What Lurks Beneath the Sand [SanctifiedSavage] [M]

[SirAlahn]

Sooner or later, he knew he'd have to leave. There was no future here, and worst of all it was boring.

The treasure hunters had been an entertaining meal, as had those who had followed them when the first group didn't return and wasn't heard from. Accidents happened in the desert, after all. It was hardly the safest of places—but the risk could often mean reward, or so Zipartas assumed. Why else would people like that venture into areas unexplored for centuries, abandoned and just as likely to be full of useless dust as they were of traps and slumbering dangers?

From each subsequent cohort of travelers, he'd gleaned more and more information about the world outside. They'd come from some city named Essyrn, which Zipartas had never heard of before—things had certainly changed since he'd last been aware of anything beyond his own slow, wicked dreams. The last time he'd been awake, Ahkamat had still been an oasis with its own tiny city and a cult all his own. One that he had gambled on, expecting when he awoke to find a larger civilization that would answer to his beck and call. An experiment of sorts to see how long his influence would last.

But apparently the oasis had dried up long ago and the cultists with it, all being buried beneath the sand until all that was left were ancient, dusty ruins just waiting for treasure hunters to stumble upon them.

Treasure hunters that had thought they'd gotten lucky until they roused him.

Zipartas hadn't killed and eaten them only because he was ravenously hungry after his long slumber. In part, it was principle; they had desecrated a place once devoted to him, seeking to plunder relics that had been created in his honor and left as offerings to his "tomb". No matter that it might be centuries—even millennia—later, those things still belonged to him, as surely as the cultists still would have if they had yet been alive and thriving in this place. But beneath so much sand and choked out by darkness and the alternating ravages of heat and cold, not much else lived there beyond the beetles and snakes.

But as entertaining and as tasty as those mortals had been, they could only tell him so much. So once he'd finished the last of them off, Zipartas had waited—curious to see if any others would make themselves known. In the meantime, he'd entertained himself by wandering among the ruins, picking through the detritus of the people that had once been devoted to him with the kind of care no one else, even a historian, would have given them. Some items he even elected to keep – ones made of gold or other precious metals that had withstood the test of time and still seemed like worthy offerings; even after all this time, they still appealed to his sense of ego.

Eventually, though, he knew explorers would stop coming. Mortals as a rule might be rather stupid, but even they had a sense of self-preservation—and if too many of their number didn't return from this place, it would be judged too dangerous to further explore. He'd thought things might be getting a bit more interesting when a powerful cleric showed up to investigate... but ultimately, even that had been a disappointment. They'd entertained and then fed him just like the others.

At least their clothes had been fine, regardless of their practicality for traveling. Zipartas had been careful not to stain them with blood or any other fluids, and set them aside with the rest of the small amount he'd collected for eventual traveling. Some of it he might not strictly need, but it would serve as good camouflage if he came across another oasis settlement and wanted to earn their trust before having whatever fun he might with them.

The fact of the matter was, though, that he had no desire to stay in this dark, dusty ruin for much longer. And by the time he caught another new scent, his patience had almost completely run out.

There was nothing wrong with having another meal for the road, however.

Long claws scraping against the sandstone in the dark, Zipartas stalked out of the chamber that had once been his resting place and scaled the remaining husk of a nearby building that still stood within the massive cavern that held what was once Ahkamat. His eyes did not quite gleam in the darkness, and he was content to watch for a moment to see just what sort of newcomer this was.

Maybe they would be interesting.

[SanctifiedSavage]

 She had only been summoned to this plane a handful of times. Usually it was because some manner of terrible beast had been unleashed, and it was beyond the capacity of those mortals in the fae court's care to take care of it. The Court she belonged to was small, but doted on the mortals who left them small offerings in candle shit shrines, in wild gardens in the desert, or around their homes. Though there were not many, it was still important to Bytta and those in the Court that they respond when such a summons was made. They thought of the mortals as an extension of family, and in turn would do their best to protect them.

The fae didn't have to, but she delighted in helping. In providing support and help where they had found none. It was a drive and desire in Bytta she'd had since the realm had birthed her and she'd joined the Enchantress Court. She'd found her calling in the sweet, harmonious relationship they had established with the mortal realm and she loved some as brothers and sisters as much as her fae counterparts.

Her entire life had been geared toward the arcane art of protecting, warding, and enchanting would-be monsters. Banishing them to whatever realm they'd come from or putting them back to their deep rest. Sometimes she had to reactive a ward or seal, trapping them in some manner of crypt or tomb. It wasn't the best solution to such a thing, but when nothing else worked... a slumbering prison was better than allowing a great evil to roam the land.

For that very reason, Bytta had been summoned and she had crossed the desert. Extremes in the natural world didn't bother the fae as much as it might another, but the heat of the sun overhead was still oppressive. She'd dressed in cloth veils so the light wouldn't burn her honey-brown skin. Directions weren't needed - she could feel the pulse of something old and mean and monstrous in the desert. For that very reason, she had decided to go alone. It would mean a little longer journey, but she hadn't wanted to risk anyone else tagging along. No matter how much they'd wanted to.

A three day walk in desert extremes didn't sour her to the mission. With a small pack of provisions, slender poles and light canvas to set up a shelter, she'd had everything she needed to make the crossing. Ideally, once this monster was either laid to rest or banished to whatever realm it had been summoned from, she would return to the Court for some much needed rest.
The ruins appeared to have been unearthed by a sand storm. Angular building cutting out of the dunes, worn down some but enough remaining to tell her this had been a city. Not a vast one, as Essyrn was, though she could not know how much more lay beneath the sands. She didn't particularly care, either.

The excavated hole was still, largely, clear. It led into the largest of the revealed buildings, where part of the wall had been smashed in so the initial treasure hunters could get inside. The light of the evening cut into the dark and gloom, but only just. Since Bytta didn't know if she was dealing with an intelligent monster - though she assumed - she knelt and crafted a glowing, white ward on the entrance. The monster would not leave while she hunted for it.

Now that she was at the ruins, Bytta shrugged her pack off her shoulders and out of the traveling veils. The fae didn't want to be encumbered if quick movements were necessary. Until the monster was actually bound, she was still vulnerable. A fae born of the day, Bytta herself was faintly luminous and required no light as she moved into the dark. A candle's worth of light was produced by her very presence in the dark - though it was a soft, bio luminescent blue and white. Her feet barely touched the ground or made a sound as she moved, careful and slow while she pressed on into the ruins. 

The monster couldn't hide from her. She sensed it, could roughly feel how close it was, which meant she could prepare in advance for its arrival. Before it crept too close, she knelt and wrote more glowing, sharp runes in the ground at her feet in a circle of protection. She finished just as she heard the screech of claws on stone, announcing its arrival. Her cat-like pink eyes, while not able to see in the dark, could still make out the faint shape of it from the shadows her own light cast. "Come out, come out," she cooed under her breath. Bytta needed to know the measure of the monster before she could begin either a banishment or entrapment. Whichever would depend on what she was dealing with. 

[SirAlahn]

Whatever and whoever this new arrival was, they smelled different. Not as unique as he was, perhaps—since very few things were—but certainly not human. And not of the same ilk that had wandered into the ruins of Ahkamat previously. There was something sweeter there, and older. Not as mortal as the fragile lives that he'd been accustomed to taking since he awoke. So perhaps, in that, there was the potential for some fun. Someone who could withstand some rougher treatment before they eventually succumbed and he got bored of them.

When she made herself known and stepped properly into the dark maw of the ruins, Zipartas didn't bother to move:  taking it for granted that she wouldn't be able to sense him where he was. Surely she had to know that something was there, but nothing seemed to indicate she knew his exact location.

Though it was quite interesting that she cast her own light. Was it a spell or an innate ability? If the latter, would her flesh still carry that power when he carved it off of her? Consuming that light appealed to him in a hungry way.

He'd felt the twinge of nearby magic before she'd really entered the space, but hadn't known it well enough to identify what it was. Even now, as he observed her etch glowing runes into the sandstone of the floor, the exact flavor of it eluded him. But judging by the circle she'd drawn around herself and the fact that she did not move from it, he could guess what it was. Protection and warding spells always seemed to have a certain consistency to them regardless of what plane he was on or who was casting them.

Always the lesser creatures with wanting to keep things out. So rarely did they realize that they also trapped themselves in.

It amused him even more when her sweet voice carried to his sensitive ears. Her words had only been a whisper, the barest of breaths to scarcely even stir the fine sand that still occasionally trickled in through cracks from above, creating little mounds on the floor to cover the stains of blood and other viscera that had already dried since his last meals. But who was he to deny her when she made such a naïve request?

So Zipartas skulked forward, gaunt limbs unfolding to unnatural proportions as he rose from his still crouch and slid quietly down the front of the building he'd been perched on. The light from the woman was soft, and he stayed at the edge of it, studying her with the quirk of an almost humanoid smile that didn't quite spread too wide or reveal his teeth. "Well, well, well," he purred, adopting one of the more common languages that had been shared by those he'd eaten. "And who are you?" In the dark, the bladed length of his tail slithered over the floor, tip clicking against the stone as it flicked in curiosity.

[SanctifiedSavage]

It was probably arrogance that she faced the monster with no fear. It never once occurred to Bytta that she would meet something on the prime plane that would be able to face her, and beat her. If anything, there was a sense of calm pity she had for such monsters. They were hapless creatures without direction, monsters without purpose, and she would put them in their place. Send them back to the void that birthed them or lay them to rest so they wouldn't bother anyone anymore.
That being said, this particular monster didn't scare her either. While she had not been doing this long, she had seen monsters of various shapes and sizes. Creatures with teeth longer than her fingers or several times larger than herself. Size didn't matter to her and such teeth would never touch her.

Instead, her brilliant pink eyes studied it as it approached. Trying to figure out if it was from this realm, and so much be put back to sleep, or if it was a demon or devil that needed banished. There wasn't a sense of cinders or char about it, that special flavor that felt of the abyss or the hells... That didn't mean it wasn't a summoned monster that she could banish, either. 
It spoke, though, which indicated some manner of intelligence. "I am Bytta, and I am here to rid this place of you." Her confidence was pristine, and pure. Her voice did not waiver because she was utterly certain in what she would do. "Who, and what, are you?"

It never hurt to ask. Often times monsters liked to boast about who they were and would give her exactly what she wanted. 

[SirAlahn]

This woman's coloration was as intriguing to him as her aura. She was a tiny thing, so much smaller than him, and that fact incited even more his predatory nature. As sweet as her voice was, he pondered for a moment what kind of sounds she was going to make once he had her. It would almost be a shame to eat her, given how pretty she was. But it simply wouldn't be practical to take her with him when he left this place.

And she was polite, if misguided. Her confidence that she was there to banish him did actually prompt a toothy smile then. A decidedly wicked one. "You can all me Zipartas," he told her in amusement. Was she old enough that name would mean anything to her? Probably not. Otherwise she would already have known what to expect in this place.

There was a definite temptation to boast to her about what he was as well, but Zipartas had not survived as long as he had by being careless. If she was trying to probe for information, all the better that he didn't give it to her for free. Even if she would not be able to make good on that knowledge, there were advantages to leaving some things shrouded in mystery. So he ignored the second part of her question, instead moving again after a moment to circle her and the boundary she had drawn, always at the edge of her light. Inspecting her.

"Someone else has already been by to 'get rid of me'," he added with a faint sigh. It was clear they had failed. "I hope you'll at least be able to last a little longer before I eat you."

[SanctifiedSavage]

It really was unfortunate that his name meant nothing to her. Bytta was well versed in the various demons, devils, and monsters that she might encounter, and knowing what he was, or who, would've gone a long way in telling her how to deal with him. On the up side, though, he didn't seem to know who or what she was and thus was not trying to run from her either. Lesser monsters aware of the Enchantress Court fled at the sight of the fae and their white, pristine runes. Knowing that they would become banished or forced into eternal slumber.

In a way, him not knowing kept him in the area. Which was what she wanted. It just made it a little more difficult because she did not know exactly how to go about it, yet. More information would be nice. That he'd ate the other previous was something, though. Some monsters just killed.

Bytta glanced around, looking for remains. What he might've done with them. Still unafraid, she asked, "There is nothing left?" Curious, if anything. Did he eat them whole? All their gear too? That would help classify what sort of monster he was. Especially since the name really did mean nothing to her.

[SirAlahn]

Her question drew a laugh from him, the noise a low rumble that half sounded like a purr. The matter of fact way she'd posed it was certainly something. Maybe she was a bit more powerful, then, if she'd been curious about such a thing rather than simply horrified. "Nothing organic to speak of," he told her with a smirk. After a moment, he gestured to one of the dark stains on the sandstone some distance from her, already partly covered with grains of dust and sand again. "Though there maybe a bit of him left there."

Zipartas was toying with her, of course, but it would tell him more about her depending upon how she reacted.

"I kept some of his things." His green eyes practically glittered as he finished his circuit around her and paused just before her again, but still at something of a distance. "It's not as though he's going to be using them again, hm?"

They would be put to much better use on his behalf.

[SanctifiedSavage]

Bytta didn't turn to keep him in front of her. There was no reason to, at least, not to the fae. Having him at her back didn't concern or worry her. The runes would hold. They glowed around her feet, sharp white lines that cut through the dark. As pure and brilliant as her confidence. Bytta's magic and protection came from her own force of will - if she ever doubted in herself, ever wavered in her assurance in what she could do, the runes would flicker, the wards would be weak, and there would be no point in her being here at all.
Monsters did not scare her.

Bytta nodded a little when he said he'd eaten them, but not their things. The monster was practical. Planning for a future. Smart. Bytta did not think this was something to be banished, but a creature that needed to go back to sleep. Mind made up, her bright pink feline-esque eyes tracked him a moment before she glanced around. As though taking stock and saying good bye. She fully expected this to be over in moments.

The soft words she began to speak were ancient fae, words that hardly any would know but those raised in a Court and trained in the magics there-in. Beti kartzelan lo egingo duzu. Her sing-song voice bounced off the far walls and seemed to fill the space, weighing on his limbs and filling his mind with a fog of sleep. It should have rendered him unconscious, in a prison of sleep until some other hapless mortal woke him once more. It should have weighed him down with an impossible weight, a force that would drag his body to the ground.

It should have.

[SirAlahn]

Zipartas did not think she would be able to affect him, much less banish him as she'd claimed her purpose was—and so he didn't seek to fight her nor to run. There seemed little point when it would be evident to her soon enough that she had bitten off far more than she could chew.

So it was quite a surprise to him when she began chanting and he actually felt... something. This wasn't the idle, petty spells of the last cleric that had been there and intending to fight him. At first, he wasn't even fully aware that it was originating from her at all, which was all the more dangerous and surprising. Like an insidious whisper from his own thoughts, he just felt tired. It seemed as though his limbs had turned too heavy even for him, and his tail ceased flicking in curiosity and amusement to simply thump heavily, once, on the floor. It was too much effort to even move it subconsciously.

He might have yawned, save that the impulse died as he blinked slowly and realized this was a spell. She was trying to make him sluggish, at the very least. So he couldn't fight her? Or more directly send him back to the slumber that he had so recently awoken from?

That did not amuse him.

Zipartas' smile died, and this time when she saw his teeth, it was as he bared them in a low hiss. "You think that's enough to stop me, girl?" Even so, his voice was slower. More deliberate.

[SanctifiedSavage]

Her words echoed in the chamber, carrying the weight of ancient power, the force of her own will, and the weight of the fae plane. It had never failed before. Ever. So it was with some surprise that, when she opened her eyes, he was not only standing - but had addressed her. Bright pink eyes regarded the monster before her while she thought about what she could do, now. There was no panic or fear, because Bytta would deal with this monster. If he would not sleep, then so be it. There was some affect, though. His words were heavy and slower. Gone, too, was the amusement he seemed to have had with her.

Good. Bytta liked to be taken serious when she was quite so.

She crossed her arms while she tried to figure out what she would do then. If he would not sleep, perhaps he was meant to be banished? Instinctively, though, Bytta felt like that wasn't going to work either. While monsters occasionally set themselves up in ruins, the fae believed that he had been here when the ruins were not ruins, that he was old and thus that was complicating her efforts. Which meant, if she could not banish him, and she could not force him to sleep, there was only one other thing she knew to do. It was a method she had never employed herself, and something she'd only heard of one other Enchantress doing. It had eventually cost the fae her life, but in doing so she had also taken the monster with her. A binding to her would keep the monster at bay, from the rest of the world. Though her own life was immortal, should she die, the loss of her own life would be enough power - ideally - to destroy the monster in front of her.

Not that Bytta was keen on dying, of course, and the monster would likely feel such a connection and stop her from offing herself. It was the best course of action to prevent him from rampaging across the desert. The ward at the door would only last so long.

Mind made up, she narrowed her bright pink eyes before she began the binding. "Elkarrekin egongo gara beti. Nirekin hilko zara." It was effort to say, the words grating through her throat and pulling at her chest. As the sing-song sound reverberated in the chamber, a weight fell on her chest and Bytta collapsed in place. The runes around her feet flickered and vanished as her life connected to his, tethering them together until what would ultimately be the end of both of them. If he had any sort of magical training or understanding, he would likely know what the piercing sensation through his own body was. Most bindings were similar in nature - it was just the severity of the one she had just crafted over him was just that. Eternal, final.

If Bytta died, the snuffing of her soul would pull his into the void with her. The sacrifice of her life to keep him contained meant that he could not, in a very base way, hurt her to end it prematurely either. It was the greatest binding she knew and one that, once cast, could not be undone. The wards around her feet weren't necessary anymore.

Braced on her hands and knees, gasping softly from the sharp pain in her chest, in the core of who she was, Bytta didn't bother to look at him. What was done was done and she had fulfilled her purpose. Shackling the monster so it couldn't hurt anyone else.

[SirAlahn]

After the failure of her initial ploy, it didn't take the odd woman long to make up her mind regarding her next move—Bytta, she'd said her name was; he was more concerned with such things now given the way the situation had changed. No longer amused and in a mood to play, he resigned himself to making this quick. It would be unwise to let her linger any more and suss out just what his weaknesses really were rather than simply guessing at them. That she'd been able to affect him with her magic at all was no insignificant thing.

But as soon as the first syllable left her mouth, the only thing he could seem to hold in his head was the sound of those singsong words. Spoken in some language he didn't know, they were nevertheless undeniably magical in nature. Some kind of binding, it had to be—Zipartas could feel the pull of it in the very fabric of his soul. This was no incantation to put him to sleep, to make him docile and easily subdued. This was deeper:  something that even he had to take seriously.

But by then, it was too late. As those glowing runes guttered and died, the only light remaining was the one emanating from Bytta herself. Distantly, with a crushing weight in his chest as though something had reached in and seized his long-dead heart, Zipartas saw her crumble to her hands and knees. Even he wasn't able to keep his feet, sinking to one knee and hardly realizing that he had as sharp, hot lances of pain shot through the entirety of him.

Not in a physical sense, though that might be how his nerves were forced to interpret it. But this was a pain of the soul, of two things that were never meant to be bound now being stitched together by Bytta's magic.

He had felt bindings before—felt them prick at him and then slide off when he deflected them or they faltered, even the way that they would shatter and fall like so many matchsticks when he broke free of them. But this... was different. A girder on everything that he was, and it was startling to realize that it was requiring so much effort to maintain the shape that he preferred. The one that he had worn since he'd woken up.

Slowly, black chitin gave way only to pale skin. His claws reverted to long but human fingers and toes. The only sharp teeth that remained in his mouth were dully humanoid ones, save for his keener than normal canines. The balancing weight of his tail vanished, and Zipartas was thankful in a vague way that he was already kneeling on the stone. It would at least keep him from pitching forward.

He looked down once at deft, thin hands he hadn't seen in centuries, and then turned all the force of his baleful glare on her. It only angered him further that he was still half breathless, but returning to his original form meant there was less magical strain on his body from fighting this damnable woman's will.

"What. Did. You. Do." It was not phrased as a question, but he wanted to hear it from her own mouth. Was she aware of the full gravity of what she had done?

[SanctifiedSavage]

It was the sort of pain that one generally never expected to experience. There was no flesh wound, nothing to mend, but it had felt like she'd been stabbed through the heart and a weight dropped on her lungs. Bytta could breath and she knew, despite her brain's insistence to the contrary, that her heart beat just fine and there was no dagger through her chest. Soul bindings were meant to be painful. Meant to be...  well, rare. But the fae did not second guess her decision. A banishing would not have suited if a sleep enchantment had failed so.

If this was what it took to keep her people safe, she would do it.

After a long moment of catching her breath and orientating herself in the world, of convincing her chest that it was not going to burst open, she glanced at the now... more human... monster. Apparently the form it had before had been just that. A form. Her supposition that he - at least it looked like a he - was from this realm seemed correct. Just old. Possibly immortal, like the fae.  The anger and indignation in those sharp green eyes also let her know that he had some inkling as to what she'd done.

Even better. It meant less explaining on her end.

Shifting to sit where she had collapsed, Bytta adjusted her legs under her in a comfortable fashion. A teacher assuming a comfortable pose to better instruct their student. "I don't know who you are, or what time you are from, but you obviously pose some manner of serious threat to the people here. I have prevented that, as I was summoned to do so." Figuring that proper introductions were now in order, all things considering, she added while her feline pink eyes easily met his own. "I am Bytta, a fae of the Enchantress Court. You are now bound to me, until the day I die and invariably take you into the void that is death with me."

Simple. Concise. Maybe a little smug. There was no reason to be so business-like now. The wards and the stark confidence needed to bark them up were unnecessary. The binding was done and there was nothing she need do to maintain it. It a way, she could relax. If only because they had for however long to be together.

Bytta didn't explain that he couldn't hurt her. He would figure that out on her own. Perhaps she hadn't because there was some small, wicked part of her that would delight in that inevitable frustration.

[SirAlahn]

He waited and watched her with oh so much venom. It had been a long time since Zipartas had felt anything like hatred. Most of the time, people were far enough beneath his notice that while he might find them annoying, it rarely extended further than that. There was just no point in expending energy on despising things that were scarcely smart enough to understand why he might dislike them. But this woman... oh, this woman had brought all of that to the forefront again. If it weren't for the situation itself, it would be fascinating to him to feel something so strongly again for the first time in a long while.

But the sheer disdain and cold rage he felt drowned out any objective stance he might have had. And along with it came poisonous waves of spite. How dare she! Binding her soul to his in this way—it was the worst affront she could possibly have committed against him. What made her think she could control him even with such a bond? She had only signed her death warrant.

He was arrogant enough to think he could withstand even the threat she had made, that she would pull him into the void when she went. Zipartas had already died once, a long time ago, and it had been more of a boon than an inconvenience, in the end.

All soft purr was gone from his voice, and it came out in a rasp that spoke of a hatred so deep there were no words to describe it. "You," he told her, enunciating so very clearly to make sure she heard him properly, "are going to regret that."

Zipartas launched himself at her then, no matter that he was in a human shape and naked before her. Neither of those things mattered. He was still strong, and still fast, and he was going to rip out her throat with his own teeth and crack open her ribcage to eat what lay beneath.

[SanctifiedSavage]

What caught her off guard more than anything was how damned fast he was. Bytta was fast. Inhumanly so, but he was faster than she was. Across the gap that separated them in the span between breaths and over her before she would've had a chance to respond. Forced flat on her back from the sheer rush of him to her. Were it not for the binding, there was no doubt in the fae's mind he would have killed her. Consumed her as he would have all the others he had before, just as he had threatened to do. But his ill intent and desire to maim tipped his hand and reigned him in. The binding choked him back like an invisible leash wrapped around his throat and torso; he made it over her, on her, not quite touching her, but he could not bite and he could not rend. He couldn't lay a forceful hand on her.

Her bright pink eyes were wide as he was essentially hovering over her, millimeters from touching her, but held back by the very enchantment that she'd cast moments before. Safe from the monster she'd caught in her web. Bytta wasn't aware she'd held her breath until, realizing he could not touch her and the binding held, she let it out softly. "As I said," she murmured in the space between them, watching his sharp gaze, meeting it without fear, "You are bound to me. You cannot hurt me." The fae let that hang between them. Let that really sink in. Then, knowing she had his full, express attention, she leaned up just a little. Closing the span between them so they were almost touching. So her breath ghosted over him as she whispered, "And when I die, you will be consumed in a black void of nothing. Destroyed."

[SirAlahn]

He hadn't thought he could be angrier or hate her more than he did in those first few moments. But when he lunged at her and never connected, Zipartas knew immediately that he had been mistaken.

So close. He could feel the warmth of her skin with how near it was to his own, a contrast to his own coldness. But the magic wrapped around him like tangling vines, not painful per se but distinctly unpleasant and snaring him where he was—stopping him before he could touch her. No matter how he fought them, eyes bright and almost feverish in his anger, he could get no closer. It would have felt as though a warded barrier had popped up between them, save that he could almost feel the way her binding tightened like a noose around his neck, almost choking him.

Straining against it, he tried to close that distance. Burned with the need of getting ahold of her and venting all of the deadly intent inside of him. Bytta had even been knocked onto her back below him, and he was in the perfect position to use her how he wanted. To eat her and violate her and make her suffer for what she had done.

But if he'd thought the weight of keeping his other form had been too much to sustain, this was even worse. There was nothing so frustrating as being a mere hairs breadth from what he wanted and still being denied.

Even more so when Bytta released a breath at length and met the full force of his attention without fear, confirming what had already been proven. He couldn't touch her.

Oh, how he wanted to wrap his hands around her throat when she leaned up and murmured to him in that mocking away.

Instead, he slid to his feet, no doubt giving her a full view of him as he did so, unadorned save for the piercings on his cock. The immediate shift of the magic was enough even to startle him, as suddenly those tendrils were gone and he could move. Turning, he crossed to the corner of the nearest building and ripped a heavy stone from its wall, making the already gaping hole in it yawn even wider as it crumbled. It enraged him all the more to feel soft, fleshy fingers against the stone rather than claws.

It was heavy, but he hefted it with ease and threw it at her. Hard.

[SanctifiedSavage]

Bytta sat up more so when he finally moved away from her. Confidence bloomed in her chest and fueled a sort of fearlessness in a situation where most would have been cowed. She was a fae meant to face down monsters and, now that he was collared and contained, she would not show any fear. Surprise, sure. But Bytta was not, and would not, be afraid of him. If anything, she was rather proud of herself for doing as she had. Even if it was at the expense of her own eternal life, he had been thoroughly thwarted.  He would be nothing more than a child throwing a tantrum from here on out.

Not to say she took her bright pink gaze from him though.

He was quite taller than she was, but most were. The fae didn't look away from his sharp green gaze, taking a measure of his spite and hatred for her, then tracked his movements. When it became apparent what he was doing, she scowled prettily and slid to her feet. He might be faster than she was, but he could not throw something faster than she could move. Flitting as though she were a pixie with wings, Bytta moved out of the way. He might have been able to throw faster, but his movements were made slower and sluggish because he was aiming to hurt her. The binding was stifling even that indirect action, enabling her to move out of the way.

Rather than goad him further, she simply waited to see if he would persist in his actions. Bytta was extremely light of her feet and seemed to almost hover in place, watching and waiting.

[SirAlahn]

He'd felt unfettered up until it had really solidified in his mind that he was going to throw the stone right at her head. Zipartas could tell, then, that the magic was working on him again, dragging at his arms and making him slow. When she darted easily out of the way, he hissed at her and tried another tack.

This time he reached out with his own magic again to gather power around him, meaning to hone all of his intent into something that he could launch at her in a more abstract way, infecting her with that magic's touch and using it to tear her apart from within, to make her pretty voice lift in a scream of agony that he so wanted to hear. But though he could feel the swirl of power just beyond, it dissipated as quickly as it had started to coalesce, doing nothing more than ruffle some of his dark hair as though by a phantom breeze.

Zipartas drew in a very long breath that he didn't need then, eyes slipping closed as he stood a moment and got a handle on himself. Acting like a caged animal or an impetuous child was going to get him nowhere. Whatever the solution to this might ultimately be—and he felt confident there had to be one, somewhere—it seemed he would have to be patient.

When he opened his eyes again after a few over-long moments, he eased his hands out of the fists they had become and simply watched her. The storm brewing inside him had been forced to settle with no outlet, and now he just wanted answers rather than physical results. "What do you intend now that you have me?" He hardly suspected that Bytta would want to simply reside in this ruin until the end of time.

[SanctifiedSavage]

In truth, the fae expected the tirade and tantrum to last longer than it did. Hours, maybe. Days? She had yet to get a real measure of who she was dealing with, so she did not relax her scrutiny of him when he seemed to calm and regard her. The question did catch her off guard, if only because that wasn't something she'd really... thought about. Obviously she did not want to stay in the ruin. Not because it bothered her or creeped her out, but because she was still a creature that needed sustenance. Whether or not he did, she wasn't sure. That meant finding someplace remote that she could find food and water. While Bytta was confident that the binding would prevent him from actually hurting her, or anyone else, she didn't need him rampaging around trying or breaking buildings in frustrated rage.

That meant she needed somewhere remote to condition him into complacency. Which could take... well. That could take awhile.

The fae considered all of that in the span of several breaths before she looked around, as though really considering whether or not they should leave, before she gestured at him. "I intend to see you dressed so that we can go elsewhere." It wasn't that he was unpleasant to look at - the dark shadows thrown off by her own light created some nice highlights, but social propriety  should they actually encounter someone dictated that he actually have at least pants on. Then, she'd likely direct them to the nearest oasis that wasn't in the direction of Essyrn. Some place remote where she could figure out her next step while allowing him to adjust to his leash. "I'm sure there is something for you to wear in the things you kept from those you have already killed." It sounded callous and cold coming from her. While Bytta was sad that there had been a loss of life, she was sad in a detached way.

She had not known them and the initial treasure hunters had been the ones to unleash the monster to begin with. Loss of life was always something to be sad about, but the only real thing that had touched her in any personal way was the loss of one of her own - the last person to have lost their life coming to try and stop him - which had resulted in her summons.

[SirAlahn]

At least the woman was practical. Some part of Zipartas had wondered if she would prove petty and spiteful and deny him such a thing as at least dressing. Did she see him more as a thing, an animal? Perhaps not, if she was making such a concession.

That wasn't to say he was shy or demure in the slightest. Zipartas knew he looked appealing—yet another vain thing he prided himself on. But he hardly wanted to cross the desert with nothing on. Immortal he might be, but it would still be uncomfortable. Nevertheless, having her direct him in such a way, even if he had asked the question in the first place, rankled against his temper again.

"Very well," he said, voice clipped and precise, before he simply turned to step into the shell of the 'tomb' that had once housed him. The things he'd collected had been gathered there, and Zipartas didn't much care what Bytta occupied herself with while he dressed. But as he turned his back to her, he could still sense where she was; more than a preternatural sensation of awareness, this was something new. Something created by the binding she had cast upon him.

Detachedly, he wondered if that meant she could sense his whereabouts as well.

The clothes he dressed in were hardly the fine, polished things he would have wanted, but they would do. At least they were more or less the right size. Even so, he fussed with them as he dressed, the lack of appearing as he wanted to just adding insult to injury. And something as mundane as the pack he had filled with things that might be useful... tch. He looked like a common traveler.

When he emerged again, he asked then, "And where do you plan to go?" Odds were the names would mean nothing to him, but it was more the principle of the matter.

[SanctifiedSavage]

Part of her wondered if he'd throw a fit about her suggesting he wear clothes. Not because she thought he didn't want to be dressed, but because he seemed upset she would tell him to do anything. Thankfully, though, that didn't seem to be the case and he eventually turned to do just that. Either because he didn't think it worth fighting over or because even if he did want to argue, he wanted to wear something more. Whatever the reason, Bytta would take it.

While he was gone, she idly brushed herself off and let out a long sigh. Maybe she'd been more tense during the entire confrontation then she'd realized. Taking a moment to stretch, she cast her gaze about once more. Just to make sure this was really it. It wasn't so much that Bytta was expecting another monster to come creeping out of the dark so much as she'd hoped, futilely, that there would be a different solution that would suddenly present itself. Even though the binding was done, and could not be undone. If there was a time to now think about it all, and let it sink it, it was now. She didn't need to be unflinching in her thoughts and actions - nothing he could do would matter. She was safe.

Before any real doubt or she could become upset about the entire thing could creep in, he returned. Much like when she'd entered, Bytta could sense where he was. More so, now that they were linked. A sixth sense let her know how far he was and in what direction. As natural as breathing.

The fae took stock of her new companion, pleased he was fully dressed, before she gestured vaguely. "I have no set place in mind, yet. I had fully intended on returning to Court... I will need to take some time to adjust my course of action. Find a way to alert them as to my..." Bytta cut herself off and looked away from him. The Court would likely mourn her as lost and they'd be right to do so. Her supposed lifespan now would probably be short, either because something or someone would hunt them down or because an accident would kill her. If the monster - Zipartas - kept trying to find a way, he might succeed. That'd be the end of both of them. It was only natural they would hold a Rite for her and celebrate the life she had led up until now.

She passed a hand over her face, taking a moment to compose herself. "Well. Yes. Find some remote oasis to figure out my next step." That was it. That was really all she had. Keep him away from major cities, find some food and water for herself, and figure out the rest as it presented itself.

Good enough.