Yonov102003.htm

World's End...

Yosannah arrives amidst a rainbow sparkle under the balcony. She blinks once or twice, eyes slowly adjusting to the light. After a quick glance around the bar and a sniff, she tucks her hands in her pockets, gaze settling on Zeta as she sits at the bar. There is a moment of consideration in her eyes before she moves toward the woman. Resigned.

Zeta sits at the bar quite casually, her chin propped on her palm as she stares down at a book in front of her. A half glass of some darkish liquid sits close by. With the sound of a new arrival and susequent footsteps toward her, she pulls her eyes from the page and looks at Yo. A subtle smile places itself on her lips and she offers a polite greeting, "Good turnings, Lady."

Were there any patrons in the bar save these two women, the casual observer might think the ladies were the best of friends were he or she to note the nonchalant way Yosannah slides up to the bar and onto the stool next to Zeta, "Ah, come on, Zeta. Lady? You know I don't come anywhere near having a title worth that kind of greeting." She gestures at the bartender and mutters, "Reisling."

Zeta's lips purse softly and her dark gaze travels the height of Yosannah's form once, quickly. A moment to choose her words returns with and calm, "Any woman daring enough to wear such a mantle as Pestilence well deserves to be addressed as Lady, among other things I'm sure. Lady is simply the most polite." She shifts just a little on her stool. The one leg that's crossed over the other gets the pant smoothed over it with a flattened palm. "How have you been?"

Yosannah leans forward, arms crossed atop one another. The bartender places a glass of wine before her though, for the time being, she doesn't reach for it. "Eh, you know." She nods, mostly to herself, then in response to the woman's question. "For the record. Pestilence picked me. Not the other way around." She glances down at the woman's book, "Not that it matters, I suppose. Just a point of clearification."

Zeta hms softly, noting, "Good to know." The book before her is written in an ancient demonic language. It looks arcane in nature and the book itself appears very old with some form of leather binding. She acts as if she might be perusing the Reader's Digest. "Have you seen Stone lately? I've been meaning to call him and see how he is."

Yosannah lifts a hand to her mouth and rests it, fisted, above her lip, "A few days ago." She stares down at her wine glass, considering it, "He's good. Same as always I would suspect." And then, as if an after-thought, "You know, considering our haunts and acquaintances, I'd have thought we'd have shared a drink long before now." As if in response to her own statement, she reaches for her glass now and throws back a gulp of wine.

Zeta seems to consider this a moment and her chin dips in something of a half nod, "Yeah. You would think. Hnh. I guess we just always seem to miss one another. Running in those circles, I've heard a lot of interesting things about you." Her mouth invents a smile then, a bit wry, "And I'm sure whatever you've heard about me isn't true."

Yosannah chuckles, a single short exhileration of breath, "Likewise, of course." Her smile is crooked, "People in those circles should talk less and think more I imagine. Shadow would be a nicer place." Her index finger traces along the rim of her glass.

Zeta reaches for her own glass, clasping it without lifting just yet, "Possibly. But what fun would that be? What would we do if there were no rumors to dispel or vengeance to be had?" Her tone bears a bit of mirth as she poses the question.

A painted fingernail raps lightly on the wine glass, "Ah, spoken like a true Chaosian. Unlike you, however, I don't have near eternity to spend toying with those sorts of notions." A light smirk plays on her lips, "Us mere mortals have to try and get it together in the little time that's given to us, eh?" She peers into her glass now. After a moment she sticks the tip of her finger into th liquid, withdrawing a black fleck of... something. She pushes the glass away and motions to the bartender, "Could I get another please?"

Zeta chuckles softly at that, "One could argue that it was spoken like a true Amberite. And an eternity is only a matter of perseption. Listen to Ithius discuss the finer workings of a plasma rifle if you want to really know what an eternity is." She winks, "Outside that, it's all icing. Time is what you make of it, no matter how much of it you have. You have to do something with the time you've got. Why not use it becoming stronger? You become stronger through conflict. It's the way things work."

The crooked smirk continues to linger on Yosannah's lips as Zeta speaks. She repeats, "Strength through conflict, hu." A new glass of wine. "While my symbiote would probably agree with you, I do not. But to each his.. or her own, as the saying goes."

Zeta nods once, "What I know is from experience. Every bit of strength I have came from some sort of struggle. My freedom? I fought for it. My skills in shifting, I worked for. Hard. Logrus. That one was an uphill battle the whole way. Both times. And I could keep naming stuff. But there's nothing I have that I didn't fight for and I promise I'm stronger for having done it."

Yosannah nods, in understanding, not necessarily in agreement, "Well, therein lies the subtle difference that we've always known that lies between us, but never defined. I find strength from an inner peace. Not in the powers I wield. The struggles I have endured, if you want to call them that, are not what defines me."

Zeta lifts her drink finally and swishes it just a little. She sighs softly at the lack of bubbles, "Yeah, I think this one has lost its fizziness." She smiles a little, "It's called rootbeer. Something I found on earth. It's really good."

Yosannah nods, "I know the stuff. Try a float when you're out that way next." She gestures at the bartender and points at Zeta's fizzle-free drink as she inquires, "I heard that you severed ties with the Church. 'Round the time Ada did as well. That true?"

Zeta lifts a brow and nods once, "Well, in a manner of speaking. It was more like the church severing ties with me. After looking the Serpent in Its eye, I couldn' t abide Magnus' teachings any longer. He's just wrong and unwilling to compromise."

Yosannah lifts her glass to her lips though she doesn't drink. Instead, she raises a brow, "And here I thought Magnus was the Serpent. Or, at least, its voice. I'm not sure I understand how that squares with what you're saying." She repeats her words to clearify, "'After looking the Serpent in its eye'..."

Zeta nods, "I've taken the logrus twice now. I've personally experienced Its power. Magnus is /not/ the voice of the Serpent. He may be powerful, but he's not that powerful. Not only that, ask yourself this; Why would a being as infinate as the Serpent choose one person who has proven to be wrong and flawed in the past to be Its singular voice throughout near infinate reality?"

Yosannah shrugs as if the question is rhetorical and responds with the obvious answer, "I don't know. But then again, I don't know what these flaws are that you are speaking of." She flicks a gaze over her shoulder at Alastor who has just arrived, "We could get a table, you know." This last part is directed, again, to Zeta.

Alastor grins. "I haven't even come to play my music, and they're leaving the bar," he complains to the barstaff, who serve him milk and sympathy a moment later as he sits at the counter.

Yosannah stands as well, but smiles as she steps past Alastor, "No offense, guy. It's just girl talk anyway."

Zeta slips from her stool and winks at Alastor, "Maybe next time." And she follows Yo to the table at the far wall.

Alastor nods his head, turning to the bar. "Pint of milk, please. From a girl cow?"

At your table, Yosannah urges, "Why don't you tell me what it is that you're talking about." She repeats, "These flaws."

At your table, Zeta takes a minute to remember the conversation, "What flaws? Well, first there's the thing where he's tried to seduce half the women in Chaos. Ladies, even wives of Lords have come into the church before to worship and he's hit on them. That's so not cool." She sips her new rootbeer and mms, looking at the glass for a second, then back to you, "Then, he failed and continues to fail in teaching Chaos in the ways of the Serpent. Oh, he'd love to tell everyone what to thing, but not why to think it or even how to think for themselves. There were Lords who had no idea why they should care one iota about the Serpent while Magnus has been papal or hierophant or whatever. If he's the voice of the Serpent, why didn't he teach these people about the Serpent? Why was it left to me and Ada to do it all? Why were the people that he recruited spouting heresy? The things he does in the church, he does to suit himself. Not Chaos. Did you not wonder why he remodeled the whole church and changed the laws there /after/ I left? He knew that I was keeping an eye on him and he didn't like it. So he endangered those in the church and Amblerash to get his way. That's just the way he is."

At your table, Yosannah listens, quietly to her words. Nodding here and there, "Someone told me, not too long ago, to be mindful of him. That he had designs on the Riders. That he'd try to use them to his advantage." She shrugs her shoulders, "And I'd be lying if I didn't say that I have felt a certain..." she searches for the correct word, "Awkwardness? In his presence."

At your table, Zeta nods once, "You're not alone in that. And I've had the thought before that he might take advantage of the horsemen if he ever had the chance to do so. He's been casting a spell over the past several turnings for some reason that he hasn't told anyone that I know of yet. I thought at first that it was because of the recent problems with the riders, but I've heard that he might be trying to conjur a savior for the church. I'd contemplated who he might be talking about; Bances maybe, or even Khal or someone even older. But it would be to serve his purpose which is foremost in his mind. Not Chaos. He proved that all the more when he refused to swear to the new King."

At your table, Yosannah crosses her arms over her chest and sits back in her chair. She lifts a fisted hand to her mouth, as is often the case when she is pensive, and seems to consider for a long moment. She exhales and notes, "I have no interest in the Courts, truthfully. Would that I had my way, I'd forget the whole lot of you and send myself home. Obviously, that's not going to happen in my current state." She nods, matter of factly, "But I'm not about to let him take advantage of the Four of us either. What's to be done then."

At your table, Zeta lifts her shoulder in a half, thin shrug, "Your guess is as good as mine. I've only told you these things because you asked me why I left the church. I intended for the people of Chaos to have a place where they could come worship freely and learn about the Serpent in a way that the Serpent leads them. We're all created differently for a reason and we have our own ways of learning. Not everyone will listen to one singular voice. And even though you're not Chaosian, you're a child of the Serpent and ultimately come from the Abyss, because all things come from there. You have as much right to know about the Serpent as I do or he does."

At your table, Yosannah inquires, "You'll do nothing then. While he goes about his task?" She seems mildly perplexed by this, "After everything you've explained. If he is corrupt, I don't understand."

At your table, Zetas lips curl just a little at the corners, "I didn't say I would do nothing, but us really evil mistresses of fire don't divulge our wicked plans for the viewing audience. We don't wear black capes either. Just not very stylish." She winks.

At your table, Yosannah purses her own lips into a sigh as she slides her gaze outward and over the bar. She nods, slowly, "I'm going to approach him. Confront him. Perhaps me and one other. Test where things stand." And, as a side note, "You needn't worry, I won't say anything about our conversation. Though," she shrugs, "Somehow I don't doubt that he already knows your feelings and intentions toward him."

At your table, Zeta chuckles softly at that, "Oh no. I made my intentions fully open and clear to him to his face. Tell him whatever you want. Tell him you spoke with me. I'm not the least bit afraid of him nor do I give a damn what he thinks of me. His years of using me has made me just a little bitter toward him. And his lack of care in Chaos down right pisses me off." She adds, "Don't be surprised though if he disowns you for speaking to me. Or accuses you of spending too much time with my /ilk/. Whatever in the hell that means."

At your table, Yosannah says "Disowns me? Hardly." She shakes her head, "That would first require that I was sworn to him, wouldn't it?"

At your table, Zeta smirks, "Not in his mind. In his mind everyone already owes him something." Holds her hand up, "But I should stop. It's too easy for me to just hose him especially when he's not around. I've already given you too much of an opinion without you looking at the truth of who he is yourself. My temper gets away from me sometimes."

At your table, Yosannah polishes off what remains of her wine, "Would that I could tell you I had an opinion much different from yours." She shrugs and sets the glass aside, "I'm still looking for the individual that speaks well of the man. I'll have to keep looking it seems."

At your table, Zeta hms, "Perhaps you should speak with Morrigan. She seems to be in the palm of his hand. I'd be interested to know what she says about him."

At your table, Yosannah asks, "The new Prelate?"

At your table, Zeta nods, "Yes. I've yet to meet her myself, but I've heard she's a decent person."

At your table, Yosannah chuckles, "As if treating with Magnus made one a bad person." She chuckles softly at this.

At your table, Zeta smirks, "No, it just makes them a person with bad taste. I say that as a person who studied under him for several years."

At your table, Yosannah nods, "Touche'." She stretches, "On that note..."

At your table, Zeta nods and rolls her shoulders, looking down at her book, "Yeah. I probably need to get going, speaking of church and all those things. I have some research I need to get done. It was good finally talking to you more than a couple words."

At your table, Yosannah offers up her hand, "Likewise." She appears sincere.

At your table, Zeta gives you a pleasant smile and accepts your hand for a heartbeat's time. Her eyes go distant then and she releases your hand to collect herbook, "Serpent guide, Lady."