paixaorpg | There is a shadow there that does not sleep [Active]

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There is a shadow there that does not sleep [Active]

Character(s): Ansem, the other residents of City Hall
Content: Having explored the options, Ansem moves in to the most logical place
Setting: City Hall
Time: Backdated to shortly after Ansem's arrival (Week 34)
Warnings: Ansem

For all that the city outside the great wall of thorns was intriguing, there was only place that Ansem had been willing to entertain as a place to stay during his time in this city. Oh, he'd done a certain amount of looking into the rest of the city, if only to put truth to any lies he might have had to offer later - and also to get a more thorough understanding of the people in the city - but in the end there had been no competition. It was fitting for darkness to remain at the heart of things, and so he'd once again returned to where he'd begun - although this time he set his portal for the opposite side of the wall of thorns. Nor did he make any attempt to hide the fact that he'd portalled into City Hall itself. If there were people here, no matter. He had nothing to apologize for, and indeed, he had no intention to do so.

Instead, he simply set about seeing what the building had to offer. It was to become his new residence, after all.

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"Not every day you find a man walking around who smells exactly like the Heartless." The stink of darkness on this character was nothing short of unmistakable, which left Scar somewhat unimpressed. Anyone with a decent nose could smell him coming from a mile away, which would make him hardly as useful as Kuja. Regardless, if he was here there must have been something at least vaguely decent about him, so it couldn't hurt to at the very least pretend to be friendly. Or at least pretend that he didn't plan to rip him to shreds should he prove to be out of line with Scar's ambitions. Better yet, have one of those brats with a Keyblade do it for him.

Scar was perched atop an outcropping, looking down on the silver-haired intruder with a piercing gaze and a mouthful of wicked fangs. After spending so much time around Maleficent, he was rather doubtful there was anything this man could do that would truly cause him any worry. Or should he just start calling him a Heartless now? There were no other scents that would identify him as anything else. Regardless, even if he did prove stronger than Maleficent, it wasn't like Scar hadn't dealt with such situations before. If there was any virtue he truly did possess, it was patience.

"Nor every day one of us manages to retain what I have," Ansem answered with a smile. He was well aware of what he smelled of, to those who had the senses to smell such a thing. It was simply that by and largely humanity was not well equipped to notice the depths of darkness that lurked within him. A world such as this one did throw a few more species than merely human into the mix, but no matter. He would deal with what came his way, and he certainly had no intention of trusting Scar any further than he would one of the city's keybearers.

It would, after all, be simple enough to be rid of Scar, should he have a need to. It was one advantage to come from being every bit a Heartless as his lesser kindred. Better yet, there was the possibility of earning a new ally out of it. But for now, he would play at politeness. He could wait long enough for that.

That being a personality, what little of one there was beyond what seemed to be a keen ability for backtalk. Telling that the man was simply pulling his leg by acting sincere was rather easy, though the darkness oozing from his every pore made it rather difficult to believe anything that came out of his mouth in the first place. However, Scar had the feeling the other man could tell much the same about him, leaving that observation largely irrelevant, at least for the time being. Until the facade began to grate on his nerves, at any rate.

Instead of pretending to maintain interest--which frankly this man had already lost--Scar observed one of his paws rather absently. "Was there something you were looking for?"

Ansem would have said not only a human form but also the mind to go with it, had he known what Scar was thinking. As he had no idea and no real desire to know in the first place, however, he would simply have to make do with whatever the other decided fit best. Besides, it wasn't like he much cared either way. Darkness would come to all things in due time, and he was perfectly willing to be patient in that. If no one cared for him, it didn't matter.

"Nothing that I haven't already found," Ansem answered simply. He'd already found the building, and had a decent suggestion of the fact that people were already staying here and that was quite enough for him. The rest would come later, or not, as it would.

"Ah, but there must be something that's brought you here," out from behind one of the pillars stepped Kuja, into the light. He wore a pleasant expression across his face, "This isn't exactly the sort of place one wanders to of their own will. At least unless they've grown tired of living," he smiled, tucking a hand underneath his chin.

"Which, I suppose I could understand given the dreary surroundings," he added.

How trite. Seeing as further conversation with this Heartless would prove quite fruitless, Scar deemed it best to simply ignore him. It would certainly save him something of a headache.

"Now Kuja, it's rude to threaten our guests." As much as his surface body language and tone made it impossible to notice, Scar was more interested in keeping his own hide safe than in the actual comfort of the intruder. In a city like this there was no telling just how powerful anyone was, and if one was unlucky they may find themselves dead with precious little warning.

"I intend to stay here," Ansem replied. "Surely the two of you can hardly take up the entirety of a building such as this."

As for the comment that it was hardly the sort of place that people wandered to of his own free will, that he left unanswered. He hadn't merely wandered in. He'd known precisely where he meant to go. Nor was he going to allow their needling to drive him out. He would, of course, prove that he had just as much of a reason to be here as they did if asked, but until he was asked, he'd make no indication past the darkness he bore.

"I was only curious," Kuja insisted in his defense. Because questioning someone and threatening them were nearly the same thing anyway, weren't they? Swaying his hips from side to side, he approached the newcomer, walking around him in a circle -- sizing him up. Yes, there was certainly something about him that was interesting, wasn't there~?

"If you intend to stay here, I think you should be informed... This is the quarters of those with... unusual talents," he narrowed his eyes and smiled wickedly. "Surely that means... you should have something to contribute as well... don't you think?"

As amusing as watching one man walk in circles around another was, Scar couldn't help but let out a great--and rather exaggerated--yawn. "If not, I'm sure Maleficent would be happy to meet you." And see that you never come here again, came the unspoken end to the sentence.

One brow raised briefly in thought. "Oh, and you may want to be careful around my mate. She can be rather...testy. Not that you would have anything to worry about, I'm sure, but I still feel I should mention her nasty temperament nonetheless."

While Ansem was quite sure that Scar's first comment had been meant as a threat, it had quite nearly the opposite effect. Oh, he didn't show it, but it was still nice to hear that there was at least one familiar face here. Thus far he couldn't say he cared all that much for either of the beings that stood before him.

"I hadn't imagined there would be an interview required in moving into a place," he answered with a tone of disdain. "Even a place so obviously secluded as this one. Or would you rather I danced for your pitiful amusements before entering what you consider to be at least partially yours?"

Edited 2011-10-26 03:26 (UTC)

"I wonder what it is you had imagined then -- ah, and I don't believe we caught your name either. Be a dear and introduce yourself would you? It's quite rude to continue on like this, anyway." He came to a stop, facing Ansem, a hand under his chin.

"And while it would be mildly entertaining for you to sign and dance for us... something tells me your artistic talents wouldn't be up to par on a performance-level," he smirked. "I only mean to warn you that this is quite the hotspot for the more... heroic types found within the city. And I should hope, if you plan to join us, that you have the means to combat such efforts."

"If this were my kingdom, there would be more than just an interview and a dance required to be allowed to stay." The attitude of this Heartless was beginning to grate on Scar's nerves rather quickly. He was defiant, refused to give straight answers to their questions, and far too confident. Perhaps getting some of those Keyblade wielders to deal with him would be a job for sooner rather than later. It would certainly be in the back of Scar's mind, if nothing else.

"I do however agree with my...partner...here, at the very least you should tell us your name. After all, you walked into our home uninvited and unbidden. An introduction is the very least you could give us."

If it were Scar's kingdom Ansem would most likely have foregone even this common courtesy. Heartless though he was, he had no desire to live with a pride of lions. More so if Scar was an indication as to how the majority of the pride behaved. No, in that case he would be quite content to stay elsewhere.

That being said, he had no intention of letting either of them have the satisfaction of chasing him out before he'd even had a chance to stay. If they chose to not see what he could bring to the table, that wasn't his problem. "Ansem," he answered. "And you are?"

"Kuja," he looked down his nose at Ansem, as he replied, studying the man further. There was no mistaking the darkness that eminated from him, but the question was... how to exploit it? It wasn't exactly his intention to scare the newcomer away... he just wanted to be sure that he wasn't wasting his time by associating with him to begin with.

"Now that wasn't so difficult, was it?" the lion answered, leaving some space between Kuja's reply and his own. "Call me Scar." This 'Ansem' fellow certainly did seem like he could be useful. Perhaps a chat with Kuja about him would be in order.

Ansem nodded politely at the introductions. He couldn't really say that having their names made much of a difference to how often he'd talk to them, but no matter. He know their names, and that would be enough for the immediate future. Anything else could wait.

"A pleasure to you meet you both."

"Isn't it?" Kuja chimed in, it was always a pleasure for others to meet someone like thim, after all, so Ansem's remark was unsurprising. "Now, if you plan to stay, there are... a selection of dreary rooms to pick from," his own, of course, excluded, since he had taken matter into his own hands when it came to decorating. "I'm sure that you will find one that fits your... needs." And he had to admit, he was curious as to what those were, exactly.

For the life of him Scar couldn't determine why Ansem would want to stay here of all places, but far be it from him to speak the thought aloud. Maleficent would be sure to point out anything particularly...unsavory.

Instead of giving further comment, Scar let his head rest upon his paws, content to watch silently.

"Did I not already imply I meant to stay?" Ansem asked. The rooms themselves didn't particularly matter. It wasn't as if he intended to stay particularly look in whichever room it was he claimed as his. There were places to visit and people to see, not to mention it wouldn't be too hard to arrange something to his tastes.

Or perhaps to something that he found appropriate to imply. He'd have to make sure to not give away too much, if he decided to add a little more of his own person touch to his room. "But I'm sure something suitable can be found."

Kuja rolled his eyes slightly, not really caring what Ansem had said in the beginning -- or not paying attention since he really didn't care in the first place -- either one of those. "Ah, did you? But things are so much better now that we've had this little chance to get to know one another, hm? Now there shouldn't be any problems at all~," he grinned. "Ah, but -- do try to keep any riffraff from following you home, would you? They can be so... annoying even at the best of times."

A small swish of his tail brought Scar's head back up.

"Oh, but we needn't worry about that from you, now would we? You seem like such a careful sort of...person." The urge to call Ansem something less savory had crossed Scar's mind, but that would hardly have served any purpose.

Given what he'd thus far seen, it was tempting to retort that he would have been more concerned about who the others might have unwittingly brought home. But no sense in it now. He could incite the proper amounts of ire later, once he had settled in to his new home more thoroughly. He could hardly have been the only one with animosities pulled from him homeland.

"Of course," he answered, as he turned to head elsewhere in the building. If the others particularly wanted to continue the conversation, he'd hardly stop them, but he'd had quite enough of it for the time being.

Kuja did nothing to stop him from leaving -- only followed in carefully as he made his way elsewhere. When he was a safe enough distance away, he shot Scar a less-than-impressed eyeroll, and then turned to leave himself. He had far more important things to busy himself with than trying to play nice.

Kuja's eyeroll was echoed by Scar. Ansem certainly would have to prove himself, and Scar had no interest in putting a great deal of effort into giving him a chance.

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There is a shadow there that does not sleep [Active]

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