Fresh Coat of Paint (Rina/Black Waltz 3)

"Get out of my way!

Do you dare fight a Black Waltz?"

Traveling to a new world... It was quite a lot to ask of any non-godly being, even for a Black Waltz such as himself. 3 had veered from his primary directive, instead delving into the studies of ancient magics and rituals, searching for anything that could be described as an "Inter-worldly portal". He had "acquired the aid" of several scribes, who have a talent for reading such primordial scriptures and, after several weeks of hard searching and learning, The Black Waltz had located that which he sought.

With the aid of his scribes, the Waltz set about setting up the ritual site, informed that this would only be a one-way trip, that whatever world he ended up upon, he'd have to find his own way back. Of course, this was no concern to him. Finding the Princess was his primary concern.

Channeling 3's magic into the various symbols and circles they drew up, the scribes opened  a small door of darkness, unstable and quaking... It wouldn't hold for long! Ducking through, the Waltz was engulfed in a darkness deeper than anything he'd ever seen...

Suddenly, with a THUNDEROUS ROAR, reality burned to life around the Massive black mage, lightning and fire blazing and dancing about him! He wrapped his wings around his face to protect himself from the blaze, shocked by the sudden hostility of the dark before.... It all faded... Cautiously, Black Waltz 3 lowered his wings, folding them behind his back as he took a gander at his new surroundings. He appeared to be in a... house of sorts...?

Sparks crackled around the Waltz as he slowly rose to his full height, tapping his staff on the floor house to gain the attention of whomever may own it... as if his appearance needed any more announcement.

"Get out of my way!

Do you dare fight a Black Waltz?"

The Black Waltz's wings fluttered in approval as he heard the master of the house make her way down to his level. She was moving at quite a respectable if stealthy pace, thankfully not leaving the master-of-magic waiting for too long. Good for her. T'would be unfortunate if her respectable abode were to suddenly be up in flames. Silence fell over him once again, the Waltz growing impatient with this... waiting. Suddenly, the the clattering of metal could be heard, the mage's gaze flicking over to the base of the stairs to spot a woman peaking out from around the corner. She looked shocked... perhaps afraid... That brought joy to him... Those that looked upon him in terror understood his true nature... perhaps she was already smarter than most of the people that inhabited his own world.

"You there. Girl."  3 spoke, his voice low and commanding as he pointed a long talon out Rina. "Tell me: What world is this? What city? I must know." By the tone of his voice, he wasn't giving her much of an option. Of course... he could take his time. After all, he would be staying her for quite a while himself... He'd have to learn the rules of this world and what magics dwell within before he could even begin to conjure a portal. He mused quietly on this fact as he waited for the girl to answer, a talon tapping lightly against the shaft of his staff.

"Get out of my way!

Do you dare fight a Black Waltz?"

The Waltz gazed down upon the tiny, almost mousey-like woman who stepped out from her hiding place, It didn't take wide, googly eyes or a shaking figure to display terror... and this girl was a representation of the more subtle displays of that emotion. She gazed up and down his perfect form, her little hairs standing up on end... Being a creature of mist, it was easy for him to... observe and note such details. He didn't even stop her as she bent down to retrieve her dagger, hardly even threatened by such a tiny knife. He doubted she could even get close to him, let alone hurt him with such a tiny weapon... Where he came from, daggers were actually useful and were at least twice that size. The sight of it did strike a nerve with the Waltz, though as shown by a slight eye-twitch. It reminded him of a certain monkey-tailed boy...

The girl's attempts a bravery and casual-talk were rather amusing to say the least, remarking how he was all "big and scary" as she so deftly put it and because of that, they need not discuss how he arrived here. Smart woman... if simple. She knew what to and what not to talk about. Already, he was... tolerating his interaction with this inferior creature. When he asked where she was, Rina explained that her world was known as Radiant Garden... Almost visibly, the Waltz seemed to perk up. That sounded like some place the Princess would obviously go! She was such a gentle, soft creature... A Garden by name felt like an obvious hiding spot! Even if she wasn't here... he might be able to salvage clues as to where she actually was...

3 seemed rather distant, his eyes upturned in joy before he was brought back into reality, Rina mentioning that the people here were helpful (better be for their sake) Unless he was "evil." That question through the Waltz off a bit.

"Evil...?" He asked, openly confused with not a mask of coyness or sarcasm to hide it. That was a word he'd never been attributed with nor heard spoken to him before, implication or otherwise. From the beginning of his creation, he knew he was a construct with one built-in-goal, not to be concerned with the more abstract concepts of right and wrong. Since his mission had changed however... Black Waltz 3 had been expanding what it meant to BE a Black Waltz... and that meant adopting some of the petty human's morality... Was he evil...? What did that mean?

He was so thrown off by her remark that the Waltz didn't even catch the subtle threat she threw her way, instead catching on when she offered him tea.

"...I... have no need of consumption." He stated with a slight stutter, the sparks about his body visibly disappearing. Something about this girl pacified him, a creature bred for nothing but war and conquest! This too perplexed the Waltz... What kind of perverse magic was she using on him...? "I am Black Waltz 3, construct of the Kingdom of Alexandria. What is your... designation?" More confusion. Small talk....? Now he knew something was wrong... Did it have something to do with the unstable portal? The wings on his back twitched with frustration as a large spark arced across the Waltz's dark face. Under his dark hood, the blue glow of pierced the veil of darkness surrounding him, revealing a vaguely humanoid facial structure...

"Get out of my way!

Do you dare fight a Black Waltz?"

Black Waltz 3 took her description of what it took to be "evil" and stored it away in his own mental pocket. As any real "evil" being might protest, he didn't label himself quite like that. Wanting nothing but to ravage and destroy? That perhaps may have been accurate to a degree. "I serve no purpose but to kill" Was his mantra back when he was.... lesser. The urge to slay was still ever present, don't misunderstand him, but he was more in control nowadays. There that word was again. "Darkness". Not only was it associated with power, but also this apparent "Evil." He contemplated what one had to do with the other. Did only evil things come from the dark? Was it evil to crave the power it offered? The Black Waltz shook his head, reminding himself he had a purpose here... He couldn't be distracted by all the attractive pieces of information that came his way!

Speaking of which, he was so distracted, he completely missed that she introduced herself before as "Rina", making the Waltz look like a FOOL asking something she'd already answered. The Sparks around him returned, his eyes glowing with disgust as electricity arced out from him wildly, barely missing the surrounding objects before disappearing... Feh. He was just going to pretend it never happened. Humans had short memories.

No sooner than he'd thought this, the woman questioned whether or not he was one himself, invoking another spark from him, this one shooting right past the woman's face! With a powerful *huff*, his massive crow-like wings spread out from his back, threatening to topple over any nearby furniture!

"Do I look like a human to you, girl?" The waltz hissed, pointing a talon at her again. "You'd do well not to insult a Black Waltz again, lest I burn your bones to ash." His threat was casual, as dark as the darkness Rina assumed he was from. But, instead of following up on it, he allowed himself peace once again... She could be forgiven this one time... Stupid creatures...

"Explain. What is this Darkness I've been hearing so much about? My world has no knowledge of it."

"Get out of my way!

Do you dare fight a Black Waltz?"

Perhaps... maybe The Black Waltz's intentions were not to threaten the woman's stuff, per-say, more just to threaten her. His massive, imposing form (more specifically his wings) Very nearly smashed open her window and knocked over her lamp! No doubt any passersby would be able to see the utter havoc he very nearly caused to his surroundings. If he desired it, he could burn this whole place to ASHES.... But then, what would he learn...? This whole world was new to him. If he were to go on a rampage, how much closer would that bring him to finding the princess? No... he must exercise control. He would restrain himself NOT because Rina plead for his forgiveness, not because she explained how she never intended to frustrate him. He would restrain himself because in here, he was out of sight and because this woman was so loose with her tongue.

Black Waltz 3 let his muscles relax as he contained the chaotic energy he was infused with, the spark he sent defusing before it struck anything vital. So long as this girl kept feeding him what he wanted to know, He would remain.... passive. A silent vow.

The Black Waltz watched cautiously as the woman prepared her tea and sat herself down across from him, right to never take her eyes off him. He was finding her to be quite enjoyable... despite her recent and nearly fatal mistake. Of course, he remained standing, if leaning towards his staff a little more as he planted it harder against the ground. It was a more... relaxed state than he ever had the opportunity to exercise on Gaia... Comfort... such a foreign sensation.

When he inquired as to what the Darkness was, Black Waltz 3 found himself both satisfied and not with the answer. He tilted his head and narrowed his glowing eyes, pondering... 2 sides of the universe? Good and Evil? Such things were what Adults told their children to teach them simple principles. Dark was evil, light was good, yada yada... His first reaction was that of outrage, assuming that she was making this stuff up, but when he saw the seriousness on her face, her forced his temper under control. She did not appear to be lying.

Was it possible the universe was so simple...? That there was so little diversity that there could afford to be a dichotomy of such scale? The Black Waltz couldn't wrap his mind around it... easily. As if to answer his silent question, Rina acknowledged that there were those like herself that preferred both light and dark, but among them were those woo'ed by darker powers. There it was again... Power... Another person acknowledging "evil" with strength...

"Is the darkness evil or those that use it...?" The Waltz mused allowed, staring off into space. "Darkness is power... Then it seems that the humans that use it have too weak a will to maintain their principles."

"Get out of my way!

Do you dare fight a Black Waltz?"

The way she speaks of the darkness... She makes it seem like it's a negative force. She acknowledges the contrary but the tones and words she chooses implies she doesn't believe it fully. It's not evil, but it can be abused. Another justification to not access an available powersource. Were this the case, magic would've never been exploited, or mist to power the engines that created him! The more this woman spoke of the darkness in such a fashion, the more intrigued Black Waltz 3 became. Talk of something as a danger and you'll only insight the desire to see if it's true.

"You realize your argument for fearing the darkness is the same for any new discovery. Someone creates a new spell, it's forbidden because it can be abused. Same with weapons, defenses, all up until someone goes against these rules and discovers a way to use it. If you're afraid of it, use it. Control it. Learn how it ticks so you can make it yours. You humans mastered fire, didn't you?"

The Waltz seemed quite unimpressed that the woman was afraid that she'd lose control or whatever in the face of such awesome power, making him lose a tad of respect for her. Did she not seek to control that which she was afraid of? Humans did not survive because they shied away from everything that risked their lives. Had they grown so soft in the light (because it was clear they were creatures of it) that they lost their sense of progression?

It seemed is GENEROUS advice sparked a curiosity in the girl, flipping the inquiries on him and questioning what world he came from. He could grant her this, after all... She didn't seem at a threat if she possessed this knowledge.

"I come from the world of Gaia. I did not come to your home on purpose. I seek the princess of my land as she's shirked her royal duty and fled. I assumed she fled to one of your worlds so I perused. Now I am here..."

"Get out of my way!

Do you dare fight a Black Waltz?"

"Pinning your obvious fear on something like me does you no good in avoiding the truth." The Waltz noted, hardly off-put by her attempt at projection. At this point, he was merely having fun trading words with her. She could say he felt fear, that he was terrified of the darkness and it wouldn't invoke the least bit of anger within him. All it did was make the Waltz more and more curious as to the nature of this power, this supposed "all corrupting, bodily transmutating" power. She asked him (likely sarcastically) what she would do if learning to control this power turned her into something new, made her something called a "heartless" or something darker than that? He could only assume a "Heartless" akin to the creatures of the mist: Mindless, stupid, fit for the slaughter only. If the darkness could that to people naturally... What could it do in competent hands...?

"Do you wish to live in fear of the unknown forever, girl?" He questioned, pointing his staff at her, accusatory. "No matter how much you try to avoid it, a force of nature will always come for you and if you do nothing to know it's workings, then you will be helpless when it reaches you. Ignorance will turn you into one of those "heartless". Not the darkness."

All this free wisdom and not even a thank you... Humans... always taking their gifts for granted. Pushing aside that topic for now it seemed, Rina informing him that there was a good chance Garnet wasn't here.... In fact, they possessed no form of government. Anarchy... Great. Everyone was stupid in n Anarchy... If Black Waltz 3 could roll his eyes, he would. Still... This seemed like a place Garnet would come.... So sympathetic was she, she might try to help these poor idiots...

"Perhaps. That's why I need time to learn the magics of this world and find my way off of it. And to do that... I need a Sanctum."