Missions and Misadventures. (Closed for now)

[Cordeliane]

Ryder understood his anger at all of this, and bit his tongue, Corde did not need more strain, more to deal with than she had to already. It was not easy keeping his temper in check but he did it for his sister. He was being strong for her and not shouting at the man who was to be her husband even though he wished she never existed.

When Eclipse grabbed him Ryder’s eyes went wide, he could not believe the man was protecting Corde from him. He had to know none of them would ever do her harm. He swallowed being face to face with the other man seeing himself reflected in his eyes. “I am leaving,” He muttered softly. He would talk to the man again later when he was calmer.

Once he was released he went to the door and sighed exiting the room and closing the door firmly behind him. Everything was going to hell in a hand basket, he hoped to any god listening that this would all work out in the end. He wandered back into the room he and the others had taken over from Cordeliane and wondered where his brothers and Shroud were. There was much to talk about.

Cerberus who had watched the whole thing did not pay them any mind and he held on to his plant leg. He was not leaving Cordeliane and went and lay at the foot of the bed expecting her to go back to it again.

Cordeliane did not look up again until Shawn had pretty much tossed her brother out of the room. She then turned her face up to him and pushed herself to her feet “I am sorry Shawn” she spoke softly and turned to the bed sitting on it. She had never meant for any of this to happen and now everything was so messed up “Do we have time to stop at the dress makers, I ordered Dresses the day we arrived and I would like to pick them up.”

She would go anywhere with Shawn and trusted his judgement, she would trust him to keep her safely out of the hands of a man who wanted her wealth. Shawn wanted nothing from her, she was confused by this but would not question him anymore, and she had heard enough of what he had to say. She was his now and that was all there was to it.

She had one thing, she had asked him this before but that was before her ordeal, before things had changed. She licked her lips and looked at him she was frightened but she needed this, she needed to know everything they had shown her and done to her was not how it normally was. “S...Shawn, will you kiss me please”


~~~

River did not follow his brother back to the inn, not he went to the bank instead, and they needed the money for the house and builders. So he went in search of a place he could pull the funds they needed to get their sister a house as a wedding present. He would spend however long it took to get the monies needed, and once he had them he would pay the Bitch and the builder what was owed to them.

That done he slowly made his way back to the inn, his thoughts on Cordeliane and Orion and their love lives. Orion came as kind of a surprize but a good one, Shroud would be good for the hot tempered boy, IF it worked out between them. Orion had looked Shell shocked and it made River wonder exactly what had happened between the two men.

His thoughts then drifted to Corde and Eclipse, those two would also be a good match, and she would be good for the hard man as he would be for Corde. He just hoped Corde could get over what ever had been done to her. He figured of the two of the Corde and Orion, Corde would be the one better able to cope, but he did not yet know of the torture she endured at the hands of her kidnappers.

~~~

Orion noted the man and the room Kay had taken; he tossed the man some coin and grimaced. He needed to speak with Kay; he had stopped thinking of him as Shroud now that he had accepted his attraction to the man. He would do whatever it took for Kay to remain in his life even if his feelings were never returned. If it meant friendship only fine, but Orion needed answers.

Orion with is heart racing knocked on the door of Kay’s room. He was nervous and sweating a bit. Pacing back and forth as he waited for the man he was falling for to answer the door. He was going to speak to Kay about this. He did not understand why Kay had thought he had been messing around with him. Orion never joked about love, not that Kay knew that but he would if he got to know him.

He just needed to speak to the man, let him know it was not a joke that he was not playing games. He wanted to kiss Kay, wondered what it would be like to kiss the man. He had kissed women before but only because they had kissed him and it had not been a very good kiss, or a willing one. There had been nothing there; they had not been what he called a real kiss. Nothing like the kind of kiss he wished to give to Kay.

[The Hummingbird]

It was lucky Ryder had shut the door. If he hadn't, Shawn was likely to have broken it slamming it shut. As soon as the knight was gone, he marched over to the door, snatching up the key. The cheaper rooms only came equipped with one lock; the suites on the other hand had three. He locked all of them tightly, partially because he didn't want anyone to come barging in and partly because he was sure if he didn't the healer would simply attract more trouble, most likely in the shape of city-sized dragons.

It took quite a bit of willpower not to swallow the key on top of it.

"Don't apologize," he growled tersely. Sorry didn't help anything, and it wasn't going to fix anything either. It never did. He was getting tired of all the needless, pointless apologizing. He was tired of the fighting, the trouble, the conflicts, the things he never had to deal with before because he was so good at minding his own business and everyone knew to keep out of it. Now he was just surrounded by everyone who thought it appropriate to disturb his already-shattered peace.

"If you think you can keep from ruining yet another piece of expensive fabric, we will stop there," he said as evenly as he could. What a joke. They would be rags by the end of the day.

He was about to tell Cordeliane to shut up and go to sleep. He wanted it, she needed it, and he was so desperate for some quiet that he was willing to try casting a spell on her, though physical-mental alteration spells were far from his specialty. Before he could even think of saying or doing anything, though, she asked the most unexpected, absurd thing yet.

It caught him completely by surprise. After all the abuse, she wanted him to kiss her? Why? One would think she would want some time to recover before attempting that kind of contact. So much for decency.

He looked at her with a glare that seemed to want to crack his face open. He was about to tell her no. Instead, he said nothing, and it was impossible to tell what gave him pause.

He never kissed anyone before. He never had been in a relationship, much less an engagement. Nor had he expected to ever be in one. Figures he was now, and couldn't expect to do any better.

An awkward silence drew out between them until he finally broke it. "Fine. Don't expect anything special."

He walked over to Cordeliane, sitting on the bed and taking a moment to think about how to go about fulfilling her ridiculous request. Should he try and imitate what he'd seen? Recreate what he'd heard?

In the end, he decided to do what he'd always done; go by instinct. Some things never needed guidance.

At last he looked at her, focusing for the first time on her eyes. He reached out very slowly, not wanting to remind her of her kidnappers or startle her in any way. He pulled back a loose strand of hair from her face before putting his arm around her shoulders and then drawing her close, closing his eyes as he kissed her, seizing her lips in a soft and gentle hold.

He held the kiss for a full three seconds before letting go and standing. A closer look would reveal he was actually shaking, not in distaste or even anger but from something else.

"Go to sleep. And don't touch me."

~

Shroud was currently then trying on a deep mahogany tunic. It was a gift from a friend who didn't know anything about Arcantians, but he was loathe to give it away and had been told the color was very becoming of him the few times he wore it. He had been intending to stay in Aelindra City Capital for a few days, dressing and eating well and generally having fun with the money he'd won from the twins.

So much for that idea. He could still go, but he didn't feel comfortable leaving Eclipse, and then there was Orion. He bit his lip thinking about the knight. What a cruel, nasty joke. It was a joke, wasn't it? Of course it was, and one in particularly bad taste.

He was just lacing up the front of the tunic when the knock made him jump. He froze, knowing exactly who it was and dreading the person. He made not a sound, not a creak of the bed or floor, hardly daring to breath. He thought of not answering. But that was stupid. Wasn't he the one with the humor? Hadn't he made some pretty inappropriate jokes? What in the world was so wrong with him?

Convincing himself that he was simply tired and going crazy from lack of sleep, Shroud stood up, unlocked the door, and opened it.

"Hey, 'Rion! You, uh…" Please go away. "Y'need somethin'?"

[Cordeliane]

Corde swallowed as he spoke to her in that growling voice. She was still on edge, and although Shawn seemed to be protecting her from even her brothers his anger had her frightened. She knew she had messed up his whole life and his bad joke on her ability to ruin clothing made her wince. It was not her fault all 3 of the dresses she had purchased had been ruined. She could not stop the men who tore the silver one from her nor the one the kidnappers removed from her. And the one she had left well how was she to know she would fall from her horses back, she never had before. “Shawn, I need clothing, I have nothing to wear that fits.”

She doubted very much he would be happy to bind her flat then assist her in getting into the dresses she had, nor was she sure she could handle that herself, no she needed clothing she could just slip on and be done with it.

She caught his surprise and the glare and waited for him to shout a resounding no at her. She was getting use to him telling her no and such. So when he said nothing just looked at her, her cheeks went pink. She started to look away from him thinking his silence was a no when he spoke words that had her snapping her head back to look at him. There was surprise written all over her lovely face. He had said YES, she could hardly absorb it, mister cold and aloof had said yes to kissing her.

She held still as he sat next to her, her chest rising and falling rapidly, she was nervous. She swallowed as he moved her hair from her face then put his arm around her shoulder, she leaned into him slightly her face up turned for his kiss. Her eyes fell closed as he lowered his mouth to hers in a sweet innocent kiss, it did not last long but it was still the best kiss. It was nothing like the mouth grinding tongue probing kiss her kidnapper had given to her.

She slowly opened her eyes a little dazed by the tenderness he had shown and blushed softly, he was trembling? Why was he trembling? She would have asked him but he snapped at her to sleep and not touch him. Unsure what to do or say she curled up on the bed and for once did as he asked. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep. She was not sure it would come easy or that she would not have nightmares but, his kiss had been nice and well she would try to think on that.

(I am going to Skip River and Ryder, for all intent and purpose River came back to the room and he and Ryder went to sleep.)

When Shroud opened the door and asked him what he wanted Orion lost all train of thought. He just looked at the man than acted. He put his hands on Shrouds shoulders as he lowered his mouth to his and kissed him. It was not the quick kiss Corde and Shawn were sharing, it was more. His soft mouth moved over Shrouds in a deep closed mouth kiss. His arms going around Shroud and pulling him close, as he tried to back the man into the room. He was not thinking at all about anything but Shroud as he kissed him, with tenderness and feeling. It felt right to kiss the man in his arms.

With the way Orion was kissing Shroud there was no doubt he had real feeling for the man. It was no joke that Orion liked him and was attracted to him. It was real and something the two of them would have to deal with.

[The Hummingbird]

Although Shawn wanted very much to go to sleep, he did not. Instead he set to work polishing his weapons as Cordeliane tried to sleep. His entire inventory of deadly tools was already clean and in near-mint condition, but he was no longer in the mood to sleep and he dared not leave her alone. He scrubbed angrily at the gleaming metal barrels of a gun so hard it was a wonder he did not wear through the surface entirely, every once in a while looking up to make sure the healer hadn't gone to find more trouble somehow.

It seemed he would be spending the rest of his life making sure she wasn't actively seeking death. If his hair hadn't already been white, he was sure it would have been so within the next year.

After his guns were ready to be put on display, Shawn stood up, intending to perhaps clean his sword or sand the wood of his bow when he staggered, his body demanding more rest. Biting back a curse he paced over to the bed, staring down at the healer whose breathing at that time was at least even. The way he looked at her almost looked like that of a resentful murderer's, but he did nothing. Instead, he merely shifted is weigh onto the bed quietly and lay down beside her, as far away as he could. It might be the last night of decent sleep he would get for a while. After this it was all a steep uphill climb.

He did not have much success sleeping.

~

If there was anything Shroud expected, it wasn't this. Before he could gasp or pull away, Orion's lips were on his, the knight's arms embracing him passionately.

Shroud's first thought was nothing but a feeling of stunned shock. He was caught so completely by surprise that at first all he could do was freeze as another man kissed him, rigid and stiff as a driftwood. But then he was suddenly kissing Orion back in a bewildering, confusing loss of control unfitting of any Arcantian. For a good few moments, he was lost in a rush of overwhelming emotions he had never felt before. Then,

What the-!

Shroud was barely, and perhaps not even, at an even height with Orion. His body was slighter, but behind his lean figure was a surprising strength that was all that saw him through the war and a speed that fed him through the seasons. His fist came out of nowhere, catching Orion squarely in the face and more than likely bowling the knight straight over. Orion wouldn't be the only one surprised.

"Orion… oh Altus… oh god, oh god, I… I…I have to go!" Spinning around Shroud scooped up his belongings, stuffing them without order or care into his pack. Then he was leaping over Orion and running down the hall, shooting out the inn's door and rushing to the stables.

[Cordeliane]

Cordeliane did not sleep peacefully, she started out fine but as she slept her dreams turned darker, she began to toss softly, muttering in her sleep. Her body was trembling with the fear she was experiencing in her sleep. Shawn did not know half of what was done to her but if he was awake, or even woken up by her movements, he was going to learn. She muttered softly “Please not that, not the hammer.” In her sleep things were a little different but what happened to her was the same, either way it was hellish nightmares that ran through her head. She suddenly screamed in pain in her sleep, Shawn’s name tearing from her throat as she lived the horror over again. “Please not that I won’t tell, I swear please don’t” Her body jerked with the memory of the strikes to her, every time her body jerked or her head snapped to the side she cried out for Shawn.

Tears poured out of her eye as she sobbed and screamed begging the demons in her head to stop, to not hurt her like that. Her voice was scared and in pain, her body jerking continuously for a while before it stopped, a constant stream of pleading and crying out for Shawn coming from her lips.

When Shawn would awaken her, there would be no way he could listen to her and not, she would look at him her eyes filled with tears and horror. Cordeliane, as much as it was a horrific thing needed to talk about it, about what happened to her. She needed somebody who would not get all emotional. She looked at Shawn as somebody like that. Yes he had been seething in anger and barely suppressed rage since he found her, but she was still not sure if it was about her messing up his life or what had happened to her. “I did not mean to disturb you, well not any more than I already have.”

Cerberus who had been sleeping whined and gave short bark, pacing the floor looking at his mistress, as she had screamed in her sleep. He was not sure what was going on and with her body having been jerking did not want to get near her. When it had stopped he whined again and rested his head on the bed looking at both Shawn and Corde.


Orion had been enjoying the kiss, and had been surprised when Kay kissed him back, he would have taken the kiss deeper but instead got a punch to the face that knocked him over and left him dazed. There was no way Kay could confuse Orion’s feelings now, not after that kiss. Orion was still dazed from the fist to the face that it was not until Kay was leaping over him that he realized what was going on.


Orion pulling the door closed behind him, charged after Kay, shouting his name down the hall way. He was not going to let him go even if he had to take the hell beast killer to catch up with the man. Orion was hurt a little and very confused as to why Kay had decked him, Kay had kissed him back after all. Tearing into the stables after him.


In the stables as Kay came in, the newest stable hand saw him and grabbed the Strawberry Roan he had been on earlier; the stable hand did not notice it was a gelding he had grabbed, Peachblossum, not Kay’s horse, but Orion’s well trained animal. Another of the stable hands seeing Orion come in after Kay saddled the other Roan, and waited for Orion to mount up.

[The Hummingbird]

Though the quiet mental turmoil within him threatened to keep him awake, Shawn's exhaustion proved too much to resist. After a few long moments his thoughts calmed and his eyes closed. Desperate for rest, Shawn's body fell quickly into the dream-state. His mind dredged up past memories, turning them into wild, chaotic visions more vivid than ever before. He fell through them without care or resistance, sleeping deeply and at last restfully… unlike the healer sleeping next to him.

Shawn was so deep in sleep that he did not stir despite how the bed shook and shifted under Cordeliane's restless movements and mutterings. It was only when she screamed and cried his name did he wake, rather slowly and confused before making sense of the noise and the troublesome movements nearby.

Feeling a little more awake despite the undoubtedly short reprieve, he sat up and watched the writhing healer for a few seconds. Without effort he recalled his violent history of war and killing, slaying anyone from men to infants to women with children still inside their wombs. He had listened to them beg, pleading for leniency, for mercy, and finally for a quick death. Those cries sounded not unlike the ones coming from Cordeliane. They sounded exactly the same, and yet Shawn felt himself unwilling to listen to his future wife's cries. Unwilling when in the past his only response was a smile and a downward stroke of his sword or the pull of his gun's trigger.

Not familiar with the ways of gentleness, he finally gave her a rough shove, almost enough to push her straight off the bed and more than enough to wake her. When she apologized, he at first said nothing but merely stared at her with unblinking eyes. Looking at him, one would never know of the events that had so recently occurred. Whether it was because he had just woken up or simply his nature couldn't be told. Or perhaps he knew without asking that Cordeliane didn't need a weeping heart.

It would have been easy to give her one, for now he knew at least a little of what she had gone through. But Shawn was neither accustomed to nor liking of crushing sympathy. He didn't even respond to her apology. He spoke to her as he had always spoken; flat and utterly dispassionate.

"They are dead." He ran an absent hand over Cerberus's furry head. "Ashton may still be free, but no one escapes death. If you wish, I will seek him out and bring him back so you may kill him yourself."

How thoughtful.

~

Peachblossum and Azalea were both of a pleasant roan coloring, and although they were not exactly the same in the shadows of the stable they could barely be told apart. In Kay's panicked, bewildered mind, he gave his entire trust to the stable hand's knowledge and leaped on the horse, not even noticing the saddle that Azalea never wore.

He lashed Peachblossum into a full gallop, nearly knocking over the stable and upsetting a barrel of horse feed. Only when the gelding launched into run did Kay notice the difference in the horse's movements, the thicker build of the muscles and even the harder, heavier gait of the creature. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Azalea snorting with hurt feelings. He groaned. He had stolen Orion's horse.

Any sane person would have returned the horse promptly, but Kay was neither willing to speak to Orion or in the right state of mind. Instead, he decided to ride all the way back to the grasslands, take another horse, ride back, retrieve Azalea and then go far, far away. It was a ridiculous plan, a stupid one, but in his mind where nothing made sense anymore, it sounded great.

His face an expression of confusion and desperation, he grasped a pendant around his neck. ECLIPSE!

Shawn's voice answered slowly, with the tone of someone readying for sleep. What?

What was he going to say? Was he really going to say anything t all? Eclipse… Orion's… chasing me!

Good for you.

You don't get it! He's… we… I… he kissed me! I don't get what's going on!

By Altus. You really are an idiot.

What?

You like guys! Eclipse yelled. Are you telling me you never noticed? Fuck you. Good night.

The connection was dropped. Kay decided this was, in fact, the worst day of his life.

[Cordeliane]

Cordeliane looked at Shawn when he woke her tear still streaming from her eyes. She looked haunted and scared, and she did the unexpected, she tossed herself into his arms sobbing against him, clinging to him and pressing tightly to him as if trying to climb into his skin, her whole body shaking against his. "]"Oh gods Shawn make the dreams stop" She was a wreck and crying on him. She was nothing like the strong defiant woman he had first met, at least not at the moment.



As she cried on him she incoherently spoke of what was done to her, she spilled it all out to Shawn some words like " "]hammer" and ""]knife" were used and understandable, but most of it was filled with sobs and hiccups it was hard to make heads or tails of what she was saying. Cordeliane just needed to talk it all out, to put into words what was done to her. She was so distraught that she did not even realize he could not understand her.


Once she was done she just stayed in his arms until he pushed her away, even then would remain close to him. His words about finding Ashton for her to kill finally sinking in and registering in her brain. She looked at him and spoke softly, her voice horse from the sobbing and non-stop chattering, " That is sweet of you but no, if you happen to run into him just make sure he dies, he was the one who told them to use the hammer on me and kill me. Just do not go looking for him, he will get what is coming to him"
　　

Orion noticed right away that the horse was not his, which meant Shroud was now riding his own mount. He did not know if Shrouds horse would take his weight and that of a saddle, which he had never seen on the horse. He shook his head at the stable boys and pointed to Shooting Star, signaling he would take him instead.

The stable hands looked at Shooting Star and backed off shaking their heads no, none of them would dare to near the vicious brute no matter what the cost, and the boy Pwyll was nowhere to be found at the moment. Orion knew Shooting Star was the only one to catch Peachblossum, and so he walked up to the hell beast of a horse. "NONE of your Games Shooting Star, I am riding you if it kills me I have to catch Kay"

Shooting Star looked At Orion in shock, the male had never approached him before, nor spoken to him like that, he usually avoided him. Shaking his main he let the man mount him, and as soon as Orion did so he was off chasing after Peachblossum.

Orion was shocked as Shooting star did not seem to fight him this time, but when he took off after Peach, Orion could do nothing but hold on, he could not rein in the horse as he went tearing off after the only other horse making its way out of the city.

[The Hummingbird]

Shawn didn't know how to deal with what was happening. Emotions, whether they were his or another's, had always been mysterious things that were often nothing more than a hindrance to duty and obligations. He did not believe in matters of the heart, of universal ethics and morals. He believed only in a few codes of honor and the primal instincts dedicated to survival, and then only when they suited him. It was this kind of attitude that caused others to say he was self-centered and soulless. It was true. He was no therapist, no counselor. He was the last one capable of offering Cordeliane the kind of reassurance she needed.

He let her lean on him – it was a wonder how much lighter she was without her hair – and simply let her cry and talk. She did much more of the former, yet even so Shawn could make out the words that mattered most. No imagination was needed to know what kind of torture the healer had endured or the cruelty with which it was inflicted.

After all, hadn't he himself done the same to others? But then again, didn't they deserve it?

Perhaps he didn't think it necessary, or didn't care, but he didn't push her away when she finally stopped and answered his… kind… offer. Sweet? To bring someone back for death, even one as despicable as Ashton? He'd expected a more politically correct answer.

"People like him can escape justice all their lives," Shawn said in his toneless voice.

So… they were going to kill her.

He looked down at her, at her shaking shoulders and ragged head. Even with the chopped hair she was comely, and soon she would have the hair back as well. Even Justin, with his crude words and ill manners, cold see her ease in attracting any number of male suitors. It was only her equally ill luck that most suitors saw her for material gain and as a showpiece, rarely as anything else. It seemed it would be like that all her life.

Those with blue eyes are blessed by the gods?

He couldn't make the dreams stop, but his position as he fiancé, however unwanted, demand something.

It took a moment, of looking at her and forcing himself to see her in an entirely different way, of carefully drawing on the wants of a man that anyone else could have easily surrendered tow without thought that he rarely gave attention to. It wasn't easy, but he was Super Eclipse. An easy life was no life at all.

It came as a surprise to him and to her when his leather bound fingers touched her chin, lifting her head up as he brought his down. He seized her lips in a deep, lasting kiss, the type a real couple would share in a world where dreams existed and pain and disappointment did not.

~

Fast as Peachblossum was, the gelding was only as fast as his sire and not more so. Despite the frantic head start Kay had snatched, he soon heard quickly approaching hoofbeats behind him. Twisting in the saddle, a rather awkward and unnatural accessory for him, Kay dared to look behind him and his increasing pulse clenched as he saw what should not have been possible; Orion, riding Shooting Star.

He remembered Shooting Star's hostile temper and vicious attacks on the young knight and wondered how it was Orion was even staying atop the hellbeast. And though it might have just been his imagination, by the looks on the irritated stallion's fiercely intelligent eyes, the knight might not be staying too long either. Not to mention…

He's still hurt too! Kay thought, nearly hysterical. His ribs… if he falls he could get killed!

Orion had been amazingly lucky to have fallen right in front of the infirmary doors the first time. But now, the city gates were drifting further and further away. Too far for quick care if Orion managed to endanger himself yet again.

Distantly Kay realized he was worrying like an anxious lover. Eclipse's words came back to him in a mocking tone. No, no, no. This was no time to think about nonsense!

"What are you doing!" Kay yelled at Orion. He lashed out an arm in a futile gesture for Orion to get away or stop or at least turn around. "Go away! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

[Cordeliane]

​Cordeliane rested against him, snuggled close to him. She was surprised he did not push her away but would not question him on it. She was very different from Shawn in many ways. She was emotional, and displayed such, she laughed and cried and all around lived life feeling her way though it. She was a tender compassionate soul by nature and even the brutality of the men who had held her could not change that. So when he said that people like Ashton sometimes escaped justice all their lives, she gave a soft shrug of her shoulders. " Yes, they might but in death he will get what he deserves, even he cannot out run that"

Those with blue eyes are blessed by the Gods.

That phrase was in her head too, but she did not think it such a thing at all. In her mind and she was sure Hourglass Dream would agree, blue eye like theirs was no blessing, it was a curse to have eye so blue. She had never felt blessed by the Gods, she had always felt her eyes and her power were a curse. She was blessed with wealth and gifted with beauty, but those were nothing but pain. Men wished to possess her and covet her wealth as their own when they knew of her worth. Nobody but the man she was curled into saw her as anything but a beautiful pocket book; and the man who held her now saw her as nothing more than a pain in the ass.

​

So to say she was surprised when he touched her chin and lifted her face to his descending one was an understatement. She stiffened at first as his lips touched hers, gasping softly. But slowly she melted into him, kissing him back shy, like a woman unused to being kissed like that. Her hands moved to his hair of their own will, and she pressed herself closer to him, fitting herself against him as he kissed her like a man who desires the woman in his arms.

​

​

Orion was barely holding on to Shooting Star, he was not so much riding him as being taken for a ride. He had absolutely no control over the wild horse as he started to catch up to and over take Peach. Orion his ribs aching from the rough ride could say nothing as Shroud yelled at him. He knew it had been stupid to take the hell beast his sister called a horse, but he had wanted to stop Kay before he ran off.

​

Shooting Star the contrary horse that he was, had this gleam in his eyes as he caught up to Peach, He pulled in front of the other horse and stopped dead, tossing Orion who did not have a very good grip on the reins, over his head and stomping the ground a few times tossing his head in amusement.

​

Orion as he went sailing over Shooting Star let out to shrill whistles as he twisted himself in the air, the whistles would bring Peach to a halt, much slower than Shooting Star had stopped. Orion landed hard but thankfully not on the ribs that had been broken and wrapped before, he was winded and a little dizzy having knocked his head as he landed but otherwise fine. He just lay there gasping for breath looking at the nasty horse for signs he might attack while Orion was pretty much deffenseless.

​

​​

[The Hummingbird]

Spoiler:

In possibly the near future, this thread will feature mild, clean, but otherwise genuine same-sex romance. And not of the lesbian kind, guys. If this offends you, do not read. I, Hummingbird, Board Leader of Genesaris, allow this to occur for purposes of experimental writing and the breaking of any comfort zone left to break. Consider this Romance in Roleplay 404!

Romance – of any kind – was a strange thing. How time seemed to slow and stall, how one’s perception of time altered until the world seemed to stop before slowly disappearing. How everything else beyond the moment did not matter; how everyone else no longer existed but the person before oneself. How there was nothing else, nothing but the here and the now, filled with silent passion.

It was not something Shawn liked. He valued rationality, reason, logic, and facts. He was not a dreamer, not an idealist. Those who knew him, even those who liked him, called him cynical, taciturn. Easy, perhaps, to get alone with, but not someone who made the greatest of friends. Loyal to authority, but indifferent to people as a whole.

They said he was a good fighter, a good soldier.

They did not say he was a good man.

If there was anyone more different and mismatched, if there was anyone most unlikely to win whatever passed for his affections, it was Cordeliane. And yet, as she kissed him back he lost himself to time. He lost the rationality and the antisocial behavior he valued so much as he took the kiss deeper and grasped her tightly in his arms as something very, very close to a man’s carnal lust seized him.

It was nothing to be ashamed of. Even so, when the sharply disciplined part of his mind realized what he was doing, he saw it as utterly humiliating, alarming, and damning.

Shawn all but shoved her away as he stood, breathing hard, with a look of anger in his eyes that was different from anything she might have seen before. He looked like he wanted to strike her, and it seemed he was going to as he took a step toward her…

Before turning and, in a flash of black leather and polished buckles, swept out the door, slamming it shut so hard the room shook.

~

He couldn’t help it. Kay let out a cry of dismay and horror as Shooting Star jerked to a halt, sending Orion flying. His hands were bone-white around the gelding’s reins as Peachblossum trotted to a halt with the sort of calm obedience a spawn of Shooting Star wasn’t expected to have. He was so shocked, so stunned by everything that had happened up to this point that he just stared at the young knight for a good minute before clumsily dismounting the stolen horse.

It was difficult to tell what time it was. Late midday? Early evening? Whatever it was, it was a strange sight to see in the untamed grasslands; two men, one prone on the ground, accompanied by two horses, beasts who seemed to be more in touch with life than they were.

Kay continued simply staring at Orion before his face suddenly contorted into fury, a dangerously enraged expression that was more frightening than Eclipse in his worst state. Deep in his recessed thoughts, he was relieved to notice that Orion seemed whole and healthy, but somehow that didn’t seem to matter.

“You… you…”

The hunter dashed over to Orion, wisely giving Shooting Star a wide berth but not much else as he stood over the knight, almost on top of Orion as he began screaming. “You stupid, stupid fucking idiot! What do ya think you were doin?! Are you mad? Are you insane? Are you… I told you stop following me! Aren’t you a knight? Can’t you follow orders, you moron?! IS EVERYONE FROM NEVENGARIA AS STUPID AS YOU ARE?!”

He continued railing, every sentence filled with derogatory remarks and swearing and assumptions regarding Orion’s intelligence. It only got worse from there, his voice rising in volume until it seemed anyone within a mile could hear him. He didn’t really mean anything of what he was saying… and somehow, he dealt with that by only increasing the insults Eclipse would have been proud to hear.

[Cordeliane]

Cordeliane, innocent sweet Cordeliane, gave way to the feelings, melting against him as he kissed her and pulled her closer. Her hands tangled in his hair, her body molding its self to his leather covered one. There was nothing in this moment but the two of them, no brutal attack, no shorn off hair, nothing but the budding passion between two people. He was succeeding in doing what he intended in trying to drive away the memories that made it hard for her to sleep.

He was giving her something good to counter balance the bad, a light to the darkness in the recess of her mind. She had not known tenderness in a man’s touch before Shawn, those in the past who had held her had done so roughly, trying to force their unwanted affection upon her person. This was much different, to be held and kissed with desire for her as a person and not her wealth or position. Budding desire pooled like liquid heat in the pit of her stomach, desire flooding her. She longed for more from him and moaned slightly.


She was about to press to him more fit herself to him, when he pushed her away. She blinked shocked and looked up at him, cheeks flushed, lips kiss swollen, chest rising and falling rapidly. Her eyes a slight glazed look to them as his angry glare met her dazzled one. The dazed look started to fade from her face as he took a step towards her, looking as if he wanted to strike her. She shank back as he spun and slammed out of the room.

She was confused, wondering what she had done wrong, why he had pulled away from her like that. She did not understand it had nothing to do with her and everything to do with him. She felt dirty again, like he had left her because of what had been done to her, of the abuse a defilement she had suffered at the hands of those monstrous men. She put her face in her hands and sobbed, she was starting to fall for the stubborn Arcantian man and he just kept pushing her away.

Looking at her puppy she stood pulling the sheet tightly around her. She would dress and get the other clothing made for her. She would venture outside alone once again. Only this time she would keep herself cloaked and hooded, until she had reached where she was going. Reaching for the soiled dress Shawn had given her to wear she slipped it on, and then went through her bags for her cloak. Pulling the hood on to cover her hair she spoke “Cerberus come” and opened the door and walked out of the room.

Orion watched as Kay came to him. He looked up at him blushing softly and was about to open his mouth to say something when his face contorted in rage. Orion’s eyes went wide as he began to cuss him out. He was surprised that the easy going Arcantian was swearing at him enough to make a sailor blush.

He just looked at him pushing himself to a sitting position, taking the onslaught of cusses and insults as they came. He just could not believe such a thing was coming out of Kay, Shawn he could see swearing like this, but not easy going Kay. He put a hand to his head and shook it waiting for his chance to speak. Not seeing one any time soon he cleared his throat and shouted “Enough Kay!!”

Orion carefully pushed to his feet and looked at Kay with tenderness in his eyes. “How could I not follow you? How could I just let you leave like that?” He wanted to hold Kay to pull him into his arms but did not he just clenched his fists. What he was going to say next could have Kay running again. “I was scared Kay, when you ran out of that room of never feeling rest of my whole life, the way I feel when I’m with you. So call me what you will, but I will keep chasing after you Kay if you keep running”


Shooting Star having enough of those two shook his head then trotted off leaving the two men with only Peach for a ride back to the city. From the way things were going, it would cause more trouble for him to leave them with one less horse than it would for him to attack one of them. So the beast of a horse took off back to the city with a whicker of laughter at the idea of those two having to share a horse back to the city.

[The Hummingbird]

Shawn strode swiftly and angrily through the darkening streets of Celin, too caught up in a turmoil of raging emotions to truly know where he was going. Feeling sick and ashamed, he could only focus on getting as far away from the hotel as possible and farther away from the living, breathing problem he was supposed to marry in less than a few days’ time.

Everything had begun changing ever since Odin Haze had unleashed the Darkness over the world, causing untold death and chaos. Even when the sunlight was restored and the damage repaired, it had triggered an evolution throughout Genesaris, a transformation that not even its exposure to the rest of Valucre could incite. Traditions, cultures, habitats and even entire races had changed or expired to match the world thrashing in its own tearing confines.

Through it all, Shawn had watched his people – both of them, the North and the Arcantians – change as well. He watched the wars begin and end and begin again in an endless cycle of rising blood. He was living in a deadly time of prophecy and fate, morphing as all other things morphed.

Some change is good. But the change he was seeing led toward nothing but destruction.

He had bound himself to duty and cause. He swore without words and in total secrecy to be the one stable person, the one remaining constant in a collapsing society. He would be in control and stay in control, doing what he needed to do to make sure at least one of his people would survive this cataclysm wrought upon the world.

But then Cordeliane had appeared, and it was she who was beginning to strip away that control and thus everything he believed he lived for.

Or perhaps he had been wrong. Perhaps all this time he had lived for nothing at all, just another helpless life in a universe of impermanence and mocking jokes.

Finding himself in a dark alley in a street empty of life, Shawn leaned against a cold stone wall, his breathing the only calm aspect about him. He felt the chill of the stone even through the leather armor, but he felt it only from far away, as if it was the breathing of a great, unearthly creature he could not see.

Start over.

Start over and next time, don’t screw up.

With a wild motion not him he yanked a gun from its holster, smacking the lip of the barrel against his head and, with a grim feeling of finality pulled the trigger.

Click.

He forgot to release the catch. That delay was just enough to stun him back into a senseless reality.

“D-Damn…”

How odd. He didn't expect to feel so relieved.

~

Kay was more than ready to keep yelling all day and straight through the next. Nevertheless, his words were heftily cut off as Orion exercised his own voice. He stared, angry and so very unlike himself as Orion spoke yet another drawl of ridiculous words, words Kay had trouble making sense of. Oh, he understood… but even now, even through all that had happened, he still didn’t want to believe any of it.

“Hey, Shawn. You think you’ll get married, have kids, someday?”

“No.”

“Think I will?”

“You? Haha!”

Back then, Kay didn’t see what was so funny.

Sometimes a person is raised believing in rules and regulations, all with a willingness to follow them without question or thought. But in the end, they ended falling apart anyway, because whatever gods existed had something different in mind, rules or no rules, tradition or innovative, usual or not usual.

Peachblossum whickered with the same amusement as his sire as he watched Kay and Orion, with the former struggling to find words that these days were so hard to come by.

He didn’t have much an argument, so in the end, his rejection was weak.

“You’re… you’re only twenty fucking years old!” He ran his hands through his hair as if he could somehow ease the stress from his mind. For a long moment he said nothing. Finally though he spun around and started the long walk back to the city, ignoring Peachblossum. “Just… just take your horse and leave me alone. I gotta think, okay? Maybe you’re all happy, but I ain’t.”

~

The smell of blood and decay was nauseating, but Ashton was long used to such things.

The loss of Kelnar and Rath was a shame, but they were just tools. Barely people who could not follow orders and could not complete a simple assignment, who could not cover their tracks and deal with a single, helpless noble woman. For that they deserved to die.

Wrapped in a web of illusion and wards that guarded him from recognition and granted him nearly complete anonymity from memories and viewing, Ashton fingered the strands of hair cut from the healer’s head. He could feel the agony and mental devastation even in these small remnants and see it in the few strands that lay in the expenditures of her rapists. It was exhilarating; intoxicating. If only it could last forever.

And she had escaped. Obviously not by herself but with the help of a few meddling fools. It didn’t take long for Ashton to estimate who, and with the subtle wards, spells and trails he guarded his house with, it was made even easier. Such magic, kept secret for so long, had always seen him safe and with them he intended to eliminate the survivors with the same ruthless efficiency of years past.

He lifted the silky golden hair and breathed it in, the scent of the girl and memorized the magically imprinted images of those who saved her. How little they knew of his talents. It would be their undoing. It was always their undoing.

First the girl, of course. Then the gunman and the archer. Then, time willing, the three knights.

How well it paid to work at an infirmary, where gossip flew and where so many knowledgeable people came. How well it paid to have so many friends and informants, and such a wonderful reputation. How well it paid, too, to be so powerful and have nobody know.

The hair slid between gaping fingers and fell limp to the floor, like a dead body.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Ashton whispered as he stood. “It could have just been you. Now I must punish you, little girl.”

With that, he left the house and its bloody, perverse scene, in search of the thrill only a wonderfully slow murder could grant.

[Cordeliane]

Cordeliane hood up, Cerberus at her side walked down the streets of the city. She kept her eyes down so not body could see them. Blue eyes made her stand out and right now she just wanted to look like everybody else. Never mind that Cerberus as big as he is was drawing attention to himself. It was obvious to anybody who looked at the dog he was not yet full grown, but was already large for a dog. So people whispered as she passed.


She took her time forcing herself to go slowly along the streets even though she was frightened, she wished she had Shooting Star as well. She felt stupid being so scared but she knew Ashton was still out there. She hoped he had fled the town, but something in her, a gut instinct knew to be weary, to watch herself carefully. She could not say what it was that told her he was not gone, only that she knew it to be true. She sighed stroking Cerberus as she walked, she should have waited for Shawn to come back before setting out, but she had needed to get out to not be alone. Yes she was out among the people of the city, but she was still very much alone and that frightened her.

She had no idea where Shawn had gone, or when he would return, and she had not thought to get her older brothers to escort her where she was going, she had once again wandered off telling not a soul where she was headed. Misfortune could not strike her again, not so soon, nobody could be that unlucky.


Orion watched the man he had fallen for struggle to come up with something to say. He did not like that he had put the easy going Kay on guard, that he was troubled by the new Orion was attracted to him. His eye brow rose a bit when Kay’s only argument was that he was but twenty years old. “I am twenty-one years old Kay” was the retort he made as he pushed himself to his feet and watched the man he cared for walk away from him again.


Orion followed after him taking Peach’s lead and walking after Kay “I am pleased to be attracted to you Kay, yes, I will give you time to think as you asked” She wrung his hands nervously, he did not want to lose the male, he wanted to be able to get a hold of him if he needed him. “May I have one of those necklaces? I would like to be able to get in touch with you should there be need of you.” He asked softly and waited for him to reply following him, hoping he would give him one. He wanted anything to stay connected to the man that made him feel alive.

[The Hummingbird]

Tense and nervous around Orion – who was so free with his emotions! – Kay quickened his pace back toward the city, silently cursing as he realized how far he had ridden Peachblossum. Even less sleep and no dinner tonight, it seemed. Of course, those two things were not first on his mind, or his foremost concern.

Kay did not know of the laws or rules, either written or unwritten, of Nvengaria. The Cold South had become a more dangerous place of late, and so he had avoided the harsh land and thus all islands situated farther down. All of his ideas, knowledge, and personal ideals came only from the Arcantians, the North, and influenced by his parents, one of who originated from the West.

It differed from place to place and person to person, but from words and reactions remembered only vaguely, so vague as to be only sensed deep in the back of the mind, romantic feelings between two of the same gender was not so easily understood. His Western-born father condemned it, clinging deeply to old religious views and seeing common tradition as law. Shroud could think for himself, but had his father lived to old age, than Orion might have found himself more harshly rejected than he did now.

They were both, albeit in questionable ways, very lucky.

Shroud fumbled with the necklaces, all tangled and knotted around his neck. He carried more than others. Some were used to maintain a private connection between friends, of which he had many. Only two or three were used for public communication, such as with Hourglass Dream and Crimson Night. The rest were stored to give away to new friends, of which he always planned to make more.

One of these he snapped loose with his teeth, tying the ends together and then flinging it rather belligerently at Orion. “Don’t… don’t yell when ya use it, ‘kay? It… it hurts.” Biting his lip, he attempted to contact Eclipse, puzzled when he found the man awake.

Eclipse?

… yeah?

Hey, you okay? Your mind feels all weird.

I’m fine. What do you want?

Can you send me my horse? Just send her east.

Sure.

Keeping as far away from Orion as he could, Shroud continued walking until, several minutes later, hoofbeats sounded, followed by Azalea. The mare snorted derisively at Peachblossum as Kay leaped onto her back and wasted no time in galloping away, leaving Orion literally in the dust.

~

As Shawn began grooming Trident, using the mundane task to distract his mind and not knowing the Cordeliane was once again out for trouble, Ashton was standing crouched on the roof of one of the tallest buildings. The silence and relaxing night chill far above the ground helped him focus his mind and concentrate his thoughts, maximizing his power.

Arcantians were known for sometimes disappearing without notice. No one questioned this odd habit, no more than they questioned the fact that death was sometimes the reason.

A few moments of reminiscing and Ashton recognized the residues of magic Eclipse and Shroud had left behind. A few moments of following and tracking with his mind, and he knew where they were. He found it interesting that Shroud’s particular magic seemed familiar, as if he had encountered something like it before, a long time ago. Perhaps in one of his other victims in years past.

Cordeliane’s magic was, on the other hand, unlike anything he had ever seen. It was easy to find her, even without the whispers and stares that traced her in the city.

Ashton breathed in deeply, compressing his power in the core of his being before flinging it outward with the ease of much practice and skill. The air shuddered around him as the silent wave descended to flow silent and unseen through the city streets. He had eyes everywhere now, stealthy and keen.

It was the powers of the Senser that he used to locate Cordeliane’s exact position, and it was the powers of the Va’Elar he used to speak to her inside her mind. His voice was more sinister silent than it was when heard aloud, and it swiped every other thought but the thought of him away, cold and dominate, black as aged ink. It wasn’t like when the Arcantians spoke to each other, friendly and non-interfering. His was a mental violation, forced and cruel.

His was a rare breed, and he loved the way his rare combination of magic made people feel; sick and helpless inside and out.

Darling, do you recognize me? Don’t speak, honey. If you do, I’ll kill everyone there, including you, and then I’ll kill your little friends too. And believe me when I say I can.

A sharp, mental sting, like the bite of a viper, accompanied every syllable of his next words. I don’t like you, sweetie. But I’m willing to become friends again if you come to me and apologize. Shall we do that? No? Then let me give a demonstration of what I can do.

Near Cordeliane, a young, pretty lady with freckles and vivid dreams was stocking tiny bars of chocolate. Chocolate was rare, and cocoa beans hard to grow. The crop had been good that year. She was in a high mood. She paused, stiffening, as a freezing chill plunged her mind into ice. Her eyes squeezed shut as a pounding ache began to thunder against the walls of her skull. Then she screamed as Ashton casually tore her mind asunder, ripping her thoughts and memories apart, shattering them like glass.

Ashton continued talking as the lady collapsed as if nothing had happened. Shall I do a child next? I see so many of them from here, dearest.