A Darhk Storm Brewing

The corporate town of Moonspire does not have much in terms of tourist attractions, A hundred or more small pathways branch off from the main road, each of them lined with two-story houses made of light red bricks, though they all look they same each holds it's own slightly unique difference from the others that are often unnoticeable. Street lamps bearing flags that display the Darhk Industries sigil and small gardens run along the pathway filling the town with beauty. The main road made of cobble and marble that is mixed so eloquently together that it casts it's own essence upon the sky above, trees planted throughout the town standing as large shade producing giants. The main road continues straight through the center of the town to the large tower from which the town was named, seemingly stretching out to touch the sky. There are only two structures in Moonspire worthy of note, Darhk Tower and Moonspire Manor. Darhk Tower is the corporate headquarters of Darhk Industries and as far as Damien knows the largest structure in the world, or at least he likes to think of it like that. With two hundred and fifty stories above ground this tower's all glass windows reflect sunlight, causing the tower to serve as a beacon to those within the northeastern part of Kaminari no Kuni and possibly further. The tower went further underground but only certain employees were given access to the lower levels, and no one outside the company knew about them. The other structure is that of Damien Darhk's residence, Moonspire Manor.

Moonspire Manor sits at the end of a secondary main road that leads from the tower to the gates of the estate. Along this road sits more houses each looking the same as the last, however the Manor is an opulent complex and is one of Damien's crowning achievements. Located on the edge of Moonspire perched on top of bluffs that over look the Kasumi Straight as well as allowing a view over the entirety of Moonspire. The Manor is gated off from the rest of Moonspire, in part because Damien doesn't like guest showing up unannounced. A pathway large enough for two full size carts to travel side by side runs through the center of the estate land when passing through the gate, inside the gate sits a single large stair pathway leading to the Manor. As one climbs the stairs more is revealed about the Manor, a lot more different than the common houses in town. To the left side of the stairs sits a small peaceful meadow with a small lake in it's center, with a wooden bridge leading out to the center of the lake. The elegance of the Mansion shows that Damien clearly has a very high view of himself, and that the Manor is a engineering achievement unlike any other. The Manor, made of pure marble with crystal glass windows reflecting the beauty of the sun's light across the estate grounds. Once at the top of the stairs a large elegant and elaborate garden can be seen surrounding the rest of the pathway to the Manor. A large fountain stands in the center of the pathway at the top of the stairs approximately thirty meters from the large doors of the Manor itself, in the center of the fountain stands a large statue of Damien himself. Pressurized components sit within the fountain shooting streams of water into the air at random intervals, adding even more to the beauty of the estate. The Manor stands five stories tall made of elegant marble with crystal glass windows, the main doors, are double doors each standing ten feet high on the sides reaching in a steady arch that reaches nearly fifteen feet in the center where the two doors meet. The doors themselves are made of hard lacquered wood that is just as finely polished as the marble of the walls, orient gold designs cover the doors in the center where the doors meet the design flows perfectly creating a seamless symbol of the Darhk Industries designed on to the two doors.

The Grand Foyer which stands twenty meters wide, it's ceiling reaching to what appears to be three stories high, runs the entire length of the mansion from the main doors to the back of the manor, the entire back wall of the foyer is made entirely of crystal glass that reaches from floor to ceiling, a set of double doors made of the same crystal glass as the rest of the wall leads out into the courtyard. Through the window wall of the foyer one can see the beautiful and elegant garden of the courtyard, in front of the large glass wall stands a balcony on the third level of the manor, elaborately decorated staircases line both sides of the balcony along the walls leading down to the main floor in the same style of the steps that lead up to the manor itself. The walls on either side of the foyer are lined with various doorways though much smaller than the main door they are still very elaborate in design and size, meshing seamlessly with the wall itself with is decorative design of marble and gold. Various paintings adorns the walls of the foyer depicting a variety of different people as well as places most of which would be of no importance to anyone. At the top of the stairs on either side of the balcony set another set of stairs that would lead to the fourth and fifth floor

Today was an auspicious day for Damien, his business had been growing rapidly. Having already expanded to two other countries and working on setting up shop in another Damien was always working in the tower, however today he would find himself in his office within the Manor on the fifth floor. Tamwyn would be stationed at the gates to await Damien's guest, normally a servant would greet the guest at the door of the Manor however, Damien was not one to take chances with someone that could kill him. Tamwyn had proven to be an excellent hire and had performed his duties without complaint, giving him the code name Shikyō to protect his own identity in his relationship with Damien. Damien did not know much about this Yenn Inazuma, with the exception that she was recently appointed as the clans leader. This was something Damien did not like, he prided himself on knowing Everything there was to know. So having a unknown factor in his plan, could present a problem for him. Damien had Zhu Li send word to the clan leader asking for an audience, and finally word was returned that they would meet in Moonspire. Damien would sit behind his desk looking over the various documents of his business as well as his extracurricular activities, once Yenn arrived Shikyō would lead her to him. The office stood fifty meters wide and held a variety of different creations made by Damien from armor and weaponry, to scale models of buildings and aircrafts. A large painting of Damien's love Kara Kazehana hung on the wall behind the desk, though the woman now lived with him she had her own business to take care of in Bear country yet was always with him. A crystal glass dome donned the roof of the office giving both natural light and the beautiful view of the sky. Raava and Vaatu, Damien's tigers, lay lazily together in the center of the light from the dome roof. Damien hoped that this Yenn would be agreeable, but he would not hold his breath. The truth was he needed Yenn, if she was not willing to work with him then it would throw a large portion of his planning out the window. Damien would pour himself a glass of scotch as he continued to look over the documents spread across the table, 'Storm Troopers' Damien thought to himself as a wicked smile formed on his face.

Downstairs and at the gates, Tamwyn would be waiting with stoic posture. Upon him was his Darhk Industries uniform. It consisted of black, eel hide apparel with golden trim. It had a hood as well and a mantle that was made from spidersilk that was also trimmed in gold with the Darhk Industries mantle sitting square in the middle of it. Upon his face he wore the Darhk Industries mask, as was expected of him. It fit snugly against his face, as was expected given that the inner mold was designed to fit his face perfectly. The outside looked the same from uniform to uniform. It ensured that no one ever knew who they were dealing with in Darhk Industries. Tamwyn's hat was not in use today, no surprise given that it would give him away in an instant. Instead his pale blond hair was tied into a functional ponytail and tucked snugly down the inside of the uniform. He had the hood up as well, to ensure that no part of his fair was visible. It was also easily recognizable and part of his job involved anonymity. No one was to know of his employment for Damien Darhk as his personal bodyguard. To that end, the mask also had a voice changer that modulized his voice to make him sound unrecognizable to even the most attentive of individuals. Even the masks eye holes had tinted lenses to ensure that his eyes were not visible while ensuring that he was able to see through them without issue. That was particularly useful to Tamwyn, since his eyes in particular were some of the most recognizable in Kumogakure.

He stood, arms clasped behind his back, shoulders and back straight, and feet slightly apart. He was six feet tall and had a well muscled physique at this point in life, reaching what would probably be his physical prime in terms of power. Given that he was much more of a speed oriented fighter. The sun was rising slowly, it's pinkish hues not quite yet having been removed from it's form as it slowly made it's ascent for the day cycle. He waited for one Yenn Inazuma, a name that surprised him, given that he knew her. Memories of their mission together, the sudden and violent flight through the air as they were blown away. The rock spike protruding from his chest. Their talk around the fire in the cave. They flashed before his eyes and he'd feel a phantom twitch from his right pectoral where a scar that bore a resemblance to her pendant sat. A similar scar was on his back as the thin spike that had punctured him had gone through and through, blessedly missing anything he might need, like say, his lungs.

So there he stood, in perfect posture, his uniform flawlessly groomed and lint free, his mask perfectly aligned. Awaiting the arrival of a woman whom he wanted to greet as a friend. However would be forced to do so as a stranger. It wasn't something he liked having to do. He'd want to catch up with her, chat with her. Instinctively, he'd want to. However he wouldn't be able to. She wouldn't be able to know he worked for Damien, probably ever. That was something he didn't really like the idea of. However it was something he would have to deal with. It wasn't just her, Mort, Ryuko, Eliryanna, he wouldn't ever be able to tell any of them. He'd have to make excuses to not be around at certain times, hide his activities. He supposed it would be no different than being in ANBU. That didn't mean he liked it though.

As Yenn made her way to Moonspire Manor she walked like she did every time she had to do something she didn’t want to; one foot in front of the other. The alternatives she had were less than graceful and would probably end up pissing off the most talked about business man in all of Kami no Kiri. She had been sent word as the leader of the Inazuma Clan that Damien Darhk wanted to speak with her about some business proposal. Or something. It had been another letter that she’d stared at resentfully for many days without actually opening, wishing that it was just spontaneously combust, preferably before she’d ever received it. Letters like that were the only reason that she spent time in her house. Even just being within the Clan District made her lightning scarred skin crawl, and each new summons heaped more bitterness onto her.

She would have desperately loved to ignore the meeting today, just run off into the mountains and spend the day doing anything besides having to pretend to give a shit about the future of the Inazuma Clan. She barely remembered accepting the position, it had all been a blur of activity, and like the dutiful and guilt ridden woman that she was she had just added one more thing on to her neverending list of things she didn’t have the energy to do. She knew it was a problem; no matter what was asked of her she always said yes. She wasn’t certain she even knew how to say no anymore, she couldn’t think of when she’d last insisted on something she wanted. Maybe her clothing, or at least the colour of it. It was about the only thing that she had ever chosen for herself.

Today she had looked through her wardrobe and decided on her outfit with care; black leather pants and black high heeled leather boots that came up to her mid thigh. On her torso she wore a loose fitting black shirt cinched at the waist and wrists with leather belts, its off shoulder design accentuated by so many raven feathers it was reminiscent of fur. After combing out her long dark and wavy hair she would tie her pendant around her long and slender neck; the one material possession that she treasured.  A starburst made of obsidian and silver set with a multitude of tiny diamonds. The pendant hung from a simple strip of leather tight around the base of her neck, allowing it to sit in the hollow of her throat. She would run her finger over idly, remembering her time with Tamwyn in the woods and how she’d had to use it to save his life. Shaking her head she would chuckle quietly. “Probably save his life.” She felt the correction was necessary to ensure a proper narrative in her memory. It was entirely possible that he would have been just fine without her cauterizing his wound. Twice. As she looked herself over in the mirror she could see the slightly raised streaks of lightning that scarred her bare shoulders and continued up under her hair and down below the line of her shirt. A grimace would cross her features as she looked at the scarring, and with a frustrated sigh would snatch a pair of long gloves and an asymmetrical cloak to hang over her exposed flesh, in black of course. She thought she might be able to justify her state of dress in the cooler weather, because of course she assumed people would be judging her for it. She didn’t feel the cold like others did, and so she never needed to dress for the weather, but she sure didn’t like rain on her clothing. It tended to destroy the leathers and furs and feathers she wore, so she would throw a short asymmetrical cape over her shoulders and the gloves onto her textured hands as she walked out the door.  

As she neared the impressive building, having made her way through the equally impressive town, she started to need to focus on her steps and her breathing. She’d done as much research as she could on this Damien. But what there was to find, honestly wasn’t very informative. He was an extremely successful businessman, he had his hands in every pie. Built airships, had the tallest building in the world. But that was about it. She could easily find his name, his company and their goods and services, but nothing of note about him. She really didn’t know what she was expecting to find, but ‘basically nothing useful’ was concerning to her. She was a very suspicious and paranoid person, and she hated the unknown. The unknown was dangerous and consistently ended in pain and violence for her. She would look up at the sky in an effort to clear her head of her spiralling thoughts, meeting someone as the representative of the Inazuma Clan was not the time to be lost in her mind.

She would pause as she clearly saw where she was supposed to be heading. An incredibly large manor, exquisitely beautiful and walled off from the rest of the world by an elegant if imposing gate. There was a single person standing at the gate, dressed in black and gold and with a mask that sent an unexpected shiver down her spine. “The man likes to make an impression I guess.” She would mutter to herself as she walked up to the tall and imposing figure. She did not want to keep walking, everything about this had her instincts screaming at her to run. The kind of running one does when chased by a monster in a dream, impossible to get away but your feet run a panicked marathon regardless. She wasn’t sure what the protocol was here, but anxious hyperventilating was probably off the list. Drawing herself up to her full towering height, of an impressive five foot four - if you included her four inch heels - she would level her violet hued gaze at the mask. Resisting the urge to squint and try to connect with the, hopefully, person beneath it she would announce her intentions. “I’m here for a meeting with Mr. Damien Darhk.” After a beat she would remember that she hadn’t actually said who she was. ‘Oh yeah, total random stranger c’mon in! “I am Yenn Inazuma.” She didn’t bother adding the qualifier of ‘Clan Leader’ onto her name, she never did if she could help it. She thought it sounded pretentious.

As he waited at the gate Tamwyn would see Yenn approaching from the down the road. She looked as she had when they went on their mission together. Including those heels all over again. He briefly wondered how she would like the stairs in those and made a mental bet with himself on if she would stop and pause for a minute before continuing on. However this was all beside the point. She would approach the gate and stand stall and proud at all of about eight inches shorter than him, counting her heels, and start she was here for a meeting with Damien. Of course, knowing her, he would wait a moment or two for her to realize that she needed to introduce herself and when she did so he would nod. He'd smirk under his mask, she couldn't see it, so it didn't matter. She was amusing to him in her general awkwardness, although it wasn't a malicious amusement. He just thought it was cute. Still, he'd keep the expression from pulling him into a full blown chuckle. That might give him away and he couldn't allow her to know it was him.

Opening the gate he would speak calmly, his mask changing the sound of his voice to make it indistinguishable. "Please come in, Madame Inazuma." He would say, his manner impeccable as he bowed politely while holding the gate ajar. Once she had entered he would close the gate once more before moving at a brisk pace up the way and into the manor. Once inside he would pause a moment to give her the opportunity to gawk or stare at the foyer. Damien loved showing off and it would be oh so careless of Tamwyn to not give Yenn the opportunity to appreciate the majesty. Once a moment or two had passed he would lead her to the stairs and begin climbing them, his pace continuing to be rather brisk, even on the stairs. Damien also hated waiting for others for too long. Leading her up the stairs silently, unless prompted to speak by their guest, should she have followed him, he would eventually reach the fifth floor. Having led her up the stairs that led up to the balcony in the foyer as well as up the sets of stairs along the balcony that led up to the upper floors.

Once on that floor he would lead her down the halls toward Damien's home office. His steps continuing to be professionally correct and his posture never breaking. Eventually they would reach the office door and Tamwyn would open the door and motion for her to enter, bowing over his arm again slightly as he did. Should she enter he would as well, closing the door behind him and then moving around the room silently to stand just behind Damien, on his left. His would then stand at attention, his back straight, shoulders straight, and his feet together. His head would face the opposite wall outwardly, but within the mask his eyes would remain on Yenn. His senses would remain open, and he would always be on alert for danger aimed at Mr. Darhk.

The imposing guard at the gate was polite and when they spoke their voice was distorted and unrecognizable to her. It was a bit unsettling to hear the voice, almost wasn’t a human sound, and when paired with the emotionless face mask it gave her a shiver. She suspected that was the point of the whole thing, put people on edge, maybe it made it easier to do business with them. With her. Moving through the gate she took in the sight of the manor, it was beautiful with well tended and extravagant gardens. The polished stone and crystal of the building glinted in the sunlight giving an unearthly glow to what could only be described as the physical representation of a man’s pride. It wasn’t that she didn’t like it, but she had it ingrained within her that the outward appearance was the only thing that mattered, and the more elaborate the surface was, the more inherent value a thing or person held. And from the looks of it, this man was worth a whole lot. In comparison she held little importance and being blatantly reminded of that somehow hurt more than she’d expected.

With a soft sight she would follow after the cloaked guard, struggling to keep up with their precise movements. The steps leading into the manor proper were made of the same polished stone and she had to put in extra effort to keep her feet from slipping. ‘Every. Damn. Time. I have got to get better shoes. Flats next time maybe.’ Most would have thought that it’d be an easy thing to remember; ‘Don’t wear the heels, they look great, but the pain is not worth.’ But no, she was short enough that wearing them was what made her feel like she had a modicum of power. And it was easy to forget minor pain like that after resting your feet for a bit. It was probably silly, but it was all she had and she couldn’t very well carry around a fruit crate on a strap to stand on when she had to have important meetings.

The image of standing on a crate while talking business cheered her up somewhat and brought a smile to her face. She followed her escort inside, and her smile turned to a look of wonder as she gazed around at the elaborately decorated foyer. Forgetting that she had a scheduled meeting she would take a couple steps forward while subconsciously raising one gloved hand as she laid her eyes on a large painting depicting a peaceful riverside scene, with an impressive mountain range and a tiny little cabin. The cabin looked slightly out of place against the beautifully blended background, as though it were an afterthought of the artist, a happy accident that was transformed into a peaceful sanctuary. She could easily imagine herself relaxing next to that river, enjoying the mountain air and feeling at ease in the safety and solitude that was the imagination of the painter.

She realized after a few moments that she was standing unmoving and transfixed by her own imagination and would turn to face the guard again, a slight blush on her cheeks as she immediately apologized for taking up their time. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you wait. Please, lead the way.” She would then follow after the gold and black phantom and up five flights of stairs. Internally she would grumble as her feet protested by the third flight, necessitating her to pause and lean her weight on the wall of the landing to give her feet a moment of relief. Assuming the guard waited for her she would offer another apology before taking a deep breath to steel herself and beginning the ascent again. “I’m sorry again. Wrong shoes.”

Somehow reaching the top floor made a world of difference, even though she still had to walk just knowing that the walk didn’t involve stairs for the next few minutes was heartening. Making their way down the hallway she would pause again, though this time not from the discomfort her boots were causing her. The guard’s bow had made her feel anxious, she didn’t like the concept of anyone bowing to her as though she was somehow more important than them. She knew she wasn’t and it felt like a lie to allow it. Her face filled with guilt she would bow her head towards the guard and enter the office. The room was just as opulent as the rest of the manor, it was large and had a domed glass center to the ceiling that allowed the morning light to pour into the room. In that circle of light were two very large tigers, and Yenn’s eyes would widen at the sight of them. She wasn’t afraid of animals, but she held a healthy respect for anything that could crush her skull with its teeth. Throughout the room she could see many different objects; armor and weapons, small-scaled models of buildings and other things she couldn’t name but looked impressive all the same. Her violet eyes would finally settle on the man sitting behind a large desk with papers spread across it. He was well dressed and imposing looking, sharp silver eyes and dark hair, a striking contrast to the golden eyed and blonde woman in the large portrait behind him. She could feel the pricking of her skin as her palms began to sweat inside her gloves as her anxiety came on full force. This was probably more than she should have gotten herself into, there was an intelligence in Damien’s eyes that she knew she didn’t have a hope of matching. Her mouth would open to speak and her voice would catch in her throat, there was no disguising that she was nervous as she cleared her throat before attempting speech again. “Mr. Darhk? Thank you for inviting me here. Yenn Inazuma at your service.” She was not thankful to be in a room with a spooky guard, two tigers and an intimidating looking man. But as always she did what was expected of her.

Raava's and Vaatu's head would both perk up when they heard footsteps down the hall, it was a nice little warning system in Damien's eyes. No matter if they got past all the traps and guards no one had gotten past the ever watchful Raava or the aggressive Vaatu, he had them since they were Cubs never caged always free roaming where they chose and they always chose to be near him. They protected him, and they often had a tendency to intertwine their paths so that they were constantly watching all areas of weakness. Tigers were different than humans, they were pure their thoughts never even process betrayal. They were the most loyal thing Damien had in his arsenal, unlike his employees they didn't have a seal to keep them loyal and he never had to worry about them leaking secrets.

As the door opened Damien would see Tamwyn's persona of Shikyō bow as their guest entered the room before he entered and shut the door, Tamwyn instantly went to stand behind Damien. He was starting to enjoy the man as his bodyguard as he had never had someone quite so Vigilant before other than his tigers. Both tigers were accustomed to Tamwyn's scent and would not hinder his approach to their master, but after the woman spoke Vaatu would growl lightly the black tiger watching her carefully as if he was about to pounce on her but he made no move to lift himself from the rug he was laying on. Raava would stand, the white tigress slowly approaching the woman. She would not growl or snarl, she simply sniffed. First the air around the woman as the tiger slowly walked around her, Raava would stop behind the woman sniffing towards the woman's back. Damien had watched as Raava approached the woman, it was something she always did with new guests however when Raava stopped behind the woman Damien leaned forward in his seat. In all the times Raava had performed her check she had never once stopped, she always did a complete circle around the person and then returned to Vaatu. It was how Damien knew everything was ok about the person, seeing Raava stop made him think that Tamwyn had missed something that the woman had come here to kill him.

What Raava did next however was the biggest shock of them all, Raava would press the top of her head into the open palm of the woman's hand and nuzzle it seeking the woman to pet her. Vaatu who had still been growling the entire time would instantly stop when he saw his mate seek affection from their guest, with a sigh the black tiger laid it's head back on the floor returning to his slumber. Damien watched as Raava continued to press her head against the woman, it was hard to tell whether she simply wanted to be petted or if in some strange way she was trying to comfort the woman. Damien had only seen Raava act similar to this once before, and it made him breath a little easier. If Raava trusted the woman then it was good enough for Damien just as it was good enough for Vaatu. "Please have a seat, you look as though you could use a rest." Damien would finally answer the woman, motioning to the relaxing chairs sitting across the desk from him. "Can I get you a drink or anything?" If the woman desired alcohol Damien had a well stocked reserve within the room that he would pour her a glass with, "Shikyō?" Damien questionly waved the bottle towards his bodyguard, before returning his attention to the woman. If she desired anything else he would press a button under his desk before telling one of his hundreds of servants to bring it up. If and when the woman sat in the chair Raava would walk with her, laying down on the floor beside the chair as the woman sat. Damien would watch her as she moved, he was rather disappointed she had every inch of skin covered other than her face but at least he got to see her curves and his vivid imagination did the rest.

Damien would take a sip of his scotch, silver eyes looking at the woman sitting across from him from around the glass. Sitting his glass on the table, Damien would fold his hands together interlocking his fingers and taking a slow breath before he spoke. "Well what I want is simple, however before I tell you what exactly I want. I would like you to answer me one question first." He tone calm and respectful as he addresses the woman that held his future plans in the palm of her hands and didn't even know it. He didn't want to get off on the wrong foot by ignoring her question and asking his own, but it was something he needed to know something that would tell him what kind of person he was actually dealing with. Damien would wait for the woman to nod or answer before he asked his question, "Yenn Inazuma, What is it that you want most in this world?"

Tamwyn would move to his position without issue. He would continue to watch Yenn, despite what they'd been through on that mission. It was his job, and he wasn't being paid to make exceptions for people. It was things like that that created the holes in security in the first place. Damien had done his dead level best to make sure that there were no holes on his side. The least Tamwyn himself could do was the same. The tigers, Vaatu and Raava were inside and they made no indication that they acknowledged his presence. They were used to him and he them by this point. He'd admit when he found out the man he was supposed to keep safe kept tigers of all fucking things as pets he was moderately concerned. However he quickly adapted and became accustomed to them. As he took his position, Raava would stand and pat over to Yenn and circle around her. Vaatu would growl at her lightly from his location.

Of course, he didn't trust the tigers all that much. It was easy for animals to mistake something and attack someone on instinct or on some other trigger to their literally animal natures. So he was always prepared to defend Damien from a guest attack as much as he was prepared to defend the guests from a tiger attack. After the international blitz about that 'Racelo Sabnik' man who allegedly fed his wife to his pet tigers years ago. Tamwyn wasn't ready to take any chances. It was just better to add it to his list of 'things to be paranoid about'. Which at this point basically included everything. Raava would circle around Yenn and stop behind her before nuzzling her head into Yenn's hand. Good, no tiger attacks today then. At which point Damien would invite Yenn to have a seat and offer her a drink. As well as Tamwyn himself, of course he'd use his code name.

Now Tamwyn was certainly a fan of drinking. He was also a fan of the fact that his boss was one too. However Tamwyn had a personal rule against drinking 'on the job'. He'd make an exception on a mission where they were camped out once in a while. However when guarding Damien he preferred to keep every shred of focus available to the task at hand. So he eschewed the practice while protecting the man. "No thank you sir." He would say, after making sure Yenn had time to answer herself. Afterwards he fall into a dutiful silence again, his features masked, his hair covered, and his head facing forward. Although his eyes and ears were open to all potential threats.

Never having been face to face with a tiger before Yenn was not sure what she should do. Or what movement or gesture on her part would end up inciting a likely lethal wrestling match with said tigers. So when one the black furred tiger began growling at her she could feel her skin prickle with fear and her body’s innate need to protect itself. Which she knew was bad, really bad. At best her aegis was irritating and she didn’t want to unintentionally irritate the mass of teeth and claws that seemed to have decided she wasn’t welcome. Her eyes started looking for the best way to escape, she could see a few avenues but she knew running from an animal would just end in her being attacked from the back. In all of her time spent outdoors she had needed to overcome her urge to flee, and mostly that meant patiently and calmly waiting while said dangerous animal decided whether or not it wanted to use her bones as floss that day.

Her violet gaze would flick between the tigers and Damien and his guard, and she briefly wondered if she’d been brought here as some sort of sick execution. She hadn’t been Clan Leader for long, but she had heard of other people in a position similar to hers being ‘removed from office’. Probably some stupid fight for power or control or some other thing she definitely didn’t have. Death by tiger was probably a dumb idea anyway, Damien didn’t appear to be the type to want to throw out an expensive area rug because of some fascination with gruesome deaths. So Yenn would focus her attention onto the large felines, the white one having taken a distinct interest in her. Her heart was pounding as she watched the creature approach her, she felt frozen as it circled her, even if she had wanted to fight back against it she doubted she could. The tiger was easily half her height while it stood on all fours, and she still hadn’t invested in anything to defend herself from a physical attack. As she felt it move behind her she would close her eyes, trying to prepare herself for the pain that would come, and other than her trembling breaths she made no other movements. In her mind she was seeing a sword travelling towards her again, the blue light of the sky’s anger reflected along its edge. She waited for the peace to take her again, but this time it didn’t come. Bright yellow eyes shook her from her morbid fantasies and she would open her eyes just as the large cat pressed its head into her hand. Without warning her aegis leapt to action and sent out small arcs of lightning towards the intrusion on her personal space, and looking down she saw the head of a very large tiger within her gloved palm. Summoning all of her will she would pull her hand back momentarily and attempt to calm the innate fear that the unexpected touch had triggered.  

If the creature allowed her to and had not been shocked into assuming Yenn should be its next meal, she would tentatively reach out and place her hand back on its head. Her hand barely took up the space between the creature’s eyes and she would look down at the tiger in surprise, a small smile coming to her face. As it continued to nuzzle her hand she would return its affection by gently petting the large cat between its ears. She realized after a moment that she no longer could hear the low growling of the second animal and would glance up in time to see it lay lazily back down and close its eyes. She was enchanted by the large animal and despite her earlier fears now found herself at ease with the powerful beast. She would have stayed that way forever had she been allowed, but Damien’s voice pierced through to her, asking her to take a seat and offering her a drink. Her head would snap up, her attention returning to the matter at hand; a meeting between the Clan Leader of the Inazuma and the mysterious and powerful CEO of Darhk Industries.

As she moved over to the offered seat, for which her aching feet were eternally grateful, she was pleased that the cat followed her and lay beside her chair. She had only had one other person or creature in recent memory grace her with any type of trust or affection and it helped calm her. She would shake her head ‘no’ as she politely declined Damien’s offer of refreshments. “Thank you, but I don’t need anything Mr. Darhk.” She wanted a drink badly, to just drown her doubts and fears in swaths of alcohol sounded like exactly what she needed, but also a drunk and crying Yenn did not an impressive leader make. She did find it curious that Damien offered a drink to his guard, and it made her suspect that either they had a less formal relationship than it appeared, or Damien wasn’t particularly worried that he would need sober guarding from her. She assumed it was the latter. She was well aware that she looked about as threatening as a mutilated puppy.

She sat attentively in the chair, trying to focus on his words and not have her attention wander as her discomfort with the formality of the situation grew. He said his request for the meeting was simple but that he needed her to answer one question first. It was all rather cryptic and so she would just nod as if to say ‘go ahead’, keeping her features as stoic as she could manage. All of that went to hell though when he asked her what she wanted most in the world. She would visibly wince at the question, trying to process why people kept asking her what she wanted. As if it mattered. With the intensity of his gaze on her she considered that she should probably at least give some answer. Her initial thought had been to say ‘nothing’. But even she wasn’t sure that was quite true. There were things she wanted, secret and buried things that she was afraid to voice in case that gave her hope. Looking down at the giant cat at her feet she would mull the question over and then answer very quietly a question that had been asked to her once before during a storm. “I want everything.”

The sparks from Yenn would strike Raava's nose, though aside from a minor discomfort the tigress didn't seem to mind it. Merely wrinkling her nose slightly before returning to the nuzzling of the woman's hand. Damien would shrug at the fact that both Yenn and Tamwyn turned him down, though he preferred to have others drink with him he wouldn't force them.

A smirk would form on Damien's face at Yenn's words, that was something he could appreciate, short and simple . She was a lot like him in her ambition, and he could appreciate her honesty. His eyes moving from Yen to Tamwyn, "Shikyō, if you would be so kind as to flip the switch behind you." Damien stated having realized he had forgotten to have the man do it sooner, as soon as Tamwyn flipped the switch a loud buzzing could be heard for a few seconds before quieting to a low hum. As the buzzing began Damien would finish the scotch that was left in his glass, "Sorry about that, can't be too careful really." Damien commented as the buzz dropped to an almost inaudible hum as he explained to Yenn what he just had Shikyō do, "It produces a kinetic field around the room, preventing listen devices from transmitting as well as those outside this room from trying to ease drop." Damien would then pour himself another glass of scotch before standing, walking around the desk stopping in front of Shikyō briefly. Looking to his guard the man would smirk slightly, however he would say no words. His eyes would tell Tamwyn where he was going with his little theatrics, the man had witnessed his own version of this conversation not that long ago. Though he wanted something more from Yenn then he had ask of Tamwyn, however if the woman truly wanted everything then she would no doubt be willing to do whatever it took to get everything even if it meant a extremely binding contract with the devil. His eyes would once more fall on Yenn as he moved towards the wall to the woman's right, "Well miss Inazuma, I might be the one man in the entire world that can actually give you Everything." His tone soft with emphasis on the word 'Everything' as his eyes locked into hers, watching her reaction as well as telling her that there was no falsehood in his words. His influence grew by the day, and his business was expanding nearly as fast. It was this that had accelerated his plans, but then again things rarely went as planned. "I will give you everything you ask of me, I only ask one thing in return." Damien would finally break eye contact as he closed his eyes, inhaling a deep breath before opening them once more looking into her beautiful violet eyes. "All I ask of you in return for everything is that you and your clan to work for me."

Damien maintained his eye contact with the woman, gauging her reaction to those words before he pressed a button on the wall and it revealed two sets of armor, one for males and one for females. Unlike the uniforms of the Darhk Industries employees, the two sets of armor revealed showed that they were meant for true combat. Fitted with chakra absorption devices upon the chest, each wrist holding 500 ft of wire. The armor bore no markings signifying them like the Darhk Industries uniform holds it symbol, or even the hidden cloud gear held their symbol. There was nothing linking it to anyone or any country, normally Damien would not reveal so much before the person had 'signed' the Darhk contract. However the look in the woman's eyes told him everything he needed to know, she would do anything to obtain what she wanted and he would give it too her. "My reach is global, I own a multi-million dollar company, I have my hands in most of the Villages development now, I have employees, I have security, and I have my hands in some off the books deals. I make more money every minute than you could hope to make a in a month of work for the village, however there is an area I find myself lacking. I need..." His eyes would momentarily break away from the woman, his eyes darting to Tamwyn before back to Yenn. His head wouldn't move and with the position he was standing Tamwyn wouldn't be able to see this only Yenn would see this. As his eyes returned to meet her violet gaze his eyes narrowing as he spoke, "I need an Army, Miss Inazuma. I believe your clan can provide that, as well as a commander of said army who is willing to do whatever it took to achieve what she wanted." Damien would step closer to the woman making sure not to touch her, however he would offer her his hand to stand. "If you give me an army then I will give you Everything."

Standing there in that office, Tamwyn wished he could tell Yenn that it was him. Memories of their mission, that cave, played through his mind. Not only that, but the fact that since they lived together it was an awfully awkward secret to have to keep for the moment. Of course his contract would keep him being able to tell her that it was him until she had signed one too. He'd have to hope that she understood that, and he would have to lead with that information if he was to have a chance of her doing so. Or at least, he thought so. Either way it wouldn't hurt to lead with it anyway. At Damien's instruction Tamwyn would turn and flip the switch behind him. A stray thought of what might happen if he flipped some incorrect switch one day amusing him to no end. His imagination treated him to a faux meeting, similar to this one where Damien told him to 'flip the switch'. To which he flipped the wrong one, and then an oddly placed trapdoor opened beneath Mr. Darhk's feet and he descended into it's unknown bowels screaming 'Wrong lever!' the entire way.

He'd suppress the chuckle that came with that thought. As Shikyō he had to be stoic, and more or less unresponsive to verbal prodding or inane questions. At least that was the persona he has cultivated for him. It was a far cry from the more or less urbane and confident manner he usually had. As Damien was showing off some armour for Yenn, armour that looked far more combat capable than his own mind you, he briefly considering asking Damien if he could have a set too. In private of course, interrupting a meeting like that would be the height of rudeness and Shikyō, while stoic and unresponsive, was never rude. To anyone, for any reason. It's just that his manners were short and clipped, but they were always in effect.

Damien was just explaining to Yenn that if she signed a contract binding her and her clan to be his army, he would give her everything. Tamwyn while looking stoically imposing and keeping an eye and ear out for any potential danger to anyone in the room. Yes, that included both Damien and Yenn, as well as the tigers. He didn't need the man sulking because Tamwyn couldn't save one or both of his pet kitties.  As their conversation continued, Tamwyn keeping a watchful ear out for threats or questions and directions aimed his way, he would become a bit thoughtful. He wondered how imposing this outfit really was to someone. He supposed the effect of every one of Darhk's employee's wearing them might be a bit disconcerting. The voice modulator was neat too. For some reason he had a subtle desire to use it to say something like 'You do not know the power, of the Darhk side.' He couldn't for the life of him explain why. A moderately amusing thought would be Seid joining up with Damien as well. Would that make him 'Darhkseid'? Perhaps 'Darhk's Seid'? He wasn't sure, but thinking of amusing ways to use his bosses name was part of the fun he got out of standing around doing fuck all.

Yenn would raise her head as she finished speaking, looking up at Damien with a hint of worry in her violet eyes. She had meant what she said, but she was worried that perhaps it wasn’t what the man had been asking for. It was an honest answer, but it was also fairly vague. ‘Everything’ to her encompassed so many intangible ideas, things far beyond material wealth or accoutrements. She’d spent her whole life with nothing, that it was hard for her to pin down even one thing she would want above anything else. For a time that could have been answered simply with ‘food’ or ‘safety’. Now though. . . it was a more complicated question to answer.

She would watch as the guard behind Damien would flip a switch, and she would glance around suspiciously, searching for the origin and meaning behind the loud buzzing. She felt the familiar panic rising to her throat as a situation which may be potentially dangerous for her arose. Her eyes would flick back and forth between the tiger at her feet, Damien across from her and the guard behind him. She hadn’t much liked the idea of coming here in the first place, and now there were too many unknown elements at play. Once again she’d shown up without a shred of weapons or armor to her name. She idly supposed that if necessary four inch heels were dangerous enough in their own right to count as weapons.

As Damien moved to the wall to her right Yenn would reposition herself in her chair, gone was any semblance of relaxation as she was truly dreading what may come of the unfamiliar surroundings. This was technology she wasn’t comfortable with, and the one thing she knew about soundless rooms is that nothing good ever happened in them. Even with his explanation of what the switch had created, she was still on high alert, watching for any sudden movements from anyone else in the room. As Damien pressed a button and a section of the wall slid open she would clench her jaw and tense her muscles, trying to not jump and show her nervousness. While she had made fairly significant progress with overcoming her fears and lack of trust with Tamwyn, she was still a far cry from what could be considered a confident person. And more to the point, a lot of that progress came while Tamwyn was there. . . and without him she felt lost and vulnerable again.

The sets of armor that were revealed were interesting and she would take her eyes off of Damien to glance at what he was showing her. It was beautiful, in a simple way, no unnecessary embellishments or insignia that she could see. Paired with his request however it took on a different light, and understanding would replace the panic in her eyes. So that was why he needed to speak to her specifically. She had no political power to speak of, save for the power to make decisions for her Clan. She would maintain her eye contact with him as she considered the implications of what he was asking. She saw his silver eyes narrow as he told her he needed an army, with the implication that she would be commanding it. It was quite the offer, and also quite the responsibility.

There were certain members of her clan that she would not be the least bit concerned about sending into battle at the behest of a well dressed businessman. But despite the tiny bit of bitterness that she allowed to fuel her fantasies, she wasn’t sure that she was the best one to lead an army. She had no experience leading anyone in combat, and as it was she had very little experience in combat herself. Her eyes would shift from his face to his outstretched hand and she would freeze for a moment. She knew that he was probably only being polite, like Tamwyn had been when he had first met her, and it took everything in her not to back away from the intended physical contact. Swallowing the lump of fear that had formed in her throat she would tentatively place a gloved hand into his, accepting his assistance to stand, releasing his hand as soon as it seemed appropriate to do so without causing offence.

At that point she would back away, feigning renewed interest in the two sets of armor she would move past Damien and over to the displays. “So you want a personal army Mr. Darhk. That seems ambitious. And expensive.” She would speak softly as she reached forward to run her gloved fingers over the sleeve of one of the sets of armor. It was tempting, the notion of being in charge of something like that. Of making her mark on the history books. She could already hear the complaints though, about how the Inazuma were a proud and powerful Clan and how selling their services was akin to making them nothing more than common sellswords. Her mind churned with the voices of Quan and Tien, telling her that she should stay quiet, do as she was told. Not make waves. Her jaw would clench again and her hand would abruptly pause as anger flared and the sky began darkening overhead, the sun filled morning turning grey with an oncoming storm heralded by distant thunder. Turning on her heel she would face Damien again, her face awash with determination. “I would command them.” It wasn’t a question. She owed many people a great deal, but what she did not owe was her clan the consideration that was never paid to her. She would make her life her own, one way or another. And if that meant straying from the long and storied past, it was all the better.

The woman had a look of fear in her eyes as he spoke, Damien often had that effect on people. Normally he enjoyed having this effect on someone, but it felt different seeing it on the face of someone he wanted leading an army. She was nervous, he could tell by not only from the look in her eyes but how tense she was. No doubt thinking of an escape route or how he was going to kill her, though if he was going to kill her it wouldn't have been in this office that they were meeting. Damien wouldn't risk blood getting on the portrait behind his desk, he may be a cutthroat businessman but he had rules. It was how he had been so successful how his acts had gone unnoticed by most, and why he was even having a conversation with any of the clan leaders. Still seeing the fear in her eyes was almost enough to make him doubt that she was the one he should be talking with, however after he revealed the armor and continued the pitch he would see the change in the woman. She wouldn't speak but as he finished his pitch and offered her his hand he could see there was no longer fear in her eyes, as if the woman now understood why she was here. She would take his offered hand to stand though she would quickly release it afterwards, moving away from Damien and towards the armor. After having seen the sparks that occurred when Raava had touched the woman, Damien knew better than to try and push his luck with trying to maintain contain with her hand or trying to touch her some where else. Instead he would simply watch her as she admire the Armor, chuckling slightly at the woman's comment of his ambition and it being expensive. Not that he was trying to be rude or disrespectful to the woman, but for Damien money was never an issue, it was the solution. He often used the phrase 'I spared no Expense' though for now he would wait to comment however until Yenn had finished admiring his prototypes. When the storm formed outside the room would darken slightly, with the natural light gone from the room but not enough to make it completely dark. Damien was surprised by the sudden change in weather, there had not been cloud in the sky all day. However his thoughts would quickly return to Yenn, as she turned around and stated she would command them a smile would form on Damien's face. 'excellent'

"Well Lady Inazuma, You will soon find that there is Nothing I cannot afford." Damien would use the same emphasis on the word nothing as he had the word everything just moments before. He was a man that truly believed that money was the solution, well money and a little Darhk Dealings. Damien would smile as he looked to the portrait of Kara, "there are of course some conditions to this." Damien would return to his desk pouring himself another glass before leaning back against the desk and looking back at Yenn. "I require two things, the first is absolute secrecy. I like my privacy, I maintain this flashy existence to draw away from what I do in the shadows. You and your clan will be one of those things within the shadows, no one is to know of our connection there will be two seals placed upon your clansmen. The first you will share, it will bind you and them to me the same as Shikyō is Bond. My ever faithful bodyguard, isn't that right Shikyō?" Damien paused looking to Tamwyn, "This bond is painful, but necessary. It will prevent any unnecessary rumors from spreading as well as help me keep tabs on you, this is a bond that will not break. It is for life, whether it's Mine or Yours."

Damien would pausing giving Yenn time to process what he was saying as he downed the glass of scotch, "the second seal is more of an insurance policy on my part. I am sure you understand the purpose of an army, there will be things I send your people to do that absolutely cannot be found out by an enemy. Death is a common practice within an army, however even the dead hold secrets that can cripple an Empire. This seal will not be placed on you, however it will be placed on those chosen by you to serve in this army, this seal is harmless and does nothing as long as the person is alive. However, the second that they die it activates and incinerates the body. No body, no secrets." Damien again would allow the woman to process what was said about the second seal, so long as she did not have any objections to his speech up to this point Damien would continue. "The second thing I require of you is unquestioned unwavering loyalty, I will never be dishonest with you and I expect the same in return but the loyalty must be unfaltering. If I tell you to kill men, women, or children. I expect you to do so without question and without hesitation, because you have my word that I will never ask you to do something that is not absolutely necessary." Damien would sit his empty glass down once more, stepping away from the desk and to the center of the room. "If you can do those two things for you then you will have Everything, I will pay whatever you deem appropriate for you and your clans services. I will provide you with housing here in Moonspire if you desire, I will also custom design your uniform as commander to your specifications."

Yenn wasn’t sure about Damien, he had an ambitious look to him that gave her pause. She’d seen that look before and it never ended well. For her. In this particular case though, she had more power than usual. It seemed that Damien needed her, or at least what she currently represented; leadership of the Inazuma. She was not a manipulative person, didn’t think herself clever enough to come up with schemes to talk her way out of or into things. Her life had been a lesson in patience and endurance over intellect. Here she was faced with something that was beyond her limited capacity to think her way out of. And so she did what she always had; weathered the storm.

She listened as Damien began detailing what he was asking of her, stifling a laugh at the title ‘Lady’. She had been called a lot of things, but a lady was not high up on the list of ‘words that one would definitely use to describe the woman who’d rather sleep in the woods than in the village’. His first request seemed reasonable enough to her, she rather enjoyed her privacy as well, it was why she had been so reluctant to attend this meeting in the first place. She usually actively avoided people and even though this room only held two people, and two very large cats, it was still a bit more than she would have liked. She couldn’t say that she completely understood what he meant by a ‘painful bond’, but it seemed to be at least something someone else had survived just fine, at least evidenced by the fact that his bodyguard was apparently alive and well. She tried not to think too hard about why the guard was covered from head to toe in armor and what that might signify about ‘well’.

As he explained about the second seal understanding would dawn in her violet eyes upon hearing the word ‘seal’. She had rudimentary knowledge of Fuuinjutsu from her time spent in the Academy, but without much practical knowledge it hadn’t occurred to her that the ‘bond’ he was speaking of must be a seal. She would nod as he spoke, signalling her understanding and encouraging him to continue. Placing a seal to protect the bloodline of her clan didn’t sound like the most unreasonable thing. She knew that even in death her clan’s birthright could be stolen and twisted, and as much as she was apathetic about her supposed family she didn’t like the idea of their power being used that way.

She was pretty pleased that he specifically said she didn’t need that one. The idea of being lit on fire, even if she was already dead, didn’t sound too appealing. Though she would be lying if she thought the same about Quan and Tien. It was perhaps petty and vindictive however if there were ever two people that deserved to be incinerated it was them. The storm raged overhead in response to her dark thoughts, lightning streaking violently across the sky and the rain whipped against the earth, propelled by the furious wind. It was during these thoughts that his second request of her was made, and nearly without thinking she would nod in agreement. She had never even hurt anyone before, but in that moment she could see herself doing it. The storm outside perfectly mirrored the one inside her heart, a dangerous state to be in when posed with a tempting offer. Yenn didn’t care about the wealth or prestige. She wanted peace. And right now she saw this as a way to obtain it. The future that Tamwyn had shown her; Safety, Friendship, Love. That was her everything and she would do anything to live in a world without nightmares. A world with Tamwyn. As she thought of him, her gloved hand would travel to the pendant that hung around her neck, her fingers resting against the metal a ghost of a smile graced her lips.

She knew that she wanted to see that future, and right now she didn’t have the power to actualize it. She had never wanted anything for herself, never even thought she deserved it, but now. . . It was so close she could almost touch it, and she couldn’t let anyone or anything stand in her way. He had almost died for her, twice. For that she could be brave, he kept saying that she was strong, she knew she just needed something to focus on to give herself that strength. As her emotions roared through her she held onto the rage she had first felt when she saw the cut on Tamwyn’s chest, when she had inexplicably wanted to defend him. Turning to face Damien she would pull herself up to her full height and meet his gaze. Her voice was low as she fought to control her fury. “Those terms are agreeable to me Mr. Darhk. Where do I sign?”

Damien would smirk at the woman's words as his eyes looked over to Tamwyn, the two of them were so different yet both equally naive. The man had said almost the exact same words to him when he first joined his service, "Well Mi Lady, it's not that kind of contract." He would say as his eyes returned to her gaze as he got a strange sense of deja vu at his words. "It's as simple as a handshake," he stated as he extended his left hand out towards her. "Though I'm afraid you will need to remove your gloves," he added as he motioned to the glove Yenn was wearing, "this process requires Direct contact."

Assuming Yenn agreed and removed her glove and took his hand, he would begin the process. It would start as a burning in the bones of her hand slowly spreading up arm and across her entire body until all of her bones would feel as they were on fire as the man spoke, "I, Damien Darhk, bind you, Yenn Inazuma, to service to me for Life. You are to tell no one of your position or your involvement within my organization, beyond that of an everyday employee within my company. We operate with discretion and anonymity, you are to tell no one of the things you see, do, or hear while you are under my employment whether it's about me, my company, one of my employees, or Any country that I have business with. You will follow any directive I give you without question, as I swear by this contract to never give an order that would demean your or bring you dishonor. You will be afforded living quarters for you and whomever you consider family here in Moonspire,and you may never bring harm to me or my business and employees. If you ever attempt to betray me you will suffer a fate worst than death, You are Mine and your clan is mine to use as I need for the empire. In return for your service your every hearts desire will be yours."

As he finished speaking the burning sensation the woman felt in her bones would instantly stop, Damien would release her hand stepping back to his desk and pouring two glasses. Placing one glass in her hand the same he had done to Tamwyn with his contract, it wasn't a question like when she had entered the room with this drink no wasn't an option. "Salute," Damien stated loudly as he down his shot fully expecting the woman to do the same. Damien would sit the empty glass down hard on the desk, "Well now that we are all family, there is but one thing left for us to discuss. But I would rather it not be done here, if you would follow me." Damien stated walking towards the door that the pair had walked through when they arrived, he was only halfway to the door when the tigers would both rise from where they were and walk behind him. The doors would open on their own before the man even reached them, a little sensor in his suit ensure he never had to open a door himself in his own house. He was a strong believer that doing such was beneath him, his house and his tower were both set up so he never had to worry about it and when he was out somewhere else there was always someone with him to do it for him. They wouldn't have to walk far, as just twelve steps down the hallway and the wall would slide open revealing a rather large elevator, once Yenn and Tamwyn joined him and the tigers on the elevator the doors would close and the elevator would begin it's descent down. It wouldn't take long for the passengers to realize they were going much further than five stories down, in fact if they had not known better they might have thought they had been in Darhk Tower. The elevator would take them over two hundred meters below the earth, "Shikyō you can remove the mask if you like, Yenn is one of us now she can be trusted with the truth."

Yenn caught Damien’s smirk and only wondered for a moment what it was for as he explained how the seal would work. When he told her she would need to remove her glove her heartbeat increased rapidly as the storm above them picked up. This would be the first time since her mission with Tamwyn that she had exposed her scars to someone new, and she found the concept terrifying. She had already agreed though and she didn’t go back on her word, so reluctantly she would slowly remove her right glove. The process was painfully slow, taking her time to ease each finger out one at a time, her violet eyes glancing between all of the room's occupants as she did. As she pulled the glove free from her hand the raised scars would be clearly visible as the ghosts of streaks of lightning. Her breathing was rapid and her hand trembled slightly as she placed it into Damien’s, focusing on suppressing her Raiton Aegis so as not to complicate the matter by shocking her prospective employer.

There was a split second where she felt her skin against his and nothing happened, and a look of confusion would begin to form on her face. As he began speaking though the pain would begin, concentrated in her hand and then spreading up her arm and throughout the rest of her body. It felt as though her very bones were on fire and it only took a second of the excruciating pain to break the brave and stoic resolve she had. Her panicked breathing turned to pained gasping as she struggled to maintain her focus and dignity. Every syllable that Damien uttered was punctuated with the deep burning as the seal seared itself onto her bones. Gritting her teeth she tried to maintain eye contact, her hand gripping his tighter with each passing second as she tried desperately to endure the pain with grace. A few more seconds and her desperation counted for nothing as memories flashed through her mind of the last time she had felt this much pain. It was as though she were in that tiny kitchen again, curled up on the floor as wave after wave of lightning streaked over her. The tiny amount of strength she had built up crumbled away as she screamed and dropped to her knees in front of Damien. Her hand was still in his, but the rest of the world had faded away as she fought to stay present, her left hand was on the floor and her head was facing the floor, her violet eyes staring into her past as her memories mingled with the agony she was in. Tears poured from her face unbidden as her autonomy fled in the face of her trauma.

The whole process was only maybe a minute, a relatively short amount of time all things considered. For Yenn though it felt like an actual eternity as she screamed in anguish, the storm overhead raged all the harder with flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder concentrating directly above them. She heard the words that Damien spoke but they barely registered throughout it all. As he spoke the last words of the contract and released her hand the pain instantly subsided and she would drop onto all fours panting and trembling, her long dark hair stuck to her forehead and cheeks with sweat and tears. She would stay there until she was directed to move, trying to regain control of her faculties. Her tears continued as she pushed herself back onto her heels and sat on her knees. She knew that any control she had over her Aegis was now gone having exhausted all of her energy in the moments prior and anyone that touched her now would bear the full brunt of the defensive lightning. With the horror of the demons from her past still in her eyes she would bring her right hand in front of her face and turn it as she inspected it for damage. Finding none she would glance up just as a glass of amber coloured alcohol was placed in her hand. The gesture was appreciated as she definitely needed a drink right then, in a single gulp she would swallow the drink and place the now empty glass on the floor beside her. As an afterthought she would pick up the glass again and raise it to his toast. She hadn’t meant to do it out of order but her mind was still swimming with pain despite the physical pain having left.

She laughed bitterly at the irony of his statement about them being family, muttering quietly under her breath as she pushed herself up from the floor and followed him out of the expansive office. “Family that starts by burning you. . . seems familiar.” Yenn assumed that her statement was quiet enough to not be heard by either person, but in truth she didn’t give it much thought. She was still in a state of mild shock as she walked after Damien, her sense of professionalism gone in the face of what had just occurred. What was most troubling to her was how the business man seemed rather cavalier about the whole process. Were she in her right mind she would have seen the reason in it, although the seal had been painful it hadn’t caused any damage and the pain had been brief. “This other thing that we’re ‘discussing’, is this one going to burn like hellfire as well?” She had not even attempted to keep the resentment from her voice as she asked her question, and as soon as she heard her own voice she looked down and away in shame. “I’m sorry Mr. Darhk, please forgive me. I didn’t mean to be rude.” She kept her remorseful posture until they had entered the elevator, only raising her eyes to look at both Damien and Shikyō with curiosity at her employers words.

Tamwyn would listen, still in his persona as Shikyō as Yenn and Damien went through their exchange. He listened carefully as they made their deal, their contractual agreement. Yenn was willing to let Damien order her and her clan members to kill. A line he wasn't willing to let the man have. In his eyes the only individual who had the right to command him to kill was Ryuko herself, or her second in command. None other may do so, and that was exactly what he'd told Damien. To which the man had agreed to. However the pale haired man didn't blame Yenn for agreeing to do as such. Mr. Darhk was a man of great means and could provide her with a great many things. Equipment, great pay, maybe even some frosted flakes given his penchant for tigers of all fucking things. Either way, the terms would be set, and agreed upon. Tamwyn could feel the static charge in the air from the storm that was forming above. This was the second time he'd been around Yenn when such a phenomenon occurred. 'Interesting.' He'd think to himself as he considered that. Two times could be a coincidence though, so he'd wait and see if it occurred more often. Then ask her about it if it continued to happen.

Yenn was now slowly taking off her glove, and he would continue to wait. Patiently, quietly, he knew what was coming next. For him the pain hurt like hell, and even then he was made of hardier stuff than Yenn was. He didn't know how well she would handle this, but he intended to support her. He just wished he could tell her who he was, but soon, once that contract was made. He could do so, his own contract would stop him otherwise. However when she was sealed as well she would be able to know that it was him. That it was Tamwyn, the one she'd bonded with. The one she'd moved in with. When she finished taking off the glove she would take his hand, and Damien would begin to speak. Tamwyn would begin to walk forward as soon as that began, silent as a wraith. As the pain set in her panicked breathing would transition to gasping, and soon outright screaming. He felt a whirling tide of emotion as she did. A fiery core of anger and hate he'd never felt before. Was this what the Darhk side was? Pain? Seeing those you cared about suffer? A desire to exact revenge for the suffering of those you care about? He felt all of those things and more, but he controlled it. Controlled them all, as he knelt next to Yenn, his sensory still  active for threats and placed a hand on her shoulder. The contact might cause the electrical discharge, but with his gloves on it wouldn't matter.

He'd keep his shoulder there for the entire duration of the sealing, silently letting her know that someone here understood what she was going through. When it was done, and Damien had given her a drink, Tamwyn's anger would still be boiling within him with a savage fury. At that precise moment, he wanted the man dead for harming her. Wanted to see him suffer, wanted to see all he cared about crumble and fall before him. That feeling passed after a few minutes, or he at least controlled it to a reasonable level within himself. A level where he wasn't about to reach out and snap the man's neck on the spot. During that time, Yenn would make the toast, and set the glass down. As well as stand, he'd removed his hand from her shoulder unconsciously when she had and he mechanically followed them out of the office and down the hallway toward the elevator. Tamwyn would wince at her statement regarding 'family' and he wished he was allowed to tell her who he was yet. However he had to remain in uniform until after duty, unless told he could remove his mask otherwise.

She would make a spiteful comment at the man, and Tamwyn wouldn't be able to blame her. Although she would apologize soon after. He continued to follow with a measured step, keeping up with them with no issues but ensuring he was placed between them to intercept any potential attacks, even here, in Darhk Manor. When they reached the elevator and were inside, Damien would tell him that he could remove the mask if he desired. Yenn's curious look told him that she wanted to know who he might be behind the mask. The elevator ride would take a few minutes anyway. Might as well get this over with. "Before I do, understand Yenn, that I'm under a similar seal that was just placed on you..I couldn't tell you until this very moment. Although I would have later even if Damien hadn't told me I could. I would've been able to then, but I'm on duty now." He would say simply, and honestly. His voice still disguised by the modulator in the mask. Although the familiar way he spoke to her might give him away regardless. He reached up to his mask and removed it, revealing his piercing yellow eyes and looking back into her violet ones.

Every part of him wanted to hug her tight then. But he couldn't risk it, he didn't want her to be mad at him, and if she was and he hugged her, and she rejected him. It might break him, he didn't know or understand why. However her approval and acceptance of him meant more to him than he could describe. He stood there, glowing yellow eyes looking into hers and smiled weakly. Willing everything to be okay despite him having to have kept that secret. He wouldn't bother looking at Damien, he simply didn't matter at the moment and frankly, Tamwyn felt that ignoring him at times, when there was no actual need to acknowledge him or his person, like when they were in an elevator, was good for the man's ego.

Damien noted the scars on the woman's hand, though for now he would make no mention of it. Damien was not a naive man, he knew about the connection the two share. If they thought they were hiding something from him, they were foolish to move her into Tamwyn's house. Damien had cameras all over the town, though he would never invade his employees privacy. It was the real reason he wanted his bodyguard there, it wasn't to protect him it was to see if his loyalty was higher than his love. He had seen them together walking through the town, of course it wasn't until he had heard about the new clan head that he realized who the woman was and how beneficial she could be towards his goals. Yenn would cry out louder than anyone he had ever placed the seal on had cried out before, but his words would not waver and his face showed no pity for her pain. Damien ignored the storm growing in intensity as well as the fact that Tamwyn moved closer and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder trying to comfort her, it wasn't until he turned away that he felt a tingle in his palm. Did the woman already want him dead, though a quick look at his palm would reveal Tamwyn's name fading from it. 'so he does love her,' he thought musingly to himself as he thought of what he would do if Kara had been in a situation like this with someone that caused her pain and what he would do to them. He wasn't scared of Tamwyn, sure the man could kill him with ease, if he was a free man that is. But know the man was bound like all the employees under Damien, if he had actually tried to do something. If it had been more than a mere thought of wishing harm to Damien, then Tamwyn would have been frozen where he stood left helpless and easy for even Damien to kill. However to Damien's surprise the man controlled himself, something that Damien doubted he could do if he had been in Tamwyn's position and Kara was in Yenn's. Damien would have tried to kill the man that harmed her, even if it meant his own death. The control Tamwyn showed only confirmed to Damien he had made the right choice in placing the man as his head of security.

As they started from the room and the woman asked if the other thing he was talking about would burn like hell fire, her tone wasn't bothersome to Damien in fact he half expected her to be more angry with him than she was. As she apologized Damien would actually laugh, "My dear Lady, do not apologize. I do not hold your tone against you, the pain you have gone through will be the last for you. Your clansmen however will have the same done to them to ensure they remain loyal, just as your seal will ensure you stay loyal. Even your thoughts." Damien's last words would be spoken louder with a side glare at Tamwyn as if telling the man he knew what the man had thought about doing. Normally he would have an employee tortured for hours for a thought like that, if it was enough to almost trigger the seal then it was not a pure thought there was intention behind it. However considering the circumstances of the thought and the fact that it faded almost as quickly as it appeared, adding to the fact that he was in a good mood having just completed the contract to grant him his army Damien would allow it to slide. Once in the elevator he would give Tamwyn permission to remove his mask while he simultaneously made himself deaf to the happenings around him. He knew Tamwyn was no doubt longing to tell this woman he love the truth, it was why Damien gave him permission to do so. He knew the man couldn't here without permission, but that didn't mean he wanted to hear what was said between them. Damien was never one for the "gushy" stuff, the big reveal between lovers, instead his mind would turn to his Darhk Dealings for the remainder of the ride down into the earth.

Finally the elevator would ding, and the doors open revealing a large empty room, the walls would look as if they were carved of the earth itself. On the far side of the elevator would be a doorway, however it would be too dark down the hallway for anyone to see down. Damien would walk to the center of the room before turning and finally turning his attention from his own inner thoughts of Kara back to the pair now standing before him. "Now then if you two are quite finished, we can move on to the next matter of business. Black Raiton. I can place the seal upon you if you want, it is a legendary and highly dangerous tech of the Hidden Cloud. A gift from the Queen for my Services. It seems only fitting as commander of my Storm Troopers that you possess it, this seal will cause you no pain and I can place it wherever you wish." Damien stated as his eyes narrowed upon Yenn, he was offering her something that most of the shinobi within the hidden cloud wished to have and he was one of the few people that could give it to her. Of course he said he would give it to Yenn like this for a reason, he knew Tamwyn undoubtedly sought the power black Raiton for himself. Most did, especially Raiton specialist like the man, though this was more of a test to see if the man got upset by the fact that he had the secret formula for so long and did not already give it to the man.

While she was receiving the Darhk Seal, Yenn was vaguely aware of Damien’s bodyguard Shikyō coming over and placing their hand on her shoulder. She didn’t have the strength or focus to stop her Aegis from attacking them both, so the sparks flew towards the masked guard. She had other things to worry about at that exact moment and so she didn’t know whether it was hurting the guard or not, only that Shikyō remained kneeling beside her throughout it. In the back of her mind she thought the gesture was strange, that Damien would perform such a horrifyingly painful seal and still allow his bodyguard to offer her comfort. The man was an enigma to be certain and she doubted herself as she picked up her loose glove and followed her new employer into the elevator. She didn’t bother replacing the glove immediately, the damage was done now, she was sure both Mr. Darhk and Shikyō had seen her scars and there wasn’t any point trying to hide them anymore.

She was mortified at the bitterness in her voice as she spoke to Damien, the pain had lowered her inhibitions regarding her behaviour, the memory of it wrapped around every word. As Damien insisted that she shouldn’t apologize it did little to ease her worry, being promised that she would no longer suffer by someone who had just hurt her had always been a prelude to more suffering. She would stand pointedly away from the well dressed businessman once they’d entered the small metal box that drove them deep into the earth, she was currently unharmed physically but didn’t feel like pushing her luck. When Damien instructed Shikyō that he could remove his mask she would focus her attention to the masked guard as he spoke. There was something familiar in the way he spoke to her, the way he spoke her name as he explained his intentions. There was only one person that had ever spoken to her with that much care, only one man that had ever given her that much respect and consideration. It was as though her heart stopped as she considered the possibility her mind had presented her. Time froze as she held her breath and watched as piercing yellow eyes met her shocked violet ones. It took a few moments for her to understand what was going on. Her heart had known that it was Tamwyn, or had hoped it was him, but now that she was faced with him her mind was busily replacing this new information into the memories she had just formed. She stood there staring, lips slightly parted and unmoving. The patience as she slowed down their ascent to the office, the comforting hand on her shoulder, it made sense to her now. It wasn’t her employer that was being considerate to her, it was Tamwyn. It had always been Tamwyn.  

Tears welled up in her eyes as everything else faded away and all there was before her was Tamwyn. Not tears of grief but of relief as she laid eyes upon the one person who had ever gained her trust. She knew he probably expected her to be angry, like she had been during their first mission together. She had yelled so much then, but it had never been him that she was angry with, she’d been angry that she didn’t get to have peace. Furious that her suffering had needed to continue, and that anyone had dared tried to exchange their life for hers. She hadn’t thought she was worth anything then, but since then she’d learned she was worth something to Tamwyn and as she looked at him now she could see that worth reflected in his glowing yellow eyes. Without a second thought she rushed into Tamwyn’s arms, burying her face in his chest as her tears spilled down her cheeks and she sobbed quietly. Her voice breaking and muffled by his armor she tried to reassure him. “I know you would have. I trust you Tamwyn. You said you would always be by my side and you were.” As she held onto him she felt herself calm down and she would eventually raise her head to look into Tamwyn’s eyes, her heart swelling with emotion as it dawned on her how much she cared for him. “Tamwyn I. . . trust you.” Her own fear of judgement and rejection didn’t let her complete her thought, and she brought her ungloved hand to his face to lay her palm against his cheek.

That precious moment was all she cared about, being safe in Tamwyn’s arms again and she held on as long as she was allowed to. As the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open she would reluctantly step into the large room beyond following her employer into the cavernous space with a final longing look at Tamwyn. Damien’s words bit at her, her calmness disintegrating as his callous manner grated against her sensibilities, and she was physically distanced from her source of strength. She bit her tongue and allowed him to speak, listening as he offered her another seal. She wasn’t sure what he was offering her and her eyes would narrow suspiciously at the word ‘seal’. He promised this one wouldn’t hurt but her eyes would shift towards Tamwyn subconsciously seeking his approval before she agreed. Assuming she received some sign from her yellow eyed partner she would nod to Damien. “As long as it doesn’t hurt, then fine. I assume it will grant me more power, and I will need that to accomplish my goals.”

She would rush into his arms and he'd hold her tight against him, tears brimmed at the corners of his eyes as she buried her face into his chest as she sobbed. Her voice would come, muffled by her face being pressed against his chest and her words would bring him immense relief. She wasn't mad at him, that made this all the better. When she went on to say that she trusted him, seeming to falter as she considered the proper word he would smile and nod at her. He would proceed to place his hand over hers on his cheek and turn a bit to kiss her palm. He was so happy to see her without the mask in between and she seemed absolutely ecstatic to see him. Eventually this moment would end the doors would open into a large room below. Damien would step through and Yenn would reluctantly leave Tamwyn's embrace to follow. The pale haired Chunin would reluctantly let her go too. Before following them quietly, his posture and body perfect ready to defend Damien, as well as Yenn, if it was necessary.

Damien would then proceed to offer something to Yenn that Tamwyn would swear he'd misheard at first. Black Raiton? Ryuko had given him access to the sealing process? He hadn't of expected that and it had never occurred to Tamwyn to ask. Black Raiton was an incredibly powerful ability and that was all Tamwyn knew of it. He wasn't high enough ranked in the village to have access to the information on it yet unless someone gave it to him. He'd just heard it's name in conversation from time to time. He knew it was strong, and would benefit a lightning specialist like him to an immense degree. However Damien was offering it to Yenn, and not him. This didn't bother Tamwyn in the least. The yellow eyed guard knew that Damien would want his bodyguard to be as powerful as possible. So he doubted he would leave the seal off of him for long. Not only that, but Yenn was willing to kill for the man where as Tamwyn was clearly on record stating he was not. That had to be worth something until he earned the right to wield the powerful seal.

When she looked to him, seeking his approval or disapproval he would nod his head in approval, sharply. It was about as much of a shout of 'YES TAKE IT!' as he got even in normal circumstances. He didn't know if the sealing process hurt, but the end result, if rumours were true, was more than worth the pain one might feel upon the application process. Tamwyn would stand resolutely, his senses still open for potential threats as the two talked.