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WHO: Cassian and Sanzo in one, Cassian and Amberdrake in another
WHAT: DINNER TIME and A brief material run
WHEN: Shortly after Christmas, before the shops in Fayren close.
WHERE: Everglade and Fayren
WARNINGS: Gore, violence, mentions of cannibalism

4 SANZO
He'd gone too long. He knew he'd over extended himself, the gift he got from Tannusen could only last so long. Wheezing, stiff, the faint sound of flutes beginning to sound in the back of his mind, tonight had to be the night. He wasn't going to risk it all again, he couldn't. He couldn't keep relying on someone else here to patch him up every time he fell into shit.

He was a grown man. He could take care of this.

As it had been for two thousand years, the hunt was on. As it had been for two thousand years, the iron dagger found its mark, the husk soulless yes, but oh how they screamed like any real living thing would. Once, perhaps, he would have shrunk away from the sound. A long time ago, he'd be frantic to silence them, clumsily slashing at vocal cords and sobbing in fear and horror-

He knew how to work now, and the screaming was quickly silenced to pathetic, wet gurgling as the cloaked man snapped ribs with ease, feeling the rippling sensation of that thing pulsing in the back of his head, feeding his meager strength. Peeling the membrane off the heart. Sinking his teeth in and silencing the husk forever.

Blood everywhere. It stank of it, but the pain in his body and his lungs faded with every bite, even if it couldn't fully sate the beast. Just another bandaid.

But for now, it would do.
4 Amberdrake

Of course, Everglade wouldn't have the materials he needed. No one would stock in the type of silver he required, and he didn't even ask any shops there. Seemed like a good way to get a lot of unwanted attention. So, wrapped up in fleece and wool, cranky and miserable and cold, headed for Fayren.

They'd have what he needed, or at least part of it. He could always return home and finish blessing it all later. He had some energy in his step now, so the little man was going to be quite the obnoxious terror in Fayren, picky and fussy with everything he picked up, viciously haggling every single object down.

"I'll only be takin' pure silver, and not anything else. I don't want any steel or nickle in any of this- What else is in this mirror? Oi! Tis a real question, does it look like I'm foolin' with ye?"

Yeah. Not a good day for Fayren.

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He wasn't surprised to hear that Sanzo told him shit. He should have expected that one. But... he figured he could trust Drake with this, at least.

The suggestion seemed to make sense too, and he had to ponder upon that for a moment. After all, it only made a fuss once Drake began to work on the actual damage, not clearing out the actual illness itself.

"... It would only figure that would be how it would operate, wouldn't it?"

Couldn't sound more bitter.

Drake got up to finish making the tea, now that he judged the water had had time to get hot enough. He considered the issue while he poured water into one of his many plain clay teapots, this one with an infusing basket with the chosen tea in it. He retrieved a few clay cups and brought them and the pot over to the table.

Pouring tea elegantly was as natural to him as breathing, so he did just that before sitting down, sliding his cup closer to himself.

"I have resources," he said, finally. "I'd like to study that feather, once my head stops hurting. I'll probably give small samples of the vane to a few people. One of whom is very dangerous in his own right, but he's curious if he's anything. He might slip and say something useful, if he finds anything," Drake chuckled softly at that, "if only to try to prove his intellectual superiority."

Gods, he managed some fucked up people. And this... thing... why not get Ukoku involved, honestly.

Except...

"Although if I do that and he finds out the source, he may be a problem for you."

So maybe not. Ugh, his head hurt. The shields had held, but that didn't mean having them beaten on didn't ring his head like a bell.

He took the tea with a vaguely shaking hand, taking a polite little sip of it and allowing the herbs to do their job on his frayed and rattled nerves. Just relax. Things were going to be fine.

Take a deep breath and just think for a while.

"Aye? Do ye? Popular fellow, ye are. First silver now supernatural scientists." Even if the man in question sounded like a massive prick already.

A brow arched slowly at the warning.

"... Amberdrake. If a monster man shows up at me door, I'm not makin' any promises I won't just try to eat him." Welp.

"Eatin' a real person does keep it quiet for at least a few years. Not gonna be any skin off my back."

Drake chuckled and also took a sip of his tea. "The perks of the profession, I suppose. I've always built up an extensive network of people, just by being what I am."

As for eating Ukoku...

"I doubt you'd find him that easy of a meal," he shook his head, "don't mistake my caution for protectiveness. Not of this person. He's been beyond my help for a very, very long time. I entertain his company only to keep him in check."

Which really, really depressed Amberdrake. If there was anything left to save, he'd try. But Ukoku was long past that point, and probably had been ever since the first time he'd draped the Muten Sutra over his shoulders.

"He might eat you, is more of what I'd worry about."

"You're a very easy man to talk with, I'll give ye that."

He took another sip of his tea, a harsh bark of laughter heard as Drake admitted he was more worried about Cassian himself than this man. He shouldn't be arrogant. It wasn't prideful either, but it was something he'd heard many times before.

Of course, those had all mostly been mortal men.

"He's welcome to try. Maybe if he manages it I won't have to worry about bein' a host anymore now will I?"

Drake frowned slightly at that, and looked at his tea. Gallows humor certainly wasn't beyond Amberdrake -- he was a War-Healer, after all! -- but...

This was a little too possible.

"I don't know if it's worth the risk. If he realized you were that thing's host, he'd want it."

Ugh, how much to say? It wasn't like Ukoku was a real client, whose secrets he had to keep, but some of his secrets overlapped with those of people he cared for. Explaining what his sutra did, for example...

"He's plenty dangerous enough, and mad enough, to figure out a way to unleash that thing on the world fully."

Another sip of tea as he started to get comfortable once more, looking unimpressed as Drake attempted to relay just how dangerous he could be-

"Had it for two thousand years, I don't think some berk with a fetish for chaos is going to figure out how to unleash it in two weeks. Give him the feckin' feather, maybe he can at least give the damn thing a name or a definition.

A species would be nice, I could work with that."

Amberdrake drummed the fingers of one hand on the table, torn. Finally, he took his phone out of his pocket and sent a text to Sanzo.

Trying to warn someone about Ukoku. Would mean explaining about the sutras to do it properly. Thoughts?

Sanzo doesn't respond at once, he has to think about his answer carefully.

That doesn't have to come up to warn about him. Why?

Edited 2017-01-01 10:49 (UTC)

I may be putting this person on his radar, I think they should know the danger.

He didn't explain why he might be putting someone on Ukoku's radar. Sanzo knew him well enough to know there had to be a good reason for Drake to even consider taking that risk.

Leave me out of the explanation. Do you know enough to explain?

Anything more than what I know won't do any good anyway.

And then, because he was Drake:

<3

That's fine with him, he'll wait, taking another warm, leisurely sip of his tea and starting to root around in his satchel again.

If it was going to be quiet for a while, he didn't mind reading.

Drake looked up after exchanging a few messages with someone, and sighed.

"The guy in question wields an item that was one-fifth of what created existence, where he's from. His artifact in particular negates space, negates light, attacks, magic... distance. Supposedly, it can even turn a God mortal in its presence, negating their immortality. It can erase someone from the lives of everyone they have ever encountered, making it so that they never existed."

He glanced at his phone, and then back at Cassian as he tucked the phone away.

"These artifacts sort of... soak into the person who guards them, so they come to embody what their artifact is. That's who and what this person is."

But, he was also a brilliant scientist and magic-user mixed into one person who had more equipment and esoteric knowledge than he knew what to do with. Drake could easily admit that Ukoku was a genius; he took the heretical Sanzo very seriously. Intelligence didn't make him less vile, to be sure.

That got him to listen, sure enough, watching Drake with sharp eyes as the man detailed the powers of the item in question. Indeed that was... quite horrifying.

But for an empath, it'd be impossible to miss the sudden, sharp spike in some feeling at the mention of turning an immortal mortal.

A flash in those gray eyes, a faint twitch of a hand.

"Sounds like a real winner." He finally set down his empty cup.

"Give him the feather. I can't make heads nor tails of it, but if ye think he can manage somethin', then to him it will go."

Drake opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it. Even Konzen had, to some degree, welcomed the end. And maybe it wouldn't come to that.

"Very well, I will in a few days. I prefer to deal with him with a clear head, it's... quite the dance. To put it lightly."

He ran one hand over the top of his hair, sending bells jingling faintly. "I just hope I'm not sparking off another war."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. If I don't want to be found, I won't be, I don't care how smart he is."

It didn't matter what Sanzo said, the priest was excellent at deflecting attention off of him. Either with the illness, with his own solitude, or simply because he was just unpleasant.

No one really expected too much from the tiny, sickly man.

"If he does open his trap about the feather later, tell me what he makes of it."

Edited 2017-01-01 11:17 (UTC)

"I will," Amberdrake just sounded resigned, now, and drank more of his tea. Ugh, what a situation. You knew it was bad when Ukoku Sanzo was an option. Ughhh.

"Thank ye." He set the cup aside, and moved to put the book away.

The day was another wash, so it seemed. At least this time, despite... the incident, things looked like they might get moderately better.

... Maybe.

"... The tea was lovely."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be more help," Amberdrake shook his head. Trouble really was attracted to Drake, so of course he'd woken that thing up.

"At least there's the silver?" Original goal achieved?

"Tis fine, I suppose it was helpful ever still." Made him and Drake both, honestly.

"Aye, true. Least I have that. Plenty helpful, Sir Amberdrake."

Drake nodded, and then sighed and got up from the table. "I'm going to go move that thing," he said. "Somewhere. One of the work rooms, I suppose."

He sure as hell wasn't taking it home!

"I'll be surprised if it's even still there, honestly." He was kind of hoping it would just... dissolve into nothing, back to the dimension it belongs. Even with the possible promise of an answer, knowing that any part of that... thing could enter this world was disquieting.

Oh but it was still there.

It was still there and not only was it still there, it had moved.

Somehow sitting on the couch where the two had been just prior.

"... So... I think I'll show meself out."

"--Li'sa'eer!" Drake hadn't expected that, and was pretty displeased about it. Maybe he'd be calling that heretical Sanzo sooner, rather than later. "That's... probably a good idea," he added to Cassian. "I'm... going to get a pair of tongs."

Because fuck touching that thing directly.

Cass doesn't even get near the couch. That stupid fucking frog is still there, and he stoops to scoop it up and avoid the couch entirely, heading right for the door.

"... Good luck, mate."

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