Randle Ludak's Story

Rillian nearly slapped the butt of her hand against her face at the suprised look Oryn gave her. He had some... issues when it came to talking, especially when approached right out of the blue. She should have remembered that by now. Digging her fingernails into the palm of her hand, she made an attempt at an encouraging, friendly smile.

"B-Bunnies," he stuttered after staring at her with wide green eyes. "You know, the bunny-bombs I make? It's a concept idea, I think." He pulled a bunny-bomb out of his pocket and showed it to her. It was small, making Rillian think of how young Oryn seemed to be at times. Small sometimes equated young in peoples' minds. How old was the concept of that particular bomb? Oryn giggled, saying, "You can see if you want." He showed her a picture of a bunny in a field. It was a cute, cheery looking drawing. Rillian decided he had a pretty good imagination. He couldn't have seen grassy fields too often in his life.

"How are you? What have you been up to recently?" The blonde boy flipped through his notebook. "Do I need to thank you for something I've forgotten? I'll remember next week, I promise."

"I'm doing well, thank you. A little sick of all of this sitting around and doing nothing, but good nonetheless. What have I been up to? Well, thanks to you I've been looking at some cool artwork," she said, tapping his picture. "Recently I have been cooking. When you have the food needs of a bird you need to eat quite a bit. I'd really like to go flying, but it's too risky right now. I wouldn't want to betray the location of the Lost." She genuinely grinned at Oryn's closing statement. "No, you don't need to thank me. Unless I've forgotten, too. Which in that case, it doesn't matter."

"What about you? Have you been busy?" She snorted. That was a stupid question. What was there to be busy with? "Maybe a better question to ask would be how have you been doing."




"Please, Vernigan, there is no need to be so official around me. Think of me as family. You wouldn't treat family so stiffly, would you?" Nekria said, a sweet smile on her face. Vernigen refrained from answering, deciding instead to go with a small nod. He wasn't sure how he would treat his family after they had sent him away. Maybe he would still be on a good foot with Roger, but heck, he hadn't seen them for eight years!

"Come, sit with me. I just might have a use for you today." Nekria said, patting the seat beside her and making room. Vernigen sat down beside her, taking the spot she indicated. She handed him a water bottle and he held it, unsure if she wanted him to drink or not. Probably not, he decided, so he continued holding it. "Vernigan sweetie, today I would like you to check up on Randle. After that, I would appreciate if you went ahead and took your mission to the outside. I haven't heard from Tallen in too long. Perhaps she is in need of assistance on her mission. However, if she dismisses you, accept it and return. I trust her skills."

Vernigen nodded, accepting her orders. "I will do that, then." He said.

"Before you do any of that, however, I want you to fetch me Drean and Rorian, if you wouldn't mind."

"Of course, Lady," he said, calling her the title out of habit. He winced as the word left his mouth. Rude, rude, rude! He shouldn't call his superior something she didn't want to be. Especially when that superior was Nekria!

"That will be all. You are dismissed." Nekria said, making shooing motions.

A muffled voice could be heard through the door. "My Lady Nekria, that will be quite unnecessary." Rorian walked into the room. "I am here and at your disposal, Lady Nekria," he said, bowing. He even gave Vernigen a bow.

Vernigen inclined his head to Rorian, not wanting to show greater respect to Rorian than he did Nekria. "I will work on my tasks. Good day, Nekria and Rorian." There! He had called Nekria by name. The down side was that he had called Rorian by name too, and he wasn't sure how that particular Noble would like that.

He left the room. His first task was to check on Randle. To tell the truth (like he could tell anything else) Randle creeped him out a little. The guy was a big hulk of rage that needed to be sedated for half of the time. Randle scared Vernigen a little. Randle had brute strength and a beserker's rage that would last for long periods of time. He was unstable and unsafe. He supposed Nekria had a reason for the beserk-knight but it wasn't apparent to Vernigen.

He made his way down the halls, walking with a quite step. He reached the place of Randle's room. Cautiously, he opened the door and barely refrained from letting out a sigh of relief. By the looks of Randle was still half-sedated. Vernigen walked a couple steps into the room. Hopefully he wasn't too close to the behemoth, but one could never be sure.

"Hello, Randle. It's Vernigen. How are you?" he asked, unsure of how much Randle really comprehended. "Nekria wanted me to check on you, so here I am. Do you need anything?" It was a good idea to get on the good side of people. Unfortuantely, Vernigen wasn't sure if Randle had a good side. It was still worth trying, though.

Hey! Leave my sister alone you punk!

It was happening again. The dreams. They only came to him when he was in deep slumber. The Behemoth was restless as the phantom images played in his mind. This time he heard a voice in his dream. Was it his? He couldn't tell. It was too distorted for the beast to tell.

Jeez, you really should tell me if people are bugging you like that.

There was someone standing before him in the dream. A child. A little girl. Who was she? Why did it feel like he should know? He had been having the same dreams over and over. And they always came with the same word. Sister. He didn't know what that word meant, his head hurt greatly whenever he thought about it, but somehow he felt it was important. He'd ask mama about it from time to time, but she said not to worry about them and show him the thing-that-makes-spinning-lights again, and the dreams would go away... for a short time at least.

The Behemoth still wondered about them. But the more he thought on it, the more his head started to hurt. Eventually a fog began to drift back over his mind and the dreams became too distorted for him to understand anymore. With a frustrated hiss, the giant forced himself back to wakefulness. The sedatives were starting to wear off, but he was still left groggy. He slumped against the reinforced steel bindings that held him fast against the wall, blinking the tiredness out of his eyes. The restraints annoyed the armored behemoth, but were an necessity that everyone else in the facility couldn't disagree with, considering his mood swings. The last time the giant had a tantrum and got free, he had caused a few hundred thousand dollars of property damage before mama could calm him back down again.

"Hello, Randle. It's Vernigen. How are you?" A voice register to the behemoths ears, and Randle slowly looked up to see Vernigen standing across the room from him. Randle only snorted, and left out a deep exhale of air. He didn't really care much about the other knight. Randle only really cared about mama. "Nekria wanted me to check on you, so here I am. Do you need anything?" He let out a slight growl, not liking that the smaller knight wasn't referring to mama as what she often asked them to call her. However after a brief moment of silence, the giant spoke. "...Thirsty..." He didn't say anything else.

Rillian Yelst

Orryn grinned at Rillian. "Well, recently, I've felt like my head was going to explode and I don't know if that has to do with being a half-complete, or rather, failed experiment or something. But yes, I've been having a raging headache and I feel like I'm going to rip something apart. Other than that, I've felt rather happy." he said.

Rillian kept her face in a calm smile, although Orryn's admission bothered her a little. He had such a headache and he was smiling about it? I guess I should be used to it by now. Orryn is unstable. We all are, but he is more so than the rest. Not that unstable meant bad, at least not all of the time, but it definitely meant unpredictable.

She watched as Orryn took out some small candies and unwrapped one with a curious display. He balanced one precisely on his middle finger, holding it out in front of her. "Have one, if you want," he said. The boy looked into her eyes with a happy expression.

"Thank you, Orryn," Rillian said, taking the candy. She popped it into her mouth and felt a gush of saliva. She swallowed, careful not to down the candy, too. She had been getting hungry, after all. It was annoying that she had to eat more often than others but she couldn't remember anything different. She weighed far less than most other people her age, too, but it felt like it had always been that way. It was creepy how one could become so used to being changed.

Rillian saw Kyveli, the gasmask girl, sitting alone on the other side of the room. "Do you want to join us, Kyveli?" she asked.

Vernigen Soletra

"...Thirsty..." The lone word came out of Randle's mouth as if it wanted to escape.

"I'll get you some water," Vernigen said. He kept his face neutral and bland, not betraying the unease he felt when in the presence of the behemoth. Randle's arms were bound to the wall along with the rest of his body, meaning Vernigen would have to pour the water into his mouth. That's not safe. Still, I have to follow orders. He went over to the place where Randle's food and water was stored and took out a plastic cup. After filling it up with water he walked over to Randle and stood on the tips of his toes, gingerly pouring the water into the giant's open mouth.

When he was finished giving Randle water he washed the cup and his hands. He was glad the only part of his mutation was the inability to lie. Sure, it wasn't some flashy power, but at least it wasn't some mindless primal insanity, either.

Now he had his next mission. He had to find Drean, too. Where that Noble was could be anyone's guess. Drean had a tendency to want to blend in with the crowd. He seemed to want everyone to think that an armored robot was him, but Vernigen knew better. For the sake of simplicty Vernigen ended up telling the robot that Nekria wanted it instead. He figured the robot could record information and tell it to Drean while Vernigen kept an eye out for the strange Noble.

Now he had to find Tallen. He decided to leave Tlys behind for now. A weapon would make him stand out in the crowd more. Tallen was somewhere in the city, looking for the Prince of the underground and Morgan, the errant leader of the lost.

Vernigen walked out of the Noble's complex and blended into the crowd. People walked from place to place. It was sort of sad and funny at the same time that they all looked somewhat different but had one thing in their hearts: fear. That was what the Nobles had wrought. That was what Vernigen hoped to be able to mitigate somewhat. If someone was going to serve Nekria, it might as well be someone who was willing to do some good.

He spotted Tallen's purple hair and began to walk towards her. She was confronted by a red haired man and it happened that someone had fallen down in between her and the man. Was that Drean?

Vernigen rushed over and helped Drean to his feet, whispering, "Sir, Lady Nekria wants to see you." Then he turned to Tallen and said, "Sorry to interrupt, but do you need help with your mission, Knightmare?"

Clyde Maxum

Clyde had to admit that he was feeling a little excited to finally get the chance to meet the Prince face-to-face. It would be the first time for him. He'd seen pictures of the guy before and he'd heard a few rumors here and there about him. He knew who he was for the most part, but he'd never actually had a conversation with him. It was very possible that he could just be another one of those boring shades of gray that made up the world. But Clyde highly doubted that. No gray lame-o could get Morgan as fired up as that Prince seemed to be able to. And that's one reason Clyde was so excited to meet him, because he had that control over Morgan that nobody else really did. Not to misunderstand--Clyde had no intentions of taking the guy aside and asking him all his knowledge on Morgan or anything like that, he just thought it was...cool. Yeah. Cool.

Oh, wait, he was spacing out. He should probably listen to what Morgan was saying. Man, he sure was chatty all of a sudden. Clyde just kept his mouth shut and continued to nod his head here and there as they made their way through the city to get to...wherever it was Morgan was taking him--probably to the Underground, obviously. "Here. Let's go give the Prince a surprise visit, shall we?" Again, Clyde merely nodded, smirking a little. In all honestly, he'd hardly retained any of the information Morgan was trying to spew out at him all at once. Okay, so the Prince guy had powers to...what was it? Read minds? He had a feeling there was something else about it...but Clyde couldn't remember. All he could remember was that Morgan told him the guy had the power to know everything in peoples' heads. So mind-reading. Right. Got it. The idea made him totally uncomfortable, but maybe he could protect himself somehow? He'd figure it out when he got there. Then there was something about security cameras and some dude with an arm issue and...well, whatever. He got the gist of it.

At the sudden appearance of shadows (at this time of day?), Clyde jumped, stepping away from the Morgan that was no longer there; at least, not in his line of sight. All he could see were shadows, even when he squinted. He was smart enough to know that there was some sort of mutation behind this. They had to be...oh, there she was. "I'd honestly hoped you'd be a bit more of a challenge to catch, Kishitora...but thank you. You've provided me with the Intel that I need about the underground. It will be easy apprehending the Prince now." Clyde frowned. She was definitely not part of the Underground.

He was wondering how to go about this when she suddenly turned to speak to him. "You are the one known as Clyde, no? Your number...what was it...ah yes, I remember now. 0-5-1-3-7, and your power...a minor type of Pyrokenisys. Family of two other siblings, both male, one deceased. Parents deceased soon after your younger brother was born. No, you are not on my capture list, you may go." Huh? He had nothing to say to that. She was obviously off her rocker. She could remember his number right off the top of her head, but she still managed to get his history wrong. Because of course it was wrong. He only had one brother and that brother was dead. She must have her information incorrect. Right. That wasn't the point right now. The point was that she wanted to take the Prince and he wasn't going to let that happen. It would put a major whole in his plans.

He was relieved, but not surprised, so see Morgan break free, shooting him a grin of satisfaction. That was definitely his leader. Totally cool. Totally strong. "I take it...you're a Knight, correct?"

Clyde nearly asked what they should do about the situation--he didn't want to bring unnecessary attention to themselves, but then again, who gave a crap when he could just set any of these guys on fire anyway?--but another voice caught his attention. "Yes, Kishitora, we are Knights. This will be easier if you surrender now. What say you, Ki-" And then he simply passed out. Clyde paid more attention to him than to the Knight, watching carefully as the guy changed from human to something...else. Something much uglier. When the guy, thing, whatever, stood again, Clyde couldn't help but wrinkle his nose at it. "I am Veritas." Oh, so great, it had a name. Because he cared. Not. "What is going on here?" Ugh, shut up, shut up. Let me figure out the situation and shut up before I burn your stupid faces off.

“Good afternoon gentlemen, and lady. As much as I love to have female company, if you could kindly return to wherever you came from and leave these poor pitiful men alone would be of great service to me.” Clyde's head turned again, this time to face...who exactly was this guy? Boring. He looked boring. He talked boring. He was good-looking, he had to admit, but ugh, he was probably just another loser coming here to bug them. So what was it now? Three against two or something? “As much as I would love to know what the hell your doing back here, I would like to have Princess with me when we grill your ass. For right now you two can head inside. Tell them I sent you if you’re asked.” Ohohoh, nevermind. Spicy. So he did have a color. Wait. Wait. Woah. Hold on. Back up. This guy wasn't...was he? He was the Prince? This was the big deal?! Are you serious.

He didn't move from where he was, staring stubbornly at the redhead even as the assumed Prince spoke to the Knight. He couldn't care less what they were talking about. "This is the guy?" Clyde said suddenly, talking specifically to Morgan. He might of been talking a little louder than he intended, but he didn't really care. "This is the big deal you've been so worked up about? Look at him! He's a loser in cloth! He's like...like a pretty boy." He laughed and ran a hand through his hair, not at all concerned by those around him. "Man, I don't get you. This is stupid. I mean really, Morgan, what can he even do? Ugh. Dragging me all the way here, talking my ear off, get attacked by this chick," he pointed a thumb behind him at the girl in question, "just to build up to the one great moment I get to see this great Prince guy and he's totally nothing. Great, cool, awesome. You know what? I will head inside." He nodded his head at the boy who'd transformed, walking up to him with a mixed look of annoyance and disinterest. "Veritas, right? Lead me inside, will you? Maybe the Princess will be something worth looking at."

Nekria

Nekria waited for Rorian to read off the pages Drean printed from the robot. "Rorian, maybe I'll take you up on that offer some time, I've sorta wondered what blood tastes like. My dear lady Nekria, I'll work on your request and I might be gone for awhile but I'll try and contact when I can, also when I do I'd like to know if some information is true or not. Does your knight 'Tallen' really have a brother? until we 'meet' again, take care." She nearly frowned at this, but maintained her neutral expression. However, she wondered what he really wanted with that sort of information. She knew the answer, of course. She knew everything about her 'children.' Whether or not she wanted to disclose this with Drean was a different matter. She would decide on that by the next time they were able to speak. For now, she placed his robot on the ground and let it continue on its way. "Lady Nekria, I too will begin preparation for this request by doing only what I was meant to - serving and money watching. If you so wish, I shall leave immediately on a lead I have pending."

She nodded at him, standing and brushing him off with a simple wave of her hand. "Please do." She brushed the wrinkles out of her clothes and fixed a few misplaced strands of hair before continuing. "There are a few matters of business that I need to attend to, so I will no longer be here." She continued to the door, pausing with her hand on the handle. "If you need me, I will be with my special child." And with that, she nodded to him once again and left the room.

After a short walk, Nekria arrived where they were keeping her 'special child.' Randle. She smiled softly when she saw him, nearing him without fear. "Hello, Randle darling, how are you? I've missed the time we've spent apart." Although she referred to him as her special child, she did not consider him to be her favorite. She did not have a favorite child. That was unethical. A mother could never pick a favorite child. Randle, however, was special in many ways. Although he wasn't a completely success, he wasn't a failure, either. She and her team were able to succeed things with him that they weren't able to with many of the others and although his mental instability was concerning, his attachment and his delusions were excellent assets. "Would you like some fresh air? I think you have earned it. Are you hungry? Is there anything Mother can get you?" She placed a hand on his metal-covered face. "All you have to do is ask."