Private To Hell and Back

[Eyrecae Alzari]

Kaida Taldir
Eyrecae shrugged. “T’was only a thought if you had nothing better to do. You looked like you wanted to hit something.”



They continued on through the crowds. Eyrecae rolled her eyes at the speech.

“What exactly do they expect to happen?” she asked the air.



A dissenting voice was raised. “The old Queens spun lies and deceit. They lied about the cause of the war, they lied about using ‘monkeigh’ aid, they lied about everything! Let us now stand in solidarity with the Kar’zun against the nobles, the humans and all those who would seek to keep us in the dark!”



“It has begun…” Lavina said softly.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Eyrecae Alzari

A profound feeling of irritation washed over Kaida. "Numbskulls," she muttered. Meanwhile, the throng of Eldorai was growing larger and tempers were getting more heated with each moment that passed. A number of armed members of the militia were showing up on the spot as well.

"You would side with the Arish over your own blood!" an outraged voice challenged the dissenter.
"Better that than a royalist or a monkeigh lackey!"
"You spit on our noble ancestors! They died so that we might live. Are you so easily deceived by illusions and ghosts?"
"I'd trust the word of people who were abandoned by pompous nobles over that of history books written by those nobles' ancestors. If you love the Queens so much, why don't you join them? Let the truth be known, though the heavens may fall. The truth will set us free!"
"Remember Thermiscyra!"

At this stage Kaida had had enough. She might have been deprived of her ice powers, but she could still sound and look like an ice queen. Her eyes were as warm as an arctic blast. "For frak's sake, disperse. Now."
"Or what? Would you use force against your own people? Royalist running dog!" It would forever remain unclear who had struck the first blow. But then it happened. Pandaemonium broke out as the protest turned into a brawl.

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

Kaida Taldir
Eyrecae could not help but laugh at the arguing. That caused one in the crowd to turn on her.
"What's so funny, reactionary? Are you a spy of the Queen inciting this violence?" she demanded.
"I think truly, you are doing that well enough yourself..." Eyrecae commented.
As the brawl began the Eldorai let fly with a fist at Eyrecae. "Royalist pig! Reactionary!"
Eyrecae calmly caught the woman's hand and held her fist. Her own arm did not move, even when the woman tugged frantically at it.
"Would be unwise to try and hit me. Run along," she ordered, releasing her hand.
For a moment it looked like the Eldorai would take another swing, but then she disappeared into the melee.

The sound of sirens could be heard. The militia were coming to break up the argument. Eyrecae looked around for the sisters. Lavina was standing against a wall, just staring vacantly.
"We'd best get moving," Eyrecae said, looking for Kaida.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Eyrecae Alzari

All of a sudden, the corridor had descended into pandaemonium. Punches were thrown, kicks were launched and the protesters used improvised weapons to beat on each other. "It's our duty to keep order," Kaida argued coldly. "Lavina?" Her sister seemed to be just standing there in the corner. Her eyes were empty. But before Kaida could try to shake her out of it, something hard suddenly slammed into her stomach when an assailant hit her with a club. Luckily, she was wearing armour. The padding absorbed a lot of the blow, but it caught her by surprise and knocked her back.

Deprived of her Sciia, she had not seen it coming. Then she was clubbed over the head and stumbled. There was a sharp pain. Blood dripped down her forehead. Anger shot through her. Her head hurt, but she smashed her elbow into her attacker's jaw. She did not know which side of the argument her attacker was on. Nor did she care.

The club dropped to the floor. Two of her attacker's teeth lodged into her elbow. She followed with a kick to the solar plexus. Ouch. Another protester lunged at her, slashing at her face with a knife. Kaida stepped back caught the wrist, snapped it back, broke it to the side, then slammed her arm back the wrong way. It went places an arm should never go. Then she slammed it into a wall.

It was then that she got a good look at her attacker. She was young. More a girl than a woman. As young as Kaida had been when she'd joined the Young Angelii. The girl tried to shoot towards her again but Kaida pushed her back into the wall and grabbed the back of her head. "Desist, or I'll break your other arm," she growled. "You're not even fifty. You want to throw your life away for what? Ghosts? Ancestors you never knew? A battle you never fought in?" She loosened her grip. "Go." The girl glared at her, uncertain. "Go." The girl ran.

The sirens had grown louder. The same applied to the howl of speeder engines. Swiftly, the Defiance's militia disembarked, moving to surround the protesters. As the perceptive observer would notice, many of the members of this particular militia unit were Tygarans. They carried high-intensity riot guns set to stun, as well as sonic weapons.

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

Kaida Taldir
The Tygarans were less disposed to be concerned about ancient Kaeshana history. Their own very nasty history of war was fresher, and they had no intention of getting wrapped up in the Eldorai wars. After all, for the Qadiri and Vash at least...the outsiders had helped them...what was the problem?

Either way they set to work dispersing the crowds, with speeches if possible, with stun and sonic if not. Sonic weapons especially on a low setting were extremely effective against Eldorai for crowd control.

Eyrecae pulled Lavina into an alley, and waved Kaida over to them.

A pair of tough looking Qadiri passed by and glanced at them warily, sonic blasters ready.
"Seraph," they said to Kaida. They were clearly wanting to ask 'what are you doing here in this mob?' but it would be impertinent.
"We were heading home when they attacked us," Lavina said, finally shaking herself back to reality. "My sister had to defend herself."
"I had to defend myself too," Eyrecae put in. Nobody paid any attention.
"We'll escort you to your living quarters. Things are settling down," the Qadiri said, glancing around. "Ready?"

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Eyrecae Alzari

"Yes, Kaida responded tersely. The crowd around them had dispersed. Some of the protesters were being led away in handcuffs. Those who made too much of a ruckus because they could stop kicking and screaming were silenced with a stun bolt. She looked at Lavina. There was stuff to be said there, but not right now.

"Follow me," one of the Qadiri officers said. Based on his accent, he was from Khajwar. Without further ado, the pair of militia members led them away from the ruckus and out of the alley. Authoritative sounding voices blared out of loudspeakers, exhorting citizens to remain calm and clear the streets. Militia and regulars were on patrol.

"Any other disturbances?" Kaida asked as they made their way through.
The Qadiri militiaman gave her a look. "A few. And some cases of arson. Citizens throwing petrol bombs at buildings."
"It will be resolved. Orders are for anyone not on official business to clear the streets." the other militia member said in a stern tone. They passed a shop whose window had been smashed by rocks. Someone had written 'Eldorai rise!' on the wall.

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

Kaida Taldir

Eyrecae lagged a bit behind, looking curiously at things as she walked. As they passed the looted store she glanced inside, then continued walking.
"You know, the irony is that this is the exact opposite message they should be taking from this," she said to Lavina.
"People are stupid," the older Taldir said. A moment of solidarity with her sister perhaps.

They reached the apartment block and were shown in. A warden was sat inside the door with a stun blaster in case protesters came. He gave them a salute and moved aside.
"We'll leave you here. Good fortune, Seraph, ladies," the head Militiaman said and headed out.

It was quiet in the elevator up to Kaida's apartment. Finally Eyrecae said.
"So...what now?" she asked as they approached the door. Eyrecae's own apartment was in the same block somewhere.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Eyrecae Alzari

"If this were Kaeshana or Tygara, I'd go bust some skulls," Kaida muttered. She seemed...uncertain. It was an unfamiliar feeling and one she did not like one bit. Her jaw clenched. "I'll call Telara and Tryana. See what their situation is." Telara was annoying and Tryana was naive, but she was responsible for them. Ergo it was her duty to make sure they were alright. And shoot people who had laid a hand on them if it came to that.

She glanced at Lavina. "Call your Harbinger friend. See what the culties are up to." She did not like Siona and was not sure how high-up she was in that bizarre sect, but that made it more important to find out whether the death worshippers were thinking of making a move. Kaida had been with the Shadows for a while, but tried to stay as aloof of politics as possible. Maybe that had been an error. But it was such a dirty, crooked game.

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

Kaida Taldir
Lavina went to make the call. Commlink signal was never great, but it seemed patchy at best today. However, it was ringing, hopefully Siona would pick up.

Meanwhile Kaida's call went through and was answered by Tryana. The Vash had gotten much better with devices, but still was a little uncertain with them.
"Hello?" she asked slowly, possibly a bit louder than necessary. However, there was some commotion in the background so perhaps she was compensating for that.

Eyrecae meanwhile went to root around in Kaida's kitchenette. It was likely very neat and tidy and since the Shadows didn't have the best resources the food there would likely be of the 'nutritious but bland' variety.
"Say, do you have anything to drink?" she called. Kaida would probably evict her soon....

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Eyrecae Alzari

"Taldir. What's your status?" Kaida said without preamble.
"Oh. I am alright. Telara and I are at my place."
"What's the commotion?"
"There is an angry mob outside. They have been plundering shops and yelling a lot. We saw some fights. They seem to be angry about Kaeshana."
"Did they hurt you?"
"No, I am unscathed. Well, Telara got into a fight with a thug who was accosting a Forsaken and has a cut on her forehead."
"It's barely a scratch," Telara declared with an air of indignation. "And the pig got burns."
"I was able to deter more from assailing us. The Forsaken is with his people. What should we do about the ruffians outside? Are we to intervene? Some are very young."
"No, stay where you are and make sure your block is secure. Work with the warden. If anyone tries to break in, shoot them. If the militia requests aid, help them," At this juncture, Kaida heard Eyrecae. She narrowed her eyes. "You have drink at your place. Go there," she grunted. As for the food, it was indeed filling but tasted dull. Shadow Knights who had the right connections and willingness to grease paws could acquire better food. But Kaida refused to have dealings with black market traders.

Meanwhile, Lavina had finally gotten through to Siona. There had been a bit of a delay. Perhaps it was due to a bad connection, perhaps due to other things. Regardless, the Harbinger picked up the comm. "Siona," she said. Voices could be heard in the background, though the distance muffled them a bit.

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

Kaida Taldir
Eyrecae sighed and wandered out the door. “Call for me tomorrow, we can assess then.”

She left them to it, strolling back to her room and cracking open a bottle of cheap liquor, she sipped it. The taste was pretty bad and thanks to her metabolism she didn’t get drunk easily. Finally she gave up and tossed the empty can away and went to bed.



Meanwhile Lavina was somewhat relieved that Siona had answered.

“Siona, are you OK? The riots are getting bad outside. Did you make it back home?”

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Eyrecae Alzari

"Still got all the talons," Siona said simply. It was Harbinger slang for 'I'm in one piece'. She was a bit touched by the concern. "Ran into some rioters. Fools. Some of our people have been attacked. So have our Forsaken sistren. But we're keeping them safe. Word on the street is that these riots aren't as 'spontaneous' as they seem."

It could be a conspiracy theory, or not. Voices could be heard in the background, though they grew more muffled as Siona walked away, making it difficult to determine what was being discussed in the background. "Anyway, you alright? You had your hush-hush meeting with the bigwigs? They better act."

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

Kaida Taldir
Lavina left the room so Kaida wouldn't overhear. If asked it was to get a better signal, but she didn't want her sister overhearing her. Things were...complicated...now.

"I'm fine. Just tired, going to get some rest. I think they will take action, but I'm not sure what they'll do. I think..." she paused. What did she think? She had a lot of conflicting thoughts in her head. "...I think they'll do what they can to stabilise things," she said a bit lamely. It was not only obvious, but it was also highlighting the difference between Ashana and Lavina.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Eyrecae Alzari

"Yeah, well, they better get a grip on things. Or someone else will and the result won't be pretty. Word on the street is that the mess outside might not as unwelcome to certain Council members as they claim. You get my drift," Siona said bluntly. Conspiracy theory, realism or both? Who could tell at this point. Based on the noise, some sort of gathering had to be taking place, but Siona had walked out of the room, so the voices could not be heard anymore.

The Reaver sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Sorry, not mad at you, Ash...Lavina," she corrected herself before she could finish the name she had known her friend under ever since meeting her in the bowels of hell. She did not quite know how to deal with her new version. "Things were easier when we didn't have to worry about stepping on the toes of Rationalists, Ashira thumpers and Deliverer knows what else," she muttered. "No matter, hang in there."

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

Kaida Taldir

"I will, take care..." Lavina said softly. She hesitated, not sure what, if anything she should say. "I...I...should go. Talk to you tomorrow."
She hung up, then stood a moment to regain her composure before heading back inside.
"I think things are quieting down," she said to Kaida nonchalantly.

If her sister was not too curious they would be able to settle down and get some sleep. Lavina found a spare pillow and mattress and laid it out of the floor. She'd decided it was best not to go back to her place tonight, too far away and she felt safer with her sister there.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Eyrecae Alzari

"May the Lady of Shadows cloak you," Siona said solemly, then switched off the comm. She stared at the wall, but it offered no answers. Deep in thought, she did not immediately her the footsteps approaching, then she spun around. "Oh, it's you," she said, sounding embarrassed, when she realised who had approached her.
"At least I can tell the Great Deliverer I raised my daughter to be quick, if not entirely sound in judgement, when I go before her," her mother stated.
"Sorry. Been a long day," Siona replied defensively. "Lot of crap."
"You were talking to your Sciian friend." It was not phrased as a question.
"Spying on me?"
"A mother knows her mother. And you just confirmed it."
Siona sighed in annoyance. "If it pleases you, know that she is not a Sciian anymore. Maybe Illyria blessed her. Anyway, have we made a decision at last?"
"The High Priestess is in conclave with the council. The warriors are alert."
"So we're holding out one hand, but the other may have a dagger hidden inside it?"
"It is a precaution. We will decide accordingly. Now get some rest. You served your people well. The Fatebringer is pleased. So am I," her mother placed a hand on Siona's shoulder.
"I went to hell, mother. True hell. I saw things...I did things I can't unremember. Sometimes I miss the days when it was just us against the stars. Reaving and reaping. Simpler times. Now there are...so few of our kind left. We got all these factions and compromises. But if we decimate our people even more because of some imbeciles...," she trailed off. "Asha...Lavina...or whatever she goes by these days, is my sister. I can't fight her." Then she walked away.

Meanwhile, back in her apartment, Kaida had come across Lavina laying a mattress on the floor. "Take the bed," she stated. It was not worded as a polite offer. Her voice brooked no argument. "I'll use that."

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

Kaida Taldir

Lavina blinked, unsure how to take Kaida's offer. Was her sister being nice to her? Still, she didn't argue, a bed was preferable to the ground. She also knew this was a genuine offer, not an offer she was expected to nobly turn down. She stood, nodded and headed to the next room.

At last the next morning dawned and Eyrecae awoke early. Heading out into the corridor she wandered down the hall and knocked on the Taldir apartment. She was hungry (not uncommon) but she wasn't going to get food from Kaida. No, she was just curious what had happened between the two of them.

Lavina opened the door. "Oh, it's you."
"Aye, 'tis me. Is your sister awake?"
It was still weird to hear that and to believe it, but she nodded. "I think so. She was always an early riser, come in."

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Eyrecae Alzari

As predicted, Kaida was already up. She was an early riser. Her adjutant quipped that if the ice lady told the office that she would take a thirteen-minute nap, she would show up at the thirteenth minute. Regardless, she was doing pullups. Speaking of which, recently it had been a matter of debate whether Eldorai males were capable of doing pullups.

An article had denied this, provoking a backlash that accused the author of reactionary beliefs. It had went on for a while. It was connected to the question whether Eldorai males should serve in the military or not. Personally, Kaida had nothing against a maleling learning how to use a rifle and defending the motherland. However, military units should be segregated by gender and only integrated at command.

Experience and various studies proved that gender integration was disruptive for military discipline. Males were too emotional and prone to fits of hysteria. Moreover, females would feel compelled to protect the males, as the latter were less physically capable. Regardless, she had evidently been at it for a while, as she was sweaty from exertion by the time Eyrecae and Lavina entered. Sweat dripped from her somewhat tousled hair.

She shot Eyrecae a slightly suspicious look as she pulled her chin over the bar. "You're not getting food here," she grunted because that was how normal people greeted each other. Eyrecae was alive and looked unhurt, so she was evidently fine and there was no need for Kaida to needlessly ask her. Besides, she knew all about the primeval Eldorai's appetites.

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

Kaida Taldir
Eyrecae, who had been eyeing the refrigerator, looked at Kaida. "Verily, the thought never crossed my mind," she said innocently.
"Merely thought we might go survey the damage, see how our new friends were." She smiled slightly at Lavina. "And you, my dear, feeling well?"

"As well as I might, yes." She looked at her sister. "Well, better than staying here. Want to come?"

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Eyrecae Alzari

Kaida's refrigerator was filled with food of the nutritious, but bland variety. There was also water and some booze. Maybe Lavina would introduce more variety to it. Regardless, Kaida nodded curtly and let go of the bar she had been pulling herself up on.

Without a further word, she picked up a towel to dry herself off. Then she shit the shower. She was quite sweaty after all. It did not take long until she had returned, dressed in more than sports' clothes. "Come on," she stated, as if it had been her idea to survey the damage caused by the riots and not something Eyrecae had suggested because Kaida was obviously in charge all the time. "Heard anything new?"