Witches' Side

[soul_mods]

Characters: OPEN, Witches' Side
Location: Factory #1
Rating: R
Time: SEPTEMBER 1-15TH 2019
Description: A place where you either live in splendor, or squalor. Where has fate thrown you? The Witches and their kin have picked up an unusual bit of excitement from those in Shibusen, just what could it be? All sorts of rumors are flying around, and not

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KITCHEN [OPEN]

[soulparadox]

Nataku was so hungry. The souls that he had eaten before were not enough. He still felt like he needed more. What to do? Nothing that he could do until he was told that he was allowed to leave to go on more missions to find more to eat. The clone understood that he would become stronger; he already felt so much stronger than those that were left alive that opposed the Witches. When will it be time?

Lying on the floor in one of the kitchens, he turned his head toward the oven where the pie he had made was still baking. It was a hobby that he picked up originally to ease Kamui's concerns about cooking for him, and now helped to pass the time when he was not looking for souls. Something to do other than have all his thoughts on the taste of souls and the wish for power. Only minor distraction, but it was better than -- than what? He could not remember and return to staring at the ceiling.

What to do? Closing his eyes, he would just wait for the alarm to ring before he got up from where he was.

[blue_darkslayer]

[Too bad, Vergil's going to make you obsess over souls even more.]

Vergil had been combing the facility patiently, drifting between the usual hangouts of each of APOC's members in hopes of finding them. The absence of a more convenient form of communication was bothersome... but that had been one of the costs of allowing this world to descend into madness. It was a small price to pay for the power it brought. The Lair had been empty, so the first of his allies he went looking for was the one who, in his own mind, was the one most trusted to watch his back and nearly as dedicated as he was to APOC's 'cause'.

Striding into the usual kitchen, at first he thought it empty until he noticed the familiar prostrate body of Nataku. He'd almost appear languid if his other hunger wasn't radiating from him in palpable waves. Vergil blinked once, his eyes taking a moment to come properly into focus, as the vacant expression on his face roused into a semblance of animation.

"Nataku," he said brusquely, by way of greeting.

[soulparadox]

Nataku did not open his eyes, but greeted all the same. "Hello, brother."

It was something that he picked up in the later years. Something to keep him from wanting to eat the souls of those that were the Witches, because he would be weakened otherwise if he was all alone. Furthermore, they were so much stronger than he was. But, that was fine. He would just gather more souls into his stomach. The stronger that he got, the less he would have to be concerned with -- ah, what was he concerned about at that time?

Either way, so long as they were "family," it was more or less difficult to try to kill them. Less as Tassadar had been family, too. Family and meister, but he supposed that it was the thought and the preservation was that helped him. Logic was best over emotions, after all. Those that remain that fight against the Kishin and Witches will be difficult to kill on my own. Not strong enough. Have to stay and feast with these people.

"Do you need me?"

[blue_darkslayer]

Concentrating, his brow furrowed, Vergil paused for several moments before finally replying, "On two counts

[soulparadox]

Turning on his side, he fell into a fetal position on the floor as he held his stomach. Yet his facial blank expression did not change nor did he yet open his eyes. Hungry. The word fluttered in and out of his thoughts easily. Already, he could feel his mouth watering involuntarily at the thought of eating those souls. His head gave a slight tilt, awkward in his position, but he ceased the gesture as soon as a cramp began along his neck. The end of the week. The end of the week. That is far. Why did brother have to tell me so soon? To prepare. To get ready. It is all right.Rolling so that he was on his back, he nodded once at what Vergil said. Though, he did give pause. His eyes did finally open to stare up apathetically at the other Kishin. "Why before the weekend? Is something happening that I should be aware of?" Ten years, he finally was getting just a little more assertive -- at least, in asking what was going on that may or may not concern him and the place that he was living. Even if it did not, he was curious what it was that

[blue_darkslayer]

Vergil blinked once, then proceeded to explain to the best of his ability. It was something he found himself having to do often in his sedate state. It was one of the reasons he preferred being on the field; there, he could remove his shackles and his thoughts were completely free. But that was dangerous, especially here among people.

"The end of the week is when we all Hunt. You and I need to Empty a Nest before then, for Crane. We have time for both. If time runs out though, Shibusen souls are more important." The thoughts that came out were somewhat disjointed, and he hoped that what he had said had made enough sense. "It will take time to get the Prey in place. We need to be ready for that."

He then touched his temple with one finger gently. It was merely a habitual thing that Vergil did sometimes when attempting to think. He then concluded, each of his words slow, "That is all." At the sound of all a light 'ding' from inside the kitchen intruded upon his speech. He looked in the direction from which it originated curiously

[soulparadox]

Throughout the explanation, Nataku merely continued to stare passively at Vergil's face. He almost gave very little indication that anything that was being said to him was actually being acknowledged one way or the other, until he finally nodded at the end of the statement

[blue_darkslayer]

Truth be told, it had been quite some time since Vergil had actually perceived the taste of anything that conformed to the standards of 'food'. The sensation of ash in his mouth was something he had come to believe was due to no longer really being human, coupled by the fact he very rarely felt the need to eat anything beyond souls. It was something he had come to terms with

[soulparadox]

"I do not understand, either." It reminded him of ten years before, of all those things that he no longer had any real emotional attachment to. Of course, he still carried on the souls of those that he ate. Watson. Tassadar. We are always together now, are we not? The thought was neither in a happy or sad tone. It merely was what it was. The idea that he was never alone, that he would continue to get stronger, did very little to sedate either hunger or concerns

[blue_darkslayer]

"Hmm."

Vergil's gaze lowered and he stared at the floor, his right eye twitching a single time as he did so. Kill Nataku? He'd quite laboriously programmed his own mind against the notion of killing his allies, and the thought was something better left alone. Even so, it was provocative. He remained silent for a full minute before finally replying.

"Yes. No. Our work for Crane is to ensure that does not happen." He began tilting his head this way and that with each new thought. "They are too scared to not allow us to Hunt and Empty Nests for souls. If they don't give us enough freedom, then we have no reason to be allies. They know we could be a threat to them, too." In spite of himself, he found he was smirking. The truth was, though, that he spoke mostly of himself and Nataku. Giovanni would never turn on the Witches, and both Sasuke and Dawn also had much more to gain from their allegiance

[soulparadox]

"That is true." Nataku nodded once. It was his hunger that was talking now over his logic. His hunger threatened and stated over and over that there would never be enough souls, that he would eventually have to begin feasting on those that were present in their home. He rose his hand to wipe at his face, even though he kept his salivating to himself. "They are scared of us." He parroted the response, but no longer knew what it was to have someone be afraid or be afraid himself. No. I am always concerned about eating and what will happen, if I do not eat.

His eyes widened at what Vergil said next. A flickering of something -- constantly throw rocks into a pond and one would strike a fish. That was a statement that he had not heard in a long time. If we are to fall, we fall together. His hands lightly folded over his stomach. I am keeping that promise, Tassadar. Because you are still here. And when I fall, I will make sure that many others fall with us. He allowed his surprised expression to slip back to neutrality. "I see. A Weapon's

[blue_darkslayer]

Even to Vergil's dulled mind, Nataku's statement struck him as bizarre. Fortunately, long association with the other Kishin had meant developing a rapport in spite of their respectively odd natures, or perhaps even directly because of them, so it was not overly startling. Even so, strange or not, he did operate under a form of logic, so Vergil had to conclude it had personal relevance in a manner he was unaware of. Experience had taught him to follow that logic as best he could, rather than question

[soulparadox]

"I do not know." Nataku took that statement as an agreement to his plans, returning to serving the slices. Calmly, mechanically. It seemed like he stored up all of his rage and hunger for actual battle, because logically, there was no reason to release it where he was technically safe. He would be wasting energy and time that could be spent conversing and preparing for the next Hunt.

"I understand, brother." A nod. "I will carry on your wish as it coincides with mine. Killing and eating, killing and eating, until there are no other souls left. Until I am the strongest." Then, all those concerns that I have will also fade away. It was now just a constant ache in his chest, which was what brought about his desire to sever all ties with emotions. It was too hard to carry on with them. It was easier to just be rather than deal with the waves of conflicting and ever twisting feelings. Just shut himself down until he could feel nothing, save the occasional glimmer when he remembered or someone said something particularly meaningful to him

[blue_darkslayer]

Vergil glanced downwards as the plate was set in front of him, his gaze fixed and expression thoughtful, before he closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. He'd never admit it, but Nataku's path to oblivion bothered him. While he had always desired power, he'd also understood that it required purpose; there was no point to being the strongest and ruling over nothing. Control had been his own objective ever since he arrived to this world and the fact that he went so far as to keep the greater part of his mind sealed away was evidence enough of this.

In a way, it meant Nataku and Vergil balanced each other perfectly. He'd found it odd one time during combat, when his thoughts were clear, that he was the Striker and Nataku was the one whose powers focused on restraint, when in truth the clone was the relentless destructive force. It was Vergil who devised innovations like Nests, which were based in efficiency and restraint, and who went to great lengths to keep APOC together despite the differences between its members

[soulparadox]

"We could?" Just before he had to take a bite of the foul-tasting dessert -- foul-tasting only because he had grown so accustomed to the taste of souls that nothing else compared -- he stared up at Vergil. His tone of voice did not hint at the eagerness that his hunger brought forth to the idea of devouring such a meal; still as bland and apathetic as always. "It would."

A pause.

"Then we will all go. It would be smarter than to leave it all to him, if he is so wanting to Empty The Nest today." Because they might eat all the souls and his stomach would not accept such an answer. It was only logical to go along so that he would get his share. He closed his eyes as he settled down his hunger with promises that he would feed it. Of course, it really did nothing to help, but made all the souls -- as he liked to call it -- just that more restless for others to join them.

Setting the fork down by stabbing it into the slice, he turned toward Vergil. "When would you wish for us to be prepared to go?"

[jumpingbird]

"This isn't the place to sleep."

Did he ever enter by way of saying something? Not generally. Did he sound surprised? Not at all.

Of course, his training informed him that Nataku wasn't actually asleep, and the smell from the oven gave a reason for that-- not that he could understand why Nataku had started cooking every other moment that he was at the city- but the statement would still be made. He was feeling particularly irritable for the moment, which was his own reason for even heading into the kitchens (roaming - his own version of passing time, especially when things were quiet), though it might not have explained why he hadn't spotted the boy and continued walking.

There was an explanation for that, but he wouldn't acknowledge it, even ten years later. So - his hood was up, his belts full of daggers, a small (unbalanced) sword at his side, a few paces away and watching. That was normal, at least.