"My statement still stands, Ms. Mikaela," Salem replied back, "Everyone dances with the Grim Reaper." His tone was entirely grim, but he kept a scornful smile plastered across his face. While she may be his muse right now, in the future he knew that there was a chance that her inner self would grow darker and darker, until eventually, he would have to approach her again, but with far more hostility. He dreaded the day, but knew that there was nothing he could do about it. If life taught him anything, it was that people can indeed change, but that change is always for the worse. Sooner or later, all falls to darkness. As his mother did, a Seer of Heaven for gods sake, so did he. The lady of shadows was absolutely no exception. 

Salem was sure that his own soul was as dark if not darker than most, but he told himself he'd ignore it until his goal was completed. The damned Dolores would answer for her actions, and only after the deed was done he would allow another to judge his soul properly. Until then, he was sure his song would continue to play or be played, either by him or a catalyst. 

Returning from his morbid daze, he sighed lightly. "Ah, and speaking of dancing with death..." he smiled as she accepted his terms, happy he wouldn't be disappointing Mikaela and robbing her of a good performance. He laughed lightly in a playful nature, nodded when he finished. One question, one honest answer. While he was nothing like his family in the retrospect that he desired information, it was a term he previously used not too long ago in their performance, so he wasn't surprised to see it return to the surface of things. Luckily, he accounted for this, and already had a question in mind to ask his muse, a question that would benefit both of them as well as ensure he would be able to keep a close tab on her whereabouts. He was of course still curious to see her song play out to its finish.

"Very well, Ms. Mikaela. If you can do the same, I will answer any of your own questions." With that Salem blinked a few times. His vision was in bad shape compared to when he was using the crimson eye, and he knew he would be much slower to react, however he wasn't that slow. There was a reason he preferred physical fights without using his power, and this was it... 
Reversing the stance Mikaela took, Salem's own was more aggressive over defensive. He was the hunter, she was the prey. Salem sidestepped to the left as Mikaela hit at his right shoulder. A slow attack, he noted. Preparing his own attack, he threw a powerful open palm left punch, aimed at Mikaela's own right shoulder. 

If it connected, it certainly would sting, however shouldn't do any real damage, Salem hoped. He was being a bit more careful than he would as to not make her bleed again. To him, if she could get caught by a stray animation, she certainly could get caught by him. He had no clue how durable she was, nor did he know if his restrained attacks were powerful enough to make any difference.

[Mikaela Lye]

Sognatore... the word was foreign to the reaper, silently mouthing each syllable to see if he could break it down himself. While in its entirety Salem had absolutely no idea what it meant, he did recognize the first four letters, "sogn". That itself felt danish or german in nature, but meant something similar to community. He knew this based off the song he once written regarding local communities, and it so happened to be related to the Germany of old. Knowing this, he concluded that this couldn't be the case, and fell back on what he grew up knowing: Spanish. The word reminded him of the spanish word "sueño", to dream, and so, considering that Mikaela said the word as a descriptor, a word describing the musician, Salem concluded that the word has something to do with dreams. "Sognatore... dreamer, maybe?" He inquired, ready to be extremely wrong. He only analyzed the first four our of nine letters in such a short amount of time. "If so, what a unique thing to call someone else, Ms. Mikaela,"

Salem the Dreamer... it had a nice ring to it. He made a mental note to use it later. Relaxing a little bit, he continued with his response, "If you have a better definition of unarmed, I'm listening with open ears and mind." He said, thoughtfully, taking into consideration the rather sudden change in tone Mikaela exhibited. It resembled what he could only imagine irritation... if anything else, he wouldn't know, growing up with a seer and hunter as parents. The reaper, after hearing the change in rules, let out an audible 'tsk'. On the outside, he appeared annoyed, but on the inside, he smiled to himself. This was perfect, he could avoid using his eye anymore than he had to, and he could have some fun sparring with his muse. 

Keeping his cold posture, he nodded his head. "All I have on my person are the clothes on my back, nothing more..." Salem paused as he had a sudden idea. The song was getting repetative, and so he intended to add some swing to it by playing off Mikaela's emotions and intentions. It was clear that she was getting comfortable, at least. With himself being comfortable the entire time, so he believed, he only wished to have a bit of fun. "However, I don't think I will be abiding by your rules, and that is no lie. I simply cannot see myself being that intimate with another, even in play, when I know they are less skilled than myself in both hunt and symphony-"

The very moment he finished muttering that word, he relaxed his body even more as he watched Mikaela prepare herself. Little did she know, they were still very within his comfort zone. Physical confrontations was something he excelled it, and so, the moment her hair was up, he sprinted forward with above average speed. As he ran, he allowed the loose fit clothes he was wearing to flow behind him, moonlight reflecting off the gold highlights. He silently wondered how she would respond to a sudden movement, being as agile as she was. She also never stated that her army of shadows was off limits, but he didn't care.

His vision, while nowhere near as clear as before, was good enough to react to her movements until she put effort in, he assumed. As for how he would react to her responses, he didn't know. For right now, he intended on only dancing in the moonlight. The moment he got close enough, Salem would quickly jab at the open space beside Mikaela's head if able, hopefully sending the message across that he was doing the opposite of taking this seriously, before backing off, standing stationary and looking down at her as he spoke again. "With that being said, I must point out to you, that indeed was a lie, and this is entirely up to you, Ms. Mikaela. You don't seem like the type to enjoy physical fights, and as a hunter in life, it's only respectful I point that out in my death." Clear were his words, and a fake smile he wore, as he spoke down to her like a brother would do a younger sibling, his eyes still as cold as ever.

[Mikaela Lye ]

Salem for the second time that night shook his head, but this time in earnest. “By your logic then, Ms. Mikaela, I don’t have to lie when I tell you you’re wrong, and this network of deceit means nothing right now to one of us, and everything for the other.” Salem purposefully left out which of them was which, leaving the statement absent in the air. On one hand, it may be true that Mikaela cared very deeply about the philosophy of truth, lies, honor, and the bigger or smaller pictures. On the other hand, it could be true that Salem himself cared about how conversations with such complex parts were woven together, and whether or not there was purpose and meaning behind each syllable.

One could even say neither of them cared, and only pursued on for the sake of the one standing before them. Any way it was cut, to Salem, this was simply wonderful, like a live action poem of old. Salem raised an eyebrow, curious as to why Mikaela believed she wasn’t an artisan, but didn’t push the matter too deeply, only giving a simple retort in response, “Thus says the one who dances around corpses with grace and befriends the darkest of shadows void of absolute fear.”

Ah, Act 2. Salem didn’t forget. Still having his plan in mind, he smiled, taking out his gun once again and threw it to the side as if it wasn’t custom made and irreplaceable, merely scrap in the way of a grander performance. “Normally, I would define unarmed as ‘one who bears no arms’, the entire limbs absent from the torso, however in this situation, I would define unarmed as ‘Salem without his firearm’.”

Salem was sure previously he said barehanded, however, perhaps Mikaela had alternate plans he had yet to think of.

[Mikaela Lye]

As the water manipulator stood thinking presumably, Salem simply waited, his gaze on the blue beads that made up her eyes. While yes, he could clearly see she was staring at him, he didn’t really mind. Others had done the same in the past. A harmless, neutral action that invoked curiosity.

“You sure are a rather surprisingly dark one, Ms. Xia,” Salem said in reply to her preferred method of other’s destruction. Seeing as he already assessed her soul, and made the decision to support her cause, he did not react negatively to her words. “You would make a great requiem artist. You should visit the Purgatory District’s graveyard, there are a surprising amount who have perished by that exact method.” Salem did agree with her assessment though, however usually when those Salem wished dead found themselves, it was far, far too late.

What Words Would Lie… Hmm. Salem dwelled on that particular title for longer than he should, contemplating whether or not to write it in his journal, ultimately deciding against it. Sprouting a smile and saying nothing, he nodded. He surely would keep his eyes on her, joining her in walking the wrecked path. As they trod on, Salem found himself humming quietly to himself. It was somewhat nice to have another person to wander with, and this time, a goal he can pursue until he reaches his own. He was confident that he would easily be able to keep his promises with Ms. Xia present. He had shown her enough of his skillset and weakness for her to hopefully be aware of his limits, and accommodate for them.

It wasn’t long before she stopped, and he did as well, not too far away at all. Upon hearing her question, he replied simply, “I will wander wherever you do, provided you let me, until nightfall. I have some business in the deceased’s district to attend to, and afterward, I will seek you out. If you also have business elsewhere, I will simply see where today’s stanza will take me.”

[Xia Feng ]

The different emotions being expressed after every word spoken only fueled Salem's inner fire, so when she replied back to him that this was not her home field, he only shook his head in slight disappointment. He of course did not mean fighting, and as he tried to make clear in the earlier performance, he held back a great deal. What he meant was that the elements around the duo suited them both for what they could do, making the show far more grander... however if his muse did not immediately get that, he felt no need to explain. "What a shame," was all the reaper said.

As the mood lightened back up, Salem calmly answered her query. "You still have my blade, don't you? You left me with little choice, as I clearly have no other weapon to aid in my performance." While Salem was a great swordsman, he wasn't an equally great marksman, and without either of his two weapons, there was no chance in all of hell he would be able to take on his fellow artisan without using his eye's power. Deciding to fish for more time until he was able to use it again, he proposed one final element to their play.

"I have no issue fighting bare handed against you. It'd be like a real dance, and while I'm a musician over dancer, I can adapt tonight... of course, as you were bleeding earlier, it looks like you need a minor handicap," the reaper said as he lightly teased the shadow lady while keeping track of how much of his energy was returning to him. "and to add to the performance, if you emerge ahead, I'll share with you one secret about me... and you may keep my blade. If I come out ahead, you must pay my my musical ensemble a visit."

As he finished that last sentence, he was a little under half capacity. Enough to get his vision back and majority of his other physical skills at least... but not enough for reading someone's soul, and so he only had her spoken word to go off of. "Sound satisfactory?" While he waited for an answer, he noted that the rift he opened remained open while he was resting. He would have to personally go and close it, else it was just wasting energy. He took a mental note of that for later.

[Mikaela Lye]

"Arrogance is the mark of daring individuals, their flair on the stage and with an instrument at their whim is simply outstanding, do you not think the same?" Salem, as he was speaking, was busy writing in his journal. He had plenty to jot down, and so many poems, hymns and songs to write about tonight, all thanks to his muse. His attention wasn't divided however, as he could easily control the reanimated as if he was playing a game and he had cheat codes. "Truly a modern desperado..." Salem proclaimed, referring to both her remarks and her performance. He had no business responding to being called a bastard, as he was one by its definition. Not in its pure form, but something far more and far less at the same time.

Looking up from his written word at the signal that things were about to begin, he watched with anticipation, nodding in approval as his muse danced around the corpses as if she was indeed on a stage. Her movements were graceful and light, soft staccatos on half notes her feet were.

If Salem meant any real harm, he could easily collapse his posy of undead onto her, and fire his handgun as a climatic finale... but where was the taste in that? Where was the buildup, the construction of notes that wove perfectly into the masterful end? It was non-existent, and not only that, Ms. Mikaela was not deserving of such an end, meaning the reaper could take his dear time in learning from his muse without the worry of her turning on him. As he stated, even if she did, he could easily learn from an undead muse.

Then, he noticed the long note of darkness at her heel. She did indeed command the shadows as in requiem, and said darkness began to block his vision of the performance, much to his irritation. Lightly sighing, he began to more accurately control the corpses that were on the other side of the mass of shadow, their movements now being more precise and accurate. Them being fresh corpses helped in this manor, making them able to keep up with the commands he gave them. While he did this, he responded to the shadow lady.

"The ending of this act will be your facing off with Scabrithe, the unfortunate giant currently being punished by my wrath in grimace Purgatory... the finale is a show of overlaying abruptness, agility, and gracefulness. As you were..." His words were carefully spoken, and as he spoke, he crossed his arms. He couldn't see what was happening too well from his own eyes, however his necromancy was not to be underestimated. He ensured any corpse that fell was not replaced, but the remaining grow more rapid in movement. 

"If you wish to proceed to the final act of course, my muse."


[Mikaela Lye]

"Hmm..." Salem thought about the mentioned artisan, the rapper that apparently did not have much good taste, if Mikaela's word was anything to go by. "I will keep the rapper in mind, thank you." With that, Salem gave a small, yet respectful, bow.

With eyes that reflected the heart, Salem simply looked down at the shorter girl with sorrow, his smile faded. His expression was now its usual dull, and emotionless shade of grey. Did she truly believe that? Surely she didn't mean it, as a humanoid such as herself who had not experienced the other side wouldn't know of it's beauty... nor it's terrors. Regardless, if that is what she truly believed, he would oblige. 

Salem focused more of his energy into his now glowing red eye, and as before the ground parted, but this time a good distance behind them. Salem believed in following the ebb and flow of life's music, only granting death to those that deserved it, and while he may not go all out the vast majority of the time, he wasn't above taking the souls of others for the purpose of an artistic high of some sort. Briefly thinking back to the child killing behemoth he slayed a time ago, Salem spoke slowly as fifteen fresh corpses walked towards them at a rather quick pace.

"That is a very strong belief you hold, Ms. Mikaela. I am curious to see how sure you are of yourself." He then turned to the side to reveal the mass amount of undead scurrying towards them. "If you believe that the ones over there are not as cruel as the living, I offer you a chance to see for yourself." On a normal day, if one knew Salem well, they would assume he was joking, and brush this off as cruel humor, however tonight the musician was as serious as the grave he was standing on. Besides, he didn't joke often anyway.

"There is a chance they will close the curtains early on your life's stage performance, I have to admit, and I will not interfere," Grabbing his journal again, he began to write down a simple statement: Mikaela. Part I. Artisan, Living or Deceased... 
Glancing at the dark haired individual, Salem coldly stated, "In that particular case you do decide to walk over there and meet death, I will have found the deceased artisan I was looking for, and I swear on the Esmeree name I will ensure your grave's header will not fall into disrepair." 

Of course, Salem didn't expect her to move an inch. The only ones who did, when given a similar choice, were all suicidal. Instead, he readied himself for the chance that she did literally anything else. A living artisan was better than a dead one after all... Overly curious to what this newly discovered artisan would do, he merely waited as the undead marched, in rhythm, towards them in the grim setting.

[Mikaela Lye]