milliways_bar | (no subject)

(no subject)

The man sitting in a corner on a chair with a glass of wine in hand and a harp lying nearby does not look like Jasin Natael the melancholy bard. Nor does it look like Joar Addam Nessossin the famed composer. This man looks like Asmodean the Forsaken. With his dark eyes cold and filled with anger and his face pulled taut, it would be conceivable that this man is responsible for the deaths of millions. This man could have murdered his own mother in cold blood.

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Oh. Well, that didn't sound good at all. Not that Cassandra had expected anything good from his response, considering his mood. She wasn't that dense.

"Lose...what?" Unless he didn't want to say. Cassandra could understand that, too.

Asmodean clenched his teeth.

"A memento... of my mother. It is very dangerous for someone to have other than myself."

This didn't sound good at all. A frown appeared on her lips, but she looked thoughtful at the same time.

"What...it look like?" Maybe she could help? It was part of her job -- though she was out of costume right now -- and she did know this man. A little.

Asmodean sat up straight, and laced his fingers in his lap.

"It is a gold heart-shaped locket."

Suddenly, dark fire lept up in his eyes. Arcs of electricity jumped around him, and then his entire body was encased in fire.

"It contains a piece of my soul. Do you not think with all my power that I could feel it?"

And, well...that actually succeeded in surprising Cassandra. She was used to the normal, everyday crime. Not the costumed villains and the supervillains. People going up in flames and surrounded by electricity wasn't her forte.

Cassandra really wished that she had more detective skills like Batman or Robin. But unfortunately, she wasn't the brains of the operations. She wasn't stupid, but she trusted her instincts more.

"Maybe...someone hide it?" Purposely. So that he couldn't find it. That wasn't hard for her to come up with.

The fire around Asmodean died. He no longer seemed so angry.

"...I apologize if I startled you. When my temper flares..."

Asmodean glanced off and mused to himself almost.

"No one would touch it. I cannot imagine why someone would pick it up... I just do not understand where it could have gone..."

"It's...okay." And she figured it was, since he hadn't hurt anyone. It had been surprising, yes, but Cassandra could live with that. People got angry, after all. Not all of them sprouted fire, but hey.

"Did anyone...know about it?" Maybe if they did, they had done it without knowing what it was. Cassandra was really pulling from what she had heard when Batman was working cases.

Asmodean pursed his lips.

"Zedd lost it at the lake. It has not been seen or felt since."

"Oh."

It was not the most intelligent thing to say, but Cassandra wasn't exactly fluent with her words anyway. Not to mention that she's not a big talker, either.

She wasn't going to ask if he looked because she knew that would be a really dumb question to ask.

"I'm...sorry." She really didn't know what else to say. She wasn't the detective of her family, and...well, she wasn't good with emotional issues, either. But that applied to the entire Batfamily.

Asmodean sensed some floundering and attempted to help. The last person he tried this with jumped in the lake. A lot of the anger vanished.

"It is okay. The memento has been missing for some time. People who touch it get hurt, so I am sure that if someone found it there would be a ruckus."

He paused.

"I appreciate you trying to help."

Cassandra had mixed feelings on the momento now. On one hand, she wished that Asmodean would find it so he wouldn't be so down. On the other hand, she didn't want anyone to get hurt. It was a complicated matter.

"Only...natural," Cassandra said in all seriousness when he thanked her for offering her help. Really, that's what she thought about it. But she did look a bit embarrassed. She wasn't used to receiving thanks.

Asmodean gave a sad smirk.

"Not natural. People do not try to help people like me."

That made Cassandra furrow her brows. No matter what evil that this man might have done in the past, she thought it was unfair that people wouldn't help him now. Sure, he could be a bit intimidating, but he seemed like a nice man so far.

"It is...for me." Cassandra helped out whenever she could. That didn't mean she didn't have a cruel streak to her at times when she wanted revenge.

Slow-timed

He glanced up at her with a tad bit of confusion, and a great deal of sadness in his cold eyes.

"You either have no idea what I have done or you have a truly great heart."

It was true that she didn't really know what he had done. But...there were things that everyone regretted in the past, wasn't there? And although she had never met one personally, she knew that there were several superheroes out there that were criminals turned heroes. But Cassandra did truly believe that what mattered what you did now, and not in the past. She, in a sense, believed in redemption.

"I only know...you. Now. And...that's what counts."

The Forsaken was without words. He shook his head and smiled.

For once, the normally verbose Jasin Natael was at a loss for words.

Well, the man wasn't saying anything, but at least he did smile. That wasn't a bad sign, right?

"Jasin...?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

He glanced up at her. His eyes opened into his heart. His heart was a scary place. Nobody should have that much pain, guilt, or sorrow. It also revealed a touch of madness.

"...Yes?"

And Cassandra saw those things. But it wasn't the first time she had seen those things in someone's eyes. Had she not seen those very things in her father's eyes a short while ago? And she knew her father was not a bad man at heart.

"Are you...okay now?" As in, will you not burst into flames again anytime soon?

He furrowed his brow and glanced away.

"I am well enough. Thank you."

Cassandra may be slow with her words, but she wasn't stupid. And in this case, his actions seemed to be speaking louder than his words. A frown came across Cassandra's lips.

"Why...you lie?"

He chuckled a little as he glanced up at her.

"...Hm. It was not precisely a lie. I am returning to my normal state. Not that my normal state is particularly pleasant, but it is an existence."

Did that go over Cassandra's head? In a word, yes. It was still difficult for her to grasp some concepts -- not for the lack of basic language knowledge, but from a lack of use and exposure.

"...No more flames?" At least that seemed like a simpler question to ask.

Asmodean chuckled, and smiled.

"That is the aura from my power. Sometimes I use it involuntarily when my temper gets out of control. No power for the moment. I have no need of it."

Okay, so that meant no flames. Which was good, since although Cassandra didn't have a particular fear of it, it was still a bit disconcerting. And he was smiling, so that to be a good sign, right?

"Good. You smile, too."

He chuckled. He rather hoped that she never saw his 'bad smile'.

"I suppose."

A nod was given to Jasin in reply. She seemed satisfied that his mood had improved since they had first talked this night.

Now that the situation had been averted, Cassandra knew that she should probably be returning to her world. She had yet to go on patrol tonight.

"I...need to go. Work," she told him.

Asmodean nodded kindly.

"Of course, thank you for talking with me, Lady Cassandra."

He watches her leave with a sad smile on his face.

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