monolike | IC CONTACT

[They were both trying to take responsibility for it? And not arguing over whose fault it was? Well, this was new- a nice, refreshing new, but still new]

[He holds up his hand]

Hold on-! I'm not here to punish you two! Nightingale is fine, if anything, she's happy for what you did. And I didn't see any damage in the restaurant-- though it wouldn't hurt if you two helped her find a new job.

[Just saying man.]

I just want to make sure you know that you can't go charging in every time you sense- what's your term for it? Malevolence?

[Okay, yes he did, but that isn't the point.]

Normally, we wouldn't have done that. But her level of malevolence was... alarming. We genuinely thought people were in danger.

[His brows furrow, giving Allen a pointed look.]

You recall when we were walking the other day and you reacted badly to the presence of my ship's captain? It was like that.

[Gut-wrenching, about-to-fall-over sort of malevolence just can't be ignored.]

Yes, I know. I've seen what her soul looks like. [And it is not pretty] There's no doubt that what you did helped her, at least a little.

[He crosses his arms]

But she's not the only person in the fleet that will have that kind of malevolence. There are some who have even more than her, but...would take even less kindly to being attacked.

[He glances at them]

The demons and their kind have been peaceful here. But there's no guarantee they'll stay peaceful if they feel threatened. I don't want the people of the fleet to get caught in the middle of a conflict like that.

Neither do we, [Sorey interjects gently, holding up a hand and scooting closer to Mikleo on instinct.] Malevolence behaves strangely here. Usually people exhibiting that much are inherently violent, but we've since been proven wrong on that account. [He glances at Mikleo and nods.] I don't know how it works with demons and monsters, but we've agreed to revise our approach. You have my word Allen, we won't do anything to place anybody in danger, directly or indirectly.

[Mikleo nods, arms crossing over his chest. As long as he's got Sorey around to retreat into, the malevolence can't seriously harm him, so if the people here who carry it are able to live without becoming hellions, then he can endure it too.]

And unless we're attacked first, we won't be purifying anyone by force.

Is that so?

[....Huh.]

[He tilts his head a little as he looks at the pair, his expression a bit quizzical. His gloved hand raises up to his chin to rub it a little as he thinks]

I must admit, I'm a little surprised... [This talk almost never goes this easily]

[In fact, it was so easy that to Allen, it almost seems fake. So he lowers his arm and he adopts a much colder, bemused expression - his eyes watching them. ]

But are you sure you boys sure can accept that revised approach so easily?

"Only a fool would think things like that could be peaceful", "The only good person with high malevolence is a dead one", "I'll happily destroy every single one of them"....

No one would fault you if you truly felt that way somewhere in your heart. [You wouldn't be the first, or the last]

Absolutely not. [Allen gets treated to the first angry frown Sorey's given anyone or anything since coming here, though his anger is directed more at the idea than Allen himself.

He still wishes there had been something he could have done for the Cardinal. Rose may have been the one to end her life, but if they'd just reached her sooner then maybe she wouldn't have been so far gone. He still can't believe that some people simply cannot be purified, not yet.

He wishes Lailah were here. She would be able to explain this so much better, would sound so much wiser than he. He'll just have to make do with his own clumsy words.]

Please don't misunderstand; a Shepard's duty is to purify malevolence, but never like that. I can't become a slave to my duty and sacrifice my own ideals for it. [He softens then, expression gentling into something more vulnerable as he unconsiously leans closer to Mikleo for support. This is a talk they've had many times before.] And I don't wanna hurt anybody.

[Mikleo is less scrupulous about it, his eyes narrowing fiercely at Allen. The very suggestion that Sorey would think such things would be laughable if it wasn't so obviously disturbing, and he's not about to just shrug off comments that upset Sorey.

He doesn't budge from his spot, allowing Sorey to lean on him as he pleases, and he straightens up as if to make himself taller, his body language visibly protective.]

The fact that you can say something like that shows how little you know of us, so I won't hold it against you. But if you're trying to provoke something, don't waste your time.

[He stares. They're serious...]

[...Ha. That's...]

[The warmth comes back into Allen's smile. This time, it's a sincere one.]

You can relax, Mikleo. I'm not trying to provoke. I was simply saying the reasons the words that are often said to me by people about this. I wanted to see if they spoke to you.

[It was a test, in other words. That's all it was. He gives a little laugh, almost out of disbelief]

I must say, you two really are quite the peculiar ones. [Though his tone is one closer to awe than actual insult.]

Edited 2016-02-04 21:35 (UTC)

Are we? [Sorey relaxes once that smile comes back, heels once again tap-tapping against the side of the crate.] Regardless, your concern is understandable. There are records of past Shepards thirsting for power or revenge to the point of giving into malevolence themselves, so it's not like I'm immune to it.

[BEAMS and taps his head against Mikleo's side.] But that's why I have Mikleo! And my other friends, back home. They keep me on the correct path.

[Mikleo scoffs at that, though he's fighting a smile, now.]

Please. You're the least corruptable person in history.

[And it's not like seraphim are immune to malevolence, either.]

[He gives an amused look at these two. Yeah, they were certainly peculiar]

Nightingale was right. You two have quite the strong bond, it seems.

[Okay so she more implied they were lovers, but whatever!! Strong bonds are strong bonds]

I'm glad you have good friends to help you on your path, both of you. That's very important.

Edited 2016-02-04 23:19 (UTC)

What made you come to us about this? [Sorey straighten up, hands on his knees. Sure, Allen is an officer, but there are a dozen other officers and no one else had made a peep. Was it simply a matter of convenience, with Allen both as a figure of authority and a person who could communicate with Mikleo without help?

No, if that was so then he could have just issued them a warning and been done with it.] Were you worried we'd hurt Nightingale?

[He looks back at Sorey and shakes his head. No, Nightingale had insisted she was fine. And nothing he had sensed of her had indicated otherwise.]

No. I'm a little surprised you haven't figured it out yet.

[What with the power sensing, the talk of souls, the knowledge of all these things...eh. Kids.]

I'm an Exorcist. My job is...a bit similar to a Shepherd, from the sounds of it. [The purifying evil and all that] So I feel it's part of my job the fleet stays safe from demonic or undead threats. Which...after hearing about Nightingale, I wanted to make sure you weren't planning on provoking them - as other demon hunter sorts have done in the past. [He offers a shrug. It really wasn't anything personal against you Sorey.]

[??? ????? ??] Why would anybody purposefully provoke them? Didn't they think about what might happen to the people caught up in it?

[....]

[...Why do you seem so shocked by this idea?]

Um...I'm sorry, but how long have you been a Shepherd exactly?

We more or less just started, didn't we? It hasn't even been a year.

[Seraphim: historically not great at keeping track of time or something.]

I see...

[In other words, they probably have a handful of experience, but overall still pretty green. Hm....guess this calls for what Zestiria loves most: barely prompted tutorial-esque expositions!]

Well, I wouldn't say provocation is always bad tactic, or that they aren't thinking about people who might get caught up in it. In fact, sometimes the best tactic is not to hesitate and make the first strike to take them out. For example, if a Youma came here then you can't expect it to be peaceful, not when they feed on human intestines. And an Akuma attack could wipe out an entire crew in seconds, so the faster they're stopped the better. [He crosses his arms again] Fortunately, I haven't spotted any signs of either being in the fleet so far.

[Guess Atroma figures mass graphic death would be a killer for ratings. Weird]

The problem is, sometimes demon fighters get so used to fighting creatures like that. So when they arrive here, they assume all demons or creatures who give off that energy are like that - extremely dangerous if left alone. They really do mean well, and are trying to protect people...they're just using the wrong tools for the job. Once they've been in a place like this long enough, they usually change their thinking and approach. [Allen knows he did]

[He then frowns] Though, I won't deny there's those rare few who...have gone too far into zealotry and don't care who they hurt. They're probably more dangerous than the demons, if you ask me.

[o

kay that's not

Sorey exchanges a bewildered glance with Mikleo before leaning forward, fidgety with nerves because this is a hell of a misunderstanding.]

I'm really sorry, but I don't think we're talking about the same thing. Unless something specifically involves malevolence or hellions, a Shepard is not to get involved. And- Undyne? The cook on Mikleo's ship, she called herself a monster and she looked sorta like a hellion, but there wasn't even a speck of malevolence on her.

That's what I mean about malevolence behaving strangely. All this stuff about hunting demons and Akuma and Youma...I don't know what those are, and if they try to hurt people we'll do what we can to help people escape or heal wounds, but unless there's malevolence corrupting things then we're really not supposed to do anything besides help with evacuation efforts. [Lailah has made that extremely clear. Those Akuma and Youma things sound like bad news, absolutely, but what if they're human weapons or something that came about due to human society? Sure, if they turn out to be like hellions, corrupted by malevolence and the like, Sorey will happily get involved but he's already been manipulated into one war and that had not been a fun time for anybody. He'll never forget the looks on those soldiers' faces, or the choking taste of malevolence so thick he nearly drowned in it.

This is sounding a lot bigger than he'd anticipated, and from how Allen's talking, Sorey doesn't think he'd be fond of the culture around it either.]

[...]

[Well, hearing that? Sure is a let down. You can practically see the surprise, followed by the disappoint and hurt cross Allen's face.]

...Ah. I misunderstood.

[There's part of him that wants to argue. Part of him that wants to point out how would an Akuma not have malevolence? They were fueled by the pain and suffering of a soul for God's sake. And how could leaving an Youma to feed and attack innocent not create this malevolence they're so worried about? It wasn't like he was asking them to get involved with politics or person-to-person conflicts. This was just about helping people when they had the power to do so.]

[But...what would be the point? He had gotten ahead of himself, after all. He didn't know the Shepherd's code. Maybe Sorey and Mikleo were nice, but that didn't mean Shepherds were. Similar powers didn't make them comrades....no matter how badly Allen missed his.]

...I'm sorry. I got ahead of myself. [He looks down at his feet] I just want to help the people around me, in what ways I can. That's all it is. Akuma, Youma, Demon.... each one's different, but the longer you're stuck in a place like this, the less that matters.

[But most people aren't stuck in these places as long as Allen is. And this place wasn't in any immediate danger so...what's the point in arguing more? So he shakes his head]

But that's my decision, and not yours. I shouldn't assume otherwise, and I don't want you to get in trouble as a Shepherd. So...sorry. I'll...only call for you if a Hellion appears, okay?

[stares at allen]

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