Jar of Hearts {M}

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"Valgrin?" Megrin tried to recall the name. She thought she might have heard it somewhere, then when it clicked she gasped. "You mean one of the death Lords?" Well this could get ugly..
but then as she listened to his story, and got his name, she smirked.
"Cai, huh?" her mind rolled over his name. It wasn't a bad name. but he was right, she probably would keep calling him blondie. But as she listened to what he did, she had to question, "Did you even have a choice? I mean to work for that lady." Was he some sort of prisoner as well? Though he was dead, she supposed there was a difference. Though he looked alive enough to her.

[Lion]

"Yes one of those Guardians of the Underworld.  Valgrin was her chosen name and a woman her chosen form but that's all another matter," Cai said with a shrug.  "She's all right I suppose."

"No, I didn't really have much  of a choice.  This is the part that's exceedingly blurry.  I don't work for her.  I serve her.  We have a particular bond that goes without saying.  I died so my soul has passed on.  By body had to be empty in order to achieve it's renewed purpose, to collect souls - living or dead. She gave my body life and allowed me another chance, or so she says.  But you see there wasn't really a choice to be had."

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Megrin thought it over and smirked as she gave a quirky response, "So.. does that make you her zombie then?"

OOC: so.. short u.u

[Lion]

Caius gave a snicker.  "I guess so.  I never thought about it that way.  I'm just a little more hollow on the inside, and I do a lot less moaning and groaning."  He laughed.  "Well, I see the town in site.  We'll make it before sunset."

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Megrin could sense something, as if eyes were watching her. Peering over her shoulder, she saw nothing, and frowned. Was her master watching? She knew he had such abilities but...
For now, she ignored it and leaned into Cai.
"Sounds good to be. The faster we get there the better."
Though the closer they got, the more intense the feeling became. It gave her the creeps.

[Lion]

Baal could feel it too and Cai grew alarmed when he felt the hackles on the wolf-dog's neck rise and the beast took to growling at nothing that he could see.  Something sinister lingered near.  For a moment, Caius thought it could be Valgrin, but Baal would not be reacting that way if it were.  Instead he turned his head over to Megrin and frowned.  "What have you got following us?  Baal!  Faster!"  And the beast moved with even more power than before.

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Megrin frowned. She thought she might have been the only one sensing it, but through a mutter she informed him, "It feels like my master is coming." Then she paused, still frowning to consider.. "Though I can sense him, I can't see him. It's like he's watching us." She wondered if her master was being cautious and if he knew what Cai was.

[Lion]

Caius' expression hardened as Baal ran faster racing shadows.  "We'll escape him.  Don't worry.  I'll keep you safe.  Just hold tight."  Cai nodded to her and reached a hand down to tighten her grip on his waist, feeling as if all eyes were on them.

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Megrin frowned, but held on tighter, not exactly feeling so confident at his words.
"And just how do you expect to hide me from a Lord of Souls?" She shook her head. "Despite what you may think of him, he's a powerful demon, and when he has to be called in to find one of his lowly minions... well, let's just say the mess that'll need to be cleaned up won't be pretty." Considering either herself or this fellow Cai might very well get killed.. well, if Caius couldn't even GET killed... but she had been told there are things far much worse than death. And her current life as a soul thief was proving that.

[Lion]

"You make a good point.  But how can you just think that I would willingly hand you over, after what you just told me?  Contrary to what you might believe, I'm not trying to save you.  But I won't let some demonhand just reach out and take what's theirs or so they would believe.  Demons like him shouldn't be allowed to just get what they want.  It is not the way of things, and if it is, then it shouldn't be."  Caius grew bitter with his own words and kept a hand on hers as Baal ran.  But even so, already he could feel shadows creeping at his back.

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Ahk-meht was no fool. He wasn't about to show himself, even if they could feel him in the winds. No, he'd mask himself and do the next best thing, so he reached into the shadows, called them to do his bidding as a big, black snake began to slither and hiss, unseen to the naked eye as it melted and became one with the shadows. As the pair rushed onward,  the longer the shadows stretched, until suddenly, the shadows lurched at them, striking, like a snake.

"Caius, look out!" she shouted, clinging to him as fear gripped her form and the shadows were ready to gobble them whole.

[Lion]

Baal's muscles grew increasingly springy and tense at the same time.  He too felt the shadows stretching out at them and snarled in response.  He grew larger, making his strides all the wider and longer until he was springing across the Plains like a cheetah.  Though Cai couldn't see the serpent, he felt something lurking behind them and even the hackles on his neck began to rise.  And Baal could see the serpent as they curved around a hillock and began to rise up from the side, the serpent coiling around it.

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Megrin grit her teeth. This didn't look good.
"Ahk-meht's working with the shadows. We'll never be able to out run him like this." Frowning, she knew it was her fault the man might be in trouble now, and if her master got a hold of both of them, the pair might as well be damned. It wasn't right to drag this stranger down with her own problems... but she might not have to. Ahk-meht was a clever sort, his shadows rippling upwards as thin pieces stretched outwards towards her, ensnaring into her hair, which was floating behind them as they ran in a thick and heavy braid. THe shadows snatched onto it, gripping on hard and gave a yank.

Megrin let out a cry, the force ripping her arms off of the grip she had on Caius and dragged her into the air. It was that second he needed as the entire shadow banded together, gobbling around her in an instant, and the soul thief vanished from sight. ALl that remained was the deep throated growl from the shadow that remained.

"Stay away from the shadows," it warned before it too, retreated back into the natural shadows of the trees, the world seeming to return back to normal, as if nothing strange had even happened, or that the woman had ever existed.

[Lion]

Caius knew they wouldn't be able to outrun him but that didn't stop him from trying and he'd be damned if he was going to let them get caught just because he didn't bother to run faster than the serpent that pursued them.  But when he felt Megrin's grip suddenly snatched from him, Cai let out a pained cry, and slumped forward hugging against Baal's thick fur as he suddenly fell from the beast's back.  He clung to his neck, sobbing, feeling cold and angry but altogether alive nonetheless.

"What!?  What was that!?" he cried out, still clutching onto the wolf-dog.

Baal watched in silence for the moment as the shadow disappeared and the beast only momentarily relaxed.  "We shouldn't stay here," Baal said.  "We should have left the day before.  But no!  You refused to give up that soul!  Don't you understand the gravity of what you've done...?  He'll tear her soul apart."

"WHO!?"

"Her master, Ahk-meht.  A self-proclaimed Lord of Souls.  He is a demon, and a damned powerful one and one the likes of you should have never provoked by staying with that woman!"

Caius was still for a moment, finally finding his legs and standing on his own, letting go of Baal's neck.  "I've never heard of him."

"Because I was trying to spare you.  Don't get involved any further Caius!  Valgrin will not like this.  She'll punish you!  She'll punish me!  There are some things you must never know.  And the likes of which you will never understand!"

"Don't tell me what I won't understand!  I saw a woman being snatched away by shadows!  By a demon's hand!  When I was alive I slayed demons.  I stuck their heads on pikes and now you're telling me to stay away.  You're telling me I should let someone - innocent or not - be tortured and tormented like that..."

"You cannot save her...if that is your intention.  And Ahk-meht would destroy you before you'd even had a chance to set foot in his realm."  Baal shrunk back to his normal size and nuzzled against Cai's leg, whining a little.  "We should rest.  There is still a town that way."

And they walked in that direction, Cai's head no higher than it was before.

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"So you're just going to keep me hung up here like some piece of dirty laundry?" Megrin asked. When Ahk-meht ignored her, she sighed, muttering between her breath as she continued to be held upside down, dangling from the cold hands of cursed souls of the damned mixed with the vice grip of the shadows.  She sighed. He had been helping piece back together his stupid witch and had kept his hell hounds close all day. She supposed even demons reverted to the silent treatment at times. But it was then he finally moved, standing up and dragging away a tormented soul, one who had been captured and was still half alive before he hung the man over the hell hounds heads before tossing him at them like a rag doll.

Megrin flinched and turned away, gritting her teeth as she recognized the noise of the death scream and crunching bones. The man had been torn apart, and the hell hounds had enjoyed every last bite.

"Oh, Megrin, Megrin, of course I can not keep you here," her master said, finally approaching her as he gave a patronizing pat to her cheek. She curled her lips angrily at him. "You know perfectly well what I need you to do. I'll just have to be more careful next time. Perhaps keep better tabs on you while you're on the surface."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she asked, her temper hardly deterred by the fact Ahk-meht could easily have tossed her to the hell-hounds as well. But even she knew he needed her.

"Don't worry about it. Tomorrow is a new day. You just get your rest here." he said, and gave a jerk to the souls holding her, caressing them back to life as a few dead hands gripped uneasily to her body. She grit her teeth. It was one of the worst feelings int he world, but then again, she supposed an ounce of freedom was worth it. And as her master left, a smile grew across her lips as she recalled the handsome face of Caius and was curious as to what he might be up to now.

[Lion]

Caius wandered farther out to the small town off to the side.  Night seemed to take it's time in coming down, but when it did, it seemed a little thicker than before, seemed as if there were hidden eyes in every corner, hidden hands that could reach out and snatch him apart.  But Caius didn't fear them, he only looked at them with solemn, completely prepared eyes if they did lunge out at him.

While most settlements required animals to stay outside of the respective space of buildings, anyone  trying to tell Caius otherwise to keep Baal out, only received an eye-roll and didn't even bother to acknowledge it as he paid for his room and the wolf-dog followed him upstairs in the small building.  And when the lights came down, he say in an armchair by the window, eye the shadows.  He wouldn't even sleep.

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Caius had every right to be paranoid. Eyes were watching him, shadows lurking; but that's all they did. For several nights they'd keep track of him, all the while elsewhere, Ahk-meht had already repaired his witch Mahtaht, and had sent her and Megrin out to capture more souls. It had been a gruesome three days in the dark, with the corpses.. with the shadows, but that sort of torment hardly broke Megrin. She finally had the time to collect herself, to mourn a little in solitude, but now it was back tot he grind stone. So as Mahtaht was reminding Megrin of her part, the girl rolled her eyes and continued walking.

"Yeah, yeah, I get the picture. Amarick needs another strong soul." She rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. "So what sort of soul are we talking about this time? He's already gotten that of a young god.." Though by the look at Mahtaht's face, Megrin got a sick feeling in her stomach. 

"It will.. be revealed to you in time. For now, the master wants to see what you come up with." And the old withered witch gave a cackle while Megrin made a soured face.

"Me? You know I refuse to pick my victims," Megrin argued, but it seemed the witch wasn't listening.

"Just enjoy the day deary, I'll be back for you by night fall." And she patted Megrin on the shoulder and began to saunter off.

"Wait, what!?" MEgrin was furious. "What do you mean I have to choose? And what's with all of this new freedom? Huh?" But the witch only laughed as she stepped into the shadows, her body already beginning to fade.

"Who knows who you might meet this time around, Megrin. Just keep your chin up and a sharp eye." And with that being said, the witch vanished from sight, the last thing to disappear being her one good eye.  And boy was Megrin PISSED.
This was the last thing she wanted, and gave an angry walk towards the river. She smacked her hands across it, only to hear a sinister laughter coming from the mouth of a nearby cave. Raising up her head, she swore beneath her breath.

"Gods.. does he really want me to.." But before Megrin could finish her thought, a rather ugly looking centaur stepped out from the mouth of the nearby cave, and the way his eyes roamed over Megrin sent a chill across her skin and a cold ball knotting within her belly.

"Well, well, well.. what have we got here?"

Oh, she was going to kill Ahk-meht later for this.

Forcing herself into a obviously forced cheerful disposition, Megrin only grinned at the centaur and smoothed her hands down her skirts. "What does it look like you've got here? You've got a damsel by herself near your river. But it seems as if I'm lost.."

But the conversation only went south from there. It seemed the centuar knew exactly what he had on his land, and Megrin was cringing as the beast began to circle around her and size her up like a sack of meat.

"Do you know what I do to females within my territory?" the man said with a chuff, raising up his head and shaking out his wild mane of dark hair. Megrin only stared coldly back at him and folded her arms across her chest.

"Not exactly, but I'm sure I could figure it out by the way you're drooling," she said, giving him some attitude. The centaur's grin widened.

"Oh, I like them fiery. Why don't you come here and we can have a bit of fun down by the river." And when the man-animal reached for her, she cringed and dodged out of his way, only to find herself being chased around and eventually cornered as the centaur pressed her up against a nearby cliff side near his cave.

"Ah, it seems I've finally got you," he said, his foul breath rolling off her in putrid, hot waves as his tongue began to explore her cheek and neck.

"Ugh!" Megrin tried to push him away. "How disgusting." But the centaur only laughed.

"Tell me, girly, have you ever bred before with a centaur?" he asked, holding her tightly against him. Megrin made another face, one that showed she was anything but pleased.

"No! But I have a feeling you might try it on me anyways," she growled and began to struggle. "Now Let me go!"

[Lion]

He knew thet were watching him but he saw that as no reason for concern.  Days had passed since he'd met the girl and if he didn't know any better he had already forgotten about her.  Baal was right.  It was how it should be and he didn't need to get into trouble with both Valgrin and the strange girl's master.  Perhaps he was better off not knowing certain things.  So Caius kept to his wandering with nothing more than his wolf-dog for company and left the inn with fewer coins in his pocket and the soul of the innkeep in his belly.

He was an old man who'd taken to fits of coughing up bits of blood and had collapsed on the last day of Caius' stay. Could he say that he died because of his mere presence?  No that was rarely the case, but Caius could feel death lingering so close at hand and when he was barely conscious on his bed, he sat beside him and held his hand.  The old man was grateful for company.  Said his wife had died long ago, his only son had been killed in a raid, he was utterly alone.  Caius felt his soul pass into him and he was cold and at peace on the bed.  That was the extent on his stay and he travelled away from the town and out into a field of copses near the path of a river.  It was beautiful and Caius smiled at the smell of water so clean and crisp.  But there were noises nearby that alarmed him and Caius perked up.  That voice...he'd heard it before...  Megrin.   Caius ran toward the cry and unsheathed his broken sword and it was there through the brush that he saw tha centaur pin her and overpower her.  And without thinking despite cries of protest by Baal, he leapt forth and lunged up, vaulting onto the beast and stabbing the broken sword into his back.

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Megrin's eyes widened as the centaur tore away, a sword now jutting out from his back.
Well that wasn't expected. But as the beast turned away from her, snarling, he blindly charged at Caius, aiming to maul.
Megrin gasped, "You!" but it seemed as if her words came too late as the centaur was already upon him.

[Lion]

There was no time for warning when the cenraur abruptly whirled around and knocked Caius off his back and into the trunk of a tree.  But he had little time to defend himself when the centaur stood on his hindlegs and began to thrash him with his front hooves.  Suddenly a black blur rushed through the underbrush, heralded only by a viicious growl as Baal grew powerfully in size and strength and lunged at the centaur, fighting him literally tooth and nail.  Cais had no time to nurse his wounds as he scrambled for the fallen blade that had been plucked from the beast's back and then shuffled toward Megrin and reached a hand out to her.