Forever Yours (Merik)

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

It was one of those things TR was particularly good at. What is that, you might ask? Well the problem with that is the answer encompasses a variety of actions that are necessary for a single underlying concept. She was good at bypassing guards, her speed almost unparalleled in the world today. She was good at knowing where to be and when to be there, which was just plain inexplicable and had to be written off as one of her quirks. But ultimately she was just good, and that's why it's very hard to describe.

For example while she had no possible way of knowing her king and captain had been injured or where he would even be, she found herself in the Fairy Court that very night as he rested up. Nor did she have any way of knowing which room he was lying in considering the ample size of the natural complex. Yet she found her way there, avoiding every single guard with expert ease along the way, even getting into the room without making a noise. And so she was there, studying her injured captain with an oddly delighted smirk across her face.

"Oh my you do get into the most delicious of situations, my captain," she said, casually wondering whether or not Merik knew she was there from the get-go or if he was so out of it in his current situation that his senses had failed him. She was fairly certain it was the former; Merik was not the sort to be caught off guard. At least, not after it had just happened, it seemed. "Whatever were you thinking, my dear captain," she cooed as she flopped herself over onto the bed he was lying in, lying across his legs. He would no doubt be aware that she already knew the answer to her own question, such as she was.

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[Merik Dragmire]

Merik had finally managed to sink into a very uneasy sleep after his discussion. Catching the sound of the door opening quietly he initially figured it was one of the healers until he simply felt the person standing over him. He was in the process of preparing himself to prove to his would-be assassin that even on his deathbed he'd give them a more than fair challenge when Tabula Rasa finally began to speak. His eyes still had not opened but he offered her a smirk nonetheless.

"You have a very nasty habit of not being around on the rare times where the assassination almost succeeds, a fool might think you were connected but we both know better." he said, glad to find that speech was coming a bit easier after his short rest. "Not that you don't know, but I was thinking that I'd found another you...albeit a slightly saner, less fire-happy, and more physically imposing version of you. But it seems loyalty is a rare trait to find now-a-days..."

When she flopped down at the foot of his bed he growled lightly before pushing his pillow back so he could see her.

"And before I become rude and forgetful, thank you for coming to visit; you may get to be my one and only visitor here."

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

TR only smirked at Merik's comment, raising a hand and batting it dismissively. "I wouldn't have done you any good there anyway, aside from helping you set that stable on fire. Nice touch, I have to say," she said flippantly, shifting across Merik's legs so that she was on the bed proper, her head hanging off the other side, the room becoming upside down to her. A childish grin passed across her lips, though it would be mostly unseen to Merik at that point, in the dark and with his eyes closed.

"I'm fairly certain your little concubine didn't even know she was about to do what she did. But then I haven't had a chance to read her, that's just speculation from your vantage point." She shifted her weight again, much like a restless child, this time moving up the length of the bed to sit at the head right beside Merik. Her head rested on his shoulder. "You stuck her good, though, nice and bloody. Frostbite was a poor choice, though, Flamestrike would've done more damage to her innards. Burns are particularly hard to heal, after all, especially when they're on your lower intestine. Of course that could just be me."

To accentuate her words she held out a hand and a spark of fire ignited in her palm. She stared at it admiringly for a long moment, moving her fingers as the flame weaved through them, always trying to get to the highest possible point. The flame provided ample light for the dark room, and allowed her to study the mark on Merik's neck a bit more. "If you want I could go wreak some havoc in Castle Town, keep them off your trail," she said, her tone changing from that whimsical childish one to the much more sadistic TR that usually came out when fire was involved.

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[Merik Dragmire]

"Fire can always provide a nice distraction when used against those with things to lose especially for one such as Zenethil, as protective of his people as he is. Imagine if that fire had spread, half of Castle Town might have been burnt to cinders and so many poor helpless Hylians would be homeless on the streets." Merik replied, his voice growing cold as he laughed darkly at the possibility.

He shifted a little as T.R. moved around and rested against him, finding the familiarity of it a little odd after such a long time.

"I doubt she planned it, just as I hadn't planned to stab her. Hell had she tried any other time to assassinate me it would have just been over but something about it...maybe just the fact I was risking more than just my life to reveal myself and protect her and to be rewarded with a slit throat... it was more than enough to rouse the Beast within and bring me to strike. It could have been Flamestrike but it wouldn't have done what was required...oh it would have injured her, perhaps even done irreparable damage, but the warmth of fire can bring life as well as death, in the cold and ice there is only the touch of death... and in the Beast's hatred, as Frostbite extinguished the fire of life from within her, I never wanted her to feel that warmth again."

As she began to play with her own fire he could only smile, especially once she offered to go cause some havoc in Castle Town. Same old T.R., always ready to bring about mayhem to protect her captain and make him feel a little better.

"If you chose to do so that would be your decision, my death approaches and you'll need to survive without me around so it is not something I'll order or request of you."

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

TR could only smirk at the coldness of Merik's voice. This side of him she liked. She was particularly glad she hadn't been around for that mushy caring stuff he'd been trying out lately. That coldness when it came to the fate of the people who hated them, it made TR giddy in all the right ways and she could only grin at the strange irony that his voice would grow so cold when talking about setting Castle Town alight. If she was a cat it would be around here where she'd start purring, but she wasn't, so that wasn't really relevant. Instead she just settled on crushing the life out of the flame in her hand with a quick clench of her fist.

"She was surrounded by healers, you knew full well they'd tend to her. I'm just saying you should've stuck to the irreparable damage thing," she giggled. That beast Merik spoke so casually of, it was the real Merik, the side she remained ever loyal to. This shell he wandered around in was what she tolerated, but she longed for that beast to be free, to serve it in all its cruel and merciless ferocity. Frankly she lamented the fact that she hadn't been there in person to see it unleashed, however brief, but that was the beauty of her little ability: she still got to see it. She saw it every time it got unleashed.

"Oh I'll survive, I always do, you know that full well," she shrugged. "Everyone's death approaches them. Some sooner than they think. Just because you believe yours to be upon you doesn't mean you should be weak or full of remorse," she whispered devilishly. "You'll be back, your time here isn't done yet. And I'll be waiting for when you realize this and come back, I'll be there first and foremost and together we will turn Hyrule to rubble," she hissed, then broke into a gleeful giggle that was at least in some way part cackle.

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[Merik Dragmire]

And the room plunged back to semi-darkness, seemingly darker than before for the faint light that T.R.'s flame had given the area. And in that darkness Merik's smirk grew at the familiar sound of her manic giggle.

"I prefer she suffer the chill of the void, it is something even harder to fix..." he replied as silence reigned between them for a few short seconds as each was within their own world.

"I know you'll survive, but i expect the Bay and most of my forces to do the same. I also expect you to cooperate and help Kotone and Ruma should they require your aid. With my death you become the Pirate Queen and it falls to you to ensure your people survive, even if a lot of them are scum." he paused as she spoke again before falling once more into her crazed laughter.

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

The chill of the void. Merik spoke of it with familiarity, and TR could only smirk at the thought. Everyone was familiar with the void, and it took shape in everyone's lives, in their minds. Loneliness, fear, isolation. Crippling sensations that couldn't be described but could easily be felt by even the hardiest of men. Whispers of the brave into the dark at night. No one was without it, no one could escape it. But few, like TR herself, accepted it, embraced it even, and welcomed it to surround her. Isolation kept her safe, like a warm blanket, it kept everyone away.

"Oh my, Pirate Queen, me? Why, I don't think you've ever referred to me as your queen before, my dear captain, not like the way you refer to your sister as such. Naughty as you are. The amount of sleeping around you do might just lead to more people getting knocked up than the wench daughter of your mortal enemy, though few would be as delightfully ironic. I doubt the world's ready for any young Merik Juniors running around. Save that for later, on your actual death bed," she said with a giggle. Merik wasn't the type to die with unfinished business. He'll be back, she knew full well.

Though his labeling of people as scum hit an odd spot with TR. Her childish grin weened and faded, though her natural expression was a feral smirk anyway. "Oh they may be scum, but it's not a hateful thing to be." Her head tilted back until it rested against the wall and she looked up to the ceiling. "The scum are merely the truth of humanity, cast away by those who wished to hide any sign of what they really are. They are the ones who do not deny their true nature," she hissed, then switched tone suddenly. "They're the ones who do not try to run from what they are and embrace it. They are the truth and those who cast them off as outlaws are the lies."

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[Merik Dragmire]

"You won't believe I'm truly dying until they put my body in a hole...or mount my head on a wall...or both...actually even that might not be enough to convince you." Merik said with a laugh though it quickly died as her words caught up with him.

He was on the way to his death and he had no heir to carry on after him. Kotone and Ruma would be able to carry on the Dragmire line with time but he had completely failed what should have been his easiest mission. Well not quite, he had succeeded until his master had intervened in that matter. Not that he'd have allowed his child to be raised under Zenethil had he not been dying (and if he hadn't stabbed Nairore). He had fully intended to spend a fair amount of personal time with Kotone during the little vacation he had planned and now it wasn't going to happen.

He was so deep into his own thoughts that he hadn't realized T.R. had continued speaking so he simply nodded and moved the conversation back to the last point that he had actually been paying attention to.

"When the King dies the crown must pass and in my little aquatic empire who else holds more of the fear and respect of the other captains than you? So of course it only makes sense that you would be my primary choice to take over as Pirate Queen...plus you'll cause the most havoc for Zelda's navy out of all the prospective choices I held."

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

"People like you have a nasty habit of sticking around long after people think you're gone," TR said simply, not bothering to further any explanation on her statement. "And I'm not talking about that sappy living in our memories crap, either," she added with a giggle. TR was not the type to be sappy. At all. In fact if she ever displayed any sort of mushy emotion that wasn't done dripping with sarcasm and irony, chances are whoever was on the receiving end would drop dead of a heart attack. It was just not the kind of thing TR did.

Which is why she didn't even do it while sitting next to the dying king she served loyally.

"I suppose I'd do a better job than that Caramon twit. You got soft with that one, my king, and it would've come back to bite you if your other mistake didn't bite you first. You were a hunted man even before you stabbed the daughter of the Hylian Commander. Actually I can't wait to see the lawful Ryan Green's face when he finds out he's hunting a dead man and never even got to see any of that glory. Oh it will be spectacular!" she cooed, grinning widely like a child thinking about the weekend, of the fun times that were to come.

"I'll cause a storm they'll never recover from, my captain, but what of your other crown? Your other Queen isn't exactly vocal enough to rule her people, even if she has their sympathy, and Ruma isn't leadership material in the least. Unless you want to be really cruel and really fun and pass it on to Din, your false Goddess. That would certainly make things interesting," she purred at the thought, thinking about how chaotic things would be if Merik did the unthinkable and tried such an unpredictable move.

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[Merik Dragmire]

"I was prepared for the Champion long ago because he's so simple to read. Fool would have arrested me and brought me in for a trial, followed by a public execution; hell I'd probably join the bastards at the bar in toasting my death that very night." Merik said with a lighthearted laugh. "As for sticking around, its a given that my ghost is going to hang over Hyrule for years to come, something will go wrong and I'll be blamed once again."

The conversation shifted towards how the rule of the Gerudo would go without him around and though he knew it wouldn't be the easiest to swing he still intended to follow through on his plans for the throne.

"Kotone and Ruma will rule together: Kotone has the loyalty of many of our people and Ruma has the knowledge to counter anything thrown at them with technology. Until a time where Kotone's voice returns Ruma may serve as her voice but I'm not certain." He paused when T.R. brought up Din though a smirk soon crossed him. "If I could ever get her to agree to it I'd have Din go with you, I think the pair of you would make a very deadly match."

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

TR shrugged at Merik's dismissal of the Human Champion. It didn't really matter too much to her, the guy was a total drag. She would never have any fun with him anyway, and Merik probably would've just dealt with him and been done with it anyway. It was a minor distraction at best, nothing to be too concerned about. "Never liked those righteous asses. Too much by the book, not enough improvising. Way too predictable," she said and batted her hand. It was intended to be a dismissive gesture but looked more like she was swatting a fly.

"Probably wouldn't even be at the bar toasting to your demise, lest other scum and criminals slip out of their grasp. Pompous assholes, make me want to have a drink right now because they wouldn't," she giggled and let her head fall sideways onto his shoulder once more. She didn't like sitting around talking like that, she never knew what to do with herself, with her body. But Merik was injured, so for his sake she held back her usually restless energy and whatever other ideas she might have to spend it on.

"I don't work very well with others, you know that very well. They tend to either bash their heads into a wall or accidentally go up in flames," she said innocently enough, though the little flame in her hand reappeared and started to dance around her hand. "Of course two or three of them might've just deserved it," she grinned, passing the flame to her other hand and dancing it around in front of Merik's face, almost as if she had a point there. Almost. "Weaklings, mostly."

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[Merik Dragmire]

"True, just imagine if they ever took the sticks out of their respective asses...it might make playing with them a lot more fun." Merik said before T.R. brought up actually wanting to drink. "I would kill for a drink but somehow I don't think downing a few glasses of burning, boiling rum would be the best thing for my throat...though now that I think about it I haven't had a drink in...nearly three months? Damnation I've been sober for nearly three months and look at what's happened because of it!!! If I survive this I swear I'm going to drink every day so none of this can ever happen again..."

He fell quiet again as she summoned her flame again and had it resume dancing around her hands and in front of his face. He knew she was getting antsy...actually she was probably long past antsy, he couldn't remember any time he had ever seen her in one place for so long...well actually he could remember a few times but they were busy burning off that energy in other ways that he could almost guarantee was going through her head at that time.

"I know you don't get along well with others, but then neither does she. If you could both reach a point where one wasn't in the process of constantly trying to kill the other I truly believe you could tear the world apart. But I suppose the odds of it ever happening are beyond slim so we shall never know for certain."

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

"If you're dying then who cares how it'll affect your throat?" TR grinned, pulling a flask out of nowhere (especially considering her outfit) and waving it in front of Merik's face. "Always nice to have a drink around," she cooed, "and it's a great improvised fire starter," she added with that diabolic tone that came up ever now and then. Her hand slipped and let the flask drop, catching it by the cap, before giving it a good hard tap. The flask spun and the cap started to loosen.

"For old time's sake, I'll have something better, stronger ready for when you return," she giggled as the cap came off and the flask dropped, her other hand there and ready to catch it. She brought the flask up to her lips and took a long draw before offering it to Merik. And by offering it, she all but stuck it into Merik's mouth and tipped it up. He was going to have a drink whether or not he wanted to. He was in no state to match wills with her, all things considered. She let the burning liquid run down her throat and tipped her head back sighing happily.

"Tearing the world in two wouldn't be any fun. Too quick an end for the swine that is humanity. That's the beauty of fire, my dear captain, it takes its time but once it has tasted blood there's little you can do. It causes suffering and burns away the mask of society to show their true colors, and they're as black as they can be," she purred wickedly, once more letting flame play across her hand, this one large and wild and threatened to catch something nearby on fire.

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[Merik Dragmire]

"Because I need to keep a clear head for what I int..." Merik started before T.R. forced the drink down his throat.

He gulped it down automatically without a second's hesitation and immediately felt it burning in all the right, and more than a few wrong, places. And by wrong places, it almost felt like Flamestrike was at his throat once again. Sputtering a bit after she removed the flask he swallowed down the last of it and growled.

"You're a bitch you know that.." he said, giving her a light smack on the head before giving her a smirk. "...but that was good."

He listened to her talk as she reignited her hand once more, the fire bigger than any of her previous ones. As he watched it dancing around he noted how close it was coming to the bedding and occasionally his clothing.

"I swear if you catch me or my bed on fire, I will hold you here so you can die with me. Just so we're perfectly clear." he said with a quiet chuckle, though they both knew well enough he would if those events happened to transpire. "So where are you planning to go for your next stop after you leave for Fate to find me?"

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

"You've said so a few times, my dear captain, though more often than not it was a little more passionate, and you were sweating for different reasons," she said along with one of her gleeful giggles. That was how it was with TR; you could rarely get her meaning through her tone alone, but her giggles more than often betrayed her mind. Of course that was only because she allowed them to, so it wasn't always reliable, but it was the closest chance she offered anybody to read her.

With a shrug she downed another mouthful of whatever was in the flask. Truthfully she didn't even know; she had lifted it off of a traveler on her way there before setting him alight. The shiny had caught her eye, and, as mentioned before, it was always handy to have some alcohol handy, whatever the reason. It was strong, whatever it was, but no one in Hyrule has ever been able to see TR's tolerance for alcohol and live, so even the contents of the flask weren't enough to change her, for better or for worse.

"I was thinking of stopping into the poison grove on my way out, though I imagine you, my dear captain, would object to that," she teased, raising her hand and dragging a claw along her cheek as if it were a tear running down from her eye. She even scratched herself, a bit of blood beading up and following the trail left by the claw. Perhaps intentional. Tears of blood were always fun. "So I was thinking of stopping into Castle Town, causing a bit of havoc and being on my merry way back to the bay~"

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