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Why?
May 11, 2015 12:54:12 GMT -5
Post by Azalea on May 11, 2015 12:54:12 GMT -5
(( Quinn)) Azalea laid in her bed, her eyes cast up as she stared at the blank ceiling above her. She listened to the breathing of the three other women present in the small apartment that she now had. She heard the deep, and honestly, slightly heavy breathing of Lily passed out on the couch. She always had a really deep, heavy breath that matched her movements. The two other girls had been asleep long ago, before Aza left for her patrols at 8pm. That was their technical bedtime but Aza had taken them to the Outsider Compound today, let them get exposed to their training regiment. Cassie was fascinated by the large scale of it, Val was more interested in the mechanics of their training...and the flaws. Considering that the compound was two miles out from the border and the border was seven to begin with, the young girls were quickly tired out from the travel alone. They both fell asleep in the living room initially but Aza carried them in to bed before she went to patrol. During that time, Lily had came here and fallen asleep, apparently. Azalea wasn't particularly sure. Regardless, Azalea allowed them all to sleep as she went to her own room and laid down. Soon, the ceiling lit up with colors. The stained glass casting the colors on her walls and ceiling as the sun set. The doors to the balcony that she shared with her sister were left open, allowing the breeze to come into the room. It was fall, and the leaves were slowly pushed through the doors. Azalea kept staring up, feeling content and calm. She wasn't happy, no, she hadn't been truly happy in a long time. In Azalea's mind, there was nothing wrong here. Nothing to cause alarm. Not even the silence of the area was bothering her...until things started getting dark. It changed rapidly, and she was greeted by the smell of blood and the sounds of screaming to stop. Still, she found herself calm. She closed her eyes, finding that the image remained the same. Same dark atmosphere, same screaming. Slowly, she sat up and looked around, seeing a scene that looked vaguely familiar but from a different angle. Her mirror was shattered, her things strung all across the room, pictures that was painted for her as a child were sliced and thrown on the floor. Everything that she had ever kept in this room that mattered to her was either destroyed or defaced in some way. There was blood on the cream colored walls, just smeared there. As she put her feet onto the ground, she felt something sharp bite into them, glass. The bed began to feel soaked and sticky. Where she was previously laying, was the body of her brother. She snarled at it but she knew this was a dream, and she knew that he was nothing. The real attraction of the dream was in the doorway. "Why didn't you just kill him? I told you that he needed to die." "Because he was my brother, and no matter what kind of shit he said...I trusted him." "And you saw where trust got you." Azalea looked over to him, her eyes narrowing. "If you are so adamantly against it, then why should I trust you? Why should I have trusted you and killed him?" "Simple, you shouldn't." The man that stood there was as tall as the doorway, scars covering every inch of his massive body. He had shoulder length brown hair and purple eyes. He didn't look like he belonged her, but rather on the battlefield. A look that Azalea had gotten as of lately. "Then begone." "It's not that simple for you anymore but I will do as you wish. Just remember, trust is foolish. Even those that claim to love you will destroy you." With that, Azalea found herself gasping for air as she woke up from her dream. Her emotions were once again her own and she found herself getting angry. Soon, she was on her feet again and slamming the living room door as she stormed out. She had her dufflebag in hand as she left, having picked it up from it's place next to the door. She just left at 5 am...without a word. She was headed for one location, her old home....or what was left of it.
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Why?
May 11, 2015 14:04:00 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Quinn on May 11, 2015 14:04:00 GMT -5
Lily groaned, not smelling Azalea's scent as she walked into the apartment, just the lingering hints of it. She hung her swordbelt up on the coat rack, having just come from her own patrol- nothing spectacular, just a small route. She wasnt tired, but sleep soon overcame her when she layed down on the couch.
She slept more in this world than she did back in her home realm, and she always seemed to be dreaming about the happenings there. She wasnt sure if it was her God letting her know that Keira was settling the elves into a golden age or not, but she always tended to know what was going on. This time, though, the dream was a bit different.
She was in Azalea's apartment, standing at the end of the hallway that led to her room. She could hear Azalea moving around and a faint echo of screaming that didnt seem to be coming from Azalea. Lily couldnt place the screaming.
Out of instinct, Lily felt toward her hip, grabbing the hilt of Sunsinger. When she grabbed air, she sighed. She felt the other side of her hip, looking for something else. Fishing a small rock out of her pocket. It was a small red thing that would have reflected the light if there were any. "Its a dream," she mumbled, putting the stone in her other hand.
From the stone sprouted a sword, one with a razor sharp blade the sung as it moved through the air. The hilt was normal bronze and copper, wrapped in leather. The leaf-bladed broadsword was very plain, but it was still Lily's Sunsinger.
Looking back up, she saw a man who had clearly not been there a minute ago. He had long brown hair and purple eyes.
Lily's stomach knotted. This man...he made her uncomfortable. On edge. He made every nerve fire, making Lily tense and ready to spring. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself.
This was the same feeling she got when her God, her Aspect of War, was near. He made her want to fight, but not in the way this guy did. He made her want to kill, not to defend. He made Lily want to hurt something.
It felt like he could sense her too, but didnt even notice her. This pissed Lily off- invoking an anger that she had curbed. An anger that was common for her when she was a little girl. Something that she had gained control over when Quinn had smacked her senseless multiple times.
Then the dream ended.
Lily went to sit up, her head pounding. She groaned, pulling herself up and looking toward the hallway. She saw a figure move, but instead of springing, she relaxed.
"Hey Lea," she said, rubbing her head. "Where are you going?"
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Why?
May 12, 2015 20:13:49 GMT -5
Post by Azalea on May 12, 2015 20:13:49 GMT -5
Azalea paused for a moment, seeming to recognize that someone was awake and speaking to her, but her eyes were kept down. She was breathing hard, that much was obvious, her chest heaving and she was sweating. Despite clearly about to go somewhere, she didn't look the part. She didn't have her shoes on, her hair wasn't pulled back but rather all over her face and draping around her where it had fallen out of it's braid. She looked tired, upset, and most of all, like something was beyond wrong with her.
She seemed to be mummbling something but it all came out as gibberish as she just continued to walk toward the door. Her hand reached for her dufflebag before she paused again and actually looked at Lily. Her eyebrows came together in confusion, her head cocking to the side as if she were trying to figure something out, or as if she had just registered what she said and couldn't find an answer for whatever was said. By the looks of it, one could actually question if she knew what Lily had said at all. She was that out of it.
In truth? She was seeing shit that wasn't there. It was like she was stuck in a form of limbo. She saw things and people walking around her that shouldn't have been. Things that shouldn't have been. There was a vague outline of things that weren't there either. There was a low hum of out of place noises too. Lily was there though, and she looked like the most tangible thing there. That's the only reason that Aza knew where to walk, the tangibility of what was there.
"...D-Do you see it?" She shook her head, growling slightly. "No, no, shut up. Shut up. Shut up." She mummbled lowly, her head shaking and jerking as she spoke. She was looking down again. She ran a hand over her hair before looking up to Lily, smiling at her mate. "I just...I-I forgot something. That's all. Go back to sleep, Lil."
She was lying through her teeth and that was more obvious than anything. More obvious than the scent of blood that has clung to her for weeks, and more obvious than the fact that this woman was not...right.
Someone passed Azalea, phasing through the door in her vision. They clipped her right in the shoulder, and she felt the pressure of it. She tried to stay still but there was still a jerk in her shoulder. She glared and muttered a curse word below her breath before looking back to Lily and smiling brightly. To most people, it would fool them, but this was her mate. If it fooled her, there was a serious problem going on. Azalea had seen some rough nights, she had seemed off for a long time, but this alone was taking it to new heights. If Lily could hear it, Aza's heart was beating out of her chest.
"It's important, I need to get it before scavengers do." She grabbed the dufflebag, shaking her head. "I just...it's important. That's all."
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May 13, 2015 12:27:19 GMT -5
Post by Quinn on May 13, 2015 12:27:19 GMT -5
Lily cocked her head and rolled her eyes, pushing herself up. She stood, stretching her arms over her head. "What's wrong Azalea?" Lily really only asked the question out of formality. If she was correct, the person that she had seen in the dream was some form of war. A darker version than what Lily was used to. If she was correct, Azalea was probably hallucinating.
From a young age, Lily was trained to be able to manipulate the energies around her, to control them to a point that it didn't mess with her sense of reality. After awhile, it just became second nature. She wasn't taking someone else's energy from them, she was just diffusing it around her so that it couldn't mess with her mind. This was how she was able to see her gods without hallucinating or becoming "crazy". Azalea wasn't trained this way, and if that was a god, it was very likely that she was seeing things that weren't there.
"Take a deep breath. You don't need to get anything, that's just an invasive thought. What you need to do is go back to sleep." She walked slowly toward Azalea, not wanting to startle her. Lily wasn't sure if she was armed or not, and at the current moment, Azalea was faster than she was. Lily knew for a fact that she wouldn't be able to react fast enough if Azalea lunged for her. "Come here," she said softly. She opened her arms like she wanted a hug, but in all honesty, she was planning to knock Azalea out.
She knew Azalea would know this, but Lily was banking on the fact that Azalea might be too dazed to realize it before it was too late.
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May 13, 2015 13:15:39 GMT -5
Post by Azalea on May 13, 2015 13:15:39 GMT -5
In a way? This could be hallucinating. It seemed very real to Azalea, how she would get these weird looks. Looks like they were expecting something from her, or perhaps like they were expecting her but in a different way.
Azalea didn't know how to deal with situations like this. She was never taught about these sorts of things, because this was something that her and her teachers never experienced. Her family was soaked in blood and demons had a history with her family...coming from her father. No matter how much she despised demons and sought to kill all of them, they still wormed their way around her and managed to get to her. Azalea was more than well aware that demons were swirling around her, the only problem is that they didn't act...normal. Largely because they weren't. She was dealing with something more powerful than what her father did, so his stories helped her little.
There were two realities merging in her sight and she couldn't particularly decipher which was which at certain points. Her eyes would dart off to something else every few seconds, removing themselves from Lily. It was only after Lily was walking toward her with her arms open that they snapped to her and stayed on her. She slowly shook her head, looking at her.
"Stay away from me. I don't want to go back to sleep. He'll start messing with me again, laughing at me. I need this." She shook her head more and more, faster and as soon as Lily got too close? The usually proud and strong seeming Alpha bolted. The door was slammed open, hitting the table beside it, and she was running. She ran down the hallway, dufflebag on her shoulder. She grabbed the handrails of the stairs and launched herself down to the bottom before shoving her way through the doors of the apartment building. She was headed toward a single location: her old home.
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May 13, 2015 13:55:33 GMT -5
Post by Quinn on May 13, 2015 13:55:33 GMT -5
Lily sighed when Azalea slammed the door. The girl had lost it and there wasn't much Lily could do about it. She knew what needed to be don,e though, because whatever Azalea "needed" obviously wasn't anything good. While she had no clue what that was, she knew where she was going. Azalea was her mate, after all. She picked up the house phone, dialing the number to the bakery. Sure, it was only down the road, but if Lily knew Azalea, she wouldn't try to get a car to the old house. Quinn could beat her there.
"Stonewall Bar, how may we help you?" Some new hire asked on the other end.
"Yeah, it's Lily. Can I speak to Quinn immediately?" She asked.
There was a slight pause, and an almost inaudible question of where Quinn was. "He's actually out in the bar right now, talking to customers and helping One. He got into a bad fight and has a broken arm."
"One's a big boy. A broken arm isn't going to stop him, trust me. Quit lying to me about where my father is, too. If he's in the back on the phone with someone else, he'll understand. Tell him it's an emergency and to call me back on my cellphone." She hung up on the new hire, rolling her eyes. Quinn wouldn't be helping One if he had a broken arm. One could beat most people with just his legs if he so wanted.
About thirty seconds later, Lily's phone began buzzing. She fished it out of her swordbelt. "Hey, it's Azalea. I need you to cut her off at her old house."
"Why?" Quinn asked.
"Something's happened, and I think she might have seen some sort of god. She's currently hallucinating and trying to get back to her old house, the one that was burned down."
"I'll be right there," Quinn said, "and Lily?"
"Yeah?"
"You know what this means, right?"
Lily sighed. "Lingering mental damage, periodic hallucinations, slight dementia, probably a bit of forgetfulness. It's not permanent if we can give her training."
Quinn paused. "I've never seen someone from this realm able to diffuse magical energy."
"Every religion here has its profits. Someone has to be teaching them how to be able to see gods without going psycho. I figure that our method would work on her. She does have partial Blessed training, so why not finish it?"
There was the sound of an engine revving on Quinn's end. "Are you suggesting taking her back home?"
"I'm suggesting we allow her to be trained with the younger Blessed, yes. Sting would probably be the best option." Lily got into her own car, something that Azalea had thought that she should get since Lily didn't like the feeling of shifting. It would make getting around a little easier, even if the smell bugged her a bit.
"Why Sting?" Quinn asked.
Lily paused, glaring at a red light. "His fighting style is most suited to Azalea."
"You know he doesn't take apprentices."
"And we're going to make him, just like we're going to make Alston accept Azalea."
"Alston was killed, Lily," Quinn paused. "We don't know by who. We just know that the style was shockingly similar to the MO of his elder brother. But Razor's currently here, in this realm. That makes the 8 generals the collective leader."
"And none of them had a problem with Azalea, so she's going there once this is all sorted out."
((You can pick up with her getting to the old house))
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May 14, 2015 1:02:33 GMT -5
Post by Azalea on May 14, 2015 1:02:33 GMT -5
Azalea found herself slowing to a stop as she reached the edge of the clearing near her old home. She saw the charred structure, the fallen wood, the blackened stone foundation. Her childhood home...that she burned down herself. She stared at the rubble, a look of sadness crossing her face before she shook her head. This place was...something else to her.
The air was heavy, it was like something was screaming for her to get away from this place. She felt like there were chains pulling her down in this area. There was one body left to burn in there, Jashua's. And even though he died in the same location, Troy's body was moved before the fire was set. The unceremonious grave that he laid in sat not far from the ruins. It was marked by the man's sword, something that he hadn't touched in years before his death. Around the swords were precious stones, ones in which she remembered her father telling her about when she was young. Agate, Garnet, Obsidian, Peridot...and Riverstone. A lot of Riverstone. She didn't know why, but she felt the need to put that at his grave. She wasn't sure if the others had seen it yet.
Victoria was buried next to him, or rather, they were technically in the same grave. Her side of the grave was left undecorated by her though, but flowers covered it. She didn't know who did it, but she had her suspicions. Carestia had a grand grave decoration. Flowers covered it, right in where the sun would hit it. Pieces of the stained glass from her sister's apartment bordered the edges of the grave, it was almost artistic with how the moon shined off of it. Azalea felt like she would want something pretty. Her mother's body on the other hand...she didn't know. It disappeared with Angus, she assumed her took it in order to deal with it how he felt was appropriate. She didn't ask questions.
Jashua burned though. No matter how proper Lily thought it was, Azalea saw it in a disrespectful light. He was burned, in his childhood home. On the bed that he died on, in the filth he created. In many instances, burial by flame was respectful and honorable in Aza's mind...but not like this. She hoped it was disrespectful, she hoped that without anything to bring back, there would be no way in hell that anyone would or could bring back that piece of shit. She never wanted to see him again, and if she did? He would die, again.
Azalea remembered how Jashua looked into what happened with the Nightstar the first time, who killed them. She's wondered a lot since then, how did their father show enough restraint not to kill Fang the first time that he saw him? It was amazing in Aza's mind, but she didn't dwell on that fact long.
After staring at the rubble for a few moments, Azalea dropped the dufflebag and walked toward where the porch once was and hoisted herself up onto the edge of the foundation. She really was about ready to look for something, but simply walking there was unsafe with the basement in consideration. She put a lot of trust into how Angus had the place built, perhaps a bit too much. However, what she wanted was below, it was in the basement anyway...and past the basement. She knew the secrets of the home she once owned, and she knew what laid below it. Something deep that was beyond the reach of the fire.
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May 14, 2015 14:55:03 GMT -5
Post by Quinn on May 14, 2015 14:55:03 GMT -5
((Even though it's not stated, I know that this bit of ghosting is allowed, because it's nothing too bad. Just something to give more beef to my post.))
When Azalea stepped up onto the porch, someone gave a slight cough, followed by the sound of a dragging body. Something hit the ground at Azalea's feet with a thud. It wouldn't take Azalea long to realize what it was- because if she didn't recognize the blond hair and green eyes at this point, Fang would have seriously questioned her.
The two looked similar, despite Fang being her uncle. They had the same eyes, hair color, and skin tone. The only thing that was different was that he now resembled more like his brother, Angus. He had grown quite a bit in his absence. "I found this...thing here. He didn't explain why, but I got to him before he could grab that sword of his. I would've been nothing more than a pelt at this point had he grabbed it."
Blood glinted at Azalea's feet and Quinn groaned. Fang stepped out of the shadow, his face covered in black and blue bruises. He had a few small cuts, and he held a knife in his hand. "He's not dead," he started, "but he soon will be. But don't worry, Azalea, he was only here to stop you. I stopped him from doing that." He gave her a slight smile. Something had told him to come here, despite not having laid foot on the pack lands since Ade nearly killed him. When he found Quinn on the porch, he knew why he was supposed to come here.
He had heard about Jashua had done, but hadn't believed it until he saw the burnt house. "The old man put up a good fight, I'll give him that," he said, rubbing his arms. "Disarmed me once, but couldn't bring himself to deal the finishing blow. I ended up stabbing him in the stomach and knicking his throat. Had he only had the balls to kill me, he would have been able to stop you. I imagine that daughter of his is coming, and I would prefer to be gone before that point. She won't hesitate to kill someone like me." He was implying that once Azalea got what she needed, she came with him.
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May 14, 2015 16:26:31 GMT -5
Post by Azalea on May 14, 2015 16:26:31 GMT -5
Azalea whipped around, her eyes narrowed at the cough. A snarl was on her lips as she looked toward the source of the noise. She hadn't even noticed the smell of blood, it had become to common of a smell for her to truly notice anymore. The first look she gave was toward what hit the ground and her eyes widened automatically. It took a lot for her not to lunge at Quinn's attacker. Even in this state, Quinn meant a lot to her. Lily still meant a lot, no matter how angry she was. This was what was left of the people that raised her and were there for her as a child. However, she did know that if they beat Quinn, they weren't a slouch.
Azalea looked at Quinn's attacker and the snarl was right back on her face, a growl growing in her throat. "Your right, you would have been."
The two of them looked completely similar. Azalea was such a clone of her father that they could have passed for siblings, so looking at Fang was just like looking at her dad with some very obvious differences. Fang wasn't as much of a brute. Just like her, he had a leaner, sleeker frame than Angus. Neither of them were weighed down by the bulk of muscle mass that Angus was. In many ways, it was like looking at a male version of herself. She took a step down off the porch but she allowed her posture to relax. It was almost as if...she wasn't upset with him. Like she was relaxing because it was him instead of someone else.
"He's fantastic with a sword. Why are you here, Uncle?" She stayed partially on the porch, looking him up and down with suspicion, it seemed. In truth? She was assessing how the hell she could get to Quinn, and fast. The blood that glinted near her feet was worrying, more so than ever. "More importantly, what do you want? There's nothing here for you, there isn't even anything here for me anymore. You're walking on a grave."
She looked around, looking for Lily. "Stop me? Did he say what he was trying to stop me from doing? I'm looking for something. It's important. I don't see what there would be to stop me from." She still saw what wasn't there, but she found that becoming more ethereal, less real to her. The blood was real, the sounds were real. She supposed that was part of the reason why she killed, blood kept her grounded a lot of the times. The more death there was, the less she was bothered by the spirits that thought it was a fantastic idea to haunt her.
She didn't see Lily, and she wasn't about to just let her father die. However, just lunging wasn't...smart. So, she sent a thought to Lily. Or rather...she sent an image. She figured that Lily was better with images. So all that was sent to her mate through the link was what she saw right then and there. Fang standing over top of her father, the blood. She just sent that image, and despite not being sure she'd understand the words that she tried to send, she sent one message. 'Get here, fast.'
"She wouldn't hesitate either, I agree. Fang, forgive me if I'm not as...welcoming as I might be normally. I hope you understand my suspicion, a lot of things have happened since I last saw you." She looked down to Quinn briefly. She wasn't going to risk trying to communicate with him. He's going to have to 'trust' her enough to know that she cared enough to not let this slide.
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May 16, 2015 0:16:37 GMT -5
Post by Quinn on May 16, 2015 0:16:37 GMT -5
Needless to say, Lily's hit or miss pack link didn't properly receive the image, just the blood and a shadowy figure. The words "fast" got through as well, and Lily didn't hesitate. What would have been another five minutes was less than two.
She peeled into the driveway, throwing a mixture of dirt and dust into the air. Quinn would kill her if she scratched this thing, but she didn't care. At the edge of the driveway she felt it. A dark that she had rarely felt before, of something that came back from the dead but not in physical form. A revenant. A vengeful spirit.
Lily slammed on the brakes, screeching to a halt just before she crashed into the porch. The door flung open to a flash of green and gold, and Lily in full Blessed armor, excluding the helmet. Her solid white cloak flapped in the wind and Sunsinger found itself at Fang's throat.
In a single motion, it had seemed that Lily had morphed her clothes into an armor, swept Azalea and Quinn behind her, and put her sword against Fang's throat. "What are you doing here, dark spirit?" The words came out like an insult.
Fang stumbled back for a second, grasping his throat. "How did you know?"
"I'm not stupid," Lily said, stepping forward. She kept her sword pointed at Fang. "Now answer my question or I'll send you back to the hell that you came from."
Fang chuckled, but kept his eyes on Sunsinger. "I'm here to make sure that Azalea stays on the right path," he touched the tip of the sword, only for him to burn himself. He flinched, sticking his finger in his mouth. "I may be a "dark" spirit, but I'm not here for her."
"You know I'm not stupid, right?"
"And you're what? Ten?" Fang laughed. "I'm much older than you are."
"I'm ten in human years, but I'm physically capable of knocking your sorry ass out." Lily hated cussing, but she couldn't think of a stronger word.
"Oh, fiesty," Fang said, lifting his gaze from Sunsinger.
Lily slashed, slicing through Fang like butter. The revenant's head fell off his shoulders, only to disappear before it could touch the ground. "That's not going to get rid of him," she said, turning to Azalea. "I imagine that he's going to appear somewhere else at some point." She sighed again, looking down at her armor. "And I liked that tank top I was wearing. Another good outfit wasted because of a stupid emergency."
Azalea was one of the few that knew Lily could do it, but Lily could turn most of her clothes into her armor through a simple enchantment that anybody could use. Even Azalea, or a simple human. The only thing was, she lost the clothing that she was wearing because of the transformation. No, she wasn't naked under the armor. She still had the chain and tunic underneath to keep it from pinching. She would just never have that tank top again. At least not one that fit that well again.
"Anyway," she said, sheathing Sunsinger and looking at Azalea, who was just barely shorter than Lily. "You're going back home. You need to finish Blessed training. I know it's sudden, but it's going to stop what you're seeing right now. The stuff you're seeing is you seeing through a veil, to a realm that I don't know of. With the proper training you can stop from seeing this when you enter the presence of a god."
Lily smiled slightly, unclasping a tie that held her hair in a ponytail. It was something that Moon had had made for her back when she was a little girl. It was an enchanted bit of gold that was forged into a ring of vines. Something that could be worn as a neck clasp, a ring, anything. Lily chose to wear it as a hair tie merely because Moon used to love doing her hair. She offered it to Azalea. "And I know how you feel about them, but the generals has nothing against you. To them, you've already proven yourself worthy to become Blessed, if you believe in our gods or not. And if they have anything to say about it, you come see me."
Quinn groaned, as if trying to remind Lily that he was dying. She kind of laughed, bending down to pick him up. "He's not going to die from this. As the Speaker of the Aspect of Life, this is nothing for him. Given a few hours, it should heal itself...but it seems that Fang's darkness stopped his healing. While he's not in immediate danger, I would prefer to get him to a healer so he can get stitched up. If we're heading home, why not stop by the castle to see Keira?"
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May 16, 2015 1:17:47 GMT -5
Post by Azalea on May 16, 2015 1:17:47 GMT -5
Azalea winced at the sound of the tires squealing like they had. Her first reaction was to move, and so she jumped back, pressing herself against the remains of the porch. The car just barely missed crushing her, and before she was able to gather what was happening...she felt pressure on her arms, tingles resounding throughout. Lily.
Azalea simply watched, her eyes wide at the sight of Lily reacting so quickly to what was going on. To be honest? There was a sort of thrill there for Aza, and she just smiled at what she was seeing. Fang deserved to die, and even though the words dark spirit didn't hit her fully, she was happy that he would once again be put into the grave. She watched at Lily sliced the head off of her uncle, and she oddly didn't feel the least bit upset about it. Then again, she knew what he had done and her hatred for him was just the same as her hatred for her own brother. She didn't care.
"Good. If that didn't get rid of him, it gives me the chance to do so personally. Beheading didn't work the first time, and it sure as hell won't work a second time. He deserves...special treatment." Azalea was calm again, closer to her normal self. It seemed as if the dissipation of Fang, everything else faded for the time being. The images she saw were always sporadic like that, and so she wasn't bothered by their disappearance. She smirked at what Lily was saying. "Your father is laying here bleeding, you nearly hit me with a car...and you're worried about your tank top. Reminds me why everything thinks I'm the 'guy' here." She laughed lightly.
She seemed to have a grip on herself...until going back 'home' was mentioned. She seemed to pale out considerably, her eyes getting bigger.
"Lily...no. No. I can't go back there, they don't want me there. That's not 'home' for me." That was the biggest lie she had ever told. That wasn't home to her. It was almost laughable. The majority of her life and development was spent there. Ever since she came back to her birth realm, she had been wishing she had never come back. What was here for her was broken and kept getting worse. Her childhood here was no more and nothing that she once felt for this place was coming back. However, she had responsibilities here...like she once had there. Her thoughts on where her home was...were splintered and hard to follow even for her.
"And I still need to find it. If you're making me go back there, please, please, just let me find it first. It's important Lily...I-...I don't know how or why but I know it's important." She pushed her hair back from her face, where it had fallen out of the braid was now hanging around wildly. Her eyes locked onto the clip or tie that held Lily's hair. Her eyes widened at the sight of her handing it to her. "Lily...keep that. I couldn't dream of taking that from you, it was from your mother."
Her eyes met Lily's as talk of the generals came up, her eyes glinting with the smallest bit of hope...that Azalea soon crushed herself. They wouldn't want her, not now. Their word and belief in her wasn't strong enough to get her into the Blessed in the first place. They didn't want her, and so she didn't need them. At least, that's how her thought process went.
"They would leave me in the dirt and curse my name if they knew who I really was." She muttered, looking down and at Quinn. "He needs help now, Lily. Please, I'm begging you, just let me look for it. It's down there." She pointed toward the floorboards...and in turn, toward the basement. "The portals down there too. Please. I promise it won't take long. Just take your father to get help and I'll follow. If you don't trust me, send him through and I'm sure the guards will get him attention."
Her begging was enough to get Lily's approval for the search. Two hours she was given, and that was it before Lily hauled her into the other realm all on her own, against Aza's will. As soon as Lily crossed the portal, Aza found herself tearing the mostly intact basement to shreds...and finding one of the few sacred places of her father's.
Azalea walked through the portal less than fifteen minutes away from her deadline. In her hands, wrapped in aging cloth, was a small object. In her world, the magic it held was evident and screamed to be found. In this world? It displayed qualities that few could see in Azalea's birth realm...or rather...heard. There was a noise coming from the cloth that Azalea held so tightly in her hand. Like a soft ringing of bells, or perhaps even a soft singing. She held onto it tightly and kept it wrapped in cloth, holding it close to her chest as she looked for Lily.
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Why?
May 16, 2015 2:10:47 GMT -5
Post by Quinn on May 16, 2015 2:10:47 GMT -5
Pretty much as soon as Azalea walked through the portal, the Blessed standing duty stood to attention, placing their sword across their chest. It wasn't clear if it was because of Lea or Lily, though, because Lily walked into the room as soon as Lea walked through the portal. And before she could even get further than the portal, Lily forcibly grabbed Azalea's hand and forced the hair tie around her wrist. The tie stretched and expanded until it fit Azalea's wrist perfectly. Tight enough to not fall off, but loose enough to be comfortable. "And I don't expect that back. If you think that's the only thing I have of Moon, then you're wrong." Lily offered Azalea a smile. "Now regarding the training: you can't be trained traditionally. That would take much too long, and the spellweavers are already complaining. I've made an agreement with them that when we go back to your home, it will be like no time passed at all. This spell is going to take a month to prepare and then is going to be stored here," Lily pointed at a chandelier above the portal.
The crystals were of varying color, and gave a warm glow to the room. The small, magical pulsating light inside it was comforting. "All we have to do is break the crystal before we cross through the portal, and it'll have seemed like no time has passed in the real world. In exchange, I offered them to have one of their young apprentices the opportunity to train in combat magic with the Blessed so that they could potentially expand on that, if they wanted. They will start griping if I ask for an extension on the spell."
"So, back to your training," she led Azalea out of the portal room, and up to the commons of the Chapel. Lily wasn't exactly sure if Azalea would know where they were, but she lead her through the corridors anyway. The living areas in teh Chapel were nothing spectacular: oak floors and stone walls. Thick doors and the majority of which were closed. The few that were open led to large bedrooms, with decorations depending on the occupant. They were nothing spectacular, but they were more than enough for the Blessed that lived there. "You can't be trained with the younger Blessed merely because of our time constraints. This means that you're going to have to be given a tutor, and preferably someone you can connect to." She gave a slight pause. "But I can't be your mentor because I wouldn't be tough enough on you. This being said," Lily pushed open the doors that led to the main hall of the Chapel, "I had to convince another stubborn man to take you as an apprentice. He's never taught anyone before, but I know he's capable. And the whole stoic thing? Ignore it. He's just shy." Lily smiled again at Azalea.
The main hall of the Chapel was huge- like as big as a throne room, except more open to the public. The huge oak doors that led to the outside were left propped open, and various people were talking inside. Class was apparent, but it seemed that everyone, at least in the Chapel, were ignoring that system. People in rags talked to nobles in vibrant colors. Stone columns lined each wall, eight on either side. Oak benches rested beside a dark green cloth that ran from the door up to a stage made out of stone. On this stone stage were two statues: a female at about forty feet high, and a male at about twenty, but only because he was down on one knee. His sword lay at the woman's feet, and in his had was a stone flower. He offered it to the woman, who held it close to her chest. Vines held the two's arms together, which were coming from the flower.
Behind the statues were humongous stained glass windows, depicting various scenes. Some were of the myth that Lily had told Azalea, each piece holding a different story, and some were of real life events. The Blessed rediscovering the dragons, Lily and Azalea toppling Caiden, who was represented by a crooked crown on a throne.
Sitting on the bench across the aisle was a man in a dark green and gold cloak. He had a bow across his lap and a dagger on his thigh. He had thick, mousy brown hair and a fair complexion, with eyes of a pale blue. He wasn't attractive- just plain. He was an average man. Everything besides the clothes and the weapons, he was no different than someone you found on the streets.
Lily walked up to him. "Sting, this is Azalea. Your first apprentice."
He just mumbled something, fiddling with his bowstring.
"Don't be shy," Lily said. "Lea isn't going to bite. She only does that to me. Besides," she glanced at Azalea. "You're not her type."
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Why?
May 18, 2015 1:05:28 GMT -5
Post by Azalea on May 18, 2015 1:05:28 GMT -5
Azalea looked around at the Blessed, her eyes narrowing. She wasn't understanding why they were doing what they were until she saw Lily, then it made sense. They were bowing to their superior, not the one who marched beside her.
Azalea was quickly swept up by Lily, her mind completely off of the blessed at her mate put the hair tie around her wrist. She looked at it and then Lily, finding it hard not to be consumed by her light mood and attitude as she began to lead her off. She explained things in such a way that Lea understood but didn't truly catch what was going on. She just kept listening, holding the item to her chest. Her hands were crossed in such a way that the item she held was close to her chest and her other hand covered the hair tie. Both of these items were precious to her right now, and she didn't see that status changing anytime soon.
"So...taking a month to prepare, does that mean that I'll be gone a month and then time will simply stop moving in the normal way?" She asked, trying to understand more as they walked down the corridor. She didn't pay much attention to her surroundings...for once. Her mind was processing too many things at one time at this point.
"You chose a shy tutor for me? I'll be honest, I've never met a shy man that can fight like an animal." She stated bluntly. Her fighting style was mixed with the organization of the Blessed but also the frenzied state of the animal she was. She could move in a pack to attack, and in many ways, her fighting style demanded it if she was fighting more than just a few enemies. She could crack a line but she needed back up. In a one on one, it was hard to determine how she would react to things, or what angle she would approach it. She was an animal, and she took pride in that. After all, she wasn't born a human, she was born a wolf.
The moment those doors opened though...that was the moment that Azalea lost the ability to pay attention. Her eyes and mind were on the statues, the glass, the atmosphere. It was beautiful in a way, ethereal in it's own manner that even the other realm visions she had couldn't match. As they walked, her eyes looked at the story built in glass. She didn't know all of the tales that were depicted, but she knew more than her fair share...including the one with the crooked crown. The artistic depiction of Azalea was a bit off, but she knew that it was her. The dark hair, the skin, the eyes, it was all her.
Her mind was brought back to reality when teacher and student were being introduced. The moment she saw him, her eyebrow went up. This...This was the teacher that was suppose to stop the images? This was the teacher that she was supposed to be able to connect too? Why exactly wasn't she impressed. She blamed it on the bow, her opinions on long range fighters weren't exactly the kindest but she understood their necessity.
Another thing she hadn't expected? The comment that came out of Lily's mouth. It was so unexpected that Aza's eyebrows jumped up and her dark face got just the slightest tinge of red. "Lily, did you just...say that?" She laughed a bit, and not in the bad way. Lily and Azalea weren't exactly the most...sexual of couples. Aza didn't like that per say but she dealt with it. So comments like that were never expected on her end. Her shock gradually turned into a smile.
"No, he's not my type. Mine tends to be the tall blondes that can kick ass. See any?" She smiled.
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Why?
May 22, 2015 1:13:03 GMT -5
Post by Quinn on May 22, 2015 1:13:03 GMT -5
"None at all," Lily said, giving a slight laugh. "Anyway, the Blessed are trying to pull me off to do work and show the younger Blessed a sparring match between two fully trained Blessed- but I told them that's going to have to wait for another day. Keira's already been alerted that we've came through and is requesting our presence, but I've turned that down." She smiled. "Ballsy, turning down a queen, I know. But still." Lily wasn't sure if Azalea had caught on that they had all been talking in Lily's native tongue this entire time. "But today, we have all to ourselves. I wanted to stop by the smith to get Sunsinger's edge tempered and get the name engraved into it. I was also going to see if he would be able to fix a couple of the straps on my armor, so we're going to have to go to the armory, as well." Lily always kept her armor in this realm. She may bring her sword with her, but unlike Quinn, she was able to take advantage of the advancements in magic. She could call on her armor with little energy spent. The only cost being the clothing that she was wearing. "Then I wanted to check out city. See if any new shops opened. I've heard a few of the male Blessed talking about a new goldsmith on the edge of the town that made good gold works at small cost. Our equivalent of Valentine's Day is coming up. The day that our God laid his sword down for our Goddess. We could also go browse the area where you can get stuff enchanted, but that's a lot of money, so we're going to have to visit my house as well. Maybe we can get your bracelet tweaked." Lily already had the day planned out, despite Azalea not knowing it.
Sting stood, crossing his fist across his chest in salute, then relaxed quickly. "If you only wanted me here to meet her, then that's fine."
"Actually, Sting, I was wondering if you could tell me your opinion on her," Lily said. Sting was pretty short...standing at about 5'7". An almost average human height.
Sting looked Azalea up and down before clearing his throat a bit. "She holds herself like you would expect an animal to, but there's something a bit different. She holds herself with a confidence that you wouldn't see in a regular pack-oriented animal. She stands like Stryder did. I can smell the shifter on her, as well," that line was released with a bit of a smile. "I'm guessing that you brought me a shifter." He offered his hand to Azalea. "I'm Sting. I was raised by the roving wolf pack here. I'm purely elf, but I don't know my birth parents. I was raised as one of the shifters, after having been found by one of the females of the pack. They taught me all that I know."
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Why?
May 22, 2015 23:43:37 GMT -5
Post by Azalea on May 22, 2015 23:43:37 GMT -5
"Shame, good thing I know where I can find one." She smiled a bit, smoothing her hair out.
Azalea listened to what Lily was saying, slowly starting to catch up to the pace that Lily was going at. It was fast, but very confident and Azalea knew almost immediately that Lily had to have been waiting on this. She had to have been wanting this for a while, because within the 2 hours that Azalea searched for the tiny object that she still clung to so tightly, she had figured out their entire day. While figuring that out, Lily denied the most powerful religious and military organization in this realm, and denied the Queen in the same breath. Azalea sometimes questioned her mates sanity, but then again Keira likely didn't lead the same way that Azalea did. Azalea wasn't the type of woman you could put off. She called, you came. That's how it worked.
At the mentioning of armor, Azalea's brows drew together. She wondered whatever happened to her own armor. Then again, it wasn't the most 'spectacular' sets of armor that one could have. Leather, worn and cracked, a bit of chainmail for extra protection. It was a much lighter set than Lily's ever could have been, but it was very pieced together. She remembered not letting the Blacksmiths make her anything else. At first, that was because she insisted that the Blessed got better armor because they needed it. After the war was over and she was offered another set, she once again turned it down because she didn't think she was worthy enough for it. The Blessed didn't want her, why should she protect herself more to aid them more? Silly, but that's how she though.
"I...I wouldn't mind seeing the city, truth be told. It's been a while. A long while...I wonder if it will be anything like my first visit." She remembered a lot of happiness then, festivities, and liveliness filled with the smells of food. She wanted to see that sort of city with her own eyes rather than her other senses. "And...Lily? Are you sure you need all that?" She asked, chuckling a little, shaking her head. "All of that sounds like a lot of money."
Azalea didn't honestly realize what language they were speaking in. She was largely raised with this language, no matter how attached she was to English originally. This was the first language that she learned to read and write in. This was just as natural to her as English was or just as natural as tracking. She knew it well and she was even known to slip up and speak in this language while in her own realm. Largely when she's upset or irritated though.
Azalea turned to Sting, her eyebrow lifting at the salute that he gave Lily. Part of Azalea had forgotten how Lily was revered in this realm. How respected she was. She just took a deep breath and was about to dismiss the situation...until Lily asked Sting's opinion on her. That made Azalea perk up, looking toward Sting, daring him to say something poor about her. It was defensive, on edge, and ready to pounce. In many ways, Azalea did carry herself like an animal would. She wasn't particularly opposed to literally pouncing on people while attacking. The way she moved even had that slick grace to it that caused her to move in the way she did. Either way, Azalea found herself taking his hand and shaking it.
"I think I met Stryder at one point. He was the Alpha of the pack here, no? That could very well explain the stances that we share. I'm sure that living with wolves have made you...acutely aware of the need to carry oneself as such. And yes, I am a shifter, a wolf to be exact. Interesting to think that the packs here would be so welcoming. Are there any packs still out there? I know that their existence was...questionable the last time I was here."
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