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 Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 6:14 pm
Antigone felt Ubel moved away, and mewled softly, extending an arm to him. "Ubel..." she whispered softly. "Come back. Let us hug on you, neh? Unless, of course, you'll be going to another's arms?" she asked him pointedly, arching an eyebrow at him. "Because I suppose I could let you go then, if that were the case." Cash stumbled as he got to his feet, feeling graceless and heavy, the weight of such feeling seeming to be upon his shoulder. "You don't need to come with me," he murmured, not wanting to see Lior miss the ending, if the Sanguine wished to stay. "I'll be alright on my own."
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 6:23 pm
Ubel blinked slowly and shifted a little, looking around. "I have no one's arms to go to," he murmured, smiling crookedly. "But I'll be all right. Please... comfort her." He stepped back a little more, nodding slightly to Aysel. "I want to come with you," whispered Lior, stroking the other's hair tenderly and purring to him, moving to support him. "Where do you want to go?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 6:30 pm
"Not to Grave..?" Aysel asked softly, reopening her eyes to peer gently at her melancholy friend. "In that case...please come back, Ube." she requested, reaching out one of her hands as well. "You can always come to my arms...and I suspect that Grave would appreciate having you in his arms, as well. But if not his..which I don't understand why, but...if not his.." she trailed off, eyes flicking back to the fight before she continued, "Please come back. I need both of you." Not strictly true, she told herself...but it would unquestionably be comfrting to have her Ubel along with her Antigone...as selfish as that was.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 6:34 pm
Antigone shook her head, curling an arm around Aysel and holding her close. "I will never hurt you, as they have hurt each other today, so it's not an issue. Now Ubel, come here and let me hug you. I've a heart big enough for the both you, thank you very much." Cash blinked at Lior, surprised to find the Sanguine still with him. "I... I wouldn't mind the company, if you don't mind offering the company either." He smiled slightly, running a hand through his hair. "Let's... Let's go, Lior."
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 6:48 pm
Ubel shifted awkwardly, before mewling and moving to hug the girls again, curling his arms around both of them and closing his eyes as he burrowed close. "I just didn't want to intrude..." he whispered, relaxing a little. Lior nodded and hugged Cash tightly for a moment, before stepping back and beginning to walk with the other, making his way through the stands, holding Cash's hand the entire way.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 6:55 pm
"You could never intrude, Ube.." Aysel reassured him, carding the fingers of one hand through his hair, while the other arm remained curled tightly around Anti's waist. She glanced momentarily at Lior, smiling a bit as she spotted him walking away with Cash...and then moved on to blink at Grave, willing him to look up at her..to see that Ubel needed him. For while she in no way minded having Ube here (on the contrary, she rather adored it, actually), she got the feeling that her friend would gain more from being in his lover's arms than he would from hers...
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 7:24 pm
Denaxas rose up easily from the arena floor, his sinewy body easily twisting around, and his legs sliding under his weight with slippery grace. His white scales reflected the bright light above and he shook his graceful head, his crest splaying out about him as he charged his Lightning Breath Weapon up again.
Erashas stepped forward and grounded one of his massive feet before him, sending a resounding tremour up through the Arena seats. He roared and growled, sliding forward to lock arms with his counterpart. Denaxas grinned up at the taller Dragon, and as the two Dragons pressed their full strength back and forth against each other, Denaxas wound his sinewy tail around Erashas' foot and suddenly letting go of his clawed grip of the black dragon's might paws, he dove and rolled to the side.
Erashas, tripped up and suddenly unsupported in all his momentum fell forward, and roaring mightily gave a futile flap to his wings as he thundered into the Arena floor. The tremors shook every inch of the Arena.
Denaxas spewed his Lightning shot upon the shaken black dragon, and Erashas howled again, seething and fuming as he lumbered to pull his mighty strength upright. The Arena was still rattling from the behemoth's fall by the time the lightning ceased its spidery crawling over his oily scales. Labouring on the ground, Erashas seemed unable to stand up and Denaxas leaned forward, howling with gloating laughter.
At that precise moment, Erashas sunk his taloned claw dripping with oily poison into Denaxas' smooth and flawless scales and dragged him screaming to the Arena floor. There the two dragons wrestled. For moments Denaxas would manage to wriggle out from beneath the black behemoth, but Erashas would haul him back squealing, with deep black talons embedded into the white supple flesh.
Finally, oozing poison and shaking from the many bloody wounds marring his beautiful visage, Denaxas dragged himself free and flew up into the air. Erashas drew himself to his knees and howled after the other, flapping his massive wings thrice before heavily lifting off the ground.
Up in the air, Denaxas was clearly the faster of the two, but Erashas pumped his wings, trying his best to keep at close enough range that the snakey white Golem couldn't fire his dreaded thundershaft without concern of electrocuting himself as well.
Below them, the two professors wheeled in mirror dance, their blades flashing equally strongly now that no sorcery was involved. The sharp clang of their swordplay mingled with the leathery beating of wings to fill the Arena with an echo of sounds more reminiscent of hell's forgefires than of an Arena. In turn the two professors parried and thrusted, both with equal skill and grace. Dameron danced lightly about Elias, slashing with his slightly curved blade, but Elias reared up on his snakey tail, twisting this way and that to easily clash blades with the other. Sparks of light danced from their swords and neither could make any headway.
Slowly, but surely, each of the Academics began to tire. Above them, the wheeling dragons clawed and spat at each other and gradually their wheeling and clammouring grew more desperate and more irratic.
On both counts, the fight was drawing to a close...
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 8:44 pm
Managing to tear himself again out of the jaws of Erashas, Denaxas cut a sharp pivot in the air and fired his thunderbolt back at black dragon golem. Stunned, Erashas gave a few twitching flaps to his massive oily wings and then went plummting towards the ground. He landed heavily on his armoured shoulder and the crash of metal and scale was like an explosion going off. The weight of his own body had crushed his right arm beneath the bulk of his body and aside from a feeble raising of his head, Erashas laid still.
Seeing his foe defeated, Denaxas fluttered weakly to rest atop the unconscious form of his opponent. Keening from atop the fallen golem, Denaxas cried out his victory, raising his arms over his head in triumph, flexing his tired wings out and fanning them boldly.
Tumbling from the earthquake caused by Erashas' fall, Dameron stumbled, where Elias' snake body gave him sure balance. Dameron whipped his blade up to block, gasping, the persperation falling from his damp hair and skin like raindrops. But despite his effort, Elias' parry hooked Dameron's blade and flicked it high up into the air. The dark blade was dull without its master's hand to energize it and it spiralled through the air to land a distance away with a resounding clatter. Dameron remained on one knee, gasping and staring at his empty hands.
"Do you love me?!" He cried out, the words tearing themselves from his throat in a tortured scream. They had festered in his chest, and had grown more and more volatile as the fight had gone on, and now, defeated, with his lover towering over him, he could no longer stand it. "Eli!! Please... It's all I want to know: do you hold any love for me yet...please..."
Elias reared back, shocked and speechless. His normal witty retorts were not in mind, and Elias merely sucked in a sharp breath. Dameron lifted his face to peer into Elias' eyes, to see if there was any love left there. Elias was shocked to find tears in Dameron's eyes. Tears. Dameron never cried.
Never.
"Dam'on...What are you saying... Why would I have lost love for you?" Almost before the words of incredulity had left Elias' lips Dameron was screaming at him.
"Then why cheat on me with the Prophet!!!??" Dameron clamped a hand over his mouth, as if he had not meant to say the words, and knew full well he could not withdraw them.
Words too could be weapons.
Elias' eyes narrowed.
"Ardys and I... No, I need not defend my actions to you, Dameron. What claim have you over my heart? You, who will not even bring yourself down to my level to tell me the three little words I crave to hear. Why did you never say those words to me? Was it so hard to tell me you loved? Was it so hard to have fallen? You, the master of words, speechless? Highly unlikely!"
Dameron stared at Elias with wide, damp eyes in disbelief.
"You....doubted my sincerity? How...? How could you not have known? How could you not have believed in my love? How could I cheapen such a thing with words, Eli? What words are worthy of this? You and I...we are eternal, we've always been together, what point would there be for me to suddenly speak those words that we've so many times shared?" Dameron rose to his feet unsteadily, with great effort of will to rise at all. His hands were out, plaintive, a beggar's.
"Eli... There has only ever been you... and the times I had tried to show you, to prove my love, you always scoffed at me. You told me not to be so serious. You told me to 'lighten up'.
And then I saw you with him.
It destroyed me Eli, it tore me apart.
I had always had eyes for no one else, and I had tried so hard to make you mine....Do you remember that first match we fought? I defeated you then, and afterwards...I thought I had made it clear then... Have you really spurned me for Ardys? Is this it?"
Dameron stepped forward, weakly, nearly stumbling towards Elias.
Elias recoiled back, as if in terror of being touched. "You've ruined me, Eli... I am defeated, in body, in battle, in mind... And yes, in heart. You wish me to submit, to throw my dignity to the winds?
Yes, with all these eyes watching, so be it!
I surrender!!"
Dameron swung an arm to gesture to the people of the arena and collapsed. Elias caught him before he could fall and whispered hoarsely.
"Dam'on... you've never surrendered...what's the point of these theatrics, Dam'on?" Elias' voice was unsteady, and he found with shock that he too was weeping.
Dameron struggled to keep his eyes open but failed. He whispered with his last strength toward Elias' acute ear.
"To prove it, Eli... To prove what I would give to keep you. I love you, Eli...only you..."
And then he was still.
The Match was over.
Elias had won.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 8:49 pm
Ubel was completely and utterly speechless, watching in silence with scarcely a breath as the two lovers spoke. By the time it was finished... the tears began. Ubel cried, without shame and without hesitation, lifting his hands to wipe the tears from his cheeks as they fell. It tore at him, to hear those words, to see the two of them like that...
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 9:00 pm
Aysel simply fell to her knees.
So, they had worked it out, in the end.
Battered and broken and utterly defeated..and the two of them had somehow mended the gaping hole between them. "o..only you.." she repeated, burying her face in her hands, "spirits above.." she trembled, the words between Dameron and Elias resounding throughout her body and mind. She felt frozen, as though her insides had truly turned to ice...and when she felt dampness on her cheeks, she laughed unhappily. She couldn't seem to stop crying at all, it seemed...how weak.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 9:24 pm
Kallisto fell back, suddenly quiet and feeling out of place. A strange sensation considering she was in the Arena. She felt awkward, and shy, as she found herself witness to such words. That her bet had been mistakenly placed mattered naught to her anymore. She fell quiet, eyes cast down as she tried not to listen.
Even the spectacular dragons that had so inspired her a moment before were reason to look away. They only served to draw her attention back to the two professors. This was a private matter and while Dameron had gained respect for her for willing to be humiliated in front of so many but it was between them and only them.
She finally blocked them out and remained silent, unsure of what to do now.
---
Astaroth watched as the dragons fought, amazed by the strength and terrible beauty of the opposites. He couldn't describe it. But the clink and flare of sparks drew his attention back to the dueling professors. He watched with dismay as Dameron essentially gave up.
He just gave up. The torture in his voice barely registered with Astaroth as he looked on, frowning. To throw one's pride away so very easily... it saddened him greatly. He wouldn't give in so readily, he thought. He would simply turn and leave. If someone he loved would be so cruel, and that was what it was - cruel, as to cheat on him he wouldn't forgive. He wouldn't go crying to the person. Never.
The line of his mouth was thin and cold, a stoney expression in his features. This was no longer entertaining. His gaze flicked to Danna for a moment and then their hands. No, he was certain. If someone would wound him as Elias had Dameron he wouldn't forgive. Or forget.
---
The twins, meanwhile, watched as Dameron and Elias finished their match with delight. They knew the two would work it out. They'd have to. And their hearts swelled with a whirlwind of emotions for both of the men. Pride in Dameron and his willingness to throw away everything for Elias and sympathy for Elias.
They smiled and nodded and clapped, cheering not the victor but the couple and what they represented. The two hoped that if they were to fall in love it would be with such passion as these two astounding people possessed.
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Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 11:49 am
Antigone could do nothing but stare for a few moments, the words of Dameron and Elias washing over them. If ever there was a perfect definition of trouble loved, the two professors were it. "Here, Aysel," she murmured softly, kneeling beside her lover, kissing her softly. "We don't need to be here any more. It's over. Come on. Ubel- will you come with us?" she asked, reaching out a warm hand towards the weeping Melancholy male. "Please? We'll walk with you over to Grave, neh? You two should be together. Come then, the two of you. It's over, and they know how the other feels. Whatever happens next is up to them."
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Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 1:02 pm
The cold was slowly leeching the emotion from Aysel's mind and heart, and she found herself staring blankly before her-unseeing. For but a moment, she felt the strange, calm frozen-ness that had come before Antigone, had come before Ubel...the sensation that had, in fact, been with her when she Awoke. Then..a brush of fire against her trembling lips, and the almost-scorching of a body near to hers...and she gasped softly, her eyes flying open in gratitude. She had come dangerously close to shutdown.
As her eyes regained their life, she turned then first to Antigone- her beautiful, fiery sweetheart- and she kissed her back, pushing all of the anguish caused by the duel into that kiss, giving it fire and bite and holdondon'tgo. She hugged her tightly...then, let her gaze drift to Ubel...who too seemed to be grieving. A pang of unhappiness struck her through at this...and she found herself upon her feet once more, grabbing him against her, and holding him close...as if with her very arms, she could hold the pain away from him. "Yes.." she murmured softly, "Let's go find Grave."
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Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 3:50 pm
The strength of emotion was somewhat lost on Yambati, and he felt awkward. So... voyeuristic. These last moments shouldn't have been played out for all to hear. Even if they wanted it that way... he just couldn't understand it.
Slowly, he sank back into his chair, eyes still riveted on the two. Well, he'd been right. He'd been right, and the duel had bewitched him. But the end, the emotional climax... had somehow changed his opinion. His mood. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be feeling...
And so he wanted to just leave.
Still, he knew that wasn't a viable option. So he sat there, quiet, trying to put his thoughts in order.
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Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 6:09 pm
Danna felt as if she couldn't breathe. For a long while, even as the Arena around her came to life, Danna did not move, did not blink, did not look around. So many thoughts were filling her mind, her heart forgot to ache for the Professors she'd yet to have class with. Instead her mind was occupied with images of two Melancholic Males and torn trying to compare them. She simply couldn't. Danna knew she was not yet ready to lvoe...it was too frightening. The Duel had merely solidified her phobias of abandonment, of insufficiency... And yet she burned, she longed, she pined for love. She wanted to have someone that was hers alone, someone she could devote herself to, body and soul. She thought of Lucis, Lucis who fauned over her, Lucis who wanted always to touch her, to make her smile. Lucis who would hold her tight and sigh over others that had caught his eye. Lucis who gave his body far more freely than he gave his heart. Danna's chest tightened. And then she thought of Astaroth, and suddenly the feeling of his hand in hers felt like fire. Slowly, she looked up to gaze at him. 'Taroth whose smile she had earned, 'Taroth who's touch set her on fire because it was so rare, so gratifying to feel his coveted warmth. Astaroth who she feared upsetting, who she constantly worried she was not sufficient enough to keep pace with. Astaroth wanted an equal, not a possession as Lucis wanted, and yet she was so much more fit to be a possession to be owned... Danna's chest felt like it would burst.
Danna would gladly give her heart to either of them...if only she could be sure that they would have her, and cherish her, and keep her always. Because she knew, that once she chose, no matter what cruelty, her decision would be final, and she'd never be able to rescind her choice. Cyphr had been right!! He'd bet for Elias, and Elias had won! Why, then, didn't Cyphr feel happy? He ought to celebrate, oughtn't he? But instead he just felt...sad. He felt quiet, that never happened. And he felt terribly alone. His toes felt cold, and his stomach like a terrible steel knot in his throat. Cyphr'd never felt this 'alone' before and he did not like it. With a face like a whipped puppy he looked hopefully to Blayk and asked meekly, "Kin Is stay wit'yous for a lil while pleases?" 
Grave felt an intense wave of relief as the fight ended, and felt an even larger relief knowing that he had not tried to bet on a winner in such a heart-wrenching and draining match. As for the words of the professors, grave understood. He understood and comprehended in that cold, removed way he had when dealing with matters of the heart that did not concern him. Grave felt no empathy. He just felt tired. He felt overstimulated, and weary, he rose to leave. The other Empyreans in the Arena began to gather into groups to leave, or to mill out on their own. Grave did not want to touch shoulders with any strangers right about now, afraid of how cold that empty understanding would reach. He stood before his seat, distantly watching the moving bodies and waiting for room to clear.
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