Catch a Falling Star

MadEmperor · March 22, 2023, 03:28:04 PM

Gods, her eyes were beautiful.

Grav put the thought aside for the moment; they would have to figure out love beyond the platonic after they figured out the Tear. He smirked. "I kinda had a feeling."

Getting closer to the Tear, Grav felt a tingle in his crystals. It was as if the lizard part of him was somehow connected to it; perhaps it was even the source of their magical powers... and of his. Even her magic swelled a little in response to the powerful artifact.

He blinked. "Okay, even I can tell this thing has some serious mojo."

Meanwhile...

A figure sneaked up behind Ki.

DragonSong · March 22, 2023, 03:43:26 PM

Kiara nodded in agreement with his assessment. "This is...incredible," she murmured, pacing around it to try to get the full picture. "I've never felt anything like this..."

Kit was waiting just between the mouth of the tunnel and the start of the crystal bridge, occasionally pinging out queries down the line of connection between him and his humans--he'd figured out that his link with Kiara was too muddled to use so close to the crystal's interference, but the purely emotional bond he'd formed with Grav worked, and he could still link the two.

He was momentarily absorbed in trying to work through the minutia of that, so the first few footsteps didn't draw his attention. The fourth did though, and he snapped his head around toward the sound, teeth bared and hackles raised threateningly.

MadEmperor · March 22, 2023, 04:12:32 PM

Grav reached out to touch one of the orbiting pieces but drew back at the last moment. He didn't want to accidentally activate anything before they agreed on what to wish for.

"So... any ideas how we can both get what we want?"

Volke stepped forward, tossing a potion bottle up and down in one hand. He was wearing some kind of filtered mask over the lower half of his face. "Sleep." He threw the bottle at Kit's feet, where it shattered, spreading a sleep-inducing purple mist.

DragonSong · March 22, 2023, 04:38:46 PM

Kia! Grav! Volke's here! Volke...

Kit's head swayed and he lashed out almost drunkenly at the alchemist as unconsciousness tugged at his mind. He desperately sent the warning down the link, both links, in words and emotions, as strong as he could.

"I--" Kiara sighed and shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe, just..."

She gestured at him. "I mean... You should use it. We don't know that it's a one-wish-only kind of situation, and--and if it is, you should still use it."

MadEmperor · March 22, 2023, 05:05:45 PM

Grav frowned. "I don't like the idea of possibly sentencing you to either give up living in the mortal plane or die young."

He gave her a sad look. "Either way, I'll... I'll never see you again."

Unfortunately, he mistook the twinge of fear from Kit as part of his own conflicting emotions.

DragonSong · March 22, 2023, 05:15:37 PM

Kiara was similarly distracted, such a well of emotions swirling in her chest that she couldn't separate out the dragon's warning.

"That--I mean, that wouldn't...necessarily be true," she murmured, not quite able to meet his eyes. "If I...If I did join the Autumn Court, y'know, properly...I mean, I have the amulet, right? I could probably make you something like it. You...you could visit..."

It wouldn't be the same. Of course it wouldn't. But what else could they do?

MadEmperor · March 22, 2023, 06:02:01 PM

Grav could no more meet her eyes than she could his. "And Kit? Could he survive there? He'd be devastated if he couldn't go with you?"

"I mean--I'd love to be human again, I just--I don't want to make anyone else suffer for it." He sighed. "Least of all someone I care deeply about."

DragonSong · March 22, 2023, 06:13:24 PM

"Kit--Kit's going to outlive me by centuries anyway," Kiara snapped, suddenly, irrationally angry. "In fact, the only way our lifespans might match up is if I join the court. He can survive there for years at a time if he wants, we would make it work."

She hated it. She hated the thought of it, hated the idea of either seeing him rarely, or watching him grow eternally bored in a world that, while not hostile to dragons, wasn't exactly a perfect fit for them either. Even though the alternative was to leave him far, far too soon...

"What if this kills you?" she demanded, gesturing abruptly to Grav's whole form. "What if there's yet another hidden catch from Volke that we don't know about, and this is as much a death sentence for you as staying in the human world might be for me, hm? You're not the only one here who's not prepared to watch someone they care for suffer."

She swallowed, throat tight. "Kit and I...we can figure something out. If--if I join the court we'll have literal millennia to figure something out." She couldn't hide the distaste in her voice at the very idea, but she barreled on. "Damnit, Grav, if it's not this, my family will find some other way to get their claws in me. It's just a matter of time. Don't waste this on me!"

MadEmperor · March 22, 2023, 06:57:47 PM

"It's not a waste!" he responded defensively. "

Then he sighed deeply. "But otherwise, you're right. I know you are. I just... well, I absolutely hate that you're right. I'll do it."

He gave an awkward chuckle. "Gods, you're stubborn."

DragonSong · March 22, 2023, 07:07:06 PM

She smiled a little shakily. "Yeah. It's one of my better qualities."

The small, ruthless voice in the back of her head that had kept her alive since she was twelve told her she was being an idiot, that she was giving up her one sure-fire chance at avoiding the Autumn Court's hooks. It was easier to ignore than she would have thought.

She hesitated a moment, then reached out to take Grav's hand. "Just...gods, I can't believe I'm about to say this, but be careful what you wish for." She squeezed his fingers lightly, then let go. "Magic like this is always finicky."

MadEmperor · March 23, 2023, 06:57:04 AM

Grav breathed out and nodded. "Right. Gotta word it carefully or I'll end up as my literally old self or worse."

He gathered his words and reached for the--

A bullet pinging off the ground at his feet interrupted him. Instinctively, he jumped to the side, away from the Tear. Turning slowly, he cursed.

Volke stood in the entrance to the tunnel, aiming a strange-looking gun at them as he started walking towards them. "I suppose I should thank you for helping me get this far. But, I must ask that you back away from the Tear."

DragonSong · March 23, 2023, 06:59:51 AM

Kiara had her knife drawn in an instant, darting in front of Grav automatically. "Shit," she whispered.

Then her eyes widened. "Kit..." Raising her voice and narrowing her eyes, she demanded, "Where the fuck is my dragon?"

MadEmperor · March 23, 2023, 07:46:57 AM

"Oh, your beast is unharmed. He is simply sleeping." He seemed unconcerned with her threatening tone of voice. "Despite what you must think of me, I do not take life without reason."

"Yeah. You just destroy lives." Grav frowned accusingly.

Volke raised an eyebrow. "Destroy? Dear boy, are you not stronger, faster, and gifted with more magic than before? I would argue that I've ultimately given you a gift."

DragonSong · March 23, 2023, 07:57:20 AM

"Get fucked, you sick, psychotic son of a three-toed bitch," Kiara snarled, the sound nearly inhuman. "I don't know what someone like you could possibly want the Tear for, and honestly I don't need to know; you're not getting a step closer to the damn thing."

MadEmperor · March 23, 2023, 08:54:23 AM

Grav stepped up beside her, drawing Brightedge. "I couldn't agree more. I'd sooner destroy it than let the likes of you use it."

"So self-righteous," he chided. "What if I just want to get someone I lost back? Did you even consider that I may have noble intentions?"

DragonSong · March 23, 2023, 08:57:52 AM

"First of all, I don't believe your bullshit for a second," Kiara spat. "Second--no magic can bring someone back. Not really. Believe me, I've looked. So you can take your noble intentions and shove 'em."

As she spoke, she kept reaching out for Kit with the corner of her mind that--she hoped--was still connected to the communal link the dragon had established between the three of them. She felt the edges of his consciousness, which assured her that he was, in fact, alive, but she couldn't get anything specific.

MadEmperor · March 23, 2023, 09:38:59 AM

"No matter." Volke sighed. "What you believe is inconsequential. I can't let you stop me from achieving my goal."

He fired a second shot, striking Grav in the chest. The adventurer grabbed the spot and stumbled.

DragonSong · March 23, 2023, 09:48:13 AM

"Grav!" She moved to catch him, panic surging up in her chest. "Shit shit shit shit shit..."

She pressed a hand to the wound, trying to get a feel for how bad it was—he had scales now, but that shot had been at close range.

MadEmperor · March 23, 2023, 10:12:47 AM

Grav's own hand came away bloody. He stared at it disbelievingly; there was so much blood. "He--he actually sho--" He coughed, causing blood to trickle from the corner of his mouth.

Volke put the two-barreled pistol away, frowning. "Taking a life is never something I enjoy, but you left me no choice." He twisted the end of his gentleman's cane and pulled out a small sword. "Perhaps I'll save him when I get what I want, provided you don't interfere."

DragonSong · March 23, 2023, 10:20:31 AM

"No... No no no no no..."

Kiara sank to the ground, desperately trying to keep Grav upright as she held him, keep his airway clear. But he was bleeding so much, he'd been shot, what did she—how could she—?

"Grav?" Her voice shook as she pressed her hand more firmly over the wound. "Come on, just—just hang on, okay? We'll—we can fix this..."

She looked up at Volke, eyes wild and desperate, her dagger dropped on the ground between them in her haste to get to Grav. She scrambled back, dragging her friend with her, and her spine suddenly thumped against something cool and smooth that tingled with magic.

The Tear...