Post by Artistique on Sept 29, 2008 4:28:35 GMT 8
Meme De Circus: Her blank eyes were living shadows that at times almost swirled with malevolent intent. Their intensity was in the way they drew in the wary the ones who knew better and still couldn't resist how the darkness seemed to reach out and enfold them. A still figure was positioned at an old-fashioned satin wood desk in a straight-backed chair. The room itself was in a small library of sorts.. comfortable chairs scattered around the rooms edges, worn carpets still glowed brilliantly in the dim candle light. Shelves held parchments, scrolls, bound scraps, books, plus manuscripts of diverse languages in the owners own obscure order. The slight woman was slumped back in the chair with her attention on a crumbling diary of a long dead explorer.
She was known by many diverse names over time but in this case, Meme de Circus was the most accurate But 'Mother' most appropriate for a group of very special children. Of her body but not of her womb. The tainted blood she carried and the unwholesome contract with her parasitic Ruby allowed her to control the nature of her plague. The plague which burrowed deeply into the body of others and tried to take it over forcing its own imprint onto the very shape of their cells as it attempted to make all it touched like it mindlessly. The Ruby she had bound herself to was the key to controlling the wildly diverging forms that the so called Jester Plague would take.
Her fingers were resting gently on the Soul-gem, its reward for its power to focus the normally painfully lethal transformation into a viable being was the collection of souls... Its insatiable hunger enabled the woman to gather different creatures into her bosom for her own dark plans of vengeance. The children performed their duties with typical abandon creating havoc in their wake like icebergs through shipping lanes or sandstorms through placid prey.
Today though she only stared with unseeing and unseen eyes- lost when she made her original contact with the nameless gemstone - this soul ravager was always speaking to her. Their deep connection was bounty and bane to her. It connected her children to her in mystical ways. The Shards each child had were slivers of the Ruby itself containing portions of its power and through it it wove a web of darkness using her innate Shadow abilities.
This connection was so deep that it resonated with their lives and gave her the means to speak to them and they if strong enough ability to speak to their siblings if they so wished and the distances weren't far. The stone now babbled inside her mind speaking only to her as she somehow being its main host was its focus. The atonal chimes and metallic shrieks would have driven most insane over the centuries... however, she was already damaged so what else could happen... Her brother had killed her...
Her tainted blood resurrected her and this malicious stone had mated with her mind and body. It jangled inside her skull and she silently cursed it..”I know.. they come” spoke her raspy voice into the room's stillness. Her slender body wracked by shivers which she ruthlessly suppressed. The black velvet trousers, long sleeved fine silk shirt and dead white painted face her only adornment besides the white gloves she always wore.
Artistique: He proceeded on down winding corridor and passageway, gliding without effort upon the path towards Mother; his Harlette in tow. He was taking her to Meme with a grand purpose in mind - one that suited his whims and desires for Perfection. She would ascend, joining the ranks of the true Famille, and no longer be his servant. It was fitting for her, she had allowed her dark desires to blossom over and over again in the raging flames she wielded against her foes and prey, devouring their souls into her Shard with ease, yet restraint.
She knew and understood, and that was reason enough. Eventually, he stopped before a large door, and knocked quietly three times before entering gracefully, prismatic orbs moving to behold the Mother of the Cirque seated at a desk. "Greetings, Mother." He said, bowing formally to she who had created him. "I bring to you my Harlette, Mysterieux, in accordance with what we spoke about earlier." And he beckoned her forwards with a slender, pale digit, to come before Meme and stand judgment.
Mysterieux: She danced behind him; though in truth she always seemed to be moving and dancing merely a medium of this movement. Her most favored exercise was merely twirling around in place, whirling madly and laughing with a maddened, if beautiful voice. She was no siren of sound perhaps but hearing her was not entirely displeasing. Her voice chimed, and as she laughed it was as though several lovely bells were laughing with her.
Those bells; however, often took a turn for the darker when her Shard hungered. Her laughter often something that would remind her victims of the divine malevolence that priests spouted from their altars. She followed her Maker, pleased as ever merely to be within his presence and she continued to whirl - until they were in the presence of Meme. For the first time, the Harlette stopped; eyes of jade widening and her figure moving into a pose of far more respect.
Yet; she would stand beside Artistique, hands clasped before her, writhing with her fingers together, but otherwise she was still. When her Master gestured she should present herself, she would do so; moving forward to curtsy quite low, her head and eyes bowed for a moment, then rising slowly and gracefully with her silvery-white hair falling forward on her shoulders. "It is my deepest honor and pleasure to be before you." she intoned with quiet awe.
Havoc: He had silently been milling about the house lost in his own thoughts for a while now. Softly he sighed to himself as he stood in the main living room in front of the fireplace as he placed his gloved hands upon the mantle and stared into the dancing flames. Lost in thought he became mesmerized by the flames until he heard the knocking. Lifting his gaze he turned his head to the sound as he smirked to himself.
It seems Arti had brought his little pet to Mother finally. Pushing off from the mantle, he allowed his hands to dip into each pocket, producing a cigarette and a lighter. Placing the cigarette between his lips he lit it with his other hand before returning the lighter back to his pocket. Bowing his head a bit he silently walked down the hall's as his long trench coat billowed out behind behind him as the smoke from the cigarette wafted in the air behind him until he reached the hall leading up to the library area where mother sat. Ah how he knew the area well, long nights had he stayed in here, reading, memorizing and studying everything he could get his hands on, the smell of the old books, leather bindings and the smell of the candles.
He couldn't say for sure how much time the rest of the family spent in this room but he practically grew up in this room. He had studied about the ruby, runes and the history of the harlequins. From mother he had known he was the first child to be produced from her, which in turn had made him the most sane of the entire family, granted he had his own wild side which if anyone knew him, knew why he was called Havoc. Taking a long drag off the cigarette he removed it with his left hand and exhaled slowly before speaking. "Quite the dancer you have there Arti, I'm sure she keeps you entertained on those long lonely nights." He laughed softly as he winked at Arti as he passed him when he stepped into the room."Mother." He said softly as he moved slowly across the room. He made his way over to one of the book shelves and removed a volume and flipped it open idly before turning and leaning against the shelf and glancing up, gazing over everyone in the room.
Meme De Circus: Meme glanced at the man once but now Harlequin now and his creation. His stillness and her waiting vibrancy balanced each other out. She watched her beloved eldest enter and tease his younger sibling. Ahh life somehow never changed. “Hello my children” A faint smile curved her dark lips; though it was brittle, it was of a welcome nonetheless. She gracefully stood up; her small frame unremarkable except for the aura of age that cloaked it. She'd lived beyond generations due mostly to the regenerative properties of the rogue blood she'd carried for eons. This benefit was passed along to her children but the transformational aspect was weakened in every generation down so while the eldest children might be able to create another brother or sister the younger ones had had to come to her.
She stepped to Artistique and gripped his arm with one gloved hand. “Are you sure you wish this... You might lose her.” she warned with a somber tone. Behind her rested the cane against the desk as it was never far from her grasp be it because she must or because she didn't trust it was unknown to all but herself. The stone seemed to laugh silently.. it was barely intelligent but its feral qualities allowed it to understand the basics.. it thirsted for another strong arm to collect what it wanted... what it required. She glanced on the desk beyond the Gemstone - a dozen or so small cylinders rested in an untidy row.. small globes floated in fluid and under close inspection one would be able to see that they were eye balls.. blue, green, purple, hazel colored eyes stared blindly out from behind the glass. “Myst do you consent.. you need to be remade.. the Jester Plague isn't kind to us but it must be done if you want to be transformed."
Artistique: He watched his Mother grip his slender arm; even as he heard the words of Havoc. He only smiled to the eldest and fixated his gaze upon Meme. "I know," he replied quietly in sonorous tone to her. "But she is deserving of the chance to inherit her true nature at last. That she might risk final death is something that cannot be avoided. This is the only path, as I am not strong enough and indeed, may never be; in order to transform her myself. The decision rests with her though, my influence is naught. She now decides her fate. I can only hope her will is strong enough to endure, even as your own was." He stated as he gazed upon the eyeballs for a moment.
Mysterieux: She waited; and the waiting meant she had to be still, and the stillness held for her a certain pain. Then Meme was moving, and there was another within the room, speaking to Artistique. Jade eyes followed the newcomer briefly, then returned to Meme and her Master, turning slightly to look at them both. She furrowed her brows a bit at the aside from Meme about Artistique losing her. It placed a chill in her gut..but she shoved it aside for the moment. This was needed. She nodded to Meme and then looked to Artistique for a moment. A look in her eyes that was, best left as undesirable, but bordering upon loss and silent pain. "I wish to be remade, Mother. If it pleases you."
Havoc: He smiled to himself as his eyes glanced over the words in the book idly but concentrated on the conversation in the room. Closing his eyes and chuckling to himself he closed the book as it echoed a bit in the large chamber before lifting his gaze to the dancing girl. "You know it will be quite painful right?" he asked as he placed the book back on the shelve before turning to her. He loved to tease and make girls squirm, to make them shake in their boots.
"You will feel your soul being ripped from your body, the pain is so intense it will make you wish for death. To feel your body contort and reform into something dark and twisted." He smiled while he closed his eyes and shuddered before opening then to look at her, his eyes dancing with a wild desire as he watched her. "Its quite..." He contemplated on the right word for a moment before giving her a wink. "Erotic." A dark chuckle escaped his lips as he stood there watching them all.
Meme De Circus: She nodded at Havoc.and turned her unseen eyes towards the young woman; toy, Artisque's toy, his child, soon to be if luck was with her- his equal. “He is right.. your first change will pale in comparison to this one” She watched for any indecision then with great reluctance nodded her acceptance of the others decision-this would only work if the person willingly gave up their old life to be sacrificed on the ruby's bloody facets.
This was what made a strong child- the desire to grow and become a real child of the Stone. “We shall do it – it is spoken in front of us all. She turned her head towards Artistique.. “Please dearling would you come here behind me.. and hold me” she said as one hand unbuttoned the glove at her wrist and tugged it from her hand. The tight material resisted but enough pressure she pulled first one hand then the other free then tucked them into a rear pocket. Beneath the soft but bruised-looking skin flowed mottled blue, grays and dull greens which almost oozed with unwholesomeness.
She held up her hand and clenched it into a fist then held it up to them.. “Undiluted Plague.. the slightly touch will kill an elephant within moments.. for our purposes we need something else as well.” She stepped over to the desk and grasped the cane in her left hand as the Ruby's jubilant metallic tones clattered like thousands of hideous wind chimes in a hurricane within her fractured mind.
Controlling a tremor in her hand, she turned back to them and lifted the right to her face.. “I wonder what color it will be this time “ she said under her breath and then she clawed at her face. The nails gouging deep wheals into her brow and cheek as the fingers sunk deeply into the shadowed eye. The stone gloried in this pain it always tormented her and this wonderful excitement sent it into a frenzy. Horrible fleshy sounds were followed by a hollow popping sound.
The gore covered fingers clutched within them her eye with the optic nerve still attached. The stringing nerve grayish and twisting as she casually snapped it away from her socket. Her blood ran down one cheek and she stood there. Tilting her head she presented the cheek to Myst.. “Kiss Mother and Be reborn.”
Artistique: He quickly moved behind Mother and held her up from behind, his arms supporting her weight easily; she weighed far less than a normal human could think for all the latent power within her frame. He heard the twisted sounds of her eye being ripped from her socket and visually cringed a little, having heard the same sound once before when he was being created. The agony was horrifying, he loathed pain and that it was happening to his beloved Mother and would soon happen to his Harlette. The thought made his eye twitch unconsciously. And he awaited Myst to come over and place the kiss that would change her completely and utterly. It was the beginning. And he hoped it wouldn't end.
Mysterieux: The eldest child of Meme's brood spoke to her and she glanced to him as he bespoke the pain involved. One of her silvery brows arched as he continued, wondering vaguely if he was trying to unnerve her. Was death frightening to her? Did he think she was afraid of the endless void of death? No..she was not. There was but one thing she was fearful of, and it was a pain that had nothing to do with the physical.
She smirked a little at the last of it, chuckled with insidious delight and then turned her attention back to where it should be. Mother, and Artistique. The smirk turned into something a bit softer as she regarded Artistique. She was caught by the sound of the rending flesh first, then the sight of the eye, blood... her eyes widened a little, having not expected that but she merely stepped forward to obey Mother's command. This was what He wanted, this was what she needed... and Mother was willing to grant it to them both. She was fully willing to give over the entirety of herself to this, knowing it was right.
Delicate, pink lips moved to touch the flesh and partake of the blood, though in that last moment her eyes would flicker to her beloved Master, and it was with his image in her mind that she touched the blood. A mere moment; barely a breath could be taken before the plague seeped into her lips; her mouth. It seemed into her very being, and began consuming her violently. As it did this, her mouth pulled back and she stumbled backwards against the desk, and the ruby at her throat, held there by black satin which He had gifted to her, throbbed as though with its own heartbeat.
She could feel it...the throbbing, and so much more. Her body jack-knifed, forward, falling to her knees. Oh yes..there was pain. She wanted to scream with it, but was choked by it instead, she felt as though the whole of her body was going to erupt, as though veins and capillaries would burst. She lay prone on the floor and began to writhe uncontrollably.
Havoc: He leaned back against the book shelve and watched her lean forward to kiss mother on the cheek, a small chuckle escaped his lips as he spoke up softly. "Lick her cheek instead of kissing it." he laughed to himself as he watched her kiss Mother's cheek. Well the deed was done, now the only thing left to do is to sit back and watch the show. He had seen this spectacle many times before and was desensitized to the whole act of it. He moved and sat down in the one of the many chairs that was around the library and took another drag off his cigarette as he watched her drop to the floor.
"I should have brought some popcorn with me." He said in a fake sorrow filled voice as he watched her began to writhe on the floor. "I tried to warn her, it is quite painful." He leaned forward as he exhaled the smoke into the air and thumped the ashes into a nearby ashtray as he tilted his head to the side. "Lets just hope she doesn't drool on the carpet."
Meme De Circus: She shrugged off Artistique's hold and pushed him away.. “Whatever you do, don't touch her.. everything about her is highly infectious. “ she didn't want any of her blood to get onto him either so she staggered a few steps back and leaned heavily on her cane with one hand. She could feel the flesh already starting to knit closed. The blood on her bone-white painted face stopped flowing and crusted over.. the dry blood no longer able to sustain the Plague. She used her link to the ruby.. forcing its compliance in this act of the play.. It wanted the young woman for itself but her force of will drove it to feed her shard. The integral links were forged as its malicious glow grew outward from the shard on the agonized woman's throat.
It stopped the plague's random mutations... three eyes and wings just weren't what she envisioned but depending on Myst's blood, things would be different from her last incarnation. Clutching the cane and driving the stone forward to complete this last change. She felt the gaping wound fill with the plague she carried.. it created replacements for the eye she'd torn out once again.. the blood.. old magic and the stone. She allowed the woman to take over control of her own shard to finish what The mother had started if she could.. Feeling ages old she groped her way to a chair and semi-accidentally on purpose made sure the other end of her cane whacked Havoc's head..”Drool dammit you say that every time..think of something new.. “ her raspy voice grumbled.
Artistique: He frowned at Havoc before turning his attention to his Harlette, no, something more now. He felt traces of her pain, wracking his body as the connection to him was severed drastically. He felt a lonely emptiness fill the hollow of his spirit for a moment as she transformed before him upon the floor. He wanted to move closer, but Mother's words stayed him and he remained backed away, watching her twist and writhe about, her body shaping, contorting, reforming into something new and far more powerful, deadly.
She was becoming one with the strings of the Ruby at last, and a small measure of pride flared within him for only a second as the echoes of agony slowly faded from him, disappearing as the connection was at last lost completely. Now her state towards him, towards everything, would be dependent upon her. He could only watch and wait.
Mysterieux: Pain. Yes. Death. No. No. She would not succumb; she would not fade away or be sucked into any ruby. She would not succumb; her ruby flared at her throat and she continued to writhe; teeth clenched. The separation from her Master, the agony of the change, she would simply have to endure. Her arms flung out from her body, and instead of drooling on the carpet, her nails would dig in, and gouge it; drawing deep rivulets within it as she dragged her hands back to her body.
Her skin shifted, her limbs contorted, and her head kicked back, her mouth still open in a silent scream. Several minutes and suddenly she grew quite still. Her silver-white hair lay across her face as she had shifted to her side, laying in a fetal position. She grit her teeth still, her Ruby whispering in her mind, stronger now... hungrier. She opened new eyes and slowly and yet she lay there. She felt power, coursing through her. The flames... she thought they had whispered to her before- now they damn right screamed. The begged her to call upon them; seeking to emanate from her, leaving her body smoking, wisps of smoke trailing from her mouth as she breathed outward, nothing but a habit as breathing hadn't been needed for some time. She leaned forward, moving her elbow to support her torso and appeared to be attempting to stand. The power...fierce...almost overwhelming. She smirked a little from behind her hair and a low chuckle echoed from her throat, delighted..malicious, and dark.
Havoc: He chuckled a bit as he waited for the foaming from the mouth to start but alas it didn't. He sighed disappointed and leaned back. "Well at least she didn't drool on the carpet, but i do believe its gonna need to be replaced." he said smiling a bit as he watched her lean up on her elbow and the smoke being emitted from her body. "Hm, I've heard of a girl being hot but I do believe that's a bit on the extreme side. Hey Arti, I bet you have a investment in burn cream eh?" he said winking to his younger sibling as he stood and walked over to Arti and patted him on the shoulder and speaking softly. "Congratulations my brother." Moving over to a shelf he grabbed an empty jar and placed it on the desk before mother and silently stood behind her watching the little dancer girl silently.
Meme De Circus: The woman grumbled now that her carpet had been torn.. It didn't help her humor as well that while the plague repaired the damage, it didn't dull the pain... hers or the newly forming harlequin. “Arti... I hope this will be what you wanted. Myst will need some time to adjust to this new body.. can you take her off to someplace familiar before she burns a hole in my carpet as well.” She murmured in her gruff way. These transformations took a lot out of her... and she didn't just mean her own eye.
When Havoc returned and placed the glass near to her she said to him “You little git... I liked that carpet. I might try ripping out your eye next time... your blood will work almost as well as mine..” She said bitchily but she gratefully accepted the cylinder. Her fingers had locked around the eyeball and she finally opened them to look at it. The shadows hid her eyes from the world and even from herself. She tilted the blood streaked head back as she held up the eye and looked at it with the one eye she had at the moment- the other not even a glimmer within the ruined flesh in the socket. “Ahh... it was hazel... hasn't been that in awhile” she said and sighed wistfully as she carefully dropped it into the fluid and recapped the top... the dead eye looked out and one could almost see a remnant of Mother's fire reflected in it.
Artistique: He gathered up his once-little one and held her now-limp, frail body coursing with dark power close to his gaunt frame with ease. His eyes were hidden by his hair, and he responded not when Havoc spoke to him, only remained silent. It was what he wanted in the end, he surmised, but he couldn't help but feel the keening sense of loneliness in his spirit where her link to him once resided.
And again it caused him agony, as did all emotion that he felt far more keenly than any other could possibly hope to imagine. He did not react though; this too he would have to learn to ignore, to banish away into the corners of his mind. He merely proceeded towards the door with his arms about the newly-born Harlequin, pausing only once upon the threshold to look back at the two still standing there, his orbs shrouded still by his hair. "Thank you, Mother. For everything." And then he turned, and proceeded out the door, his willowy form vanishing from sight into the darkness of the corridors, until even his footsteps faded away, lost in the silence.
Havoc: He smirked a bit as he shook his head watching Arti leave. "No respect for the elder siblings, couldn't even say goodbye to me." he sighed as he walked around the desk that mother sat at and sat down in the chair, one leg hanging over the arm of it as he thumped his ashes into a ashtray that was on mothers desk before placing it between his lips. "Ya know, all ya have to do is ask and I would have done that for ya, but I don't think I'd pluck out my own eyeball to do it." he said softly as he chuckled and looked to mother. His smile faded as his own thoughts seeped back into his head and he seemed lost in thought for a moment before the fog in his eyes cleared and he looked towards the eye floating in the jar.
"I still wonder why you always keep those. Yea i can see as a sort of memento but its kinda morbid if ya ask me." Now that Arti was gone he reverted to his normal self, the only people to see him like this was mainly mother and a select few others of the family, most of the younger ones didn't know him that well to understand. "I wonder how crazed she'll end up being, you know the last one was well past the institutionalized standard." he said as he finally put the smoke out in the ashtray and looked at mother. "But I guess that's also his problem now."
Meme De Circus: She sighed and groped from the gloves in her rear pocket and tiredly slide them on. She way clumsier now and ended up using her teeth. ”She heard him speak about the chanced of the new child's chances of maintaining their sanity. “Well beloved .. we'll carry on until the bitter end.. Enkil will be careless one day and then we'll take our world back…” But as time went on she was finding she didn't have the strength she'd once had.. she had to hope he made a mistake before her and her Plague children were... well were devoured by the stone in her possession...
”Thanks for offering but I wanted to give her a chance.. my blood still has the highest potency.. What Arty chose was only raw material.. now she'll be seared through and made into a weapon.. “ her words softened and trailed off as exhaustion claimed her. Her ravaged face with its streaks of blood a grim reminder of her duties towards her family.
Havoc: He nodded his head as he heard Mother speak softly. "One day he will and I hope I'm the one there when he does." he said gently as he watched mother. "You need to go rest mother, you know that here lately after each time you get exhausted, I'll clean up in here, you go rest." he said as he stood up from the chair and gently took the glass jar with the eye and placed it beside the others. Turning he moved about the room straightening it up and picking up some of the books and placing them back on the shelves as he stopped for a moment and stared out a window into the night. One day things will be better and Enkil will be no more. One day everything will be right and once again they shall rule the night unchallenged.
She was known by many diverse names over time but in this case, Meme de Circus was the most accurate But 'Mother' most appropriate for a group of very special children. Of her body but not of her womb. The tainted blood she carried and the unwholesome contract with her parasitic Ruby allowed her to control the nature of her plague. The plague which burrowed deeply into the body of others and tried to take it over forcing its own imprint onto the very shape of their cells as it attempted to make all it touched like it mindlessly. The Ruby she had bound herself to was the key to controlling the wildly diverging forms that the so called Jester Plague would take.
Her fingers were resting gently on the Soul-gem, its reward for its power to focus the normally painfully lethal transformation into a viable being was the collection of souls... Its insatiable hunger enabled the woman to gather different creatures into her bosom for her own dark plans of vengeance. The children performed their duties with typical abandon creating havoc in their wake like icebergs through shipping lanes or sandstorms through placid prey.
Today though she only stared with unseeing and unseen eyes- lost when she made her original contact with the nameless gemstone - this soul ravager was always speaking to her. Their deep connection was bounty and bane to her. It connected her children to her in mystical ways. The Shards each child had were slivers of the Ruby itself containing portions of its power and through it it wove a web of darkness using her innate Shadow abilities.
This connection was so deep that it resonated with their lives and gave her the means to speak to them and they if strong enough ability to speak to their siblings if they so wished and the distances weren't far. The stone now babbled inside her mind speaking only to her as she somehow being its main host was its focus. The atonal chimes and metallic shrieks would have driven most insane over the centuries... however, she was already damaged so what else could happen... Her brother had killed her...
Her tainted blood resurrected her and this malicious stone had mated with her mind and body. It jangled inside her skull and she silently cursed it..”I know.. they come” spoke her raspy voice into the room's stillness. Her slender body wracked by shivers which she ruthlessly suppressed. The black velvet trousers, long sleeved fine silk shirt and dead white painted face her only adornment besides the white gloves she always wore.
Artistique: He proceeded on down winding corridor and passageway, gliding without effort upon the path towards Mother; his Harlette in tow. He was taking her to Meme with a grand purpose in mind - one that suited his whims and desires for Perfection. She would ascend, joining the ranks of the true Famille, and no longer be his servant. It was fitting for her, she had allowed her dark desires to blossom over and over again in the raging flames she wielded against her foes and prey, devouring their souls into her Shard with ease, yet restraint.
She knew and understood, and that was reason enough. Eventually, he stopped before a large door, and knocked quietly three times before entering gracefully, prismatic orbs moving to behold the Mother of the Cirque seated at a desk. "Greetings, Mother." He said, bowing formally to she who had created him. "I bring to you my Harlette, Mysterieux, in accordance with what we spoke about earlier." And he beckoned her forwards with a slender, pale digit, to come before Meme and stand judgment.
Mysterieux: She danced behind him; though in truth she always seemed to be moving and dancing merely a medium of this movement. Her most favored exercise was merely twirling around in place, whirling madly and laughing with a maddened, if beautiful voice. She was no siren of sound perhaps but hearing her was not entirely displeasing. Her voice chimed, and as she laughed it was as though several lovely bells were laughing with her.
Those bells; however, often took a turn for the darker when her Shard hungered. Her laughter often something that would remind her victims of the divine malevolence that priests spouted from their altars. She followed her Maker, pleased as ever merely to be within his presence and she continued to whirl - until they were in the presence of Meme. For the first time, the Harlette stopped; eyes of jade widening and her figure moving into a pose of far more respect.
Yet; she would stand beside Artistique, hands clasped before her, writhing with her fingers together, but otherwise she was still. When her Master gestured she should present herself, she would do so; moving forward to curtsy quite low, her head and eyes bowed for a moment, then rising slowly and gracefully with her silvery-white hair falling forward on her shoulders. "It is my deepest honor and pleasure to be before you." she intoned with quiet awe.
Havoc: He had silently been milling about the house lost in his own thoughts for a while now. Softly he sighed to himself as he stood in the main living room in front of the fireplace as he placed his gloved hands upon the mantle and stared into the dancing flames. Lost in thought he became mesmerized by the flames until he heard the knocking. Lifting his gaze he turned his head to the sound as he smirked to himself.
It seems Arti had brought his little pet to Mother finally. Pushing off from the mantle, he allowed his hands to dip into each pocket, producing a cigarette and a lighter. Placing the cigarette between his lips he lit it with his other hand before returning the lighter back to his pocket. Bowing his head a bit he silently walked down the hall's as his long trench coat billowed out behind behind him as the smoke from the cigarette wafted in the air behind him until he reached the hall leading up to the library area where mother sat. Ah how he knew the area well, long nights had he stayed in here, reading, memorizing and studying everything he could get his hands on, the smell of the old books, leather bindings and the smell of the candles.
He couldn't say for sure how much time the rest of the family spent in this room but he practically grew up in this room. He had studied about the ruby, runes and the history of the harlequins. From mother he had known he was the first child to be produced from her, which in turn had made him the most sane of the entire family, granted he had his own wild side which if anyone knew him, knew why he was called Havoc. Taking a long drag off the cigarette he removed it with his left hand and exhaled slowly before speaking. "Quite the dancer you have there Arti, I'm sure she keeps you entertained on those long lonely nights." He laughed softly as he winked at Arti as he passed him when he stepped into the room."Mother." He said softly as he moved slowly across the room. He made his way over to one of the book shelves and removed a volume and flipped it open idly before turning and leaning against the shelf and glancing up, gazing over everyone in the room.
Meme De Circus: Meme glanced at the man once but now Harlequin now and his creation. His stillness and her waiting vibrancy balanced each other out. She watched her beloved eldest enter and tease his younger sibling. Ahh life somehow never changed. “Hello my children” A faint smile curved her dark lips; though it was brittle, it was of a welcome nonetheless. She gracefully stood up; her small frame unremarkable except for the aura of age that cloaked it. She'd lived beyond generations due mostly to the regenerative properties of the rogue blood she'd carried for eons. This benefit was passed along to her children but the transformational aspect was weakened in every generation down so while the eldest children might be able to create another brother or sister the younger ones had had to come to her.
She stepped to Artistique and gripped his arm with one gloved hand. “Are you sure you wish this... You might lose her.” she warned with a somber tone. Behind her rested the cane against the desk as it was never far from her grasp be it because she must or because she didn't trust it was unknown to all but herself. The stone seemed to laugh silently.. it was barely intelligent but its feral qualities allowed it to understand the basics.. it thirsted for another strong arm to collect what it wanted... what it required. She glanced on the desk beyond the Gemstone - a dozen or so small cylinders rested in an untidy row.. small globes floated in fluid and under close inspection one would be able to see that they were eye balls.. blue, green, purple, hazel colored eyes stared blindly out from behind the glass. “Myst do you consent.. you need to be remade.. the Jester Plague isn't kind to us but it must be done if you want to be transformed."
Artistique: He watched his Mother grip his slender arm; even as he heard the words of Havoc. He only smiled to the eldest and fixated his gaze upon Meme. "I know," he replied quietly in sonorous tone to her. "But she is deserving of the chance to inherit her true nature at last. That she might risk final death is something that cannot be avoided. This is the only path, as I am not strong enough and indeed, may never be; in order to transform her myself. The decision rests with her though, my influence is naught. She now decides her fate. I can only hope her will is strong enough to endure, even as your own was." He stated as he gazed upon the eyeballs for a moment.
Mysterieux: She waited; and the waiting meant she had to be still, and the stillness held for her a certain pain. Then Meme was moving, and there was another within the room, speaking to Artistique. Jade eyes followed the newcomer briefly, then returned to Meme and her Master, turning slightly to look at them both. She furrowed her brows a bit at the aside from Meme about Artistique losing her. It placed a chill in her gut..but she shoved it aside for the moment. This was needed. She nodded to Meme and then looked to Artistique for a moment. A look in her eyes that was, best left as undesirable, but bordering upon loss and silent pain. "I wish to be remade, Mother. If it pleases you."
Havoc: He smiled to himself as his eyes glanced over the words in the book idly but concentrated on the conversation in the room. Closing his eyes and chuckling to himself he closed the book as it echoed a bit in the large chamber before lifting his gaze to the dancing girl. "You know it will be quite painful right?" he asked as he placed the book back on the shelve before turning to her. He loved to tease and make girls squirm, to make them shake in their boots.
"You will feel your soul being ripped from your body, the pain is so intense it will make you wish for death. To feel your body contort and reform into something dark and twisted." He smiled while he closed his eyes and shuddered before opening then to look at her, his eyes dancing with a wild desire as he watched her. "Its quite..." He contemplated on the right word for a moment before giving her a wink. "Erotic." A dark chuckle escaped his lips as he stood there watching them all.
Meme De Circus: She nodded at Havoc.and turned her unseen eyes towards the young woman; toy, Artisque's toy, his child, soon to be if luck was with her- his equal. “He is right.. your first change will pale in comparison to this one” She watched for any indecision then with great reluctance nodded her acceptance of the others decision-this would only work if the person willingly gave up their old life to be sacrificed on the ruby's bloody facets.
This was what made a strong child- the desire to grow and become a real child of the Stone. “We shall do it – it is spoken in front of us all. She turned her head towards Artistique.. “Please dearling would you come here behind me.. and hold me” she said as one hand unbuttoned the glove at her wrist and tugged it from her hand. The tight material resisted but enough pressure she pulled first one hand then the other free then tucked them into a rear pocket. Beneath the soft but bruised-looking skin flowed mottled blue, grays and dull greens which almost oozed with unwholesomeness.
She held up her hand and clenched it into a fist then held it up to them.. “Undiluted Plague.. the slightly touch will kill an elephant within moments.. for our purposes we need something else as well.” She stepped over to the desk and grasped the cane in her left hand as the Ruby's jubilant metallic tones clattered like thousands of hideous wind chimes in a hurricane within her fractured mind.
Controlling a tremor in her hand, she turned back to them and lifted the right to her face.. “I wonder what color it will be this time “ she said under her breath and then she clawed at her face. The nails gouging deep wheals into her brow and cheek as the fingers sunk deeply into the shadowed eye. The stone gloried in this pain it always tormented her and this wonderful excitement sent it into a frenzy. Horrible fleshy sounds were followed by a hollow popping sound.
The gore covered fingers clutched within them her eye with the optic nerve still attached. The stringing nerve grayish and twisting as she casually snapped it away from her socket. Her blood ran down one cheek and she stood there. Tilting her head she presented the cheek to Myst.. “Kiss Mother and Be reborn.”
Artistique: He quickly moved behind Mother and held her up from behind, his arms supporting her weight easily; she weighed far less than a normal human could think for all the latent power within her frame. He heard the twisted sounds of her eye being ripped from her socket and visually cringed a little, having heard the same sound once before when he was being created. The agony was horrifying, he loathed pain and that it was happening to his beloved Mother and would soon happen to his Harlette. The thought made his eye twitch unconsciously. And he awaited Myst to come over and place the kiss that would change her completely and utterly. It was the beginning. And he hoped it wouldn't end.
Mysterieux: The eldest child of Meme's brood spoke to her and she glanced to him as he bespoke the pain involved. One of her silvery brows arched as he continued, wondering vaguely if he was trying to unnerve her. Was death frightening to her? Did he think she was afraid of the endless void of death? No..she was not. There was but one thing she was fearful of, and it was a pain that had nothing to do with the physical.
She smirked a little at the last of it, chuckled with insidious delight and then turned her attention back to where it should be. Mother, and Artistique. The smirk turned into something a bit softer as she regarded Artistique. She was caught by the sound of the rending flesh first, then the sight of the eye, blood... her eyes widened a little, having not expected that but she merely stepped forward to obey Mother's command. This was what He wanted, this was what she needed... and Mother was willing to grant it to them both. She was fully willing to give over the entirety of herself to this, knowing it was right.
Delicate, pink lips moved to touch the flesh and partake of the blood, though in that last moment her eyes would flicker to her beloved Master, and it was with his image in her mind that she touched the blood. A mere moment; barely a breath could be taken before the plague seeped into her lips; her mouth. It seemed into her very being, and began consuming her violently. As it did this, her mouth pulled back and she stumbled backwards against the desk, and the ruby at her throat, held there by black satin which He had gifted to her, throbbed as though with its own heartbeat.
She could feel it...the throbbing, and so much more. Her body jack-knifed, forward, falling to her knees. Oh yes..there was pain. She wanted to scream with it, but was choked by it instead, she felt as though the whole of her body was going to erupt, as though veins and capillaries would burst. She lay prone on the floor and began to writhe uncontrollably.
Havoc: He leaned back against the book shelve and watched her lean forward to kiss mother on the cheek, a small chuckle escaped his lips as he spoke up softly. "Lick her cheek instead of kissing it." he laughed to himself as he watched her kiss Mother's cheek. Well the deed was done, now the only thing left to do is to sit back and watch the show. He had seen this spectacle many times before and was desensitized to the whole act of it. He moved and sat down in the one of the many chairs that was around the library and took another drag off his cigarette as he watched her drop to the floor.
"I should have brought some popcorn with me." He said in a fake sorrow filled voice as he watched her began to writhe on the floor. "I tried to warn her, it is quite painful." He leaned forward as he exhaled the smoke into the air and thumped the ashes into a nearby ashtray as he tilted his head to the side. "Lets just hope she doesn't drool on the carpet."
Meme De Circus: She shrugged off Artistique's hold and pushed him away.. “Whatever you do, don't touch her.. everything about her is highly infectious. “ she didn't want any of her blood to get onto him either so she staggered a few steps back and leaned heavily on her cane with one hand. She could feel the flesh already starting to knit closed. The blood on her bone-white painted face stopped flowing and crusted over.. the dry blood no longer able to sustain the Plague. She used her link to the ruby.. forcing its compliance in this act of the play.. It wanted the young woman for itself but her force of will drove it to feed her shard. The integral links were forged as its malicious glow grew outward from the shard on the agonized woman's throat.
It stopped the plague's random mutations... three eyes and wings just weren't what she envisioned but depending on Myst's blood, things would be different from her last incarnation. Clutching the cane and driving the stone forward to complete this last change. She felt the gaping wound fill with the plague she carried.. it created replacements for the eye she'd torn out once again.. the blood.. old magic and the stone. She allowed the woman to take over control of her own shard to finish what The mother had started if she could.. Feeling ages old she groped her way to a chair and semi-accidentally on purpose made sure the other end of her cane whacked Havoc's head..”Drool dammit you say that every time..think of something new.. “ her raspy voice grumbled.
Artistique: He frowned at Havoc before turning his attention to his Harlette, no, something more now. He felt traces of her pain, wracking his body as the connection to him was severed drastically. He felt a lonely emptiness fill the hollow of his spirit for a moment as she transformed before him upon the floor. He wanted to move closer, but Mother's words stayed him and he remained backed away, watching her twist and writhe about, her body shaping, contorting, reforming into something new and far more powerful, deadly.
She was becoming one with the strings of the Ruby at last, and a small measure of pride flared within him for only a second as the echoes of agony slowly faded from him, disappearing as the connection was at last lost completely. Now her state towards him, towards everything, would be dependent upon her. He could only watch and wait.
Mysterieux: Pain. Yes. Death. No. No. She would not succumb; she would not fade away or be sucked into any ruby. She would not succumb; her ruby flared at her throat and she continued to writhe; teeth clenched. The separation from her Master, the agony of the change, she would simply have to endure. Her arms flung out from her body, and instead of drooling on the carpet, her nails would dig in, and gouge it; drawing deep rivulets within it as she dragged her hands back to her body.
Her skin shifted, her limbs contorted, and her head kicked back, her mouth still open in a silent scream. Several minutes and suddenly she grew quite still. Her silver-white hair lay across her face as she had shifted to her side, laying in a fetal position. She grit her teeth still, her Ruby whispering in her mind, stronger now... hungrier. She opened new eyes and slowly and yet she lay there. She felt power, coursing through her. The flames... she thought they had whispered to her before- now they damn right screamed. The begged her to call upon them; seeking to emanate from her, leaving her body smoking, wisps of smoke trailing from her mouth as she breathed outward, nothing but a habit as breathing hadn't been needed for some time. She leaned forward, moving her elbow to support her torso and appeared to be attempting to stand. The power...fierce...almost overwhelming. She smirked a little from behind her hair and a low chuckle echoed from her throat, delighted..malicious, and dark.
Havoc: He chuckled a bit as he waited for the foaming from the mouth to start but alas it didn't. He sighed disappointed and leaned back. "Well at least she didn't drool on the carpet, but i do believe its gonna need to be replaced." he said smiling a bit as he watched her lean up on her elbow and the smoke being emitted from her body. "Hm, I've heard of a girl being hot but I do believe that's a bit on the extreme side. Hey Arti, I bet you have a investment in burn cream eh?" he said winking to his younger sibling as he stood and walked over to Arti and patted him on the shoulder and speaking softly. "Congratulations my brother." Moving over to a shelf he grabbed an empty jar and placed it on the desk before mother and silently stood behind her watching the little dancer girl silently.
Meme De Circus: The woman grumbled now that her carpet had been torn.. It didn't help her humor as well that while the plague repaired the damage, it didn't dull the pain... hers or the newly forming harlequin. “Arti... I hope this will be what you wanted. Myst will need some time to adjust to this new body.. can you take her off to someplace familiar before she burns a hole in my carpet as well.” She murmured in her gruff way. These transformations took a lot out of her... and she didn't just mean her own eye.
When Havoc returned and placed the glass near to her she said to him “You little git... I liked that carpet. I might try ripping out your eye next time... your blood will work almost as well as mine..” She said bitchily but she gratefully accepted the cylinder. Her fingers had locked around the eyeball and she finally opened them to look at it. The shadows hid her eyes from the world and even from herself. She tilted the blood streaked head back as she held up the eye and looked at it with the one eye she had at the moment- the other not even a glimmer within the ruined flesh in the socket. “Ahh... it was hazel... hasn't been that in awhile” she said and sighed wistfully as she carefully dropped it into the fluid and recapped the top... the dead eye looked out and one could almost see a remnant of Mother's fire reflected in it.
Artistique: He gathered up his once-little one and held her now-limp, frail body coursing with dark power close to his gaunt frame with ease. His eyes were hidden by his hair, and he responded not when Havoc spoke to him, only remained silent. It was what he wanted in the end, he surmised, but he couldn't help but feel the keening sense of loneliness in his spirit where her link to him once resided.
And again it caused him agony, as did all emotion that he felt far more keenly than any other could possibly hope to imagine. He did not react though; this too he would have to learn to ignore, to banish away into the corners of his mind. He merely proceeded towards the door with his arms about the newly-born Harlequin, pausing only once upon the threshold to look back at the two still standing there, his orbs shrouded still by his hair. "Thank you, Mother. For everything." And then he turned, and proceeded out the door, his willowy form vanishing from sight into the darkness of the corridors, until even his footsteps faded away, lost in the silence.
Havoc: He smirked a bit as he shook his head watching Arti leave. "No respect for the elder siblings, couldn't even say goodbye to me." he sighed as he walked around the desk that mother sat at and sat down in the chair, one leg hanging over the arm of it as he thumped his ashes into a ashtray that was on mothers desk before placing it between his lips. "Ya know, all ya have to do is ask and I would have done that for ya, but I don't think I'd pluck out my own eyeball to do it." he said softly as he chuckled and looked to mother. His smile faded as his own thoughts seeped back into his head and he seemed lost in thought for a moment before the fog in his eyes cleared and he looked towards the eye floating in the jar.
"I still wonder why you always keep those. Yea i can see as a sort of memento but its kinda morbid if ya ask me." Now that Arti was gone he reverted to his normal self, the only people to see him like this was mainly mother and a select few others of the family, most of the younger ones didn't know him that well to understand. "I wonder how crazed she'll end up being, you know the last one was well past the institutionalized standard." he said as he finally put the smoke out in the ashtray and looked at mother. "But I guess that's also his problem now."
Meme De Circus: She sighed and groped from the gloves in her rear pocket and tiredly slide them on. She way clumsier now and ended up using her teeth. ”She heard him speak about the chanced of the new child's chances of maintaining their sanity. “Well beloved .. we'll carry on until the bitter end.. Enkil will be careless one day and then we'll take our world back…” But as time went on she was finding she didn't have the strength she'd once had.. she had to hope he made a mistake before her and her Plague children were... well were devoured by the stone in her possession...
”Thanks for offering but I wanted to give her a chance.. my blood still has the highest potency.. What Arty chose was only raw material.. now she'll be seared through and made into a weapon.. “ her words softened and trailed off as exhaustion claimed her. Her ravaged face with its streaks of blood a grim reminder of her duties towards her family.
Havoc: He nodded his head as he heard Mother speak softly. "One day he will and I hope I'm the one there when he does." he said gently as he watched mother. "You need to go rest mother, you know that here lately after each time you get exhausted, I'll clean up in here, you go rest." he said as he stood up from the chair and gently took the glass jar with the eye and placed it beside the others. Turning he moved about the room straightening it up and picking up some of the books and placing them back on the shelves as he stopped for a moment and stared out a window into the night. One day things will be better and Enkil will be no more. One day everything will be right and once again they shall rule the night unchallenged.