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 Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2014 6:47 pm
Detraeus hurt to his bones.
Not physical. Casseth hadn’t so much as nicked him in the ‘fight,’ if the sloppy tangle of events even counted as such. But he still hurt. Like his gut was eating itself from the inside out and his mind was waging a war against itself, phantoms of insecurity, disbelief, betrayal, grief, rage, loss all tearing at each other tooth, claw, and nail. He moved on instinct, leaving the stadium immediately and taking a direct route towards the home he shared with Araceli, his pace and manner all but entirely disregarding the presence of others in the shared streets. The instant he made it through the threshold — dusty, sweating, shaking — he slammed the door shut behind him hard enough to shake on its hinges.
“He lied to me — Casseth — EVERYONE — I should have known better…I shouldn’t have—foolish, stupid, gullible—I always used to know better, this never would have happened! It never would have…” Detraeus grit his teeth, whipped back around, and bashed his open palms to the wall beside the door, shoulders quivering as he forced himself to draw breath. ‘Stupid, stupid, stupid boy. You were never this weak. This is what happens when you’re weak. When you trust blindly, people betray you. You deserve it—’ He dragged his fingers in, palms curling into fists, and bashed again, desperately attempting to focus on just the pain and expenditure of energy.
Anything else.
Anything…
“He’s a TRAITOR.” The word came couple, this time, with a slam hard enough to crack paint and dent wood. “I should have killed him, I should have killed him, but I hesitate, I always hesitate—EVERYONE is a liar in the end…” His voice petered off, breath shaking. “I should have known better…”
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Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2014 7:01 pm
Ara’s day had been rather uneventful. She had finished up her orders for her baked goods the day before and so had set out early in the morning to run a few errands - buying some much needed baking supplies and others items for around her home. It hadn’t taken long before she was back and tidying up. She had paused, several times, outside of Detra’s room, thinking about the oblivionite she’d been sharing her home with for quite some time now. He had a match that day but she had opted to stay home. The events were getting more violent and the pit had never been her cup of tea.
As the day wore on and evening began to approach she had decided to settle down in her own room. She’d grabbed her current book and retreated. Engrossed as she was in her book, Ara might not have even heard Detra come in had he not slammed her front door. At the loud cracking sound the door made Ara jumped, fumbling and dropping her book. She frowned down at it, mentally cursing because she had lost her place.
Just as she was about to reach down to find where she’d left off, she heard Detra’s voice. Ara heard Casseth’s name, followed by some rather angry sounding words. She frowned as she climbed out of bed and opened her bedroom door just time to see Detra turn and bash his hands against the wall. She took a step forward, worry instantly replacing the curiosity inside of her. She watched as he curled his fingers into fists and slammed them into the wall again and he began talking again, completely oblivious to her presence.
She winced at the angry words and the slam of his fists into the wall for a third time. He was mad and her mind was screaming at her to retreat, to disappear back into her room while he was still oblivious to her. She couldn’t move, though, and instead found herself speaking, crossing her arms over her chest as she did so. “I’ve never lied to you.”
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Tangled Puppet Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2014 7:11 pm
Detraeus jerked around, tail still lashing behind him, though some part of him took solace in Ara’s presence automatically. “He has it in him — he’s Seren’s kin — he lied—YEARS he lied. He knew me, and he let me think—he let me…I trusted him,” Detraeus snarled. “I TRUSTED him. I was…stupid…stupid.” He curbed the need to spit, given that the were still within Ara’s house, and he only managed not to lash out at something — smash anything — by way of actively holding himself back. His wings stretched and folded, every muscle wound up tight as a nocked bow string. “Eveyone lies—everyone is a traitor eventually, and I should have seen it, I should have…” He bunched his fists, shutting his eyes.
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Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2014 7:24 pm
Araceli waited for him to finish his rant, frowning the whole time. She had known about Casseth and had wondered what would happen if, by chance, Detra found out. It seemed that time had come. She shook her head at him. “I know, Detra. I’ve known about Casseth’s orderite blood.” Ara kept talking, not yet giving him a chance to respond. “What difference does it make? He’s still Casseth, he’s still that same boy that saved you when you were kids and gave you that dagger.” Her eyes flit to his waist, making note of said missing dagger. “Just because you found about his orderite side, doesn’t suddenly make him a different person.”
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Tangled Puppet Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2014 8:33 pm
“You knew…”
“Yes, I knew. But Detraeus, you know he couldn’t have—”
“You knew, and you didn’t tell me—”
“It wasn’t my secret to tell! Detraeus, Casseth cares about you. I care about you, and that’s why we—”
“—LIED to me.”
“…” Ara stilled, her posture tensing and expression going rigidly serious. “You know that’s not fair. We—”
“You both. Lied to me. I trusted you—”
“And you should!” Ara snapped back. “You should trust me, and Casseth — we’ve done nothing but—”
“You knew—you knew what he was,” Detraeus accused. “You knew what was in him, that he was hiding it from me, that I would have—EVERYTHING. You knew ALL of it, and I’m to ‘TRUST’ you? How? Why—? What makes you different when you did EXACTLY—”
“Because I love you!”
Whatever Detraeus might have said lodged itself in his throat, thick as molasses, but bitter and burning. For several long seconds, silence hung between them. Then, Araceli spoke.
“I love you.” She swallowed, but did not look away. “And Casseth considers you one of his best friends…he didn’t want to hurt you, Detra…he wanted to protect you from hurt. We both…” She hesitated, frowning. “No one knew what you would do if—”
“You both…lied to me.”
“Det—”
Detraeus turned for the door. Seconds from yanking at the handle, fingers touched his wrist.
“Don’t. Please—”
He whirled on her. “Never touch me. Do you understand?” And, without waiting for an answer, he pivoted again, storming from the house and slamming the door in his wake. The night air nipped at his arms as he moved for the back of the house, his pulse like hive of stinging insects shoved down his throat and into his burning lungs.
He saddled his mare, his weapons still on his body, and rode into the darkening night. Everything but the blood in his veins, blades on his person, and Avarice at his back, was non-essential. Such was the lesson Soudana had taught him from day one, and clearly, he had failed in learning it properly.
It was time to learn again.
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Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2014 2:39 pm
Ara jerked her hand away from Detra as he whirled on her. She had never witnessed him this angry and never had she expected any of that kind of anger to be directed towards her. Ara opened her mouth to speak but was soon shutting it, unable to form any coherent words in response to his demand. She had confessed her love to him and he had returned it by telling her to never touch him again.
Ara’s heart ached as she watched him leave, slamming the door behind him. She flinched, eyes slamming shut at the cracking sound the door made and something falling and breaking. She didn’t move for what seemed like ages after Detra stormed out, her brain not wanting to process what had just happened. Soon, though, her body shuddered and the first tear fell and before long she was sobbing, rubbing at her eyes and trying to force the tears to stop. It did no good, though. Nothing would stop them. Eventually, though Ara didn’t really remember moving, she found herself curled up on the couch.
When her mind cleared enough to think, Ara found herself wondering what had happened with Cas to allow Detra to find out he had orderite blood in him. She sucked in a much needed, long breath of air as she wiped at her eyes. She would find Lithian, and she was sure Casseth would be with him. Besides, she needed her friend.
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Tangled Puppet Vice Captain
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