The sight of sounds [Sven/closed]

[Rose Leocadia]

Rose daintily glided to the back edge of her room; her feet lifted just inches from the ground. Her room was surprisingly large and spacious for an espada but was also relatively bare. Any furniture was almost purposely spread as far out from each other as possible, all pushed against the nearby walls, to make it easier on her “sight” to perceive the room. It was much easier to visualize the reiatsu in a larger open space like this, and it made her feel comfortable.

On the back wall of the room, a massive archway-like window welcomed the quite espada as she sat upon the window sill, letting her legs hang out of the tower her room was located in. It was as if someone had just carved a huge section of the wall out…and all things considered that is probably what did happen. She liked having the hole; it was as if she was welcoming all of the hollow outside towards Los Noches. It was her way of saying to them that they had a home they could “return” to.

The area was certainly extravagant for those who could see, worthy of someone with the title of “Second in Command.” Rose, however, could never really appreciate its beauty. She spent most of her time now following missions her Lord had given her and looking over the arrancar army. The last five years had been difficult for her psyche; the rocky alliance of her family troubled her nearly every day and nightmares of the espada falling apart took up her dreams. To think this all started with arrancar like Virgil, who were so vocal of their disdain for Lord Karzan.

Now it seemed it was Kyoshin's turn to try and break apart the family she adored so much. The lessons from Karzan were empty to the ex-second in command; it hurt the pit of her stomach just thinking about what had become of their loyalties, even her own. With her family in such disarray, she worried she would not have it in her to stop them. It left her depressed and worried for the future; somehow. She somberly sighed out as she slumped against the side of the windowsill, gathering her thoughts before they threatened to overwhelm her.

Instead of thinking of that, she would focus on the colors her mind perceived for her. The grayish hues of sand at Los Noches feet swayed with the sound of sharp winds...their colors moving like waves that danced to the sound. Each speck of sand was like its own living being to her; each had its own unique color and reacted differently to the colors around it. It was like watching a art be created over and over again, each time changing her expectations and keeping her interest. It was only when the sounds and colors mixed so well together that she thought of her "vision" fondly.

[Sven Delacroix]

(OoC: Just a note, Ecos Sairen, Sven's Fraccion will have a brief cameo, this being after His Calling, Her Song, which takes place during the five year timeskip.)

The steady beat of footsteps would no doubt alert the new 'Second in Command' as two individuals would soon enter Rose's vision in a mixture of silver and teal reiryoku that would give away their identities. One of them Rose would recognize for sure, the second being foreign to her. The footsteps would then halt in front of the door to Rose's room as voices soon could be heard.

Sven's silver eyes would lower to Ecos head of silvery follicles, her grey eyes looking upwards towards Sven. He didn't need her for this occasion, as he would smile at her sight, his voice unusually warm when he spoke to her. "Ecos, thiz is my own perzonal affair. Please vait outzide the tower till I return." Ecos' eyes said it all, as her small lips opened to usher forth a reply to Sven. She quickly halted herself though through her better judgement, nodding silently as she left Sven's side, her form drifting mournfully through the area to follow his order. As the echoes of her footsteps faded from Sven's hearing, his silver irises would turn towards the entrance to Rose's room. Letting a deep sigh escape his lips, he entered his new 'Second In Command's' chambers.

"Vell, hello, Rose Leocadia, I'm zure you know of who I am, so I needn't introduce myself." Sven's voice would float around Rose's ears as his eyes took in the rather large room from the open area that consumed most of the space to the large expanse that provided access to the sands outside Hueco Mundo, the one he had came here for looking out through said 'window' As Sven approached the former Espada, he would continue speaking, though sarcasm was clearly detected within his accented voice. "Zo, I've heard you've replaced Agotar as zey new Second In Command? Congratulations......"

Sven had heard news of Rose's promotion while he overheard the resulting dispute following the battle in the Human realm. He had soon left after hearing the news, so he had not the time to speak to any of his disillusioned comrades. Now that he had returned, he had decided to pay Rose a little visit.

Sven's right gloved hand would reach out towards Rose as he gripped her shoulder gently, his tattoo striking out against the fair skin of his arm, though Rose would not be able to see the more recent evolution Sven's appearance had undergone.

Lowering himself, Sven's lips would be inches from Rose's face as his accented voice ran smoothly into her ear. "So, tell me, Second In Command, vhat do you intend to do vith the Ezpada and the treasonous Kyoshin?"

[Rose Leocadia]

Rose’s whitish-blonde hair flowed with a light tingle of wind while she was approached from behind by two figures. Her ears perked slightly when she heard the audible steps towards the entrance to her chambers, causing her bandaged head to turn itself towards the sound. Her vision blurred with the hue of grays until it settled on the shape of the entrance, where two figures stood. The silvery larger shape was instantly recognizable to the arrancar as another member of her family, Sven. The smaller one, however, was…different. Rose’s head tilted slightly as she examined the reiatsu that flowed around the feminine figure; the reiatsu surrounding her was different from other arrancar, but she could not quite understand it. Before she could truly could truly perceive what was she was feeling, however, the smaller figure left the room, leaving but Sven and Rose alone.

“Of course I know who you are, Sven. Your accent is too recognizable to forget.”She perked up with a light smile when the man began examining the expansive chambers around him. “Yes, though. Lord Karzan had decided my abilities would be better suited as his second in command over Kyoshin’s.” Her voice was quite yet warm, contrast to Sven’s more sarcastic and sly attitude. "I’m surprised I have not seen you since that decision was made though…heh ‘seen.’ I mean, well…you know what I mean.” She admitted, before asking curiously as her head returned to “gazing” outside, “Where have you been off too all these years? You seem to have a made a friend; is she a fraccion?” Her question was not out of paranoia, she honestly was staring a conversation with him like he was some old childhood friend.

“I’ve been…very busy myself.” She sighed a bit as she thought upon her new duties briefly, “No time to find others as you have.” It might have been weird for Sven; the Arrancar he spoke to was not acting threatening or cold towards him like he might have expected, instead her demeanor implied that she still thought of the espada as the family she always said they were; there was even some hints in her inflection that she had missed Sven during five years.

Her body, however, did shift some what bashfully when the other arrancar placed his hand upon her shoulder. It was an odd gesture, and she imagined Sven did it intentionally because he knew it would get her attention. The pale woman did not fault him for it as she had come to expect this from someone like Sven. When he whispered into her ear she gently bent herself forward, slipping from Sven’s grip. It allowed her body to hang mostly outside and letting the soft winds brush across her figure.

“Kyoshin…and the others…” A small frown sank upon her face when he asked her so openly about how she would be dealing with the others. “Is this what you came to speak with me about...?" She floated gently upward back into the room, allowing herself to glide across it like a woman experience zero gravity. Her voice sounded disappointed, and perhaps somewhat evasive as it was clearly an uncomfortable subject for her. "I...well...i-it's not something so casually spoken about." A part of her wanted to discuss things like that with the cuatro espada, but she was a bit timid when it came to topics like that.

[Sven Delacroix]

Though Rose wouldn't catch it, Sven's face broke out into a warm grin as the new Second In Command questioned his whereabouts during the five years he had disappeared into the wilds of Hueco Mundo. "Let's juzt zay I had been doing zome soul zearching, trying to find myzelf if yuu vill. Let'z juzt zay I had quite zey time with our hollow brethren." His thoughts briefly turned to Cazador and the other hollows he had faced during his little escape from Laz Noches, which led him to the location known as El Raja, the scar placed upon the land by Lord Zaraki and the human boy.

"Let'z zay I overheard part of zey converzation as I left Laz Noches, just enough to alert me to the fact of Kyoshin being demoted and you replacing him as a meanz to keep him in check." Sven knew that Rose might not agree with the fact that she was merely a toy used to keep the Zaraki's pawns from dethroning the lord, but from Sven's perspective, that was what he saw and he applauded the Lord's renewed vigor. "For zo long had Lord Zaraki been obsessed with the human boy, he failed to see thoze closest to him begin to rebel or razher he ignored zey zhreat." Sven's words weren't meant to cut through Leocadia, but rather to educate her. Unlike the other Espada, Sven didn't serve out of blind loyalty, but merely as any Hollow did, following the one who possessed the greatest power. Since Karzan had recently increased in power and his resolve was gradually returning, Sven found new promise in Zaraki, while Agotar was cast into the shadows.

Surely, Rose must have realized that not only were her views beneficial to Lord Zaraki, but so too was her very being. Sven himself had noticed the look Kyoshin had whenever he cast his eyes upon her, as Zaraki had noticed as well. Brushing silvery follicles out of his face, tucking them behind his ear, Sven would continue his observation, the spectral grin remaining across his features. "I've seen full well the look the former Second gives you, and I believe it is razher foolizh for one to allow zhemselves to develop such feelingz for zheir underlings. As one who had originally lost his heart under such emotions, I can tell yuu with certainty that Kyoshin deserved his demotion. One zimply can't rule out of love, for then zey allow zheir subjects to control zhem and zheir emotions can be used against zhem."

Over the course of Sven's journey, his former life had flashed throughout his eyes, his nightmares ceasing as soon as he had regained his former memories. He had found an answer and even began to question his involvement in Agotar's plans, with whom he previously agreed to help usurp Zaraki's throne. Upon the realization that Kyoshin held emotions for another of the Espada, it only served as a weakness to exploit, labeling the now Privaron Espada as a weak link. It was only irony that Sven found Rose mentioning his new Fraccion who had helped awakened his senses, as he watched Rose levitate across the room.

"Yuu referring to the teal reiatsu that had accompanied me to your quarters. Her name is Ecos, my new fraccion, and let's just zay she's a fragment of a past life."

[Rose Leocadia]

“It all sounds like it was very exciting…” The girl said, her voice tinged with envy. Perhaps she was somewhat jealous of Sven’s little adventure. “It has been many years since I’ve had a chance to do the same; to allow the colors of the sand and the moon to guide me.” Recalling far off memories fondly, the arrancar drifted her body until her feet lightly pressed against the back wall. Extending her hands like a child pretending to be an airplane, she pushed off against the wall delicately and began ‘flying’ back towards the window where Sven remained. “It isn’t just your words; your very being has been changed somehow…your form appears differently than last I saw you; brighter, more whole.” She commented as her ‘vision’ focused on the cuatro espada’s reiatsu; her sight revealed a brighter color at the center of the usual silver outline that Sven had…it was intriguing to her.

While Rose approached the white haired arrancar, he spoke on about the last meeting before her promotion and Kyoshin’s demotion. A frown returned to her face as he spoke about their lord as a distracted and dangerous fool, something Rose did not agree with. “Lord Karzan chose me as a means to keep Kyoshin in check…I understand this.” Her pale body twirled around in the moonlight, it was like watching her swimming across a pond that reflected the night sky. “He does so to open Kyoshin’s eyes to our Lords ideals, he’s giving him a chance to change. I agree with our Lord’s actions, and will follow his lead if it will show Kyoshin the correct path.” The espada admitted in defense of Karzan’s actions, or at the least what she believed were his intentions.

Reaching the windowsill, her knee’s lightly landed on the ground, allowing her to balance her frame with her elbows pressed against the ‘frame’ of the window. Looking out towards the sands once more, she openly pondered to Sven, “Why does he think of me in such a way? When we first became close…I warned him of affection, that the others would just abuse it to exploit our weaknesses. …Even still, I fell pray to it as well.” She sighed, thinking back towards the end of the invasion, “No arrancar should need to depend on another, right? So why does he…?” Her head sank towards her arms, clearly upset.

“Why would anyone feel close to me? Am I to blame for this, Sven? Did I let us get too close...did Kyoshin fall because of me?” The woman's petite voice carried worry and fear, that perhaps this was her fault that their family had become fractured. "I'm sorry, I've tried to tuck these doubts away, but it can be so overbearing at times." She sorrowfully admitted, her head still buried in her arms. "Perhaps it would be for the best if I remained at a distance from Kyoshin..."