I think I am here.

Nekri flinched back at the magic sword, then glared at Jared when the effects of his injury began to show. He hadn’t liked the way Jared had stared at him, sword in hand. And if that battle with the tornado lady was anything to go by, he wasn’t an amateur with it by any means. Nekri stared at Jared, walking forward slowly, shifting his appearance to match some random street boy, his gaze softening. He may have not been an amateur with it before, but now it seemed like the man couldn’t even summon his blade. “That lady really messed you up, eh?” he asked in a normal voice - not his own, though - and nodded to Jared’s wound. “You, uh, got some kind of bounty on you or something? Not that I’d care, of course. I never kill people I’ve just met. It’s a rule.” It was a blatant, bald-faced lie. If Jared had a bounty on him high enough to attract hard-hitters like that woman, well... Nekri needed money. He tilted his head, continuing to shift his features in a chaotic tumble. @xinoehp512

@Not an Ookla

Nekri slammed into a wall with a gust of wind, his knife clattering onto the floor beside him. A needle of pain shot up his back and he could hear the wood behind him snapping. As soon as he hit the wall, all of his illusions flickered and disappeared — even the ones he used to hide himself, though he immediately replaced them with new illusions. He groaned, watching the attacker talk with Jared and fly off, leaving the both of them beaten. Stars and shadows, Nekri would need to prepare in case he ever saw her again. She’d won far too easily. “Who was that?” He called out to Jared, standing up slowly, using the wall behind him for support. To lighten the mood — Nekri always thought the mood needed lightening after a battle — he took on the lady’s appearance, tried to mimic her voice as well. Like Jared’s it was odd, somehow, in a way Nekri couldn’t describe. Look at me, he said with her face and voice, grinning at Jared. I’m so big and bad and scary and I shoot, like, tornadoes out of my hand. I’m so strong, that’s why I tried to sneak up on you and stab you. Good thing you’re ol’ pal Nekri here could save you, eh? I think he deserves some kind of reward for that. Monetary, preferably. @xinoehp512

Nekri stepped to the side, watching the fight with wide eyes. Those weren’t ordinary swords, that was for sure. And while he didn’t exactly have any attachment to Jared, no way was he going to let some woman stroll up and kill his only option for money. Raising his hands he tried to reign in his illusions, tried to wrap the swirling of colours and shapes around the woman’s head, mixing in some random sounds as well. Hopefully that would distract her enough for Jared to win. Taking his knife out, Nekri also tried to go for a backstab. He wasn’t sure whether it would have any effect, but it was worth a try.

That was it, then. Nekri watched the horse run off to who-knows-where, carrying the girl and the top-hat man and whomever else they’d allowed. Leaving Nekri here, with Topien and the rest of the folks who’d for some reason arrived here too. He sighed, changing his hair colour because he felt like it, then glanced at the business card once more. There’d be no use using that: every bounty hunter here and his dog would be chasing after the obvious bait. No, he needed something else. Something else nobody would steal from him. He perked upright suddenly, a memory coming to the forefront of his mind. Jared. Jared had bolted in, looking for some woman almost frantically. Nekri had been so absorbed with the obvious bounty with the top hat man that he’d missed the one that had been dangled right in front of his face. Sure, Jared hadn’t explicitly offered money for locating the woman, but maybe Nekri could... cut a deal. That was it, then. The solution. Hurriedly he made his way to where he remembered Jared had waited by, looking from the window — just in time to spot a woman stabbing something towards him. “Stop!” Nekri yelled, illusions flying from his fingertips in all sorts of abstract shapes and colours, filling the room. Of course, they could do nothing. They were just illusions, after all. @xinoehp512

Ceros bowed his head when the general spoke, and without a word he followed the two of them to the wooden viewing platform. Disgraceful, watching two glorious creations like the Atlak 3s called into service simply for a showing to an Alausoo. Ceros glanced at Avaraliin again. “Reinforced steel hull,” he forces himself to say, gesturing to the ships. “State-of-the-art cannon defences and a unique fuel source that keeps them running for as long as you need them. No sails or needing to heed to the wind. Our ships can go even where the waves forbid them.” Even as they walk he keeps a close eye on the native girl. Would anyone notice if she... disappeared? Would anyone care?

The smile faded and only hostility was left in Ceros as he stared at the representative. Black cloak, black vest, black boots. Was appearing ominous a requirement for Alausoo, or did they just enjoy the intimidation factor? As sour as the truth was, there was no denying it worked. Alausoo held something far more valuable than any of his blueprints. They held Aukarnit’s independence. That hostile gaze stared Avaraliin down, wondered how satisfying it would be to play around in that little head of his, to shuffle the thoughts and memories like a pack of cards, to rip that little smile off his face and leave only a shell — Ceros shook his head slightly, clearing his mind of the thoughts, and the smile was back on his face. Not now. Now was the time for negotiation; fantasy could come later. He raised a hand in the air slightly at Avaraliin’s words. “Ah, that may take time, representative,” he said, glancing to the side. “Building the blueprints, organising manpower, a secret demonstration.. tsk-tsk, it’ll take time indeed... time your country may not be able to afford.” He shrugged slightly, gently, at the representative, as if there was nothing he could do. A shame indeed the blueprints wouldn’t be able to verified. A right shame. “Besides,” he added, bringing his glance to Avaraliin again. “You wouldn’t be implying that we, the soon-to-be nation of Aukarnit, would lie, would you? Implying that would... not be the most diplomatic action, representative.”

“You assume correct,” Ceros said to the Alausoo representative, subtly sliding behind the general when he noticed familiarity in those brown eyes. He met the gaze with his own, smiling slightly. “Mostly.” He nodded to to the blueprints. “You’ll find improved ballista designs in there, some alterations to standard-issue canons, and... some experimental schematics, too.” Experiential schematics that had defected, he didn’t add. He shrugged. “That’s the interesting stuff. There’s also a harvester blueprint thrown in, and some minor ship adjustments. More than enough for independence, wouldn’t you say?” He tilted his head to the side, smiling coldly at the representative.

Ceros stilled, watching the general talk to that savage about communicating to other savages, and hearing the general offer a few of their mechanical blueprints. He fumbled with his hands, keeping a close eye on the native girl. Oh, the ways he could torment her little mind... While Ceros didn’t adore the fact that the technology the Ministry of Science had been working so hard on was being offered as a bargaining chip, he at least found peace in the fact that the truly powerful machines were still kept secret. Those were the most fun, after all. “Details, details, details,” he said to the Alausoo representative. Did he really have to stall? Everybody knew he was going to accept. Ceros gestured to himself. “I’m Ceros, from the Ministry of Science. What details do you need? I happen to have an expertise in this matter.” @Not an Ookla

Ceros stopped his grab midway through, then pulled back, brushing his hand over his uniform idly. “Apologies, General,” he said, then nodded to the Alausoo man. “Anyway, I suppose this meeting’s off to a great start.”

Ceros clasped his hands behind his back, eyeing the corpse of the soldier next to her. Either she was playing stupid, or... “You don’t know your own power,” he said. Typical for a native to not understand higher ventures. Still, if she ever learned her magic she could become truly dangerous. Walking forward, Ceros decided to risk it and quickly tried to grab her wrist and knock her out using his power.

Ceros’ eyes widened and he took a step back. The meeting had dissolved into violence. “I do,” he said, raising a hand slightly. Knockout Absorption was the first thing he’d learnt. “But I’d need skin contact. And she’d probably use her death absorption on me before I could knock her out.”

Ceros tilted his head to the side, glancing up at the Alausoo man. “You lied? Tried to harbour a spy?” He asked, a grin tugging at his lips. His own spy had ratted him out. He glanced at Arknon. “That isn’t very seemly for a diplomatic meeting, is it, general?” @Not an Ookla @The Unknown Order

The general seemed to value secrecy, so Ceros spoke no further about his machinations, watching the soldier the general had sent idly, thinking it some paranoid order — until a spy was actually discovered. Ceros grit his teeth. They were both fortunate he hadn’t said any more. He watched the young native girl, stifling a look of disgust. So primitive. “General,” he whispered to Arknon, eyes widening as the soldier dropped dead. “When we capture her, I’d like to oversee interrogation. It’s a... hobby of mine.” It was always fun stealing the memories of primitives and planting false ones in their place. You could mess up the heads of so many that way. Suddenly, he noticed the Alausoo man who’d just entered, and was talking to the native girl. Ceros cocked his head to the side. “You know her?” he asked Avaraliin. Interesting, but not surprising. Rats tended to mingle with their own kind, after all. @Not an Ookla

Nekri rested his eyes on the top hat man, on the carriage, who’d just dashed anyone coming for the bounty. He didn’t want them all to put Rose out of business by hunting her bounty? That wasn’t how bounties worked. It was survival of the fittest, it was whoever could get to the bounty first who got the money. Bounty hunters didn’t line in queues, waiting for each other to politely kill a target and move on. At least, Nekri didn’t. It was a competition. Well, it was supposed to be. Nekri looked back at Topien, who held a business card. Sighing, he shrugged. “There’s nothing to stay for. No bounty, no fun, nothing. Guess I’ll go with you, if you got something to do.” He looked up at Jared, watching from a window. “And whoever that is, they seemed interested enough in me. Their voice was... weird somehow. It felt weird to mimic.” Realising he hadn’t mimicked Topien yet, he changed his appearance to match him.

As he walked, a man approached, walking in lockstep beside him. He was slightly shorter than the general, and his distinctive yellow uniform separated him from the soldiers: this was a man more used to the behind-the-scenes of warfare. “General Arknon,” he said, nodding respectfully as they walked. He looked ahead, gesturing to himself. “I’m Ceros Arlingson. Ministry of Science? Apparently a representative of the ministry is also needed for this meeting. Hence, me.” He walked a few steps in silence, then glanced back at the general, grinning. “Don’t worry, sir. If you saw some of the new ships we’ve been working on, you wouldn’t worry so much for diplomacy. We could crush Alausoo with the new things we’ve been developing.”

@Exotwo