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Bisexual.
Its complicated.
Elf
Authored by Rook.
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Post by Rook Thriasi on Jul 21, 2017 5:53:24 GMT
WE ARE THE ONES WHO WILL NEVER BE BROKEN With our final breath, We’ll fight to the death
We are soldiers, we are soldiers
| O ne week after Rook left to hunt the plant.... The plant had escaped his grasp again. Four brave soldiers had lain down their lives and still he hadn't been able to kill the damn thing. It had nearly quadrupled it's size since his last run in with it. But he along with the others had gravely wounded the beast. Spears had cut deep into its green flesh and swords had cut at her tentacle like vines. And fire, oh the fire had ravaged its skin until it wrinkled and smoked. It had been the noxious substance that rose with the smoke that had given the strange creature its chance to escape. The elven men had found themselves coughing and then falling unconscious after only a couple breaths. The plant creature had taken its opportunity to flee and the men were left to make the long trek home without knowing if the beast would keep plaguing their people. In a matter of hours the vines beneath his skin had began to break down until they left only dark ink like images where they had been. But they no longer hurt. And the voices...the damn voices in his head were finally gone. Maybe they had harmed it enough that it needed all its strength to recover. There was truly no way for him to know. But one thing Rook did know was that he needed to get back to check on Ives and see how he was fairing after it all. If the plant had taken root in him or maybe if like himself Ives couldn't feel its presence any longer. It took a couple days for the men to return to the kingdom. They splintered off, many going home to their families. But Rook headed toward the library. It was nightfall now and other than the few elves still out the streets were deserted. But Rook wasn't stumbling around weak or drunk. No...for the first time in what felt like years he was completely sober. When he reached the library Rook reached forward to push the door open but it didn't give. Ives must have already locked up for the night. Good...After the instance with the immortal who had nearly injured him Rook was glad more precautions were being made. His hand rose and blood stained knuckles rapped loudly on the heavy wooden doors. Rook was a bit scraped up and the sleeves of his shirt were burnt away by his own fire. But all in all he had come out of the battle basically unscathed. He couldn't say the same for the men that had lost their lives. Briefly he recalled their faces before pushing them out of his mind. His brows furrowing as he waited for Ives to answer. Hopefully he wasn't already asleep. |
credit to nat of adoxography. |
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Lore Keeper
Rooksexual.
Taken.
Elf
Authored by Arlyn.
Offline.
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Post by Ives Beaumont on Jul 21, 2017 8:03:45 GMT
Ives had almost gotten ready for bed. He was heading toward his bedroom, carrying only a candle that was left on the desk moments before. The Lore Keeper had already put out most of the lights in the library, and everything was tidied. He was fortunate to have such a helpful assistant like Larkin. Her presence made it much easier for taking care of the library, although he spent more time preparing her than Orin had with him. Perhaps it was because of the plant infecting him? Or maybe Orin was just a stern man. Ives already made his way to his room, standing just outside of the doorway before he heard pounding outside. He turned his head slightly at the noise. Hardly anyone came at this hour. The library was closed, most elves knew. Was it that immortal again? He hoped not. Either way, he knew that whoever it was, he would have to remind them that it was closed, or else the incessant pounding would not cease, Ives presumed. It was his duty as Lore Keeper to protect the library, even if it meant his life was on the line. Well, it was anyway. Now he had Larkin especially. If something happened to him tonight, then she could take over. But, he assumed that it must be no danger, otherwise there would be no knocking.
Turning from where he was he made his way toward the two grand doors, still carrying the candle in his hand. It illuminated his face slightly in the darkness, but other than that he could not see much. The moon wasn't out or giving much moonlight as it usually did, this night was darker than usual. Perhaps it was just cloudy. Ives grabbed the door, pulling it open a crack, only revealing his face through the door. If it was anyone dangerous like that immortal he would not let them in. He peered out, seeing the familiar beard then the face.
His blue eyes widened. "Rook..." he said in shock. He then opened the door further, almost regretfully that he only opened it a little in the first place, allowing him in. Was he back from hunting the plant? He was glad to see that he was safe an unscathed, though he seemed a little roughened up. Rook had participated in a fight no doubt. Ives then saw that his bulging vines were gone from his shoulder. Did this mean... was it all over? Was the plant truly defeated? If it was gone in Rook... was it gone within him as well?
If Rook made his way inside then Ives would close the door once more, then turning on the lights within the library, illuminating the place more. He set the candle down, and stood close to Rook. He had missed him. But first things first. There were more important matters to discuss.
"Is it... is it really gone?" he asked gravely, although the tone in his voice was hurried. He much rather wanted to discuss about them, and their future now. But if the plant wasn't defeated, then it would be for nothing. |
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Outcast
Bisexual.
Its complicated.
Elf
Authored by Rook.
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Post by Rook Thriasi on Jul 22, 2017 6:57:15 GMT
WE ARE THE ONES WHO WILL NEVER BE BROKEN With our final breath, We’ll fight to the death
We are soldiers, we are soldiers
| H e was starting to doubt himself. Maybe he should just come back in the morning. It was selfish to come here in the dead of night just because he was so eager to see Ives and make sure he was alright. His hand fell away from the door and Rook ran a hand over his face before letting his fingers fall to scratch at his scraggly beard. He would need to find a tree. It was where he had always slept before anyway, it wasn't as if he wasn't accustomed to it. More times that naught even when he had slept in the library it had been sitting up in a corner. He could rarely escape his nightmares long enough to feel the softness of a bed beneath him. He had lingered even after deciding he should leave. Still hoping, and then the door had creaked and opened so that he could only see a sliver of Ives face. His lips twitched into a grin and when the door was opened Rook stepped inside. Resisting the urge to pepper Ives with questions and instead answering the one Ives ask him. He shook his head and the grin fell away, looking almost ashamed he spoke. "No...it escaped us. We injured it but it killed a few of our men and emitted some sort of smoke that rendered us all unconscious. I cant feel its presence in my brain anymore."There, he had told Ives that he had once again failed to protect their people and it stung his pride. But he needed to know if Ives was alright. "Did anything happen to you? The plant..did it do anything to you." He turned his pale icy eyes to Ives and the concern in them was easy to see. He didn't know what would happen now that he wasn't dying by degrees. But Ives still could be dying. It was his power that sucked the life from him and not some foreign entity. He didn't reach out him even though he wanted to. He didn't crush his lips against Ives' and let the stress of the hunt seep away. Ives may have rethought their whole relationship in the week he had been gone. He was pretty well known among their people for being a grumpy drunkard, he couldn't have blamed Ives for moving on. But even the idea made his stomach clench. |
credit to nat of adoxography. |
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Lore Keeper
Rooksexual.
Taken.
Elf
Authored by Arlyn.
Offline.
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Post by Ives Beaumont on Jul 22, 2017 8:50:18 GMT
His brow furrowed at those words. So the plant wasn't defeated after all. Even after all this time. But then... "Your arm..." he then said, gazing to his shoulder where the vines had once covered. "How did it disappear?" he then asked, his eyes moving back to his. Perhaps it was the smoke that he talked about, but this whole situation was strange. Rook said that he couldn't hear the voices anymore, but Ives still felt the same. As if nothing ever happened, nor that he got infected. Was it because the plant was struggling to protect itself as its last line of defense? Or was there something more? He said that it knocked them unconscious, though why didn't it kill them...?
Ives then looked downwards, pondering until Rook asked the next question. He looked back up, surprised to hear his concern. Well, it was Rook after all and not anyone else. "Well..." he started, his attention then averting back to the ground once more. "Not really." He didn't really know how to explain it. It was that the plant didn't do anything to him exactly, but he had not had a single vision since it had infected him. Which was quite strange to the Lore Keeper. It couldn't be by mere chance. But, he was still worried, and perhaps he over worried his assistant because of it. He thought that the plant was eventually going to do something to him like it had Rook.
"But... since then, I have not had any visions," he then looked back up at him, leaning against one of the tables, placing a hand upon its surface. "I don't know why..." he then trailed off. Though, he doubted that Rook would know the answer. |
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Outcast
Bisexual.
Its complicated.
Elf
Authored by Rook.
Offline.
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Post by Rook Thriasi on Jul 22, 2017 9:18:13 GMT
Rook looked down at his shoulder when Ives spoke of the vines. All that was left behind now were dark shadows that appeared almost like intentional ink. It wouldn’t be unheard of for someone among their ranks to have some sort of plant tattooed on them. Though perhaps not to the extent that Rook now wore. ”I don’t know. Over the few hours after we attacked it just started to wither away. This is all that’s left.”
He watched as Rook leaned against a table and Rook decided to take a seat. Pulling a chair out from one of the tables he folded his long frame into it. It was strange to be so…present. He was normally at least some level of inebriated. His icy eyes turned to Ives when he spoke. Wait…no visions? He didn’t care why or if the plant were the cause of it. All he was concerned with was the repercussions. He had stood from the chair and knocked it back onto the hard floor when Ives had dropped the news like it was nothing.
”Does that mean you aren’t dying?”
He ask and took a step closer. But that was where he stopped. Nothing about the interaction made him assume that things would be the way they had been. Ives felt almost…closed off. And Rook felt as if his fears were coming to fruition. Had their time together just been the lore keepers way of appeasing a dying man? Had he assumed there would be no future? But of all the talk…the returning. Maybe it was all just words. He had seen the families of some of the soldiers greet them with excitement when awoken by their presence. But Rook and Ives were no family. He wasn’t even certain what they might be any longer.
If Ives answered the earlier question Rook would clear his throat and rub his dry peeling hands against one another with an almost papery his before shoving them into his pockets. ”I should sleep. I shouldn’t have awoken you lore keeper.” It was the first time in a long while that rook hadn’t just used Ives name. His title was much less personable.
His pale eyes darkened with the feelings of regret but Rook didn’t show it in his other features. He fought to keep his face blank of emotion. He strode toward the door but stopped before he reached it. He should let it go, he should let Ives go. He shouldn’t push this. And the cold man who had returned from a bitter war wanted him to go and stew alone, to get lost in the bottom of a barrel of wine. ”No.” He said softly to himself and then turned back to Ives. He needed answers.
”Was it out of pity? Or did you really care about me Ives? I need to know.” His jaw clenched and Rooks pale eyes were set firmly on the lore keeper. The man he loved who just might not feel the same way.
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Lore Keeper
Rooksexual.
Taken.
Elf
Authored by Arlyn.
Offline.
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Post by Ives Beaumont on Jul 22, 2017 23:39:05 GMT
Did it mean that he wasn't dying? Ives never thought of that. If the plant that infected him took the magic away... did that mean that it took out its effects? If anything, perhaps it just slowed down his eventual demise. Already he had taken much information from the plants, and that meant it took off however many years of his life. "I do not know..." he said once more, gazing down confusedly. It was an intriguing thought. Could it mean that he can live now? Was this a cure? The very cure of Rook said that they should find? How could it be this close after all this time? And how did the plant take away his magic in the first place?
He then looked up as he spoke again, and he was surprised to see him walking toward the door. He was also surprised that he called him by his title and not his name. Where are you going to sleep? He was going to ask, but then he saw him turn around and ask him another question. Had the plant messed with the man's mind while he was away? Immediately Ives stood, walking toward him with care in his eyes.
"Of course I do," he said longingly, stopping very close to him. "I love you, and I want to live with you and look toward our future now, but..." he averted his gaze, nearly sighing as he took a deep breath. "With that plant still out there... the elves could all be doomed... All of us," his worried eyes then gazed back up at him. If Rook didn't move then Ives would place his forehead against his, breathing unsteadily.
"I just... don't want for us to die," he said, his eyes closed. "Not before we can begin our future together." |
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Outcast
Bisexual.
Its complicated.
Elf
Authored by Rook.
Offline.
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Post by Rook Thriasi on Jul 25, 2017 7:49:41 GMT
He could hope that the lack of his magic would save Ives or at least prolong his life but even Ives didn't know the answer to that. Rook had moved toward the door then and ask the question that burned in his mind. Ives moved closer and Rook watched him without reciprocating his actions. It was only when Ives stopped speaking that Rook replied. His hands slowly moving up to rest on Ives shoulders and gently push him back. Breaking the connection. Did he even hear himself? He sounded even more obsessed with the plan than he had been. Even now when he had returned all the man could think about was going after it again? Maybe it was easy when you weren't the one fighting the battle. When it wasn't your comrades who had the life sucked out of them as they were skewered.
He felt conflicted and unsure. He had been so worried about Ives safety. But the way Ives spoke made him feel like more of a pawn that a soldier or guard. Like an unthinking beast that could be turned this way and that. Of course he was worried. But did he want to enjoy a few moments of peace without the voice in his head and the pain from the vines? Of course! His death had felt inevitable just a few days ago. But now he felt like they had a chance of beating it.
He pulled his hands back from Ives shoulders and let them fall to his sides. The right already beginning to twitch for a drink, his old fall back when he just didn't want to think any longer. "I get it, Ives. I'm just...tired." His tongue twisted around the lies that left a sour taste in his mouth. Why did everything feel so strange? Because their death wasn't so imminent? He sighed and scratched at his beard then took a step back to get even more distance between them. He had been genuinely happy. Thrilled even to not be in agony for the first time in weeks. And now Ives could possibly live a longer life as well. So why did he feel like he needed something to numb his senses. He rubbed his heavily scarred fingers over his dried lips then looked to the door.
"I'm not just a solider, Ives." He said slowly. He had been a weapon before to defend their people. He had burned so many of their enemies to their deaths, because he was told to. Ives had never told him to go after the plant the first time, he had even tried to stop him. But he felt as if he were being impelled now and it brought back those old feelings. Those old regrets. "I'll catch up with you in the morning. I need some sleep." He didn't look at Ives because he knew he would falter or say something he shouldn't. So instead he moved on out the door he had opened and left it open so the lore keeper could close it. He would find a place to sleep. But first he needed to visit an old stash.
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Lore Keeper
Rooksexual.
Taken.
Elf
Authored by Arlyn.
Offline.
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Post by Ives Beaumont on Jul 25, 2017 23:31:21 GMT
Ives watched with worried eyes as Rook distanced himself from him. I'm not just a soldier. At that statement, Ives was suddenly brought back to realization. Of course. Why had he been so preoccupied with it? Had the plant within him taken control over his mind without him knowing it? Why had he been so concerned? Rook was back here, now. He was safe. But somehow Ives had a bad feeling, that it would come back. Perhaps he was worried too much. Rook said that they almost defeated it right? There was still a chance. But, somehow he couldn't still shake that feeling.
As Rook walked away outside, Ives followed, almost hurriedly. He opened the door wide as he saw him headed from the library. "Where are you going to sl-" he asked but stopped himself, looking downwards in regret. His eyes then peered back upwards again, hoping that Rook would at least listen. "I'm sorry," he said sorrowfully. "Perhaps I am exhausted as well. It's just..." he looked down once more, sighing. "When you were away, I honestly thought that it was going to kill you," he then said, his voice faltering at those last words. "I have just been so worried... Maybe this is too much at once for me. But I am glad that you are safe." He tried to smile but it wasn't all quite there. He wanted for him to come back, to reunite with him happily. But... something was off. Maybe he would feel better in the morning. This whole time he had been so worried, maybe he still felt shaken.
He didn't know where Rook was going to sleep but he would let him leave if he so desired. Placing the candle down by the doorstep he moved back in, closing the large stone door leaving it ajar. "Just know that you are welcome to sleep here," he said gently, his hand finally sliding away from the door as he turned. "Just give the door a pull. And if you need anything, just knock on my bedroom door," he said, although somehow he felt that Rook wasn't going to. "Good night Rook." He then gave him one last glance, before turning away and walking toward his bedroom.
They needed to find Orin. No, he did. Ives thought. It would be the only way to stop the plant, but where was he...?
[End] |
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