KnittedStar's Links
"What? I don't know."
"That girl that escaped. I've heard rumors deep into my investigations that she's Bephion. But as long as she doesn't bear that monster's face, then I don't care."
"What can I really say? There's a bounty on my head and she'll stop at nothing to follow me and claim it! No matter where I go, she always finds a way to catch up to me..."
"But... the few times she has managed to catch me, she always seems to *let* me get away somehow. She'll pin me to the wall but then let me go, let me catch my breath, and then she's in quick pursuit again... she can clearly capture me for good in a matter of seconds. I get the feeling that maybe it's not me she really wants to capture... but that doesn't really make any sense, does it? There's a huge cash prize hanging over me, and prestige from the Vaenian government to go with it..."
"...That girl can lead me to Bephion. No matter what happens, I must never lose sight of her. Using her, I can finally find some peace and remove that abomination from this world..."
"Seven is so cute and sweet. It's like he's got this infectious positive attitude around him... even when he makes mistakes, he's so genuine about apologizing for them. You really can't get mad at a guy like him."
"I knew her in high school. She was never very talkative, but she was pretty nice. I mostly knew her as Venus' best friend, maybe something more... well, I'm pretty sure that they're married now. I catch them looking at me strangely, though, when they think I'm not looking... they're really nice, and super pretty... gorgeous... ahem, but I can't quite shake the feeling that they're planning something."
"Nell is almost impossible to trust, and super annoying. All she ever does is flirt with Hain and try to insert herself into everything! I don't even know why we let her come with us sometimes..."
A devious smirk grows on Octavia's face.
"Hmm... that changeling... yes, I know of her. I know about her, too. She is a creature of wild magic. For even a skilled dark mage like me, the powers of wild magic have eluded me for a long time... only the fae and those closely related to them are capable of mastering such abilities. Of which I am unfortunately neither. But the most feared, yet admired power of wild magic, or perhaps magic in general... shapeshifting. Beastkin and dragonkin can transform, of course, but only into a single form. The same applies to other creatures with transformation abilities, and those of us who brew transformation potions or compose such spells. But shapeshifting is another beast entirely. You can become anyone, anything, with just a small bit of magic... it's a legendary ability, of course. You could easily rule the world with that kind of power. But..."
Her eyes narrow slightly. "She seems to have no motivation for such lofty goals... instead she wants to make friends and host tea parties. With no ulterior motives. I was certain she was luring people in to kill them with supposed excuses like that, but no. How... strange. A blessing to be sure since her power could get in the way of my beloved... and yet aggravating all the same. Can such purity really exist in a being with so much power?"
"Hmmm? Oh! That lady with the dark hair!" Katia smiles brightly. "I know her! We have matching lipstick, too! She's so pretty! I've seen her around, staring at me. Does she want to be friends? She should just come up and ask me directly! I don't bite! At least, not in this form!"
Katia smiles brightly, as she finishes pouring the last of her tea into her cup. "Nell is one of my best friends!" She drops in ten sugarcubes--a bit excessive? But she seems so happy, as she leans onto the table to continue speaking.
"It all started when I told my mother that I wanted to sign up for a pen pal service. I saw it advertised in town. I thought it sounded super fun! So after some thinking, she signed me up and I was assigned someone. She told me in her first letter how lonely she was, and that she was never allowed to talk to people. I was so excited to hear that! It was someone just like me... only I'm not allowing myself to talk face-to-face with others. I wasn't allowed to tell her my real name at first, so she called me Kat. It was so cute! No one had ever given me a nickname before!" She seems ready to squeal with excitement. "I sent her a letter almost every day. Reading her responses was always the best part of my day. Even when I told her what I am... she was so accepting. I was so relieved... there's been a few people I've been meeting who seem to accept me."
Katia puts her head on her hand, her smile fading as it seems she's slightly lost in thought now. "Maybe... maybe there's hope for me... for more friends..."
"Hain is a nice and sweet girl... she seems to really struggle with using magic, though. Even still, I don't care very much about that. Everyone is on their own path in this world. But... hmm... maybe I could try to help her with her training, then we could become friends! A perfect plan..."
"I'm so glad that Rocay is alright and likes me just as much after I've been gone for so long... she's just as lively and close with me as I remember. She's gotten even better with cooking, she has her own cafe and staff, she's so pretty... it almost makes me a little jealous, aha! But she's so admirable at the same time... what can't she do?"
"...But... I can't shake the feeling that she's hiding something from me. She gets so weird about the past, and she never takes off those weird gloves, even when it's time to go to bed... she says that it's comfy, but I can't imagine how that'd ever be comfortable. I... I guess... it just hurts. She's shutting me out from something in her life, but what? I wish... I wish I was good enough to know..."
"Hain... she really came back to me... I've dreamt of this moment for so long. Ever since she told me that she was going to disappear, maybe forever, I... I think I lost a part of myself. I put so much stock into my life with her, I felt closer to her than anyone else, and then she told me that she just had to leave me all of a sudden...?"
"...What happened after she left, what I did... she can never find out about it. She deserves to live a peaceful life now. I don't care if Vaenia wants to call her a criminal, it doesn't matter to me. Even with everything that happened... we can still live a normal life, right? I'll just... just hide it. I can still make her happy. I... I hope she still thinks that I'm good enough to be her friend..."
"This is sort of... disturbing. This woman is not a woman, but rather, a machine in human skin." Octavia's teeth are clenched with worry, and the grip on her tomes grows tighter. Her voice is quieter than usual. "What kind of dark magic created this being? There are powers of dark magic, then, that not even I have studied... the ability to imbue life into a walking piece of machinery. I didn't even realize she was made of metal until I was told. She is a construct made of dark magic and code... a bridge between modern technology and arcane magic. She should be fascinating to me, but her mere existence unnerves me... I can only imagine what her true life source must be..."
"Octavia, the dark mage. She doesn't seem to like me very much. Even though we are both close with Hain, she seems to not want to stand around me. Instead, she seems content to stare at me from across the room." She frowns slightly, looking down. Her arms are wrapped around her torso. "I hope I didn't do anything to upset her. I'm not very good with apologies, or reading between the lines when it comes to emotion. Others have told me to not worry about it, that Octavia is just like this. Maybe I should give her a gift to show that I'm sorry, or friendly. But what does she like? Her only interests seem to be dark magic and watching others."
"Th-that terrifying dark mage... I-I feel like she's piercing my soul whenever she looks at me. She's Hain's friend, b-but... nmmm... I'd like to avoid her as much as possible, please..."
"Arden of the Ivara family. I've heard that he's the so-called weakest member of the family. Ehehe... if you were the weakest in my family, then you would die. And then whoever was before you might succumb in sparring matches too... we don't hold back when it comes to tests of strength. You either fight for your life or don't fight at all, and take death standing up. I was the youngest in my family as a child, similar to this little flower boy. That scar over his eye would have spelled death for me. Hmm... the outside world is so lenient..."
He’s the only family I’ve got and so far, he’s done a pretty good job at being my prophet. I just don’t understand his “hobby” of shadow worship. I mean why worship a shadow demon when you can worship me, a literal GOD???
Well, he’s my brother, and he always sticks up for me and I like him a lot, although I wish he wouldn’t put stuff in my room all the time. Can’t a guy ever just do some shadow worship in peace?
Kind of a joke. Not as worthwhile to mock as Rory for sure.
He's, uh... well, he's interesting. I don't really know why he doesn't like me... or Rory, for that matter. He seems to be wrapped up in his own world... and he steals stuff from the deceased. Not good.