Beware the Wolf, My Childe

[Tasha Walker]

"Ah, then it is the perfect little match then," Nightshade starts, moving just a shade closer to Cipher, her smirk widening. The redhead cuts a look back at Arthur and stops mid-stride. One of her hands comes up to her temple and her eyes half close as if she's the one with the sudden headache. She is obviously experiencing some sort of internal conflict, but it's over in the space of seconds. The woman looking at Cipher now is a lot less sexual and a lot more human.

Tasha turns abruptly and moves back toward Arthur, dropping to her knees next to him and trying to cradle his head between her hands.

"You're really hurting... I didn't realize.... She was too close to the surface and she really doesn't like your friend. From what Scourge said, I was afraid you wouldn't believe it was me if I didn't act more like the spider."

"My name is Tasha. You just met Nightshade. We are apparently Blackarachnia, but we haven't remembered everything yet."

[Assault/Arthur Aldrin]

"Oh, please. I know at least 5 ways to kill a man with a dull knife." Headache or no, he is not going to let that little questioning of his abilities slip. Just because he has no proper understanding of the limitations of his human, non-meta form doesn't mean that he does not know how to inflict grievous harm.

The headache is fading quicker now. But that leaves an important question: Why did it begin in the first place? Arthur closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, but just as he exhales he feels two soft hands wrap around his head. It surprises him, but he welcomes the softness, leaning into the embrace. He listens closely to that soft, kind voice that is in such a sharp contrast with the sultry tone from before, and pays close attention to what she says.

Then, when she is done he opens his eyes again to look at her, speaking in a soft tone. "Of course. Remembering your past is probably too much for you to handle. It would break you. Do not think of the past, milady. It would mean your end."

Another deep breath. "So you have met Lord Scourge. Where is he now?"

[Sable Conolly]

"Closer than you would think," calls a voice from the shadows of the forest.

A black knight emerges, clad in full plates from head to toe. The design is vaguely familiar if one has ever seen Scourge before. The knight adds, "Hmm. I was hoping for a truck. Then again, I suppose that you were, too."

If Mordred has any reaction to Tasha and Nightshade being so friendly with Arthur, the black knight does not show it.

"It matters little. We shall overcome all adversity."

[Frenzy]

"That would be why, Arthur," Cipher says in response to her employer's assertion. The shift in the redhead she notes, and she pays careful heed to what they both say. Especially about Blackarachnia.

If she knew about Arthur's headache, well, she'd have opinions about that.

Cipher turns her head as the black knight comes out of the trees, nods. It's time to be the unobtrusive servant.

Skippable unless addressed.

[Tasha Walker]

Tasha smiles slightly at Arthur, smoothing his hair away from his face and nods. He, like Sable, understands.

Speaking of Sable....

When the black knight shows herself, Tasha breathes, "Mordred," and drops her hands from Arthur, stands and moves over to the knight. Tasha wraps her arms loosely around Mordred's waist and rests her head on the knight's chest. If there was any question about where Tasha's loyalty lie, there should not be now.

"Watch the woman," she murmurs so only Mordred can hear, "but he is still mine."

---

OOC: Clinging to Mordred w/ permission

[Assault/Arthur Aldrin]

As soon as Arthur hears that voice, he does what is expected of him. He leaves Tasha's embrace to kneel before his lord, looking down at the ground. "Milord Scourge." He eyes Tasha. "Mordred? An interesting alias." Interestingly, when he looks up it is at Tasha, not Mordred. He does not even realize that his gaze is drawn to his true master. "I agree, sir. We can not be stopped, even when trapped in these crude organic carcasses."

[Sable Conolly]

Mordred raises a gloved hand to lay it lightly on Tasha's head and looks over at Arthur. She shrugs and explains, "The Junkion called me it." Screwdriver. Scourge's Junkion. "Your human. Looking for a *master partner?

That is pretty much the only reason Mordred can think that Onslaught would tolerate a human for long. Clearly, Onslaught wants to gut the human and turn her into a gun, head, or engine. That's all they're good for.

[Tasha Walker]

Tasha leans into the hand on her head and snuggles closer to Mordred. She seems unaware of Arthur's attentions, though she has noticed them, oh yes.

She's done her job. She content for the moment to play arm candy. Besides, focusing on the feel of cold armor against her body makes it easier to keep the spider pushed back.

OOC: Also skippable for the moment.

[Assault/Arthur Aldrin]

The question that comes is not a new one. So, he simply answers: "Not actively. However, she has potential. The matter requires more thought." Though it is unlikely that he will share his head or even his engine with her. There are only four others that he will allow to become part of him.

Arthur still does not rise. But he does look up at the knight and his lady. "Have you contacted any others, milord?"

[Sable Conolly]

"No," which means that if Arthur could attack Mordred, now would be an excellent time. Few witnesses and no one elsewhere having any information on Mordred's whereabouts who might want to check in on Mordred.

"You are the first. I wished to keep my options open. Have you contacted anyone?"

[Assault/Arthur Aldrin]

Oh, if only that were possible. The rivers here would run red with their blood.

"Yes. I have contacted Starscream. He does not know of your current state or your location. The air commander has me working with what remains of the intelligence division. Rook is still himself, with all benefits that come with his unique abilities intact, of course."

"I have also been tracking others. So far, I have found and contacted Bonecrusher and Vortex. The former remembers, the latter does not." His lip twitches. He is still not pleased with this. Vortex with his memories intact would have been invaluable. "There are several others I suspect, but they require further investigation."

Briefly, he glances at Cipher. Then he looks back at his Lord. "The change has put me in a position where I have the resources to find our brothers and sisters. One of those most important is my dear aide-de-camp. I humbly request that you do not inflict your wrath upon her, my Lord. Doing so would hamper our efforts." Even brainwashed, he is well aware of Scourge's temperament. The thought will come up sooner or later in the Black Knight's mind. It is best to bring it up now and attempt to arrange a stay of execution.

[Sable Conolly]

Arthur shouldn't kid himself. Most of the blood would be his, and the rest would be Octavian's.

"Have you been in contact with Shockwave?" Mordred replies, noting that Arthur hasn't named human names for Bonecrusher and Vortex in front of Cipher, and so behaves in kind.

"As to your humble request... very well. I will hold you responsible for her behaviour, then."

In other words, if Cipher wants Arthur to get the stuffing kicked out of him by Mordred, all she has to do is misbehave! That is probably not the outcome that Arthur was hoping to have, but at least Arthur doesn't have to worry about Mordred throwing Cipher through a wall.

[Frenzy]

While Arthur may not realize who is gaze is drawn to, Cipher certainly takes note. She takes in everything, and someone who knows Cipher might recall the obsidian mirror she keeps on her desk. (Someone else might recall a ship named Obsidian Mirror and a duel the length and breadth of the fledgling moon-colony with Commander Witwicky.)

All this talk... Unless Octavian can give her a convincing argument otherwise, she needs to look into having everyone not-her killed.

She raises her eyebrows at Arthur being held responsible for her behavior.


Still skippable.

[Assault/Arthur Aldrin]

"I have not, much to my regret." Arthur would give quite a bit to discover their former commander's location. Though when he does he will have difficulty deciding how to proceed, unless his masters give him a direct command.

"You are too kind, my grace." This pleases him. Cipher is far too valuable. Though he hopes that she will behave and not kill anyone. He would rather not get the living daylights kicked out of him. He glances at his companion. Notices that look in her eyes, offers a small smile of approval. She is as sharp as he wants her to be. If he knew of the obsidian mirror in her possession, he would have drawn the poetic and apt comparison. Unfortunately, she does not allow anyone inside her quarters, aside from the maid.

"What now, my lord?"

[Sable Conolly]

"Shockwave is Victoria Raines, CEO of Kaonic Technnology," Mordred announces, "I suspect that if you go looking for her, she'll find out far more about you than you find out about her. She has the advantage of some years on us in this game. The thing about Shockwave is... the universe would be safer without him. I mean that for all of us, the human included, though the reasons are different. If you take a step away, you can see it. But Shockwave steps in, so close that all you can see is how much the universe needs him, as if he is the very order of reality itself. Taking that step away is the hardest part, and eventually, you don't even want to. All you do is march to Shockwave's tune, and you think it is your own."

Perhaps there is an irony in Mordred speaking of this to Arthur.

"Starscream is going to make a play for command now. It is inevitable, due to his nature. Victoria will convince him to spare her life on some reason or other. Starscream may be our leader in name. He may be our leader in name forever. However, as long as Victoria lives, Starscream is nothing but a puppet on a set of strings."

"We can return to them. We can pretend that we are eager to serve. Bide our time and wait for the time to strike, all the while risking that the strings will drop down so softly and bind us. We could strike out on our own instead. Tell me your opinion on the matter, Onslaught, and frankly, too."