Quinn's Story

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✿xxx✿xxx✿

And it's your dream to be the king of all creation
As far as I'm concerned you've hung your shadow on the wall
And though your fingers never really pulled the trigger
Your hands are just as guilty,
You're the one who bought the blood

DIALOGUE #800000 ◓ THOUGHTS #6d6d6d

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The longer she stood there, the more anxious Galaya got. It must have been obvious that she was starting to fidget a little because she sensed her fellow Guardians looking at her briefly. She would ignore the stares. Instead she remained focused on the doors in front of her. She was so focused that she was a bit startled when the servants announced the arrival of the Divines. She actually gasped a bit when that happened. Luckily it seemed all eyes were now on the doors, which swung open. The noise of the drums made Galaya want to cover her ears, but she didn't. She was already embarrassed by her surprised reaction anyway.

She hoped she looked calm again as she saw the Divines and the beasts servants with them come forward. The moment Galaya laid eyes on them, she felt this instinct desire to bow to them in servitude and homage. However she fought against that desire. She wasn't too surprised by her behavior though since these four were the 'leaders' of the beasts in Eden. Of course technically they weren't in a position to be in charge. They were just as much a trophy and pet as other beasts. Of course she knew the history of how the Divines and Beast came to be servants of humanity. About how the beasts and Divines invaded Eden and how the humans stopped them through trials and sacrifices. Still there was always that small part of Galaya that wondered if that whole story was true. She once heard a line somewhere in how it was always the victors of a battle that wrote history. Being the instinctual person that she was, Galaya didn't question that voice.

For now she wouldn't think about the past, but instead focus on the now. Looking at the four Divines she couldn't believe how beautiful they all looked, even the 2 males. She was about to focus on her Divine partner when one of the females came forward. She looked more regal the the king and queen here and that was saying something. She knew this divine was in a weakened state and even now it felt like the Divine outranked them all.

Galaya listened as the Divine introduced herself as Oeui and addressed the audience. Her speech felt too perfect to Galaya, like it was rehearsed. She wondered if there were hidden meanings behind these words. While Galaya had no experience in interacting with high society, she had heard stories about from Headmistress Rinson, who did have interactions with nobility. After all, most of the money that was funded to the school came from high society.

As Oeui's general greeting ended, she saw the Divine go to Princess Adelaide and greeted her. That had to be the signal for the others to follow suit. Taking deep breath, Laya looked at the other Divines. One was half snake and looked younger then her, but Laya knew these creatures were way older then her. She also looked very uncomfortable in what she was wearing.

~I know how you feel. I'd love to be out of this ornate attire too. Be patient, Laya. You're almost done.~

The first male divine was just as regal and intimidating as the Oeui. She felt something about him, but couldn't put a finger on it. Regardless, she turned her attention to the Divine she was connected to. His hair was a lot lighter then hers, almost white. Galaya knew this one was the youngest due to her having the lowest score out of the Guardians. She was actually relieved because the oldest ones would have a better chance of recognizing her half beast side. Already she wanted to leave.

~Well, no time like the present, let's get this done and over with.~ Galaya thought before walking towards her partner.

She bowed politely before standing up and said cordially, "Greetings, my name is Galaya Rinson. I do hope we can get along. It's nice to finally meet you."

There, she done it. Now she would wait for her Divine partner to introduce himself and hopefully they could leave this hall soon. All the while, she kept being aware of the other Guardians and Divines.

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Finally, it was time for things to begin in earnest. Junichi had to resist the urge to take a step forward to meet the Divines halfway as they made their entrance, the four emanating an impressive aura that commanded attention from everyone around. Scanning his eyes over them, from his time studying the beasts, he was quickly able to assess who each of them would belong to. The elder two of the Divines would go towards the upper class of the Guardians, while the younger would be assigned to himself and Galaya, the commoners. It made sense, even if it did annoy him on some level to be left with the ‘inferior’ of the Divines. Still, it wasn’t all bad to be assigned to Ki. After all, this was the beast his brother had been assigned. If anyone would have answers, it would be her or the journal he left behind. With the amount of posturing they’d been doing over the past three weeks, Jun hadn’t had time to consult it at all. Hopefully after tonight that would change, but when the opportunity arose, he’d have to take the time to find out what she knew about Reiji and his actions.

The speech was grandiose, but thankfully, short and to the point as far as presentations go. Junichi did his best to pay attention, but honestly, his eyes were wholly focussed on his Divine and the area around her, as if he could bore a hole through her skull with his gaze. Briefly, his eyes played over the guards next to her, and despite the apparent greatness of these creatures, he found himself strangely aware of how short she was compared to her towering and imposing servants. For such a powerful being, it was amusing to him how helpless she actually looked, but he’d been informed many times during his training not to underestimate the creatures; particularly the elders of the four. Nodding as his partner for the next 10 years made her way towards him, Junichi decided to formally introduce himself.

“Junichi Takahashi. I’ll be your guardian for the next 10 years.” As he spoke, he couldn’t help but steal a glance towards his brother, who was undoubtedly staring at the two of them. Flicking his eyes back towards Ki, the younger Takahashi brother extended his arm for the shake. “To the future.” He stated simply. The future would determine everything after all. And this would be the start of this future. Jun wasn’t the kind of person to smile much. His mother always told him to try to do so more, but he personally thought it looked unnatural and weird. Somehow though, he made his best attempt, especially in such a public setting. Hopefully no one noticed his discomfort, particularly the small snake woman before him.

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"Though wisdom is a house built; and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge shall every room be filled with precious and pleasantries."

- Proverbs 24:3

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xxxxxAfter a series of glances all over the chamber, Valerys decided to just keep his gaze fixed at the grand doors, calmly awaited for the moments to come. Judging from the bickering of the attendants and the frowns that were starting to become visible on the King's face, it went without saying that heads would probably roll if another minute passed by and the doors remained intact. As much as Valerys found it distasteful for the time being meaninglessly wasted, however, there was no sign of displeasure presented on his face. Either he was a good actor or his patience was just simply remarkable.

Behind the four of them, Valerys could feel that his uncle was also in quite the anticipation as well. After all, it was Vaharys who was standing on this exact same place 20 years ago. Although he didn't care much for praises, Valerys quietly prayed that from then on, he would at least live to the name of his well-respected uncle.

Before Valerys, the Guardian on behalf of the family was Mylenna from the Celnaryen line - another one of his cousins. Her condition was... quite interesting, to say the least. Yet, Valerys had heard on the grapevines that using that very specialty, she had managed to "tame" her Divine - who was quite a handful. She told him she had intended to attend the ceremony today, but the Celnaryens seemed to have some business for her to handle, so Vaharys was the only family that was watching him.

In the meantime, he quietly recalled to the things that he had read about the Divines. The long tradition of being Guardians had brought the clan with much knowledge about them, except the one that was assigned to him.

The Second of the Divines, who went by the pseudonym Aui, or Adonis, as Valerys could then rightfully refer as. The Deceiver. The Accursed Harbinger. The Forsaken Viper. His clan had bestowed many titles upon this Divine and none of them showed the slightest bit of respect. To say that the whole family abhorred him was a bit of an understatement. But of course, how couldn't they? Every leader of the three branches had never seized to relentlessly remind their members about the poisonous words spoken from the mouth of this being to their ancestor centuries ago. And they had even gone all the way to make sure that the representative Guardians of their clan would never have to watch over Adonis.

Until Valerys, due to some miraculous twist by the hands of Fate.

By the time the outcome was settled, it was already too late for Talar to intervene. With the influence of the Astraryens, switching the results shouldn't be a problem. But the hassles and the risk of tarnishing their name were simply not worth it. Hence, they now had no other choice, but to place their only prominent heir to the line of this generation at the mercy of the most deplorable of beings.

For Valerys, though, this was indeed a challenge to overcome. Was he scared? Of course he was. But knowing him, the excitement stemmed from the unveiling of mysteries was bigger. To be able to find out the truths that no-one from family had ever gotten to before? Valerys couldn't possibly come up with any privileges better than that.

"Attention! Announcing the arrival of the Divines!"

And finally, it was time. As deafening sound of trumpets and drums filled every corner of the hall, the doors were sprung open at last. Emerging from behind were the four most "prized treasures" of Eden, gracefully approaching them in tandem. Valerys couldn't help but gulp a bit. This wasn't the first time he got to see a Divine in real life, but to observe them in their entirety in such a close proximity, it was more than he had ever imagined.

They truly befit the title given to them.

The leader of the four - Divine Oeui - stepped forward to make a speech with fluency, as if she had gone through over it countless of times. Valerys' main focus was not on her speech, though, but on the youthful man with long, green flowing hair so smooth that the finest silk seemed pale in comparison and a seemingly innocent smile that can charm the most stoic of hearts. There was this strange charisma emanating from Adonis that Valerys couldn't explain, as if it was telling him to abandon everything he had ever treasured to fall into the sweet embrace of the Divine, and to indulge in nothing but his honey-glazed words.

This man... is terrifyingly dangerous. Valerys cautiously reminded himself. He had to make sure to never stray from his path and focus on the only one goal that mattered, or else it would be very likely that he would be enraptured in the trap laid out by Adonis. That much he can tell from locking gaze with the Divine alone.

As soon as Oeui finished her speech, the expression on Valerys' face turned from that of sternness into a relaxed one, with a gentle smile finding its' way on his lips. "My utmost pleasure to meet you, my exalted Divine. I presume you have already known, but allow me to introduce myself once more. I go by the name Valerys of the Astraryens, and may the coming decade of our partnership be fruitful."

Having been taught about etiquette and manners all his life, making a grandiose introduction was not much of a problem for him, but he knows for sure that humans' niceties are not entirely applicable to that of the Beasts, and the Divines were not any different. And it was by then that an excerpt from the journal passed down to him from the previous Guardians popped up in his mind.

"And, to start out our relationship. May I ask you, why is the letter E important?"

A greeting by a riddle was simply the most anti-climatic thing one could possibly come up. Valerys was well-aware of this, but he hoped that this would at least get both of them off to a good start, and a small test on the wits of arguably the most ancient being in the entire world. He slightly tilted his head in anticipation of the response, with his smile unfazed.

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A sullen scowl formed from Quinn’s lips. She didn’t realize that Lycaon had the wheel. In hind set, it was natural for him to handle relations with humans due to his irrational fetish for them, but she really could use a warmer retort from the other half. A coinflip for comfort and it landed on tails.

“Idiot Lycaon..I’ll tell Lyssa to give you 50 lashings..!!” She resisted the urge to pounce on the disinterested dog. He was an asshole, but a lovable one. Quinn would bite through that shell eventually.

She regained her posture as Ofi walked through. Her commanding presence putting Quinn on her feet, despite the snake possessing her own motives to play the perfect. She waved and smiled to her older sibling as they promptly went through the doors.

Smile.

Wave.

Look to each section of the room for at least 8 seconds, 11 ½ at most. A warm smile to her guardian, a warmer one for the royal family. There was a boundary between directions and thoughts that’s been long lost the moment Quinn made that deal. A price bled from dignity, offering her own independence to ensure her friends a cage instead of a tomb. There truly was no snake as wicked as her, looking at what can be gained over what must be lost.

Quinn slapped her cheeks ‘till rash. Her dazes aren’t easily broken and seem to happen when they aren’t welcome. She quickly looked around the room for her guardian until feeling eyes burning through her chest. A man, standing in what would be a place where the guardians should be positioned. She looked behind her, then shifting her body aside his line of vision. His head followed shortly behind.

It was official. This creep was looking at her.

She was aware that her new guardian was Reiji’s little brother, but no one fit the profile. No one was as handsome, gallant or tall as him. No one had a smile that could make snake women swoon, or a scent of honey and sweat. Quinn tried to look as if she was paying attention to the recycled speech, but the man checking her out was distracting to say the least. She waved at him, but his glare did not let up. Was he blind? Did he just have a seizure? Humans shouldn’t be this capable of creeping her out.

As the ceremony came to a close, Quinn awaited the cue. Reiji only had good things to say about his little sibling..but was uncharacteristically vague. Not exactly describing his personality, or look, but instead used power words such as “strong” and “perseverant”.

She trudged between her siblings before walking to her assigned guardian. After getting a closer look, she gagged on the air she going to introduce herself with. The creep was his brother? Unbefitting of her preferred guise, she discarded her posture and squatted down for some time to think. He was athletic, but not like Reiji. He was handsome, but not like Reiji. Eyes like sharp knives instead of warm flame. Quinn stood up to look for Reiji in the audience as simply thinking of him raised her temperature before remembering that she had to actually introduce herself to her new guardian.

The snake woman cleared her throat. “Divine Qi, at your service.” She took his hand to shake, mirroring the stiff motions. She didn’t know Reiji had such a tinman as a brother. His eyes alone offended her, his body language screamed lack of etiquette. It definitely couldn’t get worse from here.

Oh, and then he smiled. Great.

She chuckled into her fist. The situation itself was so awkward that she wanted to die. Was this really his brother? Attempting to break both their apparent discomfort, she decided to talk about her favorite thing in the world. It’s been a week since she’s seen him.

“How’s…your brother been?”

xxx


And it's your dream to be the king of all creation
As far as I'm concerned you've hung your shadow on the wall
And though your fingers never really pulled the trigger
Your hands are just as guilty,
You're the one who bought the blood

DIALOGUE #800000 ◓ THOUGHTS #6d6d6d

By the time the Divine introduced himself, Galaya managed to get a hold of herself. She mentally berated herself for loosing her control.

~You can do this Galaya! Remember that you are a Guardian and you cannot show any kind of weakness.~

She knew she had already generated some gossip from the nobles, ever sense she made it far into her training when it had just been her and 2 other people. She had been one of the shortest and tiniest in stature to ever sign up to be a guardian, let alone become one. It was safe to say no one who didn't know her underestimated her skills. Of course she was expected to have strong inner strength more so then physical strength. Galaya had always felt some satisfaction in proving others wrong. But she knew she had to be careful in everything she did so no one would figure out her background.

After the blonde Divine greeted her, Galaya nodded before asking, "And how should I address you both?"

She did remember in reading that journal that her Divine partner had two identities. She knew their true name, but since saying that would activate the curse, she wanted to make sure there was a safety net to use. She hoped she would never have to use their true names. Not only would it hurt the Divine, but her too. Something told her though she might have to use it at some point, based on the journal she had been reading. It's why she was determine to get along with her Divine as much as possible.

Looking at the Divine she was also glad he wasn't too tall. She had learned over time to look people in the eye, but it was a struggle with taller folks and she knew she was petite. It didn't help that she had a willowy form. Many people mistook her for being younger then her actual age. At least it allowed her to blend in easily when she needed it. There be no way to blend in now though. She also kept tabs on the other Guardians and Divines too because she did not want to be caught unawares by anything.

“How’s…your brother been?”

The first words out of her mouth after introductions. Jun did his best not to let his face betray his emotions, but the suddenness of her question caught him off guard. They’d still been in the middle of exchanging the hand shake, his grip unconsciously tightening as he spoke.

“What does that matter?” Jun asked bluntly, and just by the rising octave in his tone, his annoyance would be apparent. Certainly, Jun was here to find information on his brother, but it irritated him that of all the things she could have asked him about or started the conversation with, that was what she chose? He was the one here now. Not his brother. Everyone always seemed to forget that, talking about his brother or wanting to know about him. He wasn’t even a guardian anymore! Silently gritting his teeth, Jun stared down Quinn, awaiting her response.

Quinn promptly pulled her hand. His quickly tightening grip causing a small, but sharp pain. Quinn’s small frame did well to interpret Jun’s shifting squeeze into something unbearable. Coupled with the awkwardness, all Quinn wanted to do was to slither away.

The snake girl held her wrist, airing out the modest squeeze of agony by shaking her wrist ideally. She turned to answer his question, a bit bothered, but nowhere near irate. Mistakes happen, sometimes people forget that one of the great and powerful divine was a bit frail in her current form.

From what most definitely was not a mistake, her look of openmindeness was promptly crushed by a cold scorn. Why was he angry all of the sudden? Was this his resting face? He looked at her like she killed his family. While she wasn’t the worst conversationalist in the world, she didn’t know whatever she said offended him in some way. First he looks at her like a piece of meat, now he wants to choke her out?! This guy was infuriating.

“Because I want to know, that’s why it matters! Unless I got the wrong guy, I believe you’re the little brother of dear Reiji..I don’t see it as unnatural to ask about him.” Quite frankly, she was getting a bit heated for something that didn’t matter much at all.

“Tch…” Jun clicked his tongue, narrowing his eyes as he glanced about the room. This wasn’t exactly a good start to things. Not only was he showing a lack of composure, but so was his Divine. Given that the group were the centre of attention at the moment, it wouldn’t look favorably on him if he couldn’t control the situation this early. Still, invoking her name seemed like overkill, and probably would look just as bad. As his peripheral vision fanned about the room, he could see that he was watching them. Why did his smile have to be so infuriating? Even now, he had to be judging Jun, seeing how he handled it. Smug bastard… He’d show him!

“Even if I knew, I don’t think it’s important. I’m your Guardian now, not him.” Jun stated firmly, focussing on Quinn once more as he leaned in closer to whisper. “You want to talk to him? Fine. But don’t ruin this moment for me. Don’t forget where we are.” Jun stated, a coldness to his words. It wasn’t out of concern for her, no. He was concerned for himself and his standing. After saying his piece, he stepped back, giving her space again. Still, surely she’d understand the situation? They were in front of the royalty. Neither of them would benefit from bickering here. Logically trying to calm the situation, Jun wasn’t the best at intuiting the correct emotional response. Not only that, but it would’ve been far smarter just to give in to Quinn’s question rather than push back, but for some reason, Jun felt the need to take control of the situation.

Quinn also noticed her one true love gazing at them both. Instead of interpreting the extra...twinkling amber set on them as a wake-up call to act up. Quinn proceeded to wave frivolously at Reiji, albeit stopped short by a cold breath tickling her ear.

Her lips formed a slight grimace. All she was hearing were moans of self-centered entitlement. A rather somber realization that this man was just like the others. She looked in Reiji’s general direction once more before shooting a glare at her much unwelcome partner. “I’ll behave, but not for you.” A flame seemed to light up her pupils, Quinn not being as mindful as to keep her complaints to a lower decibel.

Crossing her arms, she spoke up once more. Venom adorned her every breath as she made apparent her increasing desire to be anywhere else but here. “Can I go see Reiji now, master?”

Usually she was good at keeping her complaints all to herself, but when it came to Reiji..her emotions couldn’t help running rampant.

Continuing to bite his tongue, Jun was trying to understand how an ancient being could be so impetuous; almost like a child. It was as if she was being rebellious just to spite him! In fact, that was exactly what she was doing. Just enough to provoke him, flirting the fine line of danger where it wasn’t quite enough for him to take action. It was infuriating. But he wouldn’t play her game. He knew that the Divine’s were wily creatures, so no doubt she was testing him. He wouldn’t fall for her bait. Tempting as it was to return her gesture in kind, he needed this woman to prove his worth. Perhaps he could try to shift the situation into his favor?

“No, not now. You’re expected to remain by me for this audience. Play your part, and perhaps I’ll consider inviting my brother to visit. It would look unfavorably if he was the first person I decided to pay respects to.” Junichi still remained cold, calculating, briefly glancing around to see if the others were having as much trouble as he was getting his divine under control. Reiji hadn’t warned him that she was rebellious, so was this all some insidious prank on his part? Had he tried sabotaging him from the beginning by asking Quinn to act up here of all places? That might explain why he was observing so closely, getting some sadistic pleasure by watching him fail. Well, he wasn’t about to let that happen. He’d speak with the highest nobles and begin making some strong connections, demonstrating how capable he was. All he needed was for Qi to be obedient and follow in line.

Ohh..did he mention Reiji? Now that she thought about it, Reiji looked like a hunk with his hair all messy like that. Of course, that was how he always did his hair..but if no one was going to think it, Quinn would!

Quite frankly, the thought that she would never see Reiji again had crossed her mind more than once. Jun chose exactly the right words to calm her down. Her previously apparent temper had subsided into a reluctant pout. Puffing out her cheeks, and blowing air from her nose, she stood beside him instead of against him.

“One hour..a day..without you staring daggers at me.” It was hard to make demands, especially when calmed..or the fact that they were mostly angrily whispering to each other a few moments prior. But she took her Reiji time VERY seriously..

“Let’s get this over with.” She held Jun’s arm, donning a slight..but warm smile. To change from letting her emotions run rampant, to hiding them behind a shell..she’s done this for a while. A whole 759 years to be exact.

Jun was a little surprised with how quickly and easily she acquiesced his request, but he wasn't about to complain. Relenting to her request, he nodded for now. She had a lot of gall to be making her own demands of him, but some concessions were needed for progress, and he could respect that she was willing to work with him on some level while still holding her own values. Letting her hug into his arm, Jun scouted the crowd for valuable targets - individuals he knew to hold high standings - and made his approach, introducing himself and his divine and making productive small talk to form connections. He'd need to prove himself as a Guardian and a contact to these people in order to improve his own standing. Already, he was confident that he'd be able to as well. After all. This divine of his didn't seem too hard to tame. And if Reiji could do it, he'd be able to do it even better.

Quinn did well to act her part. She felt more like a trophy than usual, but his promise to let Reiji visit was the only thing keeping her from acting out. The snake girl greatly exaggerated her arm squeezing, affectionately bringing herself close and laying her head on his shoulder. She was good at this so-called small talk as well. Her words possessing so much emotion as she spoke of how excited she was about the partnership to the many people he led her to.

Every so often, she caught a glimpse of Reiji, prompting her to pull them in his direction. Though, her tugging was mostly ignored by the stoic youngest.