Forget this smile of mine...(anyone)

[Jenna Scorn]

"How? That's the first time I've been asked. How does one become strong like me..."

Oh man, had she hit a button?
Would he eat her?

She'd narrow her eyes on him, almost glaring slightly.
It didn't matter.

"To be like me. Your life has to be a living hell."

She leaned forward, letting her hand softly rest against her temple.


"Then you have to snap, and kill a few people without a cause."

Valekin...

"Jump into a cycle of revenge."

Valekin...


"And commit to victory. As there is nothing else."


"Valekin..."

"You don't want to be strong like me. I'm not a good role model. I don't think anyone else is capable of surviving what I have been through. Made to suffer, and cause suffering. I guess."

He obviously had lived a very rough life, and she felt bad. Her suffering hadn't been anything like his.
And she almost felt bad, almost.

"I want to be strong..."

She licked her lips.
Hands shaking as she rested that at her sides.

"And if you won't help me, I'll find someone else who can."

eyes steadying on him, breathing uneasily.

[valekin]

"Running from the cops, and engaging in activities with the Yakuza is one thing Calamity. Becoming a student of mine.. is a completely different endeavor. Unless you are completely dedicated to getting stronger for yourself, and for your loved ones. Do not show up where we first met on the 16th at nine."

He already had a student. Mitsuki Park. But she was a strict discipline student. He only taught her combat, not the art of Black Operations. He hadn't made the offer to Mitsuki yet, she just proved to be determined to serve justice, and to get stronger. He was looking for... a more emotional effect. Not something purely based on morals and personal gain.

One must think about others...

... To be a Shadow Knight....

A Knight of the Shadows....

"It is commonplace to say that people choose the evil they know, over the evil they don't. And that certain kinds of evil, can only be defeated by evil itself."

He circled once, taking well measured steps. Over stepping just once before he was facing the young woman again. His hand holding his chin, the other holding his elbow. The elliptical eyes stared at her with much scrutiny.

"I am the evil you know. We won't deny this."

That's right... I acknowledge that I am evil..

"But what is better? The evil that you know won't hurt you? Or the evil that you know nothing about?"

[Jenna Scorn]

"Running from the cops, and engaging in activities with the Yakuza is one thing Calamity."

Eyes narrowed upon him, as if questioning him.
How dare he speak of that.

" Becoming a student of mine.. is a completely different endeavor. Unless you are completely dedicated to getting stronger for yourself, and for your loved ones. Do not show up where we first met on the 16th at nine."

"Why?"

tilting her head to the side, a few strands falling out of place.

"It is commonplace to say that people choose the evil they know, over the evil they don't. And that certain kinds of evil, can only be defeated by evil itself."

Licking her lips.

"I am the evil you know. We won't deny this."

"Of course not."

"But what is better? The evil that you know won't hurt you? Or the evil that you know nothing about?"

A smirk.

"The evil we know nothing about."

Flicking a few strands of hair form her face.
Resting her eyes upon him again.

"I want to be that thing in the shadows. I want to live without fear. I want to live fully in the moment."

[valekin]

"Then you'll have to break."

He was entirely serious. One must completely break to overcome fear entirely. Their mind must shatter, and some things must be lost to lose the sense of fear. Valekin could not feel fear anymore. He gave off fear like the waves of the ocean. Sometimes they were not forceful, but were felt when they lapped at your ankles. Then there were the waves from storms, that crushed you, dragged you out to sea, and broke you.

"Insanity, is a perfectly sane adjustment to an insane world."

We weren't going to dispute Valekin's level of sanity. Disputing Calamity's level of sanity was a must though. To gauge how intact her mind was, how intact her cognition and collective conscious was, was a must before she could shatter those supports and plummet.

One must hit the bottom before being risen.

[Jenna Scorn]

"Then you'll have to break."

"Break?"

She had repeated it, but the word had some out slow.
Rolling from her tongue ever so slightly.

"Insanity, is a perfectly sane adjustment to an insane world."

She'd give a small nod.
She could almost see where this was going, or could she?

Her foot would kick at a crate, and her eyes would dance on Valekin.

"Are you saying...I must become insane?"

[valekin]

"That is the only way to remove fear from yourself completely."

Valekin said without hesitation. It's what he believed, as he was the example. He had gone completely insane and feels no fear. One must be prepared, for everything. And only the insane, cannot be surprised at all. As irrational as they are, they expect even the most ridiculous of things.

Making surprise attacks impossible.

"You'll be an unstable insane.. for a while. But after a time, you'll learn to control your own particular madness."

[Jenna Scorn]

"That is the only way to remove fear from yourself completely."

she bit her lower lip.
Glancing towards the down as she thought to herself.

But if she went insane, truly insane.
Would she lose a part of herself?


"You'll be an unstable insane.. for a while. But after a time, you'll learn to control your own particular madness."

She was silent for a very long moment.
Her head down casted, eyes finding the floor.
Her tongue flicking out, lining that lower lip of her's before letting her head rise.

Eyes finally finding Valekin.

"..How long would it take for me to control myself?"

A simple question.
Right?

[valekin]

"Possibly a week of solitary confinement. This allows you to come into control of yourself as you make war on yourself. One side will win, and the other will become it's slave. You'll be fine after about a week. And you'll be back into control of yourself."

He said, sitting down on a box, resting his chin on his fists, which rested on his knees via his elbows. This was quite comfortable, but bad for one's back. His knife's sheathe stuck out a bit from the small of his back. That was the weapon that had caused so much bloodshed. He had threatened her with it once. But that was all he did, threatened her. Or was it that he offered her escape?

Either way, he had once brought it out to her, to show her that there was a way out of this life. No matter how painful. This was true for breaking oneself as well. It will be painful, she will hurt, and feel in the most terrible ways for a week. And she will break, and be at war with herself. And after a time, she'll be fine. She'd have fixed herself and shed what was unnecessary.

[Jenna Scorn]

The two were silent for the longest moment.
The only sounds that could be heard would come from him, as he moved.
Making himself comfortable.

Eyes blinking.
In true thought as she'd let her index finger rise to scratch against her brow.

Now, looking up at Valekin.

"You won't let me hurt myself, right?"

Could Valekin be trusted?
Could she trust him with her life?

[valekin]

"Ha, no. That would defeat the purpose. The only damage you'll do to yourself, is killing off what you feel is unnecessary. I'll straight jacket you, and place you in one of my favorite padded rooms."

He cocked his head to the side and smiled. Baring the canines that had been sharpened into scimitars. He wouldn't have much of a hand in breaking her. He'd just introduce an anti-psychotic into her bloodstream, where she wasn't psychotic in the first place, and totally screw her brain's chemical levels. This would send her over the edge, which probably won't need much pushing anyway. Then things would progress in the desired way for her, until she metaphorically hits the ground, and has finished breaking, warring, and taking control.

"You'll be fine, I promise."

[Jenna Scorn]

She didn't know how much she trusted him.
How would she know that he'd eventually let her free?
What if he ate her?

She sighed.
What did she have to lose?

"You'll be fine, I promise."

"How do I know that ...I can trust you?"

She watched him.
Carefully of course, in case she'd angered him any.

She'd push strands of hair form her face.
Letting her hands rest into her pockets.

[valekin]

"You don't. You'll just have to have faith."

Probably not the answer that she was looking for but it was what it was. There wasn't anything that she could do to change his answer either. There wasn't anyway that she knew that he could be trusted. He was a murderer, a cannibal, a great many things. But most of all, he was insane, and that could put a damper on trust issues.

It was his answer to her question.

"I'll let you think about it. Tuesday, where we met, at 10 pm?"

[Jenna Scorn]

She nodded.
Lips pressing together.
Tightening, and her nod would slowly come to a still.

Letting her hands leave her pockets and rub against the fabric of her pants.
Strands falling in her face.

She thought of their meeting.
How horrible it had been.

But beautiful at the same time.

Few had died.
But, their friendship had blossomed on that day.

Well, if you could call what they had a friendship.

"Ok."