A cove just gracing the perimeter of Athervaan lake was in high tide, filling the small pool that sat empty for half of the day, and giving a drink to the few beasts and critters that called it home. A squirrel took notice of the filling pool, and hopped off of the rock ledge in which it had stashed it's acorns.
A small ashen explosion knocked the little beastie away from the pool, painting the walls black and gray, and tainting the pool with it's char. In the middle of the blast, a slim frame clutching a singed furball sat crouching, head down.
Aohdei snapped his head up, eyes wide and breathing heavily. He quickly scanned the room, and then subsequently released the cat shifter he was holding, and dropped his dagger. Leaning back against the rock wall of the small cove, he began to laugh, "It worked!" Remembering his passenger, he looked back at the cat, who's fur was on end, "Don't attack me. I just saved your cat ass."
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@Fukurou @Sheshia @You had to see it OOC:Partner thread)
(Ooc: Thanks for letting us know about this new thread! :) It'll be easier and it helped a lot.))
The werecat looks at Aohdei not completely recovered from what just happened. "Thanks I suppose." Her tail lashes, "You could've just left me there so why did you sort of.... teleport me here? I am your enemy who nearly killed you." She was still in a lot of pain and was getting pretty tired but she still didn't trust Aohdei at all since he went from crazy killer to a somewhat considerate person. Though she also reminded herself that she had also tried to kill him so she gussed both of them were even now. Hopefully even.
"Because you know enough about me to be dangerous." Aohdei sighed, and tilted his head back, "Also I was holding you at the time, and so it didn't matter what I would've done. You were coming with me anyway. I just hope Rylzyr makes it out." Letting his head fall back down, he eyed the cat cautiously.
"Now what?" he asked, the question sticking in the air, echoing slightly in the awkwardly abrupt silence.
Sheshia agreed with her knowing a lot about Aohdei now and that it was the spurr of the moment chance to escape alive. Though she sort if wasn't willing to find out what would happen if Rylzyr appeared here. She felt Aohdei look at her and ask a question, "Now we have to wait. Neither of us are in the right conditions to move around much. Buuut can I trust you if I fall asleep you won't gut me like a fish? I won't finish you off if you promise me you won't kill me. Even if you sleep too. Since both of us won't heal as fast if we both stay awake."
Aohdei shot a skeptical look at his unlikely ally, and sheathed his dagger, the soft rasping of leather on steel ringing quietly against the stone walls surrounding them. Tilting his head back again, he asked another question without returning his gaze to Sheisha, "Are you going to stay in that form while you sleep? Doesn't it feel weird?"
Aohdei closed his eyes and slowly relaxed, his perception of time slugging along, yet speeding past him. the sky in his peripheral vision melted into different colours, mixing like oil and blood, spread on a fading blue canvas. Before he had realized what was truly happening, he shifted his position and looked to the exit of the cove, only to see deep blues and twinkling white dots. That was really trippy. I must have really been sleep deprived, or something. Jeez.
Sheshia shrugs, "I should shift back. Give this form a bit of time to regrow some fur hopefully." She gets up and pads over behind a extremely thick group of trees and bushes. After a few minutes she walks out stretching her arms wearing her daily clothing which was a greenish tunic, brown leather boots and dark brown pants. "To be honest wish I had my gown still, it was so comfortable and I could just fall asleep immediately in it. But this'll do." She settled down and started to look at the lake and listening to her surroundings.
"We should move. Matron's Hallow isn't a place you want to let your guard down in." Aohdei stood slowly, stretching as he erected himself. His back, and several joints popped and cracked, and then he walked over to Sheshia. Giving the girl a small kick, he waded into the lake. "Come on. I'm not staying here, and neither should you."
Sheshia sighs and gets up going into the lake, "How did you find this place?" She really liked the surrounding area. Everything about it reminded her about her birth place in the short summers they would get which almost alwayd would become a hospitable place to live in winter. She felt at home there while she listens to the creatures in the brush and the sounds of the lake. Wondering where they we going she just made a few guesses in her mind and stuck to them.
Aohdei the ash from his face, arms, and chest, letting the water spill over him, soothing his irritated skin.
"I don't know. I've never been here, at least not in this body. I remember it vaguely, but I've heard enough stories to know that this place has dangers of it's own to watch out for."
He relaxed, and leaned back into the water, letting it take him slowly back to shore.
"Wow thiugh fire demons like you wouldn't like water." Sheshia says with a slight smile. It's the first time she has ever seen a demon swimming, not that she had much room to talk. She just waded in the water looking into it for fish hopefully, she was pretty hungry after all. "What are you going to do? We sort of are stuck here huh?"
"Technically no, I mean you could swim out if you wanted. We're a little stuck, yeah." Aohdei replied, "And I am still almost technically not really a human. Body has needs, y'know?"
He stood up, water dripping from him onto the grassy cove floor. He walked over to Sheshia and flicked water in her general direction. "We're more or less waiting on me. I'll be able to get both of us to the more civilized side of the lake easily enough after a while, but I'm going to need to eat. D'you think you could find something? I'll cook." He said, grinning at the last words.
"Im working on it." She looks at Aohdei who was smiling, "What? If you try to eat me I'll give you a nasty belly ache." She jokes a bit and grabs a fish and tosses it ashore while she sits still again looking for more fish not even blinking as she looks at the surface intently.
A crack resonated throughout the hallow as a portal ripped open in mid-air. The abomination descended from its swirling depths, landing on the grassy ground with a thump. The portal closed and they stood up straight, bones cracking as they rolled their shoulders and fluffed out their wings.
Aohdei, previously enjoying a quiet night and regaining strength, suddenly heard a deafening crackling, popping noise, one that he recognized as demonic energy displacing time and space. Twisting violently, he saw the dragon man that was Rylzyr straighten. Readjusting their wings, the abomination seemed quite content with their surroundings.
"So..." Aohdei started, but trailed off, "are you stuck like that? Permanently? We're still in Connloath you know, and even then, most places don't generally accept dragon demons."
Sheshia sits up grumbling and rubbing her eyes with her hair a complete mess. The fish she had ate was tossed back into the lake since she didn't want t risk attracting anything bear or wolf like creatures. When she sees Ryzlr she jumps up and backs up a bit, "Is he here to hurt me?" She didn't trust the unstable creature at all, not in the very least.
"I'm sure you'll be fine." Aohdei said dismissively, although he did beckon her closer to him, and put himself closer to Rylzyr than she.
The abomination let out a deep chuckle as Sheshia sank away timidly. "Harm you? Now, what would I gain from that? I would much rather talk," they purred. "Ah... Pardon my lack of manners. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Aoloadh'xez: archdemon of knowlege." The abomination bowed and as they spoke, the dark, smooth tones of the demon overpowered the lilting tenor voice of the mage. "And to answer your question, my dear friend, the being before you--the abomination--is not permanent. To be perfectly honest, I find this form to be quite restricting but I'm sure the mage finds it to be even more unpleasant than I do."
"Ah." Aohdei replied markedly. Looking the monstrous creature up and down, he rather slowly said,
"How long will this last, exactly? Again, time and place are rather bad for this particular situation." He punctuated his statement by gesturing to the general direction of The Archdemon Mage. Following up, he asked, "Do you happen to know a certain Pale King? Also goes by Ro'ahdyeszga, and is the self proclaimed lord of flame, not that anyone disputes the title. I used to be of his service, and I heard tell of a wandering Draconic Lord who possessed deep wisdom and knowledge, more so than even the most ancient Wyrm should own."
Shaking his surprise off, Aohdei stood, still dwarfed by the beastly figure. Extending a hand, as was human custom, he introduced himself, "Rylzyr, you know me as Aohdei, but then my other titles might not mean a lot to you. As for you Aoloadh'xez, I am Aohdeiisideus, Fifth Prince of Ember in the line of the Great Flame, Liege to The Pale King of Berrassus and Coermanth, holder of the Crumbling Keep of Berrassus. Nice to meet you."
The abomination took Aohdei's hand firmly in his own. "The pleasure is mine, Prince Aohdeiisideus," he said as he shook the other's hand. "I have indeed heard of such a Pale King. However, I regret to say that my knowledge of recent affairs are somewhat limited due to my current circumstance, so I cannot say for sure where he is." The abomination crossed their arms and eyed the two beings in front of them. "It was nearly ninety years ago when the young Master T'avaar came into my realm, shaking in terror and clutching the Nexus Grimoir in his hands. He was chosen to join the ranks of the Xhal'tal'varyn, the Demonic Shamans X'zyr. As was customary for the Xhal'tal'varyn rite of passage, he was made to bind his broken and twisted soul to a demon. Most would have bound theirs to a lesser being, for what they lack in power they make up for their ease to manipulate. Ta'vaar, however, had the fortune--or perhaps misfortune--of stumbling across my Grimoir within the gilded libraries of Zyth'rah. With wits sharper than any sword, he managed to trick me into striking a deal with him. Heh... he truly is an interesting creature. Perhaps if his heart wasn't so soft he'd make an extraordinary Xhal. But enough of my ramblings... To answer your question, this form will last until I deem fit or until the mage dies. Whichever comes first. But seeing as how much fun this little game is, it would be a shame to have our dear friend die on us now, wouldn't it? I'll tell you what: I can take the two of you to the other side of the lake. After that I will take my leave. How does that sound?"
"Im Sheshia. What about the mage? Is he going to be okay? Or does he have no idea what's happening to him?" Sheshia hates the fact that the mage has been turned into something else completely and possibly confused and scared if he was still some what conscious or even still mentally stable.
"Such a kind-hearted creature, riddled with the pain of your past," they purred as they eyed Sheshia. "Oh, I'm sure the mage will be fine. He's a resilient one."
Sheshia was taken a back by how the prince knew of her past, she wasn't pleased by it as she glared at the prince, "Then do you know what my parents died from?" She was courious about how the mage got possessed and weather he fought it or not. Though she felt extremely small arouns the strong demons she wasn't willing to let it show at all. Keeping an eye on them would be a bit of a problem since there was two of them. The truth was her parents died from pneumonia and the cold of the.mountains in the dead of winter.
"They died from an illness and the cold, did they not? If you are curious about the mage, why don't you ask him yourself? Again, I can take you two to the other side if you so wish."
Sheshia thought for a secobd, "Fine but we all jave to be in agreement." She wanted everyone to go on their own free will since things might be easier doing it that way. That and she wanted them to agreed on a few more terms if it comes down to it but she wanted to see how the other two reacted first before offering anything else.
"It's not like I've anywhere else to be. Let's get a move on." Aohdei sprung up, dusting himself off, "I need to move south, and quickly. Are you both in for the journey?"
"I am afraid that I will not be in for the journey. Well, not in this form anyway. However, perhaps our dear friend might be interested. That is, if he can still muster the strength." The abomination chuckled and rolled their shoulders, sending the sound of popping bones ringing through the hallow. "Hmm.. but without further ado..." In one fell swoop, the abomination scooped up the pair and glided easily across the water. They placed them tenderly on the rocky shore and gave a short bow.
"It seems my time has come to an end." They said with a smile. "It has been a pleasure, Sheshia, Aohdeiisideus. Perhaps we will meet again." With the abomination's final words, the draconic half of the beast crumbled away, its scales disappearing as they floated daintily in the wind. What remained of the creature stood Rylzyr, haggard and bloody, his face pale and his eyes void of any signs of consciousness. The mage teetered a bit before his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell face-first into the ground in front of him.
"Well shit." Aohdei cursed, as he reached for Rylzyr's arm. Propping him up and slinging his lifeless right arm across his own shoulders, Aohdei lifted the towering Mage, but barely. Calling out to Sheshia, ha asked, "Hey could you help out here?"
Hefting Rylzyr more over him than beside him, Aohdei shuffled in the direction of the nearest settlement. Only twenty or so kilometres to go...
Sheshia grabs Rylzyrs other arm. "I might be able to help him a bit with my magic but it won't be enough to keep him out of the woods." Being the shortest one of the three sucked for her since she probably wouldn't be able to carry him for long as Aohdei, she wasn't meant for strength but rather speed and agility. "But it's your call since I have no idea what possession would do to him or what it causes mental wise."
(Ooc): So sorry I was gone for all last week I was on vacation in South Carolina with family and I had no reception lol)
Nestled within the bushes by the water, the young Wood Elf witnessed it all: a terrifying abomination flying through the air with what appeared to be a werecat and a human in each arm, landing tenderly by the lake. She watched as the monstrous creature spoke to them briefly, then, like flakes of ash caught in the wind, the monster crumbled away leaving behind the mage. She let out a small gasp as she saw her mentor bloodied and broken, pass out on the ground and being being dragged away by the two figures. She watched for several long seconds, her body shaking eyes wide, unsure of what to do and the intent of the others. Just as they were nearly out of sight, she panicked and sent an arrow streaming through the air, missing the humanoid by barely an inch.
"No!" Bryn screeched as she ran after the pair with dagger in hand and tears streaming down her face. "Please! Don't hurt him!"
Sheshia hears the arrow fly past them and hears Bryn shouting. Looking back she sees the wood elf running at them with a dagger in hand. She smiles and lets go of Rylzrs arm and intercepts the elf grabbing her wrist and neck as gently as she could to stop her, "We are not going to hurt him. We are taking him to help." She was furious that the elf didn't have self control and stayed calm and watched until she found out what they were going to do with him. She was tempted to break her arm but didn't want to waste the energy on it.
Aohdei staggered under the sudden weight of his companion, now unsupported by Sheshia. Gingerly setting down the Mage, he pulled Sheshia away from the little elf. Before either could protest, he put a hand over her mouth, and injected heavy smoke into her nose and mouth.
Gripping the back of her neck, he waited silently as the fey girl struggled against him for oxygen. He only released her when her eyes rolled back into her head, and she lost consciousness.
"I'm not dealing with this right now," he said grimly, his voice low. "Cir tells me there's a cottage two miles south of here. You take the girl," he ungracefully dumped her into the werecat' arms, "And I'll take Rylzyr. We must make haste."
Looking back as he began to lift Rylzyr again, Aohdei elaborated, "We need to kill the cottage inhabitants, or somehow dispose of them. They cannot know about us being here." His eyes met with Sheshia's, "Cir, my...pet...has recently returned to me from the service of a friend. He was last in Reajh, and that blasted Mordecai is following us. We can't go to the settlement anymore. We have to hide."
Thinking for a few seconds, "How about caves, or something dark? It'll help us hide and mask our scent. That and they will probably need a torch to see in the dark which will give time to run or hide." Sheshia definitely wasn't about to hide near a water source nore was she willing to risk being found in the woods. She shifted the weight of the elf in her arms.
Night lifted into the golden rays of dawn, casting bright lights and long shadows across Matron's Hallow. The lights however did not reach Aohdei and Sheshia, deep in a cavern just south of the lake. They had found it quickly enough, and set up camp.
Rylzyr was resting, and the girl, laying unconscious next to a fire provided by Aohdei, was bound to wake up any second. Wake up to two faces watching her intently, and rather creepily that is.
"Who do you think she is?" Aohdei asked, never taking his eyes off of the elf girl. He continued, "Why does she know him?" He meant Rylzyr of course, who was in sleep deeper than a bear in hibernation. As of now, the group was simply waiting for him to wake. This elf girl might however pose a problem, a wrench in their machine so to speak.
Aohdei leaned back and laid down himself, but still watched the girl intently. He had a strange feeling about her...
"No idea, but she did attack and sounded like she cared about him a bit. Probably someone who knows him. All I know is if she is a problem she'll be my dinner." Sheshia was joking a bit but was kind of serious at the same time. She knew she would have to eat a lot to make up for the energy she lost during the day due to her high metabolism. Yawning she stretches and adds a bit more wood to the fire.
Bryn laid on the cold hard ground, drifting in and out of consciousness. She felt the warmth of the fire at her side and heard the soft muttering of two voices, but she was unable to make out what the two were saying, save for something about "problem," and "dinner." Were they going to eat her, she wondered. What were they doing with Rylzyr? Who were these people?
She groggily opened her eyes, blinking as her blurred vision cleared up and revealed the two figures by the fire. "W-what..." she slurred as she lifted her heavy head from the ground and propped herself up on her forearms. "Are you going to kill us?"
"If we were we would have done so by now." Sheshia says with a bit of a hiss to her voice. "And didn't you think twice about attacking like that? Don't go by what you think girl. Since it is often clouded by thoughts which are dark and not good for you. Nor anyone else around you. You should wait patiently and seen what happens to.. Rylzyr was it?" She wanted to teach the girl a lesson but no one would have been happy with that.
"Calm down Sheshia." Aohdei piped in. Refocusing on the elfling, he asked, "Who are you?"
"B-Bryn..." she said. Her eyes swept over the camp,stopping on the mage laying limp by the fire. "Rylzyr!" Bryn sat up straight, here eyes wide with distress. "What happened? Is he okay? Will he be okay?"
Sheshia didn't know what to say about that and looked away. Usually for her if someone doesn't wake up for a week they were doomed from the start. "We don't know if he is going to be okay. Depends on many things." Sheshia knew if she told Bryn she'd probably freak out even more. "We're gonna take him to get help. But I'm gonna have to use magic to keep him out of the grave. Which will help a bit but not enough." She left it to Aohdei to tell the truth since she had no idea what demon hierarchy was like.
"He'll be fine, more or less. It's not the demonic mage I'm worried about." His eyes still locked on Bryn's slender figure. She reminded him of the sacrificial concubine girls in the palace of the Pale King, but younger. "What I want to know isn't your name, little elf, but who you are. On that topic, how do you know Rylzyr anyway?"
His eyes narrowed on the girl, his deeper demonic roots surfacing. He didn't trust the girl, or her intentions. Why exactly, he didn't know, but a fuzzy memory of being lured to a painful fate by a young and beautiful girl flashed in his mind. He dismissed the memory and kept an eye on the apparently panicking elfling.
Fear welled up inside of Bryn as she gaped at the man before her. "I'm-I'm his apprentice!" She glanced back over at Rylzyr, and this time she was unable to keep her tears in. "He's all I have left! I don't want to be alone again!"
Sighing Sheshis walks up to the and gives her a hug. "It's going to be okay. We'll find help for him, kay?" She smiling and lets go of Bryn. "I faced something like this when my parents were ill in the mountains where we lived so I know how you feel. But keep in mind things in life change for the good or for the bad. It's up to Rylzyr to decide his fate. Just keep possitive he's gonna pull through kay? That's all you can do for him right now." Patting the elfs head she goes back to her spot and lays down.
"Rule number one: Stop crying. Even if you aren't crying at the moment, stop crying. Crying serves you no purpose now. If anything it'll only dehydrate you." Aohdei kept his tone stern, and assumed a cross legged positioned while he spoke, "You'll be staying with us, at least until Rylzyr has awoken, then what will happen with you is out of our hands and into his. This cave will serve as a base of operations, so to speak. I'll tend to the fire, and aid in hunting and cooking, and you can help Sheshia in her tasks," he paused, eyeing her bow, "Unless you have talents of your own which we all can profit from?"
He reassumed the proper position, if he remembered correctly, and placed a hand on Rylzyr's chest. "I'll be more or less asleep for some time. I'll try to figure out what is wrong with our friend the Mage."
Focusing his mind, Aohdei performed a soul link, a demonic ritual wherein one demonic entity could somewhat meld their waking and unwaking consciousnesses together will little ill effect. The only downside was that in a situation such as this, where one of the participants was in a comatose state, the conscious member was effectively trapped in the shared mind space until the former awoke.
Aohdei came to on a bed of cold black stone, his surroundings hazy. It smelled of blood and wine, and he realized that he was surrounded by X'zyri bodies, mostly male, and all of them nude. Whether they were dead or at rest he did not know, and didn't intend to find out.
Stepping over and around the limp X'zyri, Aohdei simply went in the direction he felt the strongest pull, and prayed silently under his breath that Rylzyr didn't have a subconscious sex palace. That would complicate things on a whole new level.
"Yay three more people to take care of. You a bit hungry Bryn? I could go catch a rabbit or something out there. Or would you rather have fruit which sad to say that there isn't much." Smiling she adds some more wood and twigs to the fire and fed it with some of hers.
A small smile cracked across Bryn's face as she wiped away her tears. "I-I can hunt," she said slowly, as she heaved herself up from the floor.
Feeling himself being pulled by an invisible force, Aohdei walked and walked. It wasn't long until he came across a familiar body; a X'zyri man with snow-white hair and runic inscriptions covering the entirety of his left arm lay limp on the stone cold ground. The demon reached down to touch the mage on his forehead and in a flash of bright light, he found himself standing in a large hallway surrounded by massive bookshelves that appeared to have no end. Dozens of small, floating candles cast a soft, luminous glow, and as Aohdei walked, the candles seemed to follow. The hallway eventually opened up into a massive circular room decorated with the same towering bookcases, a large summoning circle, and various artifacts. Across the room, Rylzyr stood perfectly clothed with his back facing the demon, murmuring as he frantically flipped through the pages of his leather bound book.
Aohdei paused, hesitant to disturb the Mage, but after a moment's nervous consideration he pressed forward, confident and slightly angry.
"Who is the elfling?!" He demanded, eyebrows raised in exasperation. He flung his arms at nothing and spun on his heel, to face the door through which he had come. "Why is she here? And now of all times. I trust Sheshia alone but this girl, who seems to be infatuated with you by the way, is a whole slew of issues I don't want to deal with right now! Elves and demons don't mix man!"
"Oh no you don't. You'll attract to much attention of those guards are out there hunting us. I'll go if I could buut nether of us can leave this cave. "Smiling Sheshia lays down, "And we'd have to wait until Aohdei and Rylzr anyways, leaving just one person conscious in a cave and two I don't know what state they are in laying on the floor. So just be paintent kay? They'll be back soon then we'll figure it out from there."