Krystina's house

[Dantes_river]

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Pure T0rture

This is what I brought you,
xxxxxThis you can keep.
This is what I brought,
xxxxxYou may forget me.
I promise to depart just promise one thing,
xxxxxKiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.
This is what I brought you,
xxxxxThis you can keep.
This is what I brought,
xxxxxYou may forget me.

"Ha. That'll only remove one favor from the many you owe me no matter how long ya do it. And don't stress yourself over getting out of debt to me. When I need you to do me a favor, it'll probably be menial tasks so you don't pull a muscle on me," Tybalt snickered lightly after having nodded at the comment of three generations. Releasing his claws, he snuggled down and shut his eyes though he was still quite alert. Sharon had kept up the spinning of her blade, but upon noticing Aerith's gaze on her, she smiled at him and gave a wave with one hand. Boys could be so silly sometimes.

"Good to know. I'll most probably need it," Hades smirked, his hand gently squeezing hers when she had squeezed his. "Your color's returning by the way. Both sides of you are gorgeous, don't get me wrong, but I thought I'd let you know you're returning to the side I originally met."

"Maybe. And of course," Ross responded as he stood up. Extending his left arm out for the fire crow, he smiled and nodded. "I'm certain Seda'd be honored for a man of your caliber to say he did a good random jump considering his age when he cast it. He's always been amazingly talented to me so hearing you say it is like hearing it from the horse's mouth. Anything you can do to keep him from fading out like he's been doing will be much appreciated."

"Takes one to know one," Serai retorted sharply, her eyes narrowed at the woman. Shifting her gaze briefly towards Sheik, she raised a brow at him. "Talk, boy. We're not getting any younger and you're not getting any extra grains of sand to have this chat." "Yep. That's her, Kana. We would both avoid making any contact with her and the others if at all possible, but sometimes it is necessary. It's not like Wennin will give us any answers. Ma, just don't even acknowledge her presence like you do nearly everyone else. And you, you're here to clarify a story your niece just told us. There's some flaws in it that we've just touched on, but us Sheikah don't have all of the details in correcting said flaws. Plus, my brother wants to play hopscotch in your chest cavity. Anyhoo, so the story goes like this..." Taking a breath while Trevor began removing earrings, Sheik went through the story Rissa had just told exactly as she'd said it before directing his hand towards the woman and raised a brow at her. "... And that's how it was just explained. Have you noticed the flaws?"

"Ladies, don't go playing in a game neither of you can win," Wennin spoke in a mix between a growl and a purr. As soon as Sheik finished repeating the story, he gave something that sounded like a scoff. "Wow. Just wow. I'm not sure what to say besides wow." "Thank you, Wennin. You know just how to make people feel like idiots." "It's not all that hard to do, but thanks anyways."

Rolling his eyes and blowing a strand of hair out of his face, Hei peeked out of the burrow whilst listening to his surroundings carefully. "They don't even know either of you are here as of yet. They can't ruin anything if they never know and don't get close. And I wish them luck on trying to capture much less kill me," he sighed heavily before crawling out of the burrow. Dusting the dirt off of his hands, he started forwards only to pause and narrow his eyes at the trees. "Run, run, run as fast as you can, but I've got dad's fae blood too. It was mean of you to hit one of us with a rock and run. Got something in that burrow you don't want me to see? How cute that you think you can hide things from me still! Looks like what bullets hit you have healed already though. No wonder dad wants you back." "Cute how you think I care and even cuter still that you think you're gonna leave here unscathed. It's sad that I've had to protect your son all these years too." "You did not just go there!" "I think I just did."

Feeling his eye twitch slightly at the shriek from his sister, he moved forward swiftly while ignoring the pops from her handgun and sank his teeth deep into her shoulder. At hearing extra gunfire, he detached himself from her, his mouth smeared by blood. Just as quickly as he'd attacked his own sister, he zipped off towards the closest man with a gun and lunged up enough to sink his teeth into the man's neck, tearing it out as he drew back. Shifting his gaze towards the next man, he started chewing with the faint hint of a smirk in place. That target obviously couldn't take the fact that his intended target was a cannibal and began gagging alongside the few others that'd caught up. After swallowing down what was in his mouth, the elf licked his lips and went for the next target. His movement stopped abruptly however when another shot rang out, the bullet from his sister's handgun going through his chest. At making contact with the ground, he stayed still, his breathing no longer visible. "Don't just stand there! We've only got about a minute before he gets back up. Put him in his cage! Agh! His teeth really are more dangerous than before. I thought dad was joking about that," Mika snapped, her handgun trained on the burrow for whatever was hidden under there. It wouldn't be unlike her brother to hide a few rabid pets after all. At hearing terrified shrieks from her men, she shifted her gaze quickly only to notice her men were already down and bleeding out whilst Hei was no longer in sight altogether. Where'd he go? Giving a shrill shriek at something landing on her, she'd dropped her gun though Hei picked it up and fired two shots into her chest and one into her head. Tossing it off to the side, he dropped into a seated position beside his sister and started waving his hand in front of him. "Ow... They deliberately infused their guns and defensive vests with iron, the jackasses. You okay?"

I promise you my heart just promise to sing,
Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.xxxxx
This is what I thought,
I thought you need me.xxxxx
This is what I thought so think me naïve.
I promised you a heart you'd promised to keep,xxxxx
Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.

Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes river

Sing it

Oh, Lord, heaven knows
We belong way down below
Go - Oh, Lord, heaven knows
We belong way down below
Sing - Oh, Lord, tell us so
We belong way down below
Oh, Lord, tell us so
We belong way down below
Way down below, way down below
Way down below, way down below

I've had better days, man
I've seen better days

XXXXX"heh, you think i don't know that?" Aerith hummed, a smile on his face. "i don't mind being in debt to you. you're not like some people who work those in debt to them like slaves." he drawled, a grin on his face as he waved to the woman. "...i wonder... could she be someone from another life?"

"hmmm. thanks." Lianna hummed, kissing his cheek. "i'm glad to find someone who likes both sides of me. my mother said my other side was ugly and that i should hide it, even though i prefer my other side." she mumbled, chewing on her cheek slightly. she had the pride of her father's people in her after all, but the patience of her mothers'. even if it had skipped a generation.

"i'm glad to hear you think so highly of an odd ball like me." Adra chuckled, blowing a warm air on the boy's skin so that the magical circles connecting him to Seda could be revealed. Once they were, he set about changing small figures here and there amongst them. "let me know if this changes anything for you. i'll need your help since i'm not personally a part of your little connection. just observing, and currently hosting you both here." he drawled, firey eyes still on the boy's arm.

At the end of the tale, Iris gave a light snort and shook her head. "that story. that, my friends, was an alternate timeline i thought was interesting. Flaws or no, i only reported what i observed." she drawled, hands on her hips. "it was a very odd timeline, even i'll admit that." she hummed, tail flicking behind her.

Padding out with a frown, the panther shifted back and gave a sigh as she crossed her arms. "i'm fine, they didn't even get into the burrow. what about you? the iron isn't too much, is it?" she asked, sitting beside him with one of the healing chakrams he'd made her in hand, an electrical one in the other.

I've had better ways, man
I know better ways

One, two, three and four
The devil's knocking at your door
Caught in the eye of a dead man's lie
Start your life with your head held high
Now you're on your knees
With your head hung low
Big man tells you where to go
Tell 'em it's good
Tell 'em okay
Don't do a goddamn thing they say

 

[Dantes_river]

show spoilerhide spoiler

Pure T0rture

This is what I brought you,
xxxxxThis you can keep.
This is what I brought,
xxxxxYou may forget me.
I promise to depart just promise one thing,
xxxxxKiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.
This is what I brought you,
xxxxxThis you can keep.
This is what I brought,
xxxxxYou may forget me.

"Cute, Aerith. Why are you waving at her and grinning like a doofus? Are you flirting with her?" Tybalt snorted before shifting his gaze between the female elf still playing with her blade and his best friend. God, they looked like they were those human teenagers in a school setting; her the cheerleader acknowledging his presence - a pun considering her fluffy skort - and him the laid-back jock. This was going to get weird if he was flirting with her. Ha! Even funnier yet, she just motioned for Aerith to go over to her. Hopping out of the elf's lap, the cait sidhe curled up on the ground and shut his eyes. "Go, ya goob. Your lady friend awaits your presence in joining her way over yonder."

"That's 'cause she's insecure about herself. Or she's taking your beauty as a threat. You're competition to her. Some fae are very vain and your mother gave me that impression just upon first glance," Hades responded with a soft chuckle. This fae girl was indeed one of his better choices in life. Gently brushing his lips against hers again, the sweet and gentle nature of his having absorbed all signs of the tension, hostility and sadness he once held, he purred gently in her ear, "I like to see all of your colors shining through so don't be ashamed of them. And do feel free to call me a hypocrite on that because the colors that I shine are surely not the best."

"Ha. If you're considered odd, I'd hate to know their definition of one of their strongest demon kings having had a hippie for a son for the longest of times. That's not counting my relationship with a certain vampire princess and how Tex was prepping to seal me within a mini Pandora's Box because I wanted to destroy all things in the grey area that resembled affection. It was a bad depression I went through," the halfbreed chuckled, his red eyes watching the threads form up. It seemed odd to Ross to see what actually held them together instead of it remaining invisible, but it was also a curious thing. Tensing briefly, he glanced at Seda's body to see if it'd move only to sigh in relief when that familiar presence returned. "That there made him fade out for a moment. I'll keep you updated if he's still fading out or if he's good to go... Stop, stop, stop. He's gone again... C'mon, Seda. Stay with me... Hm? A line there just vanished and that one just snapped. They're not supposed to do that, are they?"

"I've never seen this timeline you speak of, Iris. Is it one my grandmother would've known about?" Sheik questioned, his brow furrowed slightly. At hearing Wennin start snickering, his eyes narrowed and shifted towards him. Great. He was finding this amusing unlike the Sheikah. "I hate when you start that up not to mention your vagueness about it. So what, pray tell, are you snickering about this time?"

"She's talking about that timeline, the scrapped timeline. It was such an odd timeline, events and situations of such bizarre proportions that it was hilariously stupid. It makes me want to hurl just being reminded of it," the rider stated cooly, his eyes flicking over to a dark purple in coloration. "So how did it become scrapped as you so blatantly put it?" "Mm... Perhaps you can clarify on just how avant garde this timeline was, Iris?" "And then I can play hopscotch in her chest cavity? You can't tease a guy with things like removing power limiters then take it back." "Yes, Tyvinda. Then you can let loose." "Hell, I'll drag you into Lymbo so you won't damage this realm and bring them faeries of light back here." "They're angels" "That's what I said; pixies." "Angels." "Quit correcting me, Watari. I know they're sprites already." "Sheik." "Sheik, the big, bad meaniehead that brought me back is mocking me. A boo-hoo-hoo. Woe is me. Quit crying already and zip your lip like a padlock before I send you back." Getting silent stares of shock from the Sheikah, the dark haired teen gave a soft snicker in triumph.

"You're the rider of death and that breaks your rules. Bringing someone to life is not in your jurisdiction," Serai stated only to scowl when Wennin followed her every word with a high pitched wah sound in a mocking manner. His gaze however had shifted to his hand where he seemed more interested in his nails than anything else. "Are you quite finished with mocking me?" "Are you done being a pessimistic robot? I know the rules and in technicalities, I was still playing the part of a grim reaper when I did it. The repercussions weren't as bad then and I was able to push him forward in age along the way. If Sheik's to survive and Sheila's not to fxck up the future, something to keep the balance mind you, I was going to pay the price for it. I had no option but to break rules considering the going-ons behind this child's game you've been playing. But no, do feel free to call me all the most negative names you can think of. It don't bother me..." "You're... Why I'm back?" "Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill. You all have your own purpose in keeping the balance much like Cirdan, Ross, Seda, Sam and various others. I'll keep you alive until you serve your purpose and then whatever happens, happens."

Lifting the hand he'd used the gun with, what burns were there had already begun healing making the elf sigh lightly. "Mm... I'm alright," Hei answered a bit softer than his normal chipper tone. Glancing towards Kansei and then turning his gaze back towards the trees in front of him, he slid a hand up under his shirt and rubbed his fingers against an old scar. "My injuries no longer scar and it takes less time to heal now that I'm older than when I was younger. Unfortunately for everyone, it comes with severe side effects that I can't always control... Mother Nature is going to be upset with me for this. Such a pity that so much has gone to waste. They taste bad though so she can take them back and create better things with them. I should clean up a bit before heading back to Miss Krystina's house. Your cousin needn't know of this at all." Standing back up as the ground seemed to start swallowing up the bodies, the elf readjusted his ponytail a bit before waiting for Kansei to follow suit. Pointing in the direction he was going to go in, he started padding through the woods with hardly an effort until he reached a small stream where he began washing his face, neck and where all he'd been shot clean. The shirt riddled with holes was also removed, what seemed like hundreds of jagged scars marring his back whilst the space just under where his shirt collar would rest on his spine held a small horizontal metal bar with scarring around it, only to be replaced by a matching shirt minus the holes. Seeming to remember something, his gaze shifted once again to the panther and he gave a faint half-smile. "Thank you for worrying about me, Kitty. You're the first besides mama that has actually worried about my safety. I am still in debate over your quick rejection to my mother's thoughts earlier being offensive or not though. True, you swing in another direction, but... Mm... Nevermind. Some things aren't worth the mention."

I promise you my heart just promise to sing,
Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.xxxxx
This is what I thought,
I thought you need me.xxxxx
This is what I thought so think me naïve.
I promised you a heart you'd promised to keep,xxxxx
Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.

Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes river

Sing it

Oh, Lord, heaven knows
We belong way down below
Go - Oh, Lord, heaven knows
We belong way down below
Sing - Oh, Lord, tell us so
We belong way down below
Oh, Lord, tell us so
We belong way down below
Way down below, way down below
Way down below, way down below

I've had better days, man
I've seen better days

XXXXXRaising an eyebrow as he was beckoned to the woman, he glanced to his friend and shook his head. "as if i would flirt with her. like i said, she just... seems familiar." and with that, the blue haired elf was bounding across the yard towards the woman, his charms clanging against each other with the movement. Coming to a stop in front of her, he gave a smile and nodded lightly. "you called?" he hummed, an unfamiliar smile sliding onto his face.

"you're not wrong about that. that's why she slept around so much. needed the reassurance that she was pretty enough for more than one man." Lianna nodded, smirking as she kissed him back. "You're not a hypocrite. i just have a lot of layers of paint to go through to see those original colors." she hummed, kissing him again.

Pausing in what he'd done, the demon gave a frown and quickly rewrote the script on the boy's arm, glancing at the lines for a moment. "some of them, yes. but not all of them. that bleeding effect is a bad enough sign as is. i may end up marking you with the same symbols as him just to keep you both running and out of trouble." he drawled, flame hued eyes focusing on the lines as he tried to sense the other boy's presence. "perhaps i was too hasty in fudging with your connection...." he drawled, frowning.

"mmm... that's entirely up to you on what you end up doing. just know you'll have to bare the consequences of what you're going to do, Tyvinda." Iris drawled, a cold grin on her face. "as to this scrapped timeline, it was scrapped because the world itself was far more chaotic. the riders of the apocalypse fought amongst themselves, having actual wars within their own ranks, the seven sins roamed the earth with mortals and fell in love. with angels no less. and all the embodiments, myself included, were far more involved in the lives of mortals. however, i don't think everything about that world was scrapped." she drawled, glancing behind her for a moment to the blonde now hiding behind Ephraim. She would've pursued the matter herself, but she felt a new presence behind her.
"So you're the one breaking the rules. really, Wennin?" came a childish voice as a six year old girl stepped from the forest, her green eyes locked on the boy. "and when i asked you about it, you lied to me! you jerk!" she snapped, hands on her little hips as she aproached the other embodiments.
"Epithiyani." iris breathed, turning to the life embodiment with a sigh. she should have known she'd show up. especially when Wennin was the one to call them here.
"let me remind you, i said left chesticle. please just shoot me now." Rissa sighed, shaking her head as she buried her face into Ephraim's shoulder with a frown. she could feel the eyes on her still and it just made her skin crawl. she shouldn't have ever brought up that story.

"worrying is about all i'm good for, lately." Kansei sighed, shaking her head as she stared at the area the dead bodies had been in. "..... what're you going to tell your nephew about his mother?" she asked, tail flicking lightly behind her as she tried to think of something besides asking him about the metal bar. then again, she had her own secrets, hidden away on her body.

I've had better ways, man
I know better ways

One, two, three and four
The devil's knocking at your door
Caught in the eye of a dead man's lie
Start your life with your head held high
Now you're on your knees
With your head hung low
Big man tells you where to go
Tell 'em it's good
Tell 'em okay
Don't do a goddamn thing they say

 

[Dantes_river]

show spoilerhide spoiler

Pure T0rture

This is what I brought you,
xxxxxThis you can keep.
This is what I brought,
xxxxxYou may forget me.
I promise to depart just promise one thing,
xxxxxKiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.
This is what I brought you,
xxxxxThis you can keep.
This is what I brought,
xxxxxYou may forget me.

Giving a chuckle as she stopped playing with her blade, Sharon smiled slightly up at Aerith. "It's funny how quickly you scurried over here with a spring in your step. Even cuter is that smile on your face that has followed you all this way," she hummed playfully before letting her blade vanish entirely and tapping him on the nose. "Why, oh why, I wonder... You may call me Sharon though I'm pretty sure you heard Hei tell Kansei that. Might I ask your name and why your gaze keeps directing itself towards me then lingering?"

"True dat," Hades laughed lightly, his fingers brushing her hair behind her ear. At her comment of him having many layers of paint covering his true colors, the Romanian gave her a gentle squeeze and he returned her kiss. "Sweet of you to say. I would like for them to be seen as I am uncertain of their true beauty. You keep luring me in to kiss you with all this sweet talk by the way."

"So some is normal? And the bleeding effect was a bad thing though it wasn't really affecting me much besides the coughing up blood thing?" Ross attempted to clarify before flinching at another thread snapping. No. He still couldn't pick up on Seda's connection to him. Where was he? He was going to start panicking if he couldn't find the fire demon again. Noticing a slight twitch from Seda's hand, panic began settling in and his gaze returned to the crow. "We're... He's... Am I allowed to start having a panic attack?"

"I'd like to join you in that to be honest. The Sheikah alone are overbearing so these guys are just making it worse. I can see why you'd rather avoid them," Ephraim sighed heavily before twitching when Wennin hopped down from the roof. These people were making his already frayed Agent Orange go nuts right now. Given the fact that Trevor just gave a snort, somehow he didn't doubt that there'd be a fight soon. "Trevor, chill. The ramifications of what you're wanting to do could be dire and I don't want to go through all of that without being entirely complete at the minimum."

"Tch. Fine. Irritating whiners of minor rules being broken," Trevor snarled as he started returning his earrings. If it weren't for her stupid reminder of consequences, and Ephraim's words, he would've followed through on getting into the fight with Iris. At seeing the girl, he tisked again before sitting down on the porch again, his expression highly irritable. "Next time, Iris. Next time."

Scratching the back of his neck, Wennin stared at the girl with an unamused expression "Don't give me that line, Epithiyani. I never lied to you. I only lie to people I really care about. Example: my older brother, Cres. Besides, you asked if I was breaking any rules and I responded with not right now. It wasn't a lie, just a statement that I wasn't at that point in time. And I do believe I said that I've had no choice but to break rules so we do not return to that timeline. Veda, would you care to elaborate for us on what Iris here means by not all things being scrapped?" Wennin retorted coldly, his dark gaze seeming to freeze over entirely. Some just didn't understand not to step on certain people's toes. Snapping his fingers, the toddler shifted his gaze towards the group only for the tall jester to form up in a seated position next to his new body, his hat keeping his hair over the top half of his face and half of his figure cast in shadow. "Once something exists, it's never truly scrapped, just stalled. At one point or another, it will work itself into the formula again giving forth more complex timelines. Unless it no longer exists, the formula that makes it what it is completely erased, it's still part of the much larger picture. To correct both of them, it's a timeline they opted away from. They still intervene in the lives of mortals, but decreasingly less. The main focus of the lesser beings of the embodiment of time is playing puppeteer and taking out the options people can take to get on that timeline. This isn't the creation of Pandora's Box, people. Breaking myself down for that human was more complex than this." "Point made in an insulting manner. Love it. You can return to wandering about."

"It's better than doing nothing," the elf chuckled playfully as he shook the water from his hands. Standing up straight once again, his fingers brushing against the metal claws still attached to his hip as if it was a comfort mechanism, Hei's eyes flicked a bright red for a moment before taking on its previous golden-orange coloration. "Nothing unless he asks me about her. He already doesn't like me so it's not going to make much of a difference whether I tell him when we get back or not. I take after my mother after all; wild and free. We are who we are and we're not gonna change that." Reaching around the panther, he gave her a gentle hug only to release her again and start back towards the house. "Do you like dancing?"

I promise you my heart just promise to sing,
Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.xxxxx
This is what I thought,
I thought you need me.xxxxx
This is what I thought so think me naïve.
I promised you a heart you'd promised to keep,xxxxx
Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.

Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes river

Sing it

Oh, Lord, heaven knows
We belong way down below
Go - Oh, Lord, heaven knows
We belong way down below
Sing - Oh, Lord, tell us so
We belong way down below
Oh, Lord, tell us so
We belong way down below
Way down below, way down below
Way down below, way down below

I've had better days, man
I've seen better days

XXXXXAerith gave a small chuckle and brushed some hair from his face. "my name's Aerith Daesteros. Forgive me for staring, you just seemed familiar to me, yet i'm sure we've never met before. " he hummed, putting his hands into his pockets to fiddle with one of his many charms. make this quick and sweet, boy. you need to go back quickly.

Lianna gave a smirk and kissed his cheek. "oh? i'm luring you in? then maybe i should stop talking, " she purred, green eyes shimmering in the sunlight.

Glancing behind him, the demon gave a sigh and hit his head on the wall. "no, don't panic. panicing only makes things worse. feel free to hate me though, since i royally f*cked up." he drawled, shaking his head and pulling a hand through his hair. watching Seda, the demon gave a frown. how did he not see that coming?

Iris gave a smile and nodded to Trevor lightly before returning her gaze to Epithiyani and Wennin. "you two had better not start anything while we're here." she drawled, her words directed more towards the life embodiment than the other. she had a habit of getting more involved than she should.
"withholding the truth is just as bad, Wenny. however, what's done is done and i can't change things now even if i wanted to," she drawled, turning to Maso and Krystina with a grin. "enjoy your life, however long it may be." she hummed, the words making Krystina shiver. when the child turned her gaze towards Veda, she grinned slightly at his explanation.
"in some cases, things are exactly the same. like the fact that i created another dimension with the help of some elementals i know." Iris drawled, crossing her arms as her tail flicked lightly behind her. "or like a certain blonde coming here from said dimension to hide from her family." she added, glancing back at Rissa with a grin.

Nodding, the panther gave a grin. "sure, i don't mind dancing. i'm not very good at it, but i like it." she drawled, scratching at one of her ears. "he's going to know something is up. he's a smart boy after all." she drawled, tail swaying slightly as her ears twitched towards the various sounds of the forest.

I've had better ways, man
I know better ways

One, two, three and four
The devil's knocking at your door
Caught in the eye of a dead man's lie
Start your life with your head held high
Now you're on your knees
With your head hung low
Big man tells you where to go
Tell 'em it's good
Tell 'em okay
Don't do a goddamn thing they say

 

[Dantes_river]

show spoilerhide spoiler

Pure T0rture

This is what I brought you,
xxxxxThis you can keep.
This is what I brought,
xxxxxYou may forget me.
I promise to depart just promise one thing,
xxxxxKiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.
This is what I brought you,
xxxxxThis you can keep.
This is what I brought,
xxxxxYou may forget me.

"A pleasure to meet you then, Aerith Daesteros. And don't worry about. I was just curious if it was what I thought it was. It was indeed before you ask," Sharon chuckled as if amused by his response. Lacing her fingers together behind her back, her brilliant golden-orange eyes grew a bit more serious unlike the rest of her. Her smile was playful, body language lackadaisical, but it was apparent by her gaze alone that she was thinking about something. Seeming to draw her conclusion, she rocked back on her heels while returning entirely to that playful demeanor. "Don't worry yourself about it, alright? All comes in due time, even memories. Sorry for calling you all the way over here just to tease you and ask such a silly question."

"Wh-what?! You screwed up? How'd you screw up?" Ross questioned, his panic obviously setting in already. No. Adra was right. He needed to calm down. There were still threads holding them together, right? So maybe they could fix his screw-up and reattach strings. Taking a breath to settle his nerves, even if only a little, he glanced from Seda back over to the crow seemingly hating himself for some screw-up he'd supposedly made. "Not happening. It's not reason enough to hate you. Mistakes happen... Um... Can we fix it? I mean, there's still threads holding us together so obviously he can't fully reattach to his body until they're all severed or at least most of them are severed. Wasn't there some plan besides just these marks that you were going to put into play if we can't fix it?"

"Only if you keep sweet talking me like that. I might not be able to control myself," he purred gently, his hand gently brushing against her side before resting at the small of her back as if making a point. Unfortunately for both of them, a flicker of irritation passed through his eyes whilst giving a soft sigh. Using the opposite hand, he hurled a knife at each of the new trio with little expectation of them making their mark. Wennin proved that correctly as he flung a scythe towards the two females, the knife aimed at him tearing open a hole in his hoodie, before catching it as if it were a boomerang. "We got it. It's a timeline that's to be avoided at all costs even if it requires breaking rules or creating wormholes that act as a bleeding effect between timelines or even just a portal. Some good things, some bad, have also wound up sliding itself somewhere into this picture so large most of us can't fathom. Summaries, people. You're making such a simple explanation a novel."

"Actually... Mm... I don't know how to put this delicately for him... To be honest, Rune, you were a ripple effect of stupid over there interfering with my alterations to the flow of things. It might not've been her specifically - can't fully recall as it's still a bit hazy - but the embodiment of time ruined my formula altogether and the result was you," Veda started off hesitantly before briefly directing a finger towards Sheik though it was apparent he meant what part of time rested within the hourglass. Giving a slight shrug, he seemed to watch his physical form start wandering again. "Time should've stayed out of the way but didn't so I'm not ashamed I backfired like I did... She should feel honored I didn't alter much less erase her formula altogether when she intervened. No, I simply reconfigured things so it'd take the very thing she embodied to recover from the shockwave of my abilities at half-strength overwhelm her own. Unfortunately, it'll take longer for me to recover than it should've taken because of what she did... Especially since the Reaver of All Formulas holds my other half."

"Which means he was accidentally created through some incomplete formula you created? And that you consider yourself lenient for not erasing time itself," Sheik questioned to be sure he had understood what was just said correctly. "Did he stutter? Even I consider him forcing time to seal part of itself in that hourglass as lenient compared to what I would've done. Some needed to stop meddling before the events of Pandora's Box occurred and yet they stuck their nose where it didn't belong. Even without Veda, the situation would've corrected itself without the embodiment's or horsemen of the apocalypse's or any other supernatural being's intervention. I could've figured that out a million lifetimes ago. Just like the demon kings, the embodiment of time panicked when Veda entered the picture of interacting with the human warrior in black armor that humans once called a hero... Before that was lost in time, becoming a fairytale with main characters missing. As of today, fewer people in all species know there even was a lonely demon and hero involved in that event than there are who know Cres and I aren't twins which is, maybe, a handful of people. I would've been sure time never existed again. Time has no real purpose. Whatever came up with the concept was giving something that didn't need to exist to begin with. I've never kept track of it personally. You're born, you live, you die and then the whole process repeats itself all while you're picking up new experiences, new lessons that need to be learned." "That's cold." "Reality's a cruel mistress... "

Giving a heavy sigh, Wennin leaned forward enough to where he was on eye level with the embodiment of life with a bored look in his eyes. "I wasn't withholding answers. You just didn't ask the right questions much less ask follow-up questions after I stated I wasn't at the moment. In fact, the fact that I said not right now was a big clue that I either had broken the rules previously or intended to break rules in the future. It's not mandatory for me to share my whole life story and feelings with any of you. I could've ignored you. Wanted to even, but I didn't," he stated in a non-hostile tone. One could even say it almost sounded nice. Then Trevor added with a nod, "That was a pretty obvious clue there, Epitaph. In all actuality, Wennin's always played by his own rules or at least as long as I've known him." "Yep. Keep playing by the rules, ladies. Remain oblivious to it all... Tell me, Epithiyani, would you rather I not break the rules and let chaos reign or would you prefer the way He said it would be? Either way's no trouble for me. Just say the word and I'll let Sheik die early, the beings of light kill those two and the remaining children from the shadow realm and allow this half of Veda die early every single time he gets brought back to this world by his other half held captive by the very human that he tried to befriend." "What?!" the two shadow users responded in unison and making Wennin smile. Panic always sounded amusing.

"I could teach you," Hei hummed rather cheerfully again while obviously ignoring her comment of his nephew noticing something was up. As if following up on his sudden change of topic and offer to teach her, he added, "See, there's this revelry that'll be going on during the next full moon in this grove on this side and I was thinking of asking y'all if you'd like to come with me. Mama usually goes, but she might be busy with her human work this time and I get uncomfortable going alone so when I get stuck alone, I don't go. It'd be a nice way to get y'all distracted from the bad things, but I'm not forcing y'all to go if ya don't want to."

I promise you my heart just promise to sing,
Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.xxxxx
This is what I thought,
I thought you need me.xxxxx
This is what I thought so think me naïve.
I promised you a heart you'd promised to keep,xxxxx
Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.

Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes river

so I just realized I forgot Adra xD;;

Sing it

Oh, Lord, heaven knows
We belong way down below
Go - Oh, Lord, heaven knows
We belong way down below
Sing - Oh, Lord, tell us so
We belong way down below
Oh, Lord, tell us so
We belong way down below
Way down below, way down below
Way down below, way down below

I've had better days, man
I've seen better days

XXXXXGiving the smallest of Nods, Aerith turned to head back, waving lightly, he paused to place an old wooden talisman with red inlays in her hands before turning back around and returning to Tybalt. "sorry 'bout that." he drawled, flopping down with a small grin. ".... hey, Tybalt? you ever feel like your previous life and the current one are bleeding together?" he was probably one of the few fae who even believed in reincarnation, but he couldn't help it. not when he knew what his mother had done to bring his three youngest siblings into the world.

"I'm not sure. You probably can, but it'll take a bit of work. Can you sense him at all? This is important, I need you to search really hard; if you find him mentally grab on and don't let go" the demon drawled, standing once more. That reboot to his system should be done soon, the kid would probably be pissed at him for ruining things.

All three of Rune's daggers froze in the air, Iris grinning slightly as her gaze faded from silver back to sapphire. "to be honest with you all, i'm rather glad Veda didn't do more; that mistake taught me a lot." Iris drawled, smiling as she grabbed the knives out of the air, completely ignoring the blood running down her hand as an after effect of messing with their time lines.

Epithiyani gave a grin and glanced to the two shadow users for a moment, her green eyes shinning as if she were actually considering letting him do it, before sighing and glancing back to the reaper. "you're right. you're right. we can't let things get too out of hand again. " she hummed, tucking a brown curl behind one pointed ear as she smiled at him. Returning her gaze to the shadow users, she gave a small chuckle, they were so cute when they got worried.

Keeping hold of Shayde, Skylar gave a frown and readjusted his wings for a second. his normally soft gaze had hardened and he frowned, glancing around for a second. ".... the three of you might want to leave. " he drawled, eyes closing for a second. "krystina, get everyone back to the house."
"so i wasn't just imagining it. c'mon. everyone, into the house. she can't see you guys." Krystina frowned, pushing herself up as a blue aura pulsed out from her body, forming a protective barrier that spread out to the very edge of the forest. "my barriers can't protect against everything. especially not anti-magic weapons." she hissed, relieved to see her friends actually listening as Rissa, Lianna and Truth all stood and ushered the others towards the house. "i guess we really shouldn't speak of the devil, huh, little bro?" she chuckled, scratching at her neck slightly.

Kansei nodded lightly, a smile on her face. "i'd be happy to go with you. i'm sure some of the others would enjoy it too." she hummed, tail pausing in its wagging as she noted another scent in the air. "...no..." and with that, the panther was running through the trees after the smell, hoping to get to the person it belonged to before they could make it to Krystina's house. they should never have stopped running a perimeter.

I've had better ways, man
I know better ways

One, two, three and four
The devil's knocking at your door
Caught in the eye of a dead man's lie
Start your life with your head held high
Now you're on your knees
With your head hung low
Big man tells you where to go
Tell 'em it's good
Tell 'em okay
Don't do a goddamn thing they say

 

[Dantes_river]

show spoilerhide spoiler

Pure T0rture

xD

This is what I brought you,
xxxxxThis you can keep.
This is what I brought,
xxxxxYou may forget me.
I promise to depart just promise one thing,
xxxxxKiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.
This is what I brought you,
xxxxxThis you can keep.
This is what I brought,
xxxxxYou may forget me.

"I made him a promise to help him as he's always done for me so I'll do whatever it takes," Ross stated quickly before taking a deep breath and shutting his eyes. Where was he? He couldn't feel him within himself much less his own body so where exactly was he? There. He anchored what parts of him were slipping there. Opening his eyes, he looked over at Adra though he flinched when another thread snapped. "It's no wonder he's harder to find. Once his energy is up, his presence is untraceable and if he can't stay conscious, I can't pick up his thoughts... He's... I finally got some connection to him and it's coming from... From his body. It was only a flicker of a conscious thought, but I caught it... He's grown eerily quiet though I can now faintly feel him again." Stepping nearer to Seda, he carefully brushed a hair out of his face. Every time he checked on the barriers, he always seemed so much more frail than the time before, but it couldn't be since the body jump he'd done caused it to freeze in time. Or maybe with all of those repaired strings and the bleeding effect in place, it had been affecting the condition of his body. It wasn't like Seda would ever tell him about it even after all they'd been through together.

Blinking at being given a wooden talisman, Sharon's gaze shifted directly towards her hand. The female elf could only smile in what appeared to be a sweet and gentle manner unlike her previous smile. Such a cute boy.

Opening an eye at being spoken to, Tybalt rubbed his nose with his paw. Past lives bleeding into the present life, huh? Studying Aerith closely for a couple of minutes in silence, the cait sidhe sighed softly before shutting his eye again. "Which would you prefer, Aerith; complete ignorance, the bleeding effect or remembering everything including the bad things? She knows about it, that sense of familiarity between you two. Wild elves are closer to what humans call self-actualization meaning they understand the world and how life and death works better than anything else... With the exception of first and second generation fey that live in the Undying Lands of course," he responded before standing up and glancing at him. "I'm going to lay in the trees. Being inside buildings makes me uncomfortable."

Having grown quiet, Hades helped Lianna to her feet when she got up though he remained seated. What had just been a cheerful man had returned to the cold, calculating assassin he was raised to be. It hadn't been a voluntary much less conscious act, but it was a harsh blow being told you were an accidental creation, a flaw, a mistake set into motion. How else was he supposed to respond to such information? It did make sense though. He held no timeline according to Sheik, his history mostly enshrouded in mystery... Actually, that meant he was an unknown variable and his very presence altered the flow of things. How many timelines had he already screwed up? "Makes sense in a way," he mumbled more to himself than anyone else.

"Hades, c'mon inside," Lucian stated from beside him after having already gotten up with Truth and started towards the house. Not hearing him move, the werewolf frowned slightly and reached down for his arm. Pulling him to his feet, Lucian was about to say something when Hades popped him in the nose. "You just-" "Sorry! Shxt. I'm so, so sorry, Lulu. I didn't mean to." "Ow... Jesus Christ, dude. You hit me in the nose hard enough to make my eyes water. The hell was that for?" "Reflex?" It was a terrible excuse and even he sounded uncertain of that being why he'd acted like that. Shaking his head slightly, he started for the house only to hop up on the roof instead of going inside. Sighing softly while removing his hand from his nose, the lycan followed behind the girls while saying very softly, "He'll be in shortly. His mind's running through a million questions now that Veda's said he was an incomplete formula's ripple effect that entered the pic-ture... Curious. Veda, you're -"

"His figure vanished, Lulu. I doubt he can answer on a frequency all of us can hear him," Sheik interrupted while briefly glancing at the roof. It must be hard to watch those you love die yet never be able to die yourself... Must hurt to know you were a mistake too. Gently sliding his hand into Kana's hand, he gave it a gentle squeeze. Trevor had already gone inside with Veda and was arguing with their mother about not doing something right with him. God, the arguing never stopped with them. Heck, even Giosuè seemed hesitant to step inside the house and he'd been pretending to be someone and something he wasn't Sheik's whole life. "I know there was no delicate way to tell him, but still..."

"It's cute how you guys think you know someone and then they throw in a surprise twist for you," Wennin chuckled softly as he scanned his gaze through the trees. Spinning his scythe in hand, he gave an annoyed sigh before glancing at the embodiments. "I had it just fine, Miss I Can Do It. Don't ruin my fun with freaking people out, brat. Smart answer though. Glad you two can stop whining about how I've been breaking rules. You ladies keep your heads beneath the sand and I'll keep doing what I do best; break all the rules. Quit staring at me in horror, boys. If you think life's been hard as is, you'd hate to know how much I've done where you can't see. That reminds me..." Lifting up his hoodie to expose a jagged wound, he tapped it with his finger. "Would one of you heal this? Reaper weapons take forever to heal and Charlie deliberately laced his blade with a poison that can kill a reaper. Though it no longer makes me sick and sluggish, it takes even longer to heal... Psh. I'll go when I feel like going. If I wanted to go streaking around your house, that's my perogative. I do what I want, not what I'm told. Besides, I don't think Shayde there wants to leave Skylar's side himself and Ephraim's intending to stay with Rissa-chan wherever she goes. How sickening." As stated, Ephraim followed behind Rissa and Shayde remained with Skylar. Even Watari remained by Krystina though they'd told the others to go inside. "He doesn't know how to express the kinder feelings... And I'm not leaving your side." "I'll survive without my shadow for a while."

Picking up his pace without much effort, his dodging of trees going as well as a river around a rock, Hei smiled to himself while tuning into his surroundings again. "We'll see about that once we get back there. Don't freak out," Hei responded smoothly as he crossed over to the panther and hefted her up. Keeping up his pace, he used one hand to cover one of Kansei's ears and press the other against his chest just so he could let out a shrill whistle sharp enough that only animals would hear it. After a matter of seconds, several oddly tuned chirps echoed through the trees and made him smile. "Alright. Here ya go, Kansei. I'll be right behind you." Leaving it at that, he skidded in a circular motion only to toss the female up into a tree where an elf with a predatory smile caught her whilst hanging upside-down from a branch. A second elf hopped down, catching the first elf by the feet and swinging him up so he could toss the female towards yet another elf as if they'd done it a million times. Much to be expected of elves of their caliber, their speed seemed to pick up substantially while Hei kept up from below. It took only a couple minutes before she was caught by the hybrid elf again and skidding to a stop in Krystina's yard again where he set her down on her feet.

"Friends. All wild elves. They help with fast travels with the slower runners. I'd've slowed down if I carried you the whole way." Getting a hug from Sharon, he hugged her back only to stick his tongue out when she kissed him on the forehead and pulled a stray wet hair off of his forehead. "Your sister?" Giving his mother a nod, she sighed softly before kissing him on the forehead again and pulling his head down to her shoulder. "As in my mother your sister? What happened?" "He killed her of course. She tried to kill him, or more like drag him back to his father, and he defended himself. I'm proud of his instinct for survival." "Of course he did. He just loves death... Great. Now I don't even get the opportunity to meet her." "And become your grandfather's lab rat like these two here?" "It's okay, mama. He doesn't know about papa and sis. Let him remain innocent even if he hates me for it." "Hei, you selfless child of mine, really need to stop taking the blame on yourself. Have they healed? Good. We have a guest." "Mama, they-" "Human ears. As far as they'll know, I'm a human friend. Besides, I know you'll protect me should I need it. You start losing control and I'll hit you with a tranquilizer." "Mmkay. I'll take to the trees."

I promise you my heart just promise to sing,
Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.xxxxx
This is what I thought,
I thought you need me.xxxxx
This is what I thought so think me naïve.
I promised you a heart you'd promised to keep,xxxxx
Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.

Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes river

Sing it

Oh, Lord, heaven knows
We belong way down below
Go - Oh, Lord, heaven knows
We belong way down below
Sing - Oh, Lord, tell us so
We belong way down below
Oh, Lord, tell us so
We belong way down below
Way down below, way down below
Way down below, way down below

I've had better days, man
I've seen better days

XXXXX"Alright. this is going to be more difficult for you to do. If I'm guessing correctly, you've your father's magic, so this won't be easy. I need you to try and pull him to you." Adra explained, keeping his gaze on Seda's body. who knows what'd happen with the kid back in his own body after so long. He'd have to think over a few other circles to place on the child. Perhaps the ones he had from Desire for filtering air would help his breathing?

"Well, in my case it's a bit of the last two. I wasn't reincarnated the right way, y'know. My mother brought me back using her necromancy and some blood magic. Technically, I was reborn, but because of the way it was done, i remember bits and pieces of my old life in full clarity. other things are just a taste of what they once were. it's... a pain, really." he sighed, shaking his head as he spun one of his other charms in his hand.

Frowning as Hades disappeared, Lianna gave a sigh and stared after him for a moment. "....should I go talk to him?" she asked, chewing on her lip. Feeling Rissa push her inside, the girl squeaked and allowed herself to be pushed inside. ".... hope he's okay..." she sighed, leaning against a window.

"you alright? here, let me take a look...." Truth whispered, taking his hand in one of hers as she went on her toes to get a better look. "at least it's not bleeding, right?" she chuckled, trying to keep herself from thinking about how her friends were facing off against their mother, one of the worst women she'd ever met.

"oh come here. you're hopeless with these." Epi sighed, walking over to Wennin with her hands aglow. ignoring the stares she got from teh blonde siblings, she simply went about healing the reaper with little care as to what happened.

Glancing behind her, Kana gave a sigh as she spotted Kansei coming back from the forest. She was probably just ahead of the woman. "ugh, you can smell it already." she grimaced, picking up the smell of an old musty werewolf hide that hadn't been cleaned in years. covering her nose, she grimaced and practically pulled Sheik into the house.

"Thank you, Hei. I'd better get inside. this woman is ten levels of hate and crazy we don't want to mess with." Kansei sighed, following after her cousin into the house. Just as the werewolf smell had come, so too did that of a dragon, it's smell more subtle, as if it hadn't been out as long as the lycan. "and there's the dragon smell. i swear she never cleans those things..." she grumbled, shaking her head. she couldn't change what that woman had done to those poor souls, but she could at least clean the things, couldn't she?

"Alright, you guys can stay, but be on guard. we don't know what she wants yet." Sky sighed, taking Shayde's hand in his own. Keeping his eyes trained on the forest, the soft gentle teen seemed to have been momentarily replaced with a much more confidant version of himself, power beginning to ooze off of him in waves. If it came down to it, he'd use the spirits around them to defend the others.

Holding Maso's hand tightly, Krystina visibly stiffened as she spotted movement in the trees, a silver hand poking out of the forest before a blonde woman stepped out, readjusting the dragon-scale coat she wore before brushing some twigs off of the mantle of werewolf fur she wore over that. As the woman approached, Krystina seemed to build herself up more, trying to seem strong even though she felt as weak as she had ever been. "What brings you here, Linea?" she drawled, putting her free hand on her hip.

Wicked green eyes gazing at her two children, the woman shook her head and tapped her metallic fingers against the side of her leg. "Such a shame. You two were one my pride and joy. Now look at you, harboring mongrels. You're both such disappointments." she murmured, brushing her platinum blonde ponytail over her shoulder.

I've had better ways, man
I know better ways

One, two, three and four
The devil's knocking at your door
Caught in the eye of a dead man's lie
Start your life with your head held high
Now you're on your knees
With your head hung low
Big man tells you where to go
Tell 'em it's good
Tell 'em okay
Don't do a goddamn thing they say

 

[Dantes_river]

show spoilerhide spoiler

Pure T0rture

This is what I brought you,
xxxxxThis you can keep.
This is what I brought,
xxxxxYou may forget me.
I promise to depart just promise one thing,
xxxxxKiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.
This is what I brought you,
xxxxxThis you can keep.
This is what I brought,
xxxxxYou may forget me.

"Yeah... No shxt that's gonna be hard. It can never be something simple like blow this up, catch this on fire or make a water ball that explodes and becomes acidic. But okay, I'll do what I can," Ross started out a bit hesitantly before taking a breath and focusing on the faint trace of the fire demon. At hearing something explode, he flinched slightly and quickly glanced over his shoulder at the small hole surrounded by black smudges. "My bad. Completely not intentional." Focusing back on trying to pull Seda back to him, he could feel himself flinch again when another thread snapped. His frown only deepened a bit when Seda's hand twitched again, his hands wrapping around Seda's tiny hand and bringing it up towards his forehead. He couldn't just give up on the boy after all he'd done for him and yet he felt so helpless more often than not. He wasn't capable of healing much less the brightest of people. "So what do we do if I can't keep him attached to me? If I can't pull him back? Let life take its course and possibly take him from me?"

"I know that, Dingus Khan. I didn't ask which you suffered from, but which one you'd prefer. Listen properly," Tybalt huffed, his gaze flicking towards Linea. Flicking them towards the roof then to Giosuè still standing on the porch and finally returning the woman. So that's why he'd popped the loup garoux in the nose. It wasn't a conscious reaction, but a subconscious one meant to protect him from picking up the scent of the werewolf she wore. "It has iron in it, doesn't it? That metallic hand I mean... I'm getting nauseous, dizzy even, just by the thick scent of it around her."

"Yeah. It just made my eyes water and my nose start running again. Ugh. I'm gonna be stuffy for a while," Lucian sniffed while letting Truth take a look. After a couple of minutes, he rubbed his nose with the back of his hand and sniffed again. He could've sworn he'd caught a faint scent of something familiar in a way, but whatever it was, he wasn't going to be smelling it again anytime soon. Feeling his ears pop up again and twitch, he raised an eyebrow. "Is that Krysti's and Sky's mother?"

"We'll be alright. I do believe we've explained the concept of ninja assassins to you. Sure, I used a lot of shadow manipulation, but I didn't have to. It was a comfort thing and made things twice as easy," Shayde smiled lightly while giving the duo a brief dismissive wave. At seeing the silver hand, his smile vanished entirely and his fiery eyes focused in on the blonde. Wow. Just by looks alone she seemed like a b***h. "Oh God. Lady, did you forget to-?" Reaching over to slap Shayde's arm, Watari's gaze never shifted from the woman. "Shut it. Oddly enough, she sounds just like my dad."

"Oh shut it, Epi. You know Charles is still on some weird kick of trying to kill me and I usually ignore physical injuries," Wennin grumbled though his gaze shifted briefly over towards Linea. "Allow me then. Lady, do you bathe properly? Did you wash under your sack? I mean, damn girl, your a** stinks." That made a soft snort come from both Shayde and Watari though they quickly corrected themselves. "And there it is." "Couldn't have said it better myself." "Grazie, grazie. I'll be here all week. Tell your friends. On a more serious note, I pity da fool that thinks that's pretty." "If you mean he's watching through you, I strongly agree." "I'm curious about this guy you're talking about now. Either way, a ho hasn't answered the question: what do you want?"

"You're welcome. I'll talk with you later," Hei hummed in response before disappearing into the trees. Fedelta and Kibulÿm had moved a bit further from where the woman would emerge from the trees. Sharon however, remained where she was with a far less lackadaisical vibe emanating from her. "You bxtch," she hissed behind clenched teeth as a faint shimmer began lifting up around her feet. Snatching her blade out of thin air, she kicked the side with her boot to make a silver fan with what appeared to be ancient drawings of a naga take over most of the inner circle. "Deis. Bleu. This is what's happening to your children. I suggest sending him in. I'll keep her here with a child of my own."

Getting a hiss from her blade, she kicked it so the fan would close, lifted it up and zipped across the space between her and the woman. Just before she could get within reach, Hei snatched his mother off the ground and shoved her inside the house with a quick, "Keep her inside." Turning sharply on his heel, he hopped down from the porch with Giosuè following him and flicked something over his shoulder. As soon as a thunk hit where he'd just been standing, he lowered himself into a predatory crouch and seemed to be waiting for the odd silver scroll-like design to creep its way around the house. "You shouldn't flaunt those around like they're trophies, especially in front of mother. We are highly displeased by your presence and attire. The voices say to kill you now and be sure you return to the Earth, but Hei can be very patient and believes that'd be an insult to Mother Nature. State your purpose instead of trying to sound like you were trying to teach them something noble only for them to break your strings on them. They aren't your marionettes and I'm going to enjoy tearing you limb from limb." "Heine, calm yourself. Your aura's changing into something unnatural."

I promise you my heart just promise to sing,
Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.xxxxx
This is what I thought,
I thought you need me.xxxxx
This is what I thought so think me naïve.
I promised you a heart you'd promised to keep,xxxxx
Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.

Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes river

Sing it

Oh, Lord, heaven knows
We belong way down below
Go - Oh, Lord, heaven knows
We belong way down below
Sing - Oh, Lord, tell us so
We belong way down below
Oh, Lord, tell us so
We belong way down below
Way down below, way down below
Way down below, way down below

I've had better days, man
I've seen better days

XXXXXClosing his eyes, the demon gave a frown and rubbed his hand against the newest circle on his body. "I was really hoping I’d never have to use this ability. Since you can't bring him to you, I’ll have to force him into your body. It’s not gonna be a permanent fix though.” he drawled, eye twitching as he realized that the marks in this circle matched Mara's handwriting to a tee. Closing his eyes momentarily, the demon's figure seemed to suddenly glow red as his spirit left his body. Here's hoping this helps. And with that, the demon formed a blood-red chain between the spirits of the two boys, pulling Seda out of his own body as he did so.

Nodding, Aerith gave a sigh and stood, moving towards Fedelta and Kibum. "Typical hunter's gear. Ugh. Her hand is making me dizzy, too." he grumbled, shaking off the grass from his clothes. "Something tells me we need to keep her here though." he drawled, pulling one of his charms out and cracking it open. Sitting back down facing the forest, he gave a smile as the trees seemed to react to the charm's contents, a wall slowly forming up around the place. "The spell responds to who I consider friend or foe, so she's the only one trapped here."

"Yeah, it is. Honestly, I hate that woman." Truth frowned, holding onto Lucian tighter. "The first time I met her, she had taken one of our marks. But what she did to them? It was horrid. She brings a stain to the title of Hunter." she mumbled, curling into him tightly. "She's known for torturing her marks. And she even kills people who don't have bounties on their heads." Truth whispered, glancing outside only to flinch slightly. How could she wear those things? Those were other people! It disgusted her to no end to see that woman wearing a coat made from the man she'd skinned alive. Even if he had been a dragon at the time. "I think I’m gonna be sick..." she mumbled, covering her mouth.

"I know you can be a stubborn brat. You also forget that I don't keep track of everything like some people. Do you have anything else I should patch up before you go doing anything reckless?" Epithiyani retorted, her gaze having gone stone cold as she looked up at Wennin, only showing a flicker of a smirk as he spoke to Linea.

"I told you. She doesn't think non-humans are any good. She’s not going to clean those things. In her mind, that would be giving respect to those she's killed. In all honesty, I think we need to burn those things she's wearing to put those poor souls to rest. Or at least bury them." Krystina breathed, hands shaking as she felt her mother's gaze settle on her. She had always known the woman would come for them. She just never thought it'd be so soon.

Glancing from the boy who'd insulted her, to her daughter, and then to the boy by her son, Linea grinned darkly and pulled the dragon-tooth blade out of its holster. "I’m just here to clean up my mess. I’ll be out of your hair in a little while." she drawled, tapping the white blade against her knee. Never flinching as Sharon made a charge towards her, those cold green eyes shifted to male elf as he spoke. "Perhaps I should add all of you to my collection. I’m sure I’ve got room now that those two disgraces have left." she drawled, gesturing from Skylar to Krystina with her knife.

Stepping back outside, Kansei gave a frown and glanced to Hei. "Hei. calm down. you're going to hurt someone you care about." she drawled, placing a hand on his shoulder. She could feel it, the tension building up around him; it was unnatural. "However, I have to agree; she needs to die."

I've had better ways, man
I know better ways

One, two, three and four
The devil's knocking at your door
Caught in the eye of a dead man's lie
Start your life with your head held high
Now you're on your knees
With your head hung low
Big man tells you where to go
Tell 'em it's good
Tell 'em okay
Don't do a goddamn thing they say

 

[Dantes_river]

show spoilerhide spoiler

Pure T0rture

This is what I brought you,
xxxxxThis you can keep.
This is what I brought,
xxxxxYou may forget me.
I promise to depart just promise one thing,
xxxxxKiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.
This is what I brought you,
xxxxxThis you can keep.
This is what I brought,
xxxxxYou may forget me.

Frowning deeply, Ross had nodded slightly before shutting his eyes and furrowing his brow. Why couldn't he do even the simplest magic yet could make things explode without trying? Stupid Chestra and his terrible magic skills. Why'd he have to pass that along? "Guess it'll have to do until you can see about your medics coming to check in on him," he murmured softly while feeling the sudden connection and instantly flinching. He hadn't felt such a sharp pain before and yet Seda hadn't so much as twitched as far as he could tell. Had he been enduring such pains and never telling him about it? "I can feel him again though that wave of nausea and the sharp pain I felt was not fun. Was that all from him or was it us connecting?"

"Thought so," Tybalt mumbled before shuffling over towards Aerith only to lay down on the ground on his side. "Be glad your sense of smell isn't as strong as mine..." Kibulÿm set a hand on his side and forced him to shift into his cat form just to set him in his bag. Fedelta hefted up his sword while shifting his feet to take up a position for stepping into the fight. "And avoid contact with anything metal on her. Lovely. Kibum, keep detoxing Tybalt. He's far more vulnerable to it than the rest of us. I'll bash her face in for daring to believe humans are the greatest race ever to exist. Man is fallible, greedy, self-centered, unnatural entities that shouldn't have existed in the first place." "I'm working on it. He's been in cities for a while though so I'm surprised he hadn't collapsed earlier on us with as much iron toxicity is in his system. Aerith, you need to convince him to get out of the cities. He might be King of the Alley Cats now, but he's gonna become King of the Dead Cats if he keeps on spending so much time there."

"Tch. She sounds like a c- horrid woman. Maybe I should go back-," Lucian started only to scowl when Trevor slapped him upside the head. "No. She's not someone you can ask to play fetch with. Strong as you are, she'll prey on your weaknesses and right now your senses of smell and sight are weaknesses. As far as you'd know, you could inhale toxins without a taste by breathing through your mouth without even realizing it. Hah... Humans are such fickle creatures and so very blind to so much." "What's that mean?" "She's just pissed off someone she shouldn't have is what it means. Even worse for her, one of his dragons can travel through reflective surfaces. It seems Wennin prepared it ahead of time, breaking the rules once again. He's had them watching through one of his eyes the whole time. If the non-dragon takes up the fight, I'll have to throw us into Lymbo again so he doesn't tear up the place."

"Funny how you think we'd be fine with you stepping in, offing them and leaving," Shayde snorted while readjusting his feet slightly. It would be a tough fight, of that he was certain, but he'd rather die protecting those he cared for than sit idly by. Watari had automatically flipped out a knife for each hand and took up a crouch himself though he remained silent. "It's funnier still that you opted to approach under such circumstances."

"That won't put them to rest, Krystina. That's my job. Unfortunately for me, I need her dead to help move them onwards. Their despair, agony, anger and hatred have dug their claws into the one who caused it. It becomes a manifestation humans called poltergeists," Wennin corrected the blonde while giving a slight shrug. Glancing back at Epithiyani, he nodded slightly only to hold up a finger. Shifting his gaze back towards Linea, he gave a heavy sigh only to brace his legs under him. "This is gonna hurt... You're free to go, Yuriel." As soon as he gave the okay, his right eye turned into a solid silver color and began glowing. After a few dark shadows hopped out of the light, the glow disappeared and his hand immediately went up to his eye. Motioning the girl to follow and ignoring the three young men and a young woman shooting daggers at Linea with their eyes, he headed towards the porch where he began stripping off his hoodie. "Tch. Alright. Let's move out of the way so Caïm can express himself freely to this human. There's more under my hoodie and don't worry about my eye."

"This is why I hate man," the male with silver hair, silver eyes and light clothing muttered, his hand spinning a small circular mirror in circles. This was followed by the black haired female with ruby red eyes giving an abrupt scoff, her tone bitter as she asked, "You mean besides the arenas, Mirror? Caïm, you can't be serious... Razor, talk him out of it." "Can't, Ruubi. If it's necessary, we'll intervene, but he wants to take her on himself. And don't bring up the arenas. You know he still hates you for smashing his face into a wall," the dark eyed, ivory haired male responded while briefly examining the set of claws taking place of his nails while a couple of sparks escaped past his lips. "Well he pissed me off what with all the double knock-outs we went through entertaining man."

"I'll be fine, Kansei," Hei growled, turning sharply to face Kansei, his eyes flicking to a solid red iris lacking a pupil before returning again. Shifting his attention back towards the blonde woman and her suggestion of adding them to the collection, he could be seen bristling. "I'm not gonna let you continue with this sick and twisted collection of yours. Kill off your own kind elsewhere if anything, but leave the rest of us out of it." "Heine-!" Giosuè started to snap only to freeze when the elf snapped his razor sharp teeth down on his hand. "He just... Heine, you just..." As if it'd clicked, Hei hunkered down a bit more though a slight shake started up in his hands. "I'm... I'm s-sorry... I didn't... Didn't mean to..." Gently pulling the elf into an embrace to try calming him, he set the side of Hei's head against his chest with the other hand covering the ear directed to the world outside. The elf would be able to hear and understand what he was saying while avoiding letting Linea rile him up again. "It's fine, but you need to settle down. Don't let yourself get riled up by her. He's worrying me, Kansei. Was this coming from him even the slightest when I was dealing with Rune or when you two ran off to deal with his sister?"

The dark haired male that'd been silent the whole time reached back towards the leather sheath holding his sword in place. As soon as it made a click, he beckoned Krystina's mother forwards as the trio who'd come with him backed up. "Y'all might want to get back or get inside." "Things are gonna get kinda rough out here." "We apologize, but if you'd like her death to come swift, say it now. We personally want to kill her slowly what with her coat... Mirror, the other side please." "Right... Cold as winter; strong as stone; She faced the darkness all alone. A silver goddess; a reflection. A mirage; a recollection. No return; no turning back. The past is gone, the future, black. Serpents gather in their nest and she stands above the rest. Shadows hunt; she hunts the shadow. The moon is risen; she stands below. She views her world through the eyes of others. Black and white; there are no colors. As she looks down upon a shattered youth, a shattered mirror shows a shattered truth." Smiling lightly, everything seemed to flip as the mirror in his hand seemed to reflect the world they were now in.

I promise you my heart just promise to sing,
Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.xxxxx
This is what I thought,
I thought you need me.xxxxx
This is what I thought so think me naïve.
I promised you a heart you'd promised to keep,xxxxx
Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.

Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes river

Sing it

Oh, Lord, heaven knows
We belong way down below
Go - Oh, Lord, heaven knows
We belong way down below
Sing - Oh, Lord, tell us so
We belong way down below
Oh, Lord, tell us so
We belong way down below
Way down below, way down below
Way down below, way down below

I've had better days, man
I've seen better days

XXXXX"could be a bit of both. i'm not one hundred percent because my body was already dead when i was attached to another person." he drawled, glancing back at the boy only to sigh tiredly. "we'd best return to the real world. there's not much more i can do from this side." he explained, ignoring that his hand was a large claw. "plus i sense tension from the outside world, and we'd best get somewhere safer."

"You don't think I haven't tried? Honestly, I can't even follow him into those places I'm so susceptible to the stuff. I should warn you, she may have some magic of her own. It's faint, but I can sense something on her. Just enough to be wary of it." Aerith drawled as he stood, pulling his own sword out only to stab it into the earth. "we're gonna make a jump in a moment." he drawled, frowning slightly. He hated jumps. He always got sick from them.

At the mention of Lulu going out there, Truth shook her head. "No offense, but I'd face her again myself than anyone else witness the atrocities that monster's committed." she whispered, clingign tighter to Lucian's shirt as she spoke. There were only two people that truly had ever scared her, and one of them was dead by her own hands. The other was currently digging her grave deeper and deeper. Glancing outside, she gave a small chuckle. "she cut the head off the hydra."

Glancing up at Wennin for a moment, the child gave a sigh and shook her head, saying nothing as she followed him to the porch with glowing hands. When he turned to face her again, she was no longer the small child but a full grown woman with her hands on her hips. " You're hopeless sometimes" she drawled, brushing her hair over her now bare shoulder as she looked at him, the sleeves of her skimpy robe falling over her hands as she began healing him.

"silly boy, as if you have a choice in the matter~" Linea purred, smiling as she aimed a small handheld crossbow in the air and shot it off, a rain of darts coming down on them. The woman's grin seemed to grow as she watched Skylar slump to the ground, a dart in his shoulder. Turning her gaze back towards the new arrivals, she gave a smirk and pulled out another gun and a long-blade.

"Sky!" Krystina squeaked, having blocked any darts from hitting herself and Maso with another of her shields. Turning to look at the trio who'd entered, she smiled at them. "You guys do as you wish. You have more right to kill her than either my brother or I do." she drawled, trying to get her brother up to the porch and out of the way.

Kansei shook her head as she looked at Hei, tail wrapped around her leg. "Nothing like this... i mean, sure he had a moment where his personality flipped and he murdered his sister, but this isn't anything like that." she drawled, coming over to carefully place a hand on Hei's shoulder. He seemed so upset all of a sudden....

I've had better ways, man
I know better ways

One, two, three and four
The devil's knocking at your door
Caught in the eye of a dead man's lie
Start your life with your head held high
Now you're on your knees
With your head hung low
Big man tells you where to go
Tell 'em it's good
Tell 'em okay
Don't do a goddamn thing they say

 

[Dantes_river]

show spoilerhide spoiler

Pure T0rture

This is what I brought you,
xxxxxThis you can keep.
This is what I brought,
xxxxxYou may forget me.
I promise to depart just promise one thing,
xxxxxKiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.
This is what I brought you,
xxxxxThis you can keep.
This is what I brought,
xxxxxYou may forget me.

"Right... Sorry about bugging you with all of this considering your current predicament," Ross responded while gently setting the tiny fire demon's hand on his stomach and standing up. Might as well head back now that they were attached again and the crow had done what he could. At least Seda's defensive measures for protecting his body was well maintained considering how long they'd never been touched. A few had needed touch-ups, but the rest were intact so he'd be fine for a while longer. For now, his current condition was the demon prince's biggest worry. Having the room containing Seda's body snatch itself away to close back up, Ross inwardly sighed at seeing the sleeping form of the small fire demon back where they'd begun their private chat with the fire crow. Brushing a hand over the boy's head, he murmured, "I really appreciate your help."

"Then you're not trying hard enough," Fedelta and Kibum retorted sharply only to glance at each other. It was weird how they actually had the same thought run through their head considering it actually took Fedelta to threaten Kibum to get him to leave the fey realm in the first place. "Stormy weather. Duck." "Ducking. And yeah, I can feel it. Aerith, try harder with him. The stubborn cat only listens to you for whatever reason and I'm the health expert." As soon as Kibum crouched down, Fedelta swung his sword like a baseball bat and smirked as several darts went flying towards the trees. Upon noticing Skylar had still been hit by one, he gave a tisk and scowled at the woman.

"Um... Princess, that's kind of a redundant statement to make," Trevor mumbled while scratching the outer corner of his eye. Lucian just shook his head slightly and sniffed, his hand running through the female's red hair. She was concerning him with how she gripped his shirt. It was then he felt like something flipped and his brow furrowed "Weren't you two on the opposite side of me?" "Yes and no. In shorter terms, we're in the mirrored version of the world we were just in. What was your left is now your right and the damage will be trapped in this world when we jump back. Ancient sorcerers who used this ability called it the Hungarian Mirror Trap as the origins were in the general vicinity of the country Hungary and it was meant as a way to seal something away or trap someone within a pocket dimension behind the mirror. Without a powerful magician that knows how to work this spell, we're all going to be stuck here. Considering the silver haired guy brought us here, he's our only ticket out of here... Or Adra might be able to take us back when he's back up to par or until Veda can control his magic enough to take us back to the original world. For all I know, Rissa might know how to work it or Cheshire will show up randomly and take us all back."

"Krystina, get on the porch. Shayde, help me with him. Aerith, Kansei, you guys head to the porch too," Watari directed with a tone that wouldn't take no as an answer. As instructed, though very begrudging about being told what to do, Shayde slid Skylar's arm over his shoulder and stooped low enough to grab him around the waist only to raise an eyebrow at the male watching him while still spinning his small mirror around. "Fine... Mm? What's up, mirror guy?" "Mirror is fine. Just stay still a moment. It might take a minute or two for his system to register what I'm doing though." By the time Shayde had tensed up, Watari having placed Skylar's other arm over his shoulder, the fair draconic male shifted his arm from the elbow down into a clawed silver hand and flicked him between the eyes. "You can go now. I just overlapped and reintegrated things with him." "Ten cent words, buddy. English please." "He's a mirror dragon. You know of the Hungarian Mirror Trap, right? This is similar to it and only he can let us back out. We're in our reflection of the world we were just in. The mirror image is similar to limbo; it collects damage yet always repairs itself once you leave. It doesn't really affect the original world unless you yourself get hurt or die. Whatever happens to you here, happens there." Giving the assassin a slight wink, the male turned his attention back towards the silent male spinning his sword a couple times and the blonde woman. "Aw. Mirror's taking pity on the human boy." "Cease and desist, Ruubi." "It's fine, Razor. Don't misinterpret my actions, Ruubi. Maybe I just felt like being generous, something you can't achieve, or maybe I want to wound that human woman's pride." "Lame. Sorry, Caïm. I'll stop 'cause you asked me to."

"You're so sweet, Epi. You keep complimenting me like that and there'll be some weird connections between life and death," Wennin purred while briefly brushing his fingertips against the female's jaw. After reaching near her ear however, he started up laughing and gently patted her on the cheek. "Sorry, sorry. I couldn't keep up the act of that being serious. On a more serious note, you should be happy that I ask you for your assistance and actually listen to you. I don't do that for everyone." Glancing at the dragons and the silent male the trio had been calling Caïm, he let a sinister smirk slide its way onto his face just as the male's blade clashed with the woman's and his foot made contact with the forearm of the hand wielding the gun. It wasn't hard enough to do much damage, but more like to deter her from hitting him with bullets. "Poor Linea. She should not have worn the dragon here. He's going to play with her just like a toy just to be sure she suffers."

"His personality flipped? How did it flip exactly?" Giosuè asked curiously only to shake his head. That wasn't exactly a good thing if he'd changed from a minor flip to this hostile and unnatural presence within a matter of minutes. "We need to get him away from Linea. If she keeps riling him up, this isn't going to be pretty..." Tightening his hold on Hei when he seemed to tense and try snapping at the hand that touched him, the Sheikah gave a tisk. "It's alright, Hei. It's just Kansei. Calm down... What's this metal bit leading into his sp- Ow! Let go of my arm! No, don't bite harder. Tyvinda!"

When called, Trevor gave a heavy sigh before sliding Veda's hand into Truth's hand and heading outside. "Get ready to step back. Three. Two. One. Move," he muttered while moving his hand near the elf's face. As soon as he told his uncle to move, he lightly slapped the elf on the face and made him shift focus towards the new hand only to find himself hefted off the ground with Trevor's opposite hand around his neck. "Settle down, boy. And you, dingus, don't go touching things that might bring up bad memories." Using his freehand, he set Giosuè's gloveless hand briefly to the elf's forehead before pulling it away. "See? Now keep your hands off before you damage another person. Kansei, he gets along with you. If you don't mind, I'd like you to sit up on the porch with him as he takes a little cat nap instead of trying to eat people then feel guilty about it once he calms down. Alright? Alright. Good night. Sleep tight. Don't let the dead bite~." Letting a quick flash of something dark pass over his arm, the elf's hostility ceased entirely along with his clawing at the Sheikah's arm. Wrapping the opposite arm around his waist and releasing the other hand, he started for the porch while humming rather cheerfully though he'd just been so cold a second before. "It freaks me out how he goes from telling you he's going to kill you with the air of an angel to actually going about killing you with no ounce of remorse for doing it, his eyes entirely lifeless."

I promise you my heart just promise to sing,
Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.xxxxx
This is what I thought,
I thought you need me.xxxxx
This is what I thought so think me naïve.
I promised you a heart you'd promised to keep,xxxxx
Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.

Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.