Evaluation

"[THREAD TITLE]" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread written on [IRL DATE].
== Summary ==
Milae confronts Rhenco in a parallel timeline and tries to discover the secret of his immortality.
== Full Text ==
=== Part 1 ===
Yun Milae: In a quiet, decaying, snow-melted clearing deep in the heart of the woods of the Wilderwest, a low wind was whistling through the hibernating trees, the buds of their new leaves beginning to push through their branches, but still not yet green or fully blooming. The wind picked up slightly, bringing a chill over the area, and then from thin air, a cloaked figure was suddenly standing in the middle of the clearing, the edges of the robe fluttering strongly as he lifted his hooded head, his heavy breath creating clouds of white mist that were whipped away from his muzzle in the strong breeze. His heart was thundering; his hands were shaking, slightly from fear, mostly from adrenaline born of anticipation.
He would be here any minute.
Rhenco: From behind a line of shrubbery, Rhenco stepped into view, looking up mildly at the stranger. “Hello…” He said in his low, yet soft voice.
Yun Milae: Milae swung his head to look over his shoulder, his goat-like profile becoming clear against the steel gray of the trees around him. A single green eye stared at the ragged man, round and unblinking, with a horizontal pupil. His nostrils flared and another cloud of his hot breath raced away on the chill wind.
“Hello, Rhenco.”
Rhenco: Rhenco, his expression unchanging, casually tilted his head to look on the inside of Milae’s arms, and noted a lack of vertical scars. “Well you aren’t one of mine…but maybe you know someone who was…” He then gave a small gasp. “Oh…the demon. So my names become popular?”
Yun Milae: “No demon has told me your name,” he said softly, turning to face Rhenco completely. He held what seemed to be a quarterstaff, with its lower quarter being a long, thin blade that curved to a point at its end. He let the blade lower and rest in the soggy snow with a soft crunch, and his hoof stayed around the leather-wrapped handle, fidgeting a little to get comfortable. “I happened to come across it myself. I have…an interest in you.” His sleeve slipped down to his elbow, letting Rhenco clearly see that he bore no scars on his inner arm, but on the outside, a set of thick, deep markings lacerated back and forth across his fur.
Rhenco: “Hmm…” Rhenco hummed, and blinked his soulless eyes slowly before he close them. “Ah…I see. You’re either under false pretenses…or you are a very, very different type of person.”
Yun Milae: “That is neither here nor there.” He lifted his naginata and spun it in a quick circle, holding it at the ready behind him with a soft ring of metal. “You contracted with the Warden.” His eyes remained wide, animal-like, unbroken from Rhenco. “I would like to know what you plan to do in three days.”
Rhenco: Rhenco gave a soft, deep throated chuckle, his lips unmoving. He then tilted his gaze upward, and tsked his tongue once. “Not sure…but if I’m honest. I think I’m leaning towards a kidnapping.” He lowered his head to meet his eyes again. “Is that the kind of answer you wanted?”
Yun Milae: “Tell me who.” The barest trace of a negative emotion began to leak into Milae’s words. Impatience.
Rhenco: Rhenco began to rub his fingers together. “No…” He said softly. “But I’ll make you a deal. I’ll tell you who I’ll take away next…not that warnings have ever made a difference before.”
Yun Milae: Milae’s ears flicked forward. He was quiet for a short moment.
“In exchange for something, I assume?”
Rhenco: “No.” Rhenco replied. “No I’ll just tell you as soon as I figure it out.” The ghost of a smile touched the corner of his mouth. “Alright now…I think it’s time the dynamic of his talk changed. See…the way you’ve acted. Its beyond a show…or an indifference. No…you are a very different kind of person.” He began to walk towards him. “I’m curious to know what kind…”
Yun Milae: “I would not expect a consort of Orskaf to think any differently of Caprinae, but I have to say, I am still disappointed.” There was a gleam of mirth in Milae’s eyes, and he backed up at the same pace as Rhenco, still holding his weapon behind him, one hoof after another crunching in the snow. “Half-breeds think and breathe and live the same as anyone else, Rhenco.”
Rhenco: “The cats scream louder.” Rhenco pointed out. “But that’s aside the point. Orskaf was a resource and I know not of Caprinae. And you are different not due to your breed…but from what I see in your eyes.” The sunlight caught against the knife that was suddenly in his hand. “I have no motivation for bias…but your eyes…they have a knowledge about them. A trick up the sleeve…a secret…that’s why you’re different.”
Yun Milae: “You’re not as stupid as you look,” Milae said calmly. “Tell me who your next target is.”
Rhenco: Rhenco carefully raised an eyebrow. “You…?”
Yun Milae: The goat blinked, and then a grin slowly split across his long face. I suppose I am.
“Very well, then.” He stood up straighter, took his staff in both hands–or hooves, rather–and said, “How about we have a little wager, Rhenco? A deal for a deal.”
Rhenco: “Maybe…what are you offering?”
Yun Milae: The naginata fell to the ground in front of Milae, landing in a splatter of snow, and Milae lifted his arms in front of him in a sort of inviting gesture.
“Strike at me,” he said. “If you can hit me…well, I know you, Rhenco. Causing harm is your reward. You may have a secret or two of mine, as well. But if you cannot find purchase with your blade, you tell me your plans for mayhem among the Rebellion.” He tilted his head slightly, his ears flicking as he stared measuredly at Rhenco. The familiar lightheadedness of a precarious gamble washed over him, and his pulse only quickened further as he waited for an answer.
Rhenco: Rhenco stood motionless, for a moment calculation entered his expression. A thought seemed to occur to him, and his face evened out again. “A secret or two of my plans should I fail…but for reward should I win, here is my counter…someone else’s pain.” He leaned closer to him, interested to see what level of risk the man was willing to take.
Yun Milae: Milae narrowed his eyes. “There is no one in the Rebellion you are allowed to harm yet,” he noted. “Fine. You may hunt whom you like. It will not matter to me.”
Rhenco: “I see…” And with that the blade spun out of Rhenco’s and towards Milae’s arm with the precision and speed of someone who had spent far to long learning how to throw blades.
Yun Milae: The goat’s eyes widened at the sudden move, and as he cursed in his head, he clenched his hooves into fists, and quick as a flash, brought them up to the front of his shoulders, as though he were lifting weights. The scars on his arms suddenly lit with an intense, blue-green glow, and suddenly, Rhenco felt a swing of vertigo. When it cleared, the knife finished its path straight into the trunk of a dead tree, sending splinters spinning down to the snow. There was no one in sight. The naginata was no longer on the ground.
Behind the tree that the knife had landed in, the snow crunched, and Milae emerged, dusting off his sleeves and looking bemusedly at the knife. The scars on his arms were only dully glowing now, and it quickly faded into nothing. The weapon was strapped to his back. “It seems you missed, my friend.”
Rhenco: “Hm…” Rhenco hummed, his eyes flickered over his tattoos and the area around him, as if making a mental note, and then moved on as if everything was normal. “Alright then…two secrets. Name your price…of course…I’ll need options since we didnt discuss specifics.”
Yun Milae: Milae stepped further around the tree and pulled the knife out of the wood, inspecting it and giving it a hefty toss to test its balancing. “Your first target when you are released from your contract, and the details of what you plan to do with them. No more, no less.” I can’t believe he’s agreeing to this. It’s never this easy on the first try.
Rhenco: Rhenco rubbed his chin, and Milae realized he was genuinely trying to think of a solid answer. It was if he hadn’t given it hardly any thought before hand. “I could say my next target is the demon, and that I plan on making her wail like a child in despair…and technically, that would be the truth. But…this is a human made deal, so I’ll fulfill it as it was intended.” There was a wicked glint in his eye. “It is always fun when warnings serve to be utterly meaningless. Okay then stranger… I plan on kidnapping a young man or lady from the rebellion. The higher relation to authority the better. I plan to spirit them away to my hotel. Honestly I didnt know what exactly I was going to do after that…but just for you, let’s say I scoop out the under side of their wrists with my fingernails. Satisfied?”
Yun Milae: Milae tightened his grip on the dagger. His scars were itching. “You’re a very interesting man, Rhenco.”
Rhenco: “We both have a secret.” Rhenco replied mildly. “Maybe next time we do this we can tell them to each other.”
Yun Milae: “Unfortunately,” Milae said, raising his fists to his shoulders again, “you will never see me again.”
The scars flashed. The world spun, and then Rhenco was alone in the clearing.
=== Part 2 ===
“My liege.”
“Ah! Gods!…you know I hate it when you do that. Did it work?”
Milae lifted the knife in his hand and examined it in the strong firelight, running a finger across the blade. It made a slight ringing sound that echoed in the throne room. “Nothing more than we could have deduced. The royal children. Keep them guarded. In fact, I suggest an operation to move them to a secluded area.”
“Is this your best suggestion? Running feels…awfully like cowardice, in this scenario. I thought I sent you to give us an edge against this monster.” The figure on the throne leaned forward, his face still shadowed by the effects of the bright, silvery, overcast sunlight filtering through the windows.
“The monster nearly had an edge on me. I am sorry, my liege, but because of my recklessness, I may not be able to return to you…ever again.”
“What…? By Odin’s tangled beard, what are you talking about? You cannot abandon us. We have three days before this devil begins hunting.”
“I don’t want to. But this is a dead end, and he knows too much. Should I return, I will be of much more use. But I don’t anticipate it.”
“Milae, by the throne of the Wilderwest, I demand you st–”
“Farewell, my liege.”
The half-breed was gone. The knife he was holding clattered to the ground with a cascade of metal, and then lay silently, the ringing fading away into nothing. The man on the throne sighed and bowed his head, clenching a fist. After a moment, he stood, the light catching the silver of his hair and beard, and glinting off the circlet he wore on his brow, and just visible below it was the faded black mark of the end of a dragon’s tail, curled in a serpentine way. The tip of an “S”, an indelible tattoo. He bent down and picked up the blade, hefting it, and then looked over his shoulder at the only other man in the room, an aged, broad-chested, scar-faced bodyguard with rough stubble and a lazy eye. He had made a movement towards Milae, but the half-breed had disappeared before he could do anything more. “My King?” he prompted, when the monarch simply stood there, thinking.
“Do as he says.” With a flourish of his cape, he turned on his heel and began striding towards the doors at the end of the throne room, the sunlight flashing in strips over his retreating, slightly-limping figure. The doors opened and shut with an echoing bang.
Category:Events
Category:BOTGD 2
Category:Yun Milae
Category:Rhenco
Category:Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second
Category:Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss
Category:Act I