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 Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 11:28 pm
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Leon was aware something wasn’t right. On one hand, he needed the mage to burn her mana quickly. But it sounded like his lack of ability to finish off the others may come back to hurt him. He was also concerned for Callisto. He knew where she was, but was aware she was hurt. He took a second, and turned to call to her.
“Callisto? Do you remember the only time I said killing was okay?”
Although he had been ready to kill Carl earlier, in all reality, he probably would have just crippled him. But now, they were ready to report back, and bring more of themselves back, ready to destroy anything in their path. The way he looked at Callisto wasn’t one of wrath, or fighting intent. It was one of regret, and guilt.
“We have no choice anymore.”
He transferred the same look back to the mage. He wasn’t quite ready to use the Soul of Focus again, but knew it could give him the edge if he needed it. He decided to stop playing around, and sped like a bullet toward the mage, being careful to change his pattern of approach. |
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Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2019 9:50 pm
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Callisto Piscis-Piscis
Adventurous Mermaid
 The mage stopped her spells as he turned away from her. It was a gamble but she took the time to evoke a different spell. She spoke the words as quickly as she could as her fingers fumbled to find the necessary components in her pouch. She panicked as she saw Leon turn around, eyes widening as she lost sight of him for a moment. She stepped to the side, running in reverse as she tried to finish her spell. He was too fast, but all she needed was a few more seconds! She slipped on the sand, falling backwards onto her rump. She knew before looking that Leon had closed the distance. There was no room for hesitation! "Lightning bolt!" Lightning shot from her hand, hitting every creature within one hundred and twenty feet of her in one connected chain. A loud noise was emitted, similar to but louder than the noise a train made when running down the tracks. It's strength was enough to set fire to anything combustible and melt some delicate metals. Anything in its path took on damage.
Callisto had been running to catch up to Leon and the mage he was fighting. Using magic in a fight like this--she knew it was reasonable but still stubbornly despised his opponent for it. She saw that Leon was getting closer to the mage and thought that the battle would be settled quickly. As much as she didn't like how it made him feel, she was glad that he'd accepted the fact that these people needed to die. Still, if she could... she wanted to be the one to do it. She thought that it was the only way to spare him the guilt while protecting both her secret and ending the threat from these people. She had no idea what hit her, the spell moved too quickly for her eyes to catch up. The air was sizzling with energy and all at once it was too bright for her to see.
Her eyes shut as a reflex but it was already too late to block out the intense light. Her eyes were sensitive to light, to the point that she wore sunglasses when the sun was out in order to be able to see. She managed to cover her ears but her hands soon began to twitch away uncontrollably. Her skin tingled and went numb. She could smell something burning, but didn't know what it was. The cry of pain she emitted was through clenched teeth as her muscles convulsed from the electricity. For the moment she was stunned by the attack and temporarily blinded.
The attack also hit the three members of her team which were still alive. Carl passed out, having been barely clinging to consciousness after the beating Leon gave him. The other man was knocked backwards and was sent into convulsions. The woman whose face Callisto had inadvertently destroyed was also sent to the ground from the force of it, though at a glance she was handling the spell better than the others.
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Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 2:14 am
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Leon's world was surrounded in white, like an endless void. His ear were ringing with a high pitched whine, so much that it was irritating him to his very core. The shock he felt was immense, and sent him back quite a few feet, 75 if he has being accurate. He knew he was on the ground, and could move. His teeth were clenched, through no action of his own, and his muscles twitched, both through pain, and the shock. His shirt was torn, and his jacket was thrown to the side. On his chest, lay a symbol of the chaos that had unfolded during the storm; a large, jagged "X", with a center that could be nothing else but burned. The white aura he was known to evoke, streamed from the wound, and it seemed like the only thing that kept him alive was the Soul of Focus.
He tried getting up off of the ground, when he heard Callisto cry out. The idea of her being killed by his carelessness to the situation, and his underestimation of the mage's abilities, enraged him. Leon forced his body to at least cooperate, and maintain basic functions, as he released the Soul of Focus, not wanting to make his condition worse. He staggered for a bit, then his steps became clearer, more defined. He knew what his target was.
"I...want you...to think of e-e-every last...person you've k-killed...."
He stammered through the intense muscle twitching.
"Because that's...all lead up t-t-to this final moment..." |
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Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 4:56 am
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Callisto Piscis-Piscis
Adventurous Mermaid
The mage scrambled to get to her feet, all the while holding her breath out of nervousness. She reassessed her situation quickly and, seeing that she'd been victorious in attacking both of her enemies, smirked. Her victory was short lived as she saw that Leon was already starting to get to his feet. "What? Preposterous! A human couldn't... could they?" She said, surprise shifting into curiosity at the white color coming from his chest. She knew better than to let herself get carried away but her mana was for the most part depleted. She hadn't gotten the proper amount of rest, but had no time. If only her teammates had waited or perhaps simply snooped around for a sign of the creature first? Then they could have planned an attack and things would be different.
She picked up her staff and took another step back. "I don't kill people, you lowlife scum. But you aren't human, are you... That explains your true motive here. However I must inform you that neither I, nor my companions, are prepared to give up our lives at this point. You had me fooled and could have lived if only you had chosen surrender! Die cursing your foolishness!" She shifted the staff in her hold. Although she'd spoken confidently she was almost entirely depending on her other teammate to come to her aid. She began casting more energy spells with what mana she had left. There were a few scrolls in her pouch which she could use as well but that was her absolute last resort. She settled on sending more simple balls of energy at Leon as before, stepping quickly to the side with the aim of getting to higher ground.
Callisto overheard the words spoken, though admittedly she didn't understand some of what Leon had said. She'd fallen but was managing to stay upright. Her muscles were still convulsing and as she opened her eyes she was alarmed at her inability to see. The arm she'd been shot in still held the bullet in it and it caused her arm to jerk around. No matter how she tried to stop it she couldn't, and moving it hurt like nothing else. It was like the bullet was burning her from the inside. Her head pounded and her body felt heavy, like she'd been hit by a bunch of sharks or something. She couldn't quite explain it, but didn't have time to try to figure out what other damage she'd taken. Even more than that she was worried about Leon. The mage had triggered a spell right infront of him. He had to be really hurt right now! If it could do this to her, what had it done to him?!
"L-Leon! Don't--... don't die!" She opened her eyes again, squinting and then widening them. Nothing worked. She didn't know how many of them were left alive or if more were coming. She couldn't see where Leon was and didn't know how hurt he was. How was she supposed to fight? What if she accidentally hit him or something? She clutched onto her arm, holding it tightly to try to suppress the movement. She didn't want to sound weak but couldn't help the pained noises she emitted as the after effects of the spell continued to work on her. There had to be a way out of this situation. There had to be! Some way that they could both survive and get back to the inn--or to a doctor. Even if they didn't have a good story to cover up all of this it was looking like they didn't have much choice anymore. But first they had to kill whoever was still alive... somehow. She'd heard him talk a moment ago and the other woman was still talking too.
So he had to still be alive but how much more could he take? How much more could she even take? If the magic only hit Leon and herself, they were in serious danger. If Leon was blind too... She tried once more to stand up and was reduced to kneeling on the ground, again. "Wh-where are y-you?!" Being blinded was frustrating and for the time being she didn't know what was happening around her. At least she could sort of hear them...
Meanwhile, about twenty feet away from Callisto and another fifty away from Leon, the remaining female was coming to her senses. "S-s-s-son of a-a..." She complained, unable for a moment to stop the slight twitching of her muscles. She was grateful for her natural gift and even more so for how familiar she was with the mage's fighting patterns. She'd recognized in time what spell was being used, for the other only used a small variety of them, and had been able to nullify it some. Still, it hurt and that was annoying. She looked over at the others and then shut her eyes. Blood had been dripping down her face from the cuts she'd been given and thanks to her nose being crushed she couldn't breathe out of it. At least it hadn't killed her and she should be happy about it. But she was more annoyed by the inconvenience.
There was blood in her mouth and just from feeling around with her tongue she could feel that her cheeks and lips were torn and some of her teeth were missing.She wiped her face with her sleeve and got to her feet. She spat out the blood, eyeing the six or seven teeth on the ground unhappily. Hector was flopping around like a fish out of water and making weird grunting noises. Then she looked from the felled and apparently blind and weirdly naked dark-elf to the two beyond her. The man looked like he wouldn't be able to stand up if not for whatever he was using to... invigorate himself. "Seriously, S-Sam? You re-really had to sh-shock us too?! And y-you complai-ain that I'm the sloppy one." As she spoke her voice whistled a bit through her teeth and she kept inadvertently sticking her tongue out through the gap in the bottom.
"Silence! Cease your prattling and get over here! I require your assistance! Make haste you fool!"
"Aaagh... Wh-whatever." Seeing that she had a little time she cracked her nose back into place and spat more blood out onto the sand. She'd been taken by surprise at first but now she was fired up to return the damages tenfold. She strode past the incapacitated dark-elf and casually began to make her way over to Leon so she could join in the fight.
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Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2019 12:07 am
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"You call anything...stronger than you, or anything that defies logic...inhuman? Then let me warn you..."
Leon began to shine with the light he had before, ignoring the pain shooting through his body the best he could. He smirked, looking forward to the fight ahead, with excitement that could be marked as insanity quite easily. After all, he was bloody, with a brand new "tattoo" on his torso front.
"...You may as well call me a demon!!!"
He sparked with energy, so thick, one could almost cut it with a blade. He had transcended just the Soul of Focus, to something even more grand. His muscles bulged, being pushed to an unreal limit, making him look like he had gained weight in muscle mass.
Leon stared down his foe, the mage in front of him, almost uncaring of the other behind him. As the other approached, admittedly with almost as easy a recovery as his own, he did not turn, but simply reached his arm back swiftly, grabbing her by the face, and keeping his hand gripped around her jawline, almost suffocating her.He took the time to ensure she was disarmed. After making sure, he frowned again.
"I attained this power by respecting the ones who share this Earth with us humans, accepting them for who they are. Yet you attack them, though they never provoked you. That's not justice, or a righteous fight...that's fear."
He tightened his grip, wanting to hear a crack or snap as he tightened.
"The same fear I hope you feel now. I hope you're satisfied with how monstrous I can be, because this is all thanks to you hunters. You taught me this brutality, and gave me a reason to learn martial arts. But her?"
He gestured to Callisto.
"She showed me something you idiots never could, something not even my parents could truly give me. Love."
With that, he threw a wicked knee into the woman's chest, and dropped her to the ground, continuing his walk toward the mage. |
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Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2019 1:48 am
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The mage flinched upon hearing the crack from her friend's jaw. Her knees shook and she felt nauseous. "Y-you... You're not human!" She stuttered quietly, visibly trembling with fear at the sight of him. Without her fellow hunters backing her up she had no confidence against a foe who just kept coming back stronger. She took a step back, then another and quickly began to run backwards to put as much distance between herself and Leon as she could. She saw that behind him, the other female was getting to her feet again. The other woman's jaw looked very... wrong. It only scared her further. "You're a monster! I will kill you! I will!" She continued to shout it at him, thinking that there had to be a way. She'd never heard of a technique like this one before. "Wait--! Wait! You--! What do you want?! Love?! Love is fleeting even for humans! Those creatures don't know what love is! That can't be why you're killing people! You murderer!" She slipped on a grainy looking patch of glass, created by her lightning spell. After falling onto her butt she desperately reached into her pockets in search of her scrolls. Sam stared at him, wide-eyed and scared that she was going to die too.
"Hey!" The other called from not so far away. She'd used a simple spell to mend her jaw back together temporarily. She rubbed her neck and then shifted her body. She spread her feet shoulder-width apart and raised her fists. She hopped lightly back and forth from one foot to the other. "Ashes denote that fire was, respect the grayest pile." Fire sprouted from her palms, encircling her arms and down her back as she continued. "For the departed creature’s sake, that hovered there awhile." With one step she propelled herself towards him. Her arms, back and legs cloaked by fire which would burn if it touched him. She knew a little about martial arts but, not being a serious person, didn't train. She was a moderately skilled fighter, more so a talented sorceress. She leapt forward, landing on her hands and twisting as she swung her legs at his head with a spinning kick. Her body twisted in one fluid motion as she moved, shifting in preparation to jump backwards and start punching him.
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Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2019 1:59 am
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Leon was surprised at the sudden skill the other mage showed. He didn't expect it whatsoever, but reacted almost like instinct. The kick she used reminded him a lot of capoeira, so he treated it as such. He slid back on his feet, beginning his normal footwork. His new found power raged as he moved, then sharpened as he prepared himself.
"That's more like it! Show me what you've got! Show me you hunters aren't just useless murderers!"
He charged forward with an increased speed from before, attempting to overwhelm her with a series of kicks, and jabs to mix her up, and force a mistake, similar to how he had attacked Callisto before, however, this tactic was a ploy to gather data, to see if she knew how to deal with his style. If she didn't, the fight would be simply keeping track of the spell she had placed on herself. If she did, he would have to adjust, and condition her to try and respond to certain things. |
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Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2019 2:24 am
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Callisto Piscis-Piscis
Adventurous Mermaid
The mage panted, fumbling with her pockets as she continued her search for her scrolls. She was relieved that her fellow hunter had taken Leon's attention away from her for the time being. She knew that if she ran for the town she'd have a better chance of surviving but couldn't leave her surviving teammates behind. Besides, perhaps she could get the head of this man too and see what he was worth.
The sorceress grinned, feeling just as excited as she felt she'd be able to show off a bit when fighting against him. She managed to dodge most of his hits, being grazed by his punches. Still, she was swift-footed enough and smart enough to plan ahead to avoid his kicks. Fire still burned around her body, an active shield of sorts which was meant to cause burns to any that touched it. It didn't harm her at all and moved around her body in a smooth rippling motion. She twisted back, landing on her hands again as she performed another spin kick. She transitioned smoothly to landing on her feet and ducking preemptively, anticipating another hit aimed at her head. She swung her fist out, aiming for Leon's center.
Callisto was quiet, biting back moans of pain as she dug with her fingers at the burnt-shut bullet wound on her arm. She had to get it out of her arm. It hurt like hell and either way she was sure she wouldn't be able to use her arm anymore. If the healers of the surface world were worth their salt it might not be hopeless... But only if they could get to them in time. She was still unable to see but staying quiet for a while had allowed her to listen to her surroundings. She rose to her feet, blood trickling down her arm as she walked towards the nearest source of noise. Unbeknownst to her the human male hunter was starting to be able to suppress his own convulsions. The fillings in his teeth had melted together, making him very uncomfortable. She stood still next to him, listening to the noises he made, then lifted her foot and brought her heel down against him.
Her heel made contact with his chest, cracking some of his ribs. She couldn't really tell where she'd hit him but kept on doing it. He didn't sound like Leon. They'd only been together a short while but she remembered very well just what his noises sounded like. This man sounded like a frightened man pretending to be a frightened little girl. When she heard the rattling and gurgling of blood being expelled through the man's mouth she knew that he was as good as dead.
She paused to listen to her surroundings again. She heard Leon's voice, he sounded too excited for their current situation... I guess hunters are more like warriors than I thought. She crouched down and grabbed hold of the cloth over the dying man's chest. It was slick with blood and he was still rather noisy as he continued to choke on his own blood. She lifted him with a grunt and turned towards the direction of Leon's fight. She shifted and braced herself. This would be difficult with one arm and she'd just have to hope that Leon was fast enough to dodge this one. Oh, how she hoped that this didn't hit him... With some effort, due to how fatigued and injured she was, she managed to lift him over her shoulder and throw him at the two fighters. The poor fellow was sent flying at them and if he didn't hit either of them he'd land in the water.
She turned again and crouched. She felt around on the ground around her for anything she could use as a weapon. Her injured arm hung limply by her side. It was somewhat numb and she didn't know why. Was it from the shock? Was it nerve damage? She was only certain that for now she couldn't move it. Which made it useless to her. She grasped hold of a discarded sjambok. She held it for a second, not knowing what it was, but for lack of a better option she gripped it and started towards the sounds of Leon's fight. She waved the sjambok a few times, listening to the noise it made it sounded like it was just a stick. But it was somewhat flexible? She was testing it as she walked blindly over to where Leon and the sorceress were fighting. She wasn't aware of the mage's existence just yet, as the woman was too quiet for her to hear over Leon and the sorceress.
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Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2019 7:20 am
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Leon was playing a dangerous game. If he blocked incorrectly even once, in his injured state, he may as well be dead. Both fighter's physical states were less than desirable. If he could land a solid hit, it was over. He managed to see the object hurtling toward them, and slid back on his feet. The object collided with the woman, and Leon made note that it was one of the other hunters, now dead. But he had no time to linger on details. Using the opening the body had created, Leon slid forward to restore his position, and used the momentum to deliver a spinning back hook kick straight to the woman's neck. He heard a snap, and knew it was over. As she fell to the ground, he relaxed, and re-focused. He dashed again at the mage, noticing she was readying scrolls. Leon threw out an axe kick, straight to her chest, once again, hearing the audible crack, indicating death.
Leon un-did the new Soul of Focus, breathing hard. Surprisingly, he didn't feel any of the repercussions like usual. He looked around, and finally saw Callisto struggling. He ran over to her, noticing she wasn't looking well.
"Callisto? Callisto, sweetheart, are you okay? We need to get the bullet out of your arm, fast!" |
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Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2019 3:45 am
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Callisto Piscis-Piscis
Adventurous Mermaid
Callisto heard the shuffling of cloth, breaths and the two cracks one after another. She stopped in her progress, not knowing how close or far she was from Leon's fight. She focused on listening, brow furrowing as she noticed how much quieter it had become. She didn't know what it meant until she heard Leon's voice, and his ragged breathing growing nearer. Her features relaxed, an open reflection of how relieved she was that he was still alive. But that was short lived. It was impossible to miss how short of breath he was. She couldn't see the condition he was in, but even so he sounded weak. She dropped the sjambok then reached out, hand coming into contact with his chest and patting its way up to his face. He was way too hot to the touch. She cursed that rotten cheater for using magic in what was already an unfair fight. She could also feel that he was wet, but figured it was mostly the rain.
"That's not important right now." She answered, shifting her hand to his back as she attempted to get him moving towards where she thought the town was. If she could see, she would be able to tell that she was moving him in very nearly the opposite direction they needed. The buildings of the harbor could be seen, a few miles away from their position on the hazardous landscape of the island's coast. They needed to get rid of the bodies before anyone came to investigate the noise. She wanted to take care of that first before leaving but knew that, as a human, Leon couldn't wait that long to get to a healer. "Let's go before this day gets any worse."
She could still hear thunder rumbling overhead and felt a fair amount of rain hitting her skin. Hopefully, the storm would buy her enough time to get him to a healer and come back. "Can you walk?" She asked, hoping that she wouldn't have to resort to carrying him again. With one useful arm, holding onto him would be difficult and she'd also have to move slower than she'd like to. She needed him to tell her where she was going, lest she have to ask some passerby for directions and arouse suspicion. She didn't want to draw any attention to what they'd been through. Unbeknownst to her, just one of the hunter's was still alive. The man who'd been identified as Carl was still on the beach, unconscious after being hit by Sam's lightning attack. Callisto shifted, lifting one of Leon's arms over her shoulders so that she could support him as they walked.
((Exit to: Village Market))
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Posted: Thu May 21, 2020 8:17 pm
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Posted: Mon May 25, 2020 8:27 pm
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Dancer looked out over the water and considered it as the breeze moved a few tendrils of his hair, making him close his eyes and inhale the salty air. So many memories...
After a moment, he swallowed and pulled on a small smile before opening his mismatched eyes to look at Amir, "Not yet. After i'm healed a bit more. Swimming in saltwater with the rest of my injuries as they are would lead to scarring that would lead to more issues later. For now, the healing. Swimming later," he decided. Besides, he was hoping to use his body for more pleasurable pursuits again, so he really did want to be healed.
He found them a comfortable spot in the sand that was high enough that they wouldn't drown when the tide came in, then moved over so that they could both get comfortable. He sat down and had to look out over the water again as the memories pulled at him, pulling a bittersweet small smile to his face.
On the way out of the castle, he'd already arranged for them to get help back to the castle, so that really wasn't an issue. Instead, he was being threatened with getting pulled into his memories.
He easily remembered the attack that left him with his leopard. He remembered Mao teaching him to swim as a child, then teaching him to swim in his seal form. He remembered numerous family picnics held on the beach, seeing how much his fathers loved each other. He remembered talking for hours with Mao about Asher and how Mao had come to the island. Talking with his fathers about what he wanted to do with his life, discussing the issues and how he'd handle the difficulties...
So many memories here... |
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Posted: Mon May 25, 2020 10:20 pm
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Amir
Amir listened to Dancer talk and gave a nod at his decision. "I understand your decision," he said. "It's best to avoid scarring if possible. It would only serve to cause problems later." He gave Dancer a slightly playful grin. "But don't think that this gets you out of giving me some swimming lessons. I can wait until you're healed up more for them."
He followed Dancer to the spot he picked out and stared out over the ocean for a moment. "This place really is breathtaking. I've never been anywhere like this before, and I want to see more. Once you're healed up more, you'll have to show me around the island. I think that it could be fun to explore. Especially with you as a guide."
He got into position with Dancer and took a deep breath. Light surrounded him as he pulled in as much solar power as he could and then began to flow over Dancer as well as the healing session began. Dancer would be familiar with the warmth of Amir's healing by now, but anyone nearby would probably be pretty surprised by just how much warmth the male was capable of putting out when he was using his magic like this.
Dancer would suddenly find himself within Amir's memories again, surrounded by quite a few beautiful women. There was a single young boy nearby, standing over an injured woman. They boy was trying to stop the bleeding on what appeared to be a rather large bite when warm light began to surround him and flow over the woman's injuries. The woman took a deep breath and sat up to find that her wounds were all healed. It wouldn't be too difficult for Dancer to figure out that this was the moment that Amir had awakened his magic.
The scene shifted to what seemed to be a small arena. The boy from before was a bit older and was currently involved in a training session with a woman. Despite the boy's young age, the woman held nothing back and scored quite a few slashes along his arms. There was a sudden flash of light as the boy unknowingly tapped into his magic to throw off his opponent, and the woman stumbled as she tried to recover from the blinding light. The boy swung his blade without thinking about it and left an extremely large gash in the woman's side that immediately started to bleed profusely. The boy panicked and moved over to heal the woman. He was interrupted as another woman entered the arena and began to scold him for attempting to heal his opponent in the middle of a battle. The boy immediately looked down and started to apologize, addressing the woman as queen. She continued to scold him about his desire to heal others, constantly reminding him that he was to be the warrior of a god.
The scene shifted yet again, this time landing on a fully-grown Amir in the center of a village. There were numerous men around him, but he was fully focused on an older woman that he was in the middle of healing. Dancer would be able to hear what sounded like a ringing in his ears, a sound that Amir clearly heard as well but was choosing to ignore. Amir finished healing the woman and moved on to another person in line to heal them as well. He continued in this way for hours, growing more and more tired until the group of men eventually convinced him to pick up again tomorrow and led him back to a rather sizable home where clothes immediately started to come off as they made their way to a bedroom. Time seemed to accelerate a bit after that, allowing Dancer to experience the same sorts of events in a loop for what was clearly several months at least. Eventually, Amir found himself forcefully pulled in front of an angry Ra, and the memory ended.
Amir let out an exhausted breath as he sat back again, letting Dancer come back to reality. "I think that's as much as I can do for now. We should take a bit of a breather for a few minutes before we head back to your room." He looked down at Dancer for a moment as he thought about a few things. "Is there anything that you want to talk about while we're resting?"
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2020 3:44 pm
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Dancer accepted the memories from Amir, letting them help him understand him a bit more. After the healing was finished, he took a moment before sitting up to look at the ocean in front of him, letting Amir collect himself a bit more before the servants arrived to help them to the castle.
"I have alot of memories here, you know. My dad taught me to swim here, taught me to love the ocean as much as he did. We talked alot here as well, about so many things..." he started then turned to look behind them at the line of trees a good distance back.
He guessed about 200 yards, maybe 300...
"We were here when I got my leopard too... I was four or five, I think... He'd gone feral, lost in his animal form. I was here, on a blanket with my dad. We were having a picnic and it was a beautiful day with the breeze coming in from the water. I don't remember where my father was, but he wasn't very far off. The leopard went for me. Easiest prey, I think. I don't know how my dad fought it off. He wasn't a fighter at all. But he still somehow fought it off and actually killed it. My father showed up and healed me and they both thought that we were clear. Until I hit puberty and I shifted for the first time," he spoke of the memory as if trying to remember something through a haze, though it was still so very clear to him.
He could still remember the feeling of the claws sinking into him, then the teeth as he was grabbed and shaken so hard that his teeth rattled. But he didn't remember Mao killing the leopard, guessing that he was dazed from the attack. The next thing he remembered was seeing both of them over him with Mao crying and Desha looking so determined to save him.
Apparently it had been a close thing too. Thanks to Desha's skills, he'd never scarred from the attack.
He turned back to the ocean and gave a small smile as he remembered another day, "And the day I told them what I wanted to do... My father didn't understand it at all and my dad was just as clueless. It took me hours to explain it and then they both protested that it was too dangerous, that I should be a conventional healer like my father. I just knew that it wasn't where I needed to be and I had to fight for it..." he gave a shrug of one shoulder as he wiped the sand from the back of his arms absently.
"I had to learn to fight; sword, dagger, staff, hand-to-hand, all of it. I had to study anatomy, energies, art, history, empathy, psychology, herbology, then the magic and rituals of different races and cultures... So many times, they both tried to talk me out of it. Especially when I started the fighting training. My dad was so sure that I was going to get myself killed..." he shook his head over it.
Mao had ben so overprotective that it had almost been suffocating. But he'd known that Mao loved him, so he'd worked through it.
In truth, only Desha had known how much of a physical toll his brand of healing took on him. And Dancer had made sure of that, not wanting Mao to worry any more than he was already.
Even then, it had taken decades to get them both convinced that he was doing what he needed to do. Well, decades and both of them seeing him work once. That was a moment when they'd both been another rogue shifter and it was fully ready to kill them if it could. Dancer had calmed it, gotten it to shift, then dealt with the person's triggers. The process had taken hours, but no one had gotten hurt and his parents had gained a new respect for him.
Now, though, he sat facing the ocean, feeling the pull of it and the desire to just go out and get lost in the waves. Coming out here always made him feel closer to Mao, almost as if his dad would just walk up out of the waves and wrap his arms around him again and make him feel safe again... |
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2020 10:02 pm
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Amir
Amir allowed Dancer to sit up and then sat up a bit more as well. He studied Dancer's face carefully as he mentioned that he had a lot of memories here. "I remember you mentioning a few of your memories here before, but you didn't go into too much detail," he said quietly. "All you told me before was that he taught you to swim here. You mentioned getting your leopard here, but you didn't tell me the full story before."
He followed Dancer's gaze back toward the line of tress behind them, curious about why he was looking in that direction. He didn't like the idea of a feral shifter attacking Dancer while he was a young child, but he was glad that Dancer had turned out alright after. Dancer's leopard had made quite an impression on him earlier, so he was able to accept that the attack on Dancer as a child had at least given him something positive.
He smiled when Dancer started to talk about the way his fathers had reacted when he told them what it was he wanted to do. Amir understood how it felt to want to do something that his parents didn't really approve of. But it seemed that Dancer's fathers had eventually supported him in his endeavors, even if they didn't exactly understand everything at first. For the first time in years, Amir found himself wishing that he had at least tried to go down a path of his own choosing instead of the one that had been chosen for him.
He reached out and placed his hand on Dancer's without really thinking about it. "I understand how it feels to want to take a path that others are opposed to. But unlike you, I failed in that. I never really wanted to be Ra's warrior. I never really fancied myself as the type, even though I grew up in a community of warriors. Now you've got me wishing I had tried to figure out the kind of path I really wanted." He shook his head a bit. "I respect you so much, Dancer. I can heal people of the worst wounds you can imagine, but I can't do what you can. Healing a body is easy enough, even if it turns out to be exhausting. But reaching out to someone and doing what you can to heal the damage to their soul is on a whole different level. You heal pain that I can't even begin to touch. And you had to work so hard to be able to do it."
Amir went silent as he looked over the ocean, but Dancer would be able to see something Amir really didn't allow himself to showcase very often. The demigod truly valued and respected the ability to ease the pain of others. It was the main reason that he was constantly pouring extra magic into Dancer to ease his pain. Despite his training to be a warrior and his mother's insistence that he focus only on becoming strong, Amir wanted nothing more than to heal others and ease their pain. He had even ignored his father's calls for months to help a village without a healer in the past. As Ra's servant, ignoring his father's calls would start off as extremely uncomfortable and eventually grow to be excruciatingly painful. But he had endured it for months to help others. And now that he was doing everything that he could to control his desires and keep himself in check, he was unable to ignore the pain and damage that he had caused to his previous charges by refusing to keep his libido in check. So much guilt and regret was swirling around inside him and showing clearly in that moment. In that moment, Dancer got to see more of Amir's true self than he had ever shown anyone.
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