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Post by libellule on Jul 20, 2010 3:03:49 GMT -6
He was content to see her frigid form move. It was about time. He was almost certain a part of her did that to get him all wound up. How dare she… That wicked gorgeous little thing. The rouge tint in his eyes blossomed to liquid hazy gold of high as he remembered. It was so hard to keep her out of his mind, her body… His priestess, the luscious, temptress she was with her ways. And the emotions she threw at him only made it worse. He loved the way he riled her up. He hoped she throw much more at him later. Maybe they’d run off somewhere… dark and dangerous.
It was a funny thing. Their… love. They never had time to spend time together, but they seemed to always know when they needed each other. When they need to feel the other and taste the other. Even if it was only to walk together down a desolate path rank with rampant diseased creatures to sharpen their own skills. Ciel hadn’t watched her snakelike movements in such a long time. He hadn’t seen her fight in a very long time. Her own duties kept them apart and his… excursions even moreso. He chuckled at her irritation. “My my,” his husky voice was sure to make some impact as he poked fun at her, easing her thoughts, “I never thought you to be the clingy type, Priestess.”
Well she was all fired up he couldn’t have her settle. Oh no. Not his precious gem. “Zanen and his little horsegirl eh?” He snickered as he closed his eyes and threw his arms behind his head and tilted the chair back on two legs. “I suppose we’re supposed to become the best of friends eh? …Is she really as important as he claims?” He was not impressed by this silver-haired demon horse charming Dellavis although she did intrigue him. Her body was as mortal as a pathetic human’s which made her an easy target and a weak one. But… there was something. Something was simmering under her skin and it wasn’t just the Rave essence. No. It was something locked, something deep. It couldn’t break the surface even though it was more than powerful to… He could only hope it would if she was in danger or it would mean game over for only of them. He was no fool.
That silly thing had him like nothing he’d ever seen before. Ciel wanted to call him soft and weak, but he simply couldn’t. If anything, this shifter had made him stronger and more stable. And Ciel was more than aware as he felt the pulse of his power grow. Was it because his kindred had found something to live for beside war? Whether he understood it or not, Ciel was willing to bet Zanen had found something in her and that it was worth every soldier’s heart on the bloody battlefield they stood on.
He opened one eye and stole a glance at her. “I’m sorry I was gone so long. Your kingdom is good for me, not just the palace. I can’t sit around all day and train soldiers. I can’t play bodyguard when you are more than capable of protecting yourself. /Except/ when you are being foolish.” He snorted, obviously referring to today. Though he was scolding her, he was more than certain she would understand it as his concern.
“I am sure they’re around the corner…”
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Post by libellule on Jul 20, 2010 4:36:40 GMT -6
There was an unmistakable magic in the way he could look at her. Those eyes didn’t have to shower hers with anything. They didn’t have to be soft or loving. They held her in such a way for such a short time that it didn’t matter what they pretended to say. She could only smile faintly as she looked off, her chocolate eyes golden and hazy in the sunlight’s glistening hold on her. She did her best to hide her affection and knew that she was decent at it. He could read it her but really… how many of him were really in the world? She could only count one. Her thought made her laugh out loud. He must have been deep in his thoughts. Psh… when wasn’t he? She enjoyed their walks and their jokes. Although she loved her colts and her silly young horses that had so much work ahead of them, she could never pass up breakfast with Zanen AND Asina. Getting to be escorted by him made it all the better.
There was a faint sound that made her smile grow. Someone had already rounded a group together. Her feet twitched as her arms swayed as the music caressed her with a divine nurturing touch. She breathed a sigh and moved with it for a just a few seconds before she relaxed. She couldn’t resist a good tune. A frown wove its way to her soft features as she looked to the back of his frame. She was sure he would have wanted to dance. She smirked. Perhaps she’d dance with him tonight to make him feel better.
She was happy he was enjoying her comments and her guarded questions. They were sparking the little fire she wanted to turn into an inferno by the time this day was through. She wanted to wake up with the heat still on her skin before the sun even touched them. The way he worked was nothing short of godly. She knew her comments and heated confessions only fueled his ego and she was more than ok with his hazy molten responses.
‘…lest they be one of the unlucky few to able to discover what it is I can come up with when I have the time to please myself.’
Well… thanks for the warning. Stupid…apathetic demon…jerk.
Please let me be an ‘unlucky few’ tonight…
A tremor shivered up her core. It started in her toes and shot to her throat in a hot bursting flash. She coughed. Ok she tried to cough. It didn’t entirely sound exactly like one… He was enjoying this a little more than she thought he was. But damn did he have to be so unfair. Did he have to say it like that? Did he have to taunt her in broad daylight? Did he know what he did to her? Ugh! Of course he did! ‘We all know the grasp you’ve got all over me, love,’ she thought darkly, ‘It’s not like you have to flaunt it.’ But of course he had to. He loved to. As she regained her composure she once again attempted to speak. “You demons and your nonsense. You know… a little Light won’t hurt your Shadowed world every now and then. Besides… I hear it helps your eyesight.” She’d caught his little glance at her and it captivated her. Even now, even as they were doing their best to protect each other, they couldn’t keep their eyes off of one another. They could barely keep their hands off of each other in the dormant hallways on the way to their rooms. She reframed from sighing wistfully again.
Danalli whirled past him in a twirl to the far away music, giggling as she went. She couldn’t help it. Music was an addictive drug. Besides, she knew the way now. The tavern was on the corner and Della had already waved to her. She could see his mock eye roll along with his mock annoyance in the non-to-distant future and it only put her in a better mood. Man, this morning was such a high for her already.
“The Priestess is a wonderful friend. She’s made me feel so at home.” She liked walking in front of him. She stuck her nose up in the air before she rubbed it and snickered. It made her feel all-powerful. It must be how he felt some time… ok /all/ of the time. But she couldn’t keep that front going on… As if. “It looks as though you may have to put up with me a bit more often then usual. I hear I’m her new favorite… The whole staff is just humming with rumors about me lately… Demon horse tamer this… Demon priestess tamer that… Now I know how you feel.” She’d have to run that comment by Asina. Danalli would get a good laugh out of her.
She had reached Della and greeted her with a smile. “Aw Della! It’s been a little while.”
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Post by Willow on Jul 20, 2010 19:27:55 GMT -6
Dark eyes sharpened and narrowed into an irritated glare as she looked over at him when he poked fun at her. Those eyes skimmed over him, from his face drawn up in that arrogant smirk she found so alluring all the way down the well-muscled body she knew was hidden under his clothing and the padding of his leather armor. Mm. Yes, and she knew that he was very capable in using that body of his. Asina had had many lovers of many species. She was a creature with needs, naturally, and she had no problem sating those needs whenever she wanted to. But Ciel was different. He was more than a sparring partner and bedmate, though he performed wonderfully as both. No, her and Ciel fit together in a way that was different than just that. And the playful teasing was easing her temper, tucking it safely away along with the brief episode of madness that had been drudged up out of the abyss because of her current state of weakness. It eased her to the point that she allowed him one, pleased little smile. That smile turned into a wicked smirk as her foot shot out lightning-quick and she kicked the chair out from under him, the way he was leaning back on it providing the perfect opening.
As he and the chair clattered to the floor, she leaned over him and sighed, shaking her head. “Ah, and what a pathetic bodyguard you are, to be defeated by a chair. Ciel, what am I ever going to do with you?”
“As for Danalli. Yes, she is.”
A small laugh slipped past her lips that was both dark and clear as she slid off her own chair and crouched beside him, her forearms balanced across her knees as she tilted her head and watched him. “And you know that I have no problem with you going off when you do other than I envy that you can run off and I cannot. The palace is suffocating and irritating. There are too many people bowing and pleading with all those idiotic ‘Yes, Lady’s and ‘Of course, Priestess’s. Worse, there are all these walls.” Her lips curled back and she sneered the word out. Razor sharp eyes flitted back to him in a very direct glare, her humor gone in a wipe of emotion that she could do so eerily well.
“No, I don’t have a problem with your excursions, Ciel. But you are mine and the next time you vanish for three weeks without so much as sending word, I really will rip you limb from limb and leave you there to bleed.” She leaned in very close, one hand on the floor beside his head as her lips grazed his ear, “Oh, and I’m not clingy, I’m possessive. There’s a difference.” Her position was low and predatory as she pulled back enough to lock eyes with him, her own gaze feral before she pushed smoothly to her feet.
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Post by libellule on Jul 21, 2010 6:15:45 GMT -6
The snarl that sliced through his calm features was almost as vicious, almost ferocious as the harsh and loud growl that erupted from his thick muscled throat. Being surprised was not something that went over well with him. Asina or foe… Fire could have seeped through his now dark vermillion enraged eyes, their pupils nearly obsolete. All of it was directed to her. She had better watch it. His patience was already growing thin from this morning. And when his patience was thin his demeanor did not stay calm for long. And that was saying a lot for his Zephyr bloodline.
Before she stood fully his hand was at the back of her neck and twisted in her hair before she could even take a breath. Her lips were mere millimeters from his even faster as he tore and pulled her back down to him by her shaggy locks. Let her fight that bliss. “Well then,” his voice was so quiet, so eerie and it was so full of malicious and enraged annoyance, “I’ll let you flatten your kingdom next time you’re so lost in your thoughts you can’t tell me from your ghosts, witch. See if I lend a hand. See if I care…” The voice was so wicked and cold it was bound to make any skin crawl. He’s apathetic eyes could only further his statement. She played a dangerous game this vixen of his and his pride was /not/ a game to be played. She’d lose quite quickly and he would be too proud to care. He wondered if she had thought this through yet. Sometimes he wondered if she remembered the things he’d done, for the benefit of both kingdoms. Sometimes he wondered if she remembered how many times he’d killed for anyone. Anyone… He was no one’s then and certainly no one’s now. Asina was simply lucky he found her kingdom so welcoming and /her/ so satisfying and mystifying to his ever hungry desires. In the end Ciel was a monster and was bent purely on survival. Asina’s kin and people offered that and she… oh she offered so much more.
He eventually released her before he stood, towering over her as he did and stood the chair up as well. “So you’re telling me I’ll have to deal with her. Hn. Wonderful.” He hoped she wasn’t annoying. Then he’d really have a problem on his hands with Zanen /and/ Asina. The red in his eyes hadn’t fully receded. Good. He didn’t want Danalli to think he would simply crumble at the sight of her ‘cute brown eyes’ or her ‘matching heartbeat.’ He snorted, almost disgusted.
“What you do and what you don’t do is choice made up by yourself, not by those around you. You have the choice to be called what you want to be called. The choice to travel where you want to travel. Don’t let your mental walls hold you in the physical ones.”
“I don’t see the difference,” he spat out at her, his tone wrapped in such sweet venom. He would nod and close his eyes to roll them. They both knew she’d never attempt it and they both knew he’d run out again. “Two,” he corrected her with a snarl. All she needed to know was his claim over her, that his ‘territory’ was not to be touched, and that he was solely hers. He knew she recited that to herself daily.
Just as he did.
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Post by Willow on Jul 21, 2010 16:48:41 GMT -6
Demons, any demons, be they of the wild and uncontrollable Rampant breeds or the calm and social Kindles, were extremely prideful. Ciel was a Zephyr and his pride was as thick as his blood and as potent as it as well, but Asina was both demon and other, and her pride was just as deep if not deeper than his own. Being in her weakened state made her testy and defensive by default, and the only thing she was running off of was pure pride and a healthy dose of arrogance. So when his hand shot out and clenched in the short shag of hair that messily topped her head, pulling her back down and so treacherously close to that mouth of his that had given her both so much pain and so much pleasure, she responded with an enraged and ferocious snarl, dark eyes narrow and focused on him, her entire body tense and ready for battle. His spitting words did not so much phase her as the threat in his posture and his tone, as the grip he had in her hair.
Because, no matter what, Ciel was a predator. He was an extraordinarily powerful demon and at her full strength if he ever decided to go against her the battle would be long and it would be hard. In the end, she knew that she would win, but he would not go down easy. If he would, then he wouldn’t be worth her time and they wouldn’t be in the kind of relationship they currently had. And right now, Asina wasn’t at her full strength. She wasn’t even at half of it. She was vulnerable and weak and if he wanted to he could probably kill her right then and there. And that animal defensiveness, that survival instinct was pulsing through her body at a fast and potent rate. It was both exhilarating and terrifying, but Asina didn’t feel the terror that any other creature would have. She felt an offense to her pride and her power, even if it was a power that was gone to her at that moment. She felt arousal and a challenge. She felt a prick at her pride and an explosive fury and rage that boiled up from the blackness she had in place of what humans insisted should have been a soul. But no terror.
Only prey felt terror, and Asina may be weakened, but she was never prey.
Then he released her and she rose to her feet with an expression of distaste, one that shifted to a moment of humor as she rolled her eyes. “Yes, you’ll have to deal with her,” she said. “We all know you aren’t a people person, Ciel, but even if she wasn’t important in the way that she is she’d still be important in her relations with Zanen and myself. While you obviously have no problem making me snarl, we both know that you’d put up with her to avoid a confrontation with Zanen.”
Yes, Zanen. Both he and Ciel were Zephyr demons, the highest class of demon, and both were purebloods. They were probably the last of their kind, as all others vanished a long time ago. Of the two of them, though, Zanen was older, stronger, wiser. His power stretched farther than any Zephyr in history had ever commanded and he was the closest to matching Asina directly in power. If anyone were to go against Asina and stand a chance at winning other than her true enemy Lilani, it would be Zanen.
No matter your pride or how powerful you were, you did not go against Zanen.
“Which is why you aren’t involved in the politics of running my kingdom unless those politics involve someone needing to be killed,” she hissed back at him, but contained the rest of her anger simply to snort at him. “Were I to go wherever I want, whenever I want, for however long I want, I wouldn’t be a ruler I would be a figurehead. Were I to insist against formality to those who need to be subservient to me I would undermine my own authority. I don’t like it, but both my constant presence and the titles are necessary. It wasn’t always like that and one day it will be different again, but for now it will remain so that I can rule my people.” Her lips were curled back into a snarl at an invisible enemy as she thought of Lilani again. And how she could kill her. Soon. Now. Kill. Her blood dripping from her hands, so hot and sweet as she screamed and begged for mercy, playing on their familial ties.
But Asina did not believe in mercy, not for her enemies.
Her eyes snapped back to Ciel and she pulled herself back into the now with effort. “Oh? And do you have such a problem with it?” she hissed, knowing very well that he was as possessive of her as she was of him. She was /his/. They both knew it, just as they both knew that as much as he snarled and ran off, escaping the suffocating walls to relish in the isolation that bred comfort into his veins, he was hers. Because of their positions in this war, they hid their relationship, they were nothing more than good friends and he her guard and assassin, one of her most prized warriors and she his Priestess. Because of this war, she was trapped behind walls and he needed to be within them as well if he wanted to be near her. Neither of them liked it but both dealt with it anyway.
Asina did not like not being able to touch him whenever she wanted. Demons were possessive, dominating creatures by nature with the impulse to show their claim to those they covet, to those they care about to the utmost degree on a personal level. They touched, they showed ownership, and it went against both of their natures to keep their distance, leaving an ever-present itch between them that screamed to be scratched but that they were force to ignore.
They had to ignore it. It was best for everyone.
Right now. But one day…. One day that would change.
Outside, Zanen was still walking with Danalli just a short distance away from the tavern that their Priestess so often frequented. He let her take over the lead and was content to just watch her body, enjoying the simple way her strong legs carried her just a few steps ahead of him. She always moved as if her body was being caressed by a tune that only her body could hear and respond to. It was a wonder to watch, and he did so freely.
Then there was a real tune that wafted over them. It was fast and energetic and made the Oracle’s pulse speed up just a little bit with the urge to drop his mask and join in with those who had gathered to dance. Over the years since the Raves had vanished it had become easier and easier to block it out, that compulsion to join in with the movement and the music, the original form of expression and the way he could tap into the power and the energy of the world. Yes, over the decades that passed, the centuries, it had become easier to melt into the shadowed mask that he’d made himself. It had become easier to hide in the person he’d created around his core that other people saw. So easy. He’d been able to hide even from himself so that the tunes of all those dancers out there could not touch him. He’d blocked out the music and he’d blocked out the Dance.
Then he’d met Danalli, and the struggle had bloomed as bright and vivid as the first day he’d had to pretend that the music never touched him. Without his training and the power of himself that he commanded, he would have not been able to make it these months without blowing his cover as the cool, apathetic terror he’d been making himself out to be for the past thousand years.
Yet it was still all fairly tolerable. Thanks to her.
He watched her sway and drum her feet lightly to the beat of the tune and in his mind he stepped up with her, took one hand and rested the other on her hip as he twirled her into him, then lifted her, moving with the beat of the tune. He’d call out for a brighter, faster tune. He’d call out for percussion, and they’d give it to him because when a Rave requested music you listened. The power of their Dance made it impossible to resist.
“My eyesight is fine,” he commented blandly as they continued to walk, sharp violet eyes flickering from her slender, energetic form to the tavern as they closed in. “It happens to be even better in the dark.”
As she continued to speak, he listened with humor while he pretended to hardly be paying any attention at all as he scanned the area for threats. Naturally, there were none. Ironically enough, it was the marketplace of the demon Priestess that was often safer than the one of her so-called golden sister. Because the creatures who would kill you for no reason other than the taste of your blood often had a high sense of self-preservation. Danalli’s connection to the Priestess was fairly popular gossip and the shifters and demons (yes, even demons loved to gossip) that were Asina’s people knew better than to mess with someone who was rumored to be a friend and favorite of their ruler. Because Asina was powerful and she was personal, and when it came down to it, she was a good ruler that her people respected and even loved. Her people were her priority, and they knew that.
“I suppose I will,” he drawled with a sigh as they came even with Delia and the two women greeted each other.
“Hi there, Danalli!” the tall and slender Avian said with a smile and a small wiggle of her fingers. “Asina is right inside but…” her face turned into a slight frown as she looked behind her at the door of the tavern. “She’s different today. She doesn’t quite seem herself.” A cool breeze touched them and she shivered, the feathers in her hair ruffling as she thought back to the strange way that her friend and Priestess had been acting. It was like she wasn’t there, like her mind had been somewhere else. It had been terrifying. “If Ciel hadn’t showed up and calmed her down I’m not sure what I would have done,” she said with a solemn shake of her head before looking up at Danalli with a pointed look. “So you be careful, alright Danalli? We both love Asina but I’ve never seen her like that before.”
The moment Delia commented on Asina being off, Zanen had snapped to attention, his demeanor going icy. It didn’t improve when she mentioned that Ciel had showed up and calmed her. Yes, all demons, especially Zephyrs, were extraordinarily territorial. Two Zephyrs did not share the same territory easily, but Asina gave them no choice other than to do just that.
Violet eyes shifted to Danalli for a moment before he looked at Delia hard enough to make her shuffle quickly to the side before he opened the tavern door and pushed his way inside.
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Post by libellule on Jul 21, 2010 19:19:45 GMT -6
Hn. His red tinted golden eyes snapped instantly to the doorway. He could smell him and with much restraint, bit back his growl. ‘Great,’ was all his mind muttered. He senses her in jeopardy and comes to help, which he was certain he did, and look who comes rushing in through that damn doorway. As if he needed anything else to annoy him today. That damn horsegirl better watch her step… It seemed as though his was trapped, sucked in and tricked, into having breakfast with them. ‘Wonderful’ he mused darkly. Yes he was hungry, but this meeting was already making him feel uncomfortable. The pride was too big for the homely tavern. It would’ve blown the roof right off if they weren’t holding it back. Poor Della.
He imagined the look on her face if one of them tripped the mines they’d set for each other. No one would be able to stop the cataclysmic even t that would ensue. Lover against an older brother. No one would be able to prevent it… No one, not even Asina could stop it… His pride would not let him back down from the challenge his mind had woven how could it.
Pride was all a demon lived off of in the wild. It was their status and it fueled their power. It made their bloodlust so much more satisfying and validating. Ciel was no exception. But pride made you blind if you fully relied on it. It made you stupid. It made you weak and he did not do well with that word. It did not sit long in his vocabulary. Hearing her speak about Zanen made him curl his lip slightly. “Let’s get one this straight before we move on from this point, Asina,” his stone cold voice was very direct and he hoped all of her was listening, “I could care less about that mortal thing standing right outside with her taming eyes and /loving/ smile. No pathetic horsegirl will ever stop me from doing /anything/ I please. If I wanted to do away with her I would have. You are the only thing that stands between me and him. And because we care so much for you there never will be a confrontation. That is why I will never do anything to hurt anything you care for. Don’t ever forget that.”
He had never spoken so emotionally about his adoration for her, his love for her. It was so strange and he didn’t like it. And although he spoke ill of her new close friend he was making a very strong point. Yes he’d probably hit a nerve but that was what he was banking on. Her irritation was bound to make her realize what he was confessing to her.
He looked back at her as she went on about being a ruler and being a figurehead for her people. Nothing he said would make her change her mind, but still he couldn’t help it. A demon needed freedom, needed a place where it could fully embrace what it was, and take what was given to them. Asina needed that freedom he could see it so clearly from the stress in her eyes and the annoyance in her beautiful snarl. “ I am very good at what I do….” He chuckled darkly at his comment and continued, “The only thing that would undermine your authority would be if you were assassinated. Which will never happen. I’m sure Zanen is more than capable to watch your kingdom for a day or two. It seems like you would need it.”
“I haven’t left for good have I?” There was a twinkle of something in his dark eyes. He loved to push her so close to the edge to watch her eyes swirl with loathe and rage that only fueled him and made him eager to dive over the edge with her as she tore and snapped at each other until their were to bloody and broken to fight and had just enough strength to let their lust take over. Oh he’d have his fantasy soon.
But now he pushed his desires to the back of his mind as Zanen came into view… His horsegirl, Danalli right behind him within his shadowed embrace. His eyes flickered to her for a few seconds to take her in and memorize her. They didn’t stay there long. He didn’t want to mistake her for someone else. Ever. Her silver hair made him raise a brow before he left her figure. That was something…Hn. Ciel was more certain he’d aggravated him enough he didn’t want to enrage him. His ghostly eyes had already put him on alert. This was not the place for a bicker.
He didn’t really feel the need to introduce himself nor to raise a greeting to his kindred. Asina would take care of that herself.
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Post by libellule on Jul 21, 2010 20:26:26 GMT -6
He was off in his own little word…Ugh… no matter. Oh she had such an urge to jump in the middle of that pile of bodies and sway with them. Lose herself to that tune that moved like Zanen almost did. Left her mind weave its way into that beat and dance with her inhuman capabilities. To combine every soul in that group and to braid it with every dancer that they’d charmed. To show them all what a rave of Light was capable of. She almost hated plans. They were always so set in stone. Be here at this time and do this. She’d never fair well as a political leader. She wasn’t quite sure how Zanen did it. Well… she knew how he did it, but it wasn’t so much a political thing. She shuddered softly.
Danalli had accepted the things he did. She had accepted him for the killer he was. And she wasn’t sure how she’d managed to so easily. Perhaps it was because he’d been so upfront with her from the very start. She knew what he was, she’d always known, but it didn’t change that his actions in her mind were something they would never agree on. Danalli always saw second chances in every creature that had ever done wrong, but that second was all they got. However, Zanen worked in a very precise way and she knew better than to ever get in the middle of that. She couldn’t change who he was, she could only love him for what he was. He made amends where he could and kept that life away from her. She was more than satisfied with that. One of these day she knew she’d have to face the real demon she was absolutely devoted to and she knew that it would be a simple confrontation because that demon loved her just as much and she was not afraid. Which helped…
“Huh… who would’ve thought that.” She knew how well his eyesight was in the dark. That one night when they played hide and seek… Oy she was so awful at it. Her giggles made him find her quicker than his shadows did. “Cheaters,’ she had squealed as he tackled her. I mean c’mon… they were playing hide and seek in the dark. She didn’t even have a chance when she’d agreed.
Della was such a nurturing woman and so motherly. Danalli loved being around her she put her at ease. Her skittish face ran a tense trigger throughout Danalli’s body as she tried to finish their short-lived conversation. Her senses opened to the tavern. This Ciel… Gods… He was so powerful it was making her uneasy and how far away she was from him only made her even more apprehensive. She remember seeing him before from afar as he walked back and forth from his visits to the forests and other unsafe regions. He was so to himself and threw up unseen voids around him to kept unwanted and unwelcome attention away from his being. ‘No doubt so he wouldn’t be tempted to kill them.’ Asina was the only one who he let in so close. Zanen was the only other one he put them down for, no doubt because of Asina.
“I’m sure it is just stress, Della. I hear this Ciel is very close to her, perhaps he’s helped her out in some way. Your tavern hasn’t been destroyed quite yet.” She offered a warm smile and then jokingly. “I will Della. Don’t worry I can take her.” She almost laughed at the shock on the Avian’s face. It was quite obvious she was joking; she’d forgotten how gullible Avian’s could be.
She froze though at the look in Zanen’s eyes to hers before his wordless stare made Della move so efficiently. Well… apparently this was a big deal. She bit her lip as the negative energy within stroked her aura. She sucked in a deep breath as she coaxed herself to follow Zanen. She could almost feel the power of the protective wall he seemed to throw up as he stood, unmoving, in front of her.
And then she saw him.
Ciel was nothing short of magnificent. The rumors were true. She’d seen him before… but not like this. Not this close. There was no was doubt about what he was and there was even less about what he was capable of doing. And there was a reason why he and Asina were so perfectly matched. She put her foot down on the shiver that was begging to be released. She would not let it. He was unbelievable and so dangerous. His build was nothing short of towering and when he stood next to Asina it even magnified it. She could see how he and Zanen came from the same kin because like Zanen, Ciel was same. It looked as though gods had sculpted him, perfected him, and chiseled him. The only thing that validated his demonic heritage was the crazy look he had in his eyes when they wafted over to her. The red that hung around the edges of the golden color only made her hidden relinquished shiver worse. And his held back amused smirk alerted her that he knew that very very well. If it wasn’t for those swirling eyes she would have been fine, but they were so powerful, captivating, and unbelievably evil. She forced herself to look at Asina before she was hypnotized into going insane. His gaze had broken past Zanen’s walls a feature she was undoubtedly sure Ciel was more than proud of. Hn. Well see about that.
She swallowed slowly and broke out into a relaxed smile, ignoring the discomfort Ciel had brought her. She couldn’t let it spoil her day. Not this day. She remembered her morning and the smile became more realistic to the Danalli smile. She ducked under Zanen and crossed the threshold boldly. She may have been afraid of Ciel, but she was certain Asina would not bring her into a warzone without a warning.
“Asina,” she chirped with a worried look in her warm eyes, “Are you alright?” She enclosed one of the Priestess’ hands with both of her and brought it to her cheek with a concerned smile.
Ciel had to admit, anyone who was willing to walk across one of the most powerful demons without the guidance of the other one had guts. She was slowly outliving his annoyance.
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Post by Willow on Jul 21, 2010 21:03:23 GMT -6
Asina was ready to feel snappy and snarly at whatever response he came back with, at whatever he was bound to say. Damn him. He was just glowing with the thrill of pissing her off. If anything, he seemed to be getting an even bigger kick out of it since she was so low on power and strength that even if she tried she wouldn’t be able to so much as get him to the ground. That shot with the chair had been luck and surprise, and after that there was no way his guard would be down enough for another one. Just as she has expected, his words were further fuel to the fire of her agitation.
At his threat to Danalli, she growled, her posture tensing as she readied herself to put him in his place, to make sure that he knew that if he ever so much as laid a finger on her he would not be walking away, at least not easily. No one threatens those she cared about. It was a short list, the one with actual names on it, and while he was on it as well she wouldn’t allow even someone else on that list to harm someone on it. Danalli especially would be a very deep and scorching mark to his record. After all, not only would he have her after his hide, there was Zanen, who they were talking about in the first place. Weren’t they?
That made her pause, think about it, even as she snarled, a threat of a retort already poised on her lips before it hit her that he’d just professed something to her that he’d never said out loud.
It was enough to make her swallow the retort and just nod, her dark eyes still smoldering.
But she didn’t say anything more on it. What else was there to be said? He wasn’t going to do anything to Danalli, they both knew that, and now she was just made very clear on the reason. That reason sat with her a bit uncomfortably. It was strange, unusual, and the acknowledgement was just… uncomfortable. Asina was good with blood and blades. She was good with wants and needs and she was very good at ruling her people and protecting those she cared about, those she loved. What she was not good at was being on someone else’s list, being on the receiving end of those emotions that she wasn’t even sure that she was comfortable having herself. They made a person feel too vulnerable, and that was unsettling.
Which was why neither of them would comment or complain when she left the subject like that and instead focused on the rest of what Ciel was saying after that one, solitary nod of understanding.
“Yes, you are,” she said with a roll of her eyes at his comment that he was very good at what he did. At what he said then, she looked up at him speculatively, thin, dark brows rising at his words. “Perhaps,” she said, then her expression turned dark and wicked. “Maybe you could convince me later on?” she growled darkly, lethal propositions in her voice as it dropped a few levels, her gaze sharp and predatory.
”I haven’t left for good have I?”
For the first time since she’d last seen him, she reached out and touched his face, making sure that he was looking down at her as she grinned. The contact felt too good. He was like a fucking drug, and just the touch was feeding a fix she’d been craving for much too long. Demons were physical creatures. They were casual touchers, especially with those they claimed as their own. To go so long without touching him, it pissed her off. Well, she’d show him that later. “Damn right,” she hissed at him with an amiable venom that she was oddly good at concocting.
Then she dropped her hand as Ciel’s attention shifted and Zanen prowled into the room.
He did not look pleased.
Asina rose a brow but refrained from saying anything until after the two Zephyrs finished facing off enough that it wouldn’t be lethal for her to so much as speak.
The moment Zanen had come in, he’d spotted the proximity between Ciel and Asina. It was close, very close, and while logic told him that that was a natural thing given who and what they were, he didn’t have to like it. Were it not for Asina, he already would have done something about it. Zephyrs did not do well sharing mutual territory, and it was only because Asina was the particular mutual territory that they dealt with it at all. Still, it was a very tremulous line to be walking across, especially over a bottomless pit.
Violet eyes narrowed at Ciel’s inspection of Danalli, and he took a step closer to her, his glare potent as he flashed his teeth at Ciel in sneer of a grin that was anything but friendly. Asina may be unwillingly shared territory, but Danalli was his. /His/.
And Ciel was not the only one able to read the suppressed fear in the Delavis woman. It was spice to his already potent irritation. Irritation that was bordering on instinctual rage. No one had the right to scare his Danalli. No one had the ride to make her freeze like prey before a hungry wolf who was content to play with his food before he ate it, which was very much like the silence between Ciel and Danalli right now, and it was very much pissing him off, pushing him toward the demonic edge of no return that those of his kind walked so precariously against.
The amusement he could read in Ciel was just making it burn harsher in his throat.
Then Danalli, his brave and beautiful Danalli, crossed past the other Zephyr and went directly to Asina. Of course, that meant that Danalli was /way/ too close to Ciel for comfort, so Zanen also entered the room and made his way to the table as well, subtly nudging so that Danalli would eventually take the seat across from the one Asina was standing next to and he would be across from Ciel, making Danalli the farthest from the other Zephyr demon.
Meanwhile, Asina was laughing softly at Danalli and shaking her head, reaching up and lightly patting the other woman on the top of the head, stroking a hand down her hair. “Psh, don’t be silly, I’m perfectly fine,” she said gently to Danalli with a wink.
“Asina, why are you out and about without even your armor on you?” Zanen hissed. “And like this?! Are you stupid, Asina? You worked another ward last night, didn’t you?” His violet stare could have made a warrior wilt but she bore it with a sharp slice of a glare.
“I’ve already been reprimanded by Ciel, thank you Zanen. And no, I didn’t work another ward last night, I redid all the wards last week there would be no reason to do another one. I was doing something else,” she retorted quickly before flashing a grin back at Danalli. “Breakfast? Della’s Morning Cakes are absolutely delicious,” she said with a wink as she sat down in her chair and flagged Della over with a wiggle of her fingers and a pleasant smile. Afterward, she turned to Danalli again. “Ah, forgive me, Danalli, this is Ciel.”
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Post by libellule on Jul 21, 2010 22:14:52 GMT -6
Danalli had never noticed just how protective of her Zanen truly was. For a minute she was more than certain he was going to take Ciel’s head off. The outright rage brushed against her and almost fueled her. Zanen sure was something. The way his body protected her. He was more than alarmed as she noticed he saw how Ciel was toying with her. He would not have that thing lay an eye on her for long. Her protective Shadow… She was not afraid anymore with him next to her. That did not mean she would taunt this dangerous creature across from her. She was alone often and she could not chance it. She would not be a burden more than she was with her… weak state already. Being next to three of the most powerful beings in all of the land was more than intimidating even though they meant her no harm. She eyed Ciel. She hoped. She blew a strand of silver out of her face. Why was she born so weak? Well… she was insanely fast no matter the form she took, but still… One wrong step and… slip and she was… She shuddered and scratched the back of her head as if to get rid of the thought of her falling into the wrong hands. She hated it. She hated having to watch her back. What if she made a mistake? What if someone guessed her façade? What if she caused Zanen harm? What if… Her heartbeat rose quickly before she calmed it down within the same minute. It didn’t matter she could almost feel his eyes shift to her. ‘Stupid. Why couldn’t I be bestowed with amazing fighting skills…?’ She looked at Ciel, ‘And epic scary eyes,’ then to Asina, ‘And charming effective spells that could kill in a second…’ Zanen’s bout with Ciel was lost to her once he discreetly had her sit farthest away from him. She could, however, almost feel his pride shower her as she literally stood next to Ciel, focused on Asina. She was more than certain it was a feat not many survived from, the fear being much too great. It made her feel better, like she’d earned her breakfast when her group of demons by braving death practically in the face, not that Zanen was about to let that happen. His small bicker with Asina also blew past her in a fuzzy haze as she continued her thoughts. It wasn’t until after Asina addressed her had she come back down from her cloudy mind. “Er… Yes! Whatever you’re having” Her bright smile reached her eyes as she shifted her eyes bravely to the demon’s. Her glance had more of a firm hold, the fear had receded as she accepted his aura in such proximity to hers and Zanen’s. “Pleasure.” Her voice was surprising and amazingly steady, her pride and bravery a wickedly strong foundation.
Well… That was exciting. A ghost of a chuckle whispered past his throat as he sat across from Zanen. ‘I guess that means she’s off limits,’ his mind laughed. He supposed Zanen had a right to be a little tweaked. He had just pushed her around with his ‘little’ mind game. But really… He needed something to cheer him up. And she was more than fine, not a even a hair on her mental wall. He wanted to tell Asina, ‘See?!’ Told you so. ‘Over protective prick,’ he thought hilariously. It was quite obvious he wasn’t going to do anything harm something he wasn’t interested in. He would have already when Zanen was focused on Asina. His wicked eyes flashed in an amused delicious way. Not that Zanen would have guessed what he thought. Oh no… But that was Ciel, sadistic and amused by the darkest things imaginable.
His heard her heartbeat increase tremendously but he was certain if he looked in her direction one more time the demon so close to Zanen’s surface would allow them both destroy this tavern. Besides Zanen seemed to have quite a hold on things. Let him fret over his own property he loved to so boldly claim before Ciel’s very eyes. ‘Yes yes, Oracle. I got it.’
He leaned back in his char, arms behind his head and all four chair legs on the ground. He smirked at Asina. “Not this time.” Oh that would be a good inside joke for a while. ‘Ah, forgive me, Danalli, this is Ciel.’
Well… now he just /had/ to look at her. Zanen couldn’t kill him now. He had to look at her or it would be considered rude and he just wanted to play with fire. And as he looked at them his gaze was almost quizzical. Wasn’t she frozen solid just a minute ago? ‘Well aren’t you full of surprises.’ “Yes indeed.” It was void of emotion as his eyes reset to their full golden color. Didn’t want lover over there to get the wrong idea. How he hated having to play ‘cautious.’ He almost glared at Asina for putting him in this situation.
Atleast the pony wasn't pissing him off anymore with her fidgeting and fear.
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Post by Willow on Jul 21, 2010 23:10:42 GMT -6
Asina looked between the two Zephyrs for a moment before looking over at Della with a sweet smile. “Some of your Morning Cakes for each of us, Della.” The Avian bobbed her head before hurrying off to prepare them. She never had a problem with Asina and Danalli, no of course not, but whenever the Zephyrs came around it always put her on edge. When it was either Zanen or Ciel she was pretty good about it. Neither of them had been anything but kind or apathetic toward her, but still…. With the two of them here together it couldn’t do anything but make her feathers ruffle. They were predators, and no matter which way you looked at it, her species of Avian was small fruit-eating bird about as ferocious as a sparrow. While she was very well aware and fairly confident that neither of them would harm her, especially her being in such good graces with Asina, she couldn’t help but feel unnerved. It was pure survival instinct. So with a quick nod, she shuffled off to the kitchen to prepare the cakes for Asina, Danalli, and the two Zephyrs.
Meanwhile, Zanen and Asina were dealing with each other and the other Zephyr at the table in their own ways. One’s mood seemed to have lifted tremendously since earlier, and the other’s had plummeted.
For one thing, Zanen did not appreciate Asina giving Ciel a reason to even look at Danalli again, especially since he knew that /because/ he had that excuse, Zanen couldn’t unleash the mounting fury that was building up inside of him. After all, Asina was one thing, but Danalli wouldn’t stand a chance against Ciel. That, and if anything did transpire between Asina and Ciel he would know right away and would be there with a thought. Danalli was different. Danalli was his. His to love, his to protect, and in order to do the latter of those he had to be extraordinarily careful.
He could hear her heartbeat increasing and fought the urge to reach over under the table and take her hand in his, to try and soothe her, just to touch her.
Then, because there really was no one else around and it was in his nature to follow that very impulse, he did. Discreetly, he slid his hand over under the shadow of the table, perhaps even tweaking them a little bit to fall darker over the two of them as he took her hand in his and gave it a little squeeze, not letting it go. It was just minor contact, very little when what he wanted to do was pull her in close and hold her to him while snarling at Ciel like a feral dog, his irritation mounting with every seed of sarcasm and amusement that dripped from the other’s golden eyes.
Of course, Asina had no problem sharing in that amusement, her own dark eyes glinting mischievously as she glanced over at Ciel, gaze shifting down to see that all four legs of his chair were planted firmly on the ground. “Oh, so you do learn,” she said with a grin and a small chuckle.
The ease of the interaction between the two when he was fuming across the table made Zanen want to kill one and shoot the other.
Sensing that, Asina looked back at him and gave him a very pointed look, her own expression sobered. “Zanen, let me put this in perspective for you for a moment, alright?” She waited until she had his full attention. “Ciel will not do anything to Danalli. He would have to go through both of us to do so even if he decided to” –she glanced over at him before back the Zephyr she was talking to- “but he won’t. She’s safe from him. I know you’re possessive, and protective. But you need to zip it up and swallow it because like it or not you’re going to have to deal with it. There will be times when all four of us are together in the same place, like right now. When that happens I don’t want to spend the entire time hoping you won’t snap and send the two of you hissing and spitting at each other.”
Zanen growled low in his throat, her words spiking the anger that was already too close to the surface.
“Zanen!” she snapped, her own anger swirling up to clash with his. But, unlike him, she did not have the power right now to actually combat it.
At the same time, the both of them stood up and he towered over her but she did not shrink back. “You need to pull yourself back from the edge, Zanen,” she hissed. “If I knew Ciel was going to show up I would have warned you because of just this reason! You need to simmer down!”
Violet eyes painted red as his hand shot out and was at her throat in half a heartbeat. He was riding the anger that fueled his demonic rage, what made him so lethal and such a perfect killer.
Both of them froze and as he realized what was going on, his eyes cleared with shock. Hurriedly, he pulled his hand away. “I should not have been able to do that.”
Outside, someone else was planning to do something they shouldn’t be able to do but thanks to the circumstances of Asina’s weakness this was their only chance. One shot, but that was all they needed.
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Post by libellule on Jul 21, 2010 23:55:45 GMT -6
Ciel was more than fine to allow Asina to take charge. She was the ruler of her own damn kingdom after all. And he did love to watch her work. However… even though he had faith in her he didn’t think it was the greatest of ideas to bring up the worst circumstance possible to work any leverage with that Zephyr demon. Ciel was not stupid. And he was almost awestruck by the adoration that seeped from Zanen as he made it known Danalli was far from dying. Ciel had honestly never seen him so emotional before. And they weren’t even fighting they were simply talking about something that had needed to be addressed.
‘…you need to simmer down.’
‘Asina… your weakness is making you stupid. You’re about to put me be in a bad situation with the brother you love so.’ And sure enough. The second that hand came out Ciel was on his feet and his canines were barred in vicious display of possessive concern. A hissing roar bellowed from his throat. He could not help it. How dare he cause her an ounce of conflict?! Brother or not Ciel vision was beginning to get hazy.
‘Shck’
CIel and Asina were too engrossed with each other he watched the air move as Danalli had thrown her back into a wall. He assumed she’d never seen Zanen so wound up so she got out of the way. Her breath was staggered and her frame was hunched though. And then…
Then he smelled blood.
“Danalli?!” His voice was husky, frantic, and for the first time he addressed her almost personally. This time he heard them. Those small blades sing through the air. Growling as he turned he stuck his arm out in front of her, catching every blade in his skin before whipping his arm down, the bloody daggers pulling from his skin by the force and sticking to the wooden floor. His growl grew thunderous as his eyes grew red, vibrant red. “You dare,” it was so quiet and so murderous. His eyes watched the entrance and listened for the breath he knew they were holding.
- His gloved hand felt so good in hers. It soothed her thoughts, hushed her stress. She could almost feel the intense conversation their eyes seemed to yelled at each other. She wondered why thay didn’t just get along I mean…. Weren’t they supposed to? They were of the same kind. She sighed, giving up.
The banter between Ciel and Asina was adorable to say the least. She knew Zanen hated it but he had to see Asina’s smile. He had to see the way she looked at him. Danalli understood. Ciel and Asina they were meant to be and she knew Zanen would have the hardest time with that forever and even after that.
Zanen was already pissed. Asina telling him about how Ciel wasn’t going to kill her made her heart skip and she was sure it made Zanen even more angry. She’d seen him get annoyed and she’d seen him angry. But… this was different. Something had taken over him. She couldn’t help but watch, completely blown away. Ciel’s response was nothing short of expected.
She noticed her heartbeat was racing and when she blinked she felt it… Him. He was outside, poised. She gasped loudly and ripped herself from the chair as a dagger hit the wall right behind where she once was. She wasn’t fast enough and she felt the blade slice through her skin as it passed her, her body hitting the wall. She hunched over, her hand cradling her cheek.
“A…assassin,” she mouthed, shaken from the shock, “Outside.”
Those daggers were coming again….
‘Danalli?!’
Ciel had acted so fast. He had been the first to notice.
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Post by Willow on Jul 22, 2010 0:55:27 GMT -6
There was a whirr of confusion. There was growling and fury and shock being thrown around. One moment Zanen’s hand was around her throat and then Ciel was standing next to her and the fury was mounting, her own included. Zanen had attacked her and if it hadn’t been for the shock of actually being able to do such a thing he probably could have seriously hurt or even killed her because of her current state. All of it was just bad circumstances. The reason she’d wanted to meet with Danalli and Zanen this morning was to tell the both of them about this. There was no way she’d have be able to tell Zanen beforehand, he would have pitched a fit and wouldn’t have left her alone long enough for her to be able to go through with it. If she didn’t tell him until after it was over then he’d have no choice than to sputter about it for a while then gradually accept it as the best option. Of course, that was before Ciel showed up and stepped on his temper just by being here. Already riled, she couldn’t afford for him to get worse and tried to get him to calm down and there he was trying to strangle her.
She could still feel his fingers around her throat. It wasn’t a pleasant memory and it took a little effort not to lift her hand to her throat and rub it. Luckily, she managed to contain herself. Asina had a feeling that the action would have made the whole thing worse. Still, that didn’t stop her heart from beating a little faster as her instinct to survive kicked in. Her teeth were bared in a growl of her own and her hand was on the knife at her hip as she snarled up at him, her whole body tense because she knew that right then if he were to attack her again she would lose.
Not a happy thought.
Then everything shifted and changed. There was a sound and Danalli had thrown herself back against the wall. Then another sound and Ciel’s arm shot forward across the table as he called out Danalli’s name.
Then she realized everything that was going on. Like the small dagger sticking out of the wall and the several more that Ciel had just shaken off and were now implanted in the floor. In an instant, her knife was out and she was across the table beside Danalli, her hands on her arms. “Danalli, honey look at me. Take a deep breath and stay low.”
Dark eyes shifted over to Zanen, who had pushed away the incident that had just happened in order to focus on the one going on right now. There had been a lot of thoughts that went through his head the moment that his hand had settled so comfortably around Asina’s throat, but right now there were more pressing things to worry about. Like Danalli and the blood he could smell sliding down her cheek. Blood. Fresh blood. Her blood. It put him on full alert and he swung around just as Asina darted like lightning to Danalli’s side. Red-streaked violet eyes landed on Ciel and there was an unspoken communication that passed between them. Because the both knew that right now both Asina and Danalli were not capable of surviving an assassination attempt. Danalli even less and Asina who was weak and nearly powerless because of whatever she had done last night.
When he saw Ciel take the daggers for Danalli, the other man had risen in his regards, that was for certain. But right now he wasn’t thinking about that, he was in battle mode, his gaze dark and his sleek, razor-sharp throwing discs in his hands as he moved up beside the other Zephyr and glared out through the door.
Then there was a smell, and both Zanen and Asina noticed it at the same time. They looked at each other.
“Firestarter,” Asina hissed. “Shit, looks like he wants to speed things up a bit.” A low growl roared from her throat. “Zanen, take Danalli. Go! Now!” He looked back at her, into dark eyes that should have been a dangerous golden with power, then looked at Ciel once before grabbing Danalli and hauling her toward the back door using his own body as her shield, trusting the other Zephyr to make sure that Asina got out alive.
Luckily, at that moment, Della was coming out to see what the commotion was. “Della! FLY!” The Avian did not hesitate and did not question her and a moment later a small bird zipped out through an open window.
Once she was gone, Asina looked at Ciel. “Get him, Ciel. He does not survive this foolish venture.” Her voice was slick and dangerous as she crouched low, her back now against the wall beside the front door, a knife in one hand and a tray in the other to be used as a shield. The air was thick with the toxic gas firestarters could produce at a short distance to ignite fires and eventually cause explosions. They usually only used it as a last resort because it meant they would be caught in the blast radius due to the proximity they needed to keep in order to make sure the blast went off correctly. The walls were already beginning to burn, the back of the tavern in flames and thick, black smoke coating the ceiling.
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Post by libellule on Jul 22, 2010 2:42:34 GMT -6
The shock wore off as she sat stunned, watching helplessly as those daggers came straight for her. She could only watch as they were all aimed for every vulnerable part of her body. And then…
‘Danalli?!’
His clothed arm shot out in front of her. And she watched every single blade sink deep into his flesh. He had barely blinked. He’d whipped them off as if they were flies on his skin. “I…You… He…” she tried to stuttered something of a thanks out but her lips trembled. And then Asina was at her side. She brought her back down… Once again. Danalli only nodded. She could feel the vibration of the match as he struck it. Taste the flames as they were ignited. “He’s gonna blow this whole place to the cloud…” After everything that had just happened. After she watched Zanen almost kill his sister… And Ciel almost kill Zanen. She could only look at her hands, they were trembling and she could’ve sworn she saw a spark, a bolt of energy clatter angrily. She closed her eyes as she felt her form blur and forget what shape it had taken originally. There was a faint hum that buzzed in her head… Like a siren. She felt it so close to the surface… Then she saw his face. The ghost of her past.
‘…take Danalli. Go! Now!’
A shuffling brought her back and his arms about her solidified her soul once again. Zanen was there. She was so dazed and confused she had to remember what had just happened. “Zanen,” she squeaked, remembering her rave lover, all of the air had left her. Her eyes were burning and her hands were shaking. The sun was on her face and it beckoned her to snap out of her dazed and confused reverie. It failed.
“Don’t,” she spoke, pained. Her eyes were closed and her soul was somewhere else, somewhere in the past. “Please…” she whimpered in his arms as the same memory came back to her from so many months ago. “Don’t you leave me. You can’t die. You can’t… I cannot do this alone.”
’You’re so stubborn, Morningstar. I’ll have to do this the hard way…’ And then took her and pulled her onto one of their horses as he turned for the demon horde that was behind him. And they galloped away.
Danalli was lost in her mind, in Zanen’s arms, when she started to thrash in his grip, when she tried to get to him, to get away from the ones holding her down. “Ghatreg! Why?! You can’t beat them alone. You CAN’T! Don’t you do this!”
’Stay away from him, Morningstar. It was a snarl she’d never heard from him before. It was so protective
This catastrophic event from this assassin had set the timer off balance. A pulse of energy set her skin on fire. It was enough kick for her to open her eyes… Away from the darkness and into the light once again. Her chocolate eyes were void of herself as she looked almost hypnotized as they locked with Zanen’s, who was becoming fuzzier and fuzzier.
“Stay… away… from who?” Her skin cooled, her energy hiding once again, and her eyes closed as she fainted.
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The smell infiltrated his senses as he sneered, his back completely rigid and poised. This assassin was no expert. He must not have been hired by Lilani. If you had a target you kill them, personally. Then you know they’re gone for certain. Blowing things up was not very efficient.
He watched them leave from the side of his vision. He almost felt bad for Zanen, being torn from his right. But he’d chosen to protect two things at once and one of those things Ciel could protect. Hn. It was better that horsegirl got out she wouldn’t stand a chance.
He eyed her knife and tray with a snarl. “I don’t fucking think so,” he snapped darkly. He knew she was a crazy little thing, but now she was being absolutely stupid. He snatched one of her wrists and tugged her behind him as one of the support beams collapsed right where she was crouched.
He could sense him, poised and crouched on the other side of the wall. “Enjoy the show,” he stated darkly to her.
Like a ghost, he whipped around corner and dodged a dagger the mask assassin threw at him. “Hn. Here I thought they’d send atleast a pureblood.” His molten red eyes soaked fear into the warrior as he tasted the icy cold emotion that seep over his already died enemy. He noticed he was in the middle of the street, herding his prey like a sheep, and he had plenty of witnesses. Good.
His chuckle was dark, sadistic, and oh, so, amused. His hand was faster than a lightning bolt as it was wrapped around the enemy’s neck. Ciel threw him to the ground with such force he heard the spine crack. He threw a punch into a knee and an elbow. Each pummel had a scream and shriek that matched it. He aimed his fist for his face and stopped as he looked to the tavern and then the crowd of horrified.
With his grip tight on the almost unconscious assassin he pulled him to the burning tavern as he ducked in to grab his precious Priestess. He pulled her out safely and tucked her behind him as he raised the assassin high, his hand at his neck again.
“Listen well,” he thundered with his wicked, possessed voice that had morphed to become two-toned from the anger and the rage. He could visibly see the shudders from the crowd. “Let this be a lesson to you wretched pieces of scum. I will kill you /all/ personally if you some much as lay a finger to pluck one hair from your Priestess. Let it be known that there are two of us that will be happy to relieve you from your lives if you so much as attempt it.” His growl was vicious and dominant as his eyes boil with hot crimson rage.
With that he tossed the assassin into the burning tavern and locked the door behind him. A sinister smile spread across his features as the screaming began.
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Post by Willow on Jul 22, 2010 3:10:44 GMT -6
They were outside, far enough from the tavern that all they could see was the billowing black clouds of smoke rising off of it, and for the moment very safe from anything that could happen. Well, he thought so anyway as he settled them down against a tree and looked at the trembling woman in his arms for the first time since he dragged her from the flaming tavern. Her eyes were closed and she looked so distressed, so terribly distressed. It worried him, putting a thick and heavy stone in the pit of his stomach. Her lips moved and his name was uttered from them, and then there was something different in the tone of her voice, in the way she looked so scared, so worried. They had just gone through a stressful ordeal, but the words she was speaking, pleading, did not befit the situation.
“Danalli, darling,” he crooned softly, pulling her against him and cradling her in his arms, one hand lifting to pull away his the cloth that swathed his face and hid it from the world. “I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered to her, one hand caressing her face. “I’m not going to die, I’m right here.” Die? What was she talking about. They got out of there fine, he wasn’t hurt at all, had never even been in any danger. She was the one who’d gotten her, she the one who could have died.
He brushed a thumb over the lightly bleeding cut on her cheek, smearing the blood.
Then she continued to speak, and it became evident that she was not here, not in the now. “Ghatreg?” he murmured softly and frowned. He recalled the name. Zanen never forgot a name. She had mentioned the man once or twice before, when speaking of the few memories she’d retained from her past. He must have been a Rave, though she’d never said so distinctly, because it was from he that she’d learned what she knew of Dancing. Where she’d learned to Fire Shoot, and about various other Rave rituals, of their religion and their powers. Of their Art.
But there was something else that was strange about her. There was this huge, ethereal power buzzing under her skin that was so hot in a terrifyingly metaphysical way. He frowned, but he didn’t know where it was coming from or what it could be.
Then it shifted, it faded, was swallowed under her skin again as she opened her eyes and looked up at him for just a moment, muttering something about staying away from someone, and then she fainted.
Able to tell that she was fine other than being unconscious, Zanen sighed and shook his head, fixing the cloth over his face as he rose to his feet while cradling her in his arms as easily as if she weighed nothing. “Danalli, you astound me,” he grumbled to himself as he looked over his shoulder at the smoke and flames billowing off the tavern. Ciel and Asina would be fine, he told himself. They would know to meet him and Danalli back at the palace, and there they could figure out what had happened, both with Danalli, and between he and Asina.
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Post by Willow on Jul 22, 2010 3:29:03 GMT -6
Oh, if she had the power or the strength right now she would show him what she fucking thought about him sneering at her knife and her tray. So what? It was a knife and a tray. She was very lethal with a knife and a fucking tray. Her power wasn’t everything, she was also a very skilled warrior and even in a weakened state she would be able to defend herself well enough.
Bastard.
But there was no arguing with Ciel as he grabbed her wrist and dragged her behind him just as she was about to sidle easily out of the way of some harmlessly falling flaming debris. Oh, her lips curled back in a snarl and she was prepared to at least make a snarky comment at him, but then he was being all dark, evil, and extraordinarily sexy like he was so good at being and was heading out to soak his hands in the blood of her enemy. Had she not known that by going out she’d only get in his way, she would have marched after him and forced him to deal with her taking part in the kill.
However, she’d told him to take care of it for a reason. No, she would take cover just this once because there was no guarantee that she would get them. Her anger made her blind and her pride made her foolish, but at least this was one decision that she could make with a clear head. When it came down to it, Ciel would go out there and dispose of the assassin with a guaranteed victory while she would stay low because she’d been too pissed off this morning to remember to don her armor. With armor, oh, she would have been out there right away, she wouldn’t have bothered telling Ciel to handle it. But she was a ruler and the Priestess of her people. Their queen. No, Ciel could handle this.
There was also a part of her that knew he would enjoy it and she wanted to make up for throwing him in the middle of this mess with Danalli and Zanen. Yeah, it wasn’t her fault that he decided to show up after being missing for two weeks on just the worst possible day ever. She also could have warned him that it wasn’t a good time for him to be around when he first showed up.
So she watched with hungry, eager eyes as he went at the would-be assassin in the middle of the crowded street, gave a toothy Cheshire grin as she tasted the terror of the people in the streets as they watched him do it, and felt a stirring of pride as she also scented hunger and perverted delight from her people as well.
Then Ciel had ducked back inside and she was already standing, her knife still in her hand and the tray discarded as she went out with him, stepping behind him, content for the moment to watch as he shoved the semi-unconscious man into the flaming tavern and latched the door. And she grinned happily at the sound of his horrified screams of agony. It completely made up for her not even being able to do anything to him, to hear how much he was paying for his idiotic mistake.
“I take it back, what I said earlier about you being defeated by a chair. You’re pretty damn useful, Ciel,” she said softly to him, that perverse and twisted delight ranging in her dark eyes as she watched him. Asina never forgot who and what he was. He was a monster, a creature who deeply enjoyed the pain and the agony of others, especially those who crossed his path and made his life even semi-unpleasant. He was a creature who fed on pain and terror. He lived to fulfill his needs and he took what he wanted. He was a monster, and people would not be fools to fear him.
Yes. And he was hers. He was her creature, her monster.
That wickedness curve through her body and settled in her smirk as she looked up at him before taking a glance back to the palace. Then the look faded and became more solemn and serious. “Now I have to go talk to Zanen. You’re welcome to join me.” [/center]
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