[Private] The King Will See Me Now! [Graven]

Enraged was not nearly the correct word to describe how Selica was feeling at this moment in time. She had used up a majority of her energy, but still managed to make her way towards the king's meeting room. Her body ached from head to toe and her outwards appearance was just as rough. Stray twigs stuck out from her voluminous, red hair that had already been matted into knots. Blood dripped from the multitude of fresh wounds on her body, although some looked much more serious than others. It was obvious that something had recently gone down considering it was very rare for Selica to leave the Menos Forest. It was known that Selica and Nakita were basically the caretakers of that domain, which meant nobody dared go there alone.

A scream or two could be heard as Selica hurled a few smaller hollows down the hallway as they attempted to stop her. Her vines were still fierce as ever as they pinned the hollows to the walls and floors. As she reached the set of doors leading the the meeting room, Selica would use two rather large vines to push the doors open. Out of breath and beaten up the way that she was, it was a miracle that she could still use any of her power. "I want to know why..." Selica would growl in a low tone before trailing off taking a few more breaths. It seemed that was all she could say for now.

Graven prowled the throne room, too agitated to sit down and relax for once. He had just dealt with his Primera and the man's various mistakes, and was still worked up over the situation. His blood was howling for the first time in a VERY long time, and he truly didn't care for the way the man treated his position, or the King's territory and rule as a whole. He knew that he was not as strong as he once was, and was endeavoring to rectify his own lazy behavior, but it was still enough that there was not a Hollow alive who could match him. A commotion outside his door barely registered, although a pair of vines slamming the doors to the hall open before his Quarto entered certainly did, along with the anger and bite within her words.

Turning on her with an irritated look on his face - a rarity for the Cero, he instantly dropped all pretense of being angry with her for disturbing him upon seeing her beaten form, replacing it with a small amount of shock and a healthy dose of worry. Crossing the room in quick strides, he noted her condition quickly. It was remarkable that she was still standing, let alone able to use her power at all. While the elder Arrancar couldn't sense her reiatsu in the slightest, it wasn't hard to guess that she was running on fumes. With a flick of his wrist, the blood streaming from her injuries would begin to move, the wounds themselves being knitted together and scabbed over before the excess was evaporated. It would likely still take some time to heal given her state, but it would go a long way towards helping her recover.

Gesturing for her to join him, the wolf would sit on the steps leading up to the throne, looking her dead in the eye before speaking. "Selica, what happened? It's hard to find an opponent that could get you to ruffle your hair, let alone do...this."

Abilities Used:

The cero was obviously frustrated and irritated by something as noted when Selica entered the room, however her focus wasn't on him in the time being. He would turn towards her as she stood with what effort she had remaining, but the atmosphere would change. His sharp, cold eyes no longer held the harsh stare they previously had. Instead, his gaze was replaced by something unusual for Selica to witness. His rage had been replaced by worry as he swiftly made his way towards her stopping her wounds from bleeding in a manner that her regeneration simply couldn't do. Still, she had held herself together as best she could and her fierce nature still persisted, even if Graven's did not.

He would gesture for her to join him on the steps and she would certainly accept taking her place next to him before feeling a heavy wave of relief flow over her. He would ask her what happened to her before mentioning her hair was in disarray. The arrancar would raise her hand slowly while gritting her teeth in pain and she would begin to pull the twigs from her hair. "I've never seen anything like him," Selica would say dropping her hand into her lap unsuccessful in the attempt to gain some control over her locks. "A shinigami. He came into the forest. He said he was there to kill anything living." The arrancar would turn her gaze towards Graven. Her green eyes were full of frustration and pain. "Nakita and I managed to make it out alive," Selica struggled to form a coherent thought or a thorough sentence. Her short, choppy words were enough to note that she was nearing an end to the only source she could muster. "Have you ever seen a man come back from the dead? I'm not talking resurrection. I snapped his neck. His head was facing the opposite direction. He used tentacles to relocate it. How is that possible?" A shiver could be seen running through Selica's body as her eyes widened at the picture of what the duo had seen the shinigami do. "Then, he so casually... Have you ever seen the inside of a Hadou 90?"

Selica would ask the last question before turning her head down and placing it into her palms. Her elbows would rest on her knees as she would begin to growl under her breath, "I won't fail next time. I'll kill him for sure. I'm going to kill him. Any way possible."

Graven listened to the young woman attentively, her description of the events was certainly a bit disturbing. At that last question, however, the wolf's eyes began to glow red and the full force of his reiatsu bore down upon the area, the very stones of the throne room creaking and threatening to give way before he reigned in his anger, his eyes still flickering crimson as he let out measured breaths through his fanged teeth. "...My apologies, Selica. I lost my temper for a moment. Atou decided that it was a good idea to kidnap the Gotei's foremost expert in Kidou, and either didn't expect any blacklash or foolishly thought that his fellow Espada would be pleased that he had all but invited the Shinigami to come attack us. I thought that I would have been able to drop the matter, but to hear that two of my Espada were nearly killed because of his reckless idiocy...If he's lucky he might be able to keep his position as Primera."

Taking another steadying breath, the eldest Arrancar shook his head and met Selica's eye once more. "Surviving a snapped neck is far easier than it would seem, so long as there is no damage to the spinal cord. Even then, should one have sufficient regenerative abilities, it wouldn't be as much of an issue, although it may take quite a bit of energy to do. Next time, tear his head off completely and cauterize the stump like you would a plant, and make sure to destroy the brain. As for a Hado #90..."

Chuckling slightly, Graven reached over and mussed Selica's hair, taking advantage of her own fatigue to tease her slightly and helping to straighten and untangle all at once. "You did well to survive it. I have seen one too many for my own liking over the years, and it never grows more pleasant. They let loose a field of gravity so powerful that it warps space and time in a manner akin to a black hole, making a second or two feel like hours. There are only a handful of Shinigami powerful enough to cast one. Given the tentacles, regenerative abilities, and knowledge of Kido, I'd have to guess that it was Captain Kokoro Nashi of the Third Division. I don't know too much about him, but information on Captains is relatively easy to come by if you'd like to hunt him down. All you need to do is capture one of their lower ranks, and nibble a bit. Works like a charm."

It seemed that Graven's anger would persist once more as it seemed that all of the oxygen in the room would disappear and her body felt insanely heavy. The force of his reiatsu pushing down on her already weakened body made things that more difficult for her to fight against it. She would sit still as a statue as her eyes would widen feeling the power's effect on her being. It was all she could do in that moment, but she knew it wouldn't last terribly long and it certainly didn't. As the feeling of suffocation would leave the area, Selica would take a few deep breaths as she would hunch over for just a few moments listening to the Cero's words. After recollecting herself, the Espada would sit herself back up straight before looking at the king's face. "I understand. I feel just as angry, but not for my own safety. My children," Selica would respond before holding open her hand to reveal a small, blue rosebud. "He came into our forest. He harmed our children so innocent and pure. He tried to destroy our territory. My rival. My dear Fraccion. I couldn't bare the sadness and despair they would feel. They trust me to always return safely to them. They're my family and I'll do anything to protect them. Hearing that one of our own would place everything I hold dear into such dangerous situations... It makes me sick. If it were me... If I had the power, I would end him myself." The arrancar would pull her hand back in wrapping her fist around the rosebud before it would recede back into her palm.

The woman lock eyes with the cero once more as she would listen to his explanation. It was no doubt that she wasn't a new arrancar, but the experience the king held was much more than she had. So, all she could do was trust that he was telling her what was truth and he hadn't pointed her in the wrong direction yet. He was the reason she was alive. He was the one who had saved her from her own despair. He had taken her loneliness and given her everything she needed to thrive. To him, she was forever grateful and would do anything to repay him. He had her full deserved loyalty. At one point, he would tussle her hair causing her to blush a bright red. Of course, he had to have known any other hollow would have died a painful death in this moment and he was the only exception, even Nakita would have suffered a most painful experience. Again, more highly useful information would come her way and some suggestions on how to get back at him would emerge. Although kidnapping shinigami was the ultimate reason for this painful battle, Selica was only clouded by anger and was beginning to form plots against him for what he had done to her and Nakita. "Kokoro Nashi," the arrancar had definitely exhausted every ounce of strength she had left as her body began to sway back and forth. "Thank You, My King. I'm going.. to kill him.." the Espada would speak for the last time before falling unconscious on the steps of the king's meeting room.

Graven would reach out and catch Selica before she landed on the cold stone, chuckling as he gently picked her up and stood. He could just as easily have called one of the many virtually-nameless Numeros to take her to the rooms she owned under the dome of Las Noches, but the poor bastard probably would have died should she wake up. While many of the Espada did not strictly spend all of their time in the light of the false sun, each had a palace roughly the size of a large city. Disappearing into a Sonido, Graven managed to cross the area within moments, searching briefly for the master bedroom and laying Selica down on the bed.

Walking over to the nightstand, the King would leave a note in his neat, angular script explaining that she should take things easy for a few days until she regained her strength. He did not need to lose one of his most loyal soldiers, or one of the few people he could call a friend. After doing so, he would give the unconscious girl a small, genuine smile before leaving, closing the door gently behind himself and returning to his own palace to contemplate this new turn of events.

[Thread Exit]