| Politics In Shadows | ||
|---|---|---|
| Summary: Frustrated with being told she's going to be on a new Council suddenly, Tabitha goes to find Caliga and demand the rest of the story.   |
Leaping down to a small patch of sand between some larger rocks, Tabitha promptly gets hit in the face by the spray from the waves crashing loudly against them. Her ears promptly draw back and she involuntarily hisses towards the water. Blinking momentarily in confusion of her actions, the girl reflects on some of the stranger cat-like behavior she's picked up since meeting Asato. It's as if being around another cat-person has triggered something in her, and she doesn't like it. Her tail begins to swish around behind her angrily as she curses the air around her, "CALIGA, WHERE TH' FUCK ARE YOU?!?" That's why she's trekked all the way out here. All because someone told her he might be around. Guesses and assumptions. Story of her life in more ways than one...
As the mist slowly settles before the next set of waves crash upon the rocky beach, a cloaked figure slowly comes into view. Slowly but surely, a finger is raised, as if they were motioning for Tabitha to wait for just a few more moments before approaching. "Do bring it down a few notches, Tabitha. While I'm sure that you have a good reason to be screaming my name for every creature in the world to hear..." The hand is lowered and the hood of the cape pulled back, revealing a rather young man that resembles Caliga a fair amount. "I don't need to draw any more attention to myself then need be."
Jumping at the sound of his voice, Tabitha spins around and stares for the briefest of moments at the hooded form addressing her. His big reveal getting little reaction from her at all as once again she's drawn into her rage - that ever loving gift from the maniac that created her. "Bring it down?! BRING IT DOWN?! Yer lucky I'm not tryin' ta castrate yer ass..." Her voice lowers pitch as she speaks despite that first outburst. Marching towards him to get into his face, the nekojin shakes her head. "Considerin' I ran into some girl th' other night in th' park who startin' bowin' and scraping at me? Why're you tellin' people I'm gonna be on some newfangled Council?" Being close enough to notice his eyes being closed confuses her, but so does everything Caliga does. Despite this his appearance means nothing to her. Considering he effectively made clones of her previously, and considering how many times she's been 'youthed' herself recently? "No one's gonna get horn head ta go along with it anyways."
"Shhhhh. His name still draws his attention, Tabitha. How many times do I have to remind you that words also carry power?" Caliga's voice is strained, almost as if he's putting up much larger of a front then one really should given these circumstances. Of course, the neko-jin always has hated how he chooses to do things. "He will have no choice. Either he will fall by the blade of the one that guards the mists of time, be consumed by the light of the Osha'tek, or... start the flames that will summon a threat we will not survive, unless he choses to allow the prophecy to come to light. He understands very well just what at is stake, and.. soon the final confrontation will come to pass." Caliga slowly takes a breath, trying to regain a semibalance of composure, because thats not the reason why Tabitha stalks him once again. "Tabitha Li Bogard, tell me... Who has been your greatest champion in all things? Who is the one that reminds you of the potential you have? Or pleads your case to those who dare question it? Who is the one, that has sacraficed everything once again, to truly give you a chance you deserve? So please. Allow me this one time, of accepting what I have chosen for you without questions, and know that I have guided things to this very moment for few purposes such as this."
Tabitha stares at him blankly as he asks his apparently rhetorical questions. She could let it slide, but no she won't. Especially since a different name has already sprang to mind. "Um. Samantha Li-Bogard, actually. Whom I've had th' pleasure of actually gettin' ta meet recently." Eager to end what she sees as the teacher speaking to his student charade, she decides to demonstrate. Without even tensing up a fire ignites within her, burning off of her body in a show of magics. Crossing her arms her eyes turn black and soon the fire turns to inky-black shadow flames which engulf her and change her form to the shadows she was created from. A show that should also ignite Caliga's natural talents for detecting ki. The most impressive thing of course is the lack of a dagger in her hands. "You might think you've pulled some strings an' taught me some kinda great knowledge, but you haven't. Ya tried to teach me ta surpress my abilities ta work on my ki - but my /sister/ made me realize I am those abilities. I /am/ that darkness." As she speaks the name it falls back inside her, leaving the nekojin looking normal once again. "So don't lecture me about what I am, or where I came from because fer once in my life I feel like I get it an' I clearly understand that better than you do." Finally showing herself to be a capable adult and not the broken child she's been for so long Tabitha closes the remaining distance between them and pushes his shoulder back in a light shove, her tail swishing defiantly behind her. "Now stop actin' all mystical an' tell me what th' hell yer tryin' ta drag me into because that threat of castratin' you is still on th' table."
"You are that darkness?" This causes Caliga to briefly appear rather confused, only for him to turn away and pull the hood back over his head. "You've still not learned anything at all. Oh well. You'll have all the time in the world to discover the truth on your own once I've finished with this." As Tabitha pushes on the shoulder, there is no give. Its like pushing against stone itself. Its almost as if this were just another one of those clones Caliga sends in his place to cause mischief while he's pre-occupied elsewhere. "My intent is to set Twisted on its own. You have lived here all your life, and you above all others have a desire to see it safe and prosper. So far, except for Christabella, you've performed remarkably average in that aspect. You're capable of far more, as I've told you time and time again. I don't lay everything on the table because this game, and yes Tabitha, it is a game, has one that has been played by those like me for even longer then any can remember." A long pause overtakes Caliga as he carefully considers the words he is about to speak next, because once they're said, like everything else he has done during this time... There will be no going back. "I'm ending the game, Tabitha. No more will it be played by those like me. Twisted will prosper because its people seek to make it prosper. Which is why I'm chosing you to be one of the ones to help guide it. Unlike anyone else, including your 'sister', I was the first to acknowledge /you/. I have the faith you'll bring what is right to the table, and temper the minds of those who are much older then you with the ideals of youth. The Osha'tek, The Black Dragon of Lunar... Even the Snake Goddess.. The game is nothing new to them. So it will be up to you and Rayne to stop it from beginning anew."
She's literally made of shadows. She is darkness. This is a fact. It's not magic. It's not the dagger's influence. Tabitha is literally that darkness she wields and she finally gets that. So of course Caliga's statement gets an eyeroll and the next few things he says is completely and totally ignored. "So, short version, ya want me ta babysit." She crosses her arms and turns away looking down at the wet sand beneath her. Without even thinking about it she drops into a crouch and begins to poke at it. "Look, whatever. If it helps th' people who live here I'm in. If it gets Horny out of here, I'm doubly in." She stands and turns to face Caliga again, her hands now dripping with wet sand. For whatever reason she'd started building what looks like it might have been intended as a sand castle. "But next time ya want ta volunteer me for somethin' ya'd better damn well ask me first!!" Pointing at him to add emphasis to her words is the only reason she notices her muddy hands and a clear look of confusion washes over her making her look back at the melting pile of dirt she'd been making. "Jeeze, what is wrong with me now?"
"If I wanted you to babysit, I'd find some kids for you to do just that." The words are fairly acidic in tone as Caliga slowly starts to climb to his feet. Slowly he turns to actually face the neko-jin, revealing a few cracks across his face. "There may not be a next time, Tabitha. So, whatever revelations you may have had with Samantha... Well. Let's just hope its enough." Slowly, Caliga's eyes open revealing dark brown orbs of stone, which slowly start to crack as well. "They'll have to be I suppose... Unless you can convince my son to finish it up. Maybe Cale'll be able to teach you what I couldn't." There is a brief shrug of the shoulders, as the color of Caliga's face starts to turn to a dark brown, like the very sand Tabitha was playing with. "If you'll excuse me... My full attention is needed once again elsewhere." Once the words escape his mouth, the form of Caliga suddenly disperses, leaving a large pile of sand where he once was. | |
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