Summary:That romantic dinner arrives and Piotr had to talk to Keiko about a few things. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Limbo: Year 1
K'nert had left Keiko and Piotr alone once they'd taken up their mantles. The other demons had backed off, but hadn't withdrawn. They're lining the walls of the courtyard the two were left in and watching the new King and his Consort intently.
K'nert had also delivered the glue he'd promised.
Keiko hadn't wasted time. She wants to get out of here and figures the best way to do is to create the child the demons seem to want. Which is why the small tattooed woman is sifted amongst the bones and the … raw meat … trying to work out just what to do.
Amazingly she's keeping the distaste she's feeling from her face.
In the distance, on the other side of the courtyard, is a squeak squeak sound that's getting closer.
Keiko may notice when Piotr arrives. His right arm, the one that had drawn the soulsteel sword, the metal on that arm is darkened. He has yet to come out of his metal form since he arrived in Limbo. He knows the dangers it presents. And it's why he's worried about the tattooed woman. As he notices her at work, there's a frown as Keiko is shuffling around the pile of bones and meat.
Reaching up with his left hand, he rubs the bridge of his nose with a sigh and a soft "Boszhe Moi." The large metallic Rasputin knows what was asked of them. And he also has some idea of how Limbo's magic does not work.
"I demand a private moment with my consort!" he rumbles angrily at the demons as he looks towards Keiko. "If you do not mind?" the large Russian asks.
The demons draw back, a little, affording the pair a little privacy but not much. It's dangerous here, Piotr is right - and at no point can they show any weakness.
If they do, they'll be challenged and likely killed.
"Hmmm?" Keiko looks up, a little distracted. "You shouldn't ask permission of anyone, you know." She's grown up enough in environments similar but nowhere near as dangerous. "You tell people what's going to happen."
Which might explain why she frames her next response the way she does "What do you want?" Limbo has a foothold on the small woman, the brand on her stomach still pulses dully as it takes in the power. The collar, which had once been a collar, is now part of her and it doesn't seem to be bothering her at all.
squeak squeak
On the otherside of the courtyard, Piotr can see a 'trolley' being pushed by two smaller imps. The wheels are white, bone white one might say, and wobble precariously. On the top … appears to be food.
Didn't K'nert say something about a 'romantic' dinner?
"You are the Queen. We are supposed to operate together. Now clean up, dinner will be.." he glances back as the demons arrive with the trolley, and Piotr's eyes narrow slightly. "…is here." he amends himself.
He takes a look over her, taking in the changes of her appearance, the way she is now. It couldn't have been more than a couple of days. Maybe hours. Time in Limbo is strange.
He waits for Keiko to get cleaned, and pays attention to the service being set out. "What did you think the demons meant when they asked us to make a child?" he decides to ask, and gestures to the pile of meat. "They assume we can create a gollum. Not even Illyana can do that."
"We are. You do not ask. It is weakness." There might be smirk when he follows with an instruction. Illyana would recognise the stubbornness in the woman, Piotr doesn't know her well enough.
The physical changes are slowly on Keiko. Limbo is weird like that. There's the clothing of course, that she seems to think nothing of and the brand. The most notable thing is her eyes. The pupils have narrowed to slits. Lizard like? Maybe. Or a Cat.
Cleaning up is difficult but she manages it as the trolley finally reaches them. The imps bow and scrape to Piotr before skittering away and leaving the 'romantic dinner' for the Royal pair.
On the tray are two 'plates' that gleam a pristine white. They aren't porcelain or plastic and a closer look reveals they are … bone. One piece of bone each that makes a nice a plate. Keiko tries not to think on what they may be.
The food is something else. It wriggles and writhes on the plate - worms or grubs maybe. Covered in a red sauce that seems to have seen better days. And the cutlery! Not one fork to be found. It's all knives!
"They want us to put that together for them. Yes?" Keiko frowns a little as Piotr says not even Illyana could do that. "She can't? Then why do they think we can?"
Fortunately, Piotr does not need to eat while he is in his metal form. He snorts as he glances towards Keiko and her instructions. It sounds similar to something he said to her a few days ago. But that she's understanding the rules here so quickly is drawing his concern. For him, it's just that coloration on his arm. Nothing else. Perhaps he is more resistant to the effects in this form.
"Where did you grow up, Keiko?" he asks her as he takes a seat. He folds his hands in front of him over the plate. The hilt of the soulsteel sword peeks over his shoulder as he gives a frown. "And how much do you know about children?"
Keiko had a jump on the 'protocol'. Growing up in a cult taught her many things about surviving. It's one reason Illyana hadn't needed to 'reprimand' her the last time she was in Limbo. Keiko will take a challenge right to the edge and not give ground but she's generally good at knowing her limits.
The tattooed woman blanches at the food when she looks at it and her tummy rumbles. How long have they been here anyway and when was her last meal? That's going to be something they need to rectify sometime in the future.
"In the compound with others that were taken when I was. I was five or six." She answers simply. "Children? We needed them young to train them. Some survived the first trial, some didn't and went to live with Plokta." She shrugs as she looks at Piotr's arm, following it to his eyes.
"I think it depends on where the child is wanted though, right? In some places a Stork brings them. In others, they're found in a cabbage patch." Oi. She watches way too much TV. Hadn't she ever been curious or … you know … driven by teenage hormones?
There's a snort. It may be in amusement. It may be… he says something quietly in Russian. And no, Piotr does not offer a translation. Instead, he glares towards where K'nert is. "Did you know this?!" he demands, tone accusatory. It's a good thing he doesn't make K'nert demonstrate. Or wear a wig to do it.
"I grew up on a compound as well. A communal farm in Siberia. Did you have a kitten, or a puppy when you were younger?" he asks her. He's trying to ease her into what's coming next. Because it's probably going to be a surprise.
"Did you ever find a child in a cabbage patch? Or did a stork bring you one?"
K'nert looks up and waves airly at Piotr. "She is young. Healthy." That's not an answer but that's all Piotr's going to get.
Keiko shakes her head and looks at her tattoos, they've darkened a little but not much. "We weren't allowed to get attached to anything. When the time came, we had to master the spirit of our next animal. They were bought us to … so we could." beat "There were the goats that we used for milk, though."
The next question has her blinking. "We found them in schools, homes or farms. We didn't want babies, just children. And none of them knew where they were found."
"You're an idiot." Piotr rumbles at K'nert, before his attention returns to Keiko. And he listens. "And you didn't have a mother and father." He reaches up, running a hand over his face slowly in thought as he considers how to approach this.
"What they expect us to do is to make a heir. There is only one way to assure that such a heir is of the blood of a Rasputin. They wish us to lay in a bed together, to mate, and make a child." he says finally, deciding to approach it.
"Did you ever watch 'Game of Thrones'?" Okay, it's a /terrible/ example, but it's the only one he can think of.
"I did but I don't remember them." Keiko answers. She does but the memory is hidden deep. That gem in the filagree buckle actually has one of those memories - stolen by Illyana and sealed away to give her control over the tattooed woman.
"Make an heir, yes." She gestures to the 'parts' they were provided and then frowns. "How is laying in a bed going to do tha—-" It's the Game of Thrones reference that does it.
He can see when the realisation dawns. The 'ohhh' that leaves her lips. "You mean like Kahl Drogo did with Kaleesi? Like the goats did? You don't need a bed for that." That's not what Piotr meant, exactly.
"I … don't want to do that. It looked awful."
"Yes. Remember when the Kalessi was told she had a child? That." Piotr's cheeks are burning. He had /not/ expected Keiko to have watched that. She seemed that naive. But no, he had to go and hit the nail on the head. His hands raise up, perhaps in mild defense. "Not as it were at first. But later. After the Kalessi learned." This.. this is not going the way he had thought.
Not that he had any chance to consider this. Or practice it. Or you know - realize that Keiko was..
He grabs a plate from the trolley and /flings/ it hard at K'nert. He deserves it. He deserves it totally.
"At least you won't have to go into a funeral pyre?" '
The plate frisbee's across the courtyard towards K'nerts head with precision. The imp moves just in time so he's caught on the shoulder instead. In the plates wake is a trail of sauce, grubs and worms but the bulk spatter over the imp.
Keiko isn't embarrassed. She wasn't raised with the same morals and social mores that others have been. She just shakes her head. "I … don't want to do that. It hurt Kaleesi and then … no."
Is it an option for them? For her to say 'no'? They're going to find out, aren't they?
"Can't we just escape and go back home? Or try and find Illyana to bring her back here?"
"We are going to continue to try, yes." Piotr responds. He's hopeful. In fact, perhaps in this moment - after he hits K'nert, he gets to his feet, grabbing the trolley to heave it at the grouping of demons.
He's trying to give Keiko an opening. Because it will be better if she at least get away. But he will need to stay to keep things in check until Illyana returns.
But he will fight for her. For Keiko. Why? Because she doesn't deserve this. This is not her blood. Her birthright. Her lodestone.
But he doesn't count on how weak that Keiko may be from not eating in the last few days.
The demons scatter as the trolley comes careening at them. It hits the wall with force and shatters.
Keiko seems to understand what Piotr's just done and she starts to move, quickly towards what looks to be an exit. Where she'll go once she's out of the Citadel is a really good question.
They probably haven't thought this through very well.
There's that scrape scrape scrape sound again as the giant metal skeleton moves to put itself between her and the gate.
"Get /down/!" Keiko had told Piotr to be decisive. "Do not summon unless I tell you to!" As the metal skeleton moves to stand in the way, Piotr's hands clutch the soulsteel sword with both hands as he starts in a dead run towards the skeleton.
He hits a point to leap at the skeleton, and his shoulder is thrust forward as he prepares to slam into the skeleton with both hands gripping the massive claymore that makes up his own soulblade.
"Summon your flier, and GO!" he roars at Keiko. "I will hold them here!"
Someone probably never told Keiko that Piotr is self-sacrificial when it comes to those he has taken under his charge.
As Piotr draws the Claymore his metallic features take on a slightly demonic caste. Not a lot, but enough that it's noticeable.
Keiko drops and rolls, still quite nimble even if her wounds aren't entirely healed and she hasn't eaten recently. Rolling to her feet and calling Onyxia.
The giant harpy eagle appears on the ground beside her. This is where the changes that her experience with Siffror and exposure to Limbo are really starting to show.
Instead of an Eagle, the creatures head is now that of a woman and the body of an eagle. It's talons are massive and rather demonic. It's feathers more leather than not.
The skeleton back hands Piotr as his blade connects with it. It's strong. Piotr might have encountered someone with strength similar to this before. Rather than trying to tear the blade free, the skeleton walks up it, wrapping its hands around Piotr's head.
Keiko leaps to its back and urges it into to the air. "Piotr, come with me…" Stupid woman doesn't try to leave though. The flier circles and dives the skeleton from behind.
He isn't going to be able to tear away from the skeleton. Instead, Piotr tries to bring up his sword. Then he tries to pull the powers of Limbo into him - and into an armor that is made to be resistant to that very magic.
She can hear his scream as his right arm bubbles, twists, warps. That smooth, lined armor that formed the omsium of his right arm is warped - twisted.
Armor darkens and rips, forming and reshaping. What once was smooth and clean lines is now an Eldritch horror on his right side, that envelops his arm, shoulder, and most of his right pec. Piotr's hand reaches out for Keiko's, but at the last second the skeleton moves, driving the metallic mutant downwards.
Swinging around his whole body, he shoves the blade against the skeleton just as it slams him down headfirst on the ground.
"Nooooo!" Keiko screams at the skeleton as Piotr changes and is driven to the ground. Onyxia's demonic talons connects with the back of the skeletons head and she wrenches. The skeleton can't follow on its move as it's pulled off balance. It's a small advantage but one that Keiko uses immediately.
She tumbles from the back of the bird, landing hard on the ground before she tumbles again, putting herself between the skeleton and Piotr. "Stop!!"
Now she's moving towards the exit, the skeleton turns and makes its way back to where it stands sentry.
"Get up, Piotr." she answers. She's seen his armour and that worries her but she can't offer him any help.
Piotr Rasputin lies in the crater made by slamming into the ground for several minutes, the tile of the Citadel's floor shattered around him. She can't help him. He knows this.
His right hand, the warped one, crushes against the ground first, and the large metallic man moves.
He pushes himself up slowly, struggling, for a moment, wavering, but as he comes to a knee, metallic eyes focus on Keiko. Blood trickles over the armor at the corner of his mouth.
"You should have fled." he chastises her.
He continues to push - will himself back to his feet, his uniform ripped and torn, and he uses his left hand to pull the rest of the tunic away to expose the remainder of his torso.
Grabbing the blade, he roars his displeasure at the skeleton, letting it know that this is /not/ over. But for now, his attention is on the woman that decided to stay.
"We can talk about that later." Keiko mutters. "Where does Illyana sleep?" There has to be somewhere in this hellhole that they can at least be a little private. Or something.
She rises to her feet as he does. Expecting an answer from him or at least him to direct K'nert to guide them.
Onyxia screeches, a very human cry now given her changes as Keiko dismisses her, the 'smoke' retracting into the tattoo that has changed again. Just as her pupils have narrowed further now. More demonic or catlike. There's not much difference between the two.
The mark on her torso pulses a little more brightly. She's angry.
"I know where it is." Piotr responds, as he pushes himself to his feet fully and stretching out to his full height. He's not going to let the demons see him back down. Instead, he turns to Keiko, and settles a hand in hers.
And he pulls her along. It's a show. It really is. But it's what K'nert and the others need to see. Their King, forceful and strong. Taking a direct hit from one of the strongest beings in Limbo and walking it off - and taking his consort to private.
They probably think they're gonna make an heir tonight.