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 Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2016 9:01 pm
Thorne had messaged Shun once he'd crawled out of bed from the hell of returning to Ashdown and remembering exactly what it was like to have magic here. With Chris out tending to their plants and picking up the cats again, Thorne had had a few restless hours to contemplate his life, his choices, his -
Well. Everything.
On the one hand, he was happy, happier than he'd been in so long. But another weight rested within him now. A weight of insecurity, of needing to be stronger, better, to claw a way forward. To claw his way to being someone that could protect and help and lend a hand.
Shun had received a single question in the message: want to spar with me in OAD today?
Followed by his location, the park where they'd often found each other sprinting at ungodly hours of night. Now he just waited, wondering if the other would show. If not, he would just start running, sprinting until he hit his exhaustion point and was forced to wind back down.
He'd rather Shun show up. Restlessness as always better with a friend.WC TOTAL: 1761
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2016 9:12 pm
Early morning had come when Shun looked to his phone upon receiving a text. He listened, then gave a reply basically stating that he would be there. Training with Jeremiah was helpful, but sparring partners were always important to have when it came to that sort of thing. Especially to mix it up here and there. He didn't really know how Thorne fought when he had magic at his disposal. It'd be a good experience. He needed to get stronger. They all needed to. After getting himself ready, he headed on out. As he stepped out of his apartment building, he lightly touched the pendant dangling from his neck. A moment later, he was in Other Ashdown. Now he just needed to make it to the rendezvous point. "Thorne," he called out as he arrived. 135
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2016 10:23 pm
"Shun," Thorne returned, glancing up at the detective and pushing away from the bench he was leaning against. "Early bird in just the few weeks I've been gone? I'm impressed."
A slight smile curved across his face.
"Have I missed much?" He asked, curious, but only just. He made a soft gesture with his wrist, head tilted and eyes alight with a certain restless hunger that often came before a spar between the two of them. Only this time he wanted something else. Something more.
Thorne curved his head, tilting it so that the longer strands of his bangs fell away from his night-dark eyes.
"So, you don't mind then?" He asked, curious, low and raw. "Sparring on new terrain?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2016 10:34 pm
"Less of an early bird and more of one that just does not sleep," he grunted. Shun's gotten better with his sleep cycle, but it could still stand to use some improvement. "Where the hell did you go, anyway?" he asked, pausing a bit at the question of what had he missed. "Heliodora is dead. It is only a matter of time before we have to deal with the Enemy," he stated darkly. It was the most important thing he knew of to have happened in a few weeks, "...Also Jeremiah is a noble now."He wasn't sure if Thorne had dealt with the fetch, but it was very possible, given how the real Mercer had been gone for two months. "I do not mind at all. With the cage gone, magic may soon be flooding into the normal Ashdown... what we do here may be possible there. But more importantly... we all need to know how to fight at our best with it at our disposal."302
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2016 10:52 pm
"Amen to that," Thorne replied, and immediately felt a little bit bad because his brother would smack him for saying such a thing out loud.
He paused at the question and smiled, sheepish, a blush creeping over his cheeks. "Oh," he said, "Chris and I took a road trip. We just started here and - ended up in Seattle. But something happened, so we came back. Canada next time, yeah?"
The news came like two indirect blows, and Thorne's expression, one amiable, turned icy and angry.
"Oh," he said, and then - "That explains it."
His mood immediately soured, Thorne could only cross his arms, baring his teeth slightly at the two pieces of information that stood before him. One - vexing. The other - an explanation that did not sit well with him.
"How did she die?" He asked. He didn't want to touch the other subject. Not after Aleksy's phone call. Not after his scorched floor and the terror between him and Chris. Not after all of that.
"Very well," Thorne retorted, and let his wings unfurl from the shadows at his back, folding neatly against his shoulder blades. "Let's have some fun. There's an entrance here." He could hear the hum and pulse of Other Ashdown alive against his body. "Are you ready?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2016 11:06 pm
"Seattle?" Shun repeated, raising his brow. Damn, that was quite a road trip. Straight to the other side of the country and back, "Dare I ask what happened out there?"He watched how Thorne reacted to both bits of news he had just dropped onto his lap. It seemed to have angered him. It was just hard to say which half pissed him off more. The detective was going to need to tread lightly. After considering how he was going to word this, he went ahead and answered. "She requested death," he stated quietly. Drawing in a deep breath, he nodded once to Thorne. "As ready as I could be. Let us go."415
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2016 11:23 pm
Thorne smiled at Shun, deviously.
"Well," he said, "I did go to Disneyland first. How do you feel about wearing Mickey Mouse ears for Halloween?"
He paused and nodded, his eyes half-lidded at the response. He had never met Heliodora, only heard bits and pieces. It was strange that the death didn't scratch at him as harshly as it should have. It was strange that he could only be glad that he and Chris had been gone for that, if nothing else.
"Then we'll have to honor that," Thorne said, but he sounded said, as though a quiet grief lay beneath his anger. "Let's try to make her sacrifice worth something."
He sighed and gestured for Shun to follow, and within a minute of walking, they were across the Veil. Other Ashdown welcomed them with its preternatural quiet, and whispered a breezy hello against the shell of Thorne's ear.
He turned and looked back at Shun.
"So," he said, grinning, his wings sharp and dark around his body, shuddering with anticipation. "Let's begin."
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 8:33 am
Shun raised his brow, "I will pass on the Mickey Mouse ears."He gave a grim nod in agreement towards Thorne. She was counting on them all to succeed. He wanted to make sure they can fulfill that, and not let her, or the other teens', deaths go to waste. In silence, he followed the noble on through to the other side. It had gotten warmer here, which was a nice change for once. The rain was gone on both sides, for the time being. He wasn't sure if that meant anything in particular. It was a thought he didn't linger on for long as he turned to face Thorne, rolling his shoulders and preparing himself. "Ready?" he asked, shifting into a defensive stance. 539
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 3:58 pm
"Maybe one day I'll win that fight," Thorne drawled in return, laughter curling at the edge of his words. With ease, he let them fall into that lapsing silence that came before a fight, feeling the magic roll against his body as he passed into Other Ashdown, a wave, a current, an undertow.
He tilted his head at Shun, a laugh curling at his lips. "Always," he retorted.
The shift was easy, imperceptible, a sudden tension coiling around his frame. He shot forward, faster with the aid of wings, and lunged at Shun, laughing as he vaulted clear over the other and caught his heel on the dirt of the ground, dry for once, turning to jab at the others soft side.
If he was pissed, at least he could burn it away with a good wrestle through this goddamn otherworld.
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 4:05 pm
Shun kept his eyes locked dead onto Thorne. The noble came at him fast. More quickly than he really expected. As he sailed right over his head, he whirled around to meet him. He shifted aside, in an almost uncanny manner. He hadn't moved quite fast enough to completely dodge the blow. The fist came brushing against his body, grazing him. His palm shot out to try and push the fist away, attempting to grab a hold of his wrist in the process and hopefully pull him in closer. As he did this, he shifted in, aiming to elbow the winged man right in the ribs.
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 4:21 pm
Instead of pulling against the quick shackle to his wrist, Thorne curves into it, his other hand swatting away the blow to his ribs, even though he's not quick enough that it doesn't graze him. Another laugh flares from his lips. He could use his wings, just drag Shun into the air, but he isn't that rude, not yet.
A leg sweeps out in an attempt to off-balance Shun, quick and biting, and Thorne throws an elbow angled up against the detective's chin, back pressed to his chest from where he'd furled into the other instead of running away.
"Faster, faster," he says, daring, taunting, teasing.
Wild now. Feral and unleashed.
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 4:31 pm
The sweep to his legs caused Shun to buckle a bit. Rather than try to fight it, he went with it, letting himself fall back. His head tilted aside just enough to get clocked right in the chin, though his cheek burned as the elbow came up right against his face. While he fell, he tried to wrap his other arm around the man while he shifted his weight and called on a bit of magic to bolster his strength as he attempted to throw Thorne to the ground. While he was taunted, Shun remained silent, hissing through his teeth while he kept focus. The complete opposite of his opponent.
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 5:12 pm
Thorne rumbled again, a low growl forming in the base of his throat. He let Shun heft and throw him, only for his wings to spread and protect him from a harsh fall, his body tucking into a graceful tumble. Another sharp flap and Thorne was on his feet again, turning to look at Shun with an appraising sort of curiosity.
Turning, he let the air around him gust sharply as he gave two beats with the large appendages, the talons gleaming at their edges. His shift was less of a fighters and more of a dancers, and there was an intolerable second of consideration before he tipped forward again and lunged as though to throw another fist, though he chose to feint instead, lifting his leg in a side-sweeping arch aimed at Shun's own head.
If he wanted to be silent, Thorne would let him.
For now.
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 5:20 pm
That was a pretty good recovery on Thorne's part. Shun made a mental note that throwing him around wouldn't be as effective while those wings were in play. His eyes narrowed while he watched the man, waiting to see just what he was going to do. A slow breath left him while he prepared himself. The detective moved to the side with ease as he saw the fist coming at him once more, ready to make his counter attack. But it was not meant to be. He realized a moment too late of his folly, and even his heightened reflexes couldn't really save him before Thorne's foot came crashing into the side of his head. Grunting out, he staggered back, nearly toppling over from the blow. He was still dazed, however. 886
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 7:59 pm
Thorne watched as he staggered back, eyes raising to Shun as he staggered back. A part of him wanted to pause and ask if he was alright, but an enemy wouldn't. An adversary wouldn't. So he wouldn't either, until the other man spoke out in protest.
Righting himself with ease, Thorne let his weight lean to one side before he moved forward again, the grace of a dancer burned into every step. He didn't vault over Shun this time though, only stepped right up against the other man, a grin on his face, sharp and hungry.
"Hey now, don't give up so quickly," he teased, and went for another blow, straight to Shun's solar plexus.
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