Private Tales Tomorrow's Eye

[Kael]

Kael placed a piece of parchment down, the last in his report about 'Guldara the Soothsayer'. It appeared she'd been in a Rovani band traveling across Anirian-aligned territory telling fortunes for around three decades. She'd only been on the Guard's radar for the last four months. It wasn't said explicitly on the report, but reading between the lines a captured Cortosi spy uttered her name as an informant. Kael and Kilien Basmarc had been assigned to infiltrate the Rovani band and determine if she actually knew any state secrets, if she was actually distributing, and potentially do something about it. At least officially. Unofficially, he was pretty certain they had authority to capture, or kill her if needed.

Kael was assigned this job as a natural extension of his talents and training, but Kilien was assigned because he had Rovani heritage. A fact that gave Kael all sorts of questions. Was this a twisted method of a loyalty test? Was Kael here as a 'cleaner' if Kilien couldn't handle the work? None of it made him comfortable. Kael took the report and put it over in the campfire. They were close enough to the band's rumored location that it would be unwise to keep.

"How's this?" Kael asked, then shifted into shape. As he did to make his normal human face, Kael had been piecing together bits and pieces of different Rovani. Aiming to make a cover, a man, that never existed. A way to be him, and yet only a shadow. If Kilien thought it was passable it would be his new skin for a while, however long this mission took.

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

This whole mission was fething bogus. There was no denying that Harkenov had singled him out as a means of torture, retribution, exacting her ire in lieu of simply beating him in her dungeon office. Whatever the case may be, he decided today that he truly did not like her.

You know the people, the language, and the culture, she'd told him.

You can get in close to them and learn the truth of things.

You can stop further harm from befalling Vel Anir, and ensure appropriate charges are brought to the guilty parties.

He'd spent the majority of the journey out in sullen silence, answering only questions that required it. Though by now he was feeling some sense of regret for Kael - it wasn't the Initiate's fault he was here, nor that they'd been paired together. When the boy finally spoke up at the campfire it yanked Kilien from his grousing with a bit of surprise.

Kil looked the other over, brow furrowed and facial scruff pulled into a deep frown.

"...well, you look the part alright," he admitted. Kael had apparently paid close attention to his description of the people and culture, though he hadn't expected him to get it so close on the first try.

"But you don't know the language or the customs. So what do you plan to do, act mute?"

 

[Kael]

Kael responded at first with a smile. Mimicking the form of another person, or even a quality painting, was not exceptionally difficult for a shapeshifter. Piecing together one from different pictures, descriptions, and thoughts was a more challenging task. At least for Kael. Basmarc might be able to detect a slight hint if pride grow in the smile, as though he finally understood a difficult math problem.

The next question turned his slight smile into a more puzzled look. Not that it was an unreasonable question, but that he didn’t really have enough to go on from the reports they were provided.

“Our reports don’t have much information I can use there.” Kael replied. “I would have expected more to be delivered. Sayings, history, accents, something more to go on.” He continued. Perhaps Vel Anir simply didn’t have a lot on the Rovani, but he suspected the exclusion was deliberate.

“I can play strong silent type if I need to, but do you have any pointers for me?”

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

“Our reports don’t have much information I can use there.” Kael replied. “I would have expected more to be delivered. Sayings, history, accents, something more to go on.”

"Yeah..." Kilien said over a disgusted look but didn't remark further. The lack of information was for him to fill in, he was certain of it. Though much could be said about the Rovani people, every family clan had their own little customs. He'd be able to get in with them for certain, but that didn't mean he'd get into the family's inner circle.

That usually required marriage.

Looking as though he'd recently downed a bottle of piss, Kilien glanced up at Kael again when the other asked for help on the matter. Right, this wasn't fair for either of them.

So Kilien took a deep breath and gave Kael an abridged version of basic social etiquette, common sayings, and standard guest procedure.

"I can't really help you with an accent," he admitted, "I've mostly lost mine. Haven't seen my family since I was nine. Maybe just, eh," Kil itched at the hollow of his cheek, "add some scarring around your neck and I'll just tell em you don't talk much after the hangin'."

 

[Kael]

While a little less moody than the last couple days ride, this mission was definitely taking a toll in Kilien. Kael didn’t know him well, certainly not well enough to offer aid, but he was obviously not his normal self. Mr. Carefree definitely cared about something. Despite this he still offered helpful information. How to say good morning, how not to offend a host, and other such pleasantries that would help him blend in a bit better.

“Hanging?” Kael responded. “Alright.” He said, and let magic flow through his neck. Some scarring drew itself across, and his vocal chords shifted.

“Let’s try.” He said, and then stopped. There was an obvious rasp to his voice, and it caused him some pain to speak. Magic flowed and put things a little closer to just so.

“Bad time with a garrote. Don’t talk much. Got it.” His normal voice returned, for the moment at least. “Anything else you want to cover before we go in tomorrow?”

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

What a trick, to be able to change one's image on a whim. Kilien could do something similar, but the results were rather less appealing to the majority of people he knew. If he had the ability to easily change his identity he didn't think he'd do it. He was too proud of his heritage to forsake it and perhaps too stubborn to give it up willingly after so much had already been taken from them for no good reason other than Vel Anir could.

"Yeah," he added soberly as he poked a stick at the fire to keep the flames going, "don't go kissing random women or you'll start a clan war."

Kael had a reputation now since Natalis that he wouldn't soon escape.

 

[Kael]

It had taken a few days, but the jab had finally been made. On one hand, it wasn’t pleasant being the butt of jokes, but that Kil had made the shot spoke to some amount of lightening up.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He replied. Though the pair both knew the events of Natalis were not something arrived at by simple chance. Rather, it was simple stupidity. A moment he’d be reminded of for quite a long time. While human mating rituals were still quite foreign to him, the concept of a clan war was assuredly not.

“Though it seems we’ll be in one soon regardless.” Kael added, speaking of the coming war with Cortos. It seemed that the pair would soon be fighting for another’s clan.

“I’m sure this’ll surprise you, but I’m not well versed in politics.” He said,making sure he didn’t add the word ‘human’. “To be truthful I don’t know anything about them. The Cortosi.” Kael’s gaze looked at the fire stoked by his partner. The realization hit him that very soon he would be killing people he knew nothing about because he was a coward, trapped as a super soldier.