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 Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:02 pm
Helping Out
Just how Wren ended up with Hawk's Eye.Reyna grumbled irritably under her breath as she carried in a particularly heavy box into the shop and dropped it with a huff to the floor. The noise startled Mystic out of hiding briefly and she offered him a small, apologetic smile to him before she turned to glare at Athan.
"What the hell was in that box? It weighs about a ton! Why don't you use your awe inspiring powers to help out, hm?" she complained loudly.
"It weighs less than a ton, and you're a strong young woman," the shadowed man replied as he slowly came into view, arms folded across his chest. His face stayed shadowed save for the faint glow of his green eyes beneath his hooded cloak. He sometimes reminded Reyna of a depiction of a grim reaper of some sort the way shadows seemed to billow about him despite the fact that there was a distinct lack of wind or air moving around.
"Either way," she snapped irritably, "There's still a lot to do, and you're certainly not much help. Why are you here anyway?"
"Your friend.. Wren is it? He's coming over to help, correct?"
"Yeah," she murmured after a moment of thought. She squinted over at him suspiciously before bending to pick up the box and carry it over towards one of the glass countertops to open it up and peer inside. Athan was up to something..
The weather was cold. Wren wasn't that bothered by it as he trudged through the snow to the store Reyna was setting up. He had offered to help, after all, and he would do that. ( That it got him out of the house was just an additional bonus. ) Double checking the address he had scribbled down on a piece of paper, he glanced up to read it on the shop before him. "Same place," he muttered to himself, "so she must be here." Not that he knew all the specific details about the shop, but he was never one that would turn down a friend.
... since he didn't have that many that were really that. Or stayed around because he could scare them away. ( No, he wasn't that weird, really. ) Pocketing the piece of paper and adjusting his glasses, he went up to the front door and pulled it open. "Reyna?" he called out all most immediately, eyes not really having to adjust to see about the shop ( benefits of being a demon ), but he was peering about the place looking for people and -- er, okay. There were people. If Death over there was a person. He blinked, all ready inside, and the door closing behind him with a thud.
"Hey! Found the place okay?" she smiled when she caught sight of her friend. Wren had impeccable timing as always -- she'd just finished tearing into Athan and warning him that if he did anything to alienate her friend from her that she'd find a way to make his life hell. She glanced over towards him before following his gaze towards the shadowed man standing a few feet away.
"This," she sighed almost wearily as she ran a hand back through her short, silver hair, "Is Athan. He's the uh.. mm.. benefactor of the shop." She snickered faintly at that before bending to sift through the box she'd brought in and dug through it's contents. There were displays and small metal boxes full of what were most likely semi-precious gems.
The shop was still mostly bare, and definitely needed to be decorated some. The sight of plain white walls seemed to aggravate her senses, abrasive like sandpaper. "Anyway.. glad you came by. As you can see there's a LOT I've got to get done, and Mr. Shadow here isn't exactly helpful.."
"Mr. Shadow?" Athan mocked in a low voice before rolling his eyes.
"Well?" the silver haired girl retorted hotly, "Have you looked in a mirror here recently?"
Wren could either end up at the right place at the right time, or the wrong place at the right time. Then again, he ended up everywhere. Go figure. "I found it just fine. Your directions were great." The words were followed by a grin, though Wren still glanced at Athan out of the corner of his eye once he was focused on Reyna.
Watching the exchange between the two of them, he raised an eyebrow. "Don't know, Mr. Shadow seems fitting. Athan's nice and all, but Mr. Shadow is so super hero sounding." Wren snickered, quickly, shifting on his feet and shrugging off his jacket to lay neatly on a counter out of the way. "... and there are worse things to be called." He smiled, easily enough, glancing about and taking in everything that probably needed to be worked on before focusing on Athan. "Nice meeting you at any rate, Athan. I'm Wren, but Reyna's probably told you about me."
"Yes," he replied slowly, "She has. Old friends.." He trailed off for a brief moment as one hand came to rest at his chin, fingertips idly tapping there as though he were lost deep in thought. "I find that interesting. A girl who needs no one at all and locks herself away from the world has befriended.. a demon." His eyes focused on Reyna as he emphasized the last few words and she visibly tensed.
She turned slowly to glare over at Athan. She knew very well what Wren was, and it didn't bother her in the very least for.. various reasons. She had her secrets, and she was not appreciative that the mysterious man had decided to pry into her life.
"If you're not going to be any help you can just leave, you know," she pointed out as she motioned towards the door even though she knew very well Athan didn't exactly need a door to leave. He had the creepy tendency to simply fade from view and then teleport to wherever it was he went to.
Well, well. Interesting Athan was, but it was kind of like he was prodding at Reyna -- and, well. She was a friend and that was that. If Wren had any issue with the fact he was a demon being stated, he didn't even seem phased. Particularly since that wasn't even scraping the surface of things.
"Everyone needs friends, even if we all lock ourselves away." He replied, that grin still in place, but his eyes narrowed slightly. "Besides, demons make due for good ones. We've got connections like you would never believe."
Moving over towards Reyna, ignoring Athan it seemed. "So, what do you need me to help out with? Since it looks like tall, dark, and attempting to be mysterious is just hear to talk." ... well, he'd say he'd help out, not that he'd play nice with people. Besides, he could be a little defensive of his friend.
Athan's eyes narrowed and seemed to glow faintly, mouth parting as though to say something before he simply smiled in a way that made his eyes glitter eerily. "Rest assured.. I'm more than just talk," he replied after a few moments as he literally drifted past Wren and Reyna both to head on into the back room which had mostly been set up.
The walls were dark, perfect for shadows to hide about in, and the ceiling was painted like the night sky. He spelled it to make it twirl and move as though it really were the stars shifting and moving about.
Reyna rolled her eyes at him as she moved towards the room to show Wren what had already been finished. "The main part of the shop needs to be painted the same color as these walls in here," she replied, "And then we get to move in the rest of the boxes that are still in the moving van outside."
Touchy was the thought that crossed Wren's mind, but he let it drift away as Athan drifted off towards the back room. Instead, he nodded his head and followed after Reyna. "All right, so then we get to have fun painting walls." He paused for a moment, trying to think of the best way to go about it, but then again -- just jumping in might work. ( Really, he was a demon, damnit. Why wasn't there something that instantly lead to the walls being painted? )
"And moving stuff in," he added in after a moment. "Looks like this will be a pretty cool place once it's all finished up." Though he hadn't seen the supplies for painting in the other room, but then again, he had been distracted by Athan.
"Should be!" Reyna called over her shoulder as he disappeared further into the recesses of the second room to head into a small hallway to gather up the paint and brushes and other supplies they needed to get started on the main room.
Athan drifted about silently. She could still feel him there like a gnawing presence in the back of her mind that simply served to irritate her. She'd warned him a couple of times about reading her thoughts and he'd acknowledged that for the most part, particularly after she'd given him a nasty headache. She snickered faintly at that as she cleaned up some brushes for them to use and went outside to fill up a few buckets of water.
While she was gone the mysterious man in question watched as Wren quietly admired the paintings on the wall and the decor. "Has she told you anything about what this store is going to be? What it's really going to be.." he asked suddenly as he simply materialized somewhere near the demon.
Wren jumped slightly, but as it was, it was a staged action of somebody who was obviously overdramatic. He shot Athan a dirty look, wondering just when Reyna was going to be getting back with the brushes and the paints so they could set to work. Instead, he gritted his teeth a little, and glared ( though it was ruined by him blowing hair out of his eyes ). "She asked for me to help, I came to help. I'm fairly sure she was going to explain things to me while we worked, since it's hardly easy to pack information onto a slip of paper or over the phone."
Shrugging his shoulders lightly, Wren moved back to where he had seen the precious gems from earlier. Somehow, he doubted the conversation was going to be left that, Athan was bound to follow, but he'd be damned -- as if he wasn't, one way or another -- if he didn't get to look at them before work started in. If he focused enough, stretching what senses he had, he was pretty sure Reyna was still filling up the buckets.
Athan followed just as Wren had suspected and smiled faintly when he caught the boy admiring the gems that were laid out in different trays. A few of them were wrapped up in oil cloths, separate from the rest. Those were.. special. His smile widened slightly as he drifted forward and picked up one of the small sachets.
"Hmm.. she hasn't even mentioned Mystic Topaz? I figured she'd surely mention him. He's become as dear a friend to her as yourself," he murmured as he gazed over at the demon before smirking faintly when he seemed to have caught his interest.
"You're a real jackass, you know that?" Reyna retorted as she came into the room with two buckets of water and sat them down before disappearing briefly to retrieve the rest of the painting supplies. When she returned she stood there with her hands on her hips and scowled faintly at Athan. "Quit torturing my friend! That's my job and he's way more helpful than you're being."
The mysterious man laughed faintly, a soft, rather unnerving noise. "Oh. I've hardly tortured him, dear Reyna.."
"Well, she did mention something about a Mystic Topaz, but I didn't quite catch it all." Wren stopped himself from looking at the gems though, to instead peer at Athan. Just what was Death over there trying to get at? ( Note to self: explore gems further, too shiny to pass up. ) Nudging his glasses up, he shifted on his feet, glancing up at Athan just as Reyna came into the room.
Actually, he watched them bicker for a moment, twitching at Athan's laughter slightly. The exchange between the two of them far too amusing. When there was more than one person around with rapier wit, it could get pretty messy. "Oi, look. I've got enough people to torture me at home, can't I get a little freedom here?" he asked, then paused for a moment sighing. "Well, no, if I wasn't, life wouldn't be the same." Moving past Athan, he waved a dismissing hand in the air and lowered himself down to look at the brushes and the paints, picking out one to start with and use. "Besides, I actually have a question for Athan."
Reyna eyed her friend suspiciously but she couldn't help the smile that crept up onto her face despite her best efforts. He had a question for Athan? That'd certainly prove to be interesting. Athan had a way of avoiding and dodging questions though, which typically only lent to more questions. It infuriated her to no end, though she was curious to know what was on her friend's mind.
"A question?" Athan asked in a sort of mocking tone of voice, "For me? How quaint." He drifted about the two of them, fading in and out of view as an invisible sort of wind fluttered about him.
She turned briefly to scowl at the oh so benevolent 'benefactor' of her new shop. He still had something up his billowing sleeves and it was starting to get on her already frayed nerves.
Before Wren even asked his question of Athan, Wren turned his attention to Reyna, an eyebrow raised in question. "Perhaps," he said in a staged quiet voice, "if we got a fan, it would blow him right on out of here?" Since Athan couldn't seem to stay in one place and the fact that he was moving about like wind -- well, hey. It was bound to come up. Particularly when he felt like he was at some sort of war with Athan.
Coughing not so discreetly into his hand, Wren turned his attention to him, giving Reyna a quirky grin as he did so. "I mean, yes, I've got a question for you, Athan." There was a serious look on Wren's face, and his tone reflected it. "I was wondering, perhaps, if you ate souls?" Now, the question was if Wren was being serious or if he was taking a large jab at Athan. Probably the latter.
Reyna burst out laughing at that and clutched at her sides in a fit of giggles at the fleeting look of irritation that fluttered across Athan's face. That was more emotion than she'd ever managed to work out of him despite her constantly trying to bug the other man enough so that he'd float away and leave. She had decided to make him regret ever choosing her for having to be caretaker for all of those shadows after she'd realized exactly what a large job he'd dropped off into her lap.
"No," Athan gritted out between clenched teeth, "I do not eat souls. Nor will a fan blow me away." He folded his arms over his chest and glanced away from the two others in the room that were giggling at his expense. He did not appreciate being made fun of.
His eyes narrowed as they fell onto one of the oil cloth sachets that had one of the more.. unique gems wrapped up into it. He stepped towards it and snatched it up before carefully untying it to allow the gem to show. "Now I have a question for you," Athan replied as he eyed the demon almost warily, "Do you know what sort of stone this is?" He held out a small blue stone in the palm of his hand. It was about an inch and half in diameter and had an odd holographic look to it.
Wren was holding onto the side of a counter edge, leaning over as he laughed, simply because of the expression on Athan's face -- never mind that Reyna's laughter fueled his own and he couldn't stop it then. Athan's answer just made it all that much better and he continued laughing, grinning widely at Reyna until he managed to pull himself together with a few last chuckles.
"Come on," he muttered to Reyna, "got to stop laughing, least he do something." Since she had yet to stop laughing either, but the chuckles were dying down. Clutching his side, he straightened back up and peered at Athan and the gemstone he was presenting. "... actually, it reminds me of Tiger's Eye, but it's not the right color to be that," he responded slowly, a questioning glance shot to Reyna. Not that he thought she knew what was up either, but ... hey. Stepping forward, he moved to get a better look at the gem.
"Very close. It's a stone that's closely related to that one, but yes.. the coloring is wrong," he answered, "Well.. not wrong per say. It's called hawk's eye. Lovely color isn't it?" He smiled faintly before dropping it into the demon's palm. "Keep it. I think you'll enjoy having it," he smirked broadly before stepping away from the man.
Reyna arched a brow as he drifted towards the door and her jaw all but dropped open when he actually left through the door. Since when did Mr. high and might Athan pretend to even somewhat normal?
She dropped her paintbrush and skittered over towards Wren to peer at the gem in his hand. "Well.. I have absolutely no idea what that was all about but it's pretty?" she replied as she ran a hand back through her hair in a sort of nervous gesture.
Wren liked shiny things as much as the next person, but the fact that it came from somebody he had just poked fun at? That made him a little wary. Still, he liked the stone, and by the time he really let himself get away from the fact it was now his and ohsoshiny -- a stone from nature, which easily distracted -- Athan was already leaving through the door. Right, and what had just happened? "... it is a good color, yeah," he murmured to himself, looking up at Reyna.
"Sure, it's pretty, just didn't expect it." He turned the gem over in his fingers a lot, inspecting it, before lifting up his glasses with a single hand and rubbing his eyes. "Probably about nothing, though." He hoped, at least. "But how about we get going with the painting and all that?" Ignore the burning questions in his mind, and get to the painting instead of playing around, yes.
"Sounds like a plan to me," Reyna quipped with a smile as she got back to work and quietly went to painting. Mystic appeared a little while later and she formally introduced her 'shadow' to Wren. He helped, too, and managed to get the edges up around the top of the ceiling since he could float.
It didn't occur to her that the gem that was hidden somewhere in Wren's pocket could be a Shadow Fiend as well. She'd only seen Mystic in his wisp form and not prior to that, though the way Athan had left and how he had acted did leave a sort of unsettling feeling deep in her gut. She frowned at that thought before brushing it aside as she focused on their work.
With having someone else there to help her time seemed to slip past quickly and the job was definitely finished a lot quicker than it had been when she'd been painting the other room. That had taken the longest, especially what with the painting on the ceiling. That had been quite a challenge, to say the least.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 10:09 am
Awakening
Be wary of gifts from people you've thrown barbs at.The days had passed slowly after Wren had received the Hawk's Eye gem from Athan while helping Reyna. He had finished out the day there, helping out his friend and later coming back to continue helping her out. There was also learning about Mystic Topaz and the Shadow Fiends and just what Athan was ( that no one could be sure of, but Mr. Death suited him oh so well in Wren's honest opinion ) which made things more interesting. Honestly, it seemed fitting that Reyna ended up in charge of the fiend, but with Athan nothing was that simple it seemed. Probably couldn't be with Mister Mysterious.
As it was, Wren had all most forgotten about the Hawk's Eye gem he kept in his pocket. He had showed it to Halo with a few chuckles as he told her about his day and how he had received the stone. Never mind he had to keep it away from his sons, least they try to get their hands on the shiny. ( Really, there was an irony in the fact that he couldn't keep his hands on something shiny for himself. ) The only reason Wren became aware of the gem again was that it clinked in his pocket as he sat down on the porch swing. The sun had set and he had yet to turn on the outside lights. The shadows were stretching out across the porch, but he couldn't be bothered to get the lights. It wasn't like they were really necessary.
Instead, Wren pulled the sachet that the stone was in and opened it up to peer inside. He could see the faint glimmer of the stone from within. It did remind me of the tiger's eye stone, but it was very much different. Hawk's Eye had different qualities, but somehow even though this one glimmered, it was seemed dark. Then again, considering it came from Athan -- well, that said it all. ( Except now Wren chuckled in memory of Mister Death and his reactions to being teased and messed with. Oh the amusement. )
"Let's get a better look at you, shall we?" Wren muttered, holding up the sachet and turning it over to drop the gemstone onto his hand. He fully expected it to land on his hand with a small thump, stone hitting skin, but it barely did. Just as the stone touched his skin it was back in the air and he was staring at it. What occurred was all most instantaneous. It was like what had been happening without him noticing burst into awareness completely. The connection that had been forming between him and Hawk's Eye came to sudden life just as the gemstone itself did.
Shadows that were around seemed to be pulled in slightly by the gemstone until it was shrouded in them, until Hawk's Eye was nothing but a dark glimmer in the midst of absolute darkness. And then, something that Wren would never forget or be rid of, came to attention. A faint sense of amusement and curiosity brushed over his senses and Hawk's Eye floated forward towards Wren's face. It was as if they both staring each other down, sizing one another up and seeing just where this would lead.
Wren's eye twitched and the shadows around Hawk's Eye darkened just slightly with another glint.
"... damn Athan," he growled, and Hawk's Eye merely nudged up against his head before disappearing into his shadow. His own irritation couldn't seem to be matched by Hawk's Eye's amusement.
Just what had Athan given -- done to -- him?
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 10:10 am
Glimpse, But Not
I'm a nut, in a rut, I'm cra-zee...Humming to himself, Wren sat cross-legged on the floor. To his right there was a nut, sitting on that little basket of his, in front of him was his son Mael and his daemon Suffocation, neither of whom were looking at him, and to his left and clinging to his shadow created by the light in his room was the wisp, Hawk's Eye.
Now, both of these were interesting things, but Mael couldn't seem to decide which was more worth going after. The nut he had tried and been cut off rather quickly by Wren. So far any attempts to go after the glimmering shadow gem had lead nowhere. Not only could it stay out of it's grasp, but Wren knew that he was going after it without so much as a glance in his direction. He would merely stop reading from the book he was reading and quietly tell Mael to lead Hawk alone.
He was not for him to play with. Then again, this was all to the amusement and irritation of Wren. Granted, he didn't mind reading books aloud ( and this time he was reading Neverwhere ), but when you have a son intent on going after either of the beings to your side, no matter what or how many times he was stopped, it was kind of bad. Hawk was new though, somewhat. Since Athan had just appeared and Hawk ended up in his possession before the meeting was over and done with. The thing was with the wisp that it seemed much like everything else.
Prone to being amused at him. He could all ready tell it was getting a few chuckles at his expense or perhaps that was the paranoia that seemed to have settled in because of Tom and Carmine ( he twitched ) and glanced at the Feien bloom sitting at his other side in it's little basket. At least when he talked to the bloom it didn't have anything to say and so far what he had done didn't seem to harm it. It was kind of like he was all ready treating it like a kid. Taking it out places and talking to it as if it could understand him.
Not everybody got that the nut was actually a bloom that was actually something that would eventually turn into this creature called a Feien. The conversation usually went:
'Do you know Valsharess?'
'Yes. She's rather unique.'
'Well, this is from the same place. Just a different kid, so to speak.'
'It's a nut.'
'I know, it's it cute? Just adore the natural-ness and how it's hard and --'
'I didn't ask for your opinion.'
'Oh. Right. Sorry.'
Wren wrinkled his nose up and sighed, closing the book and setting it down in his lap. Not only did it seem that Mael was not paying attention to him, but he was too busy making grabby hands at Hawk to even bother listening. At least the bloom was sitting there. Perfectly quiet in it's little basket and not doing anything whatsoever.
He reached over with a hand to run a finger along, all most like petting it. Really. He did like it. The nut was kind of like nature and he did like nature so. Provided, of course, none of his relatives were around. Somehow, they tended to bring him out of his love of nature but now that he was here with this nut and -- ignoring the fact that Mael was now trying to crawl over his lap and go behind him to get the darkly glowing blue gem -- able to look at it he was very much in tune with the nature aspect.
Which, of course, meant one of two things.
One: when the feien came out of it's shell -- literally -- it probably wouldn't be very nature-ish and demand Wren back up off of it's space; and two: he had to grab Mael by the back of his shirt and set him back down where he had been and where Suffocation was. He sighed again, using his free hand to rub two fingers against his temple.
"Look, it's just a few days after Christmas, don't you think you'd still be shocked from your first one, hm?" Mael just gave him that wide-eyed look of his, grinned that impish smile, and started to make grabby hands at the bloom. This time Wren rolled his eyes and promptly sat his son back where he had been sitting on a pillow. "Sit. Stay. Be good." He couldn't resist the chuckle when Mael just gave him a look like he didn't know what he was talking about and the truth was that he probably didn't.
It was still cute.
And then he was brought to the attention that Hawk was floating closer towards the bloom and seemed to be hovering over it as much as the shadows and Wren's own seemed to permit. He lifted an eyebrow, diverted away from his son for the moment and briefly wondered what was going on. There was only a vague sense of curiousity coming from the fiend and he gave it a brief nudge of his own curiousity to see what was going on.
What he wasn't expecting was to get a sudden wave of amusement and then a fuzzy and not so clear picture. It was something not so big with wings and it was doing something in what looked to be outside in the backyard, near one of the trees. Except the people and it were all blurs and the words he heard were garbled clips and phrases. After a moment, just as the image flashed across his mind and vision, it was gone and he was blinking and staring down at both the nut and Hawk.
"... what the fu -- what was that?" He stared at Hawk and the bloom and there was nothing from either of them, but there was dark sort of amusement coming from the fiend and he rubbed his temple once more, absently grabbing Mael again as he was back in his lap and after both the bloom and the fiend now.
"I am no seer," Wren muttered and the only vocal response he got was Mael's giggles because daddy yet again caught him sneaking.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 10:13 am
The Serpent Child
The growth of another.It was noticeable instantly. Perhaps it had been gradual and Wren simply had been caught up with other things to notice, but that couldn't be it. Then, for more than a single moment, his chest tightened just a little. Halo wouldn't really be able to enjoy this to it's fullest either. Not with things between her and Mael still in shambles and even Otium was beginning to show signs of being affected by the fact that Mael and her were not getting along.
Not that Halo wasn't trying, but Mael wasn't even bothering to play nicely with her. Then again, he was a baby. Well, no, that was inaccurate, Mael wasn't a baby anymore. He was a toddler. Which --
"... I'm so screwed." Groaning quietly, hand pressed to his face, Wren looked down between his fingers at the still sleeping toddler. He'd have to wake him up sooner or later for breakfast along with Otium and then the others if they were inclined to eat. Hopefully Mael wouldn't live up to any of his expectations of him as a toddler, because if that was the truth ... Well, Wren was in for more than he could handle, one way or another.
"Don't even think about it, Pierce." Wren said in a quiet voice, all most forcefully to the Shadow Fiend that was lurking over his shoulder as if he was peering down at the sleeping toddler. Hawk's shadowy glow merely darkened and he slunk back into the deeper shadows that the demon cast about himself. Honestly, Wren wasn't interested in suddenly being bombarded with potential visions of his son. At least, not in the way Hawk's Eye was inclined to show him. Getting hit with random clips and foggy visions of the future was not something he liked, particularly when he was in the middle of doing things.
Or when he was contemplating the hellion that Mael was likely to be. Hawk merely let Wren know his feelings on the matter, a hint of smugness to the feeling he got from the Fiend. Hawk knew damn well how much of an arse he was at times and took pride in the fact he could get a rile out of Wren without even trying.
Then again, it did take the fun out of things and there was something of a sulk to the feelings that he impressed upon Wren. Taking the immature route, Wren turned his head and stuck his tongue out at the Shadow Fiend -- not quite giving a damn.
"Might as well get this done with," Wren muttered under his breath, now that Hawk's Eye was subdued in his shadow for the time being. ( Though retaliation was to come later, he knew it. ) Reaching forward, he moved to wake up the sleeping toddler and from there, he knew not what would happen.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 10:16 am
Capture
Be careful of the games you play.Catching things was never going to be easy, or at least some sort of similar thought was floating through Mael's brain as he raised himself up out of his sitting position and tried to grab for Hawk's Eye who was floating about in Wren's shadow. Mael would've been content to ignore the dark shiny from past experience of not being able to capture him, however today wasn't the same Today, the mischievous thing had deliberately, as far as he was concerned, come into his view and tempted him. The dark shiny had wound it's way slowly around dad at the desk and eventually came into his view.
Mael wasn't interested then, however. He pointedly ignored the dark shiny, going back to his own writing, because if dad could write stuff, so could he. Who cared if no one but him understood it? But it pointedly contained plans of some sort. Mael wasn't quite sure what sort of plans, but he was certain they would be quite important once he got older. Plans were all ways important, but he had no clue where that thought had come from. He wasn't even sure what plans were, but it sounded interesting enough to his toddler ears.
Plans was one of the few words he understood, because everybody was all ways talking about them. Plans with mom ( ew ) and dad usually involved him and Otium and going places or other sorts of things. He hadn't figured out what plans with Tom and Carmine meant, but they tended to disappear whenever they came up in conversation. For long periods of time, too, which was something akin to eternity to a toddler.
As it had been, Mael had tried for a while to ignore Hawk's Eye, or the dark shiny as he thought of it. However, the fiend did not give up. No, Hawk's Eye was persistent in his pestering of Mael. He would wind and slip his way around the legs of Wren's chair, floating just beyond the reaches of the shadows and towards Mael. Just as the toddler would look up at him, he'd pull back and move towards Wren's shadow, only to slowly move forward once more as the toddler lost interest in looking.
"When he catches you, Pierce, I'm not helping you out." Wren muttered the words, barely even looking up from where he was typing. Hawk's Eye paid them no mind and Mael didn't even understand them entirely. Hawk was enjoying himself, playing this little game of his, and it was all fair and good as he saw it. The serpent child made grabby hands at him far too often, so it was about time he taunted him in turn. Never mind he was the one with foresight, not Wren. As if the demon could see anything past what was going to be had for dinner.
If he even knew what that was. Besides, as it was, at least he hadn't dropped the news on Wren that his house was going to get noisier, but Hawk didn't need the headache. He was too amused with his game for now, like any young thing. Except, what he failed to realize was that in this game he was, in the end, the prey. Mael was beginning to learn what patience was and he had it to a certain degree, at least in regards to getting what he wanted.
And what he wanted was Hawk's Eye. The way the dark shiny winded and twisted and glowed bright, but shadowed at the same time, fascinated the serpentine toddler as well as his daemon who's head he stroked absently. Suffocation hissed at him quietly, as if informing him the fiend was coming closer once more, but Mael paid him no mind at all. Instead, he kept up with his plans. Furiously scribbling down this and that upon the paper with his black glitter crayon.
He let out a hiss of his own, forked tongue flicking in the air as any snake on the hunt would've done and tasting it lightly. The prey was closer now, apparently coming closer now that it seemed he wasn't even paying attention. Who knew ignoring the dark shiny would lure it in further? Waiting, far more patiently than any toddler his age rightfully should have to. Mael was just waiting for that one sign, another hiss from Suffocation, when the dark shiny got too closer.
There it was! Suffocation's hiss! Then Mael suddenly looked up, tail flicking out rapidly as he pushed himself up and practically jumped into the air. He felt his fingers close around the dark shiny and bring it back down to the ground with him. He kept his hands tightly clasped together only breaking them apart a little bit to peek in at the dark shiny with a smirk ( one Wren probably would've expected to see on Gaitano or Carmine ).
Hawk's Eye frantically bounced against the walls he was bound in now, the fleshy hands that kept him secluded in darkness that wasn't where he wanted to be.
"Stop worrying, Pierce, he's going to let you go eventually." Wren's words were heard far too clearly and Hawk's Eye could all most picture the man turned in his chair away from the computer with an amused smile on his face at what his son and just accomplished and was putting him through. Hawk's Eye didn't even hold back from giving Wren the empathic equivalent to an ear full of yelling and griping. There was no holds barred on the bond between, even when Wren tried to push up some of his own walls to block it.
Hawk's Eye was just too sly for his own good to be denied, with petty attempts at least. Still, Wren did nothing to help him, but if he thought it would teach Hawk a lesson he was probably wrong.
And yet Mael couldn't understand why there was a pained expression on his dad's face, but he was humming such a happy tune. Didn't matter, honestly, he had the dark shiny ( which was still clasped in both hands and being constantly shaken ). Besides, maybe those plans of his had been for this capture. It was possible, wasn't it?
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 10:18 am
Something Wicked
The end of the 'Something Wicked' plot arc.Over a series of several long weeks, Reyna continued to feel as something or someone were watching her when she left the shop late in the evenings. It was frustrating as hell. Whenever she looked for someone there, all she saw was shadow -- and not even the suspicious kind.
Mystic hovered nervously at her side almost constantly. Rare was the occasion he wasn't there by her side. It was almost as though he were a tiny wisp again who was afraid to leave her shadow. She couldn't offer him any comfort though. She was just as antsy as he was. The feeling of foreboding she felt and the feelings of anxiety that fairly radiated off Mystic was rather difficult to stomach after a while.
Things seemed to only get worse when Athan decided it was a good idea to lurk around the shop more often. He typically peppered her with questions she didn't know or simply couldn't answer. Those questions would lead to more questions and then he'd fall quiet. He'd pace restlessly after that before finally disappearing in that eerie way he did, only to return hours or sometimes even minutes later to begin the entire process all over again...
--
Reyna sighed irritably as she rubbed the back of her neck. It had gone stiff what with how she'd been hunched over her latest masterpiece. It was then that she remembered why she preferred to work with acrylic paints rather than watercolor. Watercolors were best done flat and taped down to a solid surface which of course meant she was bent over the paper in a rather uncomfortable position.
Already she could feel the beginnings of a headache pulsate at her temples. The pain seemed to reverberate inside her skull and she grumbled under her breath as she pushed away from the desk to stretch her lanky limbs out. She idly glanced towards Mystic's direction who had busied himself with a small drawing of his own.
He'd pestered her enough that she'd finally broken down and bought him his own little sketchbook and some rather nice pencils that were perfect for beginners. She had to hand it to him, he really was quite good, even for a beginner. She had a sneaky suspicion though that it was a talent he'd simply sucked up somehow from her through their bond. He seemed to carry quite a few of her traits sometimes. It was almost eerie.
What was more eerie was the nagging feeling in the back of her head that seemed to worsen her headache. She sighed again and pressed her fingertips against her temples before running her hands back through her cropped, silver hair.
"Mm.. I think we should close up shop early today, Mystic. Business is slow, and I'm feeling sort of cranky," she informed him. Really, she wanted to be home before dark. At night that twisting, gnawing feeling in her gut worsened to the point that she almost felt sick. It wasn't so bad in the daylight. It was ironic really -- she usually preferred night to day.
She moved to clean up the mess she made and wash out her paintbrushes before frowning when she heard the bell to the front door ring signaling that someone had come inside. She peeked through the door to the adjoining room where she'd been washing the brushes to see who it was.
"Reyna! I think I've found a solution!" Athan declared, surprising her with both the fact that he was there, and by the fact that he'd come through the door like a normal person.
"To what?" she asked dryly, even though she knew the answer all too well. It was almost a reflex that she reply with something snide or catty when it came to Athan.
"I found an old spell that I think might work on Doran and rid him of us for good.. I think," he replied as he plopped down a dusty old book that was several inches thick on top of her desk that she'd just finished cleaning off. Dust rose around it in little plumes before finally settling as he opened the volume and flipped through the pages and stopped at a certain chapter. "We can trap him with his very own magic.. he won't see that coming," Athan smirked, looking rather pleased with himself.
It wasn't quite dusk yet and Wren knew that the shop Reyna and Athan controlled didn't close until sometime after dark. There was just small fact about that: Wren didn't want to be caught alone after dark. Not when Hawk's Eye was barely visible in his shadow, the only sign he was even there a glint of his gem from his chest.
The fiend was as shaken up as he was and showing it far more. But what could the demon expect? He had laid down to take an afternoon nap and soon found himself trapped in a vision apparently Hawk's Eye was having. It had been disturbing and destructive. Even now he could still remember the sight that he and the fiend had come across in the vision. The blood that he had seen, the slow pull of energy slipping out of his own body that was Hawk's Eye.
And then it hadn't stopped as Hawk's Eye was screaming and disappearing from his mind, but it went on as he had slowly collapsed to the ground and his own energy giving. There had been others, he was sure, going through it but the only one around him was Reyna. He had now idea where his wife was or what had happened to her, only a sickening feeling that she couldn't have lasted as long as he was. Reyna and him had been left, slowly slipping as even two demons couldn't last forever as their life was being eventually sucked out of them.
Athan, he could remember, had fallen far too easily under the power of Doran ... Was that the name Wren and Hawk's Eye remembered from the vision? The man, if he could be called that, was hardly anything like it. Doran had been nothing but shadows and glinting eyes in darkness that he controlled.
He had enjoyed their fall too much in the vision.
Wren shook his head, blowing a streak of black hair from his eyes. When he had come to earlier, he could remember the faint voice of Hawk's Eye in his mind. Didn't mean too ...
The mischievous young fiend hadn't meant to show the vision to him, but he seemed too shaken up to share much beyond that. That was the final straw. Hawk's Eye had been having numerous visions of late. The weeks had passed and Wren was sure whatever had decided to stalk and play games with Athan and the guardians, along with their Shadow Fiends, couldn't have been done away with. Not with Hawk's Eye still acting as he was.
It was wearing on him, the consistent sense of stress and fatigue from Hawk. The feeling of fear he couldn't block out. Going to the shop was the only thing he could think of, since Reyna couldn't be home. Yet, he hoped. He had to tell her what Hawk had let him see and then see if they could do anything -- if Athan had done anything yet.
The door to the shop opened up easily and Wren stepped in, trying to shake off the chill that went down his spine. Even if he was hiding it, the way his posture was gave away his mood. The fact that Hawk's Eye looked like he had his arms wrapped around Wren's shoulders and was hiding his face against the back of the demon's neck said something else entirely.
Wasn't a good thing either.
Reyna glanced up from the passage she'd been reading from the massive book Athan had brought in with him. She smiled faintly at the sight of Wren and Hawk. She hadn't seen him since he'd grown! He was turning out to be quite a handsome little.. shadow. If she hadn't been so worried over figuring out how to help Athan work the spell she would have laughed at that and probably teased the little Fiend about it as well. Unfortunately they had more pressing matters at hand.
"Hey, Wren," she murmured faintly before falling quiet for a brief moment when she took in her friend's appearance as though seeing him for the first time since he walked in through the door. Those worried lines on his face weren't supposed to be there, nor was Hawk supposed to be hiding behind his shoulders. He was a child Fiend -- he should have been poking through all the gems in the cases and causing mass chaos not slinking around as though afraid of -- Oh.
"I'd ask you what you're doing over here in my neck of the woods but I've got an eerie feeling I already know," Reyna replied slowly before glancing towards Athan who turned to face the two with a look that was equally grave as Wren's.
Normally there would be snide remarks exchanged between the two, most of it was playful banter and only half-serious, but this time Athan greeted Wren with a loud, echoing sort of silence that weighed heavy in the room. "What has he Seen?" he asked simply. He was bonded to all the Shadows to at least some extent, and he knew of the stones powers. It had to be what had brought them there.
"It's good that you're here, though," Athan went on as he turned back towards the book, "You can help Reyna and I with a spell. It's rather complicated and two such people with your uh.. talents, would be incredibly helpful. The general idea is to trap Doran with one of his own spells. Specifically, the one he used to lock up souls in stones. Here's hoping he still has some semblance of one."
Reyna sighed faintly and stared down worriedly at the book as Mystic floated over towards her side and took in the sight of Hawk for the first time. It was a shame that their first meeting would be under such strained circumstances, especially after he'd heard so much about the Fiend that had caused her long time friend so much trouble. He'd been looking forward to meeting Hawk.
Wren just snorted lightly at Reyna and what she said, though he raised his hand to greet her and let the door drift shut behind him. If anything, it looked like his friend wasn't in much better shape than he was. "Ah, well. If you know, you know. Kind of hard not too at this point." His words sounded cheerful, but there was a sharp edge to them. This particular demon concerned and edgy was one that had to hold on hard to playing nicely with people. These moments it was easy to see that he really was the demon he claimed to be.
He felt mildly better, however, that the others didn't look any better. Reyna looked tired and most likely not just from her work. Probably from the never ending feeling of something not quite right with the world at large -- their portion of it at least. The demon finally moved closer to the small group, eyes locked with Athan.
A grim little smile on his face as he briefly glanced at Hawk who was peering around his neck towards the other briefly. "Usually he delights in sharing what he Sees with me, at least if it's potentially chaotic for me. Not lately though. He's not sharing a thing." The demon paused, watching Athan and the way the other seemed devoid of his typical arrogant flare, the one that he saw there sometimes. It was what made him poke at the other, exchange retorts and barbed words back and forth. Just right now he couldn't play that game. No one could.
"This time, he didn't have a choice in the matter. From what I can gather, it was like everything had gone wrong in a fight. Let's just say that I don't believe any of us made it through." The demon paused, running a hand through his hair and shaking his shoulders some as if he was trying to dislodge Hawk's Eye. The fiend wasn't moving however, keen on attaining some sort of comfort by attaching himself to his guardian.
"Doran?" Wren asked after listening to Athan, snorting at his comment about his 'talents'. "Doran was, well. He's who Hawk Saw. Not that it matters now, but I suppose if you believe this spell might work I might as well lend my support. How's it work?" Curiosity of both fiend and guardian seemed to kick in and as Wren moved closer to Athan, he was trying to get a good look at the book he was turned towards. It looked old to him, ancient, and the writing that he could see looked vaguely familiar.
Hawk only spared a brief glance at the other fiend, a brief flicker of recognition in his eyes at the other. If he could've, there might've been a slight smile in greeting. As it was, he only nodded his head slightly. Silence was his friend at the moment and he felt none too interested in seeing what he could do with Mystic. Or do to him.
"Doran is much to my dismay, an old colleague of mine I believed to be long since dead. The stones that the Fiends come from are actually his creations. The both of us occasionally dabbled in the darker arts. There's never anything wrong with learning to attain more knowledge in my book, and that's what it started out as," Athan confessed as he turned the page and continued scanning the book at the same time as though searching for something in particular, "I didn't mind when he began going after his enemies, either. Surely, I thought, they had done things just as hideous to him. Though when he began going after innocents and trapping their souls for sport.. well.. that's where I drew the line."
He sighed as he continued to flip through pages and scan the paragraphs. He looked disturbingly human at that moment rather than the foreboding, arrogant man Reyna and Wren both knew him to be. The wind that seemed to be constantly flowing in changing directions about him had ceased, and he looked paler than usual. His eyes still glowed an eerie green, lending to the fact that maybe he really wasn't entirely human. "My own moral misgivings aside," he went on, "Doran has managed to survive being killed once by more conventional means and now he is after us because well.. your guess is as good as mine. I'm going to assume he's not happy about my releasing the souls he's trapped."
Reyna had heard Athan's little story once before when he'd first ran into the shop in a flurry of upset and had dragged her aside from her customers to explain in a hushed tone that something was coming. Mystic had actually said the words first. He'd panicked and flown to her shadow to cling to her side and he had been doing just that ever since.
"So.. what do we need to stir this particular spell?" she asked to get an idea of what they were dealing with.
"I'm looking for the list of ingredients.. yes.. right here," Athan murmured as his finger stopped on one particular paragraph that held a detailed list of ingredients. "I know we'll need a stone for sure. I'm thinking quartz. It'll handle all of his negative energy well," he replied with a sort of bemused smile, but quite truly it was merely a ghost of an expression.
He paled suddenly as he glanced through the list. Most of the things on there he knew he already had in his possession but there was one such item that he definitely didn't have. "Not good," he stated quietly as he ran a hand idly back through his hair, disrupting the hood to his cloak slightly, "This spell calls for dragon's breath. I'll be damned. I haven't so much as seen a dragon in centuries."
"..."
Athan glanced up, unnerved at the sudden amount of attention that was being focused on him. Four sets of eyes settled on him intently before Reyna seemed to fairly erupt, cursing up a storm and flinging every insult she could muster (in a couple of different languages) at Athan. He'd claimed to have found a solution. An old spell he didn't know that even worked with ingredients that hadn't existed in ages was not a solution to their problem! It meant they were doomed, that's what it meant!
"You have to be ******** kidding me!" she all but shrieked, "Athan.. I swear I will kill you if Doran doesn't get either of us first!"
Hawk's Eye was slowly starting to slip forward. Ignoring Wren, though keeping close to his guardian. If anything, he could count on the fact that despite it all, Wren wouldn't actually do true harm to him, though he couldn't say the same about himself. Besides, he was getting a closer look at Athan. Something was tickling his mind in the back of it, a picture in his mind he couldn't quite grasp yet. There was something he should've realized, but ... well, he just let the thought drift away.
The talk of magic and spells was something that interested Hawk's Eye, so he turned his attention to that, unobtrusively poking at Wren's mind to see if the other had anything he was willing to share with him. Hawk's Eye was not like the feien bonded to his caretaker. Not all knowledge instantly came to him as he came to be as he was, but he was quick to learn and quicker to use what he had learned.
Letting out a small snort, eyes glancing to Hawk, Wren let him share some of what he knew. "It's not truly a Dark Art unless you apply it to a dark means. Magic's more of a grey area until you apply the intent of the person." The demon paused, studying Athan and rolling his eyes a bit. It was all too believable that Athan and his friend Doran could get caught up in something like this -- and he could remember all too well the information he had heard about the story. And then again? Wren really had no room to talk about dark things, considering that everything about him was truly dark in nature -- he just acted otherwise.
Listening in and noting some of the things mentioned, eyes cutting to Reyna briefly then to Athan as he finally spoke again, he arched an eyebrow and just stared. Really stared. It was a rare actual glare from the demon. ( And, briefly, his mind did decide to take note how normal Athan looked. It would've been creepy and worth noting, but this wasn't the time. ) He was silent, through Reyna's cursing, his blue eyes seemingly turning icy and there was a faint glow for a moment. A small sign of irritation.
Their solution was potentially nothing but a dud and they'd all end up dead. What a lovely, ohsolovely, thought.
"Just a small thought," he said idly, the words sounding far too sweet too cover his vexation, "but we are in a place where potentially a dragon can be found." The demon paused, lifting up his glasses and rubbing his eyes for a moment. "But dragon's breath doesn't necessarily mean dragon's breath, right? Wasn't there a plant or something called that?" His glasses were put back into place and the smile on his face none too pleasant despite appearances.
"Exactly right," Athan replied, "But the plant that this spell calls for is obscure to begin with and hasn't existed in.. well.. a very long time. We don't have the time to go searching through this entire realm to find out if it does still exist in some remote area." He sighed faintly and pressed a hand to his face, inwardly cursing himself and the fact that he'd ever associated himself with Doran. If it had been only his life that was in danger, it wouldn't been such a problem, but he had the lives of all the Guardians he'd bonded the Fiends to and the Shadows themselves.
Needless to say it was a horribly messy sort of situation that he'd found himself in, and he knew it was up to him to remedy their little problem.
Reyna fell quiet as she contemplated her friend's words and Athan's own silence before she felt Mystic rustle near her side to peer down at the book over her shoulder. His dark hands drifted towards the pages to read the list of ingredients. Maybe it can be done. There are many strange plants in our gardens at home. Might it be there? I know some of these things are in the house..
The silver haired woman arched a brow at her Shadow's knowledge of the more secret things she kept in their home. She figured he'd poked through the gardens but that little admission led her to believe that maybe he'd found a way around some of the locked, sealed doors within their house. Either way, there was no time to sit and question him about such things. They had more pressing matters to attend to.
"Well," Athan replied slowly, "That'd certainly be helpful but starting a spell without all the proper ingredients would be as wise as trying to reason diplomatically with Doran." His voice took on a sort of dry, bitter tone to it as he spoke. He looked weary and tired, and Reyna couldn't help but wonder when was the last time he'd slept... if indeed he did such a thing.
Hawk was ignoring the others, focusing on his bonded guardian who seemed to be thinking of something. There was one mental image that the demon of his seemed to be focused on. A flower, a strikingly beautiful flower, in moonlight. What's that? Hawk's voice flitted softly across Wren's mind, distracting him from his thoughts and the demon looked up from the point on the book he had been staring at.
A solution to a potential problem, if anything. Nice to see you're so interested in what I know about spells and protection. That was enough to send Hawk into a small fume, the shadow sharply turning and giving Wren a piercing stare. The demon merely smiled widely, turning to look at Athan and Reyna now that he wasn't stuck in his own thoughts.
"Nah, I'm sure Doran would love to sit down with us over a spot of tea and discuss a treaty." He snorted. "Actually, no. I'm sure he'd like to destroy us all while drinking a cup himself, but he doesn't seem friendly enough to share. Damn shame too." Rolling his eyes, trying to lighten the mood some, but probably poorly, Wren moved forward and looked closer at the book and the necessary items needed.
"Is dragon's breath the only one that's seems to be giving you an issue with locating, or is there something else?"
"That would be the only problem at the moment. Everything else I have on hand, though Reyna, do you truly have all of these things that Mystic believes you to have? It would save me the trouble of going home and retrieving all the items we need.. which could waist precious time since your home is closer," Athan replied as he glanced over towards the silver haired woman who was fidgeting with the edges of her eye patch.
"Mmhm.. I do. Though any quartz I have is probably tainted," she replied before smiling at that last bit. Her own skills with magic and other.. talents she kept hidden remarkably well, though the magic that had ruined her left eye had the tendency to warp all the spell making ingredients that had to be kept completely pure and untouched. The seals and locks on many of the rooms in her home weren't entirely for the sake of privacy and keeping prying eyes out.
"You might want to get your own stone then," she went on as she tilted her head to the side as though in deep thought. "Yes.. go fetch your own quartz and I can purify the rest and start the spell. You'll have to finish it though. I lack the talent to truly complete a spell like that," she murmured as she tapped at the pages of the book. It was a lie. She could complete a spell as complicated as that, but there was a chance it wouldn't turn out quite the way they all hoped it would.
"So.. where to get the dragon's breath.." she spoke aloud as her gaze slowly drifted over towards Wren who seemed not at all upset by their 'problem' of having a missing ingredient. Then again, she knew her old friend always seemed to have something up his sleeve, and like most demons, he had connections. It was a shame she had to sever all of her own..
"Ah, I'd offer some quartz, but I doubt any I've got around the house at home is any of the caliber you really need." Wren snorted, lifting his head to study the other two. The seemingly young looking demon did have his connections. He had more than his fair share, but he really didn't enjoy the fact that he'd have to risk a run in with people he didn't want to deal with. Though, his back itched idly, an urge to ditch hiding his wings and let them free. He could do that if he had to go where he thought he would.
"If you need any assistance with spells or the like, just tell me what needs to be done and I'll do it. Though from what looks of the spell, I may be able to help out with some parts of it." It was a rarity that Wren actually admitted to having any sort of ability or power, preferring to seem harmless as opposed to a danger. Except, in times like these he didn't play around, and he just shot Hawk another look. His shadow had come back to his own and was just quietly contemplating something that was on his mind.
"Just won't be able to help out for a bit." There was a wide grin on his face, fangs visible and the look present down right evil. "Because I'm going to go get the dragon's breath for us and we can do this spell and get Doran out of our hair."
"I knew there was a reason why I've always been friends with you," Reyna declared with a sort of fierce looking grin. "That's settled then. You get the dragon's breath, I'll get the spell started, and Athan can go get the quartz," she went on, grin still in place as things seemed to slip into place. It made the entire situation easier to deal with.
"We'll meet at Reyna's house, then," Athan spoke up, "It shouldn't take more than a few hours for me to acquire the stone, though the spell will take up quite a bit of our time. No need to waste a moment more." He smiled faintly and left Reyna with the book as he walked towards the door and seemingly disappeared as he stepped through it.
She still couldn't help but feel that it was terribly eerie when Athan walked through doors like a normal person. She shook her head and ran one hand back through her short hair before snatching up the book. She coughed briefly when it sent a plume of dust up into the air when she shut it. "Let's get moving then," she murmured as she headed towards the door as well.
She locked the door behind Wren and offered him a small smile before he left. "Be careful, and try not to do things I would do," she teased, though her heart wasn't really in it. She knew all too well that her friend could handle himself. Really she was more worried about the spell somehow going wrong and Hawk's visions of destruction coming true.
Reyna.. Mystic whispered against her mind in a sort of weak, slightly frightened voice. She glanced up to meet his jeweled gaze and paled visibly at the sudden overwhelming amount of fear that rushed through their bond. Doran.. I.. I think he knows.. he feels closer..
Her visible eye widened slightly at that admission before she reached for the Shadow's hand to twine her fingers in his. "Then it's best we hurry," she breathed in a low voice before simply taking off towards their home, moving far faster than the average human could ever dream of.
"All ways thought it was my charming personality that won you as a friend," Wren said, winking at Reyna, before stretching his arms out above his head and mentally preparing himself for the trip he was about to make. He wasn't going to like it one bit, but he'd manage it all the same. The demon only gave Athan a small nod, holding back the urge to tell him to keep safe.
Lost in his thoughts for a moment, Wren moved to head out after Athan did, only turning to look at Reyna and murmur a brief bless you, and then open the door to head out. "Oh, don't worry, I'll do things I do -- which may actually be worse." And the glint in his eyes said that the statement would be very well true in this case. "You be safe, though. Hawk's still feeling uneasy, and with the things he's probably seen ..." Wren trailed off, waving good bye to his friend. She'd be all right, he was sure, but still.
Sighing, Wren turned his attention to Hawk's Eye as Reyna moved on, biting back at the groan as Hawk's panic seemed to heighten for several moments. It made his own pulse pick up and he let out a steady breath. Now was the time to put all those skills of his to use and he calmed himself, detaching from the panic that Hawk's Eye was feeling. Calm down, Hawk, even if Doran was around, in a bit he won't be able to follow us.
Seen too much. Was all Hawk offered in reply and Wren shook his head, walking along the path that would take him back to his own house. His mind was all ready running over the words in his mind he needed to use to get where he was going to. His hands were out in front of him moving in a pattern, a swirl of darkness appearing in front of him as he opened up into a shimmering portal. "In any case, Pierce, you may want to hide yourself very well within my shadow. The company we're about to be in could probably make the Morningstar himself look like a saint."
And once the portal was opened enough, and Wren was sure it was one of the checkpoints he needed to pass through, he took a breath and went through. After that the portal promptly winked out of existence, all traces of him and Hawk's Eye gone.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 10:19 am
Something Wicked
The end of the 'Something Wicked' plot arc.Reyna remembered why it was she didn't like using spells -- they were a royal pain in the a**. Particularly so if they were written in the older languages, which the one they needed was. Typically the original authors of such old volumes were wise asses and left quite a bit open to interpretation. They were all just damned lucky that she knew what she was doing, otherwise they would have all been doomed even without Doran hot on their trails.
She had neatly scrawled a circle and various markings out on the slate floor and was careful not to smudge any of the lines. They entire room was composed of panels of slate, all for drawing up spells like she was doing. Mystic floated over head to read verses to her while she worked, something she found to be infinitely helpful. The room seemed to calm him some and she knew it had to be because of the wards that had been placed on it. It was a safe place, but she knew all too well that no place would be truly safe if Doran was as powerful as Athan hinted at.
"Speak of the devil," she murmured softly without looking up when the man in question appeared in the doorway. She paused for a brief moment when she glanced up and realized that his customary dark robes were strangely missing. He looked.. so very human. It truly was disturbing, more so than his using a door like a normal person.
"And he shall appear," he replied as he sidestepped inside the doorway to avoid smudging any of the lines that Reyna had so neatly scrawled out on the floor. He wore dark pants and a sleeveless shirt that was just as dark. His hair was long, far longer than she thought it would have been and ended at the middle of his back in what appeared to be dreds.
Had she not been preoccupied with what she was working on she probably would have taken the time to tease him about his appearance, but that brief moment that she paused in her work was more than she cared to waste. "Got the stone?" she asked simply.
"Yes.. is Wren back yet?" he asked as he slowly walked around the circle as though double-checking her work. It irked her slightly, but then again she knew he was more adept at magic and mistakes, even small ones, weren't something they could risk. Her ego would simply have to be shoved aside.
"No.. he still has plenty of time though before it comes time to use the dragon's breath," she informed him before standing slowly. She stretched her arms up over her head and sighed when her spine popped in a few places. She'd been kneeling over the floor for far too long.
It would be a bit longer before Wren would return, but he did eventually. Hawk's Eye once again let himself be completely visible as they came through the portal that he opened in front of Reyna's home and knocked once before heading in. ( Damned if he'd actually break down a friend's wards to just transport in entirely, but clear areas were better as it was. )
"Reyna? Athan?" he called out loudly, to announce his presence. In his arms, carefully being carried was a beautiful flower. It was encased in a glass, though part of it could be moved and lifted off as a top, and the base was filled with dirt. It obviously looked like it might've been a well loved and taken care of plant.
Except it hadn't been. Not in the slightest. It had been a part of plants kept as a means of bartering by a pair of demons. A pair of demons that Wren had not wanted to deal with and because of it he was in a particularly foul mood. His face was set in a scowl and even Hawk's Eye wasn't willing to poke at him at this point, but the shadow fiend was still dealing with the ill feeling and the fear of what Doran could potentially do. Wren's appearance had changed since he left and was different as he made his way through the house. His horns were longer, curling towards the back of his head, his hair was all most pitch black, and his skin looked an unearthly pale and glimmered faintly in the lighting, sometimes looking like scales that reflected an endless amount of colors. There was a tail that was briefly curled around his ankle and it lashed out in irritation as reflection of his mood. The scales were black, but reflected just as the scales else where did, and there was a tuft of fur at the tip.
The benefits of traveling dimensions and other factors lead to Wren being unable to maintain his human guise, particularly because of who he met. He felt too drawn on from it and he still needed energy to help out with the spell. He'd be able to, but it was easier to do so and let go of the guise -- somewhat, some of it was still there. Certain aspects were best left not seen.
Scowling and rubbing at a marking on his cheek without realizing, Wren stared at the plant he had gotten. "Damn thing. If Doran didn't seem like a ******** pain in the a** to get rid of without this spell, I'd get rid of him my self just because of the s**t I had to go through to get this. I hate torture demons." The tirade didn't get much better as Wren hoped he was getting closer to where the two were preparing and his language was colorful. If one language didn't do it, another was spoken.
... and Hawk really could only enjoy the foul mood Wren was in. He'd have to take lessons from the two they seen, even if they had been intimidating to him.
Hopefully Athan, Reyna, and Mystic were all most ready for the dragon's breath and Wren wasn't running too late. He suspected he wasn't, or as much as Hawk's Eye was willing to admit he wasn't.
"My you have good timing," Reyna remarked when she felt more than she saw Wren enter the room. Her one visible eye looked slightly glazed over as though she weren't truly seeing what was in front of her and her voice was softer than it normally was. Her mind was focused elsewhere on the glowing lines that pulsated a faint red color.
In a moment she was going to have to break away from the circle and let Athan take over. She just hoped that she didn't do something stupid like stumble and ruin everything. It was unlikely that she'd do such a thing, but that brief worry was there gnawing in the back of her mind.
She took one step backwards, carefully following the path that she'd marked out specifically for that purpose as Athan entered the circle from the opposite direction. Once she was completely out of the circle she blinked a couple of times and allowed her vision to clear. She hated working with circles. They always gave her such a headache!
Nothing seemed to have gone wrong, though. The red lines had faded to green. It was a good sign since that was Athan's color. Her magical abilities typically were more well suited for fire, Athan's for earth. It was strangely fitting for him considering that he often worked with stones and the like.
She smiled faintly and glanced towards Wren, not at all disturbed or taken aback by his appearance, though it had been a very long time since she'd seen another of her kind in anything that even remotely resemble their true selves. "Give the flower to Hawk or Mystic.. they can give it to Athan without having to truly enter the circle since they are derived from his magic.."
"Eh, my associates," and that word came out dryly sarcastic, "understood the need to be fast and got me what I needed." Wren eyes fell to the circle, eyes studying the power that was flowing within the room and noting the way Reyna looked. She must have been working part of the spell. Watching briefly as Athan and Reyna exchanged control he resisted the urge to comment on Athan's appearance, now not the time for barbs or witty commentary.
Instead, Wren was carefully tugging on his own energy, wrapping it around himself just in case. Personal protection wards were a must in this situation, he felt, though he was careful to keep his energy away from anything near the circle. He stood towards where Reyna had marked out, his tail once more carefully wrapped around his ankle, and not lashing about in tune with his mood. Everything, from his perspective, looked good. Though, honestly, Athan didn't strike him as being suited as aligned with earth -- but it fit him nonetheless.
Giving Reyna a fanged grin, he nodded a bit. He'd regain his guise as soon as this was over, though Halo probably wouldn't mind if he came home looking like he did. "All right," he responded, eyes going to Mystic. "Here, you take it." The demon held it out for the other shadow to take. It wasn't that he didn't trust Hawk's Eye, but it was that Hawk seemed too shaken up to him to really carry the plant without risking it.
Besides, he too felt the ill feeling that Hawk was giving off and he wasn't truly sure what was wrong besides the obvious.
Mystic took the plant from Wren carefully and hovered in front of Athan who had the same glassy-eyed look on his face that Reyna had had only moments ago. The man swayed slightly as he held on hand out, palm outstretched to take the bloom from the Shadow. The flower never actually touched his hand, instead it floated midair amongst a small glow of green as it seemed to grow slightly until the petals were glistening at the edges in a strange sort of way.
He whispered something low under his breath in an ancient language that Reyna just barely recognized. She squinted over at him and noted faintly that he now looked as though he were glowing and his feet were no longer touching the floor. He hovered there above the circle about an inch or so.
Moments later the large quartz stone that he'd acquired was hovering there as well. There was a blindingly white flash of light that made her flinch back and press against the wall. Mystic mimicked the motion and made a sort of keening noise inside his head. He was afraid. Of the light? Shadow Fiends hated bright lights..
No. It was something else. Her eye snapped open and she glanced almost frantically towards Athan. She felt it now as well -- that overwhelming sense of foreboding, of something coming nearer. Though what she felt wasn't through her bond with Mystic.
"He's close! He's approaching the lake Athan! He knows!" she all but yelled before visibly growling as her appearance altered slightly as her human guise seemed to fade about the edges. Her eye glowed an eerie red and a strange wisp of black radiated and pulsated away from her eye patch that covered her left eye. She could sense the man's magic. It left a sort of tingling sensation rippling about the air that made the hair on her neck stand up.
"I know.. the spell is nearly complete," Athan murmured in a soft voice as the glow about him receded and the chalked lines on the slate floor faded away as though they'd never even been drawn out in the first place. "It'll take a few moments for the stone to set," he continued in a more normal tone of voice.
"I don't think we have a few moments," Reyna muttered as she stalked out of the room before pausing midstep. She reeled back at the sudden nauseating feeling of magic everywhere. The room had a seal on it and a barrier to foreign magic. It was no wonder she hadn't felt the strange presence sooner.
"Deities be damned, arse can't learn to wait until people are properly ready for him." Wren bit down on the swell of panic that rose up in Hawk's Eye and bled over into his own mind. It wouldn't do for him to be blind-sided by an emotion that wasn't his own. He was worried himself, but it wasn't a raging feeling like within Hawk. Shielding his eyes from the bright light, grumbling under his breath, he watched as Hawk shimmered in and out of shadows that both he and other things created. The young fiend seemed frantic, all most, and then he went still suddenly.
And Hawk's emotions went blank within his mind, as if he was actually putting a cap on them. It was all coolness where there had been panic and fear of something nasty approaching. Hawk's Eye was expecting the man now and in the fiend's mind he could see him all but approaching and breaching the wards of the building and getting in.
Leaving Hawk be, Wren's eyes trailed to the circle and to Athan and the stone that was said to not be set and ready. "Whatever, it doesn't matter at this point! Just finish five seconds ago," the words came out in a near hiss and Wren turned and followed Reyna out the door and let out a small growl. Doran's presence was hard to mistake once one realized it was that presence that had been lurking behind everything.
"... think we try to stall him to give Athan a bit of time or what?" Wren reached with a hand to touch Reyna's shoulder, actually trying to extend a ward of protection over her as well as make sure she was all right. If anything, the ward he was trying to weave around her would lessen the magic around herself. So far as he had all ways known, Reyna practically attracted magic like a glowing beacon. It wasn't a good thing and his own were strong enough to fight off the ill feeling, but he felt the crackle of a power he didn't like at the edge of his senses and the sensation it caused wasn't pleasant.
Doran just snorted, barely visible in the darkness and shadows that he hid himself in. There was no picking him out from the shadows that he called to his aid to hurry him along. The only thing visible was the glint of his eyes as he made his way to the house that Reyna lived in.
"Mm, these have made it easy for me to do away with them. All here at once." A sinister smile was on his lip and Doran stretched his hand out at once to start breaking down whatever protections would attempt to keep him from getting into the house as he didn't even bother to come in the front door.
... not like he was suppose to knock or anything. Heaven forbid be a little polite about invasion and come through the front door to kill them.
"Yes!" she hissed, "I don't want him tearing up my <********> house.." It wasn't so much anger that made her voice slightly raspy and lisped as it was that her teeth had sharpened and she had become more accustomed to her flatter, more 'human' teeth. "Let's try to hold him off.. we don't want him to break into the circle that is cast in that room," she went on, "If he breaks through we're as good as dead!"
Mystic hovered anxiously about her. His panic was just as strong as Hawk's was but he seemed to have a slightly better grip on it. He was no child, and he'd absorbed enough knowledge of magic from Reyna to know what he ought to do -- stay out of the way.
She paused for a brief split second to press her hand over the gem in the center of Mystic's chest that always seemed to radiate a sort of warmth. It was comforting and she smiled a toothy sort of grin. "Guard that door," she ordered him before taking off towards the front door at a dead run when she felt Doran's presence begin to tear into the protective shields that fortified her home.
She appeared outside in a swirl of shadow that seemed to seep out of her very skin. It was the darkest near her left eye and she smirked faintly as she felt out where Doran was since he was so well hidden in his own shadows. "I know you're there," she growled out between clenched teeth, "I can feel you there.."
Reyna tensed when she felt a faint shift in the air and suddenly the beast of a man was there. He didn't at all resemble a human the way Athan did. He was almost entirely composed of shadow. At the center of that mass of swirling darkness was a man, she knew, but it was still eerie to gaze into darkness and see only the whites of eyes staring back at her and the faint curve of a smirk.
Wren arched an eyebrow, eyes turning towards Reyna who seemed to be going feral. It wasn't every day he could remember her getting that agitated, but his own irritation rising. "Let's go. If the two of us can't hold off something like this, it's damn pitiful." Particularly considering all the training that was coming to his mind at the moment.
Hawk wasn't so much controlling his panic as that the child was briefly locked in a vision, and as he came out of it, he let out yell to Wren's mind that caused the demon to pause and rapidly turn around. "Stay with Mystic!" he said in a harsh breath and Hawk ignored him to push forward before Wren stopped him with a hand. "Stay." This time it was an order and Wren just turned his back around. Mentally, he was sending Hawk's Eye a reassuring feeling. Things would work out.
... careful ..., came Hawk's quiet voice in Wren's mind, even if he was following rapidly behind Reyna and outside just as fast. His eyes were glowing brightly, all most icy in appearance. "Smirking b*****d," he hissed, fingers flexing in and out and trying to ignore the itch to just lunge forward and see if he buried his claws where he saw those eyes and that glint of a smirk if he'd hit pay dirt.
Doran wasn't playing around though and these two weren't worth messing with, but he let them see a hint of what he really looked like. While they were potentially worthy opponents, the work it would take to get rid of them would take away from his energy and that should be saved for Athan. Destroy Athan and they would all crumble without any effort at all.
"I am here, but you're not who I'm here to see." The shadows around Doran increased, stretching out and breaking the wards and protections thread by thread, but also growing around Wren and Reyna -- meaning to envelop them in absolute darkness so that they wouldn't be able to navigate their way from any perspective. He was pressing forward, just as careful to not trigger one of the two demons attacks, but at the same time speeding up the shadows. Shadows that seemed to come alive and curl around the ankles of those in front of him.
Reyna's eye narrowed in a visible tic of irritation as Doran seemed to mock them. She was so close to spilling over that edge and completely losing herself to her true form -- something that was potentially dangerous for Doran and herself. "You will not go anywhere near Athan!" she yelled as her appearance seemed to visibly sharpen. Her nails lengthened slightly as did her hair in messy tendrils that drifted down her back in an eerie sort of way. "This is my home.. you will not go any further!"
"Now, now, Reyna.. no need to lose your temper," came a calm, collected sort of voice that all too familiar. Her gaze flickered briefly over her shoulder to see Athan there, though he looked much different than he had when she'd last seen him completing the spell they'd been working on. She didn't have long to study him before she had to dodge away from more shadows that tugged and pulled at her.
She managed to absorb some of it, but she knew if she took too much she could pose just as much threat to her friends as Doran did. No.. Athan was there. He'd fix things. He had to. They had the spelled stone. She blocked out as much of the darkness that seemed to try and consume her as she could and gave a silent prayer for her friend who had placed a ward on her. If he hadn't she would have had an even harder time repelling Doran's shadows.
"Athan," Doran's voice growled somewhere amongst the thicket of shadows he surrounded himself in. "Old friend.. it's been a long time.. a long.. long time," his voice rasped and took on a strange tonal quality before he launched his attack against his old comrade, all but forgetting about the demons that were waiting for the right opportunity to attack.
Athan countered the attack smoothly, and the two of them seemed to fly into action midair. It was morbidly fascinating to watch as the shadows from both men seemed to swirl together, battling each other and boiling over like angry storm clouds. Athan's human form was barely even visible. He was all shadow, a writhing mass just like Doran, and she realized with increasing alarm as she watched the two that it was difficult to discern between the two of them.
Wren's tail twitched in irritation, as well as lashing about to avoid being caught by the shadows. "Damnit, I hate being taunted, and I loathe shadows acting like they're eating me." Still able to see in the shadows, the demon let go of his guise a bit more, though it only increased the appearance of markings and scales on his skin. Slicing at the shadows with his claws as well as moving about, he let out a sharp hiss and looking towards Reyna to see if she was okay only to see Athan come out.
Withholding a scathing comment, Wren pulled back some as Athan seemed to go forward and finally closed his eyes. "Fine," he muttered to the shadows that seemed to devour a good majority of what he could see around him, "let's see how you like a bit of light in your diet." Holding out his hand, murmuring quietly in a language too melodic to be anything human. After a second, light appeared in front of his hand and he pressed it forward -- using it to push back the shadows.
Where there was light, there could be no darkness and he'd be damned if he let it get snuffed out. He had to admit though, as he thought he picked up the sound of fighting, that he could barely make out everything. When he did it was too hard to tell the difference between Athan and Doran, but he was slowly increasing the light that had an all most holy glow, at least enough so that the shadows were only licking at him and not consuming him. Where was Reyna?
It was too dangerous to risk an attack and not know where she was or which one of the shadows fighting was Athan, they looked too similar at this moment.
"Nothing to say, Athan?" Doran spoke again as he used another attack to shove Athan back where he wanted him. To push the other around and exude his stronger power over the shadows -- proof the other didn't even have half the strength he did. He was slowly going to take over the shadows that Athan was controlling and turn them right back on the other as energy to destroy him entirely.
"Then again you all ways were the silent type." And Doran the type to gloat and taunt, just like he was doing now as he pressed forward again, pushing for an advantage. He was preparing for a one major strike to make the other fall.
Reyna felt as though she were suffocating within the grasp of Doran's shadows. It was like a thick, black cloud of ink that she couldn't quite make her way through. It was infuriating! She growled and clawed through the shadows and managed to catch sight of a brief glimpse of light. It wasn't a natural light either. Must be Wren..
"And why didn't I think of conjuring a light to drive away the darkness!" she hissed under her breath before smirking faintly. She knew the answer to that -- it was because she was losing her temper and she greatly disliked being at a disadvantage. It muddled her thoughts and made it hard to focus, but now with the help of her friend, she'd discovered a way to combat the shadows that tugged and pulled at her skin.
She whispered a few chosen words under her breath as her eye slitted half closed. She pushed out her hand before outstretching her palm to send fire swirling up amongst the shadows that fought against them, effectively creating her own light to repel the darkness that surrounded her. She caught sight of Wren and smiled before the expression faded when she caught sight of Athan and Doran.
Her little spell seemed to burn away most of the shadows except the ones that were directly around them. Faintly she could make out Athan battling against Doran. He seemed to be holding back, and then as she briefly caught a glimpse of a bright shimmer that she knew was the quartz stone they'd spelled, she knew why.
He was biding his time. He was waiting for the perfect moment to use the stone to trap Doran. It would be best if the man, if he could even be called that, were coming directly at him as though to attack when he tried to absorb him and his powers into the stone, otherwise there was a chance that Doran would see what he was doing and deflect it somehow. It all boiled down to timing, and she just hoped that Athan managed to get the timing right.
"Because it's hard enough to think clearly when your leg is being eaten by shadows." Wren yelled at Reyna, hissing under his breath. This was beyond being on his nerves. If everything worked out in this, he was so totally sleeping in the light for several days, Halo could just live with it or make him sleep on the couch. At this point, he didn't care.
At least content to see his friend had found a way to combat the shadows, he smiled at her and increased the glow of the light in his hand to push the shadows further back. This wasn't good to him, that the fight was dragging on like this, and when he saw the smile fade on Reyna's lips he turned his attention back to the fighters he could finally see. What Reyna's fire wasn't burning away, Wren's light was pushing back to a point it couldn't get close. The demon couldn't see the quartz, but Athan had to have it ...
He let out a small growl, not even realizing that even as him and Reyna were pushing back shadows, Hawk's Eye was slipping along the edges of them. The child knew something wasn't right, knew that he needed to be out there. So he slipped along the edges of the shadows, unbothered by them as much as he was one of them. There was a vision there, clearly in his mind, and that was what was guiding him. He had to do this or else.
Doran was patient, but there were limits to his patience, and the fact that he was merely exchanging pitiful blows back and forth with Athan was beginning to rake his nerves. Where was the power he knew Athan had? It was pitiful honestly. "This ends, Athan. You should've stayed in hiding." The words were still in that odd tone of voice that seemed to over come Doran and the creature, no longer even something really a man, suddenly pulled on all the power of the shadows he commanded. He was siphoning even the shadows around Athan and pulling them into his own attack.
A black force seemed to grow and crackle around Doran until it finally shaped into a single form that was Doran's eerie eyes could be seen behind. For once, there was a hint of the man he may have once been, devoid of the shadows and bending them to his will. With one final sneer towards Athan, Doran let loose the energy and fired it at him.
There was no avoiding it and Athan would not be able to move out of the way at the rate it moved. He was caught dead in the path of an attack he didn't think Doran would actually use.
But just before the fatal blow could be struck, Hawk's Eye was there with Athan, in front of him. His back was to the other, his hand going to touch Athan's outstretched wrist.
I've Seen this, his voice was quiet, serious, all most devoid of the inflections of fear from earlier. Needs to be done ... The child's voice stopped, but he was trying to do what came to him.
The energy hit Hawk's Eye completely, some of it spilling over him and to Athan, but most of it was taken by Hawk. The child was using his connection to Athan, taking the blow that he had Seen as a killing strike, and filtering only some of the energy back to Athan.
He was taking the power into himself and attempting to nullify it as best he could. There was a fleeting thought of his guardian and the child suddenly clamped down on all the energy, stopping it from going along his connection to Wren. Hawk was a part of the shadows, there was no way that he'd let the dark energy reach out along his connection and harm. This could be done with just one, he knew it.
Athan was sent tumbling backwards slightly at the sheer force of the magic that hit him even with Hawk suddenly there shielding him from the attack. He drew in a shuddery breath and somehow found the will to stay upright. He realized the only reason why he was still alive and standing was because Hawk had intervened.
He didn't have much time to revel in it, though. He had to work fast before all the dark energy that Hawk absorbed completely destroyed him. He sent the quartz hovering midair between his outstretched arms the way he had done when he'd first spelled it. It glowed faintly and swirled with both a familiar green and a bit of blue mixed in with a darker hue.
He glanced briefly towards the ground and he realized that Mystic was there as well. They were aiding him, guiding him, though he knew quite well that Hawk was the one who had Seen what needed to be done.
The stone pulsated and glowed and slowly the darkness that surrounded Doran began to fade and then rush towards the stone as though being sucked in by a vacuum. It began pulling in the shadows faster and faster until he felt the stone heat up from the friction of so much energy being pulled into it at once. He cursed under his breath and hoped like hell that the stone didn't fracture.
Just when he thought he wouldn't be able to hold onto it any longer it all stopped. Doran was nowhere to be seen, and the pure, crystalline quartz he once had was now a smoky brown. "It's.. done," he whispered faintly before his eyes closed and he simply fell midair, unable to maintain his own powers any longer.
Mystic dashed upwards in a swift move to catch the falling man before he hit the ground and truly met his end. He was severely weakened, but he was alive. He could feel the sheer lack of energy about him. It was like the shadows Doran had launched at him had sucked away everything and left him with very little at all.
Reyna rushed towards him, her appearance seemingly normal again aside from the fact that her hair was a bit ruffled in places. "Take him in the house.. he needs to rest," she murmured softly. She felt that drain as well. It had been a long, long time since she had been forced to use her powers.
Hawk was barely holding it together towards the end, but held on long enough for Athan was to do what was necessary. His eyes burned and there was a crackle of energy around him. There was nothing but darkness in his sight and he continued staying where he was.
He could barely tell that what was going on, his body over whelmed by the energy absorbed, until he thought he heard Athan's voice. The utter darkness was still there, his body feeling like it was on fire. His eyes were burning still and as he blinked he couldn't stop him. It was hurting and he felt tired and weak and over energized at the same time.
... but he could let go and he did and was barely there as Wren caught a him. Hawk's form was extremely wispy, barely there, and the demon let out a small yelp as the crackle of energy leapt up from the shadow fiend child and shocked him. "Bugger, at least it's this done." He let out a quiet sigh, letting the weariness he felt show for a change. He did his best to ignore the little shocks of magic that kept coming from Hawk's Eye.
"They both look like hell, but it's over." Wren said to Reyna, giving her a half-smile and glancing down at Hawk. He should've been experienced some sort of aftershock from his own connection to the fiend but hadn't. The damnable thing had spared him of that. Maybe he did have a conscience.
"Just got to recover now." The demon murmured, form shimmering and shifting to his more human appearance as he joined went with the others into the house for now.
He'd call Halo and see about a ride home anyway, not like she wouldn't know of the chaos that just happened but he didn't feel particularly up to walking home and after his not so little trip and the chaos, he was too damn tired.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 10:21 am
Aftershock
The dust settles and nothing's the same.Hawk found his form shifting to a less solid one and once again slipping right through the bed that he had been put into rest. Granted, it wasn't necessary for him to maintain a truly solid form to rest in it, but all the same the nightmares unsettled him to the point that he slipped right to the floor before he found himself raising back into the bed.
It was hard to do just that, the way the air around him crackled, and to focus on doing so was something beyond him at times. Except, as much as he would not admit it, there was a steady influx of healing energy coming to him from his bonded guardian. From Wren who he knew understood far too well that he had shielded the demon from the potential harm that would've come to him from Doran's attack, through him and through Athan.
Still, the young shadow rested passively on the bed he really had no urge to rest in, but he couldn't bother himself to move from it. Even that would be another drain on him that he couldn't quite deal with at the moment. The dreams were not very helpful either, not with him healing. They were the worst part of his healing and reflexively Hawk's Eye clenched what would've been jaw muscles of he had a mouth to use.
Except that it was only a phantom reaction of muscles he no longer had and a gesture he could not really remember making in this life, but it may have been one from a life not quite so long ago. Or a lifetime ago, he could no longer tell. The days of healing were a blur of dreams, nightmares, and memories. Of things that weren't his own life, but what might've been his soul claimed otherwise.
I've a soul, wouldn't Wren be surprised. Hawk's thoughts were hardly as amusing as they would normally be and he awaited the snicker from Wren's end of their connection, but there was only a wall of silence. A rarity, but Wren was leaving him be. There was a mild strain on the other not being so close to him, the energy crackling in the air more at the disturbance it created, but Hawk couldn't bother with it.
Later the child, who felt nothing of the sort, but rather a soul far too old for the body it possessed would probably pitch a fit and wreck havoc until he could get his guardian back with him. Now, now he merely dealt with the crackle and the perpetual smell of burnt ozone. Of the fact the only soothing going on was that of the line of Wren's energy flowing into him and soothing along what felt entirely burnt and charred.
His eyes squeezed shut as a strong crack of energy arched up and snapped across his face, but they opened up a moment later to the same thing they had seen before.
Darkness.
Hawk assumed that most in his condition should've been more shocked by the sudden lack of sight, but he had figured it as being so during the hours he couldn't remember when Wren had carried him home with his wife's help and did his best to tend to the injured fiend. The way the fire of magic had seared and crackled along all his senses, the way his eyes had burned like an inferno that wouldn't stop, and there was nothing but darkness before him that hadn't just been Doran's shadows ...
He knew that his sight was lost to him, but somehow it didn't quite matter, it seemed far more right than him having true eyesight. His vision was gone to him, but it didn't mean he couldn't see. There were still his visions that aided him more than he would admit to anyone, his Sight that would make sure he could get places without needing assistance. And if worst come to worst ... Well, he could all ways piggyback on Wren's eyesight, but that would hardly be useful unless they were in the same room and area.
Still, some part of him was waiting for the aftershock to settle in and it was never coming. Just the never ending crackle of magic along his senses and the occasional presence of Wren who would fall asleep at his bed, head resting on the covers Hawk didn't sleep under. Hawk would barely ghost his fingers above the demon's hair, watching as magic crackle between the horns on the man's head and the way his hair would frizz up from the charged air. It brought some amusement to a situation that was otherwise anything but.
Wispy fingers dragged along the sheet on the bed, feeling them raise with the charge of energy suddenly applied. He'd have to do something with the excess energy he possessed and unloading it upon Wren every few nights to give him a nasty case of bed hair would not do. Still, it was something he couldn't bother himself to think about at the moment, his mind drifting from fuzzy consciousness towards the realm of unconsciousness. Where his mind was no longer his mind and stuck somewhere that he didn't wish it to be.
Dreams were memories and nightmares were memories and even if he woke up screaming, there were no lips from which to let out that scream. Just his own mind, clamped down to not let anything bleed over. He wouldn't risk something like what was starting to plague him now slip over elsewhere.
Hawk turned over in the bed, actually letting himself drift under the sheet and tug it up over his head. Give Wren a bit of a shock to see him actually sleeping in a bed properly, though it hardly matter. He didn't really want to sleep, but everything was still sore and with perpetual night and darkness haunting his mind it was hard to tell when it was daylight.
And time would pass, but not his dreams. Not as he slipped away and they came to him unwelcome and not called, but they were neither dream nor nightmare, but something he would likely never remember come the waking day, not until needed ...
Blind eyes stared accusingly at the man ( no, this one was no longer a man, too consumed by the darkness and the power ) and a smirk was held firmly in place, even as the hand around his throat tightened and he felt his power slowly slipping away from him.
"You'll get yours, Doran, and I'll be there to see it." The words came out in a strained rough whisper and Doran's eyes glinted as the shadows around him seemed to suddenly overtake them both until there was no light left, except for the luminescent glint from a pair of pale unseeing eyes.
"... and you'll see nothing, Seer. Never again." Doran's smile was still visible to him, even in the shadows, even with his sight gone. It was a twisted rendition of a smile, something so sinister one didn't need to see it, but could simply feel it's presence on another's face.
And as he slipped away, power siphoned without him being able to stop it, he still smirked. His eyes were still staring at what would've been Doran's face, saying without words that his time would come. He couldn't do this forever.
You've succumbed to darkness, Doran, and it will be your downfall, he thought and then slipped away.
All his power drained away and contained within a simple stone of Hawk's Eye that fell to the ground without care as Doran dropped it without a second thought.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 10:24 am
A Visit
Visiting (harassing) Athan and checking on Reyna and Mystic.Athan laid on his side, hugging a pillow while he slept in the cool darkness of Reyna's guest bedroom. He'd done a good job at exhausting himself after completing the spell to seal Doran inside the stone entirely. There was no way he could possibly rest and recover if he knew it still needed to be treated. He was paranoid that somehow it might find a way to escape and he'd be too weak to do anything to stop it.
There was no need for him to worry at the moment. The large piece of quartz was now a Fiend. The wisp flittered about his head upon sensing him slowly awakening. He swatted at it half-heartedly before glowing green eyes opened to peer at the gem curiously. He reached out towards it and smiled a bit sadly as it floated just above his palm.
The door opened, sending light cascading into the room and shadows dancing along the walls. The wisp skittered away to hide under the bed where it was still completely dark. "Hey.. you still alive in here?" Reyna asked with a sleepy yawn. She'd all but passed out once her head had hit her pillow the evening before when Mystic had urged her to rest.
".. yeah," Athan answered in a soft, almost raspy voice as he squinted over at the demon. He glanced at the clock on the far wall and then back over towards Reyna. It seemed as though both of them had slept all day.
"Good," she murmured as she stretched and yawned again before grumbling about going to go make something for them to eat.
Wren was probably something akin to a wreck, but that was only because it seemed one event after another was landed upon him. ... except that he hardly looked it when he left the house and he likely wouldn't look it at all for a while. Not until it was night and he needed to sleep once more.
Hawk, however, did look like he felt horrible. The only reason he had even been permitted to come along was that Wren didn't feel up to cleaning up the room he was likely to destroy while trying to pierce wards and get out and back to his bonded. It wouldn't do to have to fix broken things all over again and Wren was tired of counting, but somewhat pleased Hawk was feeling bettter enough to tear a room to pieces.
Still, he let out a scowl at the fiend as he touched his shoulder and they approached Reyna's place. He felt the shock of magic spread out from his shoulder to his spine and do a nice little jig. "Pierce." He grumbled out, only to see Hawk's Eye there for a moment and then completely hidden within his shadow once more. The fiend's eyes were the last thing he saw, a frown on Wren's face afterwards.
... Hawk wouldn't be the same, not after this. Not with those luminescent pale blue eyes that stared at him as if they could see into his soul. Sighing, and raking a hand through his hair, Wren finally reached Reyna's door and knocked on it. His purpose of visiting was really to check up and make sure they were doing fine.
Reyna scowled down at the frying pan of scrambled eggs when she heard the door knock. Mystic materialized next to her and announced that he would go answer the door. She snickered faintly at that, and hoped that if it wasn't someone she knew (and liked), that seeing a ghost-like creature at the door would scare them into leaving.
Mystic actually drifted halfway through the door to see who it was rather than opening it or peeking through the peep hole. 'It's Wren and Hawk,' he whispered against his bonded's mind before letting them inside once he knew Reyna wouldn't mind having their company. He wanted to see them, too -- Hawk especially. He hadn't met him but once and after what'd he'd done during the battle against Doran he was curious as to how he was doing.
"I'm in the kitchen!" Reyna called as she poked her head around the corner briefly to catch sight of her friend and the barest glimpse of Hawk who was hiding in his shadow. "I'm making breakfast for dinner. Slept all damn day," she grumbled as she portioned off all the food she'd made onto two plates, one for her and one for Athan.
"Mystic, could you not do that?" Wren said, after doing his best to NOT jump at the sudden appearance of a fiend half-way through the doorway. Hawk just snickered at him briefly, but kept out of sight once they were inside.
"Would think I would get use to that sort of thing ..." Except he was really just jumpy from the excess energy he was putting into helping Hawk heal some and the fact that some of the energy Hawk was trying to burn off was seeping over to him. With a polite nod towards Mystic, a faint glare over his shoulder towards Hawk, Wren made his way to the kitchen and chuckled when he heard Reyna.
"Breakfast is good for any time of the day ... And dinner is good for breakfast, while I think about it." He arched an eyebrow at Reyna, the expression on his face asking if she wanted him to carry one of the plates. For a moment, be briefly forgot to ask how things were going since ... the battle.
Hawk's Eye might as well been a wisp again, for all that he was clinging to Wren's shadow. At least, Wren thought he was, but really Hawk was poking about the kitchen keeping to the shadows. Though the sudden crackle and pop of the skillet gave away his location, particularly when he took on a more solid form and the crackle jolted right back to him -- more of the energy he still contained.
'Sorry,' was Mystic's reply, though his jeweled eyes glittered with amusement. He peeked over at Hawk who was doing his best to cling to his Guardian's back. Unlike the other two, he could see him just fine. He was a creature of shadow as well, after all. He trailed after him when he went into the kitchen, and his eyes widened in surprised at the visible crackle of energy that went from him to the metal skillet on the stove.
He looked as though he wanted to say something about that or pester him with questions, but he didn't know quite what to say. He hadn't ever really been around any other Fiends. At least not when they were old enough to be able to communicate with him rather than through simple empathy. He often found that form of communication a bit confusing unless it were through his connection with Reyna.
"Mmm.. breakfast is also easy to make," the silver haired woman spoke up as she walked along the hallway with Wren after handing one of the plates to him to carry. "And it's the one meal that Athan never complains about," she told him as she gritted her teeth. She was quite ready for him to be healed and out of her hair. He was driving her up the wall!
The man in question glanced up when he heard voices outside his door. He resisted the urge to grimace when Wren trailed in alongside his 'caretaker.' He decided to not throw any immediate barbs since they were there with food and he was quite hungry.
'He accepts the apology, by the way,' Hawk shared that tidbit of information with Mystic as they headed towards Athan's room, since Wren never said anything back besides a 'hmph'. He turned around, floating backwards as he followed after the two guardians, to lock eye with Mystic. It was oddly eerie how he knew where the other fiend was at, regardless of being blind. For a moment, his gaze falling on Mystic, was critical, as if he was trying to pierce into his very soul to figure something out.
After a moment, he turned back around, fingers brushing along Wren's shoulder. The demon let out a tiny growl at the small static shock and glared towards where he thought Hawk was. "I'm sure Athan could find something to complain about if he wanted to," Wren murmured, following in after Reyna. He was, actually, nice enough to carry the plate over to Athan.
"Just for you, not poisoned or anything," he said lightly, as if teasing.
Actually, it was somewhat interesting how the urge to play around fled from him once Hawk saw Athan in the bed recovering. There was something ... at the edge ofh is mind that he knew he should've recalled, but couldn't ...
For now, his attention was on Athan, no longer letting his gaze drift to Mystic.
Athan scowled darkly over at Wren but accepted his food gratefully despite the stormy look on his face. He was paler than he usually was, though it would've been difficult to know that his skin was normally a little tan what with how he was usually draped head to toe in black material and shadows. "How nice of you to not poison me," he smiled after a taking a couple bites as he stabbed at his food with his fork.
He resisted the urge to add in that he was surprised Reyna hadn't done so already, but he'd been pushing his limits with her as it was. He needed to lay off of her. He could feel Mystic's anxiety and worry for her when he was too tired to keep his guard up. He briefly glanced towards Mystic before his gaze shifted to follow what he was staring at so interestedly.
He hadn't noticed Hawk there immediately. The child Fiend was doing a good job hiding in his Guardian's shadow, though when he met his gaze he felt an odd pang of.. something. He couldn't put a name to it, and in his current state he was too tired to try to. "How are you fairing, Hawk?" he asked after a moment or so. His skin crackled with energy and he could practically see it spilling off of him and into every available source in the room.
He felt as though he owed the boy quite a bit. He'd done more than just saved his life. He'd saved all of those around him that were bonded to Shadow Fiends. It was impressive that a child as young as he had successfully pulled something like that off. Then again, he had likely Seen it coming.
Wren merely smiled at Athan, taking a step back to really get a look at the man while he was healing up. He looked ... so different without the shadows and the never ending black clothing. Then again, Death was suppose to look good, wasn't it? He snickered a bit at the thought, but turned his attention briefly to Hawk who seemed more interested in speaking with Athan than he ever really did with him.
'Charged,' Hawk replied, creeping out of Wren's shadow and a bit more visible than he had been previously. It was easy to see the crackle of energy once he was truly visible. It looked like there were little cracks along his skin, but it was really just excess energy. '... but all things heal with time,' he murmured as an after thought that crossed his mind. Honestly, with him doing what he did, he didn't consider it doing much, just that he had done what was necessary and that was that.
Hawk moved forward, until he it looked like he was partially sitting on the foot of the bed Athan rested in. It was easy to see, for someone trained, that there was a line of healing energy being fed to him from his guardian. Except that at the same time, Hawk was sneaking bits of the excess energy to his bonded. It was one of the few ways he could expend the energy and it not bother him so much.
His head tilted just slightly, himself phasing in and out of a solid form to a more wispy state, and looked towards Athan. More like, he was using Wren's eyes to look at Athan briefly, to see what the other truly looked like after the battle.
Athan didn't look too different than he normally did. His dreaded hair was a bit messy and wasn't tied back neatly the way it normally was, and he was a bit paler than normal. His eyes still glowed the way they had for.. well.. for as long as he could remember. Physically he appeared fine, but when he tried to get up or move around he experienced dizzy spells and usually collapsed just in time for Mystic to catch him before he hit the floor.
He frowned at that thought as he picked at what was left of his food before his eyes widened slightly when Mystic snatched the plate out of his hands and carried it and Reyna's back towards the kitchen. He sighed and leaned back against the pillows that were propping him up as he gazed towards the little Fiend that was setting at the edge of his bed.
"When I manage to get myself home I'm going to find a piece of quartz for you," he told Hawk, "It'll help drain all that extra energy. Unfortunately my largest piece is hiding under the bed." He chuckled quietly when the little wisp fluttered briefly into view as though sensing it was being talked about before skittering back underneath the bed skirt to continue clinging to the shadows there.
"That thing is just creepy," Reyna hissed as she idly toed at the edge of the bed from her chair next to Athan's bedisde. She refrained from commenting further or asking him why he felt it was nessecary to turn it into a Fiend. She already knew why and deep down she knew she couldn't really blame him for wanting to bring his friend back.
'All right,' Hawk replied again, nodding his head slightly, before he sensed the presence of another wisp coming out from hiding. Hawk's attention turned quickly towards it, his hand lifting up and energy dancing between his finger tips as he reached for the wisp, before he just let his hand drop.
It wasn't worth it. The wisp wasn't even the same person it had been, so he couldn't hold it accountable for it's actions in a previous life. As much as ... as he did not like Doran at all. Not with the memories that had surfaced in his mind. '... it'd be helpful,' Hawk finally spoke again, 'but you seem to be doing well yourself.' From what Hawk could sense in Athan's aura, even if the other was still drained and recovering.
"Creepy is an understatement. Got to ... pity whoever gets a hold of that wisp." Wren paused briefly, rolling his eyes at the thought of being pitied for getting Hawk -- but he couldn't imagine things without Hawk as it were. "At least it seems particularly adept at keeping itself hidden."
"I'd be better if I had enough strength to go home," he murmured idly as his eyes slid shut and he leaned his head back before pressing his hands against his temples. His eyes were rather sensitive to the bright light of the room and with so many people in the room, three of which he was bonded to, it was rather taxing to deal with. "You'll have to talk Wren into visiting the shop when I'm well so I can give you the quartz. I have a pendant that was actually mine once that I think would suit your.. condition," he went on as his eyes creaked open just slightly to peer over at the Fiend.
"You'd have more strength if you didn't insist fighting me tooth and nail over everything," Reyna hissed from her chair before folding her arms over her chest as she scowled over at Athan. He wasn't the only one who was feeling drained and irritable. She was not appreciative of having uninvited house guests. Few people could get away with such a thing. Luckily Wren was one of those individuals.
Mystic drifted back into the room through the far wall rather than the door. He caught sight of the wisp briefly peeking out from underneath the bed once more as though it were scared to come out and face all the people that were obviously talking about it. His gaze travelled once again towards Hawk. He was.. interesting.
'... well, besides being stuck somewhere you don't want to be, you seem fine.' There was a faint tinge of amusement to Hawk's words and if he had lips, he might've smiled lightly at Athan. 'It won't be too hard to convince him to take me somewhere, so long as I stop ... shocking him for a bit.' And there might've been a smirk to his words, as he said them. It was ironic, really, the way that he looked like a child and could act like one, but there was a maturity around him now that hadn't been there before.
The battle had changed him.
"Ah, but if he didn't fight tooth and nail, it wouldn't be the same thing." Wren chuckled, leaning back against the wall and trying to not pay attention to Mystic who was passing between them. "Still, got to admit Death over there doesn't look half bad minus all the doom and gloom." The demon let out a low wolf-whistle, winking at Athan slightly.
Hawk's attention immediately went to Wren and he rolled his eyes. 'Grow up,' he muttered, and Wren just stuck his tongue out at the young fiend. After a few more seconds, Hawk turned his attention towards Mystic, feeling the other fiends heavy gaze on him. An eyebrow arched slightly, as if questioning what was on his mind.
Athan scowled darkly at Wren when he commented on his looks. He flushed visibly and ducked his head before crossing his arms over his chest. He was not appreciative of having him comment on his looks. He'd make a mental note to always wear his robes around the demon. He'd rather be called Mr. Death than have Wren of all people flirt with him. It wasn't that he was another guy that bothered him -- it was that it was Wren.
Mystic glanced away nervously from the other Fiend. He wanted to talk to him but he didn't know what to say, really. It was odd being around another of his kind -- one that wasn't a wisp, anyway. It was a new experience for him. He kind of wished he'd gotten to know him before everything had gone down with Doran. Perhaps then, he'd feel more at ease with him. Then again, his tension could very well be due to Athan's presence. He always felt antsy around the man, even when he was a wisp.
'It's nothing. Just curious, I guess,' he finally answered when the other Fiend continued to squint over at him as though trying to see down inside of his very soul. It was a little unnerving, but he'd never voice that out loud.
'Curiousity killed the cat,' Hawk replied easily enough ( the words a phrase he had heard Wren use often enough ), unseeing eyes glinting and the expression on his face changing to where there was a hint of amusement on it. After a moment, taking pity on Mystic for the fact that he likely was unnerving him more than necessary, he tilted his head slightly and asked a question: 'What are you curious about?'
Besides, it distracted him from wanting to shock Wren. Hawk's fingers trailed across the bed covers, the charge causing them to sometimes lift up to meet his fingers, but otherwise that was it. It was an unconscious gesture to eliminate some of the energy, but most of it he was keeping contained. It wouldn't do to let out what he had within him, at all.
"Aw, poor thing. Does Mister Death not like being complimented on his good looks?" Wren smirked, eyes glinting deviously. He likely wouldn't go farther than that, but the mere fact that Athan seemed to be bothered by his commentary was enough to keep him goining.
He'd let up, eventually, or ... well. Hawk would make him, but he didn't know that.
"'Mister Death' wants to be left alone so he can sleep," Athan hissed irritably. He sounded almost like Reyna when she was in a grumpy mood. The girl seemed to be more amused by the antics going on between her friend and the man that was curled up in bed trying to block all of them out. He rolled over onto his side and tugged the blankets up over his head. "Go. Away," came a muffled voice when Reyna joined in on the teasing.
They were his own personal torture demons. It was awful, really. At least the Fiends seemed to behaving themselves for the most part. Though Mystic was inching forward towards the bed and eventually sat near the edge a foot or so away from Hawk. He was a little wary of the other Shadow, but curiosity always got the best of him.
It was something that no Fiend could easily resist. It was a temptation they all faced and usually caved in to when they were young. He was a teenager, though. He shouldn't have been so fascinated by Hawk. Then again, he did sort of long for the company of others like himself. He loved Reyna to death, but he wanted friends, too.
Wren merely snickered, enjoying picking on Athan more than he should've, but it couldn't be helped. Particularly when Reyna joined in and they were both teaming up on him. "Reyna," he sniffed dramatically, "I don't think Athan likes us anymore."
'Of course he doesn't,' Hawk shot at Wren, a sneer visible in his eyes. The demon wondered just when Hawk became so expressive, but he had expressed more in coming here than he had in the past few days. Hawk, however, had turned his attention towards Mystic. One of his hands, he had absently stretched out on the bed and rested against one of Athan's ankles that was under the covers, thus protecting it somewhat from the energy charge.
With his other hand, Hawk was reaching out for Mystic. His hand came into contact with his shoulder, a sudden shock surely hitting the fiend. Hawk didn't care at that moment, his attention focused entirely on something that only he could see. '... you have darkness within you,' the words came out as a quiet whisper against Mystic's mind and he suddenly pulled his hand back, blind eyes staring at the elder shadow.
Mystic was startled by the sudden charge of energy that zapped him and he scooted away from Hawk some before stilling when he felt him whisper against his mind. His eyes widened visibly and he looked sort of stricken. Darkness within him..? His brow furrowed in a sort of uneasy, worried expression. He didn't know what to say to that. All he knew was that it stirred strange feelings within him and he didn't like it at all.
Reyna squinted towards Mystic when his anxious feelings bubbled over to her through their bond. What was wrong with him? She glanced towards Hawk and figured he was just upset over being jolted with energy or something of the like. She brushed her concerned thoughts aside as she moved to stand. "Best let Death sleep so he can heal," she murmured as she trailed out of the room.
"Besides," she went on, "You need to see what that thing did to my drawing room." She led the other demon towards the room where they had all gathered not but a week or so ago. In the middle of the floor where the stone had been was a dark scorch mark on the slate floor that had actually had small fissure line cracks in it as well. "I'm just glad that Mystic thought to put that hunk of quartz in here..."
Hawk's head tilted slightly, his eyelids closing and luminescent eyes no longer visible. 'You'll learn,' he added after a moment, a faint frown on his lips before he shifted on the bed and turned his head towards where he believed Athan to be resting.
He had the oddest urge flicker to the front of his mind, but it was pushed away from his mind as he ignored the tap from Wren to check in on him. He was fine, just ... over charged, really. A mental shock sent at Wren reinforced the statement.
"... damnit," Wren muttered under his breath, rubbing his forehead briefly, before surveying the damaged room. "Hell, that ... s**t. I would be glad to, it looked like it contained it quite a bit." Leaning down, the demon pressed his fingers to the floor.
Athan sighed when the other's left the room. His green eyes seeped open slowly and he peeled back the comforter he'd thrown over his head in a half-hearted attempt to block all the other's out. Hawk was still there. "Tired of stalking your Guardian?" he asked teasingly as he sprawled out on his side before pressing a hand to his face when he noticed that the Smokey Quartz wisp was hovering near his pillow. He wasn't entirely sure he should've turned the thing into a Fiend. Then again, he wasn't sure about a lot of things.
The slate in Reyna's drawing room was brittle and blackened, charred really. It flaked up in spots, particularly in the center where the stone had been sitting. Reyna avoided stepping too close to the spot or touching it. She still vividly remembered the strange pull she had felt from the stone when she'd opened the door. If Mystic hadn't intervened... She shuddered at that thought and brushed it aside. She didn't want to think about what would've happened if he hadn't, nor did she want to risk absorbing any residual magic left over.
"I'm either going to have to find a way to purify that and fix it, or replace the entire floor," she frowned as she hovered near the doorway as though not entirely comfortable passing through the threshold to the room. "Damn.. I should've pestered Izzy about that while she was still here," she murmured absently.
Wren was slightly distracted at moment, merely nodding his head in agreement with Reyna though he really wasn't listening to her. His fingers were still pressed to the floor, and his eyes slid shut for a moment. It was easy to sense the dark energy that still existed in the room and while Wren could feel it pulsating as if to lure one in, he was able to ignore it.
It was just residual, anyway, not so much left now that the stone itself had been contained. "... um," he finally started, shaking his head and blinking his eyes to clear the haze from them, "sorry, was having a look, got a bit caught up." The grin on his face was sheepish. He usually did get caught up when looking into things like that, it was why he only did it places he knew he'd be safe.
"I think, though, I can purify it a bit and put a lid on what I don't." Wren himself was darkly aligned and chaotic, despite a few things about his past. There was only so much he could do, before it hindered rather than help.
'... you'd think he's stalking me,' Hawk replied back to Athan, before nodding his head slightly in agreement. The only reason he had said that was because of the watch Wren was keeping on him. He had to wonder if he would've been able to come along if it wasn't for the healing Wren was slowly pouring through their connection. In a way, he was greatful, in another it meant that he'd be able to pay Wren back in his own way sooner rather than later.
For the most part, Hawk was ignoring the Smokey Quartz. It was better, in the long run, to do so. Least ... Well, least he wrap his fingers around it and see how much of a charge it could take before it would crack. He didn't like it, but all the same he'd leave it be.
Reyna idly ran a hand back through her short cropped hair as she watched her friend lose himself briefly as he looked into the magic that had essentially contaminated her floor. "Yeah.. that'd be helpful. I'd do it myself, but I'd only make things worse," she stated as she squinted irritably over at the black burn mark. With her luck she'd end up making the residual magic that was left over spread rather than containing it if she were to attempt to purify it.
Mystic appeared near her side and remained partially hidden within her shadow. She arched a brow at him curiously and idly reached back to thread her fingers through a lock of his hair until he went transparent and her fingertips simply went right through him. "Heh.. that upset over Hawk zapping you?" she teased with a small smile. Her expression faded a bit around the edges when he simply remained quiet and that uneasy, tense feeling from him sifted over through their bond.
"Mm.. demons are just that way," Athan mumbled tiredly as he batted away the wisp to send it skittering back beneath the bed. He struggled to keep his eyes open as he peered over at Hawk curiously. His presence was oddly comforting in a weird way, though he didn't think much on it. He was too drained to examine such feelings.
"Might want to take a step back then, just in case," Wren spoke a bit louder to Reyna and to Mystic, once he felt the presence of the other in the room as well. His fingers were once again pressed against the floor and he started tracing runes with them slowly. There was a faint blue glow to the runes he was marking, black at the edges of it though it was only the taint of his own magic. Not what he was trying to purify and contain.
He was, for the moment, just warming up and putting up containment wards just in case.
'Irritating? Bothersome?' Hawk offered, the barest hints of amusement in his voice. His eyes slid shut entirely and he stretched out his senses to brush against Athan's. It was reassuring all most to do that, to check on the other and make sure he was healing well. 'You should rest,' he spoke again, softer this time, 'I'll stay for a bit -- keep the demons out of your hair.'
And Smokey as well, which eyed as it disappeared back under the bed. It was better off staying there.
"Okay," Athan breathed as his eyes sifted closed. Within moments he was snoring softly against his pillow he had clutched to his chest. He looked oddly human curled like that as he slept, though the few times Reyna had come in while he was sleeping to make sure he was still alive, she hadn't made a comment about it. She'd determined rather quickly that she'd rather not prod him too much -- at least not while she was stuck alone with him. With Wren around he was fair game.
Currently she was more interested in watching Wren contain the residual magic in her slate floor from a relatively safe distance. She'd edged away almost towards the end of the dark little hallway that led to the room. She could still see him just fine, though she did have to scold Mystic a couple of times when he tried to sneak closer. "You ought to know better," she teased, "Somehow I think you'd be about as appreciative of being zapped by Wren's magic as you were when Hawk got a hold of you."
Hawk might have smiled if he had lips to smile with, instead, there was a faint feel of happiness to his presence, a glint in his eyes that said he was pleased. The young fiend took a more solid form, sitting on the edge of Athan's bed, watching him with unseeing eyes. There was nothing that he could tell of that would cause misfortune for the other, not for a while yet.
It just felt good to sit and stand guard while Athan rested. Hawk could keep the two demons out of his hair, really.
Though Wren couldn't be bothered at the moment to mess with Athan or deal with Hawk. The demon snorted, when he heard his friend commenting on Mystic getting to close. He could contain everything, to make sure the other wouldn't be 'zapped', but as it was, he was trying to focus on the task at hand.
Eventually it looked like there was a pale blue bubble over the area he was trying to purify. It was a matter of drawing in the 'negative energy' and releasing it back pure. The runes that he etched glowed on the ground faintly as he continued the process. His appearance slipped some as he worked on the purification, true features showing through briefly. For a moment, it did look like dark and delicate wings on his back, but they flickered away quickly.
Reyna watched with interest as she caught sight of a brief flash of wings at her friend's back. She resisted the urge to tease him about that. He was indeed her friend, and he was doing her quite a favor by containing and purifying the left over magic that had ruined her floor. Besides, she hardly had room to talk when it came down to true forms. She had wings, too.
That thought made her reach back and scratch as best she could between her shoulder blades as suddenly the skin itched there. She hadn't so much as seen her own wings in.. well.. a really long time. She frowned idly at that before brushing that thought aside once Wren had finished what he was doing and closed off the circle.
"You!" she declared, "Are the best!"
Wren nudged his glasses up, once he was finished and pressed his hand back to the ground. There wasn't much negative force left in the room after he had purified it, but there was a bit left -- the parts of it he couldn't get to. It wasn't much though and through the process he wasn't even aware of letting his seeming slip through.
"... thanks," he responded, with a distracted chuckle. Palm now pressed flat to the ground, he murmured the words to another spell, to contain and bind in what was left. A circle stretched it's way across the ruined floor, lit up briefly once, and then faded away.
"That should do it for you. Whatever's left should be contained, though there isn't much." He tilted his head, looking over his shoulder towards Reyna with a faint smirk. "Nothing that will attract your attention through my warding, at least." He knew the habit of magic and other things being attracted to her and it was better she was protected from the residual magic present. Didn't need to get sucked in or anything of the like.
"You don't perhaps have a spell to get rid of grouchy magic-users that are bumming around in your guest room, would you?" she snickered. She sighed faintly and pressed a hand wearily to her face, fingertips idly tracing around the edge of her eyepatch. "You should have seen him..." she murmured faintly as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the doorway, "Believe it or not I'm a little worried about him despite the headache his presence in my home gives me.."
She frowned and scowled down at the floor before glancing up when Mystic resumed hiding about in her Shadow. His presence was calm and cool, something she found to be rather comforting. "I'm still a little shocked he turned that thing into a Fiend," she grumbled.
Dusting himself off, Wren pushed himself up off of the ground and stretched a little, before turning his attention to Reyna. "Well I don't think Athan would appreciate if I put a spell on this place that would ... make him not want to be here." The demon smirked, carefully closing off his mind towards Hawk -- if only so he didn't have to hear it from the young fiend when he was poking fun at Athan.
"... but I think I can understand the worry. He looks like he's still recovering, him and Hawk both." Frowning, Wren shook his head and turned around to survey the rest of the room. He ignored the curious poke at his mind from Hawk, letting the fiend think what he would. "More unnerving, I think, would be that it could potentially go to someone in the future. I mean, it was Doran ... and I saw some of the things Hawk let slip." He repressed a shudder. "It's just not a pleasant thought that Doran could come back and cause more problems, if somehow bits of the past resurface.
"And never mind I think Hawk will be less than tolerable towards it's presence, if it bothers him."
Reyna nodded in agreement with a slight frown on her face before turning to head back towards the main part of the house and into the living room. "The entire situation is rather disturbing," she grumbled, "My nerves are shot and I've just about had it."
She plopped herself down on the couch before offering Wren a faint smile. "Sorry I'm not better company," she snickered faintly, "I'm exhausted and you know me and my temper." She idly rubbed at her temples in an attempt to ease the tension that was building there that would undoubtedly manifest itself into a serious headache later on.
Wren followed a short distance behind Reyna, wiping off the palms of his hands against his jeans. "I think ... I'm just faking it." The demon chuckled, raking a hand through his hair and then shaking his head. "I'd rather be sleeping than handling things, but ... no rest for the wicked." His reserves were running on low, particularly since the run in with Doran and the 'torture' demons before that.
"It's all right," he said, waving a hand dismissively at her and claiming a seat across from her. "You probably need rest as much as Athan or Hawk does, but ... things to do and all that." The petite man practically sank into the chair he was in, letting out a sigh. "I'd throw you a line or something, but ... Hawk's got me tapped out." And he meant a little of what healing power he did, as rare as it was. "We can just pick a later date to harass Athan. You know, when he's able to stand up to it," he said with a chuckle, making light of the situation.
"Hehe.. yeah," she snickered as she leaned heavily against one of the pillows that was strewn across the arm of the couch, "He's more fun to torture when he's able to fight back. It's not nearly so fun when he just passes out rather than coming back with a snide comment of his own." She laughed quietly at that and shook her head.
"You'd think he'd know better and just ignore us or something. I think he's secretly an okay guy.. he's just doing a good job at presenting himself as a complete a**," she murmured as she tried to suppress a yawn. She'd just barely woken up when Wren had initially come over. Technically she shouldn't be so tired, but she had to admit that despite her sleeping off and on she hadn't actually rested well.
"You should probably get back to bed, you know," he said with a small chuckle at her sleepy behavior. Granted, even if he was tired himself, he wouldn't let it show at the moment. "But, ... well. You're probably right, but it'd be a cold day in the abyss before I admit openly that Athan could, possibly, be a nice guy." The small demon smirked widely, arms stretching out along the back of his chair.
"I can live with him ignoring us at the moment. If only because I know he likely needs his rest." And Hawk would probably try and zap him if he even showed the slightest sign of being about to latch onto and bother Athan.
"Probably," she replied with a faint smile, visible eye sifting half closed as she stifled a yawn behind one hand. "And I may have said he's alright, but I'll be damned if I ever tell him that," she snickered, "He's too much of a pain in the a** for me to willingly admit that to him."
She fell quiet and idly tugged on her bond to Mystic to see what it was he was up to. The Shadow appeared in the hallway, fidgeting nervously. Hawk had unsettled him, and Athan's presence was wearing on his nerves the same as it was Reyna's.
"Exactly the point," Wren chuckled, reclining back in the chair to get comfortable for a little bit. "I don't think we'd hear the end of it if we let him know we can tolerate him for long periods of time. Need to ... uphold intolerance for Mr. Death." He smirked widely, blue eyes glinting mischievously.
His head tilted to the side, silently sending a wordless question to Hawk's Eye. He didn't get much of a response beside that he was busy guarding Athan from people like himself. Or that was the impression he got. He snickered a bit, shaking his head, before looking back at Reyna. "About how much longer is Athan going to be staying here?" Rather, how much longer was it going to be until he was healed enough he'd head out on his own?
Reyna groaned and pressed her hands to her face. "I don't know," she lamented with a half-hearted chuckle. She sighed as she moved to sit up and gazed tiredly down at the floor as she rested her palms flat on her knees. "He's supposed to be out of here once he's healed entirely. He was doing fine until he went and sealed off the stone and then.. brought it back," she grumbled, "He was at least conscious today. That's.. a step in the right direction... which would eventually lead him out of my house."
"Oh, no, I bet he has a secret plan to only appear out of sorts so he can stay here longer and unnerve you and Mystic until the two of you snap." Wren snorted, rolling his eyes lightly. Not that he truly believed it, no, he knew Athan was in need of healing -- it didn't mean he couldn't say otherwise.
And get a jab from Hawk mentally who caught what he said. "Though, yeah, him conscious is a good thing. So happy he was conscious while I was here to visit, otherwise I'd have been ... ever so sad." There was a brief pout on his face, before it turned into a half-smile. "But bringing that fiend back, it probably took it out of him, what he gained back ..." The demon paused for a moment, picking up on what Hawk's Eye was willingly letting him know. "Think he's asleep right now actually, or so Hawk's Eye is saying."
"Yeah.. it totally sapped his energy. He couldn't even walk afterwards," Reyna replied with a faint scowl. The expression faded somewhat as Mystic tugged affectionately on their bond and murmured something softly about going to make some tea for her. "I think Athan knows his boundaries with me though.. to some extent," she snickered, "I already smacked him upside the head for being an insolent brat.."
She giggled quietly at the memory of that. "You would've been amused by that if you'd been there, I think.."
"Most definitely," he snickered. Even the ... visuals he had of Reyna smacking Athan upside the head were amusing. There was just something enthralling about envisioning his friend thump Athan for acting like a brat. "Still, boundaries are good. I get the feeling though, when he's at his low points, he doesn't hold himself back too well. You know, low tolerance."
His eyes glinted for a moment and he smiled widely. "And mix that with you being the same way and I'm sure it's a volatile mix."
... Hawk could've cared less what his guardian was chatting about with Reyna. He was, for the most part, ignoring his guardian and merely watching Athan. The man looked far more peaceful in sleep, but still troubled even then. Carefully, so as to not accidently zap the man with his excess energy, he lifted up the covers some more to make sure he was properly under them.
"Pretty much," she admitted quietly as she idly ran a hand back through her hair, leaving it in messy spikes, "Our personalities definately clash. I prefer him in small doses."
She fell quiet briefly when Mystic walked back into the room and handed her a cup of tea before eyeing Wren nervously with a faint flush as though he'd just realized he hadn't offered him anything to drink. 'Uhm.. would you like some?' he asked, hoping he didn't seem too rude. He knew that the other demon was one of the few people his bonded was friends with.
"No, actually, I wouldn't," Wren said, with a small smile at Mystic. "Thanks for asking though, but I think I should probably get going. There's things that need to be done." Shaking his head, the demon pushed himself up and walked over to Reyna, resting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing it lightly.
"I'm sure Athan will recover soon enough and be out of your hair. Besides, you can all ways just call me and I'll come over to make sure he ... behaves himself." There was a mischievous smirk on his lips and after another slight comforting squeeze to Reyna's shoulder, he let go. "Just get some rest yourself, and you too Mystic. I'm sure playing caretaker is taking it's toll on you too." With another smile on his lips, the demon nodded his head at the Fiend, before wordlessly calling towards his own.
Hawk merely brushed him off. 'Go ahead. I'll follow along eventually,' came the quiet response. The blind Fiend was still sitting on the bed with Athan, still watching the man as he slept, and still intent on staying for a bit longer. It wouldn't hurt for him to stay behind and look after Athan. After all, he knew most wouldn't want to put up behavior while weak like this and ... Hawk knew he could.
... and he wanted to stay, but he knew not why.
Mystic fidgeted quietly in a nervous fashion when Wren declined the offer for tea. He glanced towards the floor before fading out of view and floating through the nearest wall to head towards his own room to hide for a while. Social situations of any sort made him terribly uncomfortable.
Reyna glanced towards where her Shadow had retreated before meeting her friend's gaze with a small smile of her own. "Thanks," she murmured faintly, "You take care, too." She stood to walk him to the door before heading off to her own room. Wren was right. She needed rest, as did Mystic. She could almost feel the tension that was bubbling off of him whenever he was near. It certainly didn't help with her own strain she felt but there wasn't much she could do about it at the moment.
The only thing she could do at the moment was hope that Athan healed up soon and left her be.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 10:25 am
From the Lost Days
Not everything is long forgotten.The fiend shifted in his sleep, unable to ignore the things that came to him in his rest.
His fingers brushed over the warm skin of his beloved's palm, at first balling it up into a fist and then smoothing it out so that his hand was held open. There was a knowing smile on his lips, something so usual, but the gleam in his eyes was a bit different. There was a softer look in them, face not nearly as smug as it usually looked around so many others.
"What is that look on your face for?" The other asked, eyebrow arched curiously, and smirking as well once he saw the similar expression.
"I've got a gift for you, of course." That smirk shifted into a true smile and as easily as he had manipulated his beloved's hand into a fist, he dropped a large piece of quartz into the palm. It was as pure a quality as he could find, himself not as attuned with earth and able to locate one of a better quality.
"Quartz? Whatever for?" An eyebrow was arched in question and his smile just grew, eyes reflecting the pleasure at the fact the other didn't see this gift as what it was for, not that he was willing to admit.
"Yes, quartz, my dear minion," the words were affectionately said, "and for all those negative energies and the like that you seem to be radiating lately."
He paused for a moment, lips turning into a small frown. He saw things, but ... he knew the other wouldn't talk about them, not to him, not to anybody. The potential burn it might've been lessened at that thought. "You could do with it, as part of the properties for quartz --"
"I know what the properties of quartz are," he was interrupted and he turned sightless eyes on the other, blinking with confusion until he felt a hand against his face. "Thank you, for the gift, but ... really, must you call me your minion? If anything, you're mine." And one had to wonder on how many levels did the other mean that.
He was use to the memories, dreams, and visions -- whatever they were to be plaguing his sleep. Hawk twisted and turned in the bed he rested in, the occasional crackle of energy jumping about as he shifted. The blankets of the bed pulled towards him, if only because of the static that lured them closer. Some part of him was enjoying the peaceful, happy dreams.
They were far more welcome than the things that came to him lately, the dreams of darkness never ending and a voice that screamed out for release, only to not find it. So close to the one thing it was calling for and unable to reach it all the same. There was such pain ... Such pain caused by one person that had done more harm in life than good.
There was a flicker in his mind, another thought surfacing and making it's way to the forefront of his mind as he continued trying to restlessly sleep.
"You think that's good enough to protect him?" The shadows around him had teeth and claws and countless other things that were just itching to latch onto his flesh and tear it apart. It was holding back, just barely. He would make it out of this skirmish, but he wasn't sure how much longer he would avoid the imminent fate that was approaching quicker than he liked.
"I don't think it'll do the job, but where it's protections and abilities end, mine begin, and those are more than enough." His voice was smug, dead certain that his protections and talents were more than good enough to hold up against whatever the shadows would try to do -- whatever the darkness eating at the one before him had in mind.
"One stone and your own power? You know your power is nothing." The words were too cocky, even to his own ears. He blindly reached onto to the shadows until he felt his fingers wrap around a wrist and he tugged until it seemed like he was face to face with the thing taunting him. His pale luminescent eyes stared accusingly.
"And you know nothing of the lengths I would go, if you cross me." Truer words had never been spoken by him and he meant it. There was nothing he wouldn't do to ensure the protection of one he considered precious. There was nothing more important in his life at this moment, a lifeline as it were keeping him from slipping away into his personal darkness.
"I'll remember that, but you had best remember, that shadows and darkness are everywhere, and eventually?" There was a pause, he could sense the smirk blooming on the thing's face. "Eventually, you'll succumb to it, and then we'll see what happens to your precious."
And then the darkness and shadows were gone and everything went silent, but the sound of water from the river he meditated near.
If Hawk had had lips, they might've turned down in a frown. His body shifted and turned, trying to find a comfortable position to rest consciously, but subconsciously he was trying to ward off the visions. Trying to push them away so that he could rest peacefully and finish healing.
Except that his mind was keen on processing them, thinking about them, and thinking about the darkness and shadows that had been in his dreams and trying to overcome him. He was a part of the shadows, composed of them, it made sense that he be a part of the darkness, not ... be against it. His eyebrows creased in his sleep and he faintly murmured words mentally that he wouldn't remember speaking come the next morning.
It wasn't possible for him to let darkness overcome, but another part whispered into his mind.
Why should he resist it in the first place?
They weren't real hands, no, they were hands composed of nothing but shadows and darkness and they were choking the one with greengreen eyes. There was so much anger, so much frustration, so much rage boiling in him that he had no idea what to do with it, but it was all focused on one being. One person that was the center of it all and he couldn't help but act upon it, do what the rage was pushing him to do ...
The shadows closed tighter around the throat of the one he cared about most. Hands that weren't his own slowly stealing the breath from this one, until he realized what he had done wrong, what he had done to him ... His own eyes were glowing so brightly, his expression murderous, and he continued to force the shadow hands around the throat of his victim until all air was choked from his body.
And those beautiful eyes suddenly closed and the body went limp and the shadow hands dissipated and all that was left of the rage he felt was a sickening feeling he had done something wrong. Shifting closer, shaky fingers pressed to the neck of the other feeling for a pulse.
There was none.
And Hawk's Eye woke up with a scream of anguish that reverberated within his own mind.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 10:27 am
Requiem
There is more to the shadows.'And it's hard to say how I feel today ...' Hawk trailed off, his form taking a less solid one as he floated through the walls of the house. He barely paid any attention to Bloodstone as he heard him continue to practice his tai chi. Looking into the other fiend's future wasn't truly exciting, if only because it seemed his immediate future in most cases involved practicing tai chi -- at least when he came across him. It wasn't that interesting.
Wren, he knew, was likely working on another novel. For once he had no urge to disturb the demon. While it was tempting to ruffle his proverbial feathers while he was working, in the long run it was more trouble than it was worth for Hawk. Somehow, when Wren was writing, he seemed to take on a deadlier edge. Messing with him, disturbing his flow as he put it, usually lead to him getting forcefully shoved out of the room by wards.
... which lead to him trying to pick the wards apart, strand by strand, but he didn't want practice at breaking down wards today.
Hawk felt tired, to his very core, and oddly enough he wasn't comfortable in the shadows as he usually was. As he slipped into the room now claimed as his own, not completely trashed as it had been not so long ago from Wren leaving him behind, he could feel the shadows of the room close in upon him. The curtains to the room were heavy and drawn, as light wasn't exactly something he liked -- even if he couldn't see it, he could feel it upon his shadow flesh.
It was odd to be what he was and to find himself uncomfortable in the shadows themselves. His form finally took upon a more solid shape as he sat down on the bed, refraining from stretching out on it. His fingers etched patterns absently on the covers, feeling them pick up slightly at the residual energy he still carried. It was hard for the energy to drain from his body entirely and he was beginning to think it was something that was likely to be permanent. He would just have to let it drain out, let it build up some, and then drain it again.
Until he learned a more proper way of controlling it and releasing it into the ether.
Still, it would do nothing for the nightmares that plagued him and his increasing sense of fear when it came to the shadows. It was something out of his control and he despised it intensely.
'It's ridiculous, to be afraid of what I'm a part of,' he muttered to himself, fingers tightening in the bed covers briefly before he pushed himself up and floated around the room. If it wouldn't have hurt him in some way, he might've thrown open the curtains entirely and let light into the room. Instead he moved until his solid back was pressed to them and his fingers were clenching in the fabric.
'So ridiculous,' Hawk repeated, and bowed his head some as he tried to push back the sudden feeling of anxiety.
'Actually, it is rather ridiculous, when you think about it.' The voice that spoke suddenly was quiet, but amused, and Hawk immediately recognized the voice. Except that it wasn't possible, the owner of the voice was dead. In a way, at least. 'A creature of shadows and darkness, afraid of just that. It's ... pitiful.'
'... who ... ?' the fiend's voice trailed off, quiet and unsure, not knowing where this voice was coming from. Suddenly everything felt further from his control and he wanted to retreat, but his back was all ready to the wall and only sunlight waited for him outside. He had no where to go and the feeling of being cornered built up.
'It doesn't matter who, now does it? It's just pitiful that you're acting as you are, afraid of the darkness.' And the voice was right, he was afraid of the darkness, but it was more than that. Hawk immediately stretched out his senses, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from, who it belonged to.
Except he could sense nothing in the room but himself and the shadows that were cast everywhere. There was a darker edge to every thing now, something that was flickering at the edge of his senses.
'Go away, I have no business talking with ... whatever you are.' Hawk's voice was stronger than he felt at the moment and his fingers clenched at the curtains his back was to. Sightless eyes were frantically looking around, as if they could spot whatever it was that was in the room and he couldn't sense. It couldn't be who he thought it was, it couldn't be.
'Oh, but you do. See, I could help you over come your fear.' There was a seductive edge to the presence now and Hawk shivered when he felt fingers brush along his forearm. 'Darkness is nothing to be afraid of. You huddle alone in your bed at night, afraid of it, because you don't like what you see -- you don't like the darkness that haunts your every thought. You're resisting it when you should be embracing it. With it, you could be in total control and you wouldn't feel the fear that you do now. The fear of something that is out of your control ...'
'No,' Hawk's voice was firm, firmer than he expected it to be, and he shook his head quickly. 'I would sooner be plagued by darkness than embrace it. I've Seen what it does to people, saw what it did to one man.' Fingers unclenching from holding tightly to the curtain, Hawk pressed forward, his hands outstretched to feel for an actual body. If his Sight could not help him here, then he would fall back to his other senses.
'You say that now, dear Hawk, but what about when things become too much? When darkness is the only path? The voice was coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time and Hawk couldn't seem to find it in his room. There was no one in his room, at least, no one that he could tell was in his room. Except that he could feel the shadows gathering as darkness and he fell back suddenly because of the sickening feeling brewing in his gut.
'I'll find another path, regardless,' he hissed out, hands balling into fists. And then he thought he felt something, another presence in the room. Hawk immediately turned towards it, hands outstretched to either touch it or hold it back. Except that his hands touched nothing but shadows, shadows that were starting to feel oppressive and heavy.
'As I said before, you say that now.' There was a tentative brush against Hawk's cheek and he recoiled instantly, nearly going transparent and falling through the nearby wall and outside.
'It's the truth,' the Seer spoke again, but this time there was no response to his words and the oppressive feeling to the shadows was lifting slowly, second by second. There was no one in the room anymore and he wasn't even sure if there had been in the first place.
Closing his eyes, he started to trace the threads that lead to the individual futures ahead of him. Except that the more he tried to look, the more he realized the visions were fuzzy and imperfect. He couldn't see what was ahead for himself.
And that sickening feeling in his gut was only growing worse.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 10:31 am
Flickers
Flickering visions and fading spirit.Hawk had let himself drift through the house once more, caught up in his own thoughts and scared of his own shadow. For a change he found himself in the library, the one place he seldom went unless he wanted to run into Wren teaching the children. Except this time he did not sense the presence of Wren, or that of Mael and Otium. Instead, there was only one presence in the room and for some odd reason it was flickering.
It would flash brightly as a beacon in his mind for a second, announcing it's presence as it usually did, and then it would dull for quite some time until it rarely spiked again. Hawk knew the presence, quite well as it was. Lafe was one of the only children in the house he actually could tolerate for long periods of time. Alejandro was someone he could tolerate as well, but Hawk knew not come between Lafe and Alex when they were playing.
'Perhaps I should offer to look after them at some point.' It was an absent thought and one that Hawk doubted he would suggest to Wren, ever. The fiend only had so much tolerance and as he was currently, he doubted he would have the patience to watch even the most stoic of children. Still, it was the flickering of Lafe's energy that was unusual and the fiend let himself drift closer.
Eventually he could feel silver-blues on him and there was a flash in his mind of Lafe, the baby curled up on the arm chair with paper and crayons discarded and ignored. His eyes had been closed, but now they were wide open and focused on him. He looked tired and drained, the beginning of an unhealthy pallor sinking in, but not quite obvious yet. The pooka rubbed a small hand against his face, as if trying to make himself wake up, but not quite able to achieve it entirely.
Once he was close enough, Hawk slowly lowered himself down so that he was level with Lafe, his own wispy hand resting on the edge of the couch. The fiend remembered hearing Wren talking to Halo about the child, about the fact that Lafe was crankier than usual. He had been fussy in the past few days, more than his normal behavior when it came to not wanting to be touched. Though that had only seemingly increased, at least when it came to others but not when it came to snuggling up to Alejandro.
The growing fox could not have his sour mood lifted it seemed and now it appeared that he was getting sick, though it was quite odd that his energy was flickering as it was. It was as if the energy the pooka had was being drained, slowly, and the normal recharging was not working. Everyone's energy eventually replenished itself unless there was something wrong.
Slowly, Hawk reached forward with his hand and used his senses to tell where Lafe was. His hand paused for a moment, his own power unable to tell him if a small touch to the other would be welcome. And then the unexpected happened, a clammy small hand reached out and touched his. Hawk might've jumped, startled for once in his life, but his mind was suddenly filled with visions.
' ... why do you wait?' The fiend lurked in the shade offered by the large tree, his attention on the barely visible child sitting with his back against the trunk. Everything was blurred and hard to see, and the boy's lips moved as his white tail twitched back and forth. There was no sound for a moment, before words finally became clear again, even if they faded in and out.
"Because ... all I can do ..." Piercing silver-blues were visible for a second, staring right through the fiend, before they turned and looked towards the horizon. Fingers were brushing along a box that sat in his lap.
'He ... not ... return.' Hawk slipped forward, until he could sit down beside the pooka. He mimicked the posture of the other, his arms folding on his knees, eyes looking forward.
"... faith. Back here ... belongs." Silver-blues once again focused on the fiend, his head tilted to stare at the other. From the tone of voice, it was hard to not believe what he said. The fiend offered a shrug of his shoulders, before falling silent and focusing on things he could only see with his lack of sight.
The visions of someone without seeing eyes.
And he stayed like that until a shoulder bumped into his semi-solid form.
"Thought I was moping here ... What's ... ?" There was a hint of curiousity in that older voice and it was hard for Hawk to resist. The child was one of the few he could talk to and have some understanding.
'Lost in thought.' There was a small pause. 'Darkness ...' If the fiend could have had lips, he might've been frowning and the pooka next to him merely sighed before shaking his head.
"Stop ... complicated, Hawk. Darkness ... bugging ... it seems ... realize ... are dark ... accept ...? I'm ... it. ... make me evil. ... you evil. ... follow darkness ... You ... good, not evil. Get it ... Just don't let it trick you, let it make you think you need it." It was only the final words that were startlingly clear compared to the rest and the fiend fell silent after the pooka spoke.
'... your years ...' The fiend finally spoke after a moment, letting himself go entirely transparent when a hand moved to smack him upside the head.
Abruptly, the fiend pulled his hand back from the small one that had tried to hold onto it. He shook his head rapidly, trying to clear his mind of the fuzzy vision that had appeared without warning. It was one thing to bombard visions upon Wren, but Hawk was not use to somebody suddenly causing a vision and in this case he wasn't even sure the vision was his own.
'What are you trying to say?' Hawk asked the pooka, but only garnered a yawn in response. The baby had apparently decided to curl back up, no longer interested in Hawk's Eye. Lafe only had the urge to ... share with the other and that's what he did. Now, now he wanted to rest because he didn't feel well. His tail twitched irritably for a second at the feel of a hand against his head.
'Just for a moment,' the fiend murmured, 'I'm going to take you to bed, so you can rest.' There was a sense of confusion for a moment from Lafe, before he merely let out a small yawn and just let the fiend do what he wanted. He was too tired to care, even if it wasn't that late and he had only been up for a little bit.
Neither one could really shake the bad feeling later on as they reached the room where his crib was and it wasn't likely one of them was going to shake off that bad feeling any time soon.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 10:33 am
Confrontation
Only a small piece of a larger whole.It was a few hours later and the demon still felt more than a little on edge. Letting out a deep breath, he finally let the other emotions bubble to the surface now that he had shut the door to Lafe's room. The fox kit was once again asleep in his lonely crib, curled up against lighter of the drake plushies, the one that had been Alex's.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair -- a nervous twitch if there ever was one -- and looked down the hallway to see if Halo was coming this direction. It looked like he would have to go find her and not have her come to him. Not that it was ever hard to find his wife, but sometimes he just wished she would zone in on him so that he did not have to.
Except something started to tickle in the back of his mind, a presence that was slowly growing and he gritted his teeth in irritation. He knew that sensation and as quickly as it started, he suddenly clamped down on the connection between himself and Hawk's Eye. Their bond was suddenly sealed on his end and he turned sharply, stalking down the hallway towards where Hawk's room was.
The door opened itself up before he even got there and Hawk was standing there, blind eyes staring right through him. Wren thought, for a moment, that if Hawk had had lips he might've been smirking and he immediately swatted at the fiend as he stepped into the room. Luckily, Hawk had gone transparent and he hit nothing but thin air.
Only luckily for Hawk.
"What," Wren gritted out, "do you want? I don't appreciate the near bombardment of a vision on me right now." The demon crossed his arms and stared at the fiend who easily turned to face him, his body taking a more solid form again. He also held himself high enough that they were on eye level.
'I have no clue what you are talking about, Wren.' The fiend's head tilted slightly, his body posture reflecting his expression. As if he really had no clue what was going on and that the demon was talking nonsense. 'I've had no visions today.'
"... then what was it that I was about to get nailed by just a moment ago?" Muted blue eyes suddenly flared to life with the irritation that was quickly taking over. He wasn't in the mood to play the games that the Seer before him liked so much. Wren barely stopped himself from taking a step forward to grip Hawk and shake him, but the urge was still there and it clearly reflected in his eyes. He was, obviously, at the end of holding back his frustration -- be it from recent events and one final straw that seemed to break everything.
'Maybe you suddenly developed the ability to See, yourself.' The shadow shrugged it off and turned from Wren, dismissing him from the room. Obviously what had happened had fried his brain, or perhaps it was the lack of sleep, in any case Hawk had no idea what the demon was talking about. He had not had any visions and if he had, he wouldn't have let them reach over to Wren through their connection.
And as quickly as he turned around, Hawk's Eye felt a hand curl around his forearm and it shocked him enough that he didn't immediately shift his form to slip out of it.
"I somehow doubt it, Pierce," Wren hissed out, his eyes flashing with the irritation he felt. Not having sight was a blessing, because the demon before him was truly such as of that moment. The hand wrapped around his arm was warm and that warmth flooded his body. Hawk could hear a tail lashing back and forth irritably and he merely shook his head after a second, unable to voice anything.
He truly did not know what had happened.
"You have your visions and you are all most all ways conscious of them. Doran's not around anymore, Pierce, and you yourself are a little too hard to shake up lately for even that to cause you to send a vision my way by accident." The demon paused, and sharp claws were suddenly sliding against shadowed flesh. "So that leaves me with you doing it on purpose and I do not appreciate the sudden bombardment. It's not the time for you to start playing irritate the demon."
'And I told you, Wren, that I --'
"Hawk's Eye!" The small demon cut off the fiend and took a step closer, his eyes practically smoldering. "Just leave me alone. Take a break from bothering me and doing your duty in tormenting me for a bit. If you wanted to bombard me with a vision, how about one that's a clue in to what's wrong with Lafe. How about that? You could be a little helpful for a change!" The demon's voice had changed, there was an unearthly quality to it. It was all most like his words were changing to growls and more dragon-like than human.
Hawk had enough of it. He finally came to his senses and let his form shift to less solid and float right out of Wren's grip. His head tilted and he stared accusingly at the demon. He wouldn't tolerate this from him, let alone anyone. It wasn't his fault! And how dare he ...
'Get over it,' Hawk said quickly, snapping back. 'And if you want a little clue in to what's wrong with Lafe? Why don't you ask him yourself? Oh, but you can't, can you?' The shadow sounded a little smug as he kept falling farther and farther back, moving away from the demon as he was stared at with glowing blue eyes. 'He shares the same gift I do, the ability to See, but it doesn't matter -- he wouldn't share with you if he could, not with you as you are.' Throwing the words, Hawk was all ready to the wall and he was about to go right through it, but he wasn't through. 'But I'll leave you alone, you don't have to worry about me tormenting you.'
Before Wren could even get in another word, the shadow fiend was gone from the room and abruptly the presence that was usually Hawk within in his mind was shut off. There were walls up where there had been an open connection.
It only took a few moments for Wren to suddenly come to his senses and let out a muffled curse. A hand raking through his hair, he carefully pulled back all the traits of his true self that had bled through in the past few minutes, and he reigned in the frustration that had flooded his system.
Hawk was right about one thing, Lafe wouldn't deal with him as he was now. Not when his frustration was at the forefront and not willing to be ignored. Lifting his head up, Wren stared at the wall that Hawk disappeared through. Any other time, he might have gone after his shadow, but now ... now he needed to do something. He needed to talk to his wife.
And in the end it was better that he did not have a shadow with a will and mind of it's own following him to where he was going.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 10:34 am
Wayward Shadow
A brief respite.It was obscenely early in even his opinion, but he had been feeling decidedly restless for the past several days -- it was also why he ended up opening the shop himself. He also decided that it helped out Reyna some since she now had a child to look after. That made him snicker quietly under his breath. Handing a child to that woman was simple proof that the fates were indeed cruel and had a wicked sense of humor.
He noticed nothing out of the ordinary as he stepped through the portal that led him to back alley just behind Twilight Designs. He went in through the back door as he always did when he opened up shop (and wouldn't Reyna be amused to know he used a normal key to open said door), though when he stepped inside he immediately felt the presence of another.
He waited a moment to allow his eyes to adjust to the darkness but even then it was difficult to see much of anything. He relaxed somewhat when he realized that instead of a burglar of some sort it was merely a wayward Shadow. He was always well attuned to the presence of Fiends seeing as he was bonded to them.
"It's a bit early for you to be up and about don't you think?" he asked calmly as he flicked on the dim lights and moved to make himself coffee, unperturbed by his unexpected visitor of sorts.
It had been some late hour of the night that Hawk had come to Twilight Designs, slipping past as only one like him would be able too. He could not think of anywhere else to go and he wanted to have nothing to do with the Concord residence. Not after what happened with Wren, not after the demon had practically turned on him for something that he was beginning to realize was out of his control.
So he had slipped out of the house and wandered aimlessly for a little while. There had been a miniature path of destruction left in his wake in some places. Separation anxiety from Wren showing, but he did his best to ignore it. At most, he could tell that his bonded was slipping farther and farther away and he didn't quite care.
He had, somehow, managed to slip off into a light doze on the couch in the backroom, a worn cloak under him as if it had been used as a pillow. There had only been a mild flicker in his mind announcing someone's presence, but since the warning bells didn't go off, he figured it was someone that he could trust. At the voice he heard and the briefly and choppy vision of Athan moving about the backroom, he felt a tiny bit better.
'Wasn't up,' his voice sounded just like someone who just woke up, 'but I am now ...' He shifted and for a brief moment, energy crackled along his shoulders and he stretched out to ... get rid of the energy that was crackling along his senses -- at least for a moment.
He said nothing at first as he waited for his coffee to brew. He leant back against the cabinets with his arms folded across his chest in a casual sort of way as he peered curiously over at the Fiend. "In need of a break from you guardian, I assume?" he spoke, breaking the lull of silence that had settled across the room. It was the only reason he could come up with for Hawk to be there by himself.
Despite the Shadow's seemingly rocky relationship with his guardian he knew quite well that no Fiend appreciated being too far away from their bonded for too terribly long unless there was a good reason for it. He pushed his concerned thoughts aside briefly to pour himself a cup of coffee before moving to sit on the couch not too far away from Hawk. He could afford to sit and chat with him for a while. Reyna wouldn't be in for several hours yet.
If Hawk was the sort, he might've started fidgeting with the cloak that was nearby. '... yes,' he replied quietly, listening intently to the sounds of Athan making coffee. There was something calming about just hearing those sounds and listening to the man move about. If only because he couldn't see a thing and the sound proved that there was something around him. With his Sight on the fritz he realized he was sometimes at a loss for what to do with himself.
'I do not need to have a demon coming at me, claws exposed.' And he meant that literally, not otherwise. Hawk tilted his head slightly, trying to focus on where Athan had sat down at. If he could focus on the other, perhaps the fact that his bond with Wren was strained wouldn't be so bad.
Athan chuckled quietly at that and while idly smoothing the creases out of his robes while he waited for his coffee to cool some. "I don't think anyone needs to suffer through that," he replied before pausing for a moment, "Well.. there are a few select individuals I wouldn't mind seeing a demon tear into, but luckily for me many of those people have long since died."
He frowned faintly as he mulled over his thoughts and reached for his coffee. Technically he did have two demons attempt to attack Doran, but it would have been much more effective if they had done so centuries before when he was still somewhat human.
"Oh," he murmured after a long span of silence, "I have something for you. It should help with the excess energy." He reached out with one hand to trace a few choice runes in the air. A small green-tinted portal appeared. He reached inside and drew out a quartz pendant that he had made specifically with Hawk in mind. It winked out of existence once Athan drew his hand away.
He reached for the Fiend's hand and snickered faintly when he felt a faint zap of energy similar to static shock jump from the Shadow to him. "It should help," he repeated softly as he placed the pendant against Hawk's palm and closed his fingertips around it.
'Not when I've no control over what he was so livid about.' Saying that, however, was something Hawk did not like to admit. That his powers were currently unpredictable made him extremely uncomfortable and what Wren did made him angry himself. He was not about to say it aloud, unless he had no other choice. The fiend eventually gave in, though, his fingers reaching over and fiddling with the cloak that he had brought with him.
At Athan's words, however, the fidgeting stopped and Hawk turned his head once more towards the sound of the other's voice. He could feel the magic suddenly in the air, brushing against the edge of his senses. One did not have to be able to see to tell when magic was being used and ever since the battle with Doran, he had been more sensitive to that sort of thing.
'Sorry,' he spoke quietly, feeling Athan's hand against his own and the zap that came from the motion. The man was probably one of the few he would truly apologize too. Once his hand was closed around the pendant, he could feel the soft tips of feathers, beads, and a cord that bound it all together. It was was the pendant itself that caught his attention, the way he could feel the channels to let out the excess energy he had without causing a shock every time he touched someone or something. There were the faintest hints of a blush to his face, if only because of the thought that went into a gift like this.
'... thank you,' Hawk finally spoke, truly meaning his words, after being silent for a few moments. For now, at least, his mind was distracted from what had happened with Wren.
"No problem," Athan answered with a small smile, "It was the least I could do all things considered. I'm afraid there's not much I can do about spiteful demons, though." He technically owed the Shadow quite a bit. He'd saved his life, and the lives of many others when he'd absorbed Doran's final attack. And speaking of spiteful demons, he also owed Reyna, but that was not a debt he was not looking forward to repaying. It also wasn't something he really cared to think about at the moment.
Instead, he sat in companionable silence with Hawk and idly sipped at his coffee. He'd have to deal with the spiteful woman soon enough. She typically arrived at the shop around around nine o'clock or so. She used to come earlier but having Sam around changed her schedule somewhat. Either way, it allowed him to do whatever it was he needed done long before she typically showed up.
'There's not much anyone can do about demons,' Hawk murmured, his fingers rubbing against the quartz pendant. It was easier to focus on the gift than let himself get wrapped up again in his anger at Wren. Letting the cord wrap loosely around his wrist, Hawk held the quartz pendant rest in the palm of his hand.
His eyes slid shut and he merely concentrated on the gem. Earth, he knew, wasn't his element, but it was not a hard thing to do, channeling excess energy into quartz. It was what quartz was best for --
-- and there was a flicker in his mind, a brief image of another piece of quartz handed over. Just like the dream he had once. There was something distinctly familiar about it, about this situation, except somehow ... it still didn't seem right. Cracking open his eyes, his head tilted towards Athan slightly. The familiarity did not fade, but for the first time since he had fled the Concord home, he felt at ease and not nearly as strained.
"Quite true, but strangely enough they make for good business partners," Athan replied in a thoughtful voice. He glanced towards Hawk and met his unseeing gaze for a moment. He offered him a faint smile before he squinted at him as though to figure out what it was the Shadow was thinking.
Remotely, he decided that there was something about Hawk that reminded him of someone he once knew. What it was in particular that caused that feeling he wasn't entirely sure of, but it was there and gnawing away at the back of his brain in a particularly irritating way. He said nothing of this out loud though, and kept his thoughts hidden and to himself.
Hawk did not respond, eyebrow quirking slightly to show he heard and acknowledged, but he had no response. He was, truly, to busy trying to figure out the feeling he had at the moment. There was something about it, something about Athan, that he couldn't place. Shaking his head slightly, hair falling into his face, he let his fingers curl tightly around the quartz pendant. This was something he wouldn't be able to figure out right now, not when his mind was trying to figure out everything else.
'How much longer until you need to open shop?' he asked, slipping closer and his head tilting up as if he could actually see Athan's face as he looked at him and peer curiously. There was an urge he had, one that did not seem out of place. In fact, it fell into place with the familiarity and as he felt, at that moment, it wasn't something he was going to argue with.
Athan glanced towards the doorway that led towards the shop front and squinted blearily at the clock that hung above the door way there. "Mmm.. I'd say I have a good hour and a half before I have to open the shop up. Reyna very well may beat me to it, though," he answered before his gaze settled on the Fiend next to him.
"Why do you ask?" he questioned out of sheer curiosity. "Whether or not the shop is open you're welcome to stay as long as you like, though you'll likely have to deal with Reyna briefly.. and Mystic and Sam if they show up as well."
'Mm.' There was a small noise of agreement as Hawk tilted his head slightly once more. Though he could not see, it was all most as if he was studying Athan intently. It was a matter of using his senses to tell how the other was sitting, how he was resting on the couch.
'I don't mind Reyna,' he responsed, not answering the first question quite yet, 'but Mystic -- he's unnerved by me, I think.' Not that he helped the situation any and that went by clearly unspoken. Sam he did not know, but he doubted he could be bothered by anyone at this point and if he was, then -- well, he'd do something about it.
And then, quite suddenly, the Fiend moved and scooted the rest of the way next to Athan. One hand was carefully wrapped around the quartz pendant, but the other reached out and grabbed hold of Athan's robes, curling in them. Hawk shifted until he rested in Athan's lap, his face was hidden and pressed against those robes, and the rest of him was curled up so that he could stay where he was. It was the urge he had, the need to get closer to Athan and rest.
'Want to sleep a little longer,' Hawk finally answered the question. It wasn't voiced, but it was obvious that in his wanting to sleep a little longer, he wanted to curl up next to Athan. If only because while his bond with Wren was strained, the bond he shared with Athan was still strong and it soothed him and brought a comfort that felt needed.
Athan's eyes widened in surprise when he suddenly found his personal space being invaded by the Fiend. He heaved a quiet sigh of what could have been slight exasperation as he gazed down at Hawk as he nestled against his chest, one hand still curled in his dark robes. Well. It wasn't exactly a situation he ever expected to find himself in.
He assumed that the reason for Hawk's sudden need for attention was due to the fact that his bond with Wren was no doubt horribly strained. It would irritate any Fiend to be far from their bonded for too terribly long. Even so, he had a hard time picturing himself curled up on the couch with Mystic or Bloo. That was simply absurd.
Having Hawk in his arms bordered on being equally strange and absurd, but he wasn't about to push him away. He'd offer him what little comfort he could. He still felt indebted to him for saving his life, afterall -- at least that was how his mind decided to justify his situation.
At that quiet sigh Hawk actually nuzzled his face in a little more against Athan's robes, as if making himself a bit more comfortable. It seemed, he knew, more than just a little out of the ordinary for him to be this close to anyone, let alone Athan, but there was no explaining the feeling that he still felt.
Or the fact that where he felt jittery because Wren was so far away, he was soothed by being this close to Athan. Besides, the man was not protesting, and while he was likely not use it, Hawk was staying where he was for the moment. His form shifted and contorted for a moment, as if he was making himself just a bit smaller. The Fiend was, rather he consciously acknowledged it or not, curling up and making himself a bit smaller as if it would be less of a bother on Athan.
Still, he rubbed his cheek against Athan's robes one last time and let his eyes slide shut as he tried to let himself drift off. Here, with him, he knew he was safe and that no one was likely to bother him ( particularly if they knew what was good for them ).
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 10:35 am
Tag-a-long
While with Athan, Hawk causes trouble for Mystic.
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