Neither Pandora executive seemed impressed, though Huxian was sure he could see a slight shake to Alister’s shoulders that told him if he wasn’t so well trained the man would have been laughing. Violet, however, was as unamused as she looked, hands on her hips.
“The girl’s seal might be breaking faster than we thought,” she retorted. “Her eyes looked almost as if they might be a touch mystic in nature, but in the end, the mundane shell held out. Even so, it has been happening with greater frequency, for longer periods of time.”
“Yeeeeeeeees?” Rozyus drawled, tilting his head almost boredly. “And….the problem?”
“It is happening too soon!” Violet’s voice would have hissed if she had been a lesser woman. Even so, there was a touch of frustration to it.
“Of course it is,” Rozyus waved off. “That woman is the one breaking the seal. It’s been long enough, no?”
Leaning back against Huxian, the boy took the Huli Jing’s hand and nestled it into his curled locks, encouraging him to pet them. It took Huxian a moment, still feeling a tad overwhelmed by his earlier talk from Rozyus, but eventually did so. Only them, acting almost as if he were lounging in a throne, did Rozyus finally continue as if he never left off.
“Besides it only makes sense to take precautions,” He explained, nose scrunching slightly in distaste. “That...wonderful sister of yours hasn’t been playing by the rules and her plans have been set into motion faster than predicted. It’s freaking the other players out. Thus, we’re getting our Heroes in order. So, if you get a Heavenly visiter at some point, you know why.”
Violet’s eyes narrowed, her arms crossed in front of her chest. “Whom in particular?”
“The three elder gods and myself,” Rozyus explained vaguely. “The Heroes Call hasn’t sounded yet - we hope not to have to do so for a while yet, since it keeps things fair. ‘He’ has been...ah…’dealing’ with that poisonous lily of yours. Oh!” Rozyus sat up a little, tapping his fist against his hand. “That’s right...You recall an agent named Lorenzo, right? The one who defected to Phoenix? Some of your agents have managed to bring him back to the light again. You may find he proves useful.”
As one, despite them being in two seperate locations, both the Pandora Executives straightened, a gleam in their eyes.
“Alister!”
“Already done, Ma’am,” the man responded immediately, appearing to type something off screen, as if to double check what information they already gained from him. “The report will be with you as soon as possible.”
While Alister continued to check over whatever was displayed on the computer, Rozyus turned his attention back to Violet.
“Ah, while I’m here, a little word to the wise. They say that at times it can be difficult to tell who is who between twins, especially if they happen to act with the same mannerisms...That in mind, know that She might decide to play dress up to gain access to your organization. You may wish to prevent her from gaining that opportunity,” Rozyus leaned forwards. “Zucie has managed to intercept her once before, However, you know as well as I that a simple hitch to her plans will not stop her from trying again. The little bitch is….persistent.”
For a moment, silence reigned.
“...Shit.”
Ah, one could always count on Violet to decide to drop all pretense of politeness when something exceptionally dire was presented to her. Strangely, the morbid humour seemed to finally break through the troubled muteness he had descended into.
“Well, I know it was a while ago, and you may have forgotten…” Huxian’s tone was desert dry. “But I did warn you…”
Violet gracefully ignored him.
“Alister, make sure the tech department teams bulk up the security,” she ordered instead. “I want to make sure not even the edge of Leliana’s shoe enters the grounds. Should anything happens, I’ll be taking inspiration from D-class agents and report directly to you if I need anything classified,” her brow furrowed. “It is not the ideal president, however-”
“Understood, My Lady,” Alister assured her before she could spiral into concern. “I’ll begin work on both tasks immediately. In the meantime, if you require anything, please contact me.”
Hand over his heart, Alister inclined his head in a sitting bow before the section of the screen his image occupied went blank as he exited the call.
Sighing, Violet sat back, her hands raising to her temples to massage them. Strangelly, the move alone seemed to age her even as her form remained as young as ever. “Bad timing…” she murmured under her breath. “Bad timing…”
Huxian wasn’t entirely sure he was meant to hear that, but decided playing coy wouldn’t help. “Dare I ask?”
Violet sighed. “To return to the subject of before, the presence around your young lady has been becoming more...apparent,” She explained. “Even before the seal began to weaken, though it is only now that I realise the signs. Her eye, Yin...it was becoming more-”
As if remembering the topic that got sidetracked, Rozyus chuckled. “Ah yes. I did mention about that woman’s medling, but let me remind you of this,” Rozyus covered his own eye with one hand, as if mimicking the seal. “That seal was meant for a child - a powerful child, but a child nonetheless. Additionally….hm….you do truly know what my people are, do you not? We are on par with gods. The little one is not so little any longer. It is as Huxian guessed when he first noticed it - if you’re not careful, all that pent up presence will burst out of her like a broken dam, though it will be far more likely to come out in comparatively short bursts rather than a single tsunami.”
“In conjunction with her emotions?” Violet theoried. “Her eyes tend to change more when experiencing intense feelings. They keep a mortal appearance but for the glow of a-”
“Exactly,” Rozyus agreed. “She’s hot blooded. Blame that on ‘papa’. The more fired up she becomes, the more destructive that untamed, untrained and unrefined the power becomes. Stress, frustrations, anger, powerful emotions, they will all add fuel to the flames - even more so if you’re unaware of how to tame them.” His lips quirked up into a slightly condescending smile. “Your little ‘training’ is….cute, but-”
Rozyus leaned back to pull a single pin out of Huxian’s hair, sending the pearly locks cascading down his back like a silken waterfall. His smile became more amused at the sight. When he continued, his eyes were fixed upon the man, leaving no doubt as to whom he was referring to. “She needs a mystic, similar in species. Be it a god, a demon or one of our people to train her,” he explained pointedly, fingers curling around one of the white-gold strands. “Preferably someone who is incognito. If she discovers all the facts at once, she’ll run. If she ‘freaks out’, she will run,” Rozyus smoothed out the hair, almost like a gentle stroke. “...just be careful, is all I’m saying.”
“I understand,” Huxian nodded. “But I will get back to her before that happens. I vowed to be by her side when she needs me. This time will be no different.”
Interested, the boy changed his position to straddle Huxian’s lap, looping his arms around the man’s neck as he gazed with knowing eyes deep into Huxian’s soul.
“Ah, I see…” Rozyus said after a long moment. “Are you now ready to reveal your secrets? Will you rip the veil from her eyes and act? Show her who she really is? Was?”
Huxian swallowed, feeling a little pinned under Rozyus’ intense eyes. However, he forced himself to speak. “If I were to ‘rip the veil from her eyes’ all at once, all that would do would make her feel the need to run,” he reminded her. “But...if she is going to get through this with her human heart intact, then...yes. At least, what she needs to know.” He closed his eyes. “She will need the help, to be able to transition from being Rodessa, the human, to Rodessa, her true lineage. I will do my best to help her get through this. But I can’t tell her everything. She isn’t ready for all that baggage yet. But she will know what I am, and at the end of it, she’ll know who she is. As for who she was...I don’t think it is my place to tell her all that. But if she asks, if she truly wants to know….I won’t hide it from her.”
“Don’t make decisions for me!” Once again, a familiar female voice overlapped Rozyus’ as he grabbed Huxian;’s shirt. “I’m not a kid! Even if I was, I have a fucking right to know shit! Don’t leave me in the dark, it’s not what partners do...You’re my partner, not my guardian!”
Huxian, frozen, opened his mouth to interject, because that wasn’t what he was doing, he would tell her when she asked him. How exactly was he supposed to even explain all this right off the bat when he still struggled with it himself? He couldn’t just dump it on her in one go when that could just freak her out and cause her to run, either, because how was he supposed to explain how badly he failed her?
However, Rozyus, his voice now solely his own, continued before he could even get his racing thoughts in order.
“Tell me, Hue, when, pray tell, is the ‘right time’?” He asked. “You know as well as I there is never such a thing. So why not tell her as soon as possible?”
Because that would throw her over the edge and into a monster ruled by power.
Rozyus flicked him on the forehead, as if knowing he was sassing him, even in his mind. “If I were you, I would be cautious. The way she acted in the dreamscape...well, I think that says it all.”
“That was different,” Huxian murmured. “That was to help an issue she sorely needed and she got better...she adapted quickly enough.”
“To being open about our world, not about herself,” Rodessa pointed out. “Accepting the alien side of the mystic is one thing, but finding out you are a monster, beast, the real boogie man...that’s too much for a ‘normal person’. If you;’re going to be helping her to come to terms with it, though, then why not show her some details in that little thing before we went a little animal kinky in the dreamscape.”
“Animal kinky?”
Huxian froze as Violet’s voice joined the conversation. He’d forgotten she was still there. Worse, he saw the smile that crossed Rozyus’ face that looked like he had stolen it from the Fox’s own face at his most mischievous.
“Well, if you must-”
Faster than lightning, Huxian’s hand clamped over the boy’s mouth, eyebrow twitching. He knew exactly what the minx was trying to do and he was not going to let him dig Huxian in deeper just because Huxian wasn’t going to tell Rodessa the past she forgotten straight away
“I get it, Rozyus,” he scowled. “I’ll make sure to drop some hints about her true nature in the dreamscape so that she won’t find it so shocking - I was planning on doing it to help her anyway, so why not get a headstart on that too while I’m stopping a China Zombie Apocalypse. Happy?”
Rozyus pulled Huxian’s hand back to respond, however, rather than an agreement, instead he made an exaggerated gasp for air.
“So rough,” He moaned, wiggling his eyebrows. “I mean, save it for when we’re in be-”
The hand slapped over his mouth again. The boy just fluttered his eyelashes innocently in response. Minx.
“We have an audience, dear,” Huxian ‘smiled’. “I know you have a filter. Perhaps you might try exercising it?”
Rozyus made a few motions that he would behave. Eyeing him suspiciously, Huxian let go.
“So thin skinned,” Rozyus tutted. “But I understand, I get it. I’m going. I’ll be back soon enough, though,” Rozyus’ eyes lidded heavily with a knowing smile. “When we...don’t have an audience,” he breathed, running a finger over Huxian’s chest, to his neck, then over his lips in a parody of a kiss. “Bye, my love..” He nodded to the communicator. “And Violet. Until next time.”
“Adieu.”
“Until then, Rozyus,” Huxian agreed, not daring to look over at the communicator. The tone in her voice at her farewell was obvious what she might want to say.
A moment later, Rozyus was gone, as if he had never been there.
Silence reigned.
“Yin-”
“Not….a fucking...word…”
Violet’s eyes shone with amusement, but her lips stayed straight, if a little pursed. “Language”
Huxian sighed “...Yes Ma’am…”
[END]
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