A Day of Rest [Valerius, Open]

[Maurelle]

Maurelle portalled in to take a break from the war that was just waged. She was still highly annoyed with the trick Stroud had pulled. But that was going to be put behind her eventually. As long as they secured the universe, then it wouldn't really matter. Maruelle looked over to see if Valerius had followed her there.

She needed to ask why he was so quiet at that meeting. She didn't understand what had happened. But, she wasn't rude enough to bother his mind. She had a sort of respect for Valerius and wouldn't prob unless needed. Though, Val never had a problem with her probing either.

"So? You feeling better now?" She asked, turning to him and sitting on the hill.

[Outfit]

[Valerius]

Valerius stepped out of the portal, standing next to Maurelle. With their recent victory over the good guys they had obtained the one place that had always been safe in the darkest times, and had turned it into something else completely. This world that they were on now was like a world within the world. The only way to get into it was to enter a door that was next to the now tainted cornerstone, so Valerius doubted that a lot of people would be coming in here. That pretty much meant that they had a whole world to themselves, though he couldn't really say that he much cared for the place. It was black and white, with some shades of gray here and there.

He dropped his sword to the ground and sat down next to Mara, scratching the side of his face. He was sure that she was wondering why he'd been so quiet during that meeting with the big powers of the universe when he was usually a very extroverted person. What had kept him so silent while the thing had gone on, even when the fighting had broken out? Well, he was certain that Stroud had been more then capable of handling a fight with them, and Ferser had come in with his usual dramatics to put an end to the whole thing. If Maurelle decided to read his mind he supposed she would find an answer, and she probably wouldn't like it.

So they'd won the Castle, and with that they seemed to have quite an advantage over the good guys. But what was the point? They would fight over the worlds until someone was the definitive winner? Was that really all they were fighting for, bragging rights? The good guys had something to fight for, to protect what they cared about and to make sure the innocents went unharmed, all that good, morally right, stuff. The only reason Valerius was even involved was because of Mara, and because it had sounded like fun at first. Maybe it's just because he hadn't had a good fight in a while, but things were starting to get kind of dull.

He looked over at Mara, flashing her a bit of a smile. Ever since he changed his appearance with his powers he'd been able to make whole facial expressions, not just half a face. He enjoyed flashing a glimpse of his mask to his opponents though, simply to make him look more intimidating at the beginning of a battle. "I'm fine, nothing was ever wrong with me." Valerius laid back on the ground, looking up at the gray sky. "So this Organization, and these Chasers too, how much trouble do you think they'll give us?"

[Maurelle]

Maurelle smoothed out her skirt. She let out a light sigh and looked at Valerius once more. "Nothing was wrong? Hm. So why were you so silent during that meeting? It was unlike you." She stated this bluntly, still not reading his mind. At this point in time, she was giving her powers a break anyway. She had overused it the past few weeks and fighting that Seraphina Grace had given her a head ache. How had that girl managed to trap her so securely?

Anyway, it was nice to see Valerius's face as it should be. His mask was slightly weird to see and drew attention. Either way, neither bothered her too much.

Maurelle noticed him lay down and calmly followed suit. The sky was rather gray and bland. Good, this was a nice place to relax. But he mind kept dwelling on her mistake on Radiant Garden and it was bothering her so much. She'd have to personally kill that witch now, just to make her feel better. It was an insult to be fooled so well.

"So? What do we want to do next? Should we just float around or should we wage war ourself?" The question was also on her own mind. Maybe she should bring up Sera? No, not yet.

[Valerius]

Valerius' gaze drifted sideways as Maurelle followed his action of laying on the ground. She had completely ignored his question...but then, it was not that important. More something to just break the silence, give them something to talk about, then an actual question. They would deal with Organization XIII and the chasers eventually whether they wanted to or not, that much was a fact. Laying around and wasting time talking about it would not make the battle any less inevitable, and whether or not Maurelle thought the fight would be difficult or not would not change the reality of its difficulty. Things would remain the same whether or not the subject was breached by the two heartless, so perhaps it was for the better that she ignored him - the only thing it was was a little irritating.

Instead, she was still asking him about that meeting. The truth behind his silence there was not that different from his reasoning on why he didn't care about the Organization and the chasers much in reality. He doubted that anything he could have said would have made much of a difference in the long run - sure, it might have made things more interesting at the time of the meeting, and for that he almost wished he had spoken up more, but in the long scheme of things? It really didn't matter that much. What the heartless was now trying to determine was whether or not Maurelle was angry at him for not speaking up, or whether she was actually concerned for his well being - well, as concerned as a heartless could be at any rate. Really, he was uncertain as to which he would rather was the truth....both seemed equally hard to deal with, and like they would require a lot of energy he did not really feel like expelling.

"The rest of you seemed to cover things well enough on your own," Valerius finally replied, his tone a bit flat as his gaze rolled back to stare at the grey sky above him. Really, what was so special about this boring world that it got to be locked up in such a protected area by the Light? Was it simply because they saw it as peaceful and they didn't want anything disturbing that peace? Because personally, Valerius saw it as nothing better than just downright boring. And if that was the case...then how ironic that the two beings currently residing there were the very heartless that had taken the world away from the light. To think, they had been hiding an entire world, however uneventful it may be....what else could they be hiding elsewhere? It was certainly something intriguing to the man's mind.

Valerius saw his answer as satisfactory, and thus offered none of the further explanation for his actions that he had in his head. If she really wanted them, he knew that Maurelle could get them, but somehow he doubted she would - not today. She actually seemed a bit...tired. And like something was eating away at her mind...there was something she was thinking about that she was not saying. He had known her long enough to be able to read things like that about her character, but he was uncertain yet as to whether or not he wanted to push her. Maybe in a little bit he would...that would depend on his own curiosity about the matter. Or could it be that he was concerned about HER well being as well...? No, that was not an option the man wanted to consider.

Maurelle's next question elicited a snort from the male heartless, and a bit of a grin formed on his features. He rolled onto his side, propping his head up by his elbow so that his gaze was resting on her. It was kind of amusing to see her in only black, white, and grey....wait, no, she had asked him a question, and he needed to focus. After all, quite a question it had been. "I somehow don't think 'floating around' is even an option, even if there are some among us that might find that to be a good idea," he then replied with a smirk, "because the leaders of the Light and all their stupid friends are not going to simply bow down to us and let us keep wreaking havoc. The question is not what we should do, Mara. Its when we should do it."

[Maurelle]

Maurelle hadn't answered the question since it seemed obvious of an answer. They would have no trouble with the keybladers and chasers. The Heartless had done just fine. They were stronger then the Organization, a few keybladers would be cake. But, at least he answered her question. Maybe she should have responded to his.

"Hm. Maybe. You were just so idle. I would have been worried if I could be." She paused before responding again. Maybe she should be polite and answer his earlier question. "As per your question a moment ago... I think we should do fine. No one really poses any threat to us now. So why dwell on it." She continued to watch the white clouds float by.

However, the silence did not last at all. Suddenly Valerius started to laugh. Strange, Maurelle glanced over at him with a confused expression. Her question wasn't answered till he spoke. Alright, maybe it was amusing. "Float around. You knew what I meant. But, we should do it right now."

Maurelle shifted to a sitting position. "But where to go..." She tapped her index finger on her lips, thinking about where they should go.

[Valerius]

[OOC :: Don't worry, I'm going to drag it out of you ever so slowly, haha~]

Valerius raised a single eyebrow at Maurelle's response - she would have been worried if she could be? Well, that slightly answered his question from earlier...so she was concerned. For him. How interesting. What he did not know was how that made him feel - well, not feel, but whatever it was. How that affected him, and his thoughts towards her...they were friends, he knew that. But at the same time, they were still Heartless. Creatures lost in the darkness, no longer human, existing despite the laws of science, and with only one real purpose - to destroy and conquer the light, to find opponents and vanquish them, and to reach their ends by whatever means necessary without the annoying problem of a conscience to hold them back. He absently scratched at the side of his face once more, still not used to not always having that mask there all the time, as he thought. Could they afford to have a strong connection to one another in the end? Was it even....possible?

"Well, I would be touched if I could be," Valerius finally replied, his tone a bit on the sarcastic side as he played on her words. It was true that he was mocking her, but it was not meant in a cold way - rather, it was the only way that he knew how to react for the moment. "Just don't make it a habit," he then muttered as an afterthought. Maybe he liked her worrying about him...but he knew he shouldn't. Not that he had ever been that concerned with the 'rules,' or whether or not he should overstep his boundaries, but for the moment, even Valerius knew that he needed to concentrate on the battle at hand first and foremost.

A slight smile tugged at the corners of the Heartless' mouth when Mara finally replied to his earlier question - and her answer mimicked his own thoughts almost exactly. This was why he had always chosen to spend his time with her rather than with Stroud and Ferser....at least he tended to understand Maurelle, and she him, for the most part. "My thoughts exactly," he then replied casually, directing his eyes back to the clouds above him once more as he rolled back onto his back. Still nothing but black, grey, and white...but then, he hadn't exactly expected a change.

Valerius did not follow his companion's example and sit up, but preferred for the moment to remain reclined in the grass on his back. He did, however, fold his hands behind his head to give himself a bit more of a cushion - overall, his entire demeanour showed he was nothing short of comfortable and confident despite the weight of what they were discussing. He had no doubts in their imminent victory. "Well, we've already taken from them what they cherish the most with this stupid castle and pointless world within," he replied to her question of where to to go for their next battle, "So I suppose....well. They have some secondary strong points we could take out, like that Radiant Garden world. Or the ones that are so disgustingly aligned with the Light, like Twilight Town. But then, attacking those directly and first would probably make everything fall quickly behind them, and that would just take the fun out of it."

Valerius trailed off for a moment, his mind distracted as a grey bird flew overhead. The stupid thing did not even realize how much its lowly world had changed recently, nor did it realize just who it had so casually flown over. That thought left a devious glint in the Heartless' eyes before he continued. "I'm just not ready for the fun to be over just yet."

[Maurelle]

"Well, I would be touched if I could be."

The tone was fully sarcastic and she could only smirk at this. He was completely carefree and didn't dwell on anything for too long. To him, this was all just a game that he could win. But, he was right about something, it wouldn't be any fun if it just ended. After they conquered the worlds, what would they do then? Surpress any uprisings and sit around? Hmph, it might be fun for a while, but over time it would get completely pointless and meaningless. It might lead to them fighting amongst each other out of sheer boredom. "I won't make it a habit. Just don't go die on me. Then I'd have to deal with the "almighty" Stoud and the "annoying" Ferser myself."

When he mentioned that there thoughts were the same, she sighed. Why had he even asked the question to begin with? Maybe to clarify that he was right and that they both agreed on the idea.

Sitting up, she looked back at his comfortable form. "Pointless? I like how bland this world is now. The castle looks much better with the darker colors. But you're right. Maybe we should start slow and attack some of the less important worlds to force them into their main strong points. In the end, it would make the final battle that much more enjoyable."

She noted the chirping bird too. Ugh. Silly things they were. But then a thought occured to her. "How about we attack my homeworld. Hmm. It was light the last time we were there. It's not crucial to the light, and it might be fun to take the world." She looked at him with a smirky grin.

(Sorry it took so long. I figured you wouldn't mind since you are moving and such!)

[Valerius]

[OOC :: Haha, no worries at all, since I just noticed the response anyway~ xD]

Maybe that was the truth - maybe in reality the only reason that Maurelle was saying the words that she was, was simply because losing Valerius would leave her alone with Stroud and Ferser - a fate that this heartless could fully understand her wanting to avoid. But then, her words also sounded like they may have been sarcastic...perhaps overshadowing a darker truth...

Wait, was Valerius seriously trying to find a truth behind her words? Was he really spending any amount of his energy trying to actually think about what someone else was saying to him to see if there was some sort of deeper meaning - let alone, a hint at some sort of feeling? Maybe being in Disney Castle even with the presence of darkness was rubbing off on him in a bad way, and he quickly blinked a few times to try to subtly clear his mind. She didn't want to be alone with the other two horseman - that was the end of it. No feelings, no regrets, to attachments....just something very rational. That was how things needed to be.

"Well, I suppose I can try to hang around this life a little bit longer then, if only to see what happens to everyone in the end," Valerius then replied with a tone that he forced a bored tone into, telling himself over and over again that this really was not an issue, and he really needed to stop getting hung up on it...and perhaps, really needed to get out of this world for a little bit or something to clear his mind again. After all, placing the blame on the world was much easier than admitting that it might be a real feeling within him...

Gah, feelings, they had no place in a heartless. This was all just ridiculous.

Valerius forced his focus to be solely on Mara's words about the battles ahead of him, and he nodded vaguely at her suggestion about attacking the smaller worlds to make the final battle more epic. "Yes, pushing all the worthy opponents that survive our other attacks all into one place...that could be quite a dramatic conclusion indeed," the heartless mused aloud, absently scratching at his face once more before he moved to subconsciously tugging at his messy orange hair instead. "Either we have a more satisfying victory in the end...or at least our deaths will be to a worthy opponent. Either way I see it as a success," he then concluded with a more satisfied tone. Yes, this could be his chance to finally find someone worth fighting - it would take a bit more time, yes, but he had waited this long already, and though his patience wore thin....it would all be worth it in the end.

Valerius finally pushed himself from the ground halfway, rolling onto his side and propping himself up on his elbow when Maurelle suggested attacking her own world. Very few knew where she was from, but Valerius had always assumed it was Gradia - or so the rumours whispered. It was not something that was typically discussed....none of the heartless ever talked about their pasts. About before they were heartless. About becoming heartless. The fact that she even suggested attacking her own world came as a surprise to him, but then...that was the best way to detach from one's past, right? Show that one didn't care care about it at all.

"You know I am always willing to cause a bit of havoc," Valerius finally replied, a devious grin crossing his features as his amber eyes glinted with darkness. Yes, that certainly could be fun, he supposed - especially if he acted with Mara....that always made things more interesting...

[Maurelle]

Maurelle was in her own little world. It was nice to actually listen to herself think. Normally, she didn't have the liberty of being able to turn off her powers and relax. With this war the heartless waged, the horsemen had to be alert or be attacked. However, her heartless were watching the castle and Valerius was the only threat in this world inside a world. But, Val was not a threat to her and she trusted him more then Ferser and Stroud.

Valerius muttered on about sticking around to see how everything turned out and Maurelle nodded. Good, at least she had a while to take back the leadership. Stroud had obviously made himself leader and she was not pleased with this. Maybe it was her own ego speaking, but she did not want Stroud looking over her like he was.

"Either we have a more satisfying victory in the end...or at least our deaths will be to a worthy opponent. Either way I see it as a success."

Maurelle nodded in agreement. "I agree. Either way is a graceful end. Though, I would prefer to live as long as I am allowed to. Dying before that day would be more of an annoyance then anything."

Val's movement to sit up caught her eye as she glanced at him. It seemed he was trying to get comfortable or something. Or, it was his response to attacking her own world. She'd find out in a moment or so if she was right.

"You know I am always willing to cause a bit of havoc."

The grin made Maurelle smirk herself. "Good, I'm glad I don't have to attack it myself. That would have been a bore if I do say so myself. Though, I don't know how much of a fight the prince will put up. He never was a fighter, pathetically. Work our way from the caves, hit my town, then destroy the monarchy. A bit of chaos before plunging the world into darkness." Wow, that was a little more cynical then she was used to. Strange how much destruction she wanted on that world. Maybe she still had a past grudge to the town that cast her out.

"But, to sit here and enjoy the day or to attack now on this whim." Maurelle glanced at Valerius. She was content with both since they would both lead to the end result.

[Valerius]

Valerius blinked a few times at the only being he would ever consider to be some sort of equivalent of a companion to him, unsure how he felt about her words. Living until the day she was allowed? And just who or what force had the power to determine something like that? Valerius had always believed that only he could determine his own fate, which was why he was still around now to do the things that he did. He had always perhaps fancied the idea of controlling the fate of others as well, but then, that was just one of those silly daydreams that helped one get through life's more boring moments than something he actually saw as happening. But then, perhaps that was not exactly what Maurelle had meant, so after a few moments of confused thought, the heartless decided to ignore the statement rather than start some sort of pointless argument. This was a casual conversation in a casual environment, after all, and Valerius rarely had the chance to unwind and actually not be bored by it.

"I suppose I could spare a bit of my energy to watch your back too, if you insist," Valerius finally replied, still keeping his tone rather casual, but this time it did have the faintest echoes of actually teasing the other heartless. He knew quite well that the woman could handle herself just fine, and he knew that she knew that he knew that (OOC :: whoa, sorry about that sentence). However, he was unable to resist poking a bit of fun at her all the same. Again, it was something he did not always have the chance to freely do, so when the situation presented itself....he seized the opportunity. Plus, it was about as far away from following his previous thoughts as he could be.

Valerius chuckled a bit as Maurelle began to list off the general plan of attack that she had in mind - it seemed that she might have had this planned for a long time, even if it was hidden in the back of her thoughts simply waiting for the opportunity to present itself for her to share it. the fact that she both held a grudge and intended to seek vengeance for it was painfully obvious. "Looks like you already did the hard part of planning, and all I have to do is the fighting. Good thing that's my favourite part or I might be disappointed right now," Valerius replied smugly, that devious grin securely in place on his rough-cut features. Mara's home world may have been small and slightly insignificant in comparison to the other worlds, but raiding it with her would certainly be more interesting than sitting around this castle while Ferser and Stroud did whatever it was they did when they were not fighting. Plus, any battle was better than no battle to Valerius.

The orange-haired heartless faked a thoughtful, contemplative gaze in a slightly over-dramatic fashion as he considered Mara's final question of WHEN. He even went so far as to stroke his chin a bit with his thumb and his forefinger and he pretended the question really was perplexing, even when his answer had jumped into his head as soon as the last word had left her lips. "I would have to go with.....now. That sounds good," Valerius replied at long last, his eyes flashing dangerously as they met those of his friend for a moment before they gazed past her, his mind clearly on the battle ahead as his fingers already twitched a bit in excitement.

Seems his casual relaxing was coming to a close sooner rather than later....well, as long as Maurelle agreed with him, that was.

[Maurelle]

(I am so pathetic. I have no muse for Maurelle anymore. I guess I want the Light to win so they can kill Mara off. Lol. But hmm. I'll see if I can give you a decent post here.)

----

Maurelle smiled as he agreed to watch her back. "That's thoughtful of you, Valerius. Though, we both know you just want a piece of the fight." She teased lightly before getting to her feet and rolling out her shoulders a little bit. She shut her eyes to stretch and roll her neck. After she felt that she had gotten the knot, she reopened her eyes. This was going to be an eventful day.

"Looks like you already did the hard part of planning, and all I have to do is the fighting. Good thing that's my favourite part or I might be disappointed right now."

"Planning is what I do best and I know you enjoy the physical battling. You know that I enjoy twisting minds. Though, I have been working on my fighting in my free time." The reason she had been practicing with her whip lately was because of that little witch. The mind reader had almost beaten her. But, that was not going to happen again. Next time, she'd be ready to beat her. Physically and mentally.

Valerius's grin amused her greatly. He seemed so thoughtful in his response. But, Maura didn't need to read his mind to know how he was going to answer. She waited patiently for the response as he agreed to go with her now. There eyes met for a moment and Maurelle chuckled. "Excellent. My thoughts exactly."

With a flick of her wrist, the dark portal opened to her world. "I'll see you on the other side then. Don't be too long." She teased once more, smirking as she stepped through the portal, leaving it open for him to follow her.

[Exit Thread - Moved to Here]

[Valerius]

[Exit Thread - Thread End]

[/center]