It's time for Hawk to fess up! He's been marked, and it's time for him to let Clarice know! But how will Clarice take it?

Confession

**Previously, on Elona-DW! 
22:27 Lok   Arcturus glares at Hawk. "...N-No...kill me. Torture me...I'm afraid this is all the information I'll be giving you today Bloody Hawk." Suddenly, he bites down on his tongue.../hard/. Muffled scream of pain can be heard from his insides, but he does not stop biting down. Blood spurts from his mouth...and then he spits something out at you. The object slides 
22:27 Lok down Hawk's shirt. It's his tongue. 
22:27 Lok Hawk sighs, and offers up a silent prayer to his god. Then his whips out his dagger and slices open the mage's throat.  
22:28 Lok Hawk knows that his father will take care of the body, so he proceeds to loot the corpse before Deshal gets a chance to.  
22:28 Lok There's a folded piece of paper in one of his pockets. Other than that, nothing else.  
22:28 Lok It reads, "Whomever reads this note, know that you have been marked. With love, 'The Sanguine Devil.' "  
22:28 Lok He feels like he just really screwed himself over somehow..  
22:28 Lok  Hawk wonders if he ought to have a chat with this fellow assassin, after he find some Templar's to interrogate of course.  
22:29 Lok  But first he ought to contact Gabe or Sebby and report what he did find out.  
22:29 Lok ---- 
22:30  Rocketgirl has honestly no idea how to contact either of them...he  immediately decides to check his shadow even though he fairly certain Seb isn't there. 
22:30  *** Rocketgirl is now known as Hawk 
22:30 Hawk Hawk* 
22:35 Hawk His shadow looks pretty normal.. 
22:36  Hawk decides to head to the main entrance of his father's manor. 
22:45 Lok On his way to the manor's entrance, the ground starts rumbling under Hawk. 
22:46  Hawk smiles and tries to get out of Gabe's way. 
22:47 Lok a giant hand juts through the pavement! 
22:47  *** Lok is now known as Gabriel 
22:47 NickServ Welcome to Lunarnet IRC, Gabriel! Here on Lunarnet IRC, we provide services to enable the registration of nicknames and channels! For details, type /msg NickServ help and /msg ChanServ help. 
22:47 Gabriel The hand retreats back into the hole. From the hole, you can hear the zombie's voice. 
22:48 Gabriel "ASSASSIN. HAVE YOU COMPLETED YOUR TASK?" 
22:49 Hawk He frowns, "Yes, and  I learned some unsettling things.." 
22:51 Gabriel "THEN HEAD HOME AT YOUR CONVENIENCE. THE SOONER THE BETTER. WE WILL TALK THEN." 
22:51  Hawk hesitates, "We should talk now I think.." 
22:52 Gabriel "FOOL. WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF PALMIA." 
22:53  Hawk says, "I'm aware of that, don't you know any secluded places in this town?" 
22:53 Gabriel "WHY WOULD I BE MORE FAMILIAR WITH THIS TOWN THEN YOU?" 
22:54  Hawk facepalms, "Come out of that hole and I can show you were to go." 
22:55 Gabriel "WHY WOULD I RISK REVEALING MYSELF IN PALMIA? IF YOU KNOW WHERE TO GO, THEN GO, AND I SHALL FOLLOW." 
22:57 Hawk Grumbling, "Don't you have a goddamn coat or something," Hawk heads back into the warded torture room, he opens it again, "In here, quick or the spells will start up, and don't try to dig into it." 
22:59 Gabriel Gabriel's voice becomes suspicious. "YOU ARE..STRANGELY EAGER." 
23:00  Hawk sharply says, "I'm worried. I don't exactly have great news." 
23:00 Gabriel He growls. The ground rumbles a little, and he climbs out of his hole. 
23:02  Gabriel is standing before Hawk. He is wearing Owl Eye's cloak. Strangely, it is not tattered or dusty. Then again, Owl Eye /did/ enchant it, so maybe that's why. As usual, his eyes are covered with a band across his face. 
23:02  Gabriel takes a deep whiff. 
23:04 Hawk The room smells strongly of interlaced spells meant to both keep out intruders and contain whatever is trapped within. 
23:04  Gabriel snarls. "THIS ROOM...HOW DO I KNOW YOU WON'T TRAP ME IN IT?" 
23:05 Hawk They are powerful, almost unbreakable expect by the one who installed them..the owner of this house must be paranoid. 
23:05  Hawk gives Gabe a strangely confused look, "Why would I do that?" 
23:07  Gabriel growls. He says no more, and steps into the room. 
23:08  Hawk shuts the door behind him and let's out a big sigh, "Ok, we can speak freely here. Don't mind the corpse.." The next thing out of Hawk's mouth surprises you some, "Is Clarice alright?" 
23:08 Gabriel "YES" 
23:09  Hawk 's entire body relaxes some as he hears that, "Good...wait who's watching over her now if you're hear with me?" 
23:09 Hawk here* 
23:10 Gabriel "DOES IT MATTER, ASSASSIN? I CAN SMELL HER, EVEN NOW." 
23:12  Hawk glares, "Of course it matters!! You left her alone with my father!? Do you even have any idea how he treats women?" 
23:13  Gabriel snarls. "I AM AWARE OF YOUR FATHER'S TENDENCY TO STRANGLE WOMEN. BUT I TOLD YOU, SHE IS FINE AT THE MOMENT." 
23:14  Hawk gets a blank look on his face, "Strangle...what..?" 
23:16  Gabriel cocks his head. "FOR A MOMENT, CLARICE WAS IN DANGER. JUDGING FROM HER SHORTNESS OF BREATH, I COULD TELL THE ONE CALLED DESHAL WAS STRANGLING HER." 
23:18 Hawk Horror crosses his face, "I...am going to...kill him." He says this slowly, with a grim sort of certainty. 
23:21 Gabriel "THAT WOULD DERIVE UNNECCESSARY RISK AND ATTENTION." 
23:22  Hawk is obviously not thinking clearly, his fist bangs against the wooden table in the room, "I don't fucking care! I warned him! I fucking warned him not to try ANYTHING with her!" 
23:24  Gabriel sighs. "...YOU ARE WASTING MY TIME ASSASSIN." 
23:26  Hawk fury turns towards Gabe now, "And you just /let/ him do that to her? /You/ were supposed to keep her safe while I did my /job/! I bet she's terrified now..my poor Swan.." 
23:26 Gabriel "SHE WAS IN NO DANGER." 
23:28  Hawk is shouting now, "He was /strangling/ her!!! How was she not in danger!!?" 
23:29  Gabriel snarls. "I GROW TIRED OF THIS. ASK YOUR FATHER IF YOU WANT." 
23:31  Hawk scowls as he tries to get a handle on his tumultuous feelings of rage...and guilt...he should never have brought her here, he'd been selfish...it was far too dangerous for someone like her... 
23:33  Hawk forces himself to recall the facts he was set out to acquire, "There is an inquisition in the works against Derphy." 
23:35  Gabriel nods "AS SUSPECTED. GO ON." 
23:35 Hawk "I don't know who ordered it nor how far along it is, but I plan to interrogate a Templar for such information soon." 
23:36 Hawk "All the guilds, even the normal Thieves guild is involved with this...which is terrible news for /my/ guild.." 
23:37 Hawk "They've sent assassins of some sort..."   
23:39 Hawk "The inquisition is also very much after 'The Heretic' as they call Mr. Mask, and consider his associates to be Beatrice, the necromancer, Lysander. The...'ingenious' infiltrator, Lydia and Clarissa...the Twin Towers." 
23:39  Hawk looks quite worried, "So all those people are in direct danger.." 
23:40  Hawk wonders if he should mention him getting marked by this Sanguine Devil as well.. 
23:41 Gabriel It's hard to tell what Gabriel thinks of the situation. The only response Gabriel gives is a slight nod. "I SEE." 
23:42  Hawk sighs, "I'd really like to talk to Sebastian..where is he?" 
23:43 Gabriel "I DO NOT KNOW. WHAT DID YOU WISH TO SPEAK TO HIM ABOUT?" 
23:44  Hawk balls his fists again, already feeling frustrated, "All this...and something else. Don't you have any way to contact him?" 
23:47  Gabriel pauses for a moment, as if hesitant to tell you. 
23:47 Gabriel "...I WILL..INQUIRE." 
23:49 Hawk "Please do, it is urgent. I may be in grave danger..which means Clarice will be as well.." Hawk sounds almost disgusted by this, his voice filled with self-loathing at his own stupidity. 
23:59  Gabriel cocks his head. "...EXPLAIN." 
00:01  Hawk would rather not admit his failure of caution to the zombie, "I'd rather just tell Sebastian.." 
00:02  Gabriel growls. "I WILL GIVE YOU ONE LAST CHANCE TO EXPLAIN. IF THERE'S ANYTHING YOU THINK COULD PUT THE MISSION AT RISK, IT IS BETTER TO EXPLAIN NOW THEN LATER." 
00:03  Hawk reluntantly admits, "I somehow ended up getting marked for death by some assassin called the Sanguine Devil..." 
00:04 Gabriel "WHAT!?" 
00:04  Gabriel throws a punch at Hawk. 
00:05  Hawk is too startled to dodge it for once. 
00:05 Gabriel The force of his punch is great indeed! It feels as a large boulder has crashed into you! 
00:06 Gabriel As Gabriel's fist lands a punch on Hawk's torso, Hawk is sent flying back into a wall. 
00:08  Hawk crashes into the wall with a heavy thud. "Fuck, what was that for?" he coughs out. 
00:10  Gabriel is baring his teeth. "IDIOT! THE KNOWN ASSOCIATES YOU LISTED EARLIER HAVE /ALWAYS/ BEEN KNOWN ASSOCIATES! THE ONLY NEW INFORMATION WE ARE ACTUALLY GETTING OUT OF THIS, IS THAT YOU ARE NOW AN /ADDITIONAL/ KNOWN ASSOCIATE! THIS COMPLICATES OUR SITUATION IMMENSELY!" 
00:11  Hawk snarls back, "I did my best! This fucker," he says pointing to the corpse, "but his godsdamned tongue off before I could finish questioning him!" 
00:11 Hawk bit* 
00:12 Gabriel "I AM NOT COMPLAININ ABOUT THE FACT THAT YOU FAILED TO RETRIEVE ANY NEW INFORMATION. THE ENTIRE POINT OF THIS MISSION WAS TO MAKE SURE THE ENEMY HAD NOT GAINED ANY NEW INSIGHTS. YOU HOWEVER, HAVE BECOME THE PIECE OF INFORMATION WE WERE HOPING TO HIDE!" 
00:13  Gabriel is fuming. "HOW DID YOU GET MARKED?" 
00:15  Hawk snaps, "I was digging through the mark's pockets for any physical information, and I found a sealed note, I suspected it to be a trap so I opened it carefully...but it was spelled or something and I was marked as soon as I read it.." 
00:17 Gabriel " 
00:18 Gabriel "OF COURSE IT WAS TRAPPED! IT WAS ON A WIZARD! ONE CAN ONLY ASSUME IT WAS WARDED! WHAT PRECAUTIONS DID YOU TAKE AGAINST THE WARD?" 
00:19  Hawk says, "I tried, but I am no mage.." 
00:19 Gabriel "SO..YOU DIDNT BOTHER BRINGING IT TO ONE WITH MAGICAL EXPERTISE...!?" 
00:20  Hawk quietly says, "I thought it was poisoned or an exploding trap or something, not anything that could pin me..." 
00:22  Gabriel is dumbfounded at Hawk's stupidity. 
00:23 Gabriel This man managed to bring Arcturus, a very powerful mage, in for interrogation, and ultimately, he gets tricked by a piece of paper? 
00:24 Gabriel Gabriel is tempted to punch him again...but that would be somewhat counterproductive at this point. 
00:24  Gabriel sighs. "YOU ARE TO STAY IN PALMIA UNTIL THE SITUATION IS RESOLVED. GOING BACK TO DERPHY WOULD PUT YOUR GUILD AT RISK." 
00:25  Hawk nods, angry and pissed at himself. 
00:27 Gabriel "I MUST GO NOW." He growls. "LEARN FROM THIS MISTAKE...ASSASSIN." 
00:27  Hawk shouts, "Wait, I still need to speak to Sebasatian!" 
00:28 Gabriel "HOW? 
00:30  Hawk says, "However possible, as soon as possible. I know you have some way to contact him, don't pretend you don't." 
00:31 Gabriel "I DO. HOWEVER, I DO NOT POSSESS THE MEANS AT THE MOMENT." 
Hawk sighs in annoyance, "Then get the means back. I need to go check on Clarice...and explain to her that we may need to extend our stay here.." She wasn't going to be happy to hear that...damnit..was he ever going to catch a break? 
00:36 Gabriel "WILL THAT BE ALL THEN?" 
00:38 Hawk "Yeah sure." He mutters, too absorbed in his own problems to really care about what Gabe is doing. His back hurts like a motherfucker right now... 
00:38  Hawk uses his key to open up the secret exit once again, "Go on out now.." 
Gabriel grunts, and then takes his leave through the secret entrance.
01:41	Gabriel	Not too long after, you feel the ground rumble.
01:41		Hawk leaves as well and weaves through the maze-like gardens until he finds himself at the front of the mansion.
01:43	Hawk	Deshal grins widely as he sees his son approach. The boy looked to be in one piece...perhaps he'd misunderstood Sibyl. "Devin, how did everything go?"
01:46		Hawk glares daggers at him, "We'll talk about it /later/." He wanted very much to strangle the sick old fucker right then..honestly it was hard to resist the urge to knife him..
01:47	Hawk	Deshal is puzzled some by the waves of downright /hate/ he feels coming from his son..it is getting in the way of his relief at seeing the boy unharmed..
01:48	Gabriel	hm
01:49		*** Gabriel is now known as Clarice
01:49	Clarice	You hear a voice from upstairs.
01:49		Hawk shoves past his father and enters the house looking for his...lo...lady.
01:49	Clarice	"Hawk? Hawk is that you!?"
01:50		Hawk rushes over to her, "Darling, are you alight!?"
01:50	Clarice	Clarice rushes down the stairs and holds Hawk tightly.
01:51	Clarice	"Thank Yacatect you're safe! I've been so worried!" She kisses him on the cheek. "Please tell me we can go home now!"
01:51	Hawk	His hands examine her neck gently, "I was so scared that he'd hurt you..."
01:52		Clarice frowns. "He /did/ hurt me!"
01:53		Hawk stares into her eyes, "Shall I kill him then? Say the word and I'll do it."
01:53	Clarice	 /Oh wow, who's /this/ hunk of a man?/
01:54		Clarice shakes her head. "No, just...please! Take me home!"
01:56		Hawk frowns and his voice breaks slightly, "Clarice...I am so so sorry..but I /messed/ up...I can't go home. Not until I...resolve something." His eyes grow extremely sad.."You could though..it might be safer if you did.." He honestly isn't sure what is safer for her anymore.
01:57	Clarice	 /Hey wait a minute...he looks like Dezzy boi! Gasp! You're bonin Dezzy boi's son? Oh that's good! Too good!/ The voice is giggling. /Sebby's girl...with Dezzy's boy? I gotta say, I don't think anyone saw /that/ coming! /
01:58		Clarice 's eyes widen, ignoring the witch's cackle in her mind. "W-What? I don't understand..."
01:59		Hawk looks around, and in a hushed tone adds, "I'll explain when we're alone, love."
02:00	Hawk	At that moment a happy squeal echos through the room.
02:02	Hawk	"Bruder!!? I missssssssed you so much alot!" Little Alita runs up to Hawk as fast as her chubby legs can take her and hugs onto his leg.
02:03		Hawk blinks, looks down, and pats her lightly on the head, "Ello Ally, you've grown a lot since I last saw you.."
02:04	Clarice	 /Huh...wonder what he meant when he said he 'messed up?'/
02:04	Clarice	 /Oh, sorry? Did I think that out loud? Oh wait, of course I did! I'm in your mind!/
02:05		Clarice forces a smile as she looks at Ally, all while listening to the strange lady 'think' to herself.
02:05		Hawk kind of looks quite awkward, as though he's unsure how to handle kids at her age. He shakes his leg a bit trying to get her to let go, "Ally, I um really need to talk to my friend her, so you may have to excuse us-"
02:06	Clarice	 /Your boyfriend was out on a job...and he said he messed up. Did that mean he messed up on the job? Well...unlikely, since he's back in one piece. Hopefully, everything's alright.../
02:06	Hawk	"She's your gurlfwend!" She says smiling brightly up at him.
02:06		Clarice blushes. 
02:07		Hawk nods, "Yes she is. Now I really need a moment alone with her so if you could just-"
02:09	Hawk	"Are you gonna merrry her? Mamma says you isn't gonna merrry cuz your the besterd." She asks all this very matter of factly.
02:10	Hawk	Now it's Hawk's turn to blush bright red, "Well perhaps ummm...eventually..when we're both ready..and the time is right and..." He decided he'd dig less of a hole if he shut up right now.
02:13	Clarice	 /WHAT A CUTIE!.
02:13	Hawk	Ally just giggles, "Ok Devwin. But you have to 'member to play wiff me when you are merrrryed. I wuv you tooo."
02:14	Clarice	"N-Now hold on, we...we don't know that yet..." Her voice is soft as she says this.
02:15		Hawk has no idea how to process that. He just stands there blinking until Ally runs off. Then he turns a confused expression to Clarice, "We don't know...what?"
02:16		Clarice widens her eyes. 
02:16	Clarice	 /Uh oh! Choose your words...VERY..CAREFULLY.../
02:16	Clarice	"Don't know..what?"
02:19		Hawk blinks again, wondering if he misheard her, "You said something about 'us' not /knowing/ something yet..to what were you referring to?" Line of worry are already forming on his face as he tries to puzzle out her meaning..
02:19		Clarice raises her eyebrows. "Hm?"
02:20		Hawk frowns, "Clarice...I heard you say something.."
02:21		Clarice frowns. "Can't a girl mumble to herself?"
02:22		Hawk doesn't understand why she isn't acting happy to see him now, "Course she can, but oft a man who cares for her will want to know what she said.."
02:23	Clarice	"It's nothing. I was just thinking out loud." 
02:23	Clarice	 Ha!/
02:23		Clarice sighs. "And anyways..."
02:24		Clarice gives him a worried look. "We have more important things to worry about. What did you want to talk to me about? Something about, 'messing up'? Why can't we both go home together?"
02:25		Hawk sighs and glances away, "Let's go to our room to talk..I can't speak of this right here.." He takes her by the hand and starts leading her upstairs.
02:26	Clarice	 /*Slow clapping* Smooth./
02:26		Clarice follows Hawk upstairs.
02:27	Hawk	Once in their room, he flops unto the bed, clearly in pain and exhausted.
02:28		Clarice lays down next to him, cuddling at his side. "Dear, what's wrong? Did you get hurt?"
02:29		Hawk groans, "Yeah, a lil...my back is quite sore.."
Hawk turns his head to look in her eyes, "But that's nothing compared to...well my mistake..." He cannot bear to meet her eyes, "I'm marked for assassination now." 
02:33  Clarice widens her eyes. "What!?" 
02:33 Clarice  /WHAT!?/ 
02:33 Hawk meet her eyes as he says this, he lowers them* 
Hawk turns his head to look in her eyes, "But that's nothing compared to...well my mistake..." He cannot bear to meet her eyes, "I'm marked for assassination now." 
02:33  Clarice widens her eyes. "What!?" 
02:33 Clarice  /WHAT!?/ 
02:33 Hawk meet her eyes as he says this, he lowers them* 
02:36  Hawk gives her a half-hearted smile, "I'm not worried for myself darling, I worry for /you/. You won't be safe around me until I've dealt with this Sanguine Devil woman." 
20:43 Clarice "If you think I'm going to leave you alone while you-" 
20:43 Clarice  /Clarice, wait!/ 
20:43  Clarice hesitates, her bottom lip trembling. 
20:44 Clarice  /Did he just say...the Sanguine Devil?/ 
20:45 Clarice The voice falls silent for a bit. /Ask him what happened exactly...like, why is she after him?/ 
20:45 Clarice "W-Why is this Devil after you...?" 
20:48  Hawk studies her and feels more guilty than ever, "Well after my...job.." He didn't want to call it an assassination in front of her..he'd rather /not/ remind her of his murderous profession whenever possible, "In uh found a note and checked it for traps...but I wasn't good enough..when it opened it said I'd been marked.." 
20:50 Clarice The voice can't help but giggle. "Oh my...your boyfriend is lacking in the brains department, isn't he? Anyone with half a mind would've had it checked for traps of the /magical/ nature./ 
20:50  Clarice is about to burst into tears. 
20:51 Clarice  /Ah...but on a more serious note, you should probably consider going home./ 
20:52  Clarice furrows her eyebrows. "S-So...when you say marked...what do you mean?" 
20:53 Clarice  /It means the enemy knows where he is. If you continue to stay with him, you'll become a liability. Don't worry though...he'll be fine./ 
20:55  Hawk pulls her to his chest, "I'm so sorry love, just please listen to me..." He kisses her forehead, "I cannot put you at risk...if anything were to happen to you..because of my../folly/..I couldn't bear it." 
20:57  Hawk can't stomach telling her exactly what being marked means.. 
20:57 Clarice But she doesn't /want/ to go... 
20:58 Clarice  /But you don't want your boy to get hurt either right? The Sanguine Devil is way out of your league dear...just leave it to the professionals. Listen to me...I /promise/ we'll make sure your boyfriend gets through this. For now, you need to be a good girl, and head on home...alright?/ 
20:59 Clarice But she wants to help... 
21:00 Clarice  /You're not strong enough. I'm sorry to be the ice queen here, but you're simply too weak. Again...you'd just be a liability./ 
21:00 Clarice Weak...and useless. Why must she always feel this way? 
21:00  Clarice looks down at her feet, and reluctantly nods. 
21:01 Clarice "I...I understand." She starts to choke up a little, as if trying to hold back her tears as she regurgitates these words. 
21:04  Hawk hates seeing her this upset over his stupid mistake..it hits him then that this may be one of the last times he's with her. If this assassin is as good as they say..he might not come back to her in one piece.. 
21:07  Hawk takes one of her hands in his own, and is sure to look her in the eyes as he clearly says, "Hey, I...kind of..love you..alright...so I'll find my way back to you. I swear it." There, he said it, and it wasn't a lie thanks to the 'kind of', now he'd have no regrets if he did die. 
21:08 Clarice What? 
21:08  Clarice looks up at Hawk with wide eyes. 
21:08 Clarice Did he really just say...he kind of.../loved/ her...? 
21:09  Hawk only gives her a sad smile in response. 
21:09 Clarice Her heart is beating rapidly...faster than ever. 
21:09 Clarice Even the voice inside her head is silent, for fear of ruining this moment. 
21:10  Clarice leans in closer to Hawk's lips, and kisses him tenderly. 
21:10 Clarice Finally...her prince finally said it. 
21:12  Hawk 's lips gently respond in kind, as though he's afraid she's going to break if he does too much. 
21:12 Clarice Earlier...she softly said, they didn't know yet... 
21:13 Clarice ...But now she knows. She finally knows...that he loves her. 
21:15 Clarice -SCENE- 
21:15 Clarice (BRAVO! BRAVISSIMO!!!) 
21:16 Clarice (clap clap clap clap clap) 
21:16 Hawk (Hawk was all the fail! Only giving a half ass confession because he might die..lol) 
21:17 Clarice (to Clarice, that's the equivalent of a full on confession!)