equalizer.

The laugh startles Cassius, it’s like Mallick knows something he doesn’t – but that shouldn’t surprise him, now should it?

“Losing Saiyah devastated me”. If there’s one thing that Cassius prides himself in (admittedly, there’s quite a few), it’s that he’s perceptive. It’s what makes him so good at his job, he’s able to read people, play the game of social politics in such a way that the customers still remember their casino visit as enjoyable despite leaving short of a few coins they initially entered the establishment with. So used to façades and lies said with a smile, in moments like these, Cassius is all the more appreciative of Mallick. Sure, there’s a hint of something akin to sadness in Mallick’s gaze, but it’s truthful and genuine in a way Cassius rarely sees in Kadeu. Truthful even in the face of aching grief – an admirable quality that Cassius is certain he himself does not possess.  

“I love her”. Mallick still speaks in the present, as if the woman he loved isn’t long since gone cold, and it puzzles Cassius. Perhaps it’s because those from his past he’s unabashedly told ‘I love you’ have long since been disavowed in his mind, firmly rooted in the past never meant to resurface. (Truthfully, they still do resurface on occasion, come knocking at the stoop of Cassius’ nightmares where he pleads with them to just tell him what he did wrong, and why he wasn’t enough for them to continue on loving him). To love something that is no longer in existence, it’s strange.

Besides, if love is so terrifying, so risky, why risk it? Why risk the pain of having a love you once possessed later get ripped away? Surely, you’re better off never having felt what you could have lost, versus knowing for certain just how much pain losing the one you love is. (If he hadn’t loved his mother in the first place it wouldn’t have hurt so much the day he admitted to himself that he no longer loved her and the person she had become). To Cassius, no joy of love could outshine the shadows of a love inevitably lost.

Cas recognises that this is exactly what Mallick is talking about: fearing love because of an expectation that it will leave you. But when he tries to imagine a love that you just expect to be there in the moment, he can’t. That type of stability and trust intrinsically ingrained in such a thing is unimaginable to Cassius. And maybe he can’t because Cassius is as greedy as he’s feared, greedy enough to want to control something that he shouldn’t (can’t). Because if he can control his own love, manipulate it to the whims of his already skewed logic, then he can never truly get hurt; never truly hurt anyone who makes the mistake of loving him back.

“I have to say, if it’s easier for you to accept the way they hurt you, then you do not love them”.

“That’s a given”.

Cassius did not love Emmeline, and Emmeline did not love Cassius. Cassius simply loved what Emmeline did to him, what Emmeline made him feel. (Or, distinctly, what Emmeline made him not feel). They had a mutual understanding of these facts when they made their agreement almost a decade ago, and when they had renewed their agreement just this past year. So of course, what Mallick stated was obvious to Cassius; accepting the hurt Emmeline gave him was far easier than it ever would be to actually love her.

Absentmindedly, he reaches up to his lip, feeling for the split that a healer had erased not an hour or two before. However, just as his fingers meet smooth unblemished skin, he’s quick to draw them away, pressing his hands into his lap to still their fidgeting. The constrained motion doesn’t last long, and soon enough Cassius is reaching down to draw small spirals in the dirt with his finger, piecing together his own questions hidden beneath a winding logic. “But there’s nothing wrong with that, is there?” Finally, Cassius looks up from the ground, searching for Mallick’s gaze when he asks, “What does it matter if someone I don’t love hurts me?” It’s no less sincere as it is naïve, a question that should have a basic answer, but one that Cassius can’t seem to uncover.

Mallick gives a slow nod and a light shrug. 

“Glad to know you understand that, I just had to throw it in for good measure.” He said the last bit with a smile, but Mallick was nothing if assessing what this truly meant for Cassius’ and the bruises he’d once caught a while ago. Not just once too. But Cassius had always been careful after the first slip up, maybe because Mallick had asked that first time and the answer had made sense at first, but not truly the second time. If he had to be honest with himself though, the place where he’d caught the blemish had not particularly fit with the story Cassius had thrown as an excuse then. Mallick might have just wanted to believe that this could not be anything drastic. How many times had he caught himself in the line of fire with what was not considered as unreasonable violence in this faction? Too many to count.

But Cassius was not of Clubs, surely they had better laws to protect their citizens even if they were humans back in Diamonds? Maybe that was something he should start looking into, Diamond’s actual laws, not the ones he’d barely skimmed, but the ones that left people like Cassius unprotected by them. He couldn’t possibly leave his own faction to the ruins, but he could handle gathering as much information as he could while managing his own load. An idea all prompted by the way his eyes caught yet another bruise, but Mallick swiftly averted them, by now, he did not wish to alert Cassius of where his thoughts might be going. It would be better to play along, it might be safer for Cassius too. 

That was what was important, “Well for one you’re not safe in that type of relationship. It all goes so wrong so quickly.” 

Mallick had known self-destruction, The Resistance had stood place as his partner in that road for many years. But before it’d destroyed him, it had inadvertently shown him that this wouldn’t have been what the person he was dying for would have wanted. He could read it in between the lines of Cassius’ question, there’s something there that scares him concerning Cassius’ future. Because if this is what the young man believes to be his ultimate truth, it will lead to his ultimate demise and Mallick cannot impede it. In the end, the fate of one could only be nudged and influenced, never controlled. Fate was like love in that sense, was it not? Yet people accepted fate a lot easier than they did the latter. It was quite strange. 

“I don’t think being with someone you don’t love is wrong, many families still arrange unions, for power, for money, for personal affairs. So to not love someone you decide to stay with is not wrong Cassius. It’s the reasons for it that can make a lot of sense, or little to no sense. I wouldn’t want any of my brothers being with a partner that did not keep them safe even if they didn’t love them. Why live at all, if all it is good for is to get hurt? Even worse if intentionally.”

Was that truly the only purpose Cassius sought in life? To die miserably because he’d decided that was his fate and it was all the worth it had in store for him? Mallick’s expressions turned solemn, that was the one thing it would all eventually lead to. Although Cassius being human meant death would claim him sooner than many others, it seemed that the young man had already started down a path that would prematurely grant him his last hour at any given time. But it was contradictory to the actions he would take and the care he would take to not show where he was getting hurt. Still, Mallick had to know. 

DEATH: What does your muse consider the worst way to die?

DISEASE: What does your muse do on a sick day?

Love: it’s a foreign concept to Cassius.

Like something he’s never meant to have, something he doesn’t deserve because of how inexplicitly rotten he truly is. To Cassius, love sounds like something that’s meant to be cherished, and if Cassius held it in his hands he would no doubt taint the purity of such a treasure.

In his own life, he knows what Emmeline and he share isn’t love, and he’s satisfied with that. From the very beginning, Cassius never sought out Emmeline with the purpose of experiencing love. What they exchanged was nothing but consensual abuse, little bruises that decorated his skin to reveal the darkness beneath, and at the core of his very being. Just last night she had slapped him a little too hard across the face and split his lip. But she had kissed him after, and it stung in just the right way to make his mind go deliciously blank. Perhaps love isn’t something Cassius needs in the first place, not if she can make him feel like that.

He had managed a trip to the healer to take care of the visible remnants, but he left the others, hidden away beneath his clothing. Long since used to their subtle sting when pressed, the bruises weren’t enough to bother him, and being on time to his appointment with Mallick took priority.

When Mallick responds with a question of his own, Cassius’ first thought is: do I even want to know why when I will never have it? Purposefully avoiding Mallick’s gaze as he thinks, he leans against Saiyah’s tree and fiddles with his earlobe until it pinkens, eyes trained on the dirt below them.

He’s seen love in peaceful hues, but he’s never truly experienced that type of warm love; the type of love that people like Ara and Hilo have, or the type of love that Mallick has for the long-gone Saiyah. It’s this type of love that remains so tremendously unfathomable and out-of-reach to Cas. When he was younger, the love his parents gave him was admittedly peaceful, but it was never real. There’s no way the love that he experienced could have been real with the way it crumbled so fantastically before his very eyes. No way the comforting touches and kisses on his head could have been real when what should have been a child’s fictional nightmares shifted into reality.

It must have been nothing more than a childish dream.

And, well, Cassius knows what feeling frightened is like. That aspect of love is most familiar to him.

(tiny little pills and incurable anger. water filling his lungs and dragging him down deep. fingers twitching and wanting to reach out and accept luke’s confession when cassius knows he has nothing good to offer).

But even if he will never have it, Cassius is curious. He wants to know how love can be so disparate.

The croupier mumbles, more stream of consciousness than anything well-formed, “In the books, love is always grand. Or, peaceful maybe. But a majority of what I’ve witnessed of love ends in hopeless disappointment”. Barely a beat of silence before, “I mean, yours did, didn’t it?”

Cassius properly looks up at Mallick at that statement, startled by his own question and quick to check the man’s features for signs of anger. “Sorry”. He hadn’t meant to say that, it had just slipped out; the human becoming increasingly unfiltered as he grew comfortable around the shifter over the years. Tentatively, and so unlike his confident façade, he adds, “I do want to know though, why love is peaceful and frightening. It doesn’t really make any sense to me”.

Maybe the explanation wouldn’t matter in the end. Perhaps even after Mallick explained it to Cassius he still wouldn’t get it, wasn’t meant to get something he would never experience. But that still didn’t change the underlying fact that Cassius wanted to know.

Mallick could only laugh, to think of the love he had for his wife as a disappointment because he lost her, that did bring about a chuckle or two. Then he shook his head slightly and let out a quiet sigh. Cassius definitely couldn’t begin to understand what disappointment truly felt like. If to lose someone you love only brought forth such an emotion, then he’d never felt it before, Mallick would not be surprised if it was the case because wasn’t the young man already building himself up to not getting what he thought he did not deserve? Go figure how he’d built this whole scheme of his and how he’d managed to keep at bay things that would eventually disappoint him. 

“Losing Saiyah devastated me.” Mallick had to correct this information first, leveling Cassius with a gaze of his own, a tad more solemn than usual, “Because I love her and that’s the frightening part with this emotion, we can lose the things and people we associate with it. We can lose many more things, but to admit that we love something or someone and to know it can one day end up leaving us, it’s terrifying, rightfully so.” This had nothing to do with the fairy tales Cassius believed to be false, the truth was, they were false. Mallick had never thought about love the way his parents had, but he’d believed that theirs could be attainable in his own way. 

It wasn’t until Saiyah, having her and losing her, that he’d understood what his mother had meant when he’d been younger and she’d spoken of how he would eventually come to understand; that what hurts us about loving people also makes us love them more. “But I can’t tell you that the fear is what guided me for as long as I was with Saiyah and the reason for that was because I expected nothing more and nothing else than to have this moment with her; the present we lived in.” It was a complex thing to try to explain and Mallick wanted to find the right words, but a lot of those right words were also borrowed from his parents’ wisdom, his grandparents’ legacy and his sibling’s silly recanting of these words when they’d had one too many pints. 

Mallick wanted to convey this to Cassius in a way that did not resemble the last image, he felt a frown as he thought about it, the main thing he’d noticed to bring about failure when it came to loving someone was expectations. “You have to let go of putting expectation on how you feel it, what I mean is,” He leaned forward, legs crossed and elbows leaning over his knees, “If you expect it to leave you, you fear it, if you expect it to never leave you, you obsess with losing it. If you never expect it to do anything else but be with you, without caring for everything else that stands against it or for it, then you simply find peace with it.”  

He held out three fingers and this time, a smile did cut through the serious way his features had suddenly been drawn into. “There are three important things to know about love; you cannot control it, you should not control it and you do not want to control it.” Mallick gave a light shrug, “But those are the Shah’s household rules, I’m not sure they apply to everyone else, they’ve been pretty solid in guiding me and my brothers in finding lifelong partners so far, so I’d say they could benefit you in the future, if that’s something you eventually want to find out for yourself.”

Because as much talk of love as one could have, Mallick was certain not everyone wanted to even begin to explore that unfamiliar territory. Most people he knew wanted to control the way they felt and to think of this one thing that no matter how much you tried to take a hold of, could easily slip away, break you apart, kill you and remold your entire life to its own whims and desires, it could scare away more than a couple of strong hearts. Mallick had just been raised to accept the conditions, so in a way, he’d been prepared for anything it would bring forth. The love story he’d had with Saiyah had not been a disappointment, he had and still cherished everything she gave him and he would never regret ever knowing her, ever loving her, ever losing her. 

Spiders: Does your muse squish bugs or put them outside?

The Dark: Did your muse sleep with a mana nightlight as a child?

Snakes: Would your muse ever keep an unusual/exotic pet?

Blood: What’s the worst injury your muse has ever had?

Clowns: Does your muse prefer comedy? Or horror?

Mirrors: What is your muse’s least favorite thing about their appearance?

Tight Space: Does your muse ever feel that they’re not living up to their own potential?

Closet Monsters: What is one thing your muse does that identifies them with their species? Their faction?

Crowds: What does your muse prefer, the action of Downtown Diamonds and the Circle, or the quiet away from it?

Death: What does your muse consider the worst way to die?

Ghosts: Has your muse ever seen something they couldn’t explain?

Needles: Does your muse have a strong stomach?

Curses: Does your muse believe in good/bad luck? How about karma?

Heights: Is your muse a risk-taker?

Solitude: Name 3 things your muse couldn’t live without.

Fire: Would your muse rather be very cold, or very hot?

Failure: Has your muse ever given up on an important dream?

Abandonment: How would your muse win back someone who left them?

The Unknown: Does your muse have a deity they believe in?

Boogeyman:  Name one thing your muse has lost that they wish they could get back.

Falling: What does your muse think about falling in love or commitment?

Change: What was a turning point in your muse’s life?

Disease: What does your muse do on a sick day?

Number 13: Does your muse believe any superstitions?

Noise: Name one sound your muse finds absolutely unbearable.

Insects: Name something your muse finds gross or annoying.

Dolls: Has your muse ever collected something?

Getting Old: Would your muse rather live 50 years loved, or 200 years alone?

A conversation between grandson Cassius ( @croupiex​ ) and grandpa Mallick happening at Mallick’s house, more precisely in his backyard against his lovely tree of wishes. On JULY 29 2024

Busy times never seemed to be missing, but Mallick could find a window now and then to do as he wished. It was harder to find a window now and then with the construction of The Hunter’s Lair coming together and nearing final touches, but there was such a thing as finding the time whenever the people he cared for sought out his presence. Besides, it was quite the rare thing for this one to even drop by. Mallick would invite Cassius whenever he could pinpoint a way to find the younger man, but that also would escape him now and then. 

He’d done one good thing when he’d told Cassius that he would always be welcomed to his home and to not make himself a stranger, because Mallick would have felt slightly remorseful if that had left them with no time in between to ever have an encounter. It was evident that the young man would not take this invite lightly, but at the same time, that he would be cautious of it. But so far, it’d done what it was supposed to do, it’d brought Cassius to his door more times than one. It’d left them talking, most of the time under Saiyah’s tree, Mallick was beginning to enjoy sharing stories of her life because of those solemn moments. 

Cassius might not be aware of it, he seemed to be unaware of anything good he might be bringing out of people; a detail that was strikingly different from what Mallick was used to having around him, so contrasting that it wasn’t difficult to catch it. But he’d done Mallick’s heart, the one that still beat for his wife, some good. Which in turn made Mallick want to see something else on Cassius’ face, something more light hearted. As it was, Mallick’s keen eyes had caught a few traces of blemishes across his skin, mostly his forearms and in such a hurry before they were covered again, which told him that things were not seemingly looking better for him. 

Right now, they were quiet as their conversation always ended up happening, quietly and softly, sometimes Mallick wondered if it was because Cassius always had a tentative feeling about him. One that made him want to run as soon as things would start getting uncomfortable by his standards. Either way, the topic of the night was love, apparently. More precisely, What’s love supposed to be like?

Mallick liked to think of himself as well versed in that one, but leaned against Saiyah’s tree as he was, his gaze not leaving the way Cassius’ face shut down as soon as he asked the question. 

“Well, since you’re asking the expert,” The lighthearted chuckle that left him shook his shoulders slightly before he shrugged just as lightly, despite it not feeling so light, “It should feel peaceful and frightening at the same time, should I tell you why?” 

All Clubs, pay attention!

It is quite obvious that I had nothing to do with the recent attack of a Spade's shipment as my focus has been entirely on helping our faction. There's an offer to speak against the assailants, who are supposedly one of our kinds, and if that’s the case belonging to us and one of us, the request is to sell any pertinent information to any Spades which I understand and will not condemn them for requesting. However wouldn't you say it would be preferable for one of ours to receive any kind of punishment from us and not from any outsiders? Don't you think we at least deserve to handle our own matters? The Council will be conducting an investigation into the matters since we are the ones being accused here. I ask that you please direct any and all information you may have to the Ace's headquarters or any of the known council members you happen to meet. Whatever rewards they promised I will rival by offering whatever it is that your needs are individually. 

Let's keep what's ours, ours, bad or good, it is only our judgement that should decide this. Our honor should be in how we stand together no matter how greener the grass may seem elsewhere. 

Respectfully,

Mallick Sai Shah.

Whoever is in charge of The Deck, 

I, Ace of Clubs, Mallick Sai Shah request a proper sit down that does not slander my name and that of my people. I'm disposed to answer any and all questions pertinent to the unfortunate shipment attack that has supposedly put the blood of Spades on my hands.

Please send your reporter to my doors,

Thank you,

Ace of clubs, Mallick Sai Shah.

Because of the unfortunate events that transpired and were (falsely!!) reported by The Deck, on the morning of September 7 2024, The Club Council found themselves obligated to hold an emergency meeting at their current headquarters, Ace of Club Mallick’s house. This meeting took place in a living room that now resembled more of a formal office than a family living room.All 8 members of the Council were present during this meeting, it went as follow.

✨with the brilliant participation of: @nihtegalc​ (bry) & @hilo--keahi (alex)✨ ✨(great collab, let’s do this again \o/)

The news came as a bit of a shock; but not the kind that would leave him terrified and disoriented. More so of the kind that had him rubbing at his temples and closing his eyes as he leaned back further in the chair he was in. The cushion welcomed him instantly, a recent gift from one of the people he’d helped, it was also gods given since it was halting whatever throbbing in his skull would have begun to pound by now. The present hadn’t been necessary and Mallick hadn’t wanted it when he’d received it but now, he could only think about how much he would have regretted that decision. 

Aside from that, it did help him remind why he had to think about this recent issue with a clear head. Did he have his doubts when it came to the decisions he took, or the ones he’d taken? Of course, how could he not? Everything he did from now on would always fall back on his shoulders and right on the head of every member of his faction. But he had to, because it would help to do so.

It didn’t help that he knew these people like the back of his hands and that was also why he did not want to control them, but rather turn them towards something more beneficial. On their own. So of course, Mallick shouldn’t be surprised by these types of incidents. But why Spades of all factions? Clubs had never shown any signs of wanting a war with them in particular, as far as he’d witnessed growing up, Spades had been a sore point sure--what’s with their respectability and the reputation they held contrasting strongly against Clubs’. But Mallick had always felt this weird agreement with other Clubs that trash talking them was one thing, actually going against them though? Another one they’d been entirely not into for the longest.

This smelled like more than it seemed; especially with the report that some key evidence pointed directly to his involvement. Mallick would love to see what that key evidence was exactly.

For now though, he kept his ears ope to the council members sat in the room were talking about, they were mostly arguing over the next measures to take from what he could gather. They’d already ruled out that Mallick had ordered the attack, if the attack had been done by Clubs at all. Key evidence or not, he’d had no time to plan any attack on anyone. But Mallick had not ruled out that someone in this room might want something bigger than the chair they were sitting in. He hadn’t ruled that out from the moment he’d formed an alliance with them. Mallick let his fingers part as he peeked at them through it, he could use a truth potion right now. Or a spell. 

Something to reveal their cards in a less suspicious way than the one he felt like he’d be forced to take soon enough. His first attempt at quitting them was interrupted by one of the members suddenly voicing out something as ridiculous as, “I’ll bet ya’ they did the whole thing all by themselves to accuse us and cause a war!” 

“Yeah, I mean who would benefit from this? Not us.” Another voice agreed, and out of all seven of them, Mallick had always known those two for being the first to start talking about things that made little to no sense. However, they’d been posted there because of the trust some very highranked Clubs had in them. Mallick had appointed those he trusted beyond measure and he’d made sure to pick out from the rest those who would do the job ‘just as well’ as the ones he’d handpicked. He couldn’t just have a council of members full of only his people, Clubs would not settle for that. 

He wanted to interject right then and counterpoint this, but something told him to sit back and wait for more of them to add more theories. Which made Fallon speak in turn, against these allegations. Mallick wasn’t surprised, even if he forgot sometimes that she did belong to the Spade faction. 

“Why would they attack us now when they’ve always been friendly or neutral?” 

Fair point. They all looked at each other, the ones who had thrown the accusations probably ransacking their empty brains only good for inciting feuds to answer her. But as none came, he heard her take in a sigh, which made him hold back the grin he had on his face. He would have missed this if she hadn’t decided to be part of the whole thing, the way her expression gave away how stupid she thought people ideas were sometimes. Good old Fallon of course went on imperturbed. 

“We’ve been through a water crisis before and they didn’t need our supplies then, why would they need our supplies now?” 

To be fair, Mallick had thought that this was definitely a ploy by someone--Spades specifically? Maybe for a tiny second. He wouldn’t tell her that though, he’d prefer to not get chewed out by her silence, that spoke with more volume most times. But he agreed with her, there was no surprise there. Although recent news about Spade’s Ace could leave room for some reasonable doubts.

Which meant as soon as the other members were beginning to try to find a way to justify their accusations he finally interjected, he didn’t want this wild idea to plant seed and start growing a monstrous infected tree. Plus some of them were now mumbling about Fallon being ex-spade, so of course she would be defending them, and what said she wasn’t actually on their side despite having defected? 

“Enough.” He commanded and they all stopped and turned their eyes on him, Fallon included. Mallick heaved out a soft sigh, “If Fallon was not for Clubs, she would not have helped us for 3 whole years without ever asking for anything more than what was offered to her as a deal. If you cannot trust her, maybe it is you that needs to rethink your role here as a council member.” 

Displeasure lined up some member’s features, but that was now common to see. Plus, how rich of him to say this when he didn’t trust half of them in this room. Mallick cleared his throat and shook his head. He’d already made peace with the fact that some discussions would simply never end up with them seeing eye to eye, it was expected. He’d had years of experience doing this in The Resistance.

“Spades are not our enemies, they’ve never been, end of that topic.” Whether his stance pleased them or not, they needed to move on from this. “Let’s put our brains to better use.”

They needed to focus on a solution, not what another faction wanted out of this, but what this meant for them as a faction. What was done was done, there was no turning the wheels back. Something had been stolen, but more importantly, lives had been lost. Mallick knew what he had to do next. 

“Did we find the stolen shipment anywhere on our territory?” He asked with a calmer tone this time. That was the one that always seemed to get them to take him more seriously, he’d noted that earlier on. 

“No, we’ve sent some people to take a look but so far nothing’s come through.” 

Before Mallick could interject with another inquiry, another member of the council leaned forward on their elbows and added in, “No witnesses either, but some villagers said they heard a whole lot of ruckus on that same day. A lot of groaning and screaming too, another villager said. They live close to an Inn.”

There did exist a mention of no other bodies but the ones of the Spades being found, plus some of the Spades having disappeared. Mallick took his hand off his face, interest piqued as he regarded the member who’d just spoken. 

“And where’s that Inn located?” 

“Close to where the ambush happened, too close to my liking even.”

Mallick also wanted to throw his hands in the air, scream a little, let out some of this frustration. But he couldn’t, not with them in the same room, he also would never find the time to. The image he wanted to upkeep would not let him do such a thing even by himself, because nowadays, by himself he felt as though he had to stay even calmer. 

This meeting had to come to an end, Mallick surveyed the members of the Council, an eyebrow arching expectentantly, “Any last thoughts?” hoping it would be something new and not going back to any of the other points they’d dismissed. It seemed alas, that someone had something else to add.

Hilo who had remained quiet until now, observing the fight without participating, most likely gathering his thoughts without yet voicing them. Said thoughts that Mallick was certain would bring forth a new angle. Hilo had always managed to bring it back to something even more important in every change that occurred in these meetings, right back to the lowrankers. It was his main point of focus after all, so there was no surprise there. If Clubs and Spades went to war, it was them who would likely suffer the worst of it. So when his call for last thoughts came out and he finally made to speak up, Mallick was attentive and he expected the rest of the Council to do the same.

“It’s important we find out who’s behind this, but it’s just as important that we patch things up with the Spade faction, too.” Hilo cast a brief glance towards Fallon, one that spoke of a shared understanding for those existing between two separate worlds. 

“We should approach them with some sign of goodwill. If supplies were stolen or destroyed, we should swallow our pride and offer some. Show them that even if it was Clubs, whoever carried out this attack doesn’t speak for the best of us. And even if it wasn’t, we’re better than rising to the bait.” 

Hilo leveled a glance at the worst of the quarrelers then, arms unfolding from his broad chest in a half-shrug. Mallick agreed with a nod, whatever disgruntled thoughts others had, he seemed to catch sight of some expressions turning contrit at the fact that this was not a lie in itself. This had been one of his main talking points many times before, the pride that lay in being a Club and how they had to take it back and make it entirely theirs and no one else should have the right to monopolize it.

“There’s honor in fighting. It’s the way of the Clubs. But there’s no honor in letting someone else pick our battles for us.” As Hilo concluded, Mallick could only lay back one more time and raise his hand towards no goals particularly, a silent applaud for Hilo’s words maybe. 

“I couldn’t agree more, giving back what they think we took or destroyed will be handled then. As to the last point about our honor that Hilo made, I think at least on that one we’ve all always seen eye to eye or am I wrong?” 

The challenge was evident in his tone and he already knew that Hilo and Fallon would not be the one he had to survey, but he was pleased to notice that as usual, when it came to the main objective this Council had been created for, choosing better or worse for themselves by themselves, the consensus would never change. So the nods of approval, even if underlined with other disagreements, was slow, receptive and that was all Mallick needed to put an end to this meeting. 

With a quiet sigh he regarded one of the Council members in charge of communication coming in and going out. 

“Bring forth two messengers and someone else to write down the messages; I’d like to request a meeting with the deck and a scroll of advice sent out to every house in this faction.” 

How many members does it have?

The Club Council consists of Eight members, Mallick included.

Is that a fixed number?

It is currently a fixed number, Mallick doesn’t think he’ll be changing this anytime soon, 8 is his lucky number...so he thinks.

What are the requirements to join?

A good sense of what is wrong and right, wanting to better the faction. The ability to not talk like a caveman/cavewoman. Skills in diplomacy is an important asset, more so even than skills in fighting. Mallick doesn’t want a bunch of hot headed idiots making decisions.  

Are there term lengths?

So far this doesn’t exist, if in the future things turn in such a way that it is necessary to make them sign a contract with term lengths, it will be done. It is not something set in stone.

Of the current in-play members, what were Mallick’s reasons for recruiting them?

He trusted them and they trusted him. Plus they wanted to be helpful and he knew that their intentions would never be harmful when it came to what was good for the faction.

How often does the council meet?

It depends on what there is to discuss, meetings during uneventful period of time happen rarely. Maybe once a month, or twice a month. Meeting during an eventful period of time will happen as they need to happen. So members can expect to meet three days consecutively, or even more during the month. As it is, September will NOT be an uneventful period of time.

What changes have they instituted thus far?

Peace of mind for Club members who only want to live and not have to fight 24/7? Apparently the patrolling system they’ve established has been welcomed for those who thought the faction lacked a lot in protecting the weak. It is a bad thing to be weak, but it is not a crime. They’ve established a sanctioning system for those who commit unnecessary crimes of violence, beating someone up just because you can to the point of killing them or mortally wounding them is now considered a crime. There are no prisons or jails or public trials, but restrictions are applied once the culprit is brought forward to the council and the ace. (eg. no ratios for a certain amount of time, isolation in their home, not allowed to retaliate if the victim wants to take revenge, etc.), to be forgiven for this crime, you have to have a one on one with the ace & the council to present your case as to why you think you should be forgiven and how you plan to not be sanctioned again. They have an investigation team, because witnesses do not want to cooperate at times and when they need to catch people, it’s hard if no one wants to say anything. Mallick is an active member of that team, his time in The Resistance comes in handy when he has to find clues and other things. It’s not an official team, and so far they’ve only needed to get together four times in the past year, and this year only once. It’s always based on who they think is a good tool for the investigation. Mallick is the only permanent member of this team right now. This is to avoid corruption. As it is Mallick thinks the longer members stay as ‘investigators’, the more prone they would be to receive bribes for the information they know. So he likes to have new faces around. (That is all for now.)

How often does Mallick institute their changes?

Mallick does it as he takes in suggestions from the people of the faction and the members of the council. He doesn’t just decide to do things by himself, he listens to what others think should be done, then he analyses what is a priority and what can be done at a later time before then making a list of changes to be done. Those that have been raised by a majority tend to be put as a priority. So in a sense, majority of voices might always get their change first, but he does not disclose this way he has of doing things. Because he doesn’t want this to be taken advantage of. 

How will he (or has he) handle vetoing ideas the council agrees upon but he resists?

COUPLE OF POINTS

This is not a formal event, people are expected to show up in whatever they want to wear for the event. (👘 🥻👕 👖👞 👟 🥾 🥿 👠 👡 🩰 👢🧥👗👓 🕶 🥽👑🪖 etc.)

There might be a lineup, hence the late start, do not show up before the time given and then complain about the wait time and the heat. If you decided to show up early, it’s because you could withstand the heat. (☀️💦)

Ace of Club Mallick will be present (he was def there before 6PM so were most of the hunters, but all of them were required to be there before opening, and council’s members who decided to show up earlier too.) and visible for the first hour, (to cut the ribbon, invite people in, look good and smiley, etc.) after that, he’ll be tending to other matters and might return once all regular patrons have left the premises. (given the current state of affairs he probably will be too busy trying to stop a faction war with spades, so he probably won’t be back, but who knows.) (🌝)

The club council members will be present as well, though they’re free to come and go as they please. Affiliated of the club council are free to come in if they wish to. (✨)

Keep your weapons out of your hands for the entire duration of your visit. (🙏⚔️🙏)

Those who show up early might be in for some free surprises. (only the drinks are free ok.) (🍻)

The food will not be for free. Water will only be available for the first 3 hours, after that only alcoholic beverages will be served. (🍻🍻)

There are no invitation cards needed for this event, you just have to be a Club and you’re free to go on. (💙♣︎💙)

For this event ONLY, regular customers will be allowed on every level of the establishments. (👀)

There is going to be a guided tour happily given by one of Mallick’s brother; Pribas, also known as Yureif’s twin. (🙌)

Yureif will be present as well, he’s acting as the bartender for this inauguration only, it is recommended to not mistake him for the person in charge of the Tour as the twins are prone to not correct these mistakes and might take advantage of it to pleasantly engage you in their games. (🌝🌚)

The event will end for those who are regular citizens at 2AM, for others, council members, hunters, staff, ace, it will go on until they’re satisfied with whatever they stayed longer for. (eg. tidying up, talking last minutes changes, answering pertinent questions, getting drunker, idk, etc.) (🧹🪠🗝)

Security will be present on site for any safety concerns & unruly patrons. (🛡) 

Please be aware that it is possible to get banned from ever entering the establishment during this inauguration. (❌ ⭕️ 🛑 ⛔️ 📛 🚫 💢)

We ask that if you truly are disasstified with another client, you take it 10 buildings away from the site if you really, really, really CAN’T not fight them. (⬅️🏚🔟🏚➡️)

THE HUNTER’S LAIR

CONSTRUCTION: Began end of 2023 - Completed August 2024

PURPOSE: To give the opportunity to Hunters to meet, mingle, drop the goods, train among other hunters and also rest in between excursions, before or after said excursions. 

STAFF: Waitress (4) rotation shifts, Receptionist (2) rotation shifts, Blacksmith (2) they handle their own hours, Employees in charge of receiving and registering the hunters’ drops (2) they handle their own hours, Employees in charge of sorting drops, placing them in appropriate package/bags/pouches & in charge of handling their dispatching (6) they handle their own hours, Bartenders (3) rotation shifts, Entertainers (any customers who wishes to get on stage, free of charge, but may get some tips or their own admirer to take home), Manager (1) responsible of visting the site once in a week to ensure things are going well, conduct surveys and relay the information to Mallick by the end of the week, Security (7) one on the stairs that are found on Level 1, one at the reception desk, the rest are scattered around the place as needed. (if there are some forgotten, they’ll be added later on. these are positions filled by any members of clubs of any and all ranks.)

LEVELS: The establishments consists of 4 MAIN LEVELS, each of them serving a different purpose. There’s a basement and a small backyard that is only accessible to Hunters. 

ACCESS: Denied to any non clubs, defectors to Clubs are allowed, Hunters have access to all levels, non Hunters only have access to Level 1. The establishment is opened to any and all ranks. Guests of other factions are not allowed in even if accompanied by a Club’s member, no exceptions given, even to Hunters. Penalty for trespassing will be handled by The Council and The Ace of Clubs. 

LEVEL 1; You can find on this level

Reception desk, located on the right side of the entrance door, all guests have to check in with the receptionist and receive a stamp on the back of their hands corresponding to what type of guest they are. Different symbols will be assigned for this purpose (More on the symbols to come. aka WIP.). 

Bar & Restaurant; located right after the reception desk, tables can be found all around the room, plus a stair facing the bar’s counter that is blocked and kept as such by security guard standing there to make sure those who enter have the required clearance. 

LEVEL 2; You can find on this level

Training rooms, a total of four of them can be found. The backyard can be accessed through a set of stairs in one of the training room that leads there. The backyard has a wooden fence around it, trespassing will result in consequences that no one but the culprit will be held responsible for. The backyard can be used as a shooting range for bows only, no AXE/SPEARS throwing. Sparring and other things that might be needed. Sparring has to be done without ANY weapons. 

LEVEL 3; You can find on this level 

The rooms on this level are only filled with one thing: The food brought forth by the hunters, other hunting goods, anything that needs to be stored for the kitchen and for the dispatching to the places where it will then be distributed accordingly to the rest of the citizens in need. There are two rooms with a desk and two lead employees to register the good, security stays there to transport the goods to the appropriate room, where other employees will then sort them out and get them ready for distribution. 

LEVEL 4; You can find on this level 

Restrooms, sleeping rooms, cleaning rooms. Hunting teams tend to rest together, they are dispatched together and they return together. Hunting teams are also divided per seasons, then biweekly, it is very possible that the restrooms will only be accessible to the team that’s just returned from hutning and the team that’s about to head out for their huntings. 

BASEMENT; You can find on this level

The blacksmith and all the weapons that are being made, repaired, etc. This a bit like an armory that only belongs to the establishment itself. 

*That is it for the establishment itself, more to come on how The Hunters are picked, who can become a hunter, how they can be distinguished, how teams are formed, each teams’ symbol/tattoo, etc. 

PRESENT DAYS THOUGHTS ;  Usual occurence: Close to Saiyah’s tree.

For some months now he’d taken the habit of sitting in his backyard, the one where the tree Saiyah had planted and adorned with her wishes sat proudly with the weight of other’s hopes. Mallick would sit and ponder on how things had gotten to this point, he’d also wonder about how easy it was to settle in a routine that he was aware had isolated him from the rest of the world. It’d isolated him from a world he’d thought he’d never see himself leave behind since Saiyah’s death. To have thought of it as temporary had never been part of his way of doing things, especially not when he’d finally risen to be among the leaders of The Resistance. 

Mallick had imagined the end of his journey in only one way; getting killed while getting his revenge. There had never been any other alternatives, he’d never desired anything else. He should have felt off his footing then, to find himself a sudden Ace, not only that, but also in desperate times and with a past that meant not many would see this as a beneficial status for him to hold especially. Mallick Sai Shah had stopped dreaming of glory the moment he’d fallen in love, being wrenched out of his paradise had further buried such a feeling from ever resurfacing and even here, as Ace and with the strong urge and desire to do right by his title and not simply consider it something that could come and go. Although it very much could. 

But even here, he still did not feel that he wanted glory. 

What it had done instead was make him painfully aware of how much he’d needed to be left alone. To be a part of The Resistance, to fight for a cause and to make sure what had happened to Saiyah right after her death did not give him the time he might have needed to mourn her in silence. Mallick had instead, filled in the emptiness she’d left with something akin to a bloody revenge. He’d been blinded by a dormant rage that felt displaced within him lately. It had taken him sitting in a corner where she used to be, with a rocking chair, her fingers doing something that never had he seen anyone else do, knitting. The last thing she’d been creating had been a baby blanket, but she’d never managed to complete it. 

At first the idea of having to spend so much time in this house, when he’d first chosen it to be the main point of encounters and meetings, had scared him. Mallick had thought that he would have resurfaced harder than before, angrier, even readier to fast forward the idea he’d had for so long of seeing the blood of her killer pool at his feet. But knowing every corner of his house and seeing her everywhere he went, whether he was with company or not, it’d given him a peaceful grief. 

Mallick had never understood it, when his mother had been adamant he took an exile, somewhere where he wouldn’t have to think of anything else, just be with his thoughts. He’d found her mad to want him to stay in his head where his wife still lived, freshly, alive, vibrant, breathing and with the heartbeats of his child to be born echoing in his ears relentlessly. How mad would he have gone? He’d thought. None of that was happening though. Mallick had, indeed, needed to be alone. 

The kind of solitude that made him grow less bitter at the memories of what he had, a loneliness that soothed and made him accept that she would never really be gone. Saiyah and her memories would never die with her. To not say her name, to not sleep so he could not see her in his dreams, to not replay the times they’d spent together and to not linger on the future he’d wished to have with her, none of that would ever make her disappear. 

The slight wind shifted, sending a spray of flaxen hair across her face. A hand lifted to push it back, and she turned back to look out over the horizon again while the Ace mused over what information she’d been able to give him.

The Ace.

The words, the title, for once no bitterness sat on her tongue at the thought of it. It still surprised her, how quickly her mind had been able to switch her feelings towards the position. For a moment, she allowed some dark place in her mind to wonder how long that would last. If she would somehow find some feeling of disdain or contempt flowing through her once again. The wind shifted again, and took the intrusive thought with it. This wasn’t Thagard. Wasn’t the Ace before him. 

This was Mallick. 

Someone she’d worked with for decades now– someone she trusted beyond all measure. 

Normally, Fallon would say ‘trust your instincts, they will save you every time.’. But this wasn’t an instinct. Even as she pushed the darkness back from the forefront of her mind, she knew the dark clouds attempting to loom over her optimism came from a place of cautious wariness, borne from the trauma of living under the rule of one monster after another for far too long. And it could be ignored in this instance. 

She gave a light shrug to his first question.

“Everything is tentative until either someone with the authority to make it official, does so, or until they are widely enough accepted by everyday folk to be awarded with the title of ‘officially unofficial’. I don’t think they’re quiet at the latter yet. But..” You could make them the former. She didn’t finish the thought out loud. She didn’t need to. At his second question, she was mute for a few long moments. Then, craning her neck slightly to look at him, “I think they want to be trusted. They want to do right by the people of the faction, the lowest and the highest. I think you can trust them. We all can. But, like everyone else, they are going to want proof that they can trust you.” 

Fallon clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth, mulling over the thoughts drifting in her mind. “Showing that you’re willing to work with them- willing to extend your own trust to them and giving them an honest chance to be heard, should accomplish that though. The highrankers of the faction might not like it- an alliance with what’s left of the barbarians. But,” Another shrug in place of the ‘fuck them’ that she felt. “so long as they feel that they are involved in the conversations, they should be easy for you to handle.”

She gave him as much of a shit-eating grin as she could muster, placing the emphasis on the implication that he’d be on his own dealing with the highrankers he disliked so much. The act itself was almost uncharacteristic to anyone who hadn’t known her during her younger years. Or known her beyond the leader’s mask she so often wore. 

This was a very serious talk, so this is a very serious summary...said no one:

Just two oldies speaking of what the future holds for the people they care about. Everything that was said here was applied throughout the years of course. Mallick left with a better sense of what he had to do, and he’s going to be forever grateful towards her for the way she encouraged him or helped him see things in a way that later on shaped the way he handled certain affairs. 

Mallick told her most of what was going to happen, but he did keep some things to himself. Not because he doesn’t trust her, but simply because he’s aware that to not know certain things will protect her and everyone else he’s not getting involved in any future plan he has. Anyways, it was a good conversation, lots of inner monologue. They probably looked like monks on that rooftop.

But this shaped your future Clubs!! BE GRATEFUL.

MALLICK SAI SHAH; ACE OF CLUBS; 2021-2024 A Leap Through Time.

It has taken more than one speech, more than one gathering, more than reaching out once for Mallick to establish the innovative notions he wanted implemented in the faction. The council of Barbarians has brought in a following that is surprisingly peaceful, as long as they get their fair share of power. It is not without much reticence that Mallick agrees to let them have the monopoly over certain things, but he’s not all powerful, and to be such has never proven to work in the past.

Friends have supported him, his family has shown support, not only by keeping him alive but also by making sure to show a unified front to whoever dared to try to speak ill of his intentions. The Resistance and the members who were not informed of Mallick’s departure, and how he would speak of them during his first speech, have become rather vengeful. Attacks have been attempted, but foiled each time by the ones who were sworn secrecy over his true intentions behind the lies he told about the rebellious group.

Mallick has been kept busy, so busy in fact that his whole life seems to have passed him by without any realization. The first one involved a lot of pushback, from all corners of the city, but as long as he kept the ones he gathered the first time, progress seemed to go accordingly. Slowly, clubs began to accept their new fate by the end of the first year. Mallick has been working to leave people less hungry, less angry and more outraged at the right people, the outsiders. It did the trick to make clubs fight for one another, to a certain degree of course, but it did create something else he didn’t think he would need to address.

Open animosity for other factions and even less cooperation when it came to dealing with members of other factions. The second year was about mending broken bridges, but Mallick didn’t focus on this for the entirety of the year, it might have been selfish on his part, but he grew to not quite ‘dislike’ this new found patriotic way clubs started to do things. The Council came to light as a solidified established part of his politic mid 2023; the reception wasn’t too wild, moderately argumentative, but by then, people might have already heard the rumors of the Ace working alongside the Barbarians’ leftovers.

The end of 2023 brought about new changes, even busier times came by the end of the year. Mallick and The Council worked to bring forth ways to make those who hunt, fight and can protect the faction work for the weakest while making them think they were doing it for themselves. No clubs would agree to simply work for those they thought were not deserving, so it had to take a bit of reverse psychology to make this work.

clubs now have a group of hunters to keep up with the demand for food. This group is handled by Devjay, Mallick’s brother, and some of the best hunters and shifters with predators for animals that he managed to get on his side during the first gathering. The hunters work on rotation, they also accept volunteers who simply want to join in on the adventures. Outings’ dates are posted on the board of Yureif’s tavern the second Monday of each month.

Mallick’s relationships have not taken a big hit, aside from the one he had with certain Resistance’s members who were not made aware of his plans falling out, the ones he has with his family grew stronger. So did the ones he established with his allies.

Mallick has been keeping every promise he’s ever made, on a poster, or in a meeting.

The club's citizens now have a meeting with The Ace and The Council where they may share their worries and suggestions on how to make things better for the faction. The paperwork is handled by one of Mallick’s sisters-in-law.

The meetings are held once a month, to gather information on how well the new ruling is doing, but to also assess what is needed to make it better, or to totally abolish and be reestablished. Trials and errors have been keeping him more and more indoors, going through ideas and suggestions, then releasing tension with light sparring. Mallick has so far joined three hunting journeys, the first three ones, to ensure that they are safe and only there for the good of everyone.

The Adventurer’s Guild is something that came as a surprise to him, but not something he disliked in the way things were going. They at least made things a lot better, so who is Mallick to judge them at all? Besides, he has better things to do than to worry about whatever it is they did to get rid of the supposed River Witch. Mallick has been playing his own shady moves on his own chess to get where he wants to get, so he’s not exactly in any position to judge anyone.

Among friends who have supported his ways of doing things are: Fallon and Hilo.

Fallon is no surprise as she advised him plenty of times during the decisions he took, she has been playing the unwanted role, perhaps, of advisor since he became Ace. Hilo did come as a surprise for Mallick, a discussion has been had about not revealing anything Mallick has told him about his time in The Resistance, Mallick returns the favor by never mentioning the interview that took place of course. As an ally, Hilo has been the liaison for lowranked individuals during the meetings with The Council and The Ace.

Clubs now have a patrolling team, established by The Council and whose members have all been picked by The Council’s members. This is a recent addition, established at the beginning of 2024. It has come with its complaints and opposition however, as some members feel they are being watched and supervised like children. However, those who benefit from the protection it offers have been grateful for the team.

The team, by Mallick’s standards, is made of a lot of hard headed wannabe heroes who think they are handling the only job that matters in the faction. He likes to let them think that because it helps them to not feel like they’re being used to protect the weak. Discrimination still runs rampant, but it is not something that brings forth actions like murdering people and not getting away with it. Trials are not held at clubs, but the patrolling team reserves the right to take justice in their hands the way they see fit if they wish to. They are reminded to not shake the current peaceful state of affairs, however, or they might lose certain privileges; eg. getting dibs on certain food ratios first before the rest of the population.

The divide of food ratios that comes in from the Hunters is shared with everyone. Those who hold any sort of complaints can request a meeting with The Ace to understand why things are divided the way they are. Mallick will gladly meet with anyone who wishes to see him, whatever they come uninvited or invited. He’s also settled himself back in the house he shared with Saiyah, her belongings have finally been packed and sealed somewhere safe in the house.

His house is now known as his headquarters.

The backyard where the tree full of wishes on the branches is a favorite of many clubs’s members, they’ve added their own wishes to the tree as well. The kids especially love the idea of putting their wishes there.

It is becoming a tradition to think that Mallick’s tree really does grant wishes; Mallick cannot be more delighted because it keeps Saiyah alive through their hopes and wishes. The elders who know of the story of how he lost his wife have named the tree after her, whether that sticks or not, only relies on the children they tell the stories to.

So far, hearing his late wife’s name more times than he ever thought he would be able to withstand has not been so unpleasant. Especially not when it is filled with the wonder of innocence, pondering just how real the magic in her name is.

Mallick has not had time for himself, but he’s more than happy with his current position.

YEAR 2021 ; MAY 1ST

There was a gathering in a part of the club's faction that not many had ever been to. Behind the tavern that held the name of Yureif, Mallick’s brother, a name that not many knew of either. Mallick’s name had started to make its rounds through the faction though and not just on clubs' lands, but in the entirety of Kadeu. The main reason behind it, at first, had been his new gain of the title of Ace, of course. The manner in which it was obtained, who he had been associated with when it was obtained; the name of The Resistance muddled with the name of the Ace of clubs did not seem to please many, clubs included.

Despite all of that, the new Ace had kept quiet about his whereabouts for two entire weeks. The rumor mill might have enjoyed this absence, this lack of leadership, if it wasn’t for the small things that were also being done while he all but let himself be a simple whisper, or a harsh critic from the mouth of those who wanted this new impostor to reveal his cards. Mallick had learned many things from the man he’d been and the one he now was though, the most important rule he’d himself instilled in his own operations was to move in the shadows.

To many, this title would just be a power trip, something to hold onto while they barked orders and let the rest of the world see how much control they could exerce because of their rank. To many, this title would just be another way to subjugate an already overtaken faction. So Mallick had needed to think about the course of action to take before taking a different path. Because he would certainly not fall into the trap that had led him to fight the last Ace of clubs.

Things needed to be different; many conversations and consulting with his family afterwards had proven this fact correct. It didn’t matter how it was formulated, Mallick had a sense that even his parents had at one time dreamed of an opportunity as such. However, no matter how dire, how urgent it seemed to reveal what he had in his mind, what he knew would be better suited for clubs, without breaking the order of things in which they operated. Or rather, the disorder they thrived in. In order for him to do so, he had to mull, he had to think, to meditate on the matter, to play behind the curtains.

He’d let the rumor mill play its advocate, both for and against him, while Mallick simply let himself use connections he’d never known would find themselves useful for such a thing to tie himself further into this fate. It all brought it down to a statement plastered in clubs' streets, and only in clubs' streets. For one, they were not allowed in other factions, but even if they had been, Mallick would have still excluded all that were not part of this faction.

One sole goal ended up prevailing from the stapling of loose ends and the unifying of alliances needed to be of the same sound mind to better the lives of the people of his faction; their faction. Mallick was not alone in this, he had many other heads he could count, aside from the makeshift council that The Barbarians saw themselves create after the havoc they wrecked on the faction.

They had not been the easiest to reach, or to talk with, or to negotiate with, but Mallick had learned something about himself he’d always feared could rear itself back up. Something that had stayed dormant, and only manifested itself whenever Saiyah could not see him act upon them. Mallick had once been a very domineering young boy, and young man, but by the time he was all but embracing that step in his life, the woman he would never cease to love and adore waltzed in his life and shook the very core of that foundation.

During these two weeks, Mallick had admitted to himself that Saiyah was no longer and would never be again, so it was time for him to reconcile with the man he had been. The one who had been the cause of her death, for the foes that he’d gained along the way not forgetting his old ways. This man could now come at the forefront, and the ire he would instigate would be more than justified. It had once been unfair to try to coerce him out, but it was now the perfect fit for these gloves.

Or for this stand, among the clamoring of the crowd.

The sun was too high for it to be the beginning of May, but maybe this spoke to the urgency of the current situation. Mallick was aware of many things. One, the only reason why so many people were here was because of the allies he’d decided to take with him, his name only would not have been able to draw such a crowd. Two, the crowd was growing restless with the heat, their gaze too focused and their bodies would soon find themselves needing some type of action to relieve themselves of the heat they were enduring. Three, that release when it came to clubs would simply end up in a brawl rather than a quiet disapproving grumblings.

He knew these people, he was one of them. So it made him feel less and less apprehensive as he took his time to exit his brother’s tavern and walk up to the wooden stand. Yureif had taken some pride in his tavern being the place of the gathering, and Devjay had appointed himself as the man one would have to cross first before they could get to him. They were still debating on whether they should label him a right-hand, or a brother in arms. For now, he was simply all but Mallick’s shadow.

Mallick had only ever been a lover of the light, or rather, ever since a certain one slipped in uninvited and brought in even more than he’d ever thought could possibly be found. But he’d picked the black panther as his emblem for a good reason, Mallick had always been a man of the shadows.

It was commanding to see how the moment he stepped into view, the clamoring quieted, and when he rose behind the stand, the crowd took a stance. Mallick had made himself ready for what he knew of these people, his people. If a fight had to break while he was talking, or even before, he’d simply let it unfold and do this at another time.

However, a single line on the posters had advised them to not start a brawl if they wanted to be given anything they wished from the tavern, free of charge. Mallick had shamelessly bribed his way into making sure they behaved, or tried to at the very least. His brother might suffer a few losses for a bit, but it’d quickly come back compensated if this took flight the way Mallick hoped it would.

The heat of the day was now sitting atop his head, his shaved beard was no longer leaving him with a vulnerable feeling. He was long past that sensibility to the sight he was used to showing to his reflection.

Mallick started speaking and hoped to the gods that this would not derail in another civil war.

THE SPEECH (THE ACTIONS & REACTIONS)

I come to you with something we’ve never thought we could have, something none of us probably ever think of now, because we are not used to it being offered; peace. I do not mean peace by giving to others what we have and wishing that they treat us right, or giving up who we are and what we believe in to be the way they wish us to be. I mean peace in being ourselves, peace in giving to the people of this faction something better than the bloodshed they’ve been enduring, generation after generation. We are crumbling! But look at you, you are warriors, fighters, better than soldiers, some of you are the most fearless merchants! We have the power and we have the skills it takes to make us better together. That is where I want you to start, when you think about what can be done for the future.

(The crowd was still attentive, but some were slowly leaving their position, dispersing as Mallick stepped off the stand to walk among them; and as his voice grew louder, some did halt and turn around. Perhaps begrudgingly, perhaps simply to enjoy the spectacle, or who knows, get a pass in to take down this new Ace.)

I come in peace, because I realize I might not be the image of what you would think to be a strong representation of us, but I am not a weak man and no men in clubs are weak. None! WE are what WARRIORS were meant to be and WARRIORS do not fight dishonorably, nor do they kill for the thrill, we kill to feed our families, we FIGHT to show our strength. We can still do that and do it to have BETTER for all of US. Don’t you see it? The other factions do not care about us, they will jibe, they will insult, they will mock us and we let them do it by continuing to act like WE are NOTHING else but the WEAPONS WE CARRY.

(The crowd has not entirely dispersed, some newcomers have found themselves walking forward because of a sudden clamor of a lone man now carrying the hammer of another, Mallick is that lone man. He is all but arm wrapped around the shoulders of the weapon’s owner and somewhere, someone finally does something that shows less disinterest; a scream is heard.)

But first--I wish to say that it almost brought me to a path none wishes to carry. To work in the shadows of a rebellion that might have tainted my reputation for your eyes. But I did it for the union of this faction. Because I was a lost man, and for that, I will never use their name, because they should remain in the shadows, where they belong. WE do not belong in the shadow, we BELONG in a light that has long been shining on others because they casted us their clouds.

When I say WE, I mean all of us. The weak, the poor, the rich, and especially the STRONG.

(It has to come to this; Mallick walking among the crowd and the crowd walking with Mallick. They make rounds, they move with something akin to a trance. Maybe something has been sprayed in the air, maybe it is simply that the heat has finally gotten to them all. The Ace and the people, the ones that are left and the new ones, they might as well just mesh and become one.)

ARE YOU NOT TIRED OF BEING AT THE BOTTOM WHEN YOU ARE THE MIGHTIEST?

(Now the chaos is present; but it is not a chaos of weapons brandished against each other, it is of weapons held up and clinking, the way one would cheer with pints; not the delicate touch of a wine glass. Mallick was yanked somewhere in between; his brother all but wearing a disapproving scowl when all it did was make him laugh heartily. There’s this glee in his eyes that has Devjay letting him go then, there’s something more potent than anything else Mallick has ever felt in his life. It feels alive and like it will consume him, but if it comes to that, then he’ll let it be. The crowd quiets when the silence stretches for longer, without Mallick’s voice, without his words and suddenly as he’s back behind the stand, they all look confusedly for a second. Weapons are held, the tension seems to return. Mallick clears his throat and holds them with a steady gaze. He’s all but one man against a crowd, but there’s an undeniable power and confidence in him that tells them if he has to, he will fight every single one of them if they dared to challenge him. Mallick waits. The silence stretches. Then a grin pulls the corners of his lips.)

Well if you are TIRED, then rest assured that I’ll make sure to remind them they shouldn’t have underestimated you.

(The end might feel anticlimactic for many, but it is also the beginning of one promise being complied with. One promise that put them all right where they are needed, in the Panther’s den. As they gather in the tavern once it is made clear that they can by the owner of the tavern, Mallick follows suit; ready to put on his best suit; and gather all the information he can from the ones who he noticed stayed from the beginning to the end. It is not all the members of the faction that need convincing; it is the ones who could turn out to believe in him and in what he wants to do more than they would in anything else; those are the ones that he needs on his side. Mallick is aware of this and he will not lose this opportunity to build the threat that will lead him where he needs to get. Like his emblem of choice, The Black Panther prowls; stays quiet; strikes when it is ripe to do so.)

Sweet Ocean. Cas openly grimaces at the name of the drink. Perhaps he was destined to have a poor relationship with water. Almost drowning in the hot springs, almost drowning in the ocean… who knew what would be next, a public fountain? However, the grimace settles as the bartender elaborates, and the chance of tasting the ocean once again is no longer a threat. Experimentally, Cassius takes a small sip from the edge of the glass. It is, surprisingly, just to his taste. Ridiculously sweet without a trace of the bitterness that so often accompanied drinks ordered at the bar. He goes in for another quick sip, eyeing the bartender when the man makes to speak once again.

Watching the bartender shift to cross his arms almost makes Cassius laugh, the human seeing nothing but foolish (albeit endearing) bravado in the other man and his words. So unnecessarily righteous, like some hero from a kids’ storybook. “Well, aren’t you a knight in shining armour? So full of optimistic ideals…. Perhaps if I had grown up in a family like yours, I would have been blindly hopeful too”. The comment is a subtle jab that the man doesn’t really deserve, but Cas’ pessimism can be an ugly thing, smearing well-intentioned words with a cruel self-assuredness wrought from years of imposed complacency in society. He gives a little shrug, tone mirthful in its presumed truthfulness, “But as it is, I’ve long since learned to snuff out my dreams and self-worth. I was born insignificant, and I will die insignificant, simple as that”.

Twice these past few months Cassius has heard a sentiment like this. The concept that someone cares for a human, that a human in their life mattered. It’s far too late in the game to be presented with contradictory world views, and Cas simply signs them away as skips in the logic of the world. They’re little illogical instances that don’t fit into Cas’ pre-established notion of his place in society – so he ignores them. Cassius has grown up with nothing to dissuade him from debasing thoughts, rather they’d simply been confirmed time and time again, grinding away at him until there was nothing left to degrade but dust. So in the grand scheme of things, two little exceptions that have nothing to do with him aren’t going to change his world, he won’t let them.

Internally, Cassius does wonder. Could people like the bartender before him truly determine a humans’ worth in society? If you call someone worthy, yet they do not receive what you presume they are worth, were they ever worthy in the first place? Once, a long time ago, Cassius was worthy of the stars and the sky and more. But that fantasy had been short-lived. Soon enough, his father had left him with the explicit reminder that he was not worthy, and it didn’t take long for his mother to follow in his father’s footsteps and confirm this fact of life for Cassius. If as a child he had not been worthy of one of the few things a child could be worthy of (love), well, then he must truly be worthless. No number of fanciful words would change that fact.

An action of truce perhaps, Cassius reaches out across the bar, offering his hand in introduction, “Cassius Han, and you are?” However, he’s quick to retract his hand, promptly returning to nurse his blue sugar-filled drink, half-apologising, “Here I am, talking nonstop. I ought to mind my manners in a public space and let you get to work”. Cassius takes a long sip of his drink, the excessive sugar doing funny things to his conversational filter as he adds, “Besides, significance and worth? What do I know? I’m not educated enough to be having these kinds of conversations in the first place”.

Unintentionally, the admission hints to one of Cassius’ insecurities, one of the few that he’s well-aware of and acknowledges. (Well, acknowledges enough to properly avoid ever addressing it). Brought into a life of serfdom after his father left, Cassius had never received a formal education past the age of nine, and even before then his education was sparse and left much to be desired. And while Cassius knows his education doesn’t determine his intelligence, there’s still a part of him that’s left embarrassed and stupidly insecure whenever he has to fumble through reading reports aloud for Miss Kō or hide the fact that he’s slowly sounding out a word from one of Luke’s books. It’s a dumb little insecurity, but it’s one he can’t quite shake.

The stance of the young man, considering his place in this society, came with no surprise to Mallick. It tasted like the bitter pill he always had to swallow whenever he was reminded of the many reasons why Saiyah met her end. It left him with the memories of the cynical words thrown his way when he’d asked for help to catch the people who’d killed her, the doors that had closed themselves on his way to clear insanity, how easy it would have been to lose himself to the rage and hatred that was starting to foster in a place where she’d managed to make the most beautiful of spring bloom all year long. Mallick could almost taste the bile of it down his throat, lodged but sweetened by the years and by the role he now played in making sure nothing like that ever happened to the people he cared for again. All he could do was let out a quiet sigh, followed by a chuckle and shake of his head. 

“A knight in shining armor in these streets would just be a man walking straight to his death. I would rather call myself a simple person, I don’t see the value in judging people the way the city wants me to, I’ll make my own choices and my own judgement on whoever and whatever I want.” About one thing he was right about and Mallick could only concede with the subtle but prideful puff of his chest, “Indeed, you would have been hopeful, blindly? Not so much, we don’t tend to sugar coat it, we simply make it known that things are hard, but it is not the fault of anyone else but those who placed certain rules in order to control and overpower the weakest among us.” 

Insignificant was a strong word, Mallick would not stand here and tell the lies of how everyone was born with equal strength, or equal opportunities or equal intelligence. Each and everyone of us excelled in very specific areas, if to be human meant that you could not demonstrate your prowess in the physical sense, then it didn’t mean that you were less than, because you could do so in many other ways. For example, a strong Club would never be able to outwit the military discipline of a Spade’s soldier, and as much as Mallick would not say so to a Diamond’s face, their capacity to elevate their status and make sure the whole world acknowledged them based on it without flinching when it was called pompous and haughty, no other factions would be able to pull it off. Hearts’ manners of handling their vices and almost shifting it to pleasure rather than sin, that was something no one else could do.

Humans had the ability to understand how the world worked and still persevere to adhere to it while also making sure to take what little ledge they could to not succumb and drown, no one else could be able to do that but humans themselves. “I wouldn’t call you insignificant because you’re human, I have a little theory that the people who decide who is worthy or not, are only doing so because it makes it easier to use the ones they deemed to be below them.” How could he explain this without sounding insulting? Mallick pondered on that, but then decided that the young man’s words, and the way he seemed to have shaped his mind would not really find his words that biting. It was a sad thing that he’d reached such a conclusion, but Mallick was not here to change his mind, everyone had their demons, he’d learned long ago that it was best to let them fight it out alone first. If they needed help to combat them, they would ask. If it was not asked, it would only be a burden to try to save them from themselves. 

But back to his little anecdote, “There wouldn’t be any serfs if humans did not exist now, would there? The lowest in ranks would not have someone else beneath them as well, would they? You’re not insignificant, you’re a means to an end, unfortunately, that end is one that goes right where everything else falls apart, power and control. If you didn’t matter, you would cease to exist, but here you are, brooding and alive.” 

Mallick let another chuckle slip with his last words, he could feel the clouds alright, he also wasn’t going to linger on the idea that Saiyah had been insignificant to those who’d taken her, thus why she was no longer here. But Mallick wasn’t blind to that truth either. “It’s alright, I take breaks now and then when the company is right and might need an ear to listen. Would you believe it is part of the job?” His grin was lopsided as he leaned against the wall next to him, he could use a couple of minutes until the next customer called him. “I’m Mallick, Cassius, you look mighty young to be thinking of such things, I’m guessing you mean the education that’s on paper and gives you the kind of status you need to live around here?”