( it’s an advantage, isn’t it? to prepare one’s capitol, the most concentrated point of its power, for an incursion that you very well know is going to come. as time marches ever onward until that fateful day, makoto finds himself in high perches throughout the city, looking out over it and imagining it as a trap bristling with steel teeth and ready to close on those that blaze into it with little more than blind faith and the image of heroism to bolster them.

or, at least, that’s what he hopes might be the case. there are defenses to prepare, soldiers to marshall, and preparations that the Aions themselves must take on. not all of these are in his wheelhouse, but when it comes to wheeling and dealing among his own, makoto feels a baseline imperative. he wants each cog in this machine to be performing its function optimally, in accordance to their imperatives and in harmony with each other around them, and he wants to catch any that might be rusting or out of alignment early, before they can jam up the rest of the works. )

a. ( NEW CHARACTERS: makoto’s eyes are keen throughout the citadel and the city at large for those that do not look like they immediately belong; should a quick focus with True Sight prove to show the individual is, indeed, an Aion fresh to arrive to achamoth and the Kenoma’s ranks, the demon knifes through the space, threading through crowds if need be, to assume a space at their side. as if he had been there all along, or as if he had been personally invited. )

It’s a lot to take in all at once, I know.

( his tone of voice is smooth, inviting, commiserative. he has put on a half-dozen different faces when fulfilling contracts with humans — each desperate and woeful soul seemed to want something different of the monster they summoned from beyond the veil, and he had tried to perform to the best of his abilities for each. he wants to be a compassionate fate to those new to them, albeit one firm and encouraging in a guiding hand. they can’t expect much of them now. if their birth into this world had been them hatching out of an egg and landing into a frying pan, this was most certainly the fire. )

Come, walk with me. Once you have your bearings, we can concern ourselves with the rest.

( ooc: The setting for this prompt is variable, whatever makes the most sense for your character! Makoto is looking to learn about the new recruits and try his best to offer them a role during the incursion. )

b. ( EXISTING CHARACTERS: these are largely going to be closed prompts nested under this top-level. if you are an existing Kenoma Aion and want to do something in this space, however, please let me know! )

( an odd stillness holds court within the chamber of makoto’s heart as achamoth’s prisoners are led to their pyre to burn. as the demon holds his own place in the procession, he tries to decide what it is. there should be something there, shouldn’t there? vindictive satisfaction that an enemy might soon be dead? conflicted relief that he would no longer be burdened by another’s hopes and concerns? he doesn’t know. he can’t say. it’s not until the time comes for him to carry their shards in the leg of the journey that had been designated to him that he begins to figure it out. even as he holds their shards, the crystallized essences of their souls, he can’t really seem to bring himself to force a concentrate of his own ire into them. it doesn’t feel right. not because it’s not how he feels, but because there’s something else… blocking it.

apprehension. anxiety. anticipation. this is not over. even though he leads the two to their supposed deaths — true and permanent dissolutions of the body and soul — it doesn’t feel “real” to him even as the entire city makes a spectacle of it.

it is not the forgone conclusion the people of achamoth seem to believe it is. they will have to fight for this, and soon.

when the time comes for the pyres to be lit and for all fire to break loose both in and above the city streets, makoto stands at a position of guarding near where the altar holds their shards, wary and ready to defend their unsanctimonious end. )

( ooc: This is an open call for any Pleroma involved in the rescue who want to engage in some extra PVP! Makoto will first be having a skirmish with Ryu, but afterwards I should be open for some possible altercations before he turns his attention to the boss. Feel free to contact me via PM, lycanthropic, or on discord at sharisper#0002! )