Osric Melkire pulled Kanaria to him, cradling the limp form in his arms, tears running from underneath his mask as he shook
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"Please gods... please...this can't be real... no...." Osric choked over and over in shocked denial, the world around him shattering and becoming a distant blur as his agony consumed him.
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All around Osric, people moved: his friends, his allies, voices. All speaking to him, all frantic. Coatleque Crofte leaned in, saying something, trying to examine the body, but couldn't see anything with Osric cradling her.
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"Please, Ser, let us see her!"Â Crofte said, almost like an order.
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Mechanically, unwillingly, Osric laid the still woman down on the tracks, crimson covering his jacket from the bleeding wound. The male hyur looked down, buried his face in his hands, and sobbed as the others moved around him. Osric hear Alexei speaking, moving, dropping a bag full of medical devices and digging through it. Lannis spoke, then Sizha'to began yelling, screaming, as Alexei tried to examine the woman bleeding all over the tracks.
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Inside Osric’s mind, everything was unraveling. He was numb, unable to grasp the reality of what had just occurred, his mind sealing itself off from the rolling waves of agony that threatened to drown him. He was saved by a voice, shouting his name, forcing him to turn his watery eyes up at Tana Firesong as she spoke:
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"Osric, where did he run?"
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A hand was on his shoulder, Osric realized. Junichi Mitarashi’s hand, comforting the hyur as Osric spoke, his words chocked off by sobs.
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"I... I don't... he..."  Osric’s words died off as he shuddered. He looks at the dead form of his love, his eyes fixed on the motionless form. His friend were moving, poking, talking urgently. They were trying to help but it didn’t seem to be working. Nothing was working. Osric felt his stomach tighten and he tore his eyes away from the body, looking off, trying to deny the reality as a faint whisper, a plea, rasped off his lips, tears rolling form his eyes.
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:"...p-p-please..."
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The wind moaned low and softly as Osric stared without seeing, his mind unable to comprehend it all. There is no hope, no light, there was only....
 "...the box." Osric said softly. The hyur slowly turned and, almost in a trance, approached the box. Inside, there was the smaller box, sitting there, unassuming. There was a commotion behind Osric but he focused on the tiny box. Rema's gift. The hyur male knelt and opened it.
Osric swallowed. There was a lavender linkpearl inside the box. Lavender, the color of his love's eyes. The hyur mechanically retrieved the linkpearl and placed it into his ear, his voice strained as he spoke:
"Hello...?
There was a gasp from the pearl. Kanaria's voice could be heard scrambling for words. "Ossy? Ossy? I-I'm alive... I love-..." Was all she could get out before being hushed once more.
Osric Melkire blinked, his numb mind slowly awakening, letting himself feel the world again as he swallowed, and turned to speak, his voice a half-sob.
 "It's not her."Â
 "W-what?" Coatleque Crofte said in disbelief at what she was hearing as she stared at Osric. The others present all turned to gaze at the hyur male as he went on slowly.
 "...whoever this is..." Osric motioned at the dead body his friend's and allies huddled around, his mind letting in reality as he plucked the lavender linkpearl from his ear and held it out for everyone to see. "It's not her. This was hers. Hers and mine. ..it was in the box that bastard left for me."
"That does not make me more at ease..." Coatleque Crofte said.
"I heard her voice. HER voice." Osric said, a mixture of joy and sorrow leaking through with his words.
Meanwhile Sizha'to Chalahko poured sweat from his brow from the intense effort of trying to gather gather enough aether to heal her the woman before him.
"Sizzie...let go, man." Osric ordered with a raspy voice. Â
Sizha'to Chalahko was not paying attention, he continued to try and mend her shot wound.... but he begins to cave in.... the light he's using to heal begins to dim... until the light is gone and he falls to the side, unconscious. The others mill around, speaking quickly amongst themselves. Suddenly, a voice, calm, and polite whispers into Osric's ear.
"Kanaria lives, Master Osric." Jin'li whispered calmly, using the device. "Master Adin took away that which you loved, and Lady Rema as given her back, for she is kind."
Osric Melkire collapsed onto his ass and broke into sobs again. "She's... she's not... oh thank... oh gods.. Rema is kind...I... I should've... should've remembered...."
"Yes, you should have. Do not doubt your Masters again for we give with one hand and take away with the other, for we are kindness, and we are wrath. And you are ours now."
 "I don't... I don't know how he did it..." Osric stammered as his allies looked over at him with intense stares. "But this isn't her." the was relief in his voice, relief that was turning to anger.
"As if that should make a difference now! This girl was just murdered in front of me. I care not who she 'could' have been!" Lady Crofte shout in indignation, appalled at that Osric seemed to dismissive of the dead woman before them.
"IT DOESN'T!" Osric bellowed. "WE'RE GOING TO FIND HIM, AND WE ARE GOING TO KILL THAT BASTARD!" Fury pumped through Osric like fire sweeps through dry grass.
"I second that." came Tana Firesong's voice. The rest of the group began speaking but the whisper returned, and it was stern and disapproving
"There will be no hunt. Call it off. Go home. Do not threaten to ever harm your masters again. Or we will harm Lady Kanaria."
Osric felt the fear, the memory of the anguish returned and his fires of vengeance went out immediately. He swallowed and realized the horrible, awful truth. He was Jin'li's. He was...
Compromised.
A liability.
Security leak.
His network....
 "...no more. It's over. Call it off. I'm done." Osric ordered with a croak, trying to hold himself together.
Osric's allies stared at him in dumbfounded amazement as the hyur walked over to the limp Sizzia. Osric pulled a green linkpearl out from his ear and slide it into Sizzie's before slowly walking away, giving only a single sentence answer to his friends' questions.
"I'm going home."
The hyur slowly plodded away, his mind wrapped within a shroud of numb pain and confusion. His entire world was changed. Just hours before, he had been one of the most powerful people in Ul'dah, with connections running throughout Eorzea. And in a single moment, Jin'li had shattered him, shattered his power, shattered his life, shattered his piece of mind
"Well done, slave. Now go home and rest well, Your masters require you kill and soon. Do you understand?"
"Yes, master."
Osric then opened his mouth in a silent scream of frustration and anguish as he fell to his knees, as the desert winds blew around him.
What was it Askier had said to him, just hours earlier? When Osric had let Delial Grimsong walk?
"Sooner or later, you are going to regret letting someone you should have killed when you had the chance go free."
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"Please gods... please...this can't be real... no...." Osric choked over and over in shocked denial, the world around him shattering and becoming a distant blur as his agony consumed him.
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All around Osric, people moved: his friends, his allies, voices. All speaking to him, all frantic. Coatleque Crofte leaned in, saying something, trying to examine the body, but couldn't see anything with Osric cradling her.
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"Please, Ser, let us see her!"Â Crofte said, almost like an order.
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Mechanically, unwillingly, Osric laid the still woman down on the tracks, crimson covering his jacket from the bleeding wound. The male hyur looked down, buried his face in his hands, and sobbed as the others moved around him. Osric hear Alexei speaking, moving, dropping a bag full of medical devices and digging through it. Lannis spoke, then Sizha'to began yelling, screaming, as Alexei tried to examine the woman bleeding all over the tracks.
Â
Inside Osric’s mind, everything was unraveling. He was numb, unable to grasp the reality of what had just occurred, his mind sealing itself off from the rolling waves of agony that threatened to drown him. He was saved by a voice, shouting his name, forcing him to turn his watery eyes up at Tana Firesong as she spoke:
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"Osric, where did he run?"
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A hand was on his shoulder, Osric realized. Junichi Mitarashi’s hand, comforting the hyur as Osric spoke, his words chocked off by sobs.
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"I... I don't... he..."  Osric’s words died off as he shuddered. He looks at the dead form of his love, his eyes fixed on the motionless form. His friend were moving, poking, talking urgently. They were trying to help but it didn’t seem to be working. Nothing was working. Osric felt his stomach tighten and he tore his eyes away from the body, looking off, trying to deny the reality as a faint whisper, a plea, rasped off his lips, tears rolling form his eyes.
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:"...p-p-please..."
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The wind moaned low and softly as Osric stared without seeing, his mind unable to comprehend it all. There is no hope, no light, there was only....
 "...the box." Osric said softly. The hyur slowly turned and, almost in a trance, approached the box. Inside, there was the smaller box, sitting there, unassuming. There was a commotion behind Osric but he focused on the tiny box. Rema's gift. The hyur male knelt and opened it.
Osric swallowed. There was a lavender linkpearl inside the box. Lavender, the color of his love's eyes. The hyur mechanically retrieved the linkpearl and placed it into his ear, his voice strained as he spoke:
"Hello...?
There was a gasp from the pearl. Kanaria's voice could be heard scrambling for words. "Ossy? Ossy? I-I'm alive... I love-..." Was all she could get out before being hushed once more.
Osric Melkire blinked, his numb mind slowly awakening, letting himself feel the world again as he swallowed, and turned to speak, his voice a half-sob.
 "It's not her."Â
 "W-what?" Coatleque Crofte said in disbelief at what she was hearing as she stared at Osric. The others present all turned to gaze at the hyur male as he went on slowly.
 "...whoever this is..." Osric motioned at the dead body his friend's and allies huddled around, his mind letting in reality as he plucked the lavender linkpearl from his ear and held it out for everyone to see. "It's not her. This was hers. Hers and mine. ..it was in the box that bastard left for me."
"That does not make me more at ease..." Coatleque Crofte said.
"I heard her voice. HER voice." Osric said, a mixture of joy and sorrow leaking through with his words.
Meanwhile Sizha'to Chalahko poured sweat from his brow from the intense effort of trying to gather gather enough aether to heal her the woman before him.
"Sizzie...let go, man." Osric ordered with a raspy voice. Â
Sizha'to Chalahko was not paying attention, he continued to try and mend her shot wound.... but he begins to cave in.... the light he's using to heal begins to dim... until the light is gone and he falls to the side, unconscious. The others mill around, speaking quickly amongst themselves. Suddenly, a voice, calm, and polite whispers into Osric's ear.
"Kanaria lives, Master Osric." Jin'li whispered calmly, using the device. "Master Adin took away that which you loved, and Lady Rema as given her back, for she is kind."
Osric Melkire collapsed onto his ass and broke into sobs again. "She's... she's not... oh thank... oh gods.. Rema is kind...I... I should've... should've remembered...."
"Yes, you should have. Do not doubt your Masters again for we give with one hand and take away with the other, for we are kindness, and we are wrath. And you are ours now."
 "I don't... I don't know how he did it..." Osric stammered as his allies looked over at him with intense stares. "But this isn't her." the was relief in his voice, relief that was turning to anger.
"As if that should make a difference now! This girl was just murdered in front of me. I care not who she 'could' have been!" Lady Crofte shout in indignation, appalled at that Osric seemed to dismissive of the dead woman before them.
"IT DOESN'T!" Osric bellowed. "WE'RE GOING TO FIND HIM, AND WE ARE GOING TO KILL THAT BASTARD!" Fury pumped through Osric like fire sweeps through dry grass.
"I second that." came Tana Firesong's voice. The rest of the group began speaking but the whisper returned, and it was stern and disapproving
"There will be no hunt. Call it off. Go home. Do not threaten to ever harm your masters again. Or we will harm Lady Kanaria."
Osric felt the fear, the memory of the anguish returned and his fires of vengeance went out immediately. He swallowed and realized the horrible, awful truth. He was Jin'li's. He was...
Compromised.
A liability.
Security leak.
His network....
 "...no more. It's over. Call it off. I'm done." Osric ordered with a croak, trying to hold himself together.
Osric's allies stared at him in dumbfounded amazement as the hyur walked over to the limp Sizzia. Osric pulled a green linkpearl out from his ear and slide it into Sizzie's before slowly walking away, giving only a single sentence answer to his friends' questions.
"I'm going home."
The hyur slowly plodded away, his mind wrapped within a shroud of numb pain and confusion. His entire world was changed. Just hours before, he had been one of the most powerful people in Ul'dah, with connections running throughout Eorzea. And in a single moment, Jin'li had shattered him, shattered his power, shattered his life, shattered his piece of mind
"Well done, slave. Now go home and rest well, Your masters require you kill and soon. Do you understand?"
"Yes, master."
Osric then opened his mouth in a silent scream of frustration and anguish as he fell to his knees, as the desert winds blew around him.
What was it Askier had said to him, just hours earlier? When Osric had let Delial Grimsong walk?
"Sooner or later, you are going to regret letting someone you should have killed when you had the chance go free."
