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 Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 10:36 pm
"Khah-oots?" Jeddeth said, uncomprehending. Hmm. Must mean they were mates. At Liam's comment, it gave a low regretful kind of noise.
"You'll forgive me if I disagree," it said, pulling away.
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Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 10:38 pm
Liam folded his hands in his lap, although they were soon released as he began talking...rather animatedly.
"What? You're awesome. I don't know anyone else who can open their face 176 degrees."
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Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 10:46 pm
Jeddeth listened patiently, looking down at Liam. It was a curious thing, how the creature could follow every movement without eyes, listen without ears.
"Liam," it said quietly, "Please understand. I am not proud of what I am. I am a monster. I take no pleasure in what I can do. I look this way because Nahedathal wormed his way inside me and corrupted my flesh from the inside out. He kept me alive only because he could use me further to his own ends. And I tell you in confidence, I want nothing more than to die. I'll be free, then."
It wheezed slightly, the effort of so many words let loose in one moment shocking it somewhat.
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Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 10:54 pm
"Good god, you're me," Liam said emotionlessly, face contorting in an entirely comical way. He got up then, inhaled deeply, and bowed.
"Jeddeth," he parroted, "Please understand. I am not proud of what I am. I am a monster in a...not-so-very-literal sense. I wish I could undo all of the things I have done. I only look this way because I was doomed from birth to be an eternal vessel for the soul of a genocidal rapist, who formed my physical appearence and warped my mind. He kept me alive only so long as he felt he needed me. And I tell you with confidence, were it not for the few people who've learned to forgive me, I would still want nothing more than to die. I am, in effect, not even my own person." He sighed and sat down heavily.
"Do you need a hug? I feel like you need a hug."
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Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 11:02 pm
The croaking sound that escaped from Jeddeth was mournful. The similarities were nearly unbearable to think on. It had no feasible idea what a 'hug' was supposed to be, but it nodded anyway, slipping off its rock and looming beside Liam like a gargoyle.
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Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 11:03 pm
Liam had a feeling his next movement was going to surprise Jeddeth a bit, but he did it anyway.
He hugged it...him...Jeddeth around the middle.
Hard.
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Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 11:09 pm
Jeddeth's old bones crackled under the pressure, its skin creaking like leather. Deeply startled, the creature stayed still, unsure if Liam was trying to hurt it, to break it in half. It could feel the warmth of Liam's body, and was aware of the empty coldness of its own. Starvation for heat, for life, erupted in the creature. Its lanky arms snaked around Liam, and it rested its heavy head on his shoulder, listening to his heartbeat.
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Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 11:14 pm
Now sure that Jeddeth wasn't going to try to tear him to shreds, Liam loosened his grip and, oddly enough, laid his cheek against the top of the creature's head. It was a bizarre feeling,r eally. He felt...connected to this beastie, whatever it really was. And he was pretty sure he loved it, judging from the weird warm, fuzzy sensation.
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Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 11:22 pm
The mourning sound escaped Jeddeth again, and its arms fell from Liam, resting on the ground. It didn't know how to react, what to do. Master had shown kindness at first, but in the end he'd been driven to the same madness as all the others. It hated the kindness they showed it, because it knew it was finite. Liam offering it freely, with the knowledge it wasn't going to be snatched away, made the creature feel...it didn't know. It rarely felt anything.
"Ush'yei ya ai," it said, voice creaking with age and tears it would never be able to shed. Thank you.
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Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 11:26 pm
Liam pulled back and smiled, not entirely sure what Jeddeth had just said. It didn't really matter. He reached forward and patted it gently on the head.
"Atchi o'ya, donniev," he said after a moment, something that he would likely never say in English to anyone who would understand.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 4:36 pm
__Part 40
The journey through Ambreveii's territory, Crow reflected, was skirting utter misery. There was no food outside bitter lowgrowing plants Jeddeth had found and tested first to see if they were poisonous. It had gagged, but at least it was food. The terrain was treacherous and more than once she'd fallen and gouged herself with holes, and at one memorable point had fallen into a very cold, very unnecessarily deep stream.
So, on the morning of the fifth day, she began to feel a little annoyed with life in general.
"Jeddy, I've tried to be courteous but I gotta tell you, this foggy pisshole prairie-reject is beginning to test my calm," she said to the creature, gnawing on a bitter leaf. The creature sighed and shook its head, patting her shoulder reassuringly.
"We'll be out soon, I promise."
"Hnn."
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 4:39 pm
Rabid, nearly doubled-over by hunger pangs, groaned.
"She's not the only one."
Liam, however, seemed entirely fine.
"We'll get there sooner or later. Look at it this way. The more time we spend walking, the longer we have before we die."
"Pessimist."
"Realist."
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 4:45 pm
Julian, trying not to let his face contort as the hated ruffage leaked glutinous sap in his mouth, pushed his hair away from his neck and offered to Rabid freely. He was too tired and sore to even blush at a now-distant memory of the last time he'd offered himself so.
"Feel free. Not like it's gonna all be staying on the inside anyway, given our luck," he said dryly, fishing a root out of his mouth and spitting. Jeddeth, crunching on bones it had found, made no remark outside a grunt of disappointment to find the marrow had dried to dust.
"Well," Crow said, giving Liam a rueful smile at his pessimism, "I'm gonna go take a bath. Watch the....er. Camp. Yeah."
Jeddeth glanced at her, head tilted.
"But you fell in the str-"
"Yes. Yes I did. And now I'm going to go bathe. Do you have an issue with this?"
"No, Mistress."
"Good. Back in a flash," she said, heading off to the rocky outcropping that shielded a freezing pool from view. Jeddeth glanced at Julian questioningly. He just shrugged, and spit out sap.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 4:47 pm
Rabid shook her head.
"No, thanks."
Liam groaned and leaned over, resting his forehead on his crossed arms.
"The things I'm gonna miss in death."
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 5:01 pm
Julian sighed.
"Alright," he said, wondering what kind of prey they'd find once they got to the final destination. Probably nothing else than mummified slaves and irritating talking fire.
--
Discarding her boots, Crow slipped, slid, and eventually fell into the pool. It was so cold it burned, but she just didn't care. She ducked under and swam, surfacing with a gasp. Little by little she adjusted to the temperature, and floated for a moment, looking skyward. The fog had broken a bit, and she could see glimpses of the daytime sky. The sun was so dim here that even at the height of the day one could still see stars.
Slipping beneath the water again, she was about to swim back to shore when she suddenly bumped into a large leg, made of nothing but bone. And it shifted out of her way, rising out of the water.
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