There was something to be said about the corridors of the palace - though it wasn't always the most busy, you could almost always find someone to talk to. It was rarely bustling, but with the population of arrancars concentrated in what was a large space, it was not likely that you would run into some strange people during your time there. However, there was something else that could be said about the desert just outside of the walls.

Sure, the entire desert seemed to look exactly the same, but there was something soothing in the monotonous landscape. There were less people out here, and it was a lot cooler than in those stuffy rooms. Even now, when the other realms were beginning to head into summer, the desert was simply tepid - without the presence of a sun, it was never warm, but for some reason it was never that cold either. Something that had always confused him, as matter of fact - surely it should be cold since it was always the dead of night. With that in mind, Thor walked along hoping to bump into someone. Hoping...

Luckily for the Arrancar, his hopes would soon enough be realized. The monotony of the dunes that coat the desert was disturbed, as Thor would soon come to notice if he paid enough attention. A trail lay between the dunes. Signs show that a body has been dragged through it, unless there are other reasons why the sands would be disturbed by more than just footprints, blood soaked into it, staining its otherwise pearlescent white grains a dark, yet reflective red.

Though it surely wasn't all that uncommon in the vast desert of Hueco Mundo, yet in this particular corner, any other trails might be rare to come by. To an attentive eye, the blood is fresh, the trail leads directly west - and there just so happens to be someone at the end of it. Not to far away, a single man, very tall, and seemingly struggling to drag the corpse of an adjuchas-class hollow. His clothes were remarkably tidy, and he didn't have a scratch on him. Slowly he paced onward, taking his sweet time to get to wherever he intended to go - seemingly unaware, or at least inattentive, to the other presence that walks the desert this eternal night.

The arrancar would continue walking through the barren sands, not knowing if he would be able to meet someone as he had hoped for at first. And the more he walked, the more he would realize how hope was nothing but a distraction. Why, you may ask? Simply because he was not even close to meeting someone, and the foolish notion he had convinced him to keep on looking. Sighing, the man would come to a halt. As he would go on to turn, to return back to the castle, his gaze caught something. A trail of bloodstains. Narrowing his eyes, the man would crouch down, only to run finger through it, examining it. It looked like someone was dragging something through the sands - and considering the bloodstains, it was most likely a body. "Interesting indeed." Smirking, he would utter under his breath, fixing his gaze to the west. Apparently, the trail leads to the west of the wide sands - and that was exactly where Thor was going.

Thor was feeling exuberant as he closely followed the trail west. It has been a long time since he has been this excited. But, to be honest, he was a little more curious than he was excited. Be that as it may, Thor would find that the trail would lead him to a man who was dragging a corpse of a Hollow. "There you are." The arrancar would release his spiritual pressure, wanting to aware the stranger what was coming towards him. Was the man ready for the third espada? Maybe. He would soon find out.

"What an absolute pain.." thought the Arrancar. After all, who enjoyed lugging around lumps of dead meat, even if the payoff was worth it in the end? D'gerik wasn't one of those people. He hadn't run into anybody else so far, although there were entities around and about. Mostly lesser creatures, things that the Arrancar hoped wouldn't try to bother him for his catch. There was only one presence he could feel that was even above the surface of the sand dunes that was remotely nearby, and one that was getting closer at that, although D'gerik hoped it would not be to pose any threat to the man.


And yet as the sole Arrancar continued to struggle and drag the carcass through the desert, it became clearer and clearer that the entity in question intended to draw ever nearer. It didn't feel like an ordinary hollow. This one was strong, much stronger than anything he had faced in the past, and rather clearly stronger than himself, as he could feel from the thankfully courteous attempt from said entity to make his or her presence known more clearly. This wasn't a fight D'gerik wanted... Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that. Perhaps there was indeed other intelligent life in this god-forsaken place. "Fine, come along then. Hopefully you aren't intent on a fight, because I'm damned tired from dragging this useless creature..."

In the blink of an eye, Thor would Sonido near the stranger. Scanning the man, then the motionless corpse that lay beneath his feet, the arrancar would wrap his hands on his biceps as his arms folded over his chest, he would go onto respond to the stranger, "I only fight when I am provoked. So, as long as you keep a things non-violent no harm shall come to you. Do you understand?" His tone was absolute. And the seriousness of his statements could been seen with the rather serious scowl on his face. However, said expression would soon disappear as a much more jocular expression would take its place. "I'm just joking, man. I saw the trail of bloodstains and decided to investigate a bit - and here I am." Thor would say with a lopsided grin on his face. "In all seriousness: you should cover your tracks next time you decide to drag a body over the dessert. We don't have stand storms here and not everyone is as laid back as I man."

His eyes would once again fix itself on the dead hollow, "So, what's this whole deal with dragging a hollow's corpse across the desert? Keeping it as trophy or souvenir or something? Though I believe just one part of the body would suffice." The arrancar spoke, rubbing his chin with his fingers as he would return his gaze back to the stranger. "Who are you?" A number of question had been thrown at the stranger. Questions that Thor wanted answered. But the real question is: will he get them?

How suddenly did the stranger make his way to D'gerik, certainly an attempted intimidation to the young Arrancar, however D'gerik was too tired to show fear or even caution beyond what was absolutely necessary as the moments gave way. In this particular moment, the stranger did not show any combative intentions, and soon after vocalized quite the opposite. The stern tone soliciting a reaction from the tall, pale Arrancar in a rather well spoken manner, albeit with his tiredness showing. "Well firstly," he commenced, "were my intentions hostile, don't you think I would have mobilized or attempted something when I noticed I was being followed? Or perhaps a touch later, when you openly revealed your presence to me?"

And it's possible he would have continued from here, had it not been for the other shutting him down by revealing the jesting nature of his comments shortly before bombarding him D'gerik with questions. Prompted, D'gerik cleared his throat before continuing all the while still dragging the corpse through the desert. "Well, firstly my apologies for responding so rudely. I've never been a physically overpowering fellow and this lug is quite heavy. In that regards I'm not worried about being followed. There aren't many things around here lacking sentience that are equally stupid enough to try and take things from me. Although I must say you're a rare exception I've no doubt could take it if you wanted it... But no, this is no mere trophy - rather an experiment for which I needed something preferably bipedal, in one piece, and similarly lacking any vital functions. The later of those three being easier for me as of late. And my name is Blackheart. D'gerik Blackheart. And you are?"

A hopefully sufficient bundle of responses for an equal amount of question, ended with the hopes of receiving a mutual introduction to a most curiously strong individual.

The man would reply to the arrancars questions - one at a time - without even pausing in the middle. As for the arrancar; he would eagerly take it all in. D'gerik seemed to be an eloquent individual, at least judging from the way he spoke and phrased his sentences. Regardless, Thor wasn't going to come to any conclusions just yet; he knew better than that.

"Hello, D'gerik. My name is Thor Blerster. I'm the Tercera Espada." Nodding, with a smile on his face, the arrancar would go on for a handshake, hopefully the man accepted it. Bringing his hand down to the side of his body, the arrancar would take a step forward as he spoke, "if you don't mind me asking: are you Scottish? If my memory serves me correctly, the surname "Blackheart" was first found in Berwickshire, Scotland, where the family claimed descent from the lands of Blackadder on the stream of the same name in the Merse division of Berwickshire." Thor had a huge fascination towards history. When he wasn't roaming about in the world of the living, he was reading countless of books in his quarters. You could say that he was a book-worm. But not quite.

Running a hand through his white hair, the arrancar continued, "I believe you said you were dragging this corpse to experiment on it, yes? So, are you some kind of a scientist or something? If so, let me lend you a hand." Thor would gesture his hand forwards, wanting to carry the motionless corpse behalf of the man considering the fact that it was clear as day that D'gerik lacked any kind of major physical strength. But for Thor, it was a field where he always had an advantage in. Regardless, while waiting for a response from D'gerik, the arrancar would ask a question that may or may not interest the man, "ever thought of joining the Espada? We could always use some fresh blood like you."

It was entertaining to have someone that displayed any form of intellect higher than the lesser hollows that dotted the landscape of this seemingly endless desert. On top of that, the man's introduction was swift and to the point, as D'gerik preferred it to be. "Espada? The warmongering survivalists supposedly led by a so-called half-breed? I do believe I've heard tell of the group over the years, although you are my first face to face encounter." It is important to note that D'gerik was not a man who thought himself above others, even in the field of intelligence, so it should come as no surprise that in spite of the response, D'gerik would indeed shake Thor's hand when prompted. It was the polite thing to do, after all.

The conversation would continue, one would assume, with both parties moving forwards as D'gerik had no intention of stopping - not at least when the risk of losing his catch, although minimal, did exist. He offered again in response to the unique take on his title, "An interesting presumption. Alas no, my family was german in origin. My last name, as was given by my father, was Schrödinger. Blackheart is a title granted to me a very long time ago.. I adopted the name shortly after becoming an Arrancar."

Although there was no direct response to the offer of help, D'gerik was certain to at least motion an acceptance to the assistance. However the last question Thor had to offer in the moment was certainly one that begged further elaboration. "And joining the Espada would bring me what, exactly? Survival? I've done so by evading or eliminating threats. No, I believe I'll need some convincing. After all, the Espada as an organization I know only by name..."

The arrancar raised an eyebrow in the response to the man referring to the espada as warmongers. "Well, while you do speak the truth - I'm no warmonger. I only engage in conflict when either, there is a good reason behind it or when someone forces my hand due to my life being threatened." He stated bluntly, continuing to speak, "and yes; the espada is led by a Vizard. I think he's alright. Can't speak for others, however." Did the arrancar have a problem with a vizard commanding the espada? Maybe. Would he have preferred an actual arrancar leading the faction? Of course. But, at the end of the day as the old saying goes; you deserve what you get.

"I'm not going to convince you to join anything, D'gerik. That's not my style. Either you want to join, or not." Shrugging his shoulder, the man would continue, "I just see no point in coaxing people; I'm not a salesman." Considering that the man thought of the espada as warmongers, there was a low chance of him joining, anyways. "But I will say this: contrary to popular belief, the espada aren't all that fucked up. There are some interesting people in it with remarkable abilities who I'm proud to call as friends." Ending his statement with that, the man would lay the corpse of the dead hollow on his right shoulder, as he would gaze at D'gerik, "so where exactly were you carrying this body too?"

How wonderful it felt to finally have someone to assist in carrying his hunts, it's too bad it would be temporary... However, D'gerik couldn't help but listen with curiosity - as the other member of conversation spoke not only with a similar level of etiquette, but also came to contradict what D'gerik had known about the Espada. Having never met any of its members, all he knew was from word of mouth, lesser hollows claiming to be allied with the organization, and things of that nature. "Truth be told, I care little for what kind of person leads the organization. Anyone who claims disdain for the Gotei and its Shinigami is someone I can at least sympathize with... Besides, I know when I'm outmatched. I know what a fight that I shouldn't take looks like. I've spent the past 200-plus years surviving on my own, clawing my way to where I am now. I know how much I've left to improve, and I'm unwilling to allow myself to lose everything over something so petty as angering a man known throughout all of this forsaken desert just because he isn't a hollow like us. But I digress..."

The two were making far more progress than usual, the strength of the other arrancar making the task far easier than usual for D'gerik. He recognized a particularly tall dune the two were now making their way over. It signified they were almost home. This granted the perfect opportunity to respond to Thor's final statements. "I'll have to consider it. I must weigh the benefits versus any detriments that may exist. In the end, my primary goal is that of survival. Power comes secondary to me. As for where we're going, see for yourself.." he grinned, looking forwards as the two would at last clear the dune, ahead of the clearing lay a sandstone ruin, claimed by piles of organized, mangled, and dissected hollows, all as dead as the one being dragged by the two, seemingly categorized in some odd fashion. These hollow number in the dozens, and many of them are seemingly still rather fresh...