Warmind of Neptune

( I don’t mention Hatshepsut only bc I might be putting her on a permanent hiatus; I know I just started her, but mmm she hasn’t hit off well and I have another muse in another community that I think would do better and I would have just as much RPing (if not more) )

   “Keep your eyes sharp and your tongue sharper and you will never have a reason to feel fear,” Hatshepsut said, her head slightly turning to the side when the creature summoned armor. It made her curious as to what else it could do with a simple thought (well, she guessed it was a thought).

“You’re right, of course. Of course.” She hummed briefly, thoughtful as she studied Hatshepsut’s frame. “I can tell you anything you wish to know of this place and all the people in it. The Vanguard is an excellent place to start; I am unsure of your knowledge of Guardians, so if something catches your attention or you’d like me to elaborate, just say as much.

   Ikora had a nice laugh. The Warmind suspected enough that it was not a sound she would hear from her often, unless it was controlled, and she could not help but allow her optics to brighten just a tad as to briefly smile. At least she wasn’t taken the wrong way.

   “You must have a reputation then,” Hatshepsut said, with a tilt of her head. “More than one, I would assume. Doubt it all came from being a good student. Power never comes that easily. I would know.” Perhaps being the youngest made her a bit jealous and gave her the rebellious streak that fueled the antics she had gotten into before the Collapse. That, though, was a story for another time.

[ ‘ It is safer than most but… it is still not safe enough. ’ ]

He trades a curious glance, grey-blue gaze quickly tracing over her features though he makes no motion to fully face her, arms at his side, mask unmoving. The de facto leader doesn’t expect much from the Warminds, her answer is understandable and he accompanies it with a very subtle tilt of the head towards her.

   “’To him who is in fear everything rustles.’”

   She had come to see rather quickly why they had pestered Rasputin for so long with every conversation she overheard between the Guardians. Not only would his weapons be of huge benefit to their cause and reassure them with each use of their firepower, but he had eyes everywhere. Nothing went under radar. They would know everything before it was danger close or entirely too late. The City was restless. It had been for a very long time.

   White optics stared at the Speaker for a moment in silence, coming to the conclusion that she was not sure how she was meant to feel about him. On one hand, he was wise beyond his years, despite the fact that he was very old, and she respected his knowledge. On the other, there was something she could not trust about him. Something that when she looked over him and his garb and then between him and the Traveler felt entirely off.

It was rare for the Speaker to leave his study, a fact founded in that there was an endless amount of reports and an endless amount of Guardians that left him…stuck. But today was different, unusually so, that left the Speaker to himself for the first time in a very long time. He toys with the idea of going to meditate on the Traveler’s Walk, something that takes form after several moments of thinking. It’d be nice to finally clear his mind, he decides. He’d only barely made it out of the North Tower when he’d spotted someone of particular interest to him – he recalls vaguely a brief meeting, one that would allow her a home in the Tower. One of the unshackled Warmind unearthed over the past two years. What was her name? Ah, yes, Hatshepsut – fifth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt.

He gives a soft approach, one that would alert her to his presence but not startle her, and he stands beside her in silence for a moment, gazing out at the lay before them before asking gently,

   She had wanted a break.

   While not entirely overwhelming, not as it had been for Charlemagne, she still found actually being at the Tower and meeting those that for a couple years she could only listen to to be exhausting work. Perhaps her century of solitude dulled her ability to easily flow in and out of conversation as she could before the Collapse, but it seemed to be slow work regaining it. She felt stiff yet sensitive and already once or twice did she hide out for a few hours in the quarters given to her and returned to her Core to take a moment to herself.

   At the approach of the Speaker, she felt her head tilt slight upwards. There was a certain presence she felt she needed to maintain until she grew comfortable, but those days seemed far away.

“I wont know until I try, and it’s reborn to destroy. I wasn’t always like this, if it something you can believe.”

   “My apologies.” As strange as it felt to apologize to the creature given what it was consumed by, Hatshepsut knew she had to recognize that, either for the most part or for all she knew, that it was independent. Until it gave her reason, they could remain on neutral ground. “I suppose my assumptions are to be considered before I speak them.”

Zara reaches out and takes the Warmind’s arm in their grasp, fingers gingerly gripping the material. No need to be rough when they were already being allowed to bite someone. They don’t bother to pause and let her change her mind, bringing her arm up and being quick to sink their fangs down into her. It stings but not much else is produced other than the holes left after. Releasing their grasp they glance over the wound curiously. 

“Interesting. Though that only solves part of the question. I wonder if something different happens should I bite flesh- other than the bleeding, of course.” A hum follows the words, tuneless, then they let go of her arm and allow their hands to drop back to their sides.

   The Warmind would admit she wanted to snatch her arm away the moment the creature touched her. It was an entirely too familiar touch and thus far she had very few she had come to memorize. It was cold and felt although it embedded itself into her circuits and though the memory was brief, she knew it all too well.

   She was strong, however. If she got through that, she could certainly get through a single bite.

   It only stung somewhat, sinking in just deep enough to make her flinch and curl her hands into fists while her jaw pressed together. When it pulled away, examining the damage which was nothing she could not have fixed, or keep if she wanted a story to tell, she relaxed back to her previous state and stared at the being.

   “No more than that of an animal bite, I would assume,” Hatshepsut answered. “Perhaps infection. Decay at the worst, maybe, but I did not suffer anything that could prove that theory even worth the time.” She looked back down at her arm, running her fingers over the holes just lightly.

to be a part of it, all u have to do is send me a ♥ ! but there are some rules to it:

- Canon characters that follow me are allowed to send the symbol regardless; this is bc my muse is likely to know them by default; multiples are fine; canon characters I have interacted with will have a more detailed desc under their name compared to those my muse hasn’t spoken to yet (obviously)

- OCs are restricted to mutuals only; I prefer that I have interacted with u at least once, but just me following u and u following me is cool; just don’t expect a unique desc

- if you are inactive for more than a month (with no updates no posts no nothing) I will remove u to keep the page clean and active; coming back, ur more than welcome to ask to be put back on the page !

“This is a good place to start, yes; this is the heart of the Tower. The Hall of Guardians is where every one of us is truly born anew after resurrection. I have seen many of our best and brightest begin by standing precisely where you do now.” A sense of harmony found its way out through her voice; the longer she spoke, the lighter she seemed to become. 

   “What do you think I should know?” Hatshepsut asked with a small shrug from one shoulder. She walked over to the table, letting her fingers brush the surface while optics read down each spine of every book stack on what she assumed was the Warlock’s side of the table. “As said, I have been informed of the history spanning after the Collapse. Major parts, at least. Anything worthy mentioning I can give you dates if so desired.” Hatshepsut looked away from the books and back at Ikora.

   “Perhaps you would like to tell me about yourself?” She suggested. “Or your colleagues.” Waving a hand towards the hall leading out of the room, the Warmind continued. “Or perhaps you would like to tell me of the man out there with the hood who mumbles to himself about incoherent things every time I pass.” And hand went to her hip. “Or better yet, what about the one with the mask and the monotone voice who knows nothing of optimism and claims he speaks for the Traveler.”