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 Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:38 am
"--Wha--? Why ---!"
He pushed back, the chair falling backwards and with it the occupant, as he landed hard and rolled out of the mess, still sputtering with words.
"What the HELL?! WHY TELL ME THIS NOW?! WHAT THE HELL KIND OF TRICK IS THIS?!
I don't need motivation or reasons, or guilt! Why the hell--!"
He stopped short, realizing that the yelling was agitating the babies and making them cry.
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Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2007 6:01 am
Asai was on her feet in an instant and recovered backwards across the room staying clear of tipping chairs and flailing limbs. Vahl cried, clutching blindly at the air until her small pudgy hand found Kelios, instinctively her brother had been reaching for her too his sobs less violent than hers. His golden eyes were wide with alarm. The baby girl's eyes were a murky yellowed colour. She was blind. The twins small pointed ears peeked out from the top of their furs. Their ears were not as long and as slender as their mothers, nor were they as small and rounded as Vahn's. Half elves... Half elf. Half Human. All Fire.
Vahl's tiny hand flailed, and behind it trailed a purplish black flame....
Asai cradled them tenderly, rocking them soothingly and whispering in the tongue of dragons until their crying quieted and the twins lay blinking at their surroundings. Despite not being able to see Vahl stared in Vahn's direction as if something attracted her attention to him. Kelios, blinked at everything confused by this new voice.
"You think this is a trick? You think we brought two children here just to try and guilt trip you into playing hero?"
Reiyvian appeared in the doorway and hurried to take the children from Asai. Asai handed them to her and whirled on Vahn angrily.
"How could you possibly be so self centered?!! These two are here because of nobody other than yourself and their mother who for reasons unbeknownst to us has dropped off the face of the earth leaving these two all but orphaned, save for you! You are all they have! They face a world on the brink of war and destruction. Their mother is missing. Their father couldn't care less that he created two little lives-- lives that are sought by a blood thirsty, power hungry demon b***h and their delusional uncle!"
The twins had started crying again and Reiyvian was covering their tiny ears, wrapping them more securely in their sleeping furs.
Asai's fists were clenched and her horns were glowing faintly. Her shadow seemed to fill the cave, the silhouette of a dragon cast against the stone behind her. Her eyes glittering with anger...
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Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 3:42 am
"....." He silenced himself, feeling more foolish than careful.
He couldn't contest any of her words.
He just clenched...and relaxed both fists.
He turned to the side and narrowed his eyes.
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Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2007 3:52 pm
"The girl child is named Vahl, the boy, Kelios. And they are blood of your blood. Were you to end your bloodline it would mean the murder of that which I am sworn to protect..."
Her eyes were unflinching as she held his gaze. Her wildly beautiful face was like a carving, neutral and unmoving as she watched him. She was eerily still almost as if she wasn't real... yet she gave off the overwhelming impression that if Vahn named himself foe, that stillness would be traded for a flourish of life in which his would be snuffed out. Dragons, even in humanoid form, where scary things.
She didn't think Vahn would have any intentions of harming two babies, his own or anyone else's... Her mistress would never have loved such a man, let alone become his bonded. Still she needed for him to recognize what he or anyone else would have to go through to harm the twins.
The gods had truly cast the twins a cruel lot in life, and a heavy burden to carry as they grew old enough to become aware of their dark destiny...
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 3:39 pm
"I may be a lot of things, but a monster isn't one of them."
At least not anymore.
He turned away, running a hand through his hair. "Why wasn't I told before...? I mean, isn't this kind of important? I... I thought I couldn't.... give children to anyone..."
"I mean--- there's supposed to be rules or something about all this right?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 9:19 pm
"Rules..."
Walking over to the tipped over chair and righting it, apparently a hint he should retake his seat. Straightening her own chair she kneels beside Reiyvian, scooping Vahl up in her arms. Tanned skin, black locks of hair... and unseeing yellowed eyes...
"Indeed there are rules concerning such unions. Generally pairing of such powers are orchestrated by the Gods the avatar's serve. But there are a great number of unseen factors..."
Vahl curled into Asai's body like a kitten basking in some unseen glow of warmth. Dragon's radiated body heat, it was part of what allowed her to keep the twins so warm when the caves should have been freezing this deep into the mountain.
"Sierra's goddess has no sway over this world as she has no followers here, save for Sierra. You and your brother are survivors of a lost race... and with your people, your Parthenon too, was lost."
Reiyvian set Kelios down on the rugs amidst the softness of the furs, tickling his tummy as he kicked and giggled.
"Yet... the avatars have found ways to survive. That is part of their nature. One of their basest instincts is to ensure their longevity. And you are each hosts of flame. The most aggressive and primal of all the elements. Fire is known to be passionate, destructive and yet rebirth is also attributed to fire. But along the lines of passion... lust is reflected in flame. You two are the embodiment of these things. And when you met, these ancient fires that burn within you both, recognized each other. Without the presence of the respective deity's to intervene.... there was nobody to prevent the kindling of the bond that formed between you two."
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 10:31 pm
"So what am I supposed to do now...? I don't exactly lead a life that can guarantee a child will be brought up with...somebody there.
I mean-- I haven't exactly had the time to--- learn...or just relax and..."
He looked to the side, squaring his jaw.
"I don't think I'm responsible enough for this when I already have enough on my plate... I don't know what kind of world these two have been brought into. What are they meant for, if everything that ties them is already lost and dead, culturally speaking."
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 10:54 pm
"You make sure they have a father. Even if you only spend a little bit of time with them here and there... It'll be enough that they'll recognize you as someone who's been there since the beginning later on."
Carefully, she passes Vahl to him, helping to make sure the baby's head had enough support. Standing back she had to stop herself from commenting on just how striking the resemblance was.
"Circumstances aren't ideal... Neither yours nor Sierra's lifestyles are what one would consider 'stable' or appropriate for children. But this is reality and we can't afford to be so idealistic. It's true... the world they've been born into is turbulent at best."
Pouring another round of tea, she set a cup in front of Vahn and then crossed the room, handing one to Reiyvian who was still playing with Kelios, all the while listening quietly. Taking her seat and her tea she sipped it carefully. Not that the brew could really burn her, but it was just one of those mannerisms she picked up from years of being around elves.
"My job... is to make sure that these two stay out of the clutches of any who would seek their power. The likes of your brother and Ra'kar.... If they were to get Kelios and Vahl, they could raise them and corrupt their innocence turning them into tools of darkness."
Vahn would be able to notice now, that the baby girl he held in his arms was blind. Her yellowed eyes were clouded and she stared ahead unseeing, never focusing on anything in particular. Her tiny hands reached outwards to him however, a sense of warmth assured her someone was there and she reached out to the heat that held her.
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 11:57 pm
"I don't think you realize; I never even had much of a father myself. I spent the latter part of my old life trying to kill my old man and avoiding being killed back by him.
I didn't really realize I'd even need an education in fatherhood. I mean come on--- that kind of period it was..." He frowned slightly, before shaking his head.
"Who...who named them?"
He stared, feeling more than just a bit uncomfortable as he could see similarities. It was a weird feeling..not a bad one, just one that woul take some getting used to.
"I spent most of my life stuck before puberty, you'll have to forgive me."
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Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 2:25 am
"It's disturbing how alike your pasts are in some respects..."
Crossing her arms she narrowed her eyes, beginning to wonder just how much Vahn knew about Sierra's past... about her world... her history...
"She killed her father as well... that is, after she witnessed him murder her mother. He would have likely let her mother live had she not tried to intervene in her daughter's death... Her mother slain at her father's hands, her father slain at hers... She was only nine by human standards. She's never known a family."
Asai relayed the story impassively, as if it were a discussion of the weather. These were events that had transpired millennium ago. While their happenings were tragic, they were merely facts of the past. Were Sierra around, they may have been discussed more delicately, but she wasn't. And even the red-head had long since laid those ghosts to rest.
"These two... although there was some pain and sadness in their making... she was so happy. Especially after she nearly miscarried... The idea of two little souls who would love her and she them... She tried to tell you... But things between you two... well, you know better than any how they were."
"Who...who named them?"
The tea was sweet, enriched by the honey crystals... The aroma was soothing, and Asai breathed it in deeply before taking a long sip savouring the flavour.
"Sierra did... They were born only four months before the tournament."
Her eyes met his as she continued,
"Vah'lyren'est'ria... it means something like, how would you say it in your language.... ah... Heart of Flame. Keli'os'asyren'est'lien means Protector of Fire or... Warrior of Flame is perhaps a better translation. Elven doesn't really translate well into common I'm afraid, too many extra meanings in every syllable. If I were to translate it literally it would sound more like a poem than a name..."
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Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 1:05 am
"Who else knows about them."
He slid into his seat, unable to keep his eyes off either child, realization of what was in front of him slowly spreading through every corner of his mind.
This wasn't just about him anymore.
There was something real here now. There was something...to live for.. to care for, to be concerned over...
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Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 1:16 am
Her face darkened at the question. Not because he had asked it, but because of the answer she had to give him... it didn't make for good hearing.
"When Sierra was in the care of the Kyonuske... I believe they determined she was with child. I do not know how much they are aware of since their operations were scattered. Victor knows... he was the cause of complications in the birth we think... he and Ra'kar."
Dragons emotions were on a level separate from that of humans. She didn't feel awkwardness the way they did. While a human woman would have looked away, she didn't.
"Sierra stayed cloistered while she was showing, despite her protests. We have done our best to prevent the twins from being common knowledge...."
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Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 1:37 am
"What do you mean by complications?"
He leaned up out of his seat now, eyes intently focused now. Even his own brother had known about this before he did...
And Ra'kar knowing couldn't be any good...although to be fair, she did inhabit the same body...
Mitsuyo....you didn't even tell me... or was it that you couldn't...
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