Welcome to Gaia! ::

"I'm an assassin. Part of the job description." Darxian replied. Under his hood, he raised an eyebrow at her comment at being sidetracked. He turned to Xashowd, figuring he would get an answer out of him. Xashowd nodded in agreement. "Said as much to me herself. We did have a nice conversation though." Xashowd turned back to Ruby. "Perhaps we'll meet again sometime?"

As the woman left the room, Darxian turned to Xashowd. "Why do I get the feeling you weren't being honest with me?" "Depends. Why won't you tell me more about what's happened to Laguna?" Xashowd retorted. "All I know is that she's gotten into some kind of trouble. But you won't tell me what."

Darxian scowled for a moment, then relaxed. "Because you need to stop trying to save everyone, Xashowd. You are one of the most selfless men I've met, and while that's an admirable trait to some, it worries me. I don't think you've really taken any time for yourself in years. Hell, the only reason you set up shop here is because you found this closet while helping the Guild out with a Grunny Problem!" Darxian started pacing back and forth, remembering to fix the wall when he came near it, which took only a second. "And when you actually do things for personal reasons, they are needlessly dangerous, like your beef with Leviathan." "So I'm supposed to ignore a demon who can basically assault me at any time!?" Xashowd yelled.

Darxian was growing impatient. He had intended to stall or prevent the battle by meeting with Leviathan, but clearly that wasn't enough. Time to get it out in the open. "YES! Be the better man here! Leviathan hasn't show up again, so clearly she thinks you're not worth the trouble. Don't make yourself worth her trouble." He gave Xashowd a stern glare. "Go to the beach, stuff your face with Watermelon, read a damn book. Just do something for yourself that can't get you killed! Do something that won't end up hurting anyone!"

Xashowd was dumbstruck. Darxian was angry. He didn't get angry. Mildly irritated, sure, but not angry. "Darxian...where is this coming from?" He asked, concerned. "It's..." He was about to use his throwaway phrase, but he got an idea. "...If you promise to let this Leviathan business go, I'll tell you what's happened to Laguna. But you have to promise me. No more seeking her or Daenes out. Understand?" Xashowd wasn't sure how to respond to that. Every fiber in his Vampire body demanded retribution for what Leviathan had done, but Laguna was a friend. Leviathan...was an entity he barely knew. Someone who had done him harm, but had not shown up since. Maybe she had lost interest...and maybe she hadn't. "But what if-" "No if, ands, or buts, Xashowd. The thing with Demons of any rank is that as long as you don't tick them off, 9 times out of 10 they won't come after you. Understand?"

Xashowd nodded. Reluctantly, but he nodded. Good...That saves me the trouble of this whole ordeal. Darxian thought. "Alright...A year ago, our mutual enemy the Exodus Dragon showed up again. Remember what I told you of that encounter?" "Yeah. He'd gone to Laguna in a suicidal fervor and afterwards she went on her own." Xashowd reiterated. "Well...After that, she had a nasty run-in with an incubus. Got herself turned into a Drow/Succubus mix...one with a decidedly vampiric taste for blood alongside other forms of life energy." Darxian explained. "I never told you of what happened since then because you'd been having trouble of your own after that botched shapeshifting attempt. But Laguna's been in and out of a prison for demons and has spent time with Lilith and her sisterhood of Succubi. It hasn't been good from her. Now she's tossed morality out the window and is living according to her wants...going against everything she once believed in..."

Darxian pulled down his hood, revealing his crystalline white hair, and looked at Xashowd with a pained expression on his face. "She's killing innocents, Xashowd. For the fun of it. And an intergalactic council has tasked me with bringing her in. But now, they just want her dead. If I can't get some sense into her...If I can't reason with her, I'll have to kill her. She's almost as dangerous as Racai. You know what that means."

The silence in the room in the following seconds was tangible. Xashowd stood there, taking it all in. Laguna, the innocent, strong willed, intelligent girl he'd met before was...killing for fun? He almost fell to the floor in that moment, but the air around him sensed his movement and created a seat for him to fall into instead. "...So...How do we...you...stop her? Just how powerful has she become that she's such a threat?" Xashowd asked in a small voice.

"If Laguna and Leviathan duked it out, the results would be catastrophic. From what I've heard, she can control any physical liquid now with her mind. With but a thought she can kill a man just by stopping his blood. The Water Molecules in the air are her playthings, and she's developing her skills with liquids like you do with Air. At an alarming rate." Darxian put his head in his hand. "She knows I'm tracking her, so she's likely training out of some survival instinct. But that's not the worst part. She's on her way to Gaia. My sources predict we'll have a few weeks, if that, before she gets here." He looked up at Xashowd, determination in his eyes. "That's why I wanted this Leviathan business over with, so I could focus on preparing for her. You want to keep this guild safe? Keep this between ourselves. Don't go looking for trouble, have fun with your friends, act like nothing's wrong, because nothing is wrong. Got it?" Xashowd nodded rapidly. If Laguna was that powerful...she'd be too much for him. Darxian had a chance to reason with her, and his dagger prevented anyone from manipulating his blood because of how it functioned. He had the best chance. "I'll do my best to keep her out of the Guild for your sake. But if she shows up...don't set her off. Just let me know, and I'll come get her out of here. I have to go now...be safe." Darxian pulled his hood back up and phased through the wall.

Xashowd got up and walked over to his bed, flopping down on it. Here he was, thinking he had few problems in the world. And all the while his nearly emotionless friend had been having an emotional turmoil, and Xashowd had been too blind to see it.

He felt like the world's biggest idiot.

Xashowd turned at the sound. Seemed the universe's perverse sense of irony had come calling. Not soon after Xashowd had promised Darxian not to chase after Leviathan, and here she was. Darxian had already left, but the instructions were clear. Xashowd didn't want to let his friend down...So he wouldn't. He'd avoid a fight with her, even as his blood screamed murder.

"A little late to the party, Leviathan. I already promised my friend I wouldn't fight you...But I suppose you know that." He replied with a scowl. "So why have you come? I doubt this is a social call."

*It's okay, Daenes told me you were sick and that I might not hear from you for some time. Hope you feel better soon!*

Xashowd carefully considered what questions to ask. Apparently Darxian's intel had been wrong both times. This Leviathan must not've been in any records...or any public ones. Still, Xashowd had an opportunity to get some answers, and he had plenty of questions...

The only problem was picking which one to start with. He shrugged, figuring he'd just start from the beginning.

"Alright...If you're not a Demon or a Lord of Hell, exactly what kind of entity are you, and what is your purpose?"

"I do not devour...though I say I do..." she flicked a clawed finger in the air, "It's more like a wine tasting party~" she smiled, a fang flicking. "I simply store them away for later use." she recrossed her legs carefully, "The why is for me to know, and maybe you'll find out. If I like you~"

"She has a contract with me. She wants power to destroy her foes." she leaned back, "It seemed more fun to do this then to just hand it over to her." she chuckled, shaking a shoulder in an almost joking, sensual way. "Gotta work for Mama before Mama hands it over."

Her hands were idle with her own thoughts, but she graced him with a reply, “They are Satan’s generals. They dare not call me a rival to their position because I am higher than they could ever dare grasp. “Her claws poked holes in the air, leaving bits of cold all around. She was growing a bit bored, “We’re not even on the same realm of existence.” Her mouth grew snake like in its grin, “So why should they pretend otherwise?”