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 Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 9:59 pm
The sun was starting to set and the forest was starting to come alive with the sounds of night. There were many thing Bane did that were predictable. You might see him in one part of the forest and not see him again in that area for months. There was one place he came to constantly though, a place he could not resist returning to as often as possible. His small hot spring hidden deep within the forest. This was a place for relaxation and fun, he would often bring others here with him normally for only one purpose.
The hot spring seems to bubble up in the middle of no where wedged between the thick trees and underbrush. There was a rocky shelf the slid down into the hot spring's pool. Steam lifting from the water's edge was the only inclination that the hot spring was even there.
Bane had arrived later then he had hoped but their had been a slight issues with with the husband of a wife he had managed to slip a poisonous experiment to. He had a nice little slash wound down his stomach but it really didn't bother him much. It wasn't deep so it was just another scratch over his scared skin. Bane set a few candles up being in the mood he was he didn't care if someone spotted the light he just wanted to enjoy is hot spring time.
The druid sighed a bit as he began to strip down to nothing leaving his clothes on a near by tree limb. He slowly lowered himself into the water letting it wash away the blood from his wound. A song from his clan seemed to trickle into his mind. No one was here so it was ok to admit he remembered some of his past. Least a lot more then he liked to admit to knowing.
"Hear the whispers in the mind
see the leaves falling from the trees
winter's not far away now
nature dies of massing cries
The druids of death is chanting
Their charms of ancient magic
To summon the past
As lightning strikes from the cloudless sky
A ring of fire has been drawn
The circle of protection's complete
This ritual has begun
Invocation of the elements is made."
Bane sang on in a more whispered and slower tone as though the rest he was fighting to remember. He stopped finally giving a heavy sigh as he reached for the herbs and oils he used to clean himself. He didn't know why he bothered to try and remember. Bane had stripped himself of his name, his past, and his future. As far as he was concerned he was damned to a lone life draining others of their life with vials of poison. Not even Bane's eyes were the same as they once were. There where animal like slits where once he had hopeful pupils filled with life and excitement.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 6:37 pm
The pair saw the steam as the sun set beneath the treelife. Emrys' eyes flickered over to the strange witch eater he'd encountered what felt like, not that long ago, yet when he looked at a calendar, he'd notice he'd known Kian for a few months. Still, trust was an interesting subject when it came to this…Kian.
"You're staring at me again," the witch eater said.
"You've never shown anyone your face? Fully?" Emrys asked.
"Only one. Come on, your wasting your own time." Kian pulled Emrys from their hiding point behind a bush, creeping around in the woods silently. Emrys heard the muffled singing and his heart nearly caught. He hadn't seen his friend for so long. All these years he'd just been searching, asking anyone, doing anything he could to find leads or even the smallest whisper that his friend was still alive.
All this time, and Kian was the one who unceremoniously ran into him, nearly costing the life of one of those poor Cerberus Knights. Emrys clenched and unclenched his fists, feeling worry and excitement tingle in his soul. What would…Bane…as he called himself now do when he saw Emrys? Would he even remember? How much had he grown. How different truly was he? Kian had said the druid was messed in the head, but Emrys didn't want to believe it. Sure, his friend had always been…different, but it wasn't until he became obsessed with poison that he'd have even thought to consider Bane…crazy.
Emrys saw the steam lazily floating up to the sky before he saw the dark image. His throat clenched as he knew who exactly that person was.
Kian narrowed his gaze at the druid, feeling all Emrys was doing was just making things so much more dramatic. So what? They hadn't seen each other in a while, big deal. Emrys was only delaying the inevitable. "Would you move it? I've got someone to return home to," he growled.
"I still can't believe you got someone like him to love you." Emrys walked around the rock shelf, ignoring the curses Kian was stringing at him, listening to the man finish his song. He stalled a bit more, one more step and he'd be in eye sight.
"I got his clothes…now go," Kian said smugly as he pushed Emrys out into the open.
Emrys was able to catch himself gracefully, his gaze found a scarred body, but that face was his beloved childhood friend. "I know that song," he said. "You don't know how long I've been searching for you."
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 7:19 pm
Bane's pointed ears twitched a bit almost swearing he could hear some one near by. He continued to clean and enjoy himself despite the sounds guessing it was just animals. He felt safe here which seemed to be his undoing in the next few moments. A figure suddenly appeared into Bane's line of sight and what he saw, made him freeze his movements. Oh he knew who the other was and had seen him once before since they had both grown, but Bane had been very careful to hide from Emrys. He didn't want to see him....there was only one he could feel shame around and it was Emrys. He didn't want the only one he still cared about to know what Bane had become, it wasn't good for his friend to know. He sank into the water his eyes darting to where his clothes.....had been...? Where the heck had his clothes gone? He could just run anyways but the thought of running naked through the woods past his childhood friend....nope. Bane blinked staring in silence for awhile at Emrys as he tried to calm himself. He really didn't want Emrys to know him. "No...I've known...." Bane admitted to the man before him. "I thought you were for a long time... Once I even saw you and I made sure you didn't find me even though I wasn't sure if you would remember me......I met your friend Cedar she confirmed that you were indeed looking for me. The point is though I didn't want you to find me." Bane's face got a suddenly determined look on it. "I want nothing to do with my past you should have considered me dead long ago. In a sense its a truth." Bane's now animal like eyes glared at Ermys through the darkness as he waited to see how he would react to what Bane had said. Bane was trying his best to act like her only harbored anger towards seeing the other. In truth though he was an utter mess on the inside. He wanted to be with his friend again deep down. Without even realizing it he had moved his hand over his chest. It hurt like it did when he first had to leave his enclave or more specifically his best friend. Bane hadn't felt emotions like this in a long time and it was half scaring him. He was normally able to control everything he felt or said, but not right at this moment.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 7:35 pm
Emrys blinked, astonished at the venom in the other's voice. He'd known? He'd even seen him? He heard the soft chuckling of Kian from behind the rock shelter. He wanted to go over there and rip that Witch Eater's face off. How dare he mock this! Though despite the rage inside and the anguish his heart was enduring, he remained passive, his face unreadable, minus that one, slow blink.
"You met my Cedar..." The words were made to sound possessive. Yes, Cedar was his. While he'd long endured his search for Bane, he'd come to care for Cedar, perhaps even love her, or at least he could have, if he'd never found Bane. Though she was still his pupil and she belonged to him and him alone... "You don't get to make those kinds of decisions. You may want nothing to do with me, but I wasn't finished with you. It wasn't my choice you were banished. You don't get the luxury of just leaving me with no true goodbye." His voice cracked, and that was it. He felt the tears well up in his eyes, yet he refused to let them fall. He was sure Kian was enjoying all of this all too much. The thought of that man made the tears dry up and his stomach churn. There was something so...oily about that witch eater.
"You were not dead. They banished you, they didn't kill you. Thus I see your truth as a lie." Emrys felt his pulse run wild within his body. He'd become erratic with emotion. Anger, worry, sadness, love... It all swirled around him like a sandstorm, plaguing at his skin, attacking his throat and distorting his gaze. He now understood why Kian had taken him here.
Bane wasn't going to cooperate so easily.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 7:50 pm
Bane's ears twitched slightly and he lifted his head towards wear Kian was hiding and seemed to be sniffing the air. Oh..oh Kian was gonna get it! He recognized the strange smell from that witch eater. His eyes then found Emrys again. How could he get rid of him?
My Cedar? Bane seemed to question in his mind. What did that mean? And why did it make Bane feel weird? He didn't even have a name anymore for some of the things he was feeling right now. "Then say your good bye and get out of my sight." Bane half barked at Emrys, but it felt like his own heart was stabbed when he said it.
"Manachi died long before he was banished Emrys. I lost that part of me long ago. The person you see is Bane and he is not someone you want or need to be around." Bane said his words seeming desperate in a want to keep Emrys from knowing what he does and who he is now.
"Please just...give me back my clothes and go to Cedar, she cares about you. Bane doesn't ...know you." Bane looked away he was breaking a bit. He was not able to be the calm and calculated actor he normally was. Not to Emrys he just couldn't hold himself steady. If this didn't work to make him leave he didn't know what else he could say. And fighting him to get him to leave was going to be out of the question he knew he would not be able to raise a finger.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 8:19 pm
Emrys clenched his jaw a few times, grinding his teeth in anger. The venom that flowed with each syllable, the cruel gaze in those eyes. It was utter bullshit, it had to be. They had been inseparable as children. Yes, a person could change surely when they grew, but to be treated this way, to not even get a "oh how've you been..."
"No. Manachi didn't die. He simply changed." Emrys moved closer, narrowing his eyes like a stag challenging another. "Though, I guess he changed into a wild man who refers to himself with not only one name, but two. Tell me there's not more in there. Do you all go to parties together?" The words were meant to be harsh, and his tone even harsher. It didn't please Emrys to be rude to someone he had cared so much about, but there was truth in Manachi's words.
He didn't know this man anymore... No more than he knew the witch eater that led him here.
"Oh yes...Go run off to Cedar, Emrys!" That voice was so silky smooth, it was almost tangible. Kian slid out of the shadows, his eyes alight with a mischievous spark. "Now Bane... It's rude to be so...well...rude... You're the naked one here. Though I'm sure this one would be willing to even out the battle grounds... Wouldn't you Emrys?"
Emrys glared at Kian, doing his best to suppress the vines that were inching closer to Kian's throat before allowing them to drop all together. Kian wouldn't simply die that easy anyway. And Kian had a lover too... Emrys would never understand that. Ever. "You'd like that wouldn't you, Kian?" Emrys shot back. His gaze returned to Bane, looking at the scars that had lined his body now, and his face. He said nothing, before sitting on the ground cross legged with his arms across his chest, just like he had done when he was a child. It was so strange. They both were different. Emrys was the shaman and protector of his clan now and Manachi, was dead to his people, a passing thought in the back of their minds, yet he'd never forgotten. He never would.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 8:39 pm
Bane's eyes twitched as he looked back at Emrys. He could tell the other was so upset, but he just couldn't live both lives again. He couldn't change what he did so easily it was his obsession and how could Emrys ever deal with Bane being a murderer.
Bane dropped himself deeper in the water and backed up so the shadow of a rock was covering him. Why did those words Ermys had said hurt so much? Was it true was Bane even more crazy then he thought? Could there be multiple personalities as well as his other problems.
Yellow eyes flashed up and glared at Kian with a flare of fiery anger like Bane had not felt in a long time. "Kian if you don't get out of here now there is no amount of magic that can save your hide from me. I don't care if I do have to fight you while nude I'll do it if you don't leave." Bane growled gritting his teeth.
Seeing Emrys in the position it got to Bane he moved to the edge of the water but said nothing. His eyes glared back at Kian, he didn't really want to reach out to Emrys in a way, but there was no way he was going to do it while Kian was watching. He looked down at his own reflection in the dark water and wondered what he should do. "Emrys.....you wont like who I am now....I'm....trying to ...protect you..."
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2012 9:17 pm
Kian snorted, amusement flashing in those devilish eyes of his. Emrys almost felt sorry for Manachi. Kian was on the verge of sagehood, not that Emrys really could safely assume Manachi wasn't as well, but the way Kian fought. Emrys had never seen it before. There was an intelligence in that scarred skull that sank so deep it reached the blackest pits within Kian's body.
"Well, you think on all the ways you could kill me and I'll just be over here, waiting for the time to remind you that your irrational thought process can't work against me. You two love birds need catching up anyway..."
Emrys rolled his eyes, sighing at Kian's dramatic exit. Of course the witch eater would throw in as many insults as he possibly could. That's what Kian did. He enjoyed getting rises out of people...
Emrys shook the thought of the witch eater away, and kneeled next to the spring. He idly stroked a few fingers into the water before feeling it too uncomfortable to be so casual at the moment. He sat with his legs folded under him, shifting as he listened to Bane's words to him now.
"I don't like many things, Manachi. I don't like cities, I loath high rise sky scrapers and I seem to have a developing hatred for a blue haired witch eater, though I still respect him, and even admire him. For while Kian's words are full of thorns, his heart was in the right place. He led me to you, not gain. While I'm sure we amused him a bit, he has someone he truly loves above all others. There is beauty in everyone, so thus, I will find something I like about you." Of course, Emrys spoke more like the shaman he'd been groomed to be and less like the child who always listened to Manachi's silly ideas. He wrinkled his nose, realizing how pretentious he'd just sounded. Though it wasn't untrue, he would find something inside "Bane" even if it was deep down. Manachi was still there. He could see his soul through those heavily guarded eyes, even in the dim of the night's sky.
"Protect me from what?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2012 9:38 pm
Bane glared at Kian as he walked away you even an intelligent man would need sleep, would need to eat or drink. If not kill him Bane could make his life a living hell if he choose to focus on him. He moved away from the edge of the water again as Emrys came closer. Bane suddenly couldn't seem to look at him. He wrapped his arms round his chest while making an odd face. " A shaman should not spend time with something that could endanger him or his people." Bane said finally these words were a repeat of something he heard and not his own words. He seemed to pace a bit in the water, he didn't know what he should do at this point. That dream he had haunted him and he didn't know what it meant, but he couldn't help, but think staying away from Emrys might save his life. Bane turned back to the other male finally. "From me." He said with now sad eyes versus the guarded ones from before. "I have moments of clarity yes, but I can guarantee no one's safety in my presence. I'm much worse then I was when I left the enclave. The things I do, I enjoy...I live for all half to do with death and poison. Very little of me has to do with life other then the plants I grow. Staying around me for long will bring you nothing, but suffering." Bane said looking very serious he knew he couldn't stop himself when he got the want to kill. At least he didn't think he could stop. Either way he didn't want Emrys to ever see him in that light of be in danger by spending time with him. Yellow eyes finally looked to meet Emrys they showed a sense of fear. He was so scared about what might happen to the one person he cares about in this world. It didn't matter what happened to Bane in the long run, but Emrys needed to be safe and most importantly alive.
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2012 10:06 pm
Emrys pursed his lips in thought as he listened to those words. That voice was so much deeper than it had been so long ago. Emrys had forgotten the voices of their childhood, but he had at least thought Manachi would have sounded a bit similar to what he had before. Though despite the deepness of tone, the flow was similar. That mischievous cadence that spoke more than one meaning. There were so many levels to Manachi, and this "Bane" was just another exterior that surrounded him like a cocoon.
"You can take the druid out of the enclave, but you can never take the enclave out of the druid," Emrys teased, though his voice was tight, as if he were walking on egg shells. He shifted so his feet were out from under him, legs out stretched and palms resting on the soft, cool ground. He noticed Manachi was having trouble even looking at him, though, Emrys really couldn't blame him. He and Kian had ambushed him, leaving him stark naked and slowly pruning in a hot spring.
He raised his brow at the next statement. From Manachi? Emrys raised a thin brow, listening to the explanations. He chewed on his lips for a moment, thinking of the next move or what to say next. He sighed, shifting his mask on his head. "So you kill people for amusement. You're not that different from Kian in that aspect. As long as you don't go after me, it's not my place to judge you, Manachi. I never did judge you. If I had it my way, you wouldn't have been cast away. We should have worked with you, not just toss you away."
Emrys leaned forward, picking at the twigs on the ground near by. "It's my life. I think I should be able to choose if I suffer or not. As I said before, it wasn't your place to determine if I was through with you or not. I wasn't. We were barely even adults, yet I've searched for you ever since the day you left me, and I've found you. Don't think I'm going to let you just walk away again."I'm so sorry this got crappy by the end. I started to nod off. haha
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2012 10:49 pm
Bane swallowed a bit everything Emrys was saying was hitting Bane hard. Emotions like this had only attacked Bane in his dreams he didn't really know what to do with them now that they were real again. If he too were to look at himself as two people Bane and Manachi, then he would have to say he was closer to being Manachi right now. "Hard to forget things that are droned into you rather you wanted them or not." Bane replied moving to put his bottles back in his bag, more something to do with nervous energy then anything else. It seemed every inch of Bane was covered in scars, even before he started killing again he had to fight a lot to survive on his own. "Expect Kian has a purpose in some ways I think a witch eater is better then what I am. Least they have a gain a reason to kill. I just do it." Bane said calmly turning around. He spoke as though it were a normal thing they were discussing. "You see the thing is while I don't imagine myself coming after you...." Bane's eyes got distant again as he remembered a reoccurring dream he has. "I can not guarantee that I won't." Bane blinked rubbing his arm nervously at what Ermys said. Would he be different if the enclave had kept him? He shut his eyes and tried to think back. It was only a curiosity back then. One that had pushed him into a life of survival and solitude. That life had lead him to enjoying killing it was no doubt in that. His lips quivered a bit never had he been forced to thing of how things might have been different. He wished for a moment that he could just go back to that time when he was younger, but he knew he couldn't There was no erasing what had already been. "Its my life to." Bane snapped visible biting down on his lip with a bit of frustration. "And I chose that I was through with you even though I wasn't. There isn't a day I didn't think about you at least once. Or even dreamed you were with me again, inseparable as we always were. But I do not want you to be around who I am now. I do not want to see you hurt some how, because of me." His voice was breaking and his eyes were getting watery. He was fighting it with all his might but he was finally breaking. Bane knew he would it was another reason he had stayed away. Bane didn't like these painful emotions they made him feel weak and powerless. They made him feel human which was something he hated. He wanted to be the monster he had become in so many ways and yet with Emrys here before him he felt more human then he ever had in his adult life. "Where are my clothes?!" Bane demanded covering his face with one hand. If he was going to break down like this he would be damned if he stayed naked in a hot spring. "I won't run, we'll go to my place together. Minus Kian...." Bane growled trying to cover his weakened state of mind.
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Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 2:54 pm
Emrys wanted to snap back. He wanted to curtly respond that he felt all that was being said was just a wall Manachi was building to further distance himself, but he didn't. Emrys remained passive, his fingers lax and his eyes blank as he'd listened.
He stood up, brushing off the Earth's debris from his clothing as he walked back over to where Kian stood. The witch eater was leaning against a tree, his face as always, a wall of mystery and silence. What was inside Kian that had caused him to be so vile. Was it simply because he was a witch eater? Or was there something more. He picked up the clothing, saying nothing to the witch eater, giving him a curt nod before going back to Bane.
Emrys dropped the clothing unceremoniously next to the hot spring, his face a bit ticked, but he said nothing. There had been so much emotion in those words Manachi spoke. Anger, sadness, fear... It was all there and yet Emrys had nothing other than heated words that would only create trouble to say back, so he said nothing. He wanted his friend again. He didn't want to push him away.
"Your clothing," he stated. Emrys turned around, giving Manachi some privacy for him to stand, dry and put his clothing back on. If Bane ran, Emrys was confident Kian would say something.
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Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 3:15 pm
Bane watched Emrys through his fingers wondering why he was being so quite. It made Bane feel even more nervous he could read people well through words, but not body language. When he came back with the clothes he could tell Emrys was mad, but to be honest Bane did not understand why. He hadn't stayed away to hurt his friend, it was to keep him safe. Why couldn't Emrys see that? Bane grabbed his stuff and placed it on the shore side as he pulled himself out of the water quickly. He did not trust that floating eye of Kian's not to be watching everything. He threw his pants on quickly and simply stuffed the rest in his bag. They were not far from his place so it didn't matter much. His eyes wandered he knew so many ways to run in this forest. He knew the area so well he could probably loose Emrys and Kian if he wanted to, but he had promised not to run, so for once he would stick to it. Bane threw his back over his shoulder and moved to stand beside Emrys. Bane had always been on the short side but now he was just as tall or perhaps a smeggin taller. It was rather an odd feeling for Bane when he had been used to looking up at Emrys. "Come on." Bane said simply before walking towards the darkness of the forest. "I don't why you're angry.....I did what...I thought I should..."
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