Ame Damnee The Sanctuary

Mina - The Sanctuary
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Mina was not expecting to receive advise from a more or less stranger, and so when Maric told her his piece, she was not as receptive as she probably should have been. She merely shrugged in response.

When the healer came over to her and Errol, her face once again shifted to a pleasant smile.

"I'm sorry, but can I ask a favor? When he wakes up, tell him I went out to take care of something. And that... if he waits for me in the estate later, preferably sober, I'll fill him in on everything," Xena had said.

"Will do," Mina reassured with a confident nod. It's not like she had anything better to do with her time at the moment. Though a thought suddenly popped into her head: she just realized that she had lost her ribbons in the desert. Why did I take those with me anyway? she wondered in irritation. She'd have to make new ones, and the fabric wasn't cheap. Brilliant. She'd lost a good portion of her money as well, though at least she had some stashed away back at her residence. Apparently her brief little adventure had costed her a lot more than a nasty sunburn.

Mina was roused out of her dismaying thoughts when another person stepped through the broken doorway, watching curiously as he introduced himself. He clearly wasn't injured, and nor was he asking for help on someone else's behalf, so of course Mina found the whole thing rather strange. And when Mina found things to be strange, she had to know why. She watched the brief interaction with glimmering eyes, taking it all in. Of course, she was disappointed when they decided to talk about whatever matter they were addressing in private. Then again, private conversations always were the most interesting... When the door closed, Mina almost jumped out of the bed to go and listen to this undoubtedly valuable discussion, but stopped when she remembered Errol was still there. She sat back again with a sigh. If she moved around too much she'd probably wake him up, and then he probably wouldn't let her listen at the door.

Well isn't this exciting. Go from dying in the desert to being stuck in a hospital with nothing to do. Never doing that again. Mina tapped her fingers before reaching over for the scones again; astonishingly, there were still a few left even at the rate she had been devouring them. As she was about to take a bite of the scone she grabbed the plate and held it out in the direction of the two girls who had also been left behind.

"Want a scone?" she asked abruptly. If she was going to be stuck here for a while, she might as well strike up a conversation. It was what she was best at, after all.
 
Shiva & Morrigan Strange
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"Want a scone?"

The duo turned to face the woman, Shiva looking slightly the wrong way for an abvious reason, neither where malnourished, but it was quite evident that they were less that rich ourelay based on their clothing. "Uhm.. Yes please." Morrigan said politely, her eyes remaining locked on the silver-haired woman and watching for any tricks, boring into her with that lifeless gaze of hers. She took the plate and placed a scone in her sister's hand, who took it and ate it in small bites, slowly and carefully, as though she were afraid it might suddenly bite her back. Morrigan did the same and handed the plate back over to the tan, well-built woman. "Thanks.. I'm Morrigan, this is my older sister, Shiva." She said quietly in-between bites, using her hand to indicate their names. "She doesn't talk much, not since she lost her sight, anyway." She sighed. Shiva used to smile all the time, but now it was merely rare to see her even fake one.
 
Mina - The Sanctuary
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Mina watched the two sisters curiously. They were so timid; like mice that suddenly had a light shined on them. "Ah, I suppose you didn't get my name earlier when I was giving it out for free. That'll be one gold piece," she said, holding out her hand. After a few seconds she added cheerfully, "I'm kidding. It's Mina. You can shake the hand if you want to though. Have you noticed that when we meet new people we stick our hand out as if expecting to recieve something? So strange. Why do people feel obligated to give their hand over?" She mused, as she often did when she had nothing interesting to say. Perhaps she would stumble upon something interesting, but until then she would allow her voice to fill in the empty spaces. Completely ignoring her own prior words, she added seemingly out of the blue, "So what's you two's story?" Mina waited for the answer, her blue eyes curious, but kind.
 
Xena Mythriel Al'vyon
The Sanctuary

"I'm the Sin of Pride. The medic of the team, mostly. Taran rarely ever let me in on the actual battlefield. Alma taught me half the things I know, the other half is from me torturing and dissecting live and dead specimens for personal research." she made a small smile that was something between amused and apologetic. It was strange to think how much she was changing, how these thoughts used to horrify her, even brink her to the brink of ending her own life, but she felt Maric's hand tighten on her own and she knew she had to just accept this a sad truth. Innocence only has value for as its not tainted. Besides... she glanced at Maric a little. I have a reason to keep living now.

"These are things I am not very proud of to be honest, but it was part of who I am." she gave Rayen a slight shrug. "I was... Alma's... daughter, I guess. He adopted me at a young age." She closed her eyes. She remembered it like it was yesterday. She was fourteen, standing there in the middle of the pirates she had killed and opened up, the rotting stench of blood and sweat and piss and flesh, as she looked up at his surprised visage, probably not expecting for a young girl to bring such carnage. She stared at her hands, and her eyes widened as she, for the first time, realized what she did. She could barely remember the trip up his tower, when he let her bathe and gave her clothes and sweet smiles...

"I owe Alma... a lot of things. There's always some good and bad in people. I had seen his best and worst. You say you're not him, but your presence is too strongly alike his. I don't understand your connection with him right now but..." she gave him a look. "I can understand your confusion. Being a harbinger is serious business. It's dangerous. Especially now that Lucifer seems to be adamant to kill us through Legion..." she trailed off and gave him a sad smile. "I'm sorry to get you involved in this mess, Rayen."

 
Rayen Ales
Sanctuary

Rayen listened intently to the pair speak about their pasts, occasionally getting quick flashes of pain and a flood of senses in his mind before it faded. He took no comfort in the blood and carnage being poured into his memory, reminiscing about them as if he were the one slaughtering them. The spells and magic Alma had found on their ventures through the lands, the ripe souls of the innocents they collected, it was overwhelming, yet... it wasn't horrifying. He just felt numb to the echoing cries and ghostly tears.

There was nothing for us. We culled them all, stealing their souls to feed to the devourer of all. The past has had no meaning, nothing matters now, what will matter in the future? There is only the bleak maw of Lucifer's greed. My own. Xena, I couldn't keep you safe from us. Now you are one of us, a slave to him... Zaraa, my student. I've led you astray into his unrelenting grasp... Power. Power is the only way. The only way to end the endless hunger. The only way to save us all.

"I remember when Alma first adopted you, Xena. I remember your distaste of him as well, Maric. Things were different back then, just as they are now." Rising from his seat, he continued, "Alma isn't... here anymore to make amends for what he did and became. He grew insane near his demise. I felt it and still feel it, pulsing through my memories and mind, urging me to finish what he began. Maybe I'm slowly becoming him, yet not." Reaching both his hands out for a handshake, he let out a light huff of relief. "When can I start and who is this Zaraa I recall?"
 
Maric Vakarian - Sanctuary

He was about to gladly take Rayen's hand when the man mentioned Zaraa. His mind flashed back to the moment she stabbed him, the pain and fury in her eyes just before she teleported away. A flash of pain stemmed from the wound and he grabbed at it instinctually. "You know Zaraa? Wait.. Alma knew Zaraa?" His breathing grew labored as the discomfort increased from the spike of pain in his lung.

"She came here, a couple of hours ago. Neither of us had met her before, but she told us she shared a connection to our old boss. Bitch stabbed me in the lung before teleporting off to Aditi knows where. You might know more about her then we do at the moment, sad to say. I do know one thing though, once we deal with Legion, she's next on our list." The pain was starting to subside, but he was still having difficulty breathing, he must have aggravated the injury somehow.
 
Xena Mythriel Al'vyon
The Sanctuary

The girl seemed silent for a moment at the mention of Zaraa's name, before smiling rather sweetly. "I knew. I could sense Alma's presence in her. Very faint, but present." her hands tightened in Maric's hands as silent fury raged underneath her eyes, remembering how she saw Maric bleeding out on the floor, stabbing him for no particular reason, even when she has been taken in on the Sanctuary... ungrateful bitch. "I'm sorry, but whatever Alma's connection to her may be... I'll kill her. If she pulls off some crazy shit again like what she did earlier, it doesn't matter, I'll at least hurt her so much until she's bawling in forgiveness at Maric's feet." her amber eyes turned cold as she said this, reminding everyone, even herself, of the cold-blooded killer she could be. "I do not take kindly to people who try and hurt what's mine. What she did was an insult to my kindness, and I don't give a shit how mentally unstable or powerful she could be. If she does not want misfortune to befall her, she better get the hell away from me."

She gave Rayen a small smile as she stood up. "You can try to find and track her as you so please, just don't expect me to help you. I'm sorry. And I would love to chat some more, but..." she glanced outside, feeling burdened with everything else she needed to do. "I'm afraid I have to go. I have other business to attend." she gave Maric a look. "Is it hurting? You don't have to come with me if its too much strain for you. I'll just get the everything done and over with, and come back as soon as I could. Besides, Rayen here may need some company." She leaned in and kissed his forehead, smiling warmly at him. "I would really like it if you rested some more." she said with a worried look.
 
Shiva & Morrigan Strange.
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The two sister didn't seem to find the initial joke funny, and Morrigan merely gave a passive look to the woman afterwards, but she did allow a twitch of a smile after the woman said she was kidding. "Our story is that bad things happened and we were simply with the wrong crowd, I could go into specifics if you want.. But it's not exactly a happy tale." Morrigan stated sombrely, her older sister flopping back onto the bed and covering her ears. She was fine with hearing Morrigan talk about the past, but it made her feel uncomfortable hearing her sound so sad when speaking about it. "Hands are common courtesy among nobles, making people seem like even, which is why it would be rude to turn one down." Morrigan mumbled, taking the woman's hand and shaking it briefly, her hand light, delicate and felt stone cold, like touching glass.
 
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Rayen Ales
Sanctuary

"Zaraa was Alma's apprentice before she turned into what she is today." His eyes bored into the ground, silently in contemplation for a moment before nodding slowly. "I'll keep an eye out for her and find you both if anything happens... Until then, I'll be taking my leave to find the other Harbingers in the city... Gluttony and Sloth you said?" He pulled a small silver bell with a grip and placed it next to Maric before opening the door out, "If you need me, just ring the bell and I'll hear. See you guys around." With that, he disappeared through the door, quickly walking past the others in Sanctuary before disappearing into the streets of Abaddon once again.
 
Maric Vakarian - Sanctuary

Maric took the bell in his hands and watched Rayen leave, there were so many thoughts running through his head that he didn't know where to begin. He decided to start with Xena's request. "I should be there when you get your branding done, the injury is fine so long as I take it slow, but I've been away for far too long. Besides, I need to talk to Buttercup about Wroth and Legion, he really want's Wroth dead, and if what Legion told us back there was true, I can't let that happen until after Legion dies." He stood up and put a comforting hand on Xena's shoulder. "I promise to take it slow and easy until we can find time to rest, ok?"
 
Xena Mythriel Al'vyon
The Sanctuary

Xena made a small smile as she gave him a small kiss. "Okay. But if you overexert yourself, I swear I'm tying you up on the bed so you can rest." she chuckled and winked suggestively. "Not the worst way to go." With that she took his hand and helped him up, as they walked out of the parlor, glancing a bit on the sleeping Errol before the walked out into the streets of Abaddon. I'll have enough time to explain everything. she thought, trying to convince herself, although a part of wondered, was she simply trying to drag out the inevitable? Was she simply afraid to see how Errol would react to her newfound depravity, stepping into the dark part of Abaddon they once worked together to eradicate? She didn't want to imagine what his reaction would be. Regardless, it was something she wanted to do, whether or not he'll approve.

She could only prepare herself for the worst.
 
Mina - The Sanctuary
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Mina shook Morrigan's hand warmly, though she noted the fragility of the girl before her. Mina had never really been the fragile type, so she couldn't relate, but she was certainly familiar with them. She hastily pushed away the memories that followed her observation, and instead gave the girl a smile. "Bad things with the wrong crowd. I think I can relate," she said, glancing down at the bed she was sitting on. After all, she wouldn't be in her position if she had been wise enough to avoid the "wrong crowd." Mina looked back at Morrigan with a small smile before continuing. "I think sad tales are something of a staple in Abaddon. You wouldn't believe some of the stories I've heard. Don't worry, I won't pry if you'd rather not share. Sometimes memories are not pleasant to repeat..." She trailed off a bit at that last part, though whether that was because she herself had unpleasant memories, or because she was distracted by the newcomer suddenly leaving the Sanctuary again was unclear. Nevertheless, her eyes tracked him as he left.

"Well that was fast," she murmured. Mina watched with a strange gleam in her eyes as Xena and Maric exited as well. "What did you possibly talk about...?"
 
Shiva & Morrigan Strange
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"Well... My sister can move small things around with her little ability, the same one that lets her feel the place around her which you probably felt earlier, so we decided to try and make a profit because our parents left use when we were young. My sister could still see then. So we went to this one noble's house and did what we usually did, moving things around and looking somewhat interesting, but she accidentally destroy this ancient vase, the noble got very angry and sent us out, so we left him, without pay." Morrigan said, talking a breath after all the speaking. "So he must have hired an assassin, who appeared and hit Shiva.. Very hard on the head, and I made him sleep, using my own little ability, and sent the assassin to the militia, who dealt with him. Shiva didn't wake up for ages, and when she did, she kept screaming.. It was not fun." She sighed, her heart heavy in her chest as she looked at her sister, who was still staring blankly at the roof, looking rather grim. She looked as the woman and man from before reappeared and gave them a faint wave of her hand
 
Errol
The Sanctuary

"There's a reason why this place is called the City of the Damned." the man said, as he opened his yes, rubbing his eyes as he made a small yawn. He had been silently listening for a while, albeit half-asleep, and he understood enough of the conversation to feel compelled to open his eyes. He himself was not short on horror, tragic stories, being someone who had lived here in this city all his life, who had suffered and lost so much just by inhabiting darker parts of Abaddon. He could not help but mutter. "When the sun sets and the night swallows the city, you do not want to know what happens behind closed doors." He gave a dry smile as he looked around, looking for Xena, but she was again nowhere to be found. His head hurts from the hangover, and there is these two kids he had not seen before. He gave Mina a confused look. "What happened while I was asleep?"
 
Mina - The Sanctuary
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Mina glanced at Errol when he suddenly spoke. "Cheery," she replied with a quirk of her eyebrow at his grim demeanor. She turned back to Morrigan before asking: "Did you ever try to see if your sister's sight could be healed? I mean, I was pretty much dead when I showed up here a few hours ago, but look at me now." Mina shrugged before turning to Errol to answer his question.

"See, these two came in, and she got healed," Mina pointed to Shiva. "Well. More or less. Anyway, then some guy came in and Xena and Maric got all secretive and locked themselves in that room over there to talk to the guy, and then like ten minutes later they all came out and left. Oh, and Xena told me to tell you that she'll explain everything if you show up at the estate later. And also to not be drunk." Mina smirked a little at that last part.
 
Shiva & Morrigan Strange
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"Oh I tried, believe me. I went to every doctor we were capable of paying.. Except here. No idea where we are, actually. That teleporting lady from before just poofed us here and that was that." Morrigan stated blankly, unsmiling as usual. "She did..." Shiva whispered from her spot while staring at the roof, pondering what it might be like to see. She had never known how much she had missed it until it was gone, and all because she made a silly mistake with a mad nobleman, her breath quickened at the thought, the last thing she remembered viewing was looking at her sister, and even that was hard to remember. "I wish I could see." She mumbled. "It's alright, I do too." Morrigan consoled, rubbing her quiet sister's arm in comfort
 
Errol
The Sanctuary

Errol listened as Mina answered his question, massaging his temple from the headache. He almost rolled his eyes when he found out that Xena and Maric got all secretive again. Really, this has been getting old. But when he found out that Xena has plans to keep her promise, he felt a certain happiness flood inside him, relieved for once that she is not planning to keep him out of the loop anymore. It was enough to cheer him up, so much so that the prohibition to be drunk part earned a small chuckle. "Well, at least I hold my liquor better than most people." he said with a small grin.

It was then that he considered her earlier question. "If I remember correctly, if your lack of sight is not something inherent to you when you're born, there's a fair chance it can still be fixed by Xena, especially since your blindness was caused by a blunt injury. Not sure how much the force could've damaged parts of your brain, Xena will have to check it first..." He trailed off and then gave her a small concerned look. "I'm sorry to break this to you, but I don't think the healing process will be a very pleasant experience, given your situation. While I'm certain it won't be painful, it might be a little... disturbing. But it'll be easier if you just trust and believe in the healer's skill." He wanted to add that if the girl was lucky, Xena won't even need to do the most drastic measures on her, but he chose not to make the girl more nervous about the idea. There was only one or two instances that Xena had to play "operation" to cure a patient, and back then it both made them uncomfortable to no end. He wondered how she would react now though. She is certainly different from how she was before--- more sure of herself, more confident.
 
Shiva & Morrigan Strange
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"We.. Won't be able to pay..." Morrigan mumbled, wondering in slight disbelief if it where possible and silently wishing it were true.Her sister, meanwhile, curled up into a small ball and nodded in agreement to the treatment, her wavering silver hair shimmering as she did so. "... Define 'unpleasant'." The younger sister commanded, wondering what the man could mean by it and hoping he didn't mean intense amounts of pain. It would be torture for her to see her sister in agony.
 
Errol
The Sanctuary

"That's alright." Errol said with a small fond smile as he reached towards Morrigan and tentatively patted her head, very softly. Gently. "The Sanctuary doesn't accept payment. Even if you have a boatload of money to give in exchange, that stubborn woman... won't accept it, anyways. That's why, you need not worry too much about it, really." he seemed to mull the question over for a moment. "I honestly do not know what the healing process would entail, but one thing's for sure: Xena has a good way of numbing the pain in her patients. Nobody has ever complained about pain when they're in her care. I would know too. I was her patient once. "
 
Mina - The Sanctuary
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The slight annoyance on Errol's face when she told him about Maric and Xena was not lost on her, but she chose not to mention it. However, she couldn't help but be intrigued by the whole situation. Seeing people with secrets, the tangled webs of peoples' relationships, it was all like one big puzzle she had to solve. Still, Mina remained quiet as he talked to the two girls about getting the blind one healed. She absently reached for the plate to take another scone, only to frown in disappointment when she realized that they were all gone. She hadn't realized she'd eaten so many of them.
 
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