WHEN: 24 AUG 2044 WHERE: Dashrix Manor, Lex's laboratory
WHO: Lex Dashrix and Naoki Sato
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[14:36] Lex Dashrix: Emerging from the portal behind Naoki he let it fall closed behind him and made his way across the laboratory depositing the stack of class schedules to arrange on one table to be retrieved by one of the servitors later. He came to rest in the far corner of the lab and began tucking the files Willow had shared away with other information he'd gathered, out of date as it was, about his estranged families holdings and doings. "I suppose it was too much to hope that they would fall to complete disarray without grandmother's meddling." he sighed as he flipped through one set of notes with a vague frown. "It was quite the gesture to allow you her blood," Lex emphasized, "Do not prove her the fool for it."
[14:45] 彩人脩生 (helio5igma): Naoki followed close behind but paused once they were safely within Lex's lab to watch from near the door as the Professor tucked the documents away. "I said what I meant to do with the blood," he answered and opened his palm to look down at the crystallized liquid he held there. "I won't do any more than that."
Turning toward one of the workstations he set the crystal down and began gathering the necessary materials to imbue something with a touch of his blood magic. "You haven't talked about this coven much. Is it because you didn't think they were a threat or because you didn't want to talk about it?" he asked without a glance away from his work in a fashion that almost mimicked Lex's own when he was embroiled in a project.
[14:56] Lex Dashrix: "I did not speak of them because they were not relevant." Lex replied simply his movements as he tucked the last notes away smooth and efficient. "That is apparently no longer the case." he admitted with some distaste. Files sorted he turned to stand a few steps back and to the side to observe Naoki's work with the blood though offered no interruptions to the younger mages working. "My mother's family has had little interest in me in the aftermath of my exile and marriage to Harper." He left the order of those events ambiguous.
[15:03] 彩人脩生 (helio5igma): Naoki had drawn a circle, the gem at its center with lines connecting three other points along the curve. As he leaned in precise movements of his fingers caused changes, symbols etching themselves into the surface of the blood crystal. "Would they be coming after you just because of the Headmistress or because of something else too?" he asked and straightened up, pausing in his work to look across the lab at Lex. "The exile. Did you choose that?"
[15:18] Lex Dashrix: Lex observed the ongoing workings with careful attention the lack of interjection a tribute to both his apprentices skill and Lex's own restraint. "I left them little option and I certainly did not desire to remain entangled in their affairs." he replied indifferently the salve of time had long since soothed any lingering wounds of that more contentious time in his relations with his family. "They would be coming after me because they are fools enraptured of their own perceived significance." he answered dismissively. He paused for a long moment as he considered Naoki's line of questioning. "They haven't the skill to harm me and any attack on what is mine would lead only to the unsavory end of any involved." the ancient wizard explained with finality. Of course he assumed they were equally aware of this balance of power.
[15:31] 彩人脩生 (helio5igma): Naoki mulled over the answers for a moment before nodding. He didn't continue the work on Ichi's protective talisman yet, instead turning to more fully face the master hermeticist. "Unsavory end. Before or after they do any harm to anyone else?" he asked with a tilt of his head. "Your - " he paused to reconsider what was going to be a difficult choice of words, " - the Headmistress sounds fairly sure they'll try, strong enough to do anything or not. Ichi and Thirteen could get hurt in the attempt and I'd rather end them before that." He showed no particular concern about himself. Turning back to his work he reached up and slid his fingers in underneath his eyelids, curling around the eyeball itself to slowly extract it form its socket with a grit of his teeth and a bulge of blood vessels in his face.
[15:56] Lex Dashrix: Lex shook his head slightly, "Willow is certain only that if they make a move she will not know until they do." he clarified emphatically tucking his hand behind his back as the Yokai paused in his endeavors against the urge to take up the unfinished work and complete it. "The Lockewoods are not a threat from lack of ability but lack of collective will." Lex replied succinctly to the suggestion of a preemptive strike. "Unifying them in action against me would serve only to increase the danger they present." he assured Naoki firmly as he remained still in his place as the Jinkininki plucked his own eye out for the ritual in progress repressing the urge to once more try to explain the representative nature of sympathetic magic in opposition to the more literal interpretation. "Willow wishes to understand the value I place on Thirteen and Yourself, on Ichi, on my lineage as it were."
[16:04] 彩人脩生 (helio5igma): Naoki pulled the eye out with a grunt, blood spilling only briefly before it was taken by his control over the substance and coiled around the extracted organ neatly. All trailing connections were gathered up in that swirl so that when the yokai set it down in its place on the circle it made no mess of anything along the way. "So we can take care of them quietly once identified nearby," he concluded, dissuaded from any more proactive action at least.
After a glance over his shoulder he lifted the hand opposite the side Lex was standing closest to and pinched fingers in the air close to that ear. For a few moments the tension in his fingers and in his face were the only signs of what he was doing until a small bone emerged from his ear canal with a slick noise and a trail of blood that, like the other, coiled itself around the bone so he could set it down neatly. When he spoke again it was louder, likely because of the momentary effect on his hearing. "The language you were speaking. What was it?"
[16:21] Lex Dashrix: "Perhaps." Lex allowed as he pondered the situation further. "Any agents of the coven are equally if not more likely to target Willow, she was the heir apparent before here self imposed exile here and grandmothers, retirement." he explained thoughtfully, "It is possible that her intention of warning me was to bend my interests to align with hers." he despised these games Willow played so easily and where the Lockewoods were involved his trust was thin at best. He tensed his jaw and shook his head dismissively, "Action against them when they are targeting her could be interpreted as confirmation of an alliance which would rightfully put the fear in the coven and it's presumptive leadership." He waved off the inwardly spiraling conspiracies with one hand unwilling to delve further into the twisted logic. "It is the dialect of our grandmother, Saxon era old English at root." he offered freely not considering it a secret, "It has an unfortunately imprecise structure but a certain rhythm to it some find pleasing."
[16:36] 彩人脩生 (helio5igma): Naoki listened with his head at a slight tilt towards Lex. He nodded once to acknowledge that he'd heard clearly but paused before speaking. "You don't want me or Ichi to do anything if she is attacked, then?" he asked bluntly. "We're most likely to be at the Academy. I don't care but he may feel more obligated than I would."
With the eye and ear bone in place he raised his left hand and drew a circle around the pad of it with his right index finger. A line of blood etched itself there before cutting deeper until the layers of skin came away in a neat chunk, likely full of nerve endings and connective tissue but without the muscle beneath. He set it on the third point on the circle, each part equidistant from the blood in the center. Once everything was assembled he moved the still-bleeding fingertip over each point of the circle, a completed triangular motion before holding it above the gem in the center. "薬指, 目, 耳 - 三個は血が近くにあることを示しています," he recited.
Each organ lifted into the air along with the gem itself, the three body parts dissolving into a mist of red that swirled into the etched gem before the latter settled down onto the table again. Naoki was already regenerating, parts of his plucked eyeball visible regrowing in the empty socket as he took the gem and began cleaning up his workspace. "Do you have something Ichi would like that this could be put into? And the language. Will you teach me?" he asked.
[16:54] Lex Dashrix: "No." Lex replied perhaps a bit too quickly at the suggestion they not intervene should Willow be attacked. "I doubt they would succeed regardless but if so bold as to attack in public it would raise more questions were you or Ichi or I not to intervene." he explained quietly as the enchantment came to a close. "This is what i so despise about the Lockewoods, the conspiracy and guesswork and irrational disordered thinking they rely upon." he let out a frustrated huff more indicative of his traumas at the hands of the witches than any prior words. "We can fabricate one that will be sufficiently circumspect." Lex offered pensively as he pondered designs that might engage his de facto grandchild. "It is a protective amulet, a scarab is traditional, he'd appreciate that." he mused and a small smile lit his face, "Actuate the wings and glow on detection?" He hadn't answered the question about the old tongue yet and was tempted in part to ignore the request. "It's a long dead language of scholarly note only to those seeking specific brythonic witchcraft traditions." he gave a small shake of his head, "We shall see if it warrants the time investment." he was considering it but there was unusual resistance in bringing Naoki into that part of his life he had so long ago closed the book upon.
[17:04] 彩人脩生 (helio5igma): Naoki let out a little um at the response but nodded anyway. "Understood," he said and leaned against the table as he regenerated, his uninjured hand holding up the gem to inspect it in the light. "Scarab... a beetle?" When he caught Lex's smile he nodded, the downward tilt of his head hiding the hint of his own. "He still watches some of the boys in Seiiki when they collect beetles and have them fight," he said quietly. "And yes, I think so."
Idly the Jikininki watched the pad of his finger as skin slowly wove itself over the exposed muscle. "I only want to know so I understand when she speaks about me - or about Thirteen and Ichi. I don't care otherwise." The distaste for being spoken about in words unfamiliar to him was likely something he'd retained from his early years with Lex. English had been the yokai's secondary language after all and though he learned quickly enough there had likely been periods of time when he'd overheard constables or onlookers speaking too quickly or with too much colloquial jargon that the meaning eluded him.
[17:14] Lex Dashrix: At the agreement from Naoki Lex crossed the lab to the small collection of fabrication devices and began calling up an appropriate design making small changes before engaging the Arc Sintering System for Interactive Sample Topographies the spray of fine metal particles welded by the arc of electricity into a solid mass of the scarab amulet preformed for the dimensions of the enchanted jewel. "He watched the blazing arc do it's work through darkened lenses and nodded slowly at the Yokais explanation. "I assure you if she wishes to insult one of you she will choose a language you understand to do so she would see no point otherwise."
[17:28] 彩人脩生 (helio5igma): Knowing better than to watch the arc and its bright lights Naoki crossed his arms and looked down at the floor instead. "She isn't the only reason. Would any other others from that coven speak in that language?" he pressed, waiting for the bright lights to dim before looking up again. "I don't care if it's an insult but if something is said that I need to act on I'd miss it otherwise." Naoki stepped over to stand closer, still giving him space to work but wanting to give physical weight to his insistence. "If you don't want to teach me just say so," he said firmly with no inclination that he'd accept the refusal.
[17:39] Lex Dashrix: Lex retrieved the still warm silver scarab from it's box and cleaned a few lines with his thumbnail pulling neat curls of the material off with each scrape and checking the wing actuation before passing it to Naoki for final fitting of the gem. "They may speak a variation of it but not in front of outsiders, it is not so unfamiliar as to serve as cipher nor so common as to be disregarded." he explained succinctly with a small sigh at the yokai's stubborn streak. "It is Willows first tongue and she falls back when ..." he shrugged not wanting to go too far into the convexities of that particular relation, "She uses it for concepts she doesn't feel English handles well any longer or to poke at me in manners that would be unsuited for other ears." He gave a small shake of his head, "I'll take your request under consideration."
[17:46] 彩人脩生 (helio5igma): Naoki set the gem adrift, able to control its movements considering it was still made of blood. It freed up his uninjured hand to reach out for the scarab so he could look over it curiously before seating them gem properly. Once the amulet was complete and Lex had finished speaking he set the scarab aside and stepped close enough to invade the man's personal space. "You know everything about Thirteen and Ichi and most things about me. Why are we not allowed to know any of your past?" he asked, tilting his head to catch the man's eyes. "Your father, and now this. You never even told us your real name, did you? It's Lugh, isn't it?"
[17:53] Lex Dashrix: Lex looked down as Naoki squared up and came closer to him curious as to what the younger man might feel the need to broach in such a fashion. His mouth began to open with a sardonic lecture on the nature of their relationship and his secrets being his own. That all vanished and his eyes narrowed at the mention of that name, "That is not my name." he replied vehemently hand snatching forward reaching for the harness Naoki wore with unnatural speed, "Where did you hear that name?" he demanded eyes darkening and jaw clenched tight the words a low rumbling growl, "Who knows that name?"
[18:01] 彩人脩生 (helio5igma): Naoki's eyes opened in surprise at the violent reaction to the name but he didn't move to defend himself when Lex grabbed him, his head back and upward-tilted to keep the much taller man's stare in such close proximity. When he answered he didn't sound panicked, only much more intrigued. "Whose name is it then? If it was given to YOU then I can guess why you don't claim it and I can guess who gave it too." Both Naoki's hands balled up into fists before relaxing again. "...Roesler's ship. When I was... when I didn't have a body, I snuck aboard. One of his pets asked me if I was Lugh's son and it took me a long time to figure out who she meant."
[18:25] Lex Dashrix: The leather of Naoki's harness creaked as his grip tightened at the revelation and he lifted Naoki from the floor effortlessly as he growled the name through clenched teeth, "Roesler." his body tightly coiled, flushed with the kind of mingled rage and fear Naoki had not perhaps ever seen on his stoic master's face, even in the face of his father's predations and perversions a century ago. "And you only tell me now?" The giant of man who so calmly dismissed the entirety of one of the most powerful covens of witches was shaken by this revelation to his very core. His right hand rose the bandage upon it stained crimson from the wound freshly opened by his recently clenched fist. Palm and fingers splayed across the side of his apprentices head in an almost painful grip he met Naoki's eyes his own steel blues clouding with an inky black as he forced the memories of that name;s origins into Naoki's mind skirting the geas that forbid it be spoken of with great strain before diving into the mans own memories of that night seeking exactly what had been said and perhaps how much Roesler might know. The thoughts forced upon the Yokai were scattered, chanting, flames, dance, ancient pagan rites lost to time for most. A naming ceremony of the secret name binding each Lockewood to the coven and their magic to the covens own. A secret name tied directly to his very Aether. His concern at it being in Roesler's hands became apparent. The effort of the exchange staggered the big man and he dropped Noaki to the floor before staggering toward the library, "Go, I need to think, to ..." trailed off mind fogged by the exertion he had pushed beyond the limits of his meager psychic abilities to get the information he required. "Go, send her to me."
[18:35] 彩人脩生 (helio5igma): Naoki's feet hung rather than kick at Lex or the air as he was lifted. Even the grip on his head didn't make him flinch though his eyes did narrow and his lips creased into a tight frown. "I only today was sure she meant you," he said quietly before being unable to speak much more. Psychic ability was nowhere near the Jikininki's set of skills and he was highly susceptible to it, the ancient mage easily able to force the memories into his mind as well as delve through Naoki's own to find the images of that afternoon on Roesler's airship.
Lex saw the Qilin in the cage, heard the bits of confused conversation, the gifting of the puzzle egg. He saw too the clumsy attempts to move as Naoki attempted to pilot the gold-and-gemstone body she had created him by infusing necromantic Aether into it and the subsequent ease by which Roesler was able to best him in the hallway beyond to take the egg for himself. It was true enough that the Jikininki had little idea who the Qilin referred to - the shock and confusion at the sound of the name was enough proof of that, confusion that lingered long after that afternoon.
When he fell to the floor it was in a heap, momentarily shaken by the rough exchange of mind and memory. He said nothing else but once he stood the footsteps that took him from the lab were steady and quick, moving with a purpose to fetch Thirteen and send her to mend what strain the conversation had taken on their Professor.