Soft wisps of smoke wafted through her fingers, as she waved and strummed them down over the air just above bowl of steaming incense she held cupped in her hand. Out before her face, she hunched low, keeping her eyes forward, pressing her dark eyes upon the patron before her, her face, dead set and serious as she began to chant softly the words of her ancient language, one mixed and hinting at it's blended Essyrni and Adelan foundings as her hand would open out towards their face, then close away over the incense, and kick open again, guiding the wisps of the smokes towards them.
She was committing their face, and eyes- to memory; the eyes being the gateway to visions and dreams, to the very soul of a being.
As she proceeded on, calling to the powers of her sight, to the spirits, to the visions...
Her voice became low and deep, with throaty, flem coaxed vowels clucking out between her tongue. And then she paused, dropped the incense suddenly as it landed in a clatter upon the rock floor. She had seen it, a wisp of a thought- the faint colorings in a shadow...
ANd out came her hand, grabbing onto another nearby bowl. Her fingers then dipped into the rich, turquoise colored paints held within, as she rolled her shoulders back, kept her chin pointed towards the ceiling above. Then dragging a paint coated thumb down her nose and then lips and chin, she closed her eyes, then moved onward, her necka nd shoulders rolling. Then she pressed her whole hand into the bowl, as the chanting grew louder, all the while still calling into the visions of the waking, speaking out into the open air, looking up towards the sky she could not see above the rock roof top that was her hut, - and soon her entire hand was coated in the rich blue tinted paint. And down her face the painted went, to where she gripped at her throat and then even lower, swearing the remains down the necklaces over her chest and shirt.
"I see it.." her voice came out like a purr, and she rolled her neck again, the colored incense from the bowl curlding around her form. AN dher hand shot out, the bangles on her hand clattering together as she took the woman by the hand.
"It shows me many things." And she opened the woman's hand nad pressed her thumb onto it twice, creating small, turquoise heart int he center of the woman's open palm.
"And the spirits tell me, the future foretells love."
The old woman looked shocked, and Pao moved to closed her hand as she winked.
"Now I know what you're thinking, Menassari, but don't worry. Your husband will not know."
ANd the old woman gave a laugh.
"Oh, Pao," and the old woman moved forward to embrace Pao'orha. "I will take note. Your visions are always so accurate. But I... I must say, there has been some concern in my heart."
Pao nodded from where she now sat over her legs upon the floor. "I can sense it. The visions are wise. If there is doubt, or a flutter of realization, go to it. You must." And she closed her hand over Menassari's. "For you will regret this if you do not. The love I saw will faded away into nothing more than smoke." And turning to the side, Pao picked up a pitcher of water and tossed it over the steaming bowl.
Rising, she placed her hands upon Menassari's shoulders while the other woman was staring down at the thumb-pressed heart on her palm.
"But do what you believe is best. The stars only tell so much. They see all and speak truths. It is you who must decide what path you take."
"Thank you, Pao. I'll never forget your guidance," Menassari spoke, bowing to her friend before slipping through the beaded curtains and moved out into the open, cliff side road. Pao smiled, and stood just beside the beaded curtain, keeping a hand held against it to keep it open as she peered out at the setting sun. Soon it would be time to close up shop, and she remained there a minute, peering over the balcony before taking notice of someone in the cliff side streets below.
Odd.. she had never seen that man before..
and a vision danced before her, blinding her temporarily. and something tasted odd, like metal through the winds. And before she knew it, her eyes rolled back as she crumpled forward, completely blanking out, and began to fall from her cliff side balcony towards the streets below.
The winds were fierce here this early in the morning and the seaside breeze was a welcome change to the armored traveler as he walked on. He'd come a long way from the temperate brush and wide landscapes of the Sirantil Valley, where things were stranger than he could ever have words to describe. But those were thoughts he pushed out of his mind, for the journey had been long and he felt like he hadn't slept in three days. In fact, he hadn't.
Enzo could only go so long on his natural dexterity, and after leaving a small fishing village along the coast, he'd traveled south from there, unsure exactly what he was searching for, but he guessed it didn't matter. Yet, there were whisperings, stories, tales of a renowned fortune teller in this area who was reported to have more than accurate visions. He couldn't say he believed in people being able to tell the future, but curiousity was enough to drive him on nonetheless. He wondered what such a person could tell about him without him saying anything.
And if on the off chance there might be something more she could tell him about the whereabouts of that bastard that destroyed his homeland and his people. Enzo forced the thought from his mind, knowing he'd grow nothing more than bitter from it and instead focused on the road ahead. He was near Canador, or so the one who'd given him directions had told him. The city-state was a small one, not hard to miss, but when you looked up at the cliff side, if you were careful, you could see inlets carved out where windows and doors were placed and a narrow winding road that swirled up and around and cut into the cliff that. Sconces and torch holders were locked into place, alighting pathways at night, making it easier for travelers to see, but in the daylight, one could easily walk past it and never know.
Thankfully, Enzo had a keen eye for such things and eyed in wonderment the design of the city, houses and storefronts carved into the rock itself, and some outstanding buildings as well. He found the path up into Canador, the seaside wind whipping at his hair furiously and the cold at least stemmed when he rose higher up onto the path. His tired legs were strong enough to walk along the stone stairs carved out beside the road.
It was a beautiful sight to behold, in fact, he can't think he'd ever seen anything like it. Even Castle Valar couldn't compete in the ingenuity of such a city. And while Enzo was fascinated, he hadn't quite seen the woman plummeting from the path above him. It was only at the last second, when he felt a shadow pass over him did he look up, and only in time to have her weight crashing down on him, making him lose his balance and falling hard on the rocky path, his golden armor clattering on impact.
Upon the weight and pain of impact, and the clattering sound of armor that echoed off the cliff side road, Pao'orha awoke to a terrible vision and a scream. A face, a terrible demon, a monster that lurked within the bowels of the earth was reaching out to grab her, to eat her; with eyes a terrible blazing yellow and it's skin, burning red against a mossy, vine coated husk. It was terrible sight, with stick like bones jutting out from it's back side, and wicked fingers and claws and sharp, needle like, saliva dripping teeth that she knew sought to gobble her up; and her alone, blaming her for it becoming awakened, and wanting to suck out the dreams and visions of her mind. It wanted her spirit heart... It was only the blue of the sky, the smell of the sea salt and the recognition of the cliff-side buildings that brought her back from the fevered visions. And it all happened in the blink of an eye, and the time it took her upon the few second drop from the balcony of rocks above.
Now, she was sitting up, erect over the armor robed man beneath her and was breathing heavily, sweat glistening across her skin as her heart felt as if it were hammering outside of her chest. She placed a hand there, hands pressing to skin, clothing and beads before she glanced down and realized, with a start, that some poor man had cushioned her fall.
Exclaiming something in her native tongue, she leaped off the man and stared down at him with wide eyes. She was clutching onto her skirts in one hand, the other hanging over the man as she bent over him, her shadow stretching across his face.
"By the spirits, I am sorry stranger." And it was only upon seeing his face that she realized, it was the stranger she had been staring at before her fall, and her eyes flickered, as her mind began to read back to when she had blanked out and frowned. But upon catching the sort of eyes he had, her brows furrowed even more before she reached up to the paint still drying upon her chest, smoothed a hand across it to gather a thin layer on her finger tips before she moved forward and pressed her thumb to both his cheeks. Recognition set in and she gasped, standing back, and muttered something else in her native tongue, then realizing her manners, she bowed.
"Forgive me... it is just your eyes..." She squinted hers and tilted her head, scrutinizing him as she tried to think back. "... have we met before?" Though even she did not feel any recollection if they had, but something about him was familiar. "No... no, I suppose not. A man with eyes like that, I'm sure I would have remembered." And she chuckled in spite of herself and offered him down a hand .
"I am Pao'orha Salandara. I hope you are alright there, stranger. To have a woman fall right upon you..."S he chuckled again and bent over him, still waiting for him to take his hand. "And I am no small woman, might be painful indeed. I could take you to the healer if you are in pain, if not, I could take you to my own place. I have herbs, though those cure ails of the soul." And she gestured above them, about two walk ways up to a balcony of stone with the faint glimpses of the rope ladder. "If you want, I could tell your fortune for free."A nd she bowed to him after helping him to his feet. "It is the least I can do." ANd she looked him over, appreciating him now for what he was worth, and not hiding in her eye that she liked what she saw.
"Most here say I am pretty accurate. I can tell you all you want to know about life, love.. even your death. It all speaks to me in the spirits, in the voices inside my head, and in dreams. But yes.." she gave a smirk, gesturing as her hands rattled when the gold and beaded bangles clattered together, taking her hand to his and turning it so she could peer down at his palm. His hand felt strong. She smiled at that and looked up at him, her eyes filled with excitement as they glittered. "I think we must. After all, a man with eyes like you has much story to tell."
And she kept her eyes fixated upon his, a deep and excited stare. "So what about it stranger. Just a minute of your time to see the visions, your path way into the future."
"And hey, it will be free of charge," she reminded with a wink.
Everything had gone black for a good long moment and for all that time, Enzo thought he was dead. But no, death couldn't come so easily for someone like him. Not when he still had so much left undone. Better people than he have died with so much more left to live for. And when his eyes widened with sunlight again, momentarily blocked by the shadow of the one that smashed the breath out of him literally.
He sucked in air sharply and blinked at her stupidly, mind still trying to recollect what happened. He sat up when she sprang out of the way and slowly climbed to his feet, dusting off his cuirass and looking at her outstretched hand, eyes trailing up her arm and to her neck and face, taking all of her in, including her strange attire.
Saying nothing still, he reached out his own hand and took hers, shaking it gently before bowing in front of her in respect and honor. "Then I think you were the one I've been looking for," he said, bowing his head again. "I think I'm all right. I've suffered worse, I don't think you've done much more than scratch my armor. You look a little scratched here and there, please I think I should be the one taking care of you." He let go of her hand and looked up at the place she indicated.
"Please, after you," he said.
She looked down at her side and noticed the blood. She cursed in her own tongue, before shaking her head and removing a scarf that had been tied within her hair.
"Who fell on who? I think I owe you at least the fortune telling,"s he said wihta smirk, and began to dab at the bleeding wound on her side. Thankfully, it was clotting easily before she dabbed lightly at another scrape at her leg. This one seemed pesky, and refused to clot as easily, so she tied the scarf around it before sighing, smiling and looking his way. She studie dhis eyes another moment. There was something.. so interesting about them. But yes.. back to business!
"This road will lead us up above to where my shop is. Come, stay close, the path gets narrow quickly up ahead," And she took his hand and began to guide him up and around the spiraling and bustling streets of Canador. Winds from the ocean were wiping in from the West, and fluttered her skirts and the trinkets that dangled from her clothing and hair, causing a soft chiming noise to grace each step she made. One road wound up, another down, and another snaked inside the cool cliff side where she helped guide Enzo through the spiraling stone staircases within.
"So I don't think I caught you name, foreigner," she stated, peering over at him from over her shoulder, a nearby torch light sparkling off the gold of her earrings and glittering off the rest of her bangled jewelry.
The city was even more beautiful inside than it had been to behold without. Enzo did not want to ruin it with trying to find words to describe it. It's very architecture was breathtaking and he could only imagine the years of labor and toil it took to construct the apartments and shopways and roads and stairs. True they were built for the cities smaller inhabitants, but they were not impossible to navigate. Quaint in it's construction, yet practical in formation, a city designed to last thousands of years. And he hoped one day, he could see how it fared against the test of time.
As they neared the top of the road, Enzo studied this fortune-teller, this woman that promised him visions of the future, possible answers to his quandaries. Yet there was only one quandary he hoped she would have answers for, and yet knowing the state of his current predicament, he doubted she would be able to find the location of such as Matakopas. And that very thought made him surge with rage.
He glanced at her with widened eyes, her voice knocking him out of his thoughts. "Oh...I..." he hesitated for a moment. "Enzo. May name is Enzo Azura." He bowed to her again, regally, and straightened himself, shoulders thrown back as if to solidify his presentation. "I am ...not from here. But being a fortune-teller, I'm sure you could tell just by looking at me. Please, let us go inside. I've come a long way to hear what you might tell me about...a friend of mine."
"Enzo Azura?" she repeated the name, giving him another appreciative once over before her eyes returned to his as she grinned. "You seem impatient. The path is long on our climb up, but we are almost there." She chuckled and stepped outside, letting her hands ruffled through her skirts as she took a few steps out and took hold of a nearby rope ldder. She then peered over her shoulder at him and gestured towards the balcony above.
"Come, I think you will find what you seek up here." And her eyes danced before she turned back around, climbed the rope ladder and disappeared up and over the side.
"This.. this is my home and shop," she began, once both of them were on her cliff-side balcony. "Up here, you can see all of the ocean, far stretching towards the horizons of the West, to the lands and seas of the falling suns." She gestured out with a wrist that way, but then used that same outward gesture of her hand to coax him her way with a curling finger. "Come, in here, this is where we shall begin." and she moved and parted the bead curtain infront of her shop, eyes catching the light of the fading sun.
Perhaps he was impatient and Enzo chided himself as he climbed up the ladder behind her, keeping his eyes on the rungs and not up her skirts when they at last made it to the top of the cliff side path. Here the winds whipped at his hair furiously and whistled in his ears. For a moment he thought the wind was going to knock him off.
"Land and sea of the falling sun," he mimicked after her, eyes gazing off to where she indicated. "It's beautiful... We didn't have oceans or seas where I come from...as we had was a mountain." Enzo pursed his lips and nodded to Her before following her inside. And he was only partly surprised to find that within her home it was nearly as eccentric as she was.
Bead work hung down from the ceiling, a few, odd shaped mirrors tucked into the wall where stone had come out, causing enough lip and recesses to hold them. Various rooms of an organic shape were sectioned off by more beads hanging for doors, or hanging, thin clothes; and in the center was a make shit chhimney that poked it's way up to the cliff's top. The floors held woven rugs, and many low sitting tables, barely inches off the floor, were scattered about the room in various sizes. Woven baskets and clay jars lay here or there, and a grouping of them, amongst a few bowls of the turquoise paint she wore remained upon the table nearest the center of the room.
"Here,"s he gestured to a red and gold rug upon the floor that sat on the side of the long table nearest the door. "Have a seat," and she smirked at him. "I have to get a few things first," and she disappeared behind a bead curtain, the beads rattling and clamoring together in her wake. WHen she returned, she held a jewel encrusted dagger, firmly rested inside a leather carved sheath. She also had a waterskin slung over her shoulder, and a few other odd trinkets tucked within her arm.
"Now,y ou come here for love, yes?" she said, and gave him a knowing grin. "Most do. Most travel far and wide to hear their readings, the visions I see of their future." Then she shrugged. "And most inquire about love. But I can see it all, now, give me your hand." she instructed. "Palm up."
"Love?" he repeated after her. Gods he hoped he wasn't going to make a habit of that. But for now it seemed that what he had to do so for now, abjusting to this strange environment and in particular, this strange woman.
"No,, he said softly. "I never give much thought to love. What I hope you might help me with is...the location of a man. I am looking for him but thus far he has managed to elude me, but I am growing desperate and now here I am...in front of a fortune-teller."
Pao'orha looked the man over with keen and leering eyes.
"But this man you seek, could he not result in love, no?" she grinned, knowingly but hten grew more serious. "Either way, come, your hand," she insisted, considering he had yet to offer it out to her. "You are in the right place if you want to hear your fortune. Not many possess the foresight as the Saranthian." She smiled at him, staring directly into his eyes. "And I can tell there will be much to see."
Enzo hesitated for a moment before taking off his gloves and extending his large hands out to her, palms up, skin delicate but his fingertips and thumbs rough to the touch. "There can be no love for such a man. I would sooner see his head rolling at my feet. I am here for you to help me solidify his punishment. When I find him, I will kill him, for he deserves nothing less."
Pao stared into his eyes after that statement for a good long while.
"Ah.. so I see, this is not the normal soul search,"s he purred. Then glancing down at his hands, she inspected them both and asked, "Which hand do you use most often? Preferably, the one for your sword?" and she pointed to one, assuming that the extra wear to the skin and callouses proved fruitful in her search.
"Both," Enzo corrected. "I am right handed, but my left is equally as strong. It must be to wield the blade such as the one at my side. A katana if you care to see it. A two handed blade for two handed combat." Enzo tried to keep his eyes from wavering and his hands were trembling though he didn't know why. He clenched his jaw, muscles protruding conspicuously but he did his best to contain it. "What do you see? What can you tell me?" His eyes sought hers and remained glued to the sight. They were intense and filled with fire, of guilt and anger and fear - and foremost the fear that they might betray his thoughts.
"Well, for now, I see two hands," she said jokingly witha chuckle, noticing the emotions stirring in his gaze. "But come, I will have to see these visions through both your hands then." And before Enzo could protest, she unsheathed the jeweled dagger and lightly cut across both palms of his hands, and worked quick, catching just the smallest bit of freshly spilled blood and letting it drop into a wooden bowl. Then she swung the waterskin from over her shoulder and uncorked it, letting two shakes of water fall in and grabbed a handful of dried powder and threw it at the bowl, only half going in, the other half fell around it in a chaotic mess.
Bending over the bowl, she began to swirl it around by holding the bowl within the palm o fher hand.
"Your blood in the water will be able to show me alot. For it is a different type of seed this vision comes from." And she planted a hand to her chest, where her heart beat. "It comes from another part of here, one that blinds up here." She told him, and pointed to her temple. "Now, all I need to do is.." but when her fingers touched the water she gave a yelp, dropped the bowl and hissed, clutching her hand as if she had been burned and leaped to her feet, cursing in her native tongue.
"The waters!" she said, noticing them spilling ontot he floor. "They have become hot!" ad she glanced over worriedly at the man, her eyes wide at the revelation. Though to anyone else, the waters would have felt cool to the touch, but she was still nursing the hand where it had gotten burned.
Enzo grit his teeth when the blade slashed across his palms. Though thin and minute in size, it still stung and he clenched his hands tightly as he watched her work then. It was a good thing she did it fast too, for he wouldn't have let her if she'd asked. He just listened to her, though he would deny her words would ring true for him.
"I am not blinded," he said softly, though he doubted she heard him. When the bowl grew hot though she did not know why, he took looked at her curiously and then down at the puddle that spilled out onto the floor, swirling with small traces of blood and his eyes widened in horror at the face he saw forming in the reflection of the water.
"You're too late, Enzo, you're always too late," Matakopas said through the reflection, his dark voice echoing through the room. "It's sad to see you so troubled in slow, delusional beyond your might. The beast beneath the earth will soon be awakened, and what will you do to stop it?"
"Where are you, Matakopas!?" Enzo growled at the reflection.
It only laughed in response as it looked over to Pao. "Why doesn't your little fortune-teller tell you?" And with that it vanished as Enzo fell to his knees on the ground, hands swiping at the water and powder and blood mixture, howling when there was nothing but ground underneath it.
She had remained there, stunned, only staring down at the very real vision in the blood waters. This sort of thing had never happened before, at least not recently, so she was glad to be able to recompose herself before Enzo could see her.
"Come now, you can not grab the sight," she told him, taking him by the wrists and looking him int he eyes. She studied them. "There is much to tell in there." She said, still looking at his eyes, but then pulled away. "Unfortunately, it is late, and the shop is now closed." ANd she jerked a finger towards the beaded curtain, to where the last lights of day were fading. "I suggest the inn on the lower level of Canador. The Moor's Head. You can not miss it if you keep to the outter walls, but go easterly, for west will simply take you out to the Ocean's landing, and that Inn is not as good. Pretty," she shrugged it over in nonchalance. "But not as good."
ANd in truth, she didn't want to deal with the demon, for that's what she believed she had seen. SHe had to re cooperate her own magics and visions if she was even going to attempt to read into that one, and she was tired from her day of weaving spells of loves and spinning lies on love that was not there. Half of the time she just made things up. It worked well for good coin. Though her true powers were not always realized.. though now, it truly was, and she wasn't quite ready for diving into that mess at day's end.
"If you wish to return come morning, I give you good price. But for now, this reading was free of charge, and I must rest. Seeing the future, and things others can not is hard work." ANd she smiled and moved to lift the bead curtain door open, expecting him to leave.
Enzo's eyes grew wide and desperate as he peered out to Pao as if he wanted to grab her hard by the arms and shake her and force her to give him another reading. Disappointment lingered in his face and peered down at the sliced palms of his hand that still stung and felt that it had all been for naught. Enzo nodded to her assessment and stood up, flushed with emotion and took a deep breath to collect himself. He stood up and took his gloves from the table, stuffing his hands into them and bowing to her once more.
"I'm sorry for that...outburst," Enzo said, his eyes looking around her place wonderingly one more time before turning on his heel and departing through the beaded curtain. He could find east and west easily and was soon in front of the Moor's Head as she directed. It was a small in, quaint, and inexpensive and soon found himself in his room.
He saw alone in the gloom, nothing more than an oil lamp burning on the mantelpiece and a fireplace smoldering flames just underneath it. He sat on the floor at the foot of the bed, cross-legged and closing his eyes, trying to reflect on what just happened. What kind of vision was that? He certainly doubted it was Pao's doing, but she'd yet to prove her gift, except for the fact that she was quick to steal his blood and make excuses on what she hadn't seen. Good thing it was a free session or he'd demand his money back.
Now with the man outside of her shop, Pao'orha could close up for the night,a nd as she began to gather up all of her things, she paused to stare down at the bowl and the blood water that still remained. There was only a small bit left that hadn't been spilled in the chaos, ad she made a face at it, swore in her tongue and made a warding motion, before carrying it off to the balcony and throwing hte water over the side.
"May the dark spirits be torn by winds!" she hissed, and paused there, staring off into the sky, eyes widening as she noticed something forming in the sky. It looked as if the moon was growing closer, and her hand clung to her chest. When the moon was this large, her mother had warned her...
the power was greater, but so were the spirits of the shadow. ANd those spirits you had to be careful of, for they were tricksters, like the jackal. she paused to look down at her hands, pondering what the connection might be to the strange man, and her fainting spell off the cliff side. Could they be all connected? ANd the vision of htat face.. that man...
She grit her teeth, but turned her back to the sunset, the world was already bleeding into the deep purple of the night, with just hte faint twinkling of stars dusting over head. She moved her way through the head curtains, finished cleaning up her mess, before beginning her nightly routine. She was nearly out of her paints, and began to mix up a fresh batch, but a scent caught from the powder made her freeze and she paused to observe it, dipped her finger intot he pouch and guided it to her nostrils and sniffed again.
Somethign rattled inside her brain, made her feel dizzy...
and she wasn't sure what compelled her, but as she finished mixing up the batch of paint, she began to lathering it onto her hands, and in doing so, she took her hands and began to lather it all over her body, and danced around in a circle around a small burning bowl of incense.
She was calling to the spirits of the twilight, hoping to seek answers this evening..
Perhaps in a dream, in a vision, or even in another unexpected guest. Either way, she was cleansing her mind and awakening the spirits inside.
Yes.. the visions from earlier.. she had to have answers. She would find a way.It was a sign. The new moon, the full moon, the big moon that hung intot he sky- and as she finsihed her dance she leaped out onto her balcony, bending down on one knee as her neck craned, chin up towards the sky. AN as she posed, she whispered words in her ancient tongues, words that were carried and through her breath against dried colored weeds she held within her fingers, and when she opene dhtem up, agianst her wordsa nd the ocean air, they took off, fluttering up high against the nighttime sky.
"May the spirits guide us all this night," and as she spoke, her eyes seemed to become illuminated by the glow of the moon.
Indeed the darkness did swirl behind her and as she glared up at the moon, a form found it's way into her house. At first it seemed like nothing more than a shadow person, without a distinct owner, traveling along the walls in the dimness of what light remained and took its time in exploring her home and wares as she danced in the moonlight. The shadow solidified further until it took a seat in a chair just at the door of her balcony.
"I never thought my old friend would stoop so low," the voice admitted, dulcet and rich and deep. "But if you want my advice, you should stay way while you still can. He's a mad man. But you alreasy knew that didn't you. Just like you know the beast is awakening. The first of many..." Matakopas would appear before her, coming out like back smoke streaming off of him. He was tall with a powerful build for a mage, And his skin was dark and grey like the people of the wasteland. Blue tattoos ran down his forehead, three arrows cascading fown the other until they pointed down to the bridge of his nose. Two delicate blue marks were carved into his cheekbones. His brow was high, eyes wise and discerning as they bored into her, But his grin was no less sinister.
She was taken back when the man suddenly appeared, and she eyed him up, noticing the wisps of smoke off his flesh.
"First in visions of blood, now in smoke? The moon is full and filled with many mysteries this night." Sh smiled in return. "But come, why would a spirit, or man, such as yourself, care for a woman who tells mere fortunes to others, most women of this land who come to me, looking for love?"
Though he had mentioned the beast, she dare not admit it, and simply stared at him challengingly. "And how do I not know the beast is not you? It is said, strange things happen on moons such as these, and most of these things are dark, and your presence only proves what you are, appearing in shadow. But I guess you are friends with the man with the peculiar eyes, yes?" She grinned back at him.
"Tell me, what is it you want from me? Or do I have to wait on my dreams this evening?" For she solely believed what he might not tell her, or try to deceive, she would see the truth at night, with her eyes wide shut.
"Words of love from a woman who knows nothing of it's truth," Matakopas laughed. "But who can truly say on that matter... Even the gods have trouble decinf who they love most. And its vagaries are more complex than the heart of a mmortal could ever comprehend."
Matakopas' grin turned genuine, sweet almost when he approached her? Skirting around to lean against the balcony rail and looked up at the moon, his black hair still in the wind. "I am not the beast in question my dear," he replied before looking at her again. "No, and I know you question me in the hopes that I might lie and trick you so that you may have your evening visions to speak to you of your percieved truth. But truth is subjective. No, I am just the man with the Key. And in the hall of locked doors, the man with they key is kings. My crown is quite grand indeed, but I digress. No, I'm here to warn you about the man you just spoke to. He is nothing at all as he seems. In fact the sooner you sever any ties from him the better."
Pao'orha stared at the man skeptically. He was a strange one, and although she had seen visions before, she wasn't sure if this was a vision, or was this man actually real.. so without so much as saying anything, she moved a hand to see if it would pass through him- to see if he was a vision, or some sort of ghost.
As she reached down to touch him, he didn't move and her hand would collide with a solid chest and when she was near, Matakopas reached out to grab her hand and yanked her near until her face was but an inch from his. "Believe me now?"
Pao'orha's eyes widened. But as she looked at his face, she only grinned.
"I suppose you could make a believer out of me. I'm listening,"s he said, raising her dark brows at him. "Oh wise king, what is it you wish to teach me? I am very humbled in my learning. Some say I take things in like a sponge," she told him smartly, chin out and eyes dancing as if daring him to say something to challenge anything and anyone. She was Saranthian after all, they were of proud people, and brave. She did not fear this man, but would hear him out now that she thought he 'felt' most certainly real.
"Though are you sure you do not come here to know of love?" she asked in jest, a twinkle to her eyes. "I could read your palm for a good price."
Matakopas gave her a grin in return and released his grip on her hand but did not let go of her hand. Instead he turned her palm over and smiled as he traces his roughened hands over her lifelines.
"You don't think about love do you?" he asked. "In fact you see more than what the future holds for the heart of a particular individual. You see the winds of change. And they are coming for Canador. They are coming for you... And you hope for your sake your visions will lead you to the one who can stop it. Am I right so far?"
Only Pao's eyes wavered, her face remaining a mask of indifference as the man moved to read her palm.
"The winds of change happen to all of us,"s he told him smartly, giving him a meaner grin, one that challenged. "Even I can feel it in my bones. I am not as young as I once was. In fact, it requires more energies to... see." And her eyes sparkled. "But as far as what I hope?" She gave a shrug and turned away, aiming to nonchalantly loosen her hand and take it frm him. "Everyone's hope is different."
Matakopas grinned even wider and gripped her wrist as if it were trapped in a bear trap. "Indeed all good things must come to an end. But not like this. The world hasn't seen this kind of change in a long time. The world has long been stagnant, a beast laboring for breath. But the storm that's coming is already brewing. War stirs in the north, a man works to revive an ancient evil long ago forgotten, cursed as its slave, even the very lords of the Underworld are all in a buzz because this change is imminent. And you've felt it before. In fact it nearly broke your neck because of it, Until you had the good fortune to land on my good and noble enemy."
Matakopas drew his face nearer hers and snarled his teeth almost sharp enough to tear off her face. "I would normally like to see how this plays out. But it's a risk I'd rather not afford to take knowing how dogged Enzo is. So I think I'll just kill you now you meddling woman." His other hand shot to her throat and clasped it tightly ready to crush her throat. There was a shape moving behind him, one he saw in the reflection of her eyes as it scaled over the railing and pulled out that glimmering balde from his side and launched himself at him. Matakopas released Pao in time to turn around and face Enzo blade for blade with the retractable spear from his belt. Lighting seemed to spark as the weapons met, igniting the fury in either of their features as they clashed on the balcony.
Pao gasped once her throat was released. Her mind was in a whirl. What had just happened? And then she spotted him.
"Enzo!?" and looked around, heart racing inside her ears as she thought quickly, cramming her hands inside a nearby, bag filled with blue powders used to make her paints,a nd once she had enough in her hand, she waited, turned, then threw the powder into Matakopas's eyes with a yell, hoping to at least blind him so Enzo could get the upper hand. If anything, she would fight for the side of the man with coin, not the man who threatened to kill her. If anything, the moon's chaos was in full force, and this was something even she could not fight, but at least she could aid.
"Run! Get out of here!" Enzo cried out as he ducked beneath a head strike and rolled around underneath another. Matakopas growled when the powder came into his vision but he would sooner take off her head than to let Enzo take his. The Magecrafter swung low and metal clashed to metal. Angra'arda was hungry for blood and the diamond cut blade seemed unperturbed by thw sheer force of each strike it drove Enzo on as he pressed the assault.
"You're always too late, Enzo. This was just sheer luck," Matakopas hissed. "But tonight is not the time you die. That will come soon." He shoved Enzo backwards into the house with a blast of fire before leaping ovet the balcony rail and into the darkness below.
Pao'orha wasn't much one for running, not that there was any place to go. There was her home, or the balcony, and currently, the fight was escalating on there. So for now, she stayed low, pressed to the wall,a nd once the man leaped over the balcony, her eyes went wide and she followed after, leaning over the edge to see him disappear into the dark.
Turning to Enzo, she rubbed at her throbbing throat.
"Do you always have such colorful friends? First they appear in my blood waters, then just as randomly behind me. Like wicked magics." She pointed to the moon. "Though none can be blamed. The moon is quite large, and casts a power towards the natural chaos of the earth." She shrugged. "It is just the way of things, but come in side, let me see to your wounds, if any. If not, I bet your heart is racing and a drink might sooth your nerves." ANd she parted the bead curtains, grinning at him and appearing as if unphased by what just had passed.
After all, it was the will of the moon, but the moon would begin to wane after this, and soon things would go back into order. THough even she could feel the call of darkness that promised to overshadow any fading moon to come.
He couldn't say if it was the force of the moon that had to do with the fact that Matakopas decided to appear. But he wouldn't contend with her logic, for the force of the power that the Magecrafter threw at him was enough to cause some severe bruising on his abdomen. And he grunted with effort when at last he stood. Thankful for the cool winds to press against him as he limped inside of her shop at last.
"I felt his presence," Enzo said with a groan, wincing at the pain in his stomach. "We are from the same place, so to speak. Perhaps that is why I knew he would show up. Or maybe your moon told me otherwise." He tried to laugh and just doubled over from the pangs of soreness that electrified through him.
Pao knelt beside him, trying to distinguish if he had been cut, but saw no blood.
"Here, take off your clothing so that I may tend to your wounds."
Then she whispered something in her native tongue and spat to one side.
"This does not bode well for my senses. I have a feeling there will be much in my dreams tonight."
And much to decipher.
Enzo looked at her strangely - not at the fact he was told to remove his clothes - but the fact that she could remain so calm after having her life threatened. She would surely be dead were it not for his intervention, it seemed, just in time too.
He wordlessly unclipped the straps of his armor and set the cuirass down on the floor and pulled the tunic underneath over his head, revealing the long wide bruise across his abdomen where the brunt of the shockwave had run into him. "Why are you so calm?" he felt himself asking. "This can't be something that happens to you on a daily basis. Unless it is?"
Pao'orha found herself staring wide eyed at the bruise, but then looked to his face at his question. She tilted her head curiously to one side.
"Do I have any reason not to be calm? Strange things, happen, yes, but the dreams told me they would be as such." She smiled and gave a shrug. "Either way, is my head still in place? Then yes, so I see no reason to be upset over things that had not harmed me outside of a good scare." She laughed. "If one can not laugh at themselves, or the danger thrown at them, then we we are not meant for this world. I have seen many things, Enzo, and sometimes it is the visions that are more frightening than real life. But come," she gestured. "Take a seat nearer to my table, yeah? I might have something you can drink that will help you heal that up faster, and if not, at least help you to sleep all the better. You can rest here." ANd she found herself laughing again.
"Just in case you know who decides he thinks it's funny to come back at all this night. You are.. quite quick with that blade, yes? Perhaps it is destiny we find ourselves like this. For I've had many dreams foretelling about a tiger, strong and wild. One to come and to defeat the strange things I have been seeing in my dreams these many moons, over these many years. It seems times is passing, and soon dreams will come to us in the waking world."
Enzo never believed in destiny, but his face softened at the offer to rest there. He supposed he understood where she was coming from, but he'd too had seen too much to last many lifetimes. The very ground swallowing bodies and men from which they would never return. It was one event...but he supposed if he had constant visions of it he would never be able to sleep.
"I suppose you have a point," he replied with a nod and following her instructions. He sat on the floor with a great deal of effort and peered over to her.
"He won't return you know...he was just trying to make a point. That he can reach you no matter where you are, or what you have to defend yourself. If I didn't intervene, he would have had your head. But now that he knows you're involved with me, somehow, he'll consider you an enemy."
Pao gave a laugh, one that continued well for a few seconds before she shook her head.
"Forgive me, but I do not fear such enemies. Call it foolish, but if fate were to have me die at his hands, so be it. But I have not seen my death, and I have seen things that have yet to come. I do not believe now is my time to go.. though you... you seem troubled over such things. You should calm yourself. You will not die soon either. For you.. I see a great path, much suffering, but deaht.."s he shrugged casually. "Not yet. NOt now...."
She smiled.
" Now.. wait here, I'll get the lion's piss. It will help with your wounds." And she moved to stand.
OOC: B| see what I did there?
[Why u mad? B|]
Enzo looked up at her wide-eyed. "The what!?" he cried as he tried to stand to go after her. "No-no, I don't need no... AHHHh!" He keeled over and held his gut, almost crying at the pain, but refusing passage to his tears, and rolled over on his side. "That...disgusting."
OOC: bwahahaha
-----------
Pao'orha had a good laugh over that, fetching up a drinking gourd from a nearby shelf.
"Here, piss drinker, enjoy."
And then she gave him a wink.
"By the way, it's not piss, but rum," and she took a drink herself and sighed contentedly at the taste. "Good for nerves and burns the belly well. ANd this kind I make it taste like candy." she said, kissing her finger tips with a smile.
Enzo sniffed at it and made it face. It certainly didn't smell good and he set it aside with a frown. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'll contend with the pain," he said, laying back against the ground.
Pao gave a shrug, staring him over before getting to her knees and moving a hand forward, lightly resitng it over his bruise.
"It will heal, but will take some time." She looked up at his face. "Perhaps a cold bath to tame down it's swelling? It may also ease your muscles after such stress and tension against your friend." She smirked. "It seems you both have quite the history, and it seems as if I will become involved, no? This case you bring to me, these visions in the light, aye, they are like nothing i have had to deal with in a good long while. Most folks here, they just want to know about life and love and happiness, yai,yai,yai, but it brings good coin, you know?" she said, making a motion with her fingers. "But that is not the extent of my skills. It seems with you.. you..." she looked directly into his eyes again. "You, of the strange eyes, I will have to go deeper." an she pressed a hand, palm down, over his heart.
"Oh.. it beats quickly." she said with a chuckle, wagging her eye brows at him. "Do you want that bath now, ya?"
She was right and those three days without rest or even something as relaxing as a bath were beginning to take its toll on him and it showed in his eyes. So Enzo nodded to her and tried to stand but with poor effort as he soon fell on his ass again. "A hand if you would," he requested. As soon as he was up he looked at her. "Matakopas will want you involved now that he knows your visions are of importance. But you don't have to. This isn't your fight."
Pao'orha only shrugged as she placed Enzo's arm over her shoulder and helped guide him into a back room.
"It seems that is not yours to decide," she said with a playful chuckle. They rounded a bend, past through another section of beaded curtain before the pair of them made it into a small room, one they could barely fit into tht held a small tub in the center.
"Wait here, I shall gather buckets of water for your bath. Though the waters here might not be as cold as you might think, the salt in them will do well on your body. Help cleaned the spirits and refreshes the skin."
"Sea water? That's your secret?" Enzo couldn't help but laugh but knew if she had a method to her madness, who was he to refuse. So he leaned against the edge of the tub and removed the last pieces of armor that remained on his legs, letting the metal clang to the floor as he lingered at the edge of the tub.
Pao'orha gave him a wink.
"There is much the ocean waters can provide."
She moved away, and moved over to her make shift well that resided in a back room of her home. It went all the way down tot he waters at the bottom of the cliff side. NOt many houses had these sorts of chutes, and she was lucky, so it took a great deal of time before she came back with a bucket full of the salt waters. She slipped it into the tub. It didn't offer much, but it would do.
"If you wish to have it filled all the way up, we might be here all night. I will fill it up once more, then you can use my herbal soaps to rub away all that sweat and worry clean off your skin." And then she winked playfully. "And if you are lucky, I could help." ANd she disappeared to gather another bucket of the ocean water.
Enzo gave her a smirk and laughed. He blushed despite himself began to remove his trousers when she left to get a second refill of the bucket. It would do and soon he was inside of the freezing water and he gave a bit of a yelp when he slipped inside. The bruise along his abdomen clenched and made it ache all the more, but his face was only flushed with pain and he soon settled in the water.
Pao returned with a second bucket of salt water and grinned to see the large man, naked in her tub.
"I'm sorry my bath is so small, but it seems you fit in it just ok, yeah?" she said,a nd didn't wait for him to answer, dumpign the second bucket of water into his lap and leered him over, liking what she saw.
"So..y ou want massage, yes? I have oils that work well when rubbed into the skin. Makes for a very relaxing evening, amongst other things." she said, giving him a wink.
Enzo was beside himself with the cold salt water, the sensation drying against his skin as she shivered when the second batch came in. He needed to meditate, to center himself and to concentrate on where he could find Matakopas, on why he attacked the fortune-teller...and what she had to offer for him. The magecrafter wouldn't have bothered with her if he didn't think she was important.
But perhaps that was just the distraction and Enzo looked up at her with wide eyes, only recognizing she was still there. His brow was low and innocent and he peered at her once again. He nodded and turned as best he could in the tub to put his back to her. "I've traveled three days with no rest. Three days with out sleeping or eating. I think I could just die right here and I'd be happy," he laughed. "If you don't mind, a back massage will do. I'll make sure you're paid, with what gold I have."
Pao smiled like a cat, and moved to rub oils onto her hands before working them into his shoulders.
"You didn't need to tell me that!" she said, barking out a laugh. "I can feel it in your shoulders," she said, leaning in real close to his ears. "They speak of many more days of tension than three." She seemed to purr out the words as she asked,
"So.. I fill you with good water and breads, perhaps some meat this evening and we share bed, yeah?" Her fingers continued to work into him. "You would be amazed what powers the bodies uniting has on one's spirit after being famished of so many of it's vitals." She gave a good laugh at it. "And I must say it will be wonderful for us both. I feel a connection here, deeper than nature.." and her hands continued to dig in, thumbs rubbing, loosening at the knots without reserve. "And a price? We can speak of gold later." She shrugged. "For now, we have to settle what your body needs." and she moved her hands to massage a bit lower on his back, before her fingers began to move around the front, reaching down thrugh the waters to something she believed needed massaging in his lap.
He wasn't quite understanding her meaning until her massaging began to grow more intense. Enzo turned his head over his shoulder to peer at her hands as they kneaded his shoulders and he couldn't help a groan that escaped him in response. He needed it more than he knew, and he could feel the tension leaving his body with every pressure point. He washed over himself as she continued her ministrations until he saw her hands sink into the water.
At that his hand shot down and held them for a moment. "Food and water will do," he said with a smile. "I can sleep on the floor. I will be content with that. I must meditate, center myself.'
Pao blinked, but grinned none the less at his actions.
"I have many blankets. You can borrow some if you want separate room." She got the gist. "But, aya! You are so tense!" her hands went back to his shoulder. "I do not know if my hands can be so skilled. But I try.." and she worked at them a bit more before grinning and moving away. "Take your time to finish your bath, ya? I'll see what I can do for food." and she stood up and left him to his own devices. Her services were needed elsewhere, after all.
It was a strange offer and he watched her leave with narrow curious eyes, lingering long after she left and he continued to wash himself until he felt the stress of it all leave him. When he was done, he got up from the tub and dried off, dabbing himself dry and feeling flakes of salt remaining. Once they were gone, he slipped into his trousers and gathered his greaves and then moved with some difficulty back into the main room. Her house was a lot larger than he would have guessed and he didn't see her anywhere else. So he moved the rest of armor into one corner, setting it upon a chair and reclothing himself with his tunic, kneeling in front of his armor, staring at it...wondering why it felt so heavy all ov a sudden.
The smells of sweet, steamed vegetables wafted through the room, and a moment later, she was carrying a steaming dish, a smile upon her face. She rest it upon a low resting table upon the floor.
"Here, eat. These are fresh, I picked them this morning. They make you strong, and help you rest well," and she gestured to the fried mushrooms. "And let me know if you want any more spice. I wasn't too generous witht he seasoning. If I put too much, I find myself awake, all night. And you want rest. Yeah? So eat. And I shall get us fresh water. Waters help purify parched throats and souls." And she tossed him a wink and returned, carrying a pitcher of fresh mountain watera nd poured each of them a glass.
"So tell me, are all of your friends and visions you seek so colorful?" and she smirked, taking a seat before him, her legs crossed in indian style fashion.
Enzo blinked at her with scrutinizing eyes and he actually grew slightly irritated at her happiness. Couldn't she see there were more serious things at stake? Things that needed focusing, reflection, and rectification! But he knew what she would say. Of course there would always be trouble brewing, always madmen that wanted to do mad things, so why let it bother you. That much was easy to gauge from her attitude.
He moved to the small table and knelt before it as he was wont to do rather than sitting cross legged. Resting both hands upon his thighs, Enzo bowed his head to the food in reverence to it before looking up at her with furrowed brows.
"Are you always so inquisitive?" he countered, reaching for the water, smelling it first before taking a sip. "You must not get many guests, the way you smother them so. I am not trying to question your hopsitality. Like you, I am merely...curious. But I do apologize for any rudeness I may exhibit. It's just not very often do hostesses offer to sleep with me."
Pao-orha gave a curious tilt of her head.
"I ask because I seek answers in all things,"s he said, and smiled at him much like a cat, a sparkle to her eyes. "It is only in my nature," she shrugged. "And it pays the coins," she said, rubbing two fingers to prove her point. "But even still, the Saranthian are a curious race, for we are connected to the world all around us. We can see things others can not, and knowing things about the others that are not shown to us in visions often times help connect the pieces." Then she smiled a bit and looked down at the fried mushrooms. "But come, eat. It will make you rest better, I assure you. Then perhaps we can talk about what it is you and I ought to see this night. For I fear our dreams will not be pleasant, as shadows lurk on all walls."
At the mention of shadows, Enzo glared up at the walls as if their own cast upon the wall from lamp light would jump out at them. The tension that relaxed away seemed to return to him in that second and made him look down at his empty plate before nodding to her. "I see then," Enzo nodded to her. "I'm sorry I did not mean to assume. Yes let's enjoy this meal."
He reached forward and looked at the dish of sea food and mushrooms and plucked a small portion onto his plate. As he took a taste he actually smiled and nodded in approval. "This is quite good," he said. "Not as bitter as I was expecting. And to answer your question, no...not all of my friends aare quite as colorful.. I don't have any friends. I don't need them."
At his response, Pao laughed.
"Friends are nice to have, but they keep you back, ya? I have many friends here, in Canador, though none like the family I left on the plains. Here.. eh.." she shrugged, picking up a cooked mushroom and eating it. "People tend to keep to themselves, and are gulliable fools who have dreams as powerful as the ocean." And she smiled, picking up a sea snail and eating it through a grin. "Though sorts of people I like. This town has much potential, and my own fate, my own dreams have lead me here. So I wait, I wait for the visions to come, to give me the answers, the second phase in my life; for I too, know something is greater at work here. A colorful force perhaps, who knows.." Ad here she grinned, "It very well might be connected to you and your friend."
But then she laughed. "Eat, eat, I do not wish to get ahead of myself, but I am excited to dream this evening, so I have laced the meal with some extra herbs to ensure we sleep without disturbance. So enjoy it all, and I think you mght find the sea snails are quite tender, ya? They soak in the spices good."
Enzo looked down at the snails and licked his lips. "I'll admit this is rather unusual for me but it is good for now," he said eating more and in particular the mushroom and making a face. "You have a strange pallete but it is better than boar's head. You don't have to eat the eyeballs whick explode in your mouth at the most inopportune moments." He gave a bitter laugh.
"So you can read into people's dreams? When I sleep will you read into my dreams? Will our dreams combine? I fear what you would see. Sometimes I'm too frightened to sleep because dreams do not come as easily as nightmares."
"I get visions while I wake, and visions while I sleep; though I've noticed the most powerful ones come to me as I slumber."
Her eyes then danced. "Combined dreams would be something, it would mean we are connected, fated to have met. And might even explain while I passed out and fell over my balcony ontop of you." She chuckled. "It will tell me whether that was a warning or a good sign, though.. Aya," she rubbed at her neck. "I am still stiff from that fall. Perhaps later, I use oils on myself." She wrinkled her nose, but was soon smiling. "So tell me, you dream often, ya? And dreams of darkness?" And the last part, her smile faded, concern showing within her eyes.
Reminded of the fall, he visibly blushed and laughed. "It's not often I have a woman fall on me in from the sky. Though it was a nice change of pace as of late," he said darkly, continuing to eat. "Though it is hard to believe this what the gods want for you when you've seen all you know and love destroyed before your very eyes. I cannot assume the if was were fated to meet, that it is a good thing. And with Matakopas having countered you...if could only mean destruction for you and your people. He is the reason I live. To ensure that he doesn't. But it seems I'm not doing that good of a job."
"Not all heroes have good beginnings," Pao mused. "Some actually begin on the wrong side." Chuckling, she studied him. "Yes, eat up. I.." she winced, rubbing at her neck. "I go get oils for myself, ya? You eat your fill. I be back." ANd she vanished into a back room behind a curtain of beads.
Enzo furrowed his brow as she excused herself and frowned. He supposed it wasn't her business to discern his sorrow. Particularly if fate had literally thrown her at him and he hadn't even paid her her coin yet. So he did as he was told and ate quietly while she tended to herself. After a while when she didn't return, Enzo looked up at the beaded curtain and called out, "Are you sure you're all right?"
When Pao had returned, she was wearing dark colored silks that hugged her form, barely leaving anything to the imagination.
"Yes?" she said, standing between the beaded curtain as she parted it. she rubbed at her neck still.
"Ay, I think this spot in my neck might take days to heal." She shook her head, then moved to light an incense that began to awaken sweet smells about the room. She picked up the bowl it was smoking from and smiled over at him. "I see you ate well. Is there anything else I migh tbe able to do for you to allow for more comfort?"
Enzo stood up from his spot at the tabel and moved over to her, eying her with a narrowed gaze, honing in on her outfit for one then the way she rubbed her neck. He shook his head at her question. "No, but there may be something I can do for you. Just breathe in a moment through your mouth and hold it. There is a pressure point that can relieve considerable tension, particularly to those that fall off of balconies," he uttered before moving behind her and gently feeling her neck. His thumbs inspected it, massaging down to the nape of her neck before feeling a bunp that went out of place and quickly snapped it in. "There. Does that feel better?"
Pao blinked, eyes following Enzo as he moved behind her. Well, this was a change of events. Then with his hands moving against her neck, she could of purred; and at the jolt, the sudden 'pop', her eyes widened. She stood up suddenly, eyes wide, hands feeling at her neck.
"Aya! It feels much better!" and her eyes remained upon his as she smiled.
"You will have to teach me that trick, ya?"
Enzo laughed. He clapped his hands together before stepping away just a little. "It's just a manner of knowing the more sensitive pressure points on the body. Your back and neck are very important, and they ought to remain strong. You could end up a crippled old lady if you don't take good care of it."
"Yes, I suppose I am not as young as I had once been. Pains start to come from places I am not used to, and wrinkles I try to hide by my eyes. But come, you can show me the secret later, I'm sure. I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot of one another." Then she gestured her hand out. "Keep seated in a relaxed position and give to me your hand, laying it palm up and resting hte back of it against my open palm."
"You look quite young to me. I suppose true age starts to show from within before it affects you without," Enzo replied with a grin. When she offered her hand to him, he knelt beside the table and extended his hands to her in the same position she indicated and peered at her with squinted eyes. "You're going to read my fortune again?" he jested. "I thought I had to pay you first. I'm not even sure how much you charge."
Pao gave a smug smirk at his comment, then to him questioning then money, she waved it off with her other hand before placing her palm beneath his outstretched hadn, and waved her other hand, tickling down along side his exposed palm.
"This would be free of charge, naturally. YOu come seeking answers? Ya.. well, tonight will be free, but we shall see about tomorrow."She said wtih a wink, but no sooner did she press her hand against his did she flinched back. "AYA!" and looked down at her hand. There was now a small cut upon it as she blinked and then looked down to his palm, her nose reeking of acid as her head began to swim.
Pao was one to indulge in such a moment, but she also felt like she could not breath. SHe sat back away from him, eyes wide, breath short, heart beating fast.
"I.. I can not see anything, and I cut.." She grit her teeth. There was so much blood. "Such a little scratch- aya!" and she moved away, grabbing up a towel to clot the blood.
"Some darkness surrounds you,"s he told him bluntly, eyes to his as she returned to the ground. "The simple readings might not work... and I fear what our dreams may show this evening. If my palm can be cut from such a simple contact, who's to say our very dreams might not come alive?"
Enzo shrank back at the indication of the cut on her hand and glared down at his own when she bent moved away to cover her wound. He did not understand it. And her own bewilderment did not help his worry either. Every instinct told him this was the working of Matakopas, but something else seemed to warn him there was more to it than that.
"What will we dream tonight?" he asked lowly. "You will see what I see? Or vice versa?" His gaze grew dark and he approached her. "What did you see when you fell from the cliff? You said you have powerful visions at the strangest times. What did you see? Tell me!"
"Those are many questions, ones that can be answered in time, I am sure," Pao began. She studied his face a moment. "And when I first saw you, I simply saw a stranger in town. That was until my mind went hazy and my eyes rolled into the back of my head." She demonstrated by letting her own eyes roll, then dramatically, she flopped forward, but caught herself, since it was an act.
"Though it was curious indeed, but I had no visions, only the recollection of smell, the same sulfur and blood that stings inside my nose, sometimes during my dreams. My dreams of the monsters that come to swallow this world whole."
"There is no more time to waste for excuses and dodges," Enzo pressed, leaning in closer to her, his jaw hardening. "You saw something more. Matakopas wouldn't have even bothered with you if you hadn't seen something he deemed important. He is much more powerful and keener than we can perceive. And he can sense when things are amiss even before anyone else can know it. You saw something!"
"Yes, I saw you!" she shouted impatiently, hands to her hips. "What do you expect me to have visions every waking hour of the day? I passed out, too many things surged inside my head that I can not even decipher what it had meant. Though I do recall the blood.."and she paused, thinking back. "And to the way the land opened up, splitting in half like a wound..."
And then recalling even further, she paled, whispering something in her own language and crossed a mark across her chest.
Enzo reached out and grabbed her hard by the shoulders. "What split the ground open? What blood? I knew it. What did he mean by awakening the beast? Because your face betrays you, fortune teller! If fate sent us together, then we cannot delay further. Tell me what you saw...heavens forbid that we act too late." His eyes were troubled, fluxing red and gold as he let go of her at last and turned around, trying to understand the meaning of all this.
Pao found herself momentarily distracted by the fluctuating color of his eyes. Blinking, she hissed out more words from her language.
"Kaya! SO many questions, aye!" She rubbed at her temples, giving a shake of her head before she frowned and eyed the man over. "It is same as dark dreams I had before, some creature, blood in skin, skin of earth, reached out in terror to grab me." Then she waved it off as if it were nothing. "And then I woke up and you were there." She made a face, still looking into his eyes, making another mark across her skin, this time taking her paints and doing it to her flesh. "Eyes.." she growled. "Like gold, like sun... and blood."
Enzo paused, breathless at the revelation of her vision. It still didn't make much sense, but it was a lot more clarifying than the confusion that had previously set in. He watched her paint the eye on her skin and then up at her. His hand reached out to touch the paint, tracing along the design. "My eyes...?" he slowly breathed.
With a hand to her hips, she gave a roll of her eyes.
"Yes, your eyes. It's not every day someone possesses such colors, and colors that never sit still." Then she swatted his hands away from where he was tracing over the paints on her chest, and moved to grumble more words in her own language and took the paints onto her fingers without warning,a nd painted two lines above his eyes, then sealed one dot in the center, using her thumb and continued muttering more things in Saranthian tribal tongue.
"You are a restless one.. in mind, body, and soul."
He swatted her hand out of the way, much as she done him. "What are you doing? I thought you couldn't have any more visions. They took a lot out of you!" he scowled at her and reached up to rub the paints off his face. But he stopped before he could wipe them off. "I-...I'm sorry. You're right. About almost everything. I-I am restless. I can't stop...sometimes I think I'll be too late again. And I can't let that happen. I-I just can't. He already took everything from me. Why should he take more from others?"
Pao scowled.
"I can see visions in waking or night, but it seems tonight I have no choice. ANd keep the paints as they are. They will help you see." And she frowned, looking him over, but said nothing as she move to leave, disappearing into a side room behind a bead curtain, cursing and muttering more phrases in her native tongue. When she returned, she held a small beaded web in hand, one made of leather as she placed it into his hand.
"Use this to protect your dreams from the demons that plague you. YOu will need it more than I this night."
He took the beaded web quietly and held it between both hands. "What is this? How do I use it?" he said quietly. "Thank you. I'm sorry again. I will use it." He moved away from the table and out to the floor where he kept his gear, sitting down in a cross-legged position as he set the web down before him, just staring at it.
Pao gestured with her hands, "You wear it around your neck, see leather thread- ya? Keep it close to here." She rested a firm fist above her chest. "It protects you from all manner of spirits, and now, many are seeping through the shadows, dancing with the twilight." Then she pointed, "See the jewels that drape down? They had once been clear, but have ever since, been collecting the seeds of chaos within, the darkness that lingers inside all of us. Those bad spirits, those bad dreams, they get caught and trapped within. The jewels are nearly filled, but for now, this catcher can do. Just keep it close. I will have to make another one come morning. Now.." she moved away, fetching a bottle from a shelf behind her and offered it over to him; a bottle filled with a milky white substance.
"If you wish to see the visions as I, you must drink. It helps open your mind to visions you would other wise cut out. It will let you sleep for long time, many hours that roll past the light of day. You see, I show you, ya? Drink now?" And she gestured for him to take it.
"Oh, right," he said, as he placed it around his neck then and extended the beadwork and design over his shirtfront. He wondered if the beadwork could really contain all of the demons that haunted him. He wasn't sure he believed in that kind of thing before, but for now, he'd take anything that could protect him, give him a moment of respite, even superstitious leatherwork.
When the white substance was presented before him, he took the white liquid and sniffed it again. It smelled sour and the thought of downing it made his stomach turn. "All right, but don't be surprised if I puke," he warned before downing the whole thing in a few gulps, trying not to taste it.
"The mixture tastes strange, but will help to bed at night, sleep well," she pressed. "Now.." She positioned herself on the floor agian before him and put out her hand. "I need to see your palm again."
Enzo set the cup aside, coughing and making a face like a child forced to eat their vegetables before licking his lips at the taste. "I can see why people pay you. You're very good at convincing them to do what you want," he remarked sourly as he finally extended his hands to her. "But I trust you. Go on."
Pao barked out a laugh.
"I take that as good compliment, ya?" Then her grin grew larger, her eyes sparkling before she looked down at his hand and spat on it, then grinned.
"For good luck." She said, laughing as she pulled away to stand, drinking some of the mixture she offered to Enzo herself, and then stretched her limbs above her head.
"We should retire for the evening. While the moon is still large and full." but then she paused, catching his gaze before adding, "Unless you wish for me to see one more vision before bed. That too, could help you sleep, though considering the pain you've caused me.." she looked down at her hand, then shrugged. "I suppose one more vision before our dreams might not hurt, ya?"
"Gods, and I see no less of a lady," he mused as he squished his hand and cleaned it onto his shirt. He looked up at her again with a small smile. "One more would do, though I fear what more damage I would do to you. You're not afraid of a little pain, as I can plainly see. Kneel." And extended a hand out to her.
Pao shook her head, smirking as she moved behind him.
"I see things in different ways, this time I sit behidn you, now stay still," she said, moving her fingers now and kneading into the back of his neck, hands finding the spot, before pressing her thumbs onto the skin resting just behind either of his ears and she rubbed lightly, humming softly before traipsing her hands up and beginning to hum louder and massage at his head. Then, drawing his head back, she commanded, "Keep you eyes closed, just breath." And she leaned his head back, resting it against her chest, his ass in her lap as her hands now worked down, smoothing down his arms, her chin over his shoulder as she continued to hum.
"Keep yourself relaxed.. and think of nothing. Think to nothing, focus on your breath." Then, as she was leaned forward, she slipped a stone into his hand and forced his hands to curl around it.
"Think of nothing, and those thoughts that come to you, focus them to this stone."
Enzo gave a yelp when she pulled his head back and he stared up at the ceiling of her hut. That was until the ministration of her hands worked on him and he listened to the sound of her voice to lull him into a meditative state. He breathed and thought of nothing, letting his body succumb to her entirely and just focused on his breath. That part was easy to fall into.
And when she clenched the stone in his hand, his finger wrapped around it completely. Nothing, nothing. Fire... No, nothing. Screaming, no, nothing. He failed him...his liege, his lord... No, nothing. It felt like a darkness was seeping from his stone and a shadow seemed to swirl under it's translucent surface. Nothing. His muscles remained tense however, even as he forced his thoughts from his mind, hand gripping the stone with nearly enough force to crush it.
"Aya! You are too tense!" she exclaimed, lightly hitting Enzo's arm. Her hands then smoothed down his arms as she leaned over him, her one hand pausing over his that clutched onto the rock so intensely.
"You are over flowing with energies. Think to peace, think to nothing. Still your mind or I might ever be able to begin to read. Though who knows, I might not have to, you are just oozing with energies."
And she leaned in forward, lips mere inches from his ear. "Come now, think to peace," she repeated in a gentler, more purr like tone. "Think to nothing." And her hands continued to smooth up and down his arms.
The chill of her voice stilled the grip he had on the rock but for a moment, and Enzo took it to calm himself down. The rock, whick had previously glimmered in a shade of opalescent, it seemed now to swirl darker and darker, turning almost volcanic like obsidian. And if she was observant, she would see the faint crack in the rock's surface from the power of his grip.
Enzo breathed in deeper, clearing his mind back to a semblance of peace, And soon the storm of his thoughts broilded away to the calm after. The stone could not contain all of the energies. But what were contained was enough to still him and keep his demons momentarily at bay.
Pao'orha sighed once he finally stilled, her hands still smoothing down his arms as she continued her mutterings in her native tongue. Then pulling away, she sat before him, eyeing him in his tranquil state.
"Now count to eleven, and you will place the rock inside your mouth, but do not swallow it, just let it rest there for a moment, and let your body become light as air,a nd soon, you should see a vision, one fo your destiny, one of light. If you are at peace, a direction will come to you. Now go on, place the rock inside your mouth and take my hands, go on."
He opened his eyes with some hesitation, blinking at her long enough to know this was strange biut did it anyway not a second sooner. He held the stone on his tongue and began to count in his head. Soon his body felt almost ghostlike, light as air and he saw light flsh beofre his eyes. There was stone grinding, and there was Matakopas. He was moving through a cavern, or was it a temple? Darkness, dust and old relics. He was plucking a diamond stone from the base and and locking it away in a case just as the temple began to crumble in on itself.
Enzo emerged from it, sweating, surprised he still hadn't swallowed the stone. He just stared at her with wide eyes and knew what the Magecrafter intended to do next. Eventually he spat it out into his hand and peered at her with fluxing eyes. "It was him not of me, I can only assume that our fates are combined," he breathed relaxing back to earth. He dropped his head and gave her back the stone. "I am ready for bed now."
As Pao'orha went to take the stone, she hissed out again as the ones opalesque stone was now as black as night. And the stone had actually burned her flesh. Her eyes widened, before she turned to him, dropping the stone ot the floor, a surprised smiled on her lips.
"I see, indeed.." then she hissed, nursing her injured hand before waving it off.
"Then come, to bed with us. I make you good nest in corner, ya? That is.. unless you wish to connect with me in my own bed,"s he said with a chuckle. "I swear I do not bite, but aya, do not mind me, I will fetch you the blankets you seek." And she moved to the other room, brought in a few more blankets laced with perfume and dumped them into a pile, a few frilled pillows included.
"Tonights journeys of dreams shall be long. But do not fear them. They are here to point the way, not disturb them. And note, they can not harm you, for these are only visions, not the reality in which we crawl." And she shrugged leisurely. "Then in the morning, we can compare what you had seen now, what had happened this evening, to what you will awaken to come the mornings. Though most visions work well after a night long of sex, eh..." she shrugged. "You and I do not need to connect so intimately, as you are brewing with too much spiritual energies, I doubt that sort of stimulation is needed to goad out the path in which you seek, and your connectiont o me.." She frowned down sourly at her hands. Or.. even a lack there of. She had never been injured so many times by a connection before, so she wasn't sure if sharing a bed would even be wise to begin with, even if she herself, might have needed such relief.
"I think you and I deserve much needed relief," Enzo admitted, following her. He eyed the nest first before taking her hand in his. "I don't believe this to the power of my energy, but something else entirely. I cannot be sure but I know it's something more than that. Our energies respond powerfully because destiny has thrown us together. But you already knew that," His hand traced along the cut made on her palm, similar ro the one she made to take his blood. "I would not be so opposed now to share a bed with you, I'm not scared of what vsions I would have. And I think with you I might finally understand them." He pulled her hand up to his mouth and pressed his lips to the cut.
The fortune teller raised a brow, staring at the other man a bit skeptically before she grinned.
"Now that you have seen all, you feel you trust, ya?" she shook her head, laughing playfully. "All men need one thing." An she laughed some more. "Come, make no regret, you sleep better after you sleep with Pao'orha. I know a few good moves, ya? It will make you feel strong and good all over. Come." and she took him by the hand, pulling him back into her room, where she began to light powdered incense resting in the basins of bowls throughout her room. There wasn't much to this area, just a mound of pillows and frilly blankets; incense, more paints, jars, baskets and other such supplies. She picked up a warming oil and turned to him.
"So how do you like your night lay? I sense you need a few good hours," she told him with a wink and smirk. "Such tense muscles.." she touched his shoulders again, lightly digging her fingers in. "But ah.. perhaps if I just let you lead? Take all that you can, for connecting bodies is the most spiritual dance of them all, two souls connecting to one, moving and stroking one another in a passionate dance to sate the seeded needs within."
And she wasted no time, stroking a curled hand against his cheek.
"So how much gold coin you got? I give you all the deluxe if you've got at least, five, eh? And with this money, you will see so many things this night.. and taste so many luxuries. You will sleep like a babe, and your body, it will no longer feel the stresses of the day."
"It's a small trust," he corrected when she yanked him by the hand, but his words fell on deaf ears. The room was what he expected to say the least for such a strange woman to have such a strange place to lay her head, to become lost in her visions. He looked at her with some hesitation at first, reconsidering her offer before nodding to her in acceptance. She was right. No worried, no regrets. He had enough of that all ready.
Enzo reached into his pocket and pulled out a small sack of gold. "Five? Five hundred? This is what I've had to travel with, half may be yours. The weight of it is three hundred. You can count it. It's all there" He handed it over to her as he pulled his tunic over his head yet again and peered down at his belly. The bruise there was considerably lighter than before and found that her tricks worked. Maybe it woud be all gone by the time they were done.
Enzo sat down on the bed and invited her onto his lap. "Just come here," he said quietly. "And show me how you usually get started. We'll go from there."
OOC: Some erm, adult content a foot :T
Oh, Pao- apparently she's part fortune teller, part whore for hire 8D
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When Pao'orha approached him, she was all grins with oils in one hand, paints in the other.
"You offer high price for sharing my bed, so I show you a good time. Come." and she moved to sit on his lap as instructed, setting the glass jar of oils to one side, and the paint bowl on the other.
"I do this not much different than most women, I'm sure, but the Saranthians, we have tricks so that you will hit all points of elation. Starting at the tip, then deep inside and out, and as far as you can imagine. So you ready, ya? We start with oils, and make paints, bring out the heat, bring out your.. erection." SHe smiled at him, showing her teeth, then moved to pour some of the warming oil in her cupped hand. Then to him she turned, eyeing his chest a moment, then to where the mark had been, before her eyes met to his.
"Now tell me, shall I start lower, or higher? The mark might still be sensitive,I go easy on you, ya?" and she kept herself well positioned on his lap, her robes seeming to all but be coming lose int he front, barely clinging to the lose knot that had once sealed them together. But her nipples were erect and easily see jutting out beneath the thin, black silk, as was the shape of her breasts that moved freely and tantalizingly before him.
Enzo sat back when her weight was settled on him and he just looked at her curiously then smiled just a little. "I don't have a problem with that," he purred just a little. "You might have felt it when you sat down. But for simplicity's sake. Higher. My chest will do. You don't have to go easy. I don't beg for mercy." He reached out and dipped hid own hand in the bowl of oil and the othrr in the paint before moving forth and slipping his hands just underneath the cloth of her robe, rubbing them across her nipples, the warming oil on the left and the cool paints on the right, massaging them into her skin.
Pao smiled as he advanced. It would do well for him to play, and so she brought oils onto her own fingers and said, "Higher it is." And smoothed the oils acrosst he muscles of his chest, then glided the oil soaked hands atop of his shoulders, then down his arms, and as she did so, she put more weight onto his lap. But she said nothing, her eyes seeming to purr as she then moved to the pot with paints,a nd dipped her fingers into it, and began drawing light circles across his shoulders, and a fwe lines over his neck, before pressing her entire hand into the paints, then raised that hand up and pressed it over his chest, over his heart.
He breathed in pleasure as she ran her hands down his shoulders and across his chest, letting her paint her strange designs. His hands wrapped around her breasts, pulling and tugging gently, running his hands between them, letting the oils and paint mix together. His left hand reached down to get some more.
"Why do you do this?" he wondered aloud. "Fortune-telling I mean." His hands rubbed at her nipples, pinching them a little when he ducked his head down to take one into his mouth, sucking on it gently before tracing his mouth up along her neck.
She closed her eyes, feeling her body internally writhe with pleasure. Her body was so sensitive, especially from the stresses of the day, it didn't take much to get her fire going. She craned her neck when his lips met there, and at his question, she mused, "It's the people, so hope filled and fraught with worry. It's good to know I can bring them peace, or some semblance of an answer."
Her hands began to smooth down his back, one side coating his back muscles with oil, the other with the turquoise paint.
"Then there are others like you, those who might be connected to my own questions, my own trials," her hips began to slowly grind against his, fingers now gripping into his back side, making the skin around them go white.
"Then there is the obvious,"s he said, grunting and moving her hips more with need, as if mocking their predestined love making, though their clothing was in the way; he, his pants, and she, barely sheer robe between them and if they kept this up, surely she'd soak his pants through.
"All Saranthians have this sort of ability,"s he purred. " But not all are so finely tuned. I.. I was a restless soul, and also.."s he drew in a breath, cheeks flushing as she moved against the hard on in his pants that was jutting out, grinding against it with need.
"I felt this.. this was my destiny. The oceans called to me.. so I called back, and here, here I make a living; reading dreams and reading palms.." and it was her turn to trace and nibble her lips up his neck, before restin gher fore head to him. "And to unite in ways like this, to connect to others in spiritual intimacy." And she leaned forward, pressing her lips fully to his.
"TO find the kiss of my destiny." Nd she smirked,a nd gripped onto his hair, pressing forward and making the second kiss hotter and longer than before. "To perhaps find the kiss of love?" And the last part was added with a playful kiss of her tongue.
Enzo could focus on both the meaning of her words and the sensations she aroused in him. He grunted with pleasure, undulating his hips as he listened. His groin ached, hungered for the warmth of her sex, but they both knew this kind of play would only amplify the sensations of sex when at last they joined. He was well-endowed as it was, though he would make no claim as to his prowess as a lover. He'd never been one for boasting, just do or die.
"So you help lead others to their destiny," he repeated, opening his neck to her. "Then it's a cruel destiny that sways as violent as the oceans." He graoned loudly, his hands slipping the rob pas her shoulders and he sunk his teeth into the sensitive flesh there, his breath ragged against her skin. He smiled after her kiss, licking his lips. "But aren't you afraid of what the future will bring you? Should you find love, how do you prepare for the pain when it is wrenched from you?"
His hands moved down her side and up her thigh, sliding the robe awayaas his mouth nursed at her shoulder before swerving back up to her mouth again, smothering her mouth with his.
As their lips met again, she found herself breathless, and she held onto his cheeks and kissed him fiercely back, slipping in her tongue inside his hot mouth nad searched and wrestled against his. A soft moan vibrated their kissing as she moved her hands to smooth against his back side before letting her lips trail down his neck and across his chest.
"Love is foreign to me, at least that of the one you speak. I see it in other people, though it seems not the type for me; so I just wait patiently, like rock at bottom of stream. The waters all pass me by, yet I am still connected to it, even if I do not share in it's path or powers. But such is the will of the seer," she spoke, words as hot breath against his skin, her other hand idly fumbling against the belt that secured his pants; but in one swift motion, the belt was yanked out from his pants and tossed aside.
She sat up, grinning wickedly down upon him. "You wear, too much clothes for this sort of game." she said, pressing her arms together that helped spilled her own breasts outside the now opened front of her robe.
"You let me take them off, ya? If not, I can stay perched here, but I make not promises you might not need to clean these pants when we are through.." for she was already soakign wet with anticipation, and hot as the fire's of hell.
His teeth pierced into the soft flesh of her lips tugging on it after she pulled her mouth away and pressed it to his neck. He grunted and groaned, eyes lazy and heart beating wildly in his chest. "And how would you know it if it came in front of you?" he whispered. He moaned louder as her breasts came spilling from her robe, pressing them to his mouth, face covered in oils and paints.
At least he leaned back on his elbows, smiling up at her. "Take them off," he murmured. "Perhaps we will find the stream that flows strong enough to dislodge you away in the current of water." He chuckled and leg his hands feel up along her thighs, until they reached the tip of the robe, gently prying it open completely, the loose knot coming undone.
Pao'orha had a good laugh over that.
"I think it would take much to dislodge me. I am quite content where I lay,"s he purred, then moved reluctantly away from his lips that had been nursing at her chest as she bent over and began to unlace his pants. And when she slipped them off, she gasped, making a quick mark across her chest.
"Enzo Azura!"s he said, the r's rolling with her tongue. "Aya! You never told me it was so big. It's.." and she began to chuckle, appreciating what she had unearthed. "It has been a while since I had to tame a man so large, though I suppose it comes with the territory of being so tall?" And she got to her knees, a hand stroking down the very length of it, watching as his member would shudder and tremble beneath her touch.
Her sex and mouth grew wet in anticipation, her eyes glittering before she leered up at him.
"What do you have to say for yourself, big boy? What if you split me in half?" but she laughed in good humor. "I think I'll have my work cut out for me, ya? And perhaps just a taste of it at first? Would you like that, Enzo Azura?" she asked, then lowered her head, kissing hte very tip of his sex, before drawing hte rest of the tip in, and lightly sucking on it with a hot, soaking mouth.
Enzo visibly blushed when she commented on his cock and he just watched her with idle lazy eyes. His breath hitched when she stroked the length of it, as it trembled and grew hard, pointing toward the ceiling, pleasant chills coursing through him. "Hmmm," he just chuckled at her fascination. "I would think more men would be just as endowed. But I take from you're reaction..." He gasped as her mouth came down onto his cock and it throbbed and swelled with eagerness. He moaned softly, lips parting in an 'o' of pleasure. He groaned at the sensation of her wetness of her mouth gloving over his long cock, slow at first and gentle, taking the cock deep into her throat, until she began get a feel for it and put more force into each suck, sucking his cock harder and hotter and wetter. "Gods above," he breathed. He moaned at the way her tongue slathered along the length of the cock, rolling around the tip and the small pressure applied by her teeth, making him swell harder. . His hands found their way into her hair, gripping it hard, and pressed her head down onto it, gently rocking with the motion of her head as she sucked him. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, his breath lost to him as the sheer pleasure of it put him in a haze.
With his hands bracing behind her head, she leaned forward, devouring as much of his length as she could and swallowing and sucking around him and allowing her soft lips to pucker against it, and just the slightest bit of teeth to graze upon it's length. But just enough to entice, not to hurt, as she took him in and out of her mouth and her hands cupped forward, massaging the sensitive skin of his balls as she cupped them in her hands.
THen from there, hands smoothed up his thighs, moving up his hips and then gripping onto him as she sucked harder and harder before she knew he might be red in the face, perhaps even near his peak when she drew back and moved forward on her knees and guided his wet cock between her heavy breasts and let it slide there, all the while her hands dipped into more paint and oils and lathered them around his length and massaged them into her chest as she stared at him through heavy lashes and half of her dark hair spilled across her face.
"I see you are still tense.. what is wrong?"s he teased, knowing full wells he could have just taken him to heaven in a few long 'drinks' against his sex, but where would all the fun be in that? She was going to make this last so that she'd have him screaming at hte end of the hour..
or the end of the next two or three hours if she was lucky and he could last.
Enzo had to bite his lip to keep from crying out loud when she took in a great deal of his long hard cock into her mouth. "Gods...don't stop," he begged. His mouth opened though no sound emerged as she sucked him harder, his cock growing, thickening, and pulsating within the soaking wetness of her mouth. He could feel his energy pulse and waxen, begging for her to finish what she started when at last shee pulled it from her lips and instead pressed his member to her chest, slathering paints all over it, massaging it into the skin there. He looked at her with haggard eyes.
"Because you tease me," he answered with a humored grin. He leaned as forward as he could before reaching for her face and cupped it to him "And I know you do it on purpose." He reached down and took a scoop of paint before slathering it onto her neck and shoulders. "Get up here before I come down there. Or are you still cultivating energy?"
Pao grinned, keeping his hard on pressed between her oiled and painted breasts.
"Is that an order?" she cooed, and crawled clean off of the ground and onto his lap, leaving the robe long since abandoned as she straddled over his lap, but didn't take a seat, but rather remained on all fours, and leaned down, pausing with her lips but inches from his.
"There are many ways to cultivate energy," she purred, moving a hand forward to cup his cheek as she drank of his lips deeply, lowering herself down, but not enough to let him in. "Many ways to tantalize and awaken the spirits,"S he purred, opening her mouth, pressing it to his against and then dragging her teeth across his lower lipa nd cheek, before turning back around and shoving her tongue inside his mouth, kissing him hotly as she pinned him up against a pile of pillows.
"I have a feeling you're going to show me the finer parts of all those ways this night," he muttered against her. "I wonder what I'd just gotten myself into." He smiled a little as his hands trailed paint up her sides and belly just moments before she pinned him to the pillows.
He moaned against her kiss, a fire roaring in his belly as he twisted his head this way and that, massaging her tongue with his and sucking on her lips as he kissed her roughly. He wrenched his hands from her wrists or tried to anyway, raising his hips to feel along her sex, prodding her, begging entry.
Pao's eyes danced as she felt his sex reaching for her, and she merely let it have a taste, letting his member stroke along the moist, soft lips of her sex, and massage against the most sensitive flesh of her clit. And down and up she'd drag it against his long length, but never once allowing him entry, only teasing him as her hot sex would lap at his length like a tongue.
"You haven't gotten yourself into anything yet!" she laughed, and purred and leaned forward, smashing her lips against his and only in that moment, letting just the briefest moment for the tip of his member to poke in.
He bit his lip at her teasing and his breath hitched. He tadjusted his hips as best he could to achieve entry but grew frustrated when she continued to dodge him left and right, teasing him relentlessly. He swallowed her mouth, drank her lips into his, before pulling away. "But I'm about to," he shispered when she let him some entry. He shoved his hips upward and dropped a hand down her back to press her down onto him, hips flush to hips.
To feel his length slam up inside her all at once caused her to cry out in sheer pain and ecstasy; making all sorts of frantic words in her native tongue before she began to ride him like a wild animal, finger nails seeming to turn into claws as they dug at his side, latching onto him fiercely as she moved. And the only thing that kept herself from moaning and crying out to wake the entire cliff side city, was when her lips were smashing against him, snuffing out her heated breath and moaned cries.
"By the Gods, your instrument, you are so blessed!" she purred out when her wits returned, her hips grinding and bouncing ontop of his, the motions easy by the slickness of her hot sex as she pinned him down and moved into all sorts of angles, keeping his hands entwined with her as she studied his gasps and moans, until she'd find an angle he liked best and just let him set to work, nursing his own desires by letting him fuck her as hard and fast as he pleased.
"Your sex, it feels like a God.. mmm," she purred again, eyes fluttering closed as she bounced upon his lap. "Yes, take me as you want, as you wish, let all of your tension pound into me! Let your body take charge!" she panted, which was her own way for her to beg him to keep on fucking. "And let me know if you want me to get the ropes," She purred. "Sometimes it adds to the fun, ya?"
His cries too were muffled by her kiss, brought on by the sheer force of her desire as she took him wildly. Enzo didn't have much more he could do as she dug her nails into him. He moved his his along with hers, moaning and drinking her lips, his hands clutching her hips as she rocked him. "Gods," he choked, trying to tear his mouth away to get some air. But he'd be damned if he'd let her stop. "You're not...ugh...so bad yourself. Ohmmm!" he moaned when she finally slowed down. Sweat soaked the pillowes around him and he hadn't realized it but he'd came once already, yet was more than eager to continue well through the night.
He just looked at her when she pressed him and he let his hair splay across his face. Enzo turned over without leaving her sex, pressing against the pillows before pulling out to adjust her into position, moving behind her, hands moving her hips wider, sliding along her ass, holding her thighs wide enough as his sex felt along hers at a different angle. He dropped low, sliding inside of her at last, pressing his chest clear against her back in slow poweful strokes, gradually moving faster. "Rope?" he grunted. "And just what would we use that for?"
Pao'orha was in heaven, and filled to the brim with his sex. The pillows would have to be washed later, but it was of little consequence to her now. For now, she was in pure ecstasy, letting her body become his temple, a temple of pleasure and sin. ANd she was hot and slick and ready for whatever he had to throw at her, or in her, her body exuding heat and moisture from both her sex, and from the first time he had came.
Feeling him come in at such an angle had her gasping out and moaning from deep within her throat. Such a depth with his length felt amazing, as he was slamming down hard within her, reaching the very back, and hitting so many spots inside her that made her scream and explode; and lucky for her, her heavenly moments could be unending as she begged for more and more.
"Yes," she panted, through a smirk. "Have you never tried the thrill of a simple rope? To tie your partner up and have them at you mercy? It wrks well, if you're kinky." She purred in a playful tone, and even laughed. "Though I suppose we won't be needing it." She sighed contentedly, her sex gripping around him tightly. "For I'm at your mercy, by the Gods!" and she prattled off more words in her own language. "You needed this so bad, Enzo! just keep it up! Let out all that.. mmmm tension go!"
"Honestly, no, I haven't," Enzo admitted, voice hoarse and throat dry. His heart race as he pounded inside of her. She was tighter than a glove around him, snug and smothered his sex as he pulled out and pistoned into her with considerable force. "Why...do I get the feeling that you need this more than I do?" Enzo muttered against her ear, breath ragged as he nursed at her neck, moaning behind her.
He shifted his hips, coming in at a different angle and continuing for as long as she asked him too. All the negativity that roiled inside him washed away, sliding within her as hard as he could. His strength was three times that of a human on this plane, the gravity of Vallaris having been stronger, and every stroke was more powerful than the last. His face was buried in her hair, taking in her sweat, her scent, and her cries.
At his words, Pao laughed, a sound that echoed into the air around them like bells.
"So it would seem, Enzo! By the Gods, what sort of human are you? Aya!" she exclaimed. She had never felt such length and girth of a swollen member inside her before, and men from out at sea could have quite the swollen member when they return from months away;a nd last quite a few days with her; but this sort of mating with Enzo was as if she was transported to some other world, and tapped into her deeply and made her reach peaks she had never known before.
It seemed she wouldn't have to use any tricks on him, he was doing alright himself, and with such new sensations met by him, she might have to ask for a second round come the morning. Oh the stories she could tell the women here! Enzo might find himself quite the prize and would have many women he could please, this she could be certain of once the rumors would be let out of the bag..
But for now, she enjoyed him all to herself, screaming out in pure ectasy as he continued to nail her in her sweet spot, and soon her sex was gripping him tightly before the muscle began to spasm an dpulsate wildly around him as her hips bucked and she was screaming, arching herself back as she was overwhelmed by another over the top scream inducing orgasm, ripe from ectasy.
Enzo fellin an exhausted heap on top of her, having came hard within her at the approximate time she did, face flushed and dripping with sweat. He pulled out after a time and laid beside her. "I-I hope it was all right," he coughed. "I-I don't think I overpaid. Oh gods." He smiled at her, and blinked lazily, visibly drained.
Pao'orha couldn't move if she wanted to. Never before had she felt so sated in all of her life. She lay there, face smug as a cat's as she gestured with her fingers for him to come forth. Once he was laying at her side, she gently stroked his face, her eyes sparkling.
"You are a sex God. We have more tomorrow, ya?" she asked with a grin. "But for now, aya!" and she closed her eyes, draping a hand across them. "For now I feel as if I could sleep ten moons!"
and as she lay there, smiling, hand still over her eyes.. her smile began to fade.
Slowly, she turned to him, eyes studying his face.
"Did you feel it?" she inquired, staring at him skeptically. "The connection when you were inside me? I think we were destined to connect, I think this will do well for our dreams this night. So that we can see the truth in our destinies, well.. that is.."S he said, shrugging back as she melted int the pillows. "If we are truly meant to walk a future path together.. one far away from these cliffs."
His face was flushed hot and sore as he laughed at her description, blushing if he could. He was content and sated and could have fallen asleep right there without qualms. He'd closed his eyes when at last she spoke to him in a different tone that made his eyes open wide, completely alert.
"I felt it," he muttered. "I felt almost as if our very souls were making love as were we. But I am just a man, Pao'ohra. And I cannot say that I am not afraid that you will become involved in something that will only bring you ruin. But I think you were involved already. Let's close our eyes and dream then. Maybe my mind will expand on the vision I'd seen before." He smiled again and closed his eyes.
"I can feel that you're a man," Pao said playfully, laughing softly as she melted into the pillows around her. "By the Gods, I could sleep for many moons." And she curled her fingers and toes into the plushness around her. But as he spoke, she did listen, letting it digest as her eyes stared through heavy lashes up at the ceiling.
"Yes.. there will be much to see, much to tell after we dream.." and her hands found his, fingers threading as she sat up, naked and her body still glistening with the sweat from their sex as she picked up the bowl of paints and pressed her hand into it..
then lifted up his hand and took it, and pressed her painted palm to his, then met painted fingers to the tips of his and smiled.
"May the path be opened unto his, may the dreams show us the way." Then she took her thumb forward and was careful t draw a line down the tip of his nose, her eyes focusing there, befre she blinked and looked deeply into his eyes.
As they stared at each other, Enzo looked back at the colors of her own eyes, taapped within them. And it seemed for a moment he could have sworn he saw the reflection change into the distant view of a great beast beneath the earth, a monster powerful enough to devour the whole of this realm. Enzo leaned back a little as the reflection faded away. He did not let his face betray his thoughts. Instead he leaned forward and pressed his lips lightly to her. "May our dreams lead us to the answers we seek," he whispered. "Maybe we'll find our own paradise."
At first the dreams were still, nothing but darkness, air and space consuming them. She slept well.. considering how eventful the day had become. It wasn't until closer to morning did the visions come. They were small at first, showing as a simple stone on the ground, but one that, upon further investigation, she found herself picking up and swallowing. As the stone slid down her throat, she felt something grow, entangling inside her body, for the rock was no rock, but a seed of the spirit... and there inside her it had taken root. And from this, it cemented itself into her belly, or was it her heart? and here, it moved and grew and shifted, stretching forward, limbs like hands, reaching upwards inside her until it blossomed straight out through her open mouth, nose and ears, even her closed eyes shot open and were blooming flowers from deep within her soul. And these flowers fluttered until they turned into butterflies that took off against a reddening sky, scattering and turning into the dry seeds she used to toss into winds and in some of her mixtures to see such visions.
And it was here, she could observe, riding along with the dried seeds across the vastness of the ocean..... there was to be found an ancient but restless earth...
Far to the west...
But the west had wild and untamed oceans, where some claimed it fell off to the ends of the earth and into the darkness of hte night sky no one could ever reach; a bottomless hell that fell forever and forever into the stars.
It was here she found herself flying across it unseen, to lands yet unknown to the rest of the worlds. Here, ancient forests, tall enough to reach the clouds themselves devoured the lands, and plateaus rose up from the ground, surpassing even the ancient trees and cutting above the clouds where there, they capped off into flat, untamed valleys, where no animal was thought to live. It was here, she saw a sparkle, a glint of a reflection..
a sword in a stone, buried and entangled deep within the earth.
And it was here, the sky deepened in it's color, becoming hot and she felt herself sweat. And as she called out to someone, anyone; was it Enzo? She saw his red eyes, and it was he who picked up the sword, a sword that called to him, claiming him and wanting to taste blood...
Though the second the blade was removed, the ground shook terribly, and Pao found herself spilling forward, and a massive hand made of earth and rock came forth, scooping her off the tops of the great plateau so fast, she couldn't even scream and then downwards into the bowels of the earth she was swallowed, arms reaching out, leaning up towards the skies from where she was now entangled in a thorny prison of vines.
The torns clung around her body in thick bonds that it torn into her skin until she was soaked in her blood. Her bloods were even soaking the grasses, leaking into the cuts and chasms in the newly exposed earth, while the tremendous beast prowled near the surface, chuffing a taunting breath now and again as it waited for the man with blood eyes and his sword to come.
He was hungry. He wanted to eat...
and all the while she remained beneath the beast's protective gaze, within his home inside the earth... There was a glint, that caught her eyes, a hint at something that moved across the gaping holes of the earth...
And the beast moved, rising once again, craning it's long head back as it gave a terrible roar, a roar that shook the earth and split it open wider s that he could pass forward and come to the surface once again. And just as quickly as the grounds opened up to him, he gave a pounding of it's tail, ad the grounds themselves began to close up again. But even as the walls were closing in around her, she could hear the beast as it roared a second time and went on it's terrible rampage, spilling out vile poisons that spewed from it's mouth, poisonous venom that worked like acid, melting the earth and destroyed it and it's beauty, making it rot and fume and turn into nothing but grey, rotting ash and blackened, charred earth.
And the earth continued to close up....
the earth seeking to destroy her as she was smashed in between rock and dirt, buried alive... as if in her grave. And she could only see the dirts that pressed around her, and the faint crack of light to the world above, before even then, more thorned vines came for her, but this time reaching down from the surface, and from the very earth that now pressed heavily against her body as she opened her mouth to scream...
And as her mouth came open, the vines shot deep inside her, rushing past her lips, tearing down her throat and racing to find her heart.... seeking to entangle around the glowing soul spirit within. They wanted the eye, the symbol of the future... the symbol of the elder Gods. ANd as the black thorned vines took root inside her, they found it, and latched onto her soul. Pao's eyes widened.
She wanted to scream. She wanted to move. She wanted to tear the damn vines from within her. But she couldn't even breath. She was frozen, squashed tightly within the earth's crushing grip. And the moment the thorn's took hold of her spirit, her eyes turned to white, and the symbol of the eye glowed out from her forehead, burning brightly in a white, angelic color, like the clouds.
Pao'orha awoke with a start, her chest heaving with her heavy, ragged breaths. She smoothed a hand down her face, feeling at her throat, frantically touching to ensure she felt no thorned vines attempting to strangle her. She blanched, finding nothing there, and even cleared her throat to stop the invisible itch from settling in before she finally released her held breath, wilting slightly before peering over at Enzo who had been tucked away, asleep just at her side.
The dreams had made her sweat, and she wasn't sure if she had recalled everything; but she did know one thing. The dreams pointed her in the right direction...
They had to go West...
And it seemed her partner in crime was the red eyed man sleeping just to her side. Though what else did the symbolizing in the dream mean? Rattling off something in her native tongue and drawing a symbol across her chest, she moved away and began to light incense in bowls and set them all around her home. Then took a piece of salt.. and drew a picture of an eye at the foot of her door. She dind't know why, but she felt the need to want to ward off those evil spirits who might be watching them; and to her.. the salt drawings were the only way. And she even took the time to draw the eye on the back of her hand before pressing it to her forehead, where the single jewel remained between her brows, as she knelt in prayer before the sunrise light that began to spill in through her beaded curtain int he front of her store..
And from there, she prayed to the vanishing moon and to the sun...
To the new day.. and to the spirits that guided us within the world of the wake, and the world of the sleep.
Pao had been right about one thing. Their endeavor left him exhausted enough to make him sleep like a baby and he was out well into night. His nightmares were kept at bay for most of the night and his mind was reflected in reflective, rippling visions of his father, his mother, his brothers and sisters, the woman he first made love to, the cold winds of Vallaris that whipped snow off the mountaintop and cascaded down to the frosted roofs and stone of Castle Valar.
The world was bright, bountiful and beautiful. These were the reflections that reminded him what life had been worth fighting for, that there was still hope in the world, love, and friendship. Somewhere, sometime, some place that he belonged. The visions were relatively peaceful and made Enzo feel at ease as he slept beside her.
But just as he knew, the dreams slowly blended into nightmares. He turned here and there amidst the pillows, sweating still despite the cool ocean air seeping in up the cliff side and their lovemaking had long since passed. Enzo's breathing hitched as did his chest as his eyes stayed glued shut.
Matakopas was not here, but somewhere far away, looking for something... He remembered the stone he'd plucked from the forbidden temple that set the place to fall down around him. But there was something more. The Magecrafter was using it to unlock something else...a hidden power to...a weapon? He saw the glimmer of the red blade as if soaked in blood, forged in the fires of every hell known to mortal kind. Enzo could feel the vibrations of the blade and felt something familiar clutch against his palm. The katana...no, not Angra'arda, but the other sword. Why was he holding it? He looked down and saw his hands were stained with blood, the sword, a blade different than the katana, and at his feet was the body of the fortune-teller, limp and with her body torn open, ribs exploded outward.
He saw a glass panel appear before him, a mirror that showed his face and the body of Pao at his feet. He froze, a lump in his throat. Darkness surrounded them as if they were in some keep cave in place unknown to the mortals of his world. In the very belly of the earth... Enzo stared at his reflection, almost reaching out to touch the glass that wavered and rippled like the surface of water. As he did so, he saw his own face transform in horror. And soon he saw not himself, but Matakopas staring back at him.
Enzo awoke in the early morning gloom and saw Pao kneeling and praying just as the first rays of light were bleeding through the windows. He looked down at his own body, thankful that it was only a dream and that they were both alive and well. He crawled up from her pillows and knelt beside her, reaching out to her shoulder. "Are you okay? Did you have another vision?" he asked softly?
Pao remained in prayer, and he might have heard her whispering it beneath her breath in her native tongue. Though his gesture did not go ignored, for her voice continued, she marked her hands across her chest in a swift gesture, before turning to him from where she knelt.
"Yes, like every night before, I have visions." Her eyes sought to his, before she rose and smiled. "Come, I make you sweet cakes for breakfast, ya?" she said, offering him down a hand. "We will need a lot of energy for the path ahead. My dreams pointed us west."
"That would be lovely, thank you," Enzo nodded his head to her, looking at her strangely. "Though I wouldn't mind taking another bath," he commented and peered into the room he'd washed himself in earlier. "I can help you get fresh water. Or perhaps you know of a waterfall, I may bathe under nearby?"
Pao smiled.
"We eat first, ya? Then I can take you to the springs. There are warm springs deep within these cliff sides. Fresh waters feel good and trickle down naturally from waters deep within the earth. It will help clense us and keep us focused on the road ahead. But for now..."s he laughed and gave him a wink. "For now I cook for you! Sit. Atta!' and she gestured to the rugs before she disappeared into another room behind a curtain of beads, to return minutes later, a bowl with a thick, sugary mix, quite viscus, in hand.
She knelt down ont he floor, lighting up a fire and resting a pan over top and retrieve a jar of oil and lathered the pan lightly iwthin it and let it sizzle, before dropping small spoonfuls of the cake mix into the pan; and soon it's sweet smells were wafting through the air. It dind't take logn for her to fill up a bowl. SHe popped one fried cake into her mouth and offered the whole bowl over to Enzo.
"Here, eat up. I think you will like these. They say they help give tiger's their strength." And she winked to him and went back to making a second batch of small, sweet fried cakes for herself.
Enzo blushed at her words, though he did not sit just yet. He walked back into the room and retrieved the scattered clothes that had been removed from the night before and quickly threw them onto his body. He relaced his pants attached his boots on, slipping his tunic over his head when at last he came to the dining table, the squat one at the center of the room, sitting on the pillows as the aroma filled the room.
When at last the food was presented before him, he was skeptical as ever and poked at it. "Thanks," he murmured before taking a tiny bite. It smelled good, and it certainly was better than those salty sea snails as he chewed it. "They're a bit dry, but thank you, I'll be fine." He washed it down with some water and continued to munch away.
Pao handed him over a jar of sweet oil.
"They say this oil comes from trees. Some call it syrup. It is light and very sweet. Might help the cakes go down, ya?" And hse had already poured some over her own, just a light coating before handed the thing over and taking a seat upon the floor and worked at her own food.
"So I take it you slept well last night, and the dreams had come to you, too?" she inquired, licking at her fingers after popping a small sweat cake into her mouth. "You seem eager to wish to share in it, but I have plans for us. At the springs, we can connect again, to share what visions we had last night, ya? All I know is, mine have shown the same terror they have been showing me for a time, other nightmares and dreams long before your arrival here. And a direction came to be this time, so we go west. But we must plan. Now.." she slapped lightly to the top of his hand. "Eat up!" And she gave a hearty laugh and popped yet another sweet cake into her mouth, her own bowl of them nearly empty by this point as she chewed.
Enzo ate quietly as she spoke, lathering the syrup on the dry sweet cakes. The taste came as a shock to his otherwise innocent pallate. She certainly knew how to be more than hospitable to her guests. But, no...he wasn't really a guest anymore was he. He was becoming ensared in a web of vision and prophecy that would take to the farthest reaches of this world. His eternal hunt for the man that utterly obliterated their home world had led him here, and no doubt he knew someday, someway, Matakopas would use that against him.
"Yes, I had visions of my own," he said simply but it was plain to see that he was disturbed by what he saw. Yet he handled it much better now than he did then. "What lies west? How far west? Are your visions always quite straightforward or is there much to decipher?" He took his last bite of food and bowed his head to his empty bowl, washing it down with some fresh water and moving to clean up after himself.
SHe licked the light syrup from her lips before speaking.
"IN my dreams, I saw ocean. We passed across it, many moons on a boat that took us to a world far, far away from here. A world of the likes I have never seen. Something far past where people believe is the end of the world. But it seems there is no end, but only more land; a whole other place ancient and undiscovered. It is here I saw terrible things, things that must happen, trials we must face." And then she noticed his sword. "Aya, and a sword!" she said, pointing to the thing as if it were a ghost. "There was much to take in. I can't even describe it. A place full of high cliffs coming out of the earth, like walls, like square buildings, far wider than a mountain but no peaks at the top, all flat." And she spoke, using animated expressions of her arms to demonstrate. "We somehow had climbed up there, to this top, this flat valley, and up there.. well.." She frowned.
"Eh, eat up, I'd rather not spoil your appetite."S he said with a sparkle to her eyes. "Eat, for you will need your strength, Enzo. For where we are going, no man has ever set foot."
At heer story, Enzo's eyes widened and he pushed his plate away and shook his head violently. "I - I think I've eaten enough for the morning. Those sweet cakes were very good, thank you. My...visions were less descriptive," he said. "I saw a blade, a red blade very different than my sword...I... was in a cavernous place...but I was not myself. I was my enemy. I can only guess what that means." He bowed to his bowl again and stood. "You mentioned a spring to clean up in," he gestured.
Pao's eyes widened at his claims, her hands shooting out and catching onto one of his.
"Aya! You say you are your enemy?" And with her eyes still wide, she marked a symbol across her chest with her finger and began muttering more words in her own language.
He took a step back and blinked at her. "In my dream. I was looking into a mirror and the surface began to ripple like water. It was just a dream!"
"AH!" Pao smacked his arm."But these are no ordinary dreams! We dream these for a purpose!" and she went on muttering out more curses in her own language, evidently chewing him out in her native tongue as she shook her head in disgust. "You can not over look such details! It means a lot to our soul, our person, our spirit." She said, fisting a hand and patting it over her heart. "What else happened in the dream? If you find yourself as another person,... Aya! Oh the things it could mean!"
Enzo stepped closer now and looked at her with narrow eyes. "You were there," he answered. "Lying at my feet, dead in a pool of your own blood. The sword was in my hand, the red blade that seemed stained with blood. What more could it be?"
Pao visibly paled, her eyes growing larger than they had ever been as she flinched back, muttering more words in her language and marking several times across her chest.
"Aya! Death!? YOu've seen it!?" and she backed away, nearly tripping over a cup of incense that still burned. "Get out! OUT!" she barked, pointing directly at the beaded curtain that lead outside. "You come with bad omen! This is bad! It speaks volumes of our journey!" and she spat at his feet, backing away nad glaring daggers at her. "Now, be gone with you! I need no bad spirits in here! out! Aya!" and she flapped her arms at him, aiming to shoo him away. "OUT!"
His eyes grew narrow and he frowned, startled at her sudden conclusion. He came forward and grabbed eer by the arms shaking her a little. "Wait a minute!" he said, letting her go. "I'm not a bad omen! I saved your life! It was just a dream. Matakopas has powers even you cannot fathom. Most likely he was just trying to throw me off. To unnerve me as he usually would. But fine. If you want to be alone, I'll leave you to your visions. Justs how me where the springs are so I can clean up. Forgive my intrusion." He scowled at her a little before collecting his armor pieces and his sword, waiting for her direction.
"And you expect me to believe that?!" she said, staring at him with a laugh and planted a hand to her hips. SHe muttered more in her old language. "He is not powerful enough to get past the visions. Give to me your hand. Let me see it." she demanded, giving him on room to refuse.
Enzo was growing increasingly irritated. "Matakopas was crafty enough fool an entire kingdom into believing he came in goodness, only construct something strong enough to destroy out world. Singlehandedly." He stared at her for a moment and suddenly looked back up at her eyes. "We are connected," he said in soft realization. "We were touched by the machine's power before escaping destruction... I believe he us using our connection to do you harm. That must be why you burned at our contact. He's trying to manipulate you too. And it's working." But he offered his hand nonetheless.
Pao wasted no time, seeming to ignore whatever it was he was trying to tell her as she produced a piece of chalk, and then proceeded to mutter in her own native tongue while drawing a thick film of it over his hand. Then she leaned forward, spitting into ti and then taking his hand and drawing it to her chest. Then she leaned forward, drawing a chalked outline of an eye on his forehead.
"There." and she took her hand and hit him square on the forehead with her palm.
"Matakopas will reach you not for now." She said, and wrinkled her nose. "Though we'll have to think of something when you need to wash the chalk off. For now, let the chalk do it's thing. Then I shall read your fortune to see what is trickery and what is not. Not all of your dream might have been tainted by that man. But we see in good time."
"You certainly have a hard time listening when it isn't about you," Enzo replied testily and rubbed the chalk off his forehead and dusted off his hands. "I speak the truth... But I'm afraid so do you. I know it was a vision but I know he has tried to trick me through my dreams before. Even yours are not safe. "
"ACH!" she grabbed his hand, glaring daggers at him and moved to draw the chalk eye again. "Do not smear the chalk! It has not had time to work yet. I did not know the manner of this man's powers, but now you must trust mine. Let me draw on you, lest you want to figure out these visions on your own." And she gave a laugh that suggested 'And good luck with that.'
"I'm not trying to spurn your help!" he growled as he let her draw chalk a second time. "But you're not listening to me! How do you think he found you so easily!? Oh, gods! Could you please just show me the way to the springs? I'm sticky from sweat and sex!"
Pao'orha glared at him.
"There are worse things to be!" she shouted angrily, and snatched his arm by the wrist. Her eyes flared with anger. "You could be dead!" and then seh proceeded to cuss him out in her native tongue, and went back to drawing more thick layers of chalk on his one hand, and drew in a large amount of spit into her mouth, before angrily spitting it onto his hand.
"There, now stay still!" she pressed, nearly hissing out the words as she began to chant something as she drew a circle of chalk around him.
Enzo frowned at her and kept the better part of own tongue to himself and let her go about her business. "I should be dead," he spat back at her. "I should have died with my kingdom. But for some reason I didn't. Decipher that, Pao'ohra!"
Pao rolled her eyes at him.
"Such child," And she smacked him on the arm. "This is not the man I had in dream. Learn to keep your balls in order." she told him sternly before muttering more phrasings in native Saranthian. "Fate is cruel to us, this we all know well, ya?" And she shook her head at him, not believing he would speak in such manner to her. "Now stay still and remain in circle. You must do this at least for the next few minutes before I can do a good reading. Though you upset it, aya! Ach! You and your negative energies. And to think, we had connected last night. Perhaps I was wrong about you, Enzo.." she said,s haking her head and worked at drawing a second circle around him in chalk, then a third.
He growled at her and rolled his eyes, breathing out his anger and irritation. "Fine," he said, standing still. "Jus do it." He breathed out his negativity and thought of happy things though deep down he wanted to slap her silly.
Pao continued to draw a few more circles around him, but then when she caught his soured look, she narrowed her gaze. She hit his arm.
"Enough with that face. You look like child who was refused his cream." She shook her head. "Come now, sit down, relax, and clear your mind of all thoughts."
Enzo's eyes shot open. "Woman! You are trying my patience!" he seethed but sat down nonetheless. He crossed his leg in front of him and breathed in and out slowly, trying to relax, after shooting one open eye at her.
Pao stared down at him, a hand on her hip as she gave him a skeptical look, and a glare once he popped his eye open at her.
"HASCH!" and she smacked a hand towards his face, not hitting him, but attempting to get him to flinch and close his eyes. "Keep them closed. THink of nothing that upsets you at this moment. THough I suppose, pretty man, you might have some difficulty, ya? Perhaps you had not been sated well enough last night?" and she gave a laugh, shaking her head before sitting on the floor opposite of him and began to draw various symbols around him in chalk upon the ground, and the one right in front of him was the symbol of the open eye, the same as the one she had drawn on his head, before she proceeded, muttering in her native tongue, drawing more symbols at each cardinal direction around him.
"Be quiet and just do what you must do," he growled at her through clenched teeth. He folded his hands in his lap, palms facing upward and toward the ceilling, folding one hand inside the other as he breathed gently and tried to clear his mind, focusing on all the sounds around him, her breathing, the sound of chalk hitting the ground and his mind honing in on each scrape and puff of dust. Focusing on everything and nothing.
Pao leaned forward once she was done, studying his face before moving a hand forward as she flicked his nose.
"CLEAR YOUR MIND!" she said, then sighed and took a seat before him, drawing out a few items from a leather pouch at her side that she began to set around him. One sea shell, a small, black stone, two feathers, and a broken shard of yellow glass.
He heard her quite loud and clear but did not react to he. He was perfectly still as he heard the click and snap of objects being placed around him. Enzo listened. He heard a breath, but it didn't sound like hers. It almost laugh, so faint it was until like a tendril a shadowy hand, lingering against the wall began to reach out for her shadow, lingering just above her head.
Like lightning he struck, Enzo's hand unsheathed the katana cradled in his lap and slashed at the shadow on the wall. The two dimensional image howled in pain and bled bright blood that seeped from the wall. "Your demons are close," he murmured. "Perhaps it is not wise to fuss over my any longer."
Pao hissed and slammed her hands down onto the ground, turquoise eyes flaring hot and glaring right into him.
"I told you not to move, aya!" she said, slapping his arm then looked down at the blood, and towards where he had just attacked with a frown.
"You need to trust me. It could not have harmed you in the chalk," she spat, and began muttering more obscenities in her native tongue. It was after she spat on it did she lift up the black rock.
"This, take it and place inside your mouth, quick," she said, then lifted up the two feathers and placed them quickly onto his shoulder. "And you.. Enzo, do not move, lest the feathers fall. STay still, even as you hold your sword, just do it! HASCH!" she said in a hiss, then drew back, glaring at him with a sagging frown to her lips, her hair wild and draping over her face as she hunched forward, eyes daring him to try to move again.
"Now.. spit out that rock." she said, placing her hand out, palm facing the ceiling. "We haven't much time, quickly!"
"It wasn't afraid it would hurt me," he said matter of factly. "I'm done with these games. Just read me as you did before. I am more calm than I have been in a long time. You eat the rock." He cleaned the blade of the katana before resheathing it and placing it on his lap and sitting once more. He kept his eyes closed and concentrated again.
Pao glared daggers at Enzo before stuffing the rock inside his mouth.
"Now hold it there for just a few seconds then spit it out. HASCH!" she hissed. "I did not say yet! Keep it in!" and she stuffed her hand over his mouth to prevent him from spitting it out too soon.
He doubled back, gagging on the rock and nearly swallowed it as a result. He growled at her and clubber her side with the sheathed katana, spitting out the rock when his mouth was free and coughing. "I SAID NO!"
Pao muttered more saranthian curses at him.
"You are being impossible! Maybe your visions were right. Maybe you will be the death of me!" she growled, and marked more symbols across her chest. She took the rock now, holding it in her hand before slipping it into her own mouth and sat cross-legged infront of him, closing her eyes as she went silent, all except for a light humming noise she made as one f her hands found his and held onto it. She had to concentrate, and concentrate hard. Though it was difficult because of all of the negative energies now surging between them.
But then she saw it- a pit, a well, a darkness casting over head. And a great black bird dove at it, casting it away. And in doing so, it revealed a pit of a thousand corpses, and at the sight, Pao gasped, and inadvertently choked on the rock, and grabbed at her throat, unable to breath.
OOC: THey're like, BEST FRIENDS X3
Enzo eyed her with a scrutunizing eye as she choked for a while before releasing her grip from his hand and wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and pressing in and upward against her belly, as many as it took to get her to cough up the rock.
One, two, three times it took before Pao'orha spat out the rock,and it went sailing across the room, tumbling to a halt in the corner. Once she had her throat cleared, she gasped for breath and clutched at her throat, dropping to her knees and shaking her head.
"Gods.. so many visions.." she muttered, and began to prattle off more words he wouldn't be able to know as she marked her hands feverishly across her chest. Then looked up at him, snatching his hands swiftly and looking down at his palms. Upon seeing them, she visible relaxed and sighed.
"This day is going to prove to be quite long indeed." ANd it was only then she looked up, and smirked, noticing, somehow, both feathers remained upon his shoulder. "But this is good omen,"s ehs aid, gently lifting a finger towards them, but not daring to touch. "Perhaps we're becoming that much closer to figuring out the meaning of our dreams. Come." and here she smiled and took him by the hand as she rose off the ground. "Please sit within the chalk circle. I have just a few more readings to do. Then I will know for sure."
Enzo relaxed when she was no longer choking on the rock and did as she instructed him, sitting back where he was and closing his eyes to concentrate once again. "You have too many visions than you know what to do with," he muttered before slippig back into concentration once more
Pao'orha took his comment and simply snorted a laugh through her nose.
"And you do not know how to listen. This would be much easier if you were to simply cooperate." She told him then moved to take his hand. "Now.. draw in a deep breath and hold it. Like this." and she demonstrated, almost mockingly so and let her chest rise up, and her chin.
At that, Enzo instinctively reached out and flicked his fingers at her nose, much like she did to him and remained silent, breathing out the way he knew how, concentrating on the sound of his heart beat as it fluxed and pounded with irritation and peace, melting together inside of his chest.
Pao gave a mean smile at his action, though it was still somewhat of a playful one. She'd get him back for that. But for now, she took his hand, then the yellow glass shard, and cut it hard, right across the surface. ANd then she quickly turned his hand over, collecting the red blood inside the upturned shell.
"There.."s he said, and pushed his hand back towards him as she looked up at him. "Your blood. It speaks volumes. Last time it burned me. This time, we need it if we are meant to connect. So, I drink it now. If we are good, and protecte dby the seal, it will not burn me. If not... it seems I might not be very happy when it destroys my insides!" she said with a chuckle, then tipped her head back, and drank down his blood, making a face as she hissed and forced herself to swallow it down.
Enzo didn't make a noise, not even flinched when the glass shard cut across the surface of the top of his hand. He didn't stir, only focused on his breath, his heartbeat and hoping his anxiety would subside, wanting pleasant food and drink in a place far away from here, hoping for Vallarian wine, and a night of feasting. But knowing he could never have it again.
Pao made a terribly bitter face as the blood went down.
"Your blood tastes as bitter as you are," she said the gave a laugh, shaking her head and smoothing down her skirts. "Now, give me your hand again. I want to read your fortune this time." And she smirked. "And do it properly this time. No devils or antics to get in the way."
Despite his better judgment, Enzo did stick his hands forth, resisting the urge to slap her, and instead steadied himself so that she could do her reading. Though he didn't know what she intended to find.
Pao took his hand with a smirk, but was careful as she examined it, turning it this way and that before gently smoothing her own hand across it as her eyes fluttered close. She spoke again in saranthian, her tongue releasing hard trills and rough b's as the words came out in a fluid stream of thought.
"Ah.. yes.." and by now, her hands were gently massaging one of his, feeling deeply into the muscle. "I can feel a connection, even in here. This is good?" she said, raising one brow at him as she smirked. "And ahh.. a life line.." and here she faltered, blinking as she looked at it. "Hasch!" she made a face and gave his hand a shake. "Strange, perhaps your friend plays tricks again? It shows two life lines here. That, or you've got very good luck." She laughed.
As she squeezed his hand, Enzo gave a grunt of discomfort, the pain the pressure of her fingers should have inspired in that hand, instead seemed to pour out of the other where the cut she'd made stung something fierce. Enzo made a face and looked down into his palm, as if trying to read where she noticed two lifelines, but his eyes were blank.
"I'm not sure what you mean," he said. "Two lifelines? Are you implying Matakopas is inside of me? Spiritually I mean. That cannot be. He possesses great power, but nothing of that nature, not to my knowledge. And I'm the only one who knows him and what he is capable of."
Pao shook her head.
"No, but two life lines means two chances. At one point, either you had been very lucky.. or you will. That line.." and she traced a finger alongside it. "It is rather short, prematurely so.. but then the second line.."s he frowned. "It is hard to tell, for depending on how you grip your hand, it can go on into eternity, but sitting still.. it's shorter than the first."
He wasn't sure he still understood, but the pieces would slowly come togther enough for him to understand that symbolically, his life on Vallaris had been cut painfully short, and his life here and now was only just the beginning of something new and that much he could fathom. "Is there anything else you see?" he murmured, curious nowaas to how she read palms in the first place. The cut continued to sting savagely until he clenched his fist in response. It felt like pieces of the glass had broken off and were still inside of it.
Pao slapped his hand. "Hasch! Do not disturb the cut! I am not done!" She frowned, shaking her head at him.
"Patience, Enzo. These things take time. Why you always rush? I tell you end of story now. We all die!" But she laughed. " everyone dies in theend of their own story. It is part of life... Why rush it?"
"It stings," he complained. "You didn't even put an oitnment on it." He frowned and inspected the cut a little. It was already getting irritated. "Well that's not how my story is going to end. I will not die until I have that bastard's head on a platter. And the sooner that happens the better."
He frowned deeper before meeting her eyes. "I guess, I always fear I'm going to be too late. Time just gets away from us."
"Life stings. But we get through it." And she took his hand and gently blew on the wound. Studying it, she smiled. "It seems luck will befall you soon." And she grabbed a jar of ointment and applied it to the cut.
Enzo smiled when at last she applied ointment to the sore wound. Such kindness was unheard of in his experience. Even Prince Azura was a hard man to serve when he was in a foul mood. But it had not gone unnoticed by Enzo. He flexed his hand, the flesh feeling instantly better now that the wound was cooled from the ointment. "Thank you," he murmured. "I didn't mean to whine. It's just a cut. I'll survive."
Pao raised a brow. "I should hope so!" And she laughed. "How will you face our monsters other wise? Smiling, she stood. "Come. Let us head to the springs. You wanted to get clean, ya?"
Ooc: its hard typing posts on a phone D:
Monsters, crap. He'd forgotten about this. What with all the frustrations that came with being forced to swallow rocks and cutting his hand with a piece of glass that made him bitter, he'd forgotten the greater reasons why he'd come to linger in this place, this city of the cliffs.
"Oh right, the springs yes," he replied thoughfully and stood up from the circle of chalk.
[I have a full keyboard so it's not too difficult for me.]
OOC: I used to have a flip open keyboard phone, but it wasn't a smart phone, it was just an awesome phone. Then I got a smart phone since that phone was on it's last legs and it's all touch screen and thought I was stuck with single finger typing... then realized if I flipped the phone horizontally, I could use my thumbs to type >.>
*is slow*
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Pao grinned much like a cat and put her hand out expectantly.
"But before you step out from the circle of chalk, give me your hand." And her eyes shined with mirth.
[It happens! xD My phone is kind've a smart phone, but not really. It has 3G but it's still prepaid, so I have to be quick when I post when I'm away from Wi-Fi]
Enzo frowned a little at the chalk circle and took her hand when she offered it. She was right, it was easier just to cooperate than to make faces and resist. He stepped out when she told him too and was careful not to step on any of the chalk. "Why must everything be so particular?"
As she took his hand, she made more warded gestures across her chest, then across his and pulled out a piece of chalk, drawing a circle around the open wound on his palm before pulling out a piece of leather string and binding the chalk to it and placing it around his neck.
"There," and she smiled as she guided him out,a nd at his question, she smirked.
"Reading the world around us is very delicate. SO what I do.."s he shrugged. "Can just be very tedious and particular. I do not wish to miss a thing. At least not if I can help it!" she added with a laugh.
Again with more necklaces and rituals. Enzo sighed a breath of desperatio, to just be on with it. But he knew better than to shove away or sneer at her superstitions and practices. Afterall, he'd been the one taat came to her in good faith. And it was easier just to obey.
"Personally, I think you enjoy being difficult," Enzo commented with a laugh. "But I can respect your scrutiny."
Pao'orha raised both her brows before tossing her head back in a laugh.
"With you? Yes," she replied, smiling and exposing her teeth. But then shook her head. "But with you, reading the visions proves more difficult, for I feel myself getting more, and I do not wish to miss a thing, lest I read our destiny down the wrong path.. for I do believe we were destined to meet, our destinies, intertwined, something we could both would not have been able to avoid in this life time. But come.." she eyed him over. "You are still slick with sweat. Let us go and get cleaned." And she lead the way, outside of her home-shop, through the narrow, cliff side streets and back inside to more winding staircases until the pair of them approached a quaint corner, seeming almost vacant of people as Pao stepped into a quiet room with a few lit candles. She slipped a coin to the woman stationed at the front, and gestured for Enzo to do the same before she walked away from him and approached the large pool of fresh waters.
"It smells divine, of the earth and it's richness, of it's purities through tastes and smells." Pao commented before beginning to unbind her meager garments, that of which began to pool carelessly at her feet until she wore practically nothing at all and began to step into the streams, staring but once over her shoulder at Enzo as she laughed in silence before stepping out all the way intot the pool, until it nearly consumed her in it's water.
Enzo was thankful at last they'd gotten to the springs. After he paid the woman, he moved over to a more private corner near Pao and stared at the steaming waters for a second before pulling his clothes off his body until he was in his underclothes and slipped into the waters himself. The feeling shocked him but the tension began to ease away immediately afterward.
It felt good to be naked out in the waters, the warmth and steam all but erasing the sweat and stickiness from their sex the night before. And the waters here were deep enough for her to submerge herself beneath it, and when she resurfaced, her thick, dark-multi-colored hair was plastered against her skull and shoulders, and clinging around the heavy roundness of her breasts. Her hair wasn't quite long to mask them in any sort of modesty, the ends curling just an inch away from the tips of her erect nipples as she smoothed her hair back away from her turquoise eyes.
She took this moment to allow her own self to relax, for the steamy waters made her muscles feel relaxed and more at ease than before. At her age, these sorts of things were heavenly, and for the moment, she ignored her partners presence as she meditated in silence, her head leaning back, her body floating lightly in the water as the few necklaces she still wore floated to the surface and shined against the subtle candle light, catching the light as if dancing flames themselves.
Enzo only looked at her once and for the briefest of moments. She deserved the bath as much as he did, and it seemed was enjoying it more than him. He carefully took in a breath and ducked his head below the water, crawling on the bottom of it before promptly sitting on the bottom on it and falling into meditation.
With her head leaning back, her mind focus on nothing, but everything all at once, she was able to hear him submerge himself and grow silent at the bottom of the spring. Smirking out bubbles of air, she turned around and opened her eyes, noticing the way he sat in meditation at the bottom. Perhaps he was right. Perhaps she had too many steps to everything. Why not take a break to do something else that would disturb him? So she moved through the waters, pushing herself closer and closer to where he now sat before taking a seat herself, straddling her legs around his as she grinned back at him, causing a few more bubbles to escape.
The water made him feel weightless, and if it weren't for thee weight of his body tto the ground, it would have been easy for him to believe that he was floating off somewhere. He could hold his breath for a long time and focused not on the aching of his lungs nor pressure on his brain, but the feeling of something settling in his lap. He opened his eyes and saw Pao above him. He gasped, startled and taking in water as he struggled and pushed himself off the ground, breaking the surface. He gasped for breath, coughing violently over the rocky edge.
Pao'orha chuckled out the rest of her breath as she pushed to the surface to join him. Once there, she gasped for breath, but was laughing again, a sound that echoed around them like music in the cave.
Her voice made him gag and water came gushing out as he galre up at her. But a smirk soon took his features and he lunged forward and shoved her back into the water. "You need to cool off!" he laughed. "Trying to make me drown!"
Pao gasped and struggled out from his own attempts to drown her. She took in water, but spat it playfully in his face.
"If I were trying, you'd think I'd be more clever than this!" she stated with a smirk and laugh, then swam away from him, relaxing and laying back into the waters with a smile.
Enzo coughed out, whatever remained in his lungs and just laughed at her words. "Not particularly no. You would think of something far worse than drowning. And more drawn out and complicated." He smiled and laid back against the rocks, watching the water reflect light against the cavernous ceiling.
As they both were reclining back within the waters, Pao'orha released a sigh,a nd stretched out her legs, knowing full well she would be able to reach Enzo at this distance. And in doing so, she propped her bare feet upon his shoulders and grinned, but only stared up at the ceiling and said nothing, and in fact, was pretending to meditate, muttering phrases in her own tongue.
Enzo turned his head to look at her and grabbed her feet as they were on his shoulders, holding them fiercely in hand before using his other hand to tickle them savagely before floating away from her, pushing off. "I thought we came here to relax," he said.
"HA-IIIIIIIIISCH!" Pao cried out, before an eruption of laughter followed, echoing across the cavernous room. And it was only after her feet were freed did she right herself and peered over at Enzo, quirking a brow.
"I was relaxing," she pointed out with a smirk. "But some red-eyed idiot decided it would be fun to touch my feet. Hach!" And she proceeded to splash water at his face as she slapped her hands across it's surface.
Enzo shielded himself from the splash and just laughed at her. "And you insist on bothering my energies with your stinky feet and disruptive thighs. I was trying to meditate. Why don't you do the same?" he insisted as he turned and swam for the other end of the pool.
Pao shrugged her shoulders and gave a roll of her eyes.
"I suppose,"s he wrinkled her nose and swam backwards, away from him, in the water. "I should have guessed you'd still be stiff."A nd she grinned over at him before leisurely leaning against the opposing corner of the spring.
Enzo's eyes narrowed and looked at her darkly. But he did nothing in response. She was entitled to her opinions anyway and he did have a lot to thank her for for helping him come to terms with the demons in his mind. Enzo relaxed visibly in the water, trying to focus on his energy again, holding his breath and descending below the surface once more.
While Enzo went on to meditate, Pao'orha used the soaps to cleanse her body, and then, like he, she too submerged herself beneath the waters, letting the soaps wash off as she relaxed. After a time, she peered over at him with a smirk before she resurfaced and stepped out of the waters, humming softly, the music carrying eerily into the darkness of the spring room, which was only illuminated by a few, fat waxed candles afixated on either side of the room, offering nothing but a meager, dancing flame of light.
Enzo did not stir from the sound of her voice, nor at any sound when he sat at the bottom of the pool. As his mind began to recede into itself, Enzo remained unaware at the pain that sprread through his lungs, that burned and ached for oxygen. Air bubbles wavered up to the surface of the pool as his body loosened and slumped below, lifeless.
Pao'orha continued to hum softly as she approached the robes and towels provided to them. It was only when she began to draw her silk robe around her naked form did she realize how long it had truly been since Enzo had gone beneath the water. Turning to peer at the spring from over her shoulder, she stepped cautiously towards the edge to study it, and noticed his form still below the surface.
"Enzo?" her words carried across the way. She smirked. "Are you part fish? Come, there is still much we have to do. Many signs to read and... well, food to eat." She added with a laugh and secured a knot in her robe.
He didn't know how long he'd been under, as his mind drifted off. Bubble continued to drift up from his mouth and strike the surface as his body grew lax and drooped lazily beneath the surface.
When he didn't respond, she blinked.
"Hasch.. stubborn fool," she said, and scooped up her pouch, one full of small, but heavy, black stones and she plucked one out and let it drop, hoping it would land upon his head. Though it was quite hard to aim when dropping stones into water.
It did land on his head, in fact many of them landed on his body, but still he didn't respond. His lungs were burning and Enzo remained lifeless. Blood began to cloud the water and billow up from his nose.
When he did not stir and a dark, ink like substance began to cloud around him she grit her teeth and swore.
Not even a second later, she dove into the water, all the way down to the bottom of the spring and wrapped her arms around him, dragging the man clean out of the thing and pulling him onto shore.
Gasping for air with her thick hair plastered all around her face she shouted, "Enzo!" and scrambled to crouch beside him, peering down at him with wide eyes as she shook him.
"Enzo! Ha-eesh! Wake up!" she said, and began to slap at his cheeks.
Blood seeped out from his nose and trickled out once Pao managed to pull him out of the water and began to slap his cheeks. The strikes were doing nothing to awaken him, and his face seemed pale and his eyes were blank should their lids be lifted to peer underneath.
Her brows furrowed as she used a thumb to lift up his eyes. They appeared blank and as if glazed over by death.
"Enzo!" she shouted with another slap to his cheeks. Then she pressed her ear to his chest. No breath was coming out. Frowning, she brushed her hair out from her face and leaned forward, pinching his nose and breathing air into his mouth, and working hands over his chest, hitting him and hoping to knock the water out.
"Enzo!" and she went at it again, breathing in longer and more deeper breaths into his mouth.
It took several poundings of considerable force to make Enzo abruptly cough up and spew the first bits of water from his mouth as his consciousness returned to him like a lightning bolt. He coughed more water and took in a deep breath as he sat up and heaved on the side. "Gods...." he breathed, collecting himself and shaking and shivering all over.
Pao'orha was more than relieved when the man came awake, spitting out the spring waters. She released her held breath, muttered a tempered prayer in her native tongue while drawing quick symbols across her chest. Then she promptly hit him savagely upon the arm.
"Ha-eesh! I thought you were dead, Enzo! But here you still breath! WHat did you think you were, part of the water?"
"I-I don't know what happened," Enzo admitted, lookin at her with bewilderment in his eyes. He got up from the ground. "I was meditating like you said to do. To try and relax and I guess I just felt my mind slip away... I didn't even remember I was still in the water."
Pao was taken back by his question, her face twisting quizzically before she hit him again.
"What do you mean you just 'forgot'!? You nearly scared all the lives out of me!" and she spat to one side, muttering more words in her tongue before she paused and looked him over. "You were trying to meditate and then blanked out? Forgot about this world? Nyajun.." she whispered. "This can not be." and she pulled out a stone and shoved it into his hand. "Eat this stone now. It will protect you if you keep it in your belly. Be quick and swallow it now, lest you wish for that friend of yours to keep tormenting you through your mind!"
Enzo clutched the stone and threw it at the water. "I'm not eating any rocks," he scowled at her. "It was merely a deep meditation. It was nothing to worry about. Believe me. " He patted her shoulder and began to walk out of the spring room, gathering his clothes along with him.
"HASH!" and she spat, and grabbed another black stone from her pouch and threw it angrily at the back of Enzo's head and began to vent on him in venemous words, but in her own language. So there was a lot of snarling an wide eyed glares as she got into his face, then threw up her hands and began to storm away from him.
"You make me worry sick. I go home now." and she didn't even care that her robes were half falling off as she stormed away.
He was a quick dresser and not long after she was trying to storm away did he lunge forward and rip the robe right off of her. "Go home like that!" he spat and stomped passed her.
Pao'orha whirled around and snatched onto his arm, yanking him back before she slapped him hard across the face and then spat on him, right on his chest before she growled in his face and continued to curse him out in her tongue.
"Useless, no good man!" and she pushed him away so that SHE could storm away.
Naked.
Like he'd let her off that easy. He stalked after her as if she would get the upper hand and abruptly picked her up from the ground and threw her over his shoulder, exiting the spring room and heading back to her home and shop.
Pao'orha let out a cry and more angered out bursts came spewing from her mouth as she began to kick and claw and pound her fists against him.
"Enzo! Put me down this instant!" she shouted, words echoing through the spring bath caves. The woman at the door stared at them with her mouth gaping open and as the pair passed her, Pao'orha still slung over Enzo's shoulder like a sack of potatoes, she hissed at the woman before Enzo simply continued to carry her away.
"Put me down! Has-shat-tit!" And she spat on him again before she latched onto his hair. "Before I make you bald! Aya!" and she gave his hair a painful tug.
Vallarian bodyguards were the hardest trained of all soldiers on that world, and a liitle pain like hair tugging wouldn't be enough to slow him down. He just kept stomping up the stairs along the cliff. He slapped her ass hard and glanced back. "If you don't settle down, I will throw you off this cliff!"
"I'd like to see you try!" she challenged, and pinched her sharp nails into his ear.
Enzo hissed at her and just ran faster up the stairs until he reached the height of the cliff stairs and yanked her from his should, holding her out at least two hundred feet off the ground level, ocean waves breaking below. "What is the matter with you?" he said dangling her over the edge by her ankles.
Pao'orha was so pissed off, she was red-faced with rage. Her lips would not stop moving, spewing so many hateful words towards him in her language that when he asked her that question, she simply spat into his face.
"I could ask you the same! Some hero from my dream. Pah! Apparently I am no good at reading fortunes! You will be the ruin of me!" she shouted, dangling upside down, hundreds of feet above the rocky waves below, but not seeming to care, even as she dangled so precariously by her ankles and her hair fluttered wildly about from the cliff-side ocean winds. SHe merely stared at him defiantly, her eyes challenging his with a wild expression of stubborn bravery and exotic beauty as she threw back her shoulders.
"Go ahead and try, red eyes!" and she swore at him again in her tongue. "I will find way to curse you in this life and next! HASH-SHEESH!" And she spat at him again.
"And you! A witch-woman who wants to swallow rocks and shit stones! Maybe you're the ruin of me!" He shook her by the ankles but soon swung her back over his shoulder and was back up the stairs and back to the front of her shop, kicking open the door. "Relax! Or I'll make you relax!"
OOC: She has no doors, so he's kicking open the beads 8D
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"The rock was meant to protect! But for you, I'll throw many at your head!" she threatened, struggling within his grasp. "Put me down Red-Eyes before I find my way to pluck those eyes out of your head!"
[XD We all do that! WHOOPS!]
Enzo moved through the beaded curtains between her doorways and finally set her down in her room. "You and you magic rocks can jump into the ocean for all I care," Enzo growled. He grabbed her by her shoulders and stared at her fiercely for a good long moment before smashing his lips against hers.
OOC: It's ok! NORMAL PEOPLE HAVE DOORS.
not Pao 8D
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"Maybe I will go jump into the ocean to be rid of you, demon eyes! Ha-shh!" and she seemed about ready to spit on him again; except at that moment, he kissed her. And she felt all of their fury in that kiss as she moaned through it.
Pushing away, she slapped him hard across the cheek and spat on him again.
"What do you think you are doing!?" But even she was red-faced, and her body hot from such a kiss as she gripped her hands into fists.
Enzo wiped the spit from his face and grit his teeth at her, narrowing his brows as he darted forth again, smashing his lips to hers and grabbing her slapping wrist with the other one before pulling away. "Stop spitting on me. And I'm going to make you relax goddammit!"
OOC: Good luck, Enzo 8D Saranthian women are quite stubborn! (and apparently they spit >_> )
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She moaned again as they kissed, and as he pulled away from this kiss this time to look at her, telling her to stop spitting, she simply looked back at him, a fire in her turquoise eyes far hotter than the sun with her hair a wild mess about her. Then she spat into his face. Again.
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OOC: LOL I'm sorry, I had to >>
HAD TO
8D *so amused with this thread right now*
[I'd spit at him too if he dangled me over a cliff.]
Enzo wiped his face again and smashed his head against hers in a headbutt until he leaned in, pulling her in by her hair to kiss her fiercely and did not let her go as easily as before.
OOC: I'd probably kick him in the balls. Then you know, cry.
*hates heights*
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She was seeing stars when he struck her with his head.What was his skull made of, rocks? But at the fierceness of his actions, and the roughness of the kiss, she found herself slowly succumbing to the fires of passion. Though through each kiss she found herself hissing and spewing out curses, even biting sharply at his lips and one time, drawing blood. But eventually, her hands were moving all over him, her body melting against his as her hands raked into his hair, clinging onto him desperately as her body erupted into a fire of need.
"Spirits of Dreams damn you, Enzo!"s he cried. "We will mate now or I'll tear out all of your hair and make you drink it with my piss and that of the piss of a donkey! Ha-yat!" And with a strength seeming most unbecoming of her, she slammed him against the wall and shoved his hard member clean inside her with a moan, all the while her legs wrapped desperately around his hips.
"Ha-sheeeeeet," she exclaimed, throwing her head back as her eyes fluttered tightly closed. "By the Gods, Enzo!" and then she began to sputter out endless words of both love and hate as she began to ride him like a horse.
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OOC: She's so romantic >>;
I'm sure every man wants a woman to scream that before.. YOU KNOW.
[Oh, course, it's every man's fantasy. I'm just going to assume she undressed him as well.]
His lips were sore and his body positively on fire when she slammed his member hard into her. He didn't know how it happened between the bites, the curses, the angry kisses, that his clothes had been discarded yet again. She pinned him hard to the wall, his mind dizzy, even hitting the wall hard when she began to ride him. "You make the silliest goddamned THREATS! Gods! Oh!" His knees wavered and weakened underneath him and he slipped down hard on his ass, moaning loudly and trying to hold onto her hips. "Easy!"
OOC: I forgot he got his clothes back on XD
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Pao'orha gave a yelp as the pair fell hard onto the floor. It hurt so good to have him slammed so far inside her, that she wasted no time in pinning him roughly to the ground beneath her, ignoring his cries for her to go easy as she began to ride him hard.
"I make no silly threats!" she growled, but soon it turned into purr of pleasure as she tossed back her head and cried out in ecstasy, "Gods, Enzo!" And a string of indistinguishable words soon followed in a frenzy. She gripped her hands tightly into his hair. "Take me to the dream world and claim me with your seed!" For never in all of her days had she needed to breed so furiously with a man she hated but loved in the moment all the same.
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OOC: And supposedly these two are to save the world... or something
He rolled his eyes into the back of his head, groaning in pleasure as she rode him harder. She was tight around him, like a second skin and made loud noises of pleasure once his hands gripped onto her hips and got a better rhythm to her motion. "They are silly!" he panted, gritting his teeth. He dug his hands into her skin, the force a lot to bear so quickly.
"No," he growled at her and gave her an angry scowl. "Make me! You fiend!"
[Because heroes always spit in each other's faces.]
"I am not the fiend!" she shouted, cursing him out again as she moved forward overtop of him again, pinning him back down to the ground forcefully at his shoulders with her hands. "And I will do as I command!" and she ground into him harder, and it hurt but felt so good that it had her crying out as she kept at the pace, his member slamming deep within her and reaching so many pleasure spots within her hot sex that she knew not what to do with herself. she felt as if she were going to explode as the tension and sensations brewed and burned deep within her. And now her hands were gripping tightly to his hair again as she called out,"Ha-la-tay! Fuck me, Enzo Azura! Fuck me hard! AYAHT!!" and she clung to him tighter, finding herself nearing so desperately to her peak.
OOC: To be fair, she only spat on him I think.
Many... many times.
"You shrewish fiend!" Enzo was beside himself with pleasure, moaning loudly as she claimed him over and over again. "Threaten me with rocks and spit and piss! You are a witch-woman! GOOOODS!" He was nearing his peak as well, but forced himself to hold off as long as he could, though he doubted it would be much longer. Instead he forced himself up and smashed his lips into hers and trained her hips with his hands to ride him at a better angle, than forcing him into her so hard, maximizing each stroke as much as possible. "If it's not your way you're not satisfied," he panted.
[Because spitting solves everything.]
Pao'orha threw out her arms in frustration, fighting against him to regain the position she had him in once before.
"HASCH!" she cried, baring her teeth at him. Then her eyes fluttered close as she moaned. "I can not be satisifed!" she shouted. "Stay there! Move sex there!" she commanded, panting as she sweat and moved over top of him, finding her sweet spot again, an angle that he had almost messed up and tried to get herself to build up that sensation again on her road to ectasy, only to find herself failing each time as she neared her peak. And each time she let out a frustrated groan as she threw her head back. "Gods, ENZO!" she screamed, fingers digging into his skin as she began to call out to the heavens in her own tongue. "Do not fight me on this! Let me ride you to pleasure!" For if he did not heed her, she might do more than scream.
"F-Fine!" Enzo roared, holding back as she readjusted him inside her, trying to nurse it all over again. He just laid back, holding on for the ride, but feeling resentful all the same. He was tempted to cum early just to spite her. "I though this was supposed to be relaxing." he growled. "Gods....Pao!"
"Pao'orha Salandara!" she corrected in a roar, demanding that he use her full name. Now she was baring her teeth as she breathed heavily, clinging to him tight and moving with need. "By the Gods!"s he gasped. "By the spirits.." And finally he hit her in all the right places with all the right strokes that she felt herself explode inside with the fire of ecstasy as she threw her head back again and screamed out, her sex pulsated and tightened and loosened around his and her hips rocked wildly as she came, and continued to cum as she road out the feeling of pure pleasure and sin.
"Pao'ohra Salandra!" Enzo growled through grit teeth as he too came hard inside her, losing whatever words remained in his mouth, choking on them as he threw his head against the ground. "Gods....have mercy please...." He loosened his grip on her hips and dropped his hands to the side. "Witch woman....fiend."
Gods and Spirits above, she could feel his hot seed shoot deep within her, even as hot as hell her own sex was. Completely exhausted from their romp, she collapsed ontop of him, and growled out a purr like grumble from deep within her throat. but instead of saying anything, she smashed a hand ontop of his face, keeping it there to keep him quiet.
"Hasch... let me... rest well after that one, Red-Eyes,"s he hissed, and sighed contentedly, just melting over him as she closed her eyes.
He pried her tired hand from his mouth, but said nothing as she rested against him. All his irritation justs eemed to melt away in that moment. And instead of clobbering her like he wanted, he used his arms to move her hair from her shoulders and rubbed his hands against her back gently.
Pao breathed contentedly against him.
"You smell good.."s he commented, before laughing quite soft. "Like spring waters and sex,"s he purred, nestling against him before sighing again, keeping her eyes closed.
"I could ly here all day.." and once again, she was sighing and melting against him. Gods, had that ever felt good.
Here and now, Enzo did feel at momentary peace and he said nothing so far to spoil the moment. It was quite different than the last moment they'd made love and he felt more at ease than he'd ever had before in his life. He gave a soft rumble of a laugh and brushed his hands through her hair.
"Aren't you as satisfied with you other lovers?" he chuckled.
Despite his hand running through her hair being the most wonderful feeling for her in all the world, she smacked his hand away and wrinkled her nose.
"Hasch. My other lovers do not argue with me and try to throw me off cliff side!" and she peered up at him, but only opened one eye, one eye to GLARE at him with as she frowned. Too bad she was too exhausted to fight back.
Yet.
"I was just trying to make pleasant pillow talk, Pao'ohra Salandra," he smirked at addressing her by her full name and continued to brush his fingers through her hair despite being swatted away earlier. "I was only kidding about the cliff thing. I just wanted to see what you would do. I'm sorry it made you upset."
Pao sighed contentedly, much like a cat, her eyes half lidded and glazed by the attentions.
But then she suddenly bit onto his shoulder, before groaning.
"I wish I had poison fangs. Then I could kill you slowly by just a bite," she grumbled tiredly.
"Be quiet and stay thy venom, viper," Enzo said amusedly, his shoulder sting just a little. He wrapped his arms around her, feeling even his eyelids droop down a little. "You have too much wrath for your own good."
Pao snarled.
"Or not enough," she sneered, then sighed and nestled into him, just about ready to fall clean asleep laying ontop of him, his sex still deep inside her as she breathed softly and sweet, and then finally, fell asleep upon him from pure exhaustion and bliss.
"Enzo Azura.." her voice came out through a tired breath, but then she said no more, growing quiet and appearing still asleep upon him. But hten after a time,s he spoke, "We'll have to do that again sometime." And she smirked, and sighed contentedly once more.
Enzo laughed and brushed the remains of her gair that he didn't get. "Maybe it'll be better and more mutual this time," he said. "Not that it wasn't good, it was great. But I think you just like to be difficult."
Pao growled against his shoulder, and he'd be able to feel the walls of her sex squeeze around his member angrily.
"I think the only difficult one here is you," she spat, but through her growls, her anger faded away into soft breathing.
He grunted and laughed, closing his eyes at last and physically relaxing underneath her. "Okay okay," he muttered. "Just keep your heavy body on top of me and I'll go right so sleep."
Pao made a face, and pinched his arm, muttering some words tiredly and (somewhat) angrily beneath her breath.
"I shall stare here if I want! Heavy or not," she grumbled, her eyes still closed.
Enzo winced a little but otherwise said nothing more. He kept his eyes closed and continued to rub her back until his own touch laxed and he was starting to drift off.
When he'd awaken an hour or so later, Pao'orha was no where to be seen in the common room out front where they had just made love, but incense were burning freshly in dishes placed all around him in a careful circle in all colors of the rainbows. His body was also slick with perfumed oils, and a halo of dried flowers was hung around his head. And it was a windy day... this much was obvious as the heavy beaded curtains lightly clinked together, and a few hanging decorations chimed together, glinting off the sun that feathered in along with the winds.
Enzo awoke with a great inhaled breath and he turned over, climbing up off the floor, the wreath of flowers falling off of his head as he did so. He reached down and plucked them up, holding then gingerly in his hands as he moved through the common room, sore but otherwise quite relaxed after their escapade.
He found a cloth nearby and wiped himself dry from both the oils and clean of whatever remained before finding his clothes and climbing back into them. It didn't help that though he'd gotten clean, he didn't stay clean for long before finding more unusual items displayed on the table before him. He just hoped he didn't have to eat anymore rocks.
A moment later, Pao'orha stepped through the beaded curtain and into her cliff-side home. She had with her, a freshly-feather plucked chicken in hand, dangling down from where she held it by it's bound legs, and a pouch in her other hand.
"Ah, Enzo, you are awake," she said with a welcoming, playful smile. "Today we will eat well before our journey. Not only did I manage to find fresh chickens today, but there was talk of a ship! We might be able to join in with a group of treasure hunters heading west." And her eyes sparkled towards him before she moved away,setting the chicken down upon the table before going to the internal wella d drawing up spring water. Then, filling up a cauldron, she lit a fire and stood back, watching it grow before setting the cauldron upon it, then dumped a few seasonings into the water before turning back to the table, drawing a knife, and began to work at gutting nad cutting up the bird, blood quickly staining her hands as she worked at collecting ht eblood of the bird, and it's organs, into separate jars.
"I hope you like eating bird,"s he said with a chuckle. "It is said I make a fine stew. Many men come up here for it's exotic tastes." and if he would behold the cauldron, the water had turned bright orange, almost red, from the seasonings.
Enzo had to admit that seeing her behead the bird so quickly made him jump just in that moment. She moved keenly to fill up the cauldron and he just watched her work. "Many men, huh?" he said with a wry smile. "I'm sure that's not all they come up for. But no matter. I'm sure it will be a fine stew. When did the crew say they would ship off? It might take some time to reassemble my armor."
Pao grinned at his comment.
"I've been known to entertain well, too," she replied to his comment, her eyes sparkling with a silent laugh before she went back to work at tending to the bird. Now that it was in pieces, she moved over towards the fire and began to dump in the meat; all the while a pile of bones and blood remained upon the table.
She moved back, swiping back her heavy dark hair from her brow and moved over towards the table, not realizing (Or maybe not caring) that she had smeared some blood on her forehead.
She picked up the bird's heart that was ina dish and pinched a few seasonings over it and handed the bowl out to Enzo in offering.
"Here, you may eat the heart. For it is known to give many men strength,"she said, speaking soft and warm.
Enzo took the heart delicately in hand. He'd never eaten the heart of a chicken before, but in some circles on Vallaris, it was reputed to give it's eater temporary second sight, as if that was the very thing that he needed to have in this moment. But he did not complain nor hesitate for long as he shoved it into his mouth and chewed quickly to avoid the foul taste and swallowing with a sour face.
"I don't suppose you have a sip of wine or something strong to chase it down do you?" he croaked.
She handed him the piss water, er, the rum she had in stock from the shelf he had refused earlier.
"Here, drink this piss," she said with a smirk. "But, ha-eesh, it is but rum. It will burn in your belly on the way down and clear your mouth of it's taste. But did the seasoning help, no?"
Enzo took the "piss water" from her and took a hearty swig, but the drink was too much to bear and the force of it came shooting back out of his mouth, splashing it across Pao's face.
He made a face and just handed the bottle back to her. "I think, I'll just pass," he groaned.
Pao blinked, her face now wet from rum. She swore in her native tongue, and smeared a blood covered hand across her face to get rid of the rum, but stained her face red from the chicken blood.
Shaking her head she tried to press it again, "But you asked. I do not own wine. This next best thing. You drink?"
Enzo gave her a disheartened glance and peered at the rum with a frown. "I've never drank much in all my life. Wine is quite mild and has a succulent taste, but that...is too strong," he admiited. He took the bottle anyway and sipped it, making a face as he held it back, swallowing and gagging.
"It's terrible," he muttered and set it across the table.
Pao'orha chuckled and moved to grab up a basket full of vegetables, to where she then set them upon the table and began to chop them up.
"That's why I said 'piss'." And her eyes shined with a laugh before she worked quickly at chopping up the wild onions, garlics, mushrooms and fruits she had collected throughout the week.
"THey say the ship will head out at first morning's light. And.. if we're lucky and can provide the right coin, you and I will be sailing on board the ship 'Titania' along with them."
The taste was strong and bitter and Enzo vowed never to drink it again. His stoamch already hurt with the strange alcohol swirling around and no food to balance its power.
"Good," he nodded at the news about the ship. "I have plenty of coin. So I see no problem in that. However, I've never really seen an ocean until now. I don't know how well I'd fare on it's surface." Enzo shook his head free of the thought and gestured to the stew. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
She let out a laugh.
"The sea is a sea, what is there not to know? It comes in with the moon, and out with the sun, like breaths, ya?" And she even demonstrated by taking in slow and steady breaths. "Once we are on the ocean vessel, if the waves do not suit you, you can simply focus on that." And she hit his arm lightly and laughed.
"And what is this you speak of coin? Are you some rich prince I am not aware of?" Then she rushed out a serious of words in her own language, the speed exhaust-ably fast before placing a hand to the necklaces laying across her breasts as she smiled. "Ah, but wouldn't that be nice. And if that were so, I would be giving you the king's treatment." She said with a saucy leer. "You would be eating two chicken hearts, and not just one!" and she laughed again.
Enzo bit his lip and winced when she mentioned being a prince. His heart ached at her words and his eyes looked glazed over and despondent. He smiled at her anyways nodded to her words. "I'm just saying I have enough from my travel that it should pay our passage. Not to mention how much I over paid you for your services." He moved toward where he kept his armor and began to redress, tying buckles and straps here and there.
"I'd hate for you to have to kill another chicken for my sake," Enzo muttered.
"I don't know, King Enzo has a nice ring to it," she continued, playfully, before sweeping the chopped fruits and vegetables off the table and into the basket, and grabbed a jar of seasoning, unscrewed it and shook some into her hand. Drawing it t her lips, she whispered a prayer across it before letting it sift through her fingers. Then, taking the basket, she began to draw it out and swished it around in circles, letting the seasoning mix through.
"King Enzo and his second sighted concubine- has a nice ring to it, no?" she said as she stepped over towards the cauldron which was bubbling hot by now.
She took up a large spoon as she knelt before it and stirred the pot, mixing what was in there since the seasoning was beginning to separate with greasy yellow splotches simmering against the bubbles at the top. Then, she lifted up the basket of fruits and set the basket overtop of the soup and waited for the steam to begin to rise from underneath before she sat up, smoothing her hands down her skirts.
"Do you think that would be the title they will use to tell our tale in the future? That is to say, if we live through the prophecy to save the world?"
As Enzo was focusing more on his armor, her words pricked at the hairs on the back of his neck. He peered up at her with furrowed brows before looking away as if shy. "Prince Enzo will do. King isn't until a long way off. And Prince of what..? A lost kingdom," he said with a solemn bow of his head.
He stood up, rigid in his armor, tall and shtriaght-shouldered. He ppered at her with narrowed eyes and moved into the kitchens. "Save the world... I don't know about that. My task is to stop Matakopas, no matter what he may be up to. "
Pao grinned.
"Prince might have to do. I suppose we will see later if you are ever good enough to be king," she said playfully, a dance within her eyes.
"And pah, Matakopas, hasch!" she spat to the side. "He is nothing compared to the nightmares I have seen, and the horrors to awaken. Enzo, if you are the one I saw in my dreams with the power to halt all of this... the world may very well bow down to you."
He looked into her eyes, seeing the hope that resided in there and all he could so was smile in return. He nodded and said, "I don't need the world to bow to me. The land I belong to is gone. But I don't need another throne. We will stop whatever your visions have shown you. If Matakopas is apart of this, as he very well is most likely, then you must know that the horrors you've seen will be multiplied tenfold."
Pao had since moved on to prod at the steaming vegetables, turning them over carefully one by one , using a single finger against hte steam as he spoke.
"Matakopas..." she muttered a few other indistinguishable words. "If what you speak is true," she said, lookig up from the basket. "Then we have many work to be done and not so many moons."
"Then the sooner we start the better," Enzo said with hardened eyes. "Let's make the meal quick. Perhaps we can convince the treasure hunters to depart a say sooner."
"But we are on schedule," Pao stated simply, now moving to slowly stir the soup as it steamed over the hearth. "I had another vision... three days after the moon's tears we will awaken in the world beyond the worlds. A terrible storm, a terrible night... but it is there we will begin. And there is no sense in rushing the end of the world."
Eenzo furrowed his brows; he didn't understand. "Why not rush if you can stop it!?" he retorted. He looked at the soup and huffed a little but he wasn't in the mood to argue with her. "Did your visions scepify what kindo of world this will be? I am guessing it won't be on this plane."
"It is hard to say," she continued, while stirring the pot. "It shows it to me, at the end of the world, where all of the water of the oceans collapses into itself, spilling off into the void of the stars... the edge of the world. It is here, that much is clear, where there is a tear in our existence. I believe we must let ourselves seek out this place. It might be here we can cross over to the land of destiny."
"Then let it be so," Enzo said adamantly. He moved from her side to the common room where he sat down cross-legged on the floor, a pillow underneath his butt. He unsheathed the katana from his side and inspected it's edge, feeling the vibratiion of the sword, lightly hum inside of him.
Pao grinned broadly, and went back to tending to her soup.
"Ah, it is done," and she moved to collect two bowls, pouring herself a few ladels full, then some for him. She rested the bowl on a low-resting table before him and gestured, "Eat up. We will need all of the energy we can get." Then she winked to him. "Since we're going to the market today and you will help me buy supplies."
"Buy supplies?" he said, making a soured face. He set the katana down beside him, keeping it nearby just in case. He couldn't bring himself to be parted from it for long, as if he was losing a limb or organ. For now, food was enough to distract him from its polishing and he bowed his head before it, then took a spoonful into his mouth.
"I'm not an errand boy. Why would you need help buying supplies? Why didn't you get it when you got the chicken?"
Pao made a face.
"Hash!" she slapped his hand, the one wiht the spoon. "Do I look like I have five limbs? Hash!" she could have spat, but instead, turned to pick up her bowl of soup and began to eat it.
"We are in this together, I will need help in buying what I need."s he stated simply, eating more soup with a simple finesse.
"Ow!" Enzo scowled at her and used his other hand to quickly eat another bite of the stew. "Oh, fine. I'll help you shop! Just what where you planning to buy anyway?... You certainly act like you have five limbs when we had sex." He muttered that last part to himself.
"Hash!" she smacked him with her spoon. "You think we can travel on a vessel with so small supplies?" she asked, a bit of a pout to her lips when she frowned. "How often have you traveled on the sea?" she inquired. "How much would you know about the ocean?"
"I think I just made it pretty clear, I have no experience on the sea," Enzo said with a frown, nursing his hand. "And will you just let me eat!? I'd hate to have this delicious stew go to waste," he went on to take another bite, a large one lest she knock that one out of his hand too.
"Hash!" and she batted at his hand, but he kept it well guarded. She glared over at him, muttering a few words before sitting back and taking to her own soup.
"Good, eat up well. You'll need your strength if we're going to make you a sailor." ANd her eyes sparkled as she ate. "To think... a few moons sail out in the ocean... a ship room all to ourselves, and nothing but the stars above us, and water below."
"Sounds like it's enough to make me sick," Enzo admitted with a soured face, thinking of the water, as he took another bite of the stew. It truly was good and he found taking bigger bites so that she couldn't knock it away from him as quickly. He took the bowl and slurped at it. Then putting it down, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and sighed. "So what kinds of things will we need to make this an easy trip?"
"Sexual oils, and warm rubs, and drinks that will make you last well in the night,"s he purred. Then waited a moment before laughing.
"Though I kid," she said with a wink. "we could purchase such things if that will ease your mind when out in the ocean. For sex with you.." she looked him over with a grin "I would humbly oblige. But we would need to ensure we have the proper supplies not only for the ship ride itself, but for when we are confronted by the edges of the earth."
Enzo made a face at her and just laughed a little as well. "I don't have a problem with that," he growled a little indignantly. "Fine, then. I'm done with the stew. Let us go when you are ready."
Pao grinned. She was already preparing to go, spraying perfumes onto her arms and ears and wrapping a clothe veil around her head. She adjusted the veil, tucking it into itself to keep it secure, which rattled a few of the gold coins hanging off the tips. Turning to Enzo, she grinned and hooked her arm around his.
"Then let us go."
Enzo felt himself smirk at her and blushed because of it. He stepped from the beaded curtain doorway and waited for her to lead the way. Of course she would wear a veil, and make him wait for her to put it on. And of course he would stare at her, eyes locked on her behind.
Climbing down the ladder from her cliff-side home, Pao'orha was now leading Enzo through a series of winding, cliff side paths, that would eventually lead to a snake like labrynth of paths and stairs inside the caves themselves, that, after what seemed like nearly an hour of walking, opened up onto a massive out cropping of people, tents, sights and smells. Fresh broiled and fried fish hung within the air, the clucking of chickens and the shouting of merchants all mixed together with the exotic music strummed on miniature harps and blown through reed pipes. Women were dancing, clothed scarves to be sold hung and fluttered in an array of colors from all aspects of the rainbow as the sea air took them and raised them up high.
Pao'orha stepped onto the stone carved path, her blue-green eyes sparkling as she felt the winds rattled through her gilded jewelry and made them chime together, only adding to the signature sounds that were Canador.
"A city like no other, Canador rests beside the swelling breast of the ocean," Pao pointed out, and even from where they were standing nearest to the cliff side, the ocean could be seen, heard, and tasted. "Come," she said, turning to him with a dimpled smirk. "There is much we have to find. ANd if you wish.." she said, her eyes dancing now as she hooked arms with him, "I could show you which boat will be ours before we retire for the eve."
After the hour of walking, Enzo had to admit the journey had made his legs more than sore. The city was much larger than what initially met the eye and he was amazed by the time they made it to the market place. He never would have expected to find such a sight so well hidden within the recesses of the rock. He would have never believed that suck prosperity could be achieved in a place found by so few. Through sea trade no doubt, and from there all sorts of goods could be gained from across the ocean and beyond.
When they were heading into the heart of the market, Enzo saw an empty basket nearby and plucked it out of view, to hold their supplies. "What sort of things will we need?" he asked thoughtfully. "Water I imagine. And food that doesn't rot so quickly. But seeing the ship would be nice as well. This way I can familiarize myself with boat I'm going to be sick on."
Pao laughed.
"Well, water, yes; but they will be supplying the rum, so they said," and she gave Enzo a wink. "But perhaps before we fill our arms up, we should go to see it, yes? Come, this way." she said, taking him by the hand and guiding him through the busy streets. "The docks are just on the other side of the bazarr."
And once they crossed through an area littered with animals, there came a section that opened up, and there, nothing marred the presence of the endless sea, except the few boats that littered across the dock. Most were beautiful, all of them containing eyes painted on both sides of the front, so that the bowspirit looked like a nose jutting out from the end of it.
"THey seem beautiful... like birds ready to set sail out onto the ocean." Her eyes softened as she paused before one painted in a yellow color, with red eyes and red details.
"There she is,"s he pointed. "She has a name, but I think it's something else. I call her 'The Fortune's Eyes'."
As they passed through the smelliest part of the market - Enzo being sure he stepped on something - he turned his focus back to the dock. The ocean amazed him like always and his eyes were cut to the water before gradually turning to the boats. They too were a sight to see and he smiled at the one in the middle that she indicated. "I see," he smiled quietly. "Then perhaps we will be in fortunes's favor because of it."
It was then a man, buff and hairy who stood upon the deck of the ship took notice of the woman below, and a smile split his face as he waved a hand in her direction.
"Pao'orha!" he called down to her. "I see you've come back for more?"
Pao's eyes sparkled as she grinned beneath her veil. She placed her hand upon the boat, stroking it affectionately.
"But what is not to love? A ship so powerful, how could I stay away?"
The man tossed his head back in a laugh, then gestured towards Enzo.
"Is this your friend? I'd hoping she'd be prettier than that."
Pao's grin grew wider, her eyes sparkling. "Oh trust me, she is below the surface." And she turned to Enzo with a smirk. "That is Captain Rasptinota. He is a masterful sailor, famous in these waters, and famous in this cliff side town. He also ain't too bad in bed." She added, with a grin.
Enzo looked up to the glaring afternoon light and saw the silhouette of the ship Captain as Pao and him made the exchange. His shape came into focused and Enzo smiled up a little before meeting Pao's gaze. "He seems competent enough. As long as he knows what he's doing and won't take us on a fool's voyage. I suppose I can trust him enough if you do."
Pao turned to Enzo and eyed him from head to toe.
"Fool's voyage?" and she laughed. "Enzo, he's going to sail us over the edge of the world. Of course it's a fools voyage! Now come, do you want to check out the rest of the ship, or shall we get to shopping? The market may only be open for another hour. THey close up early here, for the dock can be a dangerous place at night. Freak, tall waves have been known to crash on shore, which are especially lethal in the dark."
Enzo paled at the thought of being at sea and even for a week, he knew only terror could come of it. But still he had no reason not to trust Pao's judgment. Lest he make his own self sick with worry and trepidation. And trepidation had no place in the heart and mind of a Vallarian warrior.
"I see then," he said with a nod. He swallowed the knot down into his stomach and motioned back to the market. "Let us just finish up our task here. I'll try to worry only on one thing at a time from here on out."
Pao grinned and took his arm, and as she began to lead him back to the market, she looked him over and gave a series of mutterings of her own language through an exhaled breath.
"What is wrong, Enzo? You seem forlorn. Or perhaps a bit white-skinned. Are you not feeling well?"
Enzo peered back at her and blinked, coming back to reality. "Oh, don't worry," he said. "I'm as fine as I'll ever be." He gave her a kind smile and pat her on the arm. "Let's finish our shopping shall we? We don't want to be here when those fatal waves hit. I've got enough to worry about as it is."
"Very well then, let us go to market." And as the pair of them were walking from the docks and through the bazaar, an ornery donkey was braying, and just as they passed by, the beast thought it was wise, and randomly bit Enzo on the ass.
OOC: lol,random I know but.. lol
[You need to change your name to Spice the Terrible]
Enzo gave a howling yelp as he suddenly jumped up when the donkey bit his ass. He abruptly turned around sent his fist flying into the donkey's jaw. The animal brayed one last time before collapsing to the side, bringing up a pile of dust. The owner of the animal came running out of his tent, cursing at the beast on the ground as he looked up at Enzo and began cursing in his own tongue that Enzo did not understand.
The animal's owner wasn't the only one cursing the other's out. Pao'orha wasn't one to miss out on such a thing, and she spoke so fast, one might think her tongue ought to catch on fire. Then with a wave of her hands, she said "Hash!" and turned away. "Come on, Enzo, before we make bigger problems." She said, storming off.
It was the donkey's mistake for biting his ass, and Enzo knew he'd never hear the end of it. Instead he plucked a coin from his pouch at his belt and tossed it to the irate animal owner, before walking off in silence after a stormy Pao'ohra.
"It was his fault!" Enzo hissed at her when at last he caught up to her side. Thank the gods he couldn't understand a word she said or else he would have had reason enough to cut her tongue out right then and there. So he let it be as it was and instead held out the basket expectantly. "What sort of things do we need!?"
"Pah! His fault you say!" and she went on rambling in her native tongue again. "It's not animals fault you've got big rear." and she gestured iwth her hands to her own, but then laughed. "But not to worry, Enzo. I'm sure there won't be many more animals we shall pass tempting to bite it in the market. Come, let's hurry up, before the donkey decides to get his revenge." THen he spat at his feet. "And be careful next time. I don't think the creature deserved such a reaction." And she slinked on ahead of him before turning around. "After all, if I smacked you in the ass you'd like it." she said with a wink.
"I reacted the only way I knew how," Enzo said defensively. "And if you smacked me on the ass, I assure I'd very much NOT like it." He frowned at her and just wanted this shopping session to be over and done with as it were, at the risk of his ass receiving further unwanted contact.
"Ha-eesh! So tense!" Pao said, stopping to look him over, from head to toe with her eyes before shaking her head. "I suppose we'd best hurry, if we wait here much longer, I might have to find you a bed down here to give a good lay. Now, come, keep close, the powders I need are over here."
The man selling the powders Pao needed was a friendly sort. He didn't wear much clothing, and was old and almost just skin and bones, but friendly none the less. Pao got a few pouches full before handing them over to Enzo. "Here, hold these." She siad with a smile. "And come, we've got a few more places to go!"
Enzo rolled his eyes and stepped forward after her toward the vendor that contained the powders that she so preciously sought. It was a small stand and the merchant, stranger than she was even, but at least he didn't threaten him with smacking him on his ass. He bowed his head thoughtfully to the old man when they left his stall.
It was then that Enzo truly stared out to the scope of people trying to make their livings selling what wares they could. And he could only try to fathom just how much more Pao would try and buy. And no doubt, make him carry all of it.
"Feathers of cock, chin hair from goat, dried toad oil, powders of esta'lei, and hrmm.. it seems the gem merchant has closed early for the day." she sighed, but shrugged it off. "Oh well, we shall have to make do with what we have." ANd she turned to observe Enzo, who was holding just about everything she bought. She grinned.
"Is there anything you'd like to buy, Enzo, before we climb back up towards my shop? Any sort of oils or foods that you desire?"
Enzo looked at her for a moment, giving it some thought. "Duck," he said at last. "I'd like to have some duck for the journey. We don't have oceans from where I come from, but lakes and ponds are aplenty. My people believe collecting three feathers from three different birds: a dove, a duck, and a falcon's, will bring you peace, love, and life everlasting in each feather respectively."
He smiled at her invitation to purchas things for himself and proceeded to look for these items. Soon the basket was heavy with salted duck meat, preserved for the journey, two leather bands with an adjustable strap, and two sets of a dove's, a duck's, and a falcon's feathers.
"I will show you how to arrange these on the band. You can wear it on your arm or attach it to a hook on an earring. You have given me many things to ward off evil, let me give you something in return. When we return to your home, or perhaps on the ship, I will show you."
"Alight, Enzo Azura," she said with a grin. "You can show me how your kind fend off the spirits... but first, you will have to eat a rock."
OOC: lol
Enzo frowned, insulted and looked away with a feigned smile. "I'm not eating a rock," he said, shaking his head. "So I guess we're both at a cross ways. And I've suffered enough underneath your rituals and oils. It's all right."
Pao'orha laughed at his soured mood.
"Enzo Azura, so serious a face. You think I would not entertain your feathers? WHere I come from, all feathers are blessed, so you could drape me from head to toe with them and I'd let you." she teased before moving away. "Come, are we ready to head back now? It grows late, and the sun, she begins to set."
He'd been ready to go since the moment he'd got there and at the mention of leaving he merely nodded and let her lead the way back. The city was large and confusing and all the paths back to her home would meander in a myriad of ways.
Once they were back at her home, she gestured towards a place on the floor.
"You can set those supplies there, Enzo." she said, walking up to him and kissing his right cheek softly. "Thank you for helping." And she bowed to him, lifting lightly one corner of her skirt. "Are you hungry?" she then asked, not missing a beat as she moved to put some of her supplies away, while others she gathered and placed into a large sack. She'd have to figure out a good way to keep all of these supplies in a managable portion. After all, the journey at sea would be brief, but their time in this other world outside of this one, would be a challenge within itself.
"I think will eat some of this duck meat," he murmured when he set his basket down and pulled out the feathers and bands and bundles of meat. He took out a little bit and bit into it and nodded at the flavor. "It is acceptable. It needs a little bit of spice though.' He proceeded to eat the rest of it before folding the rest away and getting to work on fixings his bands.
"Do you have any needle and thread?"
Pao'orha had helped herself to some bread, dipping it in a watered mixture with some spices mixed into it until it was a reddish gold color with dots of green parsley and dark specks in the mix. She had eaten about half the loaf when he asked about the needle.
"I do, the small wicker basket behind you should house some."
Enzo took the basket and sorted through it, finding matching thread that was strong enough to pierce through leather. He threaded the need before making quick work of all three feathers in one set, knotting the thread at one end before he sunk it into the leather. He pulled it through and began to sing softly in his Vallarian tongue, the words coming easy.
As Pao ate her bread, she watched Enzo with idle interest, but even more so did her attentions perk up at his foreign tongue.
"I have been many a places, and many tongues are spoken here, but I do not think I recognize that language, Azura. What language is it? And what do you sing about?"
He'd almost forgotten that she was there and he looked up with a slight blush. "It's the language of my old country," he said as he continued and knotted the last feathers into the band so they splayed out in a winged fashion, He held it out to her, cutting it with his teeth and stood up. He wrapped the leather band around her arm and carefully measured it so he knew where to cut.
"It was a lost language, of a time when my country Vallaris and it's neighbor Azar were once at peace. They shared a tongue too, until war tore them apart and each was stuck in their separate ways. The song I sing speaks of brothers who were once close but became divided over their father's throne. That nothing good comes of war, and that such life may only only end in tragedy. That when brothers forget that which bonded them in the first place, the world becomes a darker place."
"Ah, I see," Pao replied, her eyes sparkling as she purred over the idea of his story. Once he was done measuring her wrist, she lowered it to her lap. "Yes, many men fight over things that blind them. To think, people believe they own the earth, but when we die and rot, the earth owns us. She is far older than we know, and her sister sea and mother sky are all connected unto each other, and are gifts to us, not rights to own."
She shook her head.
"Would it not be foolish to make claim to the moon? I see nothing different than the claims of land. Then again, I took my homage up here becuase it is less ridiculous than other kingdoms. Canador hails much on it's own, and the people tend to the cliffs as a community. Too bad it is not as free flowing as the Sarathians. My people go and live where the winds tell us. But either way, a good place in all. At least for my humble-lived years here. And yes, the business is good, but we have no kings to worry about to bicker over the land. Either way, I would bow to no king." And she spat on the floor. "The only king to bow to is the earth, and our bones."
Enzo gave a small smile when she spat on the ground. Apparently all Sarantian women loved to spit. "Are all Saranthians like you? As wild, strange and ferocious. What makes you separate from others? Unique amongst your own kind?"
"Eh? What do you mean, strange?" she asked, leaning in closer towards him, her disposition defensive. "Saranthians live one with the earth. We travel around to commune with the spirits and listen to them to give us life direction, so each of us is unique depending on the will of the winds, and well.." she gave a laugh. "I suppose it also depends on how 'strange and ferocious we are." She added the last part with a playful grin.
"Why do you ask?" she inquired, placing her hands on her hips.
Enzo smiled a little on his stony face. His eyes searched over her, trying to fathom just what she meant, but he supposed her words were not meant to be read into. It was not that he thought her cryptic, but to one unused to visions and the rituals therein, he had a lot to take in.
"I wish to know you better," he said looking at her with a glimmer of fascination. "Is that so bad?"
OOC : Since I can't draw Pao *fails* I might as well post for her 8D
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"You wish to know me better?" the very idea made her laugh. "You would sooner learn the wind, but I suppose most people like to understand others. As do I," she looked him over with a grin and sparkle to her eyes. "It is not bad, though I am also curious about you, Enzo, though I think my methods to seek your inner spirit are... much different than yours. Considering, we had met first in my dreams."
"We did?" His expression softened and he looked at her confusedly. "But how could you have know it was me and not just some other warrior with long hair." He laughed and smiled warmly. "I came from far away. Very far away. I have a feeling that Matakopas sent us both to many worlds at once across a blanket of stars when our world was destroyed. But I don't understand how I cannot have any tangible memory of it. Maybe it was just a bad dream. I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever wake."
Pao laughed.
"It is I who met you. I felt the bond, the pull, the same connection and unseen expression as I do now. It is why I know it in truth that it was you. You would not have remembered, for it was in my dreams and might not have ever happened in yours."
But when he brought up Matakopas, she frowned.
"That man you speak of... what is he exactly?"
He nodded at her conclusion and peered out toward the beaded curtain of her door as the sun began to fall below the horizon. He then glanced over to her again. "He was loyal servant," he began. "A member of my country's neighbor. Vallaris and Azar had long desired war between each other, more Azar than Vallaris. But when his nation broke out into a bloody civil war, he was among the refugees that sought asylum along our borders. He was Azarian, he couldn't be trusted... But he offered his loyaly in exchange for asylum, that he had gifts to offer beyond compare. And gifts they were, the gifts of his mind. The gifts of his mind. He transformed Vallaris seemingly overnight, using the power of the mountain to make the city self-sufficient. He created the college to learn his arts. He was...my personal Magecrafter... Then war came."
Enzo hesitated for a moment, remember his Prince in his final moments. "I was a fool to believe that he could help protect a country that was hellbent on destroying his. He built the Balendrung, the very machine that destroyed our world..." He hadn't known it, but a tear had escaped his eye and Enzo stared out to the dying light of the sun. "He destroyed it because...he said why should my people live while his own suffered damnation. This what our world truly deserved. Total genocide of our races."
Pao'orha listened carefully.
"Ah, it is why men are foolish. Wars are started when blood flows too hotly to the brain." she made a curse beneath her breath, but then shrugged it away and returned back to her casual, finesse. "Balendrung... I have not heard of such a thing. Was it dangerous?" she paused, peering up at him curiously, not ignoring, but rather staring at in fascination at the tear she saw. "What did the Balendrung do exactly?"
He peered up at her as if he just recalled her presence. He let the tear drip and dry from it's place on his cheek and he met her gaze. "It was a machine Matakopas made in anticipation of when Azar began attacking my nation. It harnessed the very energy of the mountain and used a massive gyro to store it. It was capable of transferring mass amounts of energy into beings and burning them alive. The more it powered up, the longer the charge, the more people that died. The charge would jump from body to body, like lightning. The more people gathered together it worked like a firestorm. It was an impressive piece of work, indeed. A machine we could use to turn the tide of the war. It sounded too good to be true...because that's exactly what it was. Once it had killed enough people, it just grew and grew until it tore the very ground asunder. Breaking even the sky." He glanced over to the ground and gave a pained smile. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be recalling painful memories at this hour. We should get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow."
"Such a machine sounds as horrid as the beasts I see in my dream." She paused to consider. "I wonder if they are linked? These disasters I see upon the world and this man made creature you speak of." Then, noticing the lightly- dried trail of his tear, she raised a hand to his cheek and cupped it softly, her thumb brushing over where the tear was fell. Her eyes then looked to his.
"But yes, we will have quite the long journey tomorrow,"s he said most seriously before she smirked. "And I do recall you warning me you haven't got a pair of sea legs. So yes, we should take this time to rest. THough are you hungry? Can I get you anything before we take to our bed?"
Enzo was caught in the warmth of her gaze for that moment and felt his breath hitch in his throat. He ignored it however and just returned a warm smile of his own. "No, I'm not hungry," he said, nodding. "Let's go to sleep."
"Very well," Pao said sweetly with a nod before she stepped back from him. "Shall we make love first? If our bodies unite this evening, you might sleep better." And she gave him a playful wink and smirk. "Though I will understand if you are too tired for such games." And she gave his body a look over, her eyes sparkling before they lifted to his in a quick. "But if you are not willing, ayaa.."s he sighed lazily. "I might have to seek out the captain at the docks. He might need a good mating, too. And those seaman..." she gave an exasperated sigh and roll of her eyes. "They never tire and one of them had me going for nearly half the day one time after his ship returned from a winter haul. You'd think they'd be wise enough to bring a woman on board with them for a fuck, but instead, ha! I have to deal with them being months deprived." ANd she was rolling her eyes again before she turned to Enzo, Then her smirk grew.
"Not that I mind. It's... a different sort of intercourse that's for sure. They don't hold anything back when they've been without a woman for months at a time."
Enzo smiled and blushed a little at the question. He laughed and just reached a hand down to grioo hers for a moment. "I think I can sleep well tonight, thanks to you. I am truly grateful for everything you've done for me though our work isn't finished yet." He leaned in and soflty kissed her cheek. "I'm going to retire, though what you do for the remainder of the evening will be no one's business but your own." He gave her a laugh before going to her room.
Pao pouted a little, but nodded and smiled none the less at his words. She was hoping to get something from him this evening, and felt too lazy to want to trek back down to the docks.
"Alright, perhaps I'll just have to deal with being unsated this evening," she teased then turned away from him, staring over towards the bead drapery that was the meager doorway into her home. The sun was already setting, and she didn't say a word before vanishing out onto the cliff-side balcony, and watched as the sun was dying away, the ocean breeze whipping through her hair. THe ocean seemed so endless... she had to wonder if they could truly find the end of it or not.
Enzo paused in her doorway for a minute, turning to watch her silhouette against the fading light. He smiled in her direction and considered going to her then and there but he stayed put. Afterward, he carefulled undressed from the cumbersome weight of his armor and laid it on the floor. He laid amonsgt her pillows crosslegged, examining the pendant of his ruling house, the small golden wyvern. But his eyes were heavy with sleep and he laid back, curled up and closed his eyes.
Pao'orha didn't have to go far to find a willing man to join her, though when she brought the sailor back to her room, he were surprised to find another man sleeping there.
"Do not mind him, come.." and she gestured for the sailor to follow, and took the man deeper into her home, to a back room hidden behind a beaded curtain. For over an hour their sounds could be heard, until eventually, both were screaming, then sighing into contented ecstasy. The incense she had been burning had long gone out long before the morning sun would rise, and by then, the sailor was slowly getting dressed and making his way towards the exit of Pao's home. He almost tripped on Enzo on his way out.
"Er... s-sorry.." he lamely spoke, before stumbling outside of the beaded door.
Enzo awoke to birds singing not the sound of lovers in heat when early morning came. He awoke in refreshment, stretching when he got up at last and was surprised to find another man trying to get dressed. Though he knew he should have been alarmed, Enzo just watched with idle eyesuntil he was gone. He looked back at Pao and gave a small smile. "You were busy last night," he frowned a little then and just looked back to his gear, not wanting to keep in just how many other men he's shared her with and what un wanted things she might have unwittingly shared with him. He dressed into his armor and gathered his gear. "Well, lets's be off then?"
Pao sighed contentedly into her bed of pillows. She was only dressed in a veiled robe, her face mostly hidden behind her hair.
"I will get up in but a moment, for now, I will sleep a few more winks,"s he sleepily groaned.
"I suppose you should have thought about that before accepting your night caller," Enzo laughed as he knelt beside her. "Come now, I will help you get dressed properly and eat and comb your hair. And you can sleep as I do all this." He laughed and reached over to a drawer to find the brush he sought and began to run it gently through her hair.
"HAA-EESH!" she hissed, throwing a hand up and knocking the brush away.
"I said leave me to rest, Enzo!" then she buried her face into her pillow and grumbled out a few tired curses as she stretched out against the pillows.
"Besides, it is not my fault my night caller left me in such a state. Had you done your duty as my companion.. well..."she laughed. "Then I might want to sleep until the next day. Perhaps it was good I only found one sailor last night." And she tiredly sat up.
"Comapnions don't always sleep together, though perhaps your companions do," Enzo said with a frown. He grabbed the brush anyway and brushed lightly at her touseled hair. "Just be quiet and quite fussing."
Pao growled in the pillow lazily as he brushed her hair.
"As a companion, sex helps you connect better with the other," she tried to argue, but in the end, it turned into a lazy purr.
Enzo laughed. "And you connected well with that sailor last night," he said. "If your hair had any more knots, I'd rip it out." He pushed her hair out of the way and lifted it up to gently brush at the hair underneath. "Finally," he smiled. "No complaining."
Pao said nothing, but threw a hand back to smack Enzo's side. The brushing felt good, so she just lay there and let him do it.
He chuckled and rested a little more weight against her. His grin faded however, just slightly. He couldn't say why, but it bothered him a little to know she couldn't let herself be bothered with a night of celibacy and would entertain anyone that walked through her door. But what did it matter to him. He was just one of many.
He pursed as he finished her hair and set her brush aside, gentlly turning her over and moving toward what clothes he figured she'd wear on a day like this, just throwing things together until he had something relatively presentable. He knelt beside her and gently began to move her robe from her skin. "Just stay relaxed."
"You asked me to stay relaxed," she began, sighing as she melted intt he pillows, her thick dark hair a mess about her face. "Yet you move to undress me. Are you trying to seduce me, cause it's working." she said with a grin, which grew a bit more crooked as she looked up at him.
"Enzo.." she siad, taking his hand. "Why don't we connect before we go?"
OOC: lol omg, she is terrible >_>
"I am not trying to seduce you," he smiled softly and chuckled. "I just want you to close your eyes and just let go." He chuckled as he pulled the robe off her body, moving her like a ragdoll here and there to slip the other robe over her - a sad excuse for clothing as it was.
"And don't you think you've been exhausted enough for the moment?" he chuckled.
Pao hit Enzo with her hand while shaking her head.
"Not every man has the skills to satisfy a woman. Love making is an art and game in itself. That sailor was trying to hard." she shrugged casually and melted back into the pillow. "Either way, I'm still going to lay here a few more minutes." she said, turning away from him and burying her face into a nearby pillow.
He laughed at her words but got up nonetheless and let her lie there as she pleased. "I guess he had a hard time climaxing with a woman who was constantly spitting in his face," he said as he walked away. "But I can't blame him. After all sailors save themselves for the sea."
"Haaaash," Pao hissed tiredly through a sigh as she stretched across the pillows and sat up. "I'll show you a woman who can spit." But as she rubbed at the sleep from her eyes, she laughed. "And perhaps he was in love with the sea. He had to leave before first light this morning, which reminds me.." she began to say, stretching her arms up above her head as she moved to stand. "Perhaps we should get going, ya?"
He peered over at her with a half-lidded glare and sighed with a nod. "It's about time you've come to the same conclusion," he replied and waited by the beaded door. "Hurry! We're going to miss the ship."
Once they reached the docks well over an hour later, Enzo was covered in a fine layer of sweat and saw the ship had come into view. "Finally!" he said with a grin. "It looks like their ready to ship off!" And with that he reached down and pulled Pao up and over his shoulder as he ran for the ship.
Pao gave a growl and smacked at Enzo's hand before walking past him.
"They would not leave without us," she said. "Besides, I have to piss." ANd she made a face towards him before moving away to disappear elsewhere to handle her business.
"Fine!" he growled back, growing irritated. "I'll wait on the goddamned ship myself!"
Once Pao'orha returned, she waved off his irritation.
"You growl like animal. I told you you ought to have joined me last night. Now you're a bundle of nerves," she looked him over with a smirk. "Besides, I need your strong arms to help me carry the supplies," she cooed, looping her arm around his and holding onto it tight. "So what makes you think I'd let you wander off on your own?"
"I am not wound up! I am fine and I am patiently waiting for you to be ready as well!" Enzo frowned at her and removed his arm from her loop. "Where are your supplies? My things are already read as you can plainly see. Let's just get going please! Don't make me beg, you harpy."
Pao chuckled and wrapped her arms around him, leaning in close.
"WHo says I'm the one who makes men beg?" she asked with a slight pout, then gestured towards a series of leather and suede bags resting in the corner.
"Those are my things. I don't need much. I prefer to travel light." And it was true, she only had a handful of small bags that could be easily carried over one's shoulder and strapped to a belt, but she made no move to approach them, her grin going wider. She fully assumed Enzo would just help.
The way she leered at him made him thoroughly uncomfortable, but that didn't stop him from looking at her sternly. "I see the truth of it now. You had visions of me being your pack mule," he grumbled. "If you let me go, I'll fulfill my destiny and grab your bags."
"Haa- eeee, such soured spirits before we sail," she said, slipping her arms away from him and picking up a few packs herself. A small pouch was secured on her belt, and another she tied lightly around her wrist, before drappin a leather purse around her front and shoulder.
"And you should not mock my visions. They speak of truths we should not ignore."
He picked up the rest of her bags and threw them over his should. He gave a grunt and huffed in her direction. "Ripe with all the rocks I am to swallow," he said with bite. "You dawdle and meander as if you have all the time in the world. But you know our time is short and the beast you envision could swallow the whole by now. All because your bags were too much to carry."
Pao'orha gave a playful grin,t hen a light peck of a kiss to his cheek.
"Enzo Azura, you are far too serious. If we are to save the world with you in such spirits, I think we are already damned." Then she moved towards the door, tossing a playful look his way. "But come on, do not linger, lest the ship leave without us," she teased, before moving off, lightly stepping on her feet as she disappeared through the beaded curtain door.
Enzo rolled his eyes and gave a loud sigh as he followed her. It took forever of course for them to actually get to the doxks in question and once they were there the Captain saw them from the deck and waved for them to hurry, calling out, "I thought you'd never show up!"
OOC: I can't remember the captain's name >_>;
I'll have to go back and look it up here in a few 8D
but for now..
*is lazy*
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Pao'orha smiled up at the captain as she and Enzo boarded the ship.
"Did you think you could get rid of me so easily?" he teased, approaching him in greeting as she kissed both of his cheeks, then peered over her shoulder at Enzo. "Come on, let us see our selves to our quarters." And she wasted no time leading Enzo below the docks, but paused at the top of the steps and peered again over her shoulder, allt he while the captian was smirking down at Enzo- who he now saw as Pao's obedient dog.
"Are you coming, Enzo Azura?" she inquired, a sparkle to her eyes before she disappeared down below.
The hall was tight and doors were close together, and at the end of the way, an even smaller room opened to only a pair of rope hammocks hung like bunk beds, and just a single desk in the corner, and a single, red clay lamp.
"So, this will be home," she said, dropping her supplies in the corner as she sighed and stretched out int he room, her eyes taking it in. "It's cozy, ya?" she said, peering back over at Enzo before looking him over with a smirk. "Just set those supplies over there. We don't want to clutter the center, and once you do, come sit across with me, here." and she gestured to the floor and as moved to sit indian style upon it, a smile never once leaving her lips.
Enzo's cheeks burned with shame and embarrassment. He was a warrior dammit, not her pack mule. But even the Captain was having could see Pao was havingaa field day at his expense. Enzo said nothing against his better judgment and just followed her into their new temporary quarters. The room was smaller than he anticipated but he'd make due with it.
After setting her things down and his on the upper hammock he turned to her and saw her sitting down. He said nothing still and simply did as he was told.
Pao'orha gestured with her hand.
"Give to me your hand, and rest it over mine, palm side up," she ordered. "I want to read your fortune."
"I'd ask if you've read my fortune enough but of course you haven't," Enzo replied with an eyeroll. He smiled with amusement however and set his palms in front of her, the cuts now healed pleasantly over.
"Fortunes can change, just like a man," she stated simply, smiling over at him as she smoothed her hand flatly across his. She drew in a breath through her teeth, closing her eyes as she continued to stroke his hand a few times.
"In your future I see a long night ahead of us. Though you might not be happy at first, at the end of the journeys wake, when stars are just breaking across the skies and the sun is falling over the hills into the pits of eternity, we will awaken unto what we seek. The journey will be prosperous, and perhaps a bit... difficult for you and I. I see... some sort of tension brewing between us, and one that will not be easily quelled until we are in another land."
Enzo sat before her and watched with lazy eyes a she read his fortune. Though she had proved herself to him previously, he still had his doubts on the accuracy of her visions, of what fortunes were true and what was merely smoke up his behind. He did not convey his doubt though he had a feeling that she could sense it already.
"And what is the name of this land where we are to go?"
"This land, it has no name," she told him softly. "But it exists outside of what is known. Where we are going, no one has ever dared been." She chuckled. "Does that frighten you, Enzo?" And her fingers lightly traced over the healing scars on his hand. "How do these wounds feel? They seem to be healing well." But then she frowned, hissed and suddenly spat on his hand.
"They curdle like the snake. Be cautious, Enzo, I think you are being watched."
"I am not afraid," Enzo said adamantly. He gentky closed his hands around Pao's palms and stared her square in the eyes. "I know I am being watched too. Matakopas and I are connected in some way. Sometimes I can sense him when he is near. That is how I knew when to anticipate that he would try to kill you. Or perhaps he was just trying to draw me out. But I know he is more careful than that. But I know he has his eyes on me."
"I wonder if it is Matakopas I am sensing sometimes when I try to read you," her eyes peered into his, flickering as if reading him out before she sighed and looked down at his hand. "Sometimes the marks on your hand are clouded. Though sometimes I see double and it makes me doubt what I see, but I can not shake the feeling of the double eye." She made a face. "I do not like knowing I am being watched. We should try again to find a way to ward off his sense of vision, lest we remain connected to him. ANd is he not your mortal enemy? I would hate to lead him all of the way to where I have dreamed. It would not bode well for this world if he were to appear at the edge of the earth and find a way to this power we are following after, too."
Enzo peered at her with brighter eyes and furrowed his brows, only to look into his own palms as if he could see just what she was seeing. And perhaps in doing so, make more sense of it. He knew he and Matakopas were connected, but he had an inkling feeling it was something a little more sinister than that. And not just because the Magecrafter was prone to such behavior. He felt as if there were eyes watching him now and he quickly turned his head to see nothing in the corner. He breathed a sigh of relief before looking back at her.
"If what you say is true, I am sure we will find a way to draw him out and purge him from my mind. Or at least to cloud his vision from our true intention," he breathed.
Pao'orha gave a tired sigh.
"It is what it is, Enzo. There might be ways to ward him, but I have a feeling he won't ever let us rest. He's like a dog, no? And dogs are loyal to a fault. He must know only one thing, and hunting you has probably become his specialty."
It was then the boat lurched forward and Pao lifted her gaze.
"It seems the ship is ready to sail. Come on," she took his hand as she raised to her feet. "Let us go up to the deck and watch Canador drift away, for it will be our last time seeing the cliff side city in a good while."
He sighed, though he knew it did not bode well for either of them. If Matakopas had been loyal at all, they would not even be in this sitaution. And as they rose to the deck, Ennzo stared out to the city and watched it get smaller and smaller. "I haven't even been there long and I can admit I'm going to miss it. It is a beautiful place," he murmured beside Pao. He took in the sea air and smiled as the winds whipped the loose strands of his hair around his face.
"Canador is a place many dream of, even in those with hearts given to the sea." SHe approached the edge of the ship, leaning against the edge and watched the horizon until nothing but water surrounded them, and the gulls no longer remained hoovering in the airs. But it was just as windy out here as it was in Canador, and her dark hair fluttered about, and it rattled through her jewelry.
Enzo did the same and leaned against the rail with a sigh. "I cannot fathom why anyone would want to leave such a beautiful place. But even it's unique alone it's beauty. It reminds me almost of the city surrounding Castle Valar. It glittered at night like an emeralds, the steam from the mountain rivers billowing up into the air."
"This place you speak of sounds interesting. Where did you say you were from? I don't think I've ever heard of such a place. Do the lights burn green there instead of yellow?"
"Vallaris," he murmured, smiling. "There lights burned in all manner of colors, blue, green, and red." He peered at her. "We were a proud people, and cosmopolitan in every way. We relished in our culture, in our language...and I am the last of my kind... It kind of makes me wonder what is there left to fight for?"
"It must have been beautiful," Pao said thoughtfully. Then at his last words, she frowned. "Are my people so different than yours? We all eat, breed and bleed. If you look hard enough, I'm sure not all humans are different than your own kind. Granted, I'd like to believe my own people greater than most, but even I'm no fool. I believe the earth is worth fighting for. A future."
"This earth is a strange place and perhaps it is just the soldier in me, but I've yet see what more this world has to offer. Not that I would be a proper judge. But I cannot say that it isn't either. I will follow where you lead. Wherever Matakopas tries to hide," he said solemnly.
"Perhaps you just aren't looking hard enough. But come, let us go below deck and unpack our things. Tonight I'd like to perform a special ceremony.
Enzo smiled and nodded. "Perhaps I will," he remarked. He stood and followed her belowdeck but not before watching the last lights of Canador vanishing over the horizon.
Once the pair were below, Pao'orha set to work. She had candles placed all around the room, forming a circle that encompassed most of the free area in the center. Each candle had it's own, unique color of wax, and a scent to go with it. Then from one of her leather pouches, she created two mounds from a silky, blue white powder. One at twelve o'clock, in the center, and the other at six o'clock, in the center. Then she produced a piece of chalk and drew a circle just inside the layer of candles, then drew two more smaller ones around the mounds of powder.
A ceramic dish was set int he middle, then oil was poured into it, and as Pao went around, lighting each candle, she gestured for Enzo to take a seat by the pile of powder facing six o'clock.
"Please, have a seat, Enzo. THe ceremony of spirits is about to begin."
Enzo would have questioned what she was doing but he knew better than to do so. Candles on a ship wasn't exactly a good idea as far as he knew, but it was best for him just to keep his mouth shut. Se he sat down where she indicated, cross legged andheld his hands out to her. "We aren't summoning the dead are we?"
Pao smirked as she took a seat across from him.
"No, not the dead." the she placed out her hand, palm up. "Give to me your hand."
Enzo frowned a little but swallowed his negative words and just gave her his hands. He took a deep breath. "So what's with all the candles then? Trying to burn the ship down?"
Pao only smirked, and pressed her thumb in the oil dish, then glided it softly across the palm of his hand.
"No, but fire is a killer, but also creator of many things of the world. We are birthed in fire, we die in fire. Fire is a part of life. It brings heat, light, and cooks our food. It is a great symbol of the power of man and his connection of wisdom to nature." She looked down at his hand, then to the candle beside him.
"Come, grab the orange candle behind you, Enzo. It's wax should be water by now and bring it here."
Enzo was all too familiar with the power of fire and what it could do. He'd seen terrible things and indeed the light it could bring in the darkness of life. He took the orange candle gently in hand put it before her.
Pao wasted not a minute as she dumped the hot wax over the oil on Enzo's hand before sealing hers overtop of his.
"At first, the flames are hot. Heat is a source of life, a source of wonder and power." She kept er hand sealed to his, then pressed her thumb in the oil dish again and pressed it over the tops of his hand. "NOw, the other candle beside you, to your left. THe candle tot he west. It should be white."
Enzo only winced once and cursed in his own tongue. He knew she was going to pull something like that; at least he was getting better at anticipating such things. Still, it made it no less painful. He turned and grabbed the white candle and gave it to her, a little awkwardly at the angle as he tried not to break the bond of their hands. "What is it that we're doing, exactly?" he couldn't help but ask.
Pao remained quiet as she repeated the same process with the white candle. Then her green eyes lifted to his gaze.
"We are connecting." She said simply. "Now, the yellow candle." And she continued to process until their palms were well coated with oil and a rainbow of wax, and with their hands still pressed together, Pao'orha's smile grew.
"Each ritual we perform will keep our souls bounded closer. It will help for our journey ahead, and my ability to see more clearly the path we are destined to take. Now, this ritual will reveal which one of us ought to be the leader, the strong, driving force who can guide us even through the dark." And when she moved to separate her hands, her smile began to fade as she realized all of the wax remained on Enzo's hand, and not her own.
"It seems you are our light, Enzo," she said quietly.
Enzo's expression grew thoughtful and he was silent for a time. When the wax remained on his own hands, Enzo slowly closed his palms, cracking the wax and sticking to his skin. "But how can I be the light of something I know nothing about? I would be a fool to admit that I am not afraid. But I am willing to try," he muttered. He looked at her with a grave expression as he dusted the rest of the wax off his hands. "Though it begs the questions, are there rituals to break our bond?"
Pao muttered something in her own tongue before picking herself off the floor.
"Not many understand their fate, Enzo. And even though I can see some glimpses and hints to the future, I am no different than you with how this will all play out. We just have to take it one step at a time." And her eyes stared away, distant in thought. Then she turned to him.
"Come, now we mate," she said, smirking as she looked him over.
Her proposition couldn't have come at a worse time and Enzo just shook his head. It was a lot to take in at once, and the weight of it now was starting to set in on his shoulders. "No," he murmured. "I'm sure you will find someone to sate your needs. I'll be fine."
Pao frowned. "It's not for my needs, but for us to connect and become sealed, like the wax to the palm." She tilted her head. "Why are you so against it? Is something wrong?"
Enzo grew defensive. "Nothing is wrong," he said. "I just think you've connected with enough men to last several lifetimes. We've connected enough, don't you think? I'm going to sleep."
"Sleep?" Pao laughed. "You could really sleep so easily on a day like this?" Her eyes sparkled as she looked him over. "And what is wrong with connecting with men? It is only natural for a body to seek another, and we will have to remain as a union if you want my readings to work well on you. If not, my visions might get clouded."
"What kind of fortune teller would you be if you let your visions get clouded!?" Enzo replied hotly. He sniffed the air with a faint look of disgust. "And I don't mean it as anything degrading on your part. Far be it from me to question your life choices. But I don't know what other sorts of connections you've made with the diseases that came with these men."
Pao'orha raised her brows at him while her lids lowered. Her emotions were simmering, and before she knew what she was doing, she had drawn up the warmed oil dish and threw it angrily at his face. She chewed him out, word for word in her tongue before storming out the door.
"Waste of my time..."she mumbled in common as she stormed down the hall.
"Shrew," Enzo murmured and shook his head. He took a cloth from the side and wiped his face off when she stormed off down the hall. He proceeded to blow out the rest of the candles that she'd left burned all around him and clean up the remains of her ritual. He knew what he'd said had hurt her, but he knew his point was right in its own way. She was also irrevocably stubborn and he would let her stay that way. It wasn't in the Vallarian to fight the force of a rising tide but to duck underneath the wave and evade its inevitable crash.
At last he climbed into the one of the hammocks that swayed and hoped the gentle motion of the ship would give way to some sense of sleep.
Pao refused to return to their room, so even if he had slept for many hours, there would be no sign of her.
Enzo finally awoke sometime in the early morning to the gentle swaying of the ship on semi-calm waters. Still the room was empty and he fell out of the hammock and landed with a thud. His stomach grumbled loudly and he frowned at the thought that he probably missed dinner time. Slowly he emerged from the room to the top deck. "Pao!" he called, though he figured she wouldn't deign to answer. "Pao'ohra!"
The Captain was already on deck, giving orders to his men. When he heard Enzo shouting for Pao, he turned from his men with a grin towards him.
"Pao'orha isn't on the deck." And his eyes drifted upwards to where a woman leaned within the crow's neck. Her long dark hair took to the winds like streamers, and her skirts fluttered like flags.
"Though if I were you, I'm not sure I'd go up there after her." And he looked Enzo over before returning his attention back to his men.
Enzo looked up and saw Pao up there. He supposed it was the farthest she could get away from anyone else on the ship. He nodded to the Captain. "Thank you," he said. "But I suppose she'd stay up there all night if I didn't say something. I got her awfully riled up." He didn't waste anytime climbing up the long way to the crow's nest, but kept his distance just a few rungs below. "Pao," he said softly. "Are you going to stay up here for the rest of the trip? I just wanted to apologize for what I said."
Pao hadn't noticed him approach, so when he did, she reared back within the nest and marked a symbol across her chest. Then the rock she had been holding she hurled at his head and began spitting at him in her tongue.
"Go back to your room, Enzo Azura. You have no business up here. Your apologies are as good as shit."
"I aplogize because I know but I did not understand. This world is strange to me. In my home, woman of your stature are outcasts of society. I didn't know any better. I truly am sorry," Enzo said when he moved away from her spit, dodging each particle as best he could.
Just because he could doge her spit didn't mean she'd stop her tongue lashing.
"And you must think I'm a fool to buy your words. Garbage. Aya! Go back down to the ship with the other men. You are no better than their fleas."
"Pao'ohra Salandra. I mean it," Enzo said as he finally grew brave enough to climb all the way up into the nest. "We are in this togetheraand I should not spurn what value our connection will have with each other. It would inevitably help our survival. Please accept my apology."
"Connect with this." And she pulled another, smooth black rock from her pouch and wailed it towards his head.
Enzo couldn't say he knew what he expected, but a rock being thrown at his head certainly was not one of them. The surprise of the blow was enough to stun him and in doing so, the force sent him reeling backwards and he leaned over the railing of the crow's nest and plummeted down to the deck below. His body landed with a thud and he laid there motionless.
Eyes widening, she gripped the edge of the crow's nest and watched him fall. Terror filled her gaze, but then after a moment, she began cursing up a storm, throwing a few more things down at his still body angrily before climbing all the way to the bottom.
The captain, who had watched the whole thing, stared over in horror at Enzo's body. He and his men approached, looking down at him as he inquired, "Are you alright?"
Before Enzo would get a chance to speak, Pao'orha pushed through the crowd.
"Of course he is, and if he fall did not break his neck, I will!" and the men all moved aside as the woman paused, huffing as she was red cheeked and sore of breath as she placed her hand supon her hips, drew out a bag, then threw a fluff of some unknown powder at his face. She was muttering up a storm in her own language, then proceeded to grab a nearby bucket of water, and cast it over him, soaking him to the bone.
The men.. just... stared.
Enzo was quite inert as Pao'ohra kept throwing words and objects at him, some hitting him on his back, the powder dousing his face, and the water drenching him to the bone. Enzo remained still all the way through, the pounding in his head from the fall and every ache in his body finally giving way to consciousness. He heard shouting and an angry Pao, worst of all. All he could do was groan and vaguely moved his fingers and opened his eyes to blurry vision.
When movement came back to him moreover, so did the pain and his head rattled with a vengeance. "Ugh," he said, and slowly lifted his head. Blood dribbled from his forehead and nose as he peered up and his vision focused in on her and his lips weakly spat out at the powder that entered into his mouth. It was all he managed to muster before he dropped his head down to the deck, blood seeping from his mouth.
Pao'orha swore through her teeth and dropped to her knees beside him. Cradling the bleeding man in her arms, she turned to the Captain, "Rasptinota, got get some clothe and supplies, and some hearty mead. This man will need it."
The captain shook his head, but gestured towards his men, who dashed off to get the desired supplies, then he shook his head as he glanced down at Pao'orha.
"If you wanted to kill him, you should have just pushed him into the ocean. It would be more humane that way."
Pao cursed him out in her native tongue.
"The intent was not to kill, besides.." she said, looking down at his face, which was now dyed blue from the powder and water. "He's got a destiny elsewhere."
The men helped carry him to a bed, where there he was tended to gingerly by a silent Pao'orha. She was dipping a clothe into a cool basin of water, cleaning off the blood from his nose as she studied his face, still remaining quiet.
Enzo slipped in and out of consciousness as they moved him below deck to be tended to. He protested to the movement with vague cries and moans as his body throbbed with dull pain. He heard himself groan, "N-No! Don't! She'll kill me..." But it was too late already and he felt himself being spread out on a flat surface and his face being dabbed by a wet cloth.
His eyes opened and focused on Pao for a moment. "Don't," he groaned, turning his head the other way. "Just leave me be! Go back to your crow's nest."
"I would have stayed there the whole journey, but some man decided to disturb me," she replied bitterly, and continued to tend to his wounds.
"Well sorry for that," Enzo replied with a sniff, he turned his eyes to the ceiling as the ship swayed on easy water. At least the waves had yet to make him seriously sick. So far so good had only done him so well. "I guess we're stuck at a cross ways. Well, you can go away now. I can take care of myself. I don't think I broke anything."
Pao'orha simply cast him a glare before pressing the cloth to his nose.
"A pity for you if you did not. What were you thinking climbing all the way up there?"
Enzo sighed and looked at her with his bruised face and scratched cheeks. "I...I don't know what the hell I was doing," he admitted. "I don't know what I was trying to accomplish. I just wanted to see if you were all right. And I guess you are. So much for that."
Pao still kept a glare upon him, her eye lids hanging low as she gave a sneer and muttered something unknown, and angry, in her own language.
"Why wouldn't I be alright?" she spat.
"Because my words made you so obviously angry. You threw hot oil in my face...warm oil. And you.wouldn't speak to me again until the end of our journey. Or maybe never. And companions can't work together unless they speak to one another. Or maybe they can. I don't know." Enzo moved his arms weakly and began to untie the straps of the armor he remained encased in. It was suffocating at most and shielded him from most of the damage of his fall.
Pao'orha gave a sniff. He was right, but he was the one that started this, and she was not about to let him get away with his actions so easily.
"Companions do a lot of things that we do not," she added, crossing her arms across her chest.
Enzo furrowed his brows but not without some difficulty. He grunted and made a face. "Companions do what?" he frowned a little. "What more is there to do?"
"Nothing if our connection won't take. You think it's so easy to just follow someone into the heart of a vision? But the real ways do not work like that!"
Enzo's frown deepened. "I'm sorry," Enzo said softly. "I didn't realize this was so important to you. Connecting to me means so many things on so many levels. The experiences we share, the laughs and smiles, what we share in honor. I am still ignorant to your ways. My apology still stands. But you don't have to accept it."
Pao looked at him, her expression still sour.
"Apologies are shown in actions, not words. We will see in time if it is sincere." Then she glanced away from him, staring over at the doorway. "I will leave you to rest," she said, and slowly stood from the ground.
Enzo's hand reached out and he grabbed hers softly. "Please, before you go," he said. "Do you think you could at least help me out of the rest of my armor? It's the most I could ask."
Pao paused at the door, giving him a once over.
"You didn't seem to need me before," and she pulled her arm away, and left him at that. But a moment later, the Captain himself poked his head into the room, giving the door a light knock.
"Mind if I come in?"
Enzo sighed and supposed he was asking too much. When the Capain appeared in the door, he gave a soft laugh and nodded. "Please, do. It's not as if there's any way I could protest. Welcome to my room of solitude Captain."
"It seems you have upset Pao'orha," Rasptinota said, chuckling as he entered. He noticed the man struggling with his armor. "Need some help there, lad?"
"I got it, I guess," Enzo said as he managed to sit up and pulled at the straps and pulled it over his head. "What is the matter with her?" he couldn't help but ask. "You seem to have known her longer than I. Why is she so stubborn? It can't be just because she's Saranthian."
Rasptinota shrugged.
"I've never met another Saranthian, so I wouldn't know. But if I had to guess, I'd say that breed of women were wicked." ANd he chuckled and gestured for Enzo to remain as he was as the captain moved around him and began to help unfasten his armor.
"Though with Pao'orha... she is definitely different than most women. She's free by nature, and if you make one wrong move, she'll be made at you for a week. But don't worry, I'm sure she'll get over it."
And he paused to look up at him.
"You refused her sex, didn't you?"
Enzo furrowed his brow and gave a grunt when the last pieces of armor came off his form. He rolled his sore shoulders and gave his back a loud crack. He sighed and looked up at the Captain at the mention of his statement. He frowned and nodded. "I did. I don't see why it's such a big deal with her," he murmured. "But I see that's where my shortcomings start. Was I not supposed to?"
THe captain laughed.
"Pao'orha has the mind set that everything ought to be given to her. She's very.. irrational about it and is quick to anger if you ever tell her 'no'. You'd be wise to listen to her and obey if you don't want anymore rocks thrown at your head. I don't think I've ever seen a man survive that sort of fall.." he siad, changing the subject as he gave a whistle at Enzo's armor. "What is this armor made of? God's hide or something? Either that, or you're truly blessed. No wonder Pao wasn't worried about you after you fell." He rolled his eyes but merely shrugged.
"It is armor of my rank," Enzo said with a frown as he pulled his cuirass back to him. "And it wasn't that high of a fall. I have bruises, but I'll live. You ought not to worry about me; she obviously wasn't. Well, in any case if that rock didn't surprise me, she would have pushed me off anyway. So I guess it was only a matter of time. Thanks for your help, Captain. And I'll keep your advice in mind for the future. I'm just more accustomed with giving orders, than taking them. Thanks again."
Rasptinota gave a laugh.
"So quick to get rid of me are you? Well, I suppose you'd need your space," and with a sarcastic bow, the Captain moved to leave the room, though he paused at the door. "You know... they say women like flowers. Though Pao'orha is no ordinary woman. Take that with a grain of salt." Then he laughed again before closing the door and disappearing to the deck above.
There, he spotted Pao'orah at the side of the ship by herself. He shook his head. He had a feeling this journey was going to be an interesting one. Then again.. everything about Pao'orha was.
"Flowers, right," Enzo said to himself with a roll of his eyes. "I think she'd prefer the salt. All the better to rub in my wounds." Enzo resided to himself and remained in the room and fell asleep once more.
Pao hadn't joined him to sleep that night, but rather, he might have actually found himself waking up to loud noises in the room next door. It seemed Pao'orha was connecting with a man..
or, even several men in the cabin next door....
Enzo did awake to the noises and grumbled at them. He was well enough now to move on his own and when he didn't want to take it anymore, he moved away from the bed and made exit to the door. He found his way to the deck, to the quiet motion of the ship and watched as the water swayed and sprayed up against the side.
OOC: *snickers* swayed and sprayed
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It was hours before someone came on top of the deck. It was another man, flushed all ove rand his clothing half on as he moved to the edge of the shipa nd pissed over the side. It was only then he noticed Enzo and grinned.
"Keep up the good work, mate. This has been the best sea voyages so far. I'll have to see how much Pao costs so I can take her on board with me the next time I travel. I don't know why I hadn't thought to bring a wench before!" and he laughed and turned to button up his pants.
Enzo saw heard the trickling of urination from the side of the ship and followed the trail until he saw the sailor. His eyes narrowed and he frowned at his words. "Indeed?" he inquired. "It's ten gold for the night. Or five. I'm not sure," he said with little interest feeling his spirits falling as he turned his eyes back to the water. "I overpaid."
The man laughed and patted Enzo on the shoulder.
"She's rather cheap tonight. If you're lucky, she'd bed you for free! The whole ships having at her!" and he turned away, pausing to look back.
"Say... what'd you do to make her so riled up anyway? She ain't normally this.. well, you know."
His frown only deepened at the news of it and he leaned against the railing, sighed. A strange grin escaped him and he just scoffed. "Ironic as it is. I guess she took it the wrong way. I refused her. My loss your gain I suppose."
At that remark, the man laughed and laughed.
"I suppose so!" and he shook his head before realizing something, but that didn't stop his departure. Naw, it was best not to act. If the man was in love with Pao'orha, he had another thing coming. Every man was in 'love' with her. Or, at least their loins burned for her. Though he found it strange they were meant to travel together. He wondered why, but didn't bother to question it as he disappeared to find some rum.
Enzo gave a shrug and said nothing to the man as he departed, and went back to watching the waves once more. It didn't matter that Enzo would be the only one on the ship that didn't sleep with Pao'ohra Salandra. More power to her for her to claim what she desired. But he couldn't help but wonder, as he stared out onto the water, why they were traveling together at all. Perhaps he feared most that this was all for naught, for there was nothing to hold him here and this was a fool's errand if ever there was one. All the while the more he remained idle, the further his enemy receded from his grasp.
The rest of the night proved uneventful. Once the long hours of pleasure with Pao'orha had faded away, below deck was quiet, and the only thing seeming left from the night time renez-vous was a single, fat wax burning candle in the center of the room, and Pao'orha laying asleep upon the ground, wearing little more than a sheer clothe robe.
Enzo did not return to the room or the one Pao occupied. Instead he lingered above deck and proceeded to study the finer points of the ship and helped a few of the crew members pull up the sails as the wind set itself into a calm and the ship merely drifted along its course.
Once that was done, Enzo was hesitant to return below deck and waited until silence wore no guise and he crept below deck at last. He was even more reluctant to bother checking on Pao. Not that she needed his help; she was more than capable on her own. He waited at the door until he thought it better to just get it over with and leave it at that. He slowly crept in and minded the stink and didn't touch more than he had to.
Blowing out the candle, Enzo quietly pulled Pao from the ground and cradled her back to their cabin, putting her safely in the comfort of a real bed. He said nothing and did no more than he had to before taking a seat in the corner and tending to his own bruises, which were going down thankfully.
Pao didn't stir when he had moved her. She slept soundly, too soundly, far more soundly than the dreams that were stirring inside her head. It wasn't even an hour after the candle went out she awoke with a start, crying out as she fell to the ground, loudly.
Enzo was bandaging himself up when he saw her roll off the bed he'd lain her on. He rushed to her side and knelt beside her. "Pao!" he muttered. "What happened? Are you all right?"
Unable to see or think, Pao'orha floundered about upon the ground, gasping when she realized, in a whirl, it had only been a dream. She was clinging onto Enzo's arms, her body shaking, body hot with sweat.
"Enzo!" she siad, finally recognizing his face in the dark. She made a mark across her breast as she looked around towards the ship, whihc continued to creak softly against the rocking lull of the ocean. Blinking, she stared from the darkness around them back up to him.
"We are still on the ship?" she touched his face, then her own, and began muttering in her own language and marking a few more times across her chest before sighing. "Then it was but a dream...."
and then finally realizing Enzo was near her, she recalled she was meant to be angry with him and yanked her hands away, giving him a glare that cut through the darkness.
He could feel the fire of her glare even in the darkness of their room, but remained unphased by it. He knew it'd be a long time coming before he'd win himself back into her good graces again. So instead he ignored her wrath and put his arms around her once more to lift her back up onto the bed. "It must have been some awful dream," he sighed. "It knocked you out of bed." He laughed and tucked her in.
Hissing and muttering in her own tongue, she fought against Enzo's attempts. Standing back up, she placed her hands to her hips and began to chew him out.
"Yes, of course it was! The whole ship had been smashed to bits, and we were about to be eaten by a terrible sea serpent!" And once again, she was marking her chest, this time, clinging to the jeweled necklace she wore.
"Then I guess I'd best warn the captain," Enzo said with a soft laugh. "One should not spurn the prophecy of your dreams. You have a rest, I'll return in a bit." When he did, Enzo sat down where he had been before and tended to his bandages. "The captain said that these waters are calm and there's not a serpent in sight, but he will proceed with caution."
By the time Enzo had returned, the room was had several ornaments draping from it's ceilings, twelve candles scattered across the floor, shallow and lit; and the floor had several chalk circles drawn upon it; and she was working at drawing an image upon the wall.
Enzo glared at all her workings but didn't say anything else to her as she worked. There was no need to try and put out fire with gasoline anyway so he just went about taking his armor and polishing it up quietly.
As Enzo was workign at polishing his armor, Pao snatched it from him suddenly.
"HA-SHEESH! What are you doing, Enzo!?" she said, and began to smear her chalk dust covered hands all over them. "I worked all night to get the coating just right to have a vision! You've had me distracted so long with anger, I've lost focus on my visions and our task."
Then she went on to mutter a few more things he couldn't have understood, and continued to smear chalk all over his once shiny stuff.
Enzo frowned when she snatched his armor from him. He wasn't going to bother and would fight her fire with water. He was silent and just gave a shrug moving on from his seato tend to his sword. He unsheathed Angra'arda and began to sharpen the blade.
Whirling around, Pao'orha gave a cry.
"NO! NOT THE SWORD!" but it was too late, and the light yellow thread she bound away it with delicate beads popped off, and went sailing across the room, hitting the wall then went scattering across the floor.
Growling, Pao'orha stalked away from him, hiking up her skirts as she got to her knees, chewing him out as she worked at picking up the tiny beads and thread from the floor. Though he might have caught a few words of common, a few words indicating.. 'ungrateful, swine of a man...' muttering amongst other colorful words from her lips.
Enzo stared at her with wide eyes before sighing. He shook his head and resheathed the sword, getting up from his position and saying nothing still. "Where may I place myself so that I will not be a nuisance?" he asked softly.
Pao'orha ignored him at first, still muttering and swearing up a storm.
"You would not be nuisance had you listened to me in the first place. Connecting with you has to go hard and long way," she said with a hiss. "Lest you wish the whole world to suffer the plagues I see!" and she continued picking up the beads, her elbow knocking over a glass full of a red liquid and more rocks as it shattered all over the floor, causing Pao'orha to seeth more curses through her teeth.
Enzo rolled his eyes and shook his head, crossing his arms across his chest. "I think you've connected plenty with the ship's crew," he said calmly with a shrug. "We're fine. The only one who's getting upset is you. I apologized and don't wish to be in any position to further aggravate you. But I can already see that's not going to happen." He sighed again and stepped carefully over the chalk toward the door. "If there's nothing you need any assistance with, you can find me above deck getting some fresh air. If you'll excuse me."
Turning around, Pao'orha was quick to her feet, chewing him out in her native tongue as she got clean into his face.
"I would not have to do such things if you would listen to me!" she hissed. "You are making this journey ten times harder than it needs to be!" and then she continued to chew him out, some of her words spitting inadvertently onto his face.
He sighed again, wiping his face and turning his face away. "I refuse to fight with you," he said calmly. "So seeing as you don't need me then, I'll be up on deck." He bowed his head and departed the room quietly, as if he were never there.
Pao let out another noise of rage, snatched onto his wrist and growled clean into his face.
"Do you think this journey is a joke?" she demanded. "That our connection and these visions I see mean nothing? We travel here because of destiny, not because we like the others company, Enzo. To walk away from me means you walk away from the world."
Enzo frowned at her outburst and pried her fingers from his wrist, which left marks where her nails dug into his skin. He soothed his wrist and looked at her with solemn eyes. "I already apologized to you and you're still angry," he replied. "What do you want from me? What do you want me to do?"
"I explained this to you, Yarra-yicht-muht!" and she looked about ready to spit, the fire still burning in her eyes. "Apologies are best shown, not spoken, and you have proved nothing to me." She gave him a challenging stare, still remaining up in his face. "You would rather walk away because it does not suit your tastes nor do you understand. What will you do when we have to face monsters on the other side of the world and you do not know what to do?"
Frankly, she was doubting this journey now more than ever.
"Will you simply try to apologize to the beast trying to eat you?"
Enzo's expression turned troubled and solemn. He looked down at the floor and clenched his fist at the way the very thought. Monsters... He moved away from her and sat down on the cot, running his hands through his hair, reality setting in. Peering up at her at last, he frowned, but his eyes became hard. "I will survive as I've always done," he said. "I will fight whatever comes my way. But you! You're another beast altogether, and I just cannot seem to slay you."
"Hasch!" she hissed. "I am not your enemy, Enzo. Is everything you do not understand something you believe you must fight?"
His expression turned troubled and his eyes turned sad. "It's the only way I know," he admitted with a soft breath. "I was trained from my youth to fight. It's all I know. I'm sorry it's not the answer you were looking for. When it comes to you, there is just so much I don't understand."
"Why do you think I pressed for us to connect? We are not of the same blood, but the ritual was meant to connect us deeper than that. But now it might be too late..."
"If you're pressed for the truth. I don't like the thought of sharing a lover with dozen other men," Enzo grumbled. "And before you go off on a tangent about attachment and love, it's nothing to do with that! I don't even consider you at all in that regard. But I do care about our well-being as companions, that either of our bad habits would wind up getting the both of us killed or sick or something." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "But I guess our bad habits have only driven us apart on a mission that requires both of us working together. Perhaps it is too late...but I don't know."
It took Pao'orha to digest all what he said, and finally she was beginning to understand his side, but only a little.
"I didn't realize my methods irritated you so. For the saranthians, we are free to embrace all aspects of life as they come. But if it harms you, I shall cull myself on men." Though a wicked sparkle came to her eyes as she smiled, almost sheepishly at him. "Though you must realize, Enzo, that a woman like me is quite demanding. If I shut off all twelve men of this ship, you and I must find our own ways to connect to quench the thirst I will be starving of myself."
THough it was then she took his hand, her smile growing.
"I think it is my turn to apologize to you. Your customs are strange to me, and as a partner, I must learn to connect with you in other ways. Though, it migh tbe difficult, perhaps that is the will of our journey."
His frown only deepened at the words she spoke to him, his face even blanched and he coughed to find his words. She was right however. Already expectations were high, and after being so angry with him - enough to sleep with the ship's crew at the same time - he suppose she had every right to be.
"No-no," he murmured. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I should have respected your ways more than I did. I did you a disservice and for that, I'd like to amend my mistakes." He gave a soft smile and squeezed her hand. "But I'm sure you're more than worn out by all those men."
Pao blinked at his comment and looked down at his hand holding her own. She nodded slowly.
"Perhaps there is still hope for this journey," she said, using her other hand to lightly place upon his chest as she smoothed it up his chest. "For this connection." She spoke in her native tongue, then repeated it back in common.
"We can try again tonight."
"We have to wait that long?" he said, with a half-hearted laugh. "Well, then what was all this then?" He gestured to the chalk she had drawn on the ground and all over the room.
Setting her hands to her hips, Pao gave a raise of her brows.
"You obviously don't understand the ways of the Saranthians." she said with a laugh. "There are many steps to our methods." And she looked him over with a smirk. "Come," she took his hand, guiding him towards the center. " Let's take this moment to talk." And she sat down in the center of the.circles of chalk.
Enzo sighed, remembering the routine, nothing could be easy with Pao. And nothing could be simple. But this was her way and he'd seen her ugly side enough for the time being. He cooperated and sat down where she instructed him. He was careful not to make too much of a mess of the chalk design but could see that someof it was already rubbing on his clothesaand skin. "How do we begin?"
"By just talking," she said with a smirk. "It seems you are tired of my methods. Perhaps we ought to try connecting your way instead?" She afforded him a rare smile that time, a hand smoothing over his before her fingers laced gently through. "Tell me about your family, Enzo. Your dreams and ambitions. Your loves and your hates. This is the best way we can connect for now, and hopefully the chalk drawings will keep the air at peace."
This was a turn that Enzo would not aave expected and feared that something happened to her. Or worse, that this was all a trick and something bad was about to happen to him. "Talk," he muttered thoughtfully. "Well, I was born to a good family. My father was a -" He proceeded to go on and on about his family, that he never knew his mother, his father raised him well and to take his place when the time came. His sisters all married off, as he was the youngest. He grew up priviledged, he admitted and had known few hardships that he'd always wanted his father to be proud of him, even before he was killed in action, and to know that he loved him. But details blended together masking between his real life and the life of his prince, of whom he watched grow up.
"That was my greatest aspiration," he sighed. "My father, I hope, would be proud of me still. But what of you...you make no mention of your own family. Or do Saranthians have no families?" He gave her a warm smile and patted her hand.
Pao smiled.
"Yes, we have families. Do you think Saranthians come from nothing?" she gave a laugh and looke dhim over as she smirked. "We have families, but in a different respect from the way you perceive it. Saranthians are free moving, and we are not married to one location, one land, one person, one family; so.. in a sense, as we move, the wind itself can become our family, the new people we meet, a new journey. We are not cemented, so do not think that because Saranthians are nomadic that our values are not there. They are just different."
She looked down at his hand, still smiling.
"Like the wind, we bend and move and breath. Like the wind, we change and adapt and just are. Family is our blood, but connections can be with any of those we meet."
He never thought of her as immoral or unjust in her methods. But at least now there was some understanding of her ways, even if it was brief at most. Progress was progess either way. "And what do you value?" he asked softly with a small smile.
"We value independence of movement, of the earth, and our tongues," she said with a laugh. "We can do just as the wind does. Caress what we want, go where we want. It's just the way of things for us."
Then after a moment of silence, she inquired, "What about you, Enzo? What do you value above all else?"
Enzo nodded and looked down. He'd grown lost in thought at her words. It was such a liberating way to live. There were few people like that on Vallaris, for it was poetry and politics there. And at her question, he didn't even have to look up at her to answer. "Honor in loyalty," he answered simply.
Pao'orha gave a bored yawn before replying simply, "I see."
OOC: Shortest post ever XD
Now.. shower time >_>
*zooms off to get ready for work*
Enzo couldn't say much more than that. He knew only what he'd been trained to do. He'd never known love or passion in the aspect romanticized by poets, or the thrill of the power of crushing one's enemies. His family was short-lived, and his homeland was gone. What more was there to value? He didn't know what more to say and looked down at his legs, and the chalk surrounding them. What was he doing here? What was he trying to achieve? Was this little more than a fruitless journey to accomplish a task he knew nothing about, to save a world he had no connection to? Was this all just a massive detour, away from where he should be?
But he looked at Pao and tried to think what she would say, what she would do with such thoughts in mind. Aside from spitting, he knew whatever events happened in the course of one's life were meant to be in some way or another. The wind had no predestined course, but it was always exactly where it was supposed to be when it had to be. How was this any different?
In their silence, she studied his face, her own expression and eyes much softer than usual. She moved a moment to gently take his hand, where she applied a small kiss upon the top of it.
"Then we must learn to be loyal to one another. Can you tell me how that works, Enzo? How can I be more loyal to you so that our connection becomes more cemented, more bonded? More strong?"
Enzo wasn't sure what she was asking, how he could properly explain. But he supposed trying was better than nothing. "It-it means keeping your word. Being honest and never saying what you do not mean. That your companions, your family or whoever you hold dear to you are first in your heart, and in your mind. That you know the decisions you make, affects them too and that you never turn your back to them," he answered thoughtfully. "But I wouldn't ask this of you if it means changing your own ways. Don't sacrifice your own attributes for me. Be yourself Pao, in the very way you were made. You're best unadulterated."
At his words, Pao gave a laugh. "I doubt you would have suggested that earlier, Enzo, but thank you for the thought. Ha-eesh," she sighed, playfully rubbing her temple as she looked him over. "Perhaps that his how I am mistaken in you, Enzo," she began thoughtfully, smoothing a hand down her skirts. "I must admit, I do not think of the consequences on other people for my actions. It is... a different thought to take, but perhaps I will try to give it a chance in that we may bond much smoother than how this has happened before, ya?"
Enzo actually smiled at her, and patted her hands. "I think I'd like that," he muttered, laughing a little. "I'm sorry I was so difficult before. And stubborn. I didn't really understand you as much as I do now. Admittedly...I still don't know you as well as I should, but I'm willing to learn. I'm willing to bond with you."
Pao's eyes lit up at his statement as she took both of his hands and squeezed them.
"Good, then we are at an understanding. The bond shall work well if both spirits can harmonize. Now.." she said, squeezing his hand again. "Take off your clothes."
Enzo blinked at her for a moment before nodding. He'd agreed and looked at her for a long moment before letting go of her hands and pulling his tunic over his head and standing to slip off his trousers, folding them to the side and sitting down in the circle once more.
Pao smiled at him warmly as she took is hands again and smoothed her thumbs over the tops.
"Now, if you could lay down in the center.." and she stood up, one hand holding her skirts, the other still holding onto his hand. "I'd like to paint your body with the ancient symbols of harmony, of protection; of connection and grace."
Enzo had a nervous thought at first but he took in a breath before he leaned back , stretching his body outward toward the center of the circle. He said nothing and would let Pao paint her symbols on him.
This practice went on well for half an hour; and the paint she chose was a rich, dark blue. The symbols came out in beautiful contrast to his skin, and stretched from the tips of his fingers, tot he tips of his toes. Not a single limb was left without attention, as she moved over him, her hair lightly tickled across his chest as she drew a ring around his chest, where his heart ought to be. Then moved the paint brush aside and pressed her hand intot he wooden bowl filled with paint, then slowly pressed her hand forward over his heart, smiling warmly as she did, a flutter reaching inside her own depths as she felt the last piece of their connection complete- and her own self, actually growing closer to the man in paints beneath her.
She adjusted herself so that her knees were at her side.
"There, the symbols of my people, of my dreams reside upon your body." and she whispered a few words in her own tongue as she slicked the remaining paint on her hand across two lines on her shoulders, then one down her nose, lower lip, then chin.
"How do you feel?" she asked him. "Do you feel more connected? At ease?"
Enzo gave a calming breath and just allowed himself to relax as the paint was swathed over his body. The paint cooled him and soothed him and tickled him when the paint dried. He gave her a smile when she settled in beside him.
He opened his eyes at her and gently reached for her hand. "I do," he replied. "I feel like sinking into the floor. Melting away. Like nothing matters."
Smiling softly, Pao nodded her head, "Good. Those symbols ought to help. And now we must find a way to join ourselves.."a nd her eyes flickered a moment, a small grin tugging at her lips. "But this will be your choice on how it goes. How would you like to connect with me, Enzo? I am at your disposal so that I may learn more about the man who I am fated to."
Enzo surprised himself. For he was so content he wanted notthing from her. So instead he just squeezed her hand and then released it. "Just lie with me," he whispered.
Raising a single brow, the Saranthian smirked.
"As you say." With a nod, she shifted up her skirts and tossed back her hair. As she lay beside him, her hair fanned out beside her, along with her skirts. She then nestled in against him and hummed once as she smiled. "This symbol..." She began to say, fingers traipsing along the air above a half filled circle.. "It's a symbol of duality, of man and himself, for not all men are as we see them, like each sun is not the same. And beside it, these three lines that twist together show perseverance through unity." She smiled, her hand stroking over the air above his left.arm, the one on the other side of him. "And the bird here, she represents peace."
Enzo watched her draw in the air and he grew fascinated by the symbols she made, they grew golden through his mind's eye as he visualized them. "I think I understand," he said as he raised his opposite hand and drew in the air a drew an hourglass with a dragon entwining around it. "That's the symbol of House Azura, that ruled over Castle Valar for three hundred years and bred generations of kings and queens that stood for ages. The hourglass represents eternity, sandless, and the dragon, knowledge, the greatest power of all."
Pao'orha smiled at him as he drew a symbol in the air before her.
"What of these kings now?"
Enzo smiled wider and poked the air as if making dots. "If they are worthy enough," Enzo said, "They join the gods in the heavens, becoming stars and constellations. If you could see them now, they're the most beautiful stars in the sky."
"So... if you are to become a king, one day, you will become a star?" she thought it over in silence, trying to wrap her head around Enzo's theory and way of life. "For Saranthians, stars are much different to us." She gave a brief chuckle before peering over towards him and scooping up the bowl of paint. Now laying on her belly, she dipped a finger into it and moved forward and painted a star upon his forehead, right inthe center.
"Stars, to us, are the energies of the living, and the dead, and not just those of kings. They are the spirits all around us, the ones we can not see during the day, but watch over us indefinitely."
"Well, I suppose our ideas aren't all that different," Enzo murmured. "If I am to become king...I would not be able to tell if I am worthy enough to join then. But those that are, well, they guide us. Watch over us and help us to lead better lives to one day join them."
Pao smirked, a sparkle to her eyes as she murmured, "I suppose you're right. Perhaps we will find out within our journey? Do not forget, my visions, my dreams are most powerful, and who knows? Perhaps this evening, we will have a powerful dream to guide us to those stars."
Enzo frowned at her a little. "You can dream. But I wish for myself an empty mind tonight. I want no dreams. No prophecy. Just peace."
Pao smiled warmly at his comment.
"Then perhaps I will dream for us both," she said quietly. THen after a moment, she nestled in good against hima nd closed her eyes. "Goodnight, Enzo."
Enzo gave her a half-hearted smile and let her sleep beside him. But somewhere in the night he had dressed and risen, leaving Pao alone in the cabin when he rose to take a piss overboard. The waves were rockier than last night and the ship rolled over them with gentle ease. Thus far at least. After Enzo relieved himself, he tied his pants back up and looked over to the empty crow's nest, where Pao had launched him from it, not too long ago.
It was a suitable refuge, away from the stuffiness of the cabin and the shrew woman that could just as easily kiss him as claw his eyes out and he only wanted a minute to be alone. To meditate at least, center himself, so that he might actually find peace enough to sleep. He leaned over the edge of it slightly, and looked out toward the dark water as the ship came over a particularly high roll.
Something splashed out there and his eyes had a harder time seeing exactly what it was. The ship lifted once more and slammed hard on the water, enough to make spray wash on deck and slather the wood with salt water. Enzo held on tighter as he saw something else move again in the water, it was large and bore the shape of a giant tailfin but too dark to make out more than that.
As soon as he saw the figure in the dark, all was calm again, but the sea remained, gentle and rolling, if not a bit higher in waves than usual. But off in the distance, a storm's thunder purred, and the ship continued to sail onward towards it's destination. But, when a flicker of lighting off on the horizon lit the sky,t he same figure seemed to be disappearing back beneath the waters...
Though the next series of lightning that sparked, revealed nothing at all.
And as the clouds rolled in, masking over the moon, everything became pitch black.
And a moment later, something crashed into the hull.
The entire boat rocked; and Pao awoke with a start. The entire room was black, for the candles had snuffed out as she slept. Groping around into the darkness informed her she was alone as she sat up suddenly, calling out his name- "Enzo!?"
And that's when there was another strike, the entire ship trembling, and water began gushing beneath her door.
OOC: I had the same idea that something was out there in the dark at night D:
SAME IDEA
|8*
or at least, same thought XD
Enzo stared suspiciously out toward the darkness, eyes trying to cut through it, but proving no more effective than the first mate that lingered in the crow's nest above. He clutched the railing with hardened fingers as he looked out on the water. A breath apparent on the wind, a chill rolling along his skin, a moment of calm. A moment too short.
When the ship hit the object, of obvious mass size, Enzo lost his grip on the railing and tumbled backwards, almost falling beneath the railing and into the water when someone caught him just in time. Shouting wailed across the deck of men running out toward the starboard side and the source of the impact. Water swelled over deck as if from a massive wave and crashed through the wood and down toward the lower deck.
Enzo's head was spinning, his eyes trying to focus as he climbed up and tried to keep his feet under him. There was another blew that threw the ship sideways and nearly made him fall off once more if his hands weren't holding onto a railing toward the lower deck. It was then that he heard his name called and Enzo stepped down and burst through the door, even as men rushed out. "PAO!" he called out. "PAO'OHRA!" Enzo held onto the walls and ran back to their cabin as water gushed along the wood and he burst through the door. "Pao! Something hit the ship! And hit it hard!'
[Stop stealing my ideas! *B|]
The moment Enzo came in, Pao'orha looked back at him with wide eyes.
"I know as much as that!" she shouted, but then the ship rocked and clattered through a groan as it rocked heavily to one side; which threw the pair off balance as both Pao'orh and Enzo would find themselves smashed against the wall- their door slamming shut as sea water flsuehd down the steps and hammered into the door and wall, causing the wood to splinter nad crack-
Though the ship hadn't capsized yet, it was teetering close to it as Pao felt her breath being pressed out from her as Enzo remained overtop of her, smashing her against hte wall by sheer force and gravity. Muttering in her own language, she struggled beneath Enzo's weight.
"I saw this all!" she began, marking herself,t hen he. "In my dream!" And as the boat righted itself, rocking the other way, she braced herself against the wall and peered up at him. "The dream showed a terrible beast.."
And by the looks in her eye, something else far worse. And not one to hide the details, she informed him- "And it also showed my death."
When the ship had a chance to right itself, Enzo peeled himself off of Pao and pulled her against him. He barely heard her over the roar of the waves and the creaking of wood and the shouts of men from above. He looked at her with wild eyes when at last he realized what she said and he took her hand, yanking her with him to wade through the water and hold themselves against a larger barrage of waves.
"That you would die now?" he shouted, shoving the door to the top deck open. "HOLD ONTO ME!" Just then the ship was thrust up, nearly vertical before crashing down onto the surface again.
Despite Enzo's instructions, and the wild rocking of the boat, the moment Pao had her barrings,s he tore away from him, and immediately went for her supplies. What candles wre left and chalks on the ground she could salvage she did, and was stuffing them hastily inside the bag, even as foamy waters curdled at her feet.
The splash that came on deck sent water reeling down toward the lower deck and splashed down the hall and into their room once again. Enzo cursed loudly, but he figured she could take care of himself. The creature that was surrounding the ship suddenly reared it's ugly head. A massive leviathan of impossible size, the likes of which even Enzo had never seen. It was serpentine in head, with glassy eyes that reflected the moonlight and appeared golden even in darkness. It howled a screeching cry that made Enzo cover his ears before it splashed the down into the water once more, slamming it's tail against the hull of the ship, sending it reeling toward the other side, almost making it capsize.
With supplies in tow, Pao'orha slipped her satchel over her shoulder and made her way towards the hall. It was dark, though the ghosted light from the storm lit the way when the ship nearly capsized. She held onto the door frame until her knuckles were white, and then the boat rocked back again and dipped up high onto an ocean wave.
Taken advantage of the moment, Pao'orha made her way above deck and began to assess the situation, and paused a moment to sputter out a curse and a breath as she marked a finger across her chest.
"Even though we have not fully connected Enzo, we have to try to fight." And suddenly, a small, jewel carved dagger was shoved into his hand. Pao looked up at him, saying not but a word as another wave crashed into the hull.
"I'm going in," she told him, wrapping her hand around his. "Just keep this dagger close, and think of me and when the time is right; it will happen and the blade will awaken and the beast will be quelled..."
And if not? Well.. it seemed as if Pao'orha was about to become leviathan food, for she wasted not a second, her eyes only lingering for a brief pause before she turned away and rushed towards the edge of the ship, fully prepared to jump clean over board.
Enzo stared at her with wide, wild eyes. He clutched the dagger tightly in one hand and then out at her. He made no move to prevent her, or to question her. Instead he turned around and ducked back underneath, below deck, slushing through the waters and back towards their room. He quickly donned his armor, we though it was and tied Angra'arda around his waist, shoving the dagger into his belt before rushing back up toward the main deck, just as water sloshed up toward him.
Faith was easily tested, time and time again over countless centuries. Her own seemed unshakable, there being not a shred of doubt as the woman with dark hair continued to run towards the edge of the boat that was dipping deeper and deeper into the water. And as the clouds parted and allowed for but a sliver of silver moon light to cut through and sharpen the silhouette of the beast headed their way, it was in that moment she knew she had to act.
Without reserve, the woman leaped into the air, and plunged herself into the waters, swimming clean towards the belly of the beast.
In that moment, Enzo knew he trusted Pao beyond a shadow of a doubt, knowing that whatever it was she needed to do, she would do it. He'd learned not to question her, so when she ran for the ledge and at last dove into the water, he said nothing. He heard the Captain screaming for her as she did so, after screaming for men to lift the sails and ready the cannons. Enzo turned on the man and grabbed at his water-soaked shirt. "Command your men to get closer to the beast. We will kill it," he said.
Enzo knew that even if Pao was eaten, it was a fate she resigned to and it was for the best. With her out of the way, Enzo could deal with the sea serpent that began to surround the ship. Deal with him of his own accord.
It must have been madness that pressed her onward as the Saranthian cut through the cold waters as they raged around her. It was chilling to.the bone, and impossible to.navigate through, but she only had one direction in which to.swim. And the monster hadn't even noticed her, but a speck in the waters as it raised its massive head clean out of the water, its eyes fully upon the ship.
As the sea serpent rose from the waters, eyes honing in on the ship, it twisted around and pulled it's tail up. Then promptly slammed down onto the water and the serpent screeched loudly. What men didn't hold onto their ears were holding on for dear life as the boat was lifted high from the impact. Some were not so lucky and were thrown into the sea.
Enzo cursed and leapt upward, climbing up towards the crow's nest and watching the small dot that glimmered in the moonlight slowly making it's way toward the serpent.
It was when the skies opened and moonlight poured down in glittering silver upon the serpent that she acted. THe serpent would never expect anything to attack him from the waters, and so futile in efforts as Pao'orha's. But she firmly believed that she and Enzo held a connection so fierce, that it could awaken what was unseen int he dreams to bring about unrealized powers...
powers she had never seen, powers, she could only dream-
so when she made it to the serpent's hull, and pierced it's side suddenly with a dagger, she gave a laugh that was swallowed by the sudden growl from the beast. And as the hot blood from the wound began to seep down and coat her arm, the serpent acted swiftly and opened it's jaws wide, and hesitated not to tear after Pao'orha.
And in one snapped motion, the Saranthian was gobbled whole.
"NOOOOOOOO!!" came the wails from the captain as he threw himself at the wheel of the ship. "That monster!" he growled, muscles tensing as he gripped the wooden wheel as his arms shook, as if he were about to rip the entire thing off. "NO! PAO'ORHA!" his voice struck out into the darkness, but naturally, her's would never come back.
And the serpent was hardly finished. With the pesky thorn at his side gone, the creature dove back into the water, only to rise again as it's entire face smashed into the starboard side of the ship.
The ship was not meant to undergo so much stress, and the wood creaked and split in some places. But when the serpent came crashing through the starboard hull, splintering wood and sending men flying out into the sea. What cannons were ready fired and sent the ship reeling back even more. Cannon fire did little more than to distract the beast for a time, as one grazed the side of its scales, but did not directly impact it.
Enzo held onto the crow's nest for dear life, but he remained focus, amidst the screeches of the beast and the wails of the Captain. The serpent became clearer in the moonlight and Enzo gripped onto the powerful sword at his side. He felt it's energy resonating through him in this sudden moment of great peril. But it calmed him, kept him focus and he held onto the pole of the crow's nest, as the ship came reeling back from nearly capsizing once more.
As the ship rolled back in the water, Enzo held his breath, positioning himself just right until suddenly he ran for the ledge of the small box, pushing off of it, and using the momentum of the ship to launch him up and forward through the air. The serpent raised its head up at that time, bursting through the water just as Enzo was coming forth.
The creature saw him coming and opened it's jaws as if to catch him in mid-air. But Angra'arda shone in that sliver of moonlight and Enzo did not fear the terrible teeth the serpent revealed. The katana caught at the edge of it's jaw, slicing through it completely like butter. The beast reeled back in pain, causing the sword to tear through it's neck and down it's belly, slicing it cleanly through. Blood seeped and poured through everywhere and Enzo did not reach the water until the serpent's front belly was split open from jaw to the sea.
It was odd to say how it felt to be eaten alive, but more or less that's what Pao'orha was now suffering. The world around her was choked away, and she, left struggling in a most compromising position. Suffocation, she supposed it was, as she was wriggling and fighting for breath and air, but the leviathans internal grip was intense, and so when Enzo's famed blade cut through the beast like butter, the glint of moonlight was the last thing she saw, as she gave way to a sweet breath of fresh ocean air and then passed out completely, falling into the waters from where she had once been nestled inside the beast's long neck.
Enzo fell into the water, holding his katana in one hand as he saw Pao's form above him on the surface of the water. Moonlight was the only light afforded him as he swam upward, moving toward the surface and pulling her heavy, unconscious body closer to him. "Pao!" he gasped, as he hit the surface, treading water. He was weighed down with his armor, blade, and now her and instead of waiting for a response, he simply swam back toward the ship, dragging her with him.
Men were shouting back and forth, as they were simultaneously dealing with the hole in the hull and trying to find those that were thrown overboard. The captain, ran for the rail and grabbed on when he saw Enzo and Pao in the water. "Pao!" he cried out, paying little heed to Enzo. He dropped a rope down. Once the sword was put back in it's sheathe, Enzo placed Pao on his shoulder and tied the rope around his waist and three men pulled them up.
"Pao!"
She could hear her name being called, but the world around her was still stuck in a milked-blackness, that formed around her in a spiraling, slow pull like spilled ink. Up was down, and left no longer a direction, as things spun slowly and slowly from where she lay.
She had been taken onto the ship, the captain tending to her for as long as he could, while the rest of the men were commanded to salvage the ship. They had little time to waste, as the ship was taking on water fast, and after a time, the Captain knew he had to return to his place amongst his men. Pao'orha still had not stirred, and as she moved within her sleep, her peered over at Enzo.
"I need you to watch her as I tend to my ship."
The concern was evident within his eyes, show casing the care he felt for the Saranthian as his eyes pleading wtih Enzo to keep her comfortable, and to make sure she's alright.
"Just keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't take to fever. Cold water placed on her forehead, and keep the fire stoked so she's well warm. These seas here are unusually cold this time of year and well... we don't need a fortune teller dieing on us." he said with a wistful smile, despite their situation. "It'll only bring us all bad luck."
And despite him trying to lighten the mood, he still felt the pull to be with her as she recovered, but patted Enzo upon the shoulder before he rose to his feet and peered over at his men.
"We were lucky today..." he commented, then peered down once more to Pao's silent form. "I just wish I knew what she was doing. She's lucky to be alive. That creature ate her and if you..." and here he paused to look over at Enzo, looking him square in the eye as he hestitated, then lowered his voice, "If not for you, she'd be dead." He took Enzo's arm and held it in a tight grip. "She owes you her life, as we all do. Just keep her safe and keep watch."
And with a sniff, he moved away to take his place back with his men.
Enzo felt no sorrow for the Captain and his misplaced sentiment. In fact, he was still recovering from the adrenaline of the attack. He said nothing to the Captain as he spoke and felt a small degree of disdain when his hand came onto his arm. Thankfully his words fell on deaf ears and soon he left the room where they'd taken Pao'ohra in order for her to fully recover. Enzo wiped at his arm from the touch of the Captain and turned his eyes back to the unconscious woman lying on the old cot.
Though they had moved her to some place warm, they'd done little to actually warm her and Enzo knew how freezing the water's had been. He himself had changed out of his heavy armor and set it aside, putting on fresh, warm clothes that had somehow been saved from being completely washed away or soaked. He stood removed her wet clothing from her body and tossed it aside, then moved a blanket over her, gently drying her some more and turning it over to wrap her in it. He didn't move her harshly and was almost artistic in his gentility, and moved to pull her hair out from underneath her head, letting it hang out from the edge of the cot, and rolled a cloth underneath her neck to support her neck.
He did as the Captain asked, though not because he asked him. The fire wouldn't last long on a water-logged ship, but he did it anyway for what it was worth. At last the flames were warm enough to swell the entire room and Enzo sat beside her, watching her for a time. Thoughts rushed through his mind, confusion, irritation, and little sorrow. He didn't understand the thoughts of the fortune teller, what sense there was to be found in her actions. He hadn't known her for very long, so it wasn't much time to grow attached to her in any way. He wondered what it was exactly she was thinking when she jumped off the edge of the ship, or what exactly she intended to do with the dagger she'd given him. He looked down at his belt and saw it still clung there, though it had been useless in the battle. Enzo knew the futility of such thoughts. He could smother her here and now and that would be the end of this, but common sense told him he would have no chance in finding his enemy if he did. He supposed he'd just have to suffer her foolishness further.
So instead of killing her, Enzo took ink he found in the room and a brush and splayed her arms elbows in so that her palms were facing up, and began to softly paint symbols on her flesh, symbols of healing and meditation from his homeland, one of the few things he'd taken with him in his long and arduous journey. He whispered softly as he painted circles and symbols on the joints above her elbows, her wrists, her throat and forehead. Though he bore no magic to speak of, not in the sense of spells and tomes, he focused on her breathing and allowed his to become in tune with it. He placed both of his palms on either side of her temples and focused on pouring his energy into her, letting her feel his pulse, just as he felt hers, whispering words in his native tongue, to accelerate her rest and healing.
The moment was.empty. Even her dreams were empty, and she, a victim to their endless void. Though their was a fire, her body remained cold as eyes and her breath, though already slowed, became even more relaxed. That was.until the ink was painted on her flesh and her eyes began to move beneath their lids and her mind began to race and she was seeing too many dreams that her mind and body were suddenly cast into a fever, and she began to murmur incomprehensible words in her native tongue.
Enzo took the brush and promptly pained a dark line across her lips, letting her speak as she did, not listening her incomprehensible foolishness. Still he said nothing and focused even more on pressing his energy in her, perhaps in an effort to calm her, or still her, though perhaps even that would be futile.
As his energies.continued to pour into her, Pao'orha continued to sweat and was soon moving restlessly beneath him, her chest arching as her.voice became louder in her ramblings as she writhed at the weight of his connection. And then it happened and she awakened, a bare foot promptly kicking him in the gut as her limbs pinwheeled around her in a panic. Then she shot up suddenly in her.cot, her eyes wide and her thick lips trembling as tears streamed down her face. She was breathing heavily, sweat slicking her skin as she marked herself across her chest with her fingers as her eyes settled back to reality, but even then, she was shaking as more tears and snot ran down her face, glistening off the fire light.
It took her a.moment for her eyes to recognize him.
"Enzo?" She finally spoke, her teeth then chattering from.the cold as she shivered all over.
[How can she kick him if he's standing away from her legs by her head?]
Enzo sat back away from her watching her regain herself with silent eyes and he sat on a stool in a corner of the room. "Yes," he answered simply. Her kick was light did little to him save to remind him she was always out of mind.
Ooc: it was a very.high kick? Shhh! Don't question it!
------
His flat words did little to.ground her as she furrowed her brows and sat up, blood trickling down from her nose.
"Where are we? What happened, Enzo?" For she was in too much shock to recall.
Enzo massaged his own hands and looked down at the floor. "Out. Asleep. I pulled you from the water's after freeing you from the imprisonment of the sea serpent. Your plan, whatever it was, didn't work. But you are alive now, a little scraped up. But alive."
The Saranthian blinked. She didn't understand what he said, and her expression clearly made it noteable. Glancing around, however, had her remembering they were onboard the ship, and only then did she begin to recall that night where the sea tried to gobble their ship whole.. and a beast, quite unexpectedly, showed up much earlier than anticipated in her dreams. At this realization, she came back to what he had said, and her stomach went hollow.
She wrung her hands now and looked around at everything but him.
"Then perhaps I was mistaken," she said quietly, her eyes finally settling on the fire. "Sometimes these dreams are hard to read."
"Perhaps you were, but it is of little consequence now," Enzo replied as he moved to stand beside her. he pointed to the ink he'd smeared on her arm and her lips. "I killed the beast, without the dagger, split it from jaw to guts. The men are safe and so are you. Are you...are you all right?"
For a long while, she stared at the markings on her body, her mind swimming with the bubbling memories of dreams. For some reason the ink made her remember something, but it was difficult to grope back into her memories as she let out a.frustrated sigh.
"So the beast is dead...".she said, not.bothering to lift her gaze.
"Yes, madame," Enzo said. He moved back to the fire and stoked the flames that were dying low. He just stared into the fire, admiring it's craftsmanship for being on a ship in the middle of the ocean, a vessel made entirely of wood. The ashes collected on the guard had been recently cleaned when it was lit up again. It filled the room and for the moment Enzo basked in the heat.
The silence was endless, for Pao's tongue had become lame. So many questions bubbled to the surface, so many things she could not grasp. And this was only the beginning of their journey together and for the first time in her life, Pao'orha was suffering with doubt.
Enzo did not expect a thank you, not from someone like Pao'orha. But he didn't know what more there was to say. He moved back to the stool he sat upon once and began to clean up the ink mess he'd left beside her, putting the brush away. "I am glad you're alive," he finally said, breaking the silence.
"Yes," Pao said after a time. "But it does beg many questions." Rising off the floor, she found herself unstable on her legs and fell back over. Cursing, she tried to rise again.
"Grab the cot," Enzo said and used his foot to push the light piece of furniture back in her direction. When and if she found her feet, Enzo looked at her quizzically. "What kind of questions? I'm sure many regarding our connection. Or the fact that you didn't die."
It took her a moment, but she was able to at least steady herself, and it was about that time Enzo posed his questions. Tiredly, she looked up at him with a frown.
"Yes... I'll.. have to look at the stars for answers." And clearly, now was as good a time as any! And she moved to walk again, she let out a noise and suddenly found herself crashing into Enzo.
Enzo felt her body collide with his and suddenly the breath was knocked out of him when she slammed him against the wall. "Pao!" he cried out. "Are you all right?" he said, grabbing her and supporting her. He placed her on the cot and stepped aside. "Pao!"
It was then she suddenly.gripped onto her.arms, gritting her teeth and.seething, as if.the part of her.arm she held.was.burning her, as I'd the marks painted in ink on her flesh was burning her as she began to rant out curses in her native tongue.
"Son of a bitch," Enzo cursed as he took the water in the bowl with the washcloth and dabbed it before promptly wiping the ink off of her.
As the wash clothe diluted the inks, one particular portion across her chest began to coil and move all on it's own. The shape it took looked serpent like, and evil, and suddenly moved across the waters that were soaking her skin from Enzo's rag.
The very motion of this 'ink' turning alive had Pao'orha gasping as she doubled over, clutching at her chest as the ink seemed to bite suddenly into her hand. She let out a cry and looked down at her hand, just as the inky serpent faded, leaving two black holes in her hand; and suddenly she felt herself growing feverish, herbody trembling as her legs gave out again and she fell into Enzo's side.
She was barely able to mutter out a few words in her tongue, before she coughed and croaked as her eyes moved around wildly.
"The... the symbols..." she began to say, then went off into more curses in her native tongue at the sudden sharp pain she was experiencing. "What... what did you paint on me, Enzo?"
Was he trying to curse her? Or... was something darker at play?
Enzo couldn't understand what was happening, but he clutched onto her all the while he saw her react to an unknown poison. "Meditation symbols, to help center yourself, encourage healing. I don't know what could possibly be happening! Perhaps it is contrasting your own energy, trying to force it back into order, and your body is fighting it," Enzo spat.
Pao was about ready to chew Enzo out when another jolt of pain consumed her. Crying out, she doubled over and clutched fiercely to his hand, her heart racing inside her body and her mind momentarily frozen from pain.
Enzo did the only thing he knew how to do and he clutched onto her, despite her cursing and gripped her hands onto both of his. "Focus on me and breathe," he said, gripping her palms with his, face to face. "Push the pain away. Breathe!"
Pao, over.come by pain, was shaking fiercely as she tried to fight off the pain that writhed within her. And once she was able to breath, she.began to chew him out in her native tongue.before spitting on his face.
"You try to breath when your body feels on fire!" She finally.managed to hiss, expelling a great deal of energy to.do so as she collapsed against him, her legs becoming useless again.
Enzo was as still as a statue and did not move, despite taking the spit to the face. He kept her palms close to his and felt the fire that was taking over her body. She would collapse to the ground, but Enzo only held onto her hands, like a vice grip. He pulled her pain into him, and tried to return his adrenaline into her, siphoning her pain into him.
Like a ghost, the poison seemed to.lift off her body in a black thread of smoke. It took on a serpentile shape and bared its fangs at Enzo before leaping forward in attempts to bite his wrist. But Pao, despite being in her state of.stress, suddenly threw her weight into Enzo's hip, knocking him back and thus knocking him from the inky figure's bite. It 's jaws snapped into the thin air, the force alone dispelling the creature into smoke. Once the snake like thing was gone, Pao gave a tired smile and sigh, whispering but one word on her native tongue before passing out against his shoulder, the remains of her fever fading away.
Enzo didn't understand what was going on, nor had he seen the serpent that had attempted to bite him. He turned his head toward Pao when she landed on him and he immediately pushed her off him. "Pao! What the hell was that!? PAO!"
It was too late, she was already gone, so.his attempts.were futile. And... It would be.sometime before she'd wake up after something like that.
Enzo tried everything, from pinches, to slaps, to punches and spitting in her face. He even farted into her nostrils and still nothing. It was only her heartbeat that reminded him she was still alive as he rested her in her cot and he took the water he used to dab on her forehead and dumped it all over her chest. He had plenty of choice words for her. Too bad she wasn't awake to hear any of them.
And nothing made her wake, not even the waters as it plastered her clothing, making it translucent as it clung to her skin. But a moment later the captain returned, inquiring, "How is she?" Since by now, the ship was in as good an order as any.
"She is well," Enzo said simply, stiffening his back when the captain entered the cabin. "How is the ship? Is it steady?" Enzo remained by Pao's side and just kept his eyes narrowed upon the captain.
Looking from Pao to Enzo, the Captain nodded.
"Yes, we're even back on course," he said.with a frown as he noted, "Is Pao ok? It seems her clothes have become slicked with sweat..." And he feared for her if she was feverish, for out here on the ocean, they lacked certain supplies.
"No!" Enzo was quick to counter. "It's just water. I threw it on her when I thought she was faking. She's just asleep... I guess water doesn't wake her up. She's fine; her fever is gone," he explained. He grabbed the captain's hand to feel her forehead. "See?" Then promptly let him go.
The captain frowned, not only by their situation but by Enzo's antics.
"At least she is not with fever," he.remarked softly, his gaze troubled as he furrowed his.brow. Then he glanced over at Enzo with a sigh. "Come day light we'll be nearing our mark..."
"Good," Enzo said, speaking solemnly. "I will stay with her, still. Please tend to the men and wounded that fell from the boat. Pao will be fine, I promise."
The captain hesitated before nodding.
"See to it that she mends fast." And turning away, he stared at the floor of.the.cabin for but a moment before stepping out and closing the door.
Enzo narrowed his eye at the door and he moved closer to Pao, looking at her for a moment and taking her hand. "Wake up Pao," whispered, though it was but a faint, useless hope.
He might as well have been talking to a dead woman, for well into the morning she would sleep. And only then did she make any.sort of noise, tossing and turning as she murmured softly in a state of half sleep.
In a way he wished she were dead, at least then he wouldn't feel as if the walls were closing in on him. Enzo had fallen asleep at the edge of the cot, his head resting on the cloth when she finally made noises on her own, but he did not stir.
When she awoken, she moved like a ghost- not making a single noise but painting the entire room in symbols until her fingers were raw and her body- almost entirely blue by it's coloring. And then once she was done,s he moved to the surface of the ship and rested near the edge of it, marking her chest and muttering constantly a silent stream of chants and prayers for their destined road still yet to come.
"Pao?" but Enzo's words would go unanswered as he awoke from his head on the cot. His body was sore from the position of laying on his arms, but it soon passed and he collected his things from the room where the fortune teller had recovered. Enzo sat up and vacated the room, after strapping his sword to his hip and heading toward the upper deck. The ship groaned with the motion of waves and ached from all it had endured the previous night. Finding her on deck, he stood behind her and frowned a little, watching her in silence for a moment before he found the bravery to speak. "What are you thinking?" he asked.
By the time Enzo had shown up, creases were worn beneath her eyes and her eyes, glossed over. She appeared alot more grey than usual, even as her skin was vibrant in it's paint. And although she was quiet after he spoke, the winds rustled through her hair and clothes.
"How do you think it was we survived last night?" she asked after a time, not looking back at him and fingering her necklace.
Enzo frowned and looked out to the water. "I saved you. I killed it. I pulled you from the waters!" He couldn't quite understand her tone or what she meant. "I couldn't see you die or drown."
Her hands continued to play with her necklace, thumb rolling around the ornate charms that dangled off of it but then she halted at his tone. She wasn't sure what she was expecting him to say, but she supposed his practical response best suited him, though that wasn't entirely what she asked.
"Perhaps there are greater powers at work here.." Pao mused solemnly. After all, if she wasn't meant to die now... was her dreams a sign for something else that was to come? Then, thinking back to it she turned to Enzo.
"Are you sure the creature is dead?"
She didn't know why.. but she had this inclination.. the creature might be back.
Enzo frowned a little at her questioning but as his eyes cast out toward the waters, taking in the early morning glint of light on its surface he gave a thoughtful breath and shook his head. "No, I do not believe it is dead, completely. This world is still strange to me. Foreign, and I know, if I trust my intuition as much as I trust you, I cannot take anything for granted. You teach me to be prepared, even when I cannot be. And if it is not dead as I think it is, then I surrender myself completely to you and your judgment, Pao. In a way I have not before. I think what you were hoping for last night didn't happen because I didn't trust you, because we have not completely linked as we should have. I...I think I understand now. Maybe not fully, but I'm trying, and I hope that is a start for you."
Keeping her eyes averted, her.thumb continued to stroke her.necklace as she looked back to the sea. She felt nothing here, not even an inclination or stirring of what she had felt before.
"Trust comes at.great.costs." she spoke softly. Then she lifted a.hand to her head and groaned.
"Ha-eesh, the storm still rages. I'll be below deck if you need me." And without a second word, she walked away.
And at the sound of her footsteps, Enzo knew he'd done wrong, most of everything that had happened. Most of all that had happened had been because he'd refused to connect with her, had refused to give of himself to anything she done in order to bring them as one. He watched the water, the way the sun danced on the surface of it and frowned deeply. But he knew he couldn't let it end there...or could it? Was this all folly to continue? Would she lead him any closer to the head of Matakopas? What did it matter if they couldn't even survive each other?
Suddenly he turned around a few minutes after she had vanished below deck. They would connect, perhaps not by her methods. But it was worth the effort to at least try - for really what else was there to do? He knew not of chalk and spitting and swallowing rocks, but he would attempt to connect from the only way he knew how. And she would cooperate. Whether she liked it or not.
Below deck, she stared at the painted walls. But this time she saw..nothing. this time, she felt not a soul. Growing frustrated, she upturned her paints and broke up her chalks before throwing herself into a cot face first and becoming still. Hoping sleep would take her... That her dreams would at least give her a sign.
The sign came as a knock and it was Enzo who opened the door and found Pao face down in the cot. He didn't say anything as he entered, closing the door softly behind him. He set his gear aside for the moment. "Pao'ohra Salandra," he said, addressing her by her full name. "Stand up. If you don't stand I'll yank you out of that bed so fast, you'll think you're still back on land." He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and cracked his knuckles. "Do you know the art of battle? True battle? We're going to spar, you and I. One on one. Perhaps we cannot connect with your method. But we will connect with mine. I will teach you how to properly fight. Not with spit or rocks, but with dexterity and mettle. Now stand!"
Ignoring him, Pao continued to.keep her face buried in the cot. Now was.not.the.time for his jokes!
For her silence, Enzo made good on his promise and promptly yanked her from the cot and set her against the wall. "Stay!" he growled. "Now c'mon, hit me for all the things I've done to make you angry. Now's your chance."
Pao'orha merely stared back at him, angered by his actions, angered by his words, and angered his face was right infront of hers. But instead of slapping him, she simply spat in his face and went on to cuss him out in her native tongue.
"You understand nothing of connection, Enzo," she said angrily and shoved him away. "This journey was for naught. Just leave it alone and we'll return to Canador with the rest of the crew."
"No!" he growled at her, wiping off her spit, and spitting back at her in turn. "You're pathetic. You give up so easily after one failed attempt. But you're just reverting back to the same behavior that drives us apart, Pao. You don't listen to anyone but yourself, but you will listen to my fists. Besides, we've come too far to turn back now. I will not give up. And I won't let you give up either. Now, we will learn to connect through a spar. The room is not big enough, but that will force us to improvise." Enzo reached forward and flicked her forehead.
Growing angrier with each word, it was the flick to her forehead that was the straw that broke the camel's back, and she hit him- smacked really... hard, right across his cheek and stepped clean into his face and began to chew him out in her native tongue, then in common.
"I was wrong, Enzo! It was hard enough for me to come to this conclusion but the connection we had earlier is broken! It's gone! And no amount of fighting or attempts can just bring that back!" And she threw her hands up in a fit of anger and spit more words out in native before returning to common to remind him, "Only a fool would prod a horse who does not move, lest he get kicked in the head and winds up dead."
"It didn't work because we didn't fully connect. We didn't have a chance from the beginning. But if the serpent is not dead we will need to connect before we return to Canador! If not we won't even have a chance," Enzo reached forward and flicked her forehead once more and immediatley leaping back to dodge any retribution.
Pao cursed and swatted at his hand, baring her teeth like an angered animal.
"Ha-sheesh! Stop touching me, Enzo, and while you're at it, stop speaking as well. You know nothing of fate. You don't even believe in my dreams!" ANd her voice became more angered as she threw another fist at him. He made her so angry! But one had to wonder.. who was the one not believing in dreams?
"Because you force it on me," Enzo growled. "How can I believe when you force me to eat rocks and spit at my face all the time!? I should have left you to be eaten, but I didn't! I pulled you from the water! I saved your life. TWICE!" His hand came up and smacked her forehead once more.
His smack drew her dark hair into her face, it now, a disheveled mess as she bared her teeth, still, like an animal.
"You should have let me then, Enzo! This connection has already broke! It can not be fixed!" and she angrily smacked him back.
"Companions don't leave each other behind! They take care of one another because no one else will!" Enzo ducked beneath her smack and spun around her, gauging her for another blow. His right hand reached in and flicked at her shoulder. "Why must you always fight me on this? If it is not your way, it is no way! That is why we failed! Not because our apparent 'lack of connection.'"
"Stop that!" Pao hissed, attempting to slap his hand away. "And do not tell me anything about connections, Enzo! You listen to me about as well as I listen to you!" and to make her point, she spat on his foot.
"Only because how could I listen to you when you're too stubborn to listen to any advice," Enzo muttered. Finally he stopped and stepped away from her. "Perhaps you're right then. And this is all just a waste of my time. Meanwhile my enemy gets farther and farther away." He shook his head and sighed. "You give up so easily. I just feel sorry for you."
And at that, Pao had enough-and grabbed up her clay pot, and smashed it over his head.
"Do NOT worry about your enemy out there, Enzo! You now have an enemy in here!"a nd with an angered stamp of her foot she pointed to the door, "Get out!"
At the blow she delivered to his head, Enzo swiftly turned in blind rage and nearly planted a fist into Pao's face. But he stopped just inches from her and he just grimaced at her. "Why did you take me on this fruitless journey? Why did you lie to me and lead me on?"
Upset, Pao shouted back into his face, "I did not lie to you! Things have changed, fate has changed! The whole world is full of change, Enzo! But it's too late for us now! And with the connection broken, there is nothing we can do!" ANd she kept her simmering gaze upon his. "This is the end of our dreams, Enzo. The story stops here, and the visions will cease."
Though she couldn't help but wonder what will become of the monster she had seen on this fated journey...
and while she worried about the world opening up and trying to gobble life itself whole...
Enzo seemed to have his own problems he worried about and focused on, instead.
"We have different fates, Enzo. Don't you see? Maybe I was wrong, maybe I was right, but all I can tell you right now is we are to walk separate paths." And she lowered her gaze to the floor. "For I can not longer feel you, and the power of fore sight is lost."
She moved away from him and got ot her knees, beginning t gather up her things.
"I'll tell the Captain I'll be returning with them to Canador. You can do as you wish."
Enzo paused and gave a resigned sigh. "Perhaps you are right, Pao. And we are both to blame if the world is eaten up by the monsters of your dreams. I will find my enemy and slay him as is my destiny. I am sorry I disappointed you. I am sorry I failed your dream." Enzo left her then in the confines of her room, in its emptiness and went up on deck to tell the Captain to turn back.
But as he did so, he found it strange, for the ship seemed empty. As if the entire crew suddenly vanished. Enzo stared out to the waters, which seem calmed and quiet for now and searched one more time for anyone, but not a soul could be found. "Pao..." he called. "PAO!"
Grateful for the reprieve, Pao'orha settled back down and focused on packing her things. The entire time she was grumbling about Enzo and his stupidity and arrogance, when suddenly her room grew dark and she sat up with a blink.
"Enzo?" she said, and heard the door behind her creak open, then shut. But still, she saw no figure in the dark. Rising off the ground, but not without a weapon, Pao'orha snuck a blade up her arm ad tried to read into the dark...
But out there- there was still nothing.
"Enzo, if this is your idea of connecting I already told you-"
and that's when it moved-
Something fast and quick. The blade was out of her hand in minutes and a second later- already plunged deep within her gut. Her eyes widened as she choked on a breath, and suddenly dropped to the floor.
He didn't know what was going on, but it must have been the work of a darker magic. His heart leapt into his throat as panic began to set in. And when Pao did not respond to his calls, he rushed belowdeck and back into their room. The darkness abated long enough for Enzo to see Pao's still and bleeding form.
"Pao!" he cried and immediately knelt beside her. He pulled her up into his arms and pulled her from the confines of the room and up above.
The second the sea air hit her she shot up in his arms. Her eyes were wild, glowing in color as she raised up the bloody dagger in her hand, and moved to strike Enzo on the shoulder with a hiss.
He dropped her hard on the ground when the blade came at him, slashing him across the arm. "What the hell!? What are you doing!? Pao! You're hurt! And something happened to the crew, but I don't know what!"
Pao dropped to the ground hard, but it didn't stop her from getting back up and coming for him again. Her face was hidden, so her wild, glowing eyes could not be seen- but this time,t he dagger was aiming for his heart.
"You will die, Enzo.." hissed a familiar voice mixed with hers from her throat. "And I will be your down fall."
"Gods!" Enzo breathed, recognizing the voice and nearly stopping dead in his tracks. But that move would prove fatal and he narrowly dodged it. The dagger tore the cloth of his shirt and nearly cut his ribs. "MATAKOPAS!" He growled and tackled Pao to the ground, trying to pry the blade from her hand, but her body was ridiculously strong. "Release her!"
Matakopas simply laughed, his voice cracking even through the feminine tongue as he jerked his hand away, gaining freedom for the moment.
"Why would it matter? Her body was too easy of a vessel for me to take over. What with your... connection. But oh, did you not realize it since the pair of you were fighting? Pao'orha isn't as smoke and mirrors as you might think... and with your connection to her, and mine to you... she was just too easy of a target. Especially with how mad she had become...."
And 'he' moved to try to slash the knife across Enzo's eyes.
"And now I can easily use that doubt and rage against you! Killing you with your only companion!"
And he laughed as he slashed again. "Oh wait, that's right, you two are no longer companions!" And he cackled again and slashed the dagger lower.
Enzo's eyes grew wide at Matakopas' voice, his words biting into more than his mind, but into his very soul and all the wrong he'd done Pao came rushing at him in that moment. His mind was somewhere else and when the blade came slashing down across his belly, tearing his shirt open and slashing at his abdomen, only then did he come back to Earth. He rolled off of Pao, watching his enemy scurry after him.
"Matakopas! You will release her! You will go back to the hole whence you came!" Enzo drew the dagger that he'd kept on his belt. The very one that Pao had given him to slay the serpent but had failed to activate. He parried and dodged where he could. But his possession of the fortune teller made his opponent inhumanly powerful. Enzo focused, feeling his energy stem into the blade. While it was not the divine energy of the katana, but something else brought about by a mutual distress. He felt his eyes grow hot as did the dagger in his hand as he suddenly lunged forth.
"Matakopas! I cast you out!" he cried out as he plunged the dagger keep into Pao's shoulder, and the dagger immediately emitted a powerful energy that pulsated through Pao's body. Matakopas emitted a terrifying scream as his essence was torn out of Pao's body and he laid exhausted on the deck of the ship. But it seemed his agony would be short-lived before Enzo could overtake him. The Magecrafter climbed to his feet and ran for the edge of the ship, dissipating into thin air as if he were never there.
A moment later, Pao let out a groan. Blood was all over her, and she couldn't comprehend just what had happened. But catching something almost familiar, she murmured, "Enzo?" her voice was barely a croak.
Enzo's eyes had been glaring out toward the water, where Matakopas had vanished, tears glistening from his eyes though he didn't realize it. He breathed heard, covered in blood, some of it his own. But when he heard his name, he turned to Pao lying nearly dormant on the deck and he gasped, surprised she was still alive. There was little to tend to her with on the ship, but he would have to make do.
"Pao! You're alive," he breathed as he pulled her up against him. He didn't question it, he just moved as quickly as he could, tearing off the useless sleeves of his shirt and using them as a tourniquet around her shoulder where she bled and turned her over, finding the wound in her back. "Gods, Pao!" he muttered as he held his hand against it, trying to put pressure on it.
She wasn't sure what was going on when Enzo was beside her, a hand to her back.
"Enzo... something happened.."S he said, hand shaking as it groped around seeking his. "I.. I had vision, a darkness in the light. It was terrible. It snuffed out all the light from me."
And she blinked, a few tears rolling down her cheeks as she peered up at him.
"Yet here I am. I was.... spared." Her eyes tried to read his as her mind was still in a frenzy. "The darkness spoke to me. He said, next time he'd see us. He'd bring a promise of death."
Then her hands shot to ehr throat. "And he tried to kill me-but here I woke up and.. HA-SHEESH!" she winced and doubled over from her wound. Panting, she peered up an dlooked over at her shoulder.
"I've been... cut?" she blinked, not certain what to make of it.
"He nearly killed you and myself," Enzo breathed, wiping the blood from her with what remained from the cloth of his shirt. "But you're all right now. You're safe. I-I...I had to cut you to take him out of you. I mean your dagger, the one you gave me, I used it to cast him out. It emitted a strange glow, a power unlike anything I've ever felt. I didn't think it would work, but it did! At least for a moment. Gods, Pao. You're bleeding so much."
Pao'orha stared at him for a good long while. At first it didn't seem his words were registering, but hten a smile slowly crept across her lips.
"So the connection did work."
And despite her smile, her eyes became half lidded, and suddenly, she collapsed into his arms.
Enzo couldn't believe it himself. That there had been something that resided between them after all and he couldn't help but grin despite himself. He took her collapsed body and took her down toward the captain's bed, laying here there in the comfortable cot and now took it upon himself to try and steer the ship, but to little avail. He was but one man on a vessel designed to be manned by at least ten men or more. And now that they were the only souls on the ship, Enzo's poor work did little to steer the ship straight.
All he could do was pull up the sails as the wind calmed and let the current of the sea drift the ship along its course, unknown if they were indeed on route to the destination they'd set forth from the beginning of this journey. At long last, Enzo retired below deck, or what remained of it and took some food for himself and Pao in the Captain's quarters and ate quietly beside her, contemplating the events that compounded before then.
It was hours later before Pao stirred, her voice soft as she murmured and rolled from her left side to the right from where she laid upon the bed. She noted the lamp light int he cabin- and the fact she was no longer in her room before she let her eyes open more.
"Enzo?" What was he doing int he captain's room with her?
[Pao kind of has like a tiny brain huh? She probably can't remember if she wiped her butt or not.]
Enzo peered up at the ditzy fortune teller and dipped his bread in the hot stew as he looked at her. He smiled lightly and took a bite, slurping a little. "It is I," he replied. "How are you feeling? You took quite a loss of blood there. There's food here if you're hungry."
Pao frowned at this and winced as she recalled the memories.
"Haaaaaaaaasheeeeeeeeeeeesh,"s he said, motioning with a hand as if to push away the memories. She wrinkled her nose. "Do not remind me, Enzo. I still feel dreadful all over from it." And she sat up from the bed adn shivered.
"Here, bring to me soup and bread."
When she was level in the bed, Enzo took the dinner tray with the bread and soup on it, and laid it across her lap carefully, handing her the wooden spoon. "Here, just eat what you can," he said softly. He turned toward her arm and carefully removed the clothe until he saw the wound and sucked air through his teeth a little.
Pao'orha was furiously eating her food when she noted Enzo's reaction and she swatted at him.
"What you see? Wounds from battle, ya?" She fluffed her dark hair from her shoulder. "It is just all part of the journey. We are, as they say, lucky to be alive." And she stuffed her mouth full of bread.
"I wasn't looking at anything at all," Enzo said with a smirk on his lips as she ate like a starved man. He peered at her from the corner of his eye and he snickered as he finished eating his own bowl.
Pao just shot him a look, and when she had her fill, she sat back with a sigh.
"Ha-sheeesh!" And she draped a hand across her forehead. "It feels as if I hadn't eaten in days!"
"Then be thankful for every bite. I don't know how long the food on this ship will last. I don't know where we're going, where we are, of when our next meal might be. Everyone on this ship is gone," Enzo replied. He set aside his own meal and waited for her to be done next.
It was at his statement, the Saranthian sat up suddenly in her bed.
"No one on the ship!?" And she suddenly tore out of the bed and made her way for the hall. She had to see this for herself! But her legs were still weak, and she stumbled as she went, but eventually she took in the quiet ship in horror.
Clutching onto a nearby wall, she felt her eyes waver.
"It has already begun..."
"Pao!" Enzo cried out as he followed after her stumbling form. When she caught herself against the wall, he stayed behind her however and peered at her curiously. "What's begun? The end?" The ship lurched and rolled along it's current, wood creaking and Enzo could hear the heavy pounding of his heart.
Pao remained still, eyes flickering once here or there as she moved to the top of the ship, looking out at the waters in fear.
"Yes.."s he breathed, a hand now clutching a necklace over her breast. "The end of the world.."
ANd as she spoke it, there, the mists from the dark ocean parted- and a roaring waterfall signifying the end of the world appeared before them- and she felt no greater fear than in that moment as she swallowed the lump within her throat.
"The end has begun."
"Gods above and below," Enzo breathed as the mists parted slightly. But it was just enough to see the waterfall, and they were sailing right toward the edge. "We must leave this ship. Abandon it before all is lost. Pao! I believe you now, it's not too late. We can survive. Are you with me?" he asked, holding his hand out to her.
Pao'orha continued to stare at the waters, muttering soft prayers beneath her breath. Yet she ignored the hand, even as she replied, "I do trust you, Enzo. We have the connection."
Perhaps all was not lost?
But instead of taking his hand- she walked closer towards the edge of the ship, seemingly mesmerized by the falling waters that could very well take them to their doom. Yet she was unphased by it before she eventually did take his hand.
"The waterfalls will take us to where we need to go.." And she turned to him now and said. "We either go down with the ship, or risk swimming. I, for one, would rather trust myself on this boat, ya?" seh said, giving him a grin. "Do you trust me, Enzo?" she said. "Together, I think we can survive this fall off the end of the world."
The bodyguard peered at her hand and took a breath and the feel of the wood lurching underneath them did not sound good. With the ship not being manned, it was likely it would not survive the great water fall that they sailed towards. Enzo took a deep breath once more and reached for her hand, gripping it tightly within his larger palm. "I do," he said with an affirmative nod. "But I'm not leaving without my sword." And departed down toward their quarters where he had left them and re-equipped his gear before appearing back on the main deck.
Pao nodded when he left her side to fetch his gear. Pao already had all she needed on her person (or what was left of it) and clung to the pouch around her side as she looked at the man who approached her.
"Are you ready?" she asked, extended her hand for him to take. "I can already feel the mists from the fall.." and the roar of the falls was almost deafening, she had to practically shout to get him to hear here as her dark hair whipped wildly in the winds.
Enzo gripped her hand tightly in his as the ship began to near the falls. "I'm ready!" he nodded to her. His own hair was disheveled and dirty and whipping about as spray and water began to wash aboard deck. The ship lurched and the wood groaned as it headed forth. Enzo peered down at Pao and in that moment, he had no inhibitions and he leaned down suddenly and sealed his lips over hers, kissing her hard as the ship rushed ever closer to the edge of the fall.
The moment their lips connected, the ship was in a freefall- and so were they. The moment was timeless as mists and air overtook them, ripping through their bodies as they were tossed violently into the void.
The end of the world proved to be just that, where tall falls of epic proportions cast the pair into an unknown- and it seemed like an eternity before the two would crash into the dark waters and become swallowed- whole.
Who knew what had become of the ship, or even the rest of the world as the ancient waters spit the pair out against a lush and green shoreline that all but consumed the black sand beaches. It was here the pair lay, their faces in mud and sand, and their bodies glowing softly with an other worldly glow, but before either could awaken, the power that encased them faded and they were left alone in this new world of the Ancient's- where to their back was a wall of water so epic, it appeared as a great mountain, yet before them lay a valley so lush and green with tall, square like mountains that were compeltely flat on top with pencil thin waterfalls gushing off their over mile tall sides. It was a sight to behold, and as Pao'orha was awakening from the marshes, she lifted her head and found herself staring in awe.
"Enzo, Enzo Azura, wake up!" she said, shaking his form none too gently as she brushed her dark wet hair away from her eyes. And she looked at him, her own blue-green eye sparkling as she spoke in her own native tongue, then one he'd recognize as his own. "We have made it! We have made it to the Ancient Lands past the end of the world!"
Enzo awoke with a splitting headache when his eyes caught the light after feeling like he was swimming in a swirling darkness. Water sprayed up against their sides and he coughed up water and spat sand as he turned around and used his sword to help proper him up and wiped water and sand from his eyes. "The... the end of the world?" he breathed, unable to believe it himself. He had seen many places, many thing he couldn't determine whether they were real or not and when he turned his face back to Pao's it was one of sheer amazement.
"Where do we go now?" he breathed. "This looks so vast. Beyond anything I could have imagined."
Pao was so taken by the wonder of this place, that a child-like sparkle of excitement could be seen within her eye, and she wore a smile that could not be erased. Excitement tickled her as she took few steps forward, and at his question,s he pointed triumphantly to the series of tall, square like mountains before them.
"To the tops of the Devil's Mound. It is there what we seek from my dreams lays hidden, and it is there the great beast will awaken, and try to swallow the world."
Though despite the vision seeming horrifying, Pao'rha seemed all but deterred and infact, appeared quite thrilled as she continued making her way through the tall foilage, her eyes never leaving the misted tops of the mountains as birds fluttered beside their peaks.
The tall peaks seemed leagues away, so far away that it might take them days, perhaps even weeks to reach if they planned it right. Enzo, for once, was not in any particular hurry, to rush to the 'great beast' they were to awake. And instead he listened to the rising hackles on the back of his neck as he felt as if they were being watched, and he knew his intuitions to be truer than he wanted them to be.
"How long?" he questioned out of habit. "Do you think it would take to reach those peaks?"
"However long it takes us," she answered simply as she gave him a toothy grin. "Come,"s he offered out her hand. "Let us make haste to see what there is to see in this new land, Enzo, for it is not every day any can find the end of the world, ya?"
Enzo did not believe it was the literal end of the world. For this entire realm was new and strange to him and his curiosity was only lit aflame - as was his caution. He did not voice his worries, he would do what only came natural to him and he would protect Pao with all he could, as he vowed to do, as they walked through these strange and wild lands.
Massive flowers blossomed. Mushrooms brightly colored grew on dead, fallen trees, and moss of blues and greens and yellows clung to the forest floor as did thick underbrush. Large vines hung low all around them and the canopy of trees seemed as thick as night. Some light passed through in columns were dust and other particles in the air floated along. "It is more beautiful than Valaris..." he found himself breathing.
"Yes, and perhaps even prettier than Canador?" she inquired with a coy smile. "But most of the earth is beautiful. But this land... " she drew in a long breath through her nose and a closed smile before she exhaled happily. "This land is how I dreamed it. Come. It will take many days. We should not dawdle." And it was before him she strolled, for at least as far as she could lead, before it became evident Enzo would need to take over and cut through the thick foilage with his sword.
He would not tarnish his blade with the juices of foliage and instead used the dagger she had given him to cleave through the leaves and vines of the thickening forest lands. Though his clothing and armor was still quite wet from the water that brought them here, Enzo was starting to sweat and he brushed his brow off. "This place is eerie. Keep your eyes open," he said to her.
"Eerie? Pah! This place is hardly, what you call, 'eerie', Enzo. Can you not smell it? It smells of fertile life and ancient magics." Or perhaps it was the scent of a volcano looming on the horizon- either way it was too hard to tell, for her focus was surely on the lively forest all around them and making their way to the other side where there are unique mountains.
"What do you make of this place, Enzo? You can sense the magic, too, ya?" And she paused a moment to peer over at him. "Perhaps we ought to rest?" she said, noting his sweat. "I heard a stream near by. Come. Perhaps it is fresh water."
"Perhaps it is the magic. But it is strange to me. Stranger than you could know... I cannot always be sure if I'm in a waking dream, or truly dead," Enzo breathed. "Or if you really just aren't a figment of my imagination." He labored more with cutting of the vines until they came to the sounds of running water. A stream passed to the east of them, cutting northward and giving a clearer path. Enzo took the moment to crouch before the water, the water so icy and clear that he could see his face in a clear reflection.
He looked young, despite feeling so old, and reached a hand down to take a drink from the running water as it passed through stones jutting from the surface. It was cooled and refreshing and he smiled, thankful for something so small.
Pao sat on her knees, skirts crimped beside her as she took water into her own hands and enjoyed a cool drink. They were still in the front of the forest, very far from the heart of it, but even here, the trees were thick and lush with life. The birds singing and chirping and the animals cawing were of a variety she had never heard nor seen, and all the colors of the fluttering insects caught her fancy as she watched them from where she remained perched besides the stream.
"This land is still a virgin. It comes without harsh cuts from man, and trees so tall it makes the forests back at home laughable." And at this, the Saranthian chuckled. "And I must say, I have had traveled many a place. But this place..." she sighed contentedly. "It's as if the earth here sings."
Enzo pondered her words thoughtfully and gave her nothing more than a simple nod. "Then perhaps it is a sin then that I cut the vines that grow here. Though we wish passage, to disturb the life here...are we not just trespassing? Even with our quest at hand."
"So it would seem, Enzo. But do not despair." She gave him a smirk as she lifted her gaze to him. "This place... it seems not to notice our present, and the path we cut will grow back before long. Though if we were not to come here, Enzo, the future of this land might be as dark as the ocean at night."
He nodded again, this time a little somberly, thinking on her last words. To not be there when you were meant to be, to be somewhere where you should have been, to prevent...perhaps to change what was to come. "Then I apologize for delaying us further." He nodded to her to continue on and pressed through the foliage. But the forest was becoming quite enchanting, as much as it was suffocating and Enzo didn't know how fast or slow they were actually moving.
"That armor seems cumbersome, Enzo," Pao said wistfully after a time. She placed a hand upon his arm. "Would you like me to help you remove it, ya?" she offered, attempting to get him to at least have her help him pluck off some of it. Was he not hot from the tropical steam? The mists, after all, were pretty heavy, and it appeared as if the morning light was only going to become hotter here- at this place that existed past the end of the world.
Enzo paused after a time and peered at her with furrowed brows. "I do not believe so. It feels okay to me. And we will make camp soon enough. Already the sun has reached it's peak," he shrugged nonchalantly and continued on.
"Ha-sheesh! Do not be so difficult. I see the sweat glistening from here, and your stink I smell as well. Peel off that armor and let us find water to bathe. Besides, it is becoming too hot for travel here. We could pass out lest we break at reason, ya?"
He just gave her a shrug. "It makes no difference to me," he said casually, as they had been following the fresh water stream anyway. "Here is as good a place as any." Enzo sat down on a fallen log and set the dagger into his sword belt. He was sweating indeed, and tired, but would not take his armor off. His eyes and ears, as ever were alert for every noise that surrounded them.
When Enzo finally did sit down, she moved beside him and began to lightly pull at his armor.
"Enzo, come- there is a nice pond over this way. The water will be good for the skin. But one can not bathe in armor as this. Come, remove it and join me for a swim."
Enzo was tired and wanted to meditate, a moment to center himself and to sleep if possible, but at Pao's insistence, he ignored her for a long moment, watching the water run through and he gave a sigh. He was lost in thought at that time and then shrugged at her. "You can go on before me! The lady should have the water. Go on," he said with a small smile.
Pao threw her arms of it.
"Hash! How are we to try to bond if you remain so rigid? But I will not keep you if you wish to sweat yourself to death. We traveled to the ends of the world for a reason." And with that,s he stood nad moved away from him as she smiled, and shed her clothing into a casual pile before she made her way into the pond. The water felt good and refreshing, and a soft waterfall cascaded nearby to add an extra sense of serenity as she bathed.
Enzo would let her bathe and try and tease him if she could. But his exhaustion came quietly as he sat, cross-legged. He closed his eyes and remained in an upright position. And though it appeared he was meditating, he was soon fast asleep. Just breathing lightly.
His sleep wouldn't last for long when a splash of water was thrust at his face.
"Enzo, you have fallen asleep! Ha-sheesh! You will catch your death in that tin suit. Come.." and here, she was pulling at it, her naked form dripping water all ove rhim as she attempted to yank loose one of his gauntlets. "Let us get you in the waters, ya? it is good for the spirit, I promise."
Enzo awoke with a start and his hand nearly pulled his sword out at her head from the interruption. She pulled at his gauntlets, so insistent. He really didn't see what the big deal was. But if it would get her to keep her mouth shut, he pulled his arm away and undid the straps himself, taking the armor off with such ease and simplicity. He said nothing to her when he removed his clothes and weapons as well before stepping hesitantly into the water of his own accord.
"There!" she stated triumphantly as she stood on the shore near his side. With her hands to her hips, she grinned at him. "Do you not feel more natural now, Enzo? And the water will clean up that sweat soon. These waters, natural in pureness, will do good on your body. I had seen it after all. Our cleansing here, in this place- another step towards unity."
"But you could not see that I was tired," Enzo mumbled to himself as he moved through the pond and sank his body blow the waters. He took in the refreshing waters and used that instead to center himself. He peered at her and gave her a forced smile. "They do feel nice. Cold, but nice."
"Ya? The waters here are so crisp and cool, unlike this unforgiving sun," she said as she wiped at her brow. She sat now at the shore line and watched him, her sea-colored eyes dazzling. "You have a nice form, Enzo. Perhaps someday you will have strong kids, ya? To carry your good traits."
Her words danced around him and he gave her another shrug. "I do not think so," he replied. "I never considered children. And it would be futile to do so. I could not be a proper father as mine was to me. It would be a disservice to them."
"What do you mean, Enzo? Do you not see yourself rewarded with love and wife after all this? Though perhaps it might be difficult to find her on such a journey. Though I assure you, you will not die here. There will be plenty of time to seek out a life mate at the end."
"No, I thank you for the reassuring words. But I do not believe so. I will not marry. I will not beget children. And I can live with that," Enzo nodded to her and laughed at the notion that he would be a father someday. Whether her vision said so or not, Enzo knew his time was his to do as he chose, not as she decreed. For this...this would never be over.
"Hash!" she waved off his words with a shake of her head. "So many soldiers in armor like yourself seek that out, but perhaps you wish to be different, ya? Our road is trying, but not without reward. I assure you, peace can only come of this. Shall I read your palm?"
Enzo shook his head. "No, my palms have found their peace, thank you." He gave her a clever grin but just let his body soak in the cooling waters. He let it fall over his form and he doused his hair until it was soaked and undid the tie that bound it together.
Pao watched him as he relaxed into the water, finding it quite pleasing. Palm reading or not, she had other ways to get to him.
"So we mate now, ya?" she asked, stepping into the waters beside him and peering down at him with a grin. "After all, I owe you form helping me in the fall. It's not every day a woman gets to take a man at the end of the earth, especially after surviving such a fall."
Enzo knew she would make the offer sooner or later and frankly he was surprised it took so long and just peered at her for a second. He didn't answer her for how could one truly answer a question like that. He continued to bathe himself in silence and washed his hair out.
"Enzo!" Pao gave an impatient stomp of her foot in the waters. "Do you not think it is time we properly connect? We are knee deep in this now, and I can feel my body yearning for yours and a deeper sense of connection. Did you not feel it when we fell, Enzo? When the world we knew left us and we woke up here?"
Enzo peered up and her and breathed a quiet sigh. His eyes did take in her body and angered form, but he made no move toward her. "I felt it," he replied with a nod. "It was like a powerful wave washing over me."
"Ny-juht!" She hissed out a curse in her native tongue as she smacked the.water's surface angrily. "Yet you still sit.there in water and do.nothing? Do you not understand the importance of this?"
Enzo gave her a funny look and gave her a smile, almost coy-like in it's curl. He laughed at her. "Why do I have to do everything? And why do you complain so much?"
Pao felt her blood boil as she.glared.back at his smirk.
"Hash!" She seemed about ready to spit on him. "What do you mean 'all the work'? You have no idea the.concentration it takes to perform the ritual. It will take a lot of my.energies and even some borrowed to even get such a link between two humans to open though such a task would be easier if the man from my.dreams would oblige, yet here I watch him sit like duck in water when the world is threatened by chaos!"
Her growing fervor, only made Enzo's smile grow all the more. He laughed again and rose from the waters after having all the time he needed to relax. "You make yourself so angry, Pao! I'm surprised you have strangled yourself by now. Well, when you're done arguing with yourself, I am ready to begin the ritual."
"Hash!!!!" She cried, scooping up a rock from the water.and throwing it at him. "Forget ritual! You are an impossible companion!" And she promptly turned from him and stormed out of.the waters.
Enzo just laughed more, the waters having put him in a good mood and watched as the rock made a bubble like plop in the water. "Well, if you say so," he shrugged and moved back to the waters, taking his time and swimming through them, enjoying its cooling touch.
Even at the ends of the earth the pair were hardly clear of the.dangers and magics of Matakopas. For like a snake, he watched them through the shadows and.lay silent until he found his oppurtunity to strike. And like a snake, his essence slithered through the shadows unseen, by passing the arrogant Enzo and trailing after his haughty campanion. Pao's own unseen magics were deliciously unstable, considering her heat was raised and her magic level.fluxuating with no release. It didn't.take much effort for his own magics to cling to hers, as his shadowed form suddenly latched out at her, curling around her.body in a vice grip as Pao'orha gasped and struggled against him. But the moment she opened her.lips to scream, a ghost like version of Enzo's enemy.appeared and his lips smashed against hers as.his phantom form began to pour into her, seeking out her trembling magics and life force and sensing her body was in heat before he forced her down into the reeds and began to rape her of magic, seed and life; though oddly the moment their bodies connected a jolt of aqua colored lighting shot out of her form and the skies clapped intoa.darkening thunder as Pao felt the man trying to.reach deeper into her, nearly suffocating all channels of her life force as his body contnued to cut into her like a knife.
And as he fed of her, Pao felt his magics digging in deep, reaching and clinging unto the connection that was not meant for him. Though as she was.violated roughly she felt his own body began to shift from phantom to man and the second his real lips sealed over hers she bit them hard, drawing blood and making him howl in pain. And once Pao was able to breath again, she gasped out for breath and trembled as she clawed at the man's face in hopes to get him off but the man was strong and kept her pinned down easily as he pinned her wrists down into the marsh land, which caused Pao to cry out.and spit defiantly in his face.
Matakopas only smiled souredly down at the woman whose body was now glowing a sea-blue color as be laughed through closed lips, and it was then she found herself helpless beneath his powers as she felt all of her life force trying to merge with his. No! How could this be?! He was awakening her connection magics and with each thrust he made, Pao felt herself becoming lost unto him, even as his hand sealed over her screaming lips as she tried to.bite his palm.
What rotten luck! To think she might be raped and bond to Enzo's own enemy! Though who knew if she'd even survive it to see if it could even work as the man's body was building up steam and she could feel her own powers yielding and almost completely welcoming of his, even as she found herself unable to breath.
Enzo did not have to hear the screams of Pao to become alerted to the presence of his enemy. He was apart of him in that essence, and when Matakopas made his presence known, solidifying atop the fortune teller, Enzo did not hesitate in his action. He leapt from the pond and grabbed his sword, as he felt Matakopas was nearer and could sense his location was close.
His energies had been shared when Valinarus had fallen apart, when they both escaped through the portal and all else was sentenced to burn... Enzo needed no more noise from the brush when the katana in his hand plunged through Matakopas's back, before the spell to steal Pao's life force could be completed.
The magecrafter screamed, eyes turning wide in front of Pao and he threw himself off her, causing the katana to tear out the side of him. The would was horrid and bled furiously as he stumbled backwards. "I didn't think you even knew how to use that thing!" Matakopas growled. But he just smirked at Enzo before he could charge after him, the Magecrafter disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Left in a state of shock, Pao'orha found herself writhing in pain when the bonding was broken in the middle of its cementing and left her vulnerable and in severe pain as she flopped around on the ground in pain, seething as she did so as her.life aura flickered about her unstably and her breathing was labored and harsh and she was left sputtering out none sense in her own tongue as her eyes remained tightly closed in pain.
Enzo moved toward Pao's side and knelt beside her. "Pao'ohra," he breathed. He hesitated tot ouch her and didn't know where she hurt the most. Instead he moved the handle of his katana beside her and grabbed her hand, gripping it around hilt and trying to coax the healing properties toward her.
The moment he tried and his powers came in contact with hers she cried out in pain. And it seemed the healing properties weren't working on.her, as if his enemy's powers were still trying to.take control of the fortune teller as Pao continued to writhe in more pain than before. Hissing, Pao shoved the katana away and turned away from it in the swampy grassland as she continued to mutter endlessly curses and words in saranthian, none of.which but the tone of her breath he'd be able to understand.
"Pao! Come here! Are you all right?" Enzo went after her and stayed beside her but did not lay a finger on her. "I was just trying to help you. Please, speak to me in legible words and in words I can understand, not that tongue you spew lava from that makes no sense to anyone but yourself."
As Enzo pressed his concern, Pao'orha pressed on into words he did not know as she seethed. Gripping onto her belly, she shook her head.
"Your magics, hash!" she said, wincing in pain to even think of it. "Do not touch me, Enzo. I think my body is still fighting with the magics of your friend." Then she rattled off more in her native tongue before wincing and adding in the common tongue. "It seems he was out to make a connection." And she crossed herself, in hopes to ward off the thoughts. "But I can feel it did not take, but Noy-jihntatta, does it hurt all over!" she said, doubling over on the ground as she attempt to catch her breath and calm the pain that washed through her. "But I think I will at least live," she said, and not long after that she as wiping away blood dribbling from her nose before she laughed at that then looked over at Enzo as she breathed deeply. "You have such nice friends. They follow you to ends of earth!" she said, and then waved herhands of him before going back to cursing more colorful in words unknown to him.
If she thought her words would not have their desired effects, they most certainly did. And he did not need to know what they meant to know what she did and Enzo frowned and dropped his eyes to the ground. He knew he should have been there, but again he was too late and there was nothing he could do for her now. "Then perhaps we should continue to the mountain when you are ready," he said solemnly. He knew she did not trust him and he couldn't be sure he trusted himself anymore. But he supposed they wasted enough time resting and Enzo moved back toward his armor and reequipped it, ready to continue their journey.
"Hash!" Came her angered voice as she slapped at the ground and spat angrily his way. "We will move when I am able!" And she went on muttering and moaning in pain in her own tongue some more as she wilted against a nearby fallen tree. "This is not my year, who would have thought such visions meant such treacherous outcomes?" she said, shaking her head as she tried to steel herself of her pain, but Matakopas's powers had latched on deep, and she found herself having a hard time keeping what was left of him out of places it should not be!
Enzo remained solemn and returned to her, sitting on the fallen tree beside her, waiting for her to feel ready to travel once more. It wasn't that he didn't care, but he knew any attempt to show it would be rejected on her part. Why bother. "Perhaps not, I guess," Enzo replied and peered out to the jungle trees and canopy, the signs of life wild and ever present.
"You're... you're friend, what sort of magic does he have?" Pao asked after a time, gripping away hair from her face as she turned a winded expression to Enzo. "Ha-sheesh. It's taking so much out of me not to have submitted to him, but I saw the shadows in his soul, and it felt cold and merciless."
"Matakopas had many magics. He was the Magecrafter, charged with powering the city with his arcane knowledge. Many studied under him, many died by his creation," Enzo answered, not looking at her. "I do not know where he learned it himself, but Azarian war magic is dangerous on its own. I'm sure he knows more archaic powers, to possess people, steal their minds, to alter worlds if he must. That is why I tried to heal you. My blade possesses certain gifts that seem to repel Matakopas's powers, even traces of them. It is a holy blade, given to me by the gods. But to my enemies, it is their bane."
Pao grit her teeth, her chest still heaving hard as she breathed.
"Then that would explain why it hurt me." And she drew ina breath through clenched teeth, fighting off another round of pain. "For his magic tried to impregnate me, and I fear this pain will not subside lest I be rid of it, yet it latches onto my very life force!" she said, turning away and looking grim as another wave of pain became her.
"Then please let me try again," Enzo said, turning to her. "Brave the pain and let the blade expel it from your body and soul. Let me take you to the waters."
Pao trembled from.the pain as she steadied her breath long enough to look at Enzo, then his sword before she looked away.
"Ha-eesh! The pain was most excruciating, but I would be a fool not.to trust. Ya, let's return to the waters if you feel.it will rid me of.this curse! For the pain, I feel it even to my.bone and wish to have of it no more!"
Enzo gave her a solemn nod and took her up into his arms and back to the pool of water. He carried her out into the waters and laid her gently across one arm, while unsheathing the Katana with the other. He held it out to her. "Hold the hilt and begin to breathe, don't shy from the energy of the sword. Let it vibrate through you."
OOC: Heh heh... vibrate....
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Pao winced at the look of the weapon, sensing the burn long before the touch, but found herself nodding and simplying obeying him, before allowing herself to finally grasp it, and long with it, she gasped and writhed but held to it still, even as the connection nauseated her and sent a swell of pain almost too much for her to bear. Her breathing grew sharp and rapid, and then suddenly, she found herself frozen into a sense of peace as the powers began to channel through her warmly, hotly, completely.
Enzo held her tighter to him for he could feel the difficulty that reverberated through her. The energy of the sword would burn hotter in her and through her and around her and before he knew it, he could feel it too and focused on allowing the sword to cleanse her.
The power flowing through her was insufferably hot, but even as she endured it, she found her own hand suddenly seeking his as she gripped it and tightened that grip as she writhed as controllably as she could beneath the sword's blessing and pain.
"Enzo..." she found herself speaking, her lips chattering in pain as her skin began to glow the same blue-green hue as before. "I feel strangely...." she said, finding her body beginning to shake the more and more his power flowed through her. "This sensation, your power... Hai... it... it's.." and it was here she opened her eyes as the heat continued to roll through her, her eyes glowing bright. "It's as if I can sense it, your connection, your power Enzo... soothing and calling to me, despite the pain." And she found herself smiling and blinking back some tears, despite that pain as she realized...
"Enzo..." and she smiled even brighter as she gripped his hand a bit tighter. "We are connecting..." and it felt beautiful. Had she but known this was how it was to be, she would not have forced him before, but even a woman who 'could see the future'; was not at all adapted to the interpretations of her dreams.
"So this is how it feels like to open to you.." she said, finding herself still smiling and crying over the sensations as they burned through her, hotter and more quickly as the tainted magics from Matakopas were being flushed out- but all she could see was a bright light, bright colors- and Enzo's form haloed within them as she turned to him, her blinded eyes seeking his as they continued to glow and spiral and swirl with radiating color.
"Enzo... do you feel it?" she asked, seeming to look through him. "Do you feel the way you heat and cleanse?"
Enzo kept his eyes closed as he felt the powers growing inside of himself. It was as if he felt his own soul being absolved from the guilt he had carried across worlds, across time, across many lives. Even if it was just for a moment, it was the most calming feeling in the world, as if it were truly absolute peace, as if now his quest was over and he could finally die without worry or shame.
Pao's voice dragged him back to reality once her body was purged from the foul magics Matakopas possessed, the Magecrafter was clever, but even he could not break the otherworldly powers of Angra'arda. He peered at her, saying nothing to her words, for he hadn't heard them frankly and he just stared at her blankly for a time until the healing was done.
He put the katana back in it's sheath and bowed his head to her. "It is the blade," he replied. "It allows focus, purging you from negativity that might distract one from their clear set goal. It dispelled Matakopas' magic because they are a poison, and it rids of all impurities."
As if in a trance or living in a dream, she felt her world becoming surreal as she nodded at his words, but barely felt herself there.
"So it would seem," and as she rose her eyes to admire him, she placed a hand gently to his face before her vision became whiter and suddenly her body fell limply away as she passed out, a sweet smile upon her lips and her pulse, soft and slowed.
He caught her as she grew limp and pulled her up into his arms when the vision took her. He did not know what she saw, but could feel the power possessing her as he pulled her out of the water and set her upon the log on the side. He said nothing, but simply held her against him and kept her safe within the confines of his arms.
It wasn't for another good half an hour before the Saranthian finally opened her eyes, her vision bleary and her head feeling as if it were about ready to swim clean off her shoulders. She made a gasp, and rubbed at her temples before blinking and peering up at the form looming over her.
"Enzo?" ANd it took her another few moments to recall what had happened before she sighed within his arms, too weak to really move as she studied his face.
"Is the presence gone?" she asked after a time. "I feel.. strange... different, more at peace."
Enzo had fallen asleep in a meditative trance. When he opened his eyes he saw the clearing, the pond and the sun as it was falling. Her voice summoned his eyes to her and he blinked for a moment. "The jungle seems more at peace as well. At least this area does," he replied softly and rose to stand, his legs a little stiff and numb. "Your vision, what was it?"
When Enzo moved to stand, she did not stand with him, but her eyes followed him tiredly.
"Just of a world, far different than this one. Almost as if the earth had joined with the sky. There were many clouds, and they were pink, like those of sunset over Canador." And she marked herself as she thought of her home. THough she had only lived there a few years, it was long enough to make a name for herself and also, for her to actually feel she owed any homage to. And it was at that question that she peered at Enzo curiously. "Why do you ask?" she asked, tiredly from where she lay, hair all tussled and laying in a dark river across the fallen log and foilage she remained nestled upon.
Ennzo stretched his legs. "I only ask if that is a place we must go," he muttered. But he gave her a kind smile and knelt beside her. "How do you feel?"
"I... do not know. The vision was unclear. It might have meant something more, but I dare not question it, only that I know I felt... right."
And then at his last question, she smiled tiredly in reply.
"Tired, but I will live. It seems that sword of yours did the trick. I will feel right as rain soon."
Assuming she didn't fall back asleep, first.
"Good," Enzo nodded to her. "Take as much rest as you need. We eill continue when you are ready." He combed his fingers through her hair and smiled sweetly at her.
Pao, unused to be sort of sweet attentions Enzo was bestowing upon her, found her cheeks blushing slightly at his smile. But it wasn't even his sweetness that was strange to her, but that anyone would treat her in such a way. Pao'orha was used to a certain set of people to interact with, and Enzo's sort weren't normally in the cards. But it would seem fate had selected them to work together, and this moment stolen away from the rest, only seemed to prove to her that her visions were correct, for even if she had ever doubted their mission before, she knew now that, with a little work, they'd be able to conquer whatever fate might have in store for them-
and fate had quite a lot in mind, for even now the unseen presence of a monster lay in wait for them...
Right now, it was just about finding the monster first before it found them.
Enzo's smile faded as he felt the hair on the back of his neck standing on end as if someone was watching them. His eyes grew narrow and he peered at Pao with warning in them. "Go," he whispered to her. "Run." And there was a loud growl behing them as the beast lunged from the trees. Enzo had little time to see what it was as he partly turned and had the thing fall atop him, nearly crushing him and leaving him unable to brandish his katana.
Pao's expression followed his, and it was evident she was confused by his sudden change in demeanor until he prodded her to go.
"Matakopas?" she whispered, but moved away at his command, only to see a blur suddenly lunge upon him as she cried out and marked herself across her chest. Clinging to the shadow of the trees, she saw the beast down Enzo in the water, and though she could not say for certain what the creature was, she was not about to let her hero simply die- and so it was there she took up a rock from the ground and chucked it at the beast's head.
It was hard to say what it was, for it was upon him in a blur and slammed him hard on the ground just beside the water. When his eyes fell upon it's ghostly form, Enzo was taken aback. It's whole form was disguised by some kind of blurry camouflage that concealed it in the trees. Even now in it's attack, it kept it's concealment, and slugged at Enzo, send him reeling into the pond. A massive gash appeared on the side of his face, blood dripping in the water. "Pao! Run!" Enzo growled as the beast advanced upon him, ignoring the rock she'd thrown.
Pao was cursing in Saranthian, holding onto her skirts and keeping near.
"Run? What? To see you dead!?" she called back, cringing as she watched the thing slash at Enzo's face. And as it was still attacking, she saw another form- some peculiar blur approaching from behind him as she gasped.
"Enzo! There's another one behind you!" Though what could be done!? It seemed they were sitting ducks here, and Enzo still had not drawn out his sword!
Enzo could not focus on this beast and the distraction Pao posed at the same time. They would both die if he did so he focused instead on his enemy and when it struck him gain, rolling him out of the path of the oncoming creature behind him, that gave him enough time to draw his blade. He saw blurred claws, growling loudly, like a wild scream of warning and imminent peril. Indeed, Enzo thought, their own peril. It was then that the camouflage dissipated from their forms and he could see the fur and scaly patches of large cat-like creatures. The scales had turned over, allowing the creatures to seemingly blend in with their environment.
But their disguise could not save them now as Enzo charged forth and dodged a slash at his face just in time. He slashed upward, tearing through the scales and fur and spilling blood into the water. When the cat behind him charged, Enzo ducked low and struck the black upward, cutting into its belly, spilling its stomach and guts.
Enzo was slammed by a massive paw, and it tossed him back onto land, covered in water and blood and reeling from the blow. The cat lunged for him, growling wildly and Enzo saw its eyes shrink when it landed on the katana. But Enzo could barely move out from underneath it.
Pao only watched, not realizing she had been holding her breath until the blade sunk into the last of the two beasts, and she felt her hands trembling now as she released a breath and prayer, and her skirts were trembling along wtih her nerves.
"Ay-ta-muhn," she breathed. "We are truly blessed, but our luck is being tried." And she frowned at this and kept herself leaned against a tree trunk, finding barely any strength within her to approach or even run away.
"Then let us linger here no longer," Enzo said, catching his breath. He got to his feet, stumbling even and held the katana in one hand and reached for her with the other, pulling her along with him.
"But Enzo!" she said with a gasp, looking him over at his blood and injuries. "You have been hurt. Should we not tend to your wounds?"
"When we are out of danger," Enzo concluded and pulled her along with him. His wounds were severe for having been fighting a wild animal, but his armor had done its job in protecting him. It was scratched and dented along his chest and his face was covered in blood. But now they were the least of their concerns.
Pao said nothing as she blinked and was dragged along. She did not like this feeling of being so weak. She could take care of herself! Though now, she felt dizzy, and after they had ran for some time, she placed a hand to her temples and cried out.
"Ha-sheeesh! I can not walk any longer, Enzo. I must rest!"
At her insistence, Enzo did stop and he himself was out of breath from the running. He released her hand and slumped against a tree, sliding down to the ground. His head had stopped bleeding, but it was throbbing violently and he was tired from all the running. His hands trembled over the straps of his armor and undid them partly, feeling as if he couldn't breathe.
Pao felt much the same way as her partner, and once her mind calmed down a little, andshe caught her breath, she moved over to help him.
"Here, let me help you with that armor. And then we can see properly to those wounds," she said, lightly reaching forward in order to help.
Enzo didn't protest as he was wont to do. He let her undo the right strap as he undid the left until it fell from his form and underneath could be see the bruises and cuts that had penetrated his defense. "I thought it was going to be much worse," he grumbled. "It's just a few scratches."
"Aye," Pao nodded. "But you still bleed, though it seems to have slowed. Were we near the waters, I'd offer to help clense you, but I suppose we can use what we have left in the waterskins." And she pulled her bag, that had somehow survived the fiasco, and poured some water onto a soft clothe. "This might sting, but I'm sure you've been through worse." she told him with a smirk as she leaned forward, gently cleaning off the blood and grime on his face.
Enzo nodded to her. "Much worse," he agreed and let her clean him. "But you don't have to. It's okay, really. I imagine, water is not something we can afford to waste on cuts and bruises. I will heal and be well."
"You seem quite.certain of that," she remarked with a smirk. "Do your powers offer you.that much insurance?" And despite his words, she smiled and took her time cleaning off.his face, for he really was quite handsome and having thismoment with him allowed her.some time to appreciate that.
The Vallarian found it strange to be doted on and peered at her with narrow eyes. "I do no know, really. But if your mind collapses beneath the smallest pain, you will not survive long," Enzo replied. "That is why I say what I say. But I supoose if death wanted me, he could have claimed me any moment he wished."
"I suppose he would, but if death were a woman, she would have claimed you already." And at that comment, she gave Enzo a broader smile. "There, now your face looks as handsome and clean as ever. And with it, we should continue. I am beginning to feel better.I think I can walk some more."
"If death were a woman, she would have continued to make me suffer," Enzo quipped and gave her a playful grin before he stood up and gathered his equipment again. When he was ready, he lead the way through the trees.
Pao laughed at his comment.
"Yes, for women can be quite cruel." And as she thought of it, her smile faded. "And that reminds me..." And here her voice grew quiet. "I do owe you an apology."
Enzo only partly turned his eyes behind him, and gave her a confused glance. But he knew what it was she was apologizing for. Turning his eyes back to the path, he simply shrugged and pressed forward. "That won't be necessary," he said, smiling back at her when he caught her in his vision. "It's just how you are. I suppose I've been more than difficult myself."
"Yes, but I was cruel to you on purpose. And I let my anger dictate my actions, and for this I must apologize. If we are to work together and keep this bond, then I must become more amicable to my companion."
"I cannot blame you for things you have done in the past. It is in your nature. Should I chastise the hawk for swooping down on its prey? No, nor would I. It doesn't matter anyhow. It is passed," Enzo replied.
"Are you comparing me to a hawk?" She inquired with a laugh. "I did not think you could pay me such a compliment. To think, a Saranthian woman can be compared to a bird!"
"Compare you to the splendor of a great flying hunter? No, I don't think so," Enzo turned to her and gave her a sly grin unusual to him andd kept walking on. "But you might be a beaver."
"A beaver?" Pao blinked at his words but gave a laugh. "You mean those creatures who build nest in waters?"
"Yes," he nodded. "The ones with the flat tails and the big bucked teeth."
Pao snorted and raised a brow at him.
"So they are relatives of yours?" And at that, she gave him a clever grin.
"My family is dead. All of them," Enzo replied with little consequence.
Pao stared at him in response and marked her chest.
"Except for you," she replied, her eyes never leaving him.
"Except for me," Enzo said somberly. He could feel her eyes on him, but he didn't look at her and instead turned his eyes up to the mountain which still lay many miles ahead of them. "How many days do you think it will take to reach it? It seems so far away."
Pao didn't press the questions that lingered inside her, but instead, turned her blue-green eyes towards the horizon, towards where mists nearly veiled the tall, square sided mountains from view.
"Perhaps a week, maybe longer, it is hard to say. But have you ever seen anything like it? Mountains of such a shape?" And she muttered something softly in her native tongue. "To think, such unique beauty exists here, in a place where no man can exist."
His mind lingered back to Vallaris. "It was the city of the mountain," he replied, with little relevance. "My home. It was on a mountain much more treacherous than this. Powerful, filled with life and energy. But this place is a close second. Majestic...that is the only word I can think of."
Pao grew quiet, listening intently to Enzo's words.
"What else can you tell me of Vallarris?" she inquired, wondering what other things existed in such a place a man as Enzo had come to call home. "Were the other men like you? And what of the people? The women? The children? What of it's waters? It's homes? It's dreams? What sort of place had you come from?"
Her questions caught him off guard and Enzo turned toward her with only a passing glance. He turned his eyes back to the path and walked on, unsure how to answer her questions. "They were no different than those you see in Canador, I think, or anywhere else. Ordinary," was all he felt he could say and walked on.
Pao didn't press it, though the word he chose was of interest to her.
"Ordinary? So you think the women of Canador are ordinary?" she inquired, a playful smile upon her lips.
Enzo kept going and he didn't look back. "I don't know," he replied laconically.
Pao sighed as she slowed down as she walked, but she said nothing, and continued onward in silence, observing the place with wonder. There were so many calls of birds, insects and animals she was not familiar with, that she was nearly over whelmed by it all. She felt a swell within her heart as she observed the fauna and trees, and even to hear some more fresh running water set her eyes glittering.
"There seem to be so few places like this back in the old land. So many places claimed by men."
Her words posed some extension of conversation, and he too noticed the beauty that lay here - and the inherit danger. "You speak as if men taint the land they reside on," he commented. "What makes this place any better than those?"
"As a Saranthian, we truly do not stake a claim to anything, even ourselves, for what body is ours that will not someday turn to grass?" And she peered over at him thoughtfully. "This place.. it just... feels much different. And I'm sure I will dream much differently. And see the trees? They are so large, no man has touche them to cut them down. And no paths are cut here. It is definitely interesting. I suppose it interests me, for I have seen men claim many things in Canador, and the cities outside it's walls."
Enzo nodded. "Men claim because they fear losing their place in life. They want a foothold, a legacy, immortality. That is their way of carrying it out," he noted somberly.
Pao'orha took in his words with a nod, hands to her skirts before she found herself pausing to lean against a tree.
"We might need to rest here, Enzo. I'm feeling faint again."
Enzo nodded to her and moved back toward where she paused. With an arm around her waist, Enzo helped support her until he could let her rest on a log. "Perhaps it might be best to find something to eat as well. But these plants are foreign to me. I do not know which are good to eat and which are not."
"We could try animal, ya? But I too, am not familiar with what sort of specie of bird might be tough and which tender. You can waste an animals life that way with an unfullfilling meal, though I suppose it might be safer to eat meat than wild flowers."
Enzo nodded to her. "I will venture out to find food. Perhaps it might be good for you to make camp... Unless you wish to hunt with me?"
Pao smiled.
"I am.not sure how wise it would be for me.to help. Would I not just be in the way?" She inquired, leaning tiredly against a nearby tree.
Enzo gave her a small smile. "Perhaps. But I would rather not leave you by yourself. And you can perceive things that perhaps I cannot. A little help is better than nothing at all. You said it yourself that we have to work together," he replied.
"Ah, I did say that," she replied, a coy smirk growing across her lips. "But if you want my help, you have to wait." She said, closing her eyes a little as she rested against the tree. "I still feel my body healing from earlier. Your... friend has quite potent magics." And here she opened her eyes to look into his face. "As do you."
"I wonder at these magics you speak of," Enzo said thoughtfully. "I have no magics. Only treatments, meditation training from my mentors. But why do you assume that I bear magic?"
"So you do not believe this power you have is magical?" she inquired thoughtfully as she peered up at him. "Very well, I suppose we just see things as we may. I just know what I felt from you as other worldly, almost as powerful as the things I see in dreams- and were there no power between us, within you, within me, I do not think this journey possible. Though perhaps it is something else besides what I call magic? That I can not say. I just know my dreams lead me to you, and that you are to do great things in quelling hte beasts that are destined to awaken and will threaten this world- beasts far more powerful than even the dark shadows of your friend."
Enzo steeled himself, his jaw, his thoughts. For he had his doubts. No, she couldn't know. Not unless she'd seen it herself. There was no evil greater than the heart of Matakopas. A beast might devour the world, or several worlds, but to kill your kin, all you know, betray those who trusted you most. No, that was the greatest evil Enzo had ever known, may ever know and when he looked at Pao, his eyes were troubled.
"Something tells me we do not belong in this place. That we are overstaying our welcome. I am not adverse to strange environments or strange people. But...no place man has touched. Perhaps that is for a reason. Because he does not belong here."
Pao nodded.
"This place was not meant for man, but that is why the beasts here grow most strong. Though, I too, believe no man should be allowed to trespass here, if we were not to come, the beast would have come for us. We are here to stop a plague of beasts, something so dark, that not even I understand where this power or awakening has come from- but there are old beasts of the world, from when it was first created, ones who guarded each plane of existence, and we are nearing the resting place of one such beast- and if we do not hurry, he could awaken and begin his path of destruction before we can prevent it."
Though Pao knew not that the dreams she had might have mirrored the darkness of Enzo's greatest enemy, or.. that perhaps both were working together, she just knew they had to be here, despite the heart of this land crying even as they walked.
"Do you regret coming here, Enzo?" she inquired as she peered over at him, rising to walk now as she was refinding her strength. "I am sorry if I have dragged you into anything you do not wish to partake or see."
Enzo bowed his head. "I have always done what I must. If it will give me a chance to destroy Matakopas, then I will do all you ask," he answered tentatively. "Even slay an ancient beast that may well kill me."
Pao studied him a moment, pondering over what he said and took note of it, but did not say what was on the tip of her tongue. Rather, she peered back at the square shaped mountain, ancient and beautiful before returning a smile to him.
"So we were talking about hunting? I think I might be well enough to join you know, ya?"
A quiet grin became him and he nodded to her. "Let us depart then." He remembered the dagger she had given him when they first tried to slay the beast of the sea, the large serpent that nearly destroyed the vessel that carried them all this way. He took it from his belt and handed it to her. "You never know when you may need it."
Pao' orha took the knife, but was quite startled to see it again.
"You kept it?" she asked, peering up into his eyes curiously.
"Of course. You told me to hold onto it. It was the blade I had used to cast Matakopas out of you when he possessed your form. Just before the ship crashed over the falls," Enzo replied with a solemn nod. "Why would I discard it?"
"I do not know,"s he replied with a smile. "Perhaps to smite me in those moments where I appear as something less fond for you."
Enzo's smile turned a little wry. "Appear? I'm sure most of those instances were real, rather than a guise. But thus far they have not been deserving of death."
"It would seem a bit over dramatic to kill your companion just because you were not fond of her quirks, ya?" she said, her smile growing ever wider as she planted a hand to her hips and moved along with him through the forest. "But at least we have survived together this long. Come, I think I hear something. Ah I was right. DO you see it? Some sort of bird over there in the valley. You think it might have good meat?" And she hunched down low, her body mostly hidden behind foilage as her green-blue eyes danced over the sight of the bird. It was relatively plump, with ample meat, and beautiful blue feathers all over it. "Though it will be a shame to kill it. The feathers- tehy are beautiful, like sky."
"It would," Enzo replied, noting the bird and admiring the creature. "Perhaps... Perhaps it would be a crime to kill such a thing." He frowned at her and then looked back at the bird. "But we must eat..." His expression said he wasn't going to make up his mind any time soon.
"Well, we either kill.the bird now and secure ourselves a meal, or wait until the next unknown specie of.animal crosses our path. But who knows what luck we will have. We should take comfort in the fact we even were able to find an animal at all."
She was right. And in that thought, Enzo thrust away his shame and pulled out the katana. Hunting a bird such as this required a great deal of speed and aglity. For they only had one chance and the time was now. So he leapt through the brush and slashed the head from the bird, who barely had a moment's notice to respond. At least the death came swift and Enzo inwardly apologized for his actions.
Pao made another fingered marking across her chest before muttering something beneath her breath, which was in Saranthian and sounded like some sort of chant or prayer.
"May the food we eat be blessed with strength." And she turned towards Enzo with a nod. "Would you like me to help you remove the feathers? Perhaps we can keep them. It would be a shame not to use what resources that bird gave his life for."
Enzo nodded and saw the unusual pooling of blood surrounding the bird after he plucked it from the ground. They returned to their place of rest. The bird's blood was a bright vinrant color, different than even he had seen, but the corpse was perhaps good to eat.
"The blood from the bird reminds me of some of the unusual blood types from animals of the desert," Pao spoke as they walked back towards their camp. "I have never seen such a color of blood, it was as bright as the bird's feathers."
Enzo was quiet and said no more on the bird when he went about defeathering it. It was exhausting messy work, by the time the creature was gutted, Enzo was covered in blood from face to elbows, it's bluish hue most becoming. "There was lots of meat. Much more than I anticipated," he peered up at Pao. "Now what you can make with all those bones?"
As Enzo was working at the bird, she had collected up the feathers, and even some of the strange blood into a small jar before he pressed his question. She looked up at him and smiled.
"I can make charms for our journey, in hopes to protect us, and our dreams."
Enzo smiled a little, laughing at the idea of charms protecting them. "Will that protect us against the beast?" he asked. "Will you let it eat you again?"
"No, it is meant to keep other spirits from deterring us from our fate. Sometimes dreams can show.harrowing visions, but blessed bones help keep those shadows of.doubts out."
"To still our minds from fear is what you mean. To center ourselves?" Enzo said, looking at her strangely. "To focus instead on the task at hand."
"Mmm, perhaps," she said with a smile. "If that is how you wish it to be perceived. But come, let us find wood. We make fire, cook bird good."
Wood was aplenty in their vicinity and Enzo nodded to her for her to go get some. "I'll watch the bird," he replied. "You can do some work for once after I did all the messy business."
Pao laughed good naturedly at such a comment.
"You would set the Saranthian to do such a task," she said,a nd laughed again. "But do not worry, I shall be quick and stay around here so that my guardian Enzo can watch over me." And she winked at him from her jest before moving away, holding her skirt up with one hand to bundle and collect the wood upon, while her other hand fished down into the foliage and grasses in order to retrieve enough dried wood. Thankfully, it wasn't too difficult to find enough to build a fire, and soon she was returning to Enzo's side within enough to at least start the fire so they could cook- but naturally, as she was bending over to retrieve each piece, she did it in such a way that, if Enzo were to watch, he might take extra note of the curves of her hips and bottom, and the way her bossom was pressed together with each bend. She wasn't sure if her playfulness would even entice or amuse him, but it was just something playful she always did- and, in that moment, felt as if she wanted to do for Enzo. After all, they had 'connected' in such a unique way that her 'other' method of connection was still simmering beneath the surface- though she supposed her hormones were never truly fully in check- and were always more hungry than they ought to be!
Thankfully Enzo didn't even notice her as he was busy organizing which pieces of meat would get cooked first, which would be faster and which would take longer. The bones were organized into a pile just behind him and after he cleaned he hands with a little water from their stores, he collected stones to surround the place where the fire would be and allowed it to be hollow enough to hold the ashes.
"Do you have enough?" he called out to her.
Realizing Enzo was hardly paying attention to her, she muttered something in Saranthian and waved him off.
"Yes, I should have enough!" she called over to him, and made her way back over towards the make-shift fire circle. "I suppose you want sticks here, ya?" And she got to her knees and let the gathered wood spill off of her skirts before she began to build up a modest enough sized fire. Now all that was needed, was well.. the fire!
"So how you suppose we start the fire? Have any match sticks or flint?"
Enzo blinked at her realizing they had no flint and he got up and moved toward her. He pulled the dagger from her belt and struck it against the blade of his katana. It made a good spark but it wasn't enough to take. A few more tries and the sparks set the sticks smoking. He smiled at Pao. "There you are."
Pao retrieved her knife and gave him a smug grin as she repocketed it.
"It seems our blades work good together, ya?" And she bent over just slightly to admire the growing flames.
Enzo gave her a knowing grin and nodded to her. "They do seem to, don't they," he replied and moved back toward the meat and he took a stick, impaling it and laying it over the fire. "How do you like yours? Well-done?"
Pao wrinkled her nose.
"Well done? If I wanted my meat well done, I might as well eat the ash from the fire!" She shook her head. "No, I prefer mine to still have some juice on it's bone."
Enzo gave her a laugh. "Very well," he replied. "Juice on the bone it is. I don't suppose you have any spices do you for the meat? "
"I have some items in my bag, ya, but not sure how wise they'd be use for a spice." And here she admired the cut job he did on the meat with some satisfaction. It seemed he had done great care to carve around the bone.
"You did well on the bird, Enzo. This meat- so well cut." And here she nodded towards it before turning towards him. "It might be good just to eat and cook as is."
"Hmm," Enzo replied and smiled at the smell of the meat all ready. "It already looks like it doesn't need more than perhaps a little salt, perhaps even some pepper. I like spices. They encourage the flavor to rise." When the piece he was cooking seemed done enough, he retrieved it from the fire and offered it to Pao. "Taste it. If it is to your liking, go on and take it."
Pao accepted the meat and when she tried it, she was surprised by the flavor.
"Salt and pepper might ruin such a flavor. Try it for yourself. This meat is sweet."
Enzo inherently gagged at the mention of it and shook his head. "Then I will need to cook mine thoroughly. Let me see those spices." When he had them, he stuck a few spice rubbed pieces on the stick and proceeded to cook them. "Those smell even better than that first one. I dislike sweet meat. It's unnatural."
Pao'orha shrugged and laughed at his words.
"You call it unnatural but that is what it tastes like!" she shook her head and went to eat her portion of the bird, saying nothing more but handing him over what little spices she had kept in a pouch. Though she had salt, she hadn't much pepper and the other dried seasonings would be foreign to him. She had obtained them from travel, after all.
"Yeah, yeah," he shrugged and ate in relative silence, picking at the meat. Thankfully he was more hungry than worrying about the taste and ate it as quickly as possible as to not linger on it for long. When he had his fill he looked at the rest of the meat and set to cooking it to keep it from spoiling and to keep it for the rest of the journey.
When the remaining meat was thoroughly cooked and dry enough to package for travel, Pao offered to take care of it and wrapped it up carefully in a long, silk-like clothe. After tucking it away into her bag, she turned back to Enzo with a smirk.
"So shall we continue on in our travels? We do have several days before we will reach that mountain, and we've already been delayed more than once today."
It wasn't even a question and Enzo nodded forward for them to continue their journey even as evening set in. They had a long way to go. And there was no use into putting off the inevitable. Enzo moved through the trees, not wanting to disturb their surroundings more than they had to.
The days rolled on, most the same as the others, as night would come, and the pair would take turns on night watch, and in daylight, they'd hunt and eat and bathe when they could- and the waters here, Pao'orha could not stop praising. The flavor could compare no where else, and even the wild boar tasted better than it did in the Serha plains. Finally, they made it to a vast valley, and at the other side of it- the mountain they were destined for.
"I know I keep saying it, but the sight of such a wonder is breath taking." And her green-blue eyes scanned the crevices and now, being so close, she watched the pencil thin water falls trailing off seemingly from no where. Fog incased near the tops of it, and fog lightly gathered near the small streams that collected from the mile lone water falls that had been gushign down from the tops. And blue and yellow butterflies were dancing across the fields, while wild flowers of all colors bloomed.
"It's enchanting, simply enchanting- but to think, this is where the beast we must slay lives." And she pointed to the very top of the mountain, the ornaments along her arm chiming as they clang together. "THough he rests up there, at the very top- where flat land of mountain top reach sky."
Enzo stood, quite exhausted beside her and took his eyes to the mountain now that they were resided at the foot of it. "It is truly beautiful," he agreed. "Now how the hell do we get to the top?"
Pao craned her neck to look at the top of it and gave a laugh.
"That, I do not know. But come, I'm sure we will find the answers before us."
And she moved to step out into the valley, a group of colorful, yellow birds scattering as she did. Pao'orha paused to admire them, the jewelry on her body clammering to a halt long after she did as she smiled.
When Pao allowed the birds to pass over her, Enzo smiled up at the mountain and ventured forth, going past her with little consequence. He watched his step through the valley and moved forth through the scant trees.
As they neared the mountain side, the gush of waters coming off from the top of it mesmerized her as she paused at the foot of the stream to have a drink.
"The waters here..d o you not think they taste much better than back home? I wonder if this sort of land is rich in minerals and magic, and if not those traces find ways into water and then to our lips, ya?" And here, she smirked and scooped up some more, some water glossing her lips and dribbling down her chin as she drank and drank some more.
"Come, Enzo! Before I drink it all up!"
"Keep drinking. Perhaps it will fill you with a clue," Enzo muttered and walked underneath the water fall. Though the place ad its beauty, he couldn't help but feel they were being constantly watched here.
Pao planted a hand upon her hip, muttering something about Enzo in her own tongue before taking a seat. She wasn't about to be bothered by her moody companion and just enjoyed the warmth of the sun, her back to him as she hummed and sang softly and drew markings in the muddy bank.
Enzo stopped when she realized she was no longer following him and he moved back toward her. "I thought we had a task to do?" he asked with a raised brow. "I guess drawing in mud beats monster-slaying any day."
At his smart comment, she quirked a brow and jammed a finger into the mud, then drew a circle, a peculiar looking nose and mean eyes with a zigzagging shape for hair.
"But of course. See? I draw you. Man with no humor, ya?" and she rose off the ground and didn't bother to dust herself off, hands now coated in mud, as were her knees and the lower half of her dress. "Though I suppose if you are so inclined to fight that monster, ya, ya, we can walk." And she didn't bother to wait for him as she walked past him, leading the way towards whatever it was they might find nearer to the mountain.
"Good, I thought we might never be on our way," Enzo nodded to her and got up to follow after her. He couldn't understand this woman. One moment she was drawing in the dirt, next she was practically shoving his face in it. But it didn't really matter he supposed, this was her journey after all. He was just along for the ride.
Like the jungles they had just traveled through, the valley was lush with plenty of streams veining through the tall grasses. Wild flowers of all sorts were seen, even one, Pao'orha got to witness, eating a dragon fly whole!
"Glad we are not dragon fly sized, lest we become snack to plant, ya?" she called back to Enzo, before carefully moving past the series of plants. They were large enough to eat a man's fist, but thankfully not more! And the color was astounding, bright orange, like the pumpkin squashes she had seen before, and some of the lillies of the valleys from the Serha plains.
Though now that they were in an open area, the winds moved freely and tossed her long dark hair about as she tried to tuck some behind her ears as they neared the tepuis before them.
Craning her neck, she saw the craggy sides, but there was no real indication on how they might get up there, and so she inwardly shrugged that detail away as she began to make her way into a path to follow the outter rim of the giant, strange shaped mountain before them until she came t pause before a small forming lake from a pencil thin water fall that gushed off the top of it.
"We could rest here. Maybe the other side of the mountain will offer us some answers, ya?" And she didn't waste any time before she dipped her bare feet into the cool water and then, scooping her bangled wrists into the waters, she pulled out some of it's fresh waters to drink.
"It's strange how peaceful it is here, Enzo. Do you not think it too? If we are meant to battle a beast, one would think the world all around him would be just as aggressive and dark as how I pictured it in my dreams. Though I suppose the world up top might be different. Perhaps only darkness rains nearer towards the sky."
His nerves had calmed some with the hike around the mountain side. As ever the view was breathtaking but Enzo could not let himself be distracted with the view. His body was growing tired from the climb, as they moved around it. Indeed they were ascending where the path rose higher over another and Enzo could see the tops of some of the trees in the lower levels of the forest.
Enzo peered across to Pao in her observations and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. He gave a small smile and peered at the water. "Darkness resides in a mortal's heart," Enzo answered, his smile fading, and knelt beside Pao beside the creek. "I know the heart of real evil will smile at you just as soon as he could stab you in the back. But this beast we are to slay. What do you know about it? Do you know anything we can expect?"
Pao turned back thoughtfully to Enzo.
"The beast, from what I've seen in my dreams, is so large, his body can blot out the sun. His smell, it was ancient, and his body, hard to cut. In my dream, the figure fighting him had a hard time getting through him- and I must warn you, though this beast is large, he packs power. And though he might be slow, if we are caught within his wrath, I am most certain we will die."
She was making gestures with her arm as she spoke.
"Of rock and water, grass too- I saw it on his body, as if he were part of the mountain itself."
Her words only made Enzo scowl grimly and he shook his head as he did so. "Then our task is set. If we are to slay this monster, how are we to kill him if he is made of rock and grass and water? Such things...are of your world. Of any world that is occupied by mortal things such as we. The way you speak of him, he is the very mountain himself!"
Pao'orha paused mid-stride and peered back towards Enzo and gave a brief laugh, "So it would seem!" And she peered up at the side of the mountain before sighing and finding a place to sit. "Perhaps we ought to rest. Fresh water flows from the sides of mountain here. We drink, rest, then move on, ya?"
Enzo, still sitting, gave her a confused look. "I thought we were resting," he said, still remaining seated where he was. "We'll need all the rest we can get. I am tired just breathing. And I am not easily exhausted."
"I realize that, but I mean, if you feel you need a rest, do not hesitate to close your eyes, Enzo. I can keep watch. Though the sight up here is beautiful, is it not?" Smiling, she took in the whole scenario of this world. The 'end' of the world certainly was unique, and in Le'ranna, she was certain the only thing comparable might be the jungles in the south.
"I've never seen so many blues in trees. Must be unique to this world."
"Are we really in another world?" Enzo asked tentatively as he removed his armor to feel more at ease where they rested. " It feels just like another part of the same world."
"I suppose you could call it that. All worlds are connected, after all." And moving to sit down beside him she offered out a hand. "Here, let me help you with that." And she helped him loosen and slip off the bulky armor so he could rest more easily with her on the narrow path. With the armor aside, she sighed and sat down beside him befre plucking up a piece of the armor to study it.
"So does your armor have any history behind it?" She smoothed a hand over some scratches in the metal, and a noticeable dent. "Some men in such armor have many tales of great battles and adventures."
Enzo nodded at the prospect. He supposed it was true. He had been many places, had seen many things that had all seemed as if they blended together. One passed into the other and linked it as one in conscious memory. He peered up at Pao at her question, interrupting his musings and he eyed the armor, which had suffered its share of abuse.
"It is the royal armor of my people, worn only by the elite of the Valarian guard, they protected the Prince. I had my own fashioned to be in league with them because it is the greatest pride a Valarian warrior could hope to achieve. It is the armor I wore when I discovered Matakopas' treachery, when he unleashed his engine of desolation." Enzo frowned and turned his gaze away with a sigh. "I wear it still because it reminds me of home... Or it's memory, I suppose. It is still good, though it is cumbersome, the pauldrons, the greaves. But I must be prepared. That slimy bastard can pop up at any moment!"
"Will you ever go back there? Your home?" Pao asked curiously as she peered over towards him.
Enzo peered up at Pao, incredulous at her words, clearly taken aback. "How can I?" he asked. "There's nothing to go back to. Everything is destroyed. Gone."
Pao's eyes, once dancing with mirth, seemed to became stilled at his words.
"Most men find ways, but to lose everything, I am sorry to hear. I hadn't realized it was your entire nation, ya, that had fallen- I just thought you meant crown." She tilted her head and studied his expression, noting the pain evidently there.
"It must grieve you so."
"Grieve me it does," Enzo nodded to her. "But I can't ever allow myself to forget. I must remember what I fight for, what drives me on, what gives me purpose. No matter where I am, lost in strange lands."
"Is it only revenge that brings you here, Enzo?" She stared from him to the jungle's canopy around them. A soft fog collected across the tree tops, rising as steam and wild birds took to flight across the air. There were even other mountains similar to this plateau, but she knew this was their destination- for she had seen it clearly in her dream.
"I have many different reasons to be here, but I do not think I have ever felt that sort of hate. Sure I get angry,.." And she flashed him a grin. "But I have not felt that sort of passion before." Though maybe she did, all one in the same- for Enzo. He had threatened to kill her once, after all. Though at the memory, the light in her eyes faded and she peered away from him towards the jungles once again.
"Shall we keep going? It is a long way up."
Enzo ignored her question and instead tried to find it in him to relax, to meditate and to breath away the despair from his body. He closed his eyes to clear his mind, crossing his legs and relaxing the tension in his shoulders, breathing softly and steadily.
Seeing how Enzo chose to ignore her, she turned away from him to study the jungles. Perhaps she could take this time to recount her dreams- or relive them. She let her eyes trail along the craggy moutain's side until she was craning her neck painfully to see the top- or what of the top she could make out at this angle. It was nearly a straight shot up and as a breeze swept past them, she found herself shivering as her jewelry clamored together.
It was then, in their silence, she removed the satchel from her side and began to dig through it, and while Enzo's eyes were closed, she began to make a few paints, and before he'd get a chance to open his eyes, she had quietly moved before him, and took his hand suddenly, and pressed her painted palm against his.
"Keep your mind where it is, Enzo. I am just using this moment to read the winds. And to read our connection."
Adn if he were to look, he would notice turquoise paint was shared between their hands.
Enzo had centered himself and was not startled by her actions. In fact he had hoped she had not gone. He peered at her and breathed into her, of her, feeling her energy through his palm. With their hands clasped so close together, he sealed his palm toward hers and pulled her closer to him. "I can feel you," he said with no frown or smile painted on his lips. "Can you feel me?"
She felt her skin prickle and tingle at contact. Rare moments when the two couldproperly bond were few and far between and Pao felt even her heart flutter lightly while her skin bumped over.
"I can feel it," she said in an excited whisper. "Like warmth of Sun."
"And the coolness of the sea," he replied with a small smile of his own. He eyed her for a moment longer before he leaned in and kissed her suddenly, balancing on his free hand, kneeling over the bowl of paint. He pulled away, momentarily breathless, "Both of them in one."
She was taken off guard by the kiss, having come.to the conclusion this man wanted none such attentions from her. Though it.certainly wasn't unwelcomed as she grinned and dipped her fingers into the paint and smeared the aqua color across his lips.
"Here. It makes it easier to.connect." And she leaned forward, sealing her lips unto his.
The coloring sizzled on his lips and tasted of weeds and paint and a bit sour to the taste. He kissed her nonetheless, however, devouring of her mouth, her body, her soul. He felt the energy coursing through him like the force of gale winds making the sea crash against the bluffs of Canador.
As they kissed, she felt the sting of passion, the flavor of connection as hands ghosted over his chest and delicately, her hands opened his shirt, just enough to bare his chest to where fingers began to trace lightly over his skin, before the partially wet paint of her palm was pressed over his heart and she leaned her hand into it, feeling the warmth of his skin- and the beating of his heart beneath.
"Like rhythm of drum," she murmured, pulling her lips away from his, but keeping herself just a breath away so that when she spoke, her lips brushed lightly against his. "Your heart beats fast and strong."
At her observation, Enzo couldn't help but smile. "I know. Because you are kissing me. And not trying to make me eat rocks."
Pao'orha smirked, her hand still over his chest, feeling his heart, feeling his warmth. And she didn't move as her eyes kept to his.
"That's because we haven't gotten that far yet," and she leaned forward to kiss him again.
Enzo smirked as she kissed him and he laughed anyway. "I still wouldn't eat it," he replied and devoured her lips once more. His arms wrapped around her and pressed her against his chest, turning his head this way and that.
Her replied was muffled between kisses, but it might have been distinguishable as, "Oh, yes, you will." Hands smoothed all along his arms, finger idly drawing light marks wththe paint, at least with finger was coated with it before she parted their lips and looked at him with half-lidded eyes.
"You should be careful how you kiss me. We may stoke fire here."
"I did not intend it any other way, should I have?" Enzo breathed against her. His lips were held just above hers and he pressed his forehead against hers.
The Saranthian smirked, and groped around until fingers pressed into wet paint, in which she then raised to her face. A line was drawn along her chin, then underneath her eyes, and dipping her fingers again, she moved forward to do the same thing to him.
"Ala-remu," she whispered, he paint finding his chest again and marking it a smybol. "It means peace. Love. For our journey." And she did all of this, spoke all of this while stll keeping herself pressed intimately close to him.
"To keep our bond strong," Enzo commented. "To keep our energies in tune with one another." He dipped a hand into the paint and painted a sun on Pao's forehead with his thumb at the center. "Mizan-kai. The sun. To give us life and strength that we may persevere in the end."
Grinning, Pao took more fresh paint and painted something on Enzo's forehead, too.
"And the moon- so that all time, our journey be fullfilled." And she flashed him a smile, eyes dazzling like the ocean.
Enzo drew small X's on her cheeks. "So the stars will be in our favor," he said and kissed her cheek, each just underneath the stars.
Pao's smile softened, eyes sparkling more. And to his throat she drew a circle.
"And the earth, for our dreams, for she chose us to free her." And she leaned forward, eyes meeting to his before her lids hung low and kissed him softly, fully on the lips.
Enzo kissed her, tiltig his head to the side to deepen the kiss. His tongue sought hers, exploring the hollows of her mouth, running along her tongue, his arms, wrapping around her, sealing her to him. He knew what this would lead do, but he didn't mind so much. Enzo's breath seemed to leave him and his senses were clearer now than they had ever been.
Her breath was gone too as she panted while their tongues wrestled in saliva and heat. And now that their bodies were pressed together, she clung to him, her painted hand leaving hand prints up and down his arm and back as she leaned into him. It was a curious spot for kissing- assuming they had barely just enough space to sit on the narrow path that wrapped up along the tall mountain side. Though as the day had rolled on ad the steam continued to rise from the thick forests, Pao was feeling another kind of heat as her hands explored his body through his clothes where she could, before slipping up underneath it and smoothing down his chest, then lower-a nd lower still- smearing a train of paint in her wake before she slipped a hand into his pants, all the while still kissing him, still keeping her tongue in deep.
Her explorations would prove fruitful and he remained at the ready, his body filled with immeasurable tension. Her touch burned like fire across his skin and he leaned in to her until she reached his trousers. His hands loosened their grip on her and he pulled the shirt from his body, and threw it to the side, all the while he kissed her still and grew impassioned from it.
Following his lead, she used her other hand to smooth appreciatively across his chest before thumb went to the center of her chest and unclasped the hook that bound the meager clothe there. Giving the clasp a shake, the shirt began to fall loose as she made herself comfortable in his lap, not worrying for her skirts as her hand clasped around his eager member, a sly grin grew across her lips because of it as she began to work her hand gently, warmly, up and down his shaft while her other hand traced across the chiseled muscles of his abdomen. The paint by now, was becoming marred and smeared,a nd now both her hands were becoming stained with the aqua colored paint as legs sought to curl around his hips and lips met again to his before moving south down his chin and planting hotly across his neck and bare shoulder.
Enzo peered at her with half-lidded eyes as she massaged his member. He trembled and grew breathless and it only came to him when she drew near once more. He sucked in a deep breath before turning his head opposite hers and devouring her neck with kisses. He held her close to him, as if longing for the comfort of another in ages. As if in this moment, everything hung in the balance. Perhaps it did, perhaps it was a way of coping with the possibility of death when they had to face the terror of the beast that awaited them.
Enzo's hands roved over Pao'ohra's form, holding her arms. He moaned, growing breathless once more and shifted his pants off of his hips, enough to slip them off his knees.
With his pants gone, she sat upon his lap having pulled her skirts aside, and let them fan out around them so they lay across his legs and her own, as she still wore them. And as she took a seat, he'd be able to feel her heat, and her need as she took more paint and smeared a hand clean across his chest before pausign to press her hand in the center- over his heart.
"Connection- Ala remu-; of the heart," she whispered and leaned forward to kiss just over where her hand was resting, feeling his heart beat before she collected a deep, impassioned kiss from his lips as her arms swept around and held onto his neck.
He united with her then and held her hips as he bounced her on his lap. He held her steadily, his pace gentle but potent, each stroke reaching as deep within her as he could. He panted, beads of sweat forming on and around the areas where she had painted his skin. He could feel the powers of the symbols coursing through him, making his blood run hot and powerfully, his energy restoring, feeling strong and invincible.
This time their sex was much different, a sensation coursing through her like she never felt before. Her blood was hot and tingling, so was her body as her body moved in tune with his. It was as if they were one person and as the pace continued, she clung to him more closely, chest to chest, stomach to stomach, sex to sex.
Her face was buried against him so tight, she could feel his collar bone against the bridge of her nose, and small the scents of his body beginning to collect sweat. Though her eyes were closed tightly as their bodies rocked in rhythm, she didn't notice the paint began to faintly glow as they mated over and over again.
"Gods, Enzo," she purred huskily, finger nails digging into his back as she clung to him tight. A series of Saranthian soon followed and her face moved to bury into his neck. "By the Gods, this is better than sex." And despite thatbeing just what it seemed, what they doing was so much more.
To feel her so close to him, to be able to connect with her on such a level, heightened the pleasure he had from makng love to her so. He trembled and shivered and moaned softly as they bounced gently and deeply in tune with one another. He leaned his forehead against her grunting and moaning in steady breaths. His arms wrapped around her tightly and pressed her down onto his lap with greater force.
Enzo worked up a great sweat and hadn't noticed that the paint glowing as their energies surged as one.
Sparkles of light, unseen, fluttered through their veins in a rush as each of their hearts were drumming at the sensation. As a Saranthian, she had believed sex was the only way to connect, but this was something much different- a feeling she hadn't experienced when mating with other men. This opened up a gateway inside her, her own forces channeling and merging with his- a bond so strong, it was what the legends from her people had come from- and as their bodies writhed and twisted and undulated together like the raging waves of the sea, the paints continued to hum with their energies. Clinging desperately to him, she called out his name again and again and again. It felt so exhilarating, to make love with the wind on their back and the cliff side, but a few feet from where they were writhing, groaning and screaming into a mess of limbs and sweat. Hands, now clutching to his thigh and ass, dug into him as her teeth sunk into her lip.
"Oh, Enzo!" and she cried out more in Saranthian. "This is how we are to be!" And as she opened her eyes, feeling herself near her peak, they began to hum and glow as did the streaks of color interwoven throughout her dark hair.
"Pao'ohra," he panted, becoming breathless. He could feel it too and it made his heart nearly burst out of his chest. He opened his eyes at last, pounding into her like a madman, angered and sorrowful, feeling himself losing control to his emotions, his thoughts. Enzo became lost in her and through her and was soon one with her, nearly at his pleasure. "Together. Let's climax as one," he groaned into her ear.
At his words, a thrill rushed through her as she suddenly surprised him with her strength and pinned him to the floor. No longer wth the craggy rocks behind them but now beneath them, she took the lead and moved over him- hips moving and body taking them both to heaven.
He moaned her name loader, crying out and he lunged his hips suddenly upward, his nails digging into her hips, his back curling upward and he convulsed all over as he came hard, suddenly resting in a sweaty bliss.
In the moment of connection, both their bodies glowed a hot white color that faded into blue before dissipating. And the paints on their bodies was warm from the glowing spiritual energy awakening within- though it was hardly noticeable to Pao'orha as she collapsed over Enzo and rested her.head upon his chest, her dark hair spilling across him in a mess. And as they lay together, still.joined at.the hip, she heard his heart beat and inside him, the very sparkling presence of.their connected energies was flowing, growing... As the connection set. Their deep bound of magic and fate has begun.
It was the most intense orgasm he had every experienced and when they both laid prostrated on the ground, Enzo peered wide-eyed up at the sky, breathing heavily and then his arms found Pao's face and he stroked her cheek gently. He had become one with her, in heart, mind, body, and soul and he felt at once at peace, centered and one even with himself. He brushed hair out of her face, stroking her back and knew they couldn't linger there for much longer, but for what it was worth, the moment was beautiful and Enzo showed it by leaning his head upward and making his lips meet to her forehead.
Pao smiled at his attention. The kiss was soft and she closed her eyes in response to it before nestling in beside him and peering up at his face.
"I've never felt that before," she told him softly, a warm breeze, chilly enough to make her skin bump over, forced her to nestle in beside him closely. A hand smoothed across his chest. "I don't even know how to describe it. But now I know how the sun feels when it rises and shine brightly in the sky."
Enzo couldn't understand the feeling either, but he felt at ease with the knowledge that he didn't have to. He carefully peered up at her and gave her a soft grin. "Yeah, it was. Like how the water was must feel when the sun is the first to touch it, how it warms, and spreads light below its surface," he commented wondrously.
Pao's eyes sparkled at his reply.
"Yes, the sensation is beautiful."
As much as Enzo would have loved to have stayed there all day and all night, he knew they had a task ahead. And just when he was going to sit up, he suddenly clung to Pao when the mountain before them began to shake.
"Hah-ta-muhl!" Pao cried. "The mountain lives!" Though it could have been an earth quake, the very idea made her shiver as she clung to him and winced as pieces of rock began to fall, smacking int the pair as she buried her face against him- though rocks still hit her across her exposed back.
He didn't know what to think. Few occurences happened on Valaris, but he was not unfamiliar with the movement of the earth, the ground was alive and powerful. Enzo immediately sat up and scooted away from the falling debris, holding her tightly wthin his arms.
After a moment, the mountain seemed to settle, and blinkingly, Pao'orha peered up at him.
She muttered a few things in her own tongue before peering up into his eyes.
"Are you alright, Enzo?" And she frowned. "You bleed..." and her thumb ghosted over a small cut to his forehead that was trickling blood, and her other fingers brushed away stray wisps of his hair.
Enzo blinked stupidly at her, not realizing he had been hit and a sharp stone had struck his forehead. It was only then that he nodded to her and gently coaxed her off of him to grab his shirt and wipe the blood from his forehead. "I am fine," he said with a smile. "It is just a small gash. Perhaps now, though, we should get moving. I have a feeling that quake was not anything good."
He took her hand and helped her up, and put his clothes back on.
Recalling an incident from earlier, as Pao'orha got dressed,s he turned to Enzo.
"You do not think it is Matakopas?" she asked, hands poised behind her as she was adjusting her skirts.
She hoped not- recalling how he wanted to connect with her and seeing how now, she was even more deeply connected to Enzo- it would be harder to break their bond- and the destiny that would follow. But... she had a feeling his enemy would still most likely try.
"That caused the quake?" He hadn't thought about it before but now that she mentioned it, his brows furrowed together in growing alarm. He quickly reequipped his armor, sans the heavy pauldrons and attached his sword belt. "It could very well be. He would likely try to awake the beast before our arrival, or prepare it for us! We must hurry. I fear to think what it is he formulating. Do not fall for his trickery, for he is clever."
Enzo reached for her discarded robes and helped her redress and tied her belt around her wait. "We must make haste...but tread lightly. Whatever lies ahead, likely can't be good." He took her by the hand and brandished his sword with the other, carefully walking back up the path.
Pao did not think she needed her hand held, though smiled at the gesture.
"Lead onward. If we are swift, perhaps we may not be too late." And she craned her neck towards the top of the mountain. THey weren't even halfway there...
"We can only hope. I have a bad habit of being too late," Enzo frowned at the thought and memory of it. He gave an exhaustive sigh but began the long task of ascending the mountain plateau. It was laborious and Enzo sweat with great exertion as he felt his hear drumming within the confines of his chest, he was anxious, desperate and felt solace in knowing only that Pao'ohra was safe behind him.
Though despite the ground had shaken earlier, it seemed the rest of their journey up the mountain side proved uneventful- and once they made the last turn up the steep slop, Pao'orha found herself completely awestruck by what awaited them there; for the top of the mountain was completely flat- and though most of it was consumed by interesting formations of craggy rocks that swirled and crinkled into the rock's surface, there was a few sparse patches of vegetation here or there, and- as Pao ordered observed- even some springs of water cutting across the rock coming from somewhere on the mountain top's center.
"Oh, Enzo.."s he spoke, taking a few cautious steps forward. "The world up here is beautiful."
And as she was mesmerized by the landscape,s he didn't notice the blur of movement coming their way- as Matakopas had his sword at the ready- ready to chop Pao'orha's head clean off.
Matakopas' eyes burned with a deadly fury, a madness swirling in them, and an anger unmatched. The blur at first had momentarily gone unnoticed, for even Enzo had been taken by the view of the open mountain for the briefest of seconds. But when the bladed staff of Matakopas swung down from his peripheral vision, out came Angra Arda and a spark of steel to steel clashed beside Pao's head as Enzo's blade came down on the Magecrafter.
Matakopas cried out, the blow, sending him reeling down toward his side, nearly knocking him to the ground as Enzo advanced upon him. His blade came up to block the katana from sinking through his skull and his leg rounded down behind Enzo's right. He fell hard on the ground and Matakopas used that momentum to sweep himself up in a backwards roll, crouching on his feet.
"Oh what's the matter, Enzo?" he hissed with a grin of grim satisfaction on his face. "Sex has made you slow. But it doesn't matter now, the mountain is awake. We have a little time for a spar. You and your precious fortune teller are too late, as always." His eyes lingered on her, the fire in them burning with an equal measure of hate and disgust.
Pao'orha, though she possessed no real weapons, was not without her own means to defend- for as the two were sparring,s he wasted no time scooping up a pointy, palm sized rock from the crags and the second Matakopas looked her way, she hurled the thing at his face and cursed him out in Saranthian.
"You stupid fool. You can not destroy fate!" Though even as she spoke it, the mountain shook again, sending the woman to her knees.
The rock fell with a useless clank against the metal of his bladed staff and Matakopas took a step back, watching as Enzo was suddenly between he and the fortune teller. "How quaint that you would think so. It's unfortunate that I have in fact...altered fate," Matakopas flashed her a grin and just as the mountain began to quake once more, he moved toward the center of the slope. And the ground cracked and splintered and stones were flung this way and that as the creature of stone suddenly burst through the ground.
It was massive and terrifying as dust, dirt and rocks flew everywhere as it came up. Enzo lunged over Pao and threw his body over her as rocks came flying their way. Matakopas just laughed and stood at the top of the creature's back as it stood fully erect, revealing arms of carven stone, reeds, moss, dirt, roots, and even bone all molded together to make it gargantuan form.
Pao'orha glared at Matakopas. If she could spit on him, she would! But instead, found herself thrown beneath Enzo as he used his body as a shield. Gasping, she swore beneath him and the moment the giant beast rose, she found the pair of them now cast within it's shadow.
Her eyes went as large as saucers.
"By my ancestors, the earth spirit is awake!"
Enzo turned his eyes toward the beast as it rose up from the ground. It was gargantuan at least the size of the mountain itself. In its wake, it left a massive crater and the ground continued to quake as it stood full length. Matakopas was perched on the top of its head, smiling down at them. Enzo staggered backwards, dragging Pao with him. He held his sword in one hand but he did nothing but stare up at the beast.
"What do we do!? How do we kill it!" Enzo barked out desperately. "PAO!"
Matakopas leered over the edge and grinned. "You die!" And with that the beast seemed to notice them and lurched in their direction, raising one leg and smashing it toward the ground. Enzo shoved her out of the way and he rolled with her just as the foot came down on them.
CRUNCH.
The entire foot came crashing into the earth, sending it into a violent quake-a nd missing Enzo and Pao by mere inches. The sound of the titanic, rockformed foot made her nearly deaf, but she was still able to peel away from Enzo, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she panted and said, "We have to defeat it with your sword! So it was seen in my dream!"
Though even she could see how foolish that might have sounded!
Enzo couldn't be sure his blade could even cut through stone, but he also knew there wasn't anything else he could do save to listen to Pao. If he had known she was pulling all of this out of her behind, he might have taken his sword to her face, but as it were he dashed forth into the fray, narrowly avoiding another stomp by the rock foot. It made him nearly lose his balance, but he used that moment to leap forth and grab onto the plants that grew on the side of it. He clung on for dear life and began to climb.
Pao held her breath as she watched Enzo climb the beasts leg. Though she wasn't wholly prepared for it, she could only dance out of it's way for now as it's massive legs came stomping into the grounds. Finding some place to hide behind a nearby rock,s he craned her neck sky wards and marked a symbol across her chest.
"May the spirits guide you, Enzo," she said, and bent down to pray- hoping to the spirits she could have a vision in this time of need. THough it would be difficult to meditate in such a dangerous moment, she had to try- and fast.
He would need every hope he could get, but Enzo could not cling to the air of a prayer. Instead his hands were stuck between the vines and brush alongside the stone legs as the creature stepped around, searching for the tiny being that was his target. He clung for dear life and climbed still. The gargantuan stone titan swiveled and swayed and shook and broke stone as it whirled around but Enzo clung to it like a flea until he reached the joint of its knee. He brandished his katana and plunged it into the stone.
The blade sang like steel to steel, but the stone proved to be little more than hard flesh to it and made no resistance as a piercing light burst from the wound. The creature leaned down and tried to grab him, but he quickly ran along then bent leg and proceeded to climb higher up until he clung to the vines along its hip.
It was too complicated a feat to even attempt, so when Pao'orha tried to free her mind, reality kept tearing back into it. Hissing, she found herself scrambling to get away when the beast began to stumble in her direction, and now, finding herself pressed up against a craggy rock,s he peered up towards Enzo's figure and shielded her eyes as the sun tore int her vision.
"Find his weak point, Enzo! See if he doesn't have a blind spot, then strike him down!" she called, but while Enzo was busy with the beast, she could see Matakopas from ontop- laughing at them both. Her eyes narrowed as she squared off her shoulders in defiance, then - once the beast seemed to turn the other way, she dropped to her knees in the stony dirt and attempted to paint a circle around her from blue chalk. Then down her arms and legs and across her finger tips she drew lines. Now, placing the chalk before her face, she drew a line from her forehead to chin before holding it out before her, then swallowing it down her throat.
"W-WEAK SPOT?" Enzo howled as the stone titan shook him round and round fiercely. He nearly lost his grip and was flung off but at last the creature grew dizzy and calmed down and shook his own head, giving Enzo time to climb further up onto it's hip. He held Angra Arda reversed in his grip, pulled back and stabbed into its lower back.
The creature jumped and an ungodly howl escaped it's maw. Enzo climbed higher and higher as more light poured from it's body. But gods only knew if Enzo was hitting any points that seemed at all to weaken it.
While Enzo continued to fight- Pao continued to...
Play with chalk. She had produced a white piece this time and was drawing lines all over the grounds, in a blind frenzy it might have seen- casting and highlighting and drawing all sorts of symbols as she danced around and drew marks up and down her legs. Finally at the end of it, she paused to crusht his chalk wthin her hands- then opened her palm to the winds where she blew it's dust out towards the sky.
Pao's playtime did nothing to help Enzo as the man was being flung left and right by the creature, where it had grabbed him from it's back and tried to shake him off and slam him toward the ground. "PAAAAOOO!" he yelled as he hung onto the moss along his forearm. He held on for more than dear life and nearly dropped his sword once or twice. All he needed was a small chance to get up onto it's arm and perhaps he could severe it, but at this rate it didn't look like that was about to happen.
The dust spells and chalk eating proved nothing. Nothing happened. Nothing came. She had no vision and as hse stood there, realizing the faults in this method- she quickly began to curse, for the visions having failed her in a moment like this made her begin to realize how unprepared for this battle she really was.
Shit. They could really die.
Reality settled in as the monster came storming too close for comfort, but seeing Enzo hanging on for dear life made her cringe. She couldn't let the hero just die like that, and so grabbing onto her bags, she rushed out into the open ad began to flail about- calling out to the monster to gain it's attention- and being childish in her choice of words.
It was only after a few hearty steps did the beast finally notice Pao, and it began to charge her way.
The beast took a few moments to steady before going in after her and in that time he used it to hoist himself up onto a set of vines growing along it's arm. Enzo climbed quickly before reaching the highest point in it's shoulder and thrusted the Katana deep onto it. Out from the point black oil was spurted out, think and stunk of death. It made the vegetation slick and sticky at once and Enzo had a hard time climbing further.
More importantly however, it seemed to be a crippling blow and had sent the beast guarding it's left side and momentarily ceasing it's pursuit.
Pao' orha halted in her run the second the beast hunched over in pain. Her eyes sparkled at the reality of it as she let out a happy cry.
"Enzo! Keep that up! Find other points like that and bring the beast down!"
She knew she could trust him, trust her dreams-a nd this moment only proved it as the smile remained, unerasasble on her lips.
Enzo did and before it could recover, Enzo bolted across toward the next shoulder and plunged his katana into the shoulder of the beast. It howled out in pain and Matakopas made a face of savage rage. "What are you doing!?" he howled. "We'll both go down with it!"
But the katana sent more black oily liquid poured out from the wound. It roared and reached up to grab him. Enzo soon found himself in a vice grip of stone fingers and he cried out as the stone creature crushed him in its grip. It raised its hand in an attempt to throw him down to the ground, but just before it could, Enzo raised Angra Arda and dug it into the wrist of the titan, cutting it cleanly through. The hand dropped from its arm and it clutched it to its chest in blinding pain.
Enzo fell and he fell hard onto the ground as the stone broke around him, and he tumbled several feet away until he skidded along the stone to a final stop, facing down with the sword loosely clutched in his hand.
Gasping, Pao rushed towards his side, not wasting up any time to bring the sword to her hero and she, whispering a prayer and fishing out a vial from her side pouch.
"Enzo.. here, drink this. It will give you strength to finish the beast before he finishes you."
"It's no use," Matakopas called out from atop the creatures shoulders. He took his staff and jabbed the sharpened end into the nape of the neck of the stone titan. It stood stock still for a moment just as oily ooze sprange forth from the wound, and suddenly fell to the ground. It began to deteriorate, fading fast until it was but a mere decrepit husk of its former self.
Matakopas felt it's energy consume him, until at last it was absorbed into it's body. Enzo lay barely conscious on the ground as the Magecrafter stood upon the remains, looking down at them as if they were sheep for the slaughter. "Poor Enzo Azura," Matakopas said, and spat at his direction, watching the bodyguard weakly try to move, looking at Matakopas with haggard eyes. "Is that what you call yourself now? Taking the name of your patron and your prince. How pathetic. You're too late, like always. How did you expect to save him when you can't even save yourself!? Look at you! Crawling on the ground like a serpent, a worm! And you, prophetess, just how did he weave you into his web? Did he call himself a prince? Hah! And you believed him?" Matakopas cackled. "He is the true liar, the true deciever! And he'll leave you to die just like he did the one who trusted him most."
"Hash!" Pao spat in the man's direction. "As if I could be so fooled. You think he strung me along? It is I who have seen the visions, it is I who knows the truth-a nd you are not among them. Be gone!" ANd she went on to tear him apart in her native tongue. "Lest you fall pray to a Saranthian curse!" And she held on haughtily to her skirts and gave a sweeping kick in he dirt, marking the ground nearest her with a huff and hands to her hips.
Matakopas leaned on his staff, looking at the pair of them affectionately. "You see the truth? Then you should have known Enzo would fail to slay your monster. But I should leave you two alone. Here...a parting gift. Consider it a token of affection!" He took a coin from his pocket and kissed it before tossing it to her and promptly turned and left, leaping from the cliff's edge and not even a sound of landing echoed from below.
Pao spat towards the man, and towards his coin before rushing after him and sputtering Saranthian curses down into the cliff side.
"Pah! May he rot in his own piss!" she seethed, waving him off before she turned around and frowned down at Enzo's strewn form. She made quick work to kneel at his side, her blue-green eyes taking him in.
"Enzo.." she studied his form a moment with a frown. "I am sorry I did not see the battle end like this. I.. I was so certain you could beat it. The visions, they were so real. We were there- both of us, and we were victorious."
Though they had a victory, it felt too hollow to count as the on she had seen in her dreams.
Enzo watched the coin glinting at the ground and he scowled at the gold. It was Valarian gold, and the picture of his prince on one side of it. A knot began to form in his throat and he forced it away. He did not touch the coin, but when Pao'ohra came near, he could not look at her for long. "No...no we didn't kill it like we planned," he muttered. "I wasn't prepared enough. I was too late."
"Do not blame yourself, Enzo, it is I who have failed. Perhaps, I ought to share my visions with you- let you see them as I do. It might help in fight, ya?"
Enzo was stilled and eyes were swollen and sore and red when he peered up at her. "Perhaps. But what do we do now?" he asked. "He took the soul. Matakopas killed your creature! I only wounded it, made it ripe for the killing! Pao, you said you knew the outcome, but you didn't know this! You were wrong! And now Matakopas is free to go after the next one..." He sighed uselessly. "Where do we go next?"
"I was not wrong, it was defeated, was it not? And without your help, it would not have been slain." She frowned as she thought this all over.
"Since we are... more connected, I could try letting you share in on my dreams, Enzo. It would yield a more potent vision when dual dreams merge. ANd our path, more clear for it."
Enzo saw that she had not bothered to look down at the coin that Matakopas had thrown on the ground beside them. His hand reached for it as he leaned in and kissed her weakly, leaning his forehead against hers in faint exhaustion. "Let us get off this mountain before we share a vision. I am exhausted from being thrown several hundred feet."
"Do you think it is wise in your state? Should we not rest?"
"Here now? On this mountain beside the carcass of that golem?" he asked. He shrugged. "I don't know, Pao. You are the one guiding this quest. I am but your weapon."
Pao visibly frowned at his comment.
"Not just a weapon, Enzo. This prophecy offers more than just that."
She took in the dead monolithic creature.
"The creature is dead- not to rise again. To rest here for but a few moments will not wake the dead. I can look for fresh water as you rest. But it would do us no good to walk treacherous path if your body too weak."
"I am well enough to walk. Help me up," he said and clung onto Pao's shoulder to support himself. He was bruised and scratched all up his side, his armor beaten to a pulp. He sheathed his blade once more, and he could take a few steps on his own, but not without laboring for breath.
"Ha-eeesh! You'd risk going down the mountain side for pride? No," she told him flatly and forced him to join her where she sat. "We sit here! Besides, if we are close to dead creature, we can connect better to the forces that move it. Do you not wish to understand the beasts you slay better?"
Enzo yanked himself from her grasp and used his sword to help himself stand. "I thought we were getting water. I can manage at least that," he said. "Instead of fighting with me, help me."
"You know I could get the water, Enzo," she told him, peering up at him and his stubborness. "You need to rest after what had happened."
"And what if Matakopas appears again and attacks you? I will not remain idle," But even as he said that, he lost his balance and fell on his ass, collapsing to the ground. Enzo gave an exhausted sigh and he unsheathed his sword, letting the katana rest on his lap. "I will be fine...go get the water."
"Ha-eeesh," she sighed with a roll of her eyes. "You could not protect a rock. Just stay here- rest. I go." And she was swift in collecting what fresh water she could before she returned with their waterskin nearly bursting, some of it dribbling down her chest as she handed it over towards him.
"Here- drink- and be sure to wipe that expression off your face, ya?" she said, daring to move a hand forward to pull his dark hair from his eyes.
"And once you are ready, perhaps we can commune- connect, right here- and see what path might be before us next. I think it would be wise to say we could remain here the night nad travel back down the mountian at night- that is, if the might Enzo is up for it." ANd the last part she said playfully as her blue-green eyes danced as they took him in.
Enzo was silent when she left, staring into nothingness, and kept the same expression when she returned. He took the water and drank from it lightly before setting it to the side and curling up on the floor, feeling tired, exhausted, beyond even words. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.
When Enzo slept, she stayed at his sides, tending to his wounds and after placing him into a comfortable position while laying on his back, she drew chalk circles all around him as she hummed and sang Saranthian hymns and once the chalks boundaries were finished- both on the rocks and grasses around him and some boulders nearby; she took out paints, mixed a few new ones and began to slip off her clothing- and his as well. Soon wet painted hands were pressing prints all over his chest- his abdomen and then she smoothed dark blue lines of band down his arms and coated his hands well- so that his entire forearm and hand- all the way up to his elbow, was dark, dark blue. Her own hands faired the same; and she had similar, intricate patterns on her body-
and as he lay there, she raised both of his painted hands to her exposed breasts and rested them over so he could feel her heart beat while she received the imprint of blue paint from his hands.
He didn't know why, but his groin suddenly hurt that it woke him up and he stared down at his pelvis with a deep frown. And he peered up at his hands and saw them planted to her boobs. "Oh, that's why," he muttered and slowly opened his eyes to look at Pao'ohra better. "What ritual are we doing now?" he asked tiredly, feeling himself better rested than before, his bruises lightening from the fall.
"Painted hearts," she told him with a smirk. "I see you are awake. Good." ANd she turned around, lifting up her dark hair. "Now press your hands to my back, Enzo, right above my shoulder blades."
Enzo put his hands on her back where she indicated and pressed in deeply. "What is this for?"
"To help us connect,"s he told him, as she peered over her shoulder. "How do you feel, Enzo?" She asked, turning around and leaning over his lap so that their faces were just barely an inch apart.
"Old," he murmured with a grim expression. But he looked into her eyes and relaxed a little more. He even smiled and rubbed his head. "I feel...like I'm carrying the weight of a thousand worlds on my shoulders. Heavy, tired, dragging my feet with every step I take. I just want to sleep for the rest of my life...and I think I'd be okay with that. But that won't stop Matakopas..."
He frowned a little crookedly, before straightening and folding his legs in front of him, sitting straighter and closing his eyes, taking a breath to center himself.
"Let me help you relieve that burden, Enzo. I am not just your guide. I am here to help."
Enzo gave her a smile and reached for her hands. "Then I suppose some water will do."
"Are you sure water is all you want?" she inquired, giving him a playful smile as her blue-green eyes sparkled.
The look went right over his head. "I am thirsty, yes," he murmured and crawled around her toward the water skin. He took his lips too it and drank heartily.
She shouldn't have been surprised. Having sex with Enzo was about as rare as calm winds.
"And what is it you'd like to do after you have that drink?"s he said coyly, but had a feeling he'd just want to go back to sleep. Typical serious warrior.
[Maybe she should be less subtle about it.]
Enzo dropped the water skin a little and sealed it tight. He wiped his lips and shrugged. "Food, if we still have some," he muttered.
OOC: She likes being coy 8D
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Pao turned her gaze away with a laugh.
"But of course, my warrior," she purred. This was a bit fun, though dashing to her spirits. It wasn't every day a man was so ignorant to her flirtation. Her voice and body language spoke volumes- but then again, Enzo was not like the ordinary men at Canador.
Retrieving her satchel, she scrounged through it and produced what few rations they still had left.
"Dried bread and meats, for the hero of my dreams," she offered to him with a toothy smile.
"Huh?" Enzo said, looking at her like she ate some weird berries that made her crazy in the head. "It's just rations is all." He ate quietly and just looked at the brittle carcass of moss and stone around him.
Pao gave a laugh at Enzo.
"Yes, but you are not just rations," she told him, eyeing over his form. "Enzo, had you dreamed?" she asked him, this time growing more serious than playful as she observed him. "When you were resting? Did you see any pictures inside your head- see any visions of what is to come?"
"No, thankfully." He released a steady breath. "I did not dream anything that would help us on our journey. I peacefully slept seeing nothing at all. How could I with my body as wracked in pain as it was."
It was at this announcement Pao's expression dropped and she turned from him, muttering curses in Saranthian.
"Then the ritual was for not!" she said angrily, and over turned the remaining bowl of paint near her heel before she stormed off to vent.
"I thought the ritual didn't even start yet." Enzo shrugged and hung his head tiredly to the ground. He still had no strength to stand and let her leave without incident. Instead he rested the sword in his lap and felt it's energy course through him, slowly but surely healing him back to proper health.
Pao'orha needed a moment. She had been rushing things- hoping for a sign, a new sign, an old sign- anything was better than nothing. And then after a long moment, she angrily gave a kick to the large fallen rock monster before storming off again to continue her vent.
At last Enzo could stand and he wiped the paint from his body and put his clothes back on, though continued to use his katana as a walking stick, hobbling down the rocky path like a cripple.
When Pao returned, she nearly crashed into Enzo- and she was still sputtering nonsense.
Enzo stumbled backwards and blinked at Pao with a small gasp. "Sorry. I didn't know if you were coming back," he said sheepishly.
"Hash!" she snarled, smacking the top of his shoulder and pushing him aside. "Should you not be resting?"
Her push threw him off balance and made him fall hard to the ground. "Oof!" he yelped and winced at the pain in his side. He held it and grumbled to himself.
She planted her hands to her hips.
"Hash!" She threw her hands up of him. "You are weak. Come!" She bent over and tried to help pick him up. "Let us get you rested, ya? Before you fall off into pieces on mountain!"
Enzo leaned more on his sword than her as he climbed to his feet and nodded to her. "That is why I wanted to get away from that carcass. Dead things give me dead feelings," he muttered.
"Dead feelings? Hash!" She waved off the idea. "That's just superstitious. Come, it is dead, ya? It can not harm us. But you? You fall, you harm us both! Now sit!" And she pointed down to a somewhat uncomfortable looking formation of rocks.
Enzo leaned on his katana still and frowned at the rocks. And the fact that she completely brushed off his worries. "No," he said bluntly and turned and began to hobble down the path again.
Pao hissed.
"Enzo! Where are you going?"
"I don't know," he said back, not even looking behind him. "You'd best hurry if you want to keep up."
Muttering soured words in Saranthian, she scrambled to pack up her things as she rushed off to follow Enzo.
"You are bad at listening," she told him in a huff when she finally reached his side. "When you pass out on trail, I give no sympathy!"
Enzo frowned at Pao, but gave her a resolute nod. "I know," he muttered. "It is not as if you are any good at listening either."
Despite being haughty, Pao'orha gave him a rich laugh.
"We are unlikely pair, ya? Two pair who have four ears but no ears to listen and no heart to obey."
"Obeying is not the same as listening," he said with a nod. "And you seem to only hear yourself when nnyone speaks, so why bother."
Frowning, she gave a disgusted noise and waved him off. She was never good at confrontations- since sadly, he was right.
Enoz walked on in silence, then finally turned on Pao and clenched a fist at her. But when he released it, he opened his hand and within the center of his palm, he showed her the coin that Matakopas had wanted to give her. "You should hold it."
"What? Why?" she peered at him skeptically. "That thing is probably cursed!" And he hastily marked herself across her chest.
"Perhaps...it is time you saw for yourself," Enzo murmured, gesturing for her to take the coin.
Pao frowned and took the coin, turning it over a few times before she bit it and looked over at Enzo.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" And she marked another warding symbol across her chest as she held out the coin.
"Look at it. Like Matakopas wanted you to do. Before we go any further, you should know the truth...."
Pao grumbled and looked the coin over.
"ANd what am I looking at? Ha! A face on gold coin? What is this to mean to me, Enzo?"
"I don't know I would believe you to be more flexible. That face, is the Prince of Valaris. Does that man resemble me in the slightest?"
Pao made a face and looked him over.
"Not really."
"Then you know the truth," he said with a haggard breath. "I am not...the Prince. I never was."
Pao frowned.
"So when we first met, you lied on name, ya?" She looked him over, brows furrowing indignantly. "But prince or no, Enzo, I was not looking for title, but man inside."
Following after, she eventually halted as she huffed.
"Do you think I would be so angry to find out your lie?"
Enzo blinked at her. "I don't know... I knew you would have discovered it eventually...but I don't know how you would have reacted."
"Hash!" she waved it off, albeit angrily. "We all keep secrets. But to be fair.." and here she paused to huff as she placed her hands to her hips. "I have not been so full of truth with you."
Enzo pursed his lips, squinting tiredly at her. "I know. I was just wondering when you would have come to terms with it yourself. You're not reall a very good fortune teller are you?"
With a glare, she began to prattle off in Saranthian.
"I am fortunate teller, ya!" she told him haughtily. But after a while of glaring him over, she gave a snort through her nose. "But not all I say is true. There is difference. I do lie, yes, but I do see visions. For that, I do not lie. How else you think we got here?"
"Then what did you lie about?" he asked testily, frowning deeply at her.
Pao grew silent, still standing there indignantly before she informed him.
"About some parts of my visions. I... haven't deciphered them all, Enzo-a nd went on a whim to come here. I guess you could say, I got ahead of my own dreams."
Enzo winced at the pressure of his bruised side. His arm went to nurse it and he forced a laugh. "That would be putting it lightly."
Pao snorted but gave the 'prince' a smirk.
"But it does not matter if you are a prince or not, Enzo." She approached him to help aid him walk. "I never would have called you a prince anyway."
OOC: Awww <3 loooooool
"I suppose I should have known better... If it sounds too good to be true. It probably is..." Enzo still was downcast, reluctant to put weight on her.
"What? You didn't think of that before? Why do you think I am not surprised by your secret, Enzo? There is not much trust I put in man."
"Males or men of this world? I know I may not have been honest with you about the truth in my identity. But if there is one thing I would never lie about it, it is that I AM Valarian. But...I suppose no trust could really stand between us then...if you really feel that way."
Pao laughed.
"Perhaps, it is hard rock to swallow. I... I've never really trusted many outside my own." Or any, for that matter.
Enzo peered at her with softened brows and he eased the weight of his body on his sword. "That would explain all the rock eating. You want me to have bowel problems for the rest of my life," he murmured. "I...I just want to apologize Pao. I haven't exactly been agreeable myself. Even after all that's happened, it's hard to get used to all of this. I'm desperate and dogged and...I can't even stand my own ineptitude. But I also know that all of this takes time, that which we quickly are running out of."
"Yes, unfortunately time moves too fast and fate is hard to read. Even in my dreams it is not always obvious. Perhaps we need to learn to work more openly, ya? To see what the other sees and help us know through our own visions and trials."
"I would like that yes," Enzo said with a small smile. "I would like to be able to tell you things without you getting angry or make me sit on sharp rocks."
"Hash!" She waved the idea off. "Sometimes sharp rocks are needed for ritual." But after a while, she sighed and afforded him a small grin. "Though perhaps we can both interpret that vision before I put rock in your belly, ya?"
"I would never eat it!" Enzo growled stubbornly but then offered her a smile. "I wasn't entirely honest about...not dreaming anything either. I saw a cave... It seemed to be made of glowing crystal. But not much else was apparent. I have no idea where we would find such a place like that."
Pao made a face.
"You perhaps did not eat enough rock. Such vision could come from anything. Like gas from boar meat."
"I think I may have gotten sick before, but not from a vision like that. I mean it, Pao. It was too strange to be anything but a vision. My dreams don't always make sense, but I distinctly saw that it was a crystal cave. I'm in no condition - or position for that matter - to make something like that up."
At his insistence, Pao flattened her lips as she studied his face.
"Yes, crystal cave- but what else did you see?"
Enzo thought long and hard. "I saw blue crystals, green ones, red and violet. It was vast and deep, and there was the faint sound of water. Probably a waterfall nearby of some kind. I do not remember much more, or where it could be. Perhaps another vision might solve that question."
Pao frowned as she thought over what he said.
"Had you seen anything else? Like a bird, or some sort of animal?"
"A snake," Enzo said after a moment. "Silver scaled with red eyes."
"A snake?" Pao took a step back, her eyes widening at the thought. She was about to mark herself, but simply kept her fist clutched against her chest.
"That could mean many things. But silver is difficult to read- as is the snake- but the red eyes do not bode well, Enzo." She frowned. "Anything else? No tiger? No dragon?"
Enzo concentrated hard. "I...I saw a bird. A falcon," he murmured. "It flew high trying to hunt the snake."
"A hunt?" Pao furrowed her brow. "It must mean this location will be very hard to find, Enzo. Look harder- remember back to that dream. Did you see anything else of distinction?"
"The bird flew off...blotting out the sun. Everything was very dark and cold, icy it seems. But there was little frost on the ground. The snake hunted me...I remember running, fast and long and my heart beat fast. I couldn't escape."
Pao stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening as she looked at him.
"The sun? And darkness?"
Her skin visibly paled as he rested a hand on his arm.
"Enzo.. this does not bode well. You might have seen a vision involving your death."
"I do not think so," Enzo said with mild confidence, but not enough of it. "Not while we still have so much left to do. I think...I think the crystal cave, and the falcon and the serpent, symbolize where we must go next."
"That much is certain, but I do not like the symbols you are telling me. Yes, perhaps when we return to Canador, we can do a more intense reading - try to share a dream."
"Return to Canador?" he asked. "How? We have no ship? Just how do you propose we get there?"
Pao laughed.
"I was hoping our next dreams might shed some light on that."
Enzo laughed a breathy laugh that made steam fill the cool night air. "So you just want me to go to sleep again?" he muttered with a half a grin.
Pao gave him a knowing grin as she moved real close to him so she could stroke his arm affectionately.
"I was hoping that, ya." She took a hand and gently brushed some hair from his face before letting the back of her hand gently move down his jaw. "And perhaps something else a bit more.. exciting."
Enzo didn't know whether to guffaw in her face, or chuckle. So he stayed relatively expressionless before offering her a frown. "I was nearly killed and you're asking me to have sex?" he muttered, clearly dubious.
"What better way to connect then through bodies?" she questioned, but smiled at his frown before kissing him softly on the cheek. "I would be delicate, Enzo. But if you insist," she shrugged and peered away from him, eyes catching the beauty of the world from the mountain side path. It was breath taking- and the height reminded her of her home in Canador.
Enzo paused and his hand shot out to grip her arm. "I never said I insisted," he murmured, with half a grin, but it was small and he shook his head. He said nothing further before he hobbled along the trail.
Pao gave him a crooked smile in return.
"Then maybe later," she whispered, eyes dancing. "But we have a long journey down. Come, let us focus on that."
It was indeed a long journey and one that Enzo could slowly feeling the finer parts of his aching body by the end of it. But he, for once, was glad to see the trees, the jungle, and the nightcalls of the birds. He was able to stand straighter, then strapped his sword back along his side, no longer needing it as a crutch.
OOC: And this thread is now on the top 10 board (http://www.spiritsoftheearth.net/smf/index.php?action=stats) >.>
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It was here Pao gently touched his side.
"Here, let me take your sword. I can carry it until we find a good spot to make camp for the night."
Enzo was hesitant at first before taking off his sword belt and handing it off to her. "Be careful with it," he murmured.
"What could I do to it, Enzo?" She said through a laugh, and hugged it to her chest as she moved forward. "Come, perhaps we make camp by mountain? Ya?"
He nodded to her and gave a small smile. "We used up all our daylight. We might as well rest," he murmured and nodded again. When they reached the end of the mountain path, they found a small circle of trees beside a quiet pound where water trickled into it from a babbling brook.
There was barely a breath of daylight by the time they reached the valley- but Pao'orha did not waste any time in moving about to gather dry wood for the fire. Once a pile was set and ready, she had Enzo move to light it while she collected more fire to last the night- and also ordered him to prepare them a bed. She did have a few blankets in her satchel- though none that might keept hem warm enough throughout the night. It would have to do.
And once she returned, she was thankful to see the crackling fire as she rubbed at the sweat on her brow.
"Ah, the nice glow of an evening fire. Feels good.. warm." she said, taking a seat beside him as she stretched out her hands towards it so that the tips of her cold fingers could warm.
Enzo finished rolling out the last of the blankets and carefully removed the straps and buckles of his armor, setting them off to the side. Though he had taken off the pauldrons, it was still a little heavy, even after his fall, and he slowly sat down by the fire, sighing at the relief for a chance at rest. But his body didn't hurt half as much as he made it out to be for he was healing quickly though he didn't know it and his bruises were lighter all ready.
"Yes, it does feel nice. It's nice to be arm at last. The mountain wind was quite cold." He sniffed and peered at the fire.
"Yes,"s he agreed, and turquoise eyes lingered on what remained of his armor. "DO you need help with the rest?"
Enzo looked at Pao and followed her eyes and he peered at his armor on his arms and legs. "I think I got it," he said and undid his bracers and then his shin guards. "That feels a lot better," he murmured, grinning as he threw them back into his armor pile.
"You look tense, do you want me to rub muscles? I can make you feel good and lose so you sleep like babe. Come, turn around. I show you what my fingers can do!" ANd she walked over towards him on her knees with a grin.
"Okay," he shrugged and leaned forward, crossing his legs in front of him as she worked on his back. He closed his eyes a little bit, tensing at her touch, but trying to force himself to relax.
"Ugh, your shoulders feel like rock!" Pao sight, lightly smacking his arm. "Relax! Loosen those shoulder, Enzo!" And she ground her hands into them as she huffed hotly against his back. "You'd think you'd just fought a big monster or something!" And she chuckled at the jest.
"I did," he chuckled. "And then I fought that stone colossus." He laughed a little and shrugged his shoulders.
Giving a hearty chuckle in return, the Saranthian leaned forward, the jewelry she wore clanging together as she grinned. "So tense.." she whispered against his ear. "I might need to do more than this to get your body soft!" And she moved her hands now from his shoulder to his lower back, and worked at the knots along his spine.
He gave a soft groan at her ministrations and he leaned forward and finally turned over to lay on his belly so that she could work easier on his back. "Hmm," he mumbled softly and closed his eyes in relaxation.
"Ah, finally," she purred, and continued to dig and knead her fingers into his back. "You just lay there, I work at back until you sleep." And she continued, her dark hair tickling at him from time to time,a nd her scent gently rolling over her as it mingled with the scents from the fire and night time airs of the jungle.
Her scents and caresses did lull him. Enzo stayed quiet, only moaning softly from time to time as he felt the tension melt away. "That feels wonderful Pao," he murmured softly, closing his eyes and trying to sleep, but was too tired even for that.
Her hands smoothed down his back, hands working in circles across his warm skin as she continued to help knead away the tightness in him a she began to sing, a soft song, and one in her native tongue- and she did it softly, and only subtly off-key.
Enzo's eyes grew half lidded and he felt his groin hurting just a little. But he ignored it largely, and just turned his head the other way as she massaged his tired back. The cloth of his tunic was wrinkled and twisted as she worked and he didn't care any other way.
By now, Pao'orha was massaging his back like a cat, kneading into him like bread and smiling as he was turning into dough beneath her fingers. Smoothing her hands across is back, she tugged up on his tunic, exposing his skin so that her hands could not run smoothly down his flash as he felt his strength and warmth as she purred.
Enzo moaned loudly. He couldn't help himself. "Pao you're far too good with your hands," he murmured and he sighed softly.
"Yes," she purred. "That is the idea." And as she smoothed her hands down lower, she smacked his bottom. "Now turn over. I massage muscles on front side now."
His eyes shot wide open and he cleared his throat. "Um, I think I'm okay," he murmured, giving her a nervous grin. He turned his head again and stayed on his belly.
She smacked his ass less gently this time.
"You will turn over or I'll force you on your back, Enzo. I am not done yet."
Enzo gave a grumbling sigh when she insisted. He chewed on his lip a little before he reluctantly rolled over, saying nothing.
Pao'orha moved over him, hands smoothing across his front as she pushed up his shirt.
"Such tense muscles all over," she told him, not lookign south- even though she knew what was there. Instead, her gaze remained on his chest, where her hands firmly smoothed across to massage him as she leaned over him, her body practically straddling his and more dark hair tickling across his skin.
Her massaging on his chest did little to ease the tension in his groin and he simply bit his lip as he slipped his tunic from his body, laying it across the side and closed his eyes, ignoring his erection.
For now, Pao ignored it too, her own body hoovering over the tent in his pants as she worked her fingers down from his chest, to his abdomen.
He had to admit it that he did like it. And he was lulled into melted relaxation as she worked her hands on his sore and aching body. "That feels really nice, Pao," he murmured. "Thank you."
"I'm hardly done yet," she murmured, leaning forward now as hands smoothed across his muscles, and lips now trailed across his flesh. "Things have only just begun."
Enzo chuckled and arched his back a little underneath her lips. His arms came up around her waist and and he felt up along her ship, his eyes opening to look at her. Enzo wasn't accustomed to this kind of exploration. But he trusted Pao.
The Saranthian smiled as the man's hands found their way to her body, and in a single gesture, she shrugged off part of her clothing, so that it loosely hung down and exposed just about everything to him as she worked at kiss his shoulder and neck.
Enzo released a soft moan, his hands idly prying off the cloth of her shirt, revealing the soft mounds of her breasts. He did not touch them and let her continue her explorations on his body. He opened up his neck to her, allowing her to explore his neck, moaning softly.
Her lips were not shy as they tasted him, kissing, pressing- soft and affectionate down his throat and across his chest, down his belly towards the rise in his pants. Hot breath splayed across the fabric as she whispered in her native tongue, and moved to remove what little clothing he had left. And once his sex was exposed, she moved a hand to ghost over it, before breathing softly against it's length with hot, lusty air.
Enzo leaned his hips up to allow her to wriggle his trousers off. Once he was slipped out of them, he peered down at her. His erection throbbed eagerly and his whole body shuddered at the feel of her breath on him. He practically melted into the blankets underneath them.
A hand secured around it, lips softly kissing up the length of his sex and suckling on the most sensitive pieces of his flesh. She used her teeth some, while her other free hand smoothed down his stomach, up his thighs before gripping onto his ass. And as she did so, she swallowed his cock whole.
"Gods...Pao," he breathed. His hands were buried into her hair as she teased and tantalized him. She was far too good than she ought to have been. His whole body shiver, his voice momentarily caught in his throat when she kissed along his long member. Her teeth only served to arouse him further.
With his hands buried into her hair, his hands encouraged her to suck him deeply, to explore him as she pleased as he squirmed in pleasure. Enzo moaned, his eyes rolling back in his head at the way her tongue felt around him and he could feel his cock hitting the back of her throat.
He knew he often bristled at her touch, unused to so much free affection. But he understood now the improtance of their connection, not just of their souls, but of their bodies, and the trust that that entailed and required.
Her mouth moved around him, tasting him and moving to the beat of his moans. Where his breath hitched, she focused on;a nd when he was nearly drooling, so was she. Her mouth was hot and warm and soft all around him-a nd aided by the skillful lapping of her tongue as it twisted and prodding and licked at his length- she found it far too easy to get him to squirm.
Pulling her lips away, she admired his erection with a subtle purr. Then her eyes flashed to his as she crawled over top of his body. With her shirt open and her skirts now pushed to the side, she straddled over his body and began to kiss up from his belly, to his chest, throat then lips, where she muffled his own breath with her own moaning kiss, and in one motion- sat upon him and began to mate him.
She pushed him nearly to his limit, but thank the gods she stopped before he burst. He was curious to see what more she could do before he did. He leaned up on his elbows, breathing softly as she kissed up his body. He leaned his head back, feeling her lips upon his. Enzo leaned into her kiss, gasping when she began to ride him. His arms gripped her hips and her ass as he moved her along him. But it was his turn for his lips to devour hers, taking her bottom lip betwen his teeth and tugging on it, then turned his head and kissed her hunrgily.
Pao's lips melted over his, soft and palpable. And her tongue sought to his as their lips met flush- as did their bodies as her sex gripped onto him and let his slide tightly against her silky, molten walls as she rolled her hips and rode him in a steady rhythm.
Enzo moaned softly against her lips. He clenched his eyes tightly at the waves of pleasure that rolled through him and he bounced her deeply on his lap so that be could feel as much of her as possible and sought more pleasure points. "Pao," he whimpered, holding his mouth open against hers.
Her own mouth opened against his, as she breathed softly, nuzzling her open lips against his before closing them and kissing him fierce as she moaned. For once she was quiet, saying not a word as their soft gasps could be heard mingling with the twinkling noises of the night.
Enzo's blood ran hot through his veins and suddenly he rolled them both over and began to move deeply within her, in deep hungered strokes, using his hips to throw himself into her. His hands clasped hers, palm to palm and held them over her head, and he began to move faster, panting heavil, taking her with need.
Pao'orha reveled beneath him. Each stroke pounded into her, bouncing her on the ground and bouncing her breasts. Her dark tan skin was glazed over in a blush, and she arched up beneath him, body meeting body as she moaned and raked her finger nails down his back side then gripped onto his ass, keeping his body deep inside her as he thrusted, limiting his emotion but not limiting the pleasure as her eyes rolled back as she sang out in ecstasy.
Enzo's cries called out louder as he neared his peak, but he kept thrusting even after she cried out and soon he was over the edge, sending a rush of hot seed deep into her. But his motions only slowed then, his head resting on her chest, feeling the pounding of her heart beating in time with his.
She collapsed over him, dark hair spilling across his form as she reveled in the after glow of their sex. It was wonderful, divine, and she felt... different for each. Each time she did, and truly- she believed their connection was growing stronger. As she lay there, she murmured something in Saranthian as she breathed a sigh through her nose. So content. So at peace.
Enzo rolled onto his back, panting, grinning and panting all the same. His hands threaded their way through her hair, brushing it off of her and he hugged her to him. "When you're ready for another round," he offered. "Let me know."
Pao's eyes widened in surprise.
"You want another round?" SHe laughed and sat up on him. "Enzo, I could mate with you all night. Come, closer now so that I can kiss you." She said, but didn't really give him the option as she forced him forward and kissed him fiercely on the lips.
His fingers knotted themselves into her hair as she kissed him. He kissed her passionately with a fire foreign to him. It burned hotly, brightly and he pulled away only to breathe. "I would mate with you until the sun is high overhead," he panted.
His words were a surprise, but were not unwelcomed. And the Saranthian's face flushed at such a remark. She cupped his face affectionately and let her sex grip onto his manhood, that was still buried within her, deep.
"Yes, we can until the world is ending, Enzo. For this feels better than anything else in all the world."
It didn't much or anytime longer for that matter for him to become ready for another session once more. Enzo found it easier now, to be coaxed and to understand her ways perhaps just a little more each time. "Well, maybe not until the world ends, for isn't that what we are trying to prevent?"
Pao gave a laugh as she grabbed onto his hips.
"We are, ya, but I would not worry about such things, or any cares of the world, If I were to have sex for all of my days with you."
Enzo smiled at her, against her lips, chuckling even as he did so. "I might care a little bit," he murmured. "But I wouldn't mind so much I suppose. After all nobody lives forever."
Pao'orha whimpered at his claims and dug her finger nails down his chest lightly.
"Enzo Azura, how is it that sex with you is greater than sex with anyone else in the world? I know you know how much I hunger for it and have been with many a man, but when we do it... It is different. Unique. And it feels sacred, as if we're truly becoming one in union, and that I am wasting my time elsewhere. That this is where I am to be. With you. As if.. somehow, I was meant to belong to you in moments like this.' And she leaned forward, kissing him softly, "And moments like this."
"Oh yes! That I know. Sometimes many men at once." Enzo snickered at her a little and kissed her. "But I know what you mean...I feel an...energy with you. I've never felt that with anyone else."
"So have you had many men too?" she jested, her eyes sparkling playfully at the idea of Enzo in any sort of an orgy.
This moment, Enzo had the good humor to laugh. "No. I meant you and your generous offerings to the ship crew before it foundered in the sea."
Pao'orha pinned him down now, proudly, playfully as she grinned down into his face.
"Then why don't you make me an offer I can't refuse, Enzo. Let us mate until we are too tired to walk, too tired to stand. Let us connect until we are no longer two, but one. Let us be equal. Let us be whole."
"I'll mate with you until you see the inside of your skull ten times over," Enzo vowed and took her again once more.
Pao felt her body warmed by their love, and her existence became a palpable thing. With bodies melting together and forces unseen drawing them into an even deeper connection, Pao's eyes slowly began to glow. And elements from.dreams unseen reached through her as the world between began to blur in a soft whiteness not quite blinding and without heat. She felt the strings of reality pull and come together as their bodies rolled and in the heat of passion, it seemed this reality shed away and the pair of them existed in another time, in another world. Bit whatever it was did not.stop Pao'orha from loving on him and connecting as deeply as she could. Through their bodies, through their hearts.
He soon became one with her. Their bodies rolled and rocked and melted in to one another Enzo found himself in an otherwordly peace he had never known before. He felt the threads of time and the weightlessness of space swirling around them.
It felt as if an ocean of threads moved around and through them- the connection tickling her and traveling through her veins, to even her bones as she shuddered.
"Enzo.." and she stared at the world through half lids- finding herself in a dream as she stared at the colors, and tightened her eyes closed at the feeling.
"This world... this feeling.." her lips kissed him softly. "It must be dream."
"I don't want to wake up," he murmured against her and kissed her deep, falling further into the dream.
Hot colors were explored through heat and need as Pao'orha felt their world pulsate through their desires. She shivered and continued to roll with him in a heap of passion, her breath becoming hitched as their bodies unified in love and sin.
It wasn't long before Enzo felt the swirling torrent of ecstasy take him again and again. He kissed her hungrily, wrapping her in the embrace of the all that was powerful within him. They were lovers intertwined with the energy of the universe.
With fate weaving their bodies together, their love continued to transcend them through space and time. And she was blinded to anything but his feeling, sensing his memories rather htan seeing them-a nd feeling the sadness, his regret, and the determination that drove him onward- and the want and desire for acceptance as his body pounded into hers.
When she opened her eyes, she began to understand as tears wet her eyes.
"Oh, Enzo,"s he cupped his face and kissed him hotly. "Claim me. Make me yours. And I will give you all the world."
Enzo pounded in and out of her with endless vigor, as if he could die now and be happy with the knowledge that he finally connected to her. He gave her all he could, pounding harder, his body burning in their passion. He felt himself go, peaking to his highest possible point. "You're mine, Pao. And I'm yours."
The rush of his ecstasy crashed into a crescendoing wave within her as she peaked and screamed and roared to the heavens his name. And as they finished, she collapsed into a heap beneath him, her body hot and slicked with sweat. But so was his as she smiled and kissed him softly, whispering sweet nothings to him in her native tongue.
"Enzo, by the spirits, I think you are the one. My soul mate." And she whispered more phrases in her native tongue before kissing him softly, more tenderly on his lips.
Enzo was quiet and somber, winding down from the ecstasy of their passions. He was slick with sweat, feeling his heart return to a quiet thump-thump in his chest. "Soul mate," he breathed softly and closed his eyes, falling gently to sleep.
Pao awoke, quite contentedly as she purred into his arm. Surprised to find them still 'joined' together,she turned over to lay ontop of him as she kissed his lips.
"Good morning, Enzo." But as she moved to stretch over top of him, she gasped suddenly as she realzied.
"ENZO! WAKE UP, ENZO!" and she gave him a shake.
"We're back in Canador!"
Enzo had been sleeping soundly and awoke a little to find Pao moving over him. He blinked tiredly at her as he came too and he slowly smiled. At her sudden excitement it was only then that he realized he was back in Pao's home in Canador residing on her bed of blankets and pillows and he smiled.
"It really was magic. I didn't think our connection could be that powerful."
"Neither did I!" she exclaimed. "Though was it all some strange dream? Or is this a dream? But ti smells and feels to real to be a vision!". And she began muttering words frantically in her native tongue as she marked herself across her chest.
Enzo chuckled at her disbelief. But somehow it was easier for him to fathom their transport, almost as if they hadn't left at all. He even saw his armor and sword off to the side. "I think it is real," he smirked and sat up underneath her.
When Enzo moved to stand, Pao'orha gasped, not realizing their bodies were still connected as she moved away. This was all so ridiculously crazy, but the more she thought over it, the more she smiled.
"I suppose I should make tea, ya? Seems appropriate for the morning,"s he purred, and rose from her bed of blankets and pillows to set some water out to boil.
"Tea for our next ritual?" Enzo wondered as he took a cloth and began to clean himself up from the remnants of their sex.
Pao'orha smirked.
"No. Tea to wake us up!"
"I'm not going to lie. I expected more sex. But only because you seem so willing to share it with me," Enzo smirked at her and joined her in the kitchen, wrapping his arms around her.
"Sex?" She chuckled. "There is more to this connection than our bodies. Come, this tea is laced with petals. They will aid in our ability to share a vision and unite." And she moved to prepare the tea over the fire and gestured for Enzo to have a seat on the floor.
"I had thought that much. It's just that most of our unions have consisted of sex. I don't mind very much," Enzo murmured and sat down at the pillow she indicated.
Pao smirked as she bent over the kettle, opening the kid and placing tea leaves and dried petals into the filter and then placing the kid back on.
"Oh, there will be other.. connections . But it might be too risky to.mate again so soon after our travel."
"Of course," Enzo said with a nod and sat back down at the small table at the center of the room. There he set out small rounded cups one in front of him, and the other where he assumed Pao would sit, across from him.
Once the tea was ready, she poured each of them a steaming cup and set the pot aside. THen she took her seat, legs crossing beneath her on the pillows as she smiled over at Enzo.
"As I was preparing the tea, I had a thought- a vision," she began, the steam leisurely gathering between them and fading away as it rose from their cups. "About.. connections and joining our bodies. A thought that never crossed my mind before. But I think, after what we both witnessed today, it might be safe to presume it anyway, that our bodies were only meant for the others- and now I can see how you would be upset I have taken many men before you."
It was here she paused and took a small sip of her tea, but wrinkled her nose and set it back down. I twas still too hot.
"Sex is a ritual in itself, and I realize that my hunger to feel the ecstasy and joy of such a ritual many times leads me to seek out men to fulfill it. But now I see that there is more- and something even deeper can be achieved."
And here she smirked as she looked over at Enzo.
"I have never had such sex as with you. It was better than anything in this world. But perhaps.." and here her eyes sparkled. "It was not of this world."
A smile touched his lips and eyes as he stared back at her. "Perhaps because I am not of your world. Sometimes I get the feeling that I didn't just appear here for any random reason, in the pursuit of my enemy, but with a purpose, a greater purpose. I get the feeling that I have traveled many worlds, even ones such as this one but I have no solid memory of them. But I felt them again when we mated, like we were traveling to worlds beyond."
"Yes, as Saranthians we believe in existence on many levels beyond our own. Earth and sky are but one, and mortal flesh, another." And here, she reached a hand out to rest a flat palm against his chest, and felt his heart beat lightly beneath it.
"And within, yet another layer of those spirits that guide us."
"And we are but a small fragment of all worlds that flux and collide with one another," Enzo breathed softly.
"Yes," Pao told him, her cheeks dimpling in a smirk, and her blue-green eyes, bright. "One fragment that hope to change the direction of fate." And the flat of her palms met his, their fingers threading gently together.
Enzo had turned them to face her more easily and allowed her to take his hands into hers. Their fingers felt so neat together, like pieces of a puzzle spanning the eternity of time. "Shall we share a vision then? To find our next destination."
Pao's eyes danced.
"Perhaps we could- but only if your body would be up for it!" she said with a laugh.
"I'm not sure I would," Enzo confessed with an easy laugh. "Perhaps this evening if you are lucky." He gave her a smile and leaned in to kiss her. "Now how about that tea."
Pao smiled and gave a nod. "Yes, tea..." And she rose to get it and poured each of them a steaming cup before placing them down on the squat table before them.
"Aye, what a long and arduous journey. I can feel all of that adventure in my bones."s he said, and moved to stretch and crack her back some. She wasn't as young as she had once been, after all.
Enzo softly blew on the cup of tea for a few seconds before taking a small sip and savoring the taste. It was pleasant enough though he did drop a clump of sugar into it from the table and took another sip, this time with greater satisfaction. "Well, you're not exactly a spring bird anymore," he commented with a wry grin.
As her back cracked, she shot him a look.
"Spring bird, no, but I have enough spring elsewhere," she told him coolly, her smile a bit cutting as she bent over to retrieve her own cup of tea. She blew on it only once before sipping, not bothering to put in any sugars at all.
"Of course. Like an old beat up clock," Enzo winked at her and drank his tea softly.
Pao gave him another cutting look about his joke. Or, at least she hoped it was a joke.
"It seems letting yourself finally succumb to pleasures has done wonders for you, Enzo. You seem.. much less tense then when we firs met."A nd perhaps, a bit less crazy!
"I certainly feel less tense. You're more than...limber yourself," Enzo said with a nod. He frowned, his face solemn for a time. "It was unfair of me to judge you so rashly when we first met...when we first discovered this possible connection between us. I just wanted to apologize."
"Ha-eesh!" she said with a wave of her hand. "Do not trouble yourself over it, Enzo. Acts of the past can not be erased. Besides, it's who makes us what we are, ya?" She gave a tilt of her head and chuckled. "It seems we both had a lot of learning to do."
After all, the pair of them had acted like complete children... and no doubt, they might still continue to do so- but at least it seemed they were both starting to come around to this idea of connection- and of the mutual importance of each party to the other.
Stirring her tea idly, she took some time to admire him.
"So your prince... the one you name yourself for- you two were close, ya?"
Enzo still held his head down for a moment before her posed uestion caused him to glance up at her from his tea. "Yes," he replied hesitantly at first. "He was my lord and liege. I would have given my life for him."
Pao gave a nod.
"What did he do? He must have inspired much in you."
"He was the greatest man I could have ever known," Enzo said calmly. "He was honorable, noble, and a good leader, a good man to say the least of it all. And I have no doubt that if he could have, he would have died with his people. Much to my own chagrin of course. I wouldn't have been doing my job if I let him do that. Yet, it seemed that was his fate after all, and I was too late."
"How was it that he died?" Pao inquired. "Just from battle?"
"He was killed by the Magecrafter. Matakopas. It was my Prince that gave him shelter and refuge in a time of great upheaval, of war in his own homeland. And in return for that shelter and refuge, Matakopas pledged his loyalty to Prince Azura, and he built for him a great many things, beyond even the imagination of the most capable of engineers. But when the war came calling, Matakopas betrayed my Lord, killed him, as he intended to kill the rest of my people, and his people alike without distinction or regard. He didn't care that the man he slayed was his lord and Liege, didn't care that he broke his oaths and honor, didn't care that he singlehandedly destroyed the kingdom that had taken him to its heart and made itself his home!" Enzo realized he was becoming increasingly angry, but couldn't stop himself before the clay cup in his hands became nothing more than a shattered pile in his lap, spilling tea everywhere on the floor.
At the shattering of the clay pot, she moved beside him and placed a hand upon his shoulder, seeking his eyes.
"It's all in the past now, Enzo. We can not change that, but learn from what has been lost. I .. am sorry to hear of what he has done. He is most definitely a black snake among us, and may his own venom be his down fall." And she marked her hands across her chest, as if warding, or even comforting herself after such claims.
Thens he moved to grab a clothe and began to clean around him, then as she collected the pieces of the cup, she set them aside and moved to dab the clothe against his hands.
Enzo took the cloth and gently pried it into his own grip for himself and he cleaned the table before holding the cloth tightly in his hands. "I know...I know all the obvious conclusions. And that is why I am so adamant with finding him, killing him, and putting a stop to him at last. Maybe it is revenge that really drives me, and not justice, for I know they are not one in the same. But all the same, I cannot allow myself to give quarter where he is concerned. And I won't. I will rest only when his head is separated from the rest of his body."
"Yes, revenge can be a powerful tool, but do not let it blind you, Enzo. We have, after all, met for a reason. And I do not believe it was solely for aiding in your revenge."
Enzo stared at the table and nodded solemnly. "I know. I know, Pao. But it doesn't make it any less hard. That is why I sometimes become quite...moody when it seems you vacillate on purpose, with no clear meaning to your methods. That is also why I apologized for misunderstanding you."
Pao'orha let out a laugh, a full bellied one as she shook her head.
"Enzo, that is because sometimes I do swindle you, as well as others, through slight of hand and tongue," she informed, most pleased by this as she gave him a wink. "Truthfully, it is more lucrative to stretch the truth a little for coin, no?" And she rubbed two pinched fingers together to emphasize her point. "But on a truthful note, Enzo, I am stumbling into new territory with you." And she closed her lips as she studied him. "It can be... refreshing, and quite frightening. The visions I see... I have never seen such things before. I can only follow what I've been taught, and that is to listen to the winds and to paint our destiny through the lines on our hands."
And she put out her palm.
"Take a look at my hand, Enzo. Tell me what you see."
Enzo cupped her palm gently in his and he stared down at the lines cut across it. He focused now, breathing gently and blew the breath cooly across her palm. "I see fire," he muttered. "No...not fire. Smoke, but no fire..."
Pao'orha chuckled.
"That's because something has to start it," she said, looking at him coyly. "A fire needs to things to survive."
Enzo kept his eyes glued to her hand, prying it softly with his thumb, as if sifting through something only he could see. "It is simply smoke born of something else entirely. There are no ashes, no kindling, no embers, no coals. Only smoke, and it moves and takes shape. Like that of a man, but there is no more distinct form," Enzo went on.
Pao smiled but said nothing, waiting to see if he had anything else to see, but if he were to look up at her now, he'd be able to see her eyes dancing.
Enzo kept his eyes to the vision, trying to make more details out. "That doesn't make any sense," he said, disappointed there was not more. He shook his head and looked at her. "What? Do I have something in my nose?"
"No... I am just amused at what you see."
Enzo,s eyes narrowed. "How helpful," he muttered and let go of her hand.
"But it is, Enzo. To see what is beyond just wrinkles of skin... To see the symbols and read into them. That is Saranthian. That is how my people learn to see. How we learn to live." She smiled and peered down at her palm. "It is said you can not read your own palm." She mused. "Smoke without a source. And formless, but like a man..." She mulled it over and grew quiet, eyes looking back down to her palm.
"I'm not sure I understand. You told me to look into your palm Did you expect me to just see skin? I did not. I meditated upon it and saw what I saw. Or perhaps I am merely making it all up and I saw nothing at all." Enzo sat back, dubious of his own account and shrugged his shoulders.
"Not everyone can look past the skin."
Enzo peered at her with a raised brow. And his hands and then at hers. "Well, your hands are much nicer than mine anyway," he smirked.
"They are much softer, yes. And are trained for many skills that I'm sure pleases you," she flirted.
"And my hands are larger, ungainly and roughened from years of killing. I'm sure they please you a lot less," Enzo laughed and compared his hand to hers, palm to palm.
"I think they please me just well," she told him, eyes sparkling. "Though I'm sure there is much that can be done." And then, through a growing smile,s he asked him, "Let us mate." And she rambled something in her own language. "My body burns for you Enzo. Let not the fire go out."
Enzo gave her a thoughtful look and threaded his fingers into her hands. "You wish to mate with me? Truly?" he murmured, giving her a coy smile.
The Saranthian's expression became coy.
"But of course. Maybe next time, it will take us someplace else exotic," she told him with a playful wink.
"Your body burns awfully quick, Pao," Enzo said, tilting his head. "How could you possibly keep yourself sated all the time? Is it simply you or the nature of your people...so easily,er, heated?" He smiled at her and chuckled even a little.
Pao gave him a pointed look.
"Saranthians embrace our body, and the union of them. But it is not difficult to find heat when one knows fire."
Enzo released her hands and slid his fingers around her waist and down her belly, playing with the skin there. "And you know fire?" he said with raised brows.
"If I am the resulting smoke," she told him, raising a hand and placing it upon his chest, palm flat. "Then you are my fire." And she leaned in slowly, dutifully to kiss him.
Enzo tilted his head into hers, tasting her lips, running her tongue along his and kissing her slowly and sensually. His blood ran hot and his hands all the more eager to explore her body, still studying her, reading her carefully as he slipped one down beside her hips, feeling along the skin above her sex.
Pao'orha would be lying if she said his sudden bold moves towards her did not elicit more flames. She felt hot, her heart beat racing now as his hands moved across her skin. Her own hands did the same, but smoothed down the muscles of his back, while her lips continued to seek his, tongue tasting, tongue wrestling as she leaned into his hand and stood up on her tip toes, forcing his hands to travel south, towards the heat.
"Pao!" he groaned hungrily, huskily, devouring her lips. As soon as she was high enough on her toes, his right hand slipped down toward her heat and gripped her hand, lifting her sheer off the ground and pulling one leg onto his hips. His fingers sought her warmth, as moist as it was.
Pao moaned back at such a response, arms going around him to hold him tight, lips never leaving his. And his fingers would soon be able to taste just how wet she was, slick ,hot and ready for a mate.
His fingers slipped within her, massaging gently the spots she favored most. His heart was pounding loudly in his chest and every part of him burned with need, with fervor and soon he pressed her back against the wall. "Pao," he grunted. "You feel amazing...as hot as a fiery star."
Pao's sex tightened around his fingers, nursing on the sensation he drew from her, and as he moved within her, he'd be able to hear the slick sounds that he was pleasing her.
"Yes, and you only have yourself to blame," she murmured, moving forward to steal another hungered kiss from his lips.
"Only myself?" he chuckled. "You had no part in this?" He kissed her idly, here and there amidst pleasing her. His hands wound their way deeper within her, pressing on her warmth until he hand all four fingers inside. "It can't all be my fault."
"But you're the one with your hand inside me," she murmured against his lips in all but a purr. "By the Gods, Enzo, your hands stroke me and I burn." And her eyes fluttered closed at the sensation, feeling the familiar burning of ecstasy as she rattled off sweet praises to him in her native tongue.
Enzo laughed and continued to stroke her so. "So it is," he murmured, leaning down to kiss along her neck. His hand worked deftly, expertly to please her until she was on the verge of ecstasy and soon it was replaced by his throbbing member, moving into her in the same slow, sensual way his fingers had.
The second his dick was inside her she all but burst. Sighing happily, her sex pulsed wildly around his member as her hips rocked, begging him as she moaned, for him to go faster.
He pinned her to the wall now, rocking her hips in powerful strokes. He kissed her hungrily along her neck and gripped her hips, holding her up as he moved within her.
She was riding the edge of ecstasy, and Enzo's hungry lips drove her over the edge, she screamed out and bucked wildly, clinging onto him and begging him to go at it again, while her words mixed with Saranthian and her body was set on fire.
Enzo had released his pleasure, though her begging only made him want more. It wasn't really like him, to desire more than he was given. But he could relish in the privilege with Pao. He could be free from the chains that had bound him in duty.
So he did take her again, laying her upon the floor this time and caging her with his limbs. But what resided between them was nothing caged at all. It was wild and free. As they were both meant to be.
Pao clung to him tightly, her sex just as clingy as she was as she felt every inch of him ram into her. It drove her crazy, eyes roll back into her head as finger nails dug across the skin of his back and limbs entangled around his.
The moment was beyond comprehension as he felt himself depp inside her, the sensation of her sex nursing on his. It drove him onward and he quickened his pace, finding a favored angle that made his stay caught within his throat. But it wouldn't be long before it broke out.
It didn't take long for Pao'orha to be singing his name, her body arching and her sex, in a frenzy as she felt herself roll over the top in merciless bliss.
He quivered and his body became taut as he flushed her through with hot seed. "Gods," he murmured, panting heavily. "Yes. It is my fault. I will take the blame. This time that is."
Pao'orha melted against him and smiled. She sighed contentedly, whispering something in her native tongue before saying, "It's okay, Enzo. We are in this together. But I think we might need to bathe after this. My legs and inbetween are slick with us."
He laughed and climbed off her. "I think a hot bath would be a very good idea, even after all of this," he said with a nod. "You may go first if you wish." And bowed his head to her.
"Such a gentleman, but should we not bathe together? It is not easy drawing a hot bath, after all," she told him with a bit of a playful pout.
Enzo gave a small laugh. "I was going to suggest that. But I didn't want to be presumptuous," he smirked at her and leaned in to kiss her gently. He then stood and helped pull her to her feet. "Shall I get the hot water? I can be useful in more than just sex and slaying monsters. I'm also good for heavy lifting," he laughe.
"But of course," she told him with a smirk. "I would never refuse a man's help."
"Ah good. Then you get the cleaning oils ready," he leaned in and slapped her behind before pulling the bucket out and heading to the well. They were easily filled, as he had watched her before and set one before the fire to warm.
Pao'orha went to get her things. She had an extensive collection of oils, varying from the kinds that burned, to the ones that chilled, as well as many in all sorts of aromas. She lifted a vial of lavender oils and moved over towards the pot.
"You like this fragrance, ya? If not, I have something in jasmine."
"That fragrance? Whatever it is, I like it. So yes." Enzo smiled at her as he waited for the water to boil. Once it was hot enough, he filled the tub with two parts cold water and one part hot and stirred the water around until the heat was largely evened out. "The water is steaming. Ready just for you. Well, and me too." He stepped into the water first, testing it, before holding out his hand to help her inside.
She had dumped the vial of fragrance into the bath and moaned softly at the smell of it.
"Smells good." And she lifted her gaze to his offered hand and smirked, accepting it as she stepped into the bath with him and settling in close.
"So tense, Enzo. Perhaps we should have made the waters hotter, ya?"
His brows furrowed. "I am not tense. If anything, you seem a little cramped around you legs," he replied and ran his hands down her thighs, pressing into the muscle there. "Besides, the waters are nice and warm are they not? Any hotter and they'd be scalding."
Pao just smirked and smoothed her hand up his body, letting water run down through her fingers as she smoothed them over his muscles and began to lightly rub at his shoulders.
Enzo ceased his words. Instead he leaned back and reclined his head against the lip of the tub, letting her hands work against him.
She continued to work lightly at his muscles, pausing on occasion to let water trickle down from her fingers and down from his shoulders and then to his chest.
"Pao. Do you have any family?" Enzo suddenly found himself asking, his eyes half-closed. He peered at her through his eyelashes, for he was half relaxed by her gentle hands.
"But of course," she said, hands still kneading his shoulders. "Where do you think I came from?" She chuckled. "Why, do you wish to meet them? I am Saranthian, we are nomadic. One does not simply settle down in one place, and in fact, I shall probably never see my family again. We are like wind. We move free and settle no where. I do not even know how long I shall stay here. But Canador has kept me here for longer than I'd like to admit. There is something about the sea and the cliff sides..." and she let her thoughts drift away off silently from her tongue.
"And you, Enzo? Or is all of your family dead?"
"I know they are gone. But I do not feel a loss, as I thought I would. I was raised by my father. My mother died when I was very young, he was captain of the guard and trained me to take his place. The Shazad-Rakai, we are called, in our old tongue. Family is important to Valarians, and many of this plane, as I've seen. We form strong bonds with those we love, and we are taught to value those bonds. Your word is your honor, your trust is your promise. We stick together. Though I suppose now, that matters little. I've accepted it, moved on from that, at least. So perhaps it is more difficult for me to adapt to your notions. I suppose now, we can only wander where the wind takes us." And that made Enzo smile.
Pao gave a coy smirk.
"There is much winds in Canador. Perhaps we will hear our next destination tonight?"
"Maybe," Enzo replied with a smile of his own. "But I'm in no hurry to get there. Are you?"
Pao's smile brightened.
"Of course not," and here she leered him. "So tell me, Enzo. What are your people's take on women like me?" she asked, a hand finding his face as she gently stroked him, fingers memorizing the contours of his face, the height of his cheek bones, the bones of his jaw, the lines of his lips.
"Women like you? Hmm, that is a very good question. I think my first reactions toward you would probably be a good judge on how many of my people would react. We are very steeped in tradition and women like you, are...different. Stepping outside of all that I knew was very difficult. Women like you are rare among my kind, I think is safe to say. You are untamed, and therefore cannot be trusted, no?" he asked with a smirk.
"Untamed?" She chuckled at his choice of words. "So women are... tame where you are from?" she asked playfully, her eyes drinking him in. She made no secret she was appreciating the man before her. After all, an 'untamed woman' only had one thing on her mind, apparently.
"Women are more...conservative?...perhaps. Valarian women are strong and willful, but they do not often partake in relations with partners other than their chosen husbands. Women in Valaris choose the men they wish to marry, to bond with them in something we call the Karadim, like, a wedding of sorts. Men prove their prowess in tests of strength and dexterity and will, in the hopes of 'impressing' the women they hope will choose them."
"So a man and woman claim the other? And keep them obedient, much like a pet, ya?" she asked, trying to understand. "I've seen weddings and met wives and husbands of all sorts. Though I do not think my people have something like it of our own. We move as freely as the winds, and so far," she gave a laugh. "Nobody has claimed those!"
"It is considered an honor to be chosen," he laughed. "But no, no one could claim the winds. Nor should they try."
Pao mulled over this thoughtfully, her eyes dancing at the thought.
"I see. And what if the winds were to choose?"
"Why would the wind choose?" he murmured.
"The wind might choose one valley over the rest, or even one mountain peak. But yes... she will always be free, for she is ever moving," and as she spoke, a hand smoothed across his chest and began to move lower as she smoothed that hand now over his abs.
"And what is your chosen peak?" Enzo muttered, smirking wryly at her.
Before he spoke, she had opened his shirt and moved down to kiss at his shoulder, taking in the warmth of his skin against her lips, and his smells.
"Peak?" She chuckled and let a hand stroke across his crotch. "I think you know too well the peak I desire."
[Lol. I could have sworn they were both naked XD]
Enzo's breath hitched at her touch. A chill ran down his spine at her caresses, her kisses, her touch. "You're insatiable," he murmured.
OOC: Whoops, for some reason I thought they got dressed XD
-------
Pao'orha leaned in to kiss of his lips, hands fondling him all over, coaxing him to get hungry for her.
"Naturally," she murmured against him. "But are my cravings so bad?" she asked, breath splaying across his lips then throat.
He moaned softly, panting as she pleased him. "Not at all," he smiled against her lips. "I suppose I have rested enough. Sometimes though I wonder if you could get through an entire day without sex."
Pao smiled at his panting, admiring the way his face looked as her hands pleased him.
"That is good for me then,.." And quite suddenly, she was straddling over top of him, pinning him down beneath her as she gave him a predatory grin and went to work, nursing at his neck while teasing his sex with her own, but not daring to let him make entry. At least not yet.
He gasped, panting lightly at suddenly being ridden like a wild stallion, in a manner of speaking. "Gods Pao. Wild as the wind, eh?" he laughed, holding her hips and breathing hard.
Pao chuckled through closed lips.
"You could say that," she told him coyly, lips sealing fully to his when she finally allowed her lover to make entry, and as she felt each inch of him slip in deeply, he'd be able to feel her moan against his lips.
Her moan coaxed his body into a savage shudder. He felt the soft walls of her sex tighten and ease around him as she pressed him into her and he moaned softly in turn. "Gods Pao...you always feel good. How do you always feel so damn good?"
"Because I was made for this," she panted against him, lips still partially sealed to his in a half kiss. "Made to please and be taken by you." And she sealed her lips against his, hips rocking, lips reconnecting, over and over in a slow and painful but sensual stride. Each inch of him was dragged through her walls and she savored that feeling, that sensation of power, intoxication, and bliss.
"And because the winds chose to be here, to stay here, because she is free," she whispered, before her lips took his again.
He murmured whimpered moans, trembling at her ministrations. And he wrapped his arms tightly around her, trying to hold onto every sensation she inspired. But where one ended it was quickly followed by another and he parted his lips in gasps against hers. "I'm at your mercy," he murmured. "Completely."
"Naturally," she told him through a chuckle against his lips. She leaned in, kissing him warmly, softly, deeply while gently riding his sex. And after a few painfully slow rolls of her hips, she released a shivering breath, grabbing onto him and burying her face against his shoulder as she gasped and moaned his name.
"Pao..." The name came out in a whisper as he pressed his face against her hair. He kissed her neck, just under her ear as their body spoke slowly and sensuously to each other. They were so in tune with one another, they could read the other's body so well it only heightened the pleasure he felt in her slow stroking, stoking his body into heated flame.
"By the spirits, Enzo.." she moaned, eyes fluttering closed as her lips raked against his flesh. "Every inch of you is amazing." And she began to ramble in her native tongue, praising him while her body stoked him, hips moving painfully slow as the pleasure continued to build and build.
"Pao... Pao," he panted, kissing at her neck. "Why all those other men? On that ship. I know...uh...you hunger for sex...but did you intend to tease me as well?" He knew the question was likely out of place, but it had been bugging for some time.
"Those... those other men?" she gasped at such a question, panting against him as her hips rocked and her sex tightened up. She moaned from deep within her throat, lips dragging upand kissing at his throat and jaw. "Those men.. I.." she panted. "I wanted them because I could not have you. I was angry. And when the wind is angry, it takes all it wants and more. It's fury, insatiable."
The tightening of her walls made him tense and moan loudly in pleasure. He panted heavily, trying to control his breaths, his moans as she spoke. "Oh Pao...I had thought you had been with so many men...that what could I compare to them."
Pao moaned and continued to squeeze him, sex dragging over his hotly, softy, wet.
"Enzo, ae wahlla," she whispered in her native tongue. "It is not about how you mate, but who." ANd she pursed her lips, dragging his cock within her, tedious and slow. It was almost too much for her as she began to gasp through her pants. "Enzo..." She muttered more in her native tongue. "What we have is so much more deeper than sex. What we have is like a fire," and she rocked forward suddenly, gasping out, feeling herself near her peak. "But by the winds, Enzo! Take me, take me now! Ah!"
Enzo cried at her motion, feeling her command and rocked his hips vigorously, powerfully until he suddenly felt himself tremble and shudder and he burst within her. His body clutched hers tightly until he felt himself expel what remained and he panted hard against her shoulder. "We are one Pao. I can feel it now."
When his body exploded, she swore she could feel it int he cosmos, her own peaking as she screamed out until her throat grew coarse, and then shuddering, she collapsed against him, breathing heavy and feeling their body stick together from the sweat of their love. And at his words, she smiled against him, content to simply listen to his heart beat.
"Yes... we are one. As wild and free as the winds."
Enzo leaned his head back against the edge of the tub they resided in, the waters around them cooler to the touch than how they started. But he didn't care, the only heat that mattered was the one that lay between them and his skin was fevered and sweating. "The water's gone cold," he commented idly, chuckling in the aftermath of their lovemaking.
Pao'orha lay over him. She honestly didn't care, but his commented made her smile as she released a long sigh through her nose. A hand smoothed up his chest as she sighed again, this time through her mouth as she felt the world all but melt away from her. She muttered something in saranthian before commenting in common, "I care not for water's temperature. All I care now is to listen to the beat of your heart."
"Maybe you don't care, but I do. I liked it warm," Enzo chuckled, brushing her hair back, and leaning against the edge of the tub. "It was all steamy too."
Pao made a soft throaty noise, then a laugh.
"Well, I could stay here all day. You may need to carry me out if you wish to leave."
"Alternatively, I could leave you here and I'll go dry off and go enjoy the comfort of that lovely bed of pillows you have," Enzo murmured and ran his hands up her back. "Don't fall asleep now, it's morning."
Closing her eyes, she gave a contented sigh and smile.
"But why not? Had we not quite the long journey? Should we not rest, Enzo? Be it in water or the bed?"
"I'll take the bed," he murmured and leaned in to kiss her temple. He gently nudged her off and coaxed himself out from underneath her, stepping out of the water and drying off with a towel beside them. "Are you just going to stay there and prune?" he asked with a gently laugh, departing through the beaded curtains and to her bedroom.
"Perhaps," she said with a contented sigh as she stretched out within the bath. "But if you were to convince me, maybe I'll join you instead of pruning away." And she stared at him through long lashes at his form through the bead curtain, the smile glittering in her eyes.
Enzo eyed her through the other side of the curtain. "But you look so ravishing when you look like a water-logged raisin," he laughed and ran the towel through his hair. "Besides how could I possibly convince you? You seem quite comfortable."
"Mmm,.. I dunno," she said, her face gently nuzzling against the tub. "This water is comfortable. Even if it has gone cold..."
"Oh come on. You know that isn't good for your skin. Even with the oils in it.," Enzo smiled at her and tossed the towel back on the rack beside the tub.
Pao'orha pouted towards the beads.
"You leave woman stranded? What kind of man are you?" And she turned to lay on her belly, hands folded across the edge of the bath as she leaned her cheek into it. "Perhaps I should put rocks in your ears and coals on your toes?" And she smiled playfully at the thought and lazily leaned into her arm with a yawn.
Enzo sauntered back in and held out the towel to wrap her in. "You stand up and get out on your own and I'll dry you off. How about that?" he asked with a smirk.
Giving a lazy kick towards him with her leg, she leaned back in the bath.
"Is that all you can offer to me, Enzo?" She spoke more in her native tongue before her breasts heaved as she took in a deep breath. "You wish to dry me off?" She looked over his body admiringly, but with a lazy sort of fascination, but refused to move.
He raised a brow at her and tilted his head. "What more could you want?" he asked, sighing. "If you do no wish me to dry you off, then perhaps I should leave you there."
It's then her foot came out, and wet as it was, she pressed it just against his upper thigh as waters dribbled down both of their legs.
"I don't know," she said, eyes still lazily focused upon him. "I can imagine a few things better wet." And then her eyes peered up at him, leeringly. "But not alone and wet," she then added, with a pout. "Won't you at least kiss me, Enzo? Entice me out to join you there, ya?"
Enzo watched the water dribble down his thigh and then flicked his eyes back to her. "If you get out of the tub, I will kiss you. I'll even carry you to your bed," he counter offered, stepping back from the tub half a step.
Pao couldn't help but laugh.
"But not carry me out of the bath and kiss me there?"
"There's no pleasing you is there," Enzo sighed with a roll of his eyes and leaned against the edge of the tub. "Why don't you meet me halfway?"
And that's when the saranthian moved forward in the bath, waters gushing down her body while her eyes sparkled as she took him in.
"I think I can accomplish that," she spoke, a wet hand now cupping his face.
"Good. I was afraid I'd have to drag you out of there," he smirked, his hands running down her sides, pushing the water off her sides and wrapping his arms around her and pulling her out, and setting her on the ground, taking the towel and wrapping it around her.
Pao'orha grinned and smoothed a hand over his body.
"That could have been fun," she told him, leering as she dared to lean in close, keeping just enough of the towel open so certain parts of her body could press against his.
"Only because you like to be difficult," Enzo huffed, laughing a little and gently drying Pao along her backside, dragging the towel down her lower back until it hit her ass. He knelt low then, kissing lightly at her belly for a moment, looking up at her from his position as he dried her legs and feet. He stood and wrapped the towel back around her front, padding along the outside of it, drying it along her hips. "You're lucky you're only a little pruny."
"Is that so?" she asked him, her smile stretching and her eye lids hanging low.
"A bit," he answered. He finished up his drying, wrapping the towel around her shoulders and bringing it up around her hair. He pushed and pulled it until it was just damp and he put it away. "There. Now good night." He kissed her cheek and walked back through the beaded curtains.
Planting a hand on her hips,s he smirked at Enzo's disappearing form, but somehow managed to catch it- with only having to insert one hand through the bead curtain, before yanking him back towards her-
and then she kissed him, with a beaded curtain awkwardly between them. She did and let her hands find him through it as her tongue sought his through parted lips.
Enzo breathed her in, kissing her hotly and pulling away with a lip smack. "Oh, thank you for reminding me. I would have left without your kiss," he smiled and pecked her lips once more. "There, then. That's settled." He grabbed her hands and pulled her through the curtains. "Now come along to the bed. It's much more comfortable in there than standing out here."
"And much warmer, ya," she agreed, taking his arm, even if he hadn't offered it, and pushed her naked body closely to his. And she was so close, the damp waters from her hair would mark him lightly. Her hair always took forever to dry, for it was thick and dense.
Enzo laughed, walking backwards and pulling her along with him as they stepped toward her bed of pillows. He stumbled backwards, falling onto his back and his hands holding her sides firm before brushing up toward her hair. He pushed it back from her face, giving him room enough to kiss her, leaning in and taking her lips with his own.
Pao let herself naturally fall with him. Though her heart fluttered, she feared not becoming hurt when she fell as her hands gripped him and lips locked to his. And of course, one kiss was never enough, as her lips continued to press against his between breaths and she'd turn her face, kissing again, before her tongue sought to his in heat and taste.
Enzo moaned against her, kissing her hungrily, turning his head opposite hers and brushing her hair out of the way. His pushed her over on their sides, his hand reaching down along her body, brushing away what dampness remained and pulled her thigh up onto his hips.
Though try as he might, some dampness could not be simply brushed away, and in fact, was moistening him as their hips met. Her hands found his body, feeling the heat, the solidity, and moaning all the same so that her lips trembled against his, as did her tongue, as she breathed and kissed him again and again.
Enzo bent over her, plucking her lips with his in soft, wet kisses, that grew hungrier and hungrier. His heart was racing in his chest, where her hands touched and caressed him. He groaned against her lips, positioning himself between her legs, feeling a rising heat. His hands wound down to her thighs pressing against the skin, making small circles in exploration as he leaned over her.
Her hips moved naturally, groin to groin, as their bodies ground together. She could feel his arousal grow and her breath hitched as she exchanged angles of her face before leaning in to kiss him again,a nd press herself closer to him as she moaned.
"Pao," he murmured, grunting, feeling her heat enveloping him as he sunk down into her. It didn't matter how many times they did this, it felt wonderful to become one with her again.
She must have been holding her breath, for the second they joined she gasped out and took in great gulps of breath. Her body tightened and she gripped onto him in every way she could, but moved slowly, sensually, and just enjoyed the sensation of his sex within her, and nursed it as if each moment meant nothing, and hours were useless markers of time. This was making love at it's finest, and thought the heat inside her grew, the slow sensual motions were bliss-
and each rise and fall of their hips made her gasp.
"Enzo..." And she moved, dragging teeth and nails across his heating flesh.
"Gods," he breathed against her. He still kissed at her flesh, pressing his mouth against her shoulder and neck as he moved his hips in rhythm with hers. He cut through her easily, eagerly, stroking her fire with his until they burned brightly in the falling light. He gave no thought to anything else but her in that moment, becoming one with her in that painfully slow pace. "You feel wonderful," he murmured.
She whispered a breathy reply, but the words were almost inaudible.
And after a few more rolls of her hips, she shivered and told him, "Ya, and you. You feel like the world."
Enzo laughed. "The whole wide world? I'm not sure how to respond to that," he replied with a smile. He moved along with her, panting lightly. "I'm to assume you're a well traveled woman, then, yes?"
Pao smiled toothily,but kept her eyes closed.
"Yes," she panted. "Very much so."
He groaned with exertion, pushing further into her sex, turning his hips to favor a wall before he kissed her lips once more. She tasted like fresh water, sweet and invigorating.
Her lips parted at the feel of the new angle and not even a moan could be uttered, breath catching in her throat as her eyes squeezed shut.
Enzo pressed his forehead against her as he moved deeper within. He kept pace, working slowly and sensually as he could, listening to her body and her breath.
She breathed hotly, in and out; nice and slow, but soft gasps were heard any time he changed his pace or need. And with the tight breath would come a tight clench, to him on his body, and to his sex.
"Oh Pao..." he moaned, moving faster with need now, clutching her possessively to him and ploughing into her with powerful strokes.
Pao released a slew of saranthian words quickly through a breath so fast, even a native would not know what she said. But one did not have to read that part of her language to know the sort of pleasure she suffered beneath as her moans grew louder and her body, even tighter, hotter as she began to scream.
He cried out, quivering abruptly over her as he felt his body release. He hunched over her, his heart pounding heavily in his chest, his throat raw from his own cries of pleasure.
Enzo wasn't the only one who cried out, for the second she felt his release her own orgasm intensified and soon she was laying in a melted heap of contentment.
Enzo rolled off her, sweat having slicked his chest and body and brow, even after their bath. At that thought, Enzo suddenly began to laugh at loud.
Pao gave a contented sigh. They had made love so much in the past few hours, she was finally becoming exhausted. But his laughter roused her as she peered at him through half lids.
"Does something amuse?"
Enzo chuckled lightly and turned back to her. "I was just thinking about how we'll never really be clean. Even when we bathe, we just get dirty again," he smirked.
Pao gave an exasperated sigh.
"Such is life, no?" she told him with a smile. "Besides, I heard no complaint when we were mating."
"The thought merely amused me is all," he replied with a sigh. "Besides you leave little room for complaint anyway."
"Good. Then let us rest and see what our dreams may bring." And she whispered a soft prayer in her tongue, and waved a hand lightly across his face, just close enough and brisk enough he could feel the breeze upon his flesh.
Enzo lowered his eyelids and soon closed them as they grew heavier. He was tired indeed, but sated into a comfortable exhaustion and he soon found his weariness leaving his sore body and bones.
The dreams came as whispers in the dark. Figments came and went, but none truly seen. There was a sparkle, a dazzling chime of water on rock-
but she had no idea what it was.
Blurred, the vision was blurry, but as things refocused, she saw the shadows clawing at the walls, and the crystals shimmering as the protruding spikes of diamond on the cavern ceiling dripped with red, ripened blood.
Pao'orha awoke suddenly, gasping something in her native tongue. Her body was hot, even as the night was cool, and whens he released a breath, she could see her breath. And in the dim moonlight taht filtered into her cliff side home, it sparkled off the moistness of her skin that was slowly chilling as she stood up, and the cool air comforted her.
She moved away from her bed of pillows towards the front, and moved past the swaying bead door. A flash of lightning greeted her, as did the sweet scent of a storm breeze as bare feet now stepped ou tonto slick stone. The balcony from her home showed the ocean,a nd the vastness of the sky, and the entire world was painted in the deep violet of night, and the soft, colorful flashes of lightning as they burst forth from the retreating storm.
The mists of the sea caressed at her face, as she moved to mark herself with her hand, and she began to pace and hold onto the meager robe that clothed her. But when she heard somethind behind her and turned around, she was surprised to see the dead body of a man hanging offo ver the side.
A hand went to her lips as she moved away from the balcony, back pressing against the stone of her home as she stood in horror as a crack of lightning lit upt he sky and illuminated the body. Not wasting another minute, she rushed inside, the bead curtains clattering in her wake as she threw herself at Enzo and shook him until he awoke.
"Enzo! Enzo!" she said, going on then frantically in her native tongue. Though the only part he might hvae been able to decipher was when the common tongue broke through.
"My dream!" More saranthian. "There is death in the crystals!"
And more wallowing. "And a body hung outside my door!"
He awoke with a start and peered up at Pao in her sudden panic. Alarm gripped him and by instinct he reached for his sword that he had left in the sitting room. He pulled it tightly against him, peering out into the shadows before her words slowly registered to him.
"What? A body?" he blinked stupidly at her until another flash of lightning brought him toward the beaded doorway. He saw the body there, a silhouette in the darkness. He was cautious to step near it, knowing the possibility of it being an illusion set by Matakopas, but he braved the proximity of it until he saw that it was not real.
"It is a dummy," he said after a moment and reached out to poke it with the sheathe of his katana. The 'body' moved with the nudge, and the sound of straw could be heard from inside. "Why would someone put this here?" Enzo reached out and pulled the light straw body from the post it hung from, but did not bring it inside her home, unsure what it would signify.
Pao marked herself before spitting on the ground.
"Why would someone indeed!" And she threw her arms of it and stormed back inside her home, muttering mutterings upon mutterings of very unhappy things.
"Well, it's not like that really helps," Enzo murmured as she spat in her usual insufferable fashion and stormed away. He inspected the straw body and found little evidence of the person who put it there. But there was an object inside the man's pocket, pulling out a strange circular device. It looked like a disc, perhaps some kind of miniature sundial. It had a needle sticking up and four flat rectangular pieces sat at the edges of the circle in a cross formation.
He didn't know what it was, or what it did if anything. He poked at the small ridges that stuck outward and they slowly moved with a soft click. His preoccupation with the object grew stronger as it slowly began to tick.
Pao'orha left the man outside to fiddle with his dial. She couldn't have known he had found anything of interest as the hot-headed woman needed to cool off. So she decided to put on some tea and light a series of incense.
"Pao? What do you think this is?" Enzo asked as he walked in with the strange device in his hands. He held it gingerly and sat before the table, setting it at the center and watching it tick with curiosity.
[I have no idea what the compass thing is. It just seemed like an interesting thing to write. D:]
Pao blinked as she observed it, her face wrinkling as she raised a brow.
"Is it bug? It make noise, like cricket."
"I...I don't think so," Enzo said, observing the small object. He placed it down on the table and watched it with curiosity. "It's clicking like a clock. Perhaps it has something to do with our next destination. Perhaps, it's a puzzle piece."
"Or perhaps someone play trick on us, ya?" Pao went on, waving off the idea and making a very soured expression. "Not many men here would take humbly to you visiting me so many times in many nights. Jealousy leads to silly things. I would not think much on it."
She never had much fondness for those sorts of trinkets, and found it as a bad omen anyway. Hopefully, Enzo would leave the damn thing well enough alone that her small phobia might not come to fruition. But she found herself marking herself and whispering in saranthian.
Yes.. hopefully the odd trinket was not a bad omen. That was all she needed after them nearly botching their first mission from their dreams.
He couldn't put it down. Not for long anyway and his curiosity gnawed at him as he set it on the table and left it there. "But why would anyone leave that there?" he asked, staring at it. He couldn't find more about it holding it in his hands. Perhas viewing it from afar might offer something different.
"It certainly doesn't look like a toy."
"Only toy I interested in is one for pleasure, or one to help us with our path. This..." she said, pointing an accusing finger at it. "Seems unright." She wrinkled her nose. "Unnatural. Perhaps not toy, but curse. You should throw it over the cliff. What if it were laced with poison?" She marked herself again and made sure to sit as far away from the thing as possible.
Enzo blinked at her. "You throw it off the cliff! It feels funny in my hand. Like a buzzing. "
Pao backed away from him, marking her chest again.
"I told you I want nothing to do with that."
"Well, I'm not touching it. If you want it out of here, you do it," Enzo said, putting his hands up.
Pao glared at him and looked from man down to the compass. She marked herself again and could have spat on it, and marched clean over to it, muttering nasty words in her natural tongue. But when she went to pick up the thing to dispose of it, she gave a cry and it clanked onto the ground.
She swore in saranthian.
"It bit me!" There was more swearing. "It even left a mark!" Though when the thing had fallen, something had happened, and a small protrusion, much like the shape of a flame, was sticking out from one side.
"Good, it's snarky," Enzo said, smirking as he watched the little flame suddenly appear out of the ticking device. He stood and moved toward it kneeling beside it and viewed the symbol. It was curious and very hot to the touch. He put his finger in his mouth when it gave a slight singe and he placed the other parts of it back on the table.
"You're anger made it turn hot. Maybe if we pour other things on it, other symbols might pop out on it too. Get some water."
Pao muttered more saranthian.
"Touch it I will not! Enzo, that thing is cursed!" she said,a nd spat towards it and kicked back her feet as they scraped the ground.
"Good. Then if you will not be helpful, then be silent," Enzo said matter-of-factly and leaned in toward the little device as he wiped the sweat from his brow. After some speculation, Enzo got up and retrieved a towel filled with water. He carefully squeezed it over the device and after a few seconds of ticking another little portion of it clicked outward.
Enzo smiled and wondered what other things might happen if he ran it through some dirt or perhaps threw it in the fire.
It was then Pao moved forward and put a hand on Enzo's shoulder.
"Do you not fear? This device, this... this... thing, could be the end of us, Enzo! You should not play around!"
"I have feared much," Enzo said as he messed with the small device. "It may be. Or it may be the very thing we need for our next quest. Fear can help you survive. Or it can keep you from finding the truth. I've learned from my mistakes. If this is something that will kill me, then so be it. But if we don't take a risk, how will we ever know?"
"My visions lead us not to no device!" she spat, literally hissing as she backed away from him and it. "I trust the visions and our path, but that... that, I do not trust! Throw it out! Over the cliff, lest we be damned!"
Enzo did stop at her hissing. And he stood up and took one step back from the small device. "You want to throw it out. You do it then," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I will not touch that thing!" She spat. "You brought device into my home, so you shall remove it from there!"
Enzo grabbed his trousers and redressed. "Nope."
Pao swore at him.
"You would refuse? After bringing such a cursed thing into my house?"
"You want it out. You throw it out, it's not that hard," Enzo said with a shrug.
The fortune teller motioned as if to back hand Enzo, then growled and scooped the thing up and marched outside with it- but the second she went through the bead curtains and out onto the balcony-
she screamed.
Enzo walked with caution behind her, unable to see past her large hair.
Pao pressed herself up against Enzo, swearing up a storm in both common and her native tongue.
"Enzo! The box... It.glows!" And she marked herself and whispered more in saranthian.
And suddenly the box disappeared and reappeared on a pendant around Pao's neck.
Feeling the weight of the pendant, she could of fainted, but instead, her legs seemed to fail her as she fell back onto Enzo.
"Pao!" Enzo caught her and hoisted her up into his arms. He carried her back into her house and laid her across the couch. He tried to pull the pendant from her beck but it refused to break.
The Saranthian was a hot mess, muttering endlessly in her language as she trembled. When she was finally able to gain some.sense, she cried out to Enzo.
"Why won't the curse leave!?"
The pendant began to tick much like it had before but this time it seemed to react to Pao's energy. Every word she said, every emotion made the dials begin to move in unison. Enzo clung to her. "Pao. The dials are moving," he murmured. "And..." There was a sudden click and their in the room as alive with an electric current. And soon the room vanished and they were spirited away.
Only her heart beat existed in the strand of time, and she felt it, warm and strong, as it pulsed throughout the whiteness that now consumed them, and when that faded away, a chill swept through them and everything was pitch black.... Except the soft glow from the crystals surrounding them inside the cave.
Enzo breathed in sharply, coughing up what felt like water that lingered in his lungs. He wiped his mouth and crawled over to where he saw Pao laying in the narrow cave tunnel. "Pao," he said, gently running a hand alongside her face. "Pao. Are you all right?" he asked, panting a little.
The woman groaned but did not open her eyes, though they fluttered as she moved subtly beneath him, as if kin a fever, but she would not feel hot to the touch, and as she continued to groan, words began to mutter from her mouth.
Enzo crawed over her and put his arms underneath her body, pulling her up into his lap. His other hand lightly slapped her cheek. "Pao," he said again, shaking her. He couldn'tunderstand her but he kept trying to wake her nevertheless.
She continued to moan and mutter until she suddenly jerked and her eyed opened wide. For a moment, fear gripped her as she held.onto Enzo's arm, tight.
"Oh, Enzo!" She muttered much thanks and prayers in her native tongue. "What has happened? I saw so many things.... Blood and bones.. and diamonds."
"It seems we were spirited away from your home. We are in some crystalline cave of unknow sorts," he said with a nod. But other wise he pulled her in for a hug, glad she was all right.
"How do you feel? Can you stand?"
Pao muttered a few reliefs and curses as she rubbed at her temple.
"I feel strangely, but I'll live." And it was then she looked around. "A cave..." She went on, then more softly she added, "with diamonds." She pressed her.lips until they were flat. "It must be the place of your dreams..." And she turned to Enzo. "Do you recall anything from your vision?"
Enzo peered up at the cave around them, panting a little and viewing the crystals intently. "I remember the diamonds. They glittered like night stars. They looked like eyes watching us," he said, shaking his head, knowing it wasn't much to go on.
"Perhaps we'll find more clues, looking around. I remember mist, or was it smoke? It was one of the two. There is either fire here, or water."
She sat up, but continued to hold her head.
"Perhaps will we find both?"
"Perhaps. But first we have to stand," he said as he helped her to her feet and staggered to his own. The cave was rather narrow, but they managed to stand and Enzo held Pao against him until she could stand on her own.
"It smells like water. I would certainly prefer that over fire."
"Water is always welcoming, but one must not be so reluctant to fire. Fire is a symbol of life, death, rebirth.. of many things. But yes.." And she chuckled. "Water is definitely something I'd want to find in an unknown land, ya?"
Enzo chuckled and hobbled along with Pao under his arm. He heard water linger near and his boots sloshed through it until he yelped suddenly. He plunged through a puddle and nearly lost his grip on Pao. He'd fallen into a larger pool opening and burst back through the surface with what hold he maintained.
"Looks like we found the water. At least I hope it's water," he gasped.
The saranthian gasped too, clinging onto Enzo as her hair, now sopping wet, suctioned all over her face, covering just about everything but her mouth as she muttered in her native tongue, then commented, "I certainly hope it is, too!"
Enzo treaded water with three limbs while holding onto Pao with one and swimming toward a rocky ledge where crystals rose out from the water. He gripped it and hauled himself up onto it, then pulled her up with him. "Better sooner than later, yes?" he laughed.
Her expression soured, but before she could hiss out a retort, the crystals around them began to glow a little brighter, and pulsated slowly, but as Pao turned to observe one nearby, leaning closer to it, the pulsation began to grow faster, and the light, a bit brighter- which was unexpected and made the woman flinch.
"Must you touch? Do you have to touch everything?" Enzo asked, slightly irritated, but it soon passed after he realized who he was talking to. "This cave...I remember this vision. Vaguely so." He climbed up onto the ledge and rang out his hair.
Pao remained staring at the light. They were so interesting, beautiful, and she watched as the colors changed, the colors faded, in and out- like they were breathing. She whispered something in her native tongue and then gave a nod.
"Yes.... I too now recall... a dream, long ago. With lights inside rocks, lights that chime like bells." She tilted her head and looked over at Enzo.
"Lights that went out."
Enzo reached across to one of them and lightly touched a blue crystal. The thing rang like a small bell, a pleasant tone and one that gave him a chill down his spine. He visibly shuddered just before he smiled. "That they do," he agreed with a nod.
Enzo looked out and noticed that all the crystals of a particular color fluxed and pulsed with similar chimes though he did not hit them. He stood and motioned for Pao to follow him. He tapped another blue crystal beside the wall and watched the stones pulse. They emitted a brightening light that illuminated the tunnel before them. "This part...I do not remember from the vision. But it's curious nevertheless. Let's see where it leads," he said.
"It is good a start as any. We take our cues from stones and stars, might as well also follow the light."
Enzo continued to strike the stones that illuminated the pathway before them. The bluestones sang a softly chiming song, inviting them to relax, become complacent. Enzo fought his sleepiness, feeling as if he was being lulled.
"All of this walking, ha-sheeesh! It makes me so tired!"she complained through a yawn. "Do you recall what path our dreams said to take. For some reason, I am not recalling this blue."
"No...but I remember a song. And it sounded a lot like this. And as far as I can see, this is the only path we can take," he said, referring to the tunnel before them. But then it sprawled outward into a large cavern and the lights from the crystals rang out dazzlingly.
"Peculiar song,"s he mused, peering around at the ever changing lights. "Strange... yet familiar..." Stepping out into the cavern, she peered around. "If this is our destination, I wonder what beasts lies here." For it wasn't a comfortable notion to think about fighting one off in such a limited area.
[Not that Pao would/does any fighting, lol.]
"Do not distract me," Enzo said. He kept playing the tune, and it repeated between strings of five crystals. If he struck one out of place, out of the pattern, it broke and the way was no longer revealed to them. His hand slipped on one, and he slammed face first into a stone wall, and he paused, trying to push against it.
There were no other openings, and he gestured back to Pao. "Strike the crystals again, follow the song. It's opening up the cave as we go. If there's anything behind us, then prepare yourself. Like you said, be wary of what creatures lurk here."
Pao tried but failed at least three times before she finally got it, her eyes lighting up as she cried out for joy. But the second the song ended, the large rock began to move, and what it revealed left Pao stunned, for a large blue diamond lay glowing in the center of a pool of crystal clear water. And it was floating just inches above its surface and was slightly bigger than Enzo in height.
"What great diamond.." Pao breathed.
Enzo too was awed by the sudden presence of the crystal before them. He was shocked that the stone had moved. It seemed so solid and he noticed no draft coming. But when it did, he passed through it, staring out into the chamber, watching the crystals dance and glow above them.
He took Pao's hand and led her through, stepping at the precipice of the pool it resided in.
Not a ripple disturbed the water and Enzo didn't even want to step in it, lest he somehow contaminate it.
Pao whispered something in her native tongue, her breaths echoing around them as she stared at the pool.
"What magic do you make of this?"
"It is odd. Not evil. It doesn't feel evil, but tantalizing, like something is washing over me... Calming me." Enzo released her hand and set one foot in the water, and when he did, the stone slab shut the passage behind them.
The echo of the door made her freeze, and after a moment, she released her breath.
"Tantalizing, yes," she mused, studying it with some reservation. "Perhaps it is something to be of use to us? Either that, or it fool us- make us think it not evil." And she marked herself, studying the thing as it glowed.
Enzo still stepped further into the water and the ripples began to make the room tremble. He continued toward the diamond until he plucked it from the pedestal and turned back to Pao. The room was shaking terribly now and the water, it seemed, began to rise.
Pao hissed and gave Enzo a slap on the arm.
"What you doing!? Put that thing back now! Before you kill us both!"
Enzo looked up at her and then the jewels, but the beauty that encapsulated them was beyond resistance. He shook his head. "I can't. They're mine!"
At his outrageous comment, Pao did the only thing she could think of as she slapped him hard across the face.
"Come to your senses! You talk crazy!"
At that his face turned red with rage and Enzo felt his body surge with adrenaline. He reached across and slammed his fist hard across her face and he held the necklace in a vice grip, possessively and swished backwards as the waters continued to rise beneath them.
It was up to their knees know and Enzo felt his face burn with the fire of possession. There had to be a way out, and leave this terrible taker of jewels behind him.
The punch was hardly expected, and when she recovered she cursed him out in every tongue imaginable.
"Enzo, have you gone mad?" But the look in his eyes verified that. "Ha-eeesh!" she threw up her arms. "How is it that I am stuck here, possibly to be dead, and you go lose your marbles? Is it that crystal, ya? Give it to me, or I swear on my four mother's graves you will regret this."
"Get away from me!" he growled at her, stepping away from her. "The necklace is mine. You can't have it. I'll cut your throat, you...you...you whore." But his eyes were possessed with something else, an unnatural force that clearly did not belong, and beyond the power of the mere greed of a beautiful necklace.
"No...no, I'll beat you to death... That would be much more satisfying, watching your face bloody and bruise while you plead for me to stop. I-I think...I'll do it now, even without the necklace!" he said, his voice took on an unearthly quality to it. By now the water was up to his chest and wading through it was more difficult as he lunged for Pao, eyes filled with murderous hate.
Pao gasped when the crazed man lunged for her.
"You stupid fool! You clearly have rocks for brains." And realizing she had little option, she stumbled to get away from him int he water, and grabbed onto whatever she could that was nearby- including a dimly lit crystal that she broke off the wall and hurled at his head.
"Enzo, come to your senses! Can't you see we are to drown!?"
The rock struck him hard and made Enzo land hard on his side against the wall. The crystal fell from his grasp and Enzo floundered in the water as it rose higher, lifing them up toward the glittering ceiling. Enzo fought to stay afloat and it seemed as though his mind came back to him. "Pao! PAO!" The water took them upward toward the cavernous cieling, just high enough to let them reach a precipice in the wall, a cut out that led to a tunnel above.
"Pao this!" she shouted angrily through gulps of water that she sputtered, and chucked another rock she had held, chewing him out thoroughly in saranthian.
Enzo had climbed up onto the stone ledge, narrowly missing the stone chucked at his head. "Grab my hand," he said, holding an arm out for her to climb.
"Why?" she said, glubbing in the water. "So you can drown me yourself?"
"Fine whatever," he huffed and disappeared moved away from the ledge.
Pao could not believe the audacity of this man! ANd while she continued to flounder in the water, she cursed him out vehemently in her native tongue.
"Do you want me to help you or not?" Enzo asked, leering down at her. "Give me your hand you stubborn fool."
Pao paused, panicked by how quickly the water continued to rise.
"And you.. you won't try to drown me?" she asked, still skeptical. But did she have a choice?
"Why would I do that? Pao! Give me your hand! Your hair is weighing you down!" Enzo shot his arm out toward her and tried to reach her.
Thankfully she was able to reach his hand and was pulled away from the waters. And with a few words in her native tongue, she wilted and began to wring out her hair.
"Next time you go crazy, warn me, ya?"
"Go crazy?" he asked, sitting across from her and fixing his own ponytail again.
"Ya," she went on with a sneer. "You had crystal and held it like it was your baby. Your eyes were even wide, like this'," and she went on to demonstrate, even using her fingers to prop them open even more.
Enzo made a face at her and suddenly barked a laugh. "Well if I did, I'm glad I looked so funny."
"Ha-eeesh! You would laugh, but it would not have been you who drown!"
"But we are not drowned, and we are safe, for now. I do not know what possessed me, but I am of my own mind now, I think," he said with a nod. "Let's see where this tunnel leads."
Pao gave a snort and swiped a stray lock of hair from her face.
"Easy for you to say. You were not compromised."
"It seems possession is something we're both going to have to be aware of from now on, Pao. I am sorry." Enzo bowed his head in a genuine apology.
Pao's eyes narrowed.
"As if we knew that would happen. But I did warn you not to touch rock! It was probably cursed." And she marked herself, taking a step back from Enzo. "For all we know, it could still be cursing you now!"
"Pao, I'm fine!" Enzo said with a huff and rolled his eyes. "Now will you come along, we have to get through these tunnels lest the water continue to rise and flood them. You'll be fine. You've eluded death so far, I'm sure you're luck won't change just yet."
Pao snorted.
"Call it what you will, but I am skeptical." She marked herself, as if warding her body of his. "I will follow, you will go first."
Enzo led the way through the tunnel and the crystals there persisted in their glow. Somehow they seemed dimmer, as if the light had drained from them. The air simultaneously grew colder and thicker, making it harder to breathe. Enzo coughed, and spat, and where his saliva landed, icicles formed.
At this, Pao snapped an arm forward, grabbing his and urging him to halt.
"This air... This magic. Can not be right," she went.on with a silent tsk. "Low light.. the cold... It is bad omen."
"You WOULD be right," came a laughing voice that echoed out into the cavern. "But I'm afraid all you can do is press through. There's no going back after all." He laughed again and Enzo scowled.
"Matakopas! Enough with these games! Show yourself so that I can behead you already," Enzo spat.
"Spare yourself the heartache, Vallarian. You are not at home anymore," he said. "I'm more surprised you haven't already done away with that little whore on your arm."
Pao hissed at the voice and sneered in it's direction.
"I told you, this place is cursed." And she glared around them. "Just like the man who follows us with foolish intent!"
At that Matakopas laughed. "I do believe your little friend is the one following me, Saranthian," he hissed. "And quite closely I think. One must question his motive: Is it hate or is it love?"
Enzo hissed, gritting his teeth. "I watched you destroy everything I held dear, Matakopas. If you think I chase you out of love, allow me the opportunity to rectify that error," he growled. He pushed through the cavern, pulling Pao along, as Matakopas' laughter followed them out.
Pao snorted at Matakopas's comment, and would have retorted but Enzo spoke for them both. And she let him pull her along through the coldness as the laughter echoed around them like the fading song of a gong.
"He does pose good question," Pao finally said, after they made some distance down the path. "This is more than one occasion we have seen him. Perhaps it is not to give chase, but something else."
Enzo turned to Pao wildly and he shook his head in disbelief. "Why would you say such a thing? Are we not here on your quest!? Am I not slaying YOUR beasts? Come let's finish this before I decide to turn this blade on you, Pao'ohra, you fool."
The Saranthian gave a snort.
"Ya! I am no fool! If anything, you, with sword, are fool. Your friend.. he follows you, but tricks us, takes claim of our victories. We should tread carefully, or not at all, so as not to lead him to another free prize."
Enzo was about to retort when there was a sudden rumble, like a stomach growling, and the whole cave began to shake. Crystals began to fall from the ceiling and stones began to drop.
Pao cursed through her teeth as crystals fell and bit into their flesh. And though both were momentarily frozen in place from the shock of what was happening, it didn't take long for Pao to give him a shove.
"Run, Enzo! Run!"
She shoved him just as rocks came crashing down between them, and Enzo fell forward into a pit, the ground beneath him cracking and breaking beneath his weight and sending him down into darkness.
And as they fell into the darkness, a flash of light in the shape of a tiger engulfed them completely and warmth filled the void and time appeared to stop. And when Pao opened her eyes, she and Enzo were laying on their sides, unharmed but the air was chilly, and the only light appeared to be casting from the marks on Pao's skin, whihc, even to her, appeared strange.
Enzo awoke to the strange lights emitting from Pao's skin. He blinked at her, curious, and sat up. "Pao...what...what is that?" he asked.
By the time Enzo questioned it, Pao's eyes rolled back and she collapsed against his form, the lights going out.
And then they were encased in darkness. He pulled his arms around Pao, holding her defensively against himself until a sheet of light opened up before them. Shielding his eyes, he was blinded by it and clung to Pao until his vision eased. "Pao," he whispered, dragging her up and into his arms, and walking into the light.
She didn't hear her name. She remained limp in his arms, even as the source of light was blinding.
Enzo pulled her into the light and when he slumped through the other side. Falling down, he nearly dropped Pao, and when he saw the gargantuan beast before them, he just about did.
And that's when Pao lit up again, the light flaring brilliantly for but a moment before fading. And then her eyes opened, just in time for the place to rumble as the massive beast turned their way.
It looked like a statue, but living, breathing, walking with great vines and hair draping down from it like a shaggy beast. And in it's hand carried a massive club. Those colored crystals that Enzo had seen protruding all through the cave jutted out from its body, like spikes protruding from scales, and stuck out along its shoulders and back and even parts of its legs and belly.
It had one eye, a fiery angry thing that looked upon Pao and started making its way toward them.
It was at this visual connection that Pao felt herself become frozen. It's gaze captivated her by an unseen power, and through it, they could speak.
"Forces of the Earth grow dark!" the beast growled inside the Saranthian's head. "You have come to late, the corruption eats my soul!" And before she knew it, the ground was rumbling as the beast continued its charge.
Enzo dropped Psi as the beast made its charge and Enzo pulled the katana from its sheath. He cried out, trying to maneuver around the stone feet of the colossus. He skirted around the right one and severed a crystal at its ankle.
Pao grasped, her heart drumming inside her ears as she realized what just occurred. And while Enzo rushed off to cut at the beast, she clawed desperately at the walls in attempts to stand. Once she found her voice, she called out, "Enzo!" But it might have been lost as the creature turned around, and tried to angrily stomp out the man with the blade.
And stomp it did. Enzo did not directly get hit as he turned around go look at Pao. But the force of the stomp knocked him off his feet. "What!?" he called out, trying to avoid falling debris.
Pao'orha managed to keep her balance, but shouting over the thundering foot falls of this beast proved difficult.
"The beast and I-"
BOOM!
"This one.. it's different-"
Another thunderous footfall shook between them.
"It.. it has spoken to me, Enzo!" And she muttered more in her native tongue. "It knows what we are and feels its own corruption!"
"THEN! WHAT! DO YOU PROPOSE! GAH!" Enzo nearly was crushed beneath another massive foot, and rolled out of the way just in time. But he didn't know how long he could keep that up before the colossus eventually crushed him.
"WE. DO ABOUT. IT!?"
Pao grit her teeth as she watched Enzo struggle.
"Perhaps we can communicate with it!?" she shouted, leaning against a nearby wall as the beast stepped dangerously near to where she was. "See if we can help... or what it wants!"
"And say what!?" Enzo was backed into the corner and was breathing hard, unsure of how much more he could dodge. All ready his limbs were aching. What could it hurt to try it? But he didn't even know what to say to the giant colossal thing bearing down on him.
"STOP!" was all he could cry, before being covered in stone rubble.
Enzo's cries went on deaf ears as the beast continued, nearly trampling the man beneath it's mighty hooves. Pao braced herself, but released a short breath when Enzo was still alive. She rushed ahead, trying to get closer as her skirts and hair whipped about wildly in the winds.
"We were here to conquer the evil!" she shouted, her own shouts seemingly ignored as it tried once again, to smash Enzo. "We know about your taint!" But it seemed communicating wasn't working, but then after a moment, she tried again.
This time in Saranthian.
And this time as the creature lifted one massive paw to try to stomp Enzo out of existence, the beast froze in place.
Enzo was too exhausted to move, and likely would've more than welcomed being crushed beneath it's foot. The colossus just stared at them both though, before turning to Pao and bearing down on her.
"What?" Enzo called hoarsely to her. "What do we do now?"
"I don't know!" she tried to shout over the earth shaking foot falls of the giant. "But the beast- it understands Saranthian!"
And just as she got the words out, the creature stopped its charge just before her, and seemed to glare down at her, while it's breath sounded ragged and pained. It was being this close to the beast while it was not moving that she noticed the way darkness seeped out from it's fur in small rivers, like blood from wounds, and the more she looked, the more she began to see the faint ghostly hues of something wicked lapping out from him.
"Are you infected with madness?" she asked the beast in her native tongue. But she knew the answer. The beast simply lowered it's head and answered "Yes."
She felt her heart bumping, beating fast.
"And do you want your suffering to end?" she asked again, this time softer, her eyes upon the beast's face.
After a long moment of silence, the beast answered, "Yes."
"Ask it how we end it's suffering." Enzo was fully prepared to find a way to sink his blade into the creature. He was not accustomed to this kind of negotiations. He'd been a guard after all, a fighter, and knew better than to allow an opponent time to gain an upper hand.
In this case it would be several upper hands consider how large the colossal beast was. Whatever it was. Who made such creatures? And why were they of importance of enough to be placed in such remote locations? Surely whatever it was they were protecting must be worth a great deal. But as with the first colossus that they fought, Enzo knew it was not what they protected, but what they were that was of the greatest importance.
Matakopas had stolen the first colossus' life force, or energy, in a way that Enzo had never seen. He wanted the life of these beings, or wanted Enzo to destroy them. But why?
Pao's heart was thumping so loudly inside her ears it was near deafening, but after a time,s he finally managed to shout out, "Your purpose, what is that?" she asked in her native tongue.
"To be a guardian. To protect."
Pao blinked, and tried to figure out what that meant, but instead asked, "And why are you suffering from this?"
"Because of the dark corruption. It power over whelms." the beast went on through a large growl in it's throat, and once it had its eyes upon Enzo, it was determined to crunch him between its teeth.
Enzo held out the sword, as he was too worn to move, and the beast's foot was stabbed as it stepped right on it. The creature screamed and stepped back, and the katana was coated in blackened blood.
The Saranthian cringed. Things were not boding well for Enzo. She marked herself hastily and muttered a prayer to the spirits.
"Guardian, how do we cure what ails you?" she asked.
And there was a pause after the beast reared back from Enzo's attack, and its eyes were wild and savage, blackness seeming to ink over it's vision as it's pupils glowed red.
"What ails me is you!" it cried out, and made a move towards Pao, aiming to bite off her head.
Enzo crawled to his feet, stumbling about and gripping the wall for support. He knew what was coming and pushed all his energy into jumping up into the air and plunging the sword through its back, gashing through its stony hide.
Gashed or not, the beast was not deterred and continued onward, opening its jaw wide. Pao paled and quickly marked herself, before scrambling out of the way on time. And once the beast's jaws snapped, and it realized it missed it's mark, it began to make its slow turn about, its eyes easily finding her as Pao continued to dash away.
Enzo remembered the curses that Pao seemed content to sling at him on a regular basis. He called outward to the beast, one of the Saranthian curses, not knowing what they meant, but saying them anyway. Anything to divert the beast's attention toward him.
The giant beast appeared to be gaining on her, but just as he did so, he heard a remark and paused. Slow was he was, he managed to turn around, seeking from where the voice came.
Finally having a reprieve, Pao stumbled against a nearby boulder to catch her breath, and noticed with some curiosity, that the creature seemed to have stop moving. But she hadn't heard Enzo's shout, so she hadn't a clue as to what was going on as her heavy chest heaved with each labored breath.
The creature pulled its weapon up and launched it down toward Pao. Something small and quick leapt up onto its back, however. Enzo screamed and held fast to the vines that grew upon its hide. With is free hand he plunged the point of Angra'arda into its shoulder. Liquid shadow poured from its wound, spraying up and out.
Pao'orha looked on in frozen terror at the scene unfolding above her. With a hand poised over her head like a shield, she saw everything from the near death blow that had been diverted from her, to the sudden gush of black shooting out from the beast. She moved to mark across her breast, muttering in saranthian a protection blessing before daring to move closer.
"Enzo! HA-TAH-LEE! DO NOT LET THE DARKNESS TOUCH YOU!"
For just looking at the stuff made even this strong, stubborn woman feel a sense of dread sinking icily into her bones.
Enzo avoided the splash of one blast of creeping darkness. He pulled himself up over the monster, continuing to stab it where his blade penetrated. The creature howled with agony, trying to reach up for the one that made him bleed so. It shook violently.
Enzo held true, though a slip made his leg get caught in the blast. He growled, howling just a bit at the pain upon contact. It felt as if his leg were plunged in a vat of icy water.
Pao froze in terror the moment Enzo howled in pain, and her heart stopped, blood freezing before she screamed.
"ENZO!!!!!!!!!!!"
Enzo kept hold of his grip on the creature, hoisting himself up, until he jabbed his sword into the back of the creature's neck. It stopped short, wavering and found itself falling onto its knees. Enzo slipped then, sliding off the back of the creature, and tumbling down to the floor, where he remained inert.
NUmbly she ran, scooping up her hero while muttering a slew of words. The darkness clinging to him made her blanch, but she felt she had dealt with worse- even though this was something that made feelings beyond her blood, curdle. But she knew fate rested in this man, and were hope to be snuffed out so soon......
Would this wicked blackness consume more than just these beasts?
Dragging Enzo aside, while the creature collapsed and fought to breath, she took homage beneath the shadows and cradled Enzo close. He felt so cold, and though she muttered so many prayers- she knew not if they'd be in vain.
But the next time she closed her eyes and opened them-
she felt heavy- like lead, and could smell the salt of the sea.
Sitting up with a start, she looked around to realize- she was back in Canador! And though she had returned home, Enzo, she noted- was no where to be seen.
Not seen immediately at any rate. Instead of being in her lap, he was sprawled along the bed of furs and pillows that comprised her chambers. His breathing was soft, light, and shallow. He was sweating, and his side.had a dark gash on the side of it. It was bruised all around, but not bleeding. His leg mimicked this color and condition.
Pao marked herself and moved over his form.
"Enzo?" she wasn't sure if he was asleep, or trying to be.
He said nothing, but groaned as he moved, his body aching all over. When he opened his eyes, he blinked at Pao, and smiled briefly.
She was afraid something was wrong, but upon seeing his smile, she gave a light smack to his shoulder.
"Ha-eeeesh! You had me worried, but there you go, waking up, and that smile," she wagged her finger at him, pointing accusingly. "You know I thought you might have died!" And it seemed she was almost angry enough to spit on him.
It took him a while for him to find his voice. "I'm okay. You worry too much. "
"Worry too much?" she hit his shoulder again. "Do you even see your wound? CHeck out your side! You are cursed!"
"And you will help heal me yes?" He said, twitching when he viewed his ribs. They were bad, certainly. And his leg was no better. But he could do nothing except lie there. Movement wasn't really an option.
Pao frowned.
"Heal you?" she muttered some Saranthian. "I am not sure of this sort of curse. Yes, in vision, I see, but here? Now? I know not what I can do. Perhaps the rocks will know, but tired I grow, and heavy with hunger. Shall we drink? Ya? I can fetch us both some water." It felt like ages before she had a thing to eat or drink.
Sustenance sounded just like what they both needed. Enzo moved a bit to sit up, but even that much effort made him grunt with frustration. He didn't like the thought of being an.invalid. And be was quite sure Pao didn't want him to be either.
Pao was quick to pull up a bucket of water, and hastily set it in front of him, dropping in a wooden ladle.
"Drink what you can, Enzo. And I will fetch us dry beans to eat."
Enzo could do at least that much. Water went down in small sips, some of it spilling out. But he managed to not make too much of a mess.
She returned with a bowl and sat down beside him.
"You should drink more." she offered out the bowl. "And eat."
The few sips of water he had seemed to help a great deal. He sighed in relief and ate a few bites before washing them down with more water. He could feel strength returning to him all ready.
Pao's eyes never once left his form. And though he was eating and drinking, she still felt ill at ease.
"Enzo... How do you feel?"
"Stiff," he croaked out.
She gave him a whack, and muttered more native words before hitting him again.
"Stiff is obvious. THough perhaps your mind is still like rock!"
"Why are you hitting me? Did I do something wrong?" he said, making a face at her.
"Ha-eesh! Much you do wrong!" she barked. "We don't have time to waste.. your arm.." she pulled back his sleeve roughly, holding it by the wrist. "The mark.... see how it lingers beneath the skin?"
"It doesn't hurt. How is it supposed to feel?" He frowned at her and looked at the mark, appearing as if little more than a deep bruise. "Just do one of your ritual things and it'll clear up, I'm sure. How am I supposed to deal with this thing? Stop asking me questions to things I know nothing about, Pao. You are supposed to be the Seer here."
"How do I know how it ought to feel?" she told him with a huff. "But that mark... it not good."
"Touch it then and I'll tell you how it feels," he proposed.
She drew back with a hiss.
"Touch it? Do you want me to get infection too?"
"Fine, be a stubborn wench," Enzo hissed back and sat up, reaching down to touch the sore bruising. His flesh was tender there and the darkness seemed to seep in and out like ink on paper. He looked over to her things and slowly crawled over to where he found a knife. And used the point to cautiously tear the flesh of his side open, and used a bowl to collect the dark blood that seeped out.
Pao kept her distance, watching.
"That blood is not normal." she pointed at it before marking herself. "Why you cut it out? What if you spill it and it's taint spreads?"
"You offered no solution," Enzo said, hissing a bit from the pain. "If it remains in me, would you prefer it kills me instead?"
With her teeth still gritting,s he swore.
"I can not offer a solution- not like this."
But then she clutched at her necklace, eyes widening. She turned suddenly, disappearing behind a bead curtain and returned with a shell bowl in hand.
"This.. put blood in this." And she shoved the bowl at him.
The bowl he was currently using was getting full and when that was done, he pulled the second one closer, allowing the black liquid to fill that instead.
Pao grit her teeth, and hastily set the filled bowl aside. She marked herself and went to grab a few hanging herbs, ripping them from their strings and throwing them with a few hissed warding words before she turned to Enzo.
"Do not let any spill on floor!" she warned before throwing some of the flaking herb into his currently filling bowl.
There wasn't much left to fill the bowl, and soon Enzo had emptied out the wound and the blackness faded from his body. He kept his side closed until he reached for a cloth and held it firmly against his side. He pushed the bowls closer to her, until she was doing whatever it was that she was doing.
The bleeding stopped after generous pressure and he bound up the wound with what he found around him. He sat up, looked at her. "Do you need any help with anything?"
She stood over the series of bowls, both cursing and muttering things he might not understand. But her actions were obvious. Once she had emptied her herbs, she turned to Enzo.
"Perhaps to help me think. We must get rid of blackness."
Enzo sat up from where he was and moved closer to the bowls. "What do you need me to do?"
She hissed a little, scowling.
"We could try to burn the remains. Ha-eesh, I do not know. But fire seems to kill darkness, ya? It would be worth try."
"Then we'll light it in blessed fire," Enzo proposed and took the bowl of black liquid out into the main room, setting it down. "Give me some alcohol, anything, wine, whiskey, anything you might have." When he had what he needed, he careful put a droplet into it, and the liquid refused to evolve into a solution.
Instead the alcohol coated the top of it, and he gestured to Pao. "Do you have a blessing to offer before I light the brazier? I will say one from my home."
He bowed his head before the bowl, and spoke a blessing in his own tongue, an old prayer from old gods he once had faith in. And when he was finished he patiently waited for Pao.
She waited but a moment, muttering the words in her natural tongue before dropping a few herbs from her hand ontop of the alcohol.
"And may the fire's burn out darkness and all places it may lurk."
A hissing sizzled in the brazier, and the blackness seemed to burn away from itself. There was a high-pitched screech and soon there was a lightness in the air.
"Do you feel that?" he asked, blinking and seeing the light dazzling brighter between the beads and the curtains in front of the windows.
"It's gone. The darkness. Look into the brazier."
More mutterings and the woman nearly snatched the bowl and spilled the waters.
"I am not blind, Enzo! I see! Or I don't see! The darkness..." she shook her head, beaming. "It.. feels more than just gone." She closed her eyes. "Even unease... it feels..... no more."
"Don't touch it," he murmured and gently took the bowl from her hands. He looked to his side where the wound had infected him with that blackness and his skin was moderately healed over, looking only scabbed and seemingly stitched by an unseen but caring hand.
"I feel it too," he muttered. "I certainly feel better. Perhaps it's time to move on."
She hissed and kept a grip on the bowl.
"We must discard! If that curse within waters," she gestured, "Then we must properly remove it from these lands." They were able to extract it from him... but what was the next step so it wouldn't just reinfect something or someone else?
It was Enzo that stood and held firm to her hands suddenly. "Pao. Calm. Please. There is no need for panic. The fire cleansed the darkness. I was never one for magics, but I do remember that cleansing spell, for my people fought hard against forces that would corrupt the soul. We were ended by betrayal, but our magic survives somehow in whatever stray knowledge I possess."
He squeezed her hands and bade her to release the bowl. "The water is just water now. Calm please. We have to prepare for our next journey. That is why I am here with you, aren't I?"
If it calmed her, or reassured her in the slightest, it was hard to tell. she tried to yank her hands free of him, but gasped when the waters spilled over, and onto the floor. She marked herself and jerked back, but the water had already soiled things, from her skirts down to her bare feet.
But the water was just water and nothing more than that. Having been cleansed of the evil that had spilled from Enzo's body.
He did let her go and got up from were he was to move toward the hearth, where he sat instead and boiled a pot of tea. "Please, sit with me, won't you?" he asked.
She planted hands on her hips and chewed on the inside of her cheek as she swore.
"I am agitated, Enzo! Ya-hsh! You expect me to sit?"
Enzo sighed. It didn't seem like this was anything new. And he glanced up at Pao with one severely quirked brow. And that's when his hand reached up and yanked her down firmly. "Stay there," he said. "Have tea with me. The night is young so will have tea, talk, and sleep. And if you wish, our bodies can connect too. But not unless you stay put "
That's when she hit him- then hit him again, even harder.
"You will not command me!" Even though it was unreasonable to presume it's what he was trying to do. She stormed off, swatting bead curtains aside as she exited her home in a huff.
Enzo growled when she hit him and then had the gall to follow up with it. What the fuck was her problem?! And just when he'd gotten comfortable enough to sit down and actually enjoy something, she had to go storming off! For what!?
He wasn't about to just let her go off on her own and so he rose to his feet and promptly followed her. "Pao! What is the matter? What is wrong? Please. don't just walk away. Talk to me," he hissed.