Instruments of Murder

[Lacuna]

The touch is unexpected, many don't want to initiated physical contact with an ugly mess of muscle and height. "Thanks," said awkwardly, feeling like Bambi running into traffic.

"I didn't try looking for the Truth. I didn't care. I knew my-someone precious to me was slaughtered. I knew it was by monsters. Witches I thought. I don't know if they were Awakened. But I know they weren't Pentacle if they were. Human sacrifice isn't condoned..." her eyes shift, unless that's a secret kept from the gargantuan apostate. "So I hunted them down...it took many years to kill everyone in their..." cabal? coven? "Group. Along the way I saw monsters turn to ash, or back to looking like a person....if they were all of the Fallen World...maybe I did good then. Broke ties, slaughtered lies." her mouth opens and closes, tongue rolling over teeth. She doesn't seem to realise she rhymed, her steely blues, have taken on stormy hues.

She stares at the knife, and wishes that she could see the Death upon it, though, she wont reveal the Lies of Space, somethings, even shown are privet.

"Did he hunt monsters or was he one?" she asks after a moment of consideration, clarification was needed even if it was callous of her to ask. If the goth didn't want to invite questions she wouldn't have spoken, nor revealed the weapon.

[Epitaph]

Epitaph let out a short laugh, a bark of sound that held no hint of joy, or amusement. Instead, there something in the sound that reminded Lacuna of a trapped animal.

"No, he was definitely one of the monsters. He wasn't always one of them, but he...he became one. He died as one. He's become something of an urban legend in detroit. One of the many."

Epitaph stared down at the knife for a moment, then shuddered and quickly wrapped it up and put it away.

"I'm sorry that your someone was taken from you. If it makes you feel better, however, we have definitive proof that the soul exists. We don't know where it goes, of course, but we know that death does not destroy the soul. Your someone still exists. And you still exist. Whatever you saw or did not see, whatever you did, that has lead you to here, to now.

"Perhaps," Epitaph continued, "as I said, this is not even the first time you have been here. Awake, I mean. Perhaps this has happened to you many times before. I know that it has happened to me before, at least twice."

[Lacuna]

Urban legends...many of her crew's leads where the stuff of urban legends. "I would claim him man with the hook hand, were if not for this knife." She turns to the goth women, "I apologize. I didn't mean to be as...blunt. Even if he was a monster, he was still your father." she says, noticeably not apologizing for asking, nor saying what she had, but in the manner in which she said it.

It helps.
...and hurts.

"When I first Awoke I cursed that I wasn't a Moros. I wanted, need to know. To see. I...even tried to learn Death, but no Master would take me on. At least not reputable ones. They knew my desperation, and it wasn't healthy it wasn't with clear intent that I wished to learn of this aspect of the supernal." Lacuna admits, finding the chair and sinking into it. She didn't tell like towering over Pale Horse's Lady Love.

"Can you explain that?" she asks, reincarnation isn't outside of the realm of possibility anymore. She hoped that her little girl was reborn and living. Loving and experiencing everything that had been stolen from her when a witch murdered her. "How can you know?"

[Epitaph]

Epitaph's exquisitely groomed eyebrows rose as she learned that Lacuna had had such an interest in learning the mysteries of Stygia. Why was this? Was it because of the--someone--that she'd lost, or was it more than that, a response to the visceral phenomenon she'd witnessed so many times as the filament that stood between life and death was sundered?

A mystery, to be sure.

"How can I know?" the Priestess continued, a touch of amusement in her voice. "It is because Death is not just about the mystery of Entropy, of the fraying, impermanent nature of the universe, but rather about what happens when Life ends. As a Necromancer, I speak with ghosts, the impressions left by this ending of life, but more than that, I can touch upon the very Soul itself. Soon, I will be able to rip it from you, to hold it in my hands, to trap it within a jar, should I choose. The very essence that is you, that which is connected to the Supernal, that which is separate from your flesh. And the Soul is not destroyed with Death, and it does not change form. At least not in the Fallen World. No, the Soul goes somewhere. It transitions, somehow. The particulars I don't yet know, but the fact that it happens, that I do know, for I have witnessed it many times. Whoever you lost still exists. It is just as you say, they were taken from you, and you cannot get them back."

[Lacuna]

The Truth wasn't a straight line. The world wasn't black and white. Children learned hard truths, and died. There wasn't a plan. (except there was Fate was a tangible force that her Cabalmate can touch, manipulate, so there was a plan. There was a reason why Lacuna hadn't touched Fate. She didn't want to know if her baby's death had been designed to get her where she needed to be.)

"The Soul is tangible. Real. Like we are. What we see. The Lies between Space.....I worry that." she stops, clears her throat, "I don't know if it was...I called the one who took my...someone from me a witch. There were books, and a breadcrumbs leading the...incident that sparked my Awakening." said like that and it wasn't the horror show that ripped her mind open, bringing her screaming to the Truth. "You'll be able to tear Souls from flesh, and keep them as trinkets....that's. That's what I'm afraid of. For my someone."

[Epitaph]

"If this is true then you would know. As you say, you know of the Lie of Space. That which is close to us is exactly that: close to us. You could scry her soul. Besides, if this "witch"," Epitaph continued, her manicured talons flashing with air quotes, "was also a necromancer, or a student of Death, there would be signs that we can interpret; those breadcrumbs that you mentioned. Would you be willing to share those breadcrumbs with me? I understand if you are hesitant. I've kept details from you as well, due to a sense of caution. There is a reason why we do not great each other with the names given to us at birth, after all."

[Lacuna]

"I can look back on them, it's been years though. Years before I Awakened. I didn't really know what I was looking at. I knew that it wasn't 'natural', but beyond that I was new to matters of the occult. I was introduced by the death of my-someone. Every other instance, now I know is shaded in falsehoods and wrongful assumptions...but at the time...." she shakes her head, and gulps the hot coffee.

"Hah, yeah. We aren't there. We might never be. I would give you my name before I gave you my someone's which, is telling. I know. But I can attempt to shift through memory to discover truths hidden under my preconceived notions."

[Epitaph]

"The Order that I belong to is, to a large extent, founded upon the idea of Fair Exchange. We believe that, even in a society that nourishes secrecy, it is actually Trust that will allow us to flourish and prosper. If it would make you feel more comfortable, I will be happy to answer any question you have for every breadcrumb that you share with me. Will that help put you at ease? I want this to be a productive and beneficial meeting for you," Epitaph replied, her saleswoman smile looking quite odd on a face that was so deathly pale and with those grinning black lips split by gleaming silver.

[Lacuna]

"Quid pro quo?" Lacuna asks, nodding. Sounded better then what she knew of the Mysterium and their hoarding habits. "Sure. Helps keep things even, balanced and we learn about each other. After a fashion." She nods again.

"Should I start at the beginning? The...incident. Or the breadcrumbs that followed?"

[Epitaph]

"The breadcrumbs," Epitaph replied with a soft smile. "What clues do you remember? Symbols? Attire? Tools? Locations? Names? All could help us determine the potential Path of your Nemesis. As for me, well, ask away. I shall not hesitate to answer."