches out and cups his hand, allowing the rainwater to gather there. A small sample of it at least. It quickly begins to spill down the sides however. "They say that she is not human, and perhaps she lacks our emotions, but there is still a choice. She chose to kill all of these people, and Vardama will judge her for that. As we are all judged."

Elena nods. "Of course," she agrees. "Judgment is fair. There must be a reckoning for what she's done." She grows quiet for a moment, watching the water fill his hand. "One simply has to wonder what lead to this point. What path did she take? What horrors did she suffer? How is it that, of all the choices she could have made, this one seemed the -best- to her? How much suffering must she have collected," Elena asks, voice dreamy, "before she became so full that it had to run out onto others, like rain from your hand?"

A low noise, thoughtful rises from Karasu's throat and he tilts his head at Elena. "How did you know what I was thinking?" The rain trickles down his arm, falling inside his sleeve and he gently lowers the extremity, allowing the water to wash away and join the rest of the rain. "I wonder if we will ever know the answers to such questions. In the end I think that they might not matter very much in ending her, but to prevent another like her from coming to be? I would like to know."

"I knew what you were thinking," she says, voice only half-serious, "because I'm a like-minded monster, I suppose." She watches as the water pours out, not seeming to mind that her hood has fallen down at some point, those serious braids becoming rather soaked as rivulets of water run between them. "And they might not matter to ending her," she agrees. "But you're right. They can help prevent another in the future. But," she adds, "I have a feeling that whoever she was before -- that person deserves to not be forgotten behind the mask of the monster she's become."

Karasu drops his hand entirely, and Wuya shifts finally, seemingly done with his preening and moves to Karasu's shoulder. "Perhaps not. Or perhaps like some she was a monster all along." He rises to his feet with grace and bows to Elena. "It was a pleasure to meet you, and I hope to meet you again... on perhaps another rainy day." The xian man turns then, and begins to walk toward the temple of Vardama.

"On the next rainy day, then," Elena agrees, rising from the bench herself as the evening prayers start to be sun. Duty calls sooner rather than later, it seems. Turning to watch Karasu, she calls after him, "I hope that you find the boy you're looking for. And that you help him lead a more worthy life than the one it seems was laid out for him." A small bow of her head is given, and she turns back to the temple, walking slowly as she draws the hood up once more.

-End