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 Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 10:30 pm
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Once he was dry enough, Cassius started to shift over to his human form before he started to come to. When he did, it was fast, though. He sucked in a sharp breath and sat up fast, looking around the room as he panted for air, his lavender eyes wide.
He winced as he finished shifting and actually whimpered with it as he calmed down once he realized where he was. His body shook with the shift, proving that he'd done too many shifts in too short a period, though likely only Kota would recognize it as such.
It took a few moments, but he finally relaxed back against Meryth and took Kota's hand in his to raise it to his lips with a faint smile, "Trust you to know what to do Kota... I'm sorry I frightened you like that... I didn't expect to get hurt in the water... Some of the bastards could swim, though..." he explained as he relaxed even more as his minor injuries finished healing under the influence of the fabric. It was also working on the bullet wound the bath had revealed at his left hip, thankfully, but the injury would still keep him from moving around too much for the next few days.
He'd forgotten that some guns could still be used underwater, though the Hunter who'd used it wouldn't be revealing that detail to anyone after the sharks finished with him.
"We got them back, though... I didn't see what condition they were in, but we got them out... Then I flooded the island... more might come here, though..." he added as he let them both take care of him for now.
Truthfully, he needed the care. He'd been six months without any caring touch and now craved it, so he wasn't about to ask them to stop taking care of him... |
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 11:09 pm
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Cassius gave a pained hiss as he was shifted and leaned heavily on Meryth as he was taken to the bed and laid down on the softer surface, but was more than grateful for the help. By the time he was down, he was panting a bit from the pain but was managing to deal with it. It wasn't the worst injury he'd ever gotten, after all.
When Meryth tried to back away, though, he latched onto his hand to keep him from going too far, desperately needing the contact with someone right now though he wasn't certain why.
"Don't leave... Please..." he whispered softly then closed his eyes with a wince and let go of Meryth's hand, hating that he sounded so needy right now.
He couldn't understand why he needed the contact right now, just knew that he didn't want to be alone. What he didn't know was that he was reacting to the six months without any contact with Kota, the severing of their bond, then Meryth having to remove the restored bond to help Kota. He'd gotten used to having someone else in his head and heart, used to the constant contact he'd had with Kota before he'd left on the initial mission.
He'd gotten so used to having contact before he'd left that not having it was leaving him foundering a bit, as if he didn't have anything to ground him.
In those moments when he'd been trying to get back from destroying the Hunters, his only thoughts had been focused on getting back home to Kota and Meryth, half afraid that they wouldn't be here. Now that he was here, he couldn't bear the thought of being alone even for a moment.
When he was healed up and restored to himself, he'd probably try to do the right thing by hiding the contact-hunger he was feeling, not wanting to overwhelm either of them. But for now, every bit of him was as open as he could get, even his absolute fear of being alone again... |
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Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 5:03 am
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Cassius winced at the sound of desperation in his own voice but found himself more than grateful that Meryth didn't protest, and surprised that the more dominant male actually braided his hair down for him. He would have said something but was interrupted by Kota entering with the tray.
"Gods, Kota... The soup and coffee would have been more than enough for now. You've made enough for all three of us with that tray," he said with a slightly exasperated tone but with laughter coloring his tone. In his own way, he was teasing Kota a bit, but he was right.
He still gave in to being fed the one bowl of soup and drank down the cup of coffee before finding himself sleepy all of a sudden. His eyes blinked a bit before he relaxed against the pillows as sleep took him over.
The thoughts that followed him, though, were filled with wondering why he was feeling so needy and uncertain all of a sudden. He'd never been this way before his trip away. He'd never been the one begging someone to stay with him. He'd always been on the other end of things. Instead, he was the one begging Meryth and Kota not to leave him alone, not to leave him at all.
One memory sparked along that line of thought. A brief meeting with his father. It had been strange because it was one of the few times that his father had actually seemed sympathetic about his long absence from Kota at the time and hadn't tried, not even once, to throw a female at him. He'd almost enjoyed the visit before he'd had to leave the underwater palace to finish his mission.
After that one memory, he fell deeply enough asleep that it would take quite a bit to wake him again. Which gave the other two enough time to assess the insidious spell that had been put on him... |
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 4:56 pm
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Cassius found himself humming softly in his sleep, trying to heal Kota's wounded hand and heal the breach between Kota and Meryth at the same time. He managed to heal Kota's hand but the other wasn't as easy to do. And yet, he remained asleep.
But his sleep wasn't as peaceful as it appeared to be.
He was plagued by nightmares all revolving around the same kind of situation. Namely, Kota or Meryth or both of them leaving him.
It sometimes started with a small fight over basically nothing, then turned into something bigger, then involved them leaving again. Other times, it was them deciding they were better off with their own kind and leaving that way. Then there were the nightmares of Kota making Meryth leave, or the other way around, and the one who stayed blaming Cassius for it. Some were of being needed on another job and coming back to find them both gone, either with a note left or with nothing left.
He couldn't seem to pull out of the nightmares either, couldn't seem to wake up at all.
Each dream sequence ended the same way, strangely enough. He was always welcomed back home by his father, who was loving and caring over the situation.
That last should have been the main clue that something was seriously wrong. Add to it all that he couldn't wake up and that even the god's veil didn't seem to be healing the bullet wound at his hip all that well...
Well, add it all up and Cassius was having a major problem...
He was having so many issues that could be laid at the feet of the spell that his father had cast on him. Everything from the nightmares, the healing issues, the skin and touch hunger, the dislike of being alone... All of it could be blamed on his father...
Though, perhaps, there might be a bit of true basis for his fears....
He'd come home to find himself alone. On some level he was picking up on the tension between Kota and Meryth. He was still reeling from having his bond with Kota removed, being alone in his head and heart. In so many ways, he was still alone and afraid of being left alone.
As strong as he was, there were still weaknesses that could be exploited in him. The worst of which was his heart... |
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Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 2:58 pm
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Cassius remained asleep but turned into Kota's touch with a soft moan. As they both spoke around him, he visibly relaxed. Truth was that he needed them both in ways even he couldn't have guessed. But he was afraid to tell them about it, afraid it would scare them both off.
But something they'd said pulled him from sleep, though his waking mind forgot what it was as he struggled to wake up. Instead, his waking mind latched onto something else at the end of the conversation, "What about my father?" he whispered as he blinked his eyes open and tried to focus.
"Why am I so tired..." he added as he fought to stay awake, though it was useless as the spell put on him pulled him back into sleep and sent him curling up into Kota to get as close as he could.
They got another answer, though, from a different source.
The Goddess appeared in her aspect of the Mother, carrying the scents of summer with her as well as a soft green mist that spread out over the floor as she simply stepped out of that mist and approached the bed. Her dark hair flowed straight to the floor behind her as she turned her strange eyes onto both Alichino's, eyes that held no whites or iris, eyes that were nothing but an endless field of stars.
She gave them both a tender smile, "It was his father who did this. In an effort to have Cassius' return to him and to have his growing powers for himself. There is a way to eliminate the spell but it would require something I'm not sure you're willing to do... You both must bond with him... The spell would be overwhelmed by having both of your souls bound to his. But you would have to make peace with each other for that to happen..." she informed them both without preamble.
She looked down at Cassius briefly then focused on the other males one at a time, "If you cannot do this... His father will eventually break him..." she added then gave a soft sigh as she closed her eyes, one hand going to grip at one of the bedposts, "I cannot interfere in this... This is as much as I can do... And soon..." she shook her head and refocused on the task at hand.
"Cassius needs to grow into his full power. I cannot tell you why. There are too many possibilities for the future. But I know it has to happen one way or another. Right now, it will either be with you two at his sides or under his father's control. It's your choice..." she finished, her face taking on a resigned expression as she looked at them both in turn.
As she faded from sight, though, a pained look took over her face. The expression was gone as soon as she was, leaving them with their choice as a swirl of her mist moved over Cassius, "Once your decision is made, he will wake... That is as much as I can do..." her voice echoed around them, giving them what little help she could... |
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 1:50 am
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Unlike the last time he’d exchanged souls with Kota, this time Cassius wasn’t able to hide the effects of the soul exchange on him. This time, he showed the pain he experienced. He came awake with a harsh gasp, his eyes wide with shock, followed by hard panting as he tried to deal with the unexpected pain. He hadn’t been prepared for it this time, after all.
The spell didn’t effect Meryth since Cassius’ father hadn’t been expecting another soul exchange to happen, though Meryth would be able to feel the spell.
After a moment, Cassius was able to tell what was going on and knew what to do. Thankfully, Meryth’s soul was a lot more open initially than Kota’s had been and he got more information initially.
He knew that he’d have to do a bond with Kota as well to completely eliminate the spell but there was another way to do the soul exchange. He’d picked at the mind of the castle’s librarian before they’d parted ways and gained a bit more information that would likely shock Meryth. But Cain could be trusted with the information…
But there was a little preparation needed first…
He worked at slowing his breathing back down and looked up at Kota, “Kota-Love, I need you to go down and make up a pot of tea from the box of tea at the back of the cabinet where you keep the tea and coffee. The box isn’t marked but is bound with a red ribbon. When it’s ready, set up three cups down in the living room,” he told him simply, knowing that they’d all need the special properties of the tea for what he was planning.
He looked at Meryth as Kota scrambled to head downstairs and gave a small smile, “I’ll need you to help me downstairs. I’m not going to be very steady but I do have the strength for what we need to do,” he said in a softer tone, though no less firm. The exchange had woken him up, but he could still feel the spell trying to interfere with it.
He knew Kota wanted the bond between them, and now he knew that Meryth did as well. Now he could go through with the magic needed to bond all three of them together.
In reality, he and Meryth helped each other downstairs then set up three of the biggest pillows in a triangle in the living room. The tea would be a bit bitter t choke down, but it would open them all up for a true and even soul exchange without anyone being hurt by it. The process would also heal Kota’s hands, of course.
For the first time, Cassius wasn’t afraid of his growing powers. He knew that he would need everything he had to do this. So he also collected a necklace he and Kota had made together before their initial separation. It was made from the lavender crystals Kota had seen before as well as the extra shards of the black opal Kota had given him when they’d first met.
That necklace now held extra magical energy stored in each crystal and gem, enough energy that they all gave off a faint glow that many had mistaken as a spell he’d put on the piece. Far from it, it was simply how much energy the piece carried.
This spell-song would give each of them a piece of soul from the other two, binding all three of them together. The process would allow for a little-known ability of the Alichino that Cain had discovered in some of his research a long time ago: the ability to negate negative and destructive spells.
In other words: it would sever the spell on Cassius completely and send the backlash right back onto his father.
Admittedly, that would give the possibility of killing the MereKing… But Cassius wasn’t likely to shed many tears over it…
Whatever repercussions came from it all would fall where they would, but Cassius wasn’t going to be cowed or leashed by his father any more… |
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