Till the Stars Fall Down From the Heavens (@Nightcrawler)!!

[wandering_giraffe]

Orion ate a bit of the food offered him, but truth be told, he just wasn't hungry.
"Thank you for the food," Orion said, standing up and looking towards the horse.
"I'm going to check on the horse, if we're going to get moving soon," Orion walked over to the horse and smiled, petting it gently.
"How are you, friend?" He asked softly, picking an apple off of a tree a little ways back and bringing it to the horse.
The horse happily ate it, whinnying in thanks.
"You're welcome," Orion smiled and walked back to the apple tree to pick a few more.
He had reached up to get a rather troublesome apple that was a bit too high off of the ground, when he felt something sharp poke into his side.
"Give us everything you have," a bandit with a rough voice growled. He must have been hiding in the undergrowth because Orion didn't see him at all. Apparently there was at least two, for another appeared from behind a bush.
"I don't have anything except for these apples..." Orion said, anxiously looking towards the campfire.
"No? Well maybe your friend over there," and one bandit gestured towards the smoke rising from the campfire, "has something."
And without warning the bandit in front of Orion punched him hard in the stomach, causing Orion to gasp and double over in pain.
"Maybe next time don't come through this part of the forest empty handed," the other bandit threatened, punching Orion again, and then Orion collapsed with a a grunt, dropping the apples he had gathered.
"Lets go pay his friend a visit."

[Nightcrawler]

He should have felt them coming. If not felt, then heard. Were his senses still so dulled by his last feeding? Something was different about his condition in this place, and it unnerved him. Ven rose quickly from where he'd crouched and snatched up his staff, cursing his own imperceptiveness. By the time he had, the bandits were through with Mr. Sky, and Ven's companion lay doubled over on the ground. Ven scowled behind the mask. There was no need for such violence. Mr. Sky had already said it: they had nothing to give.

"You will find nothing here, either," he barked. "I am as penniless as he. If you should wish to leave here with your lives, I would caution you against getting any closer." He glanced down at his friend, who still writhed beside the horse. He had to choose, and quickly. He could risk frightening the poor man. Or he could risk yet more death.

Ven raised his free hand and whipped his hood off to rest at his shoulders, then tugged his mask down to his neck. He was a shocking sight for any mortal man to behold: gaunt and deathly pale, sockets sunken and ringed with blackened veins and grotesque bruising. The whites of his eyes were no longer, and looking at them was like looking into the void. He tilted his chin up and cocked his head defiantly. "You look upon a vem-pyre. I would advise you to leave."

[wandering_giraffe]

The bandits gasped as Ven revealed himself. One of them jumped back and drew his sword.
The wind seemed to whisper ominously through the trees. It was silent.
"Do you think he's from the Fell?" The startled bandit fearfully whispered.
"I don't care what he's from...let's kill him! And then...we can take the horse."
And with that they both walked towards Ven, not heeding his suggestion to leave.
Orion, meanwhile, thought he was seeing things. And hearing things. Did he hit his head when he fell? Because right now Ven looked like an apparition of some kind. It did frighten him alittle.

[Nightcrawler]

The bluff had failed. It was not that these men could not see him for what he was. It was just that they didn't seem to have a lick of sense between them. Kill the two of them for a horse? Surely there was an easier way to obtain one. Ven rolled his eyes.

"Are you quite serious?" he huffed. "Ridiculous." He brandished his staff and began to back away from them, circling around the fire. As he did, he quickly crouched and grabbed a fistful of dirt. He would try not to kill, as was always his intent. He did not know if he would succeed. "Fine. Have it your way. Come at me, then. I haven't got all morning."

[wandering_giraffe]

Orion groaned and sat up slowly. He had been kicked by a horse before, but somehow the punches from those two bandits hurt worse.
A strange atmosphere had settled. The wind had picked up, and the horse whinnied nervously.
Orion was hidden from the bandits by the horse at least. It seemed like the two bandits were about to kill Ven. Not on Orion's watch. Although he was sure Ven could handle both of them, Orion figured he could help still.
He grabbed one of the apples from the ground, which by now was bruised.


The two bandits had strategically placed themselves on either side of Ven.
They circled around him like vultures, seemingly looking forward to killing.
Then, they both attacked at the same time, Orion managing to hit one bandit in the head with a very well placed throw. That bandit tore his attention away from Ven and looked towards the general direction the apple had come from, and another one promptly got him right on the nose.

The other bandit, meanwhile, was fighting a losing battle against Ven.

[Nightcrawler]

Mr. Sky came to, and not a moment too soon. The bandits had drawn dangerously close in spite of his warnings and his bluffs. At the very moment they lunged for Ven, his travel companion and partner in crime had made an expert throw. With a satisfying smack, the apple struck true, and the bandit turned to seek the source of this latest attack, effectively blundering the pincer maneuver. The second man still came for him, however. Ven narrowly managed to block the swing. Blade clashed against wood, and the sword sent chips flying into the air as it bit deep into his staff.

"I just carved this," Ven snapped as the impact turned his arm to jelly. He threw his weight forward just enough to set the man off balance, then let loose the fistful of dirt. The bandit dropped his sword and stumbled back, swearing and clutching his eyes. Quickly, Ven swept his staff around and hooked it behind his assailant's knee, toppling the unfortunate man directly onto the fire — and the boiling tea.

As the bandit screamed and rolled frantically to put out the flames, Ven stooped and collected the man's sword, clutching it in his gritty, dirty palm. It was quite heavy. It was not a weapon with which he had any practice. The man before him did not know this, however. He marched towards their remaining attacker and prodded him firmly in the shoulder with the tip of the blade: not enough to cause any real damage, but certainly enough to send a message. "Leave," he barked. "Now."

[wandering_giraffe]

Orion had gotten his breath back and while Ven was dealing with one of the bandits, Orion emerged from behind the horse, the horse whinnying nervously and pacing alittle. Orion turned to give it a quick reassuring headpat, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other bandit running towards him and the horse. Probably to try to steal the horse. Orion tackled him headon, stopping him and knocking the sword out of his grasp. He was still alittle dazed from the apple thrown, which worked in Orion's favor.

[Nightcrawler]

The two scuffled on the ground. Mr. Sky was now perilously close to the man, and Ven could no longer deliver a clean shot without putting his friend at risk. But so, too, did the bandit pose a threat, and Ven could not stand by and do nothing. In the chaos, he had instinctively closed the demon off from the world, and with it, his sense of the danger that it posed. Now, he might have to gamble and hope that his own fortitude could hold it back.

He waited for an opening — for the bandit to gain the upper hand and thus expose his back. Then he dropped his staff, grabbed a fistful of the man's greasy hair, yanked his head back, and pressed the sword to his throat. The demon stirred, but it was not that all-consuming, ravenous hunger to which he was accustomed. He could still manage it for now. He avoided Mr. Sky's gaze, and thus the inevitable fear and mistrust at his ghastly appearance. "You will relent and you will leave," he ordered again, the blade held firm just beneath the man's jaw. Behind him, the other bandit staggered and stumbled, disoriented by the agony of his burns.

[wandering_giraffe]

TW: MINOR CHARACTER DEATH

Orion and the bandit were locked in a struggle. Until they weren't, thanks to Ven.
The bandit paled, realizing the very person they were wanting to kill now had a blade held to his throat.
"Ok, we'll leave, we'll leave!"
Now that it was relatively calm, Orion realized that the other bandit had gotten burned. After taking a few minutes to calm himself down, Orion got up from the ground and dusted himself off. Ven had the one bandit handled, so Orion cautiously approached the other one, who had passed out and fallen onto the ground in agony.
"Is he alive?" The other bandit yelled, careful not to do anything to startle Ven.
Orion knelt beside the unconscious bandit and carefully grabbed his wrist and felt for a pulse.
"Well? Is he alive?" The bandit yelled again.
Orion couldn't feel one.
He anxiously checked his neck. Couldn't feel one there either.
Orion shook his head sadly. Even though the bandits had attacked them, it was still a human life that had just been lost.
"I'm afraid not."

[Nightcrawler]

"What?"

With an inhuman jolt, Ven turned to face the carnage that he'd wrought. The man indeed lay still in a bed of smoldering ash and cinder. His skin was seared. His clothing had singed in places, but...how? How had he possibly...? "No," Ven breathed, his throat closing tight around the words. "No. I didn't...I didn't want..."

For one brief moment, he regarded the corpse with plain and utter horror. This was not the demon. This was not some loss of control. This was him. He had done this. He could have found any other way to repel their attackers, but he had chosen recklessness and this man had paid with his life. The agony rose until Ven could no longer bear it, and then it twisted into something sick and dark.

He released the man he'd been holding. He stepped away, pacing and furious, his black eyes wide. "I told you to leave," he began, and his voice cracked as it rose to an anguished cry. "I told you to leave! Why didn't you LEAVE?! Get out. GET OUT, NOW. GO."

[wandering_giraffe]

Orion knew it wasn't Ven's fault. Ven had been protecting himself. Hell, the bandit attacked first.
But Orion could see that it was still distressing for Ven. He quietly covered the dead bandit with a blanket.

The other bandit, as soon as Ven released him, started yelling.
"You killed him! YOU KILLED HIM!"
Orion quickly interjected.
"Get the fuck out of here! Ven's warned you enough! Or I'll throw you out myself!"
After a vague threat of "getting you both for killing my friend," the bandit was scared by Ven's appearance and Orion's threat and ran off into the woods.

Orion, meanwhile, didn't know what to do for Ven. Ven honestly was freaking out Orion alittle, not because of anything Ven had done, but because of the way Ven looked at this current moment. He almost looked unhinged.
But Orion, who had no experience really with this world, was still very much new in his head.
He cautiously approached Ven and laid a gentle, comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Ven, it's alright. We're safe. We're safe."

[Nightcrawler]

It all blurred in and out of focus, like the smoke and the morning mist had crept in and choked the scene before him. On the outside, he was utterly wild and inconsolable: his countenance warped by a ferocity that stood in jarring contrast to his usual calm demeanor. In one hand, he held the stick fast in a white-knuckled grip. The bandit's sword weighed his other arm down as the blade hung limp, tip pointed towards the dirt.

Men shouted. A lone figure vanished into the shadows of the undergrowth. Then a warm hand rested on his shoulder, and a calm voice spoke, and the demon caught him unawares and surged. "No. NO!" Ven batted the man's arm away with his staff and stepped out of reach, now focused solely on his companion. "Do not," he growled. "Don't. I could...I..."

Horror and sorrow knit his brow as he saw, finally, how frightened this man was. Ven held the staff out to ward him off. "This was a mistake," he breathed. "A dangerous mistake. And I...I am sorry, Orion. You will be much safer alone than with me." With a dull clank, Ven dropped the sword to the ground and began to back away from their once-peaceful campsite. "Take the horse. Travel south to the mountains, then west from there. Cross the first pass you find."

With that, he lingered for one final moment, his regret plain in his eyes, and then turned on heel and dashed into the forest.

[wandering_giraffe]

Orion, as soon as he had laid his hand on Ven's shoulder, knew that was a mistake.
Ven hit his arm away, and Orion stepped back confused. What had he done?

"Leave? Wait, I—-" but Ven turned and ran, before Orion could finish his sentence.
What did Orion do? He followed. Ven had a lead on him, but Orion was a fast runner.
"Ven, wait!"
 
When Orion finally caught up, he held his hands out in front of him.
"Just wait a goddamn second," Orion said angrily.
"What kind of companion would I be, if, at the first sign of danger, I said 'fuck it,'and just left?" His voice softened alittle.
"Where I'm from, friends stick around for each other. Through the good and the bad. I know there hasn't been much good, and honestly, I don't know what you even are. But I don't care. You helped me when I was in a tight spot, and I want to do the same for you."
Orion walked alittle closer to Ven.
"I-I'm sorry if I did anything wrong.
I—I need you...I can't do this alone."

[Nightcrawler]

It quickly became clear that he could not run. Ven stopped in his tracks and backed away. He held the staff out in warning, tip pointed towards Mr. Sky like a blade, and gazed down it at the man with that same horror and self-loathing. "Please," he begged. "Be reasonable. In the time you've known me I have taken the lives of three people. This is not the work of a man you want at your back. I am a murderer, and if neither of us are careful, I will mourn your corpse as well."

But Mr. Sky still advanced. "No. Stay away," Ven snapped, taking another step back and holding the staff firm. Distraught, he gestured at his face with his free hand. "Do you not see this? Did you not see what happened to the guardsmen who tried to catch me in the courtyard? You are not immune to it. I might have controlled it for a moment, but that will not last. You do not know with what you are dealing."

[wandering_giraffe]

Hurt flashed across Orion's face for a brief moment, but was replaced by frustration.
"I've already lost everything. My home, my family...my livelihood." His voice rose.
"Or did you forget I had a life before this goddamn place? I didn't ask to be dropped here!" Orion gestured all around them, then his hand dropped sadly to his side.
"Please...don't push me away..." his voice cracked, and he went silent for a moment.
"If I truly didn't want to stay near you I would have just ran and never looked back. Don't you see? I want to stay with you. I'm a grown man. I'm choosing this path."
Orion gently pushed the stick down.
"And if it means I die, then at least I chose this path."

[Nightcrawler]

The more Ven listened, the more his indignation crept back in. His gaze hardened. He backed away and raised the staff again. "You are not the only one here who has lost everything," he replied coolly. "That does not entitle either of us to waste what we've been given through sheer recklessness. It does not entitle you to throw your life away at my hands and leave me with that burden." He released a frustrated sigh and took a few more steps back. "You do not believe me? Watch."

At first, nothing happened. Then, in a perfect circle, death crept outward from where he stood. Leaves and fronds browned and shriveled before crumbling to ash. Butterflies and swarms of midges dropped dead to the ground. A single songbird fell between them, its tiny legs twitching. The edge of the circle stopped well short of Mr. Sky, but it took Ven considerable effort to shut it down.

"The closer you are to me, the greater the chance that this will someday be you," he rasped, sounding winded. "The longer I go without taking a human soul, the more I must focus, day in and day out, on keeping those around me safe. And you are not safe, Orion. Not even then. For even when I have fed, I cannot trust my own judgment. You saw this for yourself. Now please. Take the horse and seek asylum to the south. I am begging you."

[wandering_giraffe]

Orion truly did not understand this world and did not, it seemed, understand Ven.
He watched in muted horror as the death circle grew outwards from Ven.
For frustration had him in full swing. He threw his hands in the air.
"How do I explain this? I meant, I lost everything, but I was lucky enough to gain a friend like you even being dropped into this place. I don't know how else to say this," he frustratedly rubbed his forehead.
"Do you just, the minute a problem shows up that you can't solve in two minutes, run away? Is that how you want to live? On the run?" Orion took a breath to calm himself.

"Don't you see? Can't you see?? If I leave you, I'll just get arrested and thrown in jail, or killed! At least with you I have a fighting chance!"
Orion had tears in his eyes, and he took another shaky breath, running a hand through his hair.

[Nightcrawler]

Ven froze, stricken, as though he'd been slapped hard across the cheek. This was not the first time that a man had said those words to him. Those very words. Without his knowing, his hand strayed to his belt bag and rested there as half-formed memories swirled and then evaporated. A face...he...he could almost make out that face: a sun-worn man in the moonlight, admonishing him for trying to leave like he always did. And then it was gone, and Ven was a viper again. "I am not running — How dare you — I — "

But try as he might, he could find no rebuttal to parry Mr. Sky's blade, for what Mr. Sky had said was absolutely, irrefutably true. So instead he stood there fuming, jaw agape, casting fiery affront at the man before him. But slowly, he deflated. His shoulders slumped. He set his staff to the forest floor and allowed it to roll into the crook of his arm. He averted his gaze and frowned at his boots. He shut his mouth.

"Forgive me," he said finally, in the quiet, shaky voice of a man mortified by his own childish outburst. "You are right, of course. You are right...I...I will see this through." Ven sighed deeply and cast a guilt-ridden look at his companion. "We should discuss a plan. A failsafe, in case I..." He faded off, then tried again. "And...you should know...I can see you to the border, but I cannot cross over with you. They will attempt to kill me. And...I have business here, still. So I must remain."

[wandering_giraffe]

Orion nodded.
"A failsafe...yes...but what kind?"
He thoughtfully listened.
"And how far is the border from here?"
Orion asked, looking back towards the direction of the camp site.
"You have business here? Is it back in the city? If it's close then...perhaps maybe I can help you."

Orion looked at the sky. No storms...for now.
"We better head back. I'll go first, and...cover the...other bandit." Orion said carefully, not wanting to trigger Ven again. They had to go back, the horse was there, the fire needed to be put out properly.

[Nightcrawler]

Ven shifted his weight from foot to foot as if to ground himself in that place and away from the memory he'd just visited. His guilt weighed on his countenance, tugging at the corners of his eyes and leaving him looking all at once sad and worn and troubled. "I do not think you can," he replied quietly. "I am here seeking some semblance of a cure for this. It is dangerous work. It is also likely futile. And I would not know where to even begin, so it will likely be many months before I leave this terrible place."

He tilted his head ever so slightly, peering at Orion with those strange black eyes. "I will not drag you behind enemy lines for such a selfish quest. The mountain pass is, I believe, a week's ride away, and longer by foot. If I take you there, will you go willingly?"