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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 5:20 am
Rain dripped off gutters in thick splatters. They shed their grasp on steepled roofs, abandoned the branches of trees, and pulled down leaves before they touched the ground. Destiny City did not weather the rain well; streets flooded into black mires that Umber watched thoughtfully while he perused the night. They reflected the endless black of stars that stared down unblinkingly toward their covert battlefield.
Generals behind the ranks of senshi, sent to match their own.
The newly-minter general himself knew that he should exercise caution when scaling the waterlogged city on his own. He kept to draining rooftops, to slick parapets, to shadowed ledges carved out of ample darkness. He avoided small, searing flecks of light that felt his peer in concentration of power. He kept contact via communicator with the few souls sharing his alignment that night. And most notably, Umber knew to stick to targets lesser than his level, for his weapon evolved to a weaponized gauntlet that he harbored little experience with. Should an enemy of ample skill find him, he knew he would need assistance to live through the night.
The steady patter of the last droplets striking the pavement covered Umber's soft tracks. He drew his hood over damp hair while he traveled the length of a bank's ledge, feet steady and deliberate in every step. And only once he reached the very ledge, where he leapt a gap of ten feet to light on a smaller store, he felt a grounded star of lesser strength to himself. It lingered further in the direction that he approached, and the hunter dropped into a pattering prowl that blended with the dripping city's monotonous drainage. Only metal rings cracking pavement voiced any instance of his approach beyond the iniquitous aura he shed like precipitation. And as he drew closer, he noted a second, weaker aura accompanying the first - a danger that he needed to evaluate before engaging.
When Umber finally crested the zenith of a hotel, keen eyes spotted the pair that he felt so many yards earlier - one of night black hair and dark purple garb, and the other quite the opposite. From his vantage point, he could not distinguish one from the other in terms of power - neither looked to be the greater power. He knew he would face magic in the process of engaging them.
And yet, one looked unmistakably familiar. Yes - the knight's uniform looked quite similar to what he remembered, though a few marked changes stood out from the memory. It hardly mattered; Umber knew the feel of the boy's starseed more than any real threat that he posed. The knight stood as every bit an unknown - a stranger that posed no threat to him with starseed in hand, or when pushed toward the train tracks. A talkative one that clung to Ashanite.
Perhaps he could use this.
The wind blew the dregs of rain where he once stood. The general remained far from his prior location, though he presented no indication of ever having moved. He stood in the very same position now, facing the knight and senshi duo, weapon absent, and presence clear.
Umber chanced no small talk. "You. How do you know Ashanite?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 1:38 am
They had decided to patrol together tonight - they'd been doing that more, actually, him and Thrymr. Mont Blonc was not exactly the most combat able squire, as much as he tried to pick up on some of the little self-defense tricks that Aegir had shown him. His magic was not offensive, and while Aegir had been able to use his magic far beyond what it was clearly intended for, the fact was when it came to combat Mont Blonc just didn't have the aptitude or the stomach for it.
Not that he stopped trying - which was why he was going out with Thrymr so much, because he was new at this still, and between the two of them they'd managed to take down some youma and potentially save a few lives - a good feeling.
The prickling sensation of a general coming at them on a rainy night, not so much. Mont Blonc drew a sharp breath, and when their 'stallker' finally made his appearance before them, the squire's reaction was instantaneous. First, his eyes widened with more than a hint of fear - because not only was this one of Ploutonion's tormentors, but this was also the man that had plucked his starseed out of his chest and he was apparently a damned general now.
Then, defensiveness. In the blink of an eye he moved, stepping between Thrymr and Umber, trying in one of those rare moments to use his height to his advantage.
Finally, something more complicated, a cocktail of confusion, frustration, and aches that had not healed seeping across his face. "I do not know an Ashanite," he said calmly enough, although Thrymr would probably know by now the nervous tightening of his voice.
The general did not have his weapon out. That did not mean he wouldn't summon it.
"I only know Ploutonion. - a fellow page of Saturn before you stole him from us."
He did not glance back at Thrymr, but he wanted to; the squire dropped his voice and murmured to his friend in a harsh whisper, "He's dangerous. If he tries anything, please - go run and find help."
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Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 9:36 am
In spite of the heaviness of the rain and the icy chill that seemed to run through the city like a tremor, Thrymr did not mind the dampness. His snowy hair, braided and looped neatly against the back of his head, was sodden and sticking wetly to his pale cheeks, drops clinging to his lashes and making them feel like he was blinking back tiny streams.
Thrymr minded none of this, nor cared; and, in fact, almost found it reassuring and pleasing, even with the cold beginning to settle in. He followed along beside Mont Blonc with his head held high, his gaze sweeping over the streets with their glossy tracks of rain slicked over the black tar and felt at least a small sense of accomplishment that he and his current patrolling partner had managed to take down the youma.
It did not last long.
The tracings of a power signature reached them all too quickly, stronger than his own, and Thrymr glanced warily around until he felt it crest and the figure came into view, Chaos filtering through the air. His gaze flickered up and caught the color draining from Mont Blonc's face, Thrymr's chest tightening.
The name Ashanite was entirely unfamiliar, as was Ploutonion. Thrymr's brow furrowed, but he had little intention of letting Mont Blonc take any sort of attack in his place, stepping out from behind the squire and taking his own beside his friend instead.
"I'm not leaving you," said Thrymr quietly, but remained silent otherwise, his pulse quickening.
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Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 1:01 am
The protection attempt was not unexpected. For the midnight one to move before his sunrise friend confirmed their power signature differentiation - the one he met before was indeed the stronger. A squire, then, and a basic senshi. He stood at a marginal disadvantage if they knew how to coordinate. By the manner that they whispered to each other, he wagered that they did. Umber knew he would have no mercy to spare that night.
When the squire refused to answer his question, when he countered with a declaration of personal loss, Umber's dreadfully low patience wore out. He aimed a fist at Mont Blonc's face as a test of general's strength and the boy's ability to learn. It struck in an anticlimactic crack of bone against bone in the dead, dreary, dismal night air. Weighed down by the hanging humidity.
"I won't ask you twice." Umber resisted the urge to massage the throb from his knuckles.
The defended quarry stepped up, and Umber immediately knew which to abuse if he needed information instantly. He did not act weak, but he felt it - Umber imagined, then, that the squire would leverage information for the life of one so brittle. But would it be worth catching and releasing the pale-haired one to receive information on Ashanite? Fostering such a grudge proved precarious.
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Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 1:28 am
At Thrymr stepping out from behind him to stand beside him, Mont Blonc's gaze shifted briefly to him, worry apparent in his vibrant yellow eyes - it was a mistake. No sooner did he do it than there was a rustle of rings of fabric, a flash of movement, and the sting coupled with the audible crack of knuckles against his face.
The squire gave a strangled yelp of surprise as he stumbled backwards a step or two - and wished he hadn't. His pride was not much, no, but to not only give this general of all people the satisfaction, but also to falter like this in front of Thrymr - he was supposed to take care of him, supposed to be looking out for him -- !
He took a step or two further back, throwing out his arm to try and coax Thrymr back with him. dropping into something like one of the defensive postures that Aegir had taken the time to show him. The squire summoned his pen to his hand, for all the good it did. His face throbbed terribly, but he gritted his teeth and tried to act unphased, his cheeks burning - one strained a deeper red than the other.
"He was -- he's -- my friend." What else did he think the answer would be? "He was the only other knight of Saturn I knew at the time, I - is that enough answer for you?"
His ring gave him magic to make himself more elusive... but not Thrymr. His pen could silence, but what good could that do here, and how could he get close enough to etch the symbol on Umber's skin even if it would make a difference? What else could he do but answer?
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Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 9:22 pm
The crack of flesh against bone was almost deafening in the chill night air, and Thrymr could not help the flinch that crossed his face. He reached for Mont Blonc instantly, his hand on his friend's arm, eyes wide and surprised as he tried to pull him back, just a little. Mont Blonc's arm was still out, as though to protect him, but Thrymr bypassed it with an agility that far surpassed any physical or fighting capability he might have had - or not had, rather. He stood instead beside the squire, not behind him.
His hand lifted, fingers ghosting over Mont Blonc's reddened cheek briefly before they fell away, Thrymr's gaze on the General.
He said nothing, merely stood there quietly, observing.
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Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2015 5:55 am
The strike offered very little persuasion for information, it seemed.
Umber's exasperation grew steadily apparent in his countenance, starting with a slight frown that pervaded his generally stoic appearance. Umber did not pursue the strike for a followup; instead he folded his arms over his chest and regarded Mont Blonc without guarding his displeasure. The man stammered through his answers, what little he issued to the requesting general, and continued to guard his cohort as if he meant more than the squire himself. And perhaps he did - what was Umber to guess otherwise? But such conclusions were reserved for those of Information.
"No, that isn't enough." Umber wished for his bow right then, as he thought he would find more progress by filling Mont Blonc's legs full of broadheads. Umber found it a grave disappointment that his weapon differed so from a bow, but perhaps the sharp blades afforded more expertise in enticing answers...
"I want everything you know about Ashanite - about Ploutonion. Tell me about his wonder, the company he kept, the goals he had, his weapon, his magic - everything. Spare no detail. Even if it involves telling me what he had for breakfast last March." He had to operate under the assumption that any detail was worthwhile, and if that breakfast offered insight into what motives might draw him back to the White Moon, then it was his responsibility to suss it out. But the past could not hold all the answers for Ashanite's motivations - certainly he had misgivings about the Negaverse, and if he trusted this squire as a friend, then he should know precisely what soured the captain.
"Then I want you to tell me what you know of him since he joined the Negaverse. Don't think to lie to me." He added no threat afterward, but the intimation lay within his algid words. He already punched Mont Blonc once- doing so twice, or putting his weapon to use was no bother to him. And if he had to eviscerate the orange one in order to obtain that information, then that's one less enemy for him to contend with.
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Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2015 6:18 am
Mont Blonc wished that Thrymr would have stayed behind him - it wasn't much safer there, a tissue paper defense at best, but it was better than no defense at all.
Not to say a part of him wasn't kind of selfishly glad to have his friend beside him. As hard as the squire was trying not to be, he was afraid. The way his free hand had curled defensively just before his chest spoke volumes in itself, though it was likely something Umber would catch before Thrymr did. Thrymr have have no longer been behind him, but Mont Blonc at least kept a hand on his friend's arm. His eyelids fluttered lightly at the touch to his cheek, and although his defenses didn't drop, he was grateful for the subtle reassurance.
It made him feel stronger than he was.
He gritted his teeth lightly at not enough, and wondered to himself what else he could possibly have to offer - there wasn't so much, really. Their interaction had been limited, had been -
Breakfast though? Really?
"C'est quoi ce bordel?" He blurted out the French in bewilderment. Of all the things to be punched by a Negaverse officer for in the rain in the dead of night! "I - I don't know what he ever had for breakfast. We were not those types of friends."
The squire realized a little late how sarcastic that might have sounded, and he winced visibly - see, this was why impulsiveness did not suit him. "I never found out his magic. I only met him as a page. He had a pomegranate, he - " He kissed me on the rooftop when I met him and then he was corrupted and I still have nightmares about what you people did. The memory flashed back to him with an irrational flush of red to his pale cheeks, although he said nothing, "H-he - I couldn't help him much as a page myself, and we spoke of other Saturn knights that we'd met - he was the only one, so - "
He bit his lower lip hard, easing a little further away from the general, his hair clinging wetly to his face. "I never saw his wonder. All I know is it had catacombs. Dead things. Most things on Saturn are dead. Any of us can tell you that."
Since he'd joined the Negaverse. Mont Blonc looked down, briefly, then up, and maybe more deliberately for once dared to catch the general's eyes as he said, cooly for him, "I know since he joined the Negaverse, I've never seen him without bruises." Or happy. But he would not say that either. He could not jeopardize Ploutonion, would not put him into a position where these people could have an excuse to hurt him more. "I know he's afraid of you. You and that woman. I can't offer you much else, I - I really don't know that much."
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Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2015 7:20 am
Too many thoughts were running through Thrymr's mind - several of them had to do with the unknown entity of Plutonion - or was it Ashanite? - and why there was such an interest in him from a Negaverse agent, why the very name had made Mont Blonc go pale and unsteady on his feet. He could feel the tremors in his arm as the squire held it, but still he stayed where he was beside him, not behind him, fully intent on staying on as close by as he could.
Most things on Saturn are dead.
Thrymr supposed he should have known this, but he had never been to Mont Blonc's wonder, or any of the other's, save for Methone's homeworld. He wondered if they were truly all that way, but his gaze was focused still on the general in front of them, hair causing raindrops to slide wetly down the side of his face.
Whatever the case - he had to stay calm, and he had to stay with Mont Blonc, Thrymr having no desire, as he'd said, to just run off and leave him at the first sign of danger. Maybe he could not do much, other than offer moral support, or mental support, but he did what he could with the resources he had, at the very least.
He saw the red in his friend's cheeks, heard the stuttered French, but said nothing, Thrymr's fingers curling a little more securely around Mont Blonc's own arm.frayedflower I am sorry 4 useless post
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Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 1:56 am
The french went unaccounted for. Umber remained so seldom exposed to the language that he couldn't even reproduce it vocally for someone else to translate. 'Those types of friends' received similar treatment - Umber never differentiated different levels of friendship, and therefore lacked the cultural scope to understand friends with benefits.
However, he was quite aware that Mont Blonc offered him next to nothing in return for his answer. He remained at the same point as before - he knew that Ashanite was Ploutonion, that Ploutonion was a Saturn knight, and that Ploutonion and this squire knew each other. The amount of care that the squire displayed for his roommate suggested a relationship that grew far beyond idle acquaintances, and that Ploutonion was inevitably corrupted into the Negaverse by request of Laurelite. Even pain failed as an impetus to open the squire to speaking with him. He added little more than bruises and fear. But none of this painted the man that Umber expected to see - none of Mont Blonc's replies told him of how Ploutonion carried himself in the sun, or noted the moments where the man dreamed about the future. Nothing spoke of how held that pomegranate in hand.
Umber did not supply disappointment as a harbinger in his actions. In fact, he offered nothing to telegraph his intentions before simply doing so - the general shot out toward the squire's companion, and in a beat of wings his knees connected with the senshi's chest, and in another beat of wings the two struck the ground, Umber on top, and he rocked forth with an inertia that dug his bones into the senshi's chest, and a breath of concentration called to arm a weapon unlike any he used previously, and in a peremptory click of the spring-loaded blades deploying, Umber leveled a pair of points at the senshi's throat. One strayed precariously close to pricking the pale skin.
Umber knew from how the squire's hand strayed to his chest that he was accustomed to starseed ripping. He understood it, and he expected it - much in the same fashion as Umber wrenched it from his chest before. Even now, Umber asked himself to picture it, but the memory held little more than a blank substitution for it.
For that reason, Umber expected that watching his friend spray blood against his pants, gasp and writhe, cough and sputter, held far more emotional damage for the squire than a simply transaction of starseeding. He watched the squire, expectant, for the countenance that would prove him right.
"You're giving me nothing." His words came quietly, despite his urge to bury the blades into the concrete itself. "I don't care that he's your friend. I need your observations of him. All of them. Spare nothing, or you'll have another loss on your conscience. Am I clear?" His heart rattled in his throat in a sputtering ire, and for the moment, he wondered if Mont Blonc knew a similar condition.kuropeco you are still terrible for okaying this
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Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 6:38 am
Things like this always seemed to happen in a way that was too fast - but the kind of fast that seemed agonizingly slow, less a matter of being unaware and more that he simply couldn't move fast enough. By the time he'd even managed to turn his head, the pair were already on the ground, with Umber above Thrymr with blades out and ready to pierce the younger senshi's throat at the drop of a hat.
"THRYMR!"
His eyes widened, white on all sides around the too expressive yellows of his irises, horror etched across his face as clear as day. Another loss on his conscience. Tears pricked at the edges of his eyes, but did not fall, every inch of him shaking as his breath became labored, panicked.
"I - I - I - " he stammered at first, his face still flushed, desperately fighting to force words to flow - any words, anything, just say something. "I don't know what to say! I - I didn't know him as a civilian, I - I didn't know his favorite food, or where he grew up, or - or - any of that!" Not a good enough answer. This wasn't enough. He needed something, something to say - he couldn't let his happen, couldn't let Thrymr -
"I - he kissed me once, before he corrupted!" he sputtered out finally, and he would have been visibly sweating if it wasn't raining like it was. "The night we met! But that's not - it didn't mean anything, it - I - knights of Saturn have a bond!" he exclaimed almost helplessly, his hands rising and falling desperately at his sides. "I think. I-I think all of us from Saturn do, I - I don't know why that is, I - a-and corruption - I know he still considers me friend, that's all that matters! M-most of us have a bond anyway. Some of us have attacked each other, according to him - P-Ploutonion, I - don't really know! I've only ever met a handful of other knights like me, I - "
God what the hell did he even have to offer?? "I took him to my wonder once, I - I know you've been hurting him, I - god, please let him go, " he sputtered out. "Take my damn starseed again for all I care, do whatever, just - just let him go, please!"
Don't let him be helpless, useless again. Please. Not now.
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Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 6:58 am
He had only a split second in which to register a blur of movement, a split second to realize that it was the general, moving faster than he could stop or dodge or move away.
Something heavy hit him in the chest, completely knocking the wind out of him, and Thrymr crumpled instantly, a sharp thud echoing as his back hit the ground. His eyes flew wide open, a startled cry that twisted into a ragged, stunted gasp for breath ripped from his throat, and all the air in his lungs seemed to have compressed into nothingness. Dimly, he was aware of Mont Blonc shouting his name, but Thrymr heard a click, saw a flash of something dangerously sharp and knew he couldn't move.
The blades were at his throat, Thrymr still just trying to breathe, fear starting to sink coldly through him, an icy chill inside of his veins. He wanted to say something, anything, but nothing came out except a half strangled drag of his throat for air. Damp hair stuck wetly to his forehead and cheeks, the white spread out like a cloud beneath him, stark against the dark pavement. Rain had started to seep into his uniform from the ground, dark patches appearing on the bright fabric.
And he was useless like this, Thrymr knew, his heart clattering painfully in his chest, pinned pathetically to the pavement like a butterfly about to be skewered. Mont Blonc's voice was full of terror and desperation, wavering in and out above him, and Thrymr tried to look up at him, eyes flickering towards his friend, trying to convey something, anything at all that was not the fear already in his eyes.
"M - Monty - " he managed to get out, swallowing hard, the movement making his throat dangerously closer to the point of the blades. "Monty, no - don't - "
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Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 7:41 am
Umber listened intently while his impassive gaze settled on his quarry. The senshi did not struggle beneath him - a choice that Umber considered wise.
He says 'I' too often. Thinking of others before himself must feel foreign to him. ire grew when the squire provided nothing more than negatives, and the pair of blades drew closer to the senshi's throat. Finally, when Mont Blonc transitioned from denials to supplying what information he could scrape together, Umber's attention magnetized to the man and his blades dipped just enough to kiss the skin if Thrymr swallowed a second time. There he waited, archiving all the information that he found important, and all the idiosyncrasies he found notable, and waited for Mont Blonc to conclude his harried stammer. So Ashanite kissed this squire. I wonder if he remembers it. He thinks it's a result of a bond... That might be true. But I think this squire is more trouble than he thinks.
He considered letting Mont Blonc live and what it meant to Ashanite. Certainly he still had this friend to return to, if they set up some meeting place on regular sessions. The squire issued no indication of regular meetings, although his notation that he had never seen Ashanite without bruises suggested repeated encounters. And Ashanite trusted this squire enough to explain that he feared both Umber and Xenotime.
I could let you live, he thought, and see what comes of it. I could kill you and gamble how he reacts. Whether he defects or not isn't my choice. My actions can't force his decision either way. But I think he's going to purify if he meets this Victoria... And I think you have something to do with it - for why would he kiss someone without meaning.
The openness in which Mont Blonc offered his starseed left Umber dumbfounded momentarily; he stared at the squire unblinkingly for a handful of moments before he snapped to his senses. Without a word, he dismounted from Thrymr and struck out with searching fingers for the familiar warmth of a starseed. Beyond clothes and bone they plunged until they found the harrowingly empty chamber that contained naught but the jewel that granted him life. And once those fingers closed about the seed, Umber still holding Mont Blonc's gaze, he wrenched the gem from its housing.
Before the starseed had a chance to cool, he pocketed it in his tattered jacket. Half-turning, he set his unfaltering sights on Thrymr once more. Umber rounded toward the pale-haired boy and shifted into a sprint.
I'm not sentimental enough to hold a promise to the dead. if you want to live, get creative.frayedflower thx u 4 letting me torment ur char
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Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 7:54 am
Mont Blonc knew what his offer entailed - and he knew from their last encounter that the officer had no hesitation about these sorts of things. He only hoped the general had some sort of honor code - maybe - that's all he could hope for - and given a choice between him and Thrymr, the choice was obvious. What threw him off were those few seconds where the general simply stared at him, with gaze ripping holes in the squire and making him shudder.
It was enough to unnerve him, to make him jump, flinch, as Umber moved, and as hard as he tried not to cry out when those fingers slipped into his chest, his own voice failed him yet again in a wholly different way. His face contorted into a look of pain and fear as he felt fingers close enough his starseed, and he was so much more aware of it this time, if only for a fleeting moment that felt like an eternity -
The last thing he saw were Umber's eyes, cold and unfeeling.
Then his starseed was gone and he slumped, all life gone from eyes left open and unseeing as he was discarded unceremoniously on the ground.
Strickenized IS THAT MY STARSEED IN UR POCKET OR U JUST HAPPY 2 C ME
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Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 8:09 am
Thrymr's gaze had risen to meet the general's, every breath burning under the weight of his knees as he simply stared up at him, unable to do much more than just lay there. Mont Blonc's voice was one of desperation and panic, each word tripping over one another in his haste to get them out, and the fear was rising in Thrymr's chest, icy in his heart.
The moments in which the General turned his stare towards the squire ticked by and felt like an entire year and hardly a second all at once, as though time had become nothing but a subjective and malleable thing that changed based on the situation at hand. The pressure on his chest lifted abruptly, and all at once, air came rushing into Thrymr's lungs as he gasped great breaths of it, the sound rattling in his chest - but he was immediately rolling over, getting to his hands and knees as fast as he could. He staggered to his feet, swaying unsteadily, and there was no time -
"MONTY - NO -"
His voice came out rasping, a scream of terror - but he was too little, too late -
There was gold in his vision, a flash of it from Mont Blonc's eyes before it dulled, and then the squire had collapsed into a crumpled heap on the ground. Thrymr wasn't aware of running, wasn't aware of his feet moving, trying to carry him towards his fallen friend, but he was trying to get to him, he had to get his starseed back, he had to -
- brown and the glint of silver as the general began towards him, faster than Thrymr was capable of avoiding, but he could at least move, and he skidded sideways, trying in vain to get to Mont Blonc, utter terror in his eyes - and anger -
He's not dead. He can't be dead he's not -
"Give it back," Thrymr gasped. Someone, anyone, help me -
He was too weak for this. He was too pathetic for this, he wasn't strong enough -
"GIVE IT BACK!" he screamed, every sound of it raw.
He's not dead -
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