If perfection is stagnation, then Heaven is a swamp.

[Gabriel Sionoma]

If he were being entirely honest, he felt fortunate that Dissero wasn't there for the flood. It afforded him the opportunity to bond with Cera. At least more so than when Kep was around. He assumed Dissero would have provided the same sort of distraction.

Taking a sip of his coffee, he smiled at the remark, setting the mug down. Cradling his hands around it once more, he felt an odd chill. Though in truth, the Inn was a bit warmer than he preferred.

"I was glad we found her holocron..." He arched his brow, squinting one eye. "I assume it's a holocron. It's something. " He shook his head as he felt at his throat, the small compass hanging against chest. "I wasn't here for finding out about Tulla. Had some business on Lujo, got held up. But when Kep informed me about it, I'll admit I was a bit more hopeful. Created something for Cera in hopes that we could sort out the truth."

He sighed. "Lay Tulla to rest, if needed." For someone like Cera, he could only imagine the necessity for closure.

[member="Dissero"]

 

[Dissero]

Dissero maintained a look of curious interest, as though he couldn't quite grasp much of what Gabe spoke of. The look of the brother who both was and wasn't involved in the life of his older sister. The one that liked to think he knew much, but didn't really know much at all. In the end he opted for a slow draw from his mug instead of commenting on everything.

"I don't know what sort of thing could help her find a dead cat. Never did microchip the thing, probably should have. My other sister won't be too happy either way - Tulla had been her's before she was Cera's," a sigh, the man ran a hand through his hair, "but I suppose there's no harm in looking one last time. Who knows, right? ...so what did you make?"

[member="Gabriel Sionoma"]

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

"Not dead...not yet." Fingers traced from his chest up across his shoulders to the back of his neck. Unclasping the cord, he pulled the compass away from his chest and placed it on the table. Sighing as he ran a hand across his beard, he took a sip of caffe before looking the object over.

"Old antique I picked up in Baron's hed. Farmers market, it caught my eye." He pressed a finger against the button, opening it, and turned it towards Dissero. "Replaced the metal inside with an inlay of metal and sacred Ankarres wood." Again, honest to a fault. Scratching his neck, he dared not touch it for fear of putting what his own desires on display. "It's not tuned specifically to Tulla or anything in general. It's an amplifier. When someone is looking for something, a true connection, then the compass will help them find it."

He leaned back in his chair, shaking his head slightly. "Or that's the theory, anyway. I've gotten it to work once but since then, the damn thing just spins. Which could be for a multitude of reasons." His frustration with the device was showing, though he actively imbued it with every opportunity he had. Similar to dragging a blade across a whet stone, the item would only get stronger with time.

[member="Dissero"]​

 

[Dissero]

Dissero leaned forward to peer at the object but he did not touch it. Aside from a close visual inspection, he didn't even get close to it.

"Looks like a compass to me," the man remarked, "if you manage to find a tuskcat in the middle of a flooded swamp with it I'll send you home with a case of Whyren's reserve that's meant for my mother, and she'll flay me alive for that." He took a healthy gulp of caffe, wincing at the heat washing down his throat.

He sat for a moment, contemplating the device and the man sitting across from him, suspecting there was likely something more going on here than Gabriel lead on. Dissero the Alchemist knew just how much work went into creating such a piece, and one didn't go through all the trouble to make something for just anyone. Dissero the brother was figuring the same thing, only absent the Alchemical know-how and knowledge.

"So let's test it out, eh?"

[member="Gabriel Sionoma"]

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

"Aye. When not used for its imbued purposes, it functions like a traditional compass." He paused, taking a sip of Caffè, and gave an additional moment to flick the tip of his finger against the rim.

He leaned forward, diverting his eyes from Dissero back down to the device. "Problem is that there needs to be an established connection between the user and the thing they are searching for." He exhaled and smiled. "Though I do like a good bit of whiskey from time to time."

Pressing his finger against the glass, he thought about the tusk cat. Though for the first moment, he considered it's presence walking through main street. Without truly focusing, more concerned about Cera and how she was dealing with whatever it was she was dealing with, the rose began to spin. Letting out a sigh, his finger pulled from the glass to the brass.

"Not sure I've got the connection that's needed for it." In the back of his mind, he knew that if he could just focus enough, the arrow may sort itself out. Lifting the mug back to his lips, he gazed back down to the glass. "How long has Tulla been in the family?"

[member="Dissero"]

 

[Dissero]

"Six years," Dissero rubbed at his brow, "I think..." internal mathematics confirmed his guess, "it was a gift to my younger sister for her help on Naboo after the Sith attacked. Was young then, some witch that worked in the palace owned it...I don't know the whole story, I'm sure there's more to it. Tuskcats are considered very valuable on Naboo. The locals don't just give them up. They're protected, sacred even." He sighed and cleaned out his mug then stared down into the empty cup, "If it's died I'm not real sure I'd take any bets on who'd be more heartbroken."

Blue eyes fell upon the compass once more, "I'm more like to break things like that and since you're the expert of it I think it's best you do the testing. Not like I have any sort of bond with the cat anyway. She likes females, that much is certain. Maybe instead you can use it to find Cera."

He lofted a brow and eased back into his seat, gaze narrowing slightly. Ooo, thin ice there Gabe. Tread carefully...

[member="Gabriel Sionoma"]

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

The compass needle pinged before slowly going back to spinning. Could he find Cera? Probably, though whether she could find him with the item was a whole different discussion. The fact remained that he wasn't sure he could use the compass for that reason and numerous others. His own questioning of the concept would be enough, he assumed, to prevent success. But he wasn't intent on trying it.

Removing his hand from the compass, he took a sip of the Caffè before shaking his head and crossing his arms. "No, I can't do that." He looked up from the item back to Dissero. "If your sister wants to be found, she'll turn up."

Of course, if her safety was a concern, he would have no qualms with honing in on her position. But without further plying, the act absent any urgency felt wrong to him. Besides, he didn't need a compass to find her. He found her deep in the swamps, wading through water and muck. He was sure he could replicate that again if needed.

"I'll keep trying for Tulla." His gaze fixed on the item as a single hand stretched out from crossed arms, hovering over the brass.

[member="Dissero"]

 

[Dissero]

"I'll get more caffe," chair legs screeched against wooden floors swollen from the humidity in the air. The man stood and extended his hand towards Gabe's mug, "another?"

No such luck to be had for honing in on Tulla. Either Gabe lacked the connection necessary to make the bond or the beast truly was gone. Dissero sat frowning into his fresh mug thinking about how he was going to break the news to Amore, but he was getting ahead of himself as always. Without a body as solid evidence he doubted he could convince either sister of the cat's demise despite the fact that all other evidence pointed to the obvious.

"I suppose we could do it the old fashioned way - looking," he said after a time, "don't think we'll make any headway sitting here."

[member="Gabriel Sionoma"]

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

Calloused hand slid over the rim of the nearly empty mug, equipped with shake of the head. And a purse of the lips. "No, thank you though. Makes me jittery if I have too much."

Yanking on the chain of the compass, he closed the metal around the glass casing and smirked. Pulling it over his head, he finished off the rest of the caffe and looked back towards Cera's brother. He wasn't quite prepared to write the Tusk Cat off, no matter how difficult the compass might have made it. After all, the beast survived the swamp and the attack, although by the skin of its teeth. Survival was survival and if anyone could appreciate grabbing life from the jaws of misfortune, it was Gabe.

"Don't give up just yet, Dissero. There are many reasons why the compass could fail. I might have the connection for this gadget but my mind..." He tapped on his temple with two fingers. "I've got a lot going on right now." He still reeled from the failure of Lujo, the scars on his palms that marked that failure, and how he came back here foolishly for some form of comfort or removal from the tragedy of his loss. He had killed the God King just to help him rise once more and even many planets removed, he couldn't escape that harsh truth.

Pushing the chair out, he stood and dusted off his chest before looking towards the kitchen. Sounded like the old woman was still there.

"Sitka, you know where we might find Cera this time of day?"

[member="Dissero"]​

 

[Dissero]

"Well," Sitka hummed over a pot of boiling potatoes, "she's already done the shopping for the day. Sometimes she goes out to the water tower. Found her up there a few times, they did. Keep telling her she's not allowed up there but I think she's been feigning deaf as an excuse."


Dissero lofted a brow at this. Water tower? Heights, maybe, to keep a look-out for the cat? He shrugged and stood from his seat and gave a nod to Gabriel, "We'll start there, then. I'm ready when you are."

[member="Gabriel Sionoma"]

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

"Right..." He trailed off as he looked over to Sitka. Narrowing his eyes, he flared his nostrils with a sniff before grabbing his jacket and nodding to Dissero. "I'm ready now."

Despite the damage of the flood and the tragedy that preceded it, the village was recovering as best as it could. Movement was highest during the middle of the afternoon, tapering off as sun crept over the horizon. Purchasing being made, the faint smell of food cooking, and the way the sun turned the sky just the slightest tinge of red as it reflected through thick atmospheric fog. Flights of the swamp life could be seen slowly fading overhead, low lying clouds cut into pieces. Just to see them reform and collapse. Gabe couldn't help focus his attention on it, for just the moment, as he waited for Dissero to catch up. Throwing his jacket over his shoulder, he opened his eyes wide as he looked around.

"Water tower is on the other side of town." He pointed with his free hand, far over the rumblings of the village and the people moving about and tending to duties. "Actually remained relatively unharmed during the flood. Which..." He looked over as he began walking. "...Is good. The biggest issue would have been water. Flood picked up all the toxins from the local Ayrou sector and the muck of the swamp, makes a filtered unit a requirement."

The instant he stepped into the village, he was hit with the smell of fresh baked goods. Steam rising from hardened tops and an older man who was all too happy to see the haggard traveler. He spotted the women step out from behind him, flour covered hands pushing an auburn curtain away from the main entrance.

"You're back!"
"For the moment." He smiled as he shook the mans hand, mid step.
"You stopping in? Where ya headed to?"
"Ahh, up towards the water tower..." Now he had to stop, the conversation had dragged on for too many steps. Unless he wanted to appear rude, which he didn't.
"Gotcha gotcha. Well stop on by later, you and your friend, we'll have some fresh bread for ya."
"Well I appreciate that. We both do. We'll see you later."

The mustachioed man, white bushy caterpillar across the top lip, gave a wave and smile, his wife sitting by the clear case and shaking her head. "Hey, go around the main way. Bunch of vehicles are blocking center square, a big mess."

"Will do, thanks." He waved as they walked by.

[member="Dissero"]​

 

[Dissero]

Dissero had gone quiet as they stepped through the village, blue eyes casting from face to face with no firm recognition of any. They walked past small stores and homes, a dilapidated shed ruined further by the recent flooding, a small pen of stock animals. Several flightless birds crossed their path as they headed north along a worn walkway that normally lead out to the fields - now nothing more than an open expanse of mud and swamp trailings.

The darkening sky had a distinct green hue to it with soft blazes of yellow following the descending sun. Overcast, he noted mentally with a grimace, how long had it been since Cera had bathed in moonlight? How long since she last fed? Sitka's cooking would only sustain her for so long. Perhaps her inevitable departure was really a blessing in disguise...for the people of this village.

An old rusted water tower standing amongst a seat of dried brambles came into view as they rounded the last of the village buildings. Pockmarked by patches of dinge, it stood as testament to the hardiness of this small settlement. Who knew how many floods it had seen as bad as this last one, or worse.

The silhouette of Cera seated at the top could just be made out in the waning daylight.

Dissero narrowed his eyes, muttering under his breath about how much like a cat she was. Always with the heights, among other things.

"Not much for high places myself," he remarked as they neared the tower, eyeing the thing dubiously.

[member="Gabriel Sionoma"]

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

His elbow rested against his chest, propping his arm as the hand rested against the beard. Scratching.

"Yeah, to be quite honest, I don't mind them. Which is probably worse for my wellbeing. Better off if I had a bit of hesitation." He recalled his fight on the towers, and the descent downwards, and how the fall have never once drawn any concern. But then, in those times, he was out to prove something, to show the world that he was more than just some ill-fated doppelganger. He had something to prove to someone, now that thing was proven and that someone was gone. And he still had no hesitation, no fear for his own mortality. A notion that likely drove Ava up the wall, particularly that one event.

Not the time to dwell on it.

He shook his head as he placed a calloused hand against the first stained iron rung. It felt hot to the touch, warmed by the sun cutting through the thick fog. For some reason, particularly in this place, the dense clouds weren't nearly as noticeable.

"You don't need to come up if you don't want. She can't exactly run off from where she's at..." He looked up. "At least, I don't think she can...not exactly the predictable sort." He started his slow climb up the ladder.

[member="Dissero"]​

 

[Cerusia Shamalain]

Dissero had his doubts about the predictability of his sister as well but he didn't voice them. Best not to overface her - if they both went up after her she might start to get suspicious. He was certain she knew they were there already, if the records of her former power were anything to go on.



She didn't have to feel them there to know. The faint breeze from the south carried their scents upon it long before they arrived and yet Cera felt uncompelled to move. Hiding wasn't her intention. Her time spent here at the top of the water tower was for introspective pursuits. The isolation from others gave her senses and mind time to rest, a chance to relax the control of a body that every day fought against its own innate desires and needs. The open expanse surrounding her offered room to breathe. Where the swamp had been ideal for its remoteness she'd often felt metaphysically confined by the trees and darkness.

Up here she could see for as widely as the fogs would allow. Her thoughts were free to pursue any path, even those of the stars.

No stars tonight, only clouds. Pale eyes gazed upwards at them as they slowly rolled overhead. She hadn't seen the moon since before the attack on the shop.

Boots planted firmly against a notch in the metal sheet beneath her, Cera sat with her arms propped on her knees before her. The slanted roof didn't make for the most comfortable of perches but it wasn't comfort she was seeking up here. The woman glanced back over her shoulder as Gabe slowly pulled himself over the ledge and felt herself bristle at the infringement of her solitude. The instinctual response left her tense, a feeling she actively had to quell. Visions of her violent explosion in the police station and the savage murder in the swamp flashed through her mind, bringing blood to boil again.

No. Gaze tore away from the man, a hand lifted to her hair to clasp at her skull. She tried to think of warm sand and the blue seascape. If she tried real hard the breeze along the watertower almost sounded like waves lapping against the shoreline.

[member="Gabriel Sionoma"]

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

It wasn't in his nature to be mad or bothered, no matter how he felt about things. Dragging that sort of thing around, it weighed the soul and he was already overburdened with the baggage of a lifetime. The sort of reminder he might present to Cera, of moments of lost control, he could relate. He had the same response when seeing the image of his brother in his own reflection. A life spent tucked away and helpless, and the deeds committed to appease his brother. Those were the scars that would fade but never disappear.

The best he could do was return the grizzled expression with an awkward smile, scratching the top of his braid, right where the scalp was pulled taught. And so he did, slowly approaching her as he sat down. Feet hanging and dangling from the roof.

He was having trouble understanding Cera and despite what he told Dissero, the problem extended beyond issues of communication. There was a tendency for him to simplify things, to try and understand them. Making light of issues helped to deal with them, eroding away obstacles so they were easier to overcome. Though, he was quickly coming to realize that Cera didn't need for someone else to simplify her. Perhaps, in his time of isolation, he had lost the ability to truly empathize.

Being around Cera, this was a notion he often considered. Hers was a humbling presence.

Sighing, he did something stupid. He opened his mouth.

"I met your brother. He seems nice."

He absentmindedly played with the item around his neck, twirling it ever so slightly. He wondered if he opened the casing, where the arrow might point.

[member="Cerusia Darke"]​

 

[Cerusia Shamalain]

The bristling wouldn't go away and she felt her metaphorical hackles raise ever higher as the man moved to join her at her private perch. Men - didn't matter where you went, how long you lived, they never understood personal space. Cera's shoulders hunched forward as she turned her gaze away from the man, her own eyes finding the figure of her brother milling about below.

Heights, she remembered him saying to her when she asked if he was going to fix the roof of the shop, he didn't like heights.

Curious.

"I met your brother. He seems nice."

A line formed between her eyebrows, dejection glaringly apparent. Warm sand. Seashells. Waves on the shore...

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

He smiled at the cold reception, though he paid it minimal mind. Based on their interactions, particularly how she responded to him back at the Inn, he was quickly learning to not expect anything. It was doing a good job of keeping him off his toes.

His hands dropped to his lap, cradled within one another, as he looked out towards the village. It seemed a smaller place from here, the cityscape of the Ayrou sector in the background. He recalled time spent there, under the control of Reverance, destroying part of the sector in pursuit of a particular person. Killing an entire band of mercenaries, possibly related to the very same that attacked the storefront and the village. And ran off with Cera's holocron. It gave him perspective, while watching the people go on with their lives, as if nothing had ever happened. Or more importantly, that something had happened, and they wouldn't allow it to impact them.

This spat he was having with Cera and the way she seemed to recoil in even his slightest presence, he wouldn't let it bother him. Maybe it's because he had overcome enough in his lifetime to not be consumed by misunderstandings. Or maybe it was because the view was quite spectacular on the water tower and he was developing an understanding of why Cera was so fond of the place.

"I..." He paused, exhaling loudly as he stared off towards the sun. "I thought I'd try and help you find Tulla..."

He still wasn't sure she was in the right place to use the compass. It required a sound mind and frustration was only going to get in the way. But if she had the desire to, he'd try and explain the item. He wasn't sure he could help beyond that as it was becoming obvious that he might very well be the reason for the frustration. Or perhaps that was just another simple misunderstanding.

[member="Cerusia Darke"]​

 

[Cerusia Shamalain]

[She is dead.]

The words signed back were direct and short before her head went back into her hands. Cera stared out at the horizon, not seeing the small town or the history it kept. Oblivion met her gaze. The endless walk of perdition for a soul that could not pass on nor return to what it once knew. The limbo that maintained her here - what would happen if she were to die now? Where would she end up?

Back in Netherworld, perhaps, in the same torturous place the man standing down below them had found her. Cera suddenly remembered how much she hated him for that.

Quietly above them the clouds began to thin.

[member="Gabriel Sionoma"]

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

"I've heard..." His eyes followed her hand movement. A simple expression, one that feel in line with what Dissero and Kep's had told him. His eyes lifted to her, looking out towards the horizon and away from him. There was expression there even if she couldn't vocalize it. He was hoping, despite his predictions, that she hadn't taken to the same melancholic conclusion as her brother.

Narrowing his eyes, he took in a hard breath through his nose. "So you've found her body, then? You know for sure that she is gone?" There were so few things someone could be certain of in this universe. Life and death were hardly in that category. Given that for all intent and purposes, he was dead for centuries, he appreciated the grey horizon between the dead and the living. And that life, more so than death, was more than just simply breathing and carrying on.

Very easily, someone could be dead and still standing upright. It was purpose that gave life, more than anything else, and he was still trying to find the purpose for which Cera longed. The metaphor about the train still confused him, but maybe she could find solace or closure here. If she hadn't already. He knew so very little about her, a book with rose gold embroidery and a locked casing.

Pulling his fingers over the chain, he tilted his head forward as he pulled the item from his neck. Chain hanging from his hand, he cradled the item within his palm. Looking out to that very same horizon, he thought for a moment. The last time he had an item, imbued in such format, she recoiled from its offering. He wondered if it would be the same now.

"If you want, you can still try...to find her." If not, maybe he was wasting his time here.

[member="Cerusia Darke"]​

 

[Cerusia Shamalain]

Eyes of angry violet snapped to the trinket in the man's hands, looking upon it with a bated vehemence typically saved for the ire of an enemy. The softness had gone from her expression, overtaken by the instinctive response of aggression. Cera felt her fingers coil tightly in preparation for a strike, but her body did not immediately carry out the task. The desire stopped short as she felt a coldness touch upon her exposed forearms and hands, like a chill breeze off a winter mountain.

A blink shifted her gaze from the compass to her arms, taking in the faint glow of her skin, illuminated by peeking rays of moonlight from above. Cera looked up and watched as the clouds continued to dissipate slowly, revealing more of a waxing moon in the black beyond.

She was on her feet, suddenly but fluidly, staring up into the moon as if she'd never seen the likes of which ever before. Under the silver light she was ephemeral, glowing like a lantern in the fog. Skin pearlescent, hair catching the gleam of rouge, eyes alight, inhuman, - every moment soaking up that light helped to assuage the tension boiling beneath.

Moonlight. Sweet, sweet light of Moire.

Dissero looked up from where he stood with a half smile, hands in his pockets, he closed his eyes against the cooling rays. He would never glow like her but he understood the feeling all too well. A cold drink of water after crossing an endless desert.