Don't You Find it Strange?[Yaksha/Boria]

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Yaksha
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Re: Don't You Find it Strange?[Yaksha/Boria]

Tue Dec 19, 2017 10:05 pm

Yaksha, The Anthropophagus

Yaksha

"Boria Lee. My my...that is a name I will have to engrave into my mind, I'm certain. As for talking of my goals, we'll do that over food. For now, I simply want to make sure you understand that I am not planning on causing you harm. I want to applaud you, in fact! Right now, for better or worse, I want you to feel like this was a good change of pace. So come and sit with me. I'll explain any number of things to you."

Yaksha walked through the doorway, ducking down ever so slightly as he entered the inner sanctum, a room which looked...remarkably like a normal penthouse, like what one would've expected to see from any normal human with a seven figure income. There was an enormous glass window that overlooked a sizable portion of the Nevada desert, and the dizzying array of lights below...but with a flick of Yaksha's wrist it darkened and went opaque, showing nothing but his face now, as he walked towards the kitchen area, gesturing for her to sit on a couch large enough to seat ten comfortably.

"I'll have some caprese ready for us in a moment. It's really just a matter of cutting and portioning, so it won't even impede the conversation for now. Just...pardon me if I sound a little distracted."

As he dipped into the kitchen area, there was some faint rattling of cutlery, and the faint sounds anyone would've expected from a person trying to run down a mental checklist in their head. It took him about a minute before he really spoke, in an almost sing-song tone.

"You know, I had my own spectacular interview recently! With one Ravan Vespera. Quite possibly one of the few people that Barragon Luisenbarn wouldn't go throwing his weight around with. He wanted me to join Shadow Fall. You're familiar with the organization, no doubt? It's all the rage now. Demons, meddling in human politics, with such an...overt influence. Taking control of everything they see, perverting it to their purposes. They even made their own Espada, you know! It's enough to drive a man to tears! It's like they just think if we do the same thing, but call it -new and improved- it'll all work'! I told Ravan with all due respect that I could never work under someone who treated hollows as...beasts of burden. And by his own admission, Ravan confessed he knows not the -slightest- thing about hollows. Do you think he's ever heard the mournful cries of an adjuchas that has lost his packmate? Does he know of our history? Our proud culture? Does he understand anything about our kind, besides what we can do in a fight? Feh! You may as well talk to Tommy Lee Jones about the virtues of Eastern martial arts. There is so much more to life than violence, and dispute, and contention. Don't you think so, Boria?"

At this, he walked towards her, carrying two platters, loaded with thick-cut slices of tomato, each one gently nestled atop a slice of mozzarella that wobbled quite precariously, and seemed ever so faintly darkened by the drizzle atop. He slid it onto her lap, and then sat down a good ten or fifteen feet from her, plucking one of them up and popping it into his mouth, eyes closing as he let out several soft, almost delighted sounds in the back of his throat.

"Like this. A nice meal, in an air conditioned room, far away from any murderous kings, or sanctimonious zealots. This is what we fought for, don't you think? To make the most of the life we've been given?"

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Re: Don't You Find it Strange?[Yaksha/Boria]

Wed Dec 20, 2017 7:05 pm

Boria would've had to be a fool not to notice how her host didn't identify himself, but really, he would work his way around to the introduction eventually. You didn't get to know someone for long without learning their name, and, strange as it was, she couldn't say she wasn't fascinated by the prospect of a civil conversation with another Hollow. She slipped down onto the couch carefully, keeping her right "arm" well away from the furniture by wrapping it all into a glass facsimile of a real arm and laying that across her own lap. "By all means," she said in response to his excuse about being distracted. "I've never had the chance to try this 'caprese' before. Sounds interesting."

When she heard that her host had denied Shadow Fall's leader, her eyes widened slightly in surprise. Feeling his spiritual pressure was one thing, but anyone who would actually stand up to the heavy hitters like that was a good person to have on your side. "Glad someone else realizes we shouldn't have to fight like pet dogs." The word 'dog' was practically spat out like it was poisonous. "Violence might be what people associate with Hollows, but they're idiots, all of them. Let's see them deal with having their heart consume itself and keep being all flowery and happy all the time. I fight for a lot of things, but then, that's the point. I fight for things, not just because someone told me to or because I want to."

She accepted the platter of caprese gracefully, popping one into her mouth. It was good; better than anything she could remember eating, but then, she hadn't eaten much besides souls and Hollows in centuries. She hummed contentedly, but her reaction was far more subdued than her host's. "This is delicious, but I feel like either you're appreciating it too much or I can't appreciate it enough. Then again, I don't think I was ever much of a food-lover, before or after I died." She took another one of the slices of tomato and put it in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "Not exactly the kind of thing I'd kill someone for, but I can agree with the quiet and solitude parts. If I never meet someone like Barragan again, it'll be too soon. I'm not a fan of feeling like an ant railing against a giant. So, what's your name, then? I have to be able to call you something."

When she heard that her host had denied Shadow Fall's leader, her eyes widened slightly in surprise. Feeling his spiritual pressure was one thing, but anyone who would actually stand up to the heavy hitters like that was a good person to have on your side. "Glad someone else realizes we shouldn't have to fight like pet dogs." The word 'dog' was practically spat out like it was poisonous. "Violence might be what people associate with Hollows, but they're idiots, all of them. Let's see them deal with having their heart consume itself and keep being all flowery and happy all the time. I fight for a lot of things, but then, that's the point. I fight for things, not just because someone told me to or because I want to."

She accepted the platter of caprese gracefully, popping one into her mouth. It was good; better than anything she could remember eating, but then, she hadn't eaten much besides souls and Hollows in centuries. She hummed contentedly, but her reaction was far more subdued than her host's. "This is delicious, but I feel like either you're appreciating it too much or I can't appreciate it enough. Then again, I don't think I was ever much of a food-lover, before or after I died." She took another one of the slices of tomato and put it in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "Not exactly the kind of thing I'd kill someone for, but I can agree with the quiet and solitude parts. If I never meet someone like Barragan again, it'll be too soon. I'm not a fan of feeling like an ant railing against a giant. So, what's your name, then? I have to be able to call you something."

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Yaksha
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Re: Don't You Find it Strange?[Yaksha/Boria]

Wed Dec 20, 2017 8:03 pm

Yaksha, The Anthropophagus

Yaksha

"I don't blame you for not fully savoring it. I've found that food is a...transference of appetites. Somewhat like a man craving a cigarette who will instead chew gum. I approach my cooking with as much gusto as you approach striking down a gillian on the fly. As for names, you can call me Yaksha. Dokuja."

The hollow settled into his own spot on the couch, plucking up another thick slice of tomato, and dangling it over his mouth, as thick black thread-like marks formed along his mask, quickly snapping open to reveal enough teeth to put a shark to shame. He dropped it into his remarkably wide gullet, swallowing this one whole without even swallowing, and then beginning to lick industriously at his fingers in a manner not unlike a contented cat.

"As for what I want -from you- Boria...allow me to explain over the main course. This one is something very dear to me. I've kept it very close, and very dear...because, speaking quite honestly, I don't have a lot left. But on this happy occasion, I would be a horrible host if I didn't make the offer. If you'll excuse me, I have to go get changed, and rustle up our entree."

He rose from the couch, tail flicking out towards her almost playfully, as he began to walk towards a room nearby. He was in there, shuffling about, for nearly five minutes, before he shuffled out. At least, it was a safe bet it was him; no normal human could've had eyes that black, or teeth quite so sharp. But he was dressed every bit as sharply as a man who sold used cars for a living, and aside from his eyes and mouth he could've easily passed for a human. He approached, holding in his palm a silver tray, loaded to the top with pills. Soul pills, to be precise. It likely wasn't hard to guess what they were, from the way he handled them, as he set them on the table in front of her.

"Perhaps this will be more to your liking. Eat your fill, Boria. They don't exactly spoil, but...well, this is what I keep them around for."

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Hakase
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Re: Don't You Find it Strange?[Yaksha/Boria]

Wed Dec 20, 2017 10:01 pm

Boria was seriously getting tired of being caught flat-footed. Yaksha Dokuja wasn't feared on the level of Barragan Louisenbarn, but he was known, or rumored at least. Thousands of years old, a canny manipulator, and immensely dangerous, few ever reported actually seeing him. Given how getting his name had been like pulling teeth, it's entirely possible people had met him. In fact, Boria had half a mind to think he'd spread some of those rumors personally. Building one's reputation had advantages, after all. When Yaksha left to go procure the "main course", she thought about what he could mean, what he could be offering her, and most importantly, what she, barely able to maintain her strength through dirty tactics taking down the least of the Menos in the Forest, could have that Yaksha needed. Flakes of glass fluttered through the air like butterflies as her concentration wandered, only the briefest flickers of intent keeping them from touching anything that looked delicate.

Unfortunately, Boria wasn't exactly a master manipulator herself. She could see that there were hidden depths to the game she was playing, but not what they were. She had cunning, but people? People were... different. Other Hollows, even more so. She just didn't know enough about Yaksha to guess what exact game he was playing, which just meant she'd have to proceed cautiously and make her way around the board blindly. Yaksha's return, in what appeared to be some kind of false body judging by his far more humanoid visage than before, snapped her out of her reverie, the errant flecks of her constructed arm returning to their place. She picked up one of the capsules, examining it. She'd seen their like before, occasionally. When she'd accidentally stalked a Shinigami in one of their false bodies. "These things... they're the false souls that the Shinigami use, aren't they?" She popped one into her mouth with a crunch. It wasn't a vast soul, but it was definitely nutritious and didn't taste too bland. "However have you managed to find these? Plucking them from the Shinigami seems rather inefficient, but then, the nigh-immortal Yaksha wouldn't be short on time, would he?" The epithet was pronounced with wry sarcasm, the better to probe whether he'd been the one to spread it and to make it quite clear she wasn't buying into it. All Hollows were ageless, after all. Immortality wasn't really something to write home about, when you thought about it. The fact that so few people did wasn't her concern.

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Re: Don't You Find it Strange?[Yaksha/Boria]

Sat Dec 23, 2017 9:37 pm

Yaksha, The Anthropophagus

Yaksha

"Boria, a man has to keep -some- secrets, doesn't he? It's how I keep my mysterious air. Suffice to say that in my long years, there are a scant few things I cannot find a way to procure."

Yaksha's hands slid across his gigai as he said this, gently caressing his lips and throat, plucking up another piece of the drenched tomato, and biting into it with deep relish. He inhaled, closing his eyes, and chewed ruminatively, before finally speaking in a slow, dreamlike tone. At first, it almost seemed like he was speaking to himself, or trying to jog his own memories.

"You may not understand, to be frank. I've come to expect that few will. That few see the world the way I do. Perhaps it's simply a product of my age, or perhaps I've just been a big softie from the moment I was born. Not born from my mother, you understand. Born from my corpse. 'No man of woman born' indeed. Give me ten seconds with Macbeth, if you please. God, can you imagine how different many of the world's best stories would be if they had included hollows? How simply we could've solved so many of these problems? Not just with our powers, but with our -knowledge-. Our -eons- of experience. And once again I find myself rambling. It's so hard to stop myself sometimes, you know. Let's start over."

He turned towards Boria, hands folding in his lap as he met her gaze. His eyes were, unlike what one would've expected to see, expressive and warm, filled with a patience and a curiosity that one would've expected to see from a well-trained teacher, one who had spotted a student with great potential, and passion for the topic itself.

"Do you think that life must be zero sum, Boria? Is animosity and violence our ultimate fate? Is it truly impossible to have a win-win in this world?"

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Re: Don't You Find it Strange?[Yaksha/Boria]

Wed Dec 27, 2017 11:40 pm

Boria bit back a chuckle at Yaksha's comment about his "mysterious air." "If you don't want to share, just say so, no need to be dramatic about it." She was at a bit of a disadvantage regarding the literary references, as well; Hueco Mundo didn't exactly have public libraries and college education, after all. Sure, she was literate in English and German, but that was mostly an echo from life. Probably, anyway. She was conversant in Hebrew, too, for some reason, and given how many Hollows spoke Japanese she'd managed to become something of a polyglot just by osmosis, but that didn't mean she could even name the great masters, much less remember what they wrote. "I'm not sure who Macbeth was or how we could've helped his story any. Not all of us have the privilege of snacking on soul candies and reading human literature, as you probably remember. I do know that one does not survive millennia by being soft."

With regards to his more earnest question, the one accompanied by those expressive and curious eyes, Boria had to take a number of seconds to think of her answer. It was obviously far more important than the earlier, rambling tangent, and deserved far more consideration than that stupid "mysterious air" cliche. More than that, it was just a much harder question. The wolf-Hollow leans forward, flesh hand brushing her hair back out of her face in the nervous tic that Boria shows when deep in thought. After so long of a routine, it's good to be able to apply her mind to a problem again. "I'm really not sure," she says after several seconds of pregnant silence, "That there's even some kind of win condition in life to begin with. Personal goals, sure, but an abstract 'victory' and 'loss'? If I believed in that, it might be that I 'lost' five hundred years ago when my heart melted out of my chest. I know that for me to 'win' the power and rationality I have now, hundreds of other people had to 'lose' something. But I don't think it's necessary for all 'wins' to come with 'losses'."

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Re: Don't You Find it Strange?[Yaksha/Boria]

Thu Dec 28, 2017 5:24 pm

Yaksha, The Anthropophagus

Yaksha

"I wholeheartedly agree. I have spent 2500 long years watching from afar, and all I have ever seen is needless conflict after needless conflict. Mankind constantly treats happiness as a finite resource. They seem to think that there is some criterion by which one person may be picked over another to thrive and improve. That there is only a...place for one to crush another beneath their heel, to survive."

Just like you crushed me! Is that what this is all about, buddy? Trying to vindicate yourself by finding another hollow, and treating her right? Think you can balance the ledger somehow? Listen to me, cause I'm gonna say it till you hear me. You are a hollow. Hollows eat hollows. If you can't accept that, if you let this bitch close, she'll rip your hamstrings out. Take it from me, I'd know! It's what you did to -your- best friend, after all.

There it was again; that hideous, nagging voice. The man who Yaksha simply couldn't seem to quit, no matter how much he grew. Perhaps it was some part of his own mind that didn't want to quit it. The devils' advocate wasn't a role unknown to him, and there -was- a certain logical appeal to his mind picking that form in specific to torment him with. If he wanted to get to his promised land, he'd have to find a way to vanquish Salt, once and for all. To turn aside these ridiculous non-sequitors he had constantly being thrown into his conversations.

He'd been staring off into space too long, he knew; to a predator like Boria, it was almost certainly a glaring slight, something no less alien and insane than a man baring his throat and basting it while watching a lion. How long had he been staring off at nothing? Five seconds? Ten? He had to fix this if he was going to go about his plans soon. He couldn't be losing his focus in crucial moments when he was trying to speak to a Vasto Lorde, to convince them that he had something the rest of the world lacked.

"My apologies. I was just thinking of how much has changed, since I was a youngling. And how much...hasn't. It's like a veneer over the same materials from a young age. You asked me what my motives are? It's something I've struggled to explain suitably for some time now. I am...old. And I feel the world owes a certain level of deference to the elderly. The wise. But conversely...the wise owe a debt to the world. I am tired of watching upstarts like Ravan Vespara trying to disrupt a very delicate balance. I long for the days when humans walked the streets blissfully unaware...and not -just- because it was easier for us to hunt. I want to turn back the clock, Boria. I want us to remember a better time...when we weren't playing scorched earth policy with entire damned continents."

He leaned forward, his eyes twinkling, fingers drumming on his knees, as he licked his lips. Now, there was something of an almost childlike excitement in his tone as he whispered, in a husky tone that almost could've been confused for foreplay.

"We're in the middle of the biggest war known to the universe Boria. Everyone is scrambling to be the first one to get a leg up on the competition. To land the decisive blow. And in the end, the ruler will preside over a pile of ash. It's hideous, and it's pitiful. It needs to end. Or at least...that's what I'd -like- to say. What I will instead say is..."

"Doesn't every war need a profiteer? You've seen what I can procure. Believe me when I say I can distribute, too. And hollows are...in my humble opinion...one of the most valuable assets a man can have on his side. Provided the pay is fitting."

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Re: Don't You Find it Strange?[Yaksha/Boria]

Wed Jan 03, 2018 8:28 pm

Boria listened raptly to Yaksha as the other Hollow waxed poetic about his motivations. There wasn't really anything there she disagreed with, per se. Sure, she might have some misgivings about awarding respect because of age alone; the old often deserved respect, especially among Hollows, yes, but being old in and of itself wasn't worthy of deference. But that, that was just a small detail in the large scheme of things, and something she could easily work past.

The more important thing was what he actually wanted to do, the steps he was willing to take, and those... those, Boria agreed with wholeheartedly. "It's arguable that the deserts of Hueco Mundo are comparable to a pile of ash, you know. If there's anything I know about life, and unlife, and every facsimile of life in between, it's that snuffing it out? That's almost impossible. Humans, Hollows, Shinigami, even the Demons and whatever else is in this world, they all cling to life like roaches. A scorched earth will recover, eventually, and whoever's in charge will probably stay in charge for a little while before someone rebels and the cycle starts over."

The Hollow leaned forward, smiling a wide grin that revealed entirely too many canine teeth. "And I happen to agree that profiting off the conflict instead of trying to win is by far the smarter play. As you say, the winner is king of a pile of ash until the new king overthrows him. What idiot would want to be king when you can be half a world away with everything you want to have, and no boring little government to manage? After all, who says anyone who sits down at the table has to play to win? So, Yaksha, what do you want from me, specifically?"

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Re: Don't You Find it Strange?[Yaksha/Boria]

Thu Jan 04, 2018 8:01 pm

Yaksha, The Anthropophagus

Yaksha

"Oh, I don't know...I think I'd love to dabble in the political atmosphere. It's pretty much to be expected if you want to turn this shitpile into something profitable. You need to convince people that acting against their interests is in their interests. But that...well, that's a very personal thing. I wouldn't dare ask anyone else to join me in that endeavour."

Yaksha's eyes met Boria's, his expression filled with delight, with rapt attention. It was so long since he'd been able to have a real talk with someone, and someone who understood, no less! He had spent so many centuries avoiding hollows entirely, convinced they were all going to let him down. He knew the stories, and the rumors, but it still felt too good to be true. Even now, Yaksha wanted to just break the silence, and ask this woman where she had been for so long. Why was it only now he found his peer in the ranks of the angry dead?

Oh, well. It was far from too late to make good use of it. For now, he just needed to learn more about this woman in front of him. To figure out just how much he could start exposing her to. How much he could trust her with.

"My needs are simple. I need manpower. I need warm bodies, to help me get the parts moving. Right now, I'm...a truck, stuck in the mud. There's a certain initial investment of energy it's going to take, to get the inertia. I've done much of it myself, but...to be frank, my talents range more to the indirect and the subtle. I cannot slaughter my foes half as efficiently as you. This is somewhat mollified by the fact that I have reserves large enough to be able to afford to be sloppy. For now. But I need someone who knows how to use tooth and claw, when words and ideas fall short. I want you to kill a few people, to step on a few throats, and all around to be the bad cop."

He rose from the couch where he'd been sitting, approaching the kitchen once more. His voice still drifted to her, but now there was an almost airiness to it, a delight and vibrancy that seemed unfitting for such a weighty topic.

"So what will it be, Boria? Will you be the Fenrir to match my Jormangundr? ...No, you know what? I've met a Norse. A vakyrie, you could say. I would scarcely wish her upon anyone. Greek, then? You can be Cerberus, and I shall take the moniker of Typhus as my own. I daresay, with my age, I could pull off a lie like that one. You need not commit to a contract, or anything needlessly messy. I need only to know that you agree this is the wisest route forward...and to remove for me those obstacles which I cannot move with my own power. And I will, naturally, return the favor."

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Re: Don't You Find it Strange?[Yaksha/Boria]

Mon Jan 08, 2018 7:42 pm

Boria gives Yaksha's political ambitions a mild shrug. "If you want the throne, you're welcome to it, then. I'll be perfectly happy not being the primary target for the next Sosuke Aizen. I'm not saying politics are useless, but the top spot has a lot of disadvantages. First rule of hunting anything dangerous; don't let it see you if you can help it." Of course, what went unsaid was that she wasn't going to trust him entirely just yet. As nice as it was to have a civil conversation, to let her guard down entirely would be folly. Still, he seemed like he could be taken at his word, and the aegis of a powerful Hollow who didn't expect absolute slavery like Barragan Louisenbarn was too valuable an asset to discard out of paranoia.

His proposal... that was a good one. He was admitting his weaknesses, a sign of some small amount of trust, and he needed someone efficient like Boria to cover his bases. "Efficiency is one thing, but power is another. I'll need time to train independently, and if you could join me for a spar occasionally it would help us both; you could learn some more finesse and I could improve myself by fighting a stronger opponent. Like that old parable about the man pushing against the rock." She leaned back into the seat, chuckling at Yaksha's dig against the unnamed Valkyrie. "Cerberus, the hound that guards the door to the Underworld? Well, Typhus, you certainly have a flair for the dramatic, don't you?" Her grin looks fit to split her face in half, figuratively speaking, and she offers her flesh and bone hand for Yaksha to shake. "Alright, I'm in."

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Re: Don't You Find it Strange?[Yaksha/Boria]

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