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 Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 8:48 pm
Malodore woke up.
It awoke with a full-body shudder; for a long, horrifying moment, it could not move itself consciously, so used had its mind become to being encased within a silent metal form. But then there was a thump, a whine, and a soft lick over its beak.
Luce-
It gasped and untensed, its muscles all screaming complaint at once as it went utterly limp. Luce whined again and put one paw on its chest. "Tresorina," it croaked, trying to remember how to move; after a few seconds, one hand lifted shakily to pat at her head. She pressed her nose into its palm and licked some more.
It was... it was here. In Amityville, in its own room, not within some sterile cage, nor forced into an alien shape, its mind eroded by a disgusting power, it was...
The others.
It tired to get out of bed, but only succeeded in falling, tangled in its own bedsheets. The plague doctor hissed at its legs to work, damnit, even as Luce jumped down beside it and whined again. It ground its beak together and slowly got to its feet, using the bed for support. It was here, it was no foul tool, no half-self drowned in madness-
Madness.
Riley.
"Riley," it cried out, kicking the blankets off of its hooves and staggering towards the door. Her sanity had been fragile enough before all this, she could be- no-
It stumbled over the doorframe, clinging to the doorknob for a moment before setting down the hallway as fast as it could manage, though its balance was still off and it caromed off the walls. It half-fell down the stairs and then it was out in the open air, a crisp Amityville morning that was astonishingly mundane.
It couldn't count how many times it tripped on the way to the demon dormitories; it crashed hard on the steps going up into the dorms proper, shoving itself upright and finally coming to rest outside her door. Its claws worked at the knob feebly, trembling.
The door swung open, and Malodore stumbled inside with an audible sob. "Mia cara!" it cried out, reaching out for her with voice and mind.
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 9:22 pm
When Riley woke up, she immediately regretted it. Every moment she'd just lived through flashed through her mind at once, with the knowledge that yes, of course it had been a hallucination, a play on the mind, a test, a trial - and she had failed. She'd failed things before, as much as she hated to admit it. This, however, was a failure she was not prepared to return from. In fact, once she had recollected her last memories, she decided it was a failure she refused to return from.
When Malodore stumbled into her room and cried out for her, there was no reply. She was there, and she was awake - her presence was palpable. But not until it managed to search her room would it find her, curled up on the floor beside her bed, with her back to the wall. Her eyes were fixed on a distant point, unfocused and unseeing. She did not move, save for the small rise and fall of breathing, and she did not make a sound. But her physical appearance told new tales.
There was blood on the floor behind her, and against the wall; not much, just enough to be noticeable, since most of it still dripped from her tentacles. The skin of those appendages was raw, and red, scratched and ripped in several places, but underneath the blood the skin and muscle beneath had remained silver, despite all of her efforts. If it had only been skin deep, she would have been able to do something. She could have simply flayed the skin away where the infection had spread, everywhere on her body, until she was free of it. But the work she'd done on her tentacles proved the action to be fruitless, and she'd simply given up.
Given up again.
Even upon entering the room, Malodore received no reaction from her. But a use of empathy would feel the agonizing desire ripping through her, desperate to pull away from the comatose apathy she'd forced herself into and take her plague doctor into her arms. It was alive, her heart sang. It was alive, and not a weapon, not a weapon at all. She hadn't lost it, it was alive.
But the truth kept her silent. She had watched it leave her, and she hadn't fought in it's honor. She hadn't raged and torn down the hunters who had dared touch it. She had simply. Given. Up.
And now, sitting in her room, she was shutting down, and giving up again. She had failed so much more than those blasted Horsemen trials, this day. She had failed her people. Her prime directive. Her every goal and dream.
And she had failed Malodore. Once and for all.
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 9:53 pm
The wave of agony was like a stone driven into a wound, grating and rasping against tender and bleeding flesh. Malodore crashed into her room, claws extended; it cupped her face, hands trembling, reaching out to her with everything it possessed. Mia cara, mia cara, stringimi, ti prego, tienimi e non lasciarmi mai andare- It pressed its bone forehead to hers hard enough to almost bruise, as if it could force its way into her mind, be held by her in every way possible, by sheer physical pressure alone.
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 10:38 pm
There was once a time when Riley thought she was the most powerful influence in the universe. Untouched by any other, and unstoppable. Certainly not as easily overpowered as a schoolghoul in love.
She had been adamant that her failure would cost her everything, and yet here everything was, pressed against her cold body, begging her to return and hold it in her arms like it knew she wanted. The self-proclaimed unstoppable force broke like a flimsy dam, and her eyes shifted to look at Malodore for a single second, before she let out a mournful wail. Her arms wrapped around the poor plague doctor, pulling it into her lap and holding it tight against her, as she rocked back and forth. She couldn't help herself, she was at a loss of control - once more, Malodore held her every string, and there was no strength in her to fight against the need that consumed her entire being. She had to hold it. She had to feel it against her. She had no power against this one, driving force to her life.
Her eyes filled with tears, and she cried openly, and freely, against it's body as she clung to it desperately. You were.. you were.. Malodore..
Just saying it's name made a shudder of joy trickle through her body, and for one solid moment, nothing else mattered but that she had it back in her arms.
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 10:51 pm
The sound of its name, in her 'voice'; the feel of her arms around it, reaching around its body (not the same as a hand clutching a tool, not the same at all); her warmth, her heartbeat, the heat of her blood against it. Malodore shuddered too, though there was nothing of joy in it, only of anguished release.
The plague doctor buried its head against her and began to weep, huge racking sobs that made the feathers on its wings chime discordantly. Mia cara, sono stato ... erano ... non possiamo lasciarli vincere, il mio amore, non mai, che non può essere il mio destino ... cosa hanno fatto a te, mia Riley? it sobbed into her mind, aching for itself, for its own worst fears nearly realized, wanting and yet shying away from the knowledge of what had befallen her after it had... gone.
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 11:06 pm
There was something achingly peaceful about the feel of Malodore sobbing against her, when all she could do was sob against it. It brought her an odd comfort to know that she was not alone, and never would be. Her wails quieted to soft whimpers, and her tears slowed. She lifted her head and rubbed her face against its mask, over and over, brushing her skin against it with needy strokes. When it's voice started, and it reminded her of what it had become, the vision of the scythe clattering against the glass cage bubbled into her mind effortlessly. She let out a soft moan of distress, and pushed the thought away, as it burned her heart to think of it. I will never let them touch you, Malodore, I will.. I will try..
She lacked the strength and conviction her voice had always held, the assurance that she would never let harm befall her beloved, when that was exactly what had happened. She had been powerless to stop it.
Powerless.
The question that filtered into her mind at the end of Malodore's thought made her seize up stubbornly, and she tried with every ounce of will she had left to keep her memories from surfacing. Don't ask that, mia vita. Don't ask that question. It had suffered enough; all she wanted to do was bring it happiness again, and protect it as best as she could.
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 11:14 pm
Non ho mai permette loro di portarti via, it whispered, folding itself around her, its wings straining to hold her, failing; they were too small. It would have to fix that, it thought vaguely, before lifting its head and looking her directly in the eyes.
Mi tieni stretto, tenere a me, ti prego, voglio sentire che tutto intorno a me... per favore, prendete quello che hanno fatto a me e sostituirlo con voi, mia cara... It swallowed one last sob, then closed its eyes and leaned into her.
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 11:40 pm
Riley had curled herself so completely around Malodore, and it had done the same, but it wasn't enough. It would never be enough, as far as she was concerned. If she lived a thousand years with the plague doctor, it would not be enough. She heard her own desires, her own desperate needs echoed in its words, so eloquent and smooth in its native Italian, that it made her sigh in defeat.
She was not powerless to Malodore. She should have known, from the moment she watched it leave her, that it was not the reason she died that very second it was lost to her, instead of on the table. She should have known better than to think Malodore was still a separate entity to her, its own presence apart from hers. Malodore did not hold any power over her; she held all the power over herself. Malodore had become a part of her so complex, so deep, that it kept her breath coming, it kept her heart beating, it kept her eyes from going blind to the world around her. She had died the moment Malodore was lost. She hadn't given up, she hadn't failed by not fighting on. She'd simply lost herself.
Riley's hands lifted up and pressed against the sides of Malodore's mask, her eyes sharpening violently as her vision cleared and she captured its gaze in her own, a moment before Malodore's eyes closed. No one was allowed to hurt her Malodore. No one was allowed to hurt her. Whether their suffering had been real or not, Riley surged with the sudden magnitude of her purpose. She lived just as it lived, and she would not let it suffer, just as she would not let herself suffer.
No one hurt her Malodore.
The flood was instantaneous. Her eyes fluttered closed even as her conscious leapt from her mind, and cascaded into Malodore's like a rising tide, washing away the memories the trials had left behind in their little games. She could not destroy Malodore's memories, but she could minimize them to nothing more than fuzzy, distant recollection, surrounded by the warmth and sharpness of far more pleasant memories. Her conscious flooded it over, and over, the ebb of her mind mingling with its own just as it had the night they'd shared together, learning anew the meaning of love. A soft, quiet moan audibly whispered from her tentacles, as she mingled with the plague doctors mind so completely, she was reminded once more that there was nothing left of her to separate from it. She was they; they were she. And to win, to utterly conquer, she would have to do it with Malodore, together.
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 11:49 pm
Malodore sighed, slumping against her as her mind overtook its own; her heartbeat was enough for both of them, a reassuring thrum that never faltered, never stopped. A constant. Riley's heart beat, and somehow that made everything in the world all right, or at least bearable. It could feel her softening the edges of those memories - no, that dream - blunting them, relegating them to their proper place. As dreams, not sharp, jagged shards lodged painfully in its psyche. It welcomed that, and her.
It had been so alone-
It was not alone. It was never alone.
Grazie, mia cara, amore mio, it sighed into their mingled mind. Può essere una scintilla per accendere una fiamma potente... Because it had not happened. It would not happen. It had been a figment, a dream, a fragment of some lost world that the Horsemen had shattered into irretrievable pieces.
And they would make sure the Hunters could never put it back together again.
It did not want to surface; it wanted to be them forever, boneless and thrumming with their shared heartbeat. It understood now why Jericho so loved the pronoun.
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 4:04 am
Riley slumped against the wall, her tense, weary muscles loosening as she soaked in the peace she found only when fully intertwined with her counterpart. She cradled its head in her hands, because she knew she was sinking, but there wasn't much she could, or even wanted to do about it. Her body slid slowly to the floor, and she kept it safe in her arms, until she felt the floor beneath her, and curled up to snuggle against Malodore. She could sense, quite clearly in fact, how much it longed to keep their bond intact, and it thrilled her, feeding her insatiable appetite for the mind she'd come to love, and desire, every moment of her life. So she remained, her mind locked firmly in place with Malodore's, and sighed a blissful sigh of content.
Malodore, she purred contentedly. Malodore. Now she just liked saying it's name, because it brought her nothing but pleasure. Mal.. o.. dore. A little chuckle bubbled out, and she settled with remarkable comfort into the thrum of both minds, fused as one, indistinguishable from one another.
There are no words to describe our love for you, anymore. She admitted quietly. No words come close. And yet, even as she said it, an idea sprang forth in her head. She felt.. ashamed that it had taken so long to be ready for this. But she simply allowed the thought to surface, not necessarily saying anything, just letting the knowledge glance across their consciousness, like a gentle breeze. Her name. Her true name. The thought sounded foreign, and yet familiar at the same time. As if this was something new and momentous, and yet somehow it had known all along.
Aen'ryliis. That was her name. The name no one must know, except for those who hard earned the right. The trust. The love of the mindflayer.
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 12:41 pm
Riley, it teased back, echoing her name after each iteration of its own; her mood was lifting, and its along with it, drawn inexorably out of despair into silly, pointless, utterly foolish little games that no-one but the twoone of them would ever know about. There was a certain, unfamiliar delight there, in being foolish for the sake of it.
Riley, Ri~iley, Ri-
It stopped as a new name floated through their mind - no, not new, something that contained Riley but was much greater than that simple series of syllables. It pondered that name for a long moment, examining every aspect of it, drinking it in.
Aen'ryllis, it said, finally, leaning in to press affection into her mind, a kiss like the ones she had always given it and it had never quite seemed able to return.
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 4:48 pm
Every worry, every problem seemed miles away. All they did was lie there, embedded in each others conscious, whispering each others names like children. This was the world Riley wanted to live in. These were the moments she wanted to fight for. They were worth a thousand deaths, and more. She giggled when it elongated the word, filling her with a giddy lightness. It was sweet, and it was gentle, and it all came crashing down the moment she heard it speak her true name.
The sound of her name threatened to trigger so many emotions. Her mind pulsed, as the memories of the past loomed just on the edge of her consciousness, but something much stronger kept them at bay. Malodore's voice, its blessed mental touch, speaking her true name.. she had never felt so overwhelmed. Her body arched as a sharp breath was sucked in, and it held there, frozen in surprise at the touch of its affection against her limbic system. No one had the ability to stimulate the nucleus accumbens except.. except..
And she floated, her eyes fluttering helplessly closed as it kissed her, truly kissed her, the way only an Illithid can kiss. The rush of air left her as she shivered, helpless to the plague doctor's affections. Again. Her unfamiliar voice whispered. Again. Please.
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 5:21 pm
It could tell something of the impact the name had on her, though it could not understand the implications; did not see the memories just beyond the edge. It was blissfully unaware. Ti amo, Aen'ryllis, it repeated, then 'kissed' her once more - may as well repeat both things, since it made her so happy, so helpless in the best possible way. Helpless in the way that meant you got up stronger.
As it was, too, it realized.
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 9:06 pm
For the second time that night, Riley's eyes filled with tears, and she squeezed them shut as the emotion filled her heart to bursting. She buried her face into it's neck, and clutched it desperately against her. Malodore had even managed to chase away the shadows of pain associated with that name - merely by saying it. And then it kissed her again, and she didn't realize she'd let a soft moan escape until she thought about it a minute later, and snickered in embarrassment.
And when, exactly, were you going to tell me you'd learned that little trick? She teased, as one hand left it's clutch for just a moment to brush the tears out of her eyes. The fingers soon returned to intertwine with the claws she felt grasped around her, sliding into a perfect fit in Malodore's hand.
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 9:14 pm
Eri il mio insegnante, it replied, its amusement rolling through their shared mind. Truthfully, it just hadn't ever tried; before it had been so overwhelmed by the sensation of their intimacy that it hadn't even thought to make the attempt. Dubito che potevo, senza di te mi lascia in.
It was suddenly aware of outward tactile feedback; it drifted 'upwards' a bit, enough to make its claws respond, grip tightening warmly around her fingers.
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