[Jaykobell]

At first, it almost seemed like the mage standing in front of her door had gone mute just from seeing her. Right, right — famous tactician and all that. She hated those who just stared in pure awe because they'd actually gotten to see her. Being an albino with a scar going right across her face, both factors made it hard for Negative to stay undercover. Of course, the fact she had a terrible headache made even the simple act of socializing extremely tiring and demanding on her mind.

Arkiel's apology also did very little to soften Negative's defenses. While she did appreciate his politeness and obvious desire to communicate, she wasn't in the mood for it, nor did she trust either of the two men. She especially didn't like the vibe she was getting from Armatas, whom was clearly the more savage of the two. At the same time, Arkiel's bowing and apologetic posture also made Negative somewhat uncomfortable, if only because it wasn't common for people to act this way around or towards her.

When Arkiel mentioned the two of them wanting to talk to her, the tactician put two and two together. With their defined affinities, status and clothing, and with Armatas's sword that had been drawn, it was obvious what they wanted to talk to her about. Negative narrowed her eyes at the mage still bowing in front of her, the idea of having to argue her retirement with these men increasing the intensity of her headache. Already exasperated, Negative put her head down into the palm of a gloved hand. It was interesting to note that, despite the more formal and city-like outfit she was wearing, she was wearing long dark brown gloves as well. They seemed to clash slightly with the style of her outfit, but there was a reason why she kept the gloves on.

After Arkiel had his chance to speak, Negative sighed. "Thanks, but I don't need your help," the tactician answered bluntly, straight-out refusing the herbs. Despite his genuine-sounding apology and words, the albino had no intention of trusting anything coming from those two men. "You also didn't answer my question: what do you want from me?" she asked again, not referring to Arkiel's vague "we wanted to talk with you" answer from earlier. She wanted a concrete, specific answer as to what, exactly, they wanted from her. "You look like a magic user, and your lord there sounds pretty happy with a sword in his hand. I'm not interested in battling, nor am I interested in putting on the tactician hat again. If you came here for tactical help, then please go look elsewhere. I'm not the only tactician you're going to find."

Regardless of their true reason — if it really wasn't to talk about strategy and maybe even to recruit her — Negative wanted to cut that snake's head before it got to bite her right in the face. If they wished for something else, then let them say so and speak it. Otherwise, she had no interest in discussing those things. "I have a family, and I'm a wife and a mother before I am a tactician for warfare. If that's all you're here for, then there is nothing else for us to discuss." She did have a tendency of jumping to conclusions; but the fact they were willing to quite literally barge into her house and even threaten Henry's life left a very bitter taste in this tactician's mouth.

[Thunder]

Arkiel frowned when Negative declined his herbs. It hadn't worked at all, and now he didn't know how he could possibly achieve their goal peacefully. As he stowed the bag back into his pocket, he glanced over his shoulder at Armatas. The lord was smirking at him almost mockingly, as if to say, "Did you really think that would work?" It seemed like the only thing to do now was to reveal their reason for coming here, although judging by Negative's words, she had already worked that out.

"Indeed, we had wanted your tactical expertise," Arkiel sighed, turning back to her. "But I understand if you don't want to contemplate warfare again. You have a family to take care of, and war is-"

Before the mage could go on, something clenched his cape and pulled him back so forcefully that he fell on his rear from his bowed position. Immediately after, Armatas stepped up to Negative, sporting an irritable expression that could rival the tactician's. Arkiel staggered to his feet and was about to restrain his brother agian, but the lord, unfortunately, had already started to fume.

"Look, I've been searching for a worthy tactician all across this country," he snapped, curling his free hand into a vicious claw. While it didn't seem like he would lash out at Negative like he had with her husband at the moment, a physical conflict wasn't unlikely to happen soon. "When I learned about your deeds, I thought you would be perfect for the job. Really, you should be honored that I'm asking you to do this. My nation is renowned for the powerful military I built!"

"Armatas," Arkiel called warningly. But the lord didn't seem to hear.

"If you'd just come with me, then I'll give you a fine place to stay and accommodate anything you need. You could even bring your family. Or hell, if you don't want to go anywhere, then why not give us a chance to just discuss strategy? Is there something wrong with sitting down and having a chat?"

"Armatas!"

"I'll have you know that I'm considered a military genius myself, but the reason I need to talk to you is because some of my methods aren't working as well as I want them to. My country used to be a pathetic thing, picked on by all the others around it. I need to make it as strong as it can be so other nations can't shame it! And to do that, I need good war tactics! I need-"

Arkiel leaped to his feet and butted his brother back out of the way. "What he means to say is," the mage sighed frustratedly, "he doesn't want so many of his troops dying every single time he goes to battle." At those words, Armatas's face turned red, though one couldn't tell if it was out of anger or some strange kind of embarrassment.

[Jaykobell]

[ I'm surprised neither of them mentioned it... but her file that they read said she didn't have any children, yet she did say that she was a wife and a mother before a tactician. :U ARKIEL, I'M DISAPPOINT. ]

In his defense, Arkiel was tolerable enough. Talking with him was bearable, and he seemed to be genuinely interested in talking peacefully, if anything. Armatas was just standing there, keeping close, but also staring quietly. It was always the quiet ones that turned out to be the most dangerous.

That turned out to be true when the other lord got fed up with his brother's peaceful speech. The force of his interference threw the brother down on the ground, and immediately the warlord just stared down at the small tactician in front of him. Negative met his gaze with her own, such powerful and war-hungry eyes being something that she'd seen more often than she could remember during her days of warfare. Her own eyes didn't falter or wince at the sight of the intimidating warlord. She'd seen her fair share of crazy dictators and war-obsessed lords in her days of war as well.

Throughout Armatas's speech, Negative stayed quiet, letting the lord bark and snap to his heart's content. There came certain points where Negative's expression, however, did change. She went from intimidating and powerful to simply surprised, blinking now and again at some of Armatas's statements. However, apart from her expression changing, the tactician expressed no other reaction.

For a while, the warlord spoke like an entitled child — or so Negative thought — until Arkiel quite literally pushed Armatas off the stage to take the spotlight again. Negative didn't have a chance to give an answer before Henry laughed from behind her. "Nya ah! He sure reminds me of someone," the dark mage mused, chuckling in the background as both he and Negative thought of the exact same person. A warlord similar to Armatas, whom had picked up the tiniest of nations and whom had built an incredible and fearsome army from it. Regardless, the warlord had fallen to the same predicament Armatas seemed to have: despite having a huge army, something in his methods just wasn't working right.

Right after Henry was done chuckling and commenting, Negative joined in on the laughter with her own quick chuckle. "I should be honored?" she echoed as she ignored Arkiel for just a minute to point out what had really stood out to her in the lord's almighty speech. "From the way you speak, I should be honored you even know my name. Your praise has very little value, and I can assure you no amount of praise will sway me."

The tactician's more defensive, intimidating nature had faded ever so slightly to give place to a more childish and playful personality. "Your words mean very little to me. I've heard about some continent being plagued by warfare and growing ever stronger — although I forget the name of it. Regardless, it's people like you that I don't trust. You're just trying to guilt me into joining your cause, and you're trying to sprinkle your offer with some advantages like taking my husband and son with me. Hah. I don't want to serve under a brute," the tactician added, the more confident and childish side of her still retaining some seriousness in her words.

With that said to Armatas, the small albino turned back to Arkiel whom was, admittedly, more interesting to talk with — even if Armatas was entertaining in his own way. "I'm afraid I'm not the person for the job regardless. I've dealt with warlords like you: ruling and conquering with power and a fist of steel, unwilling to budge. No matter what I say to you, you won't find anything interesting in my methods, and what brought me and my army success during our war. I met a warlord just like you years ago: our methods do not mix," she explained, saying the last part to Armatas specifically as she switched her attention from the mage to the sword lord.

"Maybe if we add some water? Ohh, what about some blood? We are talking about war, after all!" Henry chipped in from behind again, the thought of warfare and battles getting him excited for some action. "Or do you think we might explode if we try? Blood does give me that feeling sometimes."

Henry's metaphor — which probably sounded like gibberish and childish nonsense to both Arkiel and Armatas — was really his way of asking Negative that maybe if they tried, they could come to an understanding. Maybe if they tried to exchange views, they would understand the other side better and try to work on their weaknesses, or on things that they lacked. Of course, that didn't mean that exchanging concepts would automatically grant success to either party.

After quite a few years of living with the same dark mage with a crazy blood fetish — medical condition? — the tactician had grown used to understanding the purple prose. Regardless, she wasn't interested in discussing warfare — she didn't have the heart or mind to discuss it.

[Thunder]

(OOC: I...think I had wanted them to mention her child in the post but forgot to do that xD Oops.)

As Arkiel expected, Negative didn't budge in her refusal to help Armatas. The Blazing Lord was acting extremely entitled, and as an iron ruler of a nation, he wasn't used to not getting what he wanted. There had been another major moment in the past where Armatas failed to obtain what he desired, and that was when a lovely lady he was chasing turned him down. The lord had been in a foul mood for days after the incident, though surprisingly, he had not been so stubborn as to continue trying to win her heart. It was not like the adamant attitude he was displaying now.

Arkiel sighed and rubbed his forehead. He had not wanted to find Negative from the beginning, knowing that the situation would probably turn out like this. Maybe it was time to switch gears and side with the tactician instead. As Negative stated, no amount of persuasion would work. Hopefully the mage could convince his brother to take an alternate course of action.

"Brother," Arkiel began, "please stop bothering this woman. I'm sure we can find another tactician who would be willing to help."

"Right, like who?" Armatas growled. His face had the grouchiest expression ever known to mankind. Clearly, he had not taken kindly to being called a brute. "And please, stop talking Arkiel. You're going to give everyone the wrong idea about my motives."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what you said about my troops dying! You...you make it sound as if I care for their lives. You know I value them mostly for their manpower. I'm not looking to save people out of sympathy for them. It's just that less deaths means less loss of power, and the citizens will also be less likely to revolt against me if the wars I wage are less bloody."

Arkiel knew well what his brother's way of thinking was. He supposed that the foremost positive trait in his sibling was that Armatas proud of his country and wanted to bring it glory and strength, but that trait was carried to an extreme where the lord valued the state over the individual citizens. Armatas still attempted to meet his people's needs as best as possible, but he always did so in a very detached manner, and the reasoning was always so that the people would not try to overthrow him.

"I understand, Armatas," Arkiel continued. "But anyway, I think we can still get the strategies you need as long as we search for someone else." And right after speaking, the mage got an idea. He turned to Negative again. "Do you know any other tacticians who may be willing to assist us?"

[Jaykobell]

To be honest, seeing Armatas's convoluted facial expression after being called a brute was priceless. If anything, that had made the conversation all the more tolerable and entertaining.

As the discussion between the two brothers unfolded, Negative was surprised to hear Arkiel side with her, asking his brother to stop trying to hound her down. Perhaps the mage's intentions were genuine and with no ulterior motive, unlike the sword lord, whom seemed to be trigger-happy if it meant getting what he wanted. It was always a little saddening to see the good, genuine people like Arkiel working for ridiculous warlords like Armatas.

The words of the warlord didn't help in swaying the albino tactician, and if anything, they simply strengthened her thoughts that the two wouldn't mix at all. Negative's methods were the complete opposite of Armatas's, so the chances of them exchanging point of views productively was very unlikely. If anything, the warlord would be incredibly disappointed.

Still, that didn't stop the two brothers from trying. As Arkiel continued to try to reason with his hot-headed brother, the mage turned to Negative to inquire with her further. She frowned at the question he'd asked: if she knew of any other tacticians? She did know another tactician, but he was relatively in the same position as she was. He now had a life and a family of his own, and the idea of going back to warfare would probably send his ladyfriend right after Negative's head. The said ladyfriend could also turn into a frightening and powerful dragon, so lest Negative wanted to find a new career in food services, she would have to be careful about suggesting said friend.

The albino tactician gave a heavy sigh as she scratched her head. "I do know another tactician, and to be honest with you, he's a lot more thorough than I am. But before I tell you where to find him, I want to know what you want from him. If you want to drag him back with you to participate in warfare, I'm afraid I can't tell you where to find him." Even if they offered to accommodate him and take his family along, Negative doubted that her tactician brother-in-arms would accept going back to the battlefield. "However, if you only wish to discuss strategy and nothing more, then perhaps I have a man who could help you with what you're looking for."

[Thunder]

Negative's response was a huge relief to Arkiel, though he wasn't sure if he could say the same for his brother. He knew Armatas had been stubbornly set on trying to hire Negative specifically after hearing stories about her brilliant strategies, but in light of the current situation, he hoped that the Blazing Lord could accept taking another tactician instead. If Negative was so quick to refer the Telosians to him, then surely this other tactician was also very skilled.

"What do you say, brother?" Arkiel asked, turning to Armatas. Although the lord was still scowling, he didn't seem as fiery as he had been a few moments ago. Hopefully, he was ready to calm down and be more rational.

"...fine," Armatas grunted, crossing his arms. "I concede. I will go talk to this other tactician instead."

"You're not thinking of taking him to Telos with you, are you?"

"If not doing that is the only way I can get strategy advice, then no. I can't say I'm not disappointed, but it will have to do."

In that moment, Arkiel felt immensely proud of himself. For once, he had controlled his older brother instead of the other way around. He smiled brightly and looked back at Negative. "That is our reply, then. And don't worry, I'll make sure my brother doesn't agitate your friend like he did to you."

Although Negative had been grouchy this whole time, she seemed to be an incredibly reasonable person. If they had met under happier circumstances, perhaps Arkiel could have had a nice chat with her about magic. He also felt he would be willing to talk to her husband, despite his odd love for blood, as curses were one area of magic that he had less knowledge in. There was probably a lot that they could learn from each other...as long as Armatas wasn't around.

[Jaykobell]

Surprisingly enough, the warlord had agreed to keep his demand solely to discussion rather than forcing either of the tacticians to go back with him to their continent. To be truthful, she could only think of one person who would probably enjoy going back to warfare, but he wasn't a tactician. That, and he also had a family of his own, against all odds, even if the family in question was all around in somewhat shady business...

Regardless, it was a relief for the whole group to see Armatas be reasonable. His brother seemed especially pleased and happy at the sight of his brother being willing to negotiate. "There is... another person I could think of that would probably enjoy some warfare with you," Negative added after the brothers agreed to her conditions, and while she was going to continue, Henry suddenly interrupted her.

"Ohh! Is it me?" the dark mage asked behind her, he who had been standing there the whole time as back-up. Hey, his wife had a headache, and who knew what that aggressive warlord could've done!

Right after Henry had asked the question, Negative stayed silent and stared, not expecting that from her husband. She turned to face him over her shoulder and stared at him with a frown. "No," she replied flatly, and even annoyed, almost. "How about you get me Akakios's address instead of trying to find ways to maim people again?" the wife asked, the choice of words almost rivalling the things Henry had said before. It was surprising to hear someone speak so flatly at the mention of one's husband trying to main other people.

"Okie dokie! Be right back!" Henry answered right away, his cheerful yet unsettling expression never leaving his face as he slipped away deeper into the house, his wife's cold and angry behavior seemingly not bothering him.

Negative watched the dark mage slip away for a bit before turning back to the two brothers, sighing. "I was saying... I do know someone who enjoys warfare. He's not a tactician, so I'm honestly not sure how useful he would be to you. There's also the problem that he's a traveler: his wife is a traveling merchant, so he's always on the move. I never know where he is, but he does come back in this area now and again," she explained, though again, she was unsure of what exactly the two were searching for.

"As for the tactician I would recommend... His name is Akakios," Negative continued, crossing her arms at the two. "I know he works a day job, so I would try to go talk to him in the evening. If you're really so impatient to talk about anything, then I could refer you to his wife... But I guess I should warn you." There was a pause, and the tactician narrowed her eyes as she tried to find a good way to warn these two strangers properly. "She is... special. Trust me when I say that she might not look all that powerful or impressive, but... Well, you'll see for yourselves. All I can say is, don't underestimate her, either." She would keep the dragon aspect of Akakios's wife to herself. If things turned sour for him with these two guys, maybe they could end up using the dragon effect as a surprise strategy. "Regardless, he should be more willing to discuss strategy with you. I'm done with the practice, but he isn't against teaching what he knows. His daughter is also very clever, so perhaps you could speak to her if he's not home."

[Thunder]

A glimmer of interest appeared in Armatas's eyes when Negative mentioned that she knew someone who enjoyed warfare, but it quickly extinguished when she added that he wasn't a tactician and traveled around. That wouldn't do. The lord specifically needed someone who could talk strategy; he had enough soldiers at his command and didn't necessarily need more firepower. Why bother bringing him up? he thought to himself irritably. He didn't dare speak the words out loud in case that would tick off Neg enough to stop her from giving them the information.

When the albino finally revealed her acquaintance's name, the two Telosians committed it to memory. "Akakios," Arkiel murmured. "All right. Thank you for your help, my lady. We shall go speak with him, then..." The mage paused to give his brother a warning glance. "...at an appropriate time." Armatas's only reaction was to give off a little snort. "We won't approach his wife if it's unnecessary, and we'll certainly consider talking to his daughter."

There was a brief silence, and then the Blazing Lord spoke up again. "...so are we finished here?" he asked Arkiel.

"Well, aside from getting Akakios's address, I do think we've bothered Lady Negative enough for the day."

"If that's all, then I'm heading out. You can relay the address to me later. I've had my fill of this for the time being, too." Armatas replaced his sword and turned to walk away. Arkiel started to follow, but the lord held out an arm to stop him. "Bah, you don't have to tag along. Go do whatever you want. I have no plans on calling for your assistance for the rest of the day. Just meet me back in the city tomorrow."

Without protest, Arkiel watched as his brother headed away from the house and back in the direction of Aldrect. With a heavy sigh, the mage turned back to Negative and shook his head. "I'm terribly sorry for everything, again. I suppose I shall go as well once I have the address, unless you'd like me to stay for whatever reason? I admit that I would love to discuss magic with the two of you. I heard you're an excellent mage, and your husband, er, seems to know his curses well."

He smiled sheepishly. He hoped he wasn't being annoying, and as for Negative's husband...he was certainly a bizarre fellow.

[Jaykobell]

It was a huge relief to Negative when Armatas said he was leaving. While she initially thought the lord was too important to wait just a few more minutes to get Akakios's address, it seemed like Arkiel had been tasked with the job of staying behind. The tactician rolled her eyes at the lord's inability to be a good brother to the mage, but she said nothing. She would probably never see those two brothers again now that she had established her boundaries, so what happened to and between them was none of her concern.

At least, that was what she thought before Arkiel brought up his curiosity in discussing magic with her and Henry. If anything, the mage had been the more level-headed of the two strangers, and if it hadn't been for his interfering, Armatas would've probably been a bigger problem. Maybe giving Arkiel a short discussion on magic was the least Negative could do to show that she was grateful for his help with his brother. "I've dealt with worse characters before, I guess," she said to Arkiel's apology with respect to his brother's nasty behavior. "At least you were around to keep him from beheading my husband. I'm grateful for that." Well, there was no doubt that Henry would've retaliated, but the fact remained the same.

She scratched her head when it came to the topic of magic. "I'm not sure what you really want to discuss, but... I guess I can at least do that for you, since you kept your brother in line," she added as she crossed her arms again. "Your magic does seem a bit different from what we know. As for Henry, yes, he specializes in curses and dark magic. I specialize in the more common elements of fire, wind, and lightning; so does our son." While her body also had a minimal amount of dark magic, Negative herself couldn't quite use it, so she had never bothered to develop it.

"Ohh! Are you guys talking about magic?" Henry mentioned as he appeared from inside the house, standing next to Negative with a small card in his hand. "Without me? Or did you ask him if I could curse him?"

"Yes, but no. Thank you," Negative answered as she took the small card Henry had handed her over, so that she could then pass it on to Arkiel. "This is Akakios's address. Again, I'm sure he'll be happy to help you discuss whatever you want."

[Thunder]

Arkiel did not miss Negative's eye roll, and he cracked a smile at it. Armatas was quite a piece of work, and oftentimes the younger brother found himself wondering why he bothered with the Blazing Lord anymore. It was probably just his sense of familial obligation, which he had kept even though he left Telos a while ago. He liked to still have some connection to his homeland, even if that connection was his anger prone sibling.

He was visibly delighted that Negative was willing to discuss magic with him. A light entered his eyes and his grin grew even warmer. Not even Henry's dubious comments about curses could wipe away his mood, and at any rate, Negative was sure to keep her odd husband in line. Arkiel accepted the address card graciously and pocketed it before continuing their chat.

"Fire, wind, and lightning?" the mage mused. "That's quite the variety. I suppose that back where I studied, the College of Magic in Telos, we would have placed those under the natural type magics. We also consider curses a subcategory of dark magic. They specifically pertain to dark spells that have malicious effects and last for a lengthy amount of time. As for me...I specialize in light and fire spells. And a few years back, I discovered something quite interesting pertaining to those two elements, if you're interested in hearing about it." If the tactician wanted, he could show her the thing in question right now, for he always kept a vial of the stuff hanging around his neck, though right now it was hidden under his cape.

When Negative mentioned her son, the mage paused. "Hm, come to think of it," he murmured, "when we checked your files, we didn't see anything about you having a son. Is he around? I'm sure he's got quite a knack for magic, with two mages as his parents." Arkiel was genuinely interested in meeting their child, and he couldn't help but wonder why the son wasn't in Negative's information folder. Surely people would know if a famous tactician had a child?

[Jaykobell]

At the mention of the college where Arkiel had studied magic, Negative caught on to the name of the continent the two came from: Telos. At least, that was her guess, since she'd never heard of that name before today. Was that where Armatas would have taken her, had she accepted? If anything, it sounded a little more prominent in magic studies, since Negative couldn't remember the last time she'd seen light magic being used. It had pretty much been forgotten by a lot of mages, and the majority of magic users translated it as healing magic. Since light magic was usually considered holy, the thought of using it in battle to hurt others had rubbed a lot of mages the wrong way.

Both mages seemed interested, however. Negative was intrigued by the mention of light magic, and of course, Henry was happy to hear about dark magic and curses being taught in their kingdom.

Negative was about to say something about Arkiel's magic description, but then something stood out to her as he started mentioning her son. Wait, they'd looked at her file? "You... Ugh." She put her hand over her face, exasperated. Is that how they'd managed to find her address? She'd asked the town to move her file to that special area in order to keep it hidden from the common folks. Then again, if that brother of Arkiel's really was a lord, then the library had no choice but to allow him to look through the records. "You went through all that trouble? You know you could've just asked any citizen for my address, right?" Because she wanted to keep a low profile didn't mean that it actually worked. With everyone peeking curious looks at her, everyone in town knew where she lived. They'd just learned to leave her alone.

"Nya ah, that's pretty creepy," Henry commented with a smile, which, to be honest, seemed to be the only expression he could do. "I like you!" he added afterwards, seemingly approving Arkiel's "creepiness". Well, what else was there to expect from a dark mage?

With a sigh, Negative crossed her arms. "My son's not listed because I didn't declare him," the albino explained, obviously ticked that people had just gone and checked her personal file, but there was no helping it. "It's... a complicated story." And to be quite truthful, she didn't really feel like explaining the whole thing. Unless Arkiel really wanted the whole story, the tactician didn't feel the need to explain it.

"But he should be home." Turning around, the albino put a hand to her mouth as she called out to the child. "Mark! Come on down here!"

"Ohh, so what's that about curses?" Henry asked, now that Negative was successfully distracted for just a few seconds. "Can you cast them too? Hey, we should curse each other and see if one knows any curses that the other doesn't! Just don't kill me, nya ah. I'd like to be able to use them!" Hey, his wife had gotten all the attention since the beginning, and now that dark magic and curses had been mentioned, it was his time to shine!

[Thunder]

Arkiel flinched at Negative's displeasure over them looking at her files. He had realized that the citizens of Aldrect would probably know where she lived, but everyone he had asked could not disclose such information. Or, he wondered, perhaps they did know the tactician's address, but did not want to reveal it because they knew she'd be upset at strangers knocking at her door. "True," the mage sighed at Neg's words, "but I suppose no one wanted to give it to us for your sake."

He wasn't really sure what to make of Henry calling him creepy and liking him for that. Negative's husband had proved himself an oddball, though, so Arkiel tried his best not to get too disconcerted at the "compliment". And he found it strange that Negative did not declare her son. What could possibly be her reason for doing so? Was her son illegitimate? He and his brother had already pried enough into her privacy already, however, so the mage was not about to ask for the background on the strange situation.

As he waited to see what Mark was like, he returned his attention to Henry's question on curses. "Er, curses are not my strong suite," Arkiel replied. "I don't really know any, to be honest. So I'd rather not have you cursing me, seeing as I wouldn't have any way to counter." He shuddered slightly at the thought of the overly cheery dark mage putting some kind of nasty spell on him. "But I would be interested in hearing about what you know."