Whale Man Tries to Turn Around And Walk Back Into the Rift

[encoreinthedeep]

Type: Text
Sender ID: encoreinthedeep (Ulpianus)
To: Everyone
Subject: Return
Warnings: None

Requesting all available information on how to return to my own world.

[ He sends this message within ten seconds of receiving his shellphone. ]

Comments

[encoreinthedeep]

[ Hey, he said she can call him that, no that it was his name. (Of course he's gonna play the game of technicalities). ]

It is what I am.

[tilfrosset]

What and who you are differ.

[She doesn't want to play that game. How about a round of specific questions? He clearly loves those.]

What is your name? The one you received on your nameday.

[encoreinthedeep]

It is who I am as well.

[ But... well, she's willing to learn more for reasons other than surface curiosity. He can respect that. ]

Ulpianus.

[tilfrosset]

Ulpianus.

[She repeats it, the word feeling all too foreign on her tongue. There's probably a meaning behind it, but Jill isn't going to ask that. Not when it's like she knows the meaning behind her own name.]

What is an Aegir? You mentioned they've descended from aquatic creatures. Do all of them appear as you do?

[encoreinthedeep]

"An" Aegir is a member of the Aegir race. If you mean whether we all appear humanoid... yes, we do.

Some retain the minor characteristics of the type of creature they're descended from. [ Like Blandus's tentacles. ] Including the ability to breathe underwater.

[tilfrosset]

[Squinting from across the table, she tries to make out if Ulpianus has any of those characteristics. Aside from a few personality quirks, Jill can't make out any, but that's more or less because she's not too familiar with the sea as a whole.]

Back to an earlier question, if they aren't inherited, how does one come to have a Seaborn?

[She can't imagine something like that is forced into a person somehow.]

[encoreinthedeep]

[ I mean, it could also be because he's shrouded to the max. (But in truth she just needs to hear him sing underwater. He's a whale, after all.)

And hey, about it being forced into a person... ]

Landbound fools resort to mutual cannibalism with the Seaborn to become one with the many. The result is unstable and the Seaborn cells take control of the host quickly.

Hunters are genetically engineered... [ he pauses, realizing he may have to account for her world's science being less developed. ] That is, they have the essence of the Seaborn implanted in them. It is far more controlled.

[tilfrosset]

[Thankfully, he takes the moment to rephrase the explanation because indeed, Valisthea's science is less developed. Everything about it is seemingly less developed than other worlds. Thankfully, though, Jill is no longer in awe of indoor plumbing, so progress?]

Implanted? [There's a look of confusion on her face.] Willingly?

[Probably not because who'd want to harbor the essence of their enemy?]

[encoreinthedeep]

[ Poor Jill would die if she went to Aegir, they have things like Edible Sagas. Which, I'm guessing, you eat it and learn a saga at the same time? Never explained in canon but they just have this. ]

Yes. All Hunters volunteer of their own accord.

[tilfrosset]

But why?

[If she wasn't born a Dominant, Jill can't imagine allowing someone to put Shiva into her later on. The idea sounds absolutely insane.]

[encoreinthedeep]

[ He raises his eyebrows. What, like that's weird? ]

Weren't you the one who said we should try to understand them? This was the best way Aegir came up with to understand the Seaborn and stop them.

Seaborn have no notion of individuality, but a strong awareness of their... kin. By taking the Seaborn into themselves, the Hunters can track them. Fight them. Stop them.

[ It's omitting some details, but... he's not going to sit there and tell her everything. ]

[tilfrosset]

[Fair enough. It's not like she's told him everything about the Dominants either, but in her defense, she did get distracted from that.]

I was assuming there would be some scholars to study them, perhaps write a handful of tomes that others would read and learn from. Not... [do something so risky and crazy] ..that.

[Shaking her head, she feels like she need to move on.]

Are there many Hunters?

[encoreinthedeep]

We do not have the luxury of time to write and study tomes on them.

[ His tone is curt again, and he narrows his eyes. ]

The number of Hunters is irrelevant to this conversation.

[tilfrosset]

[Interesting in that he doesn't want to talk about how many Hunters there are. Not like Jill could do anything with that knowledge, but so be it.

Pushing her chair away from the table, she leans back to rummage in her hipsack and pulls out a couple of doubloons, leaving them on the table to pay for the ale.]

Well, then I assume our conversation is complete.

[She never did finish that list of questions.]

[encoreinthedeep]

[ She never did finish that list of questions. Ulpianus looks both perplexed and angry at her apparently deciding to leave, and stands up, ready to bar her way. ]

No. The questions I asked you pertain to my home's survival. Yours was of idle curiosity. Do not presume that my refusal to answer broke the balance.

[tilfrosset]

[Jill pulls a face of disbelief. She has full intention of walking out in a few moments and if he wants to stop her, he's more than welcome to try. Not that it would end well if she has any say.]

You presume it hasn't broke that balance. I am telling you that you are wrong and I feel I've given you more than enough information for today.

[Jill stands and moves from her chair in preparation of leaving, curving a path around him.]

Now if you'll excuse me...

[encoreinthedeep]

[ Well, there go his attempts at goodwill. Then again, he was never good at diplomacy... and since becoming a Hunter, violence has been his primary language. ]

Tell me how you kill your Eikons.

[ He does bar her way, grabbing her arm for good measure. ]

[tilfrosset]

[Oh, so that is what he wants to know? Good to know because Jill will never say another word. Not of Eikons, not of Dominants, not of anything.

No, wait, that's a lie. She does say something more.]

Unhand me.

[And if he feels a chill running up his own arm, no he doesn't. Just ignore the crackling of ice crystals forming.]

[encoreinthedeep]

[ Girl how come you don't want to tell him how to kill things when he's told you they're evil in his world, smh!

He can feel that cold spreading up his arm, but ignores it; though his fingers twitch as he assesses how much movement he still has. It appears to be a caution for now, not an attack, and he can deal with that. Instead, he keeps his eyes on Jill's face, waiting for her next move. ]

Answer my question.

[tilfrosset]

[Because telling someone how to kill something inside you is such a great idea!

It indeed begins as a warning, but it doesn't take much longer of him holding his grip for it to turn into a full on assault. The ice speeds up its formation, thickening as Jill casts it farther along his forearm.]

I have no qualms about ending your life.

[Not quite the truth, especially these days, but if push comes to shove and her safety is on the line, there will be one less Hunter on Eltrut in a few moments.]

[encoreinthedeep]

[ Yes? Because obviously he's not going to use that against her? What are you, traumatized over attempts on your life?

That does make Ulpianus move his arm away, shaking it roughly to break the forming ice. Hmm, he can feel the blood flowing slower, but it's not like he needs both hands to fight. ]

And I am not above making you talk.

[ It seems that she needs to make contact to use her power, so keeping his distance is beneficial. Ulpianus moves as if to step back, but instead his other arms shoots up, sending a length of anchor chain flying towards Jill. His aim is to bind her arms - or torso - and fling her aside.

(OOC: IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I WROTE FIGHT SCENES lmk how you want things to go!) ]

[tilfrosset]

[Maybe. Just a little. Who knows how many people have already tried to kill her?

And assumptions have never served anyone well, because while making contact serves to make an attack easier, it is not the only way Jill can defend herself. As soon as Ulpianus pulls his arm away, she reaches for the rapier on her left hip, yanking it from scabbard before whipping it up towards his throat.

Meanwhile, the bartender has taken note that the strangely dressed man and the silver-haired lady are coming to blows and waves his arms in the air, screaming HEY! HEY, TAKE IT OUTSIDE!]

You wouldn't be the first to make the attempt and fail.

[She's never been much of a verbal blowhard, especially in battle. Slinging spells and blades serve to be so much more apt. But having to balance that plus magick means the anchor chain manages to catch her offguard and circle around her waist. Ugh. Why won't he just let her be?]

[encoreinthedeep]

[ He turns his head, letting the collar of his cape serve as a guard against her rapier. (See, this is why he dresses like that, it's basically armor. Ignore the fact that his undershirt is incredibly skintight.) ]

I don't fail.

[ It's factually wrong, of course, but still serves its purpose of provocation. Ignoring the cries of the bartender, he yanks the chain roughly to the side, looking to make Jill lose her balance. But despite its strength the pull is still much weaker than Ulpianus knows himself to be, even on land - he can't even send her flying across the room. There's a brief flash of angry surprise on his face before he recomposes himself, prepared for her reaction. ]

[tilfrosset]

[The poor bartender. Ignored by a whale of a man and a woman who are determined to bust each other up while busting up his establishment.

Expecting to be yanked forward, she's drawn sideways instead which has Jill stumbling a few inches. When that is the only he can't help but wonder for a second if he means to be gentle with her, to scare her rather than truly hurt her. In any case, wasting time trying to decide which is which never served her well on the battlefield and it won't do any of that now.

The blue glow from earlier returns, visible aether spreading across her body from top to toe as she throws out a hand towards his face, shooting slivers of pointed icicles intended for his eyes.]

You failed to get the answers you seek. And continue to do so.

[A little destruction of your opponent's ego never hurt anybody.]

[encoreinthedeep]

[ Ulpianus manages to move his head out of the way, even if his reflexes are slower on land. He'd lectured Skadi on it last time, and look at him now... The icicles do throw off his hat, too, but he ignores that. And though he doesn't respond to Jill's provocation, there is another flash of anger in the look he gives her.

Knowing now that he has to exert more strength than usual, Ulpianus yanks on the chains again, much harder, complementing the motion with kicking the table they'd been sitting at up into the air between them. Distract her, obscure her vision, then find a moment to strike... He can tell she is calling upon the power of her Eikon, and unfortunately her consciousness itself seems to be the conduit. He will likely need to knock her out first to neutralize her.

If Jill's attention is diverted enough by his little table trick, he'll duck down to try and sweep her off her feet with a roundhouse kick to the shins. Ulpianus, master of impressing girls. ]