Application for Castiza, The Revenger's Tragedy

[chasteasaknife]

And where was this place? No sooner had her family been reconciled, than they'd faced Antonio's wrath, that Vindici had dared brave the deeds that had increased that fickle lord's holdings. It took little imagination to guess at what fate awaited them, and yet she was here, in a room too drab for the Duke's liking even in a dungeon. Some oubliette

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[serrulata]

Kurama's mouth set in a little smile. "Even in a wasteland, something beautiful can emerge," he said, his eye twinkling with the mischief of someone about to pull off an absurdly over-the-top display of power. He scratched the back of his neck, feigning sheepishness.

Unseen to Cazista, a tiny clutch of seeds dropped from his hair to rest in the cracks in the stone floor. "I'm from a world where the air is so poisonous half a breath of it could kill you, where the people are born without hearts and what few humans there are serve as either pets or food." Which was exaggerating a bit, that was only in the parts closest to (and arguably caused by) the human world.

"But, even there, beautiful things could be found, flowers can grow. Even from stone." He smiled at the last bit, pouring his youki into the seeds. They were just grasses and wildflowers, but they grew with such rapidity, maturing and germinating like a little tide of green, that in only a moment the entire floor was covered in a carpet of grass and bright flowers.

All right, it was egregious. But he wanted to see the look on her face.

[chasteasaknife]

He had likely not expected fear, and shock that froze her stiffly into place.

"A harlot might paint herself to seem fair," she said uncertainly.

[serrulata]

No, the fear he hadn't expected. His eyebrows knit together, and he frowned. Flowers (at least in anyone's hands but his own) were so unthreatening, but he may as well have thrown a knife.

He bowed his head briefly, both in respect and a little sadness. "I suppose a harlot isn't allowed to be fair beyond the use others put her to?" He bit the inside of his cheek. That might have come out too harsh, and he didn't want any more fights for a long time. "Forgive me, I was impulsive. Give me a minute to catch my breath and I'll take them back."

[chasteasaknife]

"Thy speech winds like a serpent; I wonder that it might be laying a snare." It wasn't the flowers that scared her, but their sudden appearance, in a way no natural flower did. And from his words, she would not doubt if he were a whoremonger as well.

[serrulata]

Kurama bit the inside of his lip. He hated having to explain himself. And to do so, he'd have to give too much away. But he could see that accusing look in her eyes, and while he was a thief, a murderer, and a conspirator, the one thing he would never do was sell someone for sex, or buy it. His ego wouldn't have it, for one thing. On the other hand, the less people knew about his life in detail, the better. That was for Kusuriyuri's eyes only. He glared defiantly at that accusation in her eyes, though it wasn't as heated, lacking an eye and all.

"Sometimes ugliness is necessary for survival, and we cover it with something falsely pretty. But beauty, the truth of it, still exists. I don't bother laying traps where none are required."

He began to pull his youki back, a little too hastily. The flowers began to wither and he winced at the sight of them. The conversation in metaphor. Such drama.

[chasteasaknife]

"Thy tongue is too nimble for me," she said, too sheltered to realize the double entendre. "I know not what lies behind thy words."

[serrulata]

Kurama sighed, defeated, and pulled his youki back entirely. The flowers and grass withered, and then crumpled to dust, leaving the floor with a fine, dull coat.

"I'll try to be simpler next time," he said, feeling more than a little frustrated. Maybe it was a human thing, but he couldn't understand not asserting an ego. She looked like she could kick his ass, but that answer... he shrugged. "I am sure you are useful for more than you seem to think. More positive than ruin, anyway."

[chasteasaknife]

"I earned honest money," she told him. "I was no burden, for all I would not further my mother's ambition."

[serrulata]

He watched her for a long moment, unsure of how to respond.
"Is that worth? Just a job?" He may be half of one, but he didn't think he'd ever understand humans completely.

[chasteasaknife]

"Think you, then, that there is no worth in avoiding wickedness, whoever should urge it?" Her voice cracked a bit on those last words.

Vote: Gryffindor

[serrulata]

"Easier to avoid it. Your bravery shows, and in it your worth." He smiled wryly. A very confusing woman (he'd never much enjoyed English, and the translation charm was kicking his ass today) But in all... definitely Gryff material.

Re: Vote: Gryffindor

[chasteasaknife]

That confused Castiza into silence; she was ill accustomed to any speaking of her worth. She stepped back, looking away, her discomfort obvious.

Re: Vote: Gryffindor

[serrulata]

Kurama sighed and crossed his arms, managing not to wince too much at the effort the action took. "Look, Castiza. Whatever place you are from, wherever you were before, it matters very little now. You can be who you wish here, you don't have to hid behind modest self-deprecation for fear of rebuttal. No one here lords over another, not with any real force, anyway. There are a few arrogant sods with irritating god complexes, and I'll bloody well give you detention if you blow anything up in the Greenhouses, but this," he gestured at her, a bit obviously frustrated, "this shrinking violet mask you have on doesn't suit you at all. No woman should ever feel she has to be subjugated."

Re: Vote: Gryffindor

[chasteasaknife]

While most of his actual words were clear, what he was saying was entirely alien.

"...blow up?"

It was the simplest question.

Re: Vote: Gryffindor

[serrulata]

He ticked off the recent offenses on his fingers, just as demonstration. "Throwing any kind of incendiary devices at or near the greenhouses, agitating any of the more irritable plants - and before you get that blank look on your face, some of them will eat you - casting any kind of high level spells, or throwing rocks. Alternatively, dropping a gargoyle on the roof." He paused, realizing that she'd got him off on a tangent, and flapped his hand.

"Anyway, none of that is really important. I mean it when I say you don't need to live in fear of someone lording over you. This place provides more than enough for everyone to protect themselves."

Re: Vote: Gryffindor

[chasteasaknife]

"I never shrink from protecting myself," she said with genuine fire. "I'm no-one's toy."