The Funeral of Adar vi Rauco

Mitsuo got bored of waiting, so he walked at his normal pace to approach Auth.
When he arrived at his destination he stood next to Alan, nodding the Unicorn in greeting.

He then turned to Auth, "I am sorry for your loss," he spoke.
Mitsuo stood hesitant for a while before speaking up again, "I shall take my leave, sorry for interrupting."

After he spoke, Mitsuo turned to leave and slowly walked his way back over to the bench he was originally sat at.
'I can't wait for my next mission,' he thought to himself and clenched his first, 'I'm going to show now remorse for those Titans.'

Mitsuo sat down and stared at the sky, 'today is the day mercy dies.'

Alan was quite surprised by Auth's remarks, but did his best to not let that show. A crusade on the titans? Pawns? Was he insane? Alan was glad to see Auth was not letting his father's death get to him, but this was a bit much. The way Auth smiled simply looked wrong to Alan. Something didn't feel right.
Alan was very worried about Auth and his plan - not because he doubted it could work, but more because of the consequences it could have on everything. It seems like Auth was ready to give his life to this insane crusade idea, and Alan wasn't sure how much of that was rational. Was this his way of dealing with the pain of loss? Putting his mind to something so great, that its shadow will hide the sadness of Auth's past?

Alan was rather flattered by Aith's remarks about him, though he doubted they were very accurate. Alan wasn't that smart, was he?
From Auth's words, he seemed to imply he had future plans for Alan. That made him feel dreadful. Auth wasn't the type to plan out lovely garden-side walks, but big and intricate high-risk projects. Alan was starting to feel regrets about vowing to protect Auth in whatever he may do, but those regrets quickly faded. Auth was a great person, with good values. He was his friend. Alan felt compelled to help him out in any way he could.

Auth told Alan to seek out Peren, to talk to him. Alan was honestly kind of glad to leave Auth, who seemed to be lost in thought, thinking of his marvelous future plans and schemes. Auth was worrying Alan, and he hoped that he would find peace in whatever it was that he was doing now, because at least to Alan, he did not seem well.
"I guess I'll go talk to Peren now," Alan said, looking over his shoulder once again. He noticed Mitsuo, and nodded towards him. It was good seeing another friendly face.
Alan turned back to Auth, looking him directly in the eyes with a worried look.
"Take care of yourself, okay?"
Without waiting for a response, Alan grabbed his crutches and waddled over to Peren slowly.

As he got closer, Alan was getting more and more worried. What was it that Peren wanted? Auth seemed to know about this. Was it another one of his intricate schemes? Alan hated not knowing, being aware of the strings in the back but not knowing who's pulling them.
The Hydrargyrum, even without their gear and their leader, looked very menacing and powerful as Alan got approached them. Like solemn statues, they stood and held their grounds. As Alan got to Peren, he couldn't help but notice that the other Hydrargyrum soldier that he talked to on that night, the one with the lazy stance, wasn't among the Hydrargyrum's small party. Does that mean that he, too, has fallen in the battle? Alan felt sadness. They must be devastated, upon losing so many of their comrades in one battle.
Alan finally stood in front of Peren, holding his crutches tightly. Looking first at the ground, then Peren's face. Finally, Alan spoke.
"You wanted to see me?" he asked, hoping that none of the fear he felt was showing in his voice. He couldn't let the Hydrargyrum see him as broken, as weak and scared. Even if he felt just that.

Even though Sangwa put the hand on her arm softly Cora still got startled, she was so lost in thought and fixated on watching everything but said woman that she did not realize she appeared.
Upon touching her, she instinctively lifted her other hand to protect herself in case of...something other than her talking.

Until Sangwa finished talking she just remained frozen, hand still lifted up.

Did you hear that?
Hear what?
She does not want to be around people who are sorry...
Yes?
So does she even care? Does she even love him, pardon me. Did she even love him?
I am not sure and I heavily doubt saying that now would be a good idea...
Well that is different, keep it in mind though...they are all just actors!

Vex started laughing inside her head. Unpleasant and no way to stop him. Marvelous.
She just stared at her, not really knowing what to say for the first few seconds before managing to stumble a few, "Oh. Hello. Yes. Cora. Nice to meet you."

Startling Cora with attacking her physically was no problem, but suddenly starting a conversation, esspecially if she had never met that person was...not too good.

Cora suddenly realized that her arm was still up and she quickly took it down and turned around to her. She looked down on Sangwa.
"You look so similar to Auth!", she just randomly said before correcting herself, "No. Auth looks similar to you, as you are his mother and not the other way around...", she suddenly was not too sure anymore on how to address her, should she talk more...as if she was talking to someone that was higher up? Cora was not sure, what she was sure about though was that she regretted not having left before. Now she found herself in some awkward conversation that she would really loved to avoid.

Why out of all people did Sangwa need to come to her? To Cora, the one person in this whole mob of people that did not know how to talk to people!

Since Sangwa appeared Cora had not blinked once, making her appear as some sort of startled animal even more.

You are making an idiot out of yourself.

"No I am not.", she said, "Oh. That...was not for you, I am sorry.", she still stared at her, "Uhm. This is awkward....do you want to talk about the weather?"

Now this is definitly the best solution to the problem of 'making an idiot out of yourself'.

//OOC: Auth's role in the funeral is mostly over at this point, and I think Mitsuo's as well. Once Alan and Peren finish talking, as well as Cora and Sangwa, we can wrap it all up as completed.

"No problem, Mitsuo" Auth replied to the interruption. "And thank you." Although, despite what he'd leave to be understood, Auth wasn't thanking Mitsuo for him being sorry for the loss. No, Auth was thanking him for the fire in his eyes. That meant a person less to persuade, and such an important person, too. If their crusade was to be successful, they'd need better warfare methods that what they had now. Time to hit the old books, it seemed.

Auth nodded to Alan as he left off. He'd take care of himself, that wasn't the problem. After all, he was the last Rauco. He had to make his plan work before he could afford the luxury of dying. Now, how to best make the whole deal start off... probably through law. Well, seems he had to finally capitalize on all of those connections his family had made alongside time, eh?

***

The Hydrargyrum slowly watched Alan approach. He probably felt embarrassed by his state, but the Hydrargyrum just appreciated his determination, of getting out of bed and get all the way here, despite his problems. After all, some members of the Hydrargyrum were in the exact same state. And some were... worse.

Peren nodded. "Yeah... we really wanted to talk to you." Peren took a deep breath. "I'll speak for the Hyradrgyrum, but know that we all think alike in this matter."

Pause. "First... we don't blame you. If anyone is to blame, it is ourselves. We've spent all the time setting up the trap, yet we failed. And now, Adar is dead, and the shifter is still free." He sighed again. "But that's mostly besides the point now. We wanted to tell you that if anything, we see ourselves in you."

"We see how we were before Adar got to us. Idealistic, not fit for the crooked place. Weak in body, strong in mind. You're so very much alike most of us were. But now... now Adar isn't here." He paused. It was a long pause, a moment of silence held for Adar. "And... we talked to Auth. He told us of your plans for later, of going outside the walls. You really are just like us. So we want to offer to train you, once you'll be healthy again."

Peren straightened up, forcing himself to leave the grief away for a moment. "We offer you the ways of the Hydrargyrum, the Silver that Flows, the Poison Tear." His voice lowered. "We offer you, while not a way to fight normal titans, a way to fight shifters. We will do as Adar did for us."

"If you accept, of course"

Peren was obviously struggling, as it was not his style to be persuasive, and as the grief was not easy to hold back. Yet, the offer had been made. Now, for the answer...

***

Sangwa chuckled softly at Cora's babbling. "Why, thank you, dear. It's good to know my son did take at least some things after me!" Indeed, Cora was doing her purpose perfectly. There truly was little to not way of still being sad while talking to her.

"And, no, the weather is quite the boring topic, if you ask me." A sly grin appeared on her lips. She still somehow managed to make it look refined and feminine, but it was clearly there. "I was thinking of more interesting things... like, say, poison..."

Mitsuo sighed. He felt awkward now just hanging around at the funeral, acting as if it was just some social event.

His passion still burned inside of him. If he is going to help turn the tables in the war against the Titans, he might as well return to the workshop to finish of his project.

He took a deep breath and stood up suddenly, making haste to the direction of his home district.
He now has a motive. He is now inspired. He will now not stop until his job is done.

Mitsuo matched away from the funeral, "This world... will now be HELL for the Titans."

As Alan stood and listened to the veteran's words, he experienced sudden and diverse feelings - first, surprise, then pride, followed by fear and anger, and at last confusion. However, it was at the end of Peren's words that Alan felt a true change, when he offered him to be trained by the Hydrargyrum. Almost at once did Alan's despair dissappear, like light shining into a dark room locked for many years. It was not happiness or determination that gave Alan salvation, but it was the question itself - a dilemma, one that needed Alan's full concentration and focus. It's as if Alan rediscovered the most important thing in his life - his mind. Alan was given something to use his brain for, which has been sitting idlely since the attack on the vi Rauco mansion. His brain, up to the task, was itching to analyze, to percieve, to hypothesize.
Alan realized the Hydrargyrum were still waiting for an answer.
"Your offer is too kind," Alan said quickly, a live, excited look in his eye "But if you'll excuse me, I must think it over for a bit."
And with that, Alan closed his eyes, and let his mind take over.

Alan was surprised to hear the Hydrargyrum take the blame for the event. He was not used to such brutal honesty and self-fault in the spoken words of men, much less Military Policemen. While he wasn't sure how much they were to blame themselves for the whole event, considering how much he did not know, he still only felt more respect towards these people who took responsibility for their actions, and spoke harsh truths when needed.
Alan was far more surprised, however, to hear the Hydrargyrum identify with him and describe him as similar to Adar. Alan felt proud to be compared to someone he looked up to, more so by people he respected.
But the Hydrargyrum knew his secret.

At first, Alan was furious at the thought. How dare Auth betray his trust like that? How could he trust Auth if he knew that Auth could reveal all about him if he sees it fit? Alan grew only more and more aware of how much power Auth had over him.
Still, Alan understood why Auth did it. Only that way would the Hydrargyrum know his motivation, his risks. Only then would they step out of their way to help him.
Or so he thought.

At last, came the conundrum - the terrible, wonderful question - should Alan accept the Hydrargyrum's offer, and be trained by them in their arts?
Alan's instinctive answer would be yes - not only was it great honour to be given such an opportunity from some of humanity's finest, but doing so would also further his own ends when it comes to training to become the masked warrior.
However, doubts clouded Alan's mind. His purpose was to fight normal titans during regular expeditions. Because shifter attacks were often so spontaneous, he had no way of knowing when and where to be in order to stop them. Still, such training would be valuable.
What really bothered Alan was the Hydrargyrum itself, and Auth. It seems that Auth has been stirring monstrous plans in his head. Was this one of them? How much of this was the Hydrargyrum's doing, and how much was Auth's? Alan presumed that training under these people would only give Auth more intel on him and more power over him. Was he just a pawn in Auth's control, to be used when the time is right for his own grandeous agenda? Was all this to put Alan in debt to someone already much more powerful than him?

It didn't matter how much he trusted Auth- he knew accepting would have consequences, some so grim that they may alter Alan's destiny.
Alan's thoughts trailed off to the future he hoped to have - living in a nice family married to Marian, sustaining his family, giving hope as the Grayblade and justice as a Military Policeman. How much of that would be possible after what Auth had in store?
Was Alan going to give Auth control over his life, just like he gave his mother all those years ago?

Alan's eyes flared open, looking at Peren, who was clearly doing his best to get over his grief. He had his answer, but was thinking of the best way to phrase it.
Alan finally spoke, the words flowing out by themselves.
"I am truly grateful for your kind words. You have put me at ease more than I thought were possible. I wish I could speak words to comfort you and tell you that you are not at fault - but that won't be right. To a certain extent, just like I am. The best we can do is work hard to make amends for that."
Alan hoped his words weren't too harsh, even for a veteran soldier, but he had to speak his peace.

"Speaking of hard work - I will gladly accept your offer. It would be my absolute privilege to train under your people and learn from your experience."
Alan paused before he continued. "However, there's something I must make clear. What I am doing is to fulfil my own goals and ambitions. If these goals align with those around me or not is irrelevant. I am not encontracted to your goals, nor Auth's. I owe you nothing more than what I will to give."
Alan took a deep breath before continuing, hoping his words did not strike too hard. "I will train under you because I choose to, not because I feel obliged to. It is my right as such to walk away, if I must."

Alan looked at the ground at his feet, shaking. What was he doing? What did he hope to achieve? But the words just kept coming. He looked up at Peren, face full of determination.
"There is one thing I must know, before I accept. Simply, who is it that you serve? Is it Auth, the son of your fallen leader? Is it the military, your only true home? Or is it yourselves, and your own individual wills? Who do you serve?" he finished his words, almost shouting at the poor, mourning soldiers. Alan was doing something dangerous, but he felt it was right to speak his mind. He felt no more despair, no more fear of what's to come. And most of all, he felt freedom. Such sweet, strong freedom.

Cora got quite confused at Sangwa and what she was saying, she was probably doing everything wrong. She was not serious at all, and it was a funeral! Weren’t you supposed to be dead-serious. Ha. Dead. Dead-serious. Both Nec and Vex started laughing at this stupid line of thinking.

Sangwa suggested talking about poison. Cora did not know anything about that, she never was too interested in plants. Or Vegetables. Cora liked meat. And she liked beating people up, and torturing people. Poisoning was just…too…simple, she guessed. You on your own weren’t evolved enough in the process of killing. So rather boring.

"I am not sure…I don’t like Vegetables. And torturing them is not…satisfying enough if you use poison."

Peren carefully listened to Alan's words, with a weak smile that slowly widened. As Alan went on and on about his independence, members of the Hydargyrum in the back whispered quietly to one another. And as Alan asked to whom were they loyal, Peren himself couldn't help but let out a stifled chuckle. A short silence loomed before he answered, but the answer came with certainty, and honesty.

"You truly are like us"

And with that, another short silence, as Peren put a hand, quite softly, on Alan's shoulder. "We do not make any demand of you. We make an offer, just like Adar did back when we were young. He had never asked obedience out of us; his every command was followed by choice, and we always had the right to walk away." He looked back at the Hydrargyrum. "Some even truly did walk away. He wasn't perfect, even though he could never let the general public know that. But he valued freedom, and so we do as well. Rest easy, solider, your freedom of will is yours alone, and you will not be bound to anyone."

He stepped back, getting his hand off of Alan's shoulder. "As for us... Our loyalty is where it should have always been." There was a ring in Peren's voice, implying it has not always been the case. "Not with the military. They are too corrupt. Not with ourselves. Alone we are too weak. Not Auth. The son is not the father, and probably will never be. And... not even with Adar. Remember the idea, not the man."

"Our loyalty is with mankind, and mankind's safety. We will continue fighting for it to our last breath."

The entire Hydrargyrum nodded in silence. Peren truly spoke for them all. After all, whomever had been by Adar's side for as long as they were would have taken up the man's ideals. Ideals of peace and order. Ideals of safety.

//OOC: Alan, you can feel free to end the conversation at any point you wish, and have Alan leave.

***

As Cora spoke, Sangwa started realizing where her mind was heading. It's not like she hasn't been there before, just... not recently. Recently being in the last twenty years. But now... with her husband, her beloved Adar, dead... She had to get her mind off of it. She had to somehow save her mind from going fully insane over the loss, which she already was dangerously close to. Adar would forgive her.

She smiled. "Oh, my dear child..." Her voice was much softer than before. And sweeter. "You have never seen proper poison at work, have you?" Too sweet, like an overly ripe fruit. "Have you ever seen a man whose flesh literally melts off of his bones? Or one that bleeds from every pore on across his skin, as if pierced by millions and millions of needles?" Her breath was heavy, and on her face there was a slight blush from the excitement. "Or someone alive rotting like a corpse?"

The ecstasy that imagining the poison was creating in Sangwa... It was a common symptom in her family. It came alongside being taught what poison does when you were barely able to talk. But she was even more drastic than the usual, and the excitement she gained from it was... a few margins of magnitude greater than what the rest of her family had.
Adar had tempered this inclination of her alongside time, and she managed to keep it under control. Learning medicine was also a part of what made it more controllable.

And yet, right now, she was fully into it. She slowly licked her lips at the mere thought of what she was speaking of. "Say, does it sound more satisfying now? What mere 'vegetables' can do, if used properly?"

When Alan has finished his harsh demands, and Peren chuckled, he was nearly certain he was in the wrong. Fear sprung in Alan, fear for his future. But then, Peren began talking. With each word, Alan grew more and more relieved. It was everything he could have wanted and more. The Hydrargyrum may have seen a kindered spirit in Alan, but he just saw heroes, people he grew to admire more and more with each passing word.
And the touch...

It was only a small gesture - a hand on the shoulder. Surely to signify understanding or some form of comfort.
But to Alan, it meant so much more. It's the first time he got support and sympathy from another person since the night of the attack. He had to struggle through all his misery and despair alone, without others to rely on. Peren's palm, although not too warm, provided more acceptance and comfort than he must've realized.
Alan hadn't seen his parents in years. This was the first time since then he felt like a parent was there to guide him, to comfort him when he needed it, even if this wasn't a real one.
Alan was overcome by emotion. The great despair he felt and overcome, the pride and joy he felt, the envy towards the Hydrargyrum, the will to fight, the death of Adar... It was all too much.
Tears started rolling down Alan's face, visible under his glasses. First it was quiet, then he started sobbing without sound, chocking on his emotions. He shuddered and looked down, not knowing what to do or how to act.
"T-thank yo-ou..." he managed to gargle, shaking violently. Despite his hysterical sobbing, he was smiling, an earnest, genuine smile.
For the first time in weeks, he felt happy.

//OOC: Alan's part is done, as far as I can see. Herd, you're welcome to conclude the encounter or leave it be as you see fit. I don't think I'll post here anymore unless you deem it necessary.

Cora listened to Sangwa and quickly started changing her opinion about poison with every word of her. It probably was not due to what she was talking but more due to how she was talking. She would love to see someone rotting alive, sure! She would also love to see someone's flesh melting of his bones. Some part of her was still for doing that herself, surgically. With poisons...they just did too much for you, you weren't as involved.

Sangwa seemed...so much different from before. A whole lot different, she was not the mourning wife of a dead person anymore, she was...batshit insane. Cora liked her even more. Another insane person! Marvelous!

"Say, does it sound more satisfying now? What mere 'vegetables' can do, if used properly?", she said.

Cora just looked at her not given any sign that she even had heard her question. She suddenly sighed.
"Yes, it does sound more interesting for sure. For one thing you have convinced me to never even touch something greenish. Secondly the thing with poisons is still that you don't do it yourself...you don't surgically do things to them! That's such a great part!", she really hoped having a discussion about poisons would somehow be helpful. Or even just accepted.

As Alan burst into tears, Peren watched him sympathetically, with a weak smile on his face. Overcome with grief as he was, it was hard to smile honestly, but not impossible. He stepped slightly towards Alan, and, with a voice forcing itself to surety, spoke again.

"Well... this isn't truly true in a physical sense, but in our hearts it is, at least..." He made a small pause. It was the first time someone other than Adar had ever said this.

"Welcome to the Hydrargyrum"


//OOC: Alan's and Peren's part is completely done. Cora's left to wrap up and we can call it a day.

***

Sangwa slightly chuckled at Cora's reply. "Oh, my dearie, poison can be put into anything, from drinks to meat. Avoiding the greens won't help you one bit." And from there, she took a more serious, although still somewhat euphoric state. "As for the surgicality of it... True, you yourself do not do all that much besides preparing the poison. But, let me ask, can you in any way surgically make someone's flesh rot off of his bones? Or make them bleed from every pore?" There was no way to stab someone with a needle enough time to create the same effect. Sangwa would know. "I do agree in that you don't do it, but, nor can you do it, see? Poison offers you a whole new world of things to do to people, things that simply cannot be done the old-fashioned physical way. Besides, it's not like poisons can't be used in assistance, by paralyzing or generating more pain from smaller wounds."

Sangwa looked around. She suddenly noticed they were almost the last few left in the courtyard. That meant that soon enough they themselves would have to go. She loathed the idea of being alone again, but there was no helping it. Or was there...?

"Say, would you like to learn? You can come with me and Auth back to the mansion" Shivers went up her spine. Thinking about it was hitting sensitive spots. "It's a bit battered down, but I'm sure you won't mind."