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 Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 4:33 pm
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Morrigan
Morrigan listened to what Ash had to say, only getting more uncomfortable as he described how much work Jasker had put into making the bow for her. She heard his question about letting Ashigaera put a block on her ice so that it wouldn't be out of control anymore and gave a silent nod, her confidence in herself at an all-time low. She'd never felt more pitiful than she did right now. She'd freaked out over a beautiful gift and run to someone who was barely more than a stranger because she couldn't handle it. And she'd lost control of her ice on the way and caused enough trouble to draw Ashigaera out to clean up her mess.
She shifted her gaze when she heard Lidia speak from the doorway, quickly putting together who she was from the way Ashigaera spoke to her. She pulled back a bit when Lidia placed a hand on her forearm, a bit unsure of the contact while her emotions were still so wild. She tried to find comfort in their reassurances, especially now that the block would stop her powers from going out of control with her emotions. But she just couldn't seem to pull herself from the void she'd fallen into.
She gave a quick nod in response to Lidia's words, not really sure what to say. She watched the vampire woman leave and watched Ashigaera as the Fae conjured a strange gem. As Ashigaera moved to leave, Morrigan tried to catch her attention for a moment. "Thank you for your help," she stated softly, sounding utterly defeated by everything.
Once she and Ash were alone again, Morrigan went silent for a while as she rested in his grasp. So much was swirling around her head, and she wasn't sure what she should do. Eventually, she just started to talk, trying to let out some of her feelings in a safer way. "I was in love with Jasker. Bethany and I both fell for him, and we thought that he had a thing for one of us. But according to his note, he loved us both and didn't want to act on it because he didn't want to be unfair to us. Bethany confessed her feelings for him, and he couldn't help but give in to what he felt. But he said that after she died, he fell in love with me all over again. He said that he had plans to show me that after we got here. He made the roses when things started to get dangerous, but he hoped to be able to give me the bow under better circumstances. He just never got a chance."
She paused for a while, falling back into silence for a bit. She finally allowed the bow to reappear, allowing Ash to get a better look at it as she examined it. "I'm the reason he died. The Hunters from the church found us while we were on the way here. I froze up when they pulled their guns. He ended up getting shot because he shielded me when they fired at me. I jumped into action to get Samirra away from them after that, but I got Jasker killed. That's why it hurt so much to find this bow. He had so much love and respect for me, but it's my fault that he's dead."
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Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 4:59 pm
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Ash listened to her and looked at the bow when she showed it to him again, noting the finer details. When he pegged the wood, he knew exactly how much work Jasker had put into the piece. Rosewood was so difficult to work with because it was such a delicate wood, and it took alot of wood to make something as big as that bow.
That all showed him how Jasker had felt for her. It was obvious in every detail...
But he finally sat up a bit and shifted her so that he could cup her face and make her meet his eyes, "You are not at fault for his death, Morrigan... The only ones at fault are the Hunters that shot him. Not you. Your responsibility was Samirra. Jasker was a good fighter and knew what he was looking at when the attack happened. You're no more responsible for his death than Samirra is," he told her firmly then took in a deep breath as he cediced to take a bit of a risk.
"I lost my mate and wife to the Hunters as well... She was a phenomenal fighter in her own right. When we were attacked..." he closed his eyes for a moment and swallowed for a moment as he let her go and allowed her relax against him if she wanted to, "They'd planned for us both... They netted her so that she couldn't fly and shot us both full of golden bullets... She still managed to take them down while I was laying on the ground bleeding... In the end, she died saving me... For all my training, I was useless when the gold hit my system," he told her something he hadn't told anyone else.
Not even Lareth knew how Rebecca had died.
He finally opened his eyes to look down at her, "You're no more responsible for his death than I am for Rebecca's... Place the blame where it belongs..." he finished in a soft whisper.
He didn't speak of the pain he went through when Rebecca died or during his recovery. As it was, Lareth had been forced to save his a**... Thankfully, the king hadn't teased him about it and had given Rebecca the full funeral rites of a demon. He'd been grateful for that, but had been more grateful when Lareth sent him back here... |
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Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2020 7:59 pm
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Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2020 9:27 pm
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Ash gave a sigh as she asked him those questions. He hadn't wanted to look at that one too closely but knew that he had to touch on it a bit now. She might not like his answer, but it was all he had to give.
"Let's go upstairs... I need some air and I think you do too," he said, delaying it for the moment. He helped her to her feet and got up, refilling his glass with more of Lareth's homebrew. Then he took her hand to lead her up to the rooftop access he had to the top of the tower.
There was a safety wall, of course, but you could see for miles and he loved the salty air moving from the cliffs below them. He took a sip from his glass and looked out over the ocean for a moment then turned to lean back against the wall to look at her.
"At first I didn't take it too well. You see... She wasn't just my wife... I'd given her my Heart... It's something that only Demons can do. We literally give someone our heart. It turns into a golden necklace. It will literally beat, just like a real heart. When the person wearing that dies, it returns to the demon that gave it. It's painful. Painful in ways that i don't want to remember. It took me a while to convince him, but Lareth was the one that married us officially.
"After she was killed, he was the one that found us and took us back to the demon realm. He got me healed up then gave me the job here. But living again? That's a different thing entirely," he started then took another sip from his glass and gave a small hiss at the burn of the alcohol before he continued.
"Duty kept me going at first. Still does, most days... I have my duty to my king, to serve him and his family as I've done since the day I came of age. That duty has been going so long for me that it's more than habit. I think Lareth knew that when he sent me here. To give me something to do... I take it a day at a time... Each hour, each minute, all as they come at me... Some days are harder than others, some are easier," he hoped he was giving her something in his words that would help her but he wasn't sure if he was making any sense.
He took another sip to ease the tightness in his throat so that he could keep going, "I can't tell you how to keep going. No one can. Sebastet has lost four loves now but has managed to keep going each time. Gypsy lost one and kept going. She's my cousin, we found out... She was married to Lareth's brother. He was tortured and killed, sent back to her in pieces to torture her even more. She recovered, though I'm not sure how. She does training in the demon realm, training the Elite of Lareth's military forces. Others have lost here and kept going. Everyone finds a way to keep going. It's just different for each of us. About two years ago, alot of us here lost mates. Some of them were soul-bound, even. Some have picked up the pieces and kept going, some have disappeared into their pain," he continued, hoping that he wasn't bungling what he was telling her.
"Samirra isn't going to stop needing you, you know... She will still need her aunt. No one can take your place with her. Yes, you will ahve more help with her, but your place in her life is still secure. As for the rest..." he paused there and moved over to turn her to look at the forested side of the island, "You have an entire island to explore, to make into your home as well as hers. There's the village on the other side of the forest that you can go to day or night. And the forest itself to explore. You can hunt or just run or fall asleep beside a stream if you feel like it..." he turned her to look at the garden in the center of the castle below them, "You can explore the armory and the weapons there, practice with any one of them and get any number of tutors to teach you how to use whatever you want to learn. You can go through the library, get Cain to teach you right alongside Samirra or on your own. You can learn to cook in the kitchen, any of the servants would be willing to teach you. If you want to learn the plants, the gardeners are willing to teach," he added then turned her to face him again and raised her chin to meet his eyes.
"You have Ashigaera and Lydia to teach you your ice. And you have me... I'm here when you need to talk or if you simply want to sit in silence and have someone near that won't judge you. I'm still not ready for a relationship. Neither are you. But friendship is something that we can both use. I can be that for you," he told her softly then placed a light kiss to her forehead and leaned back against the wall again.
In truth, he still wasn't whole after losing Rebecca. Sometimes, he woke up after nightmares of watching her die all over again. Sometimes he couldn't sleep for days on end. If it wasn't for his unique biology, he wouldn't have touched another lover since that day. He certainly wasn't ready to give his heart again.
So... For now... He could only hope that he'd given her what she needed to hear... |
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Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 9:36 am
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Morrigan
Morrigan allowed Ash to help her to her feet and said nothing as he took her hand and led her up to the roof of the tower. She took in the view for a moment and then shifted her attention back to Ash as he began to speak. She listened carefully to what he had to say, carefully considering all of the information he gave her. She gave a simple nod when he mentioned the others on the island that had lost mates, a bit surprised at the timing since she'd lost Jasker around the same time the ones on the island had lost mates. The comment about some picking up the pieces while others disappeared into the pain really got her mind racing, and she started to think about what she should do. The way he turned her toward specific places while describing the various ways that she could pass time and build a life here only got her planning a bit more.
She finally spoke up after he he finished talking and placed the kiss to her forehead. "I don't know exactly how to do it, but I'm going to pick up the pieces and go on," she stated simply, showing that his words had helped her. "I won't just disappear into the pain and negativity I feel. Jasker and Bethany wouldn't want me to do that. And, more importantly, I don't want to do that. I want to be strong enough to pull myself together and get back up. I want to live, even if it hurts like hell. I don't want to waste the life that others sacrificed themselves to give me."
She took a deep breath and looked out over the island again. "I don't know exactly where to start, but I do know that there were things that I used to enjoy doing. I had hobbies that I gave up because they didn't help to keep us alive. Maybe it would be good for me to take some of them up again."
She focused on Ash again, thinking about something that could be important. "I would appreciate friendship, Ash. But having you being the one to take care of my heat and other needs could make things complicated. I'm not ready for a relationship, but I could get attached to you all too easily. I could grow to want more from you than you're willing to give, and it could make things messy." She wasn't sure that what she was describing would ever end up coming up, but she was able to acknowledge the possibility. She knew that her emotional damage and loneliness could lead to her latching on to someone like Ash. The fact that she knew about the possibility didn't do anything to make it less possible. It seemed like the sort of thing that should be brought up early so that they could talk about it and plan for it ahead of time, instead of letting it become a serious issue later on.
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Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 6:14 pm
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Ash gave a soft sigh as he moved back to lean against the wall and shook his head a bit, "Morrigan... You're not going to get that attached to me... I'm not the right male for you and you know it. Besides... If we stayed together past your heat, I run the risk of hurting you badly. Possibly even killing you. And I won't take that risk," he told her simply.
He might have been a bit blunt about it, but he was honest about it.
No matter what, he'd never hidden anything from her. He'd been honest from the beginning and would always be honest with her.
He gave another soft sigh and led the way back downstairs to the main floor and finished off the drink in his glass. He didn't refill it this time, but he was considering another drink later.
"You still have a few hours until dinner. Why don't you go reassure Samirra and spend some time with her before you come back?" he offered, knowing that she would appreciate the time spent with her niece.
Knowing Sebastet and how she scheduled things, he had a feeling he knew where she'd be, "Knowing Sebastet, Samirra's probably spending the day in the garden. She'll probably spend alot of time out there for a bit, getting used to being outside without a cloak and exercise a bit with play. They'll also probably be teaching her about the plants in the garden in the process. Considering how long you've been here, she'll probably be in the garden by now," he explained, hoping that she wouldn't have any problem with the plans for her niece...
Plus, it gave her a chance to get out and breathe for a bit without needing him holding her hand... |
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Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 6:58 pm
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Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2021 12:33 am
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Ash grinned at her, "Except for what I am... I know... I also know that you're stronger than you think you are. And yes, you can make up your own mind. But my nature gives me the ability to determine matches of the heart and soul. In truth, I violated that once. I ignored that and I was selfish to keep her with me when she wasn't mine. I have to wonder if she would have lived if I hadn't done that," he told her honestly then looked into her eyes.
His dark gaze was intense but not forceful, and it carried the full weight of his grief, "I won't make that same mistake again. I am not meant for you. Yours is out there and I can feel that you will be meeting him soon. So don't rule it out," he told her simply then turned away to look out over the ocean.
Thankfully, she didn't say anything else to him as she left and left him to his thoughts. He let out a shaky breath as he leaned his hands on the railing for a moment to pull himself together.
He needed to be steady... No one could know...
But then, as Morrigan left, it hit him. He felt it move through him like a punch to the chest and took his breath away. It was as far from subtle as possible.
And it wasn't the first time he'd felt it.
He staggered back and dropped on his a** against the wall behind him, panting for air and remembering...
Last time... Last time was when Lareth's father died... Which meant that...
He shook his head and tried to deny it, but....
But Lareth was dead.... His King was dead.... |
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Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2021 6:02 pm
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Arqden wasn’t a fool and the note in her hand was more of a confirmation than she really wanted, to many deaths and no answers as to how it happened was her issue though one thing was clear, and that was that she needed to find out if Ash was alright, the note mentioned that he would have been impacted greatly and that he would likely need help, she didn’t like the fact that Lareth had tossed her here without as much of a explanation as to why she had been chosen for this liaison assignment, but it mattered little at this point, the place had surprisingly grown on her and while she wasn’t really looking for a relationship did find that one was attractive, at this point it mattered not why, she was here and she’d do her best to help however she could. She paused only slightly to open the door without knocking which would have likely given anyone who saw this to wonder what was going on, or why she just barged into his tower so suddenly. “Ash where are you?” her tone held a clear note of seriousness and concern, she looked into a room close to the door and noted that no one was there, pausing to look at the stairs when she heard someone coming down them and saw Morrigan there, her eyes went wide as she suddenly realized that he was further up and rushed towards the stairs in a graceful but panicked pace as she rushed up the stairs passing by Morrigan quickly the note in her hand clear to see as she passed by and pretty much ran up the stairs to the next floor and took her a moment to track down Ash.
When she did finally find Ash on the floor up against a wall she knelt down next to him and shook her head “well looks like the note was right, come on” she grabbed his arm and pulled him up off the floor and braced him up against her as she moved Ash inside and over to a chair and put him in it without hesitation. Once in the chair Arqden took a moment to look him over doing her best to get distracted by him before she was satisfied that he wasn’t physically hurt, though it was obvious that he was suffering which only gave her concern she wasn’t really sure what she could do to help apart from giving him moral support “you alright?” was all she said as she knelt down in front of him a hand resting on his shoulder to keep him upright. |
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Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2021 10:40 am
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Ash shook his head as he dropped into the chair in his bedroom, lowering his head into his hand, "No... I'm not alright... Lareth is dead... My king is dead..." he said, partly to her and partly to himself.
He lowered a hand to his chest and shook his head a bit then got to his feet, his dark eyes a bit unfocussed, "I have to go back... I'm supposed to swear my service to... It would have to be Merrick and Cynthia now, I think... I have to... Has to be redone..." he mumbled a bit, not making alot of sense as he started to head for his closet to pack.
He didn't make it far, though. The world started spinning as he neared the bed and he grabbed the post to keep from falling, putting one hand to his head as he blinked in an effort to steady his vision.
"Damnit... Not yet... Have to get it redone first... Too fast..." he mumbled to himself.
In truth, he'd made a deal with Lareth that would have had alot of people frowning at them both. He'd made a specific kind of pact that was almost illegal. And he'd gotten something else done that no one knew was possible. Thankfully, no one had ever touched his wedding rings that he kept in a frame on his dresser along with the portrait of Rebecca.
What he'd done with those rings should have gotten him killed. And if he didn't redo that pact, it might kill him anyway...
That was one of the reasons he'd been avoiding Arqden. An elf was one of the few that would be able to recognize what he'd done. Unfortunately, it took a combination of magics to undo it. But Ash didn't know that Arqden had been learning about the soul-healer in residence... |
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Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2021 12:16 pm
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Arqden was quick to approach him and force him to sit down on the bed “Stop! You are not doing yourself any favors running around like that, especially with the nonsense you’ve pulled” she didn’t have to guess as to what was going on, her time catching up on some interesting books in the library had kept her occupied most days since arriving here, but the signs were plain to see and she didn’t like what she was seeing, anyone trying to use soul pacts were foolish but understandably the picture explained a lot and his soul was likely repelling since the one who’d solidified the pact was Lareth from what she was getting from his ramblings.
Arqden was not left with much choice but to use her newfound knowledge and didn’t even give Ash much of a chance to argue. She shoved him fully onto the bed and bound him to the bed with a simple binding spell, before stepping over to a chair and took her armor off leaving her with little more than plain clothes since she took the leather under armor off as well, which was little more than a pair of white pants and a sleeveless white shirt. Looking at Ash she shook her head as her hands began to glow white and simply stepped over to him, sitting down on the bed next to him and placed her hands on him, one on his cheek her other on his chest above his heart, though before she started she noticed the absence of one crucial feature, a heartbeat, her eyes went wide as she reached out magically and noticed a small thread going from Ash to the rings and immediately knew what he had done standing up she stood between the rings and Ash and reached out touching that single thread with her hands “Novia Cos hesia” a simple incantation of soul mending, a very odd practice but from what she had read would likely restore whatever damage was done when Lareth died. Almost immediately both were engulfed in a radiant light which continued to fill the room as she healed a broken soul, which as she worked was surprisingly considerable.
The healing process took a lot of time to do and a little bit of sacrificing on Arqden’s part to achieve the required affect which was restore that which was lost, and the sacrifice, a small piece of her own soul to mend his, a sacrifice admittedly she had no problem with. When the process was over, the light receded until there was nothing left leaving them both there on the bed though Arqden was wore out from the experience but she wasn’t done as she sluggishly stood up and looked at the rings in the frame, the spell that bound the pact was still present to some degree and shook her head as her hands glowed before she created a dispelling spell and stepped over to the dresser and simply touched the frame which engulfed the rings in the spell and caused the pact to be removed from the rings without damaging his heart. Almost immediately she fell back going unconscious from the use of too much magic, more precisely the use of soul healing magic which she was not fully used to yet and while she did as far as she could tell heal him, she drained her magic which took a massive hit on her when she dispelled the rings.
When she hit the floor her armor shifted slightly and fell on the floor, the letter falling off them, in the note was a request to check on Ash to make sure he was alright and that the king had fallen, the signature on the note was Lady Zosne Shunloh, she alone would be aware of more than she would ever let on even to ash but with the loss of the king everyone in the realm was impacted and Ash was no exception to that fact which was why she sent the message to the only other liaison there. |
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Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2021 3:47 pm
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Morrigan
Morrigan's frown deepened a bit when Ash said that he could determine matches of the heart and soul and stated that he wasn't meant for her. She hadn't meant to imply that she wanted him to be. She'd said what she had simply because of the way he had told her that they wouldn't be good together seemed like he was trying to tell her a definite fact about herself when she was still trying to figure out who she was. But that intense gaze of his made it clear that it wouldn't really be worth it to point that out. It seemed like they'd touched on a very delicate subject for them both.
She thought about saying something to him, but was stunned back into silence when he said that he could feel that she would be meeting the man meant for her very soon. She wasn't sure what to make of that, so she decided to simply head to the garden once he turned around. She started back down the stairs, pausing for a moment as she encountered Arqden. She noticed the note in the woman's hand and debated if she should simply head out. But the way Arqden looked had her a bit concerned for Ash.
She started to head back up the stairs again, pausing just outside the doorway. She remained out of sight, watching as Ash and Arqden interacted. She frowned again when she heard Ash mention that his king Lareth was dead, figuring that his death must have been debilitating for full demons. It seemed like the fact the she had significantly less demon blood had saved her from some serious pain in this situation.
She watched as Ash tried to get ready to leave, only to stop when his world started spinning. She wasn't an expert, but she could tell that something was wrong. She was relieved when Arqden moved over to help him and watched as the other woman shoved him onto the bed and removed her armor. She squinted when the radiant light engulfed them, trying to see exactly what was going on. She tilted her head when Arqden sluggishly got up and cast a spell to dispel the magic on the rings.
She jumped a bit when Arqden passed out and hit the floor. She stepped into the room and bent down to make sure that Arqden was alright before picking up the note from the floor. She frowned as she read over it and then looked over the two of them. She couldn't just leave them like this and not do something about it, so she quickly moved out of the room and looked through the castle a bit until she found a servant. She led the servant back to Ash and Arqden, allowing him to see the state that they were in. The servant said something about getting someone to help and rushed off, leaving Morrigan alone with them again. She simply sat down in a nearby chair so that she could look over them while she waited for help to arrive.
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Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2021 4:43 pm
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Khajhan brought Sebastet and himself out of the shadows in the sitting room and Sebastet simply moved upstairs to the bedroom and assessed them both, placing one hand on Morrigan's shoulder as she moved to check on Arqden first, then on Ash.
"Morrigan, on your way out, you should find one of the servants hanging out there. Tell her to send for Dancer. She'll know what to do. Then you can go on your way. I think I saw Samirra headed out to play in the garden when I left," she said softly, noting that the girl simply nodded and left.
Sebastet checked on the two again with a frown and shook her head, noting what had been done then spoke to Khajhan, "She overextended herself trying to heal him. She also wound up soul-binding herself to him in the process. But I need Dancer to smooth it down and put his heart back. He may hate me for it later, but it's past time for it to be done," she explained, knowing that he'd understand the complications involved.
She shook her head slightly and moved to lift Arqden from the floor to the bed, making it easier to get to them both, then moved back to stand next to him while they waited for Dancer. |
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Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2021 5:21 pm
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