Free City, Truce - Fountain
A tiered fountain marks the center of Truce, water gushing from its
summit and trickling into a deep, wide basin, wrapped by a ring of benches.
Roads flow like rivers away from the fountain, and houses sprout like weeds
all around them. Not far to the east, the ocean roars in the harbor.

A small white cat-like creature crawls out from under one of the benches, seemingly having been there the whole time... or maybe he just got there! Either way, the creature turns around and hops up onto the bench it just crawled out form under, and proceeds to lay itself down, curling its tail around its body.

The creature settles itself in on the bench, inconsiderately taking up the middle of it as it nestles down, looking in any given direction with round, unblinking red eyes.

Crossroads enters the fountain area and soon notices a small cat settled on a nearby bench. It takes only a moment for her to recognize that it is Kyuubey. Her hand slowly goes to the arrow resting in her quiver. She still wanted to use the creature as target practice and seeing him there made it quite tempting.

Kyuubey, as it indeed is, turns to look in Crossroads' direction, still without blinking. He doesn't say anything either, though, apparently not threatened or menaced. He looks quite content, actually.

Crossroads swears under her breath realizing that she has been spotted. If she grabbed an arrow now the thing would have plenty of time to go bolting off somewhere. So instead she tries to cover for her actions by scratching behind her head..

Kyuubey says 'You're becoming better outfitted each time I see you. That's good to know. I like to think the wishes I grant are well-used and considered, and that those with power take themselves seriously. I'm glad to see you are a good example of this faith, Crossroads.'

Crossroads approached the cat thing "Thought it was you." She said with a small laugh. She chose to ignore the creatures comment on being better outfitted, " Still granting wishes?"

Kyuubey says 'Only to those who desire them. I understand the concern and flak I receive, but in all honesty, I can't be blamed for the hastiness and thoughtlessness of those who wish for the sake of wishing. You can't have something for nothing, as I understand. Nobody in this realm seems to think with their head or their hearts, only with their desires. If I could feel sadness, it would be a depressing thought.'

Kyuubey says 'Such as it is, however, I can't be held accountable for what happens after the wish is made. I do my part, and it is expected that they do theirs. If suffering is a part of it, then I apologize wholeheartedly, but perhaps they should have thought twice.'

Kyuubey looks around silently, the red circle on his beginning to glow softly after a moment, whereupon he looks up at Crossroads, expectantly.

Tyrranis stumbles as he enters from the east, and sighs heavily as he sits on his usual bench, completely ignoring everyone at the fountian. His skin is damp with water, and what looks like a few stubbron spots of blood.

Crossroads frowns, "You omitted some facts, though, to make the deal sound sweeter. You cannot deny that. Unless you wish to claim that you didn't know you were ripping out our souls, or know that all of us would eventually end up becoming witches ourselves.

Kyuubey says 'There are some details I won't deny omitting. You may think of it as cruelty, but I think of it as a test of worth. Those who think of a deal that is too good to be true would be wise enough to consider asking for all the catches before agreeing to such a prospect. Unfortunately, few do. This, as well, I cannot be accounted for. Mortals have a tendency to both overlook and underlook things, and I can't be counted on to watch over every detail for every person.'

Kyuubey says 'Furthermore, not everyone becomes a witch. Kyrk has been on duty for many years, and he shows no signs of slowing down. It's a matter of luck and fate, as well as knowing how to pick your battles.'

Tyrranis slowly, inexorably, turns his gaze to the sky, and locks it there.

Crossroads says ' No signs of slowing down... yet. You are aware that people slow down with age and Kyrk is starting to get older. Do you mean to tell me that you have granted us immortality as well? That Kyrk's body will not eventually break down from the strains of all these battles? Maybe it won't be soon, no. But there is no end to this contract. Is he still going to be fighting witches when he is an old man hobbling around with a cane?'

Kyuubey says 'I reiterate my previous statement, and add that I am not allowed to lie about any details. Had anyone asked me for the length of terms, I would have unflinchingly informed them. Again, this is not my fault or concern.'

Tyrranis drags his view from the sky at the sound of heated conversation, and observes Crossroads and Kyuubey debating for a little while, before turning his gaze back to the sky. "Nh."

Kyuubey gets into a sitting position, stretching out his front legs before curling his tail around himself again, looking pointedly at Crossroads. "I do wish that more of the Wishborn would spend their time using their abilities to the best of their desire instead of complaining about their contract. It really feels like a waste of perfectly-usable time spent doing more productive activities."

Kyuubey pauses, looking over at Tyrranis briefly, then back at Crossroads, giving her a knowing look.

"Don't try to distract from the matter! That is not what I am saying!" Crossroads snaps, "You yourself used Kyrk as an example, not I. But your example is flawed."

Kyuubey says 'Nothing in this world is without flaw. Even immortality has its flaws, of which, to answer your question, you are not. But I have yet to see Kyrk complain. I have yet to see Tyrranis complain. And yet here you are, preaching to me about how flawed my examples are? Tsk, I thought better of you, my dear. You should calm down, relax, and go rest for awhile. Using your abilities isn't the only way to become corrupted, you know.'

Kyuubey says 'Kyrk will continue to perform his deeds admirably, until fate deals him the final card. That is the way it works. But since you are fishing for corrections, I would state that he will not become a witch once his soul gem is past the breaking point.'

Crossroads glanced at Tyrranis. Kyuubey was right. He didn't seem to have any complaints about the situation, and Kyrk seemed perfectly fine as well. She looked back at Kyuubey, " Is that so? Then what will Kyrk become?"

Kyuubey says 'To be exact, there are two scenarioes to be decided in this case. The most common one is that males do not become witches; their genetic disposition is an aversion to the corruption that forms a witch out of the soul gem once it can no longer function as it should. Instead, they are consumed differently, and become what is known as a 'Yoma'. In truth, I'm sure you don't want to know the details. Not now, at least.'

Kyuubey says 'The second scenario is that, because of the nature of Kyrk's wish, he will not become either. He now lacks what it takes to become what the corruption instills, and as a result, he will simply cease to exist once he passes on. He does not carry the despair and grief needed to create the darkness normally born at the death of a soul gem.'

Kyuubey says 'I don't think he realized this when he made the wish, to be honest. But it was very clever, nevertheless. He is gifted in more ways than one.'

Tyrranis mumbles to himself, though it is quiet and distant.

" Why do you assume I don't want to know? If you know the details regarding this 'Yoma' then by all means tell them. Kyrk isn't the only male running around with a soul gem. If they cannot become witches then it would be best to know when they do become and how to best deal with them." Crossroads turns her head towards Tyrranis as he says something not catching what he said "Tyr?"

Kyuubey says 'I only seek to absolve you of further despair. In truth, what I do is in attempt of your best interests.'

Tyrranis speaks again, barely louder. "It does not matter."

Kyuubey nods, satisfied. "My point is reinforced. Thank you."

Crossroads says ' but... A Yoma is also an enemy, correct?'

Kyuubey says 'In the same sense that witches are, yes. Are you truly that curious?'

Crossroads says ' If we are to fight one eventually, then it would be best to know about our enemy before hand. '

Kyuubey says 'A keen point, and duly noted. Very well, then.' Kyuubey looks at Tyrranis briefly, then at Crossroads. 'A Yoma is a male representation of a witch, more or less. The major difference is that, while witches hide within barriers and prey on the despair and hard luck of the unfortunate, Yoma are more or less an opposite. They are ruthless, destructive beasts with an appetite for flesh. They ransack and pillage in search of food, and know no other cause. They are the carnal equivalent to a witch, if you would think of it in this way.'

Kyuubey says 'So in a sense, they are similar and different. And dangerous in different ways.'

"I see." She noticed Kyuubey's brief glance at Tyrranis and wondered if this meant Kyuubey suspected he would become one. Crossroads chews on her lip for a moment in thought, "So why was that fact ommitted in the beginning?"

Kyuubey says 'Because, as I stated, I sought to abstain from the darker details of your contract. You knew you had to fight in return for your powers, and I felt that was enough. As you grew stronger and more comfortable, then the questions would come, and I could answer them as you become more steeled and able to face the truth. If I had told you then what I am now, there would be no chance any of you would have taken the offer, would there? And if there is no one to fight, eventually what few threats that loom would take over everything. That is why you fight. Because it is in everyone's best interest, not just your own.'

Tyrranis is completely unphased by the revalation of what he could turn into, and continues sky-watching with but a wispered string of words. "Continuance. Poetic." A somewhat sardonic grin alights his face for a moment, and then is forgotten.

Crossroads sighs. Did 'You must fight witches and yoma' really make that much of a difference when people were concidering the contract? And she didn't know what Tyrranis was talking about, but it seemed clear that he wouldn't be of any help to her.

As if reading Crossroads' thoughts, Kyuubey adds "In a general sense, most Wishborn consider them all to be witches, Yoma included. It is the generic term, regardless of intimate details. If you look at it in this way, I didn't truly omit this detail."

Kyuubey looks up, again, pointedly at Crossroads. "Also, I believe you have something for me? My congratulations on your success, several days ago."

"Something for you?" Crossroads didn't think she had anything for the cat-thing at first, but then she suddenly remembered the grief seed Tyrannis had given her. She quickly pulls it out of her pocket "You mean this?"

Kyuubey says 'If you have no further use for it, then yes, I would take it off your hands for you. I have a repository for those things, to ensure they do not rebirth over time.'

Crossroads closes her hand around the grief seed, not quite ready to give it to the creature just yet, "You create us wishborn, the wishborn become witches, The wishborn who aren't witches fight them and take these grief seeds to purify their souls, and then they give it to you. You make more wishborn. Then the cycle continues, correct?"

Kyuubey says 'If you are inferring that more Wishborn are created as a result of the depleted Grief Seeds, then it is an incorrect assumption. I take the seeds so that they will not regenerate into new witches. But as long as mortal desire exists, I suppose it is true, what you say. The only way there will no longer be Wishborn is if everyone were happy with everything they have, and had no greater desire that only a wish could sustain.'

Crossroads says ' I wasn't quite inferring to that. But it seems you are the one turning the wheel here, Kyuubey. You are the one who makes the wishborn who either die or turn into witches so there must be some benefit you are getting out of this. Otherwise, what would the point of doing this be? '

Kyuubey is silent for a moment, looking at Crossroads with his relentlessly-oblivious expression. 'Well played, then. You're right, the depleted grief seeds are a form of energy for those of my kind. Its is a form of recycling, if you would think of it as such. As opposed to letting the seed become obscure or grow into another witch, I claim it as a source of energy that I am able to use for my own purposes.'

Kyuubey says 'One of which happens to be the ability to grant wishes.'

Kyuubey says 'In the barest of senses, you are correct in the notion of it being a cycle that doesn't seem to have an end. But in this method, everyone gets something out of it. Is mutual benefit not a common practice among mortals? I had thought it to be.'

Crossroads clutches the seed a little tighter, " So then... what would happen if you were taken out of the picture?"

Kyuubey says 'If I left the scene, right here and now, those of you that remain would do so until you met your end, as expected. But with me no longer here, eventually every Wishborn would become either a witch or a Yoma. And there would be no other Wishborn to combat them. Do I need to detail what would happen as a result of this?'

Kyuubey says 'Unfortunately, since the cycle is in motion, it must continue to cycle. If one part of it is stopped, the suffering would be enormous as a result. And I'm not exaggerating.'

Crossroads says ' There is always suffering. Even if the cycle is in motion I am sure you realize this.'

Kyuubey says 'Such is the nature of the mortal coil. You can never be without suffering, even with your wishes granted to your fullest desire. This is just how you are, and only some of you accept this as your fate. I am only making it more... what's the word... enjoyable? If you're going to die anyway, why not employ yourself to your highest potential beforehand?'

Kyuubey says 'You mortals are always so caught up in the short-term. Do you ever stop to think about the good you are doing for others, instead of the wrong that has befallen you? Where is your sense of valiance, or morality, or the better and common good? Do these things mean nothing to you if you feel yourself wronged in some way?'

Kyuubey suddenly gets to his feet, and hops down from the fountainside bench, stretching leisurely.

Kyuubey looks up at Crossroads, then at Tyrranis, and finally elsewhere. "Keep the seed if that is your desire. I can't force you to part with it, as you earned it from your victory. Just be wary of its properties, and try not to find yourself in an unfortunate predicament, should it rebirth itself." Kyuubey begins padding away from the bench, heading toward any one of the main exits to the region.

Crossroads glares after they creature, "Kyuubey?"

Kyuubey stops, looking behind him. "If you've more berating to do, I'd as soon not hear of it. Otherwise, tell me what you need."

With a small smile, Crossroads holds up the grief seed for him to see then throws it as far as she can. "Fetch."

Kyuubey looks at her for a moment, then turns back around, continuing in the same direction he was going. It may or may not have been in the same direction as the seed was thrown, but it doesn't overtly seem like he cares too much.