PI: Wunderkind - Gotham 27th ET

Gotham Devoue · Post by **Gotham Devoue** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:42 pm

The fire crackled as the holy knight sat in front of it. He warmed his already heated hands out of a sign of habit. There really wasn't a major reason to have a fire going, other than the fact that Gotham didn't want to sit in the dark. He was on his way back to Gatetown, since he knew how Sevti was doing. That was the mission he undertook for lady Paloma, and now they needed his help more than the panling.

As he sat his eyes watching the flames dance a magnificant dance. It was if they all had the perfect partners and were at a splendid ball - doing dips and pauses. The promenade that they fire was doing was both aggressive and graceful, and thats how he was able to simply sit and stare at the wonderfulness of something so facile.

His mind began to wander over the past few days and all the stuff he had learned and even witnessed. His brain halted at the faun, Haly. He had been such a great asset that Gotham wouldn't have ever been able to do most of the stuff he had without his help. Even the squirrel that lay close by had aided him so greatly. He wondered how it would have been if he didn't have them, and realized that Pan's Isle would have already found its end. On the mindset of Haly he recalled him saying, call her in the night, and Gotham decided that the war wasn't over and he needed as much information as possible.

There are dangerous things in the woods, Haly had said as well. But, if you are brave, you will call her. Was Gotham truly that - brave? He thought so. Would he be able to handle what the gods through at him? Maybe not.

"I have searched for so long for a place in this world. I have sought the corners of World's Mouth and now, here I sit in your woodlands. I seek your guidance, fae of the forest. Pukka, I call upon you so learn what I must." It wasn't a sheer desperate cry, or something that brought him to tears. It wasn't as if he gave her a blood sacrifice, but what he did do was pour his heart into her summoning. The panlings needed as much help as they could get, and mayeb the crusader could even gian the knowledge he longed for. He wanted answers, and hopefully this mysterious faerie would be able to enlighten him.

Ashari · Post by **Ashari** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 3:32 pm

Gotham's furry little friend had curled up next to his backpack and now lay sleeping after their long day. The creature had expected that it wouldn't be long before Gotham did the same. One thing the knight noticed about having the blazing fire was the fact that it seemed to dry the air out - atleast a bit. It wasn't so heavy, and felt more like the air around World's Mouth, especially when he got close to move a particular piece of wood. His inhalation of the burning scent brought back memories of childhood.

When he stood up Squeaker shifted a bit, but didn't actually wake. Either the creature was ignoring him, or he was in a very deep sleep for such a small mammal.

No blood offering, no desperate cry, and still she came. He knew it not by her becoming visible, but by a glow of the woods that he stood in. Squeaker woke then, his head raising and staring off into a distance that Gotham couldn't comprehend, as if he saw things that the Mouthie couldn't. Raising to his feet the squirrel took off, racing behind Gotham and into the woods beyond. This place was too perilous for him.

Catching the light of the fire luminous eyes at the height of a few feet off the ground were the first thing to be seen. They glowed like a barn-cat's heading toward a lantern with ghost-like clarity. There was a good reason, it was a cat that they belonged to, his body became clear not by the light, but by the dark shape it cut out of it. A black jungle cat, and large, though graceful in it's movement by the fact that it made no sounds. Pukka followed, her wrist encircled with the protective animal's tail.

"You called?" Her chin tilted to the side with the curiousity of a child. She was small, smaller than Allegra, but her hair wound down her entire body in golden ringlets that were braided here and there with flowers intertwined. She was also completely nude, though she wore it as if she were garbed in a gown of a merchant princess of World's Mouth. Her shoulders were straight, and her locks flowed down them covering her breasts. Her body looked soft to the touch with fairer skin than he'd ever seen. Fairer than his own. "What are you looking for, warrior? And how did you come to know my name?"

Gotham Devoue · Post by **Gotham Devoue** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 11:41 pm

"I did call," said the crusader with a stern voice. A plethora of thoughts went through his mind, and nothing of any use was able to form into words that poured from his mouth.

"I came to know your name by the forest," and he left it as crpytic as that. Would she hurt Haly in some way if she knew that her name was broadcast to strangers? It wasn't his call, but it was his call whether or not to give it up so easily... and it was something that he wasn't willing to do to such a helpful person.

"I am looking for answers," he added. "Pan. I need to know as much as possible, now. I need the shock treatment of information... if you will," he said, eyeing her lovely cat. "What company you keep. What's it's name?" he questioned the fae of the wood.

Ashari · Post by **Ashari** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 5:49 pm

"His name is mine just as the name of the one who told you of me is yours." She replied with her own cryptic form, if it was a bit mocking in a subtle way. He was stern and hard and rough around the edges. If she knew nothing of those of the Mouth she would've atleast known he was not of Pan's Isle. Vanir - he had been of the island even though he'd been raised outside of it. This stranger, however, was different. There was a glow that he might be, someday, more in tune with where he was, but it didn't change how adverse he was to his surroundings right that moment. It was his clothing that gave her the most pause as it was juxtaposed against his formal posture. He was wearing the clothing of an inhabitant of PI, though he carried himself so differently. She'd seen the Oneists and had been curious of them, but she'd been warned by each fae she came across that they were not the ones to play with, no matter how fond of games she was.

Her hand wove through the thick fur of the cat at her side. Nimble fingers pawed behind his ears causing him to tilt his head to the side and lean into the probing. All the while his bright yellow eyes watched Gotham. "What answers do you seek, outsider? And why haven't you introduced yourself properly? Isn't that what a gentleman ought to do with a lady?" The fact that she wasn't clothed and that he already knew her name didn't seem to phase her in the slightest.

Gotham Devoue · Post by **Gotham Devoue** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 6:56 pm

Gotham thought about her enigmatic phrase and wondered if he could twist it against her. He had heard little about the fae that stood before him, but he did know that she was a lover of games, much like Pan. He needed some answers and those answered need to be delivered with haste and with a backbone. Sure, Pukka could give him what he sought, but he didn't want to go on a wild swan chase attempting to decypher what she had enlightened him to.

"What would you do if I could guess his name?" he thought slyly. What would she honestly do? Clearly his name was to be hidden from everyone who didn't already know it... so what prize would he get for it?

As she stood their naked, the crusader listened to her words. They were native, or at least as native as it got. "I seek the way to kill a god," he said bluntly. There wasn't enough time on Tazlure to beat around the bush when the panlings were already being slaughtered. He eyes darted from her to her cat and then back to her. "My apologies for not introducing myself, but time is of the essence. I am Gotham Devoue from World's Mouth, and I came here to convert the denizens of this isle. It was only until I saw what one of mine did to one of yours that the light changed and so did my allegiance," it wasn't something he openly said to anyone, but it was the dire truth, and Pukka would see that. "I need to know how to kill a god so my people have no reason to be here and will leave. They've done too much destruction to this place and I will not tolerate it any longer. The panlings can not do it on their own, and if I am a traitor in your eyes, than so be it, but drastic measures must be carried out for the survival of Pan's Children and following a domino effect, you as well."

Ashari · Post by **Ashari** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 7:29 pm

"If you could guess his name then you could steal him from me, because it's the only thing that binds him to my bidding." She replied. It was no secret that the creature was hers alone, the secret was how she managed to get the name from the last to have it. That was the true mystery that many a fae attempted to unravell with no success so far. Maybe Gotham would have the dumb luck to figure it out.

"Kill a god?!" She laughed heartily, her small hands going to her thin waist as she doubled over while bubbling out her giggles, her whole body shaking violently with the joy of her movement. She laughed like a child with the exuberance and lacking of care of what anyone thought of her happiness. It was a rare thing to see in an adult and almost odd to watch, and yet it tempted Gotham to laugh with her. He was so serious that it made it more amusing. As he continued she righted herself and looked him square in the eye, all traces of laughter lacking her, though she still had a merriment in her eyes that couldn't be shaken.

He spoke of the harming of a Panling and she seemed all the more serious. Pukka, above all things and all feelings loved the Panlings. "So you wish to kill Dominicus?.. I'm not sure how," she replied, but walked forward none-the-less. Her lithe body shifted and the taught muscles pulled under the surface of her skin. "You're no traitor." The fae breathed once she was close enough to whisper and her eyes danced between his as she tried to take in everything within the crystaline orbs. Her hands sought out his. Pukka's nimble little fingers interlaced with his whether he wanted her to or not. "The fae will help you." The black panther stood at a distance and was already fading into the greenery as if his inky spot her dissolving. She didn't need him right then, and so he knew his place was to go until she called him. "Would you die for us?"

Gotham Devoue · Post by **Gotham Devoue** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 7:54 pm

"Oh," he said quite surprised. It was an interesting thought none the less, and something he didn't want to do. He never realized the hold she might have on this creature, and he truly was a slave. A slave to the highest bidder, but underneath that jet black fur was a being that might long to be free - depending on how sadistic Pukka was. Maybe she wasn't at all and the cat was quite happy. Gotham didn't know, so he didn't look furture into it.

His Mouthie lips curled into a coy satisfaction that really, she didn't know how to kill Dominicus. It was a lot to do for such a simple man, and so he was thankful that she wasn't that knowledgable. Maybe in the coming months it could be a full out planned event, but, for now, he decided on defending the panlings best he could.

"I know the fae will help-," and her fingers entwining his made him stop his sentence. He couldn't help not to, and so their hands interlocked and looked into the other's eyes. Gotham thought about the question for mere flickers, but it seemed like an eternity. That few flickers seemed to go on for quite some time and he opened his mouth and answered, "Yes." It didn't matter what his death would prove, or how it would help, but if he could place his life for a panlings, he surely would.

Ashari · Post by **Ashari** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 8:16 pm

His pause meant nothing. He wasn't thinking about whether or not he'd give his life, but whether or not he would voice that he would. Perhaps he was just coming to the realization himself, but Pukka new his answer before he'd even opened his mouth. "Would you die for me?" She asked it innocently - as if she were a child begging a piece of candy, but the implications were so much more profound. "We need you, Gotham Devou of World's Mouth." She said the entire thing as if it were all his name - perhaps she thought it was. Pukka had barely ever left the island. On a few occassions she'd wandered and travelled, but she always returned home. She had to. Her cat needed her. He was lost and alone without her to guide him now. A large part of her pitied it and it's captivation. He was such a magnificent beast kept on a short leash.

Pukka's fingers curled around Gotham's. Her short nails outlined the flesh they touched and she pushed herself up onto tip-toes to be closer to his height, though she was still a good bit shorter than him. The fae licked her full lips and smiled a toothy smile. "Do you want me, Gotham?" She asked him without suggesting what he might want her for.

Gotham Devoue · Post by **Gotham Devoue** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 8:42 pm

"I would die for anyone that needed it," the warrior said. Would he willing give is life for the weak, of course. Would he sacrifice himself so other could prosper and just simply carry on with their existence, yes. He probably would have ended is own life if the situation deemed it necessary, however, he had yet to see that day.

As she pushed up so their faces were closer little sexual thoughts sifted through his cranium. With her next question, it posed an interesting consideration. Did he want her? He needed her, and there had to be a difference. She was an active being, but Gotham didn't have time for such antics. "I need you more than I want you. What do you see in me?" he enticed the fae.

Post by **Grant** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 11:33 am

The forest nympth didn't find Gotham's answer to her satisfaction. Dropping down to her heels once more, she turned and stalked away slowly, reaching out towards her feline companion to stroke it's midnight scalp. "Mortals can be killed, Gotham Devoue. Gods can't. Besides...it wasn't a God that brought the Westerners here. Even if the One God should disappear tomorrow, the Westerners won't. Each and every one of them...including you...made a choice to come. No one can force a mortal to do what they won't. Not even a God."

Striding slowly past her companion, the faery woman turned and leaned back against a tree, her eyes glowing in the firelight. "Here is what I see in you. You want to fight for what is right...but you don't know who to fight, and you don't know how. Oh, you'll happily die to help right the wrongs done around you...but that does little good if you don't know how to die...or for whom. Is that right, Gotham Devoue? And if you would happily die to help the people of Pan, then you would have me tell you precisely how. This is what you want from me. Say it is true, and perhaps I will find a way to help you."

Gotham Devoue · Post by **Gotham Devoue** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:24 am

"What do you want from me Pukka?" Gotham's fuse was run short by the days event of patching up the half-giant, and really, he didn't have the patience to be toyed around with anymore. It was a trying concept since that's what the fae did, they toyed and tricked, all in the name of their god appearantly.

"If you don't want to help, that's fine. The people of Pan will die, and the island will be overthrown with the Oneists, and then they will find the fae. They'll simply slaughter each and every one of you, and really, I care. I want to help, and I'll do my best. I'm only one person, but even the smallest people can make the biggest difference," he said with a little bit more faith than he had.

In reality Gotham was just one being. Surely he could not take on the force of The One soley, he needed help. He needed warriors and the fae and the shaperes back at Gatetown. It was a catastrophic effort on everyone's part and if any party seemed to lack in the defense than others would be obligated to take that slack onto their own backs.

"You mention not knowing how to fight, do you mean with magic? I can use a spear and sword suffieciently enough to hold my own, but the aether realm is a haze to me," and he sort of trailed off for a flicker.

"I don't want to know when and how I'm going to die. Whether it's blissful or horrifying - I don't want to know. You're right in one thing, however, I don't know how to die, and I think that's what has been keeping me going. If my death would make this all go away, by the gods I would do it on the drop of a circlet, but it won't help anything but the earth. I don't want to be pushing up daisies when there is still too much to do," like love, he thought.

"There are two people in the woods. One half-giant, the other a panling. I want to you to get them to gatetown undetected by the Oneists who await there departure to the gathering. They are trackers at heart so it wouldn't be that difficult to trace them to the grove," he asked her and told her the situation - like she didn't know.

He thought of all the banter between them and wondered what she meant by it all. Most of the conversation seemed to be quite cryptic and Gotham was lost on most of it. "I can't do it by myself, Pukka. I need your help. Aid the panlings huddled in grief within the forest and teach me a way to fight that will drive the Oneists out of this isle. You need me just as much as I need you, so lets help each other?"

Post by **Maeve** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 1:41 am

Pukka narrowed her eyes, listening to his passionate plea. "I want to know why you.. why will you, the ultimate Oneist betray his people just to feel pity for my people. How can you think I'll abandon them without thought?"

She turned around to face him, her eyes blazing "What do YOU care Gotham? Will you simply tell your master when you get back that were temporarily blinded? You want to turn sides Gotham, now is the time to be honest about it."

Gotham Devoue · Post by **Gotham Devoue** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 10:26 pm

"I don't feel pity for anyone," he stated, although it sounded much more harsh and cold than he had expected. "I came here to help the Oneists convert the panlings, and even then, I didn't realize how wrong it truly was... or is. We have a pantheon for a reason - Dominicus isn't the all powerful, as some would believe. It took me far too long to realize such a miniscule leason, and now I'm paying dearly for it," he assured the fae.

"I care because that's how I was brought up. I can remember helping my mother birth children and aiding my father in the fields. We were a family and those are the values I was bestowed with," the white knight added. "I came her ready to help the Oneists, but learned that we are not here to convert anyone, but rather slaughter - and to me, that's unacceptable. As we speak Paloma and the Shaper are doing what I instructed to thwart the Oneists as best they could before I could return from retrieving a panling from the woods. I came here on false pretenses, but I stand before you ready to help the very people I came her to convert," he said a bit sadly.

"They are the ones who have blinded me. It took one of my own to abuse a panling for me to realize that something was wrong with this entire picture. Even if I was able to go back to the One, I wouldn't. I gave up my status in Purificato's Army of the One when I saved Sevti from her wound. I gave up my faith for Dominicus when I had to spend candlemarks patching up a panling that one of my kin almost killed. Dominicus in my eyes was a peaceful god, not one who dominated others because they are infidels. You and the panlings are beings, not infidels," he stated like she didn't already know it.

"I am my own master," Gotham announced with a stern voice. "I am a leader and I will lead Pan's people to the war that will drive the Oneists from this isle," his mannerisms changed at that point. Even talking to Pukka his spirit was lifted from anger of not knowing what he truly wanted to his mind being set on what he was going to do. Gotham was a kindling fire that the fae was poking at and he didn't mind. Maybe she was the person he needed to seek out to not only grasp her help but to figure what kind of help he needed. This mysterious being had surely aided him in locating his inner core and it was something that he valued.

"Thanks, you helped in a way I wasn't anticipating, but help none the less." Before more could be said he started to proceed in the direction that Sevti and the half-giant awaited.

Vanadius · Post by **Vanadius** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 4:49 pm

OOC: Fin?

Gotham Devoue · Post by **Gotham Devoue** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 10:32 pm

OOC: Not quite. Was hoping that who ever was NPCing Pukka would help Gotham in transporting himself, Sevti, and Mnna to Gatetown.

Vanadius · Post by **Vanadius** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 2:35 pm

OOC: In the interest of time and being able to move things along, let us assume safe passage to Gatetown, where you can begin a new thread. I think you'll be able to get more involved in the war effort from there, and the journey would be rather boring. Agreed? Or shall we play it out?

Tristam · Post by **Tristam** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 6:12 pm

Thread skilled.