respired: might as well let it die (there's no relief in bitterness)
ᴋᴏʟᴛɪʀᴀ ·sᴜɴsʜɪɴᴇ· ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜᴡᴇᴀᴠᴇʀ ([personal profile] respired) wrote in [community profile] futurology2016-02-26 08:41 pm

video | un: deathweaver

[ Koltira's in the sunny courtyard, standing beneath one of the trees. Shadows and light play across his face, throwing the cold, icy glow of his eyes into stark relief. He's wearing greaves and boots, but only a plain, black tunic otherwise (and the skull-shaped ring that serves as his communicator). Byfrost, as ever, simmers darkly on his back.

He doesn't speak right away, as though he's suddenly lost his nerve. Truth be told, he's not sure how to begin this. The middle part is clear, and the end bit, too, but ... he exhales. ]


My name is Koltira Deathweaver, if you did not know it before. I have hurt a number of you directly, and in so doing, hurt others indirectly. Some of us have spoken, though not all. I will try now to explain myself.



[ He leans back against the tree, uncomfortable. ]

My second name is not a family name. It is an epithet, forced upon me as undeath itself was forced upon me.

[ He gestures to his eyes; his sallow, bluish, cracked skin. ]

I earned [ this word he spits, disgusted by it ] the epithet during long years of enslavement to a will that subsumed my own. The Lich King ordered my death; he remade me into one of his knights. And though I broke free, and though my brothers and sisters rose up against our former master, his mark on us remains.

[ He taps his foot on the grass. ]

We call it the endless hunger. It is a curse--of blood, of flesh, of whatever unholy foundation holds our wretched bodies together. Hunger is perhaps the best way for you to understand it, though it is not for any typical food. We were made to be machines for war. We were made to cause suffering. If we fail in this, we suffer ourselves.

The pain is ever present, albeit manageable. For a time. But if we--if I--do not give in to the hunger's demands, the pain grows. Worsens. It becomes wracking, all-encompassing.

[ He holds up his hand, curling his fingers slowly into a fist. ]

Imagine starving to death, and yet being unable to die. Your body is past its breaking point, but it does not break, because it cannot.

[ His nails dig into the palm of his hand. Black blood trickles down his wrist. ]

Instead, you break. As we do. If I ignore the hunger for too long, I descend into madness. A blood-seeking hysteria. Such was the state in which some of you found me.

I do not tell you this as an excuse. Only as an explanation. I deeply regret what I have done, and I am sorry. You need not forgive me. I do not expect such. If you would rather I keep my distance, I will honor this wish.

[ He pauses. ]

I wish I could end this by telling you that it will never happen again. But that would be a lie. It will. I cannot cure this curse. I can promise only this: when I feel the madness taking hold, I will give due warning. You will be able to spare yourselves, and you will know that if you see me--you must run.
heavyhitter: sneakers, pumps, or lace up your boots (get your killer heels)

voice, @taranto

[personal profile] heavyhitter 2016-02-27 03:28 am (UTC)(link)
Right, all that, also — next time we're gonna stick you in a pit. With a babygate on top.

audio;

[personal profile] babbylon 2016-02-27 03:35 am (UTC)(link)
I should have killed you.

[That's it. That's the response.]

[personal profile] babbylon 2016-02-27 03:40 am (UTC)(link)
I hear only excuses coming from your mouth. What good are they? What good are you?

I should kill you now.
defenceless: (leaning back arms folded)

not here;

[personal profile] defenceless 2016-02-27 03:43 am (UTC)(link)
anti_altruisms: (Received into glory.)

voice | un: archer - private

[personal profile] anti_altruisms 2016-02-27 03:46 am (UTC)(link)
[ He is angry, to say the very least.

Though some part of him cannot help but agree with Gilgamesh (kill him, kill him now), he is also trying to curb some of his more violent instincts here. He has spoken to Koltira quite frankly in the past, and they were on good terms.

As one slave to another, he will at least speak with him first. ]


It would be well within my rights to claim your head.

[ A cold, deliberate statement. ]
anti_altruisms: (Is that right?)

[personal profile] anti_altruisms 2016-02-27 03:51 am (UTC)(link)
[ You're a putz, Koltira. Two can play this game. ]

Explain to me the parameters of making others suffer.

[personal profile] babbylon 2016-02-27 03:53 am (UTC)(link)
Sorry enough to repent, yet arrogant enough to resist your rightful punishment. Truly the worst sort of mongrel.

[Gilgamesh hums, and despite his words it's a more neutral sound than judgmental. Thoughtful.]

What do you live for, Koltira Deathweaver? Why breathe when you admit yourself to be an abomination? Answer honestly.

private;

[personal profile] babbylon 2016-02-27 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
You will never be free.

[But if Koltira pays attention, the tone seems almost self-damning. As if he meant to say we instead of you. He brushes past it quickly, and there is a pause on his end. He's drinking, of course. Though he's also weighing his options, and to that end, he switches the feed to private.]

Let us say someone was amenable to providing you a distraction from this hunger. What then?

[personal profile] babbylon 2016-02-27 04:12 am (UTC)(link)
I am not offering you charity. I am offering you a deal. A contract of sorts. Proper repentance for what you've done.

Interested?

[personal profile] babbylon 2016-02-27 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
You recall our battle. You were quite vicious. Bestial, even, as I've rarely seen before. As you were made and enslaved, only to fight and to follow orders... such is the lot of Servants. I understand your hunger as others do not.

[Once again, it could easily be read as a criticism against himself. But once again, he does not explicitly refer to himself as so helpless, much too proud, much too stubborn.]

Come to me and show me your potential. Test your blade against me, whenever you feel such ugliness rearing its head. And I will exhaust you, and I will sate you, and I will quell this beast that lives inside. This I do for a very specific price.
anti_altruisms: (The sun will shine again.)

[personal profile] anti_altruisms 2016-02-27 04:46 am (UTC)(link)
Cross blades with me, then.

[ He doesn't mince words. ]

Those times you feel yourself sliding towards madness, I can offer you an outlet.
anti_altruisms: (The face of indifference.)

[personal profile] anti_altruisms 2016-02-27 04:52 am (UTC)(link)
Then I will bleed.

[ He doesn't seem bothered by this. ]

Unless you think yourself incapable of landing a blow, I see no issue.
anti_altruisms: (And turn around.)

[personal profile] anti_altruisms 2016-02-27 05:00 am (UTC)(link)
Then you should have no objection to my proposal.

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