!aLEJudith. 18 Nov 2015 10:43:51 PM No.41153057>>41153347
>Much time had past since Patrick had been locked away and his magic suppressed by the backpack strapped to him. Enough time for the dark dungeon and the hum of the machine next in the next room to become normal enough conditions to live in.
>Three, admittedly and intentionally sub-par, meals a day, one hour where he wasn't chained to the wall, and possible a visit from a church inquisitor. Allllways fun. But today, there was a change. Today his dinner was being brought down to him by a young lady in an orange dress and blue hair rather then disgruntled guard who'd rather let the man starve.
Hey, dinner's here. Better appreciate it.
>She made chicken rice soup and it was still nice and hot.
Patrick Frye / (Baff no trip) 19 Nov 2015 6:29:27 AM No.41153347>>41153360
>>41153057 Oh, great. Something that actually smells like it was cooked rather than everyone else's leftovers.
>The ever-defiant voice of the one imprisoned was a lot more gravelly nowadays than it had been, given his lack of nourishment over a fair period of time. His wrists, still bound, were rough and slightly scarred from the constant attachment to the chains, left hanging from the wall as though to remind him of his place. There was no comfort here - his attitude had earned him that much, but even so he continued to hold on to that kind of arrogance as though it were the one of the few things remaining that they couldn't break, much to his captor's annoyance and his great glee.
And they even send someone cute to feed me for once, rather than some armoured self-righteous badass who thinks it's funny to watch me use my face as a dinner plate.
>Yet even as he spoke to her, Patrick's head never rose to greet her with eye contact. Perhaps he was too tired of it all to look up, or maybe it was simply the most natural posture he could hold whilst chained up like he was. Sure, he could stand, but what was the point? Better to relax until he could spend his hour out of the bonds to train his body up again on the meager amount of energy they provided him.
>Then again, with this kind of food, maybe he'd have a little more kick then usual today.
??!aLEJudith. 19 Nov 2015 7:57:18 AM No.41153360>>41153362
>>41153347 >From his tone, she could tell he was different from other prisoners she had the displeasure of dealing with. She'd seen other prisoners under Victoria's care, if they weren't falling apart at the seams they were begging to be sent to the mines instead. Many varying states of broken man she'd seen bit this one... had yet to crack as far as she could tell.
>At his comment about her being cute, she frowns a fair bit.
Sister was right, you are a rude little man...
>Ironic she used the word little when she herself probably only came up to Patick's chest in height. >But this man was an interesting case none the less if Victoria was this paradoxically excited and annoyed about someone under her 'care'. As she opens his cell door she makes a snide comment or two back at him.
Keep your compliments I have no interest in low-born barbaric ruffians like yourself. Frankly, you should be thankful I'm even willing to be in the same room with you much less feed you myself.
>Look at him, he didn't even have the decency to wear a shirt. How scandalous! Did he lack as much modesty as he did brains?
Patrick Frye / (Baff no trip) 19 Nov 2015 8:09:48 AM No.41153362>>41153376
>>41153360
Sister...?
>That small mention alone was cause enough to get him to raise his head, if only to get a look at the person approaching him. This one was young, perhaps the youngest he's seen since his arrival here, even when compared to the occasional recruit being shown around the prison or youthful criminal being shown a cell. In either case, Patrick never saw them for long - his was a place reserved for what these people seemed to deem 'the most dangerous', though it seemed he was here mainly because of how much he annoyed his captor rather than his heinous crimes.
>And to think that same captor had a younger sibling like this.
Huh... you're about his age, actually. Though, with all those complaints, I have to wonder - what are you doing here with fresh food for a guy like me? Aren't you supposed to be out there enjoying the high life of a teen girl?
??!aLEJudith. 19 Nov 2015 8:38:36 AM No.41153376>>41153403
>>41153362 >About his age? Who was he talking about now?
Who's age?
>The girl scoffs at the idea of the "highlife" as grabs a stool to seat herself before him.
What is there to enjoy? Noble Ignoramuses who think their rank is enough to make me spread my legs? Stuffy balls full of bloated egos where they only talk praise of themselves in spite of doing so little? Being forced to wear horrid fashions because someone slightly above us with no taste said they were wonderful? I hardly have time to actually enjoy what is actually enjoyable!
>It seems the girl had nothing nice to see about people above or below her. She grumbles a bit more as she dips the spoon into the bowl and beings it to Patrick's mouth.
And I am here because my sister says that we must all do things we do not enjoy to chip in, least I become like those I have no love for. Essentially you are a chore that I'd rather be doing then engage in my other obligations. As I can not fight, repair armour, or sharpen a blade, I am taking this task so someone else can get other things done.
>Talking about her reasoning, she didn't seem to be angry that she had to do this or that her sister made her.
Patrick Frye / (Baff no trip) 19 Nov 2015 9:37:26 AM No.41153403>>41153423
>>41153376 >Surprise after surprise. With a powerful sister like Victoria, he expected this one might be riding along with her success, but instead she seemed to dissuade it, wanting to carve her own way in the world, outside of social expectations. It'd be suicide for anyone typically in what seemed to be the nobility, but having someone capable of protecting her in that struggle must've been a huge boon. Now that he thought about it, as annoying as the General was as an opponent, she sure was reliable at what she did. Maybe that extended to being a good family member, too.
>Chewing on the small pieces of chicken that he could grasp hold of, Patrick relished what bits of meat he could get. The rice was also very filling, and he looked forward to having the feeling of a satisfied stomach for once rather than the near-constant hunger he'd been enduring for weeks. Swallowing, he managed to cast a light smile at his current attendant.
That's a colourful vocabulary for someone from the Capital. You're not wrong about that last part - I'd like to think I make for a pretty handsome chore.
>Cocky as always, but he wasn't serious with his flirts - battles of words were always about trying to catch the opponent off-guard and see where they were mentally weak. Admittedly he'd never really been any good at that sort of high-level thinking, that was why he resorted to puns, but who knows, maybe he'd get lucky, she'd blush and he'd be able to convince her to let him out of here with promises of the handsome prince's return to marry her, by which point he'd be long gone and never likely to come back.
>Now that he thought about it, he really was a sly bastard.
??!aLEJudith. 19 Nov 2015 10:20:17 AM No.41153423>>41153435
>>41153403 >Her expression doesn't change much aside from the slightest of blushes. She simply waits for him to clean off the spoon before giving him another bite to eat.
Please, I've turned down men more charming them you. And that have smelled better too.
>As for her vocabulary, and more importantly her location.
I'm just visiting the Capital for a while. I'm live much further north, in Frost Fade. With the new transit tunnel we can finally come and go as we please instead of only see the light of day three months of the year.
>Victoria saw fit to make that happen, those where her people after all and she was determined to look after them.
You ever been that far north before? Or have you been keeping to the more southern lands?
Patrick Frye / (Baff no trip) 19 Nov 2015 10:43:31 AM No.41153435>>41153447
>>41153423 >Another spoonful, and definitely an appreciated one. It was interesting to see her reactions, but even then he couldn't bring himself to keep going with the whole 'smart guy' act. In the end, he was just carrying on for the sake of his pride, no matter how much he might've wanted to be the smooth super spy or something along those lines.
Yeah, but how many of those guys have fought toe to toe with your sister and nearly come out on top?
>A little bragging. He couldn't help it. Even so, his narcissistic tendencies were caught off guard by the details he'd been being given by the girl in front of him.
Frost Fade...?
>Honestly, he would've liked to slap himself if his arms weren't chained up.
Of course. Now it all makes sense. Both her cold personality and her frosty magic.
>Chuckling to himself, he was surprised he'd be able to find out so many personal details about the General so easily. Not that he'd really be able to, nor want to, do anything with them, but at least he could maybe form them into a few well-rounded jabs the next time she came around. Annoying her always was fun.
I've taken a wander over there but it's a little nippy for my tastes so yeah, you could say I've been staying closer to the warm parts of town.
>At the very least he was clever enough not to reveal where he came from. It might not mean much, all in all, but at least it helped to protect those he held dear, including the person he'd managed to shift the subject away from only moments earlier.
You don't get to talk to frankly like this much, do you? Why else would you be having a conversation like this with a criminal? Trying to keep yourself entertained, or are the friends you find here in Empyrean really that bad?
??!aLEJudith. 19 Nov 2015 11:15:03 AM No.41153447>>41154149
>>41153435 >This time she actually chuckles as his sly bragging... if only to mock him with an icy truth to his boasting.
I'd hardly call being sat on the first time, then failing an escape attempt so horribly the second time nearly coming out on top. Perhaps a few more years of training and you might actually get close to besting my sister.
>Confident she was in her older sibling she certainly was. How could she not be? She'd seen what she could do first hand, and it was all amazing. Just like her. >So he has been that far, but he tended to wander around further south. Perfect.
Oh you'd be surprised how frank I am with basically anyone. Don't think you're special, I speak my mind to anyone regardless of who they are. Keeps the nobles on their toes, I love watching them squirm under my scrutiny~
>She really was Victoria's little sister. Capable of being just as sadistic but excelling in the non-physical rather then the brutal full contact way her elder does. Though being related to the hard-ass of a general she was made that something she can actually do without getting in serious trouble for it. >Once again when he's done, he's provided with another.
To be honest, you do have something over the lazy slobs here in spite of your low standing in life. You're worldly, or at least appear to be in some regard. That means you've seem things, experienced things that people of my standing nary have a chance to happen upon.
>She sighs as she thinks of her position. A noble lady who was guarded at almost all hours, forced to talk with people that she frankly would rather not care to know existed, locked away from the world when it was so full of wonder, filling her with a need to explore it, feel it, for herself. It was torture. Books can only go so far, she wanted to know, she needed to know the real thing for herself. So she'll grab what little shreds of it as she could even if meant talking to some criminal.
So yes, I want you to entertain me. Tell me of your travels, what you've seen, what you've experienced, what you've felt, tasted, heard, walked upon, everything!
>Her voices actually rises a bit in volume the child like excitement she had under a shroud of cool refinement.
Patrick Frye / (Baff no trip) 20 Nov 2015 5:23:14 AM No.41154149>>41154195
>>41153447 >Okay, correction; they were both psychopathic sadists under the surface. And here he thought he might just get some kind of actual conversation, here. Instead, he was expected to dance to the whims of a young girl like a puppet, something he didn't particularly want to subject himself to.
>Of course, there was the soup. It was pretty good, and he did want more. Maybe he could afford to make something up, tell a tale that didn't say anything about what he was actually doing but one exciting enough to keep her occupied and, more importantly, to continue feeding him.
Well, once there was a time when I got stuck in a peculiar place. I'd heard there was an interesting treasure there, so I tried to go, only to experience capture by a particularly tenacious witch. I walked upon a lot of stone floors and ended up sitting on one for a fairly long time, felt a great deal of pain once I was down there, as well as an immeasurable sense of loss and hunger. Most of what I tasted was gruel, barely fit to call a meal, but I do remember this one time when I saw a young girl and actually got fed a rather nice chicken soup.
>Let's see; Seen, Experienced, Felt, Tastes, Heard, Walked Upon, he'd made sure to specifically cover each part of what she'd asked.
I have to say, this is one of my better stories.
>... Good job, Patrick. Be a completely sarcastic asshole for the sake of pride again, that'll work splendidly.
??!aLEJudith. 20 Nov 2015 8:59:55 AM No.41154195>>41154214
>>41154149 >It didn't take even a moment for the girl to understand what he was doing. And it didn't take much longer for her to put the spoon back on the bowl and, with her now free hand, create a snowball and slap it upon Patrick's head.
Stop that, or I'll eat the rest of this in front of you instead of letting you finish it.
>She's already heard this one for several other people. She wanted something else, somthing more.
There must be wonderful places you've gone to! The monster fill lands of Astrolia, the wondrous technology of Alaestus, maybe even places no one else has set foot before!
That's what I want to hear damn it!
>She appeared to be getting a little impatient with him now.
Patrick Frye / (Baff no trip) 20 Nov 2015 9:51:37 AM No.41154214>>41154235
>>41154195 >Jeez, that was cold. No need for the magic. Just the food alone was enough. Still, even as the girl reprimanded him for his little jest, he shook his head, his wavy hair flicking back and forth very lightly as a grin formed on his face.
You're misunderstanding something - this story isn't over yet.
>And thus that grin became all the more ominous. Losing none of his confidence, and hoping to draw in her curiosity, Patrick Frye continued the tale of his present condition.
You see, this girl who stopped by to provide me food was told about something she wasn't supposed to know about. Curious, she then left to ask a question to a rather rotund member of the Church of the Holy Flame.
The question this girl asked him was - "What do you know about The Chronicles of Kleist". What happened afterwards? Well... why don't you find out for yourself?
??!aLEJudith. 20 Nov 2015 10:29:51 AM No.41154235>>41154242
>>41154214 >Now that got her attention. Her mouth fell open and her eyes filled with wonder.
The Chronicles of Kleist...
>And the Church knew something about it? Maybe she could-- No, Victoria already told her of her own mistrust of that group, asking the Church for secrets was just a really good way of vanishing from the world. He said it himself, "this girl who stopped by to provide me food was told about something she wasn't supposed to know about.".
I see, now that sounds like an interesting tale.
>She once again begins feeding him and Patick can see her mind was working very hard to try and figure out how she can find out about this without shaking the hornet's nest. >That only re-enforced the need to go through her own plans with him.
Patrick Frye / (Baff no trip) 20 Nov 2015 10:49:21 AM No.41154242>>41154694
>>41154235 ...
>Was she actually going to go? Admittedly he never actually gave a 'when' to that part of the story, so he'd saved his own ass as far as acting like some kind of secret fortune teller went. It was easy to look like some kind of weird badass knowledgeable person, but generally more difficult to actually pull it off.
>Enjoying yet more chicken and rice, Patrick started to settle into the idea that she might actually be genuinely interested in all this stuff, rather than it being an elaborate ruse to make him spill all the details he'd rather not tell.
I'm sure it is, but I don't know it. I'd planned on reading it, but your sister was awfully obliged to stop me taking that book and probably wouldn't like it if I tried to get hold of it again. That said, it's probably locked away in the Church's vaults now, where they won't let a single soul even touch the thing.
Empyrean seems to have a tendency of doing that. Taking what they don't like and putting it in a deep, dark place where no-one'll ever find it but the people in power.
That General coming down to pry answers out of me shows just how desperate they are to get that stuff back. 'Course, I could just give up and tell them, but where'd be the fun in that? Seeing that stuck-up woman get all frustrated is just about the only entertainment I get around here these days.
??!aLEJudith. 20 Nov 2015 9:17:50 PM No.41154694>>41156379
>>41154242 >Oh it sounded so very very tempting it all sounded. But the Church was always looking for more things to hide so... that meant there had to be so many more out there just waiting to tell their story once more.
Yeah... they love to do that.
>She was only half listening to him now as he talked, her own mind a blizzard of excitement and wonder. It takes her a moment actually be aware of the world again and she once again feeds her the source that fuelled her imagination. >That's also when she realized he made a wisecrack about her sister again.
Very dedicated, not stuck-up. There's a difference.
>She confirmed what she wanted now, so it was time to wrap things up.
Now finish your soup, we can't take much longer before my sister will wonder what's keeping me. We'll continue tomorrow.