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 Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 9:38 pm
His thoughts were black as pitch, roiling like cell of a great storm. There had been a failure in his designs, in Creation's hopes, in his own Desires. But Chaos unbridled could do naught for itself, except brood. His wings twitched behind him on his malformed throne.
At last he could wait no longer, a creature more of action then patient logic, and he walked out from the Pantheon into was Be. He knew not what he searched for, or what hope there was to quell the rage that welled and surged from heart and gut out to the very tips of his claws. His tails coiled behind his steps, stirring the ash and carbon behind his steps.
Futs Lung would not waken, the essence that had been gathered had been incomplete...imperfect. And yet some of him was there, struggling in that other dragon form to no avail. What should be stronger was retarded like a candle left beneath a dome. What of the bindings? What of all his dragons? They all seemed weak, sleeping still in shells he had thought bare fit to contain them. They did not come to him, did not shine in the flickers of light and dark, did not roar the names of the reborn into the sky.
They don't even know what was happening.
I can feel it in my bones....obsidian breaking from something hot and cold, too volatile and venemous within. What promises shall be kept with one missing, gone, dead, imperfect unborn my dear Keeper? It is building, gnawing. It. Me. Him. Me. Rage, rage and sorrow reign. Turn, turn and follow the last grains as they drop from claw to claw down the glass orbs of time to the dusty bottom and wish that it shall not cometo pass. Let me not come to pass. With no bridle, I am going mad. I go mad, I go mad. Shall pass the nights in torment feeling raw the Voice and broken bones and.
Mad.
The splits of flames that spidered out from his naked feet seemed to mirror the wandering of his mind, chasing this way and that whatever life was left in grass or lampblack left in the tar of the streets.
He stopped in what must have been the center of a town, a roundabout circling him in its center. Figures in the shadows watched wide-eyed the turmoil of limbs and spikes, and laid themselves down on their bellies. Their eyes turned to blood and they died.
Destruction looked up to the heavens, opening his fanged jaw he Roared.
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 7:21 am
 A lone figure paced back and forth uneasily outside a familiar corner store. Behind the glass, displays were empty. This was not what he had intended. Mang was supposed to go with Shen Lung to Harmodius. Shen was annoyed. He wanted to go to Destruction more than anything. Patience was not a virtue he held close to him.
Shenlei's long, straight, turquoise hair was untamed behind him, whipping over his shoulder as he spun on heel again. A blue brocaded Chinese style dress clung to his body, the threads itself spun from royal blue silk and pure gold.
Shen stopped, his thoughts turning inward from the impatience he felt. He felt cold, angry.. a temper rising in him like he hadn't experienced before. It tugged at the back of his skull and he couldn't ignore it any longer. It wasn't a single thought, but the weight of the air pulling at him. Heavier. Almost a cruel animosity and raw fury. It made him feel more annoyed at having to ignore it -- to pause even for a moment and not rush straight to Harmodius' side. The sky was dark, bent to the emotion that Destruction tormented himself with.
Remiel finally rushed out of the empty bookstore, Shenlei's second personal assistant. He dragged kerosene through to the door and dropped a lit match onto it. He left, as Shenlei had previously instructed, to go join Karma -- who was helping Mang, still unused to his form get clothes.
As the smoke rose into the air, Shenlei turned from the flames. He disliked fire. It was not his element, really. He could feel Destruction's emotions tug at him again.
Shenlei growled. "I do not feel like pretending to be human, anymore." Too many of the great gods were already doing this -- trying to act as if there wasn't something different. At the first crackle of torrid lightning, the blue and gold ripped away, and for the first time since ages long passed, a tail and claws emerged. A horned and scaled dragon with snake like grace shot into the sky.
Clouds rolled through the sky above Destruction, black and quick like ebony water. Descending from them, a Chinese serpent of the skies coiled down and landed heavily upon the ground in front of the imposing figure that was the Twin Crown.
In dragon form, Shenlei lowered his head with utmost respect. He loved Harmodius dearly, above all others, and if his creator's temper reared itself or if he so desired anything then Shen Lung would answer it.
I could feel that Chaos itself was troubled. The dragon whispered, eyes fixed on Harmodius. With a rare display of absolute affection, Shen Lung careened forward and almost nuzzled Destruction's horned head with his own. I come to return to you, not as a mortal in both forms.
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Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 12:45 pm
Destruction slowly turned his face down, meeting the image of the serpent before him with quiet bewilderment. Pulling the name out of the depths of what had seemd only moemnts ago to be clear memory was labored.
"Shen." He hissed the first over the gloss of his lips, and his voice gained strength again, forming the second syllable as any mouth accustomed to words, "Lei."
Instinctively, Destruction's hand extended and pet down along the length of the serpentine neck, caressing the scales slowly. Each one was a concrete shape. A thing. Smooth and slick from the moisture in the clouds, glossy and marrless for lack of battle. "You came."
His wings curled forward, shielding and closing in the space of their meeting to something more intimate.
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Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 1:37 pm
You called.... Shenlei answered, a low rolling purr like thunder in the back of his throat. He snapped his tail, coiling closer to Destruction in the cocoon his wings made, and lightning streaked across the sky before it was blotted from view.
Shenlei's dragon form melted away, a subtle pain lost in concern on his face as scales seared away to flesh beneath fresh raindrops. "Why are you displeased?" Shenlei questioned, feeling no embarrassment at being nude with his clothes torn off from the change.
A hand raised up to one of Destruction's horns, hesitantly. As much as Shen Lung was fearless, the loss of a limb was not painless if Destruction felt so inclined -- he could have done it in a second's time. In pure anger, with fire and spark emerging from every step, he could have ended everything.
"What can I do to ease your torment?" His dragon begged to know.
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Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 6:06 pm
"Things are going wrong, my dragon, wrong again as I had not foreseen. You alone have had any long converse with me, you alone remain at my side. The others....I found their stones, found them new lives....but they yet sleep long. But I do not sleep. Cannot sleep." Destruction caught shen's hand gently in his own, his black fingers engulfing the pale as dark over light. "I am weary inside, but there is rage. It grows, as ragnarok or armageddon. It is not time yet, the end can not be now. But I am bound in it without teathers, for they are yet lost. Perhaps all were not in vain....I did not see reason to worry then, but I see it now. There are no balances."
She is so weak now, so afraid. But they came, she and Hunt....it feels too late, the strings inside my spine are fraying. My claws no longer retract....
He pressed the small hand over the fading scar on his dark chest. "All are lost to me. Half of myself, the tethers, my dragons, my Empress, and Consort. Rain....cool this place in rain and tears, my dragon, for you are the only one I have. "
"But one alone is not enough to wholly bind me. But comfort, my dragon, I would ask, for even this little while."
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Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 7:26 pm
Shenlei watched the surreal enrapture of Destruction's voice and fluid movements. He seemed weaker than usual, almost lost. Shenlei frowned, finding an odd anger in the actions. Anger that others would not listen, would not help... Anger that Harmodius had felt like his way was so lost that the end of everything was all that was left. What was once the weakest mind of all of them now churned with clockwork thoughts to revive the spark of his spirit.
"You do not need perfect balance, but the end is not the answer to any of your aspirations..." Shenlei moved both their hands to make sure Destruction was looking at him in the eyes so they both saw how serious the Shogun of Storms was. "Creation sleeps within you... Those that follow you, your Empress, your Consort... they fear complete Destruction. Your strength gives others strength. You are not alone! You are not weak!" He realized his outburst suddenly and cast his eyes downward.
Shenlei calmed down, closing his eyes for a moment. He reached down and tore a bit of Destruction's loin cloth, wrapping the fabric around his hips to cover himself appropriately. "Here..." His pale fingers found the dark ones again, and Shenlei turned away from Destruction, walking -- but leading him a bit, pressing dry fingertips on one of his wings until he moved them open again.
"Your dragons are left with little guidance...but they will return to you. One by one they will come back. Mang is already well on his way, I've seen to this. And as for myself, I will never leave you whichever you choose, Creation, Destruction, or any combination of the two."
The moment Shen Lung felt cold damp air, he let it open up to the coolest rain, a steady downpour free of the ferocity of lightning and thunder. Shenlei turned back to Destruction then, water bouncing off his skin and soaking his hair again. He ran a hand through Destruction's black strands, careful to avoid his spikes, horns, and wings. "Reawaken a spark of Creation and make a new gemstone for Futs Lung. It was a flawed soul that failed Futs Lung, not your guidance or foresight."
Shenlei invaded the other's space, barely able to reach his chin on the tips of his toes. He breathed foggy puffs of breath. The turquoise haired man wrapped his arms around Destruction where he could. "Among soot and dust, you still remind me of fresh rain... " Shenlei tilted his face down and kissed his cheeks where colorful marks had been. "No tears turned to ash... I will stay and never leave until you ask me to."
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Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 7:49 pm
Destruction followed as he was led, listening to the others words and weighing them. There were some mistaken assumptions, but the sentiment broke through the words. There was at least one dragon here.
He spoke of Mang. The name turned less slowly in his mind, bringing the face of a unnerved youth worried about a father. Destruction scowled briefly before he noticed Shen was covering himself and he smirked. Rage turned briefly towards passion and amusement. Modesty seemed ironic in a dragon, a king of dragons, magnificent among gods and unscarred. His own tails curled around his waist and unclipped the chains from the sides of the loincloth and then held the garment out to ShenLei.
"No, modest one....that is part of the problem. Before, I saw no need to wake him while he healed....now....he does not wake. Creation does not stir. Without balance at all, and none of the safeties before enacted- I am the Fenris wolf, the ending battle, the shadow serpent with nine heads that will swallow galaxies. There are no lotuses to quell, or shackles which have gone missing...When there is rest...in a little while, my dragon, I shall tell you more. "
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Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 8:15 pm
Shenlei blushed. Modesty was a gift of his forgotten host. Shen Lung had never really been concerned before. Shen accepted the covering and refastened it on himself, eyes hovering at Destruction's chest and above. It was hard not to stare at someone so incredibly attractive. Shenlei preferred Destruction to Creation. He kept no part of that preference hidden.
"I wish you weren't so goddamn cryptic." Shenlei said without malice, but in such a way that humor leaked through. He couldn't help but talk in an older speech when Harmodius was around. The water dragon stood there, staring as the other smirked at him. "Don't tease me about this ridiculous modesty that Selvica left behind........ though... " As his thoughts consumed him, he touched the fabric of the loin cloth. ".. this fabric seems a little plain for you, but because it is yours then it is already better than the finest silk."
Are you flirting? Came Selvica's faint whisper in the back of Shenlei's head. He immediately snuffed it out.
Of course I am.
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Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006 4:38 pm
He took the lead now, ushering his dragon along with him in the curl of one of his wings. There were a number of cars in the roundabout, some mercedes, a few toyota, a kia....fodder all that he lifted his hand to and they chorussed the screams of bending metal. Soon a pillar and dais, throne and yet bed, formed of the manmade machines. Glass, shining and rusted metal twined to form the structure, the gas and engines formed great lanterns and open flames in more glass globes, and the stuffing and leather and blackened plush upholstry formed the lounging seat.
Destruction shifted only it with liquid grace, a predator laying down in self-satisfaction at the prospect of ease and company. "Come...rest a while."
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Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006 10:14 pm
As Destruction fashioned the likeness of a new throne room, Shen Lung had snatched up a thin piece of metal. He divided his hair and spun the top part like you would with a chop stick, holding it in the a chaotic bun in one graceful move. It didn't so much matter that it wasn't an elite piece of gold or silver. He took a few steps closer to the leather bound throne and stopped in front of Harmodius.
"I am still displeased with this world. I feel like I have been sleeping for too long and everything has changed. These humans are almost disgusting to me. They deny the gods who ensured their survival as they walk in plain view. I wonder.. if one of them were to round the corner now, if they would even realize who we were. It... It is frustrating to me."
Shenlei growled a little. He hadn't meant to pour out his thoughts so easily. "I only know the things that I can see in my host's mind as he fades." Shenlei wanted to reach out for Destruction, but found himself unmoving as he thought out loud, questioning. He had said a lot of things earlier and he had spoken of things still shrouded in shadows to him. "I have missed a lot, and I am curious to know what has happened in my absence and how I can help fulfil any future desire you have."
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Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 12:45 pm
Like a cat, one of Destruction's ears twitched and then pinned in bored annoyance. Whatever the modern age was, it wasn't one that taught listening to commands. His arm struck out like a snake's strike, wrapping his great claws around the dragon's hip and drew him irrevocably onto the dais with little gentleness. ShenLei landed ungracefully on his rump in the curl of Destruction's middle.
"Rest. This world is strange, to more then yourself. All are foundering in such an age....but faced with divinity now, in my reign, the mortals have little choice but to abandon their disillusionment and their atheism. To learn of the age itself, your host is your best source. His memory and his experiences will be the building blocks of your knowledge on what trinkets and machines are, how to use them, social customs, and so on. "
He half snarled, half purred, the noise a mix of thunder, voodoo drums and thousands of rattling snakes. It all remained building, pulsing. Cancerous. A kernal inside that spread wild and mad in the veins.
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Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 1:53 pm
Shenlei twitched in vague annoyance. He was tossed about like a rag doll so easily and he huffed as he landed. Shenlei's attention pulled form Destruction to the slight sting at his hips. Red trails slowly forming through the torn fabric where the claws had grabbed him. That little sting of pain reminded him who he was talking to. Water was always in a rush.
Shenlei calmed down then, not bothering Harmodius anymore with his questions, and instead took his command to heart. He leaned back against the other's side, hooking his left leg over Destruction's and letting his right leg dangle off the platform throne. He idly picked up one of Harmodius' hands, holding it with both of his and ran his fingers over the claws. He flipped the hand so that he could look at the palm, so much larger than his own, as if exploring unknown territory. He was fascinated with it.
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Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 2:03 pm
He laid more fully down, letting his hand and claws become pliable to Shen's designs. The sound of his purring became more even and rhythmic by increments, much as the heat of his occassionally beaten wing slowly subsided.
Concentration was like waking from opium, a force and pressure on the lungs in that first, painful breath as together they surfaced in his mind.
It had been some minutes when he spoke again, "I have a task for you.....and all of my dragons. You must find the missing pieces of FutsLung, and a host. You will all need to work together. The Treasurer is the keeper of the Manacles. Having them again will buy time and teh ability for the rest of you to bind the End while the Worldshield grows in strength."
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Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 2:58 pm
"We will make it our sole task to carry out your wishes." Shenlei said softly. His mind was already moving. Shenlei ran a single finger underneath a claw repeatedly as he thought. He would go to Harmodius' shop. That was his first course of action. He would seek out any of the dragon kings that were there. Every word was always a clue to exactly what had to be done, and if FutsLung could postpone the End, then it was even more bitter that his first host had been a failure.
Shenlei had not felt a connection to any of the others. They were weaker still, and he could only tell them when he started to get closer. Shen Lung pulled himself up from Destruction and sat, still in thought. He drew a leg up and leaned forward on it. "Is Shaiming really that weak, still?" He asked rhetorically looking out among the bodies that laid motionless in the road beyond them. Shenlei turned to look at the flaming spires and bits of twisted metal. "I must confess...." He said quietly, more gentle than he appeared to others. "I have always preferred you over Creation, even just a little bit. I would not betray either side, but I will not change how I feel." Shenlei slid forward to stand. Private thoughts weighed heavily on his mind.
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 12:21 am
"You. are. all. weak."
Snarled, Destruction pushed up onto hand and knee, glaring over at Shen's back through a screen of blood black.
"Work fast, my dragon, and tell me of your progress in time. Progress I will need, or preferences will avail neither of our wants. But-" Steam began again to lick along his limbs as he straightened and stepped down from the fashioned throne, "Loyalty to me....preference to me...such words have been so strange and alien...foreign on the lips of all I touch. It will not go unmarked."
He held out his hand, a vine of morning glory trumpets formed of black powder and ash rising up from it. He closed his hand slowly again, seeming to crush the flowers and vines with such force of magic and will that from his fist a visible ripple in the fabric of what was traveled outwards. At last he revealed in his palm the same flowers, made delicate and purely from green and opalescent pale crystals without human name.
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