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Battling Demons [M]

Started by DragonSong, March 16, 2023, 04:52:51 PM

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DragonSong

"Yes!" She shook him again. "Yes, because you were better! Because you wanted better, you wanted a kinder world, and this world hates kindness. But that doesn't mean you stop striving for it! I know it hurts, I know it's awful, and I'm sorry. But please, Thrax. Please..."

Her hands tightened on his shoulders, but instead of giving him another little shake, she suddenly leaned down and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding tight.

"You're not alone," she told him quietly, ignoring the way the demonic aura of the sword lifted her fur like the electricity in the air. "You're not alone. I promise. I promise I won't leave you alone..."

MadEmperor

Sanity flooded back into him as the darkness left his eyes. "Hana... Run... It'll..." he groaned as the demon fought back. The bard suddenly drove the sword towards her side, but stopped it inches from her. His arm trembled with the effort it took to hold back.

"I don't--I don't know how long I can resist... Please... Get away..."

DragonSong

"No," she growled. "No. Weren't you listening? I'm not leaving you alone."

Kah, get the sword, now!

And she kissed him, leaving her side fully open, but praying that there was enough of the Thrax she knew left—and that Kah would move fast enough.

MadEmperor

The kiss made his hand let go just enough so that when Kah knocked out the chief and scrambled over to kick the sword from Thrax's hand, the blade was knocked free.

The bard's arm returned to normal as the connection was broken. When the kiss ended, he was sobbing. "I... I--I tried to--to kill you..."

DragonSong

"Shhh, shhh." Hana sat back, pulling him up with her and stroking her hand down the back of his neck. "It's okay, you're okay," she told him with another quick kiss to his cheek. "Look at me, Thrax. See? I'm fine."

She smiled, glancing back at Kah to mouth, Thank you.

Looking back to Thrax, she winced a bit. "Errr...sorry about that, by the way. I wasn't sure how else to, um, startle you? Fighting clearly didn't work, so..." She trailed off with a vaguely embarrassed shrug.

MadEmperor

Thrax swallowed, his throat tight with emotion. "Do I look like I mind?" he joked weakly with a half-hearted smirk, sniffing back tears.

Kah gave her a quick nod and proceeded to cut free a piece of the chieftain's tent. He approached the demon sword and gingerly wrapped it as if it might bite him. The dragonman even made sure to think only positive thoughts as he handled it.

DragonSong

"Still." Hana gave him a half smile and stroked his cheek lightly. "I don't exactly want to make a habit of kissing people unexpectedly." She smirked. "Though maybe there's an exception to be made if the person in question is trying to kill me at the time."

She glanced back at Kah again, shoulders slumping with relief once the sword was covered. "We should—I should help him," she corrected herself quickly. "Then let's get out of here, yeah?"

MadEmperor

Thrax nodded slowly as he dried his eyes. "Y-yeah, that's... probably for the best."

He looked over at the chief as he stood. "What about him? He'll just keep pillaging and murdering if we leave him be."

DragonSong

Hana hesitated a moment, then she moved closer to him and slowly, carefully pulled Stormsong from his back and placed it into his hands.

"It's up to you," she told him softly. "But if he dies, then it's by your hand, with the weapon of your people. Not because some fucking demon wants blood, but because you want justice."

MadEmperor

Thrax nodded, giving her an appreciative smile. "I have just the idea."

He stepped over to the chieftain, who was already coming to, despite Kahroan's mighty blow. "I will not kill you. But I won't be showing you the mercy you denied my people. To someone like you, this is worse."

He brought down the axe on the chieftain's right arm, lopping it off above the elbow. The larger gnoll cried out, cursing the bard in gnollish.

"Make it so he won't bleed out. Then we can go. He has no power now."

DragonSong

Hana nodded, her expression hard as she flicked her fingers and sent a bolt of foxfire to cauterize the wound.

"Kah, you ready?" she asked, turning her back on the Poisonclaw chief dismissively. She gave Thrax a small smile and slight incline of her head.

"Proud of you," she told him quietly, moving close enough that he could hear but maintaining a careful distance.

MadEmperor

Kah carefully kept the sword away from Thrax as he took point. "Yeah. Let's get out of here before the other fighters regroup."

"Agreed. And definitely keep that thing away from me. I can still feel it calling to me," the bard said, keeping away from it as he followed.

DragonSong

Even as they set off, Hana cocked her head as an idea occurred to her. She gave Thrax a sidelong look and offered, "You could ride me? My fox form could hold you easy enough, and it'll help make sure we keep some distance between  you and the blade."

She shrugged. "Just a thought. Might help us cover a bit more ground too, though."

MadEmperor

Thrax nodded. "That could work."

"You aren't coming with me?" Kah asked. He had pretty much assumed that they would; it still felt strange not having the energetic pair around.

DragonSong

Hana looked between the two men. "I...I don't know..."

She sighed and rubbed at the back of her neck. "I mean...we could stick with you as far as Arca, but..." she glanced at Thrax. "I'm not sure how far you wanna tempt fate, if it's a good idea to try to get all the way to Moonspear with that thing."

MadEmperor

"Me?" Thrax shuddered. "Yeah, no. I don't trust myself around it one bit. Maybe for a few days, but not all the way to Moonspear."

Kahroan nodded, withholding a sigh. "That makes perfect sense. But, maybe there's someone in Arca better equipped to get it there. The Order of the Moon surely has a presence in the capitol."

DragonSong

Hana nodded. "That's a good point. Should we be flying then—er, if that's okay?" She glanced at Kahroan with a sheepish smile. "It is the fastest way to travel."

MadEmperor

"I think you mean the best way." Kahroan grinned.

[ Continued Here ]

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