Miss His Light

Log Info

• Title: Miss His Light

• Emitter: Andelena

• Characters: Andelena, Skielstregar

• Place: Temple of Daeus

• Summary: The best part of working for the Temple of Daeus is all the adventuring! Saving people! Doing the Knight's work! And. Paperwork! Every mission has a mess of bureaucracy that goes with it! Andelena loves (read: hates) it! Skielstregar runs into her, and they get to talking about duty and missing the Light. It turns into a discussion about their weapons, both of them apparently slowly awakening something within. They decide to clang the weapons together, both discovering a respective quirk. After speaking briefly on family, and having faith reaffirmed, Skiel leaves Andie to the lovely task of report writing.

Temple of Daeus, noon.

Andelena the Antlion Slayer returns to Alexandria more intent than ever on her mission. The Sunguard of Daeus returns to the Temple after a training session at the colosseum, dressed in her usual regalia and white cloak...

And proceeds into an office-like area, where she sits down and begins to do that dreaded bit of being a Sunguard. Paperwork. "Bureaucratic bullshit time," she declares.

Which gets an angry buzz from the sword on her back, and Andelena just snorts. "Yeah, I know," she says. "Look, if you had hands and you were the Sunguard, you'd be swearing about it, too."

Bureaucratic bullshit tends to evade those not technically receiving the church's blessings. As well as those that aren't the most... paper pushing kind of folk. The open office space doesn't bat an eye to most folks wandering in. Doubly so with someone who's known around the temple as a Daeusite themselves.

Or, rather, a Dragonfatherite? It didn't make much since to himself either, Skielstregar concludes, shaking his head as his wanderings has lead him to this bureaucratic space. He's not really watching where he's going, instead ambling on by, dead gaze looking up at the walls of various depictions of Daeus and his family, as well as stories told of the Knight's tales. Unarmored but in a tunic, he's got his halberd in hand, using it like a walking stick. ".... thisss one doesssn't know if you can ssssee it, but here isss another one..." he whispers quietly (which isn't quiet for the big man) to the weapon.

The runes on the blade glimmer with iridescence.

Skielstregar stalking by is... Well, he's going to get noticed. Andelena's gaze turns up as she hears him pass and looks at him pass... And then she raises a brow as she catches muttering. To the weapon.

But it's not an eyebrow raise of judgment. Not this time. "Hey, big and shiny," she calls out to Skielstregar. "Get your ass in here. I need someone to save me from paperwork."

The sword gives another displeased buzz, and Andelena rolls her eyes. "First you give me lip for cussing, and then you give me lip for wanting not to do the paperwork. You're a piece of work, Deliverance," she mutters to her own weapon.

One cannot miss Skielstregar. He is a walking ice cube, a mobile, seven foot something mirror. In a temple dedicated to the sun. One must be blind to not see him.

He blinks at being called out, him spinning around (lights get flung everywhere) and looking about before settling on Andie. He points at himself in the 'who? me?' sort of way. (YES. YOU. YOU'RE THE BIGGEST GUY HERE) "Ah! Sssunguard. Praissse be Hisss Light upon you!" he greets warmly before ambling over. Carefully.

His brows furrow. "Paperwork? Isss... the paper going to attack?" he asks quizzically, his tail doing a careful sweep to shove chairs out of the way so he can sit on the ground across the desk. He's still tall enough. A glance to the buzzing weapon. "... erm. Deliveranssse? Isss... your weapon giving you problemssss, Warrior Andelena?"

"The paperwork might give me a paperwork, but nah, the most dangerous thing about it is that it might bore me to death," Andelena replies. She raises a brow as she looks around and sighs. "Seriously, a holy house of worship and we don't have sith-sized chairs? What're you and the jotun supposed to do, get real cozy with the floor all the time? I'll bitch to the higher-ups until we get some more furniture in here for you."

She looks at Skielstregar and... Well, she shrugs, at the question about her weapon. "Pretty sure my blade's got some sort of awakened consciousness in it or something," she replies. "It likes to see evil destroyed, particularly the Tyrant's servants, so I'm cool with it being alive... Except for the part where it doesn't like me getting all cussy. Here, let me demonstrate."

Andelena pauses a moment. Then she says, flatly, "Fuck."

>Buzz.<

"See? Doesn't like it."

Skielstregar affords a little shrug. "It isss easier for thisss one to sit on ground than chairsss. Tailsss," he explains, not bothered by it. Besides, at least people don't have to crane their head up to look at him now.

Which... the explanation gets his head to tilt to the side slowly. And the demonstration... sets off a quiet, quick deep rumble in his chest.

... did he just giggle.

He's giggling. "That isss humorousss," he grins. Then morphs into a thoughtful outlook. And perhaps a burst of relief. "Wait. You sssaid... it hasss... awakened? Erm. If thisss one may asssk, how did that happen? Have you been able to ssspeak with it?"

He holds his gleaming halberd on his lap, the axehead shiny and reflective like he. It's not leaking.

Skielstregar's 'giggle' puts a grin on Andie's face that she has to hide with a hand. Be polite, Sunguard. Thankfully, she manages to stifle her own giggle, and she nods to Skielstregar's first question. "It just kind of... started buzzing whenever I cussed one day. It was really weird. I had a friend, Auranar, take a look at it, and she said she thought there was something inside of it that was beginning to manifest after so long."

Andelena just shrugs. "I bought it as a random sword," she says. "Wasn't anything special about it. Just a sword. But it's... definitely got a personality. One that I find grating at times."

She shakes her head. "Haven't heard it talking or anything yet, but I've heard of things like this that do, so I guess it's not out of the realm of possibility."

The large makari folds his hands together over the halberd's haft as he listens intently. "... beginning to manifessst..." he echoes quietly. But he can't help quirk a scaled brow. "It wasss a random sssword?" A pause. "Isss it the Dragonfather'sss doing?" he theorizes. "It isss funny to sssee it do that though."

He looks down at his weapon. "... perhapssss... thisss one may actually be in a similar circumstance asss to you, Warrior Andelena."

Andelena shrugs again. "It could be," she says. "I think the first time I noticed it doing anything was when I was trying to take down some demons. The sword just... felt weird. You use a weapon long enough and you get a feel for how it does things, how it swings. This thing just... suddenly felt different. And then, of course, it started buzzing every time I cussed."

She looks at Skielstregar. And then she looks at the halberd. "Yeah, I mean, I kind of figured something was up when I heard you talking to it," she says. "Just didn't know if that was the case or maybe you'd gotten hit pretty hard on the noggin, so that was part of why I called you in here."

Skielstregar opens his maw, but slowly clacks it closed. "That... doesss make sssense. Thisss one hasss usssed thisss halberd for many yearsss, ssso they underssstand completely on it feeling ssstrange."

The halberd itself gleams a silver where it once was a murky steel. Striations of black still exist within it, but its very shiny. And reflective. Reflecting the face of Skiel's visage frosting over on his cheeks. "O-Oh. You heard that. Erm." He rubs at the side of his face. "Thisss one hasss a hard ssskull. So, probably not that. Erm..."

His gaze settles on the polearm. Fingers curl. "... Sunguard. Thisss one hasss a question. Thisss one wasss with a Sunblade, and we were fighting giantsss. Thisss one promised mercy, at the behessst of thisss weapon and themssselves. But the Sunblade ssstruck them down. With the Father's blessing guiding their blade."

Dead eyes lift. "... if one cannot feel His warmth. His radiance. Is it ssstill... right and jussst to be in Hisss sshadow?"

Well, that gets Andelena's attention. There's a look of pure and utter compassion that melts on the Sunguard's face as Skielstregar talks and asks his question.

"Skiel. Buddy. Dude," she says. "Of course it's still right and just. You walk in His light. We all do. That's just a fact. He's literally up there in the sky right now."

Andelena points to herself. "And just because I'm a Sunguard doesn't make me all that much more different from you," she says. "You try to live by the Knight's code. You tried to offer Compassion. That is a laudable thing, especially for someone who follows the Knight. But Compassion is also the trickiest thing of all."

She leans back into her chair and sighs. "Grant mercy to someone, and they could go on to do worse and more horrible things elsewhere. Don't grant mercy, and you cut down someone who might be capable of redemption. It is the hardest choice in the world to make. And... either one of them might be correct. It's so hard to determine the path forward, Skiel. You didn't do a damn thing wrong."

Despite his size, despite his large personality, despite everything, he looks small. Vulnerable. Fanged visage settled on Andelena, gaze that should rightfully be in a dead man's corpse watches and listens to every word and meaning. "Thisss... one underssstands, Warrior Andelena. You are wissse. Thisss one can ssstill sserve him no matter the circumstancesss. And mercy isss tricky, they just do not wish to be incorrect isss all..." he rumbles quietly. "... thisss one isss jussst... ussed to leaving in the Dragonfather'sss brilliance. It'sss dark. I'm sscared."

He hugs his weapon protectively. A breath in. "We missss hisss Light."

Andelena looks at Skielstregar for a moment. She understands a bit more now, or seems to, judging by the warmth in her steel-grey eyes. And she rises from her chair, walking over to Skielstregar and motioning for him to remain seated.

She puts her arm on Skielstregar's shoulder. "I'm sure you do," she says, a small smile on her face. "I would miss it, too, if I was away from it. But there's not really 'wrong' or 'right' when it comes to compassion. Having it in itself is simply... 'good'. Does that make any sense?"

Skielstregar is a bit in his head at the moment, not really noting the woman sliding around the desk. That is, until she weight rests against him. Just standing next to him is chilly. He blinks, dazed before his eyes refocus and one >snicks< over to spy the Sunguard. "It... doess..." he intones, a hand reaching up to wrap around his holy symbol and the red scale affixed to it. "... thank you. They know asss much, but sssometimes they forget that sssuch compasssion doessn't need ssuch a rigid definition."

Silence for a beat to take in the solidarity. It's sorely needed. Then- "Malefic," he taps the axe head, feeling much better about himself. "Hasss expresssed itssself in dire circumstances of being defensive, merciful, but when it givesss judgement, it doess not abate. It hasss knocked thisss one upside the ssskull to check them when thisss one getsss..." he trails off. "You know. You've ssseen."

Andelena looks at the halberd, now that Skielstregar's named it. More accurately, she stares at it, judging it in that much more typical Andelena-fashion as she scrutinizes it. "Sounds like it might be a good grounding tool," she says, finally, "if it knocks you out of your anger state."

She smirks a little as she looks back at Skielstregar. "I think it's good for you. Maybe Malefic's like Deliverance. It'd be really fucking funny if they had sort of a common goal."

Deliverance buzzes. Andelena doesn't even bat an eye. She knew it was coming.

Runic arcane iridescence glimmers softly against the flat of the axe head. The steel gleaming despite the striations harboring a familiar inky black hue. Staring at it invokes a sort of base unsettling sensation, like watching a beast from afar and knowing what kind of damage it could do.

Skiel snorts, breaking that creeping feeling as he shifts the weapon to another hand. "Lesss knocking thisss one out of their anger, and more keeping them in line. But yessss, they have been a great positive influence." Though, her observation makes his scaled brows raise. ".. a... common goal? Do..."

His voice drops to a conspiratoral whisper. (Which is... just him talking, but more bassy.) "Do you think they're trying to make ussss better ssservantsss?"

He shoots a glance to the buzzing weapon, trying to not giggle like before.

"Probably, yeah. Shape us into better people, better adherents to the Knight," Andelena says. She scratches the side of her face in thought. "I'm sure Deliverance is mostly just trying to make sure I don't cuss so much," she says. "Be a more 'typical' Sunguard. Whatever. At least Deliverance isn't as much of a cunt like my mother was."

Deliverance definitely buzzes at that. At least... initially. But it's another short buzz. "Yeah, you've heard all about my mother, sock it," Andelena says with an eye-roll to her sword. "I ever tell you much about my family, Skiel?"

Skielstregar rubs his chin. "That... isss a good idea. Perhapsss that isss the cassse. It could be worssse, could be bad weaponsss from bad people." An errant thought crosses his mind during the buzz. "... what if we made our weaponsss touch tipsss? Would they do sssomething?" he innocently suggests, lifting his halberd up a bit.

A look to Andelena, then he thinks. Thinking.

Thinking...

... okay Skiel. C'mon. "Ah. Thisss one remembersss you mentioned sssomething about a fancy family and you left them."

Andelena can't do it. She busts out into gut-wrenching laughter. Tears stream down her face.

"Skielstregar, I'm sorry--normally if you're asking to touch tips with me, you're barking up the wrong fucking tree," she says, once she can finally breathe again. "It, uh. Gods, how the fuck do I translate this to sith-makar culture? ... Fuck it. It's when you make the cocks kiss, if you've got one and the other dude's got one."

The sword appears to have just given up on this particular instance, letting out only one buzz that is strangely like a sigh. Now that Andelena's recovered, she draws her longsword. "But yeah, sure. Why the hell not."

Skielstregar blinks as his suggestion is met with gut-wrenching laughter. He chuckles a bit too, but its a nervous kind of 'what's so funny...?' "Cocksss... kiss? But chickensss do not have lipss. What dude isss the Sssunguard speaking o-"

He stops, a finger half raised in elucidation. A wave of frost coats his cheeks, and his head falls forward to >Clang< in a thud against the the flat of Malefic. "... no, thisss one doess not wisssh to do that," he murmurs in utter embarrassment. "Trade isss weird tongue..."

The man reconstitutes himself, sitting upright more and shifting the polearm over some. He inspects Deliverance idly, one Warrior appraising another's weapon, before nodding in approval and gently bringing the axe head down on a slow decline towards the holy longsword.

Malefic turns at the last moment and clacks flat against flat.

Skiel blinks. "... huh."

Deliverance... does not move. But it does make an odd 'hum' that sounds like a tuning fork. That gets a startled reaction out of Andelena, who just stares at it for a long moment.

"Huh," she says. And then she looks back up at Skielstregar. "Huh. Okay. I didn't expect that. Weird all around. Deliverance has... never done that before?"

She stares down at her longsword. "Sure wish you could talk and explain yourself sometimes," she mutters.

Skielstregar tilts his head, him looking up to Andelena, sharing the look. "Yesss, thisss one did not expect that either. Thisss one hasss had Malefic turn away from thingsss before. But not like thisss." He tries again. Same reaction. Turn the flat. Gentle tap.

He inhales, then lets out a long sigh, a cold breath wafting over both weapons. Malefic doesn't frost over from it. "Thisss one feelsss similarly."

Now with that food for thought being chewed on, he clears his throat. "Thisss one did not mean to interrupt you speaking of your family with..." His face frosts a tinge. A hand waves vaguely. "... chickens."

Deliverance does... 'frost' a little, but the frost falls away when Andelena pulls it away and sheathes it, ceasing the humming that comes from the blade. She makes a 'pfft' noise. "Nah. They're all cocks, too, and not the fun kind," she says. "Just, yeah. My mother was... a real piece of work. She had some very specific ideas about what she wanted me to be, and wouldn't take no for an answer until the moment I grew up to be taller than her and stronger than her and could just walk out the door. Which is what I did."

She shrugs her shoulders. "It was her idea to send me to a temple of Daeus. She thought it'd somehow turn me into a proper young lady. And I can at least tell that Deliverance doesn't want that for me. Just wants me to cuss less."

Malefic doesn't have a sheathe, it's too big. And a polearm flopping about in a frog is dangerous, so he just elects to rest it across his lap, fingers curled around the axe edge to keep anyone from bumping into it. Skielstregar chuffs. "Ah. That isss... ssstrong of you to do. Sticking to one'sss will dessspite oppression from others, even if from family, issss noble. Sometimesss family isssn't family."

He ponders that nugget of wisssdom, then nods firmly. "They understand, their father isss... difficult. Anywho, it ssseemss like her sssending you to the temple wasss her undoing," he snickers. "Even finding a sssword that actsss like nessst mother," he teases.

"Better nest mother than my actual mother was, at any rate," Andelena says with a snort. "At least the sword lets me live my life and doesn't mind that I'm marrying a farmboy. She wanted to marry me off as soon as I was an adult to a variety of rich old men with children that were my age already. That's not the life I wanted."

She looks over at her forgotten paperwork and sighs. "Granted, I don't exactly like the paperwork either... But it's gotta get done. I should finish it up and then get the hell out of here. I'm sure my cat's hungry."

Skielstregar makes a face. It's hard to tell what kind of face, because, well, makari. But it becomes obvious once he utters a reflexive, "Grossss. Thisss one thinksss Warrior Dolan isss better man than any of them combined," he nods firmly.

His attention shifts to that paperwork. "Ah. Very well. Thank you for talking with thisss one. Their conviction wasss, admittedly, wavering, and feelsss much more firm now. And they have gained many new insssights into Malefic'sss anticss-"

He stops, tilting his head at the desk. He reads aloud as he rises, "... throwing the gnome wasss critical to the mission...?"

Andelena laughs and makes a 'shooing' motion as she sits back down in her chair. "Yeah," she says. "Had to throw Magpie. Mission critical. Pretty sure I also recruited a little girl to the cause of the Knight, so, y'know, all's well that ends well."

She looks at Skielstregar, grinning. "S'what I'm here for, you know? Faith. People of the Knight have to stick together and lift each other up when they find themselves unsure or faltering. You're as good as any of us, Skiel. Don't forget that."

And with that, the Sunguard considers her next sentence.

"... With the assistance of the adventurer assistant Anya..." Andelena murmurs. Write write write.

Skiel blinks and suddenly stands up straighter, Malefic tapping the ground beside him. "That isss. Very true. And isss glad the Magpie tosssing did not turn out bad. Thisss one wissshes well for the hatchling."

His gaze softens. "... thank you. Thiss on-... I needed to hear that. Hisss Light be upon you, Sunguard."

He takes a deep breath, looks up to the window to the gleaming sun outside. "... it'ssss okay."

The makari exits.

Malefic gleams bright.