IC Contact Post [Hadriel]

[mismanagement]

This is Maketh Tua. State your business.

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[mismanagement]

[Maketh huffs a little, almost smiling. This is ridiculous. She's drinking coffee and playing chess with the man who killed a monster wearing her face.]

I am--what I am.

[She shrugs and makes her move.]

It passes. I will be better.

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[Terminology is confusing she's trying not to be an asshole. Maketh leans back in her chair with a sigh, drinking some more of her coffee. The taste is something to focus on, something comforting, something she knows well.]

Right now? Unfit company.

[She smiles a little, sadly.]

As I said. It will pass.

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You...

[What is she meant to say to that?

Maketh just shakes her head and examines the board. She doesn't make a move yet.]

You are one of the most confusing individuals I have ever met.

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By the sink.

[Maketh doesn't laugh, though part of her - distantly - feels the urge to. This whole moment is absurd.]

You would not have survived in my world. I am glad I did not meet you there.

[It's said thoughtfully. She makes her move and waits for him to return.]

[mismanagement]

[This time Maketh does laugh, just a little. The look on his face is quite something.]

Don't mistake me. It's not a slight on your capabilities. But you would not have been allowed to remain as you are.

[She gives him a faint smile.]

They wouldn't have let you keep your name. The Empire, I mean. It would have been taken from you. I never realized how--important that was, before I came here. Having a name.

[mismanagement]

There were a few with power like yours. I served with one. The Inquisitor. [She shrugs, drinking her coffee. She's been thinking about the Inquisitor a lot since she came to Hadriel and often wonders what became of him. Perhaps he's dead. Probably he's dead.] The Empire makes things simple. Either you obey or someone stronger kills you. And there is always someone stronger.

[She shakes her head.]

He killed my lieutenants. I should have expected it. But he--enjoyed it. I suppose it was the only thing left to him.

[mismanagement]

Something like that. [She lifts her cup in grim salute.] They did, yes. He was barely a person. I respected him, as much as I could respect someone like that. He was powerful and he never lied to me. But he was the Inquisitor and he would never be anything more or less than precisely that.

[Maketh gives Shadow a thin smile.]

I had choices, at least. Perhaps they were wrong. But they were mine.

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[Interesting. Well. Maketh supposes it would count, and frowns at the board. Shadow plays boldly. Much like she does.]

What was your world like?

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[Curious. So his contact with the world was limited?]

Do you wish to go back?

[That seems more important.]

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[Maketh tips her head to the side.]

But it doesn't seem to be your first concern. Why is that?

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Oh, I see. [That gets a faint smile. At least Shadow isn't alone. Not in Hadriel. Not in whatever place he'll call home when this is through. Belatedly, Maketh realizes this matters to her.

Well. Here they are.]

I was rude to you earlier. I apologize.

[She takes one of his pieces.]

Nonetheless, I shall still crush you.

[mismanagement]

[Maketh gives him another smile. It's oddly refreshing to talk with someone like Shadow.]

You haven't won yet.

[She makes another move, getting dangerously close to his queen.]