[PRP] the charted path (shiloh & jeremiah & ???)

[azuredreams]

(this RP is set somewhere around the first of march)

Everything was tied together. Everything.

It was not surprising, not really, but as the Ides of March drew closer, unease grew. Jeremiah waited for Shiloh in the halls of the Court. For once the magic did not seem to mess with his clothing, though it seemed to be of a higher quality than normal (something that felt too smooth when touched despite the appearance of the material).

Time was of the essence and they, for all that the ideas they had, needed to move sooner rather than later. It wasn't like they couldn't speak along the way either, as their feet would take them to Melany's rooms.

Melancholies

shibrogane

... because shy and jer are gonna go try and get a charter because ALL THE THINGS MUST BE SAVED

 

[Melancholies]

Shiloh's footsteps did not ring down the halls.

They made no sound. The hard material of his shoes never made direct contact with the floor; instead he left a lofty little trail in his wake. Every step produced a plume of foliage, brightly green with contrasting shades of red petals and violet hues. He'd lift his foot and the flowers would fade, the green would desaturate and everything would melt like wax until nothing was there at all.

"You're walking with such purpose." Beel said, not at all snide (for once). Shiloh didn't answer him immediately, but also didn't push him away either. He didn't speak until Jeremiah came into view.

"Because I'm trying to do something." Shiloh said bad (a little snidely). Beel raised an eyebrow, or made the muscle motion for it since he had no actual eyebrows to raise. "You're going to have to leave soon."

Beel ground his teeth. Shiloh had noticed that was more of a nervous habit rather than a display of affection, but it still set him on edge. The sound was wholly unpleasant.

"So be it." The fetch said, falling silent as the duo approached Jeremiah.

"Mercer," Shiloh said his name with intent. The detective knew why he was there. They had a mission and Shiloh intended to be quick about it. Still, something seemed very... nervous with his demeanor. Things were obviously on his mind, but he wasn't speaking up about them. "Let's get this over with."

Beel ducked his head. It was the grandest show of respect anyone was going to get.

azuredreams

shiloh's gonna get it and then eat it

shibrogane

I DONT WANNA SHARE THE GEL PENS

 

[shibrogane]

The doors to Melany's domain were heavy mahogany, and guarded by two hulking figures in black. They wore terrifying (to Jeremiah) and familiar (to Shiloh) masks that covered their faces almost entirely. Though they surely saw the two nobles, they made no motion of obeisance. Nor did they talk, but then, they never did.

Their heads swiveled towards Shiloh and Beel, waiting.

azuredreams

Melancholies

 

[azuredreams]

"Beaumont." Jeremiah inclined his head in greeting, straightening and moving with Shiloh. "We're under a time crunch and things are only getting more complicated." There was a swish of fabric, the faint sound of feet, and Fell disappeared from where she had been lingering back to the Mercer demesne, her presence no longer needed.

The masks were something else (they made him think of the one Noeh had been in) and he glanced immediately to Shiloh as he was, expectedly, ignored. Instead he too cut his eyes towards Shiloh. It was unspoken but he was there also as support. Shiloh was a Noble and he believed in him but this-

This would be memory lane for him and that would be another trial.

Melancholies

it's your fault that i am now imagining jer and shi as kids in school where shi rips up something and says jer can have that part before he shoves the rest into his mouth and eats it

shibrogane

 

[Melancholies]

Beel reacted kindly enough, which was to say he kept entirely silent. He did take a step closer to Shiloh, followed by anther gentle bow of his head to the two before him. He knew them well.

Shiloh did too, albeit for different reasons.

"Noah. Noel." His posture was taught, his voice steady. The Shiloh Beaumont standing in front of Mercer was different now, different from how he was even a few minutes ago. He stood straighter. Carried himself with a distant sort of grace. Existed in a space between the lines. "I'm requesting entry to Madam's domain in her absence, if you'd please."

This was a Shiloh Beaumont who was practiced. Disciplined. He did not look to Mercer, nor to Beel. "Specifically, to speak with Silk." He offered no further explanation.

shibrogane

azuredreams

 

[shibrogane]

"Silk," murmured one of them. The word bounced back and forth between them, an odd susurration of sound, like the crash of the waves against the shore. They considered it; they looked at Beel; they looked at Jeremiah. Then, as one, they stepped aside, and opened the door.

Beyond, the halls were as simple as they had ever been. Dark hardwood, the elegant and tasteful long runners protecting it, white walls hung with art. Melany had always known how to maintain her space. Shiloh led the way to one of Melany's parlor rooms, where a fetch was waiting.

She didn't look much like a fetch, but then, neither did July or September. This fetch had glossy straight hair that hung around the sides of her face like a curtain, and wore an elegant, militarist uniform in black and dove gray. She stood with her chin up and her shoulders back and when she smiled, her teeth were painted matte black. "Beel," she said, warmly. Her voice was hoarse and dark. "Little brother. It is so good to see you again. You've brought the devil child with you. How quaint. But surely you know that Mistress has disappeared?"

Melancholies

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

If there was a moment where Jeremiah would afford Shiloh more respect, this was that moment. He knew it existed - it did in all of them - but the practiced, poised grace was something else when it was Shiloh.

His head inclined, just slightly as an acknowledgement and he moved - quietly - as Shiloh and Beel did. It was not as if he was not on borrowed time - here under due to the grace of another - and it was something else to be respected.

So he would be quiet, for the time being, and simply watch and wait.

(Never mind that he had not expected Silk to look as she did. Though Melany, Spinelany even, clearly had an aesthetic going on.)

Melancholies

shibrogane

 

[Melancholies]

Had Beel still served under Melany, he probably would have looked much the same; not so much like a fetch, something a little more regal. Instead he was very much like a corpse again, his skin mossy and covered in fungi not unlike Shiloh's and his flowers. Despite this, he (for once) looked happy at the greeting.

"Silk," His own voice was rough like gravel, "It's been too long." Something vague crossed his lip less mouth; a smile? "The Madam's disappearance is precisely why we've come."

Shiloh stepped up then, his face blank with a stoic sort of nonchalance. "The devil child who completed his trials and became nobility, though I have a name." He added this snidely, though his voice was lacking any real venom. It was simply cold. He wasn't about to prove himself a pushover, not anymore, not after all the s**t he'd been through. "It's a pleasure to see you again too, Silk."

Beel gave him a lasting look. He turned to give Jeremiah one as well, acknowledging his silence. Why was he even here? Wasn't he one of Ezra's tithes? It seemed like leading a mouse into a den of snakes. Whatever; Beel wasn't going to bother with it. "Shiloh," he said instead, "Your purpose. We lack the time to politely make jabs at one another, as fun as the game can be."

Touche, Beel.

Shiloh sighed, "Right. I want to see the charter. There's something happening with the second seal." His eyes gleamed, "I'd like to prevent it from worsening, considering the deer triplets are already debilitated as a result. The last thing that needs to happen is the Court falling or some other bullshit." He stood a little straighter as he righted himself into something closer to his usual personality, "Madam's disappearance is the likely cause, but until she returns..."

"If, she returns." Beel's posture shifted slightly, "Though it's obvious she's still alive. Still, if it pleases you dear sister." He bowed his head.

shibrogane

azuredreams

 

[shibrogane]

Silk's smile vanished as if wiped away once she was no longer looking at Beel. "That you passed the trials of nobility doesn't change what you are," she said to Shiloh. She had a Snape-ish vibe. She'd always had a Snape-ish vibe, even when fitting Shiloh or Thorne for clothing. "A petulant little boy, my Lord."

She did seem to respond to Beel's urgency, drawing herself to attention like a bird spotting likely prey. "The charter," she drawled. "Of course. Humans and those three, always a BOGO deal. But has it occurred to you, Lord Devil-child, that you may need more than the document? Its physical manifestation is, as you've noted, missing from these halls. And if the deer triplets are dying, she would prefer to let it happen."

Is that why none of the fetches had gone seeking their Lady?

Still, Silk didn't seem the type to refuse a request from another fetch. She led the way out of the parlor room, to the silent study in which Shiloh had been beaten so many, many times. The dark heartwood desk was still there, untouched yet dustless. The account books were tucked away, leaving the surface bare and exposing the slow movement of the tree's blood beneath the lacquer. Silk laid a hand on it as she crouched to retrieve something from the many doors and the redness of it collected beneath her palm.

Against the wall were three chairs of the same uncanny wood.

The rug in the study was new. Of course, Shiloh and Thorne had both shed blood into the other one. But Noel and Noah, having come to bracket this door, were their same hulking and silent selves. Was there a ghost in the halls, Melany waiting to instruct Noeh to strip Shiloh to spare the clothes their stains? The Spinel Lady might have been around any corner, waiting, lurking, like a childhood nightmare under the bed, or just outside the gun-glass window.

Silk laid out a single leather folio, and opened it to withdraw a single vellum page. On it was inscribed... nothing.

There were no words. Just a sigil and six bloody thumbprints at each corner of it. It looked almost floral, delicate. Within the spiraling squares, each point of contact was marked with another bloody thumbprint. Each piece was reinforced by that smudge of blood.

"The document of the Court," said Silk. "As inscribed into the Lady Melany's very flesh." Her voice had taken on a low, reverent tone. She bowed her head. "She screamed so when they carved it into her bones. I remember. And then it was over. And she was reborn."

azuredreams

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

"My god..."

Shiloh looked upon the document with an untouched sort of respect. While he had been expecting words, something written, something far more straight-forward, he also wasn't surprised to be present with what he had been now. This room had eyes. Everything had life in the sense that it was all wholly lacking, everything was untouched but carefully managed. The air breathed, oppressive and thick whenever it pooled into Shiloh's own lungs. Beel didn't say a word, his own gaze reverent upon the charter, his own gaze perhaps equally confused despite this.

"It's not all of them." He said quietly, "But I suppose I couldn't blame her." His eyes were fixated on the bloody fingerprints. It was like reaching an entirely knew understanding, coming to another gentle realization.

It didn't change the fact that his own blood had seeped into this walls more than once. It didn't make all the beatings right. It didn't give enough of a reason to justify the screams, the pain, the sweat and the tears. All it did was provide insight. All it did was solidify the pain he'd slowly come to understand that came with bearing the weight of this thing.

"Silk," He spoke up again, "Can I ask something of you?" There was no demand, no roughness, no bark to bite back against the insults of devil-child and his petulance. The fact of the matter was, if Melany and her brand was supposed to be an accident...

"Do you know who did this to her?" He shook his head, "Can you tell me more about that day?"

"Shiloh..." Beel looked to his Lord.

"I've been told one set of things. I just want to know the validity of it."

shibrogane

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

There was a kind of irony to a tithe of Ezra within Melany's rooms, though Jeremiah would say nothing of it. Not knowing what he did, not knowing what they had once been. Still, he carried himself well - with all that he had learned from Ezra and more - and merely inclined his head when Beel looked to him.

It was only a moment because his focus was on Shiloh and then Silk.

"As Ascencion is the manifestation of magic, the Lady Melany is the Court." His tone was respectful, a deliberate tone on his part. He fell quiet after that, not speaking anymore as it was not, in all honesty, necessary as he followed still.

Any reactions were kept contained, though there was something of reverence in his looking upon the document. That there were no words were not surprising, there had not be any behind the creation of the Sigil. It was intent, it was purpose, it was what they wanted to create-

His gaze fell to Shiloh as spoke his question, looking to Silk after he did so, his own thoughts echoed in what was asked. Everything he had learned lead to more questions and, quite frankly, contradicted itself.

shibrogane

Melancholies

 

[shibrogane]

Silk looked at Shiloh for a very long moment. Who knew what she saw there. The devil child that she so disdained? Or an inheritor of her Lady's role, her domain, maybe. Someone trustworthy, someone she could trust. "They brought her here together," she said, "The lot of them. She went. Her face was fogged, glazed-over. I think they drugged her. She couldn't walk straight, couldn't talk straight. Xi Ming, Jennifer, and Minerva. Those were their names. The Lady Adoelle came, too, and brought the unblooded sigil. She had a, a jar of blood."

The fetch looked down and pointed to the rug beneath their feet. It was dove-gray, one of Melany's favored colors. Dove-gray and heliotrope purple and a shade of yellow called 'innocence'. "They did it right there. Noel and Noah remember, I'm sure." The hulking figures didn't respond, but she nodded to herself regardless. "They held her hands to the floor and flayed her back open with tiny little flechette knives. They peeled her until they could see the bone-blade of her shoulder. How she screamed! You've never heard such screaming. You never will. And they carved it just there, and Lady Adoelle washed the wound in the jar of blood. They sealed her up. She was quiet, then. I have always hoped she passed out. Lady Adoelle used what was left to pull the mark through to the Lady's skin. And Minerva said... one for many.

"I took her away to rest. When she awoke, she was different. The sweet girl they brought into that room died there, and the Madame came out."

Silk looked up. "They gathered fingerprint-marks from each of those who bore the magic," she said, putting her hands on the corners of the charter. "Not just the four who did it. All of them were complicit. You are all complicit. This Court was built on the blood of the cruel and the bone of the innocent, and it has always been our honor to protect what remains of the girl they chose as their sacrifice."

Noah and Noel nodded as one.

Melancholies

azuredreams

 

[Melancholies]

For a while, Shiloh's face was void of any initial reaction. He listened to the tale and watched the red pulse under the wood of the table. His skin itched furiously, but for once he didn't put the blame on the flowers in his veins. This was different, but familiar. Old and raw and terrible in its sensation, it nearly drove him to pick at his hands.

Perhaps it was that absence of emotion that truly gave way to the innate horror he was experiencing. Eventually something in his resolve crumbled—it wasn't a complete collapse, just a crack, a fracture, a bone sliver—and he sighed, the sound shaken and faint. "I understand."

The sentiment rang out clear like a bell, cold like a winter day, heavy like phlegm clotting someones lungs. It didn't right his abuse. It didn't right his torture. He had the same thought earlier; it wasn't a justification, only an understanding. He bled out on the same floors that Melany had. He suffered things nowhere nearly as imaginable as the carving of the second seal. For the first time since the Ball, the words let it die hung around him like a noose on his neck.

And then came the fury. The rage. The anger. Bad things always happen to good people, that was life's motto, right? That was the way the world worked? Karma wasn't ******** real and this proved it. He could never forgive the Spinel Lady for what she had done, but he could forgive Melany. He turned back to the document, everything else in the room feeling so very faint and far away. Beel stood with his head down the entire time.

"I understand now." He too gave the document the same careful respect. "I'm sorry for how I acted earlier."

People weren't meant to be sigils. Noeh had said it was an accident. She didn't know how it happened. One for many. Pride scorning how Aodelle had tricked them. It didn't sound like a trick when Silk told her story. It sounded completely intentional. Someone was lying, but the question was who? Where did the truth begin and the lies end?

"I just—I don't..." He shook his head, "I hate this place. I hate what it does to people. It's not ******** fair." He was mostly complaining to himself.

"Shiloh." Beel was very good at reminding Shiloh of his place, it seemed.

"Well it's not." He argued, "People are sick. It makes me sick." He looked sick, but he resigned himself. Beel nudged him.

"Tell her?" The fetch offered. Shiloh looked over his shoulder to Jeremiah, and then looked back to Silk.

"I didn't want to say anything at first, but I didn't get it either. I didn't know they twisted her like that." He looked to the ground, popped his knuckles in his hands, "I mean, I heard about the seal, but not like ******** this. We remade the first sigil during last December. It shifted things. I dunno how, or why." He hated admitted his lack of knowledge, hated looking stupid, but he felt it necessary to keep going.

"I know where she is." He admitted finally, "She's on our side. She acts like she's human. She laughs Silk, she smiles, but I dunno how long it'll last. If it'll last." Shiloh face was hard to decipher, "She wasn't like how I remembered her in Court. ********, she doesn't even remember Court. I want her to have that. I don't want this Court to exist like this either. It doesn't have to be this cruel." There was his naivety showing, his young age, his hopeless hope.

He took a solid breath, "She called me her best friend. I guess maybe I was in this timeline." Shiloh was murmuring to himself now, both composed yet beside himself. "I wanna act like it. I wanna do something to help her."

shibrogane

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

The more Silk talked, the more she elaborated, the more the coldness grew in Jeremiah and he took comfort in it. Here, in this place, it was natural and he welcomed it. The thoughts were there; of Ezra and his words: I have never agreed with the argument that the good of the one ought to be sacrificed for the good of the many.

Now, more than ever, he understood. Had he known then? That it was what Minerva had said? And then- Something was choked in his throat, something that made him not speak. None of this was alright, none of this was remotely acceptable, but this was that everything had been built on.

I would like to see the Court remade into something less abusive. The way things run was necessary at the time. Minerva's words - Noeh's words - as they had been written down. Jeremiah was not sure how any of this could have been necessary. Something that required trickery. For someone to be drugged and lead to what was essentially a sacrificial altar and their back flayed, a sigil carved into their bone- For a young girl to have her life stripped from her and made into something she may have never wanted to be.

Nothing was made right by this news - nothing could be because it was all done - but now more than ever it was clear things had to change. Something had to be fixed because this was not the way they wished to have things anymore. He was tired of learning about how consent was something that did not factor in for some people especially when magic was focused around it.

When Shiloh looked to him, he nodded his head. Perhaps he was falling into the trap that Ezra spoke of, of seeing Melany as a young girl, but it was nearly too late for that anyway.

"Tell her. Let her know," he said, echoing Beel. It was all that could be done. He agreed with what was said. That helping Melany was something they wanted to do- perhaps needed to do in light of certain things.

For all the thoughts running over in his mind, he was very much composed and carried himself well. He stepped forward, though he kept a step behind Shiloh and to the side. Jeremiah inclined his head in acknowledgement of Silk, a show of a respect, before he spoke. "There is a chance to change things now because of what has already happened, to help both Lady Melany and the Court. Perhaps to fix what we are all complicit in by being Nobles."

This only invested him more. Made him realize was at stake.

"If you would permit me one question, Silk?" A look was given to Shiloh then to Silk. "Do you know why it was necessary to create?" The dead were rising after three days, monsters patrolled the crossroads- Adoelle had said it was their fault and that they had to be contained.

... but nothing, if anything ever, was that simple.

You ever see someone unmade? The words echoed in his mind suddenly and he only thought of who Melany had been. Her screams that likely echoed until she stopped and then that girl was gone, made into the Spinel Lady.

Me1ancholies

shibroswol

 

[shibrogane]

Noel and Noah's faces were hidden still, but Silk's was all too easy to read. There was something awful and laid-bare there. An expression Jeremiah would know from mothers reporting their missing children, husbands and friends identifying the dead, scrawled across her sunken features. This time, her smile was directed at Shiloh, not Beel. "All is forgiven, Lord Shiloh. I'm... very relieved... to know she is alright." She returned the blooded sigil to its folio, and held it out to Shiloh with a deep bow.

When the folio was in Shiloh's hands, Silk straightened up and crossed her arms over her chest. "I do not," she said. "Such council is not kept in the presence of mere fetches. I was there to ensure she didn't die. The spell wouldn't take in dead marrow, or they would have used one of us, I suppose. I disagreed with it, but it wasn't in my power to stop it."

Melancholies

azuredreams