In the heart of the city (Rick/Berlin/Closed)

It's been some time since Rick became king, the years that went by as the people managed to get more used to his leadership. Rick was strong, he also always managed to act within good reason when it came to his intentions as the Quincy king. However, his work was never done, it seemed as if the hollows started to get more bold with the decline of shinigami activity. Along with his ascension to a higher role of serving his people, the plague that affected the shinigami race also managed to change Rick. He heard rumors about it that matched up with the steady decline of shinigami activity, but it also made Rick want to sympathize with them. Although the shinigami race was rather prejudiced to the Quincy, even after all that they have done to make his job and his life little more miserable with each encounter, the new king felt sympathy.

That sympathy evolved into mercy, keeping an open mind about the contagion and any potential effects that it can have on individuals who were outside the shinigami race. There were still none, but a hidden secret was kept within Rick's heart whenever he had the chance to obtain a sample. He didn't want to be on friendly terms with the shinigami, it was more like changing the narrative. If they didn't have one, a possible antigen was a bargaining chip. If the Quincy didn't act more aggressively to the shinigami during this unfortunate period, it boasted well about the current maturity of the order.


"We got a specter, looks like she's hurt...."

The person of interest at the time being was the sleeping Victoria. The blood smear that she left against the wall was more than enough of a prompt to call it in, capturing her soul in "Pandora's Box" to bring her back to the Berlin castle, as well as make Victoria more portable and allow the cooperation of assistance more feasible.

---

A few hours passed, Victoria was already released from Pandora and put inside the healing chamber for recuperation. It was more of a kindness that you would expect from a Quincy, but the order of the king stood strongly. Simultaneously, it was a free scan of vitals for possible signs of past exposure to the epidemic or Victoria's pure resistance.

"Hmm....."

Rick was also in the medical bay; his black shades became more of a trademark of his look as it shined against the light. He assisted in monitoring the Heilkammer as it did its job, repairing her physical body, and rejuvenating her spiritual energy. Victoria was completely dunked in liquid reishi, but she was perfectly fine for the duration of the treatment. However, when the treatment was done, the whirring sound of the machine draining itself of the liquids would be the only audible presence in the room as the front latch opened.

Rick hoped that Victoria wouldn't break his machine.


WC 488

The sound of the seal breaking brought her to wakefulness. Physically she'd been fine by her standards. Though by others perhaps she'd needed some sort of medical treatment. It didn't take her long to gather in all that she needed to make a very quick summary of her situation. 

Someone, she wasn't sure who yet, had scraped her up off the street and put her in some sort of chamber. As to what it did exactly she couldn't be sure. Judging by the nearby objects this was some sort of medical bay. It stunk of medical supplies and antiseptic. This was clearly a human place. And if they could see and touch her they were at least moderately capable in terms of spiritual power. She cast her eyes about her surroundings. As far as the data they had on various human factions, their data for the last five years was spotty at best thanks to the plague, there was only a few that could make such a facility while being able to handle spiritual bodies. And considering that she was in Germany, Berlin at that, and that left one group.

The quincy.

Her eyes narrowed. What purpose did the Quincy have to picking her up and stuffing her into some sort of device? She checked herself for any sort of restraint. Not that mere mortal restraints could keep her but if Quincy were capable of rigging up a means of healing a spiritual body such as her then they were certainly capable of restraining one. Finding none she leaned forward and stepped out of the box. Turning she took it in. Command would want to know about this. If this could heal a spirit then what could it do to a human? Resurrection was likely off the table but it was well within reason that if someone with a mortal wound was brought to one of these quickly enough their life could be spared. That changed the possible dynamic for any potential hostilities in the future. If their races ever came to blows again they'd have to start taking heads to ensure a defeated quincy didn't get back up. Their war would reach a new level of brutality in that case. 

Taking notice of the man in the room she sized him up. He was roughly as strong as she was in terms of presence. Physically, he was a full foot taller than she and likely twice her weight. She would wager that this was his facility and she was somewhere near if not inside the quincy castle. She'd been here before during Freylief's brief reign as monarch and prior to her captains brutal butchering of her children. She'd also wager that this facility was very important to the quincy and as such this man, whoever he was, would be very unlikely to try and turn this into a fight. If that was what he had wished he could've easily drilled her in the skull with an arrow at point blank range when he'd first seen her. 

She flexed her hands, happy to know they'd not removed her wraps. So what was it he wanted by bringing her here? There was some ulterior motive here as a there was little reason that he'd do it simply out of kindness. Not when her people had on several occasions in her career put his people to the sword. She kept her eyes locked on his dark sunglasses. By their look they weren't cheap ones either so ZZ Top would be disappointed there.

WC- 590

"Looks like the process is completed, but she is rather strong. Maybe we should take defensive measures in case that she acts hostile?"

One of the medic personnel would page Rick through the communication earpiece that he had on the left side of his ear, voicing his concerns about the probable actions of the shinigami that they just "saved". Despite the reasons that they had upon helping this woman, it didn't change the fact that the Quincy and the shinigami weren't on friendly terms. Now, the problems that each side was probably going through were greater than the race feud that they had with each other. It was a stagnant feeling of nonaggression, and Rick felt that he should probably count his blessings and not push his luck.

"Hmm.."

Bringing his finger to his ear, Rick would decline the offer to increase the security protocols from within the castle at the time being.

"That won't be necessary. I have everything under control presently. Besides, I wouldn't want to spook the guest, this isn't exactly the holiday inn. But from the looks of things, as well as realizing that she wasn't restrained, I don't think this woman would start a fight if she wasn't expecting one to begin with."

This was just a hunch; it was generally a gut feeling. Rick could be wrong, and if he were, the Quincy forces from within the complex would swarm throughout this place. If Rick were feeling especially guilty if things went south, he wouldn't have a problem facing her alone to protect his comrades. It was almost in his nature to do so, but after becoming king, the everyday life choices that he made became more methodical and reasonable.

After deciding from within himself to take a different approach, Rick would step forward a few paces and utilize his spiritual alchemy. After synthesizing his reishi, Rick would craft two simple chairs made of soul synthesized iron. Each was facing each other from opposite sides, with the closest one for Victoria to sit on.

" Don't worry, no tricks here. "

If she did, Rick would start with his little pep talk to explain why she was brought here in the first place.

"My name is Rick Rogers; I'm the king of the Quincy. Some of my scouts found you bleeding profusely, I figured that it wouldn't be right to simply leave you to die or succumb to your wounds. With that being said, I had you brought here. My machine took care of any injuries you sustained beforehand. As to why I helped you, consider it as a gracious act towards a race that has seen some hard times as of late."

His interest in Victoria's resistance to the virus was left out, but everything else was true. Rick bared no type of ill will to this woman, and she was free to leave if she wanted to.


WC 483
Total WC 971

The appearance of the iron furniture from literally no where had perked her interest as to who exactly this man was. She had no interest in sitting on this mystical chair though. True, he said no tricks but she had to wonder how many shinigami had fallen victim to the cunning of these devils in the centuries since they first came to light. Her instincts told her to maintain her feet in case this turned south. Be ready for anything and all that.

"So you're the one who replaced the brat, eh?" Victoria queried. She knew the answer as he'd given it and at least she'd have something valuable to hand to command when she made her report of this incident. "I don't suppose your scouts bothered to look at the blood I left behind on that wall, eh? Nah, they probably didn't. That was hollow blood. They bleed black, quincy. My people bleed red just like you and yours. Thank you for helping me, though a safe place to nap was all I needed after three faffing days of patrol in this city," she scanned the room probing it with her energy trying to find the easiest wall to burst open to make an escape if she had to. 

"Well, my people thank you for that. Now if I can be going," she said motioning towards a wall in hopes that a door would open so she could leave.

wc- 240

"The former queen respectfully retired and chose me to continue as the new leader of the order. We all have strengths and weaknesses, but her age definitely wasn't one of them. Well maybe strength, sometimes I'd wonder how it would feel to be eighteen again. "

Frey was a good kid, she has been through a lot and Rick didn't want to take any credit from her regarding the good that she did while being the leader of the Quincy. However, when it had come to the assumption of the wellbeing of the shinigami, it was now known to Rick that she hadn't sustained any injuries at all.

"A mixup? Is that so? Either way, we couldn't take that chance. Mixups happen occasionally, as long as nothing bad comes about it. Besides, hollow's blood is toxic to us. It's something we would more likely to stay clear of than play around with."

Either way, Rick has given her thanks. It was more than what he expected, a simple nod in response to that was all she needed as well.

"Well, if you're looking for a way out, I'll gladly show you to the door. I would tell you to phase through and fly away, but most of the complex is made of synthesized reishi, the constructs might interrupt with your abilities to freely go through Kishi. Then again, this is I taking the "ghost" portion of your existence in a literal sense. "

Standing up, Rick would snap his fingers to signal for the evaporation of the chairs he created.

"Follow me! Since it was my call to bring you here, I'll see it to the end and make sure that you walk out of here as easily as you were brought in. "

With that being said, if Victoria followed, Rick would lead her through the nearest corridor on the way to the exit.

"We don't get visitors of your kind, so don't mind the stares."

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Total WC 1295

'I wish I knew what it felt like to be one thousand much less eighteen again,' thought Victoria as Rick talked about wanting to be young again. If only he knew just how old the woman he lead towards the exit was. Details like that didn't matter. It was known by all who were aware of the spiritual realms that shinigami and hollow could be terribly ancient beings. She was just one of them and that didn't make her special.

He mentioned it being possibly impossible for her to simply phase through the walls and make her escape. What he made no mention of was whether or not she could simply break through it. Whatever the answer to that query was made difference as he was leading her through the stone halls of the castle. She remembered when these structures were the peak of human defenses. She could recall that for longer than anything a big stone wall and sturdy doors was all you needed to survive an attack. Now, no matter how thick the walls there was always something that could blast through them. 

She'd always felt weird walking through buildings like these knowing what she'd been before death and prior to becoming a shinigami. Death was the great equalizer, or rather, it should have been. Even in the society to which she had belonged to for so long there were those who were better positioned that others. She'd been a poor soul as she had been in life. Though now, she was equal to the ones who served with her. Several years prior a now gone captain and former leader of her division had put an end to the nobility that had for generations held the gotei in their grubby mitts. 

Her boots hobnails crunched on the stone work and bit into the wood where they crossed it. "I'm not surprised you don't. We advise our patrolmen to avoid this building if they can," she said as she panned her head about. Eyes from quincy that happened to be on their path staring at her with mixed emotions. She could tell that for most of them she would be far more than they could handle. She'd not come here to make war but she didn't need any thinking they could get a crafty arrow into her. Each one who's gaze she caught she kept eye contact with for long enough for them to look away.  

WC- 407

"Avoid this building huh? So how do you usually set up this conversation? Like a haunted house scenario? I kind of like the sound of that. It adds a bit of mysticism to the enemy you already know of. Well, natural enemies on account of your soul-destroying theory. However, I didn't bring you here to talk politics, I'm kind of curious about how the shinigami have been doing these past few years? Managed to find yourself a cure yet? Did you recover well from the people you lost?"

Rick wasn't expecting any of his questions to receive an answer, but he still asked them. He was at least curious about the current situation, maybe the information that he gained way would be useful in the long run? Coöperation was a two-way street and he knew better than to divulge sensitive information towards the shinigami that could hurt the Quincy. Rick knew where to draw the line, once he did, it was a good chance that the conversation might end as well.

"Almost to the exit now. You shouldn't look so tense, you might end up scaring some of my staff. Is the word of the king not good enough for you? No one is going to try anything if they risk hitting me with their arrows as well. On top of that, I did state that you weren't brought here based on malicious intent. Feel free to let your guard down if it gets rid of the scowling."

WC 250
Total WC 1545

"Its far more clinical than that," she said in regards to ordering patrolmen or groups to avoid this particular building, "We give them the grid coordinates and tell them to avoid it. If they ask why we tell them there is a significant spiritual presence at those coordinators that is not friendly and should be avoided. That simple." she kept meeting the eyes of onlookers as they walked. He asked about their numbers and if they'd managed to rebound yet. The truth was no, they hadn't. It would be a very very long time till they had even a shadow of the numbers they'd had in the past. She wouldn't however give him that information. "That's classified," she responded as another quincy looked away. 

He could simply ask his own people or look around. There patrols weren't as frequent. The patrolmen weren't as well rested and they were ragged scraps of their former selves. It was obvious they had taken a hell of a loss. That their numbers weren't coming back, not yet at least. In time, and she was certain of this, their numbers would rebound. They had before when their numbers had been mauled horribly. 

He said something about her look of tension and propensity to stare down his staff. He said something about her relaxing a bit so it would get rid of the scowl she had on her face. That wasn't going to happen. She was in the enemy stronghold and kings words and intents or not she wasn't about ready to relax when she was alone and surrounded. Fools did that and they never lived long.

"You may be a king, Richard, but you are still a man. These people are just people. Some may have deep personal hatreds for my kind over acts they were not old enough to witness. Such is the relationships of our people. One filled with blood and tears on both sides," her voice flat as she denied his request for her to ease up on her 'scowl.' "Do not misunderstand, I'll be the last person to start a war here today. Making eye contact as I do is simply my way of showing no fear despite my disadvantageous position. Your people have been looking away as they meet my gaze as well. I'd be concerned if one or two met and held my gaze."

Wc- 395

"Not friendly? Is that usually where the conversation ends? You never got around to saying why? I just thought you knew a little better than simply saying the oppressed refuse to be nice to the shinigami. I don't hate it, it gets the job done and keeps unwelcome guests away. "

Rick only smiled when Victoria said that the information regarding the wellbeing of the shinigami was classified. If she didn't want to share any of that information that was perfectly all right with Rick.

"I wasn't necessarily expecting you to, just making conversation. "

They continued to walk down the corridor on the way to the back exit. Rick intentionally took the long way to talk to the shinigami for a little while longer. It didn't seem as if she would surrender anything important by accident, but maybe he could learn something within the short time. The fact that he was instantly dismissed when he asked about the status of the shinigami actually spoke volumes. A proud race that deems themselves as the guardians of would have cockily boasted their numbers, or even pull a facade of being all right. Rick was given nothing; it led him to assume that things were still not the same.

"Richard? That was my grandfather's name. I guess not even the name of the Quincy king can last as something important enough to commit to memory for the mighty shinigami. But that's ok, I guess this means I have nothing to worry about regarding your wellbeing. "

With the few people that they did pass, Rick did a small hand gesture to those who stared a little longer than necessary.

"Can you imagine us being anything more than that? My desire to protect my people has caused me to make plenty of sacrifices that some individuals might think is too great. About the stares, what are we without our pride? We know of humility, defeat, even embarrassment. However, we still keep pride in our culture and from what we came from. The origin of the Quincy, instead of fearing the unknown, we empowered ourselves to protect the weak. The shinigami are the opposite of that volition, as well as standing as something they refuse to fear. The intensity of their stare only matches your own, I'd craft you a pair of black shades if it bothers you. "

WC 391
Total WC 1936

She frowned at his remark about being oppressed but decided she'd let it pass. They all, as the race of quincy, cried that at every possible chance. True, her people had killed many of them several times throughout history,he herself had put several into the ground, but over the last few centuries the standing order had been to leave them be unless they instigate and then it was to disable them unless killing them became necessary. Yet, here she was listening to yet another quincy cry about being oppressed. She could have pointed out that when her kind killed his kind his kind got a chance to reincarnate after a period of time. When his kind killed hers they were just gone. The ignorance was just laughable. It didn't matter how much evidence you provided for the balance or the after effects of a quincy killing any spirit to them they practically covered their ears, screwed their eyes shut and screamed till you went away. You had a greater chance of taming a hollow than you did convincing a quincy that their actions had a deeper effect than they knew. In her eyes, it was a shame that Central Forty Six at the time had called off the scouring. They could have rid themselves of this problem and allowed themselves only one great enemy. And had they she wouldn't have to tell new recruits to be wary of any human that acts as if they could see them.

"Is Richard not your given name?" she asked when he made remark about her not calling him the derivative he went by. If it was or not wasn't a big deal to her. Her name, Victoria, was easy enough to say yet she was called 'Vic' by a good many shinigami and had been for a very long time. "I see nothing wrong with the name 'Richard'. A great many fine and noble Kings have carried the name," a smirk crossed her lips, "Why, the 'Bastard' himself, a Norman, wore it and he conquered many lands and endures to this day as a name all children learn as 'Richard Coeur de Lion' or as you English speakers would know him, 'The Lionheart'. But if you're more inclined to the name 'Rick' I'll do my best to call you that though I won't make any promises."

He continued on about how his people were some noble thing. The truth was that yes, they were a human adaptation to a threat perceived by the species at various points in time. He was blind to what it was to be a shinigami. Blind to the oath. Blind to the fact that far more shinigami died in battle with the hated enemy than did to old age or recently illness. He would possibly learn someday if he wasn't devoured by a beast when he died. That was likely many decades away and not a situation she would concern herself with. She supposed he thought it noble how his people refused to fear her kind. Noble that they, by mutation, had gained the capacity to interact with a plane of existence they as mortals could never hope to fully comprehend. He and his people for that matter had no clue how many shinigami had given their lives over the passage of time to protect those with spiritual power when they could do nothing to protect themselves. None of that mattered and her pointing it out to him was likely to start a fight. A fight she could not spare time for. A fight which would lead to injuries she simply could not afford to have lest she need to evacuate back to the Seireitei for treatment. 

"Then let them stare," the blond woman responded when he mentioned crafting her something called shades. 

wc- 635

"I don't mind the nickname. I just felt like it was best to point it out."

Didn't he already explain to her that she got the name wrong? Rick was a bit nice about it but pushing the subject any more than that was getting to be a bit more trouble than it was worth. The thing about respect was the fact that it was a two way street on equal grounds. She might feel uncomfortable in the Berlin castle, but Rick hoped that his goodwill wouldn't open the door to potential defamatory comments. It wasn't that much of a big deal for someone with thick skin, he just didn't want to increase the tension.

"Noble kings by the name Richard? That was a good history book lesson. I was actually expecting you to say that you met these people while they were still alive. Maybe you were the one that claimed those souls immediately after they took their last breath? "

That would make for an interesting bedtime story. Rick almost forgot how long the shinigami tend to survive the test of time. Maybe it was that souls never aged? Either way, time probably meant nothing to them. Even as the world started to change, there is a good chance that the shinigami probably remained the same from the inside out. Was it ever a possibility that the shinigami could be spurned resulting from their lack of change?

"I feel like a broken record player, but we really are almost there, If you try to focus your reiatsu perception, you'll start to notice that it'll be a little easier for you to use your spiritual senses. Thus far, you've been blinded in that aspect. It's over now, pretty soon you can return to doing whatever it is you were doing before we brought you hear out of concern. "

As they had continued to walk, Rick thought about the mentions of the Lionheart and the success of conquering.

"During the time of him being king, was being a conquerer the only thing they remembered him for? The showing of strength is superficial in the wrong hands, forced bonds are fragile and weak. Power is a means to an end, and yet, the reason for gaining such power is the only thing that drives me forward. The Lionheart would make a great epithet if I ever run into someone who has it. Unfortunately, the only thing I can think of that best labels me in that regard starts with a Z."

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Total WC 2355

"Would you believe someone who said they had?" Victoria queried,"Would anyone? Even if the person making the claim was a soul? No, I doubt anyone would. Well, save for maybe another soul."

It was never something she spoke much about when she spoke with humans, regardless of how rarely she did so. For her people it wasn't uncommon for a soul to live several centuries. Most spiritual humans seemed to grasp that fairly easily. What seemed to cause them a bit of trouble was when someone of her people was well beyond five hundred. Which was rare but did occur. She supposed it was because humans didn't live that long and the ever present notion that death would be there in a few decades time was what did it. 

"Richard Coeur de Lion was beloved because of his martial skill and his piety. He went on two crusades to the middle east when he was monarch of England. Which, to the people of the time, was very important. You see, at the time Jerusalem was held by Muslims after having been conquered by them after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Roughly four hundred years prior to that Southern Europe, Spain and now Portugal, was invaded by Muslim armies. They were met and destroyed by a man of my own people, not a descendant of them, Charles Martel or as he's known in European history Charles 'The Hammer' Martel when they attempted to invade France. Charles smashed them at Tours and they never attempted to invade again. So," Victoria stopped for a moment, "You can see several reasons for why Richard Coeur de Lion was beloved by his people and venerated both in life and death. He fought to free their holy land from the clutches of another and there was a general hatred beyond that for the possessors of Jerusalem because of their attempts to invade Europe several hundred years prior. Which when a persons life is spent following a religious faith then these things are plenty important and all you need to venerate someone.

That and he didn't execute the boy who's bolt ultimately lead to his demise. Though, no one is quite sure what happened to the lad after Richards death. Some say he's was murdered by a mercenary captain or he lived on. Its hard to say really." She trailed off. She'd been there for most of it. Ushering Richards soul to the soul society and purifying the damnable beasts so she'd not had a chance to witness the ultimate fate of the boy Richard spared. 

"I think Rick, you'll find that epithets are a long gone thing. You'll be hard pressed to find anyone with one in the current era lest they be some sports hero or a character in some form of entertainment. Even within my people, a people stuck in tradition, they are a rare thing. Though, within your Order you could make them a thing," she said. She ceased staring down the Quincy they passed. By now all she'd have to do to get her point across if someone decided to do something stupid was unleash a portion of her power and she'd floor them. Though, she hoped the numerous scars and battle marks she sported from her years of service was testament enough to make any would be assailants think twice about doing so. 

WC - 564

"I don't know, usually, belief comes after exposure to the words or statements of a trusted source. If it's someone or something that you trust, you are more likely to establish your faith in those claims and to take it as the literal gospel. Family and tradition are something that the Quincy are comprised of, the things that were said about our cause back then from the Quincy before our time is funneled into the future actions and choices of the Quincy you see today. Long story short, coming from a trusted origin makes it more believable. "

Rick listened to the woman and her statements about Richard Coeur de Lion. Rick knew nothing about this man and hearing about him from the shinigami was somewhat of a treat. This was under the assumption that Victoria was there at the moment to obtain all of this accurate information. However, it could be that Victoria merely read up on this man and knew of him from her own personal studies.

"Would you say it's similar comparison? Do you think the Quincy treat the human realm as the "Holy Land?" Maybe there are some glaring similarities with how we see things and operate. Sadly enough, I can't say I earned the same sort of revered opinion. That boy may have some kind of representation to it that's not so blatant." Rick would rub his chin as he thought about it, he figured that everything happened for a reason. Even with a conversation like this heading in the direction that it did, there was something to take from the words of this shinigami.

"Epithets are just something I like to toy around with. Something to portray a person's sense of self, it's akin to a death aspect of a hollow. However, I wouldn't want to dwell on the reasoning of my own death, or what would have bound me to this world as the beasts I despise. For an epithet of my own, it would circle around what I live for. I know none of that is making any sense to you right now. "

Stopping at the door, Rick would make a hand gesture for Victoria to move forward. " Well, it looks like we reached the last stop on this impromptu tour. I kept my promise and nothing happened to you, the intentions were genuine. "


WC 391
Total WC 2746