Envious Resolve [Veralia/Alvah]

Her fiery eyes took a parting glance at the people around them before they fixed their envious gaze on Alvah. Equal parts of fear of a conflict, adrenaline, and irritation filled her being as every chance for violence always yielded the potential for injury and death. Still, she was more than prepared to hold her ground if the need to burn everything down came up.

"I'm more than aware of how fragile life is. Living one day in Hueco Mundo is enough to realize that."

As she spoke, her knuckles cracked audibly, her fingers morphing to extend claws. Her gaze remained fixed on Alvah, filled with doubt and wariness of his intentions.

"You go and say shit like that and expect me not to be on edge? The hell is wrong with you?

Veralia's tone was sharp and accusatory, challenging Alvah for his provocative words and questioning his rationale, visibly on edge and prepared for any outcome.

"Well, a lot is wrong with me," He mused with a wink. "If you do not push the buttons of sane and insane, you never discover the intricacies of life. What makes one tick? What makes one happy? Sad? From this alone, I've learned you've an ability for combat that I can not help but want to test."

However, his attention is soon pulled by the sight of a delicious treat not too far away. A child with cotton candy in their hand passed by, and its foreign design interested him enough. He could not help but wish to partake in it to learn of its taste and texture.

"Maybe soon we can participate in friendly competition."

Veralia still had her eye on him, but her irritation started to lessen. As her right eyebrow raised, she pondered if he was just fucking with her at this point. It's not as if Arrancar and Hollow were above those types of games.

"If you want to spar, just say it"

Rubbing the back of her head, she let out a hard sigh. Her energy lowered, signaling that she wasn't ready to attack but could respond swiftly if necessary.
Her agitation still lingered in her thought, yet as she looked at the child with his cotton candy, Veralia's eyes softened somewhat.

"That brat is kind of cute."

Taking a moment of silence, Veralia seemed lost in contemplation before turning a more curious gaze back to Alvah.

"I'm sure most hollow have blood on their hands, but what's your stance on your kids? I try to avoid wrapping them up in shit, but adults are easier to care less about."

He found her edge delectable. The wariness that never fades despite the lack of danger is a feature of all living things that Alvah always found the easiest to manipulate. It is all too easy to feign innocence, just to turn around and push that sword into another's heart. Though, he has no needs for such indecency right now. The very fact that Veralia's now threading the needle is enough for him, but the woman betrays herself. He sees her reaction to the child, and he now knows yet another avenue closer to her heart.

"Children are delightful, balls of energy and curiosity," He responded, sounded as if he's experienced many of them.

However, his experience is limited to Hollow children. He could only wonder what a human child is like. Are they similar to Arrancar? Do they tick the same? Burdened by similar qualms. Surely the extreme environmental differences result in differing growth. He will have to test his thoughts later.

"I find no need to bother children, lest they show potential."

Perhaps it was the maternal instinct inside herself, but Veralia briefly had a faint smile, watching the child enjoy himself. To be so young and free of the sins of this world is a grateful experience to have in her mind.

Her eyes then drifted back to Alvah as she spoke of his stance on children. Veralia's right eyebrow arched upward in response as she was curious about what he meant by potential.

"What, so you won’t harm kids unless they show some crazy combative potential or something?"

Her tone was half-teasing, half-inquisitive. Soon after she snorted softly, she placed a hand on her hip, waiting for his response with a mixture of amusement and interest.

"Children are malleable. They are too easy to make what you want them."

Alvah viewed Veralia, matching her raised brow. He'd smirk soon after though, raising his bandaged hand, flexing his fingers. Absently, he counted the youths he's encountered, noting those that were fun to toy with and those that were as exciting as drying blood.

"But even they become repetitive," He grumbled, finding his inquisitive nature tested. "I long found the act unamusing."

He did not muse over what all he's done. His list could be long or small, or maybe even the middle, but all one needs to know is that he seems to lack any inhibition. He does as he pleases, as she's seen.

"You seem fond of them though."

THE FIRE OF ENVY NEVER DIES

THE FLAME THAT BURNS THE BRIGHTEST

Well, that was a morbid answer. But what else is to be expected given the realm they came from? Veralia took a moment to pause before looking back at another pair of children running back toward the beach; probably to have the time of their lives without a care of the world. That made her eyes briefly flicker with a fiery gaze before her stare lingered back to Alvah.

"Motherly instinct? Who knows."

She snorted softly, a chuckle escaping her lips before she continued.

"I've got no problem with mincing and dicing adults, but most kids? They’re innocent, uncorrupted souls. Sure, you get the odd one that's fucked in the head since birth, but for the most part, they've got an eternity to sulk in the realities of our existence. These untainted years? They’re the only real moments of bliss they can hold on to for a millennia—assuming they don’t have a screwed-up childhood."

Veralia shoved her hands into her pockets, shrugging as she sighed.

"But that's an ideal world, I guess. In reality? A lot of kids are born into messed-up circumstances, and if they don't figure out how to deal with it... well, they end up turning into bitter, loathsome creatures like us. Hollow or not, that darkness eats them alive."

She glanced out at the horizon, her shoulders tensing slightly as the weight of her own words sank in. After a brief pause, she kicked at a stray pebble near her feet, watching it tumble across the sand as if trying to shake off the heaviness of the conversation.

"...I did not try at first, but I had murdered his parents, supposedly. I hardly remember. He wanted my life. He was weak, but I let him live... It had stroked my interest."

He looked off into the distance, matching her own wayward gaze.

"One action that was insignificant to me meant the world to another. Every action has a reaction, every push a pull... A child, with just the smallest of pushes, could become anything. Adults are stubborn worn-out books that are only good for reading... A child... Ah... You're able to write a story with them, add twists and spins... In a way, innocence is but a blank canvas."

Things have grown intense, haven't they? But, he doesn't mind. They are prickling each other's minds. Is that not fun? He did not expect someone like her to be so... youth-ish? It is funny how one could have no mercy for the elderly, yet boist the purest heart for the young. Maybe he is the weird one for having no room for such in his empty soul. What an interesting thought, isn't it...

THE FIRE OF ENVY NEVER DIES

THE FLAME THAT BURNS THE BRIGHTEST

Veralia's weary and tired eyes turned to Alvah. After looking him up and down, she bluntly spoke her mind.

"So your a fucked up psychopath with a hard-on for trying to act like a god to those weaker than you? Not surprising for our kind."

Hearing the verbal diarrhea from Alvah as he tried to describe destroying a child's life as some poetic piece of art was nothing short of the craziest mental gymnastics that she had seen in a while. But even as she snorted in disgust, it wasn't the most sadistic thing she had ever heard or seen in her life. To her, It only reinforced the fact that if you have strength, leverage, or some advantage in life, you get to dictate the reality you exist. And if you are too weak to defend that reality, then you are at the mercy of another.

"Most of our kind are fucked in the head, myself included. Otherwise, we wouldn't be hollows."

Although her voice was neutral and calm, her gaze held a weight behind it as she stared at the oceanic horizon beyond them. After a brief pause, Veralia spoke her mind once more without a single hint of hesitation.

"But if you get your kicks out of abusing kids, you should do the world a favor and kill yourself."

"And I wonder how many children were lost in your quest for power," Alvah then mentioned, threading towards the edge of sensible conversation with his claims. "Be it old, young, middle, or expired, cruelty is but that: cruelty. Paint it as whatever sense of justice you hold dear. At the end of the day, we're monsters who crave for our hearts' fulfillment."

He smiled, cruelly, a twist of his face that made his sharpened teeth all too clear, his humanless nature all too bright. Almost euphoric with his glowing eyes, he stopped in his tracks, opening a gargantua behind himself.

"Become too human, Veralia, and another monster might just make an example out of you, and that monster could take the guise of anything~"

Is that a threat? A warning? Some helpful lesson? Who knows or care? Alvah has had his fun picking apart the morsel before him, a damsel that has bared her fangs at him in such a delightful manner.

Mmm~ He couldn't help but wonder the possible stories they could write together. Mmm~

"But for now, I bid you farewell. I have an appointment with a daring little girl who turned feral and ate her parents. I do wonder how she's holding up~"