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 Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 1:12 am
Maximos' eyes had drifted out the window. Beaches were always a beautiful thing, they reminded him of home. Tea, which he took a sip of reminded him of a thousand relaxed moments at home with a book. A book, like the one beside him, the one his hand rested on so carefully reminded him of what it felt like to let his mind wander free from reality. Which is precisely what it began to do.
That was until a hand found his knee, and squeezed that reminded him of...
There was something of a delay as his mind hovered in that spot, before his mind returned him and his eyes slid to Sun. Something about something as simple as a squeezed knee made him smile. Of course he listened, eyes attentive ears perked. But Maximos was just as much listening to the explanation of what "Shotgun" meant, as much as he was listening to what Sun was trying to say or do behind the explanation. And it was that, that made him smile.
Of course smiles symbolize happiness, and thusly by their very nature are doomed to die. And this smile was no exception.
"Relationship gone south?"
Maximos smile fell off his face like glass off of a counter. One could have seen it shatter. To keep from acting most uncouth Maximos immediate brought his tea mug to his face and took a long sip, as the Vampire continued his explanation. Then, his head cooled, his tongue sharp as a the devils own, continued where the vampire left off.
Dare I say, Anuksu has never had a relationship go North.
He paused, bringing a hand to his face in a faux sort of shock or awe.
Where are my manners?! You two havent been introduced have you?
He gestured to Sunstrike.
Datho Mere Sunstrike, meet Anuksu Velarius Noir, Elven Vampire. And most notably Paladin of the Light. And demon slayer extraordinaire.
There was a pause, like words that didnt belong to Maximos were supposed to fit there, but before they escaped, Maximos would immediately continued.
And Anuksu true to holy paladin nature, the moment the woman Anuksu loved was taken from him, he immediately accepted a deal with a demon, and began gathering a massive army. An army he marched across countless worlds giving individuals the choice to join him or die. Presumably, until he could gain enough of a force to combat and destroy the Light which did not allow him his one selfish wish.
A pause. He looked at Anuksu as if his eyes were giving the vampire a chance for a rebuttle before Maximos jumped in again.
Anuksu destroyed several worlds before we...
There's that we again! A gesture to himself signified to the individuals that knew that Maximos was speaking of the group he was part of and they were not. A group a god, and even a mortal like Sunstrike would know all to well. And Anuksu that much more so.
...stepped in and trapped him in the same squalid hole that Nocturne, and the 10 others were tossed into. That being where he's spent the last seven...
He'd look at Anuksu and cocked his head. All the while Maximos tone did not sound insulting, but amused. It was as if he was answering a trivia question not laying bare the very nature of the criminal beside him.
...or was it eight...thousand years?
Then his eyes turned back to Sun.
That would of course be why you havent heard of him. And...
He'd make a sort of waving gesture as if sweeping all those facts away.
He's a friend of my brothers. Arent you Anuksu? That is afterall what I wanted to talk to you about...
A pause. A sudden flair of his right white eye as he engaged Mind Sight. Another flair of dim violet as he tried to engage projectile sight and as horrible a telepath as Maximos was he attempted to very crudely project a thought at Anuksu's head symbolizing the clandestine nature of the conversation at hand.
How is he nowadays?
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 10:41 am
The awkwardness of what he himself had said wasn't lost on Sunstrike, he did in fact, still have the remnants of a wicked gleam in his eye. For a moment there, he'd seen the iceberg crack.
Besides, it had been a way to get both men to talk, and satisfy a question that had itched at the back of his mind.
Maximos's explanation made him stare at Anuksu in a way that maybe even the vampire would find uncomfortable, especially as the blood began to leak back into his eyes, giving them a strange streaked look. It might have been an appraisal of some kind.
"Small universe." Was all he'd murmur, before turning back to Max.
"I'm actually surprised he's still sitting around in a body of his own fashioning." Then a wide grin before he turned back around. "Maybe there's hope for me yet! "
Wulf would find his ears officially scritched.
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 1:14 pm
Anuksu turned to face Maximos with an obviously fake smile across his face. His past laid bare in such a manner did sting of truth, he still believed his motives to have been pure, even as Maximos tore them down. For a moment he began to question himself, but these thoughts were quickly banished, for what does a reaper... an emotionless servant of deah know of true eternal love?
"Eight thousand years, four months, six days, eighteen hours, twenty-three minutes, and fifty-two seconds to be exact. And as far as my past goes, it was forgotten, and is for no one elses ears, in which case, so was your brother's, and I however, will not violate the memory of those who were meant to be forgotten."
With that, he turned and to face forward and shifted in his seat to get comfortable, waiting for their journey to begin. His thoughts once again turned to the night he struck the deal, forming the pact of imortality now binding him to existence.
--
He could again hear the demon's words floating with honeyed sweetness through the pouring rain. Completely sure of himself, the demon knew the paladin was about to fall.
"It doesn't look like she's got a lot of time to wait for you decide."
He could again hear her protesting, not wanting Anuksu to deal with a demon to save her, for she, better than he, understood the nature of deals with the fallen ones. She could see Anuksu's coming fall, and willed to do everything in her power to stop him from signing his soul away... but her power had leaked out of her moments ago.
"Anuksu don't... he'll..."
She let out a moan of pain and coughed up more blood. Her entire flawless frame in one mass spasm jerked in Anuksu's arms.
"Aerie... stop talking."
The demon butted in again, taking advantage of another moment of the paladin's weakness.
"Your god asks that you give. All I ask is that you... give in."
He could feel the last life fade away from her as she went limp in his arms. The rain was all that hid his tears, for he had now lost her. He pulled her in closer, even wrapping his wings around her. He bent his head towards her ear and whispered.
"Farewell my love... may we meet on the other side."
As despair finally gripped him, he lightly kissed her on the head as he threw all of his training to hide emotion to the wind, and wept over the body of his fallen love. After a few moments, he turned to face the demon, with tears stinging his eyes. His will now shattered as he still held Aerie in his arms.
"Very well Abbadon. My soul for her life.
--
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 1:30 pm
While Anuksu was reflecting on things long since past, the tiny white cat jumped up on his lap and decided to make herself comfortable...after all a lap was a lot safer for such a small creature than the floor of a crowded vehicle! whee
Hono the white cat slowly shifted her orange gaze from the Vampire, to the living shadow, around to her oldest friend and his new lap wolf and the siren behind the wheel, her gaze not even pausing on the black cat under the passenger seat, fluffy tail absently swishing back and forth.
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 8:34 pm
Maximos gave Anuksu a sort of scowl. He knew...but he wasnt telling. That very denial seemed to confirm the suspicions Maximos held about his brother. But the dash of light shed, only showed how huge the picture frame truly was and left many more questions in his wake, with locks on them tight. Very well then...He looked away from the vampire, knowing there was no threat to motivate the man. And knowing there was no reasoning with his kind, those driven by foolish sentiments and fleeting emotion tend to ride those very things straight to their untimely demise. It was sad that most of them believed there would be some sort of reward for this sacrifice, some justice...sad because it took an emotionless servitor of death to know better. Maximos instead looked at Sun, as he spoke and found himself grinning. He couldnt explain how, or why the wide grin he was shown brought out another in himself. But it did! And as the red eyed and brown haired man turned away, Maximos turned to his tea, and the book in his hand. ((To Gambino!))
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Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 2:03 pm
Before he left, a dwarf would grumpily deliver a letter to Sunstrike.
Sunstrike,
I apologize that I have to slip off like this. I sensed that there were many questions beginning to be asked, questions I could not answer without raising suspicions. I fear my kind have already damaged their hearts, and now is not the time or place to raise questions of allegiance.
I am to meet with Leonard and then we will travel together to Reen. There I will prove myself to our allies. I will become their shield.
-Omikron
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Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 9:14 pm
"If you'll be my star
I'll be your sky
You can hide underneath me and come out at night...."
Asherah was sitting in the corner, gently singing to herself. Why she was there, no one really knew. It was the eve of her daughter's death, and there was no where for her to be. And so, she chose to be here, at the Firebrand.
"When I turn jet black and you show off your light
I live to let you shine
I live to let you shine..."
In her hand she held a small picture of Fayble gingerly and close, and in the other, two twelve sided dice. It was all that she had left of her child. Tears speckled and flecked her jeans and skin, but she wouldn't mutter a single yelp. Asherah simply sang.
"And you can sky-rocket away from me
And never come back if you find another galaxy
Far from here with more room to fly
Just leave me your stardust to remember you by...."
She paused to wipe away some of the tears with the back of her denim jacket.
"If you be my boat
I'll be your sea
The depth of pure blue just to probe curiosity
Ebbing and flowing and pushed by a breeze
I live to make you free
I live to make you free...
But you can set sail to the west if you want to
And past the horizon till I can't even see you
Far from here where the beaches are wide
Just leave me your wake to remember you by
If you'll be my star
I'll be your sky
You can hide underneath me and come out at night
When I turn jet black and you show off your light
I live to let you shine
I live to let you shine
But you can sky-rocket away from me
And never come back if you find another galaxy
Far from here with more room to fly
Just leave me your stardust to remember you by..."
She sniffled gently and swallowed roughly.
"Stardust to remember you by.."
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Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 9:30 pm
It was times like these when he missed having a home. The Firebrand was the closest thing, and even then it's purpose was more of a tavern than anything else. Even so, it would have to make due.
K-thunk.
A heavy load hit the ground just inside the door - it was open. With the tournament goers having done their part and left, the place had fallen into disuse fairly quickly, at least during the night. Even so. There was no mistaking the voice.
"Rough night?"
It was difficult to make out the figure in the pale moonlight, although a squeak suggested that he had just sat down.
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Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 9:41 pm
Looking up solemnly, Asherah sniffled and lowered her head again, this time she trembled. She clenched the fist with the dice and shook her head, but the quickly released it, so that they wouldn't be damaged.
"You have no idea..." She muttered quietly.
She wasn't alone now, which was nice to an extent. However, she didn't want to be a burden to him. With a sigh and another quick shake of her head, Asherah reached for a napkin and blew her nose a bit, then she dried her tears once more with her arm.
"What brings you here.... It's HoH time."
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Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 8:45 pm
"Well, I'm not fighting, I have no team, and my only reason for even sticking around last year has seemed to dissolve into the ether, at least for the time being. Thought I'd come back to the one place that feels a bit like home to get away from it all."
Another squeak; he had leaned back in his chair.
"Seems you have too."
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Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 9:16 pm
"Me?" She lifted her head to look at him and sniffed, her voice was soft. "..I guess you got me there... I knew I could come here and it would be quiet."
Asherah sat back in her chair as well and took a deep, shaky breath.
"This place is yours isn't it?" A faint smile appeared on her cry worn face, it felt odd for her. She was just bawling a moment ago after all. "You have good orange juice here."
Her eyes searched for his in the darkness, just for a small sign that he was actually there, and it wasn't just some figment of her tired mind. Placing her hands on the table slowly, Ash gently set down the items by her, so she could still see them.
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Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 9:34 pm
Snap--
It wasn't the greatest of light sources, but the small pillar of flames that erupted from his hand would have to do for the time being. "It's mine about as much as it belongs to the old dwarf." Call it what you want; a join venture, a business plan gone sour, or a lost bet.
Either way, he couldn't argue about the orange juice.
"Sorry; didn't think anyone else was going to be here, so I didn't bother putting on the lights." Not that it was easy to find anyways. The switch and fuse box was in the kitchen, and he was likely to trip over something on the way there at this time of night.
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Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 9:45 pm
Spooked a bit by the sudden light source, Asherah blinked and let out a soft sigh of relief. It was just his hand, nothing like a viking attack or anything. Hey, anything could happen on Gaia.
"Oh, there's no need to apologize to me... You didn't nothing wrong, in fact, it's nice not to be alone at times like these... I don't know what I was thinking."
Her lip curled as she looked down and placed her head in her hands, the poor thing couldn't keep happy. Not tonight, not for a while. A small pool of tears welled up in her hands and she sobbed. Asherah looked pathetic, she felt weak.
"I should be the one that's sorry..." She weeped. "I didn't mean to let her go out on her own..."
She was talking about her daughter, which was obvious to her, but not so much to Rage.
"I should have been there. I Should have said goodbye to her, but I didn't. I though she'd come back..."
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Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 9:55 pm
It was tough to be comforting when one's right hand was on fire. And it's not like Rage knew what she was talking about, but it was just in his nature to be kind. A one-armed hug was the best he could do.
He didn't know who she was talking about... but he could relate to the feeling.
Unfortunately, he couldn't really think of anything to say. Words at times like these usually drove the spikes deeper into one's heart.
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Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 10:10 pm
Asherah let Rage hug her, it was comforting. Turning out her palms, she crumpled up some of his jacket in her hands and held him close to her. She felt tiny in comparison, tinier that normal. Anyone could call this cliche, and overused, but she felt like she wasn't alone.
"I never got to see her again. She was there one second, and gone the next. What did I do so wrong to have my baby taken from me?" She sniffled in, clenched her fists, and nuzzled his chest gently. "My poor Fayble, my baby girl..." Asherah hiccuped and shook. "She was only Axel's age, Rage. She was just a baby... She was my baby... And they took her from me..."
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