Post by Zou ۞ on Feb 1, 2014 17:11:36 GMT -5
{Play this}
The man with the powerful voice smiled, and approached Alma once more. The dark skinned one seemed not to be enjoying this, and looked like he would much rather kill the Hollow. If anything, it was contempt with which he looked upon Alma, having deemed her too weak to serve any sort of purpose. That being said, however, the gentleman was not going to abide by that. He seemed to possess, at the very least, a vision for Alma which his dark skinned companion did not, and found some sort of use to the she-wolf, the Hollow whom only moments before had attempted to kill him. Keyword being attempted. The fact that any Shinigami was willing to work with a Hollow for some greater purpose indicated a sort of complacency with them, a comfort level achieved either by working extensively with them, which was unlikely, or a high level of power which indicated that he felt no threat at all from Alma. Perhaps he was right. Perhaps the she-wolf really could not threaten him. She had earlier demonstrated an ability to kill him...and yet had not been able to. He had demonstrated, through some method or another, that she was incapable of defeating him.
The gentleman continued to smile at Alma's response. "Of course not." the gentleman said to her with quite the charisma, a warm tone emanating from him. It was almost scholarly, as if he was instructing Alma, like a teacher. "I wouldn't dream of holding natural instinct against you as a sin. After all, this can be treated as an instructional experience. You have learned here that to rush in without first evaluating an opponent is unwise. This has been a well worthwhile meeting for you, don't you think?" Such words could almost be considered mockery, as if he was mocking her for her defeat. Indeed, though gentlemanly, the man was rather condescending, talking down to Alma as if she was nothing more than a child. Then again, if one were to discuss the differences in their power levels, perhaps Alma truly was a child. He had demonstrated some sort of ability to fool her not once, but twice, as the fake kill had then been accompanied by an unexpected, undetectable strike. Indeed, the gentleman was very smug for having managed this. Perhaps he truly was simply at a level beyond her. Whether or not this was true, she would potentially receive the opportunity to discover later.
The gentleman bent over Alma, crouching before her, and held up some sort of violet cube-like object, glowing with an enormous reiatsu. Alma's wound began to seal up, until only a scar was left behind which spoke of a wound weeks old. The scar, it appeared, might leave a permanent mark. It was possible, but too soon to tell. The cube shattered immediately after healing Alma's wound, leaving the gentleman to stare at his empty hand, where the object had once resided, and ponder about it. "I see..." he mused aloud, speaking to none in particular. "At so imperfect a stage, even such a simple use will cause it to shatter. Completing it will require far more work." The gentleman stood up to his full height, having mostly healed Alma. His smile was filled still with mirth, though his eyes still were not visible because of the hooded cloak. His face had been visible earlier with the phantasm which Alma had struck down, though whether or not that was his real face could never be determined. The dark skinned man continued to stand there, and he said nothing and also did nothing. After all, he was clearly nothing but a minion, or a subordinate of some sort.
"I have both spared your life and saved it as well." the gentleman informed Alma. "By any code of morality, it is fair that you owe me two favors in order to compensate this. The first of these would be for you to obtain something for me. As a Hollow, you would be far more attuned to the ability to find it than I." It seemed that he wanted two things of her, not just one, and that the first of these was to run some sort of errand for him. Perhaps he was merely toying with her, and did not really need her to do it. Perhaps he really did need it. Whatever the case, Alma was being made to do something for the gentleman. "I would like you to begin by seeking out an innocent soul, a spirit belonging to a young virgin girl, not so young as to have been infertile in her human life, yet one who has not yet blossomed into adulthood. The window of age must be just right, and I would prefer if this spirit's soul chain has been at least half eroded by now. She should be past the halfway point of becoming a Hollow, if not already on the doorstep of doing so. If you can obtain this for me, I will strike down one favor of your debt."
When the gentleman spoke, it was as if he was giving orders. Pasmar might find this interesting as well, given that this meant Alma now had a new task. Essentially, Pasmar had witnessed a Shinigami defeat a Hollow, and then practically enslave her. He would most certainly desire not to reveal himself, if these Shinigami truly were as dangerous as he had thus far witnessed. That being said, not all Shinigami had proven to be this cunning or powerful. This one in particular was a special case. Either way, Pasmar soon lost the option. "If you should require assistance, the one hiding and observing us should be more than capable of delivering it. He too owes me a favor, for sparing his life despite so impolitely eavesdropping on a conversation which has nothing to do with him." The gentleman had just called out Pasmar, who could choose to reveal himself, or stay hidden. It was obvious that he had been noticed at some point early on, but that the gentleman had not made use of this knowledge until now, when offering to provide Alma with some assistance in the form of an ally. What would the two of them do?