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Post by Willow on Jul 22, 2010 23:53:22 GMT -6
Danalli wasn’t the only one thinking back on events earlier that morning, when she’d almost been killed. Those daggers… they had been so close, /too/ close to sinking so deeply into her soft, vulnerable flesh. If it hadn’t been for her reflexes, her senses as a Delavis, and Ciel, she would be dead.That thought made his stomach turn to stone.
“Yes,” he said softly, and his voice was low, rumbling, dark, and just on the edge of dangerous. The red that was fading from his violet eyes flashed again. “Yes, Danalli, someone almost died. Actually, two people almost died today. Between an assassin and myself, Asina nearly died three times in two hours. That’s a record for her. And you. You nearly died today as well, Danalli.” He sucked in a breath as a violent flash of rage lanced through him. He would kill the fool who’d dared throw a dagger at his love. Had caused the small cut that even now he could see on her cheek. He’d bandaged it up, of course, but that was an even bigger statement as to what had happened.
But no, he couldn’t even kill him. Ciel had gotten to him first. At least that way he could trust that he’d died in an extraordinarily delicious agony.
“Danalli, you are aware that I gave my Kekenc Seal to Asina, right?” he said then, his voice cool and even. Of course she knew. An idiot would be able to know that. “Well, she revoked it, that was how I was able to attack her. Twice. Were I used to swallowing my demonic nature when enraged by her this wouldn’t have been such a problem, but I’m not. I have never had to worry about it. She’d had my Seal for over a thousand years.” Another low, dark growl rumbled out from deep inside of him. It was a very dark, predatory sound. Obviously, he was still angry about it.
“But she was right.”
He shook his head and looked directly at her then, crimson and violet eyes locking with her own gaze. “She gave it up so that I would be able to give it to you, Danalli, and that is exactly what I intend to do. She was right, and had I known that she was able to actually revoke a Seal…” He shook his head. He didn’t know what he would have done. What did you do when you had two people you wanted to protect from yourself?
You protect the one who couldn’t protect themselves from you at all.
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Post by libellule on Jul 23, 2010 0:32:12 GMT -6
“You seem to forget how stupid you really can be Asina,” he seethed. The rust had turned to a burnt orange as he ascended into his volatile state. Why would she put herself in such a monstrous situation? She must just be absolutely oblivious to her surroundings when she’s like this… Weak, completely powerless, and absolutely out of his control. He sat on her bed and crossed his arms over his chest. “At least you realized not to tell him before. Ask for forgiveness not permission eh? I don’t think he could’ve stopped you anyway… When you lock yourself in that room there is no turning back.”
His sharp eyes snapped to her as she spoke of this… vision. A low growl pressed through him. “Let me guess,” his voice was venomous, “We have absolutely know idea when it will happen. And we need to scour the world for a man with white hair and grey eyes... Just so long as Danalli has your… ‘re-gifted’ seal we should be able to press on without contact. Wonderful. This day just keeps getting better and better.”
“You’re so lucky, Asina. You’re so damn lucky that that pony and that wicked leech are so precious to you.” His voice was almost a yell as he rose and his eyes grew wicked rouge. “I would have torn him in half.”
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Post by libellule on Jul 23, 2010 0:56:50 GMT -6
The demon was winning and she could see it.
She could see it bare its teeth at her through his reddening eyes and she could see it roar against him as he breathed sharply. She bit her lip as she watched him struggle as he spoke to her and spoke about Asina almost dying and herself being so dangerously close. There was no doubt in his mind that his demon had already taken over, had already pushed the boundaries in that library of his against the person he loved the most.
“And yet,” she spoke to him in such a soft tone, taking his hands, palm up, in hers. Before he went on she inspected them thoroughly, even each finger. She twisted them with a furrowed brow and a confused face as she look back up to him. “I see no blood on your hands and aside from the red in your eyes you seem to have the rest of him at bay. Almost is very different from entirely. Whether you agree or not I could honestly care less. But I am here, alive, and according to you… You, love, were more than strong enough to ignore it when it came to Asina.”
Then he pressed on to the Seal. She’d heard so many stories of that wretched thing. The main one being from a thousand years ago. The fabled story that had torn this kingdom apart. She winced at such a betrayal. But she muted her mind when she heard him, her chocolate eyes wide. “She… revoked a Kekenc Seal?” Her face was frantic. “But she… she’s helpless now. How could she do such a thing? How could she give it back?!” Danalli was almost angered as a spark ran through her vision. You did not give something like that back. Never.
‘But she was right…’
The angry ran away fast at the tone of his voice as her almost morbid eyes look up to his as those violet hues danced in fire.
‘She gave it up… So that I would be able to give it to you, Danalli.’ She blinked back the tears as she took a step back from him. ‘and that is /exactly/ what I intend to do.’
“No,” she whispered, whipping her hand down as she spoke in a broken trembling tone. “Give it back. I will not cause this kingdom conflict. Asina is more important. Without her we have nothing. I will not sit here protected and primped when she sits in the frontlines without a shield.” The tears that streamed down her face only magnified her loyalty. “I will not.”
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Post by Willow on Jul 23, 2010 0:57:07 GMT -6
“And what would you have had me do, Ciel?!” she snapped at him, whirling about to face him as he rose with the level of his voice. “Yes, they’re precious to me and yes, there was a fuck load of risk in what I did but was there really anything else I could have done!?” Her own temper was flaring up again and yet again she found herself struggling to restrain it instead of unleash it completely on the Zephyr before her. After all, the last Zephyr whose buttons she’d pushed (which really had been unavoidable) had nearly killed her.
“Tell me right now if there was something else, something more effective, that I could have done! If you can think of something than go ahead and fucking kill me now because if you don’t then Zanen probably will sooner or later anyway.” Her voice was a low snarl as she turned away from him and crossed to the balcony, stepping outside and gripping the railing so tightly that her knuckles were white as she sucked in a breath and tried to swallow her temper. What was that thing that Della told her to do? Count to ten?
Like fuck that would work, but it was worth a try.
“As for what we’re going to do about the vision,” she said, calmer now as she turned around and walked back into the room, her arms crossed under her breasts, “right now absolutely nothing. I would need to try to re-conjure the vision, try to look into the future to see who he is and what he has to do with Zanen, and why Danalli was there. I can’t do that until I get my power back and since it would involve going back in that room and putting myself like this again it would probably be better if we wait until Zanen isn’t two steps from ripping my throat out.”
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Post by Willow on Jul 23, 2010 1:28:36 GMT -6
For his part, Zanen didn’t know whether to laugh or scream at the woman that he loved dearly enough to agree with Asina giving up the Kekenc Seal that had been protecting her for a thousand years.
“Trust me,” he growled, “Asina is hardly helpless.” He shook his head and closed his hands into tight fists, glaring down at them as he thought back to the way her neck had been so slender, so fragile in his grasp. It would have been terribly easy to snap it, to wring it so tightly that not only would she have eventually suffocated, but her neck would have just crumbled from the sheer force. No, he corrected himself, Danalli was partially right. When Asina tapped into that power she’d given up so long ago in exchange for the sanity needed to rule her people, she /was/ helpless.
Then she went on, and she refused him.
A low roar escaped him and whether it originated in his throat, his chest, his belly, or the shadows that seemed to just encase him was impossible to tell. “Don’t do this, Danalli,” he growled warningly, his eyes sinking into red again as he struggled to keep himself completely still, fought himself on standing up and looming over her. “Asina gave it up because you are the one who needs protecting,” he said, and his voice was darker, deeper. “She still has me as her shield, of course, and Ciel too. But I am your shield first now. From the world. From myself.”
Deep, crimson eyes locked with warm brown and he held that gaze.
“You want to know the only reason I didn’t kill Asina in the library, Danalli?” he growled. “Because she brought up you. You, Danalli. You. Who are my biggest weakness. I don’t have many of them, but you are definitely the biggest. Do you know why?” His voice was low and seething as he pushed off the post and glared down at her, the full eight of that demonic gaze resting on her. “Because you, darling, /are/ helpless. Truly helpless.” He took a deep, shuddering breath and forced himself to step back, forced himself to cross his arms tightly over his chest.
“We have ignored it for too long, but if anyone managed to find out about us, you would be the quickest and easiest way to get to me, and thus to Asina. Protecting you is vital.” He forced himself to breathe through the rage, breathe through everything. “Do you understand, Danalli?”
He managed to flash her a grin. “Or do you want to be the one to tell Asina that you aren’t going to let me give you my Seal?”
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Post by libellule on Jul 23, 2010 1:29:21 GMT -6
His jaw was clenched so tightly he thought he heard a snap as she challenged him. A vibrating sound hummed between his teeth as he breathed in deeply. He’d forgotten how good it felt to breath. To suck in air until it made you feel high from the over amount of oxygen. It felt so cool against his fiery soul. It calmed him and his lightning eyes were a prime example. He was coaching himself as she stormed away. He tried to blur out whatever she was saying as it was just her way of getting her annoyances out. He smirked thinking of it as a temper tantrum. Oh she’d just love that one.
Why did she have to have such a luscious temper on her? His now liquid golden eyes caught sight of her as she ran off. A canine glimmered in the last of the sun’s rays as he smirked. He stood, figuring he’d be here for a while. The latch of his scabbard clicked and a very large ‘thud’ echoed off the walls as he let his large dark sword hit the ground.
He walked behind her and placed his large hands on the sides of her arms, resting his chin on the top of her mess of hair. He moved his hands so that they crossed and held her tightly to him.
“I’m so glad, Priestess,” his voice was strange, tight, and barely making a sound, “I thought I almost lost you.”
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Post by libellule on Jul 23, 2010 1:54:55 GMT -6
The pressure… The darkness… The racing… It was too much. The way he towered over her. The way his glare cut her soul and his words made her heart race. It made her want to rip that taunting patronizing look off of his face.
’Move you stubborn thing. I will not see your end before mine. You cannot even begin to attempt what you’re thinking!’ It was a wicked snarl that made her step back. She could almost see his red eyes scolding her.
“No,” she challenged it with a possessed smile. The darkness in her voice alerted the power that was beginning to surge. “I’d rather stay, demon.” She closed her eyes and shuddered as she felt a deafening roar of anger tear through her soul, an anchor ripping deeply into her heart, pulling her from Zanen, trying. She bit down on her lip as she ignored it.
She didn’t even realize the cuts her nails were making until she felt the drops drip down her fingers. She didn’t release her fists. “Yes please, Oracle. Tell me how pathetic I am,” she snapped viciously, glaring right back, “Scare me into believing you. Douse your pity all over me.” A feat so unnatural for her. She could hear it take her, feel it speak for her. That crackle. That delicious zap tear through her. How could he say such things? How could he caress her and show his love for her when he said such wicked things.
‘I’ll kill him.’
Her defense mechanism... Her breath staggered as the crackling increased. Let him tower. Let him taunt. Let him cut her with his dark words and his unnatural gaze.
“I am not helpless,” she whispered.
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Post by Willow on Jul 23, 2010 1:57:41 GMT -6
She had turned to look out the window and her mouth was actually open again to continue to rant, to continue to go on about something or other that had to do with power, or Zanen, or the end of the world. Something that ended up being completely inconsequential as he stepped up behind her and wrapped her in his arms. Her eyes closed at the feeling of him completely encasing her, his arms holding her against his chest, his chin resting lightly on her head.
There was a feeling of completion, of energy, of peace at the contact.
Perhaps humans and shifters and fey thought that demons could not, did not love because all they saw was the fire, the aggression, the need, the obsession, the possession, and the fury. All they saw was all of the dark stuff that they were afraid of, and since they were afraid of it they just refused to understand it. But demon love was potent, it was toxic, and it was powerful. It was why they craved that contact, that need to show their possession.
And when he touched her he soothed that itch that constantly burned every inch of her skin whenever she was around him but had to refrain from staking her claim and showing the world that he was /hers/.
And he calmed her. Just her. Her temper still sizzled, ready to be ignited again, but she was a demon queen so if it hadn’t been there then something would have been grievously wrong, but for now it was contained. He could contain it, and that was something to take pride in.
Asina took in a deep breath, taking in his scent along with the oxygen that filled her lungs, and she gave a small smile.
“You can’t get rid of me that easily, Ciel,” she murmured softly to him, turning in his arms and looking up at him, dark eyes searching his golden ones. “You won’t hear this ever again, so treasure it,” she grumbled then, “but I’m sorry. It was never my intention to put you in the place that I did on several occasions today. But I’m glad you were there. Here. I’m glad you are here.” And she hated, absolutely /hated/ when he was gone.
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Post by libellule on Jul 23, 2010 2:17:46 GMT -6
His chuckle filled the room as he held her, felt her. He swallowed her whole as he committed every line to his in his memory. She filled his holes and he was more than certain he filled a few larges ones of hers.
Yes, Ciel would love to kill just about anything at anytime for almost anything. He loved the smell of fresh blood on his hands, in his hair, on his tongue. He craved it and lusted for it. It was an addiction that was never going away, a hunger that never died. He was more than a killer, more than a monster, he was an abomination that would never stop.
Unless…
Unless he was here and within the radius of her wondrous presence. His fiery priestess. She lowered his flames and sedated his hunger. She hushed those voices that waged war against his sanity. Those small childish cries. He took in a deep and shaky breath before he buried those golden eyes deep away into the locked room he left it in. Never to be seen. Never.
She had turned in his arms as he leaned back and took in the beauty of his woman. She was no queen to him, no high witch, no powerful demon. Her status never mattered to him in the slightest and as she confessed her feelings he smirked mischievously. She was perfect.
“I’m sorry… I could’ve sworn you just said something… Could you repeat that?”
He was joking, of course.
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Post by Willow on Jul 23, 2010 2:22:07 GMT -6
The fire in her posture, in her voice, and in the strange electricity that rose off of her, the viciousness in her eyes as she glared up at him. It all slapped right through him, made the demon pause and made the man open his eyes. Made Zanen breathe. He watched her carefully, he smelled her blood, and he thought for a moment. He felt his lips twitch, curve into a demonic smirk as he rolled his eyes over her. His face was still hidden underneath the swaths of dark fabric that shielded it from view. Which was an inconvenience right now because he felt like using his mouth for other things.
One hand rose and pulled away the troublesome cloth as he let out a hot breath, tasting the air and her specific flavor on it.
Oh, she enticed him. More than she seemed to know, and this wilder side of her most definitely piqued his interest. It made him hunger and it made him think at the same time.
“No,” he said softly as the red faded from his eyes. “No, you are not helpless. Foolish, maybe, but then so am I because we are both in the same situation now aren’t we?” He gave a sigh and took a step toward her, his gaze softening for a moment while he looked down at her and took her all in. “I love you, Danalli. Let me protect you.”
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Post by libellule on Jul 23, 2010 2:48:23 GMT -6
And then… She could breathe again. So she did and ignored the pain she felt in her chest. Ignored the tearing agony she knew her mind was making up from the loss. It had pulled her back so hard. Harder than she’d ever felt before. Danalli could only think that her mind had decided Zanen was a threat to her well being even though her heart was completely devoted to him.
Somewhere in their bout Danalli knew. She knew that as he loomed over her, he would have never touched her. She didn’t bank on it, but she knew. Even though those eyes held so much anger and rage she was never afraid. She was enthralled to challenge him.
The hot stinging zing of that energy had left a numb cool buzz on her skin. Hm. It felt so good, until… the stinging pain came with it as she looked down at her palms. Ten tiny dark red-crusted crescents stared back at her. She dropped them and looked at him. With blood on her hands and dried tears on her cheeks, her looked at him with a broken gaze. He’d hurt her, so deeply.
‘I love you, Danalli. Let me protect you.’
She stepped back defensively and put out her arm stiffly, a finger raised as if to hold him in place. She wanted him to see the damage and to remember it. Her lip trembled as she felt them come back through her large eyes, those wretched tears. She had no control. “Do…” her voice cracked as she closed her eyes before opening them again, “Do not ever do that again.” She breathed as her entire body began to shake as if she was too cold to warm herself. “Do not,” she struggled again, “Don’t you ever turn against me again, Shadow.”
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Post by Willow on Jul 23, 2010 2:48:52 GMT -6
Asina scowled up at him when he spoke, a hand pulling back to slap him lightly on the chest. “Asshole,” she grumbled affectionately with a snarl before sighing and pulling her hand back, studying her fingernails for a moment. She wasn’t good with the whole… /feelings/ thing. She was a warrior priestess, a demon who was more than a demon, and in centuries more than a thousand years, almost two thousand years, she had never felt for anyone what she felt for Ciel. Yeah, she was still trying to figure out how to articulate it or even if she /should/ articulate it.
For now though, she would leave it at what she’d just said. Dark eyes bore up into his and her hands both rested on his chest, sliding up to run up the sides up his neck to cup his face and bring it down. Then she was touching his lips to hers. More than touching. Pressing, consuming, devouring. She was drinking down the touch of his mouth and feeding him her hunger at once. It was a kiss that had been delayed way too long and when it broke she made a small, irritated sound.
“Do you have any idea how much it pisses me off that I can’t do that in front of every idiotic, gaping chit to show them all that you are mine?” Her voice was a growl that reflected that aggravation and her hands even dropped away from him as she thought about it.
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Post by Willow on Jul 23, 2010 2:56:14 GMT -6
There she was, trembling and shaking, her eyes tearing up and her hands covered in her own blood. One moment she was raw fury and the next the woman was broken and hurt. By him. By his demonic nature, something that was as a part of him as was the part of him that was the Rave she loved so much.
He wouldn’t show it, but that hurt him, and it was a rough slap back to reality as he was forcefully reminded that Danalli was not like him, was not like Asina. She was not a demon.
He took a deep breath, shoved the red to the corners of his irises and sighed, gulping down the air and hoping that it would be a balm to the burning in his own gut, in his chest. Never in his life had he ever regretted what he was. Never had he hated being a demon, a monster, a creature of blood and pain and war.
Until right then in that moment.
“Then please, Danalli. Please let me give you my Seal. That is the only guarantee I can give you.”
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Post by libellule on Jul 23, 2010 3:09:45 GMT -6
“Well,” he growled in amusement as she unleashed a bit of fury on him. “Tell me more. Perhaps I should push your limits a bit more. Maybe if I wink at them you’ll scratch me up. Then I just wouldn’t be able to help myself from claiming you.” He spoke to her in such a husky, sexy tone that was about as dark as her room. He could only hope he would get the response he was hoping for.
Her hands on his chest made the heat rise just a bit. He ran a tongue over his sharp teeth. She was craving things just as much as he was. It looked as though he might be able to continue what his mind had wandered to before he was so rudely interrupted this morning.
“Mm,” he chuckled, running a finger up her arm, the light red mark from his nail was apparent, “I’d love to see anymore try and win you over. I’d love for you to watch me tear him to pieces…”
His statement ended in a hiss.
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Post by libellule on Jul 23, 2010 3:27:36 GMT -6
She turned her gaze to the horizon, watching the last of her rays falling below her vision. Those golden rays kissed her skin that glimmered faintly before all she saw were the pinks and oranges left from the sun’s hard day. They trailed across the sky and as she looked up she saw it. Like it had always promised it was there. Always there. The moon. She covered her lips as she shook her head. She stared at it and it held her, captivated her and instilled something in her.
And then she realized.
It didn’t matter about the fights, the quarrels, or even the pain. It didn’t matter if he would have struck her, or if she would have left him. Because they couldn’t. The moon was obliged to follow the sun and the sun was obliged to release it from its post every morning. They stuck it out, no matter the circumstances. And Danalli loved Zanen more than the moon loved his sun. More than she could ever imagine.
A sad laugh fell from her lips as she rubbed away the anger and the sadness from her face. She rubbed her palms in the dirt to cover the cuts. That way he couldn’t look at them. He had made so many sacrifices for her. It was true. Sometimes she was dangerously weak and as much as she felt a burden the love in his eyes told her that it did not matter.
They would make it work and Asina was never mistaken.
So she walked to him and grabbed his hand, pulling the glove off by the fingers so she would not poke herself on his blades. She dropped it and pulled his palm to cradle her cheek as she held his wrist with both of her hands. She closed her eyes against his almost frightened pulse. She did not want this to destroy them. She did not want to lose the one thing that made her happy.
“So seal me, love,” she murmured.
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