[closed]

[stonefaith]

Date & Time: 04/10 at like flippin 1AM
Location: bar!! closer to the outskirts of the city
Characters: Bariyan e Kodhi (stonefaith), Thassarian (obliterating)
Summary: 2 UNDEAD GUYS WALK INTO A BAR BARIYAN IS INTRIGUED BY DEATH KNIGHTS HELLO
Warnings: N/A

[ FOR ONCE Bariyan is having an entirely pleasant night out drinking. He's not being overly aggressive, he's not picking fights with people, he's just sitting at the bar and quietly working his way through his drink. He doesn't remember how much he's had to drink. But he doesn't feel totally out of it, so it can't have been that much.

And he's not really expecting to see or hear anything interesting tonight. He's very content to spend the next few hours totally silent and alone. He needs some downtime. ]

Comments

[obliterating]

It's something I believe in. It's fact to me.

[Not everyone might believe in it. Hell, even some other Death Knights might not. He doesn't know how Koltira feels, even. But it was his faith, and that was good enough. It kept him going.]

We do what we can. There are some things I can never expect to be forgotten.

[Nor forgiven. He couldn't even forgive himself, if he was honest.]

But I don't plan on hiding who I am. I'm not that type of man. But it's nice to arrive in a city for the first time and not have them spit on you, I'll tell you that.

[He drinks. Arriving back in Stormwind was almost ages ago, and yet, he could remember it very clearly still.]

It's a new start, in some ways, but I can't change who I am or what I've done. Nor would I know how to.

[He shrugs slightly.]

[stonefaith]

[ Bariyan nods, listening carefully. ]

I don't think anyone here will expect you to.

You're lucky, I think. For having come now instead of earlier. Most of the transports know what to expect of you death knights now-- and prejudices against the undead aren't common in the first place. [ Really, the only case that Bariyan remembers (that might not have been born out of a personal feud) was Ashraf, and that was mild. He'd come around fairly quickly.

Bariyan sighs and leans back in his seat, looking briefly around the rest of the bar. ]

I hope you have an easier time of it here. This place lends itself well to new starts.

[obliterating]

I suppose I have Koltira to thank for that?

[He smiles slightly, taking a drink. He was a follower, not a leader- he had been told this before, had seen it with his own eyes. And. again, he followed, trying to keep up with his brother as much as he could.

Though he had pledged his sword to Anduin, there were a few that he would follow above that. Koltira was one of them.

He nodded softly.]

I'm afraid I didn't have much left back in my world...I was just biding time.

Though...I wonder if I'll find much more of a home here. It seems our kind are far outnumbered by the living...and precious as they are, I know I don't belong in their world.

It would be nice to think so, and I will do what I can for them, to protect them. If I can keep one person from death, then it's a start.

[stonefaith]

Yes, you would. [ Koltira had paved the path for acceptance. Though it hasn't been an easy path. Bariyan would know, having almost unwittingly become one of Koltira's many obstacles along the way.

He shrugs at the rest of what Thassarian has to say. ]

I'm not sure that our sort will find much of a home anywhere. There's many people from many places here and very few of them seem to consider the undead a common, acceptable occurrence... even if they don't mind us.

[ Bariyan pauses to frown, catching on something a little late. He looks at Thassarian with a raised eyebrow. ]

You treasure the living?

[obliterating]

Perhaps it's different for you.

[He hesitates.]

I've killed enough that I understand how fragile life is.

My methods might not exactly be looked upon favorably, and I understand that well enough. But I do what I can, with the tools I am given. And yes, even I still fight those dark urges to kill.

[Every moment he was near someone who was alive, was like trying to keep a mad dog on a leash.]

I will always be more at home among the dead. That is my place, now. But that does not mean I can't protect the living. Life was something that was stolen from me, and others.

[He can still remember driving his sword through Koltira's chest. How simple it was, how easy flesh and sinew and bone gave in to his blade.]

[stonefaith]

[ Frown. Maybe Bariyan's taking Thassarian noble words a little too literally here, but.... ]

Do you not kill, then?

[obliterating]

When I must.

[He's not one to lie, really.]

I prefer to make sure my killings are useful. I'm not a monster, anymore.

[But he falls silent. He's hoping to go on a mission soon. Something, anything.]

Back home, I can occupy myself. There are still undead. It might not be perfect, but it's a means to an end.

[stonefaith]

Ah. [ Bariyan had figured as much. He understands Thassarian and Koltira's plight, and he doesn't judge them for it, but--

No, he's definitely not drunk enough to think too hard on that sort of thing. And he's most certainly not going to argue morality with someone that he just met.

He crosses his ankles and looks up at the ceiling. ]

So killing other undead-- does that help you, with the pain? Or is it just a way to pass the time?

[obliterating]

It takes the edge off.

[It's not the same, but it's enough to keep it away, to keep him from snapping.]

We do what we have to. My kind...we'll never be able to escape what we were made for. But we can make that useful, focus it toward something.

[stonefaith]

Right.

[ Bariyan had been asking out of more than just curiosity. He's offered himself to Koltira before, on two occasions. But knowing what he is, and knowing the peculiarities of his own body, he's never been sure how much it helped.

It takes the edge off. Good enough. ]

That's a hard life, friend. [ Bariyan straightens up, leans over the counter, catches the bartender's eye. ] Next round on me, then.

[obliterating]

[It is a hard life, that he can agree with, but he tries to make do. Much as he lives in his own mind, and for as much as he might brood about the past, he does try and make do with what he has.

He smiles a bit, and nods at Bariyan.]

That's very kind of you. Thank you.

[He finishes off his drink.]

If you ever need anything, and you think I can be of help, let me know. I'm afraid I don't have much of use right now but my blade, but the offer remains.