A Stranger I Remain (Nas/Closed/M)

[Painterlee]

Belle shifted her weight, breathing out heavily at Zhana's question about her wolves. Certainly, it was not something Belle was likely to tell, in full, to anyone, anytime soon, and that included Mephisto. Taking a drink quickly to settle her mind somewhat. It was more placebo than anything, but it was something, and it was the best she had with a mind like hers.

Even so, Belle was somewhat impressed that the name of her and her ship had come so far out. She dealt with underhanded criminals, pirates, too, so it really wasn't unlikely, but it was more the lack of despise towards her that granted her curiosity in kind. She didn't keep track, to it was highly likely that Belle had never had a single hand in taking anyone that meant anything to these people. Or, so she hoped. This group was certainly more than your general anger hooligans, who caused trouble for everyone one. No, they had a station, they were stockpiled, they had order. That was no mean feat. It was impressive, saying the very least. Zhana knew the likenesses of pilots, something that was true to each one, or any pilot who really cared about their ship. Belle did, how could she not? For the longest time, it had been the only thing she had. 

Eventually after a few moments silence, Belle's gaze met that of the accented womans. They had much ground in common, but they were not here to make friends. "I can tell you they're not like most." Belle began, playing somewhat with the glass. "I can tell you you've heard of them." Her eyes turned dark, gazing into hers. "I can tell you that telling you would give you a better idea of my...nature." A stifled huff, a laugh, fell from the icy-eyed womans lips as she averted her gaze slightly, not wanted to seem as if she looked to pose a threat of any kind. Not directly. "But you're not stupid; I'm sure you have an idea, at the least, as to my nature. The Scarab and her reputation tells as much as you need to know." People didn't like to go to the obvious conclusion as to how The Black Scarab was still sailing, still very much a prolific part of the Bounty Scene. It was unlikely. No one wanted to believe in the immortal anymore.

Everyone had grown so skeptical. Rightfully so, Belle would agree. If she didn't have enough to sway her towards something else. There was no such thing as coincidence. As she had once heard it put, the Universe is rarely so lazy. 

She took a breath. "I've had this little pack on my case for ten years, and five years ago I thought I'd lost them. Seem's I just made em' angry." Belle shrugged. "Obviously I didn't just piss someone off. Ten years is a long time. That's a lot of resources to chase someone like me, for anyone who would want to try." Taking another drink, she left a longer pause. On one hand she didn't really want to say too much straight up, but she also didn't want to annoy Zhana with riddles and hints. Clues didn't suit her, she seemed more a person who liked to get to the pointy end of things as quickly and effectively as possible. But, it wasn't like her wolves were unknown. Like they weren't noisy enough in there silence. "My wolves hunt only certain prey, as you might have guessed. With a track record as dirty as mine, it wouldn't take long for someone to sell me out, and they put someone on my case who..." There was a pause that was unlike the last ones.

There was something important there. A history she wished she had never created, but lived with, frequently, and had grown to mean a lot to her. "...who isn't likely to give up, I know that much for sure. The ten years says it all. And however much before that."

[Nascent]

"Ten years. So, it's like I thought."

Zhana sighed and stepped away from the desk, walking over to her trophies. "Ten years ago. Felt like the vhole damn universe vas collidink then. Explains vhy the Scarab never got involved." Her eyes darkened as she cast them towards one particular uniform -- a lowly Lieutenant by the markings, chump change compared to some of the officers liked up in proxy before her.

"Even then, the volves vere huntink. That pack sometimes hides vith others, da? The better to sniff out their specific prey. They vere on both sides -- ours and theirs. Ve simply didn't know it at the time."

She turned to Belle, a telling look in her eyes. "I know the volves that hunt you. They hunted my daughter, not long ago." Her gaze traveled to Mephisto. "They vould have had her, too, if not for you."

The devil found himself briefly surprised, and it showed on his face. "Nadezhda was being hunted by them? She never said."

"She vouldn't, no. Is like old saying says: speak of the devil, and he appears." She turned away from the scavenged uniforms. "In this case, devil is Thanatos. Perhaps she was concerned you vould rethink vhat you did for her; not many vish to draw their attention."

"No..." His ruby eyes traveled to Belle, mulling over what she'd said. The weight of what she'd said -- and hadn't said -- wasn't lost on him. Thanatos had been hunting her for ten years, persistently, and were choosing now to try and close their net around Belle. What's more... what's more, she seemed to know the person leading the chase, most likely the mystery man from the destroyed slums and their fracas with the cruiser. There was an unspoken significance there, he could feel it. "Not many do. But that's beside the point, isn't it?"

"Da." Zhana gave them both a nod, then a half-hearted grin. "It sounds as if ve vill all be needink more drink, anyway. And," She gave Belle a look as she went for the bottle of vodka. "Vhat name do you go by, lady Scarab? Eh?"

[Painterlee]

"Many." Belle started, not exactly sure what to do with herself. "A person like yourself deserves to choose what you may call me." She grinned. "If too many people call me by the same name, it's like a bread crum trail. I was Kyla on Cancer, I am Belle to this Devil. I am a letter to every unknown officer. My short time with the Devil taught me the power of a name; a power I was somewhat aware of when I chose my new name, abandoned my birth one, and re-assigned it after I lost something more important to me that I might ever hope to describe." She and Mephisto had held their names to different levels of power. Her's held her down, tied her to the men she loathed more than any other. His gave him power, it tied him to people, and fed him.

"I hope I'm not being too cryptic, though I'm sure you have and understand of why I am." In some ways it felt rude to be so secret towards her. They were on her ship, after all, an not to say, one of the only people who'd known of Belle's escapades and not wanted to kill her for it. Zhana knew of Thanatos but then, who didn't. Even if Mephisto had helped someone in their path before, it was unlikely he had the power to sway her hunter from his prey.

Long ago, Belle had made a mistake. And it was sitting in the hanger of this station.

Mephisto had listened. It was in his eyes as he had turned them to gaze upon her with her previous words. Belle had done something. That below this chase there was more. So much more. It crept in her head, an unwelcome ghost, something that, very nearly, terrified her. It reminded her. "More drink will most certainly be needed. If you don't mind, I must seem rude." Belle quirked. She didn't want to get drunk, sure, but there was likely not enough of the stuff on the ship to do such a thing. Belle very nearly had a body of iron.

[Nascent]

Zhana chuckled. "If I thought you rude I would not pour you drink, now vould I?" She placed freshly filled glasses in front of both Belle and Mephisto with a slightly amused grin on her face. "In my time I've dealt vith many people,  lady Scarab. Soldiers, commanders, smugglers, mercenaries, and of course pirates."

"If I thought everyone who wanted to keep a secret vas being rude, I vouldn't be vhere I am today."

Once more she leaned against the desk, swirling her drink in her hand and staring at it intently. She was clearly chewing something over in her mind; Mephisto could almost hear the gears turning and sense the intensity of her thought process. After several long moments of uncomfortable silence the pirate queen threw back her head, downed the vodka in one go, and grinned.

"Valkyrie. Vas tryink to remember vhat code name ve used for your ship back during var, vhen ve vere considerink hiring you for missions. You know term, I'm sure, but most do not know meanink. 'Chooser of the slain'." She gestured with her hand, as if painting the mythology in the air. "The valkyries vere more than varriors; they culled the dead of var, separating the vorthy from the unfit. They vere bringers of doom and hope in equal measure. How is that, da?"

Mephisto, meanwhile, was mulling over Belle's words as he was his drink. To say much had happened to her in his absence was obvious to the point of absurdity; in specific, of course, he wondered at the connection she'd insinuated between that Thanatos operative and her... and, with a certain curiosity, the notion that she'd take back up her birth name at around the same time. There was something there, he could feel it... but also knew it wasn't his place to pry. Belle would be candid with him on matters at hand in her own time; even if he didn't entirely know the context in which she was being pursued, he trusted her, now more than ever.

"Anyways,..." Zhana spoke up again after a brief lull. "Vhat do you plan to do? Runnink from volves seldom vorks for long, especially if they have your scent." She smiled, a hint of 'business' coming to her expression. "Nebula is good place for ambush, da? Maybe ve vork together, take them by surprise. Thanatos ships are good salvage, especially the ones they don't admit to havink." Her smile grew somewhat. "The thing about volves? They think they are hunters always, never hunted."

[Painterlee]

Belle grinned to herself. "I think I can live with that." It was always interesting to know what other people knew of her, what they called her and knew her by. She had many names to her ship, her face seemed different to many. By no means was that simply self-indulgent, it humbled her almost, that there were people out there who paid attention to the ramblings of a ship lost in the stars. People knew her as a bleeding heart, a dreamer, a psycho with well placed violence. That didn't seem to matter as much to her, however. "I appreciate such a title." Belle more than appreciated it in the honest matter of things. It was an honor.

It was clear simply in how her red-haired devil held himself that he was making himself busy with her words and their intentions. He was listening to her now, and though she might not yet be willing to reveal their true nature yet, time certainly drew them closer to the truth of it. Not yet, though. Now, under the protection of these pirates, was their time together, as best and calm as they could be. This would be their honeymoon. Like two esteemed people of power they would go about their business, knowing that there might be knives or guns upon them at any time that their pursuers assumed to be right.

So it would be that way.

The she-demon sighed, closing her eyes briefly. "I have been running for many, many years, and my wolves did not chase me when I was aware they already were. To tell you the truth, I don't think they will follow me, or pick up my trail, until I've been persuaded into a lull. No matter how long that takes." Thanatos weren't stupid, by any means, and her hunter even less so, but he was blinded and enraged all the same. "At the same time, I wish not to stay here longer than intended. Attacking them...would not halt their hunt, and you don't owe me protection." Assuming it was not rude, Belle held out her glass, a refill was in order it seemed. "You don't owe me anything. No, it is quite the other way around. I'm afraid I have nothing much left to give." She smiled to herself.

"Last time I met toe to toe with Thanatos, I blew a hole in Cancer that they still haven't patched. I want to avoid that again, I hope you understand." Belle raised a now full glass to the Captain nonetheless. "While we are here I should let you know that my hands are yours. If you need an extra pair, I feel in no position to deny the request."

[Nascent]

Zhana, obligingly, refilled Belle's glass while giving her a slow, understanding nod. "So, the ones after you are both persistent and patient." Her expression darkened slightly with concern. "That is, in my experience, the worst kind of foe by far. Even by Thanatos standards you are in deep govno, Valkyrie."

"I would ask vhat you vill do after leavink us... but, is better I not know your plans, da? Just in case." The pirate poured herself another after making short work of her glass and extended the bottle to Mephisto; his was only barely sipped at but, not wanting to be rude, he let Zhana top him off.

The scarred woman's eyes took on a curious expression as she mulled over what 'Valkyrie' had said about 'last time'; whether she knew about the slums of Cancer or not it would almost certainly be something she asked Corona about at some point. She seemed, however, to try and pass the comment off with a smile. "This old ship has holes aplenty; one more vouldn't make too much difference." She chuckled. "But in all seriousness, it sounds like either you or they vere packink quite a bit of firepower. And as to debts..."

She shrugged and put the bottle down. "Truth be, I vas hoping to take a swing at vhoever vas pursuink you the moment I saw the condition of your ship. Anyone who vould tangle vith the Black Scarab vould be makink quite the prize... but, if you are right and they vill vait for you to drop your guard again, that von't be happenink, vill it?" Zhana drummed her fingertips against her shoulder, an expression of thoughtfulness on the pirate queen's face. Slowly, she began to smile, then turned to look Belle's way.

"A pirate, no matter how generous, vouldn't be much of a pirate if she went passink up opportunities, da? And it occurs to me that ve have here an opportunity." She waggled a finger Belle's way. "I'll tell you vhat. Since you're offerink, how about this: vhile you two are my guests you can help vith the trainink of my 'soldiers of fortune'." The smile became a full-on grin and she walked over, standing with one hand confidently on her hip and the other gesturing as she spoke. "Is not everyday that a pilot as skilled as the Black Scarab's makes our company, however briefly. Ve have simulator, sure, but real practice -- vith someone vho knows vhat they are doink -- that turns rookies into pilots and pilots into aces."

"I lend you one of our fighter-bombers, you show my people how it's done, da? Maybe if ve're lucky ve'll even get a cargo ship to hit vhile you're here. And if you're villing, maybe show them a bit of marksmanship and other things? You seem every bit the capable sort." She paused, reaching back over for her glass and holding it out as if for a toast. "So, vhat say you, Valkyrie? I have a few raw recruits vho could use a bit of straightenink out and some regulars that need to up their game. You could be exactly vhat my little den of piracy needs."