The New 4th - "Arulilo Arrives" {Open for Espada}(Floor 900)

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

This damn bridge was getting too crowded. Rio was not a "people person" at the best of times, and this crowd was making him get frustrated. At least they were mostly Espada though. Worthwhile people to know. Or at least most of them were. There was the little shit that was following Charlotte around, but Charlotte was the Primera Espada, so if the brat was under her protection, so be it. That was Charlotte's problem to deal with. As much as Rio would relish an opportunity to trade blows with the Primera, he'd rather it be for power's sake alone, and not because he went and kicked someone under her protection.

And he had to concede that Charlotte carried herself as an Espada, as did Arulilo. There was an energy about them that spoke of absolute confidence in their abilities. They were confident in their strength, and Rio could feel that strength radiate off of them. Worthy of the title "Espada". For now anyways. How many now have I seen come and go? For all their strength they've all lacked something. Even Kuroi and Adalo. How the fuck is it that I alone remain? Rio wondered briefly, before the thought was buried and repressed, Rio refusing to follow it any further. Serraph had arrived, an Espada Rio had only met but once before. He gave a short nod of the head to his fellow Espada. "Finally decided to come and see the sun did you?" He snarked to Serraph. It pleased Rio to see that Serraph was still around. Not that he'd ever actually show anything except gruff, passive-aggressive barbs. Old habits die hard and you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

And yet another arrived. Rio caught Astrid's scent as she joined the group and looked up with a frown. "And who the fuck is this?" He asked. "No arrancar. What the fuck are they doing here? Is this another one like that freak from a few days ago?" He growled out, referring to Kitai's assault on the fortress. The thing seemed most attentive to Charlotte. Rio could hardly hold that against her. The Primera should stand out among the Espada after all. And it seemed, for another reason. The moment Charlotte mentioned Astrid to be her Fraccion, Rio's outward hostility died down at once, though that wasn't to say he was exactly radiating a "friendly" aura at this moment.

"You're gathering up a menagerie, Primera." Rio replied in response to Charlotte's statement, but said nothing further. It wasn't his place to question the Primera's judgement. An Espada could do as they wished. That was the privilege they were rewarded with for their strength. For the responsibility they bore. If Charlotte wished her Fraccion to be the feeble child and that strange creature, that was her business. Rio disapproved of Astrid being accepted as a Fraccion, but it wasn't his business. It wasn't a hill worth dying on. Not in these days, when all manner of abominations walked the halls of Las Noches, despite his efforts. And speaking of such things, a new scent reached Rio's nose. He knew that smell. He'd know it anywhere and although Rio had clearly had an aggressive demeanor before, it was easily apparent to anyone here that his mood had somehow dipped even lower.

"Can someone fucking tell me why that trash is here?" Rio growled out, not even looking at Rizer. The Quinta Espada loathed the Shinigami. And with every interaction he had with them, it seemed his hatred of them grew and grew. His recent battle with the Captain of the 13th, Ludwig-- a battle Rio had been defeated in, and had barely escaped with his life, had stung his pride more than a little and had left the Espada with an even worse disposition toward Shinigami than before.

Fortunately for Rizer, he directed the majority of his mockeries at Serraph and Charlotte. Were it Rio that he had directed his taunts towards the Arrancar would likely have started a battle right then and there. As it stood, Serraph and Charlotte were Espada. They could look after themselves. Even so. Even despite Charlotte's own display of righteous anger, Rio was compelled to speak. But Arulilo beat him to it, approaching the man and speaking... somewhat civilly. Rio frowned, clearly unhappy with Arulilo's treatment of Rizer, before he approached as well. Rizer was quite tall at his height of 6'0. Rio was taller still at 6'3 and weighing well over two hundred pounds, and the 5th Espada loomed over the Shinigami.

"You're out of your depth here, Shinigami. You may be Kouhai's pet, and I imagine he'd be very annoyed if he had to go to the pound to find another one, but that will only carry you so far. Kouhai. Isn't. Here." Rio intoned. "We are Espada. And we will not be judged by the likes of you." Rio growled at Rizer.

[Serraph Quarrere]

"Interesting indeed. A Fraccion is a title that varies in meaning depending on its Master. To one it could be life-bonded partner, another a slave, and another just another comrade in arms or aid. In any case, it holds decent enough honor as that Fraccion reflects the will of the Espada.", He'd chuckle and remove his hat, letting the crimson locks trapped beneath fall. He had been working tirelessly on his library. Organization and presentation took a lot of care and a lot of sleepless nights. "A Primera's Fraccion show's promise. Im sure you'll make an exceptional Espada, should your path lead you there."

The man answered the Hollow's glare with a tired smile. Such looks didn't bother him in the slightest. Curiosity was one of the more human aspects, after all. Serraph was more interested in the little snippet she spoke, of Serenity and Charlotte sharing the rank of Primera. Now that was an interesting bit of information. While perusing her memory of Seris's time with them, he hadn't seen this come up. This made the Primera's mystery ever more inticing. There was more to see from those two yet.

Rio would make a cute, snarky remark regarding his pale, tired appearance, forcing a chuckle from the Sexta. "My flesh doesn't agree with the sun, natural or otherwise. It's good to see you're still kicking, I need to partake in one of your old war stories one of these days", He'd bow his head in respect to the old grumpy Spartan. Despite his rather weak showings, Serraph's power was still respected by the man. It was refreshing to say the least.

 Serenity would practically tackle him, the smaller arrancar hugging the librarian. Serraph smiled and placed his hat atop her head, its size just slightly too big for the small woman. "It's good to see you again to. I've been quite busy,  quite busy indeed. ", He'd look up to a smiling Charlotte, nodding his head respectfully. "When my Library is complete and open, you two should visit. Serenity, for one, would have a wonderful time, I imagine."

The response from the new cuatro did make Serraph's heart sink, but it was the way of things. Eventually, Serraph to would be ousted from his position. It was the way of Hueco Mundo, after all. He could practically feel the lethality ebb off of her. If it weren't for her status as Espada, Serraph would likely have avoided her. "Forgive me, while you may not look to the past, I dwell in it, twas only natural I'd ask. May your tour as Cuatro Espada be long and fruitful, Lady Arulilo"

The new Espada would attract even more guests. It was the nature of things here. The strong attract the strong, and a collection of great powers was too much for a certain hand to stay away, though a bit too far from its master it would seem. Rizer, hand of Lord Kouhai, would make his appearance. His showing was in character with how he first saw him, gravity pressuring a hollow and a team of arrancar scouts for supposed trespassing. Serraph brought the hollow in for tea and discussion, an innocent attempt to save them from the hand's reckless behavior. Serraph didnt realize this would foster a grudge, but it seems the hand was easy build such relationships with, and the man would hold onto them for some time. Curious.

Serraph didn't acknowledge his bafoonery aside with a tap of a his cane and his sigh. The adverse reactions from Rio and Charlotte took the wind out of his words. He knew that charlotte had beaten the hand solidly without releasing, which seems pitiful at first glance, but the Primera's power was frightening. If Serenity had joined in that fight, Rizer would have been crushed. Serraph gave a sigh of relief when the Cuatro put a pause on the brewing tensions, allowing Serraph his piece. He approached the group, looking up at the hand. "Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.", he qouted from the Art of War. "A Hand's rank is parallel to the Espada structure, but generally superior. You would risk your position to take a lesser one out of spite for me? Instead of antagonizing the blades around you by such a insulting notion, you should come to an understanding. You stand here now only because of your strength, not your ties to Kouhai, remember that. Consider your challenge denied, for now."

 Reatsu

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[Astrid Vess]

Astrid was many things, but patient was not one of them. Especially when it came to someone deciding to look down upon her for simply existing. No. She dealt with that enough with the denizens of Hell. Akki and their goddamn arrogant attitudes and now apparently Rio had added himself to that list. Any respect he may have had was gone as Astrid growled out towards him. With a glare that promised a fight she kept eye contact with Rio and even walked forward towards him to make it crystal clear she was speaking solely to him. "Listen here fuckhead, if you've got an issue with me then you take it with ME. I don't give a damn if you're an "espada", this "Kouhai" dipshit, his bitch boy hands, or the fucking help. Keep being an arrogant ass and I'll fucking rip your intestines out before hammering them into the walls of this tower!"


As she continued to writhe in anger with her entire body starting to wriggle without command, she immediately turned her attention to Serraph, who in much calmer tone spoke. Astrid let her glare wane a bit as he spoke. Eventually even calming down enough to stop her vines wriggling entirely. As she listened, she began to understand more of what the title Charlotte had given her meant. She then looked back up at Charlotte, who by this point had already spoken her two cents and pondered just what exactly her specific meaning being "Fraccion" meant. Likely the lattermost description if she had to guess. Namely due to having ultimately been left to her own devices. In fact, Astrid couldn't exactly recall a time Charlotte specifically was concerned with what she was doing. She only seemed to be concerned that she learned how to act around Serenity. A lesson learned quickly for her own survival.


With her anger calmed some she looked back at Serraph and hummed. She wasn't certain what to say to him. She couldn't tell if he was genuine or just being polite because Charlotte was around. She didn't like that the latter was a real reason for his word choice and actions. Even Rio seemed somewhat calmer or unwilling to speak against her choices regarding her company. Astrid eventually settled for a simple nod of her head to Serraph. From there she simply listened into the conversation and ultimately it seemed things were fine. These were all espada, as far as what she could glean from the conversation. Though Arulilo was "new" to the group. He was. . . strange as far as she was concerned. His body language was relaxed and seemed to be gauging. Eyes looking over all of them. Which likely meant he'd looked over Astrid at some point. It bothered her, but namely because it reminded her of Serenity and her ever watching eyes.

She'd manage for the time being. She'd already shown she was not only consumed by rage and thus needed to direct her energy towards remaining somewhat calm. Calm enough to at least not react rashly upon the next derogatory commentary towards her. However, the world liked to ensure she was thoroughly tested because out of seemingly nowhere came Rizer. That fucking asinine, infuriating shinigami she'd seen in the menos forest. She was reminded of him by the fucking obnoxious cloak of his. She wasn't going to forget about him at all. Still, it wasn't just herself that was on edge. It seemed all presents were on edge for one reason or another. But the overall body language spoke of immense displeasure. Heh. At least she wasn't alone in that prospect.

The problem with Rizer was the same problem Akki had. Akki like Orobas anyway. They kept running their fucking mouths. And Astrid quickly found herself growing the flames of anger again within herself. However, her body ran cold as ice when he finally stopped talking and Serenity started crying. The world for her went slow motion as Astrid turned towards Serenity to verify the sound. And then she felt it, Charlotte's energy crashing into the world around her. This was now the second time she'd felt her unbridled energy and when she looked back towards Charlotte, she found the other yelling at him and promising his new life as a stain amongst the sands of Hueco Mundo. Astrid wanted to get mad and say something, as the waste of space had aggravated her immensely, but for once, the commentary of everyone present was enough.

Instead, Astrid pointed to Serenity. Her spirits quickly moving to console her. The chicks and hound rubbing up against her gently. The unspoken question of a pet or some sort of attention to distract her from the ongoing events directed at her. Astrid however simply stood quietly and listened. It seemed everyone had something to say to him. Typically, with some kind of passive or outward aggression spoken freely. Far be it from Astrid to hold herself back then given, like Charlotte, she'd fought him. "What a fucking waste of space. Was the ass kicking from the hummingbird, Charlotte, AND myself not enough? If it isn't clear, you're weak. Pray to your "Kouhai", that your "tools" don't realize this and cannibalize you for your frailty."

[Rizer, Tile]

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With regard to both strength 

AND ABILITY, YOU HAVE NO HOPE OF WINNING...

Rizer watch as the newcomer arrive,and the Espada servant nor himself came. However Rizer had an idea maybe this person can replace the Espada. So many questions pop in his head that he wanted to ask. But he couldn't because he was the leader in this matter he must seem strong not easy impressed.

Letting out a sigh Rizer smile widely than stop as he said,"Wonderful to see the Espada agree on such matters like rejecting me. However, I finally understand the Espada as a whole you are dysfunctional family. Be that it may I will stand down and learn to wait until which in time the Espada will accept me as a comrade, and member of the family.


While we may not have the same blood we are here , and I hope I spark some fire in your cowardly hearts. As for me I will be going to King Kouhai to speak about permission to raid the Soul Society. If I am successful I be sure to ask for the assistance of the espada . In which account I will happily command you as foolish shinigami you hate me to be. Let hope at that time I forgot about how poorly you treated me."

What the Espada said in response to Rizer earlier attempt to bother them. Didn't really bother Rizer he heard there views, and concerns to be exact he understood quite well how they feel. Better to admit defeat it was nothing would be gain from this development other than more enemies. However he wasn't in that business he was in business of making his enemies his footstool if he can't work side by side with them.

However from this development Rizer was indeed happy he met the new member of the espada. The Cuatra Espada otherwise known as Arulilo Meja such a good lad from what Rizer can tell. This new Espada would be wonderful additional to the ranks of these unhealthy current old ones. Which this new additional surely this would make Las Noches ranks completely fill and make them solid organization in terms of power.

But he wasn't sure if this would be any help if they can't work as a team or maybe they don't have to. Being that each one of them are powerful warrior in itself maybe Las noches is met to find the sole powerful fighters and subdue them into the shackles of restrictions of life. Well that didn't matter Rizer last reaction was this and it was aim at Meja. Turning his body to face the new Espada he clear his voice and said," You know what Cuatra! You are absolutely right let all sit down and discuss working together as a team. If Cuatra Espada don't mind set up a meeting I will happily intend after my visit from the soul society."

Credit to Marik